"KNIGHT HUNTERS" IS BACK: IS IT JUST ME, OR...

The moment I saw the teaser on HeroTV that they were going to bring back the 8-year old Telesuccess-bought Knight Hunters [Weiss Kreuz to the rest of the anime-loving world], I was quite excited. 8 years ago, this was the anime that made me interested in watching Tagalized anime with its witty dubbing and cool plot. It was the first time I heard an anime where the Tagalog dubbing was quite modern and contemporary.

Hindi ko nalilimutan na abangan ang fateful day na ipapalabas ng HeroTV ito and today was it. Dec. 27. Saturdays at 12:30 pm. May replay pa mamaya at 5:30 pm para sa mga hindi ito naabutan. Di lang ako sure kung meron pa rin bukas...

Halata talaga na by today's standards, medyo makaluma na rin ang dubbing. Although nung panahon na yun, makabago pa ito. Westernized ang mga names ng guests - Marlon, Enrico, Michelle...

Pero is it just me dahil tumanda na ako or nawalan na talaga ng "cool factor" ang mga shows na ganito? Dati kasi, I found these guys to be cool. Vigilantes ba naman e. The idea of silent weapons was also a plus. Pero ngayon, I think of 4 guys na laging magkasama and WORKING IN A FLOWER SHOP... Yech... it's so gay! As in Queer Eye!!! Heheheh And I'm sure madaming sumusulat ng kabadingang fanfic tungkol sa mga lalaking ito...

MASASAYANG VOLTES V

i dont know why i got to start thinking about this this morning. basta naaalala ko yung nabanggit ko sa CV5 forum the other day about how sa movie na TOY STORY, the happy toys are the ones that have been played with at nilamog sa kalalaro while the sad toys are the ones that were never taken out of the box.

if you think about it, nung bata ka pa, your toy, kung may buhay lang yan, is practically your friend. if a girl sometimes talks to her doll, boys treat their robots like their friend, or their hero, etc. at the very least, parang tao na rin ang trato nila sa toy nila.

my nephew, when he was little, asked me to buy him an action figure and he loved it so much na he was hugging it while he was asleep.

so dun ko naisip, na our toys are also like friends in that regard... the friends that are more dear to us, are the ones we went through a lot with, lagi nating kinakausap, the ones we did a lot with together, kumbaga sa latuan, yun nga yung mga pinaglaruan talaga.

where as the friend who is not so dear to us, like the toy that was hardly played with and just stayed unopened in the cabinet for years, are the friends na parang acquaintance lang... kinilala mo syang kaibigan. but you guys never did anything together, you rarely talked, he doesnt really know anything about you, hindi mo napagsasabihan ng problema, hindi mo maaasahan kapag kelangan mo ng tulong, etc.

which brings me to the "happy voltes v's"...

if the happy toys are the ones na talagang pinaglaruan at nilamog, then the godaikin voltes v must be one of the happiest toys in the world. if you check in ebay, or if you ever see someone selling off their old godaikin voltes v, halos lahat ng makikita mo ay lamog-lamog na. kinakalawang pa yung iba. the joints are loose dahil paulit ulit syang vinolt-in at vinolt-out. madaming gasgas dahil ang dami na nyang beast fighter na pinagpapatay. madami na syang kulang na weapons dahil sa daming "battles" na pinagdaanan nila ng owner nya. the paint is worn out, the stickers are worn out, all signs na the owner really loved it and played with it...

and to top it all off, nobody EVER wants to sell it cheap. it means the owner really values it and expects to be paid a lot to let go of it [not just coz the market value is big]

when we were kids, we never even considered that we would never open our toys and just keep them in the closet. we always wanted to open them and play with them. and that is what toys are truly for...

to me that's proof na a toy, whether it's really cheap or as high end or expensive as an SOC, is meant to be played with. madami sa atin ang nagsasabi, when there is an EB and we bring our old godaikins na lasog-lasog na... we always say, we didnt know that it would be worth so much one day so we "didnt take care of it". we may not have known back then na ganun ang magiging market value nyan ngayon, but we always knew it was priceless.

MY FAVORITE KUNG FU FIGHT SCENE

When I was a kid, my uncle the tech-geek bought us a betamax machine and not too long after that, we were renting tapes at Virra Mall by the box. Isa sa pinakamaraming klase ng movie na inaarkila para sa amin ng tito ko is English dubbed Kung fu movies, and I've been hooked to watching it ever since.

Just to be clear, I love martial arts pero I dont and never planned to learn it. I am just fascinated in watching it and it's usually the moves that are graceful yet not practical in real combat at all that catch my attention.

This movie, when I saw it, was titled SNAKE FIST VS THE DRAGON. I liked it so much that we bought the copy from the rental place. 20 years later, I wanted to see it again and it was only 'coz I watched it so many times that I realized na si John Cheung pala yung bida dito. He was also the bad guy in DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY [the guy with the long hair that Bruce had to duel with so he could be allowed to teach kung fu to foreigners]. So after a lot of googling, I found the international title of this movie. it was called SNAKE IN THE MONKEY'S SHADOW. Mas tama nga naman ito kasi wala namang Dragon Style doon sa movie. Well, he combined drunken style with monkey style, I guess that way he was wise enough to be called a dragon... well it's still a stretch.

Anyway, I found the final battle scene on Youtube and I just wanted to blog about it.

This past week, I had an infection from a wound in my toe and the infection literally infected my whole body. My whole body was in a lot of pain. It felt like the flu, only worse. Hindi ako makagalaw ng hindi nasasaktan. Kahit umubo lang ako ay masakit na. Totoo nga naman yung joke na kahit anong edad mo, kapag may sakit ka, para kang bata at gusto mong manood ng mga paborito mong palabas nung bata ka. Since nadownload ko na itong movie na ito a long time ago, ilang beses kong pinanood ang scene na ito and it's made me feel better.

Nakakatuwa lang sya talaga panoorin. Imagine i was about 8 when I saw this and I thought it was way cool. Nanood lang sya ng unggoy at natuto na sya ng Kung Fu. Hehehe! Well, tinuruan din naman sya ng drunken style ng isang master talaga. I remember that when I was in the 2nd grade, I'd mimick the monkey style fighting stance, including the part where he made faces, tapos para akong tanga na nakikipagsuntukan sa school, thinking I was actually gonna win with moves I saw in a movie. Well, bata e.

I found the moves to be so cool, lalo na yung nagfliflip sya in the air kahit wala naman springboard. Saka nung tumugtog na yung music, I used to always get a rush. Sa DRUNKEN MASTER ni Jackie Chan galing yung music, but I saw this movie before that...

It's 7 minute clip. It sounds kind of long, but I never get tired of it. Pagtyagaan nyong panoorin so you can appreciate what I mean. By today, it's nothing compared to let's say, CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, pero it will always be my favorite Kung Fu fight scene.

SALUTE TO MY COWORKERS

Saludo ako sa mga katrabaho ko sa dubbing industry... to those who are still working after all these years... who still have the passion na parang it's still their first project... na mahilig pa rin sa anime kahit tumanda na sila... sa mga cina-career pa rin ang trabaho nila... and especially to the true-blue anime fans, who, amazingly still do their job simply because doing it makes them happy.

Your passion and love for this genre is truly amazing.

It's because of anime lovers like you that Tagalized anime became more "fan-friendly". Sino nga ba naman ang mas nakaka-alam kung pano dapat ang tunog ng anime kundi ang mga mahilig manood nito?

Mabuhay kayo.

STREETS OF FIRE: MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE

Mid 80's. Bagong lipat sa bagong bahay ang uncle ko. Family business was doing well, ninanamnam naming lahat. So when he got married and moved into a new house [that had a pool in it], syempre bago ang lahat ng appliances. At the time, high end na ang TV na may remote control [na hindi pa cable-ready dahil wala pang cable]. Anyway, it was with my uncle that I was introduced to what was back then considered what is now commonly known as a Home Theater System. Back then, it just meant your Betamax machine had hifi audio and the audio was hooked up to a component stereo system that made the sound "more realistic".

So ano nga ba naman ang gagawin sa setup na ganun? E di umarkila sa Virra Mall ng kahon-kahon na betamax tapes [yes, kahon-kahon, at hindi pa uso ang VHS, Laserdisc at DVD. Betamax ang prevalent format sa Pilipinas nung 80's dahil this format was junked everywhere else at dito sa atin ito tinapon ng mga Hapon. Still, Betamax was superior to VHS]

SIDE NOTE: this proves na for as long as we can remember, Filipinos have been patrons of video piracy. Panahon pa ng betamax, uso na ang rentahan ng mga kinopya lang from original tapes. Sanay na tayo sa pirated, at kapag bumibili tayo ng original, we think we are being excessive in spending, kahit na makakabili ka na ngayon ng original DVD for as low as P150.

So balik sa kwento ko...

One of the betamax tapes given to my uncle to showcase what the sound system can do is a "laser copy" version of the movie STREETS OF FIRE. And rightfully so. The movie had everything that a great sound system can bring out. It had music [may mga concert scenes at madaming kanta], lots of loud explosions and gunfire, saka may sound effects kapag next scene na... may transition sya and it makes a sound like a train stopping. Pati pag-squeak ng balisong, rinig na rinig mo.

The moment I got to watch it, I fell in love with this movie. Lagi ko syang pinapanood when I am at my uncle's house and eventually he gave me the tape. Over the years nung may ibang format na, I also bought original copies. So I have it in Laserdisc, DVD and I even downloaded the AVI so I have a copy in my laptop. I also managed to buy the soundtrack when I was in Hongkong a long time ago.

PICTURED ABOVE: TOM CODY [Michael Pare] & Ellen Aim [Diane Lane]

The story of SOF is pretty simple. No deep plot. It's a straightforward mix of action, romance and music. Tom and Ellen were sweethearts living in a town. Ellen dreamt of being a singer and was actually making it come true. Tom felt like he couldn't keep up with her so he left and joined the army. Ellen left the town and became a famous lead in a band. Her manager Billy Fish [Rick Moranis] arranged for a benefit concert in her hometown. Sa opening number pa lang nung concert, Ellen was kidnapped by a biker gang led by Raven [Willem Dafoe]. Tom's sister Reva sends him a wire, asking him to come home. He rescues Ellen and leaves the streets in flames [hence the title] and Raven goes back to the town to challenge him to a duel.

PICTURED ABOVE: The famous kissing-in-the-rain scene.

After he rescues her from the biker gang, Ellen finds out that Tom rescued her under one condition: that her manager pays him $10,000 to do the job. Pinag-awayan nila ito and when she was safely back in town, she dumped him. But after Raven issued the challenge, Tom realized that it wasn't about the money so he gave the money back to Fish. As he walked out of their hotel in the pouring rain, Ellen chased after him. The two made up and kissed in the rain.

Sappy as I am, I found this scene to be so cinematically romantic. So much so that gusto ko ring magka-girlfriend at maghalikan din kami sa ulan. At nung nagka-girlfriend ako nung high school, nagawa nga namin ito. =)

PICTURED ABOVE: Raven [Willem Dafoe]

Nung napanood ko na ang Spiderman and he was in it as Green Goblin, naalala ko pa rin sya as Raven. Ganun pa rin kasi ang mga facial expression nya kapag naghuhuramentado na sya.

Madaming ibang artista sa SOF ang bagito pa lang nung panahon na yun pero mga sikat na ngayon. Kasali si Bill Paxton, and Amy Madigan.

And if you know this old catchy song called "I Can Dream About You" [hindi yung "Dream About You" ni Stevie B ha], dito rin sa movie na ito lumabas yun.

Balita ko nilabas na rin ito in HD DVD pero mukhang wala namang bonus feature so I'm not going to bother buying it.

Having my sickness, lagi kong naiisip na maikli na lang ang buhay ko. I seem to be often looking back at how or what I've done in my life. Among my all time favorite things is this movie. There are some things that you just never get sick of and as far as movies go, for me, this is one of them. Kahit na halos memorized ko na ang lahat ng dialog, pinapanood ko pa rin sya. Compared to today's movies, parang ang babaw lang nitong SOF. Pero favorite ko pa rin sya.

REMEMBER CHIP STAR?

I'll make this quick since nagmamarathon ako ng Heroes Season 2-3 today.

I don't know if you guys remember Chip Star, it's a snack na parang Pringle's potato chips. You may not remember it like this 'coz it was also sold in cardboard boxes. Nung nasa elementary at high school ako, ito ang lagi kong binibili sa canteen namin at pati sa grocery [kapag meron]. Mas malasa sya kesa sa Pringle's. I like all the flavors [original, nouri seaweed & chicken consomme] pero yung nouri seaweed ang favorite ko. Bihira nang makakita ng Chip Star ngayon at kung meron man, ang mahal pa. Nakakatsamba ako minsan sa mga lugar where Chinese/Japanese snacks are sold like DEC Food Plaza.

Ngayon ko lang nadiscover na may alternative pala sa nouri flavor ng Chip Star. Lay's Stax came out with a nouri seaweed flavor and it takes almost exactly the same. It's like reuniting with an old friend...

Mas panalo nga pala ang Lay's Stax kesa sa Pringle's. May tray sya sa loob para di madurog yung chips, saka para madaling makuha kapag nangangalahati na ang laman. This comes in handy especially if your hands are big like mine and can't fit into the can. Iba na rin ang lasa ng Pringle's ngayon. ewan ko ba! Sa ibang bansa na yata kasi gawa e. It just doesn't taste the same anymore. Nawala na rin yung mga lumang favorite flavors ko ng Pringle's like the light [1/3 less salt, in silver can], and rippled [ridge cut, in yellow can].

Yun lang. Makabalik na nga sa Heroes.

MY NEW PIZZA EXPERIENCE: CAFE MONDIAL

Nadiskubre ko itong Cafe Mondial when I was surfing at the Clickthecity.com website for new restaurants in the Pasig Area. I decided to check it out last night since malapit lang ito sa bahay ko.

Cafe Mondial is at Silver City, Pasig. This is the building on Julia Vargas Ave, halos katabi lang ng SM Hypermart. Madali syang makita kasi may HSBC sa bungad saka ang laki nung signage ng ALCHEMY sa harap. May Starbucks din sa gilid at Gerry's, Cafe Mondial isn't that far from Gerry's, it's about 1-2 spaces away.

Cafe Mondial isnt like Sbarro's or some restaurant, it's sort of a nightspot na nagiging parang inuman pag gabi. Pag weekend, it's open 'til 3am.

Anyway, dati'y Italian food ang sine-serve nila pero ngayon ay sari-sari na. Pero nandun pa rin yung Italian selections that they are known for.

I ordered the Godfather's pizza [pictured at the top], parang "Supreme" flavor nila. The one I got is square. Sobrang lutong ng crust. Ang sarap! Hindi ito katulad ng thin crust ng Domino's o Shakey's na manipis lang pero walang lutong. The toppings are pretty good, too. The sauce is almost like a Bolognese sauce. It's a 12" pizaa that isn't too heavy on the belly, costing a little over P300.

Their menu can be downloaded at their multiply account. Check it out and other pictures at http://cafemondial.multiply.com/

PATI BA NAMAN CORNED BEEF...

Mapapaisip ka tuloy just how much Voltes V is a part of Filipino everyday life.

'la lang...

WHY I HATE GOING TO THE DOCTOR...

Nakakainis na nga yung fact na may sakit ka at madaming nagpapahirap sa katawan mo.

Mas nakakainis yung kelangan mong pumunta sa doctor para lang magpa-check-up.

Bakit?

Dahil kapag alam mong check-up na lang at titignan ka lang at malamang ay wala nang grabeng makikita o gamot na irereseta, you are JUST WASTING YOUR TIME. Magbabayad ka ng consultation para lang sabihin sa iyo na okay ka na.

Pero hindi pa yun ang pinakanakakabuwisit doon...

Siguro doktor lang ang trabaho na alam kong kumikita ka pa rin even if you ARE NEVER ON TIME at lagi mong pinaghihintay ng syam-syam ang pasyente mo. If you were a storeowner or own a business, it is a huge disservice to your customers kapag late kang magbukas ng tindahan. Pero ang mga doktor na ito, kahit 3-4 hours ma-late sa kanilang mga clinic at minsan ay di pa sumisipot, ang lalaki pa rin ng kinikita. At wala kang choice bilang pasyente dahil kahit lumipat ka ng doktor, ganun pa rin ang mae-experience mo dahil lahat sila ay ganyan!

Kagagaling ko lang sa aking check-up sa aking vascular surgeon sa kanyang clinic sa ospital. Dati ay okay pa sya dahil on time sya. 2 PM ang simula ng clinic hours, 2 PM ay nandun na sya. Pero after the first 2 appointments, lagi na syang late. minsan 30 mins, minsan 1 hour.

Today, inabot na talaga ng sukdulan. 1 hour nya akong pinaghintay tapos tatawag sya sa secretary nya na may emergency daw syang ooperahan at 4pm pa sya darating. Dahil lumabas ako ng bahay, nasunog ang stored calories ko at bumagsak ang aking bloodsugar. Hilo-hilo ako sa labas at napalamon ako sa Mcdo nang di oras. Malaman-laman ko, sa malayong ospital pala sya nago-opera at HINDI NA SYA DADATING. The other patient was irate. Matanda na kelan lang nadiagnose ng kidney failure [like me] at inaayos pa ang kanyang fistula sa braso. Inoffer ng secretary na patignan sya sa resident doctor pero ayaw pumayag ng patient dahil importante yung fistula nya. Oo nga naman!

Alam naman ng doktor na yan na karamihan ng mga pasyente nya ay may kidney failure, pinaghihintay pa nya. Hindi dapat pinaghihintay ang mga katulad namin dahil madali kaming mangawit because of our sickness. Paupuin mo lang kami ng 30 mins ay pagod na kami!

Pero ano nga ba naman ang aasahan naming mga pasyente nya? P500 lang ang kikitain nya kada appointment sa amin samantalang at least P30,000 ang professional fee nya kapag may inoperahan sya. Siguro sa isip-isip nya, saka na lang kami!

Sana may patakaran din ang mga ospital tulad ng mga SM Malls, na kapag bukas na ang mall at sarado pa ang tindahan mo, kada minuto na late ka ay may corresponding na multa.

BLOGGING AGAIN AFTER 5 MONTHS

Wow! Ang tagal ko nang di nagboblog!

2 more days and it would’ve been 5 whole months since my last post. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang nangyari, basta tinamad na akong magblog. Also, notice that Taglish na ang language ko, when I used to blog in English. Wala na akong pakialam. I will write in whatever I feel like…

It may be also ‘coz paiba-iba ang health conditions ko. Since july when I got hit by a major congestion and was suffering from chills, I felt really weak and hardly did anything. Hirap na maligo, kasi madaling malamigan. So I had to change the way I bathe. No longer do I take long showers. Well, it’s too complicated…

Anyway, I finally got my LCD TV, a 32” Sony Bravia thanks to my super generous Tita who bought it for my grandmother. You’re probably wondering bakit napunta sa akin eh sa lola ko yun. Well, it’s a hand-me-down. My lola didn’t like LCD TV’s kasi sobrang bright daw. So she downgraded to a flatscreen and I got the Bravia. It came with a macho DVD player and a home theater system. The best part is the DVD player can play DIVX files so my torrents play fine on it. AXXo’s movies play like original DVDS on this baby! I just watched Iron Man on it yesterday and it was wonderful.

Anyway, this post is mostly a rant about my disappointment with SURVIVOR PHILIPPINES. The pilot episode aired yesterday and I had such high hopes for it since it was licensed and not just a ripoff. However, it needed more quality control ‘coz it was so boring! Half the episode was introducing the castaways and each one was interviewed about what they will do with the money if they win. Wala namang ganun sa US version. Nasanay ako sa US version na may navo-vote out every episode. Sa local version, hindi lahat ng episode ay may tribal council. The episodes are cut up in very awkward segments, like right in the middle of a challenge!

Saka dito lang yata sa local version sobrang pampered ang castaways. I mean, sa first reward pa lang, namigay na ng camping equipment. Sa US version, machete lang ang ibibigay sa iyo at bahala ka nang gumawa ng titirhan mo. They were also given sandals, rain gear, and water! And I thought Pinoys had an easier time surviving in the wild, pero mas pampered pa ang castaways natin kesa sa Amerikano!

It may be too early to say, pero talo na ang palabas na ito. I would rather wait for Survivor Gabon which will start Friday next week in the States.

NEW BURGER PLACE: SLAMMER BURGERS

From Ben’s Burjer yesterday, McDonald's this morning, I continue to satisfy my burger cravings.

This afternoon, I was too lazy to start working on my new project. [secret!!!] So I went to Robinsons Galleria to have a late lunch and do some window shopping. Funny you can think of the dumbest and most mundane things to do when you just don’t feel like working!

Anyway, I went to Filbar’s at the 3^rd floor near OLYMPIC GOLD. That was when I entered the kid’s block. Galleria made this area of the mall geared towards kids. Everything in that area, including the food, was tailor-fit for kids. Specialty ice cream and pastries were sold by Japanese style kiosks. But this new store caught my eye…

Slammer Burgers is on soft opening and has only been around for 2 weeks. Since I already ate lunch elsewhere in the mall, I decided to go back to try it out at dinnertime, and by then, I’d be back with my digicam to shoot and blog about it.

So anyway, I tried it out at dinner. Not much of a line, not like the crowd I ran into at Ben’s Burjer the night before. But hey, it’s a soft opening, and they need the publicity.

Among the many selections of burgers, sidings and others, I chose to go basic. But here’s the menu. Note that they are on a soft opening, so this menu could go through some changes.

It’s basically a kid’s size burger [check its size in proportion to the coke can]. However, if you are an adult, don’t worry, the smallest order is 2 pieces, then you can order in 4’s and 8’s. each burger is about 2.5 x 2.5 inches, or like a mooncake. The bread is moist since it’s cooked like a French toast, but it eats like a bun. It tastes pretty good, too. The Belgian fries were great. I had the “Mighty Mushroom”, which was Belgian fries with melted cheese, shredded mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions! YUM! They really wanted to make this fun for kids to eat, as opposed to "boring adult food". They were pretty generous with the toppings, too. I hope it stays this way and isn’t only ‘coz it’s soft opening and they want to make a good impression.

The verdict? Works for me! It’s not that heavy on the tummy or on my wallet and it satisfies my burger cravings so I’ll definitely be back.

See you tomorrow...

GADGET SUPERFREAK!!!

It’s been much too long since I last posted in my blog. And a lot has happened too. Finally signed up for Friendster and I found a lot of my old college buddies, more on that later.

I have bought a lot of stuff [some were also gifts] over the holidays. Earning from my writing at 20+ sure enhanced some serious purchasing power, well, at least enough to buy most of the gadgets in my wish list. Oh, and I completed my SOTA Street Fighter action figures. More on those later.

I have always been a gadget freak. Well, gadget superfreak, actually. [Nick Cage used to call himself a “Chemical Superfreak” in the movie “The Rock”]. However, it was only recently that portability and compact gadgets caught my eye and attention. Before I was diagnosed with ESRD, I was never really fond of portable or compact stuff. But since I am at the hospital for dialysis 3 times a week, the need to be able to carry all the stuff I need with minimal space and effort became something to consider. And buying T3 magazine every month didn’t help either. I always saw the latest gadgets and realized, I just had to have them!

PICTURED ABOVE: my ASUS EEE mini laptop. A Chinese Xmas present from my auntie. Ever since TJ Manotoc featured this on TV Patrol as a laptop for only about P15,000, it’s been the fastest selling mini-laptop out there. Stocks were depleted during xmas and I had to wait til February for Complink to replenish their stock. Mine is upgraded, the memory was upsized and maxxed out to 1GB. It’s got everything you need to do minor stuff outside. Complete internet stuff like browsing, chatting, it’s got a modem port, lan port, usb port, vga out, a webcam, and best of all, all of my video files play on it with no additional programs or codecs needed. It’s so small, nobody suspects you are carrying a laptop. It’s perfect if I want to write a few scripts at dialysis or just watch videos. I use it with my 4 GB flash drive and 160 GB external hard disk [more on those below].

PICTURED ABOVE: my PQI 4GB USB flash drive. I bought this from CDR King a long time ago, back when 4 GB was the biggest flash drive around. Now there are 16 GB flash drives but they are still too expensive. Besides, why get a 16 GB when you can get a 160 GB for just a little more?

PICTURED ABOVE: my old HP 2MP digicam bought for me by my friend John and brought home when he came to visit from the US. This tough baby was my first high end digicam, and it’s been with me for a while, I even brought it to Boracay. However, it eventually needed to be replaced because I dropped it once and broke the cover of the battery chamber. Still, it shoots great pics. But taping the batteriy chamber shut was cramping my style…

SAME WHAT, DIFFERENT WHEN…

PICTURED ABOVE: my Nikon Coolpix L15. an 8 MP point and shoot courtesy of my cousin Erika. I am still getting the hang of using it, but it was so easy to use, it didn't really take too long. Came with a 512 MB SD card. The manual says it can use one as big as 4 GB. I am thinking of buying a 4 GB for it so I can shoot longer video clips. Yes, it has video. The weird thing is that it doesn’t have a viewfinder and uses only 2 AA batteries.

PICTURED ABOVE: continuous ink system. My uncle bought this attachment for his monstrosity, a printer/scanner/copier machine that he keeps hooked to my computer. With this baby, all I have to do is buy ink by the bulk and save a bundle. Loading the paper into the printer is still a hassle though, especially when it jams!

PICTURED ABOVE: Maxtor One Touch Plus 500 GB external harddrive. My cousin Erika bought this for me along with the digicam. She said there was a sale on these things in the States so she bought me one. At first, I thought it was a portable one, then when I saw how big it literally was, I realized I won’t be lugging this around. It’s stays permanently attached to my computer. And now for the portable one…

PICTURED ABOVE: my Western Digital Passport 160 GB USB external harddrive. This thing is just as big as a wallet. I can plug it into my DVD player and most of the torrents play fine, except for the ones where the codecs used were too new. Still, this is a welcome accessory to my mini-laptop, making it easy for me to bring a ton of stuff to watch when I am outside.

PICTURED ABOVE: my Western Digital Passport 160 GB USB external harddrive, out of the packaging. And what the DVD player can't play, this will help...

PICTURED ABOVE: CDR KING PC TO TV SIGNAL CONVERTER. Plugged to the VGA port of my ASUS mini-laptop, I can now use my TV as a huge computer monitor! This is perfect to watch those torrents that are in formats not recognized by my DVD player. The added use is if I need to convert such formats to DVD, I can just plug it to my DVD recorder and convert the videos in real time. It’s not something that I will be using all the time, but it’s a handy tool that most people overlook.

PICTURED ABOVE: my wireless controller for the Playstation 2. I have been so annoyed by Ps2 games that wont let me use my old HORI fighter stick just because it doesn’t have the analog or dual shock knobs [which I never use anyway]. The reason why I use the HORI is because it has auto-fire buttons which enable me to just hold down the button while the controller repeatedly presses it. It gives me a huge advantage with shooting games where you have to repeatedly press the buttons to keep firing. With this controller, I have the ease of turbo-fire and hassle-free wireless gaming.

PICTURED ABOVE: my Creative Muvo 1 GB MP3 player. It also doubles as a flash drive. Bought by my Aunt Rachel when she was staying in China.

NO PICTURES: I upgraded my PC’s memory to the maximum, it is now running on 2 GB of PC400 DDR2 RAM. Dual core on crystal meth? Can you picture that?

The only thing left I haven’t bought a new one of is a cellular phone, but I am not in a hurry to have a new one. Something about a new phone ticks me off… having to learn how to use it and losing the comfort of a phone that works just fine and that I have been using for more than a year. Nah, I’ll keep mine…

Another gadget I am thinking of getting is the Sony Playstation 3, but since Tekken 6 isnt even out yet, I have been putting it off.