Eh-hum # 202

Yesterday, I experienced the longest four hours in my life.

My flight was delayed, and I arrived at the NAIA Terminal 2 at 1:45 pm Philippine time. It took me a while to find my luggage, thanks to all the confusion that was going on around me. Ahhhh, yes, I am indeed in Manila, a city that is completely different from Kobe. Since I only slept for around three hours before leaving the residence/dormitory, my head was throbbing like crazy. The noisy and crowded airport (the arrival area, at least) was not helping either. I was on the verge on declaring it a very bad day, when I saw a familiar face in the crowd. My dad's. And suddenly, I felt like crying.

And I did. I lost it when I saw my mother, who hugged me, and my brother who went out and helped me with my luggage. I remembered not crying when they dropped me off at the departure area exactly one year ago. Maybe it was relief, or that I did not realize how much I missed my family until I saw them again yesterday. One year was not that long and it amazes me how fast it all went by. But I guess one year alone in a foreign country is a big deal. There's nothing like having your family within arm's reach.

Despite of the traffic, the pollution, the endless bad news on TV, I can honestly say I am so happy to be back.

There's more. The kitchen that evening was a sight to behold. And then, my cousins came over and we had dinner together. It was crazy...and it only gets better.

Eh-hum # 201

Sigh.

If I have tons of money right now, I would go (preferably by Shinkansen) to Tokyo just to see Neil Gaiman in person.

And this, if I say so myself, is a really cool picture, featuring three respected, very-talented and amazing people huddled together (According to Mr Gaiman, he had to "digitally messed up this photo" to protect the potentially top secret Ghibli info around them):

(L to R: the Hayao Miyazaki, Neil Gaiman and Toshio Suzuki. Picture from http://www.neilgaiman.com/)

Eh-hum # 200

This seriously killed me.

Ahhhh. The genius that is Robin Williams, here featured in a popular British talk show (this is just part one, there's a part two). Enjoy!

By the way, its my 200th post. Cheers!

Eh-hum # 199

In three weeks time, I will be on my way back home.

I am dead excited. But quite stressed out with all the last-minute shopping, research work (yes, I should've done this last August. But I was busy...frolicking in Hiroshima and Kyushu. Hay) and packing. I hope I can have my balikbayan box shipped by next week, so that I won't have any problems with my luggage. Packing is proving to be tiresome and time-consuming; forgive me if in the next weeks I won't be able to update me blog. Most likely, my 200th post will be typed from the comfort of my bedroom in the Philippines.

***

Watching TV the other night proved to be a treat; I saw Utada Hikaru perform one of her latest singles, Beautiful World, live. More good news: I can actually understand some of the lyrics. Heh, those Japanese lessons are starting to pay off. The said song is the ending theme of episode one of Rebuild of Evangelion (a tetralogy of animated films in the hugely popular series Neon Genesis Evangelion). Has a really catchy tune and the song's message/mood (japanese and english lyrics), goes well with the new Evangelion film.

If you haven't heard the song, please watch the following video featuring the song and some clips from the movie. Enjoy!

Eh-hum # 198

And so it has come to pass.

Last Sunday (September 2) was the season finale of the comedy/musical series Flight of the Conchords. Getting my weekly fix of Bret and Jemaine's misadventures in New York city was a bit of a struggle since I don't have access to cable and the show is available to a limited number of countries (excluding Japan and the Philippines). Ergo, I had to rely entirely on YouTube for the episodes (read: copyright infringement) .

Now that the show has wrapped up, am sure the Kiwis will be taking a long deserved break. Nonetheless, will miss these guys and their equally weird and funny "mates" on the show. More importantly, I will miss their offbeat repartee and ingenious songs. But I guess, we will always have YouTube.

However, all is not lost.

I am happy to share that HBO has renewed FOTC for a second season. They will start shooting in 2008. And that's not all: season 1's DVD will be released on November 6 while the band's full-length album will be available January of next year. Good, if I am limited just to viral videos of them, I would definitely go mad (well, sort of).

They may not be the highest reated show on HBO, but they surely gained a cult following in the US (the birth of more "Mels"). So, in celebration of the Conchords' first flight into the competitive world that is American television, I give you the guys doing some serious "Angry Dancing". Enjoy!

Now you know why my I chose this template for my blog. Hehehe.

Eh-hum # 197

I have been busy lately...and schoolwork has little to do with it.

Have been going around the country, within Kansai and the southern part of Japan. Since my resources were limited, I used the train and the very cheap 18-kippu. But the trade off was I had to transfer trains as much as six times. That was when me and two other friends spent three days and four nights at Kyushu and visited Kumamoto and Nagasaki. Prior to that, I went with a friend to Shiga (and went castle-hopping) and to Hiroshima...by myself.

In Shiga prefecture, my friend and I visited two castles (named after the cities), Hikone and Nagahama, which both had spectacular views of Lake Biwa, the country's largest lake. In the evening, we went to the prefecture's capital, Otsu, to view a water show (fountains) on the lake.

Just an overnight stay since I primarily wanted to visit two places: Peace Memorial Park (Genbaku Dome, Peace Memorial Museum, etc) and Miyajima (Itsukushima Shrine, see picture above for its famous torii). Though not in my original itinerary, I also visited the Hiroshima Castle (one of five I have visited so far). Hiroshima is five hours away from Kobe, so the train ride was bearable. I didn't mind the fact that I went there alone and truth be told, I had a great time. I was not in a hurry to visit the must-see tourist sites and really took advantage of the free (or paid, depends on your perception) buffet breakfast at the modest but well furnished hotel where I stayed. Again, the trade-off was that I had to politely ask complete strangers to take my picture and there were moments that I ran out of things to think about. Nonetheless, the whole Hiroshima trip was worth it and I was reminded how people can be both civil and cruel at the same time.

On the other hand, Kyushu is at the least 15 hours away from Kobe Sannomiya by train. Hence, out of four days, we spent the two days traveling. Wish we could've stayed there for a week, but we had to look after our expenses. Again, I had a grand time, even though I was beat when I got home. Like Kobe, Nagasaki is a port city and where Europeans first saw a glimpse of Japan. We visited its Peace Park and Peace Museum and historical sites such as Dejima and a Confucian Temple. While in Kumamoto, we went to Mt. Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan, via ropeway. That was pretty exciting, because shortly after we took pictures, we had to evacuate the viewing deck because the volcano started spewing smoke that reached the danger level.

I hope to visit more places, particularly within Hyogo and the Kansai region. I also have to do some shopping since will be returning to the Philippines by the end of September. I am excited to go home, but will need to organize the stuffs that I have accumulated in the past year, and that am sure will be a pain in the a**. Worse than spending money on trips and photocopies. Sigh.

Eh-hum # 196

I am not big on shoes (pretty much into sneakers) like most women, but I am an avid reader of this superfantastic blog. And no, he's not Manolo Blahnik. He's simply known as the Manolo (be prepared, there will be a lot of THEs in this post. That's how the superfantastics refer to themselves...might start doing it myself, heheheh).

The Manolo has impeccable tastes when it comes to shoes, and gives wonderful advice to those seeking his wisdom on the right footwear for the right occassion. Plus, the Manolo's honest, subtle, enligthening and witty remarks does not fail to amuse, especially when he is sharing his superfantastic opinions on the rather unusual side of celebrities and fashion. Like this one: the Crocs.

I don't own a pair, and perhaps will never will, because I have been exposed to the teachings of the Manolo. For the Manolo, they are the "hot trend in footwear for the lazy person", and he even went far by describing them as an "abomination". Hence, the Manolo and his loyal readers are one a mission to put a stop to the "rise of the consuming evil that is the Croc".

They seem comfortable, but I agree that one shouldn't wear them unless they are near bodies of water, planting their favorite flowers or are toddlers. Plus, I have heard/read of horror stories about children getting their feet caught in the escalator while wearing these clogs. Obviously, these should be worn only at home, where there are no escalators and no one, save your family, can see you wearing them. Eh-hum.

Eh-hum # 195

I am back from outer space. Unfortunately, this is one of those "break muna" posts. Found this little questionnaire in my brother's blog. Simple lang, its called name game.

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle): Marnizzle (hahahaha)

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and fav animal): blue tiger. (hmmm, sounds kung-fu-ish :p)

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, and current street name): Linsangan Magsaysay (like a guy's, oh dear)

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom's maiden name): Casmalin (hmmm, not bad)

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): white ginger ale (yeah!)

7. IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 2nd letter of your dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name): Asiutb (I don't know what to make of this)

8. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (father's middle name): Togoto

9. GOTH NAME: (3rd favorite color, and one of the name of your pet) Orange Chile (goth?!)

Hehehehe.

Eh-hum # 194

LOL.

I first learned about Scott Meyer, the creator of Basic Instructions, when I logged in to get my daily dose of the word according to Scott Adams. Mr Adams featured Basic Instructions in his recent post and thought it was funny. Like a good Dilbert fan, I decided to take a look. And I was not disappointed.

Its not your typical comic strip because of the format and that its a bit wordy (its suppose to be a guide, afterall). But the humor is smart, sarcastic and LOL hilarous, just the way I like it. The "instructions" are not to be taken too seriously, of course. Nonetheless, the situations found in Meyer's strips can be considered as true-to-life, and perhaps some of us may similar experiences as well. Plus, I like the black and white images/drawings, its not distracting. It kind of reminds me with a certain graphic novel that I would like to get my hands on. Should he decide to compile his works in a book, I would also definitely buy one. Visit the site and prepare to be amazed. Seriously.

A sample of Meyer's humor (just click on the image for a better view):

Eh-hum # 193

All 1,600 of them, swaying/waving/turning to the music of the Algorithm March, a dance featured in the popular Japanese children's program Pythagora Switch (I remembered embedding the ninja version of the march in an earlier post), was the first video I saw. And then, I found out a couple of days ago, the same 1,600 inmates of a provincial jail in Cebu, Philippines, have also danced and marched to the beat of local pop songs and foreign tracks such as the Village People's "YMCA", Michael Jackson's "Thriller", and songs from the movie Sister Act. And yes, these routines are all available online.

According to this article from Yahoo! News, the synchronized dance routines, the brainchild of special security consultant Bryon Garcia (who also uploads the video on YouTube), is first and foremost a form of physical exercise for the inmates. It was also intended to inculcate discipline among them. However, the videos are now getting a lot of attention online and has become really popular. For instance, as of today, the "Thriller" video has been viewed more than 4 million times! I for one, think that's amazing.

I first thought it was quite strange, but I eventually saw the significance of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center's (CPDRC) program. Of course, dancing is a form of exercise, and the complex steps plus the number of the people doing it does involves work. More importantly, I agree that the program help boost the inmates' self-esteem since they are doing such a good job with the routines (video user comments have been positive). Plus, it looks like they're having fun (especially the inmates who gets the chance to perform in the middle of the court and show off those dancing skills).

These people may be criminals, but they are still human beings. The guilty deserved to be in jail, but they're also in need of rehabilitation so that when they return to society, they will be better equipped to start a new and crime-free life. Filipinos, in times of trouble and despair, turn to music for comfort. Its not a sign of weakness in the sense that people use it to escape reality. Rather, music can be a source of hope, inspiration and even strength. Connecting with music, whether by song or dance, as the saying goes, soothes the savage beast (in this case, within). As long as its not hurting anybody else, we can see the pride in doing even the most trivial of things, which may or may not include dressing up like a nun and copying some of Whoopi Goldberg's moves.

Here's a video featuring the inmates dancing to the tune of "Radio Gaga". The song is one of the Queen's succesful singles and I think the line "someone still loves you" is very meaningful. Enjoy!

Eh-hum # 192

What would the result be when you combine a handful of very talented and very patient people (who obviously had a lot of free time) and a pioneering 1970's arcade video game? Definitely something quirky and entertaining. Check this out:

To learn more about that legendary game known as Space Invaders, check out its Wikipedia entry.

Eh-hum # 191

The Conchords are at it again. This song, entitled "Mother Uckers", really cracked me up (from episode 7). I like the part when they cut their own cuss words. Enjoy!

Eh-hum # 190

Hmmmm...

Why do I have the feeling that the Bush Administration's new Middle East policy is not such a good idea. I am trying to connect this to what happened in Afghanistan, wherein the US' CIA provided "secret" aid to the mujahideen and the opponents of the pro-USSR regime in Kabul during the Cold War (here's an interesting online article about this), and look what happened afterwards. Moreover, it might instigate an arms race in the region. Below is an excerpt from the International Herald Tribune, regarding the said policy.

U.S. arms plan for Mideast aims to counter Iranian power
By Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper
Tuesday, July 31, 2007

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration said Monday that its plan to provide billions of dollars in advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel over the next 10 years was intended in part to serve as a bulwark against Iran's growing influence in the Middle East.

The White House plan must overcome opposition from lawmakers who are skeptical that the weapons will have any effect in blunting Iran's nuclear ambitions, and who worry that a flood of new weapons could ignite a tinderbox in the region.

In closed briefings last week on Capitol Hill, participants in the sessions said, some lawmakers had asked pointed questions about why the White House was using the Iranian threat to justify the arms sales. They expressed doubt that the new weaponry, which includes satellite-guided bombs, missiles and new naval vessels, could deter Iran from proceeding with its nuclear program.

Read the rest of the article here.

Eh-hum # 189

To this I agree. I cannot imagine the pain, suffering and humilation experienced by these women. It is unfortunate that we cannot go back to the past and prevent these things from happening. The least the Japanese government can do is issue an official apology and give proper compensation to those who have not received any.

However, I find it ironic that the US feels it is in the position to demand the Japanese government to issue an apology to the comfort women in Japan's wartime military brothel program. I would like to point out that the US should also issue apologies, to the Japanese women who provided "services" to American servicemen during the military occupation of Japan.

I first learned about this issue through a friend (its her dissertation). Moreover, a detailed account of this can be read in John W. Dower's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. Mr Dower discussed the process in which destituted women were recruited to "participate in the great task of comforting the occupation force". The prostituted women who became part of the RAA (Recreation and Amusement Association) were considered martyrs, since they served as buffer protecting the chastity of the "good" Japanese women.

War, obviously, is not kind to anyone, especially to women and children. I was appalled that the Japanese government initially had a say in the funding of the RAA's facilities (they have to apologize to that too). On the other hand, I also understood that being under the control of the Allied forces, it was implied that they have to accomodate the needs of hundreds of thousands of American soldiers; and sex was one of those.

The plight of the comfort women is an important issue that must be resolved and that Japanese government should apologize, without a doubt. But its a pity that since Japan lost the war, they are on the spotlight and the atrocities committed by the Allied forces were never mentioned, as if it had never happened. Prostituting women, even for the sake of protecting others, is crap. The Japanese could've protected their women by NOT sacrificing others and the American officers could've said no to the whole thing altogether, but that's highly unlikely. Sex sells and someone is always willing to buy.

Eh-hum # 188

This post was inspired by an article from Newsweek magazine (can also be found online) regarding Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign trail and racial politics in the US. After reading it, I found myself rooting for Obama and wanting him to succeed in the 2008 elections.

While its true he may not have the experience (and Bill) that Hillary Clinton boasts, he seems to be the genuine article. Plus, many have expressed admiration for Obama's ability to reconcile opposing sides, not neccessarily a sign of weakness on his part. According to Newsweek, "Many of Obama's supporters are enthralled by the content of his character—by his earnest desire to heal the nation's political divisions and to restore America's reputation in the world. Many also are excited by the color of his skin and the chance to turn the page on more than two centuries of painful racial history." However, it is interesting to note that Obama dismisses the idea that his campaign (and perhaps his eventual win) is considered as "post-racial" politics. Plus, he asserts that his campaign does not represent an easy shortcut to reconciliation. He is not running as a representative of the African-American people, but he is running as someone who is concern about the issues and challenges facing the country and the Americans today.

But the main question being raised to Obama (as per the Newsweek article) is that can he appeal both to black and white voters while being true to himself? For instance, being educated in Harvard, many fellow African-Americans questions whether he is black enough? Race in politics is tricky I think, because discussions can become very subjective. Obama can use it to gain leverage (to gain sympathy), but it could bring him down as well (labelled as being biased).

I think his wife, Michelle, gave a rather insightful answer to those people questioning his ability to lead due to his race: "Barack poses this interesting dilemma because we are still a country that puts people in boxes...Barack kind of shakes up those notions because his life has crossed so many different paths. He grew up in Hawaii but he was indeed a community organizer. He became very entrenched and rooted in the black community on the South Side. He is very much a black man, but he's very much the son of his mother, who was very much a white woman, and he grew up with white grandparents". I like about the bit about the boxes, its somewhat synonymous to labelling people.

Perhaps, this is an opportunity for the Americans to look beyond race and see the candidate based on his or her credentials and platform. I would like to think that the next US president would look after the welfare of all American people, regardless of race. The impression I got from the article is that Obama doesn't intend to help only African-Americans, but the rest of the country as well. And I guess America in return should also help him to straigthen things out should he be successful in 2008.

Well, that's my opinion anyways. Eh-hum.

By the way, it is also interesting that YouTube is not only for homemade viral videos.