Blog 167 > Code Geass & Dark Knight

Ah, Code Geass… Whatever anyone else says, it’s still undeniably “ambitious and wide-sweeping… still one of the most-intellectually engaging 5-star series” I’ve ever seen, ranking alongside other epic animes like “Death Note” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”. I finished the final episode last night, but since I’m too lazy to write any more thoughts on it, I’ll direct you to my past comments, lol.

Oops, sorry, I lied. I’ve got one more intriguing thought. While wandering Wikipedia, I stumbled upon a fascinating comparison. The Wiki article on Lelouch Lamperouge describes him as a Byronic Hero. In other words, as privileged yet outcast, perceptive yet flawed, cunning yet conflicted as another dark Byronic Hero ~~ Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman. Wow, never would’ve made the connection before. But yeah, they definitely share the same intense burdens of a secret identity, sacrificing personal happiness, and wielding their righteous power from the shadows. Lelouch Lamperouge’s Zero and Bruce Wayne’s Batman. Both symbols of dark justice in their respective worlds.

P.S. On a lighter note, thanx Miko for cheering me up, and for the awesome tracks! If anyone wants to listen to the Korean artist Nell, just click on the Box.net tracks which appear in the right-most column of my blog. Easy. Enjoy! >_<

Blog 166 > Asian Pride & Perfection

Saturday, Sept 27th, 2008 > Happy 39th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!… After reading Mimi’s recent blog post ~ Asians Can Be So Competitive ~ in the light of my parent’s anniversary tomorrow, I guess I wrote a reply not only to her post, but to myself as well. So please read her post first to get the full context of my thoughts below, lol.

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Blog 165 > Space Pirate Blue – NSFW

Hehe, yup, more “girls with guns”!… Less than a couple weeks after my mesmerizing Fumie From Edelweiss photoshoot, I bring my latest figure photoshoot of 1/8-scale “Space Pirate Blue” from Masamune Shirow‘s Intron Depot 4 – Bullets (2004) color-illustration artbook. Pre-ordered back in June 2007 (Blog 086) and received in November 2007, I finally decided to do her photoshoot. Quite a drastic punk-edged change from the wind-blown Fumie. Bright-blue hair, slick-black leather and yup, lots of skin, lol.

Like before, for this Canon DSLR photoshoot, I used my (a) ceiling light, (b) two halogen desk lamps, plus (c) my camera flash, to collect about 150 shots in about 120 minutes. Finally, I painstakingly narrowed the 150 shots down to 111 shots (hard to choose!). To compensate for the too-warm yellowish tinge of the lamps in such a blue environment, I used Photoshop to apply a simple Cooling Photo Filter (82) at 25% density (in addition to my standard resizing and watermarking). A simple yet vivid adjustment, hehe.

That’s about it! Enjoy the shoot! Don’t forget to tell me your faves and I’ll make the 10-20 best into wallpapers, lol.


Warning > I recommend Firefox 2/3 since IE 6/7 tends to break under the photo pressure, argh.


Link to DannyChoo.com > Member News >>
My Anime Photoshoots >>
My Anime Wallpapers >>
Click for Full Photoshoot (111) >>

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Blog 164 > Mimi Says

Hahaha, when I read the last line of this blog post, the words suddenly called to me, begging for a Despair poster, lol. But what image to use? So I hopped onto Google. Then somehow, I don’t remember how, I stumbled upon this random image of Danny Choo and his buddy Hector Garcia taking a break from their Imperial trooping earlier this year. And voila, this poster was born! Frivolous? Sure. Mindless? Maybe. But I couldn’t help it, hehe. ^_~

 

Blog 162 > Fumie From Edelweiss

Wow, too much time has blown like the wind!… First, even though this is my 23rd anime-figure photoshoot, it’s my first indoor photoshoot in TEN MONTHS since November 2007! Second, my 85th figure has taken FOURTEEN MONTHS to finally arrive since my July 2007 pre-order! But all the delays and waiting has finally paid off. After falling in love with “her long raven-black hair, white windblown dress, and old-style pistol and shotgun” in July 2007 (Blog 099), my latest photoshoot of 1/7-scale “Fumie” from the Edelweiss eroge (Japanese erotic videogame) is now one of my most-favorite photoshoots ever, lol. Moreso than I felt back then, “There’s just something gothic yet classical, stoic yet carefree, angelic and demonic, about her!”

For this Canon DSLR photoshoot, I used my (a) ceiling light, (b) two halogen desk lamps, plus (c) my camera flash, to collect about 200 shots in about 120 minutes. Which are typical numbers for me. Finally, I narrowed the near-200 shots down to 90 shots. The best part is, except for resizing and watermarking, absolutely NO Photoshop enhancements were applied to the photos at all. Nice, that’s how it should be. I hope you enjoy the shoot!


Warning > I recommend Firefox 2/3 since IE 6/7 tends to break under the photo pressure, argh.


Link to DannyChoo.com > Member News >>
My Anime Photoshoots >>
My Anime Wallpapers >>
Click for Full Photoshoot (90) >>

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Blog 161 > Lisa’s Operation Dustball

Argh, the dustballs!… So what do u do when your roommate hears somewhere that dust is mostly comprised of dead human-skin cells, and is so disgusted that she wants to dust off the entire house? Answer: Nothing, since u can’t change her mind anyway. Haha, believe me, I tried. Which explains why a couple nights ago, on Thursday, September 11, 2008, Lisa wanted me to bring out the ladder, so she could dust off the “pot shelves” along the highest parts of my house! Fortunately, it was amusing enough to pull out my Canon DSLR, lol. Plus a photogenic girl doesn’t hurt either, lol. ^_^

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Blog 160 > Adventures of Danny Clone

The Adventures of Danny Clone

  • Warning: Massive 58-photo segment following the show.

  • Danny Clone: Hey Jay, are u sure about this?
  • xJAYMANx: Sure, let’s push the envelope a little bit, hehe.
  • DC: Okay, if you’re sure.
  • xJ: Yeah, let’s do it. Go ahead whenever you’re ready…

  • [Audience applause.]
  • DC: Okay!… Welcome ladies and gents to “The Adventures of Danny Clone”. I’m your host Danny Clone, a third-rate copy of the extraordinarily unique and original Danny Choo!
  • [Audience applause.]
  • DC: But first, a quick plug for Good Smile Company! And the beta launch of the English Good Smile website at eng.goodsmile.info! Where they go the extra mile for your good smile!
  • [Audience applause.]
  • DC: And your good cash… Just kidding, just kidding!
  • [Audience laughter.]
  • DC: Today, our guest is the beautiful Barbie from Las Vegas.
  • [Audience applause.]
  • Barbie: Thank you, DC. Would it be okay to call u DC?
  • DC: Why not? I’ve been called worse things!
  • [Audience laughter.]

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Blog 159 > Saber-Hectic September

Yeah, another grinding week in the real world. Office-chained client-work for IBM continues to be grueling. I continue to endure burn-out mode while my blood-shot eyes (including my supernatural left eye, lol) approach boil-out mode. Yet despite it all, I manage to limp along with anime and web design as my crutches, lol. So, in no particular order, a few highlights over the last couple weeks…

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