All Hail Megatron

OBEY OR I KEEL YOO.

Yes, the whole world gets to enjoy the All Hail Megatron comics, and, as a Transformers fan, I find myself seriously lacking this great comic. I hardly see the justification of being left out in the bandwagon of avid TF fans who actually get to read and enjoy the comics. Do you know how much they cost at my local bookstore?

About RM75+ in the least! 

Presenting the Battousai samurai of Cybertron! 8D

I'll have to admit that American comics these days are costlier and harder to get unlike manga. I'm tempted to blame the trend of manga preference these days for pushing away Western comics in order to fulfill the tastes of today's generation for manga. But that will be utterly superfluous, as Western comics still have it in them. Millions of people still love them and will pay good money to even get a copy. I bet the first ever edition of Transformers would sell for a million bucks if it was held for auction. 

You know he's plotting something. And Megatron knows it well!

In many cases, All Hail Megatron is one of those comic I would surely splurge my scholarship money on, even for just one copy. I'm attracted to the spectacular artwork, story and colors that splash from page to page, and what's awesome is that they present the everlasting enmity between the Decepticons and the Autobots in a rather interesting way, though I'm sure the notion had been playing in the minds of any die-hard Transformer fan. You know what I'm talking about! Decepticons win, Autobots lose. And the Autobots are fighting back. 

Megatron's a nice guy. Really.

So far all the covers you and I are seeing now screams "PROPAGANDA" at me. And whatever the case, they're doing an awful good job at it. With the likes of Shane McCarthy, Guido Guidi and Joanna LaFuente, AHM makes for an excellent complete package. And I'm not kidding. 

Okay, okay, I admit I did read the first edition of AHM from cover to cover (huzzah for bookstore assistance!) and I admit that I wanted to but it there and then (but after earning some dirty looks from friends I had to decide against it) right after reading it. AHM is just whole in nature - a great story and strong plot, reintroduction of memorable characters, and once again managing to bring in humans into the picture by presenting the Decepticons as a threat to their existence, depicting them as refugees, bringing in the military into the picture- yeah, if your country is under invasion of giant bloodlusting alien robots from outer space you'd do that too.

"Blow up whatever you can lay your hands on, boys!"

Of course, where can a story be without good visuals, no? As I said before, with artists like Guido Guidi, Shane McCarthy and Joanna LaFuente in AHM, it's little wonder you get so much thrill just reading it. I know I do, simply because my favourite characters like Starscream (hey, he's there! What a coincidence!) are in there! Words simply cannot describe just how marvellous the art and colors are. It is a feast to the eye, so to speak!

Screw it, forget budgeting and all - with All Hail Megatron, I could care less if I have to end up poorer than my friends again for the next term - I WANT ALL HAIL MEGATRON IN MY HANDS RIGHT NOW.

All Of A Sudden You Get to Be a Musician!

I'm a hopeless piano lover. Every time I'm at my aunt's house, I always find some time to play her piano - even though all I can do is play single tunes. XD

Since now people manage to come up with a multitude of audio creation software out there, it's not impossible that you could turn into a budding musician - all you need is your computer, a keyboard (duh) and a decent sound card. At least that's how it was in my case, apparently.

Of course, like all software, you just have to buy the best ones. Don't be fooled by the 'free-to-try' deals; they always have so much of a catch that it make you feel that you have to BUY it to get the real deal, which in turn actually puts you off and you decide to chuck the software into the Recycle Bin because you're sick of it.

Anyway, there are a good number of free audio software out there that you can check out, and it probably doesn't take rocket science or extraordinary musical talent to figure them out. In the meantime, I'm off to hit a few notes on my virtual piano. ^ _ ^

Just to Share With You Guys.

Windows Vista/7 Transformation Packs - Changing the Way XP LOOKS

Those who have seen my netbook in action probably think that it operates on Windows Vista. That's a delusion. My netbook is still running on good ol' XP (but I'm looking for an upgrade of course). This is because I'm using some installable theme you can use so that XP looks like Vista.

Well, recently I found some programs that allows you to change your system so that it LOOKS like Vista/7, but is actually XP, from the desktop view right down to the startup screen. Sounds spiffy, doesn't it? It doesn't change the system entirely, but it only changes the way it looks.

But to install it, the current computer needs to be able to even run the program. Now since my netbook isn't really that young, I made sure I keep it optimized as much as I can before running these kinds of programs, such as fixing registries. (Now, that is one of the most important things you have to do.)

Anyway, I'm going to give my netbook a fresh new look with a Windows 7 theme (for some reason they even managed to work the theme in such a way that it imitates a lot of how the real Windows 7 works). And if you're looking to at least feel like owning a Windows 7/Vista without actually upgrading your operating system, you can go to the link below:

Windows 7 Transformation Pack

Have fun with that. <3

Le Crappy Review - Lagenda Budak Setan (Movie)

I don't usually watch Malay romance movies, unless they're from Yasmin Ahmad or the likes of "Sepi" and "Cinta". Frankly speaking I rarely watch Malay movies at all. But today while in a friend's room, I have to make an exception for "Lagenda Budak Setan".

   

Frankly one of the reasons I was attracted to this movie is because it has Lisa Surihani in it. Shoot me, I love Lisa Surihani's acting so much, especially after watching "Adamaya" on TV. She may not be so talented but that girl has got potential. I don't even flipping care about Farid Kamil or Que Haidar because I know they can pull off their roles well - and they did.

Anyway, back to my unprofessional review. Let's recap on the background of the movie. This is actually an adaptation of a novel of the same title written yonks ago by sensational Malaysian author Ahadiat Akashah. And this movie is just the first part of the book. 

Now you know how adaptations are like. You either pull it off really well (the Lord of the Rings) or you can completely blow it (*cough*TheLastAirbender*coughcough*), or you can sit in the middle - it's neither good nor bad. Because I haven't read the novel yet, I cannot judge just how good the adaptation is.  

The characters are quite memorable, especially Kasyah (Farid Kamil). Malaysian girls, face it. How many Kasyahs are there out in the world anyway (okay, try not to put 'Farid Kami' Kasyah into the picture)? Bad boy turned good because he's in love with a nice girl. Has his dreams and virtues. Becomes the sweetest guy you ever did meet. Faces a heart-wrenching heartbreak when his beloved finally leaves him through death. What then? There's plenty going for Kasyah yet, so hold your horses. Ayu is portrayed by Lisa Surihani in quite a realistic way even though she's your typical female character - the character who's all sweetness and light (Yes! This is why Lisa is awesome!). And as for Azmi (Que Haidar) - well, dang, that guy is your typical villain with a very obsessive desire. And coming to think of it, we do have our share of people who are like that. 

One interesting element of the movie is the cinematography. To me the sheer camera techniques utilized in the movie was what made it interesting to watch. And they are applied so well in scenes, giving more impact on the scenes themselves.

The emotions conveyed in Lagenda Budak Setan, however, aren't really consistent. You can go to really drrrrramatic to a bit awkward the next. Let's take Kasyah's realization of Amelia being Ayu for example. That one was REALLY awkward, especially on Kasyah's part. And as for Ayu - well, she went from "I'm not good enough for you" to "Screw it, let's get married" in a matter of seconds. I personally feel that that was one of the worst scenes in the whole film. But take my word when I say that there are quite a number of scenes where the emotions are perfectly conveyed. Like when Azmi (Que Haidar) beat up Ayu and burned all her pictures of Kasyah right in front of her. You can just feel it.

 

Kasyah's relationship with Kate (Fazura) wasn't really portrayed well, but I guess that would be saved for the sequel, so I'll leave it at that. And the movie does feel a bit too rushed, especially towards the end. And sometimes the dialouge can come as very akward and too...well..."skema" in nature. I can only think that some of those lines have been directly gleaned from the book itself.

But I can safely say that it was a satisfactory film to boot - not extraordinary but decent enough to make you feel at least touched by the characters and story. In any case, because of this film, now I feel like hitting the bookstores and go searching for the original novel. Ahadiat Akashah, here I come!

P.S. Look out for the music. 

Because The Over 9000 Quote is SERIOUSLY OVERRATED.

This is a common rant from a decent Vegeta fan.

I guess everything Vegeta spews out is pure gold. Lines like "I'm a warrior! Not a variety of a flower!" and "Being a good fiend is like being a photographer - you have to search for the right moment!" are just some of the best lines he's ever spoken (maybe not the "being a fiend is like being a photographer" part, I guess, but you get my point!).

And who could forget the infamous IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAND! quote? I sure as heck couldn't. But it seems that I didn't realize how 'powerful' an effect this quote has on fans because I only knew about it last year.

Dang it Malaysia, this is why you should just forgo dubbing and show animes dubbed in flipping English instead! >.<

But even now I find this quote overrated. And when I say overrated, I mean REALLY overrated.

People. The over 9000 quote wasn't the only line Vegeta said in the whole flipping DBZ series. And Christopher Sabat didn't exactly do a good job in his rendition of that quote either (but he did it so well in the DBZKai dub). And it was supposed to be OVER 8000. This is already evident IN the manga itself!

And besides, apparently even Christopher Sabat is getting a bit tired of it as well. To those who have Facebook, you could probably see it from his own Facebook page (the official one, not his personal profile). THEY'RE ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Long story short, keep your Over 9000 quotes in moderation. Don't overuse it. Like all fads, it gets old after a while. This is the truth (sadly XD).

And besides, why settle for 9000 when you go for more than that?

 

P.S. The weekend's just around the corner! What's your plan for the upcoming weekend?

Take Control of My Life!

 

Goddamit Batman, stop pointing at me. I'm totally working on it, dang it! D:

College is taking up much of life, yet I'm still adopting the "cruisin' through life" attitude I had from high school. Yet I find it hard for me to find time drawing, or I just lack the motivation to do so. 

I miss drawing. I wanted to draw as much as I had in high school. Is this what it feels like to grow up? But what if I  don't want to grow up? 

 

I need a miracle to survive this. I'm so jealous of all my friends who aren't necessarily having it easy, but they do have more holidays than I have. :( I miss my family, my friends, my hometown. I do realize that I gotta do my best even if it killed me.

 

I suppose, however, that life will never be easy. I can't control that. BUT I can control what I can do about it to make MY life easy.

Anyway, in all sense of the word, I'm glad I haven't lost my head just yet. I'm doing all I can to overcome my weaknesses, honing in on my strengths, and also learning to manage my money. Life isn't easy, but it's not hard either. I can safely say that I can look at challenges straight in the eye and go

 

Peace, brothers and sisters! <3

Kr*llin: Pimp of the Year (Parody)

DOES NOT COMPUTE.

Am I wrong to think that Piccolo sounds so much like Jazz over here? D8 THIS IS AWESOMETASTIC.