Chocolate and so on...

It's a little late but I finally put some pictures of the chocolate I made on Facebook. I melded down the chocolate as usual and used the heart, star, and butterfly molds.

This year I also did something a little different and used these squares of white chocolate. I melted the tops a bit by holding them in hot water and then put this sticker thing on top that looks like a check pattern. Finally, I stuck a heart decoration on top with a bit of icing as glue. The stickers didn't all come out cleanly, but they look pretty cute!

Also, my chocolate stayed unmelted pretty well this year and didn't lose its shape once it got to room temperature. I think my melting technique is getting better. 

Exposition! It will kill your fantasy stories.

I hate exposition. dialog. I know it's unavoidable, but it just sucks the reality out of any story.

For example, I like the setting of Girl Genius, a popular webcomic. It's this weird steampunk world (which is hard to pull off) set in something that bears a vague resemblance to western Europe.

However, I find the pacing grating and its made worse by the fact that almost every single page is full of characters narrating and explaining what's going on. I.E. instead of interacting with each other or creating the illusion of fully fleshed out characters just going about their lives, they EXPLAIN EVERYTHING.

Every panel is "What's this thing do?" "It stops the effects of that thing!" "I thought that thing was unstoppable!" "No, because of this other thing!"

Or, "Why is that character doing X? I thought he always did Y!" "Yes, but he's probably doing X now to accomplish Z, which will keep the plot stalled for another fifty pages." "Should we worry about him?" "Maybe!"

I just want to scream SHOW DON'T TELL! a zillion times. And then cut out half the dialog on every page. Because comics = visual medium.

Now, people will tell me "The world is so complex and the characters are so multifaceted that we'll never know what's going on if they don't explain it to us at every turn!" I say Nope. Needing to explain in great detail why characters are doing what they are doing is a sign that the characters aren't detailed enough. We should just be able to see them react and make choices and think, "Of course she would do that. That's so her."

Imagine if in Star Wars the duel between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi were narrated by the other characters.

"Why's he staying behind?"
"To buy us time, I guess."
"Who is that? Wait, how do they know each other?"
"Darth Vader was once his apprentice, who went to the dark side of the Force. He apparently wants revenge."
"This doesn't look good. He can't win!"

Imagine how this would totally kill the tension. Just because it's information doesn't mean you have to put it in the scene.

Take this page from Girl Genius

Essentially, all we're getting is exposition dialog from a sentient monster train. Every villain in the series is like this because every conflict consists of an over-the-top villain explaining everything in detail, the heroes arguing back, and plans and counter plans being put into motion while the cast explains everything in detail. The train doesn't monologue because of its character; the style of the comic doesn't allow for any other types of characters.

How much cooler would the first panel be if instead of explaining how it gets more powerful, the train actually ate some metal and then got bigger? Or if we could see the net breaking? The next two panels do absolutely nothing. The train literally says that its not going to say anything to the monks. Um, so why show it?

The bottom panels are all more exposition from the train, and an invitation to get some exposition in return from Agatha. At least we get to see Agatha's reaction a bit. I think the only line that sounds like a genuine character moment is Krosp the cat's request "Drop him again." It's just a thowaway joke, but at least it sounds like a real person reacting in the moment and not someone narrating or explaining what just happened.

Fantasy writers: Exposition does not make your world more real. It make it less real. In the real world, I don't understand squat about how things work. How often do my friends and I sit around debating how a microwave makes food hot?

NEVER. We just roll with it.

By all means work out the minor details of your world and how all your character arcs fit together, but there is absolutely no reason to tell us all or even most of the background details. When you shift the focus off of what the characters are doing and feeling onto how the world works or what exactly the plan is, all you're doing is reminding us that this stuff doesn't really make sense or that its weird for the characters to be acting the way they are.

As the Nostalgia Critic said, all stories have some plot holes. But a good story will work so well on an emotional level that we just don't focus on the minor details. We're totally absorbed in the what the characters are going through.

For this reason, I by far prefer fantasies that just throw you into the deep end with their world and expect you to learn to swim. Even if half the time they make no sense. When that's done well, it really pays off and makes the world and the characters feel so much more real. Like you're only seeing one part of a much larger whole, and you want to take in all you can.

Hmm, now I want to work some more on my own projects...

Takoyaki!

On Saturday I got to have lunch with one of my English students and his family. They were all really cute. we made takoyaki together! Also they decorated the windows with the "menu" and wrote "Welcome, Stephanie." This is the first time I've ever been to their apartment.

Movies I Like: The Book of Life

On the plane back to Japan I was searching for movies of passable interest. I ended up selecting a cartoon called The Book of Life because even though it looked overwhelmingly goofy it had Guillermo del Toro's name attached to it. I figured at least the design would be interesting and I could turn it off if the characters got too annoying.


Actually I ended up enjoying it a lot. I don't think it's a great movie, but it's pretty good overall. If weird Mexican supernatural stuff doesn't turn you off, you can enjoy likeable characters fighting for honor, family, true love, and friendship.

The plot does get bogged down a little during the midpoint of the movie when I started wondering, "How exactly does this supernatural world work again? How did they know that thing was there exactly when they needed it? And no one did this before ever?" Also there's one character who's accent does not match at all with the accents of the other characters, but luckily he's not in the movie that much.

Some people on IMDB complained that there's too much time spent with the child characters before they grow up, but time overspent isn't necessarily time wasted. I think the kids are actually more enjoyable to watch than their adult counterparts. Also, all the important character traits are developed when you see the three main characters as kids so when you see them as adults their choices all feel very natural.

Another criticism is it's too fast paced. It did seem very lively to me, but I think it slows down enough in the dramatic moments that you can take it seriously. But that's just my opinion. Other people might find it annoying or feel like you don't get to enjoy the sets enough.

The main plot is that two gods make a bet concerning a group of three children, as to which of two young boys will end up marrying the girl, their childhood friend. And the story follows the choices they make as adults, with some added trickery on the part of the less scrupulous god.

La Muerte and Xibalba. I don't know why he looks like Discord from My Little Pony.

That setup alone feels very mythic to me because it's an eternal question. What makes us attracted to someone? (By the way La Muerte totally calls it in the first 30 seconds. Girls do tend to go for the sensitive musician.) Also, the three humans maintain their friendship all through the movie, showing respect and honesty in what's frankly an awkward situation. All the main characters are very likeable, and the side characters are pretty funny and memorable as well.

The movie makes a point of subverting any potentially inappropriate themes from Spanish/Mexican culture. For example, even though one character is a bull fighter he is much too kind-hearted to actually kill any bulls. Also, though much of the plot concerns a love triangle, the woman obviously chooses according to her own preferences and not because one of the suitors happened to do the right combination of heroic feats. Neither man is interested in anything less than her free and sincere affection.

Props.

So I guess I would recommend this movie to anyone who's a del Toro fan, and if you're not turned off by a weird supernatural stuff (i.e. if you like Coraline). Friendship! Swordfights! Characters that look like bizarre wooden dolls! What's not to enjoy?

Makeup Review: Somehow I Actually Like CC Cream

So I didn’t do a lot of sightseeing or anything actually interesting over winter break. Most of my time was spent going to the doctor, dentist, and orthodontist. 

(Luckily, the only major health problem they found was a vitamin D deficiency. Other than that, I have the option of doing some surgery in the future to correct my jaw/profile. Same me, better face?)

Other than that I spent my time shopping and generally going, “Hmmm no one’s going to be pissed if I just goof off, so tell me again why I should do anything productive?”

I found some nice clothes at Macy’s, but I also spent some time looking at the makeup selections in America (Ulta is a great store for makeup) and ended up finding something really good, totally by accident.

The product I’m excited about right now is JuiceBeaty’s Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream. I wasn’t looking for CC cream at the time; I was browsing the moisturizers. I’ve never even used CC cream or BB cream before.

I only found out about CC and BB cream this year when I started researching moisturizers and serums. And my reaction was pretty much “Meh…” Essentially, these creams are supposed to do some moisturizing and also double as foundation and sunscreen (among other things). Which sounded good to me at first, but I just kept wondering, “Does one cream really do any of those things as well as the products especially designed for them? Is skipping a few steps really worth using a less effective version of sunscreen and moisturizer?”

Also, unlike foundations CC and BB creams usually come in too colors: Awful Doesn’t Match At All and Even Awfuller. Yeah. I already can’t find a foundation that matches when I’ve got 30 tints in each brand to choose from. The chances a One Shade Fits Most actually working seemed pretty nil.

There are CC creams that are sheer, but that’s just not worth the effort to me. Why slap on something that kinda moisturizes and kinda hides flaws but doesn’t actually give you a base, but might make your base look better? No thanks. I already have enough layers of gunk to put on my skin.

However…

As I was browsing through the various moisturizing products I noticed this sort of organic-y looking brand called JuiceBeauty, which I hadn’t seen before. They use a lot plant and citrus ingredients. I wasn’t too impressed with their ingredients for the moisturizers, since I was looking for stuff with hyalonic acid, collagen, and royal jelly. (Which I didn’t find. Boo.) But their CC cream interested me.

This is the bottle. I took the cap off so you could see what the dispenser looks like. Pretty easy to use. I apply it with my fingers because I'm lazy.

First off, anything with “repair” in the label seemed promising to me. Also, the lighter of their two tints (it’s always two) seemed like it might match my skin. So I tried the sample on the inside of my wrist. And lo and behold—it blended in and disappeared!!!! I couldn’t even really find the place where I had tested it. That never happens when I try foundation.

So I decided, “Eh, it’s expensive, but I like this enough to give it a go. Maybe it will be less cakey than a regular liquid foundation.” And now I’m really glad I tried it because it feels so much better than the foundation I was using. Foundation, even powder foundation, always gets in the lines in my face and makes them stand out more—as if the point of makeup isn’t to cover up signs of aging. But when I apply the CC cream—even with some sheer powder over it, my lines don’t stand out any more than when I’m not wearing a base at all. And yet it still improves my skin tone. I didn’t know that was possible.

Maybe someday I’ll find a foundation that gives really good coverage but don’t look like I’ve painted my face and won’t get stuck in my wrinkles. But for now there’s not many occasions where I can’t get by with the natural look, so I’m sticking to using the CC cream as my base, sometimes with powder foundation over it. My method right now is to spend a ton of time on skin care prep and then only do a little bit of actually makeup. Instead of trying to cover up and distract from tired skin, the idea is to improve the skin’s overall condition so there’s less to distract from.

So overall I give JuiceBeauty a thumbs-up because their product worked for me, and maybe I’ll try something else from them in the future. A quick rundown of pros and cons:

Cons

1.     You get what you pay for. $40.00 for 50 ml is pretty steep. It might be better not to use it every day and switch off with something cheaper. Recently I’ve been more willing to spend money on higher quality makeup. Life is too short to spend smearing crappy stuff on your face.

2.     When I first opened the tube my nostrils got a shock. DO NOT buy this if you hate citrus. The smell does wear off, but I always feel like my hands and face smell like lime for several minutes.

3.     Not a foundation. Not a concealer. If you need heavy-duty correction, like to cover acne or discoloration, or scars, this is not for you.  (At least, not by itself. I don’t know how it works with other products on top.) When it’s on, you’ll barely even notice it. Which can be disappointing when you’ve paid that much.

4.     It’s not cakey in general, but it does stick a little bit on my eyelids. Also, it is liquid so it does have a shine if you don't put powder on top.

 

Pros

1.     Really does conceal fine lines.

2.     I don’t know if it’s actually repairing any cells, but it certainly is gentle on my skin.

3.     I don’t look like a pancake! Or a…powdered donut?

4.     Easy to apply with my fingers.

5.     30 SPF isn’t bad.

6.     Actually freakin’ matches my skin. My face is the same color as the rest of me.

7.     Lasts all day. And if it does wear off a bit, you can’t really tell.

8.     Even though it’s not specifically for dry skin, it is moisturizing and seems to work well with the moisturizers I’m using.

9.     Did I mention that it gives me an even skin tone but I don’t look like there’s gunk on my face?

This is me trying to do a selfie like I'm advertizing a product. It took me like five tries.

So this is my try doing a makeup review. Maybe later I’ll write about some other products I use and would recommend.

2015

This isn't exactly In Japan because I'm in America but anyway it's my first post for the new year.

Best thing about my trip home: Shopping!

Worst thing about my trip home: Getting killer allergic reaction to antibiotics which has resulted in a rash all over my body. I came home to get medication for a rash on my legs, and the medication resulted in a more serious condition.

Why does something always happen before I have to take a 10 hour overseas plane flight?

Having an Elsa Moment

Maybe a month ago I was flipping through sermon notes from last year. My sermon notes resemble the ramblings of Mystery Science Theater 3000. And I came across this quote that I heard in a sermon.

"God hates sin so much that he saw my sin on his son and he killed his son."

Then my face did this.

Even a year ago, I thought that was pretty stupid. Now it's just another thought that crystallizes like an icy blast.

I still go to church events because I know some sweet, genuine Christians. But there's a certain kind of arrogance that I would have accepted unquestioningly in college--and that's what I'm never going back to.