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.
Recent updates
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Crazy Guy Busting Crazy Dance Moves in the Streets of Antipolo
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.
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:
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:
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!
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Philippines Superstition: Wash Your Face With Menstrual Blood
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?
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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.
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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Review
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.
Winry soaking in the tub -
Namie Amuro’s Coke Zero Ads
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.
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The Sake Inn
The Sake Inn isn’t actually an inn, though it would be a good name for one with a free sake gimmick. The Sake Inn is a store in Singapore that sells mostly sake, but it’s also where I picked up the canned drinks I showed in a previous post. I’ve never actually tried sake before, though I’m interested. My wife and I bought a bottle of sake from a Spring Kyushu Fair in another mall in Singapore, but never had the opportunity to drink it. We got busy with packing and wound up giving it away as a gift. Maybe next time.
I was impressed with the amount of Japanese goods that were available in Singapore. Besides sake stores there were Japanese themed bakeries, restaurants and clothing stores, like Uniqlo. I’m a little disappointed that there isn’t as much available here in the Philippines, but maybe I’m just not looking in the right places yet. If you’re wondering where in Singapore this sake store is, it’s in the basement of Tampines 1, located right next to the MRT station.
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The Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines Wet Market
The last time I was in the wet market in Antipolo I didn’t take a lot of photos because I was worried about offending the stall owners. Well, that and thieves. The place was really crowded at the time. On our last trip I realized I had my camera with me and the place was relatively quiet, so I started snapping photos. The reactions were different from what I expected. A lot of the girls behind the counters smiled and laughed. Then the guys started laughing at them for getting so excited over a picture being taken. It was fun!
Rice in the Antipolo Wet Market We don’t normally get our rice inside the market. We go to a stall just outside it. I haven’t checked to see if the prices are any different, but my wife’s family all buy rice from the same guy, so it just seems natural to go there as well. Besides, the stall owner is always smiling and seems really pleasant.
Man selling rice in Antipolo I can’t remember if I posted the photo or not, so I’ll post it again here!
Pig feet anyone? No? How about those intestines? Nothing goes to waste in the Philippines and every part of the animal gets put on sale. Someone must be buying it…
A Filipino type of sausage called longganisa. We bought the redder looking kind on the left and had it for breakfast. It was a little sweet for my tastes but it was good anyway.
Fish, crab, shrimp… You can get almost every imaginable seafood here. I think I even saw some sturgeon for sale. I noticed that there were a lot of very large bangus (milk fish) for sale. Some of them were as long as my arm. My wife said that after typhoons the milkfish swim closer to the shore so it’s easier for fishermen to catch them. The prices were low too at 40 PHP (about 0.95 USD) per kilogram.
A row of stalls selling vegetables and random cooking items like oil, spices and sauces.
Going to the wet market is always interesting because there’s so much activity and so many people wandering around.
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Samurai Car Paint Job
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.
