31 October 2013
This is Halloween ♪ (sung Jack)
30 October 2013
WIP #12
One drawing from the Birdies series than I actually never coloured!
These drawings were originally made for a little colouring book I made for a friend. This is why I still have a few that I didn't colour. Do you like it? It has more of a Valentine mood than a Christmas mood though! :P
These drawings were originally made for a little colouring book I made for a friend. This is why I still have a few that I didn't colour. Do you like it? It has more of a Valentine mood than a Christmas mood though! :P
29 October 2013
Hello!
Hey, I forgot to post on Monday °A°!
Yesterday the weather was quite confusing. They promised us an unforgettable storm, but thankfully London wasn't affected that much. And today is even sunny!
Today's picture's warm colour are meant to fight the cold season's blues! And still, quite autumnal. Hello!
25 October 2013
24 October 2013
Fashion WIPs - Cozy Sweater
Good things about cold seasons: warm duvets, hot chocolate... and cozy sweaters of course!
I'm starting a new fashion sketches and wips series, I want to draw more clothes.
I'm starting a new fashion sketches and wips series, I want to draw more clothes.
23 October 2013
WIP #10
I love toys. I might love toys now even more then when I was a child! The good thing about being an adult is that they seem so much cheaper then when all your income was your pocket money.
I've been bringing together a few of my interests and researching vintage toys lately. After seeing a lot of japanese dolls and other girly illustrated goods from the '60s I've been inspired to draw cute stuff, too. Here's a couple of sketches~
I've been bringing together a few of my interests and researching vintage toys lately. After seeing a lot of japanese dolls and other girly illustrated goods from the '60s I've been inspired to draw cute stuff, too. Here's a couple of sketches~
22 October 2013
Of cute sacred deers and other stories
Japan is a country I really like. I started getting interested in the country as a child because of all the japanese cartoons I'd see on tv, but then I've found out they have so much more to offer than anime.
Among the many beautiful places to visit Japan has to offer, I have a thing for the city of Nara, capital city of the prefecture of the same name and located in the Kansai region.
Nara is an ancient city full of history, but I'll leave that talk to wikipedia... and google if you're really interested in it. What I find really cute about it is that you can see deers roaming around town!
Deers are in fact regarded as heavenly animals and guardians of the city and the country. According to the legend, Takemikazuchi (god of thunder and something blablabla, tough guy!) came to Nara on a white deer to protect the newly built capital of the area once called Heijō-kyō.
Since I visited Nara I started liking deers a lot. So cute! Even if they'd try to eat anything that looks like food to them, including... you.Good idea for a new horror movie!
Among the many beautiful places to visit Japan has to offer, I have a thing for the city of Nara, capital city of the prefecture of the same name and located in the Kansai region.
Nara is an ancient city full of history, but I'll leave that talk to wikipedia... and google if you're really interested in it. What I find really cute about it is that you can see deers roaming around town!
Deers are in fact regarded as heavenly animals and guardians of the city and the country. According to the legend, Takemikazuchi (god of thunder and something blablabla, tough guy!) came to Nara on a white deer to protect the newly built capital of the area once called Heijō-kyō.
Since I visited Nara I started liking deers a lot. So cute! Even if they'd try to eat anything that looks like food to them, including... you.
And of course I also like drawing deers: meet Shika-kun and... well his friend Quincey the Duck, I guess. Nothing to do with Nara, but I like ducks too.
Fun fact: I remember that when we went to Nara, they were accepting donations to renovate the roof of some part of some temple (would it be too easy to say it was Todaiji?), and whoever donated a certain amount, could write on one of the tiles that were going to be used for the renovations. And yes, of course I drew a little deer on it! I wonder where it is now...
21 October 2013
I have an Instagram account!
... and I also like to play with my camera. Anyway, my username is itsmurasaki, follow me if you like~
18 October 2013
WIP#09 - It's Friday
Friday, gotta get down on friday! Said an infamous song.
The beginning of the weekend! And one of my favourite days.
A friend recently bought this cute t-shirt from Wind-Up Bird, which inspired the background. It's raining today in London, so I thought it would be appropriate.
See you next week!
17 October 2013
WIP #08
Dumplings are great, one of my favourite food indeed! With just a bit of chili flavoured oil and soy sauce, lots of it. I like my food salty, I guess I'll die young :P
16 October 2013
15 October 2013
14 October 2013
Back to the nineties
Remember when all the tech we had was calculators and Casio's My Magic Diary? Both quite simple devices, and yet the possibilities seemed endless!
I've been rewatching the tv series Friends lately, which started airing exactly in 1994. Cordless phones weren't that popular were I grew up, but it reminded me of my own 90s! Technology has evolved so fast, hasn't it?
01 October 2013
Pom Gets Wifi
You don't need to be Caravaggio to produce a piece of art... you just need a copy of old good RPG maker.
Pom Gets Wifi is an indie rpg game that, in the words of its creator, is "cute, bright, and obnoxious". It's the tragic story of Pom, aka a cute female pomeranian (I think?) and the epitome of the standard Tumblr user, who dies and ends up in dog heaven... where she can't find no wi-fi signal!!12 This is the starting point of our amazing quest forjustice a basic human right the internet.
This game promise to offer (quoting from the "official" description):
- 2 endings!
- Over 20 dog breeds!
- dum shibe
- 100 billion lines of dialogue
- About 2000 references to obscure video games that only I will understand
- My tears
I understood and loved many of the references and I must say appreciated your pouring of namidas, dear miss Brianna, if this is the result. Thank you.
You can download this amazing (?!) game here (there's even a Mac version!), or watch a gameplay on youtube. I personally recommend PewDiePie's... but who isn't subscribed to that guy already anyway?!
Pom Gets Wifi is an indie rpg game that, in the words of its creator, is "cute, bright, and obnoxious". It's the tragic story of Pom, aka a cute female pomeranian (I think?) and the epitome of the standard Tumblr user, who dies and ends up in dog heaven... where she can't find no wi-fi signal!!12 This is the starting point of our amazing quest for
![]() |
Fanart by yours truly! |
This game promise to offer (quoting from the "official" description):
- 2 endings!
- Over 20 dog breeds!
- dum shibe
- 100 billion lines of dialogue
- About 2000 references to obscure video games that only I will understand
- My tears
I understood and loved many of the references and I must say appreciated your pouring of namidas, dear miss Brianna, if this is the result. Thank you.
You can download this amazing (?!) game here (there's even a Mac version!), or watch a gameplay on youtube. I personally recommend PewDiePie's... but who isn't subscribed to that guy already anyway?!
Etichette:
illustrations,
so terrible it's beautiful,
the amazingness of the internet,
videogames,
wip
30 September 2013
WIP #06
One of my favourite things to draw is food.
Even though when it comes to eat food I prefer savoury, when I want to make or draw something I like sweets and baked goods much more!
Today I'm sharing with you a collaboration with Noepics (who just opened her blog by the way, go have a look!)
She took care of the drawing itself and the letting, I coloured it. Colours are my favourite part ♥.
The cake was inspired by this lovely japanese patisserie here in London... which I'll probably write a post about soon. Now that I've lived in this city for a few months, I want to share all my favourite places.
Even though when it comes to eat food I prefer savoury, when I want to make or draw something I like sweets and baked goods much more!
Today I'm sharing with you a collaboration with Noepics (who just opened her blog by the way, go have a look!)
She took care of the drawing itself and the letting, I coloured it. Colours are my favourite part ♥.
The cake was inspired by this lovely japanese patisserie here in London... which I'll probably write a post about soon. Now that I've lived in this city for a few months, I want to share all my favourite places.
Etichette:
cakes&bakes,
collaboration,
food,
illustrations,
wip
28 August 2013
WIP #05
I originally drew a series of round birdies to make a colouring book for a friend of mine... and then I coloured them as a personal project. Now I feel like the colouring is a bit extreme for my standars too though, so I'm working on them again!
Captain, my captain! I'm not sure in which direction I'm going this time, I'm still brainstorming.
Captain, my captain! I'm not sure in which direction I'm going this time, I'm still brainstorming.
21 August 2013
Dreaming Friday
Too early in the week to reward yourself with a cocktail after a hard day of work? Never! :P
You can see more cocktails illustrations at my Behance Gallery.
Soon there'll be prints on my Society6 shop, too!
13 August 2013
Oh Doctor, Doctor...
Are you a fan of the infamous, long running, sci-fi english tv series that makes children hide behind the sofa? I'm talking about Doctor Who!
I do love it. I'm not into it as I was during the first seasons, but I think all the Doctors have their own special things. Maybe I just don't enough feelings for any Doctor or any Companion to say "that was my Doctor, it can never be the same again".
I'm sure you know Doctor Who even if you're not a fan: it has been running for 50 years (literally) and every time they announce a new Doctor it generates more speculations and tweets than the Pope election.
And yes, the reason this show could go on for 50 years is because the main character dies and revives... not in a soap opera kind of way.
The next Doctor was announced a few weeks ago (I'll miss Matt Smith's gummyness!), and I'm quite please with the choice. Peter Capaldi is a good actor and he has a great Doctor face in my opinion. I can't wait to see his Doctor!
Me and a many other Italians are also quite amused by the fact that Capaldi's father is from a small town near Frosinone (and about 120km from Rome, for those of you who are not really familiar with Italy). I don't know if there's an exact reason why, but :')
I do love it. I'm not into it as I was during the first seasons, but I think all the Doctors have their own special things. Maybe I just don't enough feelings for any Doctor or any Companion to say "that was my Doctor, it can never be the same again".
I'm sure you know Doctor Who even if you're not a fan: it has been running for 50 years (literally) and every time they announce a new Doctor it generates more speculations and tweets than the Pope election.
And yes, the reason this show could go on for 50 years is because the main character dies and revives... not in a soap opera kind of way.
The next Doctor was announced a few weeks ago (I'll miss Matt Smith's gummyness!), and I'm quite please with the choice. Peter Capaldi is a good actor and he has a great Doctor face in my opinion. I can't wait to see his Doctor!
Me and a many other Italians are also quite amused by the fact that Capaldi's father is from a small town near Frosinone (and about 120km from Rome, for those of you who are not really familiar with Italy). I don't know if there's an exact reason why, but :')
Etichette:
doctor who,
illustrations,
sci-fi,
tv series,
wip
12 August 2013
Because "using a computer" doesn't just mean having a Facebook account
How can a generation with access to so much technology, not know how to use it?
... and why this is important is what Marc Scott talks about in his blog post Kids Can't Use Computers... And This Is Why It Should Worry You.
First of all and most importantly, ignorance is never a good thing.
I'm not saying everyone should be a computer genius, but let's think about this for a moment.
I'm in the second half of my twenties, and many people in my generation didn't have a computer at home before they were in high school, or even in university. Their encounter with computers is relatively recent, but this didn't stop most of these people from having a Facebook account, or using Wikipedia for their essays.
They learned these basic things, like googling and opening an account on a website and post things. Why most of them should feel so lost every time their "internet doesn't work"?
My mom has always preferred the latest technology to designer's clothes, so I was lucky enough to have a computer at home since I was in primary school. This is how it looked like:
I absolutely loved it. It wasn't just another game consolle, I could do so many fancy things with it! I was so fascinated by everything. There was this family friend who helped us with our first computers, I still remember when he taught us the ctrl+alt+del trick. It sounded like magic at the time.
I wanted to learn all the secret of this computer thing first hand, so I explored the system, played with different softwares and had a lot of fun doing so.
I decided to wrote my final primary school essay on word and print it out, because I thought it'd look much prettier and more clean, so I asked the teacher if I could. Some classmates saw me as a computer genius, some others complained that "it's not fair", because they believed the computer would do everything by itself -- pretty much what half of the clients of any person working in the creative industry still think.
Truth is, I was quite slow at typing back then, I didn't have Photoshop to create my fancy diagrams and if I wanted to include pictures I had to scan them from books and add them to my Word doc because Google Images wasn't a thing yet. Basically it took longer with a computer than by hand, but the result was so much better.
Or so I thought. I hope it wasn't in Comic Sans.
What I want to say is that I'm not a computer genius, but I'm also into computers more than the average person. There are computers in all price ranges these days, which means the average person is probably an average computer user, too. Many of these users are younger than me, and in the newer generations, much more people had access to a computer or a smartphone as early as me... or even earlier!
I do understand that not everyone can be interested in technology or not everyone want to be a programmer, and that's fine. But when you're a frequent computer and internet user, you should at least know a few things about them.
Ignorance leads to stupid decisions, see Cameron's latest announcement about default internet filters in the UK. Technically these things should filter out any rated content, so that children could surf the internet without being traumatized.
If you ever surfed the web with any family filter on though, you know these things rarely filter just sites like YouPorn, but even perfectly safe blogs and sites.
Yeah I know, I know: you can still call your provider and deactivate those filters... but that's not the point!
Censorship is never the answer. Censoring websites is the solution of someone who's acting like they're scared of the internet, like it's a mysterious monster we don't know much about and that acts on its own whim. These people forget that the internet is made by people: people who create contents and people who read and elaborate those contents. Instead of just hiding some contents that are inappropriate for some people, isn't it better to educate these people about how the internet works and what is the appropriate netiquette?
I know many parents would want to protect their children from the outside world, but let's face it: they can't live in a happy bubble forever. Your duty as a parent is to teach them how to be grown-ups. So instead of just hiding things, tell them why they shouldn't visit certain websites, or that they shouldn't click on all the shady ads they see... whatever you want, but please tell them why should they do that, and not that they just have to.
Teach them how to think with their own mind and how to take their own decisions, instead of just deciding for them. I went on the internet when I was a child too, but I knew the rules: don't click on things that wants money from you, don't tell your real name to strangers (that was before Facebook), don't be on the internet for more than an hour a day. Can you believe this last one? The perks of being on a 56k connection: living the real life! :P
Are people so tech-unaware because they weren't taught to think with their own minds, but they were accustomed to other people doing things for them? I hope this is just an exaggeration, but there's one thing I know for sure: if people were a little more tech savvy, no one would ask things on Yahoo answers before simply googling them.
... and why this is important is what Marc Scott talks about in his blog post Kids Can't Use Computers... And This Is Why It Should Worry You.
First of all and most importantly, ignorance is never a good thing.
I'm not saying everyone should be a computer genius, but let's think about this for a moment.
I'm in the second half of my twenties, and many people in my generation didn't have a computer at home before they were in high school, or even in university. Their encounter with computers is relatively recent, but this didn't stop most of these people from having a Facebook account, or using Wikipedia for their essays.
They learned these basic things, like googling and opening an account on a website and post things. Why most of them should feel so lost every time their "internet doesn't work"?
My mom has always preferred the latest technology to designer's clothes, so I was lucky enough to have a computer at home since I was in primary school. This is how it looked like:
I absolutely loved it. It wasn't just another game consolle, I could do so many fancy things with it! I was so fascinated by everything. There was this family friend who helped us with our first computers, I still remember when he taught us the ctrl+alt+del trick. It sounded like magic at the time.
I wanted to learn all the secret of this computer thing first hand, so I explored the system, played with different softwares and had a lot of fun doing so.
I decided to wrote my final primary school essay on word and print it out, because I thought it'd look much prettier and more clean, so I asked the teacher if I could. Some classmates saw me as a computer genius, some others complained that "it's not fair", because they believed the computer would do everything by itself -- pretty much what half of the clients of any person working in the creative industry still think.
Truth is, I was quite slow at typing back then, I didn't have Photoshop to create my fancy diagrams and if I wanted to include pictures I had to scan them from books and add them to my Word doc because Google Images wasn't a thing yet. Basically it took longer with a computer than by hand, but the result was so much better.
Or so I thought. I hope it wasn't in Comic Sans.
What I want to say is that I'm not a computer genius, but I'm also into computers more than the average person. There are computers in all price ranges these days, which means the average person is probably an average computer user, too. Many of these users are younger than me, and in the newer generations, much more people had access to a computer or a smartphone as early as me... or even earlier!
I do understand that not everyone can be interested in technology or not everyone want to be a programmer, and that's fine. But when you're a frequent computer and internet user, you should at least know a few things about them.
Ignorance leads to stupid decisions, see Cameron's latest announcement about default internet filters in the UK. Technically these things should filter out any rated content, so that children could surf the internet without being traumatized.
If you ever surfed the web with any family filter on though, you know these things rarely filter just sites like YouPorn, but even perfectly safe blogs and sites.
Yeah I know, I know: you can still call your provider and deactivate those filters... but that's not the point!
Censorship is never the answer. Censoring websites is the solution of someone who's acting like they're scared of the internet, like it's a mysterious monster we don't know much about and that acts on its own whim. These people forget that the internet is made by people: people who create contents and people who read and elaborate those contents. Instead of just hiding some contents that are inappropriate for some people, isn't it better to educate these people about how the internet works and what is the appropriate netiquette?
I know many parents would want to protect their children from the outside world, but let's face it: they can't live in a happy bubble forever. Your duty as a parent is to teach them how to be grown-ups. So instead of just hiding things, tell them why they shouldn't visit certain websites, or that they shouldn't click on all the shady ads they see... whatever you want, but please tell them why should they do that, and not that they just have to.
Teach them how to think with their own mind and how to take their own decisions, instead of just deciding for them. I went on the internet when I was a child too, but I knew the rules: don't click on things that wants money from you, don't tell your real name to strangers (that was before Facebook), don't be on the internet for more than an hour a day. Can you believe this last one? The perks of being on a 56k connection: living the real life! :P
Are people so tech-unaware because they weren't taught to think with their own minds, but they were accustomed to other people doing things for them? I hope this is just an exaggeration, but there's one thing I know for sure: if people were a little more tech savvy, no one would ask things on Yahoo answers before simply googling them.
Etichette:
blablabla,
I lost the point of this post halfway,
illustrations,
the internet is for porn?
08 August 2013
WIP #04
I asked my Twitter TL for random words prompts the other day, and one of my favourites was Lollipop. Such a simple and ordinary thing, but great for colours! My first wip came out very '80s thought, lol.
03 August 2013
Sometimes I need to watch things till the end even thought I know I could spend my time better
Tv series in Japan are called drama (even when they're comedies). I watch (too) many of them.
Unlike western tv series, most of the dramas are made to last a single season, but just like western tv series they manage to screw it up at the end. Yes, even when they're just ten episodes long!
Japanese drama seasons go with actual seasons, so we have new series on spring, new series on summer, etc. A couple of seasons ago, I started this drama called Share House no Koibito.
The title, that translates to "The lovers of the share-house", probably appeals only those who never actually lived in a flat sharing. The plot didn't sound that special, but it had quite an usual element for a j-drama: a love triangle where Man-A loves Woman, Woman loves Man-B and Man-B loves Man-A.
I'm also really fond of the actress playing the role of the Woman in this triangle (Mizukawa Asami), so I decided to give it a try.
Unlike western tv series, most of the dramas are made to last a single season, but just like western tv series they manage to screw it up at the end. Yes, even when they're just ten episodes long!
Japanese drama seasons go with actual seasons, so we have new series on spring, new series on summer, etc. A couple of seasons ago, I started this drama called Share House no Koibito.
The title, that translates to "The lovers of the share-house", probably appeals only those who never actually lived in a flat sharing. The plot didn't sound that special, but it had quite an usual element for a j-drama: a love triangle where Man-A loves Woman, Woman loves Man-B and Man-B loves Man-A.
I'm also really fond of the actress playing the role of the Woman in this triangle (Mizukawa Asami), so I decided to give it a try.
![]() |
Shio-chan aka... Woman |
The idea was really cute, but they managed to make the drama really really random, and not in a way I enjoy (because you know, random in my world usually is a positive thing). What a pity!
The share house itself was really adorable though. It even had a tree house! And wooden floor. I really love wooden floor, I really want a wooden floor (but maybe I've been a bit traumatized by having a carpet even in the bathroom. Sigh).
02 August 2013
26 July 2013
Why are things creepy
Yesterday's post and the creepy countdown videos in the Pronunciation book Youtube channel, reminded me of another video I watched recently: Why are things creepy?
If you're interested in a logic, fast-paced and charming analysis of the topic, I suggest you watch the video (and all the other videos on Vsauce channel for that matter! They're all brilliant). Don't worry, the rest of the video is not as creepy as the thumbnail... most of it, at least.
So what makes things creepy is the fact we can't explain why they (kind of( scare us or what looks odd about them.
There's nothing shiver inducing about a video with a black number on a white screen, but the fact a mysterious someone is telling us that something is going to happen is creepy, because we don't know who, we don't why... we don't get the context of it all. We know it's not a countdown to the end of the world (... right?), and yet we would feel more safe if only we know what was happening exactly.
Creepy things both scare me and fascinate me greatly. Maybe it's their nature.
In the above mentioned video, what caught my eye the most is the singing android. The video is more hilarious than creepy (what's with those random nature shoots?!)... but again, try to watch it all alone in the silence of the night. Believe me, it's not the last thing you want to see before going to sleep.
What fascinates me the most though it's not the android itself, but the person behind it. This person has decided to spend time and money (lots of money, the mechanical parts cost quite a lot) to build this thing. He/she has the the right knowledge to build this thing. Then this person decided to make an artistic (?) video with his android... singing. Why he decided to make it sing in the first place? Is that voice computer generated or just recorded from someone? Last but not least, how this person sleep in the same house of that thing?! (sorry android to call you thing, I'm sure you're going to have a soul too... like, in a couple of years. Don't kill me!)
By the way, I obviously can see the potential of human-like androids in the future, but they're also one of the thoughts that scares me the most. I guess I just watched too many tv series where it didn't end up very well.
(I still want that Cylon toaster gadget by the way)
![]() |
The video original thumbnail. Creepy? I'd say quite so. |
If you're interested in a logic, fast-paced and charming analysis of the topic, I suggest you watch the video (and all the other videos on Vsauce channel for that matter! They're all brilliant). Don't worry, the rest of the video is not as creepy as the thumbnail... most of it, at least.
So what makes things creepy is the fact we can't explain why they (kind of( scare us or what looks odd about them.
There's nothing shiver inducing about a video with a black number on a white screen, but the fact a mysterious someone is telling us that something is going to happen is creepy, because we don't know who, we don't why... we don't get the context of it all. We know it's not a countdown to the end of the world (... right?), and yet we would feel more safe if only we know what was happening exactly.
Creepy things both scare me and fascinate me greatly. Maybe it's their nature.
In the above mentioned video, what caught my eye the most is the singing android. The video is more hilarious than creepy (what's with those random nature shoots?!)... but again, try to watch it all alone in the silence of the night. Believe me, it's not the last thing you want to see before going to sleep.
What fascinates me the most though it's not the android itself, but the person behind it. This person has decided to spend time and money (lots of money, the mechanical parts cost quite a lot) to build this thing. He/she has the the right knowledge to build this thing. Then this person decided to make an artistic (?) video with his android... singing. Why he decided to make it sing in the first place? Is that voice computer generated or just recorded from someone? Last but not least, how this person sleep in the same house of that thing?! (sorry android to call you thing, I'm sure you're going to have a soul too... like, in a couple of years. Don't kill me!)
By the way, I obviously can see the potential of human-like androids in the future, but they're also one of the thoughts that scares me the most. I guess I just watched too many tv series where it didn't end up very well.
(I still want that Cylon toaster gadget by the way)
Etichette:
blablabla,
sci-fi,
the amazingness of the internet
25 July 2013
Something is going to happen in 77 days
You know what I love? The internet.
Sometimes internet debates get a bit crazy, but as long as you don't take it personally (and remember that there are probably more than a few trolls out there), reading comments and replies can be fun.
I enjoy reading everything, from adorable hypothesis such as the recent Jon Negroni's The Pixar Theory, to absurd conspiracy theories about the Illuminati dictating what toys kids get in their Happy Meals (I just made up this one, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone actually wrote something like this before).
The main reason why I can enjoy such a variety of stories is that I don't believe them. Or better, I don't really care to verify how true or untrue they could be. In many cases, I probably couldn't even if I wanted to, so why not enjoying them just for what they are? Aka amazing stories!
What make them interesting is the interaction between the users and how the stories come together thanks to the ideas and suggestions of many different people, in my opinion.
There's a thing on the internet that takes advantage of this mechanism, and it's called ARG, Alternate Reality Games. In the words of wikipedia, ARGs are "interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and uses transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by participants' ideas or actions".
So basically these games are born an idea of a person or an organization that often present the game not_as_a_game, and can be played only in collaboration with others. People discuss puzzles they've solved and share informations they've got about the game, working together to find answers.
To be honest, I felt quite stupid every time I tried to be part of those games, but you know, it's hard to get in the game when it has already started for a while, and I never had the chance to follow one of these games from the beginning. So many infos, so many puzzles already solved, so many characters to remember! But reading about them is fun anyway.
Recently, something strange happened on a Youtube channel called the Pronunciation Book. This channel opened back in April 2010 and since then it posted video regularly.
The content of these video wasn't very sensational until two weeks ago. A male voice taught the viewers the pronunciation of a specific word, following it with random example sentences. Nothing special, right? But it gained its niche of followers even during its first year, and even a parody account.
For three years videos have been posted regularly on this account, and although you could say the example sentences were a bit curious already, no one expect the even stranger countdown that started with a video titled "How to Pronounce 77".
This time, the male voice didn't even said the number, but informed us that something is going to happen in 77 days. Since then, the account has been posting a new video every day, all titled "how to pronounce [number]".
Today is number 61, and by far no theory has been confirmed. But of course, there are quite a lot of theories running around (someone compiled a useful Google Doc, if you want to catch up)!
The most plausible, in my opinion, is that it's a well planned marketing campaign for a new series, game or film. I'm curious to discover what, though.
The Daily Dots, an online magazine, suggested a Battlestar Galactica reboot. The only reason I thought about BSG while listening to the videos is... because I'm watching BSG now, XD;. And because a "Chief" is continuously named, and I was just asking myself the other day if I'll ever remember Chief's real name in BSG, because even his son is going to call him Chief, I'm sure.
Comments on the youtube channel hypothized something related to "The Hunger Games" (which I'm not familiar with), while others talked about various videogames.
My favourite hypothesis, and to be honest I don't even remember where I read it first, it the one than links the channel to Lost. I admit, I was a huge fan of the series, and Lost is not new to this kind of games. The Oceanic Airlines website was probably the first fragment of ARG I ever came in contact with; back then it wasn't linked to Lost as explicitly as it is now.
The youtube channel was opened a couple of months after Lost ended, the randomness of it fits and the graphics too in my opinion.
To be honest I don't see why or how there should be any more Lost (as I said, I say this as a fan!). It's just my favourite theory, except the one that says that in 61 days the things that's gonna happen is... the end of the coundown. Sob.
I'll definitely wait for the 24th of September, not so patiently.
Sometimes internet debates get a bit crazy, but as long as you don't take it personally (and remember that there are probably more than a few trolls out there), reading comments and replies can be fun.
I enjoy reading everything, from adorable hypothesis such as the recent Jon Negroni's The Pixar Theory, to absurd conspiracy theories about the Illuminati dictating what toys kids get in their Happy Meals (I just made up this one, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone actually wrote something like this before).
The main reason why I can enjoy such a variety of stories is that I don't believe them. Or better, I don't really care to verify how true or untrue they could be. In many cases, I probably couldn't even if I wanted to, so why not enjoying them just for what they are? Aka amazing stories!
What make them interesting is the interaction between the users and how the stories come together thanks to the ideas and suggestions of many different people, in my opinion.
There's a thing on the internet that takes advantage of this mechanism, and it's called ARG, Alternate Reality Games. In the words of wikipedia, ARGs are "interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and uses transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by participants' ideas or actions".
So basically these games are born an idea of a person or an organization that often present the game not_as_a_game, and can be played only in collaboration with others. People discuss puzzles they've solved and share informations they've got about the game, working together to find answers.
To be honest, I felt quite stupid every time I tried to be part of those games, but you know, it's hard to get in the game when it has already started for a while, and I never had the chance to follow one of these games from the beginning. So many infos, so many puzzles already solved, so many characters to remember! But reading about them is fun anyway.
Recently, something strange happened on a Youtube channel called the Pronunciation Book. This channel opened back in April 2010 and since then it posted video regularly.
The content of these video wasn't very sensational until two weeks ago. A male voice taught the viewers the pronunciation of a specific word, following it with random example sentences. Nothing special, right? But it gained its niche of followers even during its first year, and even a parody account.
For three years videos have been posted regularly on this account, and although you could say the example sentences were a bit curious already, no one expect the even stranger countdown that started with a video titled "How to Pronounce 77".
This time, the male voice didn't even said the number, but informed us that something is going to happen in 77 days. Since then, the account has been posting a new video every day, all titled "how to pronounce [number]".
Today is number 61, and by far no theory has been confirmed. But of course, there are quite a lot of theories running around (someone compiled a useful Google Doc, if you want to catch up)!
The most plausible, in my opinion, is that it's a well planned marketing campaign for a new series, game or film. I'm curious to discover what, though.
The Daily Dots, an online magazine, suggested a Battlestar Galactica reboot. The only reason I thought about BSG while listening to the videos is... because I'm watching BSG now, XD;. And because a "Chief" is continuously named, and I was just asking myself the other day if I'll ever remember Chief's real name in BSG, because even his son is going to call him Chief, I'm sure.
Comments on the youtube channel hypothized something related to "The Hunger Games" (which I'm not familiar with), while others talked about various videogames.
My favourite hypothesis, and to be honest I don't even remember where I read it first, it the one than links the channel to Lost. I admit, I was a huge fan of the series, and Lost is not new to this kind of games. The Oceanic Airlines website was probably the first fragment of ARG I ever came in contact with; back then it wasn't linked to Lost as explicitly as it is now.
The youtube channel was opened a couple of months after Lost ended, the randomness of it fits and the graphics too in my opinion.
To be honest I don't see why or how there should be any more Lost (as I said, I say this as a fan!). It's just my favourite theory, except the one that says that in 61 days the things that's gonna happen is... the end of the coundown. Sob.
I'll definitely wait for the 24th of September, not so patiently.
24 July 2013
Battlestar Galactica #02
I must admit it. I felt like the second season was getting a bit boring around episode... 14? 15?
I think it's mainly because of my short attention span; I just can't focus on things for too long lately...
But! Just when I lost all hopes (for my attention span, not for the show itself), I got interested again.
Well it was hard not to, with such a series finale. I was a bit exasperated, because why do these people never learn?! But most of all, why do people still trust Gaius Baltar, for f*@# sake! Sigh.
I'm sure season 3 will have a better commentary than this! XD
I think it's mainly because of my short attention span; I just can't focus on things for too long lately...
But! Just when I lost all hopes (for my attention span, not for the show itself), I got interested again.
Well it was hard not to, with such a series finale. I was a bit exasperated, because why do these people never learn?! But most of all, why do people still trust Gaius Baltar, for f*@# sake! Sigh.
I'm sure season 3 will have a better commentary than this! XD
23 July 2013
20 July 2013
Battlestar Galactica #01
BAM! That's how me and this series met: it hit me, like right in the face (before it did the same with my heart).
I can say that now I get why Battlestar Galactica is so loved. It does have all the cool stuff, the CG is amazing without being just too much, I love the ships... but it's not just a "hey, let's kill these toasters and be national heroes!" kind of story, it's ultimately a story about the human nature and how we never stop making mistakes.
But again, what's right and what's wrong? You're never sure of anything (except that I would never entrust Gaius Baltar with my children --or even a cat, for that matter), you always have new questions, you always want to know how they're gonna survive because, help, everyone is going crazy and what the fuck are you thinking, people!! And all this happens... IN SPACE!
Yeah, I definitely love it.
A couple of elements I truly enjoy and like about BSG:
• The Vipers
Sob, they're so cool. They make me want to play Starfox again.
• Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
To be honest, at the beginning I though she was going to be that kind of female character the writers try to make look strong and "like a man" but in the end she's just a dickhead. I'm very happy to say I was completely wrong! She's amazing, she's cool, she's a bit too... ehm, passionate at times, and quite impulsive. But I really like her.
And she makes the best "what the fracking frack even, why do I still try" faces.
• Lee "Apollo" Adama
Sometimes a bit cocky, sometimes you just want to kick him in the balls, but! When he follows his heart can do good things. Or not so good, but I kind of grew fond of him for some reason.
We started calling him affectionately "Pollo". Literally it means "chicken" in italian, but it doesn't mean he's scared of everything. More something like... exactly what Apollo is. Sometimes foolish, but in a good way. Or at least, that's what he believes u__u.
• Karl "Helo" Agathon (I had to google his real name. Whaaat)
Such a good-hearted fool. Such a cute giant. Poor guy, really.
That's all for now. See you when I've finished the second season!
I can say that now I get why Battlestar Galactica is so loved. It does have all the cool stuff, the CG is amazing without being just too much, I love the ships... but it's not just a "hey, let's kill these toasters and be national heroes!" kind of story, it's ultimately a story about the human nature and how we never stop making mistakes.
But again, what's right and what's wrong? You're never sure of anything (except that I would never entrust Gaius Baltar with my children --or even a cat, for that matter), you always have new questions, you always want to know how they're gonna survive because, help, everyone is going crazy and what the fuck are you thinking, people!! And all this happens... IN SPACE!
Yeah, I definitely love it.
A couple of elements I truly enjoy and like about BSG:
• The Vipers
Fabulous thing in a fabulous space
Sob, they're so cool. They make me want to play Starfox again.
• Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
<333
To be honest, at the beginning I though she was going to be that kind of female character the writers try to make look strong and "like a man" but in the end she's just a dickhead. I'm very happy to say I was completely wrong! She's amazing, she's cool, she's a bit too... ehm, passionate at times, and quite impulsive. But I really like her.
And she makes the best "what the fracking frack even, why do I still try" faces.
Poor girl.
• Lee "Apollo" Adama
Pollo pulling a Blue Steel
Sometimes a bit cocky, sometimes you just want to kick him in the balls, but! When he follows his heart can do good things. Or not so good, but I kind of grew fond of him for some reason.
We started calling him affectionately "Pollo". Literally it means "chicken" in italian, but it doesn't mean he's scared of everything. More something like... exactly what Apollo is. Sometimes foolish, but in a good way. Or at least, that's what he believes u__u.
• Karl "Helo" Agathon (I had to google his real name. Whaaat)
Hopeless and adorable
Such a good-hearted fool. Such a cute giant. Poor guy, really.
That's all for now. See you when I've finished the second season!
17 July 2013
If the normal sweat rate of an adult is 10lt per day, at the moment mine is 20lt
England is melting and so am I.
My body can't tolerate these high temperatures, as it keeps forgetting that I come from sunny Italy.
Expat Italians often complain about the weather here, so at least I hope those people will take this as a chance to shut their mouths and finally enjoy the summer.
Complaining might be part of the human nature, but it's a bigger part of the Italian nature. I can't say I'm guilty free here. I don't really like complaining too much, but you know, in Italy it's often a way to start a conversation!
I think I noticed the difference much more since I started living in London.
To make you an example, thanks to a friend I ended up on this online magazine for fans of the Italian culture and language today. It's always intriguing to see how we are perceived by other cultures, so I decided to navigate around a bit... and when I found the language lessons I couldn't be more excited!
Being a languages fan (I wish I could speak them all... if only I had a babelfish in my ear!) and having tried to study a few of them, I'm sort of acquainted with language books. I never found many books for foreigner italian students though, so when I have the chance to read dialogues and exercises for those books I do, because believe me, they sound quite funny -- and they make you realize how ridiculous you sounded all these years while doing the same on your own foreign language books.
This language article talks about how to talk about the weather in Italian.
I quote the article: "When we learn the basic Italian weather expressions, [...] we can discuss the weather with Italians". You see, technically the sentence is (obviously) correct. It's the approach to the language that's wrong.
In Italy you don't discuss about the weather, you complain about it. The weather is never lovely, and when it is, well it was about time because it rained/was too cold/too hot/too mild all this time, damn it!
I can't say these complaints are totally unmotivated. I don't know about other parts of Italy, but Rome can't cope with any extreme weather, and by extreme I mean everything that's not "basic sunny". When it rains it's a disaster (impossible traffic if you go by car or by bus, delayed or cancelled trains... I've seen it all), let alone those rare times it snow (imagine a post-apocalyptic scenario, but with kids throwing snowballs at you. Yes, a double nightmare).
But it's also true these people complain about basically anything: food, the price of everything, travelling, the air they breathe... nothing's like home. Especially when they meet other Italians outside Italy.
"Wasn't the breakfast awful?" is a great way to bond over your toasts at the morning buffet if you're in a hotel, and "Is the bus ever going to come? I pay taxes!" is perfect for the bus stop.
If you're old enough, you can also add the classic "Ah, when I was young, these things worked better!". You know it's now true, but blaming youngsters for all that's wrong nowadays always feel good.
I hope I got away from Italy just in time not to be permanently affected by this syndrome, but I guess we'll know only in a few years time. If you ever meet me at the bus stop, complaining about youngsters and the weather, please, punch me in the face.
My body can't tolerate these high temperatures, as it keeps forgetting that I come from sunny Italy.
Expat Italians often complain about the weather here, so at least I hope those people will take this as a chance to shut their mouths and finally enjoy the summer.
Complaining might be part of the human nature, but it's a bigger part of the Italian nature. I can't say I'm guilty free here. I don't really like complaining too much, but you know, in Italy it's often a way to start a conversation!
I think I noticed the difference much more since I started living in London.
To make you an example, thanks to a friend I ended up on this online magazine for fans of the Italian culture and language today. It's always intriguing to see how we are perceived by other cultures, so I decided to navigate around a bit... and when I found the language lessons I couldn't be more excited!
Being a languages fan (I wish I could speak them all... if only I had a babelfish in my ear!) and having tried to study a few of them, I'm sort of acquainted with language books. I never found many books for foreigner italian students though, so when I have the chance to read dialogues and exercises for those books I do, because believe me, they sound quite funny -- and they make you realize how ridiculous you sounded all these years while doing the same on your own foreign language books.
This language article talks about how to talk about the weather in Italian.
I quote the article: "When we learn the basic Italian weather expressions, [...] we can discuss the weather with Italians". You see, technically the sentence is (obviously) correct. It's the approach to the language that's wrong.
In Italy you don't discuss about the weather, you complain about it. The weather is never lovely, and when it is, well it was about time because it rained/was too cold/too hot/too mild all this time, damn it!
I can't say these complaints are totally unmotivated. I don't know about other parts of Italy, but Rome can't cope with any extreme weather, and by extreme I mean everything that's not "basic sunny". When it rains it's a disaster (impossible traffic if you go by car or by bus, delayed or cancelled trains... I've seen it all), let alone those rare times it snow (imagine a post-apocalyptic scenario, but with kids throwing snowballs at you. Yes, a double nightmare).
But it's also true these people complain about basically anything: food, the price of everything, travelling, the air they breathe... nothing's like home. Especially when they meet other Italians outside Italy.
"Wasn't the breakfast awful?" is a great way to bond over your toasts at the morning buffet if you're in a hotel, and "Is the bus ever going to come? I pay taxes!" is perfect for the bus stop.
If you're old enough, you can also add the classic "Ah, when I was young, these things worked better!". You know it's now true, but blaming youngsters for all that's wrong nowadays always feel good.
I hope I got away from Italy just in time not to be permanently affected by this syndrome, but I guess we'll know only in a few years time. If you ever meet me at the bus stop, complaining about youngsters and the weather, please, punch me in the face.
16 July 2013
BBQ on Finchley Road
Has it ever happened to you? Sometimes your waiter has a very interesting face, or the person sitting in front of you in the underground has a unique choice of clothes, or someone older than a 10-year-old kid is playing with a Nintendo DS on the bus.
I appreciate when these things happen, but just appreciating is dull.
Think about it: every single person you meet has his/her own life, full of events, hobbies, and many other people. Why should you care about strangers, you might ask, and well, it's not like you need to. But when you read a novel, aren't you reading about the lives of a (usually) fictional strangers? Why should common people be less interesting.
If you ask them their lives may sound boring, but that's just because not everyone is a great storyteller. The job a good storyteller is to take all those little quirky details that makes something fun, entertaining, moving, and make you see them just like he or she sees them. A writer is not necessary a journalist.
Every time I see someone particularly interesting from some point of view, I always ask myself "what are their lives like?" and proceed to make up my own fabulous story about them.
Not that I'm convinced that anything I suppose about them is true --in most cases, nothing is. I make up their characters on my own, with no intention of being faithful to reality. It's just that creating stories is quite fun (especially when you're on a long bus travel and forgot to bring a book).
If I ever publish a book with all these short stories, I want to call it like this post: BBQ on Finchley Road. Why? Who? What even? Well it's a long story... and maybe, one day, you'll read it.
I appreciate when these things happen, but just appreciating is dull.
Think about it: every single person you meet has his/her own life, full of events, hobbies, and many other people. Why should you care about strangers, you might ask, and well, it's not like you need to. But when you read a novel, aren't you reading about the lives of a (usually) fictional strangers? Why should common people be less interesting.
If you ask them their lives may sound boring, but that's just because not everyone is a great storyteller. The job a good storyteller is to take all those little quirky details that makes something fun, entertaining, moving, and make you see them just like he or she sees them. A writer is not necessary a journalist.
Every time I see someone particularly interesting from some point of view, I always ask myself "what are their lives like?" and proceed to make up my own fabulous story about them.
Not that I'm convinced that anything I suppose about them is true --in most cases, nothing is. I make up their characters on my own, with no intention of being faithful to reality. It's just that creating stories is quite fun (especially when you're on a long bus travel and forgot to bring a book).
If I ever publish a book with all these short stories, I want to call it like this post: BBQ on Finchley Road. Why? Who? What even? Well it's a long story... and maybe, one day, you'll read it.
15 July 2013
WIP #01
As I said yesterday, I don't do only ugly sketches. Here's the occasional more serious work in progress!
I love drawing fast food more than I love eating to be honest. And modelling, modelling it with clay too. I remember making this whole McDonald's set with modelling clay when I was little...
14 July 2013
Ugly Sketches #01
Yes I love to draw and I can draw. But who says I can't sketch stuff roughly and decorate then with forgotten Photoshop filters and rainbow gradients anyway? No one! No one can stop me! Mwahaha!
So have the first sketch of what I hope is going to be a long series: tv-man meets daftpunk. (?)
27 June 2013
Battlestar Galactica
How can you be a sci-fi appreciator and never have watched Battlestar Galactica before? Some of you may ask.
Well, let me explain: I suck even at fandom; I procrastinate even in what I like.
Recently a friend of mine started watching the series though and I suddenly remembered I wanted to do the same for a while.
Now, what I've learned about BSG just by surfing this fabulous place called the internet, is that:
• there is a hot blond chick
• she's with the bad guys
• and she's a droid or something because she's too hot and too naked to be true
• the bad guys are usually uglier droids and they're called Cylons
• they sell lots of Cylons gadgets on the internet (I really want the toaster, do you think I can buy it even if I'm not a True Fan™?)
• they do epic things, because they are IN SPACE!!
The blond chick is a bit too skinny to be my type, but I still found a number of reasons why this series could be of interest for me.
• SPACE!
• battles... IN SPACE!
• the fact it's so famous suggests me it may actually have a deep, intricate plot. (Don't get me wrong, I even watch trashy tv realities sometimes, but I just need something good right now.)
• this plot thing might imply that the story is ultimately about the human soul
• and that not everything is just black or white
• that the ultimate goal is not to just to see who's got it bigger
• Space.
• ... SPACE!
Space is awesome, ok?
I'll report my thoughts season by season. I've already started watching the first one (I skipped the miniseries, I know). From what I've watched until now, I can say if I only had time I'd marathon the whole show.
See you soon, space cowboys! (ah no, that was another story)
Well, let me explain: I suck even at fandom; I procrastinate even in what I like.
Recently a friend of mine started watching the series though and I suddenly remembered I wanted to do the same for a while.
Now, what I've learned about BSG just by surfing this fabulous place called the internet, is that:
• there is a hot blond chick
• she's with the bad guys
• and she's a droid or something because she's too hot and too naked to be true
• the bad guys are usually uglier droids and they're called Cylons
• they sell lots of Cylons gadgets on the internet (I really want the toaster, do you think I can buy it even if I'm not a True Fan™?)
• they do epic things, because they are IN SPACE!!
The blond chick is a bit too skinny to be my type, but I still found a number of reasons why this series could be of interest for me.
• SPACE!
• battles... IN SPACE!
• the fact it's so famous suggests me it may actually have a deep, intricate plot. (Don't get me wrong, I even watch trashy tv realities sometimes, but I just need something good right now.)
• this plot thing might imply that the story is ultimately about the human soul
• and that not everything is just black or white
• that the ultimate goal is not to just to see who's got it bigger
• Space.
• ... SPACE!
Space is awesome, ok?
I'll report my thoughts season by season. I've already started watching the first one (I skipped the miniseries, I know). From what I've watched until now, I can say if I only had time I'd marathon the whole show.
See you soon, space cowboys! (ah no, that was another story)
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