Second Day Joys...

.:Post-Show Hanging Out...:.

After my first boardwork for 99.5, I actually stuck around to see some neighbors, namely Grace Lee and Mojo Jojo, as well as Boom Gonzales from Magic 89.9. Yes, I stayed around for an extra 3 hours after my show, and even ended up having breakfast with Grace and Mojo after saying hi to Boom. Senator Trillanes' attorney, Atty. Argie Guevarra, was actually a guest in order to discuss the whole deal with Brian Gorrell, who is apparently a regular guest on Wednesdays. While I really don't have much of an opinion when it comes to Brian (I'm so out of the loop I thought DJ Montano was Cesar Montano's brother! Hahahah.), the description of the depravity and corruption of the Philippine justice system reared its ugly head. It's an inconvenient truth, and I know the feeling all too well.

They mentioned my mentalism on air, ala Uri Geller and the like, although they thankfully didn't go into much detail about who I actually was, and just mentioned I was a "special guest in the booth". They did this a couple of times, I think. It was really fun talking to Mojo and Grace because our topics of conversation were really all over the place, and it was incredibly amusing when Atty. Guevarra would make a pass every chance he could with Grace Lee, and he actually did this on the air.

Having said that, he apparently dated multiple students at the same time when he was teaching in UA&P, among other bits of notoriety, but overall, I found him to be a nice guy. We got a laugh out of the line, "I understand you have a boyfriend, but I'm not the jealous type."

While Grace and I have known each other since last year due to the fact that we met each other in Fully Booked The Fort, I told her the amusing story of how I actually mistook her for part-American instead of Korean. Mo Twister wasn't there, which was just as well since I've never met him before and wouldn't know how to talk to him. Mojo was really nice to talk to because he had lots of crazy stories to share, all the same. We even had breakfast someplace that had this absolutely sinful Beef Caldereta. It was a nice way to spend my first day back in radio, and I can safely say that if I end up sticking around here in Campus FM, I'll be having a lot of fun because I like the people I'm around.

Later during my show, I found out Mojo listened to the Brewrats that night and even tuned in to part of my show. How he will show up on time for his show in two hours is beyond me, given how little sleep he prolly had. He requested a song for me and asked me to greet someone, and I sneakily passed it off as "sorry, I can't greet so-and-so because it's station policy," said on the air. I had a chuckle with that one.

I think the word "mishmash" is gonna end up being added to the Brewrats dictionary. Haha. Sto. Nino, their guest a while ago, even squealed on the air about Mister Vader's escapades at six in the morning... looks like he was well-informed.

.:Before He Moves Out:.

I took some books from Elbert's hands when I swinged by his place after we had dinner. I got "Love In Time Of Cholera" as well as a few other interesting books, including an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. Having said that, some other friends/students of his showed up and they carted away a few selections of their own as well, before we all convened at Frii Spirit and had an hour or two of Guitar Heroes III before finally heading out to our respective destinations.

Speaking to Elbert was really refreshing. I realized I was doing really well as of late, career-wise, and assuming I make the cut, I'm in a good position to do great things this year, what with Reedley informing me that I will be the moderator of their debate club...

Saturday Recap...

.:Mangaholix Explosion…:.

Mall Of Asia was where the launch of Mangaholix, a new Philippine-made manga magazine, happened.

It was a load of fun, as I was part of the IAS delegation, and although I was so underslept and all, I still found the time to hang out there and just really have a good time for the most part.

There was a cosplaying event, as expected, and of course, one of the judges was Alodia, and that caused quite a photo-op frenzy throughout the event whenever she was visible.

All things considered, this was a good event, but there weren’t too many costumes that stood out. Is it just me or am I just seeing too many repeats of the same costumes? The ones that get the biggest reactions (LotR, Mecha, etc.) seem to all look alike, and most of the best cosplayers worked with the strength of their personality, not just with the costume. To their credit, that’s a good thing, though. I especially loved the group cosplay presentation of the Street Fighter group who really wowed the crowd with their presentation, even if their costumes were not necessarily the most stunning of the lot.

I took the time out to do a bit of street magic here and there, and I did get some pretty good reactions from performing Liquid Metal and my Ambitious Card routine. Surprisingly, the Lightning Box didn’t really get the reactions I hope.

Now, the obvious question would be, why the Hades is Kel doing street magic in an anime convention? Well, in my opinion, it’s mainly because I like the audience I work with. You have the perfect mix of skeptics, hecklers, captive audiences, and outright fans. With all the people approaching cosplayers for pictures and autographs, it’s nice to have someone approach them to entertain them and not the other way around, which is my widdle contribution to the Philippine cosplaying community, since I don’t cosplay myself.

That being said, days like this remind me that I really ought to purchase a camera for myself soon. I should really upload pictures of the event, since I had loads of fun with the people there.

Hanging out with the IAS people definitely made my day, as they kept me sane in the face of all the crazy stuff that’s been going on. I was running on pure energy that day, as I was awake for almost two straight days, just doing work.

All in all, the day went pretty well. Here’s hoping though that I would finally shake off that nervousness I get when trying to perform for someone. I take too much time standing there and waiting for the right moment until my potential specs finally do walk away. Happens way too often for my tastes…

.:The Sequel…?:.

The calm before the storm that was The Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends is upon us.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the next big thing won’t be a direct sequel, but another parody, so it seems.

Well, let’s see if we can work the old marketing magic back on it when the time comes.

Whetting Your Appetite...

.:Belated Happy Mother's Day!:.

Well, mother's day has come and gone, so I'm glad I spent time with my family on that day.

It was great, although lying down on an inflatable bed felt mighty weird...

.:I Know, I Know... Backlogged:.

Well, I owe you guys a ton of updates, to be sure. That being said, I have to apologize because I've been buried in work so much lately, thereby explaining the lack of updates.

Nonetheless, I'll give you an account of my teaching demo AFTER the decision regarding whether or not they're hiring me is handed down.

.:Security? Hah!:.

I am horrified that the concept of WAVE 89.1's "security" is stationing a security "guard" inside the station who is asleep the entire time I'm doing my show.

Tell me again how I'm supposed to feel "secure" when I have to deal with crud like this day in and day out.

.:Playing Angels...:.

Well, Kathy and I hung out with Hrbs today since his wife, Krisette, who's on a Writer's Workshop in Dumaguete.

It's been cool hanging out with them, especially when you see how much Kathy has changed since she got with her boyfriend. She's just all the better for it.

.:Some People Take Things Way Too Seriously...:.

Avengers: The Initiative #2 featured a measly four panels depicting George W. Bush on the comic, but starting page 12, this thread at Comic Book Resources shows how some people can just really take things seriously, expecting nothing but a negative portrayal of Bush, when even the portrayal in question is itself open to interpretation.

The guy in the thread hijacks the discussion into one over politics, going as far as assailing Dan Slott, the writer, as being partisan and indulging in political propaganda in favor of Bush. What utter hogwash.

.:I Hate That I Didn't Get To Vote...:.

... Gah. I guess I'm happy I managed to talk ample politics and hopefully influence enough voters to make some more educate votes, then.

It's the least I could do...

.:Success!:.

After three weeks, it can be said that The Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends experiment was a huge success.

That being said, expect the next project to be in the same vein, albeit most likely on a different topic now...

Politics Again...

.:Chiz Facts!:.

According to Chiz Escudero facts, si Chiz lang ang tinantanan ni Mike Enriquez.

Find out about these and more facts on their site. As most red Magic players would say, “Chiz is the answer”.

You know, I was tempted to be shameless, but I decided that it’s in poor form to throw around a Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends link just because I can.

.:When I Think About It…:.

Well, Victor Wood may still not be getting my vote this coming elections, but he made a valid point that I hope would be a springboard for people to follow up on.

During last Sunday’s episode of Isang Tanong, it was clear that Victor Wood was unaware about a lot of issues plaguing the country. He was working under a very simplistic but practical platform of reforming the electoral system, and I must say that he had a valid point.

Currently, we have mid-term elections, the presidential elections, and the Barangay elections. I’m not fully aware if the SK elections are a different part of the equation, but every single election is costly and daunting as an undertaking. Billions of pesos are being spent for logistics, and it would make the most sense if these expenses are minimized to a once-every-six-years event, as Victor Wood has been harping on.

Let’s face it. The biggest winners in these coming elections are the TV networks where we see television ads like the infamous GaGO Ang Oposisyon ad, among other stellar examples of advertising.

With Over a hundred million being spent by Pichay alone in his campaigns, wouldn’t it make sense if a mere fraction of that instead went to some cause? A mere 1% of 100 million bucks is a million bucks. Imagine if that went to some charity instead of for more political ads.

It’s ridiculous how this campaign turned into a money game, where the biggest amount of money is now being spent on advertisement, and it’s not even merely for pushing for awareness about a candidate. A good chunk of these advertisements are for bringing down other candidates, in fact. It’s tacky, especially since the attacks have been mainly ad hominem, and issues only come second.

Victor Wood made a valid point. Over a hundred million from Pichay alone. Split that between the television networks, and they just made a killing. Meanwhile, other candidates who may or may not be good but are lesser known like the guys from Ang Kapatiran are heavily underrepresented and unable to gain a foothold in the public consciousness simply because they can’t afford it.

One must ask, then… with this kind of money being thrown around, why is there such a big deal over a job that only pays a so-so amount of money? Regardless if the campaign funds are donations, isn’t this huge amount of money being collected clearly worth funneling elsewhere instead? Shouldn’t the government networks simply give free air time to all candidates instead of virtually killing the chances of people whose pockets aren’t nearly as deep?

Victor Wood will probably never win as senator. Heck, he won’t even win my vote. But he speaks the truth. There’s too much money being spent in elections. Money that could go to better use.

Here Comes The Sun...

.:Spider-Man 3 Random Observations:.

+ The movie had awesome action sequences.

- The movie was too long but didn’t mesh together too tightly.

+ Topher Grace as Venom. Didn’t even realize he came from That 70’s Show!

- Too many contrivances that relied on people being at the right place at the right time, e.g. the symbiote, Brock and Parker in the same church, etc.

+ Gwen Stacy. Makes me wonder what Peter and Harry ever saw in MJ.

- Mary Jane Watson. Whiny, egocentric, and made out with Harry(!).

+ Music numbers.

+/- Peter’s emo-bangs.

+ Sandman’s scene with the locket.

- Spider-Man’s story of responsibility being diminished by the revelation that the killer he confronted in the first movie was apparently not the killer at all.

+ Bruce Campbell. ’Nuf said.

- Not enough of Venom.

+/- When Spidey used those pipes to rattle the symbiote, I was half-expecting him to say “Let’s bring on the pain. Let’s bring on the noise…”

- The stupid expository butler. You mean it took two movies for him to tell Harry this?

All in all, a good, fun movie. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the kind of resonance the first two films had, especially with the diminishing of the power and responsibility storyline as far as Ben Parker goes.

However, you know what I think they needed? I think they needed to Samuel L. Jacksonify this movie. You’ll find out what I mean soon enough. It’s high time there was a follow-up attempt at humor from the guys who brought you The Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends…

.:Isang Tanong:.

GMA-7’s special on the senatoriables where they are all individually asked questions by journalists and fellow senatoriables alike may prove to be too short to pass for anything with substance, but it gives a genuine insight into a lot of candidates, and should be required viewing for anyone who insists on voting these elections.

Isang Tanong, for the past two weeks, has given a very good, albeit truncated, view of our current senatoriable field, including even the likes of Victor Wood and Zossimo Paredes, lesser-known candidates who are given opportunities to let the people listen to them and find out why they are deserving of being voted.

I only saw parts of last night’s episode, and I must say that I found Prospero Pichay to be very eloquent, and I felt that he had a very sound platform to work with. The Kapatiran faction was middling, as they didn’t particularly stand out when it was Zossimo’s chance to speak.

Victor Wood rambled on and on and simply did not answer any of the questions asked of him. His other fellow KBL candidates resorted to making backhanded compliments that were tantamount to taking swipes mainly at the media, and the other senatoriables. Cesar Montano was banking on rhetorics to carry him through the day.

All in all, if there is an archive of sorts I can go over, then I’d love to go over this two-episode special. I am all for more opportunities for the candidates to reach out to the people and let them know what their intentions are.

.:My Beloved…:.

It was such a wonderful time spent with you over lunch today. I know we have very little time lately because of all the things going on, but I’m glad I still choose to be with you and you feel happy that I do…

It’s too bad the halo-halo I got for you was melting, though… it’s unavoidable in this kind of heat, sadly.

I love you so much, and I really hope that you’d keep on feeling that I am becoming the kind of boyfriend you envisioned I could be for you…

Finally, A Sensible Post!

.:Today’s Krisette’s Birthday:.

Happy birthday! Drunk videoke = sober videoke. Apparently so, since I hardly drank anything alcoholic that night, and neither did Peppy. Hehehe.

Kathy pretending to be crying to surprise Krisette at their place was a brilliant touch, though.

.:Two:.

I guess I can only continue feeling disappointed this is how it all ends up being. One would think that after all this time, things would be a lot less messy than they still are.

There’s still a lot of matters to be put to rest. That much, I recognize. At least, things aren’t that bad…

Let sleeping dogs lie.

.:My Mind Is Boggled…:.

Thanks to Peppy, I am now educated on the finer points of the Alanis version of “My Humps”. Gasp.

It’s quite a hoot, truth be told.

.:To My Beloved…:.

Thank you for being patient with me despite all the crap you and I have been going through lately. I love you so much, and I hope that someday, you and I can overcome all these obstacles and prevail in love.

.:The Tirade Against Scapegoatism:.

“If there is a lesson to be taken away from this horror, it is that we, as a society, are becoming too tolerant of the aberrant . . . At Blacksburg on Monday, we learned that there is such a thing as too much tolerance.”

- Pat Buchanan, Too Much Tolerance

You see that bus? Common sense is on that bus, and it’s speeding far, far away.

I got this story courtesy of a blog I found a week ago while trying to plug awareness for the Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends, and I couldn’t help but be struck at the idiocy of one Pat Buchanan, to put the blame on Virginia Tech on “Tolerance”.

From the same blog, I managed to discover that people have blamed everything from video games to liberalism to the fact people were too distracted by the “hoax” of global warming.

But this point on “tolerance” really just makes me scratch my head. I know I might be echoing Rick (The owner of the blog I cited up there.) when I say this, but if “too much tolerance” was a problem, what exactly were people too tolerant of?

Were they too tolerant of an Asian minority? Of warning signs of instability? Of autism? What? How vague can they get here?

What would the proper response to this excess of tolerance be? Intolerance? Should people have ridiculed Cho more? Should they have oppressed him more and hurt him? Maybe bullied him more and tied him up to let him know that he’s not welcome because he’s an autistic weirdo? Is that it?

We know that most killings and suicides within a school setting have occurred because the people in question were bullied or ostracized or loners. Clearly, people didn’t tolerate a good deal of these people, precisely because they felt alone. These people had their own reasons to do what they did, but what Mr. Buchanan seems to be allowing to fly over his head is the fact that the very lack of tolerance for their behavior is more likely to have caused them to withdraw more and more into themselves, where they found it in themselves to commit these horrible crimes.

Seriously, I can’t figure it out. How the heck can too much tolerance be the cause for V-Tech? If these people didn’t tolerate Cho by forcibly putting him away or oppressing him, don’t you think he would have snapped sooner? Heck, does that mean that any weirdo we run into who has behavior similar to Cho should outright be maligned and put away as well? What if they’re not killers like him? What if they’re simply autistic? Autism >< Psycho Killer. Yeesh.

It’s easy to put the blame on something like video games, or tolerance, or liberalism. Heck, it’s even easier to pick and choose arguments, no matter how contrarian. For example, because of liberalism, people supposedly become violent killers because of their mode of thinking. At the same time, liberalism also “aggravated” the tragedy because thanks to them, gun control laws prevented any of the students from V-Tech to carry weapons so they could kill Cho the moment he tried opening fire.

Wow. I’m a moderate, as I have both conservative and liberal views, but I don’t think that one side can turn you violent and turn you into a putz at the same time. For crying out loud, be consistent! Does your latest scapegoat make people too violent or too cowardly to do anything in the face of the violence?

One writer, a Mr. Boortz, was even tacky enough to blame the kids for not trying to stop Cho when he opened fire! How utterly tasteless was that? It’s just as poor form as our DOJ chief blaming that poor Peace Corps volunteer for getting killed because “she was too careless”.

Virginia Tech was a tragedy. It was a needless loss of many lives. The least people could do, be they liberal or conservative or whatever the heck they may be, is to simply respect the people who died and not use their corpses as stepping stones for whatever agenda they may wish to serve.

On a personal note to Mr. Buchanan, who really sparked this whole tirade to begin with, I hope that someday, you realize that tolerance is really the only thing that keeps people you offended with your tacky speech from strangling you with their bare hands.

Thank tolerance you’re still alive, Mr. Buchanan.

And please, please, please. Enough with this ridiculous blame game! Kayo kasi, eh!

Well, Whaddya Know?

.:Good News...:.

Well, The Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends, as of today, has achieved almost twice the target number we were hoping to achieve.

Pretty awesome for a two-man marketing team, eh? Hopefully, this is the news that ensures that more of this stuff gets produced. Looks like we really have managed quite a feat, well before the three-week deadline, no less.

Let's hope that things keep going on the up and up, then.

.:Sugar High, Sugar Crash...:.

It never fails. I can never understand why this eternal see-saw just keeps on going on. It just feels so pointless and unnecessary, and yet it persists.

The more you push me away, the more I feel the need to exorcise demons I fear are rearing their ugly head because of our circumstances...

A Long Update To Make Up...

Up to now, I still haven't written my follow-up regarding Virginia Tech, Cho Seung-Hi, and yep, the new guys blaming something new, trying to sound like they knew how to prevent tragedies like these from happening...

.:Magical Malate:.

Last Thursday, I ended up hanging out with Honey and her band again at Malate, and here was the debut of Coinci-Cube, which I've been working on for a while already.

I've achieved quite a lot with the slightly updated routine. Now, with Coinci-Cube, Hallucination, and Taste Conditions, I now have three new and powerful effects to shuffle along and build a pure mentalism routine.

That being said, it was nice doing magic for the people there. One table actually gave me a tip, which took me by surprise, since I don't ask for tips when I do magic.

.:Fragmentation:.

My biggest problem with magic as of late was the sinking realization that there's a lot of factions from within, and it's so hard for people to get along because of a lot of fundamental differences.

For instance, classic magicians look down on "crashing", or street magic for no other motivation than fun. Crashers, on the other hand, are more in their element approaching total strangers than having people come and pay to actually see them.

Egos get in the way, too. It's not unlike any other industry, for starters, from egos to politics, and it's really hard to get in the middle of a clash among magicians, and I wouldn't be naive to say that these dynamics make magic unique, but they are issues that need to be dealt with at all times...

My dream contribution to magic in the Philippines is to find a way to bridge that gap by making the world in general see what Philippine magic is all about. At some point, I have to branch out, network, talk to other people, and figure out how to reach out and show the world how we do it.

I'm proud of the magic industry in this country, regardless of all the hurdles and all the in-fighting. I recognize it's not exclusive to this industry, so it's inevitable, but in due time, my hope is I can just bring this industry to the forefront through my writing.

If there is one title I wish to earn, it wouldn't be "the best". I simply wish to be "the ambassador". That isn't too much to hope for, isn't it?

.:More Super-Duper Friends Madness:.

Y'know, fact of the matter is, while The Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends is fun and all, but I really feel that doing it in a Filipino context would really get people talking. Unfortunately, in this country, that's not necessarily a good thing, which is too bad, because as Eric Bischoff would say, "Controversy creates cash".

The video has been posted in a lot of new places lately, but still no new content. My boss has been stoked about making new videos though, so that’s good news for all people concerned. Nonetheless, you can see the video at this point in Revver, Google Video (Which reminds me… if Google bought YouTube, why do they still have this?), I-Film, Brightcove, and Boreme.

Still the same content, though. Nothing new thus far, but a lot of new ideas have been in the works, so hopefully, this thing doesn’t just become a one-hit wonder.

In any case, one can hope for a follow-up. That's the most important thing that could really make this work, truth be told...

.:The VTR...:.

Well, I had two. I was asked about working out to have abs for a tuna commercial, but the realization was that I have to deal with a... third of something people usually only have two of. Heh. I have a lot of other things to audition for, though. Hey, you never know...

Like after a hilarious time with Elbert, Alex, and Jonas at the office, I actually went ahead and had a VTR that involved acting. Gah. I think I did horribly with that one.

.:Warning!:.

I got outbid for the auction at E-Bay, but what I discovered was that being a bidder on an auction that you lose means people will message you through E-Bay somehow and pose as a chance for you to bid on the item a second time. From there, they'd ask your details, and hope to fish for you to give them your password so they can pretty much dupe you into giving them access to your account.

I can't believe how E-Bay allows itself to be this easily manipulated. The e-mail contains authentic-looking banners and links that allow you to contact the sender of the e-mail, and it actually seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to get the item on a second-chance auction. Unfortunately, it was a ruse. A really elaborate one.

Guys, watch out. Don't fall for the dupe.

.:Happy Birthday, Sean!:.

Well, we had lots of fun, having a mini movie marathon and lots and lots of food. Highlight of the day was the fact that yes, while the usual suspects were there, my Beloved (!) actually went to the celebration and got to know my friends!

I was especially chuffed due to the fact that all of them liked her. They were very happy that my Beloved looked very happy to be with us, and more so very happy to be with me...

.:I Belong To You? I Belong With You...:.

To my Beloved, a happy four months to us! You have really made a difference in my life... thank you for putitng the color back into my life, for giving me a reason to strive to be better, and most of all, for being there for me through good times and bad.

I will never forget when you told me that you were mine, and I am yours. You know how hesitant I am to call anyone "mine", simply because I don't want to sound possessive at all, and I'd rather err on the side of caution and simply just say I am yours, but avoid calling you mine.

Yet she told me something that just really struck me. While yes, it is quite a big deal to say someone belongs to someone, what really stands out is when it becomes clear that someone belongs with someone. With a simple word, I realized how special what we had really was. It's different. It's meaningful. It's something I can't quite help but be grateful for, knowing all too well that this is someone I truly love with all my heart, and someone who loves me so much in return. In my wildest dreams, I can't even begin to fathom how she ended up loving someone like me. It still boggles my mind...

It's easy to belong to someone. It's easy to be a possession and for someone to hold you and keep you. It's special, and there's no denying that. At the end of the day though, as wonderful and rare as belonging to someone, what is even rarer is when you belong with someone.

It's not everyday that there's someone you want to belong to because it just feels so right, because it doesn't feel right to be with anyone else. It feels so right, because there is not a single other person in the world you'd want to be with. It feels so right, because it seems like every single circumstance in the cosmos lined up to work in your favor, as improbable as it might seem. It's as if the universe conspired to make it possible, and taking that chance is the difference between a possibility and reality. It's how I feel that I'm simply not in this alone that really spells out the certitude in my heart...

Four months, my Beloved. Four months with you, and I pray that our love would continue to grow with each passing day.

E-Bay Excitement Getting In The Way Of My Blogging...

I must win!

And no, I am not going to link-whore The Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends! That is just soooo juvenile!

Sigh...

.:Speaking Of Bushed...:.

Well, with all the hoopla about The Super-Duper Friends going around, I've really gotten around lately, just enjoying my workload, albeit it's been fairly heavy.

That being said, I've been getting back into getting some more magic done as of late. Thanks to Ellusionist's M5 system, I now have a new PK routine just waiting to be unlocked...

.:Wish Me Luck For Tomorrow...:.

I have a VTR!

For what? Beats me...

Variety

.:If You Know Me As...:.

It’s been a few years since I last did this. I suppose it’s time I revisited this little bit and check out how people call me…

Marcelle Michael Bertrand Fabie y Timbol: You're weird. Can't you stick to something shorter?

Marcelle: You're most likely a college friend of mine, or you've worked with me in RX last summer onwards. If not, you simply aren't used to calling me "Marc", prolly because there are too many people named "Mark" to begin with. This name is often spelled as "Marcel" by the uninformed. Those who do know wonder why I was given a girlie name.

Marc: You're most likely a relative, someone who's close like my Beloved or the Divine or thinks he/she's close, or worked with me with RX two summers ago, and never got used to "Marcelle".

Fabie: You're most likely from my high school.

Fabs: You heard me during my first four days with WAVE 89.1.

Kel: You’re from or a listener of WAVE 89.1, or you’re Clair or some of my other friends who like calling me Kel. You might also be from The Story Circle.

Magi-Kel: You know me as Kel, and you saw me do magic.

Ertai: You're most likely Delamar, or Chico or Brad Turvey (When he was still with RX.), reading off my messages. You may have also known me from my earlier days in RX, during Chico and Delle's first run there.

Mister Vader: You either know me online, or through Chico and Delamar's KC days.

Voldemort/Voldee/Vold: You know me through Otakuboard, or through chatting with me on YM.

The Rush: You know me through Team Canada or Gamewinners.

Magic: You're an LJ friend of mine named Cammy, or one of her friends, who saw me perform magic tricks and never knew me except as "Magic"...

David Blaine: You’ve seen me do magic.

GTM/ATM: You're probably Peppy, or you read my LJ in 2004. A lot.

Ranma: You're probably my classmate in high school around second year or prior, during my Ranma 1/2 heyday.

Kurt Angle: You know me through something wrestling related, or RX. Same goes for The Rock and The Undertaker. I was never too well-known for any of these names, though.

Mars: You know me through my stint as a Mandaluyong City Youth Counterpart of their SK Chairperson. I could’ve sworn another group of people called me Mars too, but I don’t remember whom.

Bessie-Moo: You’re Estelle, my Bessie-Moo.

Bert: You're either Ato, Yaiba, Elvin, or Cyril. Not satisfied with Marcelle, they discovered my full name, and used the "Bertrand" to give me a nickname.

Mi Tang: You’re history.

Mogg Fanatic: You know me in RX during my active days at the time when Chico and Delle first left the station. The Divine used to call me Mogg for the longest time.

God: You've read my Philosophy or Theology thesis statements. ::winks::

Looking at the list, things haven’t really changed by much at all… people still know me however they knew me. Heh.

.:Industrious Is An Understatement:.

Fruit Haven’s saleslady is arguably the most industrious employee I have ever encountered.

You see, she mans the stall at Makati Cinema Square near the IAS office. During the afternoon, on a daily basis, she goes around the entire Mile Long area, asking people one by one if they want shakes. After she gets people’s orders, she then goes back and delivers the shakes ordered. Words cannot express my respect for how hard she works, considering she’s not even being paid on commission.

It’s too bad she plans to resign soon. I’m going to miss out on these awesome, awesome shakes. Jonas was considering pirating her, though, which to me sounds like a good plan.

Just imagine it. With someone as hardworking as that, how undeniably effective do you think she would be in marketing The Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends?

I owe you guys another post in a few… heh.

Just Some Random Thoughts...

.:Hardsell:.

So as I go on and spreading the word about what I feel is (I should get a trademark on this…) the biggest internet joke fad since The Juggernaut Bitch, and of course, I’m talking about The Challenge Of The Super-Duper Friends.

Marketing work isn’t easy. Producing results all around in a snap is not in the least bit simple, but I have to admit, seeing 42,000 hits on YouTube for the video, and over 140 favorites really makes me smile. Not bad for a week of traffic, especially since there’s traffic to consider on YouTube, Newgrounds, Devil Ducky, Daily Motion, and of course, the main site itself of the Super-Duper Friends.

The amazing thing is that people still don’t know that the video is actually Philippine-made, which means the people who made this video are not necessarily Democrats.

To be honest, I am still disturbed whenever I see Hillary Clinton as Reform Girl in a one-piece suit, but I am more disturbed when people run by me that they think she’s hot. I would sooner understand Condoleeza Rice as 9 Lives, but seriously, Hillary?!?

I’m honestly proud of the work I’ve managed to achieve so far, although I definitely didn’t do this alone. All the guys who have helped Jonas and I spread this video around are made of pure win!

.:My Beloved…:.

We met for a short while at her school today, and she wasn’t the least bit hesitant to be seen with me, although I wasn’t even so much as able to hug her since well, you know, it’s a campus, and all eyes were on us, truth be told.

In any case, I am more than happy that I managed to squeeze in that bit of time to be with her. My Beloved and I have had a lot of hurdles to go through, and I know I’m going to keep changing myself for the better because she deserves no less.

Another Day At Work...

It's awesome when you're blogging for a living... heh.

.:Remember This?:.

Weekend all go home.

As a kid, did you watch the Street Fighter movie?

Do you remember the speech Jean-Claude Van Damme made when he was addressing the troops upon being informed that his superiors at the Allied Nations have called off the assault on General M. Bison? If you didn't, allow me to remind you of the transcript of that very speech from the diction-challenged Van Damme...

"True Peers!!! I just recede new orders! Org superiors say, the war is canceled! Weekend all go home. Bison is getting pay Duff for his crimes, and our friends will have DYED HAIR!!!1 ... will have dyed, for nothing. But, weekend all go home. Meanwhile, I deals like piss, freedom, and just dis... day get tacked up. But... weekend all go home.

Well... I'm nut going home. I'm gonna get on my boot and I'm going up writher, and I'm going to kick that sun of a bitch Bison's ass SO HORDE!!!1 ... that the next Bison wanibi, is gonna fill it!

No who wants to go home, and who wants to go with MIG?!?1"

What? You don’t believe me? Well, then go here and listen.

I don’t even need to say anything anymore. I just have to sit back and laugh.

Just so you know, I got to thinking about this film thanks to the "Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game" thread somewhere out there on Shoryuken.Com, by a Mr. Alan Noon.

.:Scissor Sisters:.

No words are enough to describe how brilliant their performance is. I don’t like their music, but this is one heck of a live performance! This is very similar to that Matrix ping-pong video, except they really pulled out all the stops to just floor people in a live audience as it happens.

You just gotta love YouTube!

And if you still haven’t caught on, you might want to check out these videos!

.:And The New Bet From Vote For The Worst…:.

Well, now that SanJaya is gone from American Idol, Vote For The Worst is endorsing Phil Stacey for the win.

I’m especially amused how people just flame the site for trying to shove the worst Idol hopefuls down the throats of America, because as we all know, controversy creates cash. These guys had so much traffic their site bogged down a couple of years back.

There is just something intrinsically awesome about having that kind of impact on American Idol, since the Vote For The Worst campaign has definitely kept a load of clunkers well into the Idol Finals before long after people have caught on how much these ones actually suck.

Philippine TV Is FAR From Dead...

.:Make Me Whole:.

That’s the title of the song my Beloved sang to me when I was asking her to sing me a lullabye…

The song is a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics, and in a time where the two of us have to deal with fits of jealousy, trust issues, short tempers, and everything else, it’s a somber reminder to the both of us that what brings us together is how we stay strong for each other when the other is weak. It’s that kind of complementary configuration, that kind of biorhythmic synchronicity, that truly makes me believe we have a chance of bucking the odds and making this work.

I continue to pray that she is the half that would make me whole…

.:A Meantime Vlog?:.

Jonas recorded a video of the two of us at work while marketing (Yes, I’m shameless.) The Super-Duper Friends, and he just might make a vlog about it. Gah. Visual and audio evidence that not only was I listening to a Steven Seagal song, I was also wearing a hot pink shirt!!!

.:Blind Item, Courtesy Of Ogie Diaz:.

“Isang pulitiko ay madalas pumunta sa Bulacan ngayon, dahil kailangan niyang dalawin ang kanyang Ilokanang nobya na kanyang inanakan ng dalawang beses!”

“Sino itong pulitiko na ito? Well, hindi naming kayo pwedeng bigyan ng clue ngayon. Sa Wednesday na lang!”

This is an explosive rumor! Apparently, this politician is married, has had two kids with this mistress, and the wife knows all about it! Now, the kicker is, who is this politician? Is it just a congressman? Or a senator? Or a senatoriable?

There was a hint right there, and it seemed to narrow the suspects down to four, but you never really know. I wonder who this really is…

.:Counterpoint: Philippine Television? Dead? Hah!:.

The Premise

Mike Abundo made an entry sometime last year essentially detailing the fall of Philippine TV, where he essentially asserts that the local TV industry is slowly crumbling in the face of Filipino YouTubers and other emerging technologies.

Well, not to knock him, or the very industrious Filipino YouTubers out there, but I have to respectfully disagree. A lot of his points of argument have been non sequitur, particularly when he cited falling profits, without looking at the factors why profits were down, to begin with. It was especially glaring how he glossed over the fact that GMA-7 in particular opened QTV 11 during October 2005, which has resulted in a dip in profits for them during the succeeding year.

Philippine television continues to be the medium for entertainment (And even news, oftentimes.) of choice for a country with around 90% of its citizenry below the poverty line. A television is more likely to be found inside a squatter’s home than even a radio, more so than a computer. Televisions still account for millions of voters, and hours upon hours of programming, even from the local networks. To say that the growing internet community of the Philippines will kill television in the country is ludicrous, because we are in a society of couch potatoes. We are in a country where the TV will not go away just because of computer access.

I will not play the apologist and say that television programs like “Wowowee” and “Atlantika” were classics and we should continue to rally for the wonderful local shows we have on the air. I do not shy away from talking about local programming when I get to watch it, and yes, I was especially thrilled when I heard about the switch going on at Pinoy Big Brother, where Bruce from PBB gets traded with someone else from Big Brother Slovenia. For better or for worse, that’s interesting.

The Nitty-Gritty

Ratings are up, TV’s are still on. It’s untrue to assume that Philippine TV is on the decline, when all signs point to otherwise. While I look at ABS-CBN’s move to take down their programming from YouTube with disdain, I believe that it’s only a matter of time before either network realizes that YouTube should be working for them, not against them.

Sure, there are still clunkers like Super Twins, although I really don’t see how people can scream “rip-off” if they are not even aware about who has the rights to what, and before even seeing what the show is about. I always believe in “wait and see”, because it just reeks of contrarianism to naysay something before even seeing a single episode of it. Half of the time, and you must admit to the truthiness of this, people are quick to bash a local program because it’s a local program, and not because of anything else. I still remember the kind of people who would bash the non-linear storytelling of “First Day High” and cite “The Grudge 2” as a great film for the same reason.

For starters, people screamed “foul” over Lupin, screaming “rip-off” all the way. What they failed to realize was that if they only bothered watching an episode of Lupin, it was far from the way the anime was executed. An anime, by the way, which was heavily Filipinized when it was dubbed by GMA-7. While Richard Gutierrez’s Lupin is still a thief, he is no longer a bumbling larcenist at the mercy of a hot girl. The only thing they really tried to keep from the anime was the Detective character, played by Janno Gibbs, and to that, I say “blah”. I don’t care about Janno anyways, since he was never a particularly great actor, and I’ve seen him since his “Ober Da Bakod” days.

I don't like how people condemn something without even knowing what it's about. Truth be told, Lupin is a pretty good series, and Asian Treasures isn't half bad, either. Robin Padilla is a good actor, and Angel Locsin, is, well... never mind. On top of that, my mom makes cameo appearances there a lot, too! =P

It’s Not One Or The Other…

… why can’t it be both?

The Filipino netizens don’t have to grow at the expense of TV viewers. Personally, if I were working for either network, I would heavily push for a way to simply have those episodes freely available online, simply because it actually draws the viewers in, especially the international audiences. Local viewers will still prefer watching the telecast over the netcast for the most part anyways.

There has been a lot of good local programming on TV, from Maging Sino Ka Man to Sana Maulit Muli (Except for the Gawd-awful ending.) to Starstruck, to the rival news programs of both networks (For the most part.), to even that independent film segment they have on ABC 5. Local TV has a lot of gems, although admittedly there are a lot of tacky shows on the air that remain. Well, that’s too bad, but it’s not my problem, since I’m only trying to disprove the notion that TV is dying, not that the programming is good.

For those who cite “steadily declining standards of programming” as a reason for TV’s decline, know that rose-colored glasses get you nowhere here. Truth be told, that is far from reality, as it is very clear that there were clunkers then and there are clunkers now, and decades from now, when some new host is so popular, people will always say that Willie Revillame was a class act in contrast to the new guy. Most of us would hopefully know better.

TV is far from dead. The internet is really, really great (For… mmpphhh!), but that doesn’t mean TV will die because of it. I just wish the programming wouldn’t be this consistently unappealing even to me, though. Since SMM ended, I can’t bring myself to watch the replacement soaps, nor could I bring myself to jump to the other network. Gah.