Year End Review: Hits and Misses

Ah, so it has come to this. Half a year of work and here I am, still alive and kicking. I booted up this blog back in June and since then I've had quite a few hits and misses with my posts. One good thing that came out of this is that I've finally developed a fine-tuned blogging tempo, so I've managed to maintain some measure of regularity. That being said, not all of my posts are a hit, and many of them are misses.

So to honor the failures, as well as the glory this year has brought me as a blogger, here are this blog's top 5 Hits and Misses for the year of 2012~ Enjoy!

The Hits

1.  Earworm: 2NE1 - I love You
Posted on July 7 || 11210 page views

By far my most popular post of the year, my review (or rather incomprehensible fangirl flailing) over the music video, music and fashion of 2NE1's I Love You somehow came up on top of the list with a staggering amount of views. I'm pretty sure recurring searches of 'Dara's new hair' or 'Dara's shaved head' were what made this post as popular as it was but there were also a few searches on the extravagant nail art and styling that the girls are so well known for. With this video being one of the most stylish this year, it's no wonder it has thousands of pageviews ahead of the rest of my posts. Read more about it here...

2. Art Post: The World Ends With You
Posted on August 29 || 2692 pageviews

One rather unexpected post to hit the top with search occurrences was my art post on one of my favorite DS games ever, The World Ends With You. In this post I present the above picture of my fanart (along with the uncolored version) of Neku and Shiki, two of my favorite characters in the game. I'm not the best artist in the world, but I'm really happy this post is out there grabbing some attention :) Read more about it here...

3. Wishlist: Avengers Inspired Fashion
Posted on June 24 || 1966 pageviews

With the awesomeness that is The Avengers hitting the screens early this year, it's no wonder one of my more popular posts comes with the words 'Avengers-inspired'. Most of this post's popularity however is attributed to the wonderful styling found at character-inspired-fashion.tumblr.com so if you guys are looking for similar posts, why not check them out? Read more about it here...

4. Jdramas, Sprout and Grouplove
Posted on July 10 || 1540 pageviews

Haha, one of my more shameful obsessions last year was with this Japanese Drama, Sprout, and the awesome soundtrack that came with it. The combination of Chinen Yuri, Jesse Lewis, a whole slew of Johnny's talents and the awesome backtracks from Grouplove probably brought most of the audience to this post. Ah, the power of music and hot Japanese boys running topless on a beach lol. Read more about it here...

5. Review: Etude House Goodbye Pore Ever
Posted on November 23 || 1075 Pageviews

And one of my prouder achievements as a beauty blogger, especially with this review just being posted a month ago is my review on Etude House's Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Stick, and for good reason! It's an awesome product which still serves me well up to now. Read more about it here...

Of course not all my posts were as popular, or as well received as these. At the same time, I'll admit, I post some of the weirdest crap sometimes, and a lot of times I go a little bit overboard. Here are the top 5 Misses, not necessarily because they have low view counts, but for one reason or another haha.

The Misses (but not really)

1. OMGWTFBBQ
Posted on June 2; For the first post

Need I say more?

Yeah this marks my return to the blogosphere with what I consider to be my first real post in my formal blogging career hahaha. It leaves a lot to be desired IMO, and I think I was partially on crack while writing this haha. Not to mention I post a few videos of my horrible singing where I'm about ten pounds heavier than I am now. OH GOD WHY. Don't Read more about it here...

2. Discussion: Japan and Copyright Law
Posted on June 23; For the threat that wasn't really a threat

One of the things I'm most passionate about in life is the circulation of free information. So when something threatens that, especially if Japanese media is involved, I get all bat-crap-crazy. Unfortunately for me though, while I was making such a huge fuss over this, nothing really changed and the world moved on, because apparently the law didn't exactly make streaming pirated videos illegal, just the permanent downloading of them into your PC hahaha. What a dud. Don't Read more about it here...

3. I WON A SIGNED CD.
Posted June 12; For the most overwhelming achievement with a rather underwhelming response

This was honestly probably my greatest achievement last year, aside from the time when I was able to stay in the same hotel on the same floor as one of my favorite Japanese boybands ever and greet them every night when they came back and every morning when they left hahaha.

This CD I got from a giveaway/contest by some of my favorite youtubers, Simon and Martina. I wasn't expecting to win at all when I joined this giveaway, but lo and behold, MY SIGNED CD FROM SISTAR! Unfortunately, not very many were as excited as I was haha. It's like that awkward moment when you're bouncing around the room in a giddy fit and the people around you are just staring blankly into space haha. Well, that's life. Don't Read more about it here...

4. Experimenting
Posted July 15; For Noobish Photoshop and Makeup Skills

At the start of my transition into incorporating makeup and beauty posts into this blog, let's just say I was quite awkward with the camera and abused a few photoshop filters here and there hahaha. Just looking at this picture makes me cringe. Don't Read more about it here...

5. Sembreak Goal #2 Getting My Licence 
Posted October 22; For a thing that never happened

And one of my biggest fails this year ever. Saying that I'd get my driver's licence by sembreak and not actually doing it haha. I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON LOL. I've known how to drive this baby for ages and I can't even do it becaue I'm too lazy to go to the LTO (our version of the DMV). Damnit. By next year I should be driving and completely mobile! *resolute* Don't Read more about it here...

Haha. So that wraps up my blog's hits and misses for this year. Coming up will be a year end review of all the awesome fashion, food and music this blog has come to offer, as well as a special mention to one of the little guys who's made this blog a little more fun to read.

See you soon!
Ada, Signing out.

Art Post: The World Ends With You

Sorry for my absence the past week. TT_TT I miss being able to blog and comment on other people's blogs but somehow I can't even find the time for that. The funny thing is that despite that fact, I still managed to squeeze in a little bit of video game time. I know, I am such a video game geek.

This month I've actually found myself replaying one of my favorite DS games by Square Enix - The World Ends With You (TWEWY).

Because it's from Square Enix it has a very Kingdom Hearts feel to it and I'm a real fan of the art. It's just so edgy and comic-booky. And to make it even better, the character design and development is pretty awesome i my book. The story follows the protagonist, Neku Sakuraba and his journey of self discovery in a parallel universe set in modern-day Shibuya. The fact that it's set in Shibuya is pretty awesome, because aside from Harajuku, Shibuya's probably one of the places in Tokyo Japan that you'll find awesome fashion and all kinds of eccentric people.

My personal favorite characters are Rhyme and Joshua but their fashion in the story leaves more to be desired.

In terms of fashion, my faves would have to be Neku and Shiki though I probably wouldn't be caught dead dressing that way now. In high school maybe, but now? No haha.

So instead I chose to draw, Shiki and Neku in my own style haha. 

I actually posted a preview of this on my Facebook Page a few weeks ago haha. I didn't think it'd take me so long to actually get it colored.

So as you can see, my style of drawing is monumentally different from the actual video game art, but I still think I was able to capture the characters well enough haha.

I really really really want to do some art of all the Reapers + Beat and Rhyme, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to find the time.

Meanwhile, why don't you guys give the game a try? It's pretty addictive, the food art'll probably make you drool and the fashion is awesome - an awesome testimony to what actual Shibuya is like. And you might just pick up some life lessons along the way.

Ada, signing out.

Mixtape Mondays: Feel-Good Music (Pt.2)

Welcome to another Mixtape Monday. If you missed the last one, you can find it here.

In this week's playlist, we continue where we left off, and thus I present you with Part Two of the Feel-Good Music playlist. While last week's playlist concentrated on songs and music we all listen to on a particularly good day of awesomeness, moments of celebration and pure bliss, in this week's playlist we mellow down and chill, concentrating on the feel-good music we all need to listen to when we're not feeling particularly great and need a little picker-upper. That or the songs we listen to to feel a bit better about ourselves and all the crap that happens around us. Let's call this set of songs

Inspirational.

To skip the banter and go directly to this week's playlist, click here.


The songs (and their accompanying videos) in this playlist range from vaguely inspiration to downright life-changing (at least in my opinion) and while these songs might not be everybody's cup of tea, this post will be a little self-indulgent as these are songs that hold special significance to me as a person and the truth is, I can't help but smile (or break into tears of pure unadulterated well-being) when I hear this songs. Let's face it, I'm pretty sure it's these types of songs we all listen to when we need to get our crap together. A fair word of caution though, this will be the first playlist where some of the songs aren't actually in English, but sometimes, it's just the music that matters, and while these songs

Let's ease our way in with one of my more recent finds. Well, not exactly. I've been following this guy's escapades for years - a fair testimony to how Youtube Video savvy I was back when I was a child. This song, Trip the Light by Matt Harding and Alicia Lemke was one specially made for Matt's latest video of travel escapades all around the world. For this reason I suggest you guys actually watch the video while listening to the song. It doubles the epicness and thus doubles the inspiration. Hell yeah.

Matt's other epic and viral travel escapades date way back to 2003 and 2004, and were first released publicly in his 2005 video - the landmark of his viral fame - where he dances awkwardly in different world landmarks, cities and wonders, the majesty of which greatly outweigh his lack of actual dance prowess. I was caught in the middle between this song and video and his earlier 2008 video which was equally as inspiring. But because the lyrics of the song that accompanied that one were adapted from a Gitanjali Poem I chose to stick to this one. This song is inspiring in two ways in a few ways. The lyrics (written by Matt himself) are monumentally moving and the composition work is exceptional. Accompanied by the fact that this man's travels were spurred by a dream and purpose, and we have the makings of a tear-jerking movie right there. I mean really, doesn't the song just make you so emotional!?!? Okay, maybe that's just me. But I'm pretty sure half of you wish you could live the life Matt has. I would probably give an arm and leg to travel to that many places, but then I probably wouldn't be able to dance as well without my limbs.

Traveling dancing man aside, the next song is more mainstream friendly. We Believe by Good Charlotte is one of the songs that is more empowering than inspirational, and while it doesn't exactly start off with the happiest of themes, it holds the promise of inspiration through the chorus of the song.

While Good Charlotte did turn into a pile of crap (debatable at best) a little after the release of this song, I do value the message and for some reason, with all the crap that happens around us, this song just manages to instill within me a little hope. Call me an optimist, a dreamer or whatever the heck you want, I like this song, end of story.

With that train of thought in mind, I doubt any inspirational playlist would be complete with one of the most cliche but well-loved songs ever. John Lennon's Imagine has to be one of the landmark songs that have shaped a generation of dreamers and free-thinkers, and while at this point, it might not be the most original choices for this playlist, I'll go on and include because I might be hanged if I don't.

This song has enjoyed numerous covers, a whole lot of pop culture references and tons of media exposure, and I'm pretty sure it's one of those go-to songs at Karaoke Bars right up next to songs from Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and of course, Frank Sinatra's never dying 'My Way'. Of course, a lot, if not all of those songs are so darn depressing that it hurts to mention them in this playlist. So let's move along now shall we?

One particularly life-changing song on my part was brought to me by my love for Japanese Culture. Some of you who may know me know that this song was one that shaped my life as a teen and if I had the courage to include this song in my earlier So Being a Kid Sucks Mixtape Monday, it would have been one of the first songs there. Angela Aki's  Haikei ~ Jugo no Kimi e (Letter: Greetings to a 15 Year Old) is definitely a life-changer for me.

In most cases I'd only post one copy of the song, but just in case one of these videos gets taken down, I'm posting both. The first is a choral rendition of her song with English Subtitles so you guys get the full gist of it and the second is the official music video. Both versions have their moments, and while I prefer the audio atmosphere of the choral version, the official music video tells so much more with its actors, actresses and portrayal of characters. If you guys are wondering why these are in such bad quality, blame Japanese Copyright Laws. Sucks, but yeah. That aside, this song would have done so well in my previously mentioned playlist, but I'm sharing it with you guys now in the hopes that somehow it'll help in some way. I know that a lot of my readers are still pretty young and this song'll probably help you through a lot of rough times. No sarcasm or snarky comments on this one, just the truth yo.

Leaving the past behind, I now move on to one of my favorite bands, Our Lady Peace and their song (which is one of my favorites as well) Innocent.

Okay, so I understand this video isn't a youtube video but I had difficulty finding the original MV on youtube, and that is one of the more important aspects of this song aside from its striking lyrics. Don't worry, I've still added a picture-vid of the song to the Youtube playlist so you can expect to still here it there. That aside, this  song, like the previous songs, holds somewhat of a sentimental value to it for me. Again, its theme isn't the happiest of themes but like Good Charlotte's We believe, it holds the prospect of a better future and the company of numerous others who have it worse than you do. In fact, this song owns Good Charlotte by a landslide, hands down and its video is definitely worth a watch.

I feel like ending this playlist off with the most meaningful song I've discovered in my lifetime, albeit mostly by accident and at the last place I'd expect to pick up something inspirational from - a video game. This song, Baba Yetu by Christopher Tin and the Soweto Gospel Choir is a song I stumbled upon whilst playing the historical turn-based strategy game, Civilization IV.

While the song in itself is inherently Christian in nature, having derived its lyrics from the Swahili translation of the Lord's Prayer, it is much more than a religious spiel, it's like a symbol of humanity. The song itself is breathtaking and there were times whilst booting up Civ IV for a quick campaign where I would just spend minutes or hours listening to this song at the startup menu of the game.

From its humble beginnings as the title song of Civ IV, Baba Yetu has won not on,e but two Game Audio Network Guild awards and was even nominated for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, where it won Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), effectively being the first video game piece to ever receive a nomination and also the first to ever win. In short, this song is just that awesome and that relevant. It's so relevant that the Dubai Fountain even based an entire show (which is AMAZING btw) on it.

There are no ends as to how awesome this song is.

In all honesty, I'm not one to get so overly emotional over a water works show. I mean, it's just water being propelled at speeds unimaginable to heights almost unreachable. But this song makes it seem so amazing.

Am I done fangirling yet? Yeah, I'm done fangirling now.

That just about wraps up this week's Mixtape Monday. If there are any songs you guys deem fit for this playlist, leave a comment below. I'd love to hear about you guys' awesome taste in music.


To view this week's full Mixtape Monday on playlist mode, feel free to visit my YouTube page or go directly to the playlist here.

Stay tuned for more Mixtape Mondays and comment below for next week's theme suggestions!

Energizer: Powering my Lifestyle

Energizer and Nuffnang power my life through indirectly instilling within me the passions that have made me who I am today.

Sounds cheesy, but it's true.

I remember my first ever portable CD player and the first ever CD I bought with my own money - The First Pokemon Movie Soundtrack. So I'd bring my large 7x7 "portable" CD player wherever I went, and spend the time on my way to school and on the rides back jamming to the tunes of Billy Crawford, B*witched and pre-mid-life crisis Christina Aguilera.

Remember this song?

Imagine me feeling so cool, being one of the very few seven-year-olds walking around with what was then a pretty darn good piece of equipment to be handling. I'd bug my parents everyday about the batteries for my CD player since I went through them like hotcakes and it came to the point that they'd promise me a full pack of batteries if I did well on my exams. Sigh, things were much simpler then - shallow joys being the highlight of my childhood.

It was no wonder then, that I grew up to be such an anime and video game enthusiast. I've always been a Nintendo baby and my brother and I grew up with one of the first ever old-school Nintendo Game Boys. Then when the Game Boy Color came out, my uncle, who was then as much a Nintendo enthusiast as my brother and I were, gave us his for free! Unfortunately for me though, both the Game Boys we owned were unsightly to say the least - the first one being so beat-up and old (not to mention covered with my brother's old Dragon Ball stickers) and the one given to us a rather icky shade of purple. Don't judge me - I'm a girl with taste haha.

But my passion for handheld gaming escalated past the need to appease my taste in color and for the time being, I tolerated sharing my Game Boy with my older brother. When the time came that I had a decent allowance and finally learned how to budget my money, the passion talked me into actually saving up a year of my allowance to afford my own pink Game Boy Advance.

You guys feeling old yet?

I think, on average, when I was an active gamer, finishing all the first, second and third generation Pokemon games as well as tending to my farm on Harvest Moon, I'd burn through a 4-pack of batteries in a month. That's saying something because I'd play almost eight hours a day. Yeah, awesome batteries are awesome.

Yehp, those batteries really did pack a punch. Don't ask my how I was such an addict and still managed to get my grades up, I'm awesome that way. I stayed up day and night grinding my Pokemon, playing Mario Kart and wooing the girl/boy of my dreams on Harvest Moon haha. Don't judge me!

Here are my babies <3

I'm a Nintendo Baby alright.

And then Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance SP, and while I enjoyed the fact that it had its own rechargeable battery built-in, I sort of missed the immediate gratification of just having to switch up your batteries for another round of gaming. But that didn't mean I was letting go of these old babies. Nope, I still use them regularly, even now ;) Hardcore 90's kid FTW.

That being said, I've evolved into a much deeper person now than I was then. I am a writer, artist, gamer, web and graphics designer, aspiring molecular biologist and a 100% fangirl. Even as technology seems to get more complex each day, my tools of the trade are simple and have stood by me on countless occasions. A tablet and a mouse are pretty much all I need in addition to my laptop and its charger (plus some wifi, but that's a given) and I'm pretty much all set.

When my tablet died on me a few months ago I've mostly been doing graphics and art on this mouse and it has not failed me since.

This baby's powered by Energizer.

I've just started as a Nuffnang Blogger, but already I feel the community spirit with all the events Nuffnang has afforded its users. I've drawn my inspiration from a lot of their bloggers, particularly from Xiaxue, Qiuqiu and other bloggers out there. Thus, while this blog has remained inactive for the past two years, it's stories like theirs, driven by their passions, stories and experiences, that have re-instilled in me the resolve to get this blog rolling once again.

And in that way, Nuffnang and Energizer have powered my lifestyle.

Wanna join in on the fun? More details on Nuffnang, their policies, events and how you can become a Nuffnang blogger right here. And for more details on this post and Nuffnang's latest event, click here.

Ada, signing out! xoxo

Disclaimer: I am not being paid to write this post. This post is an entry for the "Energizer and Nuffnang bring you The Amazing Spider-Man'" Event.

Toy Story of the VideoGame Generation

Short post, a quickie actually. Just wanted to share another Disney Movie worth seeing, Wreck-it Ralph.

So essentially I have a slew of new movies to watch out for:

The Dictator
ParaNorman
Brave
Perks of Being a Wallflower
All the Marvel Movies coming up
And a whole lot more I seriously can't remember right now. Whoo, awesomeness.