[1209] how do i ask this?

console

< Piro >

"F33RU the CoffinRose BeastCake!"

Friday - May 29, 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve introduced some new shirt designs to the MegaGear store, but yesterday I posted four new designs suitable for wearing out and about, now that its warm enough to wear short sleeve shirts without putting your health at risk.

The first new design is one I’ve been working on for a while now - the CoffinRose Miho shirt. The idea for this shirt comes from some fan art Vaz drew for me a few years ago. I liked the drawing so much that I got his permission to use it as the basis for a new design. I re-drew Miho but kept the coffin and added some some flourish behind the image that blends into the Charcoal shirt I wanted to put the design on. The result is a larger-format design that requires the large format shirt boards to print to give the full image goodness. Miho and the coffin have a white underbase, so the details and the colors stand out well. If you like it and it pulls at your evil minion-ness, order away and I’ll make one for you. Ladies T also available, but on Sports Grey.

Also available is a fine art print of the CoffinRose Miho design, printed in full color in high resolution with archival inks on archival paper and signed by me (Vaz is no where near my printer, but his mark is printed there on the drawing).

The next design takes the Kimiko Lap Pour warning sign and puts it on a t-shirt. It basically says ‘Warning - if you are a public nuisance, very hot coffee will be poured into your lap.” This shirt is not just for all of you who have ever had to serve coffee to grumpy morning (or evening) customers. It is for anyone who has reasonable proximity to the Coffee Pot, a thermal travel mug full of coffee, a cup of Starbucks, a Styrofoam cup of sludge that is supposedly coffee or even a 24/7 coffee IV drip that is not afraid to use it. Special thanks to Kaki and Hanae-san for providing the japanese text. Ladies T also available.

The next shirt is from MegaTokyo itself - the BeastCake® bear, SweetBeast®, devouring some of the Tokyo Cake Shop’s indulgent, sugary, cakey goodness (rant link fixed - thanks CeCe!). It is one of Erika’s favorite hangouts and was recently also given a huge happy smile and thumbs up by Ping who declared it’s cake ‘mweally gwud!’ The shirt is said to taste good too, but that may have been because the sample shirt SweetBeast® ate was covered with cake. Ladies T also available.

The final new shirt is kind of an odd one... The Kimiko F33RU! shirt. For some odd reason, I found the idea amusing to no end, but that may be a result of too much exposure to japanese otaku culture over the years and the serious need to block any site that is located on the pacific rim. A good design does not require an explanation, but... Well, this one sorta does. It plays on the “Yukkuri” meme in which Yukkuri are the disembodied heads of characters from the Touhou video game series that like to float about and do things. There all kinds comics, MADs and even t-shirts for the meme. Even when mimicking a meme i'm fairly certain Kimiko would not be amused with having her head disconnected from her body, so I dressed her in black like a Noh theater stage attendant and have her emerging from a ‘respawn point’ in the street practicing her best engr33sh ... I didn’t say it wasn’t a little odd, but come on, it’s Kimiko just going with the flow and being, well, KYOOT. :P Ladies T also available.

Hopefully, you will find one of these new shirts and/or the fine art prints worth adding to your collection. As always, every purchase from the MegaGear store helps support Megatokyo, and we appreciate your support and willingness to wear our silly shirts.

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< Dom >

"RIP Huong Phan, 1938-2009"

Thursday - May 21, 2009

[Dom] - 22:02:59 - [link here]

This is the eulogy I wrote for my mother and read to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church today:

Any conversation about my Mom will inevitably segue into the same kind of story. The story will start with “The first time I ever met her, she gave me...” and end with any number of gifts, ranging from cookies fresh from the oven to a squash the size of a small child. It didn't matter who you were, it didn't matter where you came from, and it didn't even matter if she remembered your name. My Mom welcomed everyone the same way – with an open smile, a friendly greeting, and a surprisingly large parting gift.

She was so generous, she never thought of anything as being her own. The fruits and vegetables from her garden, small odds and ends she picked up throughout her day, and even her free time had no value to her unless they could be given away – as a volunteer at the Red Cross and St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room or as a room parent at Mt. Carmel.

It took me years to understand the magnitude of what my Mom gave me and my sister. She spent her entire life working to make our lives better. Every hour she worked, every penny she saved, everything she did, she did for us. The thought of spending money on herself never crossed her mind; if it did, she quickly pushed it aside and concentrated on making sure we were happy. I can't count how often she would buy us toys, or books, or candy, but I can't for the life of me remember a single time she splurged on something she wanted.

There was a downside to her self-effacing generosity – it was incredibly hard to buy birthday and Mother's Day presents for her, because she never told us what she wanted for herself. Year after year, we'd ask her what she wanted, and she'd reply “Whatever makes you happy makes me happy.” For the longest time, I thought that was a canned response, but now that I think about it, she was probably telling the truth.

That was how she lived. Mom didn't find much appeal in wealth, or luxury, or personal achievement. She found all the happiness she ever wanted in every smile on the face of a friend. She found satisfaction in every good day my sister and I had at the schools she worked so hard to send us to. She found joy in every “thank you” and “I love you.” She shared in the joy of everyone around her, and thanks to her selfless nature, she never found any shortage of happiness in the world.

In the end, her greatest gift to her children, as well as the many people whose lives she touched, was her example. She gave without complaint. She gave without any expectation of a reward. She gave without a second thought. Charity was built into her very being, and all of our lives have been enriched because of it.

If we can take just a fraction of the kindness she showed us and share it with our friends, our neighbors, and our families, then they will all be truly blessed. And somewhere out there, my Mom will smile, knowing that she brought a little more happiness into their lives.

Rest in peace, Mom.