My CHIMCHAR plush doll

Got my new Chimchar Doll from eBay. This is actually the first product I bought from eBay and it was worth it. I am usually having a hard time looking for plush dolls here in the Philippines due to its limited availability so I opt to get one online. I was glad that someone here from the Philippines is selling this stuff so I grabbed one for myself as soon as possible.

Glee Season 2 Episode 1 rocks with Charice

The long wait is over. Tonight isthe premiere telecast of the much awaited Season 2 of the Multi awarded musical-comedy series Glee where the Filipina singing sensation Charice makes a debut as Sunshine Corazon, the foreign exchange Filipino student in McKinley High School. Although it was shown in ETC 4PM today, I wasn't able to watch it since I was asleep. I also wondered why Star World still advertises that they are going to show Season 1 today even if we expect Season 2 to be televised at 8PM. Well, thanks to Hunnie, one of my colleagues at work, gave me a link to watch live streaming online. It made my day hehehe.

The whole episode itself gives you a feel that there are still more to come with this season. The renditions of the songs are great, some notably excellent. The version of Empire State of Mind by New Directions is much more "groovy" for me rather than Jay-Z and Alicia Key's original. The introduction of Rachel Berry to Sunshine Corazon in the girl's bathroom was funny. The rendition of Telephone was excellent, same as my perception to Lady Gaga and Beyonce's version, considering it was sang by two powerhouses in the show. However, my height of excitement was cut short by Sue Sylvester's intervention at the middle of the song, shouting at both of them "Shut Up!" to end the showdown. Charice's audition for New Directions, "Listen" by Beyonce, is beyond compare...although her live performance in the Oscars was way better than her Glee version.

New quarterback Sam Evans played by Chord Overstreet also makes a debut on this episode. He replaces Finn as the quarterback of the football team after new football coach, Shannon Beiste, removed Finn from the team (he suggested Artie to tryout for the team and honestly, like Beiste, I find it stupid). Sam sang Billionaire with the New Directions boys after showing interest to join the club, but later declined after knowing that Glee is the bottom of the school community. Quinn is back with the Cheerios, replacing Santana as head cheerleader. Mike and Tina starts dating, leaving poor Artie in jealousy.

What I hate about this episode though is Rachel's trickery on Sunshine to prevent her from entering New Directions because she is threatened that the latter will steal the spotlight from her. Sunshine did audition but later on was recruited by Vocal Adrenaline after Sue gave a tip to their vocal coach to recruit Sunshine. I really really hate this part since I was hoping she would be a part of New Directions.

Here's the video of some of the scenes Charice was featured..including her duet with Rachel and her audition for New Directions. She's only a guest star for this episode and will not be included in the next two episodes to come..hopefully Ryan Murphy will consider her as a main cast soon.

MORE SLUSHIES!!!

Rachel to Sunshine: "I encourage you to audition for Glee Club. Glee Club is Fun. Swaying in background can be fun" LOL

Back on Top: UP crowned 2010 UAAP Cheerdance Champions

Last Sunday was one of the exciting Sundays every year that I usually anticipate. It was the UAAP Cheerdance competition between 8 top universities of the country, a great glory not only for the cheerdancers but also the school they are representing. I happened to be at home, recovering from my flu when this was live telecast in Studio 23 from 2PM til 5PM. I was actually rooting for Far Eastern University Pep Squad since they won last year and surprisingly broke the chance for University of the Philippines to have their back-to-back grand slam win. But this year turned out to be UP's year again.

I was a bit of a judge myself while watching these routines on TV. Coming from a cheer squad during my college days, I am very particular on the do and don'ts of cheerleading. Most of the team actually failed to grab a high score especially on liftings since, common scenario, fliers tend to wobble on their lift routines, some even fall prematurely during their performances. This I guess is one of the advantages UP had with the other teams, since they always are exceptionally "clean" when it comes to liftings and pyramids. The songs used by squads these year were not quite exciting though, with the exception of Ateneo, UP and FEU. I love FEU's music. Since they were inspired by Japanese samurais, they used Smile.dk's Butterfly (yey! DDR), Magic Knight Rayearths anime opening song as well as "Feel Like Dance", the Jpop song that became very popular here in the Philippines way back the 90s era.

UP did excellent this year in comparison to last year's routine. Not only it was very clean and the choreography is nice, the concept is well applicable to boost the tourism of the country. They used festivities such as Ati-Atihan of Aklan, Penagbenga of Baguio and of course, my city's festival, Masskara. Instead of pompoms, they used sunflowers as props. This certian move actually made UP believers quoted on twitter "UP used sunflowers because they know zombies will eat what they have - brains". The statement shows that UP people are intelligent folks and the tweet is well associated to one of the famous PC games to date (one of my fave too) Plants vs. Zombies.

UP were followed by last year's champions FEU Pep Squad, then Salanggawi Dance Troupe of UST came in Third. Ateneo blue Babble Battalion is quite close for the top 3 and followed by De La Salle Pep Squad. UE Pep Squad, NU Pep Squad, and the Adamson University Pep Squad came in last, respectively.

They indeed went back on top. Coming in third last year did encourage them to strive more, and hit the steps more. I am looking forward for another great routine next year from this team. Congratulations Unibersidad ng Pilipinas!!!

The Isshu Saga: the next season for Pokemon Anime

Japan will be airing the latest season of Pokemon anime in September 23rd, 2010. This will focus on Ash's journey in Isshu, the region featured in the Pokemon Black and White games. There are certain changes to this season, and very major changes I may say. Ash will continue his journey in Isshu with Pikachu. But this time, none of his previous buddies will join his quest, even Brock who had been with him since he started in Kanto until his last battle in the Sinnoh League. He will be accompanied by 2 new characters, Iris and Dento.

His new rival, although not confimed is Shooti, a Pokemon trainer and photographer at the same time. The Pokemon Professor for the first town for the first time, is a femal named Dr. Araragi. Still don't know if this will carry over to the English dubs for the show.

A new team of antagonists will try to conquer Isshu which is called Team Plasma. And let's not forget about Team Rocket. Giovanni decided to make them as the team to lead the Team Rocket's base in Isshu=) Here are some of the photos of the characters for the new season.


This season provides many changes also to the characters usual, and trademark outfits. Ash, Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, Team Rocket as well as Giovanni had a major makeover for this season.

MASSIVE updates for Pokemon Black & White

It's been a while since I've given updates for the upcoming Pokemon game in Nintendo DS (which I will definitely buy) Pokemon Black and White. Two weeks of wait will be over for Japanese fans as these games will be released by the third week of September. It may be in Japanese version but I'll go ahead and download a ROM for it for my DS to play first hand before the English Version will be available.I have read lots of updates from one of my followed blogs, Serebii.net as well as Bulbapedia so I might as well give a small summary for the updates. it seems that Nintendo and GameFreak are just giving away all the surprises for the next game..but in my case, I find it interesting to try out the new species, moves and new features offered by this game.

NEW POKEMON

There is a total of 40 new Pokemon that are already introduced through Japan shows like Pokemon Sunday and the magazine CoroCoro. This includes the previous species I have introduced on my earlier blogs (with the starters, Zekrom, Reshiram, Zorua, and Zoroark). Here are the pictures of the new ones. Here's the link to Serebii.net's pre-released photos of the new generation Pokemon species. Now you judge... Fifth Generation Pokemon

DREAM WORLD

As compared to PokeWalker for the 5th generation, Trainers are able to send Pokemon from DS to the Internet as called the Dream World. Here, trainers can catch Pokemon not native to Isshu (older generations) with Dream World exclusive abilities not available within any games (e.g. Vaporeon with Hydration, and Glaceon with Ice Body). This is also where you can plant berries (since you can't plant them in Isshu), Get items and trade them with friends and decorate your own house situated on a floating island.

BATTLE CHANGES

Battles in Black & white may seem a bit exciting than the previous games. The interface is has been change from a static background to everything in motion. This is also the first game to introduce triple battles. Rotation battles works like triple battles but you can rotate your three Pokemon in which one to attack first in every turn you have. And lastly Miracle shooter for multiplayer battles allows you to use items, opposed to the previous games which will not allow you to do so.

ATTACKS AND ABILITIES

There are a total of 27 new attacks and 14 abilities introduced so far. this could either be Pokemon exclusive or could be applicable with the old version Pokemon species.

SEASON CYCLE

Like the real world, Pokemon Black & White introduced 4 seasons in the game. It has several effects other than aesthetics in the game. You're character will change clothes according to the season. Pokemon will appear rare or common depending on the season you are in. and some places are only accessible to a specific season. One Pokemon, Shikijika (deer), called the Seasonal Pokemon, changes color depending on the seasons in the game.

NEW FEATURES

C-Gear: works like a Poketch in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. It allows you to use wireless, infrared and WiFi to detect any players with their C-Gear on within the vicinity and enables you to connect to the Global link. Unlike Pal Park though, the method of obtaining them here is a simple minigame. On the top screen, you wil willsee various bushes and the six Pokémon will jump between various ones. Your task here is to use a Bow which shoots out Pokéballs to try and capture them.
High Link: Allows you to play the game side by side with friends. You're avatars will work together in the games to either help each other or compete through missions. full detail not provided yet.. This is done through wireless communication.

Battle Subway: Works just like the Battle tower, only difference is the design and style..but the rationale is still the same.

Pokemon Musical: Much like contest but with new features. It's like taking the appeals round into the next level. After the dress up stage, you will proceed with the musical stage where you control you're Pokemon to follow a rhythm and score more against you're NPC components. Audience, if they like you're performance, will through items for you to keep.


14 more days to go! The fifth generation for Pokemon will finally begin!

Photos courtesy of Serebii.net

MAJOR MAJOR mistake??

"Today is the most beautiful day in the universe" - the famous line from one of the prestigious beauty pageants in the world, Ms. Universe. Well, not specifically this date August 25th every year but you get the point.

After the horrible incident that happened yesterday in Quirino Grandstand in Manila (a great commotion not only here in the Philippines but also in the international scene) which not only brought shame to our country but also endangered our stand for tourism and alliance from neighboring countries, specifically HongKong, the Philippines was given again another time to shine, this time in a good, errr, good way.

Ms. Maria Venus Raj, the 2010 Binibining Pilipinas Universe represented the country for the 2010 Ms. Universe held in Mandalay Bay hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and may I say she did well, excellent..not until the dreaded final question. She came through as the last person to be announced as part of the Top 15, 3rd to be called upon in top 10 and again last to be called to join the Top 5. Together with her were Mexico, Australia, Jamaica and Ukraine.

All went smoothly, from the swimwear to the long gown. she was the crowd favorite, considering Las Vegas has a very large community for Filipinos. Reports also had claimed she is one of the judge's choice for the crown..and to reiterate..not until the Final question.

So what's the big deal with the final Q&A that made her land as the 4th Runner Up instead of grabbing the coveted title? Did she made a major mistake? Yes she did..

When asked if what are her life's mistakes, she excitedly but blandly answered she has none. That is sure an honest answer but she could have thought of her experiences before, like losing her crown and having them back because she fought for it. After hearing her answer, I was a bit down to be honest. She really had a good chance to get the crown but she let it slipped. And to her defense, the question was too personal rather than the other contestants who got questions like importance of internet to the youth, full body scanning in international airports, etc. These are current event questions that are very relevant to what Miss Universe is supposed to be, by taking a good example to the world. I feel sorry for her actually but still proud she made it to the Top 5. the last one was a decade ago, Miriam Quiambao grabbing the 1st Runner up title.

She said "I don't have any major major, i mean, problem in my entire life". the quote "MAJOR MAJOR" had been a trending topic all over the world, not only the net but also in real life. It had been a catch-phrase her in the office as of the moment.. Mexico got the crown, but Venus is still a trending topic all over the planet. That's a major major achievement I may say..

Peace Out

My new laptop

After 2 years of saving a little part of my salary every 15 days of work at the office, I finally decided to buy my own laptop. Well I'm gonna use it most of the time once I'm back to Masteral school for my Nursing degree..and also to play flash games in Facebook since old, crappy desktop wouldn't allow me even to open the simplest page..Internet connection is very slow due to hardware issues. Unfortunately, after 2 days that I bought the laptop, my desktop just died out. Well that is unlucky for my desktop, but lucky for me. but I'm still gonna try to go and fix it. =P

It's a Acer 4745G model, windows 7 Home premium. It has a free canon printer and smart bro broadband kit with it since I got to order this during a promo at one of our malls here in Bacolod.

Spotlight: K-Pop

After a few months of waiting for this release, I finally got my MYX Magazine Kpop Special. I have always been a fan of Kpop, not because I'm Korean and I can understand the whole song itself ( I can understand some common Korean words and the English parts of their songs, they always like to mash them up). so today, rather than featuring my mag on this blog, I had an idea of giving Kpop a spotlight on my page, on what it is, and how it has swiftly dominated the hearts of Filipino fans.

What is K-pop?

K-Pop is an abbreviation for Korean Pop Music (also called GaYo or Kayo music) especially from South Korea. The "Korean Wave" is not only a popular culture in their country but it widely spread out throughout Asia, especially here in the Philippines. Older genres of Kpop started as plainly guitar acoustic, then evolved to rock music in the 1970s. Trot, a more Japanese influenced genre also became its main pop music during those times.
The 90s was the start of the dynamic formations of music groups which incorporated dance-oriented acts to pop music, popularized by the legendary duo-group Deux. Slowly, American style rap, hiphop and R&B slowly merged itself with Korean Pop which became very appealing to Koreans as well as neighboring countries.
The 2000s marked the rice of boy and girl bands. But unlike American groups, even if Kpop groups are disbanded, bubblegum pop is still very popular (songs that are often catchy, upbeat, typically ahs sing-along choruses which main targets are teens and pre-teen audiences). 2008 started the most current style in K-pop which is Electronica.Korean artists also made its way to the US Charts, notable artists such as BoA, Rain and Wonder Girls.

Rise of K-Pop in the Philippines

K-pop phenomenon in the Philippines started indirectly way back 2003, with the first Koreanovela (Korean novel) Autumn in my Heart (GMA 7) to compete with Meteor Garden, a Chinovela (Chinese Novel - ABS-CBN). During the same year, the first Kpop music video aired on MYX (local music channel). This song was from the group Kiss and the song is "Because I'm A Girl" which was remade into a Tagalog song by Roxanne Barcelo in 2004 titled "Kung Alam mo Lang". "Answer the Phone" by Mina was remade into English translations and most of the Korean novela theme songs are performed by Faith Cuneta, which gave her the title 'Diva of Koreanovela'.

Korean fandoms (groups) had also been popular due to cable TV offering of Korean channels subbed in English. this is the reason why most Korean artists not well known before in the Philippines made its way to the charts, even topping them, here in the Philippines. Some of the well know Korean artists to made it on both the TV and radio charts were Super Junior, Wonder Girls, 2NE1 (which Sandara Park, a local celebrity before here in the Philippines which is a pure Korean, is a part of), TVXQ, UKiss, Girls' Generation, Rain and many more. As of today, "No Other" by Super Junior is unbeatable in the MYX Hitchart, battling the top spot with the Canadian pop star, Justin Bieber.

I started to like K-pop since I played Pump It Up, a dance simulation game produced by Andamiro, which was mirrored from the popular Japanese game, DanceDanceRevolution. This is where I was introduced with some of the songs which I liked until now mainly "Don't Bother Me" by Tashannie, "Fly" by Epik High, "Hold the Line" by B.E.P. and some others which I usually play in the arcade. 2NE1, Girls' Generation, BoA and Super Junior are some of the artists that I also feel in love with. 2NE1 especially since Sandara is a part of the group (I always like her since her SCQ days). Super Junior's two songs "Sorry Sorry" and "Bonamana" are also one of my top favorite Kpop songs to date.

People may not understand why we love Kpop that much since we barely understand their language or some may find their fashion trends awkward. But everyone has their own right to like whatever they want. and having Kpop swarm the Philippine music charts, it is really evident that Kpop has already became a part of our modern Filipino music culture.

Sources: Wikipedia, Wikipilipinas

The Wonders of Photoshop

I've been on training for two weeks of Digital Imaging at work. The training turned out great since we are being trained to work with images in Photoshop. Photoshop Elements as well as Lightroom. Everyday we were given by our trainer Brett Nemecek from Adobe some projects to work with and these are the few things I have done so far with Photoshop.

This is the first project we created. Our name tags. Well, it about how we use utilize the tools that we are familiar without the actual training yet

Aliens. Creating our own aliens from images using Filter options with Photoshop. This was created using distortion and liquify features.


Creating a movie poster incorporating the following things: ICE, CAVE, COLD, GIRAFFE, FLY, BEER, PURPLE, ROMANCE, SQUEEZE, MARK (I used Mark Gemal's picture, one of my colleague as the protagonist), and ANDREW (Andrew Alova, a colleague also, as antagonist). It was a fun (actually funny) project to work with, utilizing magic wand tool, smart brush, quick select tool, text design, etc.

Focuses more on healing brush, clone stamp tool and spot healing tool, this project will make old people turn young and young people turn old. I used Robin Williams, he's on of my idols.

I call this piece "RENAISSANCE GOES GAGA". The objective of this project is to use the brush tool to blur, smudge and combine photos with the background layer to make the second layer as realistic as possible, which in this case will look like a part of a painting. I used DaVinci's "Leda and the Swan" painting and made it dress Lady Gaga's Grammy dress. I was also able to remove the small kids on the lower left using Content Aware, not destroying the portrait itself.

This was just created last night. Our topic was about layers and layer properties. The original picture is in the lower right side of the photo. I used Overlay, Soft Light and vivid light options to create an effect as if it was already the end of the world..Scary!!!

Spotlight: DanceDanceRevolution X2

**Late post - i just had time to recover my computer..created this blog July 24, 2010

July 7, 2010 is a historical event for all DDR Players around the world. The most anticipated sequel to the 10th Anniversary DDR X was released for arcade during this day which gave both players and enthusiasts for DDR a hype to get their hands (and of course, feet) with the game. Today I will feature this on my blog since I am also not only excited but hyperexcited with the said game. Timezone in Glorietta 4 in Makati City already confirmed they ordered for one machine..and hopefully I can go to Manila by that time to experience it first hand. This blog will give as an idea of what's new and what's hot with the new DanceDance Revolution X2

DanceDanceRevolution X2

What's New?

After several test locations in Tokyo since November 2009, DDR X has finally been released for arcade the 7th of July this year. So what has this game has to offer? Well there are a lot to mention.

A REDISIGNED SONG SELECTION INTERFACE

DDR started its song selection interface as CD just like in a jukebox machine (DDR 1st to 3rd mix), later developed to banner selections (DDR 4th and 5th). From DDR Max to DDR X, the song wheel selection, which became the standard song selection interface for all arcades and console version. DDR X2 however, broke this tradition and gave us a new way to select songs. The new interface shows songs selected via its CD covers. Prior to this however, DDR Universe 3 in Xbox 360 already used this interface, but this is the first time it will be introduced in the arcade version.

MODIFIERS

There are a few (but important) things that have changed with the modifiers/modes for gameplay. There are new adjustable versions of the Sudden and Hidden modifiers, and the ability to adjust these settings and the speed of the arrows in-game using the control buttons on the cabinet.

CABINET

The cabinet for the first time had four selection arrows in all four directions for each player in contrast to the previous machines which only has two (left and right arrows only). The up and down arrows are for Sudden+ and Hidden+ modifiers while the left and right arrows can be used to modify speed a few seconds before the actual gameplay/song begins. Input lag is reduced as a part of the improvement as well as higher quality pads more similar to arcade pads in the Japanese version. Machines can be upgraded from DDR X but not from pre-DDR X version due to compatibilities issues.

MUSIC

Over 70 new songs had been released for DDR X2 arcade and may still be subject for additional releases in the future. All licenses in DDR Supernova and Supernova 2 were removed X2 due to licensing expiration (with the exception of "Angelus" and "Golden Sky". The good news is that four "oldies but goldies" DDR tracks from the first few series made its way to X2, with one of them having a special remix. Licenses included are from well known Japanese and Western artists. There are a total of 8 Bemani Crossovers..all coming from Beatmania IIDX series. This is the first time music form Cyber TRANCE has been included, as well as from the Super Eurobeat album since Disney's Rave. The partial list can be viewed in Wikipedia (link directs to DDR X2 page)

SPECIAL EXTRA STAGE SYSTEM

The new extra stage system called Replicant D-Action allows players to select from 6 boss songs. When a player gets an AA or higher score with one of these songs, which is only available in Expert Mode, Encore Extra Stage is unlocked (song: Valkyrie Dimension by Spriggan).


The game is still fresh for players and for sure, updates will be coming soon for this game. May it be unlocks, new modes or other additional features, I'm pretty sure this game will surpass its predecessor game for a number of miles.

Sources:
www. wikipedia.org
www.bemanistyle.com
www.zenius-i-vanisher.com

Pokemon is back on track..

Today I was going over articles in Yahoo! news when I saw this news about my favorite game (may not be a big deal to anyone but me). Yahoo! Games had named the top 10 best selling video games as to date and Pokemon made it on the list, not once but twice.

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the remake of, What I shall call the best Pokemon generation game ever (Gold and Silver in GB Color) made it on its top 10 list. This would suffice the fact that Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire (Generation III games for GB Advance) did not make that much of an impression for players and fanatic, including me. HeartGold and SoulSilver ranked 7th and 2nd, respectively. The Number 1 spot goes to the classic Super Mario..but this time a remake for the Wii console.


Now after this success, Pokemon Company will be releasing its new game for DS, Pokemon Black & White. It's a totally new world with new Pokemon, not a remake, but will it surpass the glory that Pokemon HeartGold and Soulsilver (also its original forms Gold and Silver)?

Here's the complete list of the Top 10 Sellers (So Far) for 2010.

1. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
2. Pokemon SoulSilver (DS)
3. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)
4. God of War III (PlayStation 3)
5. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
6. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
7. Pokemon HeartGold (DS)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
9. Just Dance (Wii)
10.Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

My blogging hiatus..almost done

After a short break from blogging, I will be doing my best to update my blog page with new stuff, events, and some news (relevant to my likings of course). It's been a very hectic month at the office, considering we have to meet the expectations of our clients as one of the best tech support there is to date. I am going to train for a new field next week..after Installation, we are gonna tackle Digital Imaging..sounds exciting but we will see..

Once I get back to my hyper excited blogging spirit..I will be telling much about latest things that happened, at work, home, or even the web. For now, I really have to rest..I'm losing weight again..and it's not a good sign.


This photo was taken during our Back2Skul Rally at the office. I gotta dress like a Korean/Japanese/Hogwarts exchange student IDK...LOL

Usher in Manila

The very first concert I attended in Manila. Last July 9, 2010, Usher had a concert in SM Mall of Asia Open Grounds to entertain his Filipino fans and to promote his latest album Raymond V Raymond. The show started a bit late (supposed to start at 8) with an opening act from South Border and Nina.

The show started an hour late than the scheduled event time. Usher started the show with Caught Up which gave everyone the hype to sing with him. But the wait was worth it. Usher performed a total of almost 15 songs which included all of his all time fave hits (Caught Up, Yeah!, Love in This Club, Confessions, Nice and slow, etc.). We purchased general admission tickets for Php600..far from the stage but the projectors provided up a close up for the performances. And guess how much the VIP tickets cost? It's PHP12000...an amount that can only local actors and elites can afford of course. The concert was jammed pack with almost more than approximately 3000 to 5000 people. And me, Edz, and Ching were among those who enjoyed the night with Usher's awesome dance moves and voice of course.

Here's a video of his finale song, "OMG"

4 days getaway from stress: the Short Vacation in Manila

After 2 months, I was back in Manila for a short but fulfilling vacation (I was there last May for the DDR General Assembly). Thankful for my supervisor for approving my 2 days leave which 'sandwiched" my 2 days-off during the weekend.

Me and Edz stayed at Ching's (her college classmate) apartment in Villamor, Pasay just near NAIA Terminal 3. We started Friday night off with a blast. And guess what it is? A concert in SM Mall of Asia Open Grounds by none other than Usher. The program started with South Border and Nina performing a couple of songs and later on 14 to 15 songs from Usher himself. It was a fun night, even if we did only get to have general admission tickets, the experience was really really great, seeing one of my idols perform on stage.


The next day was Enchanted Kingdom day. But this day doesn't seem to get better. It started off when we had a small argument way back in Makati before leaving for Laguna. It took us 2 1/2 hours before we left the place due to an misunderstanding between us (passengers) and the driver. They promised to leave at exactly 3:40PM (we were there since 2:30PM) even if the vehicle is not full but they didn't. So we were behind schedule. We arrived at EK around 5PM where it was drizzling. My camera malfunctioned during the said trip (a usual malfunction for Canon cameras). We haven't had a chance to go to Watercamp in Cavite to saty for an overnight because of time constraints and lastly, our taxi was caught by the traffic enforcers after a wrong turn on our way home. This is indeed not a good day to remember, but funny if you think of it LOL.


Sunday was DDR day again for me. Edz and Ching went shopping while I head down to Glorietta 4 in Makati City to meet with Edison and of course my DDR Barkada in Timezone. It was a fun 6 hour gameplay and I almost got my first AAA, but I didn't..what a frustration! grrr..

We went home in Bacolod a day after which was July 12th at 4pm. It was a fun weekend stress free from work. I'll be back soon in Manila this October and hopefully to Baguio for the DDR General Assembly in the Northern Luzon area.

New DDR X2 Poster..and 3 more days to go...

A month ago, Konami had already announce the final date of release for DanceDanceRevolution X2 (AC) in Japan. It will be on July 7, 2010..and hopefully soon here in the Philippines. I remembered two years ago when DDR X was released, it came to the Philippines just a week after. Hopefully it would happen again. I'll be in Manila by that time..but I think it would arrive the latter weeks..

Here's the new poster I saw in Zenius-i-Vanisher.com. How I wish I could print this out and put it in my room..hehe


Oh, that reminds me of the article I need to create about the said events to be posted on (on its first issue) e-zine website for DDR Philippines..deadline is next week so I have to finish it by this weekend =)

Update: Isshu Region for Pokemon Black & White

The ISSHU Region
Picture courtesy of serebii.net

Update: Here's a bigger view of the Isshu Region for Pokemon Black and White version...game will be released end of year 2010 for Nintendo DS LITE, DSi and soon on 3DS.

Confirmed: Charice on Glee

Charice always has big surprises to us Filipinos. After being a huge hit in Youtube and making a big name in the US (after appearing in Oprah and Ellen's show), the young Billboard chart topper will join the cast of the 2nd season of Fox's multi-awarded musical comedy series GLEE. Earlier this year, she denied rumors through her twitter that she will join the cast but later on tried to audition and made it to the show. She will play as an foreign exchange student who became Rachel Berry's (Lea Michele) rival. Looks like a big competition to me...considering Charice's big voice and high hitting notes vs. Lea Michele big voice too accompanied with big self-centered ego =p

The internet today has this as a big headline for the entertainment world. Of course, there were several mixed reactions to this event. Sad to say but most Filipinos like Charice often gave the negative reactions. Can't we just get rid of our crab mentality? In my part, I never criticized my fellow Filipinos just because they will be in the big scene while I'm not. People often comment that she will not be a good actress, that she is awkward to look or she will look just like a "yaya" or "Kokey" once she joins the Glee cast. Well, Glee is a series solely focused on the individual's talents and not the looks. And when it comes to talent, Charice's powerful voice is the one to beat compared to the main cast as of the moment. With acting, everyone can learn it. We might be surprised, since she will train and have acting workshops in Hollywood, she might become better than our local actors and actresses here in the Philippines. We just have to see it first before we judge her.

I never took GLEE seriously before, in terms of continuously watching during Wednesday nights on Star World. But the songs and covers from pop songs to broadway musicals are simply amazing, I even had copies of them on my phone to listen everyday and eventually having last song syndromes by the end of the day . Now with Charice as part of the crew, it came to my attention that I should be religiously watching the next season. Not only that I am Filipino and proud of her talent, I also like her voice.

Z-i-V Summer contest 2010

Zenius-i-Vanisher is a music gaming news site which I am active from time to time because it gives me updates and news about dance simulation games such as Dance Dance Revolution, Pump It Up and any other music simulation games. It is also an online forums for players around the world for game discussions, simfile creations and chit-chats for anything and everything under the sun.

Last May 3rd, the website (c/o user Pandemonium X) started a project called Z-i-V (short for Zenius-I-vanisher) Summer contest 2010 which will showcase user's skills to create DDR simfiles from songs which were not included in the main DDR series. This will allow players to express their simfile making skills to showcase the songs they like to be included in the main game. Every week, there will be a category which simfile makers will follow as a criteria. this week was licenses category, which will allow us to create simfiles from licensed songs from famous artist all over the world. I happened to be a simfile maker myself for quite some time (almost 3 years now). I actually have created a total of 70 songs already which I also published on that website for users to download. For this contest, I decided to pass one of my better stepped files. And this song is one of those songs that became really famous during the Korean Pop invasion, even made it to the top 10 of last year's year ender countdown in MYX.

Here's the banner and background I submitted for Sorry Sorry by Super Junior.



Update: The simfile won 1st place for the week..hehe i guess I never knew I was good in synching steps with songs =)

Corny jokes..that will make you laugh..

For your daily dose of Corny-ness, visit this website


Corn-inator

New Region revealed in the Pokemon World

Another Corocoro scan in Bulbapedia website and Serebii.net. This is the first overview of the new region called Isshu in the Pokemon World, the setting for the upcoming games Pokemon Black and White. Also, additional information were released for Reshiram and Zekrom, Zorua and Zoruark, and some new features in the game.

This is Isshu, much nicer in graphics and i do hope they will include this in the game. Isshu is seemed to be pattern with the Middle East location. Cities and countries near a dessert and separated by bodies of water. The city in the bottom middle portion is Huin City, which also resembles Dubai.

Here are also some additional information about Pokemons and the new features,

* Reshiram is a Dragon & Fire-type type. It is the White Yang Pokémon It is 3.2m and 330kg. It has the new TurboBlaze (ターボブレイズ) Ability

* Zekrom is an Dragon & Electric-type as predicted.. It is the Black Yin Pokémon. It is 2.9m and 345kg. It has the Terra Voltage (テラボルテージ) ability

**To get Zorua, you will need to send over the Celebi from the upcoming movie to Black & White. It is obtained at Level 10

**Zorua knows the attacks Leer, Scratch, Pursuit & Fake Tears **Zoroark knows Fury Swipes, Faint Attack, Scary Face, Taunt and a new attack; Night Burst (ナイトバ-スト)

**There is a new feature called the C Cog which allows you to play with various connection capabilites. To what end is not known, but there is a screenshot of the player in the Pokémon Centre with various connection stats at the bottom.

**In this game Global Terminal is now called "Random Match". It just says that you can play freely with people from all over the country in random match mode. Then says that in spring 2011 that foreign players will join. The Global Terminal is now also located in the Pokémon Centres.

JOVIT grabbed the PGT Grand title

MY bet won! hehe..And so is everyone else that I knew who believed in Jovit Baldivino. The 16 year old won the 2 Million pesos prize. He garnered 48.18% of the text votes, a full force from the JOVINATICS and the TFC subscribers, a very far number compared to Velasco Brothers who got only 15% of the total votes. Here's another review of the results night for Pilipinas Got Talent results night.

The show was hosted by Luis and Iya instead of Billy. I don't know what happened to him. I wasn't able to watch the opening number of the show which was according to TV Patrol just this evening, Robin Padilla did an aerial performance. I was in a bowling game that time and only was able to watch the first set of performance of the finalists. it was a song number from Marc Abaya, partnered with Keith as his guitarist. keith showed off his rocker skills again, thank God he did not sing lol. Jeline performed with Rocksteady with the song "Superhero" with her on violin. Ezra Band performed with Juvis of MYMP and Jovit performed with Sugarfree. The performance is good, considering they were paired up perfectly with the singers/band.

Second set of performance was a dance number from Baguio Metamorphosis, Velasco Brothers, Alakim, and Ruther/Titoy. The latter two did not dance of course, as Ruther and Nitoy introduced the number..and Alakim did his magic tricks in front of background ballet dancers. Meta and Velasco are well in tuned with the choregraphy as they danced with the Maneuvers.

The last set of performance was from Gary V singing ballads with the Luntayao family, Sherwin, Markki and Ingrid. And what a surprise, only Sherwin can keep up with Pure energy's balladeer voice.

It was nice to know that ABS is becoming more generous..the 9 finalists with the lowest text votes did not went home empty handed. Each person/group won 50,000 pesos as a consolation. The top 3 contestants were announced and it was Jovit, Velasco and Meta. Velasco and Meta won each with P100,000 as runners up. When Kris asked Jovit if he wants to be an actor, wants to have Sarah as a loveteam, or a teleserye and a permanent stay in ASAP XV, the overwhelmed winner simply just said "Lahat po!" which gave everyone a good laugh. He did sang his song piece "Too Much Love Will Kill You" again which was better than the finale night. The show overall was not dragging, and not boring. Congrats Jovit Baldivino!

PGMA appears in Marvel

The first Filipino personality to appear in Marvel's Secret Invasion (and in all Marvel comics) is none other than our former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo =)

I got this photo from one of my Facebook friends who tagged me. According to the source, the artist was Leinil Yu who included her Excellency in the comic script. Now what is the "Skrull" that she is talking about? Well I did a small research. Thanks to Google and Marvel.com.

Small excerpt from Marvel site:

"The Skrulls are an extraterrestrial humanoid race who have created a vast interstellar empire, the oldest known empire still in existence, within the Andromeda Galaxy."
for more info please read www.marvel.com/universe/skrulls

Now I'm wondering who will be next? It might be Manny Pacquiao or Kris Aquino LOL

Pilipinas definitely Got Talent

Last night was the grand finals of the "biggest" reality talent show in the country, Pilipinas Got Talent. As a franchise of the world's famous Got Talent series, ABS-CBN never fails to reach the expectations of the public when it comes to showcasing a great and entertaining finale for their shows. The grand finals was held in Araneta Coliseum and took place for 3 hours, considering there were 12 contenders for the P12 Million grand prize. I will be giving my personal review of last night shows and how I ranked the performances of the night. These are just my OWN opinions on the contestants.

The night started off with an opening dance number from one of the judges. It was Ai Ai de las Alas which sang a medley of Lady Gaga's hits (Bad Romance, Just Dance and Telephone). Next u was the one-by-one performances of the finalists. The photos below are already in order of my top 1 to top 12 contenders

The Top 12 Finalists

Jovit Baldivino

Big things come in small packages. And this statement is proven by this young Batangueño. This 16 year siomai vendor amazed us during his auditions with "Faithfully" by Journey and gave a powerful rendition of "Carrie" by Europe in the semi-finals. Last night, he performed "Too Much Love Can Kill You" by Queen. And what do you know, he did hit it again. What I like about this guy is he's very humble despite the fact that he already set the record of the most watched contestant in Youtube during his auditions in Batangas. Last night, I can say I am already a JOVINATIC (term used for someone who is a Jovit fan). Kris Aquino is somehow true, that he will be the next big superstar.

Velasco Brothers

Breakdance, Hiphop, Acrobatic stunts. These 4 brothers always have the factor to wow the audience with their moves. They already performed outside the country before but chose to go back home to showcase their talents in PGT. And they have a positive response from the people. Last night's performance was a combination of all their moves from the auditions and semifinals. They were Ai-ai's choice for the prize..but it still depends on the people who will vote. I chose them as my second choice since I am also into dancing. And I really like their performance..astg!

Allan "Alakim" de la Paz

The butterfly magician performed first during the grand finale. He did his usual turning of things into butterfly..but what everyone wasn't expecting for the night was when he disappeared on stage, and appeared afar from it...In the middle of the audience on the upper bench of Araneta Coliseum. It was indeed a great way to start the night and to keep the audience on hype. Even I was shocked and amazed with his magic act. He said that he wished people will not forget him even he did perform first. Well, that act was surely worth remembering.

Baguio Metamorphosis

The biggest group to join in this finale is a dance troupe. Provided one week of preparations, it was just sad that they were not able to create a new routine for the finale. But the energy, synchronicity and choreography still amazes me. One of their advantages as a group is that they work as a team. Even if it was the same routine as their semi-finals performance, you will never fail to stick your eyes on your TV screen just to watch the dance.

Maria Jeline Oliva

The youngest performer of the season is not just a violinist. She is also a drummer and a pianist at the same time. What made her performance outstanding is that she used "Flight of the Bumblebee" as her contest piece incorporating her violin, piano and drum skills in one song. This is one of the hardest songs/classic songs to perform and she did it. At a young age, I'm sure she's gonna go a long way.

Luntayao Family

The only contender from Visayas which also came from my province. These family is a power house of sopranos and tenors. They sang "Listen" by Beyonce during the auditions and semi-finals and "The Impossible Dream" last night. I find the young one named Charle a funny but amazing kid. He used to sit down the stage to hit the notes and last night, he did turn around and jumped just to reached the last high note of the song. Such a cute kid.

EZRA Band

The acoustic band from Davao performed "Runaway" by The Corrs last night. It was a good performance, considering it was Kaye's (vocalist) first ever rendition of a girl song, and she hit it. Nor (keyboardist) who has impairment in the hands (deformed fingers) was amazing since it shows to prove that disabilities could not stop us from reaching our dreams. As Kris said, a keyboardist is one of the vital members of a band..and Nor did a great job despite of his condition. Ai-ai's comment "Kahit hindi pwede banggitin ang pangalan mo Nor (Knorr) kasi Maggi kami.." made me laugh. Ai-ai and Kris are endorsers for Maggi and Knorr is their competitor. Rules in advertising 101 hehehe.

Rupert Urquia and Titoy

The only ventriloquist who had made it in the finals gave us a good laugh of the night. i really find this kinds of people amazing since only a few can perform such skill with perfection. He also brought along Lolo (another doll) with him. Overall performance was entertaining.

Sherwin Baguion

I never liked this guy during the semi-finals. He was the one who got the judge's vote despite the fact that he screwed up during his repeat performance during the results night. But he stood up last night as one of those who myou can consider a perfect balladeer. He never did miss a note however he sang the same song he had during audition which is "Tayong Dalawa". He could have chosen another ballad song.

Markki Stroem

This guy sang "Like a Prayer" by Madonna accompanied by a choir and also performed the song using a saxophone. He has the voice but when the choir sang along with him, his voice was swallowed by the group. The song choice was great, a very good song for his voice which also reminded me of Glee's version. It's one of my favorite classic songs to date.

Keith Clark Delleva

This guy is sure a rocker. But I just wished he did not sing last night. It was one of the downs of his performance. He has a good voice but a very low pitch for Santana's "Smooth. He's guitar playing however is awesome. I think the judges did not comment much on his singing since it was the finale and they wanted to set the mood right. But as judge's they should have advised him of that one.

Ingrid Payaket

I chose this as the weakest performance of the night. It was not that bad but compared to other contenders, this has much less of the highlights we are expecting from her. She sang "On my Own" by Leah Salonga and it was just an ok performance. It was a good one if it were in a singing contest but for Pilipinas got talent, it was just a simple performance. And before her performance, during the interview of Luis and Billy with her mom, something funny happened. When asked what does she feel about her daughter getting the last ticket for the finale, Ingrid's mom was taken aback, took a moment of pause to comprehend the question and asked back "Yung ticket po na nakuha namin?" which is definitely not the answer to the question. It took a few more seconds before she was back on track with the conversation. LOL!

The first season is about to end and the winner will be announced later tonight. Who will win the first Pilipinas Got Talent title? Let's wait and see..