Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog

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  • Horimouja: Japanese Inspired Tattoo Artist

    Horimouja
    Horimouja

    While searching around on various download sites for some new wallpaper backgrounds, I stumbled across a file titled “Horimouja”.  I was curious, so I downloaded it and discovered that it was book scans from a Japanese inspired tattoo artist named Jack Mosher, who uses Horimouja as a nickname.

    Jack Mosher is an American artist, born in Florida and raised in Michigan, who took an interest in art and Japan in general at a young age.  His father taught Karate and Judo in a university and one of his dad’s friends gave him an art book by Frank Frazzeta, which he says was his primary inspiration.  Later, in the Marines, he started getting interested in tattoos and got his first one after boot camp.  After he finished his military obligation he started working in high-end security jobs, but did tattoo drawing on the side for a local business.  He eventually decided he wanted to set up his own shop and set out to learn more about tattooing from established artists.

    What he wound up with is a distinct style that builds on, but isn’t exactly, traditional Japanese imagery.  He said, in an interview, that he wanted to create a blend of the old and new, to create a unique style that he felt people in areas outside of Japan could appreciate more.  He said that most people don’t quite get the simple style of most Japanese imagery.

    I’m not an expert on Japanese art by any means, but I think he’s done a pretty good job.  I got my first tattoo when I was in training for the Army and I’ve always thought about getting more.  This is inspiration to finally get some work done.

    Here are a few samples of his work from his MySpace page.

    Tattoo by Horimouja
    Tattoo by Horimouja
    Tattoo by Horimouja
    Tattoo by Horimouja
    Tattoo by Horimouja
    Tattoo by Horimouja
    Tattoo by Horimouja
    Tattoo by Horimouja

    If you’re interested in buying the sketchbooks he’s made, they’re available on Amazon.

  • Our Cats Have Adjusted to the Philippines

    For any of you that have been following my blog for a while you’ll know that I have cats and that they’re very much a part of the family.  We had cats the entire time we lived in Singapore and while some of them passed away due to illness or accident, we love them and didn’t want to leave them behind when we moved to the Philippines.  Getting our 3 ‘babies’ here from Singapore was a real pain in he ass, and a costly one too, but it’s been rewarding and it’s great to see that they’ve adjusted well to their new environment.

    Things didn’t go quite as planned.  We’re staying at my in-law’s place temporarily and there are other cats here.  They haven’t had shots, they’re aggressive and they’re dirty.  We don’t want our relatively pampered cats to mix with them because we don’t want them getting sick or injured.  The area of the house we’re staying in is sort of a mini-suite.  It has its own bathroom and mini-kitchen along with a bedroom, so it’s spacious enough I suppose.  We’re keeping our cats isolated from the others in our area.  They don’t seem to mind too much, though I think they wish they had more room to play.  Eventually, we’ll be moving to a place in Manila where they’ll be able to roam the whole house, once we get window screens installed.

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    Thumper, the black cat, seems the least concerned with her change of location.  Even though she’s got sort of a weird, gimpy way of walking due to a birth defect she always seems to be the most confident, even after moving to another country.  She also seems to be the least concerned with the other cats in the house.  Marble, the one in the middle, is busy being fat.  When we first adopted her she was pretty skinny but now she spends most of her time laying around doing nothing and when it’s feeding time she tries to push the other cats out of the way to eat their food before eating hers.  That’s a problem because she’s gaining weight rapidly and the other two cats are going hungry.  I’m thinking about putting her in a cat carrier during feeding time to make sure everyone gets their fair share.  Dapper is still the big sissy she always was, but as long as she has a blanket to hide under at night she’s ok.

    One of the weirdest things these cats do now is that they like to chase and eat bugs.  In Singapore, even though there were no window screens, we rarely found a bug or flying insect indoors.  There was one incident with a gecko in the room, but that’s about it.  Here, there are always moths and beetles flying around and all three cats find them incredibly fascinating.  They chase them around and when they manage to catch one, they gobble it up like it’s candy.  Kinda gross, but it doesn’t seem to be making them sick, so I’ll let them do what they want.

    They also compete for the platform at the top of their scratch post / gym, because it gives a view out the window.  Things outside are a lot more lively here than in Singapore and they want to be able to watch.  They can sometimes see and hear chickens, other cats, dogs, children playing and people hanging out in the street.

    I’m glad to see how well they’ve adjusted and that they’re having a good time.  I hope they’ll be just as quick to adapt the next time we make an international move.  Hm.  That reminds me, it’s almost time for them to get more shots!

    For more information on importing cats to the Philippines from Singapore, click here.

  • The Use of Garlic in Philippines Superstitions

    As in the West, the use of garlic plays a prominent role in Filipino superstitions.  Filipinos have always been very superstitious and many continue to believe in their validity now.  I recently saw a neighboring family removing branches from the trees around their house because they thought a manananggal was hiding there at night, preying on the family.

    A few days ago I saw a braid of garlic in the store and my wife started telling me about how some Filipinos believe it’s useful against manananggal, so I decided to look up as much information as I could about the use of garlic in Filipino superstitions.  It turns out that it’s mostly used as a preventative measure, as a ward against the manananggal, aswang and tiyanak.

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    Manananggal and Aswang

    The manananggal is the Filipino version of a vampire and an aswang is much the same, except that unlike the manananggal, it can’t fly.  The terms aswang and manananggal are often used interchangeably, though some distinctive characteristics of an aswang are that it can also use witchcraft and may be an eater of the dead, replacing cadavers with banana tree trunks.

    To prevent an aswang or manananggal from entering your house, it’s recommended that you place braided cloves of garlic and salt at all entry points, such as the windows and doorsteps.  Oddly enough, it’s believed that the odor of burning rubber will serve a similar purpose, but garlic is much easier to come by and more practical than burning tires every night.

    A person that believes they may become a victim of these creatures should carry crushed garlic or a mixture of crushed garlic and salt wherever they go.  The smell will prevent the aswang and manananggal from being able to track them.  This is probably effective if you want to prevent anyone from standing too close to you, especially on extremely hot days.

    In the event that you’ve seen a manananggal and you want to ‘kill’ it, you have to roam about in the village or surrounding woods, searching for its lower half.  The manananggal’s upper body separates from the lower body when it grows wings to fly about, searching for prey.  When you find the lower half of the body, you should set a trap, usually made of heavy ropes and then sprinkle the lower half of the manananggal with salt, ash and garlic.  This will cause the creature a great deal of pain and the upper portion will return to see what’s going on.  When it does, it can either be killed or have the curse removed by shoving a pint of salt down it’s throat, which will make it vomit up the evil, egg-shaped stone that carries the manananggal’s spirit, freeing the human from its influence.  The stone should be vomited directly into a fire.  If anyone else touches it, they risk being possessed by the manananggal.

    Tiyanak

    The tiyanak, a creature that can take on the form of a newborn baby to attract victims, can also be repelled by garlic along with a rosary.  Another method of driving it off is to turn your shirt inside out, which supposedly entertains it enough to let you go.  Tiyanaks are believed to be born from the corpses of babies whose mothers died while they were still in the womb.  A modern derivative is that they are the souls of aborted fetuses returned to terrorize and take vengeance on those that denied them life.

  • Children Selling Cigarettes in the Philippines

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    I was sitting on that same second floor window where I saw the girl with the bag that said “Use Me” when I saw something else interesting.  Does this count as child exploitation?  Isn’t there a law against it?  Maybe there isn’t.  It seems like labor regulation is pretty loose in the Philippines, which can apparently have both its ups and downs.

    This reminds me of something else I saw, where children were encouraged to buy tokens for the toy machines in a grocery store at the tobacco counter.

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  • Do They Have These Pringles Flavors Where You’re From?

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    Somehow, these just don’t seem very appetizing to me.  I prefer ‘normal’ flavors, like plain, salt & vinegar.  I found these on the shelf at a Mercury Drugs store, which is a combination pharmacy and convenience type store.

  • Crazy Guy Busting Crazy Dance Moves in the Streets of Antipolo

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    One of the things I like about the Philippines is how unrestrained people seem to be, though this is sort of a special case.  There’s a stereo equipment store on a particular street in Antipolo that we walk down regularly and there’s almost always a guy standing in front of the store, in the street, dancing to the music that they play.  This guy isn’t all there upstairs from the way it looks, but he’s having a good time doing what he’s doing, and that’s cool.  At least he’s doing something that makes him happy, and it’s definitely entertaining to watch.

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    Today, my wife suggested I record him dancing.  She said he’d probably like it, and she was right.  When the guy realized he had not only an audience, but a camera on him, he really went all out.  He seemed incredibly happy to be acknowledged.

    Here’s the video:

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    A fellow spectator.

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  • A Smiling Pig in the Market

    So, you’re strolling through the market and you stop to check what’s for sale at the butcher’s stall next to you and then you see this:

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    Somehow, the poor bastard looks like he’s smiling. I imagine they’re waiting for someone to buy this head, probably to make pork sisig or grilled ears.  We went tame this time and just bought some pork chops.

    I’m sure we’ll have a smile on our faces too when we’re eating them!

  • Philippines Superstition: Wash Your Face With Menstrual Blood

    The Machine Girl

    This is actually a screen capture from a Japanese movie called The Machine Girl.  The superstition isn’t anything quite as cool as having your face splashed by the blood of fallen enemies though.  In fact, it’s not cool at all.  It’s just disgusting.

    When girls are going through that special time, when they have their first menstrual cycle, the things we hear about most often are tales of confusion and fear, especially in cases when they weren’t properly educated by their parents.  In the Philippines, perhaps not so much anymore, but not so long ago, there was a superstition that if you took the blood from your first menstrual cycle and washed your face with it, you would be spared the pain of acne during puberty.

    How’s that for gross?  I wonder if any guys ever asked a girl if she could spare some ‘virgin’ menstrual blood so he could chase away the acne as well?

  • Just When You’re Trying To Convince Your Friends That Anime Is Respectable…

    Something like this comes along and ruins your argument.

    The average person won’t understand or humor the idea that hentai, or softcore weirdo stuff like this doesn’t compose the entirety of anime and manga.

  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Review

    fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood

    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.

    FullmetalAlchemist-poster

    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.

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    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)
    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.

    Winry soaking in the tub
    Winry soaking in the tub