Comic Con 2010 Megamall

The local comic con is alive and well but the cosplay scene is even more vibrant. In the tradition of Dr. Sheldon Cooper and friends, my sons exhibit the same interest for comics. Vito and Popoy not only follow the story and characters, they also draw them well. And judging from the many pictures of Vito with nubile cosplayers, he may be following a more familial tradition.

Iron Man 2 delivers

I liked Iron Man 2. My kids, Vito and Popoy liked it as well. Genius Tony Starks (Robert Downey, Jr.) has that arrogant streak that befuddles everyone around him, including his friends but more so his enemies, specially those who try to control him and compete with him in vain.

The movie is not boring because the battle scenes are not overly drawn, unlike Transformers 2. The producers did a good job interweaving possible future movies into the storyline. They first did that in the Incredible Hulk 2 where they dropped hints of Iron Man 2. This time they're effectively announcing an Avengers movie with Iron Man but without Tony Starks. How will that be? asked Tony himself in the film. I think in the Avengers movie they'll be showing Iron Man in full costume all the time. Most probably they'll be using another actor.

Midway in the movie, Agent Coulson said to Tony that he is being reassigned to Mexico. I thought that was too much info and that detail had no bearing in the movie. And they just wanted to give the actor some speaking lines. We left while the credits are rolling and Highway to Hell is blaring. Bad move. People say at the end of credits they showed Agent Coulton found Thor's hammer found in Mexico. This is a hint of a Thor movie. We missed that.

There are some forgivable flaws. For all his genius, Tony Stark did not provide Iron Man suits any security features. He could have made the Iron Man suits work only when he is wearing it, after all he said he is Iron Man. As it turned out, anybody who steps even in for the first time it can make full use of its weaponry and flight capability.

People who expect prolonged fight scenes may find the manner Iron Man defeats the antihero too short. But it's alright with me and my kids. It makes us look forward to the next one.

Unfriended

Early last year they said that the 35-54 age group is the fastest growing age group in Facebook. That has since been replaced by an older group, the 55+, but my age group still remains 2nd fastest. It's no surprise then that I manage to see many of my long lost friends and relatives in social networking sites. And as we continue to use technology to try to reconnect bonds, we conjure up new words to describe the experience.

Yes, Popoy, there is a Santa Claus

In 1897, eight-year old Virginia O’ Hanlon wrote a newspaper to ask if there was a Santa Claus. The legendary editorial reply on September 21, 1897 by  Francis P. Church has since become the most reprinted newspaper editorial in history. (Image from Wikipedia).

Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year to all!

White hair chronicles VI

My son Vito turned 13 yesterday, formally making him a teenager, and thus further making me a tatang-ager. That is double jeopardy, being a tatang and an ager, suddenly I feel doubly old. When I was 13 myself, my father was a boyish 35. He was what some would call today "papa-ble". Whatever that means, it doesn't describe me now - grandfatherish on the wrong side of 40s. In fact many think I am Vito's grandfather.

The saving grace is I don't 'feel' old at all. Sure an elbow aches, DeQuervain's syndrome acts up on my right wrist - 12 years after my left wrist was operated on for the same reason, isolated white hairs grow on places where no hair grew before, and of course, 95% of the hair is white. But I definitely feel young. I can relate to what Vito likes and he can relate to what I enjoy. It helps that retro (emo?) fashion is in. It helps that he also appreciates the music I enjoy.

But retro fashion or not, only external appearances seem old. I still have the same idealism I had in my teens. The teenage angst back then is eerily the same as Generations Jones' anxieties today. But of course! The teenagers of old comprise the Generation Jones. Furthermore we had Marcos then, we have Gloria now. Same difference really. Even if some have moved to the other side of the fence, like administration apologist Alex Magno and GMA spokesman Gary Olivar.

So, has Philippine life gone full circle?
Or, have we moved at all?

White Hair Chronicles IV

I feel my white hairs reflect my age much more when icons from my youth are completely unknown to some who are just 10-15 years younger than me. This is especially true for people whose popularity did not transcend decades. Michael Jackson, for example, is still quite known to the 30s set, but few remember Farrah. And it is with celebrities like Farrah that the make the younger set they are that far detached from my generation.

My 12-year old son, Vito, knows Michael Jackson. He's never heard of Farrah. When told that Charlie's Angels is just a remake, he chuckled 'tanda mo na talaga Itay!'. But even people already in their 30s think my generation is way ahead in years. They do not know the Nicaraguan boxer Alexis Arguello, another icon, who died the other day. He was at his peak in the late 70's to early 80's. I remember him wanting to wage battle against the movement that toppled Somoza, their version of Marcos. Yesterday another icon passed away. Susan Fernandez Magno was a leading protest singer against the Marcos regime. Most younger people are clueless on who she was.

We have a curious situation in the country today. Activism is stronger in the 40+ age group than in the younger set. Those who were in EDSA in '86 are still the ones who will troop there when called. The 20s and the 30somethings are numbed to indifference and too distracted to carry the torch. It is today's children, Vito's generation, who will keep it burning. It is our task to stoke the flame alive.

What's good to note is that the kids are up to the challenge. Thanks to retro fashion, they are more open to things from the past. And maybe the values and ideals we cling on to. Vito likes the Led Zep. A daughter of a former classmate wrote him a sweet letter on father's day. We have taught our kids well. Tunay nga, ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan.

Transformers 2 - More than a peso per minute waste of time

Paying PhP161 to watch the 2.5 hrs. long Transformers 2 means you only waste your money at the rate of PhP1.073 per minute. Imagine if the movie was just 90 minutes long, then you would have wasted PhP1.78 per minute. So, despite the all-out assault on your eyes and ears, the movie still gives better bang for the back as you waste your money slower. What other film can give you that?

They made the film PG-13 so parents will have to accompany their pre-teen children to watch it. So the wife and I watched the film too, together with Popoy, 6, and Vito, 12.  There are clearly scenes not for kids, even if they watch together with their parents. There are pumping scenes by dogs. There is another scene with a small robot humping Megan Fox's leg. There is a seduction scene with a scantily clad woman astride Shia LaBeouf with the shot showing her panties. Then there is the scene where Shia's mom got stoned from some weed spiked food and said she would do anything to get an A.

There is a lot of sexual innuendos in the way Mega and Shia were about to conduct their video chat. The scene of John Turturro in thongs is grossly disturbing. But I have no complaints with Megan's other scenes;  she in hotpants on top of a motorcycle, and in a tank top running away from bombs.

Of course there is a lot of violence even if most of it is inflicted by robots on robots. The punching, kicking, stabbing actions will be imitated by kids. The movie bored me, but the head splitting sound effects on a full surround theater prevented me from dozing off. Moreover, I couldn't follow the story, but my boys did. The parents needed guidance on that aspect.

Dengue alert, prevention, cure

Thankfully, Vito is getting better now. He had no fever the last two days. His platelets still went down but in a slower rate. Doctors ordered just one CBC yesterday, unlike the past 3 days where he was subjected to the procedure 2x a day.

He is also more energetic now. Thanks to his cousins and relatives who cheer him up and specially to his brother Popoy, their constant bickering keeps him on his toes. Thanks too, to friends who wished for his speedy recovery, and to those who sent links about dengue prevention.

Vito's main concern now is the dryness on his face and his scaly dandruffy scalp. The doctor assures him that it is not caused by the dengue. He is advised to have complete bed rest for a week. It's good that classes have been reset for a week.

I removed the water plant vases in the house. Although we frequently change the water, these are the only places where mosquitoes could have bred inside the house. There were no other dengue cases within our vicinity. And the rains had just started to come. My main suspects are the vases. They have to go.

In the news, the Dept of Health issued a dengue alert and advised the public to refrain from wearing black or dark blue clothes to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes carrying dengue virus. It seems the dengue mosquitoes are attracted by dark  colors. In one of the links, I learned that a larvicide, Abate, can be used to neutralize mosquito breeding grounds. I'm still looking where to buy the larvicide.

Elsewhere in the news are the kids of Kris Aquino who also had dengue at around the same time as Vito. They, too, are now OK.

Aside from the medical treatment, we are now supplying Vito with kamote leaves tea. This is the greenish-yellowish water where the leaves were boiled. It is supposed to increase the platelet count. Then my wife heard about Kris Aquino's cure - eating peeled and sliced apple, left exposed in the air to make them brown. If eating something that looks sick can make you well, then it's worth trying.

Politics to my 7-yr old son

The highly political atmosphere has rubbed on to my 7 year old son, Vito. He is grade 2 in a catholic run school. Lately when he sees FPJ in the news, he blurts out - "Hindi naman Pilipino yan e, wala pang pinag-aralan." When he sees Ping Lacson, he comments "lagot tayo pag binoto yan, e lason yan e." Then I asked him, "e sino dapat ang iboboto natin". He replied "Si Roco". "Bakit yun", I prodded. "Kasi Roco-roco rin yun!". Then he sped off laughing.