In Honor of Andrei Coronel

NBA: Miami Heat 2010-2011

2011-06-13T17:39:00.000+08:00

1. I'm writing this on the same day that Miami lost Game 6 to Dallas in the NBA Finals. I'm still pissed about the entire series. I've always said two things: (a) Miami can win it all if they get out of the east and (b) the better team always wins in a seven-game series. I've always thought Miami was the better team. Waaaaay better. Pissed is probably an understatement.

2. However, I am still calling this season a success. Since "The Decision" I have always thought of this season in terms of level of success at (exits): 1st-Round - End of the World; 2nd-Round - Failure; ECF - Threshold; NBA Finals - Success; Championship - Exceeds Expectations.

3. The Chicago and Boston series was as revelatory as the Dallas series. Early demons have been exorcised from the Boston series, the new kid on the block has been silenced in the Chicago series, and character has been questioned in the Dallas series. I could have never imagined such a polar reaction from people towards Miami in the playoffs. From sportswriters: "Mentally Tough" "Clutch" "Coming Together" "Best Defensive Team" to "Disappearing Act" "Hero Ball" and "Bad Shot Machine"

4. I believe Spoelstra when he said: "We have enough." The Heat really did. For next season, they really don't need to add another game changer. Probably a center and a point who can fill specific roles. But just another year of playing together and we can see the start of the Dynasty. Yep, I called it.

5. The season was such a roller coaster from the 9-8 start to the 22-1 December to getting the second seed, alll the way to the NBA Finals. Kudos to getting through adversity but dangit I'm still pissed.

6. My most notable games of the season:
(1) The Christmas Day Game where my brother lost a bet and he had to run half naked in the street.
(2) The Houston game where the big three all got 30 and 10. Yes, you read that right 30 points and 10 rebounds for each of the big three.
(3) The January Clipper game at Staples. Yes, the Heat lost but I was there. I saw Lebron, Wade, and Bosh play live. I was there.
(4) The Washington game, where they were down I think 12 with less than a minute to go and thinking to myself, "If this is a championship caliber team, they should find a way." I think they won in OT.
(5) Game 4 of the Chicago series. I turned the TV off with three minutes left in the 4th, only to find out later they won.
(6) It wasn't Game 2 of the NBA Finals that the Heat lost control and you can see them unraveling. It was Game 4 that the Heat lost the championship.

7. On to the offseason and next year. Who are the unrestricted free agents anyway?

Chor: The God of Tanders

2011-05-22T08:43:00.000+08:00

1. A very well made movie. You'd think that a Thor movie would be hard to make but they made it work.

2. Not as epic as say, Iron Man or Dark Knight, but more likely in the level of the Norton Incredible Hulk. Actually, the Thor movie is way better than the Hulk movie.

3. This movie could have been legendary if they added 15 to 20 minutes more of fight scenes. I know that would already have tripled the entire movie budget but nah I'm a movie viewer and that's what I would have wanted.

3. Bakit ang Earth hindi kasing-ganda ng Asgard? Kasi may magic. You actually look forward to Asgard scenes. Kudos to the creative and production team, Asgard looked amazing.

4. Is it me or did Natalie Portman look Black Swan crazy? Is she going to be Black Swan to my eyes for the rest of her career? (Just like Hilary Swank will forever be a boy) I hope not.

5. Kat Dennings! But she didn't show her side boob from hell..

6. Loki. Not the scariest villain but the movie pulled off the Loki persona - mischievous and scheming. But I didn't like the part where he had a fight with Thor, an actual fight. In the Marvel universe, I think he would have been killed with a single strike from Myowmyow.

7. In comics, Thor is always the difference maker. More of like a Deus Ex Machina for storylines. I'm excited to see how the Avengers movie will use this character - a god or a faulted human?

8. Overall, good movie and has a lot of replayability. 3.5 DREIs.

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Entries to the Movie Review Vault

2011-03-26T08:20:00.001+08:00

Black Swan - Good, could have been great. 3 DREIs (could have been two if without the m scene, could have been four if it had a better ending)

Tron Legacy - Amazing visuals. Should have seen the first to "properly" enjoy the mythos. Saw it on IMAX 3D. Not much with storytelling but good replayability. 4 DREIs.

Sanctum - Edge of your seat suspense. Is it a disaster movie or an action movie? At least the pace was gripping in spite of a bad script and bad acting. Good popcorn movie but no replayability. 3 DREIs.

Mindflesh - A psycho-erotic thriller dealing with alternate realities laced with gore and weird sexual fantasies. In spite of that - HELL NO. 1 DREI.

Mulholland Drive - Probably one of the few rare movies na pinagisip muna ko ng matindi bago ko nagets. It turns out I may have still been wrong about the movie. I was thinking it was about the whole idea of your "life flashing before your eyes" in a singular moment. I may be wrong, I may be right. The thing about this movie is the director did not clarify anything and just let the viewers endlessly speculate. 3.5 DREIs.

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)

2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)

3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)

4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)

5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Wade Does One More Thing I Wish I Could Do

2011-03-14T16:28:00.000+08:00

Dwyane Wade wins custody of sons

MIAMI -- When the Miami Heat ended practice Sunday, Dwyane Wade went home to his sons.

That will be a regular event going forward.

Ending a long and often-vengeful fight, a Chicago court has awarded Wade sole "care, custody and control" of his two sons. The boys arrived in Miami on Friday, shortly after the ruling was filed, and Wade told The Associated Press that "a huge weight is off my back." (more)

More Test Photo Blogging

2011-03-02T19:04:00.001+08:00

My babies minus one

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Thirty-five Year Old Threshold

2011-03-02T16:06:00.002+08:00

A doc friend once told us that smokers have an absolute threshold on when to quit smoking.

"Quit when you're 35, and by the time you reach 40, your lungs will be like a 19 year-old's."

It's under the premise that if you go beyond 35, your body will already be to old or weak to heal itself from smoking abuse.

So me and prof have been saying to ourselves, 35 cold turkey.. Cold turkey-five.. Cold 35. Let's do this.

(Here's to wishing that e-cigarette technology will be perfected by then...)

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Test Blogging from my Samsung Android

2011-03-02T15:28:00.001+08:00

Test Blogging from my Samsung Android

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Pomplamoose - Another Day

2010-12-28T04:49:00.000+08:00

Great music + Nataly Dawn's eyes.

End Of Planets

2010-09-22T17:29:00.002+08:00

Lately, my 5-year old has been trying to put her mind around the fact that our planet and to an extent the entire universe will inevitably die or cease to exist. She calls it "the end of all planets."
I asked her where she got the idea and she told me it came from nowhere and that she suddenly got curious about life on planets ending. I didn't buy it. No 5-year old thinks about this stuff. She probably got the idea from a movie or a TV show or something and it just brewed in her little mind Inception-style.
Anyway, for a couple of days now, she has been asking me curious things like: "Daddy when will it happen?" and "How will it happen?" and even questions like "What will we do when the end of planets is here?" (She even asked if the same thing will happen on Pandora and what will Jake and the Na'vi do about it.) You can feel that she's really unsettled by these thoughts. Well the sweet thing about it is that her somewhat fidgety mind came from the fact that she is scared for her family. "I am scared kasi eh, I don't know what will happen to us and what will happen to Sooz." (Sooz or Suzie is her one-year old little sister.)
It is difficult to answer these questions in the way that a five-year old mind will understand. I was tempted to just tell her "Don't worry about it. It won't happen for a long time." But the scientist in me urged me to explain this to her as best as I could. It was like accepting a challenge and I obliged. However, it is particularly difficult to explain all of these with a sense of time on when it will happen. The entire universe has been in existence for around 13.7 billion years. So barring any nuclear holocausts, killer meteors, or zombie infestations, I think human life can exist for at least another 13.7 billion years (it may or may not be on another planet) given that cosmologists still consider our universe to be a young universe. It may take at least that time for the universe to stop expanding and collapse again on itself. That is almost FOURTEEN BILLION YEARS. It's no googleplex, but can a child even grasp that number?
So in the simplest of terms, I told her that, yes, the universe will die of natural causes, and that this will not happen for a very long time. A very long time in fact that everyone you know right now will have gotten old and their children would have children, and their children will have children, and so on. I told her not to be scared because everyone you know would have lived long and fulfilling lives.
After my explanation (she may have understood most of it, she may have not), she just told me "Daddy, I hope it doesn't happen in the night para we're prepared." Yep, this is my daughter. And I am her silly over thinking father.

It's Not A Beautiful Day

2010-07-11T15:06:00.000+08:00

This too shall pass.

Endure.

It's A Beautiful Day

2010-07-10T18:25:00.001+08:00

The Great Conundrum

2010-06-17T04:58:00.001+08:00

My affinity for numbers, time, space and everything in between have always led me to believe that man's conundrum wasn't really Science vs. Religion but rather Mathematics vs. Religion. Math as the real nemesis of Religion with mathematics (being the so-called universal language) as the great unifier and religion as the great divider.
As I think of this, my thoughts turn to quantum theories and cosmology - in the vicinity of a Black Hole, once past the event horizon, traditional ideas of time and space skew and warp exponentially to an almost incomprehensible level. However, to an extent, everything is still mathematically calculable even with the enormous rate of change. But that is only to an extent.
There is a point within a black hole called the Singularity, conventionally thought of as being in the middle of it, where the black hole begins (or ends, depending on your school of thought). It is at this point where all known mathematical formulas fail, certainty no longer exists, even probability as a concept is questionable, the normal is abnormal or is both, truth and fallacy exist at the same time. In essence, at this singularity, everything is unexplainable.
Some mathematicians believe that we should think of it as beyond the human brain's comprehension (or a hardware limitation for that matter) and that we were not meant to understand it in the first place.
Perhaps, this is where religion and faith parallels itself with the credence of the universal acceptance of mathematics. There is always a point where understanding something is not a prerequisite of its existence.
Perhaps.

And So It Ends. And So It Begins.

2010-04-28T11:38:00.003+08:00

"And so it ends. And so it begins." - Ira Winderman

And So It Ends

Notes on the 1st-round ouster of the Heat:
1. Down 0-3 was such a big hole. That Game 3 Paul Pierce buzzer beater was a heartbreaker.
2. I really thought Wade could do this. But it seemed his whole season was epitomized by a desperation 3 with the game tied and lots of time left on the last possession of their ultimately last home game - he really did not get to the hole that much.
3. No one on the roster did get to the hole that much. To Boston's credit, their defense made the Heat a jump-shooting team and forced a lot of turnovers. Not an easy thing to do since the Heat are 2nd in the entire league in taking care of the ball during the entire regular season.
4. The thing that struck me most about this series was how much Kednrick "Perpetually-Pissed" Perkins and Glen "Ticket Stub" Davis outplayed JO, UD and Beasley. Really. Think about that for a moment.
5. Buti na lang Rasheed Wallace was playing for the Celtics, kung hinde, baka na-sweep pa ang Miami.
6. Buti naka isa (Game 4). At least, hindi na sweep.
7. With Miami out, who do I root for now in the East? Orlando? Cleveland? Ah alam ko na. The SPURS.

Ans So It Begins

So now the anticipation of Heat fans shifts to the offseason. No one really has any idea how this summer is going to turn out for this franchise. I'm reading really good articles regading how much more cap space the Heat will have over other teams. That Miami can sign 2 superstars and another all-star caliber player.
Yes, Lebron is the holy grail of free agents. But no one is really pegging him to leave Cleveland. Why would he? He's been there all his life and he has a winning team. So if the probable happens, and Lebron stays with Cleveland, I just hope that Riley signs the next best FA - Chris Bosh.
My personal FA priorities in order (no Bron) - Bosh, Boozer, Stoudemire. I really don't have anything good to say about Amare Stoudemire's defense. Be it post or help. In fact, he rarely plays it, that he's not just a liability, he's a weakness. Boozer, on the other hand, can only play the 4 but would be a much better fit, I think, with Miami's offensive and defensive strategies. Bosh meanwhile will be the best 1-2 punch partner to Wade not named Lebron. He can slide from 4 to 5 and will be the next celebrated big man in Pat Riley's history - from Kareem, Ewing, Mourning, to Shaq. I know that's a huge list, but Bosh will have that potential in Miami.
Here's hoping for the best. I have to say this again - In Riles we trust.

Win or Go Home Time

2010-04-15T10:37:00.002+08:00

Notes at the end of the regular season:
1. Twelve games above 500 for Miami - way better than I expected.
2. Dwyane Wade's career FG% dropped a little this season, and at times seemed to be coasting on both O and D. But, you can't deny his greatness with almost single-handedly keeping Miami at the 5th spot.
3. This was supposed to be Michael Beasley's year. He showed flashes of offensive brilliance but never showed any grit or determination like Haslem. Come to think of it, if they can get an all-star caliber PG, PF or C for him - Miami should JUMP on it. Immediately.
3.a. On a side note regarding Beasley - his potential seemingly decreases as his NBA career advances: From draft day potential to current/realistic potential - from Shawn Kemp (Sonics) to Carmelo Anthony (offense only) to Glen "Big Dog" Robinson (Bucks) to Chris Gatling (Nets) to Corliss Williamson (Detroit/Kings) to Matt Freakin Bonner.
4. D-Wright is a good kid. He just makes bad decisions - DUI and the "sex" scandal. Can't believe he's known as mister-5-inches now. Ouch.
5. JO has been better than expected, I just hope his knees hold up in the playoffs.
6. If Wade is the absolute priority this offseason, an all-star PF/C should be next and resigning Haslem should be a very, very close third. Yes, he is that important.
7. The Rafer Alston experiment ended at the right time. Carlos Arroyo seemed to be real professional with the way his minutes were handled and how he proved to be a natural leader this side of Wade. I still believe in Mario Chalmers - even more so than Beasley, think about that for a second.
8. Strong way to end the season. Boston in Round 1. (I wanted Boston instead of ATL in the first round - I felt Wade and co. had a better chance with them old guys than Smoove and Crawford in a seven game series)
9. Seven games in Round 1 and the season will be a success. Reach the second round and Miami exceeds all expectations.
10. Playoffs, baby!

League-wide notes:
1. I can't believe a team as dysfunctional as Chicago made the playoffs. Sure they caught a few breaks towards the end of the regular season (Jamison elbow to Bosh face), but it just goes to show you Rose's brilliance and Noah's heart.
2. The Cavs are GOOD. Hopefully they don't win it all this year so Miami has a window for Lebron. Blech. I know, never gonna happen. I can dream, right.
3. The Spurs won 50 games, yep. But no one is really counting on them to win the championship much less reach the WCF. Duncan and the Spurs are my second favorite team. Although looking at Duncan, it seems that age has caught up to the best power forward to ever play the game. Hopefully he still has a few more productive years left and they make a splash at this year's playoffs.
4. I honestly believe that Gilbert Arenas is one stupid-@$$ mo-fo. Probably thought he could get away with it.
5. Kawawa ka naman, Greg Oden. Na-injure ka na, nagka scandal ka pa. Actually, dein. Hindi ka pala kawawa. "Anlaki" mong tao eh. Mas kawawa si Dorell "Mr. 5-Inches" Wright.

My Picks:

Regular Season MVP (in order)
1 - Lebron James
2 - Kevin Durant
3 - Dwyane Wade
4 - Dwight Howard
5 - Matt Bonner

DPOY - Dwight Howard
ROY - Tyreke Evans
COY - Scott Brooks
MIP - David Lee

All-NBA 1st:
D. Wade
K. Byrant
K. Durant
L. James
D. Howard

All-NBA 2nd:
S. Nash
J. Johnson
C. Anthony
D. Nowitzki
A. Bogut

All-NBA 3rd:
-wag na-

All-NBA Defense:
R. Rondo
D. Wade
G. Wallace
L. James
D. Howard

Pat Stood Pat

2010-02-20T17:44:00.002+08:00

I'm actually relieved that the Heat did not make any moves before the deadline. As it stands, Miami still has the most cap space for the offseason in the entire NBA. I didn't think Booz or Amare would have made that much of a difference really. (Plus 5 or 6 in the W column perhaps?) Besides the cap space, I really didn't want the Heat to part with either Beasley or Wright - good production for cheap contracts.
Of course, all of these will be moot if we don't get Wade and another max contract-worthy player or if... gasp... Wade bolts.
(Take note of maximum contract "worthy" - a few players will be worthy of a max contract, James, Bosh, Wade ... but another group will get max contracts but really should just be a notch under it, Joe Johnson, Amare, etc..)
Go Heat!

James Cameron's Avatar

2009-12-24T00:16:00.008+08:00

1. The best movie of the year. I was actually motivated to write in my blog again. Imagine that.
2. Although I haven't seen the ordinary theatrical version, I can say for a fact that this movie was MEANT to be seen in 3D. Like the first time I saw Miller's 300, I couldn't stop telling myself how awesome the Avatar 3D experience was.
3. I am still quite amazed on how this motion picture turned out, although I don't know if the same high will be experienced if you watched the non-3D version of the movie first.
4. I wonder if this was all from James Cameron's head (like Lucas with Star Wars) or if this was just a creative collaboration from his production team? Can't wait for the DVD/BR special features.

5. Too bad - I heard the PSP game sucks.

6. Runtime was long but the story was well told. Although it did have its "love story moments" in the middle that made me ask "Where's the action?" (And then just minutes after, a full blown war ensues. Go figure.)

7. Okay I did find one thing that didn't exactly sit well with me: ***Spolier Alert*** It seemed stupid that the Na'vi and would fight and charge to death at the end without formulating some sort of tactical advantage aside from - "Their sensors won't work!"

8. Is this a prelude to the idea of a trend that only CG-heavy movies can really rake in the cash at the global level?

9. I gave it 4.5 DREIs but its actually closer to a five than to a four.

4.5 DREIs

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Does Booze make the Heat better?

2009-07-16T19:01:00.004+08:00

Iverson? No, thanks.

Boozer? Hmm...

Current Depth Chart:

C - J. O' Neal

PF - U. Haslem

SF - M. Beasley*

SG - D. Wade

PG - M. Chalmers

6th - D. Cook

7th - J. Jones

8th - C. Quinn

9th - M. Blount

10th - Y. Diawara

11th - D. Wright

*Riles and Spo indicated that there is a strong possibility of B-Easy starting as SF this year

**No word yet from Jamario Moon and Joel Anthony's qualifying offers, nor from Jamaal Magloire's status.

Depth Chart after acquiring Boozer (for perhaps Beasley and Haslem after matching salaries):

C - J. O'Neal / M. Blount

PF - C. Boozer

SF - J. Jones / Y. Diawara

SG - D. Wade / D. Cook

PG - M. Chalmers / C. Quinn

You can throw in Wright and to either the 2 or 3 positions but you can still see that that roster will rely heavily on the outside shooting of Cook and James Jones to open up the inside. The Booze and O'Neal pairing will clog up the inside immensely - you just have to hope that both their midrange game is working (just like when UD had that 10 to 15 footer on).

Still contract-wise and thinking of the 2010 cap space, this could potentially be a great pickup. It will just be extremely hard to let go of Haslem - the Heat's ultimate warrior and Beasley - youth and unbounded potential.

Revenge of the Fallen

2009-06-27T11:42:00.004+08:00

Critics hated it. I loved it.

1. While watching, I couldn't help but think: "How much MONEY did they actually put into this movie?" - I would have to guess the number of (expensive) CG shots trumped that of Revolutions and Phantom Menace.

2. Andaming robot. Not needing to develop a back story for the characters, Michael Bay went all out using as much robots as he can without choking the audience. (Although, I hated the two gremlin-like twin robots he used - too much personality, I say - if that's even possible for movie robots.)

3. The story/plot was okay. They did need 2.5 hours to finish it though. But with all the eye candy, who cares if it was a tad too long?

4. Anyone notice Michael Bay's self-promotion with the Bad Boys II poster? And oh yeah, he used the same ecstacy/reefer drugged up funny scene with the Witwicky mom.

5. Shia Le Bouf was good. Megan Fox was good. Turturro was good. Although Duhamel and Gibson, felt like they were playing bit parts.

6. Congratulations, Michael Bay. You managed to make Megan Fox even more hotter.

7. The Decepticons went terminator-style and upped the ante with the robots-in-disguise thing. I'm still not sure on whether this was a good idea or not.

8. Revenge of the Fallen. Yep, better than the first.

4 DREIs

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Noong Wala Pang Tint si PLU...

2009-06-15T07:54:00.004+08:00

...pano ka nga naman makakatulog ng maliwanag...

Movie Reviews

2009-06-02T12:29:00.002+08:00

Recently Seen:

Ip Man - I was hoping for something along the lines of an epic like Hero or even something just as entertaining as probably Fearless. Those standards proved to be way too high. Waaay too high. Ip Man = Fail.
2 DREIs

Fast and Furious (Old Model New Parts) - Yes, it is an upgrade over the monumentally bad Tokyo Drift. But really, not much else.
3 DREIs

The 13th Warrior - I saw this first in the theater (1999? 2000?). Recently got an AVI copy. Liked it before, still like it now. Probably the best movie adaption of the Beowulf saga.
3.5 DREIs

The Invisible - It is predicated in this movie that people that are near death can walk around the world "invisibly." As expected, not a whole lot went on; and just too many holes in the plot.
2.5 DREIs

The Horsemen - Starring Dennis Quaid and Zhang Zhiyi. Whodunnit Cops and Serial Killers. It seems that they used as much movie cliches as they can. Aside from bad acting and sciptwriting, it was just too easy to figure out.
1 DREI

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - I saw the "unfinished" copy first, and then the final cut. I have to admit I liked almost everything about it, everything was relatively good - plot . But this is where Dark Knight sticks it to almost every other superhero movie - compared to the Joker, Sabretooth was just... forgettable.
3.5 DREIs

Punisher: War Zone - I saw one or two scenes with flashes of brilliance, but see Dark Knight reference above: Jigsaw = also forgettable.
2.5 DREIs

Dead or Alive - Surprisingly entertaining. I liked the fight scenes and the slowmo volleyball game. And besides, this movie had Holly Valance mostly half naked! Nuff said.
3.5 DREIs

The Spirit - Frank Miller is thought of as a god in the comic book industry. But even deity sometimes does stupid mortal things. Like making movies like these for example. Shot almost entirely in the same manner as Sin City, just infinitely more boring.
2.5 DREIs

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Terminator Salvation

2009-06-01T09:40:00.005+08:00

1. McG delivered. Action-freakin-packed. When someone asks you: "What is an action movie?" You say: "This is."

2. Chel and Drei were right though: not much in terms of the story itself - but the action more than made up for it.

3. Christian Bale was amazing. It is hard for anyone to play John Connor and he did a good job of doing it. Method acting paid off, I guess... (and yep, I heard his 15-minute internet audio cursefest on this set... on a side note, continuous cursing is hard to sustain over a two or even three minute period, Bale was relentless for that entire time... THAT is something.)

4. Sam Worthington (Marcus) will probably have a Hugh Jackman-like career from now on.

5. (Semi-Spoiler Alert) The Arnold Schwaenenzggreenegegegr CGI should NOT have been there. It distracted you from the entire action sequence. I was thinking, if you can't put in the "real" Arnold, then DON'T put him in. (on another side note, the movie industry has made great strides in terms of computer animation and graphics for the past couple of years... but this goes to show you how we are still so far off in terms of people CG realism on closeups.)

6. (Major Spoiler Alert) I was really hoping they were going to finish the story. But instead, even after blowing up Skynet's main base, John Connor said something like - "Skynet's Global Network still remains strong, but the fight isn't over..."

7. I can't help but think of parralels between the Matrix and the Terminator mythology. The machines in the Matrix (sentinels, etc..) are way way way way harder to beat than Terminators (even if Skynet had nuclear capability). I'm just sayin.

8. Overall, good action flick. Monumentally better than the last one. However, I just had some issues with the CG and the ending.

3.5 DREIs

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)

2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)

3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)

4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)

5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Angels and Demons

2009-05-17T20:09:00.007+08:00

1. The Da Vinci Code may have been a bigger box office and bestseller hit; but cinematically, Angels and Demons proved to be just above it in several levels.

2. More action, better paced, better acting (Obi-Wan did a fantastic job.)

3. Much like other book-to-movie adaptations, the book was more engaging. Although the movie itself, did not disappoint.

4. Just like The Da Vinci Code, I read the book before I saw the movie. I particularly liked the representation of the God Particle (anti-matter) and how Ron Howard integrated the use of the Hadron Collider to create it.

5. MINOR SPOILER ALERT: The thing that was missing though, and this was a huge part of the story in the book, was the Camerlengo's relationship to the deceased Pope. This was what I thought, what Dan Brown wrote as the match that started the whole fire.

6. I love wide-angle shots in a movie. It is sort of a like a gauge on how grand the scale of production is. And this movie had lots of it.

7. Replay Value: definitely worth buying an original DVD box set for. We got the original The Da Vince Code Limited Edition Box Set with Cryptex for the first movie. What box-set bells and whistles will they think of this time? Limited Edition Anti-Matter perhaps?

3.5 DREIs

1 - DREIs: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)
2 - DREIs: "Shite" No need to see this movie unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)
3 - DREIs: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)
4 - DREIs: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)
5 - DREIs: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

To Boldy Go Where A Few Has Gone Before: Star Trek Zero

2009-05-11T10:40:00.008+08:00

Warning! Spoilers!

First, let me establish that I am a trekker. Not the all-out geek who knows all the sciences and can speak fluent Klingon, but I have always appreciated the TV shows and the movies. Particularly, Star Trek: The Next Generation (Picard, Riker, Data, Troi, Worf, La Forge, Crusher, etc..). I used to watch that show every week (Voyager and Deep Space Nine did not have the same intellectual appeal as TNG).

So with that in mind, I went to this movie with no expectations at all. I was thinking this is just sort of a run-of-the-mill prequel to the Star Trek Movies, and that the producers and writers just wanted to establish the history between Spock and Kirk. I was mistaken. This might very well be the best Star Trek movie ever made - everything was extremely well done. With my affinity for TNG - it is hard for me to say that. However, I was overwhelmed by how much thought was put into the plot and the scale that was placed in this production.

A few notes: James Kirk - great acting by Chris Pine, he portrayed the brash, young, Kirk masterfully and with great writing, his persona almost transcended the screen. Spock - one of the things I looked out for was if he remotely reminded me of Sylar, this movie will fail. Zachary Quinto made an extremely believable Vulcan and not once did Sylar cross my mind. Leonard Nimoy was here as well - for a good part of the movie.

There were a few references to Star Wars I noticed like: Luke Skywalker's adventure in Hoth and Qui-Gonn Jinn's "there's always a bigger fish" theory. I don't know, maybe its just me.

They now have the freedom to rewrite Star Trek's entire history (or historical events for that matter, characters did not change) because of the alternate reality they have created from Spock and Nero travelling to the past.

Overall, an entirely entertaining movie. Action-packed. Well-thought of plot. Sci-fi on a grand scale. Great acting and writing. Hopefully, they start bringing in TNG's mythology to the next movies.

4 out 5 DREIs

1 - Drei: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)

2 - Dreis: "Shite" No need to see these movies unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)

3 - Dreis: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)

4 - Dreis: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)

5 - Dreis: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

Movie Rating System

2009-05-11T08:26:00.006+08:00

It occurred to me that when I look back at all my movie reviews, it would be helpful to me if I establish a rating system to easily categorize and distinguish motion pictures from movies that I can watch over and over again, to movies that merit buying an original DVD for, to movies that I should avoid like the plague.
The next question is: What rating scale would I use and what would be the factors that constitute each scale level? Rottentomatoes uses its own Tomatometer on a 0% to 100% scale from its approved critics; similarly, IMDB uses a 10.0-star scale to show its average user rating for a movie. Since, this blog is nowhere near the magnitude and scale of those sites, it seems logical to have a rating system designed for a smaller purpose. Besides, this blog is for my personal use anyway. To that effect, a 5 scale rating would suffice. And instead of tomatoes or stars, I thought I'd be true to this blog's namesake and give it a 5-scale Drei rating.

1 - Drei: "Avoid Like The Plague" Why did we watch this in the first place? (i.e. Bangkok Dangerous, The Hottie and the Nottie, Scorpion King 2, etc..)

2 - Dreis: "Shite" No need to see these movies unless you have absolutely nothing else to do. Movies with high expectations but falls short on almost everything. (i.e. Righteous Kill, Max Payne, The Island, etc..)

3 - Dreis: "Okay" Good movies that could have been better. Usually gets half good reviews, and the other half so-so. The experience will also depend also on who is watching. (i.e. Clone Wars Animated, Fast and the Furious, The Devil Wears Prada, etc..)

4 - Dreis: "Great" Almost all facets of the movie were masterfully done. Great in almost all aspects. (i.e. 300, Dark Knight, Transformers, Slumdog Millionaire, etc..)

5 - Dreis: "Revolutionary" It will change the entire concept of filmmaking and how films are made from this point on. It will serve as the new gauge for movies of the same genre. (i.e. The Matrix, LOTR, The Godfather, etc..)

And So It Ends...

2009-05-04T12:20:00.002+08:00

Miami's season ended with a 91-78 Game 7 loss to the heavily favored Atlanta Hawks. I'm not entirely dissapointed with the whole season, but I really was hoping for at least second round outing. Miami almost got what it wanted in the regular season - they almost got home court advantage in the first round finishing with the 5th seed and eventually losing in seven to the 4th seeded Hawks. Overall, it was a relatively "good" season to start after the awful 15-67 W-L record last year.

With hindsight, here are my thoughts for this season:

1. Michael Beasley? He's good and he'll be better. He definitely will be a cornerstone of this franchise. I can see him as a consistent 20-10 player 2 to 3 years from now.

2. Dwyane Wade - There has been a lot of talk about whether D-Wade will be staying after his contract expires. People are saying he'll take a look at the roster and that there is no one there absolutely worth staying for for competing for a championship. Again, there have been no indications that he is considering leaving - but you never know. I think with the impending cap space and with Chalmers, and Beasley, and Spo - he's got lots of reasons to stay although the lure of a better roster somewhere else will still be on his mind. And the entire Heat Nation. But dang, the entire Heat Staff (and Wade) should be taking care of his body - it seems that at every season's end - he's nursing something bad. Definitely not a good sign for him.

3. The Trade - I didn't agree with it then, and I still don't agree with it now. If we had Marion instead of Jermaine, we'd be preparing for the the Cavs.

4. Jermaine O'Neal - exactly what he turned out to be - old and hobbled. Not exactly what we hoped for. Sayang. It means that we will be paying his contract next season instead of say - Carlos Boozer's.

5. Erik Spoelstra - he was in the midst of COY talk, and that's huge for a rookie coach. From 15-67 to 43-40 wasn't just about D-Wade's health - it was also about Spo's coaching. Go Pinoy!

6. Mario Chalmers -Like B-Easy, he'll get better. I expect him to work in the offseason with his shooting. His defense is spectacular - he tied the Heat franchise record for most steals in a game (9), and he has shown a propensity for hitting big shots as well. But, right now, it's just hard to see him as a starting PG for a championship caliber team. Hopefully, when I said "he'll get better" it means better in every basketball catgeory.

7. The Bench - Daequan Cook and James Jones, Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire. Looking at purely offensive and defensive awareness, this could be the bench for being competitive. However, with how the season ended, you'd think that there still is something missing. And there is - consistency - specially on offense. If Cook and Jones aren't hitting their shots, it makes it that much harder for Miami to win a game, any game for that matter.

8. 2010 - The year of the free agents. We can hope right? Ultimate scenario - Wade and Bron; 2nd Ultimate scenario - Wade and Bosh; Somewhat realistic scenario - Wade and Stoudamire; Nightmare Scenario - Wade walks. I think we'll end somewhere in between realistic and nightmare.

I Watched The Watchmen

2009-03-10T03:36:00.004+08:00

I read the book. I liked the book. Then I learned that it was going to be made into a movie. This was the first time that I couldn't imagine how something could possibly be made into a movie. I mean I was just dumbfounded. "Unfilmable" is what some fans called it. It just wasn't made for the big screen. Even Alan Moore initially didn't want to be part of this. And rightly so, the storytelling of the comic just seemed impossible to tell without going beyond at least 10 hours (the movie was 2 hours and 40 minutes).
A lot was ultimately left out - the news snippets of each hero that provided the background, nothing to note about Rorschach's shrink who almost went crazy in the novel, and no Black Freighter back story. Even the ending was changed entirely- no octopus! Also, Dr. Manhattan's anytime and all time power was not efficiently explained in the movie.
However, I was amazed at Snyder's vision. I didn't think it could have been done. But he did. The film worked perfectly - the scenes were timed right, the action sequences were violent and always appeared to hit real hard. I didn't realize they made this movie so violent and so disturbing. And that was definitely part of its appeal. Two-thumbs up for the movie originally called unfilmable by the novel's die-hard fans.

Heartbreak Kid

The Final Set: 3.7.09

2009-03-10T02:36:00.005+08:00

1. Thanks to Jas for the VIP tickets! The creative mind from MTV behind all billboards, posters, and ads for the event.
2. Awesome concert, just plain awesome.
3. Ely Buendia did NOT die.
4. There was, of course, the obligatory FrancisM tribute. It was said that Francis Magalona was supposed to rap his part in Super Proxy - Ely Buendia did the whole thing instead. I admit I had goosebumps though, when the eraserheads played one chorus from Kaleidoscope World and Raimund Marasigan held up the "Man From Manila" sign. Rest in Peace, Francis.
5. I was pretty fuckin' pissed off that we missed the first three songs because of the traffic around MOA. I would have sang my heart out at "Waiting For The Bus" - one of my all-time eraserheads favorite.
6. It occurred to me that a concert this huge, VIP seats are imperative. Imagine all the 9s and 10s around (a few 11s and 12s as well) and you get to rub elbows with a few well-known people.
7. The acoustic set was a nice touch - probably to get Ely Buendia some rest. We couldn't help but feel terrified everytime he paused and hanged his head down during the whole concert, in our minds we were thinking: "No! Not again!"
8. After the third and final set - Raimund Marasigan urged to the crowd to call his bandmates to play a few more songs. This was after probably half of the crowd exited already. They sang three more songs.
9. The last three songs (not part of the setlist) was the highlight of the day. They made mistakes and everything - it felt like this wasn't really part of the rehearsed show and that it was just a genuine jamming from former bandmates giving one last thanks to their fans.
10. You know when you exit a showing of a new movie and cameras are there to get the reaction of the crowd? Well there was a camera at the VIP exit and it turned to me while I was exiting. I did the devil rock sign and said "Go heads." I was secretly hoping that that will be showed at the DVD. But it occurred to me that I pointed at my tattoos as well - thereby ending any hope if it being included. Tattoos are often mistaken for a gang sign and MTV probably does not want to be affiliated with such. Bummer.
11. Just an amazing night, only knock on it was the traffic, the "jogging," the Prado-dead-battery-alternate-reality, and Mae Dei wasn't there. Still, easily one of the highlights to start the year.

Photos from Michelle Hidalgo

Jermaine O' Neal

2009-02-19T03:44:00.003+08:00

Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Jermaine O' Neal and Jamario Moon.
Toronto fans are saying this is a good deal for the Heat. However, I can't help but feel Miami could have done a whole lot better for Marion.

A few good things to note though:
1. Marcus Banks and his awful contract are finally off of Miami's books.
2. Jamario Moon over Diawara on the depth chart.
3. Improved interior defense?

A few not-so-good things to note:
1. The Heat has now two former All-Star centers that are way past their prime. Way past.
2. Downgrade defensively at SF. Who'll be guarding Lebron, Pierce, Lewis, and Joe Johnson now?
3. Bye-bye Carlos Boozer.
4. The Heat just became even more injury prone. If that's even posible.

In the East, you need Marion more than you need a Jermaine. No one can stop Dwight Howard defensively anway and the Heat (Haslem and committee) have done a somewhat okay job against Bosh and KG. Granted Marion has had games where his presence was never felt. But when he decides to turn it up a notch defensively, he's played relatively good defense against the Kobes and the Lebrons of the NBA. After Marion, the Heat has no one that can play a lick of defense at the SF position. And I don't think that Moon is the answer.
I'd be ecstatic at a 17, 8 and 2 blocks from Jermaine. But realistically, I think the Heat just traded for a 13 and 6 guy that will play less than half of the remaining games.
I think Riley pushed this trade for a shot at home court advantage in the playoffs. But at what cost? This does not even guarantee a playoff seeding and it certainly doesn't make the Heat contenders. The Heat can't be in a Win Now mode, right? We are going in the right direction but we are definitely far from that at this point. Could there still be some trades before the deadline?

Just Like Mommy and Daddy

2009-02-18T02:21:00.003+08:00

If there was any doubt that she's a rocker, I guess this video shows she's into Rock and Roll just like mommy and daddy. Rock on, baby!

Yeah, Seiichi may like Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, but she still rocks all out to KISS.

Appleseed: Ex Machina

2009-02-03T23:10:00.003+08:00

This may be the best animated/CG movie in probably.. ever. I mean I know that's saying a lot. But this movie even rivals Final Fantasy: Advent Children in terms of graphics and style, and way better in terms of characterization, story telling, and cinematics. You can definitely see John Woo's influence on the movie - not just with the birds but with the stylistic gunfights, the slow-motion, and the action.
The only thing is (I know this is a small thing compared to eveything that was grand in this movie, but...) I think the animators were still high from the Sentinel juice they drank while watching Matrix Revolutions. The problem was they KNEW that they were going to get a ton of comments about how the last scene was extremely like the Zion attack - but they did it just like that anyway.

Slam Dawg and Probe Nixon

2009-01-28T23:51:00.005+08:00

I usually have an inner aversion to movies that have Best Picture Oscar nominations. This started around 1996 when the Academy chose to acknowledge snore-inducing bore-fests like The English Patient and Fargo. This was when 1996 also provided classics and infinitely-more-watchable movies such as Independence Day, A Time to Kill, The Rock, The Ghost and the Darkness, Trainspotting, among others were shown.
I have seen both The English Patient and Fargo. They were hmm.. okay.., even passable on some odd standards. But they are nowhere near where and what critically acclaimed movies should be. It is mind-boggling, even now, to think that at that time, these movies were the best for that year.
Sometimes though, they get it right when movies like The Departed and The Return of the King wins Best Picture, but more often than not, I just can't trust the judgement of these old people. Science-fiction, action movies, and comedies rarely get any attention.
This year though, I have seen three out of the five Best Picture hopefuls: Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The Benjamin Button movie had an interesting plot but was boring as expected. However, Slumdog and Frost/Nixon was better in every way than I expected. Slumdog Millionaire was masterfully done. Everyone has been talking about its wonderful story telling and characterization, but another aspect of the film jumped out to me - the soundtrack. Not the kind of soundtrack that you'll go and buy in the store because of the new songs but rather how the sounds were used to enhance the feeling and emotional awareness of the movie. Slumdog Millionaire is like a newly delivered Meat Lover's Pizza - it's fresh and it seems to have everything.
Frost/Nixon follows in the same mold as The Last Castle (and even Death Note) wherein two strong personalities try to outmatch each other. I have had only a little background with regard to the details of the Watergate Scandal but it didn't seem to matter when I watched this movie. It really was about two men and the people behind them preparing for what was an eventuality that would define their entire lives. The acting was superb and I really feel that Frank Langella at least has an edge over Brad Pitt on this category.
Although I haven't seen Milk and The Reader, I woudln't be surprised if either Slumdog or Frost/Nixon takes home either Best Picture or Best Director award. But if Benjamin Button somehow gets any of either award, then the "Academy" has just proven that even after all these years my aversion to them has real reason and merit, and would not have been baseless. Let's just hope my gut feeling is wrong and either one of the two films gets the Best Picture and Best Director award.

Got New Ink

2009-01-28T08:24:00.004+08:00

ALIBATA wrapped around my right arm just below the elbow:

Ma-I-De-I-Sa-Bi-O
Si-Da-Ha-Ta-Sa-Bi-O
So-Ni-Ya-Su-Sa-Bi-O

1. Tattooed once again by my good friend Engel Lucas.
2. The tattoo cost me Php 2,200 although Engel initially pegged it at around 3k because of difficulty and overall craftsmanship.
3. Up until the last moment, I was undecided on whether I'd be using ALIBATA or TENGWAR. (Note: Tengwar Script is the Lord of The Rings font used in the engravement in the One Ring.) I eventually decided on Alibata as it was the much safer choice - Alibata characters are easy to read, write, and understand. And the artist had a fairly good background on tattooing this ancient Filipino alphabet.
4. Here is an image of my original draft sent to the artist.
5. Here is an image of the Alibata characters arranged in sequence that was eventually used for the final stencil on my skin.
6. The PAIN was even greater this time. But I think since my body was already aware of what kind of pain was coming, I did not go into the a-few-seconds-before-passing-out level like last time. I did, however, shout/scream/grimace at every prick of the needle.
7. I'm thinking that this tattoo looks very raw and uncomplete. I am thinking of putting each line in a red-green-yellow band. Rasta colors. Perhaps in another three months or so.

Complicated Unconscious Demon Exorcism

2009-01-22T02:37:00.002+08:00

Drei Corops: nasabi ko na sayo na nung bata ako naisip ko konsepto ng ensemada kahit dehin ko pa alam na may ensemada
Drei Corops: gumagawa ako ng toasted bread and put star maragarine tapos budbod ng asukal
Drei Corops: nung pagtanda ko nakakita ako ng ensaymada nabadtrip ako
Drei Corops: kasi IDEA KO YON
Drei Corops: hahahahaha
Filip Sabio: hahaha
Filip Sabio: hindi mo lng alam pare
Filip Sabio: nung bata ka
Filip Sabio: at wala ka pa masyado malay
Filip Sabio: pinakain ka na non
Filip Sabio: subconsciously
Drei Corops: hahahahaha
Drei Corops: dehin!
Drei Corops: IDEA pure
Filip Sabio: na draw mo yung ganong
Filip Sabio: setup sa
Filip Sabio: ulo mo
Filip Sabio: at ginawa mo sya based from subconscious memory
Drei Corops: can be
Filip Sabio: ayan may explanasyon yung ganyan mo
Drei Corops: pare nakakapanood ka pa ba ng discovery channel
Filip Sabio: pero yung MATRIX idea ko
Filip Sabio: saken talaga
Filip Sabio: hahaha
Drei Corops: teka
Drei Corops: yung concetp
Filip Sabio: hindi pwede manggaling sa subconscious
Drei Corops: concept na peke ang mundo?
Filip Sabio: concept na
Drei Corops: madami nadapuan ng idea na yan!!
Filip Sabio: nabubuhay tayo sa isang
Filip Sabio: dein
Filip Sabio: ganito
Drei Corops: geym\
Filip Sabio: nabubuhay tayo sa isang mundo
Filip Sabio: na utak lng ang nageexist
Filip Sabio: everything around us is
Filip Sabio: SIMULATED
Drei Corops: ilan taon ka nyan
Filip Sabio: grade school
Drei Corops: pwede
Drei Corops: orig nga
Filip Sabio: tangina orig talaga
Filip Sabio: kse walang pwedeng mag feed sa utak ko ng ganon
Drei Corops: pare dugtungan natin sci fi concept ni chel
Drei Corops: sa future daw
Filip Sabio: ano
Drei Corops: lahat ng tao, may black box parang eroplano
Drei Corops: narerecord mga events right before you die
Drei Corops: kaso ang gusto ibuild ni chel ay dapat mali yung technology na yon
Filip Sabio: pare meron nang pelikulang ganyan!
Drei Corops: so may namatay tapos may mystery
Drei Corops: ano?
Filip Sabio: yung kay robin williams
Drei Corops: ows ano yon
Filip Sabio: teka google ko
Drei Corops: yung drama?
Filip Sabio: ano sya dun eh
Drei Corops: yung wat ddreams may come
Filip Sabio: DEIN!
Filip Sabio: gumagawa sya ng video
Drei Corops: bicentennial man whahahaha
Filip Sabio: out of the memories nung tao
Drei Corops: ONE HOUR PHOTO
Filip Sabio: na pinapalabas
Filip Sabio: DEIN
Filip Sabio: sa funeral nya
Filip Sabio: sya yung editor
Drei Corops: pano? technology?
Drei Corops: pyuture?
Filip Sabio: future
Filip Sabio: parang ganon nga
Filip Sabio: may black box
Filip Sabio: everything recorded
Filip Sabio: kaso nagka rebolusyon
Filip Sabio: yung iba ayaw ng ganon
Drei Corops: ay pota hindi orig sayang
Drei Corops: na ensaymada si chel wahahaha
Filip Sabio: hahaha
Drei Corops: pero baka orig din kasi di sya aware sa movie na yon
Filip Sabio: ayun
Drei Corops: dehin subconscious
Filip Sabio: "The Final Cut"
Drei Corops: walang way mapatunayan kung orig sakin yung tinapay invention ko
Filip Sabio: pare ganito lng yan
Filip Sabio: dein orig kse nag exist na
Filip Sabio: before mo maisip
Filip Sabio: whether may idea ka na
Drei Corops: same wid chel mubi
Filip Sabio: existing na sya o hinde
Filip Sabio: same nga
Drei Corops: dehin orig pero self congrats for thinking with no input hahaha
Filip Sabio: oo yun lang
Filip Sabio: haha
Filip Sabio: self congrats
Filip Sabio: "magaling ako"
Drei Corops: ayon...yun yung walang way maproove
Filip Sabio: pero hindi parin applicable sa lahat ng instance
Drei Corops: kung yung tinapay ko self congrats or subconscious input
Filip Sabio: kse nga baka may subconsciuous feed
Drei Corops: hehe
Drei Corops: ayon
Drei Corops: theory of self-congrats
Drei Corops: antithesis of self-congrats is subconscious input
Drei Corops: hahahaha
Drei Corops: pare eto na lang
Filip Sabio: The story is set in a world where implanted microchips can record all moments of an individual's life. The chips are removed upon death so the images can be edited into something of a highlight reel for loved ones who want to remember the deceased.
Drei Corops: ayyyyyy tangina sakto
Drei Corops: maganda kaya yang movie nayan
Drei Corops: eto pare sa channel 5 yung bagong 5 kanina lang nilipat ko channel
Drei Corops: kasi papatulan ko sana TV series local horror bida is Oyo Boy Sotto
Drei Corops: kaso PARANG EPEKTIB
Drei Corops: kaya nilipat ko na
Filip Sabio: hahaha
Drei Corops: concept is semi pwede na
Drei Corops: tignan mo kung orig concetp nila a
Filip Sabio: pare ibig sabihin lng non is
Filip Sabio: you are in the right state of mind
Filip Sabio: pansinin mo yung mga horror ng japan
Filip Sabio: kahit wala ka sa tamang horror takot state of mind
Drei Corops: wat do u mean
Filip Sabio: in the end
Filip Sabio: putangina takot ka din
Drei Corops: ahhh
Drei Corops: nagiging takot ka
Drei Corops: ibig mo sabihin nagkataon nasa mood lang matakot ang katawan ko ngayon
Drei Corops: kaya nauto ako
Filip Sabio: oo
Drei Corops: eto concept nung palabas pare
Drei Corops: gib opinion of originality
Drei Corops: title is DEMON CELLPHONE NUMBER
Drei Corops: simple lang
Drei Corops: may kumakalat na urban legend sa email
Drei Corops: na pag tumawag ka sa number na yon may demonyong tatawa tapos in 2 weeks yari ka
Drei Corops: may namatay na
Drei Corops: umabot sa part ng palabas na may imbestigador
Drei Corops: nalaman mula sa telecomm company na binura na yung number na yon dati pa
Drei Corops: iniimbestiga ni oyo boy kung sino may ari nun dati
Drei Corops: nilipat ko na nung
Drei Corops: nung yung isang tao na ginawa yon for TRUTH OR DARE
Drei Corops: nagreing ang phone
Filip Sabio: tapos
Drei Corops: pag sagot nya hinagis nya phone dehin na pinarinig sa audience
Drei Corops: tapos ayun fog machine
Drei Corops: and then sillhouette of goat with big horns with man body
Drei Corops: nilipat ko na HAHAHA
Filip Sabio: wahahahahaha
Drei Corops: orig ba yon
Filip Sabio: putangina solid
Filip Sabio: hahahahaha
Filip Sabio: hahaha
Filip Sabio: dapat hindi na lng pinakita
Drei Corops: tangina madaling araw na kasi wala nako balak takutin sarili ko with GOAT HEAD BODY SILLHOUETTE
Filip Sabio: sana sa huli na lng
Filip Sabio: parang si sadako
Filip Sabio: hahahaha
Drei Corops: may sa-orig ba konsepto nga mga putanginang channel 5 na to
Drei Corops: medyo hinde
Drei Corops: pero parang pwede na
Filip Sabio: pwede na rin
Filip Sabio: ...
Drei Corops: hehhhehe
Drei Corops: o ayon congrats sa kanila
Drei Corops: semi orig
Drei Corops: tangina lang yung title
Drei Corops: sobrang explicit
Drei Corops: "demon cellphone number"
Drei Corops: hindi man lang "the number"
Drei Corops: hahahahahahaha
Filip Sabio: hahahaha
Drei Corops: PARE MAY NAISIP AKO ORIG!
Filip Sabio: game
Drei Corops: konsepto ng humaharap ka sa salamin pero demonyo ang mukha mo dehin mo mukha!
Drei Corops: TANGINA PANALO
Drei Corops: tapos hindi mo alam bakit
Drei Corops: nakakabaliw ang effect
Drei Corops: yung cliche kasi merong being sa likod mo
Drei Corops: eto iba na...IKAW NA YUN MISMO
Drei Corops: O OKAY BA
Filip Sabio: what?//
Filip Sabio: dein ko nagets
Drei Corops: pag harap mo sa salamin
Drei Corops: di ba yung cliche
Drei Corops: pag harap mo sa salamin
Drei Corops: may goatman sa likod mo
Drei Corops: o kaya ghost man
Drei Corops: or sadako
Drei Corops: yung naisip ko
Drei Corops: pag harap mo sa salamin
Drei Corops: kita mo
Drei Corops: sakto ikaw
Drei Corops: damit
Drei Corops: from foot to neck
Drei Corops: pero head is GOAT MONSTER
Drei Corops: sarili mong reflection GANON
Drei Corops: diba nakakatakot
Drei Corops: lagyan mo ng magandang plot
Drei Corops: saka horror music
Drei Corops: etc etc
Drei Corops: WINNER HORROR EPISODE
Filip Sabio: so ano
Drei Corops: wala pang plot
Filip Sabio: so ikaw talaga yon
Drei Corops: naisip ko lang yung nakaktakot na konsepto ng yung mismong reflection mo demon
Drei Corops: wala pako sa level of idea kumbakit ganon hahahaha
Drei Corops: andun palang ako sa nababaliw ka kasi bakit ganon
Filip Sabio: ah kse sabi mo kanina
Filip Sabio: may being sa likod ng demon face in the mirror
Drei Corops: ah dehin
Drei Corops: yung being sa likod is the cliche
Filip Sabio: ang naisip ko tuloy ganito
Filip Sabio: sinapian ka ng demonyo
Drei Corops: ahhh hahaha
Filip Sabio: pero yung demonyo naging unconscious
Filip Sabio: nung
Drei Corops: remove being behind you concept haha
Filip Sabio: sumapi sayo
Filip Sabio: ang natira lng sa kanya
Filip Sabio: yung residual self image
Drei Corops: hahahaaha
Filip Sabio: so parang sinapian ka ng dormant demon
Filip Sabio: pero ang effect lng nya is
Filip Sabio: yung self image nya
Filip Sabio: yun ang nakikita mo
Filip Sabio: hahahha
Drei Corops: hahahah naging komplikado hahaha
Drei Corops: pero yung idea ko parang pwede
Drei Corops: next taym bigyan mo ko ungas horror concept mo
Drei Corops: dapat yung ungas
Filip Sabio: pare naisip na yan lahat
Drei Corops: pati yung akin?
Drei Corops: la pa yon haha
Filip Sabio: ungas pa nga yung complicated unconscious demon exorcism ko eh
Drei Corops: hahhaahaha naging mas malalim
Filip Sabio: haha nakakatawa lng yung concept mo kse
Drei Corops: tangina solid nga yung channel 5 naalala ko nahayok yung direktor nagpasillhoutte na talga ng demonyo
Filip Sabio: kung ano yung facial expression nya, yun din yung facial expression nung demonyo sa salamin
Drei Corops: ah madali lang yon
Drei Corops: no facial expression from mirror!
Filip Sabio: hahaha
Drei Corops: plain monster goat
Drei Corops: eto balik sa sci fi
Drei Corops: napanood mo na ba FREQUENCY
Filip Sabio: oo panalo yon
Drei Corops: ang daming time flaws and logical flaws non
Drei Corops: pero PWEDE
Filip Sabio: talaga
Drei Corops: pare kasi binago nya yung history NYA
Filip Sabio: parang wala kong nakitang flaw dun sa timelines nila
Drei Corops: nagawan nya ng paraan na maging buhay pala yung tatay nya
Drei Corops: ganito
Drei Corops: ang nangyari
Drei Corops: kumbaga sa multiple lines of reality
Drei Corops: dahil sa events ng pelikulang yon
Drei Corops: ang dating ay
Drei Corops: ay palundag lundag sya from one reality to the next
Drei Corops: para syang naging reality jumper
Drei Corops: for example
Drei Corops: ang reality nya ay patay tatay nya
Drei Corops: tapos nung bandang ending, may mga nangyari..so hindi pala namatay tatay nya
Filip Sabio: onga
Drei Corops: tapos habang inaatake sya ng kontrabida
Drei Corops: dumating tatay buhay pa pala
Drei Corops: pwede mong isipin
Drei Corops: na na quantum-leap sya sa ibang realidad
Drei Corops: sa realidad na may tatay pala sya
Drei Corops: parang ganon
Drei Corops: hahahaha
Filip Sabio: ahh
Filip Sabio: hmmm
Filip Sabio: parang nagrewrite lng sya ng history
Filip Sabio: tapos nagdagdag lng ng impormasyon sa utak nya
Filip Sabio: parang concept ng butterfly effect
Filip Sabio: ashton kuthcer
Drei Corops: e di hindi pala nag exist at all yung pinanggalingan nyang reality...PERO kung hindi nangyari yon hindi nya maliligtas tatay nya.......pero pag inisip mo ng malalim kung hindi nag exist yung reality na namatay tatay nya, hindi nya ililigtas...OR hindi nya KAILANGANG ILIGTAS
Filip Sabio: napanood mo ba yon?
Drei Corops: oo okay yon
Filip Sabio: yun nga parang ganon
Filip Sabio: negrewrite sya ng past
Drei Corops: pero mga magugulong banat na ganyan kaya ko naiisip na malabo magkatime travel
Filip Sabio: pero both realities aware sya
Drei Corops: ganun nga nga
Drei Corops: ganun na nga
Filip Sabio: awareness of both realities, madedecipher mo lng what is real and is not
Drei Corops: pare alam mo yung grandfather paradox at saka yung sagot sa paradox na yon
Filip Sabio: dein
Filip Sabio: ano yon
Drei Corops: sabi sa grandfather paradox
Filip Sabio: tangina
Drei Corops: "time travel not possible because.."
Filip Sabio: baka theory of dinosaur brain nanaman yan ah
Drei Corops: DEHIN
Drei Corops: totoo to hahahahaha
Drei Corops: pero ungas yung late perception dinosaur
Drei Corops: hahahahahaha
Drei Corops: pero eto totoo
Drei Corops: from discovery channel
Filip Sabio: ungas talaga yon o game
Drei Corops: grandfather paradox says time travel not possible
Drei Corops: kasi
Drei Corops: pano kung mag time travel ka sa past
Drei Corops: and kill your own lolo
Drei Corops: then you will not exist
Drei Corops: e di hindi mo na nagawa yon in the first place
Drei Corops: so paradox
Drei Corops: sumikat yon paradox na yon for a long time
Drei Corops: pero may sagot
Filip Sabio: tama nga noh
Drei Corops: ang sagot ay
Filip Sabio: parang loop
Drei Corops: oo
Drei Corops: pero
Drei Corops: astig sa sagot simple lang
Filip Sabio: pano
Drei Corops: ang time travelling is hand in hand with reality jumping
Drei Corops: multiple reality lines
Drei Corops: pag nag time travel ka sa PAST
Drei Corops: at pinatay mo lolo mo
Filip Sabio: new reality
Drei Corops: galing ka sa reality na buhay ang lolo mo
Drei Corops: ang origin mo...one reality line with living lolo
Drei Corops: pag travel mo sa past and kill lolo
Drei Corops: that is a different bersyon
Filip Sabio: tama nga noh
Drei Corops: so kung isesetretch mo pare
Drei Corops: mula dun sa reality na nag time travel ka to the past
Drei Corops: tingin ng mga kaibigan mo nawala ka na lang bigla
Drei Corops: kasi wala naman silang recollection na noong araw may pumatay sa lolo mo
Filip Sabio: tama
Drei Corops: lumipat ka na nga ng TIME...lumipat ka rin pala ng REALITY
Filip Sabio: tama
Drei Corops: ang tanong na walang makakasagot
Drei Corops: ay kung bumalik ka sa future....sa sarili mong present pala
Drei Corops: makakabalik ka ba sa reality MO
Drei Corops: na buhay lolo mo?
Drei Corops: OR mapupunta ka sa future ng NEW REALITY MO
Drei Corops: na hindi ka nag-exist...pero andun ka na e so pwede ka dun na lang tumira as NEW MAN
Filip Sabio: tangina
Drei Corops: DIBA
Drei Corops: KOMPLEKS
Filip Sabio: sakit sa ulo
Filip Sabio: pero astig
Drei Corops: pero astig
Drei Corops: time travel and reality jumps always together
Filip Sabio: pwede mong isipin na
Filip Sabio: eto may sagot ako
Drei Corops: geym
Filip Sabio: maaaring mali
Filip Sabio: pero eto
Drei Corops: okey
Filip Sabio: pwede ka magjump from one time to another, in the same reality
Filip Sabio: becuase everything ALREADY happened
Drei Corops: so pwede mo kausapin sarili mo
Drei Corops: pero DAPAT naalala mo na nung bata ka may nakausap ka na matandang ikaw
Filip Sabio: ganito
Drei Corops: and DAPAT wala kang baguhin
Filip Sabio: parnag pansagot lng sa grnadfather paradox
Filip Sabio: pinatay mo lolo
Filip Sabio: lolo mo
Drei Corops: ok
Filip Sabio: pero dapat hindi mo magagawa kse nga dapat hindi karin nageexist
Filip Sabio: according to grampa paradox
Filip Sabio: BUT
Drei Corops: but
Filip Sabio: dun sa time na nagdecide ka na bumlik
Filip Sabio: bumalik
Filip Sabio: ay nangyari na
Filip Sabio: so parang
Filip Sabio: dr manhattan
Filip Sabio: theory
Drei Corops: ahhh
Filip Sabio: na everything and anytime
Filip Sabio: has already occurred
Drei Corops: PARE!
Drei Corops: yang sinasabi natin
Drei Corops: lahat andito!
Drei Corops: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_paradox
Filip Sabio: wahahaha
Drei Corops: ang sinasabi mo ata ay NONIKOV SELF-CONSISTENCY PRINCIPLE
Drei Corops: tanginangyan
Drei Corops: tignan mo
Drei Corops: novikov pala
Drei Corops: ano say mo hahahah
Filip Sabio: tanginangyan
Drei Corops: ang kulit nung HEDGES
Filip Sabio: dapat jan
Filip Sabio: SABIO-CONSISTENCY PRINCIPLE
Drei Corops: oo kasi ORIG
Filip Sabio: kse AKO nakaisi[p
Filip Sabio: potah
Drei Corops: HAHAHA BUMALIK
Drei Corops: hindi ORIG
Drei Corops: SELF CONGRATULATE
Drei Corops: WAHAHAHAHAHA
Filip Sabio: theory of orig versus self-congratulatory
Drei Corops: oo
Filip Sabio: hahahahahaha
Drei Corops: hahahha
Drei Corops: tangina bumalik full circle
Filip Sabio: tainangyan
Filip Sabio: umikot
Drei Corops: parang yung dinosaur natin
Drei Corops: late perception of reality ONLY FOR TAIL
Drei Corops: not for eyes
Drei Corops: because short nerves can be
Filip Sabio: hahahaha
Filip Sabio: tangina kelangan ma save ko tong conversation na to for blog posting
Drei Corops: if for eyes tangina natusok ka na sa mata nakakita ka pa rin for 2 days more
Filip Sabio: hahahaha

Wii: Guitar Hero

2009-01-22T00:13:00.005+08:00

We got a Wii last month. The game that we have played the most? Guitar Hero: World Tour. I admit that I when I got the console, Guitar Hero or Rock Band wasn't even at the top of my games list. I was looking forward more to Wii Sports or Wii Play or even Wario Ware. Besides, the Wii package I got in Greenhills had a free Wii Guitar, so essentially, choosing Guitar Hero and Rock Band out of the free 25 games that came with it was almost automatic.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't really sure that I'd like the game. Given that I have a fairly basic knowledge of playing guitars and such, I wasn't really sure I'd enjoy hitting the colored keys on command - just like 02 Jam or Dance Dance Revolution. I was thinking this is just kids' stuff.

It was the first ever game I played in our Wii console. I was amazed with how much you can "rock out" on the guitar. Imagine yourself hitting the strum bar on the same riff and moving your fingers through the colored guitar keys like changing chords . Imagine doing this to "Are You Gonna Go My Way," "Everlong," "Beat It," "Spiderwebs," "Freak On A Leash," etc.. and my favorite: "Eye Of The Tiger" Yeah! We got hooked.

Rebel Yell!

UPDATE (2/18/2009): I've now played - Guitar Hero: World Tour, Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock, Rock Band, and Rock Band 2. I have to say that Guitar Hero tops Rock Band easily. Guitar Hero has better songs and is more fun to play - I guess at the core, that's what counts for these games.

Thirty

2008-12-17T22:50:00.003+08:00

December 15, 2008. My 30th birthday. I always thought about having a huge party on the roof or at the penthouse of a building, with a complete gig set for live rock and roll music, free-flowing beer and hard drinks, tons of people, and just all out fun.

So how did I spend my 30th birthday? I spent most of the day getting PLU fixed. Yes. On my 30th birthday I was at a car shop. This is actually by choice as I had really no extra money to spend on a party anyway, and a larger reason really was katamaran - I didn't want to do anything.

Mae Dei even dogged me for being corny and not "celebrating" my birthday like any other person would. On the other hand, she went absolutely crazy that I spent money on the car.

Anyway, I had PLU get all liquids flushed and then undergo a change oil (long overdue), replaced all spark plugs for a tune up, engine washed, foam washed, put in a new radiator coolant, replenished break fluids, fixed the headlights, replaced bulbs on the break lights, and replaced the worn down wipers.That is almost the equivalent of a human being getting a detox treatment. Which made me think: "Should I have gotten a detox at 30 for myself as well?"

The equivalent of a human detox.

Twilight

2008-12-02T01:30:00.004+08:00

I didn't know that a vampire love story would work. But it did. I was afraid that it was going to be a cheesy-high-school-teenage-romance-angst-ridden-flick (think High School Musical meets Interview), but it wasn't. It was surprisingly good.
Also, there are new ideas to the vampire mythology from this book/movie that I found surprisingly pleasant - diamond skin, sunlight immunity, and "vampire vegetarians;" and a few others borrowed - unique powers to each vampire, and possibly rival wolves.

"It's like eating tofu for the rest of your life!"

Five Hundred

2008-11-26T03:07:00.002+08:00

The Miami Heat is currently at .500 (7-7). Kudos to Wade for getting Eastern Conference Player of the week honors. In hindsight, I think you could have hoped for a better start to the season. Although, realistically speaking, I think they'll be hovering at around .500 for the rest of the season. As a fan, i'm really hoping for an 8 or 10 game above-500-finish . That'll put them at around the 5th or 6th seed in the east. However, at around .500, they can get either the 7th or 8th seed, or even lose out on the playoffs completely - remember, the East is much stronger now compared to previous seasons because of the emergence of the Hawks, Magic, Sixers, and New York; and even more consistently play from its powerhouses - Cavs, Pistons, Celtics.

Anyway, here are things to i've noticed from the season so far:
1. Miami NEEDS a real center. Too often they are just being overwhelmed with size.
2. Derrick Rose might edge out Beasley for ROY honors.
3. Chris Quinn suddenly becomes the second coming of Jason Kapono.
4. Shawn Marion will most probably be gone as soon as his contract expires. He seems too disinterested with how his team is playing.
5. Mario Chalmers will be a good point guard one or two years from now. Right now he is just.. inconsistent.
6. I don't know if James Jones and Jamal Magloire are the answer for Miami's bench woes.
7. Shaun Livingwho? Slowly turning out to be the Penny Hardawho incident.
8. Wade has been pretty amazing so far. I'm just worried he might be physically and mentally spent before the last two months of the season - where the schedule gets extremely tough and important playoff implications are abound.
9. Can't really be too sure if Spo has any effect on the players.
10. Wade might leave in 2010 if things don't turn around. Although I believe, he's happy right where he is, but he'll be aching for a superstar alongside him. Bosh, perhaps?

The Dark Knight Limited Edition DVD with Batpod

2008-11-26T02:21:00.005+08:00

I just reserved myself a copy of The Dark Knight Limited Edition DVD with Batpod in Astrovision. This one is a bit pricey, around Php 2,750. (Note: It still won't be the priciest DVD box set we've bought. The Da Vinci Code Box Set DVD with Cryptex and the Ultimate Matrix DVD Gift Set are more expensive than this one.) Anyway, I believe that the Dark Knight DVD Set deserves to be one of the more expensive ones - the movie is that good and the box set looks just as awesome.

UPDATE: I just got the box set. I was really disappointed with how small the batpod was. Although the DVD content more than made up for it. The movie is, of course, exceptional - I have watched three times already since I got it. And I particularly liked the Gotham Tonight News Show in the Special Features disc. It featured a news show, discussing the state of Gotham and its well known residents as well as interviews with the characters themselves.

Bangkok Dangerous

2008-11-04T23:44:00.004+08:00

Watched this on dibidi the other day.. Word of advice to anyone - AVOID THIS MOVIE AT ALL COSTS. Face it, this was no Hollywood-style big movie production. It was an asian flick so bad it felt like it was shot 30 years ago. You can sense that even Nicolas Cage didn't really want to be a part of this and that he may have been blackmailed to do this or something.

(EDIT: I was going to say that Bangkok Dangerous may have been the worst movie of the year. It is not. That title goes to Max Payne The Movie. Max Payne could have been worst movie of the decade if not for Olga Kurylenko.)

Laslas Convention

2008-11-04T23:37:00.002+08:00

So this is what I look like as an EMONG. Disclaimer: Mae Dei put me up to this.

My Pain is Self Chosen

2008-10-09T10:41:00.006+08:00

The whole tattooing experience was surreal. I knew there was going to be pain. As a matter of fact, I talked to a lot of people about the pain.

Some said that you get so psyched about the pain that when you first get "poked," you'll just be saying to yourself "Nah, it ain't that bad.."

Some said that it felt like tiny cutter blades scraping and actually peeling your skin, and then imagine that happening over and over again for more than an hour. Ouch.

The tattoo artist started with the outline of the characters and he used a needle with I think just one or two needle points. He started at the bottom character then worked his way up. It wasn't really that painful at first, however, I wasn't prepared for the shock that my body had to endure. When he was already outlining the second character from the bottom, I felt really lightheaded, my fingers and toes were going numb, my vision was blurring, and although I could still hear what they were saying, I felt my sense of hearing drop off a little. I was this close to passing out. I think that in about 5 seconds or more, I would have. Thankfully, I was able to call time out and asked for a break. They said that I looked extremely pale at that time - my skin was already porcelain white and my lips had absolutely no color. I can laugh about it right now, but that time was almost traumatic. (Actually, Mae Dei was laughing at me the entire time.) Anyway, I before I could totally pass out, I was able to lie down and rest for about 5 to 10 minutes. After I my head cleared up, I went at it again. He finished the outline for all four characters and then proceeded with shading inside the outlines. It is common belief that the tattooing of the outline is actually more painful than the shading. In my case, it was the exact opposite, the shading part was more painful. Way more painful. This time, he was using a needle with like 5 or 6 sharp needle points for the shading. The tattoo artist actually said: "More muscle less pain. More fat more pain." That was so true for me. I felt like the pain was everywhere. I guess one of the things I could be proud of was the reality that I did not pass out. I endured.

I was actually able to finish the entire session with just two more breaks - I had to pick up Seiichi from school and I had to eat something. He asked me at the beginning if I ate a full meal. And I did, just hours before. What I didn't realize was that all my strength will be sapped from my entire being because of the enduring pain. I actually felt hungry just after a few minutes of starting. So I ate bread and pasta in between.

After everything was done, I looked at my tattoo in the mirror and I was so hyped up. I couldn't believe that FINALLY I got a tattoo. I couldn't help myself from doing rockstar hand signs to myself in the mirror. It turned out to be awesome. I like my design. I like the fact that Seiichi's name will be forever part of my body. I like everything about it.

I paid the artist his fee which was 2,500 Pesos and I said to him "Pinakamasayang bayad ko 'to ng 2-5 sa buong buhay ko. Sobrang astig 'eh." We were both happy with how the tattoo turned out and I thanked him for the quality service.

In the end, I was so glad that I paid 2,500 pesos for the tattoo and 800 pesos for our car's tint - and not the other way around.

SE-I-CHI-KO Tats

2008-10-07T07:04:00.007+08:00

A week ago, I was talking about the idea that sometimes cheap products are okay, but cheap services are often not. Little did I know that I would be going through this exact line of thought just a few days after. I mean, what better way to prove this point than to get a permanent skin tattoo. (I think I'm the first person to show an analogy between cheap car tints and permanent skin art.)

Anyway, I wanted to get a tattoo as early as college, but I just didn't have the right design in mind that would ultimately tell the story or at least an idea of who and what I am. And quite frankly, the thought of going through an hour or two of excruciating pain scared me.

A couple of months ago I decided on getting a tattoo of Seiichi's name on my arm. Thanks to Roy Rebong and Tara Enrile for their help on the Japanese Katakana symbols - I consider them trusted sources because they've been living in Japan for a good part of their life and they can read and write katakana.

I got my tattoo at the comfort of my own home. The tattoo artist, Engel Lucas, was referred by my good friend, Jobo Cataluna. Jobo had his first tattoo from Engel a few weeks back. This is the part where products versus services come in. The artist's service fee was relatively higher that other tattoo artists. I've seen Jobo's tattoo and I liked it. The black Alibata was very vivid and the way it was drawn was very good. I actually had a lot of choices when it came to whom and from what shop I will get my tattoo from. I was even quoted cheaper services by other shops, but since this is a major, major decision in one's life, I really wanted to be worked on by an artist whose work I have seen first hand and one who is recommended very strongly by his clients. It took almost a month of scheduling and rescheduling between me and the artist. And finally, yesterday, Monday October 6, we both had our schedules free up. The deed was to be done at around afternoon in our house at Village East. He arrived with his friend shortly after 1:00 PM. When I met him, I completely understood what Jobo was saying when he meant: "Okey gumawa ng trabaho yan." and "Madali kausap 'yan." He put me at ease right away and he shared stories of people passing out and peeing in their pants while getting a tattoo. I realize that last sentence may be paradoxical but I got the feeling from this person that he "understood it." He understood the feelings and decisions and spirituality involved in giving something as permanent as a tattoo. (I say "giving" because Engel does not have a single tattoo on himself! He says he has not yet fully visualized the tattoo that will describe him fully as a person. As for me, I totally get that - I liken that to the story about the town with only two barbers. One has a bad haircut and one has a nice haircut. Guess who you'll be choosing to get your haircut from? Exactly.) He also

He had a whole lot of stuff he brought with him - his big tattoo case with different colored inks (I think there may have been around 20 to 30 different color bottles), his two coil tattoo machine with a sort of like voltage regulator and a foot pedal connected to the whole contraption (probably to control the stick and poke of the needles), his needles were in clear plastic containers (that was opened in front of me), he had a lot of tissue paper, a lot of cotton balls, a lot of disposable gloves (for changing in between breaks), and a few liquid sprays that I did not get to ask what they were (he sprayed it on tissue paper he used to clean the skin while doing the tattoo). He also brought a few of his tattoo designs which were pretty amazing by the way.

So anyway, I started with me showing the design I wanted. He asked me beforehand if I already had a design or not. He was probably relieved to find out that I already had one and that I was already decided on it. He said that it usually takes 3 to 4 hours for a person to choose the design and even longer if the client needs to research a design. We printed out different sizes of the 4-character Katakana. After choosing the right scale, he stenciled it on what was probably carbon paper. He cleaned part of my arm with Betadine and alcohol, wiped deodorant material on it (for the outlined stencil to stick), asked me to stand up on my natural pose, pressed the paper on my arm, and "parang magic" the outline of my design was on my arm. The artist told me to look at the mirror and check if the position, scale, and everything else is right before the actual tattooing takes place. He said that we can redo the stencil if necessary. Anyway, I looked at it through the mirror for a couple of minutes, I was checking if everything is in the right place, and it was exactly where I wanted it to be.

Next Up: PAIN

Recent Movies Watched

2008-10-02T21:55:00.005+08:00

Eagle Eye - It had a few references to I, Robot but the overall theme was masterfully crafted to something new and fresh, the action sequences were breathtaking, and had more than one of those "holy s#!t" moments, which is enough to make it one of the top ten movies of the year.

War, Inc. - Same old semi-futuristic theme of corporations taking over countries and funding wars for the weapons race. Nothing really worth noting here other than Hillary Duff dancing sexy on a table trying to seduce John Cusack.

Martian Child - I guess since we all have that "loner" gene inside of us and at one time or another we felt no one understood us as kids, most of us can probably relate to this movie. A sobering look at a father and child relationship but really nothing extravagant or more than that.

Nim's Island - An adventure story from two points of view (Jodie Foster and that Little Miss Sunshine kid) with their struggle to meet at Nim's Island and save each other. I was surprised I finished this movie in its entirety. I didn't really expect much so I guess the plot and the script were engaging.

Righteous Killed

2008-09-29T22:47:00.003+08:00

SAGWA. You can't blame anyone for being excited about this movie. De Niro and Pacino. That's Vito and Michael Corleone for alla youse! I was thinking that at best this movie could almost reach Godfather levels, at worst it'd be Michael Mann's Heat. Besides, I thought that these two wouldn't sign up for a bad script let alone a bad movie.
I was so wrong. Yes, they still had the presence of acclaimed greatness and they brought "it." But that was about it. Everything fell apart. It was badly written. It was predictable. It was below average. Turns out that even the Heat comparison was a stretch. SAYANG. It seemed like they used up most of the budget for the two actors. There was absolutely nothing about the script, cinematography, and directing that was worthy to be tagged as the next De Niro and Pacino flick. The sad thing is: they could have used different actors and maybe it wouldn't have sucked as much because you weren't going to expect anything. Sagwa because they could have made the movie much better although not by much; Sayang because we know a lot of other movie ideas and scripts out there are better than this.

Super Black The Exception

2008-09-29T20:59:00.006+08:00

I had PLU (or Knight Rider: K.I.T.T. as RyanA calls it) tinted. In the same lines as my Brand X post last march, I looked around briefly for an affordable car tinting shop that could offer a relatively good service. There was one such shop within the grounds of Makro Cainta that offered a "Tint Promo" for only Php 800. This was only for a generic tint (no brand) and the place seemed reputable and the tint men were very accomodating.

I considered a branded Solargard tint from this place as well, but they didn't have it in "Super Black" and it was more than 3 times as pricey than the generic one. I really wanted a Super Black tint anyway because I didn't want my passengers to be seen inside, I don't like the heat/sun, and Super Black matched my car's jet black finish. My friend, Ian Tecson, also advised me to go with scratch-proof tint so that it won't break down after years of closing and opening windows. So ultimately, with the help of MaeDei and Drei, I decided to go the Tint Promo route for 800 pesos for a generic-semi-scratch-proof-Super-Black tint at the sides and back. No tint for the windshield (yet) as it is unadvisable to tint it black for safety reasons. (You wouldn't see shit even if you had HIDs and branded tints.)

I realize now that my affinity for cheap working products does not always turn out to be sunny, so to speak. The finished product turned out HIDEOUS. The tint had a lot of those "dreaded bubbles" at the sides and top part of the windows and at the back there were even a few hints of peeling. I guess my fault was that I brought the car around 5:00 in the afternoon and it was already dark when they finished; plus it rained around the time they were finishing up.

So I brought it back the very next day, and since they were working on another car they advised me to return the next day. I had assurances from the tint men and the owner of the shop that they will work on it first thing. So the day after that, I returned and they did a do-over on the back windows and they tried to "hagod" all the bubbles out of existence. Well, the tint job improved but not a whole lot. It improved only on the do-overs and not the hagods. The freakin' bubbles were still there. My windows had like these constellations of small bubbles everywhere. I felt like an astronomer trying to look for the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

After the tint men were done, I asked "Wala na ba magagawa diyan sa mga bubbles na yan? Ang dami eh. Sayang pa-tint ko kung ganyan kalalabasan." In the end, I heard phrases from the tint men along the lines of "Wala na, sir" and "Ganyan talaga ang tinting hindi perpekto" and "Kahit mga brand new na sasakyan may mga bubbles talaga, kahit tignan niyo pang mabuti sa iba." Okay, so I went off pissed and I guess being upset and disappointed are a few ways of putting it lightly.

But to tell you honestly, this experience enlightened me. There was still a silver lining around the time and money lost. I analyzed this situation and then it dawned on me. I was ready to give up on Brand X products, but then I realized: There is nothing wrong with Brand X products, it is Brand X services that you have to worry about.

I'm sure a whole lot of other tinting shops could have done way better with the exact same Super Black tint than what these guys did. Yeah sure, you get what you pay for in terms of the quality of the product. But a little research and effort could help you with decisions on different Brand X products and you are not limited with just choosing the expensive brands. With cheap services, however, it maybe an entirely different story. You KNOW you are not getting anything nearly as good. And more often than not, your expectations will not be met.

So I have a new lesson to learn and impart: Brand X products = sometimes okay. Brand X services = often not okay.

Pack Everything!

2008-09-11T22:01:00.002+08:00

I didn't know we brought that with us.

We recently moved from Marikina to Cainta and we asked our yayas to help out with packing our things. I told them to put a label on the plastic bags and boxes so that it will be easier to transport and organize over at the new house. Guess what? Click on the picture for a better view of the plastic bag label.

Death Chart

2008-09-11T20:52:00.006+08:00

Pending other preseason transactions, this is what Miami's depth chart will probably look like at the beginning of the season:

C - Blount / Magloire / Anthony / Mourning*
PF - Haslem / Beasley / Padgett
SF - Marion / J. Jones / Wright
SG - Wade / Cook / Diawara
PG - Quinn / Chalmers / Banks

With the recent signing of Magloire, it seems that Riles will be playing the center position by committee. It is not necessarily a bad thing, sometimes that approach works. But given that most of the Eastern Conference contenders had strengthened their 4 and 5 positions, and the fact that Miami will be pinning its postseason hopes on Blount's offense, Magloire's defense, and Mourning's health - the season will certainly look bleak.

Now, what about point guards? I can't even begin to imagine that Pat Riley is done dealing. He has been able to get quality point guards in the free agency in the past, so yes, I trust him. Its just that all the guards are getting signed by other teams. Who is left anyway? Livingston? Stoudamire? Gordon?? Urrghh.. I hope that Miami does the right thing or signs the "right" guard - whoever that may be.
In Riles We Trust.

Of course, its not all bad. The two, three, and four positions are loaded with talent. They can score on anybody and defend anyone.
We got shooters to spread the floor: Cook and Jones;
Defensive stoppers: Marion, Diawara, Wright, and Haslem (add Wade if he's not spent on offense);
Slashers: Wade and Marion,
Natural scorers: Wade and Cook, and;
Young legs, a ton of potential, and a lot of rebounds: Beasley.

My prediction? 8th or even 7th in the East. But it will mainly boil down to health and chemistry - two things that seemed to lack last season's heinous regular season run.

I Wantss It

2008-09-03T22:49:00.003+08:00

The Angas-Factor of this ride is off the hook! I want a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer. I WANT a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer. I'd sell my left nut for one of these.

After VRUSKO, I promised I'd swear off of Mitsubishi cars. (Not that I can afford a new car anyway.) But check this motherfucker out. It's like a poor man's Dodge Charger SRT8!

Shake Yer Head (In Disappointment)

2008-09-01T20:14:00.006+08:00

By now, you must have heard the news that the Eraserheads Reunion Concert did not finish because mister big shot Ely Buendia happened to have chest pains that made him unable to finish the rest of the set. When his sister was delivering the message to the crowd that his brother is on his way to the hospital and that the concert will not continue, I was thinking to myself, "So... they decided that THIS would be the best possible ending." I think that this is a conspiracy, I mean think about it, what better way for the band to end it? Keep the crowd hanging for more.. Go out with a bang (of sorts).. Be the story of the month.. Be the story of the year.. Possibly.

Even if it wasn't a conspiracy, and even if it did happen according to fate and not some human deus ex machina, I left disappointed.

(UPDATE: When the organizers asked for a minute of silence for prayers about Ely's condition. Everyone was silent. Everyone. Which may indicate that I am in the minority regarding this conspiracy thing. Okay, I knew that I was going to be in the minority about this thing. But I'm not writing this just to stand out and be against the flow (like this). I'm writing this for myself and because this is what I felt and this is what I thought probably happened.)

Also, about the organizers, I was half-hoping that they'd announce that they would return the half of the ticket price or something like that. Naive. Haha. I even heard a few people commenting that: "Humingi kasi ng group-hug eh, ayan, inatake tuloy."

Before I am judged, I want you guys to know that I really, really wanted this to work out. I really wanted this to be an amazing night. (For the should-have-been-first-half, it was.) Please keep in mind that I have a number of things invested in this concert. Aside from the money that we spent for the tickets, there's this little thing to note that one of the band members is the biological father of my eldest daughter. (Syd is 6 years old, and yes, we are open about it.) And to add to that, I am truly a FAN of the Eraserheads. Probably 8 out of the first 10 songs that Andrei, Robert, and I learned to play together as band was an E-Heads song -probably like most other bands of our generation. Anyway, during the concert, I was singing my heart out and I absolutely enjoyed myself. My wife and I were with great people (Drei, Chel, Gail, and Che). I was constantly teasing my wife about her "past love." Hehe. We rocked out. We were absolutely eager and excited for the next set. Then came the message...

UPDATE: What made me more disappointed was this e-mail I received from my good buddy, Ken, who was at the concert as well. The following may or may not be true, it was quoted from a blog (here is the link). It will make you wonder though, what we could have missed if there really was a second part. Here is an excerpt:

We were all supposed to dance the Huling El Bimbo with a fantastic fireworks display. It was going to be the perfect song to end a perfect concert.I know because my sister said so. She was one of the band's PAs (guess which one!) and was there during the production meetings. On Sunday morning, as we gathered for our family lunch, she told us what was supposed to go down during the Eheads concert.The first set went exactly as planned, except of course for Ely's collapse. To refresh your memory, these are the songs we heard:

1. Alapaap

2. Ligaya

3. Sembreak

4. Hey Jay

5. Harana

6. Fruitcake

7. Toyang

8. Kama Supra

9. Kailan

10. Wag Kang Matakot

11. Kaliwete

12. With A Smile

13. Shake Yer Head

14. Wag Mo Nang Itanong

15. Lightyears

During the second set, the band was to sing ten more songs, in this order:

1. Maskara

2. Poor Man's Grave

3. Torpedo

4. Trip to Jerusalem

5. Back To Me

6. walang Nagbago

7. Maling Akala

8. Tikman

9. Spoliarium

10.Magasin

When Magasin was to be played, the screen behind them would have montages of various news and magazine clippings of them. It would flash alternately with shots of the band and audience until the song reached the coda where Ely sings "...ay centerfold ka naaaa...woo hoo-hoo, haaa-haaa" part of the song. Then there would be fire works and a fountain of sparks, going on til the last note of the song. Then the hydraulic stage would be lowered and the band would make a "fake ending". The lights would then go out. My sister said the band would wait til the crowd chanted "more". "It would take two beers' worth of chanting "more" she said. Then in the darkness, a very dramatic keyboard solo would be heard, and it would be the opening chords of Para Sa Masa.The hydraulic stage would rise again and there they would be.After Para Sa Masa, they'd switch into Overdrive. With the crowd pumped within an inch of insanity they were to hit us with Pare Ko. And then we would slow down and reminisce with Minsan.Finally, they would perform Huling El Bimbo. Again, after the last refrain, at the coda (la la la laaa...) the grand fireworks display would go off, fountains of light surrounding the stage. The next la-la-la parts would see fireworks from behind the general admissions section, and as the song ended there would be a burst of confetti all over the audience. Then the hydraulic stage would be lowered for the final exit.

Those were the plans for the Ultraelectromagnetic night. It may not have happened as planned but at least we knew they were going to give us a show we would never forget!We asked my sister if the band knew about all these plans and she said they did. In fact they were so excited about all the gimmicks and couldn't wait to party with the audience. "Nag-usap pa nga sila kung may mga kailangang saluhin na kanta just in case (di na kaya ni Ely)," she said. "And Ely said, hindi, Kakanta ako!"

I'm putting out an order to the Universe that we all get to watch the second set!

So what do I make of this? Do we hope for a "free" concert like originally reported? Probably. But I wouldn't want me and Mae Dei in the middle of that crowd. She being pregnant and all. Sobrang dami na nga ng tao last concert eh, dun pa kaya sa libre. But on the other hand, would I pay for another concert that I was already supposed to have paid for already?

Will Marcus, Raimund, Buddy, and Ely do it again? Will we ever get to see them play El Bimbo and Magasin together? Will there ever be another band as iconic as Eraserheads?

Will they treat us to a group hug?

Speed Racer

2008-08-22T22:25:00.003+08:00

Bad:

Cinematography - A movie of this scale should have had more wide shots. Instead, zooming in from close-up to close-up to another close-up to yet another close-up will almost make you nauseous.

Racing Physics - Okay, it was more like spinning rather than racing. The cars spin almost always during races. Intended spinning. The race felt like the cars were on ice with absolutely no traction. I particularly like the car battles, but these lightweight cars seemed indestructible.

Good:

Color Palette - It reminded me of Nickelodeon's Lazy Town. Which is somewhat a good thing. Seiichi loved that show and the hues always made us relax.

Roger Allam (Mr. Royalton) and Paulie Litt (Spritle Racer) - Great acting. They were more memorable than Speed Racer himself.

Bottom Line: Even if you're a fan of the original animated series, it's not the end of the world if you happen to miss this movie. Anyway, watch this movie when you have nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon and you just want to sit back on your couch. Just block it from your mind that this is a Wachowski movie and you're all set.

Hypermile Your Life

2008-08-22T21:33:00.003+08:00

I just came across an amazing article in Wikipedia and Wikihow. It's about Hypermiling.

Hypermiling is a term used in North America that refers to a set of techniques used to maximize fuel economy. Those who practice the techniques are referred to as "hypermilers."

Ever since I've read these articles, I've been practicing common techniques to save fuel like idling, drafting, and braking techniques. It is almost a habit now. Everytime I step behind the wheel, I think - "Hypermile my car, Hypermile my life."

Tisyong, ikaw na ba yan?

2008-08-20T01:24:00.003+08:00

If you look closely at the picture above, you can see the two distinct purple lines forming in the marked indicators of the pregnancy kit. That could mean only one thing: Mae Dei and I are expecting our third child! I'm so excited, I can't even begin to explain! Happy times and crazy times ahead!
I don't want to get ahead of myself but, we already have a name for a baby boy (a Star Wars character) although we're undecided yet on a name for a baby girl (we have an idea but it's not set in stone yet).
This is not really unexpected. We've been talking about having another baby for almost a year now. We, however, could have made some preparations/techniques/methods to make sure we have a boy this time. Yep, you heard me right - we could have at least done more to increase the chance of conceiving a baby boy (we have two girls). Believe it or not, there are dietary recommendations, temperature and time of day considerations, Chinese birth calendar guides (Lunar), astrological guides (Sun, Moon, and Zodiac), and a number of myths and other scientific tips for this. A quick Google search will give almost all the information you need.

Quick Movie Reviews

2008-08-14T23:55:00.006+08:00

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - It was a fairly good movie. Much like the other Mummy movies, it was action-packed and had a relatively engaging plot. However, you can tell that not having Rachel Weisz play the role of Evey had a negative impact to the overall feel of the movie. It just wasn't as refreshing without her. Anyway, this is an easy call, The Mummy Returns is still the best out of of all three Mummy movies.

The Dark Knight - It IS the best superhero movie in the history of film. Great special effects, cinematography, acting, story, and plot. Bad Batman voice. Nothing that will revolutionize the entire film industry, but it does stake claim to the best superhero film ever. Pending Snyder's Watchmen that is.

Felon - Nothing to see here. Please move along.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan - This may very well be the worst Adam Sandler movie.

Hancock - This movie got so many bad reviews from either friends or critics, I watched it without any expectations at all. Turns out it wasn't really that bad - it was an "okay" popcorn movie. Which means, watch it if you don't want to think about what you're seeing.

Impact Point - "A sexy volleyball thriller." - without sex.

Kung-Fu Panda - A measure of how good an animated movie for children is the children themselves. I watched this with my two daughters and within 15 minutes, they were already doing something else.

Pathology - "Mga doktor lang makaka-appreciate nyan..." - my wife

Rescue Dawn - Christian Bale actually agreed to do this movie? Elton Brand (professional basketball player and movie producer) must really have some deep pockets.

Harold and Kumar: Escapa from Guantanamo Bay - If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Other than that, same same. Rob Cordry was exceptionally funny here, by the way.

Hot Rod - The highlight of the entire movie was the "punch dancing" scene. If not for anything else, you may see this movie just for that.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - This is actually one of the funniest movies of the year. But why did it have so many dick shots?

New Ville Rant

2008-08-14T22:05:00.004+08:00

We moved from Marikina to Cainta a month ago. I definitely miss Longhorn, I grew up there, actually, I spent my entire 29 years at that place - not just a house but a home. The new village in Cainta is "okay," but far from perfect.
Consider this: the apartment is a full two kilometers away from the gate - that translates to around half a liter of gasoline just to travel to the gate and return, and don't even get me started on gas prices. Between the gate and the apartment, you have to go through no less than 10 road humps. Think about that for a minute. Ten humps. In a distance of 2 kilometers. Ten! And these aren't even nicely curved road humps. These are broken down, really high, suspension breaking road humps where you have to completely stop to go over them. Its like their purpose is not to slow down vehicles but rather to BREAK them. On a stick shift, you can't even go on fourth or fifth gear because the humps are positioned unevenly every 200 meters or so. I have to endure this EVERY day. Not to mention the traffic you have to go through outside the village to get to anywhere.
Another thing that is not helping is that stray animals are everywhere. In just a single month, I have already injured three dogs and a cat, by running over them on the road. (Disclaimer: I may or may ot have killed some of them) Honestly, I sincerely did not mean to hurt these "pets." Everyone has gone through this. It was like the dogs had no idea what to do when they saw headlights - i'm gonna cross, no i'm not gonna cross, i'm gonna cross, no i'm not gonna cross... i'm gonna... (insert non-offensive sound text of something hitting a car). This is the difference between Cainta and Marikina. In Marikina, the stray pet law (or whatever they call it) is strictly enforced. Strictly enforced. All stray animals are caught and caged and all pets are registered in each barangay. They have people going around the city JUST for this purpose. If you've been to Marikina, you'd see that there are absolutely no stray animals anywhere.
Anyway, things aren't really not dire. This village has a lot of positives as well. The apartment, although small, is very homey. Seiichi's school is just two blocks away from the apartment. This school is really nice and not that expensive. Syd is much nearer now to Assumption Antipolo and her school bus got a lot cheaper. The clubhouse has a swimming pool. The inihaw food you can buy around the village is really, really good. The village is nearer to malls and is nearer to Ortigas and to Eastwood (although not really a lot). And my wife's bestfriend lives on the same village.
At the end of the day, the thing that is mostly on my mind is - Until when will we keep on renting an apartment and when will we get a house of our own?
That is an entirely different chapter by itself.

D-Wade is back?

2008-08-14T21:58:00.002+08:00

He has been tearing it up at the Olympics. Showing off his natural athleticism and the explosiveness that gave Miami their first championship in franchise history. I particularly liked this quote from Zo: "I see him as a MVP candidate this year and I told him that a goal of his should be to on first team all-defense and there is no reason he shouldn't be there." All-defense first team is not a stretch for Wade. He was the best shot blocking guard in the entire league a couple of years back (if you consider Josh Smith a forward).
So is D-Wade back? Not until he shows up healthy on the first day of the regular season and plays all 82 games.

James Jones

2008-07-10T05:05:00.002+08:00

From the RealGM Wiretap:

"The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed free agent guard/forward James Jones. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Jones, 6’8”, 220 pounds, shot 44.4 percent from three-point range last season finishing with the third-best mark in the NBA. The five-year NBA veteran appeared in 58 games (three starts) for the Portland Trail Blazers last season and averaged 8.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 22.0 minutes while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 87.8 percent from the foul line. He shot at least 50 percent from beyond the arc 31 times with his best effort coming on April 15 as he tied his single-game career-high with six three-point field goals made."

Good FA signing, he can be the James Posey type player Miami used to have - coming off the bench, hitting open shots, and being a decent defender. Besides, he loves to play in Miami as this is his hometown.
BUT: The Heat's track record for signing shooters has not been really good except for Jason Kapono. And why do I get the nagging feeling that he'll be another Wesley Person, or worse, a Smush Parker? I hope to high heaven i'm wrong and he doesn't turn out like either of them.
Anyway, so what happens to Ricky Davis and Dorrell Wright now?

No-Jay Mayo

2008-06-27T22:54:00.002+08:00

So the Heat did get Beasley in the draft. Three things come to mind:
1. Are they expecting Marion to bolt after next season?
2. Who will be Miami's starting PG?
3. Is Riley done dealing?
Overall, I think it was a great draft day for Miami. ESPN's Chad Ford even gave the highest mark this year - an A+ team draft grade.
Also, from an interview, Pat Riles said that it was an "easy" decision for Miami and that they wanted Beasley all along. That's unfathomable from all the drama they created by, publicly appearing to be high on Mayo and working out Bayless on the last day before the draft. Anyway, it's a good thing Beasley will be staying (hopefully). I just can't see either Mayo or Bayless turning into good to great players.

Recent DVDs Watched

2008-06-26T01:07:00.003+08:00

1. Be Kind Rewind - (Jack Black, Mos Def) - Started with a lot of promise, ended up being forgettable.

2. Forbidden Kingdom - (Jacky Chan, Jet Li) - Everyone involved in this movie must have gone to the cliche-till-you-die festival.

3. Pathfinder - (Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood) - It had potential as a serviceable popcorn movie, but it failed even that.

4. Shinobi: Heart Under Blade - (Yukie Nakama, Joe Odagiri) - It had a few cheap references to Ninja Scroll I have to admit - but this movie was masterfully done. Buy the DVD or download if you have the chance.

5. Never Back Down - (Sean Faris, Cam Gigandet) - Another cliche-fest, but being an MMA fan, I actually finished the movie in its entirety without ejecting the DVD - which is a good thing for a movie I expected little of.

Incredi-Bulok and Tony Starr

2008-06-25T23:39:00.005+08:00

I just saw the new Hulk movie a couple of days ago. First off, i'd like to say that before actually seeing it, I realized that two of my favorite actors were going to be playing hero and villain. The idea of Norton and Roth squaring off against each other just made my expectations for the movie shoot up to almost Dark Knight levels. It could have been a blessing or it could have been a curse.
In reality, it was both. Even though I had no expectations on Leterrier's directing, the acting and overall theme of the movie was really good. It clearly was better than Ang Lee's. The problem with making movies with the Hulk was inherent in the character of the Hulk itself.
The Hulk is relatively a shallow character. He gets angry, he turns green, he smashes things. There's not much else to it really.
On the other hand, you can focus on Bruce Banner's persona who is a much deeper character on so many levels. The thing with that is - who's going to want to watch a movie that's 90% banner and 10% Hulk?
Anyway, I had a few ideas that could have added to the entertainment value - like an insane sex scene with Betty Ross (Banner pulling out just as he turns green completely!), the Hulk's Sonic Clap rips tanks (and people!) in half, Abomination getting bigger as he gets angrier and at the same time hooks himself up with abomination-grade military weapons!
Bottom line, I think the recent Hulk movie was as good as you can ever get to tell the story of Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk.
But why did it feel like the highlight of the movie was Tony Stark's appearance at the end?

LATE PERCEPTION OF REALITY!!

2008-06-05T00:15:00.001+08:00

Drei Corops: ay pare may kasama ako dito sa bahay ikalawang lalake lang na kilala ko na normal medyo gago pero mahilig sa science na hayok gaya natin
Drei Corops: may sinabi sya sakin DEHIN KO PA ALAM
Drei Corops: nakakatuwa may marinig na bago
Filip Sabio: ano
Drei Corops: nabasa raw nya sa websayt....according to COGNITIVE SCIENCE
Drei Corops: lahat ng senses natin MAY LAG
Drei Corops: mga 1/10 of a second
Drei Corops: so nape-perceive natin ang BUONG REALITY
Drei Corops: na medyo LATE!!
Filip Sabio: one tenth? talaga... parang ambagal nun ah
Drei Corops: lahat daw..touch, sight, sound
Drei Corops: baka mali sya sa numero
Drei Corops: duda ako sa numero
Filip Sabio: alam ko hayok mga neurons natin sa tulin
Filip Sabio: halos speed of light
Drei Corops: oo hayok...feeling ko mali pagkaalala nya
Drei Corops: pero may lag pa rin realistic yon
Drei Corops: nakakatuwa yung idea na since lahat ng senses may lag...e di tangina HULI tayo sa lahat
Drei Corops: huli sa realidad ng todo konting mga units of time
Drei Corops: malamang dehin 1/10
Drei Corops: pero naniniwala ako sa general lag ..."late perception of reality"
Filip Sabio: pero ambilis mag process ng utak natin
Filip Sabio: hehe
Drei Corops: oo nagcocompensate..pero yung point daw ng documentary...
Filip Sabio: ano
Drei Corops: pag daw naenhance ng science ang senses natin...may advantage tayo sa mga normal na tao
Drei Corops: parang spiderman spider sense
Filip Sabio: putah
Drei Corops: kasi nauuna
Filip Sabio: sino nakaka achieve nyan
Drei Corops: haha
Filip Sabio: or theoretical sense
Drei Corops: wala theory lang
Filip Sabio: tangina ano yon maikli mga nerves hahaha
Drei Corops: isipin mo pare..SA TOTOO LANG NASUNTOK KA NA pero ang alam ng buong kaluluwa mo PALANDING PA LANG YUNG SAPAK
Drei Corops: hahaha
Drei Corops: kung alam mo na masusuntok ka na makakaiwas ka
Drei Corops: ang ineexplain kasi OA sa generalized lag
Filip Sabio: baliktad
Drei Corops: baliktad ba
Filip Sabio: akala mo palanding pa lng yung suntok
Drei Corops: ay oo baliktad
Filip Sabio: este
Drei Corops: nakakalito
Filip Sabio: nasuntok ka na
Drei Corops: ayujn yung sabi ko jhehehe
Filip Sabio: este
Drei Corops: tama yung una ko
Drei Corops: nasuntok ka na pero dahil alam mo yun..pwede mong unahan....tangina parang metaphysical world
Drei Corops: ineexplain na magiging parang minority report man ka
Drei Corops: may future sense!!
Filip Sabio: pero in reality
Filip Sabio: dein future yon
Drei Corops: yun daw yung goal...tapso sabi daw malamang mga futureman gaya ni nostradamus hayok lang daw ang awareness
Filip Sabio: it is da "now"
Filip Sabio: pero pano ka mauuna sa reality
Drei Corops: oo parang ganon. Tanginang konsepto yun actually pang "high"
Filip Sabio: bwahahaha
Filip Sabio: pang sabog
Drei Corops: oo pare hehehe pero may tawag daw yjung field of study na yon....andun yung words na cognitive saka science saka perception of reality
Drei Corops: yung kwento sakin bitin bitin e
Drei Corops: pag lumapit sayo opismeyt mo sigaw ka ALAM KO NA ANG SASABIHIN MO KASI SA TOTOO LANG NASABI MO NA
Drei Corops: pero hindi mo pa alam na nasabi mo na
Filip Sabio: hahaha
Drei Corops: applicable lang yata yun kung ga-5 mins yung lag
Filip Sabio: kung may spyware utak mo
Drei Corops: pare sa opinion ko masyadong maliit yung lag to the point na no significant difference na pag nag statistics ka
Filip Sabio: ganon siguro lag
Filip Sabio: ahaha
Drei Corops: eh yung brontosaurus theory nakwneot ko na sayo
Filip Sabio: google ko nga
Filip Sabio: daynasor?
Drei Corops: may mga paleontologists pare sabi nila primitibo daw yung nerves ng mga dinosor..may possiblity na OA sa bagal pagtravel ng senses don. Baka pag pinutol mo buntot ng mahabang brontosaurus...tangina mamayang hapon pa sya aaray
Filip Sabio: hahahahahahahaha
Drei Corops: sobrang tanga na nila non hahaha
Filip Sabio: tangina sakit ng tyan ko
Filip Sabio: hahahahaha
Drei Corops: kasi hindi pa nageevolve to fullest potential ang nervous systsem!!
Drei Corops: naniniwala ako dun!!
Drei Corops: HAHAHAHHAHA
Drei Corops: nabanggit na rin yun ng ibang tao nakalimutan ko basta may theory na ganon..may kinalaman sa coating ng mga nerve cells
Drei Corops: hahahahaha
Filip Sabio: baka malayo yung mga synaptic gaps in between brain cells
Filip Sabio: hahaha
Drei Corops: ayun na nga kasama na yon hahaha
Filip Sabio: may problema dun pare
Drei Corops: ano prablem
Drei Corops: ay pwede sila sa LAG THEORY OF REALITY
Filip Sabio: pano yung mga involuntary moevment ng mga organs and muscles
Drei Corops: hmmm sa "senseation" lang ata applicable
Drei Corops: feeling ang pinapagusapan nila e
Drei Corops: hindi motor
Drei Corops: baka mabilis na motor
Drei Corops: pero mabagal sensory
Filip Sabio: eh pano kung natatae yung daynasor pare
Filip Sabio: after three days
Filip Sabio: makikita na lng nya yung bahay nya
Drei Corops: solb yan problem na yan pag conclude mo na sensory is slow motor is fast
Filip Sabio: puro tae na
Drei Corops: HAHAHAHAHAHA oo nga
Filip Sabio: yun nga
Drei Corops: "ay natatae pala ako"
Filip Sabio: "natatae ako" - bronto
Drei Corops: "ay wala na pala akong buntot!! yare!! AAAAAA"
Filip Sabio: isa pang problema dun pare
Drei Corops: haha ano pa tangian natatawa ako dito hahahahaha
Filip Sabio: kunyari kakain sya ng jurassic leaves
Filip Sabio: nakita nya yung plants pare
Drei Corops: tapos hahaha
Filip Sabio: tangina kelangan nya magdasal na kapag kakagatin na nya yun
Filip Sabio: andun pa
Drei Corops: HAHAHAHA
Filip Sabio: yung leaves
Drei Corops: baka naman sa BUNTOT lang applicable yung theory
Filip Sabio: kse maaaring hinangin na or wat
Drei Corops: malapit naman yung mata sa brain
Drei Corops: hahahaha
Filip Sabio: bwahahahaha
Drei Corops: kaya siguro buntot ginamit na example
Filip Sabio: putangina
Filip Sabio: tanginang theory only for buntot
Drei Corops: tangina natatawa ako
Drei Corops: hahahahaha
Drei Corops: TAIL-ONLY LAG THEORY FOR BRONTO!
Filip Sabio: hahahahaha
Filip Sabio: putangina
Drei Corops: tapos pang mahabang dinosor lang
Drei Corops: tapos pang mahabang dinosor lang
Filip Sabio: baka naman kse OA din tayo hahahaha
Drei Corops: baka hindi naman maghapon yiung lag!
Filip Sabio: baka naman yung lag nya ay seconds or tenth of a second lng naman
Filip Sabio: hahahaha
Drei Corops: hahahha palagay ko hahahahahah
Drei Corops: so bale parang "slow reaction" lang ang datin
Drei Corops: dating
Filip Sabio: pero solid yon pare kung mamayang hapon pa
Filip Sabio: everything will register
Drei Corops: tangina sinaksak mo na sa puso
Drei Corops: namatay na...dehin naramdaman! kasi hindi umabot sa hapon!
Filip Sabio: tangina isipin mo
Filip Sabio: papahinga ka lng
Filip Sabio: kumakain ka ng leaves
Drei Corops: tapos
Filip Sabio: biglang split second dedbol ka na
Filip Sabio: kse kanina ka pa pala namamatay
Drei Corops: kasi nasaksak ka nung umaga?
Drei Corops: HAHAHHAHHA
Drei Corops: pano kiung kanina pa pala sya PATAY!!
Drei Corops: LATE PERCEPTION OF REALITY!!

Beasley?

2008-05-21T21:35:00.003+08:00

The Miami Heat got the second overall pick in the next draft. Widely considered as a two-man draft for Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose, this takes the pressure off of Riles to draft the "right" player. Essentially, it all boils down to who Chicago doesn't pick.
Here is where things get complicated for my dream: Rose-Wade-Marion combo. Because now, I think the Bulls will ultimately choose Rose over Beasley. Although most mock drafts are picking Beasley for Chicago (basically because the Bulls need an inside scorer), I still think they'll choose Rose, a Chicago native, for an upgrade over Kirk Hinrich, who disappeared the entire season last year.
Hopefully, i'm not entirely wrong about this, just like a quarter of my conference finals picks, and Chicago chooses Beasley. What's more there has been talk of the Heat trading the second pick if they don't get Derrick Rose, because they appear to be "not sold" on Beasley's commitment. That'll be a disaster. Unless they get someone like Brand or Okafor or a productive 4-guy out of that trade, it'll be one of the worst draft day trades ever.
On the other hand, you really can't go wrong with Beasley anyway. He's extremely athletic and will be a career 20+ scorer and 8+ rebounder in the NBA, and those are conservative numbers. What if he shows up for training camp motivated and just wanting to dominate? That'll be something to see.

Michael Beasley

The WTF Story of the Month

2008-05-03T07:20:00.001+08:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3378730

What the f...?!

Team Building - Prince Square Resort

2008-04-30T00:22:00.029+08:00

Ampopogi ah... Mga ungas.

And now, the end is near...

Bakit ngayon ka lang? Blanket, bayong, kalan.

Dora and Boots

FHM 01

FHM 02

Uso pa ba ang harana?

Papalamang ba'ko sa bidyoke???

Huhhhhh?

Konti na lang ah.. (si Harana nasa background)

Jaboom Twins. Jaja and Boom-boom.

Almu-chow

Ihaw-ihaw. Panalo!

Team Melvin

Team Roshee

Team Willand

Uwian na? Tulog naman.

Upsets? Unlikely - but I can hope...

2008-04-29T23:03:00.005+08:00

Boston - Atlanta, Detroit - Philadelphia: both tied at 2 games a-piece. Upsets in the making? Highly unlikely. I think both series will be done by Game 6 - although only one can hope they go seven or an upset really does happen:

These are my "dream" second round and conference finals match-ups:

East Second Round:
Cleveland - Atlanta
Orlando - Philadelphia
East Finals:
Atlanta - Philadelphia (Ultimate Battle of the Underdogs!)

West Second Round:
LA Lakers - Utah
San Antonio - New Orleans
West Finals:
San Antonio - Utah

But these will most-likely be the second round and conference finals match-ups:

East Second Round:
Boston (2) - Cleveland (4) (Doc Rivers will mess this one up, definitely.)
Detroit (4) - Orlando (1) (Unless Howard averages 40-30, this'll be Detroit's series to lose)
East Finals:
Cleveland - Detroit

West Second Round:
LA Lakers (4) - Utah (3) (Utah has the better starting five, but it won't be Kobe who will be the difference maker, it'll be Gasol)
San Antonio (4) - New Orleans (2) (Chris Paul is good, but his team won't have an answer for Ginobili)
West Finals:
San Antonio - LA Lakers

Pinoy Coach

2008-04-29T22:27:00.003+08:00

Did you know that new Miami Heat coach Eric Spoelstra is half-Filipino? Eric is the son of an American father and a Filipino mother (Spoelstra is proud of his Filipino roots). He joined the Heat's staff as a video coordinator 13 years ago. Now, he takes over the reins as the new Miami Heat Head Coach with Riley announcing his stepping down from the coaching job (Pat Riley will still be president of operations for the Heat).
I have to say that I am very excited about the Heat next season. The possibility of either Beasley or Rose or Lopez joining, Wade and Marion fully rested, a Filipino coach, and no expectations. I honestly believe that the Heat will be back into playoff contention next year and possibly contend for the championship one or two years down the road.

Eric Spoelstra

Looking Forward to the Lottery

2008-04-01T17:26:00.000+08:00

Since Miami has been officially out of the playoff picture for quite some time now, I can't help but be a scout-slash-NCAA-brackets-aficionado for the time being. There is a possibility that the Heat will get the overall pick. Actually they have the best chance of getting the overall pick for next draft (becasue of their current W-L record), but if history says anything, they'll probably be picking between 2 and 5.
So that got me to visiting different web resources checking out who is eligible for the draft, who is the projected top pick, other projected lottery picks, as well as some gameplay videos of these players. This thing also got me watching NCAA games even closer than before. Out of all the lottery picks i've "scouted," three players stood out with their talent and potential. Not surprisingly, these three are projected to go 1, 2, and 3 in the draft.

Michael Beasley (6'10" PF Kansas State Freshman)- he has been the consensus #1 pick among sportswriters and scouts. I see him sort of like a player with Shawn Marion's athleticism, Ray Allen's shooting, and Elton Brand's strength down low. Those are either the 2, 3, and 4 positions you can immediately fill when you draft this kid. The thing I keep hearing about him though, is his work ethic and that sometimes he coasts through entire games. Which is probably why this next guy gets considerations for the #1 pick as well:

Derrick Rose - (6'4" PG Memphis Freshman) - his athleticism and his speed is already one notch above everyone in the NCAA tournament. He also has the size and strength to be a good starting PG for any team. To say that he is NBA-ready is an understatement - he is ready to dominate the next level. Only thing is, this is exactly what everyone was saying about Kevin Durant last year, and he still hasn't impressed me that much.

Brook Lopez - (7'0" C Stanford Sophomore) - out of all lottery-bound players in this year's NCAA tournament. Brook Lopez is the one I probably watched the most. He has exceptional touch inside and has a nice range for a big guy. He also rebounds the ball extremely well, although not as much a defensive presence like his twin brother, Robin. Brook however, is the more offensively gifted of the two. Brook Lopez should not go any higher than the 3rd pick, not because if his game, but because Beasley and Rose is just way out on another level with their talent and potential.

Let's say Miami does get the ping-pong balls to bounce their way, and I am magically transformed into the Miami Heat GM. Given the number 1 pick, which player would I choose?

I am going with Derrick Rose.

First of all, I think that in the long run he will be a better player overall. Besides, it is extremely hard to pass up a point guard in the draft as gifted as Rose. Anyone, remember where Chris Paul and Deron Williams landed on draft day? Exactly. While I admit Beasley is a special individual, I think that Marion already fills his role on the Heat - a 2, 3, and 4 multi-positional player. What Marion lacks in Beasley's offensive game, Derrick Rose can more than make up for it. And if Marion, decides to bolt after the next season or during the offseason, the Heat will be better of with a Rose-Wade combo, than a Beasley-Wade pairing.
Anyway, the bottom line is, you cannot go wrong with either player. Both guys will be studs. If the Heat gets the third pick, it should be automatic - Brook Lopez. If they fall to the 4th or 5th pick - i'd just rather trade the pick and get good vets and/or protected lottery picks for next year's draft. I'm going to kill myself if the Heat chooses Bayless or Mayo in this draft - they are two of the most overrated players in the tournament. The talent is there, but they're playing entire games without you knowing that they are there. Unlike the first three, they make their presence felt from the get go. But with the circus that is the NBA, and what Miami has been through, bad luck and bad decisions can happen. Hopefully, it doesn't get to be the "NBA: Where shit happens."

Brand X

2008-03-17T13:45:00.005+08:00

I've been investing in a lot of "Brand X" gadgets lately.

(1) We decided we needed a brand new hybrid DV cam for stills and video; because our Video 8 Handycam was, well, old and obsolete. Instead of buying the 20,000 peso Sony or JVC DV cameras, we decided to invest on a Pocket DV T300 from Aiptek worth around 6,000 pesos.

(2) PLU was badly in need of a decent car stereo. Instead of buying the 10,000 peso Pioneer head unit, I settled for a 3,000 peso Maxsound headunit - with CD/SD/MP3 capabilities similar to this one.

(3) PLU's rear shock absorbers were busted and instead of buying brand new shocks, i went to Cruven to have one repaired; and the other "unrepairable" one replaced with a Monroe second-hand surplus shock absorber - both for just 2,000 pesos parts and labor.

(4) I needed headphones for my laptop and instead of buying expensive Sennheiser headphones, guess what? Yes, i bought 100-peso generic earphone units from CD-R King.

There's definitely a case for me being a cheapskate. But so far, all these things I bought are working as expected. I've also read some good reviews of these gadgets and services from the internet. I'm telling you, some research will save you a lot of money.

But what about this: are you willing to buy a Brand X Car?

I have certainly thought about it. Chery Cars have a nice lineup of a sedan (Easter), a small car (the QQ is getting popular by the minute), and an SUV - the Tiggo. These cars are cheap - around half the price of a Toyota or a Kia. But are you willing to invest on a cheaper alternative (Brand X) on this large a scale?

Certainly there are a number of things that you need to look out for - like availability of parts, service, and overall quality of the car itself. As well as how many mechanics and people out there are really familiar with Chery Car technology.

It certainly is worth a look, however investing 700,000 hard-earned pesos on an SUV, could make a person go for the safer choice and buy a Toyota or a Honda or Mitsubishi, etc..

As for me, because of the scale of the investment when it comes to buying a new car, i'd rather wait one or two years to see how this Chery Car company turns out before buying a new one. We wouldn't want to have a Proton Wira just like in the 90s and then have my car brand bust in the local market, right?

The Proton Wira from the 90s

Ryan Wrigley Parmeter

2008-02-05T16:05:00.000+08:00

I just got this article from ESPN's Page 2 site from Bill Simmons. This is such a tragedy. This story is so moving you can't help but think how this man is even holding up. This just goes to show you that you can never have enough time to spend with your family.

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10567327

Is This Some Kind Of A "Joke?"

2008-01-24T01:50:00.000+08:00

The following are from:
http://tob.hollywood.com/2008/01/22/rip-heath-ledger/

Paul Browne, Deputy Commissioner for Public Information of the New York Police Department, held a press conference on Heath Ledger Tuesday night.
He confirmed the following:
• Heath Ledger was sick with pneumonia when he died today in NYC.
• The deceased was discovered by a masseuse and a housekeeper at approximately 2:45 p.m. today.
• The masseuse was there for a regular appointment.
• The deceased was found in his bedroom.
• The deceased was lying on the floor, curled up, at the foot of his bed.
• The deceased was naked and face down.
• There were not pills found scattered around the room as had been previously reported.
• There were some prescription bottles, including prescription sleeping medication, uncovered.
• Police do not know how long the deceased had been in the apartment.
• The deceased was renting the apartment.
• The cause of death has not yet been determined. The determination will be made by the medical examiners office.

I'm still thinking he'll show up on the premier of Dark Knight Returns in his Joker outfit and say to Christian Bale, "Joke's on you, battie-boy!" No offense. Such a loss. We finally had a true portrayal of the real Joker. And he dies before the film shows. Well whatever happens, he just made sure the movie will be a blockbuster hit and an instant classic.

Where Are My Posts?

2007-12-27T04:12:00.000+08:00

Actually, I have a lot of stuff I wanted to post lately:
1. TM Christmas Party
2. Seiichi's new haircut
3. My new haircut
4. My Birthday Party (or lack thereof)
5. Christmas at the Sabio's
6. The Transformers 2-Disc DVD Set
7. Jeanne D'Arc for the PSP
8. Nymphadora Tonks
9. Vagina Dentata
10. Heath Ledger = Joker
***Just waiting for the videos and pics. I've been doing mostly text-only posts for the past month, I wanted to have pics and videos with my next posts. Also tamurd comes to mind.

Ol' Bruce Wayne

2007-11-16T02:38:00.000+08:00

I have to admit. This is the best comic book I have read. Ever. I didn't want to necessarily agree with Drei right away when he said this is the best ever, even before reading it.

Besides, I have come across some pretty good comic books during my time: Infinity Trilogy, Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch, X-Men: Omega Red Series, Punisher WarZone, Legion Quest, Identity Crisis, Stormwatch Series, just to name a few.

But the Dark Knight Returns comic book has it all. Story, art, character development, scope. There are also a few things I have never seen before on a comic book or a story told that way (spoilers ahead) i.e. Superman's "Where?" message and the added focus on his "super-hearing" ability, the idea that heroes are what makes villains villains (no superheroes, no super-villains), Batman as ruthless f@#k, and children actually killed by the Joker and then his "twist" at the end.

Yep, this book actually takes the cake.

(image from Wikipedia.org)

What Is Wrong With Miami?

2007-11-16T01:55:00.000+08:00

One and seven for the past eight?? Blechh. The offense is killing us right now. No movement, and absolutely lethargic on the wings. Only Haslem and Wright have shown to want to win all the games. And Dorell, doesn't even get enough playing time.

What would it take for this team to get back? Wade's back but still not a hundred percent. Pat Riley is contemplating retirement. Shaq is.. well Shaq is old. The Smush Parker signing is proving to be way awful. And all tradeable assets have been dealt (draft picks and Doleac).

So where? Where are they going to go from here? You can only ride the Wade-factor for so long. And besides, you have to get to the playoffs first, before Wade and Shaq and Zo can carry you, right?

So what do we do? If it were up to me: (1) Start Dorrell Wright (2) Trade Smush and Barron for a young Jarrett Jack-type PG; a point who hustles, gets to the hole, and knows how to feed big men, and a marginally-decent defender (3) Shaq 25 mins, Zo 20 mins and (4) transform Ricky Davis into a purely defensive SF (it is apprent now, that his offense cannot be trusted to win games).

Actually easier said than done, and might not have apparent results, but it should definitely be a step in the right direction.

Riles Finally Rid Of Walker

2007-10-25T23:08:00.000+08:00

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-timberwolves-heattrade&prov=ap&type=lgns

"Antoine Walker's turbulent time with the Miami Heat is over.
The Heat traded the three-time All-Star forward to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in a five-player deal that came one day after Miami completed a winless preseason.
Walker, backup center Michael Doleac, oft-injured forward Wayne Simien and a conditional first-round draft pick were sent to Minnesota for former Miami swingman Ricky Davis and center Mark Blount.
The deal gives Miami the third scoring option it wanted in Davis. The Heat will try to fit him in alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade -- the 2006 finals MVP who'll miss a few more weeks while recovering from knee and shoulder surgeries. "

Seems to be a good deal for the Heat. A few things to note though: Blount's longer contract and more importantly, less playing time for Dorrell Wright as Davis seems to be figured to eat into the starting 2 and 3 spots, as well as backup for each position.

Nice Song from a New Band

2007-10-25T22:16:00.000+08:00

http://zelletheband.com.ph/music.htm

Select the song "Sabihin"from the embedded music player. I haven't gotten around listening to the whole playlist but their sound looks to be promising and refreshing. Hopefully, they don't turn out to be like SinoSiKat -their album sounds like one endless loop of a single song (even though I did like Safety Off). Here's to the five-beer vocalist and to the new band, Zelle.

Chichi Koko is Sick

2007-10-06T04:12:00.001+08:00

Get well soon, baby. Hopefully you recover both body and mind sooner rather than later.

Save the Cheerleader. Save the Galaxy.

2007-08-25T07:48:00.000+08:00

I know it's against weblogging etiquette to link to other blog sites, but you guys have to check this out. Fascinating.

Huh? I Didn't Get It..

2007-08-08T23:12:00.001+08:00

Motion pictures that I don't comprehend (in an intellectual level, at least) come few and far in between. But not since Revolver's awful plot did a movie make mo go.. "What the hell.. I didn't get it.."
And then, I saw The Fountain (starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz) on DVD. I just didn't get it. Well, the future part at least. But from the looks of things, a lot of people are struggling with their theories as well. Check this out.

"The hills are alive.. with the sound of.."

Things I Learned This July

2007-07-25T02:24:00.000+08:00

1. Although the Transformers movie is exceptionally good, 300 is still the movie of the year for me.
2. I will always watch Robert Rodriguez' films. Planet Terror (Grindhouse) is just so dang cool on so many levels. Even the "Machete" trailer was a treat.
3. We absolutely, positively, must have a nanny for Seiichi.
4. The Nokia 6288 is a nice phone.
5. There is a shortage of good RPG games on the PSP.
6. I wasn't that concerned when the NBA and FBI found out that one of its referees is being investigated for "game-fixing."
7. My work demands so much of my time. My body feels like a train wreck from the extended work shifts and changing schedules. But often times, it has to be that way, you know.
8. Prison Break is almost the same level, watchability-wise, as Heroes. Almost, but not quite.
9. On the other hand, I'm confident in my masculinity when I say that Michael Scofield is ten-thousand times more watchable than Peter Petrelli. (Acting)
10. I can't keep up with my credit card bills.
11. PLU PLU needs help.
12. My wife does like sissy songs. Typecast, anyone? She claims the band's music is punk. Its sissy whichever way you look at it.
13. I'm nearing the 200-pound mark. Which means i'm almost 30 lbs overweight. Which means I need to start taking pearl white again.
14. The best game I have ever played on the PSP is the easy-to-understand-but-hard-to-master Puzzle Quest game.
15. I need more blog posts.

She Wanted Me Less and I Wanted Her More

2007-07-17T08:22:00.000+08:00

We won. First place at the Battle of the Bands competition here at TM.
We played four songs, Seven Mary Three's Cumbersome, Nada Surf's Inside of Love, Radiohead's Creep, and the song that I think won it for us: a heavy metal version of Breathe's Hands to Heaven.
It was funny actually, we were practicing and we didn't know what our last song would be. We spent an entire practice session just thinking of what songs we could play. Hands to Heaven came up because I remembered this was only a four-chord song from start to finish. We arranged the music in 5 minutes, complete with the intro, pauses and drum solo. We practiced it once and hoped for the best. Didn't imagine that after we played, the song would get a lot of good reviews from our mates.
(On a side note, this wouldn't be my first time joining a band competition. I have had some success with my previous company band as well: Shrek: Movie Theme Presentation and Rec Event Retro 80s Theme. Fun times.)

Just so I don't forget, here are a few videos from our practices as well as small clips from the event itself (i know we should have had full videos of the event, but hey, the cam's battery died out, so..):

Creep Clip

Hands to Heaven Clip

Inside of Love Practice Clip

Cumbersome Practice Clip 1

Cumbersome Practice Clip 2

Cumbersome Practice Clip 3

***Note to self: The other band played a heavier remade version of Scorpion's Still Loving You (I think they got it off of some band's remake). Anyway, the song was great and hopefully I get to play it one day.

***Note to readers: Playing at a stage on a beachfront is an amazing experience. Hope you guys get to do it even once in your lifetime.

What?? Nathan Petrelli, I'm Not!

2007-05-14T18:58:00.000+08:00

Your Score: Nathan Petrelli

You scored 0 Idealism, 0 Nonconformity, 0 Nerdiness

I'm a shark, Pete.

Congratulaions, you're Nathan Petrelli! You've got all the qualities of a stereotypical politician. You're ambitious, practical, and you've got more than a healthy sex drive. Still, as much you want to succeed in your field, you don't enjoy the attention that comes from being "different", and you are willing to lie to fit the image you want to present. Your worst quality: Ambition--you will make your way to the top of any career. Your worst quality: Anything for the votes--you will do whatever it takes.

Link: The Heroes Personality Test written by freedomdegrees on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Where Have I Seen You Before, Claire Bennet?

2007-05-14T18:32:00.000+08:00

Oh that's right, you were the assistant coach's little kid in Remember The Titans (2000). Nice role in a nice movie: a kid who knew all the offensive sets of the football team and how to run them. Save the Cheerleader. Save the World.

The 2007 Playoffs are getting... Boring

2007-05-11T23:35:00.000+08:00

With Detroit up 3-0 over the Bulls, Cleveland ahead 2-zip over the Nets, and playoff-history-makers Golden State now down 2 to nothing against the Jazz. It seems that the NBA Playoffs are getting... yawn... boring. Maybe it's just that my team isn't playing anymore. Or maybe we're getting nearer and nearer to a repeat of the 2005 NBA Finals San Antonio versus Detroit, which most say was the most uneventful and boring finals series for the past few years.
Anyway, what I really mean is: there are no more subplots to hold the story. Last year, we had Wade, Nowtzki's 3-point play against the Spurs, Detroit's collapse against Shaq and the Heat, Kobe against the Suns, a number of Game 7s. Last year's NBA Playoffs was the best. Ever.Now that the 1st round upsets are over. There are no more side stories to hold it all together. Sure there's Amare whining against San Antonio's "dirty" players. There are even articles about how the Jazz-Warriors series reperesnts the old vs. new style of NBA Playoff basketball. But is that it? Pfft. For a die-hard NBA fan, it's getting harder to watch the playoffs. I couldn't imagine what a casual fan would like this year.

'N Sync?

Miami Swept

2007-04-30T21:31:00.000+08:00

Okay.
I just have to get this out of my system.
The Miami Heat was swept 4-0 by the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
I knew it wasn't Miami's year, but to be swept???
In the first round???
Ghastly.
Okay.
I don't want to talk about this ever again.

Movie Products We Wish We Had

2007-04-28T10:04:00.000+08:00

Maximonline.com ran an article about their 10 best fake movie products that every consumer would wish they had.
It had a number of amazing things like Envy's Vapoorizer: which instantly vaporizes dog poo; or Brain Candy's Gleemonex: which cures anything from depression to gayness by putting your mind in an endless loop of your happiest memory; and who can ever forget the cool hoverboards from Back to the Future: Part 2?
Yes, they're all amazing products.
But they forgot to include the best movie product of all: the Orgazmorator from the movie Orgazmo.
The Orgazmorator is an arm-fitted ray gun that stops criminals in their tracks by giving them powerful orgasms!
I bet even James Bond and Batman would give all their gadgets and their cars for one of these babies.

"Bloggety Blog Blog Blog" said the Blogger Man

2007-03-30T13:51:00.000+08:00

Things that have been on my mind lately:

1. Our car's non-existent airconditioning..
2. How fat i've become (187 lbs, 38 around the waist, and growing)..
3. Needing a bigger memory stick for my PSP..
4. Needing a wireless router at home..
5. How much is an N93..
6. Seiichi's shots..
7. How small our new refrigerator is..
8. When the DVD of 300 is coming out..
9. Poker/Tong-its/Baccarat
10. Tlend Mayklo
11. Sissy Songs
12. Miami Heat's Playoff Seeding

My Wedding (from a different perspective)

2007-03-27T20:00:00.000+08:00

If you ask either me or MaeDei, we would have done a lot of things differently with our wedding. Wish we could have done this, wish we could have done that.. Wishe we didn't hire these people, wish we hired those people.. Wish we bought this, wish we bought that..
So it was particularly refreshing to read another person's take on our special day. Here's Dylan, one of the production designers over at The Mango Farm and his blog about our wedding day:

http://vatelmanila.blogspot.com/2006/12/sabios-november-2006.html

FutureMe.org

2007-03-14T12:31:00.000+08:00

I have been working in a technical support call center environment for more than six years now. As a technical person myself, this type of work suits me considerably, and I believe myself to be a very good manager, with my impeccable people skills and my top-notch decision making as my strengths. Currently, I am a glorified slave in a multi-million global software company who specializes in anti-virus programs and Internet security. The pay is good, much higher than my previous job, the workload is okay, much bearable than my previous job, and I am in a higher management position.
I started here last September, along with a few other managers, because the company wanted to inject new blood into their operations and that they wanted to adapt a real call center environment when it came to technical support with their Internet security software.
Anyway, during my first few days when I still had some idle time, I came across a site that would let you e-mail your future self on a pre-determined date. You could ask yourself anything, ask yourself how you are doing, tell something to yourself, ponder what happened with you, what you ate today, what the price of gasoline is, how many times you picked your nose. Anything.

Anyway, so at September 18, 2006, I e-mailed this to myself, to be received at March 4, 2007 (the day that I will be regularized):

(The following is an e-mail from the past, composed on Monday, September 18, 2006, and sent via FutureMe.org)
Dear FutureMe,
So was it a good decision? Are you still with the company? Made any friends yet? Making an impact? Personally and professionally?
Just remember, whatever happens, life will get better.
-Filip 9/18/06 5:15pm

So there it was. A question I asked myself that was meant to make me think of how I was doing in this new job. For the past 6 months, I thought I had done pretty well. I had new friends. I was doing my work pretty efficiently. I was able to do all tasks assigned to me in a relatively acceptable manner. Then it happened.
One night, while I was out with my friends, my boss called me to check where I was and see if I was okay. He told me that there was an e-mail sent to everybody at work from an anonymous person.
It had me in it.
It was a complaint letter "apparently" from a disgruntled worker here at the office. The letter complained about the new managers not doing their job, not knowing how to motivate their people, questioned our motives, and just basically said that me along with the other new managers are doing a bad job and that we are not qualified for our management position. This e-mail was sent to everybody. When I say "everybody" I mean everybody: peers, subordinates, upper management, general manager, CEO, president, etc.. Needless to say, I was shocked that someone would question me personally about my work and my work ethic.
Anyway, since the e-mail was badly written, had no real purpose, and did not address anything real, the news died down just about after one or two days.
The thing that got to me is, I didn't expect that the e-mail I wrote to myself six months ago would have so much relevance to what I would be experiencing in a new environment. I've learned a long time ago that you cannot please everyone but as long as you work hard for the people around you, everything will turn out fine.
I guess, the moral of this story is: In hard times and in good times, it is in yourself that you can find strength to overcome whatever hurdle is in front of you. Sometimes, you are your own motivator. And sometimes, you are your own voice.

300: Best Movie of the Year

2007-03-10T08:11:00.001+08:00

"We're in for one wild night."

Within the first few seconds, you'll realize that you're in for a wild movie. I can't even begin to describe how good this movie is. I can even go as far as saying that this is the best movie ever not in a trilogy.

The images that Zack Snyder and Frank Miller give the audience is almost intoxicating. You can really get a visual high from the movie. I lost count of how many "Astig!" "Ungas!" "Hanep!" "Ta***na, ang galing!" "Bangas!" "Lupit!" "F**k, sobrang ganda nito!" I might have said while watching the movie.

Honestly, it is that good. My wife said that this was the only movie (along with LOTR) that she couldn't find a fault with, cinematics-wise. Personally, the one thing I sort of got bored with in the movie was the Queen's speech in the council chambers. I felt like this was wasting 5 minutes in the movie and the speech itself was terribly done. (What am I saying? 5 minutes? If it wasn't for all the slow motion, the movie could have been over by 30 minutes! Ha!) Anyway, the story more than made up for this at the end of her speech when she did something that'll make you think: "Wow, she is a Spartan woman!" My point is, my wife was right. There really is nothing bad you can say about this movie. Even though it was a historical representation of the Battle of Thermopylae, it was never meant to educate on the accuracies of it but rather a fantasy story based on it.

All aspects of it are great: cinematography, sound, plot, dialogue, directing, editing, characters and even acting. Could anyone have given a better Leonidas' than Gerard Butler? Or David Wenham's (Faramir/Dilios) voice-over narrative. Or even Xerxes's performance? (Who by the way was Randy Emmers in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Who would have thought?)

I left the movie wanting to be a Spartan. Wanting to be part of something so great, so violent, driven by purpose, driven by a "No retreat, No surrender" principle. This is hands down, the best movie of the last four years (LotR:RotK 2003) and can possibly be for the next few years.

Spartans! Enjoy your breakfast, for tonight we dine in Hell!

Image from IMDB.com

Miami Heat say "Bye-bye" to the Season

2007-02-23T03:34:00.000+08:00

"Dwyane Wade dislocated his left shoulder as he was attempting a steal in the second half of their game against the Houston Rockets, February 21, 2007 in Houston, Texas. Wade left the court in a wheelchair and was taken to a hospital."

- ESPN.com

There has been much talk on how grave the injury is. Earliest diagnosis is that he'll be out 6 to 8 weeks, and that's the optimistic view to it. Some say that this is a career-ending or rather a career-changing injury for Wade. No one ever really comes back the same again after an injury like this. I guess we'll have to wait until after a few more days for a more precise diagnosis.

There has also been some debate between Heat fans on whether it would be best for Wade to sit out the season or push himself and try to come back in the playoffs.

Obviously, for Wade's career it would be best if he rested this season (he will undergo surgery by the way). If he manages to come back and play, his conditioning will be suspect at best, specially in his left arm where he'll definitely be weak. His mental conditioning is a factor as well, we don't know if he'll still be attacking the rim relentlessly like he has for years,

On the other hand, the Miami Heat franchise cannot afford to be in a "rebuilding" mode. Players that surround Wade are old and past their prime. Shaquille O 'Neal may be the glue that holds the team together, but Dwyane Wade is their heart and soul. The way that Riley built his franchise is with a "win-now" mentality and they would need Wade as soon as he is available. I'm thinking Riley is not even considering bowing out of the playoff race in the slim hopes of a good lottery pick.

Whatever happens, if Wade plays or not, the season is already lost. Miami is currently the 8th seed in the East and realistically cannot go any higher than this with Wade injured. And with the way the Pistons are playing, it seems that no one can catch them on the 1st seed. With that said, optimistically, the Heat will meet the Pistons in the first round. Realistically though, even if the Heat manages to stay in playoff contention, it is almost impossible for them to beat the Pistons without Wade. The season is practically over.

For true Heat fans, we can only just pray for Wade's health as we convince ourselves of the reality of this infamous 06-07 injury-riddled season. We may have lost the season, but what's important is we do not lose our franchise player for good.

Ghost Rider = Elektra

2007-02-19T11:36:00.001+08:00

Overall, both movies were good. But man, they had some awesome villains!! Well it can probably be attributed to Mark Steven Johnson but can you find anything cooler than the Four Angels?
Anyway, save for a few glaring plot holes (such as Mephistopheles being powerless against his own creation) and bad dialogue, Ghost Rider was a good movie. It had its moments, and the CGI team did a great job of not making Ghost Rider as too cartoonish (although as a Marvel fan, I had other ideas of Ghost Rider's voice, he sounded like a clown with a bad case of strep throat). This movie is really what you'd expect and I can't wait for Stan Lee to make an ok for a Punsiher/Ghost Rider crossover movie. Actually, a Marvel crossover movie has been long overdue. When do we get to see the X-Men and the FF4 try to contain the Hulk, Stan??

(Pictures from IMDB.com)

Poverty Week

2007-02-14T04:49:00.000+08:00

Yes, I survived! Finally sweldo na ulit. After an extremely long "kinsenas" (half-month pay period) which lasted 20 days, I'll be able to put food in the ref; gatas and diapers for Seiichi; pay Meralco, Nawasa, the Yayas, Globe, Metrobank, BPI; and we'll have baon again for gas, parking, and office food.

Ohmagad, let's hope my sweldo lasts 5 days this time...

He's Not Billy Corgan

2007-02-06T03:07:00.000+08:00

Do you remember the 80s TV Series: Small Wonder? The story revolved around the Lawson family and a robot named V.I.C.I. and their struggles to keep her identity a secret.

For the longest time, me and my friends thought that Jamie Lawson, the son, was indeed Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins.

Anyway, just got this excerpt from wikipedia:

"Over the years he has been the subject of countless internet rumors that include his involvement as a roadie for the band Alice in Chains and that he was actually Billy Corgan from the successful rock band Smashing Pumpkins."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Supiran

Although, the resemblance is striking, Billy Corgan he ain't. Naniwala ba talaga ko dito?

Random Blog Entry - Best Ever Awards Part II

2007-02-02T02:25:00.000+08:00

Best Sex Scene Ever:
Halle Berry in Monster's Ball

Honorable Mention:Angelina Jolie in Original Sin, Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon in Bound, sex scene in Team America

Best Jackie Chan Movie Ever:
Who Am I

Honorable Mention:
Armour of God

Best Trilogy Ever:
The Matrix Trilogy

Honorable Mention:
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Godfather Trilogy, Star Wars: Episode I to III

Best(Worst) Villain Ever:
Keyser Soze in Usual Suspects

Honorable Mention:
Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs

Best CG Animated Movie Ever:
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Honorable Mention:
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Best Car in a Movie Ever:
'86 Trueno in Initial D

Honorable Mention:
Christine in Christine, The Tumbler in Batman Returns

Apocalypto

2007-02-01T23:41:00.001+08:00

I am convinced that Mel Gibson is a good director. Braveheart was a revolutionary classic, violent, and even inspiring. The Passion of Christ was.. well it was okay. But his new movie, Apocalypto, just puts him at another level.
In essence, Apocalypto can be summarized in a single paragraph. One single paragraph: They are living peacefully in their community. A violent and disruptive tribe invades their village and kidnaps the men and women of the tribe. He escapes and journeys back to his family. "Apocalypse" begins.
With such a simplistic plot outline, this is where the genius of a director comes in. He can transform the story and screenplay into a riveting adventure. With Apocalypto, Mel Gibson was able to tell the story in a manner which immerses you in the whole movie. You actually feel that you were living with the Mayans and you actually felt that you were running with Jaguar Paw (lead character).Another thing to take into consideration was that he used a native Mayan language throughout the entire film. This concept was not really well received with The Passion of Christ. But with this film, after watching it, I actually couldn't picture the film with English as the spoken language. I think it would have removed a rather large piece of the overall beauty of the film if Mel Gibson used English. Unlike with The Passion's Hebrew and Latin usage, the Mayan language you hear in the film is not even remotely distinguishable. But it still adds to the ambience and mystery that surrounds the entire film. That, in itself, is pretty amazing.

Overall, this movie is brilliant. The cast was chosen extremely well. The acting was top-notch. The camera angles used were amazing. Sound was good. The storytelling was great. And, the director was able to hold all of the important pieces of the film together.

Random Blog Entry - Best Ever Awards

2007-01-30T03:50:00.000+08:00

Best Car Chase Scene Ever:
The Matrix Reloaded

Honorable Mention:
Ronin

Best Gunfight Scene Ever:
Heat

Honorable Mention:

Scarface

Best Amnesia Movie Ever:

Memento

Honorable Mention:

The Jacket

Best In-Movie Song Ever:

Nacho Libre - Encarnacion

Honorable Mention:

Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny - Classico

Best Multiple Personality Character Ever:

Identity - Malcolm Rivers

Honorable Mention:

Fight Club - Tyler Durden

Worth A Look

2007-01-24T03:58:00.001+08:00

Here are a number of movies that most of you probably haven't seen.
They have proven to be somewhat good in their own genre and can probably be worth a look. At least, by my standards.
These are the Anti-Hulk and Anti-Narnia movies (where you go in and expect a film industry revolution instead you leave with a whole lot of nothing).
These are the movies that you didn't expect to be good but were.

**Note: I will leave from this list classic movies that you probably haven't seen but have heard to be good or have established themselves as cult-hits with its own following, i.e. Trainspotting, Reservoir Dogs, Goodfellas, Y Tu Mama Tambien, etc..

1. Timeline - Plot Outline: A group of archaeological students become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve their professor. The group must survive in 14th century France long enough to be rescued.
Source: IMDB

2. Mindhunters - Plot Outline: Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst.
Source: IMDB

3. The Life of David Gale - Plot Outline: A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
Source: IMDB

4. Four Rooms - Plot Outline: Four interlocking tales that take place in a fading hotel on New Year's Eve.
Source: IMDB

5. The Prophecy - Plot Outline: The angel Gabriel comes to Earth to collect a soul which will end the stalemated war in Heaven, and only a former priest and a little girl can stop him.
Source: IMDB

-list to be updated-

Banch of Lanch

2007-01-24T02:53:00.000+08:00

Girl 1: "Wut's dut?"
Girl 2: "I am itting Banch of Lanch."
Girl 1: "You cun itt it anywur?"
Girl 2: "Yes, you cun itt it ivin at duh bitch."
Girl 1: "I didn't know dut."
Girl 2: "Ivin if ets hat at the bitch, you cun itt a Banch of Lanch durr."
Girl 1: "Relly? Now I know, thanks."
Girl 2: "You're welcome."

(I Like) Sissy Songs

2007-01-19T07:02:00.000+08:00

Panic! At the Disco - But It's Better If You Do

Panic! At the Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hm9g4o47XI

Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama Out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IqPFfUPptg

Jet - Look What You've Done
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zf3v3Z1ck8

Motion City Soundtrack - The Future Freaks Me Out

Fastball - You're An Ocean

Fastball - The Way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzcKCkUIMWk

Fastball - Out Of My Head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7reY8OyYmLI

All American Rejects - Swing Swing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qklm1Fxns24

Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

Keane - Everybody's Changing

Keane - This Is The Last Time

Pangarap Ka Na Lang Ba, o Magiging Katotohanan Ka?

2007-01-15T08:04:00.000+08:00

Php 15,500.

PlayStation Portable.

Downgraded to Ver. 1.5 Firmware (apparently, you cannot play homebrew games/emulators/hacks if you have a firmware version any higher than this).

Plus a 2GB Sony Memory Stick Duo.

Plus 20 or more games.

Music Player and Video Player.

Wireless Internet Surfing.

All for PhP15,500.

Fifteen thousand, and five hundred reasons I can't have a PSP.

Seduced By The Dark Side of the Force

2007-01-11T05:07:00.001+08:00

I just finished my Star Wars marathon. First off, let me say that this is one of the best stories of our generation, aside from the obvious fact that this epic is an amazing visual masterpiece and a kick-ass sci-fi action adventure, it also deals with a number of psychological and cognitive concepts. And in that thought lies the questions: Did Anakin have to turn to the dark side? What made him turn and why?

I always thought that what happened to him was not enough to be seduced by the dark side. Too shallow. Yun na yon? Darth Vader ka na? I was expecting a definitive change or even an over-the-top moment where Lucas would clearly show that Anakin would have had no other path but to walk to the dark side. Let us look at the different factors of why he turned and maybe we'll get some definitive answers if not a more percetible idea of how he was easily seduced by the dark side.

First, let us establish the fact that people fully seduced to the dark side use their negative emotions (i.e. fear, anger, hatred, etc..) to fuel their power. This in turn, increase their affinity to the dark side every time they use it because they become extremely attached to the power that they gain. Every time they call on the power of the dark side, they get addicted to it.

In the movie, the easily identifiable factors of Anakin's turn were: the fear of losing his mother, the anger and rage that fueled him to kill his mother's captors, the confusion that was put in his by Palpatine of political issues labeling the Jedi as traitors and that they wanted to take over, and the fear of inevitably losing Padme to death.

I think Padme's impending death was what Revenge of the Sith portrayed as the main reason why Anakin "chose" the dark side.

But there are also underlying factors as to why Anakin turned to the dark side that may not be easily presumed by anyone watching.

First, Anakin was a slave and being a slave meant being deprived of any freedom of choice, whether it be social, material or spiritual. These factors are known to lead young people on the path of criminal, anti-moral, and destructive activities.

Second, he left his mother for a chance to be a Jedi without thinking of the consequences that he would have to face in the future: he missed his mother so much it was giving him nightmares and sometimes he lost focus of the present and even went against a direct order of the Jedi Council. Granted this is not an excuse, as children of his age might not yet be fully aware of their decisions or its consequences. But nevertheless, he showed that he was an impulsive child and he had an inclination that he should get whatever he wants.

Lastly, I believe that it was his destiny to be a Sith. Lucas commented that the prophecy was right: Anakin was the one to bring balance to the force. He was the one close enough to the Emperor to destroy him. Sidious was far too powerful for any Jedi (he defeated Yoda and killed Mace Windu in a swordfight on the same day) and too wise to let his guard down around anybody he did not trust. I believe that this is where Anakin's destiny to become Darth Vader comes in. In the end, he needed his son, Luke, to clear his thoughts but it was ultimately him who was the engineer of the Emperor's death.

Turning to the dark side wasn't really a decision at all. Or even one awful mitigating event that happened (Anakin cutting off Windu's hand) to finally set you on the path to the dark side. It is a culmination of events. A long process of mistakes and negative emotions that we see Anakin had endured his whole life.

I guess if you look at it this way, Anakin really would have fallen to the seductive power of the dark side. It was just vaguely represented by the movie. This is where the screenplay needed a few more tweaks, I guess. Remember, the first, second, and third episodes were supposed to clearly establish the events that happened at the end of Revenge of the Sith, instead it was presented as vague and undramatic. Don't get me wrong, I don't presume to be better than the Lucas or the writers. I will never think I could do a better job or anything like that, but I just wish they could have just put a little more effort in to the telling and showing of that climactic event.