Babbling Point

The Ultimate Reality Show So, maybe, just maybe, if the prize was a year-supply for free DVDs from MCS, then maybe I'll try to convince Wella to join this contest. Maybe.

Towers I came up with the idea of using the signal bars. Paulo came up with the idea of showing people all over the country, rushing to see this phenomenon. Ems was the one who gave it heart by setting the opening scene in a small barrio and showing kids running to tell the whole town about it. (When I grow up, I wanna be like Ems.) And Sid... well, Direk Sid made it look great. Client: Globe Telecom Agency: Harrison Communications Executive Creative Director: Emily Abrera Deputy Executive Creative Director: Alex Arellano, Budjette Tan Copywriter: Budjette Tan, Paulo Famularcano Art Director: Ronnie Tres Reyes Production House: 88 Storey SFX: Underground Logic Producer: Datu Gallaga Director: Sid Madarezo

LAW&ORDER vs HANNIBAL LECTER We got to watch “Fracture” last Sunday. It’s a good movie. (Well, anything is better than watching Spider-Man 3 all over again.) Basic plot: Man discovers wife his cheating on him. Man kills wife. Man surrenders to police. Man manages to outwit the police and the lawyer. Man is played by Anthony Hopkins . The man he plays is Ted Crawford, a structural engineer who’s specialized in finding the faults and fractures of airplanes that crashed. As it turns out, his obsession in finding the weaknesses in objects can easily be extended to people. It’s a whodunit with a twist (because you already know he did it). So, maybe the right term for this movie is that it’s a howdunit. Once explained at the end of the movie, it all makes sense and makes for a good pay-off. And yet, through out the movie, this little voice at the back of my head (who strangely enough, sounded like Grissom) kept asking: why didn’t they find the original blood trail? Why didn’t they check...

I got tagged by Carl : “Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about himself or herself. People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to tag 6 people as well and list their names. Don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged!” SIX WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME: 1 When I was a kid, I used to watch “Jennifer Slept Here” on RPN9. It was about a teen-age boy who suddenly discovers his house is haunted by the ghost of a beautiful blonde actress. I liked it so much, I pretended to have an invisible ghost friend—which lasted a total of one school day, because my classmates started to think I was a freak. 2 When I was a kid, I also used to watch “Hardy Boys” and “Karl Kolchak: The Night Stalker”. One day, I was reading a book about horoscopes and under “possible occupation” for Scorpios were detective or occult investigator. So, I was determined to become one or the other. Then I found out that detectives don’t ...

Your Last Full Show Over Sunday lunch, my mom was talking about getting a senior citizen’s card so she can watch movies for free. She then told me about how she once got to talk to a security guard of a mall where an old man was found dead in the mall’s movie theater. She said that after the body was found, the security people let the audience leave first before switching on the lights and brought out the body through the back of the mall. And it turns out, this has happened more than once. (Which makes me wonder what’s in that mall that causes senior citizens to come in… and never come out . Hmmm… seems like a case for Trese. And for some reason, I am suddenly reminded of that scene in “Solyent Green” , where this dying old man was wheeled into a room full of movie screens and was shown beautiful sceneries like sunsets at the beach and then they were put to sleep and they were turned to the food Solyent Green.) As my mom finished her lunch, she casually mentioned that she wouldn’t m...

almost famous Next to Gerry and Nil getting the Superman:Birthright gig (as well as all the X-Men/Wolverine/mutant titles they’ve done)… next to Carl’s ZSAZSA ZATURNNAH winning the National Book Awards and getting adapted into an award-winning musical AND getting adapted into a movie for the MMFF… this next news has got to be a major highlight in realm of geekdom, as far as my friends as concerned. So, let me congratulate Rachel “I can pull of the whole Kate Hudson look better than Kate Hudson” Warren for getting a gig in the most fun workplace on earth (nope, not Disneyland). That’s right! Starting this June, Rachel will be working the almighty dot.company of Google. You’re going to the Googleplex, baby! Don’t forget us when you’re famous!

Differential Diagnosis 2 The ultrasound results came back and it found nothing: everything’s okay. My kidney, my gallbladder, my liver, my prostate are all okay. So, after almost four hours of waiting in line and 30 minutes getting scanned, and another 30 minutes of waiting for the doctor to see my again; my doctor took one second to look at the results of my ultrasound and said, “Everything’s normal. You still have that pain? Go get an endoscopy.” The next day, I was the hospital at 6:30am. I went up to the endoscopy area and gave them my name. The nurse checked the schedule and confirmed that my name was on the list. She then looked around and asked, “You’re all alone?” I looked around as well and said, yes. “You don’t have a companion?” I nodded. I asked, “Why? Do I need a companion?” She then explained that I was going to be sedated and that it’ll take 30 minutes to an hour for the effects of the drug to wear off. I said okay and she asked me to turn over my belongings. When I br...

Differential Diagnosis There is this nagging, constant dull pain on my lower-left abdomen. It started last Sunday. It would call attention to itself everytime I stand up or walk or move. I don't notice the pain when I am still. I Googled it and was expecting to find an illness called: lazyass-itist. (No such thing.) Possible cause for the pain? Kidney stones, muscle cramp, or I'm pregnant. I'll get an ultrasound tomorrow. (I hope it's a boy.)

A Daunting Task Many, many years ago (actually I'm not sure when this all happened, but I'm sure it was very long time ago), Gerry Alanguilan was riding a bus and he was on his way home to San Pablo. It was on that bus ride when he wondered, "Who would win: Superman or God?" (Well, I'm not sure if those were his exact thoughts, but it eventually got boiled to that sort of Hollywood-pitch.) So, he called up (or did he write to) David Hontiveros and pitched to him the idea of a book: what can a "superman" do during the end times? Can the world's most powerful man be strong enough to stop the hand of God? David got excited and run away with the idea. He ran and ran and ran. Gerry thought David would come back with a 40-page script. Nope. No way. Not Dave. David came back from Mt. Sanai (actually, he just lives in Merville) and David came down with 200-page script for the graphic novel "Superman vs. God" (not the actual title). Obviously, we n...

His Next Bright Idea Our mom already has her usual playlist of stories to tell to people about me and Brandie. She usually tells that story of how behaved I was as a child. How she’d make me sit in one corner of the room, give me a toy, tell me not to move and she’d come back an hour later and I’d still be at that corner playing with that toy. Brandie did the opposite of that. Our mom also loves to tell about the time a five-year old Brandie decided to sleep on his own. We used to all sleep in one bed. One night, Brandie supposedly got out of bed and brought along his little blanket and pillow. My mom asked where he was going. Brandie said, “Masyadong masikip diyan. Doon ako sa kwarto ko!” (It’s too cramped there. I’ll go to my room!) So, he went to our playroom which had a bed in the shape of a Formula 1 racing car. Those are two fine examples of how we’ve been living out lives. I’m usually the one that quickly establishes a comfort zone and will happily play with whatever toy I have...

“The Beach” She sits beside you and starts tell about the place. Her voice drops to a whisper, as if she doesn’t want anyone else to hear, even though there’s just the two of you. And so, she shows you the pictures. “This was our favorite spot. After lunch, we’d just lie here… and hear my honey would snore in the other hammock” “Here, we’d watched cotton-candy dragons float by. And named the ones we liked.” “Some days we’d spent it here And tell each other stories.” “He once jumped off this cliff and yelled that he loved me. My only witnesses were a school of fish.” “Standing at this doorway, you could stretch out your hand and pretend to hold the setting-sunset.” "As the sun blazed on his palm, he said would not let this day end without knowing the answer to the question, 'Will you marry me?' " That was the script of TV commercial that was supposed to be part of a pitch, but was never present. I found it again while digging through my files. Just wanted to post it, w...

Every Friday night, after the last band had played its last set, she would get on stage and sing. She would sing about him; about him leaving, about him not returning. Before she reaches the refrain of her lament, the band would go back on stage and accompany her. Nobody knows her name. Nobody knows where she comes from. Yet, all the players know her by face, all the waiters and bartenders know her lyrics by heart. It was on her third appearance when the owner of the bar recognized her. She was the singer who was once found in the dressing room; found with an empty bottle of pain-killers, downed with a bottle of gin. The manager does not mind that his bar his haunted. Every Friday night, she gets on stage and sings the saddest songs. Which makes everyone order more drinks. (Art by Argem Vinuya) Happy Friday the 13th ;-)

what's your answer? "cellphones" "journal" "name tag" BPI “Questions” Client: Bank of the Philippine Islands Agency: Harrison Communications Executive Creative Director: Teeny Gonzales, Emily Abrera Creative Director: Budjette Tan Accounts: Manny Martinez, Madel Palman, Jakey Yulo “CELLPHONES” Copywriter: Biba Cabuquit, Puneet Kapoor, Budjette Tan Art Director: Puneet Kapoor, Reinard Santos “JOURNAL” and “NAME TAG” Copywriter: Biba Cabuquit, Reinard Santos, Budjette Tan Art Director: Reinard Santos

Sabado Nights Last Saturday, me and Wella finally got to try out Angel’s Kitchen, a small restaurant on Connecticut St., Greenhills. It’s run by four ladies that will probably remind you of your favorite aunt who spoils you silly. Since they personally attended to your orders and request, it really feels like you just visited aunties’ home and they’re just so excited to see you, they’ll stuff you with everything that’s in their fridge and cupboard. (Except in their case, they’ll hand you a bill after your meal.) If you ever go there, try our their lamb curry and the roast chicken. After which, their chocolate molten cake will definitely make you forget about your diet, at least for the night. By the time, we were finished with our meal it was too late for any movie, so we just went back to Wella’s house. Now, despite the fact that we did nothing but eat that Saturday, Wella felt that her feet got strained from all the walking and needed a massage. So, seated at the couch in their livi...

Joey the BladeMaster MMS from my boss Maricel: Joey was inspired by the Final Fantasy animation movie. He made the design. Recycled old foam board from a Fine Arts project of mine. He got our helper to help cut it out. Written on the blade, in curlicue font: Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Expect this weapon would not be a comfort to its victims. More about Joey's adventures (and words of wisdom) at: http://joeyworld.blogspot.com/

Who You Gonna Txt?! Here's the text-thread of my conversation over dinner: FROM NIKKO: Hi budj, do you still have the number of your friend who can communicate with the supernatural? I need a second opinion on our old mango tree. Thanks! FWD TO JEDI JOBERT: It's wonderful how one can get a text like this and it's just so normal > Hi budj, do you still have the number of your friend who can communicate with the supernatural?I need a second opinion on our old mango tree. Thanks! FROM JEDI JOBERT: hehehe... nothing like good time like the old times. Tell your friend I sense two trees, not just one. But that's the most since I don't deal with elementals. I'm just plain vanilla dead people. hehehe FROM ME: Hahaha! Is that it works? So, you just see dead people. You don't see duwende and tikbalang ? FROM JEDI JOBERT: Haven't seen one, felt one nor bought one... I think that's another plane ofn existence. That's why you never hear of a house that ha...

Remote Lessons and Sunday Dinners Last night, I finished reading a book about a family and the author placed emphasis on her relationship with her father. Last night (or I should say, a little after midnight) I watched the 17th episode of HEROES and it was also focused on a father and his child. And so we come to today, which is the 8th death anniversary of my dad. His name was Salvador Tan. Almost everyone knew him as Buddy Tan. (Which makes me wonder if his mother ever called him Salvador whenever she was angry at him for being hard-headed.) Makes me wonder if my dad if trying to tell him something. In Brandie’s eulogy, he observed that our dad always seemed to get into some business that was relevant or important for his family. You see, our dad was a workaholic. He usually came home near midnight, and even then he sometimes worked at home. Even though he was usually not around six days of the week, he brought in TV shows that somehow kept us company. For example, he might not have ...

The Tale of Two Dum Dums I don't know which aunt or uncle had the bright idea to give us that gift, but I'm glad he/she did. It was one of those Christmases, and after getting excited with the robots and spaceship and video games, we opened this one gift and were left scratching our heads. It was a Fisher-Price Printing Set. Wow. Exciting. Yup, it was a Fisher-Price Printing Set that came with its own rubberized typeset, plastic letterpress, ink, ink pad, and colored paper. We took one look at it and went back to playing with the robots and spaceships. Couple of months later, some of our cousins were at the house and we had quickly gotten tired of the robots and spaceships. We pulled out the printing set and decided to print our own newspaper. It was partly inspired by the Daily Bugle and MAD magazine. We called it: THE DAILY DUM DUM. I pretended to be editor-in-chief. Brandie and our cousins were the reporter. They pretended to go out and get stories. When they came back from ...

Couple of weeks ago, Ms. Diyco featured another campaign made by the creatives here at Harrison Communications. Here's her review about the Neozep "Neozerye" TV campaign: Romancing the mighty colds cure ADS AND ENDS, Nanette A Franco-Diyco BUSINESS WORLD Vol. XX, No. 139, Friday-Saturday, February 9-10, 2007 http://www.bworldonline.com/Weekender020907/main.php?id=marketing_diyco The four television commercials that serialize the life of pretty housemaid Luwalhati, culminating in a storybook wedding to her once-upon-a-time señorito from the imposing mansion belong to an ad campaign awards class all its own. There have been other spoofs of soap operas selling other brand categories in the past. But for several reasons put together, the Neozep series of commercials that began with honest-to-goodness ad teasers that looked and sounded like teasers for true-blue soap operas proved ultra entertaining and more importantly, "reinforced Neozep’s leadership and further s...

WE HAVE SUCH SITES TO SHOW YOU For those of you who don't know yet, Gerry has moved to a new blog... http://gerry.alanguilan.com/ Jonas Diego also got a new address... http://www.thecomicblurb.com/ Meanwhile, David Hontiveros has finally moved into his blog... http://iguana5legs.blogspot.com/ ...which currently contains an avalanche of movie reviews and TV show reviews. So, if you want the latest about HEROES, LOST, THE DRESDEN FILES, then go click on the link please. Leinil Yu has set up his web home at: http://leinilyu.com/ I recently read DE:TALES and Eli pointed out to me that the creators of that comic book are blogging (and drawing) at: http://fabioandgabriel.blogspot.com/ Okay? Have a happy weekend everyone :-)