Buhay Pa Ko

Been busy doing a major revamp of processes and work habits more for myself than for my growing team at work (we're 10 now and soon-to-be growing s'more soon!). This week alone has been one of my most stressful week in my 8 years of IT practice and frankly, it din't do any good to downsize my burnout level.

Still... thanks to my wonderful team, who never backed down on me on facing our present challenges at work!

Thanks to the SA Sportsfest tomorrow! I'll finally have a shot of "life" back into my veins (I wasn't able to play hoops for the last two Wednesdays and stayed home ALL DAY - which is a miracle - last weekend!). Looking forward to the basketball games! Good job, Fellowship Team!

Thanks to Kath and our foodtrips kapag stress! Comfort food for the win!

And at the end of the day, nothing beats a geeky hobby to balance my active lifestyle... thanks Warhammer 40K!

Speaking of... I've been working on painting this Warhammer 40K miniature tank (Vindicator) for the last two weeks.

Dark Angels Vindicator - Work in Progress
PVC pipe - turned - Demolisher Cannon
I'm giving myself another week to paint everything up!

Anghel at Demonyo

I was able to watch this film last week, just in time before the cinemas replace it with a whole slew of new movies! I was chasing it out with an expectation that this is an interesting film worthy of the cinemas. Watch it in DVD instead.

the brands of the Illuminati
*****

Angels and Demons
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

The gist...
The symbologist Dr. Robert Langdon has been called by the Vatican to solve a threat by the church's long-dormant nemesis - the Illuminati.

The situation is this:
* The Pope is dead.
* The Conclave of Cardinals is in session for Papal election.
* Four of the top candidates - the preferatti - are kidnapped by the Illuminati.
* A bomb threat is up in the Vatican... a powerful bomb that can wipeout the entire city-state.

The Illuminati will start to murder the kidnapped Cardinals one by one before midnight - the time the bomb is set to detonate. Langdon, starting with a clue from a Galilean book, follows the trail of the culprit around the walled city as the latter sets to accomplish his murder spree. Three dead Cardinals after, the symbologist still hops around the Vatican in a race to make sense with everything that is happening.

As Langdon closes in on the murderer, events unfold that leads to the discovery of the people behind the plot. On a dramatic climax, he saves the last Cardinal and exposes (in a sorry way of tying lose ends) everything that the viewers need to know.

The verdict...
What's outright striking about the movie is the overall aesthetics of the sets and locations. As if on a tour bus racing around the Vatican, the scenes switch from one landmark to another... as quick as the fast paced movie can showcase in two hours. Great cinematography!

The story is a lame excuse for a mystery flick. The development of the conflict is progressive only up to the point where Langdon flew to the Vatican and started nosing around. By the time clues started raining down on the symbologist, all went in a confused flurry of lame riddles and chasing around the Vatican and boring action scenes. I can imagine a more interesting Hardy Boys plot line.

What sparked a bit of interest for me is the same reason why I enjoyed "Da Vinci Code" - the way Robert Brown interlaced facts and fiction and make it seem to have an appearance of plausibility. I love the concept of the Illuminati and the personalities Brown affiliated with it... Galileo, Bernini, Michaelangelo, and Raphael Santi. He could have used the mystery of this clandestine group for a deeper plot line than just being a mask of the Carmelengo's deeds.

I haven't read the book so I can't tell if it was adapted in the movie well. But I have a big hunch it did not.

The acting is cool. The cast is cool. The script lame. Langdon is a walking curator! I mean 80% of the film, he's wise-talking and annotating every single Encyclopedia entry they pass through along the story. Again, I don't know if that's how Langdon's character is supposed to be since I quite remember a different Langdon from the "Da Vinci Code". And I don't mind it either... it's educational! It's just that there are a lot more creative ways of presenting information to readers than directly spoon-feeding.

In all, don't take the story too seriously or prepare to be disappointed. It may appear to have depth in the start but as Langdon starts to crack through the mystery, you'll have this notion that the story is more of an elementary detective novel than a CSI-ish episode.

6 of 10.

Museum of Natural History

Watched this film last week after a stressful day in the office. It's just the right type of film to detox from work!

Larry Daley of Daley Devices
*****

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

The spoiler...
Several years after the movie's part 1, Larry Daley hit it bigtime as a CEO of his own company leaving the nightguard post in the Museum of Natural History behind.

When the museum closed down for upgrades, some of the display artifacts are sent to the Smithsonian Institute archives in D.C. including the tablet of Ahkmenrah that which turns these objects to life. Triggered by the tablet, the Smithsonian displays are reanimated including the Egyptian pharaoh Kahmunrah and his unlikely allies Al Capone, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Ivan the Terrible.

The ragtag gang plans to rule the world by unsealing the gates to the underworld and summon forth a daemon army. But to accomplish this, Kahmunrah needs the tablet hieroglyphs deciphered! Larry, who breaks into the Smithsonian archives as soon as he is contacted by Jed the miniature cowboy for help, seems to be the pharaoh's only hope to break the code. With his reanimated friends being harassed by the bad guys, Larry had no choice but to work on the tablet, meeting new museum personalities as he go through it.

All the while, Larry's friends from the Museum of Natural History are brewing a daring attempt to get rid of Kahmunrah. They are able to do it in time as the pharaoh has just opened the gates to the underworld... Abe Lincoln's monument swathing daemons back to the netherworld!

With Kahmunrah gone, everything returned to normal in the Smithsonian. Larry brings back his friends to the Museum of Natural History and had it open 24 hours where every past midnight, patrons may walk with the reanimated museum artifacts.

The verdict...
It comes as a surprise to me that I enjoyed this film more than its prequel! And surprising even more is that it's not all about Ben Stiller's performance. He even hardly carry most of the fun stock of the story. I watched this movie expecting to see something entertaining yet won't require me to think too much deeply AND it did not fail me. It was good brainless fun! A must-see for a family outing.

The GOOD...
The new museum characters are a laugh trip... Kahmunrah has a comical lisp, Bonaparte squeals like a chick, and Al Capone and his honchos are in black and white! Even General Custer and the new capuchin monkey have their share of hilarious antics. The old museum characters are still kickin' fun as well. I particularly liked this scene where the miniature Octavius attempted to charge across an expansive lawn, tiring himself for naught (melodramatic and all!).

The entire production is just right. Costume and set design fit what needs to be depicted in the story. Computer graphic works is really creative and done flawlessly.

The SO SO...
Ben Stiller. I think he can't pull off a better-than-average presence in the film. I don't know if its because his script is lackluster or everybody else just outshines him! His female counterpart Amy Adams (Amelia Earhart) is a poor attempt at throwing in a romantic twist. She's exaggeratedly perky for me.

The BAD...
The story is not really impressive. It's developed just for the sake of having a plot to pour the comedy into. So with that, don't expect much depth on it or wish on having lose ends tied up. It's a fantasy story. Things happen, rationally or not. To add to that, the story ending is rushed.

Robin Williams is cheesy.

The rating...
7 of 10.

Keep Praying

We're now selling our second batch of tshirts! Still at P250 bucks a piece, the design is inspired by the Johnny Walker classic logo with an inspirational twist.

Check the design by clicking the image below...

Keep Praying
And you might also be interested on buying our first tshirt! Check the design by clicking the link below...
http://lakwatserongkalbo.multiply.com/journal/item/260

If you want to own one, you can reach me or my friends Kat and Drew on our mobile numbers printed on the image above.

Watchout for more cool designs!

Ako si Onoraryo Batongbakal

Palipas oras habang naiihi ako...

1. OK na sana araw ko kahapon, kaso?
- kaso nawala yung araw bago ako maging OK.

2. Ano mas masarap, magpatawa o tumawa?
- ang patawanin

3. May "special" ka ba na body part, na kakaiba sa ibang tao? ano yun?
- balat ko... namamantal kasi pag kinakamot!

4. Sino huling tao na nagpakilig sayo?
- si janroy at si laida!

5. Ano mas piliin mo, SOBRA sakit na hangover sa alak, o hangover sa past/X mo? (parehas tatagal ng 3 months)
- pwede both?

6.If ever you're in my arms again.. this time ill hold you forever.. This time will never end..
- anong tanong?

8. Ano mas ok, naka FERRARI pero ubod ng pangit, o naka BESTA pero ubod ng ganda?
- yung naka FERRARI at ubod ng ganda!

9. Favorite streetfood mo?
- isaw

10. Pili ka, magka pimple sa ilong, o magka pimple sa pwet? (sobra laki nito, kasing laki ng 5 centavos)
- pwede both?

11. May gusto ka bang tao ngayon, pero alam mo na ndi pwde? bakit? sino un?
- nag hang ako ng 1.5 seconds... (tangenang tanong to!)

12. Kung iibahin mo name mo, anong pangalan un ?
- Onoraryo Batongbakal (para may explanation na ko pag tinanong na "bakit OBI?")

13. Cnu ang mga taong "weakness" mo?
- si kryptonite!

14. Flirt mode ON or OFF?
- pwede both?

15. Tingin mo, ilan may gusto sayo ngayon?
- sandamakmak

16. Ako ang ______ sa pamilya..
- batas

17. Ano role mo sa barkada mo pag inuman
- tanggero... taga tanggi!

18. Bigyan kita ng chance na dagdagan ang bilang ng kahit anong body part mo, ano un at bakit?
- mata. para mas laki kita negosyo!

19. Ano reason ng last time mo nainis?
- ingay ng halakhak ni Kris Aquino

20. Best sa ________ si _________?
- best sa UP si Manong Fishbol

21. San the best manood ng movie na may kadate?
- sa bahay... dibidi dibidi!

22. Last person na nag text sayo?
- si virus!

23. Kapag ginawa sayo ng GF/BF mo, makikipagbreak ka kagad,
ano un?
- pag tinutukan niya ko ng baril sa ulo

24. Ang init! favorite pampalamig mo pag mainit?
- aircon

25. Ilang beses mo na nagawa matulog na walang damit?
- madaming beses na... hindi na mabilang sa daliri. isama pa ang daliri ng paa!

26. Magvvideoke tayo ngayon, ano kakantahin mo?
- My Way

27. Rate mo kung gano ka kasaya ngayon[1-10]:
- 3.141592

28. Bakit ganyan rating mo?
- para di ko makalimutan ang value ng PI

29. Nakakita ka na ba ng pulubi na may cellphone? kung makakita ka ng ganun, bibigyan mo pa din ng pera?
- nakakita na. hindi ko bibigyan ng pera. bibigyan ko ng load.

30. Kung magpapatattoo ka ng pangalan ng tao sa katawan mo, kaninong pangalan un?
- pangalan ng nanay ko na napapaligiran ng heart (para mama's boy!)

31. Sang part ng katawan mo ilalagay ung tatoo?
- sa tapat ng puso ko

32. Choosy ka ba?
- depende sa pagpipilian

33. Ano mas mabilis mapalitan sayo, cellphone o GF/BF?
- pwede both?

34. Bat nauso na ngayon ang gwapo na BF, pero pangit na GF?
- kasi mas maraming mayamang babae kesa mayamang lalake

35. Sinong gusto mong mawala na sa mundo ngayon?
- si Barney... ang dinosaur na bading

May Issue Ka?

I was staring at this box of Word Factory amidst the chaos that is my room and I find it funny when I recalled how I sorta "cheat" my friends when we play this game back when we were younger. What I would do when I already run short of words to pick out of the jumbled letters is to move (discreetly) to another place in the huddle so I can have a "different" view of the letters tray.


I dunno if it's just me but I can pick out a whole new set of words each time I move to different spots around the tray. It's cool that we can see words that we haven't seen before on the very same jumble of letters from a different point of view.

Parang buhay.

Enter, segue way! Haha!

Things happen to shit us. And if we only cool our heads and think about it, your shit is none too different to somebody else's shit. Different people have different views on the same shit. We can do a lot of things about it but it will all boils down to two - take it like the shit it is or, like in the case of my "cheat" in that Word Factory game, change your perspective to see a non-shit out of the shitty situation!

I've had my share of recurring troubles... a vicious cycle of hurt. And no matter how I always fall on the pointy end of things, looking at the bright side of em made me somehow make it through. Yes, it was never easy but there are no fancy tricks either to find it out.

You just have to remember that people who say life sucks are:

1. people who don't know how to find the non-suck out of it, (outright pessimists)
2. people who just don't want to see the brighter side of it, (mga emo! pero uso naman siya ngayon haha!)
3. and, people who are clueless that there is a salvageable happiness out of a seemingly hopeless living. (naliligaw ng landas)

...ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THESE PEOPLE and you're off to a good start!

Curly sent me a text message this morning and it's really uplifting to know that we are not alone in our quest to "change perspective" and eventually leave our troubles behind. Her message comes from the book of Jeremiah 29:11 and guess what, it's from "the Man" upstairs!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Isn't it reassuring that someone who is as mighty as Him professes that in the grand plan of things, we are off to a promising "change"!


I remember walking along Ayala Avenue one afternoon. Ever since I pull off my first job in HP, I've been walking this route for 8 years now! Imagine how boring it can get seeing the same buildings again and again everyday and edging your way through the same amount of crowd every rush hour! That day was different. I happened to look up as I felt a bead of water drop on my head to check if it's the telltale sign of a bummer rain (I hate bringing an umbrella) or perhaps a spittle from somebody on the nth floor of one of Makati's high-rise buildings (yuck... i know).

What I din't expect to see is a different perspective of Ayala Ave. The business district's skyline from a worm's-eye view! A perspective I've never seen in my 8 years of walking around the area. It's something new out of the ordinary for me and I was like, "May ganito pala sa Ayala!" in wonder.

Try to experience it yourself when you happen to walk in one of those places you frequent. Look up and discover a new perspective. And when you do, I wish that just as how you learned to look at things differently to make out something good from it, you'll learn to do the same thing in your life... in your troubles. And then let God do the rest.

End of sharing.

PS: It's not spittle.

Godside Believer

Guys, we're selling this "Ringside Boxing Club"-inspired shirt at P250 bucks each. For now, I'm limiting the sales for friends and people I know.

Check out the inspirational design below.

Godside Believer!
It comes in color black and the following sizes:
XS (Extra Small)
S (Small)
M (Medium)
L (Large)
XL (Extra Large)
XXL (Double XL)

If you want it, just contact me through here or my mobile number. For people from the Alabang area, you may keep in touch with my friends Drew and Kat. Their numbers are also on the image above.

We're looking forward to print more cool shirts so do watchout!

An Open Letter to Love

What if you personally know the personified Love? What would you ask her?

I tried answering it for me tonight.

*****

Warning: MUSHY!!!

*****

An Open Letter to Love
May 17, 2009

Love.

I've always treasured you
And the people who gave you to me.
But if there's one thing I'm learning
So you could as well not hurt me,
Is that not because I have you,
I should offer you carelessly.

There are times that giving you feels wrong.
And people slammed it to my face!
There are times I have to stop feeling you.
Not because I fell out of it, but I was forced to!

I never learned faking you.
I tried a couple of times in vain.
It was never too easy for me
That when I share you sincerely,
I won't get the same.

Shit.
I still can even feel your latest pain!

Yes, I'll be back to feel you again.
I'll bounce back to share you
To somebody you really deserve to belong.
I'm still longing to her who I gave you lately,
But I doubt she'll offer you back to me.

Though I hope to be proven wrong!

I've always treasured you
And the people who gave you to me.
But to spare me shame and spare my pride,
And so you could as well not hurt me,
I will learn one and only one thing:
It is not because I have you,
I should offer you carelessly.

Yours truly,
Obi

Red Matter

Watched this film during the SE15-sponsored premiere showing in Festival Mall exactly a week ago. Good job, SE15!!

*****

The Past and the Future
L-R: Spock, Chekov, Uhura, Kirk, Scotty, Sulu, Bones


Star Trek
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

The gist...
A humongous Romulan starship got sucked back in from the future. Bent on avenging the destruction of his homeworld, its Captain (Nero) initiated a blackhole in the core of planet Vulcan to decimate the planet from within!

Out to investigate the catastrophe, an armada of Starfleet cruisers are sent to Vulcan. All these cruisers are decimated by the Romulans in a cunning ambush bar one - the "Enterprise". James Kirk, who is just stowed aboard the infamous starship, predicted this attack and is able to forwarn the Captain about it. In a daring attempt to negotiate with the Romulans, Captain Pike of the "Enterprise" appointed First Officer Spock as temporary Captain and the braggart Kirk as substitute First Officer while he dared to ferry himself into the Romulan spacecraft.

Captain Pike is eventually held captive by Nero. Outgunned and outsized by the Romulan ship, Spock take the logical choice to retreat and redezvous with the Starfleet. Kirk forcefully opposed the idea (wanting to outright follow and attack the escaping Romulans) which eventually made the Vulcan Captain eject him out of the "Enterprise" and into a nearby ice planet.

There, Kirk meet an older Spock (also from the future), who showed him to an onplanet Starfleet outpost and meet Montgomery Scott. Scott devised a gadget that beamed them back to "Enterprise". Aided by insights from the old Spock, Kirk tricked the present-time Spock into relinquishing his command of the cruiser and appointed himself the new Captain. With this new post, he executed his original plan to chase the Romulan ship and, in a foolhardily heroic plan, is able to beam inside the enemy vessel!

Being the good guys they are (good guys are just... y'know... good!), the plan went off well and the "Enterprise" are able to get rid of the Romulan ship and rescue Captain Pike. For this bravery, Kirk becomes permanent Captain of the "Enterprise" and the rest is let us say a joyride for the Trekkie fandom.

The verdict...
I'm no Trekkie but the film impressed me. I can only vaguely remember the original series but I guess this worked as an advantage for my enjoyment of the movie. It feels all new to me aside from the ship and the crew!

The CGI is a visual treat! Flawless and sleek, it effectively made the movie a must-see in the big screen. The sets are creatively designed and although they have touches reminiscent of the old Star Trek settings, most are fused and interspersed with props and materials that are of original concept. I particularly liked the "inside" of the Romulan ship, keeping the idea that it should look ahead of technology (as it's supposed to be from the future) while portraying the cabalistic nature of the crew.

The opening part of the movie can be quite confusing as it's not outright implied that the plot would involve an alternate universe and a time travel. Aside from that, the screenplay is generally mediocre with plot lines that are, if not totally briliant, just enough to bolster what the rest of the movie has to boast. As long as it's not outright dumb to waste such a good production, I'm good with it.

The assemblage of casts to portray the much-loved crew of "Enterprise" is well-done. Chris Pine (Captain James Kirk) nailed the William Shatner portrayal of the Don Juan chief of the starship and added little touches of his own device. Zachary Quinto's Spock (the younger one) is very very convincing as somebody torn between his emotionless and logical Vulcan nature and his sentimental Earthling half. John Cho's character Sulu is really vague on my recollections but I've always remembered him as a kick-ass fencer. It's kinda portrayed in the film as he duelled with a sword against a Romulan. So so acting. Anton Yelchin (Chekov) doesn't have to do much but talk in his annoying accent. Simon Pegg (Scotty) and Karl Urban (Bones) have really likeable characters while Zoe Saldana (Uhura) blew her's. She's obviously just trying. Eric Bana's Romulan captain Nero is a strong performance.

Salute goes to Leonard Nimoy (the original Spock) for reprising his role. He doesn't have to do much anyway but act as a more laid-back Spock than the one he used to play. Should not be hard for an aging man.

Action scenes are packed good along the story. I like how the space fights are designed. None too grandiose as Star Wars' but just excellently crafted to be visually impressive. I don't like the Uhura-Spock romance. It seems like a poor attempt at putting it just for the sake of having a love angle in there.

To sum it, the director has been bold enough to fuse some new concepts into the old premise of Star Trek and still pull it off well.

9 of 10!

Koo-koo Ka-choo

Watched this film yesterday after playing badminton with my friends in Greenhills.

*****

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!


The spoiler...
Logan and his brother Victor served the American army formidably and this is mainly because of their innate mutant abilities. Along the way, they met Colonel Stryker, an ambitious officer who assembled a team of mutants (and conscripting the brothers in it) that acted as a Special Force for the military. After a while, the team's differences took toll and they separated to live their own civilian lives.

Logan went a simple living on the mountains of Canada with his wife. One day, Victor returned and claimed the life of his beloved. Wanting to kill Victor for revenge, he agreed to Colonel Stryker's experiment to infuse adamantium to his bones rendering him almost indestructible. Tagged as Weapon X by Stryker's experiment, Logan opted to rather be called as Wolverine (taken from one of his wife's tales). He learned that Stryker wanted something else out of the experiment and tried to erase his memories. Wolverine escaped the facility and along the way learned that Stryker himself is in league with Victor.

The two are involved in kidnapping mutants and conducting experiements with them on a secluded facility called the "Island".

Wolverine went out to search for this facility and after arriving on it, new revelations has been revealed - his wife is not dead and is only blackmailed to cooperate with Stryker to save the life of her sister who is under the Colonel's captivity. Freeing the captive mutants, Wolverine (with Victor helping out) eventually has to battle with Weapon XI, the last and best mutant warrior Stryker's experiments have produced.

They are able to defeat Weapon XI and destroy the facility. The captive mutants are saved by a cameo appearance of Professor X. Wolverine however was shot by Stryker in the head with an adamantium bullet. The wounds healed but the damage in his brain made him forgot everything. Stryker was arrested by the military and rest is... well... X-Men history.

The verdict...
I've always liked Wolverine and I have to agree that Hugh Jackman (though out of scale to the original Wolverine who should only be 5'3 feet in height) is one of the best choice to grab the role. He looks like Logan and acts the role well.

It's cool that I'm familiar with most of the mutants on the film and like a fanboy I go "Oooh, I know him/her!" in my mind when a mutant appeared along the story. Some are not outright recognizable but there are enough hints to know who's who. Some of the most prominent characters are the Blob, Sabretooth (Victor), a young Cyclops, Deadpool (one of my favorites in Marvel), Emma Frost, and Gambit. It's disappointing that Gambit has been shown a lot of times in the movie's preview but doesn't play that much role in the movie itself.

There are obvious deviance from the canon story as read in the Marvel comicbooks but I believe that they are made in good spirit of TRYING to come up with an interesting story. This made the film also fairly acceptable to people who don't know crap about Wolverine and the rest of the Marvel mutants in print. The storyline is typical of comicbook adaptations where lose ends fly aplenty and impossibilities are only limited by the scriptwriters' ingenuity to make things happen. It's a leave-brain-at-home screenplay.

Actually, the movie can be boring, really, if you'll not be dazzled by the more-than-enough action scenes it packs. Some time along the movie you'll realize that mutant characters come and go like they just want to throw in as much mutants as possible even if they don't really help much on progressing the story. I can go as far as saying that there's not enough "flash" on the film (which should be expected on sci-fi flicks like this). Computer effects is horrible as some of the green screen scenes and digital edits are obvious. They've provided subtle fan services to the really hardcore Wolverine fans but it won't change the impact to people who would look for value for what they paid.

In all, it's your generic superhero flick. Nothing innovative is introduced in it except the fact that you'll learn that Wolverine's name actually originated from a who-knows-what-language word that sounds like "koo-koo kachoo!" Haha... laughtrip!

4 out of 10.