Reunion

Incredibly enough, I was able to tear myself away from the Food Channel and make my way to Comic Quest. New stocks (which had been delayed for some reason) were arriving, and the gang was expecting Arnold and Cynthia to spend dinner with us tonight. Me, Dean, Gig and Jason chatted the hours away to closing time with fellow bloggers Charles and Jay. We talked about stuff that ranged from anime to manga to fetishes, the last topic pretty much scandalizing Charles (shame on us for corrupting the pure youth!).
Anyway, despite my urgent need to keep spending down, I couldn't resist and got myself a copy of Dreamwave's Street Fighter comic (which looks good). I also got a copy of Game Masters, which is apparently the first quality magazine (distributed by Summit) all about videogames. I'll give it the once over and say if it's worth the 95 peso-cover price. But the gem of the night for me has to be a sample CD from 'fake' manga artist Honoel Ibardolaza, whose work simply floors me with its detail and color. Honoel worked with me on Hainaku's Game Girl story, and on a story for the upcoming Cherry Blossom High manga.
Afterwards, the group headed to Residencia and met with our long-lost friends. In honor of Cynthia, we dined at Salsa Rossa and had a rowdy night of stories, ranging from crank phone calls to the LOTR films to Dean and Nikki's little princess, Sage. Arn and Cynch, really glad to have you guys back, even for a little while!

Saturday's beckoning, and my vacation's almost at an end. Gotta make the most of the day. A haircut, trek to Greenhills, movie and more are planned.

If I can tear myself away again from the TV. Heh...

Boring Discoveries

Since there's already Animal Planet, why the HECK are there still boring nature and animal features being shown late night on Discovery Channel? Every time I tune in at night there are seals, snakes, elephants, lions, tigers and bears (Oh, my!) staring back at me. Give me forensic shows. Or Travel features. Or Ancient Warriors. Or other mysteries of the cosmos. GAH!

Sizing up for a new suit

After a couple of days of relaxing and just kicking back in the cold, clean and orderly expanse of the Sanctum, I got to think about what's ahead of me. The past year was a mish-mash of various experiences and events which led me, inexorably, here (Yes, I stole that last tone from the Architect from Matrix Reloaded).
I'm about to embark on the latest leg of my professional life. It's really not that far away from what I have been doing for the past eight or so years (DAMN, have I really been working for eight years?). I'm still in advertising. I will still be writing, I guess. I will still be thinking and conceptualizing and selling ads. However, there's something subtly different. This time, my responsibilities are slightly wider, my focus broader. Instead of just being concentrated on words and copy as a copywriter, I have to now look at the bigger picture, so to speak. My new designation in my new place of employment is that of associate creative director, and that is something unfamiliar to me.
Or is it? Even before, I have not been limited to just writing scripts and words. I've been lucky enough to be blessed with visualization talents (I can draw), so I can actually illustrate and visualize the very TV scripts I write. In extremis, I can do the odd layout or two, though I've never really gone into it seriously since I am first and foremost a wordsmith. Someone else gets paid for that part of the process.
So here I am, getting ready for a position that obviously comes with a challenge; an understanding of responsibility, dedication, drive and initiative. I'll be looking on ads as a whole. I have to worry about how an ad looks as well as reads. And perhaps most of all, I will have to worry about selling the ad to clients. Well, I'm not averse to dealing with the customer, so no problem. Actually, I've done these things before, but it's only now that I am actually doing it as part of my work description. Which is great, actually.

I'm handling this as I handle most everything else; meeting it head on. Whatever I don't already have to accomplish any job, I'll pick up on the way. There are just some things that have to be remembered. Think things through. Meet deadlines no matter what. Always be yourself. And never treat anyone like shit.

I start next week.

So till then... I'm kicking back a little more. And deeper. Better be careful not to fall off the chair though.

Extended Play

I spent a good part of the day watching the Extended Cut of The Fellowship of the Ring, which is probably unknown to most people since it's only available in an expensive and not widely-available DVD set. I recommend this to anyone who loves film, and in particular, the masterful films by Peter Jackson. The sheer amount of material, from the two extra dvds worth of featurettes to the four entertaining and insightful audio commentaries makes this probably one of the BEST dvds available.
Anyway, it's really cool to watch this movie, and even after The Two Towers I still regard it as the better of the two movies (though TTT is no slouch by any length), with the awesome setpieces like the opening prologue battle, the Trek into Moria and the Balrog. I am really looking forward to the extended version of TTT, and to Return of the King, which should see theater release here in Manila by January. I have read that they will be showing the Extended Cut of Fellowship in the US prior to the release of ROTK; I wonder if they'll do that here?
This early, I am already planning my LOTR marathon watch with all three movies. I am such a fan. Heh.

Alias


Drip, drip...

Watched an advance episode of Alias on Studio 23. I know, I know... I am spoiling the surprises and pace by doing that, but seeing bikini-clad Jennifer Garner AKA Sydney Bristow climb and drip out of a pool in glorious slow motion made the risk of spoiling the story worth it.

Now I want that Elektra movie more than ever. Heh.

State of Mind

A few hours ago, I received a disturbing text from a friend of mine which made me call him up immediately to see if he was all right.

In not so many words, he was in a bad way, and it involved his lovelife. It was the first time I had ever seen or at least heard him in such a state, and I was unnerved. When we talked, he remarked about how he thought I was so lucky to be apparently immune to the heartaches of having to be in a relationship; to be able to get through life single and apparently without a care or problem in the world.
If I wasn't trying so hard to console him, I would have laughed at how wrong he was that I had no problems. But truth be told, yes, love troubles weren't any of them.
I've known many people who are in relationships for various reasons. I know a couple of... couples... who are very much in love, and I do feel a tang of envy whenever I see them, or even hear of them. I wish that someday I can find that soul mate or perfect partner who will share all my interests, loves, aches, quirks and other aspects with nothing more than a smile. I wish I will someday find her, but I am actually not yearning for it.
I'm having too much fun right now.
For a while I thought I was winding down, but I am actually only getting started.
I have a life to live.
Responsibilities that will both challenge and reward my one hundred percent effort.
Stories to tell.
People to meet.
Food to taste.
Games to play.
Sights to see.
Jokes to laugh or groan at.

Most of them are so trivial and ludicrous, but so much the better. If we can live for such small, personal details, isn't that so neat?

I pray that my friend will get over this obstacle he has encountered, with my help and that of our other mates. Life's too precious to throw away.

The Flesh is Weak.

I decided to stay home today and I resolved to keep from spending needlessly. Well, what do you know? I eventually ordered an Ultimate Cheese Pizza with Sausage Stuffed Crust to sate my hunger. It's not fair, I tell you, since you can't even get solace in TV. There was a show on the Lifestyle Channel all about Italian food, and it just threw me over the edge. Sigh.
Oh well, it was food and you really can't regret food. And it WAS darn delicious. Heh.

Sigh.

Spring Cleaning

Do my hands hurt.

I spent pretty much the whole day trying to reorganize The Sanctum, using a vacuuming the floor, piling up a decade's worth of gaming magazines (ranging from the days of the Super Nes), comics, VHS tapes, CDs and DVDs and the odd esoteric device. My hands were constantly blackened with dust, battered and cut tender by the various objects. I really should have worn work gloves to protect my fingers from the hard, edged things like CDs and CD cases. Ouch.
Anyway, it seems to have paid off. The place looks a lot better, and I feel good. Despite being a single male who loves games and anime, I also love order and revel in neatness and general clean atmosphere. But the battle isn't over yet... the piles of comics I have are just screaming for a space-saver container to seal them in from dust. I'll try to get one ASAP. Then there's the surprisingly large amount of local comic material, accumulated after almost ten years of running with Alamat and other local comic groups. That's history right there... although I have to admit quite a few moments of posterity got crumpled up and thrown out today. Oh well. I'm a guy who lives for the moment, anyway. Heh.

Zsa Zsa Recognized!

Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah has won this year's National Book Award for Best Comic from the Manila Critics' Circle. Of course, drinks and cheers go to writer/artist/creator Carl Vergara, who is probably still reeling at this time. Congratulations, Carl! WOOHOO!

Tit for Tat

Sometimes we get things not because we want them or because they're necessarily better... sometimes we just get things... just because.
Take my cable service, for example. A couple of months ago I had Destiny Cable on my TV. The reception was crappy (perhaps this was just due to my connection) but it had all the shows I loved. I had TechTV, a geeky tech and computer channel that gave me my fix of videogame reviews. Aside from that, the tech news and latest gadget reviews were far more informative and relevant to me than other stuff... including the tabloid-ish Fox News. Another thing I enjoyed was NOW Channel, a European channel that also had videogame and tech shows.
Finally there's the Discovery Travel and Leisure Channel, which contains my favorite Globe Trekker re-runs and food shows like Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour.

When fricking AXN took their stuff and abandoned Destiny, I made a decision to switch to Sky Cable since I felt I could not live without my Alias and CSI fixes. Now, I have no NOW Channel. No Discovery Travel and Leisure. No TechTV. In return, I have the Star Network channels again (which is neat) and Cinemax. The Lifestyle Channel is a poor substitute for Discovery Leisure- the food shows are nowhere near as down-to-earth and visceral or as appetitzing as Globe Trekker or Cook's Tour, and it's not even on the whole day!

So this is how I stand. I lost all my fave shows and channels for good reception and lots of shows which I really don't need.

And about AXN... I only recently realized I could have access to Alias and CSI episodes quite easily without need for waiting for them to air on the action network. ARGH.

Oh well... at least the reception is impeccable. That counts for something.

From here on in, I'm gonna have to make sure the stuff I acquire and move into are for the better. One can't live with regret or indecision and expect to end up with the brass ring. Anyway, I don't think my decision to switch channels was wrong. It's just new. Now I have to get used to it. Like most things, you grow into them with time and experience.

National Book Awards

This evening, the National Book Awards will be held at Megamall's Megatrade Hall, honoring the past year's best local releases in publishing and literature. Of special interest to me is the Comic catergory, where two of my friends will be going at it head-to-head. One is of course Arnold Arre, two-time winner and now entered with his romantic-comedy graphic novel, After Eden. The other is Carlo Vergara, with his quirky superhero/heroine comedy adventure/drama, Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah. Carl was nominated the last time for One Night in Purgatory, a gay-themed graphic novel.
Good luck, guys. You're both winners in my book.

From Fighting Mummies to Zombies


Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) in action.

A familiar name to fans of The Mummy films has joined the cast of the upcoming Resident Evil: Apocalypse movie. Actor Oded Fehr (Who played the cool Tuareg warrior Ardeth Bey) will be appearing as Carlos Olivera, a mercenary working for the insidious Umbrella Corporation. With his familiar beard and moustache shaven, Fehr looks little like his previous onscreen characters. We'll be looking forward to seeing him kick zombie butt with Alice (Milla Jovovich) and Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) when RE: Apocalypse is unleashed in theaters.

Angel Musings


Hi, Marc! Long time no see!

After working on various side projects in comics that include a couple of comic anthologies (Hainaku 3 is already out and selling well, I am told. YES! The other, Cherry Blossom High, should be out in the next few months), I am finally back to working with my manga unica hija, Angel Ace. She's been a patient dear despite the fact that I have been fully occupied with other cute manga babes, all of which have their own charms and quirks.
Anyway, it looks good. The next issue of Angel Ace should be a BIG issue, even bigger than the original issue one which clocked in at 72 pages. There will be laughs, tears, action, cuteness, thrills, chills, an aerial battle AND the return of a certain cute little furball. Heh.
We're looking for a release within the next few months, perhaps in time for the C3Con (if there is one). I'm crossing my fingers on this one, as I do with everything else. It's all in the timing.

Closing up shop

Today I went to a production house to screen a TV commercial for client's approval. Of course, there was free food aplenty; Chili's chicken fingers, buffalo wings and fajitas for the taking. For dessert, there were two kinds of cake- honey and chocolate. Yum.
The next time I go to a production house for any TV production, it will be for a different agency, in a different place, for different people. Oh well. I'll be finishing up things into next week, and then it's time to move on.

Awaiting The Return

Yesterday I went off and bought my reserved copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers region 1 dvd. I had put down a hundred bucks to ensure I got a copy yesterday, and it turned out to be not really necessary, as there were more than enough copies to go around. Anyway, I got it and brimming with glee went over to gloat at Comic Quest. Well, it's not really all that, if you consider that it doesn NOT come with audio commentaries or the much-awaited deleted scenes and new stuff. All of these super-special things will come with the coming 4-disc extended version set, in November. But anyway, as before, this disc is the theatrical version, and comes with featurettes, trailers, MTVs, Sean Astin's short film and best of all, previews of the extended TTT set AND the upcoming Return of the King.
THe ROTK preview came like the one in the Fellowship dvd; we come in at WETA studios and watch real-life hobbit and director Peter Jackson open up the show with some small talk. THEN it gets good. Suffice to say, The Two Towers was just the little leagues... Helm's Deep in all it's grandeur was nothing more than a skirmish. The coming battles in ROTK will feature thousands upon thousands of warriors; Saruman's 10,000 Uruk-Hai are like a recon patrol in comparison to the size of the force that Sauron will field against Minas Tirith. All of us; Vin, Carl, Jason, visitor Jay and me... were all slack-jawed and giddy with anticipation. It's going to be a long... wait... till... December... ACK. That's January for us poor fools in the Philippines. Unless a bootleg comes along... HA HA!!!

Real-life Caper

Today, while I was passing away the time at the office, a scant several blocks away downstairs, fifteen armed men were breaking into the main branch of Citibank. Yep, FIFTEEN. I mean, in the Die Hard movie, Hans Gruber only had like, twelve. These guys came and stormed over the guards probably (Guard: "Hey, my contract only goes up to five-man gangs. Go on ahead."), taking what available money was at the desks and within easy reach. They then withdrew, running smack dab into responding police units. Apparently, a short gun battle ensued, though no one was apparently killed or wounded. As of this writing, the gang's getaway van (a white L-300) was found, abandoned.

Perhaps someone watched too many viewings of The Italian Job or Ocean's Eleven. Damn. These things are exactly what we don't need right now. Aside from the big crimes, a teeny crime occured closer to home. My brother's secretary apparently got slashed with a blade on her scalp while coming to the house to work. She said she didn't feel a thing until she felt locks of her hair falling. Examination showed a small bald spot where a razor may have been applied. This, she said, probably happened on the jeep she rode, where two suspicious men sat behind her.

Criminals. BAH. If it were up to me, I'd have professional ninja take these scum out of circulation permanently, as they are caught in the act. Wipe them out. All of them. Grrr. VANISHING RAY!!!

Rainy Holiday

While I had the inclination to just stay indoors, I just couldn't pass up going out and enjoy the day. I went over to Greenhills, pretty much coasting along the mostly-clear roads. The drizzle was pretty persistent, so the day had a fresh, watery scent to it which I always find pleasant. Passing through the usual stalls I got myself some dvd-clear copies of X2 and Finding Nemo (which I seem to have missed in the theaters). I also got some anime; the final episodes of Ninja Scroll TV, and a copy of the new Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Spriggan, Blood: the Last Vampire) feature, Kai Doh Maru. KDM is apparently based on Japanese myth, about a young girl who is raised as a boy and becomes one of four 'holy knights' who defend the capital from evil. It's supposed to have some unique visual styles, but the fact that it is apparently shorter than the less-than-an-hour-long Blood doesn't bode well. Still, I have to see it.
After the purchases and having a nice sandwich meal at Bread Connection (try their classic, yummy Double Decker-egg and bacon sandwich), I went into Theater Mall and saw The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for the second time. I have to say it seems to have gotten better this time around. I am definitely picking up the DVD when it eventually comes out. It kinda sucks that the film didn't break records at the box office; I do hope a second League movie eventually happens... oh well.
I went back home to enjoy my stuff and pencil some more pages for Angel Ace. It won't be long before I start inking them, rendering and then it'll be all about getting some hard cash to publish it. Well, we're working on that front too.
Still raining outside. I guess the karaoke party pushed through. Heh.

Holiday!

Today's a special non-working holiday. I am planning on just taking this time to kick back in the Sanctum, fix up my things, rest, recharge, look back on this week's events, plot my course in the coming weeks, read up on some reference books, play some games and watch some anime. The rest of the gang has been planning a karaoke orgy for some time now on this day, and of course I am sealing myself in my bunker until that madness is over. Heh-heh. Have fun, guys and gal. I know I will.

MAY DANCING SUN!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!

MY GOSH.

I never expected this. Never saw it coming. Didn't think it would happen in my lifetime.

I just resigned from my job. A major upheaval in my career. Yet that recent reverberation pales in comparison to the shock I received just now.

Nikki Alfar finally has a blog.

A Contradiction In Terms

Go and visit one classy lady/kinky vamp at nikkialfar.blogspot.com!

I have to lie down.

The new, improved Arnold Arre!

My friend, painter and artist extraordinaire and graphic novellist par excellence, Arnold Arre (Mythology Class, Trip to Tagaytay) has gotten a new look for his personal website, of course provided by the love of his life and fiancee, Cynthia Bauzon. Check out the wonderful, colorful images. And there are nude babes too! Heh.