Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Screenname Woes

So lately I've been thinking I really need a good screenname (for games). I came to this realization when I played Team Fortress 2 at Danny and Lachelle's and when I went to our cousin Halo party last night. I need something that sounds cool, slightly intimidating, yet still somehow captures a bit of me. So I need help from ya'll! And so I'm adding a poll with possible ones I've thought of but am not too sure about. So please vote? Or make suggestions! But it can't tie back to me too much. Maybe even something that kinda implies that I'm a girl, that way the guys will know a girl just kicked their trash? I dunno. xD Thank ye loves!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Stacey's Guide to the Internet, Part One: Emoticons

Yay, a new layout! Isn't it cute? Last night I found tons of cute layouts so expect me to be changing things around frequently. I also got a new skin for my music player instead of the Pretendo one. On this one you can look at my whole playlist by clicking on the little arrowed tab. Do it. ;D You too can get an awesome music player like mine! Just go to myflashfetish.com and sign up and start compiling. They have all kinds of cool skins and effects and it's easy to add your own songs (as long as you have them stored on a site; I use fileden.com). So much better and cooler than the Project Playlist player. c: Oh, and go ahead and let me know when you start getting tired of my sort of instrumental playlist. I have TONS of other songs I'm always anxious to share!

Well yes, here I am again late at night. I seem to have suddenly caught blogging fever. In this post, I plan to start discussing things of the internet. I've kinda had this idea for a while and only now am I putting stuff down. Why am I doing this? Because I find myself on the internet quite a lot, browsing and surfing across a variety of sites and you know what I've come to find? Some areas of the internet are simply entertaining! And so I'd like to share all my internet knowledge with you as best as I can. In this issue, I will discuss emoticons. In my discoveries, emoticons come in various shapes and sizes, a heckuva lot more than your average :) :( faces. Compared to all the possibilities on the internet, those are just boring. Why are emoticons so much fun to use, you ask? Because on the internet, all it is is text. Text text text. Now unless something is laden with blatant tone, it's practically impossible to tell what the emotions are. Hence the term emoticons (durr). I've already shared my knowledge with Heather McRae and she's making good progress and I've seen her use a few that I've taught her. Emotions just add that extra spice to online conversations. Sometimes emoticons alone suffice in some replies. So anyway, here are some of the basic components to make your own emoticons and emoticons that I use frequently.

basic components
: a colon. Your basic, dotty eyes.
= an equal sign. This can also be used for a long pair of eyes.
D a capital "d." Used as big grins or perhaps a laughing smile.
) ] a close parenthesis (sp?) or a close bracket. Used as simple smiles.
( [ an open parenthesis or an open bracket. Used as sad frowns.
P a capital "p." Issa tongue.
; a semicolon. Used for winky eyes.
x X a lowercase or capital "x." These can be used as squinty eyes. Can go with many things.
/ | \ slashes and a line. These can be used as mouths.
< > open and close arrow. These, believe it or not, can also be used as mouths. :< :>

Well there you go. Basic basic stuff. Now you can combine different ones for different effects, or find other characters on your keyboard to use instead. Mix and match. Be creative.

my emoticons (and others observed on the internet)
xD This is a laughing face. A good substitute instead of saying "haha" all the time (it gets a little monotonous, don't you think?) The "x" are eyes squinted close and the "D" is obviously the open, laughing mouth. You can also use a capital "X" if you so choose, but I like to use the lowercase. That's just me though. Also, if something is particularly funny, add multiple "D"s, like this: xDDD I know obviously it's not realistic but somehow it shows that you're even more humoured (whoo, "ou" spelling! xD). Look! I just used it! You can also add it after something if you're feeling goofy, such as: "I just ate a skittle bag. xDD" Like that. You get the hang of it? This is one of my most used emoticons because I guess I'm just easily amused. Often times I may reply simply with this, just to show that I'm laughing.
:'D Here is another laughing face. Normal eyes, but there's an itty tear right there. It must've been awfully funny if you're crying. That's what you use it for. Once again, you can add multiple "D"s on the end.
xP Gross. Ick. Blegh. That's what this is. Squinty eyes and a tongue.
c: This is the smiley I always use. I like it because it's a cute, little smile. Obviously to accomadate the direction of the "c," the eyes are placed on the other side.
:c A simple flip of a colon and we have a cute little sad face. A tear can also be added if you wish :'c
n_n This, my friends, originates from anime. Even if you don't watch a lot of anime, I'm sure you can tell that no normal person makes this face. For some reason, anime characters have a tendency to close their eyes a lot, even while they're talking. Seriously--who does that? Who knows, but it's an anime thing. The "n"s are the closed eyes, arched up. The _ is the mouth. It may not have curved ends to better represent a smile, but the overall face still exhibits cheeriness. This face can also be made like this ^_^ . Whatever floats your boat. OR you can use a period for the mouth instead n.n ^.^
D: This face could exude distress or unhappiness. The "D" is used as an open mouth. Again, multiple "D"s can be added. You'll find that with just about any face that uses a capital "d," you can add multiples. The more there are generally shows the level of the emotion. A little tear can also be added D': Whenever I see this face, it sometimes makes me think that someone is saying "Hey..." in that one tone--the kind where you feign sadness but smile the next second--if someone else is gently teasing them or something. But of course, it depends on the context.
Dx Almost as if you're in pain. Another distressed face.
;D A winky grin. Pretty obvious, right?
D; People may also sometimes use this as a little crying face.
; 3; Here's one you prolly would've never thought of before. This is a crying face and is the one I usually use. The semicolons are eyes and tears and the 3 is a little puckered, pouty lip. See? The space in between the first semicolon and the 3 just...spaces them out a bit...I don't really have a better explanation than that. It just looks better than ;3; is all.
; A; Another crying face. Somethimes I'll use this one too. The semicolons are the eyes and tears again but the "A" is an open mouth and is used much like this ( D: ) "D" face, except horizontal instead of vertical.
;_; A more simple crying face. Semicolons are the eyes and tears.
T-T Another crying face. The "T"s are eyes and tears. The top part of the "T" is a closed eye and the long leg is like a river of tears. The - is the mouth. An underscore can also be used as a mouth, or a period T_T T.T Whichever you prefer. You can also add multiple "T"s (make sure they're even on both sides) for even more crying. TT_TT
o 3o Here we have another interesting face. I use this sometimes too. The "o"s are wide eyes and the 3 is used again as puckered lips. I always picture someone going "Ooooh" when I see this face. It could also perhaps be used as a posed innocent face--the one where you're trying to get something.
o_o A surprised, shocked face, more on the frightened side. This is the kind of face you'd make if someone told you you were just going to babysit 15 nieces/nephews/grandchildren/monkeys/all of the above...BY YOURSELF. You can also use different shaped circles like so o_O O_O 0_o 0_0 Zeroes and "o"s is all. Also, if you'd like, you can make the mouth longer which acts much like adding multiple "D"s does. o_______o OH NOEZ. You can also just use a period for the mouth o.o
o_< You've got a twitch in yer eye! Any size of circle can work and you can also substitute a period for the mouth.
._. A sort of intimidated, frightened face. Tiny eyes!
:0 A surprised, shocked face, more on the er, less-frightened side. You can use any type of circle you want. I usually use a zero, but sometimes I'll do a lowercase "o." The eyes can also be placed on the other side if you would like.
:3 Another expression taken from anime. The colon is the eyes, obviously. The 3 is a little curled-up mouth. Just think of a cat or something. Dunno why, but lots of anime characters do this sometimes. It's just cute.
>> Shifty eyes. When something is weird or you simply want to look away. It can go in the other direction too. Well, if you want them to truly be shifty eyes, you would include both directions >> <<> o> This kind of face is perhaps saying, "Oh my." You can also add an underscore or a period for a mouth >_> >.>
¬_¬ Kinda like, "Uh huh..."
>< Squinty eyes. The arrows function a lot like "x"s, only horizontally instead of vertically. You can also add a mouth, either out of an underscore or a period >_< >.<
-_-
An exasperated, annoyed sort of face. It could perhaps say "Leave me out of this," "Don't touch me," or even "I wish you were dead."
=_= Sorta like the one above, but with a little bit more boredness.
x_x Burnt...or dead. Lulz, naw, but it is kind of a knocked out face.
u_u Closed eyes. This face could mean lotsa different things, but I s'pose it all depends on how and where you use it.
:B Buck teeth! Just a silly face. I've seen people sort of mock other people with this face, kinda like saying, "Well you're a tard." That doesn't mean it's always mocking though.
B] A "cool" face. The "B" here acts like shades. You can use any mouth but I just used the bracket 'cause I didn't want to use the parenthesis.
8D A sort of surprised, happy face. That's what I've gathered at least. The 8 is a pair of eyes, wide open. The "D" is a grin. Kinda like, "WOW, no way!"
:| A blank face. Sometimes it may not show up, but that's usually for certain message boards that use BBC (no, not British Broadcasting Channel).
:\ A screwy face. The other slash can be used as well.
:9 Here, the 9 represents a mouth and tongue, except the tongue (the loop) is sticking up. Generally used as a thinking gesture.
:s Here's another screwy face. I've never used it but I've seen it done before. The "s" is the mouth. You can also use a capital "s."
:T Another thoughtful kind of face. The "T" is the mouth. Just imagine someone kind of pushing their mouth to the side. You know what I mean.
$_$ CA-CHING!
:? No, this doesn't really approximate to an actual face. Some people use this as if saying, "HUH?"
:U A silly sort of face. It's shouting, see? Pretty goofy. Almost like saying, "OI!"
n_~ Ah, almost forgot this one. Never used it before, but I've seen it done. The ~ thingy is an eye. It's winking! It probably works best like this though ^_~
@_@ A confused or overwhelmed face. Or perhaps you just got out of the Tea Cups and are about to hurl. -shrug- The "at" sign acts as swirly eyes.
*-* "Oh, my, starry-eyed surprise~" JAYKAY, some of you probably don't know that song. But anyway, that's what this is. This could also be used as a sort of overwhelmed, surprised face. An underscore can also be used for the mouth
=^.^= Here's a litte...face thing. You can either use it as blushing or a kitty face if you want.
<3 "Something something less than three, meet me here in IRC~" Yay geek stuff! Anyway, this little emoticon is steadily growing more popular all across the web and not just on message boards anymore, so I wouldn't be surprised if you've already seen it. Issa heart! You use it when you want to show you like something. Additional 3's may also be added if you'd like to show you really
like something.


additional applications (and some reminders)
SEMICOLON

THE SWEATDROP Another thing taken from anime. The sweatdrop is practically a symbol of anime. Sweatdrops usually pop up when a character is embarrassed. If you so please, you can use the sweatdrop in some of your emoticons. The sweatdrop is best translated into text with a semicolon though I've seen zeroes and apostrophes used before too (actually now that I think about it, an apostrophe is probably best, but I like semicolon best). Now you don't always have to use a sweatdrop to show blatant embarrassment; I usually use it to show unsurety, which of course could lead to embarrassment...but anyway, here are some ways I use it
n_n; This is kind of a nervous smile.
( ^_^0 ) ( ^_^' )
>>; Perfect way of explaining this? "Ummmmmmmm......'kay...?" ( >>0 ) ( >>' )
-_-; This face pretty much says, "Ugh, you've got to be kidding me." ( -_-0 ) ( -_-' )
THE...THINGY Y'know, I've never quite figured this one out. It could be read in two differnet ways or perhaps my interpretations are completely wrong. Anyway, this is usually used with grinny, "D" faces.
xD;
:'D;
Interpretation One: the semicolon is used sort of as a chin/double chin sort of thing as a way of extending the grin if something is pretty dang funny.
Inerpretation Two: the semicolon is used as a sort of sweatdrop thing, again expressing unsurety or something.
Interpretation Three-I-Just-Thought-Of: the semicolon is perhaps spittle issuing from the mouth?

APOSTROPHE
THE TEAR Pretty simple. Feel free to add an apostrophe for a tear. Can go with just about any face, even squinty ones.
DROOL Fun! I myself haven't really ever seen anyone add drool before, but I do it occasionally for fun. Like this
:o' 'D:

ARROWS
EYEBROWS Really the only eyebrows you'll probably ever use are angry eyebrows. Of course, the arrow doesn't always make an angry face--sometimes malicious, mischievious ones too. Feel free to use eyes with it or you could simply use the eyebrows themselves.
>:U I'm shouting angrily at jooo~!
D< WAR!
>D MUAHAHAHAHA!!
>:[ That wasn't very nice.
>3 Feeling very impish.
Etc., etc.!

SLASHES
BLUSHING In this application of slashes, really all they're good for is making a blushing face. Slashes only work for horizontal faces however but can be applied to just about any one, like this u////u n///n

MULTIPLES!

D'S Just a reminder; don't forget to add multiple "D"s to "D" faces if you want!
LINES For faces that use underscores or dashes for mouths (no eyes!). -____- T______T etc.
SEMICOLONS For all semicolon applications. You probably don't want to go anymore than three semicolons. xD;; n_n;; -_-;; etc.


extra things!
<(^_^<) <(^_^)> (>^_^)> Dancing Kirby!
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(") A bunny!
d(^_^)b Thumbs up!



And I think that about wraps up Part One! Whew! Took longer than I thought. And because of that, you must all start using some of these! >D C'mon, it's fun! Don't be afraid! And try making up different combinations of your own. Also keep in mind that different fonts will affect the faces; sometimes not all of them come out quite how you want. But spread the word! Go ahead and refer back to me if you want, heehee. xD But really, please?
Anywho, I'm tired.

Peace out.