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(Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 at 11:37 a.m.) In last Friday's episode, all tribes were tasked to build rafts. In Saboga, they made a bright idea of turning the raft into a catamaran. Nice! In Mogo Mogo, they didn't bother unbundle the bamboo and left the bundle as they are. Stupid In Chapera, the atmosphere was humorous as Tom named their raft Suzy Q. And that was after Sue peed on it. Ha ha! But do they float? And are they fast enough. That was tested in the reward challenge as being as last means the tribe is dead. Saboga's was nice but slow. Mogo Mogo was a product of laziness, but it went fast. As Mogo Mogo sped ahead, Chapera and Saboga struggled, but with a slow craft, Saboga later went in last. Mogo Mogo got the fish hooks and the last key to their rice. And what's more... In Chapera, Rupert was so delighted at Chapera's digs as he described it as the Taj Mahal (Saboga's was what he called "Hobo Central.") Meanwhile, in Mogo Mogo, they got good news and bad news. The good news, they can finally open their rice box with their third key. The bad news, when the rice box was opened, half of their rice was run. Considering the rain... what a waste. Rich's position seemed to be threatened as Ethan started to apply what Rupert taught him. The immunity challenge is some sort like struggle game but with funny moments. Especially when butt-naked Rich straddled with Sue using his "hood ornament." But with the Chapera's teamwork, Boston Rob conquered Kathy and won it for Chapera, making them immune once again. At first, we knew that Ethan is a goner as Colby decided to boot him first. But Colby suddenly changed his mind and turn the tables on Rich. But when Rich found out, he sets his sights on Colby, so he formed an alliance with the girls. But in Tribal Council, the girls turned on Rich and again and Rich was finally ousted. The original champion is gone. Now there is one winner left to deal with: Ethan. But watch out next week as Colby focuses on Shii Ann. (Uh-oh!) And Sue bad-mouths the host. Does that have something to do with Rich? Galaxy Angels is back! And expect new screenshots. But the question is why is AXN Southeast Asia kept showing Season 1 not aware of the two other seasons? I don't know if this is spyware, but sometimes when I close IE, a ad pop-up window suddenly appears, and considering that this happens even if the file was just a local file. Can anybody help me about it? This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shot: Lanhua having a taste for Thai food. A new edition is coming up, watch out for this space! Ja ne wa! (Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 at 04:54 p.m.) I did pass the exam for the job application I took on that IT company. But because of the work I'll have (and the terms in the three-year contract) I decided to decline and opt for a career worth my college education (remember I graduated last year under a Journalism degree). Unless the business agency I have been calling responds about my pending application, it's back to the classified ads for me. In this Friday's episode, Day 9 rained so hard as if it cried for Amazon Jenna. It wasn't just hard rain; it made floods. How the Chaperas built their shelter seemed to pay off as they are seemed snugged in their beds. So snug in fact, that Amber and Boston Rob did something that turned off Big Tom and Amazon Rob. Meanwhile, in Saboga, Rupert Hagrid admitted making the mistake after paying the price for building an underground shelter, it flooded. The four Sabogas slept in the rain, with Rupert regretting it and Jerri already depressed. We presumed that Mogo Mogo had a hard night, too. But the mood seemed so upbeat the next morning, it is as if Amazon Jenna never left. Rich caught three big fat eels that his tribemates feasted. But Colby commented that they would not need Rich very much once they got the third key to their rice. Time for a reward challenge; it was something Amazon Rob already played (a memory match-up game). Chapera won a bath room set, complete with toiletries, and a third clue to their third key. Saboga got second place and their second key. When the Chaperas came back to camp (with Big Tom impersonating a jack-in-a-box with the portable toilet seat) they immediately took a bath. When that's over, they searched for key number three. Knowing he is starting to look like a sitting duck, Amazon Rob searched for the key himself and play hero, but Boston Rob found the key and they finally have rice (and whiskey). With a new shelter someplace else, Saboga suddenly sprang back to life that they seemed willing to fight on. In the immunity challenge (the one that should've been played last episode if not for Amazon Jenna), Alicia, Jerri, and Rich guided their respective blindfolded tribemate to search for pieces for a large cube. I laughed out loud as some survivors go bump into each other. Lex got lost. Colby was run over by Ethan. Big Tom got hit several times. Chapera got their pieces first, but when they can't figure out how to form the cube, Saboga took advantage and won immunity number one. Mogo Mogo managed to catch up and won immunity number two. With tribal council looms, Amazon Rob made a deal with Boston Rob and made an alliance. Turned out that the two Robs deal was an "al-lie-ance" and Boston Rob lead the Chaperas to boot off Amazon Rob. Looks like Chapera is not big enough for two Robs. Next week, a twist: one tribe will disband. And it is not by bottle method. And Rupert Hagrid continues to pay his shortcomings. I had another CD burned today. But this time, most of the tracks were previously recorded on cassette. But since almost all the cassette players at home are virtually useless now, I decided to search for their MP3 versions. These tracks plus five new tracks I recently found total about 84 minutes, four minutes more that the 80-minutes the CD-R I bought can hold. I sacrificed Taiyou no Hana (the ending theme to Cyberteam in Akihabara)to make up for the time because it wasn't part of my plan. The full version of Birth (the opening theme) proved to be elusive. Next time, I'll try to find it successfully. CSI is back!!! And guess what? Gil Grissom has a beard! (And, oh yeah, his hearing seems to be getting better.)  Expect more puns like "It's raining man-juice?" Yuck! This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shot: A chicken, a walking flower, and a rocketship giving chase. Ja ne wa! (Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 at 04:39 p.m.) Just finished another exam yesterday for an application for an IT company. I also have another pentding application for another agency. Although it is my birthday tomorrow, I have to be interviewed because I passed. But I have many things to do today, so I have to set aside my rest day for now... In this Friday's episode, knowing that his new-found friend Rudy was gone, Rupert Hagrid decided it's no more Mr. Nice Guy. And he showed it in his fishing. He was successful. Ethan tried, but failed. Meanwhile in Mogo Mogo, it was man against beast as Rich fought with the shark. Rich won despite the shark's jaws sinking through his skin. Even Shii Ann couldn't believe what just happened. Challenge time, but not technically. Each tribe was tasked to rebuild their shelter and make it more beautiful and practical using Home Depot tools (another Survivor endorsement). Mogo Mogo went for a simple shack, but Rich decided not to help out. Saboga went for an underground cabin, but not without Rupert and Jerri fighting about its practicality. The Chaperas went rapid, with Boston Rob and Big Tom going for the back bone, while bossy Alicia and Amazon Rob went for the aesthetics. They made an elegant shelter, complete with swing, and checkerboard. And it paid off as Chapera won some homewarming gifts, including — to Big Tom and Boston Rob's delight — some wine. Mogo Mogo's shack was strong but with some holes. Saboga's shack was a bad idea because it would be submerged in water. But the turning point in the episode was when Amazon Jenna began to worry about her mother. She tried to hold it off, but she regretted being the game very much, because of mom's condition. She resisted it before in the Amazon, but not this time. Amazon Jenna did an Osten in front of Jeff Probst. What happened next was emotional. No immunity challenge, and Saboga and Chapera go back to their camps scot-free. But Mogo Mogo was hard-hit. Amazon Jenna went home in time to be with her mother. Eight days later, her mother died of cancer. God bless Mrs. Morasca's soul. At least for the others, there was one less millionaire — and one less Jenna — to worry about. Next week: Boston Rob and Amber's relationship went so far, it even made Amazon Rob flip his lid. Turn away if you can. This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shots: Forte and Mint wishing they were stranded with Jeff Probst... or Jonny Fairplay. Ja ne wa! (Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 at 05:56 p.m.) Like I said, I don't care who wins in the Super Bowl (and the broo-haha that involved Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake). But Congratulations, anyway, to the New England Patriots. But all the reeming and scheming finally began (same time, same channel) last February 2, when we get to meet our All-Star Survivors grouped into three tribes. Chapera has Alicia, Amber, Boston and Amazon Robs, Sue, and Big Tom. Saboga has Commander Rudy, Tina, Crybaby Jenna, Ethan, Jerri the Bitch, and one of my two favorites: RUPERT HAGRID! Mogo Mogo (a.k.a. Morgan Island) has Lex, Amazon Jenna, Kathy, Rich, Colby, and my other favorite: SHII ANN (Asia represented again)!!!!!!! But whichever tribe you go, the first three days have the same story. No fire. And without fire, no clean water. And they have a difficult time. So Sue drank water. Commander Rudy drank water. And they knew it's dirty. But what can they do? In the words of Boston Rob, all the survivors (including him) are a "bunch of buffoons." BTW, looks like Rich can't resist the urge of showing his birthday suit to his new-found friends. The immunity idol has detachable parts. It depicts a human (human beings) riding a fish (environment). Whichever tribe has the man or the fish is immune. But in the first Immunity Challenge, it looks like Saboga got the unlucky spot, and were forced to a really ethnic Tribal Council. Crybaby Jenna has a plan: Bust the millionaires (i.e. Tina and Ethan). Jerri seconded. And they got the support from our commander and our Hagrid. To the dismay of my sister, sweet ol' Tina is gone! Day 4 (that's the second episode last Friday) and all three tribes are still desparate for fire. (At least nature gave them fresh water.) So when Saboga won the reward challenge, they ditched the blankets for a piece of flint, a pot, and a clue to one of three keys to their locked crates — containing rice — for every tribe! The Chaperas fought on how to build a fire and took turns doing it. The Sabogas' fire popped like a firecracker; it even burned part of Crybaby Jenna's hair (at least Rupert Hagrid did a fire dance). Meanwhile, the rain postponed the Mogo-Mogos' attempt to build fire until the rain stops. The problem: rain poured overnight. The next day, the Mogo-Mogos finally had fire and found the first of three keys. Later, Richard gave his tribemates, another piece of his butt. At least, everybody deosn't mind (although Colby thought it was ridiculous). Another immunity challenge came. Saboga was initially in the lead. But they were so slow in bailing water out of their boat that Chapera and Mogo Mogo caught up — and eventually win immunity. It's back to Tribal Council for Saboga. Ethan knew Crybaby Jenna is still up to the same plan of busting the millionaires. So he decided to make himself useful from the time Tina was voted out. He was the reason why Saboga the Reward Challenge. Later, he made a spear so he can fish. But he came back empty-handed. Rupert then showed Ethan how 27 days in Drake Isle (a.k.a. Gibraleon, a few miles south of Mogo Mogo) made him the most lovable guy in Survivor (aside from his pirate look). But Crybaby Jenna and Jerri the bitch turned their guns instead to Rudy. And all because of a sore ankle. What happened next to Rudy was like him saying to himself "Rudy Boesch, it's an honor and privilege to have you. I salute you." It's back to Camp Windstorm for our Navy Seal. If the rumors are true, we might see Amazon Jenna do an Osten in the next episode. But we have to wait until Friday if this is true. By the time I posted this here, I've already finished my exam as part of my application for another job. I've already applied for four jobs. Failed in one of them. Other are still pending. This latest one is my fifth. I can get the job and finally earn for myself. Wish me luck. This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shot: Forte and Millefeuille saw something surprising. Well, somewhat. After a two year hiatus, the first forum I joined, the Anime Grapevine is back online. This was the place where I get to know RavenStrider, sakka, etc. for the first time before meeting each other personally. When the Grapevine shut down on 2001, SMS and the Resonance continued to bridge our gap. Finally it was back and I got to share info once again to AGV member's around the world. But logging in is for Anime Grapevine members only. So if used to be an Anime Grapevine member, log back in and see what you have missed. I had missed a lot! Ja ne wa! (Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2004 at 10:07 a.m.) I don't usually surf the Net on Sundays, but I decided to do it now so I can post this new entry. Sorry for the long delay. I was preoccupied with lots of things lately, especially now that I'm on the verge of getting a job. The survivors for Survivor All-Stars have just been announced two weeks ago and I finally have their picture here below.  Image courtesy of Survivorfever.net
This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shot: Millefeuille: "I have a question! ...." Ja ne wa! (Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2004 at 05:19 p.m.) This is what I wrote about how I thought of doing Japanese and Mandarin Chinese Major Arcana translations which I posted on December 30: Last Christmas day, I happened to buy a Card Captor Sakura Tarot deck which is entirely in Chinese. The text in the cards themselves were in Simplified Chinese characters (the ones used in Mainland China and in Singapore), while the instruction booklet that came with the deck is in Traditional Chinese characters (the ones used in Hong Kong and Taiwan). Here's the picture of the Card Captor Sakura Tarot deck that I'm talking about.  Ja ne wa! (Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 at 12:38 a.m.) Finally, a new year, and a new entry. There's still lot of things I have to talk about! There's still lots of time to wait until I know who are the contestants on Survivor All Stars, but for this is what I'll I talk about as my first entry for this year. If you noticed that when I posted my latest entry, I noticed that the pictures in my blog are out of order. My former image host # 1 Village Photos had to first diable offsite linking and then set limits by letting its users pay just for offsite linking (this was due to the increasing number of free subscribers). Since I still can't pay for that, I moved the blog's pictures to image host # 2, Village Photos File Storage, now called Ripway. For this edition (at least), the pics are back online — in a sense. But since I can't alter the HTML of the archives, expect some broken links in the pictures there. I'll give you the links to the images in the past editions at a later date. I managed to watch last New Year's Eve's NHK Kouhaku (a.k.a. the Red-White Show) and what a show it had been (which is worth the more-than-four hours viewing) with a mixture of of JPop and Enka for everybody. The White Team won unanimously, with the NHK Hall audience, Interactive TV viewers, and the ten judges each voted the all-male Whites, leaving the mostly-female Red Team empty-handed. Although I admit, some of the Red Team's performances are good (such as those of Chie Ayado, BoA, and Morning Musume), the Whites dished out good songs either, with Takio Ito, Hanawa & Tetsu and Tomo, Ken Hirai, Chemistry, and Smap leading the way. Here is the entire roster of participants for both Red and White Teams (in order and excluding in-betweens):
I finally solved the large file size problem for the Mandarin and Japanese Major Arcana translation pages. Just pull out the embellishments and leave the essentials, especially the codes for the characters. The process was painstaking (it took about an hour of two), but the file sizes were reduced effectively. Your browser must support Chinese and/or Japanese text support to read them properly. This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shot: Mint Blanchemange impersonating Colonel Sanders. Ja ne wa! (Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 at 10:37 a.m.) I've finally made the Major Arcana Translations for both Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. But you won't believe how it this started and how I pulled this through depite the difficulties. Last Christmas day, I happened to buy a Card Captor Sakura Tarot deck which is entirely in Chinese. The text in the cards themselves were in Simplified Chinese characters (the ones used in Mainland China and in Singapore), while the instruction booklet that came with the deck is in Traditional Chinese characters (the ones used in Hong Kong and Taiwan). I wanted to know how these names are pronounced in Chinese. So I have to visit the Japanese-English Dictionary Server to find the Japanese names of the Tarot cards and how these same characters are pronounced in Chinese. I went the extra mile because of the difficulty of the characters written. (A total of two hours were spent finding each character.) I then find the Japanese names of the cards using Google and find their pronunciations. Once that was done, I had to input both the romaji and pinyin names of the cards and the corresponding characters. But the only way to do so is to use Microsoft Word's WYSIGWIG editor. It did work, but the only drawbacks were: the text is not sizable and the file size is about five times larger than the Latin-lettered translations. I'll try to make a smaller size version of those files. In the meantime, you can visit them at the Assorted Anime Tarot site. There's a link at the right side of the screen. This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shot: "HELP!!!!!" This is definitely my blog's last post for this year. I hope I can find a job next year (as my New Year's resolution). I might tell you about this year's NHK Red-White show, but until the next time... Ja ne wa! (Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 at 06:14 p.m.) On last Monday's episode of Survivor, Darrah, Lil, Sandra, and Jonny-Pain-in-the-Ass woke up to Day 37 with breakfast and some letters from home. After that, some more conniving for the ladies (and strategies for Jon). But when they received the SeaMail saying that their "peers would determine your fate," they do not know that they would battle a five-headed Survivor for immunity. The name: Jury. Jury won and Darrah, Jon, Sandra, and Lil had their heads on the chopping block. Darrah no longer had immunity, so they voted her out. The next day, Jon, Lil, and Sandra went to a rite of passage (or should we say a tribute). Torches were in use again, but they brought twelve torches. Everybody's torches but Osten's were placed in the galleon. Then they set in on fire and the galleon, torches and all, was burned down to a crisp. Very emotional. Lucky Osten's was left behind (serves him right) because he chose health rather than honor. Even Outback Michael still has honor even when his hands were burned. Then the final Immunity Challenge was as gruelling as in those in every past edition of Survivor except that in the Outback. Their rafts swaying along the waves and the Survivors were not allowed to sit or kneel. Sandra bowed out early. Jon tried to bargain Lil to retain him in the end. Twice he did (that's how I counted), but twice he failed. So he just tired out, giving Lil immunity for the first time. Lil was probably thinking, "Oh, who to vote? Who to vote?" while Sandra and Jon egged her to keep either one of them. But in the end, Lil chose good-playing Sandra over Jonny-Pain-in-the-Ass. Before the episode began, I wasn't particularly rooting for anybody because Rupert was voted out, though I really wanted Jon to be voted out. But when the point of the Final Two began, I secretly began rooting for Sandra not just because she befriended our Hagrid, but also because she managed to prevent seeing her name in vote out paper. (Also like Lil not because her mother died - for real, but because she represents the Boy Scouts.) But it doesn't matter which of them would win, at least, they broke the alternate sex pattern where a man wins an odd-numbered edition (Rich in #1, Ethan in #3, and Brian in #5). After all, this is #7. I didn't remember what the jury asked Lil and Sandra, but I still remember Lil's answer to Jon's question about representing the Boy Scouts in the game. She said that even though she wore that Scoutmaster uniform in the Pearl Islands, she proved that Lil the Survivor is different from Lil the Scouter. Forget the Boy Scout motto, she said, Survivor's motto is different and the ways of getting to the top are also different. When the voting ended, what happened next also breaks the pattern in #3 and #5 where we viewers are magically transported from an outdoor Tribal Council to a replica in an indoor studio. Instead, we explicitly knew that Sandra and Lil had to wait four months before knowing who won. Thirty minutes I waited, and the good knew came: Sandra won over Lil, six to one. (Amazon Jenna also won, 6-1, against Matthew, but I wasn't rooting for her, but for Butch, then Rob, then Matt!) In fact, Tijuana regretted voting for Lil when she watched their adventures on TV. Ureshii ne wa! Tina won for women in general in #2, Vecepia won for the African-Americans in #4. Now Sandra joins them, winning Survivor #7 for the Latinos. Survivor: Pearl Islands may be over now, so I have to wait until next February for Survivor All-Stars, where Rupert Hagrid is said to be rubbing shoulders with Rich, Tina, Lex, Ethan, the two Jennas (Amazon Jenna and Crybaby Jenna), the two Robs (Boston Rob and Amazon Rob), and even Shii Ann, to name a few! But it's all just rumors so far. We'll have to wait until CBS make the roster official. This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shot: Ghost: "Diners' Club, Visa, or Mastercard?" It may be some time before either Survivor or The Amazing Race will be back on the air (as Jake said, it may be the withdrawal symptoms), but let me take this opportunity to say... Ja ne wa! (Posted on Saturday, December 13, 2003 at 08:20 p.m.) On last Friday's episode of Survivor, Sandra knew that when Christa was voted out, she would be next. So she confided with her own kind (Lil and Darrah) to vote out either Burton or Jon. Although the men did not see it coming, they did sense it somehow. In the Reward Challenge, Lil got the lead, but her trouble enabled the others to take the lead away from her. Burton came through and spelled "JOLLY ROGER" to win the Reward: a nice feast in the ruins of Old Panama City. Guess what he drove when he and Jon docked at Panama City — A BRAND NEW CAR!!!! And it's his! While the boys are feasting on very sumptiuous food while camping out in Burton's new wheels, back in Balboa, the girls were already scheming their next move, vote out either of the boys. When the boys came back from Panama, they talked about the food (but not the car). The girls then made the move of deceit. But the boys sensed something fishy with their allies Lil and Darrah. So the boys asked Lil and Darrah about it, but the two girls washed their hands and made sure they're clean on the matter. Although I wanted Sandra to win (because she knew she is next), Darrah's size enabled her to win immunity for the third straight time. But being voted out seemed to be the least of Sandra's worries on that point. Everybody's fingers were pointing at Lil because they said, she became depressed and "disillusional." Well, the octopus is in the pot come Tribal Council. The boys voted out Lil, but guess who the girls voted out: Burton —again! I guess the winners of cars seemed to be voted out one or two days later. Sean (in the Marquesas) won one, then voted out. Ted (in Thailand) won one, then voted out. Matt (in the Amazon) won one, but managed to stay in the game longer. Seems like those who are left told the car winner to savor it rather to stay in the game. This Monday will reveal the winner. Will it be Scouter Lil, Cowgirl Darrah, Latina Sandra, or Johnny Pain-in-the-Ass-for-Everybody? And where the heck is RUPERT HAGRID?? He's said to have disappeared! This moment's Galaxy Angels screen shot: Mint Blachemange carrying a box with a very familiar movie title. Ja ne wa! (Posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 at 11:50 a.m.) On last Friday's episode of Survivor, Darrah, Lil, and Jon finally got some new clothes (first time in a month) to wear, plus some R&R in some lush resort, while Burton, Christa, and Sandra (who is weak at swimming) still starved back at Balboa camp. When the reward ended for Darrah, Lil, and Jon, it's back to scheming time, with Jon and Burton taking the lead. (But Sandra and Christa had some scheming of their own.) Later in the immunity challenge, Darrah (wearing her new bikini top under her buff) shot her way to victory and regained immunity. And who did she and everybody else vote out? Christa. Looks like the plan of voting out Rupert's allies was finally coming through. Eleven down, five to go. Two Outcasts (Burton and Lil) are still in the game, and at least one of them is going to the Final Four. I can't wait to watch the next episode this Friday and the Finale on Monday. Finally, after three months, the blog has got another face lift. Welcome to the new Plum Edition. You can find the Forest Green Edition and other past editions on the Archives. Ja ne wa! | My Websites Sailormoon and the Roving Sailorettes Links |
