2009 winter holiday gaming plan

It is the winter holiday season again, and what better way to spend this cold season locked up in front of the big screen playing video games?

This year I got games covered throughout all the systems.

Modern Warfare 2 for the PC.

Grand Theft Auto Episodes From Liberty City for the XBOX 360.

God Of War Collection for the Playstation 3.

Nothing for Nintendo Wii because I don’t own one as I never considered it as a gaming console. Although stories of guys who successfully lured women into their caves with the help of the Wii are quite enticing, I know I’m not that desperate.

Modern Warfare 2’s single campaign was pretty fun; with that ‘epic feel’ going on from start to finish. Lots of explosives and lots of shooting people on their faces with modern weaponry that could fill 10 Bruckheimer movies. The multiplayer was even better, but they got nothing compared to Battlefield Bad Company 2. Cannot wait for that game to come out!

GTA Episodes From Liberty City contained the 2 previously released downloadable additional content (the lost and damned + ballad of gay tony) and both episodes were nothing short of spectacular, although having different ‘feel’ and atmosphere to it. It was also cheap, and probably the best deal in gaming for 2009 for how much content it offers yen to yen.

God Of War Collection ports God Of War I & II into HD, and put it into one bluray disk at a low price; how can that be bad? Although an already old game, a good game is a good game, and the HD fix made it compatible with today’s high definition TVs. Cannot wait for God Of War 3!

With all the time I got, I am not very sure whether I could finish all 3 games during this holiday. Hell, I got tons of more games to finish… and I haven’t even opened the plastic wrappings for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 yet!

And I still haven’t finished playing the first one yet!

Plus, both are really, really old games already!

Time, is something that I don’t have.

What's YOUR gaming plan this holiday season?

James Cameron’s Avatar 3D Review

I know I’ve written my last movie review for 2009, but I just got back from watching Avatar, and it is impossible to wait for 2010 to do this.

First of all, Avatar is the latest effort from the guy that made Aliens and Terminator; that fact alone is more than enough to raise the hype-bar to an impossible level. He also directed Titanic, so this guy really knows how to make big budgeted blockbuster movies.

Having hype is great for any entertainment media, but it also comes with the risk of disappointing the fans if that hype is not fulfilled; and Avatar has a hype-rate that is almost impossible to achieve.

Although it was more expensive (1800yen plus 300yen for 3D glasses), I choose to watch the 3D version of the movie. I am not really a big fan of 3D movies but I heard the 3D technique in the movie is new and different; so why not?

Ok enough about me, here goes the review.

The movie progresses in a very methodical way, and the story is nothing new actually, taking ideas and themes from Braveheart and Last Samurai. Nevertheless, James Cameron has successfully created a fantasy world so finely detailed and rich with content that it took about 2/3 of this 170 minutes running movie to introduce the world and build connection between the characters and viewers; one very important element if you want your viewers to care about the climax and ending.

Although it was quite long, this anti-war and eco themed movie was nothing short of amazing, taking little time for the viewers to be absorbed into this fantasy world make-believe. To summarize the story, a wheel-chair bound soldier gets a second fighting chance when he gets to take control of a Navi body, the natives of Planet Pandora where humans are trying to conquer its rich resources. The motive of the initiative is to infiltrate the natives from the inside and learn their way for the benefit of the humans. The new found strength and agility that the Navi body gives was a refreshing freedom, but he was left with a difficult decision to choose which side to take, as he falls in love with the people of Pandora and its culture… and this also means that he HAD to fuck the native tribe leader’s only daughter. So as I said, the story was nothing new, but it was really good nonetheless and was never boring because the pacing, atmosphere, acting, music and level of detail put into every element was nothing short but impressive.

Talk about acting, I have never seen a movie that translates human emotion so flawlessly through computer generated images, and for the first time I forgot that I was watching a CGI movie. The technology used to make this movie in term of motion capture is truly years ahead of anything out there.

The 3D feature in the movie was something new too. Other 3D movies out there tend to bring images ‘out’ from the screen but Avatar uses a totally different technique that emphasize on depth and distance between object in focus and out; achieving an effect of ‘being in the movie’ instead of ‘being brought to’. I really don’t know how to explain it.

I don’t want this to be any longer, so here is Avatar in a nut shell: One extremely well made albeit methodically, movie that uses new technology that could change how big-budgeted movie are made from now on. The story was not revolutionary, but the combination of drama, detailed fantasy, stunning images and action scenes could definitely stimulate the senses and leave the viewer wanting more, made this movie one jewel that is hard to miss. The 3D feature adds to the experience tremendously, and I highly recommend the 3D version. Even without 3D, this is simply the best movie of 2009, and its mainstream broad appeal won’t scare even the most strict movie mania.

So people, go watch Avatar. NOW! You will not regret it. Get ready to experience something new from the movie industry. Next I'm going to watch the 2D version to see how different the experience could be. I'm also buying the blu-ray the first thing it's out.

Yes, I have become an Avatar fanboy. Good job Mr Cameron!

Win 7 Network Hassle

I remember praising Microsoft for their effort on Windows 7.

Well, I take that back.

Because they made resolving network problems such a pain in the anus hole of chipanzeez godamnit I don't know how to spell the closest species to humans correctly!

A couple of weeks ago, I suddenly cannot access the internet.

It says (by it, I mean the network and sharing center) that I got only Local Area Network but no internet connection.

So I did the obvious, and checked my ipconfiguration through cmd>ipconfig/all

Everything was OK and pinging the default DNS server gave a positive response.

Then I tried pinging google but to avail. 100% failure.

I understand that there are thousands and thousands of reasons for this, but after changing my LAN Adapter (yes, that’s a hardware change) and upgrading it to the latest driver (I have another computer with Win XP running flawlessly) with no improvement what so ever, I cannot avoid from being angry; anger management can't fix my network problem can it now?

I tried releasing ip through cmd>ipconfig/release and then force it to generate a new one through cmd>ipconfing/renew but nothing changes too.

I even tried the cmd>netsh winsock reset catalog command but still, nothing happens.

I am pissed like a muslim from a third world country in a stupid cartoon demonstration.

I must admit that I am very new user to vista and win 7, and I got me some heavy fast reading through the internet to get a hold of the idea of the new ip protocol, the Ipv6.

I tried turning off Ipv6 and just use Ipv4, and still nothing improves.

Even my last effort, the hidden card; to make a OS reinstall did not improve the problem. I am scratching my balls and pulling my hair for this.

At this point, I realized that I have used my entire network troubleshooting knowledge, so I decided to bring the computer to the professionals.

I put the darned heavy beast in the car, and drove to the nearest PC DIY store.

The computer guy boots up my computer, put the Ethernet/LAN cable in, and magically, the damn thing got internet connection!

It's like David Blaine is hiding there somewhere with a hidden camera to capture my reaction to his latest magic trick. Damn you David Blaine! You're so fucking cool.

I am so pissed that I really want to slap that computer dude’s face with a HUGE wood dick that they used in Penis Festivals in Japan, even though he did nothing wrong. I just hated his unnatural smirk that he has on his face, a common facial feature in geeks.

So my hardware is 100% OK, and this means that the real culprit is my ISP, or maybe it is just a compatibility problem between my LAN Adapter and NTT's Hikari Fiber line.

So I contacted my apartment’s administrator to get hold of NTT so that I could ask their DNS server because I want to manually set up my network for my new but troublesome core i7 Win 7 setup; but they said that NTT cannot give that information because of security reasons.

Does NTT really know their own shit?

How the fuck could I invade their security by just knowing their DNS server address?

I can’t believe this shit is happening to me during this cold winter holiday; I could have been bothered with something else!

I need to talk to the NTT guy personally, and I’m going to smack his ass on the phone; because the act of smacking ass through physical means is illegal in Japan, and I am a good citizen.

And this does not mean that Win 7 is not a partner in crime. The new HOMEGROUP network setting is such a hassle when one wants to link to another computer using OS other than Win 7.

Bad, bad boy Microsoft.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

hatoyama wants you to live

it is winter.

and this means the season for suicide in japan.

for 12 years straight, the number of suicide cases in japan has always been over than 30000 annually.

the new prime minister, hatoyama sends a special winter message to let those who had lost hope in life to know that the government actually tries to do something to help them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gprYFxPjTEc

what a sad video.

i still think it's a not so bad move by the new prime minister.

to cover his money scandal, that is.l

xmas eve

the television is telling the whole of japan that it is christmas eve.

when i get ready to get off from work today, one of my senpai asked me:

"it is christmas eve. what do you do on christmas eve?"

i don't want to tell him the truth, but i have to.

"well, i am not a christian, so christmas is not something that i felt attached to. so i don't plan for anything special this christmas eve. (maybe i wrote a thing or two about it in my blog)"

"japan is not a christian nation, but we kinda celebrate it in some ways. what do think about this?"

"that is what so interesting and mysterious about japan... or maybe this just shows how much influence the japanese mass media have on the ordinary japanese citizen."

I said my goodbyes and left with a feeling that I might have said something rude.

キリスト教徒じゃねーからクリスマスを祝うんじゃねーよ　という誤解があるかも。

そういうつもりで、皮肉的に言った　のではない。

なぜなら、クリスマスなって、キリスト教にまったく深い関係なんか。。。ない。

これを細かく説明する暇はない。

それに、ややこしい事になるから、止めとく。

In Japan, Christmas is portrayed like a major event, but the truth is that it is nothing more than an empty Japanese misunderstanding of a foreign culture.

Sponsored by Coca-Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Japanese Cake Manufacturers and Love Hotels.

And I like it.

I like the illuminated lights.

It may have no meaning, but I like the scenery anyways.

This is also a great time to shop, as everywhere is Xmas Sale.


lastly, i would like to wish a warm merry christmas to all those celebrating; christian or not.

※ 'coz christmas have nothing to do with christianity anyways. ※

i hope you have a great time with your beloved ones.

Last Movie Reviews for 2009?

G.I.Joe Rise of The Cobra – 8.0

Another cartoon series from my childhood made into a movie; and I was sure this is going to suck badly. I am so wrong. Of course the movie is filled with Hollywood action movie clichés but the amount of entertainment found in the movie was surprisingly plenty, and I was never bored from start to finish. Highly recommended for action movie fans, even if you don’t watch G.I.Joe cartoons. Can’t wait for Cobra on the second movie! Lastly: this movie is way BETTER than the transformer movies combined!

The Big Lebowski – 8.4

Dude! The movie is so fucking cool, it made me felt like I’m fucking cool too by just watching this movie. If you want to be cool, just like me, watch this movie! Great acting, amazing story, and probably the most fucking cool male character in a goddamned Hollywood movie!

Funny People – 8.4

I think Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow is made for each other, and this shows in their films. Adam Sandler never played a different character in any of his movies, but this one is the best of them all because it felt very translucent and 'real'. Some of the stand-up skits in the movie are so good, they ought to make a special that packs ONLY the stand-up content. Although the last part of the story felt a little bit 'dragged on', overall a very funny movie, especially if you like Adam Sandler and American Stand-Up culture. Recommended!

District 9 – 9.0

Unknown director. Unknown actors. Amazing movie. Imaginative storyline. With more budget, the special effects could have been better but I have never seen such a 'different' sci-fi action movie this year. If you like Sci-Fi Action movies, you will love this sure-cult-to-be movie. Amazing how the director manages to suck the viewers into his world and make it so real, giving the audience to experience something out of this world in such a short time. Highly Recommended!

Ip Man – 8.8

If you like Kung-Fu movies, you cannot go wrong with Ip Man. Simply put a kick-ass martial arts movie with an excellent story and superbly entertaining fight scenes. It might have a little Chinese VS Japanese theme to it, but it was done in a good sense; that is the Japanese Imperial Army IS the devil. Based on a real person, this movie is truly one HUGE proof that you can’t beat Hong Kong film makers when it comes to martial arts themed movie. Highly Recommended!

Inglorious Basterds – 8.5

Not just another crazy Quentin Tarantino movie, this time the director is bringing his crazy over the top coolness to the World War 2 arena. Like most of his movies, this movie is packed with memorable movie moments with it's crazy characters that will probably leave a mark in movie history. Although Tarantino's approach to movie making could be considered unethical and sometimes manic, Inglorious Basterds is not one movie to miss if you are a movie fan. Highly Recommended.

My Sister’s Keeper – 8.6

I watched My Sister's Keeper one day after I watched the crazy Inglorious Basterds, and I gave it a slightly better score compared to Tarantino's latest effort; and this movie stars a talented little girl named Abigail Breslin (new kid star to watch) and Cameron Diaz; and it is a drama with some elements of tear-jerker movies. I must have been crazy, but I felt really moved by this movie. It has a beautiful story, and a pacing that never gets bored. I guess I have weak spot for sick kids. Highly Recommended.

Oppai Volleyball – 7.2

The main reason I watch this movie is because Haruka Ayase is in it; and she plays a teacher who accidentally promised her male students in the male volleyball club that she would show her tits IF they won a single volleyball match during the national volleyball tournament. I was hoping that Haruka Ayase would really show her tits, but the cute and funny story of a sexually desperate group of loser Japanese kids was pretty interesting, that I kinda forgot the main reason I have an interest on this movie. Does anyone have a picture of Haruka Ayase with her glorious breasts all open full of happiness? I don't care if it's photo-shopped. I NEED TO SEE IT!!!

K-20 Legend of The Mask – 8.0

I am honestly surprised to realize how entertaining this movie was. Of course, no one can deny the influence of big budgeted Hollywood action hero movies like Spiderman or Batman, has on this movie but I have never seen an ‘epic’ Japanese action movie that was this watchable. The alternate reality set on 1949 Tokyo was very appealing and the action sequences rivals the best from Hollywood. It got action, OK story, comedy and drama. I wouldn’t ask for more. Recommended!

Moon – 8.4

This excellent one-man-show tells a very sad and heart-breaking story of a desperately lonely worker stationed on the moon. When the truth were unveiled about the real identity of the character, I can't felt nothing but heart broken and sympathetic for the poor guy; and this result is achieved by the brilliant acting and spot on atmosphere. Recommended.

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince – 7.8

I never liked any of the Harry Potter movies, but I really enjoyed this latest one. The story was not boring, the pacing was more balanced than any of the previously released Harry Potter movies that I actually stay awoke from start to finish, and Hermione's got TITS! I remember her being so little but now damn! She has become one hot chick! In the next Harry Potter movie, they should make Hermione shows her tits more; that would definitely made the movie far better. LOLs.

Up – 7.5

To tell you the truth, I think this is just another Disney movie. It was definitely not bad, but nothing was special about it. I enjoyed watching it and that is all that matters.

The Cove – 8.0

Ahh… Whale/dolphin activists… I always think that they're mere nuisances and should be kick in the balls for being so fucking loud about an issue that does not concern them, but after watching this huge eye-opening documentary, now I know why they're so drugged up to do all the dangerous media stunts that they did. By exposing to the world what the Japanese fisherman were doing in that small Taiji cove, I hope it would make more people including the unaware Japanese public to discuss the matter more openly, and to let the Japanese people decide, do they want this to be their culture?

500 Days of Summer – 8.0

What a way to make a romance movie. Well, this movie does not specifically fit to be called a 'romantic' movie, as the story has some unpredictable turns and storyline, but it was sweet nonetheless. I will probably remember watching this movie, but I can't really put it shoulder to shoulder with the best of the genre.

Jennifer’s Body – 6.0

I loved Diablo Cody’s Juno, and with Megan Fox in it, it makes the deal sweeter; but I watched the whole movie expecting to see Megan Fox’s naked breast, and they don’t even let us see her naked ass. What is the purpose of using a hot chick with no acting talent, without letting her expose her boobs? Anyways, the 'real teen talk' script in the movie was pretty fun to watch.

Angels & Demons – 8.0

As a thriller/action movie, this movie IS entertaining especially with the help of its interesting storyline and set pieces, but something felt very weird. I don't know how to explain this, but this movie really felt like it was made according to textbooks on how to make a Hollywood movie. Of course I enjoyed watching it, but something felt missing. I don't know, I'm not a professional movie reviewer. Too bad.

Duplicity – 7.7

A fun action/comedy/thriller that has a very surprising ending. Other than that, this one is pretty mediocre.

Racheal Getting Married – 7.5

The way they took this movie is just perfect, painting a very realistic background of a normal family with a not so normal family problems. Anna Hathaway's relaxed approach to her character in this movie a refreshing one from the once a prisoner of Disney's princesses image. Great drama.

Gamer – 6.0

There premise of the game is just another excuse to show things get blown off, people get shot and die horrible deaths, and other awesome stuff you’d expect from an action movie. The imagery might attract action movie fans, but this movie has no heart, no content, and nothing original. It only has gritty over the top violence, and bare boobs.

Paranormal Activity – 6.0

I love horror/scary movies and when I heard that Paranormal Activity was quite good; I got my hopes up only to get it crushed. Blair Witch Project is a scary and creepy movie, this one is not.

Bruno – 6.0

I love the Ali G Show. When the Borat movie was out, I can’t believe how freaking hilarious it was; it was something so new in the movie world. Then the third character from Sacha Baron Cohen, Bruno the Austrian gay fashion fantasista, were made into a movie, and I watch with much anticipation to get my funny tummy blown away, just to be extremely disappointed. The gay jokes were not funny anymore, and Sacha Baron Cohen seems so desperate for humour. Borat 2 please!

9 – 6.5

9 has an original artwork and feel, but the character designs were too 'distant' to strike any connection with the viewer thus making it hard to care for the characters and their story. Too bad.

I Love You Man – 7.0

A pretty different, and humorous take on 'brotherly' love between two straight guys. The movie is funny all the way through, but not very much memorable or special. Perfect for a lazy night watching.

I Love You Beth Cooper – 5.0

Just another mediocre teen movie. Don’t bother at all.

The Final Destination – 5.0

I loved the Final Destination series because it provided the much needed coolness and justification for all the terrible deaths that we all enjoyed watching; but their latest effort proves that there is no more milk left in this horror/gore mammary. Just like the SAW series.

hair-cut fail

went to cut my hair.

went to this unknown barber shop.

the price for a cut was not that cheap.

3200 yen.

that's about rm 121.

but i was fed up driving around without any direction trying to find a proper hair saloon.

and i knew it.

it was a HUGE mistake.

now my hair looks like a goddamn mushroom from mario bros.

note to self: always go to a proper hair saloon that has: proper male stylist and a cute girl as the hair washer and massager. ALWAYS!

Blog Hiatus

This really sucks.

But somehow my computer is having a very weird network problem that really makes me crazy.

The computer recognizes the local area network, but somehow I couldn't get into the Internet.

First I thought Windows 7 is acting up some strange shit, but after doing some inspection on the software specs and settings, I am pretty sure this is a hardware flaw.

I even tried using Vista and Windows XP to make sure this is the case.

My Xbox 360 and the PS3 connects to the Internet without any problem, so I really have no clue on the main cause of this extremely annoying problem.

Anyways, I have exausted all of my knowledge on how to fix a troubled computer; so I am going to get help from people that really knows what they're doing with computers; that they get paid to do so.

I have never faced a computer problem that I couldn't solve by myself before, this one might be something big.

Or maybe I am just not that techie anymore.

I bet the network card is the culprit, or my Internet service provider is fucking me in my asshole by manually blocking that one computer from the Internet.

Either ways, this means that I won't be updating my blogs more often than I would.

I got some 'experiences in weird japan' posts that I had in mind, but with the situation that I am in right now, that would have to wait.

Thankfully the iPhone is capable enough of letting me do most of Internet activities on it like checking emails, chatting, facebooking and like right now, blogging.

God damned computers... I really can't live without them.

What a bitch!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

modern warfare 2 farce

Infinity Award’s Call Of Duty Modern Warfare was a really good game.

The sequel Modern Warfare 2, is said to be way better.

So I put an order from Play-Asia for the PC version of the game several weeks before launch.

I can’t wait for the game as I heard more and more great reviews from all of the major video game sites.

Alas, when I got back from work today, my order was waiting in my mail box.

I waste no time, and start the installing process.

The game uses Valve’s Steam for the installation process, which is kinda annoying because it was slow.

Then this thing comes up, telling me that I my purchase have been canceled.

This is ridiculous, because I paid for this shit just to be told that my purchase is not valid.

Fuck Activision and Infinity Award.

Confused, frustrated and mad, I made a little research and found out that Steam’s region configuration has blocked my installation because the version that I bought is the Asian version, NOT the Japanese version.

I happen to live in Japan, so they blocked my game because Square Enix is officially launching the Japanese version of the game this 10 of December.

How dare they fucking do this.

If I bought the Asian version of the game for the Xbox 360 or PS3, this problem does not happen.

This fucked-up shit just happen on the PC.

I guess PC gaming IS dying.

When people who bought the game with their own money through legal ways cannot play the game because of some damn business deal, there are thousands and thousands of people out there who pirate the game, and could play without any hassle.

Fuck Activision and Infinity Award.

I’m going to MOD my Xbox 360 and I’m going to pirate all their games to play offline.

PC gaming is dead.

Windows 7 Love

I got my Windows 7 DVD for a while but I have decided not to upgrade to the latest OS from Microsoft as soon as the installation disk arrived.

The main reason is because through my personal experience of upgrading Microsoft made OSes from the past 10 years, the first 6 month would always be terrible.

Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista.

All were not pretty during early period of launch.

One other reason why I didn’t jump immediately into the new system (like I used to) is the hassle that came with upgrading to a new OS.

Backing up all the stuff that you own on your computer that goes back 5-6 years is really, really time consuming, and I happen to be one lazy hermit.

Well, not until yesterday.

I was up partying on the night before, and I woke up that morning, with a sore neck and a sleepy head because that’s what always happened when I ended sleeping in beds that are not mine; but I somehow had an enlightment that I need to stop this unprofitable procrastination and upgrade to Windows 7 right away when I reach home.

So I did, and it was incredibly trouble free!

I had a slight trouble with the drivers for my Sound Blaster, but it was resolved pretty quickly and it was a really quick process, I think I’m in the future!

Anyways, with just a couple of hours using the new operating system from Microsoft, I must say, I’m really, really impressed!

I mean, this thing is even faster and better than any OSes from Apple!

The taskbar has been improved for easy multi-tasking and the visual improvements actually help me get things done faster and more precise.

I am really loving the new taskbar, and the improved flexibility of the widgets are a HUGE plus; I don’t need third party software for those!

I cannot believe that this is something that comes from Microsoft!

I tried encoding a couple of videos with TMPGEnc, while I multi-process some photos with Adobe Photoshop as iTunes play some dikir barat music, and my browsing experience with Firefox did not seem to have any effect at all!

Alas, I must conclude, Windows 7 is the perfect match for my Core i7.

It was brilliant, and I am more than glad that I made the upgrade.

I should have trusted the reviews posted on the internet and upgrade earlier.

Microsoft, congratulations. You surely didn’t fuck this up, and believe me, your reputation has been secured.

Still, Internet Explorer is still way behind Firefox.

For those who haven’t tried it, GO WIN7 NOW!

angkor wat cookies

someone from the department just got back from his honeymoon from cambodia.

and he brought us some cookies from cambodia for everybody.

a cookie from cambodia, is not a cookie from cambodia,

if it does not have the angkor wat shape!

as i open the plastic wrapping, i was thinking

"hmm how would a cambodia cookie that is shaped like the famous angkor wat tastes like?"

it tasted like any other cookie you could buy in Japan.

i turned the wrapping around,

to found the logo for plastics written in japanese.

プラ - pura, short for plastics in japanese

man, globalization's fun!

toyota police station seconds

so i took another half-day off today so that i could go to the toyota city's police station once again to pick up my vehicle-parking certificate, and so some other stuff that needs to be done.

nothing worth writing happened really, except that i have totally forgotten to introduce you to (Aichi Prefecture) Toyota City's Police Maskot, the owl.

the name is コノハケイブ (konohakeibu) and although the thing might look cute, i think they try to send the message that the police, although cute and all, are always watching you citizen at all times so BEWARE arrr!!!

anyways, the konoha (or eurasio scops-owl in english) is a common type of owl in Aichi Prefecture.

the picture below is taken when i was waiting for the bus on my way to the police station.

i love these types of scenery in Japan.







reminds me of home.

getting certificate for parking space

So on Thursday I took the half day off (午後半休) so that I could visit the Toyota City’s Police Station.

My main objective of going there is to acquire the ‘certification for parking space’ or 自動車保管場所証明 in Japanese.

As stated in the 保管場所法 (Laws for place of storage), before one were allowed to own a vehicle, one were legally required to have a parking space to place that vehicle.

If you don’t have a certified parking place for your vehicle, then you don’t get to own that vehicle in Japan.

Japanese car dealers would charge up to 10000 yen if you want them to do this procedure for you, but I don’t want to pay that much money for something so simple to do; so I decided to make some research so that I could do it all by myself.

Well it did took me like 1 hour to figure and sort out all the documents that I needed, but at least I don’t have to waste money, and the extra knowledge was never a waste.

Now, this would be my second time inside a Japanese Police Station, and this time I didn’t get there by riding a black Toyota Crown driven by a grumpy Japanese Policeman.

The inside of Toyota City’s Police Station was very... old and washed out.

I’d reckon if a group of high school Yankees armed with water pistols and some really, really hard potatoes, were to assault that place, they’d be punching holes into that building.

I entered the main building welcomed by the voice of one angry mother who couldn’t stop scolding her gyaru daughter for some shit she did that brought her to the police station.

The girl had black contact lenses that made her pupils look bigger, like a manga character, and application of heavy gyaru make-up and a red jump-suit with a pony-tail hair-do to complete her image as the usual street 不良少年 (furyou shounen – juvenile delinquents?).

I went to the second floor and was greeted by this very friendly looking lady on the counter.

Everything went smooth, except she was surprised when I said that I’m not Japanese, and I successfully protected my rights when she asked to copy my alien registration card.

Japanese police always wants to take copies of my alien registration card.

Give them my fingerprints and a passport photo; they’d be smiling from ear to ear.

free windows 7

I had a pleasant surprise when I went to check my mail box today.

I got my free copy of Windows 7 Home Premium from Microsoft!

When I bought my new computer, it comes with Vista and a free coupon for Windows 7.

I’ve been using Windows XP the whole time, and the change to Vista brought along some unwanted trouble (mostly because I was not used to the new system) but now I can say that I understood why people HATE Vista so much.

If you have the slightest interest on news about operating systems, you’d heard about people that knows what they are talking about, are saying that Windows 7 is going to save Microsoft some face because it is much more polished, stable and faster than ever.

Windows 7 were labeled as the best OS from Microsoft, yet.

BUT.

I’m still pretty skeptical.

Sounded too good to be true.

So for the mean time, although I have Windows 7, I would not be upgrading to it.

Besides, what if some of my games that worked beautifully in Vista, run like shit on Win 7?

Before upgrading to Windows 7, I want to at least finish Borderlands, Vegas 2, Dead Space, Fear 2, Crysis Warhead, Stalker Clear Sky AND Resident Evil 5.

Then I’d make the jump.

Like always… games come first.

Lulz.


*note: this has nothing to do with Windows 7, but clicking the spoiler link will reveal some latest pictures of the ever lovely Akiyama Rina aka Oshirina. Be nice and thank me in your prayers.

REVEAL SPOILER

kelate vs n9

ore kato gomo klate gomo.

gomo gomo jugok.

tapi jange sapa jadi pongoh tok kalu.

kalu klate demo kaloh.


ore kato sek sek klate ghama gedebe.

ganah sangak la tuh.

sebak bola.


kalu pasa karo lain.

malah hapah.

another long collection of movie reviews!

おくりびと(Departures) – 9.0
Okuribito is simply put the best Japanese movie I’ve seen this year. A cello player lost his musical job, and then decides to leave Tokyo to return to his Yamagata hometown. This is how he found a job as the person who does the traditional preparation for the dead during funerals. The intricate details and how the director likes to tease its audience with scenes that opens up possibilities for various interpretations was really a quality only found in Japanese movies; and I love this style of film-making. The story was very beautiful and I managed to learn a thing or two about the traditional Japanese funerals. If you like movies, you have to watch this. I can’t write how much HIGHLY RECOMMENDED this one gem is.

Star Trek – 8.0
I must state a confession here: I was never a fan of Star Trek because I thought the costumes were foolishly gay, and why drool on Star Trek when there is something as awesome as Star Wars? The only reason why I wanted to watch this in the first place is because of director J.J.Abrams; and boy what a great movie this is! Ok, maybe I’m pushing it a little bit here, but what genius could turn something as stupid and boring as Star Trek into such a great action movie with great story? Recommended.

Godfather 3 – 8.4
The Godfather series is probably one of my favorite movies of all time, and recently, I had the opportunity to watch the third and last installment on Bluray. Like the first and second, you’re immediately drawn into the story and all its interesting characters right from the start. A lot of the flash back scenes tied some loose ends from previous movies, and provide the much appreciated detail to an amazing drama. Highly recommended.

Joint Security Area – 8.0
Brilliant story telling and realistic drama that not only involves a couple of military personnel, but symbolizes the feelings of two nations at whole. The story involves border guards at the South Korea – North Korea border, and this movie really made me think about the true meaning behind the word nationalism and patriotism. It is emotional, it is sometimes funny and definitely a recommended watch.

The Twilight Samurai (たそがれ清兵衛) – 8.5
One of the better Samurai movies out there, The Twilight Samurai is strives for a realistic presentation of its world, and the audience got sucked in pretty quickly into the Samurai era of feudal Japan. This is one slow drama but the meticulous detail put into the story line, beautiful props and low-key acting really fits the theme very well and I enjoyed every minute of the movie and it slowly creeps up on me and succeeded in holding my attention to the end credits. The basic story is about a low-ranked samurai who quietly lives his hard life trying to support his two daughters and his mother. Spice the story with some feudal Japanese romance, and I’m sold. If you like Samurai movies that focus more on story than action, you have got to watch this gem. Recommended for sure!

Changeling – 8.4
This has got to be Angelina Jolie’s best movie yet. A mother lost his son, and when the police found the wrong boy and insisted that it was her lost boy, several heinous crimes were uncovered and linked, bringing along with it an interesting story with a lot of emotion and drama. I totally recommend this movie directed by Clint Eastwood.

Ponyo On The Cliff (崖の上のポニョ) – 7.8
I was always a fan of Studio Gibli’s movies, and although Ponyo is not the best, it is still unique in its own ways while retaining that stark Hayao Miyazaki style. Although this movie was publicized to be a children’s movie, I think there were parts of the storyline that might seem hard for a kid to understand. Children will love the creative visuals and adults will enjoy the intricate details put into the animation; and Ponyo being kawaii really helped both parties. Recommended if you like Hayao Miyazaki movies!

Public Enemies – 7.3
I was quite hyped to see this movie because of lead Johnny Depp and Christian Bale was in it, but was quite disappointed when finished watching it. This is not a bad movie, but so much potential in chemistry between both actors is wasted with shallow characterization and story build-up. The gun fights were entertaining and realistically cool though. Definetely not the best film for Johnny Depp/Christian Bale.

Shake Hands With The Devil – 8.0
If you liked Hotel Rwanda and want to see another good movie about the Rwanda Genocide, you have to watch this movie. The POV this time is from Roméo Dallaire, the Commanding General of the UN Forces in Rwanda at that time. Very violent and very tragic, the movie captures General Dallaire’s frustration and guilt very well and the lead actor did a great deal of acting to bring all the emotions alive. This is a great movie about the failure of humanity, and I highly recommend watching it.

Monsters vs Aliens – 7.9
DreamWorks Animation has been a great rival to Pixar when it comes to CGI movies and Monsters vs Aliens is another great addition to their great offerings of CGI movies. Although targeted towards children, I had fun watching this. Simple and funny. Recommended.

Sweet Lie – 8.0
I don’t know why, but it seems like I have developed fondness to Korean romantic comedies, and Sweet Lie is one of the reason of this. The story seemed so clichéd and unoriginal at first, but the director managed to put some twist to the story, denying it to be boring. This is one cute and funny movie, and if you like Korean romantic comedies, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Talentime – 7.5
The first half of the movie is spent building its multi-racial characters while trying to break stereotypes of each other. Sometimes it felt like the message was forced down our throats, but I guess that’s exactly what Yasmin Ahmad had in mind. The acting was hit and miss, and the dialogue terribly unrealistic, just like her past efforts. The whole movie might felt like a cheesy melodrama and lack focus nor direction, but it clearly had something big that it wants Malaysians to think about. Think about Malaysians as non racial, but mere humans with differences. Not one of Yasmin’s best films though…it is very sad that she is not with us anymore... She had so much potential...

Year One – 7.0
Jack Black and Micheal Cera together in a movie that insults Jews, Christians and Muslims as it poke at the ridiculousness of holy tales taken from Torah, Bible and Quran. How can that be NOT funny? Most of the jokes are stupid and some disgusting, but the whole movie was not that bad, and Micheal Cera was funny. So was Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Brain not needed to enjoy this.

Xmen Origins Wolverine – 7.0
You like Wolverine? Then you should watch this movie. If you have no idea who or what Wolverine is, then don’t watch this because there was nothing special about this movie. Just another Hollywood action movie. I happen to dig Wolverine. That is why I’m writing this.

Land Of The Lost – 6.0
Will Ferrell should really choose his movies; and think about a new funny character, not play the same character in all his movies. Bad movie, it would be better if they had a hotter chick as Will Ferrell’s love interest though.

Goemon – 7.2
This Japanese alternate fantasy movie seems like a great idea on paper, but the execution was pretty rough and I wonder whether to take it seriously or does the cheesiness and stereotypical elements in a lot of Japanese fantasy movies were just there as an element of parody. I guess 90% of the scenes were made out of cheap CGI, and the acting really didn’t help much. As a mindless action movie though, the amount of cool action involving shinobis killing hundreds and hundreds of fully armored samurais could satisfy any action movie fans. Still, definitely NOT a good Japanese movie, although the effort should be encouraged.

Transporter 3 – 7.4
If you love Jason Statham, you’re going to love this movie, but even to the normal action movie-lover, this movie is not bad at all. The action scenes were cool and the ending was pretty explosive… literally. Jason Statham was brilliant but I just wished they casted a hotter girl as the package.

Too Beautiful To Lie – 7.0
A pretty ex-conwomen on parole had to lie and lie some more to avoid trouble, but it causes more chaos and leads to some funny situations that don’t make sense but this romantic comedy Korean movie is as mediocre as many of it’s kind, so there is no surprise there. I think a rating of 7.0 is pretty generous already.

Crank High Voltage – 7.0
Although not as good as the first Crank, High Voltage is almost as crazy. The sequel does have more violence and sex, so be prepared because it was pretty ‘hardcore’ and might offend a lot of people. Even a good Muslim would surely be sent to hell if he/she enjoys this.

Fast & Furious – 7.3
This would be the 4th addition to the Fast And Furious series, and after Tokyo Drift, this time they’re bringing back the cast from the original. The story is worse this time around but the action sequences were pretty enjoyable and at least I had fun. In short: not so furious.

10 Things I Hate About You – 7.5
It’s quite amazing that a movie so old thus seems to be packed full with cliché, is still enjoyable.

Che Part 1 – 6.0
The movie was so boring that I slept in the whole movie. I need to rewatch this and re-view it again, if I have the time.

Race To Witch Mountain – 6.0
2 alien kids with alien powers and Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson is in this Disney action/adventure movie. I guess you’d figure out what to expect from these types of movies. Not terrible, but just passable.

Chadni Chowk To China – 5.0
This Indian movie’s new concept of bringing Bollywood to the world of kungfu in China seems like an interesting promise, but it failed miserably because one must not forget that they bringing along Bollywood’s horrible acting, failed attempt at comedy, ridiculous story, dumb actors and worse directors. The cinematography was beautiful and the music was not so bad though. Avoid this movie.

Red Cliff 1 – 6.0
Boring. John Woo was a brilliant director when it comes to modern action movie. I mean, he popularizes shooting with two pistols and flying while at it! Unfortunately, I don’t think he made great epic movies that had to deal with history and ancient Chinese battles and story. Of maybe I was just too tired from work when I watch this?

Twilight – 7.0
Seriously, I thought this movie is going to be shit; but it is not. I never read any of it’s novels but by watching this movie, I kinda understands why Twilight is such a hit with the teenage girls. I mean, which teenage girls don’t want a vampire boyfriend that’s rich as fuck, good looking and had super powers? Kristen Stewart was incredibly hot in a weird and new way. I really like her acting style.

Adventureland – 7.0
I expected a nonsense comedy with lots of perverted jokes but this movie is far more than that. Of course it has those aforementioned elements, but the story focused more on romance and conflicts that it brings along. The acting was really relaxed and Kristen Steward was weird hot and I started to like this young actress after seeing this movie and Twilight. There was nothing special about the movie though, but I don’t really regret watching it.

Tokyo! – 7.0
Three different stories from three different directors, with three different styles and three different preferences; and they all have one thing in common: location. One pretty weird movie though, and I don’t normal moviegoers could stomach any of it.

September Tapes – 6.0
Borrowing the format of Blair Witch Project, this ‘finding Osama Bin Laden’ movie is all about creating a believable home-made movie, with some seriously realistic special effects and camera shots. Not bad at all, but I just can’t rate this movie any higher.

Land Of The Dead – 6.5
Zombies!!!

A Very Long Engagement – 7.0
This Frech movie starts very slow, and it didn’t pick up the pace quick enough to hold my interest in the plots about a girl who tries to investigate about what really happened to his fiancé during the war.

Dragonball Evolution – 5.5
I knew this real-action adaptation of the legendary Dragonball manga would be extremely bad, and I still can’t believe how right I am.

Erotic Comic Girl – 5.0
The movie is about a virgin Japanese girl who works and strives to be a good eroge mangaka (erotic comic artist), and after her imagination for sexual stories almost runs dry, she searches desperately for ways to refresh and advance her ability to be more imaginative. The obvious step to take is to pop her cherry and have lots of sex… What a dumb movie.

this weekend 2

friday night the people at work held a welcoming party for the two of us 新人(shin jin - new guy) at this japanese-italian izakaya.

it was not so bad.

when all the 年配の方 (nenpai no kata - old people) left, we held a second party (二次会 - nijikai) just for people in their twenties.

with the big senpais gone, the second party was more relaxed, and i got to talk and had simple games with my new colleagues; which is a great opportunity for bonding.

after the second party, they wanted to go karaoke until morning, but i just had enough for the night.

the other shinjin got so drunk that i think i should take the responsibility to take him home.

well, i always take the drunkards home. always.

the next morning i woke up very late.

then out of the blue, i decided to buy a new car.

so i went to Toyokawa, and then i bought a second-hand Honda Fit.

although the it is not brand new, the condition was very good, and the price was not so bad.

around 470000 yen for everything plus road tax until October of 2010.

it was really a pretty good deal.

i went home and decided to organize my photos using picasa.

the free image software from google is amazing! especially the face recognition tech!

i'm very impressed!

i woke up on the sunday morning with a headache.

and hungry as fuck.

so i went to family mart next door to buy a simple bento.

while i eat my bento, i connected my 47 inch sharp aquos to my nvidia gtx 285 via hdmi so that i could watch おくりびと (Okuribito - Departed) on the big screen.

that movie was simply the best Japanese movie i've watched this year. highly recommended!

then i turned to my ps3 to continue the single player missions in uncharted 2.

i got to this puzzle involving big ass golden 'dagger' thingy and it was freaking cool and all; but i got stuck so i decided to watch cat videos on youtube when i realized that Adilla was online playing mp.

fast forward some messages...

well, she kindly invites me to her party and for the first time i'm playing co-op.

it was super fun.

i mean AARRRR FUNNN!!!

pretty hard though, but i'm glad i played that game.

thanks Adilla.

kalau ada masa, kita main lagi okeh?

damn, tomorrow's work; gotta go to bed early.

良い夢を！

p/s: i noticed that i have totally forgotten my responsibility to the society to post pictures of hot Japanese girls. i would like to apologize by presenting to you some fines from Anri Sugihara:

REVEAL SPOILER

burger king windows 7 whopper

this weekend

this weekend i spent most of my time relaxing, watching movies, playing video games and going outside to explore new cities.

i went to nagoya today, and was surprised to saw this statue that was located just outside of nagoya station.

as you can see from the picture below, it is obviously a statue of a naked women doing an anal-fisting; in the middle of a public space.

i guess the nagoyans are crazy too!

i also got to play uncharted 2's multiplayer, and it was pretty good.

maybe not as good as modern warfare, but at least on par with gear of war 2's.

and that's a high spot to top off.

anyways, i got bored really fast, so i turned to a demo of battlefield 1943 and it was a blast!

then i continued my gaming marathon with a couple of hours of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S Clear Sky and i must say, this one is a gem of an FPS.

great atmosphere, great gun battles, great immersiveness, overall a great game although the story was confusing and the characters were very weak.

with my room tidier and equipped with stuff that i needed, now i can feel like home again.

with that, i hope this means that i could really focus on learning new skills at work, and play harder when i'm off.

tomorrow's going to be a great starting day.

i just hope i could get my hands on a decent honda fit as soon as possible without much hassle.