I don’t really write about PhD-related things here because I generally blog about my hobbies as a form of escapism from my thesis (the truth is out!), but after getting a few requests to share my bibliography, I figured I should go ahead and compile a shōnen ai/yaoi/boys’ love (BL) manga studies reading list!
When I visited my family near Portland this past holiday, I was introduced to the wonders of the Japanese supermarket chain Uwajimaya. It’s pretty much heaven on earth! (Well, outside of actual supermarkets in Japan) In addition to everything you’d expect to find in a Japanese supermarket, the Beaverton location also had a small Kinokuniya bookstore inside, and it was packed full of manga, magazines, Studio Ghibli goodies, stationery, and piles of anime blind boxes. I wish we had Uwajimaya in Brisbane!
Since I had a limited budget and luggage space, I refrained from buying everything in the store, but I did pick up three Re-Ment boxes featuring some of my favorite characters. I held off opening them until now… But I couldn’t wait any longer! Watch my unboxing to see what I got:
If you’re interested in grabbing any of these, the Re-Ment sets are called Hello Kitty Cat Cafe, Rilakkuma Honey Sweets (Hachimitsu Tororon), and Gudetama Cafe. The full Gudetama set is available on Amazon, and they also have singles of Rilakkuma Honey Sweets and Hello Kitty Cat Cafe. If you end up grabbing any, I would love to hear what you got!
Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I edit my Instagram photos and compose pictures for #nerdyflatlay, so I thought it would be a good idea to do a post to explain my process! I’m definitely not a professional photographer, but I have learned some things about lighting, composition, and editing that I take into account when prepping photos for Instagram, and I’m happy to share my tips with you.
If you find this post helpful, please consider buying me a coffee through my new Ko-fi account! It’s a great way to give back if you enjoy my writing since I don’t get paid just to post cute pictures (I wish!). But for now, let me break down exactly how I go about taking photos and nerdy flatlays for Instagram!
Last month I splurged on some Animate Café exclusive Yuri!!! on Ice acrylic stand keychains, so I had to show them off! Believe it or not, this is my first time buying Yuri!!! on Ice merchandise… Check out my unboxing video to see which characters I got! It also includes details on a giveaway to win one of the Chris Giacometti birthday art cards I received!
It’s too bad I didn’t get one of my favorite characters (Yurio, Phichit, or Minami), but honestly the designs are so cute I don’t even mind that I got emo boy Georgi. Remember, if you’d like to get in for a chance to win the art card, be sure to leave a comment on the video with your favorite Yuri!!! on Ice character!
I love how my February Favorites roundup is at two extremes: on one end, I purchased a sticker book that is meant for children, and on the other, I’m perfecting the very boring yet adult art of organizing my clothes. At least I keep things interesting! This month’s post will be shorter than previous Favorites, but you may be surprised to read what I have to say about each one of my picks!
Time sure does fly when you’re busy! Between putting the pedal to the metal on my thesis and the slew of video game releases that came out over the past couple weeks, it’s already nearly been a week since I posted my February Hobonichi Techo flip through video! But since I like to make sure everyone is able to see it, I’m going to take the opportunity to share it here:
As you’ll see in the video, in February I started using watercolors in my Hobonichi Techo! I was extremely impressed by how well watercolor worked with the paper. The paper in the Hobonichi Techo is by far the best I’ve ever seen in a planner – you really can’t tell until you see it for your yourself!
I started out with a cheap water color set I bought locally but was pretty unhappy with the colors, so I upgraded to the Sakura Koi set of 24 watercolors that I’ve heard tons of positive things about from both hobby and professional artists. The brush, which you actually store water in, is really amazing!
I hope you’re enjoying these videos as much as I’m enjoying making and sharing them! I would love to know how you fill out your monthly journal if you keep one, whether it’s a Hobonichi Techo or not!
The impressive 12 in 1 gaming console Retro Freak has finally been released in Europe exclusively through retro game retailer Funstock.co.uk at a retail price of £169.99 ($208.54) for the standard version! Developed by Japanese company CYBERGadget, Retro Freak supports physical cartridges from 12 retro video game systems: PC engine, TruboGrafix-16, Super Grafx, NES, Famicom, SNES, Super Famicom, SEGA Genesis, SEGA Mega Drive, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. In addition, games can be installed to an SD card to be played off the console without the need of a cartridge, meaning you don’t have to be constantly swapping out cartridges or cluttering up your living room with the aftermath of your latest gaming session. To put it mildly, I’m very intrigued!