Sunlit Days

After several long moments -- or it might have been half an hour -- or possibly several sunlit days --

Yup... that's just how I feel too. Every time.

Obsessed

When I start liking something, I tend to get obsessed. Case in point: When I watched Batman Begins and got blown away by it, I got obsessed and re-read ALL of my batman trades and watched batman 1 again. Also: When I watched Epsiode 3 and loved it, I re-watched the entire saga and re-read almost all my books. In one week.

Obsessed, I tell you.

And it's happening again.

Last week, I read Harry Potter book six. I loved it.

Now I'm rereading the Potter books, again, and lamenting the fact that I'll have to wait another 2 years for the next (and last) book. I'm actually reading the earlier volumes and finding so many things that were foreshadowing events in book 6.... even the supposedly "rushed" relationship between Harry and ____________. Nothing rushed about it... It was all there.

Obsessed, I tell you. Obsessed.

CURSE YOU HARRY POTTER!

Mad About You

I hate being sick.

For the past few days, I have been battling some sort of bug that has made me feel week, given me a stuffy nose, and made my throat feel like it was baking in an oven. Additionally, I haven't been able to play with Deva for fear of infecting her, as I may already have done to Kathy.

Today I finally gave in to this bug and have confined myself to the house for a day of rest and recuperation.

One good thing came out of this:

Mad About You

I don't know if it's a regular Saturday thing or something, but Hallmark was showing a mini-marathon of the show Mad About You. From about 12:30 to 3pm, I plopped myself down on my bed and got reminded as to why this is one of my favorite sitcoms ever.

What I like about Jamie and Paul is how real they are. A lot of sitcoms today, especially sitcoms about couples, focuses on how... weird or abnormal one or both of them are; on how stupid the guy is and how perfect the girl is; on how you can't imagine how the protagonists could ever have gotten together, and yet they did. These shows are funny, but I always felt that they weren't as touching or as human as shows like Mad About You was.

If anything, Mad About You was one of the most heartfelt sitcoms you could find on television. Paul, Jamie, and even doggie Murray formed a wonderfully eccentric little family struggling to make a living in the mad, mad jungle that is Manhattan. Through everything they have each other, sharing their strength and exploring their love. It is never completely perfect, but that's life. They accept it, and they deal with it.

Although they are eccentric and neurotic, they never reach the level of such famous neurotics as Frasier and Niles (Frasier). Neither are they individually moronic about their relationship like Raymond (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Doug (King of Queens). And they try not to be controlling and overbearing, like Carrie (KoQ) and Kim (Yes, Dear).

They are real, ordinary people. And that reality is what makes this sitcom truly special.

Gawd... it's hard to write when you're sick.

Rallies

I live somewhere in the heart of the Makati Central Business District just a few blocks away from Ayala Avenue. As such, it's rather scary that a number of rallies have been occuring in this area.

I'm sick so I'll kee this short for now...

Is democracy in this country becoming abused?

A Life Forged in Comic Books

Recently, we have seen a spate of comic book movies released by major studios with some pretty heavy star and box office power. Batman Begins, Sin City, and Fantastic Four are all just the latest of these films. And over the horizon looms X-Men 3, Ghost Rider, and, the big one, Superman Returns.

In the publishing side, DC Comics is undergoing a creative renaissance. I won't go into details now, but if there was ever a time for me to renounce my retirement from buying single-issue comics, it would be now.

With articles about comics appearing in magazines ranging anywhere from Time to Entertainment Weekly, the comic book as a form of entertainment seems to slowly becoming validated once again. More and more newsstands are proudly displaying the latest titles of JLA and Superman; Bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Powerbooks have layers upon layers of Graphic Novels; and Neil Gaiman is a rock star.

Ah yes, it's a great time to be a comic book reader.

But of course, I always have been.

When I was a kid, I used to travel up EDSA with my family every saturday to spend the day with my Angkong in Mandaluyong and my Wawa (lola) in Cubao. I love my Angkong and I enjoyed spending time with my cousins in Manda, but I especially looked forward to my time in Cubao with Wawa and my cousins who lived there. One thing I looked forward to was hanging with my Kuya Myke, and his seemingly inexhaustible stack of comic books.

My parents never understood my penchant for comics (which I will blog about later), and so never really bought a lot of comics for me when I was younger. So, when Kuya Myke would bring out his stash, I was in Heaven. He kept his comics in a way that would probably scandalize most collectors today... he book-bound them.

If I recall correctly, his collection at the time consisted of 3 giant black books, 2 smaller blue ones, and a small red one, as well as numerous un-bound single issues. The contents of these books were a veritable smorgasbord of fantastic superheroics, neatly balanced by a smattering of science fiction and fantasy. Daredevil, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, JLA, Teen Titans… these were the titles I remember the most from the superhero side. Micronauts, Star Wars, Warlord, and even ROM the Space Knight made up the rest. I’m sure there were more… but these were the ones that made an impact. My sister mostly read the red book… I think that one was mostly Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.

My Saturday afternoons were filled with these stories of derring-do and acrobatics. No matter how many times I read them, I enjoyed them anew. I thrilled to the capture of Stilt-Man by the Daredevil; I chuckled at Spider-Man’s juvenile humor; I awed at Superman’s majesty; and I felt for the characters that made up the Teen Titans. I thirsted… no… hungered for more.

As I grew up, I never let go of that love for comics. I discovered in my mid-teens that I loved X-Men and Superman in particular, but I still made it a point to keep up with other comic titles as well. As I got older, in my late teens, I matured in my tastes and went for Batman and Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner.) As I got even older, it was pretty much Vertigo that did it for me.

I was, and still am, a huge comic fan, and as such I have read a heck of a lot of comics in my life. I owe that to Kuya Myke. He started me on the wonderful and bizarre life, and I am forever thankful for that.

And in addition to that, I have to thank him for introducing me to my two favorite, and undoubtedly the greatest, comic book series ever: Sandman and Starman (more on them in a future post.)

Today, I don’t collect individual comics anymore… it got too expensive. Instead, I wait for the collected versions of my favorites and gratefully read the issues that Tonton has. But I have always been, and forever will be a comic book fan. There is something about that medium that strikes a chord in me, and I feel a rush of happiness every time I read one.

Thanks Kuya.

Favorite comic reads (no order after #’s 1 and 2):

1. SANDMAN and everything Neil Gaiman
2. STARMAN

Hellblazer (Ennis and Azzarello’s runs)
Lucifer
Swamp Thing
100 Bullets
Superman (John Byrne and Dan Jurgens’ run)
Batman (Azzarello, Year 1, DKR, Jeph Loeb’s stuff, Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker)
Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
JLA (Everything I’ve read)
Wonder Woman (George Perez, Greg Rucka)
Supergirl (Peter David)
Teen Titans (Wolfman and Perez)
Alan Moore Stuff
X-Men (Jim Lee, Joss Whedon, Claremont)
Power
Midnight Nation
Meridian
....

No. I can’t do this right now. Too many favorites. :)

He's a nice guy

I've met a lot of celebrities and famous people before. It would be too tedious for me to name them now, but the point is that, a long time ago, I realized that they are all real, everyday people. This made it easy to move past that "star struck" phase, and become utterly comfortable with celebrities.

But waiting to meet Neil Gaiman was a totally different thing.

Neil Gaiman's writings have been a part of my life for a long time. My Kuya Myke, whose influence with comics will be the topic of a future blog post, turned me onto Sandman by berating me for first purchasing a Sandman book then censoring said boob-filled issue. This was in the early 90's when I was still a devoutly Catholic southridge boy, so I couldn't understand how something with boobs could possibly be good. But Kuya Myke asked me to just think about it and read it. So I did. And I loved it. (it was the WORLD'S END issue with Hob and the sea serpent.)

From that point on, I became obsessed with everything Neil. I picked up trade paperback after trade paperback, novel after novel, and various single issues in between. Even his website, with his constantly updated journal, is a regular hangout for me. I realize now that it was after reading Death the High Cost of living that I wanted to be a writer. So Neil, here's to you for making me realize my dreams.

I've enjoyed my life with Neil so far. He has a special place on my shelf devoted to his words, and they accompany me through all the ups and downs in life. His words are (aside from Kathy) the perfect companions: non-judgemental, always profound, and always instructive. Reading his words give me new insight into my life and into the world, and I can't imagine a life without them.

And then I heard that he was coming here.

Through interviews and articles, I had always pictured Neil to be a jolly, nice, and very charming guy. Thus, even though I always thought of his work more than him, I steadily built up an idealized image in my head of what a great guy he is. I did not want that shattered.

I had been burned too many times of my ideals when it comes to people. Often times, I would hear great things about a person only to see them prove to be horrible once I met them. I was so scared that Neil would be like this when I met him.

But of course I still wanted to go.

And when I met him, hoping against hope that he was as nice a guy as I thought, Ifound that I was wrong.

He's nicer.

I know I only met him for a fraction of a minute, but there are some people that show their quality in various small ways. It's in a shrug of the shoulders when they don't want to say something bad; it's in the width of a smile; it's in the gentleness of the eyes.

With Neil, it was several things: him insisting that the speaker be moved outside the bookstore; him staying up until 1:30 to sign for everyone in rockwell; him kissing my friend on the cheek because she gave him a gift for Maddy... But for me a true indication of how nice he is was when I complimented him. Verbatim:

me: Neil, you're a true inspiration. I hope you know that.

him (looking up from signing my book): er... um... bup...uh....? (bemused smile)

That was it. We chit-chatted a little bit more, but that was it. No sardonic declarations of "I know", no distracted "uh-huh's" and no pretentious "Oh really? WOW! I'm glad you THINK so!!!!" It was just a simple... speechlesness.

So in the end, I had nothing to fear... I can now continue reading his books with even more certainty.

The guy is great.

Smile Neil!

Dream Weaver

I honestly thought I would never get to meet him.

Never.

Wel...

I DID!

I'm so freaking happy right now. Also really tired... but really freaking happy.

Kathy met him too:

I'm gonna blog about this tomorrow, I swear. But right now I'm exhausted, so I'm just gonna rest and read while basking in my bliss. :)

Snippets

A lot has happened since my last post. So:

CORALINE
-Last night, Kathy and I went to a nice little cafe somehwere here in Makati. It's a nice place, with great food and coffee cups the size of freaking futsal balls. Anyway, Gab introduced the place to us (Salle a Manger, I think it's called) by way of hosting a playing of the CORALINE AUDIO CD by Neil Gaiman for. It was a great little event, with a nicely balanced group of people! I heartily recommend the cd to anyone who can get a copy. Gaiman's got a great accent... hopefully I'll pick it up when I go to London. :)

FANTASTIC FOUR
-Good. Not great, not terrible... good. The film wasn't as bad as we feared (though Jessica Alba was...), but it was no Batman Begins.

ATI Radeon
-Just picked up a new video card (ATI Radeon 9600) and found out it was utter crap. Buy NVidia. Seriously. Gonna get it changed tomorrow.

GAIMAN
-God... can't wait til Saturday!

LONDON
-This I'll blog about later. Damn those terrorists. God. Damn. Them.

Book-Lust

BOOK-LUST

Everyone says that the first step to recovery is admitting to your addiction.

A recent discussion I had with a small group of friends reminded me of the existence of the concept of what I call Book-Lust. Book-Lust exists on a plane higher than mere “wants” or even “needs”… Book-lust is the offspring of desire; it is a wanton craving for the printed word that is intoxicating, overpowering, and often times overwhelmingly illogical.

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Gino, and I’m a book-a-holic.

I have always been like this. My youth was a time when reading took precedence over playing, when making up stories was a more enjoyable activity than eating, and when I could honestly say that my best friends were sitting on my bookshelf. I had a life outside of my books; I played some sports, had friends of the flesh and blood sort, and ate my way through tons of chips. But my true passion and my true purpose in life had always been to read.

My world was a heady mixture of white whales and Starship Enterprises. My heroes were caped crusaders and wandering essayists. My companions were lost boys and little princes…

I can honestly say that I was never bored.

My addiction stayed with me from the moment of its inception and is still with me to this day. An addiction I call it, and an addiction it is. I can never go anywhere without a book in my bag or a magazine under my arm. There’s something primal about my voraciousness for the written word, and I have always lapped up everything I could get my eyes on.

IT doesn’t matter what genre it is- science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime fiction, literature, classics, comics, or what not- the moment I get my hands on a published work, I feel like I HAVE to read it. Sometimes it take me a couple of hours and sometimes it takes me days, but whenever I finish a book I instantly love it. If I don’t finish the book by choice… well, just ask me about the Da-Vinci Code sometime.

When I do finish a book I enjoyed, I always feel both satiated and utterly depressed. On the one hand, there’s the wonderfully filling feeling of having read a great story. On the other hand… I WANT MORE! Thus, if I finish reading a great Raymond Chandler novel, I’ll go trolling through bookstore after bookstore in search for yet another. If none can be found, then I move on to other crime writers such as Greg Rucka and Elmore Leonard, desperately seeking to recapture what I lost when I put Chandler down.

It’s not just limited to crime fiction, either. I do the same with everything from Isaac Asimov books to Nick Hornby short stories. It’s a sickness, I tell you, an unrelenting and unending sickness. And like a sickness caused by viruses, I infect everyone I can.

Whenever I enjoy a book, I try to pass on that love to others. Just ask Kathy for info as to how many Dennis Lehane books, Superman graphic novels, Stephen King doorstoppers, and everything else in between I have tried to get her to read. When discussing these books with her and other friends, I can often become manic and unstoppable.

But the thing is, I don’t want it to stop.

I said that book-lust is illogical, and it can be. I have spent more money on books and comic books than I would care to venture, and sometimes I regret those purchases (see: Da-Vinci Code). But I don’t want it to stop. Each new book I pick up is a doorway into another world. Each book is an island in a sea of inane-ness. Each new book I read is another tasty morsel for my soul.

Book-Lust may lead me to do crazy things like paying 750 pesos for a slim batman graphic novel; it may lead me to do things like stay up until 3 am to finish the latest Stephen King; and it may lead me to do things like line up in insanely long queues to meet my favorite authors. But I don’t care.

My name is Gino, and I am a book-a-holic.

And I love it.