Sleep deprivation affects everyone at some point. I often find myself staying up far past what I should as I watch an engaging anime. Even a single night of messed up sleep has mental and physical consequences, especially as we age. Twenty-somethings to 30-somethings have the best ability to bounce back after poor sleep. Teens…
Category: Otaku Culture
5 Steps to Living an Iki Life
I attempted to define iki already. The shorthand definition of iki is “refined, sophisticated.” Of course, refinement today has different connotations than during the Edo Period. Living an iki life doesn’t mean you have to sip wine while watching opera. Unless that is your thing. But why would you want to live an iki life…
3D Print Your Own Anime Figures
Why buy anime figures when you can make your own? 3D printers have dropped in price, so I decided to buy one to experiment with. I used it to make print blocks so I can play around with making my own ukiyo-e and other prints. My workflow involved drawing the design with ink, scanning it,…
3 Tips for Writing Better Fan Fiction
Fan fiction lets you practice writing without the difficulties of inventing characters, worlds, and more. It helps you build writing confidence and experiment. It also helps you learn the pleasures and frustrations of a creative life. However, many frown upon fan fiction as second rate writing. After all, fan fiction lacks quality. It lacks originality….
The Curse of Knowledge: I Know, You Know, Anime Know.
The Curse of Knowledge makes it hard for people to communicate. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing an anime blog post or an academic journal article. We know what we know, and we don’t know what the reader doesn’t know. Worse, we can’t really push our knowledge aside. In fact, this problem makes it hard…
Wordy Wordiness – My Blog Writing Process
It’s hard to write blog articles regularly. Over the years, I’ve developed a loose process I thought to share with you. It may not work for you, and I don’t always stick with it. Some days, I feel inspired and dash off a blog post in no time. Other ideas require days, if not weeks,…