Search Terms

For anyone following my Japan adventures, I was accepted to the language program at Doshisha University and need to party this weekend! Please enjoy some funny search terms that have brought people to my blog.

anime characters sitting on a heart - what is this I don't even

damn lol real spongebob - awww yeah you like that costume

"feet on the snail" - I think this is from my winter Gallywix story?

bellsprout dancing - one of my favorite gifs

bone crushing boobs - Wow. Color me impressed.

stole your man - Dare I ask why someone would search for this...?

eleks gel - Is that like horse glue?

garrosh fyi - Someone probably needs to see the Warchief's Command Board.

Get ready, Japan, I've gone BEAR FORM!

Pokemon Center: Osaka

Previously: Pokemon Center Tokyo

So a few days ago on Twitter Pokemon came up, as it naturally does, and I realized I hadn't yet told you fine folks about my trip to the Pokemon Center in Osaka! It (re)opened in the new City Station department store last year and was ridiculously crowded. As my friend put it, listening to children scream bloody murder is the best kind of contraceptive. Anyway, pictures behind the cut! At the store I had to use my crappy phone camera, so I apologize for the abysmal quality of some of them!

#MMONBI You don't have to crap up your posts

Previously: Getting started, community building, roundup

One of the recurring bits of advice from seasoned bloggers is the importance of graphics to relieve a wall of text. That's not bad advice, but if you exercise it incorrectly you do a disservice to your post!

On my site, I make an effort to use primarily screenshots - not only that, but screenshots that I personally have taken. I loathe using pictures from other sources in my posts because it makes it feel less like my work. Which doesn't mean I won't do it or that you shouldn't - it just means more work to properly credit the source. There's also the pesky reality that the original picture could be moved or taken down. Sometimes I will save and reupload the picture so it's hosted by my picasa album, but source the page I got it from.

But I'm getting away from my point, which is consistency and relevance. I said I like to use screenshots, which means that using non-game images like photographs and graphics happens only when necessary. It breaks the overall consistency of my blog, but sometimes you really need a picture of yourself in a Spongebob costume! (high five if you recall that) Then there's relevance. I could google the word "relevance" and pick the first clip art picture that comes up, but it would have NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS POST. I would be trying to force an unrelated picture into my post solely for the sake of having one. It would be completely at odds with the other images I keep on my blog. Frankly, in my opinion, doing this looks generic and unsophisticated.

Unless you can make random clip art your schtick, at least try to pick images that have something to do with your overall blog content and theme. If you use images that aren't yours, credit the source. Explain the purpose of the image, either with a caption or by putting it near an appropriate paragraph. Don't just put images willy-nilly in your posts because you feel like you need to have them. And for everyone's sake stay away from clip art unless it's absolutely necessary!

So this is probably more of a rant than actual advice. I'm sorry if you do this in your blog posts and it sounds like I'm complaining at you. I was reading a post earlier today that had some completely random pictures pulled from google and they destroyed the message. At first I thought they were ads! Then I spent way too long trying to figure out what they had to do with the paragraph they were closest to. Way too much work! Don't let your imagery detract from your blog posts!

Can someone explain pandaren lore to me?

[not-so-spoilers: brief reference to pandaren starting area general plot in brackets; otherwise just speculation based on currently available information]

Lore nerds, I need your help! I have some questions about pandaren. I read WoW Insider's guide to pandaren roleplay recently, which was very helpful, but I have some logistical questions about the Wandering Isle.

We know that all playable pandaren will be from the Wandering Isle. That means they are descendants of the original adventurous pandaren that chose to leave Pandaria to travel the world. Some of that adventurous spirit must still remain, but I wonder if after so long they don't also get some odd birds that like their simple island life and don't feel the need to adventure. Not to mention that exploration would necessitate actually leaving the Wandering Isle. Just standing on the edge and peeking at other islands flowing by doesn't seem very adventurous.

Chen Stormstout, a native of the Wandering Isle, left the island to explore Kalimdor (probably spending most of his time wall-jumping trying to get into hidden areas). How many other pandaren have left the island in order to explore? Do they return - can they return? Have they heard about the changes to Azeroth - things like the orcs invading, draenei crashing, Gilneans emerging, goblins joining the Horde? After all, they've been on the Wandering Isle for centuries. They must have experience the Cataclysm, but do they know who caused it, or his fate? If not ambassadors, have knowledgeable pandaren returned to the island to teach things like Common and Orcish? To teach about the other inhabitants of Azeroth? [[ [[The final events of the Wandering Isle suggest that pandaren can communicate well enough with the Horde and Alliance and aren't too troubled by the sight of a tauren or human, but why is that?]] ]] How much communication is there between Shen-zin Su and the rest of Azeroth? 

Then, upon finally reaching Pandaria (for the sake of story I would likely skip the out-of-timeline leveling between 12 and 85), how would the pandaren react to their ancestral home? For other adventurers, it would merely be a place of rumor, novel but not personal. For pandaren, this is the place they've heard about in legends. Their ancestors were raised here; many of their customs and beliefs come from this place, although time and separation might have changed them. Can you imagine how sayings and beliefs from Pandaria, things like the need to expel negative feelings to avoid creating real enemies, would warp into empty platitudes on the Sha-free island?

Currently, the pandaren of Pandaria react to island pandaren as if they were run of the mill adventurers: you look different, here is some ancient pandaren wisdom you don't know. I think this could be explained away if the pandaren of Pandaria think of island pandaren as immature and uncultured. And considering how long the two types of pandaren have been separated, it's likely that everything from accent to lexicon to fashion has diverged.

But the Pandaria natives are extremely laid-back by necessity - it's more likely that they would simply accept the island pandaren back into their homeland with little trouble. This is probably too nitpicky, but I'd love it if Pandaria NPCs could react to player pandaren differently than other races. Imagine if a draenei questgiver were like "Man you have no idea what it's like to live in a spaceship" and your draenei is like "Um excuse you I think I do." Mayhem!

#MMONBI Post Roundup and Generalities

Previously: Writing and Community Building
Next time: Using Screenshots

If you aren't periodically checking on the excellent advice being given in the Newbie Blogger Initiative, you're missing out on great information! Even seasoned bloggers can learn something since there is information on a wide range of topics related to blogging. I've rounded up some of my favorite interesting or helpful ones here.

Inspiration: tips on getting started and sticking to it
Why You Should Blog (the pros outweigh the cons)
What should you write and how should you write it? (all around perfect post)
Just D... ("When you write...you gain perspective")
Top 4 Tips (short and sweet)
Hobnobbing (blogging is a social activity)
What's In a Name? (great brainstorming list)
(Drink) Read, Think, Write, Edit
What's in a Name? (personal information online)
Stats (you may look but don't obsess)
Writer's Block (take a break, change the subject)

Technical: bits and bobs to improve your site and its posts
Writing for the Web (people don't read, they scan)
8 Step Checklist: Finishing Your Blog Setup (wordpress-centric)
Protect your Blog! (all about Creative Commons Licenses)
Avoid Barriers to Commenting on Blogger (make it easy for commenters!)
Tags and Categories (get organized, get optimized)
The Google Reader Blogroll (fancy list bundling)
Blog Lists and RSS
Keeping Up (organize news sources)
Screenshots make your blog interesting (great examples!)
Wordpress Plugins
Pros and Cons of Self Hosting
Picture manipulation tools and copyright
Learn How to Podcast

Next is a shoutout for WoW Headlines, a website/iPhone app that seeks to provide a news list from WoW-related blogs. The $0.99 app can be filtered for class-specific news and also comes with a Blue Tracker and Realm Status feature. If you want to get your blog on the list or recommend others, email info@wowheadlines.com. The current list of blogs are at the bottom of each class page.

Last is a picture of the solar eclipse (vocab point: 金環日食) that I took this morning. I woke up a little later than usual, but they were showing a moon-tracker on the morning news and I managed to throw on sandals and grab my camera in time to catch the almost-peak. There were loads of people standing outside the apartment buildings, staring directly at the sun. I kept getting messages about needing special plastic in order to safely view it, but let's be real. I tried squinting, looking at it and away quickly, and peeking through my camera lens. Not the best of ideas, but my eyes seem to still be working. This picture looks quite dark, but it's only in order to capture the arc of the sun!

The Leatherworkers [Tier 6]

The sun had just passed its midday peak when the skins across the doorway opened, jingling the tiny bells sewed into the bottom and alerting the leatherworkers in the shop to a customer. Akabeko blinked in the sudden shadow, a bundled set of armor tucked under one arm. An orc seated near the doorway set down her tools and approached the druid. The only other leatherworker in the front room, a wide-set tauren, briefly glanced up from his work.

"What can I help you with?" the orc asked, reaching out for the bundle and taking it to a clear work table.

Akabeko followed her. "Just general upkeep," she explained. "I've been waxing and polishing it myself, but the shoulders especially are starting to show their age."

The orc turned one pauldron over in her hands. The enchantment that made the skull's empty eyesockets glow blue was starting to fade, and the feathers were beginning to look dry and wilted. The orc ran calloused fingers across the dome of the skull, stopping when they met and uncharacteristic notch in the bone just above the left eye. She peered at the dent curiously.

Akabeko noticed her scrutiny. "That's been there since I bought the piece. The armorer told me there's no easy way to mend it, and I've come to like it anyway. It gives it character," she finished with a grin.

The orc grinned back. Her fingers continued to gently worry the mark. "There is no good way to mend it, not without interfering with the unique enchantment on the pauldron. It just surprised me to see it, because I'm the one that put it there."

This caused the so-far silent tauren to look up. "Is it one of ours?" he asked his partner.

The orc held up the piece in question to point out the nick. "Do you remember the first time we hunted kaliri?"

"Ahh, yes," the tauren interrupted. "Our plan was to bait one and lasso it." He laughed. "That was such a terrible idea!"

"Come on, it wasn't that bad. How could you have known it would call so many others to help?"

Akabeko looked back and forth between the pair, listening with interest.

The tauren set down his tools. "I didn't know, but my job is to take the hits while you do the hard work, so I should have done my research to be as safe as possible!"

"I have to admit, when the kaliri screeched and those three others burst out of the trees, I went a little berserk. They all went straight for you, with your hands full of feathers and nothing but a shield!"

"Believe it or not, I was still trying to keep the bodies intact. I stunned the one we caught with my shield before I went after the others."

The orc shook her head. "I wasn't being careful. It's only luck that I took the first pair's heads off instead of anything else. That last one..."

The tauren laughed. "When you jumped over me I thought you might sprout wings and fly away yourself!"

"Yes, well," the orc shrugged sheepishly. "It was in your blind spot. So I smashed it in the face."

Akabeko blinked at her armor with newfound appreciation.

"As you can see," the orc continued conversationally, "we're in an off season and having a slow day. I can have this ready for you by sunset tomorrow."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Akabeko replied, heading to the door. She nodded at the tauren, who waved a pair of scissors at her, already back at work. "Afternoon!"

#NBIMMO Blog Setup and Community Building

Previously: Why and What to Post

While your first posts are percolating in your head, let's think about a name and hosting. Names are incredibly important to me - I agonize over them for days before I can finally create whatever I was trying to name. Hopefully you don't have this affliction. Names can be simple, descriptive, punny, or random. They don't have to be immediately obvious, but straightforward works too! Your content can help influence the title - guides would want a plain title, fiction would merit something more flowery. See if you can encompass the goal of your blog in the title - something like "The Best DPS Evar" sounds more likely to have DPS theorycrafting than fanfiction about Thrall.

Got your name? Let's go register. If you're new and unsure (or a cheapskate) you probably don't want to plunk down cash on webhosting. Fortunately, there are solid blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger that offer free hosting. I've also read blogs hosted on tumblr, but can't say too much on these. My feedreader is about half WP and Blogger.

Okay, the blog is made and you're ready to customize! With the popularity of feed readers, I often suspect that the only time people see your actual site is their first visit, when they comment, and any time they want more information: a specific post, your profile, or your contact info. Make your blog representative of your personality, but also make it accessible. Choose a premade background or upload your own. Create or commission a header for your title - screenshot, drawn art, or fancy text works!

Remember that different screen resolutions will affect the appearance. For instance, my background doesn't quite reach the edges of my widescreen but is heavily cropped on my work computers. I have it set so it doesn't scroll with the page for a less busy appearance. The max width of the important bits is 900px, because I know some people who still use 640x800 screen resolutions, and width scrolling is a pain.

Blogger helpfully suggested page element colors based on my background's "palette," and I went with dark text on light background for max legibility. I've read that light text on a dark background can cause more eyestrain, but since I get most of my posts in google reader's black and white interface it doesn't much matter. Whatever your color scheme, be sure to test the visibility of your text!

Now it's time to add widgets. Being comprehensive without cluttering up the page is our design goal. You have the option of tabs and sidebars, so see how you like one, the other, or both. (Or even double side bars all the way across the page.) Here are some things to put near the top: your email/twitter contact info, a link to your RSS feed or email subscription, a search bar, an about page, and archives. Other things you might like to include are: a picture roll, armory/achievement widgets, an organized page of your major posts, a Creative Commons license, a tag list or wordcloud, and a blogroll. Blog Azeroth is an incredible resource for this stuff - I added a contact page because of the advice there, and you can find CC and achievement widget howtos as well.

Optional: Feedburner is a neat little service that creates a permanent feed for your blog, meaning you can change your URL and subscribers won't need to update a thing! It also opens a special page where readers can automatically add the feed to their preferred reader, which is convenient. There's also a stats page, although I usually use Blogger's Stats or Google Analytics if I feel like stroking my epeen. Just, for love of the Earthmother, don't truncate your feed. If you do, I may give up on reading your blog on principle, or stick your URL into fulltextrssfeed out of spite. Also a secret desire to keep reading. Follow your own feed to see how posts translate into your reader - everything from colors to formatting can look wonky when taken out of the context of your blog!

If you choose to use advertising on your blog, that's cool, but as a personal favor to me please put it above or below your posts. Ads in the middle of a post are very distracting!

Before seriously networking, I recommend that you publish at least three posts on your blog. A generic introduction is ok, or jump right in with your deepest of thoughts, but give potential readers something to see! There's no way to know what will appeal to different readers, but an example of your aim and style will give them an idea. I always seem to get more comments on throwaway word vomit than well-researched compendiums...hmm...

Now it's time to get out there and make friends! I must emphasize the fact that the WoW blogging community is full of sweethearts. We are a helpful and friendly bunch, and we love to cuddle and coo over newbie bloggers. (Metaphor too creepy? Let Auntie Aka pinch your widdle cheek!!)

Hop on over to Blog Azeroth, register, and post in the New Authors forum! Use the template...or else. Then, fire off an email to the TNB Wiki to get on their lists. Finally, message Beru to be featured on an upcoming Welcome Wagon!  Okay, your name is out there. All that's left is to make some friends! (And keep posting. Never stop posting!)

If you already have some blogger buddies in the community, ask them to promote you on their blogs or blogrolls. I get the impression that it's generally frowned upon to message a stranger blogger and ask them to include you on their blogroll. However, interacting with them may earn you a place! Populating your own blogroll is a good way to start - free advertising for blogs you read is never bad, and if you refer traffic their way they may be more inclined to check out your blog and link back! I've chosen to import my Google Reader feed as my blogroll, and it was so massive I ended up cutting it to the top 10 most recent. Other bloggers show titles only in alphabetical order, sometimes grouped into topics like RP, guide, comics, etc. Pick whichever you like!

Comment on blogs. If there's an option to sign in or include your URL, do so. Linking your blog with no other comment is kind of spammy. If their post inspired you to write a response, by all means link that in your comment. Otherwise, include your link in the designated box (it will usually show up in your nickname or even show your most recent post) and leave a nice comment. Even something as simple as "Great post!" can make a blogger smile.

Write fan mail. If you write into a podcast, your comment and signature info will often be read on the air! Writing to bloggers will make them feel good and hopefully prompt them to read or comment on your blog. I've gotten requests for proofreading and advertising, and it is very flattering to be asked for help!

If you want a less formal way to interact with other bloggers, try out twitter. It's not mandatory - I know at least one well-known blogger who manages just fine without it, but the added element of short, snappy communication is quite useful. Ask questions, offer comments, and see a more personal side of your favorite writers. Promote their stuff by retweeting, and they may do the same! Consider an automated service like twitterfeed to advertise your new posts.

Your posts are out there and people are reading them. You may get comments! They may not always be to your liking. Gird your virtual loins and respond, moderate or close comments to stem the flow, or simply avoid posting about stuff that typically attracts controversy. (This blog caters to casuals and noobs raauugghh!) Some bloggers don't respond to comments at all, or may only respond to a few. Others respond to each and every one, no matter how many (or few, boohoo!). Respond however you like, and remember that since your blog is your space, it is entirely up to you how you deal with comments. Moderating or closing comments is not a bad thing. Maintain your space in whatever way makes you most comfortable.

Keep writing! Keep posting! Legions of adoring fans are just waiting to read it!

Next time: Roundup, Using Screenshots