It's been a long time since I've posted anything here, almost a month now. It has been a very busy month in the office, and I don't think the work is gonna let up anytime soon. But don't get me wrong, I love my job, I just wish I had time to do everything else I wanted to do.

Although my wife and I did go on vacation for a few days a while back. Thank God for the brief respite.

Working in the Advertising industry really demands a lot, and I'm reminded of this phrase my friend texted me:

"On the 6th day God created man and He rested on the 7th day."
Then some MORON created ADVERTISING and NOBODY rested from that time on.

Anyway, I just came from Gerry Alanguilan's Blog and got a pleasant surprise. He actually made a link to this Blog. Thanks Gerry!

Oh, well... better get back to work now...

Just got AFTER EDEN at the Bookfair in Megamall. After reading it, I can't help but think that Arnold Arre is a hopeless romantic, as is evident in his other works, Trip To Tagaytay and that story from Isaw, Atbp. AFTER EDEN was a great read, although I have one minor gripe. The story would have worked even without the "fantasy/supernatural" elements. But, like I said, it's a minor quibble.

Well worth P295 pesos.

Just read A B N K K B S N P L Ako by Bob Ong and I must say it's a great read. At P150 it's quite reasonable. It chronicles the author's days from when he was a student 'til he himself became a teacher. Fact or fiction, I can't say, but this is one book most people will relate to, especially Pinoys. I may be a newcomer to Bob Ong's "kuwentong barbero" stories, but better late than never, right?

He has a website supposedly, but when I went there (bobongpinoy.com) All I get is that stupid Tina webcam (which I have encountered so many times in the past.)

And now, I'm reading the sequel to his book, titled "Bakit Baliktad Magbasa Ng Libro Ang mga Pilipino?" which has a great gimmick. The cover is printed upside down so that when you read it in public you're gonna look like an idiot because it's gonna seem like you're reading a book upside down. Inside, more of Bob Ong's insights on the lives, habits, etc. etc. of Pinoys. Some sensitive folks might find some of the material insulting and offensive, but you've gotta admit that it's true.

I hope the author doesn't mind if I post an excerpt of the book here...




"...sa Pinas, kung ano man ang gusto mong sabihin ay kailangan sabihin sa English, para manatili kang cool, tulad na lang ng sulat na napulot daw sa isang bar sa Malate at ngayon ay pinagpapasa-pasahan sa Internet.

Marjie,

I am not surprise or wander why Dennis leave you.

Why?

What reason you can think about but you're very fat body. I thought before that Dennis only use me to his toy but sooner and later I'm realize that he really can't not beared or stomached to be with you anymore because at first, Dennis say he could not stand you're habit of making pakialam all his walks [lakad] and always calling to their house what he go home or this or that and then he say he get ashame to meet iether in school or in his family and then asking you to exercise you're very very, very fat body but you hate it thoughth your the most preetiest girls he knows about what do you think you are "Beautiful Girl" of Jose Mari Chan even you are beautiful face to your think you do not have the right to called me whatsoever or else different name one time or the other for the real purposed to insults my personality because i'm never call you names iether in the front of Dennis or in the backs of Dennis, but if you start already to calling me different name, I don't have any other choice but to call you other different name to like you are a PIG, FAT, OBSESSED, OVERWIGHT, AND UGLY SHAPE girl. Shame to you're body that is to a BUDING. Tou can't not blame Dennis for exchanging you to me because i am the more sexier than you when you look to us in the mirror. I'm repeat again that you are like Ike lozada when she is a girl.

FROM: THE SEXIEST GIRL OF D.M.

P.S. You say that I'm the bad breathe but who is Dennis want to kissed, me or you? You or me? And the final is me."



The scary part is... I actually understood that.

Anyway, to the four or five of you who are actually reading this, go now to your nearest bookstore and buy this book. It'll cost you P240, but it's worth it.

Just watched Rex Navarette (of Maritess vs. the Superfriends fame) last night at Greenbelt and the guy was a riot! The place was packed with people! Just goes to show you the power of the internet. And it was FREE!

He has another show tonight at Intramuros but it's sold out already. He has two more shows (I think) on Friday at some place on Jupiter Street in Makati and on Aug. 30 at Dish at the Power Plant.

You should go see this guy! Really hilarious. He even did an updated version of "Maritess," wherein she has left the employ of the Superfriends and has gone to work for a school. Which school? Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Ha ha!

From the forwarded e-mail dept.:

CHANCE...OR CHOICE?

When we meet the right person to love when we're at the right place at the right time. That's chance. When you meet someone you you're attracted to, that's not a choice. That's chance. Being caught up in a moment (and there's a lot of couples who get together because of this) is not a choice.

That's also a chance.

The difference is what happens afterward. When will you take that infatuation, that crush, that mind-blowing attraction to the next level? That's when all sanity goes back, you sit down and contemplate whether you want to make this into a concrete relationship or just a fling.

If you decide to love a person, even with his faults, that's not a chance. That's choice. When you choose to be with a person, no matter what, that's choice. Even if you know there are many people out there who are more attractive, smarter, and richer than your mate, and yet, you decide to love your mate just the same, that's choice.

Infatuation, crushes, attraction comes to us by chance. But true love that lasts is truly a choice. A choice that we make.

Regarding soulmates, there's a beautiful movie quote that I believe is so true about this: "Fate brings you together, but it's still up to you to make it happen."

I do believe that soulmates do exist. That there is truly someone made for you. But it's still up to you to make the choice if you're going to do something about it or not. We may meet our soulmates by chance, but loving and staying with our soulmate is still a choice we have to make.

It's been a long time since I wrote something here. My wife forwarded me the following e-mail some time ago, and most of the things written in it are soooo true. For those of you who are in my age bracket, you'll really relate to this:

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A KID OF THE 80's WHEN....

1.) You have scars on your knees and elbows
2.) You owned a bike
3.) You had a barkada around your neighborhood (all of you had bikes)
4.) You loved climbing on your house's roof (and your neighbor's roof as well)
5.) You went inside an abandoned house in your neighborhood just to see what it looks like inside
6.) You ate all the aratilis in your neighborhood
7.) You plucked all the gumamelas in the area for soap bubbles
8.) Your parents forced you to take afternoon siestas with the threat that you will not be allowed to play outside.
9.) You are never found in your house in the afternoon. You are often found playing in the street with your neighborhood friends.
10.) You loved exploring vacant lots for hidden knick-knacks
11.) You just can't resist jumping in a sandpile
12.) You know all the street games (patintero, agawan base, langit-lupa etc., etc.)
13.) You owned a family computer.
14.) Your hand-to-eye coordination is terrific due to family computer.
15.) You'd rather go outdoors in the afternoon than play family computer.
16.) You gleefully boast that games today are so easy because of the character's life bar (remember when we used to play Mario? we died the minute a goomba hit us)
17.) You know this code by heart: UP-UP-DOWN-DOWN-LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT-B-A-B-A-START (select-start for 2 players)
18.) You owned a superhero costume (especially a superman costume)
19.) For the girls: You dressed up like Punky Brewster, Madonna and Debbie Gibson. For the boys: You dressed up like David Hasselhoff's knight rider, David Bowie or had Clarke Kent's little bang. And now you think that the 80's had the suckiest dress sense.
20.) You had a denim jacket
21.) You had a sticker book especially that Age of Dinosaurs sticker book.
22.) You were addicted to rainbow brite, carebears, my little pony, thundercats, bioman, voltes v, mazinger z, daimos, etc., etc.
23.) You played pc games like tapper, moonbugs, alley cat and prince of persia.
24.) Ms Word did not exist in your vocabulary but Wordstar did!
25.) You love 80's music even if you don't want to admit it.
26.) You've climbed up mango trees to catch salagubang, tie a sting around its neck and let it fly around in frenzy
27.) You've spent hours in the afternoon catching tutubi... yellow-green was the easiest to catch, blue being finicky, and red being a rare
breed...
28.) You used to take Flinstones vitamins (which you didn't mind 'cause it was yummy) and Scott's liver oil
29.) You know the catoon show, Beverly Hills Teens
30.) You know Kuya Bodgie from Batibot
31.) You watch Uncle Bob's Lucky Seven Club
32.) You used AQUA NET to fashion ur 4-inch-high bangs.
33.) Your blouses had paddings.
34.) You owned wide studded colorful belts.
35.) You watched some of your favorite shows on betamax or even UHF 17 (the channel from Clarke Air Base - or was it Subic?)
36.) You collected and "swapped" perfumed stationeries with your classmates and friends, but followed the unwritten rule that you never write on them.
37.) The only place you go to for summer vacation is BAGUIO !
38.) On that note, camp john hay served BEST ice cream
39.) Most of us were brought to the EDSA revolution
40.) You remember what Ricky Martin used to look like back then
41.) ...when you think that Julie Vega is a better actress that Judy Ann
42.) You get confused playing playstation because of all the buttons on the keypad (nintendo only had the direction pad, a & b buttons and the start & select keys )
43.) You know all the Bagets and Ninja Kids
44.) You got to ride the train ride at greenhills shopping center
45.) Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were the players at the time
46.) ...when you know more 80's music than the song "Buttercup"
47.) You were allowed to bathe in the rain
48.) You were taught to comb your hair one-sided
49.) You've collected matangpusa and mongo beans so you can have ammunition for sumpit
50.) You knew who madam bola and sitsiritsit and alibangbang was.
51.) Every Christmas you anticipate going to BIG Bang sa Alabang- with the giant slide.
52.) You know the Ewoks
53.) You had Mighty Kid shoes and Greg shoes.
54.) You know what Time Space Warp means (and you know who Fuma Lae-Ar is)
55.) You and your barkada had a specific Bioman name.
56.) You sucked all the nectar from the santan plant hence your mother got really pissed at you for destroying the santan plant.
57.) You played with marbles and text (yung cards ha!!!) And you count cards like this: I-SA, DALA-WA, TAT-LO, A-PAT... walo na iyon!
58.) For girls: You wore denim miniskirts with rubber shoes. For guys: You had those bitin na pantalon which you wore with high-top rubber shoes!!!
59.) You loved cheezels and chicakdees because of the great prizes it had! (remember sticky hands, bear popups, and the stick on tattoos which were "banned" due to drugs daw?)
60.) Puffy cone still existed!!!
61.) Sosy ka if you bought a Magnolia drumstick
62.) Twin Popsies were meant to be shared with a friend.
63.) Ice Drop was the cheapest treat.
64.) You have those disney bow biters for your rubber shoes
65.) You know who Alf is.
66.) You're familiar with the show "Perfect Strangers".
67.) Idol mo si McGyver.
68.) Thats Entertainment" ang "the bomb" nung mga panahon na yun.
69.) Sikat ka kapag alam mo ang wordstar at lotus 1,2,3
70.) Six digits lang ang telephone number niyo dati.
71.) Tatlong .25 cents lang eh makakatawag ka na sa pay-phone.
72.) Cute pa si Aiza non sa Eat Bulaga.
73.) Si Amado Pineda pa ang nagbabalita ng panahon
74.) You drank Chocolate milk from the Magnolia glass bottle which you kept for holding water in your ref.
75.) Brown Cow tasted better than Hersheys!
76.) Shake Rattle and Roll 1 was the most horrifying movie for you then.
77.) The most comfortable shoes for you is still Sperry Topsiders.
78.) Dress shoes mo eh loafers pa rin.
79.) The best movies of all time are pretty in pink, breakfast club, 16 candles and some kind of wonderful
80.) You show off your pencil case which have hidden compartments that pop-out at the press of a button...
81.) You have Bensia pencils which are refillable...
82.) Fiesta carnival was the place to be (kumbaga enchanted kingdom sya ng 90's)
83.) Takot kang mag-year 2000 ksi baka magunaw ang mundo.
84.) Masarap ang Goya and Serg's.
85.) Nakakasakay ka pa sa kotseng walang aircon.
86.) You know the lyrics ng "Tinapang Bangus" at "Alagang-alaga namin si Puti" ng Batibot.
87.) You know these commercials:
a. YCBIKINIBRIEF - remember this one? Ycbikinibrief / ycbikinibrief / ycbikinibrief for the man who packs a wallop / YC had fashion / YC has style...
b. RA Homevision - those guys from cash and carry makati couldn't have done it better. Sports. Adventure. Cartoons. Award Winners and More. Featuring the voice talent of Frankie Evangelista. I will never forget the creepy hand at the start of the ad. Parang ET na nasa spaceship!
c. Arthur's Legaspi Towers - nuff said.
d. La Germania Mama Mia commercials - ditto
88.) Bumibili ka ng caramel candy, texas or bazooka bubblegum, tira-tira at tootsie roll sa tindahan
89.) Naabutan mo pa na korteng flower ang singko
90.) You're familiar with this song: si nena ay bata pa, kaya ang sabi niya ay um-ah-um-ah-ah. hanggang patanda siya nang patanda at pabastos ng pabastos hehehe!

In addition, it used to be that you were either a Spandau Ballet fan or a Duran Duran fan. And does anyone else remember that restaurant called "Big Daddy's" in Makati? Seems only me and my siblings remember it. Weird.

Just saw the Jessica Soho report last night about local komiks. The komiks scene here is pretty much gasping for air right now. Some of those interviewed said that the decline of komiks was due to TV. But for me that's not a really valid reason. Come on, TV has been around for decades. It didn't affect komiks then, why should it now?

It was sad to see what befell of komiks novelist Pablo S Gomez. He quickly found fame and fortune during the heyday of komiks (which they placed around the 70s-early 90s) but lost everything. he opened his own publishing house, even bought a mansion. But the publishing house went under, and he was forced to sell his house just to make ends meet.

One reason why komiks can hardly find an audience nowadays is that you can hardly find them. They had this story of this old guy from Antipolo who has to travel all the way to Cubao to buy komiks. Even I have a hard time tracking down komiks. The newsstand where I buy my copies recently closed (in Edsa Central) because they closed the whole Edsa Central compound.

And this one artist for Funny Komiks just proved Gerry's point about being original. He draws in an anime inspired style, and when Jessica asked him if he felt bad that there was no trace of being Pinoy in his work, he said yes, he felt bad, but the Japanese style sells so that's why he does it. Really sad.

It seems the komiks lost touch with it's audience because it has lost its Pinoy flavor. Used to be, you can relate to the characters, the stories, because they were firmly set in our roots. Most komiks selling before were dramas, action, comedy etc. that reflected everyday Pinoy life. I think we need to go back to that, instead of pandering to what we think will sell.

I went out with my college friends last night. It's been a really long time since we all last saw each other (years, actually). We went to the National Sports Grill at Greenbelt, and the place only had a few people. Maybe it was because it was a Monday.

It's really interesting to see how much some people stay the same, and how little they've really changed. We were all basically the same bunch of guys and gals, except now some of us are married and some of us have kids and all that. And it's also amazing how much fatter some of us have gotten (myself included).

My ex was also there, since we were part of the same barkada during those days. We didn't talk much, just the usual "hi" and "hello." One of my friends asked me what it felt like seeing her again, and I honestly didn't feel the same way I felt about her. Of course, I shouldn't, since we broke up several years ago and I'm married to someone I love very much. If I had any feelings about seeing her again, it may be some small measure of guilt, since I was the one who broke up with her, on a day that no person should ever break up with a girlfriend or boyfriend.

I really would like to get together with these guys again because I had to leave early last night. So I didn't get to talk with everyone the way I wish we could have talked. At least it's gonna be easier now, since we all exchanged calling cards and now know where to contact one another.

Thanks to Melvin for organizing the whole thing. Let's do it again soon.

Slow day at the office today. We're all just waiting 'til 6:00 comes around then we'll be heading off somewhere for "gimik."

I'm listening to John Mayer right now, my absolute favorite album at the moment. Man, this guy's good. Cool to listen to, and meaningful lyrics to boot. His CD is sold out in every music store I went to here in Manila, so I had to settle for a cassette tape.

You can check out his website at...

http://www.johnmayer.com/

My favorite song is "My Stupid Mouth." I guess most of us guys have felt this way one time or the other. Lyrics below...

MY STUPID MOUTH

My stupid mouth
Has got me in trouble
I said too much again
To a date over dinner yesterday
And I could see
She was offended
She said "well anyway..."
Just dying for a subject change

Oh, another social casualty
Score one more for me
How could I forget?
Mama said "think before speaking"
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one soon

We bit our lips
She looked out the window
Rolling tiny balls of napkin paper
I played a quick game of chess with the salt and pepper shaker
And I could see clearly
An indelible line was drawn
Between what was good, what just slipped out and what went wrong

Oh, the way she feels about me has changed
Thanks for playing, try again.
How could I forget?
Mama said "think before speaking"
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one

I'm never speaking up again
It only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery
Than she desert me

Oh I'm never speaking up again
Starting now

One more thing
Why is it my fault?
So maybe I try too hard
But it's all because of this desire
I just wanna be liked
I just wanna be funny
Looks like the jokes on me
So call me captain backfire

Oh, the way she feels about me has changed
Thanks for playing, try again.
How could I forget?
Mama said "think before speaking"
No filter in my head
Oh, what's a boy to do
I guess he better find one

I'm never speaking up again
It only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery
Than she desert me

Oh I'm never speaking up again
Starting now

Famed Pinoy cartoonist Larry Alcala passed away last Monday, June 24, 2002. The cause of death was heart failure.

He created some of the most memorable strips in Philippine history, my favorites among them are Bing, Bam, Bung, Kalabog en Bosyo, Siopawman and perhaps his most famous character, Asiong Aksaya.

But maybe the one thing he was really known for was the Slice of Life cartoons. I remember as a child going through the Sunday paper and smiling at the funny things Pinoys do. But the real challenge was in finding Mr. Alcala's face hidden somewhere in the drawing.

Thank you, Larry Alcala. Thank you for making us laugh and showing us the lighter side of life. You will be missed.