Mendoza hostage taking, a tragedy indeed

Up to now, I could still remember the recent hostage taking in Quirino Grandstand, with Rolando Mendoza being the mastermind of it all. The pictures were indeed still clear in my mind: poor tourists being held hostage inside the bus, police shooting guns like mad, and even the cries of people who were mere witnesses of the tragedy. It was indeed a tragedy that will forever be marked in the pages of Philippine history.

In case you haven't heard of it, check out this video:























I mean, what the heck is wrong with the hostage taker? All I know what he was indeed very desperate and hysterical about having his plea of clearing up his name not answered up to now. But still, I hope he had to come up with another way to discuss the problem, the one that does not involve putting innocent lives in danger.


But unfortunately, it's too late now. He was already dead, and his poor brother, Gregorio, was coerced to explain what exactly happened in the court. Even his family members couldn't help but to witness that incident helplessly.


But the worst of all, tourism here in the Philippines would slowly go down the drain... ><


I sure hope such things would never happen again, for the country's reputation would indeed be tarnished with a stain that would be hard to clean.


Ok, that's enough ranting. Now signing off...


EDIT: Put up the name of the hostage taker. Sorry if my memory's not clear... ^^;

About the growth (and demise) of MMORPGS in the PH

Nowadays, MMORPGS are one of the popular sources of entertainment for Filipinos, as well as one of the most popular business opportunities, with the growth of Internet cafes and game publishers. Online gamers would flock at their favorite gaming spots and spend lots of time grinding and doing quests to fortify their characters, no matter what attack style they would be. More importantly, MMORPGs are also a way to socialize, with chatting and forming parties with friends and fellow players.

The MMORPG phenomenon started with Ragnarok Online, published by Level Up! Games, way back in 2003. Although not many people play the game like it used to be back in the early years, it was still marked as a unforgettable memory and still garnered a strong following, with lots of updates to keep it going.

More importantly, Level Up! Games now has a long list of online games for players to enjoy, including Flyff (formerly under NetGames Inc., which is now disbanded), Grand Chase, Hello Kitty Online, Perfect World, Rohan Online, and even KOS: Secret Operations, its first MMOFPS. It even brings international games to Pinoys, like Neo Steam, Silkroad Online and Deco Online.

From one online game publisher, others decided to step up to the competition, like E-Games. E-Games also managed to attract attention like its predecessor, with RAN Online as its debut MMORPG. And now, it still continues to entice gamers with Cabal Online, Dragonica, Runes of Magic, Nostale, Granado Espada, Audition Dance Battle, OP7, and its newest titles, Superstar (karaoke) and Band Master (instruments). And so there you have it, many more publishers will soon be coming, and still counting.

But if there are more online games coming into the spotlight, there are other online games reaching their end, which led to their ultimate demise. If you ever checked Alcarcalimo's post about the closing of Lineage 2 SEA here, and even the latest news about ZX Online's upcoming shutdown here, you'll get my point. I know it's melancholic, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.


So there, now you understand what is like to be a customer in the online gaming market, whether you're a hardcore gamer, casual player, or itching to try something new. I hope this will open your eyes to enjoy the life of an online gamer

Discovering more about Japan's culture

With so many things to love about Japan, the country has become a popular place for people to flock in. One would just wish he or she would live there to relish the delicacies of Japanese culture.

Speaking of Japanese culture, I just watched the TV show entitled "Culture: Japan", hosted by popular blogger Danny Choo and K-On voice actress Satomi Oda. The show features some of the stuff that make the land of the rising sun very famous. Here are a few of them featured in the episode:

Cosplay: Popular Pinoy cosplayer Alodia Gonsiengfiao was featured there, with a sneak peek about her home which is also a workshop for her cosplay sorties.

Anime Figures: Mr. Choo was granted permission for a tour about Good Smile Company, the guys behind some of the most renowned anime figurines. The show even featured a few of the figure collectors and Amiami rated the top 10 best figurines to look out for.

Anime: DigitalHolywood was included there also, which served as a training ground for all future animators all over the globe.

Student Life: Fujisawa High School was indeed a school of its own kind, which allowed students to create their own time tables to suit their interests. 

I sure hope there will be another episode of the show, so that viewers everywhere would savor more about the Japanese pop culture. I hope this will spark your interest... ^^

For more about Danny Choo's blog, you can visit dannychoo.com

Oh, and here's Alodia's website for an added bonus: alodiagosiengfiao.com

Of sibling relationships (in anime)

One of the plots you would usually see in anime shows is family relationships, particularly towards siblings. Most of them have featured characters that have either brothers or sisters, or even both. The closeness between them are somehow similar in real life, wherein it differs depending on the situation. It's somehow complicated, but let me simplify this: either they became allies or enemies, and, in some cases, they remained close even though they could not reunite due to unfortunate circumstances.

Here are a few examples:

First on the list is Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha from Naruto. I know how you guys feel when you discover that Itachi's the one responsible for the extermination of their clan. The usual reaction would be anger and retribution for the dead, and it goes the same for Sasuke against Itachi.

Another is Makoto and Kyoichi Shido from Idaten Jump. At first, Makoto wondered if the masked rider is really her brother and why she could not see him immediately, but after rediscovering her MTB bike and removing the masked man's helm, it was indeed a miracle that her guess was right, and she understood the reasons as to why Kyoichi had to conceal his face and go on separate ways from her and his friends, especially if it involves Team ST.

Lastly, there goes Tyson and Hiro from Beyblade G-Revolution. Hiro may seem to be a bad guy at first, especially when he defeats Ray and watches Tyson battling against other beybladers, much to the Tyson's chagrin, but at the regional finals, when he reveals his face to Tyson at last, it was indeed a tearful reunion. After all, one must sometimes camouflage to keep an eye on the person he or she loves most.

So there you have it, folks, the application of real - life sibling relationships in anime shows. Whether it's sibling rivalry, discord, or close bonds, what matters the most is that family is one important factor in one's life, and one must be glad to have grown-up with family members.

That's all, folks! Gotta continue my Beybade G-Revolution marathon! ^^

Interest in Beyblade rekindled

I first discovered Beyblade years ago through watching adventures of Tyson and his crew of beybladers. When you hear the word 'Beyblade', the first thing that would come into your mind would be spinning tops on the field striking against one another until only one top remains spinning with the others being rendered to standstill. What got me hooked on the series was the intense action, the competition to see who will stand the best among all, all while imparting lessons of sportsmanship, friendship and fair play.

And so once again, I was drawn again into the world of spinning tops through the latest Beyblade spin-off, Metal Fight Beyblade. It was first aired last Wednesday through Cartoon Network, and boy, I was once again hooked with the action that was brought by the battle that Tyson and his friends first commenced. Only this time, a new protagonist emerged, by the name of Ginga Hagane, together with his Beyblade, Storm Pegasus.

 


























I really adored Ginga and considered him as my most favorite character there because of his extraordinary skills in beyblading, especially when Storm Pegasus unleashed its most powerful attacks. More importantly, he taught Kenta, the short kid who's also a beyblader, that a beyblade's true strength lies within the heart. No wonder he would sometimes stare at the stars during his usual strolls and considered Pegasus as his comrade (Yep, the bit beasts are based on constellations, different from the previous Beyblade shows wherein the four Chinese mythology beasts were the bit beasts of the main protagonists.)


I'm really getting hooked on it right now! I can't wait to see more of the action! Yeehaw!


That's all for now! Ciao! ^^

Witnessing a lot of endings

They say that all good things must come to an end, and it does happen all the time. In my case, I have seen some anime shows that I've watched in both Animax and Cartoon Network reaching their final moments. Good thing they turn out to be enjoyable, although not that happy and not that bittersweet.

The first on the list in Tengen Toppa Gurren Langann. The main antagonist was finally defeated and both Simon and Nia were finally married, but sadly, her life was put to an end. On the final scenes after the ending song, the characters had grown and aged, but they had become better persons, especially Simon who passed on some words of wisdom to the kid as they watched the robots fly off into space.

Next is the latest season of Pokemon, Diamond and Pearl. Although Ash and his latest rival were still in each other's throats during the tag team battle, they managed to win the championships and win the prize. I couldn't wait to see what will happen next! ^^

Then there's Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. The main villain finally got the taste of its own medicine by being brought into despair, and Ed and Al were back to their normal selves. Can't tell you how, but it's worth the trouble. The last episode will be shown on Friday.

In Romeo x Juliet (Yes, there's also an anime version of the Shakespeare classic), the tides were turned to the Capulets and Lord Montague finally confessed the truth to Romeo about the tree that held the world in place that was about to wither, that once it is dead, the apocalypse will happen. I would say that the ending will be heart-stopping and shocking.

Well, that's all I could remember. What's important is that whatever the result will be on the grand finale, we must accept it as it is.

That's all! ^^

Depression mode... again

Something really bad happened to me, and I really don't want to talk about it right now...

Because of that, I don't feel like I'll draw or write stories anymore, for that bad experience really destroyed the imaginative part of me. So there, I'll be back to my normal, uninspired self, and I don't care if I'll suffer from both artist's and writer's block, just to make my mom happy... T_T

I'll be in indefinite hiatus and leave behind the artistic side of me, and I'm sorry if anyone would not be happy about my decision. I hope there will be solace, so that I might be back to being imaginative and artistic...


Sorry about my ranting. Thank you and good night...

Too late for coming back

I had mentioned in one of my previous posts that I decided to leave my Lineage 2 SEA characters in indefinite hiatus because I couldn't afford to update to the Final Gracia patch due to intense system requirements and that it'll eat up a lot of hard drive disk space. I was hoping that I'll come back once I upgrade my PC or at least buy a new one with compatible specs for the game, and that I may enjoy the adventures in Ether again.
 
Until I checked out Alcarcalimo's blog and saw this.

It's stated there that i AM Interactive decided to shut down its operation on both L2 and Exteel due to termination of its contract with NCSoft. And since it already happened, I realized that it's already too late for coming back. *Sobs*
 
I will miss my Paladin, my Silver Ranger, my Soul Breaker, and all my other characters who became part of my journey in Ether. I still had my fanfics about my Paladin with his Doombringer lover, and I was hoping to rekindle my interest in L2 so that I could come up with new stories for my other avatars, but I guess the flame went dead already.

Good thing I still had some screenshots, though. Here are some of them:






My Paladin (back at the Heaven's Oracle days)





My Paladin and her Doombringer lover (main characters in my L2 stories)





 
My Soul Breaker (also from the HO days)






My Silver Ranger






My Artisan (I just wish she would be a Warsmith)






My Dark Elf Wizard (future Spellhowler)
 
Well, that's all I could have for my L2 memories. I will always remember those days.


Ciao! ^^

The 39 Clues: A dangerous hunt

 If you ever heard or watched The Amazing Race before, then you've been familiar with the scene: teams competing for clues which serve as keys to reach their destinations, accomplishing various tasks. It serves as a test to see who gets there first, because those who get left behind will be eliminated.

 But what if the competing teams are composed of relatives who will do more than just get the clues, obliterating every obstacle that comes in their way, even if it means to strangle their other relatives who aim for the same goal? After all, treachery and distrust are abounding in the competition, and that's what happens in the series entitled The 39 Clues, a series introduced by Scholastic Inc. 

The 39 Clues focuses about the Cahill family, the most influential lineage in the world. Yes, you may have heard of famous people like Benjamin Franklin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Washington, Edgar Allan Poe, and others, but in The 39 Clues, they all have Cahill blood. The family is split into 5 branches. There are four known branches: Ekaterina (scientists and inventors), Janus (artists, painters, composers, dancers), Lucian (leaders and spies) and Tomas (athletes and explorers). The remaining branch, the Madrigals, were a group of Cahills with unknown intentions as of now, although they are also involved to stop the other branches from getting the Clues.


But the main event commenced when after Grace Cahill died, during her funeral, it was stated in her alternate will that in order to find the secret to the Cahill lineage's ultimate power, one must accept in joining the competition to search for the 39 clues (hence, the title). But in order to do so, one must surrender the check containing $1,000,000. Among the group of people who were selected to hear the will, only seven teams accepted the challenge.

Amy and Dan Cahill were orphans under the care of Grace's sister, Beatrice, who was strict and overprotective. They were considered as the underdogs due to the fact that their competitors looked down on them, thinking that they're just a bunch of rag-tag travelers who won't stand a chance to survive in the dog-eat-dog competition. But still, it was due to their talents and strengths that they managed to overcome obstacles and go in the lead, accompanied by their au pair Nellie Gomez and Grace's Egyptian Mau, Saladin.


There will be 10 books that focus on the their adventures. Each book contains 6 cards that, if one types the code printed on the bottom, will appear on the online card gallery, and unlock the same clue mentioned in the book. Yes, one can also collect cards to unlock combos and get more clues, by buying more books and card packs.

If you want to know more about the series, and to see more of the good stuff, check out this site:


The 39 Clues Official Website


Oh, and in order to do the unlocking stuff, card collecting and all that jazz, you must register for an account there. It's worth trying it out.

So far, I've finished reading Book 1, and started reading Book 2. Gotta buy more books and card packs to unlock more combos and get more clues... ^^


That's all for now... Time to unleash the inner Lucian within me now! *evil laugh*

Monochrome - Blue Sky

I hate to admit, but I'm starting to like Vocaloid music, because of so songs which were interesting and the voices which were pleasing to my ears. My favorites are Magnet (sung by Megurine Luka and Hatsune Miku) and Dark Alice (also sung by Miku).

And now, I'm talking about my current favorite, Monochrome - Blue Sky, also sung by Miku. The reason why I love this song is because of the fast upbeat tempo and lyrics. Miku's voice does breat in singing the song.

Here's the original music video of the song:




 And here's the fan made video, sung and interpreted by Spark Enjel:



By the way, Spark Enjel is an UTAUloid created by none other than Felicia-Val, who also brought Hoshine Stella to life. You can check out more about their songs there:

Hoshine Stella blog 

Hope you enjoy the videos and unleash the Vocaloid/UTAU fan within you! ^^