derpinsel.com - pixels, stories and texts by angela solis

University of Manitoba-hosted Student Blogs

U of M just launched seven student blogs hosted at the U of M website.

Our student bloggers offer an inside peek at life at the U of M. So, whether you are a prospective student interested in studying at the U of M, a current student looking for tips from fellow students, or just a curious reader who’s interested in the adventures of student life, the blogs are sure to inform and entertain.

Basically the blogs’ contents are about students talking about their university life at the U of M. Which doesn’t sound so bad, I guess. I do that all the time, hehe.

For more information, go here.

Manitoba offers 60% tax rebate on tuition

Manitoba’s NDP government has promised a 60-per-cent tax rebate on tuition fees to university and college students who stay and work in the province after they graduate.

The pledge came Wednesday in the government’s annual throne speech, which was read by Lt.-Gov. John Harvard to open the fifth session of the 38th Manitoba legislature.

Calling it a first in Manitoba history, Harvard said the rebate will be take effect in 2007 and allow “the average graduate to receive the rebate over six years” while working to establish a career in the province and paying off student debt. [CBC]

I think this is another way to “keep” the students from leaving the province. My father told me that I should stay here for a couple of years more after graduating so that I can get the rebate for it will help me a lot when I start paying my student loan.

The problem is, I want to apply for the JET Program. :\

Anyway, I finished reading After the Quake last week. I’ll just post an entry probably before my exams and after I finish writing my papers. I’m in the middle of writing a paper about Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrranos and Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore, so I’m quite busy. The website that my AsianCiv prof recommended last year proved to be very useful, so if you’re writing papers using MLA format, I suggest that you check this website.

Waterboys, NANA

Waterboys (2001)
Waterboys is a Japanese film about a synchronized swimming team composed of high school boys. The movie contains anime-like elements, and while the plot seems too straight-forward and predictable, the probable reason why this movie clicked was because of its humor. The thing is that I wouldn’t really watch this film if not for Tamaki Hiroshi, which I mentioned earlier as one of the main stars of the drama series, Nodame Cantabile.

There is also a Japanese drama of the same title and story, although there are more character developments in the drama series. Overall it was a good film, not necessarily spectacular but entertaining nonetheless.

NANA (2005)
I haven’t read the manga nor the anime version of this story because I don’t want to set up some expectations about this live action film. Nevertheless, I did enjoy watching it, and the ending left me (and my friends) dissatisfied, probably because it was bitin and left us hanging and waiting for more. The story is about the chance meeting of two girls with the same first name (Nana, which means ’seven’ in Japanese) but with different personalities.

Nakashima Mika and Miyazaki Aoi are perfect as Osaki Nana and Komatsu Nana, respectively. There are a lot of familiar looking actors in here, namely Narimiya Hiroki (Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo 3, Gokusen, Stand Up!, Orange Days), Mizutani Momosuke (Gokusen 2, One Litre of Tears), Hiraoka Yuuta (Swing Girls) and Matsuyama Kenichi (Gokusen, One Litre of Tears, Death Note, Tsubasa no Oreta Tenshitachi). I can emphatize with the characters and I think that Hiraoka’s character (Shouji, Komatsu Nana’s boyfriend) is a jerk. Overall I enjoyed watching this film and will be waiting for the sequel probably next year.

Lem’s Birthday

Wala kaming klase kahapon kaya naman ay nagpunta ako sa bahay ni Ariane dahil nagkayayaan kaming manood ng movies. Nataon ding birthday ni Lem kahapon kaya doon na rin kami nag-celebrate. Nauna sila Phoebi at Lem sa bahay nila Ariane, tapos nakasabay ko naman si Austine. Tapos dumating na sila Sybil at Joann. Si Ariane ang huling dumating kasi may nilakad pa daw siya sa bangko.

Nagdala ako ng tatlong rented DVDs at isang maliit na case na may mga subbed Japanese shows and movie. Nanood sila ng American Haunting (I didn’t watch it because I HATE horror and suspense films) pero I glanced at the movie once in a while. The quality was crappy. The story was good if only the things didn’t become messy at the middle of the film. We then watched the Japanese movie NANA.

More photos in here.

Application for citizenship

A week ago, I made one of the biggest decisions in my life. More »

Burton Lysecki Books

Pagkasundo ko kay Joann sa U of M kanina ay nagpunta kami sa Osborne kasi nagpasama ako para kumuha ng used copy ng Anthology of Japanese Literature na super late na reading para sa aking ASIA2620 class. Takot kasi ako pumunta ng Osborne nang mag-isa eh. Anyway, noong nakuha na namin ni Joann yung mga books na kailangan namin sa library ay pumunta na kami sa Osborne. More »

Nickel Creek - This Side

Everytime I think of UP, this song starts playing inside my head:

One day, I’ll find myself walking on the campus, singing these lines: “It’s foreign on this side, But it feels like I’m home again.”

Sinulat ko noong nasa UP pa ako, around August 2003:

Marami nang nagbago simula ng pumasok ako sa kolehiyo. Memorize ko na ang mga pasikot-sikot sa campus. Yung mundo ko, sa halip na mag-expand, lalong lumiit. Hindi na ako nag-aagahan. Nagdefer na ako sa dalawang org na sinalihan ko; mas feel ko ang tumambay sa lib. (haha, nerdo!) ginagawa kong mineral water ang Coffee House (Available in Irish Cream and Capp Flavor) o ang Great Taste RTD (Mas masarap yung Cafe Chocolat). Mas maimis na ako sa gamit. Bigla na lang akong natutulala. Bigla na lang akong nakakatulog sa loob ng limang minuto tapos magigising. May kaklase akong henyo. May stalker ako! (gasp!)

It’s foreign on this side.

Nodame Cantabile (のだめカンタービレ)

I just started watching the Japanese drama Nodame Cantabile and it’s a great show. It was aired last week I think, and so far I enjoyed the first two episodes a lot.

Megumi Noda, or “Nodame,” is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. Although she is an extremely talented pianist who can play by ear, she can’t read music. She also hates to take a bath or clean her room. For her daily meals, she usually grabs something out of her friend’s lunchbox.

Nodame soon falls in love with Momogaoka’s top student, Shinichi Chiaki. Born into a musical family, he plays the piano and violin brilliantly. Although his major is piano, he has secret ambitions to become a conductor.

Based on the big hit comic book by Tomoko Ninomiya, this is the romantic comedy of two completely different personalities. [D-Addicts]

I was thinking that this would be boring because the story mainly involves classical music, but the artists performed their roles really well. I might buy the translated manga sometime soon.

Blowing snow

Okay, before I talk about the weather (which you will likely expect every year, beginning October), I just want to comment about how the quality of the clip drops down when I upload it online. You won’t even see the falling and blowing snow that much, so if you want a high-resolution clip just tell me and I’ll try to upload it somewhere else.

Anyway.

This entry is different from this one (which I posted a couple of weeks ago) because the snow melted right away. Today it won’t stop snowing and it’s a little annoying though. I know some of you will think that snow’s cool (literally and figuratively), but once you get to deal with it for like, 6-8 months out of 12, then you know what I mean. It’s hard to walk or to drive, everything’s like a real-life Narnia in here.

In any case, try to enjoy the short clip and the weird voice on the background. Photos are in here.

PinoyLitWiki and PinoyMusicWiki

I already promised Kuya Mark that I will post an entry about these two sites, so here it is.

I encourage you guys to go visit (and contribute!) to PinoyLitWiki and PinoyMusicWiki. There aren’t a lot of articles up yet. I am not sure if my old handouts from my CW10 class under Sir Wendell will help, but I think it’s a form of stealing (I mean if I use the handouts). Also I notice that most of the bands listed at the Music wiki are composed of alternative bands. It would be nice if most people will also post information about mainstream pop bands (no matter how jologs their music is to some people). I would love to set up a couple of pages sometime soon, but I really don’t have enough time right now. So to those who have enough time to spend (especially to those who are on their semestral break), please do visit the site.