Babbling Point

I LOST MY GLOBE! ARRRRRGH!!! Please help me re-build my Contact List. Send me your cell# at: budj (@) rocketmail (dot) com Thank you. Ugh! I lost my cellphone in Starbucks, Greenhills (the one beside Chili's). I must have been too sleepy to notice that it fell out of my pocket. I was at work til 10am yesterday. I rushed home, took a bath, dressed up, then went with my mom and Brandie to meet up with family friends. After lunch, we went to Starbucks and that's where I lost my phone. I noticed that I didn't have my phone as we turned the corner. So, we rushed back. That must have only taken 5 minutes. Maybe less. By the time we came back, the table was already clean and my cellphone could not be found. The busboy who cleaned up our area said he didn't see any cellphone. Even the guard said he didn't notice anything. Bummer. It's just annoying how people can be so dishonest. I wish that whoever got that cellphone will put it to good use. Maybe he'll use the mon...

Our Golden Age Men of Justice and Speed of Mystery and Magic of Fire and Steel and War, Women who burned with the light and energy of distant stars, whose shoulders carried the weight of the world whose beliefs kept all of our heads high and whose lives were lived for the greater good. ("Justice", a poem by Wang about the Justice Corps of World War II , transcribed by David Hontiveros) Here's to looking forward to an even greater year in comic books, graphic novels, and storytelling. Congratulations to all the writer and artists who were able to find a way to get their works printed and published. Many thanks to all the shops and stores that carry our titles and to all the readers who got copy and shared our stories with others. May we someday look back and mark these times as a "New Age" for Filipino comic books. (I think it would be presumtuous to already call these times our Silver Age, but I'm sure we've already set the foundations of something truly...

Chief of Staff LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- John Spencer, who played a tough and dedicated politico on "The West Wing" who survived a serious illness to run for vice president, died of a heart attack Friday. He was 58. I read this news a couple of days before Christmas, but haven’t had the chance to blog about until now. I’ve been a big WEST WING fan ever since I saw “ Isaac and Ishmael ”, their special episode that dealt with what happened during 9/11. When the local stores started to bring in copies of the first two seasons of WEST WING, I got both sets. John Spencer played Leo McGarry , the President’s Chief of Staff, in the show. One of my favorite moments was a scene in the first season. President Bartlet was about to give the State of the Union address and he was talking to the Secretary of Agriculture in the Oval Office. From the adjoining room, Leo McGarry overheard this conversation: President Josiah Bartlet: Roger, If anything happens, you know what to do, right?...

Merry Legendary Christmas to One and All And here's the finished product! Ian gave me an 11x17 print-out of this fantastic pin-up. At the corner of the poster, he wrote: MABUHAY ANG ALAMAT! A challenge? An invitation? A call to action!

FLY HIGH, SEEK DANGER This is Ian's Christmas gift to Bow. So, Bow now has a poster of this pin-up at his desk. It now serves as a reminder of things past and future projects.

super pogi rock The boys from the band. A very cool Christmas gift from Ian Sta. Maria .

The 12 Days of Advertising Yup, this definitely represents our merry life. Click-click and sing along! http://www.garcia360.com/12days/

Ready? Get set... TRESE #2 is finally available in Comic Quest, Megamall. (Sorry it got delayed.) You can still check out the preview at: http://tresekomix.blogspot.com/

. Have you been naughty or have you been nice? If you've been a naughty aswang, you'll probably get a visit from these two guys. Although you should be more afraid of their "bossing". Preview pages of TRESE: RULES OF THE RACE can now be viewed at: http://tresekomix.blogspot.com/ TRESE #2 will be available in Comic Quest, Megamall by Friday.

Taking Flight A page from ALL THE SMALL THINGS (Story by Budjette Tan, Art by Bow Guerrero) It's been more that ten years since I've collaborated with Bow on a comic book project. The most recent thing we did was our submission to MANUAL magazine. Bow did the art for my story PLAYING WITH DICE. I think the first thing we ever worked on was an 11-page stoty about a samurai that fought a monster that was terrorizing a small town. We did that back in 1992 (or was it `93?). We also did an 8-page story about a female ninja that stopped a couple of bank robbers. We tried to pitch both stories to ATLAS KOMIKS. He got rejected because they said our style was "too Marvel" and both stories were too long. So, we came up with 4-page story about how the President of the Philippines bought four hunter-killer androids to solve the problem of the New People's Army. After the President paid the men in black a billion pesos, the androids went on a ramage and killed all the NPA. Unf...

13 LETTERS DOWN The online letters column of TRESE * * * * * * * * * * * * * Yes, Budj! I was able to read it. :-) It looks VERY promising. I liked the theatrically masked gun-toting minions. I liked the seedy underground led by aswangs. (It's a thread I intend to pursue in a Zaturnnah story, but with a different treatment, of course.) And Trese herself looks like an interesting character. I think the challenge here is upping the ante, so that it doesn't look head-on like Kate-Beckinsale-in-Underworld at first glance. (I didn't really think that at first glance, but we all know how critical some folks can be.) The artstyle is very appropriate; it lends strongly into the fast-paced nature of things. Also, I strongly encourage that this be released in full graphic-novel form. Even at a 100-page (or thereabouts) digest size. If you'd like to score a double-whammy: release a version locally in Filipino, then have the English version up for sale on Lulu or Cafepress. It'...

. FYI, the temporary, official Alamat Comics site is: http://360.yahoo.com/alamatcomics

The SEA Games start today. In honor of the athletes of Team Philippines, here's the lyrics to the Rivermaya's POSIBLE song. It also makes a nice anthem for the whole country. POSIBLE (song for SEA Games 2005) Music by Rivermaya Lyrics by Russel Molina Posible kayang labanan Ang agos ng paghamon Mabuwal at madapa man Sabay tayong aahon Posible kayang mabura Alinlangan sa sarili Ang tapang sa loob makikita Taglay mo ang dugong bayani CHORUS Sulong, laban, `wag uurong Pakinggan sa iyong puso Ang sigaw na dati¹y bulong Sulong, laban, Pilipino Pakinggan sa iyong puso Ang sigaw na dati¹y bulong Posible Posible kayang matikman Tamis ng gintong minimithi Sa kagat ng bawat laban Magtatagumpay kang muli BACK TO CHORUS Posible! Posible!

Congrats to the boys and girls of Harrison! I got so excited blogging about Brandie and Tin's win, I forgot to blog about my agency's wins. Harrison Communications brought home two Bronze Awards from the Ad Congress. SINGLE ENTRY RADIO – BRONZE BIOGESIC “38?” ECD: Teeny Gonzales CD: Sonam Mehra ACD: Nanni Aguilar Copy: Brian Avancena Accounts: Tey San Diego, Yvonne Salcedo, Monica Morelos RADIO CRAFT (BEST COPY) - BRONZE GENTXT “BOOM” ECD: Teeny Gonzales DECD: Russell Molina CD: Jeorge Agcaoili, Isabel Gamboa, Joey Campillo Copy: Jao Bautista, Maki Maquiling, Chan Dela Calzada Accounts: Maira Catacutan, Abby Nicolas The complete list of winners can be downloaded here .

A Sterling Couple Brandie and Tin got a Silver Award at the recently concluded Ad Congress, for their work on the Bench Fix Salon ad . They also got two Bronze Awards each. Brandie got his Bronze Awards for his work on the Imodium ads and Tin for her work on the print ad of Orbit Chewing Gum. Brandie and Carol Ong got Silver Award for their DM entry "Hanky", which was an invitation for CEO's to attend the Cannes Exhibit that was set-up by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Congratulations you two!

"thecraziestworkdayoftheyear" That's what I'd call yesterday. I'd like to call yesterday my birthday but there was not a lot of celebration. (Well, I did get the chance to have dinner with my mom and Brandie&Tin). If my day yesterday was ever released in DVD, I'd retitle "24". It was a crazy day. Six projects all running at the same time. An art director went on birthday leave and suddenly it was a mad scramble for a team to stage for an upcoming Christmas event. Later in the afternoon, we had a meeting with a man weilding a gold club. It was the craziest work day of the year. Crazy, I tell ya!

they're baaack!!! BACK FROM THE DREDD: Karen Kunawicz's snapshots and mementos from Club Dredd-Timog 1990-1993 November 9, 2005 (Exhibit runs until early December) *Big Sky Mind* #66 Dona Juana Rodriguez New Manila Performing bands are: Color It Red,Pinwheel,Hidrofonics (it's 1:33am and I'm still at the office. I wish I can go to this launch later.)

Happy birthday to the angels and ninjas, the new mutants and old gods, the timawas and flying phantoms, the vampires and them wasted youth. Happy 11th birthday to Alamat Comics! Today, November 3, marks the 4015th day of existence of Alamat. I had hoped that our anniversary would be marked by the launch of a full-color, hundred page graphic novel; instead we launched two new, black-and-white, Xeroxed comics books: TRESE and KUNOICHI BOY. Make no mistake, we’re might mighty proud of our latest creations. As far as TRESE is concerned, it’s the latest story I’ve written and gotten published. (Even thought “Batch72” did come out in 2001, those scripts were written in 1995. So, I couldn’t really say they were new.) After 11 years, we’re not really at the height of our imagines full-color, monthly dreams. I’m just glad that the “new komikeros on the block” are doing well, and doing things better. It’s really nice to see whenever a the latest issue of CAST and MANGO JAM hit the magazine racks...

. One Last Drink at the Diabolical by Budjette Tan Alexandra Trese held the hot mug of coffee in her hands as she looked out the one-way mirror. From the her private room on the second level of the club, she could see everything that was happening in The Diabolical. It was a Saturday night and the party people kept streaming in and out of the club's ten-foot double doors. After she inherited the restaurant from her father, she decided to convert it into a club. The place now looked like a crumbling chapel that was constructed during the 1800s. She renovated it to keep up with the times, to make more money, and more importantly to create a neutral place; for not only did she inherit her father's friends, she also acquired her father's enemies. She took a sip from the dark brew and looked at the right side of the club where she saw Hank Sparrow, the bartender, who kept the drinks flowing. Hanging out at the bar, getting free drinks from Hank while flirting with the girls, wer...

"MyFavoriteEver!" Book Signing Day See you there! :)

Pause Button It’s a quiet day today in Harrison. Yesterday, or I should say this morning, I left the office around 2am and Joey and the others were still putting together the presentation materials for the Greenwich pitch. Almost 12 hours later, Joey, Russ, and Jeorge stumbled back into the office and said the presentation went well. The panel laughed at all the right place, Taps texted. We can only hope and pray that we did well enough. Last week was the Evervon pitch and we lost that account to Lowe. Next month, we begin work on what I’d like to call PROJ: HAPPY NEW YEAR (although I’m sure it’ll be boiled down to a one-word project-name). Now that’s going to be exciting and challenging and probably will be twice as difficult as the past two pitches combined. If we’re lucky, our weekends won’t be eaten up by the work, which is what happened this past month. Which is why, last Saturday, I met up with David and Kajo in Makati, then drove to the Komikon, where we set-up the Alamat / Visp...

TRESE preview TRESE #1 NOW AVAILABLE AT COMIC QUEST, MEGAMALL. Only P30.00. You can view the first six-pages of TRESE by clicking the links below: Page1 , Page2 , Page3 , Page4 , Page5 , Page6

Craving for Horror? An excerpt from David Hontiveros' CRAVING is now online at: http://iguana5legs.blogspot.com/ Bookmark his site if you want regular updates and a sneak preview of all the titles coming from PENUMBRA, Visprint Publishing's new line of dark fantasy / horror novels.

PROJECT: 13 Here's the poster/pin-up of our new comic book TRESE. Advanced copies will be available at the KOMIKON , October 22, U.P. Bahay ng Alumni. Please tell me if you'd like to reserve a copy by leaving a note on my comments board. Thank you. See you at the Komikon!

The Official Twisted Blog Ladies and gentlemen! She's back and she's online! Tremble before her twisted might! The blog that will give you official updates on her plans for world domination: http://twistedbyjessicazafra.blogspot.com/

When the sun sets in the city of Manila, don’t you dare make a wrong turn and end up in that dimly-lit side of the metro, where aswang run the most-wanted kidnapping rings, where kapre are the kingpins of crime, and engkantos slip through the cracks and steal your most precious possessions. When crime takes a turn for the weird, the police call Alexandra Trese. TRESE #1 Created by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo Available October 2005

You are cordially invited to HALLELUJAH MUSIKA! (Part I of a Lifetime Series) a photo exhibit by WAWI NAVARROZA on view at STORE FOR ALL SEASONS SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 14, 2005 featuring a collection of portraits and snapshots of musicians, rock stars and satellites, modern-day shamans, dancers, poets, mind-makers, core-shakers, head-bangers, shoe-gazers, new bohemians and denizens of sound captured in live gigs and private sittings, individuals and groups, in color and in monochrome... all in love and writhing for this arithmetic of the soul called Music. For the curious, photos on show include: Agaw Agimat, Budeths Casinto on darbuka, CJ Wasu on tabla, Cynthia Alexander, Death By Tampon, Elemento, Hale, Hank Palenzuela, Hippie the poi dancer, Joey Ayala, Jourdan Sebastian, Juan Pablo Dream, Jun Lopito, Kate Torralba on piano, "The Wild Thing" Lee, Loquy (Nino on flute, Michelle on violin), Louie Talan, Mishka Adams, NU107 Rock Awards 2004 backstage, Joey "Pepe" Sm...

If you broadcast a radio show and no one was listening, did you really have a show? Last Saturday, before finding a corner of the city to sulk and work, I had the chance to meet up with Jessica Zafra, Adel "Little David" Gabot, and finally got to meet Ige Ramos. Here's Adel's report of our little gathering and plans for world domination: http://www.livejournal.com/users/agabot/62124.html That's about it from me. If you're still looking for something to read, may I re-direct you to David's blog, where you get not one, but two reviews of DARK WATER (the Japanese and the Hollywood version): http://iguana5legs.blogspot.com/ There's also this piece of news about former DDB-copywriter Will Clark and his new novel: http://www.adpulp.com/archives/2005/09/lord_vishnus_lo.php Clark says: none of it would have been possible without first working in advertising. "It's really a poor man's MFA program. You have to produce everyday. And it gives you rhin...

ME! HULK! ARRRRGH! Here's another online comic strip, now written by me but starring me! http://www.stripgenerator.com/viewEng.php?id=42177 (made by Grace, my friend who's now doing unspeakable things Downunder)

Kid Zeus and Ate Carol (Page 6) Story by Budjette Tan. Art and letters by Jonas Diego .

HEADLINE: Hindi ganito kadaling makahanap ng dugo. (Finding blood isn't this easy.) BODY COPY: At hindi rin siya na bibili. Kaya mag-donate na sa Blood Drive ng National Kidney and Transplant Institute. Malay mo, ikay naman ang mangailangan. For more info visit: www.nkti.com.ph (And you can't even buy it anywhere. So donate to the Blood Drive of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute. You'll never know, you might be the one in need. For more info visit: www.nkti.com.ph) Client: National Kidney and Transplant Institute Agency: Harrison Communications ECD: Teeny Gonzales CD: Budjette Tan Copywriter: BJ Galinato, Budjette Tan Art Director: BJ Galinato, Ronnie Tres Reyes, Project Manager: Nans Tiongson Photographer: Charlie Altomonte TGIF!!! (But we've got work this weekend.) The work-week's been on hyperdrive thanks to the pitches, top of all of the regular projects. October promises to be as intense, thanks to the upcoming Komikon. Which is why I'm glad we s...

revamped and remixed Don't you just love this rendition of the B72 girls. From the top, that's Kupcake, Pammy, and Kadi (and Kadi's little shadow-creatures). This is another pin-up by Ian Sta. Maria, who seems to be on a drawing-streak these days. (Not that I'm complaining.) I'm just trying to time it right and ask him to do a whole comic book. The funny thing is, I've been trying to write this new story about the band, but other things come out. I mean, I sit down intending to write something about Kupcake and the barkada, but something like a new ghost story ends up on the page. Very strange, indeed. Maybe I need to watch a Color It Red gig to help me figure out what I need to tell. (It's been more than a year since I've seen Cooky and the band on-stage.) I want to write it, but it's not coming out. It's like some weirdo dry-spell when it comes to writing about the band. I hope to have something before the KOMIKON. If not, I plan to bundle the ...

Kid Zeus and Ate Carol (Page 5) Story by Budjette Tan. Art and letters by Jonas Diego . Yehey! We're a page away from the half-way mark. :-)

. Shhh-BOOM-BOOM! Email from Eddie Boy: "had fun here last friday when old friend, rachel lobangco, acceeded to my request to shoot her. she even brought her friend,mimette, from guam." See how much fun Eddie Boy had at: http://www.filphoto.com/thumbnails.php?album=261 ASKALS on the loose Created by Dodo Dayao and Bong Leal way back in 1999. It has gone through another (if not the last) round of revisions and will be unleashed at the Komikon this October . Get your updates about this new comic book at: http://versuswords.blogspot.com/

. From the Log Book of Cougar Security Guard #344 Renato Hamantoc, Stationed at Gate 2 of White Rock Village as transcribed by Budjette Tan September 13 12:00am Take over for Cougar Security Guard #41 Julius Dimagiba. No reported incidents. AOK. 12:03am PXB 478 enters village 12:15am ZMN 541 enters village 2:26am TSR 832 enters village 1:00am AOK 1:24am TBT 558 tries to enter village. Under orders from resident Mrs. De Ocampo I do not allow driver of TBT 558 to enter village. I apologize to driver and say sorry sir you cannot enter the village. Driver get angry with me but I do not answer back and maintain the order of resident Mrs. De Ocampo. 1:30am TBT 558 finally leave and unblocks the passage of Gate 2 2:00 AOK 2:10am XMN 771 exits village 3:00am AOK 3:40am TAG 810 honks its horny very loudly at the gate because the driver thought #344 was asleep but I was not. The driver, resident Mr. A German with his brother Mr. L. German started to yell bad words at #344. But I did not yet back...

Early this year, photographer Eddie Boy Escudero finally had a one-man exhibit, which featured his photos of the club/party scene of the late 90s and the early years of 2000. Instead of captions, Karen Kunawicz wrote these blurbs which ran underneath the photos (and sometimes the words would zig and zag and loop around the photos). She wrote the words on the wall and used differnt type and different colored pens. It was like the pictures danced with words and vice-versa. At the end of that night, I joined Eddie Boy and his angels for a very late dinner at the Fort. While wolfing down his pasta, Eddie Boy told Karen that the exhibit would not have been complete if she didn't provide the words. I just smiled and couldn't agree more. Karen and Eddie Boy have been partying ever since I met them and they've covered many a concert and party. Somehow, all those years of being partners-in-crime (and being such great friends) allowed them to create this giantic piece of art that com...

. Required Reading A couple of weeks ago, Patch Buenaventura left a message on my comments board. He wanted to interview me about "And All Things Nice" , a story I wrote that got included in the FAST FOOD FICTION anthology. So, I emailed him and answers his questions. I then asked what made him decide to do a report on my story. Turns out "And All Things Nice" is part of their English class reading list. I was able to track down and the email of his teacher to confirm it. Here's Mrs. Cheekee's reply: Dear Budjette, Well, you are right -- and not-so-right at the same time. And yes, I heard how Patch Buenaventura emailed you and asked you all sorts of questions about the story for his literary critique. Actually, you are right: your story was read in the fourth year batch -- but forgive me if I say that the only reason we included it in the list was its length (or is that non-length?) We wanted to have the students a feel of different short stories -- short, l...

. "Our work requires inspiration, but leaves little time to find it." Wow. It's already Wednesday. 12:43am to be exact. I spent most of the day revising the copy on a project. I wasn't exactly feeling fantastic when I woke up this morning, but I went to work only to find out that the meeting I was supposed to attend got cancelled. So, I accompanied the team to a meeting with the Big Bosses to present some pro bono work. The BB's liked the team's work, so that's getting produced. That little victory was probably the only sliver of sunlight to this very grey day. Then I went back to my desk to deal with more revisions. Did you ever get to watch "Apollo 13" ? Remember how... “The astronauts had moved to the lunar module from the command module to conserve power for the emergency return to Earth. They had lithium hydroxide canisters to cleanse their spacecraft of carbon dioxide, but some of the backup square canisters were not compatible with the rou...

Last Man Standing It's 12:55am. I am the only left in the office. What the heck happened to Monday? I got here around 9am and it was just one meeting after another. Felt like I did so much, yet accomplished so little. Ever had one of those days? And I was wasn't able to work on the comic book script. Bummer. Must make time for the script tomorrow. Tuesday. It's already Tuesday. What the heck happened to Monday?

Hello sir/ma'am who ended up at my blog because you Googled "Makaaasa Ka lyrics Rivermaya". I blog in your service. Below are the lyrics to the song you seek. I guess you ended up because I mentioned it as one of the songs I played at Dylan's Tapsirock show. MAKAAASA KA Music by Rivermaya Words by Russell Molina Di mapapatid ng layo Ang tibay ng pangako Na kahit magkalayo Darating ako Di malulunod ng dagat At sa haba man nito Ang bulong na nagsasabing Nandito lang ako CHORUS I Darating ako Sing bilis pa ng hangin Sa oras na kailangan mo Makaaasa ka sa akin Di mabubura sa limot Taon man ang bilangin Ang tamis ng alaala T’wing ika’y kapiling CHORUS II Darating ako Sa kisapmata’y kapiling Narito ang sandalan mo Makaaasa ka sa akin Makaaasa ka sa akin… Makaaasa ka sa akin…

KID ZEUS and ATE CAROL (page 4) Story by Budjette Tan. Art and letters by Jonas Diego .

. Tapsirockin' Sunday Rockjock DYLAN, host of NU107's Tapsirock Every Sunday afternoon, I usually tune in to NU107 before the family leaves the house and get to listen to Tapsirock, a show devoted to Pinoy rock. Dylan usually invites people from the bands or from the music industry, like the owners of Club Dredd and music journalists. Every now and again, when she gets guests that we've met during the hey-day of Alamat, I'd text in and say hello. So, it was quite a surprise when I got a text from Dylan inviting me to be a guest in her show. Last Sunday, I went to the station and bring a book full of CDs and comic books. Comic book geek that I am, I based my entire playlist on comic book characters and comic book creators. We started the show with The Jerks' "Rage". Many years ago, I wrote a comic book script about a future Manila that was still under Martial Law. The entire story had no dialog expect for the lyrics of The Jerks song. I gave that script to ...

COPY: O di ba, sa wikang Pilipino lang `yan posible. Client: GLOBE - Gentxt Agency: Harrison Communications Inc. Executive Creative Director: Teeny Gonzales Copywriter: Jao Bautista Art Director: Dan Matutina Get it? Get it? :-) It's like that old joke about the a Pinoy and two Americans in an elevator. The door opens and another Pinoy is about to enter when he asks, "Baba ba?". The Pinoy in the elevator answers, "Baba." The two Americans shrug and go, "What did they say? All I heard was ba ba ba ba."

Radio Goo Goo Hey kids! I'll be the guest DJ / guest speaker / guest-guy this Sunday at NU107's "Tapsirock". The show usually would have personalities from the rock and roll scene as guest DJs. They bring along their CD collection, as well as their memories from their glory days. NU jock Dylan, the host of the show, invited me and I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I always text in during her show. It was nice to hear Robbie Sunico and Patrick Reindenbach talk about the good old Club Dredd days. Of course, I was excited to hear Cooky Chua and Bopip talk about the new Color it Red album, which is supposed to be available this September. So, I'll be at Tapsirock, this Sunday, from 4pm to 6pm. What's going to be on my playlist? A whole lot of songs that are somehow connected to comic books or comic book artists. As usual, you can tune in via the web by going to: http://www.eradioportal.com/

KID ZEUS AND ATE CAROL (Page 3) Story by Budjette Tan. Art and letters by Jonas Diego .

Ad of the Month We just found out that this won in the recent Creative Guild's monthly awards. Congratulations to the team! Hayop talaga ang Harrison! "Swatches" PINOY/BLONDE print ad Client: Unitel Agency: Harrison Communications ECD: Teeny Gonzales Writer: Jao Bautista AD: Julio Malantic

JUSTICE LEAGUE Art and colors by Ian Sta. Maria (Flash's speedlines and Wonder Woman's legs by Argem Vinuya) Ian and Argem are our Art Directors here at Harrison Communication. This is the effect of doing too much over-time at work. Once in a while, this pin-ups just come bursting out of them. I'm still trying to figure out what it'll take to get them to do a whole comic book. he he he

KID ZEUS and ATE CAROL (page 2) Story by Budjette Tan. Art and letters by Jonas Diego .

. Then It All Makes Sense by Budjette Tan Jeremy couldn’t stand it anymore. He just had to run to the bathroom to take a crap. He hated taking a crap in school because everyone would usually make fun of you afterwards. Yes, taking a crap was just considering down-right hilarious when you’re in grade four elementary school. You’d be called “Mr. Cappy Pants” for a week, or until the next unfortunate student had to answer the call of nature during class. So, he doesn’t know if his current situation is better or worse. He was all alone in the bathroom and it was almost three in the morning. The florescent light in this particular bathroom wasn’t even working properly. It had been flickering on and off ever since he sat down on the toilet. On the other hand, it was a good thing that all of his fellow boy scouts were asleep in their sleeping bags out in the football field. At least only the Scout Master knew he was taking a dump. His stomach grumbled and unleashed another batch of foul liqui...

. BEST BEFORE On the way to work, saw a delivery truck that looked like it was in a bad need of a new paintjob. The faded letters at the back said it was delivering PERISHABLE GODS. Talk about brief lives. Happy Manic Monday to one and all. Don’t worry, it won’t last that long. Tueday’s almost here.

IT BEGINS! Page One of KID ZEUS AND ATE CAROL Written by Budjette Tan and art and letters by Jonas Diego .

. Mark's Strips Mark has recently decided that he don't need no stinkin' artist and has embarked on making his own comic strips thanks to some nifty cut-and-paste software. You can check out his latest creations here: Goth Chick and Chicklet Strip # 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 BRP Galunggong Strip # 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 . As Mark mentioned in his blog, "BRP Galunggong" is a comic strip about ‘da pers Pinoy submarine’. It was something we thought of many years ago, but never really got down on paper. Back then we also planned to do the first sitcom set in the Enterprise, but that didn't pan out as well. Maybe it's something we can do after Mark's done with the first season of "BRP Galunggong". Writer's El Nino Today (or make that yesterday) was the deadline for Dean's anthology and I missed it. The past couple of weeks have not been conducive to writing stories. Work (my favorite excuse for not getting any writing done) has been a rollercoaster ...

The League of Extraordinary Indios Pencils and inks by Piya Constantino Script and partial colours by Adam David . So, I was going through my usual list of bookmarked blogs and clicked on: http://indira.exultrade.com/elephant/ I scrolled down and to my surprise saw the illustration seen above with the heading: sample panel for 10-page RIZAL comic book for Alamat anthology, #1 . Which was a complete surprise to me because the so-called Alamat anthology is on some high shelf, somewhere in the Library of the Dreaming. Anyway, if it ever does get published, (and it's not happening this year, as far as I know) the 10-page Rizal story (tentatively called "The Amazing Adventures of Doc Rizal") is going to be a wild, historical ride. Chances are you'll get to read the whole 10-page story first in Adam's blog, so just keep clicking on that link for any possible updates.

There is a crucifix near the emergency room of the Makati Medical Center. The paint on its knees and legs have chipped and are almost gone. How long as it been hanging there? How many people have touched it with their hands and handkerchiefs and muttered a quick prayer? "Heal him." "Make her well." "Please don't let him die." "Thank God, my shift is over." "Give me steady hands for this operation." "Why couldn't I save him?" "Take care of her." "She's in your hands." "Thank you, Lord."

. Something wacky this way comes Something weird happened Thursday night. When I got home I found a dead cockroach in the pail of water we keep in the bathroom. So, I scooped out the cockroach, flushed it down the toilet and cleaned the pail and filled it with water. It happened again Friday night! Another dead cockroach in the blue pail. What would make these cockroaches climb up the pail, jump into the water and drown to death? Do they know something we don't? Could this be the effect of Bay-gon? Is it possible you just wasted a minute of your life reading this blog? Or could this strange story about suicidal cockroaches actually inspire you to write that award-winning story that will make your famous? Or you could use it as an icebreaker during a blind date and that will make the girl of your dreams fall for you? Or is it possible, you just wasted another minute of your life reading my babbling and we'll never, ever really know why those cockroaches jumped into the blue pail...

PROJECT: LIGHTNING (Art by Jonas . Colors by Laya Garcellano .) And heeeere's Ate Carol! She was originally supposed to be Kid Zeus' yaya (nanny), but later decided to make them brother and sister because I thought it would be easier for them to get on each other's nerves if they were siblings. They were also originally supposed to be called "KIDLAT AT KAROL", because I wanted that whole "thunder and lightning" motif. (If I did my research right, karol is "thunder" in one of the Filipino dialects.) And since somebody already owns the character "Kidlat" and "Kid-lat" is Peque Gallaga's character in the movie BATANG X, I had to give the kid a different super-hero name. So, I made a list of words that were electricty-related. "Zeus" came up and seemed to fit quite well with "kid". Hence, the title of the comic strip. So, visit Jonas' blog for more sketches and maybe even get to see the first page by...

UPDATE! Call for comic book ghost stories New ghost story anthology open for comic book submissions Danton Remoto is editing a new anthology of ghost stories in English. Aside from prose, writers may also submit comic book scripts, 8 to 12 pages long. Your story needs to be approved first before you can start drawing it or before you pass it on to your artist. The writer can choose his artist, but the artist should first send one or two sample pages so that publishers can check if art style fits the book’s editorial slant. (Black&white artwork only.) The writer and the artist will get P2,000 each. Deadline for stories and script: September 30, 2005 (Deadline for artwork will be set after your script gets approved. ) Submissions can be sent to: dremoto (at) ateneo (dot) edu Danton Remoto English Department Ateneo de Manila University Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108