Friday, August 29, 2003
------------------------------------------------  


Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Happy Anniversary, Via Astris! It was great hanging out with you guys. May you all live long and prosper... with the blessing of the Force, of course. :D Everyone's really fun. Maybe I should think about joining. Hrmmm... If I join, will they make me Chief Engineer? Heheheheheh. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

MOS EISLEY NIGHT draws near! August 31, Sunday, 5pm, at Milennia Cafe at Kamuning Road, Quezon City. A night of scum, villainy, and Star Wars! With performances by Itchyworms, Narda, The Purplechickens, The Late Isabel, Fish Trio, Death Star Cookies, Do'Ahou...and the STORMBALLS!!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Excitement about Star Wars Episode 3 is definitely building up. With the production crew and the cast now shooting in full force in Sydney, fans are now able to get little hints as to what to expect in the last Star Wars installment. Thanks to Oneal's Hyperspace reports and the Grand Moff's and Master Aids' efforts at collecting information (no Bothans involved), we now know that: (*SPOILERS FOLLOW. HIGHLIGHT AND READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*)

• - Anakin Skywalker will be wielding a RED lightsaber!
  
• - There will be an epic space battle at the beginning of Episode 3
  
• - The Episode 3 villain will wield TWO lightsabers and he's gonna be bad. Really BAD. The Sith "rule of two" still applies.
  
• - A character from the Clone Wars Animated Shorts will appear in Episode 3.
  
• - Three words that Darth Vader speaks in Episode 3 are: "I don't fear...."
  
• - Chewbacca will be in the film
  
• - Episode 3 will explain all of Anakin's injuries except the facial scar
  
• - There will be a scene when Anakin is given the name of Darth Vader and an explanation as to why he was given the name and what it means.
  
• - It won't be the special effects that make the Obi-Wan/Anakin duel so thrilling, it will be the betrayal.
  
• - We will definitely see Palpatine/Sidious use an "awesome display of the dark side of the force".
  
• - Jar Jar does not die in the film
  
• - We will see Padme pregnant in the film, we will know which of the twins, Luke and Leia is older, and they will be less than a month old at the end of the film.
  
• - Yoda fights again.
  
• - Episode 3 will be a "two hour turn to the dark side"

Too excited for words!!! Maybe it's time to put up the Episode 3 countdown clock. :D



Wednesday, August 27, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Desktop Toy Stories: Episode 3 - Mistaken Identity



Gandalf: You shall not pass!
Mushu: Ah, hello? I may not look like it, but I am really a dragon. I'm not a Balrog. Dragon, get it? D-R-A-G-O-N. Dragon.
Gandalf: I know how to spell "Dragon". I am not stupid. Still, you shall not PASS! *voice echoes*
Mushu: Eh? Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? I am not a B-A-L-R-O-G!
Gandalf: You know, you're insulting me. Turn back before I turn you into a cricket!
Mushu: *backs away* Whoa, Mr. Istari, sir. I didn't mean to insult you. I really just wanted to pass.
Gandalf: And how many times do I have to tell you... you shall not PAAAAASSSS! Now, run, you fool!



Mushu: Heeeeelllllpppppp meeeeeeeee!!!

*blinding light flashes*



Jiminy Cricket: When you wish upon a staaaaarrr... that's S-T-A-R, star! Darn it, I really just wanted to P-A-S-S. *sigh*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Weird. Now I know I must be... bored. Because aside from Episode 3 of the Toy Stories...

There's a new Filk at Magical Melodies!

Princess Leia reassures Han-Solo-Frozen-In-Carbonite that he will be rescued. Sung to the tune of "Frozen" by Madonna. Click here to start... errr... singing. Oh, yeah. Jabba sings with Princess Leia here too. :p


Tuesday, August 26, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Desktop Toy Stories: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clown(fish)



*insert Jaws theme here*
Artoo: *bleeeeeeeeepppp!!!!*

*Jaws theme reaches a crescendo, Artoo disappears*



Nemo: Yum!
Artoo: *in muffled tones inside Nemo's stomach* *bleeep! beeep! bleeeeeeeeep!*

Later....



Yoda: Spit out the droid! Droid is mine! Mine mine mine mine mine!
Nemo: *spit!*
Artoo: *Thunk!* Bleeeeeeep!
Yoda: Told you, I did. Swallow droids, you should not! Disobedient, you are.
Nemo: I'm sorry, Master Yoda, I can't help it. He looks so tasty. I'll try not to do it again.
Yoda: Do or do not! There is no try. Besides, eventually, electrocuted by that droid, you will be.
Nemo: Errr... actually, I didn't want to bust your ego, but it's not your Force powers that makes me spit out the droid everytime. He DOES electrocute me when I swallow him.
Yoda: *gives Nemo a scathing look* Shut up, or shut you up, I will.
Nemo: Sorry, Master.



Artoo: *bleep beep beep bleep bleeeeeeeep!*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I seem to have found another Tolkien-Potter connection. While doing a little reviewing of Tolkien concepts using David Day's "A Guide To Tolkien", I came upon this entry:

Dumbledors - In the playful Hobbit poem "Errantry", a part tells of a ferocious race of winged insects. They are named Dumbledors, but nothing more is told of their origin and history.

Intriguing. Considering that "Dumbledore" is said to also be a word for "bumblebee". :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURICE!!!!! :) Miss you....

Monday, August 25, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Desktop Toy Stories: Episode 1 - My Phantom Future Looks Menacing



Anakin: Who are you???
Vader: I am you.
Anakin: No way!!! My boyband good looks turn into... you??? I don't believe you!
Vader: It is true. It is your DESTINY.
Anakin: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Last Saturday, I found out that Beerkada cartoonist, Lyndon Gregorio... was my Engineering Sciences teacher. Meeeeeeeeep. I had already suspected it was him, but I got thrown off the track, so to speak, because of his pseudonym. He was my teacher that summer that the Star Wars Original Trilogy Special Editions were released. I don't think I would have passed the subject if he didn't give us Star Wars themed exams. Very cool. I remember I was exempted from taking Final Exams too. Heheheheheh. Freaky how positively small this world is. :)

Signs that your Engineering Sciences teacher is cool? When his exam questions go a little something like this:

1. [referring to a drawing of the Millenium Falcon as a ship made of geometric shapes] - Solve for the center of mass of the Millenium Falcon.
   
2. Luke Skywalker decided to cool down at one of Tatooine's theme parks. At the top of the water slide, he sees Jabba the Hutt, who didn't want to come down. Luke wanted very much to use the water slide. He sees a lever below the slide. Given Jabba's weight, and lengths of the lever and other parts of the slide, what Force (heheh, nice pun, eh?) should he exert on the lever so he can throw Jabba off the water slide?

Now tell me, if you are a big Starwoid, even if you failed ES11 on the first take, wouldn't you pass this time around with flying colors? LOL.

Friday, August 22, 2003
------------------------------------------------  



'Nuff said. :)

Thursday, August 21, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

"I want to let you in on a secret. I'm not who you think I am. In fact, my disguise is so thin, I'm surprised you haven't seen right through me.

I'm the girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend.

Sometimes, I want to rip off this facade like I did in the Spring Formal, but I can't because you'll get scared and you'll run away again. So I decided that it's better to live with a lie than expose my true feelings.

My dad told me there are two types of girls: the ones you grow out of and the ones you grow into. I really hope I'm the latter. I may not be the one you love today, but I'll let you go for now, hoping one day, you'll fly back to me, because I think you're worth the wait."

Damn it. The one day I finally get to see a full episode of "Smallville", I get the episode where Chloe confesses to unconscious Clark. The one day I get to see a full episode, I get the one that hits home the most. Damn.

But now I think I know what all the fuss is about. Looks like the episode marathon starts here.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My article about the Phoenix Party finally got to see print in the August 20 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Yippee! :D

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My PC is usually Star Wars themed, but lately, I've been getting into this "Finding Nemo" craze, and so....



Yup, that's Nemo trying to co-exist with Yoda and Artoo, and that's Anakin (the Mayoralgo version) as my wallpaper. :)



Tuesday, August 12, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

Analyzing Ginny

It must be one of the most noticeable personality changes in the Harry Potter series so far. Ginny Weasley not having a crush on Harry Potter? Sounds un-Ginny. Take a look at any Harry Potter reference book or website. Do a search for Ginny, and she is almost always described as Ron's younger sister who has a crush on Harry Potter.

From the first time JK Rowling told us that Ginny seems to be "taken with Harry", the succeeding books consistently showed us a young lady with a schoolgirl crush on The Boy Who Lived. And who could blame her? After he heroically risked his life to save her in Chamber of Secrets, she can't help but exhibit some sort of hero worship for her savior. Initially, it must've felt more like having a crush on a movie star. But with Harry more and more in contact with her and her family, she's starting to get to know more about him... and I bet she likes all the things about him that unravels before her.

During a meeting with my Harry Potter group, Pinoy Harry Potter, last weekend, resident fanfic writer and Harry/Ginny shipper, JennaMae, again brought up the question most readers must have been asking themselves by the end of book 5. Is Ginny really over Harry?

Here's my two knuts.

The drastic change in Ginny can be viewed in two ways. One, she really IS over Harry. Just like that. Or, two, she really isn't over him. She just gave up on the idea of her being with him. My personal take on it? Number two.

I don't believe she really is totally over Harry. You can't like a person for three years and then have the feeling dissipate over the summer as if by magic. But it shows us Ginny's emotional maturity. She has liked Harry for some time, but he seems to consider her only as his best friend's younger sister. He shows no interest in her at all apart from friendship. The way I see it, Ginny decided to... go on a very very very high bungee jump. She's jumped and let go, but she is still tied to him somehow (like a bungee cord), and when she's as far away from him as she could go, that cord will pull her back to him. Whether or not Harry holds on to the bungee cord so she won't be pulled away again, or whether he will let her go, is JK Rowling's decision. She is the writer after all. :) But that's the way I see it. :)

In simpler terms: she likes Harry, but since he doesn't seem to return the affection, she decided to let go of the idea of being with him, and started to befriend more people. This resulted in her dating Michael Corner of Ravenclaw. This also resulted in the change we see in her. I think the following excerpt says a lot about the new Ginny:

'We wanted to talk to you, Harry' said Ginny, 'but as you've been hiding ever since we got back -- '

'I didn't want anyone to talk to me,' said Harry, who was feeling more and more nettled.

'Well, that was a bit stupid of you,' said Ginny angrily, 'seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels.'

Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then he wheeled round.

'I forgot,' he said.

'Lucky you,' said Ginny coolly.

She talks to Harry now, even scolds him, is able to be with him and carry on normally, like what happened on the Hogwarts Express on the way to school. She is able to keep her composure even if she gets caught in bizarre situations which also involves him. She doesn't even bat an eyelash when Cho Chang is around, knowing Harry so obviously is infatuated with the girl. She's smart, funny, spunky --- traits that we wouldn't have seen if she just clammed up around Harry.

But she still obviously likes him. She could have shared a compartment with Michael Corner on the train if she wanted to, or even with housemates in the same year level as her, but she opted to keep Harry company. She still obviously cares a lot about him, showing it in her own subtle ways. (As Hua Ze Lei says in Meteor Garden 2, "she is just finding another method to love him." ) It shows she understands him well enough and is willing to wait and let him be. If he eventually starts liking her, well and good. If he doesn't, then c'est la vie. This way, Harry will at least get a chance to find out just what Ginny means to him. Especially now that, in all outside appearances, she has gotten over him.

Only the last two books will tell if I'm correct. But I'm obviously a Harry/Ginny shipper, so no matter what the outcome is, I would still be rooting for them. Whether I turn out to be right, or whether it turns out that I've read the whole thing erroneously. There are only two things going for me and my analysis. One, in stereotype British boarding school tales, the girl usually ends up with her older brother's bestfriend. And number two... believe me, I know. Haha.

Now the ball is in Rowling's court. :)


Wednesday, August 06, 2003
------------------------------------------------  

I have this sinking feeling that I am turning into a workaholic! (gasp!) These are my symptoms:

• I look forward to going to the office in the morning,
  
• I do not look forward to leaving the office in the afternoon,
  
• The Emperor is on leave, but I act like he's about to call me anytime. Which means I still follow my well-planned schedule,
  
• I think the photocopying machine is such a cool gadget to operate,
  
• There is a sudden urge to understand every aspect of the Division's operations,
  
• I stay in the office after hours for no particular reason... or to get ahead of my already advanced schedule.
  
• I have become attached to my PC,
  
• I think playing Minesweeper is fun. (well, okay, I guess that doesn't qualify as a symptom. hehheh.)

Actually, all this is scaring me. Meep.

Current Minesweeper Expert Level Record: 218 seconds

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few days ago, I was pretty much convinced that the Star Wars Expanded Universe is nothing much to fuss about. I mean, there are already too many characters and events and places to remember in Canon, why bother with more? Besides, Lucas treats the EU differently, why should I care much?

Last Saturday though, I went and borrowed some EU books, specifically, the Thrawn Trilogy. And now I seem to be... errr... hooked. Oh dear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Saturday, August 2, 2003

The nine year old kid finally showed up. And as expected, he's... like Jake Lloyd. Pretty smart for his age, really. And pretty confident too. Very unusual. And he reads the EU. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



Let me sleep
For when I sleep I dream that you are here
You’re mine and all my fears are left behind
I float on air, the nightingale sings gentle lullabies
So let me close my eyes

And sleep perchance to dream
So I can see the face I long to touch, to kiss,
But only dreams can bring me this

So let the moon shine softly
On the one I long to see.
And maybe when he dreams
He’ll dream of me….

I’ll hide beneath the clouds
And whisper to the evening star
They tell me love is just a dream away…
I’ll dream away….

---- “Dream of Me”