watchmen news

Yahoo Movies' Matt Daniel reveals the faithfulness of Zach Snyder's (300) onscreen adaptation of famed and cult-favorite comic book Watchmen (written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and Alan Higgins) in a recent article at Yahoo! He tells us that Snyder has done a terrific job of condensing the massive comic book epic into a 2 plus hour spectacle, all the while remaining true to the grit and heart of Watchmen the comic.

Daniel and some other lucky fellows were also invited last week to a private screening of some 20 minutes of footage from the film and he has liked what he has seen which, in turn, heightens the hype and anticipation for the film. Will Snyder do justice to one of comic-dom's most beloved works?

Here's the latest trailer for the Watchmen. The movie is set for release in (sighing here) March 2009:

wednesday warbles: bone-tired, u.p. fair, yahoo, fantasy books, kulambo, robinson's place

I am bone-tired.

But I still have a lot of stuff to work on despite spending more than the required hours at the hours due to a mounting workload. At this point, I have no choice as my annual appraisal is due in a couple of weeks and I really need to step up if I want to pass the "above-average" bar of management and get a substantial increase in pay (which, as is always the case, is always needed).

I've been bone-tired since last week as more and more work piles up in the department. I not only have to delegate and oversee the progress of each and every assignment handed down to us but I also do my share of the dirty work -- writing a piece now and then, liaising with internal clients for their projects, doing mock-ups and drafts especially on rush jobs, and helping out in conceptualization and idealization.

As I mentioned to Paolo aka Projektus last week, I've been sleeping more than 8 hours a night for most of last week and that's mainly because of the mixture of fatigue and some stress. Over the weekend, I still was stuck in bed for most of Saturday sleeping and grabbed several hours of zzz's Sunday.

And I don't think there's any let-up this week. Geesh, I need that vacation.

* * * *

Paolo also reminded me that this week is UP Fair once again. It's been years, as in 10 years or so since I attended a UP Fair. And as has been the case, I will not be able to go to the fair this year. Much as I want to (and I do want to), there are other priorities that need to be taken cared of -- work, for one, which will once again be OTY and a nagging side project that has been a pain in the butt for several months now. Plus, whatever time of the day is left should be devoted to Elvie and Ikai. Fatherhood does wonders to one's thinking.

* * * *

Yahoo rejected Microsoft's $44B offer ... YAHOO!!!

* * * *

I may be getting a new CPU in the next few months. This is a potential reality as my sisters-in-law are bent on opening up a business and will require a computer. Elvie's part in the business venture is doling out stuff in the house that we no longer will need. We're thinking of buying a new CPU and just hand-over the old one to her sisters.

Of course, I'll be getting the newer components from my PC (memories, fans, DVD writer and the HDD) and retool it with its original components (512MB mem, 1 HDD, CD-RW). I already have a quote for a Core Duo with 2GB DDR mem and 160GB HDD ... it looks good!

* * * *

I'm re-reading David Eddings' Sparhawk fantasy series again. I'm now working on the Tamuli set after finishing the Elenium.

Most probably when I finish this one, I'll be pulling out my other Eddings' series -- the Mallorean -- and renew ties with the likes of Belgarion, Belgarath, Barak, Silk and others.

Eddings' fantasy are not high-fantasy like JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or CS Lewis' Narnia books. While clearly fantasy with knights, queens, kings and of course, the deux ex machina -- magic -- Eddings makes his stories more cosmopolitan. He uses conversational language and not literary language and interjects his narrative with jokes and situations that make the stories sound contemporary.

He is criticized for using such a language but then again, it works. His books have sold millions all over the world and are a light read filled with action, magic and creativity.

* * * *

We're now sleeping within the confines of a kulambo (mosquito net). This occurrence was brought about by the sudden influx of night-time mosquitoes who proceeded to feast on us Saturday night. Ikai was the most serious victim, receiving mosquito bites on her face, arms and legs. I got most of my bites on the chest and arms and hands.

This alarming situation (despite the diligent spraying of insecticide nightly) forced us to look for a kulambo to purchase. So, last Sunday after church, we trooped to Robinson's Place Malate and proceeded to buy a cloth-like mosquito net for Php 220 (yes, it would've been more cheaper to buy one at Divisoria but counting the expense a trip to DV with merienda and all will entail, the Php 220 was alright).

* * * *

Speaking of Robinson Place ... their Midtown Wing is now open, for some time, I believe. But last Sunday was the first time I saw it and was delighted with how the expansion looked. Power Books had a rather large branch on the top level of the expansion and there were several new eating places to try in several of the floors. Here are some photos I took with my trusty phone-cam:

The lobby of the Midtown Wing

A view from the 3rd level of the new wing. Power Books is on the top floor

A large Timezone for those seeking electronic amusement

I was only able to snap a few photos as security guards roamed the area. I've had a few dealings with security guards in the past who have issues with cameras and I just wasn't in the mood for confrontations that day.

The new wing was clean and smelled clean. I just have no idea if this is Robinson's answer to Trinoma or Greenbelt 5 or Rockwell or Podium or The Block. I wouldn't be surprised, experiencing first hand how Robinson's manages its malls, if in the coming months the new wing will resemble a flea market as every space and nook and cranny of the new wing is filled with stores, booths, kiosks, carts and standees of nearly every size and shape.

Dial-Up Dilemma

Thanks to the end of Ramadan, which our Muslim brothers and sisters celebrate (for those who aren’t in the know), my wife and daughter and I had a chance to visit the old folks in San Pedro, Laguna for a couple of days. My balikbayan tito and tita are also staying in my parents house whiling away the final days of their vacation before they catch their plane back tomorrow evening to the US which they have permanently called home. So, it’s a reunion of sorts with a cousin, twice removed, also coming over tomorrow to help in the hustle and bustle of the balikbayan departure.

While my elders are out to watch Regine Velasquez stretch her vocal chords at the PICC (thanks in part to my mother’s closeness with Unilab reps), my little family and I have been left at home to fend for ourselves. After tucking our baby to sleep, Elvie also decided to proceed with snoozing.

On the other hand, with my new laptop (new as in newly-given to me, a Lenovo ThinkPad T60 which came out late 2006) I decided to connect to cyberspace.

After tinkering with a 2005 ISP card and failing to catch a connection (probably the card is already expired), I pulled out the internet card I just bought from our suking tindahan earlier this evening and proceeded to setup the connection.

After over a dozen busy signals, I finally managed to connect to the internet via dial-up mode, usurping the telephone line from its usual plug in the phone unit and proceeded to voyage in cyberspace … in 50kbps.

I suddenly missed my internet connection at the Makati apartment which was either a 12Mbps or a 100Mbps (depends on which modem was faster – the internal D-Link one, or the Motorola external one). And I definitely miss the office internet which was, even when the Taiwan quake affected internet connections all across Asia, is faster than what I am using now, at this instant, at 10:44PM.

In the early years of the internet here in the Philippines, dial-up at 50Kbps was already considered luxury. Nowadays, with the advent of broadband connections with their ultra-powerful gigabytes per second capabilities (and of course, for the masa, your choice of broadband connection speeds of 512kbps or if your budget can be stretched, a whopping 1mbps). Thus, this makes what I’m doing right now, err, pathetic.

Heck, I’ve tried installing Yahoo Messenger (with the intent of catching either or both my sisters online and having my parents chat with them) and it’s already an hour since I downloaded the YM software and it’s still downloading.

That makes my intent to connect to our office via remote VPN connection an even harder probability, more like an impossible dream of sorts.

Hay … I better not forget to have PLDT DSL installed here in Laguna before my sister arrives later this year. She has demanded that I make sure this is done as she aims to come home with her laptop in tow (she will leave her laptop to my parents and buy a new one in Dubai, so she says) and hopes to be able to connected via email and messenger during her one month vacation.

Well, this is better than not being connected at all. Hmmm, nine hours of internet time left :)

Multiplication Magic

Here's something useful for innumerates like myself which I found on Yahoo! Watch it:



I tried multiplying a 3-digit number by a 2-digit one using the technique taught by the video, but of course, increased the table into a 6-cell thingy and still got a correct result. Will try it with more digit-numbers later.