Babbling Point

Two tickets. Two popcorns. Two soft drinks. That's how it used to be. These days, I just buy one of each. I watch the first screening here in Manila while you watch the last full show in New York. After the movie, I call you and we talk about the scenes and actors that we liked. I long for the day when we'll be in the same theater together. Until then, hearing you rant and rave about movies will always remind me why I fell for you. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Client: Globe Agency: Harrison Communications Inc. Creative Director: Joey Campillo Copywriter: me :-) Art Director: Argem Vinuya

Testing ... One... Two... Three... Ladies and gentlemen... http://www.harrison.ph/ is online

one more page from the dreaming Another great page from Bong Leal for the DATU story!

. dogs + cats + battle armor + electric guitar = THE GAY BAR! GAY BAR! GAY BAR! (click the link and turn your speakers all the way up to 11!)

. warning: graphic content Jonas Diego's comic strip Graphic Detail started yesterday. Starring GERRY ALANGUILAN!!! Mwahahaha! Jonas promised to update Graphic Detail every Monday and Thursday.

dream come true(?) FROM NEIL GAIMAN'S BLOG : Incidentally, I'm trying to organise (well, I'm not actually doing the organising) the promised signings in the Phillipines and Singapore before or after the Melbourne convention and Australian book signings this summer. The signing in the Philippines looks like it's happening , but I'm not sure about the Singapore one, as originally I was going be brought in with Dave McKean by the British Council, a plan that was scuppered by MirrorMask, and now I'm not really sure who to talk to. (If anyone in Singapore has any bright ideas, feel free to let me know.) Oh please! Please! Please, let this be true!

. another unfinished book found in the dreaming I finished the this script for this story three years ago. I even blogged about it. I met Bong Leal, who co-created and drew this fantastic Pinoy noir comic book called ASKALS (written by Dodo Dayao ). Bong said if I had a short story he'd like to illustrate it. So, I have give him this story "ANG HULING DATU", which, for the record, was created way before "The Last Samurai". ha! :) But as fate would have it, the advertising gods have given us too much work to get this little sideline finished. Maybe next year. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

. found in the dreaming Behold the cast and characters of THE SOUL BOOK, created by Mervin Ignacio(story) and Ian Sta. Maria(art). (click for larger image) (Based on the Filipino myths and legends that were recorded/written in "The Soul Book".) This was supposed to be part of an anthology we were putting together, but as luck would have it, all of the pages were lost when Ian's computer crashed. You see, Ian decided to "draw" the whole story digitally. So, he doesn't even have pencils of the artwork. So, all that's left are these pin-ups. Enjoy. (all art by Ian Sta. Maria) Makabo the Tikbalang (click for larger image) A Fire Diwata (click for larger image) Maguayen, a water diwata (click for larger image) Amani, a forest diwata (click for larger image) Captan, god of gods (click for larger image) Rianka the Manananggal (click for larger image) Queen of Manananggal (...

. we have an exciting show for you tonight I got to work around 8:30am (which is unusual). After I printed out my copy sheets for my 10am meeting, I clicked on Mark's blog and found out that Johnny Carson died yesterday . As Mark mentioned in his blog, we used to watch The Tonight Show on UHF 17 aka FEN-P (Far East Network-Philippines), which was the TV station for Clark Air Base and Subic Naval base. People in Manila needed to set up a very tall antenna on their rooftops to be able to pick up Channel 17's signal. Even with this so-called booster doohickey attached to the TV set, the reception of the channel was usually snowy. But that didn't matter to us, because that was the channel where we got to see new American TV shows that were not seen on the local networks. One of the main reasons I started to watch Johnny Carson was because of a Christmas episode where he'd show these crazy toys that were supposedly being sold in stores. I kept watching even aft...

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. ...