The Guardian
Iloilo City

OFTENTIMES DISTURBING
Write-ups from the column of Reymundo Salao
JUNE 2003

TYPE OGAG, SPACE, YOUR NAME
(June 5, 2003)

            Ever since text messaging/SMS technology have become something that almost the entire population could not live without, the Lords of celfone communication have come up with various marketing gimmicks and trickeries that have been sucking the population dry of their money at the mercy of our very own uncontrollable fixation towards the celfone technology. 
            I admit I have lately found myself the ogag of a celfone gimmick. When the X-men movie hype was out, which was a little less than a month ago, Globe had this little quiz gimmick that challenges texters to take part in a quiz contest of x-men related trivia. Being more or less a connoisseur (atik, no?) of the X-men universe, I could never resist the temptation of getting into the contest and emerging triumphant. It wasn't the prize at all, but the glory of challenging a quiz, confident of perfecting it. I haven't joined any of these celfone contests before so I'm not familiar with how these promos work. So, I did answer the quizzes, and accumulated (what I thought to have been ) an impressive score. But at the end of the day, my celfone credit went down to zero. And to think I only loaded days before, now I've blown all 300 credits to a nonsense promo, which, didn't really have any rules, except to keep on texting and answering until God knows when the promo ends. And each text message spends like around five pesos off your credit. It wasn't what one knows of the quizzes, it was about how much pesos one would fool himself to give up to their little pointless games. Ogag me. If I only knew that it would've cost me that much, I would have rather used the credits to call up the Dalai Lama and ask him what he thought about the spiritual aspects of the Matrix. 
            It wasn't only the quiz promos that these celfone network companies have, it's also the numerous gimmicks from endless number of ringing tones, up to endless design of icons and wallpapers, up to love notes, quotes-of-the-day, and "message from God" programs. Both giants Smart and Globe have been resorting to these marketing trickeries. There's nothing wrong about it actually. It is free enterprise, and if anybody ever got fooled of it, they'd only have got themselves to blame. Now and then, though, there are these other text programs that really lure texters into being really swindled. A friend of mine got this text message from the celfone network which asked if he'd like to receive religious inspirational messages. My friend, thinking it was a harmless giveaway agreed. It was only later on when the network already began sending the messages that it revealed that it charges two pesos and fifty centavos per message. Before he could even hold back saving his very last credit, the network already took it away, and replaced by some (supposedly) inspirational message that only caused him to shout out angry curses (a thunderously fluent Linte, and the like…). 
            In addition, there's also this prank chain text which announces that if you pass a message announcing Globe's anniversary to ten Globe subscribers, they would receive 500 pesos free credit the next day. Many of my friends fell victim to this little prank, wasting off ten pesos credit from their load, hoping to get 500 pesos free load the next day. Could you imagine the look on these people's faces after they realize that it was all just a dumb gaga, after all? Pure ogag facial expression. In the looney tunes universe, they'd probably transform into a giant lollipop with a big "SUCKER" typed in the middle. 
            Sure, we all say the prank wasn't made by people from Globe or Smart. But hey, think of it…who's going to benefit from this kind of prank? Who else? The damn celfone companies. Whatever! It boils down to one little thought. Ang gapanggago ka gang gago. By the standards of modern living, celfones have become almost a necessity. The celfone networks have struck a goldmine, but why do they still resort to these shark manners?
            This is perhaps why I sometimes crack a giggle when rebels burn down a celsite. 

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HERE'S TO ILOILO'S ROCK SCENE
(June 6, 2003)

            Iloilo's rock scene may not be as large compared to the majority of party-goers of the entire city, but no matter how seemingly unstable and unpopular it might sometimes get, the flames of rock n roll are kept on burning, and it burns best if those who keep the flames of local rock are the ones who have been rock enthusiasts for years now. 
            A little later than a month ago, I have written a short commentary of how many of the other rock gigs and concerts have been grossly mishandled by organizers who know nothing of the value of rock n roll. These are the organizers who actually abuse the rock scene by many acts of mismanagement and negligence. There are those who overprice gigs, organizers who raise the tickets to the point that it becomes an event that only wannabe coños and fake, occasional rockers can afford. It is an obvious fact that most of the rock fanatics of this city belong to the middle and lower class. I don't blame these organizers if what they have in mind is business, but to these people, Iloilo's rock scene is merely a tool to fatten their pockets. These are the people who don't give a rat's ass if the band they get is good, all that they care about is what mass amount of profit this band can bring them. 
            To add up to the insult, it is common among these organizers who muster large amounts of profit, yet ironically and impossibly, they cannot afford to give the bands (especially the local front-act bands) the satisfactory compensation that they can afford. Ever since the heydays of the local fanzine Undertone, this is one subject matter that does not fail to be cried out to rock gig organizers. The local bands are not only deprived of receiving a little wage, but they are also oftentimes deprived of a little dinner and beer that organizers promise them. 
            Asked about the situation of the local rock scene here in Iloilo, it is a common response to say that it is in shambles. It is constantly crumbling. No band really stands out anymore. Although gone are the days that there are really serious conflicts and hates between one band and another, yet there is still little progress with what Iloilo's rock bands can offer. This, I attribute, to the fact that many of the organizers of the rock gigs lately know nothing of rock music culture. Art works well with people who have the passion and the love for that said art. How can the local rock scene progress if those who organize these gigs put profit above all else, above the passion of the music? In order to be more profitable, they get to a point that they inject pop bands and pop numbers into these rock gigs. 
            More than once, have we witnessed that there had been Battle of the Bands competitions that had qualified pop bands, show bands, and even dance groups to be allowed in a rock festival. To the eyes of a rock enthusiast, it is like putting slapstick humor in a sublime lecture in humanity. It is a form of artistic blasphemy. Another noteworthy sin these organizers do is that they assign judges who know nothing of rock music. This is a sign that the organizers themselves are stupid enough to get into something that they know nothing of. 
            Years ago, the local rock scene was spearheaded by people who know their shit. The fraternities who organized them intended to keep the festivities holy enough for the glory of rock. Unfortunately, the younger generations of these fraternities have become nothing more than spoiled brats who have put a bad name upon the gigs that their predecessors have brilliantly pioneered. Let me just lay back and raise my coffee mug in respect for the many production groups that have kept the flames of rock n roll burning for the city of Iloilo. To Headhunters production, who have pioneered the most famous gigs that we have ever witnessed. Like the Deadman's Party and the other gothic parties that they have produced. To Fly High productions who have brought forth many gigs even after the 1999 fall of NU107, especially that Cheese gig. To Aflootarus productions and Pro Events, who never fail to continue on with their gigs. and to Paper Bag productions who is holding an acoustic/undistorted rock party tonight (entitled COME & PLAY 2 : CLEAN FUN) at Tijuana bar I'm sure it would be a nice night to lay back and hum with the semi-solemn noise of undistorted rock that would be played by bands like Botmotic, The Long Gun, Folklowhand, Cloned, Beggar's Description, Kimono Slut, Skeefer 7, and Dreamcatcher. I would also like to raise my mugs to the former Jocks of the old NU107, who have also added up to keeping the flames burning by helping out in organizing gigs, writing articles, and even emceeing in rock gigs. In addition, to my buddies at the old Undertone fanzine, Jules, Lean, and Giles, even if our shit of a zine has seen its end, I know that our dreams of a better local scene would be a hope to live up to. 
            I'm getting old and so are the friends of mine who have been trying to keep the flames of the rock scene burning. I always do have that wish that somewhere out there, some young blood rock idealist would keep on the burning, keep on the angst, and not let it be given up to the pigs who would only destroy the purity of Iloilo' rock scene. Rock on, and see you tonight. 

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BACK TO SCHOOL '03
(June 16, 2003)

            ACHOOO! Damn flu. Classes are opening and you get a damned flu, just enough to ruin your "campus comeback" first day of the school year, with a nasty sneeze and a facial expression that looks like a cross between a sobbing widow and a beat-up boxer. Probably no need for uniform today, hey, the thought that it's the first day of this school year seems to be an excuse for every bullsh!t that's gonna happen today. If your ethics teacher has that illegal right of not coming in today, surely, you should also have that right to flaunt your brand new shirt/jeans/blouse/skirt and march with it as if the university hallway is a fashion show ramp. 
            Its probably the only day your teacher would tolerate you wearing that Slipknot/Marilyn Manson shirt that they, oh so dreadfully, are scared of. Back in my days, there were more of a little less to flaunt with, since we used to be proud with wearing our torn-out, seemingly-90-year-old jeans that reveal our ugly knees, and the under-priced Chuck Taylor sneakers that look like they've been having a stroll in mud. 
            Being in a freshman class would be such a joyride since it's like being introduced to a whole new world. It's like being thrown to a foreign planet with classmates that seem pretty alien to you. Could you imagine the look on the face of Charlton Heston when he first saw the Ape City in the movie "Planet of the Apes"? Yes, first day with the freshman class is like that. And when you are being introduced to your professors one by one, it's like playing a video game and you'd wonder what kind of monster the level boss would be. You wonder if he'd be spitting fireballs or shooting lasers from his eyes. You'd be brainstorming where the weak spot would be? The gold medallion between the horns? Or the generous SIPSIP remarks after class? 
            Freshman or not, there will always be new professors and teachers, which will boggle you to devise new tactics of softening their impression and behavior towards you. But if she/he is that cruel, you are probably left with no choice, but to devise new tactics on cheating and crib-notes militia. 
            If there are new faculty organisms, surely, there are sometimes wonders of nature that sprout out of the student body. It's like a white unicorn sprouting off marshlands. She is usually that chick who would make heads turn and make everybody ask, "Who is THAT?" It makes you feel as if you have that destiny of knowing who she is, that destiny of making her fall in love with you. But by the time you gather the little guts you have to just ask what her name is… just when you get up and try to get close to her… you cant get through, since the gutsy jolog jerks have already buzzed around her like flies, flaunting their underage machismo, getting her attention, and her celfone number. Oh well, you say. It is at this point you recite that unspoken preamble of the student: "I came here to school to study hard, not to fall in love with Miss Voluptuous". 
            Besides, there is much hope for you, when you'd optimistically think that sometime in the near future, you'd be helping her out in Algebra or Trigonometry, tutoring her the angles and the circumferences, the statistics of her…err…body of problems to solve. AHEM! Well, anyway, you'd better impress her by being the studious type rather than be one of those nincompoops who'd have to repeat their subjects over and over again because on exam night, they cram at the bars and rave clubs. While they're glorifying the splendor of their polyphonic celfone ringtones and their VIP cards on clubs, you, on the other hand, would look cooler with a high grade and a gutsy confidence whenever oral exams strike. It's a thumbs-up towards oral appeal. 
            At the end of the first day of the school year, it's a moment of bars, cafes, and restaurants, or perhaps, tambay time at the school park, to hang with the buddies and friends. Telling summer stories of rainy Boracay and summer Film reviews. After the first day of school, it's time to get rough and tough on the books and notes. Believe me, one day it's going to be over, and you'll miss it!

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PRIVATE TO PUBLIC
(June 20, 2003)

            People can hardly afford private schools nowadays. Signs of the times. The hard times. If you ask me, I think Public schools and Private schools can give off the same result anyway. With the poor quality of education that Private Schools have, I would even daresay it is far better to have your child on a Public School. Sometimes, it is more socially educational for a student to be in a liberal environment rather than the exclusive, "germ-free" and luxuriously holy confines of their university walls. The pisbol and the ice skrambol that Sister tells us is dirty, the stick-on tattoos that, in my time, were rumored to have LSD, the Toy Kingdoms at the school gate, these are all things that exclusive schools wash their students from. 
            Some parents sound pretty corny when they complain about their child's education. So what if your kid goes to a Public School? Why should you be ashamed of that? What's the use of getting your child in a Private School when you don't even give them support in their studies, when you don't give a rat's ass about how their grades are doing? Who cares if you won't be a part of the exclusive school's socialite PTA parties anymore? You should be concerned of your child's education, and not some inutile profit-generating PTA org. I am reminded of an experience: Once upon a time, there was a school, where the members of their PTA are prominent socialites: Councilors, Doctors, Engineers, Politicians, Businessmen, and other people with fancy cars. The PTA was pretty fat, in one way or another. The children of these prominent rich parents lived their Elementary School lives happily ever after (fed with comfort and unending favoritism). The End. The "moral" of this tale? Be rich, be prominent, and your child would be pampered the way all elementary students should be treated. Because if you wont, these Elementary schools would NOT provide you with co-curricular opportunities, and teachers that treat students with equality. I fondly remember how years ago, many students were not permitted to join a grand Boy Scout Jamboree just because they were not children of politicians, big-time businessmen, and socialites. So, it is only the rich boys who went. These are the schools that give us the kind of quality that we pay for? This goes out to the private schools who are sick with Chronic Favoritism. 
Education from Private Schools are too darned expensive that the quality isn't too Precious anyway. Give quality education, you stude-screwers! There's this one University which used to have a dignified reputation among the Universities of this country. Now, it's "just another university", where mal-educated brats can study in and out. Where students don't really obtain that dignified aura that a good school endows. It is as if all the school cares is the amount of students that enroll and pay their tuitions. Universities that are too afraid to filter their incoming students and kick-out the bad ones who don't conform to the school discipline. Ihadi pa na ang studyante nga maka-bayad. Bad students, after all, can still pay their tuitions. I can name one or two sons or daughters of rich people who have gone through school on the merit of Christ-like tolerance and tuition receipts. 
            Education in Public Schools is still education. On the other hand, Private Schools who have high tuition rates should have the responsibility of upgrading their quality in education. Good teachers, good facilities. Juzko! Tuition money is not easy to obtain. Other students even resort to hard-labor jobs and even prostitution in order to pay their fees. These are hard times, parents are investing on one very important investment: The Education of their children. 

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THE HULK
film review
(June 21&22, 2003)

            Temper is such an uncontrollable force to be reckoned with. This is one thought that embodies the saga of the comicbook fiction, the Hulk. The story of the Incredible Hulk, which was written by Marvel comic fiction master, Stan Lee, is centered upon Bruce Banner, a scientist who was hit by Gamma radiation in a freak laboratory accident. This triggered an alteration in his biological and psychological structure that whenever he gets very angry, he transforms into the monstrous, incredible Hulk. This comic book has garnered an enormous following, that a television series was made out of it in the 1980's, which starred Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk (Sorry guys, I can't remember that other actor). 
            THE HULK is the film adaptation of the comicbook series, which was directed by Ang Lee, whose credits include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but is more identified with his dramatic movies The Ice Storm and Sense & Sensibility. The fact that it is directed by one who is a notable director of serious drama gave me the confidence and trust that this is going to be a pretty darn good movie. But the two other gigantic movies this summer season, X-men 2 and Matrix Reloaded has somehow overshadowed the hype of the Hulk. I was simply unexcited at first. 
I have actually imagined the thought of what if they made an Incredible Hulk movie ever since I was in High School. I was a Hulk fan ever since my elementary days and always thought (because he was menacingly scary) he was cooler than Superman (who I considered as too pa-cute to be a role model for a weirdo such as myself). Well, for comic book fans such as myself, the wait has paid off, because this movie adaptation of the Hulk is worthy of a two-thumbs up. 
            The movie starts with the story of Bruce's father, who used to be a scientist working for the military, and was working on an experiment in the development of super soldiers. Obsessed by his project, he used himself as guinea pig to continue the experiment without authorization. As a grim result, he later discovered that he passed on his infected genes to his child, Bruce, who was beginning to manifest abnormalities during infant childhood. With the authorities trying to end his practice and with a family falling apart, Bruce ends up living with foster parents. He forgets about his childhood and has forgotten that he is actually Bruce Banner, the child of a scientist gone mad. Bruce, now an adult, lives as a scientist himself, an unconscious choice for a profession, and has caught himself in a freak laboratory accident. He survived the accident, but this led to a further alteration in his biological nature. With the resurfacing of his father, Bruce's future is uncertain. He is only given hope by the woman he loves, Betty Ross. 
            I actually thought at first that Eric Bana was a poor choice to cast as Bruce Banner, since the character of Banner is supposed to be not too hunky as what the comics perceived Banner to be. But Eric Bana did fit in with the way he acts his version of a well-mannered scientist caught in a conflict of love and conflict of what his past was. The very attractive Jennifer Connelly who stars as Betty Ross, is as good as Bana, but I'm sure that some critics would notice that her acting here is not a new thing due to the resemblance of circumstances between the affections of her character on this film and the affections of her character in the film "A Beautiful Mind". Nonetheless, Connelly's performance has served its purpose. But it was Nick Nolte, who starred as Bruce's father, who shined on this picture, driving the character of the determined mad scientist brilliantly over the top. I daresay his performance in this movie looked like a sure winner for the academy awards. Meticulous audiences would surely want to memorize his thought-provoking and powerful dialogue at the near end of the movie. 
            At first, I was not so impressed by the shifting of the scenes which appeared to be too artsy-fartsy, the film also employed the multi-panel style of presenting the movie, which later on turned to be just proper, in order to focus the different reactions and actions at the same moment. But the beauty of The Hulk is that it has a very rich storyline. It is Bruce's search for the past, it is Betty's unconditional love for his fiancée, it is a father's will to attain glory. It is one story that foreshadows another. It is more than meets the eye. It is also a heart-pounding action that let's us witness truly incredible action sequences. The director Ang Lee has indeed made a great one here. The title may have omitted the word "incredible" from the finished title of the adaptation. But it is indeed what this movie is. INCREDIBLE. 

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THE KFC TORTURE CHAMBER
Don't Choke Your Chicken!
(June 23, 2003)

            First of all, I would like to clarify that the following write-up is not intended to degrade the name of KFC Chicken Restaurants. In fact, it is in defense of KFC. In so doing, I demand that KFC would provide me an endless supply of Fried Chickens…err…but then I would have to work-out twice as much to prevent myself from ballooning up further..hmmm….
            It's not everyday that these kind of things happen here in our country, but last week, about 30 members of the US-based animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) picketed the KFC Philippines branch in Harrison Plaza, Manila, protesting to denounce the fastfood chain for alleged inhumane treatment of chickens (stop giggling! This is serious, man!), holding up signs that read, "KFC Tortures Chickens." Three other animal rights activists even locked themselves up in a cramped cage (You should see how silly they look in those cages). 
            Jason Baker (who was also one of those crouching inside the cage), who is the PETA representative for the Asia Pacific region, has accused the fast-food establishment of refusing to upgrade animal welfare standards. He said "The chickens should be raised in conditions wherein they can spread their wings and have interesting food to eat." Wow. Hmmm…. Interesting food to eat…let's see…Caviar? Mercedes Brazo? Weed? (The chickens are gonna love that) Mais Con Yelo? Double Dutch Ice cream? Chicken a la King (Eugh! Cannibalism!), ahhh…of course… Viagra! In effect, we'll have mass production. What else? "conditions wherein chickens can spread their wings." Hmmm… a gymnasium perhaps? The Iloilo Sports Complex? A nice lot in Ayala Alabang? This is getting boring. 
            PETA continues with additional complaints and demands. They accuse KFC of drugging and breeding the animals so quickly that they are crippled by their own weight and suffer from heart failure and lung collapse. Sheeesh! We'd have to worry about feeding the hungry and SARS, but now, we'd have to worry about the heart failure and lung problems of chickens. Maybe they want to call on the Philippine Heart Center for some aid. In addition, PETA wants to replace the crude and ineffective means of killing animals, like electric stunning and throat-slitting, with gas killing. Wow, sosyal ang mga manok ba---Gas Killing! I think that's one reason I don't want to be condemned with death penalty on this country. It's because, that way, you'd die like a chicken. 
            According to Cha Cha Juinio, KFC Philippines vice president for marketing, their company does not have a hand in the killing of chickens (Why does Rod Strunk suddenly pop out of my mind?). "We buy our chickens from San Miguel and Purefoods," Juinio told reporters. "The method for slaughter is the same whether you buy the chickens from the supermarkets and wet markets." (Not unless you slaughter your chickens with a heart attack induced by letting them watch Titanic).
            People from the US and Europe are extremely sensitive when it comes to animal rights. I myself find it offensive to see puppies locked up all day in very small cages, to be sold in the sidewalks of this city. But sometimes, American and European sensitivity towards animal rights get a bit too much for our asian practical culture. I mean, c'mon man! A chicken is a chicken! A pig is pork, a cow is beef! That ham is a chunk out of Babe's slaughtered body. And finding Nemo in a barbecue stick in Fort San Pedro is just a thing of nature. We have to murder Cow and Chicken in the swiftest and most practical manner so that we can feed ourselves. Why am I explaining this? Dumb topic no? No animals were harmed in the writing of this column.

Should KFC decide to provide me an endless supply of fried chickens, here is my Email addy…
(tripxyde@yahoo.com)

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JUST DO IT, GLORIA!
(June 27, 2003)

            "Run Gloria Run"? HAHAHAHAHA!!! I'm sorry, but putting up a poster that says "Run Gloria Run" just has me burst into a laughter like that of an oversized hyena. After the heckling settles down, I just scratch my head and say to myself "Don't these people have anything else to do?" 
            Stepping back and looking at the big picture, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has indeed been doing fine with her job as the president of the country. I have been admittedly been impressed by her current achievements, like how she has been trying to heighten the campaign of the war against drugs, the random drug tests, the disciplining of the country's smoking habits, and the random surprise check-ups she has been doing in some government offices. She is on fire, ladies and gentlemen! And indeed, she's doing fine. It makes us think that she's fulfilling half the promise she made last December of concentrating on her job as the president. But if she runs for the next election, she would not only break her promise to the Filipino people, but also she could miss the opportunity of just resting on the laurels that she would make. 
            This one editorial cartoon on our paper describes it well. Gloria trying to pull a mascot that represents that Filipino people from drowning on a quagmire, while a crocodile tells her to "Just leave him to me! Just go ahead and run!" while pointing at a race track that says "2004 elections." 
            An idea just popped in my mind. What if beside the "Run Gloria Run" posters one would post another banner that says "Gloria, just do your job." Maybe the militant groups would do something like that. 

x-x-x-x

            Too bad that Sen. Barber's seat in the Senate complicates matters, hindering him to be the "Anti-Drug Czar." But then again, he still can aid in the heightening of the campaign against drugs. It's funny how it is referred to as, "the war against drugs", since we all know that the nation is already at war against drugs. Anyway, let's just call it the heightening of the campaign. 
            The ring of drug campaign is slated to be run by the toughest barakos of the country which include Mayor Duterte and Mayor Hagedorn in Mindanao, and Alfredo Lim, Col. Jaylo, and Col. Margallo, all anti-crime strongmen of Manila. Come to think of it, these guys all have had biographical movies made about them. Before, I thought Lucio Margallo, which I think was a kickass tagalog action movie, was just fiction. It's like an anti-drug dream team. But not everybody whose had a biopic made for them is really a good guy. Remember Joe Pring whose reputation was stained by controversies? 
            In an ANC Interview this weekend, Sen. Barbers is ready to give up his seat in the senate, and if not, hopes to give this drug campaign more transparency and efficiency. Despite the suspicions from Ping Lacson and his hoodl…err….. supporters, claiming that this campaign is just a politically-motivated move that is designed to put him down, Sen. Barbers, on the other hand, demands a more honest action that everybody can see, and would be not just an anti-drug campaign that happens behind curtains that we cant see. He even openly expressed the issue of narco-politics, that there are indeed people in the high ranks of government office that, not only protect, but control drug operations. He expressed that now, the Philippines has become a drug-producing country, an indication of how worse the drug crisis has become.
            Whatever is the result, I hope its not just another drug-campaign that will not lead to nothing. This time, they should catch the bigger fishes. 

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VIRTUAL PERFORMERS
(June 28 & 29, 2003)

            Weeks ago, I was watching the MTV Movie Awards, and this year, they have become the first award-giving body to honor "artificial" performers, with their "Best Virtual Performance" category, that honors the dramatic prowess of a certain animations, and/or puppetries. It is indeed the first ever to give credit to these life-like creations which are endowed with a highly-convincing ability to act, just as well as real life actors and actresses. 
            This year's pioneer nominees included Scooby-Doo for "Scooby-Doo", Dobey for "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", Kangaroo Jack for "Kangaroo Jack", Yoda for "Star Wars Episode II, Attack of the Clones", and Gollum for "The Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers". Scooby-Doo was just a bit too cliché for his performance, but hey, it's Scooby-Doo, what do you expect? It is just as comical as how Kangaroo Jack could get, since the two were really into comedic slapstick performances, which is more of a delight for children. Dobey, on the other hand, was more of the median mellow performer among the nominees, playing a lovable but calm creature, whose actuations were more of mild-mannered than that of one which would exhibit a sense of emotional rampage. Although Yoda's performance was impressive, his role was more of the kick-ass action hero rather than that who would stand beside the likes of Anthony Hopkins, he did win the "Best Fight" category, the one where he had a radical light saber duel with Christopher Lee. And the award went to Gollum, who was more than deserving to get the award.                 Recalling the movie "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", we were held in awe as we saw how Gollum's schizophrenic character is driven by a madness and an obsession to get the One Ring. His performance on this film is so convincing and full of life-like passion, that you would just want to burst out in a standing ovation and hail bravados at how something conceived in a PC could act as well as a hundred Aubrey Miles combined (Yes, friends, even Cookie Monster could act better than Aubrey Miles, but that's just an opinion, to find out for yourself, watch SANIB). 
            With the topic of virtual performers in mind, it goes to the question of, what is the future of film making? There are already films created purely of Computer generated technology such as that of the film Final Fantasy and the Matrix spin-off episode (which is included in the Animatrix) "The Final Flight of the Osiris". These CGI films are so realistic, it is as if they cast real actors to play the characters, but the advantage of this is that with CGI, they could freely bend their imaginations with look of the film. They could setup an elaborate scene without ever packing their bags to travel to a particular place in the world just for a shoot. When George Lucas first created Star Wars Episode IV way back in 1977, he'd have to travel all the way to Tunisia (and other numerous locations), and have his entire crew and himself endure the heat and the sandstorms, just to bring to life the desert world of Tattooine. But when he did the prequels, he'd easily go to some studio if ever he wanted to reshoot and recreate the set with the use of computer graphics technology. 
            Watching the raging HULK in action, which was also created by computer graphics technology, I'm sure that he would be one of the next nominees for the next "Best Virtual Performance" award. But still, Gollum seems to be the best bet, for we're to see more of his Shakespearian prowess come December for the third "Lord of the Rings" movie. I'm wondering. Will we ever see a computer generated Yosi Kadiri, Lupot and Dehydration?

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POLITICAL
(June 30, 2003)

            When election time is nearing, everybody starts yakking here and there; everybody tries to look like a supermodel, trying to be posterboys and postergirls for each and every positive human virtue that the standards of morality ever established. They preach how they are like fifty times better and trustworthy than their political adversaries. Now begins a season of hypocrisy. But what are they worth? I mean, really…? Are they worthy of our votes?
            People like Mao, Stalin, and Hitler may have been the most notorious names in history. They may have been responsible for many deaths. But in their time, they had vision. They were political leaders who have wielded a country into a state of greatness. In their earlier days, they have had that drive and that devotion to their motherland, that desire that their country shall outshine the grandeur of Rome. And indeed, they have become leaders who command the fanatical loyalty of their countrymen. 
            I think that's what our politicians lack. That devotion, that love, that patriotism. It seems that many politicians only have that desire to have a fat swiss account, a mansion in Ayala Alabang, a number of shiny luxury vehicle, and maybe able to purchase FHM models for a night or two. 
When one wants to be a tycoon, one struggles in politics, where he can obtain power, which will be the tool to obtain much wealth. Politicians have the control of the police, the law, and the system. With this, he can abuse and manipulate the inflow of money that comes from the people. 
What do they do in the arena of running the nation? Perhaps make a bill to make their businesses flow, make bills to cover their illegal activities, and make bills to cheaply please the people. Pleasing the people means investing for voters. The cycle goes on and on so that they remain in power. If they would have THAT charisma, maybe they'd run for president. Then what? Then travel the globe, eliminate the foes, sell the country to the yanks, and go surfing with your spouse and let the media watch. 
            It seems nobody wants to be a leader so that they have that desire to make the Philippines the next Rome anymore. I know it seems delusional. But long ago, Germany was just a small country in the European map, till Hitler made the world know the meaning of fear. Long ago, Japan was bombed by the most devastating weapons ever used. Hiroshima and Nagasaki was in ashes, Japan was ravaged. But it never stopped them from becoming one of (if not THE) Asia's most progressive countries. Everybody is whining about the Philippines becoming hopeless. I admit, we are in a state which is almost dead. But to be a politician is to shut up from all the whining, from all the conflict, and from all the selfishness, and just do their jobs doing things good for the nation as they go along the way. 
            If you want to be a politician, be a politician for the right reasons. Be a politician and expect to be bribed, coerced, influenced, forced, and tempted. And with all these circumstances presented, live through it with only the devotion to being in service in mind. Never let the devotion run out. This will determine your guts. If you live through it, and you lost because of the bribed and misguided masses, at least you have had that victory in yourself. The victory that all you wanted and all you did was serve the country. You may lose someday, but you are a hero. Not like the pigs who will survive the years through bribery, abuse, and showbiz-face value. 

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