Go Touch Anything That Isn't A Screen

Every year I throw in a single monthly update dedicated to touching grass. Well, what if I changed things up this year and told you to go touch anything that isn’t a screen? It’s a simple request from one human being to another. I may have a lot of things invested into my time online (including this website) as I’m sure you all do. But I always make sure to divert, create, and manage free time for other endeavors that don’t include a phone, laptop, tablet, headset or computer. Technology is supposed to be there for us to enhance our lives, but lately it seems to be working as a substitution. I have a lot of life stories and experiences that I love sharing with all of you, and that comes from being able to have time to do something rather than observe someone (or something) else. So, please go make time for yourselves and stop letting others steal it away.

“But Box, I hate going outside! I also have a medical condition that makes me allergic to human beings and red tree squirrels!”

Well, you’re in luck dear visitor. May I humbly suggest you go pick up some Lego kits and start building them from scratch? What if I told you, it’s even easier since someone can show you step by step how to build things along the way! Getting into the habit of starting a hands-on crafting project can be daunting at first, but we all need to take our first steps somehow. Thankfully there are a lot of folks out there ahead of the curve, and willing to show you how it’s done so you’re not horribly frustrated on your first time. Top Brick Builder has a lot of “build along with me” type videos and most of their sets are “nerdy” enough that I think a lot of you will like for your first build.

Lego not your thing? There are a lot of miniature DIY kits available on many online stores today, and they’ve really gotten a lot more sophisticated than way back when I started talking about them. These kits are fairly straightforward to build, but still require a lot of patience and (more importantly) the right set of crafting tools. Having all you need before you begin will lessen the frustration of situations where you need something that you may not have on hand. Offset tweezers and fast drying craft glue are a must if you’re diving into this hobby. Even if you don’t decide to build anything, the YouTube videos of folks building these things is relaxing in its own right, but remember we’re trying our best not to stick our faces to screens.

Alright I’ll level with your hardcore nerds out there. Taking you away cold turkey from a screen is probably the worst thing I may suggest. I really just want all of you to do something productive with your time than just simply ingesting media passively. Perhaps I could recommend you all to get into 3D printing? You’ll still be looking at a screen, but you’ll also be getting into the hobby of crafting something into the 3D space, and I heard it’s an extremely addicting hobby to get into to. And yes, I have no experience with 3D printers either, but I’ve heard it’s quite dangerous (in terms of being addicted) once you get started. So, get out there and print stuff so you can teach me when I ask you down the road about it. You’ll still be touching screens, but at least you’ll also be touching something else.

Artist is Ni0

Ending off the month with an extremely old school talented artist Ni0 (Nishi) who has worked on a ton of IP’s over the years. Pretty low-key artist too (not much about them online) but believe me when I say that they’ve been very successful and prolific back in the day. Definitely deserve the artist of the month spot, and I hope you enjoy their work. They also have a printed copy of their work over the years titled Ni0 Art Works: Nishi’s Alluring Figures. You can try and find it locally in your area of the world, or import it if it’s not available. That’s it for May, go out there and start touching some stuff!

Audio Anxiety April

This update has been years in the making, but I’m happy to finally put it all together in one blog post to up everyone’s audio game. So get ready to take some notes, buy some new equipment, and start experiencing some high-quality audio you’ve probably been missing all your life. I expect all of you to become obnoxious hipsters at coffee shops once we’re all finished here! As always, the audio portion of the monthly update has way more nuance, so don’t forget to take a listen.

After reviewing countless videos on YouTube talking about audiophile terminology, I settled on the above created by chuckolatte because it’s the most down to earth without going too much into the weeds. Keep in mind these terms spill over to speakers as well but will not complete all the vocabulary used by audiophiles to describe everything. It’s just that people are really more particular with headphones then they are speakers, but that’s not to say they aren’t as important. In a nutshell, the advice you use to buy a good set of cans / buds would be the same for a good pair of speakers.

Speakerrating is a recent site that launched indexing Bluetooth speakers of all sizes and brands. It’s an invaluable resource to see people’s opinions on the hundreds of models out there on the market and to have some idea of where they stand against one another. Bluetooth speakers are an excellent compromise for someone who wants a portable device when necessary while having mostly the same quality as a good set of stationary “at home” speakers. With advancing technology in TWS becoming a thing, there are some younger folks who strictly buy Bluetooth speakers only; ditching the RCA / AUX input of yesteryear.

FxSound is a freeware desktop program that allows you to apply customized EQ settings to any output devices you are using. This has the advantage of working at a hardware level versus an application level, meaning that your EQ settings apply to EVERYTHING coming out of the device versus application settings which only apply to that particular instance. So, for example if you use an EQ built into your music player app; then the EQ will only apply to the songs you play via the app. But with FxSound, if you apply the EQ to your output device, everything will have the EQ applied that plays. Games, browser sounds, other apps, movies, music, everything. This program may save those of you who have current passable hardware or unlock the full potential of new hardware you have bought.

Scarbir is who I recommended in the past for earbud reviews and someone I still recommend today. That's because he’s focused on value first (how much you pay for what you get) versus overall sound quality (which most other reviewers use) as a metric. There are so many folks out there who are really good at recommending high quality gear in general, but they don’t really feel cost is a necessary consideration. In other words, if someone feels that a $300 pair of buds is worth it, they won’t give you any other recommendation than that. Scarbir understands we’re not all enthusiasts, and we can make some sacrifices here and there. Thanks to him over the years, I have never felt I needed to spend more than $50 for some kick ass earbuds, and I hope you find something in your price range to love.

Sortabase True Wireless Earbuds lists all the current earbuds in the enthusiast community and organizes them by feature and type. This is a good site to use if cost isn’t a consideration for you. You know what in particular you’re looking for and you just need to know what’s available on the market. If you can’t find what you want here, it probably doesn’t exist. If you’ve been around the block a bit and just want to cut to the chase, this is the site for you!

Okay it’s time to test some sound equipment. The above song by REIGN is what I call “audio scrub killer”. High quality “mids” reproduction is what most consider desirable in audio gear. Often overpriced, overblown prosumer stuff tends to be “V-shaped” and puts heavy emphasis on bass and treble only. But their mids suck (really badly) - and they know that. So, if you need to test some old or new gear, play the above song at 40% for speakers or 70% for earbuds/headphones and take a close listen. The female vocals in this track should sound like the singer is in the same room as you. You should be able to feel the bass in her voice as “textured” yet understand the lyrics with clarity. You can use the written lyrics to guide you on what she’s saying. The instrumentals in the song should never overpower her words and be perceived at the same volume. In other words, base / mid / treble should not be competing in the song, but sound like they’re seamlessly blending one after another. If the song sounds like crap, YOUR EQUIPMENT IS CRAP. Change EQ settings accordingly or return and buy better gear.

Artist is M1dSummerW

You should now have all the tools you need to get started on the path to better audio! Keep in mind that everything I said above is meant as a starting point to hold your own against “audiophile” talk. You’ll have a lot to learn (and put up with frankly) if you want to engage with true audiophiles, who put paychecks toward gear on regular basis. Not to mention the hobby attracts probably the most stubborn folks on the planet, so be warned if you want to go down that route. In any case, that’s it for this month!

Does AI Dream Of Donuts

It’s my birthday month again, so I expect my ingestion of donuts to increase by 1000%. By the way, I haven’t had a “proper” birthday cake for some time since I prefer donuts 3x as much. If you happen to have an irregular birthday celebration food, feel free to let me know what it is in the comments section for any of the weekly updates for March. Speaking of which, I have decided to upload every week over there! So please don’t forget to drop in on it from time to time to catch up on all the little updates.

Since we started things off with food, let’s keep the theme going with AI generated food… and people. If you haven’t watched any of these AI generated commercials yet, you’re in for a real “treat”. That’s because they’re still in the uncanny valley phase, which leads to often humorous (and downright scary) creations that almost make sense, but largely don’t. For those who don’t know what an uncanny valley is, it’s basically the aesthetic point in which something or someone appears human, but somehow seems disturbing due to subtle disparities between expected aesthetic norms. AI generated attempts of photos typically fall into the uncanny valley for example, and thus nightmare fuel is born.

I think it’s easy to forget the people working behind the scenes in every aspect of civilized life. Although in recent years the attention to bring sympathy and empathy to those working in the medical and logistical fields has had some progress made. But those who create content specifically anime and manga, still to this day work in extremely challenging conditions. If you’ve ever wondered while a series keeps going for no apparent reason, or why some episodes make almost zero story progress; the above video may shed a lot of light on the sausage making process that is the anime industry. And I do mean “industry”.

Here in the United States, Covid lockdown started 4 years ago back in March 2020. Remnants of coping mechanisms since then still exist and are active today. VirtualVactions has a lot of cool features on the site that allow you to experience the world without actually being outside in it. Although we’re no longer in lockdown anymore, those working in stuffy office environments or have other obligations that make them homebound may still enjoy this type of content. Excellent stuff to run on your side monitor, or the spare old TV you’re not really using for extra ambience.

Ending off with an even more relaxing video about… well donuts. There’s kind of a theme running through the update this month if you haven’t noticed! Fun little side note, looking for ASMR videos with food is incredibly hard now-a-days due to the fact that a lot of scantily clad young ladies realized it’s a popular search term. So, combinations of ASMR plus (your favorite food) will often times show up with someone half naked next to a microphone for some reason. Food for thought… or more likely skin in our case.

Artist is NoFuture

While I was putting the finishing touches on the blog and linking the Donut video, I realized that I had a recent waifu picture that lined up with my favorite type of donut flavor (chocolate). So here’s NoFuture with a really cool one of Shinobu Jacobs of NMH! Hope you’re all well as always, and I’ll see you normies next month!

Like A Year Of The Dragon

Officially the first post of 2024, I’m going to be shaking things up a bit effective immediately. The monthly blog that’s been a part of my site since its inception will be renamed “monthly news” and a new section called “weekly news” will be added. I’m also going to add a big button on every update to cross link the two, since I’ve taken advice from other folks to include “large clicky things” as much as possible. Apparently human psychology can’t help the siren’s call of pressing or opening something up; regardless of how mundane it actually might be! As stated in the 2023 retrospective, the former "mini news” and “weekend synthwave” have been retired and are no longer on the site. Moving forward, all weekly updates will be archived similar to the monthly ones, but I will be more aggressive to trim the weekly updates to prevent site bloat.

Being honest with yourself is a very important step in personal growth. So much in fact, I think in an age of social media where truth and fiction blur the line daily, it’s hard to see who’s honest about themselves with others. I share these thoughts with you because I reflected upon the absolute failure of one of my projects last year which was getting more engagement over to the website. The recently closed mini news section and weekend synthwave were prime examples of my failures, the latter being particularly bad. In the entirety of 2023, the weekend synthwave page I put up for music got less than 100 views! More depressing is the fact that at least a third of those were my own, making sure the video links were accessible in a mobile browser on my phone. None the less, there are many others like me who took on ideas way too ambitious for their own good, and you can see them all over at the Museum of Failure. It might be a bittersweet stroll down memory lane for you older folks out there, but it’s a fascinating lesson for everyone else in the history of those willing to “try”.

This is a double recommendation, in the form of a YouTube creator as well as his website. Stix has been working hard for a while now growing his channel as well as maintaining a gacha gaming news website. Chiefly it is focused on gacha news for relatively obscure games coming out soon. You can check it out at My Gacha Hub. I personally like to thank Stix for his efforts in attempting to organize gacha gaming releases, particularly as they can be extremely haphazard and disjointed. Understandably you won’t find any adult or 18+ title recommendations from him (he’s a growing YouTube channel after all), but if I ever get my act together here on this site, I’ll be happy to fill that particular space!

While I was doing some research for the 2023 retrospective, I came across some news that Kenko_Cross (creator of MGE) was actually working on a game for a while now! I think he’s been low key on it since the expectations are a little high of someone of his standing; literally holding the entire world’s hopes and dreams in regards to bringing monster girls into the mainstream. He’s already done his good deeds by releasing a couple of bestselling books on the matter, but now he needs to step up his game and make a… game. You get the idea - more monster girls!

Artist is Maru_mao

This is a friendly reminder that the soon to be launched weekly news section will have a lot of “in the moment” stuff that’s more time sensitive to talk about. In other words, minor drama and news that’s really meant for a hot take and then moving on. The monthly news updates will always contain more “permanent” recommendations that should stand the test of time better. So, someone new to the site reading a backlog of content can still (hopefully) enjoy a lot of it without feeling they missed anything. Due to the way I’m going to be formatting the weekly news site, comments and questions are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I want to start answering questions and responding to comments on my weekly news, so hence I encourage anyone reading the weekly site to leave them on the bottom of the page. I’ve made sure to allow the process to be as painless as possible, and you don’t have to register an account if you don’t want to (I’ve enabled anonymous posters). I also will try to avoid posting heavily NSFW stuff on the monthly news updates as they’re meant to be more “general”, while the weekly stuff will definitely be spicier. Of course, this site being what it is, expect a very loose interpretation of what is acceptable lewd and not!

Artist is コノシゲ

Obligatory best wishes for the lunar new year of 2024! It’s the year of the dragon, so expect a lot of cool little trinkets and merchandise reflecting this. Speaking of which, did you know that your zodiac sign’s year is technically supposed to be “bad” luck? In superstitious circles, your lunar zodiac year (which is every 12 years for simplicity by the way) has the potential to be very negative if you don’t appease the god of age Tai Sui. In other words, you have to offer some form of acknowledgement that you share the same birth year with the god (read up more on it for details), and that way you will avoid misfortune or ire. Fun little factoid as I think a lot of other cultures would consider “alignment” of any form a good thing than bad.

My final send off for my weekend synthwave section, the above song is an absolute banger and one I listen to often when I take my walks or exercise. It’s pretty crazy how people’s taste in music can differ so much that I should of known better to rely on it as a measurement of engagement. Art (mostly pictures) seem to transcend a lot of personal barriers, but music is quite divisive. None the less I hope you enjoy the song as I think it sounds amazing and is great atmospheric / ambient music for a variety of things. The music video is very well put together as well, but then again anything Blade Runner related is awesome.

That’s it for February! Don’t forget to check out the newly launched weekly news section for more frequent little updates between months. It’s really disorganized and non-sequitur over there, but that’s the whole spirit of the section anyway. Will be back in March for (hopefully) more meaty updates in regards to gaming and other interesting news.