There's all this attention on the Philippines now because of the pull-out of Pilipino troops from Iraq. I, for one, am for the evacuation of these troops. Now, most of the international comunity may boo me for this, saying we're setting a precedent for terrorists to just go on doing what they want, but they really don't know the situation. They're outsiders who think they know what's best for everyone else.

Forgive me for being selfish, but the last thing the Philippines needs right now is to meddle in the affairs of other countries. In such a fucked up country (sorry for the expletive), we need to clean up our own backyard first. Fix things here before we go gallivanting off to help others.

And President Arroyo really has no choice in the matter. The deployment of troops to Iraq was not supported by most Pilipinos in the first place. If she didn't order the pull-out, sho would lose the support of most Pinoys.

And to Jay Leno... let's see you make jokes if your head was on the chopping block.

NAAALALA MO PA BA ANG PANAHON NA...

1. Pogi ka kung kasama sa porma mo ang Sperry Topsiders, K-Swiss, Espadrilles (na pinilahan mo pa sa Whistle Stop o sa Cash and Carry), Tretorn or Dragonfly sneakers, white Spartan sneakers, argyle socks, woven leather belts, Chaser, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren at iba pa,one-size-fits- all Hanes T-shirt with the print of your favorite New Wave band, pabangong Chaps, Bowling Green, Gray Flannel or Kouros, Denman brushes, Dippity Do or Dep hair gel, Bermuda shorts worn with plaid long- sleeves.

2. Macho ka kung ang porma mo ay parang kay Don Johnson ng Miami Vice at kung naglalaro ka ng football o nag-aaral ka ng tae kwon do or marunong mag butterfly kick tulad ni Ralph Macchio sa Karate Kid. Sobrang macho ka kung may pandesal ka sa tiyan habang nakasuot ng hanging shirt.

3. Pretty ka kung meron kang pencil-cut skirt (calf-length, three to four inches above the ankle), pabangong Nenuco o De Ne Nes, permed hair a la Madonna or teased bangs na pinatigas ng Aquanet, shoulder pads ala Joan Collins a.k.a. Alexis Carrington in Dynasty), Benetton shirt, Esprit outfit at namimili ka ng gamit sa Sari-Sari, Tokyo, Hannah, Tickles and Regina's in Shoppesville.

4. In na in ka kung napuntahan mo ang mga concerts nina Mike Francis, Swing Out Sisters, Menudo, Earth, Wind and Fire, James Ingram, Genesis noong unang punta pa lang nila dito sa Pilipinas.

5. Sosyal ka kung malimit ka sa Jazz Rhythms, Rhythm & Booze at kumakain ka sa Cafe Ysabel, Bistro Burgos, Dean Street Cafe, Angelino's and East St. Lois, Cosmo and Kudo's at nag-babakasyon ka sa Matabungkay Beach Club o Baguio Country Club.

6. Wala pang videoke kundi karaoke.

7. Ang preso lang may tattoo.

8. Akala mo'y magkakatuluyan sina Ate Shena at Kuya Bodjie sa Batibot.

9. Ang intindi mo ng LOL ay ULOL imbes na Laughing Out Loud.

10. Na-tsismis na bulati ang beef patty ng Jollibee.

11. Kinilig ka nang malaman mong ikakasal si Pops at si Martin.

12. Piso lang ang isang basong taho at kailangan mong magdala ng sarili mong baso kasi wala pang plastic cups no'n si manong magtataho.

13. Lechon Manok pa ang pinag lilihihan ng taumbayan.

14. Tarzan, Jojo, Bazooka Joe, Clover bits at Tootsie Roll ang pinagkakagastusan mo ng mga beintesinko mo.

15. Nagkakakalyo ka dahil typewriter pa ang ginagamit mo para sa mga school paper mo...kaya bentang-benta pa ang carbon paper at liquid paper.

16. Sa Ortigas Center ka tinuturuang magmaneho kasi puro talahib pa yon no'n.

17. Cool ang bumati sa iyong crush sa FM radio.

18. May mascot pa ang 99.5 RT na binebenta sa Gift Gate. Si Artie ang pangalan.

19. Baduy pa noon si Lea Salonga dahil sa That's Entertainment.

20. Iniisip mong dapat mag-retire na si Jaworski dahil kuwarenta na siya.

21. Egoy na egoy pa si Michael Jackson.

22. Si Harry Gasser ang newscaster ng bayan.

23. Kay Amado Pineda ka lang naniniwala pag ukol sa panahon ang balita.

24. Sintonado pa ang Eraserheads habang nag-ja-jamming sa Club Dredd.

25. Tinuruan kang mag-toning ng iyong nanay dahil kay Johnny Midnite.

26. Naglalagay ka ng pyramid sa tabi ng iyong unan para good vibes.

27. Nilalagyan mo ng watch-guard ang iyong Swatch.

28. Herbert Bautista was a campus politician.

29. P18 to $1 ang palitan sa black market.

30. May black market pa noon.

31. Illegal pa ang mga paputok.

32. Ang paborito mong tsokolate ay Chocnut at Mallows.

33. Drag race sa Greenhills at Corinthians.

34. Kumain sa Burger machine o sa Goodah! ng madaling araw.

Finally got my copy of COLORS MAGAZINE, a Europe-based publication in which one of my illustrations was used. This is my first published work outside the Philippines and needless to say, I'm very excited. It turned out really great! If you wanna see the illustration, click here. It's a quarterly magazine, and their topic for this particular issue is ENERGY, so I guess the drawing fits the topic somewhat.

Thanks to their Philippine correspondent, Brian Tenorio. Hope we can do it again sometime. hint hint. he he.

Was too late to get much of the comics during FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. I got mostly independent publishers, but the one I really liked was JOHNNY RAYGUN. Really funny. Got TEEN TITANS GO and MARVEL AGE: SPIDER-MAN for my two nephews, and got the Image Summer thingie. If it wasn't for INVINCIBLE being featured, I wouldn't have picked it up.

Also got a few local comics, like BAYLANS ( though I haven't gotten to reead it yet) and MONOCHROME FIESTA. Fiesta was a nice read, if you don't let the art bother you much.

Also ran into Azrael in front of Filbars. Nice meeting you, man!

Well, it didn't happen.

Due to typhoon Igme raging and howling yesterday, Kuki and i decided not to watch Spider-Man 2, thinking it would be best just to go home to our lovely daughter Jade. And it's a good thing that we did! When we got home, we realized that it was Jade's 8 month birthday! We wouldn't trade a few hours of playing with her for about 2 hours watching Spider-Man. Hey, we can always catch he movie some other time.

Well... I went to the recent ToyCon at Megamall last Sunday with my nephew, Jappy. He bought some Hot Wheels for himself, while I dug throught the bargain boxes of old comics. Didn't get any toys, though. Anyway, nice to see some old friends and acquaintances, like Ariel, Gerry, Jonas, Syeri, Stanley, Joanah, Jon... and some new ones like Lyndon and Ryan. Got to see the famous Johnny Danganan in person (at least, famous to the komikeros), though I didn't get the chance to introduce myself. Ha ha. I also got the Kenkoy compilation, which was really great. If anything else, it's a nice humorous glimpse of what life was like during the 1920s. Kudos to Mr. Dennis Villegas for making that project possible.

Now, maybe i can still catch Spider-Man this weekend...