My Resolution

A lot has been happening in school, at work, in WoW. It's haphazard but I'm dealing with them quite well. I have been ignorant about troubles at school because I don't want to be part of the cesspool. It's something that I've shunned for quite a while because it's not my cup of tea anymore. I've played 17 MMOs and studied in 6 institutions, I'm sick of office politics. But this is the deal: I've kept my opinions under the carpet for a while and now I have finally used my voice when I felt it was most needed. Who wants to be a Millionaire enthusiasts know that a key strategy to win is to save lifelines till the very last moment. Undoubtedly, I had to execute my opinions at the right time, to the right persons and under the right circumstances and in the most rationale manner. It looks like I had entered the danger zone, picked up epic loot and got out of it without being ensnared.

My official ITP with Ksatria Gameworks ends tomorrow. It has been a wonderful journey. I have witnessed raw team synergy, dedication and solid player skill. I was largely soft-spoken because I didn't know my place. They're all so good and have inspired me to work harder and learn more. Some of them are so pro, especially Cedric the imbalanced. He's like the patriarch of the company, the untouchable and revered. Raymond my supervisor is pro too! I know I've been naughty and late a number of times, but I'm working on it! =p

This year my resolution is not too much to ask for. I'm going to attempt to juggle work, school and arena. This week we managed to pierce into top 5 5v5 again. It doesn't mean much really. We're one of the strongest 2345 teams but the latest comps completely nullify burst attempts. Fortunately I think we're beginning to be able to counter trifecta teams after losing so many points to low-rated ones. Anyhow, there is a high chance I won't be raiding as a full-time raider anymore and believe me when I say I still loathe the fact that Paladins require PVE gear to perform in 5s.

Celine Dion ft. Andrea Bocelli - The Prayer

I pray you’ll be our eyes,
and watch us where we go
And help us to be wise,
in times when we don’t know
Let this be our prayer,
when we lose our way
Lead us to a place,
guide us with your grace
To a place where we’ll be safe.

La luce che tu dai
I pray we’ll find your light
Nel cuore resterà
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarci che
When stars go out each night
L’eterna stella sei
Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c’è
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe

Sognamo un mondo senza più violenza
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace e di fraternità

La forza che ci dai
We ask that life be kind
È il desiderio che
And watch us from above
Ognuno trovi amore
We hope each soul will find
Intorno e dentro a sè
Another soul to love
Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Just like every child

Need to find a place,
guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe

E la fede che
Hai acceso in noi
Sento che ci salverà

What's Ahead

Viewing my unforced temporary departure from WoW as a mini-sabbatical of sorts, I've gotten in the mood of thinking what's next again.

I've been for a long time contemplating my desire to write a novel -- a fantasy one of course. I thought Conclave was a good attempt at fantasy, but it was inclined to be terribly cliche. My ideas tend to be lofty with some level of rationality in them, but this in my opinion constricts the level of creativity and eccentricity that is required to evoke good fantasy. I mean, magick has always been irrational.

My knowledge of the fantasy realm is truly limited. I didn't read a lot as a kid, so that's quite a disadvantage especially when time is of the essence. My advantage herein is a unique set of knowledge that has quite propitiously presented itself over my adolescent period. Romance of the Three Kingdoms has always captivated me and so has medieval fantasy. Can these 2 varying eras be merged into a new fantasy world? Yes, why not? Unfortunately there are some who staunchly reject such an appeal. I could never explain why. In fact, during the pre-production phase of the abomination - Stranger In The Mirror, suggestions to have some level of rojak in the story were refuted by my group members.

Anyway in some way or another, being intellectually cleansed of other similar works of fiction can be an advantage to any novelist. Think laureates who reached their level of literary evocation from the depths of post-war caste systems. The important ingredient in my opinion are ideas, which is why I always had some level of respect for History & Theory of Ideas. Unfortunately Year 2 was rather decimating (lolgpa), but through some level of practice over the last 2 years I'm now able to read really fast, grasping ideas from narratives without actually having to fully comprehend the story. So my plan of action is to read as selectively as I can. To say the least, working on Lone Wolf has helped me a lot.

As a disclaimer, I don't intend or have any thoughts of stealing Joe Dever's ideas. In a really brutal fashion, they have been robbed, twisted and exploited over and over again anyway.

I'll be celebrating the first anniversary of this blog in a couple of months. Don't expect much though, I'm completely antisocial to birthdays and what not. What I'll do though is start a series of short stories in attempt to slowly ease myself into the mood for writing. So maybe watch out for that =p

Amy Winehouse - Just Friends

When will we get, the time to be
Just friends?…

It’s never safe for us, not even in the evening
Cause I’ve been drinkin’
Not in the mornin‘, When yo shit works

Its always dangerous, when everybody is sleepin‘
When I’ve been thinkin’
Can we be alone,
Can we be alone?

When will we get, the time to be
Just friends?…

And though I’m not ashamed
But the guilt will kill you
If she don’t first
I’ll never love you like her

Though we need to find the time to just do this shit together
‘fore it gets worse
I wanna touch you,
But that just hurts.

When will we get, the time to be
Just friends?…

Just friends…

Japan pushes Technological Edge

Yesterday, Japan successfully launched a rocket containing Kizuna, a setallite set to redefine data transmission within the region. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said that with Kizuna, it hoped to enable super high-speed internet speeds of up to 1.2 gigabits per second. That's a whopping 1200mbit, 120 times faster than a regular 10mbit connection. At this point in time, Jaxa has said that Kizuna would provide low-cost services across Japan and in 19 different locations in South-East Asia. Woo.

Kizuna is also known as the Wideband Inter-Networking Engineering Test and Demonstration Satellite, or WINDS.

Top 10 Trance Anthems of All-Time

Good old days. DDR Nonstop megamixes pretty much got me into the whole dance music scene. Recently, I've been listening to trance/techno classics. I also ordered Velfarre's CYBER TRANCE Complete Compilation and because of it's rarity I had to ship it all the way from Japan. The track compilation is absolutely pristine.

Purple0cean (that's a zero) on YouTube has actually gone through the arduous work of making 19 videologs listing the top 100 Trance tracks of all time. While I disagree on so many of his/her choices, I have to say I'm still very impressed because I have never heard many of the selections in there. Some of his top choices are really good. As far as I can tell, most of his selections are very new tracks in the European scene. Europe by the way is the BG9 of trance music (lol).

I'm a little more old school. The History of Trance goes back not too far away. Age of Love (1990) is widely considered the earliest example of trance music. Wikipedia cites Frankfurt, Germany as the birthplace of trance, which is again an indication of Europe's leading superiority in the field of electronic dance music.

There is much to lament about how much people know about trance. It's extremely annoying to hear someone label Tiesto's music as techno. Techno was definitely more commercial though, but as Armin himself has expressed, Progressive Trance has and will be the leading choice of club music in the contemporary scene. I kinda did a list of my own favorite trance anthems of all time, just a really brief list.

1. Rank 1 - Airwave (Cyber Trance Remix)

2. Joop - The Future (Trance Energy 2007)

3. Salt Tank - Eugina (Michael Woods Remix)

4. Saltwater - The Legacy (Alphazone Remix)

5. Solar Stone - Seven Cities (V-One's Living Cities Remix)

6. Gouryella - Tenshi

7. Cygnus X - Superstring (Rank 1 Remix)

8. System F - Out of the Blue 2007 (Major 12 Inch Remix)

9. Gouryella - Ligaya (Hiver & Hammer Remix)

10. DJ Tiesto - Nyana

赤壁 The Battle of Red Cliff

Yes finally new movie based on 罗贯中's Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There has been some publicity incited for the movie already despite having its official release date projected to be around September this year. Not so surprising when you see the names of the cast featured in the film. John Woo, director of the film, considers his cast a dream team. The stars include Takeshi Kaneshiro as 诸葛亮, Tony Leung as 周瑜, Lin Chi Ling and Vicki Zhao.

Already hailed an epic, the film is the most expensive Asian movie to be filmed to date staggering at US$80 million. According to the production team, the movie may have 2 episodes due to the amount of content. Expect this to be almost as good as LOTR. Still, I'm excited for the Chinese world. Oh according to Wikipedia, the Chinese government views the film as a showcase of Chinese History and wants it released before the Olympic Games.



On a side note, one of my dream games would be a 3D ROTK MMO. It would be undoubtedly one of the most anticipated and best selling games of All time.