90'S AND EARLY 2000'S CHILDHOOD ENTERTAINMENT! DO YOU REMEMBER THEM?

90'S AND EARLY 2000'S CHILDHOOD ENTERTAINMENT! DO YOU REMEMBER THEM?

Hello Bitlanders friends!

It is always a good feeling to reminisce the sweetest memories you had when you were still in childhood. Those were the times when you'd cry over a single toy. Funny it might have seemed but have you ever thought of the greatest joys you had before? All things hip during that prepubescence stage, do you remember? 

I'd like to reminisce with you. For this blog, let's go back to the times when life was still carefree. I'm talking about the TV shows in the 1990s (and early 2000s because I'm a 90's kid! Hurrah!) Now I'm sure you have something on your mind too. I will be enlisting the TV shows that I used to grab a remote with. If it happens we've got the same shows, we are true companions! :)

I hope you'll end up with a smile after reading this. Come On! Let's go and hop in this time machine blog back into time. :)

#3 DETECTIVE CONAN

Also known as Case Closed, Detective Conan is a Japanese anime based on Gosho Aoyama's written manga series. The story centers on Kudo Shinichi, a highschool detective who, by force, got administed with a drug that would shrink him back into  child. The reason? He investigated the Black Organization. Now his journey for a way back into teenage begins under the alias of Conan Edogawa (a.k.a. Detective Conan) as he tries to hunt down the members of the secret organization.

Members of the Black Organization:

Biding the time, Conan decides to stay with a private eye named Kogoro Mouri and his daughter Ran Mouri. Professor Agasa, a scientist, gives Conan helpful gadgets as he does his secret mission until he gets to confront the organization.

This show has a scare factor for kids because of its weird and strange-like atmosphere when Conan tries to solve the crimes. I myself had goosebumps watching this! On top of that, it is also mind-boggling since the viewers get to think of the crime solution for themselves as well. The graphics is somehow outdated but who cares, the story content is a badass! I salute Gosho Aoyama! Where did he get all of those ideas? :)

Detective Conan will always be perfect for me! Talking about his age, I'm an adult now but he's still a kid (It means Detective Conan is still running). If I remember it so well , we were just of the same age bracket back then when I watched him for the first time. Conan, would you mind sharing me your secret to that fountain of mega-youth? :)

#2 DIGIMON ADVENTURE

It was first released on March 7, 1999 in Japan and August 14, 1999 in the US. The show started with a group of seven kids who got summoned and transported to the Digital World. There, they met the creatures known as Digital Monsters or Digimon. 

The protagonists discovered that they were chosen to save the world (both digital world and real world) from evil with the assistance of every Digimon destined to be with each one of them. They were also handed with Digivice transporting them to the DigiWorld. As the story progressed, the main characters learned that their Digimons could digivolve into higher forms whenever there was danger. Using this ability, the kids' wit, and all of Digimons' power, the two groups must cooperate side by side in order to win the battle.

*Taichi, one of the main kid characters together with Argumon, his Digimon partner:

It was from the second episode so I couldn't rewatch how it all began. If I could only remember how it exactly happened, then there's no need to watch this.

Seems like it isn't really a failure after all! I realized this is enough for me to keep going! Maybe I'll just have to look for that link of the first episode though.

It is two thumbs up! Brings back all of the memories. Oh, I miss Tai and the rest of the gang! I miss its Cartoon Network-like graphics! I miss everything! :'( I relearned the name of Tai's Digimon, Argumon! And there is Lily, Sora and the kid with the eyeglasses. Did I speak too much? Pardon me. I'm just being nostalgic. :(

Just one more question at the back of my mind, this show has the same concept with that of Pokemon which is another cartoon that has unusual creatures too. In addition to that, Pokemon came first before Digimon so why did I get more addicted to Digimon than to Pokemon? Perhaps, JUST I prefer Digimon. It's fun and delightful! PERIOD.

#1 MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS (POWER RANGERS)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the pioneering series of all Power Rangers installments. It was starred by Austin St. John,Thuy Trang, Walter Jones, Amy Jo Johnson, and David Yost as the original red, yellow, black, pink, and blue rangers, respectively. 

The story is about a group of teenagers who have been chosen to save humanity from Rita Repulsa, an evil alien sorceress. They were given the power to 'morph' into legendary warriors who would protect the earth from pure evil. These warriors were hailed as thePower Rangers.

I don't forget its opening theme song. I used to like the rangers' various colors. Well, black ranger is an exemption. Black is LOVE! Black is good! I even wanted to be like him! I also like all of the action scenes. So smart and speedy! It has the full potential to encourage kids to be active. Now that I think of it, the story was simple but how come I fell for it too just like Digimon? Oh no. No need to know the answer for that as well. Just MMPP is astounding!

I remember the time when I and my cousins would imitate a famous line in the show, "It's morphin' time!". Not only that but the monkey-like actions of the aliens. Gray! Their color was gray! I used to copy them as well! Wow. (Now I'm sighing of nostalgia again) Those were the days. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, you make me sit on a couch and smile just like a baby. :)

BONUS TRIVIA : By the way, kids these days are fortunately lucky because Power Rangers is still on the go. Did you know that numerous Power Rangers installments have been released since 1993? Yes, that's how long Power Rangers has been running! If I'm not mistaken, the new series is now entitled as Dino Rangers Super Charge! I'm definitely watching it! I'm so excited! :)

Reminiscing the happy old days can be compared to that playground swing. No matter how far you swing, you'll eventually go back to the hanging position. This is the same with our childhood. No matter how much we try to remember those times, we always end up with the fact that we've already grown up. But if there's one thing in common, that'll be the chance to swing again to as far as we can. Isn't it fun? Can't you believe it? :)

Well then... would you like to reswing back into time? Come on! It doesn't hurt to be a kid again even just for a moment, because we'll always be kids at heart. :)

Curbing Global Warming - lets help preserve the world

The recently held Oscars generated a lot of attention – particularly actor Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning the award for best / lead actor (for those who are not aware, he was nominated numerous times but never won the award). Now I’m sure he deserves the recognition as his performance in the film “The Revenant” was really top notched. However, what really caught my attention was the actor’s acceptance speech.

Any reader who is not privy or those who missed this particular speech, it will be interesting to note that a major portion of it was about climate change. It is about the threat of global warming and how it will affect people in a massive scale.

I would be attaching here a clip of Leonardo DiCaprio’s acceptance speech so you can hear first-hand what he had to say about climate change.

Climate Change and Global Warming – knowing the difference

As you probably guessed, this post is about climate change, global warming, and how I intend to do my part in preserving the environment.

Before moving on, it is important to note what is the relationship between climate change and global warming? Are these two aspects the same or are they different?

Climate Change – Definition and Causes

Climate change is generally defined as the change in statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time – from decades to a millennia (even up to millions of years).

There are various causes why the climate changes. The natural ones include the following:

• tectonic plates
• solar radiation
• volcanic eruptions
• biotic processes

Global Warming – Definition and Causes

However, scientists have found out that human activities can also (and severely) affect climate change – and this is what we referred to as Global Warming!

Now some people may argue that global warming is not true. They may say that climate change is only a natural phenomenon and that the planet will heal itself. Unfortunately, many scientists tend to disagree.

Thanks to advancement in technology (combining past climate change occurrences and future-based weather models), most of these scientists are almost positive (up to 95% certainty) that global warming is caused by heavy concentrations of GHG (greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere and other human activities.

Here is an itemized list on how human activities contribute to global warming (hence a faster possibility of climate change):

• Heavy usage of energy sources that releases greenhouse gas in the atmosphere (coal, oil, and other carbon-based fuels)
• Deforestation and other activities that causes soil erosion
• Significant changes on land areas and surfaces (particularly reclamation)
• Increasing aerosols concentration in the atmosphere

A photo showing that 2015 is the warmest year on recorded history since 1880. The difference in colors are not design or special effects but actually shows temperature anomalies as inidicated by NASA/NOAA
(Image source: Wikipedia.com)

What happens when the climate changes?

Now that we know what climate change is and how global warming contributes to it, let us now look at what will happen when the climate changes.

Naturally, many readers are probably thinking of another ice age as the likely conclusion (given its popularity on various media and wide depiction). However, just to bring something different in the table, let us remember the definition of climate change. It is the change in weather pattern for an extended period of time. This means that rainfall patterns may change – it may result to a very long rainy season or very short dry season. This could also mean variation of the so-called growth or crop season (obviously, this would greatly affect agriculture-inclined countries). Changes in the hot and cold season for a prolonged time may melt the ice caps, rising sea levels to unprecedented heights, etc…

Extreme weather is also caused by climate change. The chart above shows how extreme weather phenomenon is proportionally rising with time due to climate change

Aside from extreme weather occurrences, sea levels will also rise due to climate change. The photo above is from a study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The photo clearly illustrates how sea level have risen or changed during each of the twenty centuries of the Common Era.

The bottom line is, climate change will affect the eco system. If the eco-system is altered, it will surely influence way of life and the people or communities that is part of that cycle.

How real is global warming?

At this point, some readers are still skeptical about global warming and climate change. This is normal. Why would you believe something that you just read from some random stranger in cyberspace.

Truth be told, one of this blog’s main purpose is not to persuade people into believing. Rather, this post aims to spread awareness. This post is all about showing and educating that climate change and global warming is a threat that must be handled as now and can no longer be postponed.

This might be the reason why numerous national governments sent their representatives in France to convene and discuss this particular situation.

Different Countries Tackled Climate Change in France (COP21)

Yes folks! You read that right – representatives from 195 countries convened in Paris France last year (November 30 - December 15 to be précised) to what to be known as COP21 or CMP11 with the purpose of discussing and addressing climate change.

Aside from representatives of the 195 national governments, prominent businessmen and famous people also attended the event (Bill Gates, Meg Whitman, Mark Zuckerberg, etc…)

The whole purpose of COP21 is to address climate change. World leaders and other attendees know the impact of climate change and that something must be done. This led to the so-called Paris Agreement – an ambitious and balance plan aimed to reduce global warming by governing and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

There is an alternative source – Renewables!

If a plan is already in motion by our government leaders, why would I still do something? I am just a simple person who can do so little, it might not make a difference!

Unfortunately, some people have the above mindset - which is of course, not the right type of attitude. We must always remember that we are all inhabitants of this planet. We only have one planet and it is definitely worth saving. All our efforts will have a positive impact – no matter how small or big it might be.

If you are unsure on what you can do, then the best you can do is spread awareness. Educate and let people know that aside from coal and other harmful-producing dirty energy sources, there is an alternative one – a cleaner one.These so-called clean sources of energy are called Renewables.

Basically, renewable energy sources are the ones that are natural – solar, wind, rain, tides, geothermal (heat), etc… Nowadays, renewable energy sources are gradually breaking grounds and being integrated by different countries into their electricity grids. China, US, Germany, India, the European Union are just some of the countries that are heavily investing in renewables. Developing countries are also not far behind.

Remember, global warming is a threat that can no longer be ignored. The world needs our help – all our efforts matter.

Here is my role in helping the planet

Take me for example. I used bitLanders to submit this blog as I know it is the perfect social media site to submit such posts to spread awareness.

If I posted this in other social media sites, it may go unnoticed. Besides bitLanders has this knack for helping (just look at the various charity institutions the site supports).

Remember, every effort helps. Spread the word, educate as much people as you can, There are cleaner alternative energy sources and enjoy living in a better and healthier environment.

I will also include the below photo as it gives out suggestions and activities on how to reduce global warming.

Let me finish this blog by showing you Earth Hour. Earth hour is a one-hour global event held last March 19. It is a movement organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) to unite the people in protecting the planet.

Korean Drama Special Review: Puck!

◌ Puck! (퍽!) ◌

"Because I want to live."

Hello guys, how are you ?. I usually spend my night with watching movie, drama, anime, or variety show, and on the blog this time I will discuss about drama special titled "Puck!". When I had dinner usually I avoid the show that is serious, so I decided to watch this drama special few days ago. The main reason I watched this drama is because there is Lee Kwang-soo or you could called him "Giraffe" or "Prince of Asia" because his popularity has spread around the Asia. I have not see theRunning Man since last year, I wanted to see his funny looks and how much progress his acting. Happy reading!

◌ About Puck! ◌

Puck! (퍽!) is a Korean drama special that aired on SBS in 1 January 2016, with two episodes lasted around 60 minutes each episode. The drama is called a drama special because these kind of drama usually only consist of 1 - 4 episodes, unlike regular Korean drama series that can reach 10 episodes and even hundreds of episodes. This drama came from Lee Gwang-young as the director and Yoon Hyun-ho as the writer.

Some you must be wondering what is the meaning of the puck, Because I also do not know at first and found out later why this drama special was titled Puck!. The story in this drama will focus around Ice Hockey and the life of gangster under loan shark, that's why they chose Puck! as the title.

"A hockey puck is a disk made of vulcanized rubber that serves the same functions in various games as a ball does in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport." -wikipedia

◌ Story ◌

The story opens with a scene when Jo Joo-man annoyed and beat someone to bleed to collect money for his boss. Then an accident happens when someone nearly died from falling off a ladder as a result of Jo Joo-man violence, and he gets scolded from his boss. But the boss still hired him to collect the money because he was loyal like a dog.

There is an ice hockey team in Han Kook University. They were having a difficult time because they often lose in every game. One by one the team members began to withdraw, leaving only five members. On the other hand, the team coach, Heo Myung-geun also has its own problems when Jo Joo Man appeared to him to collect the debt. Heo Myung-geun has no other source of income apart from the ice hockey team. However, now the team nearly disbanded because of pressure from superiors and it takes six members in one team if it wants to continue the match.

"Ice Hockey Team Members"

If ice hockey team disbanded, then either Heo Myung-geun or Jo Joo-man will not be able to get the money. Jo Joo-man who does not know anything about ice hockey eventually forced to join into the ice hockey team to get debt from Heo Myung-geun. There is a promise from the Head, if there is one win in the remaining games then the team will continues.

With only 6 members they continue the match to get at least one win and the real story begins. . .

◌ Cast ◌

1. Lee Kwang-soo
   He actually is good and warm. But because of his greedy wife he decided to work for loan shark to pay off debts.One day, he meet strange woman when he tried to collect debts who serve him a meal instead giving him the money. 
2. Jung Hae-kyun
   He is Han Kook ice hockey coach who lived alone. In order to pay his debt, he had to maintain his ice hockey team whatever happened.
3. Son Soo-hyun
   She can be regarded as an assistant coach to help each member of the team. She always carries a camcorder to record the match.
4. Kwak Dong-yeon
   He is one of the members of the ice hockey team. Faced with the problems of life, he became closer to Joo-man.
5. Jo Yoon-woo
   He can be regarded as ace of Han Kook ice hockey team. For some reason, he left the team.
6. Kim Byung-ok
   He was a loan shark. With its harsh and cruel, he did not hesitate to use violence to collect debts and beat his own men.
7. Lee Shi-won
   A strange neighbor woman. When there is someone who want collect money from her she always serve them a meal. Then she meet Joo-man          

Aside from the main cast above, there is also a supporting actor who plays ice hockey team members, such as Lee Kang-min, Sul Jung-hwan, Jo Yong-hoon, Kim Jin-woo, Kang Ki-young, etc, which mostly is rookie actor. And some veteran actors also take part in this drama, such as Lee Joon-hyuk, Kil Hae-yeon, Park Young-soo, etc, which played a minor role.

"Puck! (퍽!) Main Cast"

◌ An Improvement In Acting ◌

The last time I saw Lee Kwang-soo acting is in a movie titled "Confession" in year 2014. During this time, Lee Kwang-soo is known as a funny comedian with his dumb and silly behavior. In this drama, he proved his ability in acting as an actor. I think he was worthy enough to be a main cast in a drama, because he has always been a supporting player in the drama he had before. He did a good job in conveying different emotions in this drama, like when he had to be cruel, crying, laughing happily, etc. By this he showed that he has developed into a real actor.

Book of Life Movie

Book of Life Movie Review

Nowadays, animated films are not just intended for the young ones but also for the adults. I personally don't watch too much films nowadays which I regret because I used to watch movies specially animated ones but because of work and other stuffs which I become busy about, I tend to lessen time for watching movies. I do have a series which I am consistently following but then I also have a limited time for those. It seems like the things that I am doing lately had been taking much of my time.

But there's an exception to this because my brother in law had recommended one specific animated movie which he said is a must watch. Coincidentally, my colleagues had already downloaded the said movie and all I had to do was to copy the file from the office's download server. Glad the copy was clear and on high definition.

~ STORY PLOT ~

The animated movie was about the life of the three main characters, Manolo, Joaquin and Maria. These three characters lived in a town of Mexico called San Angel. They were friends ever since they were young and the two boys had already interest in Maria even when they were still young.

During the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), La Muerte, the ruler of the Land of the Remembered and Xibalba, her wife, the ruler of the Land of the Forgotten made a specific bet of these three kids. La Muerte bet that Manolo will marry Maria while Xibalba bet for Joaquin but later on cheated by giving the boy the Medal of Everlasting Life which then gives Joaquin power where he won't be hurt or won't be defeated by anyone.

Because of an incident where Maria had freed some pigs of their neighbors which were about to be butchered, her father, General Ramiro Posada let her go to a far place to study on how to become a true lady leaving both her best friends, Manolo and Joaquin. However, Manolo was able to leave Maria with a piglet and Maria also left Manolo with a guitar which has an engraved phrase "always play from the heart". Joaquin on the other hand was left with Maria's hat.

The time came when Maria returned back to the town, a bullfighting event was held to welcome her back with of which Manolo's first bullfight as well. Manolo's family are bullfighters and he was expected to be the same as well but he has a heart of a musician and don't want to really kill the bull. Manolo, although was able to defeat the bull didn't kill him which dismayed his father but then had impressed Maria.

Manolo then confessed his love to Maria when they met at dawn but he was tricked by Xibalbaand Maria was bitten by the two headed snake which took her to a deep sleep but Manolo thought she is dead so he let the two headed snake also bit him which in turn killed him that time.

When he got killed, he went to the Land of the Remembered where he reunited with his mother, Carmen and also his other relatives and grandparents. And aside from reuniting with the relatives, he also looked for Maria Posada but later learned that Maria is not in the Land of the Remembered because she was not dead after all as revealed by Xibalba who was now reigning the Land of the Remembered since La Muerte had lost the bet.

Then he went on to search for the La Muerte at the Land of the Forgotten but later met the Candle Maker who has the Book of Life. He then saw that Manolo's story is blank can be rewritten by Manolo himself, Candle Maker then took Manolo and his family to the Land of the Forgotten where they found La Muerte and explained what had really happened. La Muertethen learned that Xibalba cheated her which caused her to negotiate one more time with Xibalba. Manolo eventually won the bet whichXibalba set and had made Manolo together with his family returned to the living world.

While Manolo was away, Maria learned about his death and later on agreed to marry Joaquin but the enemy of their town had returned, Chakal who was in search for the Medal of Everlasting Life. Gladly, Manolo came back and it was a coincidence because his family were also raised and got to fight the entire army of Chakal. Manolo was almost killed when Chakal placed a bomb but was saved by the Medal of Everlasting Life after Joaquin pins it on him.

Everything went back to normal in the town of San Angel and the Medal was returned toXibalba later on. Manolo and Maria then got married happily while keeping their friendship with Joaquin.

How was it?

The truth is I didn't expect it to be that beautiful when I first came to learn about the movie. I thought it would be all about books or a specific life which was biographed and I never had expected it to give me

Believe me or not but I had been recommending the movie to my friends and family members too specially to those who have kids. It is a beautiful animation showing off the Mexican traditions and ancient mythology which we as Filipinos are able to relate specially the traditions because the Philippines had been colonized by the Spaniards before for 300 years and so I believe that the Mexicans and Spaniards do have identical traditions.

And I would like to stress out that my favorite character of the movie is La Muerte because her dress, her hat and everything in her was really stunning. Her poise and her soft side makes her look like a queen.

Visual Presentation

The visual art was really stunning and very impressive because of its bright colors of their dresses and the Land of the Remembered looked like a party place due to the wonderful colors and designs of the balloons, the location and the impressively nice designs. Kudos to the digital artist who made the animation really beautifully stunning. It has been a colorful place of joy and revelry.

Also, I would need to commend the darker side of the animation. Although there were evil-ish side because of Xibalba being in the Land of the Forgotten where there were demonic skulls and bones and looks like it was all about a sad and demonic place, this didn't take the part of the movie being a fun and bright one. So if someone who have watched it would try to recall, they would probably remember the brighter and colorful side instead of the dark one.

Lessons of the Movie

I am listing down some of the important lessons which I had learned from the animation. This is not just for the adult ones to learn from but most specially to the young viewers which I personally believe can help them with their lives too.

~ THE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIP ~

While Manolo and Joaquin were contending for Maria's heart, they remained friends. This is a good lesson to learn from specially to those teenagers who thinks that if you become rivals for a specific girl, your friendship would then drift away. 

What's good about the story was that even after Maria choose Manolo, their friendship stayed and even became stronger.

~ BELIEVING IN ONE'S DREAM ~

It's great to see a movie which gives importance to pursue what your heart desires. Manolo's family carries the bullfighters even way way before and his father had expected him to be one a well. However, Manolo made it clear and firm that he won't be killing any bull at all as his dream is to become an artist, a musician.

He is indeed good with the red cape and distracting the bull but he'd rather play the guitar and sing than killing it. His father had disown him because of that but later on, Manolo gained back his father's trust and respect.

~ TO HAVE A PURE HEART ~

It's a fact that Manolo had been very pure and courageous ever since they were kids. It is a good example to the viewers specially to kids to stay pure and courageous even when trials come. Even when things don't get to your way, be courageous and seek for what is good and of which would give goodness to yourself and to the people around you.

Note as well that Manolo willingly gives up his life for the sole purpose of pursuing the love of his life into the afterlife. This is something which can be really a good lesson to the viewers.

Elements of the Movie

Día de los Muertos - is a celebration or a Mexican holiday which is some kind of magic as it commemorates the spirits of the departed loved ones who returns to earth to receive gifts and remembrances from their still living family members.

Xibalba - The Ruler of the Land of the Forgotten was derived from the Mayan term for the realm of the dead.

Ending Song - the song entitled "No Matter Where You Are" have been my favorite even before I have watched the movie which made me really surprised when I heard it in the ending part of the movie.The song is composed and sang by the real life couple, Us The Duo.

Final Point

And as I had mentioned earlier, the animated movie is a recommendable film, something which kids and adults will both enjoy. It involves friendship, love, bravery, unity and traditional aspects as well as the godly realm. 

I would rate it 9/10 as there's no such thing as perfect in this world. And let me end this review by borrowing what La Muerte said:

"Love, true love, the really, really good kind of love, never dies."