Five Nights At Freddy's Review on Chica

It is no secret by now that, although Five Nights at Freddy's is popular with children, it is an undeniably terrifying game! If you haven't yet played it, you play the role of an overnight security guard in a kid's pizza place, similar to Chuck E. Cheese. You think, "what could go wrong in a cheesy place like this? Easy job, right?" Not so much.

When I started playing it (which wasn't often), I had to do it with the sound down, since to me, more than half the fear of a jump-scare is the sudden noise! The guard (you don't see him, but you see the restaurant from his perspective, in the semi-darkness and emptiness) is new to the job, and at the beginning, he listens to a recorded message with instructions, from a previous guard. You are in a small office, with some doors on either side to protect you - only, the thing is that only one door can be closed at a time, and you have to choose, based on what you see on each CCTV camera. The highlight of this game, is the giant animatronic puppets. They are deadly... but to me, one stands out as more terrifying than the others...

Freddy is the main character and the game's namesake. 

Bonnie is the guitar-playing bunny, during their musical performances. 

Foxy is a pirate character, with a hook. Believe it or not, he is not the one I find the most terrifying (though I see that he should be!)

'The Puppet' appears in later versions of the game. The only way to stop the attack is to keep the wind-up music playing and don't let it stop.

This character (Balloon Boy), although creepy, is only able to disable some of your protection.

And now... I'm going to share with you...

The FNAF character that I find to be the most disturbing...

Are you ready?

It's Chica! 

Okay, now before you laugh at me... let me explain the reasoning. Though she is actually the least 'horrific' of all the animatronic characters, she has other things that are downright scary!

1. She is based on a baby chick. The fact that Chica is so huge, makes her totally out-of-proportion and surreal. She's supposed to be tiny & cute!
2. In the same vein, being a bird with a beak, Chica shouldn't have teeth - but she does! It doesn't even matter that they're flat, they could still do damage with a bite!

If you look at her bib, the "Let's Eat!!!" has a double meaning, and is not just about the pizza and cake. 

She also wants to eat YOU!!! 

3. If this stuff isn't terrifying enough, in later versions of the game, she is seen with missing arms and that takes the terror to a whole new level!!

So, if you've played this game, which character is your scariest??

Balance in Japanese Culture

With Halloween around the corner, I have become more aware of the sheer terror of Japanese horror movies. Not sure if you've watched any yourself, but if you haven't yet, see this blog post for some recommendations.

I apologize if this in any way sounds like cultural appropriation, when I gush about how over-the-top frightening the movies are, from this particular culture! To be honest, I truly don't know why or how they sort of 'kick the stuffing' out of Western horror flicks, but they sure do!

My guess is, it could be the more 'spiritual' aspect of the films, where more is left to the imagination, as less stuff is as linear as we see in Western films (which over time, can become predictable).

Another guess I have, is that these kinds of movies focus less on the traditional jump-scares and blood baths, and have more eerie and 'odd' scenes, such as the crawling girl in The Ring, or the hair scene in Apartment 1303. I suppose it could be the intensity of the novelty of these scenes.


😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱


Now this is where I believe that Japanese culture is a true enigma. The largest cultural enigma that I know of, in fact. For the deep, dark intensity of their scary stuff, they are on the extreme opposite end of the light, fun, colorful, cute and cartoonish stuff!

How can the same country, with the same humans and institutions, export such extremely opposite entertainment? 

Well, though I live in Canada, from what I've studied about Japan and the culture, the people are very hard-working and that leads to very high levels of stress. On the one hand, some people handle stress by giving into darker interests... and others handle stress by turning to the opposite and lighten themselves up with gentle stuff. Personally, I've done both.

This seems like a sort of Yin and Yang culture, and I really appreciate the balance!

💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓

JUMP-SCARE ALERT!! 

This is a Japanese tire commercial, which drives home my point about their talent for inducing sheer terror. It features the dashcam of some men, driving presumably home from work during a snowstorm. Suddenly, they stop when they see a ghostly woman in the middle of the road. Before they have time to study her, she flies forth at supernatural speed, and lands on their windshield, showing she is a ghost or demon of some sort. To showcase the quality of the company's tires, these men reverse immediately and are able to escape at high speed on the snowy road!

Anyhow, as you may know, since our recent trip to Las Vegas (and having taken a really cool, interactive ghost tour) Rob & I started a paranormal blog, called Ghosts Live in Our World. 

Have a Happy Halloween!

Vistaprint Business Cards

Hi there!

As you know, I operate out of Red Deer, AB. So you may have already gotten one of these cards from me - either in person, or found on a table in a restaurant (that's how I've made some of my best connections!)

The original design, expanded to show the words.

If you are wondering what this website is (and don't feel like typing in the URL above), then here it is for you:

Daryl Januszewski Art


So if you are here specifically for the kawaii aspect, that's awesome!! Thank you, and enjoy!

And... if you already know that outside of the cute cartoons, I do other styles of art as well, then that's great! In fact, I've been a cartoonist since I was a toddler... they weren't great yet, but since age 2, art has been my life!

I grew up watching Bob Ross, and for Christmas and birthdays, my mum got me art kits (yay!)

In elementary school, I was making comic characters already (like Reena the Witch, and Kitty, Kitty, Kitten). By junior high, I was taking art classes and in high school, various friends would request art from me - that felt so awesome!! 

Between 2007-2009, I earned my Art Diploma from SCI (Quebec), and in 2016 I began this cute art project, which eventually led to me being included in Alberta Culture Days, as well as Art Battle International.

In 2014, I opened my Etsy shop (Darylart Digital), and in 2016 I opened both my RedBubble and Zazzle shops (KawaiiNMore). The style is 'cute cartoons', coloring pages, accessories & apparel. 

And, in the summer of 2018, I took the Art of Cartooning course, instructed by Gerry Rasmussen of Betty, at the college here in Red Deer 😊


Why am I sharing this with you?

Because, if you're here for the art aspect, then there's something quick & easy you can do to keep me producing more art for you to enjoy!

You'll notice that, on the above business card (from Vistaprint), I mentioned something called Patreon. What is that?

Patreon is a funding platform for creators such as visual artists, game developers, YouTubers, musicians, authors, and more!

For $1/month, you'll get a monthly coloring page to download and print, and enjoy coloring in.

For $5/month, you'll still get the coloring page; you'll also get a custom illustration of yourself in any cartoon (2D, hand-drawn) style you'd like me to do.

So without further ado, here it is for you:

Daryl's Patreon Page

Feature Friday for ShanShan Mato

Hi everyone 😄


Okay so, first a little back story here. I know it's been a long time since I've done a Feature Friday for y'all. 

The reason I am doing one now, is because of a super-kawaii YouTube channel I came across, while doing research on a project for a special someone's birthday...

In researching how to make an exploding gift box (don't worry - the fun, non-violent paper craft), I found this amazing young lady's channel, called:

More specifically, after a family member/in-law showed me that she'd made one of these, filled like a scrapbook with 'animated' pictures (small photo albums with moving parts), I became intrigued with learning how to do this.

And even more specifically, I want to turn printed photos into 'waterfall cards', so this video was very educational, as well as entertaining to watch:

And now, as for what makes this video/channel so kawaii? I don't even know where to start! It's the perfect embodiment of 'innocent and girly'. 

There's the hearts in the box she made (out of special paper stock), and the gentle rainbows, all the pink stuff, the cute cartoon girl at the beginning, and the charming lullaby that plays like a music box.

😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

So I must say, that watching someone make so much out of thick paper, reminds me of last year's #OrigamiChallenge that ran on this blog.  Though I am not overly adept at making much more than a paper plane or kid's fortune teller, it is still an art form I respect. And if you're a paper-crafter, by all means, share photos of your work on social media with the tags #kawaii365 and #OrigamiChallenge (works best when you share directly to the fb group Kawaii365). Chances are high that you'll even get your awesome work featured in a future blog post!




Remember to check out the latest post from Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends! 




That's all for now, Have a great weekend!
xoxo,
Daryl J.

Follow Hello Kitty on Instagram

Hi everyone, 

today I'd like to share the Instagram feed of @hello_sweet_kitty. Firstly, I'd like to say I tried to get the entire feed here for you, but after an hour of research, I learned that only wordpress blogs seem to get that privilege (and I prefer Blogger). 

So here is one of the more popular posts of the sweet kitty's account, for you to enjoy:

View this post on Instagram

Mimi is kind of a 'hippie chick' (just like me!) And she enjoys all things creative. Her favorite music ranges from soft rock to disco, depending on her mood. Show this girl some love with hearts 💝 #hippie #softrock #hellokittyaddict #hellokittyforever #rainbow #hellokittymania #disco #kawaiicats #sanrio #cute

A post shared by Daryl Januszewski (@hello_sweet_kitty) on May 28, 2018 at 8:54am PDT

The above kitty is Mimi, one of several of my personal plushie collection, where they are all friends and all have their distinct personalities 😍😎😇😆😘😁😏

Let's Laugh At A Terrible Video

So right now, there's this video on YouTube, about using fabric markers to put kawaii characters on clothes. Well, it's more about updating their brightness... and the camera angle is so painfully awkward, that the video is kind of hard to watch. Actually, the comments section is disabled!

Oh yeah... this is also a video of me, LOL. 

You can watch it here:

So, because I had the webcam attached to a hair accessary (I can't afford a Go-Pro camera, unless of course, you'd like to pledge at https://www.patreon.com/helpakawaiiartist) this video didn't show as much of the coloring-in job as initially hoped. Therefore, please enjoy the images below (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

This shirt is available at RedBubble

Okay, thanks for stopping laughing long enough to read this - muah! 

Back From The Sheraton Hotel

Hi everyone, hope you are well.

Again, thank you for stopping here today and reading with me. During the worst of the heatwave - with an inability to open the windows here due to smoky conditions from wildfires one province over - I was suffering minor heatstroke symptoms and could not really do videos or blogposts for Kawaii365 or for Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends.

Though it's currently 29*C as I write this, the majority of the recent heatwave is over - yay!! Now back to more regulated Summer temperatures in Red Deer. On Friday, August 10, it got up to 40*C (around what Summer feels like in Nevada).
Thankfully, during this time, we were already at The Sheraton Hotel for our 7th wedding anniversary. It's a romantic staycation we'd been planning for weeks! Gawsh, the air-conditioned room felt fabulous! We were enjoying it until...

The lights went out. Actually, everything did. It was just after 11pm and suddenly, we were in the pitch black. The TV was off, our A/C stopped running, and for a moment we sat in sheer panic. Then, logic began to kick in. I scrambled for the cellphone so we could use the flashlight app. I threw on my robe, Rob threw on a shirt and we crept into the dark hallway and down the dark stairwell... all the while I had the phone's light on, I secretly wished we'd also been filming a video, 'just in case' we caught something paranormal. (I also thought of the Hawkins Lab stairwell from Stranger Things. Boy was I glad we weren't there!).

Anyway, we made it to the front desk and long story short, our keycards needed to be reset so we could get back into the room. The power-out fried the lock, and a repairman had to come fix it. Because it was closer to midnight when we got to go in and sleep, the super-nice lady at the front desk gave us breakfast vouchers for yummy food at the R&R Grill (The Sheraton's finest restaurant).

This turned out to be one of our coolest anniversaries ever! It's great when these things happen, because it gives us memories to reflect on later 💑💖

Now,

I'd like to share some advice for others who are 'young marrieds', married for years already, or are considering marriage. It's okay - sharing our experience isn't snobbery, it's something we like to do at every anniversary (every passing year = more wisdom). 

1. Firstly, and most importantly, please realize this: When you marry someone, you're not just moving in to 'live with someone'. You're making a commitment to live for someone. This means that every action you take, every decision, and even every comment, will directly affect your partner, which could lead to either good or bad outcomes. It took me a few years to register this, as for a long time, I was making selfish decisions. 
2. When you communicate, be sensitive to their feelings - this also means that when they snap at you, or yell or say something hurtful, it's because you probably did so first. I've learned this from communicating with Rob for a decade now (we dated for 3 years before marriage). When he snapped at me and my feelings were hurt, it never even dawned on me that I hurt his first. I just defended myself and it led to a cycle where I'd end up crying and he comforted me and then we'd talk it out. Now, I realize that I said the first hurtful comment and apologize, and then we talk about how we can communicate differently.
3. See your spouse as a child. No, not in a condescending way. We mean, look upon them with compassion... if your very young kids acted the same way your spouse is acting, you would go easier on them. You would know they're acting out of hurt or frustration, and that their feelings are tender. So, why would you be so mean about your spouse's mistake or emotions? If they are sad, hug them and ask what's wrong. If they are mad, give them space and then be willing to talk about it. If they make a mistake, forgive them.
4. Have all the 'hard talks' fairly early in the relationship. Trust us - this will save you a lot of hassle. Start with the financial talks, as these can be embarrassing and frustrating. Be open about your net worth, as well as your 'money personality' and spending habits. Be transparent with your debt. Hiding purchases and lying about income are sure ways to divorce court, so just be honest, dammit! (It took me 6 years of making NO money while trying to sell Avon, and almost breaking up around tax time before I realized my lack of financial education and impulsive money moves were hurting both of us). 
5. The other 'hard talk' is about final resting places. This one is better suited to shortly after getting married. Though we've been married 7 years, we just recently talked with a funeral director about our final wishes, wills, etc. But since anything could happen to anyone any time (speeding buses, for example), it makes sense to get your financials, legals and everything in place, so you're not struggling with it while dealing with overwhelming grief. It might even make sense to have both of your obits pre-written. And make sure you have access to each other's bank accounts and other assets! 
6. You married another human being... BUT this doesn't mean you have to deliberately be gross around each other. The science of falling in love, indicates that our brains are 'high' on neurochemicals like Dopamine and Oxytocin, because we love the mystery of this new, attractive person in our lives. Then, the opposite can happen when this 'mysterious person' burps, farts, pees, poops, flosses, trims toenails, picks ears, plays with boogers, pops zits... well, you get the picture. PLEASE respect what your spouse thinks of you, and consciously choose to do these things behind a closed door. We can both guarantee your sex life will be waaaayyyy better if you do :) 
7. Bathrooms have doors for a reason: Seriously, keep them closed.
8. And speaking of sex... Don't dismiss it's importance in such an intimate relationship. This one is especially for the wives out there. Marriage is the most intimate bond that 2 human beings can choose to have (babies don't choose their existence or bond with parents). And, when you're married and committed to one another, there is no one else on this planet that you're having physical intimacy with. So don't put this special time together, on a back burner - and definitely DON'T use it as a weapon against each other. Also, don't be shy about experimenting - this could be anything from introducing adult toys, to role-playing, to just switching positions... whatever it is you do, do it together and enjoy all the connecting. Appreciate it.
9. And speaking of intimacy... it's not all just physical. One of the most beautiful things about marriage, is that this other human is your very best friend. That means they know you inside out, they've seen your worst and love you anyway, they'd (probably) do anything for you, and they call you on your bullsh*t. You can laugh together, cry together, and everything in between. So don't 'give yourself emotionally' to someone outside the marriage. Did you know? The #1 cause for affairs isn't sex or attractiveness; it's one partner seeking a sense of intimate belonging that they no longer feel in the marriage. So always be 'there' for your spouse!
10. Know when someone else is flirting with you, and don't give in. Rob & I have a way of monitoring our current co-workers & friends, to ensure nothing inappropriate is going on. He is as cute as a button on a bug, and I'm not the only girl whose noticed. Sometimes, female customers flirt with him at work. Thankfully, we discuss it. I do the same when a male customer, co-worker or stranger flirts with me. We're flattered, but being aware of the danger to our marriage, we approach the situation together as a team. This may mean visiting each other regularly during the day, or even using the block feature on facebook.
11. Decide early in the relationship, who does what. It is true that ideally, both partners would be responsible for the bread-winning, working the finances, child-rearing, and doing all the housework and meals. But in reality, this leads to fighting. So, with Rob being as awesome as he is with numbers, he is the main financial guy (he keeps me up to date on our savings, points systems, bills, etc.) and I am in charge of the cleaning and meals. This way, we stay out of each other's domain. If our marriage were a business, he'd be the CFO (chief financial officer), I'd be the COO (chief operating officer), and together, we'd share the CEO job. 
12. Choose positivity over negativity; especially around your spouse. We're all guilty of bringing home complaints to our spouse, whether about family, work, or friends... and then it becomes a cycle. In fact, when we don't become aware of our negativity, it can even cause our spouse to avoid us (45 minutes in the bathroom?). Remember that your spouse married you, because they love spending time with you. When dating you, they found you fun, charming, sweet & caring. So where did that person go? Make sure to share at least 75% positivity when with your spouse, and save the negativity for a journal, or - if really bad - maybe a counsellor. I suffer from a few neurological disorders, and for a long time I'd talk into the night about my burdens, while Rob was trying to sleep. When I realized how disrespectful I was being, I started getting really into journaling about my issues. This way, I'm more fun to Rob :)

So thank you for sitting through my novel-type writing (too much coffee?). Your patience is appreciated... and please heed this advice, it's really important if you're to stay with your one true love. 

❣❣❣❣❣❣❣❣❣❣❣❣❣❣

Now that the heatwave is mainly over, I have energy back and don't feel as sick. This means that now you can watch for more fun blogposts coming here - and to Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends - soon!

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ  ≧◡≦

*2016 anniversary post here
*2017 anniversary never seems to have gotten posted.