A Salute to The Man from Manila: Francis Magalona 1964-2009

I wish I was posting something happy, but what can you do?

Back in the 90s, Philippine Rap found its niche in the hearts of music-loving Filipinos thanks to one man- Francis 'Kiko' Magalona. His unparalleled national pride and true performer's heart will always be something Pinoys should cherish and remember. Goodbye, Francis M.

Fallen

I've seen a couple of short teasers for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and I have mixed feelings. Yeah, I enjoyed the first movie, albeit with some reservations (basically too much humans, not enough robots, and the simple fact that the whole film played more or less like the flashiest U.S. Armed Forces commercial ever). The sequel looks to be a lot darker, seeing from how the start of the film has Armageddon-like imagery and has an entire aircraft carrier (maybe even the whole fleet) going down, apparently with all hands. Apparently the arrival of the autobots in the first movie has grave repercussions on the human race as even nastier decepticons, including one supposedly known as 'The Fallen' have come to wreak untold havoc on the puny earthlings. Anyway, Shia LeBeouf, Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox, as well other cast members are back for this more dangerous itineration.

This early though I have more reservations- it doesn't feel like Transformers at all. Perhaps that's because I could not recognize a single character in the trailer- most were just shapeless metal things that were exploding everything around them. Heck, you could tape on Terminator: Revenge of the 1000000 at the end of this and it would still work. Well, hopefully the full trailers will give back that feel.

With Fallen and the real Terminator sequel up later this year, it seems to be the Era of Giant Robots. Hmmm... Transformers vs Terminators... wouldn't that make a cool movie...? Nah.

Less is More, Part Deux


Sony Ericsson W890i.

It's been more than a week since I traded in my Nokia N96 for a new W890 Walkman phone, and I have to say I'm still in honeymoon phase with my new mobile. Despite not being a smartphone, the ultra-slim W890 is awesome thanks to the ease of use, great keypad, nice camera and cool games (Tennis is awesome, if freakin' hard). The screen, while tiny compared to my iPod Touch, is so bright and colorful and makes pics and images light up so nicely. The most fun I am having though with it is the customizability... as with most Sony Ericsson phones, you can create your own themes (thanks to an easy-to-use Theme Creator software that's available free for both PC and Mac). So I can fashion my own complete graphical look for the phone, complete with wallpapers and backgrounds for various screens as well as a message alert tone straight from the game. And since the phone supports animated pics, I can use moving GIFs as cool screensavers as well. So now, just a click can shift my phone from being a Metal Gear Solid 4 (complete with Codec alert tone and Gekko attack screensaver) phone to a Tekken 6 phone or a Final Fantasy mobile. Awesome for an OC fanboy like me.

I guess it's partly culture shock for me to have so much fun from such a slim, tiny device when I once sought out the thickest, most tech-heavy cellphones I could get. And maybe it's also because it's such a freakin' gorgeous and awesomely cool little phone. Sigh. Anyway, enough gushing I guess... gotta make another theme. Heheh...

Less is More


Sony Ericsson W890i.

Yep, I've upgraded again to a new phone. Well, not exactly- it's not an upgrade since I'm actually shifting to a less-flashy mobile to my now-gone Nokia N96... and it's not new either since the Sony Ericsson W890i I have now was released early last year. No, I'm not reverting or anything. It's all in becoming more compact and less redundant with my gadgets.

Of course, it all started with my old iPhone last year. I loved that device (and my Mom still loves it today), but I just had to upgrade eventually. I didn't want to get the iPhone 3G, so I got what I thought was the next best thing- a Nokia N96. On paper, the N96 sounded good. 16GB memory, 5 megapixel camera and high quality video recording, dvd-quality video playing, games... it even kinda-sorta looked like my old iPhone. So I jumped back into Nokia's camp. Unfortunately, it only took a couple of days of me trying to (unsuccessfully) convince myself that the N96's relatively small screen was in any way a nice replacement for the massive real estate that was the iPhone's screen. As a mobile video enthusiast, it was just asking too much.

Less than a week after I got my N96, on a whim I ran out of the office and got myself a new iPod Touch. My 32-Gig 2nd Gen Touch is awesome to this day, and is my portable gaming, video, image and music center. Which means... I didn't need my actual phone to do the same thing any more.

To be fair, I really like the N96... it looks great (one of the really slick Nokias), the overall quality and feel is high, and the tons of vids I can put in the 16 Gig memory is great. However, managing two different devices' worth of media is just too much. Plus the phone's much-touted camera just doesn't stand up to my standards of quality for video and pics... I'd much rather lug my Canon Ixus if I'm gonna snap pics or shoot vids. So... well... all we're left with is a big black block whose talents are inferior to other, nicer gadgets. So something had to give.

So I decided, I have my iPod for games and media as well as a proper digicam... all that's left is just... a phone. So I decided to get the slimmest phone I could get. The W890 ended up being the winner- it's slim and light but feels reassuringly solid in the hand. Plus, it's no slouch in functions (3G Quad Band, Walkman phone, 3.2 MP Camera) and it's very easy to use. Also, using it is far faster and smoother than the sluggish soup that was the N96's interface (slooooow as molasses). So, here we are.

After more than a couple of years of having chunky, do-it-all phones... it's kinda refreshing to have a small, slim and light mobile. Yeah, I still have my iPod, but it's pretty slim too, so the overall feeling is like I just cast off a heavy load. I think I done some good with this configuration... a commuter-commando like me needs to move fast and not be too bulky. And after all this time, I've realized all-in-one devices are just... overrated. At least, up to now. I think I'm at a good balance. Everything's copacetic. Okay, gotta go play with the new toy, er, phone again...

Hope

Today, I am watching a true moment in history as Barack Obama becomes the next President of the United States of America.

The hopefulness, the enthusiasm, the glowing pride and the warm optimism is, I have to say, infectious and something that gives me a smile in these hard times.

Here's to Mister Obama somehow fulfilling his promises and taking the US in a different direction from the tailspin he found it in.

Hopefully this inspires someone here in the Philippines to just WANT to change our country for the better as well. Someone to step up and just. Fix. What's. Wrong.

Probably, probably not.

For now, let's all just enjoy the Warm Glow.

One Last Look: 2008

T'was the Year of the Superhero Movie. After tons of disappointing drivel like Superman Returns, 2008 saw some of the best comic-to-film translations yet. Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight have laid the foundation for superhero films to rise even higher and greater than before. With X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Watchmen looming, I can't wait to see comic book movies can accomplish.

T'was the Year of Sequels both crappy and cool. Rambo was bloody awesome, while Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was... not.

T'was the Year of Big Endings. This year saw the end of one of the best animated series I have ever seen, with the closing of Avatar: The Last Airbender. 60 Episodes of Awesomeness culminated in a finale that truly lived up to expectations. Metal Gear Solid 4 came after years of waiting, and finished the Saga of Solid Snake in a big, big way. Metal Gear may continue on without him, but Snake will live on forever. SNNNAAAAAAAAAAKKKKEEE!!!

T'was the Year of the Apple Gadgets. My first-gen iPhone lasted me well into the third quarter of the year, and it's actually still around (with Mom). But I wasn't Apple-less at any point; I use a Macbook Pro at work, I bought an iMac for use at home, and eventually topped it all off with a 2nd Gen iPod Touch. What's next? If a spiffier, cooler Apple device arrives next year, I'll surely be on the lookout.

T'was the Year of the Game. This was the time that I really knew I am a gamer through and through, and I probably will be until the day I die. Gaming has never been as awesome as it is these days, with HDTVs and HiDef making the experience truly a feast for the senses. I can't wait to see what great games and titles are in store in 2009.

T'was the Year of Jet-setting! Yeah, in less than a month's time, I found myself in another country twice in 2008. First in Bangkok, Thailand, and then a couple of weeks later in Taiwan. It was for work, but man, staying in posh hotels and living it up was damn fun.

T'was the Year of Overtime! Let me say this- I don't think I ever went home with the sun in the sky in 2008. Pitches kept me busy day after day, week after week. But despite it all, it just made time move fast and I enjoy a challenge. Better yet, I think we won more pitches this year than any before, so it was all worth it. Work won't be any easier next year, but what the heck... it's a living.

T'was the Year of the Ninja Girl! And hopefully, with Mangaholix and Kriss Sison behind her, Michiko Yamashita will continue to adventure on in 2009.

It was an interesting year, but I have to say... I'm glad it's over. Onwards into 2009!

Looking Back

Here I am, typing away in The Sanctum, where I've been vegging out for the past week. Due to the current clime of holiday traffic and crowds, I have decided to just quit cold turkey with any idea of venturing into malls. Staying home and just Staying Still is the Thing, but that doesn't mean I'm meditating on some higher truth... actually I'm just enjoying the stuff I've squirreled away all these past months but never really got into. Actually, there's so much stuff I doubt I'll finish them all by the time work begins again, but hopefully I'll make a big dent in the backlog.

Anyway, the past year. Man, the past year. It wasn't the best of times. But that's for the world in general, I guess. For me... well... it was a year of working and working and living and working and just getting along. As usual, I got along fine. I have stuff to be thankful for- in work, basically having a pretty great job and a great workplace I continue to enjoy going to and people I enjoy being around with. That's all you can ask for in this challenging economic bunghole we're all in. The next year won't be any easier, but well, it should be cool to keep the thing working as long as we can, as best as we can.

For me, the Comic scene wouldn't outwardly be anything special- I didn't publish any comic by myself. However, I can probably say that this year was my most successful in my comic 'career', thanks to Mangaholix, who let me create Ninja Girl KO! with my art master partner Kriss Sison. Hopefully 2009 will see more and more adventures of Michiko and Anton reach more readers here and, well, wherever. Even so, I STILL do hope to do other stuff with pen and page, so wish me luck. There's a comic yearning to break free into the wild from my head, I just need to tear it out and give it... wings.

There are other stuff too. I'm looking forward to games, comics, movies and other fun stuff in 2009. What's the next cool gadget I can get into? Will there be a new iPhone? A new Do-it-All device? Man, I think we're all going to be blown away by the stuff coming based on what came last year.

Yeah it's going to be hard next year, but hey... it's always hard. What else is new. Just the New Year, and whatever we have before us. That's all we have, and all we need. See you in 2009, everyone.

Rainy Christmas

Perhaps fitting for the way the whole year has gone, Manila saw a rainy, sodden Christmas. Not much in the way or sound or even feeling of festivity from Christmases Past. It was more subdued, less extravagant and more introspective, I believe. The economic crisis, a corrupt, ruthless regime that's filthy and incompetent from top to bottom, and a puzzling frequency of fires has taken it's toll. Yeah, it's still Christmas. Still, Filipinos want to have their Noche Buena feasts and gifts and stuff. But a bit quieter this time.

Not really a biggie for me... we've always had a simple but hearty dinner every Christmas Eve, and that's all we need. Despite it all, I am so happy that I'm still around, and this big chance to just chill, pause and rest for quite a while is something that I treasure. Just some Me Time, some time to savour and just BE without something looming in a couple of days. Bliss, in spite of it all.

Let's be thankful for small miracles, for life and our loved ones. That's all we need.

Death Becomes Them


It's like Harry Potter... with SCYTHES.

What is it with entertainment and its fascination with DEATH? There are quite a lot of movies, comics and anime that have a big focus on the Grim Reaper, the Great Beyond, Davy Jones' Locker and What Have You. Meet Joe Black, Death Note, Bleach... maybe its an unconscious way for us to be desensitized towards dying. I mean, if Death was a hot albino Goth chick, you wouldn't be that afraid now, would you?

Anyway, such matters aside, my latest anime fixation is yet another title that deals with death. Soul Eater is an action anime based on the manga by Atsushi Okubo and produced by Studio Bones and Square Enix of Japan. It's all about the adventures of students of the Shinigami Weapon Meister Vocational School, or Shibusen for short. Think of it like Hogwarts, complete with gangs of young students and oddball teachers... but instead of wands and brooms (although you might find such wizardly things around), you're more likely to find them swinging katana or even brandishing high caliber firepower. Shibusen specializes in the training of humans who have the ability to turn into weapons(!) and the ones who will actually wield them in battle. Their targer- other humans who are so evil that they have been turned into demonic beings known as the Eggs of the Demon God. As the story goes, any such Egg-head has the capacity to eventually turn into the Demon God, or Kishin, himself, and lay waste to the world. To prevent that crisis from happening is the ultimate goal of Shibusen, it's headmaster Shinigami (a comical Grim Reaper Himself) and the three groups of heroes upon which the series revolves.

The main heroes of Soul-Eater are the members of three groups of Weapons and Meisters (Masters). Maka Albam seems to be the main heroine; a long-legged, cute and over-achieving young girl whose specialty is using a nasty scythe. Her weapon parter is Soul Eater Evan, or Soul for short, a spiky-haired and spiky-toothed teen for whom being cool is top priority. Maka and Soul seem to be total opposites (she's serious and driven, he's cynical and laidback), but they're a pretty good team particularly because they care for each other selflessly.

The second team is the ninja duo of the Meister Black Star and his walking Ninja Arsenal, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. Black Star is yet another spiky-haired shorty, albeit a ninja warrior of great potential power. Unfortunately he's also got the world's biggest ego and he can't seem to resist announcing to the world his entrance before diving into combat, often with disastrous results. Though he can make even Naruto cringe, he's inexplicably likeable, and no one can resist the cuteness and undying patience of the lovely, long-suffering Tsubaki.

Finally, there's the team of Death the Kid and his twin pistols, Liz and Patti Thompson. Death the Kid, or 'Kid' is, literally, Shinigami's son- the fruit of the Grim Reaper's loins. He's dignified, slick, mannered and... possessed of the most severe case of Obsessive Compulsive disorder ever. Totally consumed by the idea of symmetry, just seeing anything uneven or imbalanced can send him into convulsions. Thankfully, his two Weapons, the ditzy Patti and the level-headed Liz, can usually reign in his bouts of disorder depression. Despite being technically a God of Death himself, Kid has decided to slog it along with the other student Meisters of Shibusen to hunt down evil souls and keep the Kishin from reemerging.

Soul Eater is a pretty funny, often light-hearted show with some pretty impressive art and animation quality, fluid action scenes and some wild characters. The world is a wacky mix of fantasy and reality, a stylized battlefield where Meisters and their Weapons hunt down evil souls based on real world villains (Jack the Ripper and Al Capone have already been found and Eaten) and do battle with mysterious and powerful witches dedicated to causing chaos in the world. But deep down, it's also about teen angst, growing pains, friendship and family. With Scythes.

So if you're looking for a cool action anime title to get into, you may want to check out Soul Eater at your local anime dealer.

Komikon and Mangaholix Presents #7 Wrap-up


Available now in National Bookstore branches all over.

Last Saturday, I attended the fourth Philippine Komiks Convention or Komikon 2008. As usual, this annual event was held at the Bahay ng Alumni at the University of the Philippines in Diliman (and as far as I'm concerned, that's where it should stay). As usual, it was a day of milling crowds, rows and rows of comics (most of them indie and local publications), the usual suspects of longtime local comic creators/artists/personalities and a budding new crop of young grafictionists wanting to break into the local comic publishing biz.

Unfortunately this year found me without any publication of my very own, though of course my work in Mangaholix Presents was present in full force. As usual though I found myself being asked when the next Angel Ace book will be coming out. As I told them, it's still in the works. Yes, I'm still intending to release the definitive, compleat, final Angel Ace book. We'll see. Next year.

For the most part though, being untied to any particular booth or function I had the luxury to just mill around with the crowd, to check out this or that shelf, pick up this or that indie and just sweat it out happily. I picked up quite a few things, so that should be fun. I met up with komik comrades Ian Cang, Kriss Sison and the Groundbreakers, Carl Vergara, Budjette Tan, Ka-Jo Baldisimo, Elbert Or, Jaime Bautista, Gerry Alanguilan and of course Arnold and Cynthia Arre. Everyone was for the most part busy as bees till the Kon finished at about eight in the evening.

Happily, business was pretty brisk- as far as I know, copies of Issue 7 of Mangaholix Presents sold out in the late afternoon, as did copies of Budj's Trese. Carl's appearance at the Visprint booth also boosted sales of Zsa Zsa. That's the great thing about the Komikon- people are there for the comics, first and foremost... the odd cosplayer regardless.

Once again, I found myself going away from the Komikon refreshed and reinvigorated. Hopefully next year, same time, we'll have tons more Mangaholix and Ninja Girl KO as well as a book of my very own on offer. We'll see. For now, let's leave it at a nice feeling that at least once again, the Komikon proves that love for komics is not lacking in Manila.

Graphic Novel Review: Martial Law Babies


The latest opus from Arnold Arre takes us back a generation...

It's been a while since the last project from local master grafictionist, Arnold Arre, but the wait has been worth it. You really can't predict what Arn has up his sleeve. Last time, it was a tribute to tagalog action movies/local fantasy with Andong Agimat. This time, it's a decidedly less magical and whimsical tale- in fact, you can't get any more real with this. Martial Law Babies is a look back at Arnold's (and incidentally, my) origins. It's the often not-so-simple story of a bunch of friends who grew up in the 70s and into the present day.

While the story follows the characters' intertwining plots and interactions, the real stars of the book are the various anecdotes, experiences, ironies, in-jokes, games, music, moods and quirks of the decades they go through. And all made all the more funny and ironic looking back at it all now.

While the characters are mostly fictional or at least fabricated from various sources or inspirations (as far as I know), it's clearly Arnold's voice speaking throughout. It's part journal and diary (far earlier than the blogs of today), part love letter, part confession, part validation, part rant, part sermon, part comedy, part tragedy... and all real. The emotion invested in the pages is heartbreakingly sincere, and that's what makes this work easily Arnold's best so far. The pages also reflect his maturity as a storyteller in pictures, mixing panels with prose in some instances, and using a more graphic and sketchy style in lieu of the super-detailed art he is capable of to convey more emotion and mood rather than minute detail.

You can't expect any whimsical, happy-happy-joy-joy endings in this one, which is admittedly pretty much the same as in real life. I actually found MLB to be extremely dark in parts, and a high amount of angst which I actually find a much for if it be something we'd characterize for our generation. But that's just optimistic me talking. Perhaps it's simply because the story's ending isn't written yet. Or it's something we make ourselves. Anyway, I'll be sure to grill Arnold about his latest masterpiece when I collar him at the Komikon. Heheh.

Martial Law Babies is now available at bookstores and Comic Quest branches in the Metro. Go. Get. Now.

Change

It's done. Barack Obama makes history today as the first African-American to hold the highest position in the United States of America.

Should be very interesting to see what happens next.

Good stuff. Congratulations, America. First step to a better world, hopefully.

Creepy Planet

I love getting creeped out. That's pretty much the reason why I love shows like Ghost Hunters. Another show, on the same Sci-Fi Network, is Destination Truth, another documentary/reality show in the vein of Ghost Hunters (in fact, the host of DT has appeared as a guest on GH). Whereas Ghost Hunters concentrates on the adventures of The Atlantic Paranormal Society as they investigate various locales in the United States purported to be haunted or beset by paranormal goings-on, Destination Truth is all about mysterious phenomenon, monsters and local legends from all over the world.

This pretty much entails having imposingly tall but amiable host Josh Gates running around the globe with his team of investigators, visiting various countries and looking for a rumored boogeyman. Pretty much invariably, this boils down to the show's host and company (awkwardly or hilariously) interfacing with the locals, meeting up with 'witnesses' or specialists on the monster-of-the-show, and then trekking to the remote location where the creature/object of their hunt is said to lurk. What follows in the last third of the episodes is usually a hodgepodge of night-vision footage as the team encounter eerie sounds, blurry dark shadows and creepy atmosphere.

For the most part, footage and evidence found is inconclusive and vague, and suspense often occurring not due to a face-to-face meeting with any monster but due to someone slipping on a log, seeing a big bug or normal, non-supernatural animal. Still, the atmosphere is usually always creepy in that Blair Witch sort of way. In other words... very similar to Ghost Hunters, just all about monsters and more world-spanning. In the end, it's all a little bit Globe Trekker/Lonely Planet travelog, but with a creepy twist, which I thoroughly enjoy, despite the overall light tone, campiness and fact that it's all in a tongue-in-cheek way, non-committal but intriguing. Just good, clean creepy fun. I'll probably have a Destination Truth marathon along with a Ghost Hunters marathon this Halloween... Heh...

iMom

Today was a bit of a crossroads for me. I counted the minutes to the arrival of my new Nokia N96, which I won from eBay in a one-sided auction. Getting into my first Nokia after several years of using Pocket PCs and then the iPhone resulted in a bit of disorientation, but my fingers went back to keypad texting with little problem. As I sat there with the N96 in one hand and the iPhone in the other, I realized part of the reason why I chose this particular model to replace my Apple device- the N96 is very similar in look to the iPhone- glossy black with little visible trimmings save for the one button (though once you activate the thing, a myriad lights turn on like a Christmas Tree). Unfortunately, the similarity ends there, at least in substance. While the iPhone felt like a solid bar of sturdy metal with a lovely heavy feel, the N96 feels like a toy with it's plastic body. However, the phone has a nice feel to it regardless, and the size is just right to rest comfortably in my hand. I spent the evening (and the meager factory charge of the N96's battery) testing out the camera, trying out the video and Mass Storage capability and troubling over a file that refused to be deleted (forcing me to format the phone's memory).

Needless to say, I'll probably be spending most of the weekend getting to grips with my new toy. I'll also probably be spending a bit of time helping my Mom- who has consequently become the owner of a used First-Gen iPhone- get used to her new device.

All things are new again...

iChange


My next phone?

I love my Apple iPhone 2G. Even to this day, I haven't seen a phone out there that looks as sexy and as slick as Apple's first-generation effort in the mobile arena, not even the iPhone 3G. The phone still looks as sleek and lovely as the day I got it, and feels just as solid, sturdy and classy all around. It's still got, as far as I know, the most user-friendly and fun interface on a mobile device I've ever experienced, the best video playing and the loveliest screen around. So, why do I find myself continually thinking of making a switch to a new phone?

Well, it's natural... I'm a gadget freak. I yearn for always finding the next big thing, the next cool toy. Stability, sameness and status quo are nice, but ultimately... boring. Right now, everything's peachy with the iPhone, but there are several glaring things that I can't deny. One, my iPhone is of a dead species- like that silent Kurt Russell in the film Soldier, replaced by a new , slicker generation of plastic-backed descendants. Though it's working quite well now, I have no idea what I will do once the battery- which has to be sent to Apple for replacement- finally starts acting up. Two, support for apps and new stuff on the free, jailbroken side of the iPhone has apparently dried up. Installer, once a rushing river of cool free applications, games and nice stuff, has as of late grown stagnant. Everyone is developing for the Apple iTunes App Store, and who can blame them? They can get paid. So far the games and apps on my phone currently are cool, but aside from the most useful stuff like Sketches, Pool and Tetris, most are just stuff to take up space on the screen.

And finally... well... better things are coming. Phones with great cameras and video. Great functionality and features. These can't be denied. Even though the form factor of the iPhone is still king for me, looks can only get you so far. There's substance to be found in other phones coming out or out right now that I, as a gadget enthusiast, can't ignore.

So what are the options I'm looking at?

Definitely I am NOT getting an iPhone 3G. I'm just sick of the overblown priced plans from Globe and the overpriced models sold by the Grey Market. I asked myself, is it worth going through all that for just added storage and some nifty games from the App Store? Nope. Man, if the App Store had a Tekken or a Street Fighter game, if the iPhone had a decent camera and video-recording and 32 GB at least, I'd plunk into it in a heartbeat. But right now? It's pretty crap. At least, for someone who has already had an iPhone for a while, the 3G model isn't an upgrade- it's a grudging kiss to Apple's ass. No thank you.

I found myself gravitating a bit towards a couple of new phones out recently- the Samsung i5810 blew me away when I first saw it in a shop at Megamall's Cyberzone. The sleek black slider has an 8-Megapixel Camera (!) and the ability to take VGA videos at 120 frames per second- that means you can play them back in butter-smooth slow motion if you want. Add to that 16 Gigabytes of storage (which you can further augment with a memory card), the latest Symbian OS and you've got one heck of a smartphone that gadget geeks would cream over. The only problems are- well- supposedly the battery life sucks eggs, the screen isn't as sharp as you'd expect and the thing's a heavy, bulky bar. Well, at least if you need to defend yourself you can use it as a blunt instrument.

The other option I am thinking of is the Nokia N96, which is the Finnish upgrade to their now-classic N95 superphone. What sets it apart is a lot more focus on video and multimedia- both of which score high with me. The 5-Megapixel camera and DVD-quality VGA video recording look great, as well as the 16 GB storage, nice big 2.8 inch screen and Symbian OS (which includes NGage gaming support). This is a true all-in-one device that can pretty much serve as my phone, PDA, media player and camera/video recorder in one compact (albeit still substantial) package.

So it's pretty obvious- I'm teetering towards a return to Nokia. It certainly seems to be a better solution than an earlier plan I had for upgrading- getting myself a 32 GB iPod Touch and a Sony Ericsson Cameraphone combo. However, this route could potentially have me at one time lugging around THREE devices at a time (a proper digicam), which is just... dumb.

It's not yet a total done deal- everytime I look at my iPhone, I just find myself totally enamoured in that huge, lovely screen and my determination slightly falters. Ultimately, I probably won't be selling my iPhone... maybe I'll just retire it and keep it around in The Sanctum like my old O2 XDA2i. But someday, it seems to be invetable... I have to move on to something else. Man, decisions, decisions.

Award Winner KO!



HEEEEYYYY!!!!

My incomparable partner-in-ninja-crime, Kriss Sison, just took home a nice little souvenir from Japan. His work on Ninja Girl KO! won for him the Bronze Award at the 2nd International Manga Awards. The Second International MANGA Award had 368 entries from 46 countries and regions, which was 222 more entries and 22 more countries and regions from the First International MANGA Award.

He was one of the 12 finalists and the ONLY Filipino among the prestigious list! How about that, eh? Yes, the Filipino CAN! Heheh.

CONGRATULATIONS, KRISS!!! May this be a sign of much more good things to come! And more Ninja Girl KO! as well! Heheh. Thanks of course to all the Mangaholix readers and NGK fans out there for the continued and enthusiastic support.

You can be sure me, Kriss and the rest of the Mangaholix crew will be working hard to bring more of Michiko's world-class, award-winning ninja girl adventures to you as we can.

Remembering Twister

I came home tonight and caught Jan de Bont's Twister on HBO. Now, despite all the less-than-stellar reviews that this blockbuster got, I am quite ready to say at anytime that this nature-action film is one of my favorite movies ever. There's such a coolness about the film- how it actually made a bunch of weirdo scientists/thrillseekers a gang you almost would want to run into a tornado's path with. The effects were pretty awesome, the music was great (still trying to find the score to this day) and the whole film is just... FUN. This was a good-natured flick that just hit the right notes with me, sappy love story aside. Little funny tidbit... I finally realized that one of the cast, the happy-go-lucky 'Dusty', was played by none other than Philip Seymour Hoffman! MAN! Looking at him then, you'd never think that the guy would go on to play far more serious charaters and roles, from Truman Capote to the cold-blooded Owen Davian in Mission Impossible 3. That's pretty cool.

Man, it was great to just see the flick and reminisce watching it in theaters years ago. Those were the days.

Snake eater

Okay... I just watched the obligatory 'Food Episode' of Man VS WIld. And I have to say... MAN. And I thought the stuff Ian Wright ate way back in the earlier days of Lonely Planet/Globe Trekker were bad. I mean, the stuff that host Bear Gryll scarfs down in the episode are positively FOUL. Forget the usual goat's eyeball or live, wriggling snails or maggots... what REALLY got my hackles up in a bunch was seeing the man tear away at a dead zebra's meat (although the meat was supposedly fresh) and a dead camel's fat. But even more horrid was the hunt for water- how does drinking your own pee sound? The guy does it onscreen- FRESH, WARM PEE. My. God. But it didn't stop there... next Mr. Gryll was squeezing the fluid out of fresh elephant dung. But the worst was, for me, opening up a dead camel and drinking the liquid pooled in the carcass's stomach, and then getting the half-digested clumps of matter in the stomach, then squeezing THAT sludge for drink. GYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

It was horrific and utterly, utterly... fascinating.

I don't think I'd survive in the wild, but damn, you may probably surprise yourself if you were put into that situation. Still, I prefer any raw stuff I eat to be either fruit or sushi, thank you very much. Oddly enough, after watching all that, I suddenly found myself having the munchies. Man, where's a Big Mac where you need one...?

Sobra-sa-Overtime Part... I Lost Count

After a week's straight of overtime at The Salt Mines, here I am still at a TV shoot for the weekend. Man... 7 days straight. Still, there's a twisted sense of accomplishment that I seem to enjoy after all the hubbub of last week. Whatever doesn't kill you just makes you stronger, I guess. But that doesn't mean I won't be demanding to take a break afterwards. Got things to take care of, and rest to catch up on. Nope, you really can't take back lost time... but you can try.

Better Than Six


Now available!

Heeeey! Mangaholix Presents Issue #6 is now out on shelves in National Bookstore, Powerbooks and Fully Booked! So if you want your latest local manga fix, go get your copy. There's a reason for the flowery artwork on the cover- this issue sees the debut of Sampaguita Daydreams (whose characters are actually cosplaying personages from other MH stories) which should please the romantics out there. As usual, it's also brimming with the latest episodes of Chronicles of Hao Ran: Kraust: Ten Roars of the Heavens. Midknighters: Fist-Fight Manifesto, Pulis Pangkalawakan, Aporia and, well, of course, Ninja Girl KO!

Let me give you guys a tip- Mangaholix is found with most of the other comics, and is often places inside deep of NBS or Powerbook branches. If you can't find copies, ask one of the ladies to help find them.

Man, I gotta get my own copy. Can't wait to see the finished art...