Goodbye, Michael…

Michael Jackson has passed away earlier today at the age of 50 due to cardiac arrest.

Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.

The circumstances of Jackson’s death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to the hospital, Ruda told the newspaper.

- excerpt from Singer Michael Jackson dead at 50

His life was placed under a microscope being the “King of Pop”. I always felt sorry for him feeling the need to change his appearance because he was said to have been verbally abused by his dad. I’m not sure if he really is a pedophile, gay, or whatever else he was accused of… As much as we know how bizarre he was, he made good music.

I suppose this will affect the amount of downloads his mp3s will be getting in the next couple of days… I wonder why it’s always only when someone passes away that people remember them and say good things about them?

But I digress… He often said he wanted to be Peter Pan… May he finally find the Neverland he was seeking for while he was here among us.

On a non-related topic, Kuroshitsuji will apparently be having a second season. I have no idea how that will be playing out with the first season killing off the main character, but I suppose we will have to wait and see.

Role-Player: Ghost Writer

Ghost writers are fascinating.

They have the ability to write as if someone else, someone well-known is actually writing the letter, email, or document being sent. Ghost writers can steal another person’s identity, or pretend to be someone else entirely.

This is why I’m into role-playing. I want to learn how a mangaka can create a character and have him completely different from his/her other characters.

Some of you know that I play in a role-play community in Live Journal known as Polychromatic. I stopped for a while because of certain issues, but now that my immigration papers are in the embassy, I have more time in my hands.

I’m already playing as Yumeno Uta from Onegai My Melody, who has an innocent nature similar to mine. So far, I think I’ve kept her in character, but with my application for Kuran Kaname of Vampire Knight getting rejected, it made me re-think everything I thought I knew about him… I’ve read the manga 4 times now, I’m still getting a few surprises as to how he thinks.

Anime and manga versions of him seem entirely different. While both versions are obsessed with Yuuki, manga Kaname from the first few chapters seem angrier at Zero. Manga Kaname is also easy to lose his cool when Yuuki is in danger. I remembered him to be a lot calmer in the anime, especially since the fight scene for him and Zero never really occurred.

So I decided I had to dig deeper and get whatever resources I could regarding his mysterious character. Then I found a walk through for the Vampire knight DS game.

…that might have been a mistake.

The Kaname I have in my head is thinking “I would never say such things” when I was reading the walk through and translations. It seems dating games are really… “free” in exploring other aspects of the character. I might be wrong, but feel free to read the walk through here and here.

This worries me… Am I really the right person to write as Kaname? Perhaps more research is needed.

Finally Kicking that Diet Soda Habit

You might want to think twice about drinking that diet cola. I know I am. After reading about how diet cola really affects the human body, especially among women, I think you'd be scared too.

Studies have shown that the regular consumption of cola can aid in the cause of osteoporosis. Though it's not limited to cola alone.

The main ingredient in any cola... is phosphoric acid, a flavor agent that increases the acidity of the blood. “At that point, your body’s first priority is to restore a balance, so it leaches some calcium out of your bones to neutralize the acid,” says Katherine Tucker...

Excerpt from By The Numbers: The Truth Behind Those Scary Diet-Soda Myths

I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to end up collapsing in a pile of broken bones. Believe me, that's happened before. I've seen it, not up close and personal, thankfully. As much as I love soda, I think this will definitely help me stick to my diet.

Nanny McPhee

In 1840, England, an undertaker named Cedric Brown is left to care for his seven children alone when his wife passed away. The children are unfortunately very rambunctious and ill-mannered. Simon, Tora, Lily, Eric, Sebastian, Christianna, and Aggie have made it a point to drive each and every last nanny out of their house as soon as possible.

That is, until Nanny McPhee arrives to discipline them by use of magic and teach the Brown household 5 lessons:

• To go to bed when they are told.
• To get up when they are told.
• To get dressed when they are told.
• To listen.
• To do as they are told.

And it's only when all this is learned that Nanny McPhee will be satisfied, stating "when you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go."

I was lucky enough to catch this on ETC one night. I had been meaning to watch this ever since I saw the trailer a few years ago. I have to say, Emma Thompson put up quite a performance. In her appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, she stated that she turned down a role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows in order to take on this film.

2 other movies were said to be on the making to make this a trilogy, though I haven't heard or seen anything as of yet. I'd love to watch the next two though.