Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The 6th installment of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, the movie adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" premiered last July 15 (16 here in Asia). It proves to be darker than previously released films, focusing more on the evil side of magic.

Draco Malfoy is being forced to aid the Dark Lord as it is expected of him as the son of a Death Eater. Severus Snape creates an unbreakable vow with his mother in order to ensure Draco will be protected in his mission. Would this mean that Dumbledore has indeed misplaced his trust on Severus? Would this be a mistake with which he will pay a severe price for?

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch this last Sunday. I have to say, despite being a fan of the book, this is probably my favorite movie adaptation among the 6. Maybe because the ending didn't feel rushed this time?

Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger, is really growing up to be a very pretty lady. My officemate and I have been talking about Draco Malfoy's fate in the final book, and I told her it makes more sense to me now why he turned after watching the 6th movie. I think he may have been traumatized with his mission, and he was really nothing more than an arrogant young boy. I don't really like Ginny Weasly though... I imagined she'd be prettier than Hermione. >.<;;;

I'm still glad Rowling decided to focus this book on the half-blood prince though. He's one of my favorite characters in the series. Or rather, he's become my favorite in teh series when it ended.

I can't wait for the final 2 movies for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows"! The book disappointed me enough, so I'm hoping the movie will bring it back to light...

Onegai My Melody: Episode 01

I've been meaning to review a few anime episodes on this blog, so I decided to test my writing skills (if I ever had any) with a rather obscure fandom: Onegai My Melody.

Episode 01: I wish I could Play the Violin!

My Melody unknowingly helps Kuromi and Baku escape to the Human World with Dark Power Items they found while the were in prison. As a result, the King orders her to neutralize Kuromi's dark magic using her own magical items, the Melody Takt, Melody Box, and Melody Candy.

Back in the human world, particularly in Yumegaoka Middle School, teen heartthrob and violin protege Hiiragi Keiichi gives a sample performance to the music club, in hopes of inspiring the younger students to do their best in their upcoming concert... much to Yumeno Uta and Sakurazuka Miki's delight. Both girls have a huge crush on their senior, and today was the day they were going to attempt to talk to him.

Uta got more than she wished for as she clumsily fell while rushing to see Hiiragi... and who else other than Hiiragi himself, helps her to her feet.

This made Uta determined to do her best in their upcoming concert.

Unfortunately, because of her strong wish, Baku caught the scent of her dream, giving Kuromi the chance to cast her magic on the unsuspecting girl. Uta first thought she was only dreaming, but when the day of the concert arrived, she soon realized she was very, very wrong.

When her performance of the "Clown in Italy" had begun, her violin starts playing on its own. It would have been an amazing performance if she was doing a solo, but she was in a quartet, making her obviously off cue.

She does her best to make the unexplainable phenomena seemingly part of the performance by capturing the haunted violin with her case and bowing to the crowd. It didn't mean she wasn't embarrassed by it, however, as she ran out of the concert hall with her violin, crying hysterically and swearing never to play the violin again.

In what seems like perfect timing, My Melody drops from the sky in front of Uta, jogging Uta's memory about Kuromi as they were similar in appearance. She first thought My Melody was the one responsible for the awkward situation she faced, making My Melo cry from fright.

Because they were so noisy, Uta's violin became so irritated that it flew out of the case and taunted Uta, telling her she had no talent in playing him. My Melo realized that Kuromi's magic was behind the strange behavior of the violin and uses Koto's crab backpack to fight against it.

The violin's outburst made Uta realize that she was not playing the violin seriously, which is what made him upset.

Uta decides to return to the concert hall, though the reason is left for speculation. It could be that she wanted to apologize to her Music Club Members, or that she was going to quit the Music Club forever.

Of all the people she had to run into, it had to be Hiiragi. She almost cried at the thought that he might be angry with her, but she couldn't move from the spot she stood in.

Fortunately for her, Hiiragi merely greeted her and said she had done well. It gave her hope that she could still be a violinist, and her heart produced a pink note, indicating she had her dream back. But you can bet that Kuromi is not done just yet.

I've always adored this series because it's such a feel good anime. It's light hearted and cheesy enough to make you laugh even when you had one of those days. I'm a little peeved at Hiiragi in this episode though, merely because I really can't stand real-life playboys. It was nice of him to tell Uta she did a good job, even if she really didn't, but it was a bit cold and uncaring in my opinion... that says a lot being that I am quite the Hiiragi fan.

I wonder if I can really review all 52 episodes? Heh~

Dealing with H1N1

Although there’s still a line downstairs for the people who go to the 16th floor to have their temperatures checked before coming in… I think people are beginning ease off of being on panic mode.

Not that I don’t appreciate the seriousness of the disease. People who have lower immune systems that come in contact with it are at risk. Admittedly, I was scared as hell at one point too… Will have to write about that eventually, but maybe not here.

I just think it was a little funny that we had to wear masks for 2 days when the boss found out someone who was in the office may have had H1N1. We even had a seminar about it, then found out that we didn’t have to wear masks after all. Haha~ You can see in the photo my little octopus plushie from Denise is now wearing my mask. She’s all set to fight off H1N1! Rawr~ x3 Hey, you gotta admit, it suits her better than me!

Octy kinda looks like a distant cousin of Octomorph. *nods*

Butterfly Dreams

I seem to have an addiction to changing layouts. And it's not as if this new one is anything special. It's quite basic, but the colors are so delicious that they make my teeth hurt. *3*

You might recognize Earl Cain Hargreaves on the banner, in a more reddish attire. LOL! I couldn't help it. I think dear Cain has caught my heart. What with being Gothic, mysterious, and an expert in poisons at the young age of 17? Not to mention he has major angst with his dad...

I'm definitely reading up his manga, Godchild, sometime soon~ ♥

Anyhow, my scanner is sorta working again. o_o;;; I didn't really do anything to it, but it's... working again? Maybe it was just over worked or something?

Oh yes, I bought some goodies today~! ♥ I finally have a nice PVC of Kuchiki Byakuya from Bleach~ And he's pretty much the same scale as my Rukia one. They look adorable together! And I should take pictures, but ugh... still need to buy a new cam-phone. And I'm not exactly made of money at the moment. x.x;;;

I think I might post some episode reviews of a few animes soon. I'm feeling productive this month~ And finish up that doujin. *sage nod*

The Earl of Turnabout Café

I've never been one to finish an artwork in one sitting. I like to take my time with things, keep it cool... Make sure things look perfect, and such.

I think something came over me last in the early morning hours of July 2 though... Probably because I don't have work on Pasig Day, yes?

Earl Cain Hargreaves by ~kurohiko on deviantART

I think the mere thought of drawing Cain Hargreaves from Godchild in Kuroshitsuji's Ciel Phantomhive's clothing excited me too much that I felt the need to finish this. It was also a good escuse to draw a human skull, which I had been meaning to try for a while now, but feared my mommy dear might disown me if I did. xD

The more I look at this, the more Cain seems like Ciel. Hrm... They're both Earls too.

It's funny how well the background works with this. I wonder if it's bad to use your own stock photo for backgrounds? I didn't want to submit something with a blank background again... x.x;;;

I really enjoyed coloring this. Burn/Dodge methods are hard to replicate, but stand alone pieces like this make it look so... soft and yummy. x3 And it looks like one of those maid/butler café cards you get to buy when you visit a café. Not sure how true the rumor is, but apparently you get to buy a card of your favorite maid/butler and get them to sign it or something.

Maybe Turnabout Café should do that too... With Konata's help, of course~ ♥

If I Get Married...

...my groom must be this cool:

Kidding aside, that was such a cute video, I had to share it. xD What, with everything still talking about Michael Jackson and all...