View high resolution

I will take 5. Suddenly, I’m finding myself wanting to know what the RX-9 will look like. Mazdas will always have a special place in this designer’s (and car lover’s) heart.

View high resolution

I love this game.

"Taking UI advice from Google is like going to SuperCuts to get your hair done before the Oscars."

View high resolution

For being on live television, Bryan is not amused. Neither is his Tapbots shirt.

View high resolution

Today is SummerSlam and it will be my second live WWE event since going to an episode of Monday Night RAW back in 2001 and my first major live event (pay-per-view grade). Needless to say I’ve been quite excited. :D

Above is a poster I made that if you order said pay-per-view you might see tonight.

View high resolution

The final day of Anime Expo was the perfect opportunity to wear the Python-branded lab coat I won during last year’s Django Dash. There’s not much else to say other than the fact that I’m wearing a lab coat.

from textiles.labcoat import instant_knowledge

Done.

The closest I’ll probably ever come to having as much energy as Jeff Croft during a karaoke session. Granted, we were on a “game show” of sorts. The flailing around that you see there was the cause of me choosing charades as a category and the song “All Master’s Rap” from Parappa the Rapper.

Jen had gone before me and drew the category “happy fun time” which subjected her to a song that was sung at a ridiculously high pace. Unfortunately, we were both knocked out in the 2nd round of play—just like the American and Mexican soccer teams.

Playing these games made me wish that the web community had a place to do this… or the J-pop community.

Shashin

Shashin (しゃしん) is the Japanese word for photograph.

Today was the first day of Anime Expo, and I did a good deed.

The day started early, with little sleep. While we had initially gone to today’s festivities for reasons I’ve talked about in the past, we found ourselves sitting in a line for a super group that neither of us were really huge fans of—Jen more than myself. I used the words “out of my element” a lot during the day.

I didn’t have anything of my own sign-worthy items, and getting the idols to sign a conference booklet or a badge felt a bit of a waste. So rather than being an overgrown Asian paperweight, I decided to make myself useful. I turned around and spotted a tourist Japanese family and approached them to ask if they had any additional items that I could have signed for them.

That turned out to be harder than it sounds. You see, the family didn’t speak any English. So I did what any panicked person would do, I called Jen over to try and translate. She spoke as best she could and eventually got the message across.

The father turned to his daughter, Yui, and asked her the same question. She picked up one of the many small photo books she had around her, took out the book’s cardboard cover and handed it to her dad who then handed it to me with a large smile on his face. I received the card with a smile and continued to wait.

A number of good deeds happened afterwards.

Jen, for instance, who was unable to buy any merchandise for signing since the exhibitor’s hall was closed was given two photos by a Japanese fan for whom whose friend I saved a spot.

While everything started a bit off-of-schedule, we quickly found ourselves inside the large room waiting for signatures from eight of the 16 girls that had arrived from Japan. With more cameras rolling than girls to film, we started on our path. This would be the 4th time I had gone through the idol autograph process and the first time I was utterly clueless. Now, the past three times, I knew enough about the idol to make varied comments to each. Granted, every time I actually went up to them, I would forget all of that.

I followed Jen through the line of idols, many of which were bubbly and more than eager to attempt to start a conversation. Near the end, we heard the burly security guards behind the girls say that the hour allotted for autographs had ended. So we headed out of the double doors to the sight of many a fan crushed by the words that tonight wouldn’t be the night they would have their merchandise autographed or their hands shaken.

But one young girl was able to get not one, but two sets of autographs.

We waited for Yui and her mother while they finished up, promptly handed her the card, exchanged remarks and went our separate ways.

It was a great feeling. It was also a great way to end a very memorable first day of 2010’s Anime Expo. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch the family tomorrow, so I can return the marker I had forgotten they had lent me.

Bleachers

Photo by Jim

About a month ago, I took a chance and starting writing for the Bleacher Report. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a site that allows its users (after being approved of course) to write articles about current events in sports. The editing community is very supportive and the readers just as much. It’s an easy way to be that captivating analyst without having to start from scratch with say, a blog.

So, six articles later, I can say that I’ve been having a hell of a lot of fun with it. Dare I say the feeling I get when writing and commenting on the WWE is very similar to that of when I first started blogging about the web and design.

It’s a brave new world that I’ve never seen myself actually analyzing and speculating about.

But in the end, it adds that many more differences between me and the people I call companions and comrades. I feel like I’m starting to move on, like I’m starting to do more with regards to design and speak less about it. While I could easily say that I don’t care, I’d be lying.

I’ve talked in the past about becoming “irrelevant” to the design community, and that process is only accelerating with choices like this. Who knows, maybe I’m just out of practice. But to deny myself of such opportunities for the sake of being “relevant” would be a lie to myself.

I am a man of many passions and I think I just have to finally come to the realization that it’s not a bad thing.

Goodbye

While there’s so much I could possibly say about LOST, writing it all would seriously dilute the simple feeling of what this serious has meant to me over the past 6 years. Never has a single series elicited every single emotion possible from me. Wonder, amazement, anger, sadness, confusion—and the list goes on. Never again will I ever consistently curse at my TV.

We were at an expo while finale played out. So when we got home at 3 AM, needless to say, we were thrown awake by it. When it came to an end and the LOST logo slowly faded in, I couldn’t help but tear up, saying:

It’s over, I didn’t want it to be over.

How did I feel? Content. Sad, but content. It ended in the same exact way it started—beautiful and extremely well executed.

With that said, goodbye and thank you for the years of memories.

View high resolution

In the immortal words of Tony Stark, “Can I have one?”

If you’re a fan of the original MegaMan series and you have 90 minutes to spare—you should really watch this.

FEEEEEERRRRRNT

Bryan:	Man, summer is going to suck for me this year.
Bryan:	I am seriously emitting heat.
Bryan:	It's supposedly only like... 72º, but it feels like 80º+.
Greg:	haha. you'll get used to it... if you spend some time outside
Bryan:	Outside? I don't comprehend. D:
Greg:	dood. it's 89 here and 91 tomorrow!
Greg:	ROFL
Bryan:	:P
Bryan:	Well, I guess the fact that I sit on a leather couch all day doesn't help. ._.
Greg:	nooooo
Greg:	just don't fart on it
Greg:	or do!
Greg:	LOUD
Bryan:	D:
Greg:	FEEEEEERRRRRNT
Bryan:	I can smell that from here.
Bryan:	GEEZ.

"As a long-time H!P fan who has always desired a site like this, I’m thrilled to see that this is becoming such a cool reality."

A fan interested in Hello! Ranking’s beta replying to an email I had sent all of the interested parties earlier today.

Motivation++