I should be checking scripts and getting ready for taping this afternoon. But, I think I need some time to just relax and get myself together.

For the past days, I've been jumping out of bed straight to work with nary a pause to appreciate the new day. I used to be able to sit and stare out the window for a few minutes before getting up to do my tasks. Now, I fall asleep almost as soon as I lie down. The moment I open my eyes, I think of whether Jaypee has sent his script already or if the spiels shoot is going well and how soon can I get everything done so I can work on everything else.

Right now, this is my moment because later on, I won't have time for this. With taping and assembly, my day should last until 3 am. And tomorrow, it'll start quite early for another assembly.

My Desktop Monstering has been on hold for the past weeks. Although, I did manage an update to my Rurouni Kenshin Desktop Goodies site. I uploaded new desktop icons featuring Kyoto Arc characters. I also uploaded an accompanying wallpaper for the icons, beat that! Part two of Seisouhen is out already so I should make time to get a copy of that. Maybe it'll have a more defined storyline than episode 1, which was basically a montage of scenes from the anime, plus a little scene from Jinchuu. It was so bad! That episode was just a bunch of flashbacks! And a lot of the scenes that pertain to the present situation of Kenshin and Kaoru are so mysterious. Just a bunch of little hints and flashbacks.

I might forgive that if Episode 2 proves to be more concrete. Ok, I'll take part 1 as an appetizer of sorts. I sure hope they're not just milking the RK story for extra cash.

News about LOTR -- Shelob will not be in TTT! Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't doubt Jackson anymore since his wonderful FOTR. Whatever he decided to do was probably for the best. I'm sure it will all make sense when all three films are out. The DVD, it seems, will have an extra 30 minutes of material and NOT one hour and thirty. All the extras will probably be in Lothlorien.

And I'm rediscovering my old font fetish with a nostalgic trip back to Font Freak. When my schedule permits, I will return to being the Font Monster! Mwahahahaha...till then.



posted by u l a n _ at 11:08 AM

 
My lola turns 79 tomorrow! We'll have dinner there. Just wanted to post this picture of her.



posted by u l a n _ at 10:22 PM

 
the lotuseater said that when friends become pairs the group becomes smaller eventhough another person was actually added. then, gone will be the days when it was easy to cruise. everything will have to follow dates and schedules. i had to agree, but i said in my mind, well, i'll always be here.

posted by u l a n _ at 11:40 PM

 
Fonts

Someone emailed asking me for the names of the fonts i used on the Orlando Bloom wallpapers. I replied via email but it bounced back to me. Anyhoo, the fonts I used were TOLKIEN, BAZARONITE, and BUTTERBELLY.

I love fonts! One of my favorite sites is Font Garden. If you are a font monster, too, you'll enjoy that site.

posted by u l a n _ at 10:57 AM

 
Hobbits and Dragons and one cool Professor.

I first encountered The Hobbit (Rankin-Bass) in an animated video. As I was generally into faery/fairy tales even as a kid, I enjoyed The Hobbit immensely. I loved it because of the adventure and of course, I like anything with dragons. And Smaug was one of the most magnificent dragons I had ever met. Naturally, seeing as how I enjoyed that story, my tita rented The Lord of The Rings with its rotoscope animation. It scared the hell out of me. I never really understood the story because I just realized after I read the books that the cartoon ended halfway through the tale (and I only found out about the Return of the King animation recently). Sheesh. Its screenplay was horrible and unimaginative. But, I don't hate it as much as other fans do. For one thing, I saw it first before I even knew it was a book. (Those days, I didn't pay much attention to film credits. I was 8, I think)

And so a Tolkien fan I became. To some people, a Tolkien freak. Hehe, I'm happily just one of the millions.

Now, having read the books several times, I'm quite familiar with all the characters and the events, and the histories of middle-earth. But, I didn't know much about the writer. But, this book helped.



I've just finished reading Tolkien's biography by Michael Coren. It's a biography written for kids and published by Scholastic (also Harry Potter's publisher). It was a good read. I especially liked reading about how The Hobbit first got published, and about Tolkien's retirement speech (which he ended by quoting from the elvish poem that he wrote: Namarie).

Read it! It's nicely written and the Professor's life is just as interesting as Frodo's. :D








posted by u l a n _ at 8:01 PM

 
Lennon

Crypto sent me a link to an article by Roger Ebert written on December 8, 1980. The day the music died, as Time magazine called it. It was one of several articles recalling that day. Where people were and how they felt when they learned of Lennon's death.


I was alive already then. I was turning 7 that month. But, of course, I didn't even know about it. I was too
preoccupied by my...oh, i don't know, i suppose my toys back then. Or our yard, my friends, and patintero.

But, of course I had heard of Lennon already then. My tito played his cassette tapes all the time. At a young age, I was already familiar with Double Fantasy. I especially liked Yoko's song "I'm Your Angel" because it sounded so silly and trilly. It was a song all Lennon fans would not even try to like because it was by Yoko. Other favorites were, of course, "(Just Like) Starting Over" and "Woman."

Reading Eberts article made me...sad. And curiously envious of their generation's tragedy. It's weird but I envy those who felt the tragedy at the time it happened. It's my pop-culture sensibilities, I suppose. But, on the other hand, I can also claim that I was affected by his songs. Growing up to his music, you sort of see the tracks as the music of your childhood. And I had quite a nice childhood, thank you.

Rediscovering Lennon's music as I got older, I began to appreciate it in a different way. His words were soothing, disturbing, but, for me, all the time true. Sometimes, they can be very hopeful, but at the time I was the hopeful young fan. I began to add more Lennon tracks to my favorites: "How Do You Sleep?" and "Watching the Wheels" and "Instant Karma." Maybe, on the lowest level, I just really like how his voice sounds. And how his words were strung together. I don't think the music affected me on a deeper level than that. I wasn't really your usual rebel kid who took refuge in music. I had my rebellious moments, but I was generally a happy kid.

I read the Time article when I was in high school already and it made me cry. But, it wasn't just the death that made me cry. It's not just the tragedy that I envy. It's more of the glory of the times and the music before the tragedy happened. The tragedy only validates the importance of the life before it. And I wasn't there.

When I came to, Lennon was already saying the dream is over.





posted by u l a n _ at 10:01 PM

 
Just A Fan Girl After All

Most of the time, I adopt a "cool" front -- unaffected, not-to-be-bothered by pop trivialities -- but, I don't really fool anyone. I am a fangirl through and through. It's written all over me and this blog.

Sometimes I attempt to control myself and keep to liking only "semi-pop" things like Middle-earth (before it became all too mainstream via the film), Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Led Zep and all them hippie things that I go for.

But, then, you really can rein in a fangirl. Especially one who has a history of actually having wood-mounted pin-ups of River Phoenix and Johnny Depp on her bedroom wall.

Nyar. Yes, yes, the secret teen life of the desktop monster.

I suppose my fan-girlisms today are the same as before, only more high-tech. No more wood-mounted pin-ups from teen magazines for me! Nope, nope! Now, it's digital images downloaded from different fansites and manipulated in photoshop to make wallpapers that I can post on my monitor.

Sigh, when you're baduy, you just can't hide it.

posted by u l a n _ at 12:28 AM

 
And these! These online quizzes are addicting, eh?







I'm a Wind Spiriti

Thought above feeling and mind over matter are your mottos. Others come to you for advice and guidance. Some see you as introverted and snobbish, but they are merely jealous of your common sense knack to think things through. Don't be afraid to listen to your heart though.

Nye!





posted by u l a n _ at 10:55 AM

 
Got this badge for taking this quiz. Hee hee.


posted by u l a n _ at 10:47 AM

 
New finds! (Thanks to my favorite sites Tolkien Movies and TheOneRing.net, of course)

Want a Balrog? Sideshow WETA's got new figures out! And if you want to listen to a radio (Captial FM) interview of Sir Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom, you click right here. Hehe, at least I know how OB would say my name! He keeps mentioning his co-star's name :D Woo hoo.

Grabe, ang babaw.



posted by u l a n _ at 10:56 PM

 
Ok, so Viggo Mortensen is not only an actor, he's also a poet, a photographer and a painter. His latest work is on exhibit right now in the States. View samples here. Wow. Some of these are coming out in his new book "Sign Language" which will be released this month. It will cost around $40. A little expensive, eh? I don't know if I'm that much of a fan to spend all that money on his book. But, you never can tell! I'm known to be quite an impulsive shopper especially for things that are even remotely connected to LOTR.

Been thinking about copyright. Copyright on the internet is such a tricky thing. Not many people really understand it (myself included). I freely use photos and artwork I find online, taking care to acknowledge authors and websites from where I got them from. I've made lots of Rurouni Kenshin wallpapers -- with my only "permit" being a disclaimer at the bottom of my site stating the real owners of Rurouni Kenshin artwork, characters, and storylines.

However, when you're on the other side of the situation, when it's YOUR stuff that's been "stolen," it doesn't feel ok at all! The most that I'd ask is acknowledgment and a link to my site, but no! In two occasions I have been ripped off.

One is by this webmaster who runs a "shrine" for Atom and Enzo (former 5 and Up reporters). He used photos that he downloaded from my other site, An Uppie's Scrapbook. He/she didn't ask for permission nor is an email address provided on his/her site. No way to contact them! I wouldn't have found out had Zak not informed me of the site's existence.

Another is by a co-egrouper for the 5 and Up egroup. He not only posted my photographs, my lyrics pages, and my collages, he also used my BANNER. Can you imagine? My banner which says "Ian's Homepage" and has a HANDPRINT as an icon...MY handprint. Why? Because his name is Ian.

Sigh. He probably doesn't know it's not a nice thing. All I expect is a little email or at least be credited as the author of the photos. And a link back to my site would be great. Really simple stuff. Oh well.

I'm asking Borugi-kun to download my entire site. Am thinking of erasing everything.




posted by u l a n _ at 2:19 AM

 
Legolass, Choppergirl pointed me to the url of Viggo Mortensen's photos. I didn't know about that photo exhibit. The man can take pictures, eh?






I miss taking pictures. And I regret not being able to take lessons to improve my skills. I haven't taken pictures in soooo looonnggg.

My beloved camera, btw, is fixed. How did it get fixed? I think it fixed itself. I fiddled with it a bit and *snap!* whatever was caught got released and everything's ok. Haay, I've neglected photography for far too long! Will have to start taking pictures again. And finally learn how to really print. I have to make time for that.

I have this sinking feeling that I have too many interests and I'm not really that great in any of them. Jack of all trades, master of none shit. I'm to blame, anyway. I never follow up on my interests. Too lazy? Too scared?



posted by u l a n _ at 10:18 PM

 
Seems like my 9am-2am workdays are getting more and more frequent. Oh well, that's how to earn a living.

Finished my Blog segment a while ago. Will see The Techy Hobbit and The Desktop Monster on TV! hahaha.

Finally found a transcript of EW's interview on David Letterman. I think I'm the only one who missed that episode. On Saturday, the CCA (the awards thing that OB comes out on) will be shown on E!. Will I be home for that? O over na? :D

posted by u l a n _ at 2:48 AM

 
Finally got the new design up. Been practicing with Dreamweaver. Used to use Arachnophilia to edit my HTML, but I guess it's time to learn this fancy-shmancy software. It's supposed to make things easier and, well, I guess I'm getting the hang of it. I still favor clean, easy-loading designs, though. But who knows. Maybe I'll get carried away with roll-overs, image-maps and what not.

The other pages still use the old design, though. So, the site isn't all done yet. Just wanted to put it up so I can see it.

Found this photo posted on Pinoyexchange. It's OB putting on his contact lenses. Check out the note scribbled at the bottom of photo. And look at the teeny-weeny print at the upper right hand corner: photo by Aragorn! I mean, Viggo Mortensen. Been Googling about trying to look for the source of this pic, but no dice. I'll have to wait for choppergirl to reply to my message on the forum.

posted by u l a n _ at 2:06 AM

 
Fun shoot for Review Night. Ryan and Pia are like kids fooling around.

Bad news, my favorite non-electronic gadget, my Nikon FM10, BROKE! ARGHGHGHH. I have to get it fixed ASAP. I was going to use it today to take some shots for Space's website. Had to move it to...when? I dunno, next week hopefully. Might have to borrow a camera. I wish I didn't have to.

Bad decision to drink coffee! Hindi na ako natuto! I accidentally ordered a Mocha Frost from Figaro after work. I say "accidentally" because I realized too late that there was such a thing as decaf Frost. And I was feeling a bit on the non-assertive customer side this afternoon and simply let my order stay the way it is. And now, I'm as jittery as Dobby the elf. My head feels lightheaded and I typing is an ordeal! It's either I type fast to get rid of the shakes or suffer typos galore.

posted by u l a n _ at 6:45 PM

 
Had a jampacked day yesterday.

Assembled pilot episode of Space (hay salamat, natapos din). Surfed a little (since I had to send stuff to Anne anyway) and found...nothing exciting. Maybe because my eyes were stinging already from staring at a tv monitor for 13 hours! There was an article, though, on Premiere.com about EW.

My latest segment for Dtour is about Blogs/Online Journals! Well, of course I just had to propose it. What's the use working for a tech show if you can't do a feature on something that you're into which is after all "techy"?

I'm currently part of a new mailing list fresh from the Pinoyexchange blog thread -- Pinoybloggers ML. It's quite a friendly ML, so if you're Pinoy and you have a blog, this is a nice place to exchange queries, solutions, news, etc. I'm going to have a look at all their blogs to do screenshots on for my segment.



posted by u l a n _ at 10:30 AM

 
I found a really nice photo of Legolas at this site simply called, well, Legolas. So, I made a new wallpaper featuring that photo.



Get the wallpaper here .

Today went really well, although I still wasn't able to do everything i needed to do. I really have to give up one job. It's insane to try to do everything, although I could use the money. But well, I think one of them is really suffering and if I don't give it the attention it needs and deserves, I'd probably get fired. Don't want that to happen.

This morning's meeting was especially hard to go to -- what with the pouring rain and the fact that it's with at J*****. I almost went back to shelter to think of excuses not to go. But, I went to the meeting. After that, editing, which was pretty quick and painless. Made plans with Danisha regarding her site. Ooh, exciting. A new "stress-less" project. Where do I get the time to do such things? Well, weekends! Or I sacrifice a little sleep for it. Funny how I can't get myself to do the same for other things.

Ah, weekend, weekend, WEEKEND!!! It's my favorite time of the week. It passes by too quickly, though. How I wish I could do as Treebeard once did, when the world was young and unhurried.

Those were the broad days! Time was when I could walk and sing all day and hear no more than the echo of my own voice in the hollow hills. The woods were like the woods of Lothlorien, only thicker, stronger, younger. And the smell of the air! I used to spend a week just breathing.

Sigh. Oh well, guess one should be thankful that she does have work.

But, still, I'm even more happy that I have weekends.



posted by u l a n _ at 6:36 PM