Top 10 Anime Theme Song

Just finished my Exam last week so I've got some time to spare and I would like to write the Top 10 anime theme songs that of course I've heard. I have watched quite a lot of animes and I reckon their opening/closing theme song are nice, even though I don't understand Japanese, I still enjoy the beat, the rhythm of the song..I put youtube links of the full version and the anime version of the song..enjoy!

Starting from #10, here are my list of Top 10 Anime Theme Song...

10. Makoto Kawamoto - One Half
This the ending of the anime Rurouni Kenshin, great anime, great song
Click here for full song
Click here for anime version

9. BoA - Every Heart
Even though I am a big fan of her, sadly I have to put her in number 9,
this song is the ending of Inuyasha, another great anime.
Full Song
Anime Version

8. YUI - Life
This is an ending for my most favourite anime, Bleach. I bought her album and it turns that she got some good songs on her album, definitely worth to listen to it.
Full Song
Anime Version

7. Flow - Re:Member
This is the opening of another anime that I like, Naruto. It is not from Naruto Shipuuden but from the former series named Naruto only. The music video got some humour on it and the song is definitely can get your groove on!
Full Song
Anime Version

6. High and Mighty Color - Pride
This is the opening theme song for anime, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny. I have no idea whether it is the anime series or the OVA but what I know that this song is good, even though the male singer sounds like just shouting crazily, he is singing!
Full Version
Anime Version

5. The Asian Kung-Fu Generation - After Dark
This song is the opening for the anime bleach. Their band name might seems to be weird but their rock songs are awesome, another great band added to the many list of great J-Rock Band. Enjoy the song..cause I know you will.
Full Version
Anime Version

4. Younha - Houkiboshi
In between these rocking songs, this song will certainly a fresh breath in the midst of poison gas, not mocking any other songs in the list but this song bring calm and positive feeling when hearing it, just check it out..Also there are many version of the ending as there are 13 division in the Bleach's Soul Society so there are 13 version of the ending, the one I picked is from the 11th division ending, with Zaraki Kenpachi as the captain, my favourite taichou!
Full Version
Anime Version

3. Home Made - Thank You
Forgive me for being bias to Bleach's theme song but I found that their opening/ending songs are enjoyable. A different type of song to the rest of the list as this is a rap/hip-hop song but don't worry you sure will be enjoying this. This is the ending for anime Bleach performed by Home Made, the song is catchy..do che-check it out!..
Full Version
Anime Version

2. The Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Haruka Kanata
Another entry by this band, I like their rock songs..the guitar, the bass, the vocal, the drum..all captivating..an old song that I can't get rid off my head. I prefer this to After Dark because the song is more loud and fitting the opening of Naruto perfectly.
Full Version
Anime Version

1. L'Arc-en Ciel - Driver's High
Finally my number 1 for my list of top 10 Anime theme song, Driver's High by L'Arc-en Ciel. Weird band name doesn't necessarily mean the song is weird as well. Despite this song is famous at 90's I still enjoy this song until now. The beat, the lyrics (which most of it I don't understand), the song overall is really enjoyable. Anyway, they deserve to be on my number 1 spot more than any other anime songs that I've heard..enjoy it! I know you will..

FIFA 09 Review & New Team

Well what can I say about this game, it certainly does have its up and down, and I cannot say whether it got more ups or downs for this year version. As always FIFA 09 get the license for almost all clubs on the big leagues in Europe, one advantage that PES might be hard to match. After some encouraging trailer, interesting advertising which involve Rooney and Higuain, I was led to believe that this game will be beating PES down to the ground but it is certainly not. Like other reviews, I will review this game based on different criteria that I think suit the best for this type of game, they are:

Graphics (9/10) : The graphic presentation of the stadium, the pitch, the players are excellent, something that PES might need to consider in a certain future but there is one flaw that I still think FIFA is lacking, which is the face of the player itself. Despite already improving the face presentation of the well-known players compared to FIFA 08, I still think PES is still slightly better in presenting the face of the player and the degree of realism is still lacking. Even so, I give my two thumbs up for the overall graphic of the game, it is just magnificent and you will feel like you play in the stadium itself even though you only staring at the TV..

Sounds (8/10) : The supporters noise, Referee Whistle, the sounds of the ball kicked by players timed perfectly and makes sense to give more sense of realism, even so I still hope that there will be an addition to be inserted for the next year version of FIFA. It is the sound of the players that I would like to hear during matches, just vaguely will be fine and the voice doesn't need to be the same as the players in the real life but it gives more sense of realism especially for Goalkeeper as they will shout at the defenders if they are making mistakes.

Gameplay (8.5/10) - Despite a huge improvement in the players movement, I still believe the slow reaction of the players after we pressed the button on the controller still annoys me. It might led to misstime pass, awkward clearance and bad miss in front of goal. The flow still isn't smooth yet but I hope they will pay attention to this and fix it for the future as they have shown some positive improvement compared to last year version. More realism when the players get tackled, players asking for ball will show up their hand and point which way they want the ball to go and overall the player movement is good but still not perfect. I believe too many button need to be pressed to do tricks just complicated but even though the custom celebration which allows us to present the goal celebration exactly as we want it is a good improvement and bring a lot of fun to the game itself.

Game Features (10/10) - A lot of choice of game modes to play is the advantage that has been fully taken by FIFA compared to other football games. For offline purpose, there are normal exhibition mode, be a pro mode, which you will create a player or choose an established player and choose to play in a club and build up your career in a space of 4 seasons. Then there is the manager mode which I haven't got the chance to try but I might interested to try it soon but I believe these offline game mode give more chance for people to play the game but not bored because of the repetitive game mode in the game. For online, there are even more options to be chosen, the ranked play mode which you will face one on one with another user and the result will be counted and included in the overall rank of the game. Then be a pro online is their main weapon that outlast any other football game, which feature a 10 vs 10 online play which mean everyone will be eligible to play in all position available else than a goalie, what a magnificent feature. Then there is FIFA interactive World Cup, I haven't now exactly how this works as I haven't register it but it looks like it will be some kind of online tournament where the winner will win a prize. Then the last feature that I believe is an innovation is the Adidas Live Season. You will need to pay to choose what League you want to have a weekly update on and you can choose all the available league if you want to. This live season will update the data of the players weekly (possibly) and their data will be increased or decreased based on their performance in the real world and injuries as well. This means that the lower team that plays well will be boosted on the game because their players data will be improve to match their real life performance.

Overall (9/10) - I believe this game only have PES as a main competitor and they have improve a lot to be the ultimate football game for football fans but despite this I still believe PES has slight advantage in terms of smoother gameplay as FIFA tends to be more complicated on gameplay whether PES is much simpler with less tricks which is what the real footballers usually does when they are in a match. Despite of this, FIFA has many strong points as well and I believe FIFA 09 is a major improvement as a football game and I am hoping it will continue to improve so us, as football fans will gain the benefit of it.


The second thing I want to discuss is creating a new football team. I know some of us are either back for good or working but weekends are the perfect time for those people that working to come together and enjoy a good sport, which is football. Since Axis abandoned around a year ago, I have craving to play in a more competitive match like when I used to do with Axis. It has been a while since me and some of my friends only have fun match, indoor football or joining Pandewa's training to play a full field game. I intend to create a new football team, it can be named Axis FC again or an entirely new name is fine with me. So far we only have me, Arie, Taufiq, Hussin, Nico, Calvin, Raymond, Kent and Rai..I have no ideas whether these guys even want to create a team again since I haven't spoke to them seriously but I will. So if anyone is currently residing in Perth and not joining any football team, they are more than welcomed to contact me, especially if they can play in GK position, one that we are lacking at right now. Thank you for the attention..

Top 10 list of my favourite video game

Finally I encouraged to write something on this blog again and of course my all day long boringness at home motivate me as well, so let me kick off a series of post starting by the top 10 list of my favourite game from all consoles available and not listed in order..

1. Final Fantasy 10 (PS 2) - This is one of the most exciting game I ever played and the first of the final fantasy series that I finally reached the ending by myself! The game's plot is excellent. Magnificent graphic and gameplay plus there are some puzzles which will certainly turn your brain upside down before you are able to crack it. The main characters in this game is Tidus and Yuna. I rate this game 10 out of 10 and one of the game that will go down history as one of the best.

2. Counter Strike: Source (PC) - I have been playing counter strike from 1.3 if I'm not wrong and it is one of the most exciting game ever. Now I am currently playing the latest edition from Counter Strike, CS: Source. The graphic has much improved, 2 new guns added and no shield! That stupid shield from 1.5/1.6 is damn useless. I usually play it when I don't have anything else to do, it is good for killing time for around one hour or more. If any person like FPS, Cs: Source is the right game for you..though if you play it too much you might get bored with it quickly, especially if you get killed more than you kill, lol..

3. Football Manager Series (PC) - Football Manager has been in my heart since I was a little kid. I always dreamed to become a professional footballer or a football manager. Since both will unlikely happen, this game is the perfect media for me to express my idea in managing a football club. You can choose one club per manager and build the team around you to achieve your own objectives. This game is challenging and the time span is unlimited as one of my friend, Hussin play almost over 40 season using one club, that's insane!

4. GTA IV (PS 3) - Even though I play GTA Vice City and San Andreas (Lazily didn't manage to finish both of them..), I think GTA IV is the best of 'em all maybe due to the much improved graphic and gameplay offered by Rockstar. This time it follows a story of Niko Bellic, an eastern european man coming into United States with high hopes from his cousin that he will enjoy a much improved life there but it turns out that Roman, his cousin is talking lies and he is struggling to gain money there. This time the story not focusing on Niko gaining fame and become boss of a certain territory, the story is more unique and complicated and who doesn't enjoy killing, shooting, stealing and gaining money all at the same time? A brilliant game..

5. Assassin's Creed (PS 3) - The plot and gameplay offered something different that any other game in this genre has been trying to do. An assassin in a medieval era but somehow connected to the modern time..the plot might sounds silly but it is actually brilliant and well written. Even though some people might find it repetitive for each stage of the game, the assassination method is pretty awesome for me. This game is on different level than the others and amazing graphic which you can view the whole town standing on a very tall tower in of the city proved just how well developed this game is. Altair, the main character has a set of targets to be assassinated in different cities and you can actually choose on how to assassinate the target on some stages, you can be disguising yourself and strike in silence or go all out and face the bodyguards of the target. A masterpiece and I am recommending this for everyone that haven't tried it.

6. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS 3) - Now..for everyone that familiar with MGS series, this game is the finale of the series which everything will be explained and unveiled...but that's not why I choose to put this game on this list..MGS is known best for stealh-assassination game which require tactic to finish your tasks and in this MGS, those elements are well improved and the AI is much improved. Hideo Kojima was originally wants to be a movie director and that is why he is able to present such a wonderful game with brilliant plot, terrific graphic, amazing sound effects, brilliant gameplay and also a wonderful online gameplay. I will not spoil anything for anyone that hasn't try this game and my suggestion will be...BUY THIS GAME and YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

7. Pro Evolution Soccer/Winning Eleven Series (PS 2 & 3) - FIFA only makes improvement in the last two series while PES always capture the imagination of the football fans since the first series introduced in the form of Winning Eleven. Now FIFA and PES are competing against each other to be the ultimate football games for football fans and to be honest, there aren't any other football games that can challenge those two in the market as they have been dominating the marketing since late 90's. I believe both of them has their own uniqueness but for me, I like PES more because of the more responsive gameplay rather than FIFA which tends to be slower than PES.

8. Football Manager Live (PC) - Coming from the same developer of Football Manager, FM Live is introduced last year if I'm not wrong..so far I am still playing the BETA version of the FM Live while waiting for the full release coming out at the end of October this year. The format is almost the same with FM with few unique features introduced. in Fm Live, you will be playing against other people in one gameworld and participating in different competition and cup in that gameworld. Any football fans will be enjoying this game and the challenge offered by the game itself.

9. Dead Rising (Xbox 360) - My favourite Xbox 360 game so far which have plots similar to movie Dawn of the Dead. A reporter is dropped off into the mall full of zombies and we can do whatever we want during a certain amount of time set in the game (I can't remember between 3 days or 1 week). There are few side missions to be done aside from the main story but you can also choose to just bash the zombies without attempting to rescue any survivor in the mall itself. There are a lot of range of items to be used and combined to attack the zombies and it is amazingly fun to wandering around with mall full of endless zombies thinking of a way to bash them!

10. Dynasty Warriors Series (PS 2/3) - Dynasty Warriors is a game based on the history of China, The 3 Kingdom. All the characters are based on that history and even though the appearance might not be as accurate as it told in the history book, some of the battles are recreated in the several stages of Dynasty Warriors. Even though the games keep losing its touch for every new series released, I am still a fan of this game where as a one man army, you can challenge the whole opponent army if you are capable and going against the order if you want to.


So there you go, my top 10 video games (currently)...please do read it and feel free to comment and I am encouraging anyone else to write the same thing as me

10 Facts about Leonardus Andhika Widjaja

Due to someone's demand, I decided to write 10 facts about me...so here it goes..

1. Andhika has just engaged! I engaged 19 September 2008 with my lovely fiancee, Janice Tanuwidjaja and I am hoping to marry her next year..so I'm pretty much taken..sorry ladies!

2. Andhika is a devoted Catholic, even though sometimes I don't go to Church at Sunday, I believe in Christ and will be a Catholic as long as I can live.

3. Andhika damn Loves video games! I own pretty much every console available there on the market(LOL!), XBOX 360 (which is in repair shop and I always forgot to take it!), PS2, Ps3 (My Favourite!), Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii. I am currently waiting for Rock Band to come out here in Australia! My favourite game types are Football (FIFA series and PES/WE series), RPG, FPS, a bit of racing and computer games such as Football Manager series, FM Live, WOW, Counter Strike: Source (My addiction!).

4. Andhika Love Football( or Soccer as some people might say it) so much! My favourite teams are Juventus and Liverpool, but I prefer Juventus more since I like the club since I was 9 or 10 years old. My football heroes are Alessandro Del Piero, Steven Gerrard, Paolo Rossi and Fernando Torres. I play football as well, my so call football career has seen me involved in 2 clubs and I co-founded one of them, Vilgad FC and Axis FC (I co-found this one). My position is very versatile, Goalkeeper, Sweeper and Defender Center, Defensive Midfield and Striker. I prefer defensive mid since I can tackle, got strength and not too bad passing which are important for defensive mid, sadly my workrate is not that good.

5. Andhika is trying to lose weight! Since my mum is here most of the time, my weight has been increasing to 100+ again! after I worked hard putting it down to 97..=(..but now I am motivated to lose some weight so I can wear some clothes that I am not fit of! for example, the Indonesian football jersey! damn..

6. Andhika loves to watch movies! Any kind of movies suit me well but I prefer action, horror and thriller! Shooting, Zombies, Comedy and some Fantasy movie will excite me! Some of my fave movies are, Lord of The Ring Series, Lucky Number S7evin, Resident Evil Series, Dawn of the Dead, Star Wars series, Batman series, Spiderman, Grindhouse, Speed, Tropic Thunder, Sky High, Art of Seduction, The Classic, Superbad, Iron Man, Rambo IV and many more!

7. Andhika loves to watch TV show as well! My favourite TV show are Heroes, WWE Smackdown & Raw, Barclays Premier League, Calcio Serie A, UEFA Champions League, Friends and Animes ( My favourites are Bleach and Naruto Shipuuden). Watching TV show can help killing some of my time when I am doing nothing and it can help me relax as well.

8. Andhika likes to listen to good music! I am known for bringin iPod anywhere I go, except if I am going to some party or dinner for course since it will be very useless in the end! Music can help me to relax, focus my mind and help me getting over some assignment and damn test as well! My ear can accept most type of music and I repeat, MOST. Dangdut, Indian, Jazz, Country will not goes too well with my ear. Some of my favourite singer/band are Oasis, Maroon 5, BoA, Yui, Dewa, Linkin Park and many more..

9. Andhika is clean, just like CM Punk in WWE! I never used drugs, try smoke only for 2 seconds LoL! and never done it afterwards..I do drink sometimes on certain occassion but never got out of the line though...(once maybe..=P)..but I don't like smoking and drugs..and really can't stand too long around a smoker..except when my friends doing it because I got no option lol!

10. Lastly, Andhika is a fan of 3 performer in different fields in the world! They are Mary Elizabeth Winstead (actress), Maria Sharapova (tennis player) and BoA Kwon (singer). I like Maria Sharapova since she became the champion of Wimbledon on such a young age. She is pretty but unlike Anna Kournikova, even though she is modelling and starring a lot of ads, she still focus with her tennis career and was on the number one spot for women's tennis on some occassion. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an actress from America and she is famous for her role in Sky High, Death Proof, Die Hard 4.0 and lastly she is the lead role in Make It Happen. She will be starring in a comedy movie Scott Pilgrim vs The World alongside Michael Cera and I'm looking forward to watch that movie! Lastly, my most favourite from the 3, BoA Kwon, a singer from Korea who is currently active in Japan but has released a lot of song both in Korean and Japanese. She started her career in such a young age and made famous by her song, Every Heart which is used as an ending for anime, Inuyasha. She just released her newest album, The Face which I liked a lot and recently her tour DVD, The Face just released and you should watch some of her performance in my youtube box in facebook or in youtube website, she just amazing!


Well..there you go...10 facts about me..there will be still more to be told but I am restricting myself to 10 because my fingers will be tired typing all facts about me...feel free to comment!

Bloggin on.....

EURO 2008

Netherlands is another team in the group of death besides Italy, France and Romania. Despite qualifying for Euro, the dutch has never shown its real potential during the qualifying stage. Finishing only second behind Romania and scores only 15 goals out of 12 games, the so called "Total Football" that everyone look from Netherlands just never showed up. Marco Van Basten was a good striker during his playing days but so far he is unable to transform his attacking method for the Dutch national team. The Group G joint top scorers with 6 goals are Berbatov, Martin Petrov and Adrian Mutu. Robin Van Persie is Netherlands' top scorer in the qualifying stage with 4 goals and this is not good for the Dutch as Van Persie is still unable to play for full 90 minutes during friendly matches. Ruud van Nistelrooy is still a quality striker but he is having up and down season with Real Madrid with injuries hampering his progress through the season. Dirk Kuyt was positioned as a right winger in Liverpool tactics, therefore he didn't score as much goals as his first season with the Reds. Klass-Jan Huntelaar is the only Dutch striker that is having good season with his club, this is a worrying situation for Netherlands. The 23 players selected to represent Netherlands are:


Goalkeepers

• 1 Edwin van der Sar
  
• 13 Henk Timmer
  
• 16 Maarten Stekelenburg
  

Defenders
• 2 André Ooijer
  
• 3 Johnny Heitinga
  
• 4 Joris Mathijsen
  
• 5 Giovanni van Bronckhorst
  
• 12 Mario Melchiot
  
• 14 Wilfred Bouma
  
• 15 Tim de Cler
  
• 21 Khalid Boulahrouz
  

Midfielders

• 6 Demy de Zeeuw
• 8 Orlando Engelaar
• 10 Wesley Sneijder
  
• 11 Arjen Robben
• 17 Nigel de Jong
• 20 Ibrahim Afellay
• 23 Rafael van der Vaart

Forwards
• 7 Robin van Persie
• 9 Ruud van Nistelrooy
• 18 Dirk Kuyt
  
• 19 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
• 22 Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink

The Dutch also having the same problem with Italy, one of their key players are forced to sit out of the tournament because of injury. Ryan Babel having a good season with Liverpool is expected to play as a substitute role that can expose tired defenders using his explosive style of play. He has done this with Liverpool either coming off from the bench or when starting from the first minute but so far with the national team he is limited to the bench but he can be one of the key players to unlock a team with stubborn defense. Injury are familiar with the national team for other players also as van Nisterlrooy, Robben and van Persie spent much of last season with their clubs on the sidelines. Even though van Bastern had an injury riddled season with Milan before Euro '88 where he shines and guide Dutch to the glory, this situation is different.

Netherlands' probable formation is:

Van Der Sar

Ooijer Heitinga Mathijsen Van Bronckhorst

De Zeeuw Engelaar

Robben Sneijder Van der Vaart

Nistelrooy


Of course this is not the definite formation for the Netherlands as van Persie or Kuyt can easily slot into the formation and both players just like Robben and van der Vaart are adaptable to play in both wings which could be one of the major strength in the attacking tactics as both wingers can switch position smoothly to unlock the defence of the opposition. This is where people keep asking why such an attacking force only scores a handful of goals in the qualifying stage? van Nistelrooy and Huntelaar both are predator in the penalty box with all the wingers have the ability to deliver quality assists to the strikers as well as scoring goals themselves. The only downside of this formation is that it will be hard to up against a team that plays defensive and counting on counter attack. It is clearly that in this formation, the key is not in the 4 attackers but in 2 defensive midfielder. De Zeeuw and Engelaar are both untested in big competition like Euro and could be the main weakness of this formation.

De Zeeuw himself didn't enjoy the best of season with AZ Alkmaar but he is a favourite in the midfield for Marco van Basten, starting in the last six qualifying match plus the friendlies. He is a good midfielder that certainly can win balls and even though might not be as mobile as Edgar Davids, he posses his own quality as a classic central midfielder. On the other hand, Engelaar even more unheard of than his midfield partner. There are several players that can play in his position and his place is the only one that not secured at all. The powerhouse midfielder has a good passing skill that can slices up defences when needed. Despite of this, Engelaar is only called up as the replacement of Clarence Seedorf who withdraw from the squad shortly before van Basten named his final line-up. I might be wrong putting him in the first eleven as he might not even be there for the first match as van Basten got several defenders that can play as a defensive midfielder when needed. Heitinga, Ooijer, van Bronckhorst and Nigel de Jong who is very adapt as a central midfielder for his club and country. Netherlands might be facing hard time against Italy, France and Romania (who is the top of the qualifying group in Netherlands' group G). Their first game against Italy could be a crucial step for their progress to becoming once again the champion of Europe. The world champion has a very strong squad despite the loss of Fabio Cannavaro due to injury. My prediction that Netherlands will be either in the 2nd or 3rd place in the group battling against France for that 2nd place spot that will send them through to the next round.

Bloggin On..

FOOTBALL


EURO 2008 is coming soon into our television and of course this is no small matter to all the football fans all over the world. EURO not only viewed by European only but almost all countries in the whole world will set their eyes on this tournament. Scouts from different clubs coming from various countries will watch any player on their shortlist. Tournament like usually will increase a price of a player that plays well and clubs will be sure to wrap the deal for their targets before the tournament or at the very least at the beginning of the tournament. There are several players that still undecided regarding their future that will compete in Euro '08. Valencia had a lot of trouble last season and even though they ended up winning Copa Del Rey, their season is not something to be remembered by fans. 3 managers last season is a good evidence on how Valencia is having trouble last season. Many players will get the ax during the transfer window and maybe..just maybe David Villa will be one of those player that checking out of Mestalla.

17 million pounds are reported to be the tag price of David Villa. Even though he will not decide his future until after Euro, moving to Premier League maybe a good idea for him. He is lethal, has a very good technique and not afraid to get physical, I have no doubt that he will be quickly adapting just like Torres last season. The only problem is whether he will choose the right club to move. Real Madrid touted to be one of the front runner for his signature but this will certainly not too be a brilliant move for him as Madrid now have enough attacking power in their arsenal and David Villa will eventually be surplus to requirements. Chelsea and Arsenal will be a good choice for Villa. Chelsea will need to get rid Sheva and Pizza if they want to land the Valencia striker. It depends on who is going to be the manager for Chelsea next season. Villa need to be positioned as a forward, either a pure striker up front or as a forward that support the main striker, he can fit in both roles perfectly. If he will be used in the wing like Anelka mostly last season, then it will be a waste of money for Chelsea. Arsenal is another option for Villa but this will be highly unlikely since Wenger has stated that no big name will come in this transfer window but anything can happen in football. Villa will be perfect to duet with Adebayor up front with Ade will be playing as a target man and he also can pulls defender away from Villa with his technique. Spurs is another London club related with Villa but I don't think it will be a good move for him to Spurs as he will not play in Champions League next season but surprise are common in football world and expect one coming to you in this transfer window.

Another news related with Euro '08 is the injury of Italy captain, Fabio Cannavaro. As an Italy fan this is not a good news but it maybe just the right moment for the younger defenders to step up and prove themselves that they can replace the Canna-Nesta generation in the heart of Italy's defence which has been solid for a few years (until Nesta retired just after World Cup '06). Despite calling up Alessandro Gamberini, Giorgio Chiellini is expected to fill in the gap for Canna as a partner for Barzagli while Grosso and Zambrotta will take the wide position. Chiellini was originally a left back before being converted into a center back due to the injuries suffered by Juve defenders. He is tall, strong and quick and have experience as a central defender for Juve. He will be a suitable replacement for Canna and hopefully no scouts will be too much interested in him as I would like him to stay at Juve for life! (As I am a Juve fan of course..). I think Italy will do well in the Euro '08 despite placed in the group of death together with Netherlands and France. Italy's probable formation will be:

4-3-3

Buffon

Zambrotta Barzagli Chiellini Grosso

Gattuso Pirlo De Rossi

Camoranesi Toni Di Natale

Zambrotta can possibly shifted to the left in order for Panucci to take his place on the right back. This will give more aerial power to Italy as Panucci usually scores from set piece. Either way the formation has no weaknesses on it and should help Italy all the way to the final of the Euro '08.
Di Natale has been in a stunning form this season both for club and national team. The explosive winger could torment the defenders in Euro as there are not many defenders that will be familiar with him. Del Piero and Cassano are standing by just in case Camo and Di Natale under perform in Euro. Italy has no shortage of talent at all and justified as the favourite to win the championship.

Good and Bad Things

A lot of good things are happening this month but some bad things are occurring as well. (duh!?)
First of all, Grand Theft Auto IV has been released! Yeah!! Niko Bellic has been unleashed in Australia and the game was so awesome. I'm addicted to GTA IV. For those people who haven't even think of buying this game yet, don't waste your time again! Buy this game as soon as possible! This game will makes your recharge your ps3 controller more often that you might expect! Definitely good graphic, good detail of the city, lively moment from the people that are driving or walking in the streets, cool cars, awesome missions and side missions..what else isn't there! you can date also if you bored with your mission! Enough about GTA IV as I will need thousand blog posts to explain everything about this game and let's move on to another topic.


I just found a new show that are hilariously funny for everyone that likes football. It is called I'm on Setanta Sports and it is about Jose Mourinho bringing news around football with some interactive activity during the show. See it for yourself at www.setanta.com/IOSS/

BoA will be releasing another single on 4th of June 2008 called Vivid. Here are the information for the single.

CD 収録曲
1. Kissing you　
※テレビ朝日系木曜ドラマ「7人の女弁護士」主題歌、「musi
c.jp」TV-CFソング
2. Sparkling　
※ゼスプリ「ゴールドキウイ」CMソング
3. Joyful Smile
4. Kissing you（Instrumental）
5. Sparkling（Instrumental）
6. Joyful Smile（Instrumental）

CD-EXTRA　※CD盤初回のみ
1. Vivid Jacket Shooting Off Shot ＋ Kissing you＆Sparkling Music Clip Digest

DVD 収録内容　※CD+DVD盤のみ
1. Kissing you Music Clip
2. Sparkling Music Clip
3. BoA TV 2nd Season　-Kissing you＆Sparkling Music Clip Making-
※ 03はCD+DVD盤初回のみ収録

I can't wait for the single to be released but there is another good news that will be possibly a bad news for me. She just collaborated with Ed Hardy again and this time Ed Hardy introduce a brand new cap and also men's tees! I want it so badly but it is possibly only sold in Japan! What a bother! My sister won't go to Japan 'till the next few months and I doubt there will be more stock by the time she got there. If anyone staying in Japan or got any information about it, please let me know.. I want it so badly!



















Off to another topic, Iron Man has proven to be successful and it is not as boring as some people might think. IMDB users give 8.3 out of 10 for the movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371746 ) It might not be too surprising at all by looking at the casts, Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark, the man behind the steel armor, Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Pots, Stark's assistant and love interest. Terrence Howard plays Jim Rhodes, Stark's Industry chief aviation office and Stark's best friend. He will plays a big role shall there be a sequel to this movie and for those people who read the comic will understand what I'm talking about. Director Jon Favreau successfully brings some humor to the movie and the story plot isn't boring at all, well done Mr. Favreau! I personally give 8.5 out of 10 for this movie and this is one of the successful comic's book adaptation movie.

In another movie news, my favorite actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead will appear in a short film created by Riley Kearns which none other than her boyfriend. Ryan Merriman, her close friend which appeared on Final Destination 3 with her will be in the film as well. It is called Stop/Eject and even though I'm not putting too much hope on it, I will be still looking forward to it else than her major movie, Make It Happen ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822868/ ) which hopefully will be released here in Australia soon. Here are mix of clips taken from youtube of Stop/Eject to give some people view about the movie



That's all from me. be safe. be champion!

Sharapova + Dinho Rumour..

Maria Sharapova has continue her success in 2008 by winning her 3rd tittle in 2008 and her 19th in her tennis career. She won the Bausch & Lomb Championship in Amelia Island by defeating the unseeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-6 6-3 in 1 hour and 59 minutes. Maria is the number one seed in this championship and she proves it right by winning the championship in Amelia Island. This is her first ever title in clay and she has now won in all different type of court which is amazing! This championship saw her WTA rank climb one spot into #4 with 3876 points. Her next championship is the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. She will face either Meng Yuan or Bethanie Mattek in the 2nd round of the cup. Good performance in Charleston might see her rank increased again. 2008 has been a good year for Maria Sharapova and I hope she will continue on the good form and pass through the tournament without any shoulder injury.

Another issue that I want to talk about is about Ronaldinho transfer to Milan. The rumour has been around for several years now and it is almost the same case with Thierry Henry when he was still in Arsenal. Thierry Henry so far can't be said as a transfer flop as he is positioned way to the left flank where his purpose is more into dishing out crosses and passes to the central striker. Lack of goals is considered as normal when he is playing out of his position. Ronaldinho can bring bad and good effect to the Milan squad. As it has been reported all season, Milan need to seriously get rid of their old players and replaced them with more younger stars that are hungry of success. There are rumous of Sheva as well but I am not going to talk about that in detail here.
Ronaldinho has been a phenomenon during his stay in Barca. He guided them to league titles and champions league glory, even though Barca is not a one-man team but his contribution is vital for Barca in winning these trophies. But this season, his performance is not as good as a few years back. His contribution is not vital to the team anymore and he even benched for a few games despite not carrying any sort of injuries. There are many reports stating that Ronaldinho is an individualistic man, on and off the field.. this might pose a problem for Barca. His nightlife is sometimes become the spotlight and not all of them are good news. Despite his behavior off the field, what could be the reason of his dip in form. Are the defenders in La Liga able to predict his movement on the field so it is easier to mark him? Or is this season is one of "bad season" for Ronaldinho where he will shine on the next season? Not many know the reason of the Barcelona star's dip in form who currently out of the season with injury.

Ronaldinho transfer to Milan might be a cool and relaxing wind that breeze through the storm of uncertainty in Milan's squad right now. Regarding whether he will fit in with Milan tactics, it is up to Ancelotti ( if he is still Milan's manager next season) to set a formation that will the best to put out all the potential in Milan's squad. Milan usually use 4-3-1-2 formation which certainly will fit Ronaldinho if he is positioned as AMC which will sacrificing Kaka to become forward. Another option is to use 4-3-2-1 formation which will see Kaka and Dinho as double playmaker. This might be the best formation for Milan but they will need to buy a strong striker who can hold the ball but also a clinical finisher. Someone like Luca Toni will be the right person to play as the striker in that formation. But despite that, Pato might work well with Kaka and Dinho as trio Samba who will have the same style of play and good understanding between them. Still..there is no point in discussing the formation if the player won't come to Milan next season..we'll see on the Ronaldinho transfer saga and there will be a winner out of this transfer saga. Who's that winner? We will need to be patient to find that out..

Liverpool - Arsenal

Well..it is certainly an interesting week for all football fans around the world. There are a lot of good matches this weekend that are certainly worth to be reviewed.

This post will cover the match review of Liverpool's champions league triumph in Anfield against Arsenal..

Liverpool 4 - 2 Arsenal (5-3 agg)
(L) Hyypia 30', Torres 69', Gerrard (p) 85', Babel 90'
(A) Diaby 13', Adebayor 84'

It has been a good week for The Reds..but not too good week for The Gunners. After holding out a 1-1 draw at The Emirates, many expect Liverpool to be defending hard their advantage until the 90 minutes, but Diaby has other plan for 'pool. Diaby early goal means that Liverpool need to get at least 2 goals in order to advance to the semi-final. Liverpool start building up the attack but failed to get the goal on the back of Almunia's net until Aurelio goal-bound cross saved by Almunia resulting a corner for Liverpool. Gerrard take the corner and find Hyypia who managed to shrugged off his marker, Senderos and head the ball into the net. Liverpool has leveled the score. Nothing much happen on the first half and the two teams once again got 1-1 score for the third successive time..but this scores only last for the first half only.

Second half saw Crouch deflected Aurelio shot wide of Almunia's goal. Both team initiating attack but Arsenal is the most likely team to get a goal. Despite all of their effort, the Nando bomb explodes again on the 69th minute. Crouch flick the long kick from Reina into the path of Torres who manage to shook off Senderos and fire a shot into the corner of Almunia's net, Liverpool is leading 3-2 in aggregate. Knowing what at stake, Arsenal become more and more threating in front of the goal. The introduction of Walcott and Van Persie signaling The Gunners' intention to launch a full frontal attack to Reina's goal. Adebayor got the glorious chance to leveled the score but he blasted wide with Reina 1 on 1 with him. It took a moment of miracle for Arsenal equalizer. Theo Walcott grab the ball from his own half and run straight through 4 Liverpool players and dish the ball nicely to Adebayor to slot it home this time. Arsenal celebrates the goal but this turns out to be a "one minute of happiness" for Arsenal.

Babel has substituted Crouch and has rarely made an impact on the field right until Arsenal leveled the score. He receive the ball on the left flank before forcing his way through 3 Arsenal players and into the 12-yard box. Fabregas has pulled him a bit but it is Toure who made the most contact that cause Babel to fall down in the penalty box and it is a penalty for Liverpool. Stevie G slot the penalty home to the delight of the Kop behind the goal and this brings the score to 3-2 and 4-3 in aggregate. Anfield erupt in celebration as their team only need to hang on for th next 5 minutes plus injury minutes to advance to the semi final. Ironically, Liverpool scores another almost in the same fashion as Arsenal's equalizer. Kuyt kick the ball away from Arsenal free-kick toward Arsenal's half and there are only two players chasing for the ball, Babel and Fabregas. Babel initially using his pace and beat Fabregas to the ball and use his body strength well to hold his ground and slotted the ball in the back of the net. This time Liverpool's lead is uncatchable and Liverpool is advancing to the semi final of the UEFA Champions League to meet the blues, Chelsea!!

Man of the Match: Ryan Babel
Despite only substituting Crouch on the second half, it is his contribution that lead to two Liverpool's goals that brings them to the semi-final of the Champs League. He deserved to be the man of the match of this game.

Got my interest back in Blogging!

Yo! Lol..Finally got my interest back in Blogging and since I've been typing a lot for my assignmet lately, my fingers are aching to type for my blogs as well. It has been months since my last post and I don't know whether people look at my blog or not but I'm more than happy to publish them anyway. There are certain good and bad things that are happened in my life during these periods but I will only highlight the good things of course! Nobody wants to talk about their awful experience in life if it isn't necessary!

First thing first, BoA has released her 6th Japanese Album!! Yay! But I am hoping that she will release another Korean album soon because to be honest because it has been a while since she released her korean album so hopefully one will be released in the near future. Her latest album called 'The Face' and there are total of 16 songs in it (Hey boy Hey Girl only available in special edition I think..) Here are some images of the album and the track list;

[CD]
01. AGGRESSIVE
02. Sweet Impact
03. My way, Your Way feat.WISE
04. be with you.
05. LOSE YOUR MIND feat.Yutaka Furukawa from DOPING PANDA
06. Girl In The Mirror
07. Happy Birthday
08. Diamond Heart
09. LOVE LETTER
10. BRAVE
11. ギャップにやられた！ (Victim of Fear)
12. Style
13. Smile again
14. Beautiful Flowers
15. Best Friend
16. Hey Boy, Hey Girl (feat. BoA) (Bonus Track)*

*Only the limited edition CD+DVD+DVD will contain Hey Boy, Hey Girl feat.BoA by Seamo.

[DVD Disc 1]
01. Sweet Impact PV
02. LOVE LETTER PV
03. LOSE YOUR MIND PV
04. be with you. PV

*Only the limited edition CD+DVD+DVD will contain special content listed below
BoA TV-THE FACE of BoA-
be with you. Special LIVE Performance

[DVD Disc 2]
BoA '07 LIVE WORKS
01. BoA THE LIVE "X'mas"
02. BoA ARENA TOUR 2007 MADE IN TWENTY(20)
03. m-flo TOUR 2007 COSMICOLOR @ YOKOHAMA ARENA」- the Love Bug Performance
04. Rhythm Nation 2007

I am pretty impressed with the songs in the album and my favourite tracks in this album, else than the single that she already released are; My way your way, Brave and Best Friend..

Another exciting news that I want to share is that Liverpool is risen from beyond the grave of bad form! Despite losing badly against Man Utd last week, they won 8 out of 9 matches in all competition with Gerrard and Torres leading the way for them.
They also manage to snatch 2 wins over Italian Serie A reigning champion, Inter both home and away! (Take that inter!! lol..) Gerrard and Kuyt scored at anfield and Torres' strike at San Siro is the icing on the cake for Liverpool win over Inter.

Last Sunday, they won the Merseyside derby 1-0 thanks to goal from Fernando Torres in the 7th minute. That is his 20th league goals and 28th goals for all competition, fantastic return for his first season in premiership! The next big test for Liverpool is the 3 consecutive matches against Arsenal both in Premier League and Champions League. Hopefully they don't get bored playing against each other 3 times in a row and I hope that Liverpool can go through to the next round of Champions League!



Well I'll post more exciting news that happening around that I know of later! Glad to be back in blogging!!