MEGANE DANSHI

Archive for the ‘my life’ Category

Merry Christmas with Franken Stein!

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Merry Christmas everyone! I wanted to do another desktop background for ya’ll, but I couldn’t decide which character to use. Then, lo’ , a friend of mine gave me a present: Lego Harry Potter 1-4 and a Professor Stein keychain. Alas, inspiration! So this year’s theme is Soul Eater’s Dr./ Professor Franken Stein.

Then, as crazy as it sounds, I was telling another friend of mine about my stroke of brilliance. He replied with, “oh, well, I actually got you a Stein keychain too…” Turns out it’s a different one than these two, so I’ll have 3 by the end of Monday. Yay!

If you’re curious: I have them dangling off my purse, as I broke the zipper pull once upon a long time ago, and I bought the [top one] to replace it. Then I got the second and just clipped it in. The third will be joining them as well.

So I hope everyone has had a fantastic Christmas. I got a sushi making kit and sushi setting for two, as well as a book to teach myself Japanese. There was also a really nifty sweater and a Black Bean Mameshiba.

So, here it is at last. Please feel free to download it and use it as your background! Merry Christmas!!

Tags: Soul Eater, stein
Posted in my life | No Comments »

Transformation Complete!

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

It’s official! MeganeDanshi.com is live!

All of the major cosmetic changes are complete, however I’m still tweaking a few things (and I haven’t even touched the footer yet). There will be bugs, so I apologize in advance. To see the previous blog, it’s still alive at meganedanshi.wordpress.com. It’ll stay up for another month or so, but byMarch, it’ll be gone.

Enjoy!

 

Tags: news
Posted in my life | No Comments »

Happy 50th Post!

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Woo Hoo! Fifty Posts!  This blog, which I opened the first week of April 2011, just 6 short months ago, is doing so much better than I could have ever anticipated. I’m clocking between 100-200 hits a day, and to me, that’s impressive!

Thank  You Everyone!

I was trying to rack my brains for what I could do for a 50th post special, and I wanted it to be something pretty awesome. It dawned on me while I was staring at my desktop screen during the thinking session. Quite awhile ago, I was looking for a desktop background, and I wasn’t happy with any of the ones I found. Then I remembered that I’m a graphic designer and made my own. Ha! You can see it here on the right. It’s based around the part in episode 24 of Ouran Highschool Host Club when Kyoya has his epiphany. Right after, Tamaki remarks with, “Wow. Your face, it looks evil. So you’re finally showing your true colors.” The blooming flower painting represents the mural he ended up painting on the wall of his thoughts above the framed “canvas” that he was given in life to “paint the perfect picture.”

So I’ve created a thank you present for everyone who visits the site: a megane danshi desktop background. I’ve included Jade Curtiss (from Tales of the Abyss) and Kabuto Yakushi (from Naruto) along with Kyoya. It features my old tag line for the site “for the love of boys with glasses,” and has the same tea stain ring and ink splatters. It’s 1600 x 1200. To download it, click the image to the right, and it should appear in full screen for you to right-click and “save as.”

Enjoy!

 

Tags: jade curtiss, kabuto yakushi, kyoya ootori, megane danshi
Posted in my life | 2 Comments »

Halloween 2011, Nyan Cat

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Forget what I said before about Lara Croft and Peach in regards to my cosplay for Halloween this year. I have stumbled on the most epic idea: Nyan Cat. Damn straight. It’s good for a warmer option, because it involves pants and a long sleeve shirt, and I have an indoor/outdoor Halloween party to go to the weekend before, plus taking my niece out trick or treating on Halloween.

If you don’t know what Nyan Cat is, then I suggest you google (Haha, I’ve always wanted a reason to “let me google that for you!”) or youtube it for all it’s glory. It is hilariously awesome and extraordinarily catchy. Plus who doesn’t love cats, poptarts, and rainbows?

Well, I was skyping with a friend of mine, and as our conversation began to lull, he started playing Nyan Cat. That was two nights ago and I’ve had the song stuck in my head since then. So I start googling cool things people have done with Nyan Cat. I stumbled upon other people’s ‘cardboard’ Nyan Cat cosplays and thought, I could do much better than that. May the Nyan Cat cosplay commence!

I’ve sketched my costume quickly, and without a tablet, in Photoshop to give ya’ll an idea. It starts with a base of a gray long sleeved shirt, leggings, gloves, and boots. Then, a most colorful rainbow fabric will be attached either under the back of the dress or as a cape to flow to the ground. I’d wear a tan dress or tunic style shirt which will be “frosted” (probably with paint, but I haven’t fully decided yet) and sprinkled. Then, add the gray cat ears, tail, a little rouge, and there you have it! Nyan Cat!

I’ve also contemplated borrowing my mom’s iphone to attach underneath the top of the dress and have ‘Non-stop Nyan Cat’ on. I would probably drive people nuts, but it would be awesome. This makes me wish I had a smartphone to do stupid stuff like this with. Hahaha.

I’m so excited for this. I can’t wait to post pictures!

Anyone else have cool costume ideas that you’re doing this year?

Edit 9/25/11: I’m going to to do it. I found Nyan Cat on iTunes… and mini ipod speakers…. it’s on.

Tags: nyan cat
Posted in cosplay, my life | 1 Comment »

Inspiration Bracelet

Friday, September 9th, 2011

I know this will be the third post I’ve done on Tumbling, but seriously, like Switch Foot’s “Dare you to Move,” it’s one of those things that makes me feel like I could kick ass in the world. After I finished watching, it made me motivated to start stretching for ballet again, if I ever get back into classes. It makes me want to dance, and it also makes me want be a better person, get out there and grab life. So, to keep it with me, I invested in a “pandora” like bracelet that I can wear. Don’t laugh at my nerd-dom, in this case, it’s a reminder that life is worth kicking ass.

It consists of 13 beads, one for each episode, and two beads for episode 4 and 7, I’ll explain why later. But, each episode, I realized at the conclusion of the show, revolved around how Wataru effects a certain person, and that’s who the beads correspond to. I do apologize, there are some minor spoilers here, but no major plot ones.

Also, if you notice, for some characters I use first names, and others are referred to by their family names. That’s because I went with the names they are called the most often in the show. For instance, Ryosuke is most often spoken to by Wataru, and those two are extremely close. As for Hino, he’s never referred to as Tetsuya except for a instance when his own father speaks about him. Hino’s character isn’t very close with anyone.

Bead 1: Epsiode 1: Azuma Wataru, red crystal bead.
Episode one is a two hour special about Wataru’s joining, leaving, joining, leaving, joining, and saving of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Club. He’s the highschool’s gang leader with a penchant for a good fight, which he can never find even though he fights hordes of guys at once. His lack-lustre school performance has put his credits in the red (yeah, pun intended), forcing him to either take extra lessons or join a club to make them up. Though he’s a rough and tumble guy, he’s got a weak-spot for women. He doesn’t fall in love easily, and when he does, he’s very shy and gentlemanly about it. The new girl, who he fell head over heels for, is a member of the women’s rhythmic gymnastics team, so he gives the guys team a shot. The red corresponds to his crayon red hair that he’s known for in the series.

Bead 2: Episode 2: Tsukimori Ryosuke, yellow crystal bead.
Episode two is about the change that begins to overcome Wataru, and the distancing he starts to experience from his gang. His right hand man, Ryosuke, begins to fall apart without his boss. Ryosuke starts to get into some trouble, doing jobs for a different gang that could land him jail time.  Realizing he’s in too deep, he tries to backout with some very unfortunate consequences. But, Wataru never abandons his friends, and ends up saving his life. Ryosuke follows suit with Wataru and joins the Rhythmic Gymnastics team. The bead is yellow, just like his bleached blond hair that is his signature through the series.

Bead 3: Episode 3: Nippori Keiji, black bead with imbedded aluminum.
Episode three follows Wataru’s left hand man in the gang, Nippori, who joins the club alongside Ryosuke. He has a hard time with the handstands, and something else seems to be wearing on him, as he quits the club and disappears from school for over a week. Fearing he slipped into illegal activity like Ryosuke had, Wataru investigates to find that Nippori’s actions were family related, after his sole supporting father is hospitalized, and he steps up to financially provide for his family. The black represents his hair color, like the previous two ex-gang members, and the aluminum in the bead represents the printing press, which is the business that Nippori’s father owns and which he took over during this episode.

Beads 4&5: Episode 4: Tsuchiya Satoshi, red bead with white splotches
& Kiyama Ryuichiro, solid green bead.

One of my favorite episodes, this one is centered around both of these characters and their secrets which unfold. Satoshi is revealed to have a heart problem since he was little that is beginning to flare up during rigorous gymnastic training. Kiyama’s hidden past with his former gang aggression, which still haunts him, becomes rumor fire at the high school. It involves Kiyama’s, now dead, best friend from Jr. High, and he clutches a beaded bracelet that once belonged to his slain friend whenever he thinks of what happened. Satoshi’s bead is red, like a heart, with white to represent the defect. The green bead for Kiyama is of the same color as the bracelet that was given to him.

Bead 6: Episode 5: Mizusawa Taku, black bead with rainbow flecks.
Apparently gay acceptance is just as much an issue in Japan as it is here. In a twist that is pulled completely out of left field, we find the team trying to struggle with the leaked knowledge that one of their own is crushing on another one of their own. I know this may seem like a pretty big spoiler, but honestly, it’s not. In fact, you won’t be scratching your head in the previous episodes trying to figure out why he has Kiyama’s picture in the back of his book. For awhile there, I was thinking he was some kind of hitman, which could have been an interesting turn of events, granted waaaay out of character. But no, this fits much better into the story, and it’s such a personal issue to settle with a group of close friends who thought they knew you. Once the information was leaked, Mizusawa was going to just peace out, but Wataru brought him back… after chasing down the bus and screaming at him. Fun stuff. The bead has rainbow flecks to represent his orientation.

Bead 7: Episode 6: Takenaka Yuta, black bead with blue flecks.
As captain of the Rhythmic Gymnastics team, Yuuta decides they need to add a more complicated move to their routine for sectionals. The first attempt of this move causes injury to a teammate as he attempts to leap over him. Stained by the incident, Yuuta finds himself unable to tumble anymore, and Wataru, who stumbles on the secret, helps him to overcome it. The black and blue flecked bead represents the nighttime practices that Wataru had with Yuuta to help him overcome his fears.

Beads 8&9: Episode 7:  sectionals, magenta and white bead with white flowers & Hino Tetsuya, silver rings joined together with crystals.
My other favorite episode in the series, which is not as much about sectionals as it is about the events that surround it. Hino, the most talented (by a soaring longshot) of the rhythmic gymnastics club, generally distances himself from the other members. While the original other four tried to get enough members to do group performances, Hino prefered to focus on his own solo. Even after the team gets enough members, Hino still opts out, ignoring everyone else.

As episode 7 unfolds, (and some hints leading up to it) we learn that his father is an olympic coach, and he’s got an olympic athlete for a brother. Those are some pretty tough standards to live by. All his father does is criticize him for “running away” by doing rhythmic gymnastics instead of artistic gymnastics like his brother, though he’s never seen Hino perform. Wataru convinces Hino that he needs to stand up to his father, and at the same time, also convinces his father that he needs to come to sectionals to watch Hino. Well he does, and Hino’s hard coated (eye-candy of a) shell is broken, leading him to actually participate with the team.

Hino’s bead, the silver rings, represents his solo acts which involve him doing rhythmic gymnastics with a set of rings. The pink and floral pattern of the sectionals bead represents the new ‘girl’s cell phone cover looking’ (as quoted by Ryosuke) team uniforms.

Bead 10: Episode 8: Kashiwagi Yutaka, white with black spots.
Come to find out, the Rhythmic Gymnastics team coach is a former champion soccer player, which you find out way before this episode. But now the team starts to realize that it might be worth a shot to hire a coach who knows about their sport, and Kashiwagi hides how upset it makes him, after he went through a lot to gather a box of inspirational materials for them to use for the next competition. Because he’s not skilled in their sport, he decides this is the best he can do for them, and it proves to be more than useful, when the team realizes that he’s the coach they needed all along. The bead represents a soccer ball, obviously.

Bead 11: Episode 9: Kaneko Atsushi, black bead with white circles.
A new gangster starts at the highschool, and come to find out, he’s a childhood friend of Kaneko’s. Honestly, the episode is kind of, how to say… blah? yeah. Kaneko is the lightest in weight and the key component to a high flying jump that they’re trying to perfect for regionals. But he can’t do it. Apparently this ‘old friend’ of his said some moving words way back when and that was how he was able to do a back flip for the first time. Now he’s looking for more words of encouragement from him to do this jump. Well, this guy’s a jerk face, and was sent by the main antagonist to destroy the rhythmic gymastics club, and despite the members being framed for petty crimes and the obvious ties to Kaneko’s ‘old friend,’ Kaneko stands beside him. Then Wataru has some words to say, and so does Kaneko, and you know how these stories end, right? Well, exactly like that. No hugs involved though. The ‘eyes’ on the bead represent Kaneko’s glasses.

Bead 12: Episode 10: Ezaki Shoko, black with turquoise flecks.
I think that episode 12 is the only one that isn’t actually centered around a single person. Granted, the last one isn’t either, but if you go on based who had the most change in themselves because of the events of the episode, it would be the entire team. They have to start to deal with the fact that, yes they’re all wonderful friends, but only the most talented 6 can compete. Captain Yuuta asks the girl’s coach, Ezaki, to “judge” a test, mostly based off the implementation of the triple back hand spring. At first, they’re all terrible at the whole thing, and no one had even noticed when Kiyama was practicing with an injury.

Ezaki was furious that their teamwork suffered under the pressure. And, after pulling themselves together, they were able to nail the full performance as a team. I wanted to pick a bead that still represented someone, so I picked Ezaki who, for the majority of the series, despised the guys team and sought to have the disbanded. Though you slowly see her warm up to them, this is the first time she verbally recognizes their talents. The teal color of the bead represent the girls team’s practice uniforms that they wear for the entirety of the series.

Bead 13: Episode 11: Akabane Reiji (the dueche), black bead with yellow stripes.
I apologize for the vulgarity, but it’s true. Even if his two second half-glance-in-the-distance-while-contemplating-Wataru’s-moving-words face at his final appearance in the show hints at some turning point, he’s still the aforementioned word. A spark of hope doesn’t counter act all of the stupidly mean, arrogant, and jerk faced antics through the course of the series that he played a part of. I’m not going to give any spoilers to the last episode, so I’ll end my rant on Akabene with that. The black and yellow represents his hair, with his bleach blonde streaks. I guess he likes to think of himself as the Queen Bee. Watch carefully though, he changes his hair color and style without warning, and you’ll end up realizing that this new character you thought just wandered in is actually him with an even more emo ‘do.

So there you have it, the full explanation of the bracelet. Think me a giant nerd if you must, but I think my bracelet rocks.

Tags: japanese drama, tumbling
Posted in j-drama, my life | No Comments »

Cribbage nights with the girls got so much cooler

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Can’t believe I forgot to post this. Here’s another Ouran gem I stumbled upon. It’s bad for my game though, they know I’ve got a Jack or a 4 when i shriek like a little fan girl when I get Kyoya in my hand. But Lena does the same thing with Mori. Ha!

Tags: Ouran
Posted in my life | No Comments »

Star Collection Page 1

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Hello Pico-goers! I’ve got a special 4-part (and perhaps more if they get that far) series on the Star Collection book. Though some of them really need a good explanation, others don’t. But for the sake of being thorough, I’ll go through all of them. The number in ( ) is how many gummies you get for completing it. All of these activities will assume you are starting in your own room.

The stars are color coordinated based on difficulty. Pink stars are the least difficult, yellow are of medium difficulty, and blue ones are the hardest. Though, not all of the blue ones are that hard, most of the time it’s luck of the draw whether or not you get trolls in your group. A troll is a person who likes to be a nuisance for their own entertainment.

On the left side of the book, once you click on a star, a small description will appear. In the description, it’ll usually give you a picture of the button/ location that you need to go to in order to complete the star.

Star 1 – (100) Dress up your Pico: There are 8 buttons on the bottom right side of your screen. Between “Buddies” and “Decor” is the “Closet” button. Click it. Change your Pico’s clothes, or not. Just hit “Save” and you’ll accomplish it.

Star 2 – (100) Move your furniture: Within the bottom 8 buttons, next to your “Closet” button, is the “Decor” button. Click it. This will allow you to edit your room. You can pick up all your items or just start arranging. Click on items in the menu to put them in your room. Click on items already in your room to rotate and move them. Close out of the menu and you’ll complete the second star.

Star 3 – (100) Play Daily Gacha: At the far right end of the menu, you’ll see a button that says “Gacha.” Click that and press the big pink button to play. It’ll cost you 100 gummies, and you’ll get a random item. Star 3 secure.

Star 4 – (100) Go to Catalog Order Shop: Next to the “Gacha” button is the “Shop” button. This is the catalog. Click it, flip through a few pages, and you’re good to go. Note, the catalog is not the only place to shop. There’s a full shop tab under “Travel” and many of the shop keepers can be found in their respective locations throughout the travel locations.

Star 5 – (100) Go Travel: On the far left of the menu bar is the “Travel” icon. Click it and head somewhere. Make sure you’re under the “Travel” tab.

Star 6 – (100) Take a photo: There’s a camera icon above the “Shop” button on the lower menu. Click it. You can move the window around and zoom in or out. Once you “take your shot” you’ve got your star.

Star 7 – (100) Use your “Hello” action: On the bottom left of your screen, under the chat bar, is the emote bar. The first one, with a picture of the guy in an orange shirt, is your “Hello” action. Click it and you’re good.

Star 8 – (100) Give Pico Props: Under the “Tavel” icon, under the “Travel,” “Park,” or “Game” tab, you can enter a room with other people on Pico. Once you’re in the same room as someone else, you can click on their character and their profile will pop up. In their profile will be an orange button that says “Props!” Just click it to props them, and you’ll get the star.

Star 9 – (100) Visit someone’s room: Travel to an area with other people, and click on somebody again to show their profile. In the profile, you’ll see a small house icon. Click it to travel to their room. Some people might not have the house icon, because they have their room blocked in their preferences. It’s rare, but it happens. Just click someone else.

Star 10 – (100) “Ring” the bell in someone’s room: Follow the steps for Star #9. Once you’re in someone’s house, you’ll see green button in the upper left corner that says “Ring.” Ring it!

Star 11 - (100) Enter your profile: In the upper menu on the right side of the screen, you’ll see words in blue. Click “Settings.” Enter whatever information you want under the profile tab and save.

Star 12 - (100) Enter the room settings: Under “Settings,” fill out the “Room” tab information and save.

Star 13 - (100) Time travel to the past: Under the “Travel” icon, under the “Travel” tab, you’ll see a ton of icons of places to travel. The right side is sectioned off as “Time Travel” with brown headings. Go to one of those places to complete this star.

Star 14 - (150) Visit the Statue of Liberty: In the “Travel” tab again, find the picture of the Statue of Liberty under the “America” heading and go.

Star 15 - (100) Make a Pico buddy: Head to a social area, and click on someone. Their profile will pop up. Click on “Buddy Request” in their profile to request to be their friend. If they accept back, you’ll have a friend and a star.

Star 16 – (150) Warp to Pico buddy: On your lower right menu again, you have a “Buddies” icon. Click it to reveal your buddy list. If any of your buddies are online, there will be a green person and arrow icon under their house icon. Click it to follow them to whatever location they are at.

Alright, that’s page 1! Stay tuned for subsequent posts on the rest of the pages. Hope this helped, even though these ones are pretty simple.

Tags: pico
Posted in my life | 2 Comments »