A Thousand And One

Yet more cobwebs gathering here...

2010-05-29T07:28:00.001-07:00

*looks around*
Yep, definitely some cobwebs--Ah....AHCHOO!
*sniffsniff*
AHCHOO!

*coughcough* WACHOO!

*cough*Have some updates on my dA website...
http://creatorsoul.deviantart.com/
*cough* WACHOO...WACHOO!

(woah...I'm seeing stars...) ACHOOOOOOO!

Things I wished they had told us...

2009-11-29T21:12:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I ranted on here, so here goes my spiel.

This terms has not been good for me......In fact, it's been quite horrible. The only not so horrible part is probably the Anime club (though I sometimes have occasional treasurer fails, they were.....okay fails...). My midterms....on the other hand....
Let's not go there, it'll just make me grouchy and turn into Mourning Murtle....

I remember having a list of things that alumni's of my high school suggest to us. Little nitty gritty stuff we should know and remember for our good. Now being in 2nd year, I could probably make a whole essay on pointers on surviving university/college.
One of which will be the following:
I wish they had told us that staying awake in your class will help you in the class you will have next year....
I'm currently reading up my Chem 113 notes from last year, and only just found out that, have I stayed awake 100% in class, I wouldn't suffer so much in my Organic Chemistry right now...Okay, I'll still suffer, but probably at least some 5% less.

Vancouver winter is not very helpful in keeping me awake...actually, Vancouver WEATHER is not, in it's entirety. Either that, or something is wrong with my sleep-wake cycle. I'm pretty much on the verge of needing sleep on a "20h out of 24h" basis. Sure, I could try caffeine, but only if I want my heart stopped. Either way, sleep......has probably been the greatest contributor to pain this year for me. I probably haven't had a good sleep since......since before summer, I guess. By all means, I can wake up, move around, do stuff. But my logic drive and spontaneous creative drive is going as slow as a dial line internet. At 24kb a second, or less. Alas, not very helpful for exams that HAVE to be taken at my dinner hour.

...If this keeps on continuing, I'll probably need to start thinking about 1) Breaking my own boundary, and going to psychologists again, and/or 2) get my brain checked, whether it be checking out what the heck is up with my sleep-wake cycle, or whether my brain is malfunctioning in another manner, or both.

Though chances are, if anything IS wrong, it'll probably just be something so statistically improbable that no one in the world will have any idea how to deal with it...maybe other than myself, since my existence is statistically improbable in some way.

My love and hate relationship with China...

2009-08-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

...Or rather, despise...
It takes too much out of me to hate something, but I can despise it greatly...

Anyhow, I'm not exactly having a great time behind the Great Firewall of China. In fact, I'm almost bored out of my mind...
Then again, that's because I leech off Youtube for my Otaku(not?)ness. And given that Youtube has SOMEHOW wronged China in SOME WAY...It's currently off the web for us...
...Oh and so is facebook...If this were university, I wouldn't really argue...but it really does blow to be unable to stalk-- I mean, know what tom foolery your friends are up to while you're halfway across the ocean...

But I can't help but be here, because 1. My parents are here. 2. My dog's here. 3. If I don't come here, I won't have access to the treatments that I need...
Sucks to be special biological, tell me about it...
Oh well, let's see what else I can pull from this proxy--

Oh, one other thing about this place...
The locals really doesn't give a damn about your health, and would love to give you lung cancer...
Excuse me while I go and find a gas mask; some yonder gentleman has decided to put me at risk of cancer...

What is this...the Birthday curse AGAIN?!

2009-05-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Apparently I've been having this ever since the day I was born, almost...
Every time my Birthday comes near, I get either have worse things happening to me than ever, or have the worst out of the year...

Let's see...So far the casualties include....
10 (YES....TEN)(?) friendships that could have gone REALLY good...
Countless quizzes, tests, and exams.... (Most recent being my Math Midterm)
My ankles, or some other part of my body...
MY DAMN PATTERNS FOR AE, WHICH IS IN TWO WEEKS

...Not to mention, I have hardly ever celebrated my birthday ON my actual Birthday...the only two times(?) I did was probably all the way back when I was six or something...and that party ended in shambles....And the one I had one with the ten friends, well.....it was considered boring back then for the preteen girls, so they were bored so much...and never came back again...(That wasn't what broke us though...*sigh*).
And then all the other attempts I tried to have....well.......crash and burn....

Maybe I was suppose to be born EMO, because I feel like I've be edging towards being one since...well, whenever........

...Or maybe that's just a result of wanting to be selfless, and yet being selfish (maybe?). Maybe I just want myself to be too much of a saint...

...Think I'll go and chew on some banana peel as a form of torture of hopefully making myself feel that life isn't as bad as chewing that...

...Wait....threw the garbage out just today............darn....
.............................................
==_______________==

Summer school, preparations, youtube videogame addiction...

2009-05-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah...Summer school...

Though I'm taking only two classes, and having no job, I've been abusing my spare time on two things...Browsing youtube for videogame playthroughs, and cooking...

I heart having a kitchen...

Though the only complaint I have is that the closest grocery store isn't exactly great if I want oriental food related products... and having no rice cooker is being a bit a of blunder so far...but I'll solve that problem after I've headed back to Taiwan to import one (probably as patriotic as I'll ever get in my life...rather pathetic on my part, huh?)

Oh, and baking your own bread = YUM...though the bread can't last more than two days, and I hate the stale taste of refrigerated bread...

Now I just need to figure out a toast recipe, and I'm forever away from buying bread!

(And shortly after, I'll start conquering jams...*evil plotting*)

(Note: That I'm plotting over COOKING, what does that make of me?)

Class has been...easy, actually...the only difficulty for me is staying awake in the three hour biology class that starts in the late evening. The good thing? Both the midterm and final are ALL MULTIPLE CHOICE! :D

But they are worth about almost 50% each...D:

Or like...50 for the final an 40% for the Midterm...

Math...Math 200 (multi-variable calc) to be specific, is easier than the 100 level math...(What the heck, exactly...) There's a midterm every week, but thankfully, they've been merciful...

but the prof warned that the final won't be so lucky...D:

BTW, my math prof makes me wanna LOL the first week so much...when I was sitting more in the first few rows and can see him clearly (I've retracted myself a few rows back just so the powerpoints become the center of my attention now XD).

Here's the explanation...

Okay, if any of you have the version of "The Naked Sun" by Isaac Asimov with the cover that has Daneel with his shirt (and chest) open, grab it...

If you don't, here's a link to the amazon buy page...(don't actually buy it, you know....==U)

http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Sun-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553293397/ref=pd_sim_b_5

If you have this version of "The Caves of Steel", it'll work just fine too, I guess...too bad though we're looking at Daneel from the side/behind in that one though...

Anyway, so what the heck does this have to do with my math prof?

My prof is basically this:

1. Take Daneel from the cover

2. Make him shorter

3. Shave his hair off.

No seriously, I mean it....

And me, being the (once?) rabid Asimovian, could barely contain myself.

...Did I mention I had a thing for robots? (And bald men...sometimes?)

(As in a attraction, guys/gals, not a fetish...bet you were all thinking twisted-ly, huh?)

But between the two, I think my prof is better in a way, because he can smile at the very least...

...Oh wait...If you consider what Daneel does in Foun--*gets censored by spoiler censorship*

*Sigh*...wonder if anyone can cosplay him...*Gets smacked by self containment*

So...cosplay...I've got the fabrics, but that's about all I've got....A friend is doing the patterns fro me, and I still need to hunt down some accessories...There's no time left to make them...

So until then, I'll continue procrastinating my time on Youtube by looking at playthroughs of games...

BTW, Atlas (the game company, that is) has some pretty interesting plots running for some of their RPGs...Me thinks me has begin to fall for some of their protagonists...:D...

(Kitty, you do realize you are now OLDER then their average RPG protagonists, right?)

...D:<>

(Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV is at most 18...okay, maybe 19...)

SO?...=_=# I'm pretty good at going back on my words!

(...So you're gonna give up your bald muscular robot who looks like he's in his forties, and who no one wants, probably, for a devil summoner who is surrounded by very attractive looking female demons, with a certain minor fangirl population to fight off?)

...

...I'll stick with what I have...

(Good choice...^^)

Not that it makes you more immune to being paired with other male robots anyway...

(...==###)

...Fanfiction...hey...maybe I should have a look for--*more censoring*

Exam procrastination...

2009-04-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

More like studying procrastination...

Anyhow...I heard that the people back in Shanghai had a great S2F2...lucky ducks you all. If I could sneak back, I would have...but exams caught me. ><#

To be honest, I've been kinda laid back lately, partly because I've had a drought of life minor problems and such, and again accompanied with the minor(?) depression of winter... So I'm kinda in the rebooting mode right now, along with exams and such...

So most of my creative stuff, including my cosplay which occurs in about a month and a half, are all on hiatus right now. Oracle Gene is going through a stage of re-creation (I kid not), because...well, things got complicated, and I think I wasn't doing the actual story justice back then. Not to mention how much of a FF7 rip off it was (if say you turn the thing inside out, upside down, and twist your head 120.9 degrees)...so I'm trying to solve that. I've kinda have a clearer sense of what is happening now, rather then just have the characters run loose on their own (then again, only Dio was allowed to ad-lib...a little bit).

I really just hope that the story will turn out fine?...

Oh, and my supposed nanowrimo needs work too...I was gonna scrap it, but it turns out later that if I did do that, there is no other storyline in my brain through which to convey the message...so it has to be an independent series(?). *sigh*

I...have way to many stories running loose in my brain...

Lalalala...wish I could head back home early...==U

Spring cleaning!

2009-03-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

*Enters with vacuum cleaner*

...Me thinks that if I turn this on, disaster may occur...especially with all the dust...

Anyhow, a slightly late happy spring time for everyone, and if you are currently having your spring break, I hate you, because I don't have one. (Why Canada? WHY~~~~~)

My classes are almost near the end...and things aren't looking exactly the best. I'm not failing anything, but have been getting Bs instead of As...(such I perfectionist I am, I know...but it's necessary for my intended major though!)

So soon it'll be exam time! D:

And my school isn't over yet, because I'm taking two biology courses during the first term of summer, go me...

So, I shall return to my slow and dull spring cleaning...and hope I won't die in the process...

That*cough*may*whizz*be*choke*difficu--*asphyxia!*

Must... find....method...to vent....anger....

2009-03-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

I seriously think this blog is a place where I dump my fustrations, rather than have any other creative usage like I intended it to be (well, it might have been that my creative side have been on procrastination or must-crush-in-order-to-study). Anyhow, this is one of those annoying rant blogs as usual...

The thing is, there are a lot of red tapes here at UBC... and you kinda need to work through them if you want what you want. I'm currently in Arts, because of some lack of chemistry problems (Ahem...your Chem 11 is what I learned in Chem 9 and 10, UBC. <(-_-#)>) So I'm attempting to transfer into Science at the moment...

Problem? Assuming I'll be starting again as a supposedly "Freshman" in Science, I won't be able to take the courses I want...why?

Here's the thing...Science, you fill out your majors at the end of first year, Arts, we fill that out in the second year. So with that being said, I won't be able to chose my courses which are restricted to Chem and Biochem majors, despite being legible, and simply because I not in their major yet...

...What the hell?

Okay, most of you might just go, "Oh, just take a year more!", but I'm not gonna do that...because my study permit is only for four years, and my financial situation would only allow me to go on for four years...that extra year, I'll have to pay for myself...

And unless I can think of a way to make 50000 Canadian Dollars in two years time, my future looks bleak at the moment...

...We need to take scissors to those red tapes....

81th Academy Awards: WOOT!

2009-02-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

...Just to say before hand, the woot is for the host, Hugh Jackman, for charming me off my socks...(I have a thing for singing and charming men). It is in no way related to the winners of the awards, or my experience of viewing the show.

Yes, we know that Slumdog Millionaire stole the show somewhat, and thus everyone else was a little bit left in the poor shadows. I myself am a little bit on the doubtful side on the film's domination, but since I haven't seen the film, I don't think I'm legible to pass judgement at this point...Could have been that it was a typical Bollywood film that took Hollywood by surprise, could be the film itself was that great, or it could have just been pure luck...

Now we do have to remember that the Oscars (insert copyright sign here) is based on a closed voting system. It's not based completely on public opinions, and thus they often give us a kick in the head with surprises, that some (or most) of us will react with "What on earth were they thinking?!"

That does not mean, though, people, that you spend every second complaining in the chatroom about it. If the shows boring, turn off the TV, do something else. If someone stumbles on their speech, don't tell us again. If someone doesn't know how to speak English, don't mention it. If you don't like the music, too bad, and you do realized there's a mute button on the remote, right? And if Bollywood wins, so what? It's not a popularity contest, so your voice is unheard.

...With that being said, would you all just spend the next full year learning to shut up, and just watch the show? I'm trying to enjoy the show, and the chat box right next to me is about to burst into flames from drama over personal music preferences, censored swear words, and the moderator's trying to organize 25 somewhat chatrooms at once, but there are way to many morons running loose to be kicked off completely...

Next time, I'm watching the Oscars either alone, or with a bunch of more educated people that would only go "What? Now that didn't make sense to me..." and leave it until after the ceremony...then we can argue over it...

...Wonder how my Film class is gonna go this Wednesday...*evil scheming time*...

Moral of the story:"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut." - Albert Einstein.

I'll say that 99% of the internet needs to learn part z.

Oh my...long term neglect...

2009-02-14T04:53:00.000-08:00

*Dust the thick layer of dust and filth off website*

Yikes...I need to take more care of my blog...

Anyhow, just a short update on current bearings and such...

Second semester so far has be hectic, and now that we're getting a one week long break, I intend to use it to reset back to academic mode...but that'll be after I've had my fun...

My first self-sewn cosplay is 98% complete! and I'm wearing it tonight~~~<3

Though to say my pattering skills were horrible, and I ended up with the most horrible pants imaginable. Hopefully no one will notice...*cross fingers*

With that being said though, I need to hunt down a bit of stuff...such as bobby pins...and maybe hairspray...or maybe I'll yoink that from my friends?...

BTW, if you are wondering what the heck I'm doing up at 5 in the morning, let's just say I slept from 11 to 2, and then woke up, which almost immediately resulted in melatonin deficiency. Well, at least it gives me time to fully prepare my make up, starting with a face mask.

Some Vancouver update...Weather's in the freezing windy but sunny state, so colds and flus are around every corner...so some boosting of the immune system is very very necessary...in the non-shot form, thank you!

Other then that... Happy Valentines day! <3

Advantage at last! :D

2009-01-26T17:32:00.000-08:00

Advantage of being an UBC student...

Random movie sets will be staged on the school campus sooner or later...

In this case, guess which movie it is?

No clue?

It starts with a X...and not the forth movie of a trilogy, but rather a prequel...(which could still be ironically BAD on the producer's part...)

Still...no? Nada?...

Alright, enough stalling...It's X-men Origins: Wolverine...With that being said, no random fan mobs, poor superstars running loose, random superstars showing up in the starbuck just yet...(which is rumored to happen more than usual, with the that guy that looks like so and so IS so and so)...

Ripped a picture from my friend...

They turned our English department's building into a prison facility...(surprisingly fitting, I guess, and pun intended).

Yes, there is a tank parked in there too...:D

That is all for now...just wanted to show off...(wonder if they're looking for extras)

Edit: Turns out the footage is just pick-ups...so probably no famous faces to be found around...D:

Edit Edit: Lied about the above, there was an explosion involved...as well as...well...Wolverine himself...=^^=....

Punchline: Was too busy with HW the day they had him there DX

Start of Semester 2

2009-01-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

Well, well...semester two has started...

Good news, teachers are a lot more interesting this term, or at least the ones that have changed...

Bad news, alot of them believe that most of the learning is up to you...D:

Oh, and Film History at UBC = awesome, because every class, we watch a full movie, for free! :D

Well...if you don't mind watching the none mainstream films...

I'm trying to concentrate on only one creative pursuit right now...which is most likely going to be cosplay...it takes a lot to sew, and I still don't have some of the essentials...

Gyah... need to sleep now...

Thou shalt not procrastinate...

2009-01-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

...Why didn't they put that in the ten commandments?...

So...I've done all my cosplay related shopping...

...And socialized plenty...

Gain a heck lot of weight which I shall attempt to shake off once I'm back dancing in Vancouver.

...Oh, and the animation project is so so SO overdue...(but there was no deadline to start with...)

...And a really procrastinated and late Happy New Year to all out there...

...

If that was a commandment, I must be the greatest sinner ever...

PS My camera is fix by my father's all-corrected-hand-persuasion! :D

Exams are done! (And now the crunch begins?)

2008-12-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

I've finished all my exams! Yes!

But now it is crunch time for my animation project...D:

As well as going back home for cosplay shopping spree...D: x2

And also socializing...D:x4

...Why are my breaks always soooooooo busy?

Happy, Sad, Happy, Mad, Sad....

2008-12-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

The title pretty much describes my mood since this morning...

Let's see...

Happy: Sees snow outside the window.

Sad: Heard my camera's broken...

Happy: Found out it wasn't killed just yet...

Mad: Found out it is broken...

Sad: Found out that it is not a problem that I can fix easily...

It's the crazy lens error of doom, if you know what that is...

I'm just hoping now that I'll still be able to switch it with my dad, as I originally intended to...

With that being said, friends, if you ever borrow things from me...don't break it. It makes Kitty very sad, and makes them cry too...especially when she has to pay to fix it...

A bit of happy news...

2008-12-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

Great! I'm done with my physics exam! (Which had to be on a Saturday...I should email my counselors and tell them to put this in the manual for this year's graduates...)

Three more to crush! *cries* Why can't you exams just be gone!!!???

For some people...I'm gonna be heading back to Shanghai on the 19th...by the time I arrive, it would be the 20th, of course...

It's been a while...

2008-11-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

Oh my...Haven't written in here for almost a month!

November's a pretty busy time here at UBC... So be warned, those who wanna come... Don't do too much at once in this month!

Sadly, I was trying my Nanowrimo with this...and thus epic failed...T_T

I will continue the story though, I hope... but maybe it needs a lot of editing and rewriting since sections of it is severely rushed and horrible to read...

I'm gonna try and start some projects in December, while studying for exams too...

Luckily, school so far has been easy on me (so far *cross fingers*, hope for the same next term!)

Halloween 2008: Some lessons and some fun...That's life, I guess...

2008-11-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

I've hardly celebrated Halloween before, but this year I did.

It was also the best excuse to start cosplaying!

Now, given the fact that not everyone would know of what the term means, I shall repeat what many a cosplayers have said over the years...

Cosplaying is dressing up as a character, especially those that originate from the Japanese entertainment industry of animations, comics, and video games. As of late, they have expanded to almost every other genre of entertainment. And it is not limited to Halloween.

I went as an antagonist of the comic(manga) call Hellsing. Basically vampires running about lose in England in 2000 fighting against fellow vampires, and somewhere in there, Nazi's got involved...well, it was all planned out before hand, and badly mutilated from history and fiction.

Note to everyone new to Cosplaying, or lacking common sense (like me): People are still sensitive above the Nazis...so unless you have a really good reason to have the symbol, don't even think about having it! (Cosplaying, even for Halloween, is not good enough!)

I'm not really gonna concentrate on that topic, but I have to say this. The reason that I can tolerate the symbol is

1. I dislike the Nazis, but I can forgive them. I was hoping that 60 years have taught people to learn how to forgive and learn from the mistake, instead of hate and continue hating for the next century to come. If you don't forgive, there will ultimately be a day, whether this life or next or past, where your enemy have asked for help when they need it, and you have denied them of the help from you because you hate them...No wonder there is so much apathy in the world.

2. The Nazi symbol closely resemble a Taoist symbol, which is basically the same shape, inverted/reflected/mutilated. And (ironically enough) I was born under such "accursed" symbol...I swear this to be true. Before I learned about Nazis at all, I always wondered why people reacted with such a repulsive manner when ever I draw the symbol... That symbol was my original religion (of which has faded with my family converting to a more Buddhist approach...and is now changed to a point that our spiritual practice is on the verge of being unable to be described in words.) ANYHOW, I don't see the symbol itself as being the representation of evil, but rather, of misusage. Misusage of power, of knowledge, or opportunity.

3. Hellsing, the manga, has mutilated the Nazi party as so much to basically forget all about world conquest (Historians, please correct my horrible history knowledge at your will), discrimination and prejudice, and being a super power. Their whole scheme in the whole manga was actually to kill the protagonists, that's all. I'll confess though, there is quite a bit of violence and gore involved... given that there are vampires and zombies involved...that was expected.

Points being said though, it was a bad idea to even have the symbol...because there are those who cannot tolerate this, or never knew the anime/manga, and hence I'm never doing it again...Those who hate Nazis, and consequently hate me, feel welcome to throw your socks at me. I'm used to it anyway, being a minority in various aspects, almost to a point where my friends considered getting me a T-shirt saying endangered species. Either way, I hope I'll see the day when the symbol will be seen as a representation of mistakes of humanity, and not a symbol of eternal hatred. And there is so much more on my mind right now, I just want to rant a little more before I say some happy stuff...but it won't help anyway, since hardly anyone but myself can understand the complete duality nature of life, it's oxymorons and ironies, miracles and curses. And considering that I fail epically (even more beautifully than a professional ballet dancer can dance across the stage) every time I try explaining my philosophy, I'll just stop right here and stop the whole deal...

...I want to cry now...humans' and their narrow-scope make me cry...

*Goes off to corner to head bang the wall* but then again, some might argue that NORMAL HUMANS don't have a scope even 1% of mine...I'm too nice...

URG......and now I'm too depressed to type happy stuff...!

Black and White Films: Purposefully Lazy, or Purposefully aesthetic?

2008-10-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

After watching the following film on DeviantArt (Yes, it has a beautiful film section), it reminds me of the best film entry for the first Shanghai Student Film Festival. They are very similar in style, especially in terms of the cinematography and composition (Metafor, the linked film above, uses narration, where as Reverie was almost silent). What brings me to write the blog, however, is the impact of making the film black and white in both narratives.

I remember the lesson after "Reverie" recieved best film at S2F2. We students had an almost full blown argument as to whether the black and white effects made it look aesthetically pleasing, or was simply a short cut of making everything philosophical. I kind of just stepped out totally of the argument, because some rather unreasonable and stubborn stance was being made, and hence, voicing my argument would have had no effect whatsoever. Personally, I thought "Reverie" would have never quite had the great impact it had if it had not been black and white.

Black and white films can be tricky; it is like trying to draw a life drawing using only charcoal (Fine arts students should know this well). You have to see the light and shade of the picture, and that takes practice. And because a film is in black and white, the film maker will have to ensure that the lighting is in the right position to bring out the neccessary contrast. If color was present, lighting (whether natural or not) would not such a hassle. Taking footages that are in color, and then DETERMINING whether they are suitable in black and white is also an issue. It will be an aesthetically critical decision.

Another thing about black and white films is that they simplify things down, to a point where the composition of the scene is what creates the beauty of the film, not color. Sure, you can have a sudden blast of bright colors in films and wow the audience, but that is colored films. In black and white films, the colors are no longer there. Hence the audience is forced to look at the composition of the scenes to determine whether they are pleasing aesthetically or not. This especially struck out at me in "Metafor". The composition predominated my analysis of the film, whereas I believe, if it was in color, would not be so apparent. One of the things that stuck out to me was that because of the dimensions of the film, the theoretical points of focus and actual points of focus were often a little off. I would definately not even noticed this, had the film not be in black and white. And it is also the reason why "Reverie" stuck out so as a "peice of art" to the judges of S2F2. It's composition and contrast by lighting were almost (note I say almost) perfect.

With that being said, black and white films could be used as a result to train film students the importance of composition of a scene, as well as the importance of lighting to create the necessary contrast. So next time, if you see a black and white film, do not just call it lazy immediately...analysis and decide!

Recent art

2008-10-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

I must say, I must have been crazy to do this...

This picture took me altogether over two weeks to slowly work over...

Urg...never, ever doing it again!

What I did learn though is that line art on line paper is the worse thing possible...

This art is inspired by the video game, Kingdom Hearts, which I (un)fotunately do not own. The characters are mine, however...as I said...inspired.

Clicky here!

Oracle Gene: The Story, Background, and First three chapters

2008-09-10T22:17:00.001-07:00

For those of you who did not know about this, "The Oracle Gene" started off as an idea for my independent project for the Shanghai Student Film Festival. It was originally only restricted to the trailer version. As of now, it is almost turning into a novel, with a much more complicated plot.

The trailer itself went through several versions and generations with the passing of time and series of unfortunate events (mostly in the form of procrastination). It was originally going to be used with real actors with three dimensional and two dimensional animations. Time passed, and all my actors disappeared... So I replaced what I can of the actors with drawings...over 50 separate pictures, to be precise.

Filming portion consisted only about 15%, and one person (me).

Drawing took up around 40%, from sketching, to coloring, to fine tuning.

Sound related details took around 45%, including voice acting and music composition.

Putting together the trailer took around 10 hours only...

The story itself started off as a dedication to the first ever film class of Shanghai American School. Some of the characters are blatant reflections of the inspiration themselves, while others had their name severely mutilated into an unrecognizable form. I will not reveal who they are (character and inspiration alike), but for those who are curious, you may head over to my Deviantart (creatorsoul) and decipher the names as you like.

When I first suggested the idea to Brian, my close friend and imagination outbreak partner-in-crime, the concept was simple beyond imaginable. It was exactly as the title said, a story about a gene which gave those with it the power of foresight. There were clear protagonists and antagonists, good and evil. As Brian would like to have described it, "She [meaning me] simply took Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children, Kingdom Hearts, people from our class and mashed them together in a egg scrambler." (Just to add, he got me addicted to the first three named in that list.) That was what the story was, nothing more.

After winning the Best Computer Animation award, however, I did not want to stop. I begin to question what is it that attracted me to this story line, and is it really as simple as the title implies it to be. If so, Brian can continue calling me a grand rip off (he has the right to, but then again, so do I sometimes, but let us leave that for another day...).

I wanted the story to be realistic; a reflection of our world in a different system. The same problems that arise from the conflict and troubles that I analyzed through out my high school career. Two of the most important questions that pushed the story onward was "Who did what, and what consequences followed?" and "Did that have to occur this way? What other possibilities could have taken place?"

The story has now evolved into what I would call a reflection of my own struggles regarding ethics, morality, humanity, fate, karma, love, and life... and I wish to share it.

Here are the three sections that are currently posted:

Prelude

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Have fun reading! Leave comments if you can!

S cubed: Supreme Summary Session!

2008-08-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Happy news, I'm back from the haitus! Yeah~~~~~!

University is about to start here, so I'll take this tiny little spare time to share with you how my life has been this summer.

First off, Taiwan is awesome to the extreme. There's no words to describe how my trip back was. I have to say, for those of you who have never visited Taiwan in terms of the central region, you have never, ever been to Taiwan. Forget about the metropolis of the North and the South, that's old school. VISIT THE CENTRAL REGIONS! The national parks are there for a reason!

For those of you with a love of cameras and photography, I challenge you to go to the Taroko Gorge, and go through the national park from the coast, and travel along the high way that transverse the park. The view is more than just gorgeous, and it will take your breathe away, and knock you flat out.

Also, for the cultural freaks, though I personal only found it amusing and good for tourists, there is a cultural park in I-Lan. Though it does not truly represent Taiwan to the full (the night markets might do better), it is still fun to go (especially for some hand made handicrafts as gifts or souvenirs!). If you want to see the true Taiwan...well, go backpacking for an extensive period of time. Even better, move there... believe me, you will never run out of things to discover. Taiwan is diverse in every aspect, from food to clothing, from scenery to relics, from history to development. Sometimes even I wonder how everything can fit on such a small island...

Next off, Vancouver!

When I first stepped out of the airport, my response? There's breathable air!

Okay, I think after living in Shanghai for more than five years, I have the right to declare the air quality like it is amusing...

Next was this...COLD!!!!!!

Know this. When a Vancouverite says it is hot, they mean really mean cold-like-the-winter-minus-the-snow-cold for those coming from between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. In short, cold! You will need a jacket, you will need long sleeves, and you will need something windproof.

My orientations have pretty much all ended now, and really, I am getting quite used to the culture here. I still have a little bit of a trouble with crossing the street (those of you in Shanghai, laugh all you like...), and the pricing (those in Shanghai, laugh again...). Well of course, what can you expect? Thank goodnessly, people in Vancouver CARE about each other! You ask a question nicely, they answer your question. They will ask you whether you had a good time or not. They will ask you whether the food was good or not. They will let you cross the street, unlike in China, where they would brake, hit you, or brake, then swear at you, and if you fight back, a street brawl of the verbal kind ensures.

Okay, I'm digressing (after listening to my cohort leader use that word every session, it is now my favorite). Anyhow, UBC is a great environment for those wanting to challenge themselves. There will be a lot of running and learning and growing white hair as you run about, trying to sort out the problems all by yourself, unless you ask. I had this type of a situation dawn on me when my IB scores decide not to show up. I have already walked over 3 hours that morning, and I forced myself to walk from the dorm, to the English building, to the service center, to the English building, and then found out my scores have miraculously appeared from nowhere! That was bittersweet indeed, I didn't know whether to cry, to laugh, or do something half way in between.

I am glad, however, that I at least have some friends. Though to say, my dorm-mates are not exactly of my type of people. I still prefer that international type of setting, rather than an all-Canadian-based type... with that being said, I miss my friends!

Some creative stuff should be coming up soon hopefully. I am intending to do some animations or films this year on my own or with friends. Hopefully that will not be long after...

...three posts and already a haitus?!

2008-07-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

As the title refers, I'm gonna be off on long term break for the next few days/weeks...

Problem? Moving house...

With another problem? Packing for school...

With even a greater problem? I'm lazy...no really...

...I hope that explains the problem as a whole...==|||

Permanent sign off....

Aaaaaaaaaaand I'm back! =^^=

2008-07-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

After a month of traveling (mostly on a single car), staying at variously places, being blown around by a false alarm of a typhoon, I'm back in Shanghai and typing...with limitless internet XD (you have no idea how happy that makes me)...

But now I've got to move to an apartment with my parents (again) before I head over to Vancouver...it happens all the time when you're not living in you home country, but I still like to complain about til no end...

Anyhow, enough of my seemingly pointless and endless rant about myself and my life. It's not the main point of this blog...

I'll be posting soon a journal about my journey back in Taiwan.

Until then!

=^^= Nye out!

Just to start off...

2008-06-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hi, Kitty Maverick here with a little bit about herself...

1. I am a high school graduate going off to university soon...I'm enjoying my summer right now ^^.

2. I draw, write, create randomosities all the time (even in class...).

3. I can write in English (well duh) and in Chinese... some of this blog will be in Chinese ^^.

證明底家~~~~ 啊，台灣國語都跑出來了。。。－＿－｜｜｜

Silimasen!

4. I have several IDs... depending on what I do, I use them at different situations...

5. I have a major addiction to FFVII: Advent Children... and almost any male character with silver hair will distract me from work (not restricted to the above movie).

Kitty Maverick, signing out.