imaginary friend.

nitong nakaraan lang, nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon na makitang muli ang aking long time (at long lost) friend na si crystal prado. halos 8 years na kaming magkaibigan, pero nitong mga nakaraang buwan (o taon?) ay bibihira kaming magkita. kahit nga sa text or tawag ay naging malimit din ang aming koneksyon. pareho kaming naging abala sa sari-sariling naming mga buhay.

ang tawag namin sa isa't isa eh "imaginary friend." wala kasing nakakakilala sa akin sa kanyang circle of friends, at ganun din sa akin. naikukwento lang ang isa't isa, pero hindi naipapakilala. madalas ay may sarili kaming mundo kapag nagkikita kami at nagkukuwentuhan sa kung anu-ano na nga ba ang nangyayari sa aming buhay-buhay.

nitong huling pagkikita namin, naging isang magandang araw para maipagpatuloy ang aming pagbabahagi sa bawat isa ng mga kwento ng buhay. ngunit isa ang araw na iyon sa mga pagkakataon na naging paraan upang aking pagnilayan ang mga nangyari at nagbago sa akin.

isa si crystal sa mga kaibigan ko na talagang matatawag ko na idealist. sobrang pinanghahawakan niya ang kanyang ideyalismo at pinaninindigan ang sa tingin niya ay tama. bagay na bagay sa kanyang propesyon bilang isang abogado. noong nakilala ko si crystal ganyan na siya, at noong mga panahon na iyon, ganun din ako.

pero sa paguusap namin nitong nakaraan, na-realize ko kung gaano na pala nagbago ang mga pagtingin ko sa bagay-bagay. kung papaano na napalitan ng pagiging praktikal ang aking pagiging ideyalista. kung dati ay naninindigan ako, ngayon ay gumagawa ako ng kompromiso. kung dati ay sinusunod ko kung ano ang nakasulat at dapat sundin, ngayon ay humahanap ako ng paraan para mahanapan ng butas ang sistema at i-exploit ito. dati, iniisip ko na basta hindi ako nalalamangan, ayus lang. pero ngayon, hindi pwedeng pantay lang, dapat nakalalamang ako. bibliya ko ang 48 Laws of Power.

kahit sa larangan ng pagibig at pagre-relasyon na kung saan dati ay masasabi ko na ako ay isang romantic, pero ngayon sa sobrang pagiging practical ko ay nagiging cynical na rin ako. (kaya siguro hindi ko na matapos-tapos ang "screenplay" na isinusulat ko kasi alam ko na hindi naman talaga ito pwedeng magtapos sa kung papaano ko ito unang naisip.) oo, sa tingin ko ay importante rin na mahal mo ang nais mong makasama, pero sabi nga ng isang sikat na kanta, "sometimes, love just ain't enough." hindi totoong "love conquers all." at hindi totoo ang "one true love." si Neo lang ang "The One", wala ng iba.

natatawa na lang ako ng ma-realize ko ang mga bagay na ito. hindi ko kasi napansin na nagiging ganoon na pala ako hanggang nung magkausap kami ni crystal at naikumpara ko kung papaanong siya ay ganun pa rin at ako ay nag-iba na.

hindi ko alam kung mababalikan ko pa kung papaano ako dati, hindi ko rin masyadong inaasahan na maging ganun ulit ako. pero sa paguusap namin ni crystal at noong nakikita ko sa kanyan kung gaano siya ka-satisfied sa buhay niya "despite of it all", naiisip ko na maaring iyon nga ang nagiging kulang sa akin ngayon. mga ideyalismo, hindi pagbitaw sa mga pangarap, pagiging laging positibo, paniniwala na magiging maayos ang lahat sa huli. mga bagay na pinaninindigan ng mga bida sa mga istorya.

pero wala eh, i love flirting with the dark side of the force. pero malay ko, kung si anakin nga eh naging masaya rin sa huli (kaso deads naman siya), baka makuha ko rin sa huli ang satisfaction na hinahanap ko.

sa susunod na magkikita kami ni crystal (na sana daw eh hindi naman na abutin ng 2 taon) sana ay may mga bagay ulit ako na marealize tulad nito. mga bagay na kikiliti sa pagiisip ko at mapagninilay-nilayan. kaya sarap kausap ng isang yun eh.

2464: artists beware

ei guys, have you heard of the Senate Bill No. 2464, the ANTI-OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY ACT OF 2008? i have just read some recent posts from the blogosphere about this and read the actual documentation from the senate website, and man, this is quite an interesting bill they are trying to pass here.

some excerpts:

***

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. -As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(a) "Obscene" refers to anything that is indecent or offensive or contrary to good customs or religious beliefs, principles or doctrines, or tends to corrupt or deprave the human mind, or is calculated to excite impure thoughts or arouse prurient interest, or violates the proprieties of language and human behavior, regardless of the motive of the producer, printer, publisher, writer, importer, seller, distributor or exhibitor such as, but not limited to:

(1) showing, depicting or describing sexual acts;
(2) showing, depicting or describing human sexual organs or the female breasts;
(3) showing, depicting or describing completely nude human bodies;
(4) describing erotic reactions, feelings or experiences on sexual acts; or 2
(5) performing live sexual acts of whatever form.

(b) "Pornographic or pornography" refers to objects or subjects of film, television shows, photography, illustrations, music, games, paintings, drawings, illustrations, advertisements, writings, literature or narratives, contained in any format, whether audio or visual, still or moving pictures, in all forms of film, print, electronic, outdoor or broadcast mass media, or whatever future technologies to be developed, which are calculated to excite, stimulate or arouse impure thoughts and prurient interest, regardless of the motive of the author thereof.

(c) "Mass media" refers to film, print, broadcast, electronic and outdoor media including, but not limited to, internet, newspapers, tabloids, magazines, newsletters, books, comic books, billboards, calendars, posters, optical discs, magnetic media, future technologies, and the like.

(d) "Materials" refers to all movies, films, television shows, photographs, music, games, paintings, drawings, illustrations, advertisements, writings, literature or narratives, whether produced in the Philippines or abroad.

(e) "Sex" refers to the area of human behavior concerning sexual activity, sexual desires and instinct, and their expressions.

(f) "Sexual act" refers to having sex or the act of satisfying one's sexual instinct.


SEC. 4. Punishable Acts. following acts are declared illegal and punishable:

(a) Producing, printing, showing, exhibiting, importing, selling, advertising or distributing obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media;

(b) Causing the showing or exhibition, distributing or the printing, publication or advertising, or the selling of obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media;

(c) Showing, exhibiting, selling, or distributing obscene or pornographic movies in whatever format, whether produced in the Philippines or abroad, in any restaurant, club or other places open to the public, including private buildings, places or houses where the viewers are not limited to them owners thereof and the members of his family;

(d) Writing any obscene or pornographic article in any print or electronic medium;

(e) Performing, demonstrating, acting or exhibiting any obscene or pornographic act in any form of mass media; and

(f) Performing, or allowing the performance of, live sex or live sexual act in public, public places or any place open to public viewing.

SEC. 5. Penalties. - The following penalties shall be imposed upon any person found guilty of committing any of the prohibited acts under Section 4 of this Act:

(a) For producing, printing, showing, exhibiting, importing, selling, advertising or distributing obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media, the penalty of prison mayor, imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (I) nor more than twelve (12) years and a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,OOO.OO) nor more than One million pesos (PI ,000,000.00) shall be imposed;

(b) For causing the showing or exhibition, distributing or the printing, publication or advertising, or the selling of obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than three (3) years nor more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,OOO.OO) nor more than Five hundred thousand pesos
(P500,OOO.OO) shall be imposed;

(c) Showing, exhibiting, selling or distributing obscene or pornographic movies in whatever format, whether produced in the Philippines or abroad, in any restaurant, club or other places open to the public, including private buildings, places or houses where the viewers are not limited to the owners thereof and the members of his family, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than three (3) years nor more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than Two hundred
thousand pesos (P200,OOO.OO) nor more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,OOO.OO) shall be imposed;

(d) For writing any obscene or pornographic article in any print or electronic medium, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than three (3) years nor more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,OOO.OO) nor more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,OOO.OO) shall be imposed;

(e) For performing, demonstrating, acting or exhibiting any obscene or pornographic act in any form of mass media, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than one (1) year nor more than three (3)years and a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (PlOO,OOO.OO) nor more than Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,OOO.OO) be imposed; and

(f) For performing, or allowing the performance of, live sex or live sexual act in public, public places or any place open to public viewing, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than one (1) year nor more than three (3) years and a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,OOO.OO) nor more than Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,OOO.OO)

***

interesting, right?

i mean, so now it is fucking obscene to depict or describe completely nude bodies? it is now fucking obscene to describe erotic reactions, feelings or experiences on sexual acts? there goes hundreds of nude paintings (or sketches, etc) from artists all over the philippines. there goes all the galleries showing all these art pieces. there goes hundreds of art films being shown in indie film festivals. there goes all the novels that describe this things inside their pages. there goes thousands of sessions from well known models and photographers.

there goes an artist's freedom.

and it does not stop in artist circles. what about many major publications? fhm or maxim anyone? do you collect those? well, if the bill would be passed and approved, there goes your collections pal. oh wait, what about cosmo? they also have monthly articles on sex positions, sexual encounters and all that. well, there goes cosmo. byebye.

i really can't believe that this bill is actually there right now. i can't believe that there hasn't been any talks about it on public. i gonna check about this from my friends in the artist circles and see if they know anything about this piece of crap bill.

if you guys wanna read the whole documentation about this bill, go here. tell it about your friends, discuss about it.

pay me for my reviews?

kung mapapansin nyo dun sa aking cbox eh mayroong isang nag-comment. ang sabi nya:

hi blogger.. we will pay your reviews in your blog 6$-35$. detail visit us. best regards.

really? talagang babayaran nila ako para sa mga sinusulat ko dito? hmm.. interesting. pinuntahan ko yung site na nag-ooffer nito, mukhang legit naman. although parang kailangan ko pa yatang gumawa ng hiwalay na blog para dun sa blogger account ng smorty na yun. tapos kailangan ko pa ng paypal account. hay..

mukhang interesting naman siya. tignan ko kung susubukan ko. hehe.

mouse guard totally rocks.

i have always liked reading comic books, graphic novels, comic strips at iba pang sequence art format.

noong bata pa ako, paborito kong basahin ang mga adventures ni combatron (naaalala n'yo ba s'ya?) sa funny komiks. pagdating ng high school, na-introduce ako sa marvel, dc at image comics (medyo late bloomer ako eh). tapos eventually dahil sa kakahanap ko ng iba pang mababasa, natuklasan ko ang iba pang mga sikat na graphic novels tulad ng hellblazer, sandman, mga gawa ni arnold arre at marami pang iba.

recently, after mabasa ang isang interview kay david petersen (wala akong ideya kung sino s'ya before ko mabasa ang interview na iyon) sa newsarama. ako ay naintriga tungkol sa comic book na ginuhit at isinulat ni petersen, ang ganda kasi ng art at yung main characters n'ya ay mga daga (yes, mga daga. mga tropa ni mr. michael, mickey, at ben). nabasa ko sa interview na nanalo ng eisner award ang comic book series na iyon at naisip ko na i have to check it out.

and so i did, and i quickly became a fan.

Mouse Guard is fantasy adventure about a group of soldier mice that help defend the mouse territories from enemies and predators, act as bodyguards to travelers and merchants, and serve as special emissaries to different towns. they are like the jedi, only in a medieval setting and they are anthropomorphic mice.

at first glance, parang pambata ang dating ng story. but as one reads on, the story becomes deeper and serious. plots of treachery, death and civil war are within the pages. and it's really great how our little heroes are very much fleshed out characters even only at 6 issues of the (first) series. you can actually care about how the characters will end up in the story. the dialouge between the characters are well scripted and often funny. there are also a lot of mice-philosophy being thrown around in the story to give us a background of their society and beliefs.

and the art. wow! yung autumn palette na gamit ni petersen eh ang sarap tignan. ganda nga mga landscapes at ang mga characters nya ay well-detailed. even with their little faces you could easily sense the emotion being shown by the characters. hindi maiwasan yung "cute" factor kapag tinitignan mo yung mga characters sa book na ito, pero i guess kasama iyon sa appeal ng story. and who would not root for diminutive heroes who defies odds so much bigger than them, literally and figuratively, right?

if you are a comic book fan or love action-adventure or really like cute, sword-wielding mice, then i really suggest giving this book a chance. it's a really great read, even for children! (although the site suggests that it should be read by at least 10 year olds.)

note:
sa aking pagre-research, merow daw lalabas soon na table-top RPG based the settings ng Mouse Guard. at sobrang excited ako doon! sobrang mahilig din kse ako sa mga table-top RPG (tulad ng dungeons and dragons, warhammer, etc). at meron din daw lalabas na 3D animated movie! saya!

here is a sample of the art that can be seen in the book (this is actually a promotional art for the upcoming mouse guard RPG):

"rayama" is coming back from the dead.

noong kami ng tropa ko ay kaka-graduate pa lamang, kami ay bumuo ng isang grupo ng mga freelance programmers at naisipan naming gumawa ng mga custom computer systems at i-market sa mga small to medium size businesses. naisip namin na ito ay isang magandang simula para magamit namin at mapabuti ang aming mga kakayahan sa larangan ng computer programming at in the same time eh kumita ng kaunti.

pero nagkaroon lang kami ng isang project na talagang natapos namin at pinagkakitaan. isa itong inventory and accounting system para sa isang truck hardware retailer sa monumento. naisip rin namin na gamitin yung system namin noong college (computerization ng releasing ng legal certificates) at tuluyang i-market sa manila city hall, pero hindi na natuloy dahil sa dami ng issues sa kanilang IT department at red tape. na-tap din kami na gawin ung pag-automate ng releasing police clearance sa isang municipality sa bulacan, pero hindi na natuloy dahil sa karamihan sa mga miyembro ng grupo ay naging busy na sa kanilang mga "official" na trabaho or busy sa paghahanap ng "official" trabaho.

after noon, nag-decide kami na itigil muna ang aming freelancing at i-try na tumutok sa corporate world at kunin ang lahat ng pwede naming matutunan. at kung papalarin na pagdating ng panahon eh mag-decide kami na subukan muli na itayo ang grupo, hindi na lang yabang ang meron kami kundi pati yung sapat na karunungan to backup ang yabang na yun.

after two years, nag-decide kami na buhayin muli ang grupo. pero this time, hindi para bumuo ng isang money-making venture; nag-decide kami na buhayin ang grupo dahil mayroon kaming isang magandang ideya na susubukan naming gawin na isang makabuluhang proyekto.

kanina ay nagkaroon ang grupo ng first official meeting tungkol sa project na gusto naming gawin. hindi ko pa mai-kwento dito kung tungkol saan at kung tungkol sa ano ang project na iyon dahil iniiwasan ng grupo na manakaw ang ideya na ito. pero kapag nagawa na naming mai-lunch ang project, maari na akong magkwento ng mga detalye. ang maiku-kwento ko lang ngayon tungkol sa naganap na meeting ay naging isa itong masayang brainstorming session. maraming mga ideya ang pumasok at maraming mga bagay ang unti-unting nagkakaroon ng kabuuan. sana sa susunod na meeting sa darating na sabado, mas marami pa sa grupo ang dumating at magbigay ng kanilang mga ideya at kuro-kuro para sa proyekto na ito.

excited ako para sa binabalak naming gawin. naniniwala kami na isa itong magandang ideya at umaasa na mailabas namin ito ng maayos at eventually ay maging isang malaking community-based project.

kami nga po pala ang RAYAMA, at kami ay nagbabalik.

im a penguin noob!

kung mapapansin ninyo, nagbago ang font style nitong blog ko. kasi naman ang aking favorite na georgia font style looks like total shit (well, not really, medyo lang) on linux. well, at least dun sa ubuntu linux installation na gamit ko ngayon sa aking laptop. hindi ko alam kung ganun talaga ang rendering ng georgia font sa iba pang linux distro, pero hangga't hindi ko pa ako nakakahanap ng paraan para maging maganda ang hitsura ng font na yun sa gamit ko na OS, wala, verdana na muna.

big deal eh noh? adik.

so, ayun na nga, ako ay nagsisimula ng mag-migrate to a linux distro (ubuntu 8.04)para sa aking computing life. naisip ko kasi, i guess it's time para masubukan ko naman ang iba. ever since eh sa windows ang nakasanayan kong environment sa development, internet, gaming at kahit na simpleng suite applications. at syempre, dahil sa isa akong programmer, dapat talaga siguro eh magkaroon din ako ng kaalaman sa paggamit ng iba pang technologies.

at syempre, may tulak din ang aking experience noong nandun ako sa training o&b. lahat kasi nung mga co-trainees ko eh naka-linux sa kanilang mga machines. at naisip ko, dapat talaga siguro eh matuto na akong gumamit nun.

kaya ito na nga. as of the moment, burado na ang vista sa aking machine. naka-dual boot na ako ng windows XP sp3 at ng latest na ubuntu. actually, matagal ko nang gustong mag-"downgrade" into windows xp ulit dahil naiirita ako sa katakawan sa resources ng vista. akalain mo ba naman, boot-up pa lang eh 800+ MB na agad ang nagagamit. dyosko! ilang applications na ang pwede kong mapatakbo dun ah?!

eh nung tine-testing ko nitong linux, nagda-download ako ng 200+ emails from my Gmail account dun sa thunderbird app, naglilipat ng 40GB worth ng mp3 galing dun sa external drive ko, nagcha-chat, nagba-blog eh nasa 300MB pa lang ang nagagamit ng system. laking tipid nun. feeling ko pwede ko pang sabayan ng pagpapatugtog ng audio files o panunuod ng video eh. hehe.

aside from using itong ubuntu for systems development, gusto ko sana na as much as possible eh dito ko na rin magawa ang karamihan sa mga computing needs ko. op kors, except sa computer gaming, dahil olats talaga ang linux pagdating sa mga high-end games. talagang sa windows ang takbo ko nun. lalo na kapag dumating na yung fallout 3 ng bethesda softworks. :)

dami ko pa aaralin para maging efficient na linux user, pero sabi nga ng isang kaibigan ko, "sanayan lang yan." lahat naman napapag-aralan, at sa mga darating pang mga araw, itong linux naman ang aking paglalaruan, kakalikutin at pag-aaralan.