After The Dust Has Settled From ToyCon 2015...

.:Didja Miss Me?:.

Well, I missed you.

I haven't blogged in months, and it's easy to understand why, what with all the places I'm writing for professionally. Recently saw my work not just in the 8List, but even in UNO, my consultancy, and a few other places I didn't expect to end up writing for. It's been a whirlwind. A whirlwind that went undocumented like a huge gap in my life or something, but a whirlwind I really have to be thankful for, regardless.

Toycon 2015 is pretty much the perfect point for me to (try) jumping back on the blogging wagon, because it was definitely a great experience hosting Toycon after being out of circulation in the cons circles for a while. And what a way to come right back! First off, I was paired with a debuting host in Rence David, who is a natural onstage!

Something about this year's Toycon was just so positive, so smooth-sailing, that it really felt so easy to just jump onstage and do our thing this year. The audience was unbelievably hot even after Alodia and the cosplay competitions were already long done, which is something I don't think I've ever experienced before.

On top of that, the segments really did bring the goods to the crowd! You had something as simple as the Minions showing up onstage causing an immediate feeding frenzy...

Banana.

You also had the dance number by Doraemon, and the rambunctious Damulag...

The mascots were pretty huge.

Then you had, of course, the cosplay competition(s), and even I got in on the fun, for once...

Follow the buzzards, 'Arry.

Considering that this was Toycon's swan song in Megatrade Hall, it was pretty clear sir Cholo, sir Vic, Az, and the rest really pulled out all the stops to make it a very memorable event. It was pretty fun when Alodia even went and challenged the audience to beat her in Mortal Kombat X at her booth. I would've taken her up on the challenge, but alack and alas, hosting duties were in the way.

And, oh, a couple of fun facts:

1. Ashley's "Thinking Out Loud" cover was played a total of 12 times on Saturday and Sunday. This was still significantly less than the amount of times you would hear the Ed Sheeran original on the air during its peak.

2. "Watch Me Nae Nae" was used onstage for skits and performances a total of 7 times in two days. I learned to hate the song about the second time in, although the metal version almost makes up for it. Too bad nobody used that.

It was a great time reconnecting with old friend and even making a few new ones. It's also fun to note that #TitoJokes were all the rage over the weekend, and pretty much anything we did during Saturday and Sunday went over well with the crowd. Heck, I even went back to basics and did some magic for that evening.

But my personal highlight that didn't involve cosplay at all? It must have been when the boys from Philippine Wrestling Revolution showed up.

Ken Warren has better things to do than pose for the camera.

So yeah, it was definitely a great ToyCon, and something I'm very proud of, as far as hosting gigs go. I'm really grateful for the opportunity, and catching up with old friends like Kristell (who gave me an awesome Superman Hoodie!) and Lizette really only made things even better.

.:And The Rest?:.

It feels like I'm in a state of flux, what with my consultancy wrapping up, and having people question me after years upon years of consistent behavior. I would laugh if it weren't so pathetic.

There's so much going on behind the scenes in my life lately. It's hard to sit down and write about it all, if only for the fact that over the years, I've learned to keep more to myself, but I've also decided not to really care about my Livejournal nearly as much while doing it. There's a whole host of things to look forward to, and the future is bright. Ultimately, if people are going to burden me while I reach for the stars, then I would only find it easier for me to just unburden myself of the people and things holding me back.

For now, I'll leave it at that. It's a wonder I even got to blog at all this month, so that's something to be grateful for, at least.

Axe Anarchy Raid. ToyCon 2012. Utter Madness.

.:Anarchy!!!:.

So after months of hard work, of planning, and orchestrating, the people behind Axe Anarchy Raid pulled off the coup of a lifetime. On 6.9, Eastwood Mall was witness to an overload of hotness, as 100 women ran after 100 men and 20 decoys to get a million bucks. After everything has been said and done, the internet sensation Ms. Petra Mahalimuyak ended up a million pesos richer, as did a fine gentleman by the name of Eric Losloso

I wish I could say I took a lot of pictures, but I was just so busy taking it all in that day that I barely managed to remember that I actually had a camera with me. I spent most of my time hanging around with Marf and Neil from 99.5RT as we just watched the whole thing unfold that evening.

There were a lot of gorgeous people, both male and female, and the spectacle drew quite a crowd. I was just amusing myself as I watched Ramon Bautista and Marc Nelson get things started onstage, explaining the rules, as the participants for the Axe Anarchy Raid paraded across Eastwood Mall. From there, the chaos just really boiled over, and even at the point Petra won, nobody could have been able to tell from the outside, as the whole event was so frenetic.

After the event, I met up with an old friend, Kimmy. It was great catching up with her after all that time, and it's pretty ironic, because another friend of mine, also a Kimmy, was one of the people handling the event that night, and I didn't get to talk to that other Kimmy.

That being said, I had my moment of Zen during the entire event, and that's really what I choose to hold dear about Axe Anarchy Raid...

Zen is an understatement.

.:ToyCon Madness!:.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to host ToyCon 2012's cosplay competitions, and as always, it was awesome!

Whether it was individual cosplay, or group cosplay, or even the hilarious Booth Babe segment, it was, as usual, one for the books. I think the key takeaway from those two days though was the part where Kristell Lim just went all perky and insane on us onstage during the Booth Babe competition. During awarding, when we awarded Jia Bustamante for winning the actual competition, I actually pointed to Kristell and told her, "It's okay if you didn't win the Booth Babe, but you won my heart," or something to that effect in the vernacular. We had a good laugh about that, and it just goes to show how far the both of us have come over time.

It was hilarious. It was cool. And best of all, we had a blast, even if one of the people manning the booth Kristell was part of happened to be one of my former students from Reedley.

Hindi tao. Hindi hayop. Pero hindi din daw bagay, eh. LOL

On both days, Alodia and Ashley were there, making the human traffic for days 2 and 3 just... well, wow. Still, it was great seeing them there, as it has been a while, and I had new fodder to tease Alodia with since I actually watched Kimmy Dora 2 earlier last week. She did well in her role, but familiarity with her sorta eliminated any of the scare factor she may have had in the first place.

In any case, I'm pretty glad to see the effort quite a few of these cosplayers put into their craft, and their happy faces as they strut their stuff. I know some naysayers keep asking them why they keep doing what they do, but hey, so long as they're not hurting anyone with what they do, then walang basagan ng trip. Obviously, this doesn't apply to the creepy photograpervs and other similarly objectionable elements of cosplaying, but you get my drift.

I did make a few notable observations during both days, but most of them were made at the spur of the moment, so I can't quite remember them, unfortunately. In any case, as a retrospective, yeah, I enjoyed ToyCon this year, and I'm sure that if the world still exists (and I still do) by the time ToyCon 2013 rolls around, I will enjoy hosting that one, all the same.

It's kinda too bad Cleo didn't make it in time during Saturday to host with me, though. I think it would've been awesome, as she was clearly surprised that I wasn't all nicey-nicey while I was onstage, as opposed to how I normally am during the Disenchanted Kingdom.

Ah, well. Onto the rest of the week, then!

The ToyCon 2011 Recap

.:The ToyCon 2011 Recap:.

That has got to be the best stage for a cosplay event I've ever seen, hands down. Photo from Mr. Abundo, as is any other onstage photo you see here.

So... ToyCon.

Having been involved with ToyCon since 2007 in one way or another, I was certainly stoked to know that I was going to be doing some hosting duties yet again for the biggest convention in the Philippines not held in SMX. Last time I hosted was, I believe, in 2009, and needless to say, given the scale of how big this year's ToyCon was, I was just glad that I was a backup host, and not the main one.

At least, that was the case on the first day, as I stuck to hosting exclusively on the stage at Megatrade Hall 2, which was where the bands and panels were going to be, but not the cosplay itself, which was 190++ people of pure cosplay goodness. I actually saw the latter half of this event, when Cholo and Ashley Gosiengfiao took over hosting duties, and it was just awesome, but definitely stressful.

Meanwhile, in contrast, I mainly handled doing questions for the ACPI during their panel segment as we talked about animation, then shared the stage with Cholo for the panel on comic books with local artists who made their names in the international arena like Edgar Tadeo, Mico Suayan and Gilbert Monsanto, as we entertained questions from the audience, and even quizzed them on their Kick Fighter knowledge.

After the cosplay segment, though, and they needed to buy time for Ashley to make her exit lest she be forced to perform an acapella song number, I was instantaneously called up on stage to do some standup comedy and magic, with mentalism thrown in at the end. I had to buy them about ten or so minutes of time, and it was fun, because I was back where I started: onstage, in ToyCon, performing magic and mentalism just the way I did four years before.

I even ran into an old friend, Liezel, who was wearing a ton of blue that day as well, which resulted in this awesome photo...

Bluer than blue! Note my jacket there, then note my jacket on Day 2 in later photos.

I left day 1 pretty happy, because even if the crowd was ten thousand strong, I had a relatively light assignment of handling only the panels for the day, which was a far cry from the high stress you'd come to expect from doing the actual cosplay segment itself, especially when you factor in the intimidating size of the stage. At the time, just performing for fifteen minutes onstage seemed enough to me, since I didn't do the normal mental preparations I do for hosting cosplay events (Oh, believe me. You have no idea how much effort CosFus was for me before I hit the stage...).

It was a lot of fun, I met some people from GameOps, Fritz, Ryan, and several other people from the blogging world. Overall, it was still a hectic day even if I was only handling the minor stuff.

And then Day 2 came along.

Day 2 was super hectic because they were both doing the regular stuff for the convention as well as handling the shooting for Cosplay Nation. Day 1 had the ACM happening in ToyCon, so that was overall busier, but Day 2 was no slouch, either. By the end of the shooting, Cholo was exhausted from being the hype man all throughout, so at the last minute, I discovered I had to do hosting duties for the group Cosplay competition as well as the Gamer Girl contest.

It was a really hot crowd, undeniably. When I did a roll call of all the UAAP schools, there was wild applause from the people from each school - except NU, which apparently didn't have a single representative that day. :P

The group cosplay went all right for the most part, although I had to buy the program people another twenty minutes by doing straight standup comedy, seeing as I didn't have my bag of tricks with me. I can't thank Mr. GB Labrador enough for the inspiration for that one, but I pulled it off, and once the program got going, save for a few minor hitches, all proceeded according to plan. 99.5 RT got so much mention throughout my spiels, obviously, so Gibb, Neil, Koji, and Cleo should be proud. Heh.

What shocked me, though, was that almost immediately afterwards, after all the fun we had, and the fact that the eventual winner, the Sentai group has a name that rhymes with "hentai" (How juvenile, I know.), the Gamer Girl contest featured none other than Jazminne Huang! Considering that she's one of my dearest friends, we ended up sharing so many obvious inside jokes while we were onstage together that I had to remind the audience I'm not a judge, especially when we found out later on that she actually won the thing. Considering she's also one of the frontrunners in the race for the Prettiest in DLSU, she's had quite an awesome time recently.

With only six candidates, this was still pretty hotly contested.

While two of the ladies in the competition turned out to have never even played video games ever, and one of them, despite claiming to be a hardcore gamer, apparently doesn't even know what the Contra Code was, that didn't change the fact that this was quite a hotly-contested competition. I didn't even have an inkling that Jazminne would win, although she did answer very intelligently during the Q and A segment. I believe my questions involved the Contra Code, one's least favorite boss, one's personal milestone as a gamer, a question about what games a certain girl plays since she isn't a gamer, a question about what game one would play if she gave video games a chance, and about the stereotype that male gamers are better than female gamers by default.

After the contestants were done, while they were coming up with a script, Alodia ended up onstage, along with a celebrated cosplayer from China named Grace. We had amusing banter, probably brought on by the fact that this wasn't the first time we co-hosted, so we had a lot of professional chemistry working in our favor. Inside jokes flew in rapid succession, but the audience still managed to get them. I mean, after seeing these people applaud for Temptation Island, it was almost like the entire audience heard my own inside jokes when I was telling them to my friends.

Good times, good times.

So when we awarded the winners (I had to step offstage, though because they were shooting for the movie at this point.), it was quite a thrill, especially when I had to hand the prizes to Jazminne, who was in shock at winning the Gamer Girl Contest. It was double win for me, and as Cholo thanked me, it just really felt great to be doing a good job, especially since even the Cosplay Nation people were congratulating me even if my hosting had little to do with their actual shoot.

Of course, nothing could cap off my day better than sharing my moment of personal triumph with yet another wonderful winner, though.

Maybe I should've stuck with the Ateneo jacket?

On Lovey-Doveys And Disenchantment

.:Flabbergasted:.

Can’t believe how quick things turned out, but I’m relishing the moments spent with my Lovey-Dovey. Suddenly, my Christmas wasn’t cold any longer.

.:DK Goings-On:.

I must say, being online while on the Disenchanted Kingdom has allowed me to keep up with on-air discussions better, if only for the fact that I’m more capable of contributing to the conversation on the fly because even if I’m lost and clueless about a certain topic, I now have the capability to look it up.

Last Monday and Tuesday, the DK episodes have been quite entertaining, amid all the veiled tones Logan masterfully interjected into the flow of the show. It was a bit surprising to find out about Brittany Murphy’s unfortunate passing last Monday, but overall, I was finding it easier to interact with Marf, Pom, Logan, and Cleo throughout the program. After that, we actually swung by the ToyCon just because we all thought it’d be really cool to go there and see what’s going on.

The “Plant Man” moniker does persist, but I personally don’t think it applies anymore, especially when Tuesday’s episode came along, which to me, was even better.

Thing is, Logan started talking about how people in corporate boardroom meetings seem to always be spouting clichés that don’t really mean anything at all. I recalled seeing a bingo card online though, and it’s apparently a little game employees happen to play when meetings are way too boring. Watch out for buzzwords like “negotiating a win-win situation” and “movers and shakers in the pipeline” during a meeting, and you’d understand that a lot of this stuff is really just meaningless drivel being thrown in to sound substantial.

Just like the words “anyways” and “in any case!” But I digress.

I gave them my presents last Thursday, and had to miss out on the Christmas episode on Friday because I was predictably with my family. Nonetheless, it’s good to know that the presents I carefully picked for each of them went over with them very well, whether it was the Batmobile for Marf, or Quagmire for Cleo, or the Vader Mr. Potato Head for Logan. The day before that, I swung by Chico during his shift on RX (Didn’t know Delle was on leave when I went.) and gave him my presents for him and Delle. It was all good, really.

I had a very abbreviated Christmas list, but that’s mainly because I really do think my presents over before I just hand something to someone. I remember that outside of family, the only other person I had was the Ice Queen, and I had to have a lot of assistance there just to ensure I got something she’d like.

To me, in an age of commercialism and materialism, putting a little love into your presents could do so much to change someone’s Christmas for that year.

Having said that, Monday was a pretty cool day as well. Pom was exceptionally generous with presents, and I received candy cigarettes from the man. That was just way cool. They were ribbing me quite a bit as well because at the end of Friday’s show, Cleo happily announced that I was in a relationship already, and of course, Logan and Marf just need to chime in on that. Even had a moment where I got to pick Cleo’s brain for a few minutes after the show as well, and I can’t be any happier for her as far as how things are going...

This has been a nice way to cap off what was a very challenging year. Here’s hoping things move on the up and up come 2010.

13-14 June: ToyCon Megapost!

.:The ToyCon 2009 Megapost:.

Pedobear with some guy in a brown costume...

For the past few Toycons, I have shown my support for the massive event as a street magician, entertaining patrons and cosplayers alike, whether alone or with my partner, Jay Mata.

Imagine my surprise when this year, instead of going back there to do another street magic tour, I was asked to host the event.

Now, you have to understand, although I’ve been hosting for years, and though I did host The TOEI-nty celebration in Eastwood, I haven’t hosted too many cosplay events in my career. This one would probably officially only count as the third ever, in fact.

But what can I say? I’ve always loved the ToyCon, and it was one of the best ways to give back to the convention that has given me a playground where I honed and developed my magic craft for the past three years or so.

Having said that, you’ve seen reviews and albums of the event from various points of view already, but what I’m going to cover would have to be the backstage and onstage shenanigans that we’ve had over that amazing weekend. I’d remember my quips much better than anybody else, after all...

The Opening

The opening was a bit slow, but the fact that Santino from “May Bukas Pa” was there more than made up for it. He’s obviously a big Transformers fan, so it was definitely fun to see that side of him, practically beaming with delight over the Transformers toys all around him.

My co-host was Fatima, who definitely played an amazing foil to my zaniness. As we’ve worked with each other twice over three weeks prior to that, we already had a good feel for each other’s quirks, and it was going to be a piece of cake synergizing with her, as we really knew how to feed off of each other’s energies throughout those two days.

After the opening, things were mostly about us coasting along, as we introduced speakers, bands, and the like. My mic woes were a tad amusing, as I kept on talking even if the mic was dead, but all in all, things were running pretty smoothly, for the most part. It all started to get interesting, though, just immediately before the individual cosplay competition happened.

Blown Fuse, Hard Ruse

The rope routine was meant for Edjie, but I wasn’t keen on risking bodily harm upon myself...

While Japan Baby was performing, a huge puff of smoke happened during their third song, then the power completely went out. Apparently, we blew a fuse, and this delay was definitely going to set back the cosplay event even more.

The judges were already seated and primed for the cosplay competition, but with the power out, we needed to buy time while they were fixing the problem. That was my cue to do a bit of magic to buy us time, and it definitely resulted in a lot of fan service for the audiences, as I opened with the Shanghai Shackles, then seeing how unwilling Alodia was to do my next routine, I ended up calling on Hard Gay for the infamous “Lady” and the Rope routine.

Looking back, I think that was really the better choice for me, though, considering how good the crowd reactions were. Not to mention the fact that doing the rope routine on HG instead of Alodia assured me that I will not be in any danger of bodily harm after the fact.

From that point, it was time for the cosplayers to strut their stuff, and boy, did they!

Individual Cosplay

Yours truly with one of the judges, Alodia.

Five contestants in, and I noticed an alarming trend... it appeared to me that a lot of them were sporting swords. I just realized it, and it was unmistakable, to say the least.

I’d talk about the multiple punchlines I shamelessly hurled in their direction, but let’s face it, other than the quip about Crissey sending me a “Chala Head Chala” track that broke my ears, I’ll just let the 9-part video of the cosplay do the talking. Am I a rascal? Oh, yes I am. There’s a reason why I’m regarded as a loose cannon, after all.

I even had “feedback” from an unexpected sector that I found rather amusing, to say the least. It was also a bit awkward to have to start the cosplay bit after the Chongkeez performed “Diksyonaryo”, as I had to clarify the last line of their song with the parents.

In the end, we had Bumblechi, Darna, Rock Lee, and Samus as our winners.

Careless Whisper

I heard this song ten times too many on Day 2. On the second day, I got there late, and looking for a way to get the audience alive, we were asked to come up with a game for Mindstyle. Something. Anything.

So I went ahead and asked them to do a dance showdown.

With people dancing “Pokerface”, “Careless Whisper”, “Single Ladies”, and the like, you just know that it was a fun time for everyone, to say the least, although a bit traumatic at times.

During group cosplay, I ended up hearing the song a total of 6 times. It was crazy, and the Yuti Yatballs will forever scar me after what they’ve done. Seriously. Having said that, I was pleased as punch to see the very well-made costumes of the Soul Calibur group pay off for them, as they walked off with the honors.

Afterwards, I just rubbed elbows with the ToyCon volunteers, and they were really fun to talk to, without a doubt.

Well, all in all, I must say that ToyCon was a very pleasant experience for myself, and it was definitely a blast.

And now, your moment of Zen:

Tsk, tsk, tsk...

I'm Hosting ToyCon Tomorrow And Sunday!

I'm soooo excited! :P

An Ode To Azrael

.:Speaking Of Shows...:.

I've been meaning to take my show outside of Manila lately... thankfully, there's an affordable hotel in Davao City. Needless to say, I'm looking to taking the show over there. Soon.

.:Azrael's Last Dance? Say It Ain't So!!!:.

As Jay Mata and I went to wow the people in attendance at the 7th ToyCon in Megatrade for the second straight day, the feeling of impending doom was slowly permeating the atmosphere for the people who knew what was going to happen at the end of the day.

You see, despite the massively successful 2 days for the ToyCon, after all has been said and done, this is, according to Azrael Coladilla, organizer of the ToyCon, going to be his last ToyCon.

Say it ain't so, Az!

The Philippine Toy Convention is one of the biggest, most anticipated events in the country, bar none. People of all ages come together to celebrate their inner child in time with the event, not to mention the sheer energy as creative juices rush among the cosplayers who compete both in the individual and group categories. To say that people will sorely miss Az's presence if ToyCon 2009 happens without him would be an understatement.

My personal experience with Azrael has been nothing but pleasant. Since the 6th ToyCon, I've been a regular fixture in the ToyCons as a street magician (There was a Christmas ToyCon in between the 6th and 7th.), where I plied my craft on the ToyCon crowd, who are nothing if not appreciative of the entertainment. This is where I debuted the famous Blindfolded Rubik's Solve: an effect that from its initial performance I have mastered and been capable of doing nearly anytime, anywhere.

Personally, I owe much of my current success in magic and mentalism to Azrael giving me the opportunity to perform at his event. From having one of my earlier experiences for performing onstage in a convention to the sheer challenge of performing street magic for all sorts of people, and even to giving my contact number to potential clients including Alaska, Azrael's help has been invaluable to me, and during the 7th ToyCon, to my partner as well, Jay Mata.

Azrael, thank you for being one of the biggest supporters of not only toys, but cosplayers and even street magicians, bar none. You have no idea how much your contributions meant to us, and how sorely they will be missed. Regardless of that, however, we are still honored by your labor of love, and if this was indeed your last dance with the ToyCon, then you went out in a blaze of glory.

And Then There Was One...

.:Whooo!!!:.

Today's show with Joe Spinner was loaded with excitement as our moods swung in time with the NBA Finals. Pro-Lakers Joe was uppity for the first three quarters, and then I started becoming all smiles during the fourth quarter, where Boston pulled a miraculous run that saw them win the game with a 6-point lead against LA despite being behind by double digits going into the fourth quarter.

'Twas all good, and a short visit to WAVE and RX proved to be rejuvenating, not to mention a quick rendezvous with my Beloved really completed my day. My thesis seems to be on track, as well.

It was a pretty awesome day, to say the least. =)

.:The World's Hardest Game...:.

Trust me. You will tear your hair in frustration!

.:The World's Hardest Gay...:.

Trust me. You will want to be an HG Bouncer. Fooooooo!!!

.:Kel And Jay's ToyCon Schedule!:.

We'll be at ToyCon this Saturday and Sunday! No need for a meet and greet, just get ready for the Kel and Jay experience!

Cause For Joy...

.:I've Been Finding Pictures Of Me During ToyCon...:.

I'll just post them when I get permission from the people who took the pictures, I guess.

That being said, it looks like I may be booked for three different shows soon, albeit only one of them will definitely yield monetary benefits. The rest are pure publicity grabs.

.:The Return Of The Interview Me Meme!:.

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions. (They probably won't be the same ones you see above!)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

From Markpoa:

1. If you were to have a magical mascot companion, what would it be?

I'd love to have the rabbit that you can see here:

Rabbits are so cute and so heavily associated with the lighter side of magic. While I love mentalism and its tendency to cut into the seemingly darker side of magic, I still prefer something less... occult-y as a symbol, and a rabbit is hard to top in that department.

2. What is the most magical movie you've ever seen?

I can't think of any off the top of my head, but if I stayed away from LOTR, Harry Potter, and The Prestige, I think I'd hand it to "The Illusionist", which starred Edward Norton. It was *too* magical for my tastes, in fact, as a good chunk of his effects were only achievable through CGI and the like.

3. Harry Potter: yay or nay? Why?

Yay. I'm sure the writers of Ari Potiphar would disagree, but it has gotten kids reading, and pretty much spawned an interest in books, which is sadly such a rarity in this age.

I like the Harry Potter books. I've read better books, but the whole detective aura of the entire series harkens back to the days I was still reading stuff like Encyclopedia Brown, which I must say, had a significant influence on me to this very day.

4. What language would you want to learn and be fluent in?

I have so many languages I'd want to be fluent in! To give a short list, I'd say I want to learn Korean, Fookien, Japanese, Mandarin, German, and French. If I had to pick only one, I'd say Fookien, because it scores points with my Beloved's parents. It definitely helps if they feel I'm sorta kinda Chinese.

5. Best story you've read or watched recently?

Off the top off my head, both movie and book versions of "The Prestige" have their own respective appeals. If you even remotely like magic, you have no excuse to miss out on either of them.

.:Wheeee!!!:.

Sometimes, I wonder if Rowena is Borden, because there are days where she does love me, and where are days it doesn't seem to be the case.

After practically a week, she loves me again. I can't be happier about that...

Wheee! It feels so good that I can call my Beloved by name now, too.

.:Coincidence With A Cube:.

There are 42,000,000,000,000,000,000 different configurations for a rubik's cube. Simply put, if you can see 1,000 combinations a second, and with only about a few million seconds in a year, it would take you about 30,000 years to see every single combination possible.

With these numbers, it boggles the mind how there can only be one combination to solving a cube. It becomes even more boggling when two people can come up with the exact same combination just by shuffling a cube behind their backs, as if some kind of psionic link between them exists.

This is Coinci-Cube, and you'd be loath to miss it.

And just because I feel like it, I'm embedding it here for you to see it as well...

.:Thanks, Crissey!:.

As I mentioned, I made new friends last Tuesday, as I hung out in Ateneo after class, and one of them is Crissey.

In any case, I did a bit of magic for her and the rest of the people there, and of course, one of the highlights of my routine is the now-infamous Liquid Metal, as done by Morgan Strebler. This is definitely a show-stopper, and I'd have embedded it had I asked permission from Crissey sooner.

In any case, if you want to see this awesome fork bending routine for yourself, feel free to check out the videos HERE, then HERE. Hope you jabronis like it.

And, oh, since you all know I'm not exactly the richest guy alive right now, if you want to book me for a magic show, just get in touch with me over at my e-mail, mistervader@gmail.com. I can do mentalism routines, street magic routines, even children's party routines. All you need do is ask.

Don't Miss This!

.:Who Killed Vince McMahon?:.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a suspect.

.:More Fundie Madness…:.

Now, Creationist theory really is on thin ice and hinges on a literal interpretation of scripture, which is not always the brightest idea when considering that the writers of the Bible weren’t really scientists.

When Creationists, at least, the hardcore ones, make an attempt to explain away evolution, we get Museum Of Ignorance like this one.

Gotta love the snarky comments with each photo.

.:Fantastic Four 2…:.

Well, it was at least better than the first film. That’s for sure. I’m glad Rowena and I got to watch it today, and I’m a heckuva lot more glad that we dodged running into her mom, who was actually there in Trinoma as well. That would’ve been a load of trouble for my Beloved and I…

That being said, it’s one of those off days for her. I’m trying to get used to those days. Really, I am. It’s just so difficult, but in spite of the pain, I still do love her because I’ve never felt this… right about a relationship. I appreciate that she said I was “wonderful”, though. Nobody’s ever said that of me before, and it means a lot coming from my Beloved.

I just pray that it’s not just me again. I really hope not.

.:Don’t Miss Out On ToyCon ’07, Because…:.

Kel Fabie is more easily recognized as Kel the Mushroom, one half of the Insomaniacs at WAVE 89.1, from Tuesdays to Fridays, 2-6 in the morning. However, he has been slowly building a name for himself in quite a different path.

As a friend to quite a few members of the Philippine Cosplay community, he has been seen hosting last year’s TOEI-nty Group Cosplay competition at Eastwood City, and has been a constant presence in other conventions such as UP’s AME Matsuri, Hero Channel’s Hataw Hanep Hero, and the recently-concluded launch of Mangaholix in SM Mall of Asia, to mention a few.

Lately, however, Kel has been making quite a name for himself as a magician and mentalist, having performed for parties and audiences organized by the likes of Richard Merck, Mapua University, and presidential daughter Luli Arroyo, and his unique and versatile brand of prestidigitation has extended to the Philippine cosplay committee, as he has performed “crash magic” (The term “crash magic” is courtesy of The Story Circle.) for the people on-the-spot, for the entertainment of those watching.

No stooges. No pre-show setup. Obviously, no camera tricks. Kel Fabie’s repertoire will amaze and astound you, and baffle the mind, as he tells you that anything he can do, you can do. All it takes is unlocking a sense of wonder and gaining an insight into the human psyche. From cards to rings to forks, you will be entertained and astounded at what he has to offer, and all you have to do is show up and watch!

This year’s Philippine Toy Convention will be the next venue for Kel’s “crash magic”, as he does walkaround magic for the audiences on Saturday and Sunday, culminating in a rare onstage appearance as he performs his show-stopping effects, topped off by one that must be seen to be believed! Don’t miss out on it, because all you have to do is go to the ToyCon, and you get grade-A mentalism along with the other excellent highlights of the convention, all for the price of entry!

Get ready to unlock your sense of wonder.

For those interested in booking Kel Fabie for shows, get in touch with him via e-mail: mistervader@gmail.com.

I'm Still Floored...

.:The Universe Is Conspiring...:.

My Beloved is the sweetest ever...

Wait 'til I tell you what she told me...

.:You Won't Believe This...:.

It's one thing to solve a rubik's cube in ten minutes.

It's another thing to solve it blindfolded in the same amount of time.

After a bit of deliberation, I've decided to really practice my cube-solving skills big-time in hopes of finally achieving this mentalist feat this coming Sunday afternoon, at the Megamall Megatrade Center, during the 6th Annual Philippine Toy Convention.

Wish me luck!