Sunday, October 29, 2006

HAPPY HALLOWEEN



It wasn't as spontaneous or fun as the previous ones. And it was slightly lulled down by some rain. But still, its a holiday which I wish was given more prominence and participation by others.

I recall those fun days when my dad was still the President here in Tahanan Village and I'd be tasked (with some friends of mine) to get dressed up as monsters and hang by the village entrance to hand out candy to any cars that had kids in them.

As the good ole days.

Now, you got weird people demanding that no kids wear "scary or gross" costumes. Really now. What's next, Christmas without any mention of Jesus like in the US?
Sheesh.

Oh and for those who want to play a free ZOMBIE SURVIVAL game.
Check out Urban Dead now!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

THE FLIGHT OF DRAGONS
One of THE best fantasy cartoons that sadly a majority of kids today will never ever get to see due to its unavailability in videostores and the like. This movie combines the best elements of wonder, fantasy and roleplaying games into one fantastic movie.



If it doesn't work, try this and just scroll all the way down and click the link to 'watch it onYoutub!' :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flight_of_Dragons

Thank God it is available now on YouTube! So do try to find time to watch it!
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Many thanks to Jen Villacorte-Davidas who sent me the links to the movie!

Monday, October 23, 2006

WEEKEND UPDATE
PANDELICIOUS!
Had lunch with my Panda bear Isha's family last Sunday. Arriving from Paranaque with barely enough sleep and absolutely nervous about the upcoming Komikon, I left the stacks of burned cds and stuff in the car and joined her family in a delectable and filling lunch. Felt a bit nervous as always, since it did mean eating with her parents. Thankfully, I didn't go klutz and spill anything this time. Wanted to eat more but was afraid of getting too full and having my biological quirk of "needing to use the bathroom within an hour of any heavy meal" kick in. Traded jokes with her brother and struggled not to stare at my beautiful sweetie, I quietly enjoyed by meal and thanked them for the hearty feast.

KOMIKON 2006

A large part of my apprehension to show up in Komikon this year was the evident fact that I don't seem to be remembered or mentioned anywhere anymore. Newsarama.com had a feature on local comic creators and I was not mentioned in any way even if my online comics have been around since 2002. Nor did my name pop up in others' blogs of people whom they are expecting to be at Komikon or are anticipating the release of new work from.

Simply put, no one new I was still doing stuff, or wondered if I had plans of selling anything.
(Well at least, no one overtly did.)

By the time Isha and I got to Bahay ng Alumni, it was around 2:00pm and Komikon 2006 was well underway. Having just arrived, we decided to go around a bit first and see who was around. Immediately, we spotted Budjette Tan (and I think the other people he works with for his comics were there, but there were no introductions) and checked out the latest issue offerings he had at hand. While we were working out what to get exactly, we were suprised by Elbert Or (yes, he kissed me! hahaha!) who teased us about borrowing money and shared with us some laughs and jokes. After meeting them, Panda bear and I bumped into John and Maan, both of whom have been supporters of my work and were eager to get a copy of what I had in my bag: Diliman Volume 1

Not brave enough yet to pull it out and actually start selling, I repeatedly excused myself and took Isha's hand into my own and begged her to help me stay sane. We made our way then to Gerry Alanguilan to give him the small rooster statue we found in Mall of Asia which we named Elmer and decided to take a walk around, hoping to shake my jitters away. We then spotted a few more familiar faces: Jonas Diego, Jac Ting Lim, a bunch of other Komikeros such as Raipo and Jerald (Mr. Lanzones, from what Isha remembered of last year's Komikon). We made our way past some indie comic books (the barrage of "Kuya bili na kayo please!" was heart-wrenching. Especially from the ones who evidently worked their sweat, blood and tears off to make their comics. A pity most were mangaish clones which I didn't really want to buy.)

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Along the way, we then saw Reno Maniquis and were wowed by the numerous pins, t-shirts and comics they had on display. Here, too, Isha saw an old schoolmate of hers and chatted with him for a while giving me some time to look over some of the other nearby booths as well. Nothing really caught my eye, and eventually, Isha and I made our way back to Budjette's area to claim our comics and to try and decide how to go about selling my shit.

Isha saw two more familiar looking faces but decided against going to them to ask who they were. Me, on the other hand, began to feel famished and dehydrated and sought to find something to drink. Learning some of the places we went to were not ready to sell cold drinks (or weren't open), we headed upstairs to Chocolate Kiss and hoped to get a seat fast. Finding instead a line of people waiting, our prayers were answered when Elbert suddenly ran out to invite us to share his table! Spared dehydration and falling into unconsciousness in a public place, we thanked him and immediately got a few drinks while trading off stories about work, love, meeting interesting people and the komikon itself.

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Learning of my fear of selling my comics and the concern about actually getting people to buy, Elbert offered to have me set up my stuff beside his and even introduced me to the first two customers for the day. Felt so empowered by their willingness to check out my work that I totally failed to keep my brain working. Sorry!!! I know I should have remembered your names! Egad...

Then, Isha and I set up our little spot beside Elbert's table, and hoped for the best.

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Incredibly, we sold out.

Diliman Volume 1
actually garned enough attention to be wiped out! And to think I was inavertedly telling people not to buy by telling them the first ten issues are all accessible for free online! It was a funny and wonderful feeling and it really made me smile when others like Carlo Veragara (who showed up a tad later), Gerry, Gener Pedrina dropped by to show some support. Also bumped into a few other familiar faces, some of whom I will confess to having forgotten their names (like the sassy girl with glasses whom also supported my work back in Fullybooked's book signing for Siglo:Passion, and my office mate AJ and her boyfriend whom passed by even if they weren't into the horror stuff I make and shared some small talk.) There were the memorable customers too, like the couple (an energetic pair of a guy and a girl) who were excited to read the comic and were trying to decide which of the two cover versions they wanted (they planned to buy one, but each wanted the other cover!) or the quiet girl who gingerly approached the table, then liked the sample pages, then even asked for a picture after buying the cd! But none compare to the third customer who brought a smile to my face and a shock to my heart when she considered buying the comic and then assertively asked me, "How am I to know for certain this CD contains the pages you are saying it does?" I smiled, and promised, "The six issues are there. If not feel free to contact me about it."

I wore the white tee shirt my sweetie gave me. The shirt had been customized to have the word GARAPATA on the front (and its reversed spelling at the back) and it proved to be a good way to tell all customers to visit this blog (pointing at the shirt while telling them the url) in case any problems with the CD crop up!

But yeah, we sold out.

The feeling was an incredible rush! And so potent that by the time Isha and I headed back to the car (we dropped by Molave first to visit some of her old friends) I felt absolutely wiped out and was almost falling asleep every few seonds! We made our way to Kublai for some exceptionally great dinner, and ended the night in each others arms while on the ride back to her place.

I still can't help but smile.

Maybe, come Komikon 2007, I won't be unremembered.
:-)

THANK YOU again to everyone who supported me. Thank you to Elbert for the space and the willingness to help out. Thank you to everyone who got a copy! Thank you to Carl and my Panda bear Isha who have been terribly supportive (and yes I promise I will do my best to release a printed collection once the series is done!) and here's hoping you all enjoy the cd!

Friday, October 20, 2006

ROLEPLAYING GAMES AND ME
Featured article in New Worlds Alliance.
Read it now!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

HAPPY DAYS
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I've been struggling with some financial perils, and working my ass off here at the family business, but for some strange reason, though currently I am poorer and strangely feeling more over-worked I don't really feel depressed or sadenned by the change of things in my life. Don't get me wrong, I do wish I still had more money than I used to (though business suddenly went slow) and I do find myself missing both the company and the food back at ABS-CBN Global (but in no means the do I miss the workload!) I still find myself thankful for having made this step towards getting back into film and art.

And I still can't help but feel amazed to be sharing this life with my Panda Bear, Isha.

Isha and her family finally got their VISA's for Canada and are definitely ready to make their big leap to the land up north for their change in citizenship. No date's been set, but with the VISA finally approved and physically there, that gives them 6 months at most to move or the application get's cancelled for another round of approvals and whatnots. What this means in the future remains something to be faced when the time comes. Though I have my confidence that my sweetie and I will find the strength and perseverance to ride with the storm to come, I do sometimes find myself having some apprehensions about the day she and I have to really discuss it. One day at a time. I keep reminding myself to just enough everything one day at a time, but with my much more humbled salary and accessibility, I feel that the few days we do get to go out sometimes just doesn't feel enough.

Also, been waiting for word on my Cinemalaya submission.
Strangely, though their website says the deadline for submissions was way past, a recent e-mail from one of the mailing lists I am on suggested that they extended the deadline. Makes me worry if that means they aren't too happy with the submissions they have received so far. Here's hoping that mine get's chosen for a step towards actually getting a full length film done.

Then, Komikon is coming up and I have yet to finish what I plan to have available for it. Still getting approval from certain key people to have some words of theirs on it. And still finalizing the extra stuff I plan to toss inside.
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So there.
Hope you're all having a fun life too!

Happy Birthday shout-outs to Seth Suico and to Basil Pimentel.

(Oh, special thanks to First Oni for the Southpark idea for images!)

Thursday, October 12, 2006

MAKES YOU GO Hmmm...?
Your digit ratio is:
Right Hand: 0.91
Left Hand: 0.91
Some scientists believe your index to ring finger length ratio can reveal a lot about your development in your mother's womb.
The amount of testosterone we are exposed to in the womb is thought to influence the growth of our ring fingers. This theory may explain why men's ring fingers are often longer than their index fingers. The average male ratio is .96.
On average, women's index and ring fingers are more or less of equal length, with a ratio of around 1.00.
There also is some evidence that our finger ratio can be affected by the number of older brothers we have.

Find out these and more about your SEX I.D. at BBC's Science and Nature section.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

I DON'T WATCH SOUTH PARK OR PLAY WORLD OF WARCRAFT BUT..
I have to admit, this episode really really rocks!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgrrk_sp-1008-make-love-not-warcraft

Monday, October 09, 2006

GUITAR HERO II COMING!!!
I can't wait! Whoooopie!!!

Here's an almost complete set list, from 1up.com
Opening Licks:
Strutter - Kiss
Mother - Danzig
Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters

Shout At The Devil - Motley Crue
Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight - Spinal Tap

Amp-Warmers:
Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana
Message In A Bottle - Police
Woman - Wolfmother (artist not confirmed)
You Really Got Me - Van Halan (Kinks)
Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas

String Snappers:
Surrender - Cheap Trick
Them Bones - Alice in Chains
Search and Destroy - Stooges (artist not confirmed, but it damn well better be the stooges!) Tatooed Love Boys - The Pretenders
War Pigs - Sabbath

Thrash and Burn:
Cherry Pie - Warrant
Who Was In My Room Last Night - Butthole Surfers
Girlfriend - Darkness (artist not confirmed)
Can't You Hear Me Knocking - Rolling Stones
Sweet Child of Mine - GnR

Return of the Shred:
Killing In The Name - Rage Against The Machine
John The Fisherman - Primus
Freya - Sword (artist not confirmed)
Bad Reputation - (too hard to say, my guess is Thin Lizzy, but could be Joan Jett)
Jessica - Allman Brothers

Relentless Riffs:
Crazy On You - Heart
Trippin On A Hole In A Paper Heart - STP
Rock This Town - Stray Cays
Last Child - Aerosmith
Stop - (Jane's Addiction? artist not confirmed)

Furious Fretwork:
Madhouse - Antrhax

Sunday, October 08, 2006

FOR MY PANDA BEAR
Utterly wonderfully cute panda moment for my one and only Panda Bear, Isha.

Friday, October 06, 2006


KATAMARI DAMACY RULES!

(And its my sweetie's favorite game!)

300
Frank Miller's incredible tale of a small group of warriors valiantly fighting against a larger force of enemies. The story of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae is given Hollywood life with Gerard Butler playing the role of King Leonidas as he leads 300 Spartas to a fight to the death against the cruel Xerxes and his massiver Persian army.

THE MOTEL
Puberty sucks. Big time. Just ask Ernest Chin (played by the talented Jeffrey Chyau).

THE QUEEN
Hellen Mirren spectacularly portrays the Queen herself in a thought-provoking retelling of what may have been the events that transpired in the few days after the tragic accident that took the life of Princess Diana.

THE LAST KISS
From the writer of "Million Dollar Baby" and the co-writer of "Crash". Nuff said.

APOCALYPTO
Too bad he's been such a jerk. But yeah, the movie is definitely something to look forward to.

THE REAPING
Hillary Swank is a former Christian missionary who lost her faith investigates a small town that seems to be suffering from what appears to be the Biblical plagues.

LUCKY YOU
Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore in a story of love and chance. By Curtis Hanson, director of 8 Mile and L.A. Confidential. I can't wait to see how this turns out!

HERE'S TO SEEING THESE MOVIES SOON!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

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A LONG DELAYED UPDATE
Survived a few storms, a very long time of no power, and the latest challenge: a downed website and a destroyed phone. For those who text or call me, be warned, my long ailing phone has finally slipped into actual death and I am now using a temporary phone which most likely does not have your numbers, and even if it does, is not equipped with a working microphone. So all I can do is TEXT.
I got a haircut that makes me look smart, though. Small joys. Heh, one has to remind himself of such to stay sane sometimes.
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Our mango tree lost two major branches. It was sad, considering the tree had been in full lush and has been a very generous fruit bearing tower for the past few years. It is still alive, of course, but now looks much hollower than before. Again, focus on the good things, eh?
The storm was intense, drenching part of our office with water and nearly shattering a few windows. One window slammed shut by a powerful gust of wind nearly severed my DSL cable too! But thanks to the grace and mercy of God, there were no injuries at home. Just a few pots, baskets, and other inanimate things.
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Had a reunion with my college barkada to celebrate Rose Ann Gatpolintan's visit home from San Francisco. After a spicy hot meal at People's Place, we then grabbed some crepes and ice cream for dessert! This marks, also, the first day they (with the exception of Bambi) all get to meet Panda Bear Isha! Grabe... na-interrogate pa kami about how it all began and the like.
Iba talaga ang friends you make back in college. They have a greater perspective on who you are. A better understanding on how the world works and how we all fit in it as friends. And that's one of the main reasons I doubt I will ever stop finding time to get in touch with these friends (as rare as it is): for some reason, we never feel like we don't know each other anymore no matter how long we've been apart.
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Finally, here's some images from the despedida party to celebrate my breaking free from ABS-CBN Global Limited. Lots of joy and (yes) tears that night. And it was made all the more special by Isha who brought cake, kisses and love to the memorable evening.

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