Juvenile fun for the mature gamer


"Hey, are you sure you're old enough to play with me?"

It's official. Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, the Xbox game I've been waiting for months and months, has been rated Mature by the US's ESRB (regulatory board). Reasons cited for this rating include gambling (there's a casino in the game), mature sexual themes and nudity. Tecmo, the producers of the game, said they were 'surprised' at the rating (they were expecting a Teen rating) but reportedly would not appeal the decision.
DOA Volleyball, or DOAX, is based on the popular fighting game series. This 'side story' or spin-off chapter takes the female characters and puts them in a tropical island setting where they trade in their fighting outfits for bikinis and swimsuits, and engage in heated volleyball matches and minigames instead of beating each other unconscious.
Tecmo has been VERY secretive about the game's main volleyball engine, but all reports point to a highly playable, addictive and intuitive game that will cater to players of all skill levels. Players will spend two weeks of game time taking their main DOA girl of choice all over the island paradise, relaxing and playing minigames for cash and mainly trying to find partners to play volleyball with. A very important factor in gameplay is the Gravure System, where you have to establish and nurture friendships with other girls to form a killer team. While this may bring thoughts of lesbian action (which will surely freak out Dean), this mainly involves gift-giving. Each girl has her own likes and dislikes, so you will have to figure out which of the literally hundreds of items on sale at the island's shops will perk her interest. A closer friendship means better teamwork and technique, which leads to more matches won, more cash earned, and more items to give away.
Of course, you can also spend cash to buy any of the 300 or so swimsuits in the game. These range from conservative one-pieces to simply scandalous thong bikinis that seem torn from the pages of an Ibiza catalog. Better yet, players can appreciate the wardrobe (or lack of) of the girls via numerous cut scenes of the girls relaxing, stretching and playing around in the island's venues... and yes, the camera is controllable during these sequences.
That all said, DOAX will NOT, according to the developers, have nudity of any sort (apparently with the exception of butt shots in some of the CG cinematics) or any sexual actions aside from the requisite pettings, hugs and sweet gestures of close female affection. However, the ability to ogle and interact with digital divas in skimpy swimwear has caused this game to be a no-no for kids under 17 in the US.
It's funny though that DOAX has really no nudity and violence and has content that basically amounts to about a day at a beach or a season of Baywatch episodes. The Mature rating though puts DOAX in the company of some very high-profile games: Metal Gear Solid 2, Shinobi, Unreal Tournament, Hitman 2, BMXXX and the Resident Evil series.
Of course here, that doesn't mean JACK since Manila doesn't have any such restrictions. Anyway, as far as I know, Xbox owners in Manila are all adults and males. This game will sell a lot of Xboxes here...
For the record, I'm getting it since I am a longtime DOA fan, I am interested in the RPG-relationship building mechanic, the volleyball physics engine and gameplay, and the all-new graphics engine used that is much more powerful than that in the already-awesome Dead or Alive 3.
Of course, the real reason is that this is the first sports-action/dating sim/rpg-strategy/vacation sim/girlwatching game to star my favorite videogame vixens, and I just have to have it. That and the ability to get a sexy female assassin to wear a pair of cute cat ears. Heh.

For an in-depth preview of DOAX, click here.


I wonder if the presence of bikinis like this in the game contributed to the Mature rating?

Tweaks here and there...

Been fiddling with some aspects of my blog (none of which, thankfully, should make it CRASH again, earning me more kicks from Kai). I've added more links to the Cliques and Clicks Blogroll; not all of them are other blogs... some are just nice sites I just want to share. Some are links to my Anime Ace boards: The Lone Gamer is all about videogames, Big Guns, Bigger Eyes is where I post anime news and reviews, Homemade Heroes is for news on the Local Independent Comic front and Say Anything is for anyone to post stuff on that won't fit on the tagboard. Oh, and DOAtaku is our local obsession and news page for the latest on our controversial favorite game series, Dead or Alive. Check them out if you have the time. And say hello to Angel and the gang while you're there.


Rip, we've got visitors. Hi!


Too... busy... playing... to... say... hi...

Buns on the Run

I usually don't get to eat breakfast at home. I wake up relatively late, so to arrive at an unreasonable hour at the office (as opposed to being ludicrously late) I usually just rush through getting dressed up right after I drag myself out of bed. The most I get is a glass of water before I leave the domicile.
So on the way, I get the munchies. So it was that when another one of those vendors selling food on the bus to Cubao came on, I was a bit intrigued. It was a guy wearing a uniform of Minute Burger (a hamburger chain) hawking hamburgers at two for 10 pesos. TWO for TEN PESOS! That's probably the cheapest burger ever (about less than twenty cents!). I first encountered Minute Burger hawkers at Santolan along EDSA, near a Minute Burger outlet. I didn't know they also came on buses at Cubao. Anyway, a lady ordered several of the burgers for her group, and I was listening. After she ordered, the guy took out the burgers from his bag... and it was revealed how SMALL the darn things were! PUNY! I mean, they're probably aptly named since it would probably take a minute or less to eat the things. Bun, sliver of thin burger meat (which is without a doubt full of extenders like those horrid Scott's burgers which MUST be at least 50 percent lard and flour) and ketchup. That was it.
So I decided against getting a burger myself. I got very hungry though, so I had my usual squid balls and gulaman at the MRT Station. Mmmm. Hot, spicy, satisfying and cheap. Though for what I spent there, I could have had six burgers. Makes me sick even thinking about it. Heh.

The Weekly Bloodletting...

I passed by Comic Quest last night and picked up a load of comics: Killraven 3 and 4 (which I got solely for the wonderful art by one of my favorite artists, Alan Davis), Elektra # 19 (which has changed interior art AGAIN!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!), Blade of the Immortal #75, and Mystic # 32 (which I admit I got since it features Giselle ala Jungle Queen. Rarr). Also got the latest Official Xbox Magazine. I got a copy of WWE: Smackdown 4 Shut Your Mouth (what a mouthful), and a copy of Private Dancer for the PC. Heh... that last one we will review in a later post. Heh.
Finally, Cams gave me a ticket for the premiere showing of the US version of The Ring on Saturday. Will it be as good as the Japanese original? It should certainly have better production values, but I will reserve my judgement for after I see it. I've heard they've followed the original script pretty much religiously.
Maybe they still used the Japanese names...Heh-heh... Yes...

3M Pizza

Anyone here eaten at this place? It's been like, around forever, so I am sure you've probably heard of it. But have you ever tried it? That's the trick. Not a Pizza Hut or Shakey's or even a Greenwich-level pizza place though; 3M is stricly Pinoy 'pitsa'... cheap, easy and satisfying at a base level. As you can tell, I love it. Though I've had some strange experiences. There was a time that I ordered their 'meat sauce' pizza; Imagine my surprise when it came topped with actual pools of meat sauce poured on the pie. WEIRD. If only it tasted as great as it was weird, it would have been perfect.
Well, the good thing is that the other, safer variants taste good. And you get it nice and toasty since they bake it in front of you. I am lucky to have a small kiosk of 3M at our building's cafeteria floor. I actually feel like a pizza right now. Mmm. Crunchy crust, pinoy-spaghetti sweet-spicy sauce, spice ham... Mmmm. Pinoy pizza. An Italian would gag, but hell, I'm not Italian now, am I? Heh...
The only thing is... what do the 3 M's stand for? Initials? Or may be Mura, Masarap at Marami (Cheap, Delicious, Plenty). One of the many mysteries we will never be able to fathom...

KC Strange: Finally out of the shadows


Whew. It was dark in there...

KC Strange is an unusual girl. Besides being the daughter of a mysterious paranormal expert, she got into her own business dealing with the unknown... as a private eye specializing in supernatural cases. Tough, streetsmart and possessing a sharp wit and knowledge of the arcane, KC's ready to take down anything that crosses from the other side into ours. For a fee, of course. This intriguing character was supposed to be my first comic collaboration with Nikki Alfar and Kestrelstudios. However, things didn't go as planned and went a little sidetracked. KC was consigned to go hunt aswang in the backburners for a while. However, an opportunity to finally let the mystic detective see print is about to happen. It's not very long, but will easily give KC more exposure than a lot of our other characters and titles. I'll be working on this one in the next few days.

Rahxephon


Rahxephon is one new anime to look out for.

What does this word mean? Some kind of musical instrument? Some Egyptian diety? Or maybe the latest cellphone? Nope, Rahxephon is one of the newest anime series to thrill otaku all over the world. Rahxephon tells of the adventures of Ayato Kamina, a Japanese teenager from the city of Tokyo whose life suddenly takes a wild, fantastic turn one day. Mysterious aircraft appear and battle the city's self-defense forces, and then later fight mysterious mecha that appear out of nowhere amidst unearthly, eerie music. With a classmate named Reika Mishima, Ayato wanders into a hidden, secret chamber where another mecha is enclosed. As if summoned by a voice, Ayato enters the mech and soon becomes a vital part of a struggle between the forces of earth and an alien menace known as The Mu.
Rahxephon is very similar in theme and shares elements with the now-classic series, Neon Genesis Evangelion; we have a young, unsure teen hero being guided by a more mature female (like the Shinji-Misato relationship), a mysterious mecha, and a somewhat ambivalent earth organization behind them fighting a secret enemy. However, Rahxephon doesn't have the same technobabble (the jargon is more musical-based and often abstract) or the heavy stress levels of Evangelion.
The large cast of human characters is also very far from the crew of psychos in Eva; Ayato gets to meet and mingle with a large assortment of anime babes; from tomboyish fighter pilots and officers to ethereal cuties, sophisticated lasses and the token alien girl. Even the guys look so trim, like there was an architect or fashion designer in the production team.
Another distinct element of Rahxephon is the music; the jazzy, beautiful tracks contribute much to the series' atmosphere, from discordant piano keys to cool guitar riffs. The opening song of Rahxephon is one of the most beautiful theme songs I have heard in recent anime. If I find a copy of the soundtrack CD, it is MINE.
With cool mecha action and unusual designs, a large likeable cast, great music, excellent animation and an intriguing, complex story, Rahxephon is one new anime series I can heartily recommend to anyone looking for intelligent, well-paced animation that's as much about drama, character and plot as it is about action. Grab this if you can.

Hot Copy

On my way to try and find a copy of the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, I found a copy of the latest FHM Magazine instead. The cover has four girls, among them the sexy Maui Taylor. Hmmm. Aside from featuring Ms. Taylor and the so-called Viva Girls, the issue also comes with a 2003 Calendar. With nothing else on my mind but the thought of how useful a new calendar would be, I purchased it. Great stuff. Thanks to my friend Dean for preconditioning me into getting a copy. Heh.

Strange Dream

Last night I had a very peculiar but quite exciting dream. I remember a lot of it quite vividly, so I decided to write about it. It was like I had been dropped into some kind of Aliens movie (As in, the Sigourney Weaver films), and I had been partnered with a Space Marine who looked a lot like... Sean Astin (yes, Samwise Gamgee from LOTR). I was given what I can only describe as a plasma rifle- which was very square-ish in look, but simply made me feel kick-butt. Heh. BRING IT, ALIEN SCUM! Anyway, my bravado didn't last since we seemed to be isolated and I didn't know how many aliens were going to attack. Plus, we tended to change settings; one moment, we were atop a building surrounded by wire fences; the next, we were down on the street. Just then, the attack came; several figures came out of nowhere and started bombing cars (Okay, an Aliens movie set on modern day earth? Yep. Weird).
Then, a whole crowd appeared. Of course, I started blasting away with my rifle. Well, I tried. I looked through the cool scope and could see the whites of the aliens' eyes... hey. They looked human. But kinda, zombie-ish. Okay, I was in Resident Evil. Anyway, I kept pulling the trigger of my toy gun, and all it did was shoot out tiny pellets that made one of the zombie flinch. At least they didn't seem hostile and were pretty much preoccupied with just falling in line for something.
As for my marine buddy, Sean, he seemed to be kinda frustrated that the 'aliens' weren't affected by our firepower, and he went wrestling with one of them. He kinda disappeared after that. So what happened next? Nothing. I woke up.
What does THAT mean? I have no idea. Maybe it's a reference to how me, being a creative person (symbolized by the Space Marine getup and the gun) am constantly fighting mediocrity and genericism in our clock-punching, lemming-like society. Or maybe everyone is an alien except me. In which case I am doomed since I just revealed myself to you all... Aaaahh...
Whatever. Weird dream. Freaky, freaky, freaky.

Wanted: BIG-ass TV.

During lunch and on my way home, I walked around for a while at SM Ayala and in Farmer's Plaza looking for a new TV. I suddenly got this desire for a HUGE screen to play my games on, so I started looking. I had read somewhere that Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball would look simply awesome on a widescreen TV, so that was the object of my quest.
Of course, all I learned from my wanderings was that... widescreen TVs are FRICKING EXPENSIVE!!! We're talking in the six digits (excluding centavos). DAAAAAAMMMN. Anyway, now that I look at it, it wouldn't really be practical. Aside from the cost, watching regular TV on a widescreen would be pretty weird. I doubt it would even fit into the sanctum without me kicking out some stuff. Granted, it would make DVDs a lot better... but... nope. I guess not this year. Or next year. Maybe someday, widescreens will be more affordable. So I can let my grandson inherit my copy of DOAX to play on his widescreen. Hah. He'll probably have cyborg sexdolls by then.
Well, with my widescreen dreams dashed, I looked for a simpler alternative; flatscreen TVs. Not bad at all, and I have to say the pictures look great... but they're STILL pretty expensive (though not as astronomical as widescreens). I had to look for 29-inch screens, since I already had a 25-incher. I could probably afford it... as long as I don't eat for the next few weeks. Heh. Anyway, what I'd want probably is a new Philips Pixel Plus TV; that's the one I saw during the LOTR gala- it just makes movies move so... fuller. Still too expensive though. Grrrr.
It was at Farmer's Plaza that I saw a Daewoo 29-inch TV which was within reason, and it looked kinda good. But would it be worth the price and the effort? Now, back at home, I see that my old TV's still pretty great. And it would be a bitch to take out all the connections I've impaled it with. Hmmm. I'll try to save a bit more and see what happens. Till then, I'll make do with the old screen. Maybe all I need is better cable reception. Or probably just a copy of DOAX. Gotta focus on something, and keep the Spender in me under wraps. Down, boy. DOWN!!!

Victory at Work

Some recent events at work made me recall an episode from Band of Brothers. I think it was entitled Breaking Point . Easy Company (the US paratroopers the series is all about) had been without a leader for a long time. Their first and best commander had been promoted so far up, he was no longer allowed to handle the men himself. The replacement officer was an incompetent, indecisive, uninspiring and unskilled do-nothing. He was, as the men called, an empty uniform. This caused bad morale and almost led the company into disaster during a major battle. Luckily, a good replacement was sent in the nick of time, and the men rallied to win a stunning victory. Finally they had a leader again. But even during the bad times, Easy Company was lucky it had a good sargeant (Lipton, played by Donnie Wahlberg) who kept them from going too far under, and who kept the men together. So, they eventually weathered the bad times to survive the end of the war.
Well, that pretty much is very similar to what had happened in our office. Of course, sans guns, flying shrapnel or Nazi stormtroopers... My Creative Director kept our department together and when we needed to, got us to do quality work despite having an empty uniform at the corner office. She played our supportive sargeant... and now she's our new commander, too! Finally, she's been given the position she's had all this time in all but name. The great thing is, she's the first Filipino and woman to be in the position, I think (the position is usually reserved for expatriates and men). Great stuff. I hope this bodes for lots of victories ahead.

Gotta watch out for those darn Nazi stormtroopers though.

Kick Me. Again. HARDER!!!



I should really learn to stop tinkering with my blog template. AAAHHHRRR. Sorry for the slight time of dead space.

Japanese Beef Bowl

I had lunch today at Yoshinoya, a restaurant that specializes in Japanese rice bowl meals. Actually, their specialty is beef bowl meals, though they also have chicken and combo bowls (combo has both chicken and beef). Pretty good, fast food and the servings are quite ample. I have a bit of a fondness for Yoshinoya since I actually designed and drew their anime-style mascots, Yoshi and Noya. Yoshi is a samurai teen in baggy hakama pants who carries HUGE chopsticks, while Noya is a ninja waitress. Heh. I was kinda disappointed that at first there weren't any outlets nearby, but it seems that Yoshinoya's finally getting branches in places that I don't need a VISA to go to. There's one in Park Square, Glorietta, and I think another's opening in Megamall soon. Try it for nice beef bowls, and for nicer anime mascots! Heh. Shameless plugger.

The First Day of Work...

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

Okay, got that out of my system. Anyway, the day actually started quite nicely. I got up at about seven, even before my alarm/TV went off. I actually got to have breakfast, with nice toasted corned beef sandwiches (made with a brand-new sandwich maker my mom got for Christmas) and ice-cold Sprite (Well, it's better than Coke), which went down like liquid love down my throat. Mmm. It was just like one of those perfect anime mornings where everything is just peachy. The commute wasn't bad either... well, not too bad.
When I got to the office, which is still half-empty (a lot of folks are still in the holiday funk), I was greeted by several Christmas gifts from officemates. Nice, heh.
I hope the day doesn't turn too busy; I'd like to ease in back to work, not get avalanched by a deluge of Job Orders. Sigh. Anyway, I'll try to walk around at lunch and get a feel of the Ayala neighborhood again. It's been awhile.

KILL BILL


Uma Thurman gets to kill a lot of baddies in Kill Bill.

Heard about this upcoming flick? It's just the fourth film of some director named Quentin Tarantino. Like most of his other movies, Kill Bill looks to be a dizzying spectacle of violence, profanity and exploitative action. Sounds great. Anyway, it stars an impressive cast: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen and... David Carradine! Woohoo! The story is about a former assassin known only as The Bride (Thurman) who comes back for revenge against her former employer, Bill (Carradine). But of course, the road to the end is never simple, and The Bride has to go through her former comrades in the assassin game, each now far more powerful and deadlier than ever before. Of course, you can tell there's going to be a LOT of killing before The Bride even gets to Bill.
While it's set in contemporary modern-day, KB will feature Japanese swordfighting and martial arts as well as guns. There are touches of anime/Japanese overtones, like killer schoolgirls, and even some homages to old kung -fu movies and Bruce Lee films (Thurman sports Game of Death yellow in one major battle scene). And of course, since it's a Tarantino flick, there's bound to be lots of mature language that will inevitably be bleeped out on cable. So catch this in theaters or on DVD.
Violence, kick-ass women, blood and guts, masked villains and Yakuza, samurai swords, Lucy Liu in a white kimono and LOTS of Uma Thurman. Damn, this is going to be good. You can check out more on this movie at the official site, or download and view the teaser trailer at the apple trailers page.


Lucy Lui and her posse of Yakuza. She even has a Battle Royale-style schoolgirl on her side...

The Sanctum's Mirror

We spent the night at Dynatica Central AKA Jason's place, in a special 'housewarming' get-together. Eats included Yellow Cab pizza, chicken and sushi Jason cut up himself. There was also a selection of softdrinks and some liquor (though most of us kept tee-totalled). All I can say is... hey! This is kinda like MY sanctum. A single guy's pad, Jason's nice condo has a section for his books, comics and other documents, an entertainment center with DVD, a PSOne and a VHS. There's an area for some food prepping, a fridge and the bathroom, and the rest for entertaining people and for the bedspace. Of course, there are posters of anime/cyberpunk stuff all over, and Jason sleeps surrounded by various comics posters in perfectly-aligned formation. That must give good feng shuei. Heh. Anyway, it was fun to just hang and talk about stuff and just go through Jason's stuff. It reminded me a lot of my place, though Jason's principle is ORDER, while mine is leaning more towards CHAOS. Well, that's why I'm called the MADman and this blog Stark Raving MAD.

HERO

I caught a snippet of a feature on AXN about Zhang Yi Mou's HERO, which is supposed to be the next big Asian film after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Set after the assassination of the first Chinese emperor, it is all about the preconceptions and misconceptions about just what a 'hero' is, in the context of Chinese culture.
The film features a who's who of Hong Kong stars: Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. I got to read a feature about it in TIME months and months ago, but now was the first time I actually saw footage. The movie is set in the 'Warring States' period of ancient China (which was like, 2000 years ago) and has a high-stakes storyline of ambitious emperors, divinely powerful assassins and forbidden love. Wow.
Like Crouching Tiger, HERO features lots of over-the-top wirework martial arts, flying fight sequences, dazzling swordplay and BIG army scenes. The oriental armor and equipment of the armies look authentic, and the LIVE masses of fighting men (as opposed to the CG creatures of LOTR) evokes a different feel. This film looks to impress in 2003.

One Down.

Yesterday I finished the Baylans script; which is probably something of a record for me since that was probably a 100+ page script in a few hours. Heh. Well, it wasn't really a long script given to long dialogue, so it's not something to call Ripley's about. Anyway, now the ball is in the artist's court, and both Jason and I will work together on helping the story come to life on the page.
Anyway, we had dinner last night at one of our favorites; Country Waffles. We celebrated Dean's birthday (the day before yesterday) and chatted the night away with another host of varied topics, though most of it revolved around Sage, the Alfar's unica hija who seems to have mesmerized their whole building with her charm. Heh. We also celebrated the coming home of Cams from her months-long vacation in the US.
Sigh... only a day and a half left of the vacation. On Monday, I start work again. It's no biggie; I actually want time to move forward since there are lots of things I want to see happen ahead in 2003. Have to keep at Angel Ace so I don't lose momentum (like a cavalry charge of Rohirrim going against Uruk-Hai... have you seen The Two Towers already?). Also have a couple of other comics projects, which range from very short and sweet to somewhat longer.
Lots of stuff to do. So little time to do it... ah. What a cliche. Heh.

Pulling an Overnighter

It's eight o' clock in the morning and I haven't slept a wink YET. Whether it was because of all the carbonated drinks I had or sudden inspiration, I just kept thinking of how to finish the Baylans graphic novel script. I kept on it all night as I lay in bed, and finally I just resolved to just sit up and WRITE it. Well, type it, actually. Well, I actually haven't finished it all, but I have finished the third chapter, so all that's left is the final 4th endgame part. It's a lot different from a previous version of the Baylans story which I did for Jason before, but I think it's more true to itself since it all sprang from scratch. I think everything fits better too. Hope it's all worth it.
Anyway, to recap, Baylans is a story originally created by Jason Banico. It's all about a group of technophiles and rebels who fight a military dictator and evil supernatural forces in a future Philippines. There's magic, monsters, websurfing, virtual reality, lost love, new love, action, martial arts, hidden villains, misguided spirits and more. And yes, I even got to put in a love story and hot babes. Heh. If nothing goes wrong, the Baylans graphic novel should see print this year. Hope, hope.
Now then. Do I try to get some sleep, or breakfast? Heh.

Mystic Heroes


Naja's idea of a date is pitched combat against raging demons. You like?

PS2 gamers would probably want to check out Koei's Mystic Heroes. This is very similar in gameplay to the more established Dynasty Warriors series, in that you control a single character who wades into masses of enemies, striking down everyone in sight. I actually kinda like DW, but I really could never get into the complicated Romance of the Three Kingdoms story, and for the life of me I can't tell apart any of the gazillion-or-so Ancient Chinese generals you fight with; Lu Bu, Cao Cao... what-what? Who-who? BAH. Anyway, Mystic Heroes simplifies things. First of all, the look is more cute and cartoony, with characters having slightly child-like proportions (not too SD, fortunately). The story is also more whimsical. In ancient China, an evil emperor and his minions escape from an eternal prison they were condemned to. The rare event of a comet passing overhead gives them enough power to break out and resurrect their armies of evil undead warriors, monsters and robots. So now, it's up to the heroes who kicked their butts before to put paid to them for good. Simple, no?
Anyway, there are four initial playables: Shiga is a sword-wielding warrior who uses fire, and Lani is his partner, a sorceress specializing in ice spells. On another front in the story is the team of Tai and Naja. Tai is a scholarly monk and wizard who waves a wand/baton and casts lightning; Naja is a tomboyish celestial warrior maiden who carries a glaive and uses fire. Another four characters can be unlocked by beating the game modes.
The main game is mission/episode-based, with you leading your small band (the rest of your party are CPU-controlled and independent of you) against throngs and throngs of cannon fodder and a stage boss. The controls are tight and simple, and while repetitive is quite engaging. It helps that the stages aren't too long, so you can try for stages in short plays and come back after a while. The graphics are high resolution and clean, with cool and cute character designs and lots of magical effects and explosions. The PS2 version also has extra modes like multiplayer, survival and mission games. Bonuses include 'runes' and spells that you can use to 'level up' (make stronger) your characters and carry it over to repeated plays.
Lots of cute but exciting graphics and animation, mindless action and fun is to be had here. Simple, sweet, and no need to memorize names like Hu Cho, Ghou Wang or whatever. Gah.

Two Towers Redux

My friend, Pot, came over to the Sanctum and brought a pirated dvd copy of The Two Towers. Unlike the bootleg of Fellowship last year, this copy was pretty horrible. If I hadn't seen the movie before, I would have refused to let him play it. Bleech. Anyway, as he watched I was able to do stuff, like write more pages of the Baylans script (finished Chapter Two in three hours! WOOHOO!) and draw some more pages of Angel Ace. Productive. That's why I like having someone come in the Sanctum to occupy the TV and bed... forces me to keep busy. Heh. Still on vacation leave tomorrow, so I still have a few more days to myself before... work. Anyway, life goes on. Gotta enjoy what's left of my long vacation.

Out There
Last night I caught a special on AXN about The World's Freakiest Foods. Of course, one of the cooky culinaries featured was the Philippine balut, or aborted duck eggs (okay, that's putting it harshly). I have to admit, I am Filipino but I HATE balut. Can't stand the smell, can't stand the taste... and come on... the way the stuff looks would make H.R. Giger barf! BLECH. Anyway, as if to flog a dead horse (or duck, as the case may be), they actually showed the raw duck egg at several stages of growth, cracking the thing open and pouring the bloody, slushy and unformed mass of bloody stuff pool in a bowl! GRRRRROOOOOOSSSSS!!!!
But of course, that really wasn't the most freaky thing I saw in the show. Not even the all-garlic festival in Gilroy, California. Not even the rats or insect food. What really stumped me was the 'musical instrument' Aussies have, called a wobble board. It's just a board... that they... er... wobble. You know the sound made by shaking and vibrating an illustration board? Australians DANCE to that! It's music to them! THE HELL-?! Now THAT is out there. Well, I guess in the Outback, you take and use whatever you can. Heh.
Freaky. Freaky, freaky, freaky, freaky... FREAKY!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Had a nice dinner with the whole family, feasting on spaghetti, potato salad, embutido, lamb kaldereta, paella and chicken. All this while we watched David Blaine do magic and levitate on AXN. Heh. Afterwards, we had the first family picture-taking in a long, long time. Things are really good, except for some of the kids having little quarrels and grumbline in front of the camera. Oh well. Kids. Heh-heh. Happy New Year, everyone!

10 Things to look forward to and occupy my time this new year 2003

It's not even 2003 yet and my time already seems to be spoken for...

1. Publishing a new Angel Ace comic. THIS is a priority!!!

2. Working and Playing on with my Questventures friends: Arnold and Cynthia (who are engaged!!! Congrats!!!!), Carl, Dean and Gig, Jason and Cams, Dino and Vinnie Mike.

3. Updating the Hinirang website with more Immacolata pages.

4. Work. Yeah, yeah. Well, it pays the bills and stuff.

5. Playing the latest PS2 and Xbox games. DOAX, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Final Fantasy X2, Soul Calibur 2... This year is going to be a Gamer Year.

6. Watching TechTV not just for Extended Play, but for Anime as well!

7. Movies. X-Men 2. Matrix Sequels (and the Animatrix too on DVD). Return of the King. DAAAAAAMMMNNN!

8. Getting my hands on new stuff. How about a widescreen TV? Digital camera? Okay... I'll settle for upgrading my PC.

9. Making more people read this blog and go Stark Raving MAD. Heh.

10. Insert Other Stuff to DO HERE. I can always change this!

HAHA! THE WORLD IS AT MY OYSTER!!! (Or something like that...)

A Quiet New Year

Every year, the Philippines' New Year celebrations are getting less noisy. I remember in my youth, it sounded literally like World War 3 every January. As early as Christmas, you could hear firecrackers exploding in the distance. My family also usually have some kind of noisemaking pyrotechnics, mostly from my brother or dad. But these days, safety rather than old tradition seems to be reigning. Every year, stupidity costs hundreds of people fingers and other body parts (or even their lives) by playing dangerously with firecrackers. It appears that the campaign of various media to curb the use of firecrackers is working. Since last year, our house has just watched or listened to other people burn their money on expensive booms. I don't spend a centavo on even watusi anymore.
Perhaps it's also because of the recent terrorist activities; maybe people are paranoid of explosions. Sigh. Anyway, right now, it's actually raining... a rarity on New Year. Maybe it's a sign. But then again explosions will probably never truly disappear from the Philippines. Maybe someday we can all just move from firecrackers to fireworks instead.

Whatever. Only a few more hours to go. A new year is coming... like a thief in the night. Heh.

Looking Back at 2002

This past year wasn't my best year. It was pretty much a year of establishing new stuff, coasting with it, and getting motivation to eventually leave the status quo. I found a new job midway into the year, kept in with a creative and prolific gang of friends and compatriots, and found time to work on group projects such as the Filipino fantasy website Hinirang and the anime/manga/comic event of the year, the C3Con.
It wasn't all good; I had to go through (and am still going through) difficulties at work, having to deal with many difficult... elements. However, I am a trooper and I will be professional about it. If anything, I am looking forward to doing better and greater stuff this time around. Another thing, this time outside of work, is that I wasn't able to release a comic by myself. Yes, Angel Ace had to stay grounded for a year. Sorry, Angel.
But this year, it's going to be different. Firstly, I WILL release a new Angel Ace issue this year, hopefully within the first half of the year. I will participate and try to help in some interesting new projects and collaborate with my friends to produce cool, exciting stuff. And that's going to be my theme for the year; pushing it all a bit further. Will I do it? We'll see. But we'll give it our darndest.
Oh, and one more thing; I WILL get a copy of Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Soon. Very soon. Heh.

May everyone have a safe, happy and prosperous new year.

Dabbling in Cyberpunk

Been working for the past few days. Working. During the holidays. Actually, it's fun work, so no biggie. I kept on pencilling some more pages for the next Angel Ace issue, as well as writing for the comic script thing I'm doing. Have to keep at that until automatic writing kicks in and I finish it. Well, I think it's been mentioned somewhere before, so why not say it outright. I am working with Jason Banico of Dynatica on his Baylans graphic novel. Baylans is Jason's baby, a comic/story about a future Philippines where technosages and rebels battle a military dictator and supernatural forces for the fate of the nation. The GN will be about 150 pages long, and I need to give the script over to Jason by the first week (working week) of January for his artist to work on.
Well, anyway I am not as political as Jason, nor am I a whiz at researching Filipino mythology. But I am injecting what I can from my side to make the Baylans come alive. If anything, this will be one of at least two comics I will have a part in next year (the other, of course, being Angel Ace). Well, it's coming along nicely.

36 pages done... 114 to go. HAH! Child's play. HAHAHAHA!

Er... Can someone find me a child?

Just like old times

Last night, I went to our college batch Christmas reunion. The venue was at our friend Andrew's house, which is, aside from my house, our group gathering place. The good news was, there was an abundance of food. It was supposed to be pot-luck, so I brought a bucket of KFC chicken. Butch brought Pancit Malabon. Pot brought ice cream, Alex and his girl Weng brought cheesecakes, Mayee and Jaime brought leche flan, while Andrew's family prepared for us simply SOLID barbecue, pancit, spareribs and drinks. It was a feast. The problem was, there weren't that many people. Aside from our own group, the rest of our batch cancelled or begged off at the last minute. Sigh. Anyway, we spent the night talking about old times, bad fashions and music from the 90s, and stuff ranging from gross toilet stuff to Alex and Pot's escapades with ladies of ill-repute. Heh. After about midnight, we went off each carrying a load of food for take-home. Next year, I suggested, we make it a gang reunion party. Who cares about the rest. Bah. Well, another year, another year.

C3Con Cosplay Pics!

It took some time, but here are some images from the C3Con Cosplay Competition! This year’s batch of contestants really went all out and gave all of us judges a hard time. Thanks to Cynthia for the pics!


H.R. Giger’s Alien. Who’d have thought he’d have a nice voice?


Anji from Rurouni Kenshin. Stayed in character throughout. Cool.


Kagome Higurashi from Inu Yasha



Oni Gang member Hannya from Rurouni Kenshin. Literally smoking!


Lulu from Final Fantasy X. Dig that skirt!


Pakunoda from Hunter X Hunter. Another character-perfect performer.


A crowd favorite: Sadako from The Ring. Oh, it’s a guy.


Tomoe from Rurouni Kenshin.


Yuna from Final Fantasy X. Last year, she would have won.


The winners, along with Culture Crash’s James. Congratulations!

Have... to... go... OUT...

Despite feeling under the weather and having a bit of an intestinal bug, I ventured out finally today. Staying at home just made me prone to staying inside the sanctum, which is NOT recommendable. I stopped sweating and continually slept, which is not very productive and resulted in me having haphazard bouts of sleep in the early hours of the morning. HAD TO GO OUT!!!
Went to Greenhills on a stoopid cab who tried to pad his fare by going a long route. Anyway, got there and found myself DVDs of Tenchi Muyo OAV and Space Adventure Cobra. Tenchi can be described as a Japanese Archie with the plain Jane titular character being fought over by various women of alien/powerful backgrounds. Substitute Veronica with a space princess and Betty with a space pirate and you have Tenchi. Lots more action and sci-fi romance comedy though. Cobra is a classic (read: OLD) anime by manga/anime great Buichi Terasawa which is all about a space bounty hunter whose adventures often get him into raunchy situations with lots of sexy, nubile women. Heh. Also grabbed two impressively clear DVDs of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Die Another Day for the parents to watch. Finally, got PS2 games: Mystic Heroes and King of Fighters 2000. Side Note: Mystic Heroes was defective; have to return and replace that tomorrow.
Went to Comic Quest after a LOOOONG wait at the FX station. New stuff had arrived, so I picked up the first issue of Newtype USA (which only arrived now), Athena Inc. Agent Roster and Previews. Newtype USA has converted me. The pages really emulate the Japanese counterpart, and the extras are stellar. I've gotten free DVDs with the first episode of Noir and some other anime, and with this issue I have a DVD with the first episode of Earth Girl Arjuna, an environmental anime which I had been curious about. Talk about timely! As for Athena Inc., I got it soley for Pinoy artist Jay Anacleto's art (I can't comprehend the actual comic) and may use it for ideas on SIVA designs in Angel Ace. He's got an electric girl too, like me. Heh. As for Previews, it's a matter of course for me. Just love to scan through stuff.
After closing the store (at 10 again! I really feel sorry for the staff at the store), we went over to Salsa Rossa for talking and having some late dinner. Dean told us his Japanese trip horror stories (which are simply hilarious) and once again I am glad that all I experience from Japan is their manga and anime. We went home shortly after midnight and it's another day!
Have a college batch post-Christmas reunion later today. Hope I'm up for it. Anyway, maybe I can pencil some pages tonight or do something. I'm still very much awake. Darn.

Blah Blah Blah

I spent most of the night and morning (early morning) pencilling more pages. Since there was nothing to watch on TV that I haven't seen already, I popped in the DVD of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and turned on the audio commentary. The speakers included George Lucas himself, and several special effects guys (who handled editing, visual effects and sound). Overall, the comments didn't have the 'wow' factor of other commentaries I've heard, and a lot of the little 'Easter eggs' are split second things that NOBODY except the most die-hard and sharp-eyed of Star Wars fans would see (in particular, how C3P-0 actor Anthony Daniels appears in a cameo in the Coruscant bar scene). I also got the general feeeling that Lucas changes a LOT of things after shooting, so there are tons of scenes with re-done stuff, people/characters added or removed, etcetera.
Bah. Give me LOTR anyday. Heheh. I am SO biased. Star Wars has lost the luster.

New Angel Ace Pages


Can you guess how many unconscious ninja girls are in this picture?

Yesterday, I stayed at home and worked on pencilling the pages for the next Angel Ace issue. As I tend to do, I have decided to throw out all the pages I have done so far (well... actually I just put them away for storage) and started fresh. The advantage here is that I think my art has improved, and I am more motivated to draw this time around. Anyway, the first four pages or so will deal with updating the story for new readers (a kind of 'The Story So Far...'). They are all full-pages, each one summarizing the action in a corresponding issue of Angel Ace Again.
So far, the next issue will reveal more of what happened at the end of Again # 4. We will focus quite a bit on Kai and her ninja commandos, and on the ones that sent them. The action will move to several months later as Kai and Ren are sent once again into Newhaven City for another secret mission... where they encounter a certain masked, maniacal, psychotic criminal mastermind... oh, wait. He doesn't want to be called psychotic. Heh.
I will try my best to make the next issue a self-contained issue; even if this pushes the page count to 64 or more. This should be a cool, action-packed story, and should bring Kai and Angel's conflict to a climax. If everything goes well, this new story should be out within the first half of 2003.
Well, the day's before me. Should be able to do more in the days ahead.


Grrr. He's blocking my sun.

MERRY CHRISTMAS WORLD!!!

It's December 25, the birth of Jesus Christ and a time for goodwill towards all men and women. We had Noche Buena after attending mass at the village plaza/chapel (second dinner; my parents and me, my brother and his two kids and the household help. We had spaghetti, steak and some of my mom's first-ever potato salad (which tasted great). We exchanged presents and after that my bro took pictures with his digital camera. That's pretty much our family Christmas gig... simple, but satisfying.
Anyway, it's early in the AM but I'm still awake thanks to all those carbonated drinks I had. I finally watched M. Night Shaylaman's Signs, his third film about a former priest (played by Mel Gibson) who discovers aliens invading his farm at the same time he rediscovers his faith. Pretty creepy at times (one particular segment had me cackling at its creepiness), but it's plainly not as scary as Sixth Sense, and is occasionally funny. Never got to see Unbreakable though. Maybe next year.
Today's Christmas; it's a non-working holiday; though I guess service-oriented jobs like restaurants and movie theatres will still have people working. The films of the Metro Manila Film Festival will be showing in ALL theaters starting today (which is partly the reason why The Two Towers is delayed here...), but I don't feel like going out today. Maybe I'll venture out on the 26th or 27th, and scope out the post-Christmas atmosphere at Greenhills and Megamall. Ah. It's so nice to be on holiday. Heh.

Once again, Merry Christmas to one and all! Stay safe and happy, everyone!

T'was the Day Before Christmas...

I finally finished my Christmas shopping yesterday. Talk about photo finish. Anyway, I plan to just chill in the Sanctum for the next few days, going out only for meals. Heh. Sessions with Suikoden III, sketching out the pages for the next Angel Ace issue, writing a script for a secret comic project and watching some new anime and some DVDs will be priority.
The funny thing is, I've piled up most of the anime VCDs, DVDs, books, comics, magazines and other stuff I've bought recently that I haven't been able to look at in-depth. I'm going to 're-discover' them this Christmas as my gifts to myself. I've actually got a LOT (that includes the 2nd DVD of Rahxephon, the 4th DVD box set of Inu Yasha, a Chobits DVD and VCDs of The Ringu 0 and Char's Counterattack). This also includes that couple of pose books I got at the C3Con, which will no doubt be very useful. I also have a pile of comics and at least two Blade of the Immortal issues, two Elektra issues and the WHOLE Shidima series. I plan to really appreciate them all in the holidays. Just of the few blessings I've been fortunate to have this year. But then again, looking back at what went well and what went not well this year is for another post.

C-Day (The First Philippine Comics and Anime Convention)

Prelude
Flashback to several months ago. Culture Crash boss James Palabay called together a meeting of some of the nation’s young (relatively) creative minds in the fields of comics, books and publications. The reason for this was his intention to hold a ‘convention’, where the best of Pinoy creativity in comics and animation would be featured. Part of the reason for this was AXN Network’s apparent suspension of holding their annual anime event for financial reasons. After some discussions, the meeting ended with the plans for a Philippine Comics and Anime Convention more or less being agreed upon.
There were no solid outlines yet. The venue was unsure. Tentatively, many of the groups and individuals that attended had pledged support… but that could change in the many weeks that lay then until the actual convention.

Fast forward to several months later, a few weeks before the Convention. I received a call on my cellphone from James. He asked me for artwork from Angel Ace for the Convention (now dubbed C3Con) ashcan/portfolio. I agree to develop spreads both for Angel and for our group’s then-secret project, Hinirang.com. James would call several more times, about my lecture, 10 Things You Need To Make Your Own Manga. The C3Con is now only a few days away. I was still swamped with work at the office, so it still seemed like light years away at the time.

Fast forward to the night before the C3Con. I have been working on my cue cards/lecture outline/art for my lecture, and it took me several hours. I had just spent the night with Mike, Arnold, Cynthia, Carl and Jason (who would be leaving for Davao in a few hours then), so I only got to try and finish my notes after midnight. By the time I finished, it was already four in the morning, and I had to be at the C3Con venue, Megamall’s Megatrade Hall, by nine. That meant I had to wake up at seven to fix up all my things, take a cab and reach Mega. As usual, my tension kept me awake. I estimate I had less than an hour of sleep between the moment my head hit the pillow to the minute my alarm/TV turned on to TechTV.

Day One: Saturday

On the day of the C3Con, I got up squarely at 7:30 and gathered up my stuff… which consisted of laser-printed pages of Angel Ace Again # 4 and some old colored illustrations mounted on illustration boards, an extra shirt (a new Blade of the Immortal tee that I got from Comic Quest) to change my work shirt, and my exhibitor pass for the convention. Luckily, I didn’t have to go through much trouble getting a cab since it was a Saturday.
I arrived at Megamall just after nine AM. Arnold and Cynthia, who would be my first boothmates at the Questventures booth at the C3Con, weren’t there yet when I arrived at the Megatrade Hall. I found our spot pretty bare except for After Eden posters taped to one of the six panels we had. I at once began trying to set up my artwork, but unfortunately the masking tape we had wouldn’t hang onto the waxy panel surface. Fortunately, Culture Crash’s Taga-Ilog came by and gave me a reel of simply invaluable double-sided Polar Bear tape. In no time, I had the booth spiffed-up with Angel Ace art and pages. Arnold and Cynthia showed up in a while, and we marveled at how the place was little-by-little shaping out.
Workmen were setting up everywhere, both on the main stage area and the individual booths. I eventually learned that I had to set up MORE art at the C3Con’s Photo Gallery, so I had to go to a Photocopying Shop to enlarge cover art for display. As I headed out of the Megatrade Hall, I was startled by the long line of Pinoy manga and anime otaku and other people who were already lined up and waiting to enter the Con. I was amazed. I was glad. It looked good, and I had a feeling that James’ worries about the C3Con bombing from a sparse attendance were all for naught.
Later in the day, after feverishly setting up all my art, I finally was able to ease up and change into my Blade shirt. Carl joined us as the booth as we stared out into the sea of manga and anime otaku that flowed into the hall, to fill up the large central seating area, to wander among the many booths and just mingle with the various creators and progenitors of the country’s printed creative entertainment materials.

What to do, what to do…
Aside from us at Questventures and Comic Quest, other participants that were present included Questor, Beerkada, Ground Zero, CATS Collectibles, Comic Alley, Comic Sale Central, AEGIS, Shirley’s Pets, Alamat, We Are Anime and more independent comic, collectible, toy, comic, anime and special interest groups. Strangely enough, there was even a Club Panoly Resorts booth there, for some reason. With all this fun stuff around, there was more than enough stuff to keep manga/comic, anime and toy enthusiasts’ eyes sparkling throughout the two-day convention.

New Comics on the Block

Iconoclast is just one of the many new comics that debuted at C3Con.

Aside from the stuff to buy and ogle, there were the various creators and their comics featured to meet and mingle with. We featured our stuff: Angel Ace, Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, Dean Alfar’s Levi’s comic Ab Ovo and After Eden. Elsewhere, Alamat’s Budjette Tan released the long-overdue Batch 72 # 3. Would it be really the last Batch story? We will have to see. A large gallery of other independent and new comic/manga titles were for the discovering all around the convention floor, which is REALLY great. New titles I saw included Minsan Ako’y Nanaginip, Blitzworx, Prismatic Orb, D’Koi Junkie (by Taga-Ilog’s girlfriend!), Ryan Orosco’s Stricken (from Beerkada) and Iconoclast.
I have to say that the sheer number and enthusiasm of these new titles filled me with an excitement that I have not felt in a long time. If only for the opportunity for these titles to be given a great venue to be seen, holding the C3Con was a GREAT idea.

But of course, a large part of the fun in the two days are the various activities and anime/manga-themed contests and numbers. Throughout the two days cosplayers walked about, dressed up as their favorite anime, manga and/or movie creature or character. Having judged at the AXN cosplay competition a year or two ago, I had the initial impression that this year’s competition was a bit subdued… that would change later.
I was chosen to help judge the convention’s Choreographed Fight Scene competition, along with Culture Crash’s Taga-Ilog and James. About six or seven groups showed us their stuff. Several were basically just guys showing off katas without too much of a story, so they were easy prey for the three acts that won out. Winning 3rd Place was a one-man wrestling match, whose participants included Jon Mallari, our budding manga artist and contributor to Angel Ace, as a referee. The whole thing showed a guy fighting himself, playing both heel and face. Funny stuff. The 2nd Place went to a sentai-themed skit (live-action Japanese superheroes) by the Blitzworx people. Finally, the First Place went to a spoof, Crouching Dragon, Hidden Rooster. It was a Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X) skit featuring a ‘rematch’ between series’ bad good guy Sanosuke versus the good bad guy, Saito Hajime. Saito was played by the same guy who won the AXN cosplay competition I last judged (he declined the actual cosplay contest, naturally) and he still had the character’s coolness down pat. In terms of choreography, attitude, music and resolution, this was hands-down the winner. Hmm. That’s the second time I let Saito win. That guy owes me. Heh. Anyway, cash and printers and scanners from Epson were for the winners, so that’s pretty cool for having fun horsing around on stage.
The rest of Day One was spent listening to J-Pop and J-Rock, which latecomers Dean and Gig truly loathed and ran off eventually because of. A high point for me was coming upon the nice otaku crew of Iconoclast manga, and finding out they were avid Angel Ace readers. One of them even reads this blog! Hi, Keiko, Lex, Monmon, Lico, Agent Impish, A. Sandoval and the rest!

Though I was tired, totally dehydrated (the Con was so crowded, it was HOT!) and dizzy, I still had to contend with our Christmas Party later that night. I spent the hours before closing down Comic Quest buying gifts for Mike, Dean, Gig and Carl, and drinking soft drinks. Later, at Le Grande condominiums, we had a nice meal with Crispy Pata, barbecue, roast chicken and lots of steaming rice. Noel ‘Flim’ Lim contributed a gallon of Mocha Ice Cream, to Gig’s delight. The high point of the night was an impromptu and totally spontaneous shooting of a short film starring Carl and Dean, with a hilarious ending. I will leave that to Dean’s Blog for details. Sadly, I had to leave relatively early since I had to get some sleep and make ready for DAY TWO.

Of course, I still had only about three hours of sleep.

Day Two: Sunday

Embattled Angel, Nasty Kai. Watercolours by Arnold Arre.

I got up a little later on day two, since there was no rush to set up anything. There was, though, an Open Forum about the Philippine comic scene that I had to be a part of. When I got to the Megatrade Hall, I was alone for awhile since Carl was still dressing up at Le Grande at that time, and Arnold would be present only in the afternoon. I joined James, Taga-Ilog (who went with his trademark bucket headpiece/mask), Budjette, Robert Magnuson (Shirley’s Pets) and more to answer questions from the crowd about Pinoy comics and stuff. I have to say I don’t think we really had time to say as much as we would have wanted to, but I guess it filled the time and gave a bit of seriousness (and national/cultural relevance) to the general fun atmosphere of the C3Con.
Carl arrived a bit later, and for a while we were there just watching cosplayers walking about, doing the odd sketch for free (we’d sketch anime stuff and leave it out for people to ask for it). A lot of guys even passed by and gave us sketchpads and papers for us to sketch something… anything… on. I obliged every opportunity. It felt good.
Various people, acquaintances, friends and compatriots passed by, including our good friend Dexter Lira. There were people who wanted me to sign Angel Ace issues, the C3Con ashcan and more. Carl signed off Zsa Zsa issues. Arnold signed After Eden. We coasted along great.
There were several high points for the rest of the day. One was the arrival of the elusive Pol Medina Jr., creator of the very popular Pugad Baboy comic. He was able to sign the piles of PB comics given to him, and even helped judge the cosplay competition.
Pinoy Cosplayers are TOPS!
If I felt that this year’s cosplay competition was sparse compared to the one I saw a couple of years before, I was dead wrong. The entries were amazing, and featured lots of enthusiasm, imagination and talent. At least two dozen costumed anime/manga/game otaku came before us, making our jobs as judges incredibly HARD. The ones that stuck in my mind were an Alien Hunter (from the movie, Alien), Hannya and Anji from Rurouni Kenshin, a sexy assassin/office girl from Hunter X Hunter, Honey from Fighting Vipers (INCREDIBLE costume), Yuna and Lulu from Final Fantasy X.
There were some particularly funny moments; the Hunter X Hunter Assassin girl and the monk Anji character stayed in character even during interviews and skits. I admire their ability to do so; Anji’s praying in the face of the sexy assassin was priceless. Another funny moment was the interview of the Alien. The creature was crouching and in total character as the otherworldly monster; but when he talked, it was a mild, friendly college-guy voice. Heh. A great audience favorite was a guy dressed as Sadako from The Ringu; The Japanese thriller was a hit in Manila, and this made the character a hit. He creeped out everyone with his lurching, crawling movements. Too bad though it was a guy, and he didn’t shave his bare legs. Great scene; the Alien being harassed by Sadako. HAHAHAHAHA!
Anyway, there were so many funny moments, even off-stage. A cute Dita Liebely (from the Vandread anime) tried to take pictures of us at the judges’ table, but people from the stage production kept getting in the way. Eventually though she was able to snap some shots; luckily, she had a digicam (so she didn’t waste film).
In the end though, it had to come down to only three winners. Luckily, TWO competitors were given equal prizes for Third Place: The Alien and Hannya (who amazed everyone since he could make smoke puff out of his demon mask at will). Second place went to Culture Crash’s Mina; a girl who really got the character down pat (it didn’t hurt that she was cute). Finally, First Place went to Honey from Fighting Vipers, thanks to her great and intricate costume.
Once again, I must say that the Pinoy cosplayers are world-class. A JOY to see!

Closing Down
After the cosplay, it was all a matter of winding down. It was tiring and exhaustive, but seeing and hearing how happy the people all over C3Con were really kept me alive and excited. A guy who introduced himself from the PNP Print Department or something like that went up to me asking about how to do a comic. I told him the same thing I tell everyone who asks how I got to reach how I am now... PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
To close the event, James went up onstage and thanked all who helped and participated in the Con, to make it a resounding success.
In the end, I brought with me tons of nice memories, as well as a lot of other things. I had a ton of new independent manga and comics to peruse and admire. I got a simply ADORABLE Angel Ace toy hand-made and given to me by Angel Ace reader, Elite (I will treasure it always!). I have not one, but TWO original Arnold Arre watercolor paintings of Angel and Kai, which I will have framed ASAP. I have a ton (perhaps too much, I think) of anime and manga stuff like VCDs, pose books and mags. And yet again, I have another souvenir I.D/Pass to remember I was a participant and contributor to this successful event.
The First Philippine Comic and Anime Convention was a big success, I think, and I am really happy to have been a part of it. To be able to give our young people a great venue for expression (yes, that includes the loud J-Rock and Japanese lyrics) and just a chance to have fun and mingle with a like-minded crowd is a worthy thing to do, indeed. It doesn’t hurt that part of the proceeds will go to charity as well.
I am tired. I am spent. I have to buy another Christmas gift tomorrow. But I am happy. The C3Con is over. When will the next one be?

All I can say is, if and when the next Comic and Anime Convention happens, I must have two things. First, a Digital Camera so I can take pics of the fun. Second… A NEW Angel Ace issue to show to my readers. That’s a promise.

Epilogue: I never actually got to do my lecture on Ten Things You Need To Make Your Own Manga. Oh well. Maybe I can make it into a book someday. Heh.


Angel Ace in stuffed-toy form. CUTE!

An Early Christmas Vacation

Yesterday, I decided NOT to go to my office Christmas party. Well, I guess I thought that it would be best to go as an Invisible God. Anyway, WORK IS OVER! The next time I set foot in my office, it will be in January. HAHAHAHA!!!
Oh well. I spent the night at Megamall with Mike, his friend Marc and Noel Lim (Flim from Flim's Flimsy Films). We had dinner at the Food Court after I handled the stuff needed for tomorrow's C3Con (particularly the 'covers' for the Angel Ace Again Collection Pack) and bought gifts for the family. I still have two young boys and my parents to get essential gifts though. I also donated blood once more at Comic Quest, getting myself the latest copies of PSM (Playstation Magazine), Newtype USA, and the newest Blade of the Immortal issue.
Not bad at all since the DVD that came with PSM has tons of great footage from upcoming PS2 games, including a creepy look at Silent Hill 3. This time around you play a girl who wanders into a nightmare realm full of monsters and twisted demons. The graphics are incredible, yet I don't exactly know what's realtime in-game stuff and what's CG. The facial expressions are incredible, the music once again that melancholy guitar riff, and the monsters as bloody and horrendous as ever. The segment ends with a disturbing scene of your unconscious (or dead?) heroine being dragged off into the darkness by a monster... perhaps the Continue Screen? Wooh.
Other great stuff on the PSM DVD include stuff on GTA: Vice City, Soul Calibur 2 and Devil May Cry 2 movies. Best of all, it's a DVD instead of a demo disc, so you can play it on any DVD player.
The Newtype USA issue comes with a free DVD which features the first episode of Noir, a somewhat dark anime about a pair of female assassins searching for their past. Haven't looked at it, but it should be cool. The US version of this originally Japanese mag has impressed me so far, so I will continue to get issues. Lots of posters, great art and articles makes it a great buy for the anime fan.
That's about it. I have to finish the Angel Ace Collected Packs tonight, and have to firm up my outline for my lecture on 10 Things You Need To Make Your Own Manga for tomorrow's C3Con. As I said, I'm going to wing it, so I hope all goes well. I am just planning to have fun, so it shouldn't be at all bad.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers



It happened quite unexpectedly, and abruptly, and the circumstances and situation in which it happened does not escape my notice. I was just sitting at my workstation, surfing and actually watching some videos of LOTR:TTT (particularly the new 'Gandalf the White' video) at theonering.net, when my officemate and friend Lyda walked up to me. I was half-expecting her to talk to me about work, so I closed the browser window and turned to face her... and found myself looking at a ticket to the Philippine Gala Premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers! Okay, I have to say that I was for a moment flabbergasted and just babbling thank yous at that point. Mind you, few things would make me do that... perhaps a brand-new copy of DOAX for the Xbox, or a check for a million pesos (at least) or... well, actually, a lot of things could make me babble, but I really didn't expect anything like that to happen at that moment. Well, thankfully, our clients were sponsors of the event, so we had tickets. I got one and suddenly early evening (the show was slated to start at 7:30 PM) seemed so far away. And it was 4:00 right then.
Well, I finished surfing and doing whatever had to be done (which was really not too much). In a while I was zipping down the hall, out the elevator and down Ayala Avenue to Glorietta. Once there, I had a quick and early dinner at KFC before making my way to the cinemas.
Of course, there were loads of people there, waiting for the showing with tickets in hand. At the far corner, there were cocktails being served. In the middle of the area was a Philips flatscreen TV which was showing a looped segment of Russell Crowe's Gladiator (the Battle of Carthage). I have to admit, the higher pixels and stuff of the TV really, really changes the look and movement of the picture. I can't describe it... it seemed to make the movements of the images onscreen FULLER. Like I was watching a home video of Gladiator (in a good way). Damn, that was great. If only these darn flatscreen/plasma TVs weren't so expensive... I want one. NOW.
Anyway, to the movie. At 7PM, they began letting in people into the theater. There was free food and drinks to be had at the front; sandwiches, spaghetti, chips and iced tea. I turned them down except for a drink, then made my way to the interior. I met some friends from work and we sat together in the middle area. I have to say, though I was filled with anticipation for the show, the pre-showing events tried my patience. The attendants and hired help/ushers/thugs were pretty obtrusive, and they bothered people in order to accommodate reserved sponsors. There was the predictable radio show giveaways, which we were swearing at to just GET ON WITH THE DAMN SHOW. It didn't help that we had been waiting to the tune of inane radio commercials looped continuously for about an hour and a half.
When the Philippine National Anthem finally played, signalling the start of the show, the wait STILL wasn't over. There were some stupid trailers (including a horrible trailer for Femme Fatale with Antonio Banderas and Rebecca Romjin-Stamos) and commercials, and another span of dead air. Just when we thought we were in for another wait... finally... the film started.

And here my review begins. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers takes up after the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, ends. Actually, nope... that's not right. It starts a bit before the end of FOTR; specifically during Gandalf's sacrifice. We see him falling deep into the bowels of Middle Earth with the fiery Balrog... and then... BOOM! Frodo awakens. It was a dream. Or was it?
TTT dispenses with any prologue or explanation of past events. We are thrust into the meat of the LOTR trilogy, and the makers of this film expect anyone watching it to have seen Fellowship. Which describes me just fine, so that's great. The once-united Fellowship has now been broken into three groups: The warriors Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas are off searching for the kidnapped Merry and Pippin, while Frodo the ringbearer and Sam continue their trek into Mordor. The movie tries very hard to evenly share the film with the three paths, though markedly the story of Aragorn and the impending genocidal invasion of the human kingdom of Rohan by Saruman is at the center of the movie. There are some sudden changes of scene, which are not always perfect, but do the job well. Some scenes, such as flashbacks of the Arwen-Aragorn romance, may slacken the pace a bit, but it's never Episode II-horrible. Heh.

Anyway, being the middle movie of the epic trilogy, TTT is where the plot gets thicker, the mood gets darker and the battles get a lot bloodier. Aragorn and his comrades reunite with an old friend (three guesses who this is) and soon find themselves taking a direct hand in the war between Rohan and the forces of Isengard (Saruman's Uruk-Hai). Merry and Pippin are able to slip away from their captors and fall in with a sentient, moving tree, or Ent, named Treebeard. And finally, Frodo and Sam meet the creature known as Gollum, former ringbearer and corrupted hobbit-being. From here, the stakes get higher as the forces of evil start attacking from two fronts, seeking the extermination of man. The hold of the ring gets stronger over Frodo, little by little corrupting him against all he believes in.
As with the first movie, TTT spans almost three hours, and that's just enough to contain the door-to-door action. This middle parter has more action and less explanation than Fellowship, and scabs more political atmosphere as new characters join the cast; King Theoden of Rohan and his scions, Eowyn and Eomer. A new villain is the slimy Grima Wormtongue, Theoden's poisonous advisor and spy for Saruman. Much of the film concerns Aragorn's entry into Rohan and their struggle to get the land's defenses up to par as Saruman's hordes are brought into play. The various skirmishes, chases, subplots and other events eventually lead up to the Battle of Helm's Deep, easily the most impressive battle scene I have ever seen put to cinematic life. Several hundred men, many of them old men and young boys, against 10,000 (count 'em) Uruk-Hai. DAMN. When this battle draws nearer, you can feel the tension. You can see what's at stake. And you will have your breath taken away by the scale of this truly powerful finale.

I have to say that TTT is exhausting, yet rewarding in the fullest sense. LOTR fans rejoice, this film is yet another feather in director Peter Jackson's hat. The spectacle, the drama, the action, the special effects... they all deliver.

If there is anything negative to be said, here it is. It is not perfect, and I honestly prefer Fellowship.

Why? Because Fellowship still remains the definitive quest movie; the romance is there... the introduction of characters, the forming of the fellowship, the great establishing scenes of the beloved heroes and their wonderful worlds. The mystique of dungeon crawling, of a small party heading into uncharted territory... Fellowship is THE fantasy heroic quest movie. Truth be told, it has the greater setpieces: The prologue battle with Sauron, Moria and the Watcher in the Water, the coming of the Balrog; that incredible flight down to the bridge... If only Fellowship could stand alone. But that is not so, and this IS a trilogy.
The Two Towers is more spartan; Edoras and Rohan are wooden and plain compared to Lothlorien, Rivendell or even the Shire. Other places and sights are either mundane or intentionally forbidding (Mordor). We see little character development (everyone stays true to their characters, to their credit), and little of the intimacy of Fellowship. Characters who we loved to see onscreen in Fellowship get far less screentime here; Gandalf and Saruman in particular. The elves Arwen, Elrond and Galadriel are reduced almost to cameos.
But that's to be expected, since TTT has the burden of being the 'dark' chapter. It is all about battles and wars and less about wonder and magic. On the upside, the character of Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) shines in this one, as does Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) for providing solid comic relief. Legolas fans will be swooning in contentment as there are tons of lingering views of Orlando Bloom's visage. Despite a somewhat reduced role, Elijah Wood once more shows a remarkable performance as Frodo, this time delving into darker, more tortured depths as his character is slowly corrupted by the ring's evil. All in all, the cast are wonderful and play their parts to the hilt.
As for the film's CG creatures, there are tons of eye candy to enjoy; Massive oliphaunts, orcs on wargs (twisted wolves), Nazgul on new steeds and of course... Gollum. He'll make you laugh and cry and just gape. As CG creatures go... he's damn convincing. Those huge anime eyes... those wet lips... that leathery, smooth skin... DAMN. He may sound like Donald Duck and is cookier than a box of Chips Ahoy, but you won't be able to take your eyes off him. Jar Jar and Dobby be damned. Gollum/Smeagol will kick their arses in a second. Kudos to the special effects team (WETA) and actor Andy Serkis, after whose performance Gollum is derived.
But of course the movie's biggest pay-off is The Battle of Helm's Deep; a CG creature in itself. From the building up of the defenses to the unexpected arrival of some allies, to the bloody, brutal fighting to the heartbreaking sacrifices made in defense of mankind... it is hypnotic. DO NOT GO FOR THE LARGE SOFTDRINKS. You have been warned.

There. I came in with high expectations, and went away with ALL these expectations covered. Yes, it felt long. Yes, it is more battle and noise and spectacle. Yes, it does not have the soul or intimacy of Fellowship of the Ring. That said, I want to watch it AGAIN. The Two Towers is every bit the fantasy epic we expected it to be, and once again we will be transported to Middle Earth. Watch it in a theater when you can and revel in the sheer size and majesty of it all.

And now... another year till Return of the King... DAAAAAAAMMMMMMMNNNNN!!!!!

Office Santa

I spent most of my time at the office giving away little trinkets and comic books as Christmas gifts to the people I worked with; creatives, studio artists and account people. Got a couple of gifts back too, which is really nice. Work seems to be mostly over, though an account or two promises to be ready to pounce on me on the crack of the first day of work in 2003, which I hope will at least be on January 6. Some people actually believe that there will be WORK on the 2nd of January? DAMN! The echo of the firecrackers hasn't even died yet and you're getting up for work?? NEVER!!! Heh.
Anyway, tomorrow's our office Christmas Party, and I am contemplating not going. If I DO decide to go, I have to scrounge up whatever stuff I can wear to come as a 'god'. I am thinking of going either as the 'God of Gambling' (dress up fancily, then bring dice), or the 'God of Cookery' (borrow a chef's outfit from Dean and carry a wok). Hmm. Whatever. Maybe I'll just be the Sleeping God and just stay at home and hibernate. Or at least get ready for the Con. Yeah, right. Hahaha.

Currying for Flavor

Tonight me, Carl, Gig and Mike had dinner at Japanese restaurant Rai Rai Ken. We would have eaten at the Food Court, but we had a lady present so we opted for a nice cozy place to hole up instead of the open rowdiness of the mall's main eating area. I ordered a katsu curry rice bowl and miso soup, then some iced tea. I have to say... this was the BEST meal I've had all week. DELICIOUS. I wanted to lick the remaining curry sauce from the bowl. Ironically, I gave a pretty crass comment about how my dish looked very un-Japanese when I got it (presentation-wise, it looked... Nnnh). But the crispy breaded pork was perfect, the sauce was spicy and savoury and melded well with the soft rice, and the soup complemented it all perfectly. Ahhh. A bit pricey, but worth it. The only problem was... the smell of curry stays with you the whole night. Had to take a shower immediately after getting home.
The good thing was, I was able to buy gifts for all three of my nieces. All bags, all from EGG (Exciting Gifts and Goodies), which they giftwrapped for free (in nice, bag-like wrappings). I also got three issues of Zaturnnah to give as Christmas gifts at the office, as well as a bunch of anime knick-knacks. Finally, for myself (I couldn't resist) I got a Tenchi Muyo Anime Art book at Comic Quest.

Ah. Tomorrow is the last day of work for 2002... hopefully. Then it's all Christmas parties and readying for the holidays. I wish I could say it was all fun and games, but with several parties and the C3Con this weekend, rest is not something I will get, I think. And finishing Suikoden III will have to wait a little while longer... Arrrgh.

C3Con Tickets Now Available

Tickets for the First Philippine Comic Book and Animé Convention 2002 aka the C3Con are now available at Comic Quest. They will also be available soon at Comic Alley and Anima Anime. Prices: P150 per single day ticket/ P250 for a two day pass. You can also buy your collectible card tickets at the event proper. C3con: Dec. 21 and 22, Megatrade Hall Megamall Bldg. B.
The C3Con will feature tons of anime and manga merchandise on display, sale and for trade, lectures and appearances of your favorite local comic and manga artists/creators, contests, musical performances and more. Culture Crash has pulled out all the stops to make this first C3Con a pretty spiffy event... Hopefully we'll do good enough to see another con next year.

Angel Ace Again! Collection 'Cover' Art


Get the Angel Ace Again Collected Pack and you get this nice artwork.

With potentially thousands of anime and manga otaku headed for Megamall and the First Philippine Comics and Anime Convention this weekend, I'm hoping several won't have read Angel Ace Again, or have friends who haven't. That's why I'll be putting out on offer the 4 Again! issues in a bag, along with a nice 'cover' artwork that I will have printed on photopaper. This will be the closest I guess I will get to a 'compilation' of issues. I'll be preparing 20 sets, though I can probably supply double that and more if need be. Any ones I don't sell will go back to be sold at Comic Quest.

Prepping for the Convention

It still hasn't really sunk into my mind that in about four days I'm going to have to stand before hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of anime otaku in The First Philippine Comics and Anime Convention at the Megatrade Hall, Megamall. I'm going to try and talk about what I know about making your own manga comic, and not make a fool of myself doing it. Aside from myself, Arnold Arre (Mythology Class, Trip To Tagaytay, After Eden) will also be speaking, as well as speakers from the comic group Ground Zero, Lyndon Gregorio (Beerkada) and perhaps even Pol Medina Jr. of Pugad Baboy.
I haven't actually even started on the materials I will need to visualize my points; I am thinking of just buying a large sketchpad and drawing in it with markers. Well, why do that now when I can just cram it all on the night before the show? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Anyway, I actually started preparations last night. I put together 20 copies each of Angel Ace Again! issues one to four, and will try to have them packed in plastic with a special new artwork. This special four-issue package will be sold at the Con at a discounted price of 300 pesos. Who knows, maybe we can sell a few. Or more.
Sigh. Still finishing up work at the office. Tomorrow's the last working day, so I hope everything is finished by then. Then it's all downhill. Hope, hope.

The Super-duper, Extra-special, Out-of-this-world, Headspinning (with matching Cartwheels) Adventures of Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah


Carl Vergara deconstructs Darna in his irreverent new opus

My friend and comic book creator Carlo Vergara (One Night in Purgatory, Isaw Atbp) has just released his latest comic book creation; Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah. For english-only readers, the translation of this long title is pretty much encapsulated in the title of this post (at least, I think, in spirit. Heh).
It's all about a beautician named Ada, whom fate chooses to be the bearer of a mysterious stone, which when swallowed endows it's user with super powers. If this reminds you of various superhero myths, especially the Philippines' own classic Darna, it's on purpose. Carl's twist on the theme however, is unique. For Ada is a homosexual, and the owner of his own beauty parlor. When, at the suggestion of his assistant Diddy, he swallows the stone and shouts the name 'Zsa Zsa' (the name is engraved on the stone), Ada turns into a voluptious, superhumanly strong woman!
But it seems that with great power comes great responsibility since as Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah emerges, so do various threats to the land. Giant frogs, zombie hordes and a group of alien Amazons are only the first challenges to meet out hero (heroine?). But with Diddy and her object of affection Dodong at her side, Zsa Zsa goes into every fight fists and boobs flying! Oh. Did I say boobs? Heh.
This book is HILARIOUS. I have to say that Carl has outdone himself this time, and the tone and mood of Zsa Zsa is a refreshing change from the more serious, heavy drama of his past works. Comedy in comics is hard... but he pulls it off excellently with great dialogue that is sometimes tempered by biting honesty. Also captured is the classic campiness of the old Darna movies, but this time with a loving touch of sarcasm and parody.
It doesn't hurt as well that the art is gorgeous, with lots of great action, over-the-top facial expressions and even manga-esque SD, and more of Carl's trademark 'muscular' art. Suffice to say, both male and female readers get fan service in this one.
Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah is now available at Comic Quest branches, at P120 for 65 pages (black and white). It's been rated for mature readers ever due to some strong language and mature themes. Get yourself a copy now and more for a friend in time for Christmas, folks!

Cheese Pops and Blue Fizz

I finally got the chance to try a couple of things I have been eyeing for some time now; cheese-flavoured microwave popcorn and Pepsi Blue cola. The latter I've been wanting to try solely for my desire to find out just what the color blue tastes like (I kind of imagined it to be similar to chlorine and swimming pool water). Well, I popped the corn and got a glass full of ice for the cola. Mike advised me to virtually freeze the Blue cola and drink it as it's near frozen. Of course, I didn't have patience for that.
The popcorn was on the salty side; the cheese taste was recognizable, but unfortunately wasn't as zesty as the cheese popcorn you could get at the cinemas, or the ones that came with cheese flavor bags. Maybe I didn't mix it well enough. Oh well. As for the blue cola, it tastes very bland; it didn't even have the aroma of say, Dr. Pepper. Very forgettable, but it was a cola. Well, the blue color is kinda cool. And it was pretty nice to see blue fizz. Not as great as purple fizz, but what can you do?

Car Sick

Today I spent most of my time in a car. We had to present some storyboards for a TV commercial to client, and they were all the way across the world from Makati at Aurora Boulevard. The traffic was predictably heavy, so our vehicle was crawling most of the way. When we finally arrived at the client's office/factory, our entire presentation (which went quite well) took only an hour or so. After the meeting, we piled back in the car for the trek back to the office. We left the office at two. We got to client at three. Finished at four. Arrived at the office by five. Three hours, but it felt like double that. Yawn. Oh well. This is the last working week of the year 2002, so it should be just a sprint before we break the tape to our vacations. Not doing too bad. Not bad at all.

Waiting for The Two Towers (Some Spoilers)

I HATE waiting. I really do. So much that I often wish I had a cryogenic chamber to jump into so I can 'fast forward' to stuff I want without having to... wait. The second part of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, The Two Towers, will be showing in the US a few days from now. But we poor Manilenos have to wait till early January. DAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMNNNNN!!!
Anyway, reviews are beginning to filter in at sites like Aint It Cool News, and so far they are all uniformly raving about TTT. Remarks are generally that the action has been kicked up a notch, Helm's Deep finale kicks butt, and Gollum is one twistedly realistic dude who could make actor Andy Serkis (the actor who 'plays' the corrupted hobbit) a contender for Best Supporting Actor. I've seen the new 30-second trailer showing on US television, which features more of the film's CG creatures- Wargs, Ents, Nazgul on Fell Beasts, and tantalizing glimpses of HUGE battle scenes. My GOSH. Can't wait till January. It will be hell resisting bootlegs till then.

Araw Awards

I got to see the Araw Awards on TV, which celebrated the years' best in Philippine advertising. Lots of ads, and I saw quite a few familiar faces. I really have to admit that I have little interest in the pomp and pageantry of these gigs. It doesn't help that I just got to my present agency so I don't have many entries in.
My takeaway from the awards show... WEIRD. Lots of really bad use of talents (including a very embarrassing segment/spoof by the actors from the hit McDonald's commercial 'Lolo') through horrible spiels and writing, and direction. And what the hell is Ronald McDonald doing as a presentor? THE HELL? He's a MASCOT for God's sake!!! Well, it could have been worse... Jollibee can't even talk. Maybe he would have had an interpreter...
And one more thing... haha... can't get out of my mind the sight of Monobloc chairs being used in such a prestigious event. Well, maybe it just shows how ad people can be frugal. In some ways. Heh. Monobloc. Sheesh.

Hard Work. Hard Life.

I went with my dad to have my four pairs of denim jeans cut. I think it's pretty much been more than two years since I got them, but I only NOW thought about cutting them to size. All this time I had been making do with just folding them (Levi's style). I don't know... I just felt I had to. I needed a change. Perhaps it started with me buying a two new pairs of shoes (one pair of classic anyday black leathers and one pair of black rubber shoes) last Friday. I got rid of my old pair of leathers, which had been serving me for the past two years as well, weirdly enough by leaving them on the bus I was riding on. I imagined quite romantically that they'd find their way into the hands of someone who would have them repaired and use them again. Later, Carl told me that more likely, they'd probably be mistaken for a bomb. Well, they weren't, so I wasn't worried. Heh.
Anyway, I had decided to cut the pants; me and my dad drove off to where my parents usually had their tailoring stuff done. Thanks to my dad's wonderful directional sense, we almost missed the hole-in-the-wall tailor shop. The tailor, Mr. Olympio, was an old man who lived in his tailoring shop with at least two of his grown children and their spouses, and at least two kids. We walked in and gave my pants, which turned out, needed not only cutting, but quite a bit of repairs to the pockets, and patching some frayed parts. The whole time I looked about the somewhat untidy, grimy shop. It wasn't the most furnished of places; there were two sewing machines, lots of threat and spools about, a calendar on a wall, a Sto. Nino picture hanging on another, and a cabinet with an old guitar that had only one string left. Atop a cabinet were, seemingly out of place, numerous trophies for bowling and darts.
The old tailor worked on the pants, all the while talking with my dad on various subjects, though mostly on his health (which was apparently failing since the man was pretty thin). I gathered that he had to go to the hospital recently; my dad would later tell my mom that the man had cirhossis; a result of heavy drinking in his earlier years. As Mr. Olympio and my dad talked, my dad would try to insert advice to the man to quit alcohol. Of course, Mr. Olympio agreed. When the job was about finished, one of the tailor's chums came in, apparently inviting him to drink. From what we hears, going cold turkey wasn't a priority. Oh well. It was his life to live.
I had my pants finished after about an hour or so. I paid the man, and my dad gave him a bit of extra for Christmas. As we left, I regretted not giving him even more, but to go back and give him extra worried me that it may seem like pity, which I did not want to project. Man still had his pride.
I reflected on how the old man sewed the reams of cloth in the pants, manipulating it with grimy old fingers and working the manual sewing machine with expertise that has been honed through years of labor. You need to be damn precise to do that kind of thing; yet he gets paid very little relatively to people in business. In contrast, I get paid quite a bit more doing rough concepts and vague thoughts. That's why I guess in the US, menial laborers are paid more. Here, it's pretty different and quite depressing.
Oh well.
He did a good job with my pants. Damn good job.

The Other "Ring" Movie


No-brainer Tip: Don't watch cursed videotapes.

I finally got to watch The Ringu, the Japanese horror hit that's been making the hairs stand up on the backs of many Filipinos' necks for the past weeks. I am glad that I caught it; the only hitch is that I hope I don't get visited by some evil spirit now...
The Ringu revolves around a strange urban legend and myth about a cursed videotape that brings death to whomever views its eerie contents. When a young girl named Tomoko and several of her classmates die after watching the said video, her cousin, a reporter named Reiko, feels compelled to investigate. As she delves into the mystery, she uncovers strangely distorted photos, a quiet cabin in the province, and finally, the sinister video itself. After she watches the images... strange, blurry clips of a woman and some disturbing scenes, she suddenly receives a phone call. "Seven Days." says the voice. Seven days till she dies. In her desperation and growing fear, Reiko calls upon her ex-husband, Ryuji, to help. A professor and psychic, Ryuji himself watches the tape, apparently dooming himself as well. But perhaps they can escape the horror that awaits them if only they can unearth the secret behind the tape...
Okay, this film is freaky. If you're used to Hollywood slashers, gore-fests and CG monster movies, this should be a breath of fresh air. It is alien... the pace is different, the look is very un-cinematic and ordinary (it kinda reminds me of a low budget short film) but that all just contributes to how mundane life is until something supernatural bursts in. After that, the buildup starts piling up as the days count down to the inevitable. The Ringu relies a lot on disturbing (but not really gory) images, some sudden bursts of music and peripheral vision tricks to unnerve and scare. It also has the somewhat funny way of making people just 'pop up' out of nowhere; Reiko is just standing alone, and then some other character is just THERE. I speculate that either they are all descended from ninja so no sound is made when they approach... or it's because of their socks. Hmm.
Anyway, I liked it. I can't say I was scared by it, desensitized as I am, but I was fascinated and creeped out. I found the images freaky and disturbing, and the plot was very intriguing... so that even through the quiet, long pauses I was held in place. It doesn't hurt as well that lead actress Nanako Matsushima is quite easy on the eyes (actually most of the women in the film are; gotta love Japanese women). On the con side, the film does take a bit to build up, but maybe that's intentional so you're lulled into a false sense of security before the GHOST LEAPS UP BESIDE YOU!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Ahem. Watch it if you can. If you dare. I liked it so much, I am now actually considering watching the US remake. Just to see if Hollywood can elicit the same chills... or if they can improve on it.

Hmmm. Cursed videotapes. Good thing I prefer DVDs these days.