Drachma Girl's Blog: January 2009

1/31/09

Manga vs. Comics

American comic books have become closely associated with the superhero tradition; names like Marvel Comics & DC Comics come to mind which brought us heroes like the Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Ghost Rider, X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, and the Justice League. (-- The DC Comics Encyclopedia –) CLICK HERE TO GET THIS BOOK!

Superheroes came at a time when the “world” was in turmoil (after WWII) and a special someone was needed to set things right! Superhero comics replaced the old DC (detective comics) of an older generation of readers.

Costumes & secret identities were a big thing with these Superhero comics, often centering the story on a young person who had suffered from self-doubt and mundane problems, and was somehow flawed, a freak, or a misfit.

American comics are magazines containing sequential art in the form of a narrative and mostly containing a serious and /or action-oriented subject. A long-form comic book, generally with hardcover or trade-paper binding is now known as a graphic novel. (-- Marvel Comics Encyclopedia –) CLICK HERE TO GET THIS BOOK!

Comic books in America are a cultural artifact that represents an indigenous American art form. The rarest comic books in existence today, include copies of the unreleased Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 from 1939.

Japanese comics are known for the facial features in which a character’s eyes, nose, and mouth are drawn in an extremely exaggerated manner using very few lines in which the image is a representation of an idea, rather than a depiction of reality.

Manga is a widely respected art form in Japanese culture and is created for every age group and every topic, including action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, horror, sexuality, business and commerce. (-- Manga Studio Debut 4 (Win/Mac –) CLICK HERE TO GET THIS PROGRAM!

A book-size manga often contains many stories each presented in a single episode to be continued in the next issue. If the series is successful, collected chapters may be republished in books called tankōbon, the equivalent of a paperback. The shōnen are geared for boys and the shōjo geared toward girls with more decorative artwork.

What makes Manga popular are the “whimsical pictures”, which is what “manga” literally means. Traditionally, manga are written from top to bottom and right to left, as this is the traditional reading pattern of the Japanese written language.

Manga depicted: Naruto; Alichino; Card Captor; Sailor Moon; Hibiki’s Magic; Inuyasha; Ultra Maniac; Fruits Basket.

In Japan there are many manga cafés where people can drink coffee and read manga, and sometimes stay there overnight. These places host a variety of other activities including video games, internet access, television shows, snack bars, vending machines, and a smoking room. Entrance fee required.

One of the biggest titles known internationally is Sailor Moon, which has been translated /exported in 23 countries.

The Japanese manga industry has a large number of awards it gives out each year recognizing best selling series and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also begun awarding the International Manga Award since May 2007.

-- Could the first American original comic book have been created by a Japanese immigrant? --

"Comics," as we usually think of them, are pictures with "word balloons" in sequential panels that tell a story. They mainly take the form of short newspaper "comic strips" and longer "comic books." As Bill Blackbeard and Martin Williams note in the Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics, comic strips achieved their modern form in the United States starting around 1896, the year Richard Felton Outcault's Yellow Kid ran in the American Humorist weekly supplement in the New York Journal. For at least three decades almost all comics were short serialized newspaper strips, not the "comic books" we have today.

Comic books with original material are often said to have started around February 1935, when New Fun was issued by DC comics. Prior to that time there were some comic "books," but these were merely newspaper comic strips compiled into book form and sold as collections or anthologies. New Fun was a magazine published with all original material, much of it authored by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, a former cavalry officer and pulp fiction writer. Its success set the stage for classic American comic book titles such as Superman and Batman, which appeared in 1938 and 1940, respectively.

So how does Kiyama's book fit into all this? According to surviving San Francisco Japanese-language newspaper accounts, he exhibited his entire story at Kinmon Gakuen ("Golden Gate Institute") in mid-February, 1927. In order to do so, he must have started working on the series in 1926, if not earlier.

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS BOOK!
The Four Immigrants Manga : A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924

Kazuo Ebina, a San Francisco newspaper columnist who wrote under the pen name of Shunshuro for the Nichi Bei, or The Japanese American News, visited the 1927 exhibit and noted that Kiyama had created his comic in the hopes of having it serialized in a newspaper. Indeed, when it was exhibited it consisted of 52 episodes of 12 panels each, corresponding to one year's weekly serialization in a newspaper. It was then titled Manga Hokubei Iminshi, or "A Manga North American Immigrant History."

Why was Kiyama unable to serialize his story in a newspaper? A variety of reasons come to mind. First, it was extremely long (104 pages). In those days an artist trying to sell a story for newspaper serialization would never have created an entire, integral work of so many pages (with a beginning and even an end!) for submission. Furthermore, it was probably too documentary in nature and too adult in content. In the 1920s comic strips were read by the whole family, and they did not deal with racism and social and political issues the way Kiyama's work did. Finally, the bilingual nature of his comic required that readers understand both Japanese and English. This meant that the only publications capable of serializing his story were the few local Japanese language papers in major cities in the United States.

Kiyama eventually elected to self-publish. He had his work printed in Japan at Kumaya Printers in Tokyo on January 25th and then brought it back to America, issuing it as a book titled Manga Yonin Shosei ("The Four Students Comic") on March 3, 1931. For the place of publication, he listed his studio on 1901 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California.

If Kiyama's book appeared four years before New Fun, is it the "first American comic book"? It could be, but it depends on how one defines a comic book, and not everyone agrees on a definition today. Some people would argue passionately that the first comic books were humorous Japanese illustrated woodblock print books from the 18th century, or European illustrated books from the 19th century. Kiyama's book also does not resemble a typical modern American "comic book" in the sense that it is hardbound and over 100 pages, as opposed to the magazine-style, stapled publications of thirty or so pages popular today. Its visual style resembles that of U.S. gag newspaper strips popular in the early twentieth century, but its content-- a serious story of an autobiographical nature, using apparently "real" characters, who mature and develop over time-- is closer to a modern "graphic novel" than it is to early comic strips or comic books.

Is Kiyama's work the first "graphic novel"? Is it the first "modern-format American comic book"? Experts will probably find much to discuss and argue about. No matter what their conclusions, it is one of a kind, and the first of its kind.

References:

Frederik L. Schodt
November 5, 1998

-Blackbeard, Bill and Martin Williams, ed. The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press and Harry N. Abrams, 1979.

-Paul Sassienie. The Comic Book: The One Essential Guide for Comic Book Fans Everywhere. London: Ebury Press, 1994.

-Manga Producer & Distributor: TokyoPop

-Manga Directory & Updates: http://mangable.com/

-Manga Tutorials: http://www.mangatutorials.com/

-20 Common Manga Terms: http://manga.suite101.com/

Technorati Tags: manga,comics,anime,cartoon,graphic-novel,japanese,shojo,shonen,tankobon,heroes,marvel-comics,dc-comics,comic-books

1/21/09

Are You Ready for a Disaster?

That’s a silly question!

We’re never ready for something bad to happen but if it does, do you have a “Survival” kit?

It doesn’t take a lot of money or effort to put one of these together and to give your self some peace of mind. Just remember, when faced with an earthquake, hurricane, fire, flood, or other emergency in your community, you need to be self-sufficient because there will not be available help for you and your family... It could take rescue workers days before they get to you, so having a good plan and enough supplies is of critical importance!

Here are some important items you should consider having in your Emergency Kit:

1. Food – canned food with pop-up lids; dry foods like crackers, cereal and stuff that can be eaten w/o cooking, like spam, chicken spread or tuna. If you’re in the military, you know what food rations look like; try to pack your emergency kit so that it is easy to carry, lasts for at least 3 days and has a shelf life of abt. 5 years. If your canned goods don’t come with pop-up lids, make sure you get a can-opener from the Dollar Store.

2. Water – buy some gallon jugs of water and store it in your hideout; don’t buy expensive brand name water---you’ll be using this water to drink and to wash with! Also get some Aquatabs, water purification tablets; they cost under $5 and clean water is a critical item to have during a crisis! If you have kids & pets, triple your supply.

3. Light – get a good supply of flash lights. The really simple ones cost under $5. Also get some green lightsticks; they don’t provide a lot of light but they get you noticed if people are looking for you. Invest in a Power Failure Emergency Light, costs abt. $25 but lights up automatically for 60 min. when power goes out. Can be very useful during blackouts! If you have camping gear, then make sure your lanterns work. Get them ready for use and keep them in your hideout. Make sure you have candles & matches. Sometimes if nothing else works, candlelight will be a huge relief in the dark. DO NOT USE MATCHES until you are sure you don’t have a Gas Leak!

4. Radio – essential to have a small portable transistor radio. Very cheap, under $10. It will keep you informed during a disaster when you don’t have tv, internet or phone access to the outside world! It’s terrible hiding out and being cut off from everyone else, not knowing the extent of damage around you…! *If you live in a highly active tornado area, get a Weather Radio ---it forecasts weather on 7 different frequencies and has a 24-hour storm alarm. If you don’t hear your town sirens going off, this radio will warn you in time to get out of bed!

5. Sanitation – make sure you have plenty of paper & wipes! Even if you can’t get to your toilet, you’ll still need to relieve yourself; You can invest in Toilet bags which run about $2.50 for a 12pk. You can use these alone or with a Bucket-style plastic toilet, abt. $15. Make sure you have Purell for your hands; washing with soap may not be an option and the water you store is not to be wasted. *Ladies make sure you have a month’s supply of feminine pads so you won’t waste toilet paper!

6. Clothes – old sweats, socks, sweaters & jeans; make sure you have SHOES or old sneakers!!! You will not be able to walk around barefoot in the rubble & broken glass! If you don’t know what to pack in your hideout, just pretend you have to jump out of bed in the middle of the night… You will be cold & you will need footwear. You will be very grateful for having thought of this in advance! You can buy plastic ponchos, hand warmers and other supplies very cheaply at any store (sports & recreation section).

7. Blankets – thermal blankets are as low as $5 at Walmart; you can find them in the camping gear section. If you have picnic blankets, old comforters or sleeping bags, pack those in a box and keep them in your hideout or in the closet under your stairs. When you run in your hideout, you will need to shelter yourself from possible debris. Old pillows are also very useful. Cover your children’s faces. *if you have bicycle helmets, these can protect your head from falling objects!

8. Batteries – You will need batteries for your radio & flash lights! Make sure you get the right size and check expiration date. There’s such a thing as a 20-yr shelf life battery but they’re kinda expensive, abt. $20 a pair, and they are referred to “Code Red ” emergency batteries; they have a red core and are not active until the tops are manually turned to activate the electrodes. This means that if the battery isn’t activated it doesn’t lose any power even if it’s used 20 years from now, and will shine brighter & last twice as long as any heavy duty battery!

9. Documents – Make photocopies of insurance cards, id cards, ss# cards, bank acct. numbers, important phone numbers, property deeds & auto papers. Use a copier that can reduce the size of your documents and try to photocopy the small items all on one sheet of paper. You don’t know how many times people needed to “prove” ownership of something but didn’t have any documents to that effect. If you lose your home during a disaster, it will be really useful to have all the info at some other location (mother’s house, fire-proof box, bank vault, or even in the trunk of your car!) If you own a USB flash key, store all your info on this small device and keep it with you. *keep at least $100 cash hidden somewhere in the event you cannot get to a bank – you may find places to buy some goods or even to gas up your car so you can get out of town!

10. Pet Supplies – dry dog food only; make sure you have your animal on a leash & close to you during hideout. If your pet is scared or becomes aggressive, lock it safely in pet cage /carrier, so you won’t have to go looking for them during your down-time. There are emergency dog & cat rations at specialty stores, in 10oz. vacuum-sealed bags for about $5 each. Your animal will be sharing your water & sanitation supplies with you, so make the appropriate allowances. Always make sure your pet has an ID tag!

11. First Aid – these kits come in a variety of sizes, but first you need to consider who you will be administering to in the event of a disaster. If your family needs meds, get a few pill containers and fill up with 2 weeks supply. Inhalers, make sure you have a couple of “fresh” ones in your kit. Take the time to find info (and print it out) basic aid instructions such as Head & Spine, Bone, Eye Burns, Bites & Stings. Your first aid kit should contain the OSHA recommended supplies but if you feel you might need extras, you can add those to your box. Some important first aid items are antiseptics, dressings & bandages, which can be bought individually at the any store.

Additional Preparations:

~ Earthquake – Stand in a strongly supported doorway or duck under a sturdy table; Stay away from heavy objects, bookcases, glass and light fixtures; shutoff valves for water, gas, and electricity. Gas leaks can start fires and explosions. Be prepared for aftershocks which can be as bad as earthquake. If it moves, you move with it! If you are away from home, do not use elevators! If you are in a crowded place or store, do NOT rush to exits! Just stay away from display shelves and crouch down and protect your head & face with your arms. If you’re in your car, stop as soon as you can; avoid bridges, ramps overpasses and any other road structures that may been damaged. ***Consider using Safety Adhesive Fasteners to anchor appliances, computers, and TVs; use Picture Hooks to keep large frames or pictures from falling; use Furniture Fastening Straps to anchor heavy furniture which can shift & block your exit.

~ Hurricane -- Season begins around June 1^st thru November 30^th. Be prepared for high winds & flooding. Stay away from buildings, trees, telephone and electrical lines, overpasses, and elevated expressways. Shutoff valves for water, gas, and electricity. Use sand bags & tarps to cover patio doors, windows and other possible points of flooding. ***Get a supply of Tarps made with reinforced rip-resistant polyethylene, for quick on the spot shelter; Folding Shovel for clearing mud away from exit ways; Water-proof zip-lock bags for documents, small electronics, etc. If you are too close to ocean or other body of water, move to a higher ground immediately. Do not stay to watch the water rise; you cannot save your house by risking your life. If you live in a known flood zone, evacuate to your nearest shelter; know where your local Red Cross is at. Take your insurance policy info with you!

~ Tornado – Stay away from windows, mirrors & flying objects; hide in the lowest level of your house or closet under your stairs. Overturn your kitchen table or couch and use it as a shield. If you are outside, lie flat in a ditch or low-lying area. A Tornado Watch, means there’s a possibility of a tornado appearing; a Tornado Warning, means one has been spotted and you need to take cover. If you hear something that sounds like a freight train coming in your direction, it is a tornado! Listen to your radio for information & instructions; If you don’t have a safe shelter or live in a mobile home, evacuate immediately to your nearest shelter or Red Cross shelter.

~ Fires -- Check your smoke & fire detectors; make sure they work! To contain fire, you need to close all windows and anything that lets in air! Air fuels a fire and it helps it spread faster. Make sure you have a portable fire extinguisher. Know how to use it. If you are on upper floor of house, use your rope ladder to climb out window. Don’t hesitate; the fire will spread and smoke inhalation can kill you! If your clothes catch on fire, Drop & Roll on the ground! To escape a fire, check closed doors with your hand before opening! If it’s hot, do not open. If there’s smoke, crawl on the floor until you get to your exit. If you are trapped in a room, hang a bed sheet or something white out the window so fire fighters can see you.

~ Tsunamis are not common in U.S., They are enormous seismic sea waves (not “tidal waves”), created by an underwater disturbance like an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or meteorite. A tsunami can move hundreds of miles per hour in the open ocean and smash into land with waves as high as 100 feet or more. If you live in an area prone to this type of disaster, learn about preparedness & evacuation before this becomes a crisis.

~ Child ID & Records Kit – consider having your child fingerprinted and an ID card issued by your local police station. This helps in many situations to identify those who are lost or go missing. *I know this is something you don’t want to think about, but if there ever came a time when the authorities had to find your child, it would be a great tool for them to have on record.

~ Cell Phone Car Charger – having one of these can make a huge difference, especially if there’s no power in your house. Start your car and charge up your cell phone so you can call out for help.

~ Extra Keys – make extra keys for house & car and keep one set in your hideout and a second set in your Hide-a-Key magnet slot (hidden in the under-carriage of your car) or a flower pot in your back yard..

~ Get a Steel Crowbar! It’s cheap and it will help you open jammed doors or windows after an earthquake; don’t get stuck!

~ Rope Ladders hook onto window sills and allow for an escape route when exits are blocked; this is good for earthquakes, fires & floods especially if you are trapped upstairs.

~ Fanny Pack – these are so useful; fill with your pills, documents, extra keys, etc., and hang in your coat closet. Grab n Go when you receive disaster warning.

~ Have a Plan – talk to your family about what everyone needs to be doing during a crisis. Have a place to meet in the event you get separated. Consider having a second escape route in the event your stairs are blocked – a roped ladder is good for climbing out windows when you are stuck upstairs with no way out! Develop a way to leave messages for each other outside of the home. This is important when children are at school and parents at work and they need to contact each other --- phone services will probably be out for a while, so have a discreet place to leave a message for your family. Practice your plan and know all possible exits & danger spots in your home.

~ Car Survival Kit – consider having basic necessities stored in the trunk of your car. In the event you cannot get to an evac shelter but cannot stay at home either, your car kit will be the most valuable item you have!

*** for more information on preparing your survival kit, check with your local community. Your phone book should also have a checklist to help you out; also check Coast Guard, Red Cross, FEMA or third-party Preparedness Experts. For a State to State EMA, check the following website: http://www.survival-supply.com/info_pages.php?pages_id=53

Please don’t wait till the last minute! I’ve lived through several earthquakes, 2 hurricanes and many close calls with tornados!!! It’s not a pleasant experience and it definitely makes a difference when you have a plan; it makes a difference to your children and offers some psychological relief knowing you’re on top of things!

Technorati Tags: preparedness,emergency,survival,disasters,hurricane,tornado,earthquake,first aid,supplies

1/17/09

Getting Traffic 2 Your Site

Submitting to “free” search engines is nice but they don’t guarantee positioning and it can take up to 3 months to crawl your site to get you listed in the popular directories.

To effectively get listed in search engines you need to use meta-tags and keywords in addition to placing your site in the right category for engines to index you. This works better if you know some coding and can add the necessary HTML into the header of your page(s) for the bots to pick up.

Many of these engines ask for a reciprocal link and they often give you an ugly button with their logo to post on the front page of your site ---by the time you get done with all your free submissions you’ll have a very cluttered page, which will detract from what you are trying to present to your audience.

If you want my opinion, free site submission engines are not the best way to promote your site. Google, MSN and Yahoo are probably all you’re going to need as far as submissions go.

Bumping is another free way to drive traffic to your website to make it more visible. This can become a tedious and time con-suming activity because it must be done regularly in order to keep your siggy (signature button, usually 125x125) at the top of the bumping list.

If you’re diligent this system can work well but you have to keep in mind that you’ll be bumping against several other sites; in the end your webpage may only get just a few minutes to possibly 1 day of exposure! If you use a bumping service, make sure it’s a close-knit circuit of folks like a friendly eBay group or a small affiliate group.

There are also several online directories that participate in a free banner & link exchange program. They list your site in their service and in return you have to post their link or a “rotating” banner on your site (usually 468x60). Keep in mind that similar sites are grouped together.

This means the banner you post on your site will rotate every several minutes (or so) to display one of the other sites in the directory you’re listed in. That’s not bad advertising but you have to remember that the rest of the sites become your competitors since this service groups by similarity. For instance, if you’re listed in the art and crafts category you are instantly competing with all the other sites listed in this category.

In my opinion banner exchanges are not the most productive way to publicize your site because you may be hurting it more than helping it (if you’re competing for sales).

There’s a newer trend based on the old banner exchange model and it’s called a plugboard. Plugboards are easier to manage, the buttons are much smaller (88 x 31) and they work similarly to bumping.

You “plug” your siggy or button into the grid a couple times a week and in return you offer a plugboard on your site. The good part about hosting your own bumps or plugs is that you can place them on any page you want and have sole discretion as to the size of the grid. Plugboards can be fun, interesting and do get a lot of attention! *check my plugboard below*

There’s yet another type of free service people often use and it’s called a webring. Webrings works similarly to banner exchanges only here you are given a specific script or code to place in your webpage. If you’re not code-savvy and something goes wrong, your site will not be picked up by the “ring” and your broken code will pose as a disruption to the rest of the sites in the ring! In any event, webrings are not as popular as they used to be (and not attractive at all!) and are mostly used for personal hobby websites.

*A typical webring code will produce an image that looks like this on your page:

So what are you suppose to do to get some traffic to your site? Free services are great if you’re trying to get readers for your blog or people to join your group, and they are a must if you’re trying to keep startup costs down for your online business.

Just keep in mind that you have to do some research and choose services wisely. You don’t want to overdo it with banners, buttons and blinking things all over your site and you want to make sure you’re not “condemning” your site’s overall performance!

Another thing to remember, if you come across a good blog or group that posts regularly, you can ask them if they’ll feature your website in one of their posts or in list you in their “fav” links section.

Of-course nothing worthwhile comes free so you’ll have to give something in order to get something back. If you sell a product, see if you can barter. If you offer a service, ask if they’d like a month’s worth of free service in exchange for featuring your banner or link on their site.

To find top-ranking bloggers of every kind, visit Technorati.com (directory of all blogs) and search by category for the type of blog you’d like to advertise in. Some blogs receive thousands of hits per day and if you’re able to negotiate something with the blog owner you’d be getting loads of publicity!

Don’t forget that anyone can have a website but it takes patience and hard work to get it noticed! The last thing you want is for your website to be buried, burned or forgotten.

Sites to try:

Technorati Tags: banner,exchange,search,engines,submission,advertising,bumping,plugboards,webrings

1/12/09

Links, Banners and Technorati

The Button Exchange

View blog authority

Don't forget to plug your site on front page of this blog. Use an 88 x 31 plug and bump as frequently as you'd like!

Drachma-Girl's Blog Front Page

Also, if you have accounts with any of the popular Social Media Networks like Digg, Reddit, Delicious, Technorati, Stumble, make sure you bookmark my site and I will do the same!
Leave me a private message here or on Twitter with your URL so I can return the favor!

1/9/09

Review on Face Cream

I have very sensitive skin and my dry spots make my face appear older, leaving visible dry lines across cheeks & forehead. I'm always skeptical about spending a lot of money on big brand cosmetics and until now, I had never found anything that could fully moisturize & heal my face.

But I have to tell you about something I came across purely by accident and I’m happy I brought it home with me… It’s called i.d. BareVitamins Skin Rev-er Upper by Bare Escentuals. This moisturizer works wonders for me!

I was told by the sales rep. at the Ulta shop that this item is meant as a makeup "primer". It evens out the skin tone and makes skin look less blotchy and makeup can be applied smoother!

Although I don't wear any makeup (no foundation, powders or blush), I bought it because it's more of a vitamin and less of a cream. In just 3 days my skin looks nourished and healthier and what's even more amazing, my skin is starting to look alive & perky ---not tired & droopy!

I really enjoy it because it's moisturizing enough to reduce oil production, smoothing to clear up any blemishes, and in the event you have a little acne, it's nourishing enough to prevent further breakouts. It contains salicylic acid but unlike other products with this ingredient, this does not burn or irritate my skin.

I just love the fact that it’s so gentle and yet so powerful at the same time. It contains botanical extracts along with vitamins, it's very light-weight and it absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy /oily look! It's perfect for all types of skin!

It comes in a convenient 2.3 fl.oz. pump bottle (great for your purse) and retails around $21.

In my estimation this is top notch, and I’ve never found anything to work this well or as fast. It’s definitely worth the money and my skin is just loving it!

My Rating: I give it a 4.5/5.0

Note: I do not work for any cosmetics company nor have I received payment of any kind to write a favorable review! I am a regular consumer just like you who shops with hard earned money, and I’m just passing along my opinion!