SWTOR rocks! Yup, my Tatooine Toyboxers, I’m back for my final broadcast of 2011. And guess what I’ll be talking about? The “Star Wars: The Old Republic” (SWTOR) massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, of course! Well, just a little bit, hehe. After two amazing SWTOR beta weekends (11-13 and 25-28 November), I leapt back into SWTOR early access almost one full week (14 December) before the official launch date (20 December), and brought back my bad-ass female cyborg character, Punktrooper Motoko Mandara, based on the most-famous cyberpunk chick in anime history: Major Motoko Kusanagi, the elite anti-terrorist commander in “Ghost in the Shell”, “Stand Alone Complex”, and “Solid State Society”. Haha, very nice indeed!

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Whoa, three months flew by fast! And now, my Tattered Toyboxers, I’m back for a mini-broadcast. For this one, I’ll be leaping from 2D art to hi-def hardware to 3D renders, and hyperspacing from the Old Republic to Daz Studio to Poser. How did it all begin? I think it began in July-August with my unexpectedly consuming interest in the upcoming “Star Wars: The Old Republic” (SWTOR) massively multiplayer online (MMO) game! Since then, that interest has spread into SWTOR-laced 3D art as well, haha. So here we go, folks, time to let the Force flow through us…

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Heyyy, welcome back, my Trickling Toyboxers! What’s new? Well, this time, it’s a new mega-broadcast focussing on the infamous Nathan Fillion, from his current spotlight as the multi-season star of “Castle” (2009) to his previous spotlights as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the retro-sci-fi cult-favorites “Serenity” (2005) and “Firefly” (2002). Why a Nathan Fillion post? Well, why not? First of all, “Serenity” and “Firefly” are two of my personal favorite sci-fi titles. Secondly (on 11 June 2011), when I decided to give “Castle – Season 1″ a try, I was hooked. Thirdly (on 21 July 2011), when I witnessed Nathan as Richard Castle dressing up as his old character Malcolm Reynolds in “Castle – Season 2″ Episode 6, I had no choice but to write a post, haha. So here we go, folks, time to burn up the atmo…

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Welcome, my Tweeting Toyboxers! Now that I’ve regrouped and reintegrated my abandoned Twitter and WordPress.com posts into the Toybox, I can now relax with a shiny new entry. This time, we’ll curl, crunch and focus on extreme workouts! From my hybrid “J200XC” to the web-based “BodyRock.Tv” to the highly-anticipated sequel “P90X2″. So, without further ado, let’s rock the show…

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Haha, no, my Tumbling Toyboxers, I’m not leaving the Toybox. However, I must say…

R.I.P. WordPress.com. R.I.P. Facebook. R.I.P. Twitter. Thanks for the short but sweet memories, March-July 2011. Follow me on Google+ @ https://plus.google.com/100244940787002926656/posts

If you remember in my Blog 225 several months ago, I wrote: “… To explore the bright blue bubble… I feel it’s time to move onto the next phase of my extracurricular life… I no longer have the blocks of time and energy to spend. The days of pulling a heavy wagon have drawn to a close. And the days of carrying a simple backpack have begun. In other words: a new WordPress, a new Facebook, and a new Twitter… By freeing myself from a heavily-centralized self-hosted ‘wagon’ of computer files and folders, I can leap lightly from site to site with a simple but liberating ‘backpack’ of ideas and expressions. Free to pursue and explore exotic new territories along my technical path. At least, that’s the theory. We’ll see what the bright blue bubble offers…”

Unexpectedly, all three paths led me to the same sparkling destination: Google+. See you there.

Happy 100th Birthday, IBM! Yup, after the stunning announcement in March, blazing acquisition in April, and furious integration through May, I finally became an official IBMer on June 1st. Yup, photo ID badges too, hehe. But guess what? Just two weeks later, IBM celebrated its 100th birthday on June 16th. What monumental timing!

To celebrate, feel free to peek at this illuminating and inspiring YouTube video: IBM Centennial Film: 100 X 100 – A century of achievements that have changed the world.

Proud to be a newbie IBMer, hehe.

Ah, from Angels to Devils! More specifically, a 5-day Utah hiking trip that conquered (1) Zion National Park’s strenuous “Angels Landing”, (2) Bryce Canyon National Park’s breathless 8000-foot elevations, and (3) Arches National Park’s dehydrating “Devils Garden”. Wow, such an awesome, inspiring and unforgettable trip! Here’s the day-by-day breakdown…

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Yup, IBM. If the proposed acquisition (announced on March 22nd) closes by the end of the month as planned, then I will officially become an “IBMer”. Not bad. Intimidating? Yeah. Terrifying? Sure. But it’s a tremendous opportunity as well. To explore the bright blue bubble.

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Angel Beats. The beats of an angel. Beats. Wild. Guns. Hurt. Girls. Dead. Monsters. All the key ingredients of a brilliant anime series, eh? Haha, like my last mega-cast, that pretty much sums up another super-quick speed review. Inspiring. Mind-boggling. Heart-breaking. Four of five stars. My maximum for a short 13-episode season. But nonetheless impressive. Yup, about two-and-a-half months ago, on 23 July 2010, I finished my 18th anime title or season of the year. Now, two-and-a-half months later, Angel Beats! still resonates. Huh, haven’t seen it yet? Well, let’s fast-forward through this intro! One-two, one-two-three-four, let’s start the show…

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Star Wars. The Clone Wars. First, the pilot film. Next, the Season 1 television series. Then Season 2. Now Season 3. Brilliant. From the settings and scenes to the characters and conflicts to the dialogue and drama. Sublime. That pretty much sums up my speed review. Five stars. Spectacular. But now that you know my point of view, why not focus a quiet Jedi-like eye — or a silent Sith-like smile — on the alien women of the Clone Wars series? Do you have a bad feeling about this? Haha, enough said. Let’s start blasting! And may the Force be with you!

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Black Rock Shooter. Yup, she’s attacked and blasted the anime world like a tornado-twisting thunderstorm. While I’ve ducked and dodged through the barrage of irresistible PVC figures, even I couldn’t avoid the hype surrounding the “Black Rock Shooter” (OVA, 2010) anime, released last month, haha. So why not shoot out my own speed review, right? While my text might be short and sweet, rest assured that my gigantic volley of images will pummel and pump you up! Well, enough said, let’s get ready to rock and go!

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What’s up, y’all? Insane yet? For my latest Toybox installment, I’m going to switch it up with a mini-cast follow-up of my last mega-broadcast. We’re going to leap over “P90X”, dig under “Insanity”, and jump into my own hybrid hysteria of “J200X”, haha. Yup, it’s going to be short but sweet. So let’s turn it on, tune it in, and pump it up. Let’s go!

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Panties? Punches? Power90X? That’s right, my Tantalized Toyboxers! For our latest mega-broadcast, we plummet into a splashing plethora of poorly-protected panties, penetratingly-precise punches, and perfectly power-packed repetitions, ranging across scantily-clad “Agent Aika” original anime and live-action shows, to humor-sprinkled “Gokusen” and blood-stained “Crows Zero II” high-school films, to unbelievable Jackie Chan and Jet Li martial-arts classics, to the heart-pumping and body-building “P90X” exercise program. So what are we waiting for? Let’s go! Let’s start the mega-cast…

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Aww, thanks, Aki-chan! Happy Belated Birthday to you too! Sadly, Aki-chan’s message is genuinely fake, hehe. But yup, 5 days after Aki-chan’s March 14th birthday, on March 19th, I climbed another year higher, wiser and more tuned to the ways of live-action J-drama, K-drama, Asian gravure idols, and Japanese onigiri. Not bad, huh? On that note, my Tender Toyboxers, let’s step away from “fake” 2D anime and animation this week, and instead, sit back, relax with a bowl of sticky rice, and enjoy a refreshing bottle of “real” 3D entertainment. Ready? Then let’s do it. Let’s start the show…

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