Sexy Beasts

Okay, I know I kinda sorta made a point to keep all my videogame talk to The Lone Gamer, but sometimes comes a story that just begs to be told, or at least mentioned here in my own Stark Raving MADman voice. Anyways, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a pretty popular upcoming game- the Metal Gear Solid series by Hideo Kojima has gathered a rabid following among even the most casual gaming fan since the first chapter debuted on the first Playstation. Well, it's many years later (in fact, it's been 20 years later... how about that!) and the supposed final chapter is still a ways off. MGS4 is set for an 'early 2008' release, but this early of course hype is being built up.

E32007 saw the release of a long but ultimately lackluster trailer- heavy on voiceovers but light on real substance, which was only momentarily saved by a kick-ass martial arts battle between Cyborg Raiden and the returning villain Vamp. As if acrobatic vampires and cyborg ninja wasn't enough for MGS4, Kojima has seen fit to add several new boss characters to the mix of Solid Snake's final adventure.

And so, in the just-concluded Liepzig Gaming Convention 2007, the latest trailer of MGS4 debuted, introducing four monstrous new enemies for Snake to tangle with in the game- and take it from me, these new foes take the cake for the OUT THERE category.


Meet the New Bosses in Metal Gear Solid 4; The Beauty and the Beast Unit.

Yep, you read that right. The Beauty and the Beast Unit. It's pretty silly, to name an elite special forces hi-tech unit like this, but here's the schtick. These four war machines are cyborgs- there are humans hidden under the cold metal- made not from professional soldiers, but victims of war. All females, the Beautiful Beasts were shell-shocked during fierce combat, inflicting them with serious mental conditions which prevented them from being able to face the real world. Their only recourse was to become weapons themselves... hence, the freaky cyborg body armor and super lethal powers. And hence the name Beauty and the Beast. Slaughtering of proper grammar be damned- it's from some Japanese guy.

The four are as follows: Crying Wolf is the headless quadruped who literally weeps and sobs as she scampers around bowling vehicles and soldiers aside like rag dolls. Raging Raven is the flyer of the group, equipped with wide wings that are as graceful as they are DEADLY (she cuts a squad of men in half during the trailer) as well as a penchant for shouting out "RAGE!!!"

Laughing Octopus is perhaps my favorite of the four, thanks to her scary but sexy design. Crushing metal tentacles are scary... cruel sadistic laughter is doubly scary. Finally, Screaming Mantis is perhaps the freakiest design, sporting multiple arms and having the ability to take control of people. Oh, and she has two little puppets hovering beside her that resemble Psycho Mantis and The Sorrow from previous MGS games.

Yeah, their names are silly- I mean, they're so damn literal- but you just take one look at the slick designs and you just buy it. It's like Bubblegum Crisis crossed with Hellraiser and Evangelion. I can't imagine how Old Snake can stand a chance against these girls... maybe he'll charm them into submission? Given how the Beauties are all ultimately innocents make them possibly strange damsels in distress to be saved rather than enemies to be liquidated with extreme prejudice. Kojima even teases this possibility in interviews- "Can these women be returned to their true forms like in classic movies? You'll just have to play the game."

Anyway, this all points to MGS4 being a truly action-packed game... I only hope it doesn't end up becoming more movie than game, with enemies being defeated or taken down via cinema instead of actual gameplay. The Beauty and the Beast Unit is silly, but freaky cool. I wanna take them on.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is set for a worldwide release on PS3 in early 2008.

Avatar Season 3 Trailer



Nickelodeon finally released a clear, clean version of the Avatar: The Last Airbender trailer shown during the last San Diego Comic Convention online. Due to the clamor of fans, the hi-res video showing scenes and snippets from the long-awaited Book of Fire has been made available for free download at Avatarspirit.Net. At about 455 MB, the videos incredibly clear, giving Avatar fans something to chew on and inspect frame-by-frame until the season debuts on September 21.

Unfortuntately, if you go there right now, chances are you won't be able to download since literally THOUSANDS of people are probably downloading the spot, hammering on the site's bandwidth. A smaller version of the spot (33MB) was made available for low bandwidth surfers (and for those who gave up trying to get the large version), but chances are that's being mobbed too right now.
I was fortunate enough to download the trailer (just the small one), and all I can say is... WOW! Lots of Bending action, lots of fan service (surprisingly so), lots of plot threads being bandied around. It's much more exciting and satisfying now that I can tell what's going on! Seriously , it's a really cool thing to have this to tide me over until the actual episodes arrive. Unfortunately, there's really no way to share this since Nick has expressely forbidden anyone to place the trailer on Youtube or on any file-sharing service. So, if you want to see it, just head on over to Avatarspirit.Net and take your chances. In a couple of days, the fever should have died down enough for downloads to be possible again. Now, if you'll excuse me... I've got to go back and watch it again...

Donut Buy

Recently my Mom has been bringing home these homemade donuts in the mornings. These are your usual, subdivision/barrio bakery-made donuts... no icing or anything except a sprinkling of sugar. But darn... they tasted GOOD. I mean, yeah, they're no Krispy Kreme, but these donuts are probably worth two or three Krispy Kreme glazed donuts on substance and solid mass alone. When fresh and still spongy but having a bite, the donuts are positively addicting. And they cost a grand total of five pesos each. FIVE pesos. As opposed to the thirty-five or so per donut at those expensive foreign shops. Or even at your nearby Starbuck's (and those sugar-raised donuts at SB are nowhere as good).

The only problem is, these donuts are quite in demand- we're lucky to get more than a half dozen a day. If only we lived closer to that bakery, I'd have a bowl of those scrumptious loops on the table everyday for breakfast. As it is, they're only an occasional treat. Makes you appreciate the simpler, but truly finer things.

Another Gadget to Lust After

I've been happy with my new iPod for the most part- a recent overnight session at The Salt Mines gave me ample opportunity to appreciate having a personal music supply during the wee hours of the morning when it was better to keep to one's self while working or just wasting away the hours to the sunrise. It certainly got me thinking about any possible replacements for my XDAIIi. Yeah, yeah... I knew I said that I'd be keeping my Pocket PC phone- and I probably will, at that. But still, once I really get used to the idea of having my media mostly in my iPod, it would be nice to have a smaller phone instead of the large PPC sagging at my belt.

I've already talked about the O2 XDA Flame in the past, but come on- that thing makes my XDA look as light as a runway model. What I am looking for is a phone that doesn't compromise on size as much as capabilities and feature. And I think I found one that fits the bill swimmingly.


My next phone?

It's the Sony Ericsson W960, a Walkman smartphone with a lovely, 2.6-inch 256K-color TFT Touchscreen (only slightly larger than the iPod's screen). This latest Walkman phone seems to have it all- 3G, WiFi, 8 Gigabytes of flash memory, 30fps video-playing capability, 3.2 Megapixel camera, FM radio, Symbian UIQ OS for apps and games, PIM features... and man, it even LOOKS slick and sexy. It's no wonder though that this phone is Sony Ericsson's answer to the iPhone. Certainly, the Apple device has a bigger and better screen, but the W960 has phone features that the neophyte designers at Apple didn't throw into the iPhone, as well as support for 3G. So if I was actually given a choice between the W960 and the iPhone, I'd probably choose the former.

Perfect, isn't it? Well... no. The wrinkle is, well, that the W960 isn't here yet- it's still coming, but it should be here very soon. Which means its probably expensive, which should mean I will have to wait a bit until I get it so prices go down a bit. If it comes out later this year though, it should make for a wonderful Christmas gift for myself. Heh. We'll see. Later this year, then.

Podded



Last Saturday, I went ahead and became one of the Pod People. Yep, I finally got myself an Apple iPod, after all this time. Well, what can I say? The device is damn sexy (got the black version) and the scroll wheel is addictive to use, if a bit daunting at first. Strangely enough, I wasn't able to sync my Pod with all the gigs and gigs of songs and videos I've been stockpiling for the past couple of weeks right away since my PC's video card picked this weekend of all weekends to DIE. So I had to go the next day to V-Malll and get myself a brand-spankin' new 256 MB Asus Videocard. Once installed though, it was all a matter of plugging in the Pod and getting down to business.

I still think that iTunes is quite a hassle- I actually had to attempt syncing twice after a botched step caused my music to vanish. I really think that the Drag-and-Drop ease of managing files and stuff in Windows devices beats out having to bother with an middleman app anytime in the week and twice on weekends. It's irritating to have to segregate your videos to just either Movies or TV Shows or Podcasts, and nothing else. I hate that you can't hear anything from the Pod without the earphones. And I really miss having a wallpaper or theme to stare at lovingly at the Home Screen. For these reasons, I guess I'll always keep my XDAIIi (or a Windows PPC Phone of some sort) handy.

On the plus side, once I got past some hiccups like un-copyable files and the synching process stopping several times, it was easy as pie to get my stuff onto the Pod. After all was said and done, even with almost 3000 songs, 600+ video podcasts and 40 episodes of Avatar, I still had over 40 gigs of space still left over. Well, I'll leave that for another day.


Lost on the iPod.

One of the cooler things I did with my Pod was install about a dozen games, including this pretty cool Lost game which puts you in the sodden shoes of everyone's favorite Foxy shipwrecked neurotic doctor. The game is pretty complex and far more advanced than I thought possible for the iPod, and supposedly takes you through the series' storyline for quite a bit, up to the castaway's encounter with the invisible monster, the discovery of The Hatch and encounters with The Others. The graphics are quite surprising and cool, but I'll try to save this for a rainy/boring day.

That said, the iPod's screen is simply amazing. Even at 2.5 inches, the screen is damn gorgeous and videos are as crisp as Pringles potato chips. The detail, frame rates and color of the MP4 vids is astoundingly good. I only wish it was easier to encode these H.264 format vids (it's not entirely foolproof with Super) and that iPod-ready shows and movies were easier to find. I still won't be watching LOTR on the Pod, but stuff like TV shows and anime (english, preferably) should be fine.

I'm still in the throes of early honeymoon period bliss with my new toy- I expect I'll be searching high and low for a nice bag for it I can clip to my belt so it'll be easier and safer to bring along. There are things that I will still look to my XDAIIi for, but the iPod has now become part of my world.

Or perhaps, I have become part of the iPod's world..?

Birthday

Today, my parents each turned one year older. Yep, it still mystifies me that these two people who met and allowed me and my siblings to enter this world each share the same day on which they themselves were born.

My Mom was a nurse in a well-to-do family in Manila, prior to which she worked in her brother's casino where they watched figures like Bingbong Crisologo at the height of his notoriety. As a nurse, she was as tough as she was caring, and one time got into a fight with a crabby patient which ended with them throwing flower vases at each other. She's obviously a woman of undeniable toughness, exacting standards yet boundless humor.
My Dad had a hard childhood, serving for a while as a messenger for the guerrillas during the war. He worked through medical school to become a doctor yet he never really wanted the job, wanting instead the simple life of a farmer... but in the end, he turned out to be a world-class bowling coach and instructor, then ball technician. Gentle and nonconfrontational, he's about as opposite from my Mom as can be.

But despite that, they came together and the rest is history.

Happy birthday, Mom and Dad! God willing, may you have more and more and more and more and more to come.

Rainy Days

Lately it's been rain, rain, rain. I'm not complaining. Given the Dry Spell that has been sapping our water supply, people have been literally praying for rain and storms to come- the just passed storm 'Chedeng' (which is incidentally my Mom's nickname)was the country's first this year, I think. From what I heard, there was even a pastoral letter from the church asking people to pray for precipitation.

Well, it's here. Maybe the Philippines has a bit of clout with someone up there. Let's just hope we don't have to start praying for the rains to stop...

Should iPod or Not?

For the past several weeks, I've been obsessing about getting myself an Apple iPod. In particular, I'm eyeing the latest Generation 5.5 80GB model, which is video-capable. As anyone who reads here regularly would know, I am so into mobile video. It's a hobby and pasttime of mine, as well as a way for me to kill time or combat boredom whenever it rears its ugly head. I actually passed on the first video-capable pods since I read that the battery life was lacking; it certainly would be useless to have The Lord of the Rings movie in your pocket when the device can't even play it to its entirety. Well, the latest generation pods now boast improved battery life (the 80GB model has been timed to have up to 7 hours of video playing time) as well as other tweaks like a brighter screen to make watching vids pleasurable.

Some would ask me, why would I need an iPod for watching videos when I already have my XDAIIi? Yes, my pocket pc phone playes excellent video via DIVX and the thoroughly amazing TCPMP app, and I do have a ton of space thanks to a 4GB card. But the thing is, my XDAIIi is, after all, first and foremost a PHONE. I must always take care to keep juice in the battery at all times and that impedes my total enjoyment of other features unless a power outlet and charger are within easy reach. A dedicated media player, which gives me hours and hours to appreciate both video and music, is paramount especially during times when I have to be on standby for extended periods of time.

Certainly other options have been considered. I have my AV700, which is technically a portable media player- but it is too large to bring along unless I have a bag, and thanks to an apparent battery defect, it can take only about an hour of video playing before the power dies unless plugged to an outlet. So, it's basically rooted to The Sanctum, serving primarily as a DV Recorder and occasional hard drive. I've considered other devices, such as the Creative Zen Vision M and the Microsoft Zune (which boasts a large, 3" screen), but the iPod outclasses them in style, ease of use, storage space and just plain cuteness.

If and when I get a pod, I do fully intend to use the 80 Gigs of space. I've already started grabbing music and podcasts for watching, and I've earmarked my favorite shows and series for bringing along. Avatar. Mythbusters. Futurama. The Simpsons. Ghost Hunters. Tons of Discovery Channel specials. About a gazillion anime series. There's no shortage of stuff I can stuff into a Pod. I'm not really thinking of having actual movies since the screen is just too small to appreciate wide-screen flicks. But hey- I'm a guy who was once happy and used to seeing vids on the dinky screen of a Nokia 6600. I'll make do with what I have and be happy as a clam.

Anyways, nothing is really set in stone yet... I've got about this whole week to finally decide and go through with this. Till then, I'll be reviewing my options and considering stuff before I finally become, technically, one of the Pod People.

My only fear though is that if I do get an iPod, what if Apple suddenly announces a new, widescreen (design based on the iPhone), true Video iPod? Nah...

Net Momma

Even though my Mom can't be considered web savvy by any degree, it's pretty cool that I don't have to walk her every step of the way when she uses my old laptop for emailing. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised that Mom has lately started surfing, looking for her interests on the boundless expanse that is the World Wide Web. It feels good that our internet connection is really being appreciated now; it certainly is one of the best investments/acquisitions I've gotten, even more than my PS3 or the widescreen HDTV or that silencer for the Vanishing Ray.

Now, if only I could get Mom interested in Counterstrike, we'd really start using the connection to the fullest...

Box Office D'OH


Finally.

I made it a point to march into a theater in Megamall last night to catch The Simpsons Movie. I have to say, even with the apparently massive Simpsons fan base in Metro Manila, it's been so long since the series has been at it's prime to expect crowds of people to mob theaters to watch Homer and family on the big screen. As it was, I entered a nearly-empty cinema (granted, it was LFS in the middle of the week), and there was only one screen showing off the movie at Mega.

Anyways, how was it? To try and describe the plot is pretty useless- like any Simpsons episode, you have no idea where the plot is headed from the start or even the whole of the first act. It's all about life in Springfield, numerous sight gags and fast jokes that come at you rapid-fire, until the inevitable Homer Blunder that sets the important events into motion. All I can say is, Homer does something utterly HOMER (read: Stupid) and ruins life as everyone knows it in town. Angry mobs gather. Lives are lost. The Simpsons have to take flight. But somehow, someway, the first family will end up all the better for it.

There are of course lots of funny moments that got me laughing out loud (my favorite of the night was a single line from geeky little Ralph). Many more jokes though were hit-and-miss; you know it's funny, just not enough to elicit a laugh. But you appreciate the effort anyway. I wish I could have watched this in a full theater though- that would have been a blast. In fact, I'd want to watch this movie in a place with as many people as possible- just watching this alone on DVD is just kinda... blah. Or D'oh, as the case may be.

In the end, The Simpsons Movie seems in some ways just a flashier, longer TV episode, though they DO do things here you would never see on TV, and 2-D animation does indeed look pretty slick on the big screen. For fans of the series, this is a must and perhaps it will rekindle the love for the family that time may have slightly eroded. For everyone (if there is anyone) else who don't get the Simpsons, take a watch of this film and see what you've been missing.

The Simpsons Movie is now showing in theaters all around the Metro. Don't have a cow, man. Get a ticket!

My Current Phone Wallpaper...



The artwork is from the cover of an All-Avatar Nickelodeon magazine coming this September/October. I'm hoping it comes out here too, but then, by that time Book of Fire may be already showing, so whatever. Darn it... September 21 is so frickin' far away. Patience... patience. All things come to him who waits. Meh.

Shoot!



Last week, we shot a promo commercial featuring a gaggle of beautiful young ladies. TV shoots are a bit hard for me; they usually consist of me having to get up extra-early in the morning since the grind usually begins as early as possible in the day. Still, getting fetched and driven from your door right to the shooting venue and back home afterwards is pretty nice. Also, we usually are served like kings (well, maybe more like lesser nobles) while on the shoot, with food and drinks aplenty readied just for you. Our particular production house for this shoot, Unitel, is known for their yummy food catering, and this time the goodies I will really remember are the unique preparations of leche flan and Braso de Mercedes (served swimming in syrup with fruits) and a particularly nice dinner with Chicken Pastel and LOVELY mashed potatoes on the last shooting day.


It's desserts like these that make it all worth it...

But of course, it was still work and we basically sat there the whole day pouring over this or that take and shot, being consulted for this and that and so on. After two days, it was nice to end the job at the start of the weekend. This week, we get to see the editing and finishings before the ad goes on the air in a week or so. On to the next ad, then!

Led Astray


Vikings versus Indians. Cool, right? Wrong...

Okay, today wasn't a very good day for movies. Me and my bud Pot had intended to watch The Simpsons Movie at Greenhills, but we ended up giving up when we were faced with the prospect of a 2-hour wait to the next showing. So we just passed the time looking around Shoppesville and V-Mall for stuff and then going on home to crash at The Sanctum. For some reason, we ended up popping in Pathfinder into the DVD player. Pathfinder is a pretty recent movie, but I remember it just came and went in theaters locally. The poster looked cool, but the trailer was a mess of gory stuff that I just didn't find enticing. Well anyway...

Pathfinder is set hundreds of years before Columbus discovered America, and is all about the Viking expeditions that apparently made their way into Indian territory. The film opens with a young Viking boy and apparent survivor of one such expedition being found by an Indian woman. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed youth is taken in by the Indians despite being a child of the 'Dragon Men' (the Indians' name for the Vikings) since Indians are like that. The kid soon grows up into a young man named 'Ghost'(Karl Urban of LOTR fame and Doom Infamy). He's of course an outcast to some of the Indians, but liked by many of the ladies, particularly one lovely lady named Starfire, the daughter of the local Pathfinder, or shaman. Ghost however is continually reminded that he is not of the Indians' blood, and his path lies somewhere else.

To crash the tranquil life of the natives, the Vikings return. Now, these aren't nice cartoony Vikings like Hagar the Horrible. They're not honorable warriors like the guys who accompanied Antonio Banderas in 13th Warrior. Nope... these guys are more like the URUK-HAI. I mean, these guys look, sound and act like they walked straight out of flamin' MORDOR. These are nightmarish, horrific, faceless, horned and armored monsters who kill for sport and nothing more. Of course, what do these baddies do? They start hacking Ghost's Indian people into bloody chunks, and aim to do the same to everyone else on the continent, apparently. Of course, the Indians don't stand a chance... good thing they got an Indian-raised Viking Warrior on their side.

Okay, at this point, all sense seems to fly out the window as Karl Urban suddenly becomes a master of the Viking Sword despite the fact that he has received no training at all from anyone in the use of the metal weapons. At the start, the Vikings kill everyone in their path with no resistance whatsoever, and seem invincible. Then Ghost shows up, and he starts killing them in droves. Heck, as long as Ghost is there, even the Indian girl Starfire gets to scratch off Vikings herself. But it really doesn't matter since, despite arriving in apparently just three longships, there seems to literally be no end to the enemy numbers. For every seven killed, another horde shows up. What the heck? Is there a Viking re-spawn point somewhere I missed? No matter how many Ghost kills, it eventually takes both a frozen lake and an avalanche to finally kill off these Terminator-like invaders.

No matter that Indians are supposed to be fierce warriors in their own right, learned in the ways of the land and their environment. Here, they're either cowardly sissies or idiots who walk into their own traps, can't defend themselves for shit, and can't outrun heavily-armored Vikings who are totally alien to the vast land.

HECK, in one crazy stretch as Ghost and his friends are being hunted by the Vikings in a dark cavern, time and again a Viking sneaks up on them DESPITE being in full armor. Apparently the Vikings are also half-Japanese, able to move silently like frickin' NINJA until they are within inches of their prey, at which point they just habitually give themselves away with a loud "HA!!!"

The action drags for far too long; Ghost kills Vikings ala Die Hard. Ghost kills Vikings ala Rambo. There's even a bit borrowed from King Arthur (another crapper). But in the end, the Indians still get their arses kicked so many times it begins to feel masochistic and repetitive. When the final Endgame kicks in and Ghost tricks the Vikings into a lethal trap on an icy mountain, the film STILL can't get the hint and finish stuff cleanly, needing to drag out things unnecessarily. I mean, I half-expected the Vikings to rise out of the climactic avalanche and still kill a hundred Indians or so before finally keeling over.

Oh, and did I mention the acting sucks? The indians are as wooden as their useless weapons, and there are derivative lines of dialogue like "You speak in riddles, old man," and "Fight and you die. Leave, and you may live," all over the place.

Poor Karl Urban yet again gets himself into another crappy action film. I mean, I like the guy. He has a good look, but this kind of junk doesn't do his career any good. I blame the director and the writer for this particular film. Unlike good action heroes of old, Urban isn't allowed to look strong enough. He is never cool or bad-ass enough in this film, as he should for a revenge-payback theme like this one. In any case, the bad acting, horrible dragged-out pace and overly gory Pathfinder is something he should never have wandered into.


Karl Urban vainly tries to escape the horror of his latest bad movie.

This film should appeal for gore buffs, since the bloody action is pretty brutal- in fact, the imagery and cinematography is perhaps the only good thing about the film, capturing the look and feel of Frank Frazetta's barbarian artworks. Oh, and there's Clancy Brown as the evil Viking leader, who is actually pretty cool. Aside from that... this is a movie neither modern day- Norse or Indian descendants would be proud of, since it slams both their cultures with the subtlety of a fist to the nose. I'd tell Pathfinder to get lost.

Avatar Season 3 Trailer



The Avatar Panel at the San Diego Comic Con has come and gone, and here is the result... a 2-minute or so long trailer showing scenes from Book of Fire. The quality of the vid isn't too hot- there are lots of defocused parts, and it's dark- but Avatar fans will be watching this until September, mark my words. Anyways, the scenes shown are pretty awesome and had me going "WHOA!" continuously.

Where do I start? Well, the trailer (at about 2 minutes) shows scenes of a recovered Aang and friends taking the fight back to Azula. Zuko is his usual emo self, still not happy even though he seems to be welcomed back into the Fire Nation. There's a scene between him and a disheveled, ratty-haired Iroh where he says that he has only himself to blame for what has befallen him. OUCH.
There's even more action, showing Katara looking pretty awesome and heroic with her mastery of waterbending. Toph looks taller, buffer and dressed in a new costume in one segment. But it's Sokka who has the most changes, apparently training in the use of a sword and wielding the more mature weapon instead of his trademark club and boomerang. FINALLY, he may get to be bad-ass in Season 3. And of course, we see Aang, sometimes with hair, sometimes without, in a new costume, in various settings to a scene where he seems to be looking over the Fire Nation's capital.

New stuff includes scenes with a young Avatar Roku (apparently), some mysterious new faces who may or may not be enemies, and lots of epic scenery like a force of Earth Kingdom Tanks (lead by Teo the Machinist Boy), Fire Nation war balloons and what appears to be Appa in Battle Armor.

Aside from the trailer, there are tons of screens and shots of artworks and designs over at Avatar Spirit.Net showing the Gaang in Fire Nation disguises, designs of Fire Nation citizenry and warriors, and lots of gorgeous art depicting the tropical paradise which is the Mysterious Fire Nation.

Some Cool Snippets of Information...

Avatar as we know it, the Story of Avatar Aang and his friends and enemies, ends with Book 3. However, it has been confirmed that Nickelodeon has renewed Avatar for three more seasons. The creators have hinted that the series will continue on with new characters and new stories set either in the past or future of the Avatar world.

There will be an episode entitled "The Beach" which has the Ozai Angels (Azula, Mai and Ty Lee) showing off more skin than ever before in sexy swimsuits. This is about as close to anime-style fan service as we can get with a US cartoon, I guess. The bad news? The old crones Li and Lo will alse be baring all... AAARRRHHHH...

M. Night Shaymalan was at the SDCC, talking about the future live-action Avatar movies he is developing. A special feature on the films will be included as an extra in the Avatar 2nd Season DVD Box Set.

Man, that's a lot of stuff. I'm still looking forward to seeing a clearer version of the trailer and more vids from the Avatar SDCC Panel. It's going to be a long wait to September, but darn... all this good info and imagery should make the wait a wee bit more bearable.

Yeah, right.

Hot Date


FINALLY, it's set.

Book of Fire, the 3rd Season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, is set to premiere on television on September 21, 2007. This is the date on the special Avatar hologram cards being given at the currently ongoing San Diego Comic Convention. The long wait isn't over, but at least the end is in sight.

To recap things so far... The Mighty Earth Kingdom, the last great bastion against the invading Fire Nation, has fallen under the control of the ruthless Princess Azula and the Dai Li. Prince Zuko has chosen to side with his once-hated sister, betraying both his beloved Uncle Iroh and Aang the Avatar. Battling against two formidable Firebenders and dozens of Dai Li agents, Aang and Katara barely escaped, with Aang mortally wounded. Using the Sacred Water given by the Northern Water Tribe, Katara brings Aang back from the brink of death. The Avatar's party escapes Ba Sing Se on Appa's back, bringing with them the Earth King and his pet bear, Bosco. It doesn't get any darker that this, people.

The answers we seek, the comeuppance we crave, the action we've come to expect and the characters we love return this September. I can't fricking wait. More information and stuff on the 3rd Season is expected out this weekend as the Avatar Panel at the SDCC convenes. Damn, I wish I were there right now. Oh well.

Tabloid TV

I have to confess that usually at night, I put the TV on to ETC to catch the latest news on The Insider and Inside Edition. While it's quite interesting to see the day-to-day lives of American celebrities being examined with the magnifying glass of a CSI, I have steadily found it unnervingly creepy how the US tabloids and media just go a bit too far as long as it makes news. Like that whole fiasco with Anna Nicole Smith. She wasn't an angel by any length, but the most horrid thing for me wasn't that she died exactly- it was that her death, into her autopsy and burial were on the spotlight and sold on air to the very end. People frickin' DIE on television for the public's pleasure, in a way. Whatever happened to the right to die in peace or dignity?

Well, perhaps that's the price of fame. On the other hand, another really irksome thing for me is how the young, beautiful princesses of Hollywood- Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton... are self-destructing on camera. Rich, beautiful, famous but inexplicably and incredibly BROKEN. Feh.

I should just try to tune off the Hollywood news and just get back to watching clean, pleasant stuff. Like Forensic Files and Murder Investigations on Discovery Channel. Mmm.

Welcome Back, Potter

I haven't been to a mall in days, so I missed all the hubbub about the launch of the latest and last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Spoiler whore that I am, I already know how it ends and all that crap, but I do fully intend to go and read the last three books for myself eventually. I'm more a fan of the movies than the books, but I do see value in having a copy of each of the seven parts of this significant bit of pop literature. Or maybe I'll just download an audio book or something. Whatever.

Anyway in case anybody doesn't know yet, here's how it ends. Harry defeats Voldemort only to lock himself into becoming the next Dark Lord, so he has Hermione kill him. Hogwarts is renamed Potterdore Academy, in memory of Harry and Dumbledore. The End.

Just kidding. Go, read it and enjoy. Heh.

My New Dedicated Gaming Blog



Okay, Jonas offered me a little gig on blogging about games online recently, and while I didn't go for it, it did get me thinking about having a place where I can blog about games more regularly. Really, I talk about games a lot, and I know quite a few of you out there aren't really gamers so I'll spare you all my game-geek rants and limit my posts here on SRM to my non-game MADness.
Anyway, for those who actually love reading about games and the world of digital interactive entertaiment, you can just click on the big header to head for my brand-spankin' new gaming blog. Lock and Load!

Phoenix Rising


School's out.

I was able to catch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last Friday, even though the Glorietta 4 was crowded with the weekend movie mobs. As with the John Rambo principle, one can go where armies can't... it was a spur of the moment decision to watch, so why not. So, with a bag of Wendy's tucked under my arm, I went into the theater and watched the latest Potter flick.

Picking up right after Goblet of Fire, OOTP sees Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) ruled by dark moods. Wracked by guilt due to Cedric Diggory's death and haunted by mysterious, frightful dreams that seem ripped from Voldemort's twisted mind itself, Harry's feeling more and more alone, hostile and hopeless. It doesn't help matters that the Ministry of Magic has suddenly taken an unexpected move to deny the return of Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and discredit both Harry and Albus Dumbledore. Even worse, Harry finds himself isolated from the Headmaster of Hogwarts, just in the time that he needs the great wizard's help and advice the most. Now he's being torn apart from within by Voldemort, and from without by Hogwart's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and this chapter's resident villainess, Dolores Umbridge (played to evil perfection by Imelda Staunton). With the hero at his most vulnerable, the only hope to stave off forces of dark magic lie with Harry's true friends, and with the mysterious group of wizards known as The Order of the Phoenix.

This latest Potter is very different from previous chapters; there's not as much wonder and fun as before (though director David Yates still injects whimsy and humor every so often, thankfully), and not a Quidditch match in sight. This is all about the students of Hogwarts banding together and friends hanging tough in the scariest of times, and keeping true even when the person you love doesn't seem to want your help. Even though their roles are noticeably smaller, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) are at their most refreshingly earnest and natural in this chapter. Ron isn't so much the bumbling fool and more of a staunch friend and ally, while Hermione gets to act against the rules and be a bit of a rebel. Even better, the other students of Hogwarts get to shine, with Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) and the elder Weasley Twins Fred and George (James and Oliver Phelps) getting lots of screen time. While Cho Chang (Katie Leung) has her little (but surprisingly wet) kiss with Harry, she eventually turns out to be a dud character (though her 'fall' softened from the books, as I gather), a pleasant surprise is newcomer Evanna Lynch as the quirky Luna Lovegood. Able to reach the moody Harry and establish a bond through their shared experiences, Luna is a wonderful addition to the core band of Hogwart's Heroes.

As for the rest of the cast, it's the same familiar and comfy cast as always, and each is still as set in their roles as before, though many get pretty short screentime. Michael Gambon gives another strong performance as an oddly vulnerable Dumbledore, while Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonnagall gets cross swords with Umbridge in defense of the school. Other faculty like Hagrid (Robby Coltrane) and Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) get shorter, but no less sweet scenes. Outside of Hogwarts, it's great to see returning faces like Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), Mad-eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson) and of course, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) surface as members of The Order of the Phoenix- Dumbledore's rag-tag resistance fighters against Voldermort's Death Eaters.

OOTP is certainly the shortest of the Potter flicks, moving quickly from the in-school rebellion and formation of Dumbledore's Army to a pretty flashy finale- a properly creepy and atmospheric foray into an aptly-named Department of Secrets, culminating in a Wizard Battle between the Order and the Death Eaters, and an impressive duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort. But sadly, like most middle chapters, it's all ultimately setup for the final battle yet to come. I haven't read the actual book, but the movie struck me as well-paced and tight, without any extraneous or missing bits. Perhaps if I read the book I'd be displeased with some omissions, but as it is I am pleased with the movie's conciseness.

The effects are the usual Potter- which is to say, they're brilliant. It's all just toned a bit darker this time around, as things get serious and the stakes get higher- a lot higher. Easily the darkest of Potters (even with the already melancholy ending of Goblet), this nevertheless got a smile from me at the end. I liked it. I liked it quite a lot, and it just gets me wanting to grab the last three books (all of which I haven't read) and raring for the next film. I just have to say to the studios- keep your cast safe and happy. The core trio of Radcliffe, Grint and Watson MUST end this series together at the very least. I don't care how much money they have to throw at those kids. It's just magic when this cast comes together.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is now showing in Metro Manila theaters. Jump on your broom and zoom off to watch it now.

Preview: Ninja Girl KO

It's only a couple of months away from the next Komikon, and I have to say, sadly, that the big K.I.A. book won't make it. Even so, I am planning to have something to show off during the Kon; a mini-anthology comic, nothing fancy (probably photocopied, ashcan-size). I'll talk more about this when it's more solid (Read: When I've started drawing the pages). On the other hand, if things go well, a project I am involved with WILL be at the Kon... and it's pretty slick.

I am of course talking about Mangaholix Presents, which will feature Ninja Girl KO!, which I wrote and created, with art by manga artist extraordinaire, Kriss Sison. With luck (crossing fingers!!!), the Kon will see Michiko Yamashita's debut issue released. Hope, hope!

Here are a couple of colored preview pages from Chapter One of Ninja Girl KO!


Michiko Yamashita gets lunch.


Anton walks cheerfully into trouble.

Mangaholix is a proudly-Pinoy made manga-style comic-zine featuring slick stories like the Engkanto comedy-adventure Aporia, Street Fighter meets Ocean's Eleven Midknighters, Sci-fi superhero action with the band Kala in Pulis Pangkalawakan and the fantasy adventure Kraust. Issues can be found in National Bookstore and magazine stores everywhere in the Metro.