"Dibidi! Dibidi!"

Recently I've been able to take some time to scamper off to the Black Market and get myself some new dvd flicks. The latest batch includes the first three seasons of Futurama, which I totally enjoy... Shrek 2, so I replay my favorite Puss-in-boots moments, Fahrenheit 9/11, which I got intrigued by thanks to Noel "Flim" Lim... and a VCD copy of Azumi, the samurai flick by Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, Sky High). I'll try to check them out over the weekend.

Extra-extra! DOA Ultimate Extra!


"Hello! My name is Hitomi and I love cooking, cute animals and kicking people's butts! HAI-YAH!"

This came in from left field. The upcoming Xbox brawler Dead or Alive Ultimate, which features the Saturn version of the original Dead or Alive and a remastered, remade Dead or Alive 2 will feature an extra fighter in the DOA2 lineup. It's Hitomi, the half-German, half-Japanese karate student who made her debut in Dead or Alive 3. Apparently producer Tomonobu Itagaki of Tecmo's Team Ninja decided to include the DOA3 competitor because of the character's user-friendliness and popularity among fans.
Well, I'm pretty much jumping for joy inside; Hitomi's one of my fave fighters, and you never can have enough DOA babes. Having the karate princess in the earlier DOA2 is kinda weird, but I'm not complaining. Well, I'd complain that it's too bad that Christie and Brad aren't in along with Hitomi, but I'm too happy right now so I'll let it pass. For now. YIPEEE!!!

Tired

I just spent the whole day in a hotel room in Ortigas, working on an upcoming pitch. I'm tired from thinking, but mostly I'm tired from eating and snacking! Chips, chocolates and cheeze curls kept coming whenever the plates thinned out, and there was food and soda for the taking. Of course, it was all a job so it wasn't all play. Unfortunately, I had little sleep the night before (still readjusting my body clock from last week's vacation) so it was a struggle to keep upright the whole day. By the time we finished, it was late, so I just went on home. Tired. Just gotta finish blogging and get some shuteye. Eyes hurt...

Different Digs

Yesterday we went out of the office and had lunch at the condo of our officemate, Bennet. The potluck affair had an ecclectic mix, with Indian-flavored minced beef and pita bread, homemade hot and sour soup, KFC chicken and sodas. Dessert was even better, with chewy apple pie-bars and delectable leche flan.
The last time I saw Bennet's place, it was sparsely furnished, hot and smelt of dog poo (he lives with his pug dog, Jack). But this time, the place was fully furnished in a nice, classy, black and white style, with nice artworks about and creature comforts like a TV and dvd player ready for watching. With the climate control on, staying there was cool and comfortable. From his bedroom you had a lovely view of the nearby Makati Sports Club, and the surrounding park. At night, with the subdued lighting of the condo, seeing the lights of the surrounding cityscape must be really something.

I could probably live like that... if I could afford it. But then, I can't really ask for anything more than The Sanctum. Classy furnishings aside, I have pretty much everything else a single guy could want, and then some. TV and videos aplenty, gaming, reading, aircon, internet, cable... and I don't pay rent! That's the best part, I guess. Heh... Well, I don't have the view, but I think having a cool garden to walk through at night makes up for the lack of lights.

Perhaps in another life, I'd have a condo in Makati, to go along with a killer-debonair lifestyle. But then, it really isn't me. At least, not yet. Heh.

Say it ain't so...

Starting this August, Animax will be showing anime series IN ENGLISH??!

OHMYGAS!!!

Horrors!!! I only hope they don't mean for ALL their programs, ALL the time.

PLEASE no...

Nakakapanginiig!!!

During our nightout yesterday (A dinner at Steak Jack's and then coffee at UCC), one of the topics that surfaced was the "First Reality Horror Program", Nginiig!! The Hidden Files. Well, despite dealing with aswang and white ladies every episode, the scariest aspect of this show is its growing popularity. Despite the outright cheeziness that oozes in every episode, has not only proven entertaining to watch, it has been recently upped from thirty minutes to a full hour of scary stories and even scarier acting. Dean remarked, like an auto accident, you just can't-look-way. Well, it just goes to show how Filipinos LOVE being scared or spooked.
Heh. Well, no matter how cheezy it is, I have to admit that I enjoy it. Horror/suspense shows of this sort always interest me- from the 'ghost' episodes of the classic That's Incredible and Believe it or not! shows of the 80's, to the spooky In Search Of... program of Leonard Nimoy, to the annual Todos Los Santos special of Magandang Gabi, Bayan, I love mystery and frights. I even never fail to watch that hilarious Scariest Places on Earth thing, though I tune off whenever they have those STUPID American families stay overnight in those supposedly haunted castles. Yep, good shows of this sort... well, shows of this sort, period... are rare.

So I'll just watch Nginiig. At least it's funny. Not like another Studio 23 show, Wazzup, Wazzup... Heh...

The King is Back!

SNK's latest game in it's popular King of Fighters line looks to steal a bit of Tekken 5's thunder by giving PS2 gamers a taste of 3-D streetfighting sooner than Namco's flagship. King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is fully 3-D, with polygon graphics taking the place of 2-D sprites. The graphics and animation so far look good- attacks and movements are smooth and the action is fast and furious, apparently staying true to the 2-D games' mechanics despite adding elements of 3-D movement and evasion.


Maxima pays the ultimate price for mistaking Chae for a guy.

The game will feature a large roster of both old and new characters. Veteran pugilists include eternal rivals Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, members of the Sakazaki clan- Ryo and Yuri, the powerful Ikari Warriors, fighters from the more recent KOFs such as 'K' and Maxima, and of course Fatal Fury mainstays Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui.
The new competitors include such novelly-named characters such as Alba, Soiree and Mignon, the latter being a cutesy-girl fighter. Also making their debut are Lien, a busty blonde female assassin (How many blonde assassins AREN'T busty?) who's seen a lot in the cinematics, and Chae, a female taekwondo expert who takes over the space vacated by the now-absent Kim Kaphwan.


Ryo Sakazaki and Chae Lim re-enact a scene from the first Spiderman movie.

The PS2 game will feature two distinct costumes per character, and various modes of play including Story, VS, Team Battle and Mission modes.

While SNK's track record with 3D fighters have not been impressive (Wild Ambition, anyone?), KOF:MI looks impressive from the get-go, and the gameplay looks tight. This should satisfy fighting gamers who've been waiting for a good 3D fighter to come along for awhile now. With DOA Ultimate due in October (maybe) and Tekken 5 for later in the year, the 3D KOF may be just what the players ordered.

King of Fighters Maximum Impact hits Japan this August, and September in the US. We can't wait to get cracking.

On a Wing and a Prayer
 
I'm here at the Cyber Zone in Megamall, blogging and surfing in one of the pow-wow internet kiosks.  It's actually pretty cool here in the ol' CZ... the internet is fast, there are coffee, tea and snack places nearby, computer, gaming and telecom shops all around... the only thing missing is a comic shop or an actual arcade. Anyway, I'd rather much blog in the privacy of my workstation, or at The Sanctum... you can never tell if someone's eavesdropping or peeking at your stuff. Then again, who's to say I'm completely safe in The Sanctum..?
 
Anyway, we just came off the Siglo Comics Workshop, conducted by Dean, myself, Jamie Bautista and Wilson Tortosa. We started just after lunch. After a brief intro from Dean, Wilson took the fore and spoke about doing comics, with a smattering of tips on art techniques and experiences in his academic life. He brought a long a fair amount of cool art, including his college thesis, which was  a comic with fairy tale characters given a manga-action flair (Can you picture the seven dwarves as a Sentai superteam? Heh...). Afterwards, I jumped in and FINALLY got to use my lecture on 10 Tips to Creating Your Own Manga Story. Even two years after it should have been given, it was still nice so I'm glad it got told.
Dean took over after a while, talking about writing in general. It's pretty cool to see him have the audience laughing and in with him throughout his talk. You can really learn a lot from people's speaking techniques and how to captivate an audience.
 
All this and NONE of us came really prepared... basically we were all freakin' WINGING IT. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
 
Anyway, despite our group unpreparedness the large audience gathered around seemed to have fun. There were predominantly young people around, although there was that one odd old lady who was just totally out of place- did she even know what we were talking about? Well, she stuck out for the whole show and even asked for a copy of Angel Ace- I gave away about 20 copies free to the audience. Of course, anything free puts smiles on peoples' faces, but it felt good to have people get the comic and hopefully appreciate it.
 
The day is still young. We ended the session at about 4, and we have the evening before us. Wasn't able to go to Greenhills, of course, but I think I can save it for next week. Work's looming on Monday, but I am actually raring to start the grind again. I miss the taste of salt. Heheh.

Phone Whore Post AGAIN?!?


Techies start slavering... the upgrade to the P900 is coming.

Sony Ericsson recently revealed their long-awaited and much-anticipated follow-up to their P900 PDA phone. It's called the P910 and it mixes new stuff with old. Overall, the thing is a P900 more or less, but with several changes. For one, the screen will be a dazzlingly bright 262K color TFT screen. The internal memory will be bumped up to 64 MB, and a 32 MB memory stick will be thrown into the deal. The P910 will also reportedly support Sony's Memory Stick Duo format, allowing storage for up to 1 GB of data. DAAAMN! That's a LOT better than the P900's limit of 128 MB, I think. Aside from that, there will be some software and internal upgrades, and of course as you can see from the pic there will be an attached QWERTY thumb board on the flip-side of the removeable keyboard.

The biggest downer for me though is that the camera will still be VGA quality- no megapixel muscle for this PDA combo. Still, the prospect of having a Gigabyte of videos (it will of course be Symbian so Smartmovie will be supported most probably) in your phone is uber-cool. We'll see though... I've never been a fan of the P9 series, but you never know. Heh. Let's all just wait for it when the P910 comes later this year.

Wrong Signal

Yesterday, I ventured out of The Sanctum. I just needed to get out, and I was struck by a craving. It's a pretty funny story, actually.

I was at home, just lolling around the ol' sack when I turned the TV on to a news program named InSight. They were playing a report on obesity and health, featuring clips from the controversial documentary Super Size Me. FYI, SSM is about a guy who starts eating all his meals from McDonald's for 1 month. The result of his McDiet was his ballooning up with about 95 pounds, his cholesterol level shooting up, his life getting all crappy and all his doctors screaming TIME OUT!!!

Anyway, I was watching the footage and then the various shots of people eating burgers and fast food and instead of getting all guilty and scared...

I got hungry.

So, after having an obligatory couple of minutes peddling away on the exercise bike, I dressed up and went off into the outside world. I went to Greenhills and got the 4 latest episodes of Inu Yasha (which is STILL my favorite anime and only keeps getting better and better), and after which I made a beeline for Brothers Burger.
Now, on the way I took a cab and the traffic made me supremely hungry... so without really thinking I ordered something called "The Brothers Pounder" with bacon. It was only after I sat down and twiddled my phone for a few minutes that I saw what the actual Pounder looked like. It was a MONSTER- a two-pattie burger that would make the Big Mac look like a Burger McDo. Oh-oh... I made a booboo...
When the thing finally arrived, it was so huge I could barely contain it in my hands (and I have big hands, mind you). The thing was literally sweating oil and grease from the wrappings, and I was SCARED. Anyway, it was too late so I started eating, all the while the facts and stuff I heard from the InSight report were whispering in my ear. Sigh. Anyway, after a few wide-open mouth bites, I felt filled up. I left about a quarter of the thing unfinished and a lot of onion rings left, but I couldn't touch it anymore. As I left the resto, I had the inner urge to jog to Megamall. Oh well.

Of course, this is really not all fun and light; I know I'm putting on a lot of weight, so I should try to trim down my fat eventually. Someday. I will. Really. Postitively.

Sigh.

Mysterious Ways

I'm really not one for hyping up or blogging about the latest news item, but the recent hostage incident in Iraq with Filipino Angelo de la Cruz is really something you can't not notice. I just find it kinda amusing to think though that when he hopefully, finally gets home, at the very least Mr. de la Cruz will be coming out of this crisis with something other than emotional trauma. He's already a hero to his people, particularly in his hometown (where he will be greeted with a full-blown fiesta, according to news). He and his family will be receiving a house and lot from a subdivision, and it's pretty much sure that he'll be raking in the dough from movie companies seeking to make a movie out of his harrowing experience.

Sometimes, even the most terrible circumstances can hold rewards... not often, but sometimes.

Samurai

For the entirety of my professional life, I've always been an employee, working with a contract, doing a job nine-to-five, five days a week (then again, there was that one job that pretty much had me doing 7 days a week). So I've never really been able to think of even getting into freelancing. I can't even begin to think of the prospect of not having that paycheck come in at the end of a couple of weeks... indefinitely. I enjoy the security and the regularity of regular employment. Perhaps when I am a lot older, a lot more famous and secure with a lot tucked away... maybe I can try it. For now though, I will remain a denizen of the Salt Mines.

So it's pretty cool, in a weird way, to have a friend who has been doing freelance for a long time, return to the world of regular employment. I just wanna wish her luck, but then she really doesn't need that much since she's damn good.

Ah. Talking and blogging about work during my break? What am I thinking... back to rest.

You can't keep a good ninja down!

Kunoichi Boy may be down, but not out!

The adventures of the first male kunoichi may still see the light of day! Apparently, there have been some restructuring and changes at the mag where KB is supposed to come out in. These changes have caused the mags to be delayed, but things should be back on track when the mags are re-released in the last quarter of this year. Despite the changes, I've been assured that Kunoichi Boy is still part of the lineup, so... YAY! I'll work on pages for the adventures of Jin Dragu after I finish Siglo and K.I.A. Still a lot of stuff to do! Damn! WOOHOO!!!

Remastering Remakes


Buffy's no match for ghosts in The Grudge.

I'm watching the US version of The Ring on HBO. I actually like it a lot, and yes, even more so than the original Ringu. It's creepier and the added Hollywood production values, slicker special effects and sounds make it altogether scarier film. There are big differences between the two films that make each version a unique watch- the Japanese film is more spiritual and... well, Japanese, with issues of the supernatural tying in with the secret of the cursed videotape. In the US version, it's a bit more clean cut when it comes to the nature of the curse. Plus, there's a decidedly more occidental bent to how the characters respond and act towards the curse- a need to rationalize things and chuck in scenes in the requisite psycho wards and hospitals. Just goes to show the difference in cultures.

Moviegoers will be seeing another Japanese-to-US horror remake with The Grudge, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. The movie is about a haunted house, filled with vengeful spirits, and how these spirits reach out to swallow up those unfortunate enough to cross paths with them. I am curious though on how they will be able to pull this one off- the original Grudge vid was a series of little vignettes, instead of one single story. Will they follow the original film or just have one big integrated story? It'll be interesting to see.
You can catch the trailer of The Grudge and see more into at the official site.

And the Cupboard was bare...

All I have in The Sanctum are a couple of cans of Coke. No chips, no snacks or tsitsirya. But that should be easily remedied by a trip to the nearest MiniStop. We'll see if I can muster the will to make it out. I have few illusions that I'll make it though- the seductive pull of the bed and the TV, or the chair and the laptop is as strong as iron.
Of course, I am not intending to let my whole break pass by so unproductively. I've started working on Siglo Passion, and hopefully it shouldn't take my whole vacation to finish it. I want to enjoy as much as produce though, so I am planning to take the time and opportunity to catch up on anime and DVD viewing as well. We'll see how much I can squeeze in. Last Exile, Full Metal Alchemist and Scrapped Princess are demanding to be seen... and I think I should give them priority over any Animax re-run.

Getting into the break in earnest now. Nice...

Text Generation

According to a local news program, the Pinoy youth of today, particularly high school students, are becoming dangerously addicted to texting and the use of cellphones. With mobile phones being as inexpensive as they are today, and with cellphone credit and load available in cheap portions, even students can get into texting. This reliance on mobiles, and the compulsion to text and textback, is having some radical effects on youth behavior. A couple of students being interviewed said that they actually scrimped on buying rice so they can allocate the lunch money to text money. They use the credit to keep in touch with friends and relatives. Taken to an extreme though, what other lengths would kids go just for text credit?
The news program goes on to recommend that parents train their kids properly on the use of cellphones.

Pretty wild. In my opinion, more often than not though, it's the kids who teach their parents about phones... heheh...

Abdication

It was fun being emperor and leading my own nation in Nation States. I had kept the state alive as a 'Father Knows Best' state, and later as a 'Corrupt Dictatorship'. Interestingly enough though, I poured billions into education and law enforcement, and eventually crime ceased to exist and my subjects were learned and content. Sure, problems like overpopulation of our national animal, the Madrapoor Viper, happened on occasion, but overall life was good.
Well, life was good and ultimately pointless and monotonous, as we had exhausted all the issues available. And any new ones were just too inane to take seriously.

So, Madrapoor was left to vanish into the mists of oblivion. I'd like to think that the 500+ million population of Madrapoorians will continue to live on in some way, somewhere.

Father has seen you grow and mature. Now, you can live your own lives and make your own decisions. To whatever end you find yourself, I will always be proud of you. Farewell.

Darn. I really, really wish Nationstates had a war or invasion option... oh well.

Final Fantasized

Got this from Evil Dex's Blog. Turns out I'm a pretty cool Final Fantasy character, heheh...

What kind of Final Fantasy Character would I be? by TheBlueParadox
Your Name/Handle
Your Hair Style	Gravity Defying Spikey Grey
Your Clothing Style	Loose Fitting Red Robe
Your Weapon of Choice	Kitana
Your Mission	To Save the Love of my Life!
Your Role in the Fantasy	Villian Turned Hero.
Created with the ORIGINAL MemeGen!

Two-fisted Gameshow



I stayed home today, feeling a bit under the weather... Okay, I got a bit lazy. I stayed in instead of going out to forage in Greenhills or go out with the gang for the Saturday nightout. I almost never see Saturday TV, and this opportunity got me to glimpse the British reality-TV show, Fight School.
Sorta like a cross between Fear Factor and Mortal Kombat, Fight School brings together a group of physically fit competitors to see who's the strongest fighter. Most of the show chronicles the competitors' trials while living in the show's oriental-type dojo, all of which seem straight out of some kung-fu film. They eat noodles, balance bowls and cups, climb poles and more. The climax of the show are actual fights, where the competitors pair off and start tussling with fists and feet flying.
Part of the show's pretty campy with the Grandmaster uttering lines like "I will make a decision with my wisdom..." and coming in with two female attendants/bodyguards. But the competitors' trials are pretty interesting to watch- similar to the WWE show Tough Enough. The actual fights aren't as flashy as any Mortal Kombat or Streetfighter duel, of course- it's all about technique, not force. The fights are mainly for points and seeing who has the will to get on top. So I'm kinda disappointed no one gets knocked out or has their spine pulled out, but it's not half-bad.

Of course, I won't be able to watch it again with any certainty, seeing as I'll most probably be out with the gang next week. Oh well. I'll just play a round or two of DOA to make up for it. Heh.

Extra Cheese

I just watched U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force on AXN.

WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

This probably is one of the most hilarious turns for a title, considering what kind of film the first US Seals movie was. Whereas the first movie (starring Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn) was based more or less on real-world Sea-Air-Land commandos, this cartoony sequel brings together elements of The Dirty Dozen with The Magnificent Seven, adds in a load of camp and produces one cheezy laugh-fest of a movie.
Basically the drama is about an ex-SEAL guy who is tapped by an army major to bring back a kidnapped nuclear scientist. Of course, ex-SEAL doesn't care... at least until he learns that the kidnapper is his old army buddy-turned to the dark side, played by Damian Chapa, who smirks his way through the movie. Chapa, who played Ken in the live-action Streetfighter movie, is a clear hint that this is really a B-movie fest at best. Anyway, despite being about US SEALS, the movie actually has no real SEALS in the team... the good guys consist of an ex-SEAL and a rag-tag band of martial artists... who in true Magnificent Seven action die off one by one as the film chugs along.
It would have been a serious, heroic-violence flick, but US SEALS 2 takes out any sense of seriousness by adding super-exaggerated 'Whoop' sound effects with every characters' movements- be it a glance to the side or a quick hand gesture. Then there are the funny HK-style fights with dozens of token baddies, weird martial arts weapons like chains, metal sticks, Japanese katana, fencing rapiers and an acid-firing paintball gun being brought into play. There's even a red-haired oriental bad guy with a killer scarf who never says a thing but looks pretty badass. That's pretty cool. Oh wait- awkward love-story thrown in... uncool. Oh well.

If you see this on reruns on AXN, give it a shot. It's a hilarious turn-off-your-brain martial arts riotfest. Now I wonder if they will ever show Mortal Kombat Annihalation again sometime...

Break

MY GOSH! Is this true??!

I'm taking a vacation?!?!

Yep. I'll be off from the grind not just this weekend but the whole of next week (crossing fingers that nothing from work comes back to haunt me during then). Considering that I've been here in my present job for about 10 months straight without any real break, I think I deserve (and definitely need) it.

But of course, I'm really not the vacationing type. My idea of RnR isn't packing my bags and going off to some secluded wilderness, like some people. No, I'm a homebody and just having time off, private time where I am most comfortable, being able to do stuff I want to do and being able to relax, chill and vegetate is enough for me.

So I'm gonna be chilling like an ice cube in the Sanctum unless I need something that can't be delivered.

But of course, I will be working on my comics- that's fully half the reason why I even applied for the leave. Siglo: Passion in particular, needs to be FINISHED at the end of my break. I'll also try to take out the remaining K.I.A. pages within this time frame.

Well, I got my time off. Let's see me use that time to the fullest.

Spy Fiction

PS2 gamers out there who are also anime enthusiasts may want to check out the new espionage action title Spy Fiction, which features the art and character designs of Range Murata. Murata is well known for designs of character from the OAV Blue Submarine No. 6 and most recently, the popular GONZO anime series Last Exile.

Total Apocalypse


Jill Valentine is ready to splatter some zombies in Resident Evil: Apocalypse!

A new trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse is now available online!

The sequel to the first RE movie sees the return of Alice (Milla Jovovich), former amnesiac and special forces operative for the Umbrella Corporation, and one of the only two survivors from the first film's undead and mutant hordes. At the end of the first movie, Alice finds out that the T-Virus plague has escaped from the confines of the secret lab and into the wide world. The Umbrella corporation, the creators of the virus, are meanwhile working to take advantage of the virus and to protect their secrets instead of working to stop the plague. I guess they're not a very civic-minded company.

Anyway, finally arriving into the RE film scene are characters from the actual game that spawned the franchise.

Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) is a sexy, take-no-crap officer of the elite S.T.A.R.S. unit, which is quickly thrust into a mutant and zombie-filled cityscape. Lucky for Jill and her buds, Alice soon arrives and joins up with them, bringing with her some new superhuman abilities, courtesy of Umbrella's experimentation. Apparently, Alice can now fight and do stunts like she stepped out from The Matrix or got taught by Kill Bill's Pai Mei. Jill herself is no slouch when it comes to butt-kicking. Bringing up the rear to our two heroines is STARS member Carlos Olivera, another character from the game, played by Oded Fehr from the Mummy movies
The good guys will need all the firepower they can get since Umbrella has taken the other survivor from the first film and turned him into the pulp-faced, trenchcoat-wearing, rocket launcher-bearing Nemesis, a killer mutant that's out to make sure no one escapes to tell on Umbrella. So now it seems that it's a race for survival as humans, superhuman, mutants and undead battle to see who comes out in one piece at the end.

As with the actual games, the emphasis on the Resident Evil movies really isn't on horror, but more on action-oriented sci-fi/monster-fighting suspense. While that was a bit short in the first movie, the sequel looks to have amped up the pulse tenfold. Plus, having two femme fatales taking names in miniskirts and fishnet shirts doesn't hurt either.
Aside from the Nemesis, the whip-tongued Lickers are back, as well as hordes of bloody extras- er, zombies. With more bang for the buck and a lot bigger scale, I'm actually pretty excited and looking forward to RE: Apocalypse, which should be hitting theaters by September.

Future Obsession

Okay, I know quite a few of my friends will not believe this, but I believe that I have gotten past my Phone Whore fever. Really. I mean, I have the best phone that I could ever want, so there really isn't anywhere to go from here. Heheh.

Anyway... I am saying this because by next year I may be entering a new era of gadget lust. The gadget is the Playstation Portable or PSP. It's Sony's first handheld gaming console and it has just surfaced to the world in the recently-concluded Entertainment Expo (E3) 2004. It's not yet on sale, of course- but at least the real thing has finally been seen and there are a lot more details revealed.

The PSP itself is flat and roughly the size of a man's outstretched hand- which makes it light and handy enough to carry on neckstraps or to fit in large pockets or small pouchbags. There's a gamepad on the left and buttons on the right and shoulder buttons on the front corners- making the whole thing look like a large funky controller. But then, no controller has a lovely, lovely screen in the middle of the thing.
The screen is huge at 4.3 inches, with image quality good enough for crystal clear games and movies. Yes, movies- aside from playing specially-made PSP games, the console can play dvd-quality movies recorded on the proprietary UMDs- Universal Media Discs- produced by Sony. The discs are small and hold about 1.8 Gigabytes of data, and go in at the back of the PSP.
In terms of games, the PSP has the usual Sony lineup of ports, sequels and spinoffs- nothing that particularly jerks my chain, but a PSP Tekken or maybe even a Dead or Alive title may not be far off. Final Fantasy on the go? Bet on it. Wow, just thinking of playing an RPG or fighting game I love wherever, whenever is just soooo cool.
The PSP supports Sony's Memory Card Duo, and will probably have onboard memory as well. The thing will also have WiFi capability, and you'll be able to use the PSP with accessories like special PSP cameras, USB ports, keyboards and other peripherals. This pretty much makes the PSP not just a gaming console, but an-all around media device. The only thing missing is... well, telephony.

How much for this wondrous device? Some say as low as $150. Some say as high as $300. Which means it will probably be as expensive as a full-sized PS2 or Xbox when it comes out here eventually in, oh, mid-2005. That's a lot of time to save up the moolah. And on lustful thoughts. Hoho...

Bagman

When I got my Apple Powerbook several months ago, I had to purchase a bag to go along with it. Then I bought a nice black shoulder bag which fit the laptop nicely along with a bunch of other stuff. It was snug at my side, and I liked it.
Well, months later my right shoulder hurts like hell. I favor it since I just feel off-balanced when I hang the bag from my left. I guess it really just isn't good for me so I started thinking of getting a new bag. The option of course was a backpack, and I was actually eyeing the hardshell-backpacks used by hikers. Two of my friends at the office had them, and when I tried them on it felt quite light and easy to move with it... the opposite of what I thought it would be. My only problem was that the shell backpacks are pretty bulky, and it takes a darn too long a time to open up the thing... which will be a pain when passing by checkpoints in malls and buildings.

Tonight at the Cyber Zone in Megamall I passed by the Apple Center and looked over proper backpacks. The first bag I saw was big and had a good price... but then I saw a smaller and more compact bag which captured my desire. The price wasn't as small as the bag, but I got it anyway. Now my laptop fits in snug as a bug in a rug, and it hugs my bod like a monkey in heat. Vin says I look sporty now. Gah.

Anyway, now I've got bag-euphoria. I feel like I can take up my new backpack and walk ANYWHERE! Do ANYTHING! I can accomplish ALL that I set out to do!!! It's amazing what something new and fresh can do to your outlook.

I wonder if I'll feel like this in a few months of lugging the bag around? Oh well. Live in the moment, I always say. Heh.

Online

I'm doing what I can't do in the office... Blogging without a shirt on.

MWWAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAA!!!

No doubt you are scarred forever by that image. Anyway, the phonelines are back here at The Sanctum and now we can blog and surf again from the comfort and privacy of my abode. This time I hope that the subdivision enacts some sort of special security to make sure the phone cable theft NEVER happens again. Ah. Life is good.

Final Fantasy the Musical

Okay, no, you won't be seeing Cloud Strife or Squall Leonhart on Broadway anytime soon. I just read an article on IGN about the recently-held concert featuring music from the best-selling Final Fantasy games. Entitled Dear Friends: Music From Final Fantasy, the concert features the classic tunes from the many FF games performed by a full-piece orchestra and choir. As an added treat, FF composer Nobuo Uematsu himself graced the occasion.
A huge part of the emotion and the effect that Final Fantasy has on it's fans and players are due to the wonderful music that accompanies every moment in every game. As a fan of the games and music, I wish I could have been there. Well, reading the article almost gave me a bit of the experience, and maybe it will for other FF otaku out there too. Maybe it will make you break out those soundtrack CDs after you read it. Heh.

Anyway, for IGN's report on the Final Fantasy Musical Concert, click here.

Stark Raving Review



This review should have been up a lot sooner, but the darn phone lines went dead and stayed dead at my place. Anyway, last Friday me and the guys caught Spiderman at The Podium. Again, I have to reiterate that I am hardly a Spiderman fan. I know the general storyline and the rogues’ gallery, I watched Spiderman and his Amazing Friends, but I have never really been an enthusiast in the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler.

That said, I have to say that after watching the second film in the franchise, I have to say that Spiderman 2 is so far without a doubt,the BEST superhero movie I’ve ever seen. And a damn great movie, period.

There are tons of stuff to rave about in this superior sequel; the performances of the now-familiar cast, with kudos to Tobey Maguire for playing hero Peter Parker note-perfect with the right amount of sensitivity, restraint and comedic timing. I also have to note the wonderful performance of Rosemary Harris, the actress who plays Aunt May Parker- if you don’t want to give this pure-hearted lady a brand-new toaster after seeing the whole bank scene, you have a heart of stone.
The rest of the cast is still in fine form- J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) is still as obnoxiously hilarious as ever. Harry Osborn (James Franco) looks like an Anakin Skywalker in the making, while Kirsten Dunst fills out her ‘damsel in distress’ Mary Jane Watson role with a nice bit of spunk.
In fact, I think the whole cast from the first movie (including a couple of guys who DIED in the preceding film) come back for repeat performances.
But of course, I have to say that the clincher performance belongs to the brilliantly-realized Doctor Octopus, played by character actor Alfred Molina. He invests the character with humanity and intensity, making the comic book villain more real than he’s ever been… and the awesome special effects that bring to life his fearsome, A.I. empowered tentacles don’t hurt either.

Speaking of special effects, the literally breathtaking action sequences and thrilling fight scenes in Spiderman 2 definitely surpass everything else I’ve yet seen for a film of this type. On one level, they truly capture the kinetic energy, ferocity and violence of the comic book battles… one another though, they TOTALLY blow the comic medium away. Damn magnificent.

I have to commend Director Sam Raimi for doing almost everything right this time around; from the relentless ordeals of Peter Parker to the dramatic scenes between him and the people he loves the most, to the way Spiderman is treated by the people he protects. Even a pivotal subway scene which could have been played with patriotic overacting (as in a parallel scene in the first film) was executed perfectly. So I think it’s great that Raimi gets to throw in a groovy homage to his Evil Dead films, complete with ‘Evil Cam’ and chainsaws. Hail to the King. Heh.

But I have to say that the best thing about Spiderman 2 is that, like another recent favorite film of mine, the action never takes over the movie. There’s a great story with a lot of heart moving behind it all. A story about an underdog (that’s sure to click with Pinoy audiences) who sacrifices everything for the good of his often uncaring world. It’s heartbreaking at times to see loveable loser Peter Parker get hammered AGAIN and AGAIN, but you’ll surely feel uplifted and satisfied when the film reaches its many pay-offs at the end.

Simply AMAZING.

Catch Spiderman 2 in theaters NOW. NOW NOW NOW!!!!

Booty



Over the weekend the gang got treated to each bringing home a PILE of free comics from comic-monger Vin as part of Free Comic Book Day. The cool indie comics included in the giveaways mirror our own local releases, which is great to see. There are also a lot of little gems, and in particular Tokyopop wowed all of us with a mini-graphic novel sized-free sampler of their upcoming releases.
So much stuff to read and peruse and appreciate. And I'll need them since I've started finally on my Siglo Passion story and I need the inspirations.

Thanks, Vin!

WTF?!!?

Over the weekend I was pretty much up the creek without a paddle... or to be more exact, stuck in the house without internet. For some reason, the phone lines at my subdivision went DEAD and have stayed dead. No phone lines, no connection, no web, no surfing, no blogging, no LIFE! Well, I found out today that apparently someone STOLE the darn PLDT phone cables. SOMEONE STOLE THE FRICKIN' PHONE CABLES!!! My gosh. I've heard of stealing cable, but this is ridiculous.

So now, I guess it's all a matter of waiting for the darn phone company to replace the stuff. But who's to say this won't happen again? GAH!!!

Retro Fantasy


Take up your sword, lead armies and save the world in Dragon Force. Oh yeah.

While I was cooped up at home yesterday, I dug out my old Sega Saturn and started playing one of my all-time favorite fantasy RPG videogames. It's called Dragon Force and it's a fantasy strategy war sim/anime RPG epic starring none other than yours truly.
The game is set in the beautiful land of Legendra, your garden variety fantasy continent created by the goddesses of good for the many races of human and human-like blood. Of course, there has to be a force of evil there somewhere, and here it's a dark god called Madruk. Thousands of years ago, Madruk invaded Legendra and it was only with the help of a holy dragon sent by the goddesses that he was sealed away. Now, in present day Legendra, minions of the evil one are attempting to awaken him and throw the land into chaos once again.

Dragon Force puts you in the regal boots of one of the rulers of this realm- seven powerful overlords, each with his or her own kingdom, vassals, strengths and weaknesses. Those who want the more conventional route of the goody-twoshoes will shine to either valiant Prince Charming Wein or elf princess Teiris. A decidedly more darker path to follow is that of the masked and mysterious Junon, or the exotic swordsmaster Mikhal. Then there's the more comedic road of the beastlord Gongos, whose feral people are looked down upon by the other races. Beat the game with these first five overlords and you'll unlock two more rulers whose thrones you can try on for size- Reinhart, a young but incredibly powerful wizard king, and Goldark, the fearsome warlord who starts out as the 'bad guy' in the game.

At the heart of Dragon Force is combat between small to large numbers of various troops. Military units can number up to a hundred members, so you may see up to two hundred cartoony SD knights, monks, warriors, dragons and more clashing onscreen. You control troop movements and formation, and just watch your warriors go. While the kind of troops facing another is a big factor in deciding victory, the tide of battle can turn with a well-done maneuver or a pivotal magical spell/attack cast by your general. Worse comes to worse, battles will be decided by a one-on-one duel between the commanders, so choose your leaders well.
Despite the battles being fought by cartoony SD sprites and repetitive animation, the satisfaction of victory never seems to get old with this game. And fortunately so because you'll spend half of your time in Dragon Force fighting battles.

The other half of the game is played from a map screen of the continent, with armies and troop movements shown by cute little warriors walking about the map, going to castle to castle, invading, retreating or getting killed (and turning into cute SD angels). There are lots of short but well-written quips of dialogue as various generals talk trash or interact during battles, or in the periodic Domestic Affairs sections where you, as overlord, promote your vassals, manage your armies and push forward the plot (with well-done anime artwork).
And speaking of plot, while the story is your run-of-the-mill quest to find-the-prophesized-heroes-in-time-to-stop-an-awakening-evil" kind of thing, the execution of the short but sweet story segments, the cool replayability of playing through the game with different nations and different storylines keeps it all fresh and playable and incredibly addicting.

Cool anime artwork, addictive gameplay with strong strategy/rpg elements and easy resource management, a nice story, great music and TONS of replayability make this a classic and one of my all-time favorite games.

Which is incredible since the game first came out in, oh, 1996? Which makes it eight years old. Not bad for an old Saturn game. So if you just happen to have a Saturn and happen upon a copy of Dragon Force, try it out for some old-school anime RPG epic madness.

MAD Weekend

As the work week draws to a close (with not one but TWO TV commercials presented and approved! YAY!), there's no rest for this MADman.
I've got pages of Siglo: Passion to crank the elbow grease and grey matter on, but then again I'm supposed to work best under pressure so I'll be giving this the good 'ol college try and who knows- maybe it'll look great. Heh.

Gonna watch Spiderman 2 soon... as in, 'in a few hours' soon or 'tomorrow' soon. The sequel's been getting RAVE reviews from a couple of my blogmates, and I'm building up excitement for the movie. I expect to have a review up by... tomorrow? We'll see.

Finally (and not least), I may be part of the Siglo Comics Workshop being held at Powerbooks at Glorietta 4, in the afternoon. I say 'may' because I may just bail out and use the time for actually drawing comics rather than talking about them if there are more than enough Siglo creators to go around. Again, another wait and see.

Lots of stuff to do and not a hell of a lot of time to do it. Story of my life. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHHHHHAAAAA!!!!

Dress-up Tekken


Asuka Kazama and her alter-ego, Mirtle.

A cool new feature in the upcoming Tekken 5 will be a Customization Feature. You can unlock various items, accessories and articles of clothing to dress up your favorite Tekken fighters through gameplay. So now, if you ever wondered what Kazuya would look like as an Elvis impersonator, you can indulge. It's still not known how many options will eventually be available, but you should be able to change character costume colors, hairstyles, add headgear or add props like weapons for wacky combinations. This still isn't the same as having bikinis for the females, but it should be darn fun to see.
Tekken 5 is set for a late 2004 or early 2005 arcade release, with home versions expected soon after.



King looks a lot more kingly with a mane, don't you think?

Advent Rising


The original butt-kicking babe in Final Fantasy, Tifa Lockhart, returns. And she's put on quite a few polygons.

Square has released more tantalizing images of their impending DVD movie/sequel to the classic Playstation One RPG Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The images include stills of heroine Tifa Lockhart, who's looking FINE, party members Red XIII and Cid and former enemies The Turks ("We are Turks!"). Lastly, there's a mysterious scene showing Cloud standing in a field of flowers with none other than Aeris herself. A dream? A flashback? Or a reunion?


Reno and Rude are back, but where's Elena? The Turks will apparently have a significant role in Advent Children. They are shown talking with Cloud, and later locked in combat with the new silver-haired enemies.


You can't keep a good flower girl down...

With pretty much all of the cast members from FFVII now accounted for, FFVII: Advent Children is a must for fans of the most acclaimed chapter of the Final Fantasy series. The movie is scheduled for release on DVD/Video and on the Playstation Portable later this year.

Blow wind, blow

Outside, the storm winds are howling non-stop. The sky is a grey curtain, and the intermittent volleys of rain pelt the windows like little thumbtacks.
I actually ventured outdoors for a while, braving the storm with nothing more than a jacket- an umbrella would be suicide in the strong winds. My steps eventually took me down the streets to Makati Cinema Square and the DVD kiosks (Heh). There I got the first two seasons of Futurama, Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, Battle Royale 2 and Zero Woman. The last disc is a live-action Japanese film about a female assassin, one of a series. That, and the Battle Royale 2 disc, are region 9 dvds from abroad... I hope they work on my player with no problem, and with suitable subtitles. I was tempted to get the Third Season of Alias, but I'll save that for when I am actually raring to watch the show.

I took a cab back to the office, which set me down on the curb near the entrance. Again, a wall of force blew against me as I made my way to the building's interiors, stronger this time than before. My jacket was almost blown off, threatening to escape into the wild grey yonder. With luck, I should finish up whatever work I have for the day shortly so I can make my way home early. Stormy, windy days aren't so bad, but stormy windy nights are best weathered through at home.

Wallcrawler

I'm actually looking forward to watching Spiderman 2, which starts showing today in local theaters. While I don't consider myself a fan of the character and I didn't like the first movie that much (Green Goblin sucked), seeing the trailers and rave reviews have me psyched. I am looking to be entertained when we inevitably watch the film later this week, or this weekend. We'll see.

Hurrah Redux



Today we presented our mostly-finished TV commercial to client (no less than the President of the company) and our job's pretty much done. We've been working on this particular job ever since I joined the agency, and it's been a long journey to say the least. But it's refreshing to finally see your work pay off in a TV spot that will hopefully be insightful and memorable over most other ads in the category. Of course, it helped that we had a top-notch team with the likes of director Raymond Red on board. Hurray! Here's to more nice TV ads to come in the near future.

Windy City

As I got off the cab and headed for the entrance to our office building, strong gusts of wind blew into me continuously, flapping and pressing my shirt and jeans to my body, buffeting even my heavy bag. I was almost walking with an effort against the cold, relentless force that howled all around me. Turns out there's another Super Typhoon headed our way. Lots of wind, a bit of rain and coldness throughout.

My kind of weather. Heh.

Angel Ace Next NEXT



Tonight I had dinner with Vin and Andrew at Classic Roast, in Megamall. There, as we chowed down on chicken ala kiev, chicken ala king and roast pork, we talked about comics.
It's been a long time since I've raised a pen to page... the past couple of months have been dominated by work, collapsing in fatigue and just vegetating on weekends and... blogging. Andrew asked me some pointers about doing a comic book series, since I'm the one in the group who's been doing one title continuously all this time.
I talked about what I thought I'd do... about having a goal in mind and mapping your characters' stories and progress towards it. Spacing out issues by events such as filler episodes meant to endear your cast to the reader and to reveal more about them, to significant story points such as a betrayal, a death of a character or a moment of truth. And then, you have to move into a sufficient climax which reveals your series' secrets and ends it all in a bang.

I just told it according to how I wanted my own Angel Ace to go. Things have been slow recently, but I am still committed to going through with the series. I ended Angel Ace Next as a good starting point for newer, fresher stories, conveniently giving Kai her own book and independence of a sort from Angel's adventures. I'm not totally committed to the exact storyline, but it will again be a stand-alone story, featuring Angel and her guys on an adventure that will be fun and action-packed and reveal more of their personalities and quirks... perhaps Angel Ace goes to Manila could be a possibility? We'll see.

Of course, all this will have to follow AFTER my other commitments- namely illustrating for Siglo: Passion and finishing up K.I.A.. In good time though, I promise... we'll see Angela Windsor Gale fly again.

War in the Pocket

I've just wasted quite a bit of time (and cellphone battery charge) playing a nice Java game called Ancient Empires on my phone. The game's a fantasy themed turn-based strategy war game, with you commanding knights, archers, mages and supernatural units against the armies of your evil arch-enemy and brother. The graphics and gameplay bring to mind gameboy titles like Advance Wars, with split screen animations showing the armies (well, groups of up to five units) attacking and/or getting eliminated. There's a nice amount of depth in the game, with various terrain having an effect on your units' movement and combat strength, and the ability to manufacture new units with gold you collect from occupied towns being a vital part of winning in prolonged campaigns.
Another fun little game I've downloaded and installed in my phone is DOAX. Yep, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball! Okay, it's the mini-pocket version, 2-D and with itsy-bitsy SD sprites instead of sexy 3-D DOA girls, but what can you expect? At least the volleyball gameplay's actually fun, and there are several DOAX artworks thrown in to give it all a nice mood. The game's supposedly by Tecmo, but that can't be... can it?

It's really amazing to see how far games in mobile phones has come from simple Snake and Alien Scum. Who knows what may be possible in a year or two? Mobile Tekken? Cellphone Final Fantasy? It's exciting to imagine what.

Had a lot of fun, but I'd better take care not to get too addicted... I might end up eating up all my battery power... and time... taking on the portable forces of evil.

Hip Hop Samurai


From the makers of Cowboy Bebop.

Cowboy Bebop, the funky series about bouny hunters in outer space, may not be my favorite anime, but I recognize the quality. Director Shinichiro Watanabe is known for many acclaimed series like Bebop, and his latest work, Samurai Champloo hits the right chords with me.
Samurai Champloo is an action anime set in ancient, feudal Japan, yet rendered and often set to modern sensibilities and hip-hop music. It's probably the closest I've seen yet to Blade of the Immortal in anime form.

Two exceptionally deadly ronin- Mugen and Jin clash swords after separate altercations with the corrupt town prefect, and end up being imprisoned and sentenced to die. They eventually escape in a storm of blades and blood with the help of Fuu, a young girl who enlists their aid to find 'a samurai who smells of sunflowers'. And so, the story begins...

Champloo boasts quite fluid and impressive animation during fight scenes, depicting Mugen's quick, fast-on-his-feet fighting style and Jin's more refined techniques. The character designs are also excellent and expressive, and the overall quality is very high. The series so far seems to be very close as well to other Watanabe series- there's an underlying sense of humor and lightness, though the show doesn't hold back when it comes to action and death-dealing. Baddies get cut down quick and hard here, like in real samurai cinema.
I've watched two episodes, and I can say that I am sold on this cool new series. Anyone looking for tough, action-packed, sexy and high quality anime may want to check this out.

Second Honeymoon


The Bride meets Bill FINALLY in Kill Bill Vol. 2.

It's been several months since the first volume and first half of director Quentin Tarantino's fourth film, Kill Bill. The first film was a bloody tableau of revenge, black humor, martial arts and swordplay, an homage to samurai and yakuza cinema, anime and exploitation flicks. The Bride (Uma Thurman) locked swords with two of the DIVAS, or Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad, literally cutting a path through dozens of yakuza swordsmen in the first film's gory finale. It was loud, it was ridiculous, it was incredible and we pretty much ate it up. But of course, it ended at a cliffhanger, with the promise of a final confrontation with the titular quarry still to come.

Kill Bill Volume 2 has come and gone from US theaters, yet it still has to come out locally. Well, I got a pretty clear copy of the film to watch so I took the plunge. I actually knew a lot of what was going to happen- I read the whole script of Kill BIll about a year or two ago, so I actually know the ending. But a script can change from paper to theater and so there was still a degree of mystique to this viewing. Well, I've seen it.

Be prepared for a totally different film with a totally different pulse.

That's all that I can say without spoiling too much. The second part of Kill Bill is almost devoid of big action scenes... in fact, I may venture to say that there aren't any big action scenes. The mega-body count and blood splatter of the first part has given way to a whole lot more dialogue, character moments, more dialogue, exposition and more dialogue- which may not be a minus for some people. But to action fans who loved the slashing action of the first and who are expecting even bigger, more flashy stuff in the climax, you WILL be disappointed. As for me, I wasn't bored watching the MANY long talky moments- there is interesting stuff to listen to- but I probably WILL be on any future viewings.

So, did I like it or not? I liked it for what it is... an ending to the movie, and for closure. I just wished they had added a bit more- more of Bill in particular. David Carradine is quite good in the screen time that he has. Bill is one mix of a character- angel/devil, good yet evil, charismatic but despicable... but always dangerous. I wanted to see more of him, to see him in action. The film would have also benefited from a deleted (and never filmed) scene involving character Go Go Yubari's sister, Yuki, from the original script. A bit more action, fun and another killer schoolgirl may have made me like Vol. 2 a bit more.

In the end though, I find Kill Bill Vol. 2 a forgettable end to a great start. Where the title started out with a bang and a scream, it ends with a whisper. I like it, but I like the first part a LOT better, and that's the Kill Bill I will remember. I guess in this case, it isn't sweeter the second time around.

Moving on, moving on...

Phonewhore Post of the Week



It's been more than a week since I got my Nokia 7610, and so I've gotten to know it better.

The phone's really a fashion phone, which means it really looks great. I remember when I got my T610 and 6600, my immediate reaction was to replace the original covers with more colorful shells. Not so with my 7610... the sleek, black cover is just oh, so cool. The only problem is, it's prone to fingerprints, so I'm always wiping it on my shirt. Heh.
The keys, while odd and artistic, are easy to get used to and very snappy, without any rattling or shaking. The only gripe I have is with the joypad- it's a bit stiff, especially with side motions. It's especially hard to play games like Sky Control and Space Impact with the pad. Sigh.
Overall the phone feels very solid, firm and snug in your hand. It's thinner and narrower than the 6600 and a bit lighter, but far tighter- quality!

The Megapixel camera is really cool and it's better than anything else available on cameraphones right now. There are three settings- High, Normal and Basic. The High pics are several hundred kilobytes in size, and fit about 20 or so in the phone's onboard memory. It's good that you can transfer photos to a PC or some other large archive via an included USB cable or through Bluetooth. Despite still not having a flash, taking pics in low light is better with the 7610 since the lens allows for more light exposure, and a single button push activates an excellent Night Mode. Video recording, of which you can now take up to 10 minutes per session, is incorporated with the digital still camera. As far as I can tell, the videos taken with the 7610 are clearer and sound a bit better than with the 6600.

In general, the 7610 has the best sounds of recent Nokia smartphones- far better than the 6600 and the 3650.

The Symbian OS of the 7610 runs a lot smoother and a lot faster than in the 6600, which will become quite apparent after you run programs, arrange files, compose MMS messages and stuff. Videos play smoother on the embedded Real One Player and even the third-party Smartmovie player.

Themes and apps that will work with the 6600 will usually work with the 7610, except for any apps that require the use of the IR port (Infra Red), since the 7610 doesn't have IR!

Memory is a bit of a problem at present since regular MMC memory cards won't fit in the phone. The 7610 uses Reduced-Size MMC cards, which is a new format that will soon become standard in upcoming phones from Nokia and other companies. I've already found a 128 MB card in a shop, but I'm holding out till larger-size RSMMC's are available.
Battery consumption is fair- about three hours to fully charge the battery, and then it will last for about 2 days. Using Bluetooth, the camera and media apps will of course shorten this faster.

The phone is presently priced at 30K in most shops all around the Metro, while The Hub will be selling the phone starting this weekend at about 28K with their subscriptions (get it free with the higher plans).
The 7610 package includes the 7610, manual, promo brochiures, a USB cable, PC suite CD, RS MMC card (64mb) and adaptor and a wrist strap. The wrist strap is not recommended since it has a metal component which may scratch your lovely mobile.

Well, that's that. I am fully satisfied with the 7610, and it's really cool to have be one of the first to have this great model. I am sure it will be as popular as the now 'In' 6600, though the present high price will be a deterrent to all save the most devoted (and in the money) gadget freaks.

And now, let's see about learning how to work the in-phone editing programs so I can start putting together my first 7610 short film...

Progress

Things have been great at work lately, and now we end the work week it at a high note. We presented a TV commercial to client and got high marks. It's really great to see your idea, once presented as a concept, finally made reality by excellent directors and production houses. It's even better when you show your work to your client and see smiles of approval on their faces.
We've been labouring on this particular TV commercial series since last year, and to finally reach the closing stages is truly refreshing. Soon, it will be onto showing the final, final spot and then releasing it into the media for the world at large to see.
Great way to end the week. WOOHOO!!!

Suikoden III Part 2


The war between knights, tribes and mysterious sorcerers continues in Suikoden III manga, volume 2.

The second part of the game-to-manga translation of the PS2 RPG Suikoden III is available now.
As before, the quality of the translation is still excellent, despite having to balance attention between at least three major groups of heroes- from a troop of noble knights, to tribes of fierce barbarians, to a somewhat shady troop of mercenaries. There are tons of touches to please fans of the game, including not only the showing of major events from the game story, but also tons of little cameos of even minor cast members (remember, the Suikoden game has a cast of over 108 different heroes and villains).

There are some little hiccups but overall the second volume of Suikoden III still has me hooked and waiting for the next one. Check your favorite comic store and get your own copy for some high fantasy manga.

VICTORY!!!

We won the pitch we were working on all week!!! A new account won! A mountain climbed and conquered!!! WE DID IT!!! GO, TEAM, GO!!!!

YAAAHHOOOOO!!!! YEEEHHHHAAAAA!!! WAAHOOOOIIEEEE!!!!

That means..!

More work for us..!

...

...


Hurray.

Transit



The Metro Rail Transit (MRT) is a good thing. I still believe that, even though these days I prefer spending on a cab rather than squeezing myself in with the MRT crowds.

I remember the first time I entered the Katipunan station of the East-West MRT, I marvelled at the cavernous interior, the cool feel of being underground and the relative quiet of the place compared to the more populous EDSA workhorse.
As the train moved through the tunnel and into daylight, I moved to a window and watched the buildings pass by. I've been commuting more than 15 years, going past these same buildings over and over countless times by jeepney, taxi or bus. But at that time, I looked at the buildings again and saw them completely new from the elevated perspective of the MRT.

WOW! THEY ACTUALLY HAVE ROOFS!

If only for the ability to see old things in a new light, new ways of going about things, new ways of doing things, should always be sought out. So the routine becomes something exciting again, until the next new train comes along.

Closet Dungeoneer

Dungeons and Dragons, the original tabletop RPG, turns 30 this year. Wow. I have to say that it brings back memories and feelings in me that I thought I had long lost to anime, manga and videogames.

Yes, it's true. I admit it. I was a Dungeons and Dragons fan.

I was always fascinated by the idea of roleplaying games, back since when I was a little kid. I read about tabletop gaming in my older brother's gaming mags, watched that tragic, tragic Tom Hanks film Mazes and Monsters, and begged my relatives overseas to send me the books so I could play.

I remember being sent the green set- the Dungeons and Dragons Companion Set Rules first. Which was unfortunate since the set was for advanced, expert players. I remember reading through it and loving all the illustrations and definitions of spells... but failing to make heads or tails of ANYTHING. I remember my sister coming in and asking me to try out the game with her- Which I DID, despite not at all having ANY idea of how to play, nor did I have ANY of the required dice (the Companion Set didn't come with any). I remember that was probably my first and only attempt at 'winging' D&D- I made up everything, from rules to monsters to combat results, arbritrarily using a bunch of six-sided die (the only dice I could find) and feeling like a quack doctor selling fake cures the whole time. I think my sister knew it as well, but for her credit she played quite seriously for that one and only session.

It was some time later when I finally got the Red Box of Basic Rules, and I marvelled at the included dice. I loved the little in-box solo adventure, mourned the death of Aleena the Cleric at the hands of the evil magician Bargle, and had shivers at the thought of gibbering, flesh-hungry ghouls.
I loved reading the literature, writing down stats, thinking up adventures and even doing a little mini-comic based on D&D. In fact, into my high school years I'd work on a D&D-based comic known as Swords of Valour; I never finished it, and it vanished into the mists of antiquity soon after I graduated, but it was fun while it lasted.
But it's actually funny for me to realize that I never really played D&D as much as I would have wanted. For a few months in high school I was able to actually run with a bunch of guys who loved RPGs, but we could never pin down our Dungeonmaster for any good length of time- he was a fickle upper year guy who was hard to get along with, but to his credit he could spin a good story and acted out the parts with gusto. After we lost touch with him, the role of referee hopped from one guy to another, but we never really played seriously after.

Since then, I dabbled into other games of the TSR lineup- Star Frontiers, Gamma World, Gangbusters and Top Secret and Marvel Super Heroes, but I never really liked them as much as I did the good ol' D&D games. Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms... these were the places I really enjoyed.

Into college, I forgot about RPGs save for the occasional fantasy novel or gamebook. It's too bad I really never got into serious RPG playing- perhaps that would have changed my life, I think. Maybe today I'd be an RPG fanatic instead of an Anime/Manga Otaku. Maybe I'd be both. Who knows? I wonder how it would have been if I had been friends with my present barkada- many of whom are RPG veterans. Oh well.

All I know now is that I still love the ol' D&D games. If I had spare cash on me, I'd zip down right now to Nova Fontana in Greenhills and pick up what TSR relics they still have over there, just for kicks. I'd probably take a look at the upcoming re-released D&D Basic Set coming later this year. Probably not because I want to play, but just because I want to read and visit these fantasy worlds once again. Who knows... Maybe it just might be enough to get me to dust off the dusty black cloak and robes, polish the ironwood staff, take up my spellbook and sally forth once more.

Maybe. If the magic is still there.

Grudgingly Translated

The trailer for the upcoming remake of Ju On: The Grudge is now online, at Yahoo Movies.

The remake, produced by horror icon Sam Raimi and directed by Takashi Shimizu (the director of the original creeper) stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as the hapless young woman who gets sucked into a world of supernatural revenge, murder and eerie feelings on the back of your neck. The remake looks to follow the original Japanese film quite religiously, down to the look of the ghost, the scary little kid and the chilling scene of ghostly fingers stroking the back of the heroine's head...

Look for The Grudge later this year.

The Latest Catch

I've gotten a crop of new dvds to watch when I have the time: Van Helsing is the recently-shown action-fantasy starring Hugh 'RRRAAAAAAAAUUUGGGGHHHH!!!" Jackman as the titular monster hunter hot on the trail of Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. The Day After Tomorrow is the world-disaster flick starring Dennis "Dragonheart" Quaid. FInally, I found a VERY CLEAR dvd of Kill Bill 2, the second part of Quentin "Cameo" Tarantino's bloody 4th film. Haven't watched ANY of them yet- hope I can squeeze in the time to do so despite having quite a lot of stuff to do into next week.
On my hit list for must-get dvds: the period Japanese ninja flick Azumi by Ryuhei Kitamura and Director Zhang Yhimou's latest opus House of Flying Daggers, starring Zhang Ziyi.

A Hero by Chance

Over the weekend, me, Vin, Gig, Jason and Carl talked about a superhero or a comic book character who didn't just have a power that did one particular thing; he could actually cause anything to happen, from changing the weather to making someone's shirt shrink. His/her power would seemingly be totally random and wild, though usually beneficial. The challenge, we thought, was thinking up exactly what could happen at any given time, and how our hero would use that effect to his advantage.
This line of thinking was precipitated when, while we were on route to dinner at Behrouz, I started talking about the movie Firestarter. In this movie, the father of the titular pyrokinetic kid, Drew Barrymore, was played by actor David Keith. He himself had powers of mental domination; he could make anyone do whatever he asked, or feel whatever he commanded. Whenever he used his power, the guy would look like he had a HELL of a migraine and bleed from the nose, but he could do a lot more stuff than just burn things.
"YOU ARE... BLIND!!!" He'd say, and a bad guy was blind.
"Here's a hundred." He'd say, giving over a dollar bill to a cabbie.

That was cool! You could make people do anything you want. I think that's a LOT better than just burning things up.

Well, our hero would go through all that head-stroking migraine stuff, and then SOMETHING would happen. It would affect the area, and it would not be directly harmful to him. It could be anything from changing the weather to altering matter in the immediate vicinity. Maybe if he really, really, really tried, his power would actually do as he intended. But usually, he'd be out of focus and just cause something totally random and weird to happen.

We threw around titles like Murphy's Law, Chance, Weird Luck and even V-Factor (V for Variable). Or maybe even the title for this post would be a good title for the story. We still haven't pinned down just what the story would be about, who his enemies would be, if HE would actually be a SHE, or whatever. But with so much pending and current comic projects we have, I don't think I'll be taking this storline further anytime soon. It's just something we just talked about and had fun with at that moment.

Something totally random.

Chronicles of a Dark Angel


Fallen Angel TPB is now available.

Fallen Angel may not be a comic you'd usually attribute to me. It's dark in both theme and visual style, with morally ambiguous characters and plots that may take one or two reads to be clear. But then again, it stars a kick-ass, mysterious young woman who is both beautiful and complex.
FA is the story of Lee, a cloaked, red-haired woman who is part enforcer, part vigilante, part bounty-hunter and all-around femme fatale in the steamy, shadowy city of Bete Noir. In the span of the 12 issues released so far, we haven't been given too much knowledge about her. She answets to a nun, is super strong and invulnerable, and has acrobatic agility to let her clamber all across the rooftops of the city like a cat. She has some sort of psychic power similar to telekinesis that can, if she wants, tear someone inside out. And finally, she has a creepy ability to just hover slightly above the ground, the soles of her feet never touching the ground. Is she an enhanced human? An actual angel? Only the writer knows, and he's not telling... yet.

So far Lee has shown she's not above getting in bed with the criminal elements of Bete Noir. She's not above using torture to get what she wants- a moral point that both subtly hits at the US Army's treatment of prisoners in Iraq, and shows that our heroine Lee is all too human. She's battled street thugs, criminal masterminds, sorcerous underworld figures and bloodthirsty beasts, but her most deadly foe just may be her own inner demons. It's not always a pretty sight, but for some reason watching the Fallen Angel as she walks her danger-filled path is a gripping read.

This series is one of those kinds of comics these days- an excellently-produced title that has a small but loyal fan base. I really like this title and hope it continues, that's why I support it at every turn. Comic book fans with a taste for dark, gritty, non-conventional fare may do well to check out the recently-released trade, which collects the first 6 issues of the series, and has a couple of pages of character sketches to round off the deal. Get it at your favorite comic store now!

Riddickulous Movie


Triple X in space?

Tonight, our ragtag band of outlaws- Vin, Jason, Dino, Ralph, Carl and me- broke into the heavily-guarded stronghold known as The Podium to watch the new sci-fi action adventure, Chronicles of Riddick.

I'm not really a big fan of bald bad boy Vin Diesel- at least, I didn't really know about him before the 'remixed' spy movie XXX hit theaters. As far as I know, Mr. Diesel rose first to stardom because of his role in the sci-fi thriller Pitch Black (or was it The Fast and the Furious?), as the character known as Riddick. A bad-ass superhuman convict and killer, Riddick was an anti-hero of the first degree. Master escape artist, fearless warrior and unstoppable assassin. Well, actually he's really just a loner who'd rather just live and let live. But of course, it wouldn't be an action movie if it was all about Riddick camping out in some backwoods planet so here we have big things that go to Hell real fast.

The universe is in danger. A phantom army is rapidly growing in strength and numbers, spreading like a virus through the worlds of human colonization. They are called The Necromongers, a force of gothic, highly-disciplined warriors who take over worlds and then either convert or kill everyone in sight. They are led by the Lord Marshall (Colm Feore), a half-human, half-dead being with supernatural abilities. With every world that falls, more humans join this unholy crusade. Is there any way to stop this religious cult of space-faring death worshippers? Well, if prophecy is to be believed, it lies in a race of warriors called The Furions. But for the past generations, the Necromongers have exterminated or subjugated every Furion in sight. Or have they? Enter Mr. Riddick...

I came into COR expecting little more than an action-fest with lots of eye candy, and to say the least, I was NOT disappointed. This film is filled to the brim and overflowing with incredible visuals. The gothic designs of the Necromongers are a sight to see, and the various worlds we are shown fill the screen with all the glorious scope CG effects can give.
In terms of story, there's really little to chew on- the movie is one big action romp for Riddick to look totally bad-ass and kick a lot of arse. Pitch Black fans will enjoy seeing the return of a couple of familiar faces (or names at least) from the prequel. There are some sideplots and conspiracies within the Necromonger elite, as an ambitious/loyal commander named Vaako (Karl Urban) conspires with his consort (Thandie Newton) to replace the present Lord Marshall. There's also a fair bit of dark humor in the precedings as well. Unfortunately, there's also a glaringly long sequence in the middle which brings to mind The Climb Up Mordor from LOTR- a somewhat prolonged, dragging scene. But for the most part, things ran along at a steady pace, to the final action-packed finale and an ending that just screams SEQUEL!!!!

I haven't watched an action film that's just so rich in visuals, so energetic in action, so ambitious in scope and as guiltless in execution as COR, and I can say readily I enjoyed it. It's no Dune, no Star Wars, but it doesn't need or aspire to be. For what it is though, it's pretty good and that's good enough.

Catch Chronicles of Riddick- if you can, or if you dare- in theaters now.

Side note: I came home and opened the TV to HBO and the detective movie Point of Origin. Who do I see in the first scene I see? Colm Feore, the Lord Marshall, now in the role of a detective. Coincidence? Weird.

DAAAAMNNNN!!!

I'm going to have to hunker down and start doing the pending art requirements I have starting this weekend. It looks like the day job is going to be a fickle mistress starting next week. Yikes. Where did all the time go? I have to admit that I've been remiss in a lot of things. K.I.A. is delayed till at least August, given that the submissions are still missing a couple more contributions, and my own pages are unfinished. It doesn't help that we're still pinning down a printer/publisher who can give us a good price and quality. Sigh.

Lots of things to do. Not much time to do it. Well, what else is new? Heh...

Riddickulous, Part Deux

Tonight, Vin, Dino and I will be watching the Pitch Black sequel/sci-fi action adventure Chronicles of Riddick, starring Vin Diesel as the titular anti-hero/convict/galactic saviour. Also on board in the cast are Judi Dench as an ethereal, alien version of her character 'M' from the Bond movies; Keith David as the odd survivor from Pitch Black; Colm Feore as the main baddie The Lord Marshall of the Necromongers; Karl Urban as his lieutenant Vaako and Thandie Newton as Lady Vaako.
Reviews for this flick are mixed, but it's plainly something to see- I'm expecting XXX in Space, lots of pretty lights and sounds, funny one-liners and killing aplenty. If there's a great story as well thrown in with all that, all the better. We'll see.

Cravings

Darn I miss having Discovery Travel and Leisure on cable. My present cable provider just doesn't have it. I don't really watch it for the exotic places as much as I look for exotic dining, cuisine and eats. I'm a very visual person and I eat best when I'm watching a show about food and eating. My favorites are the 'Chef's Journey' shows of Anthony Bourdain which combines New York-ish sentiments, international escapades are REALLY great eating. Lonely Planet/Globe Trekker also had cool food segments, including my all-time favorite Food Special.
At present, all I have are the cooking shows of Food Network on the Lifestyle Channel. It's just not the same. Not as appetizing. Darn.

Sigh. Maybe I'm just hungry. Where should I eat lunch today?

The Phone Whore Strikes Again


Yeah, I've got it.

Okay, okay. I know I've written before that I was going to stay with my 6600 for a while, and that I was perfectly happy with it. And I was, given that I had spent a bundle on maximizing the phone's memory, installed a crapload of games and stuff in it as proof against boredom as long as the battery held out.

But then, the phone got blacklisted and basically was turned into little more than a glorified Gameboy/MP3 player and substandard digicam combo. As a phone, it was useless- no signal, no coverage, no life. The cause for the exile/excommunication/castration of my 6600? Who knows... maybe the original owner didn't pay his bills. Maybe the phone was frickin' stolen. Whatever ghosts of the past it had, they had returned to haunt me and the phone had been struck down.
Not wanting to switch to a rival network, downgrade to a lesser phone or redundantly get another 6600, I just decided to nip this in the bud and just GO FOR IT. I told myself it was my birthday present to myself. I told myself I was getting a higher-res camera and digicam for what I was paying for. I told myself I was at least getting rid of my problem phone and paying a lot less cash than I normally would. I told myself, WHAT THE HECK. I traded in my 6600 and got my 7610 in the box.

So here I am, with the latest Nokia on the block.

My model is black and shiny, with metallic brown highlights- a limited edition, the salesguy said. Riiight. Whatever. Anyway, the 7610 is just as tall, but a lot thinner, narrower and a bit lighter than the wide-bodied 6600. The screen is the same size, though it has straighter sides than the more TV-esque screen of the 6600. The 7610's screen IS noticeably brighter and prettier to look at. Really.
The keys are odd- that's easy to see straight off. Surprisingly, they're not hard to use at all. The joypad though is a bit stiff- especially with downward motions. I hope this gets easier to use with practice. Aside from that though, using the 7610's keys are snappy, responsive and quick. Texting with it should be a breeze in a day or two.
As it is yet another Symbian 60 smartphone, the 7610 works with most, if not all, applications made for these models. My favorite third party app, namely Smartmovie, works PERFECTLY. In fact, I'd venture to say that the 7610 plays the AVIs even smoother and clearer than the 6600 ever did. WOOHOO!!! Other games and apps I installed also worked on the get-go. Coolness.
As for sound, the 7610 kicks the 6600 easily- ringtones and sounds from media come in fuller and brighter. For calling, I have yet to use the phone extensively, but there's really no reason to think that it won't.

Another issue is memory- the 7610 uses Reduced Size MMC cards that are different from those used in the 6600- making my previously acquired cards useless. I hope to acquire larger-capacity versions to replace the 64MB card that came with my phone. For now though, I have to choose what stuff I pack my phone with. Sigh.

Well, that's it... Oh, wait. Yeah, the camera.

The 1 Megapixel-camera rocks. The pics are far, far better than any previous Nokia. I haven't taken too many clicks yet, but when I do I'll post them at my phlog or here. Suffice to say, the change is a world away from the blurry pics of yesteryear. As for the videos, I haven't yet even started to film my first 7610 movie, but the editing features and other doodads should be something cool to play with when I have the time.
Aside from the phone itself, the 7610 came with a manual, a charger, a USB cable to link with PCs, a headset and an attacheable wrist-strap. Didn't get the CD with the Nokia PC Suite- I'll have to follow that up.

I'll post a more in-depth review as I use my new toy more. For now though, the phone's great. Well, for what I paid for it, it SHOULD, damn it. Heh.

Bon Voyage

Last night, our friend Cams left for the US, this time for good. Well, she'll be visiting probably every now or then, but from now on she'll be living and working overseas.

I'll miss being your carpooler, Cams. Take care, stay happy and always update your blog! Later.

Shot in the dark

Yesterday I spent the whole time at an old house in Quezon City, overseeing the shoot for a television commercial. There were three scenes, with little variation in camera work, and pretty much just one to three sentences of copy to be said by the various performers. I expected a quick shoot, finished by mid-afternoon.

EEEEHHH!!! Wrong.

While our first talent delivered her lines perfectly and had tons of great takes, the second and third talents took far, far longer to coach and guide to usable performances. Plus, in the early evening, a torrent of rain fell, holding up the shooting for a while since we were recording live sound. By the time we shot the last frame and our director, the cool Raymond Red, said, 'Pack up!', it was 10 PM. Oh well.

It just goes to show that even the best-laid and best-prepared planscan stumble with the slightest hiccup, from human factors or atmospheric conditions. Anyway, I'm thankful that we were able to finish with good takes and the satisfaction that our day was well spent. Spent to the last, but well spent.

Loyalty Reward

It's good to be a Yahoo user. Well, a longtime Yahoo user.

When I logged in this night, I was pleasantly surprised to see my Yahoo mail account considerably improved. I now have 100 MB of storage space, the ability to receive and send up to 10 MB sized-files, and a new, streamlined interface.

COOLNESS! Well, it's about time I got something back after all these years. Thanks, Yahoo! WOOHOO! I mean, YAHOO!!!

Dark Endings

I just watched Army of Darkness on cable. It's the third movie in the Evil Dead series, and my favorite. It's also the most comedic and action-packed of the trilogy, a far cry from straight-up horror feel of the previous films. More an action-fantasy, AOD has former convenience store employee Ash (played by Bruce Campbell) trapped in a midieval land beset by 'Deadites'- undead creatures that exist to torture the living. After he gets captured by a nobleman's knights, Ash soon becomes the de-facto leader of the human resistance against the Evil Dead.
It was years and years ago since I watched this first in theaters- I always found the ending a bit too bleak- after defeating the Deadites, Ash is given a magic potion that lets him sleep until his own time. However, he miscounts the drops required and wakes up in an apocalyptic future.

THAT ending was the only ending I've known in Army of Darkness. However, there actually is an alternate ending- or, actually, the official cinematic ending, known to the rest of the world. SPOILERS AHEAD! The theatrical ending was the one shown in the US and most everywhere else, and has the potion working properly, letting Ash return to the present day- and a job at S-Mart. We then see him recounting his adventures to a disbelieving audience. At that moment, a Deadite appears and a fight scene breaks out, with Ash taking the baddie out with a well-placed shotgun blast. The film then ends with the words, 'Hail to the King, Baby', a phrase that appears in the Evil Dead: Army of Darkness videogame released recently (so that's where they got it).
I've never seen the theatrical ending- perhaps I should take a trip down to the DVD market and see if there's a disc available. We'll see...

Phone Whore Lusts Again

Just as the new Nokia 7610 debuted in stores yesterday, news arrived online about the new WCDMA Megapixel camera phone from the Finns. It's called the 6630 and it's yet another Series 60 Symbian smartphone. It's usable almost anywhere in the world, and can pretty much connect with anything. Equipped with a 1.23 Megapixel phone, this baby can take hi-res phots and up to an hour of video. Looks like a bastard mutant child of the 3650 and a 6600 to me- don't really like the curved bottom, and I don't know how big it is yet. Not that hot about it right now... perhaps when we get more news. Oh well.

Circles

Over the weekend I had four different celebrations of my passage into the next year.

On Friday, I celebrated with my officemates and my boss (who also turned one year older) over trays of luscious cold cuts, cheeses, bread and wine. It was cool to just eat and drink and chat about fun stuff and not have to worry about work, if only for an hour or two.

Saturday noon was with the family, a gathering with the parents, siblings and their kids with the classic spaghetti, barbecue and chicken.

Saturday night was with my 'Now' crowd, the Comic Quest group. At Don Henrico's we trooped and sated our craving for Buffalo-style Fried Chicken drowned in ranch garlic sauce, complimented with three-cheese pizza, pesto pasta and enough bottomless soft drinks to replace our actual blood supply.

Yesterday night, I had my college friends over, and we had spaghetti, roast beef and barbecue under the stars as we reminisced about old college war stories and rummaged through our newlywed-friend Mayee's wedding photos.

All of it passed like a whirlwind, amidst wet evenings of rain.

Even though right now I finally feel the weight of all the effort running around like a headless chicken right now, I enjoyed every minute. It'll be back to regular living tomorrow, and so on and so forth until the next celebration.

Can't wait. Later, guys and gals.

Older, wider, MADder.

I turn one year older today.

I'm getting old.

I guess I should stop wearing t-shirts and jeans and sneakers, and start wearing barongs and black pants and comfortable slip-ons.

I should start dyeing my hair to hide the whites.

I should get rid of the frivolous games and stop watching cartoons.

I have to give up doing comics. It's bad business that gives little returns or profit.

I have to start living more carefully and worry more about my health. I'm not getting any younger.


NOT.

The fun's just started in the MADman's show.

Thanks everyone for tuning in. We've got a lot more stories to come.

It is here!


The latest Nokia has arrived in Manila.

I was walking around Mega's IT Center and as I expected, the Nokia 7610 had arrived in a couple of stores. This latest Finnish mobile model has all the features of my current fave, the Nokia 6600. The 7610 is a Series 60 Symbian smartphone, equipped with an integrated camera and video recorder and all the other trimmings, including an MP3 player and expandable memory via reduced-size MMC cards.
The biggest upgrade from the 6600 in the 7610 is the 1 megapixel camera, which takes much higher-resolution photos than pretty much almost all previous cameraphones. You can also take videos of up to 10 minutes- videos that you can edit and play with on the phone to make mini-movies and MTVs.
The phone seems to be as tall as the 6600, though the shape is straighter and narrower, like a T610. It's also not as thick as the 6600. The screen is the same size, though reviews have commented that the 7610's is much brighter.

As expected, the phone is PRICEY at about 35K (pesos). Not something I'd be able to pick up in a snap... if I wanted it right now, I'd have to sell my 6600 and add a bundle of cash. Of course, I have no intention of doing that today, tomorrow or even next month. I am quite happy with my 6600 right now... I can wait for more in-depth reviews and information and for the price to go waaay down before I even think of moving onto this flashy, fancy new toy.

At least, I hope I do. Heh...

Damn, it looks nice... Damn nice... Sigh.