Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Ohmygod

A chance to win Lola and the Boy Next Door, Crossed, and Shatter Me. *squeals* I WANT TO WIN THIS!! (:

http://stiryourtea.blogspot.com/2011/08/win-lola-boy-next-door-crossed-shatter.html <-- Thank you to Tahereh Mafi

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Giveaways

So I went stalking around the net undercover, with my Mission Impossible (or was it Pink Panther?) soundtrack playing in the background and my super-sleuth crawl.... annnnddd I found giveaways *__*


















Win Ordinary Beauty by Laura Weiss

Win Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston

Photobucket <-- Pre-order giveaway!

July Giveaway: Bad Taste in Boys, Sometimes It Happens, What Happened To Goodbye

A 200 follower giveaway -- 2 books to 2 winners

Win Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Win Devil May Care by Jolene Ballard Gutierrez




Oh, my god. A giveaway with LOLA. Lola, my love. Yeah, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, in all its ARC glory. Enter here!

Mystery box giveaway @ Stories & Sweeties!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Addictions

This is my new addiction.
Say hello to Tetris.

Remember the little block-building game from ages ago? I remember when I was a kid, I had one of the earliest gameboys. It had a black and white screen, a + pad, and two keys, A and B. There were like, two games on it. I used to play Tetris more than the other game it had. Loved the game. It's so addicting.

Now nearly a decade later, I've gotten my addiction back. I've been spending every spare minute of the last few weeks playing this damn game. Hell, I even made an account on tetrisfriends.com and made most of my friends make accounts too. I've gotten all of them hooked to Tetris too now. You should see the Tetris parties we do every night. Multiplayer on arena. It's sad, but true. Not to mention incredibly fun.

So, I've been doing this instead of writing... IF stays suspended at around 70k. That sucks. But hey, it's Tetris!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Dying... dying... dead?

Not quite dead. Or so I tell myself everyday.

What Taku does every single day:
-Tells herself she's going to write
-Opens up MS Word and document with manuscript
-Stares at manuscript
-Stares at pathetic word count
-Tells self that she's going to get to XXk today

Fast forward... five hours later.
-Taku realises she's been reading manga/chatting/doing anything but writing for five hours
-Decides she will write
-Stares at manuscript
-Gets sidetracked, AGAIN

Which is why I'm starting to doubt I'll ever finish a novel.
Taku no verdict: nearly dead, but not quite.

Friday, May 13, 2011

I Got Da Swag

Okay, so yesterday, I got some Overprotected swag from the ever awesome Jennifer Laurens. My mom got totally freaked. She thought it was a threat or something, which is what people normally think when they receive small, brown envelopes with something that feels like a CD inside. She only called me 'cause she saw the word "Publishing" on the envelope.

So maybe this post has no point... but I felt like saying that anyway. At my dear mother's expense, of course *laughs* Sorry, Mom.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tell Me it's Prett-ay

Soooo, I partnered up with Kris for this book blog called Imaginary Reads. I just redesigned the thing *cracks neck* *stretches*  Will anybody go tell me if it's pretty...? I drew the header and the background *grins* Even though it probably looks hideous, please say it's beautiful. My ego says thank you. *laughs*

The Blog... dun dun dun...

Yes, I drew that. It ain't pretty, but it's not that ugly either.... is it?

Taku (and her ego) OUT!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

I haven't posted in ages, have I?

Okay, so maybe I haven't touched this blog in ages *averts gaze* but! I haven't forgotten about it. Soooo, what have I been doing...?


On Friday afternoon, I came home from school and my friend started "reminding" me about returning his books. So, I ended up reading The Hunger Games (which was mine, I borrowed Catching Fire and Mockingjay from my friend) at around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. I finished Catching Fire that night, and Mockingjay the next day before lunch. I haven't read like this in ages... Three books in two half-days, ie. a day... It's really been ages since I've lost myself in a book like that.

I'm now determined to plow through all the books I have but haven't started and the half-done ones. I'm ashamed to admit that un-started ones include the last book to my beloved series, Cherub (yes, I haven't touched Shadow Wave yet, eep!), I Am Number Four (I watched the movie first, even), and several others. The half-finished numbers have The Red Pyramid and The Lost Hero within their ranks.

Verdict: Taku --> GUILTY!



Other stuff and fluff...
This little one's at 47k now. I still have loads to write before I finish... *sobs*

I can't believe that it's already been half a year since I started Imaginary Friends.... It seems like it was just yesterday when the first day of NaNo crept up on me and I stared at a blank word document, with no idea of what in the world I was going to write except that it was going to feature a psycho girl. Hell, I still hadn't named her yet.






I have a new camera. I'm sure none of you needed or wanted to know that, but I have one. And I'm over the moon 'cause I love it so (: It's become a permanent addition in my shoulder bag now. The art filters are just amazing on that little thing. If anyone can guess what camera it is, I'll love them forever. Hint: something you use to write with.

I guess there's nothing that interesting in Taku no life... I'm not even sure I have one, a life, I mean. So, TAKU OUT~!

Ciaossu!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Guess...

Q: Guess how many pages I'm on for Screnzy?
A: 15

Q: Guess how many pages I'm supposed to be on?
A: Over 50

Q: Guess whose given up?
A: The 'Taku

Q: Guess who fails?
A: Yups, totally me.

On the bright side (surprised that there even IS one?), it's Easter (: Not that it makes much difference--and I HAVE NO CHOCOLATE--but bunnies, yeah? Happy, fluffy bunnies. Wait--I'm not making sense, am I? Guess I should write... (@motivation COME. PLEASE. I'm dying) Or maybe I'll just procrastinate.... and fail that science test I have while I'm at it since I'm currently too lazy to revise o__O

ANYWAY! HAPPY EASTER, Y'ALL~!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Screnzy! Hello, sleepless nights.

Write. Write. Write. That's going to be April for me. Script Frenzy time!

Screnzy? Goal: write a 100 page script in April

I'm not writing a script though. I'm going to be writing (and hopefully finishing) Imaginary Friends. Still aiming for 100 pages though! Even if I fail (which I probably will), I think I'll still end up with 20k. So I'm happy.

Yes, I'm crazy for doing this. But hey, crazy people are always the best. Well, not the loony-bin-hehehe-you-called-bob-herro kind that really belongs in an asylum (HK's mental hospital tel. number: (+852) 2456 8000, if anyone needs it). But the omg-I-have-an-idea-let's-write-a-100-pages-in-a-month-and-die-in-the-process kind of crazy--they're awesome. Yes, I'm that kind of crazy *grins*.

During (the infamous) NaNoWriMo, I slept at around 1:30-2:30 AM on school nights--not healthy, I know--and survived on an average of... around 4-5 hours a day. On weekends, I slept at around 3-4 AM. Hopefully, I won't turn into a complete zombie during Screnzy, but I have a feeling I'll be losing a lot of sleep this time round too, especially on school nights. But coming away with a 100 more pages to my manuscript, I have a feeling it'll be worth it.

For anybody who hasn't joined in the madness yet, GO! It's April 1st TODAY, and it's never, ever too late (;

OH. HAPPY APRIL FOOLS' PEOPLE. (Taku's too busy reading D. Gray Man and slaving away on her manuscript to play a joke on anyone ;--; Oh woe)

Sleeping at 3 AM starts tonight. Good luck to me (and whoever's Screnzying) and hellooooo, Sleepless Nights. Long time no see, old friend.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Show Me The Voice... wait, I'm mute

Yups, another contest :D I am--again--entering with my beloved brainchild, Imaginary Friends. Natalie Fischer is judging, and Brenda Drake's hosting Show Me The Voice! So, the first 250 of my manuscript, I proudly present (;


* * *


Sometimes I wonder why I do this kind of stuff. This was awkward, and my relatives didn’t like it anyway. But still, I couldn’t help being happy. It was my birthday after all.

A timid smile twitched up the corners of my lips ever so slightly. I looked around at the relatives that surrounded me; wanting to shy away from the attention, yet enjoying it all the same. Their mouths were cranked up in wide grins that made mine seem even more inexistent than it already was. Even thought their smiles were probably false, they looked way better than my genuine one.

“Happy birthday to Trinity,” they sang. “Happy birthday to you . . .”

They probably thought I was cold and stoic. Some of their grins were already going stale—probably from looking at my expressionless face for too long. I could see their jaws tiring from keeping their faux friendly faces up, and the smiles were turning upside down from the effort it took to force their teeth to keep baring. I didn’t mean to be like this, seriously.

“Make a wish!” shouted my five-year-old twin cousins, Ricky and Tommy, jumping erratically, silly grins plastered on their faces. Those two were the only ones who didn’t mind my Ice Queen looks. They could always see straight through me and into my true feelings that my body refused to show. I loved them for that.


I wish. . . . I don’t know what to wish for.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Shhh, I'm not supposed to enter!

YAtopia's holding a pitch contest--wheeey! Naturally, I'm planning to enter with my precious eldest brainchild, Imaginary Friends.






However, I don't really fit one of their requirements :3 IF isn't a finished ms.... (don't tell anyone , 'kay?)

Anyway! It's not like I'm going to win anyway, so nobody will ever know (bahahaha) and I'm trying desperately to finish it in the next two weeks--impossible, I know, but hey, I'm writing!

Actually, pretend I never said a thing. 'Cause I WILL finish. Bob the Builder, CAN I WRITE THIS? Bob the Builder, YES I CAN. Okay, I never said a thing (: IF will be a finished ms by the time judging comes by. YES IT WILL.

Ammi-Joan Paquette is going to host this pitch contest and it's at YAtopia here.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Japan... the tragedy.

I'm sure you've all heard about Japan and its recent earthquake slash tsunami. And the nuclear reactor explosions. *sighs* Sad news, ne.

For those of you that don't know, Tokyo had a 8.9 (or 8.8, according to SE Asia news) earthquake, and the death count is still rising. The people who've not lost their lives have lost their homes and all their properties. On top of that, there were nuclear reactor explosions in Fukushima. There will be radiation.

This is probably going to sound obscenely selfish of me, but I was probably going to go to Hokkaido at the end of this year/summer if it weren't for these happenings. Now... *sigh* There aren't even going to be any sashimi for me 'cause of the radiation. No Jap food *cries* Most Japanese food products in supermarkets in Hong Kong got snatched up in mere hours. People were pushing and shoving to stock up their Jap food as there probably won't be any in a long time because of the radiation.

Mangakas! Hopefully, all of them are safe and sound! No mangakas equal to no manga. . . . See the importance? Tite Kubo (Bleach), Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), Hiromu Arakawa (FMA), Hiro Mashima (Fairy Tail), Akira Amano (KHR), Hideaki Sorachi (Gintama), and a lot of others have been confirmed alive and safe (thank goodness).

However . . . I haven't seen anything on the net about Ito Ogure (Air Gear) yet and there hasn't been a new chapter of Air Gear since last, last week, I believe (a long time ago anyway). No Takeshi Konomi (Prince of Tennis and New Prince of Tennis) either. And my two favourite mangakas, Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba, I still haven't found anything on them yet! D: If anyone knows otherwise, please do comment! I really want to know if the genii of Death Note are safe!

Anyway, try and help in any way possible; whether it be donating, praying, sending items for relief, buying the Japanese yen--it doesn't matter! Do try to help, extend a helping hand to Japan. Half the country has been wrecked, and now there's radiation.

I've been folding paper cranes (as well as donating) recently. I'd try to fold a thousand and make a wish, but sadly, I don't have that much paper, or that much space to put them. See the picture up there? Those are some of the cranes me and my friend folded from magazines (:

I know this post is kind of late for Japan, but better late than never, eh?

Hope. Believe.

'Taku out!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Kosupure♥

Eheh, everybody loves cosplay (: It's so awesome watching manga come to life!

Cosplay basically stands for "costume play," see where the name comes from?

But it sucks when there's bad cosplay. Sometimes I look at pictures and go, "Dude. That is NOT my favourite character." It's like watching a dream shatter when I realise that there is no way people in real life will ever be as pretty as the bishies in manga.

Good cosplay is really hard to come across *sigh* And most of the really good ones are girls crossdressing. It's like, "OMG, AWESOME SHOTA. I WANNA GLOMP HIM SO BADLY!! . . . Damn. It's a girl. Damn."

It is not fair how shotas and bishies don't exist outside of manga. That's why cosplay is awesome. But the fact that most good shota cosplayers are girls just says that there aren't enough pretty/cute guys in the world. And that depresses the 'Taku.

See those two pictures? Ciel Phantomhive. Agito/Akito Wanijima. Aren't they just so cute? *squeals* Sad fact: they're female. *doom*

I want a bishie! Or a shota! I'd be too greedy if I asked for both, but can I just have one . . . please? Beggars can't be choosers (;

Give me a bishie and I'll die happy :b

Anyway, the point of this (awesometastic) blog post is . . . nothing. Just a rant, courtesy of Otaku :D

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, the Beatles song, yeah? Okay, this is a really random blog post, but we're doing the Beatles in music ^^ I think I'm addicted to this song now. It's stuck in my head, playing twenty-four seven.

Gotta love the drug references in that song. [L]ucy in the [S]ky with [D]iamonds, ne. And the fact that LSD's street name is "Lucy." (Note: Taku does NOT take drugs D:<) The official story is that John Lennon's son drew a pretty picture, called it "Lucy in the Sky with DIamonds" and showed it to daddy who then wrote a song about it. I don't really care if it's true or not, I'll always be part of the wink-wink-nudge-nudge-there's-a-subliminal-message cult. 'Cause I'm awesome like that.

Watching that music video actually got me and my friends high. We were singing Lucy in the Sky in class and during break. We stared at a white wall and started laughing hysterically. The video's that cool *nods* So many pretty colours.

picture yourself in a boat in a river . . . you answer quite slowly . . . the girl with kaleidoscope eyes . . . and she's gone . . . head in the clouds . . . grow so incredibly high . . . LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS! LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS!
^I call 'em drug references, dear.

-Taku out!
(Meh, I can't believe that Bakuman STILL isn't out! Damnit!)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Updates Today

There seem to be no updates today . . . and that makes the otaku very sad, yes it does. So, random Japanese thing. Since I'm bored and all (technically, I should be doing my Chinese essay that's due tomorrow, but screw it!).

Let's start with hiragana, yay! Hiragana is the phonetic Japanese alphabet that's used for Japanese words--words borrowed from English or other languages, such as, "hanbaga" (hamburger) use katakana.

あいうえお <-- There are the vowels!

あ -- A --pronounced "ah"
い -- I --"ee"
う -- U --"ooh"
え -- E --"eh"
お -- O --"oh"

There goes today's Jap lesson x) Courtesy of yours truly.

Oh, just realised. There's Medaka Box, which I haven' t read since chapter 70 something a month ago D: Must catch up!

Otaku no Lesson ends here. Ciaossu!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Fairy Tail 223

Leo vs. Capricorn~ It's the stellar spirits *grins* Can't wait to see how this'll turn out. And what this has to do with Lucy's mom and Capricorn. I don't get why Capricorn hates Reina Heartphilia though, she seemed nice enough. She even told him to go back to her--like Lucy did Loki.

Oh, and Reina's sort of pretty :3 Also, once again, Lucy is useless. She has zero battle power -__- she sucks.

Aw gawd, love Loki. Loki is cool :D

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Why am I blogging?

I have no idea why I'm even doing this. Nobody reads it -__- I feel like such a saddo now. Wait--I AM a saddo. Never mind . . . *crawls into cave*

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Otaku is dead

Yes, I am. Well, nearly anyway. Rewriting is sucking the life out of me. I want to curl in a hold and go X__X so I don't have to face my 6k manuscript anymore. *sobs* I miss my lovely 50k manuscript.

MOMMY, this one's being mean to me!!