Babbling Point

I think I got bitten by the writing bug last week, when I got to finish a short story and a comic book script. And now it seems to be gone. Like the flu. Like a virus. It's just gone. Must write more. Must write again. Must find that bug. Bummer. Bug! Bug! Bug!

And I Quote... "A good ad should be like a good sermon: it must not only comfort the afflicted-- it also must afflict the comfortable." -- Bernice Fitz-Gibbon "It's okay Budj. Everyone gets a bad day at the office once in awhile. Or you can always do what the article below suggest. :)" -- Mark "At 28, John Doyle was an overworked New York investment banker on the fast track. By most measures, he was a success. But he was also miserable. So during a semiannual review 2 1/2 years into the job, he simply quit. `Almost immediately I lost 35 pounds,` says Doyle. For four months, he did little more than relax, rollerblade through Central Park, and read books. `Honestly, it was one of the happiest times in my life,` he says." from Ways to fix your life: Quit your job by Caroline Hsu "Perseus Gorgonslayer: The erstwhile hero was once a feared beheader of monsters before he was mystically corrupted. Now an enormous entity that subsists ...

(this was the other article from the Harrison Communications supplement that came out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer last January 11, 2005) H marks the spot “Envisioned to enhance the ad agency’s creative spirit on every front and every aspect of service, to remake the way they made ads” was the objective of McCann-Erickson Philippines’ 1995 Renaissance Program. From this, the idea of an M.E.2, a second agency, was born. It was christened HK McCann in 1996 as homage to agency founder Harrison King McCann. Though it was definitely not a “me too”. HK, as it was fondly called, was to be a launch pad for new media disciplines like Direct Marketing, Events Management, and Design. Even years later, as it added more mainstream work to its portfolio, HK would remain true to its non-trad beginnings, always delivering work that was out-of-the-box. “The relationship [with Harrison] has truly evolved from the early days in 1997. [Today] we have achieved an inherent understanding of each other, r...

(last January 11, Harrison Communications officially spun-off from McCann-Erickson. We came out with a supplement in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Here's one of the articles from that Ad&Culture section) H is where the heart is What are the chips you grew up with – but never outgrew? What’s the world’s safest pain reliever? Who is July? Without really thinking, you know the answers. Because one ad agency has helped ingrain these names, keeping the images alive in your mind long after the ad came out. This agency is Harrison Communications . Admittedly, Harrison itself may not be top of mind. But its work certainly has made its way into your life, your lingo…they’re insidious, inescapable. Take your childhood snacks: Jack n Jill Chippy , Chiz Curls , Pretzels , Nips , etc. Notice how these brands have managed to grow up with you, so you’ve never really let go? That’s because their ads always speak to you somehow. The popular Chippy Barkada TV ads, for example, mirror what it’s ...

. down the dark side Kristong Itim is a series of stories set in the Philippines. The stories span the history of the Philippines - from the 1896 Revolution to the present. The series revolve around the Andara family and their quest for redemption. "The idea started out as a story in Alamat Comics 101 in 1994. There was an unnamed cop investigating a child murdering clown by the Tan brothers, Budjette and Brandie. Budjette asked me if I’d like to do a story about the clown. I said I’d thought about it. Later on, I said I was more interested in the cop. The cop then got a name - Crisostomo Andara III. Later still, he wasn’t a cop anymore. Five years later, his grandfather and father got involved somehow. The story then spanned into three generations of Andaras. Who wulda thunk? " This blog hopes to chart the progress of the graphic novels production, culminating in the release of the books. Some of the shorter stories might also see print in between. Others, I sh...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCIEN REYES! Children of the world. Future flowers, now seeds. Some hand-raised, nourished in the love-enriched ground. Others tossed carelessly on the coldest concrete, struggling beneath Darwin’s dispassionate sunlight. Each unique, snowflake-individualized. And all the same. Our race. The human race. One color—many shades. Treasures to some, toys to others. They will reach the stars and stalk the shadows. What children are, more than anything else, is this: another chance for our flawed species. Another chance to get it right. From Andrew Vachss' “ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT” Couple of hours ago, before Thursday slipped into Friday, I got a text that baby Lucien was born. Happy birthday kid! Last December, baby Roj came into this world just in time to get some Christmas gift. And so we get several more chances to do the right thing. God bless the kids.

. Will Eisner, 1917-2005 At the 1994 Eisner Awards in San Diego, I saw Will Einser go up on stage because he was one of the winners. The first thing he said was, "It's a bit embrassing to win an award named after you." And the crowd just laughed and applauded. Goes to show that Mr. Eisner was a humble man, as well as a great comic book storyteller who just kept on making comic books. Neil Gaiman tells a nice story (doesn't he always) about Eisner in his blog today. God bless Will Eisner.

:-) "May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't to forget make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." -- Neil Gaiman

WONDERYEAR Now it's time for me to tell you about Young Nastyman, archrival and nemesis of Wonderboy, with powers comparable to Wonderboy. What powers you ask? I dunno how 'bout the power of flight? That do anything for ya? That's levitation, holmes. How 'bout the power to kill a yak from 200 yards away... with mind bullets! That's telekinesis, Kyle. How 'bout the power to move you? " Wonderboy ", TENACIOUS D Yeah, what about that? The Power to move you. At the risk of being too melodramtic, this power lies in the hands of writers and artists. The power to move readers to a place that's never been, to a place that never will be, to places in the past which they thought they forgot. It was quite a busy and productive year for our little comic book scene. May we continue to move forward and eventually become an industry again, just like the glorious golden age of komiks when it used to be read by millions. To be re...

. He’s gay. She’s bi. He’s neither. LEXY, NANCE & ARGUS: SEX, GODS, ROCK & ROLL Bittersweetness Comix 68 pages, b&w P 130 per copy For Mature Readers Now available at Comic Quest Megamall and SM City North. This one-shot special compiles all the 18 pages serialized in Pulp Magazine from 2001-2002, as well as 50 all-new pages. Follow the gang’s feel-good, indie-flavored and introspective non-adventures as they question tradition, celebrate diversity, and get groiny. Story and art by Oliver Pulumbarit. The cover colors are by Ryan Orosco. Published by Oliver Pulumbarit and John Toledo.

. "I want to thank anyone who spends part of their day creating. I don't care if it's a book, a film, a painting, a dance, a piece of theater, a piece of music, anybody -- anybody who spends part of their day sharing their experience with us, I think this world would be unliveable without art, and I thank you." –Steven Soderberg, during the 73rd Academy Awards. Merry Christmas to all comic book creators out there! Writers, artists, colorists, letters, editors, and publishers! Merry Christmas to everyone who’s saving up to get their stories Xeroxed, to everyone who hopes to get their stories published somehow, somewhere. Hoping that 2005 be a year filled with new comic book stories! May we find something new in the comic book stores each and every month! And many, many thanks to the readers who bought one copy of a local comic book and to those who bought everything that every came out of local publishers. Thank you very much for all your support. ...

. the streets of heaven FROM: The West Wing, " 20 Hours in America: Part II", Season 4 Written by Aaron Sorkin …securing peace in a time of global conflict, sustaining hope in this winter of anxiety and fear. More than any time in recent history America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedoms and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive. Forty four people were killed a couple of hours ago at Kenneson State University. Three swimmers from the men's team were killed and two others are in critical condition when after having heard the explosion from their practice facility they ran into the fire to help get people out. Ran into the fire. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight. They're our students and our teachers and our parents ...

. Playing with Dice Budjette Tan He was the only one in the hospital cafeteria. The lady behind the counter had stepped out to go to the comfort room, leaving him and the day’s special that no one really wanted to order. He felt small seated at that long, white table. He chose the one near the window, hoping to catch a breeze since the lady turned off the air conditioning. The night air was stuffy, made worse by the antiseptic they used to mop the floor that just seemed to punch him in the nose. He adjusted his eyeglasses as he flipped open another book. His finger ran down the page, searching for the right spell. In his palm was a 20-sided dice. It felt warm in his hand, like a piece of M&M chocolate. The dice clattered on the plastic surface of the table. He got a 9. Not enough. He tried another spell. 13. Rolled again. 6 Not enough. He had been here since last night, since they brought his lolo to the ICU, and ever since then, he had...

. The big blood-drenched picture by David Hontiveros " James Wan’s SAW is the cinematic equivalent of a bear trap (to borrow an analogy from the film); once it begins, those rusty, razor-toothed jaws snap shut, and there’s little else you can do but sit riveted to your seat till the bitter, bloody end. "What if you woke up to find yourself chained to a pipe in a decrepit bathroom, without knowing who put you there, or why? From this seed, the twisted and gnarled script of Saw—written by Leigh Whannell, who plays Adam in the film—grows. And it turns out to be one of the best, most intense, and most involving English-language horror films made in quite a while." Read the rest of David Hontiveros' review here: http://www.philippinegraphic.com/cover28/regular/regular_film.htm

Fantastic Lastik Comic Book Why on earth would anyone want to get Mango Comics latest publication: MARS RAVELO’S LASTIKMAN? Well, for only P150, which is the price you’d pay for a regular 22-page super-X-whatever-bat-book, you get a complete prestige formatish 56-page full color slam bang extravaganza!!! Are you a fan of Gerry Alanguilan’s stories? Then you better get this book! Because if you want a dark, dramatic, blood and guts Wasted type story, then you better go get an extra copy of WASTED (still available in selected secret branches here and there). But if you’re a fan of Gerry’s CREST HUT BUTT SHOP, then consider this CREST HUT’s elastic spastic cousin. Yup, all the crazy, zany, wacko slice of superhero life (including chickens) have been crammed into the panels of this 56-page book. It’s a slam bang bang kerplang action packed story. Well, it’s more like slam bang bang HAHAHHA kapow kablam CRY CRY kablooey action packed type of story. Another reason you s...

Four color fan films By David Hontiveros "When it comes to superheroes, Hollywood just doesn’t get it sometimes. Which is why some comic book fans have taken what they felt were the necessary steps to see the heroes they care about “done right.” Downloadable from the Internet these days is a whole bevy of short fan films crafted with care and fistfuls of maxed-out credit cards, and, surprisingly, some of these look far more accomplished (and truer to the source material) than their big budget feature-length cousins." Read David's review of these fanfilms at: http://www.philippinegraphic.com/cover27/regular/regular_film.htm Other reviews by David: Exorcist: The Beginning http://www.philippinegraphic.com/cover17/regular/regular_film.htm Open Water http://www.philippinegraphic.com/cover19/regular/regular_film.htm

He's baaack! Just when you thought it was safe to go back to bloggin' Click for the return of the come back of Mark ... http://clickmomukhamo.com/blog/

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turning japanese Mysterious Lovely Haunting Fantastic Art by 22-year old Aya Kato http://www.geocities.jp/b_ba_a0530/cheval_noir_files/top00.html

she's so cute Mary-Louise Parker appears as Amy Gardner in WEST WING. And she's so cute! I had more words to describe her but I'm just too tired. I need to go home.