Heavy Metal


Marvel's latest war machine at the theaters.

The Iron Man teaser trailer just hit recently online, and I must say, as a non-fan of the comic or the character (especially after the Civil War event), that I am interested. For one thing, Robert Downey, Jr. makes a pretty smarmy and cool Tony Stark, which is great- it's nice to see him as the good guy. He gets the alcoholic part down pat, at least. I'm actually kinda less convinced and iffy with the actual Iron Man stuff- it certainly looks CG at this point; hopefully they fix this up to look better in the final film. The next, full trailer should give more a sense of what the whole story is, who the real enemy will be for this Marvel Comics adventure. This should be good, but then I find myself thinking about DC's Steel movie with Shaquille O'Neil... Yikes! Crossing fingers then. Anyways, this is set for May 2008. A lot of time to shine things to the fullest.

Status Quo

These days, the pace of work at The Salt Mines has reached a fever pitch. It's been ages since I've been able to just 'take off' for a jaunt down to The Black Market to pick up some bootleg DVDs or go strolling around a mall. There's now always something, whether it's a shoot or a print ad needing my attention lined up and waiting to pounce just after I've taken care of the last wave. Which is kinda like those midieval siege movies where the defenders are taking down those enemies climbing up siege ladders. It hasn't yet reached a point where I'm stressed out- it's a nice mix, I guess, where you are busy but everything is still under control but just shy of you freaking out and reaching for a cig. And I don't smoke.

Then again, I tell myself that maybe I don't go looking for bootlegs anymore since I just do all my 'shopping' for movies at home, thanks to the internet. Or maybe because I'm not really that fond of malling anymore... I know what I want and I usually just go to the mall to get it, then go straight back home.

A year or two ago, I lived for going out on Saturdays, just spending money on food, movies and whatever with the barkada. These days, after a busy work week, I'm pretty content to sleep away an afternoon, surf and blog when I want to, and play the odd game of PS3 or Xbox360. Or work on comics, but that's rare. I may have gone past my 'painting the town red' days, finally finding my true face, as a homebody.

Or maybe I'm just getting frickin' old. Heh.

Anyways, it's nice to have a balance of work, pressure, challenge, reward and relaxation that I've kinda settled onto these days. I can't ask for more, really, especially in the light of how hard life is these days. Every now and then, I'd like to mix it up with something else, I guess. But it's nice to know you have something to fall back on.

Avatar Love



Here's the newest, 30-second spot for Avatar: The Last Airbender from Nick. Starting September 21, TEN STRAIGHT WEEKS OF AVATAR. Ten episodes of bending adventure. Sure, there'll probably be a lengthy hiatus or break after, but darn... ten episodes. That's half the season already. This is going to be awesome. NEXT WEEK. It begins. WOOHOO!!!

Mangaholix Presents #2

More Filipino-made Manga!

According to Mangaholix's Deviantart Page, the second issue of Mangaholix is due out later this week... or it may already be out as you're reading this. Anyways, I was probably mistaken when I posted that Ninja Girl KO will be out in this issue- I haven't even seen the finished, finished, lettered art for episode 1 yet. So most probably, Michiko and Anton will be making their debut NEXT issue.

For now though, you can support local manga artists by hieing off to National Bookstore and plunking down the change for an issue of Mangaholix Presents #2. As with issue 1, the stories include Pulis Pangkalawakan, Fist Fight Manifesto: Midknighters, Kraust and Aporia. Oh, and there's even a nice interview with local otakudom's cosplay princess, Alodia! So what are you waiting for? Support Pinoy comics now!

Where Were You Then?

I remember riding the bus or MRT home that day, when I got a text from a friend informing me of a news bulletin about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I remember thinking, darn, what a horrible accident. It wasn't until I got a couple more texts about another plane hitting the Twin Towers that I suddenly thought- that was no accident. It was an attack.

I came home to a living room with my parents watching that fateful event happen on CNN. We saw the footage of the planes crashing into the building, flames spreading, smoke billowing. I was glued to the screen right to the moment the towers fell, and long into the hours of the morning. It was a horrible sight to see- an event that changed the world- or at least, the US and everyone affected by their state of affairs- forever.

It's been six years, but strangely, 9/11 still seems fresh in people's minds. The US doesn't want to forget it, of course. You don't have to be an American to be saddened by the events, to be mindful of the fact that we should always be vigilant and aware of what is good, and what is evil. Evil was done that day, and the rest who remain should always remember and be ready for whatever comes next. Filipinos don't have a great memory, the way we so often forgive or forget so many who wrong us so easily. That's something we should keep in mind as members of the 'Free World'.

Awakenings

The Book of Fire, the third season of the Mega-popular and critically-acclaimed animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, is still set to debut this coming September 21 (just shy of two weeks from now!). The first episode, entitled "Awakenings", literally finds Aang waking up from his coma after his life-threatening battle underneath Ba Sing Se. He awakens on board a captured Fire Nation vessel and learns from his friends Katara, Sokka and their father, Hakoda, the events that led to their current plan to infltrate the Fire Nation. Meanwhile, on the other side of the equation, Zuko finally makes his way home, dreading the possibility of being rejected once more by his father, the Fire Lord.

With a tidal wave of anticipation and hype for Season 3 from the legions of Avatar fans, Nickelodeon seems to be dead set on steamrolling the series forward. New episodes will regularly debut after the first Season 3 episode, and will be quickly available for download or viewing in iTunes or online Turbonick. Plans are already in motion for the live-action Avatar movies, and the Season 2 DVD Collection will come with a video feature about director M. Night Shaymalan and his plans for the film adaptations.

Just a couple more weeks before the most anticipated cartoon series ever continues. Wait for it, people. Wait for it.

The Touch


Nope, not the iPhone.

This isn't about that horrible, horrible Michelle Yeoh-starrer female Indy Jones martial arts snorer... it's all about the latest from Apple, the iPod Touch. That's it up there, the iPhone-like device that looks slicker than a puddle of black gold. Basically an iPhone without the phone, it's THE video iPod everyone has been speculating about. Touchscreen, hi-res 320x480 screen that's perfect for watching widescreen movies on... and it comes with WiFi websurfing as well! It's the total entertainment package, and a dream come true. It leads the pack of new iPods just introduced by Apple, which includes the video-capable iPod Nano and the iPod Classic.

But then you find your dreams dashed when you find out about the crappy fact that the Touch comes only in 8 GB and 16 GB storage capacities. WTF??! Apple finally coughs up the TRUE iPod video and they can't even give it a decent amount of storage space? The first video capable iPods had at LEAST 30 or 60 Gigs, and went even better with 80 (the newly released/announced iPod Classic tops it all at 160 Gigs). But come on... 16 Gigs??! What the HELL is that about?

Podcasts and TV shows alone will fill this up to capacity and beyond. That's without music (which a decent collection will at least have at least 4 Gigs), and full movies go upwards of 700 MB to 1.5 Gigs each. This is simply absurd! Yeah, yeah, you can swap in movies easily but come on- if the video-capable 5th and 5.5 Gen iPods had Hard Drives, why not this one? Especially since it's really a video device? Being able to drop in all your stuff and have that luxury of choice- to watch what you want, when you want since you have it all with you- that's one of the best things about iPods.

I'm hoping Apple gets their thinking in sync and fix this up right straight. Certainly an iPod Touch with a proper hard drive might be a bit thicker, but it will definitely be THE portable media player to have. For now though, I'm thankful that Apple flubbed it. Makes me enjoy my iPod all the more for now.

Go, Ninja Girl, GO!



I was as giddy as a little schoolkid a couple of days ago when I saw the colored art for Ninja Girl KO! Every single page of the first episode, due out soon in the second issue of Mangaholix Presents by Groundbreakers, Inc., is simply FABULOUS. I've never really been a color whore for comics, seeing as how most of my past works have been in black and white, but DAYEMN! The lines and colors of sensational artist Kriss Sison's sensational art just leap out at you from the panels. I am just so proud of this work and can't wait for everyone to see it. But on the other hand, I caught myself from spoiling anything more here on the blog. You'll just have to wait a little bit more, but the end (or the beginning) is finally in sight. WOOHOO!!!

Mummy Dearest

Hey, here's news about the next Mummy film. I really loved the first one, was meh on the second and totally wish the third 'sequel' never existed (not even my fondness for The Rock or Kelly Hu could save that stinker). But this one sounds kinda nice. The information is from director Rob Cohen, who takes over the reins from Stephen Sommers.

The story goes like this. In ancient China, a despotic emperor played by Jet Li and his army are cursed by a sorceress (played by Michelle Yeoh) to remain in terra cotta form for all time. Of course, curses have a way of having loopholes, so we know they won't stay statues for long. Fast forward to 1946. Returning heroes Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn (Maria Bello takes over for Rachel Weisz) O'Connell are now retired in England, having served as spies for the allies during the war. SInce they're bored out of their heads, they decide to accept one last mission to return a stolen artifact to the Shanghai Museum.
Meanwhile, over in the somewhat unstable Chinese mainland, Jonathan (John Hannah) has set up an Egyptian-themed bar. Rick and Evy's son, the now-grownup Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford) has followed his parents' footsteps and has just discovered the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. A beautiful female assassin tries to kill him in order to keep the location a secret, but the younger O'Connell persists. Eventually, the Emperor's monument is transported back to Shanghai where the main plot engages as a military zealot intends to awaken the undead tyrant in order to conquer all of China.

According to Cohen, the movie will have the mummy-fighting family reunited as high adventure ensues. Lots of cliffhanger stunts, avalanches, a trek to the HImalayas and encounters with yetis, big battles, a three-headed dragon (!) and a shape-shifting Jet Li too!

Okay, it all sounds awesome but darn- the Mummy Returns also sounded and looked awesome. But then again, maybe another director will succeed where Sommers turned out to be too heavy handed and clumsy. I'm wondering if Ardeth Bey (Oded Fehr) will somehow make an appearance. Hmm. Anyways, the movie is set for release in mid-2008. A ways off, but something pulp-action and CG fans should look forward to.

Tales from the Dark Side

Last Wednesday, I headed off early in the morning southwards on a working trip with teammates from The Salt Mines and some of our clients. It was basically for bonding and brainstorming, so a nice, conducive setting far away from the everyday hurly-burly was required. Our venue was Hacienda Isabella, a hectares-wide resort/estate which consisted of sprawling lawns and groves dotted with various little villas and resthouses done in a lovely Mediterranean-style and filled with various antiques and relics. The place was the property of singer Kuh Ledesma, though we didn't have the good fortune to catch her there.

I really liked the old look of the place, though my groupmates expressed some fear that there may be restless spirits about. We were assured though by the katiwala (caretaker)that while the antiques were old and smelling of age, the buildings themselves were new and thus free of any ghosts. Which was fine, since us guys in the party decided to each take a big suite with 2-person beds to sleep in. My own room was a third-floor chamber with was basic but at least had a nice, soft bed with lots of pillows and a good, strong aircon.

The days were basically spent listening to research data and then later knocking heads together to plan stuff. But the good stuff happened at night, when we headed off to dinner. The first night, we ate at the much-talked about Sonya's Garden. This unique resto is built in the middle of what appears to be a forest, and boasts of a very green, natural ambience. We sat in the middle, enjoying the food amidst the sounds of trickling water from the surrounding waterfalls (man-made). Though I was at first taken aback by the word that the place was strictly vegetarian, I just hunkered down and made myself ready for whatever flowers I'd be served. ]

As it turned out, the place specializes in pasta and salads- the appetizer salad was simply incredible, with delicious dressing and crunchy greens that had me getting second and third portions. Nice, warm bread with various spreads ranging from sun-dried tomatoes to black olive patte and pesto tickled our palates further. The main course was fettuccine, with various sauces to mix and match. There was actually one sauce which had a bit of meat- creamy chicken- but regardless, I had a nice meal and was pretty full in a while.

The second night had us heading off to Splendido's, which seems to be a golf course or high-end real estate development. For now though, it was basically empty- a vast expanse of clear land- save for the Clubhouse that sat in the middle of the whole area. Since we went there at night, it was mostly an inky dark (not a lot of lights in this part of the country) until we finally focused on the cluster of yellow electric lights in the distance. The isolation of the place kinda mad me think that if Zombies took over Metro Manila, the rich and famous would hole up in here and spend their days eating caviar and imported sardines protected by hired guns.

Anyway, the place was mostly empty (since it was in the middle of the week) save for us and the suppliers we were meeting for a presentation. For the most part, I just sat and enjoyed dinner, which consisted of paella, a chicken dish, bulalo and more paella. The food was delicious but a bit heavy, and our hosts over-ordered. I soon found myself needing to walk around. The air was chilly, but even though I didn't have a jacket, it wasn't unbearable.

One thing that I will surely remember on this trip was the fact that the southern area still consists a lot of roads and areas that have little or no lights or lamp posts. As we drove from venue to venue, we often passed roads that were totally dark, the sides impenetrable groves of trees and wild vegetation. These inky spots filled the gaps between the area's residences, shops and commercial establishments. I found myself thinking, this is a nice place to visit... but I certainly feel lucky to live where I live.

And so back to the grind this week. After that enjoyable but tiring work trip, I'm glad to get back to the familiar, climate-controlled corridors I know as everday work. Sad, but true. Heh.

Shut Up and Dance

I'm back from my Tagaytay trip. It was a working trip, but I appreciate being able to stay at a lovely, lovely place and eat at some new restos (I'll post about them later). Anyway, while there we talked about stuff and ads, and this funny commercial from Thailand just popped up during our time there and it just cracks me up whenever I see it. Thai commercials are so funny, and a lot of them really don't rely on production values or special effects- just funny thoughts or concepts and insights presented hilariously. I wish local ads were this funny. Give us time, Pinoy admakers will find our groove eventually. For now, just watch and enjoy.



Anyways, it's great to be back home, and even greater to come home on a weekend. Later then! For now... just watch!

Trip to Tagaytay

I'll be off on a work trip from tomorrow until Friday. Sadly I'll be leaving behind The Sanctum and my brand-new copy of Bioshock for the Xbox360 until the weekend. I'll also be leaving behind my DSL connection, so don't expect any posts here till I get back. On the bright side, it's Tagaytay, and it'll be a nice chance for me to use my iPod during down time. On the bad side, it's still work nevertheless, and that's three days away from the Online World. But what the heck. You gotta do what you gotta do. Later, then.

Sexy Beasts

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Avatar Season 3 Trailer



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

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

Donut Buy

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

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

Another Gadget to Lust After

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

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


My next phone?

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

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

Podded



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

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

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


Lost on the iPod.

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

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

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

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

Birthday

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

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

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

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

Rainy Days

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

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

Should iPod or Not?

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

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

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

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

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

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