Operation: Break the Casanova's Heart

10 Tasks to Accomplish:

1. Make him notice you.
2. Differentiate yourself from other girls.
3. Get an invite to a date.
4. Make the said date memorable.
5. Make him take you seriously.
6. Ensure that he’s sating you exclusively.
7. Snag an invite to meet his parent.
8. Get a kiss – a sincere one.
9. Be the best girlfriend he’s ever had.
10. And finally, break his heart.

I finally got the time to read OBTCH! I’ve been interested with this book for a while, mainly because it’s one of the few books that speak my first language. Also, I’ve personally met the author, Alyloony, and being the bubbly, happy person that she is, I figured her stories would be just as colorful. Heck, the girl on her book cover reminds me of her, for goodness sake!

Well, I was right. Not only was the story adorable, it made me laugh (literally) and plastered a smile on my face all day long. Of course, there were several parts in the story that made me want to smack Stephen smartly at the back of his head, Naomi too, but that what makes a good story for me; I got to feel what the characters are feeling and somehow empathize with them. And kudos to Naomi, Yannie, and Francisco Juan for tricking Kryzel! That was possibly my favorite part of the book! (Aside from Naomi’s “Oh hell no!”)

My only complaint about this book is that it was so short! I don’t know if it was because I read it too fast, but some parts, I wanted to drag on a little… just a little! I wanted to know more about Drew and his girlfriend. I wish he fought for Naomi a little more! And I wish I knew what happened to Stephen when he was away for 3 years in that boat!

However, that’s what also makes the book great, because I can either write fanfics about it or draw fanart for the parts that I wanted to happen. Hehehe!

I do think that I really read this book a bit too fast. I think I might read it again just to make sure I’m reviewing this right.

Oh, and one more thing? I heard that this was translated from Tagalog to English. I’m not completely sure about said info, but whoever translated this, my hats off to you, sir/ma’m! That was a mighty impressive feat!

Onegai My Melody: Episode 03

This is quite an interesting episode. Not only does Yamamoto-kun reminded of my brother-in-law, but we also get to see what looks to be like Kurumi (Kuromi's human version) in one of Yamamoto's stock photos with her back turned.

Coincidence? Or did the artists made an honest "mistake"?

Episode 03: I Wish I Could Make Lots of Friends!

The episode begins with Kogure and Uta fighting over their class project. The task of their group is to create a homepage of the topic of their choice. Naturally, Uta wants to make a website about Hiiragi, while Kogure thinks it's stupid and suggest video games instead.

One of their group mates, Yamamoto-kun, is the class photographer. He's completely quiet while his classmates were arguing, but then decides to take photos of them arguing... which resulted in them getting irritated at him.

Uta comes up with a plan to secretly ask Yamamoto to help her and Miki get their class project going (and to find out more about Hiiragi without looking like a stalker). She, Miki, and Yamamoto went over to Hiiragi's usual spot during break and waits for a chance to interview him. Uta tries her best to get over her shyness and manages to get Hiiragi to agree for an interview with Miki's help as well as allow Yamamoto to take pictures of him.

Hiirgi notices that Yamamoto might potentially have a dream that Kuromi could take and points him out to her. Sure enough, Yamamoto wanted to be friends with everyone, but had an inferiority complex than hinders him from socializing. When another group asks for Yamamoto's help with their project, he has trouble with saying what he wants clearly, making Kogure do all the talking for him.

Kuromi uses her magic to change his camera into a turtle (since apparently "kame da" which means "it's a turtle" sounds like "camera") that not only captures the images of his subjects but absorbs them into his stomach as living, miniature people. This allowed Yamamoto to achieve his dream of being together with everyone.

When Yamamoto captures all the students in their class, Uta was able to confront him, convincing him that there were a lot of people in their class who wanted to get to know him better. This cause him to doubt his own beliefs that he couldn't be friends with anyone, allowing My Melo to place her Melody Mark on the turtle-camera.

This gave the students a chance to escape... only to realize they were still trapped in photographs. Shiroyama decides to take the initiative and becomes My Melo's target to amplify her magic on him. Shiroyama's photo grew into a large block, flattening Kuromi and Baku and hereby destroying Kuromi's spell.

When everything returns back to normal, My Melo asks the turtle to earase everyone's memories, aside from Uta, Mana, and Miki. Interestingly enough, Shiroyama felt that it wasn't the first time he met My Melo and becomes completely obsessed with her.

Yamamoto helped Shiroyama's group with the photos they were asking for earlier on and made a homepage about My Melody. This made Yamamoto quite famous for being such a great photographer. Uta's words rang true as Kogure excitedly took up on his offer to teach him how to use his camera... and the entire class wanted to be in the picture with him.

Everything ended well, aside from poor Uta who lost all the data that contained Hiiragi's photos thanks to the memory wipe. She had no intentions of asking Hiiragi for a second photoshot as she's afraid that, as Miki pointed out, he would get mad at her for losing the data. How ironic that Kogure won the debate and had a homepage on video games for their group project, yes?

The episode showed a lot of first... the first time Shiroyama fell head-over-heels for My Melo, and the first time Kogure risked himself to save Uta. I guess he really did have deep feelings for her for a long time now... if only he could get over all that teasing and arguing and just say what he really wants to say. ♥

Bee Season

A seemingly simple family of a child with a special gift, Bee Season follows the story of Eliza Naumann, the youngest child and daughter of Saul and Miriam Naumann. What starts as a little girl's attempt to be closer to her father ends in a strained relationship amongst a once strong family bond. Saul's obsession with his daughter leaves his wife and son lonely, leading Miriam into a deeper into her obsessive-compulsive disorder and Aaron to question his religious views and convert into becoming a Hare Krishna.

The film shows each individual attempt to become closer to God, finding his/her own way to Him. All of which seem to be unsuccessful, aside from Eliza's. It was a strange movie, but I happen to like Richard Gere. And it's a reminder of how parents can become overly obsessed with their child's success, that nothing else seems to matter... including their own family. However, the effects were pretty good... It makes me wonder if Richard Gere could really play the violin. ♥

Unleashed (Danny the Dog)

Danny, a young man trained to be a human "attack dog", is a skilled fighter who has the emotional capacity of a young child. When his owner, "Uncle" Bart unchains his collar, he becomes unstoppable; giving Bart the upper hand when it comes to collecting loans.

In a strange twist of fate, Danny meets a blind piano tuner, Sam. It was the first time anyone treated him like a human being, not to mention Danny was completely fascinated by pianos to begin with.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, an accident occurred, leading Danny to think that his uncle is dead. With no one left to turn to, he returns to Sam. Will Sam be able to give Danny a normal life, or will Danny's past catch up to him and endanger Sam and his step-daughter Victoria?

I got to catch this on Studio 23 tonight... I remember my brother-in-law asking me about this film and told him I couldn't recall this film, even though we had seen it together before. Now that I was able to jog my memory a bit, it's pretty good, and Jet Li and Morgan Freeman did an awesome job. The story's a little on the straight forward side, but the action scenes are cool... so it's not a bad film to see when you're bored.

...just not the kind of film to watch when you're trying to draw Shoujo Manga. I completely failed at drawing 2 more pages because of this movie, heh. Ah well...

Onegai My Melody: Episode 02

I should hurry up with these reviews since Season 2 is already available for download, hahaha~ ♥ At the same time, I love re-watching this low budget anime... I really must be insane.

Episode 02: I Wish I Could Study!

Previously, we saw Kuromi setting her eyes out on Hiiragi. Little did either of them know, the Melody Bow has found its true master, and Hiiragi is more than happy to oblige. He agrees to the task of recharging the melody key in order to attain the song the world has never heard before.

My Melody explains how collecting all 100 black notes could mean the destruction of the entire world as they knew it. Playing the music the black notes create would kill every human dream, no matter how big or small they may be. Killing dreams would render all emotions meaningless, killing Mari Land as well.

The following day, Uta and her sisters run off to school without eating breakfast. This worried My Melody and that was when she decided she should cook for them. Aside from that, the house was a mess, so in exchange for letting her stay in the Yumeno household, she's decided to help around the house.

In school, Uta's classmate, Taniguchi dreams of being able to study better. His best score ever since elementary school was only 30, and that was when they were asked to write their name.

Naturally, Kuromi comes along and decides to give him a computer for a head. The only problem was, he constantly needed new data to keep himself from activating his screen saver, or going into sleep mode. His need for new data became insatiable as he began attacking his entire class with translations, equations, and other things he could think of.

It was a good thing My Melody was passing by the school to check up on Uta. She manages to get a mouse mascot to stop Taniguchi from destroying everything in class.

Nevertheless, Kuromi's magic allowed Taniguchi to realize studying is something he should work hard on himself. Even if it was easier to study having a computer for a head, he preferred to be the way he was, earning My Melody another pink note.

It's interesting how the mouse was able to finish his task without having My Melody say "onegai" (which she does in all other episodes). But the real question is, why would Hiiragi agree to destroying the world? He happily does the task of recharging the Melody Key for Kuromi to do her magic. Perhaps there is something much deeper to this than the episode reveals?

...of course, I know the answer to that question, but I'm not saying anything. :3

The Proposal

What do you do if your boss, whom you absolutely loathe, suddenly tells you that the two of you are getting married?

That is the unfortunate(?) situation Andrew Paton finds himself in as his boss, Margaret Tate, is in danger of getting herself deported back to Canada, losing her job and everything she's worked for to the employee she had just fired. Andrew plays along with her game in order to get promoted to editor, and get his manuscript published.

Who knew that the hard-working assitant was actually not all the editor-in-chief thought he was?

This was a very enjoyable film~! Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds did a very good job in their own respective roles, and Betty White was simply adorable~! I won't spoil much about it, since really, it's better to just go see it than to read about it... So go watch it, please! :D

That aside, Leilei has jipped me into joining Twitter. Do follow me if it suits your tastes? :3 Though I wonder how long I'll last with this one, seeing I dropped plurk a long time ago.

Public Enemies

The life story of John Dillinger, one of USA's infamous criminals has found it's way to the silver screen.

"Public Enemies" stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as they portray the charismatic cat-and-mouse game between the thief, John Dillinger, and FBI Agent, Melvin Purvis as set in the late 1930's. It shows how Dillinger was able to escape from prison twice and his heists; robbing banks and even planning to rob a train.

I've seen the documentary about the life of John Dillinger. Sadly, the documentary was far more interesting than the movie. I suppose eating at Tony Roma's before watching this film made it even more difficult to stay awake, which I have to say, is still a very good place for honey-cured, baby back ribs and cookie skillets. I should write a proper review about that restaurant some time. But even with that aside, the movie didn't show much of John's charisma. To most viewers, it probably didn't make sense why people were cheering him on when he was caught in Tucson and extradited back to Indiana since we didn't see much of his charm towards his hostages.

Oh well, I suppose I should have said I prefered to watch "The Proposal", but brother-in-law seemed really keen in watching this movie. And honestly, I was expecting it to be much better than what I saw because of that documentary. I guess seeing Johnny Depp and Christian Bale makes up for the weird story line. :3

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~

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*

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.

Two Months Later…

I’m probably going to end up hearing about what an addict I am, but oh for goodness sake… It’s finally here!

The album is wonderful. Admittedly, Vanessa Mae is still my first pick when it comes to violins, but whoever played the violin for this album, hats off to you sir/ma’m. It’s the first time I ever heard the song in full, and the whole 13 minutes of the Devil’s Trill was quite an experience.

The tracks are mostly classical violin pieces that are all very impressive and difficult. Only the first track is an original solo for the anime, Onegai My Melody.

1. イントロダクション「夢の幕間～柊のテーマ～」 Introduction: Hiiragi’s Theme
2. ツィゴイネルワイゼン Zigeunerweisen, Op.20
3. シャコンヌ ト短調 Chaconne in G Minor
4. スケルツォ=タランテラ Scherzo-tarantelle, Op. 16
5. プレリュードとアレグロ Praeludiem and Allegro
6. 伝説曲 Op.17 Legende, Op.17
7. 24のキャプリース 作品1 第13番 ト短調 24 Caprices for solo violin, Op.1 No.13 in G minor
8. 悪魔のトリル The Devil’s Trill Sonata in G Minor
9. タイスの瞑想曲 Meditation from Thais

If anyone is interested, you can email me and I can share you the mp3s. Only until the link is valid though, so that’s about… a week? ^^

Kuroshitsuji "Black Butler"

I've finally finished watching Kuroshitsuji last night, around 2am. Shinsen was taking a while to sub their episodes, so upon recommendation, I tried Ronery. Not exactly the best, but I can make do since I can now understand some Japanese. I'm still hoping Shinsen will finish subbing Kuroshitsuji, and I will be waiting loyaly for the episodes to come out~

Anyhow, it wasn't as anti-climatic as I expected. In fact, it scared the living daylights out of me.

As it turns out, a fallen angel who takes the form of 2 different people, Angela and Ash, was behind the murder of Ciel's parents... behind the visage of the Queen Victoria. The Fallen Angel seemingly wished only for Ciel's happiness and wanted to rewrite his past into a purer one without hatred. Ciel denies this happiness and refused to let go of his hatred towards the people who have wronged and humiliated him.

Ciel also began to realize that his chess pieces did not always act as he planned. Fred Abberline gave his life for Ciel's in the hopes that he would realize he is not alone in this world and that he could rely on others to be his ally. His death began changing Ciel, much to Sebastian annoyance, making Ciel more compassionate to innocent people. Sebastian abandons Ciel temporarily, until Ciel was nearly killed by the Queen's guards.

Eventually, Sebastian declines the Fallen Angel's offer for a place beside her in her desire for world domination and kills her in his true form in only 10 seconds.

Having fulfilled his revenge, Ciel seems to have committed suicide in the end of the anime adaptation. It is later shown that Sebastian is guiding the boat in what I assume to be the River of Acheron (the river of sorrows in Greek Mythology, a river you cross when you die). They come to an island where Ciel must fulfill his end of the bargain and give his soul to Sebastian. He has accepted his fate and orders Sebastian to make the process as painful as possible in order to etch his life into his soul.

To be honest, the ending gave me the creeps. Partly because I felt sorry for Ciel... he was beginning to learn that not everyone is his enemy, and maybe, he had some sort of chance to get away from Sebastian's clutches. And why is it that Sebastian bears a striking resemblance to Ciel's father?!

There was also the seemingly untold reality that revenge cannot fully satisfy hatred. When Ciel was on the boat with Sebastian, and he was given Tanaka's journal, it reveals that Ciel's father already knew that the Queen was after his life. He also thought about the people he had killed to satisfy his need for revenge, and thought nothing of it since he himself was also dead.

We all die some day, and when that day comes, will everything we have done during the time we are living seem pointless as well? What if there is no afterlife and you simply... disappear? Would you rather be devoured by a demon too, so long as you fulfill every desire you have on earth?

..this is probably the most disturbing anime series I've ever seen. Not for the weak of heart... but it did make me think a lot.

What to Do With That Thing They Call Love~

...I don't even know why I'm so affected by this, but I'll write about it anyway.

Recently, Onegai My Melody is being subbed by Eggplant Fansubs. I don't know if they created their group because of this anime since Baku, the purple tapir, has always been called an eggplant... but that's not what I want to rant about. I love them to death for subbing this series, so I would never hate them~! ♥ Unless they stop midway through. ;~; Then I'd just CRY!!!

...anyhow~ xD Please forget the fact that this situation happened in an anime. Be patient with me and read through this and let me know if you agree with what Uta did to Hiiragi, her supposed "one true love" or not.

I don't get episode 33... This episode was about Uta's birthday. During the time when her party was about to start, Kogure was the only one who showed up. Kogure later found out that Dream Gates have been opening all over the place and so he figured that was the reason why people were not showing up for the party.

Granted, I'm beginning to understand why Uta loves him... He did run all over town with My Melo just to dispel Kuromi's magic... However, it's what happens after that puzzles me.

When Uta came downstairs to find no one in the house for her party, she became upset. By some coincidence or another, Hiiragi calls her to great her a happy birthday. He could tell she's upset and wanted to cheer her up by buying her a cake and a birthday present.

Uta then realizes that she should go home because someone might come to her house for the party. Hiiragi is confused by this since there was no one home and I suppose his ego was hurt that Uta didn't want to have a date with him on her special day... but he agrees, and takes her home.

When they got there, he walks in with her and sure enough, Kogure was able to bring everyone back home by this time. Uta's overjoyed, but I don't think Hiiragi appreciates Uta's Dad's humor... ok, to be honest, he probably doesn't like socializing too much, especially with Uta's family since he lived alone most of his life... and he left the party a little annoyed.

This is the part that bugged me. Hiiragi left in a hurry without saying a word to Uta. Why didn't Uta go after him? I know she was probably relived and happy everyone was there for her party, but I thought she loved Hiiragi? I mean, he wanted to cheer her up because she was depressed no one showed up for her birthday party... Isn't it simply out of courtesy, that as soon as she found out from her dad that Hiiragi left because her dad may have said something to offend him, shouldn't she have run after him? Called him? Something?!

I-I think my muse is jealous and angry over my other muse. >.<;;;

Oh, alright, she did try to call him several times a few days after her party wondering if she had offended him. BUT STILL! Too little too late, Uta!!!

...I shall cease ranting now. :3 But someone please agree with me on this! >.<;;; Please? ;~;

A-and... Hiiragi looks so HAWT in that screenshot, weh~! ♥ ♥ ♥

Restaurant City: Chiroru

There's been a new craze going on the office lately.

Thanks to Jaz, I've been hooked on playing Restaurant City, and I'm happy to say my restaurant has made the top 3rd spot in my friends list~! Ahaha~ Although Chippy is really chasing after me..! ;~; Wah!!!

Anyhow, Restaurant City is a flash application/game on Facebook wherein the objective is to run a successful virtual restaurant. You start off with only 3 staff members and a tiny restaurant, and when you earn enough experience points, your restaurant becomes bigger and you get to hire more people!

Sounds simple? Well, guess again. Customers will not wait to be served, so you better be careful in adding chairs and tables to your restaurant. Your staff, like regular people, get tired, so you have to let them take breaks or feed them.

Did I mention your restaurant runs 24/7? Even if you're no longer online, your restaurant will continue to serve its customers, so it's up to you to decide whether you'll work your staff to exhaustion or close up for the night.

You also need to level up your dishes so that the customers will give you a higher rating. The higher the level of the dish, the higher experience points you get, the faster you level up.

It's a nice casual game though I think I've grown out of it a little. Mostly because it's extremely difficult to get the ingredients you need, so leveling up your dishes can be time consuming! And I am no food expert, so the daily food quiz that allows you to get new ingredients can be difficult.

Maybe, like Jaz said, I reached my "restaurant nirvana".

Gotta admit though, it's easier to run Chiroru than a real restaurant. :D

Yes, I named my restaurant after Chobit's Bakery... Ueda is such a cutie~! *heart*

The Girls of Gundam 00

And so comes the second part of my article on Gundam 00. AS I've written about the women I admire, there are also those who I dislike in Gundam 00. Again, this is a matter of opinion, so please do not take it personally if you're a fan of the characters mentioned.

You notice that this article is entitled "The Girls of Gundam 00" instead of "The Women". You see, immaturity is one trait I find in common when it comes to characters I dislike.

Take for example, Wang Liu Mei. The first thing that ticked me off about her is that she treats her older brother, Hong Long, like a servant. She is also a manipulator who would do anything and destroy anyone to see the world change to what she believes to be "perfect".

I'm all for the world being united as one and eternal peace without warfare, but how can you expect to change the world when you manipulate and use your own family? It hit a sore spot for me to the point that I can only see her as a spoiled brat. Frankly, I'm glad she got killed off in the series. Her death really made the series more meaningful to me.

Then there's the Azadistan Princess, Marina Ismail. I agree with her in the first season that people should not fight each other when you can talk and come to an agreement. We are all human after all, and war only brings pain and innocent casualties.

But come the second season, when Azadistan was burned to the ground and she is left in the middle of war's battleground, Shirin gives her a gun to protect herself and the children since Katharon's forces were being wiped out. She refuses the gun saying she would lose face to the children she was caring for.

What the heck is that? Does she really think sacrificing her life instead of fighting for the lives of the children she cares for really is a better, more peaceful choice? Murderers are after her and the children. Are their lives not worth protecting? What will happen to the children when she sacrifices her life for theirs? They'd either be killed too or forced to kill like Setsuna.

I don't know what her role is in this series, but every time I see her, I wish she wasn't there. If her song becomes the key element in creating peace, I'll probably hate the series all together.

Louise Halevy is actually a little tolerable. In the first season, she is one of the richest girls in school, but she suffered a huge tragedy of losing her family and, after being exposed to the GN Particles, the lose of her left arm. I never liked care-free, spoiled brat girls who only think about themselves, but I do understand the trauma she's been through.

However, this does not give her the right to extract revenge. If she wanted revenge, I would have wished she had done her research. She saw the gundam that killed her family. She should have at least noticed the particles are red, not the same as what the Meisters use. If you're going to commit murder, might as well kill the person who did it and not use your revenge as an excuse to kill people.

And when she finally did have her revenge after she killed Nena Trinity, she realized how hollow it was. I'm wondering if she will finally go insane and drive Saji Crossroad into insanity too. (The couple really annoys me since Louise is a brat and Saji's a pushover. -.-) Honestly, I wouldn't know what to say to someone like Louise, but that does not mean I approve of her methods.

I think these three are the most annoying female characters in Gundam 00. As much as I want to understand their motives for leading such lives, I can't stand them. Maybe I would be the same as Louise if, God forbid, something that traumatizing were to happen to me. Maybe I'd never find the urge to fight for my life in the middle of war like Marina. Or maybe, I'd be a ruthless manipulator like Liu Mei when the time comes... But I do know this... If such a time does come and sanity is still with me, I'll do everything I can to keep myself from succumbing to their fates.

The Women of Gundam 00

I was chatting with Mackie-nii this morning when we came upon Gundam 00. We ended up debating with a lot of the female characters in the cast, so I thought it would make an interesting blog article for those who watch the series.

I realized how long this article mind end up, so I'll first talk about the women that I like and maybe write about the women I don't like later on. I've only seen until episode 20 of season 2 and had some spoilers from episode 21, so if you don't want spoilers, read at your own risk~

In no particular order, let's start with Soma Peries aka Marie Parfacy. She's actually one of my favorite characters in the series because she's a strong girl. It's difficult to picture her as Marie back in the HRL supersoldier program, who was paralyzed and robbed of her 5 senses, only being able to communicate using quantum brainwaves. However, I prefer her as Marie who assists Allelujah Haptism than as Soma who makes him worry...

Honestly, Allelujah should focus on fighting in the battlefield. Afterall, Marie reverted back to being Soma because she was horrified in losing Sergei Smirnov, the only father-figure she had. I agree with Lyle Dylandy that Allelujah should understand why she's chosing to fight, though I don't think seeking revenge is the right way of dealing with loss...

Then there's Anew Returner. When she was introduced to the crew of Ptolemaios in Celestial Being's L3 Base, we as an audience knew that she was an Innovator, but I use to think she was a double agent who knew what she was doing. I love Lockon Stratos' character in the first season and despite my preference of Neil over Lyle, I was a angry at Anew for playing with Lockon's feelings.

Or so I thought she was playing. In fact, she was being used by Ribbons Almark, the head of the Innovators, to know the location of Ptolemaios II. Anew was also used by Ribbons to try and kill Lyle but was shot down by Setsuna F. Seiei before Ribbons could do so.

You could imagine the tragedy and anger of Lyle that he could not kill Anew to even save himself, but instead of me being annoyed with Lyle, I feel for him... Anew did love him sincerely, and so did he to her. He knew early on that she was an Innovator, but he still loved her. It's a shame they can't be together anymore.

One of the most overlooked characters is Shirin Bakhtiar, who wishes to change Azadistan and give a brighter future to her homeland. She is willing to do anything to achieve this goal, which can be seen in her roles as Marina Ismail's confidant in the first season and anti-federation group, Katharon's sub-commander under Klaus Grado in the second season.

Marina refused to resolve to fighting and is an eternal pacifist, which is what made Shirin leave her side in the first place. At the end of the first season, Shirin knew that Azadistan would not change despite how the world stood as seemingly "united", so she continued to fight for Azadistan in her own way. Her theories were proven correct in the second season when Ali Al-Saachez bathed Azadistan in flames and the A-Laws started destroying any country which opposed their twisted version of peace.

It makes me wonder if she and Claus were able to survive that ambush. I hate Marina for not taking the gun and chose to be a burden for Claus and Shirin, but that's a different story.

And then we have Sumeragi Lee Noriega, the tactical forecaster of the Celestial Beings. I find her a little bit annoying for having drunk herself silly in the beginning of season two, but you can't deny her talent and speed in formulating plans to make their interventions successful. As Mackie-nii said, without her, Gundam 00 would be just another Gundam Wing.

I can't tell at this point whether I really like her or not, but I the good thing about her is that she's a sexy girl without the usually girly things that go with it. She's down to earth and doesn't worry so much about her looks which is a big deal for me since I can't stand girls who check the mirror every 2 minutes.

I do however, prefer her mentor, Kati Mannequin. She was able to figure out that it was Sumeragi, or rather "Leesa Kujo" (Sumeragi's real name), who was devising plans for th Gundam Meisters. I also admired how she decided to send her troops to help Katharon, Celestial Being, the regular army, and the rogues in eliminating the falling orbital elevator pieces during the coup d’état. It makes me wonder where she is now, since she's reported to be mysteriously MIA.

These are the women I admire in the series so far, but I'd guess this is subject to change when series comes to an end. I'll probably write about the women I don't like later on, but feel free to leave your own thoughts about the characters here... ^^

No Reservations

When someone suddenly enters your world and you realize that you you are no longer the best there is, how would you handle the situation?

Kate is a master chef who had everything cut out for her. She takes her job seriously and runs her kitchen with a certain strictness that intimidates everyone from her co-workers, her boss, and to the Greenwich Village clientèle.

Unfortunately, Kate's sister had an accident and she is left to care for her niece, Zoe. Worse, sous-chef Nick filled in for her while she was on leave, winning the hearts of everyone in what she considers to be her world. Even Zoe opened up to Nick a lot easier than she would to her own aunt, making Kate feel threatened by her rival.

And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, Kate's boss wanted to replace her with Nick.

The movie really got to me since I use to work like Kate. I took my work so seriously that I forgot about everything else life had to offer. This movie reminded me that there is more to life than the work place. It's a nice, "feel good" movie for workaholics to remind themselves to step back and see the bigger picture.

I have to say, Catherine Zeta-Jones still looks as pretty as ever. Maybe even too pretty for Aaron Eckhart. *^.~*

Mademoiselle Butterfly by Ogura Akane

A beautiful, romantic, shoujo manga set during Japan's historic war with America, Mademoiselle Butterfly tells the tale of a little girl who was sold to become a geisha. As with many geisha of her time, Butterfly would be married off to whoever wishes to purchase her at the price her house determines.

When she was young, Butterfly often visited her neighbor Chinatsu, a tattoo artist. She loved watching him work, and she had always wanted him to tattoo her, but Chinatsu refused, because she was too young. So instead, he would draw on her arm using brush and ink.

Eventually, Butterfly fell in love with Chinatsu. But she almost could not fulfill her wish to become his wife when she was bought by a foreigner... ironically, one of Chinatsu's clients. Butterfly could not refuse since it was their custom, and it seemed Chinatsu accepted their fate to depart.

Butterfly was heart-broken and wept for days. Fortunately, the foreigner cared for her enough to return her to Chinatsu. He could not express his true feelings at the time, but Chinatsu loved being around her and missed her terribly when she wasn't around.

When Butterfly was of age, she and Chinatsu married. Butterfly's family was overjoyed that she had found happiness, even if they had to sell her away. Their love grew more as time progressed, despite the many trials they faced. One major trial was when Chinatsu was called to serve the military, leaving a preganant Butterfly to be cared for by his father.

Five years had passed since they last saw each other, Butterfly recieved a letter from the military that Chinatsu had been killed in the line of duty. She had a difficult time accepting that Chinatsu was gone forever, but her twin girls helped her find a purpose to live on.

Forunately... The manga has a very heart-warming ending that I will not spoil. :3

There's no point in a summary if I were to spoil the ending and mentioned all the details in the story. So go buy it, it's only 2 volumns after all... And I'm definitely buying them when I get the ch

Thanks for the recommendation, Yarrow. ^^ Now go update your blogs! >E

The Brave One

"How many wrongs to make it right?"

Sometimes, we ask ourselves the very same question. When there are those who wrong us, we want to take revenge to make things even.

But what if someone took away your fiancé and left you for dead? The only person in the world whom you could finally call "family" after you've lost all of your own?

What would you do?

Jodie Foster stared as Erica Bain, a radio show host and professional flâneur, someone who walks the streets in order to experience it. After she and her fiancé were attacked, however, she found hard to even step out of her apartment. She was so traumatized that she decided to buy a gun to keep herself safe, not even able to wait for a month to get a proper permit.

The conclusion is left to the judgment of the viewers. Some say that justice was served, while others say Erica is no more than a criminal vigilante, seeking to kill people and thus depriving them from their chance to repent and change their ways.

Jodie Foster played her role really well, and shows her talent as an actress. I like the film very much, even if it's against my beliefs that anyone has the right to take another person's life. I think it shows how the world is not always so black and white when it comes to good and evil; something we learn when we grow up and gain wisdom in life.

How would you handle a situation as devastating as Erica's?