Oh-Wheezers

Google Maps in 8-bit!

2012-03-31T17:26:00.000+08:00

Google is introducing a different side of Google Maps in a rad 8-bit version! Made available to a nostalgic NES game, plugged into a Family Computer and have it connected online via a network cable.

Watch this astounding Google Technology below! (I almost cried XD)

Totally rad!!! A launched trial version is available online by going to Google Maps and clicking the 'Quest' icon located at the upper-right corner of the page.

I looked around into the 8-bit world and here's what I saw... get ready to be awestruck!

The world in 8-bit!

(I can hear 8-bit music right now, promise! XD)

My quest leads me to San Francisco, CA

I'm still at San Francisco XD

Zoomed in a bit more and here is the Golden Gate Bridge!

This is really amazing! Memories of all the NES games I've been playing and now seeing the world turned into one has made me leap for joy! Google has reached another successful attempt to bring us back to our childhood. Oh and by the way, this is Google's April Fools Day prank, it is for show but still works! :)

Try it now! Click here to see the wonderful Google Maps in 8-bit. Enjoy! :)

St. Patrick's Day 2012

2012-03-17T23:29:00.000+08:00

GREEEEEEEEEEEEEENN! My favorite color completely plastered on my mind when I head to downtown to watch a parade. People wearing green shirts, hats, necklaces, glitters, and even wigs and face paint for two. All part to celebrate St. Patrick's Day today!

Back in the Philippines, I had watched a television program featuring this event and pretty much can't get enough of it. So as a first timer, I have had a really big Irish blast today! Walking into an Emerald City-like scene is a huge fantasy and just by noticing who's in the spirit of the festival made me do a simple kick imitating an Irish dance.

Honestly, I was kinda disappointed for "not meeting the requirements" of what the event is all about. I wore a brown jacket with a long-sleeved striped shirt with avocado green and pale blue color mix underneath. Earlier, I managed to change my shoelaces from yellow to neon green to fit-in but it wasn't enough...

So after my brunch, I set off and bought some Irish-themed merchandise...

Yeah, Kiss Me 'cause I'm Irish for a day :p

Fancy a shamrock necklace?

While waiting for the parade, I met this group of ladies all dressed-up perfectly for the event.

Cam-whoring while waiting :p Oh and this is what I bought (always wanted one of these :p)

My shoes says, "Let's do an Irish dance!"

After more waiting, I took my Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and continued my read. Anyway, aside from the love for the color green, I love the United Kingdom, their accents, culture, and television shows, can't get enough of them! Brill!

And so, the 161st Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade officially begins... :)

Bagpipes and Kilts are cool!!! :)

There are tons of awesome vintage vehicles at the parade, adding a group these is a wow!

Girls who are part in an Irish Dance School.

These two bands (pictures above) are by far the best I've heard in the parade.

Their float has people dancing on it. Wish they had more space for us to see though XD

This Irish Wolfhound is by far the biggest dog I've ever came close with. They're so fluffy :p

Sure hope to wear something like this XD

Go green firetruck! :)

I didn't who these were but their float says "U2". A very familiar Irish rock band my high school batchmates love so I immediately recognized them even if I'm not a huge fan of theirs.

After the almost 2-hour parade, I went to the Civic Center for more Irish activities. Sadly, I didn't find any Irish delicacies for me to taste :(

Hello sir!

It has been raining these past few days and miraculously today, it did not. YAY! But later that afternoon, there was a drizzle along with what looks like bead-sized hail. I wasn't alarmed at all, just curious and full of awe XD Moreover, it didn't stop the crowd from having fun!

And so here are my purchases for St. Patrick's Day. A green leprechaun top hat and two necklaces. The other two were given away by some floats.

Didn't find any green socks though XD

Totally had a blast today! I would certainly be back next year to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and dress more greener than what I look like today. Again, Happy St. Patrick's Day everybody! :)

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011)

2012-03-11T13:34:00.000+08:00

This animated short is truly exceptional! I cried... :') I'm quite speechless much to say, please enjoy watching :)

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is an animated short directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, and produced by Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana..

To date, the film has received 14 awards including the recent Oscar, Awarded as the Best Animated Short Film at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Off to continue reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix :)

DeviantArt Meet

2012-02-18T21:43:00.001+08:00

Last December 2011, DeviantArt made a challenge to create a billboard advertisement to one of the seven deadly sins using at least 3 images from #StockProject.

Just this afternoon, a deviantmeet was held at 5th and Folsom to see the billboard of the grand-winner and mingle with the other artists.

The billboard above me is ~Anarki3000's work for the sin, Pride. The overall concept and technique to create the liquid skull is awesome! Special mention to the finalists for Lust, Sloth and Envy.

While at the event, the staff handed freebies for the deviant members who attended.

The troll face printed bag contains deviantart stickers, bumper stickers featuring the finalists, an XD Ball (YAY), and a deviantwear shirt. My name tag says "Hi! My username is life-dance".

Note: Wait! I thought your portfolio for your works was "Life--Dance" not "Life-Dance"? Well, my 'life-dance' account on Deviantart was registered a year before I decided to add another hyphen to the name. For uniqueness. So, everything you'll see in this post has one hyphen (pointing to the account) when in fact, it has two. Visit my portfolio at http://life--dance.blogspot.com

After a warm welcome from the staff and a group picture (which I hope to have my hands on), off we went to the Yerba Buena Gardens in a rally-like scene for more bonding.

This is Drea. She asked me to doodle for her. Very jolly and fun to talk to especially when the topic shifted to my blog and the stalking lols

This is Toby, she is from Los Angeles. It was cool to know she arrived in San Francisco this morning and will depart this evening. We were having a lively chat with Drea more into the stalking. And no, I didn't made that, Drea did XD

This is Heidi, a staff from Deviantart. I was fooling around when we were photographed here 'cause she was taller than me :p

More peeps creating art and bonding with the other members.

(L-R) Mark, Steven, Will, me, and April

(L-R) April, Dawn, her boyfriend, Steven, and Anthony

From the two images above, I got to hang-out with these cool peeps during the event. In fact, I spent more time with them. There was nonstop laughter, talk about art, and sharing and exchanging of ideas. I bet we can talk all day and just let the time pass by :)

While at the Yerba Buena Gardens, the Deviant art team gave us an activity. They handed out notepads. Using one leaf, fold it into three, draw in one section and either pass or give it to a friend for them to draw at the other section. After that, we put it in the box.

Here are my doodles.

I got the top portion, middle to Anthony (another Anthony) and bottom to Will.

I got the top again, middle to April, bottom to Steven.

This is the doodle I did for Drea.

This is the doodle I gave to Heidi. I think she wanted me to do the activity. I wasn't aware when I did this. Oh well. XD

I had a blast with the meet-up. It was exciting to see all the artists in one location, bonding, and just grow. I do hope for another event just like this and to meet the peeps I met here. Keep it up guys! :)

Hearts in San Francisco

2012-02-14T22:48:00.001+08:00

No plans this Valentines day like I do? Then why not get your camera and start finding some hearts here in San Francisco.

The "Hearts in San Francisco", inspired by the Tony Bennett song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", is an annual public art started in 2004 by the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation for the purpose of fundraising. The hearts are then auctioned, all the money earned are handed down to them.

Here are some of the hearts I've seen around the city though its such a loss I missed seeing previous heart sculptures over the years. Anyway, here ya go :p

1. San Francisco Housescape by Eileen David

Front

Back

2. Untitled by Andrew Schoultz

Front

Back

3. All Day, All Night by Marianne Bland

Front

Back

4. America's Greatest City by the Bay by Tony Bennett

Front

Back

5. Beach Blanket by Phil Frank

Front

6. My Heart by Sirron Norris

Front

Back

Hopefully, I could attend the 'Heroes and Hearts' 2013 and feature new heart sculptures here in my blog. Anyway, have you seen any hearts here in San Francisco? :)

Super7 in San Francisco

2012-02-13T23:20:00.009+08:00

Three months since my visit at Kidrobot, I finally had the time to drop by to its neighbor Super7 while looking for mirrors along Haight St. (San Francisco Mirrors Project).

As always, I got excited to visit the store (geek mode on). The bold orange logo caught my attention quickly as it pulled me into its windows and being a recent fan of Star Wars, I was thrilled to see merchandises of it.

Darth Vader wants me to join the force. He told me telepathically lols

"Football Boy" is part of Super7's Mummy Boy series that features the San Francisco 49ers. Special mention to the "Cali Dino" shirt, love it :)

The interior rocks! It felt like those secret rooms filled with precious and rare stuff only for our eyes and to a selected few who are under our radars.

As I make my way in, I noticed this frame posted.

Thumbs up! :)

Super7 sells a vast collection of books and magazines to which I'm happy to see Mark Ryden's books for he is one of my favorite artists; his imagination and skills are epic!

I was tempted to open Ryden's book, all 4 of 'em but I don't wanna make a scene lols

Looky here, Tokyo Underground 2 (red book), an updated guide for shopping toys at Tokyo. Mention to "I Am Plastic, Too" by Paul Budnitz.

Another must haves, Juxtapox Illustration 2 and Beautiful/Decay's Class Clowns.

More must haves, Super7's magazine and Clutter Magazine's # 16 that details about the recent Designer Toy Awards 2011.

More Star Wars, YAY! :)

Super7 ain't complete without their signature toys. Here are some:

(Back L-R) Steven the bat, Two Vampire DXs. Would have bought the green one.

(Middle) Patty Power

(Front L-R) Little Prick, Leroy C., Fire Robot, DokuDuo

Mummy Boy Series

Super7 also sells tees, jackets, and caps with an eyeball patch on it.

At the counter, we may also opt to purchase stickers for $2 each.

Now if you look closely at the wallpaper just behind the register, it looks like this:

Yup! An awesome Star Wars wallpaper which in fact they sell. Don't forget to purchase one for yourself :)

I had fun visiting Super7. It's another heaven to everybody who loves art, street wear and designer toys (and Star Wars).

Check them out at 1427 Haight and Masonic St. San Francisco, California, 94117. Open everyday from 11-7 pm. More information at Super7store.com

The San Francisco Mirrors Project

2012-02-01T21:42:00.005+08:00

It's like any other morning, the sun smiling, cool breeze playing with my hair, and people just walk on by doing errands or taking a stroll. I then noticed a mirror stuck on a wall with a message embedded. It gave me a smile and thought it was a cool idea, for it reminded me of either Lola or Kymia's piece from Work of Art Season 2 Episode 7: La Dolce Arte, not the concept, just the reflection thingy.

I didn't carry a digital camera that day so I passed along. Later, I was surprised to find two more mirros located in another part of San Francisco. Lols I thought there was only one of 'em XD

On the bottom right corner of the mirror, it says, "The SF Mirrors Project". I wasn't aware of the project not until now. And boy was I lucky because this year-long prepared project has just been put up on the walls 3 days ago. YAY! :)

Here's an introduction to the project.

The San Francisco Mirrors Project, created by Akin Bilgic, is a KickStarter public art project for spreading messages of inspiration, encouragement and hope.

"It’s my hope that the people who walk past these mirrors in the following days will stop, take a moment to look at themselves, read the messages, and walk away feeling inspired, confident, and happier, which in-turn hopefully gets spread to others they interact with."

The 100 mirrors are shatter-proof plastic based, stuck to walls with a strong but non-permanent adhesive foam tape.

Below are the mirrors I found while walking around the city. It was such a treat 'cause it was like The Amazing Race XD And yes, I will be updating this entry if I spotted more from this project :)

Mirrors found : 16 out of 100

#1 Valencia and Sycamore St.

"Open your window and look upon all the kinds of alive you can be."

#2 Sutter and Taylor St.

"You are beautiful when you smile."

#3 Market St - Between Powell and Stockton St.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

#4 Harlan Place - Alley of Irish Bank Cafe between Bush and Sutter St

Location credit: Anonymous Commenter

"Curious? Good!"

#5 Stockton Tunnel (entry from Chinatown)

Location credit: Jules

"Be true to yourself."

#6 Stockton Tunnel (entry from Chinatown)

"Every moment is an opportunity to do better."

#7 Market and Turk St

"You are awesome!"

#8 Lindale and Gough St

Location credit: Joe

"Tell someone you love them today."

#9 Outside Judah Tunnel - Carl and Cole St

Location credit : Keith

"Break the norm. Stray from the PFR (Path, Familiar, Routine). Acquaint yourself with the undistinguised. Make everyday foreign. LIVE."

#10 Alamo Square - Grove and Steiner St

"If you were a president, you'd be Baberaham Lincoln."

#11 Alta Plaza Park - Steiner and Washington St

"Hello Gorgeous!"

The bad news: some mirrors are either stolen, taken down by higher authority or moved to a different location :(

#12 Capp and 22nd St.

#13 Sutter and Trinity St.

#14 Market and McAllister St

#15 Masonic and Grove St

Location credit: Keith

#16 Haight and Shrader St

This is just a small portion of San Francisco and I may have missed some along the way so hopefully, the other mirrors are still up and to be seen by the public. I support this project 100% because it brings smile, wonder, and thought to all the passers-by. It also reminds us of all the overlooked smaller things in life.

Have you found a mirror in this project yourself? :)

More information at SFMirrors.com and KickStarter.com

Mind Mapping (Kors K mix) by Ryu☆

2012-01-28T23:39:00.000+08:00

I recently noticed the scarcity of hardcore club songs in my entries. Sure, I featured candy, pop, bubbly, and game songs but pure hardcore? 'fraid not. The very most recent entries in this genre were More and More by DJ Hixxy and Elements (Styles and Breeze Mix) by Neo Cortex both dated back in September 2009! That's 3 years ago (yes that looooooong...!).

Yes, I love listening to these songs! I always imagine myself jumping into a dark pit, happily falling, freely, feeling the wind rush through my body, playing with my hair while these babies echo in the background! Each beat, bass, and experiment with volumes is just pure love man!!! :)

Without further ado, I give you Mind Mapping (Kors K mix) by Ryu☆. As always, pump the volume and get ready to party! :)

From the album Konami released last month titled "Cyber Beatnation 2 -Hi Speed Conclusion-", by far, Mind Mapping remixed by Kors K is an instant love! The first 10 seconds caught me off guard for I imagined an intense battle while people obliviously party. Everything this song has just flowed smoothly, before you know it, booya! I found another masterpiece XD

I'll be posting more hardcore club next month. Stay tuned :)

Wuv U by Kors K

2012-01-27T21:01:00.000+08:00

Been listening to "Wuv U" by Kors K continuously for the past 3 hours (ongoing)! I feel the need to spread the love and addiction to all my visitors. Yes, I want you infected so wear your headphones, pump the volume, play the video, close your eyes, and smile :)

What?! Why stop now? Hit the play button again! :)

Some of you may have noticed, the three girl characters are also from the background animation for the song "Smooooch ・∀・" also by Kors K. It has been a popular meme to anime fans and animation enthusiasts for its fun jumpy song and the characters' running, childish dance, and bounce.

The girls are back in 'Wuv U' for more bouncing! But this time, they appear to be imitating a cat by wearing cat tails along with their maid costumes. The video above is perfect as sequel for the girls and Kors K but turns out, it was fan made. All thanks to the Youtube user who arranged the animation created by Nico Nico Douga users.

Wuv U first appeared on the music game called Reflec Beat then later introduced to BeatmaniaIIDX 18 Resort Anthem. And hopefully be included in a Dance Dance Revolution series XD

Reflec Beat not available near my place XD

Oh, have you clicked the replay button? :)

The Legend of MAX by ZZ

2012-01-26T12:07:00.001+08:00

First time listening and reading the step chart of The Legend of MAX by ZZ at Youtube have me wanting to play Dance Dance Revolution this minute! The excessive amount of adrenaline rush that holds my breath and supreme eargasm is what makes this song extreme!

Once you hit the play button, you just got to let go :)

Woohoo! Let's rave and groove XD

The Legend of MAX is unlocked as Extra Stage on DDR Extreme and as a Hidden song at DDR Ultramix 3. Judging by its awesome step chart, the enjoyment and connection to the song promises to be a good one. Oh looky, my legs are itching again :p

Back in 2005, The European Positive Gaming DDR Cup arranged at The Gathering at Hamar, Norway had this song included in the tournament. I admire the effort and set-up of the Cup to have the players play simultaneously. The screen shows the step chart along with their scores.

This is certainly a blast! Wish this could happen somewhere near here *crosses fingers* XD

SOPA Postponed!

2012-01-20T12:10:00.000+08:00

January 18, 2012 marks the day of the biggest web strike against SOPA/PIPA. Big companies such as Wikipedia, Google, Wordpress and Tumblr to name a few participated in the movement together with our voices, online accounts, and websites for support.

Now, here's good news to us...

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), sponsor of US House Bill SOPA, pulls out the controversial bill today.

In a press release found in the Committee on the Judiciary, Smith stated:

“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products."

“The problem of online piracy is too big to ignore. American intellectual property industries provide 19 million high-paying jobs and account for more than 60 percent of U.S. exports. The theft of America’s intellectual property costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion annually and results in the loss of thousands of American jobs. Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while American innovators and job creators are under attack."

“The online theft of American intellectual property is no different than the theft of products from a store. It is illegal and the law should be enforced both in the store and online."

“The Committee will continue work with copyright owners, Internet companies, financial institutions to develop proposals that combat online piracy and protect America’s intellectual property. We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who have an honest difference of opinion about how best to address this widespread problem. The Committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”

The House Judiciary Committee will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution.

Our voices were heard! I thank everyone for their time to get the word out and to all the websites who darkened or blocked their domains during the strike. SOPA may have been withdrawn for now but knowing the amount of supporters who opposed to the bill clearly shows that our opinion and freedom matters.

Click here for the complete figures from the movement.

Stop SOPA/PIPA!

2012-01-19T23:50:00.002+08:00

I've been hearing news about US House Bill called SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and US Senate Bill called PIPA (PROTECT IP Act - Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011) which is basically about Internet Censorship and Copyrighted Content Online. It prevents illegal downloads, pirating, sharing, and practically have the power to shut down websites, and sue people who breaks the law.

The major downside is controlling privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom to share information online. Everything is screened and limited which is why yesterday, January 18, 2012, the web went on strike!

Oh-Wheezers participated the strike to Stop SOPA/PIPA by adding a simple Javascript from sopastrike.com. This code redirects all my visitors to the main part of the movement. Below is the screenshot with Oh-Wheezers link mentioned on the topmost portion of the page.

There's a variety of codes to choose from, the other best options are "Zachary Johnson's blackout page" and "CloudFlare's Stop Censorship app".

To my dismay, after 30 minutes, the code was disabled because the whole 12-hour strike was over. Yes I was late but an idea sprung. I made a black banner on top of my blog which stayed for 12 hours even if the movement has lapsed :)

Now, here's a video that will guide us to a thorough discussion about SOPA/PIPA.

The Internet is a vital and good source of information for everybody, once the United States has control within its borders, it can cause a massive chain reaction to the connection of the countries linking back.

The Internet may die if the bills get the approval :(

UPDATE: SOPA is Postponed!

More Information:

SOPAstrike.com

Timeline

Infographic

SOPA Bill in Congress

PIPA Bill in Congress

Wimpy Braille Burgers

2012-01-17T15:02:00.001+08:00

I found a heart-warming story of a restaurant chain named Wimpy in South Africa. They created a braille menu for the visually impaired in all of their restaurants. To spread the word, they invited 15 of them to taste their burgers. When the burger was served, a surprise is yet to be discovered on the surface of the bun...

Love to see their happy faces, makes me all fuzzy inside XD

I'm a Logophile!

2012-01-16T23:50:00.006+08:00

Wait! A logo-what? Logophile doesn't deal with logos that portrays a symbol of identity to a person, group, or community. It's simply a person who loves words. I am and proud!

One of my frequent pasttimes of my childhood was holding our home dictionary, scan the words and try to identify its use or visualize its appearance because 95% of the lexicon's pages are image-less. Sometimes, I close my eyes, flip the pages then randomly point to a word in a random area. And voila! Instant word of the day :)

As a matter of fact, when Oh-Wheezers was brought to life on 2008, in my sidebar, I have placed a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) of Dictionary.com's Word of the Day. It has been there ever since, constantly notifying me.

I indubitably enjoy discovering new words (especially unique) and recalling old ones. As much as possible, have them planted inside my vocabulary permanently. Besides, I do believe there's a word for everything! We may not be aware 'cause it's either we opt to explain the situation or substitute another.

Here's an example. Let's say our friend is happy. We can use the word 'happy' alone but how happy is he? Depending on the situation we could conclude enthusiastic, overjoyed, excited, pleased, thrilled, or ecstatic. Another example, a group of 5 people, each with different hats on. Mentioning 'hat' is redundant, we may later classify them as toque, stetson, fedora, bearskin, and a cloche. This clearly gives our readers a bright idea to the way we describe things and thankfully, always summarizes the tedious explanations.

There were moments when I mildly contemplate whether I need to know unfamiliar words because oftentimes, I don't need them. As much as possible, I read their definitions and hopefully when I encounter them, I would be able to recall it. This applies mainly to novels and articles. Sometimes, the authors use strong, powerful words that draws readers to opinions, enlightenment, or debate. I find it painstakingly lose my focus if about 10 words in spoken or written text is a blur.

What I like about unfamiliar words, especially those used by my friends or colleagues is that we could subconsciously exchange them. If there was a point of discussion to the words used, then the better of remembering them. Besides, I like it when I know a word that others don't XD

And no, I don't have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. It just takes time to memorize long words. Nothing to fear though lols

Now don't get the idea that I have mastered the dictionary and know how to apply everything through speech or text such as here in my blog. The whole point of being a logophile is the fact that we love words, their definitions, origin, history, and how they are used. Having to learn them beforehand has put a great deal of enjoyment :)

There are more words to be discovered and yet to be created everyday. Can't wait to read their definitions and use them accordingly :)

Movie Review : 13 Assassins (2010)

2012-01-13T01:56:00.000+08:00

13 Assassins is a samurai epic directed by Takashi Miike; A Jidaigeki genre that sets in the Edo period (aka Tokugawa period) of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868; A remake of Eiichi Kudo’s 1963 film with the same name.

The movie is introduced with Zusho Mamiya, Akashi Clan house elder, committing Seppuku in-front of the Shogun in protest to his half-brother Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu's sadism, feast for flesh, and dishonorable behavior.

Sir Doi Toshitsura, top Shogun official, brought news to the Shogun Council Elders to settle the matter quietly. He foretells chaos if Lord Naritsugu ascends in a higher political position. He summoned a samurai named Shimada Shinzaemon.

When they met, Shinzaemon insisted that Lord Naritsugu should step down from his position and let the Akashi Clan find a suitable heir. But Sir Doi knows the Shogun won't allow it for he was appointed to be the senior advisor. That same night, after learning more about Lord Naritsugu, he was convinced to assassinate him.

Meanwhile, at Lord Naritsugu's premises, Hanbei Kitou, his Chief Samurai, knew Sir Doi won't let this scandal pass. He sent Attendant Deguchi and his men to spy on him, bribe the servants and get him the list of visitors since Mamiya's seppuku. One morning, Hanbei found out Sir Doi had met Shinzaemon who in fact was his friend at the same school and dojo, and knew he was completely competitive and skilled.

Shimada Shinzaemon gathered 11 samurais and planned to ambush Lord Naritsugu and his men. While in discussion, they were disturbed by Hanbei Kitou's uninvited presence to talk to Shinzaemon. They knew they were destined to meet in battle.

After finalizing the plan, they were divided to carry out their tasks. Shinzaemon's group got lost in the forest. They met Koga Kiyata who said has lineage of a samurai. He guided them out of the forest and safely reached Oichai, the town were the battle will take place.

After I begin the review, Happy Friday the 13th! I've been thinking of ways to celebrate the day so why not make a movie review to 13 Assassins? And so, here I am :)

The movie is one of those bloody awesome films I know that would be both exciting and painful to watch. It clearly reminds me of Kill Bill Volume 1 and Battle Royale. I haven't gotten used to the torture :p

13 Assassins started with a Seppuku which is a Japanese samurai bushido honor code performed by using the traditional tanto, a knife-like weapon, in a stomach-cutting ritual suicide through disembowelment. This voluntary act is for the purpose of dying in honor, as a form of punishment for serious offenses, or shame. The practice of Seppuku for the death of his master is called Oibara. Moreover, this can also be performed if they were ordered by their Daimyo (feudal lords). The term Harakiri is the same as Seppuku but used differently. Harakiri for word of mouth, Seppuku for written text.

Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu is the adopted son of the Akashi clan. He is dressed in a clean, white robe which signifies power. A born sadist, killing is sure a great past time even though he addresses this act as punishment for not fulfilling their position as servants. He is into the whole status quo and keeping the rules intact, where he would further add as his duties.

He is spoiled with all the luxuries and pretty much have a "being adopted" issues which had me linking his sadistic ways. The last part of the movie when he was on the ground, covered with mud (with his white robe), grieving in pain, I felt his agony and vulnerability. Before Shinzaemon decapitates Lord Naritsugu, he thanks him for having the most exciting day of his life. This part is just creepy. I don't know if he was thankful for giving him peace or he fulfilled the infinite sadistic satisfaction he has experienced - his pain.

Shortly, Shimada Shinzaemon fell down and died. His last words for his nephew Shimada Shinrokuro was to do what he wants in his life. Anyway, Shinzaemon is the leader of the 13 Assassins. His best part was when his men were doubting if Naritsugu's men will pass Oichi for their planned ambush. He calmed them and opened up one of his favorite past times, fishing. He made the analogy to its secrets about waiting and letting the fish bite the hook. The following day, Naritsugu's men did came but has grown in number from 70 to 200 men. Shinzaemon accepted this as a blessing, like the fish, the bigger, the better.

Moving on, there's this part where Kiga Koyata raped several women and the Mayor of Ochiai. Really clueless XD

During battle we see Kiga Koyata die but turns out was still alive along with Shimada Shinrokuro. According to Wikipedia, director Takashi Miike revealed that Kiga is a forest spirit. But come to think of it, there were notable instances where Shinrokuro and Koyata were having conversations and arguments. My take on this is that Koyata is the conscience of Shinrokuro.

13 Assassins is a good movie for rich Japanese history in the Edo period and a handful of honorable sword fights for justice.

Rating: 4/5

Paper Toy

2012-01-06T19:24:00.001+08:00

When I was young, I used to check the back of cereal or chocolate sticks boxes for cut-out characters or objects, urging myself to collect the entire set in making a complete town. I personally let the boxes be, hide it, and treat it as a collectible :p

One afternoon, out of the blue, I had the chance to visit the Exploratorium again. There were additional contraptions that I tested. Pretty awesome as always. Later, I went to the gift shop and looked around. To my surprise, I saw a book called "Papertoy Monsters". Flipped a few pages and jaw-dropped to the extreme awesomeness! There were 50 papertoy monsters to assemble, each with its own designated artist, templates, instructions, and a back story.

When I got home, I did my research and later found two more amazing books related to paper toys, namely: "Urban Paper : 26 Designer Toys to Cut Out and Build" and "We Are Paper Toys: Print-Cut-Fold-Glue-Fun".


Papertoy Monsters by Brian Castleforte	Urban Paper by Matt Hawkins	We Are Paper Toys! by Louis Bou

The fully bright-colored pages of creatures of these amazing books receives a 5 stars from me! Kids who'll be getting these as presents are lucky! (Someone get me this! It's for every age bracket XD)

Here's a video of a kid assembling "Ice Huggy" designed by Salazad.

I wanted to make an in-depth discussion to each of the three books I mentioned but there wasn't much information, especially the characters and artists' name, to the other books, I decided not to go any further. It's fair.

Before I proceed, I would like to give credit to the paper toys I used for this blog entry's signage. From L-R: Dolly Oblong's The X From Outer Space (template); Matthijs Kamstra's Scorpion Robot, and Marshall Alexander's Zeke (template).

Now, I don't want to leave this entry short so allow me to introduce Guillaume Pain aka Tougui. He created papertoy template Rodrigo Del Papel where he and 19 more amazing international artists poured their creative juices to make their characters based from it. All the works were exhibited at Le Dune Cafe at Paris last March 3 - April 10, 2010.

Below are the characters they made. (Scroll-down to end this post for a surprise)

The Surprise: Tougui has provided download links to all 20 paper toys. Choose your favorites and start assembling! List: Dolly Oblong - Shin Tanaka - Aphte - Mr Kone - Matt Hawkins - Tizieu - Bishop - Phil - Grapheart - 3EyedBear - Castleforte - Fasmer - Tougui - SupaCat - PulcoMayo - Marshall Alexander - Julie West - Tokyo Candies - Tanki - Fakir.

Paper Toys are still alive! Thankful it hasn't gone rusty. Oh by the way, if you love Paper Toys no matter what genre and create them either through assembling, designing or both, then head over to this amazing community, NicePaperToys.

Kasambahay, Habambuhay : Nestle Philippines' Short Film Anthology

2012-01-05T23:54:00.010+08:00

When we talk about Filipino movies, I've got a few good ones in mind, those worth watching on the big screen such as Aishite Imasu, Kimi Dora, Rosario, RPG Metanoia, Zombadings (Patayin sa Shokot si Remington), and some old action movies from Fernando Poe, Jr. and Lito Lapid.

The rest? I may not have watched or know any other good Pinoy films but one thing for sure, love flicks, fantasy, and redundant comedy is a kick in the boot.

Allow me to divert our scene to 10 awesome Filipino short films made by Nestle Philippines' for its 100th Anniversary last July 2011. The "Kasambahay, Habambuhay Short Film Anthology" is a well-budgeted project that showcases pure Filipino talent. Within a 12-minute short, the directors have produced a homey, feel good, down-to-earth, and unique stories that astoundingly caught every Filipinos' attention. Movies this good should go mainstream.

I have provided a playlist that contains all ten short films, arranged according to the list below with their respective plots. It took me some time to make this blog entry for I have watched the entire anthology once again lols. Enjoy! :)

To browse through videos, click the gray rectangular box located at the bottom-center of the player.

The Howl and the Fussyket

Aaron volunteered to be the representative of their class for a declamation contest. After memorizing the piece, he recites it to his family. Flaws in his pronunciation, clarity, and poise arise, the family helps improve Aaron to achieve his longed passion.

Directed by: Chris Martinez

Unplugged

Michael, the football coach, and his young team went to his Grandparent's home for a bootcamp. Grandfather Nestor was disappointed to the city-born teens' focus to technology life. He unplugs them by opening their eyes to manual life, nature, and principles to achieve their goals.

Directed by: Raul Jorolan

Isang Tasang Pangarap

Elias is our average person who lives in a barrio. He doesn't believe in miracles 'til one morning after drinking his favorite coffee in his treasured red mug, he looked at its interior bottom and was surprised that he could foretell the future. Word got out. People started bringing their mugs, handing it to Elias to foretell theirs.

Directed by: Sid Maderazo

OH! Pa Ra Sa Ta U Wa Yeah!

Is a musical themed short about a family trip. While on the road, Nicos' love-life was put to spotlight. Emil, their father, took out a centuries-old book from the compartment and gave it to Nicos. It reads, "Womanual: Ang Abakada ng Matamis na Oo", a book on how to court a girl that has been passed down by a long root of grandfathers.

Directed by: Jeorge Agcaoili

Silup

Fidel is a focused, hard-working policeman who fights fair for justice. He loves and deeply cares for his grandparents as they meant so much to him.

Directed by: Jun Reyes

Sali-Salita

Helen, Josh's mom, is always busy with her work, lacking the time to play with him. One morning, Josh was dirty from playing, the nanny chased him, he then accidentally pushes her mother's laptop off the table, breaking it. Helen got extremely mad, sends him to his room.

Later that evening, Helen's dad called and wishes to stay at their house for a few days before he flies to Hong Kong. The following day, Josh was excited to see his Grandfather who then noticed the conflict between the two. He told Josh a simple and better way to play, and that is, through imagination.

Directed by: A/F Benaza

Downtown

The short was introduced with a man's dirty apartment. He woke up, sat on his bed and gently strokes the pillow next to his. He misses his wife. One morning, he cleaned his apartment and fixed himself. On his way out, he looked at the potted plant near the window which meant a sign of hope.

Directed by: Stephen Ngo

Tingala sa Baba

Is about two kids playing at the teeter-totter. Enzo, the chubby rich kid, wants to be pushed-up of the teeter-totter but Angelo, the poor kid, cannot do it because he was too heavy for him. Angelo thought of an idea, Enzo was doubtful but still went on with it.

Directed by: Henry Frejas

Cooking Mo, Cooking Ko

A Filipino poetically speaking short about two families who used to be friends, fights over their food businesses. A Romeo-Juliet type of story.

Directed by: Chris Martinez

Sign Seeker

At office, Stephen urged Bien to date the hot girl, Kacey. Bien likes her but wasn't sure if he should ask her out. He relied on fate by thinking of signs for him whether he should date Kacey or not.

Directed by: Carlo Directo

I love all the short films but if I were to choose my Top 3, it would be, The Howl and the Fussyket, Sali-Salita, and Tingala sa Baba. Anyway, I do hope to see more of these type of films in the Philippine industry. To all Pinoy Indie Film Makers, I salute you! :)

Bend The Eyes with Stereograms

2012-01-05T16:42:00.001+08:00

Stereograms are optical illusions, usually tiled pattern images, that when looked properly, a hidden 3D image will appear. Relaxing the eyes, overlapping the portion of the image, and not focusing on the pattern will let us see the image/s behind.

Here's a Shamrock stereogram created by Gene Levine. Below of it is the hidden image. (Click images to enlarge)

This is really amazing! I have to admit, this is no walk in the park. It takes practice and patience to figure out what we are looking and how we are to look at it.

The confusion and determination for stereograms gets me into the mood. This is not any type of optical illusion we could decipher in a matter of seconds! Definitely worth my time! :)

Here are some more stereograms:

Straight Arrow

Byzantine Crystal

Deer Field

Formula 3D

Frax Bubbles

Stereo Pacific Railroad

More Stereograms at Gene Levine's website, ColorStereo. Other techniques to view this type of optical illusion, here.

Twitter Background with Instagram Photos!

2012-01-03T23:23:00.000+08:00

Spice up your Twitter account's background with Instagram photos! The free iPhone app's entire database in our hands thanks to InstaBG.com

After logging-in with Twitter, you'll be directed with user-friendly options to how the background will look. If you have an account at Instagram and want your shots as background, choose that option then type-in your ID.

My preferred target photos would be the use of Tags because personalizing the background with what we like is a must! Just a note: When encoding the tags, refrain from adding spaces in between.

I would leave the Auto Update to On, Layout to Small, and Spacing to No. Options 'Display date' and 'Display # of likes' adds more depth to the cork board-like slash Polaroid effect which makes it a plus!

Here are some of my favorite stuff I searched:

#green

#pokemon

#salvadordali

#dancedancerevolution

#doctorwho

Obviously, my current Twitter account is from Doctor Who lols Anyway, have fun wth InstaBG :)

Celebrate 2012 at Oh-Wheezers with 14 hits from DJ Melodie!

2011-12-31T00:57:00.000+08:00

In less than 24 hours, it's the New Year! This calls for a celebration!

I have carefully chosen my Top 14 best remixes of DJ Melodie. And when I say 'carefully' I really meant listening to each song from her 16 albums, excluding 2 for Youtube doesn't have it, so 14 albums in total in a span of 2 days! I had my Top 50 songs narrowed down to 20, then finally to 14.

Why DJ Melodie? She picks her songs well, professionally remixes it, creating a harmonious trance from angelic female voices to even more heavenly. The beat is quite addictive that calms and soothes my senses both in relaxation and in the groove to dance!

Without further ado, here is Gravitational Pull (name of the playlist). Enjoy! :)

Playlist includes:

Lost in You
Cruisin' Beachball
Why
Stay
Angel
How Can I Forget You
Wherever You Are
Missing You
Summer is Calling
Same Color
One And One
One Love
Is It Love
You & I

To browse through songs, click the white rectangular box located at bottom-center of the playlist or click here to go directly to Youtube.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :)

Gorilla Inside a Muni Bus!

2011-12-29T17:53:00.002+08:00

It's true! I'm riding a Muni Bus number 8126, line 48. There I saw it, a Gorilla! Luckily, I brought my camera, disabled the flash to prevent panic, then waited for the bus to reach a halt. Once stopped, I quickly took a picture just seconds before the new passengers came in.

Can you see it? We're somewhere in Noe Valley.

Here's a close-up beside some dude.

Lols of course it's not real XD The Gorilla silhouette is shaped from an old black mesh screen filter. Whoever made this has sprung a smile to my face :)

The Force Is With Me

2011-12-28T23:00:00.001+08:00

I had a Star Wars saga for two days starting from its first movie, 'Episode IV: A New Hope' in its 1977 release. I've decided to finally settle down for a marathon to feed my curiosity. Moreover, I won't be much of a geek as I know if I wasn't drawn to the force.

I remember watching Episode IV with my dad on our betamax player during my childhood. I understood the first part then got lost, missing 3/4 of the movie lols

Now that I'm done with the entire series excluding the animation, The Clone Wars, I find Star Wars remarkable! The way the story started with Darth Vader's wrath and his death, the mature version of Luke Skywalker and his destiny to be a Jedi Master, all the way to how everything started, the Sith bringing forth Darth Vader, his reign, and seeing all the Jedis alive has drowned me with ineffable joy!

The smooth flow of events may not have been planned in the first place was connected real well. It was fun fusing the pieces from the Original Trilogy to the Prequel Trilogy. I was filled with Ohhhs and Ahhhs.

The best characters from Star Wars are 1.) Obi-Wan Kenobi for having a genuine Jedi attitude. No offense to Master Yoda for being the wisest but come on, Obi-Wan was an apprentice of Qui-Gon Jinn and was the one who found and trained Anakin; 2.) R2-D2 for being reliable and plain cool. Besides, who doesn't like R2-D2?; 3.) Anakin Skywalker, in his appearance to Episode II and III, is just bad ass! His desire for justice and adventure is intriguing! He may have showed love but has lead to another direction, pulling him through the darker side. With that in mind, I indubitably worship Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker's battle!

The best war from the entire saga is from Attack of the Clones for we see a team of Jedis in action at Geonosis, Obi-Wan and Anakin against Count Dooku with two lightsabers then later battling Master Yoda and lastly, Republic's clone army against the Separatist's droid forces.

I love how each movie has retained the epic opening theme with a few lines of story zooming out in space, and the transition between scenes may either be circle, square moving inwards or outwards in random parts of the screen.

If you wish to watch the entire saga, please, I beg you (I mean it), watch the Original Trilogy then the Prequel Trilogy, NOT the other way around.

Original Trilogy


Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)	Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)	Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Prequel Trilogy


Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)	Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)	Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

The moment I'm done with Revenge of the Sith, I literally can't sleep to its extreme awesomeness! My guts poured out leaving me on the floor covered with my blood! Yes, that extreme! Oh and did I mention the furniture around exploded, sirens wailing, followed by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake? XD

Star Wars is a true classic and epic movie for everybody who loves action, battles, justice, and the galaxy! This movie will definitely last long and be known for its awesomeness. I highly recommend watching this :)

Moving My Babies

2011-12-27T19:14:00.002+08:00

The green button is set to light once I finally decided whether I should move some of my babies (blog entry) from my blog, Life--Dance, a portfolio of my works, to my Oh-Wheezers.

After a much debate and contemplation, I've decided to give it a go for two reasons. First, Life--Dance will just be a blog portfolio for my works and its updates, nothing else; Second, my Life--Dance babies are unnoticed, moving them here will give them a chance to shine.

With that said, I now welcome all my babies to my personal blog. Date, time, and how they were posted is reflected.

Click the 'Read More' at the end of each paragraph. Without further ado, I share to you my entries :)

I. NEWS

Wacom's Inkling

Have you ever wanted your doodles and sketches be uploaded on your laptops without the use of a scanner? Now you can with Wacom's new gadget called, Inkling.

A must have! This handy gadget has more features in-store. Read more.

Powell Street Promenade

Just a usual afternoon, walking along Powell Street 'til I noticed these uniquely designed public seats.

I was amazed to how they looked so I took pictures of these and did my research. Read more.

Kidrobot in San Francisco

I finally went to Kidrobot here in San Francisco, along Haight Street. It's a cool place filled with designer toys, books, and apparel.

I was awestruck to what I saw! Read more.

Mary Blair's concept art for Alice in Wonderland

It's Mary Blair's 100th birthday! I am an instant fan of her illustrations for Walt Disney studios. They are very child-like but fit for all ages. It springs out happiness! Read more.

Cartoonists Remembers 9/11

We all know how devastating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the United States is. This is it's 10th year, in respect, anniversary. Cartoonists did their share for this memorable day. Read more.

II. EVENTS

Graphika Manila 2011

I'm excited to attend Graphika Manila 2011. It's my second time for more inspiration from the creative industry. Read more for the event proper.

ManilArt 2011

I'm also excited to attend ManilArt 2011 but sadly, it was disappointing. Nevertheless, I enjoyed and admired the paintings in the event. Read more.

III. MOVIES

Movie Review: Helvetica (2007)

A review to a documentary film about the font, Helvetica. The widely used font has sparked criticisms and praise. How did this remarkable font started? Read more.

IV. MUSIC / VIDEOS

Viliam by Veronika Obertova

A cool animation about a born artist named Viliam but this wonderful gift turns into something else. Read more.

Move, Eat, Learn

Rick Mereki makes a trip to 11 countries for 44 days and made a very inspiring video of his journey. Divided into three topics, he named the videos, Move, Eat, and Learn. Read more.

Play by Cassette Schwarzenegger

A well-composed electronic pop music called 'Play' is partnered with an astounding animation. The harmony of colors to the beat just rocks on! Read more.

Earthquakey People by Steve Aoki and Rivers Cuomo (Weezer)

Finally! This much-awaited song is out! Hearing this for the first time has got me addicted like crazy! To top that, the colors used for the music video had my eyes bleeding XD Read more.

Enjoy reading the blog entries. If you read all of them then give me a high five 'cause you rock! :)

The Nerdist: Year in Review

2011-12-26T22:51:00.004+08:00

I am happy to have found The Nerdist, a top ranked podcast site for everything nerdy. A complete heaven and a homey place to hang-out created by comedian, host, writer, and geek Chris Hardwick.

The Nerdist: Year In Review, the first of BBC America's five all new Nerdist Specials, is premiered before Christmas Eve. I was clueless to how the show will turn out but learning Wil Weaton, Simon Pegg, and David Tennant would be there, my geek sense started tingling. A must watch :)

Chris Hardwick opened the show with a stand-up comedy performance about geek-related topics. I'm very much glad I understood everything. Chris then introduced his co-host Matt Mira, Jonah Ray, and musician Mike Phirman.

An awesome semi-gay theme interview/skit with Simon Pegg in relation to the premiere of his recent movie, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. After that, Wil Wheaton was welcomed by Chris in the show with a cool handshake-snap-snap-jump-woohoo they made probably way back when they were roommates.

Topics about Star Trek, Omnibot, and Wil's blogging and hobby of playing dungeons and dragons came around. Later on the show, Chris gave Wil a gift. Jokingly, Wil pointed the Omnibot, a co-host shouted Karen Gillian's underwear! Lols to that XD To reciprocate, seemingly unprepared, Wil reached in to his pocket and held out a 12-sided die and gave it to Chris. Meanwhile, the gift was opened and it was a Christmas walrus oven mitt the duo made for their Christmas tree way back in their college days. Nice bromance.

The show progresses with a topic to the best remake of a British TV show and a year in music segment by Nerdist Jonah Ray.

Guest Nathan Fillion is introduced to the show, talks about how he wanted to be in a lead role and made it in series Firefly (2002) and in Castle. Joss Whedon was mentioned for his Firefly and Jason Palmer's admirable illustrating skills.

Nathan praised Chris for making his Nerdist from podcast to television. And with that in mind, they made a serious prom pose but was really awkward to look at lols

Nerdist Kumail Nanjiani shared some thoughts to some awesome video games such as Batman: Arkham City, Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, and Portal 2.

One of my most anticipated portion of the show was Chris Hardwick's interview with David Tennant. They talked about his acting career, love to Doctor Who, how he became Barty Crouch Jr. from the Harry Potter Series, how he became the 10th Doctor and his casting to the movie, Fright Night. Click here for the complete unedited podcast from the nerdist. A must listen :)

The show ended by announcing the Nerdist of the Year. The long list came down jokingly to Isaac Newton and his Universal Law of Gravitation but later revealed singer Weird Al Yankovic declared the winner.

I really enjoy the show, I'm so listening to some podcasts at the nerdist and will be looking forward to the next episode this January 14, 2012 :)

Timeline of Doctor Who

2011-12-25T15:14:00.002+08:00

It's undeniable, I'm obsessed with hit Sci-Fi series, Doctor Who. Below is the timeline of all the Doctors with their companions, 223 stories with 783 individual episodes from 1963 to present. Some trivia is included on the right side.

It's jaw-drop time XD

To view the whole timeline with the complete list of Doctor Who adventures, just visit CableTV.com.