BLOG ang MUNDO

Okay, I guess most of the bloggers in the Philippines must be writing the same story as what I’m about to write now.

Last thursday, a super typhoon called "Milenyo", struck the Philippines
hard. It crippled businesses for atleast two days counting yesterday
because of the damage it made. Most structures that withstood previous
storms were damaged badly. Billboards along the streets tumbled down.
Trees were uprooted from the ground. Cars were either flipped over or
were crushed by falling trees or billboards. Power was out and so was
the telephone lines. And cell-sites were inoperable making mobile
phones useless. It was the worst typhoon that the Philippines had
encountered.

I was at the office when the typhoon came. I didn’t know that office
was called off that day. When I got there, the storm built up and I
never had the chance to go back home. Me and a couple of my friends at
the office who also got stranded there just watched the typhoon as it
raged by. We saw roofs flying all over the place. We were like "this
looks like something straight out of a disaster movie". When the eye of
the storm reached the place where we were, we decided to go to a mall
nearby, hoping that it’ll be open and have lunch. We saw along the way
the havoc it created. It was very awful yet exciting at the same time.
I’ve never seen nor experienced anything like that before.

When I got home, I was expecting the power to be out. And it was. Good
thing yesterday morning, power went back up. As I went around the
place, I realized that not everyone has power already. I guess we were
just lucky. Up till now, most of Metro Manila (and probably the
surrounding provinces) still doesn’t have power yet. From what I’ve
heard from the news, most of the power will be back by Sunday. That
really sucks.

Anyway, kids must be happy when the typhoon hit, thinking that they
don’t have classes. But for us working people, it’s not really a good
thing. Especially for the economy. It’s a good thing that rebuilding is
quicker now than it was before. And hopefully by the start of next
week, all will be back to normal.

Chapter One, Page Eight:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Life_Again/index.php?p=91107

Like I said before on my previous post, I’m making this webcomic called Life Again that’s updated every friday. And once again, it’s a friday. And it’s update day! Weee!

It took me some time to use the computones on this page. I was planning
on a big lightning storm BG for the 2nd panel, but as it turned out,
the lightning storm was too much for me.

Anyway, I’m really having fun in making this webcomic. Though with a
tight schedule at work and at the gym, plus the upcoming deadline for
the Hamthology, I’m having a hard time on trying to fit making the page
with all of that in the way. Still, I did promise to deliver every
friday and thank God, I can still do it. This one page a week business
seems like it’s not doing any justice for the story. But if my schedule
does loosen up, I’ll try to update maybe twice a week atleast. ^^;

It’s been quite sometime that I’ve been bumming
around the house. And just this monday, I’ve already started at my new
work. All I can say is, I’m glad to be working again. It’s not that I
wasn’t working while I was at home. I was still doing some "rakets"
here and there to keep me alive. But still, nothing beats a regular day
job.
 

I applied to my current job some months ago. And because of a health
problem that I have that the HR found, I was put on hold. And just
recently did I start on this new job.
 
From then on, I realized a couple of things:
 

1. I realized that a day job is a necessity and I must persevere at my
work to stay at work. I hate those shmoes going off to work and do
nothing (much like me before. That also means I hate my old self) while there are alot of people out there who are eager to work but can’t find a job.
 
2. Healthy living is the way to go. I’ve started working out, doing boxing, eating less; and right now, I’ve just lost 10 lbs and feel better than ever.

It’s been all over the news yesterday. Steve Irwin… steve who? You
know, that Crocodille Hunter guy who chases Crocs with his wife, was
killed yesterday. Apparently he was doing an underwater documentary of
the Great Barrier Reef when a stingray struck him in the chest. Yeah,
we all know what a stingray is and what it can do. Pretty dangerous
stuff.

To be perfectly honest, I like Dr. Brady Barr more than
Steve Irwin. But still, he’s such a good guy. It’s sad to lose someone
who has done alot to the conservation of wildlife all over the world.
May he rest in peace.

Okay. Before you read on, a word of caution, for this topic may contain
some spoilers. If you do not wish to know what’s going to happen in the
anime Basilisk, I suggest don’t try reading on.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way…

In the tradition of Battle Royale comes this wonderful and beautifully made anime called Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls.
I’ve recently got hold of a copy of Basilisk and I must say that I am
truly awe-struck on how it’s wonderfully made. The story goes that for
400 years, a rivalry between two ninja clans, Iga of Hidden Tsuba and Kouga of Manji Valley, has been brewing. Only by the mediation of the first Hattori Hanzo
on the night the Iga village was attacked by Oda did peace reign. Years
have passed, the retiring Shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa, has sent the two
clans’ heads, Ogen of Iga and Danju
of Kouga, to show their clan’s ninja prowess. It is in his belief that
the ninja will be the deciding factor on who will be the next Tokugawa
shogun. With the help of the fourth Hattori Hanzo, they decided that
both clans will be pitted against each other to the death, thus
breaking the peace pact made by the first Hattori Hanzo. Each clan
chooses 10 of its best ninjas. And from there, they fight to the end.
The last clan standing will be the winner.

The story is full of treachery and deciet. Amidst the violence, there is romance between the two heirs to both clans, Oboro of Iga and Gennusuke
of Kouga. Tragically, while they were betrothed to each other, they
must face the fact that they are from different ninja clans and must do
their duty to finish of each other if they must. In the end, due to
their eternal love for each other, both committed seppuku. Tragic.

If
you were wondering why the anime was called Basilisk, it is because
both Gennusuke and Oboro has this special "ninja technique" (if you
will) that uses their eyes. Gennusuke’s gaze will put fear on those
people who have malicious intent and would rather kill themselves in
the process. Oboro’s, on the other hand, is not really a technique but
more of a gift (at the same time a curse). Her gaze would diminish
every ninja who looks upon her eyes helpless. Losing their ninja powers
in the process. Pretty wierd yet awesome, if you ask me.

The
only thing I hated about this anime is that each ninja has their own
character. And once they build up one ninja’s character, they
instantainously kill him/her off. Well, that is the premise of the
story after all. We can’t do anything about that. Anyway, I suggest you
guys watch this anime. It has 24 episodes in all. Every episode is a
must see.

So Long, Talong!

Lately, since I have nothing much to do, I’ve been imersed in doing a webcomic entitled Life Again.
For some of my friends out there, you might be familiar with this since
I did the first seven pages back in 2001. Back then I was really
planning on putting it online and only recently did I just have the
urge to continue it. The story’s about a zombie that came back to life
only to realize that he has no recollection whatsoever of his past
(just flashes of random images). Now, his on a quest to find out what
his mysterious past was and how he became what he is now.

There’s been alot of zombie comics out there (which most of them I
haven’t read yet) and I hope mine would be different. Also, if you’ve
seen my gallery at deviantART and look at my current webcomic,
you’ll notice a similarity to some of the pages. That’s because it’s really one and the same. Only
this time, I decided to continue the comic and placed it to a real
webcomic hosting site. The first seven pages are from the previous one.
The following will be seen at the latest link. Also, I changed the
title from Dead Men Walking to Life Again to avoid any legal issues.

To keep me motivated in doing my webcomic, I’ve been reading a couple
of mangas (DoMu, Blade of the Immortal) and watching a couple of
animes.

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex

It’s been awhile since it’s been shown at Animax. And only just now did
I get into watching this anime when I bought the DVD. Back then I find
this anime boring thinking that it would be like its feature film
counterpart. But I was proven wrong. I like how the story is going and
how the focus of the show is not only on Major Kusanagi but to all the
members of Section 9. Everyone has their share of the lime light…
even the Tachikomas.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Like GITS:SAC, I found this anime such a bore back then. It’s really
hard to understand if you’ll be watching this anime with just the
subtitles. There are alot of scenes in this anime that is text heavy
and to top it all, it’s written in Japanese. Good thing that the DVD
that I bought has the english dubbed option. Watching it in english is
more soothing. And only then did I realize how complex this anime
really is. It’s just wierd that the creator of NGE based the story from
some parts of the bible and some judeo-christian symbols. No wonder
Angels have been attacking Tokyo 3. Also, the main character, Shinji
Ikari, is so irritating. He’s such a loser and a wimp. That’s why by
the end of the series (ep.25 and 26 and The End of Evangelion), I was
like flaming mad and frustrated, all because of Shinji Ikari. Sigh…
Well, we can’t do anything about that.

Hajime No Ippo

Well, this anime wasn’t really in my list. But eversince I started
boxing, it got me intrested in watching Hajime No Ippo. It’s funny how
skillful most anime characters are even at a beginner’s level. When I
started working out, I had a hard time doing jabs, straights,
coordination and foot work. But, Ippo, the main character, make it look
like it was so easy to do. But then again, this is anime we’re talking
about. Reality check. Hahaha…

Still, you got to hand it to the Japanese on making such wierd story lines that eventually we’ll get to like. Hopefully my motivation in making my webcomic will last. I have this tendency on not finishing what I’ve started and it really is frustrating in my part. So till then…

So Long. Talong!

"Enough is enough. I’ve had it with these mother-f***ing snakes on this mother-f***ing plane!"

Jeesh… you kiss your mother with that mouth? Hahaha… Well, that’s probably as bad-ass that Samuel L. Jackson is going to get on his latest movie Snakes on a Plane.
Anyway, this movie did get a lot of hype even before it was released (I
remember watching the MTV Movie Awards and Sam Jackson was there to
announce best movie when he suddenly plugged this film). And I say that
this excited me more in watching this mother-f***ing movie. All those
hype builded up some great expectations about the movie and after
watching it, though I know some might not agree with me on this, I can
say that I’m completely satified. As we all know, Snakes on a Plane is
a B-movie. But this has got to be one of the best B-movies that I’ve
ever seen. I didn’t like it because of Samuel L. Jackson. Don’t get me
wrong. I know he kicks ass… east side, west side, "dark" side,
biatch!… he also talks the talk and walks the walk… f***ing
COOLNESS all the way. But honestly, it’s the premise of the movie that
excited me more.

The movie brings mid-flight terrorism to a
whole new level. There’s this one line from Samuel L. Jackson while he
was talking to his FBI buddy in LA where he said, "you know how all
those security scenarios we ran? I’m smack in the middle of one we
didn’t think of." In all fairness, he’s probably right. Who would have
thought of that? So, should the government be concerned on this kind of
mid-flight scares? I don’t think so. The movie sort of explained it for
itself on not to be scared of this ever occuring. Scientifically, I
don’t know if all those explainations about snake behavior were true. I
mean, I’m no snake expert. But hey, it is still fun to watch. Story
wise, there’s not much to tell. Well, not much in a sense of giving the
whole story away. What’s important is that you got the main premise of
the story and it’s already in the title… Snakes On A Plane. The movie is funny and scary at the same time. And I dare you guys to watch it!

By the way. The movie is so graphic and there are alot of cursing. So my word of advice is, don’t bring the kiddies. When I watched this in the theater, alot of people brought their children along. What do they think they’re watching? Barney and Friends???

So long, Talong!

There’s this game I’ve been playing on my Nintendo DS that I really like. It’s called Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! It’s more like a Dance Dance Revolution
game for the Nintendo DS. Only this time you have to use your stylus
instead of your feet. Anyway, the game is about a group of Cheerleaders
(that’s right, cheerleaders. MALE
cheerleaders.) cheering people up to boost their confidence. That
really sounds funny. Who would want to have a group of cheerleaders
doing their thing just to cheer you up? Well, take a look at THIS!

Apparently, in Japan, there really happens to be a real-life Ossu!
Tatakae! Ouendan! And they do it just for kicks. Sheesh. If I was
there, I don’t know whether to take them seriously or not. I mean, come
on… a friend is enough to cheer you on when you’re down. Why need a
group of loud strangers, in front of a dozen more strangers looking on,
just for the cheering up. You’ll have to be a total loser to be in that
kind of situation. (>_>)

Bounce!

TITANIC 2

And I thought I’ve seen it all. Now this one is totally wierd. Who ever
made this trailer must really have that much patience in piecing it
together. From what I’ve seen, there were clips from Con Air, Catch Me
If You Can, Hulk. The Beach, Romeo and Juliet.. just to name a few.
Although, I have to praise him for his compositing and editing skills.
It’s pretty good. ^_^

Bounce!