Redesigning the Church

I've been telling myself for months now that the Church of Maasa's design needs a bit of an overhaul, but I'd never actually gotten around to doing anything about it. The old design was simple enough that it worked, but it also happened to be pretty ugly.

But Blogger have recently unveiled their new layout designer, and so this morning I spent a few hours playing around with various templates. Before long, I had unwittingly created a layout that worked quite well - the one which you see before you now.

All that remained was to replace the old header. Like the skin itself, the old header was incredibly simple, but also incredibly ugly. It was something that I'd just thrown together in an hour or so when I first made the blog. So that had to go too. Now, I'm no graphics designer - if I were, I would have done a better job the first time, so I enlisted the help of my friend Liamers who has long been my go-to guy for graphics. He made all the headers I've ever used on my other blog, Berryz Kyuuden. He also made many of the forum signitures which I've used over the years (though, incidentally, not the current "L♡VE" one, which was made by myself). I guess it's fair to say that he is one of the few people I trust to do a good job of something as important to me as this blog. And he did an excellent job, at that.

I've had a little feedback so far, and it's been entirely positive. The design is nicer on the eyes, and simply friendlier - a change which reflects the changing attitude of the Church from the totalitarian do-or-die to the more open accepting religion that we find ourselves a part of today. Fundamentalism is still very much an aspect of the Church, but at the same time, changing attitudes towards H!P and our alliances with the Captainist Party mean that we can no longer be solely about promoting Maaist Idealism through simple offense, but also through cooperation and collaboration. And we needed a new look which reflects this change for the better.

The reality is that changes are coming... They must come, and we all must share in bringing them.

Sorry for the inconvenience...

I'm just writing a quick entry here to inform my readers and followers that, in light of Anime Expo's teaming with UFI to bring you an official MM OPV contest (more on which I'll write about in my other blog) and the apparent lack of interest in the Church's contest, Project Evangelion will be postponed indefinitely.

Sorry for any inconveniences caused. Regular blogging to continue soon.

Project Evangelion : Convert the Masses

I thought I would give something a try. Something I've never even attempted before. A competition! Henceforth known as Project Evangelion. The point of this, of course, is to increase faith in Maasa and the Church.

So, first of all. What are we competing? This is a video contest. Primarily an OPV one, but if you have another interesting idea in mind then go for it. The idea is simple, create a good Maasa video, send it in and the best will be decided by a panel of judges. These judges will be a small number (perhaps 5) of faithful men who will, unfortunately be barred from submiting a video in the interest of fairness.

Keep in mind that the video must be Maasa-centric in some way. A Berryz Koubou OPV will not be considered. A Maasa OPV which features clips or pictures of her with other members is acceptable. But remember that Maasa is the center of attention! Also the video should, in some way or another, advertise the Church of Maasa. Not necissarily this blog, but the faith in Maasa as a religious figure. As the Idol. Multiple entries are allowed, should you wish to do so.

So what is the prize? Well, I did originally plan on giving away to the winner a copy of Maasa's photobook. But another photobook contest after The Incredible He-Hulk's sig contest would be a bad choice. So I have decided to do something simpler. The winner will recieve a gift-voucher redeemable for $20 at YesAsia. If I get a big enough response to the contest, I may upgrade that prize. But for the time being that is where it stands.

Entries should be sent to contest@berryzkyuuden.com before June 15th. This gives you two months to work with, and the winner will be announced and their prize awarded before or on Maasa's Birthday (July 3rd). Your email should contain the link (DirectDownload or Video Stream only) to the video, it's title and also please indicate your Display name in the email subject. Valid email address is required, as the winners gift-code will be sent to the email adress you submitted the video with.

If you have no interest in entering into the contest, but would like to judge entries. Drop me an email too.

Lastly, although I can't enter the contest since I am hosting and judging, I thought I'd make an OPV anyway...