ghost in the shell compilations...

These two compilations are movies assembled from the two seasons of ghost in the shell, some blandishment was required to give the films a better sense of flow as a singular entities so different voice actors were used. WHY??? Actually I am not looking for an answer, I am merely voicing my discontent. I am disappointed they didn't recruit the original actors to fill in the gaps and/or re-voice the project. It felt like they were trying to make it different when it was blatantly the the same stories retold, minus the filler and streamlined. To me, that is an epic fail. I am almost sorry I purchased them, but the good news is that I got them at an extreme discount. Huzzah!

trying not to be fooled by imitations...

...or at least not getting albums of the same title- oh wait, I did that already. Yes it's one of those cases where you hear a song on the internet radio and say, "Wow, I would like to have a copy of that, and I bet the other songs on the album would be pretty nifty as well!" Little did I know that finding the cd was going to be so difficult and that there were actually two cds for sale that had completely different contents. Long story short, I ended up buying both, but fortunately I have not regretted it. I like songs from both albums, however the album cover shown above was the one I originally wanted because it had a great cover of Tomorrow Never Knows. I would recommend getting the other album as well because it has an amazing track called Asian Flowers and it gave me chills because it sounded like John was singing. If I am not mistaken, it was actually his son, Sean. If ever another tribute album is made, I would like to see his other son, Julian take part in it was well. Years ago, Julian cut a track called Too Late for Goodbyes and he sounded just like his dad.

sau tao instant soups...

Instant Noodle King flavors beef and wonton, came in two sizes with slightly different variations. The smaller size had thinner noodles and the larger size had wider noodles, of which I preferred the wider noodles. The thing I wasn't quite understanding about the wonton was that there were no wontons in there and I wouldn't exactly say it was wonton flavored, either. I never really considered wontons as having a specific flavor when they can be made with various ingredients, however the manufacturer had something very specific in mind: prawn. I am not terribly fond of prawns, otherwise known as shrimp. Worse yet, the flavoring packet didn't seem very prawn-like to me, but rather like really smelly fish. It was a very strong oder and I almost tossed it out, but I hate to waste money so I just ate it. It wasn't as hideous as it smelled, but it didn't taste like wontons to me, either. On the other hand, the beef was quite nice, especially after trying the wonton flavor first. Normally I would go for flavors like chicken or pork, but this selection was what was available and I hadn't tried them yet so I thought I would give them a shot. Of the four, I would get the larger beef with the wide noodle again. It sure beats going hungry!

ramune...

Yeah, Ramune... technically it was made to impersonate lemonade, only its is a light, fizzy soft drink and it is available in a variety of flavors and produced by several companies. I like it quite a bit and have had most of the flavors, as you can see, this one was green apple flavor and it was quite nice. I like them better chilled, but will drink them at room temperature without batting an eye. Some of your local Asian food shops should have some in stock but they can be ordered online from a number of sources. I love the shape of the bottle and how it opens; both unlike anything I've seen before. I thought the original Orangina bottles were pretty cool, but I had to save a couple of these. i recommend trying a flavored version first before getting the plain, if at all. It isn't that it's bad, but why get original of anything if there are flavors available, right? Cheers/kampai!

red ninja - end of honor...

This is the most recent game I have played on my PS2. Currently I am stuck on the final boss and Youtube videos have indicated the battle will be extremely difficult and long-winded. This has emphatically decreased my interest in this game. I think all games should have an easy mode and all opponents should have a skill that reflects such a mode. Making it so that I have to battle an opponent for nearly fifteen minutes with very little surplus is not what I consider a fun challenge. This is particularly a shame because I actually enjoy the game quite a bit- up until this point, that is. I have enjoyed the plot, the character development, and the relative ease of controller use, not to mention the art is fabulous. I have already seen the ending, thanks to my Youtube research and have to say I'm not to fond of that, either. The story threw me some curve balls that I didn't expect and felt weren't necessary to furthering a successful plot. On the whole, I would still recommend this game, but maybe you should rent it first before deciding on a blind buy, like I had. These days, I rent most of my games first and I use GameFly to do it. For anyone curious to give it a shot, this game is available at GameFly on both PS2 and Xbox platforms. I'm on the single game plan because while I have various gaming con soles, I don't interchange games until one is finished. It works well for me that way...

oronine ointment...

"Actions: Itching and irritation due to sting by mosquito, flea, bedbug, louse, gnat, etc. For pain caused by burns. For cuts and scratches. Protects sensitive skin due to shaving. Use before make-up application. Pimple remedy. Cure athlete's foot. For ringworm, scaldhead and psoriasis. For shoe-sores. For your baby's diaper and heat rash, For frost bite and chapped skin."
Yep, yet another multipurpose cure. I thought it might be helpful in a number of cases, but never really saw any beneficial results. I guess an open mind is not enough; maybe you need to truly believe in something for it to work. I can't say for sure, but I can surely say that this, too, won't become a staple in my medicine cabinet. Everything is worth trying at least once, but I don't offer a second chance to everything that crosses my path.

mopiko ointment...

"For relief of bites by lice, mosquitoes, bees or other poisoning insects. Itching ulcers. Measles. Irritation from shaving. Headaches. Muscle fatigue due to exercise. Burns or abrasion." While curiosity allowed me to buy this, I am not sure if I will be a repeat buyer. Not that it is ineffective or anything, but simply because it is an overseas purchase and I didn't find it anymore effective than anything else I have tried. It also seemed to multi-purpose to me to be true. I don't think it will become a staple in my medicine cabinet anytime soon.

po chai pills...

This alternative medicine is purported as the general cure-all of stomach ailments. "Indications: help relieve diarrhea, stomach flu, vomiting and gastrointestinal diseases." I got some out of curiosity. It comes in a small vial in the form of small reddish-brown pellets with a smooth and semi-gloss surface. I didn't know whether I should try to swallow them whole or chew them up, but after trying to chew a few, I decided swallowing them whole was decidedly the preferable choice. The flavor, aside from being rather herbal and medicinal in nature, was bitter and the texture was very gritty. In other words, it was quite nasty and the flavor lingered in my mouth even after having something to drink. Furthermore, I don't think it really did anything for me other than possibly make me feel more ill than I had felt before. I was really intrigued with the packaging and format of this medicine, however I would never get it again. Ok, you can stop laughing now...

action resulting from motivation vs. intention...

My mind has been on my previous post as well as the fact that I haven't posted here in over a year. It strikes me so that the thought keep rolling around in my head: I haven't posted in over a year- close to a year and a half, actually. I never intended to let my blog go for so long, but so much has happened since I last discussed my life that this truly did slip way down on my priority list and many times when I thought about posting a new entry, I really had no desire to do so; I just didn't have the emotional energy that I felt I needed to get into deeply personal topics. I certainly wasn't planning on resuming blog entries with a rant, but it ended up happening anyway. At this point, I should talk about what has been happening in all this time and get everything up to date because I actually have set aside things that I did want to eventually share and discuss.
Anyone reading far enough back or who knows me personally will recall that my grandmother passed away in 2008 and my grandfather passed away in 2009. Things are still not fully reconciled, but have been mostly reconciled at this point. There has also been a great emotional and physical drain that accompanied it- both a conscious and subconscious shutting down that I imagine are part of the grieving process as well as depression, from which I already suffer.
At the end of 2009, My laptop died. It was brand new and I was stymied. At this point in time, I still have yet to get it repaired. I have not had what I considered an adequate opportunity to do so. My mother's laptop also foozed out, but repair was an easier process so it has already been repaired as of this past summer. My even newer desktop took a dive recently and while most of everything is ok, there are a few cosmetic damages and it is not economically feasible to get it repaired, which was a major disappointment to me.
Last year welcomed a new lunar year for the tiger, which I was rather psyched about because I was born during the year of the tiger and usually am hopeful of things looking better than usual in the coming year- not that I take it to particularly seriously, but it did give me a little fuel for hope. Well, things did not look up. I got food poisoning on my birthday. It was so bad that I suffered for months afterward, but as bad as my mother, who was ill for eight weeks at the beginning of the year and nearly lost her job as a result of being out for so long.
I also came to the unpleasant realization that I had acute hypertension; my blood pressure was so sky high that I literally thought I was going to die one weekend just before I sought medical help.I'm not much for doctors as I have had very few positive experiences with them and I no longer have medical insurance and have to pay for everything out of my unemployed pocket which already receives no financial aid whatsoever. Therefore, resigning to do this was a big step for me.
Additionally, I ended up having yet another root canal last year and I am already anticipating needing one for this year as well. I have started to lose count, but I think this will be number 11 for me. It seems mt grandmother's dental issues may have been genetic and the torch has now been passed on to me, as it were.
Speaking of medical issues, I also had another session with kidney stones this past year. Eventually I ended up going to the emergency room for help. Based on my descriptions, their tests, and what I eventually passed afterward, it would seem that I passed seven stones inside a two week period. To say the least, I was wiped out for a long time afterward.
I finally found a new doctor that I like who is local to me who genuinely takes an interest in my health and can relate to many of my situations. In the same medical center I have also found specialists who may be able to tend to my various other needs as well as a dentist in the adjoining level below. This gives me a sense of hope that I might be able to get more of my needs tended to, which haven't received treatment in literally years.
With things finally shaping up for my health, I am looking into resuming many old projects I had set aside, such as fixing my car, getting the heating and air conditioning fixed, possibly replacing the water boiler as well, and a lot of other minor tasks because let's face it, my grandparents' house was already old when we moved in and these things all needed tending to anyway. I also have projects for my room including building a bathroom and kitchen in the adjoining area because I would like to make my area more apartment-like and self-sustainable. Also on my list is doing things to resume working in music, including refinishing and upgrading my guitar, a 1965 Fender Musicmaster II. I am saving the older components for posterity. I am trying to keep it as original as possible, wherever it hasn't sustained damages from time and previous users.
This all having been said, I hope to continue the year with more interesting posts to intrigue and amuse. May the year of the rabbit be better than the tiger. So far it has been a rocky start- my mother has been to the emergency room twice two weeks ago for various problems.

flaming mad about twitter...

Ever have one of those days, weeks, months, or longer? Well I am and Twitter is what's burning me up this time. For those of you who don't know, Twitter is a microblog that allows its users to post 140 character blurbs about pretty much anything that's on their minds. It happens to be a great utility for business among many other things. I like Twitter- that is, unless it doesn't function properly. Several months ago, I noticed all communications that mentioned me had disappeared. I have reported the error numerous times to no avail. They have not been recovered and nobody has contacted me about them. However, I have noticed as of this month I am able to receive new ones. Also, off and on in the past and more so this month than ever, I am no longer able to post. I cannot make new posts, I cannot reply to others, I can't do anything but read the swarm of posts coming from other users, which is not very useful to me, especially when someone is expecting a reply from me. As of today, I can no longer even register my complaints about defect in Twitter's service. If I wasn't angry before, I am boiling now.

Hey Twitter, this was for you (minus the specific error being reported):

NOTE: I am not leaving a comment so you can simply sip your coffee and let your eyes glaze over as you continue to ponder life. I want this issue resolved. I want every issue that I have reported to be resolved. I still am missing all my old @ mentions. Nobody contacts me ever about a solution to these problems. Do you like your users to feel ignored? I feel ignored. I feel Twitter is useless if I cannot communicate with others and fear they cannot communicate directly with me. Should I delete this account and create a new one? Would that solve my problems or would Twitter continue to be as useless to me? I have been waiting a long time and it seems all I get are more defects in Twitter's service. Is Twitter that afraid to communicate with its users directly? Where is the support? I feel like I have no support. Am I supposed to feel better that Twitter knows about its issues? Am I supposed to feel Twitter is that much closer to resolving such issues? When can I use my Twitter account without defects. I see all these users with the same problems and nobody is getting any results. This is unacceptable.


It would seem Twitter is trying to avoid contact. Even their "contact us" button doesn't actually let me contact them. They have no email address, no mailing address, no phone number, and if you can't post then you can't mention them in a post and expect (make that "hope for") contact. It would seem the more irate users get or the more frequently they complain, they eventually are silenced by getting blocked from posting future continuances of errors. I guess they assumed I should sit quietly in the shadows and let moss grow on my account until it gets fixed, if it ever gets fixed. In case Twitter doesn't understand yet, I want my account fixed, ASAP!