Recently [adult swim] (programming block found late on the Cartoon Network channel) finished airing the anime TV series : Neon Genesis Evangelion. That series created by Gainax aired in Japan 10 years ago (1995-1996), and to this day remains as my number one favorite TV show of all time; be it animation OR live-action. That's high praise for a "cartoon" isn't it? But there's a reason for that. Evangelion succeeds in being more than just an animated program. In fact I wouldn't even recommend this series to young children, as it's a lot more mature than the average show.

You can watch Evangelion just for the science fiction, fantasy, action, comedy, drama, mystery, robot fighting, and the conspiracy, but if you dwell much further than the outward appearance, there is so much more depth underneath it all. Everything about Evangelion is more than meets the eye, as the series goes as far and deals with psychological analysis, philosophical discussions, adult relationships, and symbolism that goes as far as calling the main enemy of the show "angels." The characters in Evangelion aren't perfect or idealized like a lot of anime or live-action shows tend to do. These characters are very much written to be "as human" as they can possibly be, which in turn means that they will do things that you wouldn't want them to do, but you know they will because that's simple human nature.

A lot of controversies and criticisms surrounds this series, but at the same time it fueled it's popularity even more. From the non-typical flawed main character in Shinji Ikari, the religious references that borders on blasphemy, the open ended answers to a lot of the mysteries, the "artsy" stuff, the politics, the psychological segments and the original ending (or just the ending in general). But despite all the controversies that make many of the audience tend to hate the series, Evangelion heavily influenced a lot of the anime you see nowadays. Which is somewhat ironic, because the series in itself is a combination of a lot of anime that's come before it, except raised to another level.

I love Neon Genesis Evangelion a great deal. It's a show that easily rivals current TV action drama favorites like 24 or Lost. It'll definitely stand the test of time as one of the most important (anime) series that's ever been made. To me, it became something else entirely; therapy.

well folks, after 8 1/2 years of being with the love of my life, and the fact that the both of us have already talked about marriage extensively, there is one thing I still haven't done yet. Propose to her. As of almost 12 hours ago though, that's not in my "to do list" anymore. That's right, I did it, I officially asked her to marry me, and she officially said yes! Now I may not have made it as romantic a moment as I could have, as I just surprised her out of the blue, going down on one knee with flowers and the ring with me. But let me tell you this, the look of happiness on her face made me extremely glad that I finally did it. Wow, I'm going to have to get used to saying that I have a fiancee.

For those wondering what kind of ring it is, she actually much prefers pearls over diamonds, so I got her a pearl ring, neckless, bracelett, and earrings for the engagement.

...oh yeah... as early as fall 2007....

This Modern Random Love

how not to change a flat tire (video)

clever advertising (pics)

who wants to be an idiot (video)

piled can art (pics)

sheep pool (game)

anaconda vs hippo (video)

ignoring the child beggars in India (pics)

Titanic sequel (video)

clock lady (audio)

George Lucas in love (video)

munchy mole (game)

marbles (video)

Movie I've seen recently...

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)  C+

Ever since Pulp Fiction popularized the modern quirky gangs and crime drama, there's been many movies that are following in the footsteps of Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece. Jason Smilovic and Paul McGuigan's "Lucky Number Slevin" is one of those movies. While the movie was enjoyable enough, there's a certain finesse in making said quirky gang and crime drama work like Pulp Fiction did, and unfortunately Slevin doesn't exactly get it quite right.

You got the motley characters, the quirky dialogue, and the surprises, which is pretty much the correct formula for a movie like this. The problem lies with the first 3/4th of the film that tries much too hard in that formula, to the point where it becomes too self-aware of itself and all that's missing would be the actors' winking at the camera. I got the impression that this film isn't suppose to be a parody or even a satire, but it sure acts like one. Things just felt a little too deliberate with the events that happen and the dialouge that was said, that I completely lost any respectable believability in the film.

I'll give it this much though, the concept of the film however is rather interesting, and I wished that the writer and director would have followed the tone set at the last 1/4th of the movie. The mystery plot comes together well enough, and the actors all did a fine job in their roles (especialy Lucy Liu). There were some character development that felt "off," but I blame it on the screenplay and not the actors.

So despite my criticisms at the flaws of the film, I thought the movie was okay enough, just not spectacular.

Graphic Novel I've read recently...

Identity Crisis - written by Brad Meltzer

Identity Crisis came off as a very huge surprise read for me. Although I knew the outcome of the story prior to actually reading the book, I was still engrossed by the whole thing. Brad Meltzer wrote a well crafted mystery story surrounding a murder that affects the lives of Superheroes a great deal. This is a story about the secret identities of these superheroes, the actions in how far they would protect it, and how the non-super powered friends or family are affected when a secret identity is known. Identiy Crisis may be a story about super powered beings, but Brad Meltzer succesfully reminds you that they are still very much human, living in a very real world.

The illustrations are done by Rags Morales who does one of the best works in graphic novels I've ever seen in a long time. Rags knows how to draw people first and foremost, and it really shows. The emotions depicted by the super hero characters helps put gravity in the fact that these are real people under the masks and costumes. Some scenes even heighten the story to a very emotional level, that would even lend itself well to live-action dramatic films or TV series. His action sequences are also well done, with a clean and precise method showing the events of the fights that makes you appreciate the "science" of the battle even more.

Identity Crisis is one of those rare works that show how sophisticated and underrated "comic-books" can be. This is a story that I definitely do not recommend for kids, as the subject matter is very much targeted for a mature adult to read. Just like trailblazing books that have come before it, like Watchmen, Sandman, or the Dark Knight Returns; Identity Crisis will be another one that people will respectfully remember for years to come.

She's Hearing Random Voices

fake Spider-Man 3 teaser trailer (video)

Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill (link)

raptor crashed (video)

password recovery speeds (link)

plane crash test (video)

city racers (game)

mydeathspace (link)

darth vader lego symphony (video)

Paris Hilton Attempts To Kill Hugh Hefner by singing (link)

young chuck norris a la oblivion (video)

the zoomquilt (flash)

a different take on asteroids (game)

April 12, 2006. The Glass House at Pomona, California. First ever concert for the band "Angels & Airwaves," which is Blink182's Tom Delonge's new band. Me and my friend were lucky enough to be able to attend that concert. We were also excited to see Tom Delonge again ever since we saw them last in concert when he was still doing Blink182.

The overall crowd that were there for the band definitely did NOT look like a Blink182 crowd though. Especially with all the black shirts and moody "emo" hairstyles with long bangs hanging over their sullen faces. Considering that Tom's new band doesn't exactly sound like a Blink182 type pop-punk band, I guess that shouldn't be surprising. After one drink at the yesteryears bar across the street, the opening act called "the Pink Spiders" started at 8:30pm. They played a little over a half hour; sounded decent but nothing great, and after a 30mins or so break, Angels & Airwaves took the stage.

We got to hear several of the other songs they have in their upcoming debut album. The current single out right now is "the adventure," and the rest of their songs don't sound that much different from that. Their sound is pretty much Blink182 plus influences from U2 and a heavy dose of EMO type lyrics. There were some that weren't as memorable as they probably intend to be, but there were several that have great potential. I'm sure they would probably sound a lot better on the CD itself. They did play two Blink182 songs though, which was part of "Down" and ..... forgot what the other one was.

I guess I have to mention that Tom Delonge is a little...different than when he was with Blink182. Tom was acting a lot more serious than when he was doing potty humor with Blink182. He said a lot of things about how we should "feel the music," or how "you can do whatever you want to if you put your mind to it," and even alluded to saying that if we wanted to, we could walk on water. Even the stage had white flags lined on the sides, which was rather...odd. Yeah, he was sounding almost pretentious being all insightful, motivational, and thought provoking. Did he pull a complete change when he left Blink? Not quite, because at certain pauses between some of the songs, he did revert back to his old joking self which was surprisingly very refreshing to see. But he did still end the whole show with another inspirational speech, which still makes me think that he is getting a big head about his new "direction" with the new band (which he BTW never even introduced his fellow band mates).

oh, I found it amusing that the crowd was yelling "A-V-A," considering the initials for "Angels And Airwaves" are three A's. But then if you look at their logo, that should explain it....

Well, it's that time of year again for the United States, TAX TIME!
I know some people who has done their taxes weeks ago, but I usually wait until the final week or two. Why? Because I've been paying every single year so far, so there's no point for me to be in a hurry. This year is unfortunately no different either. I'm paying a little less on Federal Taxes than last year, but I'm paying a tiny bit more on State Taxes. I've grown to just accept this fact, and occasionally give the evil glare when someone talks about how much they are getting on their refund.