it's ok to be messed up. tomorrow we'll boogie.

Since you're here--

2009-03-23T21:40:00.002+08:00

--it probably means you haven't heard that I've moved.

Over here is where it's at now.

Since you're here--

2009-03-23T21:40:00.000+08:00

--it probably means you haven't heard that I've moved.

Over here is where it's at now.

...and I'm checking it twice.

2008-12-24T23:28:00.003+08:00

One of the best things that I like about my job(s) is that I can finally get my family nice presents for Christmas. It might not sound like a big deal, but it is something of a feat. That's because I have a BIG family. @_@ Big. Like, with nieces and nephews and siblings-in-law and such.

This year, though, because my mother was away until last week and didn't have time to go shopping, we all agreed to postpone our traditional gift-giving until the 31st. Fine by me, because it means I didn't have to deal with the Christmas shopping rush, plus I can go buy presents during the vacation days. As it is, I'm enjoying making my list, but here's the thing. I want my gift for my mother to be special, so I've been planning on getting her flowers (in... plant form, not bouquet O_O). She loves flowers and I'm sure she'd be happy to have more around the house (and really, so would I). I'm pretty sold on this idea of mine except it presents the following problems:

1. I don't know my way around a plant shop. Case in point: I don't think they're even called plant shops. <_<; style="font-weight: bold;">2. I don't know how to pick specific flower... varieties.
3. LOGISTICS. Let's say I buy half a dozen plants at least. There is the matter of carrying them and transporting them back home. O_O I would expect that to be quite a challenge.
4. STORAGE. I live in a cramped house where every square meter is occupied by clutter or human beings or dog. It will be difficult finding somewhere to HIDE those plants so she doesn't find out about it until the big reveal.

Anyway, any help or suggestions for those things would be greatly appreciated. ... What's that? You want to GO WITH ME when I go flower-shopping? xDDD Ok no seriously if anyone wants to go with me, let me know and IM me ASAP. I'll buy you dinner. Dinner and a cream puff. Seriously.

By the way--FAIL. It sort of slipped my mind that the presents for people outside of my family were not to be postponed until 31st. T__T I haven't shopped for those, either. So to my friends and MotherTongue capo xDDD -- I shall hand thee thy gifts in January.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE. :3 ♥ ♥ ♥

On gunning them down, more often than usual.

2008-12-21T20:26:00.004+08:00

So over the past few weeks (month?) I've sort of become a fixture at Time Crisis 3 in Timezone Trinoma. It's my new therapy game of preference, partly because the House of the Dead almost always has broken guns and I suck at that samurai sword game. (And I don't play Time Crisis 4 because I almost always die at the multi-screen... battle... whatdoyoucallit.) @_@ It's all fun except I might be developing an addiction, you know? Like there are those days... when I just HAVE to have a go at it. Like yesterday. And last Thursday. And... yeah. <_<;

Having said all this I have to admit that I still FAIL!!! T____T Can't even make it past Stage 2 (hey Stage 2, not Area 2).

So that, AND I've gotten hooked on Mafia Wars. Me and everyone else in the office. If you haven't heard about it, it's this strategy game on Facebook that's extremely easy to get hooked on. I guess it's kind of my replacement for Warbook xD except I was A LOT more hooked on Warbook back then.

The thing is, I'm sort of noticing a trend in my areas of interests.

...WHICH ISN'T TO SAY IT CONCERNS ME. X'D Ahahaha. I don't think I'll be switching to playing UFO Catcher anytime soon.

x x x x x

As some of you guys may have heard by now, my mom came back from her vacation to Japan last Monday. She brought me two magazines filled with JE-boyband goodness (and she knows who Johnny Kitagawa is now, moohahaha xDDD), rice crackers (!), and a whole bunch of clothes from my sister. But special attention must be given to the two pairs of knee-high boots that my sister already sent me. xDDD After much consideration, I've decided that I LIKE THEM and I don't care if they are completely not appropriate for the climate, I am going to find a way to wear them. So hopefully it stays cold until February. xD

Pictures to follow. :D

Things to read, and stuff.

2008-12-14T18:02:00.006+08:00

Friday was awesome. The company let us take half the day off for [company sponsored!] book shopping. We were given an allowance of 1,500 Php per employee/month, on the condition that we choose books that will help us with our writing. Sweet deal.

I'm not even halfway through my allowance yet. I only got this:

Nyaarrr. xDDD It's a parody book of the everyday written crap that we read (ads, missives, etc). It's hilarious. But wish me luck explaining the title when the big boss sees it. But hey, it's valid, I think I can get a lot of ideas from the books. Besides: 'The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof shit detector. " (Ernest Hemingway). Hah. xD

And on the subject of my writing, I wonder if I should be worried. My writing/creative process has been very... I don't know how to describe it, free-spirited(?) lately. xD It's a good thing company policy tolerates me going up to the office loft, and lying down to write. Sometimes even taking a nap. My concern is that I may be going a little too far with taking the path of least resistance? :P Ohoho.

x x x x x

Meg just got a DSLR. And while just a month ago, I was all like, "Meh, I won't get one until I really know how to take pictures", now my SLR lust has come to the forefront. @___@ I hope I can stave it off until January. December is not a good month for taking a vow of poverty.

Besides, my need for a new computer is a lot more pressing. I figure the old clunker only has a few months of survival left in it. So... it's a matter of need vs. want. Let's see how well the (hard-earned! I worked hard~) resources flow in toward the end of the year. xD

x x x x x

I didn't previously know there was an Advanced Photoshop magazine. I got one last Friday. It's pretty kickass, it even comes with a CD of brushes, shapes, and textures. And the tutorials are pretty wicked, I'll be glad to learn half of them.

Step away from the thesaurus.

2008-12-03T14:01:00.004+08:00

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

So now there's a study supporting something that I've believed in for a while: that unnecessarily using big words and complicated language just makes you sound dumb.

The researcher, Daniel Oppenheimer, gathered a selection of writing samples--some written in normal, simple language, and others modified to use overly complex language and bigger words. Then these were handed to students to a group of evaluators. Guess what: the more complex and flowery the language of the sample, the less intelligent the students perceived its author to be.

It's not really that surprising when you think about it. It's true, having a large vocabulary can indicate that a person is knowledgeable. But the unnecessary use of big words and difficult language--which, let's face it, a lot of people do for the sake of sounding important or intelligent--can sacrifice fluency and clarity. Basically, it doesn't matter how impressive you think your two-dollar words are--if you cram them in it to the point that the language becomes unnatural and unclear, then you're doing it wrong. (“The chief virtue that language can have is clarity.” – Hippocrates)

There's a lot more to be said about being able to express complex ideas in simple language, not the other way around.

And personally, really, I think using big words to sound impressive is just lame. It always just sounds like you're really, really trying. xD

Here's a blog entry that briefly explains Oppenheimer's study (which is titled "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly". LOL.); and here's the actual study in PDF.

Question? - My Way

2008-12-02T11:13:00.003+08:00

Remember when I didn't have a stable job yet and I felt like crap and didn't know what I was gonna do next then I discovered Question's song "Head Banging Boogie" and the lyrics were exactly what I needed that time?

*breathe*

Yeah well they did it again. :D This time Yone wrote the song. Excerpts:

You can get the lyrics (Kanji, Romaji, English trans) here. But here, the parts that I really love:

kono yo wa fuan darake no sekai de
wakaranai koto demo wakari takumonai yo
oikake takumonai monow o
oikake saserareru no mo tsurai desho?
This world is a world full of anxiety
and the things I don't understand,
I don't even want to understand them.
Isn't it also painful how they can make you chase
after something that you don't even want to chase?

and this

nandaka warawareteru ki ga shiteru no
honto chiisana kono machi de mieru daro ?
Somehow I feel like I'm being laughed at
In this really small town. Doesn't it seem like that?

and this, my absolute favorite part

itsu datte jibun rashiku, yaritakute
yarubeki koto wo yaru dake dakara
Because whenever I'm myself, the things I want to do,
the things I should do, I just do them.

And, give it a listen:

[flail] I've said it before and I'll say it again. QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? QUESTION? I LOVE THIS BAND SO MUCH. x3 ♥ YONEMUU~!!! [/flail]

I know there are gonna be people out there who can't get past the Engrish, but... bah, your loss. xD Haha. Anyway... I'm probably reposting this everywhere. I have a loooong recap post to write about everything that happened in November (spoiler: NOVEMBER WAS BAD), but I'll save that for later.

Don't do it for the karma.

2008-11-23T01:09:00.011+08:00

First things first: Plurk is awesome.

I know I've joined a lot of social networks* (both out of boredom and for my sideline writing gig), but of the ones that I actually use, Plurk is the one I've recently gotten hooked on. It's got a lot going for it--it's simple, it runs on interactivity, and it loads fast (no clutter). And it's just plain fun.

But of course, it has a dark side. Plurk runs on a karma system, which basically rewards activity--posting, responding to other people's plurks, and updating your profile. As your karma points go up, you get to go up certain levels (the stage of creation, enlightenment, nirvana, et cetera), unlock exclusive emoticons, et cetera. What makes this the dark side?

The people who do it for the karma.

See, it feels kinda nice to notice your karma points go up, but I guess some people are just really... driven. LOL. For these people, the desire to increase their karma points (and level up faster than you), is tremendous. Naturally, they resort to--well I don't know what it's really called--spam-bomb? Plurk-spam? Plurk...bomb? xDDD;

Whatever. They just post way too frigging often. And you can tell they're just doing it for the points. Why is this such a bad thing? Because it's just plain lame. Well, if these people are in your friends list, they will clutter up your timeline and bump back the plurks of your other friends. Ah, and every couple of minutes, you'll get an update on what they're thinking, or doing, or thinking of doing, looking at, sitting on, smelling. Even if it's not the least bit interesting anymore. (Because really, unless you're MacGyver, there's little chance that you're doing something interesting like, thirty times throughout a day.) It makes the whole thing just a little bit less fun. Also, it's lame.

The good news is that you can choose to un-follow these friends--you don't have to take them off your friends list, you just don't get their plurks on your timeline. That'll lower their karma a little. This is actually Plurk's way of discouraging people from over-posting. But it's hard to tell if this is effective (since a lot of people still do it). Besides, un-following people comes with a slight feeling of guilt, as though you're being mean. ;~; I myself have taken some people off my timeline. Because I just felt like being mean. :(

Some folks around the net have remarked that the karma system should be improved, so that the quality of the plurks matter too, not just the frequency. (I'm pretty sure the responses to your plurks are taken into account too. I guess that helps a little.) I'm too much of a right-brainer to try to figure out how it could be improved, but I'll welcome anything that would make the site even more fun.

By the way, I don't spam, so add me? xD

*A lot. Including sites you've probably never even heard of: sosauce, virb, meevee, the sixty one.

Update.

2008-11-17T12:57:00.004+08:00

Two things:

Point #1 - My mom's in Japan. She'll be there till January. I'm glad she finally got to go, but... I miss her already. And timing, really--would've been nice to have her around considering all the crap that's been going on lately.

Which by the way brings us to Point #2 - A lot of crap has been going on lately. None of which I plan to explain here. This blog is not for drama.

Moving on--if you're not on my Multiply, you probably don't know that I've been doing Project 365. Basically, it's a commitment to take one photo a day for 365 days--to basically document your life for a year. It's a healthy exercise in forcing yourself to do something interesting (trans: photo op worthy xD) every single day. Or at least be creative with the usual things around you.

Here's a sampling of what I have so far. As you can see I am not that good a photographer nor that interesting a person xDDD but I'm having fun with it. Hopefully I fulfill the commitment for an entire year (LOLLLLL).

You can check out my Flickr photo set here.

On other matters of net-whoring, I'm on PLURK! Add me plskthxbai. :D

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

2008-11-05T22:17:00.008+08:00

So the other day I was using Wikipedia's random article feature (to get topics for work), and I got this:

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

Naturally, my inital reaction was, what the fuck with all the buffaloes. But I read the rest of the wiki page, and it said that that long unintelligible string of buffalo is actually a grammatically correct sentence.

Needless to say, I was like "!?!??" My co-worker and I were like, no seriously, how the fuck is that a sentence? But after a while, I got it. It is a grammatically sound sentence, and it makes sense. First, you have to take note of the usages of the word buffalo: a modifier (Buffalo, New York), a noun (buffalo the animal), and a verb (to buffalo: to intimidate).

So in this sentence, "Buffalo buffalo" is a noun phrase that means "buffalo (the animals) from Buffalo (New York)". The next three words actually modify that phrase. We have:

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo..."

which means, the Buffalo from buffalo that are buffaloed by buffalo from Buffalo.

STILL WITH ME? Let's move on. Talking about those buffalo, we proceed with the rest of the sentence:

"...buffalo Buffalo buffalo."

So the aforementioned Buffalo buffalo, who are buffaloed by Buffalo buffalo, also buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

To make it clearer:

The Buffalo buffalo that Buffalo buffalo buffalo likewise buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

or

The Buffalo buffalo which are buffaloed by Buffalo buffalo also buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

This entry is lovingly dedicated to my grammar Nazi friends~. ♥ :3

x x x x x

An announcement of sorts: I think I'll do Project 365. :D

The geek shall inherit the earth.

2008-10-30T21:02:00.003+08:00

I've been dorking out a lot these past few days. Turns out not even taking dance lessons from the country's baddest hip-hop crew can pull me out of my oddball roots. Oh well. At least I'm comfortable with myself. xD

For one thing, I can't stop watching YouTube vids of Kevin Smith. He's a director, but he kills with the stories that he tells. The guy's just fucking hilarious. Not to mention completely irreverent and sacriligious. Check him out here, talking about Superman. (And if you're not morally and religiously sensitive, there's another one that I want to show you, so just ask me for the link plskthx. LOLOLOLLL)

Moving on. Payday is tomorrow, which means I can afford comic books again (!!!). *spazzdance* I hope the shops have Atomic Robo, cause I want to get either that or my next volume of Y. :D I'll try to hold out until Komikon, but I'll probably allow myself a one or two.

And... speaking of cons, I'll probably be checking out the UP AME convention this November 8th. There's gonna be a speed dating booth, which... intrigues me. xDDD Wahaha. Anyway, so, if anyone wants to come with (although I doubt it), you know the drill.

Needs moar swagger.

2008-10-26T00:39:00.004+08:00

Ow. My ass.

Um. Today was Day 1 of the hip-hop dance workshop being held by members of the Philippine All Stars. I'm tired beyond coherence, so bear with me.

Went with Nao (new office buddy). Studio's near the workplace.

Anyway, it turns out the ladies' hip-hop class that we enrolled ourselves in was ADVANCED

D:

...but by the time we found that out, we were already at least 15 minutes into the class. *facepalm*

So yeah, IT WAS HARD.

I mean... The teacher was awesome, she broke it down for us and she was all like, don't think too much about the steps, I just want you to dance, show me attitude, feel the music. She also wants us to have more swagger. LOL.

THE ROUTINE WAS REALLY HARD. D:

I barely kept up. haha. I don't really have a problem picking up steps but I do have trouble remembering them. xD But the most important thing is that it was soooo much fun. I'm coming back tomorrow, hopefully my ass stops hurting by then. I am DETARRRMINED to nail that routine (and have moar swaggerrr). BANZAAAIIII~ *>o<*

It's supposed to look not quite right.

2008-10-24T12:50:00.006+08:00

Because of topic research for work, I've been looking into steampunk a lot lately. It's pretty kickass, in an odd and very anachronistic kind of way (which is the point of it, really). For those who don't know, steampunk is a subgenre of fiction that imagines technological inventions existing at a time way before they were invented. Apart from distorting the timeline, the inventions are also created differently from how they actually turned out. We're talking, steam-powered computers. Look--

See, steampunk enthusiasts often mod new things to make 'em look old and retro-futuristic. It's fun, 'cos the people who get into it... really get into it. Like this guy who made hand-crafted variable-aperture brass goggles.
It's all really cool in a horribly geeky way and therefore I love it. xD Kind of makes me wish I at least knew how to weld--I'm already imagining what I could do with my old USB MP3 player. Sadly, crafting isn't my strong point; I tend to superglue my fingers together. Imagine what I could do with a soldering iron.

x x x x x

Long overdue plug: Sid's new blog over at WordPress looks rather healthy and makes sense. :D

I even like how new comic books smell now.

2008-10-15T21:58:00.006+08:00

My addiction to Y: the Last Man is careening out of control--which I guess is good since that's pretty much the only sure indicator that I'm really into something. I bought two trade volumes this week alone. IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY. D:

But I can't help it, it's too f***ing awesome.

Why does Komik Kon have to be so long away. Why. ;~;

Anyway. I've posted this everywhere else, but since we're on the subject of awesome, look--Taken at Cosmania (fine, outside Cosmania. Tickets were sold out by the time we got there.) last Sunday. I think I remember having seen a Ryuk costume in a previous con, but it was nowhere near this good.

And, as I always do when I go to one of these events, I'm left with a case of cosplay-envy. xD Except I still haven't the slightest on who to go as. Bah, I can't even think of what to dress up as for Halloween. :P (If you have ideas, contact me. :P)

I'm... off to gleefully open my new comic book now. Later. ♥ :3

I hope you're not bored.

2008-10-09T20:57:00.006+08:00

This guy, Arthur Schopenhauer, has a very sad thought for you to consider. According to him, boredom proves the vanity of human existence. Way he saw it, if human existence were in itself a good thing, then we wouldn't even feel boredom, because merely existing would be enough to keep us satisfied.

I would never agree to think of life that way, but I can't totally blame him, either. I suppose if I looked like this--

I'd be pessimistic too.

That said, I can't imagine how it's even possible for someone with that kind of hair to ever get bored.

...Yes, I am an ass.

So how long overdue is this.

2008-10-05T01:52:00.007+08:00

The lame thing about me as a blogger is that whenever blog-worthy things have been happening, I usually end up too lazy to write about it. So my more interesting days are usually met with a semi-hiatus, which sucks. That's gotta change.

Anyway, a few things:
I bought the multicolored Holga. :D I'd been in love with it since I first saw it on the cover of Speed... so it wasn't entirely an impulse purchase. LOL. Anyway it's partly an early birthday gift to myself, and partly out of the fact that I've really needed a new hobby for a while now. I haven't had much practice with it yet. I'll take it out for a spin tomorrow. (Does anyone know where to buy expired 120mm film?)

The L plushie was a present from our editor, Jordan. :D

In other news, I finally found volume 1 of Y: the Last Man, and so far it's been pretty kickass. I've been wanting to start reading comics for a long time but for the most part I couldn't afford it. *sheepish* xD; Now I can't wait for this year's Komikon, so I can buy more. (Nov. 22. Let me know if you wanna come with.)

That's pretty much it for the amusements, unless you'd like to hear about my sudden interest in going to bars and listening to reggae music, which has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with last Tuesday's night out at Xaymaca, when I got to talk to the totally cute guitarist of the reggae band that was playing. ♥ :3 (What?) Haha.

To be honest, I've been working and playing hard over the past two weeks so I'm just kinda glad to have caught a break. That said, I can only chill for so long before I get bored so if anyone wants to hang out tomorrow (or hit a bar sometime next week), let me know? :D

Oh hi I sort of forgot I had this.

2008-09-16T12:45:00.003+08:00

Back when I was unemployed I told myself that the first thing I'd do, as soon as I get a decent-paying job, was buy my own domain back. Now that I can actually afford it again, I'm like, "Meh." Hot damn I'm such a nerd the only thing I really miss from having a paid host isn't the glamor of having my own domain name, but the beautiful convenience of FTP-ing files to the server. @_@

Blogging here is losing its charm. Maybe I need a new audience. :/ I should try add-whoring on MySpace. Wait no. The guys there won't even read the damn profile page.

In other news, I've been taking random photos again. I think I'm bad at it, but my excuse is that's not the point? I'm just trying to distract myself from my own loneliness. xD I want to look at things a different way again, to notice colors again, to be amused by the silliest things again. Besides, if I understand correctly, the fact that I'm only using my crappy cameraphone shouldn't matter as long as I'm truly honest with myself. xD Ohoho. I don't even know what that means.

Gotta go, meeting in a few. Later, folks.

A few things made of win.

2008-08-27T22:07:00.007+08:00

1. The Yoshi Burger
So. That's the Yoshi Burger from TokyoCafe (at The Block, SM North)... and yes, I totally got it JUST BECAUSE OF ITS NAME. xD But that aside, it was made of awesome. I know there's really not a lot of... diversity to expect from cheeseburgers , nonetheless it was pretty damn good. My mom and I went there last week. I'm sure the rest of the stuff on the menu is promising too only now I'm probably too obsessed with the Yoshi to try anything else.

2. James Dean
I think I'm in love I've found a new fandom. I can't stop watching this. xD I actually ended up writing about him for work. "...young, irreverent, non-conformist, and a loner," I said about him and his rebel image. *swoon* ~(_^_)~♥ But really, apart from the bad-boy image, he's just absolutely amazing as an actor. There's just something really raw and pure about it, it's like he's not even acting. I saw him in Giant years ago (plus another short movie), but I've yet to see Rebel in its entirety, so--DVD hunt this Saturday, I guess. xD Text or IM or something, if anyone wants to come with.

3. Wall-E
WATCH IT. It is bar none the best-looking Pixar film ever. I can't stop saying that. Especially the parts at the beginning. And especially how they made it look like it was shot in film, instead of all synthetic-looking like CG usually is. And I'm glad it was as cool as it was, otherwise I would've looked like a total asshat after I had to... to... preemptively rave about it in a magazine article. xD xD xD OH HEY yeah btw I was published this month. Check out August's issue of SPEED, I have a few articles in there. \(>v<)/ I... forgot to blow my own horn ahead of time, sorry. Ohoho. I DIGRESS. Wall-E was fantastic. It was witty even without dialogue and the CG was kickass.

Anyway that's it for now. More meaningful post some other time or elsewhere. xD I just felt like I had to update here since it's been a while.

Time to dance.

2008-08-20T15:03:00.008+08:00

Wow, this took me a while.

Ok. Just because I said I would--and never mind that I've forgotten most of the details by now--here's the follow-up post about the Panic at the Disco concert. With pics.

Clockwise from top left: (1) During "There's a Good Reason These Tables are Numbered," Ryan made us snap to the verse and do jazz hands! for the chorus. (2) Brendon... multitasking. (3) That would hurt, I imagine. D: (4) That's Brendon taking a swig of water (presumably :P) in the bg.

Some more random shots of RyRo and Bden rocking out. Including (top left)... the one photo of RyDen fanservice ♥ that I was able to capture.[?] Oh ho. xD xD xD Bottom left: Bden wearing one of them plastic devil horn things that they sell at the venue. [defensive] Ah, and why I lack Jon and Spencer photos is not just a matter of fangirl bias. xD Jon was far from me, and Spencer... he moved too fast. O_O [/defensive] LOL

x x x x x

Some a-hole kept trying to talk to me during the concert. What. It was bad enough that he was obviously not a fan (he was just with his friend from Canada, who was), but he kept making all these stupid comments. And he kept trying to start a conversation, in really bad fob English, even when my face was like, Meh. I mean, hmm. I like guys that are straightforward, but I'd like to think there's a difference between being straighforward and... and... just being an asshat. T~T

Dude aka Jerko McDouchebag: So... do you... stay hir? In the Philipins?
Me: *while turning away* ...yah. >_>;

[Later]
Dude aka Asshat McStoopid: *glances at my camera* So. Marami ka nang nakuhang pictures*?
Me: *while turning away* nnhhrrnnsssh. >_<;
*Have you taken a lot of photos?

x x x x x

The concert was another one of the rare occasions that let me go out in my stripey socks--this time with boots. I looked ridiculous to normal people, out in the streets, but in the audience, I fit right in. xD Aaand, NO, I did not bother to count the number of patterned hoodies in there. There were. SO MANY. (>v<);

x x x x x

BTW. The opening act--a Canadian band called Crowned King--was pretty cool too. They had this 80's-ish sound to them, I liked it. And I liked their guitarist (right)--first because he vaguely resembled Patrick Stump in, uh, shape... xD and he had some funky dance moves.

Swear to shake it up if you swear to listen.

2008-08-14T23:55:00.007+08:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFASDFAFSDLFJA;SLFJ
ALSJKFLAJSFLAJSFJLJFLAKJSFLJASLJFDAJFLKJLKJASLK
DAJUA'A;AFJSDLAKJFJASDJHGHGJGHAHFHASLKDJFH
ALKSJDFHLKPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIICCCCCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! \(>o<)/ (Yes, I think I actually managed to physically make that face.)

*cue uncontrollable flailing*

*jumping around*

*spazz*

*dance*

*breathe* ok now that's out of the way: the Panic at the Disco concert was the GREATEST. THING. EVER. O_O

One more time, with feelings.

The Panic at the Disco concert was the GREATEST THING EVER. \(>v<)/

They played (In semi-random order, just as I remember them.):
♥ = my favorites

We're So Starving
Nine in the Afternoon
She's a Handsome Woman
But it's Better if You Do ♥
There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered, Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet [Ryan made the audience snap along during the verse and do jazz hands! during the chorus xD] ♥
That Green Gentleman ♥
The Only Difference Between Suicide and Martyrdom is Press Coverage
Behind the Sea
Lying is the Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
I Write Sins, Not Tragedies ♥
I Constantly Thank God for Esteban
Folkin' around
Time to Dance [Brendon solo. Naturally, we did "Shotgun! Wedding! Shotgun! Wedding!" :D] ♥
Northern Downpour
Pas de Cheval
Mad As Rabbits

Yes, pretty much, they sang nearly everything in Fever (except Nails for Breakfast and Build God) and some stuff from Pretty.Odd. :D

Needless to say, I shrieked louder than I ever thought I was physically capable of. Ah, and my "seat" was mostly just a technicality because I was on my feet the whole time (well for a while, I stood on the seat... until the bouncer told me not to. Damned spoilsport.) xD I never thought I could keep screaming so loud and for such a long period. I danced and yelled the lyrics sang at the top of my lungs. :D I also did this \m/ a lot. Moohaha. IT WAS SO MUCH FUNx100,000,000,000.

Alright, I'm off to bed to pass out now. (LOL whose bright idea was it to hold this concert on a Thursday.) I'll follow up with a more extensive and hopefully, coherent narration. Because I'm the narrator and this is just the prologue. Sorry, I just had to do that. Oh ho. xD xD xD. Photos (I have lots) will follow as soon as I retrieve them from my sister's camera.

(Also, since they ended with "Mad as Rabbits"... before goodbye, the last lyrics they sang were "we must reinvent love... reinvent love...") ♥ :3

And all that crass.

2008-08-12T12:45:00.005+08:00

What, if this article from the Philippine Star is anything to go by? Then Ryan Ross is a discourteous bratty rock star. Oh, sorry, I mean Ryan Ross is allegedly a discourteous and bratty rock star. Fortunately, I am over that phase of my life in which I pretend to like musicians for their wonderful personalities (Oh but in the case of Question?... they really seem like nice guys. I digress.) That, and I am willing to give Ryan the benefit of the doubt. And, I really, really like his lyrics. And I'm going to their concert, so I feel obligated to defend them. For my money's worth. xD

That aside, I'd rather put in my two cents about the article itself. Particularly, the paragraph right after the interview part, in which the writer calls Ryan Ross a "shmuck" and imagines him in an S&M orgy with groupies--among other low blows. Fine. Assuming the interview really did go that badly, then Ryan was an asshat, and the writer had every good reason to be pissed off. But as I've pointed out (in a message board, oh lulz), it's one thing to have a cranky rock star being an ass on the phone, and quite another to have a writer from a major daily slinging such cheap insults in writing. (Name calling? Really now.) What. The whole Brian Gorrel incident, and now articles like this? The Philippine Star is shaping up to be one of the classiest newspapers around. Watch your ass, BusinessWorld.

I never gave a damn about the weather.

2008-08-04T22:47:00.015+08:00

What: Company outing
Where: the beach, in Puerto Galera
When: right smack in the middle of typhoon season, 1st-3rd August 2008

Let's not get into why. Last Friday, I found myself bound for the beach, for a company team-building(ish) trip to Puerto Galera with two fellow writers, co-workers and bosses from the Korean office, and our Canadian editor. With a complete disregard of everything I learned about coherence, here are some of the highlights.

FRIDAY.
Around noon. Yelling across terraces at the resort.
Editor: HEY INCHUL!!!
Inchul (co-worker from Korea): YEAH?
Editor: LIZ HAS SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!!!
Inchul: WHAT?
Me: ...YOU HAVE A NICE BUTT!
Inchul: *cracks up*

x x x x x

I got to go snorkeling!!! IT. WAS. UNBELIEVABLE. I don't have enough words. The corals and the little fishies were sooooo beautiful!!! I even saw a blue starfish at the bottom, which I swear was the prettiest thing ever. Never mind that it probably wasn't my, um, most graceful moment. xD I couldn't count how many times I had to shake off my mask just so I wouldn't end up drinking half the ocean. :P LOLNOOB.

In the afternoon, the whole group went fishing, and let me just say. I finally understand why I never understood the appeal of fishing. xD I guess I'm just not the kind of person who's up for staying still in one place for a really long time, just waiting for fish that you're not even sure would bite or not. (Ah, that, and I don't even like fish. Wahaha.)

SATURDAY
The snorkeling left us with useless, sore arms, so Meg and I both took a rain check for the "jungle tour" that our other co-workers went on that day. So us two girls--both with considerable ADHD symptoms--scampered about for other activities to fill the day with. First up, we got some sweet henna tattoos--room service, natch. :3

The flower design on my lower spine means balance, the butterfly on my upper back means freedom.

We also hung out at the beach, camwhored a LOT, and oddly, became something of a tourist attraction(?) because some dude just had to trot over to get his picture taken with us in the background. xD LOL WHUT.

SUNDAY
Most of the morning was a huge photo op. Stole hibiscus flowers, posed around. In photo: Those rocks? Those were SHARP. Really sharp. That's me pretending they don't hurt me in the ass.

Afterwards, us three writers went on a relatively long trek along the "shore" (that at that time had disappeared into the tide), and got soaked in the rain, just for the sake of souvenirs for ourselves and loved ones. xD I guess I went a little crazy buying the pretty bracelets, but I just absolutely love their color.

All in all, it was easily one of the best trips I've ever been on. I guess I'd be saying something else if I'd gone on the aforementioned "jungle tour" (which turned out to be something of a mild disaster), but yeah.

♥ I'll probably up more pics to Facebook, Friendster, etc. The mushier (aka moar feelings plskthx) stuff, as always, will be relegated to the not-so-sekrit journal. xD Also, I might edit this tomorrow. I'm so sleepy right now it's no longer funny. Oyasumi nasai! (_^_).zZ

Just so I remember this clearly in the morning,

2008-07-30T22:25:00.007+08:00

tonight, I:

♥ had dinner at an Italian restaurant with co-workers and direct superiors;
♥ shotgunned half-glasses of beer... TWICE;
♥ [and consequently] got slightly, uh, hammered (see, 2 beers isn't much, but I guess the speed kinda makes a difference xD );
♥ was put in the hot seat and made to answer hypothetical questions on whether or not I would keep dating someone with an amputated leg or a hook for an arm*;
♥ made / took part in a whole bunch of gender-related jokes, some of which were aimed at aforementioned direct superiors xD ;
♥ HIT my editor with my UMBRELLA several times for calling Panic at the Disco emo D: ;
♥ kept tickling someone in the ear then proceeded to poke him in the eye; and
♥ ran recklessly across a busy interesection while under the influence.

Wednesdays are SOOOO BORING. (_^_).zZ LOL

And because in-jokes are made of awesome:

SILENCE!
I kill you~
O_O

x x x x x

SCENE [right after being teased about Panic at the Disco]

EDITOR:
So what other emo bands do you like?

LIZ:
*hesitant pause*

*considers acting all indignant*

*gives up*

...FALL OUT BOY. T~T;

x x x x x

*Answer: the amputated leg, sure. The hook for an arm, no. But a robotic arm... yes.

These?

2008-07-22T23:55:00.006+08:00

--are REALLY GOOD. Really good. In fact, beyond good. Just. GENIUS. :3

Anyhoo.

Yesterday the boss mentioned something about dancing, and it got me wondering if maybe one of the reasons I've been so sickly is because... I haven't been dancing enough? Ok I KNOW it sounds stupid, but I'm not my body isn't exactly the most logical thing in the world so I figure it's worth a shot. Dance has always been therapeutic for me anyway. So... I broke out the Luis Fonsi mp3s (aaaand the Brian Friedman video, haha) a little earlier. xDDD It's probably just the endorphins, but hey I feel a little better already.

At the very least, I know it won't try to kill me like Neozep did last last night*. My head was hurting so much I decided to take one before bed. About half an hour later, I COULDN'T BREATHE PROPERLY. D: And not even because my nose was stuffy or anything. My breath was just really really short, and I felt really thirsty even though I had a glass of water with me. It was like... my body couldn't take in oxygen properly or something. It went on for about an hour. I WAS SO SCARED. ;~;

I hate being sick.

*An exaggeration. I'm probably just allergic to something in it. No rawsuits prease.

Time for me to retire now and become a duck.

2008-07-18T19:00:00.008+08:00

So. Virus=1, Liz=0. After a week of snorting, blowing my nose, and generally feeling gross, today I finally waved the white flag to the nasties that took over my body. I had to go home by around 11AM, feeling too weird to function. When I got home I... got drugged and slept around. LOL WRONG. xDDDD But yeah, the Tuseran (FORTE!) totally knocked me out and I was asleep all afternoon. (_^_).zZ I'm feeling slightly better now, and I've got all weekend to kick this thing, hopefully I'll be in top form again by Monday.

Anyway. Moving on to happier things. This week, work stuff has had me thinking a lot about the uh, golden age of Flash. You with me here? I'm talking 2004, 2005? NEWGROUNDS? ALBINOBLACKSHEEP? If you still don't get what I'm talking about... I'm guessing we weren't friends then(?). xD But I digress. Here are some of my all-time favorites. Let me know if you remember:

Fight! Kikko-man
Worcestershire sauce? Ketchup? What a suckers!
SHOW ME, SHOW YOU. Kikko-man. Kikko-man.
SHOW ME. SHOW YOU. KIkko-maaaaaaaaaaan~ All right!
[Wahahaha I found the romaji lyrics!!! 8D WIN! Here, sing along.]

Badgerphone
Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring bananaphone
Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring bananaphoooone
I've got this feeling, so appealing,
For us to get together and sing-- SING!

The llama song
I was once a treehouse, I lived in a cake
But I never saw the way the orange slayed the rake
I was only three years dead, but it told a tale
And now listen, little child, to the safety rail

Laid Off: A Day in the Life (by Odd Todd)
"When I finally got out of bed, I stared at my wall for a little while and drank some coff-ay and... stared at my wall. For breakfast... I had some fudge-striped cookies... aaaand Pringles. Then I went on my computer and poked around and looked at stuff, aaaand typed... stuff."

There you go. I just wanted to dig up some of the... classics before all the attention whores over at YouTube completely take over the innarnet's idea of LULZ. Special mention: Numa Numa (which, although a video, was still in Flash), and Tiny Plaid Ninjas (I don't know if this one caught on, but I remember liking that).

Anyway, that's it for now, I think I'll go lie down again. xD

Is it can be havin suffishint educashin tiem nau.

2008-07-12T23:51:00.010+08:00

Last week I was with a bunch of friends who've gone back to university for post-grad studies. They make university life sound totally fun cool interesting, I've had to wonder whether or not I should maybe go back for a second degree myself.

After thinking about it more than a few times, I've come to a decision.
LOL. I didn't know I had such strong opinions about formal education until now. But the more I think about it, the more I feel tempted to agree with Mr. Conrado de Quiros, who once said he quit school because it "got in the way of [his] education." Not that I'd go that far. (Because I am neither that smart nor talented. AFADFAKJFPHAIL. T_T) All I'm saying is, I guess some people are inclined toward formal studies, and I'm not others aren't.

It's weird because the thing is, I actually love to learn stuff. If I didn't, I probably wouldn't give up watching half of Attack of the Show just to catch Jeopardy. LOL LOSAR. But I've realized that I have to be really interested in something at that precise moment. Like, I learned Spanish, if I remember correctly, out of sheer enthusiasm. (Fandom = excellent motivator.) XDDD But that's the thing, I have to be really into it. And I have to do it on my own will. Basically, nobody tells me what to learn. BECAUSE I'M BAD ASS THAT WAY. :D

Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate higher learning. I have to, living in a country where not having a degree doesn't leave you with a lot of options. My beef is with the way it often becomes pedantic to the point of wasting time. I have no problem with learning a shitload of terminology if it helps me understand the world a little better. But don't give me ten shitloads more just so I can sound smarter than the person next to me. By the way, I also have a problem with theology classes masquerading as sociology classes. And freshman algebra. Like, I'm a journalism f♥cking major, don't make me f♥cking take algebra.

So now I just completely undermined everything I said above by making it obvious that I'm just a bitter brat who sucked at college.

And failed freshman algebra.

Thoughts on Gabby and Manny. LAWL.

2008-06-30T01:08:00.006+08:00

I'd say 'anachronistic' would be a good word to describe Gabby Concepcion in his recent attempts to... snatch fame from the jaws of obsolescence. ifail@metaphors.lol

I think I was on my second beer last Saturday night, when a plug of his movie (or TV movie?) came on, and I remarked that he looked like he'd been CUT AND PASTED from the 1970s into 2008. My brother totally cracked up and was like "Exactly!" LOL I thought I was the only one who'd noticed.

Fine, I don't want to risk getting slapped for libel be unfair here; let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it's not his fault he seems a little out of sync with the... grand scheme of things. Maybe it's because he was out of circulation for such a long time. Maybe it's his awkwardly noticeably rosy cheeks. Or maybe it's because his bangs just scream "last vestige of 80s matinee idol glory." Look:

What point was I trying to make now? Oh right, I wasn't.

Moving on to more current things (OOH C WUT I DID THAR!). The Pacquiao-Diaz match, you see it? Hot damn. Manny Pacquiao is just ASASFALKJHLamazing. Diaz had to be one of his toughest opponents yet. That guy just kept taking punches TO THE FACE and wouldn't go down!!!... until the 9th. :D That was a pretty sweet KO.

I wasn't high, but

2008-06-29T01:20:00.005+08:00

last Friday I saw by the following:

Long-legged dancing showgirls;
acrobats somersaulting through hoops and flying across the room;
a fat lady who sings, in an Elizabethan gown;
a Ricky Martin impersonator;
at least 7 guys dressed as Elvis;
contortionists; and last but not least,
masked mimes in neon-on-black unitards drumming neon-green sticks.

It was... pretty cool(?).

Fine. Here.

I'm too buzzed to comment a whole lot so here, real quick: I liked the acrobats. (Although this will always be my favorite group of acrobats, probably.) And surprisingly, I even liked the mimes (and I am somewhat afraid of mimes). But... the contortionists. That was just plain wrong. Just, OMG, unacceptable. The whole time I was like HEY NO REALLY YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THAT. /ﾟ~ﾟ\

Late night fangirling.

2008-06-25T02:33:00.000+08:00

Here's blogging for the heck of it. I was gonna go to bed, but someone posted a scanlation of a Daijiro Yonemura article on the Question? comms, so now I'm all awake and giddy like the fangirl that I am. Just when I thought I was starting to like Yoshi-kun and his smexy drummer arms. Now it's back to Yonemuu♥. And his hairy legs.

Fine, none of you care about that.

Still... all this has me realizing that I've been fangirling on the internet for about a decade now. O_O Hot damn. *flashback mode* I remember when I first got into it, back in 1998. The internet looked like crap, and HTML looked so intimidating. LOL. I made my first webpages on gURLpages, and with MS frigging WORD. I spent my limited and then-very expensive internet hours browsing a seemingly endless string of 'N Sync fansites (webrings were still the shiznits back then), and laughing at the, uh... 'nside jokes. Such as the recurring Lance/Joey love pairing in fanfics (because even back then, even though we kinda wanted to have his babies, us loyal fangirls kinda knew that Lance Bass was, you know...)

So now, 10 years later, I think it's quite obvious that I've moved on... to other groups. *facepalm*

Unrelated matter: this personality test, which I got from Paolo, puts me in the "Spontaneous Idealist" category. The description makes me LOL, nonetheless I think it's spot on.

Alright, that's it. This entry was contrived from the very beginning. XD Must go to sleep now, I promised myself I'd at least try to sleep earlier than 4AM today. Oyasumi nasai~.

LOL Oh hai thar plz to be just bookmarking my site already.

2008-06-22T21:27:00.000+08:00

Statcounter has logged the following activity from one visitor (click to zoom):

LOLLOLLLLOLLLL WHY HELLO THERE YOU FOUND ME~. (>v<) I'm always amused whenever I find out that I'm being Googled, because for one thing, it's not as if I'm a rare presence lurking in the corners of the internet. I'm EVERYWHERE on the internet. I had a Bebo and a Buzznet account at one point, for Pete's sake. Also-and more importantly--I am not that interesting. So I totally don't get why people bother. xD

That said, I don't want to sound like an ingrate--OF COURSE I'm glad to know that contrary to my understanding, there are people who actually read this. But being googled poses the risk of fluffing up my already oversized ego. :D I'm just a little curious about why that person, whoever it is (124.107.84.85) had to google repeatedly, when there are much easier options such as bookmarking or *COUGH* subscribing to my RSS feed. *cough* <-- subtle hint

Besides, seriously, my URL is not that long. xD

Weird celebrity psychic, candy, and TV.

2008-06-19T02:30:00.000+08:00

I've been trying to come up with a blog entry for the past two days. It's just that when you're trying to write about a close encounter with Madame Auring (Really happened. Monday. It was so weird. I still haven't gotten the image of her hot pink leggings out of my head.), you tend to run out of non-slanderous words.

Moving on to more palatable things... READ PLSKTHX: If anyone out there knows where Milky Way bars are still being sold. Please please prease. Let me know. They're my favorite, and I haven't had them in ages. I can't seem to find them. :(

I was going to comment on certain issues, but it's almost 3 am and I'm starving and can't think straight. But just so you didn't come here for nothing (apart from me whining about a candy bar), here's some random-but-ultimately-related stuff.
1.) I am crushing on Jon Stewart all over again. ♥
2.) Maxxx has been switching up the time slots for The Daily Show and the Colbert Report for the past couple of days. Dunno why. Dun really care either. I watch 'em both.
3.) Someone needs to tell the voiceover lady for Maxxx that's it's more like, coal-bare. LULZ.
4.) I wonder if it might be a good idea to switch to Destiny cable from Sky. The leaflet (which I've of course misplaced) says they have Discovery Travel and Living and TWO NHKs. My only qualm is that all (ok, both) of the cable companies around always have that "lineup subject to change without prior notice" clause, which roughly translates to "we have made a virtue of dropping the channels you want as soon as you sign up with us". (Still... TWO NHKs?)

This is perhaps cause for some concern.

2008-06-14T15:04:00.000+08:00

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Got that from Abby. And um, maybe... maybe I should cut down a little bit. O_O

Bleach your skin and tape your eyelids.

2008-06-06T00:43:00.000+08:00

I guess I'm a little...surprised? Apparently an increasing number of Asian girls are getting into the trend of using "eyelid stickers" (or tape) to fake the double-eyelid look. I don't know how new this is, but I found out about it just recently.

To be honest, since it doesn't really apply to me, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I guess on one hand it's nowhere near as drastic as surgery. But there's something about it that bothers me in the same way as our country's--or at least, our country's market's--unhealthy obsession with skin lightening. (More on that later.) Of course, on the flipside, tanning has become entirely common with lighter-skinned folks. I'm no hard-liner when it comes to these issues--to each his own, right?--I'm just saying. Kind of makes you wonder if changing your looks to deviate a little bit from your own ethnicity is the norm now.

That said... am I the only one who is extremely annoyed at Heart Evangelista's TV commercial for Palmolive soap? I'm talking about the one that casually goes, "I look white. I stay white." Good god. It just flung all ethnic sensibility out the window. In fact, I would love to think that that was just a lapse in judgement, along the lines of "OH MY GOD WE SO DIDN'T REALIZE HOW INCREDIBLY RACIALLY CRASS THAT WAS". Because my only other option is to think that they consciously decided to be that blatant with their choice of words. Either way I thought it tasteless, and I hope their product (or endorser, or both) ultimately flops.

And I never liked Heart Evangelista anyway, so there.

We're getting rickrolled as a country.

2008-05-26T12:14:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I discovered something that made me stop me dead in my tracks, do a double take, and ultimately look like an idiot laughing out loud and slapping my knee in public.

Look who's coming to Manila.

LOLOLOLLOLLLOLLOLOLLOLLLOLOLLOLOLOLLLL XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

*wipes tear*
Oh lord. That kills.

Ehrm. General Admission seats go for a little less than Php600, so if you have that kind of money to waste, may I suggest pulling off The Ultimate Rickroll? Get tickets, then blindfold someone and tell them you're taking them on a SURPRISE date. If they get anxious about where they're going just tell them to relax because you're never gonna let them down. :D (And please, if you do pull that sort of thing, don't forget to tell me about it. It will amuse me greatly.)

Pop-up pirate!

2008-05-21T00:19:00.000+08:00

Last week I got a hold of a bunch of magazine scans of one of my obsessions du jour, Kis-My-Ft2. Since it was basically photos of hot guys (occasionally without shirts on), I had already expected my jaw to drop at one point or another anyway, but then something else totally bowled me over:

See that pirate toy thing they're playing with? I had that when I was a kid! 8D

Turns out it's called the Kurohige Kiki Ippatsu (I didn't know what it was called back then). My sister brought home one of those from one of her first few times going to Japan, 1989 or '90, I think. The game starts with the pirate inside the barrel, then you stick the little plastic knives into it. But one of the slots will be a random trigger that'll make the pirate pop up. And because I was a nervous little wuss as a child, it scared the hell out of me so I hated playing with it. XD

Oh, hey--if the cute little pirate doesn't do it for you, try the Hard Gay version:

Oh, admit it. You think it's cute, too. XD In an unsettling sort of way.

Daisuki!

2008-05-11T00:38:00.000+08:00

My fangirling is getting out of hand. It's just that I've recently realized how beautiful Fujigaya Taisuke is. I used to think his hair was odd and he looked like a girl, but now I can't concentrate on anything other than his pretty, pretty eyes.

JE groups are like opium for the boy-crazy.

ALMOSTPR♥N! :D

Good thing Shonen Club's on tomorrow night. Yay. That's one of my few ways for getting my JE fix, apart from my DVD of the SC Christmas Special which I swear is going to break from overuse. Especially since Animax suddenly had the brilliant idea of not showing Music Station for a couple of weeks. Grr.

In other, saner things--I finally saw just how crappy my site (and my Myspace, and my Friendster, for that matter) looks on resolutions wider than 1024. I should... probably consider trying to get around to fixing that.

My top 5 geek-TV crushes.

2008-05-09T01:53:00.000+08:00

They're smart, talented, funny, crush-worthy... and hugely underrated, if you ask me. In random-ish order:

Grant Imahara, Mythbusters. Grant is Mythbusters' resident electronics and RC expert, but even if you don't watch the show, you've probably seen some of his work. Past jobs include operating R2-D2 and creating the mechanism for the Energizer Bunny. He and his robot Deadblow competed in my favorite spectator sport (BattleBots); he even wrote a book on combat robots called--can you guess?--Kickin' Bot. How can I not love this guy?

Tory Belleci, Mythbusters. He's an expert model maker and prop builder, and has worked on films such as Star Wars and Terminator 3 for Industrial Light and Magic. On Mythbusters, apart from building rigs, he also does many of the more dangerous stunts (like wakeboarding behind a cruise ship. That was awesome.)

Chris Hardwick, Attack of the Show. This former DJ and MTV host is now half of the music comedy duo Hard 'n Phirm. You can also see him on AOTS, where he occasionally guest hosts and reviews gadgets for Gadget Pron.

Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs. So he's too macho to be called a geek. I just think it's nice to see a man who isn't afraid to get dirty. (And it's is on Discovery anyway, so it counts.) On the show, he's been a septic tank technician, a sludge recycler, a pigeon poop cleaner, and lots of other jobs that many guys would never man up to. The show's great in itself, but his good-natured sarcasm is what keeps it so fun to watch.

Danny Forster, Extreme Engineering. First of all: yeah I watch Extreme Engineering, get over it. I'm sold on any show that has fun with tower cranes and forklifts. And I don't know if it's just the dorky way he hosts the show--or the adorable hard hat--but I think he's kind of cute.

Ok, now these are just my picks, not based on a real set of criteria or anything, so feel free to disagree. Think I missed anyone?

The Forbidden Kingdom: (not surprisingly) kickass.

2008-05-04T19:18:00.000+08:00

So yesterday I yanked my dear mother out ouf bingo to watch The Forbidden Kingdom. She loves Jackie Chan too so it was pretty easy.

(SPOILER ALERT, though I'm not giving away the ending.)

The Forbidden Kingdom. Was. AWESOME. An easy addition to my list of favorites. The nod to Drunken Master was very very cool, and let me tell you: just the fight sequence between Jackie Chan and Jet Li was worth the price of admission. It was long, brilliantly choreographed, and showed off the different styles of two equal fighters. In fact, it was so evenly matched, it was almost as if to mock those fans that still won't abandon the age-old debate over who can kick whose butt.

Of course I didn't like everything about the movie--to be honest, I would've liked it better if they'd just done away with the whole subplot about the kid, whose personality borrowed a little too much from Karate Kid's Daniel-san. Not to mention he looks almost exactly like Shia Lebouf. I have nothing against Shia Lebouf, he's just not my idea of a kung fu warrior.

But the subplot didn't get in the way of the ass-kicking, so the movie is overall still a winner. The fact that it was so over-the-top in some parts (Monkey King!) just made it even more fun to watch, and right for the genre. (If you want something believable, go watch that Patrick Dempsey wedding movie, you pansy.) There was plenty of comic relief. And the fight scenes were pretty frigging sweet.

If you're a fan of both Jet Li and Jackie Chan... you don't need to be reading this. If you're a fan of either one, you'll end up loving the movie and liking them both. And you saw the trailers and the posters, right? Proclaiming the two masters, brought together in a movie--"Never before. And maybe never again." Maybe never again. So start placing your bets on when they'll come out with the sequel.

Back with Blogger.

2008-05-03T23:41:00.001+08:00

And this time, seriously, I'll try to stay put. I really will. It's just that Wordpress isn't all that fancy unless you self-host, which I don't think I'll be doing for a while. And now that I'm with the "new" Blogger, I think it should be easier to customize the layout without doing a lot of code monkey work (I don't think I have the skillz no more). XD

[EDIT] Ok I think I'm more or less settled in. :D I finally got the design looking a bit more... me, with minimal tinkering under the hood. The background is recycled from a MySpace design I did a while back. Probably looks like crap on anything wider than 1024 pixels though. XD

QUESTION? - not (entirely) your typical Johnny’s Jr. band

2008-04-27T12:21:00.000+08:00

It’s no secret that I’ve become a big fan of Johnny’s Jr. groups recently. But my current favorite, the band Question?, is a lot different from the rest of the pack. For one thing, none of them is jailbait. And they don’t dance.

Now, while this should be enough to set them apart from the rest of the Jrs.–who are generally associated with flamboyant interpretive choreography, boppy songs laden with Engrish (”So glooming night, glooming night…“), and cute but unsettlingly underaged boys–musically, they’re pretty different too. Instead of dancing, they play their own instruments, and have a noticeably more mature sound compared to the other groups. Check out some of their songs: “Beautiful Mind” and “Naked“, a collaboration with ABC (the Johnny’s Jr. group responsible for the Engrish metioned earlier). And my favorite song from them: "Head Banging Boogie". I swear, give it a listen. It’s an antidepressant. XD

They sound pretty good and I think will only get better as they mature. But since being cute is pretty much mandatory in Johnny’s Jr., the Question? boys aren’t lacking in the looks department, either.
The group comprises: Yonemura Daijiro (23) on guitar and vocals, Ishigaki Daisuke (22) on keyboard and vocals, Yodogawa Yoshihiro (24) on drums and vocals, Fujie Kazuyori (23) on bass, and Igo Akun (20) on lead guitar. See? No minors. :P

Fans of the anime Naruto Shippuuden might recognize one of their songs, “Mezamero! Yasei”, which they did in collaboration with Kondo Masahiko forming the temporary unit MATCHY with QUESTION?. (As far as I know there's also a version of this song performed by the band alone.)