What's your internet connection Plan A, B, C, D...

I was in a state of 'netlessness' for 3 days and the feeling was horrible. It's like a big part of me depends on underwater cables going to Taiwan. One of those mornings I went to Burger King Mayon to connect thru their Wi-Fi... but it was down too. I felt defeated, so I ended up jogging for the hell of it. My work is dependent on the internet and losing it this often or this long is detrimental.

I am seriously thinking of downgrading my current one and getting a second connection to compliment it. So, what is your connection and what is your Plan B, etc?

Primary: Bayan DSL 2Mbps
Plan B: Dial-up (If the phone line is ok)
Plan C: Wi-fi at Burger King
Plan D: GameSquad @ Kamuning

A line I never meant to cross...

I have taken another step to becoming an Otaku, one that I never really wanted to take. The figurines above are characters from the anime "Petopeto-san" and I bought them at Toy Kingdom(SM Megamall). I wanted these some time ago when I first saw them, but ended up buying this time because they were on sale. Each is made up of 8 connectable parts, stands 3.5 inches, made of PVC/ABS and is manufactured by Happinet Corporation. They resemble Pinky:st figures. Damage: 300php for both.
These are Keroro Gunsou Gashapon(Capsule Dispensed) Keychains. 2 inches tall and very wiggly. The one you'll get is random but I was fortunate enough to get the ones I wanted. I'll blame Tubay for introducing me to Keroro and Densha Otoko for making me want these keychains. Damage: 100php each.

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.

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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.

Deathly Hallows

Just got my copy from National Bookstore Quezon ave. at around 715am. Was able to score the box for free :P

Initial browsing reveals that the Photo Leak a couple of days ago looks legit. So I was done reading since Thursday then...

Maybe I'll post a 'my thoughts' on book 7 and the series as a whole sometime later.

Dangwa's Flowers

Yamato Damashii

Roughly translates to "Japanese Spirit". It is a nickname given to Enson Inoue, a Japanese-American Mixed Martial Arts Fighter. Nick of Purebredusa sent me these shirts and they're cool. Thanks Nick!
Translation (from purebredusa) Left to Right: Fall seven times get up eight. The harder you work the sweeter the victory. Pain is temporary but pride is forever. To really try is to try when the time is hard. At least once in your life train with the will to die. Blood is nothing but red sweat.

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.

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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 :)