Guess Who Is Back in Town?

Welcome to the Coffee House Chronicles.

I've never really left. 

It's just that it has been a very long, long while since I last posted here and to be frank about it, thoughts of shutting down this blog have entered my mind. In the end though, I elected to leave this space in cyber be for just a wee longer until I get into that state of mind where I would have the drive to write again.

My last post in the CHC was a day and a year ago and it was a review of a book. Thereafter, I've been re-miss in the upkeep of this site but as friends and acquaintances would know, I've been keeping myself somewhat visible on Facebook but never too engrossed that I find myself refreshing my FB timeline every 10 seconds.

I've kept myself busy with family and work, of course. And the move to our new place last year took also quite a bit of my time what with adjusting and all to the new environment. 

On those times that I've found some little time for myself, I've managed to read a few genre books and I've rediscovered my love for comics -- actual, physical, tangible comics -- thanks to Facebook where I was able to find individuals of the same interest. 

I've started to rebuild somewhat my comic collection from the 1980's which numbered roughly about 50 or so pieces of variously titled one-shots but I've found myself now to be in possession of over 300 pieces of comics. Many of these, I've not even read yet (like many books in my disheveled shelf that have yet to be crackled open).

I've also developed a fondness for the genre TV series, many of which are of good production value. There's been a massive explosion of genre shows on the small screen on the other side of the globe and thanks to the internet, we're hearing of them even though they're not being shown locally (well, many are shown on the local cable, truth to be told). 

While I haven't really dived yet into the Game of Thrones fever (read the first four books already though, A Dance of Dragons remains TBR), I've already finished binge-watching Doctor Who starting from the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), 10th Doctor (David Tennant), and partially, the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith, still haven't quite gotten to Series 6 yet). I've already finished the 12th Doctor's first run so you could say,I'm pretty up to date with space and time-traveling Gallifreyan.

BBC's Sherlock TV series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as PI Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson is another winner in my books and I've also managed to finish all 5 seasons of weird sci-fi series Fringe which is probably one of the best TV series I've ever watched. 

Other TV series that I've grown to love and look forward to the past several years include Falling Skies (on its final season this year), Arrow, Continuum (starring the lovely Rachel Nichols aka Scarlet on the GI Joe movie franchise), Penny Dreadful, Person of Interest, and Warehouse 13. Other recent favorites are Gotham, The Flash, and 12 Monkeys. 

So, you could say I've been keeping myself quite busy and this a reason why I haven't written one post for an entire year.

Let's try to change that this time around as I'll try to post something here every now and then. Something funny, something serious. There'll be genre, of course -- there's no avoiding that but we'll try to keep that to a minimum. I'd like to be able to do reviews though -- movies and TV series I've watched, books and comics, I've read, places I've been to -- as that would add variety to our Monday Mumblings, Tuesday Tidbits, Wednesday Warbles, Thursday Tattles, Friday Frolicks, and to our Weekend Whims.

Stay tuned, folks. 

friday frolics: issa's words, a game of thrones, coloring a 3rd world astronaut

Whew!

Tired. But otherwise happy.

Work has caught up with me hence the non-presence in this space on the ole web since Tuesday last week. When I get home, rather than go online, I'd much rather play around with my daughters or rest. I've also not been reading anything as my mind, I think, is not ready for any heavy thinking after a full day's brain-wracking at the Desk.

I've also been spending my after-office hours doing school work with Ikai. Last week, it was doing her assignments. This week, it has been reviewing for her long tests which happened yesterday and today would be the second day of the long tests. These times, for me, are far more special than logging on and finding out the latest that Facebook vendors have to offer.

So, I missed some messages and missed greeting people on their birthdays. My apologies. I was attending to important stuff.

In addition to work, I've also been busy with The Gaming Daily with updates. It seems that while the traffic numbers aren't all that impressive, the simple news blog is getting the attention of people and companies with an affinity with gambling. I'm not endorsing gambling, mind you. I myself, I don't gamble -- err, except for the occasional lotto -- but I don't have anything against people who gamble responsibly. Much like people who smoke, for me, gambling is a choice. I mean, for something like four years I was working in the gambling industry but I never got hooked to it.

Just don't overdo it -- compromising money that's meant for something needed like food, or to pay the tuition fee of your kid at school, or to pay the rent. That's bad form and if I were the owner of the gambling establishment and I learn that you're gambling compromised money, I'm going to haul you and kick your butt out of the place (or cut you off your account, if you're online).

So, my apologies for the delay to the select few who find their way here every now and then.

Let's move on then ...

* * * *

Our little Issa is talkative. However, of the several seconds of conversation, you'll only understand a few words out of it. But heck, it's fun "talking" to Issa because when she talks to you, she calls your attention with a firm "Papa" and then babble away for the next few seconds. She then stops and expects you to reply. Usually a "Yes" or an "Oo" or a nod would be enough, and she would smile.

It's like harkening back to Ikai when she was the same age and just about learning to talk.

Issa's vocabulary consists of just a few words but they're enough to get your attention including:

• Bye-bye, ________! (accompanied by a hand waving)

• Avoo -- shortened "I love you" which was also something Ikai used to say during her baby babble days

• Too -- what she says when she wants water. If you don't give her water in the next minute, you'll hear her say "Too-beeg"

• "Wize" -- she can't pronounce "R's" yet so that's "rice" for you

• Mik -- she's also missing her "L's" sometimes so, just add "L" between "I" and "K" and you'll know what she needs

• Juice -- yes, she says this clearly

• Na-nak -- that's knock-knock for you

• Mm-pohn - cellphone

• 'Ello - she's also missing her "H's"

• Ballow -- ehems, that's borrow

• Aiku -- not a Japanese term but rather "Ayoko"

• No! - sadly, Issa says this word a lot and with force at that

• Bas -- what she says when she wants to go outside

• Ba-ba, Ba-ba ______ -- when she wants to go down or she wants someone to go down

• Kayt -- when she wants to go up to the bedroom

• Piss -- usually accompanied with an index finger pointing at the fish on the table

• Wight -- not the monster, but "light"

These are just a handful of her small but progressively increasing vocabulary. There's tell-tale signs that like her Ate Ikai, she'll be a talkative one.

Unfortunately, she doesn't call her sister "Ate Ikai" but only Ikai. Ask her to emulate you to say "Ate" she will just say "Ikai". Hopefully, she'll later on learn how to do so. But her Mama and Papa, and Lola and Lolo are already clear. Most especially her "Auntie" which little Issa says with much "lambing" -- a testimony to her love of my sis-in-law who's in all aspects her true yaya.

* * * *

I've been ridiculously addicted to Diamond Twister, a Samsung-app-game that I play on my wife's Samsung Wave 525 phone. Think Bejeweled and that's the basic premise of the game. Never mind that there's a story and other challenges (find the stone or the gem, or race against the time to earn the needed cash objective, or race against time to accumulate the number of gems needed). The basic is that you've got to line up three gems or more of the same kind vertically or horizontally (no diagonals) and watch mayhem unfold. There are boosts as well, which I guess is the reason why this game isn't called Bejewelled.

When I get my own smart phone, I'm sure I'll be buying this game-app as well. For only Php 60, it's worth it given that you'll be wasting hours on this nifty little game.

* * * *

The ridiculously popular Angry Birds game is now available as well on the Bada network. Previously only available for Android, Windows, and OVI, it's good to know that the game has now been ported to the exclusive Samsung network. What's best about it is that AB is free to download and install.

Unfortunately, there's a problem with Elvie's Wave 525 in that it's not connecting to wi-fi hence it has been disconnected for quite some time now.

A visit to ElectroWorld in Greenbelt yesterday wasn't helpful as the lady attendant who tried to help us fix the problem, well, only ended up trying to fix it. She said it would be best to bring the unit over to a Samsung service center as trying to rectify the problem with internet connection was beyond her powers.

Apparently, Samsung phones running on Bada system are encountering the problem. She however assured me (because she knew I was planning to buy one) that the Samsung phones running on the Android OS encountered no such problems.

We asked for Samsung's Makati service center address and contact numbers and hopefully one of these days, Elvie's 525 will be back to tip-top shape.

* * * *

While the rest of the genre-world awaited the sale of George R.R. Martin's fifth volume in the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy epic, A Dance of Dragon, I have the miserable luck of not being able to secure a copy of the first volume -- A Game of Thrones -- from my usual book haunts.

Hopefully this weekend, I will get a chance to go around the bookshops and find me a copy so I could get in on the action as I've read many raves and praises about this series. With an HBO series propelling the series' popularity further, I've no further reason to delay immersing myself in this new medieval world.

If I do score a copy this weekend, that could mean Kevin J. Anderson's The Edge of the World would have to wait for a bit before its plastic cover gets unwrapped.

* * * *

As is the case, a lot of personal projects are still wallowing in the pits.

But in between work, when I want to de-stress, I've been doing some practice coloring on Photoshop.

It's slow progress as this is the first time I'm doing this on PS (before, I practiced crudely on CorelDraw before the Compaq rig conked out).

I sketched the image freehand using a Mongol No.2 pencil on a half-bond sized sketch pad (always have one on my bag, never know when inspiration strikes). I then proceeded to ink over my pencils using a Uni Pin Fine Line drawing pen with 0.2 tip. Then, using an old-fashion eraser, erased my pencil drawing.

I then had the image scanned at 300 dpi.

Opening up the image on Photoshop, I proceeded to color the image bit by bit.

Since I didn't have a drawing tablet, I had to do it old-school using the Pen tool. Starting with the head and moving down the body parts, the steps I followed included:

1) Creating the shape of the area using the Pen and Convert Point tools.

2) Color the created shape black as this serves as the background / outline.

3) Duplicate the created shape and fill it with another color.

4) Then scale it a bit so that it's smaller than the original shape.

5) Then selecting both the original and copied layer, align them centrally so that the black background forms the outline of the shape (reminiscent of how other draw on CorelDraw).

I created folders for each body part so that it's easy managing the many layers.

Now, you'll think. If I was coloring it on PS then I could've avoided one step in the process by not inking it. Well, I wasn't thinking about coloring it when I first drew the image. It was just meant to be something on the sketch pad and to add some permanency to it, I decided to ink it. It was only after I liked the results that I thought of coloring it. So, yes, inking would've been pointless but then again, it was good exercise as well.

In any case, the image on the left is what I've finished so far -- the flat colors. What will happen next would be to add a little more detail on the arms, chest, groin, and legs. As can be gleaned from the original sketch, there are little bits and stuff that is missing on the image on the left -- the image that will make this "3rd World Astronaut" more steampunkish which is my aim in the final render.

What prompted me to work on this?

I was reading Mervin Malonzo's webcomic Tabi Po last Monday when I chanced upon his "Laktaw" (skip) page where he detailed the process by which he comes up with each page of his comics. The process was straightforward that I was enticed to follow the steps myself. Good fortune that I had just finished sketching the image of the Pinoy steampunk astronaut that day and it came in handy when I got the urge to try and do some PS coloring.

Inspiration credit also goes to FreakAngel's Paul Duffield who in their skip week also discussed how he interfaced with his colorists for the FA's pages. It was Duffield who wedged the idea in my head but it was Malonzo who nudged me to action.

* * * *

Happy weekend, folks!

the oblique observer is being resurrected

I'm resurrecting The Oblique Observer and turning it into something akin to an autobiography whereby I'll try and record memorable stuff that have happened in my life. The stuff I put in there may be serious, funny, or nonsense but it'll be something factual, something that I experienced, something that I'll most likely never forget (except when I get amnesia or Alzheimer's sets in).

Like I said in that blog's description -- Reminiscing, remembering, and recording the old stuff lest I forget!

Hopefully I'll be able to start blogging on TOO soon :) Wish me luck, folks!

tuesday tidbits: sci-fi antho read, discworld, asus and zeus, weekend getaway with traffic jam

Coffee, to me, is like gas -- it fuels my body.

Especially today when my body, along with my gray matter, aren't functioning at top notch. This is still a hangover from the weekend sojourn that had me a bit feverish yesterday and headached that I wasn't able to report for work.

While I now feel slightly better, it's still a bit of touch and go and I'm trying to trudge along gingerly here at the Desk lest I slip into a flu-like state. So, please bear with me today in this here post which, incidentally, is the 37th post for the year -- matching the total number of posts I did last year. In terms of blogging, this year is turning out to be better. We're yet to hit mid-year but my production (strictly limited in this here blog though) is sure to eclipse last year's.

* * * *

I'm pleasantly surprised with the read I'm reading now -- The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Volume II, edited by George Mann.

I've yet to complete the fifteen stories but the stories I've read so far have been good ones. Of the stories I've already read, standouts include Paul Di Filippo's iCity which deals with architecture and urban planning in the future, Neal Asher's Mason's Rats: Black Rat in which a rodent becomes handy against the real pests in the protagonist's eyes, and Brenda Cooper's Blood Bonds which is about artificial intelligence and human bonding. Most noteworthy for me though (so far) is Eric Brown's Sunworld which, in my opinion, is the least sci-fi of the stories I've read in this volume but is great for its world-building. After reading Sunworld, it left me lusting for more about this world where our protagonist leaves behind the sunny world he knows for the ice-locked lands up north where his mysterious past catches up with him.

What works for me in this antho is that the stories are well-written, well-thought out, and are for me, truly sci-fi. I'm not particularly a fan of sci-fi or fantasy that preaches or dictates. I get turned off when I realize that a story is just another ho-hummer masked with elements of sci-fi. I like my sci-fi to move me, enchant and enthrall me. That's how I felt when I read Sunworld. I like my sci-fi to make me think -- but not too much that it makes my head ache. I like my sci-fi to suspend my skepticism but not too fantastical that I instead blurt out "That's not possible in even a million light years."

Because of the quality of the stories of this anthology, I'm inclined now (more than ever) to book prowl for volume 1 and possibly even try out the other Mann-edited antho The Solaris Book of New Fantasy.

Anthos are great because you get to sample the writings of authors before you go out and buy their novels and longer works. While admittedly a lot of the anthos I've read in the recent past haven't resulted into yours truly rushing to the bookstore to look at one author or the other, from this antho alone, I'm inclined to look into the works of Eric Brown and Paul Di Filippo.

Hopefully the remaining stories in this antho are equally entertaining.

* * * *

Over the weekend I found myself thinking about collecting the books of Sir Terry Pratchett.

I think it's hightime I try and read his books, especially his Discworld series which is one of fantasy's most popular. I've read Good Omens, his collaboration with Neil Gaiman which was okay but I've yet to fully engross myself with a novel. I do have his The Last Hero but I think the reason I haven't really finished it is because there's a large backstory to it and the only way to find out about it is to dig deep into Pratchett's first Discworld book -- The Colour of Magic.

The gargantuan task however is that The Last Hero is the 27th book of Discworld. That means backtracking 26 books back which would mean years and years of reading at least (as I've explained before, I read several books at the same time -- switching from one book to another). However, this'll be a great challenge to take. Who knows, at the end of the day I might just end up being an expert of Discworld.

And to help me get the correct reading order in order, I've downloaded a reading guide from L-Space Web here.

* * * *

After weeks of waiting, the small rig at home -- the Asus Eee PC -- is finally a-ok for use at it now has a full Windows 7 Ultimate version running.

While nursing a slight fever yesterday, I tinkered with the small rig and got it installed with a full version of the OS. It has been running on a trial OS which had already expired and will ultimately lock it but I scored a legit copy of W7 and with the expert advice of a former colleague, managed to install it onto the Asus.

I then hooked up a DVD drive via USB (the netbook being what it is doesn't have an optical drive in the first place) and proceeded to install all the drivers needed to run the LAN, WLAN, onboard video and graphics, synaptics, and other kaboodles. I then proceeded to install the necessities -- MS Office (an old 2003 copy which I upgraded with a download of Office 2007 compatibility pack), Skype, WinRAR, and YM.

Then last night, just before hitting the blankets, I installed my copy of Zeus: Master of Olympus just for the heck of it. I ended up playing one chapter of the Labors of Hercules episode. I missed this game a lot!

With Asus now fully operational, I can now be online as much as I want -- if I want to be online, in the first place.

Months of not being tied to the internet (due to the lack of a rig) has been quite refreshing and enjoyable that I do not really miss going online. Sure, I'll be online but I'll most likely pare down the hours I spend and instead allocate time to reading more books and playing Zeus.

Drop me an email or an SMS if you want me to answer you quickly. I still check my Yahoo mail at least twice a day and my phone is still with me at all times.

* * * *

With Chedeng's arrival, PAG-ASA is reportedly about to announce the end of summer officially. So, before that happened, the family packed our things and headed off to Matabungkay in Lian, Batangas last weekend for a last minute summer outing.

Well, it wasn't really last minute as it was something that had been planned early this year and between Subic and Batangas, the choice ultimately went to latter as it was more cost-effective.

Right after lunch of Saturday, after a 150-kilometer trip from Manila, we found ourselves in this quaint little resort called La Primavera in Matabungkay. Eons ago, you would have heard of Matabungkay as the go-to-place for beach fun. Sadly, the years of overselling the place has left the beach a bit a tad dirty for my taste.

Now there are other "in" destinations such as Subic and Laiya but Matabungkay still manages to draw crowds looking for cost-effective fun as evidenced by the crowds that piled on the small baranggay on Saturday and Sunday (many on day-trips).

The cottage we rented wasn't that big, just enough for 7 adults and 3 kids to squeeze in. The resort allowed you to cook / grill / roast your own food so that helped keep the costs down. It had its own access to the beach, was guarded 24-hours, had reasonably well-meaning staff, and had its own swimming pool which was a major plus.

Like other resorts in the place, La Primavera was primarily concerned only about you inside their premises and they only provide access to the public beach. Out on the public beach, you're on your own. Like I said earlier, I was disappointed with the beach because it was littered with trash of all sorts -- plastic bottles, plastic wrappers, candy wrappers, cigar butts, discarded foils and tins and cups. I guess I had high expectations (it being Matabungkay in the first place) and it didn't help that I was just at the exclusive Punta Fuego a few months back. In my opinion, the Laiya beach, despite being public as well, was cleaner.

The beach and the sea also envoked a feeling of crowdiness. One problem for me was that there were too many "balsas" or rafts that there wasn't enough room for people to swim in. We did rent a balsa for the experience and did enjoy but you had to make sure your balsa was jockeyed correctly or you end up bumping with the other hundred or so balsas also vying for whatever space was left in the waters. Maybe they could've reduced the number of floating balsas a bit ... I don't know. It just seemed to crowded.

But lest you get me wrong, I enjoyed the trip. It was fun. And nothing can replace the smiles you see from your kids who undoubtedly thoroughly enjoyed the weekend getaway (although Ikai did scatter some tantrums a bit).

What I didn't like about the trip was the massive traffic jam that greeted us on the way home. As we were traversing the Nasugbu-Tagaytay route, heavy downpour ensued and combined with weekend tourists doing stopovers at the many pasalubong stalls along the roadside, made the travel one long and tiring stop-and-go-situation. We caught the tail-end of thew traffic jam even before we left Nasugbu and it was a two-hour drive along the winding road before we managed to hit the town proper of Tagaytay where the jam abated.

Now, my hamstring and calf muscles are aching from shifting gears throughout the trip. I guess that contributed to the fatigue and fever I got yesterday.

wednesday warbles: manny pacman, i found my galaxy, superman's next director

Over at RingTV.com, boxing writer, commentator, and boxing correspondent Ted Lerner has written an interesting three-part story on Manny Pacquiao's preparations for his upcoming fight versus Antonio Margarito this coming November 13.

Lerner is in Baguio City (as of the article's 3rd part) where he is one of the dozens of boxing scribes covering Pacquiao as the Filipino boxing icon works on his goal for an 8th division win.

The first part of Lerner's story deals with Pacquiao, head coach Freddie Roach, strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez, and the rest of the Team Pacquiao posse starting camp initially in Metro Manila before moving on to Baguio. The second focuses on Ariza's role in the triumvirate that includes himself, Pacquiao and Roach and the success that the formula old school (Pacquiao) + old school (Roach) + new school (Ariza) has brought the trio. The third part of the series then focuses on multi-tasking Pacquiao and the seemingly unending energy he has to do lots of stuff -- that despite being in rigorous training, he is still indirectly doing his duties as a congressman, and still very much a father to his daughter, and doing wacky stuff like getting hooked on Plants and Zombies.

Interesting read even if you're not a boxing fanatic. For your benefit, here are the articles from Lerner and RingTV.com:

Pacquiao in Baguio City: Training Camp Begins

Ariza: Integral Part of Pacquiao's Formula for Success

Pacquiao in Baguio City: Serious Sparring, Boundless Energy

* * * *

I found my new phone. Take note, found. I've yet to buy it.

While doing the rounds of the tech-shops at SM Megamall's Cyber Zone last weekend, I drifted over to the Samsung shop to drool over the Galaxy S -- as previously blogged, a prospect phone -- which I know I will no longer buy because of a) the steep price, and, b) because it wasn't comfortable to handle for me. But right beside the Galaxy S, unbeknownst to me all this time (all this time I've been looking at Nokia and Sony Ericsson smartphones) was the little brother of the Galaxy S -- the Galaxy 5!

Little brother because of its size (which I can palm perfectly) but definitely not lacking the punch as this Android-powered smartphone boasts of features that can be seen in the otherwise larger Galaxy S. With such features and at a price range of somewhere between P10,290 and P11,400 (I canvassed the mobile phone shops for the best price) the Galaxy 5 bowled me over and instantly became my prospect phone.

Let's look at the tech-specs:

• Android Eclair (upgradeable to Froyo) -- woohoo over 100,000 possible apps from the Android Marketplace (that's what the advertising says!)
• Internet: HSDPA 7.2mbps / HSUPA 5.76mbps plus WiFi
• EDGE / GPRS
• Display is a crystal clear and brilliantly bright HVGA AMOLED at 3.2"
• Multimedia: 2 megapixel camera, video (MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV), audio (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, RA), FM radio
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, MicroUSB
• Storage: can use an mobile memory card (forgot which one) up to 16GB

And since it's running on Android, it comes packed with all the necessary Google apps and services including Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Search. With the GPRS and Google Maps, here's to hoping one doesn't get lost anymore. And I can just imagine the tons of books I will be able to carry -- electronically, that is -- when I go out of town (and probably I can even download comics for mobile with it).

Aside from the geeky stuff, the comfort factor is a plus. If the Samsung i9000 Galaxy S had been smaller, I still would consider it even with the tag price it had. However, it was too bulky for my rather dainty hand. The Samsung i7500 Galaxy 5 however was a perfect fit! It handles like my recently-deceased Nokia 6680 and now all that I would have to adopt to is the use of touch screen technology.

With the following factors -- comfort and ease of use, superior tech-specs, and of course, the reasonable price for a smartphone -- the Samsung Galaxy 5 is a no-brainer as my next phone.

I just hope there's still stocks left when I finally purchase it. Maybe next month. Maybe December.

* * * *

While we're at it talking tech ... another prospect to purchase for me and my wife is a netbook. Why?

For mobile computing and browsing, of course (but if I get the Galaxy 5, I won't really need a netbook if only to browse, right?).

And among the netbooks currently out in the market, I'm looking hard at getting us a Gateway -- the AMD-powered one that comes with ATi Radeon graphics card. That's serious computing power for a netbook -- you might be even to play serious games with that (Cafe World and Baking Life excluded, thank you).

And at around P19,000 - P24,000, the price is just right -- a steal even because you're getting one heck of a machine.

Hay, I really need to get those sidelines running if I'm ever to purchase the Gateway (and the Galaxy 5)!

* * * *

Hollywood will soon be re-booting Spiderman (again) but another comic-book hero is also set for another re-boot. Not the Hulk, but the big, blue cheese himself -- Superman.

I know that isn't new news but what's new is that reports on the 'net have revealed that producers of the upcoming Superman re-boot, Christopher Nolan (of Batman Begins / Dark Knight and Inception fame) and David Goyer (screenplays of the Batman films as well as the new Superman film), have chosen Zack Snyder to helm the film.

Comic-book-turned-into-movies buffs will recall Snyder as the director of the film version of cult comic classic Watchmen as well as the graphically-graphic retelling of the Spartan's last stand against Persian invaders in 300. Yahoo Movies has a report on Snyder being chosen to direct the new Supes flick as well as an analysis on why Superman is a difficult comic-book character to portray on film.

Re-boots have become sort of the norm, especially when a film touted to do well in the box office bombs out. In other cases, even if the film does well with tickets, the big bosses still insist on rebooting the franchise (case-in-point: Spiderman -- Tobey Maguire is out as Spidey and a new Spidey/Peter Parker in the person of Andrew Garfield is set to step onto the characters webbings in a planned reboot -- how many ways can a film show a radio-active spider bite a geeky teenage photographer that turns him into a web-slinging superhero?). In the case of the recent Superman Returns which starred Brandon Routh, film execs at Warner and Legendary Pictures pointed out that while the film generally received positive reviews, it was a "disappointment" in the box office as it only earned roughly US$391 million worldwide -- expected returns from the film was at US$500 million. This caused Superman Returns director Bryan Singer to react "I don't know what constitutes under-performing these days."

Well, Singer is off the project and now the trio of Nolan-Goyer-Snyder have the gargantuan task of making sure the next Supes flick grosses (overgrosses more preferable by the studio execs for sure) while at the same time delivering something worth one's while. As I understand it, execs want more action in the next Superman re-boot to cash in on the aggressive hormones of a young male movie-going audience but with Nolan around, let's hope it'll indeed be something worth all our whiles.

And oh, I liked Superman Returns.

While it was not as action-overlaid as say X-Men or Spiderman or as dark and gritty as Nolan's Batman flicks, the storytelling was well-done and the balance of action and drama (in the vein of Christopher Reeve's Superman series) was good. Like many critics, I felt Kate Bosworth was not Lois Lane but Kevin Spacey was great as Lex Luthor. Routh's acting was good ... not perfect, but good enough for the film (there's not much acting to be done once you don the Superman costume -- that's like being a god but his Clark Kent portrayal pays homage to the bumbling Reeve characterization of Supes' alter ego). It would be good to see him return to the role which he says he would be happy to play again.

* * * *

This entry was written over two days, in spurts, in between work at the Desk :)

wednesday warbles: hk, website stuff, comics, freedom fighter,

If I have been quiet of late (again), it's mainly because my online attention has been ensuring PinoyHomes4You.com is running smoothly. And I'm still in the midst of adding more content, not to mention, bells and whistles to the site to make it more attractive.

This project is a joint project between me and my wife for purposes of additional financial rewards. Mind you, I am no web designer ... this website runs on Blogger and is basically a blog running a custom domain. Of course, the finality needed a little adjustment (and probably more tweaking in the future) of the HTML code but this is basically a blog template enhanced.

It's like this blog you're reading ... much of the work is done by Blogger's great blogging CMS-styled software ... being able to edit the HTML was a welcome bonus.

What follows next would be to apply all the learnings I've gained from almost five years of online marketing into the site to make it a success. That would be the harder part!

* * * *

The image on the left is a shot of the Bank of China Tower (left) and the Cheung Kong Center shot in Central in Hong Kong Island during last month's trip.

I'll be uploading more photos of our trip to HK on my Facebook, photos that were not posted by my sister in hopes of adding variety to the trip.

Even though it's been over a month since the HK trip, I've still got HK on my mind and Elvie and I hope to go there again, next year, time and budget permitting.

The place where we stayed, Lee Garden House along Cameron Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon was a great location -- nearby Nathan Road and an MTR, a few blocks from the bargain "bangketa" shops, and a little further would the more upscale shops (with nooks and crannies filled with eateries, trinket shops, money exchange shops, etc.). The staff, including a couple of Pinays, were quite friendly and they helped us secure tickets to Disneyland HK.

Like most hostels, the rooms were small but comfortable. In any case, you won't be staying for extending periods of time in your room as there are a lot of places to go to in HK. And what's great about Lee Garden was the free wi-fi. You just had to get the password from Mr. Chan and you're off to cyberspace (however, I was out of the hostel for most of the time or otherwise babysitting, hence the lack of updates while in HK).

Still a lot of places to go to and surprises to unravel the next time we hit HK. Next time, we'll be better prepared :)

* * * *

While my rummaging through my CD and DVD piles last weekend, I espied my copy of the turn-of-the-century game, Freedom Fighter.

I had been looking for the game for a couple of years now (trigger-finger itch) and when I found it amidst the cases of my music CDs, I was ecstatic.

The last time I played Freedom Fighter was about five years ago on my old P4 rig. Back then, while the game played well on P4 and Nvidia, there were times it dragged. On my CQ40, it runs smoothly!!!

I've already finished this game once but re-playing it would be fun ... an action-filled distraction from all the FB games I've been playing of late. Will be enjoying this game for quite some time, for sure.

* * * *

Been feasting on comics and graphic novels lately ... just re-read Identity Crisis, Kick Ass, Kingdom Come, and Watchmen. Also devoured Underpass, the Summit Media comics anthology, and a few more comics I've bought recently from the sale bins of Filbar's and Planet X.

Will likely be reading tons more as I've still got several stuff stowed away including Tom Strong, Battle for the Cowl, Civil War, Final Crisis, the Ultimates, Losers, and several Batman and Superman novels like Red Son, Batman: Year One, War of the Supermen, and Frank Miller's Dark Knight novels. I've just started reading Transmetropolitan as well.

And I will be re-reading Blackest Night as well, just to make sure I digested everything.

Noticed how biased I am to DC comics?

* * * *

I will be uploading sketches soon, promise!

* * * *

Sheesh, 12:24am ... what was supposed to be a Tuesday Tidbits now turns into Wednesday Warbles ... time to sleep, good day, folks!

blogging via email: a test post

This is a test post only to see if blogging via email works. Since the desk has blocked access to anything remotely related to social networking including FB, Foursquare, Twitter, DevianArt, Multiply, MySpace, and most free blogging sites like Blogger, blogging via email makes the most perfect sense to be able to reach out. Curiously though, Wordpress.com isn't blocked. This post will be erased in the future. This post doesn't mean much and I reco you read the next post below which is more relevant reading. Good morning everyone!

tuesday tidbits: issa at 8 months, hk trip, bookcase, apartment, cartoons, cq40

Hmm, I've been quite remiss in maintaining this here blog of mine that my long-time partner-in-crime turned OFW in the big desert, Noel, has pointedly informed me for the second such time that he has been frequenting The Coffee House Chronicles and I've been caught red-handed not updating for weeks on weeks.

Belated happy birthday, my friend, and I hope to sit down with you for some sugar-free coffee when you do come home for a vacation.

As for maintaining my blog (as it seems to be a source of tsismis for you :P), I'll try and keep you entertained by posting frequently especially when work (and FB games) don't get in the way of the upkeep.

* * * *

I just realized that it has been 2 months since my last post. What have I been doing the past 8 weeks that have kept me from blogging?

Well, family stuff mostly demanded my time last month as my sister, Wheng, flew in from Dubai, UAE for her annual vacation and our weekends were spent mostly at our home in San Pedro, Laguna. Being a school month, my sister only got to spend time with her pamangkins on the weekend. So, as soon as school and office were done on Fridays, we got on board the "big red car" (that's what Ikai calls our ride) and sped off to Laguna for the weekend.

And oh, yeah, we went to Hong Kong last month. My parents, Wheng, Elvie and our little ones spent four days and three nights in HK thanks to the discounted airfare we bought way back in April. So, even though things were rather tight on the financial side of things, we pushed through with the trip and enjoyed it actually -- enough to warrant us (me and wifey) to yearn for more as the trip was bitin.

The highlight of the trip was supposed to be Disneyland Hong Kong but it turned out that our visits to The Peak (via the Peak Tram, of course!) and to the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum were more enjoyable than the chaos we encountered in Disneyland HK. Even Ikai didn't enjoy the Disney trip as she was made to wait in line for at least 45 minutes before getting to board the 3-minute ride. In 6 hours spent at the amusement park, she only managed to ride 5 rides.

I was amazed with the efficiency of their train system -- their MTR. Using the MTR was a bit intimidating, at first, but you quickly learn to navigate your way around. Every sign was bilingual so you won't really get lost unless you can't read or dyslexic. For a big part of the three days, our mode of transport in HK was mainly the MTR and on every trip, you'll get to appreciate the efficiency of the system. I could only hope that the same thing can be achieved with our own MRT-LRT-PNR rail system.

I did a lot walking while in HK especially during the nights when the weather was cooler (August is summer in HK -- summer with much rain!). When everyone else was tired and was off to bed early, I strolled the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon -- not shopping or eating but just taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of one of the world's most vibrant cities.

I could ramble on and on about our trip but let's leave that for another day. For pictures, my sister Wheng has posted two galleries on her Facebook account (here) so no point in duplicating them here in CFC.

* * * *

And while in HK, we celebrated Baby Issa's 8th month!

We didn't go out as everyone was tired and just stayed at the hostel for a Yoshinoya feast. To top it off, we bought a "mango" cake from a popular HK bakeshop.

The photo on the right shows my sister, Wheng, holding Baby Issa along with Ikai who can't wait for the dinner to commence.

Issa is now 9 months old.

* * * *

My trusty Nokia 6680 opted for suicide and promptly died on me yesterday. I know I can still get that repaired somehow and a new battery will extend its life some more but as that is unexpected expenditure that I cannot expedite for now, I'm going low-tech with a Nokia 3100 circa 2003.

This 3100 was all-jazzy and hi-tech with its colored screen some seven years ago but in today's standards -- it's simply prehistoric. The 3100 I'm using however is quite well-traveled. This one was the same 3100 my sister, Rochelle, asked me to buy for her in 2003 (under my name as she had no permanent work that time and thus would have slim chances of getting a postpaid line). After the lock-in period lapsed, she had it "unlocked" so that she could use another network's prepaid sim. Then in 2004, it went to the US when my sister went there where it was in use mainly as a roaming phone until my sis settled for a local carrier that had her use Motorola. This 3100 went back to the P.I. last year via padalas and was used by my father as a Globe phone (for playing a text game on Eat Bulaga, of all things) until he realized he was wasting his cellphone load on a game whereby his chances of winning were close to nil. It has then stayed "in the cupboard" until I resurrected it yesterday.

For now, this'll be my main phone until I get the 6680 fixed. My wife has been teasing me to get a new phone and maybe I will. The new Samsung Champ looks attractive enough -- price-wise and feature-wise :)

* * * *

My laptop also underwent repairs last month.

A couple of months before the warranty expired, my Compaq CQ40 started exhibiting "flickering" symptoms. I would later find out through online research that the LCD "flickering" problem was a popular one for such units and the best solution would be to have the entire LCD replaced.

I've also read up on problems encountered by Pinoys who have availed of the service at the HP Service Center and when I finally found the time to drop by and get the rig repaired, I was ready for an all-out war (online horror stories about repairs for the CQ40 reported a month-long stay of your unit at the service center among other things). In my case, I was actually surprised that it took no more than a week to get my LCD replaced (it being a hardware problem) and getting the laptop back was a delay on my part as I wasn't able to go to the service center due to conflicting schedules.

It's been one month since I placed the rig under repair and so far it has shown any recurrence of the flickering issue. Kudos to HP Service Center! One satisfied customer here!

* * * *

The desk has blocked access to all forms of social networking -- FB, Twitter, Foursquare -- and even access to blogging has been blocked. That alone has hampered my ability to be more frequent in my posting.

When I come home after work, of course, one has to spend time with family. After 8 or so hours away, who would not want to be loved ones, right? And I've made it a point to spend time with Ikai and help her with her assignments (especially with Elvie doing the shifting schedule once in a while). And while Ikai is makulit and I find myself sometimes raising my voice to curb her naughtiness and focus on studying and finishing her homework, I do enjoy my time with my daughter as we tackle her schoolwork.

* * * *

Remember me blogging about the need to cough up a bookcase so that my books won't be cluttering the apartment?

Well, the bookcase has been bought and now is part of our bedroom's furniture. It stands right next to the TV stand and is need, one of these days, of a serious re-arrangement as books, magazines and other bits and ends like photo albums, school supplies, tin can (containing mementos), coloring books (Ikai's), etc. have been placed haphazardly.

This bookcase was a 4-level D-I-Y from Shopwise which I assembled in under an hour. To prevent it from warping (especially the first three shelves from the bottom), you had to make sure the bottom portions were filled to the brim with books. You had wedge books so that the shelves maintained their levels. The heaviest and widest stuff were at the bottom -- large books, magazines (my Entrepreneur, FHM, Heavy Metal, and Dragon issues). The next level contained special edition sized or UK-sized or special soft-cover books. These books were joined by several stacks of conventionally-sized pocketbooks. The third level was for pocketbooks. The last level had photo albums, my comics and graphic novels, Ikai's books, and a few more odds and ends.

As expected, the bookcase couldn't contain all my books. There are probably about a dozen or so books still scattered all over the apartment (and a couple more stacks left at Laguna) so another bookcase is needed but that will have to wait until we get a bigger abode.

* * * *

Speaking of abode ... we will be moving again next year as soon as school is out.

The new owner of the apartment row where we currently reside has decided to increase the rent by more than 20% and we just feel the new rental amount isn't practical. For the increased rental amount you can get a bigger space somewhere and that's what we intend to find out.

We've already given notice and by early next year we would have to start looking around. We're hoping to be able to find a reasonably-priced place still within Makati as this is the most practical for us. My wife and I are both working in Makati while Ikai and her cousin, Mark (who is living with us), both have their schools here. While we're planning to move Ikai to a bigger school next year, our target school is still located within Makati.

Any suggestions? Preferably somewhere in the vicinity of Guadalupe Viejo-Poblacion-Olympia and where it doesn't flood. Around the same time last year, the apartment was inundated. Good thing we had a second floor.

The apartment or house for rent has to be a couple of stories with at least 2 bedrooms (three would be much better) and public transport is accessible. We're looking for one that has its own garage and its own electric and water meters.

* * * *

Oh, I've been sketching again ... a lot ... mostly on scratch papers when I'm thinking or talking to someone on the phone in the office. That's the only time I get to doodle hence a lot of my drawings are mostly half-baked stuff on the margins of documents, or, like I said, the back of scratch papers.

Will post them one of these days. Need to get photos of them first.

* * * *

One of my website domains is expiring soon and I don't have enough moolah yet to renew it! Aaarghhh!!! I'll need to tighten the spending a bit as I really need to renew the domain and not let it go to waste.

* * * *

Got lots of cartoons to watch! I've managed to secure copies of several DC Animated Universe direct-to-video films such as Green Lantern: First Flight, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Batman: Gotham Knight, and Superman/Batman:Apocalypse.

Now, I just need time to enjoy, savor and cherish these. Hay!

* * * *

That should be enough for now, folks. I'll try to post more frequently, promise :)

time to up some pages

I have yet to take advantage of the ability of adding new pages to this blog, making it more versatile and more similar to an actual website.

I only recently noticed this new feature when I was tinkering with my TDD blog (yes, I've been hiding under a rock all this time since the last update almost a month ago) and while 10 pages is not that many, it's enough for purposes of making the blog more information-laden.

Now, I can add an About Me or Resume page (which I've always planned to do but felt awkward doing because back then that meant creating another blog), a page where samples of my professional work can be seen -- ahem, for those sidelin -- I mean, professional consultancy instances :D

One of these days I need hunker down and actually do these pages ... question is when?

friday frolicks: diabetic daddy, ikai in nursery, to-do list, heroes, ek, father's day

Not updating the Coffee House as frequently as I should even though several potential coffee conversations hit me on a daily basis. Oh, well ...

* * * *
After a hiatus of more than 6 months, I've restarted the daily updates on my other blog, The Diabetic Daddy. Join me continue my seeming-to-never-end journey to 160 lbs and the ups and downs along the way. Incidentally, I am again in the techno-geek mode and itching to tinker with TDD's layout and add in a few ads here and there. That's basically because even though it has been on a sabbatical since December last year, it somehow picked up already almost 500 unique visitors -- not bad considering that after month after having started the blog I had only about 20 visitors.

I need to put in more content on that one to generate more traffic (although that might mean lesser and more infrequent trips to this here blog!). I've always meant TDD to be more than just a personal diary counting my calorie intake -- it was meant to feature products, news, tips, advice and other stuff for diabetics like myself. Now is the time to do just that :)


* * * *
This Friday marks my little daughter's first week in school :)

I am extremely proud of her as her teachers say she is well-behaved and listens to instructions well. When I ask her what she did in school everyday when I come home from work and for the past three days she has been saying that she has been writing. Asked what was that she wrote at school Ikai always answers "rock". I can't for the life of me figure out that one yet.

Unfortunately, much as I would like to I am unable to see her off to school as her classes are from 11:30am to 1:30pm, right smack in the middle of the office hours (unless I take a leave, of course). Maybe one of these days.

Ikai is attending a little nursery school named Jozare Nursery School near the apartment. It's a sectarian school but not Catholic (she and her mother and baby sister are Protestants) and purportedly is very academic in nature as compared to other nursery schools which are more of the "playschool" type.


* * * *
On a more personal and creative note, I've still got a lot of "to-dos" ...

• My comics projects has yet to see the light of day. No timetable when this can be started yet.
• My income-generating blog has yet to generate income (yes, I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record). Need to restart that soon as the potential financial gain from that is a welcome respite.
• Spec-Fic writing -- I've been generating story ideas every now and then but they don't get jotted down. Been wasting a lot of writing markets, contests, and submission calls. Unless I start writing (and get more rejections), my craft won't develop.
• Two board games I've conceptualized and started work on some five years ago are still on the drawing board. I know these two have great potential (although I might be producing them using my own money) but I just need to find the time to work on them. Completion of both would be a great creative achievement.
• Books! I've still got a lot of books waiting to be read! Aaargh!

* * * *
Speaking of to-dos ...

I've somehow managed to finally finish the entire first season of Heroes (yes, a late-bloomer to the show) and I've loved it. Now, I'm starting on the second season but not finding enough time to watch it. Although from the few episodes I've watched, the story has somehow gotten slower and somehow lacked the action and thrill of the first.

From the 'net I know the series has ended on its fourth season and there are a lot stuff that needs to be tied up. I hope it doesn't end up like 4400 which suddenly just ended with viewers not learning what fate befell the gifted ones.

Thank goodness for Lost and it was able to wrap up everything (as I've heard it) in its final season. Now, that's another TV series that I would dearly love to get back to watching to (with my wife who also loves the series). Another TV series we enjoyed watching together and getting addicted to (imagine us waking up and starting to watch and not getting up until it was late in the afternoon) was Prison Break.


* * * *
By the way, I've already finished with Tigana. Review on that one of these days when I get some free time.

Not reading anything for the meantime. Still deciding on what to read actually :)


* * * *
A couple of weeks back when my brother-in-law and his family were vacationing here in Manila (they are based in Zamboanga), Elvie and I took time off work and together with her cousin (and her cousin's daughter) took the entire family to Enchanted Kingdom.

The trip was essentially for the kids -- Ikai and her cousins Mark, Martin and Jazzy -- but it turned out I got to enjoy many of the rides as well :) I would've thought that because of my weight I would be disallowed on the rides but was not! Since the kids needed chaperons on some of the rides (Ikai and Martin being below the minimum height requirement as "adults"), I happily used my ride-all-you-can privilege.

Since I knew the place, I was the designated driver but I made a mistake on the exit. Instead taking the Balibago exit from SLEX, I got off the earlier one at Mamplasan and we ended up cruising the national highway and experiencing a bit of traffic. So, instead of arriving at EK at 2PM (the opening time for a Friday), we got there just before 3PM.

We stayed at EK until closing time and not even the strong summer shower that hit Sta. Rosa, Laguna around 5:30pm didn't dampen the kids' spirits. When the rains abated, we were off again to hit the rides :)

* * * *
Happy weekend to all. And to all fathers (meself included), Happy Father's Day!

We seriously thought last weekend was Father's Day and we were in Laguna to celebrate it with my folks. We went to Festival Mall-Alabang and did the usual stuff -- ate lunch (which acted as the celebration already), did some shopping (both window-shopping and actual hard-cash shopping), and the kids rode the rides with Ikai her usual carousel and choo-choo train, and Mark with the race-track kart.

Anyway, enjoyed the weekend nonetheless even if it was not yet Father's Day :P

online and foursquared

Wow! Over a month of not doing any update on this here blog and here I thought I was just a couple of weeks offline.

And now, it's already June :)

Well, almost offline as I am almost always online in one way or another -- on Facebook (recently under fire again for privacy controls) and a new social media site that centers on your location -- FourSquare. The latter works more brilliantly if you're surfing on the go and as stated on their site, FourSquare works well with an iPhone, a Blackberry, a Palm or a phone that runs the Android OS. Or if you have a smartphone with mobile connection (that doesn't suck you clean of internet-access moolah), that also works well.

As for me, I'm accessing the site through the computer and I do cheat with the check-ins -- I update my check-ins even before I reach my destination :P I'm heading that way anyway, I justify to myself.

Hopefully in several months' time I'll be engaging in the total FourSquare experience when I upgrade my mobile phone. The iPhone is an option but being the don't-go-for-what-everyone-has type of nerd, I'm looking at Samsung and Sony-Ericsson phones that are running Android. Specifically, am looking at the SE Xperia10a (note there's a space between E and X, perverts!). But as I've mentioned to the FB world a couple of weeks back, the cost of the unit is astronomical. My trusty N6680 (which is now being used by my sis-in-law) only cost me a few thousand bucks. The Xperia will set me back some 30++ thousands! The iPhone is slightly lower but still cost-prohibitive. I'd much rather buy a small netbook ha ha ha.

Oh, what phone am I using now? Curious, you. I'm using a E71 Pro rip-off, made in China, bought for me by my sister in Dubai. Its casing and look is similar to the Nokia E71 Pro but has a built-in TV and radio (with the eye-sore pull-out antenna) -- much like what MyPhone is hawking in cellphone stores. But its unreliable and lacks the features one would look for a smartphone (my 6680 was a better phone thanks to its Symbian OS). I couldn't even load ebooks in my current phone because there's simply no program / software that would allow me to do so.

But one thing I've developed by using this rip-off is the use of QWERTY keys -- I like :) So, the next phone, aside from running on Android, most likely be a QWERTY phone (so that knocks of the iPhone from the options, I guess).

thursday tattles: issa is 4 months, driving, phil-spec-fic-antho, comics stuff, busy, busy, busy

I got sucked into a black hole and had to crawl out of the other galaxy hence the seemingly long absence from the Coffee House.

Black holes aside, I've been quite busy with work at the Desk especially coming from a 5-day sojourn way down south. And I expect to travel again late next week down south again for another branch inauguration. In fact, I might be island-hopping a bit later this month as a couple of our branches are due to be officially inaugurated and I'm the advance party in both cases.

And after City of Dreams and Nightmare (which I reviewed in my last post) I haven't had enough time to read something that's bound to get reviewed. Oh, well, to be honest, I haven't been reading a book but I have been reading comics :)

On the downside, I have not been writing either (hence the black hole excuse).

the designated driver

One major change to my family's lifestyle is a presence of a car. Not my car, mind you, but my parents' (to be more exact, my sister's as she was the one who purchased it) late 90s Mazda 323 Familia.

I've been driving the souped-up car (the Mazda is lowered, has body-sculpting, a spoiler, and lots of other bells and whistles) for a little under a month now. My parents are currently visiting my sister in California and will be away until next month, and, I've decided to keep the car with me in the apartment (than leave it at Laguna as a possible target for the akyat-bahay gang).

Driving is a new option for me and the family and while I do not use the car on a daily basis, it is used for family affairs -- like when we went to spend Holy Week at Laguna and on Sundays when we go to church. This is also practice for me as I prep to get my own vehicle in coming weeks.

I still need more practice in driving but I'm more confident now behind the wheel than I was when I first drove the car without my father by my side. I do still have some lapses in judgement and still familiarizing myself with traffic rules and situation but I know I only will learn these with actual experience. So far, the farthest I've gone on my own is from Makati to Calamba in Laguna.

Incidentally, I already have been issued my very first traffic violation ticket -- for disregarding traffic signs. This happened just last weekend on our way to church in Ermita when I was stopped by MMDA officers for driving on the wrong lane. I was meaning to drive straight but the lane I was on was designated only for turns. That violation meant Php150 and while I cannot promise not to be caught again, I fervently hope never to violate another traffic rule again.

issa is now four ... months!

For a four month old baby, Issa is sure a big girl. She now weighs 7.6 kilos (about 15 pounds). In contrast, our eldest reached 8 kilos when she was 6 or 7 months. So, you can just imagine how big little Issa is.

We celebrated her fourth month with a simple cake and spaghetti party in the little apartment. As is the monthly routine, we took pictures of Issa with her cake.

brown plus brown

Last Sunday I bought myself two new shoes. And the good thing about it is that the cost of the two new pairs was for just one pair -- buy one, take one 'ika nga.

It was my wife who spotted the promo over at Manel's in Glorietta 5 and seeing a buget bonanza, I pounced on the chance and used the plastic to buy the two pairs. The other good thing about the purchase was that the two pairs I bought were brown shoes.

I don't really keep a lot of footwear -- a pair of rubber shoes for rugged wear and anything athletic, one pair of Chuck's, a worn-out Crocs, and three pairs of black shoes for everyday office wear. I have an old pair of browns that I don't really use anymore and my wife indicated I needed a pair for those earth-toned office attires.

So I bought browns -- two pairs of them for just around P2,000.

The Manel's promo of buy one, take one worked this way: you chose two pairs of shoes (your pick, you can even buy one pair for you and another pair for your wife) and you pay only for the higher-priced pair.

In my case, I bought almost identical brown pairs that were priced the same.

Unfortunately, the promo at Manel's was a one shot. When I asked the lady cashier how long they were running the promo, she answered it was only good for that Sunday. There were no announcements, no print ads announcing it.

It was just luck and chance we were at the mall when the promo happened.

Will be on the lookout for Manel's promo next time and get myself another pair ... or two.

mothballed comics project

I had to delay (aka mothball) my personal comics project indefinitely as work and work-related travels have necessitated a change of plans.

And I haven't been drawing for quite some time now, my Sketch-A-Day habit has sadly been mothballed as well. The sketchpad and pencils are quitely tucked in a backpack that has slowly been gathering dust since my trip to Pagadian a couple of weeks back.

Hmm, will have to remind myself to use a bigger office bag and bring on a daily basis the sketchpad and pencils for those downtimes at the Desk.

summer komikon 2010 is this saturday

Speaking of comics, Summer Komikon 2010 is happening this Saturday, April 17, at the Bahay ng Alumni in Peyups - Diliman.

Unfortunately, I might miss it as their are other stuff to do this Saturday as well. I can try and see if I can squeeze it in but for those who would be fortunate enough to attend, the program is as follows:

10:00 AM - OPENING / Registration: Comic strip making

10:30 AM - Video loops / games / trivias

11:00 AM - ANVIL: Renaissance Book Signing

12:00 PM - 12:30PM - Animadreams / Close Registration for Comic strip making

1:00 PM - ANVIL: Renaissance Book Signing

1:00 PM - Start: Comic strip making contest

2:00 PM - Sponsor Time: UR 107.9

2:30 PM - games / trivias / komikon debate / video loops

3:00 PM - GUEST: Rod Espinosa

4:00 PM - games / trivias / komikon debate / End: Comic strip making contest

4:30 PM - Group Spotlight: Bayan Knights

5:30 PM - games / trivias / komikon debate / video loops

6:00 PM - Announcement of Komikon contest winners

6:30 PM - games / trivias / komikon debate / video loops

8:00 PM - End of SUMMER KOMIKON 2010

New comics that are set to debut on Saturday include "Laban: A Love Story" by Jose Gamboa -- a Ninoy and Cory Aquino comic which promises the unexpected, Josel Nicolas's "The El Bimbo Adaptations", the Komikero Artist's Group Anthology -- issue 6, "Proud Callboy" by Hazel Manzano, the 4th installment of Bayan Knights, "Yew Stupid Bastard" from Ed Tadeo, a new title from Gerry Alanguilan called "Umlauts and Atom Bombs #1", and lots more good stuff.

For a preview of what other great reads to expect on Saturday, head on over to the Mababang Langit blog which has all the spills on titles coming out on Saturday.

I'm sure going to miss out a lot :(

philippine speculative fiction 5 book launch

Another event I'm sure to miss (as I will be flying in on the same date from GenSan) is the launch of Philippine Speculative Fiction 5.

Here are a few words from Dean Alfar about the book:

"Philippine Speculative Fiction has become one of the country’s most consistent and highly-anticipated yearly anthology series, showcasing the continuing development of the exciting field of speculative fiction writing. This fifth volume, edited by Nikki Alfar and Vincent Michael Simbulan, collects a broad spectrum of short stories that define, explore, and sometimes blur the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all things in between—featuring the work of both literary luminaries and very new voices, from across the archipelago and the globe."

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it but I submitted an entry to this anthology last year but sadly, it was not selected and I received my rejection slip by email from Vin some weeks later. Nah, didn't feel bad about not making the cut. I knew (and still know) my writing still had lightyears to go before it becomes publishable.

In any case, if you're free and got nothing to do on that Saturday afternoon, drop by Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street at 3PM for the launch. As for me, as soon as I'm able, I'll head to the nearest Fully Booked branch and get myself a copy of the antho.

busy month-end

My calendar towards the end of April is filling up rather rapidly.

Late next week I'll be off to Koronadal (via GenSan) and then the week after it'll probably be to Cebu and Tagbilaran. The month will be capped off with a Tarlac inauguration. Much as I've missed traveling, it becomes tiring when you get to do it on a weekly basis. And that's what I'll be looking forward to in the next three months as there are about 10 more branches that needs inaugurating. And since I'm the most able-bodied person in the group, I have to do most of the travels.

So, I'll be prepping my travel bag for continuous use until June. That's when we expect to wrap up things.