The difference between 'Pis' and 'Pis'

SAP #3

For people who had mastered the grammar and pronunciation of English(pipol op da Republic op da Pilipins, lisen ap!) by non-English-native speakers, people who are not trained by it tend to see this as a sort of 'ka-artehan'--for the elite, of for those who wanted to be seen highly. This is especially true to where I'm standing, as people who talk to a person always using the American slang and its informal speeches see this unappealing in a sense that they wished that this person should live in the States instead.
But I'm not going to blog about that. I'm going to talk about how important grammar and pronunciation can be when you ARE speaking in English.
I'm going to narrate a bunch of stories.

Friend: 'May pisbook ka?'
Me: (pisbook? Fish book?)'Fish book?'
Friend: 'Pisbook! Yung online!'
Me: 'Ah, Facebook! Sorry...'

Friend #1: 'Wanna me go with you to CR?'
Me: 'Sige.'
Friend #2: 'What did you say?'
Friend #1: 'I'm gonna, like, escort her to restroom for a while.'
Friend #2: 'Ah, okay...'

Mom: 'Gusto mo ng Hush Brown?'
Brother: 'Sapatos? (thnking of Hush Puppies)'
Mom: 'Ba't mo kakainin sapatos?'
Me: 'Baka Hash Browns ata yun.'
Brother: 'Ah, o sige...'

A joke I remember goes like this:

English - Visayan:
Peace - Pis
Fish - Pis
Face - Pis
Pace - Pis

For me, learning to pronounce the words correctly whenever we learn new languages is as important as learning how the language works. You never know if this could lead from misunderstanding to fights.

Hearing Balthier's voice--Magnetism through speaking

S.A.P. #2

Whenever my younger brother plays his video game, Final Fantasy XII, I would watch it and wait for how our two most favorite characters will react to their quest and crack up a wise nugget or so.
If you want to know who our favorite characters are, their names are Balthier and Fran, Sky Pirates in the fictional fantasy world of Ivalice, where most of their adventures are happening.

For a short description, Balthier and Fran are sky Pirates, Balthier being the suave, British-accented and cocky Human, while his partner, Fran, is a Viera, a tall and lithe creature who are mysterious and odd as their trademark rabbit-like ears.
What makes them my favorite characters is that the way they stand-out is because of how these two work together in a sense that they are reminiscent to Han Solo and Chewbacca's partnership.

But anyway, I'm not going to talk about how much of a fan I am and describe them. I'm here to talk about how Balthier wins fans by his sharp looks and even sharper witty lines.

Just hearing Balthier's voice (mind you, he's voiced by a Brit!) and how every line he says to any of the characters exudes confidence makes him every bit more interesting, therefore creating a sort of magnetizing charm. (Great. Just what a fan girl would EXACTLY say about her favorite). His masculinity also redefines it in a sense that he doesn't have to show muscles or brawn to be masculine.

Anyway, if you don't believe me, just watch this short video of him
(Great! Just how a fan girl WOULD show it)

Miscommunication in our everyday lives...

S.A.P #1

Miscommunication happens when the speaker's message did not fully reach the listener's ear, and there fore might send a wrong message back, or the listener will decode the message in a wrong way, therefore will result in an argument or so...

Miscommunication happens to me more often than not because most of the time we don't speak clearly or we heard it wrong. I live with grandparents actually, and miscommunication happens a lot and I have to be patient.

There was one time yesterday when I was asking my grandmother what type of hair product is she using, but she only answered back by saying that I spray the hair product now on her hair. I never repeated the question anymore since I saw what the hair product is.
Another time happened when I was talking to my grandfather on his office. I asked him if he was going to pay for my tuition fee next semester, but he answered me by saying that my dad can't afford to pay big money again for my brother. The unconnected answer I got from him made me repeat the question again until he did answer me rightly, although he wasn't aware that he had misheard me. But of course, it's understandable when it comes to your grandparents when you talk to them, since they are somewhat impaired in hearing now and you have to be patient about it.

But it sometimes gets into your nerves when the one you're talking to is almost as old as you and still can't hear you, or perhaps isn't even listening to you.
One example was when I was asking my brother, who was in the living room while I was in the kitchen, about a part on the newest video we saw on YouTube that was so funny. But then I was surprised he answered me back by saying the we can watch the new funny video again on YouTube...

Even though I try my best in clearing my throat to speak clearly (and loudly) to the people in the house I live in, sometimes I wished they could hear or speak as clearly as possible, or else a wrongly heard message can lead to disastrous results.

The Final Fantasy Mania! Can't get off my head, even!

Ever since the start of Semestral break, I couldn't stop exercising the thoughts of making a Fan Comic about Final Fantasy! And now that Sem break is over and with X-mas vacation only a few wishful weeks away, I finally said to myself, 'Why not?'




I chose to make a Fan Comic about Final Fantasy XII since this is the nearest Final Fantasy reference I have (my brother's playing it in his PS2 and I can't miss a single story episode of it!). Furthermore, FF-XII is actually, according to most die-hard players and videogame reviewers, the least popular FF franchise because it was a bit tad different compared from its predecessors, emphasizing on how very different the style of the storyline is and the characters having not enough ounce of Super 'oompf' factor in them--except the two Sky Piratical characters, Balthier and Fran, who are the only real stand-out characters in the FF-XII plot.

Anyhoo, even though it was deemed not the most popular game, the gameplay won over me and my brother. But these are not enough reasons for why I want to make a different story about FF-XII.
Since fans of the FF franchise thought FF-XII was not the greatest, I thought maybe a different story would make it the greatest! And also a very different heroic character would make the themes of FF-XII more promising than the young too-archetypal and static Vaan of the FF-XII!




the protagonist Vann of Final Fantasy XII




Princess Ashe (center); The ever-handy and clever duo Sky Pirates Balthier(left)and Fran(right) - major characters of Final Fantasy XII.


Final Fantasy isn't the first kind of Fan Comic I wanted to do since I was introduced to the world of gaming.

There was Devil May Cry



My plans for DMC were that I make two different stories: one is about Dante's untold teenage years (with Dante sporting the white hair-do, not from the latest DmC plot!) and about the mysterious woman named Bea and her connections to his father's death. The second would be about a mysterious man named Anthony Villert, whose duty is to rescue Dante (from a little after DMC 2 storyline) and escape from the depths of Hell when Dante went there to duke it out with Argosax the Chaos. Anthony is paired with the help from a new hero named Sigmund Cassius, an Immortal man with extensive knowledge of the Demon World, and together they travel to locate the long-lost portal that was used by Mundus himself when he plunged the world into a hellish nightmare to rule it 2xxx or so years ago.

Another work I've been doing is an original fiction entitled 'Bloody Klutzy'. This was influenced because of Twilight, but I'm not a fan of the juvenile fiction that many claim to be a number one work of literature today!
I made the idea of 'Bloody Klutzy' because I wanted to take paranormal, blood and teen-thriller themes in a more wackier, slanderous and upbeat way, make it more 'natural' and 'unnatural' all at the same time! (Good luck with that, though!)

Oh well, as for the makings of my Final Fantasy Fan Comic, I'm still designing the characters, the settings (a lot of research must be conducted!), the title and the story lines to make it totally superb than the last one.
Hope there's still some time to finish all of my Fan Comics and original fiction novel!

Think the New Emo Dante sucks like eggs? For me, it could've been worse...

Note: Sorry for not being able to blog for three FIR's now. Other academics won over my time management I could not even blog. Today is the final blog entry for my FIR, but that would not stop me for using this account for further blogging of the different reading materials I have already read. Although it would not be graded anymore, blogging is more than just grades...
You, dear blog reader, are always welcome to read my entries. Just don't blame me for when I'm about the spill any beans about a certain book/article/magazine, etc. that you're going to read.

FIR#17

Title of the article: "Think emo Dante sucks in new Devil May Cry game? He could have been shirtless with suspenders!"
Author: Dave Meikleham, GamesRadar UK
Status: Finished
Date read: Oct. 2, 2010
Date finished: the same

Since when I was a kid, I have been into games, really. I understand it runs in the family a little--my dad, along with my other cousins who were high school students back then, would always play with the Family Computer with retro games such as 'Street Fighter', 'Mario Bros.', etc. When my mom got home from Taiwan years ago and brought home the very first Play Station, that was when I understood the mechanics of gaming.
Along with my brother, we perceived gaming like reading a novel or even writing one! Especially since our dad bought the Play Station 2 when I hit high school, gaming evolved from not just the usual pixel-ated characters that jump around every platform to save Princess Peach from a cute green but menacing dragon, but now it was about creating a character out of your own imagination, or even creating worlds to create a new grandiose of a story! From console gaming to PC RPG's, gaming and story merged together for the new generation to enjoy...
Anyway, let's get to the article I read the last time.

The Article
The article I read talks about the 'reboot'/remake of the nine-year old console game called Devil May Cry, with the reboot more apparent in the changed look of the game's protagonist, Dante.



Yes, not a pretty sight at all!
According to GamesRadar, the idea to make a new, grittier, punky, smoking but younger Dante came from the new team of developers who had been assigned by the head company, Capcom Japan, to make this project. The ones who are in this project are Capcom U.S.A. and Ninja Theory, another gaming company.
And the funny thing was that the new team assigned for this project actually had five designs for the new Dante, one of which had him wearing only suspenders! LOL!
With that said, Inafune, one of the producers in Capcom Japan, didn't approve most of the previous designs and went to the one above...



Trying to explain to interviewers about this so-called reboot, Alex Jones, from the Western Capcom, cites Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight film as the inspiration. "Look at the Dark Knight! That went from Gothic fun house of the earlier Batman movies to a fairly dark look at Chicago crime today! We want to update and mature the tone of Devil May Cry."
So for the fans who had dearly loved the previous four installments of Devil May Cry, blame Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight! LOL! Just kidding!

As for Ninja Theory's game designer Tameem Antoniade who wants to give his opinions on the old Dante, he states, "If Dante, dressed as he was before, walked around outside a bar in a city, he'll get laughed at!"
He continues to say that Devil May Cry needed to have the same impact as it had had before by drawing on to new things, new fashion, new music, etc.



From left to right: the old Dante (his appearance from Devil May Cry 3) and the new Dante.

Fans, and even Hideki Kamiya--the original creator of the previous Dante--had out poured their deepest hatred and disgust for the new look and storyline, stating that they (Capcom) had destroyed the game by changing Dante, since Dante is the iconic foundation of how the game became popular.

Despite this, the developers are now pushing through the project and will set to release in 2011.
Oh well, at least Dante doesn't have to wear ridiculous suspenders and shirtless.

Insights
For me, personally, I think the change will be alright since this new Dante might/will be a new protagonist to a very different storyline from the previous games' plot. Also, based from the trailer that Capcom has released in YouTube, I think Ninja Theory had made a good job on emphasizing on the gritty parts of the game and, most especially, on the new Dante.
What I'm worrying now is how exactly will this game be a reboot, since I am just making guesses that the new Dante would be different from the old Dante I had liked and known so well already. I can only cross my fingers on how it will turn out, and hope that Capcom had not made any bad moves in taking risks to make Devil May Cry better than ever.

Goodbye Tsugumi, Hello World.

FIR# 13
Title of Novel: Goodbye Tsugumi
Author: Bana Yoshimoto
Status: Finished
Date read: Sept. 5, 2010
Date finished: Sept. 10, 2010

I had read this novel before when I was a first year student, and when I was able to finally finish the book, I was like, 'No, that can't be the ending!'
Goodbye Tsugumi was much more than appealing the senses; it as relating to us when it comes to relating to family members whom you have a love/hate relationship with. And on top of that, the one you're having that kind of relationship happens to have the possibility that he/she can die any time because he/she is very sick, and you probably will blame yourself if anything happens to that someone you know you love anyway despite their flaws...

Summary
The novel tells the story of the relationship between the love/hate relationship of two cousins: Mary--the narrator and protagonist of the story--and Tsugumi, who, despite being stricken with an unmentioned sickness, manages to be the nightmare of the household with her clever childishness, sarcasm and spitefulness.
The story is set in a flashback style, as Mary recounts her relationship with her cousin Tsugumi--from their childhood up until their last meeting the previous summer--and the wonders of the place they left behind.
Mary also recounts the last time she and Tsugumi spent their summer together one last time in the Summer Inn where Tsugumi's family works before they will move away to another location, which is when the whole story is centralized.
Along with the many experiences Mary has with her cousin, Tsugumi also experiences 'true love' where she meets a boy named Kenji, whom she is smitten with at first sight.
Together, Mary, Tsugumi and Kenji discover the many trials of life through the places they visit, the people they will never forget and, for Mary's part, experiencing as a witness to Tsugumi's near-death experience as she struggles in keeping herself alive from her illness. In the last part of the story, Mary comes to the revelation why Tsugumi is spiteful in all the years that has come: Tsugumi wanted to express herself that even in the verge of death, Tsugumi appreciates life and wants to do everything even in the cost of her health. Her personality, too, is an opposition she wants to project to everyone that she is not frail in spirit despite her fragility of health. In the end, Mary, Tsugumi and Kenji go there separate ways, as Kenji works to help his father at a new hotel, Tsugumi goes to a new town and Mary goes back to Tokyo with a wish that it will all happen again...

Insights
The story is very unique as it not only relates to us because the characters in the story are realistic, but because it is detailed more on the the places and the minor characters the protagonists go to and meet. I especially liked the relationship amongst the three stand-out characters: Mary, Tsugumi and Kenji as they represent what youth has always been. In Mary's part, she is the type of youth who is typical yet a character who develops intrinsically as she experiences and learns more of who Tsugumi is and how important life really is. Tsugumi, in turn, represents the rebellious youth, always unexpected and unabashed. She unconsciously breaks down the norm, whether with her peers or within the household, but fails and also falls for Kenji, who represents a new but rare youth. He is mysterious, kind, understanding and open-minded to both Mary and Tsugumi. He immediately sees what's around him, sparking a wisdom that he both naturally has and gained through experience.
In conclusion, reading the novel was a new experience, as its simplicity, its sensual appeal, witty dialogue(from Mary's and Tsugumi's) and characters won me over and its open-ending left me, not hanging, but floating amongst the clouds...

Wolf Guy - Not your average Werewolf.

FIR# 12
Title: Wolf Guy-Wolfen Crest(comic book/manga)
Author/Artist: Tabata Yoshiaki
Date read: Sept. 1
Chapters read: 15 chapters

You know them as half-men/women, half-wolves, right? Whether they are the bad furry, overly-muscular guys(or seducers in the women's part!)in the whole story, or the anti-heroes/heroines who are almost always ruining the fun of the real front-lining protagonists, or just teenage werewolves(just like this one that I just read)who just wants some peace of mind, a normal and danger-free life--which is improbable, since we know werewolves attract trouble or have someone else getting them trouble--we love them and/or hate them...
Or at least the media is always coming up with new ideas to revive old-school horror and, in this time and age, angsty, love-triangle romance to give them the attention they used to have.

Summary of the chapters read.
The comic book that I read online is titled as Wolf Guy-Wolfen Crest. The whole story revolves around the (wolf)life of the teenage tragic hero, Akira Inugami, and his constant search of who he really is(why was he a werewolf in the first place, why is misfortune coming at him all the time, etc.)while trying to make normalcy out of his already misfortunate, bizarre life(e.g., he constantly changes schools just so he can avoid school gangsters whom he somehow gets into a scuffle with. Now how can he ever have a 'normal' life if he gets into fights more often than not?).
The whole comic starts off with an under-appreciated middle-school teacher, Ms. Aoshika, who tries to go home drunk one late night and becomes the witness of a street gang killing of a middle-school student--who happens to be Inugami! Fainting from what she saw, she didn't witness, though, the transformation of the supposedly dead Inugami into a giant, hulking werewolf, thrashing about the same street and killing the street gang in one bloody go!
The following day, Ms. Aoshika--escorted by the police who are investigating the massacre in the same street she fainted yesterday--comes to school on time only to see the 'dead' middle-schooler--Inugami--alive! And as her new transfer student!
Unable to comprehend that this was the same middle-schooler who got killed last night by a gang and is still alive, Ms. Aoshika becomes curious to Inugami, whilst he, in turn, tries not to provoke the bullies in the new school he's in to avoid himself transferring to another school again.
As the days went by, numerous secondary characters realizes the mysterious past of Inugami. At one point-of-view of the principal of the school, he says that Inugami keeps changing schools because every previous schools he's ever been had one incident involving him and a few getting killed in the process, usually from intimidating or fighting Inugami. Though the police could not get him to court because no evidence can ever testify him ever killing those students who are threatening him, as there are usually eye-witnesses to the situations he's in and using video cameras or cellphones to estify that he's innocent. Another is that Ms. Aoshika meets a man whom he introduces himself to be a journalist and seems to know about Inugami(and the mystery of the Werewolf clan and there sudden disappearance)and why misfortune is always tailing him behind.
In the latest chapter, Ms. Aoshika--so curious and(somewhat)infatuated with Inugami--goes so far as to break inside Inugami's apartment room, just to find out why he doesn't have any parents and perhaps know more about who he is.

Insights
This is clearly actually a very psycholoical comic book, as it deals with the angsty, ever-so arrogant Inugami and his pride on being a werewolf while constantly trying to hide it to 'the inferior humans', as he would say.
Although I actually feel more for the secondary characters(especially Ms. Aoshika) as they try to unmask Inugami, I can see that Inugami is just very lonely, and his views of mankind have become narrow, to the point that he sees mankind as cruel, inferior and savage beasts, monsters in their own way, while failing to admit that there are exceptions to the perspective he has made on mankind.
Perhaps if I read on, there would development in his character...
Maybe he should start by avoiding conflicts with classmates and shutting his egotistical, clever mouth!