Too many things

• A curriculum
• A birthday
• A presentation ( I have never made/done a proper presentation before, at least not one that wasn’t required by a class)
• a game
• an article
• a life

I was never built to juggle so many things at one time.

Skindred

God I love Skindred.  They’re one of those bands that make you want to start your own band and just fucking rock out.

Magallanes v1.0

Very rushed. Need to get material together for a short talk I’m doing on the 11th, namely how to get from this to this:

Greenbelt Intramuros

People who think that Intramuros needs to be turned into a commercial complex featuring nightclubs in order to boost tourism need to get their heads examined.

As Aissa requested, here is my letter to the editor to counter the FUN fool:

Dir Sir,

I was inspired to write to you today because of an infuriating letter one of your other readers that was printed out on the June 25, 2008 issue of the STAR.  In it, he claims that FUN is what tourists are looking for and he even lays out the preposterous idea that we turn Intramuros into a commercial complex in order to make it relevant.  This is irrational and is the same idea that leads people to tear down buildings like the Jai alai building in the name of progress.  We are so desperate to become a modern country that we buy into the idea that in order to move forward we must tear down the past.

My girlfriend and I went to Hanoi a few months ago and it was thick with tourists: Caucasians, Asians, you name it, they were there.  You literally could not walk a few meters without seeing a fellow tourist.  A kindly German man took our photograph on a bridge and we were accompanied on our tour of Halong Bay by an Old Malaysian and Thai couple, a Japanese and Australian couple our age, a Japanese woman and her mother, and a Canadian doing social work.  Why were they there, do you ask?  Certainly not to see suntanned bodies and to have fun after hours in Hanoi, which is notorious for going to bed early and waking up even earlier.  They were all in Hanoi for the culture, for the taste of something different that they cannot find in their home countries.  And so were we. And so are thousands of other tourists.

There is nothing wrong with promoting tourist destinations for fun.  Heck, that’s basically the only reason to go to Boracay these days is for the nightlife.  And sure we can turn some of our other beaches like those in Bohol or Samal and turn them into FUN tourist destinations, but to propagate the idea that this is the only way we well get tourists into the country is preposterous and wrong minded, and will not further the tourism industry here in any meaningful way.

Come again?

On Cafe Juanita:

The ambiance? Quaint but nice. Maybe some would say it is eclectic. Yeah, like when you don’t know what it’s all about. And then suddenly you get it. It’s about “wala lang.” No theme at all. Just that the owner likes to put nice things together. A charming place really.

Color me bewildered.

Zed of Zardoz

You try to avert your eyes…but you cannot!  The damage this picture has wrought on your eyes will haunt you forever.  Witness Sean Connery as Zed in the movie Zardoz!

Simple Minds

People whose YM status message always reflects the current summer blockbuster du jour really annoy me.

On Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing

I’ve sent an email to the Children’s Television Workshop inquiring how much it would take to buy back the licenses of Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing. I wonder if they’ll reply?

Magallanes v0.9

This is the hard part, near the end.  When you don’t know quite what to do to finish it off.

Magallanes v0.8

Urduja movie review

I’ve refrained from writing movie reviews for a while, but after watching Urduja, I felt compelled to write this.  Urduja was…disappointing.  It epitomizes everything that I hate about Filipino cinema, all of the overacting and the bad jokes and actors who think they can sing.  The story is simple enough and easy to understand, but the dialogue sent shivers down my spine, or caused uproarious laughter at all the wrong times. The jumping to and fro between mangled english and tagalog also annoyed the hell out of me.  I can safely say that Urduja is one of the worst movies I’ve watched in a long time.

However, the animation itself is not bad.  I’ve been studying animation and composition in movies lately, and it was nice to see that these guys know their stuff, apart from the random slow mo effect or levitation.  Some of the animation sequences were very fluid, especially those involving the snake and the pirate chase scene.  The character design needed some help though; you know you’re in trouble when you don’t find the animal characters cute.

Unfortunately the sound design also lets the movie down.  You know how in those chinovelas and koreanovelas where the dubbing of the voices overpowers the background music?  That’s how it sounded.  Hell, the movie could have done with better direction, and the truth is if they had a bigger budget and more time, I’m sure this would have been a much better film.

But it’s not.

I do encourage you all to see it though.  I really hope it makes money, because that’s the only way these folks can get another project and make it better.  I’d encourage everyone to see it, and look at it critically.  Don’t praise it just because it’s Filipino, just because everyone worked so hard to make it.  No animated film is ever created with out the sweat and tears of hundreds of animators.  If other animated films don’t get a free pass, neither should Urduja, because if we never hold it up to the standards of others we’ll wallow in Philippine mediocrity forever.

Magallanes v0.7

Magallanes v0.6

Magallanes v0.5

A rant

Because I have no other recourse but to share it with the world, I will now share a message from a certain mr318 on TipidPC (the bold words indicate my messages):

> > > If you’re really interested in the PS2 please PM
> me.
> > > Pasensya na at napapagod na kase ako makipagtext
> sa
> > > mga humihingi ng last price.
> >
> > sori sir but I deal thru texting. im not always
> > online, thats why I need to get your contact
> details.
>
> You don’t have to be always online. Kung may tanong
> ka about the item sana tinanong mo na sa message na to
> diba?
>
> Are you interested in the item at the price listed?
> Are you willing to pick it up or do a meetup in my
> area?
>
> If the answer is yes to both questions, then I’ll give
> you my contact details and we can set up a meeting.
>
> Pasensya na talaga pero ilang beses na nangyari na ang
> daming nagtetext na tumatawad lang. Sayang lang load
> ko. Kung sure buyer ka na then I’ll give you my
> number. If you have questions just ask me here. Di
> naman ako nagmamadali at wala naman pupuntahan yung
> PS2.
>
> Thanks for the interest in the item.

sir, i would suggest that you do not sell your item here at TPC if that s your mentality. Of course, buyers here in TPC would try to negotiate a price with the seller. That’s the why the site is called “TIPID” PC. Negotiating is part of the buy and sell business. Use your COMMON SENSE sir.

And also, you have the option not to reply to the messages that you receive asking for a lower price. Kung ayaw mo mabawasan ang load mo. But that’s not how the buy and sell business goes. Both parties are investing their “PISO” for each questions they raised via SMS. So dont be a selfish MOFO na akala mo eh ikaw lang ang nagagastusan sa pag text!

I REAPEAT, buy and sell business always comes with NEGOTIATION.

If your not willing to negotiate then include this in your post “PRICE IS NON NEGOTIABLE” “PICKUP ONLY IN MY PLACE, NO MEET UPS” “NO REPLY MEANS NO”

Good day sir.

Good day indeed. After fuming for about 30 minutes and looking for a way to report his abusive (well of course I don’t feel abused I just want them to ban the motherfucker) message, I decided to post it here as a form of catharsis. The irony of this situation is that I’ve been dealing in TipidPC for quite some time now, and all my feedback has been positive, if not glowing. Consider:

One Positive Feedback for One Truly Great Guy!

Sir Ryan is truly one great seller here at TPC! He’s very professional when dealing with his customers, in that, he makes sure that everything is in order and confirmed, so as to make sure that there would be no hassles with both the seller and buyer (in this case, he was the seller and I was the buyer). He’s also super updated when it comes to his location, so as to make sure that both would be able to meet up properly. Furthermore, he’s also very kind and friendly to whomever he has deals with, as in, he’s super approachable even though he was in a bit of a rush due to his busy schedule. And last but definitely not the least, his items are in super top notch condition, yet their prices are unbeatably cheap! In fact, he even gave me a testing warranty for his items, yet he assured me that all of them are in full working condition. But, a first-hand look at his items are enough to warrant their conditions! Add that to a great discount that I got for buying in bulk, and viola, one great deal!

So guys and gals, never ever hesitate to deal with this great seller! Indeed, two thumbs up for this guy! Hope for more deals to come!

P.S. Thanks a lot for the games! I’ll be testing em n lng as soon as I have some free time on my hands! Ehehehe, mejo busy pa kse e. In any case, all of em looks great nman! I’ll take your word for it n lng na all of em are in full working conditions! Thanks again!

Of course, the sheer positivity of that feedback made me a little bit nervous in its profuseness, but I think you get the drift. No one who’s dealt with me has ever had anythign but good to say about me. I don’t like doing bad deals, regardless if I’m the buyer of the seller.

Back to the irony. Mr318, who says I should change my “mentality” and stop posting items on TipidPC, has been a member since May 19, 2008 11:23 PM, and has had no transactions or deals within TipidPC whatsoever. You stupid Kris Aquino-loving monkey, why don’t you fucking back your shit up with some feedback before you go around telling people to get off a site?

Rant over.

Octales gets pimped

I rarely get worked up over any web 2.0 social networking bullshit these days (I shit on you facebook, I shit on you in a cup) so when I get hooked on something new that must mean it’s special (and yes, special in exactly the way you were thinking of). Octales is that something special, and while it’s not in open beta yet, it’s getting a little bit of love from the inquirer. I’ve known Luis since I started “writing” for highfiber.org, so it’s nice to see all of his ideas start to come full circle in this way.