[Movies] The Secret World of Arrietty / Kari-gurashi no Arietti (2010/2011/2012)

There have been quite a few scares about the continued existence of the amazing Studio Ghibli in recent years with a lot of the talk claiming they were bound to close shop any moment now. And while those rumors still resurface from time to time, it's nice to know that they're still releasing new animated features to help reassure fans like us that they're not going down without a fight.

It took a while for us to find a copy of this movie since Studio Ghibli films don't typically get a lot of local support in terms of the primary movie distributors and such. It's a major shame really since it's hard to find a Studio Ghibliy movie that isn't strikingly beautiful and powerful in its own way. And yet despite the high level of quality associated with their releases, we still don't see them get featured nor do we see DVDs of their movies in decent supply at local video stores.

And this movie is a gem of a different color entirely. It isn't quite like many of the other movies, perhaps because of the story it was based on. But at the same time it still has a lot of the primary elements of any Studio Ghibli movie, thus keeping it consistent with the tone and shape of the rest of the studio's releases.

[Pink Scene] The O Divas Take It Up a Notch

For those who follow my photos on Picasa Web Albums and other social media channels, you've probably noticed that I spend a lot of my free time on the weekends at O Bar Ortigas together with my partners Tobie and Prince (who does amazing stuff with poi). And I've written quite a few posts about the bar including a big one that discusses why we support it so much.

One of the biggest reasons we enjoy O Bar (beyond support Prince's poi spinning of course) definitely has to be the O Divas - the drag performers who make almost every O Bar night a heck of a lot more fun. Their performance range from the emotionally powerful to the wonderfully campy - ultimately it's all good fun.

Typically there are 3-4 divas performing per night over 2-3 sets of individual and group numbers. But for the past two Sundays, we've been seeing 7-8 divas performing at O Bar Ortigas, thus taking full advantage of the much larger performance space afforded  by the layout of the bar (versus its counterpart in Malate that is).

And it's not just about the sheer number of divas - we're talking about a lot more group numbers, a lot more synchronized and highly coordinated performances and overall a rather top notch performance that you'd think they'd charge separate entrance for! I mean this goes beyond the cheap stuff you see on noontime television - these are some pretty amazing numbers that include almost every corner of the bar filled with fabulous drag queens!

And beyond the bigger routines, the coordinated dances and the general good fun that comes with any drag queen really strutting her stuff, they also have some pretty stellar costumes that, well, are hard to capture in a single photo. Case in point:

I don't know how long they're going to keep this up, but if we get a repeat performance tonight, we definitely have a new reason to hit up O Bar Ortigas on Sundays. Who needs dinner theater when we have fabulous drag entertainment at the heart of the metro? And if we do get a repeat performance, I totally promise to take video!

See you guys there!

[Movies] Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Since I've already completed my reviews for all the Star Wars movies, it seems only fair that I invest some time to post reviews for all the Star Trek movies as well. I have to admit that I've always considered myself a Trekkie first before being a Star Wars fan.

There's a lot to be said about all the Star Trek movies. Where the Star Wars franchise is a singular narrative that crosses from one movie to another, Star Trek, much like its TV series, is practically episodic in nature. While there are some interconnections between some of the movies, for the most part each one pretty much stands on its own. And whether that's precisely a good or a bad thing really depends on the individual.

This one was...strange, at the very least. It was not the first one I had ever watched - and that's probably a good thing given the general consensus about the quality of this particular movie. But it still plays an important role in the overall franchise since it kicked things off to begin with.

Plus from a practical standpoint, a lot of the footage proved very useful for some of the subsequent movies, hehe.

[TV] Merlin: Season 1 (BBC)

I have never read the actual stories about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round table. I have no idea why this is so, but I figured I'd start this review by first admitting this fact. I do plan to get around to adding the Arthurian legends to my repository of knowledge about classic myths and legends, but there's not definite deadline for that particular task just yet.

I have no clear idea why I ever took the time to watch this series - nor do I understand why I have continued to download the episodes of this show without any real rush to watch them either. They just sort of exist there as part of our collection of movies and TV shows on file and sometimes I get odd urges to give the show another shot. And that's about it.

Some would argue that some of the protagonists are sort of cute, but I don't see that. Nor do I particularly find their version of the story more interesting than what I know of the original legends.

But it does feature the voice of John Hurt in a fantasy setting. And maybe my nostalgia for The Storyteller just kept me interested enough to see where the show might go.

[Gaming] The Dearth of Online Gaming Stores in Manila

I was recently contacted by a representative from Big W for possibly advertising opportunities on the Geeky Guide, which led me to checking out their site and enjoying the Amazon-like nature of their business.

Online shopping is tremendously convenient when you get down to it and I'd totally go for something like that given the chance. And this is especially true for gaming options - I mean who wouldn't want to save on time visiting each and very branch of places like Data Blitz or something just to find the last copy of a game that you want?

In the Philippines, our online shopping options are severely limited. Sites like MyRegalo / MyAyala tend to be okay for the general stuff but for games and geekier items, we end up scouring places like the Multiply Marketplace and eBay.ph. And that works for the most part but it's not quite the same. And I know I'm just a frustrated online shopper with so few options here - I'd go nuts if Amazon ever established a proper shipping presence in the region.

You could point me in the direction of online services like Steam, but that doesn't help me find console games online (unlike finding PS3 Games by Big W, for example). And my partner and I are pretty into PS3 games, hence the reason we go to Data Blitz so much. And yes, I acknowledge that Sony also has their little online store, but the need to purchase the right store currency and the limitations of Philippine internet download speeds make me less than happy about that particular arrangement.

We're sort of lucky that Data Blitz has a store fairly near the house, but still doesn't address the opportunity for online sales in the country, or at least in the Metro. I'm sure there's a demand out there given how every other country has embraced eCommerce a lot more than we have. Heck, our fast food delivery systems are still catching up with the ease BIG W XBOX 360 games are ordered online over in Australia and delivered to homes easily enough.

Data Blitz already has a  good segment of the local gaming market and they certainly know how to effectively source and price console games to make it more desirable to buy form them versus most other stores. Whether it's PS3 Move controllers, XBOX 360 consoles or the collector's editions of new games, they do a pretty good job of sourcing quality goods and making sure their prices remain competitive.

So what can we do to petition Data Blitz, or any other stores like them, to brave the online waters and explore having an online store presence? Or are credit card adoption rates just too low in the country for this to be feasible? On a national average, I'm sure we're not quite there yet, but at the very least we should be able to manage something within Metro Manila, right?

Or maybe I'm aiming a bit too high.