Monday, May 31, 2010

Music Video: "Fate" by Lee Sun Hee

This is "Fate - In Yeon" by Lee Sun Hee, one of the best Korean female singers I have ever heard. This is originally from the movie, The King and the Clown. In the background, she has the 12 Girls Band playing the Chinese musical instruments. Just beautiful music! The English lyrics are provided in the video.




Sunday, May 30, 2010

Colorado Girl Survives Lightning Strike Without Scratch

This is an amazing miracle. A nine-year-old Colorado girl survives a lightning strike -- without a scratch!
"I was laying down, the lightning came through the window and shocked my foot," 9-year-old Lexie Archuleta told a local CBS station.

Lexi was in her bedroom watching television on Wednesday when the lightning hit her Commerce City, Colo., home, and shocked her, reported a NBC news affiliate. Lexie was barely able to speak after the incident.

"My daughter is just freaking out saying her insides are burning," her mother, Tracy Archuleta, told CBS.

When Lexie was taken to hospital for tests, she didn't show any sign of serious injuries.

She is extremely lucky. Thirty-four people were killed and 253 injured by lightning strikes in the United States last year, according to www.struckbylightning.org.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Bizarre Dead Creature Found near Canadian Lake

When my friend told me about this breaking news, I couldn't believe it.
Locals in a small Canadian town have been stumped by the appearance of a bizarre creature, which was dragged from a lake.

The animal, which has a long hairy body with bald skin on its head, feet and face, has prompted wild internet speculation that it is a more evolved version of the famous 'Montauk monster'.

The "Montauk monster" name originates from the finding of another similar creature that washed ashore a New York beach in 2008. I must admit it looks very ugly. Some bloggers think it is a chupacabra, which is rumoured to inhabit parts of the United States.

Friday, May 7, 2010

True Blood Season 3 Premieres June 13, 2010

The third season premiere for True Blood begins Thursday, June 13, 2010 on HBO. I am very excited and cannot wait!

In the meantime, you can watch minisodes (short side stories) leading up to the season premiere.

Minisode #1: Fantagsia Tryouts
Minisode #2: A Baby Vamp Walks into a Bar...
Minisode #3: Jessica

To be continued...


Monday, May 3, 2010

New: Paranormal Phenomena Links

By popular request, many readers wish they had more access to paranormal phenomena. I found 3 sites that seem credible and provide good information. I realize I don't have the time to search for good mystery articles (which reminds me, I need to set up a personal RSS feeder in the near future!). I hope you find these sites useful. Please feel free to recommend and share more sites for future updates.

Paranormal Daily News
This blog covers paranormal news on topics such as aliens, UFOs, and ghost hauntings. The site has been active since May 2009.

Paranormal News
This site pretty much covers everything -- crop circles, UFOs, ancient mysteries, ghost hauntings, Mars/Moon anomalies, you name it. It also contains a forum, links, and news feed that is regularly updated on ghost hauntings.

Paranormal News Central
This site contains paranormal topics about unsolved mysteries, UFOs, weird/bizarre, ghost hauntings, and even cryptozoology! The site was recently redesigned in March 2010.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Review: Dance in the Vampire Bund (2010)

Dance in the Vampire Bund is a vampire romance anime that takes place in contemporary Japan. It contains 12 episodes.

Vampires, who have lived for centuries in the shadows, have reemerged into the human world. Mina Tepes, the princess ruler of all vampires, establishes a bund (an enclosed special district) with the financial help of the Japanese government where all vampires worldwide can live normal and peaceful lives. Although she looks prepubsecent, she has a cocky and assertive attitude and cares for the welfare of her species. She reveals to the world through the media the existence of vampires and wants both races to co-exist peacefully. Meanwhile, she searches for her guardian and lover who lives somewhere in Japan.

Akira, a high school student, suffered amnesia and has no recollection of his roots. He is kind, gentle, and very protective of his friends and loved ones. He later learns that he is a werewolf by birth who has undergone extensive training to become the guardian of the vampire princess. Throughout the story, he protects Mina from various enemies and later falls in love with her. Before Mina and Akira can reunite, several high school students have disappeared and reemerged as converted vampires. Conservative human and vampire extremists are also planning to assassinate her. She must also engage in a battle of roulette to save the lives of those dear to her.

My final exams are over, and I have just completed my first year in graduate school. I have a four-month break where I can just relax and focus on this blog. I know I somewhat abandoned it this year because my school work kept me extremely busy. Imagine being inundated with endless papers and weekly deadlines! The good news is I have purchased new novels and gradually added new anime over the months. Anyways, back to the review...

I finished this show last month, and I really enjoyed it. It had a lot of humor and action. Vampires and werewolves joined together to fight the vampire extremists. As usual, the extremists treated humans as guinea pigs and preferred living in isolation. Mina was also a complex character because she looks defiant on the outside but can appear weak when she is alone. She is also stronger than she looks because she is one of the few remaining true vampires -- very powerful. I am not sure if Akira truly loves her -- his love is more platonic because he vows to protect her.

My only disappointment is that I wish this show ran longer than 12 episodes. I never got a feel for the characters' personalities nor learn their background histories. The storyline seemed rushed. Lately, I noticed a lot of anime with fewer episodes in a series -- is this a trend related to the economic recession and lower budgets? I am not entirely sure, but I hope the production companies resume anime shows with 24+ episodes. Overall, I recommend the show!

This series is not available to buy or rent on DVD. Check back for more updates!


Opening song: "Friends" by Aiko Nakano


Ending song: "Tsumeato" by Hibuku