2013 is almost over, just a few hours left in this year, and I can say it was an amazing year. So much has happened in my life, so many things have changed and I continue to expand my skills and to improve on what I already have. Lets go over the events that happened so far.

For my birthday on the 1st of February my parents got me a DSLR camera right before our trip to Melbourne to watch the Australian Open and Fiji. This sparked my interest in photography and I now I carry my camera to almost all important events.

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The next important event I would like to highlight is the the Wolf Children screening where I watched the movie for the 3rd time, but this time we got to see the Director - Mamoru Hosoda. He signed my BluRay copy of the movie and even drew me a sketch of Hana.

In May I got to see Tenacious D preform live in the Syndey Opera House with Sashin. That was my first time in the opera house and wow I can say that was amazing. The D will rise again.

And then I went home for a month in summer, almost didn’t make it, but it was ok in the end. Spent three weeks in Latvia, saw some of my friends, had some amazing food and overall had a nice rest from work and uni.

In December (on the 1st actually) I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and I really hope I passed. It was hard, harder then any other language test I have ever done. Why? Because of the Kanji of course. Kanji are my worst nightmare, I can sorta recognize them in text, but choosing the correct reading or the correct kanji based on a reading is not my strong point. Well results come out in March so I’ll just have to wait till then.

Otherwise I played Pokemon Y, GTA V, The Last of Us, and of course I managed to clear Super Hexagon.

‘twas a good year. Happy New Year! Lets have a good one again next year.

Thanks to Ruben I now know of this amazing website called Wordle, which allows you to compile a word cloud of your most used words. So these are mine for 2013 based on archive titles.

I have had my blog for a year and a half now, first post being on the 20th of May 2012. In this time I have managed to change web hosts and themes. Now I believe is the perfect time to improve the design I have been using ever since I moved from wordpress.com to private web hosting - Wild Flower. Today, on the 25th of December, I would like to present my new blog theme Ring-O.

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Blog Version 1

But before I go into more detail about the style I would like to take a trip down memory lane and talk about the previous designs I was using. First was when I was still using jamiejakov.com hosted on wordpress.com. The theme is called iTheme2 and it is a free theme on wordpress.com. With a few slight modifications I made it my own.

Blog Version 2

I couldn’t do more than these slight color and background changes as those are the limitations of having a wordpress.com blog. Being annoyed that I couldn’t do anything to my own blog, I decided to get my own domain and web hosting. At the time I was doing it was the end of my Spring semester of 2013, so I was pretty busy with assignments and didn’t have much time to sit there and design a theme. I chose a dark theme called Wild Fire. This became version 2. I have been using it for ever since. Slight modifications to the CSS and it was good to go. I did rewrite the CSS at one point, but still kept the overall design the same.

Blog Version 3

Now its time for a change! I sat there hacking away at code for the past few weeks thinking of the best possible positioning of each element, of each image, of each border. Finally when I was happy with layout and everything I gave the task of designing the new logo, all the headers/background images and a mascot (no, I am not copying Rubenerd) to my partner at the time - Amy. She came up with the concept of my new mascot, named Ringo, and focused all the other design decisions around her.

Here she is!

Continuing on with the design decisions. The logo was completely redesigned but it kept the original idea in mind. The original concept for my old logo was that the 2 letters J were written in Japanese with じ and they were mirrored and flipped to make this oval with points inside. She did that by making Ringo’s twin-tails into じ so that they are facing each other!

Continuing on, All the pages were rethought and drawings done by Amy were added. In the About page a whole new category was added - Social Media. That gives a glimpse of all the social media apps that I use, making it easy to find me. The Categories page was created to give my readers (you, yes you) an easier way to see what each category entails and an convenient way to browse all my posts. The layout of the index page as well as the page navigation was changed, the color scheme was altered to remove black as much possible, making the theme light and fluid. Also a very important decision was to remove the categories from the sidebar and make them a dropdown. Not only does that save space, but it allowed me to put Ringo-chan there and set the sidebar to a fixed position.

And the main new feature of my blog is responsive design! Now it looks amazing on both 9.7’ iPads and 4’ iPhones (and all the Androids in between). Take a look!

In 2012 I wrote a blog post with a video titled “Embrace the Remix” and today I saw iDownloadBlog write about another video made by the same guy covering the iPhone and iOS. It is fascinating to watch these videos and to see how much technology has evolved over the years and how it is continuing to grow even further. I would recommend everyone to watch the whole series which you can find on Kirby Ferguson’s Vimeo

My friend Sebastian mentioned me in a tweet saying that I should also write up a post describing my blog life. After a week or so of contemplating, I decided why the hell not.

When did you first start blogging and why?

My first blog post dates back to May 20th 2012, however I did write up a few anime reviews on my Google+ account, which I later on transferred here so that people can read. Why? … hmmmm I guess because In the first year of uni I meat Ruben and he showed me his awesome blog. Ruben is my sempai and I respect him a lot, in him I saw someone who I wanted to be when I was his age (IT wise), and so I started little by little - from making a blog to writing small apps as a hobby.

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Have you had any past online presence?

Facebook yes, a bit of Google+, YouTube comments?… Otherwise not really, I was not the type of person who would voice their opinions on the internet. I think that has changed a bit over the years.

When did you become serious about your blog?

I don’t think I am at that stage. I post about my travels, mainly for my family to see; I post about anime, games or IT stuff cause I find it interesting; I post about interesting experiences and things that I think other people would find either amusing or intriguing.

What was your first blog post?

This little baby right here: Japanese App. It was a quick thought about the update of my favorite japanese app for iPhone (and now iPad). Nothing special, but I will always look back to it, because it was my first!

What have been your biggest challenges blogging?

Aside from the language (engrish no my first language, hard, very), I would say finding content that people want to read about, not only personal experiences but also some things that people might not know of and would have an interest in. Thats why I sometimes blog in Russian and Japanese, to expand my readers base. And when I go to japan next year I am pretty sure a lot of my friends there will want to read my posts.

What is the most rewarding thing about blogging?

If someone asks you about something and you have written a lengthy post about it, you can give them an overview of your opinion and then send them to your blog for more info. Very convenient. Also it makes it so much easier to share your travel experiences with friends and family.

What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?

I don’t mind not getting comments on my blog, heck I removed them, people can always talk to me over Twitter or Facebook. To me the most discouraging thing is actually sitting down and writing up a post. I want it to be good, look nice, and have meaningful content. That is really time consuming. And time is not something I can freely waste at this point in my life.

What is your lasting inspiration or motivation?

I know having a blog which you manage yourself, designed yourself, wrote the code yourself (aside form the WordPress part), and host yourself on a bought domain & you know how it all works, is very good for anyone aiming for a career in IT.

What is your blogging dirty little secret?

In the first year when I started blogging I accidentally set up my blog on wordpress.com instead of wordpress.org and was wondering why can’t I edit the html and can only slightly modify the CSS. Wasted a good 90$ (fee for the special package for the year) on that, before finally moving to a self hosted domain (where we are now).

What is your current goal as a blogger?

To write long and meaningful posts that would interest other people as much as they interest me!

Have you learned or become passionate about anything through blogging that caught you by surprise?

I don’t know if it was because of blogging or my uni classes, or Apple, or urbanest, or Ruben, or my friends who study visual communications, but I got obsessed by good design and fonts. Designing beautiful and minimalistic user interfaces is my passion now. Not only UIs to be honest, for urbanest I make forms, posters, and signs which I also pour my heart and soul into. That being said, expect this blog to drastically change by Christmas, into something that I can proudly call my art.

All good things come to an end. Like, for example, calling people up and making bookings, checking new residents in, and welcoming new staff to the team. There comes a time when we must part with the ones who have become and unforgettable part of this small group who help function the system that is urbanest Quay Street, the ones who we call family. Of course I am talking about our beloved Community Netwokers - Wilmer and Megan. They are finishing their degrees at university and they are either going back to their home countries or seeking other future prospects. Both of you will be greatly missed, you have truly become part of the family and we can not imagine life at urbanest without you.

To celebrate the building being full for semester 2 of 2013 and to bid farewell to 2 members of you big family we held a dinner. Nothing classy, just the TV room, some food and a cake! Overall it was a very pleasant dinner, and we will all miss you guys! Please visit once in a while, or at least message us!!!!

Here are some photos from the night, most taken by our new Community Networker - Darrell:

So since the weather in Sydney hasn’t been that great lately, I decided to go the Powerhouse Museum, which is so conveniently located only 5 minutes away from where I live. Last time I was there was when the Harry Potter exhibition was on in 2011, I think.

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There were a lot of interesting things on display, such as steam trains, space ships and satellites (включая спутник 1), and other sciency stuff like magnets and lights. Also they had a rather interesting exhibition of the history of the Beatles in Australia. Too bad that there were too many people so I couldn’t get any decent shots. There was also a small light display, think Vivid, but more interactive and in a smaller space. They even had a room with lasers going from one side to the other, like in those Mission Impossible movies where they have to avoid touching the lasers, because they will set off the alarm. So cool.

One of the most impressive displays to me was the timeline of the most essential and influential inventions of humanity. Starting with the printing press, continuing with the engine and then getting to the computer, finishing off with the smartphone! I was really surprised that they would include the smartphone as a revolutionary device. I guess until we invent something even more amazing, the smartphone will be the pinnacle of human invention.

Overall it was a very entertaining experience and I would recommend anyone interested in science and a  bit of history to go take a look. Did I forget to mention that we got to play some retro games like Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Arcanoid and others.

As you know I am the screenings director for Anime@UTS and an active member of JASS, but as of last year I also joined a newly formed club called: the Drawing Circle. As the name implies its a club of artistic people who love to draw, sketch, design and just make pretty things. Well I have quite a few friends there and so I decided to join as well, cause why not, however I haven’t really gone to any events, aside from the joint Pokemon event with the anime club. So now that I am dating a girl who is pretty much an exec of that club (not really but kinda), I thought it would be nice to come to their events as well.

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Starting off at the AGM on friday, I got to know more people from their society and participate in the election of the new executive team, who would be responsible for running the club in 2014. Then continuing on to Saturday when we went to the Art Gallery of NSW to view the Renaissance to Goya exhibition happening there at the time. Not only did we get to see that, but we also wandered around the whole gallery and took photos where permitted. In regards to photos, I didn’t take many (the ones that I did are at the end of this post), but my bro Sebastian, now bearing a high quality DSLR camera, took a lot of great photos all over the gallery. You can view them here:

Last, but not least, was our outing today to Bronte → Bondi for the Sculptures by the Sea art exhibition. It was awesome! So many interesting and unusual art pieces lined up next to the ocean. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t that great so the photos didn’t turn out that well, but aside from that the day was really enjoyable. Once again my bro Sebastian took all the photos (I forgot to charge my camera… again… /cry). And they are all on his:

And here are some of the photos I took:

View album on Imgur

Every year Apple releases an update for their iPad lineup. This year they created something incredible, something that redefines how we use tablets (again) - the iPad Air. If before, the 9.7’ iPads were heavy and bulky, so much that you would have to chose to take that or your laptop to uni or work, with the iPad Air that is no longer an issue. It is lighter and thiner. So much lighter, I might add, that I feel as if I am holding an iPad mini in my hand. The design of the back mimics the design of the mini and feels really nice in your hands. By making it lighter and thiner, holding the iPad Air in one hand feels comfortable and natural. Anyway I love it. I finally have an iPad that I can call my own, and I will be using it mainly for entertainment, but also sometimes for uni and stuff. I am pretty sure that my mom is very jealous of this device as her main complaint about her iPad (iRin) is that it is too heavy.

If you follow my blog you would know that last month I stood in line for like 4 hours to get an iPhone 5s , which I named iShinobu. This time I only waited for like 10-15 minutes and got the iPad Air straight away, very nice. And if you know anything about anime, you can guess what I named this amazing new gadget: iMadoka ( Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica )

In this flickr set I have some photos of the figure of Godoka (ultimate form of Madoka), so take a look there.

Tonight, just a few days before Halloween itself, Anime@UTS & JASS held its first ever horror movie screening! With around 40-60 people there, I would say that this event was a huge success.

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For food there ware cupcakes, candy and pizza. Movies we watched were Ju-on the course and The Ring. Thats some pretty scary stuff right there, so I didn’t watch, cause I am really bad with horror movies.

Here are some photos of the event, most taken by Sebasu_tan:

View album on Imgur

境目につての私の経験と考え

境目とは物理的な線にかぎらず、空想的ないもしない分離線である。例えば、地球が形作った時代に生み出した大陸や季節の境目が今まで残っている。そして現在世界では人間が樹立した経済的や政治的や社会的な境目も存在している。

私はラトビアにうまれたので政治的な境目を自分で感じた事がある。ラトビアは欧州連合に入った前に欧州の国に旅行するのは大変だった。普通に国境線で５時間ぐらい待たなければならなかった。しかしバルト三国は欧州連合に入った後に国境線はなくなり、旅行時間も減少した事が大進歩であった。国々の政治や政府は変わってないのに国と国の「境目」はほとんどなくなった。

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境目は少しずつ薄くなると考える。川上弘美は書き表した人間同士の境目というものがオーストラリラではあまり感じられないのである。シドニーでは様々な国の人が暮らし、もうそんなに強く区別しない、皆が平和に生きている。もちろん全世界の境目がなくなったら、いい事ではないと強く信じている。自分のアイデンティティを守るのは大事だが、シドニーのような市に住んだら、自国化の境目を超えて、今いる国の文化を受け止めなければならないと思う。「郷に入らば郷に従え」

移動する子供達

このトピクでは移動という言葉は、ただ引っ越しの意味ではなく、自宅を変えて新しい場所／国や文化に雰囲気に踏み込むことである。

セインカミュさんのように、何回も国から国へ移動し、習慣に馴染めなければならなかった。文化や習慣や言語ところか、自分の外面は変わっていたのせいで、日本に暮らし外人と呼ばれていた。しかしこの言葉は悪い意味を持つかどうか、人によって違っていると思う。

その感覚や気持ち私にとって不明ではない。ラトビアに生まれロシア人に育て私は子供の頃から自分のアイデンティティをよく理解でない。ずっとラトビアに住んでいたが、ラトビア語は上手ではないし、ラトビア人と同じ日を祝いしていないし、自分の生まれた国に誇りをあまり持っていない。しかし、逆に私はロシア人ではない。ロシア語は母語で、両親も私を普通のロシア人としてそだてられたのに、ロシアに２回しか行った事ないし本物のロシア人と話すと、私の事を外人（ラトビア人）と呼ばれている。その上に今はオーストラリアに移動してシドニー工科大学に通い、この国に完全な部外者なのに、なんだか溶け込んでしまった。もちろん心も考え方も両親は育てられたようにロシア人なのだが、オーストラリアの習慣や生活に馴染むのが問題ではなかった。

最後に現代社会では子供のころから移動するのはそんなに珍しいものではないから、問題に普通にならないはず。しかし住むために自分にとって他国に移動したら、たった一つのことを覚えるべきだ：「郷に入れば郷に従え」。

外国語って何？

この質問を分かるため、まず母語という観念を理解しなければならないと思う。ラトビアに生まれロシア人の私にとって母語はロシア語である。なぜなら両親はロシア人であり初めての話した言葉もロシア語だったからである。それに限らず、何かを言う前に頭で考えている時もロシア語を使っている。問題を解けても、レポートを書いても、友達とあるトピックを論しても、自然にロシア語で頭が動いている。その理由に基づいてロシア語は私の母語とはっきり言える。

外国語は自国で自然じゃない、普通に会わない言語だと思う。しかしグローバリゼーションのせいで英語はすでに国際語になってしまったので、外国語とはもう言えない。私にとって外国語は欧米の国々の言語やアジアの言語である。

自分の国に入れば他国の言語と出会う状況はもう様々な国にとって当然な事になったのではないか。例えばアメリカやオランダやオーストラリアでは多文化であり、そして南アフリカでは色々な言語が国語として認められている。

外国語という観念は国々にとって変わっているので簡単に定義できないではないか。一般的に言えば自国にない、自然ではない言語や言葉であると思う。