I’ve frequently written essays or other non-journalistic pieces for a variety of purposes, whether published or unpublished. One of those instances is the Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam, a required exam for all students at California State University – Northridge. On my first attempt at the exam, I passed with the highest score possible: a 12/12. Below is my essay in PDF format, along with a link to the original Ventura County Star article that the essay prompt was adapted from.
- Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam (June 2nd, 2007)
- “Good Manners Do Count,” Ventura County Star (by Richard Larsen, April 10th, 2007)
I started web designing my own personal web pages beginning in the late 1990s using free hosting services like Geocities and Tripod. Eventually, I partnered with a friend of mine and we started using paid hosting services with more options, and I hosted my first websites at RoseDreams.org and Incandesence.org. Eventually, I wanted to have my own space, so I purchased hosting space from Surpass Hosting, and started up the Seventh-Star.Net domain. Since then, I’ve started up a variety of websites, though many of them are unfinished, and I am constantly adding to or updating them. Some of the sites on the Seventh-Star.Net domain that I maintain include:
WikiFic – The Ultimate Yu-Gi-Oh Encyclopedia: I originally liked the MediaWiki software seen on popular websites such as Wikipedia, and saw it put to good use for individual series such as the popular Japanese anime Sailor Moon on WikiMoon, and because I felt a central, organized source of information about the Yu-Gi-Oh series was lacking (especially for people who enjoyed writing about it), I decided to start WikiFic. Though very little customization was necessary to put the MediaWiki software to use, learning the Wiki language was a challenge.
Dragonfayth – The Premiere Seto Kaiba x Anzu Mazaki Fanfiction Archive: “Fanfiction” is a term that refers to fiction written by fans, for fans of a particular medium, such as a television show, book, movie, etc. These mediums are known as “fandoms,” and one of my favorite fandoms is the hit anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! Two of my favorite characters are Anzu Mazaki (Téa Gardner) and Seto Kaiba, but I found fanfiction for them lacking, so I decided to start up a private archive where fans of the pairing could share their stories with ease. I used the customizable PHP script eFiction, repurposing the existing layouts (skins) and functions of the script to act as I needed them to. It’s been challenging learning PHP and its limitations, but it’s also been great fun to see the archive expand and grow.
I’m working on another site using the eFiction script, for my own personal fanfiction stories, articles, essays, and more. The site will be called “Epiphany,” but I am still working on getting everything uploaded, so it may take a while before it appears here.
Blue Eyes and Apricots – The Web’s First Seto Kaiba x Anzu Mazaki Fanlisting: Blue Eyes and Apricots, or BEA for short, is another PHP-script-based site and an example of a completely original layout. This particular layout is the fifth layout BEA has featured. A fanlisting is yet another example of a site where fans of a particular medium and its characters can gather and share their opinions and fan-produced work, often called fanart or fan works.
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- ChixFlix Popular Culture Website – a site I designed with fellow students for my ENGL 313 (Popular Culture) course, revolving around the subject of “chick flicks,” or movies typically targeted toward women.
- Beacon Media Academy Website – a site I designed as part of an afterschool program aimed to integrate technology with issues that affected teens and the local community.