My New Kicks

Today was a momentous day. It marks my purchase of yet another pair of apparel for my troublesome feet. I'm sure I've posted before about playing badminton at school (and now at Joshua's club as well). Seeing as how my interest in the sport has only increased (in spite of my not getting along with my school coach) and how my feet are constantly getting owned from playing in a pair of Head tennis shoes, I decided a long time ago that I would be buying a pair of badminton shoes. This marks my fourth investment in sports equipment (the first was my beloved Carbonex racket, the second was a change of grips, and the third was my tuition fee at the IBC).

The comfy kicks:

The light stick:

info @ the P.Pole 03.26.07

5 happenings of today:

• I came to the saddening realization that I can not calculate the measures of angles through trigonometric ratios mentally. Damn.
  
• Henry and I played very well today and took our doubles opponents in two straight sets. A man of his word, Henry bought a drink after the match and we downed it in a very manly and non-homoerotic fashion.
• I went to both Winning Cycle (Midland and Sheppard) and National Sports (No Frills plaza by STC) and could not find a pair badminton shoes. Then again, Winning Cycle was closed so I'll hit that up again later.
• I wrote a good math quiz, if not for the last question where I somehow omitted the negative sign, thus screwing over my last answer... I was so close to rocking it too. It would've made up for my lackluster quiz last time.
• Henry began making fun of me about chocolate and t-shirts. Though he may nudge me the wrong way many times, I refuse to hold a grudge against him (partly because he's my doubles partner, and mostly because I've been trying hard to not hold grudges against anyone as of late).
  

Tony Vs. Paul

Lookie what I found on the Interwebs. My good friend Alex sent me this link. I'm not even gonna both explaining--go watch it for yourself.

info @ the P.Pole 03.22.07

4 artists I recently discovered:

• Jem ("24" from the Finally Woken, thanks Gears of War OST)
• The Pillows ("Mighty Lovers" from My Foot)
• OK Go ("A Million Ways" from Oh No, thanks to Henry)
• Rie Fu ("Life is Like a Boat" from the Bleach OST, thanks to Amy)

Jem comes across as a harder sounding Frou Frou/Imogen Heap with more rock elements instead of synth. The Pillows, although terribly old according to Adwin, sound like a version of Asian Kung Fu Generation without the random non-single tracks that suck. Sorry to all AKFG fans out there, but really, I'm not a fan of the crap filler tracks on their albums. OK Go sounds like a nice break from the usual and plays well into my alternative, funky musical side. Rie Fu is there simply because... Bleach. C'mon! And she sounds decent in English which is surprising considering the other Japanese speaking artists out there. Not too much to look at but that's not what a singer is about, right?

Debatable?

While perusing my usual online haunts, I came across Kotaku's post on IGN's Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time. Needless to say, I was immediately interested. Here is how their top 25 played out with respect to my library:

• I "own" 10 of the top 25 titles (explanation for quotations to come)
  
• Suikoden III was one of the first PS2 games I beat completely and thoroughly
• Kingdom Hearts was one of the few games I actually asked my dad to go out and buy, sounds like a stupid/childish idea but hell is it fun to smash those Heartless with my Ultima Weapon keyblade...
  
• I own Devil May Cry, but not DMC 2 or 3, but seeing as how they're the same series and approximately the same gameplay-wise, I claim to "own" this entry... freakishly badass game/series IMO
• Resident Evil is a series I've literally grown up with (since the days when my uncle would be killing zombies with a 6 year old me in tow), so I'm a fan of RE4, I'm in the process of beating it but it freaks the hell out of me so... I'll beat it when someone else comes over
  
• I own Dragon Quest VIII but have never actually played it (it was a purchase of my father's, not mine), though I've heard nothing but win for it so perhaps I'll tackle it once I'm done with FFXII (that's Final Fantasy 12, not the disgusting 10 part 2)
• I own Gran Turismo A-Spec (GT3?) which is again, the same series as a mentioned title (GT4) but not it exactly, I actually really got into it for awhile but I got bored of attempting (and mostly failing) licenses... I guess I'm just a sucky driver
• I own 4 of the top 10 titles
• ICO I have but haven't played (see Dragon Quest VIII point)
• I own MGS3 but not Subsistance, but the heart of the game (actual story, single-player gameplay) is what I'm in love with (extras are fun, but they can't compare with the actual game itself), and oh how I <3>
• Final Fantasy X was another one of those first few PS2 games I beat through and through just because I loved the game so much, I actually beat half of the game, put it down (and accidentally deleted the save file), and beat all over again from scratch
• And finally, there's my God Of War sitting at freakin' #1 at the top of the list, Kratos, you've done me proud, I'm still thoroughly pleased with this game and I'll be busting it out again very soon (once FFXII is over) to bash some more Greek baddies on God Mode... oh blasphemy...

And there you have it. Some interesting mentions on that list (that I don't own) include Twisted Metal Black (what were you thinking?! top ten? is this a joke?!), Shadow of Colossus (I actually really wanted to buy this one but never found the motivation/money), Okami (see Shadow of Colossus comment), and Tekken Tag Tournament (I loved Tekken 2 and 3 so it beats me why I don't own a PS2-gen Tekken title...).
I also would consider buying the game Rez, but... well... seems like it'll only be worthwhile to get/play it after I get hitched... It's more of a two-player type game... O.o

info @ the P.Pole 03.12.07-03.13.07

5 things that happened at TC '07:

• a captain from another team recognized Canti on my t-shirt and asked me whether it was really him (I nodded offhandedly but I moaned a deep and satisfied moan of "Oh yes, yes that is Canti!" on the inside)
• my entire team (totally the best team a captain could hope for) performed Brian's peanut-butter jelly time dance (with maracas and thrusting!) with Raf (the greatest co-captain ever) and I
  
• Steven Hawkins' (not Stephen Hawkings, by the way) speaking was completely amazing to listen to; hearing his life story, you'd expect him to be either dead (he mentioned suicide and insane abuse), bitter, insane, or an atheist but the man's great at what he's been assigned
  
• Michelle (a fellow Emu-mate who happened to be Vietnamese) and I won the TC Talent Search (talent show/contest) by doing an improvised rap (her) and dancing the Emu dance (me), scoring a duct tape wallet and a Whoopee cushion (signed by the AV team and REC team respectively)
  
• all of team Emmanuel got to perform our cheer on stage after having came in third overall and second for spirit (doing the peanut-butter hump to all 600+ people in the audience felt satisfying... almost gratifying)

So this TC turned out to be many many times what I'd expected. Sure, I'd hoped to get some recognition for our team since, well, it leaves the team with a particularly good feeling, to know that we accomplished something together, but I didn't really expect to get as far as this. Personally, I wasn't hell-bent on owning. I even prepared an entire "Alright, it's okay if we don't win tonight, as long as we have fun" speech that we never had the balls to use. Raphael and I had joked around about dominating and blowing away the competition but most of that was just to get ourselves pumped. I sure was surprised when they called us out for third place overall. Seeing our entire team light up (screaming oh so passionately) made it all worth it. I doubt any of them will ever read this, but man do I love the Emus. Greatest. Team. Ever.
It was a privilege and an honour to lead such a wonderful group of energetic, amiable, and unique youths. And with such an awesome pair of coaches! Firstly, Caleb's been to every single TC since his first in '96 (he's 24 y.o. at the moment, yeah, old), so he knows his stuff. The man's done it all, attending, captaining, worship team, coaching, etc... He was wholly dependable and Raf and I would often go to him whenever we weren't sure of what to do. Caleb served as our veteran who knew exactly what to say to our team and when to say it. Joyce, a complete n00by at all things TC (this was her first time!), was equally encouraging to work with. What she lacked in experience she more than made up for in cheer and energy. I found that personally, joking around with her about whatever (usually making fun of Caleb) served as my refresher at TC. She was that little bit of crack in my routine that got the good times rolling and the juices flowing. All in all, our coaches were amazing, giving us the guidance as well as the energy that we needed.
And finally, we come to my co-cap, Raphael. Now, I've known Raf since we were but unicellular organisms (that might be stretching it, but you get the point), we know one another. We communicate and just feed off of one another's spirits. It's actually quite beautiful what we got going. I love him (not the BBM way) and I can totally feel his love. The guy is mellow and honest. What I love about Raf is his incurable sense of ease about him. He rarely (if ever) gets agitated and never ever does he lose his cool. It was great to work with him since he was always so agreeable. What happened to me last year was that I would be the main one leading team volleys of cheering (Hannah's a quiet girl, and I don't blame her!). This year, Raf and I shared that task, which explains why my voice isn't completely mauled by the end of TC like it was last year (another factor would be the fact that my team was loud yet smart--cheering only when REC leaders were around >_O). Raf was always looking out for the team. It was wonderful captaining with such a solid brother.
So with all this mushy gushy stuff coming out of me at the moment, what I'm trying to say is that what we achieved as a team is all good and whatnot, and we should be happy for being blessed with "success", but the real blessing of success is found in the countless souls who came to know/recommit themselves to Christ at TC this year. After all, who cares about all the competition or points or winning, if God is nowhere to be found? You can have all these, but without love, it's meaningless (see Bible)! Oh, but was God ever here! On the first night alone, there were 54 people who made decisions to either accept Jesus into their lives or recommit themselves to a life worthy of our calling. Though this has nothing to do with quantity and everything to do with quality, it's still important to realize when God moves powerfully.
Teens Conference was a fun time this year 'round and captaining was a total blast. There are TC haters out there who call it nothing but a sugar-coated fun-fest and not anything with real, spiritual content, and to a certain extent, they're... half right. It IS full of energy and hyperactive teens. But a lot of people actually come to know Christ through TC and so with that in mind, what's a little fun along the way if we are serving God's will?
With sleep growing in my eyes and for lack of anything more to say, I bid all thee farewell and fortune in all your ventures (until the next post anyway). God with us indeed.

Listen up, we're loud and clear!
[We'll] Show you all that God is here!
E-man- u-el! E-man- u-el!**
Ev'rybody clap and shout!
[We'll] Show you what we're all about!
E-man- u-el! E-man- u-el!
Comin' down from heav'n above,
To show us how to live in love!
E-man- u-el! E-man- u-el!
We are here to show you all,
That our God's Emmanuel!
E-man- u-el! E-man- u-el!

Cause... it's...
Peanut-butter, jelly time!
Peanut-butter, jelly time! (x2)
Peanut-butter jelly, peanut-butter jelly,
Peanut-butter jelly with a baseball bat! (x2)
Emu. [strike a sexy emu pose]
-Team Emmanuel of TC '07, The Emu Chant

**We actually had this refrain line down as "E-mu! E-mu! E-mu! E-mu!" before but we changed it to really push our team's whole/actual name. You've also got to note the awesome pumping action done while reciting these lines.... Maybe I'll show you sometime.

EDIT: Added links to photos of the entire team and Caleb + Joyce.

EDIT2: Here's a link to Team Emmanuel's Facebook page (yes, I finally got a Facebook and only for my beloved team).

info @ the P.Pole 03.06.07

It's funny (not really actually) that I just finished writing a philosophy essay about morality (of various "isms" such as racism, sexism, and the like). I'm quite pleased with my work but I find it somewhat ironic that someone like me would be writing a piece on morals. Then again, perhaps that's all I'm good at, discussing rather than enacting. Maybe I'm just an "ideas guy" and not so much a "do stuff about stuff guy".
I've got to publicly thank Moyee here for lending me her The Grand Inquisitor (by Fyodor Dostoevsky) as I used it extensively to explain and back up my arguments against prejudice, but also against equality as well. That's right, you read correctly. I was bashing equality of all things. In the end, I came to the conclusion that equity (as in fair treatment) was the only morally correct ideal as it stands as the "happy medium" (rather, as the "Golden Mean") between overemphasis on differences (prejudice) and complete rejection of the reality of differences (absolute equality).
Anyway, I'm looking forward to my March Break as I'll be spending two days at Teens Conference, another two days frantically finishing commentaries for English and Economics (the Evil E's), and the last day (hopefully) going for a lark (hopefully) not alone.
Here's a music update for all you Japanese-rock perverts out there:
The Pillows - My Foot

Learn Some New Moves

I've recently discovered the wonders of MediaMax and their awesome online services (25 GB of media file storage, sharing, and 1 GB hosting per month all for free). With that said, I've got more flexibility with the kind of stuff I can do with firstly my music and secondly the P.Pole. I don't know if any of my readers actually bookmark this page but even if you don't, you'll notice the P.Pole now has its own "Favourites Icon" beside its URL in your address bar/tab title and beside its item in your bookmarks list. I couldn't do that with Photobucket (by the way Photobucket, I know this is short notice but we're over, sorry). I promptly switched over all my image hosting needs to my MediaMax account (I'm not going to run out of image hosting bandwidth with their 1 gig/month of hosting versus Photobucket's pitiful 20 megs/month). My top and bottom banners are now switched over and so are the list icons and other little bits of stuff I've tailor made to fit the P.Pole just right (yeah, I'm an OCD freak, get over it).
I've also been spending more time on my Windows XP account lately (mostly for some gaming and whatnot) as opposed to my Vista partition. As a result, I've gotten to playing with my GUI again. Here is an updated snapshot of my desktop as of right now. The wallpaper belongs to an amazing anime series called (in the words of Amy) "Furi Kuri / Fooly Cooly / フリクリ / FLCL (Pick one)". I heard about this anime awhile back from the already mentioned Amy (from school) but I never bothered to watch it (partly because I couldn't figure out how to spell it based on her telling me the name verbally). It's a great anime, I'd say pretty much as good as Haruhi (but of course, none can take Haruhi off her golden pedestal in my books). Anyway, that wallpaper's from a DeviantARTist and I figured it'd look sweet with the Winamp skin shown (Avalon 1.2, also discovered on DeviantART). The theme is OSX Leopard Beta (Pinstripe) by dobee (yeah I reverted back to my OSX fetish today).
Getting back to Furi Kuri, I finished the sixth and final episode today (having started the first episode last night, just to give you an idea of how short/sweet/intriguing the series is) and I'm very impressed. The artwork is beautiful and I don't think I ever caught instances of the makers cutting any corners or cheating by reusing footage (which is common in less-than-amazing animes). The characters were terribly interesting and quirky. Plotwise FLCL was solid and extremely thought provoking (that's the best I can describe it, you really have to watch it yourself to get what I'd mean if I tried to explain). The entire series screamed of wacky humour that was a fun break from the usual North American humour of Avatar or serious-ish humour of Haruhi. What I enjoyed the most, however, was the stellar soundtrack, composed entirely of music coming from an alternative Japanese rock band called the Pillows. From the moment I began watching, I immediately noticed the quality of the soundtrack. The Pillows are catchy. Enough said.