On the Verge of Lunacy

So far I've done a few reviews of some anime, books and video games. I'll be writing more reviews of my favorite anime series in the next few weeks as well as the novellas from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I'll be rereading some of Dean Koontz's works too. Most of what I've reviewed so far I have watched/read/played in the past 3-4 years. I'll be including some series that I've recently finished too. Things to do: 1. A four-part review of Prince of Tennis. 2. Top Ten lists of anything from the Malazan series. 3. Reviews of my favorite books by Dean Koontz. 4. Summary of some mythology and folklore books I'm going to read.

Inday struggles through the door with her groceries as her son Cedric, 3, clings to her and asks for a penny. She has to move fast if she doesn’t want her family to starve tonight. Her sister-in-law helps her prepare the dinner while she computes the previous results of last night’s lotto draw. For her, this routine is a must. “I do not know if this is effective, but I do it every night. For someone who relies on last-two for the daily expenses, I don’t see it as a gambling game anymore.” Without a stable job to rely on, so many people have taken chances in gambling. Small-time betting like last-two is rampant. In this numbers game, the winning combination is derived from the last two numbers of the first prize of the Sweepstakes draw. Depending on the day of the week, the source of the winning combination varies from the 4-digit draw to the 6-digit draw. Like Jueteng, last two is an illegal numbers game listed under Republic Act No. 9287. Yet it still thrives in communities like th...

For Doreen Mariz, a freshman BS Biology student, every morning is always a race to the bathroom. Armed with her blue pail and dipper, she wills herself to get up earlier than she usually does at home. "I have to get there first so I have enough water to use", she said. The finish line is not always a pretty sight to look at, however. Who would have thought that my younger sister would experience the same dilemmas I had just to prepare for the day. "It looks like any other public bathroom", she relates, "The only difference is that they do not have doodles on the walls, you have clothes hanging like bandiritas instead." But is not all about the bandiritas that most students are concerned about. The first few lucky residents who get there in the morning are rewarded with ample amount of water and a fairly decent view of the dormitory in the morning. Scattered plastic wrappers, toilet papers, and - oh yes, sanitary napkins. Scattered artifacts and remai...

I don't usually wake up before nine o'clock in the morning during weekends or vacation. If it wasn't for Abe no Yasuaki, the Genbu of Heaven and his green hair, I'd have spent my spare time playing Battle Realms and Generals. The last time I watched anime was more than five years ago. The last characters I was interested with were Sanosuke of Samurai X and Ryu of Streetfighter. Nothing about the story caught my attention. It was the animation that was superb. The fact that they have captured the spirit of the Heian Era was quite unusal for something that is usually associated with elementary kids. The clothes looked real. They were very detailed and beautifully rendered. They match the color of the hair and eyes of each character. The music gives a different quality to the series. You can sense the power and the tension of the opposing forces. * * * I found Tactics very interesting for its story and animation. Haruka's mysterious side and his relationship t...

AN ANALYSIS ON ORSON WELLES' " CITIZEN KANE " PHOTOGRAPHY, MISE EN SCENE and MOVEMENT Orson Welles' use of theatrical techniques in lightning has an unusual effect in the movie. Some shots exaggerate the symbolic features of the story such as separation and loneliness. The contrasts are very obvious and early in the film, the audience is provided with a foreshadowing of the protagonist's fate. The play of light and darkness overstates the contrasts in foreground and background, the textures and the characters' demeanor. The positions of the characters also perform the same functions. What I like most about the film is that the director can place all the elements in the film without overshadowing the rest (the deep-focus shots for example). He can maximize the space making it possible for the audience to different characters at the same time. The camera movements are very dynamic and give the audience another side of the story aside from the dialogues o...

The scenes were quite appealing to me although I could not understand what they actually stood for. What was clear to me however was that the Apprentice was trying to overcome some tests (for what purpose, I found out later when i read the synopsis ). It was really unusual to see a performance like that. It's like looking at an abstract expressionist work for the first time. You just see splattered paint all over, not knowing how to make sense of it. Getting used to conventional or traditional interpretations and recreations of the world has its downsides. When confronted with something rare or new, we either reject it or refuse to see it. Matthew Barney is just one of those artists who continually revitalizes the world of art. It is through these changes (or revolutions) that a new breed of artists are born. Through their skills and new insights we are able to see the world from another perspective.