Sanity… is for the Weak

Well, that’s that.

After a roller-coaster ride of great dog-fights and glorious music, the last episode of Macross Frontier went out with not a bang, but a whimper. I expected more, damnit!

Oh well. Gotta wait for the OVA for them to tie up the loose ends…

The best scene of this series would have to go to the ending at Episode 20:

Makes tears

Diamond Crevasse
- Sheryl Nome, starring May’n

神様に恋をしてた頃は
こんな別れが来るとは思ってなかったよ
もう二度と触れられないなら
せめて最後に　もう一度抱きしめて欲しかったよ

It\’s long long good-bye…

さよなら　さよなら　何度だって
自分に　無上に　言い聞かせて
手を振るのは優しさだよね？
今　強さが欲しい

貴方に出会い　STAR輝いて　アタシが生まれて
愛すればこそ　iあればこそ
希望のない　奇跡を待って　どうなるの？
涙に滲む　惑星の瞬きは　gone…

忘れない　貴方の温もりも
その優しさも　全て包んでくれた両手も
It\’s long long good-bye…

さよなら　さよなら　愛しい人
貴方が　いたから　歩いてこれた
ひとりなんかじゃなかったよね？
今　答えが欲しい

燃える様な流星　捕まえて　火を灯して
愛していたい　愛されてたい
冷えたカラダひとつで　世界は　どうなるの？
張り続けてた　虚勢が溶けてく　long for…

どうしてなの？　涙溢れて　止められない

貴方に出逢い　STAR輝いて　アタシが生まれて
愛すればこそ　iあればこそ
希望のない　奇跡を待って　どうなるの？
涙に滲む　惑星の瞬きは　gone…

もし生まれ変わって　また巡り会えるなら
その時もきっと　アタシを見つけ出して
もう二度と離さないで　捕まえてて
ひとりじゃないと　囁いてほしい　planet…

Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh. Haven’t had hair this short since BMT…

What else did you expect from a barber at the base?

On the plus side, it feels ~A LOT ~ cooler.

Why the guys here use it to play Beer Pong, I have no idea. All I feel even after drinking six bottles is just a need to go to the toilet.

Seriously, you’d probably get a better rush drinking Coke.

I get U.S. cable here, and they’re showing season 3 of Heroes!

woot!

One thing about coming so far away from home for a tour of duty, is getting your sense of perspective twisted around and seeing things we take for granted back home in a new light.

Little things which we tend to over look or simply brush aside suddenly become big problems or show stoppers when more than one country is involved, and cultural and sometimes language differences factor.

Still, I feel like I am making a difference here. Critical information is being fed to the right people, early steps are being made to save lives, and important decisions are made correctly for the future of the people.

At the end of the day, I can feel like I have done my bit to ensure that petrol is still being sold at less that $2 a litre (Just joking!) the resolution is carried out to it’s desired end.

Sometimes, your past comes back to haunt you.

Sometimes, it’s someone connected to your past that taunts you.

Too many memories.

Oh well.

Water under the bridge and all that shit. People are entitled to do stupid things when they’re young, and I am no exception.

But I’m done crying, I’m done regretting, long, long ago, and there is no point thinking about what might have been.

Today is a good day, and tomorrow will be even better.

A (short!) Commentary on Macross

I’ve been catching up on episodes of Macross Frontier in my spare time, and comparing it with my (hazy!) memories of the original SDF Macross from more than 20 years ago, I see that it sticks to it’s successful formula.

Macross wasn’t all about big-robot/mecha, it never has been. Rather it was about human relationships, and more importantly, music, in a space opera setting (with of course, the afore-mentioned big robots). While it was the mecha and sci-fi setting that drew me into the anime genre in the first place, lo, these many years ago, what kept me watching the show were the STORIES.

This was reinforced in Macross Plus, and now, 25 years on, in Macross Frontier.

Let the music play. Always.

:Link:
+Macross Frontier

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, every one!

Mooncakes from Hai Tien Lo, smuggled in for a taste of home while here.

I don’t like angry drunks.

I mean, I don’t mind drunks in general, and I have been in an inebriated state on more than one occasion, but I’m usually a happy drunk. As a matter of fact, I like happy drunks, becuase they’re usually pretty fun to be around, and while loud drunks and weepy drunks might get annoying, they seldom mean or cause any harm. But angry drunks, on the other hand, are unreasonable and are apt to pick fights or arguments. The slightest and utterly random things can set them off, and attempts at defusing the situation is like as not to exacerbate the drunk’s fury.

Ergo, I don’t like angry drunks.

Besides, they remind me of my father.

Audio/Visual Update

Audio:Slave
In the B&O:
+The Sex, the City, the Music: Shanghai
+Monkey Majik: 空はまるで
+Queen: Greatest Hits
+The Rolling Stones: Rolled Gold
+Metal Gear Solid 20th Anniversary
+Best of Creedence Clearwater Revival

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Heroes Season 2
+My Neighbor Totoro
+Appleseed: Ex Machina
+Band of Brothers
+The Machine Girl
+You Don’t Mess With The Zohan Missed this

Animania:
+Freedom
+Hayate no Gotoku dropped
+Clannad
+Rental Magica dropped
+Bamboo Blade
+Toshokan Sensou (図書館戦争)
+Birdy the Mighty: Decode
+イヴの時間
+乃木坂春香の秘密
+Mahō Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto (魔法遣いに大切なこと)

Movies to Catch - ‘08:
+Sweeney Todd
+The Spiderwick Chronicles
+Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
+Iron Man
+The Dark Knight
+Cloverfield Missed this
+Jumper
+Hancock missed this
+Get Smart missed this
+Charlie Wilson’s War
+Bangkok Dangerous
+Speed Racer
+The Love Guru
+Wanted missed this
+Indiana Jones and The Temple of the Crystal Skull
+Forbidden Kingdom
+Doomsday
+27 Dresses
+Juno
+The Bucket List
+Hellboy II: The Golden Army
+Kung Fu Panda missed this Kris World!
+The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor
+Wall-E
+Star Wars: The Clone Wars
+007: Quantum of Solace
+Tropic Thunder
+The Spirit
+Death Race
+Punisher: War Zone
+Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
+Full Battle Rattle

Movies soooo bad, it’s gotta be gooood
+Oneechanbara
+Zombie Strippers
+Jack Brooks - Monster Slayer

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 25
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 225
+死がふたりを分かつまで Chapter 15
+おばあちゃんはアイドル

Dead Tree
+Freakonomics
+Conquistador
+Why We Want You To Be Rich
+Party of One: The loner’s Manifesto
+Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition
+Traveller: Core Rulebook

Online
+Questionable Content
+Real Life
+The Order of the Stick
+Turn Signals on a Land Raider

Why I Love Flying Singapore Air
It’s just one simple thing, really: Video-on-Demand

When I fly, it’s usually the time when I catch up on movies that I’ve missed, or foreign films that won’t usually come into Singapore. And so, a bunch of stuff crossed off the list above. It may seem that I don’t sleep on planes, and on reflection I think that’s quite true. I’m not a white-knuckle flyer by nature, so it’s not fear keeping me up, but rather the enntertainment. Although staying awake on the plane does seem to help me adjust to the time differences and deal with jet-lag, especially when travelling long distances. All I need is maybe a half-hour’s nap here and there, and I usually can go 24-36 hours with little rest. All part of my job’s fault, I should guess.

Haven’t really explored the DVD shops here yet, but I might head off to the movie theaters once things settle down some more.

And so, a week has come and gone in this hot and dusty country. On the work front, things have settled down into a sort of a routine, although having the working week begin on Sunday and ending on Thursdsay is still a little strange.

Been clocking quite a bit of physical training over the last few days; I suppose having the gym just upstairs from the apartment is a big plus. Coupled with the fact that I’m staying in a serviced apartment means that I have more time to work out rather than coming home from work to to washing and cleaning.

Also, the diet here has been almost too healthy ~ all I’m having at lunch these days is just a large salad. It’s (probably) doing wonders for my digestive system, but I think I’ll still need to head out and look for some yogurt or something.

Listening to:
JNR Dials Deep

Current Read:
Traveller

Mood:
Hot and irritable

Traveller Core Rulebook and a Heineken.

Bliss.

More driving last night, and it’s still as disorienting. I keep checking the wrong side for traffic first, and mistaking the wiper for the turn indicator.

The Good
There’s not that many cars on the road. Not sure if it because it’s Ramadan, and so people are staying home instead of heading out. But it makes getting used to the roads a little easier.

The Bad
What drivers there are on the roads are maniacs. The speed limits are taken as “suggestions” and there seems to be no concept of “Right of Way”.

And they seem to like to use studs for lane markers instead of painting them on the ground. Makes for a very jarring ride, especially when changing lanes. Maybe it’s done so that drivers here don’t weave in and out of traffic, but so far it doesn’t seem to be working….

The Ugly
Petrol is cheap. Dirt cheap. As in, 30 cents a litre. A full tank of fuel (50 litres!!!!) came up to only $20. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to pump petrol back in home without cursing and swearing again. %$#@!!!!!!!

No wonder they drive like mad here.