Alita: Lenovo Ideapad Y480

After 7 years of a love-hate relationship, I'm preparing to say goodbye to a frenemy AYUMU. She helped me out well, but recently work and browsing was proving too much for her. I end up screaming and almost pulling my hair due to frustration.

Gigahertz Computer got into my radar after my cousin bought her ASUS laptop from there. I noticed a clearance item for sale on their site and got me interested. After a few exchanges and a few weeks, they told me that a unit was available. I insisted to visit their main office to inspect/confirm and they were very accommodating. The unit checked out so I paid and went home very happy.

Lenovo Ideapad Y480(released 2012) -Bought July 11, 2014 for 24,999 php from a Clearance Sale of Gigahertz.

DESCRIPTION	IDEAPAD Y480 LAPTOP
CPU/Chipset	3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (2.30GHz, 6MB Cache)
Operating System	Windows 7 64
Memory	4GB (DDR3)
Graphics	NVIDIA® GeForce® GT640M LE GDDR5 2GB
Dimensions	345mm x 239mm x 20-32.8mm (13.6" x 9.4" x 0.8-1.3")
Camera	1.0MP fixed-focus HD webcam
Display	14.0" backlit HD display (16:9 widescreen) (1366x768)
Weight	2.2 kgs (4.85 lbs)
I/O Ports	3 USB 3.0 ports 1 USB 2.0 ports 6-in-1 card reader (SD, SD-Pro, MMD, MS, MS-Pro, XD) Headphone jack Mic jack S/PDIF 1 VGA port 1 HDMI port 2 mini PCle RJ-45
Storage	HDD: 750GB (5,400 rpm)
Wireless Connectivity	Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2200BGN Bluetooth® 4.0
Keyboard	Full-size, 6-row keyboard
Battery Life	Up to 4 hours
Durability Features	Real metal shell
Security Features	OneKey Recovery VeriFace face-recognition software

It took a while for me to decide on her name. Going over anime/manga that were really memorable, Alita/Gally jumped at me and seemed like a good fit. Similar to the story, this laptop was broken/faulty, but was brought back to life and fulfilled a better purpose.

Battle Angel Alita
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Angel_Alita

TCL L24D12 LCD TV Review

The TCL L24D12 is available at Abenson's for Php 9,995. My brother Xtian  got it as the grand prize in their office Christmas raffle and I'll give my review below.

[update] It seems its monitor native/optimal resolution is 1360x768, where it is sharp. Unfortunately even in this setting, it's slightly bright for my eyes, even at lowered brightness/backlight/contrast settings. The difference in brightness between a browser's background and photos is too great for it to be comfortable for programming or photo editing. I might have to relegate it to the second computer as movie display.

Pros:

• USB slot can play movies/media. This includes recent x264-LOL encoded mp4 files available for download.
• Sound in media player mode is acceptable.

Cons:

• The prize included wall mounting stuff. This is probably because the stand assembly is super wobbly and unstable. A breeze from an electric fan can probably bring it crashing down.
  [update] In the last page of the thin manual, it shows that you need to use 3 screws to stabilize the stand. duh! :P
• PC (1920x1080) resolution currently sucks big time. At the highest resolution, the entire picture is dark and dreary. Will try again soon with another 1080p device.
• At other resolutions, fonts and lines look fuzzy. (I get better sharpness from the older LG L1719S monitor and from a Sony Bravia)

I'll keep this post updated as I keep using it as a computer monitor.

[update] At wee hours in the morning, the startup sound is annoyingly loud, so I googled and found this:
http://www.fixya.com/support/t18690027-turn_off_startup_sound_tcl_lcd_tv_menu
which states this:

You can go service mode of your TV by menu>picture>contrast press 1950 within 3 seconds. 
When the menu appears, you choose Service Menu>Config>Pwon_music >> OFF
And exit.
Turn off and turn on TV to enjoy

and it works! Just be careful about changing the other settings. Unintentionally changed some setting and the display ended up weird and upside down. I reset enough settings to get things back to normal.

Working Through Pain

This is one of six titles in the Anime-inspired story collection 'Batman Gotham Knight'. The whole movie show glimpses of Bruce Wayne/Batman through different eyes and directing styles.

Some of the directors have worked in projects such as the Animatrix, Tsubasa Chronicles, Meine Liebe, Mind Game, etc. Production houses include Madhouse, Production IG, Studio 4 C, Studio Deen.

Watch it if you get the chance, and see how Japanese animate this masochistic bat-fetishist hero :P

How I Met Your Mother

Shai* mentioned this show to me ages ago and just recently had I found motivation to actually watch it. Well, the good parts have already been spoiled for me, so I just had to catch up. I finished it just in time for the 3rd seasons' opener. Note to readers... I hate spoilers.

As the title states, the lead 'Ted Mosby' in 2030 tells 'the' story to his kids. Without spoilers, 2 seasons (44 30-minute episodes) later... he is still blabbing to his kids. But as he is not our dad, there isn't a dull moment as the stories unfold and a lingering mystery of who the 'Mother' is.

Did I mention a crush of mine is part of the cast? Band-camp/Willow Alyson Hannigan plays Lily, love-interest of the lead's best friend. That's Ted in middle, being smothered by his best friends (ep 2x18).

(edit: I remembered some time ago that it was Shaina that mentioned this show to me. Thanks Shai!)

Byousoku 5cm, a chain of short stories about their distance

The speed at which cherry blossom petals fall, 5 centimeter per second. Makoto Shinkai's latest work is finally here.

Oukashou which is part 1 of this movie was released earlier and I really liked it. It tells about a connection, a love that blossomed between 2 students.

Cosmonaut, part 2, is about a girl who fell in love with her classmate, Yet that person's heart is light years away.

Byousoku 5cm, the last part, concludes the movie.

---

This movie hit me in an unusual way, but I could not peg if it is sadness or fear. A deep sadness because of the love that Takaki (lead char) held but could never let go. A love which the second girl could not confess. A relationship that was only there to fill the void.

I was afraid, because I could go the same way as lead character. Cold-hearted and cynical. Seemingly there but could not open his heart. I'm hoping against hope that I can avoid that path and live this life the best way I can.

Death Note, Can I Wield It?

This is actually from Full Metal Panic: TSR. It just has Death Note Characters :P

This amazing anime comes to an end, a little differently from the manga or movie. The conclusion came out a little better and not as unsightly.

The story revolves around the morality of killing. When does one have the right to take somebody else's life away? In todays society, some accept the death sentence to punish those worthy of it. Some deaths are celebrated when the one who dies really deserves it.

---

Earlier I was in Quiapo, buying some items. Before I could talk to the saleslady, a flurry of events happened. A middle-aged man, his 20-ish daughter and the granddaughter walked pass me to the next stall. Grampa started shouting and cursing at her daughter, probably furious that the daughter left the stall to do something or another. Everybody else went silent and tried to ignore them. I went about looking at what I wanted to buy, but taking glances to keep tabs on what was happening.

I witnessed something that will probably haunt me for a long time. The grampa used his bear feet to kick his daughter in the face. Strong enough that the back of her head hit the metal shutter gate behind her. More curses, then he kicked again. No blood, but disturbing nonetheless.

Why then, did I not do anything? The excuse in my head was lame: it was a family matter. Being a father or husband does not give one the right to hit someone.

What would you have done?

Densha Basilisk Shinobi

First up, I updated some links so that images of older posts will show up. My apologies to people whose feed aggregators got flooded :P

Next up is reviews on some stuff I managed to watch.

Kouga Ninpou Chou/Basilisk/Shinobi
Based on the novel by Futaro Yamada, this is a story of star-crossed lovers caught between a battle to extinction of their clans.

Manga(Basilisk): I have a copy but haven't read it completely yet. They say the Anime follows this closely.

Anime(Basilisk):
Battle sequences are amazing and animation is superb. Ninja techniques rival those of Ruroni Kenshin and Naruto, only with brutality and blood-thirst. Genoske reminds me of 556 from Keroro.

Movie(Shinobi):The story is expectedly condensed and ends differently from the Anime. Yukie Nakama of Gokusen appears as Oboro, leader of her clan and possesses the "Eyes of Destruction". Hotarubi is played by the beautiful Erika Sawajiri, and I have her photobook courtesy of pyoro.

Densha Otoko
Translated as "Train Man", is a story of a geeky guy/anime fan boy (otaku) who changes himself to get closer to a girl, helped by netizens of a BBS. Roughly based on a true story, its probably a small miracle that the Net brought about. Both the series and movie featured a lot of references such as Gundam, Keroro Gunsou, Eva. Trend word is Kitaa!!!(It's Here).

Series:I liked it because the female lead (Hermes/Saori) is Misaki Ito. The pace was a little slow after the first episode, but it picks up eventually. Character development was good, with the supporting people brought to life well. My vote for best character is split into two. Yamada(Densha) reminded me of a friend in College/ROTC, Sgt. Asis.
The other goes to Misuzu, who is densha's client/friend/tormentor who 'eats' her bosses and has the Imperial DeathMarch as her BGM.

Extra Ending: This was dead funny as a lot of the hidden mischief was revealed. Secondary characters have their stories and love lives told.

Deluxe(SP): A recent special made after the movie. Another story where a millionaire tries to get Hermes(Saori) and capitalize in the Densha Otoko craze. More comedy and drama mixed in this one. Watari from the Death Note Movies is also here.

Movie: Fresh set of actors and condensed storyline are the perks of the movie version. Downsides are: it lacks an antagonist, Misuzu isn't there (but does a cameo as a receptionist) and some fun plots are gone. An extra at the end of the movie features a connection between the movie and the series :)

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance

I was a fan of the Highlander TV series back then and sort of enjoyed watching the movies. During a routine check of things to download, I found one for the animated movie Highlander: The Search for Vengeance . I just watched it and I'd say it is kinda cool.

An alternative story line about another McLeod, Colin who seeks revenge for his beloved wife who was killed by another immortal. Colin tries and tries through the centuries to kill that person but always ends up failing... but surviving.

It is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, Vampire D Bloodlust) and if you've watched those, would see his hands all over this one. Fight scenes are cool, moderate use of CG, a tasteful (but short) love scene and of course the Highlander myth gives life to this movie.

I was reminded of a couple of movies: ninja scroll, fist of the north star, 300, braveheart, gladiator and some more. Watch this if you're in the mood for a bit of action :)

Easy Primal Kiss Pumps

Huh?! You may have probably noticed that I tend to squeeze all topics into a post title :P

Primal Fear
This movie was recommended to me by Atty. Ramirez and Aidz. I was interested because they mentioned that Edward Norton's role here is similar to Fight Club. Indeed, his performance and acting was good, considering he was only credited in the third tier. The courtroom drama is not as powerful as that of 'the practice', but substantial all the same. After watching the movie, it sort of exemplifies an old Filipino saying: "Matalino man ang matsing, napaglalalangan din" which roughly means "even a smart monkey can be fooled".


Paradise Kiss
Tseri requested me to procure this anime because she caught it on Animax one time. Was expecting a light watch out of this, but ended up with a bit of culture shock.

I had this notion of properly separating Anime and Hentai. ParaKiss walked the line between the two categories, something I haven't seen since Akira or Ninja Scroll.

I found the story interesting with moments where you'll say *GAK* or *zOMG*. It tells about students from a high-class fashion/design school who found a model in a student who doesn't find herself special.

Fuck Me Pumps
Loopy mentioned in one of her posts this song by Amy Winehouse. The mood of the song is a bit comical, but I figured that it would be painful to hear for someone in that situation. 'Do Me Good' sounds nice, but probably a girl/woman's song.


Ambing - Easy Flagela (update)
I was surprised one day when a member of the band who sang this song found me on YM. The current name of the band is Los Chupacabras and here are their blogs: Mikael Carl and Joel.