I've had friends tell me that I'm "masipag" when it comes to maintaining this blog. I tell them it's really not that hard since: a) I stick with a regular schedule as much as posssible; and b) there really isn't all that much to do or think about since this is mainly just a recap of the week's events. Most of the time I just react to or recall seemingly random events and find some connections and commonalities for the sake of cohesion.
There are times, though, when do I let the need to deliver contentdrive my actionsfor the week, which mostly results in me sharing the latest book, game, or movie that I'm checking out. I haven't done any of that these recent weeks either because there are more pertinent matters that I felt were betterto discuss or because I don't really have anything new on those fronts to share. For example: I'm still playing Zenonia, Age of Wonders 2, and Heroes of Might and Magic Chronicles. I did get started on Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" a few weeks back but I haven't finished it, though I am liking it far better than "American Gods". I haven't seen any new movies in a while and my taste in shows have just merely carried over from the previous shows. I haven't been checking out any of the new shows for fear of them getting cancelled just as I was getting invested. I'll see if the shows I'm interested in make it past December before I dive right in.
I saw "Book of Life" last Tuesday and surprise! I actually liked this movie far better than "Frozen". However, I do feel like the story could use some restructuring so that we spend more time in the Land of the Remembered. We seriously didn't need 15 or so minutes establishing their childhood. I also didn't understand why there had to be a framing story with some kids in the museum. But other than that, I thought the film was perfect and really wins in animation and voice direction.
Of things that stay the same, I found myself back in my habit of compulsive spending, which is only notable because of last week's blog. If I've been Instagramming a lot more than usual lately it's because I got myself another cheap-ass droid last week mainly for the mobile Internet and the camera. I also got new more expensive eyeglasses last weekend because the plastic one I've been wearing breaks easily (at least once a year). Here's hoping the investment pays off and it stays with me for at least ten years. Lastly: A quick errand at SM yielded a shirt and new jeans (something that's been known to happen to me A LOT in the past). To be fair, they were on sale and I do need new jeans. Also: A sideline job paid a couple of weeks ago but not enough for a party (yeah, I'm being defensive).
New shirt, jeans, and glasses and taken with a new phone. I look great, okay!
I'm also back in the habit of unconventional dieting where I would eat a lot in the morning, a little during the day, and nothing but water in the evening. Of course, that also lead to my habit of breaking that diet when geek friend Tobie treated me to his special pasta recipe and milk shake from Ludo last Friday evening. This was his late birthday treat for me, which is just really sweet of him. Of course, Tobie being Tobie, we played some games! I surprisingly won our game of Carcassonne Wheel of Fortune at his place and Ludo co-owner Jay won the two "engine-building" games we played there.
Diet be damned again come Saturday evening because a friend I thought I've lost is back in my life. Beejay and his fiancee Din invited me and Din's friend Karen to dinner. I haven't seen or spoken to Beejay since a spat we had over Facebook messenger early last year so I was surprised to get the call sometime ago (briefly hinted at here) inviting me to be a groomsman at the wedding. I'm also to be a host at the reception, along with Karen, which was what the evening was really about. What I thought would be an awkward dinner turned out to be quite enjoyable - like no time at all has passed (I am disgusted at my own cliche but it is what it is). Even if I feel like I've changed a lot since the last time we saw each other, and he most certainly has, there's still that sense of familiarity and it's wonderful.
From Din's Instagram
I suppose going back to the comfortable and familiar in a sea of change is a good thing every now and then. Yet before I even get to big change I've been planning for myself, I now have a problem: The wedding is in February. I wasn't planning on hanging around these parts by then. What do I do?
Whatever happens, I wanna be able to vote in the 2016 US elections in person. I mailed my absentee ballot for this year's local elections last Thursday and I felt like cheating. Why am I voting when I don't even contribute taxes there (something I feel strongly about the voting populace here)? And, no, this isn't a new experience since I've already voted in absentia back in 2012.
As soon as I finished last week's catch-up, I immediately had an idea what this week's blog was gonna be about since the thought weighed heavily on my head days after posting it.
When I made the jump from talking about 300: Rise of an Empire to the Islamic State, I did not mean to imply that modern-day Persians (aka the Turks and the Iranians) are in anyway related to the terrorist group. I actually had to research about the difference between Persian and Arabian people because for the longest time, and I'm sure I'm not the only one guilty of this, I thought they were one and the same mainly because of geography and religion. I guess it's the same how some people can't differentiate between Koreans and Chinese (or even Japanese) and assume that the cultures are interchangeable. This doesn't necessarily mean that lumping unrelated peoples together is racist but I do understand how the ignorance can be offensive, regardless of the intent.
Though I wonder why everyone else but white people seem quick to cry "racist stereotyping". Since I talked about my love of the fantasy genre last week, allow me to make examples of elves (a Norse creature) and satyrs (a Greek creature) or, more similarly, fairies and nymphs being lumped together in games and books. Why is noone crying foul over the homogenization of European culture?
I also wonder: People were up in arms when Ziyi Zhang, a Chinese woman, was cast as the lead in Memoirs of a Geisha but I don't remember a single protest raised against the "Indianization" of the Fire Nation, which had a more Japanese inspiration in the cartoons, in "The Last Airbender". The latter, of course, had bigger problems when it was accused of white-washing peoples that had distinctively Inuit and Chinese origins.
Of course, the difference between "Geisha" and "Last Airbender" was that the former was explicitly set in Japan - a real location - whereas the former was set in a fictional world, so I can maybe give the producers a little leeway when it comes to reinterpreting the source material for the big screen to appeal to a wider domestic audience (same thing that happened with the Dragonball movie).
I admit I'm also given to a bit of bias. I really don't mind if a traditionally white character gets made over into a totally different race in a reinterpreted adaptation. Michael Clark Duncan as the Kingpin? Sold! Fan Bing Bing as Blink? Loved it! Michael B. Jordan as the Human Torch? Well, let's see how this goes but I'm open. There really isn't much room to wiggle here since these are characters that have been canonically illustrated as white people with a back history set in an idealized "real" world that specifically establishes such but I'm still all for it! But hell will be raised if War Machine or the Falcon were depicted as white.
That being said, I do wonder if a reinterpretation of "The Lord of the Rings" or "A Song of Ice and Fire" set in a more Asian-inspired fictional world, going directly against the authors' visions, would work? I wonder if I would be open to the idea. Right now, I'm a little curious about it as that sounds like an awesome production, travesty to the source material aside.
Admittedly, the modes of pop culture I consume - fantasy novels, comics, cartoons, even the CGI-laden summer blockbusters, and games (possibly) are all constructs of white people's imaginations, so it makes sense that some of the early works, even some of the current ones, in those genre were about them. I guess noone's crying foul about the homogenization of European cultures because the perpetrators are themselves white. We, as non-white consumers, cannot feign ignorance either because our education system has been Euro-centric from the get-go, which is why it's easier for us to accept the Greeks as heroes and the Persians as villains. Heck, I knew more about Greek mythology from high school than I ever did about Filipino lores. And no, it can't be that empire-building just leaves a bad taste in our mouth because the Romans and Alexander had empires and are venerated for it.
Why all this matters to me has to do with what I intend to leave in this world as my life's work: A fantasy epic that has gods, monsters, magic, heroes, and all sorts of creatures. One of the original ideas for the story was a desert-dwelling, moon-worshipping tribe of villainous ogres, which was immediately dropped after 9/11. I also wanted to present a human race that was far more diverse than what JRR Tolkien had in his legendarium, so I had main characters that resembled and were based on American Indians, Chinese, and Persian peoples. Meanwhile, the human halves of my humanoid creatures (aka harpies and minotaurs) are black. And yet my main character was a white boy. Even the gods I imagined then were Greek-inspired so they were naturally white.
As time wore on and my knowledge of the real world increased and deepened, the fictional world I have in my head also evolved, albeit somewhat conflictingly. The gods are no longer white humans but magical creatures instead. I have now added more humans into the world, including those based on the East Indians and the Africans. All of them inhabiting the same world as elves, fairies, djinns, dragons, and vampires! I feel like in the effort to not be racially biased, I have created this rather colorful but convoluted world and lost track of the story!
Another question that have plagued me in recent years was whether to write my Filipino ancestry into the story. After all, Tolkien drew much inspiration from his Irish ancestry for his Hobbits. I tried to rewrite the story in this vein when I joined NaNoWriMo a few years ago but I ended up with a totally different story than I originally intended! This got me thinking: Regardless of whether I find a large enough audience, should I bear the responsibility of bringing my world into this genre that I love and aspire to participate in?
On a related story: This past week, some of my friends from UP have been accusing the NU Pep Squad (and other squads) of "cultural misappropriation" in their choice of themes following last week's cheerdancing competition for which the UP Pep Squad, despite their strong advocacy theme, placed second. While I don't doubt my friends' objectivity about the matter, it can't be helped to taste bitterness in their objections. The same can be said about me expressing this observation coming from the school that placed third.
Now all was on my mind a few days ago when I thought: Maybe the only way my work would not come of as Euro-centric, racist, ignorant, culturally misappropriated and not worry about representing my ethnicity was to instead create a whole new race of humans that are far removed what exists now - like people gray skins with blue hair. I can take what little tidbits about real cultures however it would serve the story. How cool would that be to have samurai-like warriors headquartered in a pyramid, for example?
Of course, I'm rambling about a piece of work that doesn't exist yet but as my life's work, I need to really think hard about these things and educate myself.
Anyway, I'm currently feverish, fighting off a lip infection, so I apologize if this week's edition isn't studded with links and images. I'll update when I feel better, hopefully this coming week.
Geekdom is a vast realm of varied interests and I have long cast my lot with fantasy and mythology. Last week alone, I found myself gorging on as much magic and fantasy as I can handle - and somehow found some connections between my hobbies, current events, and existentialist questions.
First things first: I finished the entire second book of Avatar: The Legend of Korra and, while not awful, it just didn't quite capture my imagination as much as Legend of Aang did. Its world of automobiles, "movers", mechas, etc. were just alien to me. In fact, the only episodes I fully enjoyed were the saga of Wan (spin-off please?). I would've appreciated the world better if bending somehow explained the new technologies. That being said, I'm sure still gonna follow book three.
On the gaming front, I'm still on Warlords Battlecry 2 and Age of Wonders 2 (yeah, it takes a while). I've been playing WB2 on a daily basis since Geekstractions and I've now conquered three quarters of the world (with a sad win-loss record of 1:2). Meanwhile, I've been spending my free Saturdays on AoW2, playing a couple of really long levels at a time, and is now one level away from finishing the game! Yay me!
Book-wise, I started Daniel Arenson'sFirefly Island. I didn't remember the premise of the book and why I bought it so I went into blindly, not certain if I liked it a couple of chapters in. But the more I unraveled Arenson's world, I became so much more invested that I plowed through about eight chapters last Saturday! The narrative is easy enough to follow, the characters are likable, and the world-building was wonderful! It reminds me a lot of David Eddings' and Brandon Sanderson's works!
I also caught up with some movies that I deliberately missed because of bad reviews: Wrath of the Titans, The Immortals, and 300: Rise of the Empire. Titans was just plain awful in every conceivable angle while Immortals and Empire were serviceable enough - they were at least pretty. My main problem with the mythology in Titans and Immortals, though, was that the "twilight of the gods" was a Norse concept and not Greek. Can somebody just make a film about Ragnarok and be done with it?
Coincidentally, I saw Rise of an Empire last Thursday - exactly the anniversary of 9/11. Just the day before, Barrack Obama addressed the ISIS situation. It was then that I acknowledged (internally) that I am afraid, especially at the prospect of another world war (thinking about Russia and North Korea as well). While violent conflicts are par for the course of any fantasy epic in any medium, I don't think I'm prepared to handle such a situation if it hits close to home.
Gorgo and Artemisia were the best part of the movie!
While we're on the subject of fantasy and religion, I've always wondered what it said about me that I am now averse towards the magical and fantastic doctrines of organized religion but sold on anything with dragons, fairies, avatars, titans, and the like. Then again, fantasy doesn't force me to believe that wizards are real the same way that religions venerate their saints and prophets. Then again, I'm no atheist. I'd still like to believe in a powerful unknowable force that permeates the universe. Maybe that's why I haven't lost my sense of wonder? Or maybe they're not connected?
Anyway, I also had the pleasure of teaming up with Paolo and Denice, both members of the Geek Fight committee, at last Wednesday's Boho Quiz Night hosted by Jon (one of my usual quiz night teammates). We didn't win but it was a fun evening nonetheless. I got to participate in Paolo's impromptu mini trivia game at our table since he was showing us some of the questions he used before. As usual, if it's not related to fantasy and mythology (or comics), I'm useless.
In other news:
I went to my college friend Hanna's kid's baptism way up in Bulacan yesterday. It's always good to see the old gang, especially Tintin who's been based in Singapore for more than 5 years. Of course, I found something deplorable about the priest's sermon. It's the thing I hate most about religious doctrines: The divisiveness.
We tried to catch the livestream of the UAAP Cheerdance Competition on the road but eventually our feed was cut off just as it was getting interesting. And while the general Thomasian community is glad that the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe finally made it back to the top 3, I'm glad they delivered a performance that I can get behind because the past few years have just been mediocre at best.
Last Tuesday morning, while on the train to my office from the printer's (ie, not my usual daily routine), I was suddenly and unexpectedly overcome with an overwhelming sense of grief - for no apparent reason.
Every time I get this way, I just keep thinking to myself that it's a chemical imbalance and proceed to busy myself and do something - anything - to get out of that state because it's an awful place to be! Even daydream!
Of course, being stuck on that train meant I had nowhere else to go. Thankfully, I had my sunglasses on to hide any external manifestation of that inexplicable despair. But for some reason, I didn't have music blasting in my ears like I usually do (then again, that morning was not my routine).
As I calmed myself down, I began to wonder whether my interests in a variety of things, most recently my search for new comics to follow, and my entertaining these "voices" are my means of subduing or coping with this unseen enemy. My hypothesis is that in those moments of complete stillness, when I don't think or feel anything, that's when it strikes. Of course, I can't really confirm that since I didn't keep records of previous episodes and there's no way to test it conclusively moving forward since I am now aware of it.
If there is indeed a correlation between keeping my head busy and fighting off what I can only describe as an anxiety attack, then this blog is a liability. There is a certain catharsis about putting thoughts into words. It frees my head of clutter, which could either leave space for more vapid ramblings or, as I have now theorized, leave me open to irrational bouts of depression.
(As I write this, it occurs to me that something else might also be at work here. If it's just a random chemical imbalance as I rationalized, why is it so easy for me to stave off with various distractions?)
Outside of this brief episode, I did have a good week. Or maybe I'm just overcome with distractions?
Read a few more FREE comics from Kobo: Midnight Nation (didn't like; set up mysteries I couldn't care about) and Hunter Killer (didn't think I'd enjoy it but I did).
Started watching Legend of Korra season two. I have yet to make my mind whether I love it (the steam punk may have a lot to do with it but that's a carry over from season one) but I do think the conflict Korra had with her mentors in the first couple of episodes felt a little forced.
The alternate ending to How I Met Your Mother had been leaked ahead of the DVD release. I already shared my views on the matter but it's an interesting timing for me since I just saw this video a few days ago and I thought it was pretty spot on. It's from a channel I subscribed to not too long ago but not in time to catch this as it went live.
Lastly: I went to Geek Fight after a long while along with my usual teammates and placed second. We're pretty split actually as a bunch of us were also in Amici for the monthly quiz night there (they won). We could've won but there were so many instances when someone had the answer but was unsure and someone else would suggest another answer and it would turn out the previous answer was already correct.
This past week, I've been trying to distract myself from thinking about a possible confrontation with a client. Remember the campaign I mentioned here and the photo shoot I discussed here? Yeah, it's that client.
The short version, though, is that this client doesn't seem to get that the moment a digital proof of the layout we sent their printer is provided, then that means they're ready to go to print. This client also seems to have it in their heads that we speak for their printer along with some other expectations that we, as an agency, never offered. This situation bothers me so much that I'm constantly imagining the confrontation with the client. I suppose it's because I really can't be angry or annoyed towards the client however much I'd like to use expletives, hence I let the confrontation linger in my fantasies. But it's taken up so much of my free time that I just want release! The argument did happen last Friday though and I'm a bit proud of myself for holding my ground. I tried to be less argumentative or aggressive about it and tried to educate the client about the standard process that agencies and printers follow.
This all that either the printer or the agency should see on the digital proof
Anyway, as of this writing, the saga continues and my head is still swimming with negative scenarios, which brings me back to distractions. This past week, I've been trying out new comics, movies, and books - anything just to pass the time without imagining the screaming match I really want to have with the client.
I started the week finally reading my digital copy of "Rat Queens" that I got from the Image sale a few weeks back. It's a fantasy so it's obviously a prime pick for me and I enjoyed it immensely. I really wish there was more to read with each issue though. Like I said during my quick review of "Invincible", I really miss the days when comics would take at least 15 minutes to read.
On the movie front, I downloaded the Justice League animated movies "Doom", "Flashpoint Paradox", "War", and "Trapped in Time" and watched them one after another. I could just be asking for too much here (I know there's a current animated show and the live action films are kicking butts) but why can't Marvel come up with animated movies that are just as decent? I'd still really like a nice animated Avengers movie!
The past week, I also got a copy of the "If/Then" soundtrack, which means I'm now drowning in Idina Menzel after "Rent", "Wicked", and "Frozen". It's hard to appreciate the songs without context but I still enjoy them. It's nice to hear Anthony Rapp's voice again, though LaChanze's has matured since I first heard her on "Once on this Island". Anyway, I'd really like to see a staging of the show. It'd be interesting to see how they switch from one reality to another.
I also got a copy of Matchbox 20's "North" and the Green Day trilogy "Uno", "Dos", "Tre" albums. Both bands were holdovers from my music taste in the 1990s and I still enjoy their new material. Though admittedlying, I haven't listened to them as much as the "If/Then" soundtrack.
Finally, I got started on Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn". I'm only a few chapters in and, in true Sanderson fashion, the pace is really quick and there's a lot of dialog to establish the world, which is always preferable as far as I'm concerned. I haven't read much about the series so I don't really know where the story is headed but my body is ready.
Other than that, I've been playing my games from GOG.com and Android. And just last Sunday, I went through all three Toy Story DVDs back to back. I thought I'd be immune by now, knowing how the trilogy ends, but no, I still had that moment when I was wiping tears and snot from my face.
Social interactions also help. Last Thursday was Amici Quiz Night and we lost despite there being a battalion of us. There was a Guardians of the Galaxy category though, which I mostly answered correctly. I was able to supply the names of Steve Gan and Bill Mantlo only because their names were on my news feed since the movie became popular.
And we celebrated high school friend Anya's birthday last night, which is why this blog is delayed by a day. I love getting together with the people who've known me the longest even if we're in different points in our lives. After all the catching up and reminiscing, we ended up talking about "Game of Thrones". Anya also said she read "Wolverine Origins" except the last issue, which is frustrating her because she wants to know what happened.
Hopefully, I hope this situation with the client gets sorted out this week. Or maybe just writing about it will give me the release I need. If not, well, at least I have all these things to geek out over!
This week was pretty much about all the nerd news coming out of San Diego Comic Con. It's always an exciting time for the geek community, although there is that element of despair at not being there yourself, which brings me to the first thing I want to address about the past week.
I've always wondered about the average 50 hits that these blog entries receive every week. Like, who the hell is reading them? Don't get me wrong, I love the attention but it makes me wonder if I should be cautious about the things I put in here, which I am as long it doesn't compromise honesty.
Who are you?!
The reason I mention this is because apparently geek friend Jovan had strong hard-to-articulate feelings about something she read a couple of entries ago. She mentioned it to me last week but we only got to talking about it last Friday over drinks with fellow geeks Hec and Alec, who also celebrated his birthday this past week.
I mentioned in the blog how the past couple of years have just been this kind of lull, like a television series that was a couple of seasons too long for its own good. And her question was: What did that make of the people around me? The friends that I keep? And what did my sentiments mean for her when she's okay with the steady flow of things going on in her story?
Me and my friends saw The Avengers
This is how all this personal matter connect to SDCC: Had things worked out the way they were supposed to, I would've been at Comic Con this year. Or at least closer to it (I heard those tickets can be hard to come by). The thing is that I already left in 2011 but I felt like my story here wasn't done yet, so I chose to come back (my auntie and my mom wanted me to stay there). By 2012, after the first Avengers movie, which I really wanted to see with the geek friends, I was already good to go but was holding out on money that, as it turned out, I wasn't gonna get after all. So come 2013, when the opportunity presented itself again, I thought that was it. Like in 2011, I was supposed to bring my grandma home to Canada, but the difference was that I wasn't gonna book a flight back. I had already saved up enough money to start over and I wouldn't have had to pay for the plane ticket so I thought I was all set! I started posting "throwback" photos on Instagram of my last trip to the States as a tease and even declared that "this exiled Targaryen is returning to Westeros". And, yeah, I already signed up to the Comic Con website in preparation for this year's event, which I knew even then would assemble the cast of Age of Ultron (Which isn't to say that I want to leave just so I can attend SDCC. I'm just saying last year would've been the best time for me to have left).
Obviously, things didn't work out the way they were supposed to last year, otherwise I'd have been live-tweeting from Hall H a few hours ago, instead of retweeting and sharing the news from other sources who were on the scene as the cast of Ant-Man and Age of Ultron drummed up support (like they need it) and hype for next year's Marvel Studios slate.
I took this photo in an alternate reality
By the way, I just started watching The Newsroom this past week during periods of no Internet at the office and I gotta say it's effin' brilliant. And me being me, I felt like I was in a virtual newsroom while covering all the major announcements coming from Marvel Studios earlier. I even heard myself saying in my head: "Do we have anyone on the ground at Hall H?
Another segue: I should be pissed. I should nerd-rage. The Ant-Man movie, as announced earlier, reimagines the mythology of the character to almost beyond recognition. Ultron and The Vision wouldn't even be part of their universe. But I'm not even upset because the movie is just a movie. It's just a fraction, though a significant one at that, of the myriad of ways I can appreciate and experience Hank Pym, Scott Lang, Janet Van Dyne, Yellowjacket, and their little world. It would've been great if they stayed true to the material but I'm over it.
One thing I'm not gonna get over if it turns out to be true is the absence of Arianne Martell on Game of Thrones. New cast members of the show were announced this past week and her name still hasn't popped up. I mentioned in a previous blog that her and the Greyjoys were among the new characters I'm looking forward to seeing on the show, but it's beginning to look like they've been cut or maybe just not appearing yet next season. Of course, this is all just speculation.
Surprised that Rose Leslie and Pedro Pascal still made an appearance.
Now, to address Jovan's questions (and I don't know how to say this without alienating my other friends from other circles who might be reading this blog), my geek friends are the only reasons I would ever consider staying (I mentioned as much in that article I wrote about Manila) and they're the reason why I stayed as long as I have (more than lack of funding). Yeah, leaving has been on my mind for a while already - even longer than these past couple of years actually. As early as 2008, on one of those "getting-to-know-you" memes that went around Multiply, I said that had I left when I should have a long time ago, I never would've had the pleasure of their company and while nothing has changed that would make leaving them any easier now, I feel like our relationship has grown to the level that I can check in every now and then or come back and it'd be like I never left at all. Hey, it worked out well for Hec, Alec, and, to some extent, Dek, even if she hasn't come back yet. And with many of them getting married, having children, moving to new houses, and just moving on to the next stage of their lives, I feel like it's time to pursue the next chapter of my story. Like I said in a previous blog, I already know what I'm leaving behind and I'm grateful but it's time for me to unravel the unknown ahead.
As for what it means that she's content with the way things are in her life, well, considering the mess she often has to deal with, I think a little security and stability for long periods might be good for her. And since we've also established some time ago that we're not compatible travel partners (she prefers to stay in and relax; I prefer to go out and stress myself trying to take everything in at once), maybe we also differ with how we approach contentment. While she relishes in it, preferring to stay in for as long as she can, I am itching to get out and see everything else as soon as I'm settled. Of course, I can't speak for her. Again, these are all speculations.
It's so beautiful I want to cry!
Anyway, hopefully, next year I would be reporting/tweeting live from San Diego, but I want to reaffirm a vow I once made on social media that the first time I attend SDCC would be as a panelist, volunteer, or booth... babe. What? A guy can dream!
I really don't like it when my blog is delayed. It's a small thing really. It's not like there is a cult out there hanging on my every word or that the secret to world peace and eternal youth can be found in these pages.
However, I do like the discipline of maintaining a regular schedule. And the lack of discipline on my part is actually the reason why this week's entry was behind schedule, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Before anything else, here are a few things I enjoyed last week.
Obviously, the Game of Thrones season 4 finale was a big deal. As someone who's read the books, I really appreciate how the show is faithful to the material but also finds ways to keep me on my toes. That scene between Brienne and the Hound, for example, had me going like "what the hell is happening here?"
At the same, books being a totally different medium from TV, I can also understand why certain plots from the book would have to be moved forward or backward in the show's timeline. What happened to Theon last season and to Bran at this finale were all news to me but were apparently covered in A Dance with Dragons, which I should probably get to reading before season 5 begins. Similarly, the Lady Stoneheart storyline, as much as I desperately wanted to get a glimpse of her, can wait until next season. That Night's King though.
All in all, I thought the these past two seasons of the show were pretty exhausting. I had to remind myself that both seasons happened in a span of just one book! Looking forward to the next season, I can't wait for my friends to meet the awesome Greyjoys, Euron and Victarion, and Arianne Martell (Oberyn isn't the only awesome Dornish noble)!
From one sandy locale to another, I also scored a copy of the original Broadway cast recording of Aladdin some time last week and I've been obsessed with it ever since! At first listen, I didn't like the show's arrangement of "A Whole New World" but it eventually grew on me and I loved it!
I got to see the local production some time back, which surprisingly enough actually preceded the Broadway run, but now I think I want to see the show again!
Finding the soundtrack was actually supposed to be part of my crusade to find a music alternative to Amazon or iTunes and Steam, same way I did with Kobo and Gog. I thought 7Digital would be a great alternative but no dice. Regional restrictions be damned. I still found the album one way or another. (*wink*)
I had even more Disney fun over the past weekend. I had volunteered to be a handler for the 501st Legion for last Saturday's ToyCon opening and, while I'm beginning to outgrow conventions (though I still have my sights on SDCC), seeing some friends and other cosplayers dress up as Disney characters just really made me giddy happy. It's like that feeling I had during the Flights of Fantasy Parade at Hong Kong Disneyland a couple of years ago!
The following day, my geek friend Jay-R's baby girl, Bea, had a Frozen-themed first birthday party. Of course, the decorative reindeer headband reminded me of something else.
I obviously had a fun weekend but now on to this matter of discipline. I knew that I was going to Toycon and this birthday party at least a month ago and was committed to both of them. I also knew that I was likely gonna be writing the past weekend, which was why I couldn't fully commit to another invitation for last Saturday, ie, geek friend's DIY pizza party.
Remember the article I had a hard time writing in the previous blog? As expected, me and my editor decided to do an entirely new topic and so I was supposed to spend the period between the ToyCon and Bea's party working on it. But then I felt so bad that many of our friends couldn't make it, so I ended up going anyway.
I had fun but I couldn't make a good pizza to save my life. I did, however, play as a Cylon in Alec's Battlestar Galactica board game and lasted the entire game without getting revealed.
I guess I could've been more firm about needing to work but the thing is I've been working on the article after my day job hours since Thursday and only finished it early morning Tuesday, which I was surprised to discover was a holiday (thankfully)! Essentially, I could've been finished or had gone a long way by the time of the party. It's ridiculous the time I time I took and the amount of distractions I allowed to creep up on me while working on this article. Hence, this blog's delay. And I hate it. I'm not usually this cluttered when writing.
Thankfully, my editor still gave me a new assignment after the long delay of that piece. I obviously need to work on keeping my focus in spite of all the things that keep me happy and excited. Oh, look! A bunny!
I think this blog has started to control my life. Thinking about content for this week's edition has driven me out of bed to actually accomplish stuff (hence, everything on this blog) and that's great.
On the downside, the blog also makes me consider some previously non-existent issues - like last week's rambling. Admittedly, recognizing my flaws would actually help me grow as a person, but I don't wanna be that little bitch who whines about my so-called life on a weekly basis, especially if it's unwarranted.
So instead of forcing myself to reveal my inner thoughts, how about some pop cultural experiences, eh?
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
Maybe because I wasn't really looking forward to this movie, I didn't really care much about this character, and my expectations were low, but I ended up really enjoying it. Here's the thing: I have now developed this tendency to go into a cinema expecting to come out with something to criticize the movie for. I hate that part of my brain but it's there. However, if a movie does its job correctly, that part of my brain shuts off and I leave the cinema happy. It happened with The Lego Movie, The Winter Soldier, and it happened with this movie. Heck! It happened with the Daredevil and the Fantastic Four movies!
You know when I didn't leave the cinema happy? Green Lantern and Man of Steel. But those are to be expected, right? Well, get this: I wasn't happy with Iron Man 2, Thor 2, or even Frozen. Boom! Shocker! Rally the mob! Call the church elders! Alert the police!
I still don't believe that The Amazing Spider-Man franchise is a necessary reboot. I'd still be fine if it didn't exist. It hasn't so far erased the foul taste that Spider-Man 3 left in my mouth the way that First Class somehow redeemed the X-men movies for me. But, for what it's worth, Marc Webb's amazing take on the web-crawler has (so far) entertained me and that's good enough for now.
INVINCIBLE
I mentioned before that Rocky lent me his tablet so I can read the 110 issues that he bought from the Comixology sale. I finished reading all of it (wow, that took, like, 3 weeks?) yesterday and I enjoyed every minute of it. This is just how I like my superhero comic: fun, colorful, action-packed, and none of that real world allegory crap (I still hate Civil War).
Speaking of art, I love how the artists Cory Walkey and Ryan Ottley kept the style consistent.
Not everything is consistent, though. In the first half of the run, the creators made a point of not showing any sex scenes at all because it was "a family book". Later in the series, the sex was much more pronounced, and so was the violence, and I think an f-bomb was even dropped. Not that I mind - I just wish they were more consistent.
Regardless, I enjoyed the series. The energy of the book reminded me so much of The Initiative back in the day, so I spent some time rereading my old issues. Good times, those.
AGENTS OF SHIELD
The first season finale aired this past week and it's a good one as any. I liked the nod to Coulson's weapon in the Avengers movie ("I know what it does" is just brilliant) and loved how they brought so many items back from the entire season (May's Asgardian stick, the alien weapon ray thing, gravitonium, etc). And, yes, of course, Samuel L. Jackson's appearance as Nick Fury (that confrontation with John Garrett towards the end was just too funny).
But here's the thing with Agents of SHIELD as a whole: I'm only ever really watching it because of its connection to the MCU. Secret agents aren't exactly the most exciting thing to watch and I'm still disappointed that there aren't many Easter eggs that comic book fans can latch on to. Bring in Jimmy Woo, Barbara Morse, JESSICA DREW, any of the high profile SHIELD agents from the comics - or bring in any of the super-powered characters (Blackout, Blizzard, and Lorelei can't be it) from the comics - and then I'll be more invested in the show.
I did appreciate how well they handed one of my favorite characters from the comics though. I hope they find a way to work her back into the show.
DUST: AN ELYSIAN TAIL
I made it to the final level a couple of weeks ago and I was almost done! But then I loaded an older saved game and then saved over the more updated game. Anyway, my overall experience of Dust: An Elysian Tail is that it's fantastic platformer with gorgeous art and a compelling story to boot! I have no complaints with the gameplay since this is actually one of the very few platformers I have ever played. Although I loved that I can just mash buttons together, not really think about much of anything, and just watch as chaos unfolds - beautifully, I might add.
I think the art is just really the best thing about the experience. I was pleasantly surprised that my laptop's system can handle the graphic requirements at all. At least three of the other games I bought along with this one suffered graphically. I had a smooth playing experience the entire time - until I reached the final level when everything just slowed down and stuttered. I'm not sure if it's my system or the game but I'll contact GOG.com anyway and see if other users experienced the same problem.
Other than that, everything was flawless! Kudos to the voice actors and everyone involved in crafting the story, writing the dialog, building the world, etc. Everything was just fantastic - down to the rousing soundtrack! It really felt like the game was a spectacular animated movie!
I enjoyed the game so much that I bought a gamepad for it but sadly the game only works with an Xbox controller. Oh well, I can use it for other games (Yeah, I'm diversifying, getting into more platformers and not just strategies and simulations).
SEPTIMUS HEAP 1: MAGYK
The story is standard fantasy fair but it changed the formula a lot! Although the series is named after him, Septimus Heap is not the most important character in the first book. He's not the one with a glorious destiny waiting for him. He's not the one that the villains are trying to capture and the heroes are trying to protect. His true identity wasn't even revealed until the very end, and even then, it was just a little more than an afterthought.
I also love that author Angie Sage managed to tie up the story all in one book. I'm now curious what stories the remaining books tell - but I need to start on another book or series first.
Funny thing about the Septimus Heap series is that I only got interested because of the cover of the books, which I've seen in various bookstores, and because I got a bargain copy of the official guide book from one of those National Bookstore sale bins. I didn't realize I'd enjoy it so much - certainly more so than the first Artemis Fowl book.
Speaking of National Bookstore, I went to the Cubao branch earlier today and didn't get a thing from the warehouse sale. However, I did get this lovely little thing from the aforementioned regular bargain bin.
I've always been fascinated by classic world history and the cultures of ancient peoples and I was hoping to find a handy reference book at the warehouse sale but didn't find any. Good thing I stayed and looked around the rest of the store. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found this book. Obviously, Norse runes satiate my interests in both fantasy/mythology and ancient cultures.
As my social media activities can attest, this past weekend was incredibly tiring and busy but overall awesome for me. It was, after all, Free Comic Book Day last Saturday and Star Wars Day last Sunday - both internationally observed annual geek events, so my weekend was bound to be really hectic - and really geeky! The stuff that The Big Bang Theory is made of!
Though, now that I think about it, my entire week has been across-the-board geeky, more so than any other week (I think).
First, let's begin with this little gem of a YouTube channel.
More than providing me with background sound while I work on designs for a client's project, the channel provides some quick, bite-sized information on a variety of topics - from psychology to literature. I actually discovered and subscribed to the channel some time ago but I got through their entire series on US History and got started on World History just the past week. I'm not much of a history nut but it's nice to have even just a bit of knowledge about events, especially when they are referenced in conversations, and this show makes learning history far more entertaining than the crap I endured in college.
In the realm of comics, I already went through 30+ issues of Invincible last week alone - and I loved every minute of it! It's a fun superhero book that doesn't take itself very seriously.
One of the funniest scenes I've read in comics!
My only gripe, though this applies to comics in general these days, is that there really isn't much to read in a single issue. Gone are the days where I spend 15 to 20 minutes on a single book. These days, I'll be lucky if I make it to 10 minutes.
Another surprisingly short read is the first book in the Artemis Fowl series. I finished it late last week and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The world-building just doesn't work for me and I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters. There's a dwarf that burrows by eating and pooping dirt.
Or maybe I'm just not down with having criminals as protagonists. Though Eoin Coifer did try to make readers empathize with his main character, but I just can't bring myself to do so. Here's hoping the next books hook me in.
And now, to gaming. My friends and I were supposed to spend last Thursday's Labor Day break playing board games but our host, Mark Poa, had to cancel because MR had a family emergency and she couldn't fly out. We tried to make other plans but I ended up staying home and playing my own games - most notably Dust: An Elysian Tail (yeah, I'm still there).
At this point, I was already consulting walkthroughs online because I couldn't figure some levels out and I wanted to be done with them so I can move on to the next. I ended the week on the final level of the game. I'm probably gonna finish it sometime this week.
Final level! Things are bound to get nasty from here!
I also bought a couple of Kemco and Kairosoft games on Android because they were on sale. I haven't fully delved into either games, so I can't really say much about them yet, but I did sample them a bit.
Friday night was Geek Fight at Boho. We had a modest turn out with only four teams competing, two of which were composed of me and my friends, but Kenneth the substitute host (Carlo Casas wasn't available for some reason) really livened up the evening with silly retorts like asking the groups to draw boobs, pubes, or even V-cuts on their board if they don't have the answer. I've actually seen Kenneth before - as a member of the Silly People Improv Troupe and as one of the doomed students on Battalia Royale.
Neither of our two groups won that evening but it was fun nonetheless, so it's all good.
Finally, the weekend. To be honest, there really wasn't much about FCBD that excites me anymore. After all, I'm not much of an avid collector anymore, I've gone every year since Comic Odyssey spearheaded the event locally, and I wasn't thrilled about basking in the searing heat while waiting in line for this year's free comic offerings, none of which I'm particularly interested in. Since I'm also in the business of cutting back and saving, I was also not interested in the sale. I only really went just to say that I've had a complete geek week and to have enough fodder for this blog.
I had this medium-sized shirt altered for the occasion.
To be fair, though, this year's event was less taxing than last year. I was in line by 8:30 am and was done by around 9:30 am. Boy, was I glad they got the line moving early and quickly. I could've gone home then but I had to wait for Mark P. and Chiqui. Actually, one of the things I always enjoy about FCBD is meeting up with friends and the local fandom, so I'm glad I still took the time and effort to be there.
As for my stash, I got Transformers vs. GI Joe, Archie, and Power Rangers comics (yeah, I totally skipped the Marvel title) plus some other random issues that Comic Odyssey gave away to early birds. I ended up giving away my copy of Archie to Jay-r and Power Rangers to Alec. They didn't make it to the quality stuff but I wanted them to come away with something since they're hardly ever at these events and, like I said, I wasn't particularly interested in the comics anyway, so it just made sense. Mark P. also wanted the Bongo FCBD anthology but they already ran out of copies when he arrived. Had I known, I would've gotten a copy and given it to him.
My initial apprehension about attending this year's FCBD almost made me lose my slot to figure into this year's Star Wars Day celebration at Resorts World as part of the Philippine Outpost contingent. The call went out to troopers and handlers weeks ago for a two-day weekend trooping but there were limited slots, so I let the troopers sign up first. I also had to gauge whether my presence would be required for either or both days. It wasn't until early last week when I decided I would attend FCBD that I finally confirmed my participation for Sunday only but was told the slots had already been filled. I didn't really mind - I was perfectly fine with just supporting the event and taking photos and videos of them, which I always enjoy. However, I did volunteer to handle the small group who would be making an appearance on ASAP earlier in the day though.
I also had this shirt altered last week just for the weekend.
The trooping at ASAP was actually the second time I handled the troopers for a variety show performance. The first time was on Party Pilipinas about a couple of years ago. The experience was almost similar - down to Iza Calzado being present on both shows - except that, during rehearsals, I didn't know many of the performers on Party Pilipinas but I knew most of those on ASAP. And I don't watch either shows! Except for the rain that made crossing from the green room to the studio less than ideal, the trooping went swimmingly. I had my camera with me to take photos of the appearance but unfortunately: a. My position on the side of the stage wasn't a good angle; and b. My camera's battery ran out.
Bummer!
Thankfully I had a spare that I got to use for the event at Resorts World. It turned out that there were more troopers and a couple of Jedi than I initially expected (including Nabs and some new troopers who came all the way from Cebu!), so an extra handler came in really - well, handy! I found out I was officially enlisted, after all, which gave me backstage privileges, among other perks, in exchange for helping the legion out with putting their armor on, marching, and everything else they may need. My fellow handlers.and I shuffled between the dressing room and the activity area or going around the mall, wherever there's a trooper. And I still got to follow them around or RUN AHEAD OF THEM and take photos and video (that reminds me - I still need to edit)!
The final photo I took before my camera's spare battery conked out.
Yet this event was less exhausting for me than FCBD was. I was already crashing last Saturday afternoon while we were playing Cards Against Humanity at Krispy Kreme but I was pumped all the way through the trooping. Then again, I didn't get much sleep the night before FCBD because Geek Fight. And I pretty much slept the entire evening when I got home from FCBD, which foiled my plan of capping my Saturday with a comic book movie, ie the Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Anyway, back to Star Wars Day Sunday. Jovan, Aids, and I hitched a ride out of Resorts World with Jon, who also wanted to check out the VaderBoy custom toy exhibit at Ronac Art Center, so we tagged along. Turns out some of the troopers who were just at Resorts World at the event also came to support one of the troopers who couldn't participate at Resorts World because he was one of the exhibit organizers. I was actually blown away by the concept of the exhibit since I wasn't aware such a sub-culture exists. It's now become something I want to look into in the future. After all, it's art that I can easily appreciate.
Just imagine if Ewoks were this creative.
And so May the 4th and my "geek week" ended for me there. Funny enough, I've never been to any of the places I ended up going to on Star Wars Day, which is great for adding to my fount of experience. Actually, the whole of last week has been awesome on so many levels and I'm forever grateful that this is the kind of life I get to live.
