Ack! Why Is My Computer Like This?!

So for a few weeks I've been trying to upload the (exclusive) videos, to no avail. I've sometimes started uploading them at 1 in the afternoon, letting it run until 8 or 9 at night (!!), but everything I do eventually results in a little pop-up window saying: "There was an error uploading your video," or something similiar. I'm fed up and tired of it, and really sad, because there's no way I'm going to put these videos on Youtube. (They're not bad or anything {this week's was going to be a tour of the Club Level floor of the Naperville Hilton, for Pete's sake}, but in them I'm especially happy and giddy, which translates to idiotic. ^-^; )

Supernatural Summer Tour 2010 (Part E)

Before we get to the main part of the post, I just want to mention that I will be INKPOPPER OF THE WEEK, this Monday, July 26, 2010. Yay! An interview (w/ some of my gorgeous pictures -- not of me, of course) with me will be posted on Inkpop's Blog sometime on Monday. If you're interested, please check it out! Also, I have two new works uploaded there, Loss, which is a piece I wrote this week for a writing workshop's anthology (Yes, I know what you're thinking: no more Buffy? *sniff* I've finished all the seasons.), and Black Tears, my novel. The latter also placed in the Top 10 of the Supernatural contest -- but only an excerpt, as the entry limit was 20,000 words, dangit. Now it's up for all to see, critique, and pick. *hint hint, nudge nudge*

On to the main event! lolz. This is the 2nd part of the in-Coldstone interview (once again, ignore the adorable-yet-completely-annoying kids in the background), and the last part that I uploaded to my Youtube Channel. {Just can't get enough of those links. *smilies*} After this post, it's completely original video -- new, and just for you guys. Enjoy.

This week's buddy icon is Honma Risa, who first played CereCere/Sailor Ceres in the Transylvania No Mori Kaiteban (Revision) in 2001. In 2004, she returned to play the role of Sailor Mars in Shin Kaguya Shima Densetsu, as well as it's kaiteban. This 2005 revision was also the last set of stages before SeraMyu went on a "temporary hiatus." . . . and hasn't come back yet.

Supernatural Summer Tour 2010 (Part D)

Next up, we move down the block from Anderson's Bookstore to the Coldstone Creamary shop. (It was between that and Starbucks.) There we had ice cream and I got to give a makeshift interview
*on a side note, Kimberly, my father and I all had the same exact flavor: Birthday Cake Remix. Cool or creepy -- take your pick. lolz*

I'd come up with a whole bunch of questions -- two pages, in fact -- but got a bit flustered when I found out that there wasn't enough time to ask them all. Honestly, I'm not that fond of being put under pressure, and kind of floundered around, picking questions off of the list at random, which explains why they're not the most insightful or creative in the world -- just basic. In short, the first question that caught my eye got asked. *sorry* But anyway, here is the 1st part of the 2 part "Coldstone Interview." Enjoy!

This week's buddy icon is from the live action series (commonly abbreviated as PGSM here in the States). It ran for one season, from 2003 to 2004, and enjoyed a fair amount of popularity -- what all the promotional toys and items, giveaways, and special events. It even had a special one-day stage show . . . which is where I took the image from. (I make all the buddy icons you see on this site myself. Hard work goes into each one, so they're made with TLC. lolz)
And hey, I even made the post on Friday! Whatta ya know. ;)

Supernatural Summer Tour 2010 (Part C)

More Buffy. That's been my summer so far, pretty much. I've made it up to the last few episodes of the 6th season, so there's only those eps and the 7th season, and then I have to face reality: summer projects. Ugh.
Anyway, this is the 3rd part of the series, the Q & A with the four authors. I have to admit that the questions from the audiance are much better than the ones I asked later, in Coldstone. But then again, the 4 had to catch their plane to San Diego, the last stop on the tour, so my 2 pages of questions kind of fell by the wayside. *More on that in the next post*

More Miyuki. This is either from Translyvania no Mori, or Death Vulcan, I can't remember (since I haven't seen them in such a long time. >_<  ) DV was a bit hard to follow, plus it never had its own album, so I tend to like TnM better. If you have no idea what I'm babbling on about, take note of this important equation:

     Sailor Moon + musicals  + vampires = Awesome

I know, I know. I'm a straaange person. lolz

Supernatural Summer Tour 2010 (Part B)

Okay, so the concept of "Friday" is a little lost on me. I was busy . . . watching a nonstop marathon of Buffy . . . which continued on into Saturday and most of Sunday. *shrugs* But here is the 2nd part (B) of the series (?).
This is where the four authors get to continue their talk (finishing up Derting and going on to the other three), telling about each of their projects and leading into the next part, which is all Q & A. Meanwhile, I sit on the sidelines, watching. ^-^

This week's buddy icon is of the late Miyuki Kanbe, who died two years ago on June 18. She was the 3rd girl to play the role of Sailor Moon in the musicals, chosen out of 500 potentials, and was only 15 when she acquired the job in 2000 (which didn't make her the youngest, since  Marina Kuroki, who took her place, was 12). She played the role throughout the Dracul arc of the musicals, from 2000 to 2001. 

Miyuki died in 2008 at the age of 24. Miyuki's Farwell

Supernatural Summer Tour 2010 (Part A)

Each Friday (until I go away for a few weeks for vacation, and then I'll pick up where I left off when I get back), I'll be uploading a different part of my "Supernatural experience." To make this a bit more interesting, I'll be putting up some that haven't been uploaded to my YouTube Channel (and most likely never will). Look forward to it!

Okay, let's start from the very beginning, the first part of the event in Anderson's Bookshop. This is the video in which I make my grand appearance. (lolz) You also get to hear me speak, which I'm afraid sounds a bit like I'm on something (or a Valley Girl, you take your pick). Gale, the wonderful woman who was at the event -- there was some other lady who supposedly coordinated it, but I didn't see scratch of her -- interviewed me, which was a big surprise. I didn't know what to say! After I say my piece, the four authors take their turn . . . . .

Also included in this special "Supernatural Friday's" series is a buddy icon for each post. None of them are relevant to the posting, but enjoy, anyway.

This week's is the lovely FuminaMoon. She played the perfect Serenity, but was a bit too stiff (and blank) for the part of Usagi. But then again, she had a lot to live up to, after Anza.

Supernatural Summer Tour (Part 1)

Well, it's less than 24 hours until I'm in Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Il., at the June 5 stop on the HarperTeen Supernatural Summer Tour. *excited face*

Once there, I'll have "green room" access to the stop, and I'll get to meet the authors (and hopefully interview them). They include:

• Kim Harrison (Early to Death, Early to Rise)
• Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses novels)
• Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder)
• Kelly Armstrong (The Darkest Powers Trilogy)

I'm planning to capture it all -- well, most -- on video, so in a couple days I'll probably be posting whatever HarperCollins allows me to. ^_^
Here's an article about the contest (winner), that I just unearthed: Supernatural Writing Contest Winners Announced! from the main host site, http://www.supernaturalsummer.com/. The tour's almost over, but if you can make the Anderson stop, or the one after that, great!



If you're there tomorrow, be sure to say hi! *waves*

Inkpop Supernatural Contest

Well, the results of Inkpop's Supernatural Writing Contest were announced and . . . I won! *happy dance* Check out the link here: Inkpop Supernatural Contest

In case the link dies, it is/was a contest, hosted on inkpop.com, calling for stories or poems about anything supernatural (hence the title). Here is the blurb posted on the page:

"Write an entry for the Supernatural Writing Contest by tapping into your inner dark side. Do you have a story about vampires, zombies, witches, or some other supernatural subject? Submit your writing for a chance to win awesome prizes, including a trip to our Supernatural Summer book tour. You don't even have to enter the writing contest to win. If you read entries and vote, you could be eligible for prizes too."

And here is what I won:

"Our grand prize winner will be flown out to see the Supernatural Summer Tour and meet with the Supernatural Summer Tour authors. Keep an eye on the Supernatural Summer Tour for an exclusive content and an interview with our Supernatural authors hosted by our Supernatural Writing Contest winner."

In addition, I've won a mini camcorder (do people still say that nowadays? lolz) and a $100 itunes gift card.

Isabella2296 was the editorial winner, and she will receive a review and critique from a HarperCollins editor. Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who made my winning the Supernatural Writing Contest possible! "Eternal" wasn't that big on the site as a whole, but it won because of all the great reviews and lovely comments you all made! I'm really happy that everyone took the time to read and critique it. Thank you so much!!

In celebration, here's an extra-sparkly MarinaMoon icon for y'all today! Enjoy.

I'm Officially Smarter than 99% of People My Age

Exactly what the title says.

I got my standardized test scores back today, and I'm in the 99th percentile for practically everything (except math, and that's in the 95th). I'm just the teensiest bit happy.


In other news, I've just joined Inkpop, a site for aspiring authors. Pretty much anyone can join, and if you do, friend me -- but mention this post, otherwise I might ignore your request (there are some trolls on that site!!). Every month, the top 5 picks for the site are read by editors at Harper Collins publishers. They give feedback on your work, and could even make an offer for your book.


Getting back to the test for a moment, let me just say that I did not get a perfect score. Far from it. I was close on the Writing sections, but no cigar. But isn't that a little pathetic, that I can do a kinda/halfway job on the test, and still rank so high? I'm smart and a sharp cookie, don't get me wrong, but the whole thing's kinda sad. Study harder, people!


(Then again, maybe y'all shouldn't. More competition for me.)


Do better next year!

InuYasha -- The Final Act

Okay, so I'm a bit of an anime/manga/musical geek.
I love Sailor Moon and all it's creations to death (whether it be the books, animated television series, live action series, or musicals). I also love anything and everything that Arina Tanemura does. Seriously, she's genius (i apoligize for going valley-girl on you).
But another of my life-long devotions is InuYasha. Whether it's the anime or manga, I devour it, it's so addicting. So when it was announced that there would be a second animated series, based on the remaining books that hadn't been animated, I was overjoyed, if a bit skeptical. The series had ended in 2004, and here it was, 2009. What were the chances that it would be picked up again?
Thankfully, the rumour was indeed true, and InuYasha: The Final Act, is real. The same voice actors, music, and animation style, thankfully, were kept. And add to that the fact that there's no wait for the series to make it's way slowly -- painfully -- over Stateside, and I'm just having a happy moment here, all right?
Forgive my blathering and whatnot, and I'll let you get right to it: InuYasha: The Final Act There's a new episode uploaded every Saturday, and as long as you can read and understand English, you'll be fine (I'm not sure whether or not Hulu translates itself between countries).

Have fun!!