Hobbies – Page 8 – Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Review

July 22, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless6 Comments

I finished watching this series about a week or so ago and I was sad to see it go. I wish I’d gotten around to writing a review of it sooner. I was inspired to stop being lazy when I saw that Jamaipanese had done his own, very good review already. He felt much the same way I did about the anime. It’s incredibly good and will definitely remain in my collection for years to come. Unlike some other animes I’ve watched, this series actually has replay value.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is based on the manga called Fullmetal Alchemist. The story is gripping, gritty, and not sugar coated. Great characters die, some characters falter, and others never realize their dreams when the series ends. That’s not to say the ending isn’t happy, in its way, but it left me wishing for more. That’s not a bad thing really. It means the story was good and I didn’t want it to end. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is about losing things that are dear to you and the lengths a person will go to, to see those things returned. It’s also about the prices we pay when we do things we shouldn’t and how hard it can be to redeem one’s self. Well, those are the themes. The story itself is about saving the world from an evil conspiracy headed by a near immortal being called a homunculus. The two main characters in the story find themselves tangled up in a web of military and political intrigue that will will shock them with its full implications. In short, it kicks ass.

They stayed real close to the manga in this one. Image via Nipponmedia.net.

From the review on Jamaipanese, I found out that this anime picks up where the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime diverges from the manga’s storyline. I had assumed it was simply a retelling of the story that stayed true to the manga, which is what convinced me to watch it. I’d heard a lot of poor reviews of the first anime series, mostly about how it didn’t follow the manga’s storyline correctly, so I was thrilled to realize I could experience an FMA anime that wouldn’t murder it’s creator’s intent. Knowing that there are parts I missed from before the point where FMA Brotherhood picks up, I’ll have to get a copy of the original anime.

What I liked best about FMA Brotherhood is that the story was balanced. Some animes focus too heavily on humor, or all out action, or tons of gore and they don’t put any effort into plot and character development. While it’s nice to just watch people blow shit up on occasion or to enjoy slapstick humor, I like it better when an anime incorporates a story that makes me actually like the characters and actually care about them. FMA Brotherhood handled that quite well. The best example of character development in the story is Scar’s transition from a single-minded thug bent on revenge to being a conscientious and valued member of the group.

Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Envy, Greed (front), Sloth (big guy in the back)

FMA’s ‘bad guys’.

Even the enemies start to grow on you after a while. It’s almost a shame when you see them die.

The action is good, the characters are great, the story is fantastic… and you even get to see Winry nekkid in a bath tub, sort of, so if you’re wondering if you should check this out, by all means pick up a copy. It’s well worth the time it takes to watch.

Namie Amuro’s Coke Zero Ads

July 20, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless2 Comments

Once known as the “Teen Queen” and referred to as the “Queen of Japanese Pop Music”, Amuro Namie is a singer, entertainer and former actress. She started out young, debuting as an idol in a group called the Super Monkey’s (that’s a fun name!) at the age of 14. She’s one of the longest surviving popular female acts in Japan and is the only female artist to have had a Top 10 single each year for 14 years straight. Not bad!

I’m just getting into the whole J-pop thing. My experiences with Japanese culture have been restricted mostly to anime, manga, some history courses and video games, so I wasn’t familiar with her work. I did recognize her name though.

I first found out about this ad campaign here in the Philippines when I saw a poster (pictured below) hanging up while waiting for a ride back to my neighborhood.

And here’s the corresponding TV commercial, though it looks this one ran in Japan rather than here in the Philippines:

Not bad for a 33 year old woman with a 13 year old son, huh? Almost makes me want to drink Coke Zero, but I can’t stand the stuff. I prefer the regular version, which I like to call Fatboy Supreme, because it’ll put some weight on you pretty quick if you’re not careful.

I can’t say I’m too crazy about the song, but if you’re interested, here’s the full HD video of “Wild”, which is what the Coke Zero advertising campaign is based on.

Samurai Car Paint Job

July 18, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley FarlessLeave a comment

There was a car that was always parked near our place in Singapore that had a really cool paint job on it, consisting of the Japanese rising sun symbol and a samurai. It’s possible that the owner of the car is Japanese. I never met him. It’s probably more likely that the person is just interested in Japanese culture and history.

The paint job was very well done and I liked the style, so I went ahead and took a photo of it.

The Dancing Jollibee Mascot

July 12, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless4 Comments

Jollibee is a fast food chain in the Philippines that’s reminiscent of McDonald’s. It’s a burger joint, but it also serves a lot of traditional Filipino foods. I’ll go more into that later. What I wanted to show in this blog post is the mascot dancing. I don’t remember ever seeing something like this in another country, but apparently Jollibee (the mascot) likes to dance at birthday parties and do ‘dance-offs’ with other mascots. I don’t mean cheesy dancing either. Here are two examples:

I used to wonder why people seemed so excited to have their kids’ birthday parties at a Jollibee, but I guess this explains it. I bet your average Ronald McDonald can’t pull off those moves!

There are also a few Jollibee franchises in the US in California and I think New York, due to there being a lot of Filipinos in those areas. I don’t know if the Jollibee mascots there dance like this though. This might be a uniquely Filipino thing.

Hello Kitty Pizza Bites

July 9, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless3 Comments

Check these out! This is a lot more creative and fun than your run of the mill pizza bites! I bet these things are delicious and they’re giving me a serious craving for microwaveable Bagel Bites mini-pizzas, which I haven’t had in quite a few years now. I swear I used to live off those things. I’d go through two or three boxes a week.

Ovens weren’t common in homes in Singapore, but they’re available here and this is getting me interested in putting on my apron and breaking out the oven mitts.

Be sure to visit the Flickr user’s photo stream for other cool stuff like Hello Kitty Bento Boxes.

via TokyoMango

Doraemon Curtains!

July 7, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless4 Comments

I haven’t talked much about my personal life on this blog, but just for the sake of making this more understandable, I recently moved to the Philippines and am staying at my in-law’s house until my wife and I find work in Manila. At some time or another, most of the members of her family have lived in this house, so there are of course leftovers. I don’t mean food leftovers. I mean the things that get left behind, things that they say they’ll come back for later, but sort of never do. We’ve been sorting through things and temporarily appropriating what’s usable. One of the things we were able to find was a curtain which happened to have a big Doraemon scene on it.

I’m not a Doraemon fan. I’ve never even seen the show. I’m pretty sure this curtain belong’s to my brother-in-law who has two small kids, but it does sort of suit my interests. I figured, why not hang it on our bedroom window so that when I see it I’ll be inspired to study Japanese?

Also, on a side note, my wife is interested in anime almost as much as I am. Right now she’s hooked on watching Jigoku Shoujo with me. Cool, right? So, she was more excited than I was to put it on the curtain rod and “liven up” the room a bit.

Sony is trying to claim my content on YouTube violates their copyright!

July 7, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless8 Comments

I opened my e-mail this evening and found this message waiting for me:

help center | e-mail options | report spam

Dear BradleyF81,

Your video, Flexy Girls Performing on Orchard Road, may have content that is owned or licensed by Sony Music Entertainment.

No action is required on your part; however, if you are interested in learning how this affects your video, please visit the Content ID Matches section of your account for more information.

Sincerely,
– The YouTube Team

© 2010 YouTube, LLC
901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066

I’ve heard a lot of stories about the music industry trying to claim that people’s home videos contain their copyrighted content for the most bizarre things, like bits of music played in the background, but I never expected it to happen to one of my videos.

Luckily, the video hasn’t actually been pulled. It has, however, been blocked from playing in Germany, as I found out by following up on the second link, which by the way should direct you to your own YouTube account’s copyright info so you can see if any of your videos have been blocked. Anyhow, when I clicked the link, this is what I saw:

I’ve watched it again just to be sure, but I can’t see that anything here belongs to Sony, other than the fact that it was recorded with a Sony camera, but that doesn’t transfer ownership to them. Does the tinny Chinese music belong to Sony? Maybe someone knows better than I do? And if it does, does this video constitute ‘fair use’ under US Copyright Law? Should I take the time to dispute it, or is their claim legit?

Here’s the video, of two girls doing an acrobatics performance on Orchard Road in Singapore:

Canned Japanese Juice Drinks

July 4, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless7 Comments

Ok, so one of them isn’t really a juice drink, but I love coffee so I couldn’t resist picking one up. I bought these at a shop in Singapore that specialized in Japanese canned drinks and sake. They were on a 10 for 10 SGD sale so I figured, why not?

They were all pretty good, but I liked the Grape and Apple the best, probably because they’re the flavors of juice that I grew up drinking in the US. The only one I actually didn’t care for too much was the Grapefruit juice. It was a bit rough. I think I could’ve used it to remove paint from the walls. I’ve never liked grapefruit too much though. When I used to eat it at my grandmother’s house I’d have to douse it in sugar to bury that harsh, acidic taste.

Naruto Ramen Soup

July 2, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley FarlessLeave a comment

If you look at the red underlined portion under the menu item ‘Batchoy’ you’ll see that the ramen includes ‘naruto’. I don’t watch Naruto but I was really amused when I saw this. I was wondering if it was a typo or if there actually is something called ‘naruto’. Well, turns out that naruto is a type of kamaboko, which has the following definition on Wikipedia:

Kamaboko|蒲鉾 is a type of cured surimi, a Japanese processed seafood product, in which various white fish are pureed, combined with additives such as MSG, formed into distinctive loaves, and then steamed until fully cooked and firm.

It looks like this:

Public Domain picture via Wikipedia. Originally uploaded by Kinori.

Looks like I’ve eaten naruto quite a few times without even realizing it!

One other thing I thought worth mentioning is that there’s also a town called Naruto on the eastern end of the island of Shikoku in Japan.

Beginning Japanese and Beginning Japanese Workbook

July 1, 2010September 4, 2021 Bradley Farless8 Comments

I picked these books up in Singapore before leaving for the Philippines so I can start my adventure with learning the Japanese language. I’ve also been using Smart.fm to help build vocabulary and familiarize myself with hiragana, katakana, and some basic kanji, but you can’t learn a language without understanding the grammar, conjugations and particles. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of course, but you get the point.

I haven’t had time yet to crack them open and get started on studying them. Things have been pretty hectic around here. Later on, after I’ve gone through them both a few times, I’ll post a review about how effective they are. In the meantime, has anyone used these books before? Thoughts? Opinions?