hmm...
According to a study by Greek scientists, the length of a man's forefinger is an accurate indicator of the length of his penis. According to the study quoted in a Reuters report: "Age and (body measurements) were not associated with the size of the genitalia, excluding the index finger length, which correlated significantly with the dimensions of the flaccid, maximally stretched, penis."

I want to make a counter study on this.

Check this out!
Its the BEST concept for a clock I have even seen this year!
If only there was a way to have it on display permanently in my house.
http://www.lares.dti.ne.jp/%7Eyugo/storage/monocrafts_ver3/03/index.html

Neutral Grounds mini-convention
Without doubt I would say that the mini-convention, GameCon was a success!

From finally meeting Graham (who found the convention and interesting thing considering he had never been to such a public gathering in the past) and seeing Tom again (too bad there was no time to chat. Or no.. willingness?) it was an interesting day with loads of laughs, good moments and seeing old friends (Benedict, JP, some people from ABS-CBN, finally meeting more AEGIS people) and making new friends.

I ran two White Wolf demo games today:

The first being an Exalted for beginners.
The mix was a tremendously eclectic one; one long-time player, two long time gamers who have NOT tried Exalted, and two players who have not really tried roleplaying games yet. Without a doubt it was interesting to say the least. The perils of a bilingual society were reared up when the fact some of the gamers (unlike me) preferred to run the game in Filipino arose so quickly, I adapted to shifting languages depending on who it was I was facing.

The second was a Vampire: the Masquerade game.
And boy, was it an amazing game. The players were three guys who have long played Hunter: The Reckoning as well as Mummy. When they learned I was hosting a Vampire demo, they tried to sign up but three of the four slots for gamers were already taken. Thank God they were patient enough.

One of the three posters backed out, informing me via text that he could not stay to play. The two others simply disappeared. (I hate that!) So before you knew it, all three of the guys who wanted to play were able to play. And it was a very powerfully moving game. Though there were those moments the players seemed to lapse to FiIlipino or start declaring dialogue in broken English (e.g. and no, no offense meant "I throw that to distracted you.") the game still surged on with background music and fantastic dialogue! Bonus points to go two of them who actually willingly embraced (pun intended) the two female roles that were part of the pregenerated characters and spectacularly pulled it off. Frankly, I'd love to have another game with them some day.

A number of strangers also asked for my cellphone number. One even interrupted the Vampire game and had this interesting statement:

Guy: "Uh excuse me. Sorry to interrupt but, I know its doubtful you'd have time for another demo. But from what i have overheard so far, I would LOVE to play with you sometime. Can I have your number?"

I do hope all those people I gave demo games for, as well as gave my contact details too would find the time to join AEGIS and keep connected. There is a world of gamers out there in Manila! And yes, its nice to know the hobby ain't dying!

Not bad for a guy who has only had two hours of sleep, eh?

Quizzes can be cute
Okay, been playing around with Quizilla.
Making a quiz can be a tedious thing, I realise now. But damn, I'm gonna have fun with this more often very soon.
For now, try this little quickie I made.

You are not a word in the demonic dictionary: The
demons never expected someone like you to ever
exist. Congratulations, you are assured to be
their bitter foe and have safe passage to
Heaven... for now.


What forgotten demonic word are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Protector


The ULTIMATE personality test
brought to you by Quizilla

Overtime... Over na.
23 hours of overtime just this September 1 -15 pay period.
My god.
And its only the 17th of September, I've already clocked in 6 hours of overtime.
And frighteningly, these are hours not given my choice but due to necessity.
With the load of projects I handle, I've averaged something like ten storyboards in two weeks duration.
Just last Friday, I accomplished 9 of them in that single day alone.
Not to mention this awful project where I have to make a billboard design. The STUPID suppliers demanded I give them the final artwork in ACTUAL SIZE. My god. Ever tried to open a 40 foot x 40 foot photoshop image file?
Jazz it up with filters? Resize it? Save it?

Oh, the agony of it all.

And I'm not even getting laid anymore.
Where is the justice in that?

Sigh.

DAMN THEM. Then again, maybe I can join them?
NEW YORK'S NEW BEGGARS
By PHILIP RECCHIA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NETWORKING: Homeless "Tom," 20, chats on his cell phone with a friend in Philadelphia, another city with ample squat opportunities.

September 14, 2003 -- THEY have cell phones. They've got e-mail. They shop free at Old Navy, McDonald's and Virgin record stores. They have free access to acupuncture treatments, yoga classes and massage therapy.

Welcome to the coddled lifestyles of New York's new "homeless" - young kids who, besides getting pampered by charities, rake in hundreds of dollars a week begging on the street.

Cell-phone toting Dawn, who like most interviewed for this story did not wish her full name revealed, is one of their number, and she's staked out a corner at Fifth Avenue and 14th Street as her begging spot.

A sign at her feet reads, "Hungry, broke and miserable . . . All I want is a warm, safe place to stay until I . . . get back home . . . or back on my feet here."

Dawn told The Post she averages $40 a day panhandling - what the new homeless called "spanging" - but recently a stockbroker handed her $600 cash, saying he'd once been in similar straits.

"I don't spend my money on drugs, so I'm able to afford a cell phone, buy clothes and go to the movies once in a while," she said. "Part of the reason I'm living like this is to get away from the material life."

Each summer, hundreds of the new homeless arrive from as far away as Texas and California, looking for jobs, handouts and companionship. Then they retreat to warmer climates around this time of year, when the first chills set in.


Peaceful, articulate and well-read, they're more likely to resemble Grateful Dead groupies than the freight-train-hopping hobos of yore.

And while these predominately white, liberally pierced and tattooed kids - one of whom told The Post his stepfather is a Wall Street bond salesman - are all, as Dawn has it, getting "away from material life" and sleeping on the streets, they're often still first in line for charity handouts.

The social service of choice for the new homeless these days is a "drop-in center" called Streetwork, a few blocks from the Manhattan Bridge.

It was set up two years ago by homeless youth agency Safe Horizon, after then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani's efforts to clean up Times Square pushed many homeless out of the area.

"These kids tells us, 'This is the life I've chosen,' but in reality they've run away from home because they couldn't conform to Middle America life," said David Nish, associate vice president of Streetwork.

IN addition to offering basics like showers and health counseling, the nonprofit program holds focus groups to help ensure the homeless kids are treated like average American youth, rather than feeling institutionalized.

"If they like a certain brand of clothing or a certain type of food or music, we do our best to provide it," said Nish.

Almost all of the new homeless wear boxer shorts, so the center gives those out instead of briefs.

George, a 22-year-old squatter from Lexington, Ky., told The Post that last Christmas Streetwork gave him $20 gift certificates to Old Navy and McDonald's, in exchange for taking a survey about drug use.

But while the city cares, many of the city workers who deal with the great unwashed believe the coddling should end.

"These kids could work if they wanted - sweeping up, washing dishes or whatever," said a police lieutenant who broke up a group of about 30 gutter punks in Tompkins Square Park last week after four of them staged a concert without a permit.

"But they get free food and clothes all around this area, so they don't have to do anything," the lieutenant said. "I've never heard any of them talk about a job."

A supervisor at East River Park, where many of the new homeless sleep, also has little sympathy for his guests.

He told The Post, "They come over here - sometimes in cabs - and do drugs every night. I'd say that 98 percent of them are on heroin. They leave so many needles around that we've had to hire people just to pick them up."

Karen, a 21-year-old gutter punk from Silverthorn, Colo., takes umbrage at the allegation she and her pals are drug addicts.

"That's bulls- - -," she said. "I've done some hard drugs, like a lot of us around here. But not any more frequently than anyone else our age in New York." She said she's been trying to get a job as a janitor all summer, but no one would even talk to her.

"People here suck," Karen added before crawling back into her sleeping bag and dozing off under the late-summer sun.

THE consolation for Karen and the rest of the new homeless who find our surly city tough going is that a remedy is close at hand, in the form of electronic communication.

Dawn, 21, who comes from San Francisco, says she keeps in touch with her friends by phone and e-mail.

"I buy prepaid phone cards so I can talk to my friends in California and so my boyfriend can find me around here during the day," she said, pulling a squeaky-clean cell phone out from its hiding place in the base of a street lamppost.

She sends e-mails from PCs at Streetwork and public libraries, where she also charges her cell phone.

Dawn left home when she was 13 because her parents were drug addicts. She hasn't spoken to them since.

After dropping out of college, she took an office job, which proved "too rigid and stressful," so she hit the road.

Earlier this, year she squatted in an abandoned building in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn for several months, but it was condemned. Now she sleeps on the streets around NYU.

She's thinking of getting a job as a bike messenger and hopes to be an English teacher some day. But she also says she's in no huge rush to get a job.

Dawn's boyfriend, 21-year-old Tom, is another of the new homeless. He met Dawn in Los Angeles and comes from a totally different family background to her.

The oldest of four children, he grew up on a 200-year-old Victorian estate in Chatham, N.J. and his stepfather sells municipal bonds at HSBC Bank on Wall Street.

Tom left home five years ago after getting kicked out of school for drinking and playing hooky. He remains on speaking terms with his parents, but they no longer give him money.

While passing through Minneapolis last year, he spent the night in jail for giving police a false name. Otherwise, he said, he has no criminal record.

The last job he had was working construction in New Jersey 18 months ago.

Recently, he'd planned to apply to a Starbucks in Manhattan but was sick the day of his interview. He did manage to turn up when the drop-in center distributed some free Virgin records vouchers last Christmas.

Like his girlfriend, he spanges around NYU, though makes only about half as much as she does.

The couple is thinking about going to Philadelphia this fall to find another squat.

"There are 31,000 abandoned buildings down there," Dawn said. "Ideally, we'll be able to live for free."

"I don't find joy in a 9-to-5 gig," Tom told The Post. "I'm kind of happy with the way things are now. And if it ever gets to the point where I'm not, I'll change my life."

The Zen of SexBomb's Spaghetti
Dear Friends,
From another newsgroup.
Here is an email from a student of Dr. Tapang. Intro
ni Gani:

"Who says physics majors cannot be music critics? Here
is an email from one of the students in my laboratory
in UP. Hindi lang music critic,
linguist pa yata. Read on, its fun."


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Spaghetti and Enlightenment
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 14:57:57 +0800


I can die now. My life is complete. I have heard the
latest Sexbomb Girls album in its entirety and now I
have heard everything. My deepest thanks to my mom for
choosing to live in a neighborhood
where the people are so 'giving' they will allow you
to hear their CD collections for free, at 6 in the
morning! Every single day! Oh you don't
understand it do you? To wake up every single day to
the sound of girls who are better off cheerleading
than singing; to hear songs about pasta going up and
down and sideways and what the hell does it all
mean?!!;

To hear the words laban and bawi in varying
intensities e.g. la la la la la la labaan!! ba ba ba
ba ba ba baweeee!!! LAAAABAAAAN! BAAAWIIII!
AWWWW! AWWWWW! AWWWWW! YES! YES! AWWWWWWW!
It is an experience you should not miss. It can serve
both as an alarm clock and my ongoing experiment on
the limits of human patience. I recommend it highly.

In the spirit of sharing, I will try-emphasis on try-
to review the first single off the album. Why only the
first single? Well, because I don't feel qualified to
review the whole thing. That job is reserved for a
music critic with a triple masters degree in
philosophy, nuclear physics and forensic psychology.
The album is that, dare I say it,
PROFOUND. Actually, its beyond profound, it's....
it's.... words fail me.

Here goes nothing. The title of the single I assume is
'Spaghetti.' The title alone is pure genius.
Spaghetti as we all know is a favorite
among Pinoys of all ages. The message the title is
trying to send out is: the Sexbomb Girls are not only
for kids but for all ages.

The song starts with a sound straight from a kiddie
carousel or those old owner-type jeeps which plays
Muzak while parking or backing up. To
the uninitiated, this may mean a lack of imagination
on the composer's side but alas, the truth is, that
intro is meant to appeal to our
neotenic(?) urges.

In a world filled with stress and anxiety , the intro
lulls us into a trance and brings us back to feelings
of childhood without worries. It hypnotizes us into
shedding our inhibitions; to be innocent and childlike
once more, subliminally preparing us for the wrath of
the killer chorus.

Suddenly, a guy who suspiciously sounds like Joey de
Leon starts counting from 5 to 8. Why the numbers 1 to
4 were left out is anybody's guess. It is one of the
mysteries of this song that may never be unraveled,
rivaling that of JFK's real killer. It could be part
of the Bible code.

This is then followed by the girls themselves
screaming "Makinig kayo!"
Obviously a paean to that very famous Marc Anthony
speech that goes like; "Friends, Romans, Countrymen,
lend me your ears." This is the
girls' way of introducing a bit of Shakespeare to
their unsuspecting public.

There is no stopping the girls now.

Apir tayo (give me five?) (let us appear?)
Sumakit ang ulo ko (my head aches)
Sumakit ang dibdib ko (my chest aches)
Sexbomb(3x)

Apir tayo
Sumakit ang bewang ko (My waist aches)
Sumakit ang tuhod ko (my knee aches)
Sexbomb(3x)

The girls are obviously suffering from an existential
kind of pain. It is a pain so deep it transcends both
the physical and the metaphysical
worlds. To give high fives while experiencing a
severe form of arthritis and ulceritis is a metaphor
for the superficiality of everyday living where
outward appearances are more valued; where
everything is based on 'pakikisama' even if inside you
feel like being eaten alive by amoeba. As long as
you're presentable and maintain a good, albeit
hypocritical relationship with everybody, it's okay
even if you are suffering inside. Oh the humanity!

Here goes the chorus:
Spaghetting (still in their Shakespearean mode of
inventing words, the girls decide to make the Italian
word spaghetti a Tagalog one by adding
ING.) pababa pababa ng pababa (going down going down
going down)

Spaghetting pataas pataas ng pataas (going up going up
going up)

This may sound like a tour guide of an elevator but
it isn't. REALLY.

Another metaphor for life’s little vicissitude, the
girls are obviously referring to the circle of life
You dense person you! Whatever goes up
must come down is what they're trying to say. Life is
but a cycle with high highs and low lows. The
spaghetti they re talking about is US! Yes! You and
me! It's about being boiled and cooked and overcooked.
It's about being paired with cheese and hotdogs and
other ingredients that are not supposed to be there.
It's about being eaten! It's about being part of a
society where everything is the same yet different.
It's about being accepted even if you’re too sweet or
too sour or too spicy.
It's about survival. It's about adapting. It's about
LIFE.

Man, these girls and their songs are like the most
complex things to ever come out of the Pinoy music
scene. I've always thought Radiohead is the most
cryptic band there is but now I know I'm wrong. I have
been enlightened.

Listen and you will be, too.

--
Giovanni Tapang, Ph.D.
Research Visitor
Computational Nonlinear and Quantum Optics Group
Department of Physics and Applied Physics, University
of Strathclyde
107 Rottenrow Glasgow United Kingdom

RPG: Musical
I'll have to reschedule this game for early next year.
Not in a sing-song mood.

Bummer weekend
Things are going to change.
That's for sure.

From a group to three..
Had another hell of a singing night with Carl and Ford.
Music21 should really start giving us more than 10% off.

Ford and I arrived around 7:30pm after having a quick light dinner at ABS-CBN's cafeteria. It was funny, how we both ordered practically the same thing (except Ford got an extra drink. "Drink more fluids" after all was what I stressed him to keep in mind since he had the cough).

With a short stab at some warm-up songs, we got the hang of singing without feeling too foolish. Soon enough Carl finally shows up and boy does the night get really fun. Ford and I toss musical moments with Rock DJ and The Nearness of You while Carl and I had a great time singing a few duet classics of ours: Loving You, I Dreamed a Dream and all there of us had a blast with Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka.

Unlike most nights, though, this one was intended to end early, so even before 10:30pm came along, we said our goodbyes and headed off for home.

Next week: Another Videoke night is on the horizon. This time, with even more people coming to sing!
I can't wait!

Gah, it is 2:06am
And I have just returned home from a terribly long day at work.
The shoot with Martin and Vina went spectacular. Had loads of fun. Wish I could post some of the pictures from that shoot here but I don't have any webspace that permits hyperlinking. Ah. Ideas anyone?

I can't wait for later around 7p.m.
It'll be videoke time again. I do hope not too many people are there, so Carl and I and whoever else has come along do get all the time we hope to sing our stress away and pretend for a few hours that we are Divas and Dons for the night. Ah, the joys of being a star for a moment.

Strangely...
It has been silent on the release of Diliman issue 10.
Surprising for me since there was a lot of interest in my online comic. I guess the interest has died out.

Whoa!
Once again, Elbert makes me green with envy.
Check out his circle of artisans.

High point for the night
I was chatting away with an old friend, Julie, when the conversation led to a wonderful high point for the evening.
Here is the chat transcription with her permission:
selena_genovese: hey..do you know Jason Carl?
tobito_abad: ? who that
selena_genovese: he's one of the freelance writers for White Wolf
selena_genovese: he co wrote Laws of the Night
tobito_abad: you know him?
selena_genovese: *nods*
selena_genovese: i met him online
tobito_abad: ooh
tobito_abad: wow
tobito_abad: inggit ako
selena_genovese: he read some of your articles *g*
tobito_abad: no way
tobito_abad: when
tobito_abad: can you send me his contact or something? would love to chat with him
selena_genovese: well..i was telling him about what a great GM you are and showed him your page on gaming articles and such
selena_genovese: he said he read the one on sanguinus a long time ago
selena_genovese: i will have to ask him first..he's a bit shy about people knowing
tobito_abad: hey, you can share my website addy. have a few more stuff there too. :"-)
tobito_abad: me happy.
selena_genovese: good..cause he said he wanted to show some friends of his..lol
tobito_abad: show some friends of his? show what?
selena_genovese: your site
tobito_abad: WHOOOOOOOOO!!! am happy am proud! whoooo!
tobito_abad:
tobito_abad:
selena_genovese: with all the articles..he even made me email it to him so he doesnt lose it
selena_genovese: lol..yes he likes your writing
tobito_abad: Hot damn... can i post this chat in my blog. This is really a HIGH point for me for today!
selena_genovese: sure

Such a rush! Another high point that happened late this afternoon was me bumping into Apa Ongpin and chatting away about publishing, macinotsh computers and whatnots. Eventually I asked if ABS-CBN Publishing had any plans to release local comics books. One thing led to another and he asked if I had made comics of my own. Telling him about my indie comic DILIMAN, he asked for my card and the URL of the site. Whoopie!!!! I do hope these are signs of good things to come my way.

Diliman issue 10
Is now ONLINE.
Hooray!

Its a slower day today
Work, though still as loaded as before, is having a slow start today.
Already, some officemates are sick, others are sleepy and I'm starting to feel a tad taste of both.
I can't wait til Thursday. Thursday will be another singing day. Another musical day. Wednesday though... well, tomorrow will be a day loaded with work. I have a pictorial and a shoot with Martin Nievera. Should be a breeze but then again, I am expecting complications to slow things down. Murphy's Law and all that.

Had a single cigarrete.
That's all for the day I guess.

Diliman issue 10
Be ready for it.
It is coming.
Very soon.

Mondays are long and boring
Its Monday again. Gosh, why does the weekend always pass you by so quickly.
Lots of interesting twists and turns so far within the last 48 hours. Its hard to imagine everything so quickly come to a halt the moment Monday rears its head. Well, we make the most of what we can.

End of All Sorrows rises to higher peaks
My currently on-going tabletop Exalted game has reached a new zenith. With the players achieving the unthinkable (They destroyed the deathlord known as the Dowager, as well as got into Malfeans, made deals with a Yozi and other demons and killed the Scarlet Empress) as well as bringing my plot forward far faster than I anticipated (One player started forming an army.. something I planned to get them to consider doing only after four more sessions. Another decided to finish reading the Broken-Wing Crane which I planned to be a major decision to be done after around six more sessions.) I found myself excitedly mapping out the coming next four sessions with much more relish than before. One thing for certain though, I need to stock up with more double AA alkaline batteries. Can't have my music CD player running out of energy before the session ends again.

Swiftsure
Bumped into an old friend named Chris yesterday. We used to meet up quite often, having coffee and trading stories. Shared lots of laughs and reminisced on a lot of things. A pity how the world can at times be cruel on those instances you find yourself just enjoying the moment. But I guess a little rain does have to fall at times.
Till the next chance we get to talk and have coffee, buddy.

Trading trades!
In the spirit of sharing and we-don't-have-much-moolah, Carl and I shall be exchanging a few Tbps to expand on our reading. I'll be lending him my The Authority, while he'll lend me Blankets. I wonder if I'll enjoy reading Blankets. I tend to be quite picky in my readings. And wary of those that might be too commonly popular (hence you don't really see me reading books like Avengers, Superman and the like, but I dig my teeth into stuff like Kabuki, Xombi and Shadow Cabinet.

I want to go singing (again).
Mag-vi-videoke ako this Thursday.
Hopefully, others can join me in my crooning and singing.
Somehow, I sense it might be a cold solo though.

free enneagram test
Type Seven
The Enthusiast
The busy, productive type. Sevens are extroverted, optimistic, versatile, and spontaneous. Playful, high-spirited, and practical, they can also misapply their many talents, becoming over-extended, scattered, and undisciplined. They constantly seek new and exciting experiences, but can become distracted and exhausted by staying on the go. They typically have problems with impatience and impulsiveness. At their Best: they focus their talents on worthwhile goals, becoming appreciative, joyous, and satisfied.

Friday at last!
Ah yes, its friday at last.
Sadly, the server for DILIMAN is still wonky. I can't seem to update the site still. Almost reconsidering the very cheap offer I got for the webspace.
Sigh.

On other matters, have 9 storyboards to revise, approve and email to clients abroad today. Ladeeda... what a day.

Well, at least I get moolah to have an apartment and buy the books (well, some of them) that I like.
Sigh.

Somewhere out there, people are cheering
Colin Farrell's Great Gay Romp...

Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell is about to take on a very risqué new role in his latest movie Alexander The Great, the young Dubliner will have to enact his first gay love scene.

Colin Farrell's rise to fame has been confirmed as the 27 year old actor, who celebrated his birthday yesterday, has been given his first starring role in Alexander the Great. In the past Colin has costarred movies with Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, and Tom Cruise.

But the role requires Colin to hop into bed with another man for a good old fashioned gay romp in the Oliver Stone directed movie.

Colin said of his role: "Alexander The Great was bisexual. Back then there was no phrase for that. It was just the way society existed. It was just sexuality and about making love to men and women."

We wonder if Colin will take a Daniel Day-Lewis approach to the role and immerse himself completely into the 'ins-and-outs' of the character? Doubtful...

Runes on my online comies
Inspired by Carl's casting of the runes, here's my runes.
The question: What lies ahead for me and my online comics?

Your Name: Antonio Gabriel Abad Abad IV
Your Date of Birth: 04/25/1977
Your Question or Information: What is in store for me and my online comics

Past Tir - Victory, leadership, success over other competitors, increase in finances, virility and passion (especially for men).

Present Eihwaz - Banishing magick, removal of obstacles and delays, invoking foresight, clearing up hidden issues and situations.

Future Berkana - Growth, abundance, fertility, Mother Earth, protection, the zenith of an idea or situation.

Cast the runes here:
Rune Caster

Overtime groans
Its the first day of September and already I got overtime blues to groan over. Just last pay period, I clocked in over 22 hours of overtime, including the hours I spent working on Quezon City day. I guess this pay period will try to test that record for the year.

Juggling so many projects, I really wonder now on the chances my plans of flying to Los Angeles for a break will still happen this year. My parents keep warning me, "Work will always be there, you will always find more work." I know, its a truth.
But I guess I just care about my co-workers too much to be willing to pass on to them all the workload in my hands right now.

Ah.
I am too much a fucking martyr at times.

ZSAZSA ZATURNNAH and CARLO VERGARA
My most sincere congratulations to Carl for winning in the National Book awards this year!
His comic, Ang Kagila-gilalas na pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah, a wonderful story about a gay guy who finds a magical rock that transforms him into a gorgeous superheroine, now an upcoming film, has won over readers regardless of their sexual orientation!

Carl! Galeng mo talaga. You are my idol sobra.
:-)