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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 9, 2008 14:38:43 GMT -8
109) Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
110) Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto
111) N.P. by Banana Yoshimoto
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 8, 2008 18:43:29 GMT -8
Thanks, guys. Mom's side of the family is richer, but there doesn't seem to be anywhere near this level of drama when inheritance issues pop up. Or maybe I'm just out of the loop.
We've just got a small-scale version of the real-life soap opera involving Senator Jamby Madrigal and her late aunt's will. BILLIONS of pesos at stake, so it's a little more understandable.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 7, 2008 21:06:17 GMT -8
The worst part of my grandmother dying is dealing with the estate.
Dad is the eldest son, hence we get the lion's share. Amah left us a couple of time-deposit accounts (peso and dollar at two different banks) in which my siblings and me were co-depositors. Then there's all the real estate in my aunt's name since Amah was still a Chinese citizen and couldn't own property in the Philippines. Uncle Manuel reportedly ransacked Amah's room (they live in the same house) looking for the deeds and passbooks (they were is a safe deposit box). Dad told us that Aunt Ruby sold some U.S. property in my grandfather's name by forging his signature.
Dad left the family business, Standard Mirror, to start his own because he couldn't trust his own flesh and blood. Mom was still treasurer at Standard, even after that; apparently they forged her signature as well when they reorganized. Needless to say Dad doesn't speak to his brother and sisters, though I'm on good terms with my cousins.
Dunno if lawyers will be involved at some point, but if they are it could be years till everything is sorted out in court.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 6, 2008 2:06:00 GMT -8
There is a God. He was played by Morgan Freeman. ^_-
Anyway, it's a start. I knew some of the Inquirer's columnists had...reservations about Obama's fitness to lead, but that grade-A MOROn Ramon Tulfo (who's obsessed with Moros, Filipino Muslims, in the only good one is a dead one sense) thinks he'll be soft on terrorists. Tulfo also thinks that the cops were totally justified in killing three suspects in a bank robbery that left everyone else dead. You know, because we can trust the cops in this country, especially when they're carrying huge sums of cash to a conference in Russia.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 6, 2008 1:49:26 GMT -8
Well, I was thinking that local stores will want to clear their stock of DS Lites once they get their hands on the DSi.
Anyway, the gameplan is PS2 -> 360 -> Wii -> PS3 (when we have an HDTV) for the house.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 4, 2008 21:28:48 GMT -8
My main problem with the OG Gameboy is the lack of backlighting. I'll probably get the DS Lite and the GBA SP. The Lite should be getting cheap once the DSi comes out.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 4, 2008 17:41:06 GMT -8
A Game Boy DS (plays DS and Game Boy Advance Games) and maybe an old-school (IE Battery operated) Game Boy Advance for playing old school Game Boy games (which can't be played on the DS) along with Game Boy Advance games. Still have an old school 1989 model Game Boy. Only thing wrong with it is the battery lid (broken latch). Just need to buy more Ni-MH batteries so I'm not stuck with AC power or tons of alkalines. My sister already has a PSP (gift from her boyfriend/my future brother in law). Yeah, a 360 before the Wii is likely; it's less hideously overpriced here. XBLA even has Soul Calibur, the reason I got a Dreamcast in the first place. SC IV and Dead or Alive 4 are probably the first 360 games I would buy. Microsoft needs to simplify the 360 SKUs. And stop over charging for what's basically a laptop SATA HDD in a proprietary case, or offer bigger HDDs, given how much DLC they have on tap. Still gonna get another DC for stuff like Tech Romancer and Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (with Twin Stick controller, of course), but when I have money to burn. Like getting new old stock so I don't have to worry about it dying on me in mid-game.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 4, 2008 13:47:11 GMT -8
My Dreamcast died...again. Was planning to buy a bundle of used games from a local seller, but I guess Santa wants me to save some money for presents. Fortunately there's a used DC for sale on tipidpc.com right now. Guess I should keep/sell the old one for spare parts. I think only the power supply is dead, so the lens/GD-ROM would come in handy (replacement GD-ROMs cost more than a good used DC).
First up, a PS2. Lots of good and cheap games, and fixing it shouldn't be a problem (i.e., expensive). Then a Wii, when it's not so massively marked up.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 3, 2008 8:05:50 GMT -8
108) N-Space by Larry Niven.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 2, 2008 20:55:57 GMT -8
107) The Mad Tea Party by Clinton Palanca.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 1, 2008 17:53:30 GMT -8
You do realize, however, that postage alone may well be US$40.00 or more? That's the one factor in the transaction I can't control, as you remember from the earlier STAR WARS book transaction. Yeah, which is why I try to source books locally as much as possible.
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Post by Johann Chua on Nov 1, 2008 3:22:09 GMT -8
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Post by Johann Chua on Oct 30, 2008 3:20:57 GMT -8
Patty, I'm looking for a few out-of-print SF/SF-related books:
1) Star Wars: The National Public Radio Dramatization script book by Brian Daley.
2) Isaac Asimov's first two volumes of autobiography, In Memory Yet Green and In Joy Still Felt.
3) Robert A. Heinlein's Tramp Royale.
I'll dig up links on amazon.com or abebooks.com for reference after dinner.
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Post by Johann Chua on Oct 29, 2008 2:03:37 GMT -8
105) Assignment in Eternity by Robert A. Heinlein.
106) Six Science Fiction Plays, edited by Roger Elwood. Includes the original teleplay for "City on the Edge of Forever" with an introduction by Harlan Ellison. When I think "science fiction play" the most obvious candidate is "Rossum's Universal Robots" but I guess that's pretty well-anthologized.
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Post by Johann Chua on Oct 28, 2008 21:17:33 GMT -8
So basically, the US cling to the British Imperial system because deep inside, you Americans still want to be part of the British Empire. Wonder if the creators of CODE GEASS had that in mind. (AU story in which North America is called Britannia, where the British Empire is seated after the UK has fallen.)
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