I was listening to The All-out Show on RX while washing the dishes last night.

The topic for that night: What is your problem? Text messages startiong pouring in, the majority of the listeners complained about the thesis season.

And then on the second hour of the show someone whose name sounded something like RG of Archie texted. His problem was that the girl hehas been in love with for the last four years got pregnant, and a close friend was responsible. The girls calls him up every now and then to confide and, on occasions, cry.

I almost dropped the soup bowl I was scrubbing.

Some of the lines from RG/Archie's long message (that's probably five bucks spent on a message) that really struck me were: "She was the only reason why I remained a virgin," "I waited patiently because I knew they wouldn't last," "...yes, I love her that much" and "Naging iyaking ako tuloy bigla..."

Was that me? I was so shocked because the lst line was exactly what I used on a conversation with my new confidant Brian. Somewhere under the same night sky someone is aching the same pains and crying the same tears. Sigh.

And then something seriously weird happened during the show's final hour. I wasalready in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about what just happened, when the DJ cues in Taning by Imago. He says that RG/Archie had dedicated it to his girl and that she should listen to every line from the song because it was exactly what he wanted to tell her.

Dammit.

The similarities are so uncanny. I felt almost everything I felt during our phone conversations. Perhaps RG/Archie was feeling every word from the song; his sadness soaring and swaying to the vocal's every tonal change, and his chest weighs down with every bass line scale,at that same time. I find that he'snot the only one, as my view of the ceiling steadily blurrs.

Dammit. Just like what the texter said, "Naging iyaking ako tuloy bigla..."


TANING
Imago

sa'n mapupulot ang pag asa
may katuwiran ba ang sana
ngiti ko ang iyong galak
langit ko ang iyong kandungan

permiso sa isang araw na
makasama ka
abiso ng pusong bulag
na humahanga

tama bang aminin na nating may taning
tong pag ibig natin
dakila man walang kasaysayang kakapit
sa bulag na pag ibig

san hihingi ng patawad
kung walang dahil
antangis ko ang yong luha
nais ko ang iyong kalayaan

permiso sa isang araw na
makasama ka
abiso ng pusong bulag
na humahanga

tama bang aminin na nating may
taning itong pag ibig natin
dakila man walang kasaysayang kakapit
sa bulag na pag ibig

When The Day After Tomorrow was shown in cinemas I passed up the chance to actually see it. Probably because I figured the elements the characters are up against are extremely unstoppable. What could they possibly do to even the odds? I wouldn't pay to see it but I also wouldn't say no if a copy would find its way into my home.

The film starsa bunch of look alikes. Seriously. The main characters, Jack Hall, played by Dennis Quaid (who I always thought resembled Keifer sutherland), is a scientist who is married to pediatrician Lucy (Sela Ward from the series Once & Again who looks a bit much like Chandra Romero) and is father to Sam, played by Jake Gyllenhaal (who was rumored to replace Tobey Maguire) in the last Spiderman because of their remarkable resemblance).

I'm no meteorologist and I honestly didn't completely understand what has brought on the rapid climatic shift, but quaid and cohorts'acting were almost flawless and sincere I dimly understood that the entire planet is in one gumbo-sized sh*thole. A second Ice Age is threatening to come, and what nature allowed millions of years to happen, will happen in just a matter of weeks. There are already signs around the world: India experiencing snow and the monstrous hailstorm in Tokyo.

Jack realizes this and proposes for an action in a global conference, where he meets a renowned meteorologist played by Ian Holm who looks like a cross betweed Danny de Vito and Berting Labra.

Meanwhile, Sam heads over to New York for a national "battle of the brains" type of competition, flanked by his two school buddies. Friend A looks a lot like that black alien from that long forgotten Nickelodeon series, while Friend B/love interest is a cross between Jennifer Love Hewitt and Norah Jones and the acting capacity of a five-year old girl with Down Syndrome. There they meet Sam's competitor, a younger version of Joaquin Phoenix.

But then we learn the truth, that New York is said to be the vortex of the entire tragedy; the temperature there is said to plummet to sub-sub zero any moment. Apparently, the entire Northern Hemisphere is going to be frozen solid, so a mass evacuation ensues, where the evacuees head for charred Mexico.

During this time, Jack heads for New York to rescue Sam with his two co-scientists. Scientist A is a rotting doppelganger for Treat Williams, while Scientist B looks stunningly like the vocalist from Jars of Clay.

Lucy on the other hand is in the hospital where she decides to stay to read Peter Pan to a terminally ill boy while the rest of the city evacuates. We are expected to feel her bravery and her devotion to her calling, but her acting was so damn ratty I saw brain damage instead. Either that or she was in the verge of having a seizure. I was disappointed. Clearly she doesn't translate into cinema as well as she does on TV wher she acts elegantly.

Jack finally makes it into New York in time to save Sam and a handful of survivors, including a neurotic Andy Dick look alike, a feisty girl, who I almost swore was played by Amy Davidson from Eight Simple Rules, and the old copy of Jenna Elfman as the librarian.

The entire movie felt exactly what it was, an ambitious, big-budget Roland Emmerich project. The cinematic shots, the lush environment only CGI artists could conjur up, the lame-but-forgivable jokes and the formulaic Godzilla-ish cinematography were all expected when I saw Emmerich's name in the opening credits. The only thing missing ire the ear-chattering rock soundtrack. At least Hollywood has finally fecognized the fact that rock/metal songs add texture only to chick flicks and teen slasher movies.

Formulaic as it is, the film works, as far as the technicalities are concerned. The story was ok, not brilliant and groundbraking, just ok. There already seems to be a handful of films with the same premise of love and keeping a promise in the midst of tragedy. Titanic. Armageddon. Black Hawk Down. The only thing that changes is the extremity the characters must face...aside from that all you get is eye candy.

Up next:
Comic book turned movies Elektra and Fantastic Four and the Spawn-meets-The Matrix-splashed-with-Van-Helsing flick, Constantine

She has been calling me for the last few days. Confiding in me all her painful thoughts and telling me in detail of her dilemma. She even cried several times, and I really couldn't fight the urge to cry with her. But I figured she needed an emotionally sturdy someone to talk to so I fought the tears. Good thing I wasn't obvious.

All these years of being almost selfless, I think it's ok to be a little bit selfish sometimes. I'm avoiding her calls now. Only because it hurts so bad to hear all the pain she's going through. I know it's gonna be ok, but I know she needs someone to talk to. But I just can't bear to hear more. I just want to see her and hug her, no more talk. Masyadong masakit.

Sometimes I want to tell her that I can fill that void and be a father. If only it were that easy.

Here is a picture of the surviving and enduring members of Neo Paradiso, our high school barkada. It was taken during our graduating year back in St. Francis School in Sta. Ana, Manila.

Thatr's me, fourth from the left, the guy looking down. There were two more members not included in this shot, but who gives a hoot about them?

Sometimes I would like to go back to those days (a time which Kenneth likes to refer to "when we were luggin around in blacks and whites") when our biggest concerns only included passing our subjects, our crushes and worrying about what to do after classes.

Rants and Raves...in the name of Green Lantern


As far as I could look back, I was never into the Funny Comics thing most of the childern my age were so obsessing about. My earliest memories of a comic book would be Green Lantern. My eldest brother absolutely liked Hal Jordan, and since I read what he read I soon caught on the comic book craze.

Through the course of my comic book-reading life, Hal Jordan has always been an uber cool character I could look up to, and ultimately he became my template of an ideal superhero. Not Superman with his invulnerability and god-like strength. Not Batman and his gritty obsession for everything dark. Just Hal Jordan's Green Lantern.

My brother resigned from his work and moved on to a new office. I don't know how or why but the comic books just stopped entering our home. All I saw were those drama Filipino comics my mom fancied for a while.

And then I got into high school where I was so into the X-Men, reading and knowing virtually everything there is to know about them and the spin-off titles. Until I encountered a Green Lantern comic a classmate had owned. The cover looked pretty interesting. "Hal's got a new costume?!" I gasped. I took it home only to find out that I was looking at someone named Kyle Rayner...WHAT???

I was staring at a much, much younger Green Lantern who's a graphic artist (something I've always wanted to be) and has a relationship with Donna Troy (Wonder Girl from the Teen Titans.

Cogs were turning in my pubesccent head.

Kyle's a very interesting person to begin with. He's into a field of work I've dreamed of getting into. And he's a lot more fun to read because his favorite band (I think) happens to be Nine Inch Nails, and he's got a very active imagnation.

On the other hand, I miss Hal. At the back of my mind I kept on thinking what he'd do in the same situations Kyle's in. Hal's too much of an idealist to run amok into a crime-fighting frenzy. Kyle's a bit too impulsive to let the situation get to him. Two different Lanterns, different personalities, same heroic legacy.

Shoot. I'm beginning to sound like a war movie ad.


BUT NO!

HAL may have insane, killed a bunch of Green Lanterns, became Parallax, took an arrow to the chest in Zero Hour, died saving the solar system by restarting the sun and served as the new human host for the Spectre (after it dumped Jim Corrigan, who actually went to heaven)...but he's back! Oh yeah he is! Back to kick some more major ass and he's back with a refined version of his classic costume. Admit it, his Lantern logo has become an Icon, much like Superman's S emblem.

And I am in bliss! Oh YEAH!

Here's a pic...




In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power
Green Lanter's Light.

After seeing Mezzo Forte and Kite I was suddenly imbued with the sudden need to create my own teen assasin. Filipino, of course, and would fit in a crowd, and have a very common name. Dumb as it may sound I call him Bong. So I just took a pencil out of my bag and a sheet of paper and here he is.

This is Cammy White from the Street Fighter game series. Yes, I admit to being a video game addict, although I don't use Cammy as fairly often as I would Ken or Ryu. I just like her. Same reason why I like looking at and drawing Lara Croft: she's a babe.

What did i do today?


I woke up to realize that I rented four movies from the local Video City, and all of them are supposed to be back by tomorrow...and I haven't watched any of them. What did I get? There's 50 First Dates, I Am Sam, Freaky Friday and Down With Love.

But before I could even get the DVD player running I am asked to go to Sta. Lucia to buy a Nero installer. Darnit. So I had to drag my freezing ass all the way to Cainta/Pasig for the damn CD.

On my way into the mall, the security guard -who seriously looked like Chino Moreno -with the bulk, the beard and the THICK eyebrows to go with it- stopped me for frisking. A knapsack was dangling from my shoulder, he felt through it and found my tech pens in a dark case. It must've looked very mysterious to them but to frisk me even more is just way overboard!

I had to stand with my legs wide apart and my palm on the glass door, while he felt through my waist, ass and my crotch (what the f*ck???), in search of probably a pistol or a bomb detonator! People were looking at us and I have never been so pointlessly humiliated before, while the security people tried to figure out how to open my pen case! Wish I did carry a grenade, though!

I can still feel myself shaking furiously! Argh!


Good thing I just made a quick in-out with the CD in my hand and an FX/jeepney to Antipolo on my mind. And good thing the movies I rented were waiting for me!

I didn't really wanted to watch Freaky Friday. I only rented it because my neice, Paula, adores Lindsay Lohan. Unfortunately the film was not adorable.

I can't believe I didn't see I AM SAM when it was shown in the cinema before! It's a film that attempts to grab your chest without being obvious. Sean Penn is sucha brilliant actor that he decidedly looked the part, though I really can't erase his brutality in Mystic River from my head.

Down With Love is visually hygenic. You won't see any dark, rotting images. Everything seems to be color coordinated. The clothes, the furnitaure and yes, even Renee Zellweger's dresses (or whatever they're called). The film has the so much the feel of a musical that I felt they're about to bust into a sing-and-dance sequence.

I went to Video City hoping to find some good movies. Tough luck! No Y Tu Mama Tambien, Kruh In Mleko or even Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in sight. I couldn't even find any brainlessly fun movies like Tomcats, Blade II or Mall Rats. Even newer movies like Magnolia and American Beauty were missing.

Frankly the people selling pirated VCDs on the sidewalk outside the shop had more variety and lots more choices.

Here is a picture of The Flame staff during our Fontana outing.
I'm ripping off Newsiecat's idea for her latest post...even stole the pic.






Mervin Wes Omar Paulie Verns Janice Rachiel Red Teza Kirby May Kiko Jeramie Teresa Van Roselle Beth Fel Djerti Cherry Me Wacko Aaron Augy



I really miss these people (except HeWhoMustNeverBeMentioned). These people were my family when I was still in UST with The Flame. There were those seemingly endless drinking sessions over at Kitten's (it's an inuman area just beside Maria de Leon Transit in Dapitan)
Where the floor had tasted all their intestinal juices (except mine because I never threw up there). Bottles of Colt45, Red Horse and SanMig Lite became witnesses to: 1) the endless laughter, 2) the tears of the bitter, 3) and the rush job on the magazine issues reaching deadline.

What I remember about these people:
Mervin: "Rockstar, pare!"

Wes: "Red Bull..." (when asked what he drunk that made him so tipsy)

Omar: The Bastion of Thomasian **rt, as dubbed by Cherry and Wacko

Paulie: "Excuse me Kirby, but I have to girl..." after which we saw him lying on the floor, unable to move because of the huge amount of alcohol he consumed

Verns: Bouncing Baby Girl

Janice: "Ruffa Guttierezzzzz"

Rachiel: Oh yeah, the TERESA/RACHIEL photo composite

Red: Black polo...with white gumamela print...and the pubes-looking goatee

Teza: "I have to go, I have a cluss (class)."

May: Gilliard and the Burger King sign by the Flame office

Jeramie: Her every word includes a sharp slap on your shoulder, you must really be a masochist to enjoy talking to her

Teresa: The Kare-kare poem she wrote. I spent days, thinking of a passable artwork to accompany it.

Beth: Helping her walk along a street in Malate (outside Jazz Rhythms) while she mumbles to herself, drunk

Djerti: Blow!

Cherry: My formerly devastated sister, who is now a seren creature of responsibilities

Wacko: My Brother who now soars the Cebuano night air with fangs and sharp thoughts

Aaron: The leather jacket. The constantly present Coke bottle. His locker filled with things that go bump and squish in the night.

Lujene: "Hi!" (in an uber High pitch)...aka Olive Oyl, and the "Left Brain/Right Brain test" she conducted in the Flame office

Paolo: "Put*Ina!" (his direct translation to "Kamusta?") which he gladly shouts upon entering the Flame office

To DONNA and to those of you who are wondering who the hell DELIRIUM is (the second to the last quiz I took):

She's from The Sandman mythos, as written by Neil Gaiman. Or better yet, just click on the link below.


The Sandman