Ghosts of All Souls' Day's Past

All Souls' Day, or Todos Los Santos, is a big deal here in the Philippines. In the US and other countries, it's all about Halloween. Here, it's more akin to the Day of the Dead in Mexico, though perhaps less festive. On November 1 and 2, Filipinos troop to the cemeteries to visit their family members and loved ones who have passed on, to remember them. Of course, that's the principle behind the tradition. On the other hand, it's also an opportunity for having a bit of a holiday, going to the provinces for some RnR, or just pigging out with lots of junk food.
I remember when I was a kid, Todos Los Santos was a journey for my family. At the time, our cemetery was far away (to me then, it was like it was in another time zone), so going there was a major effort. I remember the night before we leave my mom and the household help would prepare large containers full of food. We'd stock on junk food and prepare all our provisions with the meticulous fervor of a polar expedition. I'd be woken up early in the morning. The family station wagon would have the food as well as lots of folding tables and chairs. On top there were several large, long wooden poles and the heavy canvas tent which would serve as our home for the next day or so. Then, we'd scrunch up inside and be off.
Once at Loyola Cemetery in Marikina, we'd spend a bit of time getting through the traffic. Luckily, our spot wasn't too far from the exit. We'd set up our tent and tables and then... we'd hang out. Food was eaten, chats were chatted, and we'd play board games like Snakes and Ladders or Tour of Luzon. Often we'd also play cards (my favorite was Pekwa... don't ask... I've forgotten how to play it after all this time). If I got bored I'd walk around and collect wax to make a big ball to mold and stare at.
When the day started to wane, we'd pack up and make our way home, which was another long ordeal in itself since the traffic is just as worse as during our arrival. But, invariably, we'd break through and be on our way.
These days though, it's no longer a big thing. Our present home is located conveniently near our cemetery, so we basically just walk there. Since Shakey's and other fast food joints have small kiosks there, food isn't a problem. We don't stay long enough to need a tent, so we just leave flowers and candles, say some prayers and spend some time there... and that's that.
Ah. Memories. I have to say that strangely enough, All Souls' Day has lots of happy memories for me. A strange thing I think since it's all about remembering the dead. We Filipinos can find fun in the weirdest of things.
Happy All Souls' and All Saints' Day, everyone.

Care for some CHIPS?


Another local manga comic for Manila comic readers' tastes.

I finally got to read Chips (Chocolate Chips/Cinnamon Chips), another local manga-style comic. I have to say that the first time I saw it, I was very much impressed by the production values; thick paper stock, nice manga art that really brings to mind authentic Japanese manga (complete with the use of screentones) and a whopping 64 pages. That's quite a good deal for the eighty pesos you will shell out for a copy. However, I have to say that I really resisted reading it for a LONG time ever since I first saw the sample copy given to Mike (Comic Quest). Why? Because I felt that it wasn't for me. I really saw it as a girls' manga. I like my manga and anime loaded with adventure, fighting, humor and some sexiness dashed in for good measure... Chips looked all cotton candy and fluff. Well, now I finally read it and... I was right. Sigh. Anyway, that doesn't mean it would be necessarily bad, so I read through the two stories to give it a proper review.
There are two stories (one for each flavor of Chips, I guess... still am mystified by the title...). Cascades is a high school comedy about (apparently) an international student named Jennifer and how she mixes in with her Filipino (but manga-looking) classmates. We get introduced rapid-fire to several cliche characters, including a ditz, an bishojo guy (beautiful man), some bullies, some wallpaper guys, a tough cool guy, a Wolverine-clone teacher and more.
Honestly, I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. The paneling is atrociously confusing, and the dialogue from one frame doesn't match others. I've seen wacky comedy in both anime and manga, and I think this is what the Chips crew was attempting with Cascades, but the execution is confusing, not funny and just leaves me saying, "What the-!" after reading it. Or maybe I should say, decipher it?
The second story, Seraphim Wing, benefits by being more focused (read: Two main characters). It's all about a girl named Melissa who works as an attendant in a video store. For some reason, she gets mixed up with a stranger who eventually helps her when she's attacked by some thugs. It turns out that the stranger's name is Lezarius, and he's really an angel. What's the story here? We're going to have to wait for issue 2...
Chips has nice art, as I mentioned before, but it's relatively simple and basic; nowhere near the more impressive art of Culture Crash but within the same range of recent release Ground Zero. It helps that the art really brings to mind manga, but more ambitious art and panels (and more comprehensible paneling) would do wonders.
But then again, perhaps Chips is going more for the sweet story and loveable characters approach rather than trying to blow away readers with incredible action sequences and kick-ass characters. This will be made a lot easier though by getting their storytelling up and working; One cannot live on just having Super Deformed characters and sweatdrops forever.
I may be kinda harsh, but it's all in the hope of steering these obviously enthusiastic and hardworking artists, writers and producers in the right direction to making an enjoyable (at the very least a comprehensible) comic.
This is just their first issue, so I hope they improve on their weak points with their next releases.

Soul Searching

It's the time for pumpkins, costumes, midnight parties and... ghost stories! I have to say that I love spooky, creepy yarns. I remember for years and years I always made it a point to watch the All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day special of the local news/magazine show, Magandang Gabi, Bayan (Good Night Nation for you english-only readers). They always feature supernatural-themed stories for that particular show. I remember that they always have a cheesy 're-enactment' video, which is kinda funny because it has extras in white clothes acting as white ladies or ghosts and spirits scaring some poor guy or gal. Still, if you think about it, the stories are kind of creepy. Many of the stories come from and are set in the provinces, where the supernatural still holds sway over the beliefs of people. There was one tale where a couple, while walking home, suddenly saw a ghost of a woman standing some distance away. They were of course scared shitless, but tried their best to just keep walking. When they ventured a look to see if the spectre had vanished, their terror increased as they saw that the apparition was following them! When they eventually got home and shut the door, the woman started having fits, and it took a blessing from a priest to solve the apparent possession that occured. Be careful of whom or what you lead home...
Aside from the various ghost stories and encounters, there are also the tales of fairies and dwarves, whom believes say live in magnificent kingdoms in another dimension. In some barrios, some people disappear and are said to have been taken away to live with some dwarf king. Most however, just end up going crazy as if possessed, and have to be exorcised by a local witch doctor.
For a while, there was a rash of children getting 'possessed' in schools, fainting and then having weird spells. I personally think however that it's all a sham for a story. One particularly funny segment had a guy possessed by a tikbalang, or horse-spirit... he spoke of course like a horse, neighing and grunting as his role. Again, the medicine men had to exorcise him.
Yeah, I suspect the show's all just baloney, but I still love watching. Hey, I want to believe. It's crazy, but I think people love to get scared. Within reason, of course.
Perhaps for me especially it's because I'm not 'sensitive'. I know people who are supposed to have a 'third eye', or specially-tuned perceptions which allow them to 'see' the supernatural. Me? I'm as dead to the undead and supernatural as a stone. I remember seeing nothing at all in the middle of an apparent 'haunting' or supernatural incident back in college.
We were shooting a short film late at night in the middle of a field in the middle of the University of the Philippines campus, where salvage/murder victims were supposed to have been dumped during the Marcos days. Our equipment inexplicably conked out consistently, a car window shattered without explanation, and our 'sensitive' classmates felt presences following us around... me... I was staring all around, trying to see a sheet, a pair of glowing eyes...anything! Nada. Oh, well. I suppose that's a good thing.
Anyway, I don't really have to see ghosts to get creeped out. Got an active imagination, so that's pretty much all I need. I'm the person who couldn't remain alone for days after reading a book about Possession and Evil Spirits . If I could actually see weird things, I'd be out of my gourd. Well, more than usual.
Well, actually, the point of this entire post and what I'm really trying to say is that I would have wanted to tell a scary story I experienced for a Halloween post on the blog, but I can't since I've never experienced anything supernatural. Never even worked at any ad agency that was in a haunted building. Sigh. Oh well.

Hey wait a second... I've been to some pretty scary restaurants...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Serial Buyer has struck again...

Just after lunch I walked around Glorietta mall, and the buying bug hit. When I got back to the office, I suddenly found a plastic bag full of stuff in my hand. Darn! How did that get there...?
Anyway, I sifted through the layers of plastic bags and found several magazines: TIME, Newsweek, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Playstation Magazine and... Oh, my... the 2003 FHM Calendar featuring Maui Taylor, Aubrey Miles and Diane Zubiri. Have to control these urges. It may be wonderful now, but who knows what else I could end up bringing home... Damn, that's a nice calendar...

Carnivore Canteen and Food at the Movies, part one

Along Annapolis Street behind Greenhills Shopping Center there's one of our favorite haunts. It's a totally hidden little eatery by the name of Steak Joint. It's located at the ground floor of a building in the rear of an alley-like passage, right behind a Tapa King restaurant (which is a favorite of mine as well). Anyway, last night me and my friends Mike, Jason and Ralph went to have a quick dinner. Mike ordered his beef omelet and beef rib plates, Jason had a combo plate with a variety of liempo (pork) and barbecue and Ralph had two plates of tapa. Of course, I ordered my usual double tenderloin steak. The thing came PERFECT, well-done, smothered in gravy which had a bit of the juice mixing on top. Damn.
As we were all eating, my mind went to that scene in The Matrix where Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) is enjoying a steak in a restaurant with Agent Smith. LOVE that scene. Not because of the dramatic significance, mind you... just because it had someone eating, and it's great to watch as you are enjoying a snack or a meal.
So I kept thinking about some really appetitzing and inspiring eating/dining scenes in movies. I made a little list of them, too.
1) Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone- a recent one; the first grand meal in the hall welcoming the new batch of students at Hogwart's is simply fantastic. I wish I could conjure up a feast like that whenever I want...
2) Hook- the scene where they imagine a feast and thanks to Peter (Robin Williams), they actually DO create a feast out of thin air. Although I have to say the scenes where they were just imagining were more appetizing...
3) Defending Your Life- this Albert Brooks/Meryl Streep comedy about the afterlife postulates that in the transition place between life and the afterlife, there are various restaurants which serve the PERFECT food. And you can eat as much as you want without ever getting fat. DAMN, the food looked great... the omelette Albert Brooks eats near the start, the pasta Meryl Streep has, a godly shrimp platter... this movie shows food that is, literally, to die for.
4) Twister- my favorite scene is where the Tornado Chasers stop by at Helen Hunt's aunt, where they get served STEAKS with awesome-looking gravy and mashed potatoes. Yum...
5) The Fugitive- okay, this really doesn't show good food, but it does show good eating. It's the part where Harrison Ford is hiding out in a hospital and has to steal some old patient's food. There's that scene where he sops up some corn in some bread and just gorges it down. Hospital food sucks, but that scene made me hungry.
Heh. That's that for now. Anyway, eating at Steak Joint was great, but they don't have desserts in that bare essential eatery. Makes you wish there was a place next to it called Cake Joint, to get the meat taste off. Oh well. Later then.

A tough act to follow...

Over the weekend I learned that actor Richard Harris died from a lingering illness. The acclaimed performer died of Hodgkin's disease, which strikes at the body's lymph nodes. He died peacefully in the hospital at the age of 72.
His death leaves vacant the crucial part of the wise wizard and mentor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies (the studio has reportedly not yet recast the role). It got me thinking back to how Raul Julia died years ago, leaving the Addams Family movies without a father (though I have to say Tim Curry was a fine replacement, albeit with a different flair or flavor for the Gomez Addams role). These actors had strong imprints on the characters they brought life to... it would be a great burden on whoever replaces them to equal or even surpass the foundation they established. Or perhaps, even just to give justice to it.
I was thinking how Ian McKellan just IS Gandalf, and how Christopher Lee IS Saruman. I can't picture another actor in their robes... so I am glad they shot the LOTR films at the same time.
Richard Harrris is gone. Who can take up Dumbledore's hat now? The first names and faces that come to my mind include Richard Attenborough, though he's more Santa than sorcerer. Or maybe John Neville, the guy who played Baron Munchausen and the Well-Manicured Man in the X-Files series and movie. Well, we should see or hear news in the near future. Anyway, when I watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets later next month, I'll be sure to enjoy the last performance of a great actor.

A Beastly Good Movie

I was able to watch the French film Le Pacte Des Loupes, or Brotherhood of the Wolf, over the weekend. After sitting through this 3-hour or so film, I came away impressed and surprised. Enjoyable and sinfully good. Which means, lots of beautiful European women and bloody good action.
The movie is a period film set in France before the French Revolution. An elusive and deadly creature is terrorizing the province of Gevaudon, killing women and children without mercy. Two men arrive in the area to find the beast; Chevalier Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) is the King's naturalist and taxedermist, and he's been sent to stuff and bring the beast back to Paris when it is caught and killed. His companion is Mani (Mark Dacascos), an Indian and Fronsac's blood brother.
Now say what you will about Mark Dacascos' former movies (Double Dragon was HORRIBLE. Crying Freeman was better but disappointing to a degree) but he is awesome in this film. He doesn't speak too much and just has to look brooding or silent throughout most of the movie, but when he moves he is hypnotic. Brotherhood has tons of fighting scenes which have slow-mo sequences which are reminiscent of The Matrix; totally cool and brutally enjoyable to see. While the two heroes may seem to be another 'Green Hornet and Kato' thing (with Mani doing all the fighting), Fronsac gets to impress viewers towards the latter part of the film (this IS a French film after all) in an unexpected twist. While Brotherhood shares a lot with movies like Ghost and the Darkness or Jaws, it also reminds me of that old Spielberg film Young Sherlock Holmes AKA Pyramid of Fear, with its conspiracies and strange cults, mysticism and a tragic turn towards the second half.
Again, did I mention that I love the fighting? This film has fancy kicks, lots of leaping and vaulting, evil gypsy fighting girls, lots of fancy sharp weapons... Yowza! The fighting game fan in me got pleased immensely when I saw the scene where a segmented sword (the SAME weapon used by Ivy AKA Isabella Valentine in the fighting game Soul Calibur) is used in an actual battle... amazing. The action in this movie rules, with almost Hong Kong-like energy.
Anyway, I was glad I was able to watch this movie via a DVD, with no cuts or censorship. As I said before, there's quite a lot of nudity and skin (all of which will probably be censored in the theatrical release). The violence is fast and while there's blood, it's never gory or excessive, in my opinion. Which is great since seeing visons like Monica Bellucci and more onscreen along with the kick-ass fighting makes the fact that the movie is over 3 hours long quite forgettable.
Hunt this beast of a movie down. Ferociously good. Watch it at home, on a big TV, with lots of junk food to wolf down.

Introducing: GAME GIRL!


The fun begins when you turn her ON.

She's cute. She's sexy. She's a hundred girls in one. She's Alpha, the heroine of GAME GIRL, a new manga comic I'll be working on with Jason Banico of Dynatica. A cross between the 80's character Automan and the Go Nagai heroine Cutey Honey, Alpha (the name stands for Android Lifeform with Programmable Hyper Adaptability) is a sentient computer program in human form who can transform into and use the powers of any female videogame archetype. She'll be going on fun, action-packed and comedic gaming-themed adventures in order to stop evil programs from conquering the world (Of course!). I can see this character to be a ton of fun in seeing through, so I hope this thing works out. Whatever happens, Alpha's coming.

GameGirl© is copyright 2002, Dynatica Comics. All Rights Reserved

Paranoia

I just came home from a nice after-work dinner/despedida for my friends Dean and Nikki Alfar, who are bound for the US. The day was long and I was just looking forward to winding things down when I saw something that irked me. A ROACH. Yep. A cockroach. A damn ipis, right there on the edge of the shoe cabinets outside my room. And he was facing the direction of MY door. Of course, I had to kill it. I could not sleep soundly knowing that a live ipis could be there, silently slipping into my room, then crawling into bed with me... It had to DIE. I grabbed my slipper. Wait. No. Can't use my slipper. If I hit it too hard, I would get ipis guts all over the bottom. Then I couldn't walk in my room with the slipper. I'll spread ipis guts all over my floor. What if I walk barefoot on the floor and get ipis guts on my soles? What if while I'm sleeping my pillow falls off the bed onto the floor with the ipis guts? That's the pillow I hug and press my face into when I sleep. It'd be like I hugged and pressed my face into an IPIS!!! It had to DIE.
I grabbed my shoe. I kept my work shoes outside the room anyway, so it didn't matter if I got smashed insect insides all over the sole. I walk everywhere outside and step on much grosser things, I imagine. It would be okay. The shoe was also heavy, so a direct hit would be a sure kill.
Had to hit at a right angle; the ridges of the shoe shelf could act as a depression which may affect the force of my blow. Had to adjust. Had to crouch. Wait. Can't hit it too hard... folks are sleeping. I thought of closing the door to my parents' bedroom, but that would risk the ipis slipping away. No. I had to chance it. Do or die. I've done this many times before.
I went for it. A controlled blow, sharp and fast. A sure kill if it had hit.
But I missed.
The ipis was knocked from the shelf to the floor, but fell on its right side. It skittered behind the shelf to safety.
I WILL KILL HIM!!! (Me imitating Sting's Fayde in David Lynch's Dune). But it was all for naught. It was gone. Escaped. I had to sleep now in fear.
Actually, even if I had killed the bugger, it would probably make no difference. I worked on an insect spray brand in my former agency, so I learned that for every roach you see, there are probably dozens more unseen. It would have made no difference. But I would feel a lot safer if I had gotten the damn creeper. Gah.
It won't come back. It's probably miles away from me by now.
Miles away.
Right? RIGHT??!?

I am a blonde cheerleader with a love for pointed objects.

No, I am not losing my mind again; last night, I played Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the Xbox, and I have to say it's a pretty fair game. I usually want my fighting games as straight-on one-on-one affairs like Dead or Alive, Tekken or Virtua Fighter, but I decided to try this adventure-action game anyway. I am a fan after all of the TV series, so what the hey. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised.
Buffy the Xbox game puts you, the player, in the tight jeans and skimpy tops of Buffy Summers; the current Slayer and defender against undead menaces. The story of the game is supposedly culled from an unaired or unrealized TV episode or arc, so the dialogue and writing of the game's script is pretty true to the spirit of the game. As you first start off the game, the familiar Buffy opening theme song plays with footage of the in-game heroine kicking undead butt.
As you go through the various locales in Sunnydayle, including familiar places such as Sunnydale High School and The Bronze nightclub, you battle vampires and other shadowy baddies to accomplish goals, solve simple 'go-fer' quests and collect items on your way to the chapter's boss or major fight.
Of course, the major cast members appear in the game, looking reasonably close to their reel-life counterparts. Most of the actual actors do the voiceovers for their characters, with the exception of Sarah Michelle Gellar herself (though the voice double does a pretty good job).
The control is pretty tight, and it's a cinch to move around and do stuff. The puzzles are simple,and the meat of the game, the fighting, is pretty good and fluid. As for the graphics, the game looks great, and the on-screen Buffy is a strikingly good representation of the comely heroine. Which is great, since you'll be staring at her for hours and hours as you play the game.
My only gripe is that the game's story only reaches to a certain point in the series; baddies include Spike and Drusilla, Angelus, The Master and some original monsters. I would have wanted to trade punches with the yummy evil goddess Glory (Season Five's Big Bad) if I had the choice. Well, maybe in Buffy 2? Anyway, if you have an Xbox and are a Buffy fan, this is a pretty good buy; otherwise, watching re-runs on Star TV will have the same effect.
Eh? Wait a minute... I don't HAVE Star TV on my cable anymore!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

Fishy happenings on the way to work...

I was riding an FX taxi on the way to the office today. I was seated at the front, squeezed in with another passenger and the driver. This is what I learned... the seating space is really not adequate for three people. While we were both seated, apparently my sitting posture cut off circulation to my left leg, so that after several minutes I began to lose feeling in that limb.
This has happened before, though a lot worse. It was traffic then, and so I couldn't move at all for at least a half hour. I tried everything; pinching, trying to move my toes (which I could not feel anyway), moving the leg up and down... everything. When I finally got off at Cubao, I almost fell over in the street (which had cars moving at top speed). The leg was DEAD. Like a peg leg, or as if it was coated in cement. I dragged and shuffled my way like a zombie to the concrete divider and stayed there for a minute, looking quite odd as I began kicking my leg against the curb to return the feeling.
Ah. The pain of pins and needles. The feeling returned.
Luckily this time around, I didn't have to wait too long, so I didn't have difficulty in walking after getting down. As I walked the rest of the way to the MRT station, I espied a kiosk selling some cool looking green drink ( I assume it was some pandan/sago/gulaman concoction). It looked refreshing because there was moisture all over the container. I was almost tempted to buy a glass when I recognized the shape of the container... they were selling the drink from an old aquarium tank. Gah.
Had my usual squid balls and gulaman at my regular stand at the MRT station. It was a bit of a wait because the guards are checking bags thoroughly due to the bomb threats. Well, some things change, some things remain the same. I'm just glad I'm here to keep writing blogs.

In the Bag

The Sanctum has a new fixture. A Bean Bag. Well, actually, more of a Bean Throne. Unlike the usual plain round foam-filled cushion, the one I was able to purchase at the Mega Sale (the whole time braving terrorist bomb blasts, mind you) comes with extra apertures which expand into arm and headrests... it's probably the closest thing to a Lazyboy easy chair I'll ever have (since one of those bastards costs upwards of 30K), and I'm loving it.
So I'm there, enjoying the pleasure of sinking into the thing and feeling it wrap around my form like a clammy giant glove. I have to admit I've done quite a few Jean-Luc Picard impressions ever since I got the thing, and it's wonderful. Great for playing games and watching DVD movies on. Except that prolonged use might be bad for the back... Hmmm. Never saw Captain Picard complain about backaches.
"Make it so, Number One. GAHH! My FRICKING Back...!"

One-Inch Comic Books and Peddling Comics during Recess...

I've been doing comic books ever since I was a little kid. I remember doing comic books as small as one-unch from the top of the page to the bottom. I made each book from a single bond paper, made into little pieces and them glued together with white glue. The cover was made extra thick and then 'laminated' with scotch tape. I remember doing comics for my favorite cartoons at the time. I even remember one was actually mostly text, with a full page picture alternating the prose. The one that I actually completed was an episode of Mighty Mouse and the Great Space Chase.
I remember that most of my early work was adapted from cartoons that I watched. I think my main motivation for doing all this was that I couldn't get (whether by financial limitations or just because they didn't exist) comic adaptations of these series and characters. I did Peanuts, all the TV fare and robot shows and even put various characters together in a Secret Wars-type scenario. Imagine every cartoon series from Transformers to Mighty Orbots to GI Joe put together in one book! Well, I started it but never finished it, of course. Lost interest eventually.
For all the stuff I did, I wasn't too keen on making original titles and characters then. Though I do remember putting together a book titled Superkids, an anthology of various kid superheroes. I actually sold my first comic book before high school; I made a three-issue story for a classmate starring characters created by him. I forgot the name but it starred a hero named Spiderkid (who had mechanical spiderlegs ala Doctor Octopus... remember this was by grade school kids) and two others. I remember pitting these heroes against the X-men's Marauders (how's that for a cross-over?). The price for this custom-made comic? Thirty seven pesos. Even then, I realize, I worked for peanuts in comics. That was my first and last sale of home-made, customer-sponsored comics.
In high school, I book-bound some paper and started making an original comic based on Dungeons and Dragons. The comic was entitled Swords of Valour and was based in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting. It starred a fighter, a sexy druid, a thief, an elf, a mage and a cleric. Although I did a lot of pages, I never finished it, but I remember that it was pretty fun, and even had my first real try drawing sexy females. At that age, the usual focus was giant robots or muscle-bound heroes.
I also attempted an adaptation of G.I. Joe the Movie, which was quite popular since it featured the villainess Zarana in a bikini at one point. It was completely in pencil and shaded so you could tell I was drawing it since my hands were all gray with pencil lead. Again, never finished. Actually, most of the stuff I did then pretty much were all unfinished works. Maybe it was all just practice for the stuff I would do later... much, much later.

So these days, when I do my comic, Angel Ace, I look at how my style has changed over the years, how I've grown as a writer and as an artist, and how I can now finish things if I set my mind to it. I've come a long way. And I still have a long way to go yet. Hopefully.

Blasted Bastards.

It hasn't been normal lately, I have noticed, in terms of the level of security being placed in the city. The day before, I was on the MRT passing Camp Crame (local police and military headquarters) and I saw that in front of the main gate was a large barricaded area. Behind the makeshift zone were stationed a number of soldiers, apparently on high alert.
Several times as I passed by the area on taxi going home, pairs of heavily-armed police would walk by on patrol. Today, as I passed through a Cubao mall on my way to work, a long line had gathered at the door since the guards were thoroughly checking out bags of people going in.
The recent bomb blasts in Bali and in Zamboanga have really made people antsy. Just a little while ago, my mom texted me saying that I shouldn't go to malls for now since the bomb threat level is pretty high.
I can't picture my favorite haunts and hangouts desecrated by these damnable terrorists, and people getting blasted to bits for some stupid agenda or political point. I hope that it never happens, that the police and military remain always vigilant, and that every bloody fanatic, maniac, terrorist, zealot SOB just blows himself up in his dirty hiding hole. Damn them all. Damn them all to hell.

Have a job for me, do you?

I was commuting on my way to work today and the bus I was riding took a turn into the side streets of Cubao. As we were passing the various shops and offices, one particular sign caught my attention: JEDI Placement Agency
Keep this in mind in case you encounter some extremely persuasive secretaries, security guards, janitors or household helpers. They may just be Padawan Learners in disguise.

I am cold. I am ruthless. I am a bringer of death.

I am also bald, tall and have a penchant for black suits and matching gloves. Oh, and my name is just a number. Don't worry, I haven't gone crazy... well, crazier... I just got off playing Hitman 2: Silent Assassin on my Xbox.
Okay, I wasn't able to play the first game in the series, but as far as I know, Hitman 47 is a genetically-engineeered human created for the sole purpose of killing. I guess hair isn't a very useful body part for assassins, since he's bald (he looks and sounds like Professor X!). Anyway, as far as I can tell, 47 isn't really a bad person. In fact, Hitman 2 begins with the hairless one living quietly as a gardener in an Italian church. However, his past soon catches up with him when the kind old priest who took him in is kidnapped by some armed goons. Now 47 is forced to take off the gardener's gloves and don the black suit once again for a lot of killing.
Hitman 2 is a pretty cool, mature game. I say mature since it does involve quite a few moments of sexual situations (stuff you'd see in a mature action movie) and of course, lots of scenes of people getting shot, stabbed, strangled or blown up. While there's a lot of blood, there aren't any really gory stuff, but it is pretty mature so I really can't say I am comfortable with letting my little nephews see this (that is, unless I want them to learn where the best places to hide corpses are).
Anyway, one of the great things about Hitman is its open-endedness; if you have the mad skills, you can get through a mission with minimum loss of life, slipping into enemy-infested strongholds with the ease of a shadow and leaving only your target lifeless in your passing. Or, you could just grab the heaviest weapon you have and kill every bugger who gets between you and your quarry. That's me. Well, that isn't surprising since when I played Grand Theft Auto I racked up an astounding 24 people wasted in just a few minutes. Actually it was more bad driving rather than sheer murderous intent that got me that score... and people wonder why I don't get a car.
Bloody good fun. There aren't too many must-buy games on the Xbox, but Hitman 2 is a winner for me. Being brave and bald was never this fun.

My Precious...

I took home a load of loot tonight from Comic Quest (Damn you, Mike! Vampire!!!); Danger Girl Ultimate Collection, The Authority: Transfer of Power TPB, Marville #2 and the latest copy of Animerica.
I've always been a fan of Danger Girl, short-lived though it was and betrayed was I by the artist's defection to mercenary work instead of continuing the adventures of Abbey and company. I was so angry before that I didn't get the hardcover collected edition... but when I saw the new book, I just had to get it. After leafing through the pages, I felt really good. The art's still gorgeous, the girls as sexy and beautiful as ever (though I do notice a leaning to almost cartoonish caricaturization in the art towards the end of the series). Love it. Love it.
The Authority's another series that seems to be on its last legs, but I love the ultraviolence, the sex, the personality and edge of this title. I have to say that I don't care much for Frank Quitely's art, and how the usually gorgeous women of the Authority look... not beautiful... when he portrays them. But I can excuse that. The story's great and the latest TPB is more of what I love in this book. Hope it continues somehow, someway.
Marville... don't actually know why I got this. I guess it was for the Greg Horn cover. That guy just makes the most gorgeous painted covers. Elektra, Black Widow, Lara Croft, Christie from DOA... Darn. I heard that he uses his wife as his live model for his art. Darn, some guys have all the luck. Heh. Anyway, I scanned through it, and it looks pretty funny and the interior art is quite nice. Lots of cheescake too, so I may be in for a while on this one.
Animerica, well it's probably the closest to a regular newspaper for me...
I noticed that I was amassing quite a lot of comics and magazines that I bought the past weeks which I just set aside for reading... and I haven't read them YET. Darn. Am I starting to buy stuff just to buy stuff? Gotta make it a point to read the comics, play the games and watch the movies I buy. Or else I'll just become a... a miser.
That or a hairless, corrupted hobbit-creature. Geh...

Scary Taxi Story

After our customary after-closing rituals and drive to the drop-off point by Mike, I waited for a taxi cab at my customary spot. As usual, I was able to flag down a taxi without any trouble. But as I settled down into the passenger seat beside the old driver, he began to tell me about what had just happened to him.
Apparently, a few minutes before he got to me, the driver was being flagged down by a trio of youths. The driver saw that the guys looked pretty scruffy, and his veteran senses told him... these guys were up to no good; he even said he saw them whispering to each other that 'This guy (the taxi driver) would be their target'. He went on to say that while he could have just ignored the suspected hold-up men and just driven past, he actually stopped. He then told the guys that he would let them ride... as long as ALL of them rode in front beside him. He then made it pretty clear that he knew what they were up to and he was pretty much raring to give them a fight. Kill or be killed. As I was listening to this, I was just laughing to keep the tension down.
Apparently cowed by the driver's confrontational stance, and that they were probably newbies to their criminal activity, the guys hesitated, and then backed off. That happened apparently just a few minutes (or moments) before I got on.
As we made our way to my house, the driver went on to tell me about another incident years ago... when he was a lot younger. He took on two passengers (both male) who squirmed into the front passenger seat together. For awhile, the two men had him drive to various points, always changing the destination for some reason.
Eventually though, the men revealed their intentions; the farther guy drew a blade and tried to stab the driver. The driver was able to fend off the attack, draw his own weapon, and retaliate. The taxi was STILL moving at this point.
The driver was then able to stab the closer man, and then the other. The attackers then decided enough was enough, so they bailed. One guy took serious stabs to the chest and to the... balls. He fell out of the moving taxi pretty badly and was caught. The other, despite his wound, was able to escape.
What kinda scared me all this time was that the driver was enthusiastically gesturing with his free hand to where he stabbed his attackers. Good thing he didn't actually draw his weapon to show me...We eventually reached my stop, and as I got down I made sure to give the guy a tip. Not because I was scared... just because it was an exciting story and hold-up men are high on my damnation list. Commuting in the Philippines is not without danger, but I am glad I have so far been lucky to keep away from danger. Cross my fingers on that.
It would be really great though if I just had a ninja assassin like my comic character Kai to be there to karate-kick pickpockets, robbers and other criminals into the pavement. Sigh.

Well, at least I can still phone-whip any would-be attacker into submission...

Gone...

You never really notice the value of something until it's gone. It's like having a good friend, spending countless great times and experiences with him, and then eventually losing touch after a routine goes stale. Then one day, years later, you hear spot his obituary or something in the paper. That's how it feels like when I found out...

... that I will never be able to eat another meal at A&W restaurant in Fiesta Carnival, Cubao. Sigh.

I remember when I was just a kid; neither my brother or sister were married, and the family still went to church together Sunday morning. I remember I looked forward not necessarily to Mass, but to the certainty that we would have a hearty breakfast at A&W right after. I remember we'd drive right up and get a parking space easily every time (sign of the times). The family would get a table and order anything we'd like. The usual was I'd order a foot-long coney dog (chili-covered greatness) or the double-decker burger. Yeah, my appetite was pretty healthy even then. As a matter of course, my mom would order three orders of french fries which we would just dump in the middle of the table so we could get at them at our leisure.
After the meal, if we had room left over, we could order waffle cup sundaes. There was a special stand or section in the restaurant where you could order the things. My favorite was with fudge and plain M&Ms. After I worked my way past the ice cream, I would be left with the waffle cup shell, which by that time would be caramelized with the fudge and M&Ms... Damn that was good. We kept doing this for several years.
I don't remember just exactly when we stopped going... perhaps it was during the time that my sister started work... or something. Whatever the cause, we eventually forgot going out as a family as a routine during Sundays. And we stopped going there to A&W altogether. These days, the whole clan (my brother's and sister's families included) just have lunch together at home on weekends.
Which is just as well, since the service and the products have really gone down in quality after all these years (which is a sickness, I believe, in all fast-food franchises). There are only a few branches left. Some vanish and are replaced by other food outlets without so much as a whimper.
But this morning, when I looked at the spot where the Fiesta Carnival A&W was and saw a brand new Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, I couldn't help but think back. Oh well.

Those were damn good waffle sundaes.

Self Portrait?

Well, actually no... but I probably DO look like that when I'm playing a game. This is yet another gif based on my Angel Ace characters. He's Rip, your friendly neighborhood comedy sidekick. Whew! Love that gif animator! Heh.