I got a chance to see “The Dark Knight” yesterday. I need to say it; the movie is huge, arguably the best movie of 2008 (Basing on the box-office draw happening around the world, this is just as fearless a forecast as it could get). The second of the Batman series that is set to become a trilogy is lengthy enough to satisy the viewer and juicy enough for them to crave for more. With that said, Will I be looking forward to the third installation of the series? Of course I am! but the question is; will it carry the same weight as the second film? That ladies and gentlemen is the biggest question of all.

It is a batman flick. Needless to say that the billionaire playboy in the Batsuit, driving around town in a batmobile or a batcycle is the primordial focus of the movie. And I have to say that Christopher Nolan, the director, has done a marvelous job in accomplishing that in the first movie (batman begins). As for the second movie, the spotlight was split into two or three if you count Harvey Dent. In as much as the movie tried to stay focused on the caped crusader. The Joker character is just too much to ignore. The joker is the light of the shade, the yin of the yang, Chiaroscurro. When Nolan describe the character of the Joker as ” the ultimate villain”, he was not joking. As a matter of fact, I think that is even an understatement. Now with Ledger gone, What kind villain would appear in the third movie. Who would dare to step on the Joker’s shoes knowing that its just to big a shoe to fill. 

Heath Ledger played the role like it was the role he was born to play. Thinking about the Jack Nicholson portrayal of the Joker on the Michael Keaton’s batman starrer, i think it is a joke. Don’t get me wrong; I admire nicholson as an actor, but Ledger’s portrayal of the arch villain made nicholson’s performance like a child play. The greatest irony of the movie is that; the joker’s character is just to dark that it casted an ethereal light on the entire movie itself.  The character is simply devoid of empathy. Twitchier, Edgier. It is madness personified.

Rumors have it that Ledger took the portrayal of the joker too seriously. I guess  to seriously. Ledger lived in a hotel room alone for a month to formulate the Joker’s psyche and posture. he even kept a diary to record the joker’s thoughts and feelings as a guide to his portrayal. After completing the movie, Ledger confided to one major newspaper that his role has affected his ablility to sleep, admitting that he is taking Zolpidem or Ambien pills. Zolpidem is a prescription medication used for the short-term treatment of insomnia, as well as some brain disorders. He said on an interview ”Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. … I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” 

Last January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger passed away. The cause of death is an accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications. Looking back, I remember the Joker’s line to the batman at the end of the movie, He said ” Madness is just like gravity, all you need is a little push”.

Heath Ledger once said “When I die, My money’s not gonna come with me. My movies will go on for people to judge what I was as a person” I have to agree with it, but you left too soon Mr. Ledger… You left too soon.

It’s a day filled with slow news.I must have yawn a hundred times when something happened. I was just skimming through the pages of a major philippine daily when something caught my eyes. i was thinking if my eyes just played a trick on me again or have I just read a title that would shake me age to the core? I have to double back to the previous page, and there it was. A new article with a title that I have prayed for so long. it reads: Flash: Eraserheads reunite!

My hunger vanished. Eraserheads will be coming together, at least for one night. August 30, 2008 at the CCP Open grounds. The article mentioned that it took one big company to organize the reunion. the company is still not named. Whoever that company is. Thank You!

This is the stuff that wet dreams are made of. I look forward.

Honestly, I was never a big Incredible Hulk movie fan but I grew up with the comics. The big mean green monster is one of my favorite, along with the superman comic series. When I saw Lou Ferrigno’s movie version of the hulk I cringe, that is not the hulk I was expecting, then I saw Eric Bana’s version. despite a decent CGI, Honestly, I was disappointed. I have been following the comic version of the hulk, and the more you read the comics the the more you see what the movie lacks. 

I went to see the new Incredible hulk movie today. Starring Edward Norton, I was expecting another disappointment yet I have to see the movie. So as the movie began, I was a little apprehensive. I was hoping for a better plot this time but I am also careful not to hold my hopes high. As the plot unfolds, I began to relax, it’s as near to the story line as it could get.

 Unlike the Eric Bana version, the new hulk movie did not put the fixated Gen. Thaddeus “thunderbolt” Ross in the center of the movie, Instead, they let the Hulk face a bigger villain in Emil Blonsky a.k.a abomination. It adds to the thrill of the movie, at least the hulk could play the part of an underdog and the writer did not rely on  having the hulk smash as many tank as he could to sell the story .

 It also answers one of the greatest mystery in the Incredible Hulk story. That is to understand why on earth does the pants stay where it should be when the rest of the hulks clothing is shredded into strips every time Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk. On the movie, Banner uses stretchable material twice his normal size for a pants just in case he turns to the green monster.

 Adding twist to the story is the cameo appearance of the Iron Man at the end of the movie. well maybe, not the Iron Man persona but Tony Starks. At the end of the movie, Starks approached Gen. Ross in a bar and said the they are putting together a team.  What team?

 If you have seen the Iron Man movie and was patient enough to wait in the theaters until the final credits have rolled, you will understand what I am saying. at the end of the credit roll, the movie shows Tony Stark going home  only to fine someone waiting for him, this is how the final dialogue went.

Tony Stark: Jarvis.

 Jarvis : [distorted] Welcome home, Sir

[Tony notices a figure by the window]

Nick Fury: “I am Iron Man…” Think you’re the only super hero in the world? Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don´t know it yet.

Tony Stark : Who the hell are you?

[The man walks into the light]

Nick Fury : Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tony Stark: Uh-huh

Nick Fury : I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.

The avenger initiative is refering to The Avengers, A team of superheroes much like the DC comic’s Justice league. The Avenger’s is the Marvel Comics version. The cameo appearance of stark in the Hulk movie is part of the effort to establish the so called Marvel Universe.  Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk might just be the beginning of things to come. 

Kulang ako sa tulog palagi. sobrang daming ginagawa. walang time para mag wordpress kadalasan, wala ding sex (pohta…) ang tindi tuloy ng stress. Wala namang magawa kasi kailangang gawin ang kung anong responsibilidad na nakatoka sa’yo. Ang hinihingi ko lang sana ay konting konsiderasyon sa ilang mga bagay-bagay na nakakadagdag sa ikakasira ng araw mo. Hindi naman siguro masamang makiusap.

Ang Daming problema dito sa manila. Mga bagay na sana ay hindi na pinuproblema. Lumipat kami ng opis. Ganda ng building, hay tets ang pasilitis pero hindi ganoon kagaan ang trabaho at sobrang init paglabas ng building. Parang sinusunog ang bumbunan mo paglabas, mamamawis lahat pati jetlogs mo. paksyet. Pagdating sa kalsada ang hirap pumara ng sasakyan. Nasanay na kasi ang mga mamang drayber na paharurotin ang kanilang mga mean machine pagdating sa parteng yun ng commonwealth kasi dati rati ang mga pumapara lang sa mga sasakyan dun ay white lady.  Kahit hindi ka relihiyoso ang mapapadasal ka na sana ay may safety conscious driver na alalay kung magpatakbo para makahinto pag pinara mo o di naman kaya ay may pupugak-pugak na sasakyan na tumirik bago makalagpas sayo.

Pagkasakay mo (after 10 years) medyo maganda ang biyahe sa upmisa. mula commonwealth hanggang makarating ka sa LTO opis okay ang biyahe. Pero pagpasok mo ng EDSA umpisa nanaman ang “Aba ginoong marya”. Patayan ang trafic, mabuburat ka talaga, pero ang masahol ay kung natraffic ka sa tabi ng poste ng MRT, Nakooowww!!! Pagkalaki laking tarpauline ng mukha ni pareng Bayani ang babati sayo.  Kaayusan… Metro gwapito… etc. Ang kapal ng kumag. after nagdeclare na tatakbong presidente sa 2010 biglang nagsilabasan ang poster. Obvious na pamumulitika. Misan tuloy naiisip kong bumili ng kamatis bago ako pumasok para pag natraffic ako sa tabi ng poste ng MRT babatuhin ko ng kamatis yung poster pay at least may magawa akong productive. kaso lang mahal ang kamatis ngayon.

Pinipilit kong huwag matulog sa bus kasi hindi daw safe. sa dami ng pasaway sa mundo. kahit hindi safe, matutulog na lang ako.

STOP GLOBAL WARMING!

Global warming is a serious problem that the whole Planet earth is facing. It is no longer a myth but a fact and is very evident. Have you noticed the unpredictable and sudden changes in the weather, and the excessive heat that we are now experiencing. It is due to the accumulated greenhouse gases. Let’s act now, while we can before it’s too late!

Please Join the campaign and let our voices be heard!
I’m tagging everyone to Post this Message on Their Blogs. Please Pass it on!
I signed up to join the Stop Global Warming Virtual March and I encourage you to add your voice as well. Global warming is the most urgent issue of our time and since we are all contributors to global warming pollution we must all be part of the solution. Joining the Virtual March is a first step to joining the movement to demand solutions now.

You can join by visiting: http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/countmein.asp

StopGlobalWarming.org’s mission is to use the strength of numbers to urge our government to address global warming, and urge businesses to start a new industrial revolution of clean energy that reduces our dependence on oil and helps stop global warming.

Together we can make a difference.

It was 4:00 PM. Everyone in PBCom building was in a hurry to go home. Our training class was dismissed earlier than usual. The inter-faith rally has begun. The management is worried of hooliganism, the rest of us was just worried about walking the distance from PBCom tower to the MRT station in Ayala.

I packed my things, picked my back pack ang head towards the exit. speeches ang yells from the nearby Paseo de Roxas greeted me as I stepped out. Headed towards the underpass and was determined to start the long walk.

As we pass through Paseo, Enoch, a co-worker asked me if we could stay for a while and listen to what the politicians are saying. I was really not in the mood for hanging around that day. At the same time, I am not interested in listening to politicians saying what has been said before. The same banana, different day. You just get tired of it. At the same time, it actually feels like watching a comedy seeing Erap egging a President to step down (Whether that president was actually elected by the majority or won the presidency by fraud).  I Said no, but Enoch is persistent. Eventually, I agreed. As we move forward to get a better look at the crowd, I was amazed. It’s a sea of humanity. 

It has been a while since I last attended a protest rally. That was way back college years when I was still an active member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) Cagayan Valley. Along the way things happen, somehow, you get disillusioned or simply got tired of things. That was the time when you turn your back and moved on.

I was beginning to feel dizzy, I was about to tell Enoch that I have to go, but he’s busy talking with someone. Eavesdropping to their conversation. I overheard that some protesters were unable to join the rally due to different reasons. Some were stopped at Laguna by LTO because of the Jeepneys permit to enter the metro and other groups were stopped because of phoney reasons.

I was thinking, If only the president allows the people accused of involvement in this multi-billion peso scam to come out in the open and try to clear their names, then there is no need for protests like this. Why is the Government so afraid of people coming together? Was it because there no longer any doubt in the mind of the populace that there are truths with Lozada’s testimony. Is the goverment (especially malacañang) beginning to fear its own shadow?

Right then and there, I feel like a college student again. Maybe, if the mind begins to forget, the heart never ceases to remember. Is my respect for my government taking a back seat if I ask myself how much I  love my country? The answer is without a doubt, YES!

During times like this, being neutral is a mortal sin. One needed to know if they are black or white. There is no middle ground for truth.

Enoch looked at me and said ” Tara na, malayo pa lalakarin natin” I looked at him and said, “una ka na bro, Maiiwan muna ako dito”.

Medyo maganda ang gising ko kanina. Bumangon ako mag-aalas singko na ng madaling araw. Himalang hindi ako inaantok. Nag-almusal, naligo, nagsepilyo, nagbihis at lumayas ng bahay na hindi nadidisgrasya. Ayos, so far so good.

Pagsakay ko sa bus, medyo nagsimulang umasim ang tono ng araw. Masuwerte lang at madali akong nakasampa. At least nakaupo pa ako. apat na tao na ang nakatayo sa isles ng bus. Panay pa ang sigaw ng kundoktor ng “Sakay lang! maluwag yan. araw araw ginagamit yan!” naknampucha. Maluwag nga, wala namang maupuan. at isa pa hindi ko naintindihan yung part na araw-araw ginagamit ano kaya yun. (Bwahahahaha).

Pagdating sa cubao, nagkakaamuyan ng ng kilikili yung mga nakatayo sa isle ng bus. Siksikan, halo halo, mayroon nang tsumatsansing, mayroon ding natsatsansingan, at may may mga nagpapatsansing, Humm. sa dami ng tao hindi na maiwasang magkatulakan. along the way tatlong tao ang nabilang kong medyo minalas malas. Dito nagsimula yung trend ng bagsakan sa araw na ito.

• Una, yung kunduktor ng bus, nalaglag sa pagkakakapit sa estribo nung umabante ang bus. (tatang tanga kasi eh)
• pangalawa, Yung mamang nagtitinda ng sampaguita sa timog, bumagsak nang matisod sa sidewalk, yung paninda niyang sampaguita, nalaglag sa estero. (kawawa naman)
• pangatlo. yung trafic enforcer ng MMDA, bumagsak sa motorsiklo nung nagmamadaling sumampa sa motor dahil gustong hulihin yung bus na dumaan sa crossing ilalim. 5:30 ng umaga, ang tawag sa huling ganoon ay hulidap. Kotong to the max. Gumewang yung motor, nalaglag yung mama. (Yehheeyy).

Pagdating to sa labas ng opisina, panay ang dasal kong huwag sanamng bumagsak yung elevator na sasakyan ko. sa 4oth floor ang training room namin, kung nagkataon na bumagsak yung elevator, hindi sapat yung taas na 4oth floor, Siguradong bago ko pa matapos yung dasal na our father ay paktay na ako. sa awa ng diyos nakarating naman ako sa training room ng maayos.

nagsimula ang qualifying exam ng alas nueve, natapos ng alas dose.  Pagka announce ng scores, dalawa daw sa klase ang bagsak. Nak ng bibeng duling, Bagsak na naman. before lunch. dalawang kasama sa training ang nawalan ng trabaho.

Hindi ko lubos maisip kung paano sila bumagsak gayong ipinagmamalaki pa ng isa sa kanila na naperfect niya yung isang unit ng hindi nagrereview. Tinanong ko kung anong items ba yung naperfect niya. ang sagot niya “yung sexual harrassment section”. Paksyet. Sa damin ng pwedeng maperfect, yun pang freebie questions ang naperfect ng hinayupak.

May mga katanungan na hindi ko mahanapan ng sagot.

• Hindi ko alam kung bakit kahit may nalalalag na sa bus, mayroon pa ring mga gagong nananatsing.
• May qualifying exam, yung may kaugnayan pa sa sex ang hindi makalimutan.
• Likas ba talagang malibog ang mga lalake at nauuna pa ang sex minsan kesa sa ano pa man?

Paulit ko man tanungin ang mga bagay na yan, hindi ko kayang tanggapin na ganun nga. hindi naman ganoon. nagresearch ako sa internet, naghanap ng kasagutan sa aking mga tanong.  Kung paano gumagana ang utak ng lalake. Eto ang aking natuklasan.

Nagumpisa na ako sa bago kong work. Maganda naman ang mga benepisyo kaya kahit medyo malayo ang site ng unang linggo ng training hindi ako nagrereklamo. Ang hindi lang naging maganda ay ang simula ng aking linggo.

Lunes, pag gising ko sa umaga parang may nakabara sa aking sisinghutan. Hindi normal sa panahong mainit ang sipunin.  Napilitan akong dumaan sa drugstore para bumili ng pagtunaw ng bara. Mahal na ngayon ang decongestant, naisip ko, bakit di na lang buhusan ang ilong ng liquid sosa? mas mura, at sa palagay ko ay mas epektib, kasi yung bara nga sa tubo kayang tunawin, yun pa kayang sipon. di ba? Pero dahil sa may duda pa din ako, kahit mahal ang gamot, sumige na lang ako.

Pagdating ng tanghali, nawala naman ang bara. at least umepekto yung gamot. so kahit papaano medyo umayos ang pakiramdam ko sa training. kinagabihan, pagsapit ng alas diyes, bigla nanaman bumara ang hinayupak na ilong. nagtake naman ako ng gamot. marahil may ibang dahilan. Marahil ay;

• May iskedyul ang oras ng aking sipon
• May appointment lang ang virus sa loob ng aking sisinghutan kaninang tanghali kaya hindi niya naasikasong barahan ang ilong ko.
• Hindi pumasok ang karelyebo niya sa pwesto kaninang hapon
• May lahing call center agent ang hayop na virus, graveyard shift ang pakingshet.
• Hindi mo rin masisisi may additional percentage pag may kasamang night differential eh.

Sana lang ay matapos na ang cycle ng sipon na to. Hindi na nakakatuwa. Ayoko namang dumalaw sa doktor. May phobia yata ako sa amoy ng clinic.  hindi ako makatagal sa loob. Bukas ay sabado, kukunin ko na lang sa pahinga.