Welcome to The Mask's Cafe. Serving you with a cup of online blog-flavored coffee with a spice of anime. We serve it hot or cold.
I'm The Mask, the cafe master, and I hope you enjoy your time in the cafe.
---------- ABOUT THE CAFE MASTER Name: The Mask Birthdate: April 12, 1990 (Age: 19) Place: Cebu City, Philippines Sex: Male Occupation: Psychology undergraduate student Plans: To take up a second course (Education or History), to be a "man of many jobs" (a la Renaissance man) Favorite animes: Detective Conan, Rurouni Kenshin, Death Note, Major, Cowboy Bebop, Hajime no Ippo Favorite character: Conan Edogawa Etcetera: News junkie, pro-wrestling superfan, peanut lover, choco maniac, Fan Word writer Best Known For: Probably being the most popular Detective Conan fan in theOtaku
Farrah Fawcett
First, "Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett passed away. I'll admit that I never really got to watch a single episode of the '70s series, but I tend to equate "Charlie's Angels" with Fawcett. And for some reason, she's the Angel that attracted me the most. And that poster...man, I only learned (or was probably reminded) today that it was her. I can't really say that I was surprised, since it seems she was just waiting for that fateful day and lived life the way she can before it arrived.
Michael Jackson
And then, Michael Jackson passed away as well. As I'm typing this, I'm still in shock. I still can't believe that he's dead. It may be something being joked about in the past, but to hear this is actually happening continues to shock me. As a kid, I grew up knowing about the King of Pop. My aunt even had a VHS tape of a Michael Jackson special, and we would enjoy singing to his tunes such as "Black and White" and "Heal the World". And every October as we celebrate United Nations Month in grade school, we would sing the latter song in the annual school activity. Another song, "Smooth Criminal", is a bit special for me since it was the song used to promote Detective Conan back when it was first aired here in 2001 (though it was actually the Alien Ant Farm version that was used). I also learned to like "Beat It", "I'll be There" and "You Are Not Alone" as well, and be thrilled with "Thriller", especially with the Filipino inmates dancing to its tune. The latest MJ song that I liked was "You Rock My World", which proved to me that he still got it despite hia age.
Of course, we all know that he had his share of controversies in his life. This even led me to create this joke in the TODAY'S SPECIAL portion of my post back in 2006. Looking at that joke now, it's no longer as funny as it used to be.
Despite everything that happened in his life, I would like to chose to remember him as a great and iconic performer who has touched millions of people around the world, including me. I can't say I was a huge fan of him, but I definitely did like Michael Jackson the performer. His death is just so sad to me, and can probably lead me to tears at any minute from now. From that kid who sang "I'll be There" to the icon who Thrilled us all...we will definitely miss you, Michael.
At this point, I pray that the souls of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson will now rest in peace. As my friend once remarked, "The King of Pop has now met The King of Kings, and the former Charlie's Angel is now an angel."
-----
TODAY'S SPECIAL
As a tribute to the late Michael Jackson, I'm bringing back TODAY'S SPECIAL in The Mask's Cafe. This is a video of a live performance of "You Are Not Alone" by the King of Pop. If you can't see it, go here.
Farewell Michael, and thanks for the music and memories.
A week from now, classes for this school year begins in my university. This year, I'm now a 4th Year Psychology undergraduate major. And from what I've heard, my final year will be the most difficult year I'll ever face. At least in the first semester, since I'm not so sure about the second one.
The thesis work and the practicum work are just part of my to-do list. I still have Cognitive Psychology and History of Psychology to take, and I've heard reports that the teacher handling these two subjects will be giving TONS of handouts and reading assignments every week, which is shivering and stressful considering the fact that I also have Abnormal Psychology to deal with. Hopefully, my Rizal course and my Elective course (Philippine Revolution and Nationalism) will help soothe those stressful moments.
Now why am I saying this right now? It's because this may be my last post in The Mask's Cafe, at least for the next five (5) months. Also, I will begin my indefinite leave as news contributor to theOtaku News. With all the work I have to do, I need to clear out a lot of things to make room for studying, especially now that the major courses have become even tougher.
In a way, this may be an indefinite swan song for me in this site. I will go, but I may still come back. Just like the case of Kastom and jomz; they went out before, and after a long time they came back. Heck, maybe I can still adjust my time, though I doubt that would happen.
I see my case somewhat like Goro Shigeno; working hard for months with less time for leisure in order to rush up to the stage of dreams. At this point, I also want to take Conan Edogawa's route; to widen my knowledge in order to be better informed in looking for that "one truth". And if I have to, I may have to adopt Light's path of intelligence and tactics while never getting away from Kenshin's path of righteousness.
2. Submitted a Major fanart just recently. The drawing is that of Goro Shigeno, the protagonist in the baseball series. I consider this drawing as a good sign of my improvement in drawing anime/manga characters.
3. I just love it when people associate me with Detective Conan. Some guys here, for example, never fail to make a link between me and my childhood/teenage hero. And heck, even my college classmate sometimes calls me Conan. Ah, what joy!
4. These days, I'm no longer just Mr. Detective Conan. I'm also Mr. Major. Especially now that I find it some sort of a mission to promote the Major series to other people in whatever way I can. I mean, I did manage to bring out a new Major fan in NinjaGirlSango.
5. It all started with my request for Major wallpapers. And now, NGS is also watching the series, saying that she "liked it enough that I intend to watch more". And as Mr. Major, that makes me really happy.
6. My essay Light and Ferdie: The Murderer and the Dictator did really well, which is good since it shows that all the research paid off. I also managed to show this to Filipino otakus and they either liked it or were at awe with the comparison. Not to mention the long APA-style bibliography.
7. Ichigo and Batou asked for some damn comments and now they're getting those damn comments. They asked for some damn news, and now they're getting those damn news. I wonder how the next theOtaku podcast would be like . . .
8. Oh boy. The (A)H1N1 virus made its way in our country. Scary? Somewhat. Good thing that there isn't much panic though. That's what I'd be more fearful of at this point.
9. Despite the virus threat, it's the sex videos that remain the hottest issue in our country. The video involved a young sexy actress and a well-known hunk doctor. Right now, I'm siding with the actress because she was apparently filmed without her consent, making her the victim. Also, I've known this actress as someone who doesn't lie too much and who's willing to speak up.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you’ll enjoy this little one-shot fic of mine, especially since this was my very first fan fic. I originally posted this on FanFiction.Net back in 2004; at that time, theOtaku had no fan fiction site like today. Also, Y...
Even though I'm just listening to AM radio for this fight (because we can't afford to buy the PPV), I still can't help it to be shocked. I expected this fight to be a long one. After all, it is Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton, two of the world's great boxers alive today. So it should be an all-out slug fest.
But honestly, TWO ROUNDS ONLY?!
I'm still shocked. So damn shocked.
Makes me wonder what Floyd Mayweather, Sr. has to say right now with all the trash talk a few days.
It isn't 12 noon here yet, and the fight is already over. Wow. Just wow.