GENE: SPIRITS





Okay. It's been two weeks since

Spirits came out and I've kept an eye on it. Basically, it's a prequel for

the two Spirit Warrior movies. Same premise - bunch of kids who have

adventures in the spirit world - though the cast in this one's a bit younger. It's a typical filipino telenovela though, but it does have a few twists. I'm just worried that there are too many characters in it.



Weird fact No 1: While watching Mulawin I was wondering why the networks don't come up with a sci-fi/fantasy series like buffy - super heroes with no costumes and normal lives. Then Spirits came out.



Weird fact No. 2: As the story progresses in the Spirits series, I fell into the habit of analyzing the show and thinking how I would have done it if given the chance. Of course I would use my own experiences and memories to use as my own basis. So Imagine my suprise when the actual locations the show was shot at was very familiar. It seems that ABS CBN has indeed been using my school to shoot their show.

ZAK: Freeload



It's Christmas time again and since it's the week before the actual day, people are up and about trying to finish up their Christmas shopping list. Naturally, people who know me come up to me to ask about what gifts to give and/or where would one get them. I'm more than happy to provide the information and even make the purchase (the act though but not taking up the actual expense) for most of the gifts (and since it's Christmas time I normally don't charge a fee for my services - or if I do, I tend to give a discount). There is however one type of transaction I hate doing and as much as I've been influence by Miguel to be manipulative, it's the selfish type of transaction that I dislike doing for anyone. Piper always warned me about personal gain. Asking me to find something for themselves or for someone else is okay, but asking me to find something so that someone can buy it for them is distasteful.

PIPER: Dettached



Spent the whole of yesterday camped out in the unused apartment space the family had. With nothing but a pillow, a book, a can of pringles (pizza flavoured - yum!) and a bottle of water. Talk about having a lazy sunday afternoon. It was pretty refreshing (even though there wasn't any beach or trees around) but being alone was just what I needed. I guess being detached from technology (cellphones, television and the pc) had it's benefits. I wouldn't want to live in a place where there wouldn't be any of those but it was nice being able to relax and just be with oneself. (No green jokes from Gene and Joshua please)

You Are: Death of the Endless



You are Death, the second oldest of the Endless, the seven great incarnations. She is, in outward appearance, a goth with wild unkempt hair and slightly punkish clothes. But she is far beyond that mere description. Her function is much like the "Reaper," to collect the souls of mortals as they die.



She is perky, optimistic, and bright, but she also has a serious side, which shows when she is angry or upset. She can become quite frustrated with her brother, when he is being singularly foolish.



People fear her because of what she is, and this can get her down sometimes. But they also love her, without ever truly knowing why.


What Sandman Character Are You?
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GENE: Rotk?



Is time to go home na? I wanna watch? It's it time na? Not yet? Aww man!!! :(

JOSHUA: RotK Extended



Got my copy of the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Extended DVD. Original movie plus an additional 50 minutes and 450 minutes of features. I guess still no sleep for me tonight.

GENE: City of Sharn



Was able to get hold of the Eberron: City of Towers book. I have to say, It's pretty much packed with information. Needs a bit more work in organization though (topics are jumbled, no maps available, no index). Still, it sounds like a pretty interesting place to play in. As mentioned before, it was planned to convert the old Thorngate campaign and it was interesting to note that there are some similarities between the two cities. For example, in Sharn they have the Boromar Clan which functions very much as that of House Baylor in the Thorngate Campaign. Sharn's House Tarkanan on the otherhand is what the Nightmasks are for the other campaign. Hopefully, I'll be able to update the DnDZero site once

I'm done with the book.

JOSHUA: Mulawin should be shot down



Been watching the TV show Mulawin for sometime now. I used to praise and defend the show from anybody who wants to criticize the show. Afterall, it's very rare for a Filipino TV show to have a fantasy theme and have a fast paced and original plot. Lately, however, I was disappointed to find out that the writers are copying LotR's plot. It would have been different if they just based some aspects on the movie (afterall, LotR is considered to be one of the corner stones in today's fantasy genre) but not the actual plot. Here's a sample: A character, Mulagat (read: Boromir)) died after the party is ambushed by the enemy. Right after the ambush Alwina - the female lead (read: Frodo) - decides that the quest shoudl be hers alone in order to protect her friends so she goes off on her own. Aguilus (read: Sam) - goes after the love of his life. As this is happening two children which are part of the party Gas (read: Merry) and Wis (read: Pippin) are captured by the enemy. The rest of the party - Dakila (read: Aragorn), Bagwis (read: Legolas), Gasgas (read: Gimli) - decide to rescue the children. Sound like something from the end of the Fellowship doesn't it. In the next couple episodes, Aguillus nearly drowns in the river trying to catch up with Alwina (read: that boat scene where Sam almost drowns following Frodo). After that Aguilius and Alwina discuss how stories will be written about their exploits (read: Sam and Frodo moment again). Still after a few episodes, another character - Aviona (read: Gollum) get possessed and starts to talk to herself in two voices while she plots the death of Alwina and Auguilus.



::Sigh::.



The show had so much potential.

GENE: SPIRITS





In light of Mulawin's broken wing, I have turned to ABS for my daily glamour source. Starting today, Chito Roños' Spirits will be showing on Primetime TV. The series is a prequel of the movies Spirit Warriors - a group of students which have dealings with the spirit world. (Actually, it kinda reminds me of the X-men). Hopefully the series will be able to have an intersting start.

JOSHUA: National Treasure - Review



Been a long time since we posted anything here. Hopefully, this this thing is still running. Anyways, we needed some break from work after the scheduled monthly closing and decided to watch "National Treasure" as some R&R. Basically this is an American version of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. It follows the plot of finding the long lost Templar/Mason's treasure hoard. Like the DVC, there are supposed to be clues is hidden among the different historical sites in the United States which have to be found and deciphered if one needs to locate the hoard. Other than an interesting tour on the history of the U.S., the movie also has some intersting/witty dialogues. Of the three protagonists in the movie I pretty much prefer the character of Riley Poole (that cool dorky/nerd) over that of Gates and the other character. Gates is okay. The female character (wasn't she Helen of Troy?) didn't really do anything in the movie other than be the love interest - didn't really play up that intelligent part she was supposed to be. Riley on the other hand was made to be some sort of underdog yet very proficient in his field. Plus the actor who played him just had perfect timing when he shot his lines.



(Hmm... I have to remind Gene to use Riley as the template for that character they are developing for the Particle Black project).