Sanity… is for the Weak

Audio/Visual Update

Audio:Slave
In the B&O:
+Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova
+Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix
+Café Tel Aviv - Middle East Chillout
+DragonForce: Inhuman Rampage
+The Killers: Sam’s Town

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Mama Mia! The Movie
+Journey to the Center of the Earth
+The Good, The Bad, The Weird
+A History of Violence
+Paprika
+The Usual Suspects
+Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
+Akira
+The Princess Bride
+Watchmen Missed this!
+Reclaiming the Blade

Animania:
+イヴの時間
+ToraDora (とらドラ)
+To Aru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録)
+Rideback
+K-On! (けいおん!)
+Eden of the East (東のエデン)
+Strike Witches (ストライクウィッチーズ) DVD
+Seto no Hanayome (瀬戸の花嫁) DVD
+Beck: Mogolian Chop Squad
+Kimi ni Todoke (君に届け)
+Nyan Koi! (にゃんこい!)
+To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (とある科学の超電磁砲)

Movies to Catch - ‘09:
+Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ)
+Slumdog Millionaire
+Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
+Full Battle Rattle
+Terminator: Salvation
+Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
+2012
+Star Trek
+Up
+Angels and Demons Missed this….
+Fanboys
+Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
+Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
+Fast and Furious Missed this.
+G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
+Zombieland

WTF, Hollywood? WTF?
+Astroboy
+Dragonball: The Movie I *so* regret watching this…..

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

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 38
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 267
+会長はメイド様! - Chapter 42
+ソード・ワールドRPG 2.0 (SW2.0)
+Bakuman (バクマン) - Chapter 59

Dead Tree
+Homework for Grown-ups: Everything you learnt at school… and promptly forgot
+Dragon Warriors RPG 2008
+The Book of War
+Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
+Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
+The Price of Admiralty

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

Here’s hoping that this week will be a quiet one…

We were going through some of the wifey’s old photographs and found this little gem.

Which immediately brought to mind this:

Is it any wonder I love her so?

Oh, and if the baby comes out a girl…… heh.

Audio/Visual Update

Audio:Slave
In the B&O:
+Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova
+Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix
+Café Tel Aviv - Middle East Chillout
+DragonForce: Inhuman Rampage

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Mama Mia! The Movie
+Journey to the Center of the Earth
+The Good, The Bad, The Weird
+A History of Violence
+Paprika
+The Usual Suspects
+Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
+Akira

Animania:
+イヴの時間
+ToraDora (とらドラ)
+To Aru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録)
+Rideback
+K-On! (けいおん!)
+Eden of the East (東のエデン)
+Strike Witches (ストライクウィッチーズ) DVD
+Seto no Hanayome (瀬戸の花嫁) DVD
+Beck: Mogolian Chop Squad

Movies to Catch - ‘09:
+Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ)
+Slumdog Millionaire
+Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
+Full Battle Rattle
+Reclaiming the Blade
+Watchmen Missed this!
+Terminator: Salvation
+Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
+2012
+Star Trek
+Up
+Angels and Demons Missed this….
+Fanboys
+Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
+Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
+Fast and Furious Missed this.
+G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

WTF, Hollywood? WTF?
+Astroboy
+Dragonball: The Movie I *so* regret watching this…..

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

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 35
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 257
+会長はメイド様! - Chapter 39
+ソード・ワールドRPG 2.0 (SW2.0)
+Bakuman (バクマン) - Chapter 45

Dead Tree
+Homework for Grown-ups: Everything you learnt at school… and promptly forgot
+Dragon Warriors RPG 2008
+The Book of War
+Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

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

Owwwwweeeeee
I am in pain. My body aches.

Used to be that I can take the annual fitness test in the morning and still go about my work with just a short rest…. but not anymore. Though the requirements to pass have gotten lower as I get older, the body seems to be getting slower and stiffer as well.

But still, to complete the 2.4km run in 12min 15sec at 37 years old is pretty good eh?

Remember the little gems like The Machine Girl and Oneechanbara?

Well, here comes yet another “Quality” production from the same guys who brought you The Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police - Robo Geisha!

Geisha Missile! Geisha Dance! Geisha Army! Geisha Chainsaw! Geisha Transform! And of course, Fried Shrimp!

Seriously, WTF Japan, WTF?

:Links:
+Website
+IMDB Listing

Audio/Visual Update

Audio:Slave
In the B&O:
+Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova
+Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix
+Café Tel Aviv - Middle East Chillout

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Mama Mia! The Movie
+Journey to the Center of the Earth
+The Good, The Bad, The Weird
+A History of Violence
+Paprika

Animania:
+イヴの時間
+ToraDora (とらドラ)
+To Aru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録)
+Rideback
+K-On! (けいおん!)
+Eden of the East (東のエデン)
+Strike Witches (ストライクウィッチーズ) DVD

Movies to Catch - ‘09:
+Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ)
+Slumdog Millionaire
+Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
+Full Battle Rattle
+Reclaiming the Blade
+Watchmen
+Terminator: Salvation
+Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
+2012
+Star Trek
+Up
+Angels and Demons
+Fanboys
+Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
+Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
+Fast and Furious
+G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

WTF, Hollywood? WTF?
+Astroboy
+Dragonball: The Movie

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

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 33
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 249
+会長はメイド様! - Volume 6
+ソード・ワールドRPG 2.0 (SW2.0)

Dead Tree
+Homework for Grown-ups: Everything you learnt at school… and promptly forgot
+Dragon Warriors RPG 2008
+The Book of War

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

Sword World 2.0
Or, ソード・ワールドRPG 2.0 (SW2.0) as it is known in the original Japanese, is one of the pioneer Japanese languange role-playing-game systems. And it happens to be just one of the things I specifically went to Tokyo earlier this year for:

This should take me a while to translate to a point where it’s actually playable, but hey, what’s another hobby?

Interestingly enough, I had quite a bit of a hard time looking for the books, because the first time I saw the book, it was printed in a large filo format, rather than the current handy three-part paperback. I had looked for the large hard-cover all over Akihabara, and was about to give up when Great Cthulhu showed the way, literally. Simply put, I was looking at the RPG section, which contained oddly enough, Japanese language editions of GURPS, D&D and the Call of Cthlhu RPGs to no avail, when suddenly stack of books collapsed and dropped the Call of Cthulhu rulebook onto a small paperback stack. And when I picked up the dropped book what did I see? Sword World 2.0. Ha!

Lunch today was at one of the restaurants in the world which we really like; the Straw Hat Cafe inside the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan.

As it was the last time round, no pictures were allowed inside the museum, but it is always a joy to ramble through the museum and explore the nooks and crannies. The special exhibition this time round was Petite Louvre, a collection of the famous art works in the musée du Louvre in miniature reproduction.

I’m not much of a metal fan, but there are exceptions:

DragonForce

I wonder if there’s tickets left…. and also if my hearing will survive the experience?

Audio/Visual Update

Audio:Slave
In the B&O:
+Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova
+Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Mama Mia! The Movie
+Journey to the Center of the Earth
+The Good, The Bad, The Weird

Animania:
+イヴの時間
+ToraDora (とらドラ)
+To Aru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録)
+Rideback

Movies to Catch - ‘09:
+Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ)
+Slumdog Millionaire
+Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
+Full Battle Rattle
+Reclaiming the Blade
+Watchmen
+Terminator: Salvation
+Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
+2012
+Star Trek
+Up
+Angels and Demons
+Fanboys
+Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
+Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
+Fast and Furious
+G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

WTF, Hollywood? WTF?
+Astroboy
+Dragonball: The Movie

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

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 31
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 241
+会長はメイド様! - Volume 6

Dead Tree
+Homework for Grown-ups: Everything you learnt at school… and promptly forgot
+Dragon Warriors RPG 2008

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

Slumdog Millionaire
We caught Slumdog last night, and we totally loved it. No fancy flashy CGI, no top-billing superstars, just a ripping good yarn done with tight and unusual camera angles. At it’s heart, the movie is a highly improbably story of coincidences that leads to a (mostly) fairy-tale ending that as Anthony puts it, “surprisingly low on angst”. The big tickler was that the producers threw in the tradition of the classic Bollywood movie song-and-dance routine right at the very end, when the credits rolled.

Highly recommended ~ watch it and you’ll see that the hype is really worth the content.

Audio/Visual Update

Audio:Slave
In the B&O:
+Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Mama Mia! The Movie
+Journey to the Center of the Earth

Animania:
+イヴの時間
+ToraDora (とらドラ)
+To Aru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録)

Movies to Catch - ‘09:
+Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ)
+Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
+Full Battle Rattle
+Reclaiming the Blade
+Watchmen
+Terminator: Salvation
+Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
+2012
+Star Trek
+Up
+Angels and Demons

WTF, Hollywood? WTF?
+Astroboy
+Dragonball: The Movie

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

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 29
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 238
+会長はメイド様!

Dead Tree
+Homework for Grown-ups: Everything you learnt at school… and promptly forgot

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

New Year, New Beginnings.

On with the show!

I’m really enjoying my new headphones! That aside, I think we kicked off the new year with a great choice of movie, Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ). Studio Ghibli usually delivers good work, and watching the movie made me miss our trip to the Studio Ghibli Museum.

It was funny to hear Joe Augustin on Power 98 yesterday ranting on about how the theme song got stuck in his head after watching it, and how he’s going to inflict the same on everyone else by playing the song on national radio. The theme song didn’t affect me so much as the musical score; in particular the scene when Ponyo was running atop the waves to Sosuke was reminded me very much of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries.

Got me a new set of cans!

Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9’s.

Sounds very sweet, especially in the mids and lows. I’m still breaking the phones in though, so this may change. The leather padding is surprisingly comfortable and doesn’t get all that sweaty even in our tropical heat. The only complaint is that phones are quite narrow across the head, and pinches my ear somewhat (maybe because I’ve got a big head, and oversized ears?), so extended wear is a little on the uncomfortable side. But other than that, I’m really happy with the cans. Sound isolation isn’t all that great, because I can still hear what’s going on around me in the office through the phones, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if using them on the streets (so as to hear coming traffic!).

Currently listening to:
+Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova

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
+Wipeout Pure Original Soundtrack
+Agapella

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
+Oneechanbara
+Swing Girls

Animania:
+Freedom
+Hayate no Gotoku dropped
+Clannad
+Rental Magica dropped
+Bamboo Blade
+Toshokan Sensou (図書館戦争)
+Birdy the Mighty: Decode
+Macross Frontier
+イヴの時間
+乃木坂春香の秘密 Dropped
+Mahō Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora (魔法遣いに大切なこと)
+ToraDora (とらドラ)
+To Aru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録)
+Nodame Cantabile (のだめカンタービレ 巴里編)
+Kemeko Deluxe! (ケメコデラックス!)

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 missed this
+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 missed this
+007: Quantum of Solace
+Tropic Thunder
+The Spirit
+Death Race missed this
+Punisher: War Zone
+Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
+Full Battle Rattle

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

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 28
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 231
+死がふたりを分かつまで Chapter 15 dropped
+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
+Homework for Grown-ups: Everything you learnt at school… and promptly forgot

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

Lots of good stuff this year, movies and music-wise.

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
+Wipeout Pure Original Soundtrack

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
+Macross Frontier
+イヴの時間
+乃木坂春香の秘密
+Mahō Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora (魔法遣いに大切なこと)
+ToraDora (とらドラ)
+To Aru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録)
+Nodame Cantabile (のだめカンタービレ 巴里編)
+Kemeko Deluxe! (ケメコデラックス!)

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 missed this
+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 missed this
+007: Quantum of Solace
+Tropic Thunder
+The Spirit
+Death Race missed this
+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 28
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 231
+死がふたりを分かつまで Chapter 15 dropped
+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
+Homework for Grown-ups: Everything you learnt at school… and promptly forgot

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

Avenue Q
We caught Avenue Q on friday, and found it highly entertaining. Despite the initial distraction of having to watch both the muppets and their players at the same time, it sort of faded into the background as the show went on. A fun-filled, raunchy and very politically-incorrect romp, it is definitely not something you can bring young kids to, if nothing else but the… err… “You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You’re Makin’ Love)” scene.

And just like the Sesame Street that it was inspired by, I got to learn something new: Schadenfreude - Joy at the misfortune of others.

Probably explains my mean streak, and why I laugh when I see little kids fall flat on their faces when playing at escalators.

Loudly.

While pointing at them.

And the title of the second Evangelion movie is announced.

What’s interesting though, is the new girl in the poster ~ never seen before in the original series, pictured above in the lower right corner. Looks like things are going in new and exciting directions.

Summer 2009.

Can’t wait!

:Links:
+Website

And so, it’s just me holding the fort for the next week or so here in the desert.

Doesn’t matter really, as I’ve always been something of a lone wolf, happy to be left alone with my thoughts, but unlike the more extreme cases, I actually don’t mind company. Reading the Loner’s Manifesto has actually given me a different view of how I conduct myself. But enough of that.

The weather here in the Gulf is starting to turn better; compared to a month ago, the noonday temperatures are just about home-like, and it actually feels cool under the shade. Even the wind brings cool relief, where it was a blast of hot air like sticking your face into the oven just weeks back.

New Anime Picks
Looks like the new season’s kicking off to a great start, and there are quite a few currently on my to-watch list.

First up is Toradora (とらドラ). Having read the first volume of the light novel, it’s not hard to imagine the whacky hijinks that will happen and with tsundere Queen Rie Kugimiya at the helm voicing , I won’t be surprised to hear her trademark “煩い! 煩い! 煩い!” before the the first episode is even half way through.

(*edit* She did it! bwahahahaha! And the production quality is surprisingly good too.)

Next is the second season of Nodame Cantabile (のだめカンタービレ 巴里編).

Judging by the official website, this season will probably cover till chapter 87 of the manga, where Nodame gives her Mozart Recital.

I’m not too sure about To Aru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録) though. Although similarly a light novel-turned manga-turned anime, the premise of the story just doesn’t seem quite as interesting.

We’ll see.

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…

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

woot!

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

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.

Listening to:
JNR Dials Deep

Current Read:
Traveller

Mood:
Hot and irritable

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

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

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
+You Don’t Mess With The Zohan Missed this
+Kung Fu Panda missed this
+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 222
+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

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

The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor
I meant to post this together with the writeup on The Machine Girl, but totally forgot. Well, we caught this third installment of the Mummy franchise, and it was a let-down, after the antics of Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones. I’m not that rabid a fan-boy to piss on the movie simply because Rachel Weisz is not on the cast list this time (in fact I thought that Maria Bello filled her role rather admirably), but despite the exotic locations and exciting action sequences, it still fell flat on the plot. It just simply didn’t feel… epic.

Anyway:
One star for the hilarious pissing contest between father and son when comparing guns.
One star for the adorably cute Yetis.
Half star for the huge undead vs terracotta warriors battle scene.

Total 2.5 / 5 stars

Remember me raving about this little movie, which could be so bad, that it’s got to be good?

I got the DVD.

*mwahahaha!!!*

And as expected, it was a terrible, terrible movie. It was bad to the point of downright appalling. But it was entertaining ~ I don’t recall laughing so much or so hard at a movie for a long while now. And we had a field day deconstructing the movie and trying to rationalize a social commentary from it’s (non-existent!) plot and “action” scenes, as well as the over-the-top Japanese culture and it’s reflection on the world at large.

:Links:
+IMDB Listing
+Wikipedia Entry
+Official Website

Introducing Kung Fu Jimmy Chow; a production that that simultaneously spoofs and salutes the anime genre.

Words cannot describe the random madness and anime homage paid….

Only thing I can say is… “What the?!?”

ED from Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (乃木坂春香の秘密)

Seriously though, for an anime to poke fun of the Akiba-Kei and Otaku sub-culture isn’t entirely new (c.f. Densha Otoko, and NHK ni Yōkoso! (N・H・Kにようこそ)), but it does put a twist in changing the stereotype from the guy to the girl.

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

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Heroes Season 2
+My Neighbor Totoro
+Appleseed: Ex Machina
+Band of Brothers

Animania:
+Freedom
+Hayate no Gotoku dropped
+Clannad
+Rental Magica dropped
+Bamboo Blade
+Toshokan Sensou (図書館戦争)
+Birdy the Mighty: Decode

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
+Wall-E
+Hancock
+Get Smart missed this
+Charlie Wilson’s War
+Bangkok Dangerous
+Speed Racer
+The Love Guru
+Wanted
+Indiana Jones and The Temple of the Crystal Skull
+Forbidden Kingdom
+Doomsday
+27 Dresses
+Juno
+The Bucket List
+Hellboy II: The Golden Army
+You Don’t Mess With The Zohan Missed this
+Star Wars: The Clone Wars
+007: Quantum of Solace
+Kung Fu Panda missed this

Movies soooo bad, it’s gotta be gooood
+The Machine Girl
+Oneechanbara
+Zombie Strippers

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 25
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 220
+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

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

The Dark Knight
One word:

Wow.

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

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Heroes Season 2
+My Neighbor Totoro
+Appleseed: Ex Machina

Animania:
+Freedom
+Hayate no Gotoku
+Clannad
+Rental Magica
+Bamboo Blade
+Toshokan Sensou (図書館戦争)

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
+Wall-E
+Hancock
+Get Smart
+Charlie Wilson’s War
+Bangkok Dangerous
+Speed Racer
+The Love Guru
+Wanted
+Indiana Jones and The Temple of the Crystal Skull
+Forbidden Kingdom
+Doomsday

Movies soooo bad, it’s gotta be gooood
+The Machine Girl
+Oneechanbara
+Zombie Strippers

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 21
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 215
+死がふたりを分かつまで Chapter 15
+おばあちゃんはアイドル Vol 4

Dead Tree
+Freakonomics
+Conquistador
+Why We Want You To Be Rich
+Party of One: The loner’s Manifesto

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

Comp’s dead, not me ~ doing this on the office i/net connection…..

Mwahahaha!!!

Prepare to lose your sanity!

And additionally, a little something for our Finnish friends:

Be seeing you next month when we head up to Helsinki!

I was doing a little research on Vocaloid, and came across this little gem on YouTube.

It’s something that can only be described as… Disturbingly Cute.

So, remember kids:

Sanity… is for the Weak!

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

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Heroes Season 2
+My Neighbor Totoro
+Appleseed: Ex Machina

Animania:
+Freedom
+Hayate no Gotoku
+Clannad
+Rental Magica
+Bamboo Blade
+Toshokan Sensou (図書館戦争)

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
+Wall-E
+Hancock
+Get Smart
+Charlie Wilson’s War
+Bangkok Dangerous
+Speed Racer
+The Love Guru
+Wanted
+Indiana Jones and The Temple of the Crystal Skull
+Forbidden Kingdom
+Doomsday

Movies soooo bad, it’s gotta be gooood
+The Machine Girl
+Oneechanbara
+Zombie Strippers

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 21
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 211
+死がふたりを分かつまで Chapter 13
+おばあちゃんはアイドル Vol 3

Dead Tree
+Freakonomics
+Conquistador
+Why We Want You To Be Rich

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

Iron Man
Iron Man was a total blast! From the soundtrack to the F/X to the comic scenes to the fast and furious fights, in a totally awesome romp through the Superhero genre. The only thing that jarred came at the end, after the credits rolled ~ why, oh why, did they cast Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury?!? Then again, this probably means that this vision of the Marvel Universe will probably be cast on the Ultimates couch… but why did he mention the “Avenger Initiative”? Will that mean we’ll be seeing a Thor and Captain America movie sometime soon, seeing as Hulk is coming up next?

スミレ１６歳！！ , or Sumire 16 sai!! is a rather… quirky manga to come out of Japan recently.

In a nutshell, it’s about the daily life of Sumire, a sixteen year old high school girl… except that she’s actually a life-size puppet, controlled by a guy in black clothes.

What’s even weirder is that they even made a live-action TV drama out of it.

Like, WTF man?!?

The first chapter may be read online here.

:Links:
Wikipedia Entry
Shonen Magazine
TV Drama

Scored a Soul Eater bag, courtesy of One - thanks bro!

Been a while since I did this

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

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Heroes Season 2
+My Neighbor Totoro
+Appleseed: Ex Machina

In the PSP:
+Freedom
+Hayate no Gotoku
+Clannad
+Rental Magica
+Bamboo Blade

Movies to Catch - ‘08:
+Sweeney Todd
+The Spiderwick Chronicles
+Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
+Iron Man
+The Dark Knight
+Cloverfield
+Jumper
+Wall-E
+Hancock
+Get Smart
+Charlie Wilson’s War
+Bangkok Dangerous
+Speed Racer
+The Love Guru
+Wanted
+Indiana Jones and The Temple of the Crystal Skull
+Forbidden Kingdom
+Doomsday

Movies soooo bad, it’s gotta be gooood
+The Machine Girl
+Oneechanbara
+Zombie Strippers

Current Reads
RAWs
+謎の彼女Ｘ - Chapter 21
+魔法 先生 ネギま! - Chapter 210
+死がふたりを分かつまで Chapter 12

Dead Tree
+Freakonomics
+Why We Want You To Be Rich

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

Other Stuff

Finally went back to training after a 1-month hiatus due to increased workload, and it seems like my conditioning has slipped by quite a bit. This is worrying, as we’re due to head up north to Helsinki in June for training at the mother school ~ looks like additional training is in order. That aside, due to the change in syllabus, and me missing most of the classes last month, I had to skip the current evaluations ~ I don’t really mind, as I think I’m now at a comfortable position of the learning curve, trying to get the basics down perfect before moving on to the advanced stuff. That said, kudos to the rest of the students who worked very hard and were promoted, you guys deserved it!

We caught We Will Rock You at the Esplanade on Friday night, and enjoyed it immensely. On the surface, it was an unabashed cheesy recycling of Queen’s hits into a jukebox musical, yet it was disturbingly entertaining at the same time. The energy of the cast really makes the difference, leading the audience clapping and singing along.

We appreciated the fact that the producers took time to add local flavour to the musical with references to Dick Lee and Puah Chu Kang, and the inside jokes that flew fast and furious (”You can’t even make it into INXS!” and “You are my Guitar Hero!”)

But the highlight of the evening came during the intermission and after the show ~ never have we been so entertained by the looks of utter embarrasment on the faces of kids and teenagers, trying desperately to disappear into the upholstery… all because their parents were there clapping, singing, dancing along and generally having a rockin’ time. So, the lesson is: If you want your kids to behave and get serious jobs when they grow up, go hide a few of your Def Leppard or other Heavy Metal tee-shirts with your old punk rock costume photos somewhere where they will find it, and the shock of it will probably drive them in the opposite direction