A Bug's Death

Just spent almost half an hour waiting for a big fly—a yucky bangaw--to land. It buzzed around my room for quite some time. I couldn’t rest ‘til I got it; I didn’t want it pestering me while I’m sleeping later. After some failed attempts, I finally whacked it with an old newspaper. It was still trying to walk, so I drenched it with rubbing alcohol. Gotcha, creep.

Too bad I wasn’t able to get a cockroach, which crawled into the ceiling, just before that. Tried throwing a slipper at it, but it was too high, and I’m not good at throwing stuff. Slipper landed on my back. Yeep.

Boy, I’m talking about bugs. Slow day, yeah.

One in Every Group

Interesting news week for queer pop stars. Lance Bass of N’Sync admitted that he is, no surprise, gay, and--surprise!--dating Amazing Race winner Reichen; Savage Garden’s ex-vocalist Darren Hayes just married his boyfriend of two years in London; and ex-Wham-er George Michael gets paparazzi’d while having some outdoor fun (aww, let him be).

Life After Toy Biz

They’re still going to be called Marvel Legends, even when they’re not made by Toy Biz anymore. Next year, there’s “Planet Hulk”-Hulk, Lord Thor, Yellowjacket, Hercules! (Woohoo! He kicked ass in Civil War 3, before… you know), and a bunch of others, with build-a-figure extras like Blob and Annihilus! Yay! That’s awesome news.

Arachnophonic

(Posed and photographed by Benedict last month)

Spider-Hulk: Spider-Woman giving Spider-Hulk special feelings!
Spider-Woman: Damn spider-pheromones…
Spider-Clone: Ew. Outta here.
Spider-Man: Don’t leave yet. She’ll venom-blast him where it hurts in three… two…one…

Catfight

Catwoman: The jewel’s off-limits, Silver Pussy…
Black Cat: That’s Black Cat, you skank. And I got dibs. Your clumsiness set off the alarms, and that vampire-signal in the sky, whatever THAT is.
Catwoman: Piece of advice, dear, the gem’s a fake, and cursed. I wouldn’t go near it if I were you. I tripped the alarms because I just wanted to see the Bat. I’m sure you’ve heard of him. I... know him, if you know what I mean.
Black Cat: You’re nuts. But… I can relate. My best nights out, they’re spent playing cat-and-mouse over the rooftops of Manhattan with a guy in tights. Or just enjoying a girlfriend.
Catwoman: I see. How… adventurous. Well, “Black Cat”, I hope you’re not muscling in on my territory, because I’d be compelled to turn you in. Nothing personal.
Black Cat: So you’re a cat burglar AND a hero? How does that work?
Catwoman: I was mindwiped. By SuperHEROES! You won’t understand.
Black Cat: I was raped, years back. My attacker got killed in an accident before I got to him. Not getting revenge triggered my kleptomania.
Catwoman: Oh… I’m sorry. Look, wanna hang out somewhere? Sneak into some ritzy shoe shops? Maybe beat up some druggie muggers after? This isn’t a real heist, and the Bat can wait. I’m your tour guide tonight. And have I got some stories to tell you about this town.
Black Cat: Sure!
Catwoman: I’ll steal the beer!
Black Cat: And I’ll steal the porn!
Catwoman: Mee-yow!

Red Rocks

Color It Red’s newest, self-titled album takes a little getting used to, but after some spins, it grows on you. I like that it sounds like a mix of songs from their second and third albums, so there are light alternative and jazz-inspired tracks, and more Tagalog songs. There's an absence of angsty and pointed lyrical content that characterized their debut album, so it can be assumed that the lyricists are at a different, more mature stage already. The music’s mostly breezy but still edgy, and Cooky Chua still damn rocks.

This House Divided

Marvel’s big Civil War event is entertaining, so far. Three issues into the 7-parter, the series has intriguingly and intensely divided its characters into the pro-Superhero Registration camp, led by Iron Man, and the anti-registration side, led by Captain America. This is shaping up to be so much better than Infinite Crisis in terms of long-term, in-continuity repercussions (restarting “history” and changing continuity can be tiring, DC). If you were disappointed with last year’s mega-event House of M (which showed yet another “dream” reality, by the way), Civil War seems to be implementing many important changes, relationship-wise, and it's showing more hard-hitting developments that other crossover stories seem to keep tiptoe-ing around.

I’ve always been a fan of Iron Man as a kid, and admired the different armors that he’s sported ‘til the early ‘90s. He’s always been portrayed as stubborn when he believes he’s right, so it’s not unexpected that he’s at odds with Cap again (they had a falling out back in the first "Armor Wars" event). But Tony Stark, in recent months, has been portrayed as a well-intentioned but manipulative “futurist” prick. Good thing Cap and his “Secret Avengers”, and Emma Frost, are there to keep him in line.

Stark’s side is actually logical and sensible; masked heroes should be answerable to a higher authority. But Cap champions civil liberties, and it’s understandable that he’s wary of the US government and SHIELD’s intentions. Stark should expose SHIELD’s illegal activities NOW and demand a restructuring, and look for the Washington-based guy who put Nitro in Stamford. If he did these things soon, at least we’d be assured that he isn’t just a puppet, and in effect, a mindless puppet master to others. He’s gotten really bull-headed; I loathe and admire him at once (my brother, who read the first three issues, is quite annoyed at him, and can’t wait to see what happens next). The character’s finally become interesting for me again after all these years.

One out-of-character moment, however: Wasp doesn’t talk like that. In Dr. Strange’s house, she said, “Damn watch always seems to stop when I’m in this stupid house.” She even said that in front of the housekeeper, Wong! Janet Van Dyne has always been written as courteous and jovial, even in the company of strangers, but that line just isn’t her. She’s probably the most polite superheroine at Marvel, even when she’s under pressure.

The related stories are tightly written. Loved the She-Hulk tie-in. Am getting CW: Frontline and CW: Runaways-Young Avengers too. Exciting comics week, yep.

Water Whirled

I’ve been busy interviewing people for a PR firm’s real estate and pesticide clients. Really boring stuff that I’ll appreciate in the future, I’m sure. For now, I’m just tired.

Was invited to the Super! Party at Embassy tonight. Thanks, Pam! Wanted to go, I wanna meet the other contributing writers, but I haven’t gotten much sleep since yesterday. Waah, next time na lang…

Watched Lady in the Water after finishing one such PR assignment in Makati early today. The film is much simpler than Shyamalan’s previous works, and it’s more fantasy-based and fairy tale-like. I’m actually of two minds about it: I find it an imaginative endeavor, as the writer-director has his own take on magical creatures and mythology that many of the human characters suddenly get acquainted with, and immersed in, respectively; on the other hand, the story gets corny occasionally, and certain characters are just annoying, including the guy played by Mr. Shyamalan himself. Still, watch it and decide for yourself. I’m actually more excited for Bryce Dallas Howard’s appearance in Spider-Man 3 as… woohoo!... Gwen Stacy. That’s next year.

Was surprised that this guy is Freddy Rodriguez, Federico from Six Feet Under. He’s an apartment tenant character in Lady who, weirdly enough, only lifts weights to develop his right arm. It’s probably a prosthetic, or digitally enhanced. His bulked-up arm looks real in the movie.

Sweet Swine Sketches

Was with Benedict last Saturday at the Rockwell Tent for the Fully Booked contest thingy. The competition attracted a huge turnout of entries for both comics and prose categories, and the shortlisted ones were subjected to a people’s choice poll. Anyway, the place was surprisingly spacious enough and quite cold. I hope this year’s Komikon organizers will choose a venue that’s just as comfortable (the UP convention last October didn’t even have any electric fans on in our area).

Benedict got two new sketches of his cartoon character Fero McPiglet. He’s been collecting different interpretations for about two years already, his small sketch pads now filled with disparate versions by over sixty artists, including Arnold and Cynthia Arre, Carl Vergara, Manix Abrera, Leinil Yu, Mannie Abeleda, Reinard Santos, Ian Orendain, Wilson Tortosa, Carlo Pagulayan, Jonas Diego, Gian Fernando, Marco Dimaano, Robert Magnusson, me, John Toledo (who drew him roasted and on a platter), Ner Pedrina, Reno Maniquis, Elbert Or, Ryan Orosco, Jac Ting Lim, Ariel Atienza, Gerry Alanguilan and Neil Gaiman (left, the “Signing Pig” sketch, drawn during last year’s event), among many others. There are superhero Feros, barbarian Feros, a girl (a trannie?) Fero, a skinless Fero, and so on. Cool thing to compile, that.

Dimension-hopping

Watched Superman Returns with John again, but at the Imax theater in Mall of Asia. Wow, those 3D visors are snazzy. I was kinda expecting those cardboard glasses with red and blue cellophane lenses (the ones that we never got during the boring Freddie’s Dead, back in the day). The Imax experience was just okay; only a few action sequences were given the 3D treatment. The trailers of Ant Bully and T-Rex were great, though. You can practically touch the leaping CG characters and monsters. Neat. Oh, one thing, though… the seats we reserved were quite creaky. But I dunno if that applies to the other rows, too.

Well, I hope that another Imax theater opens in a more accessible mall.

Juvenile Dependency

Young Justice-Young Avengers fan art, July 2006 (pen and ink, click on image to enlarge)

After reading the entire YJ run and the first thirteen issues of YA, I just had to draw the characters. I chose to draw the Young Justice lineup I liked best (Robin! Superboy! Wonder Girl! Secret! Impulse! Slo-Bo! Empress!) with the addition of my favorite ex-member Arrowette. That roster kind of mirrors the current incarnation of Young Avengers, which I felt needed to be drawn with ex-member Kang. It’s a crossover teamup that’ll never happen because of continuity problems (two of YJ’s members are goners), but who knows? The classic ‘70s JLA and Avengers teams joined each other in the 2003 miniseries, so it’s still possible. In the meantime, the ultimate sidekick meeting is just in my head.

The recently finalized Young Avengers lineup is especially promising; I like that Alan Heinberg recharged some pre-existent characters (Cassie Lang, Vision, Kang, Wiccan and Speed), and created entirely new ones (Kate Bishop, Patriot and Hulkling). I wish it'd come out monthly next “season”. If they’re going to do a temporary expansion of the team one day, reserve members with some connection to the Avengers should include Arana, X-23 (make her likeable, Mr. Heinberg!), Jubilee, Thor Girl, Southpaw (from She-Hulk), Arsenic and Victor (from Runaways), and Tara (from Invaders). Maybe Jolt and Speedball can be part of the Failsafe Program too.

I hope they eventually get formally trained by former sidekick Rick Jones, or even the Winter Soldier. I’m looking forward to bigger adventures, and maybe some less-serious and self-contained ones, as well as the development of controversial couple Hulkling and Wiccan. I can imagine some tension that'll test the relationship along the way (Hulkling: “Billy, can you magically turn your hair white just for a while? You know, like… Tommy’s?” Wiccan: “Only if you shape-change into Chase of the Runaways.”).

Blues-y Traveler

Was feeling uber-bleh the past couple of days, but am better now thanks to my friends. They're the asskicking-est.

Dinosaur Watch

Okay, to those of you who are gay, or sympathize with gay people, this is important. I got this from Lagablab’s site:

The bad news is that three bills have been filed in Congress this term that would in effect ban same-sex marriage in the Philippines if they get enacted. Rep. Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon (Lone District, Muntinlupa City) filed House Bill 1245 to amend the country’s Family Code to limit marriage to ‘natural born males and natural born females’ only. In the Senate, meanwhile, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago filed Senate Bill No. 1276 to bar same-sex marriages celebrated abroad from getting legal recognition in the Philippines. Ruffy Biazon’s father, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, filed SBN 1575, the Senate counterpart of HB 1245.

Biazon’s bill is a reaction to a number of rulings made by local courts allowing Filipino transsexuals to change their legal status from male to female. According to Biazon, “With recent developments in the field of medicine, it is now possible to alter or change a person’s sexual organ to make it appear as that of the opposite sex. This bill prohibits marriages between two men, one of whom had a sex exchange operation and between two women, one of whom also had a sex exchange operation.”

Such marriages challege the laws of God, of nature and even of man, according to Biazon.

Defensor-Santiago’s bill, on the other hand, seeks to correct the Family Code, which does not explicitly void same-sex marriages solemnized abroad. Defensor-Santiago’s bill is premised on the belief that “marriage is a union founded on the distinction of sex.”

Read more here.

There you go. You know, I hate to admit it, but I actually voted for Miriam when she ran for President in the early nineties. In recent years, I discovered that, well, I’m glad she lost. I'm also regretting that I repeatedly voted for the older Biazon now; I always thought he was a revolutionary, no-nonsense lawmaker. I don’t doubt that they’re intelligent. But with these recent developments, they’re just being overly prudish. The world is changing, senators, and it’s time to accept that it’s not the golden era of 1950s morality anymore. Gay people exist and are living progressive lives already in the here and now, so please, LEARN TO LIVE WITH THAT. And please, stop using the phrase “the laws of God”, Mr. Biazon. What laws are those, exactly?

Anyway, his son Ruffy Biazon has been vocal about his anti-gay marriage rhetoric (I forget which TV program where he staunchly declared that he will fight it, years ago). Well, he’ll never, ever get my vote in the future.

To those who wish to learn more about this, visit Lagablab’s blog, and contact the lawmakers (they have email addresses and landline numbers). Remember, be respectful, but strongly reason with them why their efforts are huge setbacks to gay rights. Make them understand that what they’re doing is inspiring division and further bigotry.

Jacky’s Strength

Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is still fun, and still twenty minutes too long. But it’s generally enjoyable, especially since Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow hasn’t gotten old yet. Oh, stay and wait for the end credits to finish, because they’re showing something, like last time. It’s not as important as the X-Men 3 post-credits scene, but it’s funny and cute. Heheh.

Level-jumping

I’m not accustomed to getting asked personal questions by people I’m not exactly close to, but whenever it does happen, I have to admit it’s amusing and a little weird. It’s like I’ve been asked a showbiz question, but one that I’ve never asked people myself. Well, private stuff is private, until I, or people involved in the answer, decide that it’s okay to elaborate. Until then, thank you for understanding when I don’t answer your personal questions.

Mondo Milby

I just noticed that Sam Milby endorses Hawk, Swift, Jollibee, Smart, Close Up, Bench, and Centrum, among other brands. He’s so overexposed now that people who never knew that he was in Pinoy Big Brother, like myself, can easily recognize him. Well, milk it, Milby. Fame is a fickle thing, so enjoy making love to it while you can.

Oh, he sings the Centrum jingle-ballad, where he growls like Scott Stapp in some parts, which some people find funny. The song played during a radio premiere, and people laughed at those parts. His Close Up song was okay (haha, yeah, well, it’s fun), I wonder why he had to do the grungy growl in the other song. Oh well.

Sleepyheadroom

Wow, it’s July already. It still feels like summer, though. It's still horrendously humid most of the time, even after sudden downpours.

Met up with Lee last Saturday. She bought three Lexy’s, two of which were given to her friends Alan and Kat. She had me sign them and the Family Album. Thanks, Lee!

To those still looking for copies, it’ll be back in Comic Quest, but it may take time. I’ll finish the requirements needed to sell there when I get the chance, though. I’m just too busy to fit it in right now. But I promise I’ll get to it. In the meantime, there are still copies at Druid’s Keep and Pride Exchange. Please drop by those shops and look for it.

I’m just taking a break from work. I was able to finish Peter David’s fun Young Justice run earlier. That was entertaining and mostly a light read; too bad it got canceled and the last arc felt too compressed. I also read the first few Teen Titans issues and, well, I’m still not that big a fan of the older characters like Cyborg, Changeling and Starfire. Speaking of sidekick heroes, Alan Heinberg and Jim Cheung wrapped up the first season (thirteen issues) of their GLAAD* award-winning Young Avengers. The roster is stable (for now), and the team looks good and promising. Kate Bishop gets a codename, finally. Tommy the Straight Twin gets one, and a costumed identity, too (“Hyperkinetic” works better than the simple one they chose, in my opinion, but well…). Looking forward to Civil War: YA and Runaways by Zeb Wells, while the regular title is on hiatus.

Not much happening with me for now, but there are things that I ‘ve been meaning to do that I hope to get done soon. I need some shut-eye. Been enjoying that lately, as last week didn’t allow me to get much rest.

Oh, for those who’re interested, here’s Fully Booked’s set of entries that made it in the People’s Choice Award Category.

*Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

Disco In-Fairness

Met the Village People yesterday. It was an interesting experience. As a little grade schooler, I’ve had ample exposure to their songs, as well as to Abba’s, because my parents liked them during the time and played their tapes in the car whenever possible. My siblings and I were pretty bombarded with that, and frequent spins of Beatles and Elvis records back then were almost always within earshot. So it’s kinda strange but a welcome opportunity that I was among those who were sent to cover the press lunch for the VP's Manila concert and talk to them. Not that I'm a fan or anything, but, well, they're the Village People.

It’s weird but cool how people’s paths and lives cross sometimes, when you directly meet or talk to someone or some people who entertained you or shared a fragment of themselves through their works. I don’t really think about it too much, as it’s work and I don’t get too sentimental about it, but I can still appreciate that I get to meet people with some importance to some of my relatives, or friends. They must think it’s cool that I get to interact with them, however briefly.

And it is, I must admit. While it’s first and foremost a job, it’s one that I love, my attitude about celebrity and fame notwithstanding. And, stepping back and looking at it from the outside, I get to talk and write about different interesting people, which may ultimately look good in my resume.

Was able to interview the “Construction Worker” and the “G.I.”. They were in full costume, but they obviously don’t look the way they used to, of course. It's great that they’re still performing for their fans after almost three decades. Talking to those two original members of the iconic disco group yesterday was fun and a little eye-opening; you just learn about people’s metamorphoses and their contributions to pop culture when you least expect it. Mr. Construction Worker, by the way, wore a button, pinned on his denim jacket. It had a picture of George Dubya, and the caption, “A village in Texas has lost its idiot”. I laughed and told him that I love it, and he replied, “Thank you!”

I was given a pair of tickets to the show, and gave them to those who were most excited about it, which turned out to be one of the sibs.

Update: I noticed that parts of the article I wrote were cut off, unfortunately, due to space constraints. It exceeded the character count, apparently. Will just post some of the q & a's that were removed here.
- - - - - - - - - -

How has the group changed, musically?

David Hodo: We pretty much do the same thing we’ve always done. It’s a recipe that continues to work for us. We haven’t been required to change a lot because we’re so unusual anyway. We do new music, but we stay up with dance music, which is our passion.

Alex Briley: It hasn’t changed a lot. We did a lot of clubs and stuff but now we’ve gotten into the fair circuit in the States. The only thing that’s different is, children of the fans from the ‘70s are coming to see us now.

How does it feel to be gay icons?

DH: It’s fabulous! We’re not only gay icons, we’re icons for a decade. People know us. We’ve been a punchline in every movie, in every sitcom.

AB: Everyone has decided that there’s something to say about Village People. If it’s a joke or something funny, people say, “Oh yes, I know who they are!”

DH: You can see us from ten miles away and know who it is.

You went through a “Bowie-esque” phase back in the ‘80s.

AB: We did a “renaissance” album, with different costumes and facial makeup. It’s a completely different look and sound. It did well in pockets around the world. It was fun.

DH: I think that album has some of our best music, but it also has some of our worst!

Have you gotten used to touring after all these years?

DH: We’re always touring. After this, the group goes to Texas to do a show, and we’ll be in Belgium next week. I remember being out for eight weeks once. And I was so homesick, I’d cry! But now we’re able to judge it for ourselves and say, “Okay, this is long enough!” So we come home and take time off. That’s one good thing about running our own business. I don’t think we’re ever gone long enough to miss our families.

What’s the most important thing to remember about the music industry?

DH: You gotta have good lawyers. And you gotta have lawyers on top of lawyers.

Describe the Village People’s legacy, in a nutshell.

DH: I think “YMCA” will probably be around forever. It’s possibly the most famous pop song in history, and people will say it’s from this crazy group who dressed up like cowboys and Indians. I think it’s a great legacy to leave behind. We represented fun.

AB: We basically represented fun and energy. It’s like Halloween everyday!

DH: In fact, it’s funny, we’ve always got a big show for Halloween, and to us, we never get to wear any costumes for Halloween. It’s always our work clothes!

- - - - - - - - - -

Historicalifragilistic

According to the "Grandmaster" entry in All-New Marvel Universe # 6:

“As the game unfolded, Earth-616’s Avengers (unwittingly representing the scholar) and a league of heroes from the divergent cosmos (unwittingly representing Grandmaster) were manipulated into fighting over some of the most powerful objects in their respective universes.”

That means that the 2003 crossover JLA-Avengers really happened in continuity. The unnamed “scholar” is Krona, while “a league of heroes” is the JLA, and “divergent cosmos” refers to the DC Universe. Nice. The "Galactus" entry from last year’s MU-Fantastic Four handbook also briefly mentioned the crossover and its effects without naming the other company’s characters, as did the sadly lackluster Crime Syndicate story arc (it had the incubating Krona Egg). It’s nice that the two mainstream companies are sharing some history and recognizing that this event took place. Some of their titles are blatantly disregarding important ones, although parts that don’t work anymore are thankfully forgotten. Time really is a stretchy thing in comic books, and elements that don’t make sense anymore are conveniently shoved away (like specific eras that point out a character’s age, etc.). I wonder, though, if DC and Marvel’s co-owned dorky character, Access, will make a re-appearance. Since he didn’t show up in JLA-Avengers, it’s safe to assume that he’s been forgotten, at least for now.

Creecher Feecher

John’s Creech figure, by McFarlane. Uninteresting character, but awesomely sculpted figure, like most of the McFarlane toys.

And the Word Was Made Super-Flesh

Went to Greenbelt Saturday afternoon to watch Superman Returns with John and Benedict. We all enjoyed it, although we have some minor nitpicks. Spoilerish stuff, right about now: For me, it’s a mite long, and I wasn't too pleased with a few loose ends (that'll presumably spill over to the eventual sequel, maybe). It mostly focused on Superman re-establishing himself as a hero, after many years in space. He’s unaware that Lois is raising a Super-bastard (hey, I’m not judging), among other things. Yeah, Supermans 3 and 4 were retconned out of existence, but don’t bother making sense of the leaps in technological advancements between movies, or the dates shown. Anyway, it’s well-written and occasionally funny and goosebump-y. It pinned down the core concept and elements that made the character tick, and moved him (and his supporting cast) into newer, previously untouched territory. That’s done well here, and it makes the mythology fresh and interesting.

Messiah-offspring allegories, an anti-smoking message, Singer in top form, Routh, Spacey, Bosworth, Posey… this one’s got it all. Except, maybe, a really big, epic fight scene. But that’s what sequels are for. We see him mostly saving people from disasters and such all over the world here for most of the film (yeah, Manila was even mentioned), so we need to see him fight a big super-villain next time. Enough of Lex and his Kryptonite. Doomsday, maybe? That would just kick major ass.

Bespectacular

We went to Druid’s Keep after that and finally got new comics. Ran into nice guy-fellow comics and toy collector Tenzil/Allan at the parking lot. He just got his stash from the shop, and was heading home. That guy is all-smiles every time we see him (even in his blog and Friendster pics), and he seems to be one of the most cordial people from Comic Brook.

I got All-Star Superman # 4 (funny, big stuff from the same hot creative team), Astonishing X-Men (Hellfire attacks, cool cliffhanger!), New Avengers (okay issue, but the Magneto angle was confusing and the art was muddled), Marvel Westerns Outlaw Files (neat layout, but the dull sepia look doesn’t work), and Civil War: Front Line # 1 (great, character-driven stories that complement the big Civil War title). The popes and I just read, ate fast food and talked about all kinds of stuff after. Kinda weird but really worthwhile weekend, especially for me.

Titans Together Forever

I’ve read about twenty issues of Young Justice, so far. I like it; Peter David’s always been witty and unpredictable, but I’m just not into the art. The book is less serious than what I’ve seen of other, contemporary titles about sidekick heroes like Young Avengers, New X-Men:Academy X and even the current Teen Titans book. Oh, speaking of young heroes, in the Robin title (One Year Later), I’m not happy with what they’re doing with a former Bat-family member. Ugh. What a waste of a good character. Hope they retcon that one of these days.

Toy pic break! The Titans boxed set had four figures (Changeling, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven), which went on sale months back at Druid’s. Also more affordable are the Contemporary Teen Titans figures, sold at half-price since early this month (thanks for the tip, Nyek of Comic Brook!). The Kid Flash and Wonder Girl figs really look nice. I was also able to get a Deathstroke the Terminator (do they still call him that?). It’s nicely sculpted, but the limited articulation still makes him look stiff and lacking in oomph. Fellow toy fan Ian Orendain calls figures like that “walang libog”. How true.

Carmen Craps

Oh, before I forget… in Scary Movie 4, the most disturbing scene (yeah, well) for me was Carmen Electra taking a dump at the town hall. She played a blind woman (a parody of the lead character from The Village), who accidentally entered the hall during a quiet moment of a big meeting. She stripped down to her sexy lingerie, sat there at the wooden toilet seat that was strangely placed at the back of the room, and let it all go, complete with loud pooping and farting sound effects. So effing surreal.

Love Your Body 'Til the Morning Light

I'm playing that old Amy Stewart-Mike Francis song. My post title is a line from their '80s hit "Friends". Yep, love that song... reminds me of high school dance music, heheh... and I've been identifying with the words more, now.

Busy, busy. Just took a break from work to post and relax a bit.

Hair Today

I’ve gotten a few nice freebie caps from movie publicists in the past few years. I rarely wear them, as I only really did briefly back when I wanted to conceal the early stage of my receding hair. That was way back in the ‘90s. I don’t feel insecure about hair loss anymore; oh man, I’m at the “acceptance” stage for years already. I’ve always assumed that it's hereditary. It could be that, or I’ve testosterone overabundance, which is one of the reasons for baldness, according to some studies. It may be a combination of the two. I’m the only one experiencing it among my siblings, so I dunno for sure. One day, I’ll probably shave it a la that balding Eigenmann kid.

Back to the caps. I’ve gotten really cool-looking ones over the years, official giveaways with logos of “The Last Samurai”, “Batman Begins”, “Matrix Revolutions” and so on. There are odd ones for similarly strange films, like the “Exorcist: The Beginning” fisherman’s hat, and the hip, brown “Hills Have Eyes” cap, which has “The Lucky Ones Die First” catchphrase embroidered at the back. Scary. And, of course, there’s the white “Cheaper By the Dozen 2” one, which I’m wearing in this pic.

Hmm, I forgot to wear my old earring, now that I think about it. Anyway, my thanks for all the hats and shirts, dear, generous publicists-who-check-out-my-blog. As you can see, one such freebie looks… ummm… okay on me. Unlike the free shirts, I wouldn’t normally wear the caps, but hey, I can pretend to in my own bloggy. :)

Toyconnery

Was able to skip the horridly long line of people waiting to get in the Toycon at the Megatrade Hall last Saturday afternoon, thanks to Gumby. Benedict, who arrived earlier, was able to spot him and Sheila, and they helped get me in. We were able to go around and look for stuff we fancied, although we would’ve spent more if we had money to burn, of course. Got a cheaper-than-usual Marvel Legends Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) and Man-Thing (yeah, for those who don’t read comics, that’s actually a character, a swamp monster). There were several loose figures that were really cheap, as well as ridiculously priced, unopened Marvel Legends two-packs and Wal-Mart figures. I really hope that Playkit (the regular distributor) gets the wave and sells them at regular prices here. I’m hoping that happens soon. Collectors will just eat them up.

Agent of S-Shield

The S-Shield, or Superman’s chest symbol, can be found on his belt too in the new movie version, and some people have reacted negatively to it. For me, it’s not that big a change. But there's something that weirded me out about his shoes. The huge standee that’s been displayed at the malls and the Toycon, it has Superman levitating with Lois. If you see that again one of these days, look at Superman’s exposed sole closely: It has four S-Shields! Four!!!! Now that’s just too much. I doubt they’ll show the bottom of his feet in close up shots, but well, they better not. Bleh.

And There Came a Day Unlike Any Other

“Let these space-spawned scum know ‘tis the Avengers they have attacked with impunity! The Avengers!”
--Thor, Avengers # 301

One of the pics that Benedict took last week. I put Storm in there because she’s a member in the all-ages Marvel Adventures-Avengers title, and she’s gonna be Black Panther’s wife, so it would make sense for her and T’Challa to eventually join the team during special missions. Also, there are multiple Iron Men because that’s inspired by a recent storyline where Tony Stark activated a number of armors during a fight. And the Ultimate Captain America figure, I’m pretending that’s US Agent, whose Invaders costume kind of resembles that design. I cut out two tiny white blank tape stickers to give him temple-“wings”. The gun he’s holding is Punisher’s rifle. And Mary Jane is there because she's been hanging a lot with them lately at Avengers Tower.

I need Warbird, Sentry, Ant-Man and Giant-Man from the Wal-Mart Wave, and Wasp, Luke Cage, Falcon, and the other Iron Men from the later sets. And the Young Avengers. I need money.

Brink of Deliverance

Okay, some highlights and mentionables from the past two weeks.

United They Stood

Only had about three and a half hours sleep. Went to Makati early this morning to watch United 93, a powerful film based on the hijacking of one of several airplanes during 9/11. This was the flight whose passengers fought back against their captors, after discovering the New York and Pentagon attacks. It was painful to watch the re-enactment, and it was heart-rending to see several of those doomed passengers prevent their aircraft from demolishing another American landmark. I felt queasy near the end, when all hell was breaking loose. After the movie, I just felt awful. It was way depressing.

Attack of the Baby Mallrats

Nah, this isn’t about the mice I’ve seen sneaking around in respectable establishments at huge-ass malls (I saw one in a pizza place, another in a classy theater). When I bought some figs at Toy Kingdom Makati, John was waiting near the exit, at a section displaying four-feet-tall inflatables. He enjoyed hitting down an egg-shaped one repeatedly with both palms, because it’s designed to keep getting back up right after you hit ‘em. What happened next was a blur: a toddler, aged 3 or so, ran to John and strongly slapped his thigh. The kid looked distressed and quickly ran back to his mother, who apologized for the boy’s weird behavior. We just laughed about it because we didn’t know why the kid attacked. Did he have ADD, or did he feel that it was his duty to protect the balloon, because it had a cute Mickey Mouse print on it? We’ll never know.

Anyway, been to some commercial centers the past weekends, and there seems to be a rugrat attack each time. There’s a baby in every corner. Some are tiny infants, the really young mitten-and-booties kind, inhaling polluted mall air already. Some are really cute and cuddly little critters, the ones that can’t walk yet.

Hmmm… I wanna be a parent some day.

Obsession, Addiction, Drug

Song intermission courtesy of Ann and Nancy Wilson. Just woke up days ago and it kept playing in my head. There are days when I’m just devoid of emotion, like most of my waking hours are devoted to work and building stuff. But there are times when I’m just gooey mush. Oh well. Here’s the song. Lyrics from sing365.

Will You Be There in the Morning?

Heart

I’m lying beside you, just thinking about us. Too tired to go to sleep and too much in love. I know I’m crazy but I can’t close my eyes. I’m scared you won’t be there in the morning when I rise. Will you be there?

Now, who do you dream about? Are you alone in your sleep? To who do you reach out? Oh let it be me.

Now baby, you’re my obsession, my addiction, my drug. Don’t wanna be without you when I wake up.

Will you be there in the morning? Will you be there when I want you? Will you be there when I wake up? I need you to be there in the morning.

Well, you’re so close to me, but I feel so alone. The more I touch you, the more that I want. Don’t know what to do about me loving you, but I pray to God that you feel it too.

Now baby, you’re my obsession, my addiction, my drug. So let the candle grow into a great fire of love.

Will you be there in the morning? Will you be there when I want you? Will you be there when I wake up? I need you to be there in the morning.

I wanna love you forever. Don’t want a love that’s now or never. Can’t you see you got me down on the floor? I want more, more!

Will you be there in the morning? Will you be there when I want you? Will you be there when I wake up? I need you to be there in the morning.

Life on Uranus

Last Saturday evening, Benedict dropped by to watch the DVD he borrowed, Bad Education, starring Gael Garcia Bernal (a dead ringer for Julia Roberts when he’s in drag, sometimes). He took pics of my toys again, lent me a boxful of Young Justice and Teen Titans comics, tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube, and later crashed in my bed. Will post more pics of the toys we posed when I’ve shrunk them. Here's one, for now.

These old Mulder and Scully figures are by McFarlane toys. They have very little articulation, but the likenesses are good. Bought these two years ago at a toy sale; they’re based on the X-Files movie, so they came with those discomfiting alien hybrid creatures in stasis tanks (I think). I wish they had guns, though. Mulder only has a flashlight, and Scully, a cellphone.

I miss Gillian Anderson. I hope she does something big soon.

Peeps Galore

Met a bunch of interesting people recently during paper-related work, like fellow contributing writers Paul Daza and Pepe Diokno, filmmaker Jeffrey Jeturian, and Pixar production designer Nelson Bohol (Google ‘em, folks!). Earlier today, I saw Bulletin writer Jojo Panaligan with some freebie goodie bags at a Greenbelt 3 escalator (he walked fast and was too far away to yell at, but we did wave at each other when he saw me). An hour or so after that, I saw Dean Alfar from afar this time, lighting a cigarette in front of Podium. Wanted to greet him but he was too far away, so I just texted him. Met a number of people during a property-related job today too, and during the screening at Greenbelt. Must organize names and numbers soon.

I need to finish a bunch of things. Once again, I’m super-tired. But I feel good.

Tomorrow's People

I think it was in 1986 when teen singer Lilet, who would soon join the legion of “That’s” entertainers, appeared in a popular Coke ad. It began with her singing the lines, “I am the future of the world. I am the hope of my nation. I am tomorrow’s people. I am the new inspiration.” It was very United Colors of Benetton-ish, as she was joined by teens of different nationalities by the song’s chorus, “united” in part by their liking for the popular softdrink brand. In hindsight, that was kinda corny but the relevance of the song rang true. And beyond the appealing visuals of a diverse group of youngsters together and expressing their affinity for the beverage, the message of the song feels both desperate and optimistic.

I did identify with that commercial back then, and the representation of that generation, because as a child, idealism was easy and the real world only consisted of school, and life was mainly confined to the classrooms. Everything looked easy on paper. That’s two decades back, and “tomorrow’s people” are (supposedly) grown-ups now, assimilated into greyer political situations, making tough decisions daily, and teaching the young ones in the ways of the world.

I wonder, sometimes, if our individual efforts matter in the bigger picture, in the grander scheme of things. The thought that each of us is making a difference in this messed-up hell that we call a planet is really appealing. I hope we all are, generations aside. We have different advocacies, but I guess we all want to be comfortable in our own spaces for as long as we can.

“Promise us tomorrow, and we’ll build a better world for you.” That last line of the jingle probably summed up the sentiments of youths all over the world back then. The world was a much different place, although it doesn’t look that much changed now, save for a few technological advancements that create the semblance of unity among different people. That “better world”, well, it’s a work in progress, I guess. Our own lives come first. We enjoy our truces when we can. And maybe, our Coke Lite, too.

Weird ‘Wet’ Dreams

I’ve been having weird dreams lately.

One was just kinda odd. I can remember Neve Campbell, dressed in a black business suit, in ankle-deep water, standing inside a ship. Apparently, she was in the Poseidon movie set, as part of the cast, but she was alone in the scene and that short one was being filmed as an outtake for the DVD. I think she was giggling and asking the director, who wasn’t seen, if it would be okay if she said something in a particular way. I think my reaction to it, as I was just watching the thing in my dream, was, “Oh, they were just improvising lines. They don’t have a script.” And the dream ended there.

Last week, I dreamed of an old, stubby white woman in peasant clothes, with a piece of cloth covering the top and back parts of her head. She was facing the wall. I was an observer in this dream again. I thought it was unusual that she peed while standing up and facing the wall, her hands hidden from view. The setting was quite hazy. But I remember that her pee was hitting the wall. It was quick, and she left. I looked at the wet wall closely, and discovered that it wasn’t urine stuck to the wall. It looked like thick, whitish bodily fluid that oozed down slowly. I was puzzled, because she didn’t have a male organ, and the spot on the wall looked like it was made by one, positioned a couple of inches above her waist level. I think I concluded that she pleasured herself, and it was yucky that she left her “juice” stuck to the wall that way. And that’s when the weirdness stopped.

I don’t even know what they mean.

Real Life Beckons

Very, very busy... I need to finish a bunch of things. So in the meantime, I'm just posting a few images. Maybe I'll write about the new Marvel Select Spider-Woman, the weather, people I met, awesome and awful new comic books, masturbation, germ-y comfort rooms, and other stuff next time. Maybe. For now, I must scrammy scram scram.

"As of this frozen moment, we are every one of us the Justice League."
--Martian Manhunter, Villains United Special

Pic taken last April. Figures have been added to the collection since the January group shot. Bought a Titans set at Druid's and it was really cheap. Kinda looks like the armada-like JLU and Infinite Crisis rosters, this gathering.

Tired and sleepy. But I ain't complaining. Life is good.


Chainsaw Girl. Pencil drawing (and red Paint effect), 1999

Decoder Zing

Finally watched The Da Vinci Code early this evening. As expected, everyone else was lining up for X-Men 3, making theaters showing the older, controversy-hyped film a little more spacious.

A poster of Da Vinci I saw outside Festival Mall looked kinda weird and funny, as it was labeled with a disclaimer of sorts: “Fictional Genres Only. Kathang Isip Lamang.” That’s a bit on the defensive side; it’s a film for adults who presumably know what they’re watching, who know how to be discerning of their beliefs. Glorietta, meanwhile, has been repeatedly plugging it in their own unique way, through their elevated TVs over the ticket seller booths and the Food Choices area (which used to show two Bachelor Girl and No Doubt videos non-stop, now replaced by N’Sync and Westlife ones). The girl veejay announces between music videos that people should watch the movie, “Or else you’re just a big… plain… loser!” Wow. Peer pressure much? Please.

As for the movie itself, well, I didn’t read the book, but it’s easy to surmise that a lot of nuances and details had to be simplified to fit the two hours-plus screening time. The script feels awkward in key scenes. I was expecting, perhaps because of the hype surrounding the movie, a grander and more spectacular cat-and-mouse dynamic, a more intellectually stimulating adventure. It feels unusually slow at certain points, and the cinematography isn’t particularly energetic, but I liked the brief but humongous period-piece flashbacks. Maybe Ron Howard should do a big period epic some time.

I like conspiracy theories and mysteries, especially those concerning history and religion, and it was smart of the book’s author to create a seemingly tangled but plausible cover-up concerning the supposed true nature of Jesus. But the movie’s not that big a deal. Will it erode one’s respect for the supposed virginal and chaste Messiah? Pfft. Why should it? It shouldn’t. But it might make one question the complicated origin of the religion. People shouldn’t just follow blindly, anyway, and the craziness generated by the movie may be an impetus for knowledge-seeking.

The issues raised should make them question their rituals and the nature of their worshipped being. And while they’re at it, it’s equally important that people should question their fallible, human, religious leaders, as well.

Illuminutty

Discovered a number of toy shops at the renovated Virra Mall and the old Shopsville complex in Greenhills last Friday. They even have a Toy Kingdom now! A bunch of the stores sell reasonably priced blister-carded and loose figs. How cool. I was able to find an ML figure I was looking for, Modern Armor Iron Man, at one of the old specialty shops. It’s one of the finer-looking and more articulated figures of the series, which is surprising, because it’s one of the blander armor designs in the comics. But the figure’s sculpt is exceptionally detailed, and the muted paint is just perfect. My Iron Man battalion must grow, so it can beef up my Avengers army. Can’t wait for the original tubby armor and the Thor-buster one in the next sets.

Speaking of Marvel Legends, I just saw an Alabang shop selling some figures from the Giant Man/Wal-mart Wave!!! Fraaaackkk! They exist! Prices range from P1,000+ to P3000+. The shop had Kitty Pryde (with a tiny Lockheed), Captain Britain, Sabretooth (Exiles/AoA) and two different Wolverines (from AoA)! The bad thing about this assemble-a-figure is, you have to get each one, even the crappy looking Wolverine, to build Giant Man. That’s at least ten parts! People have been saying that the variant, uglier Wolverine is needed to complete it too, but I hope not. I want me a Giant Man set! Grraaaahhh!!!!

Not-So-Amazing Race

It was annoying that Studio 23 had to make the Amazing Race finale a two-parter, even when they showed the entire thing in its initial, early Thursday telecast over a week ago. I wasn’t able to catch that, and we don’t have AXN, so I had to wait for the second half of the episode. Good thing I didn’t get spoiled throughout that long week. Maybe it’s not that news- or blog-worthy anymore. It was a pretty uneventful season, come to think of it.

I’m glad the “language-knowing” hippies won, though. And I kinda feel for the fratboys, because they were so close to victory. The blond guy looked really disappointed.

Grey Stoked

One thing that made viewing X-Men 3 a little difficult a few hours ago was the occasional out-of-focus screen image. John and I noticed that at certain parts, the blacks of the images aren’t totally dark like they’re supposed to be; maybe it’s only about 85 % black, I’m guessing, and details like letters and small faces looked blurred. I texted the publicist about it and she replied that she’d tell the guy handling the projector. I hope the other theaters don’t encounter this problem. Maybe it's exclusive to that screening, but I dunno for sure. (Update: Yup, it's exclusive to that screening.)

The movie was quite good, except perhaps for the part where some of the X-Men react to a person’s death. The drama could’ve been more affecting, but the power of that scene was diminished when Storm and Wolverine appeared way too restrained when responding to that specific tragedy. There were clunky parts during other slow, quiet moments, when the camera would just stay still overlong. But the story is jampacked with memorable goodies for the fans, and it took brave steps by implementing changes that have yet to be done in the comics. I spoke with the movie’s co-screenwriter, Simon Kinberg, last year, and he promised that this third X-film would be epic in scope.

Well, it’s big, indeedy. Let’s just say that while the sprawling plot is a mash-up of Joss Whedon’s “Cure” arc, Claremont and Byrne’s “Dark Phoenix Saga”, and a bit of Grant Morrison’s “Planet X”, the resultant story is streamlined and easily comprehensible. I wish the fight scenes were longer, though, because several new mutant characters were barely shown doing anything.

It’s good that Storm and Jean Grey finally became major players in the movie. I really liked Jean’s transformation, her expected betrayal, her all-red look, and how she toyed, albeit briefly, with her would-be manipulator Magneto. The Rogue-Iceman-Kitty triangle, inspired by an Ultimate X-Men subplot, showed promise but was too short. There were fun action scenes and lines with Beast (“Oh my stars and garters!”), Colossus, Madrox and an amped-up Callisto (she’s hyperfast, and has Caliban’s mutant-detecting power).

There are things, though, that should’ve been written in, like a quick mention of Nightcrawler's absence, or an elaboration on Storm’s history. At least Kitty got a little backstory in even with just a few sentences. We also should’ve seen Madrox fight the X-Men, Colossus slugging it out with Juggernaut, and Rogue and Angel contributing actively in the big battle. The mutant revolt scenes should’ve been extended. Oh, and ugh, Stan Lee’s cameo appearance was distracting. Chris Claremont’s was okay, though, because he’s not as recognizable as The Man.

Will watch another invitational preview of this again with Benedict, because it’s free and I’m a cheapskate. I think I watched the first movie about thrice in the moviehouse, and X2 twice, back when movie tickets were considerably cheaper. By the way, wait for the end credits to finish because there’s a quick, important scene after that. A lot of people stayed to wait for it, and some even clapped after seeing it because, well, it was kinda X-citing.

Like a Housewife Scorned

Desperate Housewives has been hit-and-miss with its second season, and some have even accused the show of shark-jumping, or that it’s performing forced stunts in a bid to recapture its former glory. But regardless if it has succeeded in keeping viewers riveted or not, the individual stories of the women characters have always been based on different levels of stranger-than-fiction drama, and relatable, er, desperation.

It’s still good, and throughout the second season, everything that’s happened to the characters proceeded rather speedily. Four or five separate arcs are concurrently running, but it’s good that they didn’t dwell too much on specific topics (like Bree’s alcoholism, Susan’s discovery of her real father, etc.). There have been many changes, but in the last two episodes (21 and 22), things have been turned upside down; enmities have escalated; nothing is as it was.

It’s good to see that a plot point regarding Tom's secret, which was mentioned and forgotten some time last season, is now being addressed. Also, Felicia’s vendetta against Paul expectedly worsens. And Andrew’s climactic standoff with Bree… well, that was damn fantastic, and heartbreaking.

It’s sad that some fears get validated, that some characters now seem irreparably irredeemable. But that’s the magic of TV; they build ‘em up, just to break ‘em down. And it’ll be status quo again, or something close to it, once the new season starts.

There are only two episodes left of season two, and I expect more shakeups to come.

Magneto + Prof. X = Onslaught!

The new Marvel Legends set is finely sculpted. Dreadfully dull characters, like Green Goblin (who’s now a masterminding but boring super-fiend in the comics), and Blackheart (the comic book that came with the figure attests to that) make okay action figures. I especially like the bonus Onslaught figure, which is only about ten inches tall (only slightly taller than Sasquatch), but he’s wide and has great hand poseability. His fingers look like crab legs.

My gripes with the set? (1) Lady Deathstrike’s hands only have knuckle articulation instead of individual, poseable talons. (2) Pyro doesn’t have a fire creature accessory with him. (3) There are no VS cards included. Apparently, the ones I saw in a specialty shop are super-special, special editions. (4) The variant figures look boring, and (5) Each figure costs P20 more now!

But again, they look mighty rad and imposing. I hope to get their picture taken with the other villains soon. That’s seven new kickass baddies to be added in the group shot.

Raising Hellions

Since Mr. Macapobre asked, here’s a short list of DC and Marvel superheroes, and some villains, who have children. I’m sure it’s far from complete, but these are the ones I can remember off the bat. Very few of these offspring were raised properly, if at all, by their superhero parents, who still actively risk their lives.

Professor X + Danielle Haller = David Haller (Legion)

Cyclops + Madelyne Pryor = Nathan Summers (Cable)

Mr. Fantastic + Invisible Woman = Franklin and Valeria Richards

Spider-Man + Mary Jane Parker = May Parker

Batman + Talia Al Ghul = they have a son, hidden away

Wolverine + tribeswoman (can’t remember her name) = baby mutant

Vision + Scarlet Witch = Tommy and Billy Maximoff

Captain Mar-Vell + Elysius = Genis-Vell and Phyla-Vell

Captain Mar-Vell + a Skrull princess = Hulkling

Green Arrow + some lady = Connor Hawke (Green Arrow II)

Mantis + Cotati Swordsman = “Q” the Celestial Messiah

Plastic Man + a blonde civilian = boy meta that shapeshifts

Vril Dox + Stealth = Lyrl Dox

Aquaman + Queen Mera = a son

Antman (Scott Lang) + his non-powered wife = Stature

Ultra Boy + Apparition = some super-baby

Arsenal + Cheshire = Lian Harper

Colossus + Nereel (I think) = Peter Jr.

Quicksilver + Crystal = Luna Maximoff

Luke Cage + Jessica Jones (Jewel) = baby daughter

Romantic relationships are a different matter; that’d be a long, long list. It’d be like listing down the characters of Melrose Place, and the people they slept with. Well, heroes have sex lives too. But no, their intimacies and dalliances make way, way more sense than that of MP’s bed-hoppers. Speaking of sexually active heroes…

Pageturning

Spoilers ahead, fellow geeks:

The latest She-Hulk issue is, no hyperbole, shocking. The two-issue arc has Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk defending Eros, a.k.a. Starfox, against accusations that he used his psionic pleasure-center powers to seduce a housewife.

I always thought that Starfox was underused; I’ve only seen him written nicely but briefly by Roger Stern, Peter David, and Jim Starlin. And he and She-Hulk had a one-night stand many years ago, so that just made him automatically cool for me.

Writer Dan Slott explores a side of Eros’ powers we haven't seen or fully understood before. Apparently, the power’s effects include behavior-altering sexual attraction to Eros that can last for years (poor jailed Hydra agent!), or just during the course of a night, it seems, in the case of the housewife. It makes anyone think irrationally, and give in to their impulses. It’s like a “date rape drug”, according to one of the super-law firm’s employees.

This, of course, leads back to the two erstwhile Avengers’ sexual history. Did Eros use his powers on She-Hulk? How far can it influence people? Can he turn it off, or does it tug at those with a prior attraction to him? Has he shown remorse over his past actions? Some of these questions are answered, forcing a fuming-mad She-Hulk to confront Eros in a way he’ll never forget. Wow, I’ll never look at that Avengers issue where they did it off-panel, and Starfox, the same way again.

Holy Crap

It’s good that the MTRCB showed some balls and let The Da Vinci Code be shown here tomorrow as an R-18-rated movie despite vocal protests from certain groups of people. I haven’t read the best-selling book, and to be honest, I’m not excited to see the movie, but I’ll catch it as soon as I can. Critics at Cannes aren’t too fond of it, reportedly.

Expect non-SM theaters to be packed. Oh well. I hope Glorietta and Robinson’s have multiple theaters devoted to screening it simultaneously. There’s nothing like controversy to pique the curiosity of those who want to see what the fuss is about, indeed. All these debates have assured that it’ll be a moneymaker in the next few weeks. Much has been said about the book and the film, which detractors claim, besmirches the good name of the religion’s messiah figure.

It’s tiring to read rants about not allowing it to be seen, actually, and the supposed damage it can and will do to the faithful. I’ve no interest in joining that fray; whether Jesus is less divine or not because he had sex and fathered children, I don’t care. I have trouble believing in the existence of the person in the first place, so I can’t claim to know what the guy did behind closed doors. That’s none of my business.

What I’m concerned about is the Pope’s recent smug comments about gay marriages and unions. “Only the rock of total and irrevocable love between a man and a woman is capable of being the foundation of building a society that becomes a home for all mankind,” he said last week. “It has become urgent to avoid confusion between (marriage) and other types of union which are based on love that is weak.” (reuters.com, May 11)

So okay, there you go. It’s a strange, strange thing, when people go bonkers over a fictional book and a fictional movie that question the origins of their faith, and they stay mum when their current-day leader declares further intolerance against people they should be building bridges with. Not only has that attack stressed that countless, working gay relationships are weak or invalid, it also reaffirms that there’s no real progress that the GLBT communities the world over can expect from the Catholic Church anymore. After John Paul II’s adamant stance against homosexuality when he was still alive, well, it was only a matter of time before his successor followed suit. It’s not that surprising, but it’s still despicable and awful.

The fact that he wanted gay seminarians weeded out last year has been an obvious dreaded sign. That still puzzles me, how they were able to conclusively confirm that certain young people who wish to serve as priests were truly and undeniably gay. The idea that one’s sexuality is evil, or that it can be turned off or be “cured”, that’s just really stupid. But the sad truth is, many people still believe those things. To be devalued by someone this powerful is dehumanizing. Someone who should be encouraging understanding and love between fellow human beings is doing a damn good job at alienating and inspiring rigid thinking.

If Jesus was indeed real, I’d like to think that he hung out with the subversives, as he himself was one, according to that religion’s holy book. I’d imagine that he’d value those whose relationships were genuine, regardless of who they were and what their genders were. I’d like to think that he’d be standing by the outcasts, and telling them that they’re special, and the establishment is just made up of dinosaurs that survived the great flood.

I obviously don’t capitalize my pronouns, “he” or “his”, when pertaining to the man, because, again, I just don’t believe. But I can acknowledge that the religion espouses selflessness and openness to others. It’s just sickening that the person's wonderful, soothing messages of love and redemption can be so misinterpreted and ignored in this day and age by some people who purport to follow him and his teachings, and consider themselves faithful.

Wetness Protection

The past two days’ rampaging typhoon has officially and abruptly put an end to the summer season, or so we’re told. The weather’s been crazy that way here; non-stop heavy torrents are sandwiched between unforgiving, scorching, summer-like days even during the supposed rainy season. You can never get used to these overnight weather switches.

It was so wet and windy yesterday that I postponed hanging out with a friend and just stayed indoors. Slept through most of the six-hour-plus brownout and just dreamed of snuggling and other stuff I love doing during rainy days. Haven’t been wearing underwear again because they’re all frigging wet. Oh well. At least I don’t feel constricted. Yeah, I feel free under my shorts.

Just watched the nice Firefly pilot episode last night, after sketching. Also surfed, listened to music and peeked at other people’s bloggies. I felt really hungry after midnight, but I didn’t feel like spending for a food delivery. And very few of them are open 24 hours. I’ve been eating decent meals but for some reason, there have been a number of instances in the past week when I felt really hungry late at night. I couldn't find anything, so I snacked on some chocolate-flavored Stick-O’s; they’re crunchy and hollow cylinder biscuit thingies, for those who don’t know. Feeling a little full, I sifted through a stack of old books and comics to keep awake.

I discovered one of the Penumbra books that Benedict recommended and left in my things god knows when. That’s David H’s Takod novella, a fun and very visual horror story that has a sneaky, Gold’s Gym member-Asiaweek reporter for a protagonist. Heheh. He pulls it off, of course. Dave knows how to play with mood and mystery, and while Takod was a mite shorter than I expected, the Asian mythological elements he explored conveniently furnished the story its unsettling creep factor. Hope this gets a sequel.

Anyway, will enjoy the cool weather while it lasts. Hope it continues in the next couple of days, minus the calamity.

Mutant Madness

I've been invited to the preview of X-Men 3: The Last Stand later this week, a couple of days before the regular screening. Got this pic from superherohype. Madrox, Callisto, Arclight and Pyro are some of Magneto's Brotherhood recruits.

I wish Fox had given bigger photos of the awesome villain core group pic to the websites. It had these four, plus Juggernaut, Kid Omega, Magneto and the resurrected Jean Grey, lined up together in one shot. But the neat pic above, and the rest of the new stills are shot at a nice distance and look clear enough. Some of them show Storm fighting Callisto, and Pyro versus Iceman, among other scenes. Hope the movie's good. Fingers crossed. Or X'ed.

Good Mother

There were only three cakes displayed at one of the nearby mall’s bakeshops in the afternoon. They're normally decked with a number of fanciful ones, but only the plain-looking chocolate-frosted cakes are left. Maybe because it’s Mother’s Day. I didn’t ask; was just craving for cake. We don’t celebrate it at our home, but the sibs and I certainly acknowledge our mom's unceasing dedication and attention. It wasn't an easy job for her; no, not at all. As I was growing up, I began noticing and learning that being a parent required tremendous strength to unfailingly support his or her oft-problematic children, to get them through the endless rigors that life constantly creates for them.

When I first watched Desperate Housewives, I instantly likened her to Lynette (Felicity Huffman), who had to rein in her little hellions as often as she could. I can only imagine how that feels, to raise radically disparate offspring, to bear with and tolerate trying temperaments. Throughout the years, she’s stood by us when life got awfully tough, and it was easy to talk to her whenever things felt hopeless or bleak. I really regret whenever we have arguments and disagreements. I hate that it still happens, sometimes.

I’d like to think that I‘ve always moved independently into my own direction, as have the other siblings, but there will always be matters and moments that draw us back to her advice and her caring voice. Like most mothers, she only wants what’s best for her kids, and she still continues to prove herself daily. She’s the most unselfish person I know, and I feel truly, truly fortunate to be her son.

Weatherwise

“I could go crazy on a night like tonight, when summer’s beginning to give up the fight.”
Indigo Girls, “Mystery”

“The beauty of the rain is how it falls.”
Dar Williams, “The Beauty of the Rain”

“Let the rain fall. Make it breathe.”
Hard Rain, “I Will Remember”

“Nothing falls like London rain. Nothing heals me like you do.”
Heather Nova, “London Rain”

“Sheets stained, blankets dampened by the rain, shades of gray on my pillow, while the sun tries to shine its beams of yellow.”
Violent Playground, “Moist”

“Wash away my sorrow, take away my pain, you’re love’s coming down like rain.”
Madonna, “Rain”

“The rain, see it falling, but I don't know how long it will be until the storm's over. But I'll wait. I will.”
A-Ha, “Rolling Thunder”

"When love gets strong, people get weak. Sometimes they lose control and wind up in too deep. They fall like rain.”
Cyndi Lauper, “Who Let in the Rain?”

Magic Markerless

Haven't done this in a while. Was so bored yesterday that I just doodled using the mouse and the Paint program. But drawing these sketchy thangs wuz fun. Elenna is my character; the others are copyright and trademark, their respective owners. Click them for larger images.

Elenna

Morpheus

Hulk

Felicity Unleashed

M:I III was a movie that I wasn’t particularly interested in watching. The first two installments were pretty bleh for me; the stories were too convoluted to understand or care about. But when I saw a picture of Keri Russell holding a gun this afternoon, I just had to see it. I wanted to see how the young woman who played mild-mannered art student Felicity for a couple of years fared as a superspy. It was in Felicity where I first saw Jennifer Garner as, if I remember correctly, a nerdy music major who hooked up with Noel (Scott Foley), years before she took on the Sidney Bristow role. So I was quite excited to see Keri transformed into another independent J.J. Abrams heroine, and I liked what I saw. She was grimy and a little bloody, and was totally tough. If only her character did more stuff and had more screen time. Nevertheless, M:I III is quite fun; the two prior movies never felt that way at all for me. It kind of feels like three episodes of 24 compressed into one, with more big-budgeted stunts and effects, but minus the ubercool Jack Bauer. Ethan Hunt is actually a human person in this one, as opposed to the mechanical, unstoppable spy-slash-killing machine of the past M:I’s. And it’s good that they finally showed the technology that makes those impossibly real masks that have been pivotal to difficult undercover missions.

Just some gripes: the villain played by Philip Seymour Hoffman was disposed of lamely and the action scenes were a bit tame and were lacking in artsiness. But again, the movie’s more decidedly feelgood and escapist than usual, and many details ultimately don’t matter.

Summer Freeze

Tried out a parfait, which is three scoops of ice cream with nuts, whipped cream and strawberry bits. It was yummy, but I felt empty afterwards, like I just wanted my dry mouth to feel the coldness. Ate an underwhelming chicken meal, also at the food court. It wasn’t too filling, and the breaded chicken lacked flavor. Urgh.

I finally bought new underwear, a discounted pack of three tighty-whiteys. Actually, only one is white; the other two are black and gray. Had to buy new ones ‘cause I couldn’t find my old, bacon-gartered ones. Maybe the people here thought they were rags because they don’t look wearable anymore, so they threw them away. But they’re my comfiest undies, and I don’t feel like wearing my nicer-looking ones at home. So I just go commando when the few pairs are still hanging in the clothesline. Too much info, I know. Yeek.

Just rested and switched outta drone-whore mode these past few days. Things are piling up again, but I’m not worried. The weather just doesn’t feel too cooperative and I don’t feel like straining myself for things I can do easily when I’m focused again. I’ll get things done when I find enough time and concentration for myself and my to-do list. So I’m still not totally here in that sense.

It’s a time when ideas flow and surge unhampered by daily rote, when time seems to stretch forever and I don’t feel like rushing to go home or start planning regular stuff. I’ve also been re-assessing my life and my jobs. I always do that anyway, but it’s a more conscious effort this time. Between that and thinking about what to do for the rest of the week, I just tried to catch some rest on my warm bed, and just shoved away thoughts of people I need to contact, and things that have been given a deadline.

I've been thinking of swirly colors and painting, of creating a new art portfolio, of pushing through with another comic book that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but had to stay on hold because of current opportunities I had to take. I’ll get to them one day. Yesterday and today, my head just wandered and thought about interlocking story and art pieces that I need to get out in the real world, someday. People must have noticed that I just stare blankly sometimes, and there are times that I just don’t feel like a social creature at all because, well, it’s either I’m planning, or worrying about something. It depends, I guess. I’m probably sorting out and organizing my head, or searching for info that my brain dumped way back. Been looking at my stuff and I’m trying to reconnect with old feelings and mindsets. I know that doesn’t make sense. Or does it? But that’s the way it is, and that’s how I see it.

I’m on Pause right now. Be back soon.

Male pattern baldness and stuff. Pic from last Saturday. Sketching superheroes on Benedict’s notebook.