Having Sex With Robots

• From The Colbert Report

I think the most positive thing from having sex with robots is that you will never have to deal with unexpected pregnancy.

Update: Youtube (as always) has removed the video. Click HERE to watch the clip.

Anime Cosplay: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

The Good

The hottest Lulu cosplayer ever.

• Original Inspiration: Lulu (Final Fantasy X)

The Bad

The thing on his head reminds me of a particular male part.

• Original Inspiration: Kid Buu (Dragon Ball Z)

The Ugly

Oh, the humanity…

• Original Inspiration: Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop)

The Imaginary World Of Women

I want to start this discussion in an objective manner rather being subjective. That is, free from personal biases. It’s no brainier that we live in a world of men despite the fact that men are currently a minority in some countries according to world’s population. But what would happen if there’s been a shift in power and women became the dominating power of the world, specifically in the political medium? Many says that women shouldn’t have a role in politics simply because they lack the intelligent to understand the game of politics, or simply, they are too kind to construct a political decision without consulting their hearts first before their brains. But then again, most of nowadays leaders (political and religious alike) are men who have no ounce of compassion to the human race. They tend to follow the rules of mind instead the rules of the heart. Wouldn’t the world be in a better place if compassionate, sympathetic individuals took charge in these situations? One might argue that there would be fewer wars if women ruled the world, and that’s a feasible consequence that even I agree upon.

Unfortunately however, the situation isn’t black and white. Throughout the history, women have always dipped their hands in the art of war and violence in some shape or form. For example, didn’t a woman brought down the Roman Empire? Didn’t a Princess caused World War 1? Wasn’t Golda Meir who resolved to the tactics of war instead of tactics of peace? What about female suicide bombers? The list goes on and on.

I am a male feminist after all. I embrace and encourage gender equality and female empowerment because I personally believe when you empower a woman; you empower the whole family, and eventually the entire society. However, when I show my support for women leaders (or the proposal of female judges) that doesn’t necessarily mean that those women would bring peace and prosperity to the world simply because they are female. No, I support them because I’m embracing gender equality in politics, and maybe, just maybe, their visions that I might find them ideal and prosperous. After all, there are no conclusive evidences that women are absolute caregivers of peace, nor the opposite. Another angle that’s worth looking into is that women don’t generally agree with women. Do all American women agree with Hilary Clinton’s visions and ideals? What about the recently assassinated Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto? Your answer might work with your agenda, but certainly not a true representative of the whole population, regardless if you are male or female.

The Australian Open

I have been keeping a close eye on the Kuwaiti blogsphere and I’m still wondering why anybody hasn’t mentioned anything about the Australian Open. C’mon people. Just because you don’t see sweaty men running after a ball doesn’t mean it isn’t worth watching (not to be disrespectful to soccer fans). Although I don’t exactly watch every single match, but I definitely watch the most important ones and whenever I see myself not doing anything else and there’s a game on. And for your pleasure only, I’ll share with you my favorite tennis players, 2 men and 2 women just so you won’t call me sexist.

• Roger Federer (Switzerland)

o Won 12 Grand Slams singles (3 Australian Open, 5 Wimbledon. 3 U.S. Open)
o Named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record third consecutive time
o European Sportsman of the Year 2007

• Rafael Nadal (Spain)

o Three-time Grand Slam champion
o Holds the longest winning streak on a single surface in the open era
o Remains undefeated in his career at the French Open, having won all 21 matches

• Maria Sharapova (Russia)

o Won two Grand Slam singles titles
o She is the fifth-ranked female player in the world
o She beat Serena Williams to take the Wimbledon title at the age of 17 in 2004

• Ana Ivanović (Serbia)

o Ranked third in the world on the Women Tennis Association (WTA) tour
o The #1 Serbian player

Spoiler-Free Review: Cloverfield

If you have seen the trailer of the movie, then you probably realize what you are getting into. Cloverfield is Blair Witch meets Godzilla, with the audience allowed only as much information about what exactly is happening as the characters have themselves, and it works fantastically well. And that’s key to the film’s second stroke of genius: its nearly subconscious evocation of our current paranoid, terror-phobic times such as the 9/11 nightmare. However, Cloverfield is a movie that will enjoy an abundant amount of discussions and theories among your friends for a short period of time (maybe a day or two), but it will not resonate for long. The first question will probably be the “where question” and that’s can easily be solved if you pay attention to the movie and actually attach all the information given into one complete picture. However, The “what” and “how questions” are up to your imaginations and theories. The performance was great but not always; it certainly wasn’t believable as Blair Witch was, but it managed to evoke an array of emotions that were similar to what the characters were experiencing. Surprisingly, the movie has its fair share of humor and smart writing but sometimes they seem a little nuisance and out of place. Also, bear in mind that the movie views the catastrophic, literally earthshaking events through the lens of one character’s digital video camera, complete with rough, nerve jangling in-camera edits; thus it might cause motion sickness to some people, but it will probably subdue after 30 minutes or so. Sitting in the theatre, watching all hell break spectacularly loose in Lower Manhattan, and watching the reaction of the audience is certainly a fine experience that I highly encourage to participant in, and the movie deserves to be watched just for that, even though it’s an 80 minute film.

Cloverfield isn’t particularly a great movie or a bad one either; it simply modifies the genre by allocating the best elements of thriller and sci-fi flicks. But to be fair, this is probably one of the most intense, stomach-churning, and breathtaking movies I have seen in awhile and it deserves a nod for its effort. For brave hearts only.

The Bottom Line

B

CD Review: The Black Mages

As an avid fan of Final Fantasy games, I was completely ecstatic when I stumbled upon this fine soundtrack. The Black Mages debut album incorporated the most frantic battle themes in the history of Final Fantasy in a complex, progressive-heavy metal frame.

Those familiar with the game series should have an abundant sense of nostalgia listening to this record, and they should. The Black Mages did a great job of keeping the original tunes intact while putting their own spin on them and truly making them into some great music. This shows especially on tracks like “Clash On The Big Bridge” and “For Those Who Fight Further” or “J-E-N-O-V-A”. Some other tracks such as “Battle Scene” are a bit lighter on the guitar, letting some synthesizers into the mix, and this is okay, but it does take away from the music a bit, making it sound a bit less full and fleshed out. Some other very noteworthy tracks include “The Decisive Battle”, one of the heaviest songs in the album. It’s a good, not essential, album nonetheless but definitely a must-buy for Final Fantasy fans and instrumental fans alike. In the end, you will not be disappointed if you want something heavy to rock out to.

Definite Downloads

1. Clash On The Big Bridge (Final Fantasy V)
2. The Decisive Battle (Final Fantasy VI)
3. J-E-N-O-V-A (Final Fantasy VII)
4. Those Who Fight Further (Final Fantasy VII)
5. Battle Scene (Final Fantasy)

~Rating~

Kuwaitis & The Cheesecake Factory

One of things that increased my fascination while studying abroad is Kuwaitis’ love for the restaurant The Cheesecake Factory. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory is famous for its upscale casual dining atmosphere and the extensive menu that offers more than 200 selections of appetizers, pizza, pasta, seafood, steaks, salads, and sandwiches. Of course, not to mention it’s diverse assortment of cheesecake such as the Original Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake, Vanilla Bean Cheesecake, Oreo Cheesecake, Caramel Pecan Cheesecake, and so on.

Now, here is the thing. Despite that the Cheesecake Factory offers almost anything that might come to mind (they even offer kebabs), most of these dishes are mediocre in taste at best. That is, they don’t offer the best pasta dish, or the best chicken entrée around; you even forget the taste before you leave the restaurant. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad place to dine in, it’s just as I mentioned above: it’s mediocre. What fascinates me however, is why Kuwaitis keep going to this place whenever they don’t know where to dine in? I developed couple of hypothesis and here are some of them:

• Kuwaitis are known for their unfixed taste buds. Sometimes, it is better to go to a place where it offers an array of dishes just so you can shut everybody’s up, instead of nagging over a specific restaurant that offers a specific cuisine.

• Kuwaitis, in general, have eyes bigger than their stomach. They tend to order too many appetizers in which they completely fill in before their main entrees arrive. Thus, they love to debate over a limited selection of the appetizers, but their arguments usually fail and wound up ordering half of the appetizer menu. Cheesecake Factory is one of the few restaurants that offer that opportunity.

• Kuwaitis, most of the time, value the atmosphere more than the food, and usually Cheesecake Factory is located in a nice indoor mall, which makes it an ideal place to dine in after a long day of shopping.

• Kuwaitis love cheesecake. End of the sentence.

• Cheesecake Factory isn’t very cheap nor overly expensive, which makes it the perfect place to hold a “dinner activity”. A quick search at their “activities” in NUKS.ORG and you will discover what I mean.

Now, you might ask me, what the hell I’m babbling about? I don’t know really, I’m just sharing my thoughts. And you might ask, do I love this place? My answer would be yes because; I am a Kuwaiti after all. Another question would be, do I want this restaurant to be imported to Kuwait? Yes, that would be awesome. And finally, you might ask, would I be a frequent customer if the restaurant got imported? No, because I love to discover new places to dine in and probably it would have too many Kuwaitis to handle in one place.

Book Review: The Thirteenth Tale

Very few authors manage to fracture the English literature world with a powerful debut novel, and I consider Diane Setterfield as one of those few. The Thirteenth Tale combines the elements of gothic stories and the arousing voice of ghost tales with a hint of mystery in an exquisite narrative that doesn’t take itself too seriously (which is good). Those who love books that talk about the love of reading books will find something special within the pages of this novel.

The Thirteenth Tale is about the power of stories as much as it’s about the darker side of written fantasy. The narrator, Margaret Lea, is not so much living her life through books as avoiding her life with the use of books, especially since she runs her family bookstore. One day she receives a letter from Vida Winter, a famous novelist, asking her to come to Yorkshire and listen to her story and write her autobiography before she leaves the world of the living. And so begins a ghostly adventure of mystery, sorrow and discovery that consumes Margaret’s life and forces her to actively participate in the story in order to a reach a firm conclusion, and discovers the answers for her many questions.

Obviously, the main characters of this novel are Margaret Lea and Vida Winter, and both of them were brought to life nicely due to the simple and yet intricate writing. The most prominent aspect of the novel is the smart gradual unraveling of this mystery. It’s really hard to put down once you reach a part where you starve to know the next, and there are many parts that challenge you to do so. This is truly a pleasant book to read with extremely satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended.

~Rating~

A Bottle of H2O

Me: Can I have a bottle of H2O please? (smiles)
Her: What?
Me: A bottle of H2O! (smile fades)
Her: What’s H2O?
Me: Water. It is referred as H2O in the world of chemistry.
Her: Oh, I didn’t know that.
Me:………..
Her: Here’s your bottle of water sir. Anything else? Popcorn?
Me: Nope. Thanks.

I don’t know which one of us is more stupid. Me, for trying to be funny by substituting water for H2O, or her, for not knowing what does H2O stand for. For now, I’ll consider both of us as idiots just so I won’t hurt anybody’s feelings.

Trace Memory

With $9.99 price tag, I just couldn’t resist. I locked in at least one hour of gameplay and so far I kinda like it. It’s like a mystery novella with a point-and-click game mechanic. It feels quite intuitive without being too much of a gimmick.