Reisen mit deutschen Freunden (Touring with German Friends)

Met up with Julia and Andy (both from Germany and here on vacation) for lunch at Robinson's Ermita. We ate at Cabalen (a first for all of us), then went to Chinatown. After finding a parking space I tried to take them to the area full of restaurants, but took a wrong turn at Juan Luna and ended up having to endure the sea of people (more than usual) at the market area (w/c is apparently every inch of the street).

With the streets of Divisoria being what they are (w/c is freaking disgusting), I was feeling sorry for Julia since she was wearing flip-flops. And the smell..! Trooper/polite guest that she is she said she was okay.

One thing's for sure: everyone ogling them both thought they were American (those that were yelling Hey Joe weren't calling for me). Almost everyone we saw greeted them either a Merry Christmas or Happy New Year. I was thinking Yeah great but watch your wallet, anyway. (Cynical, I know.)

We stopped by Tutuban Center and Binondo Church before deciding to head for the Baywalk in Roxas for some coffee. Found the car after two attempts.

After today I concluded that I am a poor tour guide. Bring me along for the wisecracks, but don't expect much in terms of historical information. Thank goodness for polite friends. ;)

Respite

Just had to get outta the house. Contacted Wella last night and set up a date. Supposed to be at the Shangri La mall, then later changed that to Chilis. Rained so hard we couldn't get out (also parking at Chilis/Starbucks was full). Ended up at Tender Bobs for dinner. Walked to Starbucks Annapolis for the nightcap. Embarassing part of the evening was having to deal with my stuffy/runny nose while chatting w/ Wella. Stupid cold.

And for strangest sight of the evening: watching my sister laugh her ass off watching Peruvians wash their hair with their own urine as their American guests watch (I'm guessing in horror).

Gloomiest. Christmas. EVER.

First the father of a friend passed away. Now my uncle's in a coma (apologies to Pau and her mom for my premature pronouncement of his passing). And to top it off, a friend from Germany is in the country for a visit but I have no idea how to contact her, and NO ONE I'm counting on for help is helping me.

And On a Cheerier Note...

Happy Xmas, One and All.

Jesus Christ, is EVERYBODY F#@king Dying?!?

The dad of a good friend of mine passed away this morning. On f#@king Xmas Eve, of all days. Heart attack. This after having been told his health was "fantastic" in his last physical. I've only met the man once and he seemed okay. Nothing to indicate frail health or heart.

First Papa Cun, then my uncle (still in ICU after a heart attack despite a successful bypass operation), now this. Either there's no God, or he/she has really taken a stance of non-interferance from his/her free-willed creations.

The Faces of X3

1st row: Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Professor X
2nd row: Iceman, Shadowcat, Colussus, Cyclops
3rd row: Pyro, Angel, Phoenix, Magneto
4th row: Beast, Calissto, Mystique, Juggernaut

Adventures in Computer Coloring, Part 2

The original sketch and the finished piece

Been spending some time watching instructional videos on how to use Photoshop CS(2) more efficiently. Learning a lot. Now need to find a way to charge people for my services.

Anyway, the drawing above is by Jim Lee, currently the most popular Korean-American comics artist around. His style of drawing has produced dozens of clones and wannabees --for better (Travis Charest) or for worse (Al Rio)-- and for some reason any rendition of archetype superheroes he does becomes the standard look for months or years to come.

I swiped the drawing from his studio's blog and fiddled with it with my "newfound skills." The lasso was the hardest to color, since I still had to put in the glowing effect afterwards.

The first finished piece was completely colored and had sort of a flat, animation cel look. I felt it was too dark so I gave it another go by combining the original and the colored drawing to end up (almost by accident, really) with a watercolor/colored pencil sketch look.

What is WRONG With You

Three days of wonky internet connection now. Some sites load, some sites won't. What bothers me is the sites that won't load: my lycos and yahoo email accounts, and mininova! ARGH!

Even weirder is how some pages within the site won't load. Blog posting right now is okay, but loading images is not. CNN.com's come and go.

I'm wondering what to tell the "tech support" guy. Hey, my internet connection's been nitpicking?

Helping My Cousin Out

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried...

http://freedelwin.org/

Yes, he's my cousin.

Sunday, Lazy Sunday (UPDATED)

Went out to dinner with Lyndon and Dennis at Dayrits, where we were later joined by 'Sen and Christ, who brought gifts from Indonesia (banana and durian cake thingies.)
After dinner we drove to Dennis' place just to hang, go online and do Street Fighter II on his PS2.

* * *
On an unrelated note, a rash broke out my body when I got home tonight. This following the migraines I've been getting the past couple of days. I recognized these as symptoms of measles, except there's no fever and I already had the measles. Also, major itchniess hasn't started. Yet. Allerigc reaction? As usual my mind's going over the possible causes:

• Safeguard anti-perspirant
• New detergent/fabric softener?
• Food at Dayrits
• Not-so-clean couches in Dennis' room.

Argh. Itchy. Please let it be just the heat...

UPDATE: Rash is gone. Guess it was just the heat. Headaches are still there, though.

God, We're Idiots, Part II

My college professor in Logic taught me about statistical fallacy, e.g. if a statistic says that only 35% of Americans approve of President Bush's job performance, it doesn't really mean that only 104,227,817.05 (w/c is 35% of 297,793,763) Americans like him. In fact it only means 700 of the usual number of 2000 people polled (with +- 2% margin of error) like him. Statisitcs are supposed to save time, so governtment won't use it all up by physically counting who needs what when and where.

Surprisingly stats can also be used to entertain. Numbers become factoids and trivia (ex. Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted; One million U.S. students took guns to school in 1998, etc.) and they also make for good headlines.

I know I'm not supposed to take these Numb3rs at face value, but it irks me to read things like, "the Department of Education has reported to Congress that fully 75 percent of elementary school graduates "cannot read independently." Good god! Seventy five percent?!? I thought we were a country with a 92% literacy rate?!? What, was everybody cheating during the entrance exams?

See what I mean by irked? Earlier this year (March) it was reported that 30 of Filipinos didn't know that having sex can result in pregnancy. Well, at least it isn't elementary students trying to have sex. God forbid they trouble themselves with trying to read the instructions on the back of a condom pack.

What I Love About America (Sometimes)

From CNN.COM--

Congressman resigns after bribery plea

California Republican admits selling influence for $2.4 million

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham said Monday he is resigning from Congress after pleading guilty to taking more than $2 million in bribes in a criminal conspiracy involving at least three defense contractors.

After entering his plea in San Diego, California, the eight-term California Republican said he was "deeply sorry."

"The truth is I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my office," he told reporters, his voice strained with emotion. "I know I will forfeit my reputation, my worldly possessions -- most importantly the trust of my friends and family."

Asked by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns if he had accepted cash and gifts and then tried to influence the Defense Department on behalf of the donors, Cunningham said, "Yes, your honor."

The text highlighted in red are things you would never hear a Philippine congressman say nor do if their hand was caught in the proverbial cookie jar. The US, Japan, China or South Korea, yes, but here you'd sooner have M*A*S*H back on the air than to witness a congressman say He Was Wrong.

When Kids and Milk Combine

The niece in pink is Jade. The nephew w/ the bib is Ryan. Both around 18 months old. At times when you put them together in the same crib it's a photographer's dream (and a yaya's nightmare).
Ryan's astute enough to know w/c milk is his. If it tastes different he actually hands the bottle over to Jade. And, as if on a sugar high, his idea of playing is spinning around.
Jade is the smarter of the two, already speaking basic words and being able to imitate requested animal sounds. She like hugging Ryan to the point of squeezing his head like a zit.
This photo session was done with only the room's night light on, so I was worried the flash photography my brother was doing would damage their eyes. Either the lack of any signs of discomfort from the kids meant they were okay with it, or it's because They Were Kids and Wouldn't Know Any Better. Hope they don't grow up thinking those spots they keep seeing in front of their eyes are normal.

Xmas in the Garden of Agno & Santos

My front yard at day and night.

Never thought I'd say this, but the front yard actually looks cool.

Family Ties

Ma (seated 5th from left, not counting Jasmine, who's standing) decided to celebrate her birthday early (she officially turns older next Tuesday), so it's off to The Circle at Shangri La Hotel Makati for a buffet dinner.

I love these family reunions, if only for the buffet (heheheh). For once I decided to bring the tripod so I could take one big picture of all who attended. Ironically about 7 people were mssing from this picture. sigh...

The hotel was also hosting a celebrity wedding (former Sentor Ramon Revilla's stepdaughter), so while some of the grown-ups were chatting away and having coffee/tea, some of us played with the kids in the lobby and oogled at the big names that were leaving their party. A lot of them turned out to be shorter than expected. 'Cept for Ruffa Mae's hooters, w/c were a HOOT. And the girl drives an ORANGE Jag? Well, if you're rich u can afford to be tacky...

Reefer Xmas

Seen on Quirino Hiway.

Seems someone has grown marijuana into Xmas tree form.

Sweet!!!

Carol & Eileen

These are two of my oldest friends, Carol Chua (hotel concierge in Spain) and Eileen Ang (Marketing Dept. of DLSU-CSB). Known them since grade school. Even as the 3 of us have gone on different paths, when we get together it's like nothing changed, meaning I still can't rely on things to go as planned when we get together. Carol's still her subdued (inna nice way) witty self, while Eileen still likes to follow other sentence I say with, "You're crazy." But make no mistake; I love them like Family. The ones I hardly see, anyway.

The original plan was to meet up at Fully Booked in Greenhills, watch Flightplan then grab a bite afterwards. Well, 2 outta 3's not bad. We had dinner around 9 at Mexicali, who for some reason did not have their Dinner Plate Meals available (they might as well have told me they didn't have tacos). So I stuffed myself w/ their cheeseburger.

And what's new w/ the girls? Carol has a 35-year-old Spanish BF named Lorenzo (I think she prefers the Like the oil? joke over the Like the Llamas? one) while Eileen's working her @$$ off in writing Philippine film annotations for Doy Del Mundo, or something like that. Yep, excitement all around.

Send in the Clones: Redux

While lazing about the house yesterday I was "abducted" by Lyndon, Christian (in town from Iloilo for a coupla days) and Dennis. Had no idea what they had planned. Turned to be shopping for mag wheels. We stopped by 2 shops: one in QC, the other near Greenhills.

After shopping we grabbed a bite at Lolo Mao, apparently the sister shop of Cheesecake, Inc., though Lyndon ordered take-out at McDo.


After grubs we went back to my place since I had a party to attend, but Ma said I could hang w/ the guys, instead. No problem. Ironically we couldn't decide on where to go next so finally we just ordered pizza, watched billiards on TV and took Clone pix. U can see the rest here.

Bits and Pieces

I am an uncle anew to Jian Kyle Co Santos, a name I pray my new nephew can live with. Personally I was partial to Jacob, Jarod, even John Kennedy (what, too soon?), but the final say wasn't mine.

* * *

My cousin M2 (or "Em Em") told his parents he wants to become a full-time stand up comedian. Oh, how parents long to hear those words coming from their children (insert sarcastic smirk here). Seems his friends have been telling him he's Funny. That and probably too many viewings of Last Comic Standing.

I wish him all the luck but highly discourage the Full Time part. Comedy is hard, and getting a laugh out of people who aren't your friends is even harder. Also, save for a few lucky ones (and I do mean luck-- fame is a crapshoot) a comedian's lifespan is short, fame-wise.

Sometimes that's the trouble with being a son of a well-to-do family. A sense of being invulnerable to the harsh reality of Life. That said, there's never enough people in my family allowed to pursue their dreams. Just hope he's up to it.

Okay, Fuddy Duddy Mode OFF.

* * *

They're cancelling Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential?!?!

Damn you, American audiences! You wouldn't know Brilliant TV if it smacked you in the face, slammed you to the ground and came in your mouth!!! It's people like you that keep crap like According to Jim on the air and ignore of the intelligent comedies. First The Tick, then Wonderfalls, now this.

And damn you, Nielsen Ratings people, for putting those boxes in all the wrong houses!

The Godfather

Today I played godfather to Lynette's son Riley at his baptism/al. Never mind I waited in the wrong church for almost an hour (Ermita, not Malate) and couldn't find the right one afterwards. Anyway, afterwards we all had lunch at Don Henrico's for fun family pizza and pasta. Hope the kid likes the spaceship trolley.

* * *

After the party I drove around looking for the Pan Pacific hotel to go work out at their Slimmer's World Gym. Gods, was I going in circles for awhile. That didn't stop even after I found the place. Up one elevator, then up the escalator, then up another elevator. Reached the gym, only to get lost in a maze of rooms looking for the lockers and weight room. Never a poster map when you need one.

It's been awhile since I worked out at a Slimmer's World Gym, and I notice when the lapse of time is long enough, once I start lifting it's as if a new set of muscles get worked on and get sore quickly. I was already breathing hard after one bicep workout. Man, I'm gonna be sore tomorrow.

* * *

Caught the 2nd half the The Fog of War on HBO. It's a documentary featuring an interview with Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense for the Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson (think Donald Rumsfeld, only, you know, intelligent). Compelling stuff, hearing him share his experiences on how he handled the Vietnam war. The similarities between the circumstances leading up to that war and Bush's war in Iraq are chilling: The premise of bringing Freedom to a foreign country. The President refusing to bring troops home and insisting that they "hold on." Dead soldiers and more dead soldiers.

Whoever said those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it did not consider Man's laziness in studying History.

Day of the Dead

This year my family continued the annual All Saint's Day visit to departed relatives at the Manila Memorial Park in Dasmariñas, about a 2-hour drive from my home. As typical visits go, it's always in this order: Pay your respects (with incense sticks), eat lunch, hang around for a coupla hours, go home. Also as usual I got slightly sunburned (damn you, sunlight!), passing the time was a challenge (thank you, MP3 player!) . Wilson brought a laptop and just watched Serenity.

For most Tsinoys here, sitting under a hot sun looking over a gravemarker is not a great way to spend the day. This is why we have the mausoleums. Grandpa's even has a sink and a toilet!







Seeing as how people die all the time, I shouldn't have been surprised by how crowded the cemetary was (I have 4 relatives there at present), but it was a madhouse this year. It was like being at a Renaissance fair. Picnics, tents, kids playing and climbing trees. Good thing the park's occupants are dead or they'd be really peeved at all the noise and mess we make.

"Warp Speed, Mr. Sulu...If You know What I Mean."

'Rents and Bro are away for a weekend trip to Naga City. House is All Mine!

But enough about that. Mr. Sulu's gay! Well, at least that answers the question if there were any homosexuals in Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek universe. Green chicks, sure, but friends of Dorothy? I always wondered...

Where BIG Macs Come From...

Dopeyz Dinnah

The ff. is from my friend Lynette's blog. I would've written something about it myself last night, but good thing she showed more initiative so I could just swipe a copy from her...

Once upon a time in college, 6 individuals found themselves together by some force they couldn't quite explain (try love for the arts or weirdo behavior). They are the following people, pictures to follow:

• Anne - poised, gothic chic, poet, graphic artist, copywriter, classy
• Arjhay - craft guru, cooking angel, pre-school teacher, philosophical, our on cam girl
• Lynette - PR girl kuno, mtv singer, showbiz sponge, the only mommy so far in the group, youngest UN-minor
• Claudy - terror sweet professor, finesse, kind and uber-reliable, romantic princess
• Heintje - master photographer/editor, gay magnet, gentle giant, tae kwon do jin
• Wilben - writer/critic, the Voice, family businessman, ever ready daig pa ang boy scout

Last night, off we went to Aveneto for some pizza, pasta and lots of laughter. Yes, we were the loudest group cramped in such a small space and just having a great time. It's amazing to think that after more than a decade, we're still the same rowdy bunch. Slow pa rin yung isa ("di ko magetz!"), may tripod for the picture taking (happy birthday NOT), may mga new jokes, ex jokes (nasan na si *tootoot*) at sangkatutak na hirit.If only we can get together more often. I miss these people so much. Best of all, they met Rye. He got overwhelmed. Siguro if he could talk na, he'll ask why Mommy's friends are soo LOUD and noisy. Hehe

Flipside

The latest protest rallies had a mob so paranoid they beat up anyone who looked like they were carrying a gun, even a mentally retarted person.

For foreigners out there who only know about The Philippines from CNN and see us as a corrupt, riot-hungry mass of citizens, I apologize.

Individually you'd love us. As a group, we are a nation of idiots.

Oh, Joy! Murder!

Went for a job interview at Univoicesal Productions for possible voiceover assignments. Finally, an organization out to organize VO talents in The Philippines. Yeah, the whole freakin' country (I hope). Think I did okay.

There's a new channel out on cable (or it's been here awhile but I never noticed 'til today). Murder/Suspense shows Law & Order, and that's all I need to know to make me happy.

Happy happy happy.

Water Blast Wrinkles Former VP Even More

From today's Philippine Daily Inquirer:

The guy in orange is former Vice President Teofisto "Two-Fisted" Guingona (pronounced geeng-gonna). The idiot in gray with his right arm raised in defiance is trying his best to pose cooly for the cameras (or his drunk frat buddies) while at the same time that his filling's gonna get knocked out by giant gardenhose water.

Anyway, look at the veep's picture closer:

Seriously, this is the best picture they took? You can literally see the whites of this eyes, as well as the aquamarine color contact lens. (What the hell is a septugenarian male doing w/ color contacts, anyway? He was the freakin' vice president!)

It's almost as if he was trying to use heat vision on the anti-riot police who, btw, definitely used a weaker water cannon than last time. With all the bigger quasi-celebs in this rally, they erred on the side of lower water pressure, with just enough for to shove back but not take your face off. Although in the Veep's case that would've been a kindness. ZING!

Cibo and Breton

I thought I was the first to arrive at CIBO (near ABS-CBN), but as it turned out Aileen was already having pasta inside. So I just waited outside the building listening to a Jasper Fforde audiobook and looking like an idiot while catching glimpses of Phomela Baranda doing showbiz news for TV Patrol. Lyndon and Aimee finally arrived and she was the one who told me Aileen was already in CIBO.

Anyhoo, we all had pasta, and my spaghetti bolognese was particulary salty. David couldn't make it for dinner, so we just waited for him to arrive after we finished ours.


Wish one of them drew a mouth on the lady...

"Tits" finally arrived, and we car-pooled to Cafe Breton, where I ordered a chocolate shake. After some more chit-chat (that's what tonight was about, anyway), it was time to hitch a ride home. Kids (and one adult) waiting outside were bugging us to buy their flowers. They're not as agressive as the Beijing's "rose girls," but still hard to ignore. I'm usually good at it, but this time I actually had to say No for them to get the message. Isn't it enough nowadays to pretend they're not there...?

What's on my PC TV

As far as "high concept" (show's premise can be described in 5 words or less) TV shows go, it could be gangbusters, for all I care, but if the dialogue's crap, it will not pique my interest any further.

I tried to give new shows a try, like Commander in Chief (Geena Davis as US President) and How I Met Your Mother (one season telling story of title), but I couldn't get past the shmaltzy dialogue of the former (West Wing this ain't) and the unfunny jokes of the latter (defeating the com purpose of sitcom).

As for other sitcoms, Everybody Hates Chris (The Wonder Years meets Chris Rock. Hey, I'm getting good with high concept descriptions...) is faring better for me than My Name is Earl (Karma Komedy starring Jason Lee). Seems nowadays new sticoms have a better chance of becoming a hit (either with the audience or with critics) when there's a narrator and flashbacks involved. Malcolm in the Middle, Arrested Development, Chris and Earl, among others. Is it because the audience is too slow to catch up that the shows need to explain things constantly, or is it a device to stick in more jokes? Bit of both, I think.

As for new dramas, only Threshold (Anti-alien invasion task force) and Reunion (murder mystery. 1 episode=1 year) have me reeled in, curiosity-wise. Everything else is cops, cops, cops (all CSIs and Law & Orders) and Desperate Housewives. I wanna check out Ghost Whisperer (Sixth Sense meets Jennifer Love Hewitt), but I'm afraid I'd only watch it for the same reason I first watched Charmed. Sorry, but Alyssa Milano or no Alyssa Milano, rhyming spell incantation is corny, as well as saying demon or warlock in every third sentence of dialogue.

Frenemyster

I've now heard two stories (one of them from the annals of showbiz) on relationships that have been compromised by stuff the affected parties read from Friendster pages, and that's just ridiculous.

One thing you have to realize is Friendster is not Scripture, as in not to taken in as-a-matter-of-factly. There are single friends that declare themselves married, 20-somethings that are 80 (great skin tone), members of the Justice League (look it up, non-comics readers), circus performers and/or that look exactly like Angelina Jolie. Batman's on Friendster, for crying out loud.

Friendster, like henna tattoos, ouija boards and Tara Reid's career, are there for our amusement. Those who seek to have their relationships revolve around Friendster have got to smarten up. Don't read into anyone's testimonials and second-guess. Don't assume that a boy and a girl w/ their picture taken together are a couple.

Talk to the person. You're supposed to be their friend, after all.

Okay, Maybe a Coupla Rants

I'll keep it short. Couple of things from The Philippine Daily Inquirer's front page that made my eyes roll up so much I could see the inside of my skull. Gods, some people should never be placed in front of a microphone/tape recorder, if only so save us from their delusions.

ILOCOS NORTE Governor Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. yesterday said the Marcoses were the victims of human rights abuse because the government continued to deny his father the right to a hero's burial.

"If there is a president that should be buried [at the Libingan ng mga Bayani] it is him because he was president for the longest time,"

Gee, the fault in that's because your old man declared martial law, instituted an authoritarian regime and stayed in power more than a decade longer than he should have.

"It's the same old political issue -- that if you are a Marcos, you do not have the same rights as every other Filipino citizen.

When Ferdinand Marcos was president, he and his family thought themselves above "every other Filipino citizen" and stomped on their rights. So karma's a bitch, huh?

JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's administration would not allow Romeo Jalosjos, a former congressman serving two life sentences for raping a child, to die in jail of a serious heart ailment.

Gonzalez drew a parallel between Jalosjos and former Senator Benigno “Ninoy”Aquino Jr. who was freed by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1980 after languishing in jail for nearly eight years to undergo a triple heart bypass in the United States.

"Even Aquino was not allowed to die," Gonzalez said, recalling Marcos' decision to grant his foremost political rival a furlough.

Ninoy was not allowed to due under FM's watch because that would've made him a martyr. I sincerely doubt that would be the case for a kiddie rapist congressman.

And if Secretary Gonzalez or President Arroyo would take the time to look into our really $#itty prisons they'd find other convicts more deserving of clemency: Minors (who shouldn't be in the city jails to begin with) and other non-kiddie raping senior citizens with worse heart ailments.

One of "Those" Days

In high school and college I had Bad Days, where almost cinematically events in that day follow Murphy's Law like the Laws of Physics. Sometimes I call them Saturday the 14th, though it can happen on Mondays, too (kudos, Garfield).

Now I have "Even Out" days, like in that Seinfeld Epsiode. Today it was more like a Even Out Weekend. My mp3 player, once busted last night, now works again. My friend whom I thought was mad at me turns out not to be (note to self: turn off paranoid thoughts).

I like Even Out Weekends. :)

(Other) Things That Make Me Scream Like a Girly Mahn

Finding long-legged spiders in the bathroom sink, like tonight.

Switched on the lights, and there it was, long and legged. Even after squirting rubbing alchohol at it (just like dem archer fishes) and finally stamping it dead w/ my shoe (never any insecticide around when ya need it), I was still hesititing to scrape up its carcass off the counter. Like it might still wriggle or something.

Bathroom sink never smelled more disinfected, though.

Album Update 6

More album updates for Clones and On Da Street. Enjoy.

Can't I read in peace anymore?

Adventures in Computer Coloring

For nostalgic reasons this image cracked me up. With my free time I dabbled in some more Photoshop experimentation:

The original drawing

The smiling cube with the derby hat giving the Hulk the smack-down is Mr. Strong, one of many Mr. Men characters created by Roger Hargreaves in 1971. True, this was before I was born, but years later I distinctly remember having Ma buy me Meet Mr. Strong in Goodwill Bookstore. Back then several things about the character appealed to me. He was red, my favorite color. His story was short and simple. ("Mr Strong is so strong he can lift entire buildings. If you need something lifting, Mr Strong is the one to call!") The secret to his strength? Eating lots of eggs! As an impressionable kid I tried to emulate him. Also ate lots of eggs, mostly hard-boiled because in his book it looked like that's how Mr. Strong took them. Don't remember getting stronger, but I did get sick of eggs quickly. And this was before health "experts" began flip-flopping on how healthy they were. (C'mon, they came out of a bird's ass. How the hell did anyone think they'd be edible?) Nowadays I hate eating eggs by itself, hard-boiled, scrambled, whatever.

Eggs beat Gamma Rays

But I digress. My old problem with coloring line art was how to color without painting over the actual art. One Darken command later and I was up and running. This piece is very amateur, w/c is to be expected, and I always have trouble deciding on a good background color. I did achieve the desired effect shading Hulk's green physique to give the illusion of depth.

Hope you like it. (Wait. Who am I talking to, anyway...?)

In Today's PHILLIPPINE STAR

Professional host/ columnist Tim Yap is a friend of mine, so far be it from me to make fun of a guy who bought a whole house/apartment just to make room for his wardrobe or tries to dance (and, boy, does he try) on public television every week. Then I spot this piture in The Philippine Star:

"I vant to suck your..." okay, that's just too easy.

'Kay, I know he likes to constantly change his looks, but I've never known "Creepy Albino Vampire chic" to be a hit anywhere outside of Prague, at least when they were still shooting Blade II. And the man travels with his photographer, or crying out loud (and/or brings his own digicam. That much I can remember from our last encounter at H Salon. Don't ask.) You'd think he'd have final say on what creepy looking photograph gets published.


It's a MIRACLE!!!

Anyhoo, speaking of pictures in the paper, this came out in the World News section of the same broadsheet. I've always said/joked that Bo Bice is Jesus reincarnated, and that if someone like Jesus can get eliminated outta American Idol, whoever wins had better be Really Good. (Granted Ye Son of God was raised a carpenter, and the last time a carpenter became a successful singer was about 2000 years after his death, and even then that woman died from complications brought about by an eating disorder. And she wasn't a carpenter by profession.)

1 Night in Greenbelt

Met up with Des (who came in from Cotabato and will be in town for a while) in Greenbelt. We couldn't find Kym at first, and both of us were hungry already. Had dinner at Bubba Gump, where I had their ribs for the first time. Not too bad. Fernds joined us awhile later, and I gave him a necktie with a sheep pattern for his birthday. Afterwards we headed for Nuvo.

Fernds, Kym and Des

Des insisted on ordering shooters. Kym (who was attending/organizing) the Rampage fashion party at the restaurant next door (eek, it's Maurice! is that Phomela...?) joined in us just as the B52s, Long Island ice teas and my SanMig light beer arrived. How to describe my first taste of B52, aflame and sucked thru a straw: chocolatey, with the burning sensation hitting your throat immediately afterwards. Debbie calls it a "sexy drink." At 195 bucks a shot, it better be.

3/4 ounce Kahlua + 3/4 ounce Baileys + 3/4 ounce Grand Marnier = My face as red as my shirt

"So, dinner at my place...?"

After the somewhat disappointing reunion in Greenhills (again, no reflection on those who came, particularly the ones I recognized), I took advantage of the 'rents not being home (Hong Kong) and decided to throw a small pasta dinner party. Again logistics had me deciding whether to invite Old Batch or New Batch. Settled for the former when the latter didn't RSVP. Whoda thunk some last minute invites would actually make it? Glad they did.

Generation Pastel

I prepared spaghetti and salad, Dianne brought drinks, while Tiffany and Pyao graced us with (coincidentally) chocolate mousse cakes. A good meal was had by all. Sure wish I had them model for "clone" pix, though.

Assassinaversary

I heard on the radio yesterday that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport was getting ready for celebrations on the anniversary of the assassination of its namesake, the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino III.

Why an airport would want to celebrate the worst security lapse in its history of operations is beyond me.

What Does THIS Button Do...?

I dunno why, but this pic I took just cracks me up.

My dad's a bit slow on working electronic appliances. He's handy at garden work and house utilities, but god help him if you left him alone with the universal remote. (Now I'd understand having difficulty in using the remote if you were a houseguest... but, geez, the man lives here.)

At least he didn't use Post-Its...

So in order to remind himself how to work certain buttons on the remote (in this case the picture-in-picture function), he encircles them with a red felt pen. He's done the same with the DVD remote, so as not to confuse PLAY with PAUSE, as well as ON/OFF with OPEN/CLOSE.

I just look foward to Father's Day, his birthday and Xmas because if gives the family/house a chance to buy new gadgets he'll never use himself. (What, you actually thought he could work that Sony Handycam?)

My Idiot Move of the Month: the Sequel

Man, what is it with my luck and cars this month? After being incredibly lucky about one car last weekend, now I'm faced with cracking the left tail-light of my cousin's Toyota while I was backing it out of his office driveway and subsequently hitting his customer's Rav4. Mebbe most of the good luck was used up last Sunday.

See, this is why I don't like driving automatic.

Thankfully both cousin and his client were cool about it, with no damage to the latter's vehicle. Still, I can't believe all of this was due to a need to get Mom to the dentist and get her temporary bridge glued back to her mouth. AND the fact that the Altis was number-code restricted today. (See? An excuse so lame I couldn't have made it up.)

All the $#!++y stuff seems to happen to me either on days after holidays (assuming August 15, The Assumption of Mary, counts as a holiday) or after Friday the 13th (damn you, Sunday the 15th!!!). I was already having small bouts of bad luck today, w/c I thought would've "evened out" by now. Turns out it was only the calm before the $#!+storm.

My Idiot Move of the Month

Remember that feeling u get when the pen that u took the longest time looking for turned out to be on your ear? Take that feeling at reverse it. Now look at the picture.

Carnapper's dream come true.

The spare set of car keys was hanging on the antenna of the car I drove and left at the International Exchange Bank's (Greenhills Branch) parking lot for 5 hours. I only spotted it once I got home. Da-yamn lucky.

And to think after I saw printouts from the bank posted on the lot's wall that said that those who parked their cars there for more than 30 minutes would be fined 200 bucks, I contemplated moving the car to the parking lot of the Banco De Oro across from IEB, facing the the nearby jeepney terminal. This would've solved at least one commuter's woes.

Anyway, why'd I go out? Watched Charlie & the Chocoloate Factory with Wella and bought 1 tpb each of Animal Man and 100 Bullets.

Yikes.

The creature on the left is Tammy Faye Bakker Messner (born in 1942), the former wife of televangelist (boo!) and later convicted felon (yay!) Jim Bakker. The "woman" on the right is Pamela Anderson (born 1967).

The mascaras were separated at birth.

If you click on the pic to see a larger version you can see that the Time has not been kind to Pam. Scientific fact: exposure to sunlight causes wrinkles. Seems all those years pretending to be a lifeguard have taken their toll. That and the hepatits C, mebbe, but I'm just speculating.

Filed Under "Yeesh..."

Hope there's a Nerd Heaven for guys like this:

S. Korean man dies after 50 hours of computer games

Filed Under "Eeewwww..."

Whatever happened to just having mom kiss your boo-boo...?

Teacher caught licking students' wounds

"The Oregon teachers' board reprimanded a high school football coach for licking the bleeding wounds of student athletes..."

Man, this crap would never happen in The O.C....

Right Said Den

Too sexy for his shirt...

On the Outs on the Outing

After all the effort and planning, I arrive at the designated venue for the "grand" Beijinoy reunion, only to find...nobody. Okay, so I'm "early." Go browse a bit in Fully Booked first. In and outta the bookstore I went. Still nobody. Man, is everybody late? Knew I should've RSVPd more thoroughly. About 45 minutes later Tina texted to say they moved to another place to eat. Oy. When I finally reached Oyster Boy (after a wrong turn, w/c makes me grateful that I'm used to walking), my worst fear came true: most of the people who showed up came from the new (i.e. who the heck...?) batch of Beijinoys.


About a third of the crowd that I recognized.

Granted, this meeting was actually coincidental. Tina said Mela and New Guys &Girls were taking their Korean classmates out to dinner and planned to stop by Bizu (the original venue) afterwards. When they didn't see me (or anybody else, for that matter) there they moved to Oyster Boy. In short: they were gonna meet up with or without my planning. Good thing I managed to tell the remaining few I expected to come that we moved the venue. They showed up (except Rad) and left just as quickly. I, on the other hand, just wanted to leave. Is it from resentment that my "guests" were "hijacked?" Well, I just felt like I was at the "wrong" party.

Tonight confirmed 2 things for me. One: I'm really more for quiet, smaller gatherings. Two: my socializing skills really depend on other people making the introductions. I rarely introduce myself to new people (Hell, the last time I did it was Nov. 2001), even if I wanna meet 'em. Nerves, I guess. Nervous, more like it.

In hindsight: if I knew the 'rents were gonna be outta town for the weekend, I would've hosted the reunion at my house. Maybe sans New Guys & Girls, though.

Ben's First Bribe

While being lost trying to find Maricel's house (to pick her and JC up so we can go to Dennis' house for dinner), I ended up making an illegal U-turn at V. Mapa (knew I should've just turned left all the way). Two "nice" MMDA people asked me to pull over. I stammered away, sorta proclaiming innocence and telling them I was lost (w/c I was). They were "nice" enough to give me directions, and all it cost me 200 bucks, as opposed to the 500 bucks the actual fine would've cost. At least that's what the traffic cop said.

Yep. People suck.

Album Updates

Got some new images uploaded for my On The Street album and my new Send in Da Clones album. Click on the pix below to see more.

The sad part? None of us can play for real.


Yeah, I'm happy to see you.

Pancakes & Coffee (I Had Neither)

So a few Beiinoys came and met at Pancake House in E. Rodriguez. All 4 of us (Me, JC, Dennis and Maricel, in town for about a month or so from Davao) cramped in a small "booth" of the otherwise spacious restaurant. As far as the food goes, people should really go there just for the Pancakes. Everything else is... ordinary.


JC talking to Reni (calling long distance from Indonesia)

Afterwards we had "javakulas" at Seattle's Best. Sorry to say Starbucks' fraps are better.

Dennis on the phone (not with Reni)

But all this inconsequential, since I was there for the company, not the food. And, as always, the company was tops. :)

Me & Maricel

Gym Noir (bad one, too)

We were at the gym when our eyes met. I smiled, but only because she smiled at me first. From what I could tell it was her first time at the gym, though everything about her body says otherwise. You know those people you see at the gym with bodies that look like a gym isn't necessary? That's good genes. Ah, but to want what you don't have...

There she was lifting weights, assisted by her (I'm assuming jewish because the tattoo on his right upper arm was Hebrew letters encircling a wireframe sphere design) boyfriend's friend, not knowing that the friend is helping her lift the weights, albeit slowly. Still, a little push goes a long way. In the end this leaves her with no real workout, and leaving him w/ the opportunity to look down his friend's girlfriend's artificial cleavage. Not that I'm complaining...

Boyfriend's friend also talks a lot whils assisting. Imagine the whirring sound produced by robot arms tranlated to speech. All right, slowly now. That's it. Doing good. Watch your elbows, watch your elbows. Doing good. Great. Little push, little push. For a gym instructor this guy make a good midwife.

Well, So Far...

• My shoulders and lower back are killing me from the last workout.
• I'm currently constipated, and and increase in fiber intake is doing zip. Hope it isn't tapeworms. Heh, Fung had a case of the runs while I'm having clogged plumbing.
• I'm a crappy burger cook. Hell, I can't even do beef meatballs right. All that trouble with no flavor to show for it. Had to finish off the last of the gray bottle.
• Probe Team Documentaries is showing a feature on Philppine National Police's CSI lab(s). Did u know a DNA test costs 18,000 pesos (or roughly $327)? This is why it's hardly used by government prosecutors in heinous crime cases. Instead the equipment gets used more often in paternity cases. Also, we're still using outated methods for checking GSR with paraffin wax, place our faith in polygraphs and don't bother using gloves when picking up guns from a crime scene. Ugh. This is why you can get away with murder in this city.
• My cousin's went to Singapore w/ her husband to try and have a baby, leaving me w/ the office paperwork. Whee.

Serendipidee doo dah, serendipi dee yay...

So my brother Wilson calls me up last night, see? Asks me if his wallet was here. I say no, but that maybe he dropped it in the Honda CRV (w/c he borrowed). I ask him to call back in 5 minutes.

I go downstairs to the garage and start searching inside the CRV. Lo and behold, the first thing I find was my wallet, and I didn't even know it was missing. Then I found my sunglasses (w/c I suspected was left in here when I couldn't find it in the office) and tripod (left it in the car).

Eventually I even find Wilson's wallet. He didn't call back, though.

My Neil Gaiman Experience

British author Neil Gaiman was in the country for 3 days (today being Day 2) on a book tour. I, Goldy and DJ decided to try our luck getting our books autographed at Fully Booked in Greenhills. The store said they were passing out 300 "line stubs" at 1pm (we got there around quarter to 11) but ended giving away all 200 by 10:30. Worse, about 300 people didn't get their books signed yesterday, so they were given priortity. Saw a few familiar faces, JP de Guzman, Laurie and Wella, to name a few. The number or girls w/ long black hair and glasses alone left me to speculate that there was some kind of some nerdette cloning facility in the country.


Da Man himself, plus "entourage."

When he finally arrived in his rented Audi I was lucky enough to get a few pictures and video clips. It was almost like my "paparazzi" moment w/ Michael Jackson back in Vegas in 2003. There he was, in a leather jackect despite the sunny weather (for w/c DJ and I got slightly burned) and an hour late. Still, he was nice enough to give a reading before getting ready to sign.


Hey, it's John Lennon!

Alas, the guys in charge were killing all hope we had when he said those without passes would have no chance to getting their stuff signed. In the end we left the line and walked around, and even visited Victor's crepe restaurant before calling it a day.


"President Arroyo must resign! Haha, just kidding, folks..."

Sadly while driving back home I texted Laurie, and she said that they finally accomodated the "stubless" people who were still in line. Do I regret leaving "too soon?" (If you consider waiting for 8 hours too soon, that is.) Maybe. But, as long as Gaiman's alive, there's still a chance he'll come back. Maybe I'll be ready by then....

Who Needs Superheroes...

When you've got:

Broomstick Boy and Coffee Clerk!

Ah swear, some days it don't pay to be a crook.

Filed Under "Irony"

Crime reporter nabbed in crime spree

Comics Philosophy 101

Plato's the smart one.

Online Album Update 4

More free time means more pix! Click here or on the pic below to see the rest:

"Whatchoo lookin' at?"