Unfortunately, I Think I'm Coming Down With Something...

.:I Don't Feel Very Well Right Now...:.

I feel rather under the weather, but I can chalk it up mostly to an allergy to fair-weathered friends.

Good riddance, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.

I seem to have an annual emotional spring cleaning, so this looks to be right on schedule. Now go away.

What a way to prepare myself for my 10th year of blogging.

The Tale Of #fap2012 (Or How NOT To Tempt The Fates Of The Internet)

.:Let's Give A Big, Hairy Hand To #fap2012!:.

Yesterday, a little thing I found myself involved in ended up going viral.

Gee, has that ever happened to me before?

It all started with an innocent question I noticed on my Twitter timeline...

Really? Really?!?

So after looking at the hashtag incredulously, I realized that it was a real thing: Franchise Asia Philippines 2012 is apparently a huge international convention about franchising, which, of course, holds a lot of value for local and even foreign investors in the Philippines. I mean, all things considered, it's actually a pretty cool endeavor, and there's even an important segment there about social media and digital marketing, with some of the most credible experts in the country today.

Unfortunately, for the people behind this, their credibility comes into question when they forget about the first and most basic rule about the internet: if you set yourself up for the lulz, then lulz will be had.

Well, no, it's obviously not rule 1 of the internet, but it does undermine credibility somewhat for a supposedly net-savvy and net-inclusive event to be completely oblivious to the unfortunate implications of calling your Franchising seminar "FAP 2012."

Boom.

No, really, guys. Unless this was deliberate, it was a misstep that betrayed a lack of familiarity with the internet. Thankfully, you had speakers who were not necessarily dense to the implications of the hashtag, but the organizers did themselves a major disservice by being completely oblivious to opening Pandora's box. Furthermore, the fact that shortly after trending, you had to change your hashtag only indicates that you really had no idea what you were doing in the first place. It's sad that #franchiseasia had to be used, instead of riding the (unfortunate) wave of your popularity (for all the wrong reasons), which is the very same mistake BaYo did when they scrapped their campaign altogether.

Why can't more people be as savvy as Christopher Lao, who played off his infamy into a crowning moment of awesome. That's how you make lemonade out of lemons, and sadly, the people behind FAP 2012 didn't quite get that.

Which is too bad, really, because the hashtag trended long enough for people to notice, which is more than can be said for the #franchiseasia hashtag. There was very little discussion past yesterday, and you could see that nobody was pseudo-transcribing the goings-on at FAP 2012 anymore. No wonder it wasn't too difficult to actually hijack the entire hashtag the first time around.

Come one, come all! We're all classy people here.

Sad, but hey, I'm sure that the seminar was still a success, no matter how much their credibility took a hit. By now, spambots have all but overtaken both hashtags, so it's practically moot at this point. Rico Mossesgeld and Carlo Ople were very quick to make blog posts about the misadventure, while I was still quite busy on Twitter, trying to make a case study out of the whole thing, and of course, giving the whole social experiment a hand. And yes, you will pardon the pun. Because you've been inundated with a whole bunch of them from the get-go.

It'd be interesting what they plan to do for FAP 2013, and what the Winter Armada of North Korea plan to do in 2012 as well.

Well, I guess that's all the hard news we could indulge in for a day. Next time something like this comes on the internet, you know we'll be there to prematurely make comments about the sticky situation we'd be immersed in.

But really, they should've seen this coming.

Project 52 (30/52): On PNoy's SONA (And Why It's Such A Mixed Bag)

.:Project 52 (30/52): On PNoy's SONA (And Why It's Such A Mixed Bag):.

Damn You Gloriaaaa Part 3: The Legend Continues

So another year, another State of the Nation Address, and considering the awesome (in a horrible kind of way) irony of the fact that after taking shot upon shot against GMA in the speech, she has actually posted bail and is (at the moment) a free woman, this SONA is yet another mixed bag in my book.

I simply cannot have a strong opinion on PNoy either way, and to me, that's arguably worse than absolutely loathing GMA in contrast. Indeed, Kring was right when she pointed out that we shouldn't expect miracles from PNoy, and it was also certainly absurd to expect that he would bring up every single pet cause we have, or thank every single person in this country, the way people who weren't listening to his speech actually went and lambasted him for "not thanking the OFW's." Except he actually did.

During his speech, he received raucous applause, a standing ovation, at his mention of "Responsible Parenthood". This was pretty surprising, since he just snuck it into the middle of his speech and never bothered talking about it again. He did the same thing with the Ampatuan massacre situation, and never even brought up the Freedom Of Information Act, which seems to be a hot-button topic for a lot of the people keeping an eye on him.

It really was a mixed bag, to say the least: people cheered him on for emphasizing education. People picked on the fact that he took shots at GMA again, but praised him for taking shots at Marcos in his opening. He was cheered for making a clear but pacifist stand against China, but was derided for wishy-washiness on other issues.

It was really the RH Bill where he caught flak from all sides, though, in spite of the massive applause he got during the speech.

You see, when he uses "Responsible Parenthood" as a euphemism or Bowdlerization of "Reproductive Health," and then clearly makes no further mention of it, the hardcore advocates of RH recognize this as a move to pander to them and nothing more. He said something that has all the plausible deniability in the world if ever the backlash proved too much for him to take. He was half-@$$ing it, quite bluntly. For the pro-RH people, it was do or do not. There was no try.

On the other hand, the mere words "Responsible Parenthood" were enough to make the hardcore anti-RH advocates throw up their arms. They are wildly offended at even the most benign attempt to couch the issue, which only explains why arguing against them will always get you dismissed as being "too uptight" or "too invested" or "too aggressive" or "too oppressive" against their beliefs, because clearly, no amount of tone would soften the blow for them: it's all or nothing.

And that's really the whole point of the RH Bill debate: it's all-inclusive or nothing doing. When religious people register their disagreement with the policies in the RH Bill, they do so in accordance to their religious beliefs. What they fail to realize is that not only do a lot of people not share their beliefs with them, but even their fellow believers actually use contraception, to begin with, whatever the CBCP says be damned.

However, RH Bill benefits less you and me reading blogs on the internet and more the people who need to know their options and need to be able to afford these options afterwards: the ones who have ten mouths to feed on a 50 peso-a day take. The ones who don't know how to even properly put a condom on, or know how their menstrual cycle works.

And yet, at no point does the RH Bill say "you, poor people! You will use condoms now, and be happy about it!" Instead, what the RH Bill says is, "you may use condoms, but you may use these other methods," which is the whole point of educating people in the first place. A combination of options and education would mean that people do not take additional risks just because they have condoms, much in the same way education would mean people don't assume seatbelts will always save them while they drive like maniacs.

And yet, at no point does PNoy delve into this. Which is fine, really. He could just be another one of those guys reneging on promises he has made in the past. He certainly can do that. But that doesn't spare him from the repercussions of half-@$$ing a cause worth fighting for, because he ended up hurting his standing on both sides of the fence by being wishy-washy, rather than actually playing it safe.

Well, onward first world status in 2020, I guess? I hope P Noy does grow a spine at some point. In the meantime, I recognize that he cannot do it alone, so those of us who support basic yet life-saving legislation are going to have to keep on fighting the fight rather than giving him the middle finger and missing the whole point of this cause.

SPIT Rookie Night Recap!

.:Off The Cuff:.

The Maldives were sinkiiiiiiinnnnggg!!!

And with that image, I managed to capture the sheer insanity of being a part of SPIT's first-ever Rookie Night. It was a night to remember, and certainly something I am exceedingly proud of.

Last Tuesday, we had a pretty intensive crash course to get the hang of the basics for improv, and I have to say, it really made me realize a lot of things about improv that I previously never got.

So there I was with Jay-R, my fellow Rookie, and the first thing we realized while we were sitting in Quantum Cafe last night was: plan? What plan? The scripts are thrown out, and the only thing standing between a good and a horrible improv performance for the both of us was our willingness to make it up as we went along.

So I sat there about an hour and a half early for the whole thing. I looked like a deer staring blankly at the headlights of the ATV that was about to run me over as the German film festival went on in Quantum, which was going to precede SPIT. Jay-R arrived shortly past 8 PM, and then the SPIT members asked us to join them for a few last-minute tips and a bit of warm-up exercises. When it comes to rhythm-based exercises, yes, I am still way off-beat.

In any case, things started off easily enough. They did a reggae song, then proceeded to the first game the Rookies were going to take part in: What Are You Doing? This game scared me back in the day, when me and my co-nuffies were playing it at random times of the day, and I actually won the game, although they did give a lot of extra consideration for us Rookies.

From there, we had several more games, and Jay-R got to demonstrate his skill at a murder mystery game called LCD. Needless to say, a lot of stuff was lost in translation, especially the part where Barney had to be played by Chal, who would never have understood that Barney was strangled by his own... member.

By halftime, Jonas was there, but Chino and Xeres actually came in and watched the second half of the performances. The next full-cast game came into play, and we did Eh Di, which was a joke-making game. Surprisingly, Jay-R and I managed to make a couple of solid contributions. Then came the Add-On Story, which is pictured above.

The Add-On Story is one of my favorite improv games, because it's a story built line by line from four different players, with each new line being preceded by the player actually repeating the whole story first. The comedy comes in how people forget details or actually create impossible situations then let the next person come in and pick up from there. Our story was entitled "Sticky Maldives", and we managed to spin a pretty interesting story that inadvertently turned into an Aladdin commercial because Happy saying "afar" reminded me of "Jafar".

At the end of the show, Gabe gave us some sage advice, and we eagerly await to see the next few rookies in the coming months. This should be an exciting time for improv comedy, if you ask me.

Xeres and I ended up having dinner at Behrouz in Metrowalk after the whole thing, though, and we even ran into Rendhl. What a small world.

All things considered, this was a night to be happy about, even if a lot of people flaked out on me at the last moment. Hey, at least, I had three friends actually show up to support me, and I was very honored that SPIT graciously took me and Jay-R under their wing last Tuesday and gamely encouraged and constructively critiqued our output last night in a way that encourages us to keep at it and improve as performers.

Thank you, SPIT, and thank you to everyone who watched a couple of people make fools of ourselves with the best of 'em - because we've been dreaming of doing just that for years.

Random Life Updates

.:The Sweet Taste Of (Third Place) Victory!:.

Third place! Third place!

Yup. For the second anniversary of Geekfight, we managed to come up with a third place showing, and actually won prizes for it!

Not complaining at all, and the fact that I managed to get Xeres into it at the same time is pretty cool, to say the least. Watching Magic Mike the following night was just icing on the cake, although for some strange reason, I can't muster up the energy to write a review.

I did like the film, though.

.:SPIT This Thursday: It's Showtime!:.

Talk about a dream come true.

Last Tuesday night, I took part in a crash course with the members of Silly People's Improv Theatre, in preparation for Thursday's show. In a new initiative, SPIT has decided to have Rookie Nights once a month, where up to three non-SPIT members will join SPIT onstage to be a part of the show and to play improv games with them.

I remember how it was three years ago when I sat in Mag:Net Bonifacio High Street, watching these people perform improv and just elicit laughs off the top of their heads. I remember playing improv games with my officemates, and being awful at "What Are You Doing" and struggling for words during the Reggae song.

And yet, when I went through the crash course and saw that indeed, I was really awful at "What Are You Doing," but I am surprisingly competent at the Reggae song, I realized how true it was that you really never know some things until you make a legitimate effort at them.

So after conquering my fears of improv and talking about losing hope during Reggae, some topic I can't quite remember during Old School, and CEO's during Neighborhood, as well as some weird LCD stuff involving Pilita Corales, Space Shuttle, and Harry Potter, not to mention a foray into being born from monkeys and walking around naked in the master's bedroom, I felt like my head was going to explode from the information overload.

But there's still so much more to learn.

And I'm willing to keep at it, because you know what? Whenever I managed to entertain people, whether while doing magic, mentalism, standup, or improv, I can't help but feel that I'm being an agent of positivity. And that can't be a bad thing.

That being said, I hope you guys can drop by Quantum Cafe in Bagtikan Street tomorrow night, around 9PM. Catch me as I make a fool of myself for your entertainment as one of the featured rookies this Thursday's SPIT Rookie Night! I promise I will do my best! :D

Project 52 (29/52): On CD-R King (And Why They Will Someday Rule The World)

.:Project 52 (28/52): On CD-R King (And Why They Will Someday Rule The World):.

I swear! It's really a "massager!"

It's official: CD-R King is selling pretty much everything.

Diving equipment. Televisions. USB Flashdrives. USB Mouses. USB Keyboards. USB Fountains. USB Lamps. USB Refrigerators. USB USB's. You name, it, if they can put a warranty sticker on it, you got it.

And the amazing thing about these products is that they are ridiculously cheap yet perfectly serviceable. Obviously, you don't expect the sun and the moon from a 32GB flashdrive that costs under a thousand bucks, but it does what it's supposed to do, and it does it well.

In fact, their product selection is so spectacular, their prices are so insanely low, that they can afford to hire the surliest of salesladies to man their stores! And by surly, boy, do I mean surly. I've seen more smiles during the Pope John Paul II funeral. It's pretty amazing, really, because in every single branch of CD-R King, all their personnel act the exact same way. You would almost begin to believe that they were all trained to be as grumpy as possible or something.

Despite the horrid service, people still come to them, because the prices really make that much of a difference. It's just that damned cheap, really.

So imagine my (non-)surprise when I found that CD-R King now sells, ahem, "massagers." These 150-peso marvels come in many colors and in two settings: normal, and orgasmic. I mean, turbo. This is no mean feat of technology, folks: they have created a fully functional "massager" that is bound to give plenty of relief to all those who need it.

A surprising sight greeted me upon making my purchase, though: the salesladies were smiling at me. I don't know if this was a freak occurrence, or they were being judgmental as I held the, ahem, "massager" in my hands.

Yet all sophomoric jokes aside, there's no question that as CD-R King's inventory of random items grows, so will the need to patronize them. Their roster of items for sale is so robust they actually have some items on display that have "price to be determined" labeled on them! How's that for marketing?

Project 52 (28/52): On Dolphy (And Why Everyone Seems To Connect With Him)

.:Project 52 (28/52): On Dolphy (And Why Everyone Seems To Connect With Him):.

In my life, I've only run into Dolphy once. I never spoke to him, was never introduced to him, never shook his hand, and seeing as I ran into him while he was shopping at S&R, I never asked for a photo with him, or his autograph. It didn't seem like he would have been in the mood for any of those. In short, I've pretty much never interacted with Dolphy in a single meaningful way.

Yet why is it that I feel like I lost an old friend yesterday?

The thing is, while I may have not impacted Dolphy's life in any meaningful way, it's undeniable that he has impacted mine in many meaningful ways. I don't think it's a stretch for me to say that this holds true for a lot of Filipinos as well. I mean, how many of us can truly say we really were close to the King of Comedy? Not very many of us, I'm sure, yet here we all are, friends and strangers alike, writing eulogies for a man whose 83 years on this planet were spent meaningfully.

He managed to touch people from all walks of life. He was the everyman, yet in embodying the everyman the way only he could have, he became a great man.

As a fan of comedy, I have seen how the evolution of comedy has allowed for so many different forms to be viable in this country today, and Dolphy was indisputably integral to that entire process. As one of the key players in the showbiz industry, the man proved to be an amazing and professional talent whose title as the King of Comedy belies the fact that he has a range that encompasses comedy and even far beyond it. He could make you laugh, he could make you cry, he could make you think. His talent and his prowess was one-of-a-kind.

As a child, I remembered loving "Espadang Patpat," and idolizing Dolphy as I grew up. He got me started into loving comedy. I watched "Home Along Da Riles" for as long as it was on during Thursday nights in ABS-CBN. Even during the latter years of his career, with lackluster films like "Tataynik" and "Fr. Jejemon," I figured he gets a pass for probably phoning it in because y'know what? He's earned it. I'm pretty sure even those films entertained quite a few thousand people in the cinemas, and maybe millions of people riding buses. That's more than can be said for a lot of people's best nights.

You see, it makes a lot of sense when you think about it: Dolphy's "phoning it in," his worst nights, would probably still far outstrip the best nights of many of the people who turned their nose up at him, and now suddenly act all contrite because taking shots at the recently departed is just so tasteless.

But enough about comedy snobs and zealots who protested Fr. Jejemon: this is about Dolphy, and the fact that as a human being, his complexity and his passion embodied the best of us. He, like anyone else, had his frailties, yet his ability to grow far beyond them, and the fact that his lovelife comprises the alphabet from A(lma) to Z(sa-Zsa), who all speak very highly of him, speaks volumes about a life well-lived.

I can't speak for the man, certainly, but if I can't believe, then I certainly hope that his passing yesterday marked the departure of a man who shuffled off his mortal coil on his own terms. I guess those fortune tellers would be out of a job now.

We mourn the loss of Dolphy not because we feel sorry for him: the man is not a tragic figure. Instead, he is the epitome of a man who passed on after a long, rich life. Despite being 83 years old, the man's wisdom was far beyond his years. He knew so much, yet he also knew when he did not know. It's why he never ran for public office: he was afraid he would win.

Instead, we mourn the loss of Dolphy because the world just got a little funnier when one of the pillars of Philippine comedy has left us. Is it a little selfish of us? Perhaps. And yet, wouldn't any of us who are affected by his loss be willing to give so much just to have one quiet moment to have conversed with him? To even just... thank him?

Sure, some people might awkwardly mention how his passing coincided with their 50th month as a couple, but it was a simple moment of reflection: where were you, what was happening to you, when the King of Comedy passed away? There are just some big moments where you end up asking yourself that very question. I remember that I was in Strumm's, doing comedy and hosting when the news hit me, and it hit me hard. It was a comedy show: and the King of Comedy was gone.

Admit it to yourselves: even for this couple the public seems to revile, it was clearly a sad moment for them, and that was their way of mourning our loss. It certainly was a sad moment for me, and this entry is my way of mourning our loss.

And I never even met the man.

Yet, despite all the sadness, I console myself with the fact that the man's legacy will last far longer than any of us ever will. He was a great comedian. He was a great performer. He was a great icon. But most importantly, he was a great human being, and he shared himself with us so unselfishly for give or take six decades. What more could any of us say, really?

Thank you and farewell, Tito Dolphy. We will miss you.

Rodolfo Vera Quizon, Sr. 25 July, 1928 - 10 July, 2012
He started a joke, which started the whole world living.

Been A While, So It's Good To Be Back On The POC...

.:About Bloody Time!:.

Been doing a bit of soul searching for a while, but I finally managed to find the time to come up with this article... God To Believe In Magic!

Yep, I decided to go back to doing a satire about religious freedom, but at some point, I'll probably talk about it again straight-up, albeit not in Project 52, seeing as how I recently did that already.

.:In Other News:.

So much work to do, but I'm happy things are slowly falling into place for me in that department. I'm slowly recovering from the recent mishap I've encountered, and doing everything I can to not do a Taylor Swift and just give 'em the what for.

But yeah, I'm angry. I really am. I think I'm beginning to understand more how Denise felt in general a few months ago, because I feel like I'm going through nearly the exact same thing.

Well, maybe not exactly, but close enough. Here we go again with this passive-aggressive cryptic codswallop. Unfortunately, I can't really help it. I know I'm not supposed to feel this way, but knowing it and not actually feeling it are two radically different things.

So yeah. I can't write an unsent letter right now, but I really feel annoyed. I feel like I've been given the runaround, but ultimately, I'm at a point in my life where I no longer have any intention of sitting and smiling and just taking all of that again and again.

I'm tired already. I think I've been tired for the past three years, and I've only really come to terms with how tired I have been just now.

Let's take it one step at a time, then.

Comedy, Comedy, More Comedy...

.:Overdosing On The Best Medicine!:.

Tuesday nights, Tomato Kick has open mic nights in Katipunan.

Thursday nights, I get to catch SPIT in Quantum.

Friday nights, Chihuahua has open mic nights in Makati Avenue.

This Saturday, I open for Mike Unson in Gweilo's in Makati. Is this awesome or what? It's a week of comedy overload, and I'm not complaining at all!

Project 52 (27/52): On The Manila Improv Comedy Festival (And Why You Had To Be There)

.:Project 52 (27/52): On The Manila Improv Comedy Festival (And Why You Had To Be There):.

Arrest these people!

So. The Manila Improv Festival has come and gone,and in its wake, raucous laughter, massive applause, and a million and one memories that could only be encapsulated by "you just had to be there." Not a bad haul, if I do say so, myself.

I had the pleasure of being there for two of the four days, but had I been just a wee bit more patient, I'd probably have missed only Friday. It was pretty cool, really. The opening night during Thursday was practically a warmup night, as three groups, Xiamen, Tai Chung, and SPIT, all tried their hand at entertaining the crowd.

And entertain, they did. And like any good moment of improv comedy, you just had to be there. Describing what they did couldn't even begin to do justice to the whole thing. I was enjoying my whole time there, and then I found myself mustering up the courage to volunteer for one of the improv games from Tai Chung Improv.

Next thing I knew, I was onstage with them, and I was shaking like a leaf in a breeze. It was a murder mystery game, and I managed to pull it off with them.

Yeah, Ryan, Amanda, and Josh were all brilliant.

I love improv comedy because it really thrives in the moment. I've been thinking about all the things that puts it apart from standup comedy or even other forms of comedy, and I realize that I definitely love the things that make it unique: the fleetingness, the immersion, and that inexplicable rush that has a different flavor all to itself. I should know. I've experience the magic rush, the debate rush, the standup rush, and for once, the improv rush. They're all different, and like some crazy kind of junkie, I can't get enough.

And so after a brilliant opening night, where we had multiple fun games, coupled with an amazing story-making game and an improvised blues song, the first day of the festival was a success. I wanted to go and catch the experimental long form night on Saturday, which would have featured a one-act improvised play, but they ran out of tickets and I went back home, dejected before I found out that People's Liberation Improv actually let my standup comic friends in, and I could've been part of that. Ah, well. It happens.

Come Sunday, I got to the venue ahead of time, and I was stoked because I was going to see every group who was part of the festival, from Kinenkoy to Xiamen, to Tai Chung, to People's Liberation Improv, to Farnan and Landry, and of course, SPIT. It was a veritable smorgasbord of laughs!

And again, you just had to be there.

I will keep saying that, because that's really the essence of improv comedy right there to an observer such as myself: you live for the moment, and you enjoy it for what it is and what it inadvertently becomes. You enjoy it for all its idiosyncracies, and realize that this art form has stood the test of time, as has SPIT for all of ten years, simply because whenever someone said "you had to be there," people actually ended up being there. And they were all the better for it.

So again, thank you to everyone who was part of the Manila Improv Festival! It was an enriching experience for me, as an observer, and I, for one, just had to be there, and am glad that I was.

Aren't they the cutest?

Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

.:Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man:.

Thwip!

The Amazing Spider-Man
A reboot worth making.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

I caught this film twice: once, thanks to Nuffnang and Energizer, then a second time with a few new friends I've made.

So yes, Sony continues to hang onto the Spider-Man franchise by releasing a new movie, preventing any hope of ever letting Spidey cross over with the Avengers and the like. That's okay, though, because this was a good way to restart the franchise after the rather low note it ended with in Spider-Man 3.

I don't need to explain The Amazing Spider-Man's setup to you, because the general blurb says it all: bitten by a radioactive (or in this case, genetically engineered) spider, Peter Parker gains the proportional strength and agility of a spider! When his uncle, Ben Parker was shot by a petty thief whom he failed to stop earlier on, he realized that with great power comes great responsibility, and he becomes... the Amazing Spider-Man!

The villain of the hour in this reboot is Dr. Curt Connors, also known as The Lizard, and in place of Mary Jane Watson, Spidey's love interest is Gwen Stacy, which leads to an interesting dynamic between Peter and Gwen's father, Captain Stacy. No sign of J. Jonah Jameson, but the supporting cast including Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Flash Thompson, and Captain Stacy all prove very capable of bringing Spidey's new origin story together.

To compare Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire would be very unsporting, but needless to say, Amazing Spider-Man hit all the right notes to bring Spidey more in line with the Lee-Ditko conception of an everyman hero who's also a hilarious wise-cracker. Spider-Man was making funny quips, being all science-y, and even making actual web shooters instead of being gifted with organic ones.

As a character, Peter Parker really stood out in this one, and his dynamic with Gwen Stacy was perfectly paced. There was no silly back and forth over his secret identity, as he ended up being rather cavalier about it, in fact, which lent to the aura of him being new and completely uninitiated to this superhero thing.

It was good to see that they kept Norman Osborn completely in the shadows for the first film, but I think it was pretty hilarious how his face was obscured even in a presentation in his own highly public, very high-profile company. Does he really have pictures taken with his face in the shadows? Huh. I didn't know that was even a thing.

It looks pretty badass for Bill Gates, though.

I was thoroughly entertained by the movie, and a lot of distinctly McFarlane-y poses were included during the swinging scenes that just showed you a certain level of homage to the source material. With Peter and Gwen having a very sane, level-headed kind of relationship that's relatively free of drama, with Gwen being a very strong and capable woman who isn't really a helpless victim, there is just so much to appreciate in this film.

With the seeds properly planted for a sequel or two or three, there's just so much to look forward to with the franchise, but there's no question about it: Amazing Spider-Man is a great reboot and well worth watching. Just don't bother with the 3D, though, because there's barely anything worth the additional hundred fifty bucks or so for it.

How does this compare to the avengers? To be honest, I find it very hard to outright say that the Avengers was the better film, even if the scale of that film was just much greater. There's just something about Spider-Man that appeals to me so much that if I see them one after the other, I might actually end up giving the nod to Amazing Spider-Man over the Avengers when it comes to which film I liked better - yet I'd probably give the same grade to The Avengers as I'm about to give to Amazing Spider-Man...

Fun Rating: A+ (It's a super-hero romp with the right amounts of comedy, drama, and action.)
Critical Rating: A+ (Well, with strong characters, a great cast, witty writing and pacing, it's hard to find any fault with this film.)

Like I Said...

... though things might seem to fall into place sometimes, it's more likely for them to actually just fall apart instead.

These are one of those times, and I saw it coming a mile away.

And yet, it never gets any easier, walking wounded, even if it's a case of walking away before one gets in too deep. After everything has been said and done, you learn to hate yourself just a little more, even if you saw everything you needed to realize what the answer to your question would be before you even asked it.

Some things just aren't meant to be. Some people just aren't worth your time and effort.

And quite frankly, some lives just aren't worth living out.

No, You Idiots. This Isn't Racist. At All.

.:Are You Serious?!?:.

So apparently, this following segment is "racist":

Seriously?!?

Now, first, a backgrounder: KFC in the Philippines had this brilliant idea of moving the cheese from the middle of the sandwich to the top, and decided to call it a day afterwards. It was stupid, and no matter how great it would have tasted, you can be sure that whether the cheese was, it would have tasted exactly the same way.

I mean, it's not even practical. The whole point of having two buns is so your hands would stay clean while you get to the meat and cheese of your standard burger. Putting the cheese on top of the sandwich kinda misses the point, and actually makes it functionally worse than the run-of-the-mill cheeseburger.

So Jimmy Kimmel beat Bubble Gang to the punch, and poked fun at the Cheese Top Burger with a spoof commercial, pointing out what all of us already knew: it was a patently ridiculous idea. The way they made the commercial even seemed to get a certain style for commercials that's distinctly Filipino, especially since the real KFC Commercial is nothing like the spoof.

Pretty clever, pretty comedic, right? He made a pretty funny joke at the expense of the burger, and even managed to give an inadvertent shout-out to the Philippines, since apparently,the Cheese Top Burger is available only in the Philippines. I seriously though that like the Double Down, it was something that came from America, too. Apparently not.

And then this happened...

Innovation? Really?

What is it about more than a few Filipinos that just makes them so butthurt about the silliest of things? I can go through a shopping list of issues that we've cried racism about, and more often than not, they're actually not examples of racism. Desperate Housewives. Alec Baldwin on David Letterman. Conan O'Brien. Chip Tsao. And yes, even BaYo.

Sure, people are free to feel offended if that's their inclination. We can't really stop them. But just like the people railing against the word "niggardly" without realizing that it's not even a racial slur, it gets exasperating sometimes.

So exasperating, you guys!

Incidentally, Kimmel's old partner from "The Man Show," Adam Carolla, actually had a serious racially charged issue a couple of years ago. The difference was that he clearly took a shot at Filipinos and right or wrong as he may be, it was definitely racially charged. In contrast, Kimmel was poking fun at a burger, not even hardly representative of what it means to be a Filipino.

Sometimes, I wonder what's wrong with these people, really. How is a joke about a burger, that just so happened to be Filipino, being racist? At no point was the defining trait of the Cheese Top Burger the fact that it was made by Filipinos: it was just a matter of fact. At no point did Kimmel even call Filipinos "stupid" or "weird" or anything along those lines, while poking fun at the burger. All the way, the jokes were directed at whoever made the Cheese Top Burger. Hades, we didn't even get a "WTF, Philippines?!?" the way I'm sure we would've told Japan if they came up with this.

.:Just Imagine...:.

Can you even imagine what went on during the meeting where they came up with this?

Employee: Hey, boss! I have an awesome idea for a new item on the menu!

Boss: Really? What is it?

Employee: Let's make a cheeseburger, except the cheese is on top of the bun!

Boss: That has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Are you drinking on the job again?

Employee: No, sir. I'm actually on weed. Also, I'm serious about this! It will be amazing!

Boss: Let's pretend I didn't hear you admit that you're toking while on the job. How is it even going to taste any different? The burger will taste exactly the same wherever you place the cheese! Do you even know anything about the food business at all?!?

Employee: Boss, I may not know a thing about the food business, but I know a few other things that might interest you.

Boss: What the hell are you talking about?!?

Employee: Well, I know where the condo of your mistress is. I also know the number of your wife. I'm sure she'd be very interested in what I have to say if you turn my idea down.

Boss: Well, I admit that I might have been a little bit hasty. This idea of yours is actually the best idea ever! We will begin production of this burger with the cheese on top. Immediately!

Employee: I'm glad you and I have come to understanding, boss.

Yeah, I think that's the only logical way the meeting for this would've turned out.

.:But Maybe Instead Of A Cheese Top Burger, We Could Have...:.

A Chiz Top Burger?

Or anything else, really?

Or better yet, maybe we could just have a good ol' burger and pretend this stupid idea never happened? This is one time I seriously hope nobody buys the damned thing out of curiosity: it is literally not going to be any different from a regular cheeseburger, and if this is their attempt at making me forget that the Double Down is now a thing of the past, I am truly disappoint.

Project 52 (26/52): On Cleo Caliente (And Why Radio's A Bit Sadder Without Her)

.:Project 52 (26/52): On Cleo Caliente (And Why Radio's A Bit Sadder Without Her):.

Aaaand that's a wrap!

Cleo Caliente recently left the Disenchanted Kingdom and radio in general last Monday, and it's a bit weird knowing she probably won't be coming back anymore.

I still remember meeting her like it was yesterday: less than a month into the Disenchanted Kingdom while they were still a morning show, I guested to promote my second major show, Bound And Gagged, and that's where I ended up being an unofficial part of the Disenchanted Kingdom for the past three years. It was awesome, obviously.

And then I just hit it off with Cleo. Things just fell into place. And I don't mean this romantically.

Three years of ups and downs and general insanity. Good times. Bad times. Times when you'd want to strangle each other. Times when no words are necessary and you simply understand. Times when you'd walk across Binondo on Good Friday, and see a guy peeing in a plastic bag in full view of you. It's gonna be weird not having her as part of the Disenchanted Kingdom now, although that certainly doesn't mean Cleo and I would cease being friends. Still, there's a pang of sadness surrounding her departure from radio.

Of course, most people who don't know me too well would probably never forget that infamous run-in Cleo had with a hotel, and how that issue blew up to a point nobody expected it to. It was one of those key points in my life where I realized that as a friend, Cleo was a keeper, and I became more than just a fan of her talent on air and outright a fan of her as a human being.

I don't really need to go into the politics or the behind-the-scenes stories because they're irrelevant to one simple fact: we lost one of the good ones this week. The most disappointing part about it is it could have been avoided, and everything about this situation could have been turned around to unprecedented heights if enough people beyond the DK itself actually gave a damn. But noooo...

Cleo's unique point of view, her ability to quickly switch gears from demure to witty to provocative to abrasive at the snap of a finger, and her sheer desire to better herself were assets that her station happened to be very lucky to have. Unfortunately, they just let her go gently into that goodnight. A whimper instead of a blaze of glory, through no fault of her own, or the entire team, for that matter.

A shame, really. I take consolation in the fact that better times lie ahead for Cleo Caliente, and she will continue to blaze a trail only she can. I definitely wish her success, and I'm sure she can kick @$$ in anything she'd truly put her mind into.

Godspeed, Cleo! You will be missed on radio, but the radio industry's loss will surely be a different industry's massive gain.

Here's to nearly three years of friendship, and to hopefully less running-into-dicks-during-Good-Friday for us!

Whut?

.:Over A Year Ago, And Yet...:.

In 2010, I wrote this comedy article about Demi Lovato and her rehab, as I speculated about what the circumstances behind it might have been.

To this day, I get about one to two comments a week that I just reject, addressing my article as if it were serious, calling me a liar, among other things.

I'm sorry, but I find all of this pretty funny. What part of "comedy, satire, snark" in the tags made them think the post was even remotely serious?

.:There Goes That...:.

When LeBron James won his first ever championship after nine seasons in the NBA, I felt a bit bad about the fact that I couldn't use my LeBron jokes anymore, and I didn't have the heart to use the same jokes on Kevin Durant because I actually like the dude.

It's interesting, though. I mean, where does LBJ go from here, though? Will it be possible for the Heat to establish a dynasty, or was this just a period in flux before the next batch of superstars wrestle dominance away from the Heat before it can even truly assert itself?

Sure, I'm definitely a LeBron hater. I won't deny it. Despite that, it's an interesting mental exercise to see where he's going.

I especially want to know how Erik Spoelstra, for that matter, is feeling about the fact that he seems to be the only Pinoy making waves internationally who doesn't have Pinoys wanting to sing his praises to the highest heavens. Poor guy.

.:I Don't Understand...:.

Why people take you for granted and just take everything they can get from you, only to push you away the minute they find it convenient to do so.

I thought highly of you. I really did. Sadly, I find myself just absolutely disappointed instead. I wish I understood. I wish you just sat me down and talked to me, and made me see why you're doing this to me.

I really don't get it. I wish I did. Unfortunately, I find myself devastated because even when you shouldn't, you matter to me. Way too much.

All I know is, even if you wouldn't believe me, I gave you my all.

Film Reviews: Kimmy Dora 2, Prometheus, Rock Of Ages

Three film reviews in one go. I wanted to try and do a stylized "thumbs up" rating system, but I don't think I've figured it out just yet.

So maybe I will do that in the future when I've fully revamped how I rank films, but for now? Let's stick to the letter grade system, I guess?

.:Film Review: Kimmy Dora 2:.

Absurd doesn't even begin to cover it.

Kimmy Dora 2
Barely disproving how some things should be left well enough alone.

So. More than two years ago, I raved briefly about Kimmy Dora 1, which, to me, was a crowning achievement for comedy. Eugene Domingo showed why she was A-List level, and proved that her comedic chops have gone so underappreciated for so long.

Today, we hear people complain that she is overrated. How fickle the arrows of fate, indeed!

I don't really feel the need to focus on talking about the storyline, because Kimmy Dora isn't really a movie that was supposed to make sense. Sadly, the more they tried to make it have a semblance of structure, the worse the film suffered for it.

This isn't to say that Kimmy Dora 2 is a bad film, by any stretch of imagination. It's just that it had the enormity of the first film weighing on its shoulders, and it ended up tripping all over itself.

Given that I knew Alodia personally, it actually felt a bit weird seeing her try to be scary. I'm sure it terrified a few moviegoers, but with me, it just felt surreal, much in the same way it felt when I saw Trixie while I was watching the Temptation Island remake.

In any case, I enjoyed the movie, until it get to the really protracted fight scene, with Mura, a lot of stupid choreography, and a missed joke of sealing off the book using the packing tape they had a running joke on for a notable chunk of the film. I don't really feel like getting into the details too much, but the fight left me cold, especially when I heard the words "sl**" and "whore" about ten thousand times too many. Not exactly a very feel-good part there for feminists and their allies, I'm guessing.

Here's hoping they don't try to milk this franchise to the ground the way Enteng Kabisote has been doing, but hey, people need to eat, I guess.

On a personal note, I'm very proud of Alodia. A fairly good first outing, definitely!

Fun Rating: B (It could have been at least an A-, but the dragging finale ruined the flow of the film for me.)
Critical Rating: C+ (I think it was a little too self-aware for its own good, and started taking itself seriously at the same time. A weird, disastrous combination.)

.:Film Review: Prometheus:.

To think I'm squeamish...

Prometheus
A prequel to a franchise I never really followed.

This was the second straight film I ended up watching with Ms. NKOTB, and I just absolutely freaked out. Not knowing what to expect other than "this is a prequel to the Aliens film series," I really was unsure what the film was actually about.

It was a pretty start-studded cast, what with Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron, at the very least. Depicting the journey of the ship called Prometheus, they embark on a quest to find perhaps the people who created humankind, and gain answers from them. Except this encounter only leads to more questions, because now, we find out that our supposed creators want all of us dead. Why? What's going on?

I'd say much more about it, but I think I closed my eyes halfway through it. Still, it was a pretty good film, and the buildup to the payoff was pretty well-crafted.

Fun Rating: A- (Thrills, chills, and spills. Hard to go wrong with that.)
Critical Rating: A- (Excellent pacing, beautiful cinematography, top-notch cast. I'm sure I'd rate this higher if I were a fan of the Alien franchise, though.)

.:Film Review: Rock Of Ages:.

Beautiful! And the movie was cool, too.

Rock Of Ages
Musicals rock!

I am a sucker for musicals. This was awesome. Go watch it.

Okay, if that wasn't enough to convince you, then allow me to explain: Rock Of Ages is a musical set in the 80's Glam Rock era, where you have Los Angeles playing as the land of opportunity for wannabe singers hoping to make something of themselves, and perhaps doing a dance or two for the sake of a Paul Heyman analog.

With Tom Cruise playing Stacee Jax, the beleaguered artist who oozes amazing sex appeal and cracktastic insanity, the casting has been inspired, to say the least. Who knew that Tom could actually sing and sing very well? I mean, doing his own stunts in Mission Impossible 4 (Including that crazy building climb he did without using CGI or a special made-up set.)? That was scary enough. But actually singing his own songs? Possibly even scarier.

With a very engaging storyline that I don't feel like getting on, I was just happily singing along to the songs playing throughout the whole film. It was a great trek, and Alec Baldwin + Russel Brand was a thing of beauty, and my absolute favorite bit in that film.

Overall, if you like singing along to musicals, this is a perfect film for you to do it in. I understand some liberties were taken with the original script from the theater version, but whatever. Rock Of Ages was beautiful, and I don't care what the naysayers had to say. This felt like an episode of Glee done right, and that deserves a whole lot of props.

Fun Rating: A+ (I was singing along! That's the mark of a great musical, in my book.)
Critical Rating: B+ (It isn't really avant garde storytelling, but who cares?)

What's The Bus, Tell Me What's A-Happening?

.:A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum...:.

... Oh, I meant the radio station. This happened a few days ago, but I think it's still pretty interesting to share.

So there I was inside the bus, and as I was about to head to a seat, I saw a woman standing and pointed her at the seat I was supposed to occupy. She thanked me, and then I found a seat behind her in the rearmost row of the bus.

A man sat to my left, very shifty-eyed, and he seemed to be looking at the phone in my breast pocket and the iPhone the Korean to my right was holding. This was all, sadly, my realization upon hindsight, and it's not like I would have had any right to do anything about him before he tried to make a play to steal anything, right?

Stop clowning around or I will blow your head off!

Well, at some point, he seemed to be about to get off, but I noticed he was holding something in his hand. It turns out, this was a knife, and he used the shock of the knife and his nonchalant attitude to plain snatch the bracelet the lady I mentioned earlier happened to be wearing.

It happened in slow motion to me, but I realized that with him holding a bladed weapon and this being a bus, it wasn't a good idea to try and take him down. He could have accomplices, and even without that, it's a bladed weapon in his right hand. I felt a tad guilty I wasn't able to stop the criminal, but I was relieved that the lady, sans the stolen bracelet, appeared to be all right, albeit a bit shook up by the incident.

At no point did the conductor try to help or so much as ask the woman how she was. Neither did he try to help the other woman the snatcher victimized as he was casually strolling down the bus. I don't want to make any speculations about his complicity in the incident, but it was mighty disappointing he didn't even so much as check on the two victims.

Almost immediately after this piece of scum disembarked from the bus, another one stood up.

Yeah, it was a bus preacher.

But not a machine gun preacher, sadly.

So. Inside a bus filled with people who were just robbed by a piece of scum, what does this second piece of scum do? Why, fleece shaken and disoriented people for money for no visible cause. What was that money for? What group did she represent? Did she just casually ignore that there were at least three Muslims in the bus, too?

Did this bus preacher even give a damn that two people were robbed in the bus? Did this preacher have the sensitivity realize that saying "God is good, God is great" to two people who could have been stabbed is cloying and patronizing at best?

Probably not, eh?

I realize that for the most part, they are free to evangelize in buses, unless the conductors asked them to stop. It's not like atheists, Muslims, or other groups are prevented from doing it themselves. Then again, what are the odds that they're more likely to stop a non-Christian evangelist on a bus? Workers on strike tend to be ushered down from buses before they could ask for help from people.

True, I realize that there isn't really a law against them (Or is there?). But can you blame me for being annoyed at them? You keep telling me how good God is, and how he loves us all. Then you hook us in by telling us that IF we love God, we'd contribute to your cause. And then you hand us blank white envelopes, and we have zero idea where that money is going.

Your message couldn't have be made any clearer even if you were to brandish a bladed weapon while you told us how good God is. Or else.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 said it best: there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heaven.

So bugger off the bus and stop extorting people who just want a quiet bus ride home for the sake of your god. Or so you say. We were already held up once. You didn't have to do it again so soon.

Project 52 (25/52): On Dismissing Issues (Because They Don't Matter To Us)

.:Project 52 (25/52): On Dismissing Issues (Because They Don't Matter To Us):.

Two issues recently came to my attention the past week: the so-called bill to "ban God in the government" by Kabataan Party-List representative Mong Palatino, and internationally, the Kickstarter project "Tropes vs. Women in Videogames." Yeah, they seem to be as disconnected as can be, that is, until you take a gander at the kind of opposition both undertakings are currently facing.

In the Philippines, an editorial denouncing this secularist bill was published, and has found a lot of support from people who never even read the contents of the bill to begin with. Oh, look! It's exactly like the RH Bill all over again: knee-jerk alarmists who still think that Catholics are the victims when it is clear that they are the privileged group in society.

On the internet, Anita Sarkeesian was met with an unbelievable amount of vitriol over a video project she hasn't even done yet. Of course, it was awesome that she made nearly thirty times the $6,000 she initially required to carry out her project. Despite that, I don't think being subjected to the kind of online abuse she had to endure could possibly be justified even to the tune of $150,000++. Other Kickstarter projects have had similar success without nearly the same amount of cyberbullying.

When you look at these seemingly disjointed issues, you see an obvious, common thread: the opposition is mounted by people in positions of privilege. The average Catholic does not get discriminated against in the Philippines the way the average agnostic or atheist would. The average male would not get regular sexual harrassment while online solely because they're male. In both cases, the privileged classes, the ones whose entrenchment is both put into question and challenged, are fighting back. And how!

I. The Great Divide Over Secularism

This image never gets old.

Some people questioned the relevance of this proposed bill, saying that this does not represent the constituency of the Kabataan Party-List representative. Except it actually does. The youth are part of a global village more than the old guard are, and as such, should be more sensitive to secularism.

Not only is it relevant, it also simply upholds what should already be common sense as what our constitution has provided for: why is the government giving special treatment to a particular religion? Why does it have public prayers that naturally exclude non-believers, chapels funded even by Muslim taxpayers, and so on?

At no point does this proposed bill say that religion should be abhorred at all costs. What this bill is proposing is a level playing field: that the default assumption about a person doesn't involve their religious affiliation being Catholic, which, I am quite certain, you will notice happening a lot all around us.

Is this really so bad? This bill respects people's freedom to have their own religion. All it does is prevent certain religions from dominating the government's domain when church and state should actually be separate. You want to pray? Pray without the state having to enforce it. You want to go to church? Do it in a church that wasn't paid for with tax money.

It's simple: the minute you spend for a single Catholic church from tax money, it becomes valid for every other religion to ask for the same kind of consideration. So, in the interest of fairness, either all religions should receive consideration from the state, or not one religion should receive consideration from the state.

The reason religious people, especially Catholics, are pushing back against this bill is clear: they don't like not having these special considerations. They are so used to assuming that the default setting of every person they meet is Catholic unless established otherwise that when the default is changed to religious-neutral, they suddenly lose their privilege.

The kind of privilege that has allowed an archbishop nigh immunity from legal repercussions for multiple cases of sexual harassment. The kind of privilege that means we begin every session in congress with a prayer as if agnostics and atheists didn't exist, and as if a moment of silence wasn't sufficient for people of all creeds to pray to whomever they wish to pray to. The kind of privilege that allows a former president to lie through her teeth about her promise to not run for president again because "God told her to run."

Well, cry me a river.

We keep on claiming we want to live in a just and fair society, yet we are so willing to throw people who don't share our beliefs under the bus because it's convenient for us? This is just and fair? Really?

Look at it this way: if Christianity is true, then non-believers are already going to Hell after they die. Is that not enough? Why do we need to make the rest of their lives a living Hell by forcing upon them things they already do not believe in, to begin with?

You want to be a missionary? You want to crusade for your God? You are free to do so. Nobody's stoning those bus preachers, right? Just don't expect government backing while you're doing it. Check your privilege at the door, and use the exact same tools available to every other person who wants to become evangelists for their own belief systems, or even their lack of one.

The problem with some religious people is that they are so focused on the martyrs of old that they now forget they are no longer the underdogs: they are now part of the dynasty.

II. Misogynists Assemble!

A woman outside the kitchen? SEIZE HER!

A great number of male gamers called it unfair that feminists keep on harping on the issues of sexism in video games, either by denying this is an issue altogether while hurling sexist commentary at the feminists without a hint of irony, or derailing the discussion altogether by citing instances where men were supposedly also being discriminated against.

Here's the funny thing: nobody was telling them they can't talk about problematic depictions of men in video games. They were clearly just bringing these issues up to silence a woman who dared speak up about her issues. We can't have that going on, no siree.

Why don't these men who feel their rights are also being trampled upon start their own kickstarter? One of two things: they're either too lazy, or they themselves realize their problems aren't actually worth fighting for. And you know why not? Because the straight male is privileged, and virtually every discrimination that happens against a man comes with them not being "man enough" (Whatever the Hades that means.), not simply because they're a man.

Yes: misandry is brought about by misogyny, yet again! How dare a man become a *gasp* woman?!? Shocking!

It was like a beacon call just happened without anyone noticing it, and next thing you know, Anita Sarkeesian was swarmed by misogynists. It was a staggering effort, and it makes you wonder how much good these neckbeards could have accomplished if they did something better with their energy.

Nobody's saying that men don't have issues, but why are we shoehorning these in a discussion about women's issues? Some people dismissed this project as some kind of attention grab, all the while being oblivious to the fact that the men who want to shift the discussion to male issues are the ones trying to grab attention! They can always discuss their issues in their space. Why do they need to bring it to the one space set up by a woman for the explicit intention of discussing women's issues? Why the overwhelming need to dominate the conversation with our own agenda without giving quarter to the Other's agenda?

The trolls who wanted to silence Anita were doing so because the status quo was being challenged: oh, noes! No more sexy girl characters! Ridiculous. Men and women alike can all be sexy without having to be objectified. If a little sensitivity, just a tad consideration, can make the gaming experience of a girl gamer just a wee bit more enjoyable, is that really so much to ask?

Well, apparently, if you're one of these guy gamers, then yes, that's too much to ask! You know why it's too much? Because it puts in jeopardy the privilege males have had ever since society became a patriarchy.

It's the kind of privilege that has allowed Aris Bakthanians to harrass his own teammate and not so much as be slapped with legal action for it. It's the kind of privilege that has allowed men to not have to worry about random people asking them "dick or gtfo" while they're playing their MMORPG. It's the kind of privilege that has allowed men to say "women should be grateful they can even vote" as if this excuses every other instance of institutionalized unequality between men and women. Ever.

Well, cry me a river.

We keep on claiming we live in a just and fair society, yet whenever a woman gets on her soapbox to say something, instead of actually debating her, we just try to shut her up. Why is that? is it because she has something to say that could possibly upset us?

Here is a prime opportunity for dialogue. A chance to look at what a woman feels are problematic depictions of women in video games, that, if addressed, could possibly allow women to be somewhat less uneasy about playing video games. It could result in better sales for games, and by extension, better motivation to create more well-rounded and thoughtful games.

And we address this opportunity by telling her to shut up? Really? Really?!?

III. No, Really

Well, screw it. Maybe the issue of secularism isn't important to a huge swath of Filipinos out there, but it's important to me. And as a Filipino who pays his taxes, I believe I have just as much of a say in this lawmaking process as everyone else who also pays their taxes.

Maybe the issue of women portayal in video games isn't important to a huge swath of gamers out there, but it's clearly important to Anita Sarkeesian, and 6,968 people who gave money to make the project happen. As people who put their money where their mouth is, I think they have just as much of a say in this entire process as everyone else who disagrees with them. And yeah, this topic is pretty important to me, too, so count me in as someone who actually wants to see this series get produced.

It's beside the point whether you agree or disagree with either issue. The point is that there is room for dialogue for both issues. Sure, you're free to dismiss them (I did dismiss the whole Corona issue, after all.). However, this doesn't mean that your opinion on the matter will have a magical binding effect on stopping this dialogue from happening anyways (My lack of enthusiasm for the Corona issue didn't stop it from happening, after all.).

Privilege is only cool if you're the one benefiting from it. The more people realize that not everyone gets the same deal, the sooner we'd all be able to finally get to working towards a fair and just society, and not just some vestigial mockery of it.

Some Things Just Fall Into Place Sometimes, But Some Things Fall Apart More Often...

.:The Dichotomy:.

... an unexpected greeting. A connection that persists simply because it's so easy and it just works that way. Time. Space. Circumstances.

Sometimes, the universe lines itself up to remind you that no, life isn't all about hardships and finding yourself scaling insurmountable odds just to find happiness. Sometimes, it's just right under your nose. Or right under your feet, even.

I guess, when all the pieces just fall into place like that, the only question that remains would be: are you ready for it? Did the universe align itself perfectly but in the wrong time? Or is it only you holding yourself back yet again?

I don't know if I'm willing to find out anymore.

Because true, things fall into place sometimes, but more often than not, things just fall apart. Years upon years of trying. Of being told things are all right, only for the lies to dissipate in an instant when the lie is no longer convenient to stand by.

And it's so easy to be angry. To point to the Other and say it's their fault. But before you do that, you can't help but feel... what is missing with you that you simply aren't good enough? What is wrong with you?

They say that love is patient. That love is kind. What they didn't say was that love is immune to pain. It isn't. Yet all love can do, when it is so true, when it is so sincere, when it means nothing but the best for that person who is loved, is for love to keep on keeping on. No matter the pain. No matter the hurt.

So where do broken hearts go, then? To stay where things fall apart after everything has been said and done, or to go where things fall into place without even trying?

I don't know, but all I know is I refuse to give in to the anger. I refuse to cheapen how deep my feelings run by lashing out and saying anything hurtful. I'm better than that, and she deserves better than that.

I just pray that someday, someone sees that I'm worth it, the way I have never ceased believing that she was worth it, after all this time.

If I stand all alone, will the shadow hide the color of my heart?
Blue for the tears, black for the night's fears.
The stars in the sky don't mean nothin' to you, they're a mirror.
I don't want to talk about it, how you broke my heart...

- Rod Stewart, "I Don't Want To Talk About It"

Still Disenchanting, As Always...

.:Still Disenchanting, As Always...:.

So there we were last Monday, just enjoying the kick-ass show King DJ Logan, Marf, Cleo Caliente, and (every now and then) yours truly manage to deliver on 99.5 RT, 6 to 9 every evening. After the show, KDL had this bright idea of going to Behrouz, as we were going to meet the owners of the place in Metrowalk.

Oh, yeah. The food was awesome. That much is a given. But what really got to me were the amazing stories they had to tell that night. How they do what they do, the kind of rigorous process they have to undergo on a daily basis just to make sure their food is fresh and clean, and even their very interesting love story, as things just fell into place for them in love and career in one fell swoop. With multiple branches in Metro Manila, you can just imagine how much ground they have to cover just to make sure all of them are running smoothly. It's a tight ship, but I personally wouldn't have it any other way.

And did I forget to mention that the food was awesome? Because the lamb chops and the ox brain still linger in my mind to this very moment.

It was quiet moments like these that made me very happy to be a part of the Disenchanted Kingdom, even if an earth-shattering announcement was made over dinner that night. We may not be flashy or bombastic the way other shows at our timeslot happen to be, but The Disenchanted Kingdom has typically been a fun show where people can just enjoy light-hearted banter and be themselves.

.:A SPIT Take:.

With the first-ever Manila Improv Festival happening sometime next week, you can tell that the time is definitely ripe for the amazing improv comedy group known as Silly People's Improv Theater, aka SPIT, to really make waves in the country and bring alternative forms of comedy to the national consciousness much in the way the Comedy Cartel has been trying for years now, all the same.

Of course, there are key differences, and as a fan of comedy in general, I'm very mindful of how different an act by a Vice Ganda and a John Lapuz would be from an act by Mike Unson and a GB Labrador or an act by a Gabe Mercado and a Kenneth Keng. That being said, it's really great to see that these different forms of comedy are really coming to their own, and hitting their stride as they reach audiences far and wide.

Last night, The Disenchanted Kingdom guested SPIT, and the results were phenomenal as Chester, Bibay, Aryn, Monica, Maliksi, Kenneth, and Gabe truly broke expectations, as King DJ Logan was clearly impressed by the sheer amount of entertainment he has missed right under his nose all this time. He was further surprised to discover that all this time, those little games he's been playing, such as Triple Threat? They're improv games, too.

The interview was pretty in-depth: from the origins of Silly People's Improv Theater, to the things they feel are necessary requirements for someone to become a good improv comedian, it really gave ample insights into the craft and the work that goes into improv comedy. How does one create laughter from nothing but random ideas by the audience and nothing but the most basic of rules to guide them along?

However it's done, SPIT has been doing it nearly every week for the past ten years already.

On top of the amazing interview, they even tried to push a scenario on me as a very cold audition. I was pretty miserable at it, but they at least saw I was willing to go through trilling like Regine, or jawing like Robin, while Logan matched wits with Gabe on the fly.

Then, the piece de resistance: a reggae song made up on the spot about what one thing women keep doing should forever be banned (I suggested "bringing up past transgressions."), which went over pretty well.

Well, what else is there left to say? I don't think I can sing the praises of SPIT any louder if I tried, so guys, if you're ever free from 28 June to 01 July, and you happen to be in the Makati area, why don't you just go mosey on over to Quantum during the evenings, and for 400 bucks, get treated to not just the amazing ensemble of SPIT, but even several other improv comedy troupes all over the world?

It's an experience that will not just be fun, but maybe even life-changing for you. You just need to let it happen.

Let the insanity commence!