Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

So, for the last few hours (maybe even longer because I get distracted a lot ), I’ve been moseying along TFL to join some fanlistings and fill up my FANDOM section. When I started joining fanlistings of various J-dramas and some J-idols (I haven’t joined them yet, but I did bookmark for the future), I realized one thing. My own fandom designs are not girly enough for anyone to join.

CUTE is still the in thing in the hobbyist fanlisting site designs, at least, in relation to Japanese entertainment. I used to go all-out using old school web standards in the early 2000 but when I got a revelation regarding the Web 2.0 standards as well as producing sites with validated code, my so-called CUTE design style had disappeared. It just got way too long to produce another CUTE design style that would actually conform to today’s web standards, so I went for a more thematic (thematic as in design based on the theme of the fanlisting) rather than producing another CUTE designed fanlisting site.

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• Mood: Hungry

As I delve deeper in to the wonders of social and environmental sustainability, thanks to the high influences of my co-workers in our department, another aspect of environmental sustainability actually got my attention. That, of course, is industrial ecology and biomimicry.

What the heck are those two things. Well, it’s a concept (or concepts) in which we create our own new systems by copying or being inspired by the natural processes of living creatures in the world around us. Since the human race throughout history just don’t really know (or don’t really care) how on earth we use the resources provided to us by mother nature herself. As of this moment, slowly and gradually, the earth is dying because of… well… us.

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• Mood: Rushed

So, this is just a very quick, random post where I give a short test to see how this Post Avatar plugin looks like on my blog and the blog theme I’m currently using. I need to write something brief but long enough for the entry to surpass the 100×100 size of the test avatar I’m seeing. If it works perfectly, it may need some tweaking and hacking. If the tweaking and hacking doesn’t work, then I’ll just have to disable it and not let any avatar be posted in every post I make. I need to add a CSS class for the avatar to make it look a lot nicer layout-wise.

In addition to testing this Post Avatar plugin, I also replaced the WP-Grins plugin with WP-Smilies plugin. For some reason the smilies appear on top of the Comments management section of the admin CP that it came to a point where it just gotten annoying. In addition, the clickable smilies inserted in the Post and Page sections doesn’t work. I’ll just have to copy the smilie code guide so I’ll know how to type them and make them appear. I’ll definitely look in to more smilies to add but this is it for now.

According to the preview version, 100×100 isn’t going to cut it. I’m going to try uploading 50×50 (or even smaller), then we’ll see what happens.

Still looking in to what to install for amnosNET. I’m thinking news and commentary blog, some general info, and maybe open up a directory of fansites dedicated to JE idols or just J-Pop idols in general. It’d still be hosted on amnosNET. Yeah~!

• Current Location: Home
• Currently Drinking: AriZona Iced Pomegranate Green TEa
• Currently Eating: DiGiorno Supreme Combination Pizza
• Currently Listening: The Fun We Had by the Raggamuffins
• Currently Reading: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Mood: Sleepy, Sleepy

My last attempt in to getting back in Arashi fandom is to rebuild AMNOS.net and maintain it as much as I can. As of recent, I renewed the domain for two years (well, let’s give it two years), so the domain is active again. I just need some kind of content to put in there to let them know of its eventual return. Then again, will it actually return?

Ever since I returned… or rather… trying to fit in to the Arashi fandom, I realized to myself that it’s pretty much impossible now. Heard of the saying of “Once you become something (or someone), you’ll always be that something (or someone.”? Well, in the case of Arashi fandom (and probably any J-idol fandom in general), once you become an Arashi fan and then go on a long-period hiatus due to whatever reason (regardless if it was a very important reason or you just simply lost interest), you can never come back again.

What can I say? I realized that I’m a very different fan from most of the (global) fans, which is probably why it’s difficult for me to re-adjust myself to the rest of the fandom. I don’t spazz around with other fans or roleplay pretending that I’m with my favorite Arashi member, I don’t go kyaa! or squee! or honto kawaaaiiii da~!! whenever I see something cool or adorable with Arashi (or any other J-idol for that matter), I don’t declare and bitch at other fan girls telling them that I’m (insert male J-idol’s name here)’s wife or something (get a grip, people!), I don’t write most of my entries dedicated to my eternal fangirlism towards Arashi… I just don’t do stuff that most Arashi fans of today do. And because of these differences, should that limit me in to “fitting in” with the general Arashi fandom? Many of you would probably say that it shouldn’t, but then again I know that many of you have never been in my shoes before (as in a long-time fan who goes on hiatus for a year or so and return back to fandom again), so save the pep talk…

I know this is such a pathetic entry, but I can’t help feeling sad about it. So many of my friends from the past are no longer around, and those who I reunited with seem to be somewhat on the same shoes as I am, only that they’re more of avoiding the mass fandom communities rather than trying to be in it. It’s not that it’s a bad thing, but I always thought that fandom shouldn’t have any requirements just so fellow fans would acknowledge you. Nowadays, it seems that in order for other fans to acknowledge you that you have to show them something that would seriously give you attention… or rather, give them something in exchange for attention and close access. I don’t know what it is with some fans’ behavior nowadays. It’s like they blatantly act like obsessive stalkers for the sake of everyone else around them. It’s like a person doing something they did not want to do just because everyone does it.

So now, where do I stand? Am I already at the freeter stage of fandom? Will I ever steer clear of communities and forums as of this date?

Only way to find out, I guess… stay longer and if there’s no success, then move on to the next stage.

• Currently Drinking: AriZona Pomegranate Green Tea, Ito En Oi Ocha Green Tea
• Current Location: Home
• Currently Eating: MultiGrain Bread
• Currently Reading: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Mood: sleepy

If I ruled the world (wide web), one thing I’d like to do as one of my part-time “eh”’s is creating some guidelines regarding (J-)idol fansites. Why? Because the new/current generation of (male J-)idol fans in general reminds me of how pop music in general became today in comparison to the pop music back in the days.

Right. I don’t need to elaborate. You get what I mean.

If I seriously ruled the world (wide web), I shall enforce a list of guidelines for those budding fan girls with a major interest in building a fan site to their 3F Idol (Forever First Favorite Idol), as well as the group/band in which that particular 3F Idol is a part of. Why? Because for one thing in general, when someone builds a website and published live on the world (wide web), it usually means, this person wants to share to the whole world something they want to share. If that person’s reason to build a website is to show off how elite that person is compared to the rest of the world (wide web), then obviously this person is wasting his/her time, money, and web space altogether. Why bother?

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• Current Location: Home
• Currently Drinking: Iced Mandarin Red Tea (yeah baby~!)
• Currently Eating: Tim's Cascade Style Potato Chips (Sour Cream)
• Currently Listening: It's Raining by The Echoes
• Currently Reading: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Mood: Giddy

For those who know me very well that I am an addict of literary works. That particular statement means reading novels, short stories, story anthologies, blogs, original fiction in progress, and yes, fanfiction. Depending on my mood, my inspiration, and my usual “what the heck” mode, I do end up writing a form of fanfiction. One-shots aren’t really my thing, though I write them occasionally, but what I find most enjoyable in being a fanfiction (or original fiction) writer in an online literary community is that you also get to read work in progress writings from others too.

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• Currently Drinking: Coke Classic
• Currently Reading: The Weblog Handbook by Rebecca Blood
• Mood: Hungry