opinions

Bin Laden is Dead.

*Photo by Getty Images*

Unless you have been hiding in a hole somewhere, I’m pretty sure you’ve all heard that the terrorist and No.1 enemy of America (and probably the world), Osama Bin Laden is dead.

According to reports, the US intelligence (known as the CIA) is to thank for their discovery of Bin Laden’s villa/ hide out in Abbottabad, a few kilometers north of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad . They then sent out helicopters and troops from US SEALs (Team Six) to carry out the raid on the morning of May 1, 2011. They also said that Bin Laden put up a fight but was unarmed during the raid, and only 4 people aside from Bin Laden were killed. None of the US Military were shot or harmed during the fight.

Bin Laden’s body was said to have been shot in the eye and in the chest, and that facial recognition and DNA testing were performed in the body. The reports also said that when these tests were done, they buried the body in the Arabian Sea.

This was, according to President Barack Obama, one of the greatest victories of the US. I’m pretty sure that this would also be a great addition to the history of Obama’s reign as President.

However, there are some “conspiracy theorist” who do not find this believable. It seems that they want proof, by publishing photos and videos of Bin Laden’s body during the tests done on his cadaver. In fact, there is already a spam message circulating around FaceBook about his body (though I’m pretty sure that these are all fake, and was just placed there for some stupid profile count or virus spreading. FB users beware ok? Do NOT believe these images. I’d rather see the pictures from Yahoo! News or some local newspapers than in FaceBook >_<). Apparently, they are urging the White House to publish these photos as proof to the world that the man is already dead.

As for me, I have mixed reactions about this issue. First of all, I am happy that Bin Laden is dead, since he has killed many people during his reign of terror. I’m pretty sure that a lot of people are happy, too. His attacks during September 11, 2001 was not limited to the killing of US citizens. There were a a lot of people of mixed cultures that died during these attacks, my Filipino countrymen included.

Second, I am kind of scared. With the death of their leader, the al-Qaeda will be sure to retaliate.  As for when and where they will attack, we do not know. I just hope that all countries would stay alert. It’s not over with the al-Qaeda, that’s for sure. ~_~

And third, I am, to some degree, a little disappointed. It took them almost 10 years to capture or kill this man. The 9/11 attacks happened way back in 2001, and it is only until now that they found him. It’s a tad disappointing that with all the technology and intelligence of the nations hunting for this man, it took them this much time to find him. I’m pretty sure that the families of the 9/11 victims would be sure to agree with me on this one. ~_~

Anyway, I’m pretty sure that countries all over the world are celebrating (there was even a celebration at New York’s Time Square, outside the White House, and even at Ground Zero – the World Trade Center), but still, we have to stay on the alert. Bin Laden may be dead, but there are still some pretty mad people out there. ~_~

Light It Up! Or Not…

Thank God for siblings. XD

My brother recently bought me an awesome little gadget, which I think would help me a lot. XD

They’re not really seen in point of purchase displays in malls in the Philippines, although I have seen several stalls of these around, and I am hoping that more people would be able catch up to this fad.

TADAHHH! It’s my first ever Electronic Cigarette, also known as an e-Cig.

It’s a neat little thing, you don’t have to light it up with a match, and you only need one stick of it. It has interchangeable “filters”, where the nicotine is. Yes there is still nicotine in it, but fortunately it doesn’t have any of the other toxic substances that can be found in ordinary cigarettes like tar, carbon monoxide, etc. Plus the nicotine actually has a lower percentage. One of the vendors I’ve asked told me that it has 40% less nicotine than a stick of Marlboro Lights, and one “filter” can last up to 150+ puffs.

It’s really great for someone like me, who smokes for psychological reasons rather than physical ones. I’ve been told that this gadget can help in making a person stop smoking real cigarettes, so I’m hoping that it helps me.

It’s way too late now, and I still have work tomorrow. I’m going to give this baby a trial run, and then I’ll add a full review as well for thos who are interested in buying something like this. XD

Computer Parts Accessories

Hahaha, I found this in the InterNet today, and I realized I want one so much. XD

I found out that recently, a lot of computer techies have been using computer parts and lingo as fashion accessories…. although I think it’s going to be a little too uncomfortable to give, like, a Delete or Backspace button as a Wedding Jewelry. XD

Stuff like keys from a keyboard, capacitors, LED lights and even a USB flashdrive can be used as bracelets, earrings, pendants and necklaces.

Maybe that should be the thing that I did with my old computer parts. It would be cool to have a bracelet that says “ZENKX” made with keyboard keys. XD

Neckties as Belts? Heck yeah!

I don’t know why some people actually think I’m weird for using skinny ties or neckties as belts.

I see nothing wrong with it actually.

It’s quite fashionable, especially for women. I mean, most of the time some belts don’t match the blouse, and in my case, sometimes the more “fashionable” (meaning popular) belts don’t quite fit me. Harhar! So instead I use neckties as a belt for my blouses and glamming them up a bit with brooches. And sometimes, when I’m particularly feeling punkish, I wear them as belts for my pants and let the design peek down the sides… I particularly like my tie that has Garfield on it. So cute. XD

But sometimes, I get people telling me why I wear neckties like that. And I’m like, so what? It’s fashion, ya? It’s supposed to evolve, and I’m supposed to be creative with fashion. I don’t want to wear thick leather belts all my life, and I don’t to spend hundreds of pesos on a “fashionable” belt when I can get a simple (and sometimes even ornate!) necktie at a local thrift or ukay-ukay store for P20. XD

Anyway, I believe whoever came up with this fashion trend, is somewhat of a genius. No more expensive belts for me. I’m sticking to my scarves and neckties as belts. XD

One Step At a Time

Or more like 15,000 steps. ~_~

Yep, I just bought a pedometer recently. It’s a neat little thing actually, so it was all tiny and it fit in my belt rather nicely. Although its kind of a hassle to set up because it gets pinched sometimes in my belt and it resets. ~_~

But it’s still good though. Especially nowadays when you don’t know what diet pills are safe to use to lose weight. The manual on my pedometer says that to lose weight, I need to take about 15,000 steps per day. Which is, admittedly, a tall order. I used it to count the steps I take walking down and up my office staircase only to find out that it’s only 250 steps. Sheesh. That would mean I’d have to walk up and down the stairs 60 times in a day. ~_~

Anyway, I have yet to measure how many steps I take walking around my subdivision’s playground, so hopefully I can use it there and walk for an hour. I just hope that I can walk all those steps in that time frame. XD

The Guatemala Sink Hole

DUDE!!!

Have you guys seen this?

You probably have, since this sink hole is probably on the cover of every newspaper and being televised in every news channel.

It’s just so… freaky. Reports say that it was poor construction of pipelines in Guatemala that caused this sink hole. But looking down at it, it’s almost like the Earth just swallowed up the part of this intersection. My sister even said it looked like the sink holes the Silver Surfer made in the “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” movie released a few years ago. (The aliens are upon us! Haha! Just kidding!)

It’s scary to think that something like this can be caused by man’s own hand, and poor engineering skills. It really does look like something nature would do to retaliate against our greed for land.

I just hope that this incident doesn’t repeat itself. Brrr… it gives me shivers just looking at that picture. It almost looks like that hole goes all the way down the Earth’s core. ~_~

Alice in Wonderland the Movie is WONDERFUL!!!

From Blog Pictures

*Yes, that is me drooling over this gigantic poster of Johnny Depp XD*

Yep, due to the demands of my sister, Lelai, we decided to watch “Alice in Wonderland” in SM Marikina, starring Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter and Anne Hathaway. And I regret the fact that I watched it so late despite of it’s continued commercials and promotions (though I wish there was like an Alice in Wonderland promotional hand sanitizers that would look like one of those Drink Me bottles in the movie… that would’ve been awesome).

It’s the first ever 3 Dimentional (or 3-D) movie I’ve ever watched, and I’m glad that it was. Like some men say, “You never forget the first time”. Hahaha! The movie marks the 7th time Director Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have worked together since Edward Scissorhands, and it shows during the movie how well they work together. Depp (as always) fit right into the character, The Mad Hatter. And as usual, yours truly swooned at the sheer gorgeousness of Mr. Depp (I’ve had the biggest crush on him since I first saw Edward Scissorhands XD).

Helena Bonham-Carter’s performance was very good, as expected, and I saw a bit of resemblance of her acting in a previous movie of hers, Merlin. In fact, I would think that she patterned her speech from her character there, named Morgan le Fay. Plus next to Mr. Depp, she had some of the funniest lines in the movie. “SHE KILLED MY JABBER-BABY-WOCKY!” Classic. XD

As for the other characters, they did an excellent job. Kudos to Mia Wasikowska, who played a great Alice, and Anne Hathaway who portrayed the White Queen. I never thought that a silly (albeit graceful) White Queen would be possible, but she did it rather well.

OH! And don’t get me started on Allan Rickman. He voiced one of the stranger characters in the movie, Absolem, also known as the Caterpillar. Mr. Rickman wasn’t physically present in the movie (although his face was supposed to be imposed on the features of Absolem, but this was changed by Tim Burton) but he and fellow actor Christopher Lee (who voiced the Jabberwocky) nearly stole the scene by doing what they did best, acting through their voices. Mr. Lee actually had only two lines, but they were two very good lines that shows the power of the Jabberwocky. As for Mr. Rickman, I swear there is something strangely seductive about his voice… it almost made it seem like his character in the Harry Potter franchise (Severus Snape) is one sexy wizard, even he’s a slimy, oily character. XD

But of course, we can’t talk about the movie without talking of the 3D effects, and (pardon the language) it was SO frickin’ awesome! I’ve heard that James Cameron (director of Titanic and Avatar) criticized Tim Burton by filming the movie in 2D before converting it to 3D digitally, but it worked out rather well. Everything popped up with the help of the 3D glasses, and it emphasized the objects in the screen beautifully. In fact, it was so realistic that my mom (who watched it with us) felt like ducking whenever something charged towards the screen, and my sister and I felt like reaching out our hands to touch the flowers… or Johnny Depp’s yummy, made-up face. XD

All in all, it’s a great family movie, and it’s pretty good for the kids too, since there are moral lessons that could be learned from it. As for me, I’m going to go search for more Johnny Depp pictures. I swear, even if I drooled every single drop of spit in my mouth, Mr. Depp would be so worth it. XD

The (Legendary?) Happy Horse

So, my sister and I were watching TV in my mom’s store when my brother suddenly let out a loud burst of laughter. He came over to us, and laughing, he said, “I got a happy horse!”

Of course, I wasn’t talking about the figurative horse which is “happy” (because I have no idea how you’ll know if a horse IS happy O_o). I’m talking about the “mythical” beer being sold here in the Philippines.

I’m sure any liquor lover (or “tangero” in our local language) has heard of the Happy Horse, but strangely for non-alcoholics, they don’t know about it and considers it a hoax or a joke. I told the “myth” to my mother, and as usual, I get the “Weh! Di nga? (O rly?) O_o” reaction. So to educate both the sober and non-sober (XD) people of the world, here is the story behind the supposedly “mythical” Happy Horse.

There is a beer called Red Horse being sold to stores around the Philippines, and on each case (or box) of this beer is a special one, which has a stronger ‘kick’ than the normal Red Horse (no pun intended XD), due to it’s higher alcohol content. They say you can find one in every case of Red Horse, but sometimes this doesn’t happen. But luckily for my brother, he was able to find one.

I’m posting these pictures to show you guys the difference between the Happy Horse (the one on the left) and the normal Red Horse (the one on the right).

If you take a look at the first picture, you’ll see that the “Happy Horse” has red letterings instead of the normal yellow. And for the second shot, you can see why it’s called the “HAPPY” Horse. The Logo on the right is more comical, the head tilted slightly so it looks like it’s ‘smiling’, compared to the more serious-looking horse on the other.

I never got the chance to drink it, as my brother finished it off before I got the chance to take a sip (darn him ~_~). Maybe other tangero bloggers out there can try to find another Happy Horse and tell me if it does have a stronger “tama”.

For now, I’m off to search my mom’s store for another one. XD

The 9th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collection Convention

Like… OMG! OMG! OMG!!!

They finally have a set date for the 2010 ToyCon!

According to the Official website of the Phil. Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention (also known as ToyCon), it “will be held at the SM Megatrade Hall 2 and 3, Megamall, Mandaluyong City this June 19 & 20, 2010, from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.”

This means… I need a Cosplay costume before June 19th!!! ~_~

Oh yeah, in case you haven’t noticed, I am a HUGE anime nut. Ever since I saw Voltes V and those sentai TV shows like Maskman, I’ve been into Japanese TV shows (even those batsu or punishment games shown in YouTube XD). And since I’ve visited the 2010 Otaku Expo, I have been hankering to get my hands on a costume worth cosplaying.

However, I am faced with the same dilemma that a lot of cosplayers go through… which is answering the question, “What character am I going to cosplay?”

I would really like to cosplay, but with my figure, it’s really hard to decide. I can’t exactly parade around MegaMall in a too-tight costume showing my wobbly bits to the people (and believe me, they are wobbly), so yeah, it’s hard to think about a costume that will compliment my size and shape. Not to mention there are issues about money and resources…

So, to you, my audience, I now ask a simple question. Which character can a 5 foot 3 fluffy woman with a weight of 80 kilos cosplay? And please… PLEASE don’t suggest Choji from Naruto. As much as I love Gaara, I’ve felt no feelings what-so-ever with the other characters of that anime. Well, maybe I CAN cosplay Tsunade… but I’m not a big fan of Naruto…

Geeze, God knows that if I had a figure of Angelina Jolie, I’d be parading around ToyCon in a Lara Croft outfit or something as bad a$$ and sexy as this chick:

Look at all that leather…. XD

THERE SHE IS!!!

Surprised you, didn’t I? XD

Anyway, I thought I’d take a break from my usual “Of…” title to tell you about a cute find that I saw on the InterNet.

Honestly, the Internet is such a great tool for people who get easily bored (like me XD).

So I was searching through YouTube again, and I found this wonderful video derived from a flash animation called “There She Is!!!” by a Korean animator named “amalloc”.

It tells the story of Doki and Nabi, and how they struggled against discrimination in their world because of their love for each other… since Doki is a rabbit and Nabi is a cat.

I find that this animation is such a great way to tell a story since our world, similar to theirs, is full of discrimination and prejudice. I mean, for amalloc’s world, it’s the discrimination between cats and rabbits. But for us, it’s the discrimination between the rich and the poor, or people of different religions, ages, races and even genders.

Just look at the recent issues between same sex marraiges. It has been around for ages. Being a Catholic, I find that though I do agree that though God made only man and woman, there is no way to say that God didn’t make a man with a woman’s heart, or a woman with a man’s heart. I think for me, if the same sex couples would follow the 10 Commandments in their life and in their married life, then… I find nothing wrong with them being together.

(Anyway, this is just my opinion. No need to bite my head off for this, since I totally respect the opinion of other people.)

If you want to see more of amalloc’s animations, here are the links of his 5 creations in YouTube, or you can visit his site here.

There She Is! Part I
There She Is! Part II: Cake Dance
There She Is! Part III: Doki And Nabi
There She Is! Part IV: Paradise
There She Is! Part V: Imagine