Tales of Magatama

Overenthusiastic spam filter

nijibug — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:49:46 +0000

This is more a site-thing than it is Magatama trilogy news, but I felt I should mention it. Yes, this site gets a load of spam, and I am grateful for the powerful Akismet filter that I use. But it also just so happens that I can’t always find the time to read everything that’s in the spam queue, and often, I just end up deleting the whole list. There are times when Akismet catches real comments and mistakes them as spam. I’m faced with the possibility that I may have unintentionally deleted actual correspondence this way. I guess an apology can’t fix what’s already been done, but I guess it’s better now that I’m aware of it and will make more of an effort to scan through the spam.

What prompted this was an extremely helpful comment that was wrongly marked as spam this morning. Luckily, I was able to fish it out and reply to it.

For the future, make a note of this: I always try to respond to comments, especially if they are inquiries. So if I haven’t replied to your comment, likely it was mistaken for spam. Comment again and hopefully it’ll go through, or I’ll notice it in the spam queue!

The old “Color of the Sky” website

nijibug — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:58:07 +0000

It’s a little trip down memory lane for me. For anyone new to Tales of Magatama who wonders how this website used to look like, I guess I unintentionally left a few pages of the old site “The Color of the Sky” still online and intact, here:

NOTE: I would suggest using a pop-up blocker or a browser (i.e., Google Chrome) that automatically blocks pop-ups. My old free host loved to spring those ads on you. A major motivating factor behind why I made the move.

Dragon Sword and Wind Child characters page
Outdated contact information
The disclaimer used to have a page all to itself
Outdated acknowledgments page
The old guestbook — We don’t really use it anymore

The old site was 100% HTML-based and constructed almost exclusively out of images. Where would I be without you, Photoshop? ♥

Kind of have to admit I’m still rather fond of the old layout, haha :]

SWET interviews award-winning translator Cathy Hirano

nijibug — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:12:29 +0000

Cathy Hirano, translator of Dragon Sword and Wind Child, has twice garnered the prestigious Batchelder Award for her translated novels. The Society of Writers, Editors, & Translators (SWET) interviewed her about Moribito and DSWC in July.

“SWET member Cathy Hirano is a Japanese-English translator living in Shikoku. Her translation of the young adult (YA) novel The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto (Natsu no niwa; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996) won the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for children’s literature in translation and the Boston Globe–Horn Book award for children’s fiction (both in 1997). Misa Dikengil interviewed Hirano via email about two recent YA publications: a translation of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi (Seirei no moribito; Scholastic, 2008) and a revised reissue of her 1993 translation of Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara (Sorairo magatama; VIZ Media, 2007). Shortly after the interview, Hirano’s translation of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit received the 2009 Mildred L. Batchelder Award for Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic.”

Read the full interview here:
Young Adult Fantasy in Translation (SWET)

Magatama trilogy fanart on Tegaki E

nijibug — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:54:19 +0000

For those who don’t know, Tegaki E is a blogging service where entries and comments are handwritten, ie. with a mouse (or tablet). Recently it has blossomed into a thriving art site. Think of it as a cross between deviantART and Facebook Graffiti.

The ‘Magatama Trilogy’ tag on Tegaki has many entries, so here are the search results, feel free to browse through them! (This link has also been added to the Fanart page.)

There’s a ‘Noriko Ogiwara’ tag on Tegaki as well. It includes Magatama trilogy art as well as fanart for her other novels: link

Dragon Sword and Wind Child cosplay

nijibug — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:06:47 +0000

Here’s a treat for you today — Dragon Sword and Wind Child cosplay featuring Saya, Chihaya, and Torihiko. Look at those gorgeous handmade costumes! And I wonder where they got the Dragon Sword!

Cure is a Japanese cosplay community. You’ll need to register in order to view the photos fullsize. Fortunately, registration is free and the site has an English version that is easy to navigate.