Ha Long and short of it...

We arrived in Hanoi to a ground temp of 17 degrees, much colder than it was in HCM, and I was definitely glad of my pashmina scarf and my warm jacket, especially when we decided to take a trek around Hoan Kiem lake, just a 10 min walk from Sunshine 3 Hotel on Ma May in the Old Quarter in Hanoi.



Next day we were off to Ha Long bay for the eagerly anticipated overnight Junk Cruise. Ha Long is 5 hours from Hanoi by car, and we joined a group of tourists headed there at 8:30 in the morning, having downed a somewhat oily breakfast. Unfortunately for us, we were the 2nd to the last couple who was picked up so hubby and myself were not seated next to each other, and I had no one to drool...um...lean my head on while I tried to nap. Hence the strange expressions we had on our face sometimes.



Of course it could be the spectacle of the passing traffic.



Anyway, like many many tourist destinations, Ha Long is not as desolately beautiful in photos as it is in reality, and the Junk of course, used a powerful onboard motor rather than its sails to get around. However Ha Long bay has it's own charm, and mystique and the many junks crowded at the pier make a colorful picture, packed so closely you could probably jump from one to another without too much effort.





A welcome drink and an hour later, we were served lunch...



settled into our small but reasonably comfortable cabin...



...and wandering around looking for photo ops, which all presented itself in due time.









More tomorrow, on Hang Sung Sot cave, seascapes, and good food, after a night of well-earned rest!

Wanderlust again...

Headed for Viet Nam in around an hour.

My husband has been in and out of the country for about 3-4 weeks at a time on a Project in Ho Chi Minh. Between longing for food that tastes like home, and missing my company, we've decided that I should come spend the next few days and the New Year cuddling up together in Hanoi.

So we're here at the Centennial wing, whiling the time away breathing in secondary smoke and blogging. The only wifi zone in this airport is unfortunately in the smoking area and cafe. The good part is that our departure gate is practically in front of the cafe, and the sandwiches are decent even if the coffee is not so hot.

We'll be spending much of today in transit, flying to Saigon, with a 3 hour layover then flying to Hanoi, ending up at our hotel at around 8pm.

What I'm really looking forward to is getting on the boat for the overnight Junk Cruise on Ha Long Bay my husband is treating us both to.

Ha Long Bay is a World Heritage Site, and the seascape looks like fairy islands jutting out of emerald green water, and for sure I'll be taking a lot of pictures when we get there.

Weather in Hanoi is colder, bottoming out around 15 degrees C, so I took care to bring warmer clothing, but I'm hoping to be able to wear shorts on the boat at least.

Time to pack up, next post will be evening in Hanoi.

Resurfacing after a long hiatus

Holykamote has been on hiatus for quite some time, due to work and general exhaustion. I'm pleased to say at least that I'll be able to post a few things before the end of the year.

For the moment I'd like to take the opportunity to revisit the charms of all things Tachikoma, the cutest gun-toting AI tank that's ever been created in the history of Anime. Screw you Motoko, your sexiness has nothing on the curves on these babies!

Who can resist the rounded shape of these compact babies, especially when they come in yellow:

Nendoroid Tachikoma (Yellow) by Good Smile

Available currently on preorder at places like AnimeXing.

My husband and I are both Tachikoma fans so we trooped to Greenhills to check out Wasabitoys to see if we could get our hands on one, but unfortunately it was no longer available from their supplier so we may have to wait a good while before we'll be able to get us one.

What they did have though, was the blue USB robot Tachikoma that's been featured in Gizmodo:



It comes with bundled software and a USB cable so you can plug into your computer and it can talk(in nihongo), answer email, play minigames. Needless to say the price tag was sufficiently intimidating for a casual buyer, but was in retrospect was not as expensive as you would expect of something this cool.

For the hardcore fans who are crazy/lucky enough to acquire one, I'm betting it'll be tough to resist the temptation to try to feed with Natural Oil.

Shanghai, baby

I've been on leave from work for a week and a half now, and in that span of time I managed to have one of my cats neutered, the other hospitalized for a bad case of trichobezoar, pay for my insurance premium, monthly mortgage, have my hair cut, and do half a dozen or more odd errands.

That probably sounds like a strange way to spend a vacation, but well, I'm not a college student with time to kill anymore.

I am looking forward to my trip to Shanghai this coming saturday though - I plan to take lots of pictures to post, and see as much of the interesting parts of the city as I can like the Shanghai Museum, and Nanshi (Old Town).

Hit me baby one more time...

Apple just keeps doing it to us doesn't it?

No, that's not the iPhone.

Welcome the newest member of the iPod family, the iPod Touch.

You have to admit, if you found the iPhone damn sexy, its Wifi capable little cousin just provided proof of Apple's ability to take a great idea and produce yet another lust-worthy product to pick our pockets of another chunk of our paycheck.

But then again, there's the new nano, who gets to play the role of the ugly stepsister in this family of beauties. You have to wonder they bothered, even if it was just to make the others look better.

Oh my spore!

I've never seen a germ this adorable. It makes me want to hug it.

From the upcoming game by Will Wright, Spore.

If you were an Otaku...

Just how far would you go to live the lifestyle?



Otaku have a different idea in mind when they say "pimp my ride"

Car Decor
Mousepads
Pillows
Bed sheets
Underwear
Cosplay (of course, Manfaye is on a different plane altogether)

As an aside, I just love this Kitty Bento but it may just be too pretty to eat.

Unreality Bites?

Aaron Stephens as Beowulf's Body (Ray Winstone as Beowulf's Voice)

Angelina Jolie as Grendel's Mother


I've been wondering just how far technology for fully CG-animated movies can be pushed, considering what video games have been able to achieve. Just take a look at the trailers of Metal Gear Solid for the PS3, Gran Turismo, and NBA 2K8.

The entire industry is likely to change once they get to the point where the audience can accept a CG-generated actor in place of a flesh-and-blood one. It's not so bad if you think about it.

Angelina Jolie can keep on lending her 26-year old body to movies like Beowulf all the way to her 50th birthday and all she has to worry about is voice-acting. Studios will have to pay royalties and fees for the use of their faces and voices but it won't require the same amount of time used to shoot a live-action movie. You could almost see such a thing as a kind of immortality.

The question though, is how much of the 'human element' will be lost in the advent of such changes.

You can't really say we're talking about the same thing in the shift from Theatre to Movies, because although you don't get some of the elements of watching a person acting on stage live, it's still an actual person with all their twitches and quirks that you see on celluloid. With a completely animated film like Final Fantasy Advent Children, it's really no longer a person you're seeing, but a complete fiction. Would people really care if it's so?

Bah I'm babbling. But it's something to think about isn't it?

PvP Nostalgia

I'm going to plug PvP today because...um...Scratch told me to. Really. I so want to buy his shirt:



I hope people support their animated series, which you can enjoy for a measly $USD 2.95 per month or 24.95 for a year's subscription. You can check out their trailers for free:



It's animated by Blind Ferret Entertainment, the same guys who animated that lovely musical number, Slaughter Your World.

Yes I am sneak-plugging LFG Comics because I am Richard's raving fangirl.

But seriously I've been reading Scott Kurtz' series for a few years now and I love getting my daily dose of all the things geeks like me enjoy: games, rpg, pop culture, coffee, and comics. It makes my day. Even if my day is full of crap.

This week I feel especially nostalgic because the big news is that Brent and Jade are getting married. They've come a long way from sneaking sex in office closets. WTB tissues!

But whatever happens, I'm sure there will always be room for one morePanda Attack. Harharharhar...

Bumblebee Papercraft

I seem to be on a roll with my posts on mecha-related material.

Check out this uber paper sculpt of Bumblebee(movie version).


The guy who made it is amazing - he built it from scratch out of scraps of cardboard and paper, with no plans or guides other than images from the movie. The thing is actually poseable, standing 36 cm height with 60 moving joints. Bravo.

Holy Gundam Batman!

Get a bead on this gigantic Gundam! Built as part of an attraction, it's an impressive 1/1 scale model, and although it's not made of metal, bit of fantasizing goes a long way for fans of the models and the series. You can walk through the thing - even get inside the cockpit.

Image from robot.watch.impress.co.jp

Heroes

OMGOMGOMG Yes! Season 2!!!

Not only that we also have a graphic novel from DC to look forward to.

life imitating art imitating life

Check out what these Japanese villagers did with their ricefields. Usually it's art imitating life, but in this case it's living growing things imitating art.

The people of Inakadate Village have been doing this since 1993, and they do different pieces every year. This year it's Hokusai's 富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūrokkei (Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji). Compare the images below. Quite amazing.





Read more about this on The Japan Times article on their work.

Illuminations

Donald Jackson has finally completed the Saint John Bible, his 9-year labor of love.





I've always loved the idea of illuminated manuscripts - there's a mystery and an aura they've got that even coffee table books with the brilliant covers and glossy pages don't have. Mostly because these are books with personality, with all the peculiar markers of the person who made it.

The most important manuscripts use Vellum, which is quality skin stretched taut over a frame to achieve the flat, stiff surface for illumination and calligraphy. Hand-ground inks and paint as well as goose quills are used for painting and calligraphy.

In a time where coming out with printed work sometimes just means firing up your old inkjet or laser printer, People like Jackson who continue to dedicate their lives to older, less mainstream art forms are admirable for their devotion to their craft.

See the Saint John Bible site for more information on this work. Curious about traditional calligraphy? Check out the Atlanta Friends of the Alphabet.

Images are ©2007 The Saint John's Bible and Saint John's University, United States of America.

Superflat!

If you remember the funky Louis Vuitton bags and wallets that Takashi Murakami collaborated on, check out this ad - totally superflat!

If you're not familiar with the term, Superflat "is characterized by flat planes of color and graphic images involving a character style derived from anime and manga. Superflat is an artistic style that comments on otaku lifestyle and subculture, as well as consumerism and sexual fetishism. Social commentary is nothing new, nor is appropriation of mass media or popular culture." (source: Wikipedia)

For more samples of superflat art and media, see Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd, Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers, the anime series Mononoke and Ayakashi, and art by Aya Takano.

Dunny Love

This Insa Dunny is so adorable.
Was available on August 23 at Kidrobot but is now sold out at their store. If you like the hoodie you can also get it in human sizes.

Still haven't had enough? Have more Dunny.

Pixel fun

Anime-inspired animated gifs anyone? Put enough on your page it may give someone epilepsy if you are lucky. Thanks to Chris and Prixie for this one.

Animated Anime Gifs Paranoia

T-shirt & Button roundup

I love a good graphic T-shirt.


These ones from Inksurge apparel are also cool. They're addictive and, you have the urge to gobble them up like candy.

In that same vein I have the urge to pepper myself with these yummy 1" buttons from stereohype O_O.

These are some of my favorites:

Purely for entertainment

Chuvanescence
Have you seen Bryanboy? You should, he makes me laugh.

LFG Comic
The saga continues. It looks like Richard's busy getting his hands dirty.

Thriller
Yes, the Michael Jackson classic, correctional facility style.

The New! Philippine Comics, 1990-Present
On the Komiks industry in the Philippines 1990-Present( in Tagalog )

Listen to Up Dharma Down. Or you can watch them on You Tube. Good stuff.

I like Truemors new look. The images look spiffy.

Mac Love

A couple of years ago I wrote a post on Mac Envy, and it seems appropriate that I recall it now that I finally have a Mac of my own.

Yes ladies and dogs, I am a convert, and although I don't think Steve Jobs is Jesus, he certainly been doing a good job evangelizing the public. I have no regrets about it, though my wallet feels the cost of my conversion well enough, considering one has to shell out not only for the cost of the machine, but for all the 'accessory' costs as well.

I find it amusing that my husband refers to my mac as 'the new kitty' and while it does have the necessary requirements of feeding, clothing and shelter attributed to a new pet, this is certainly the most expensive pet I have ever owned.

Thank goodness iKitty is destined to do more than eat, sleep and beg for affection, which is pretty much all that my two normal flesh-and-blood cats ever do.

As far as resources go I found these very useful for a Macnoob like myself:

Philmug Forum (Philippine Mac Users Group)
Apple Support
Mac User
Mac Tips