tristan thorn

Tristan is a shy and somewhat awkward young man who can't help but feel that he doesn't belong in the Village of Wall. He dreams of traveling the world and reinventing himself, but most of all he dreams of Victoria Forester: the prettiest girl in the village. (from an article on tristan thorn in wikipedia)

holy fucking crap. after reading the sentence above, i just felt uneasy and a bit dizzy. i dont exactly know why but thats what i felt. did i feel its me? or the description fits me? i dont know. im not really shy, and i dont really use awkward to describe myself but somehow, i would say its close enough. maybe a first impression perhaps. about the feeling of not belonging, of traveling and reinventing one's self sort of hits the target. and of all the names, it had to be Victoria. if only people knew how much the name Victoria means to me. ive fallen in love with the name for 10 years now (maybe more, i know its late 90s. and thats probably why i started to like names that begins with the letter V). and i have a thing for liking the prettiest. just pretty isnt enough. tsk. i dont know if i can change that.

i just watched Stardust a few hours ago and i wont even think im like Tristan Thorn, but well, for some reason, i ended up reading a Wikipedia entry on him (ended up, so i didnt really purposely searched for it on wikipedia, i just saw a clickable link on Tristan Thorn and clicked on it) and well, the part i copied above sort of, well, caught my attention. now im interested in buying Neil Gaiman's novel. or maybe look for someone who has a copy and just borrow it. or maybe look for it in a book sale shop (i saw some of The Sandman comics in a book sale of some sort).

the movie Stardust didnt really catch my attention until i learned there's a character named Tristan (either im just self-centered or im just self-centered. i didnt even know he was the main character until i watched the movie). i dont think ive seen the movie's trailer either. and not knowing it was an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel, the movie name Stardust isnt that appealing to me. the word Stardust sounds like a dance show. or an alternative title to Will Ferell's Blades of Glory. anyway, i liked the movie. maybe it ranks fourth, next to 50 First Dates (just saw 50 First Dates last monday in Burger King) Stranger Than Fiction and Transformers. but then again, all of these movies belong to different genres so when it comes to fantasy films, it might rank first. or in live-action fantasy film category because the usual fantasy films i like are anime films. not really much of a "fantasy" type of guy. although i enjoy it i still prefer sci-fi. i would have loved the movie Stardust, even if it was purely a fantasy film, if Yvaine was Rachael Leigh Cook (or maybe Keira Knightley or Winona Ryder). Claire Danes isnt bad but im not much into Claire Danes. she has a nice name though.

rain

thank God for the rain! i love it when it rains. not that im only happy when it rains because its not impossible for me to be happy on a non-rainy day but a rainy day (or a rainy night more especially) most likely cheers me up or at least puts me in a good mood. of course that doesnt mean i wont be in a bad mood when its raining but somehow, the rain does help in improving my mood (most of the time). maybe its because of the cold weather it brings. also, im not talking about heavy rains. obviously. that would be heartless of me to want heavy rains because of the destructive nature of such rains. but then again i am heartless but not to the point of being inconsiderate with other people's welfare. people lose not only property but also lives with extremely heavy rain. and there is a difference between the two, being heartless and being considerate. they are not mutually exclusive. i mean, i could be heartless because i dont have pity nor feelings of sympathy or compassion but that doesnt mean i cant be considerate. for me, being considerate is more of a rational act. i see it as a knowledge of the needs and feelings of other people and taking that into consideration in one's actions or in making decisions.

going back to the topic, im talking about light to moderate rain or a simple drizzle. lately, it rains whenever i step out of a building, whether it be at home or in school. of course, there are times its a bit annoying because the rain is too heavy to walk under. i prefer rains thats not strong enough to get a person too wet.

i noticed that other people are "afraid" to get wet. sometimes its a very light rain and they still have to grab their umbrellas. i rarely use my umbrella. i only bring one so that i have something to use in case of "emergencies". what are these "emergencies"? if i have paper to submit (which is already due or on the day of the deadline of course, because its really extremely rare or as far as im concerned, really unheard of, for someone to submit a paper or a requirement a day before the deadline) and all of a sudden God decides to put up an "obstacle course". it suddenly rains very hard and there's no taxi in sight for almost an hour. i have to ride a jeepney but the jeepney that takes the easiest/quickest route is also unavailable. so i have to ride several jeepneys instead. and all throughout, it was raining really really hard. an umbrella would come really handy so that my paper wont be a soggy piece of crap when i submit it. why dont i just print it in school? well, God decides to make things more difficult. there was a blackout one hour before the deadline. so i have no option but to bring the hardcopy i already have. another example of an emergency is when it starts to rain really hard and you see a pretty girl that despite the hotness she possesses, cant make the rain evaporate before it hits her beautiful skin and she has no where to run to. so the umbrella would come in handy to rescue her from getting wet. but if it was only a light rain, dont bother. it wont kill her. if she cant stand light rain, she doesnt deserve to be rescued from it. i mean, how weak can a person be not to take a drizzle? ok, fine. maybe some people are too delicate to handle even the weakest of raindrops but still a little rain shouldnt hurt. thats why i rarely use my umbrella unless its really necessary. how about getting sick? maybe ive caught the cold from time to time because of walking in the rain but most of the time, i dont. so, why not walk in the rain? if its because its wet, then thats what i dont get. so what if its wet? maybe i just worry too less.

another thing i like about the rain is its disruptive nature. it disrupts the life of the unprepared. if you are commuting and it rains and you dont have an umbrella, sometimes you find yourself in a place you didnt plan to be or you get delayed. it disrupts the ordinary course of things, for those who didnt take into consideration the possibility of rain. sometimes the rain could make a person spend more either in terms of money (take the taxi instead or eat in a fastfood and wait for the rain to stop or buy an umbrella) or in terms of time (if you are stranded, you have to use your time for something else or well, waste it if there's nothing productive that can be done). so the rain is a disruption of the daily routine or the ordinary course or daily life of the people within the society or particular area who didnt have the rain and its effects in their plan for the day. why do i like it? well, because the disruption makes people stop and think for a while. i mean, if a person is too absorbed in what he is supposed to do or is in too deep in his daily routine, the rain most of the time is effective in breaking that person's routine and makes him think for a while what to do or reconsider stuff. its like a break from the monotony of daily life. of course, if it rains very often, a day with no rain would have the same effect. but since days with no rain is more of the norm, rainy days have more of the effect of being a break from the monotony of daily life. also, the disruption could be of such magnitude that could change the course of one's life. like i said, the rain could send a person to place he didnt intend to be (or be prevented from going to a place he intends to be) or the rain could take one's time and spend it for some other thing (like one's time is re-allocated suddenly).

so aside from the nice weather it brings, the rain is really an interesting thing.

october has landed

ock as in doc ock (short for doctor octopus, one of the famous villains in marvel comics, specifically, enemy of spider-man), tow as in tow truck and bur as in burlap (a cloth of some sort). put them together and we have, ocktowbur.

whenever i hear october, i remember 50 First Dates. why? because there was a part in the movie where Lucy Whitmore was insisting it was october and the way she said it somehow got "etched" in my mind. ock-tow-bur. its like whenever i hear bruce willis, its like being asked to complete a sentence. bruce willis? is a ghost! some people complained about this one. they said the movie spoiled The Sixth Sense.

anyway, i was in the mall a few hours ago (as usual) to eat dinner and check the prices of coffee makers. and when i reached the basement, i was a bit surprised that on the first day of october, the mall was already selling christmas trees and christmas decors and playing christmas songs. this was done only in the basement so the "christmassy" (most likely this word doesnt exist but if does, i might have spelled it wrong) atmosphere wont be felt in the entire mall. i was just there last saturday and as far as i remember, those trees of western origin werent there. so i guess starting to sell stuff for the christmas season was scheduled this first day of october (unless they started it yesterday, september 30. i didnt go to the mall yesterday). why am i making a big deal out of it? its just i didnt even feel september that much. i mean, august as always was unforgettable but i couldnt remember what stuff happened last september. and now its october already and the mall is making people realize christmas is coming. its another year coming to an end! time flies even if youre not having fun. time flies also for those who need a lot of it.

thats it? yep. i just wanted to blog about seeing christmas trees as early as the first day of october. i know i shouldnt be surprised since i think the christmas season starts this early in this country (i think) but, well, i was still surprised that the malls are preparing for the christmas season.

i think im in a tragedy

just watched Stranger Than Fiction (on video) yesterday starring Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman. i thought it was a comedy because its a Will Ferrell movie. so i was a bit surprised when the guy in Video City told me it was in the drama section when i asked if they had a copy of the movie. and the reason i thought of renting it was because i saw its trailer in one of the videos i rented (i watch the trailers so i know which movies to rent next). and after watching the movie, i cant believe i didnt notice this movie when it was released in cinemas (but i watched the piece of crap of a movie Pathfinder. since then, i research on the movie before watching it). i checked IMDb and it said it was just released last January 24. where was i then? why didnt i notice this movie? obviously, i loved Stranger than Fiction after watching it on video.

although its not really a comedy, Will Ferrell's character is fun to watch and to a certain extent funny but he doesnt ruin the seriousness that the movie is supposed to have. i mean, all he has to do is be this plain guy with a plain life. but of course, his life became interesting when all of a sudden he hears the voice of a person narrating his life and realizes that he might be a character in a story. the thing is, i think the idea of this movie is very original because i havent seen anything like it. there might be similar ones or similar themes but not close enough to really think that this movie is like this movie or worse its a rip off of another movie.

the character Will Ferrell played reminded me of me, in a shallow sense of course. i dont hear a voice narrating my life but i also counted brush strokes but not the same number as his brush strokes. i wear my wrist watch on my right wrist and i also have an attachment to my wristwatch. and when i watched the movie, my wristwatch just stopped the day before. also, im pretty much a solitary type of guy (which is different from a loner. im both). thats it. its really shallow similarities.

also, the movie gave me a way of explaining my life (of course not in its entirety because im not harold crick/will ferrell's character). before i dont know how to put into words the explanation why i live my life. but somehow the movie was able to state it in a way thats a bit of an appropriate description. so here it is: my life is lived in a way that i refuse to let the plot continue because i might be in a tragedy and not a comedy. of course, the only way of finding out is by taking the next step. and thats just it, i dont want to take the next step until i get an idea where i am exactly. not that im worried of the ending. regardless of whether its a comedy or a tragedy, the ending isnt something to worry about. its how you get there, especially if its a tragedy. its what happens before the ending that worries me. so thats why i dont complain (not much) that im "stuck" in this part of my life because i intentionally refuse to let the plot unfold. or at least let the plot move slower than its supposed to be, to the point it might not be attuned to the rest of what its supposed to be connected with. the movie didnt cover this part of my life that could put into words the idea i have which is somehow related to my own understanding of karma.

Quotes from the movie:

This is a story about a man named Harold Crick and his wristwatch. Harold Crick was a man of infinite numbers, endless calculations, and remarkably few words. And his wristwatch said even less. Every weekday, for twelve years, Harold would brush each of his thirty-two teeth seventy-six times. Thirty-eight times back and forth, thirty-eight times up and down. Every weekday, for twelve years, Harold would tie his tie in a single Windsor knot instead of the double, thereby saving up to forty-three seconds. His wristwatch thought the single Windsor made his neck look fat, but said nothing. - Kay Eiffel as the Narrator

Anarchists have a group?...They assemble?...Wouldn't that completely defeat the purpose? - Ana Pascal

What is wrong with you? Hey, I don't want to eat nothing but pancakes, I want to live! I mean, who in their right mind in a choice between pancakes and living chooses pancakes? - Harold Crick

Little did he know. That means there's something he doesn't know, which means there's something you don't know, did you know that? - Dr. Hilbert

caffeine got my tongue

i dont know exactly when or how it started but i suddenly became a coffee addict. what i know is that it started with me buying coffee in the mall. on which coffee shop, i cant remember. since then, i got hooked. again.

years ago i also got addicted to coffee but that was instant coffee. i remember that i would always buy them coffee packets and use 2-3 at a time. so im not really drinking a cup of coffee, i was drinking a mug of coffee. although i buy cold ones in coffee shops, most of the time, it was instant coffee. the reason the addiction didnt last long was because the caffeine gave me headaches (i think its the caffeine because the decaf ones dont bother me). and once the effect of the coffee wears off, i get extremely drowsy. also, the reason i drank coffee was because i needed something to keep me awake or at least keep me alert.

now, im addicted not to instant coffee but to "coffee shop" coffee. i usually order cappuccino because thats whats usually available. and i only order hot coffee, unlike before where i order cold drinks whenever i buy something from coffee shops. and i dont like instant coffee anymore because the reason i drink coffee now is because of the taste and not because i need something to keep me alert. and having tasted different coffees from different coffee shops, ive realized how inferior instant coffees are when it comes to taste.

i think its been a month now since i got addicted to coffee. of course i did my research on the harmful effects of drinking too much coffee so i try not to abuse or drink too much of it. besides, im prone to hyperacidity. i still get headaches but not as bad as before. i only have very mild ones which are really very slight discomforts. the drowy effects is still there though. once the effect of the coffee wears off, i become extremely sleepy. and whenever i wake up in the morning, i still feel the extreme drowsiness. not sure if my body will adapt to that (no longer feel drowsy after a few hours when the caffeine wears off). i hope it will but i sort of doubt it. not sure if it can be changed by mere state of mind. and im not sure if im going to stop drinking coffee in the next few weeks.

also, ive learned how to drink hot coffee, like learning how to eat sisig. since both of them are served hot, chances are, if the person is not careful, he or she will burn his or her tongue. in the case of sisig, it took some time before i learned how to eat it. since im the type who eats quickly, i get annoyed when i have to wait before i can put the food in my mouth. so i was a bit pissed with eating sisig because its one of my favorite dishes and i cant eat it right away. so, the trick with it is not eating it on the sizzling plate or not having the rice on the sizzling plate (because some serve sisig with the rice in the sizzling plate, so you dont only get a sizzling hot sisig, you also get a sizzling hot rice which takes some time to cool down). its common sensical but it took a lot of burnt tongue before i realized that. so i frequented only those places that serve sisig with rice not placed in the sizzling plate. as for coffee, i had to wait for a few minutes to let it cool down before placing the cover. because i started with drinking it through the cover right after i add the sugar. and with the cover on, you dont get to see the coffee and the next thing you know, youve sipped enough coffee to burn your tongue. thats irritating because it doesnt only affect drinking the coffee but the subsequent meals for the next few days. so although common sensical, it took me a few 2-3 coffees before i realized that i shouldnt cover my coffee right away after adding the sugar. i should let it cool down a bit and once i get the right temperature so i wont scald my tongue, thats when i replace the cover and thats when i start drinking it.

sometimes i give too much thought on things people dont even find significant. like the daily commute for example. commuting is a science as sitting is an art.

poor memory makes brilliant ideas go to waste.

i just hate it when the thought that im supposed to blog about just escapes me. ok. i dont think the phrase "escapes me" is that appropriate. and the statement doesnt seem to be that sound. anyway, i was already trying to sleep, since i went to bed early. then i just felt like i had to blog about this thought running in my head. so i got up, switched the PC on and when i was already connected to the internet, the thought was gone. by the time i was logged in my Blogger account, i couldnt even find a trace of that thought. i hate it when that happens. and it happens a lot. if only i could write the thoughts in my head the moment im really in the mood to write it, i could have written a lot more blog entries than what i just blogged last month (and i could have written the real blog entries i wanted to write since what i write most of the time are merely brainless articles that are devoid of value and significance. well, not completely. it still serves as a record of my thoughts but they really arent ideas or significant thoughts that has more worth than just mere memory aids). im thinking of buying a notepad and a pen so i could write it down whenever and wherever a thought strikes in my head. but i dont think that will happen. ive been meaning to have my right knee checked but its been months and well, im still clueless if there's something wrong with it.

finally! here's some cake

ive been trying to upload this video i made when i was...well, procrastinating. ive been trying to upload it for a week! the file size was too big so i had to convert it into different video formats. the smallest file size i had was in flash video format but unfortunately, video hosting sites do not support such format. and uploading it with the usual mpeg format was always unsuccessful probably because of the file size and my intermittent connection. well, big thanks to vimeo.com, which is really good in uploading videos with big file sizes, i was finally able to upload this video (i think i used a divx video format). well, its a song by cake (short skirt, long jacket) and then i added a bunch of desktop wallpapers. i was planning to upload the song on multiply when i thought, its a bit boring without watching anything. although its a nice song to listen to, i would like to see something or watch something with it. so i thought of adding some wallpapers. so there.



cake1 from anubz and Vimeo.

edit

i think i better edit my blog entries before i post them. just read the preceding entry and there are grammatical errors. sometime the thought changes in mid sentence and i dont read the sentence again in its entirety. so i end up with awkward sentences. ill edit someday. not tonight. i need to sleep and i have to force myself to be busy for the next few days to make-up for the lost time caused by the suspension of classes.

death

why are people scared of death? its a once in a lifetime experience and its probably the best thing that could happen to a person. i mean, we start dying the moment we are born. its just a question of when death will come for us. its never really a question of where or how. its always when. but people dont want to ask when. its always how or where or worst, why. why would you ask why? why would i want to think of death? why do i have to die? why are people scared of death? i just asked that. so why? is it because of the fear of not being part of the world of the living? is it because you're going to be detached from your loved ones? is it because you will cease to exist? is it because there might be nothing on the other side? is it merely fear of the unknown? my answer to that is, so what? whats so great about this world that people want to live long lives? we have global warming, crime, pollution and a million other stuff thats not really good to live with. why is life worth living? because of one's family, friends, and other loved ones? why do people hold on so much for their dear lives? because there's so much to experience in this world? the fear of the death might be caused of the pain it brings to the people left behind by the deceased. but if thats the root of the fear, then death is only painful to the living and not the dead. so the person thats going to die shouldnt be scared of it. but thats being insensitive to the people he or she will leave behind. and that couldnt be the only explanation for the fear that people have of death. but that might explain why some people can face death easily. the dying arent really the ones who's going to feel the full impact of death. its the living. if death truly means ceasing to exist, then the previous statement is true. why? the person's dead. how can he feel death? some people might fear death just because it detaches them from the world of the living. they think there's so many things they would like to do and people they would like to be with. death is an obstacle to those things and people. so they dont want death to come knocking yet. but most people dont realize these in their daily lives until death makes it presence felt in their minds. usually, death does this through doctors who can be seen as messengers of death. as messengers, they make approximations how far you are from death. if youre healthy, then youre as far as possible from death given that no accidents or other unusual circumstances happen. if youre sick, it depends on the illness. point is, death may pass the message to doctors to tell people that time is running out. people may fear and ignore death all they want but they cant deny the fact that death will come eventually. sometimes its a good thing to hear death through doctors. at least you get a head up. you prepare for the inevitable. accidents are just tragic and violent. anyway, as i was asking, whats with all this fear of death business? i think the current social norm is to keep death at bay as long as possible. ok, nothing wrong with that as long as we dont fear death.sometimes fearing something causes misconceptions and well, disrespect. i think its disrespectful to fear death. i mean, why dont we fear time? isnt time and death intertwined? like i said, its really a question of when. so its like death and time are good buddies only that time is a much bigger than death. its like death merely rides along time. death is dependent on time but not vice versa. time can exist without death. but death needs time to fulfill its purpose. so, why dont we fear time when time brings along death with it? is it because of the nature of death? its not time that ends life, its death. so we respect time but fear death just because it takes away thats merely given to us. be it religion or science, both fields agree that life is merely temporary. so why are people deeply bothered by the thought of death and they feel immensely bad or fear if death is near? theres a lot of factors of course but theres got to be a very good and convincing answer for this question. what is it? i dont know. it just so happens that i was reminded of this question a while ago. and i really think that death or knowing death, acknowledging it, respecting it, is much better than trying to push it away, keeping it at bay and being afraid of it.

i just hate this month

i hate august. just got called for nego again and wasnt able to answer. how nice. i wouldnt mind if i didnt study. problem was i did. crap. at least i was able to say something as opposed to the last time where my mind just went absolutely blank. the only thing flashing in my mind during that recitation was Cebu. but thats only the name of the case. how the crap can the word Cebu help me in my recitation. as for a while ago, i really couldnt recall the details of the case. all i had was a general idea, very general idea, of the case. that wont even lead me anywhere. and to make things worse, i cant understand where my recitation was heading. fucking crap. maybe its my blood illness acting up. its affecting my memory retention and retrieval. its slowing down my brain functions. ok, blame the illness. when i took the LAE interview a few years ago, i had a high fever. but did use it as an excuse? no. i still went to that interview even if i wasnt feeling well. i couldnt even stand the air-conditioning so i stayed outside the room while i was waiting for my turn. got waitlisted for that. i was stuttering during the interview and i had a hard time thinking. but that didnt stop me and i didnt blame my fever for getting waitlisted. so i wont blame the sucky recitation on my blood illness. besides, its only a probability. so am i blaming it on august instead? not really. but i am thinking that its not surprising that my recitations suck this month. august is the month that always gives me a hard time. not that my recitations are good but my recent recitations are the worst for this semester. and im kind of hoping that by the time august ends, i get to recite without my mind going blank or taking years for me to retrieve the answer in my head. and its not a self-fulfilling prophecy either. i dont think im going to have a sucky recit because its august. i just remind myself that its august after the stupid recitation. so its more of an afterthought really. and i dont condition my mind that just because its august mean im going to get sucky recits. i just tell myself that i should try harder and if that doesnt work, its august after all. so i do try to change things but well, sometimes, no matter how much i try, there are things that just wont change...yet.

Transformers in IMAX theaters!

The Transformers movie will be shown in IMAX theaters on September 21 with additional footage! Now, im not sure if it meant IMAX theaters worldwide or IMAX theaters including the one in SM Mall of Asia (the second IMAX theater is said to be being built on SM North Edsa, on what used to be SM North Annex Building, and is scheduled to be finished by 2008) but if it includes our local IMAX theater then im still going to see it (i hope i get to see it. i mean, there's such a thing as force majeure). Watching the Transformers movie on TV isn't the same as watching it in theaters (for me anyway). It might not be in 3D (since it never mentioned IMAX 3D. i used to think when a movie is shown in IMAX theaters, it meant the movie is in 3D. i was wrong) but at least it has additional footage. I was planning to watch the Transformers movie for one last time before they stopped showing it in cinemas but an old guy scared me before i even bought the ticket.

As for the Voltron movie, some might think its corny to make a movie out of it. It would probably look like a Power Rangers movie. Like Transformers, it may also be a robot movie but its a robot that...umm..well, "volts in". I mean, which is cooler, "transforming" robots or robots that "volt in"? Some said a Transformers movie was idiotic but they're not complaining now after they saw the movie. I get the point that the Voltron movie might turn out to be a lame idea but i just hope that it wont turn out to be something more of a Power Rangers movie with better special effects. It probably wont suck as some people think (i hope). i mean, i did love watching Bioman and Maskman when i was a kid. but that doesnt mean im going to like a Voltron movie made that way unless i wanted to see a comedy or a spoof of robot cartoons/tv series.i guess it depends on whether they can make the necessary changes (like the changes they made in the Transformers movie) or making a well-made film adaptation to make the Voltron movie really look good. wait, isnt that the point of everything, in making this movie? Anyway, there are also plans to make a Thundercats movie (not sure if this was given a go signal already, read this news a month ago, i think). I think this one wont be a live-action version but more of a CGI movie like the TMNT movie.


More info on Transformers in IMAX:
joblo.com
comingsoon.net

IMAX on SM North

suspension of classes

i dont know if its weird but lately, im not really happy when classes are suspended. like now, classes were suspended and i really didnt feel relieved or glad to hear the news. and theres also an announcement that classes are suspended again tomorrow. i see it more of as a bad news than good news. im hoping that were not covered by the suspension, but thats highly unlikely. i cant exactly say why i dont like these suspensions. one reason i can think of is the make-up classes we have to schedule in lieu of the missed classes. thats just it, the classes are merely suspended. it does not mean we wont have the same number of classes, it merely moves it to another date. so, in effect, it just disrupts the normal schedule. of course, a suspension of classes here and there would be nice because it can serve as a much needed break from the daily law classes. but i just dont like these "erratic" suspensions. besides, there are two holidays coming up. so there's a lot of "free" days to take a break. these suspensions are not whimsical of course. im being inconsiderate and very narrow-minded if i see these suspesions that way. there are legitimate reasons behind these suspensions and there are people that are badly in need of such because they are negatively affected by the weather. its just, im not really happy that classes are suspended. another reason is that, maybe i just dont like staying at home. i just need to be somewhere else, even getting stuck in the law library. i hope the law library is open tomorrow. i would go there no matter how strong the rains are. not that im being nerdy (although thats my aim this semester. one of our professor's got a point. if we dont develop good study habits now, there's no point continuing our law studies because its just bound to get harder. and i havent really exerted as much effort as other law students do), its just im more productive outside our house. its more enjoyable to be anywhere than our place. maybe im growing tired of our home.

comic books

the prices of comic books havent changed substantially. its still around P165. if i remember correctly, thats the price (somewhere around P165) of the marvel v dc comics i bought, i think, ten years ago.

i used to collect comic books, mostly marvel comics. im not much of a fan of DC comics. the only DC character i like is batman. as for marvel, ive always been a fan of the Xmen. not much of spiderman until the movies came out but by that time, ive stopped collecting comic books. why did i stop? well, because all of my collection vanished into thin air. ok, maybe not thin air. ok, not vanished too. my collection was borrowed from me and all of it werent returned. and from that point, i just felt that everything ive done, all those years of collecting, just went down the drain. i just lost interest in collecting comic books.

it wasnt cheap to collect comic books, even if i dont buy the expensive ones. i remember that my mother always accompanied me when i bought comic books. she was always patient with me when i bought these comic books because looking for the comic books i was collecting took some time. i had to rummage through stacks or bundles of comic books. usually, this was our last stop whenever we go to cubao before we headed home. i usually bought my comics from filbars ali mall (which is no longer there or no longer exist, the ali mall branch of filbars i mean) but sometimes my mother would tell me she saw some comic books on other stores with books sales and so we would go there. sometimes i find something i like, sometimes i dont. anyway, she sort of encouraged my comic book collecting. i remember that my mother always tells me to limit the number of comics i buy each time (maximum of five i think) and that my mother wouldnt allow me to buy any comic book more than a total P100.

in school, i had friends who also collected comic books. i remember sharing stories and i think trading comics with manuel and clemen. comic books were always one of the things we usually talk about and it also enticed us to draw. although it wasnt the comic books that made me interested in drawing, it encouraged me to make drawing as a hobby. but when i lost all of my comic book collection, i sort of stopped drawing too. i just lost interest in drawing because ive associated it with comic book characters. i stopped collecting because i felt that all the time and money spent went to waste.

i still pass by comic book stores, checking what ive missed over the years. im not sure if ill ever collect comic books again. i feel im already out of touch with the recent developments in the comic book industry and its a bit of a hassle to update myself or adjust to the changes.

portalets and urinals

the first time ive used a portalet is when my brother took the UPCAT. i wouldnt want to use it at first but since all the restrooms in buildings are inaccessible i had no choice. i really had to take a piss. after i used it, it wasnt that bad but its wasnt good either. and when my sister also felt that she had to use the restroom an hour later, i felt that the portalet wont do so i accompanied her to kalayaan hall. why didnt i think of that earlier? well, it was easier to convince the guard since she's a girl as opposed to a guy since i thnk the lady guard would have been hesitant to let me use kalayaan hall's restroom. but thats merely an assumption. and since the topic is about the portalet and taking a leak, might as well talk about the first time i used MMDA's pink urinals. it was three years ago, and i was out with some of my blockmates (i think it was nikki, jen and mark) and just came from angelo's party at his place. while nikki was driving us to go to where she will drop us, i just had this need to take a leak and told nikki i really had to go. i wont be able to hold it very long. so when i saw the pink urinal at the side of the road, i was just so glad that MMDA had these things. i told nikki to stop by the urinal and there i relieved myself. they were laughing when i came back because i really couldnt hold it and really had to go. its not really a good place to take a piss but well, its still very useful and convenient when you really have to take a leak.

but it seems that the MMDA has neglected these urinals recently. so, they're more unsanitary than before, and the awful stench of urine is unbearable for passers-by. given this current condition, well, if the need to use them arises, might go for the wall than the pink urinals.

movies im going to see

Another live-action robot movie:

after transformers, the next cartoon robot that will be made into a live-action film is...voltron! remember the intro? if you dont, its posted below (cant find a copy of the voltron theme). so will this be as awesome as the transformers movie? well, we cant tell yet but if they make the voltron robot as realistic as the transformers and the fight sequences as spectacular as the battle between the autobots and decepticons, then this movie could be as good, hopefully better. and good thing they chose the lion force over the vehicle voltron (not sure what this other voltron is called). but it would be nice if the vehicle voltron could make a cameo.

more info on Voltron movie on joblo.com:
http://www.joblo.com/voltron-joining-forces


two new marvel heroes hitting the big screen: Iron Man and Thor

ok, the Iron Man movie has already been in production for some time now, so its not really new. but there is a new cool pic of the live-action version of IronMan said to be based from a comic book cover. the Iron Man armor looks great. the movie is scheduled to be released May next year (USA, not sure for Philippines. If its considered as a blockbuster like Spiderman, the Philippines would have an earlier release date.im still waiting for Adam Sandler's Reign Over Me which was released in the US last March 23. no idea if this movie will be released here). the other marvel movie to be released next year is The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton as Bruce Banner and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross. not sure if Norton is really Bruce Banner material. this casting reminds me of Nicolas Cage as Johhny Blaze.

here's the link of the cool Iron Man pose:
http://www.joblo.com/new-iron-man-pic

the other new marvel hero to be made into a live-action flick is Thor, the Norse God of thunder and war which will be directed by Matthew Vaughn (never heard this guy before but he directed Layer Cake and Stardust, and i havent seen both). this one scheduled to be released on 2009 and im not sure which other marvel movie this one is paired with (since it was announced that there will be two marvel movies each year. forgot where i read this or got this idea. maybe it will be paired with Magneto which is also set to be released on 2009). i wonder if there are plans to make a Dirk Gently movie, another book by Douglas Adams (the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is a book said to be the most useful and reliable book in the universe). Thor was one of the characters on the second Dirk Gently book.

more Thor info:
http://www.joblo.com/vaughn-takes-thor
http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20070810/en_industry_eo/b9372a87_b4254019_afb0_66957e536f95

lets talk about restrooms

i noticed that some female students in malcolm use the male's restroom. why? because the set-up in the building is, for all three floors, all the male restrooms are on one side while the female restrooms are on the other side. so if one unfortunately ends up on the opposite side of the appropriate restroom, you have to walk a considerable distance just to answer the call of nature and then walk that same considerable distance again just to get back to the room. not really convenient. thats why some female students who end up on the "wrong" side of the building use the male restrooms, specifically, the one for male faculty members. well, i dont think guys have a problem with girls using our restrooms. we dont really get scandalized when we enter the restroom and see a girl in there. actually, its the opposite, its the girl thats alarmed when the guy sees her use the guy's restroom, as if she was caught red-handed, and a bit embarassed to have been caught. she looked as if she wasnt expecting a guy walk in. i forgot to mention, the male faculty restroom is an enclosed cubicle, so that theres no way of knowing if someone's in there if the door is closed. so, its really "safe" for girls to use the guy's restroom. they dont have to worry about perverts since the only way a pervert could see the girl using the restroom is if she forgets to close the door which is highly unlikely, if not impossible, or if a guy climbs on the sink and look over the wall (and that would be a sure indication the guy is pervert because he would have to go great lengths for a useless peek). so guy restrooms could actually be unisex restrooms as long as theyre not only urinals. i mean, having cubicles is enough. and i dont think a guy would peek or force himself in a cubicle. the only thing people have to worry about is using the restrooms for other purposes which is one good reason why men and women should have separate restrooms. but thats really concerns horny people and not people who have legitimate reasons to use restrooms. well, if guy restrooms can be considered as unisex restrooms, the other way around doesnt really follow. guys cant use girls restrooms with ease compared to girls using guy restrooms. why? if girls are scandalized of being seen using the guy restroom, they are more scandalized to see a guy in their restroom. if guys would just ignore the girl and pretend as if he never saw a girl in the restroom, the girl most likely would react differenty. the guy would be lucky to receive just a frown or a look of disapproval. well, thats merely an assumption. havent seen a guy use a girl restroom before, and not sure if anyone had dared. but then again, its more dangerous for a girl to hold it in compared to guys so it could mean that since girls have more pressing needs to use the restroom they have more of an excuse to use guy restrooms than guys using girl restrooms

sale

what's worse than malls on a weekend? malls having their three day sale! i dont like it when malls are crowded. thats why i prefer to go to malls on a weekday when there's a lot of space to walk through. and if possible during work hours or before people get out of work or students out of school. i get irritated when malls are filled with people because its really uncomfortable and really unenjoyable. well, maybe because i dont go there to buy stuff. i go there most of the time to just look around or watch a movie.

anyway, malls having some sort of mall-wide sale is like one of the worst mall experiences i could possibly have. fine, the prices of products are cut down, theyre cheaper, more affordable but in return you have to go and make your way through a sea of people and try to get the best finds before others do. its really a challenge to buyers. so weighing the two, discomfort and saving money, discomfort is really a small price to pay. but i dont go to malls to buy anything! so, all i get is discomfort because i just went there to eat or see movie (because theres no point of looking around since in order to do so, i would have to engage in some pushing and shoving just to enter a stall).

so next time i would take note when malls would be conducting their sale so i wouldnt make the mistake again of going there while theyre doing a mall-wide sale.

NIGS

ive only been to NIGS twice. the second time was when my brother took the UPCAT. the first time was when we were waiting for topet datu.

during that time, well, earlier, meaning before i ended up at NIGS, i received a text message from carmin whether im free to go out that afternoon. replying yes, jam, carmin and mico fetched me at my house and the three of us went to UP to wait for topet because he had a class until, if i remember correctly, 6pm. while waiting we ate some isaw and quail egg fritters. i also recall buying my constitutional law book by cruz at rex bookstore shopping center. when the time came to meet topet, he told us to go to NIGS. none of us knew where it was but well, we figured it out eventually. after that, we went to topet's place and just hung out til, cant recall exaclty, maybe 2am. it was during that time that i learned later that lani was trying to contact me.

anyway point is, going out with my svs classmates on that day became useful because i learned where NIGS was and knowing where NIGS was made it easy for us to go to my brother's exam site. we didnt have to go through the hassle of looking for it or getting stuck in traffic in the academic oval. never in my stay in UP did NIGS crop up except for that single instance. of course, someone could give me instructions and tell me its near the math building but its still not the same as actually knowing and having been on the place. i think this is an example where what appeared to be an insignificant detail back then could become something significant or useful in later years. i wouldnt have thought i would be at NIGS again or would have a need to know where it is. some would argue of course that im giving too much meaning on something thats really meaningless. true but i think its an established fact that where knowing NIGS has proved to be convenient and that if i didnt take note of it back then, then we could have had a harder time getting there.

UPCAT memories

my family accompanied my brother when he took his UPCAT last sunday. we were already up around 5am. we stopped by jollibee to get some "take-out" breakfast. i waited in the van while my family ordered breakfast. while in the van, i noticed the busy scene in front me. it was 5am or a little past 5am but the UP-philcoa jeepneys were easily filled (it looked like the UP-Philcoa jeeps were having a field day...or morning since the moment it strikes 630am, there wont be much people going to UP. they would have to wait until its time for the afternoon exam takers to arrive) and jollibee philcoa had vehicles with their hazard lights flashing (like mine, meaning they were also ordering breakfast and would eat it at the test site).

usually, the students that would take the exam were accompanied by their parents or by their families, like my brother. it seemed to me its some sort of family affair. it does look like that having someone take the UPCAT is a very big thing. i never saw it that way. when i took the UPCAT, it was just an entrance exam. it never dawned on me that my future was at stake or something like that. i wanted to pass the UPCAT because it was the university i liked most among the four (UP, Ateneo, La Salle and UST). if im going to go to college, i would have wanted to go to UP. when i saw the busy scene at Philcoa, the fuss people were making out of it and the look of concern not only on the exam takers but also on the parents, i never thought of it to be that significant. it seemed to me that the UPCAT mattered more than i thought it was eight years ago. if i have been more concerned and realized its importance, would it have made a difference? well, i still might not pass but it would have depressed me. so, i guess i was better off not knowing the gravity of the UPCAT back then. i mean, when i learned that i didnt pass the UPCAT, i easily shrugged it off. it wasnt the first time i failed. i didnt pass the entrance exam for UPIS and i wasnt picked to take the exam for UP elementary (not sure if its called UP elementary). and i thought, i could go to UST instead. well, i failed UST too. so i ended up in Ateneo, which wasnt really bad. its a good university but im still very hesitant to call myself an atenean. not that its something to be ashamed of, on the contrary, its something to be proud of but it just so happens that i feel its doesnt fit me. its like some shirt youre not comfortable wearing.

going back to the UPCAT. well, my brother took the exam at NIGS. i took it at the Math building. how nice, my favorite subject (insert sarsastic tone here). i remember listening to Sixpence None the Richer the night before the exam. so whenever i remember the time i took the UPCAT, i also remember Sixpence None the Richer. if i remember correctly, i took the UPCAT on August 07, 1999. if i remember correctly, we rode a taxi driven by a former driver of my uncle. what a coincidence (not sarcastic tone here, it really was a coincidence).

Ear gear

ten years ago, when you see someone wearing an earphone, he or she looked cool because it meant he or she has a walkman. if i remember correctly, the concept of a portable cassette player was an innovation of sony and the walkman became a popular term for such kind of device. i got my first sony walkman around 1994 and the first cassette i played on it was The Lion King OST. i think i got both for my birthday. but im digressing because thats not what the entry is about.

ten years ago, seeing someone with an earphone wasnt very common as compared today where it seems everywhere you look someone's wearing an earphone. and a few years back, two to three years ago, when wearing earphones isnt as common as today, people would think you have an Ipod. because of the Ipod's success, cellphones improved their built-in mp3 players and different mp3 players emerged. so now, when someone's wearing an earphone, you cant tell if he or she has an Ipod or some cheap mp3 player like mine which i bought in Quiapo two years ago (and still in good condition. its got a lot of scratches but still plays fine).

whats the point of this entry? well, i just noticed that wearing earphones has become so common, something i didnt imagine happening four years ago. most likely this fad was introduced by the Ipod and further popularized with the mp3 players that followed (im still not getting to the point, might get there because im not really sure whats my point, let me just write a bit more and maybe i might hit my point and purpose of this entry). it seems the earphone has become an accessory of sorts like the cellphone (something i didnt imagine happening when i was in highschool or to be more specific until the latter part of my senior year in highschool). i mean, you cant use your mp3 player without the earphones and the earphone isnt really something thats part of the mp3 player. its a separate gadget or instrument. im not sure if people have realized that being a separate gadget, simply having a good mp3 player isnt enough, one also has to have a good set of earphones. sometimes its the earphones that improves the quality of the mp3 player. actually, or most likely, it really depends on the earphone to produce the good sound quality of the player. if you have an Ipod and you have a lame-ass set of earphones with poor sound quality, the Ipod wont be able to do anything about it. thats common sense. but my point is, the earphones is or should be the focus of the fad now and not the mp3 players (ah, ok, im getting warmer). some people would argue that earphone wearing is due to the mp3 fad introduced by the Ipod. thats true but now, i think the focus should shift on the earphones because wearing earphones is no longer an indication of whether a person has an ipod (like the previous notion ten years ago of somone owning a walkman, but then again, the walkman has become a generic term for portable cassette players, like the discman which didnt really have the same level of popularity compared to the walkman and Ipod). and its the earphones that really matter because its the one that improves the sound quality of the player.

so i guess, its time that the earphones or the makers of earphones make some sort of leap and capitalize on the fad. i mean, you dont see advertisements of earphones, you only see mp3 players or cellphones with better mp3 players. and when you see the earphones they're using on their players in their commercials, you're not sure if they are available as a separate unit.

why do i want this happen? well, because whenever i go to malls, there's a very limited selection of earphones. ive been a philips earphone user since 1996. and now i know why. because its the best earphone brand thats usually available. its either you buy the philips earphone or some poor quality ones (and ive tried them cheap ones for my discman, and its not worth it. aside from the poor quality, they dont last very long). i have no problem with philips earphones. they're expensive compared to the other earphones but its the most affordable ones among the best brands. and its durable and it really has good sound quality. and its the brand that offers the most extensive selection of earphones (in the malls ive been to anyway). they have earphones, headphones and canalphones (not sure if they call it canalphones). though i have nothing against philips earphones but i would like to have a wider selection and be able to choose from different brands. i would like to have another set of earphones thats not philips for a change. ive seen some sony earphones but im not sure if it has better sound quality than philips. there's sennheiser which is said to be better than philips but the selection available is very limited and its very expensive. point is, even if its common to see people wearing earphones, there's really not much information about earphones and their sound quality and durability. advertisements about it could help me find and choose a good set of earphones or at least entice me to buy it making it easier for me to decide. its hard to just read whats indicated at the back of the product. the best information you could possibly get is a recommendation from a person using it and the better recommendation would come from a person who has used different brands and different earphone styles (and of course knows what he's talking about). because using earphones is not only about sound quality but comfort. sometimes style matters but with the limited information around, i wouldnt think about it very much until im guaranteed of the sound quality and comfort.

on the earphone's stylishness, the way i see it, its possible to re-introduce earphones as something similar to the way nokia introduced its 3210 with its changeable cover or casing. earphones can come in different colors and styles. i mean, it seems to me wearing earphones has reached the status of being a daily accessory and could be stylish and fashionable too the way cellphones are. well, thats disregarding the mp3 players, but like i said, or in my opinion, the player dont mean much without a good set of earphones.

so now whats the point. well, i dont know exactly. i just made a round-about way of saying that i just noticed a lot of people use earphones but there isnt much information and kinds available to maximize the listening pleasure to get the most out of the mp3 players we use. earphones arent regarded much as a separate product but still thought of as an accessory for mp3 players. i see it differently. i see earphones having the same importance and of equal status to mp3 players. it should be treated as a product separate and distinct from mp3 players and that it should be adverstised and sold the same way as mp3 players or other gadgets.

over the years, people dont seem to give much notice to the changes and improvements it underwent. mostly, its the sound quality that usually matters but it has underwent changes not only on its comfortability and ease of use but also stylishness. the earphones though it seems to look the same way it did years ago isnt really exactly the same. the earphones now are much more comfortable and easier to wear (although im not satisfied yet with the current accomplishments, like the neck strap, or the one which has some sort of clip so that it wont easily slide off one's ear for persons with active lifestyles...doesnt look comfy to use though). then there's the pull-relief system so the cable or wire wont easily wear out or be easily damaged. then there's the shift from the old-fashioned headphone which you wear like the headphones that come with the sony walkman which is over the head, to the headphones worn behind the head. but even with those accomplishments, im still expecting further changes. changes that would make earphones easier to wear and more comfortable for longer usage. some people wear it beneath their shirts and let the earhphones hang over their shoulders when theyre not using it. i think they do this so that the wires wont get tangled while theyre moving around. im not contented with having to wear the earphones underneath the shirt and i cant think of any possible way to solve this problem. so if sort of expecting that if earphones are given more focus, more improvements would be done and it would be more available and a wider selection could be offered. like earphones with personality or more attuned to different lifestyles.

the simpsons in 2D!

i saw The Simpsons Movie last wednesday, 10:30am, at SM North, the Block. well, its not as mind-blowing as Transformers but it never claimed to be such a movie, so i guess there wasnt that much of an expectation. is it good? well, yes in a sense that its a very funny movie and still sticks to its classic simpsons humor with homer packing the best laughs. but its not very different from what we see on the tv series. like i said to my blockmates who've asked me about it, its like a longer simpsons episode (a one hour and a half episode). nothing out of the ordinary. it never claimed (i think) that the movie's got something that's never been seen on tv. its in 2D after all and it was a good move because having The Simpsons in 3D just isnt the same or having a live-action one. So as a movie adaptation of a cartoon tv series, The Simpsons isnt bad. come to think of it, i dont think there's been such a movie recently (cartoon tv series into a cartoon movie. usually these are animes like DragonBall Z or Ghost Fighter). Besides, people would want to watch this movie to get a good laugh and well, this movie managed to do that. though some people might feel that the simpsons humor has gone stale over the years, some people still find the silliness of homer and the crazy town of springfield as a laugh out loud type of comedy. so if you are one of those people who never get tired of seeing homer and his expression of his amusing level of intellect and comprehension, with his ever loyal wife (marge) and diverse set of children (bart, lisa and maggie) and watch them confront different sets of interesting situations, this movie is worth watching. but its still no Transformers. that movie is just awesome.

book seven spoiler...not!

just remembered the silly joke lessons from"Borat". this shirt is black...not! anyway just felt like posting an email excerpt i sent last night to the tomadores egroup regarding book seven:

here's the ending: megatron joined forces with voldemort because it was revealed that the source of the magical powers of the wizards and witches was the all-spark of cybertron. with the autobots destroyed, megatron knew these wizards and witches were a threat. it was also revealed that ron and hermione were actually harry potter's parents, james and lily. they were taking polyjuice potion all these years to guard harry. this angered harry so he killed everyone then committed suicide because he realized everything he knew was a lie (how did he kill everyone? well, i wont spoil that one, just read it yourself, you can buy it for P1305 on some bookstores, some sell it for P1450). but what harry didnt know was that voldemort watched dragonball while he was awaiting full recovery and learned how to produce a child by way of an egg and did so before harry killed everyone. so, the magic continues. this is why there wont be a book eight because all of them died. as for the egg, rowling might make a new series out of it. it wasnt revealed what the egg contains or whether voldemort was successful in this alien method of reproduction (since voldemort isnt an alien he used one of his nuts as an egg to bear his child. gross i know, but hey, rowling wanted to be bold on this last book. she's really vulgar this time. here, harry called bellatrix lestrange you-know-who's whore that sucks a lot of you-know-whats and get its in her you-know-where). it was also revealed that something was up Snape's ass thats why he's always grumpy and for some reason, harry's scar made him aware of it, hence Snape's mean attitude toward potter. i think snape had a lightning bolt scar in his ass that causes him great pain whenever he's near harry.

i wonder if potter fans would be offended with what i wrote? i mean, it is possible there are those fans who worship the books and the characters to the point anything written that's defamatory or slanderous would want to kill me on sight. im a fan too, obviously, based from the entries below but cmon, lighten up.

another one of them harry potter entries

ive finally completed the seven Harry Potter books! completed them last saturday but finished reading book seven this afternoon, sunday, 1:43pm. still having a bit of some kind of "withdrawal syndrome" since finishing book seven meant no more harry potter books to look forward to. that harry potter's story has come to an end. anyway, the past two weeks had been a bit interesting because i finished 3 potter books in this 2 weeks and watched the fifth movie twice. and thats not because of being some "potterhead". it just so happened that i had to read book 5 first before seeing the movie, so i finished it around 3am of july 11, hours before the movie was released (started reading it around july 9, but ive read the first half already months earlier so, technically, its 2 potter books and a half, since i was halfway through and i dont know why i stopped reading months before). and after seeing the movie last july 11 around 2:30pm, having an unread book 6 (a gift from college blockmates), i decided to read it just because my liking for the series was restored. it took me a couple of days to read it and finished it on july 15, 12:47am. after a week, went to see the fifth movie again with my siblings, which coincided with the day the seventh book was released. i was tempted to buy it, which i did and read it that night. finished the book the following day at 1:43pm. i usually read the books in one sitting (books 5 and 6 were exceptions and a bit of book 7 since i had to sleep a little...read until 4am, continued around 9am). if i was in my old and real "harry potter fan" mode, i would have indulged more (looked for potter merchandise and goodies in malls, spent hours on the net for harry potter stuff, probably rented DVDs of the earlier movies). but i cant do that now im in law school, there's really no time to waste. and i thought that i might have outgrown it. well, i have but only a little bit.

focusing on book seven, The Deathly Hallows is really brilliant. its a good final installment. its really filled with what most readers probably hoped for. though there are questions that remain unanswered, they're really minor stuff (really minor) and another book would never be needed to fill these things in (i dont even think the questions are enough to make a book out of it). i was hoping that the book could have been longer but its length is good enough that it doesnt appear to be something condensed. i would have wanted 300 pages more and a longer (because i didnt want it to end) and a more encompassing epilogue but thats asking too much and might ruin the fact that its the last book. i mean, JK Rowling cant answer everything for the readers or fill everything in. somehow, i think, that a sense of longing should remain to intensify the impact of the final installment but at the same time wont disappoint the readers for leaving out too much stuff that could make it insufficient to bring things to a close. book seven is much different from the first 6 because it really doesnt take place in Hogwarts and i think this is the most action-filled, also character-filled (in terms of significant roles), of all the books. the book doesnt also fail to take into consideration the necessary details. though there was a portion that got a bit monotonous, the book remained to be an enjoyable read all through out.

after finishing it, i sort of experienced some sort of "withdrawal syndrome" right after (still experiencing a bit of it now). after all these years, ive finally completed it. now what? its always been a problem when collecting stuff that are...well, easy to collect or something thats limited. it took years to finally get to book seven and now that im done reading it, and once the thought that the story has ended has sunk in and no more stories of potter and his friends to eagerly look forward to, its just a bit hard to really think that you finally need to say goodbye to the characters and their magical world. ive never been much of a "fanstasy" reader, always had been someone to go for "sci-fi" books, harry potter was one of the exceptions (i like Studio Ghibli films..but then again, thats not a book). back then, i didnt expect i was going to like such a book, and ive never really heard about it until i got book 2 of the series as a gift years ago, most likely christmas of 2000, if not the year earlier. and from there i got hooked and after all these years, its has come to an end. well, there's always reading all seven books again, but thats not the same as reading a new installment. there's two more movies but after the fifth one, i just hope David Yates makes a film close to the 3rd or 4th for The Half-Blood Prince (i know people liked what Yates did but unfortunately, im not a fan of the fifth movie or maybe i had high expectations after the 4th movie). and whoever is going to direct the seventh and final Harry Potter film, he or she better make it as the best of all the Potter films. demanding git aint i?

potter-filled saturday

it was saturday and i was planning to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix...again. though i didnt really like it (compared to the other harry potter movies), i watched it again because ive always seen the harry potter movies with my siblings. and since i always accompany them to watch movies, i watched the fifth potter movie again. anyway, i woke up around 8am and told my siblings we were going to leave around 9am, thinking that there might still be long lines for movie tickets for such film so we had to be there early (also, recently, ive always watched movies on its early screenings for the day, if not the first). i know its been more than a week since the movie was released so there might be no lines but i based my assumption for the possibility of long lines after seeing the IMAX cinema on MoA has already sold out tickets for the second weekend. anyway, while waiting for my siblings to get ready, i picked up the Inquirer and read that the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was going to come out that same day, 7:01am. i was a bit surprised. i knew it was end of july but i didnt know the exact date and time. i realized i havent been much of a fan of the book lately. anyway, we reached Trinoma a little past 9:30am and since book seven was released hours earlier, Power Books was already open and there i had my first glimpse of the last installment of the Harry Potter series. at that time, i had no plans of buying one since i wasnt expecting it to be available already nor had i the money to buy it. the plan for the day was watch the movie.

10am came, and there wasnt much a line on the ticket booth (though the long line started after lunch, so my assumption is a bit correct and being early wasnt much of a waste). after watching it, my siblings had the same sentiment, it wasnt as good as the previous ones and probably their least favorite of the five harry potter films. they never read the books and they said they never really understood what was going on. this confirmed what i thought previously, that non-readers wont be able to digest what's happening. the scene transitions are a bit disjointed and its really hard to follow where the movie is going (like ive said before, its like a 2 hour extended trailer). but i did enjoy it more the second time i saw the movie. this is probably because of lowered expectations. so now, i could say, the movie wasnt that bad but its still my least favorite harry potter film. but book 5 is much better than book 1 and 2 (havent decided yet which i liked most among books 3, 4 and 5). after seeing the movie, we went to National Bookstore and saw more of them Harry Potter books. i just felt i had to buy it. i was thinking if not now, when? i didnt buy book 5 immediately and at that moment i still didnt have book 5 and there's book 7 right in front me which completes the Harry Potter series. i wont be able to stand hearing other people telling that they've read book 7. and i hate hearing and reading spoilers (though i am someone who writes and tells spoilers, but i do warn people). anyway, after minutes of contemplation, i decided im going to buy the book and since i didnt have money for it (because i didnt really plan on buying the book for i didnt know its exact release date so i wasnt able to save up for it), i borrowed some money from my sister. we bought the one being sold in National Bookstore Trinoma (because we found out that the prices werent the same: NBS Trinoma and Fully Booked: P1305; Power Books and NBS SM North: P1450...i think). Then when we got to NBS SM North, we found that Book 5 (Order of the Phoenix) was available, and there, again, i started to do some thinking whether to buy it too or not (its been very hard to buy one since whenever i had the money to buy it, it was always out of stock, and has always been, most of the time out of stock, so at the moment i was thinking its like a "now or never" situation). Eventually, i decided i had to buy it to complete my collection of the seven Harry Potter books. again, borrowed money from my sister and also my brother, because it was really an unplanned thing to buy the books. Book5 was only available in NBS SM North and Fully Booked and NBS was much cheaper (NBS SM North:P849, Fully Booked: P1300 plus). so thats my harry potter filled saturday.

what is beautiful?

what is beautiful? well, beautiful is defined as having qualities that delight the senses, especially the sense of sight. if that's the definition, then its something that is visually wonderful.

what then is gorgeous? Gorgeous is defined as "dazzlingly beautiful or magnificent".

so, why the crap am i defining these words? well, obviously because i want to post some pics which are good examples of such words. who then could be an example of these two words? well, im thinking of the "world's most beautiful news reporter" (as voted in 2006 in the Daily Express), Melissa Theuriau as the perfect example...at this moment. just look at her pic below to see an example of what is beautiful and gorgeous.

so, is this also good example of res ipsa loquitur as a literal translation, without referring to the doctrine to which its legal term connotes? i mean, the latin maxim is used in Tort law and obviously there is no negligence involved here, but only a picture of a very wonderful looking female of the human species. point is, the latin phrase means "the thing speaks for itself". why the hell did i resort to using the latin maxim when i could have just said the literal english translation? well, not because it has something to do with being a law student. its far from that. the reason is not even law related. its more of a "subliminal message" for future purposes. so if ever i read this entry again after lets say...ummm...3 years or 5 years, remember, res ipse loquitur.

anyway, the people in France (meaning those who get to watch her) are very goddamn lucky to have such a reporter that has the word "beautiful" as her perfect description. Watching the news must be a wonderful experience for them. unfortunately, there isnt much pics of her that's available for people who couldnt watch her on tv (like me!). well, there are vid caps of her while she's doing the news. and also there's YouTube. but that's not the same as seeing her on your own TV and knowing that she's the one reporting your news ( i mean, there's YouTube but you cant understand what she's saying. but French is a nice sounding language). from the word beautiful, lets move to the word "hot"? why? obviously, im not done yet with posting pics of beautiful girls. or pics of hot celebs. i mean, the words "beautiful" and "hot" are two separate and distinct words. the word "sexy" also has a different meaning. anyway, what is "hot"? do i still need to define it? lets just go directly to the pics that serve as good examples. at this moment, a good example of a sizzling hot celeb is Transformers movie hottie, Megan Fox. ive noticed her in the movie "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and its nice to see she's hotter now than she was back then. and its nice that she didnt end up like lindsay lohan.

height is might. yeah right

being tall isnt always good. the stuff and environment we have isnt really "height friendly" or at least "tall friendly" (if there could be such a thing). i remembered this thought because i boarded a tricycle two days ago where i hit my left knee on the tricycles cd player (which is a cd-rom drive). and ive mentioned this in this blog before, its really uncomfortable to ride in a tricycle because i always hit my head while its running on bumpy roads. thats understandable because tricycles arent usually designed to accomodate 6 foot tall people. the same thing is true for jeepneys where ive learned to bow my head whenever there's a road hump. its become an automatic thing, a reflex of sorts. its also hard to ride in front because most of the time, my legs would fit perfectly, with no more room to really move my legs. sometimes, my legs wont even fit, so i have to lean a little to the side. and as for riding "sabit" on the jeepney's estribo, thats also hard because i have to bend more. its a "back-achin" experience. but even if that's the case i still like to commute. i enjoy it, and regard it as something like a science, where i calculate and approximate the time needed to reach the point of destination.

going back to a non-height friendly environment, back then, when i wasnt used to the height ive reached, i always hit my head. be it a sign post, a pipe, a doorway, etc. also, i felt a bit paranoid because whenever i go to malls or crowded places, people always look at me. why? because i stand out. not that they were amazed or watching me or something. its just that, its easy to see a tall guy among people of average heights. its like the "sticking out like a sore thumb" thing. good thing that through the years, the number of tall people have increased compared to the late 90s. i mean, people from lower batches in school are taller than the older batches. this isnt fact of couse but just mere observation where i noticed in school that more tall people come from the younger generations. so is this like an evolutionary thing? like, in the next few years the average height has increased? well, i dont care that much. im not one of those who really think tallness matters a lot. or tallness is some sort of superiority. to a certain and limited extent it is, but it does not follow its better to be tall. there are some perks and advantages but there are disadvantages as well, like what i said in this entry. the environment we have is not "height friendly". also, they say tall people have lower life spans. ok, add that to the fact that im left-handed which also lowers the life span and also is a problem because the environment is also not lefty friendly. going back to the height thing, sometimes i forget that im tall and what makes me realize it is the adjusting i have to do to the environment we live in. but some would probably say, the disadvantages are minor things, as opposed to the advantages. what exactly are the advantages? well, if that's true, maybe i just complain a lot.

alcohol...nuff said

To alcohol...the CAUSE...and SOLUTION...to all of life's problems
--- Homer Jay Simpson

Alcohol only causes problems if you dont know how to drink. anyway, a friend once said to me, what's the point of drinking if you wont get intoxicated. it runs against the purpose of drinking alcohol when you will not drink to the point of intoxication. another friend also said that one bottle of beer is bad for your health, implying that a person should drink at least two. others say that a person should not drink alone, unless one is watching tv or to quench a thirst while eating something. point is, alcohol is not meant to be drank alone or its meant to be enjoyed. if one drinks just to drown one's sorrows or problems, then at least have some company to enjoy it with.

why do i drink? well, because i enjoy it. and i only drink when im not worried or bothered by something. but if i am burdened by something, i make sure i drink not because of such. why? because i might get used to the idea that i should drink whenever i have problems, and knowing myself, i have the tendency to abuse or indulge in stuff, like alcohol. so, i always make sure that whenever i drink, its because i want to enjoy its intoxicating effect, and most of the time, i enjoy it in the company of good friends.

focusing on the intoxication part, aside from the fact that it loosens up a person, it has this "mind clearing" effect on me. usually, my mind is cluttered with stuff and thats why i easily get confused. im always thinking of a lot of a things, including non-sensical ones (or maybe usually non-sensical ones). but once i get intoxicated, i start to think only of what's right in front of me and nothing else. i dont worry or think about anything else except what im doing at the moment. i more focused on the conversations and interactions i have during drinking sessions. my mind isnt elsewhere as it usually is, its right where it should be, attention focused on the people im drinking with. so, some people might say im a "better" person when drinking. i worry less, my mind doesnt fly to some other place and well, i talk. actually, thats why i talk, my mind isnt occupied.

wallpaper addict

one thing i like to do on my spare time is collect desktop wallpapers. why? i dont know, i just like to collect them. i even remember my very first desktop wallpaper. the moment we had our very own PC (which was back in 1998), i knew what my desktop background would be. it was the skull picture i saw on my cousin's PC. it was just a small skull image probably not more than 25kb. so i grabbed a diskette, copied it, and loaded it on my PC. then i tiled it as my desktop background. anyway, that's not the reason why i started collecting desktop wallpapers. i dont recall when i exactly started but it was sometime during college. and the wallpaper software i use is webshots. i think this has been the wallpaper software ive used way back in highschool (cant recall exactly). i think it was because of webshots i started collecting desktop wallpapers because its website offers a lot of good nature and scenic wallpapers. these were the wallpapers i started collecting. over time, i started to look for other wallpapers, based on my varying interest. and over time, i focused less on nature and scenic wallpapers (ive lost the early ones because my PC crashed) and moved to movie wallpapers, and then moved to hot celebrities (females of course). and at this moment, i have 7286 wallpapers and counting! ok. what the crap am i going to do with thousands of wallpapers? nothing except look at it (the desktop wallpaper automatically changes every 15 mins and could be used as a screensaver). i mean, its a wallpaper after all. maybe start a wallpaper site or something? i dont know. maybe i just have this thing for collecting stuff. when i was a kid, i used to collect cards and comic books. why did i stop collecting comic books? tragic thing actually. lost the entire collection, sometime during my sophomore year in highschool. its really something that pisses me off until now. from comic books, i started collecting skull figurines and other merchandise. it wasnt much of a collection compared to my comic books but its still a form of collecting. from there, i tried collecting pins, but that didnt kick off. so i settled with collecting wallpapers. aside from its free and easy, i really like to look at desktop wallpapers sometimes. its like appreciating a nice picture, especially when its a picture of a sizzling hot and uber sexy celebrity.

7286 wallpapers:

5209 sexy celeb wallpapers (giselle bundchen - 99, jennifer lamiraqui - 110, jessica alba - 105, kelly brook - 105, liv tyler - 108, monica belluci - 95)
1117 movie wallpapers (ghost rider - 30, xmen - 35, LOTR - 38, underworld - 37, spiderman - 32
255 3D wallpapers
249 anime wallpapers (Full Metal Alchemist - 51, Samurai X - 65)
176 music wallpapers (beatles - 16, metallica - 17
97 nature wallpapers
36 automobile wallpapers
32 tv show wallpapers

the future of movies/film?

now that they can make a transformers movie that's so realistic with such amazing special effects and sound effects, what's next for the movie/film industry? i mean, it started with silent films, then moved to films with sound, then from black and white, then came films in color.

animation now comes in 3D format. and with the recent transformers movie, the level of special effects was astonishing. but that made me think, what could be the next best thing? i mean, what more do cinemas have to offer aside from what it has accomplished right now. not that im not happy with it, im actually excited what kind of movies they could do under the same level of entertainment the transformers movie was able to bring. of course a good plot/story will never go out of fashion or something like that, but a movie shown in cinemas must have something so people would prefer to watch them on cinemas and not in the comfort of their homes with their big screen LCD TVs or HDTVs (not that we have one, but it seems eventually, these television screen types will replace the CRT ones. point is, if you have a home theater, a movie should be able to have something aside from release date so people would rather watch them in cinemas). over time, a transformers type of movie would eventually become a norm like 3D animation (that's why its amusing The Simpsons movie proudly states its shown in 2D, and its like an acknowledgement that 3D animation has become the standard or at least the next step in animated movies and going for 2D is like reverting back or taking one step backward in the progression of movies/films). so, what's next for the movie/film industry? not that the special effects cant go any further or that we have seen everything film has to offer but im just wondering if IMAX 3D would be the next step. im not sure about it if film is heading that way but as of now, having movie in 3D is very appealing. the quality of IMAX film is better but having it on IMAX 3D is a step further. let me clarify, im not saying IMAX 3D is the next best thing, what im trying to say is having a movie in 3D is a probable step and only IMAX, as far as i know, offers that. maybe 3D could be taken a step further than what IMAX 3D currently offers. i dont know. i watch movies often, sometimes as often as every week. and sometimes the only reason i watch them is because they're not available on video. that's why i started to ask what could be the film industry's next step so people would still watch movies in movie theatres or cinemas.

Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet

june 28 was a good day. i was supposed to have three classes that day but the two were cancelled. so it left me with one class. not bad. but that's not the best part. the best part is, i was able to watch Transformers on its release date! i thought i had to wait til friday before i could watch the supposed Best Summer Movie You Havent' Seen Yet. good thing mam avena didnt have class that day because if she did, i would have stayed in school until around 630pm. i could still watch the last full show but since i had no idea if the movie was good or not, i would rather watch it the following day. but that wasnt the case, i was free to go to the mall by 430pm! but i was still unsure if i should watch it since i always watch movies on its first screening for the day. but jump was already ready to watch it and somehow he infected me with his anticipation and excitement for the movie. so, i tagged along and watched it. and after seeing it, holy shit, its fucking good. no, its fucking awesome! there's really more than meets the eye. they did a good job in promoting the movie, because not only did they arouse the interest of the would-be watchers (they made sure we dont get a good look on how the autobots and decepticons look like), they didnt show the best parts in the trailers. the trailer wont even give you an idea how good the movie is. after stepping out of the cinema, i mentioned to jump, "kaya na nila gumawa ng ganitong transformers movie?". i never thought they could pull-off a transformers movie this good. i cant imagine at this moment what they can do with this level of special effects.

when i got home, i just felt i needed to replace the background picture on my multiply site. my former picture was composed of wolverine, ghost rider and venom and i did that after watching spiderman 3 which reminded me of my love for marvel comics and its characters. but after seeing Transformers, shit, i wished marvel movies were this good. also, i just had to make a Transformers background picture. so i started looking for pics the autobots and decepticons of the live-action film.

then came the day after. i had a 9am class. i found it hard to concentrate because i was singing the transformers tv theme in my head and my mind kept thinking of the nice scenes in the movie. i just have to watch it again. so i did, this time with my brother. its not as awesome as the first time but still its nice to watch the eye-popping scenes again.

like i said in my reply on sheryl's multiply site, its hard not to love a movie this good. but i know some people who wouldnt like it. so what would make a person not like this movie? well, if he or she is someone who hates cars and robots and cars transforming into robots and vice versa and do not appreciate special effects and sound effects, and not interested in kick-ass fight scenes, then this movie would be a very big bore. some people find it idiotic to watch a movie that's not realistic or not grounded on reality. they prefer to watch something that happens in real life. well, that's his or her opinion and its hard for me to understand that (but i tried to understand it nonetheless) because ive always thought the reason people watch movies was because they wanted to take a break from reality. if i wanted to watch something real or something that happens in the real world, i would watch a documentary. anyway, going back to transformers, its great, its awesome, its (ive said this so many times) mind blowing! but its not perfect, almost, but not quite.

first, the megatron live-action film look is ok, but i would have loved it if they used the G1 Megatron look. also, i was expecting the old starscream voice but, like i said, what they did in the movie is ok.

second, they didnt introduce the decepticons that well. its fine they had "surprise" decepticons like brawl and bonecrusher but it could, probably, have been better if they gave more information on starscream's and another decepticon's personalities (barricade perhaps?). starscream didnt seem like megatron's second in command or showed his ambitious side (maybe they intend to show this on the sequel). correct me if im wrong but i think scorponok didnt report when frenzy alerted the decepticons. he wasnt in the final battle. i thought he was with blackout, but blackout came and well, scorponok was not in sight. also, when bumblee had his legs crushed, i think jazz remained in his car form and didnt even react or do something to help bumblebee.

third, its hard to tell who's who on the fight scenes. or at least try to see what's happening. sometimes its just looks like two big heaps of metal rolling around. the slow motions were helpful but of course they cant use it in every fight scene.

fourth, it would have been better if they started with a face-off type of battle where all of them arriving on the battle scene on their alternate forms then transforming into their robot forms. i mean, by the final battle, it was already five on five. optimus prime, jazz, ratchett, ironhide, and bumblebee vs. megatron, brawl, barricade, blackout and starscream. bonecrusher was out of the equation since optimus prime decapitated him even before they reached the "battlezone". frenzy remained in the hoover dam headquarters and scorponok didnt go with the other decepticons. ok, maybe this was what i was expecting, the autobots squaring off with the decepticons, before they do the fight scenes they did in the movie. but what they did wasnt that bad.

dont get me wrong, i love this movie. its more than what i expected. it had a good balance of staying true to the 80s cartoon and adapting it to modern times. the special effects were amazing, the sound effects, and the soundtrack as well (but i think the 50 First Dates soundtrack is better). from time to time there were scenes in the movie where i cant stop myself from reacting and saying "shit! that's nice!" (referring to starscream's mid-air fight scenes), "whoa" (when bumblebee switched from the 1974 or 1975 camaro into the 2008 model; when barricade transformed back into a police car in mid-air to follow bumblebee), "nice!" (first look on how they transform, this is when blackout transformed at the beginning of the movie. actually, it was more of because of the sound effects; when i first heard optimus prime's voice; when optimus prime used his energy axe).