Fine Dining

Several weeks ago, our office building's main canteen area closed down for financial reasons, which was funny since I always found the place full during lunch. Well, it was really no loss for us since we all didn't like the place as it was- it was dimly lit, the food quality ranged from average to old-tasting, and the place made you smell of food after you ate. And so it was pretty cool that weeks later, the nameless food center has been replaced by Triple-V Express.
Now we have a food center to be proud of. The place already has us impressed and coming back for lunch and dinner for nice meals from Japanese to Filipino to pasta and other stuff. Plus, it's all a work in progress- even more eateries and better furnishings are coming within the month.

Now we look forward to eating in again. Yay!

WWE Civil War

I love the current Raw vs Smackdown feud in the WWE shows. It pretty much is like a live-action war between two comic book universes (DC vs Marvel?). Personally, I like both shows- I like both current champions (rapper chief John Cena and half-Filipino powerhouse Batista) as well as various members of each locker room/roster. It will be cool and interesting to see how this all culminates in the upcoming Survivor Series. For now though, it's fun to see members from the opposing shows 'invading' the enemy program. Gosh, I love Jack TV.

LOST and MAD

Last night I caught an episode of Mad TV on Jack TV and they were doing a spoof of the series Lost. It was pretty hilarious in that they really got people on the show to look like the Lost characters. Of course, with MAD twists, like making old man Locke a psycho survivalist who picks his nose with his knife. Pretty cool, and a blast for fans of Lost to see. Given how Jack TV loves re-runs, they should re-air it soon. Mad TV is shown I think every other day, or every day.

Jack TV has easily become my favorite channel these days, for my WWE fixes and the occasional mature comedy skit. It's good that they seem to have new episodes of Mad TV and The Daily Show, but I'm still pissed that they are STILL re-running the old episodes of their G4 shows, X-Play, Cheat and Filter.

Gamez

If you've already picked up the EXCELLENT Soul Calibur III (which, I believe, is the finest fighting game package out right now), you may want to check out some other titles which are either on or coming soon to videogame stalls locally.

Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) is from the makers of the enchanting PS2 classic Ico. This time around, it's not about a boy leading a wispy girl around. Nope. This time, the girl is DEAD, and the boy has been charged with bringing her back to life by hunting down and defeating 16 monstrous colossi... basically, the whole game is a series of Boss Battles, each one different from the last. All you have is your magical sword, bow and arrow, your loyal horse Agro and a good deal of physical agility, and you'll need them all to defeat some of the most amazingly huge enemies ever seen in videogames. A totally unique gaming experience not to be missed.

The Matrix: Path of Neo (PS2) just may be the better-late-than-never game that actually makes great use of the ultimately disappointing sci-fi trilogy. Instead of casting players as forgettable side characters, MPON puts you in the role of The One himself. WHOA! This game goes through the whole story and all three movies, from Mr. Anderson's feverish escape from agents in his office building right to the final battle with the Super Smith. A lot of things are now more detailed and in-depth, such as training levels to build up Neo's fighting skills, to branching paths from the original films (what if Neo escaped with Trinity in the office scene?). There's even talk of an alternate ending to the depressing wind-down of Matrix: Revolutions. So far, this game looks incredible, and the prospect of being able to be the real hero makes for an interesting notion. Look for this very soon.

The Movies (PC) is the latest from game god Peter Molyneux, and puts you in the seat of Studio Head for a film company, and you're tasked to produce the next blockbuster. For the sim enthusiast, you can play the game from the ground up, building your studio from empty lot to star-studded stable. Or, you can just go into sandbox mode and just film the movie you've always wanted to do. The scope and stuff you're supposed to be able to do with this game just blows me away, and I'm certainly going to try and get this and try it when I can.

Gun (multi-console) is a western shooting and action game that should be in vogue right now given the popularity of the recent HBO series, Deadwood. Players step into the boots of a revenge-seeking cowboy out to take down a rogue's gallery of villains with his six-shooters. From deadly poker games to quick-draw gun battles to breakneck horse chases, this is sure to be chock-full of action.

Check these titles out! I know I sure will. Heh.

Voices

As an anime fan, I'm often familiar with names of Japanese seiyuu (voice actors). But interestingly enough, I don't know too much about US animation's vocal greats. I grew up watching series like G.I. Joe, Thundercats and Superfriends, so maybe I should. Well, on a whim and a random thought, I looked up some voices on Google and this is what I found...

Michael Bell is one of the more recognizable voices in cartoons during the 80s, as the voice of main man Duke in G.I. Joe, and also as evil COBRA henchmen Scrap Iron, Xamot(Strange that Tomax seems to be another actor) and Major Bludd. He also appears often before the camera, notably as an alien in the pilot episodes of Star Trek: TNG.

The dangerous Destro, as well as heroic Joes Iceberg and Stalker were given their distinct voices by Arthur Burghardt

Most people may not know who Peter Cullen is, but he's the man behind the sinister voices of Venger from Dungeons and Dragons, the heroic Optimus Prime in The Transformers and K.A.R.R, the evil A.I. car in the original Knight Rider. And yes, he does those movie trailers with that deep voice, though not as many as we all would think.

EVERYONE who watched 80s cartoons without a doubt knows the acidic voices of evil Starscream and Cobra Commander. The voice that gave them venom belonged to actor Chris Latta, who unfortunately passed away in 1994. Oh, those were the days when evil sounded... EVIL.

Actress B.J. Ward voiced the lovely and deadly Scarlett, as well as the Princess Allura on the Voltron series (gah). She's also Velma in the newer Scooby Doo movies and has worked on series like Gargoyles and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.

Frank Welker is familiar to me, and no wonder- he's the voice of Megatron from The Transformers, Fred in Scooby Doo, Ray Stantz and Slimer in The Real Ghostbusters and gobs more roles. He also unfortunately starred in the Macaulay Culkin magical adventure The Pagemaster. Geh.

Amazingly enough, the Thundercats series was voiced by just a few actors, who also did double duty on sister-show Silverhawks. Many of the actors did double duty, playing both heroes and villains throughout the show. Despite the use of vocal acrobatics, you could tell that the sexy Cheetara and space cop Mandora were one and the same (Lynne Lipton. Actor Larry Kenney gave the heroic Lion-o his voice.

And of course, America's Top Ten Casey Kasem did roles from Robin the Boy Wonder in the Superfriends to Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

Sigh. Too many voices in my head. But they're all in there, squabbling away and I'm glad that they're there. Mad, it is. Mad.

Back to the Salt Mines

I'm back to work after a whole week spent cooped up in The Sanctum. I'm really not the travelling type, as most people who know me can testify. I really just love vegging out at home with a supply of chichirya, the latest PS2 games, a pile of new mags and comics and a new internet card. Basically, I just stayed in and rested ('cept for the days I was sick... then I was convalescing), not venturing out even for food long after my cache of junk food and sodas was exhausted (had stuff delivered until I ran out of funds). Good thing I was so engrossed in Soul Calibur III that food actually became a non-essential. Well, it's not often that I get to just chill like that, so it was great to do so, having no cares in the world except how to unlock so-and-so hidden character or beat the frickin' cheap-ass end boss.

Unfortunately, staying home too long also started to get me to start watching the daytime soap mini-series my mom watches at lunch, so I guess it's better to get back to work. Too much of a good thing is never good.

Besides, staying at home all that time made me neglect shaving and the next thing I knew, I could see my own stubble moving over my lip as I chewed my food. Hmm.

Anyway, it's back to work and life goes on to keep earning and learning.