Xiao Long Nu: The Little Dragon Maiden Through the Years

Derived from one of the most memorable Chinese wuxia (a genre focusing on the adventures of martial artists) novels, The Return of the Condor Heroes (ROTCH) had been successfully adapted to screen throughout the years, making it one of China's best known love stories. 

Its protagonists, the lovers  Yang Guo and Xiaolongn has long since become iconic characters in the entertainment industry. Most especially, Xiaolongn, which literally means The Little Dragon Maiden. That girl is deemed as the most beautiful in the Chinese wuxia universe. With "skin as white as snow, beautiful and elegant beyond convention and cannot be underestimated, but appears cold and indifferent", it is not surprising that actresses who have played her were all pretty badass gals. 

Now because of my admiration for ROTCH and Xiaolongn in particular, I made this simple infographic showing all the popular adaptation of the wuxia novel and their respective lead actresses who have played The Little Dragon Maiden:

On Air: PBB Scripted Edition

Inspired from the classic novel 1984, the Big Brother franchise had made its rounds around the globe, garnering millions of viewers and ratings. There are different "editions" over the years but the main strategy is the same: Gather different personalities in one house and observe their behavior 24/7. The audiences love it.

I was still in fifth grade when the Pinoy Big Brother first came to Philippine shores. It was an instant success and is followed by nine more editions of the franchise. Just yesterday, the Big Brother house opened its doors once again for another season. It's been hyped for a few months now so whenever the show would either satisfy or infuriate the viewers, the results are immediately posted online:

#PBBScripted

A Game of Hairdos

"All men must die" says Game of Throne's new series of ad campaign, marketing the show's current 4rth season. Sounds quite cynical, but in the past three years, the fantasy series have given its viewers a large dose of negative feels. From honorable Ned Stark's execution up to the Red Wedding, the show is still massively popular despite all these heartbreaks. After all, it is a fan's dream to see the world of Westeros come to life, and everybody's still hoping for that happy ending.

Seems like a lifetime ago...

Apart from its actors and tantalizing plot lines, another factor to the show's popularity I believe was its attention to detail. It's not something audiences immediately notice like "Oh look at that dress, the embroidered lion is simply delicate" but more of seeing each and every element create one believable, general universe. Seeing everything in one broad picture. Those production guys are good.

Still we also get to appreciate the said details later on. As for me, I am quite sharp when it comes to the top three female characters' crowning glory:

Now Remembering: Childhood Cartoons Part 1

The kiddie time slot being broadcasted in the local channels these days are beyond shit. Either the TV guys were lazy or have bad tastes but the glory that was weekday cartoons no longer exists. Apart from the absence of educational shows, the animes being shown were not the ones you expect a child of six would watch and understand. Naruto, Dragonball and Sailor Moon were overused beyond repair.

So how was it before anyway if I'm so whiny? Man, it was a glorious. I don't remember all episodes obviously but thanks to Wikipedia, I could recall small bits of the the beloved cartoons. Here are some of the beautiful animated tales that my childhood colorful:

Now Watching: Got to Believe Season 2

Just this Tuesday, the primetime series "Got to Believe" a.k.a G2B became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter worldwide as the characters of Chichay (Kathryn Bernardo) and Joaquin (Daniel Padilla) broke up for the sake of his health and future. It's the a usual theme found in love stories, but it still made a lot of fans broken hearted (haha including me). That was why the second season of series was welcomed heartily as Chichay met Joaquin once again after 2 years. His health this time is no longer in harm's way but he had amnesia due to his operation and failed to identify Chichay.

This time the event is kinda similar to the one Meteor Garden, the taiwanese live version of the popular manga Hana Yori Dango, popularized and set the standards for later asian remakes of the same manga. It is understandable that people would assume Got to Believe copied the idea. Chill dudes, try to count the number of times our beloved amnesia was used. Yep you need plenty of fingers to do that.

Anyway that isn't the reason why I decided to blog about this series today. Just a while ago, I came upon a text being passed around the social media that is allegedly huge spoilers for the show. I still don't know its origin. Still I just have to share it here too:

Ang twist po kase nung story, Si Juliana talaga ang nakabaril sa anak nyang si Joaquin kaya simula pagkabata ganun na lang ang pag aalala ni Juliana sa anak nya, Gusto palitan ni Juliana ng pagmamahal at pag-aalaga dahil once na malaman ni Joaquin ang katotohanan na hindi si Papa Bear ang may kasalanan mas lalong lalayo si Joaquin sa kanya at tuluyan nyang kalimutan ang Mama niya. 

Hindi nagka-amnesia si Joaquin kaya niya lamang nagawang makilala si Liza dahil sa Mommy nya pero nagmamatiyag padin si Joaquin kay Chichay kaya nandun padin sila magkasama. 

Ginagawa lang to ni Joaquin para maligtas ang pamilyang Tampipi from San Juan kaya nagkunyari siyang may amnesia pero si joaquin pa rin ang nagproprovide ng mga paintings ni Chichay kaya po habang sumisikat si Chichay bilang painter, si Joaquin naman nagbibigay ng mga brushes at paints ni Chichay, Sinakyan lamang ni Joaquin ang mama nya para sa kapakanan ni Chichay kaya nga po "SACRIFICE" ang ginawa niya but still mamimiss nila ang isa't isa.

Fanfic or not, this is interesting. For one, I myself had already suspected Juliana since a friend reminded me (yes, we are serious when it comes to G2B) that she did her share of pulling out a gun in a self pity session during the night the young Joaquin was shot. Unraveling her little secret is an expected future event. As for the fake amnesia, well it had been done before but I'm not so confident with this prediction. If this turns out to be the real plot of the series it sure is an evil thing to do to all the parties involved.

Now Trending: Anne Curtis' Outburst

In an article published on entertainment site Pep.ph, JR Isaac, editor and publisher of Circuit Magazine, narrated to Pep editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon how the incident unfolded last November 23.

Describing it as a typical Friday night, Isaac said he was then hanging out with his friends Leah de Guzman, Charina Zarte, Nix Alano, Phoemela Barranda, Jake Cuenca, and Cruz at the Privé Luxury Club along with the bar's co-owner JM Rodriguez.

Isaac said Curtis was also at the place hosting a bachelorette party for a friend.

Then Anne got up to go to the ladies' toilet. Unknown to her, John Lloyd and Jake Cuenca followed her. The two boys, knowing that Anne was super "kikay" tried to pull a prank on her. They started banging the door of the toilet non-stop, getting louder and louder making Anne so agitated.

The two continued banging the door until they heard that Anne was about to get out.
While waiting for his drink along with de Guzman near the bar, they heard someone shouting from behind. Anne Curtis came out of the restroom of Prive, shouting “who’s banging my door?”
She saw JR Isaac and Leah de Guzman nearby. It was at this instance when the drunk Anne concluded that it was they who were banging the door earlier, and without a word she slapped them both.

Shocked by the scene, John Lloyd then suddenly emerged and approached Anne to tell her that it was he and Jake who did the banging. Anne, who was mad as hell, slapped John Lloyd and shouted at him with all her might, "You are an addict! "

For unknown reason, she screamed “You, what are you doing here?” when she saw Phoemela and pointed at her saying "I can buy you, your friends, and this club!"

Saying things happened so fast, Isaac recalled being ushered by the bouncers away from the drunk Showtime host.

"The management and [club] PR all came to our table and apologized to us. They saw the whole thing. They know we were the ones slapped. In the end, we stayed. We didn't allow it to ruin our night,” he said.

According to Isaac, he harbors no ill feelings toward Curtis because he has known the actress since way back.

Meanwhile, Curtis took to micro-blogging site Twitter to address the controversy.

“Hey everyone. I will be making my official statement now & after this, I will not be giving any interviews about this issue anymore. I choose to do this right away because I’ve always been an open book & I don’t like to hide anything…
For those who have read about the issue, yes, most of it is true. I admit to that & I have apologized to all parties included immediately… When I was told of my behavior AND the person who started all of this, due to this persons inappropriate behavior, apologized to me too… Just as I did. Which I accepted too. I choose not to go into detail because I’m not the type to ruin someone else’s name…
Now.. I had been on the super popular juice cleanse for 3 days & attended my best friends bachelorette that night, had one too many drinks which led to some of these unfortunate events. That’s why they say ‘Drink in moderation’. I will charge it to experience & a lesson learned. I’m sorry if I let any of my fans down…. As you all see, I’m just like any other person that makes mistakes in life… 

Thank you to everyone that has messaged me about their support. With where I am today I owe all of you my honesty. Good night.”

The "Apology" is kinda off. Does she seriously think that her Juice Cleansing=Bitch Slapping alibi will actually sell? My mother had tried this diet a while ago and I never tasted a slap on my face, despite having provoked her for multiple times already. Yesterday, a smiling Anne Curtis appeared and proclaimed "Isang masaya at moving on na tanghali sa inyo my super sexy madlang people," during the opening of the noontime show. Hilarity ensues:

LOL

SOURCEs: 1 2 3

Kapamilya Caravan for Kagay-an Festival 2013!

Stars from ABS-CBN's Primetime shows visited Cagayan de Oro last night for the Kapamilya Caravan, the regional offering for this week's fiesta. With a good friend of mine, we arrived at SM City as early as 2pm! There were no chairs so we were just standing while waiting for the program to begin, and we waited for three hours. Three. Hours. Standing.

Despite the cold and the aching legs, we still have the advantage of being near the stage, so everything is in full view. When the local artists started the event, it was already late in the afternoon, right before sunset. A bunch of games sponsored by known brands dominated the first few hours. They paid for marketing, so they're going to get it. Even if I had fun watching the games, most people in the audience were already impatient. Even the grey heavens above looks like it would weep anytime.

5 Common Things in Philippine Soap Operas

Thanks to the tradition of sitting in front of television every night to watch Philippine-made soap operas, Filipino kids today probably know Coco Martin's real name before they find out who PNoy really is. Not that there had not been any improvements in the past few years because there had been a considerable increase in quality which I'm grateful for. For example the police in dramas are not as stupid or as corrupt as how they were shown in dramas or movies a decade ago. Another is that the shows are finally taking hold of the reins when it comes to using amnesia as a twist in the plot.

However there are still elements that persists to be present in the country's dramas. Let me count the ways:

Shun Oguri, Sho Sakurai and Satoshi Tsumabuki in Lupin Live Movie

The Tokyo Sports newspaper on Friday and Saturday that Monkey Punch's Lupin III manga and anime will have a live-action version! Shun Oguri is lucky enough to snatch the title role Arsène Lupin. The newspaper added that Arashi band member Sho Sakurai will also play the sharpshooter Daisuke Jigen, while Satoshi Tsumabuki will be swordsman Goemon Ishikawa. However NTV, the television broadcaster of the Lupin III anime, has not officially announced a live-action Lupin III film.The film (tentatively titled Lupin Sansei ~Meitantei vs. Lupin~/Lupin III: Famous Detective vs. Lupin) will begin shooting in early autumn for release on March 2014. 

However, the newspaper added the project is still casting the main female role of Fujiko. Mirei Kiritani, Masami Nagasawa, Anne Watanabe, Airi Taira, Kyoko Fukada, Asami Mizukawa, Tsubasa Honda, Kiko Mizuhara, and Kou Shibasaki are the popular candidates.

Source 1,2

Everybody Hates The Red Wedding

Game of Throne's season 3 finale is set for this weekend. Everybody I believe isn't so excited due to the "Rains of Castamere" episode.
First of all, I should say I was happily gloating over my non-reader friends and teasing them with spoilers. This week is just one of those finest moments. I'm just sitting alone in a dusty shadowed corner, wearing my knowing smile as the rest of humanity watched the ninth episode of The Game of Thrones. There had been predictions of course, also warnings floating around the web, but I guess the horrifying elements of The Red Wedding is still so compelling.

When I came upon this part in the books, I was actually calm, not even sad. Why? I was so sure they escaped and expecting Robb and Catelyn to pop out in later pages alive and strong and normal and that the Freys actually  killed the wrong people and shit. Seriously, it was only when the Undead Catelyn showed herself that it dawned to me that Robb was really really really dead. The non-readers had it worse since even if Robb in the books wasn't given as much exposure. he was generously bombarded with importance in the show. In TV, he has longer screen time, and even showed how his love story took place. I understand the all the sadness, but I still retain the evil happiness of seeing everything in action.
For those who are condemning HBO to the pits of hell, please be reasonable, you don't want to miss the dragons right? Right. 

Song of Ice and Fire Beotches!!!

I am in love with Jon Snow. Anyway I started reading the books way back when I was 14. I only stopped at the third book since it was a 'trilogy' back then, and I seriously thought it has ended and was depressed. Then I saw the series and the two more books and saw I was truly stupid.

This March, I dedicated myself to reading the existing five books of The Song of Ice and Fire, I am now at the fifth book! Of all the characters in the books, the most interesting is ( obviously ) Jon Snow, especially who his parents are. Personally, I don't believe Ned's his father. I mean come on, the guy's so honorable his entire body is squeaking clean, up until splattered by his own blood that is. Besides, why all the secrecy? Jon Snow's a bastard! Surprise! Why make a huge deal out of it??! To make everything clear, I lurked in many GoT forums and found many that are satisfying. Of course I'm biased.

Ina, Kapatid, Anak: Dubutantes

The series premiered on October 8, 2012 on ABS-CBN, but now is in its second season due to high ratings. One of the show's upcoming scene this month is the leading characters' 18 birthdays. Filipino fans online had been excited when photos of their dresses are being circulated. I was never a fan ( Hate the plot, hate the snail-paced episodes), but I could honestly say I like Kim Chui's pink gown by Pepsi Herera:

Maja Salvador on the other hand is wearing a VeeJay Floresca creation... I don't know, the gown is still very nice but not as amazing as Kim's, I'm not saying it's a bad design because it's not, I've seen a similar Floresca work, but it's a bridal gown and it's white and it was amazing. Plus here's another but it's pink so it's amazing.

It's the color...seriously