Zombies

Zombies. Perhaps the lamest of the creatures ever to be turned into horror icons. I mean really, a shuffling, moaning corpse with an insatiable desire for brains is supposed to scare the crap out of someone? Never mind that they are dead and, for the most part, are depicted in various forms of decay and dismemberment. They've always been kind of funny, at least that's how I used to think of them.

I say I used to think of them this way because I just read World War Z by Max Brooks. No, it's not a terribly new book, but it is the first piece of fiction I've encountered where zombies become truly horrifying, though not for what I thought they would be.

Yes, they eat brains. Yes, they're still the shuffling, moaning creatures that we all know. However, in the novel, these creatures become the very thing that drives mankind nearly to extinction, and Brooks does an excellent job of creating a scenario where it could actually happen. How does he do this? He turns the zombie phenomenon into an epidemic, a disease that spreads until every section of the world is infested. Zombie infestation causes mass panic, drastic relocations and refugees, economic collapse, and death to millions.

In many ways, the terrifying thing is not so much the zombies as it is the effects the zombies have on the world, economically, socially, politically. It explores the war from the point of view of "veterans" of that war, and carries with it the traumas, stigma, and wounds that inevitably mark ones' psyche after incidents as horrible as that. But the zombie infestation could have been anything else, disease, a global disaster, or environmental collapse and I would not be surprised to read testimonials which share a lot of the scars that the "veterans" of this war suffered.

Yonkers was the winner of an art contest held for World War Z.
It captures the perspective of the book very well.

It is also an investigation into ourselves, a reflection of how we all are as people, as nations, as societies. And while the zombies are ever present in the novel, they are more a framework, a backdrop, by which Brooks has decided to place ourselves in a position to look more closely at our own follies and weaknesses.

The book was scary, but not for the obvious. It was scary not because of the zombies alone, but it was scary because of what people do, or do not do, when faced with things as horrible as zombies.

It's worth a read. If only to give zombies a little more street cred in the ghoul hierarchy.

Freespace: The Greatest Space Sim No One's Heard Of

Freespace, a space simulator game by the good folks at Interplay and Volition, was arguably the best space simulator ever made. It had everything: an epic, moving story, more fighter ships to pilot than one ever had to, a menacing enemy that was absolutely despicable, and fantastic graphics and gameplay.

I was lucky enough to play both Freespace 1 and 2 when they came out and they blew everything else out of the water. Interestingly, the game was also decidedly bleak in its outlook, the climactic battle of Freespace 2 was not for absoulte victory, but for survival against a vastly superior opponent. The good guys don't win, they squeak through.

Beautiful... except you're running for your life from it.

Freespace was not campy, at least not as horribly campy as, say Wing Commander. Instead, it was a gripping, grim tale of warfare. The missions were often carried out on hauntingly beautiful backgrounds. The ships themselves were masterpieces. And well, as you can see in the picture above, the graphics were stunning.

It also made you feel small. On purpose. You were a fighter pilot forced to duck and dodge ships literally thousands of times larger than you. It brought the feeling of really being there to a whole new level. You were the hero of the game, but you were also just one of many heroes, all taking their part in these gigantic battles for the survival of your race. Great geeky fun!

It was also a truly gripping story, one worth playing through just to get through the story.

It has also been modded by a whole bunch of people, turning it into Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5 simulators. But, if you ask me, the original story could stand up to these and then some.

If you can, find it in the bargain bins. It's truly, truly worth the search.

A Magazine For Thinking Men

I never thought there would be a time when I would get tired of looking at semi-naked, seductively posed women in magazines. Earlier, when FHM first came out, I bought the magazine just for the fun of being able to legally, with no shame, go up to the counter and buy a magazine with a semi-naked celebrity on the cover. No more skulking about dark malls, moving to the back of some obscure magazine store, where, ahem, "male" magazines were at the back shelf, behind old copies of Good Housekeeping and Home and Garden.

We had arrived, I thought, at a new phase in periodicals, where men could get everything they wanted, including some titillation, in one magazine! It took me a few more issues to realize that, well, no, we didn't get everything we wanted.

The pictures were all well and good, but, moving beyond that, I found the articles forgettable and, at times, just outright wastes of reading time. Eventually, I stopped.

However, finally, there is a magazine that is worth reading. Rogue magazine was a surprise when I finally picked an issue up. My first thoughts were, well, here's another magazine with pretty women on it, though the pictures seem to be more artful than those other ones. I was pleasantly surprised that I actually paid more attention to the articles than the pictures. The articles were intelligent, the (non-female anatomy) pictures beautiful. It was a good, no, a great read.

Their current issue has two available covers. I like the one on top more.

There are quibbles. I sometimes feel like a gatecrasher in some posh party, especially in the fashion and society sections, where society's elite do, well, what they do. The items on their fashion sections are all cool, beautiful, and...beyond my reach, at least for now. But then, what's life without a little aspiration, right?

Interestingly enough, it seems like you have to be firmly entrenched in society to be called a rogue. I love irony.

The images are from the Facebook site of Rogue magazine.

All Hail Lego!

I can't get to Christmas without having at least one Lego memory.

My first Lego arrived as a Christmas gift from my parents. It was a large, flattish box that rattled loudly when I shook the wrapped package. It was the first gift that I actually could not figure out, since it was in a flat box and it was intriguingly noisy. (Pieces weren't in plastic bags yet then) My curiosity eventually got the better of me and I started trying to see into the wrapper, which only revealed the red and white LEGO logo.

Lego? What in the world was that? That mysterious logo would torment me for three weeks.

I had a set just like this one.

I was to find out only on Christmas Day, which finally led me to open the said box to find a cool picture of a moonbase (it was a Lego Space set). Wow! And then, opening it, I found not a cool moonbase, but hundreds of tiny plastic pieces. No wonder it rattled, it was broken! Rising despair became rabid curiosity when my father showed me the instruction booklet. I was supposed to build the moonbase myself! And, if I wanted, I could actually build other things! Way cool!

That began a love affair with making things with my hands. Aside from my own toys, I played with my sister's Legos (she got the City sets), and mixed and matched bricks to make my own space ships and cars. I've had not only other Lego sets, but models, Erector sets (which I hand-carried home from the US, never mind that it weight nearly as much as my luggage), and video games like Sim City, which play a lot like a software version of Lego.

Needless to say, I've been a fan ever since.

I was sad for a while when Lego seemed to fade from the scene here, but I'm glad they're back! My five-year-old son now enjoys building his own toys (and very well, too, considering he's building sets supposedly for nine-year-olds) and I can't help but feel jealous. They've gotten very creative with those little blocks, to say the least. (My jaw dropped when I saw the Death Star set.)

I mean, just look at the thing!

I still get the need to build once in a while, especially with how exciting looking the new products are. However, with my son already collecting sets at a rapid pace, I wonder if I'll ever get the chance. Maybe I'll have to do it outside of the house, like some kind of plastic, blocky mistress.

Sad, I know. Just goes to show how much of a fan (and a geek) I am.

Images from Lego.com

The New Image on the Title

The image above (the doll), is from Deviantart.com. It's by an artist named l3dav1nc1 (Leandro Furlanetto). You can find his gallery there, where he has more "doll" images (as he calls this series) and others. It's an excellent collection filled with very clear, very clean artworks. And, the doll is just so cute, without being sugary sweet or frou-frou.

And, if you haven't found it yet, try looking through deviantart.com. It has a really extensive collection of art pieces done by people all over the world, with about as wide a range of styles as you can imagine. Nice place to shop for new desktops for your computer.

Here are some others I found particularly interesting:

I've always liked the hulk.

Here's another one:




It's worth a few minutes of checking out, at least.

Saturday Night Live Digital Shorts

I came across this video the other day while mindlessly surfing the web. My first thought was, what the heck is this about? I actually did not realize it was an SNL digital short until I watched it again and read the text at the beginning. What makes this even more intriguing for me was that it had people like Molly Sims (of Las Vegas), Jamie Lynn Siegler (of the Sopranos, I think), and Justin Timberlake as cameos. That's pretty heavy star power for a spoof video.

But then, it's SNL. You don't get much bigger than that in US TV.

Here's the video:





Funny, right? They're not always funny, but when they get it right, it's hilarious.

Martial Law Babies

Martial Law is something most people know only as an abstraction, a possibility. In the case of the Philippines, Martial Law is also a marker of an entire generation. Thanks to President Marcos, we had eleven years of Martial Law, enough time for an entire generation to be born and grow up.

I was one of those born during that period. And now, another one of my ilk, graphic novelist Arnold Arre, has written what can be seen as an anthem in honor of those born in those years. It's a poignant book, dealing with the pains and joys of growing up. And, upon reading it, I kept running into characters who were eerily close to people I know in real life.

For people born in later years, the whole thing can seem incomprehensible, with references to things they may have never heard of. To me, that's exactly why it works. What makes it particularly touching for me is that he sees growing up from my own point of view, as someone born during that time.

I recommend it, not only for the Voltes 5 generation, but for people wondering how our times shape us, and how we gain an identity not only as individuals, but as a generation.

What would younger readers find in the book? Perhaps a look into Gen X, grown up. What happened when the children of the Baby Boomers finally entered the real world? It is hilarious and sad, as is real life. Arnold's art in this one is in turns whimsical and touching, for some reason his characters can convey emotion very well, despite their decidedly cartoonish appearances.




Oh, no monsters, wizards, robots, or anything else like that in this one. Good stories rarely need gimmicks to make them a good read.



At P 500.00 for a really thick book, it's a bargain. You can check out www.martiallawbabies.com for more details on it and on how to get it.

And no, I didn't get paid to do this. It really is that good.

Viral Muppets

I have long been a muppet fan. I grew up on Sesame Street, Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and, of course, Kermit. They were part of my daily television habit; no day would be complete without seeing that wonderful show. They were also my introduction to the Muppet Show, the show designed by Jim Henson to cater to more "grown up" entertainment.

These shows were brilliant, brilliant enough to have been watched not only by me, but by my parents too, who would rush home on Sundays so as not to miss the airing. The muppets here became more like real people, complete with psychological quirks. We were introduced to a whole universe of muppets, conceived differently from their relatively innocent counterparts in Sesame Street.

Sadly, it seems like time has not been kind to the muppets. Their last movies tanked. Most of the younger set don't even know them anymore.

They've disappeared from the spotlight for some time now, and could be found by loyal fans on YouTube and other such sights, where one can watch some clips and re-live some classic moments. I thought that classic moments were all that were left.

You can imagine my delight, therefore, when I found these...






It's a thrill to see them back! And they're new! Apparently, there' still some life left in the ol' Muppet mystique! There are others on YouTube. Find them yourselves and enjoy!!

Quantum of Solace

A lot has been made about the new James Bond being more...emotional than the others. Really? Daniel Craig twitches an eyebrow and suddenly he's a crybaby? Really?

I don't think so.

I've heard differing opinions about Quantum of Solace, with a group generally hating the new turn Bond has taken, preferring the world of ridiculous gadgets, dry one-liners, and outlandish villains and sets. I, if it isn't obvious yet, belong to those who applaud the new direction.

Bond, at least the way Flemming wrote him, was a cruel featured, cold-hearted sonofabitch whose gadgets were usually limited to a bible hiding a gun in it. I grew up on that Bond, the one who, interestingly enough, is more like the Daniel Craig Bond. He kicked ass, with no need for silliness or gadgetry. Instead, Bond relied on his head, his gut, and his fists.

In my opinion, that Bond rocked.

And Quantum of Solace, despite the typically goofy title, actually delivers more of that kind of, well, literary, Bond. There were homages to the older films, too. Strawberry Fields (yes, that was Agent Fields' name) was covered in oil, in reference to Goldfinger's gold-plated victim.

If there is a quibble, it's that the action sequences were over-edited, reducing them to an almost incomprehensible mash of images. But tight plotting (though not as tight as Casino Royale) saves the film, as does the sight of a vulnerable Bond.

Bond's seeming emotional detachment becomes an entire sub-plot and back story, something that explains why he is such a lovable bastard. The reset of the franchise decided to take things back to basics, but at the same time, retain as much of the Bond formula as they could without getting silly. The result is a more believable Bond, devoid of any cliche or kitcsh. And it works. Get used to it folks, this Bond's here to stay.

And I, for one, am glad.

Trese

I'm very proud to say that, at some time in my life, my path crossed with Budgette Tan's, creator of horror/fantasy comic Trese. Sure, it was college and I'm not sure he still remembers me (why would he?) it is still a thrill to see someone finally succeed in what is a true passion. Needless to say, he deserves every piece of recognition he gets.

The comic, to say the least, is incredible. Budgette has definitely grown into his style. Budgette, together with Kajo Baldisimo's excellent art, has turned Manila into the place we all suspect it is, filled with magic and the supernatural. They both bring a cosmopolitan sophistication to what could easily a tired genre. Who hasn't read a horror story or watched a horror movie with manananggals, kapre, tikbalang, etc?

And yet, in their expert hands, these traditional, mythical creatures become new and exciting. They've moved out of their trees and shadows and insinuate themselves in almost every aspect of our lives. Tikbalang now influence the economy. Elementals run huge conglomerates. It begins to sound too ridiculous, and yet, Budgette and Kajo handle things so well, we never question it.

At a certain level, I tend to agree with their stories. Who among us Filipinos haven't heard of stories relating to duende and the like? To me, they aren't so far-fetched.

Darna - Trese style

I've known that Budgette has tried several times to start a serious comic industry in the Philippines. After all, we have shown a love of them; just think of Darna (who actually made a -sort of- appearance in one of his stories), Captain Barbell, and those fantaseryes that populate prime time viewing these days. It has not been easy, but I am so glad he persevered.

Congratulations, Budgette and Kajo. You deserve more readers.

Top Gear

Is there a show as cool as Top Gear? Where else can one see such wanton destruction, dry wit, and really, really funny hosts in one engaging, if slightly juvenile, show? Personally, I love the show, and it's been my frustration that I can't catch it on regular TV. To which I must give due props to the internet. Otherwise, I'd be stuck with memories and bootlegged DVD copies.

Back to Top Gear. I just finished watching the last episode of the previous season, and the first episode of the current, 12th (!) season. And while Hammond, May, and Clarkson are getting a bit older, (and stranger: what's with their hair?) they are still just as insane as ever.

Case in point: Jeremy Clarkson reviewing the new Porsche 911 GT2.

Quote: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! And that concludes my road test of the GT2. It's terrifying." The visuals were even nuttier, with him screaming, red-faced, bug-eyed, cutting rapidly with images of the GT2 spinning, smoking up an insane amount of rubber.

If there is one thing Top Gear does well, its the funny bits. Never mind that these are not the greatest drivers or even reviewers out there. I don't really care. It's their sincere opinions, and their often hilarious remarks, that get me every time. The fact that they don't mind being idiots sometimes just endears them to me even more.

Another tidbit from the episode I just viewed:

The three hosts are asked to be lorry (read: cargo truck) drivers. They come off as being complete fools, failing miserably in every task while purposefully laughing at themselves (and their colleagues) while doing it. And yet, I'm rooting for them every step of the way. I root for them because I can't do what they did, not without either getting sued, broke, or killed. It thrills me to no end that I can see these gits do things I secretly wished I did.

It's like jackass with cars, actually. I liked that show too.

Asian Food Channel

I've tried my darndest best to NOT write about food because, well, I do it in other places for one, and I think there are enough people writing about food as it is. So, I'm writing about the Asian Food Channel, which we get here in the Philippines on cable. Cop out? I'm not sure, but I'm doing it anyway.

It's a channel that broadcasts a rather eclectic collection of shows, from wacky Singaporean and Japanese food review shows to popular shows like Hell's Kitchen or A Cook's Tour, to unintentionally wacky food shows from Canada, Europe, and other places. It isn't as slick as the Food Network (US). It can get hokey and corny, but it works, for all that.

I actually enjoy it more than Food Network, because it isn't all slick production values and cool camera work. Watching Charlie Trotter mince a shallot with a chef's knife (to microscopic, even, portions) is painfully boring to a lot of people, but my jaw hung open when he did it, nonchalantly, while preparing a salad. They were able to air the service footage of Hell's Kitchen, unedited, where Ramsey became less of an ogre, where suddenly the reasons for his outbursts were made clear (telling someone to repeat a dish four times can do that, especially during dinner service).

The channel seems more sincere in its corniness, and that's what I enjoy about it most. I guess I've seen too much slick, cutting edge stuff in my time that a little kitsch and cliche can seem welcome. Maybe it's the Asian in me, tired of all the western chrome and edge. Sometimes, it's nice to just be corny.

Oh, and Emeril isn't there. Can't stand his show.

No Reservations

Anthony Bourdain is a hero of mine.  Ever since reading his books Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour, I've come to the conclusion that the guy is my kind of guy.  Before reading his books, I was under the very misguided opinion that the professional kitchen was a clean, disciplined, fastidious place, where everyone worked in perfect, mystical harmony.  

Boy, was I wrong. 

Kitchen Confidential showed me an image of a kitchen that was right up there with my own personal sensibilities.  I honestly never thought about the intense pressure of the professional kitchen, and I felt a little stupid about it after reading the book.  After all, banging out hundreds of meals a service, let alone a day, in a very tight deadline, with specific standards to meet, is daunting, to say the least.  I came out from that book with a very different view of the restaurant business, and a much higher regard for those half-crazy souls who choose to work in the kitchen.   And I realized that I had more in common with these "fringe elements" (Bourdain's words, not mine) than I do with more "normal" people.

What made me such an admirer of Bourdain was his sarcasm.  He was funny, but he was also pointed and even mean about it.  I loved it.  He wrote and said things I wished I did, and perhaps it even gave me the guts to actually open up and be more honest, not only to others, but, more importantly, to myself.  He says it like it is, no matter what.  I also love the fact that he sees himself as someone along for the ride, and so he never takes himself too seriously.  We could all learn to be so relaxed about things.  

If you've never done so, look in YouTube and watch an episode of No Reservations and I think you'll get what I mean.  At the very least, here's an American who is genuinely interested in learning about his world, at times to his embarrassment.   

Better yet, pick up a copy of Kitchen Confidential and read about a real guy, who's dealt with real problems, and who has kept his sense of humor throughout.  At the very least, you'll come away with a wry grin.  

Cheers, Tony!  If we ever meet, I'm buying lunch.  

FreakAngels

Web comics seem to be a joke for most people. It's where people who can't get a break decide to say," Fuck it, I'm putting this out there, for every one to see!" Of course, that says nothing about whether what's going out there is any good or not. And, as a result, there are some bad ones out there. Perhaps they're even bad enough to raise suspicions once a web comic comes out.

Thinking about it, web comics make perfect sense for most creators. It's easy to do and can bring excellent coverage for those just starting out. It's just that have been enough lousy ones to make the whole enterprise seem dodgy, at best.

Freak Angels, by Warren Ellis, fortunately, is definitely not a bad web comic. It, in fact, is better than some of the printed garbage out there. I actually ran into this by accident, and ended up reading the thing from beginning to the current (33rd) episode. As I've heard others say, this is how web comics are supposed to be done.

It's excellent, not only because of Ellis' solid, solid writing but also because of his (probably raving mad) artist, Paul Duffield, who turns out six pages of amazing art every week. The guy must be intravenously ingesting coffee (or something) to get all this amazing work done! The art is clean and yet not cold, character comes through with every panel.

It's worth bookmarking and, I'd even venture, worth buying the TPB.

I can't say I'm not jealous. But, on the upshot, it's given me enough inspiration to try for my own. Let's see.

Reflections on Anime

I belong to the original Voltes 5 generation. Which means I was already old enough to appreciate that particular anime when it came out in the seventies. I watched the show religiously, 5:30 PM on Fridays, on Channel 7. Steve, Mark, Big Bert, Little John (with his annoying octupus), and Jaime and their adventures with the giant robot Voltes 5 were sacred times. I can't remember missing any episodes.

More than that, I was a Koji Kabuto fan. Mazinger Z kicked serious ass and was less of a drama fest than Voltes 5. If I remember right, Mazinger Z was on Tuesdays, 5:30 PM. Never mind that his killer move was actually a giant version of a toaster's heating coil. When his foes melted, it rocked. The shows were not kiddie, and yet they were swashbuckling adventures, filled with amazing visuals and more than enough action to set a young boy's fantasies aflame. Enemies being sliced open, punched through, frozen, or melted were regular fare, done by machines and individuals too cool to be true, but we all wished were.

Try doing that, Mickey.

I do remember the shows getting cut just as they were building to a climax. President Marcos, in a sudden burst of moral fiber, decided to ban the showing of Japanese anime programs due to its violent nature. Suddenly, my kick-ass cartoon viewing was relegated to Archie cartoons every Saturday. Solace came from the old Warner Brothers cartoons, the ones where you just wondered what they were smoking when they did it.

I tolerated the injustice of it all until the eighties, when anime began to return.

Transformers, Macross (which eventually got swallowed up by Robotech, something I didn't agree with), re-runs of Voltes V began to reappear. Masked Rider Black, Shaider, Bioman, and other shows began to return, bringing with it the quirky and fascinating Japanese anime aesthetic back.

I was happy at the return, and can say I was at the edge. I saw Bubblegum Crisis a few months after it came out in Japan, via bootlegged tapes. The Dirty Pair? Saw that. Five Star Stories? Saw that. Char's Counterattack? Saw that even if I had no idea what Gundams were. My buddies and I would gather at someone's house to watch the unsubbed, undubbed tapes and try and figure out what was going on.

A few years back, Channel 7 decided to re-run Voltes 5 in all its entirety, to the very end. That first day, and I remember this clearly, there was no traffic on any thoroughfare during its time slot. It affirmed the fact that my generation wanted its closure. We were getting it, 20 years after and damn the boss, I was going home early to watch it.

And now, looking at how huge it's gotten, well, can't say I'm not happy. Things like Macross Frontier, Soul Eater, and, yes, even Code Geass are wonderful, enjoyable romps. My son watches Soul Eater with me, even if we both don't speak Japanese (thank goodness for subtitles). It's nice to see how even the Japanese are improving what they seemed to have perfected long ago. Their narratives are tighter now, their understanding of pacing and plot are much, much better. Compelling art finally meets compelling plots. Like I said, can't be happier

Whoops, gotta cut this short. My download's done...

The Goddamned Batman

I haven't written anything in a long time, partially because I didn't feel like there was a point to this blog. Honestly. To have a blog to just explore my more...literary inclinations seemed to be height of human hubris.

Hah. So, why am I writing now?

Batman. The Goddamned Batman, to be exact. The whole bruhaha that Mr. Miller has caused by writing All Star Batman and Robin.

It seems like so many people are complaining about how the caped crusader is portrayed by Mr. Miller, that it seems like such a departure from his version of Batman in the now-classic Dark Knight Returns. These same people probably have not read their copies in a while.

Miller's All-Star Batman is the same Batman as the Dark Knight. Exactly the same. Sadistic, slightly off his rocker, cocky as hell with his own ability. It's just more obvious when the guy is not pushing fifty and the weaknesses aren't as glaring. What do we really expect from a man who has trained obsessively since childhood and decides that a rodent costume is the perfect means by which he could scare criminals? He's nuts, and thank goodness.

It seems like few people actually understood Miller's vision of Batman when the earlier (now classic) books came out. Miller has remained true to his interpretation of the character, its our understanding of them that has changed. Decades of Batmen, reinvented, re-written, re-imagined, have been placed in between The Dark Knight and All Star Batman. And, apparently, it's colored the viewpoints of those who read (and even review) comics.

Personally, Miller's Batman was always the most interesting of the various versions out there. At least the guy enjoyed what he was doing.

Miller's hilarious send-up of common Bat-conventions and his decidedly skewed point of view of other heroes should be welcome in an industry that has suffered terribly from its own obsession with reinvention.

Thanks, Frank for a great set. Looking forward to more.