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This week is the Chinese New Year. Time to assess and take stock of your life and make changes for the positive. These are some of the best content that we have encountered in the 9Rules network.

The Artist’s Drug of Choice

Art is a curative. Art is strengthening. Art is what taught me that I am an artist. Art is what keeps me healthy. If I’m not getting my fix, everything else will suffer. I need it.

I know I’ve featured Jessica Doyle’s blog last week, but her recent blog post on the artist’s struggle with personal demons is quite compelling and strikes a chord with any person who has to go through the same things in the pursuit of true creativity. Doyle’s positive take on art as a form of positive addiction is a great affirmation of what art can do to artist and not just the people who see the final work. (more…)

The first two weeks of January 2012 has been very hectic for practically every one of us so Friday couldn’t come at a better time. The fact that it’s Friday the 13^th today, the first of three such memorable date configurations for the year, makes this Friday a bit more memorable than your plain Vanilla Friday. Here are some of the most interesting content you should check out in our 9Rules Network.

“Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion” – Film Announced

According to the official blog, plans for a film adaptation of the original ?Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion? TV anime series are underway.

At a recent press conference, producers Yukawa Atsushi and Yoshitaka Kawaguchi described the idea as a dream right before a display that read, “project has been launched,” was shown.

Code Geass has been a hit ever since it was released. I’m pretty sure that this film is going to be equally huge and will be lapped up by the hordes of Code Geass fans.

The Highs and Lows (of making art)

I’ve always been aware that part of my purpose in creating art is to explore the control of chaos. Sometimes I think it’s a microcosm of my life. I hate not having control, and I hate being surprised. I like to make changes in my life, not be subjected to the shock of them.

Making art, just like any kind of creative process, can be very complex. Shaylamaddox describes her own creative process in her wonderfully written blog post.

Launch of Apple iPhone 4S In China Spoilt By Eggs

Apple store in Beijing, China, stopped the sale of the new iPhone 4s due to scalpers. This action prompted an irate customer to throw eggs at the glass windows, and leaving others disappointed after waiting for a number of hours.

I understand that Apple’s iPhone is the most popular smartphone on the planet, able to inspire acts of utter stupidity. Just take this incident for example. What I want to know though is how this irate customer got hold of eggs. Did he bring the eggs with him adhering to the scout motto of always being prepared – anticipating the need for something icky to throw at stores? Or is he an egg vendor who happened who just happened to be bringing his stock of eggs while lining up for an iPhone 4s?

Ensuring the success of any online presence only means one thing, making sure that marketing the web site is effective enough to drive traffic. For this purpose effective search engine optimization strategies are needed to ensure that you create traffic and have the capability to increase it over time. Despite many different kinds of marketing strategies, SEO strategies geared towards keywords are still some of the most successful tactics you can use for your success. Here are some tips you can do to ensure that your web site remains visible in search engines.

Content and Link Building

You’ve often heard it said that content is king – and up to now that is still true. Content drives traffic to your site and it is also content that provides you with the means to improve your search engine rankings. It is also content that will allow you to build links that will, in turn, also improve your rankings. Your content is the vehicle for you to provide your targeted keywords naturally and legally. (more…)

7 Minutes in Heaven: JJ Abrams Answered Questions on Quora for 7 Minutes

Because of its specific format, Quora provided an opportunity unlike Twitter, Facebook, or other social media outlets for fans to engage with Super 8.

I must admit I have never tried out Quora. So far plain old Google and Wikipedia does the job for me. It might be time though to get an account and check it out if I want to keep up with trends.

Since It Can’t All Be About Books

A good example of throwing in a personal post now and then.

The BlogLily Summer Reading Program

The boomerang is the perfect symbol for what happens when you become an enthusiastic reader. You read that book and your first reaction is almost always to tell someone else about it. And before you know it, they’re telling you about the book they just read that you’ll like too. That’s about the path of a boomerang, isn’t it?

Since I could read and all the way through highschool I went regularly to the library, to lend books and to study. I must say I miss it, the public library here is very sterile and uninviting. Good libraries are a dying species.

Optimal Taco Ingredient Stacking

The unexpected bonus is that the melted cheese forms a laminating layer over the brittle corn shell, increasing its shatter resistance by an order of magnitude. The result: a hard taco that not only holds onto its ingredients, but also is easier to eat because it doesn’t explode in your hand.

I am amazed at Dave’s dedication to get the best way to stack a taco. Never mind my addiction to MSG in the flavor. I get so frustrated with the shells breaking that I just use a soft tortilla which doesn’t taste the same. Dave’s post is a fine example on why I love weblogs, not even in a food magazine you’ll come across such a handy and detailed tip.

Amazon.com finally announced one of its most poorly kept secrets – an Android tablet. The Kindle Fire has lived up to its name as it is poised to fire up the already tough competition within the tablet market with a $199 tablet.

Our Kindle Fire impressions and why Amazon is destined to dominate

Much like the original Kindle was designed expressly for reading books, the Kindle Fire is designed expressly to consume other types of media (and a few books too, if that’s what you’re into). Much like the Kindle leveraged Amazon’s extensive e-book catalog to sell books, the Kindle Fire is for those who want a simple device that will let them purchase and enjoy colorful things like magazines, music, video, websites, and some games and apps as well, all of which are sold by Amazon. If you want to read a book or document, you can do that too, much like you can try to browse the Web on the original Kindle. It’s not necessarily designed for reading books, but Amazon is generous with its services.

How to Troubleshoot a Hackintosh

Troubleshooting a hackintosh generally involves a lot of trial and error, many surprises, and plenty of frustration. This guide seeks to take away a little of that frustration by helping you 1) deal with some common issues, 2) figure out issues not discussed here, 3) find people to help you out when you’re stuck.

The Hackintosh is that magical hybrid of geekiness and practicality. It’s enjoying the Apple environment on a budget. But a Hackintosh does not have the stability of the genuine Mac environment, which makes it a bitch to troubleshoot sometimes. This is a great guide for troubleshooting one.

Nerf’s new Vortex blasters: who needs darts when you’re shooting discs?

Remember when Nerf blasters were simple, toy-like affairs? Times have changed, and now we have heavy, belt-fed, battery-chugging monstrosities that appeal to cubicle warriors as much as to children. Our house has a long history of Nerf wars using each new generation of guns, so when I heard that Nerf was releasing an entirely new line of blasters with discs instead of darts, I was both excited and a little hesitant. Would it really be fun to shoot my children and pets with tiny frisbee-style projectiles?

The Nerf guns are one of the hottest toys around not just because kids love them, but also (and probably, more importantly) the dads love them more. You can now add the Nerf Vortex blasters to your growing Nerf gun collection.

The cute ‘n’ kooky world of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Japan’s newest pop idol

“I’m interested in exaggerating things,” explains Kyary. “I’ll be trying on wigs and I’ll get interested in seeing what it would look like if I just put them all on at once. Or rather than just having one teddy bear, why not have me completely immersed in hundreds of them?”

Pop culture travels at hyperspeeds in Japan. And a pop star like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a perfect example of how differently stars are look and are packaged in Japan – that is, except for Lady Gaga, who fits perfectly in Japanese pop culture.