Friday, November 28

What I'm Thankful For

I just came from celebrating Thanksgiving with my family, after so many years of not doing it. (In the Philippines where I came from and have lived a good deal of my life at, it's not celebrated.) As Kyan Douglas of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame said in a Thanksgiving episode, "We don't count calories; we don't watch what we eat, but we do give thanks." And that's what I would like to do.

I'm thankful that I'm here in the land of opportunities, despite the collapse of the stock market, the doomsday predictions (that I think are seriously over exaggerated...blame the American's tendency to catastrophize everything), and the fact that I left a great job back home to start anew.

I'm thankful that I continue to do what I love, and that I get good money doing so.

I'm thankful for my family, who despite the same financial circumstances, have remained in good health and are doing well in other aspects.

I'm thankful for Bill, Deanna, Devin, Jess, and Rob, my friends here in the US, for always showing me a good time. Alain, Charl, Adam, Benj, Mariel, and Shane, my friends who are in other states (and Ann, my friend from London), I also am thankful—and I can't wait to visit you in your home states when the right timing presents itself!

I'm thankful for my friends in the Philippines—I would not name you all, because it's quite a list—for still keeping in touch, saying hi, leaving messages in Facebook, and generally being the awesome bunch of people that I've known. Maraming salamat.

Et finallement, chére Supermawdel, merci beaucoup. Nous nous connaisons depuis huit ans, et on continue être des amies exceptionnel. Il y a peût-etre 10 000 milles entre nous, mais rien n'a changé. Tu es vraiment speciale, et pour ça, je suis très reconnaisant. Groses bises! (Apologies if my French has structural errors!)

Turkey image from www.igourmet.com.

Tuesday, November 25

60 Second Style:Upgrade Your Trou

This winter, try one of these subtly-patterned trousers instead of your solid- or pinstriped ones. The wool gives it comfort, and the subdued criss-cross checks will not overwhelm a vertically-challenged guy. Wear the trousers with a solid white shirt, black tie, and a purple cashmere cardigan, and you're all set for the Holiday parties.

Charcoal wool check trousers, $120, available at Topman.com

Thursday, November 20

Dude, the Bargain Shopper: Justin Timberlake

C'mon. There's absolutely no way I wouldn't include Justin Timberlake in my list. Since venturing to a solo career outside of 'N Sync, Mr. Timberlake has graduated from the cliché boyband style of dress and really has upped the style factor.
Leather jacket ($220) from Topman.
Contrast-collar shirt ($50) from Topman.
Pants ($39.50) from American Eagle Outfitters.
Trilby ($30) from Topman.
Corduroy and suede belt ($29.50) from Gap.
Tie ($38) from Armani Exchange.
Shoes ($90) from Aldo.

Justin's photograph from men.style.com

Let's Get it on Select to Make Your First Pick. Let's Get it on Now!


After many months of Japanese kids having access to what possibly may be the best fighting game that we've ever gotten for a few years, I finally got my hands on Street Fighter IV. I walked about 10 blocks from the train station to this really small arcade shop that has great fighting games. (To find one that's *hopefully* near your area, check out this link.) Yeah, I know. The things I'll do to satisfy my video game addiction.
There was only one cabinet in the arcade, and when I got there, several guys were playing. So I basically just watched and got a feel of the game. I know there's YouTube, but it pales in comparison to actually being able to see the game in person.

When I decided I'm ready, I popped 50 cents in, and challenged the current winner. I chose Ryu, and I was up against Akuma (curiously enough, he doesn't seem to take deal and take more damage than the rest of the characters, reminiscent of Street Fighter III: Third Strike). Now I understand why the Saving Attacks (or Focus Attacks) are the cornerstone of SFIV's game mechanics: They're as complex as the parrying system of SFIII, but is not as difficult to implement that first-time players will be pummeled by more experienced ones.
A fully charged SA not only will be unblockable, but will also result in awesome ink splatter-style art.

The best part about the Saving Attack (I'll abbreviate it to SA from now on) how it will always help mix up the fight. In one case, I've seen a Ken player throw an SA just as he's about to get up from a foot sweep; in another, Sagat used it to get out of a corner-harassing opponent. (Well, there's also the fact that Sagat's huge he shouldn't have problems dealing with the smaller characters.) In one more occasion, the SA is used to cancel a Shoryuken to an Ultra Combo. (It takes off a portion of your super meter.) In my case, I didn't get to use SA that much, because I continuously have to readjust to having to press the middle two buttons. I'll get to abuse it more in the future I bet.
For anyone harassing you, activate SA immediately after you get up...
Then whack their head. Follow up with a combo.

Now the gameplay. As was originally intended, SFIV plays more like SFII than III, and I definitely noticed that from the get go. Air blocks (or parries) are gone, the pace is slightly slower—though I have to say, for a 3D fighting game it's pretty brisk, and the multiple Super Art selection is gone.
EX Attacks, done by pressing two buttons instead of one in performing special moves, are essential to any game.

Many of the combos and moves that you're accustomed to with the old world warriors are intact, and you shouldn't have difficulty pulling them off with relative ease. As I mentioned before, the SA adds an extra layer of strategy with how you fight, and because it's both an offensive and defensive tactic (the parrying was admittedly more offensive), it's integral that you always factor in how you can throw an SA when you set up combos and plan your attack.

The new fighters Rufus, Abel, etc, are also well integrated in the roster and look interesting enough to warrant your choice. Their move lists share some similarities with established characters, which helps with the familiarization. In fact, in the arcade I went to, more than one player picked Crimson Viper; and I heard that Abel is popular at the Japanese arcades.
Vive le France!

Graphics-wise, I will not complain at all. Sure, the shift from hand-drawn 2D to rendered 3D may have been a bit of a letdown for purists (I'm not one), but Capcom executed the transition so well. The stages are vivid, the characters well-detailed (you can even see the horror in their faces as you're about to unleash a can of whoop-ass i.e. an Ultra Combo), and the ink splatter gives the whole game a very cartoon-y, 2D-ish feel to it.
Shin Shoryuken: D, DF, F, D, DF, F + 2P (must have half-full Revenge Gauge)
Watching Ryu's face before his jaw gets rearranged by a Shin Shoryuken: Priceless.

Sound quality is fantastic. Hours after I've left the arcade, I still keep on replaying "Metsu Hadouuuken" in my mind, savoring at how there's a lingering "whoosh" sound as Ryu builds up ki for his Ultra Combo. The announcer is no less great. I miss the hip-hop announcer in SFIII: Third Strike, but I'm glad that the annoying one in SFA3 is gone. Saying things like "Let's pick up the pace...fight!" and "This is the final round...fight!" fits in the context of SFIV.

So, how did I fare? I kept on losing against this one Korean guy (aren't they supposed to be playing Starcraft instead of SF?), who adds insult to injury by leaving the machine as soon as no one's challenging him anymore. (If I wasn't savoring the game so much, I probably would've done bad stuff to him—I mean, what the fuck? You waste my quarters and walk out?) But I did manage to place a few wins with the other guys—many with last-ditch, well-placed Metsu Hadoukens, and was able to finish the game. So not bad!
You don't want to mess with Ryu when he ain't happy.

Final recommendation: You will miss the extensive collection of Super Arts and parrying that SFIII introduced. I myself wished that Ryu had access to his Denjin Hadouken; and Chun-Li have her Kikoushou, etc. If you're also quite adjusted to the pace and the fast-and-flurry attacks of Third Strike, you'll have to scale back once you get to play SFIV. But despite this, SFIV remains a very polished, very enjoyable, very complex game that rivals the best the series has to offer (SFA3, Third Strike, and SSFII: Turbo). I can't wait for the home version to drop February 2009.

By the way, the thread title is the first two lines from the song that plays in Third Strike's character selection screen.

Wednesday, November 12

60-Second Style: Tying a Scarf


Even though the video is more than a minute long, it's part of 60-second style because you only need one method of tying your scarf at a time, right?

This is the first of an ongoing series of style tips that I'll provide in this blog, on top of Dude, the Bargain Shopper.

Tuesday, November 4

What's Dhalsim...Oh!

Both the commercial and the toy line sucked on so many levels I'm embarrassed to admit I bought the Ryu and Ken action figures.

I mean, jesus, katanas for Ryu? And a vehicle for Chun-Li and Blanka? And real ninja moves? Ninjas. Really?

Horrible, cheesy, dialogue. It's close to camp territory for me.

Music Break: Answer

One of my all-time favorite songs in any genre. Very mellow, heartfelt, and just soothing to the soul.

Sunday, November 2

On November 4th, Go Out and Vote


I'm voting because I want change. I'm voting because I know I matter.