Hero

Have you seen Juana Change's "Bayani"? Here, take a look:

Deep, huh? That is the current situation of our country the Philippines right now. I almost burst into tears when I saw the ending of the video.

From the last time I heard from our president, she was even proud that we are one of the leading countries to send workers abroad. How can we be fucking proud with that? We sacrifice the best of our people and make them servants abroad just to send money back home for their families. And the ones left behind are the idiots who know nothing otherwise to vote wisely.

How long are we gonna keep this up?

Since the beginning, I've never liked the idea of going abroad just to work. Why can't our country provide jobs here for our fellow countrymen? How long are we still gonna owe the World Bank more money even before our babies are brought to this world? How long are we still gonna send our hardworking citizens abroad just for fucking remittances to survive poverty?

Do we really need a hero on this age of corruption, fraud & poverty? Why do we keep on reaching out to the sun in the sky for a certain hero rather than doing what we ought to do right here right now?

My lil bro Lex asked if anyone from the government had already watched Juana Change's video "Bayani". I told him that even if they did, they have already mastered the power to ignore on these kind of things. Sick, huh?

And so we divert ourselves to cheap entertainment.

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*"Bayani" is a Filipino term for "Hero".

*If you didn't notice, the man who appeared shining at the ending of the video is the country's national hero Jose Rizal (the book he's holding with the word "Noli" at the top indicated that it was Jose Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere")

MARS

I just finished watching the Taiwan TV Drama "MARS" and the ending was a little unsatisfactory. I mean I wanted more for an ending (my lil bro Lex said he wanted to see the bisexual effeminate sociopath dead or get killed. LOL), but the mention of the "end of the world and will be ruled by Mars" rumor was a little nostalgic for me and I knew that their love will live on happily after that. It made me remember all that they've gone through, and it was like they've been to hell and back for so many times. They even gave up for a couple of times, but somehow before they could admit it, it was as if they were destined to be together: the playboy and the shy girl.

Both arose from tragedies and still sufferring from the after effects, but their love grew stronger.

What they have gone through is no joke in the fictional world. Ling (the lead male character starred by Vic Zhou) had to overcome the psychological injuries he bore since his twin brother's suicide. Entering the state of false death is not some matter to be laughed around. Seeing the death of his twin brother traumatized him a lot. It was like he saw himself dead. Since then, he broke all the mirrors he comes across to and was brought to a psychiatric ward for his worsening condition.

The story progresses when old high school classmates appear in the series which made Ling and Qi Luo's love put into test.

I love their love. And eventhough that somehow the story was kinda one-sided for Ling's part in the beginning because of his life story, just before I knew it, Qi Luo's story was then revealed. A victim of sexual harassment in the school by an english teacher and of rape by his stepfather.

Their experience is just...wow. Yeah, I mean what if those were real? How will they keep sanity then?

The appearance of the very villainous bisexual effeminate sociopath Tong Dao was really dark, mysterious and creepy. He was like "The Joker" in "Batman" but in more realistic and teenage world. He tries to bring the evil nature of Ling which was a side of him that he wants to be gone. Tong Dao even tried to kill Qi Luo for Ling to lose sanity and becomes his only companion.

But this character's darkness didn't seem to last. At first, he was really scary, but throughout the end of the series, he becomes annoying. Eventhough he was the cause of the greatest tragedy that happened to the couple in the series, he was still annoying for me. Somehow, he lost his darkness. Maybe it was meant to be? Ionno, but it was such a waste for a very effective villain.

Da Ye & Qing Mei together? So cute! And I'm glad Ling apologized to her for his playboy ways back then which she quickly warned him not to remind her of it since she had long forgotten them.

All in all? Great although there are some minor flaws in it. But what do you know, I'm watching it again right now! LOL! Don't blame me. Blame Fuyumi Soryo. He started the manga series anyway.

XD

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*You should also listen to their opening theme "Ling" (Zero) by Alan Kuo. It's awesome.

*Oh, the actors in this drama are really good too!

Feeding My Drama Addiction: Mars

I am currently feeding my drama addiction--Asian drama addiction, that is. Well, given my interest in rewatching BOF, HYD and recently "Meteor Garden"--the Taiwan adaptation of HYD manga series.

So I enjoyed it alot and to my surprise, I find Vic Zhou (the actor who played Hua Ze Lei) rather very attractive now than before. I was so into Dao Ming Se & Shan Cai pairing that I closed my doors to any Hua Ze Lei & Shan Cai shipping. I mean, I already love the story. Why should I want it any other way? I was very religious to it not knowing that Vic Zhou is actually more handsome than Jerry Yan (the actor who played Dao Ming Se).

And he keeps popping out of nowehere in the series which made it rather infectious and had me more curious of him than ever. So I searched the Tube for any movies or dramas that he had starred on, which were very interesting (especially that one Japanese movie he starred in called "Tea Fight").

What made it more intriguing is that I found a series which he and Barbie Xhu (Shan Cai of "Meteor Garden") starred on together! I was so shocked. The series was called "Mars" which was also an adaptation from the manga of the same title. It's a story of a shy artistic girl, Qi Luo (Barbie Xu), approached by the care-free and play-boy Chen Ling (Vic Zhou), who asked Qi Luo for directions to a hospital. In a split-second Ling forgets what the hospital name was. Hurriedly Qi Luo draws a map for him, unknowing that she was drawing on the back of one her drawings. Ling thanked her but she ran off before she could hear him, he then noticed the picture and was touched. The next time they had seen each other, Ling told her about the picture but Qi Luo ignored him and said he could keep the picture. Ling was very touched by the picture and that drew him closer and closer towards Qi Luo. But his past comes back to haunt him when a new student arrives as well as Qi Luo's past comes back. Feelings will collide when you have a jealous ex come to stand up and fight for Ling against Qi Luo and a known admirer confesses his feelings to Qi Luo.

Not very much appealing with the overview, isn't it? But when I started watching it, it got me hooked. I mean, it maybe is an another story of a playboy finally falling in love but somehow it never cease to capture my heart everytime. Because in real life, you rarely see them around.

Okay, back to the drama. So there I was with my eyes glued to the screen waiting forever for MSN's SoapBox to buffer every part of each episode (By golly, it takes forever for this player to buff! It could've been much easier to watch it if it was uploaded to a different player like from Veoh, LiveVideo, etc. Anything except SoapBox), the scenes became pretty familiar to me.

I then searched the internet and found out that this series was aired on QTV before, which is a channel owned by GMA-5.

Still I continued watching it. Turns out that this series is actually darker and a little mature in content because it involves critical issues that may not be able to handled by teenagers such as suicide, violence and psychopathy. The coming episodes become darker and depressing and it felt like a black hole was seeping them away from happiness and love, which actually for a little while becomes a little suffocating and a little boring but still curious of what's gonna happen next.

What I like most about early 90s manga is that they always make space for humour in their pages which is awesome because TV adaptations still put them in between episodes. It makes it even more interesting to watch and it builds the characters more.

Right now, I'm halfway in whole of the series. Usually, I'd finish this by 1 or 2 days, but MSN's SoapBox is so uber slow in buffer. It may take me a long while I guess.

After I'm done, I'm planning to read the manga online or blog the story of the TV adaptation one. Either way, I'm still gonna be sharing it with the rest of the world.

My Very Old Art Program

I recently scoured the forums of Rohan Online Philippines and saw some people posting up their artworks. I was so excited to share mine as well, so I did all that "copy-paste" stuff to share my world.

But I know that on the other side of myself, I knew I wouldn't get much appreciation as what my family and friends would give to me. Strangers oftentimes open my eyes to what is really behind all of it. But sometimes I think to myself that what other people say will really matter after all?

Yes. No. Maybe. Perhaps. I don't really know. I only have my knowledge and my very old art program.

How old? Like I've been using this since Deo was still alive: Adobe Photoshop 7.

A lot of people had already told me to update my photoshop when CS 2 came out. I was like "okay sure", whatever. The fact is, I dun wanna.

I dun wanna.
I dun wanna.
I dun wanna.

Why? Because I am so much happier with my current one than the new one. I've heard from my Photoshop teacher before that CS versions make you a lazy digital artist. One click here and one drag there and--tada! And everyone else thinks you're a great digital artist when you didn't even sweat a thing for it.

I don't want that. I want it that whenever I post a work of mine, I know the inside and out of each layer I have used for a certain piece. I want it that whenever I look at it, I know how hard it is to try to find the matching colors and textures and filters just to come up with a piece. I want it that eventhough I had given all my hopes for a certain unfinished work, I know that I can still work on it harder than ever.

I always and always push myself to the limits on my Adobe Photoshop 7--my very old art program.

My teacher also said to me CS versions are a great room for growth and business. Maybe, but I can't help the fact that I still love and adore and use to my heart's content my PS 7.

I'm still having doubts whether I should update or not since I know I haven't used my PS 7 to its full capability. So maybe I'll stick with this for a while and maybe download CS 4 soon--in 48 years? LOL!

Helpful Basset Info

I found this on the description of a video from YouTube which surprisingly taught me more of my fave dog breed. To all other hound-owner beginners out there, this should work more for you:

The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound. The name Basset is derived from the French word bas, meaning "low", with the attenuating suffix -et, together meaning "rather low".

Basset hounds are commonly brown and white and most often spotted, but also exist in a variety of colors.These dogs are around 1 foot in height at the withers. They usually weigh between 35-70lbs. They have smooth, short-haired coats but a rough haired hound is possible. Although any hound colour is considered acceptable by breed standards.

Bassets are generally tricolor (black, tan, and white), open red and white (red spots on white fur), closed red and white (a solid red color with white feet and tails), Honey And White (honey coloured back, light brown spotty nose and legs, light brown tails with white tip) and lemon and white. Some Bassets are also classified as gray or blue; however, this colour is considered rare and undesirable. They have long, downward ears and powerful necks, with much loose skin around their heads that forms wrinkles. Their tails are long and tapering and stand upright with a curve. Some prefer that the tail be tipped in white. This is so they are easily seen when hunting/tracking through large bushes or weeds.

The breed is also known for its hanging skin structure, which causes the face to occasionally look sad; this, for many people, adds to the breed's charm. The dewlap, seen as the loose, elastic skin around the neck, and the trailing ears, help trap the scent of what they are tracking.The Basset Hound is a large dog with short legs. They were originally bred to have osteochondrodysplasia, known as dwarfism. Their short stature can be deceiving; Bassets are surprisingly long and can reach things on table tops that dogs of similar heights cannot. However, because Bassets are so heavy and have such short legs, they are not able to hold themselves above water for very long, and should never be made to swim.

The Basset Hound is seen as an especially friendly breed. For this reason they are an excellent pet for children. Bassets "forget" the training when a reward is not present. Bassets should be on a leash when out on walks.

Bassets might howl or bark when they want something or to suggest that they think something is wrong (like a storm is coming). They also use a low, murmuring whine to get attention, which sounds to many owners as though their Bassets are "talking." This whine is also used by the hound to beg (for food or treats) and varies in volume depending on the nature of the individual hound and length of time it has been begging.

Cool, huh? I'm glad I found it.

Passing Celebrities, Transformers 2, New Ships, Puppies & New 2010 Movies

On Passing Celebrities...

I would to extend my condolences to the families of Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett. The world has lost precious beings. May they rest in peace.

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On Transformers 2...

It... was... AWESOME! The only thing I didn't like was the very short fight scene between Optimus Prime and The Fallen. Like FOR REAL PEOPLE--get meh some medium-timed climactic fight scene! What was Michael Bay thinking? Why all of a sudden that it was that short for a very anticipated movie? Sigh. Well, that's the only thing I didn't like. All in all, it was so AWESOME! Shia becomes hotter, as well as Megan.

The sequel is rather more human than the first. I think this has matured and I predict that not everyone will like this film. Still, I think it's awesome.

It's just that scene.... LOL! Yeah it's quite bothersome for my part cuz I've always expected more of that scene. Yet again, I can forgive Mr. Bay for it since Shia and Megan has inexplicable chemistry on screen. I love it.

Go watch the film BTW, and make sure you go early cuz the cinemas are stacked with people in lines. Haha!

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On New Ships...

Currently shipping ZuTara (Zuko/Katara) of ATLA (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and SamxMikaela (Sam/Mikaela of Transformers 2 starred by Shia Labeouf & Megan Fox respectively).

Yesh, the hunt is on for fanfics, fanarts and fanvids. Weeee~!

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On Puppies...

After the kennel was built, Dos finally found a new home! My long-time friend (since grade school) Nancy buzzed me for drinks when I convinced her to buy one of my pups.

Cuz for real, I need to place the pups on new homes before they turn 5 months old! They just turned 4 and already I am experiencing the fast decrease of my hounds' alloted stocks of consumption. Seriously, it's a pain for our pockets to further keep the pups (since my grandparents were in a fight and my grandma returned the Basset Hound Juno to me and my senior mongrel Mocha as well). I was keeping 9 dogs! And not just any 9 dogs--nine loud dogs, especially the little ones.

I have one more grade-school friend who contacted me and she's interested to get one too. A customer texted me and he wants a hound for his family.

I am so relieved! And these pups will be in great care in the hands of these people. I just know.

After that, no more breeding. I will now concentrate on taking care of what I have.

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On New 2010 Movies...

Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Last Airbender and Ice Age 3. Three movies I am waiting to be released next year.

I've been waiting on Narnia 3 like FOREVER! How will Fox pull this off after Disney dropped the franchise? I hope Walden made the right choice.

And Oh... Em... Gee... I am so in *squee* mode after watching the teaser trailer of "The Last Airbender" by M. Night Shyamalan. This is based on Nickelodeon's Emmy Award Winning Series "Avatar: The Last Airbender".



And I kinda hate James Cameron for not letting go of the movie title "Avatar" (since he also has a movie named "Avatar" with a different story). Such a name waster. I just hope Shyamalan can pull this movie off so he can show to Cameron that it was so worth-it if he had just let go of the "Avatar" title.

This goes to all the sceptics out there too! You think this kind of story is easy to film and shoot and say "Oh great, lousy director and sucky cast. What's next?", huh? I believe this will give justice to the series. Cuz if Shyamalan won't be able to pull this off, he is failing her daughter himself (since it was his daughter that inspired him to make this into a movie).

So don't you worry, you scumbags who feel that the world has ended just cuz of your cheap alibis to judge a film, cuz 2010's coming and that will be the final hour of how this movie is going to be awesome. And with that, you can forgive Shyamalan and the cast and shamelessly whip yourselves to your momma for not shutting the fuck up. Until then, I lay my hopes for Shyamalan and into the movie.

I do hope this movie is gonna be big, cuz it will be oh-so-big for me and my bros. LOL!

Ice Age 3 is gonna be big too! Aaaaaaaaaack! I am so excited!

Hana Yori Dango / Meteor Garden / Boys Over Flowers

From Wikipedia.org

Boys Over Flowers (花より男子, Hana Yori Dango^?) is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Yoko Kamio. It was serialized in the bi-weekly anthology magazine Margaret, which is aimed at high-school-age girls. The manga series ran continuously from October 1992 to September 2003, and was collected into 37 tankōbon volumes. In 1996, it received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo.

Oooooh, big deal. Well, yes it is.

Recently, ABS-CBN has bought the rights to Korea's popular drama this year called "Boys Over Flowers" which is an adaptation of Yoko Kamio's "Hana Yori Dango" in Japan.

My first encounter with Yoko Kamio's famous work was when I was a DJ in M.O.R. Cotabato in 2002 to 2003. ABS-CBN then bought the rights to Taiwan's adaptation of HYD (Hana Yori Dango) called "Meteor Garden" and their TV ratings sky-rocketed! That was their first try on airing Asianovelas and quickly made a mark in Philippine TV History (for making the Filipino audience get hooked to another foreign dramas aside from mexican and Spanish dramas).

Back then, eventhough it was my job to be "involved" with all the F4 craze, I was already hooked before I could even say yes to dissolving myself in it. The attractive looks in the cast is just some extra bonus of loving this show. I was so much in love with the story.

Because of my addiction to "Meteor Garden" back then, I later found out that the series was just an adaptation from Yoko Kamio's HYD.

After the craze, I went back to my hometown and my life continued its course.

And now, when I heard of Korea's "Boys Over Flowers" as an adaptation to HYD too, I knew I had to watch this. Somehow, another revision of one of my favorite and beloved stories interests me.

I went on the prowl for cuts and episodes on YouTube. Sad to say, not many episodes were uploaded since they were put down due to copyright infringement.

But hey! YouTube's not the only online video streaming in the world! I head on to Veoh.com and I was more than happy to watch the series three times eventhough the site eats a lot of my bandwidth (which means cutting off any processes on-going just to preserve buff for Veoh's videos).

Yes, I'm done watching it. I've watched it three times. And I still plan on watching it. The plot keeps getting better and better every episode.

And because of my amazement to this story, I've decided to watch the HYD TV series from Japan. Sure it was oddly different from BOF and MG, but I don't mind at all. Each adaptation should be different and that's what makes it more interesting.

Right now, a rumor was spreading across Asia about China also doing an adaption of the series and it's gonna be called "Meteor Rain" or "Meteor Shower". I have yet to wait for this and watch their version as well.