So, once again, new year is knocking on my door. This year, I will be home, listening to the music and reading good fics.
Short recount of Year 2013 - hot as hell, bitchy, with wins in fics and fails at school life. Short and sweet, no?
Okay, what really happened:
Accredited as a proffesional masseuse, have certificate to show for it, even though it chomped almost all my savings to pay the lessons
Got a CI surgery done, still have to go to the fitting, becasue there's no definite hearing yet.
Fell in love with Uta no Prince Sama (anime) and it's songs. (The cast was a bonus. Bonus, I say!)
Discovered amazing song This Love by Shinhwa and Korean unique humor. (Seriously, Shinhwa, you are the best. Keep being so very entertaining.)
Accredited as a Logistics Engineer, even if I am now wondering if I was even sane when I had switched the courses. Seriously, what kind of drug I was on? (The presentation wasn't the best, though the amount of written work was honestly massive, both in writing, editing and so on. Next time, I swear I will write only half as thick of the first thesis. And yes, this still means some 40 pages. (Actually, 70, but ssshh, nobody has to know.))
Rejected my first job interview on the basis of not having a haul to the place they invited me to. (Regretting it now, and not regretting it)
Massive work outside - field, garden and orchard (pack-mule capacity too,)
Worked outside in December in short sleeves and didn't get a cold (but man, I sweated as if there was summer! And it was under zero!)
Began with the workout - I swear the trainer is a sadistic ass, and I am fooled again and again into doing push-ups (love-hate relationship with them)
Wrote some good pieces of fanfiction, was seen as a total douche bag for biting some deserving people to death (metaphorically said), and got to know some awesome people
Participated in biting to death the SOPA thing. (I have some life indulgences and I am jealously protecting them)
Posted some of my poems on internet
Suggested a new law in parliament and was politely rebuffed.
Began to learn French of all languages (correction, Mum did, I am here as a auxiliary helper and occasional homework-writer. Merci, mere. )
Overall taught Mum the basics of working with computer (father too, along with installing the needed programs, and combating that horrifying Babylon toolbar - wised up on this one)
Was up until wee morning hours almost 365 nights - okay, with exception of some 30 or 40. Certified night owl, and still grumpy bear when mum bitches at me for my late mornings. only two notable exceptions when I was too hyper and consequently risen at the ungodly hour of 3 at morning. Dammit, my circadian cycles are messed up!
Found out our dog had a mouth cancer and was delegated as a main cleaner of his mouth. (Eww, yuck)
Did some bloody work - slicing cow livers, hearts and so on for our darling doggy, along with plucking feathers from some oversexed chicken (details won't be discussed). Oh, the joys of living in the country
Hm. Looking at the list, I was relatively good this year, even if I thought I was jobless bum at the time. /head meets desk/
Oh-kay, I would've written the list of recommendations and life lessons, but I don't really want to, and I really crave a smoothie.
So, for the next year, theme song:
BACK TO LIFE!
If I ever said "Go Home!"
Everybody here would say "Hell, No!"
All we gotta do is just let go...
We can make it through the night -
'Cause if the party is dead!
All we need is candle light!
And a little bit of dynamite!
Everybody will get out of our way!
(3OH!3, Back to Life)
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Doing, doing, doing... done!
So here we are, surprisingly unenthusiastic about getting the much-coveted title of Logistics Engineer (BA). Looking back, I now wonder if all of it was worth it - I certainly didn't get in much effort sometimes, so now I am growling at myself and wishing I could travel back and whack myself on the head - if that would have helped, sure - /snarks/ to get different results.
I am here, on the crossroads again, feeling as if I've lost something, and gained little. The five years of college, studying kinds of Math I really didn't want to - sure, they were interesting, but I abhorred the tests and exams - writing reports, gathering info, and learning something... new and now I am feeling strangely bereft and just not like I imagined I would after finishing the college. Was it even worth it? i don't know. On the one hand, when i am reading requirements for the jobs, I don't feel nearly as prepared as I had though I would have after finishing the college - I don't think I would have felt prepared even if I had done it with Magna Cum Laude to boot /sour growl/, but that's the reality. And honestly speaking, it sucks.
Majorly.
I feel even more burned because my presentation and the work itself didn't get the highest degrees available - but in retrospective, I did kind of bungled up the presentation - but come on, telling everything in research in measly ten minutes? Are they bonkers or what?! /incensed growl/. Hells to no. I am feeling a little averted from continuing studying, because as much as I am tempted to add the MA title, I am seriously wondering if it's even worth it. You learn, you're tested, you got graded, and then you have a paper that you can do this and that. /miffed/. I am proud that I did my thesis well - for me, it was two years of work, with both successes and pitfalls - I am wondering what would they say if they had known how much work had gone in those 140 pages - nearly getting a heart attack when I found out that part of my questionnaires - a very important one - was missing, missing the thesis because the laptop decided to be stubborn and missing chapters /exasperated groan/, and let's not even mention the massive amount of translating, checking the resources and compiling the whole shebang so that it was a good fit with everything. Honestly, I wanted to howl with injustice. Yup, still fuming a little over this. And part of me balking over the possible continuation of the study is the required writing of new thesis. No, thank you oh so very much. I've had it, and for now, I don't even want to do any kind of serious research. My brain was fried with all the data I've gone through. But on the other side, I know more about RFID than anyone aside the engineers that actively work with this kind of tech. /grouses/ Fuck it, I knew I should've stuck through with my first college, despite the OSL shit they were putting us through.
Now I am here, on the verge of the job search and still with some regret burning at the back of my skull. Whoever said that completing college was an ecstatic experience, didn't have a freaking clue. However, there's not many engineers - especially deaf ones, so I suppose I should be a lil' bit proud of myself.
Sooo... What did I learn in those college years?
Plus side:
Minus side:
Overall, feeling better after getting that rant out of my growly, grumpy little soul.
Signing off,
Eirenei
I am here, on the crossroads again, feeling as if I've lost something, and gained little. The five years of college, studying kinds of Math I really didn't want to - sure, they were interesting, but I abhorred the tests and exams - writing reports, gathering info, and learning something... new and now I am feeling strangely bereft and just not like I imagined I would after finishing the college. Was it even worth it? i don't know. On the one hand, when i am reading requirements for the jobs, I don't feel nearly as prepared as I had though I would have after finishing the college - I don't think I would have felt prepared even if I had done it with Magna Cum Laude to boot /sour growl/, but that's the reality. And honestly speaking, it sucks.
Majorly.
I feel even more burned because my presentation and the work itself didn't get the highest degrees available - but in retrospective, I did kind of bungled up the presentation - but come on, telling everything in research in measly ten minutes? Are they bonkers or what?! /incensed growl/. Hells to no. I am feeling a little averted from continuing studying, because as much as I am tempted to add the MA title, I am seriously wondering if it's even worth it. You learn, you're tested, you got graded, and then you have a paper that you can do this and that. /miffed/. I am proud that I did my thesis well - for me, it was two years of work, with both successes and pitfalls - I am wondering what would they say if they had known how much work had gone in those 140 pages - nearly getting a heart attack when I found out that part of my questionnaires - a very important one - was missing, missing the thesis because the laptop decided to be stubborn and missing chapters /exasperated groan/, and let's not even mention the massive amount of translating, checking the resources and compiling the whole shebang so that it was a good fit with everything. Honestly, I wanted to howl with injustice. Yup, still fuming a little over this. And part of me balking over the possible continuation of the study is the required writing of new thesis. No, thank you oh so very much. I've had it, and for now, I don't even want to do any kind of serious research. My brain was fried with all the data I've gone through. But on the other side, I know more about RFID than anyone aside the engineers that actively work with this kind of tech. /grouses/ Fuck it, I knew I should've stuck through with my first college, despite the OSL shit they were putting us through.
Now I am here, on the verge of the job search and still with some regret burning at the back of my skull. Whoever said that completing college was an ecstatic experience, didn't have a freaking clue. However, there's not many engineers - especially deaf ones, so I suppose I should be a lil' bit proud of myself.
Sooo... What did I learn in those college years?
Plus side:
- I became more independent
- I learned to read bus chart (needs must, and all that)
- I learned to navigate through the city
- Got used to travel via rail and bus
- Learned to do the project documentation (scary shit, but hafta do it anyway)
- Found out that I enjoy writing
- Got addicted to spicy food (Ramen! And Pizza!!!)
- If you are really needing a kick, then T-400 is the right choice (the darn thing caffeinates you up to your gills and over)
- College parties are something else
- Happily discovered the word of manga
- Learned to work with computer and it's programs
Minus side:
- Money has to be used sparingly
- Knowing when the bus comes doesn't always mean you will also catch it ( winter is a bitch),
- Winter is a bitch times two - no, times infinity. Still hate iced roads
- Roomates can be right bitches
- When you have a good idea for story, then you are called for outside work, and you don't get chance to complain (living on a countryside is not a piece of heaven)
- Waking up early is someone's preferred torture method (Not. Me. I am the victim here, ya hear!) Drinking the T-400 the night before just compounds the torture
- Night owl. Me . 'Nuff said.
- Math in all shapes sucks
- Grammar also sucks
- OSL sucks the worst. Honestly, the only torture worse than this is Latin.
- Still gotta learn. And learn... and learn. It never ends!!!! /howl/
Overall, feeling better after getting that rant out of my growly, grumpy little soul.
Signing off,
Eirenei
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Pre-tech frenzy
This is crazy.
Today was dedicated to the final proofreading of the thesis before it gets under the tech review - ugh. Just hope it will survive the onslaught.
Had trouble with my printer /sour face/, but it was all well in the end, even if I will probably have to print elsewhere if the colors don't stabilize - I have some kind of watered down ones, probably because it was - probably - in the toner-saver mode. Too damn lazy to check it right now, but I am a very happy camper that at least black color is doing well, because otherwise the entire document would have gone to hell. I also got the permission for my thesis' theme - yippee - even if it is a little later, but honestly the chapters eluded me something fierce /grumbles/. We have to giver the disposition into the reading to out mentor and chief of our cathedra, first, and this is can tear nerves, because there is checking, re-checking and checking again. /grumpy/.
I thank all the gods and angels for having a good CD burner program, because it saved me much time with burning the entire thing to CD /sweatdrops/. It's duplicate now, and when it will be the defense, it will be triplicate. Meaning, the whoppin' 360 pages, and I shudder to think about the duplicating the entire thing when the defense will be over and done with. Papirology of hell. I just hope they will be merciful and absolve the poor shmucks of the students of it somehow - we have hand tablets for reason, for Pete's sake. /growls/. Would it be too hard for the school to buy some three of six hand tablets as for using them for this purpose?
Right, right, rant over. Cross the fingers the things tomorrow will be well.
Signing off,
Eirenei
Today was dedicated to the final proofreading of the thesis before it gets under the tech review - ugh. Just hope it will survive the onslaught.
Had trouble with my printer /sour face/, but it was all well in the end, even if I will probably have to print elsewhere if the colors don't stabilize - I have some kind of watered down ones, probably because it was - probably - in the toner-saver mode. Too damn lazy to check it right now, but I am a very happy camper that at least black color is doing well, because otherwise the entire document would have gone to hell. I also got the permission for my thesis' theme - yippee - even if it is a little later, but honestly the chapters eluded me something fierce /grumbles/. We have to giver the disposition into the reading to out mentor and chief of our cathedra, first, and this is can tear nerves, because there is checking, re-checking and checking again. /grumpy/.
I thank all the gods and angels for having a good CD burner program, because it saved me much time with burning the entire thing to CD /sweatdrops/. It's duplicate now, and when it will be the defense, it will be triplicate. Meaning, the whoppin' 360 pages, and I shudder to think about the duplicating the entire thing when the defense will be over and done with. Papirology of hell. I just hope they will be merciful and absolve the poor shmucks of the students of it somehow - we have hand tablets for reason, for Pete's sake. /growls/. Would it be too hard for the school to buy some three of six hand tablets as for using them for this purpose?
Right, right, rant over. Cross the fingers the things tomorrow will be well.
Signing off,
Eirenei
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Proofreading Ad(Vices) Times 10
Urrgh. /groans/.
If there was ever a day when I felt like a zombie slash roadkill it is this one. Mandatory visit to the doc, getting the proofreading paid - yes, despite of my nitpicking I am human who still has his own works to get checked if he wants to graduate - it's some kind of a prerequisite, and boy, I am glad I did. However, no one warns the idiots who write their thesis that they have to squirrel away some cash to pay the proofreader with. Some prices I've met in the business nearly gave me a heart attack, and not in a good sense. Got a very good proofreader - my native tongue can be absolute bitch at times, and even if I am fairly literate, I was still gawping at the amount of mistakes made in the document I've sent to proofreader. /Twitch/. But with the amount of written material it was only too easy to lose the red strand of writing properly, even if in only small things like commas and whatnot. /glares at the offending things briefly/. I am very satisfied with Alexa's work - she is professional and blitzingly fast, when you give her enough time - I gave her six days, and she finished in four, which is a very good time, considering she had to get through nearly 120 pages of techno-babble and a half. Which means 30 pages per day, and considering the work requirements, she did fantastic.
Tips when you search for a proofreader:
1) Don't over blow your thesis. Really, don't. The more you write, the more it will need to be proofread, and the more you will have to pay. Be short and sweet, but still write enough to appease your mentor. If you know what you are talking about, and you have a good mentor, it's possible to whittle down some pages from the required amount.
2) Ask around. Meaning, ask your colleagues and if possible, the ones who had already done their thesis works. Good recommendation can save you one heck of a lot of gray hair. However, a warning - look around for a proofreader before you actually need him or her, because looking for them last minute can result in gray hair, higher prices and if you are really unlucky a shoddily done work from proofreader's side, becasue they just had to catch the unreasonable deadline you decided you wanted your work back. it's good if you begin to ask before the beginning of the last year of your study course.
3) Credentials. It's your decision if you will give your work into proofreading a person or company who does this professionally - but no matter which one you take your shine and consequently work to, always check if they have their credentials. The persons employed have to be professors in the language you write in - be that your mother tongue or any other, or professional, credited proofreaders, and ideally, have some years of doing this kind of shtick under their belts. There's also a matter of colleges or universities demanding a professional proofreading, and believe me, it's within reason. Unlicensed proofreaders are rarely up to the par to the work your thesis will put them through, and if you want a job to be done well, check and then choose a professional you trust them to do it well.
4) Offers sifting. You asked around for proofreaders, sent them your document and you received - offers for the job to be done on your precious baby of a thesis. This is like getting a car to the repair - every mechanic states the price and then you consider pros and cons. However, the offers are just that - offers. You are not obliged to pay for anything until you decide to really do your document into proofreading to one or other person or company. Take your time, consider benefits and drawbacks and find the balance you are happy with.
5)Deadline. The dreaded D word. Make sure you give your proofreader enough time to do your monster right. /Ahem./ That means you will have to consider the deadline you have and the deadline to which your proofreader can finish checking your work. So no last-minute deadlines - try to give the proofreader at least one to two days of additional time in the whole deadline deal - for example, you have a thesis with 60 pages, document only. The proofreader can do some 15 pages, 20 if they are pressed, per day, but let's go with 15. This means 4 days of work, you add one more day for reserve - so your deadline is 5 days total, so you will say 5 days and proofreader will try to stick with that. The longer the document is, and if you want your proofreader to edit document, you will have to add more time to get the work done.
6) Additional services. Nowadays proofreaders also offer checking the sources, citing, editing the document by standards of your college or university and so on and so forth. You can get that price down if you do those things yourself - and you will also learn something, thought sometimes Word can be pretty stubborn, but hey, just Ask Uncle Google. Saves a pretty penny too, even if you will find yourself sometimes frustrated over one little thing or another. But if you do decide for additional services, there applies the same rule as with price haggling - get the final price confirmed in writing, with all the additional services accounted for.
7) Downsizing. Yes, you read it right. There's no need to send absolutely entire document into checking, as it also amps up the final price. Just send the document that needs to be checked, without any tables of content and anything else. For example, you have 85 pages, and if you send only document, it cuts it down on 64. Pretty sweet, no?
8) Price haggling. Usually, the prices are already fixed, but if you choose a proofreader - instead of company - you can still haggle the price. Be prepared to barter. Yes, the entire experience is terrifying at first, but if you do your document well, with minimal grammatical errors and give your proofreader enough time to check it over, the price you two can come up with can be pretty reasonable. However, a warning - agree to the price before giving the document into proofreading, both sides, so there won't be any misunderstanding about payment later. The written confirmation is the best, because it counts as a contract.
9) Checking the works. This is the time that warms the cockles of your heart. Or it should have been, at any rate. Before you pay the piper, check the piper's work. Do make an agreement that the proofreader send you a part of the document upon the finishing the proofreading so you can check over their work. Better to be safe than sorry, and if there are any misunderstandings, that they are solved before concluding the transaction - i.e. putting the money in their hands.
10) Do your job. You got the proofread document back, so what now? Get through the whole thing and check the changes, and either reject or accept them. Yes, it is a dull job, but it's the only one that really guarantees your thesis or research work will be worth both of the time and money you put it in.
Whew. I think I completely railroaded from my intentional theme, but oh well. What did I want to write about already? /confused/
Well, hopefully this little tidbit will be useful for anyone reading it.
Signing off,
Eirenei
If there was ever a day when I felt like a zombie slash roadkill it is this one. Mandatory visit to the doc, getting the proofreading paid - yes, despite of my nitpicking I am human who still has his own works to get checked if he wants to graduate - it's some kind of a prerequisite, and boy, I am glad I did. However, no one warns the idiots who write their thesis that they have to squirrel away some cash to pay the proofreader with. Some prices I've met in the business nearly gave me a heart attack, and not in a good sense. Got a very good proofreader - my native tongue can be absolute bitch at times, and even if I am fairly literate, I was still gawping at the amount of mistakes made in the document I've sent to proofreader. /Twitch/. But with the amount of written material it was only too easy to lose the red strand of writing properly, even if in only small things like commas and whatnot. /glares at the offending things briefly/. I am very satisfied with Alexa's work - she is professional and blitzingly fast, when you give her enough time - I gave her six days, and she finished in four, which is a very good time, considering she had to get through nearly 120 pages of techno-babble and a half. Which means 30 pages per day, and considering the work requirements, she did fantastic.
Tips when you search for a proofreader:
1) Don't over blow your thesis. Really, don't. The more you write, the more it will need to be proofread, and the more you will have to pay. Be short and sweet, but still write enough to appease your mentor. If you know what you are talking about, and you have a good mentor, it's possible to whittle down some pages from the required amount.
2) Ask around. Meaning, ask your colleagues and if possible, the ones who had already done their thesis works. Good recommendation can save you one heck of a lot of gray hair. However, a warning - look around for a proofreader before you actually need him or her, because looking for them last minute can result in gray hair, higher prices and if you are really unlucky a shoddily done work from proofreader's side, becasue they just had to catch the unreasonable deadline you decided you wanted your work back. it's good if you begin to ask before the beginning of the last year of your study course.
3) Credentials. It's your decision if you will give your work into proofreading a person or company who does this professionally - but no matter which one you take your shine and consequently work to, always check if they have their credentials. The persons employed have to be professors in the language you write in - be that your mother tongue or any other, or professional, credited proofreaders, and ideally, have some years of doing this kind of shtick under their belts. There's also a matter of colleges or universities demanding a professional proofreading, and believe me, it's within reason. Unlicensed proofreaders are rarely up to the par to the work your thesis will put them through, and if you want a job to be done well, check and then choose a professional you trust them to do it well.
4) Offers sifting. You asked around for proofreaders, sent them your document and you received - offers for the job to be done on your precious baby of a thesis. This is like getting a car to the repair - every mechanic states the price and then you consider pros and cons. However, the offers are just that - offers. You are not obliged to pay for anything until you decide to really do your document into proofreading to one or other person or company. Take your time, consider benefits and drawbacks and find the balance you are happy with.
5)Deadline. The dreaded D word. Make sure you give your proofreader enough time to do your monster right. /Ahem./ That means you will have to consider the deadline you have and the deadline to which your proofreader can finish checking your work. So no last-minute deadlines - try to give the proofreader at least one to two days of additional time in the whole deadline deal - for example, you have a thesis with 60 pages, document only. The proofreader can do some 15 pages, 20 if they are pressed, per day, but let's go with 15. This means 4 days of work, you add one more day for reserve - so your deadline is 5 days total, so you will say 5 days and proofreader will try to stick with that. The longer the document is, and if you want your proofreader to edit document, you will have to add more time to get the work done.
6) Additional services. Nowadays proofreaders also offer checking the sources, citing, editing the document by standards of your college or university and so on and so forth. You can get that price down if you do those things yourself - and you will also learn something, thought sometimes Word can be pretty stubborn, but hey, just Ask Uncle Google. Saves a pretty penny too, even if you will find yourself sometimes frustrated over one little thing or another. But if you do decide for additional services, there applies the same rule as with price haggling - get the final price confirmed in writing, with all the additional services accounted for.
7) Downsizing. Yes, you read it right. There's no need to send absolutely entire document into checking, as it also amps up the final price. Just send the document that needs to be checked, without any tables of content and anything else. For example, you have 85 pages, and if you send only document, it cuts it down on 64. Pretty sweet, no?
8) Price haggling. Usually, the prices are already fixed, but if you choose a proofreader - instead of company - you can still haggle the price. Be prepared to barter. Yes, the entire experience is terrifying at first, but if you do your document well, with minimal grammatical errors and give your proofreader enough time to check it over, the price you two can come up with can be pretty reasonable. However, a warning - agree to the price before giving the document into proofreading, both sides, so there won't be any misunderstanding about payment later. The written confirmation is the best, because it counts as a contract.
9) Checking the works. This is the time that warms the cockles of your heart. Or it should have been, at any rate. Before you pay the piper, check the piper's work. Do make an agreement that the proofreader send you a part of the document upon the finishing the proofreading so you can check over their work. Better to be safe than sorry, and if there are any misunderstandings, that they are solved before concluding the transaction - i.e. putting the money in their hands.
10) Do your job. You got the proofread document back, so what now? Get through the whole thing and check the changes, and either reject or accept them. Yes, it is a dull job, but it's the only one that really guarantees your thesis or research work will be worth both of the time and money you put it in.
Whew. I think I completely railroaded from my intentional theme, but oh well. What did I want to write about already? /confused/
Well, hopefully this little tidbit will be useful for anyone reading it.
Signing off,
Eirenei
Monday, August 26, 2013
SOPA Idiocy Continues
Well, guys, today we have an
excellent topic to chew through. When I
woke up I didn't think I
would have an email in my inbox by one of my fellow writers
warning me about SOPA. For
those who don't know what SOPA is, it's Stop Online Piracy Act, for more information,
look it up on Wikipedia. God forbid
I should be accused of stealing intellectual property. /snarks/ And while we are at Wikipedia, surely
you guys remember the
blackout day (or night) on January 18th to 19th last year (2012). The
Wikipedia staff blackouted site in protest of the
irrational piece of legislature that is
SOPA.
The thing is, SOPA is a bane for the
writers and artists, even scientists and researchers everywhere. Why, you ask? Because it has severe case of
mine-itis, meaning it
directly tell you you shouldn't
play with your neighbor's toy, even is he or she allowed
it. In terms of fanfiction, it means you could be kicked into jail just for
writing an oneshot from... well,
say Bleach, Naruto or
Harry Potter, hell, let's add One Piece
and Fairy Tail to the bunch,
and don't even mention the multitude of
movies and songs and whatnot. Youtube primarily houses
the vids made from animes and if you recall, it also has vids
with lyrics for the songs -
I find them very useful, as I am
deaf, and it's really hard to listen to
the song without
having a text along. Random
song sites are good
too, because I can find lyrics
and then save them for a later perusal if I am in hurry. Hell, even my thesis and research work stem
- because of the topic
difficulty and because I couldn't find the
research material in paperback
editions – primarily from internet
sources.
If the SOPA comes in effect, it would shut down the information
venues mighty quick, just because the
unfortunate schmuck had to use the outside sources. For example, you
are writing a research paper on... shall we say, World War 2, and you found a very interesting site with
plethora of useful data. You are all excited, you get to writing and really,
your paper is just a thing
of beauty - and then, bam, the cops are at your door with – 'Dear Sir/Madam you are guilty
of illegal use of content of this
and that site, so would you kindly go with
us to the jail? Don't worry, it's only for five or six
years. ' What a kind reception of
your work. You should be jumping to the ceiling with happiness.... Not.
You know what that means? The cops
would have to arrest everyone - from the
primary, to middle and
high schoolers to the students and researchers at the
universities because they are using sources without the owner's agreement -
never mind that we students and researchers have to submit the electronic copies of our
written work - thesis and so
on for the public perusal, along
with slaving over the exact citing of the sources. We rely on our colleagues' research to get our own
work wiggling and there are not few examples it basically saved our
asses when we didn't know
something. If we extrapolate it
further, we would be forbidden to
teach the kids how to read and write because oh,
no, SOPA forbid it! An extreme
example and probably won't ever come to fruition, but it's a terrifying possibility. What is the use of education and knowledge if we can't (responsibly) use it for
the betterment of our world? Go
chuck us back in the stone ages, why don't you, pal.
The worst thing is, the act like
this would have global ramifications
- just because we would have to
use a work from an American author, we
could be possibly fined and thrown in
jail, no matter our very pure an
innocent intentions to begin with. You could
be in Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Netherland, New Zealand, Germany - any country, and with
using the American author in your
masterpiece you would unknowingly became a felon. Because
SOPA is just so misty-worded like
this and it can be - with a help of a hell of a
good lawyer - act like a hammer
on our heads. And consider the next thing -
in entertainemnt, there we have Japan, who also uses ... free creative license, in the shape of doujinshis
- douijinshi is a manga drawn by other artists using the original characters from another anime. Not a very good definition, but let's go with this one, because it would
help with illustrating our point. So, we have dudes and dudettes who have a
bright idea that story could be done
differently and do their thing. Does anyone complain? No.(Well, except the hard-core admirers of some animes but that's another
point altogether) They live ever-happily together, and if the said doujinshi is good, all the better. DeviantArt is another site that houses not only original works, but many pictures
of scenes or characters from the movies,
video spots or games and mangas. Without them, the place would be very, very bleak.
Additionally, the sites that
house anime and manga content would be
wiped out. All the hard work of
translators, typesetters, quality
checkers and editors would be for naught. Imagine yourself buying a book, translating it for your
fellow fans or colleagues and then happily uploading it on the 'net, only
to find out that not only it was taken down, because it
was illegal work to begin with – even if you credited the author and
all - you even face the nice jail
time for your generous act. By that logic they should have to arrest the entirety of Google staff for inventing Google Translator. Which is equally absurd.
SOPA is an idiotic, irrational piece of legislature that was written primarily for the benefit of the
entertainment industry, without taking
in the account both global and subcultural ramifications of actually passing the act. Entertainment
industry depends on the masses of
people, and this act is a sure fire way
of slitting its throat. The industry is dependent on people, their likes and dislikes of their products - and believe it or not, some of the main sources are actually fan-generated, from fans to prospective fans that interest them in
particular movie, book and whatnot, and not even once the fans claim it's exclusively
their work to begin with - they always
mention the source -
Iron Man movie, Chronicles of Narnia
book, the Star Wars soundtrack,
the list goes on - they only want to be credited for their own work, be
that vids, remakes or stories. They
are practically the sixth force of this industry, and
SOPA seeks to cull it down, punishing them when they should
actually be rewarded - some of
the works outside are works of art, and
the artists who created them more often than not, don't see a dime from
it's creating - they pour in
their sweat, blood and tears, even exceeding the original work, and
for what? To be spit on by SOPA,
just because they had an itch in their fingers to create something? This is
just like punishing a kid who finished
his daddy's jigsaw
for touching it. Instead of
looking at the kids' accomplishment, you are angry the kid didn't leave the jigsaw the hell
alone, all thousand pieces of it, even
if it wasn't touched for days. So, time
out corner in jail, then.
There is protection of the
copyrights and there is abusing
the said protection of the
copyrights. SOPA is firmly leaning toward
the latter one, and I don't
condone that. Not as a fan, not as a scholar, not as a researcher. I was born with the ability to think and
write, and SOPA
doesn't have the right to take them away. You do that, you will have to strip millions of students and doctors worldwide of their degrees because they violated the copyrights when they cited the findings of their fellow colleagues in their works or arrest
the musicians for using that particular (and well known) song arrangement and throw the movie directors in jail just
because they made a parody of a well
known movie.
With that said, I need you, people -
readers, writers, musicians, artists,
students, scientists - everyone,
to help to overthrow the SOPA legislation.
I need your voices - I want them
to speak up and say stop to the
mindless encroaching on our creativity, our freedom of expression . I want you to stand up and
say it is enough. We are not mindless slaves of the entertainment industry - if anything,
we are the contributors, patrons,
co-artists, and its greatest
supporters.
Stand up! Speak up! Lend us your voice! Let
yourself be heard! Let's stop
SOPA together!
Join me with gathering signatures at
the petition site.
It doesn't matter if you are an American or not - every
signature counts and the more we have,
the greater the chance SOPA will
be ended for good.
Thank you and have a nice day,
Eirenei
PS: The petition is available at
this site https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-sopa-2013/LMzMVrQF
The reading material for the curious about SOPA -
Unathorized Streaming a Felony
The reading material for the curious about SOPA -
Unathorized Streaming a Felony
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Back To Life
Yipes, time flies when you have fun and work meshed together. August is nearing it's end, and really, I almost didn't notice, except for sun up sun down and carrying milk home /sweatdrops/.
Finished another chapter of Fire And Ice, another - Crimson Sagittarius - in works, and biting my thesis to death - yay, it will be finished soon, but I pity the poor sod who will have to get through it in search of information - oh wait, that poor sod is me /double sweatdrop/. I am surprised the chapter was so well-received, but happy, and it makes my fingers itch to write some more.
Oh, and besides having new plotbunnies for Uta no Prince-Sama, I got into Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on the Titans) and I gotta say, this new obsession will probably spawn some more projects to write out /cringes/. Hells bells, this will be a wild ride, but when it isn't? /snarks/. And while we are at that, I discovered a beautiful vid on Youtube - it's superb, because it has very good pictures and the song just lodged itself in my brain. I was up half a night to listen to this, and even if I was half-dead at morning, when I had to go to work, it was fucking worth it /mad grin/. It also helped my interest in Levi Rivaille and his dog - ahem, protege, Eren Jaeger a little too much. /chagrined smile/ . And I will definitely look up 3OH!3 more, because their song, "Back To Life" was one of the best I've heard yet.
Yup, rambling. And now signing off... milk waits for no man.
See ya soon,
Eirenei
Finished another chapter of Fire And Ice, another - Crimson Sagittarius - in works, and biting my thesis to death - yay, it will be finished soon, but I pity the poor sod who will have to get through it in search of information - oh wait, that poor sod is me /double sweatdrop/. I am surprised the chapter was so well-received, but happy, and it makes my fingers itch to write some more.
Oh, and besides having new plotbunnies for Uta no Prince-Sama, I got into Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on the Titans) and I gotta say, this new obsession will probably spawn some more projects to write out /cringes/. Hells bells, this will be a wild ride, but when it isn't? /snarks/. And while we are at that, I discovered a beautiful vid on Youtube - it's superb, because it has very good pictures and the song just lodged itself in my brain. I was up half a night to listen to this, and even if I was half-dead at morning, when I had to go to work, it was fucking worth it /mad grin/. It also helped my interest in Levi Rivaille and his dog - ahem, protege, Eren Jaeger a little too much. /chagrined smile/ . And I will definitely look up 3OH!3 more, because their song, "Back To Life" was one of the best I've heard yet.
Yup, rambling. And now signing off... milk waits for no man.
See ya soon,
Eirenei
Monday, July 22, 2013
CI musings
Well, hell.
First thing first - sorry for not updating. Had a heckload of work to get through first, most notably finishing my thesis (Wheee!), getting through fieldwork and being addicted to Uta no Prince-Sama.
/Head meets desk/. I didn't update in what it seems to be a forever right now /sweatdrops/, even if I do write. But thesis work was a monstrous project - 2 years of work, and 130 pages and don't even start me on editing the darn thing. After I finished the paper monster of epic proportions, I was so wrung out I couldn't churn out one decent sentence, and story was a no-no. I did send an application for a job and I hope to get it, because it was right up my venue, but we'll see. Fields was more or less conserving the veggies, cleaning the fields of the weeds - gawd, you wouldn't believe just how much weed-clutter can gather in one measly garden, but it's true nonetheless - and generally made myself useful here and there.
Uta no Prince-Sama is an anime that grabbed my attention because it was harem-based /yup, shameless/, it had interesting twist and there was music. Although I do admit I likes some elements from manga better than from anime - in fact, the leading lady, Nanami Haruka doesn't seem to progress much through the series, while the boys solve their little troubles via her help. Sure, she does have some of her moments, but still, it could've been better. However, it was worth watching anime, because I got a plethora of new songs to listen to, and the cast's antics were hilarious. Kurusu Syo - the short (don't call him that, or else /reminded of a certain Fullmetal shrimp/) blonde was especially funny, what with his... diminutive - -ahem - stature and his quick temper, not to mention how easily he was baited by Shinomiya Natsuki (the green-eyed bipolar roommate), be that in the past or present. While we are at Natsuki, I gotta admit I love his alter-ego, Satsuki, if only because of the song Orion de SHOUT OUT, because it reflects me just as well. Bipolar people for the win! /evil grin/. Jinguuji Ren (blond-haired, blue-eyed sex - ahem, I mean saxophonist) also has a good song : Sekai no Hate Believe Heart, but Satsuki just grabbed me with his intensity. Ichinose Tokiya, alias HAYATO, called unfeeling perfiectionist, interested me with the Nanairo no COMPASS , and because he's a tsundere to the end of the universe and back /snarks, amused/, His other song, BELIEVE☆MY VOICE, is also wonderful, because it's so sensual. I would have expected that from playboy Ren, but Tokiya was a total surprise. Ittoki Otoya, redheaded puppy of the group was cute, and his beginning song, was also a great one - hard to believe that he could come up with the lyrics for BRAND NEW MELODY just on the fly, but if he was infatuated, I can... somehow. And I like him for ruffling Tokiya's feathers - them being roommates is just a bonus. Hijirikawa Masato, the singing samurai, also enchanted me with his song Knocking on the mind, even if he is so old-fashioned it hurts Otoya's brain and he has some kind of a phobia with embracing a female. In a bid to help him to get prepared for audition, Tokiya had played a woman - kimono and all - and that still didn't help - but gotta admit Tokiya was a superb player in that one, even if I do find his HAYATO alter ego annoying. And then, Cecil Aijima. His song to Haruka was simply enchanting - I liked the melody of Eternity Love, even if it was a bit cheesy at the times. But I love cheesiness, so, this is a plus /sheepish grin/. As for writing, I am seriously contemplating to write a harem story again and this colourful cast of characters could prove a challenge, because they are so different from each other they literally make a rainbow when matched together /snarks/, but while we are at that, I seriously can't see them in homoerotic relationships. They give off too strong vibe of a friendship, and while I admire fanfiction writers that dared to tread in those waters with those characters, I personally can't see myself attempting something like that. Which is strange, because with Bleach, it's everything goes, but here, when the boys are like that.... kind of awkward and likable, with well-developed backgrounds, I sort of don't want to deviate from the main storyline.
As for CI - was frustrated because even if it's a month already, no sound yet. Some buzzing, squeakin' bats in ear, but nothing else. Today I also had a fitting, and the doc said I just have to be patient. I wanted to say screw patience, because i waited long enough, but even I know there are some things that can't be hurried up no matter how you wish them to be. Until then, I will be entertained by new songs and making new stories - gota get some of my old projects kickstarted up again, before the cog wheels in my brain rust too much to get them going.
And while we are at it, there is an excerpt from one of my pet projects, a crossover between KoF and Harry Potter. Yup, went to the dark side. /nods self-importantly/ Happy reading!
First thing first - sorry for not updating. Had a heckload of work to get through first, most notably finishing my thesis (Wheee!), getting through fieldwork and being addicted to Uta no Prince-Sama.
/Head meets desk/. I didn't update in what it seems to be a forever right now /sweatdrops/, even if I do write. But thesis work was a monstrous project - 2 years of work, and 130 pages and don't even start me on editing the darn thing. After I finished the paper monster of epic proportions, I was so wrung out I couldn't churn out one decent sentence, and story was a no-no. I did send an application for a job and I hope to get it, because it was right up my venue, but we'll see. Fields was more or less conserving the veggies, cleaning the fields of the weeds - gawd, you wouldn't believe just how much weed-clutter can gather in one measly garden, but it's true nonetheless - and generally made myself useful here and there.
Uta no Prince-Sama is an anime that grabbed my attention because it was harem-based /yup, shameless/, it had interesting twist and there was music. Although I do admit I likes some elements from manga better than from anime - in fact, the leading lady, Nanami Haruka doesn't seem to progress much through the series, while the boys solve their little troubles via her help. Sure, she does have some of her moments, but still, it could've been better. However, it was worth watching anime, because I got a plethora of new songs to listen to, and the cast's antics were hilarious. Kurusu Syo - the short (don't call him that, or else /reminded of a certain Fullmetal shrimp/) blonde was especially funny, what with his... diminutive - -ahem - stature and his quick temper, not to mention how easily he was baited by Shinomiya Natsuki (the green-eyed bipolar roommate), be that in the past or present. While we are at Natsuki, I gotta admit I love his alter-ego, Satsuki, if only because of the song Orion de SHOUT OUT, because it reflects me just as well. Bipolar people for the win! /evil grin/. Jinguuji Ren (blond-haired, blue-eyed sex - ahem, I mean saxophonist) also has a good song : Sekai no Hate Believe Heart, but Satsuki just grabbed me with his intensity. Ichinose Tokiya, alias HAYATO, called unfeeling perfiectionist, interested me with the Nanairo no COMPASS , and because he's a tsundere to the end of the universe and back /snarks, amused/, His other song, BELIEVE☆MY VOICE, is also wonderful, because it's so sensual. I would have expected that from playboy Ren, but Tokiya was a total surprise. Ittoki Otoya, redheaded puppy of the group was cute, and his beginning song, was also a great one - hard to believe that he could come up with the lyrics for BRAND NEW MELODY just on the fly, but if he was infatuated, I can... somehow. And I like him for ruffling Tokiya's feathers - them being roommates is just a bonus. Hijirikawa Masato, the singing samurai, also enchanted me with his song Knocking on the mind, even if he is so old-fashioned it hurts Otoya's brain and he has some kind of a phobia with embracing a female. In a bid to help him to get prepared for audition, Tokiya had played a woman - kimono and all - and that still didn't help - but gotta admit Tokiya was a superb player in that one, even if I do find his HAYATO alter ego annoying. And then, Cecil Aijima. His song to Haruka was simply enchanting - I liked the melody of Eternity Love, even if it was a bit cheesy at the times. But I love cheesiness, so, this is a plus /sheepish grin/. As for writing, I am seriously contemplating to write a harem story again and this colourful cast of characters could prove a challenge, because they are so different from each other they literally make a rainbow when matched together /snarks/, but while we are at that, I seriously can't see them in homoerotic relationships. They give off too strong vibe of a friendship, and while I admire fanfiction writers that dared to tread in those waters with those characters, I personally can't see myself attempting something like that. Which is strange, because with Bleach, it's everything goes, but here, when the boys are like that.... kind of awkward and likable, with well-developed backgrounds, I sort of don't want to deviate from the main storyline.
As for CI - was frustrated because even if it's a month already, no sound yet. Some buzzing, squeakin' bats in ear, but nothing else. Today I also had a fitting, and the doc said I just have to be patient. I wanted to say screw patience, because i waited long enough, but even I know there are some things that can't be hurried up no matter how you wish them to be. Until then, I will be entertained by new songs and making new stories - gota get some of my old projects kickstarted up again, before the cog wheels in my brain rust too much to get them going.
And while we are at it, there is an excerpt from one of my pet projects, a crossover between KoF and Harry Potter. Yup, went to the dark side. /nods self-importantly/ Happy reading!
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