Over the past couple of months I've managed to toss myself here and there, to different places where some of my friends live and most of these friends are lesbians that I've met in the past.
I usually just have a few friends that I keep close but I'm also open to getting to know other people better.
I like having lesbian friends but then I get so tired of hearing them wanting to be in a relationship when they just got out from one. Lesbians can really talk about it for days on end. I think I'm the only person I know who don't really care much about these things. But I do understand why people are like that. It's because most people are afraid to be alone. So afraid of being alone that they would cling to anyone so soon. But I think this is also one of the great reasons why relationships fail, because most of them are motivated by fear and have accumulated enough anxieties to sabotage their relationships. Although I am put off by this kind of weakness, as a friend I will always be there to comfort them, even if I have to cross the oceans.
I'm pretty much content and happy with myself and I would never lower my standards just because I would like to settle down with someone.
I'm planning to go back to Taiwan because it's so much fun there and I'd also like to see friends. Though I just got back from Singapore a month ago, visiting a friend who just got out of a relationship and wanted someone to talk to. It was a nice trip and I was able to catch up with friends while being able to do a lot of things.
I used to always stay at a friend's condo in Boni, we would just hang out in her place have roast chicken for dinner(we were both vegetarian) and just talk or watch a movie for the rest of the night. We would sleep in a single bed that is too small for the both of us. Her room was so small you can only take 4 steps of walking space while the rest is occupied by the bed, table, and a small chest of drawers for clothes. She was one of those writer friends whom I enjoy talking about life and other things that most people couldn't even dream of thinking about. She was a pothead so she was always stoned and because I'm not exactly a person who likes going out for the sake of going out, we always just stayed in and have a mellow evening.
Well, she lives in Swiss now and we only get to hangout in Skype. I am also staying at different places with other people now since I always have to stay in Manila for many reasons.
I guess I've always been that transient visitor who is only passing through...
I'm studying Japanese again, on my own. I should have known that I will be needing this sort of skill and I would have probably enrolled myself to several classes right after my solo show, unfortunately it wasn't a priority back then. :(
Things have changed ever since the news for Monster Hunter X will be coming this year for the 3DS. I suddenly wanted to study the language again and hopefully be better at it.
I bought a DS console not too long ago and I'm pretty happy with it, the price was a steal and I love going back to the old games I missed.
The great thing about the DS is that there have been several games that teaches players to learn a language, some art skill, and even some guide to the Louvre. Nintendo wanted a console that not only play games for entertainment but also make education fun and entertaining to the user. That's why they always publish educational titles or accept them from third party developers.
I've recently been involved with game translations and the game that I'm translating is a very popular game franchise that is yet to be released in the West. Not gonna drop names but it is a very popular turn based strategy rpg game. I'm having difficulty translating the game therefore, I must study some more. The group that I'm with the translations, is very strict.
The DS game library has a lot to offer and I know that DS games can also be played with the 3DS.
But I had to separate them for organizational purposes.
Here are the games that are worth playing if you wish to learn Japanese in a fun and entertaining way:
My Japanese Coach
It is a simple game that provides decent knowledge in Japanese. There are trivial and geographical information of Japan. It does get difficult in the long run but it is a game that I have in my library that I currently play. So far it's very helpful in teaching vocabularies and grammar. A must have for learners.
Anpanman Franchise
Rainbows, UFOs, super heroes, and learning Japanese? Count me in!
This game is considered for kids but is still fun to play and learn with. Players should at least memorize the hiragana and katakana characters before proceeding. Anpanman is a famous anime/manga that started back in the 70s. He's popular and I guess he's still being sold to children up to now. There are many Anpanman games on the DS and they're all educational, some of them have been remade as well for the newer console.
Kanken DS Training
That funny trailer should explain very well what Kanken DS is about. Learning Kanji is a difficult thing and it's really nice to have applications like this to help out. This is for more advanced learners. Some people don't bother with Kanji much and just hone their skills in speaking, however, it is not going to be helpful when playing games because it requires a lot of reading.
End:
There are more games available for the DS to help out on your Japanese studies, all you have to do is search a bit. What I love about the DS is that it is a portable thing that is not very heavy like a book and learning is interactive. It's not boring and is actually very fun.
If there's anything that I haven't done in a long time, it is to enjoy a pretty good manga and anime. Not because anime or manga is for kids and that I have outlived that kind of enjoyment at this age but Attack on Titan is definitely not for kids. It has a higher character death rate than Game of Thrones where any character can practically just get squished like a bug, ripped to shreds, and get eaten.
The thing that attracted me to the anime is because I have the game on my 3DS and the plot twist that humans are nothing more than caged livestock just waiting to be devoured by gigantic humanoids known as Titans. This anime provides a perspective on what it's like to have the tables turned, when man is no longer on the top of the food chain.
After watching the anime, I proceeded to consume the manga up to the latest chapters. It's interesting to note that in this world within the walls, people are not meat eaters and mostly have a vegetarian diet. Eating meat is considered a luxury.
If our world haven't realized it, eating meat is one of the biggest things that is wrong in our world. As long as we continue eating meat, murdering animals for "sustenance" when we can live without the meat diet then we can never be rid of war, suffering, women exploitation, and violence. I could write a book to elaborate on those things how they are connected but I'm hoping someone had already written one or I'm waiting for someone to do so.
So in attack on titan, because humans are the ones being eaten, and being gifted with intelligence, and determination to cling to life, humans have devised ways on how to fight the Titans back despite knowing that chances are rather small. In order to really defend themselves against the titans, they must fight fire with fire.
"Sadness over a bird killed. No sadness over a fish killed. Lucky are those with voices."
-Saito Ryokuu
AoT also has a number of strong female characters such as Mikasa Ackerman, who seem to have awakened powers and is generally has the mental state prepared for their current situation unlike the protagonist Eren who always seem weak and helpless until he discovered his latent gifts and powers but despite his abilities to be strong, I find it strange that he doesn't seem to have the mental capacities to adapt quickly in the given circumstances. He's still shocked whenever someone gets killed and needs to calm his tits every 5 minutes. He's whiney and I find him really annoying, that perhaps his redeeming quality is that he was given a gift he can use to save mankind and is determined to help humanity selflessly.
Their comic relief was Sasha Braus, who is also known as the potato girl, and pretty much needs to stuff her face with anything at any time. She reminded me of myself when I was living in the temple when I was always hungry. Some argued that she's always hungry because her stomach was used to eating meat because she came from a hunting village where hunting game and eating meat is their pride and glory. She's one of my favorite characters but not much spotlight is given to her, I think she will be one of the characters that you get attached to that the series will probably kill off in the end for a higher impact. Hopefully she doesn't die...
When it comes to love stories and developments the only pair worth noting is Ymir and Christa. Ymir is a strong female character as well that is as well rounded as Mikasa. A blunt girl who always follow Christa around and later in the story was explained deeply why and how feelings over time developed. Their pairing is canon and the creator confirmed it. So they are officially the couple in the series and some of the pairings are still rather vague like Eren and Mikasa where people argue that it's sibling love and that Eren is really paired with Annie. So up to now, no other love story development aside from Ymir and Christa have been confirmed. Their pairing is mostly known as YumiKuri, this ship sails itself.
The video provides a rather apt reaction when the yumikuri was declared canon. I would go ape shit if one of them dies. I will be glad to attend their wedding. <3
Well just because there are many badass female protagonists and that the creator didn't really bother much about gender and sexuality, sexism still exists in this world. It's still a pretty good development that anyone can love anyone here without homophobic judgments.
It's a beautiful anime that I feel will revolutionize future stories. In parallel, their fictional world and ours aren't any different. There is something going on in the bigger picture but humans still prefer to squabble over petty things, are still greedy, and twisted, and that the shining ray of hope lies in someone who is also just as dark and twisted. It is a portrayal of the human condition in a circumstance that might as well have resembled the real life crisis that people are going through.
No one is perfect, no one is good or evil, it is always a play of something in between and that people have done some good and bad things in their lives. It implores the audience to let go of the notion that there are people who purely good or bad but depicts humans as flawed broken people. Only their motivation to be whole differs.
Book Artist Veronica Laurel incorporates the traditional crafts of wood carving, carpentry, and bookbinding into her contemporary art practice.
Inside Artinformal's Big Room exhibit space is a modest collection of curious pieces made of paper and found objects encased in glass and carved wood. Veronica Laurel's first solo exhibition, Beautifully Damned, presents her latest book art creations. Utilizing her skills in wood carving, carpentry, and book binding, Laurel turns old books and paper into art objects. Right off the bat, one can appreciate the meticulous process that went into creating these handmade pieces.
Laurel is currently based in Laguna. She describes herself a collector of things, who likes to gather materials for her pieces. Her interest in woodworking started at a young age because of her family's wood furniture business. She learned wood carving in Paete, Laguna and studied book binding on her own. Of her learning process, she says, "I wanted to keep doing it until I got it right. It doesn't matter if my first tries were terrible. What matters is that I'm willing to try. Same goes for carpentry and carving."
Laurel's use of found objects correlates with the Buddhist view of making use of what is available. The wood she used in her pieces is sourced from old demolished houses. Buddhist beliefs are actually something that Laurel had the opportunity to explore when she lived in a Buddhist temple in Taiwan for three months prior to her show. "The preparation to get ready was long; the execution was short," she adds. Laurel was also influenced by Masaki Kobayashi's Human Condition film trilogy, as well as literature on Western and Buddhist psychology. In Beautifully Damned, she shares the culmination of her spiritual exploration, merging it with her artistic practice into a harmonious whole.
"Beautifully Damned" was the title of a poem she wrote a few years earlier. It was about living in a world where people choose to numb themselves, thus becoming the beautifully damned ones. "The truth is, damnation is just damnation. I added the word "beautifully" because people don't to believe that we are all just damned. The romantic are optimistic enough to call it beautiful, a sweet a suffering, a vulnerable state of mind," Laurel explains.
Prior to her first solo exhibition, Laurel's early works were included in Ayala Museum's group exhibits and, most recently, at the Met Open 2014 in the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.
(End of First Half)
(For the complete article, look for Art+ Contemporary Art Philippines Magazine Issue no. 35)
