Dangal—Review

Dangal ("wrestler") is one of those films that you can watch with just about anyone—making you smile, laugh, and even cry while loving every bit of the experience. I went in without even knowing what the film was about, having no expectations, and came out with a huge smile and some happy tears....

Common "Religious" Arabic Phrases Used Culturally

Some phrases, that when translated to English may sound over the top and archaic, are so common they're practically expected to be said in other languages. Because I believe language is an insight into culture, I came up with six different scenarios and their consecutive phrases. This post will be dedicated...

Novel Like Manga—Laying out Your Story

I'll be honest: I know nothing about drawing manga, but I do know a thing or two about writing. As a longstanding manga fan, I feel like I owe it to the industry to understand how it works. And while thinking about it, I discovered a lot of connections between manga and books—some similar, others admirably...

NaNoWriMo Tips from Someone Who Won and Lost

November is upon us once again, and that means another year of NaNoWriMo is underway. As someone who both won and lost the write-a novel-in-just-a-month challenge, I feel entitled to share some words of wisdom. Mainly, ones that came out of anything but wisdom—technically words inspired...

Perpetually Dreaming — My Reality

As the saying goes, there are always two kinds of people. They are always doing or being two different kinds of things. To be honest, that always bothered me—two is never an accurate number. But I keep (hypocritically) dividing people in two groups myself. In my mind, people are either dreamers...

Duel of Fire by Jordan Rivet

This book was a quick fun read. Sword fighting, magic, and a funny prince? I knew I'd like it before reading--and I totally did. Set in a fantasy world, Duel of Fire is filled with new concepts and strong characters. Dara Ruminor is an eighteen-year old duelist who is serious about her work. And...

Traditional Music Instruments from Around the World

Much like how different dialects in different languages have different sounds, music instruments from around the world carry distinct traces of unique cultures. In a way, listening to different music styles and instruments becomes a form of cultural immersion.   Which is simply...

Frederic - A Unique Japanese Sound

Frederic (フレデリック) makes the type of music I would recommend to people who are genuine music lovers. They're so interesting and unique that it's hard for me to label them with a single genre--though Japanese Rock seems to be the general umbrella. Personally, I'd go with "Indie (pop-ish?) with funk-like rock"--or simply: just good music. Originally from Kobe, Frederic is a three-member band...

Losing a Voice

I've come to realise that I have lost my voice. No, not my actual voice with vocal chords and all, but my writing one... which in a way, feels exactly the same. The thing about losing your voice is that it's a lot like losing your "self". And that can be scary. For me, it means not knowing how...