My friends from the Light Crystal Publishing House with your name, website (optional), and home address.

If you prefer to use a pseudonym or a nick name for the story, please specify it in the email, but your real name and address are required for the book shipping. Yes, you also get a copy of the book for free if your short story is chosen to be a part of the book. Pretty good deal, no?

Now, start writing!

In fact, I KNOW those "500+ friends," PERSONALLY. Some of them are from the Gothic and Lolita subculture; some, from the metal and dark scenes; some are from the cosplay scene; some are friends online that I met all around during events and stuff; and about more than half of them are composed of family members, friends, neighbors, people I met at school and work and such.

It's not my fault that people don't wanna be your friend. 'Cause, dude, you're just one bitter bastard.

Someone who has a HUGE friends list unlike you,
Euri

I also would like to think that Lestat, rather than Frodo, might be the new Jesus Christ. The same way that the Vampire Chronicles, the new Bible and Anne Rice, the new God. It just feels sexier that way. The emotional part of The Vampire Chronicles feels so real that you might think that vampires do actually exist. Each book was well written enough to portray the very dept of each character – kindness, loneliness, pain, corruptness and savagery. You always stop and think that somehow, they are human-like, yet at the same time, not at all.

But then again, I think that The Lord of the Rings would fit the Bible-like image more than The Vampire Chronicles – probably due to the good-vs-evil sort of thing, more than anything else.

I tried this both at Windows XP (work PC) and Windows 7 (personal laptop) OS and it works just fine.

--

First, after installing Pidgin, I downloaded these files: GTK+ Themes and GTK+ Theme Switcher and extracted them.

Next, go to your <Pidgin directory>\Gtk folder and extract the GTK + Themes folder in it. Usually, it's located at C:\Program Files\Pidgin\Gtk.

Then, I copied the gtk2_prefs.exe file from the GTK Theme Switcher to the <Pidgin directory>\Gtk\bin folder.

Then, run the gtk2_prefs.exe file and the GTK Theme Switcher window will pop up.

Choose a theme you want from the list and click [Ok]. You can also check apply for all users, if you wanted to.

If it asks if the gtkrc will be overwritten, just click [Yes]

And you're done.

If you have your Pidgin on when you did this, you'll have to close and restart your Pidgin for the changes to take effect.

--

If you want to further customize the colors in your chat boxes, like this below, continue reading.

Right click the Pidgin Icon that can be found on the lower right of your screen.

A list of selections would pop up. Then, select Plugins.

When the list of plugins pops up, look for Pidgin GTK + Theme Control and click [Configure Plugin].

Change the colors, fonts, etc. to you heart's content but remember to click [Re-read gtkrc files] button before closing. If not, you wont be able to see your changes.

That's it! Have fun! =)

Hohoho! I know it's fake. But still, WOAHOMFGBBQ! 8D

Being an enthusiast of goth, punk, grunge and other street fashion, this is not the first time I've heard of BUM. In fact, I like BUM. Especially that series where Kuya Orly (one of our IT guys in my company) wears. I love that shirt with a skull in it. I always notice it when he wears that shirt. But, this is actually my first time being in an actual event (not exactly, because we arrived late). The event got my attention because BUM Equipment is supposedly a fashion brand with gothic and emo as a theme. Although it's not quite in line with my opinion of what "gothic" is, being a goth myself, I do understand the concept of how it came to be branded as goth. As I was looking through the clothing designs via their newly launched website, I think their designs would fall more on the grunge and emo style more than goth. Though there are goths that uses bright colors, mostly industrial goths, the overall feeling just doesn't fit right. And the mere idea of  it just doesn't sit well with me. Probably the preppy feeling to it. But this is just me – the me who is very particular with these things. But then again, that's the main point of it. It's supposed to have that preppy looking, college feel to it.

This is what the fashion show is all about (this is the actual press release. I just copied and pasted it. =P):

BUM, one of the country's leading brands in apparel, once again takes to center stage its newest collection, sure to reflect the youth's unpredictable flair for fashion. Presenting Bum's Collar-Ups Collections. Inspired by the fun eccentricity of fashion and the many possibilities one ca create, Bum's Collar-Ups Collection celebrates color and innovation. Now out on racks for back to school season, it speaks of a whole new fashion statement: wearing collared shirts with a twist.

The colored collars come with a special design or logo at the back where it is usually left blank. A mix of fashionable designs give the collection a character all its own. Plaids, houndstooth, and a wide selection of prints scream a distinct mark that Bum's modern, Goth feel exudes.

Mixing function and fashion, Bum's creation have always been inspired by the youth who personify curiosity and non-conformity in style and in self-expression. Created for highly receptive and reactive individuals, Bum is supposed to be seen – and more importantly, heard by everyone else. Personal empowerment is sewn in every collection, hence, the "he wore/ she wore" character embedded in every piece of apparel.

This school season, Collar-Ups collection make a great conversation piece. So Bum around in style and be the campus fashion upper – Only with Bum's Collar-Ups collections

BUM is available at all leading department stores nationwide.

Anyway, fashion show images are below. I'm not quite the photographer, so the lighting and the shot might be too noobish for a pro photographer's opinion, so please let me slide. XD

Over all, I enjoyed this event.

And of course, special thanks to a lot of people – Azrael for the invite; the ultra nice PR, Judy, eventhough we were extremely late; Jepoy and Lalaine for the ride; Rocky for sending me to the Fort, despite me saying he doesn't need to get down, he still did anyway; and Dos for getting me from Red Kimono to Pier 1, he got totally wet, gomen nasai! m(-_-)m. That's it!

9th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention 2010
in celebration of DC Comics 75th anniversary
June 19-20, 2010
Megatrade Hall 2-3, SM Megamall, 5th level, Bldg. B.

PS: GameOPS will be having a booth there. Please visit our booth! x3

PPS: For those who are asking, I'll only be at the said event on June 19, 2010, Saturday.

--edit--

Here are the pictures I took from our booth. See the ToyCon 2010 in the eyes of Euri. Please excuse the other pictures as they are taken with my own interests in mind (e.g. lots of lolita pictures and a few pictures of me stalking. =D) The album is viewable by public. Feel free to comment and tag people if you know them. x3

For those who didn't have a chance to know, Onefreekiss is local Gothic and Lolita clothing brand owned by Catherine de Jesus. It's the first ever Gothic and Lolita shop that actually produces it's own designs and/or products that opened years ago, when Gothic and Lolita and other Japanese street fashion weren't as popular in the country as it is today.

In those times, there are only a handful of stores where you could buy these type of clothes locally. I usually order mine online, not until Mommy Cris started selling her stuff (and there was a time, pre-orders too) at Rock n Doll, her online shop. Now, there has been too many shops that appear here and there where you could buy and/or have these things made. But remember to be very careful when buying online because there is always that possibility of getting scammed.

Despite this news, however, Cat decided to moved on to a new line catering to mostly cosplayers in her new shop called Layers HQ. Since I'm not really a cosplayer, I'll probably just end up browsing around the shop more than purchasing anything from it like I used to. Or if chances permit, I might end up having something made out of the shop, who knows.

She seems healthier today than she was when I last saw her – last Sunday. She still doesn't seem to remember my name, but she guessed my brother's names correctly. Last week, she called me my mom's name. And this morning, she called me shoti (it means younger brother, referring to out younger brother). They said that we'll get a feedback regarding the results of her tests tomorrow. I hope it isn't cancer. :(

On a brighter note, I've got a new pair of slippers.

For weeks, I've been ranting about the sandals I recently bought with Kini. That pair of "emergency sandals" is so bad. I got bruises all over my feet just for wearing it for a few days. T_T It also has a bad history behind why I bought it – my Banana Peel flip tops broke, in the middle of the road. When that happened, I was like, "Kini, got any Mentos?" joking about how eating it would give me some bright idea of how to get out of the pathetic situation, like in the commercials. I borrowed Kini's love-love bracelet from his wife and tied my slippers with it, for a while, until I realized that I have tie tied around my hair. I used that and return Kini's bracelet before I really broke it (sorry, Kini. ^^;), and dragged him to Metro Department Store, Market! Market! (being it the nearest place from our location – in front of Joren's condo).

So anyway, Ive been wearing that shitty sandals for weeks looking for the "perfect" sandals. And I've finally found it!

Though you might find the design quite dorky (because I'm a dork), it's really soft and comfortable to wear. It only has an inch heel as opposed to the platform sandals and shoes I often wear. Oh, and don't mind my ugly feet and that very visible rash on my right foot – I get those often.

Info about Blood:

BLOOD is a visual kei band whose music falls under gothic Electo-industrial rock. Members include Fu-ki in vocals, Kiwamu in guitars and he also does the programming (yes, this is the same Kiwamu in GPKISM), Kaede in bass and synth bass and Ryo in keyboards. They're currently under the label Darkest Labyrinth and constantly always being featured in Gothic & Lolita Bible and Gothic (a magazine in Japan).

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Maria
by Blood
Credits:  Japan Lyrics

Dare no tameni umareta sarasareta ratai
[OMAE] wo motome samayou yume miru tenshi-tachi no saigo

Dakishimerare umare iku kegareta yokubou
[OMAE] no mae de sarakedasu [BUZAMA] na ore no sugata

Chikai tsuzuketa ore no Maria
[OMAE] ni wakaru ka? myakuutsu kodou wo...

Kakusei sareta kono inochi [OMAE] ni jihi no kutsuu wo
sadamerareta kono inochi ni [OMAE] no kago ga aru no ka

Kakusei sareta kono inochi [OMAE] ni jihi no kutsuu wo
sadamerareta kono inochi ni ima kagayaki no yadoshite

Hiza wo kakae obieteiru aware na kohitsuji
mujihi no yami ni suterareta [BUZAMA] na ore

Aishiteita ore no Maria
[OMAE] ni wakaru ka? shinku no namida wo...

--

English Translation:
by Becky (broken link)

For whose sake was I born, this naked body exposed?
I wander about, searching for you, the last of the dreaming angels

Born and dying in your embrace; tainted desires
My inept form begins to tear apart before you

My Maria, endlessly vowing
Do you understand why my heartbeat has begun to race?...

This life, awakened, hands its merciful agony to you
In this predestined life, does your divine protection exist?

This life, awakened, hands its merciful agony to you
In this predestined life, radiance is now conceived

Arms clasped around my knees, a frightened, helpless lamb,
I, who am inept, am cast away into merciless darkness

My Maria, whom I loved
Do you understand why these crimson tears fall?

In the days to come, I wanted to inspire more people and be inspired by even more – in just the most random ways I and and other people could think off. After all, it's what paints us with colors – is what I think.

Although the tour dates are only in Japan for now, I'm hoping they would go worldwide like X Japan's 10th Year Reunion Concert. We can't deny the fact that X Japan's gap with international popularity is a bit wide compared to Aucifer, nevertheless, Aucifer is quite popular especially knowing where the band originated from.

Anyway, before I went on blabbing around too much about Kaikan Phrase, here are the tour dates listed for Aucifer:

Osaka
心斎橋 CLUB QUATTRO
August 25, 2010 (Wednesday)

Nagoya
E.L.L.
August 26, 2010 (Thursday)

Tokyo
赤坂 BLITZ
August 31, 2010 (Tuesday)

Let's dig a little more deeper into the band itself, shall we?

Aucifer is a band form for the animation of Shinjo Mayu's manga Kaikain Phrase (or Sensual Phase in the US) who first debuted in September 1999 and disbanded early 2003. They're a group of 5 of who, except for the lead vocalist, took the name of their corresponding characters as stage names for their band. Band members include Makoto (who's supposed to be Sakuya), Atsuro (Gu), Yuki (Gu),  Towa (Ba) and Santa (Dr). The band was a hit, but then, like any other band that was formed for anime, they broke up after a few albums as Makoto went solo and the others went  to join other bands as well.

Moving on to the manga, Kaikan Phrase is a manga known to every single shoujo smut fan. I believe I haven't met a single shoujo smut fan who fails to know the mere title of this manga who's storyline revolves around our shoujo protagonist, Yukimura Aine. Aine was an ordinary high school girl who has talent with writing lyrics, until one faithful day when she got caught up in an accident involving a hot, handsome, black haired and blue-eyed guy, Ookouchi Sakuya, who later turned out to be the vocalist of the super popular band called Lucifer (band name in the manga – apparently, this was the band's original name before they turned it into Aucifer when they started their international debut). To cut the story short, she became their lyricist and eventually they fell in love. The entire manga mainly revolves around their relationship, sometimes, details of their past. Although the manga's storyline keeps on dragging too much, in my opinion, one good point about it is the unbelievable amount of fan service by totally attractive bunch of bishonen which is a super plus for a shoujo smut fan like myself. Due to popularity of the manga, they made an anime version of it. But unlike the manga, the storyline of the anime revolves around more on the band Lucifer itself, in their years before their fame skyrocketed, unlike the manga on which it revolves more around Sakuya and Aine's relationship. The Aucifer members did were the actual seiyuu who dubbed the anime and they also did the OST for the anime.

Oh and in case you have noticed, yes, my current blog theme, which has always been since 4 years ago,  is actually from Kaikan Phrase itself – the manga, to be exact.