OY! by Lynx

Lynx is a genus of wild cats and there are four species that belong to this genus. Lynx is also the name of an up and coming rock band here in the Philippines. Their first music video, titled "Oy!", has already been shown on a local music channel, Myx, on their show, RockMyx. This metal song sends out a socio-political awareness to those who watch it.

I had an unplanned chit chat with one of its members. It happened on one of my rounds on my day job. It so happened that the sales manager of one of the establishments that I regularly check is one of the founding members of the band. He is Jesus 'Jess' Sacilioc.

Mr. Sacilioc said that the band goes way back around twenty years ago, thus, having a classic AC/DC feel to its sound. Right now, he no longer plays but he manages the band instead. Back in the day, he used to play the bass guitar. The band members have changed over the years but the name of the band stayed the same.

Their music video came to fruition when all the band members (current and former) had a reunion. Some of the former members are already professionals in the field of music and media. Making a music video came naturally.

I asked him about the band name. He said that since the lynx was a wild cat and the band had a somewhat wild sound, they named the band Lynx.

Here is their music video, Oy!. Remember. You saw the video first on Myx. Not on my blog. Well. Probably some of you will see it here first.



If the video doesn't play, click here.

Two Events, One Day

I went to SMX Convention Center to attend an event. It turns out there were two events that were currently on (there were actually three but I don't know what the other one was).

First up. The one I intended to attend. The best of Anime 2010. It was held on the upper level of the SMX; Function Room 5. It's your usual otaku convention. There were the various exhibitors, booths, and of course, cosplay enthusiasts. And as I said on my FB post, I did go as Amano Ginji but its not like I can take a full body picture of myself. :)



The other event captured one of my many interests; books. The 31st International Book Fair. The book fair covered all of the conventions halls of the first floor. If I'm not mistaken, that's five event halls. That's one huge area for a whole lot of books. There were technical books, text books, books on philosophy, sciences, religion, children's books, pop-ups, comic books and all other topics and print media you can think of. There were also various teaching aids and other related stuff. Most of the books were on sale up to 70% off! Not to mention book signings by local authors and a few international ones.

Chopsticks were signed by the author, Stanley Chi.

Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D

Shooting zombies in 3-D! The fourth installment of the Resident Evil movie franchise. It still stars Milla Jovovich as Alice (I still think the Alice character is more of a Parasite Eve feel than RE). Other stars include: Ali Larter as Clair Redfield, Boris Kodjoe as Luther West, Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine (shown only post credits after you say to yourself, "Jill Valentine? When did she come out in the movie?"), Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker, and Wentworth Miller as Chris Redfield.

Now to nitpick on the details. Visuals. I saw the movie in 3-D. Freakin' awesome. Murky water scenes still give me the creeps. Story. Unlike the first three movies, this one is slowly inching its way to the storyline that the game followed. The appearance of the Las Plagas/Oraboros parasites and Jill being under mind control hints that a next RE movie may come out and may follow the game's story line.

Movie situation of note. The survivors were inside a penitentiary because it was difficult for the zombies to enter it. However, they needed to get out in order to reach a cargo ship for rescue. They needed the help of Chris in order to accomplish this. It's amusing how they need the help of Michael Scofield (Miller) to escape a prison. I just thought I point that out.

Being a fan of Resident Evil, surely this rating will be biased, I'm giving it a single tomato.

The Longanisa List

Longanisa is what the Filipinos call the sausage. With a country as diverse as the Philippines, you can expect the longanisa to be different from region to region. There are a couple of ways I know of in cooking one; in oil or in water.

Generic Longanisa. Why do I call it generic? Simply because it's the common one that you can find at the market place in Metro Manila. There is nothing so special about it; just the usual odd parts and preservatives. When cooked, there is a little bit of caramelized sugar and some oil or fat comes out from the longanisa.

Fast Food Longanisa (specifically from Jollibee). This is what some fast food chains serve. This type of longanisa resembles more of a special hotdog. It is made at a meat processing plant with a name similar to a Philippine province.

Vigan Longanisa. Up the North Western part of Luzon is Ilocos where Vigan is located is where you can find one of my more favorite type of longanisa. The Vigan longanisa is not as greasy when cooked as the other types. It is also garlicky. This is the type of longanisa you would most likely have in the Ilocos Region, Region 1.

Cagayan Longanisa. Like the Vigan Longanisa, this is also garlicky with a slight difference in flavor. Both are not very greasy when cooked. This can be found in Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Viscaya, and Quirino.

Pampanga Longanisa (Unfortunately, I don't have a picture for it). It is the more famous type of longanisa around Central Luzon, Pangasinan, some parts of Southern Region 1, and Metro Manila. When cooked, you will notice the caramelized sweetener on the outside of the longanisa. This makes it very sweet and sticky.

Quezon Longanisa (No picture). This type is probably the largest. Its common size is generally the largest compared to the common size of other longanisa (I said common size because you can custom make a longanisa to any size and length). You have to go to Quezon or its neighboring provinces to try one of these.

Dumaguete Longanisa. This type of longanisa is what you would most likely have in the City of Dumaguete. It is similar to the Pampanga Longanisa because both are on the sweet side. The difference lies in the wrapper. The Dumaguete type has none. It's skinless.

Cebu Longanisa (No picture). In contrast to the Quezon type, this is perhaps the smallest. It is almost spherical in shape. One piece is around an inch or so in diameter. Also, it is not restricted to one taste; there's sweet, spicy, etc.

Nueva Ecija Longanisa (No picture). I'm not sure if I have tried this particular longanisa. But for certain, I have heard of it. It is more commonly known as bototay.

There are a lot of other types of longanisa out there; one being a variant of the other. There is a difference from region to region, province to province. Since most of them are home made, even home to home. They are made to fit the different tastes of a diverse people.

Negros in Four Days

My recent trip to the Visayas was not limited to Bacolod City. This time, I had the chance to visit Dumaguete City as well.

Bacolod City. The city of smiles was my first destination. I stayed at my usual hotel of choice, Check Inn Pensionne. It is by far the cheapest hotel I have ever stayed in. The room rates are from USD 11 - USD 45. However, they don't have free breakfast but it's okay. The hotel is just beside City Hall which also makes it very accessible. SM City Bacolod is just walking distance away. And SM City Bacolod is very near one of the famous food destinations at Bacolod, Manokan Country.

Manokan Country is a stretch of restaurants that have chicken inasal as their specialty. Chiken inasal is their style of barbecue. You can have your own choice of cuts; paa (legs and thighs), pecho (breast), pechopak (breast with wings), three pieces of wings, and the famous chicken ass. They also have heart, liver, and some oysters.

Dumaguete City. I took the bus to get to Dumaguete City. There are two options, one taking the North route and the other, the South route. There are more trips using the South route because it's faster. Still, it takes around six hours to get to Dumaguete from Bacolod by bus.

I only have one observation about the personnel of Ceres bus lines North station. The conductors, bus drivers, and dispatchers there are very rude and very unaccommodating (up yours mother effers!). Ask them a question in Tagalog, they answer in Ilonggo and leave you hanging. Ask them in English, same thing. Didn't they go to school. Or is driving school the only one they went to. I had to call up a friend just to know the bus schedule. And off to the South Station I go. The people at the South Station are way better. But enough of the complaints.

I stayed at Camila Hotel. They have pretty decent rooms (then again, I took their business class room and I didn't get to see the cheaper rooms.) Room rates are from USD 17 - USD 33. But again, no free breakfast.

Dumuguete City is sprawling with foreigners. I can compare it to Olongapo City. There are also many foreign students here (from Korea and Pakistan). Night life here happens along the Boulevard where most of the bars and restaurants are located. Lucky for me, my brief stay at Dumaguete City was also the foundation week of the famous Silliman University, one of the more famous universities in the region with its international standards. This made the city more busy with the visitors and tourists. I actually had a little difficulty booking my accommodations.

That's my brief trip around Negros in four days.

ROTC, CAT, PMT... Bull Shit

I'm now here in my room at Dumaguete City watching the news. Besides the big deal news, there was one particular news that caught my attention; to bring back ROTC back into the curriculum. What?!

In my opinion, any military-related subject that is forced upon any student is a big waste of time. As far as I'm concerned, ROTC (and CAT, PMT) is the biggest waste of tuition fee ever in the history of education; marching under the heat of the sun, getting sunburn. For what? Reserve my ass. Let those who get into the PMA do the soldier job. That's what they're there for. Not all students want to be in reserve and I'm one of them.

Too many of my Sundays have been wasted on ROTC. Instead of doing projects, studying, or having fun, I'm inside a classroom learning nothing. Learning about the parts of an obsolete plane is a waste of time. Learning about the parts of obsolete weaponry is a waste of time. Listening to dumb ass officers that can't even pronounce the word 'fuselage' properly is a waste of time (say what mr. officer, fyus-leyj?). Learning about call signs and counter signs that you can learn on the Internet and on TV is a waste of time. Learning about the names of the officers that will someday be corrupt or dead (or both) is a wast of time. To sum it up, ROTC is worthless, useless, a big waste of time. If I wanted to learn about or be a part of the military, I would have joined the PMA. But no, I do NOT want to be a part of it or be one of its dogs. No intentions at all.

Don't expect me to give my life for this country's defence. I mean it.

The Expendables

The Expendables is a movie about a team of mercenaries. I have to say, they were a level higher than the A-Team in the bad ass department.

I wasn't expecting much from the movie. I was curious because of its cast of household names in hard hitting action; Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, with a cameo by Bruce Willis and Arnold Sczhwarzenegger. All that's missing were Steven Segal, and Jean Claude Van Damme, and maybe Vin Diesel. Jackie Chan won't fit in well in this movie. I'm not much of a the guns-a-blazing-war-type-movie but this movie was the bomb (a little archaic there). The sheer brutality of the fights made me want to finish it to the end. They showed the right way to defeat your enemy; humiliate and eliminate in the most brutal way... No mercy.

Now for the low down. Visuals. Like a said, guns-a-blazing, and explosions galore. There's a lot of gore; bodies torn in half, head and limbs cut off, not to mention a neck-breaking axe kick to the face (and I do mean neck breaking). Story. The story's pretty simple. A simple complete the mission and you're good to go. The action makes up for the simple story. Recommendations. This movie is an absolute must see for the action movie fan and the general masses. I would not recommend this for the critical movie fan though but I'm sure they would watch this for a simple review. Now for the tomato rating: I give it three tomatoes.

Metro Comic Con 2010 Day 2

The second day of the Metro Comic Con. The same booths and exhibits are still there. This time around, the open forum was with the Voice Artists (or dubbers, voice actors, voice talents, etc.)

The cosplay competition was also held on the second day. Cosplayers from all genres competed; anime, game, movie, comic book, even a group who cosplayed a Korean Girl-band.

But with all the cosplayers, I believe that little kids make the cutest cosplayers. Kawaii.

Metro Comic Con 2010 Day 1

The Metro Comic Con 2010 is an annual event that celebrates the comic book loving community. This year's event is held at SM Mega Mall Mega Trade Hall 2. I got there pretty late but usually the fun starts late so its okay.

There are of course exhibits and booths of famous, amateur, and aspiring artists. It goes without saying that there's autograph signing. It's a fine place to bag the first autograph of an up coming artist.

There was also an open forum about the work of professional and freelance comic artists and writers.

And of course, there's the ever present Cosplay. But you couldn't take pictures outside of the event hall. Well, it's not like people can't take pictures but apparently it's prohibited. The way the guards were announcing that it was prohibited was kind of rude with the megaphone. I get their point in enforcing the regulations but talking to a person or to a group up close with a megaphone just shouts, "Party Pooper."

Characters of Brain and Angst

Most of the loved characters have positive traits like honor, pride, humility, and the like. They embody what most people would like to be. However, for me, I prefer a character who uses his brain. And most of the time, these characters display a certain angst.

Here are a few of the characters that I find interesting. If you've watched the series, you know what I'm talking about.

Light Yagami / Kira - The human who picked up the Death Note that the death god, Ryuuk, dropped. Light was a very intelligent young man. Before he picked up the Death Note, he lead a very normal life; home, school, then home again. The Death Note awakened his desire to rid the world of all evil. With his use of the Death Note, the world's (especially Japan's) crime rate dropped. The world named him, Kira. His real identity, a secret. As time passed, he viewed himself as a god, able to choose who dies and who lives. But of course, no good deed goes unpunished. He is then hunted down by the Japanese police, Interpol, and FBI for many years. In the end, Ryuuk wrote Light's name on the Death Note.

Lelouch Lamperouge / Zero - He has the Geass that can order anyone to do anything; even to kill themselves. Lelouch was a very intelligent high school student. However, for the longest time, had a grudge against the Britanian Empire. When he was able to acquire his Geass and learned what it could do, he decided that it was time to take revenge. He wore a mask and called himself, Zero. With his new found power, he was able to take a ragtag band of rebels and turn them into the biggest threat of the empire. He used his Geass on almost everyone until he lost control of it. Even without the Geass, he used his charm to manipulate people and take him to his side. After some time, he was able to take over the empire and he seemingly ruled the world with an iron fist, much worse than the emperor that he overthrew. People hated him. But he planned it all. He sacrificed himself so the world may have lasting peace.

Izaya Orihara / Kanra - The information dealer of Ikebukuro. He knows almost everything in his territory from the smallest secret to the largest scandal. He has no super powers at all. However, with his intelligence, he manipulates events in the shadows as if he were the director of the lives of everyone else. People who know the name Izaya Orihara knows that he is not the man you would want to make an enemy of (at least one of the two men you wouldn't want to make an enemy of). Information is power.




Shikamaru Nara - He is a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village and the only Genin in their batch to pass the Chuunin exam (in fact the only Genin who passed the Chuunin exam at that time since some of them are repeat takers). His is an expert in shadow manipulation techniques and an expert strategist. His mentor and leader of their team cannot beat him at board games such as Shogi or Go. He can even think of strategies in the heat of battle and they are usually very effective. However, he has an easy going nature and is very lazy. He views everything that involves physical or intellectual exertion as a drag or a bother.



Souji Tendou / Kamen Rider Kabuto - (As you've noticed, he's the only one who's not from the manga/anime genre. Souji's character is played by Hiro Mizushima.) The man who walks the path of heaven. The man who shall rule over everything. Since Souji was seven years old, he trained and waited for the day of his destiny. For him, he knew that he was not just destined but was born for the moment to become Kabuto. Every time he defeats an enemy, he does his signature pose; pointing towards heaven. He is also known to always quote his grandma; "Grandma said this…" People knew him as egotistic, and rude. He eliminate all that gets in his way of his goal; to protect his sister.

There are other characters that used their brains or as full of angst. However, what sets apart the ones mentioned above is their certain mix of brains and angst, which makes them stand out like a sore thumb (at least for me). Among them are Hiro Yui (Mobile Suite Gundam Wing), Tsukasa Kadoya (Kamen Rider Decade), Kurama (YuYu Hakusho), Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z), Mayuri Kurotsuchi (Bleach), and Kyoya Hibari (Katekyo Hitman, Reborn!) to name a few.