News and notes again

I'm making another one of these, only in a different shade of blue, a different yarn, and a different brim. Not telling you who it's for; it's not a commission either.



Give me another weekend and it shall be done - I hope!

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Damnit parts of my university burned on Wednesday night! The affected building at UP-Diliman was Palma Hall, a/k/a the building where all the freshmen go. Luckily, no one was hurt. But imagine the property damage! The affected parts were the Chem Pavilion, parts of the Physics Pavilion, and the sections of Palma Hall adjoining those pavilions. *grr!*

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In a shout-out to a friend - if you have any horror stories about PH electronics retailer CD-R King, kindly point them Every Juan's way HERE.

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I've spammed my Twitter with this and you might as well know why: Share Moleskine Love! Win a Moleskine SET Twitter contest! And who doesn't LOVE Moleskines? Grab a chance to win them for a friend!

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Man, Saturday and Sunday just cannot come quickly enough. *grumble*

It looks like I'm hard at work again....

Although last night was rather *nasty* in the sense of getting blindsided by a massive-ass migraine. Sometimes the word "migraine" doesn't even begin to cover it - didn't that troubled poet Virginia Woolf write an entire essay on it? Man, there's a great line there about headaches - and she would know; the headaches were, to her, one of the signs of her madness....

How come it never occurred to me to see a neurologist for these migraines? Oh, right, because I kept assuming that they primarily had something to do with my *eyes*. So I see an opthalmologist for them instead. I should do something like that soon.

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Having finished the skinny chenille scarf in purple I am now busying myself with a man's watch cap. I really cannot stop myself making gifts for my family but I will have to put my foot down next time - commissions or bust!

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I don't know if there are any BJD owners reading this blog, but I might as well ask, too: how big around are BJD heads? I find myself in possession of a very tiny crochet beret with an inner circumference of about 4in. What sort of doll could wear something THAT small?

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Looks like this blog has been drawing traffic because of the list of influential blogs that I put up in a previous entry. Welcome to one and all.

PJ Goes Pop's Top 10 Influential Blogs for 2010

Writing project home page, rules, regulations, fine print, and FAQs over at http://www.influentialblogger.net.

I've finally gotten around to sorting out my picks for my favorite blogs of 2010 to submit to this contest, hosted as always by the amazing and tireless Janette Toral.

Without further ado, the list.

1 and 2. The MMOsh Pit and Every Juan

So there's this friend of mine who's been blogging for a while, you see. His name is Joel Tan. Up until this year he had been maintaining blogs on Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games and technology with blogging networks and such.

He's struck out on his own, now, and these two blogs are for geeks of every stripe. I heartily recommend both for extensive coverage and insights. In particular, no MMO is too obscure for the MMOsh Pit to report on!

3. Hallucinogenic Java
What if Darth Vader were a Pinoy "salaryman"? What if he had an interest in all things otaku - from ball-jointed dolls to cars to video games? And what if he dropped in at conventions all over Metro Manila to see what's what? Then you'll get something that rather approximates the quirky originality of this blog.

4. Pixelated Crayons
Another grab-bag fandom blog that stands out for being the brainchild of two smart and funny ladies. Between the two of them, Zizi and Anne talk about food, manga series, great places to eat and drink, and even Plants vs. Zombies. A worthwhile addition to the local blogging scene (but I wish they would update more often).

5. My Favorite Things from Japan
The news, discussion, and blog page for a start-up company that allows fans of Japanese pop culture to purchase original fandom goods, straight from the land of the rising sun. Of particular note is the company's current specialization in goods and merchandise related to the Takarazuka Kagekidan. Not only can you get your fannish mitts on some truly rare merch here, but you can also discuss Takarazuka favorites with fellow fans too!

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It occurs to me that my fandoms are really rather showing in this entry post.... Too bad all the great crochet sites got their start ages ago.

"If you have three strings (a shamisen), you can eat."

Shamisen are the trademark instruments of the geisha, and the title of this post comes from a saying that Liza Dalby quoted in her anthropological study of these amazing women.

But I don't really think that they would have had performances like THESE in mind, hmm?

I got this one from Facebook friends. No idea where THEY got it from, but this is pretty neat.



And then the related videos list includes none other than Kitano Takeshi in another duel of tap shoes vs. a shamisen. I can't embed it, so have the link instead: here.

You know, I once DID a semester of tap in university - and I was very bad at it! Lack of coordination and weak legs for the fail! These guys are just absolute masters.

Random post is really rather random....

I've just posted this one on Twitter (@pjgoespop) and thought you might want to know:

I've just heard both the Steve Perry and Arnel Pineda versions of "Don't Stop Believing" and I now firmly think that either version kicks the Glee version's backside. I always did wonder what Glee was on about - I've had enough of remakes and their High School Musical shenanigans were old LONG before HSM even ever came along.

Listen to the original's glory!



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Oh, it looks like this blog is eligible for the The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2010. But the idea is that I can't nominate myself - I have to nominate other blogs and hope someone will nominate me.

...Well, now, that's strange. Wonder how I should go about this. I should put together my list of new influential blogs (i.e. the blogs that influence me).