Went to catch the Terminator Exhibit being held at the  National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation/ Miraikan in Odaiba, Tokyo last Saturday. In conjunction with the Terminator Salvation release and I suppose as a celebration to the fragile bond between Man and Machine, an exhibition of the robots, artworks and actual costumes used in the Terminator movies and series are being displayed until June 28.

I was expecting more props and robots to be showcased but nonetheless, the exhibit was still interesting and the robots and production tidbits were enlightening. It was a cool experience to see the actual robots and artworks used in some of the most unforgettable movies of all time. I’ll be back.

Terminator Exhibition – Battle or Coexistence?

Appearance: The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Terminator Salvation

“Death rendered in steel” as James Cameron would put it. The T-800 is designed to look and act like human. Made of a yet undiscovered, ultrastrong alloy, the T-800 likes to wear dark glasses and has a knack for spilling unforgettable, comical one-liners.

Appearance: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

The T-X appeared in the what I think is the worst Terminator movie in the pack. A combination of the skeletal T-800 and the mighty morphing T-1000, this Terminator is the first to bring future weapons back to the present. T-X portrayed by Kristanna Loken is also the hottest Terminator to date.

Appearance: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Named after  Terminator’s creator, James Cameron, Cameron Phillips/TOK715 is the Terminator sent to protect John and Sarah around 1999. The TO715 is disguised as a beautiful, petite, teenage infiltrator.

Appearance: Terminator3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation

The T-1 is an autonomous military robot with a rather anthropomorphic head, sensor eyes, gatling guns for arms, a torso that swivels like a human and caterpillar tracks for legs.

Appearance: Terminator Salvation

Hydrobots are serpentine aquatic units that move in swarms and patrol the waters.

Appearance: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Terminator Salvation

The sinister-looking T-600 units are covered in a sheet of rubber skin meant for espionage and infiltration purposes. The T-600’s are superseded by the newer and more advanced T-800s.

Appearance: Terminator Salvation

Moto-Terminators  are high-speed pursuit units using motorcycle chassis. In the Terminator Salvation scene where John Conner reprograms a Moto-Terminator for use, I just can’t help but think of Batman’s Batpod and wait for Christian Bale to spill his line: “I’m Batman.”

By the way, In the movie John Conner also uses a Vaio UX Micro PC.

Other highlights of the exhibit were the Actroid DER3 and a creepy, almost real-looking moving arm. The Actroid DER3 is a humanoid robot with strong visual human-likeness developed by Osaka University and manufactured by Kokoro Company, Ltd. The Actroid DER3 can move and talk – like, whoa!

Isn’t this robotic arm just amazingly creepy!

More pictures can be seen here.

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One of the things I’ve been looking forward to most ever since I came to Japan is the sakura or the cherry blossom season.

Up until now, I have only seen sakura from movies or pictures and has always thought that the falling petals would evoke a strong feeling of sentimentality and would make you ponder on the transience of life.  I blame it all on Makoto Shinkai’s anime, 5 Centimeters per Second (秒速５センチメートル) and Yamazaki Masayoshi’s song, One More Time One More Chance.

I don’t know if I’ve just become dense but I did not find the season as sentimental as I thought I would. Maybe it’s because the actual sakura flower viewing or Hanami (花見） is actually a festive event and is marked by drinking booze and merry making starting at noon

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Nonetheless, the blooming sakura trees are indeed a breath taking sight. My poor photography skills did not do them justice

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Come to think of it, when you do really ponder on it, life is indeed like the sakura, beautiful and fleeting.

I am Niennavarda and I am an alcoholic…

The first step is to admit that you have a problem…

Friend 1: Nagpaparehab ka ngayon? Bakit?!!! :-O

Niennavarda: Oo… Addict ako eh…

Friend 1: Huh?! Addict?! Addict saan?!

Niennavarda: Sa jutes, sa bato, sa ecstasy…

Friend 1: (Speechless…)

Friend 1: (Still speechless…)

Niennavarda: Uy, ok ka lang? You know, it can happen to anyone…

Friend 1: Oo… pero bato?

Niennavarda: =))

My rehab session ended this morning and I am sure going to miss making jokes out of my predicament. My doctor told me that I can continue the exercises I’ve been doing at home. I just need to buy ankle weights and endure looking like an idiot while executing the rather peculiar patterns I have to trace while walking/jogging forward and in reverse. Tracing an asterisk-like pattern is not as easy as it looks.

While I am totally relieved that it is finally over, I am going to miss Candy, the sweetest Physical Therapist in the whole wide world and all the kind souls I have encountered at the Philippine Heart Center Rehab Section, from the cleaning lady, the guards, the receptionist and all the other therapists like Lex and Joanne. Apart from your superb service, all your encouragement meant a lot to me and contributed to my fast recovery. Thank you, thank you, thank you very much I would also like to thank Dr. Consuelo Suarez, my Rehab doctor for performing the miracle of making me be able to walk in a short span of a week’s therapy. This coming from a really painful knee and walking in crutches. Ang galing mo doc

I still can’t run or do jump shots this summer but I’m already well enough to jog! Wag lang aabuso since the injury is still there. Off to Japan I go in a month

I can also already enjoy the fruits of my labor and splurge on myself! Spending 700 Php on rehab and taxi fees (doctor’s fees are still another story…) every other day is surely not a joke. Wahahaha! I am going to treat myself on the next payday

To everyone out there, take good care of yourselves. Be aware. Accidents happen in the most mundane circumstances. And don’t forget to enjoy life! You never know when your last day on earth is going to be

Excited na ako sa ASTRA outing next week Yahoo! And maybe I can already buy the swimsuit I had my eye on last week…