I love my dad: he has been one of my primary inspirations in my pursuit of knowledge, and he has been an excellent (even if flawed) parent. He always loved waking me and my siblings very early in the morning so that we wouldn’t suffer heavy traffic and wouldn’t be late at school. He often preached of time’s fickleness: when one really needed to be early, life often throws curveballs just to make one late. He probably paraphrased Murphy’s Law, but his prudence (even if it was uncomfortable for us) often helped us avoid accidents. (more…)

I first read of this from the omniscient bunny, usagijen. I’ve also only read of the online registration from hazy (thank you very much). Since I recently discovered that there’s a limit of only 350 participants (also from hazy), I also rushed to register (just like her).

I’ve been using WordPress for more than two years: I started blogging about anime in my old domain here (hosted by WordPress) before Maestro, benevolent overlord of Animeblogger.net offered to host for me. Even with that span of time, I only know the basic elements of this blogging software. Although I think I’ve graduated from being an absolute beginner, I still don’t know much about the workings of WordPress, and would like to know more. I’m hoping that this ‘camp’ will provide that.

In addition, I also would like to meet fellow co-bloggers and socialize with them. I believe that this experience will hone my skills in blogging and also in tweaking my blog to perform better. Like hazy and usagijen, I hope I’ll make it.

Just to recap, the event is WordCamp Philippines 2008 (more information can be found in the link), and it will be held on September 6, 2008, from 9 am to 6 pm at Augusto-Rosario Gonzalez Theater 5th Floor, Mutien Building, De La Salle - College of St. Benilde, Taft Avenue, Manila. Thanks also go to Mindanao Bloggers for allowing this event to take place.

The sponsors of this event include:

• i.PH: the Domain for Individuals
• Free Online Flash Games
• Wazzup Manila Philippines
• Real Estate CRM
• Real Estate Website Designers
• Orange County Real Estate
• Auto Insurance Quotes
• Lane Systems Inc.
• RedMedia
• Orange County Business Lawyer

It’s been a long while since I’ve physically gone to cinema-houses to watch movies. Today seemed to be the best time: ate usagijen planned to go; it was a Sunday; and I basically had nothing to do. It was also the final day of the Anime Matsuri and consequently, of the showing of Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo.

OH SO VERY CASH

It didn’t start off well. The people I text messaged didn’t reply to me (they actually did, only my damn phone received those messages when it was already too late [eight in the evening]), I got soaked in the rain (it was pretty strong, even with an umbrella), and my foot was wet for the most part since I arrived at the venue. I wasn’t able to meet Ate Jen because of my phone’s fiasco, and I wasn’t able to get a ticket for the 2pm screening.

I had a choice: I could have gone home and dealt with the necessary requirements, or I could have stayed and waited for the 8pm screening. I decided to stay and wait for the 8pm screening, because that was the last showing of the film in all of the anime festivals within the year, and I wasn’t going to let those mishaps ruin what would be (and has become) a most eventful anime watching experience for me.

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo is easily one of the best films I’ve seen. It ranks up there, along with my perennial favorite Ocean Waves. I just absolutely loved it, and I loved its very positive and heart-warming ending (which only I seemed to get seeing that my seatmates wanted me to quiet down when I almost-shouted ‘It’s SO SWEET!’ like some faggot). Yes, it has a heart-warming ending, and if you didn’t get it the first time, you should go watch it a second time. It was a wonderful experience for me, and the movie totally deserved all its awards. Plus, I got to know some new friends who also like anime, so the experience, while really having a bad start, had a very triumphant ending, at least for me. It was a really great decision to wait until it was shown in the big screen here in the Philippines. Shit was SO cash. Yeah, I can’t help cursing because it’s SO AWESOME.

Go watch the movie. Now.

Most of the time, I try to put my money where my mouth is: just a while ago, I finished “reading” Finnegans Wake. I didn’t read the novel just so I can brag about it to others (although that’s a plus); on the contrary, I’m even quite ashamed that I wasted time reading it. I have a personal sense of duty, however, (especially with regard to books) to finish what I’ve started. I may not finish perfectly; I may end with haste; but I will try to finish what I began. (more…)

Hello!

I’ve had a bevy of exams last week and couldn’t really update as planned. In addition, there are also reports to be made, so a proper update will (hopefully) come later this week.

On other news, there’s a book sale in our university. Aside from obtaining a rare Virginia Woolf hardbound novel, and Camus’s shorter works, I’ve also bought six Faulkner novels or compilations that I don’t have as yet. I’m so happy!

I’ve promised myself that I will finish Finnegans Wake first, however, so reading those would have to come later. Also, my backlog of books has once again bloated to almost 20.

I’m looking forward to enjoying Code Geass R2. Until then!

I am really a fan of The Sound and the Fury. But I am also really a fan of Cowboy Bebop. I’m not angry with Daniel for responding to my ‘bait,’ but I really think that Cowboy Bebop has more parallels to The Sound and the Fury than is obvious and that it is more than ‘a well-written, yet cheap, airport thriller.‘ (more…)

Before I log on to my blog, I always try to put my thoughts in paper first. I’m sad to say that this week has been pretty hectic to the extent that I have only written some scribbles each day for four days. Since I vehemently refuse to do anything related to academic work today, I simply decided to integrate the scribbles. I’ll hopefully come up with a coherent post. (more…)

It’s actually been a long while since I’ve gone to TT. School work, as can be expected, has become a heavier burden. I don’t even know the new anime that will come out, and I still haven’t watched Kurenai. If any of you guys can recommend me anime from the previous season (aside from Kurenai, of course) to watch, I’d appreciate it a lot. At least that would give me some titles I may like from people whose insights I trust.

I’ll get back to anime, though. I’m just waiting for the weekend to arrive. I mean, I did finish Gundam 00 after all, right?

That’s that regarding my anime updates.

I actually have a more pressing issue at hand: I will have a new dormmate, and I have no more space as to where I can place my books. In the interest of space, I am selling some books of mine that I don’t need.

I’ll be direct and honest with the prices, but I welcome haggling, and of course, I can only meet in Metro Manila, preferably near Quezon City or the LRT/MRT stations.

1) Ten Thousand Seeds by Linda Ty-Casper - 150 pesos

An American couple arrives in the Philippines at the onset of the Philippine-American war. The novel chronicles the effects to their lives during and after the war. Linda Ty-Casper is a recognized (but lesser) Filipino author. The book is pretty rare.

2) The Fatal Eggs by Mikhail Bulgakov - 150 pesos

Mikhail Bulgakov was known more for his satiric masterpiece, The Master and Margarita. This novella is also another satire of the government during Stalin’s period: a professor discovers a ray of life that he wanted to study thoroughly. He is prevented, however, by government agents so consumed with the idea of resolving the hunger crises in Russia that the results are devastating.

3) Arctic Summer by E. M. Forster - 150 pesos

This is a character study primarily between two men of opposing ideals. One belongs to the idea of pragmatism, and one belongs to the idea of chivalry. Both are disillusioned as the novel fragment proceeds its course, and the ending is quite a surprise.

4) The Church and Its Social Involvement by Father Wilfredo Fabros - 600 pesos

This was what I quoted in my previous post through a skim. This is expensive, but with good reason. It was the last copy I was able to purchase directly from the press, and the book is out-of-print, with little to no chance of being reprinted again. It is extremely rare: even Amazon and eBay do not have copies of it. Finally, it is also highly informative, chronicling what the Philippine Church has done through critical periods of our history before the Martial Law. It absolutely illuminated my beliefs regarding the Philippine Church. While it ended in a hopeful note, the truth that the dissertation expounds upon is quite unpleasant.

Once again, thanks for reading. I’ll cook up a new post within the week.

Just post if you have questions. I’ll be happy to reply to those queries.

It has been quite some time since I have finished an anime series, but I (at last) finished Gundam 00 about a week ago. I absolutely loved it, despite the fact that many people think it’s too emotional or bathetic. I love heroic bloodshed movies, and this series just seemed to be exactly like it. In addition, despite the futuristic setting I thought the characters were convincing, especially Soran.

Lockon, Lockon, Lockon, Lockon bawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww