Samurai Vader

This is old news, but I just found out about it so...

Celebrating 2007 Tango no Sekku (some kind of Japan's Boy's Day festival), Yoshitoku Company (a toy company with a 300-year history of making dolls) released a Samurai Vader doll.

Star Wars has been known to borrow some Japanese culture and style to its characters and plot. Darth Vader's armor is one example. Its design is heavily influenced by Samurai Armors.

The Samurai Vader doll is an attempt to revert Darth Vader back to its supposedly roots. It is 1/4 of the original size and includes a bow and sword.
The doll isn't just made by cutting-edge sculpting technology, it also incorporates a lot of hand crafting using traditional materials. Most artisans enlisted are more than 70 years old.

As you can see, it turns out f*cking awesome.

A kabuto (helm) with bow and sword come with the price of 180,000 yen. While a full ensemble which also includes a yoroi (armor) costs 330,000 yen.
I'd love to get my hands on this one.

Quotes: Last Words

"I don’t feel good."

- Luther Burbank, last words

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."

- General John Sedgwick, last words

"Ask her to wait a moment - I am almost done."

- Carl Friedrich Gauss, when informed that his wife was dying

"Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something."

- Pancho Villa, last words

Squeeze Me Up Please

If you have to choose a Mikrolet (a kind of public transportation in the form of minibus), which one will you prefer?

• The one that’s crowded?
• Or the one that’s empty?

I myself will certainly pick a crowded one.

NO, I don’t like crowds.
NO, I don’t believe in ‘the larger the crowd, the bigger the chance to meet someone beautiful’. It’s a Mikrolet for Heaven’s sake. All I ever see are snobbish government workers, loud-insolent-gossipy high school girls, some traders with their oversized goods, mothers with children that for some reasons tend to puke on my shoes, or some criminal such as cons, muggers, and thieves.
Sure, sometimes I get to see college girls or young exec workers. But they rarely catch my eyes.
And NO, I have no sick pleasure of being squeezed by a lot of people.

It’s because I sleep in Mikrolets all the time.

In an empty one, I certainly couldn’t do it. If you see how Mikrolet drivers drive, you’ll know what I mean. They drive in a way you find only in action movies. Pulling stunts between tight close cars, changing lanes without any signs whatsoever, pushing dives around corners and hills, and taking sudden halts anytime they feel like it. I would certainly be tossed around like a pinball.

That’s why I need the crowd; to hold me in my place so that I can sleep.
And every time I’m really tired and about to hop in a Mikrolet, I cross my finger and say,
“Squeeze me up please, I need my nap.”

The Easy Way

I’ve been working to get a passport for the last week. I’m going to Singapore soon so I need it quickly.
A friend of mine told me to contact a person she knew; someone who’s able to get it done fast; a middle man or sort.

I had no options.
So I contacted this person.

I met him the next day. I didn’t stand in line just like everybody else. He just took me to his chamber, took the required files, and that’s it. I didn’t even have to fill out any forms because he said he would do it for me.

The next day was just as quick. I passed a bunch of people that were there before me and got myself photographed first. I finished earlier than anyone else.

It was nice, I know I needed that, but I can’t help feeling guilty about it. I’ve never liked to use this kind of service, and I consider people who do as a bunch of lowlifes.
But now I’m one of them.

I hate it. I hate how it makes me feel.

Anyway,
if you want to get your passport done quickly, you know where to reach me.

hub’s passport service
- It’s so easy, you’ll feel bad about it -

Keris, a Mystical Companion

Keris is a traditional weapon originated in Java. It is a short blade with two edges, sometimes with curves on them. It dates back from the 9th century and is shown on some reliefs on temples around Java.

Among the Javanese, Keris is highly valued. It is not just a weapon, but also a symbol for greatness or class in society. Only high profilers have the good ones. Some people measure it by looking at the amount of curves, the type of material it’s made of, or the existence of fingerprints on it (some are made magically by hands).

But keep in mind that it is NOT at all a functional weapon. If you like weapons like Katana, you will be disappointed in Keris. Very rarely does Keris show such perfection as Katana’s. Even the most famous ones are rough, dented, and heavily ornamented by reliefs. It is still a weapon of cultural beauty, especially for me, but it doesn’t look like it can cut well. It has a short range, funny hilt, and involves awkward positions to use that might as well hurt the wielder rather than the opponent.

The true strength of Keris lies on its mystical powers.

A Keris is never used early in a fight. It is reserved for the last moment; a last desperate attempt at a seemingly winning enemy. It is a tide turner. Even at a full scale wars. Its magical properties are so horrific and terrifying that it should only be used only when you really have to.
Its magic usually comes from the spirit that resides within. That’s why a good Keris has a name. It is considered as a living thing. The master can speak to it or ask for advices. Communication is usually done through dreams, just like the first time the master had it.
When someone has a Keris made for him/her, there are rituals that must be made. One of them involves sleeping with the weapon for a few days. If the master has nightmares, the weapon will only bring bad luck for him/her; and if the master has good dreams, the weapon will bring good luck to him/her.

As you can see, there’s a tight bond between Keris and its master; a bond that sometimes so tight, it can not be broken by death. This is the case with my great grandfather. He couldn’t die when he was supposed to, tormented in the state of not dead nor living for days, because his weapon wouldn’t let him. Only after his family did some rituals the bond was broken, and he died in peace.

In the Mahabharata, Keris is even shown to reanimate the master’s dead body in no less than two occasions.
One occasion is when Karna died after Arjuna struck his neck with his arrow. To his surprise, Karna’s body remained at still. Even the supposedly decapitated head was still on its place.
It turned out that Karna’s Keris took control of his body and keep it intact. It even spoke Karna’s voice to get Arjuna closer.
When he did move himself closer, it quickly flew from its scabbard and went directly to Arjuna. The only thing that saved him at the time was Kresna, pulling him away at the right time.

Keris is not just a symbol or a mystical weapon, it is also a loyal companion. Even after death.

Word of the Day: Brusque

(adj)
1: markedly short and abrupt
2: blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness

source: The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

"When I asked Celia Feight who dyes her hair, she brusquely showed me the door."
"The brusque demeanor of Gayla Vente left me thinking that she was a person of some importance."
"He was brusque, authoritative, given to contradiction, rough though never dirty in his personal belongings, and inclined to indulge in a sort of quiet raillery."

"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his."

- General George Patton