Monday, December 29, 2008

Proof Of Life

Hello, kiddies...

Buhay pa po tayo dito. Buhay na buhay ang Bacolod.

Medyo busy sa kakalakwatsa (lagaw-lagaw ah)


And of course, there's the paperwork that needs to be done...

Hope you all had a happy and meaningful Christmas.

See you all in the New Year...

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Lantern Parade 2008

This was the first time that I was able to witness the UP Lantern Parade. Last year, according to hearsay, was more grandiose but the problem was ala akong kasabay sa panonood huhuhu.

But this year I was able to get a glimpse of one of the most important traditios of UP life kasi meron na akong barkada dito sa peyups hehehe. Originally, I was supposed to meet up with Regina, then Eleazar was texting na kitakits raw. Both arrangements did not materiallize so initially I wandered into the Academic Oval expecting that I would be viewing the parade by my lonesome self.

Buti na lang at nagkita kami ng mga DoTA friends ko. I was walking toward the UP Kas tambayan since I heard that their members would be congregating there to watch the parade. And since I have been a regular tambay sa lugar nila I thought I could meet up with any familiar face I would see there. Kung wala dun, pwede rin natin try ang UP Likas. hehe

I met up with the guys near the Engineering building. I immediately noticed that there were already floats parading and so I asked one of the guys:

"Nagsimula na ang parade?"

The reply was: "Kanina pa po..."

Holy syet! Here I was about to witness my first Lantern Parade and I was LATE! May maaabutan pa kaya ako?

Good thing that we went back to Palma Hall and there I got a chance to see the latter half (I think) of the parade...

The participants in the parade were a diverse mix of concepts, some were visibly constrained by budget and the number of participants while others were all out in design and presentation - in short, bonggacious sila.

The College of Fine Arts was, among those I saw, the best in concept and design. They had a carnival theme in which students came out in droves (as in maraming participants and floats) leading me to suspect that this may be a project or extra credit but still they were impressive - or at the very least - entertaining.

I loved their float which featured a punk sea lion - complete with mohawk, piercings, and tattoos. When we saw them again at Quezon Hall, the hosts were remarking that the Fine Arts people were baliktad, referring to the participants dressed up as carnival performers doing handstands, and a ferris wheel that rotated in reverse. hahaha ang kukulit ng mga hosts!

Other participants included UP Pampanga which featured a gigantic parol complete with flashing lights, an org which featured Igorot dancers, UP Lib Sci people with a large pop up figure of Quezon Hall, a frat group with guys playing a snake dance thing, the USC with their protest theme of "Defend the OSR!," STAND UP with their perennial (I think) Serve the People theme and the usual "Iskolar! Ng Bayan!" universal mantra, the anti-Arroyo and anti-Chacha theme which was prevalent - one group featured a Gloria puppet, another featured a float which pictured Gloria either as a sultan or a grotesque genie, there was a religious org that was chanting about Jesus and "what are you living for?", which was followed by, of all groups, UP Babaylan, with their white motif, bright lights and - uh - menagerie? hahaha in fairness, the Babaylan troupe elicited more calls to God that the religious org. atsaka weird na magkasunod sila....

The parade made their way to Quezon Hall and once again did their thing. We viewed the final stretch on a widescreen alongside University Avenue. Then the choir did their "community singing," na parang hindi naman community singing kasi wala kaming kaalam-alam nung lyrics ng pinagkakakanta nila.

Then the fireworks.

It was AMAZING! For about 10 or 15 minutes the sky was lit up by bright, vibrant colors. The air was filled with music, explosions, and the cheers of the assembled crowd. The finale featured the 1812 overture by Tchaikovsky, and upon hearing it I immediatetly went - "Syet! V for Vendetta!"

But all good things do come to an end. After the salvo of lights and sound, we made our way back to Palma Hall. I split up with the guys at A. Roces and made my way back to the boarding house.

Siyanga pala, nakabili ako ng souvenir from the peddlers hanging about the Oval. Yung unang mama P50 raw yung sungay na umiilaw, but a few meters away I was able to find ale who was selling them for P40, at malalaki pa. It indeed pays to walk a bit if you want to avail cheaper prices.

At ngayon, tinubuan na ako ng sungay sa UP...bwahahaha

Pahibalo

Sa tanan nga mga tawo nga makalabay sa ining blog ni sonofaditch, mapahuway anay ako mga pila ka semana kay mapuli ko sa Bacolod. Wala didto 24 hours na internet sa balay kay dugay na gin-utod sang akon nanay hahaha

Tinghwa-on ko gid nga maka-online bisan kis-a sa isa ka semana para maka-update sa tanan nga hinitabo sa cyberspace.

Ma-greet na ko daan Merry Christmas kag Happy New Year sa inyo tanan. Kung kilal-anay kita kag wala ta ka na-text para mag-greet ta ka, buot silingon - wala na load si sonofaditch hahaha


This blog will be on hiatus for the Holidays, be safe and see you all next year...

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

WTF? Worst Half-Time Show Ever



Ayoko nang magcomment, nawalan ako ng lakas kakatawa...

Monday, December 15, 2008

WTF?! Eat My Shoes you Bastard!

This video cracks me up every time I see it...



It just shows that given adequate motivation, a person is bound to turn any ordinary object into a weapon. Eto'ng weapons of mass destruction mo lintik ka!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

My Bankai. Bow

Got this idea from a discussion thread over at www.mangafox.com:

"If you had a zanpaktuo, what would be it's shikai and bankai?"

The various creative suggestions from the otakus inspired me to make up my own personal zanpaktuo. Actually, I already had an idea of what my fictional zanpaktuo would be (an unfortunate side-effect of watching too many Bleach episodes) but I just didn't put it into writing. But since it seems I am not the only one who dreamed of having a zanpaktuo, here goes...

My zanpaktuo's name is "Enigma". It looks like an ordinary katana in its unreleased form but it's shikai, which is released with the command "Confound the unwitting!" is a medieval broadsword - the blade is about 3 inches in width and is made of crystal. The blade acts as a mirror which traps the thoughts of those who see their reflection on it. Once my victim has beheld his reflection on the blade, he/she/it immediately goes into a stupor-like state.

My sword's attacks are psychic-based. The names of each attack are inspired by mythical puzzles.

First Puzzle: Gordias. I can strike my opponent with a psychic blast which is fatal for hollows and ordinary humans. Those who are of tougher mental constitutions suffer varied effects which range from being stunned to turning catatonic. Name taken from the king who inspired the Gordian Knot, a particularly hard knot to untie. Solved by Alexander the Great by cutting it in half with his sword.

Second Puzzle: Daedalus. Another ability of my shikai is limited mind control. Due to my ability to tune into my victim's thoughts, I can play with his senses and make him see and or experience whatever I want him to see or experience. This could be used to turn an opponent against his own allies. Named after the creator of the Labyrinth which housed the Minotaur. Theseus solved the puzzle with a little help from Ariadne and some string. Daedalus and Icarus escaped by means of fashioning wings made of feathers and wax.

Third Puzzle: Oedipus. Final ability of my zanpaktou is the ability to read minds. By pointing my blade at a person, I can immediately see glimpses of his past experiences reflected on the blade. This is useful for interrogation or intelligence gathering, as well as gauging the ability of an opponent prior to combat. In Greek mythology, Oedipus was the one who solved the riddle of the Sphinx devastating Thebes.

Talagang pinag-isipan no? hehehe

My Bankai, which is named "Infinite Puzzle, Mind's Labyrinth" is similar to Tousen's bankai. The blade of my shikai splinters off into countless pieces a la Zenbonsakura but it reconfigures itself as a crystalline sphere encasing myself and my intended victim. Within that sphere my opponent's thoughts are laid bare to me and I could create illusions to assail his psychic integrity. In short - I could literallly drive him insane within the sphere and kill him with his own thoughts. Sadista ako no? hehehe

My zanpaktou's limitation is that it's powers could only be used against a single opponent at a time. And since most of my abilities take a certain degree of concentration, it is possible to nullify my mind control by physically injuring me. Forcing me to move will not release a person from my control, it would just interrupt whatever attack I was employing.

In its released form, my sword also gives me added speed and is much sharper than its unreleased form so it is also a formidable fighting weapon. And given that I am of captain status, most of my battles could be settled without me having to use most of my abilities.

Sufficient back-up is needed for me employ my sword's full abilities. In its bankai form, however, I gain sufficient defense from outside attacks due to the durability of my crystalline sphere. However, those with immense spiritual energy may be able to break through my bankai. If such a scenario happens, my bankai's ability will backfire on me and render me catatonic for an extended period of time.

Of course I'll survive! Ano tayo, weak? hahaha

O siya, tama na ang daydreaming! Having nothing to do renders me prone to fantastical imaginings. Patayog-tayog na lang ni ah.

Hellooooooo Pasig!

I spent a good part of this day exploring another corner of Manila. Our Anthro prof showed us around Pasig City together with a group of Anthro undergrads.

First of all, late kaming dumating sa Pasig Museum. The number of people taking the MRT was unbelievable! Christmas na talaga kasi sobrang traffic, almost all people have one destination: the shopping centers, malls, or the local flea market in order to engage in their Christmas shopping.

Fortunately, Sir was just about to wrap up the first part of the museum tour when we arrived. It so happened that the exhibit room that was first explored was the area where we will be setting-up our pottery exhibit. After we made our presence known to Sir Castro, we immediately set about the task surveying our would-be exhibit area.

Nagpaiwan kami sa baba at hindi na kami sumali sa tour sa second floor ng museum. We were scoping out the place, imagining our non-existent exhibit laid-out in the area. Actually wala pa naman kami talagang idea kung ano ang ilalagay namin sa exhibit, kaya patingin-tingin lang kami atsaka nagfoformulate ng mga possible na themes na iaassign sa bawat sulok ng exhibit area. We also looked at the materials available in the museum and upon further inquiry with kuya guard, we were assured that the museum had enough platforms, display cases and panel boards to meet our needs.

When the group rejoined us downstairs, Sir sent us outside on a tour of some of the old houses in Pasig. We were then led to the City Hall which featured a view of Marikina River. A sign that read "No Petting-Necking" caught our attention; mapusok talaga ang mga taga-Pasig - or is it the "romantic view" of the river? hehehe

We were then led inside the church and we saw a restored wooden mural and the old church bells. Throughout the tour, I was amused at Sir's informal demeanor - para lang kaming lumalakwatsa sa neigborhood niya (which turned out to be true, as our professor is a resident of Pasig).

The tour ended at around half-past noon and we rode a jeep back to Edsa Central. Another new mall to be explored hehe My classmates and I had lunch at Chowking and talked for a while - basically chismis unrelated to either Anthropology or the museum project.

Finally we took the MRT back to Quezon Avenue. The train operator announced over the PA system that the train was having a bit of a problem with the brakes, but it was a minor problem and the train could still operate.

sabi ng train operator:

"Diretso po 'to ng North Station...wag kayong mag-alala"

Sabi ko: "Baka wala nang hinto ang lakad nito..."

Dugtong pa ng isa: "Diretso North Station...tapos papasok na sa SM North!"


hahahahaha Lucky for us, the train made its usual stops. My classmates got off at Cubao station while I got off Quezon Avenue and took a jeepney to Philcoa.

And so ended the last (un)official class meeting for this year. Next year na lang ang mga gagawin at iba pang mga assignments for the museum project....pahinga muna tayo...

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

WTF? Jizz in My Pants

I don't know how I stumbled on this vid. I was online searching about pottery. Oh well...



comments:

1. The guy on the right is channeling either the Pet Shop Boys or Erasure. Matanda na kayo kung kilala niyo sila. hehe

2. The song is actually good, though the lyrics were a bit inane in my opinion. The editing is spot-on, adding to the humor of the skit

3. What's with the faux British accent?

4. every shot in this vid mocks a certain aspect of pop/R&B music videos. In fairness, high production value ang vid.

5. WTF? is that a Justin Timberlake cameo? suki na yata ng SNL si JT ah... I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who produced this...maybe there's another "Dick in A Box" in the works?

UPDATE: apparently Youtube has blocked this particular video, heres the link if you want to view the video.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Pot Ng Ina Mo!

In our Anthro 225 class Prof. Castro offered us an opportunity to participate in an upccoming exhibit in the Pasig Museum. We were given the choice of either passing a term paper or providing our ample "talents" in setting up the Pasig Museum exhibit.

The topic? POTTERY...specifically the pottery industry in Pasig.

Since may INC pa ko last sem at may paper kay Ma'am Camagay this sem, I jumped on the opportunity to participate in an activity that would mean one less paper to research and write.

Just this evening during our class we finally decided on the committees that will compose the Pasig Museum project. I elected to join the Exhibit Management Committee.

Why?

Kasi control-freak ako eh. hahaha

But it seems that this control freak has met his fellow control freaks. And mind you, mga experts ito in their own fields. Good thing walang sumamang control freak sa committee namin. Baka na-intimidate ko hehe

But I am looking forward to working with my classmates on this project. We are scheduled to tour the Pasig Museum this Saturday with Sir Castro to get a glimpse of the museum as well as other historical sites around Pasig.

Now, if only I had a camera...

But the bigger question for me is: "Paano bang papuntang Pasig?"

hahaha magpapaka-lost uli tayo in the big city! at least, this is another opportunity to familiarize myself with another corner of Manila. Hala, sige!

And so I am now on "management mode" and "research mode" on the history and ethnography of pottery in Pasig city...oooooooooh....

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken!



'la lang, just wanted to post something...hehehe

Tulog na tayo...

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

You're both Finished!

hay salamat at natapos na yung report ko on Otis and Schurman para sa Kas 208 ni Ma'am Camagay. It was postponed last week so this was a long overdue project. Whew!

Isa lang comment ko kay Ma'am: suabe...hehehe. I'm beginning to see why despite the workload, those who took up Ma'am's classes still enjoyed it.

At umulan ng Nagaraya sa UP Press...hahahahahaha

OK din yung examen corto namin sa Span 11. Las preguntas y los ejercicios estan muy facil. wahahahaha tingnan lang natin sa Biyernes kung ano ang score natin....

I was already dizzy with hunger by the time we were dismissed at around 7 PM. At the Coop Canteen, I sat across a kind old lady who suddenly engaged me in conversation. She knew a bit of Ilonggo and she was asking me about my course and whatnot...

Turns out she's an Adventist and was teaching in a university in Tagaytay. She asked me if I am familiar with Adventists and I said yes, because there is an Adventist school in Bacolod.

I didn't tell her that I also knew an Adventist but he's the atypical, "deviant" sort. Doesn't worship on Saturdays and spends much of his time, uh....fornicating. hehehe

Basta, tomorrow will be a "break day" for me! Kalimutan muna natin ang pag-aaral!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

La Casa Ha Caido

...y con los politicos malos de Thailand.

Syet! The Thais are beating us at our own game! At tayo ang original people power people! [syet! at may alliteration pa!]

Now, La Bruja Loca (aka MaDame Senator hahaha)is talking about una revoluccion Filipina against La Pequeña Demonyita?

WTF? from nauna to gaya-gaya?

WOOOOOOW NAMAN AMF! hahahaha

O siya, review muna ako Spanish porque me hace una examen a la mañana. quiereme buena suerte por favor...Gracias!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Te Quiero...

if we will be required to present a song in Span 11. Eto yung ipepresent ko. wahahahaha

"Te Quiero Puta" by Rammstein



Ano kaya magiging reaction ni Sir?

I Want to Sleep

or you could also call this post "Manila by...Early Morning" hahaha

fetched my cousin Nang Jane from NAIA yesterday afternoon. She was supposed to catch a 4:35 PM flight to Bacolod yesterday...

that's an emphasis on supposed...

na-delay ng isang oras yung flight niya from Bahrain thus she didn't make her scheduled flight to Bacolod. Ang ending sinamahan ko siya sa pension house para antayin yung flight niya at 5:15 AM this morning.

But it was a good time to catch up with Nang Jane after two years...napuyat kami sa kakakuwento hahaha

I'm thankful that my cousin was able to work for good, decent folk in Lebanon. I am now thankful that she's on her way back home to spend Christmas with her family.

As for me, I'm currently holed up in a 24-hour internet cafe at Philcoa - composing this post and waiting for the clock to strike 7 AM. Para hindi ko mabulabog ang kapayapaan sa bahay nina Doktora. hahahaha

Seen and heard on a Bus going to Philcoa:

A B-movie action film entitled "US Seals," made by God-knows-what production outfit hahaha. Natawa ako sa mga lines na sinasambit ng mga actors, to wit:

US Seal # 1 :"Shoot the truck!"

US Seal # 2: "I'm shooting the fucking truck!"

US Seal # 1: "No, shoot THAT truck!"

final confrontation ng bida at ng contrabida, siyempre may speechfest:

Contrabida: "I'm gonna tear off your jaw and shit down your fucking windpipe!"

Bida: "Shut the fuck up!" (sabay sugod)

hahahahaha nawala yung antok ko sa bus...

Monday, November 24, 2008

Is it over?

Haaay tapos na sina Otis, Schurman, at Manuel.

On to other things that indirectly concern me (connection is mostly due to sentimental reasons hehe):

I do hope the "war" is over...but hearing of THAT incident resulted in two reactions on my part:

"hmmmm...assuming it's true...why am I not surprised?"

"WTF? the drama came after? when I was there the drama happened BEFORE things got going!" (but not on THAT volume - este - scale)

Ano ba yan? idaan na lang yan sa mabuting sigawan - este - iyakan - este - usapan, ano ba yan?

File this one under: ulihi sa balita/tsismis and waay labot pero ga-comment hehehe

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Done!

Thank you to Messrs. Otis and Schurman for giving me a very eventful weekend. Sa wakas natapos na rin ang mga book reviews. Powerpoint presentation na lang but that would be a breeze compared to crafting the two papers. Whew!

A sidenote to champions and "second placers":

Sa mga nagdaog, be magnanimous in defeat (pangita dictionary para mabal-an ang meaning), sa mga "second placers," it's not the end of the world.

To the champion: sure...you get to have bragging rights but that would just last until the next Sportsfest - where you would have to defend your place as "king of the hill."

To the second placer: be content with the fact that you have done you're best. Don't believe that song by Linkin Park because oftentimes it's not the destination that matters but the journey. asus...

To everybody: hagan-hagan lang sa name-calling kag padayaw. though the cyber bulletins could afford you a degree of anonymity (and thus a degree of courage)know your limits. wala na na puntos nga dugang sa tally board.

Kung may reklamo man gihapon, isaka sa Korte Suprema, sa ICJ, sa CHR, pero hopefully indi maglab-ot sa CLMMRH...kung gusto niyo sosyal sa Riverside ta...

All in all, Sportsfest lang ina mga bata, it's not World War III. Get over it quickly kay in a few weeks may exams naman kamo...for all it's worth, hope you had fun. And since Christmas is just around the corner, start spreading the love - not the vitriol. (dictionary liwat...)

baw, daw ka-relate gid kuno...hahaha

Friday, November 21, 2008

Anything Yet?

I'm currently working on my review of Maj. Gen. Elwell Otis' Report on the U.S. Military operations covering the American Occupation and Phil-American War.

I've finished about a quarter of my book review.

I'm waiting for inspiration to kick in again, thus the intermittent web browsing and blogging...hehe

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Engrish Ito

Do you speaking Engrish correct? and writing? too be seeing below pictures (samples of the very many to find at website original) shall laughing start very much...please enjoy yourself too much

Photos getting from webpage www.engrish.com. Visit to click here.

















It is indeed a challenge to translate another language into English given the unique conventions of each language. But, as the above photos show, the many attempts to do so result into some - uh - peculiar messages...

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

WTF? WTF?!



Hahaha...retrong-retro kaya ang mga movies ngayon...pati G.I. Joe may movie na...para akong bata ulit nito...hahahaha

Monday, November 17, 2008

WTF? The Greatest Prank Call Ever?



This could be considered a "reverse" prank call since it's the recipient who's setting up the caller - in this case a hapless telemarketer.

I was impressed at how the prankster, Tom Mabe, managed to hold himself together throughout the set-up. Listen closely to the unfortunate telemarketer as he goes from surprised, intimidated, to just plain owned...hahaha

Saturday, November 15, 2008

WTF? Blizzcon 08

Fellow gamers, I hereby treat you to some girl-on-girl action...


Wholesome tayo...wholesome tayo...hehehe

Actually, these pretty ladies are representatives from their respective elven tribes. The one on the left is an archer from the Night Elf tribe while the one on the right is a Blood Elf.

More pics from the 2008 Blizzcon here

Judging from the pictures, it would seem that the World of Warcraft dominated Blizzcon. But there were also appearances from allies from the Starcraft and Diablo realms such as Zerg Queen Kerrigan and a certain hooded Archangel. hmmmmmm...

Quotable Quotes (?)

My Anthro Prof -- while he was introducing himself to the class and describing his academic background and interests:

"My MA Thesis was on the communist movement in the Cordillera region. I did 5 years of participant observation and research: four years with the communist movement, one year in jail."

My Span Prof -- he was letting us practice the jota sound, which is a 'nasty,' throaty sound (like clearing one's throat of phlegm) Span prof approached a classmate, who was clearly a member of El Federacion, and told him to demonstrate the sound for us, saying:

"Etong isang 'to...siguradong gamit na ang lalamunan nito..."

Span prof often would spew out some crude, but cute, jokes. He always has a caveat whenever he lets loose a few of his double entendres:

"Wholesome tayo...wholesome tayo..."

Coming from a guy who seem to be fixated with the word puerta...

Something that my former Kas Prof talked about in class actually helped me in my Span class. I was the only one who was able to answer the question: Donde esta en España La Nuestra Señora de la Macarena?

Buti na lang kinuwento ni Prof yung bakasyon niya sa Espanya...hehehe

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Ginadumtan...parte dos

Ari pa gid isa gali...saw it a few weeks ago at Powerbooks Trinoma. I always leave bookstores with either a feeling of exhiliration or regret.

The Collected Plays of Euripides. I can't recall the exact title but it's a collection of the surviving tragedies written by Euripides. I am so looking forward to reading them again, especially Trojan Women - which in my opinion is the most tragic of all tragedies. If Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus is the "perfect" tragedy, then Trojan Women is the "tragic" tragedy. I remember reading it years ago...the raw emotions evoked by the play left me reeling. Basta, bumilib ako kay Euripides after reading Trojan Women.

But the book price was way beyond my capabiliy at this moment. It's the Moses Hadas translation so I know maganda ang pagkakatranslate nito.

I am dying to get my hands on this one since it would complete my collection of Greek dramatists. Aeschylus - present...Sophocles - present...Aristophanes - check...si Euripides na lang ang kulang.

Kung hahayaan ko lang ang sarili ko na bumili nang bumili nang libro baka mamatay ako sa gutom. hahahaha

Translating Pebi's maxim into la lengua española - "comprar un libro es mas importante que comer"...in short, libro muna bago lamon Ayos!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Ginadumtan

May book sale sa FC...

May mga libro nga nami...

Galeng mahal...

Hulaton ko ang last day sang sale para bagsak presyo ang mga libro na ini...

Collected works of Virgil - kay ang Aeneid ko wala gin-uli sang naghulam. grrrrrr....

Das Kapital, The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx

Machiavelli's The Prince (actually may ara na ko ini) together with Hobbes' Leviathan (amo ni ang wala ko hehe)

kung may budget pa dalasa ang iban na libro...

The Philosophy of Right, The Philosophy of History by W.G.F. Hegel

The Collected Works of Milton (upod ang Paradise Lost)

Plutarch's Lives

Andaman lang sang mga libro nga ini sa Biyernes...todas gid kamo hehe

Monday, November 10, 2008

Cold Turkey

I was holed up in the boarding house for the whole day. I finally resurrected my Kas 226 notes and I was earnestly poring over my initial drafts. Going over my notes and drafts and trying to resume my writing where I left off last time was frustrating work.

Bakit?

I would be going over the section on the formulation of US policy during the Japanese Occupation when a stray thought would intrude...

Level 53 na yung wizard ko sa Cabal...ano ba yung quest na makakakuha ka ng map ng Port Lux?...at least nakarating na ako ng Port Lux...cute ng character ko in Bluestin Martial set...anong klaseng creeps ba meron sa Port Lux?....

Sandali! Sandali! SANDALEEEEEEEEE!

Focus...focus...focus tayo...now where was I? Oh yes, 'asan na ba yang lintik na copy ko ng Potsdam Declaration...


It was a challenge to focus and get my brain "jump-started" or "reoriented" to academic pursuits once again. Hangover ng sembreak.

Pwede ring withdrawal symptoms ng Cabal addiction.

hahahahahaha

Thank goodness, I still had my iron resolve...I managed to push through with rearranging my outline and editing a few portions of my essay. I didn't want to over exert myself since I know parang naninibago pa ako. hehe

It was already an achievement on my part that I managed to go through a whole day without paying a visit to Desert Scream, Green Despair, Bloody Ice, and Port Lux...

Sembreak's over. Dapat yan ang itatak natin sa utak natin. Huwaw.

Pero every Sunday balik tayo ng Desert Scream. Na-schedule na 'yan. hehehehe

Sharing -- isn't it a virtue?

Ano ba yan mga brethren...

Monks brawl at Christian holy site. Apparently, a lot of things are still unresolved between the various Christian sects in Jerusalem.

Ang gulo nyo! Mahiya kayo kay Lord!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

WTF?! Touch my Body?




Dios mio...ka-tropa ni "Ken Lee"?...wahahahahahaha

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Foo Fighters

The band fronted by Dave Grohl, former Nirvana drummer, occassional cross-dresser. hahaha

This is a video of one of their more recent singles entitled "Everlong," directed by *gasp* Michel Gondry?! Wohooooooo!



Eto ang sinasabi kong crossdressing. Two videos. The first is "Big Me" their earliest hit during the 90s. The video is a parody of the Mentos commercials.



And this, "Learn to Fly," where the band played various characters. Special appearance by Tenacious D...

Read from Right to Left

Napilitan akong magbasa ng manga ng Bleach kasi ang BAGAAAAAAAL ng anime.

Though the lag is understandable since the battle over the fake Karakura town didn't even reach the halfway point in the manga...the animators are milking every single second of the extended episode recap of the previous episode (na halos kalahati ng current episode), flashback, and extreme closeup with dramatic music para makahabol ang manga sa anime.

Bilisan nyo na kasi eh...


Para akong batang pumapalakpak sa bawat eksena wahahahaha I never knew that I could be enraptured once again by the magic of the comic book.

But now I know how the story unfolds, I can't wait to see it rendered into animated action. Go Ichigo! Go Ulquiorra Fischer! Sandali,parang mali yata...

Basta! Go,go,go!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Enrolment

Five-word summary of today's enrolment:

Maganda mood ni Sir Llanes.

hahahahaha

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Seen and Heard

On a UP-Philcoa jeepney --

It took me a while to notice that manong had something in his bayong. A puppy was carefully nestled within the man's bayong and only its head was poking out, staring intently at its surroundings. Manong would gently stroke the puppy's head to calm it down, as it was struggling to free itself from the confines of the bayong. haha Siguro naiinitan at nasisikipan...ginawa siyang manok...

Online at Jupiter --

Partied (korek ba 'tong gamit ko ng partied? hehe)with a blader in Desert Scream and we were making the rounds racking up exp points. One of his messages struck me as a bit odd, though...

"loor muna bago kill"

and the blader kept repeating it over and over again while we were engaging the mob...

Napaisip ako kung ano ang ibig niyang sabihin ng "LOOR"...was it a wizard skill? an acronym perhaps? teka...L-O-O-R...Lightning...Orb?...Of...Refreshment?! Parang mali yata.

Then I was observing what she (the blader character was female, but who knows what gender the actual player was) was doing. She was provoking the creeps around her with one shot or a strike, letting the Archionises, Architerices (plural ng Architeryx?), and Clay Gargolyes chase after her. Then it struck me...

LOOR pala was LURE....Dios mio...

So I typed back --

"Ahhhhhh...LURE..."

hahahahahaha

Isa pa from Jupiter --

This archer character was a real asshole. Hindi naman niya quest and Architeryx+ pero nakikisawsaw. Eh paisa-isa lang kung magspawn ang monster na yan. at ang kunat pa. I was asking kung pwede muna ako lang dyan sa may spawning point, or at least he could leave the Architeryx+ alone and let me deal with it. Ang reply ng kumag:

"Wala akong paki. hahahaha"

This remark irked me since when I'm doing quests and I find a fellow gamer waiting for the same creature kinakausap ko muna regardIng the details of his quest. Kung lamang siya ng kills or items, pinapaubaya ko muna sa kanya para matapos na siya kaagad. I just come back later. Just common courtesy to your fellow gamers, di ba?

I was getting fed up with him and I was thinking of challenging him to a duel. Apparently pareho din pala ang iniisip ng gago. So I accepted his duel request. I was a bit confident about my skills since my previous two duels ended in victories -- isang wizard at isang archer ang natalo ko. Eh archer yung loko. Kaso mas mataas pala level ng gago. So patay ako. hahahaha

I spent a few minutes mobbing at the vicinity. Coming back to the spawn point, lokong archer was no longer there, but a force blader was there. This time he also had the Architeryx+ quest.

Request uli ako. Eh siya, dalawang Architeryx+ pa lang ang napapatay. Ako 18 na, kulang ng dalawa para macomplete ko yung quest.

Ayaw din ng kumag na mag-give way. Medyo hambog din yung loko... Since I know olats ako sa mga melee characters, I was unwiling to entertain any duel requests. hehe

So ang ending nakipag-unahan kaming pumatay ng Architeryx+. Malas ni blader at bigla siyang nag-lag so nakumpleto ko yung quest ko. Message ko sa kanya...

"Thanx sa yo na yang lahat!"

Gusto ko pa sanang dagdagan ng "...hayup ka!" pero hindi na hehe. Let's not stoop to their level.

D'You Know What I Mean

A song from the British band Oasis, a.k.a. Beatles Version 2.0 (?)



daw mga sa piho! hahahahahaha

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Masters of Horror

Halloween post po ito so beware -- disturbing content follows.

During my laptop hiatus I dug up my long-ignored VCD/DVD player and resurrected my viewing list. My list was a bit macabre since it includes the first season of Dexter. The serial killer of serial killers. The most unforgettable scene was the hotel room flooded with human blood. Yummy...

Next DVD on the list was Masters of Horror Season 1 -- an anthology of stand-alone movies directed by some of the most famed horror movie directors ever. grabe...

I only watched five episodes of the series since my DVD player conked out and started rejecting every disc I placed in it. Nasiraan yata ng bait sa mga pingasasasaksak ko sa kanya. hehehe

Here's a brief description of the five episodes I watched. May konting review pa yan ha...disturbing content po mga kids...

Incident On and Off a Mountain Road -



para siyang slasher flick. complete with damsel in distress and lots of takbuhan and habulan.

In a dark forest.

at night.

and I should add that our damsel in distress progressively sheds a bit of clothing as the episode wears on. hmmm...

the flashbacks regarding the protagonist's actions a few hours before the 'incident' was a nice touch. here we get to see her meeting the man of her dreams, falling in love, boinking like crazy inside a cabin in the torrential rain, and getting tips on survival from her hubby (who was the BF a few seconds earlier in the flashback, basta) who happened to be a survival freak.

So that's why damsel in distress becomes female version of MacGyver?...hmmmm...

The husband-survivalist was nowhere to be seen during the course of the events in the dark forest. The antagonist was a deformed, semi-retarded hulk of a creature. This element in the story was a bit of a stretch for me, as when the creature first made its appearance i went, "now wait a f*cking minute.."

anyway, this is horror, so whatevs...

Fave scene: the eye drilling. Complete with sirens pa yan ha? Yaaaaagh!

The twist in the end was good, though a bit contrived...but still good. The eye drilling made up for the flaws in the film. wahehehehehe

Dreams in the Witch-House This one was based on a story by the classic horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. If it's Lovecraft, it must be good. If it's Lovecraft, there should be a rat...



A rat with a human face...

Grad student takes residence in a room that becomes a portal to his worse nightmares. Beginning to lose his grip on reality, he slowly succumbs to the wiles of the witch who crosses the borders between time and space to make him an instrument to an unspeakable sacrifice.

Long story short. naked woman morphs into an old lady. man keeps banging his head on a table while chanting in Latin. Grad student gets progressively neurotic. rat-with-human-face gnaws a baby to death. Grad student gets gnawed to death by rat-with-human face.

Fave scene: Grad student writhes in agony as rat gnaws his insides. Rat emerges from his belly. Blood. Blood. Blood.

Dance of the Dead. From the opening credits I had high hopes for this movie. Robert Englund, a.k.a. Freddy Kruger of Nightmare on Elm Street stars. With music by - ehem - Billy Corgan! Wohoooooo!



Pero olats yung movie. There was NOTHING horrific about this one. The dead becoming reanimated and subjected to a weird dancing ritual wherein they are poked with electric rods wasn't horror-inspiring for me. It was weirdly comic to say the least. The mother-daughter, post-apocalyptic backstory wasn't a bit interesting, as I fast-forwarded through the most part of the film. I was looking for a BC cameo, but...wait! was that him singing in the bar?

Fave scene? wala. runner-up yung scene where guests in a birthday party become exposed to a chemical which makes their skin rot. The dancing dead scenes were a bit pathetic. Mas weird yung scene where a zombie was giving Robert Englund's character a blowjob. haha

Jenifer. This one so far takes the cake of all the episodes I've seen.



What are the ingredients of a good horror film?

Grossly deformed female protagonist, of suspicious - uh - humanity? check.

A male character, preferably a figure of authority. preferably a cop...check.

Furious, animalistic, softporn grade sex. with breast exposure...check.

A cat, a little girl, a middle aged man and a teenage boy being eviscerated and their guts feasted upon by deformed female protagonist? check.

In the boy's case, buhay pa siya habang kinakain yung bituka nya. Yaaaaagh!

Chocolate.



Pwede ditong mag-star yung mga loveteams in the Pinoy movies. There is an undertone of romance in this movie that I found intriguing. There was not much horror elements to the story. and the only gory scene here was when the woman slit her lover's belly open with a knife, but even if the gory bits were toned down, this movie could still stand pretty much on solid footing on its premise that a man could fall in love with a woman even without meeting her.

I recommend listening to Bjork's I Miss You while viewing this film. Magkapareho ang premise ng movie at ang lyrics ng kanta ni Bjork hehe

A man starts to experience episodic blackouts in which he begins to live through the sense of a woman whom he had never met before. It started with a taste of chocolate, then the sound of classical music amidst a cacophonous rock performance. Then the man begins to see what the woman sees, feel what she feels.

Imagine a guy experiencing sex as a woman. Ika nga ng lalake after he snaps back to his reality -- "Jesus Christ!"

The wildlife expert from the TV series Eureka costars as the male protagonists co-worker, and frustrated rocker -- with a fake mohawk. hahaha

The episodes I'm looking forward to...

The Fair Haired Child. Beware the fair-haired child. woooooooooh...



Cigarette Burns. Snuff film stars an angel. movie drives men crazy. make them poke things, and cut off things...



Imprint. By the incomparable Takashi Miike! hindi ko pa napanood ito but knowing Takashi Miike, this is one hell of a movie...YAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!



Happy Halloween...

Thursday, October 30, 2008

I'm Back!

daw si MacArthur ba...

it has been quite a loooong while since I have posted on this blog. A lot of things have happened and I would not be going over all the details here. The important thing is sonofaditch is alive and well

...and is already a level 30 apprentice wizard in Cabal Online.

Updates about the Labors of Sonofaditch?

well...hehe

I failed to pass my term paper for Kas 226 on the scheduled deadline. the cause of which was a mishap with my laptop's OS which threw my whole schedule awry. Try as I might, with pen and paper in hand, iba pa rin pala kung nasanay ka nang gumagawa ng paper on a laptop on the wee hours of the evening and early morning.

I realized that if I push myself too hard, I would just be regurgitating a mediocre paper for my course. Since sir jose was kind enough to inform us that he allows INCs in his course, I decided to take that option and wait out the lag in my system.

Now that my laptop's resuscitated, I look forward to spending next week on my kas 226term paper. It just needs consolidation and a bit of tweaking, but I'm confident that I'll be able to pass my paper before the end of november. Itaga mo yan sa bato. hehe

So this week, I am devoting myself to imbibing in the atmosphere of the semestral break. In short, ine-enjoy ko muna ang sembreak, hence the foray into online gaming and my entry into Cabal Online. Good thing may member discount ang internet cafe na pinapasukan ko hehe.

This gaming fever will only be for this week, after which any subsequent "quests" will take a backseat to the real-life adventures of graduate school in peyups...

But for now, kiddies...

SEMBREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK!

Friday, October 17, 2008

And so we begin

And so we begin...

writing for my Kas 226...tambay na naman sa Landmark Foodcourt ng Trinoma hehehe

And so it ended...

my Kas 110 experience. pesteng final exam na yan! hahahahahaha

And so we await...

andaming happening next week. I'm not sure kung matutuloy ang mga plano...it all boils down to two (?) words (?): text-text and kitakits

But still...

My Stand Alone Complex: The Second Gig continues...stay tuned for updates...

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Placebo

Mas masayang nagtatype ka ng term paper mo na may soundtrack ka...

It used to be that my soundtrack of choice whenever I needed to 'concentrate' was Rammstein -- especially when I'm checking exams. Maybe that's why pamatay akong mag-grade ng essay...hahahahaha

Placebo has now become my bestfriend ngayong 'hot na hot' na ako in compiling my notes for Kas 226

1. Special K



2. Slave to the Wage



3. Days Before You Came



4. Every You Every Me - WTF?! Is Brian Molko wearing a dress? hahahahahaha

Saturday, October 11, 2008

The Last Book

...for my Kas 226 term paper, I am almost done reading.

Ba't parang si Yoda ako kung magsalita ngayon? hehe

Hopefully I'll be finished with the SCAP GHQ GS* Report by tomorrow. Then the "notes consolidation" begins...

Medyo may pagka-OC** ako when doing my history papers so medyo matagal ang process ng pagsusulat ko. First there's the reading and the initial note-taking. So far for my Kas 226 I think I've read about 15 books for this term paper.

Then follows the "notes consolidation" -- arranging my notes based on my research outline. Di ba I told you that I have the outline somewhere in my cerebral cortex? Pwes, bukas ay i-extract na yan...calling Sylar...

I have two 8x12 plastic envelopes filled with notes written on several pieces of yellow pad (nakaubos yata ako ng dalawang bundles)and photocopied materials. My consolidated notes usually run for about 30 or 40 pages shortsized bond paper. Magastos ako sa papel...magagalit sakin si Mother Nature.

My Kas 205 research also had a lucky break this morning. While I was going through the MLQ*** Papers in the National Library, I found this set of notes regarding a press conference Quezon had with press people regarding amendments to the Sedition Law that he was considering to sign into law. Medyo lumitaw ang fascist side ni Quezon as well as his aversion to the Sakdalistas and the Communists whom he considered as threats to the security of the Commonwealth. Medyo kumaklaro na nang konti ang patutunguhan ng research ko for Kas 205. I still have to go to Batasan next week to find more sources. Wish me luck...

BTW, talo kami sa DoTA**** match namin last October 8. haha one big flaw in our team is that we lack teamwork, and thus cannot come up with an effective counter to the strategy of Fernan' team. The other team obviously learned their lesson from their last defeat and came up with an effective gameplan to counter our strategy (or seeming lack thereof). Sige lang, pagnaka-pass na ako ng papers ko sa October 28 (arigato gozaimas Ricardo-sensei!) tututukan ko yang strategy na yan.

But for this week its papers, papers, and an exam sa class ni Spiderman!

Hay naku, ang layp nga naman...


*Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, General Headquarters, Government Section
**Obssessive-Compulsive
*** Manuel Luis Quezon
****Defense of the Ancients -- duh!

Friday, October 10, 2008

New Naruto

New Season, dapat bago ang opening theme natin...



I actually liked this song iba yung tunog niya from the other songs featured in the opening.

Sorry walang subtitles, but the song talks about not seeing what's important since they're so close to you. medyo corny ang message...hehe

And the end theme also has a familiar tune, though I can't quite figure out where I've heard it...listen closely to the chorus...



but the best end theme of the naruto series is this one, parati akong natatawa everytime I see this...



Hay naku, back to National Lib na naman bukas...

Monday, October 6, 2008

Research is a Pain in the Ass

Quite literally.

Just spent the whole day at the National Library, searching for additional sources for my Kas 205 term paper. I found a number which resuscitated my hopes that I would be able to pursue my first topic and not go off on a tangent in pursuit of an alternative...salamat sa Dios.

I actually have been dreading this trip to the National Library since the trip is soooooooooooooo long. The ride from Philcoa to Kalaw takes about 40 mins. Imagine having to sit through the entire trip. Apparently nagpayus na buli ko since I could feel minimal cushion below the equator so nagsakit lang pigtot ko sa biyahe hahahahahahaha

It's a blessing that the Kalaw jeep does not pass in front of the National Library, thus I have a few minutes of brisk-walking from Jollibee Kalaw, past the vast quantity (number) of seamen (seafarers, professional workers on seacraft) pooling (coming together)on the sidewalk, before finally arriving at my destination.

[I really recommend that you read the previous paragraph aloud, preferably if your parents are around haha]

Medyo nabawi ang sakit sa pwet ko sa National Library kasi akyat-baba naman ako sa stairs, from the first floor hanggang fifth floor pabalik-balik ako. hahahaha talo ko pa ang nagcacardio-workout. at least I could finally feel my butt again, and my legs, and my calves, and my thighs...

Finally I was nestled comfortably within the Media Services section. Aircon ang lugar so I happily browsed through the microfilms of newspapers and magazines during the Commonwealth Period.

Reading through the Sakdal newspapers brought tears to my eyes. Though the text is evocative and lyrical, written in makabagbag-damdaming Tagalog, it was not intense emotion that caused my tear glands to overreact. The fact that I had been staring at the microfiche reader for hours, and the fact that some of the microfilms were of below average quality meant that I was teary-eyed, bleary-eyed, blurry-eyed, and slightly cross-eyed by the time I finished at around 4:30 PM.

Though in fairness, 20th century technology ang microfilm readers sa National Library. Kelan kaya gagraduate sa industrial age ang microfilm section ng UP main lib? hehehe

Since my optic circuits are going on overload and rush hour traffic is on, I had to make my exit from the National Library...the other readings would be done on another day...

The return trip to Philcoa took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. My butt died, went to heaven, but then decided to forego its enlightenment and return as a bodhisatva - seeing the sorry state of its owner stuck in the afternoon smog and rush hour traffic in Manila.

Having thus rejoined his owner, Ditch's butt is now taking a well-deserved rest in preparation for the battles to come...

Wish me (and my bodhisatva butt) luck...

Thursday, October 2, 2008

If You Love Me....Follow Meeeeeeeeeeeeeh!

I'm inviting you all to check out my latest blog feature at the bottom of this page. This allows you to 'follow' my blog and be updated on the latest posts and 'happenings' on this here my humble blog. Sa mga alam na ang feature na eto...well, duh! hahaha



Jeanne d'Arc a.k.a. Milla Jovovich a.k.a. Alice from Resident Evil a.k.a. Leelo Dallas Multipass a.k.a. Ultraviolet is my accidental spokesperson who incidentally supports my cause...

Kaya nga eh...so don't be shy na, scroll down and be one of my 'followers'

If you love me...(naks)

Follow Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Volvere a mi Profesora

I'm stuck at the boarding house due to the weather. Nothing to do but surf the net and read. Good thing that I checked out the CRS to see updates on my preenlistment. Last night when I checked it out, there were only a few Spanish courses available for preenlistment. This morning, however, a number of elementary courses were available and it's a good thing that there were a few Span 11 classes open.

Of course I had to enlist in a class of my former Span 10 prof. Now I'm hoping that the new 'ranking system' of the CRS would work to my advantage. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my selected classes will be approved...

I'm not too worried about the MA courses since hindi naman yan pinag-aagawan eh. I decided to take a cognate course in anthropology so let's see how this turns out next sem...

DoTA!

Pati dito sa Manila, hindi ako nakawala sa Warcraft DoTA hahahahaha

Just finished a game - actually a second face-off - with my Kas 110 classmates, Eliezar, Herald, Ebro and Kas stalwarts Fernan and buddy [sorry di ko nakuha yung name ng isa hehe]

Our first face-off (which was ages ago) resulted in Eli, Ebro and myself being trounced in two straight games.

But it seemed that second time's the charm since we gained the upper hand on this evening's match, winning 2-0 against Fernan's team.

The win, for my part, was surprising given that during the first game we weren't using our regular characters. I got the Death Knight 'Abaddon', and things were even complicated by the fact that the version of the game does not feature any text for the hero abilities and the items so nangangapa ako. Pili lang ako ng item from the low level shops that looked bad-ass and cost much kasi alam ko mataas ang stats nun, atsaka meron naman akong natandaan na mga items at nakakadifferentiate pa naman ako between the strength, agility, and intelligence items. hehe

For the second game I picked the Dragon Knight 'Davion', medyo maswerte sa melee so ituloy natin ang swerte...immediately after seeing my Dragon morphing abilities Fernan's team immediately ganged-up on me, seeing to it that I was the first to be dispatched. I was screaming indignation against what I perceived as "Dragon Discrimination": Porke't half-blood ako, kinakawawa nyo ko? Tangina nyo! wahahahaha!

Both games were tight contests, di mo alam kung sino ang mananalo. I was surprised at my level of gameplay and the quality of items I was purchasing. It was a series of pushes and counter-pushes, near-misses and close-calls - during both games both our team and the opponent's would even infiltrate into the home bases. It all came down on who could kill each other the fastest, and take advantage of the respawning lull and advance to the other's home base.

The win in our second game was a bit anti-climactic as it was the creeps who finally managed to destroy the Frozen Throne. Though I take the credit for destroying and damaging the Spirit Towers guarding the Frozen Throne - ang galing kaya ni Dragon Form Davion in destroying buildings...hehe. One moment Fernan's team and the mega-creeps of the Scourge were in our home base and we were frantically putting up our defenses - the next tapos na ang laban.

Ay, talo pala kami? Fernan's team asked themselves, not realizing that they had left their base wide open for the treants, druids and catapults to make their headway. It was a war of attrition, and we were lucky to have won it. Credit also goes to Eli who is the 'Razor' master and to Ebro who used this character that could produce duplicate copies of itself and turn into the berserker mode of Illidan...

It was already quarter to nine in the evening when we emerged from the gaming place, gleefully recounting our battles and enjoying our triumph. Fernan and his team immediately scheduled a rematch, trying in vain to convince us to have a third game while we were still in the gaming place but we wisely declined. Baka mawala yung swerte hirap na, let's end while we're still on top hehe

It was during our discussion that Fernan realized na hindi pala kami magka-batch -- that I was actually an MA student. hahahaha medyo hindi pa pala halata na matanda na ako since nakikipagsabayan pa ako sa gaming ng mga bata - este - ng mga classmates ko...

So ngayon, back to reality na naman tayo. Basa ulit ng libro. Even though it's a holiday tomorrow at siguradong mapapadpad na naman ako sa Trinoma, I would still be carrying my readings with me. Natatandaan na ako ng guard sa Trinoma foodcourt, ng attendant sa Wendy's na parati kong binibilhan ng iced tea, at ng staff ng KFC hehe

Pero a (DoTA)date's a date. The next match will be on October 8. (uy, nagrhyme!)

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Ditchella 2008?!

Thanks to ysobel for taking the time to make this vid possible.

It seems I'm on the running for the US elections by some interesting twist of fate. Check out the video here.

Ka-level ko na pala si Ralph Nader at Ross Perot? hahahahahaha Go!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Sayonara Lelouch!



The last episode of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion has aired...

Mami-miss ko ang series na 'to...the myriad of plot twists na talo pa ang telenovela; the almost Neon Genesis Evangelion-like plot twist toward the end(na thankfully hindi natuloy or else baka nabaliw na ako hehe), C.C.'s obsession with Pizza Hut - may product placement pa!; and finally, Lelouch's impression of Butch Francisco whenever he dons the Zero persona.

But I guess the writers just couldn't resist one FINAL plot twist right at the end. hahahahaha how typical...

Now, off I go to look for another anime series to obsess on...

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Somewhere in Vietnam, During the 1960s, a Lizard opened its mouth and said -- "F*ck You!"

Medyo surrealist ang title but I think this best captures the mood of Mark Baker's "Nam" - a collection of wartime stories of the Vietnam War Veterans.

This surely is an engrossing read, given na nasisingit ko ito sa aking readings - and mind you, I have a sh*tload of readings to go through for my term papers.hehe

The stories are brutally honest, giving us a glimpse into quite literally another world. One vet said that Vietnam during the war was "hell on earth." Baker described it as "a brutal Neverland, outside time and space, where little boys didn't have to grow up. They just grew old before their time."

The collected oral testimonies are a mix of the disturbing, explicit, violent, and surprisingly laugh-out-loud funny moments in the lives of the men and women who "endured the unendurable." (pasintabi kay Emperor Hirohito hehe)

Here's my pick of the funniest bits in the book, warning: explicit and/or disturbing content, but still funny though...

The day I flew in, we stayed up in the air watching the whole place get hit. I couldn't believe that was the place I was going. After the mortar attack, I got to my unit and asked to see the captain. They told me he was away from the main area of the camp....I walked out to meet him and take over command. He was dead with his head blown off and his dick in the air. He had been out there masturbating when the mortars hit and got his head blown right off. Stiff as a board with his cock in his hands. -- Granted, medyo morbid ang kwentong ito. pero kakatawa pa rin...blown off while getting off...how ironic...

They always call us men, Marines or troopers. Never boys. But during my first fire fight in Nam, I was giggling. We got pinned down by some VC [VietCong] with an automatic weapon. Our machine gunner opens up. The next thing I hear is, 'Oh boy, I got 'em. Man, did you see his fucking head fly off?' A kid'll do that. Nobody in the unit was over twenty-one.

You try to have fun with things. Ambush was fun. It's supposed to be professional, but it's not.

'Oh boy, here he comes. I got that one.'
'This one is mine.'
'Nah, I got this one. You got the last one.'
'Man, this one's for me. Get your own.'
'He's mine.'
'Is not.'
'Is too.'
'Is not.'


-- Mga bata...kelangang mag-share ha? Learn to take turns killing VCs OK?

This last one's the killer. And I think this story deserves to be told in full, thus:

At night it would scare me. I couldn't see anything. I would sneak out and set up trip flares every night. They would all go off and I would never see a God damn thing.

Then there were the lungfish. There was water all around us and these fish would swim up. Then when the tide would go out, the fish would get caught in puddles in front of my bunker. Lungfish have lungs and they sound like human beings breathing. You'd be laying there trying to sleep, hearing horror-show-monster breathing right in front of you.

One night while it was my turn to be awake, somebody, very clearly and distinctly and right in my ear, said, 'Fuck you.' I knew I was dead. I was grabbing my rifle like one of the Three Stooges in a comedy routine. The only thing I could see was this little lizard six inches long. There was a frozen moment when the lizard blew out its little gills and went, 'Fuck you,' again.

I was waking up the other guys. 'Hey, man, this lizard just told me to go get fucked.' The three of us -- relatively grown men, three old kids, at least -- had a standoff with an ounce-and-a-half lizard. Finally, the little sucker said 'fuck you' for them, too.

Monday, September 22, 2008

WTF? Josh Groban at the Emmys



Best bits:

1. Natawa ako sa Southpark rendition, kuhang-kuha si Cartman...hahaha

2. yung X-Files and Law&Order theme...panggulo?

3. Josh Groban singing the "Cops" theme...

4. Josh doing all the voices for the late night talk shows...except for one intro na parang di niya kinaya hehe

5.Listen carefully as he goes "Oh God..." before rapping the "Fresh Prince of Bel-air" theme song -- kinaya si Will Smith! Bravo Groban! Bravo

They're Back!

It's been a looooong wait...



Finally, the long-awaited answers to our questions...

Who shot Nathan Petrelli?

What happened to Nikki?

What was Kaito Nakamura's power?

What is Angela Petrelli's power?

Who are the villains?

Will Sylar get more powers?


Some of the questions are answered by the spoiler vid below:



Season Three starts now...damn it, walang TV dito sa boarding house!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Where in Hell am I?

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Seventh Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
LevelScore
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)High
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)Low
Level 7 (Violent)Very High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Here's a description of the seventh circle of hell:

Seventh Level of Hell

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Guarded by the Minotaur, who snarls in fury, and encircled within the river Phlegethon, filled with boiling blood, is the Seventh Level of Hell. The violent, the assasins, the tyrants, and the war-mongers lament their pitiless mischiefs in the river, while centaurs armed with bows and arrows shoot those who try to escape their punishment. The stench here is overpowering. This level is also home to the wood of the suicides- stunted and gnarled trees with twisting branches and poisoned fruit. At the time of final judgement, their bodies will hang from their branches. In those branches the Harpies, foul birdlike creatures with human faces, make their nests. Beyond the wood is scorching sand where those who committed violence against God and nature are showered with flakes of fire that rain down against their naked bodies. Blasphemers and sodomites writhe in pain, their tongues more loosed to lamentation, and out of their eyes gushes forth their woe. Usurers, who followed neither nature nor art, also share company in the Seventh Level.


Ive read Dante's Inferno so the details come as no surprise to me. Somehow, I'm not surprised at the test results...*insert devilish laugh here*

Pop!

I was browsing the music files in my laptop, looking for pop songs...

hahaha minsan nakaka-umay na rin ang mga music na trip ko.

Unfortunately, wala talagang purely pop song sa laptop ko. My definition of pop song is hindi mo na kailangang i-subject to discourse analysis ang lyrics, walang social relevance or artistic bent sa paggamit ng words, metaphor, allegories, walang literary device to speak of...and the music is as monotonous as the Selecta chime on those roving ice cream men. That's pop for me, anyway.

When I browsed my music, I made some arbitrary and rough categorization of the hundreds of songs and music I have:

1. 'hippie' songs - 70s songs, guitar solos nga ten minutes kalawig daw gaingus nga kuring ang lead guitar. songs to get high to...hehe

2. new wave - grandfather of house, triphop, trance and music nga may mga beat. usually gloomy, rebellious, and depressing ang lyrics. ang mga sadya usually ara na sa 'new wave collections' or 'can't get enough of the eighties.' artists usually in their late 40s at present.

3. adult contemporary - pop song para sa mga tigulang. simply red, phil collins and mike francis come to mind...

4. new age - music from the realm of myth and legend, soundtrack sang lord of the rings hehehe. The Goddess, Enya, is a prime example...

5. alternative - mga kanta nga ginpamatian ko sang tinedyer pa ko. hahaha difficult to categorize, a fusion of a LOT of genres, kinanglan dyutay lang ang nakakilala para astig...some of them have gone mainstream i.e. (green day, foo fighters), most remained stuck in the 90s, (crash test dummies? belly? no doubt? nirvana?)where they rightfully belong...

6. pinoy rock - a.k.a. 'tunog kalye,' the 'second wave' of pinoy rock; prevalent during the 90s, era ng eraserheads, rivermaya, siakol, yano, etc. basta damu na sila indi ko na sila kilala tanan.

7. techno, electronica - i'm not sure if I can lump them together, since marami rin silang sub-genres. William Orbit, Chicane, Faithless, the Prodigy, Massive Attack, Lamb, Crystal Method, Mono. BTW, may concert dito si Chicane on Sept 29. 1500 ang ticket. Punyeta! I won't even come to the concert if it were 100 pesos kasi sigurado magulo ang mga tao dun...

8. folk songs - songs anchored on the sedate strumming of the acoustic guitar. socially relevant ang lyrics. makes one want to save the world or join a cause...

9. and the 'uncategorizable' (?) songs - basta...songs and artists that appeal to me because of their - uh - uniqueness (read: WEIRDNESS). Bjork is one of them...makes one shake his head in bewilderment...what the f*ck was that song about? hahaha

10. The Smashing Pumpkins - a class of their own, period.

Pero wala talagang POP. Nada. Left them all at the PC back in Bacolod.

Hahaha

So mantinir ko subong Bamboo...Take Me Down...Rakenrol...

Saturday, September 20, 2008

May Gold Man Ko Di! Hahaha

As a response to Peace and his Irish gold, here's Sinead O'Connor again...

Whew!

It only took three songs from New Order para matapos ang book review for 226. hehe Conclusion na lang ang kulang, but it is always a joy to reach the 'Conclusion' part of the paper - for all intents and purposes talagang tapos ka na, you just have to summarize and insert a few thoughts here and there but...Whew! Finally!

To celebrate, eto si Madame Bjork with "I Miss You"...



Parang episode ng "Ren and Stimpy" ang vid, watch out for the dancing prophylactics hahahaha

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Freak Accident

Or you can also call it "Accident sg Freak" hahaha

Fellow blogger kristel just had an unfortunate mishap and I wish her a speedy recovery. But now it seems the untold story of last week can now be told...

After I posted the "I'm OK" blog post I really thought that the rest of my week would turn out fine.

Tuesday: the flooding in my room was fixed.

Wednesday: I spent the whole day in the mainlib, deciding to come home around 6:30 in the evening. Unfortunately, rain started to fall - and the rain turned into a torrent that seemed unceasing.

As it is my custom to walk the few blocks from the library to the boarding house, I was a bit pissed that the rain would be an added hassle on my trek home. I decided to get a take-out order from the food stall beside the mainlib as I was determined to go straight home and weather out the storm (since Bagyong Marce was still active in Luzon that time).

It must've been a combination of the unlighted street and my haste to go home that the big gaping pothole (lubak) went unnoticed by me. One moment I was shuffling along the middle of the street, with my backpack slung on my back, my umbrella on one hand, and the other carrying my takeout order when - BAM!- in an instant I was sprawled on the middle of the street. It took me a moment to realize that I managed to save myself from completely falling flat on my face by resting my elbow on the hard pavement. It f*cking hurts! My left knee, I knew, was scraped and bleeding as I could feel it underneath my pant leg, while my right ankle was throbbing with pain - possibly sprained.

Thankfully I still had the strength to immediately get up and hobble painfully to the side of the road. And THAT'S when I noticed the pothole...what the f*ck?! It would also seem that I still had my wits with me because as I was slowly inching my way away from the scene of the accident, I immediately checked to see if my takeout managed to survive (it did, though medyo naghalo na ang bolognese sa chicken hehe). And as I was painfully hobbling my way toward the Shopping Center, I began to unconsciously plan a course of action.

First I would need to get rid of the cumbersome backpack. That meant going to the boarding house first. Upon arriving there, I checked if I had any supplies to dress my wound. None. Then I rolled up my left pant leg and saw the bleeding scrapes juxtaposed on the old scar tissue from my vehicular mishap waaaay back in high school (another story left untold, andami ko kayang accidents in my life...) Having no choice and faced with the need to immediately disinfect the wound, I poured alcohol on it.

The pain was monstrous.

Without changing my clothes, I immediately went outside with my umbrella and braved the torrential rain to buy antiseptics and antibiotics. When I arrived at the Shopping Center, the Pharmacy was closed. Just my luck. I badly needed antibiotics since the place where the pothole was was flooded by water leaking from a sewage line just at the corner. I feared infection, and worse, tetanus. My mind was already calculating if I had enough allowance left for an anti-tetanus shot...I managed to buy Betadine and a pack of cotton swabs from the coop grocery. Then after making my purchase, I made my way home.

Good thing my landlady is a doctor, so I was sure she'd have some medicine stashed somewhere. Unfortunately, she wasn't home when I called on her, so it was her husband - an engineer - who answered. Doc (Ph.D. si engineer) was kind enough to riffle through their medicine cabinet and then the familiar name came up: Amoxicillin.

Eureka!

I managed to get some more antibiotics from a fellow boarder who was kind enough to give me her blister pack full of 500 mg amoxicillin. Seems God was still looking out for me. So after washing the wound, I applied the antiseptic, ate my takeout order, took 500mg of antibiotics, and willed myself to sleep despite the pain in my left knee and right ankle.

The next few days were spent confined within my room, recuperating. I also bought some ready-to-eat stuff together with the antiseptic anticipating I would be confined for a while, unable to go out. I already expected the pain since, as I've told you earlier, I've been through graver mishaps. Fortunately, there was no signs of infection on my left knee and my right ankle, though sore to touch and difficult to move the day after, didn't experience any swelling.

My imposed convalescence meant that I would miss almost four days of research work. But what can one do but bow to the will of Divine Providence? hehehe In the meantime I was googling symptoms for tetanus infection and having been convinced that any infection had been held at bay, I turned my attention to healing...and killing boredom.

It wasn't all that bad though, I managed to finish my 205 book review and got started on the 110 exam paper. I even got through several chapters of Dostoevsky. And then of course, there's blogging and the internet to chase the blues away.

One week later...

I am now looking at the dried crusts peeling away from my knee, revealing fresh pink skin. Parang skin ng baby! haha My ankle's not bothering me anymore, though I think it would still take a few more days for it to fully recover. I feel confident that I could wear long pants and shoes tomorrow as I will be making the trek to the National Library.

By the way, the research is doing fine.

I still pass by THAT street, though the rains have stopped and I was now a bit more careful to steer clear of the pothole.

* * *

Yesterday I passed by and know what I saw?

They covered up the f*cking pothole.

Just my luck, I guess....

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

WTF?

Brilliant TV ad from KFC. Natawa ako sa tili ng actor. hahahahaha

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Doing It Old School

I have to say this again...historical research is not an easy endeavor. Hay naku!

Just this afternoon I met with Dr. Jose to discuss some problems with my data gathering for my 205 paper. One persistent problem I was having is that the online catalog of the main library does not list the annual reports of the united states high commissioners to the president of the united states on the state of the philippine commonwealth, an important document I had to get my hands on. I tried typing variations of the title - even the whole damn thing pero olats pa rin.

Sir Jose told me that the multivolume reports are there in the filipiniana section, just tucked away in an obscure corner. So having received that assurance from a person 'in the know', I marched back to the main lib and requested a staff member to fish out the volume I'm looking for - quietly but firmly insisting na meron po yan dyan, sabi ng Prof namen...(please, para niyo nang awa...)

The student assistant seemed lost and directed me back to the online catalog, then to the printed list of books. Gusto ko nang sabihin na pati card catalog hinalukay ko na pero wala talaga pero mag-iinsist talaga ako na meron diyan...sabi ni Prof Jose nga eh...

Good thing a veteran member of the library staff came to my aid. And so finally, the book I was looking for (1936 report of the US high commissioner) was found but alas, it was already 5 PM (closing time ng filipiniana section) so I just took note of the book's call number for easy reference when I return tomorrow.

Phew! binalhas man ko pangita libro bah...Sir Jose was kind enough to provide some guides as to which libraries or collections I can go to in order to look for sources relevant to my work.

The quest for elusive historical sources shall continue well into the next month, maybe even the semestral break. waaaaaah! I can feel another INC in the making...