jawbreak

Announcement

2008-07-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

Anima Kyoukai will hold an anime event this August 17, 2008. The said event will feature a variety of mini contests which includes On-the-spot drawing, manga drawing, and a sing-a-like-contest among others. A Yugioh tournament will be a huge part of this big event. If anyone is interested to become a participant please contact mr. Jose Manuel "muds" Pacana on this number: 09202506711.

For more details, please visit their site at http://anime-manga-kyoukai.blogspot.com or you can also visit their forums here: http://animakyoukai.ipbfree.com

Thank you. . .

On Slayers

2008-07-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

weeeh. . .. my favorite anime adventure is back . . . it's finally back. . tadada!!

i remembered the time i used to watch this series every saturday. . . wait, when was that? grade six? i could scarcely remember already. there were three of them lined up in a row and the last one was rayearth . . . or was rayearth on sunday? again, i could not remember clearly. anyway, at first, i treated this series as merely an ' appetizer ' because i thought it was humorously shallow, just blasting your enemies when you felt like it or when they piss you off isnt really gonna cut it as an anime with a good storyline, and i had always been looking for one.

but the humor and the well-made consistent characters grew on my senses and later on, i found out it had a lot more to offer than mere fun.

there are basically three consistent things that I like about this anime more than most of the others.

1. the humor - i remembered a time when i couldnt stop myself from laughing half an hour after its airing on saturdays but back then, i could barely remember why. watching the new series now (Slayers Revolution), i could recall half of the stuff that made this series fun. It was like the irony of Hitler declaring a nuclear war on an entire continent because Roosevelt told him he looked like Charlie Chaplin (though in truth, Chaplin did outlive Hitler and even made a film with him as a dictator as an act of Nazi defiance). on a more precise term, levelling an entire city because somebody insulted the protagonist (Lina Inverse) calling her "Ms. Flat chest" which she actually was and not even a bit pleased of being reminded so.

2. the well designed characters -

Lina had problems reconciling her claim of being a beautiful sorceress with her short figure and 'flat' chest. . . . and anyone who tried to remind her of the painful truth ended up the bottom of the crater caused by her powerful spell, Dragon Slave. In Gouddy's case, a simple whack to the head or kick in the 'behind' usually had him shutting his mouth.

well, Gourry is Gourry, and he is nothing but. . . with that being said, he's always a recipient of the Lina fireball and kick and the infamous Filia mace. . . and why is that? because he lacks in whatever kind of quotient you can think of (intelligence quotient, emotional Intelligence quotient, social intelligence quotient. . . etc). he manages to get himself into trouble by saying the wrong words at the wrong time at the wrong people. sometimes it can be attributed to his naivette, .. . but more often than not, Gourry is just being Gourry.

and then there's Xellos. . . oh how i like this guy. a dear ally a second ago. . . a pain in the ass the next. he had his little secret agenda going on in which Lina and co. does for him albeit without their knowledge. it's amazing how the series creators had switched his character from being a comic relief to a trickster and finally, to a dark dangerous character without even making it seem like Xellos made any effort to be all that. Xellos is simply, all that.

from a distant perspective, the characters have that generic nature, primarily because it had an RPG feel to it. but unlike other series, the characters here never tried to step into boundaries they where never meant to fill. you don't get to see a Lina acting all emo crying into a corner or getting all mushy with Gourry, (suppose to be was her love interest). . . which was fine with me. it was all designed to be consistently linear which is actually good if you're looking for fast paced action, fun and a little intrigue, but nothing else.

3. the myth and mystery - this was really the last straw that made this one of my favorites. perhaps, it may have been because i had always have an addiction for myths and names. . . and i find this series' character names to be one of the most original in any i have seen especially in the fantasy genre. . . such names as Phibrizo, Gaav, Cepheid all have a somewhat aggressive and archaic feel to it and though some were derived partially from western lore, they were nevertheless unheard of. even the spells themselves were named impressively. . . and finally the story of the Slayers universe , the myth of the dragons and the demons, and how everything came to be was well told. i also like the fact that the characters themselves were caught up in all this mysteries without actually overstepping on it. the series was like a treasure box full of little stories and information that you'd really believe there was a real wacko world like that somewhere. . . and even if there isn't, you'd still like to think there is one.

*whew* all in all, im just glad there's a new one that's released. i am just so happy i needed to write this why-do-i-like slayers post.

P.S. i also hope you watch kure-nai. nice anime. . . and please, don't get the wrong idea that it's lolicon. i've had enough just reading from some of those shitty commenters who want it to turn out that way.

A good find

2008-06-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

I had a not-so-hostile sibling fight last night so i opened ym to talk to someone and cool my head off. . . that someone was a friend of mine way back in H.S. He told me to amuse myself, watch a comedy movie or scribble, or just DO SOMETHING to keep myself from eating myself (lol). . . and since i've exhausted up all my DVD supplies (visually speaking), i needed to watch something else from someone else's site.

And so i scoured the net looking for good movies. (oh yeah, i forgot he recommended two but i've watched one of them and i was not in the mood to watch the other). I searched 10 best films on google. . . and couldn't find anything except dorks who keep mentioning hollywood movies. I mean, don't get me wrong, i like hollywood movies. Lemme see. . . my fave classics are ben hur, lawrence of arabia and the longest day (sorry, classic romance ain't my thing . . . I can't bear to watch a guy in a mustache sweep a 60's looking girl off her feet, as he holds her with one arm and tells her "Darling, I'll never live another day without you" ---> it makes my skin crawl. . . ) and there are a lot of good modern ones too: autumn in new york, fight club, silence of the lambs, devil's advocate, event horizon, primal fear. . . etc. but i got tired of hollywood and their mindless taste in movie titles these days (excluding a few good ones that pop up every now and then and the superhero movies they're making ----> i'm mindless myself XD ). So the search went on. . . until it narrowed down to the top asian movies with lots of kung fu and jet li, and then to the top asian romantic then to the top japanese romantic drama until i reached a forum that recommended this particular movie . . .

Well . . the girl ain't really that pretty (she had a horribly cute smile in that nerdy face of hers, lol), and well. . . i'm not GAY to watch this movie because the guy was the same one that starred in Nodame Cantabile, but the opening act really set the mood. . . and so, I was like "ok, let's finish this."

So after an hour and a half of exposure i stood up, took a deep breath and found out that i wasn't even a bit angry or irritated. I was depressed, terribly in fact and i can't keep myself from forgetting that nerdy smile and pout and the weird way the girl walked in the movie. I turned off the monitor and just stared in space for a good half an hour and finally told myself "Shit! i love that movie."

the ending's a bit cliche actually, but it was so well done that even if you knew it would happen, you would never be able to help yourself but cry (i dropped a tear or two . . . OK OK!!! so it was more than a dozen. . . you happy now!?) . but that's just me (i must be a man with a hose for a tear duct)

Anyway, the point of all this is that i'm recommending this movie to you . . . the readers of this hideous, late-to-update blog, not because i personally like it but because i think it's really well done (like a juicy steak). and don't think i endorsed this movie so you could comment to me "thank you" or "your taste sucks". Seriously it's not for the comment. . . but if you happen to watch it and thank me, lemme just reply by saying "doh!, I told you so!"

Btw, i watched the Hulk and i liked it better than the first for various reasons: First because it's what i imagined hulk should be (though the first movie was actually more faithful to the image of the comic hulk ---> leaping long distances, healing insanely fast etc), second, because his opponent (Abomination) was the kind of villain that supports the hulk's portrait as a rampaging beast, third, because it was darker, and fourth because i like norton as banner better than bana even if the latter have the first three letters of bruce's surname.

umm. . . bad parts: live tyler's voice. the actress was ok, the voice was far from it. and some stupid lines (there were some lines that makes me wanna kill the writer).

Im an uncle!?

2008-03-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

it was .. . what was that day? i forgot. i was stuck for more than 12 hours in the hospital when someone called to have a check at the nursery. i was still daydreaming because it was still night and so i ignored the announcement and had my mom and my brother-in-law have a check. a few minutes later, my sister came and told me her baby was born. the funny thing was, i just stared at her. her voice seemed like a distant vibration from outer space. . .so far, i needed to have a stethoscope or something just to hear. to put it bluntly, i was dumbstruck. i honestly didn't know how to handle the news. was it bad? of course it wasn't bad, but it was not like a cake had been handed down so that i can eat it (not that i like cakes). all day, i was expecting that any moment she would deliver the baby, i guess the reality never really sunk into me, and i had to drink water just to calm myself.

so what then. . . now that she has a baby, so what? the question kept running through my head a few seconds after i finally grasp what she had told me. . . and then it hit me, holy shit. . . I'M AN UNCLE. . . the word struck me like some foreign entity that dropped out of the sky. perhaps it would have been better if Michael Buffer (a ring announcer) walked right in front of me and yelled "Congratulations James, you're now an uncle!" . perhaps the news would have sounded more positive, the same when you're promoted from work. but i was half asleep, and the one telling me the supposedly good news was a woman who just came after grueling hours of labor and delivery. she looked half-dead (sorry lois) and there i was sitting on her bed with my eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. it almost reminded me of a scene from a dark comedy.

it took me hours to finally get ahold of myself. Eunice (the baby), she's one weird delightful soul. she sleeps most of the time, and the first time i saw her. . . she ignored me, choosing to sleep rather than face her sleepless uncle. she must have unconsciously hated me for not welcoming her properly within her first few hours. "i'm sorry, uncle was just surprised he's becoming an. . . well, an uncle" that's what the back of my mind told her after i saw her. i was proud of her. she has a calm, rebellious spirit just like her mother. perhaps one day, when i'm old (not that i'd like to think i am), i'd finally be able to tell her this awful story. until then, i'd have to be playing this new role she had given me, as her uncle.

new pastime?

2008-03-03T10:27:00.001-08:00

when was the last time i posted? oh yeah october. . . it says below too. no good movies. just having a fun time whacking those two (blondie and JP) in Tekken. they're still noobs and so i was trying to restrain myself from fear that they may get discouraged. i wouldn't want that to happen or else i wouldn't have any bully material to tamper with and my days with the PS2 fighting would be short-lived. these are just those days i'm making a comeback after my disastrous stint with Stephen in Soul Calibur and Jp's insane racing skill in GT. it's ;like, for the first time in a long time, i could finally say to them "WELCOME TO MY WORLD, U PIECES OF MEAT!!!!".

lately, they have been improving though. . . .and so restraint wasn't so much of a problem anymore. they learned pretty quick. like me, Stephen's one of those methodical jerks who likes to play it technical, while Jp, well. .. . his style's just plain simple . . . but his timing and execution, it's impeccable. reminds me of a hated rival when he was just starting to play Tekken where you'd fall for the same old trick over and over and over until your reflexes began to tighten and that same move would be the only thing you'd watch out for. . . . or maybe my defense just suck so bad he just needed to repeat it for me to lose.

*sigh*

we played a new game last week (not that the game is really new). It's Tetris. you might wanna challenge us. Jp'll be bringing the cd to Okono once in a while.

a pain of a decision

2007-10-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

. . . so im not gonna deny that i hate our president, and even more so her God-forsaken husband, and the mere idea that they're the ones running this country is driving me nuts. . . and then there's abalos, andaya, garcillano and the rest of those shitheads that i'd happily electrecute (myself) given the chance.

that's why i don't understand (for the love of God!) why my father's running. oh yeah, it's big news. . . so big infact, that i'm regarding it as a major catastrophe ---> a major ideological miscalculation on the part of my pa. there was a time when every dinner we never fail to discuss this current government's failure to uphold the interest of the masses. there were those "what if" scenarios. . . and then what would happen to Estrada, FPJ, and the rest of the opposition, and how my father predicted they'd soon be in power through another people power or a failed coup. but the more you watch the news, the more you get that "reality" slap in the face that she's the president, and of course, she's bound to control everything from the senate down to the highest echelon's in the Philippine army. then i went here, and all that talk, all that prediction flashed before our eyes like a mere dream in this barren country known as Arroyoland.

So maybe i shouldn't blame Pa. i made him a blueprint for his campaign streamer just yesterday. It wasn't bad, it wasn't that good either (I hate letterings, never was one of my strong suits). i always thought when one member of your family enters politics, it literally means being a public figure, servant , whatever,. . . but from the word "public", there's always that underlying tone that connotes transparency, and oh, how i hate that word.

well, that's that. despite everything, i still have high respect for Pa. best wishes on you this election.

jitters

2007-08-12T16:44:00.002-07:00

Well, i really don't know how to start this, it's just that i had to let it out.

Everytime i listen to the words of my friends, to their lamentations and longings, I feel as if they were part my own. Of course, because I am also like them, and though we may never feel the same, it is that simple fact that we are, as nature dictated, the same. We do feel.

On that note, I feel their sense of loss, though maybe not to their degree, or not in the perspective of their understanding of what truly transpired as they narrate me their stories . . . still, it had become quite apparent that a face of life had dealt them a cruel shove. Several times they tried to bounce, in more ways than one, trying to hide the failures (as I do), only to fall time and time again. It is as if life is telling them what they've been through is not yet enough to have the right to leap through to another chapter of their lives. That they have yet to meet that "Mr.Right/Ms. Right" (whoever the fuck he/she is. . . sorry for the tone) , or find the right occupation or obsession (in some cases), and until such a time that they will wake up and realize whoever or whatever that is, they'll have to scour and struggle through a huge sinking hole in which they need to rise only to be dragged down due to the lack of "compatability".

And within these little conversations, there are underlying tones, tones of sorrow, simple lies / denials that i myself am willing to accept as part of their character (for I also do the same). If these little errors in their ways are the only foundation that keep them glued to the ground, then let them hold on to it. If it is an illusion, let him fall for it. Let them abuse it until such a time that they'll be looking into what they'd be deeming as real. After all, reality is nothing more than a perception of what had been felt and observed -- as what most people would claim.

Perhaps, all of this is just another BS, and perhaps I am just too depressed to write anything I'd be laughing at later. I just thought of all those people around me, the things they said, they did. . . and i am happy that they faced life the way they did. They reminded me that I'm still not brave enough to face my own fears. that they had gone through there while i still have yet to slide down deep. But ironically, listening to them made it even harder for me to move. I have heard the risk, I had felt the pain (though, as I said, in my own way),and it gave me chills.

in every pandora's box, there's still something to smile about

2007-07-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

y'know. .. it's frustrating when you write something and after a while. . . after you finished at least four paragraphs of nonsensical (and quite egocentric) commentaries 'bout yourself and the comp failed you (which means it had lost all the data you'd written the previous hour), these are just one of those times when you want to wish the keyboard's the hand, the CPU's the body and the monitor's the face . . . so that you can give them a few good hooks you've been practicing for once every five months.

the only good thing bout this night was that i was able to download kim tae hee's lg commercial where she was prancing around holding her cellphone. ooops. . . people people. .. hold your horses. . . that was not a quest of perversion (because if it was. . . i'd DL something else). it's just that there's something earthly and quite lightheaded about her dance (or prance---> take it which way you like). i was planning to give JP the vid since he was the one who drew her face and painted it digitally . . . something i was too lazy to do.

Transformers

2007-07-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

It was friday two days ago and after attending a meeting where few people showed up, me and Stephen decided to hit JP's place of atonement and peace. . . . not that JP was really there. After calling him for minutes (with the last finally confirming that he wasn't at home. . . probably scourging somewhere in SM, looking for girls with bangs . . . ), we headed straight for the mall.

It was a good day, and i was really planning to watch the damn movie for the past two days. . . or let's put it this way, since it was suppose to be shown (which it wasn't because it was a day late and i was ready to bust Gaisano's head for that inconvenience!). So yeah, there i was looking at the poster (finally!) of the movie with Prime and Megatron facing each other and my feet just woke up with brains of its own and told me "James whether you like it or not . . . ur coming to the ticket booth with me!". So it guided me (not that it needed eyes. . . or supposing my "smart" feet have eyes) with Stephen tagging along contemplating whether or not he should watch. . . though i know he most likely would.

Then as we neared the counter, Stephen made one of the worst judgments he did that day. "Piste nabilin akong eyeglasses" ---> that was the first line that went through his mouth. Of course he was cursing because I will not settle for a deluxe seat (did I spell that right?), knowing that he has to or else his vision will be too blurry if he sits with me at the premiere. So he took the seats below and I took the seats above, and I gave him free drinks. . . since he always gives me free drinks at home (Coke ehehe), and we agreed to meet at the end of the film. Btw, that was Cinema 1 and I was shocked to find as many people as the time when I was watching Harry Potter, not that I'm fond of the book (which I'm not . . . seriously. . . )

I loved the movie. light, no philosophical or moral crap . . . i wasn't in the mood to dig into a heavy storyline. Ok, so I was there because I had a dead brain that needed to lighten up. There . . . happy!? Anyway, the guy, Le beau (i think that's his name) did his job well. very funny, clever, sometimes a little over the edge with his mouth but it worked well to his advantage because he was portraying a washed out nerd caught in the middle of war between several two-story sized talking metals. And the girl . . . well, for one she was sexy . . . not my-type-sexy but sexy nonetheless. Then there was Bernie Mac who got fingered by his mother in the movie. It was a surprising cast that include the likes of Tyrese . . . the Fast and the Furious Tyrese (that's him) and John Voight (Jolies' father). One after the other these two surprising cast showed up and I couldn't help dropping my mouth, thinking "What the hell are they doing here!?". Hmmm . . . . There are some shady parts bout that movie that i want to review like, why was Bumblebee the only autobot to arrive first(before the rest came?) and how long was starscream and his gang been on earth? I've read the synopsis and I still missed something, like that plot that says there was suppose to be another probe(?) that went to space at the time Apollo 11 launched . . . I got dazed and decided to just watch the movie on a player again . (Curses!)

Anyway, as for the robots themselves, my fave would be Ironhide (the pick up) he was aching to shoot (and was hard at trying to find a reason to do so) and Jazz (the pontiac) whom Megatron tore in half at the end as the poor guy shouted "You want a piece of me!?" ---> that's for the Autobots. The Decepticons are far more interesting . . . well for one, they're well - armed military machines, and they got the attitude to boot. There's three of them and none include Megatron, though he was cool when he finally got freed from cryofreeze and proclaimed himself "I AM MEGATRON!", I'll give him that. Anyway the three were Devastator, (the Abrams tank) , errr. . . Bonecrusher, (Bufallo vehicle) the metalhead can skate very well for his size, and last and my favorite of the three. . . Blackout (the chopper --- MH53? i think?), the badass who redecorated a US army camp in one night's raid.

All in all the movie was worth it, and it's even worth a second watch if you're in the mood for light entertainment. One downside though was the cheesy robot lines. i hated it. So why didn't I include Optimus on my list? because he was too big to act like a gorilla! when he went hanging over the bridge (nevermind the fact that he was hiding), the poor dude's hung over a bridge like a chimpanzee . . . and I'm wondering how the bridge still stood after it got hung by such an enormous bulk. Hey Prime, weight check, YOU MAY NOT BE YOKOZUNA (OR MUDS!) BUT YOU WEIGH A HUNDRED TIMES HEAVIER!!!!!!(or more . . .pardon my math).

not that i can swim . . .

2007-06-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

three days ago was "beach day". My family and my relatives went to the beach -- a relatively famous resort back in our hometown. They had been planning the activity ever since my relatives arrived two days before. Much was expected and food was stacked like we were heading for winter. kids (yes, there were tiny little devils screwing around calling me "uncle" --> a title i'm not really fond of) were jumping up and down talking bout sharks and how fast they could swim and how far they could travel underwater without breathing. . . i was thankful none of them ask me how good i could swim because that would be very embarassing. i couldn't imagine myself lying to them yet imagining myself telling them i couldn't makes me wanna flatten the tire out of our family car to sabotage the entire thing. I DON'T WANT THEM TO SEE ME HEADING ON DEEP WATERS WEARING A LIFEJACKET!!!!!

So that particular day, i did not bring anything other than my discman and one towel and told them i was not in the mood to go flirting with the fishes. much to my luck (and dismay), we arrived there to find the beach under extreme low tide. So i slept under the cottage as the little devils and my other relatives went and crucified themselves under the heat of the sun. a few hours after that, i decided to take a dip (with the water just chest-deep) and rinsed myself thirty minutes later. the rest of the afternoon, i covered my head with my towel and complained about how hot the sun was and how my neck began to burn.

my only consolation after that was i didn't get sunburned. When i woke up the next day, i saw my sis grumbling 'bout how her nose was starting to peel off. I had the urge to poke their back with a stick and see if they jump knowing that other than the face, the back is another part of the body that easily gets burned. I never did.

It's the keys

2007-05-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

It's 4 o' clock in the morning and I couldn't get in the apartment because I forgot to keys. So this is what I did, I went inside a cafe and wrote a blog telling you people bout' my untimely predicament. I still have 2 hours to go before Mai finally wakes up and by that time I'd be looking like a washed-out primitive caveman. She'd then be asking where have I been again, and I'd say like, just here and there and swearing to mother nature for her to stop scrutinizing and let me sleep. Hopefully Stephen, that conceited jerk (hahaha) won't be visiting today (because it's already morning) so that I won't be waking up to the sound of a lame-a** comment bout' how horrid I look, because by then, I'd be really craving to knock all his teeth.

So here I am, writing. . . . after get tumbled and kicked in Warcraft and had just have about enough of it. : ) The only consolation I had for missing sleep was that I was able to bully Stephen in NBA Live(the same could not be said for JP, who turned Yao and the rest of my Rockets into Hershey's and swallowed them). So yeah, what do I do now? I don't have my flashdrive with me, and I'm basically a walking shirt and shorts with a few bills on the pocket. Time to figure it out.

Oh yeah, one more forest keeper in my beast deck and it'll be hairy enough to trample just about any offensive decks out there, except Muds. In Stephen's words, his deck is "Halimaw" - any level 8 monster would feel like peeing at the sight of Chimeratech (that sh*tty card!)

shallowness

2007-05-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

when the comelec said "indelible", they really meant it down to the last detail. It's been a week and a half since I voted, still the mark on my finger showed no sign of fading. The damn ink's still stuck on my nails like it had been with me since birth. Three years ago, i had the ink for only four days. . . it was a short four days. I could show it off without fear that someone might mistake my hand for a body part hammered by a giant rock. So maybe i was exaggerating and there are millions of Filipinos like myself who are in the same predicament, but who cares . . . THIS IS NOT THEIR FINGER!

Last night was a useless drag. There i was lying on my bed when i found myself sweating. Sure it was hot and i was thirsty. Nevertheless, the lazy overbearing me, wouldn't allow itself to stand up and satisy itself. So i just lied there and tolerated everything that mr. atmosphere unleashed on me. . . . that was until i started hallucinating after a cold glass of cola on a hot, dry desert. My mouth began tense and I quickly stood up and headed for the ref. Of course there was no cola, only orange juice. So i got myself a glass of cold water and did not think twice NOT putting the juice powder unto it (i hate orange juice). Then i went to bed.