Babbling Point

NICE I didn’t really want to say anything about Mango Comics’ DARNA until I got to read the third issue, but since people have started to comment already, I might as well say what I’ve got to say. I was disappointed with the first issue. I expected more out of it. In the great words of Mel Brooks , “It was nice… not thrilling, but nice.” The art was nice, but I’ve seen Ryan Orosco do better in other books. The story was nice. It felt like I was reading something Stan Lee wrote back in 1963. Which is exactly my problem with the book, it feels like something that would’ve been great way back in 1963. Was the character of Narda/Darna really updated for the year 2003? So, she’s in college now and lives in a dorm with two sexy dorms mates and uses a cellphone, but didn’t the Darna movies do that already? So Valentina is now a popular celebrity figure that everyone loves and adores and she will use that to her advantage to… oh I don’t know… rule the world? Bu...

GO PLACES Was in Hong Kong for three days. It was for a one day Creative Workshop hosted by media magazine . So, you can already imagine that the other two days were spent shopping. He he he. Spend most of the time looking for the stuff that people asked me to buy. Didn’t get the chance to get anything for myself. Tried to look for shoes but they were all too expensive. Page One had a lot of great finds but most of them would end up in our bookstores anyway. At the workshop, met the creative team from O&M Hong Kong. They handle the San Miguel Beer ads there. It was funny hearing them say, “Eee-tah-as moh!” as they raised their glasses when we did a toast. You see, our campaign was chosen as “the best one” in the workshop. So, we got a bottle of red wine as a prize. We made a campaign for the car company Skoda and their car was for first-car owners who just graduated, who just got their first jobs. They're eager, optimistic, and have lots of plans of what do and ...

IT BEGINS!!! "DIGITAL Telecommunications Philippines Inc. plans to launch its mobile phone service by April , wireless business head Charles Lim said Thursday. Lim said the new service, to be called Sun Cellular, aims to have one million customers in the first two years of operation." I'm supposed to be on leave today. But noooo! Because of this shining SUN, I'm here. Bummer. Planning to watch DAREDEVIL later. Mixed reviews from the guys. But mostly bad reviews.

Almost three a.m. Just took the Saint Exupery's 'The Little Prince' Quiz. . Here's the result: You are the PILOT, and the voice of the story. You are the one who creates and tells stories for those who could not be there. You are unable to be comforted but wish to comfort others. There is a great something missing in your life. Do not forget that you are much loved. Let your sorrow be comforted… How can this crappy quiz know I how feel?

AFFIDAVIT OF LONGING I, _________, Filipino, of legal age with legal residence at __________________, after having been witness to the maddening rush of singles out to find a date on Valentine’s Day, after heckling them as headless chickens with a silly priority, after having narrowly escaped a stoning by these same singles after uttering that aforementioned remark, after having been sworn, do hereby declare and depose that: 1. I am a steeled, calloused woman, a small player in a game the big boys play, but a player nonetheless. 2. As such, I scoff at the cutesy stuff and do not spend precious time engaging in trite discussions on the merits of such weightless matters as where I can find a date, will he call or does he like me. To the best of my ability, I endeavor to rid my mind of such folly. Desperately. 3. I fully comprehend and wholly accept the crass commercialism of Valentine’s Day. I realize that it is a concept exploited, abused and capitalized – in the complete sense...

For 40 cents I can create the illusion that you are here. And I can say hi, I miss you, what time will you be home, I'm making meatloaf for dinner so you better not be late, I love you, see you tonight. It's just a silly game we play, pretending you’re somewhere in this city, that I will see you in four hours instead of four years. 40 cents won't make the oceans contract or the continents move. Heck, 40 days of prayers wouldn't change the distance between me and you. But for 40 cents, I can have you so near I can hear your voice in my ear (closing my eyes, it's as if you were beside me). Give me your spare minutes like spare change jangling in your days, I'm a beggar for your love. From the journal of Shiloah Matic Writer / Globe IDD user Her boyfriend, Russel Antonio, is currently studying in the U.S. * * * * * * * Shiloah wrote this in her blog around a year ago. I loved it so much that I bookmarked it. When we were asked to ma...

Carver House is now open. "Voyeurism! Exhibitionism! The Netizens are proud voyeurs and exhibitionists! Their seed dreams have blossomed, thanks to blogging.I join them after much resistance." -- Carl Vergara Hey Carl! Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging! That's right kids, Carlo "ZSAZSA ZATURNNAH" Vergara has started his own blog. CLICK HERE and find out what's up with Carl.

:) "I love you. And not, not in a friendly way, although I think we're great friends. And not in a misplaced affection, puppy-dog way, although I'm sure that's what you'll call it. I love you. Very, very simple, very truly. You are the epitome of everything I have ever looked for in another human being. And I know that you think of me as just a friend, and crossing that line is the furthest thing from an option you would ever consider. But I had to say it. I just, I can't take this anymore. I can't stand next to you without wanting to hold you. I can't, I can't look into your eyes without feeling that, that longing you only read about in trashy romance novels. I can't talk to you without wanting to express my love for everything you are. And I know this will probably queer our friendship - no pun intended - but I had to say it, because I've never felt this way before, and I don't care. I like who I am because of it. A...

WHERE WAS THE INTERNET TEN YEARS AGO WHEN I NEEDED IT ? ! ! ! Back In college, I wrote several research papers about comic books and one of them was about Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Even though I found a lot of articles and critiques about it, one of the articles I could never ever find was Mikal Gilmore's Rolling Stone review of it. Well, finally I found a copy!!! It's in the ARTICLES section of this fansite. I just don't have time to read it right now, but I'm just glad to finally have a copy. Talking about BATMAN... "According to a report by Michael Fleming in today’s Variety, Memento director Chris Nolan has been tapped to revive the Batman movie franchise for Warner Brothers. It’s not clear whether or not Nolan would write a script for the project as well." Well, this should prove interesting, if they ever put it together. More talk about Nolan and the movie here .

JANUARY 28, 2003 Today is my dad's birthday. His name was Salvador "Buddy" Tan. He would have been 58 today. My dad is the proverbial tough act to follow. When he was only 28 years old, he became the general manager of an entire television network. He was part of that Golden Age of Philippine Television, although a lot of people only see it as the Martial Law years. At one point or another, he got to work with the great actors and actresses of his time. He even discovered a whole lot of them. He was also the one who brought in Sesame Street to Philippine television. I guess, in a way, he became influencial in teaching a whole generation their A,B,Cs. When he left the network, he set-up his own business and become a "blocktimer". He'd buy TV shows from abroad and sell them to the local networks. So, he was the one who brought in Twilight Zone, Marcoss, Voltron, Moonlighting, Transformers, Dangard Ace, the Oscars, Takeshi Castle, and other shows too numerous t...

11:46pm Still at the office. I shouldn't be blogging. I shouldn't be online. I should be writing... A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS. But I'm not. I'm stuck. Which is why I'm online. Found out several things, thanks to Migs blog . First of all, Dominic "CyberCafe" Rivera has started his own blog! Alright, Dominic! Dominic, along with his wife Tina, ran CyberCafe in Robinsons Galleria during the late 90s and that's where Alamat had many meetings, brainstorms, comic book launches. But most of the time, we just stayed there doing nothing. Ha! Mall rats, indeed! Despite the fact we consumed vats of coffee it wasn't enough to keep CyberCafe open. Dominic is now in New York. Hey Dominic! If you ever open a CyberCafe there, you can be sure that Alamat will be there in the next comic book convention. (I wish) Second, found out that Lia's Cheesdip has been nominated for Best Asian Weblog in 2003 WEBLOG AWARDS . I somewhat expected som...

ITUTULOY! Thank goodness someone finally put Dr. Soleded Reyes' essay about Filipino komiks online. These articles were essential in doing my research paper and reports back in college. Click and read. Here is an a overview of the komiks medium . And here is an analysis on "The Structure of Meaning in the Komiks". Also online are some of the sci-fi stories that won in the Palanca's Future Fiction category.

More komix online Follow the radioactive rabbit down the hole and discover ATOMIC UNDERGROUND , the comic book that won 1st place in the C3 COMIC-CON's "BEST INDEPENDENT COMICBOOK CONTEST". Atomic Underground was made by M3 studios (pronounced M-"cube") which consist of Marvin del Mundo (Mario and the SPY Incorporated), Mark Oliver Santillan (Untamed Reality), and Michael Seludo (the Penciler). Got to meet M3 yesterday and finally got a copy! Yay! :) Hopefully, they will be able to distribute copies of there comic zine in Comic Quest and CCHQ soon. Email them, bug them, pester them so that they'll bring copies soon. Check out Elbert Or's 24-HOUR COMIC PROJECT . "The 24-hour Comic Project is a response to critic Scott McCloud's challenge - to write, draw, and letter a full-length 24 page comic in 24 hours. The 24-hour Comic Project is thirty black-and-white pages of superheroes, fictionalized histories, sexual disclosures, mi...

Strange things you discover after 48-hours of no sleep Kato was an OFW?! There is an urban legend that nationality of Kato, the Green Hornet's valet, was abruptly changed from Japanese to Filipino in radio broadcasts after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. This is false, according to the SNOPES site. According to radio historian John Dunning... "who notes in his comprehensive encyclopedia of old-time radio that although Kato was voiced by an actor of Japanese descent (Tokutaro Hayashi, later `renamed Raymond Toyo by director James Jewell for professional reasons` ), he was `described as a Filipino of Japanese descent at least two years earlier` than the events of 7 December 1941. The `Japanese descent` part of his character may have been downplayed thereafter, but he had indeed been identified as a Filipino well before 1941." Which kinda explains why he was doing all that driving for the Green Hornet. And think about it, when he wasn't in ...

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STARSTRUCK Over the holidays, I bumped into people I haven't seen for a long time and attended several reunions. Most the time, their first question to me would be, "Hey! Where's Donita?" ha. ha. ha. They were all referring to that TV commercial where I get a hug from MTV VJ Donita Rose. To all my friends and relatives who still haven't seen the TV commercial that has made me (in)famous, you can now view it online. Just go to the website of the director... http://www.martinarnaldo.com/moments/main.htm And then click commercial entitled STARSTRUCK. Feel free to laugh. :)

Spent today typing the second draft of the story. Also saw pencils of the first 18 pages of 1602 part 3, and was thrilled by them. I phoned Andy Kubert to tell him. "You know, either people will like this a lot," I told him, "Or they'll say things like 'Well, there was the Howard the Duck movie, and there was 1602'." --NEIL GAIMAN Why do I suddenly feel so unsure about this project? 1602 is Gaiman super-secret project with Marvel Comics that supposed to feature Marvel's classic characters. (Spider-Man? Fantastic Four?) Anyd Kubert is definitely not in my top ten list of favorite artists, now Gaiman says this... hmmm... scary!

Medieval VCD Torture I'm at the office and the guys at the other cubicle are watching LORT: TWO TOWERS!!! NOOOOO!!! Must... not... hear... Must... not... know... what happens... Huh? Who's that screaming? Sounds of war? No hope??? NOOOOO!!! Reaching for CD... play 10,000 MANIACS really loud... arrrrghhh... 10,000 Maniacs no match for the orc army!!! Five more days before I get to watch it... five more days...

DILIMAN #4 now online! In which Gabe, Bambi and Rich are caught in a growing scheme by elements of the supernatural. Tarot cards, cellular phones and hidden schemes intertwine until a glimpse of the scheme's desired resolution is revealed.