On the Verge of Lunacy

While trying to arrange my our meagre collection of TV series, I came across one that was very special to me. My sisters watched it again and even after so many years it still has the same effect on me. Call me jologs or whatever but I love Meteor Garden ( Liúxīng Huāyuán), and I mean it in every sense of the word. There is not other Asian series, or even non-Asian for that matter, has had the same influence on me. Koreans remade it but the cast look so ugly. Even the Japanese tried to make their live-action version but it was still not as kilig as the Taiwanese series. I have to congratulate Yokio Kamio for coming up with the manga, Hana Yori Dango. I remember the first time I watched it on free TV. I was in my last year in high school when I saw the middle part of the series. Live-action Asian TV series at that time weren't as popular as they are now. I have to mention 'live-action' because anime used to be popular during primetime. I usually go home early. Curiosity dr...

Two weeks ago I finally did what I've been wanting to do for three years - I have finally graduated. These past few days that I took a break, I had time to think about what I have done, what I have learned and what I wanted to do in the future. I already miss UP Mindanao. For seven years I have learned and experienced a lot of things that I would never have in any other institution. When I was in high school I vowed to study in University of the Philippines and nowhere else. UP lang, ayoko na sa iba . It was a quest to redeem myself, my pride. I knew I was among the brightest students in school but I cannot prove that because I am not a consistent honors student. But to be able to manage to get into academic contests and get the high scores in every exam was proof enough for me. My friends tell me I'm too lazy, that's why some people who did not know my capabilities doubt my achievements. I have to admit that that statement is quite true. I was always late and I submit pr...

With so many games available today, it's hard to find one that has touched both gamers and non-gamers. Plants VS Zombies is fun, easy to understand and very addictive. It's a combination of strategy, puzzle and action kind of game. I've seen first-time gamers get addicted to this game. PVZ has four modes, namely: Adventure, Mini Games, Puzzle and Survival. You also get to grow and maintain gardens once you get to the later stages of the adventure mode. It might look like an easy game because of the cute plants and zombies but the later stages and the bonus games need a little more strategy on the part of the players. Once you're familiar with the plant abilities and the zombies' attacks and weaknesses, it will be easier to set up a defense. This is helpful for the inexperienced players because it introduces some of the basic features in today's games: the player's ability to adapt to different opponents, different difficulty levels, the boss fights and ...

While reading Carl Jung's Man and his Symbols, it reminded me of recurring dreams I've been having since I childhood. I can still remember the last time I dreamt I was racing through dark corridors and stairs and ending up scrubbing myself in a dirty bathroom. Bathrooms, stairs, corridors. They're frightening and yet they tickle my curiosity. I'd rather not talk about though. Another dream I had, although this one only happened once, was so bizarre I've puzzled over its meaning for years. Me and my sisters were on our way to a party. We were in a place that looked similar to Dinagat Island and walking up a sloping road toward a dark castle. I did not know what the party was for or who was the master of the house. I just knew it was a man and his myterious personality lured guests from all over the island. When we got inside the palace, people started dancing and feasting. Then the clock striked 12 midnight. Everyone started panicking. They seemed to be frightened ...

Instead of reviewing the sixth and seventh books of the Malazan Book of the Fallen separately, I'm going to discuss both in this entry. My previous reviews focused mainly on the themes for each book, but this time I'm going to take out my hammer and look more closely at Steven Erikson's delivery. Although both books have explored two themes, they focused mainly on intergrating the two major story lines of the series. This time the Malazan Empire meets the Letherii and the Tiste Edur. The Bonehunters Erikson's sixth book sought to question the fate of the characters who followed or were forced to follow their gods. Are the faithful, or in most cases here, those who had been chosen by the gods, doomed to become tools forever? This subject is fully explored through the four characters: Apsalar, Heboric, Kalam, and Icarium. Ganoes Paran's interpretation of ascendancy was also shown in this book. The nature of the younger gods' path to godhood may have been...

I just got back this week from my hiatus and I still haven't written anything yet. As promised, I will write more anime reviews (which I will start doing so next week). I will feature several series I've seen in the past few years including Prince of Tennis, Samurai 7 and more of my favorites. I will also review some of the Dean Koontz books I've read before. Not being able to use the internet for two and a half months gave me an opportunity to...well, do things I still usually do. Therefore it was not a very good break for me. Sometimes my hands are itching to write about something and post it publicly. At least I got to finish two more Steven Erikson books, a pre-history book from National Geographic and I re-watched a few anime series. I finally got to play LittleBIGPlanet as well.

Last year I finally started writing again and even began to write reviews. I finally finished the things I had to do at school. This year I have more plans - more things to explore and enjoy. I think I will start off by writing anime reviews. I've seen a handful of great series in the past and I was thinking, why not write about them? I'd be doing more book and game reviews as well. I've also stopped writing poetry and I'm hoping I'd be inspired again to do it this year. Last year I've put off art projects because I'm too lazy. Maybe this year I'll find some inspiration once again. I'd still be active on Gaia Online as usual and maybe I'd write something about it as well. It has inspired me to try a lot of things. It wasn't just a waste of time. It finally made me want to tinker with PhotoShop and CSS and try online forums for the first time. I think this will be another exciting year for me. I will never stop looking for more things ...