Doing Dubbing

Voice-Over is a difficult field to break into. It takes lots of motivation, determination, hard work, and ability.
–James Arnold Taylor

He’s one of the reasons why I dream of becoming a voice-actress. In fact I’m quite considering that career but I have no background in such industry. Well I’ve delivered a radio report in Broadcast Journalism for our prelim exam. I wonder if that counts.

In my opinion he did a fantastic job with Tidus from Final Fantasy X. Many gamers complained that he made Tidus sound like a whiny sissy. The Japanese voice-actor Masakazu Morita on the other hand portrayed him to be lighthearted and easygoing.

James Arnold Taylor

Tidus

Masakazu Morita

Speaking in a story-like sense, I think it’s only fitting that Tidus be a typical whiny westerner. It plays a vital part in his character development throughout the story’s progress. His voice when narrating sounds reasonably mature and different from his raw character. Those Tidus-haters are just looking for excuses to bash him.

James Arnold Taylor also did the voices of Johnny Test, Leonardo (TMNT) and Obi-wan Kenobi (Star Wars: Clone Wars) thus he clearly is a professional in his field. The celebrities in the voice-acting field though are Tara Strong who voiced Rikku (Final Fantasy X), Bubbles (The Powerpuff Girls), Raven (Teen Titans) and Timmy Turner (The Fairly Odd Parents) and Tom Kenny who did SpongeBob Squarepants and many other characters that can fill this blog.

Since this third-world country has no cartoon and animation industry, the only open door to such a career is dubbing. I personally believe I can pull it off but the local channels dub only in Tagalog and I’m more comfortable speaking English. Of course I’m also fluent in the former but I’m just more “at home” with English.

Plus the local dubbers suck. It’s obvious that most of the cast are gay, not in a discriminatory sense. It’s either the voices are too deep or too light and the dubbers don’t fit their characters. The cast who did Naruto on ABS-CBN sounds like fingers grinding through a blackboard. The Cartoon Network cast is more aggressive and motivated though but can be overacting. Plus the American accent on the Japanese names sound odd… “My names is Nah-roo-TOE Oo-zoo-MAH-kee! Remember it!”

My sister said that if ever I’m gonna march into Hero (our local animé channel) and apply as a dubber, I’m fit to voice a tomboyish supporting character or a bratty little boy. I’d prefer voicing male characters. Veronica Taylor voices both Ash and May from Pokémon.

Veronica Taylor

In the end maybe voice-acting will just be a hobby for me and not a career. I could start as as a disc jockey for some niche radio station.

Final Fantasy X Survey

Final Fantasy X Survey
favorite character?:	Tidus
Did you get any of the legendary weapons?:	All of ’em!
Besides Yuna, who was your favorite summoner?:	Belgemine
Is Seymour goofy looking or what?:	Just right for a bad guy
What kind of a sissy name for a villian is Seymour anyway?:	I thought it’s kind of cool!
Blitzball much?:	Half the time.
Did you freak out when you found out the truth about Tidus?:	Very much!
Any bosses in particular that really pissed you off?:	Yunalesca
Do you know the poem about Elio the Cactuar?:	Nope.
Coolest aeon?:	Shiva
Who’s got the best overdrive?:	Tidus’ Blitz Ace and Wakka’s Attack Reels
Would you consider Auron a silver fox?:	What’s a silver fox?
You’re not an Al Bhed hater are you?:	No. I wanna be fluent in Al Bhed
Why are the Guado’s arms so long?:	Racial characteristics
If you could live anywhere in Spira, where would it be?:	Luca
Did you get Anima, Yojimbo, or the Magus Sisters?:	All of ’em!
Did you ever wonder why the Hypello talk in questions?:	I never wondered why Yoda talked like that
How long did it take you to beat Braska’s Final Aeon?:	Around three tries and less than 40 hours of gameplay
Now be honest, did you cry at the end?:	Yes
Have you ever gotten the Hymn of the Fayth stuck in your head?:	Quite a few times
Wasn’t Tidus’s smile during the FMV after the credits totally creepy?:	Not really.
You did sit through the credits right?:	Yep!
What was your favorite FMV moment?:	The Kissing Scene!!
Which cloister of trials was the biggest pain in the ass?:	Bevelle. I hated having to sit through platforms
After you beat the game, did you go straight to FFX-2?:	Yes but I wasn’t as devoted
Take this survey | Find more surveys Bzoink – The Original Survey Site

Human Rights

Just this afternoon I watched a program hosted by the College of International Relations about Human Rights. All along I thought they were simply just the right to love, the right to vote, the right to have sex and of course the right to freedom of speech. Little did I (or we) know there are more rights we’re not aware of that we can actually declare to protect ourselves and our dignity.

Here are the thirty Human Rights:

1. We are Born Free and Equal

2. Don’t Discriminate

3. The Right to Life

4. No Slavery

5. No Torture

6. You Have Rights No Matter Where You Go

7. We are All Equal Before the Law

8. Your Human Rights are Protected by the Law

9. No Unfair Detainment

10. The Right to Trial

11. We are Always Innocent ’til Proven Guilty

12. The Right to Privacy

13. Freedom to Move

14. To Seek a Safe Place to Live

15. Right to a Nationality

16. Marriage and Family

17. The Right to Your Own Things

18. Freedom of Thought

19. Freedom of Expression

20. Right to Public Assembly

21. Right to Democracy

22. Social Security

23. Workers’ Rights

24. Right to Play

25. Food and Shelter for All

26. Right to Education

27. Copyright

28. A Fair and Free World

29. Responsibility

30. No One Can Take Away Your Human Rights (may include your own parents)

Born out of the atrocities and enormous loss of life during World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created by the United Nations to provide a common understanding of what everyone’s rights are. It forms the basis for a world built on freedom, justice and peace.
Source: Youth for Human Rights International

Pinoy Big Bother

You cannot compare apples to oranges. It’s a matter of choosing which is riper.

For the first time a male housemate became a Pinoy Big Brother Big Winner. Additionally Ruben Gonzaga is considered an underdog by the viewers thus making his victory even sweeter.

I don’t normally watch Big Brother. I only followed the very first season and the recent Celebrity Edition 2. I don’t like Beatrice Saw. Firstly she lacks appeal. Secondly she’s a trying hard, overacting Toni Gonzaga impersonator.
Then again I don’t normally watch TV nowadays except for Cartoon Network and ETC. The only shows I watch from Nickelodeon are SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly Odd Parents. At least their sitcoms are better than Disney Channel’s in my opinion. I like Zoey 101 and Naturally, Sadie in TEENick.

Ultimately I won’t waste my time away with the so called idiot box. According to the University of Taiwan, time is life.

Emerald

Born to be a winner
Born to be a champion
Born to be a winner
Born to be the very best
–Pokémon: Johto League Champions opening

I simply believe I’m born to be a winner and the very best, so good that I’ll surpass even the incomparable J. K. Rowling!

Now to quit my state of fantasy and continue my file in Pokémon Emerald Version.

Respite

Now that my subjects in Journalism are all majors (and one elective), my drive to write creatively and professionally has increased again. It’s the thought of managing a blog that’s dragging me down.

Frankly I’m finding it quite pointless to even manage one in the first place. Why should anyone give a damn if I slept for sixteen hours and woke up at 2am, had herpes and got dumped by my bueno-para-nada boyfriend? Well, at least why bother keep a personal blog and broadcast to the world of your personal life for perfect strangers to read?

Everytime I have the drive to start a new “professional” blog to have a theme of its own (e.g. cars, music, Hollywood, videogames, sex positions, et cetera), they always end up being personal blogs and contain about some tidbits of my life. Of course I wouldn’t make an emo out of myself and whine about the world being a big scary place.

Then again here’s this blog I found dedicated to bashing Crocs; that absurd and “the most unstylish footwear I’ve ever seen,” says a friend. I may not take these alien-looking slippers fancy but of course I’d definitely not waste time, emotions and web space to advertise its absurdity.

To each his own then.

Happy Birthday Jenna!

Happy 5th Birthday Jenna! Tej loves you so much. Mom will get that Prince Ken doll to partner up with your Sleeping Beauty Barbie.

Cakes are what makes birthdays special!

Blowing five candles isn’t so hard.

This is one of the times I feel like a responsible big sister.  Jenna is the youngest in the family after all. It’s quite sad Christine and Pauline weren’t around for the party. Yet the important thing is Jenna enjoyed her party.

All photos taken with a Kodak EasyShare C530. Since it has poor light intake, I had to rely largely on the flash. The snaps aren’t as pretty but I’m confident I did a good job! After all it’s in the photographer and not the camera.