My Year in Lists

I particularly look forward to Thursdays. It's that day in the week when I get my lottery ticket for daring bravery, for redemption, for happy endings.

I started reading comic books even before I could read. The pictures were enough. I didn't know their names but I knew they were heroes---she who controlled the weather, he who had incinerating bursts of red light shooting from his eyes, she who rose from the ocean but somehow changed, and he who loved the changed woman. It was very cut and clear back then. But it was undeniable that something clicked in my head after I read my first comic book, an important piece falling into place, the lock and key, the wind-up toy, unstoppable clock work.

So here they are. The titles of 2008 that took me, frightened me, amazed me, and continued to made me.

1. LOCKE & KEY (IDW) by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
Always on top of the pile, always a slight tremble in my fingers as I turned the pages. Compelling, original, haunting. This scary effer by Joe Hill raised comic book standards to new levels of intelligent sadism.
2. I KILL GIANTS (IMAGE) by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura
This is just a charmer. From the cartoonish pencils to the D&D geekery, it cleverly retells the delicateness of childhood, and how unexpected violence in any form can leave one scarred for life.

3. PHONOGRAM VOL. 2: THE SINGLES CLUB (IMAGE) by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
There is a light that never goes out. And that light is Phonogram. Before this, I never thought that it was possible to fall in love with a comic book---the butterflies in the stomach, starry-eyed kind. And this is exactly what I felt, and what the character Penny B. went through, incidentally, in the first few pages of Phonogram Vol. 2: The Singles Club. Penny, a phonomancer, conjures magic (on the dance floor) as the evening begins. Her friend stands on a corner watching her, after which the entranced spectator utters the most magical words to my ear:

Oh it hurts to see you dance so well.

As the night progresses, we get more of The Pipettes, The Long Blondes, and more Keneckie. It's not for everybody, but for those who do recognize the names, the music, and the palpable love for music, it's pure enchantment---Gillen and McKelvie has written us a love letter about the one thing that we irrevocably love.

4. UMBRELLA ACADEMY (DARK HORSE) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba
Sure, there's Morrison all over it but Way does quirky his own acidic way. And it's the most brilliant superhero book of the year. It's grand and unpredictable. It's crazy and heartfelt. And there's no Didio or Quesada in sight. Pure lightning, as the creators intended it to be.

5. FABLES (VERTIGO) by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham
No one does sprawling like Willingham's "Fables." They've moved past the point of novelty years ago. Snow White, Bigby (Big Bad Wolf), Boy Blue, the Frog Prince and Prince Charming and the rest of Fabletown have made a total turn-around and have become living, breathing masterminds, politicians, soldiers, assassins, spies and bums. This is Lord of the Rings meets Leon Uris' Trinity. You just had to be there.

6. AIR (VERTIGO) by G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker
The best new book of Vertigo. Terrorism, magic-realism and a love that defies space and time. G. Willow Wilson has a knack for writing memorable lines ("You taste like the sky") and offbeat scenarios that easily pull you in to the story. Opening with a nod to Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses," Air's first issue is fast-paced and a really good example of tight writing. You really have to know---you are compelled to find out---how Blythe, a flight stewardess who ironically fears the vast sky, goes from falling from off a plane to exploring the jungles of a non-existent country in search of a man she loves.

7. THE WALKING DEAD (IMAGE) by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard
The best ongoing-series for me. The bets are off when last year's storyline killed off 90% of its lead characters. It's a new series all over again.

8. FINAL CRISIS (DC) Grant Morrison, J.G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco and Doug Mahnke
You have to give it to DC Comics for coming out with a love-it or hate-it major event. The risks have paid-off with #6 but Final Crisis #1 was undeniably one of the best-looking books around with plot twists that demanded a degree of intelligence from its readers. And that's more than what one can ask from a major publishing group.

9. GREEN LANTERN CORPS (DC) Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
The main title is better than good but Tomasi's GLC is the hyper sibling, with a strange and grotesque cast. Sure, it is lighter in character development but Tomasi's subtle touches during the title's quieter moments speaks louder than inconsistent Origin stories. And I'm really just a fan of Peter Tomasi. Read the Vertigo mini "The Light Brigade" and you'll know why.

10. CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND THE MI13 (MARVEL) Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk
I obviously have a thing for the strange and the quirky. Paul Cornell's Captain Britain (he also wrote the MAX title WISDOM) was the best thing during the Invasion and continues to be Marvel's most creative book. And with Blade smack in the middle of the magical mix, we can expect more ass-kicking, sword-wielding, and wit-whipping fun from this book.

Four the Road

Meme mia! From Dodo

4 Jobs I Would Stink At

1. Anything in sales. I can never hold that smile long enough to sell anything. Kung ayaw mo, wag mo.

2. Macho dancer. Me thinks I would have to pay people to watch me dance.

3. Bartender. I did this for awhile at a friend's bar. I was the only one getting drunk at that bar. Heh.

4. Accountant. Magic Numbers, the only numbers I like.

4 Nicknames I Made Up For Myself/Other People Made Up For Me

1. L.A.
2. Kuhol
3. Mytor / Thory / Thorassic
4. Percy

4 Movies/Tv Series I Can Watch Over And Over Again

1. CHUNGKING EXPRESS. By default. And I really don't know why. I've been watching this movie (almost once a year) since Dodo introduced it to me in 1997. It flows the way your thoughts would. It's an experience in remembering.

2. MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO/SPIRITED AWAY. Pure. Childhood. Bliss.

3. LOVE ACTUALLY. Ehem. Yeah. The title credit always gets me choked up.

4. DELOVELY. Love the music. Delightful. Delicious. Delovely.

1.BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Even with the dark, pouty Buffy as the series winded down, this show never forgot how to have fun. Must must watch episodes are the gritty "The Body," the suprisingly creepy "Conversations with Dead People" and the (almost) silent episode, "Hush." (Seasons 5, 6 and 4 respectively)

2. DOCTOR WHO. The only show that can be anything it wants to be. From hard core sci-fic to twilight zone noir to epic space opera, this Time Lord does it all. Plus, you know, the Daleks.

3. NARUTO. 200 plus episodes in, these hidden leaf villagers still kick ninja-ass and throw chakra-charged kunai knives like it's nobody's business (and still the most fun ensemble on TV). The kids are all grown up in Shippuuden as some of them rush head-on to their inevitable tragic fates.

4. LOST. I''m torn between this and Battlestar Galactica, but if it's something that I would play on repeat, it would have to be LOST. To look for clues and all.

4 Things I Love To Do On Weekends

1. Cook
2. Customize action figures (working on a Kitty Pryde Barbie)
3. Sleep til noon
4. Toy hunt in Greenhills, Sta. Lucia or SM Megamall

4 Alcoholic Beverages I Enjoy From Time To Time
1. San Mig Light
2. Fundador
3. Red Wine
4. Whiskey Sour

4 Fantastic Vacations Destinations I Would Love To Go To Before I Pass Out
1. Cardiff, Wales
2. Japan
3. London
4. Earth 2

4 Celebrities I Would . . .ehem . . ."Date"
1. James MacAvoy
2. Daniel Wu (Forevah)
3. Won Bin
4. Geoff Johns

4 Things I Could Not Live Without
1. Music
2. Comic books
3. Jowaers
4. And I have to agree with Dodo, HK.

4 Gadgets/Appliances I Wish To Have
1. Tardis
2. Dalek Lamp
3. Hypospray
4. Sonic Screwdriver

Aaron Herr Who?

From he who asks.

1. Go here. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2. Go here. The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

If you want to do this again, you'll hit refresh to generate new quotes, because clicking the quotes link again will just give you the same quotes over and over again.

3. Go here. Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Go here. The first ten links you end up in (minus the .com’s) are your 10 song titles.

Answers:

1. Aaron Herr
2. Possibly Have Gone Wrong
3.

4. Tracklist
Lushlongboards
Black Box Voting
WBRS 100.1 FM
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Jump Up!
K-Rad
Lightning Field
Medium Phobic
The Neurotic Fishbowl That Is My Life
SugarMegs

I'm liking the album title and the album cover (very Belle & Sebastian). The songs have that environmental politics angle that's a little Flaming Lips. But I still go for Mighty Band. Or BGBT. Heh.

Don't Confess (This Thing that Breaks My Heart)

We have finally (if only partially) solved our office's Internet problem. I'm so happy I could MEME the entire day.

An iPod meme from Dodobird Here's the instructions:

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question

1. What Does This Year Have In Store For Me? Wider Too, Tender Forever

2. What Does My Love Life Look Like? Born Under a Good Sign, Teenage Fanclub

3. What Do I Say When Life Gets Hard? Columbus Avenue, Aimee Mann

4. What Do I Think Of When I Get Up In The Morning? Casimir Pulaski Day, Sufjan Stevens

5. What Song Will I Dance To At My Wedding? As You Wish , Aqueduct (I love, love this. But for tonight, as you wish, I'll beg for my life...)

6. What Do You Want As A Career? Whisper, A Fine Frenzy

7. Your Favorite Saying? I Must Belong Somewhere, Bright Eyes

8. Favorite Place? Not What You Want, Sleater-Kinney

9. What Do You Think of Your Parents? Pilot Can at the Queer of God, The Flaming Lips

10. Where Would You Go On A First Date? Push Up on Me, Rihanna

11. Drug of Choice? It Wasn't Me, Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins

12. Describe Yourself. The Opposite of Hallelujah, Jens Lekman (Hah!)

13. The Song That Will Be Played At Your Funeral? Time Flies, Lykke Li (Not bad for an epitaph either)

14. What's Your Pornstar Name? I'm All Right, Madeleine Peyroux

15. What is Your State of Mind Like At The Moment? Melt My Heart to Stone, Adele

16. How Will I Die? New League of Nations, monograph

17. The Song You'll Put As The Subject? Don't Confess (This Thing that Breaks My Heart), Tegan and Sara

So if I judge my state through the iPod oracle, then I am a quite happy, mostly love struck, I jump to heavy petting on the first date, drugged with denial, and will join the new league of nations where I will die saving the world. Not bad.

2007: What Became of the Likely Lad

1. What Did You Do In 2007 That You'd Never Done Before ?
Copywriting. At least not for the past five years. Just like riding a bicycle, which I never learned, copywriting remains a mystery. Wordplay, wit, or whatever the client is privy to. But it does pay for the comic books, so not complaining at all.

2. Did You Keep Your New Years' Resolutions. And Will You Make More For Next Year?
It's always food related. So, no.

3. Did Anyone Close To You Give Birth?
A good friend from the office I left in 2006.

4. Did Anyone Close To You Die?
Two of my dogs. They were greatly missed over the holidays.

5. What Countries Did You Visit?
Hong Kong. My favorite place on Earth.

6. What Would You Like To Have In 2008 That You Lacked In 2007?
A purpose. And this...

7. What Date(s) From 2007 Will Remain Etched Upon Your Memory, And Why?
Ach. Not very good with dates. But the recent HK trip was the year's best. I got to shop all I could for 15 minutes in HMV, W's idea of a birthday gift. Which is the best birthday present ever but also the most nerve-wracking. 3 hours after landing, we passed by an HMV and he went, Okay, start now! I was shaking all over. And confused and delirious. Also got to hang out with Mida: dinner, drinks in Volume, then dessert. So yes, forever etched much.

8. What Was Your Biggest Achievement This Year?
Got an Immortal Iron Fist sketch from Leinil Yu. And won original inks of Superman: Birthright by Leinil and inked by Ed Tadeo! Which is really not an achievement. But it's the first time I ever won anything.

9. What Was Your Biggest Failure?
Life's too short to be let down by anything. Or it's somewhere buried in my subconscious. Sleeper failure.

10. Did You Suffer Illness or Injury?
And I quoteth the Dodo: Nothing you can't pin blame on age.

11. What Was The Best Thing You Bought?
My comic books. They almost always never fail me. You can always drop one and move on the next. Now, that's a perfect relationship. Heh.

12. Whose Behavior Merited Celebration?
My sister, Faye! *Naks* The perfect partner to geek-treasure hunting.

13. Whose Behavior Made You Appalled And Depressed?
Mostly strangers in the lift. The rude ones. There was this one guy who leaned on all the buttons. Took me a whole 15 minutes before I reached my office's floor, the 23rd.

14. Where Did Most of Your Money Go?
See #11.

15. What Did You Get Really, Really, Really Excited About?
Every Thursdays is new comics day! And, err, the Beyonce concert. Clearly, nothing much has happened in my life. And like it that way.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
Editors' Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors, The Bluetones' Surrendered, Amy Winehouse's You Know I'm No Good, M. Ward's Chinese Translation and Tilly and the Wall's Rainbows in the Dark.

17. Compared To This Time Last Year, You Are:
More relaxed. Happier.

18. What Do You Wish You'd Done More Of?
Sleep. Travel. Drinking. Blogging.

19. What Do You Wish You'd Done Less Of?
Nothing, really.

20. How Did You Spend Christmas?
Parent's house in Bulacan. Made pasta sauce. PSP-ed til my fingers were numb.

22. Did You Fall In Love In 2007?
In love still.

23. How Many One Night Stands?
None (and the heavens opened up to the singing of angels)

24. What Was Your Favorite TV Program?
TV Programs. Addicted. According to order. Here goes why I haven't been blogging much. Doctor Who. Torchwood. Lost. Spooks. Battlestar Galactica. Rome. Brothers and Sisters. Chuck. Life on Mars. Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Gossip Girl. House MD. The Tudors. Reaper.

25. Do You Hate Anyone Now That You Didn't Hate This Time Last Year?
Judd Winnick. Not really hate. But hate his work on Green Arrow. And I love Ollie.

26. What Was The Best Book You Read?
Rob Sheffield's Love Is a Mixtape. The best. The sweetest. The saddest.

27. What Was Your Greatest Musical Discovery?
Lucky Soul! (Thanks, Dodo.) The rest, not really discoveries. more of a new habit---M. Ward, Tilly and the Wall, Midlake, Kate Nash, Bishop Allen and Jens Lekman.

28. What Did You Want And Get?
The Batman Jim Lee Black & White statue. Classic New Teen Titans, and Big Barda & Mr. Miracle DC Direct editions.

29. What Did You Want And Not Get?
Justin Hartley. As Green Arrow.

30. What Was Your Favourite Film This Year?
Movies I saw more than once so I guess they're favorites. David Fincher's Zodiac. Kim Yong-Hwa's 200 Pounds Beauty. These are the only two I recall.

31. What Did You Do On Your Birthday? And How Old Were You?
Downed beer to an Amy Winehouse BBC Special and Temptation Island. Then a Battlestar Galactica season 3 discussion: the cylon reveals, the rescue in Caprica. Am old enough to like the new Rilo Kiley album. Heh.

32.What One Thing Would Have Made Your Year Immeasurably Satisfying?
Justin Hartley.

33. How Would You Describe Your Personal Fashion Concept In 2007?
Geekosexual. A comic book shirt and checkered pants, like Sheldon. (If you know Sheldon, then you're one of us!)

34. What Kept You Sane?
Coming home every night to W. *awwshucks*

35. Which Celebrity/Public Figure Did You Fancy The Most?
Also---Mark Ronson, David Anders (Mr. Sark in ALIAS and Adam Monroe in Heroes), Tom Smith (Editors).

36. What Political Issue Stirred You The Most?
The Manila Pen invasion. Because my friends work from across the hotel.

37. Who Did You Miss?
Drinking buddies from way back.

38. Who Was The Best New Person You Met?
Sandy of Comic Odyssey! (Who let me choose my raffle prize when my name got picked in the Comic Odyssey anniversary---Michael Turner variant, JLA #13 .)

39. Tell Us A Valuable Life Lesson You Learned In 2007:
Old is the new young.

40. Quote Song Lyric That Sum Up The Year:
"When you caught my eye, I saw everywhere I'd been, And want to go to." Editors, An End Has a Start. Short and sweet. Not completely sure about the dangling modifier but it works.

Oh Boy

Tagged by Dodo.

This is me caught staring at Sufjan Stevens. Every time copywriting gets a little unbearable, I reward myself with Sufjaness. I've been listening to his Christmas albums, too. Audio-video lock. Right.

It's 10 p.m. and I'm still at work. My brain hurts. So I'm just surfing and staring. That's my iTunes (The Libertines, What Became of the Likely Lads) and Is It Safe open. Quite a long way to go still. Final touch ups on TV and print ads. Still tweaking event concept. And zero comm. plan. Heh. We'll just wing that tomorrow.

But for now, Sufjan.

Rules:
1.Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.

2.Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of Icons, things like that.

3.Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.


Tagging anyone who stumbles upon this!

My MOJO

Tagged by Dodo. MOJO Meme, folksies.

What Music Are You Currently Grooving To?

No, I don't have epilepsy. That's actually me grooving, shoulder dips, pointed toes, and all. Most probably listening to Tilly and the Wall's Bottoms of Barrels, The Long Blonde's Someone to Drive You Home, Beirut's Gulag Orkestar, of Montreal's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, and The Arctic Monkey's Favourite Worst Nightmare.

A wistful smile with eyes slightly cross-eyed means I'm glued to the sticky refrains of M. Ward's Post War, The Bluetones' The Bluetones, Pony Up!'s Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes, and The Weepies' Say I Am You.

If I'm sitting on the steps looking all poet/ninja-like, then I'm plugged in to Bloc Party's A Weekend in the City, Hot Chip's The Warning, The Decemberists' The Crane Wife, Bishop Allen's August EP, and Rilo Kiley's Take Offs and Landings.

What, If Push Comes To Shove, Is Your All-Time Favorite Album?

Blimey! (Because it's a MOJO meme.) This is just impossible. But right now, while I'm sitting at my work desk, it's got to be Tilly and the Wall's Wild Like Children. Partly because I've given it a spin a hundred times since I finally got the disc. Close second is Paul Weller's Stanley Road. Never was a huge fan of his but this record is just immortal.

What Was The First Record You Bought? And Where Did You Buy It?

I was in the third grade and it was Madonna's Like a Virgin. Ever Gotesco, Recto. P18.00, I think.

Which Musician Have You Ever Wanted To Be?

Air guitars and all, John Squire of The Stone Roses. If I were fronting a band, The Beautiful South's Paul Heaton. And Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis. (Hee. Dream, dream, dream.)

What Do You Sing In The Shower?

In the shower, the elevator, while walking to work: The Long Blonde's Separated by Motorways, Echobelly's Great Things, The Magnetic Fields' The Saddest Story Ever Told, The Decemberists' July! July!, Tilly and the Wall's Fell Down the Stairs and M. Ward's Chinese Translation.

What Is Your Favourite Saturday Night Record?

Saturday's pub night, innit? Still spinning Shed Seven's A Maximum High, especially Magic Streets and On Standby. The promise of a wild night, though it's most just a couple of bottles now and a movie. When the boyfriend and I are out driving around, it's Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.

And Your Sunday Morning Record?

Pernice Brothers' Discover a New You and Overcome by Happiness. Usually a back-to-back spin. Realistic optimism.


This list could all change by next week, of course.

Good Feeling

Hungover, minor headache, but slurring. At 3 p.m., which is normal enough. In a co-dependent, alcoholic way. Heh. It's just so fucking fun to be around Margie and Kristine again. I haven't had this much fun at being mean since, okay, yesterday. But still. This afternoon was special, and I will look back on this when I'm 71, and think, "--- Don't take your pants off when someone shouts HUBAD! It should be HUBO! --- Ah. The good old days."

And now, my top 10 feel-good songs at the moment:

10. Brand New Colony - The Postal Service
9. At My Most Beautiful - R.E.M.
8. Alinlangan - Sugarfree
7. Getting By - The Rentals
6. Harana - Eraserheads
5. Corporate Attire - Cambio
4. Keeper - The Mongols
3. Oceanside - The Decemberists
2. Kissing the Lipless - The Shins
1. Prom - Sugarfree

45 minutes to 6 p.m.

• The boyfriend and I celebrated our 5th year last Saturday. Movie, dinner, a concert and beers, in that order. It was ... relaxing. We have both been too caught up in our respective deadlines, and the little dramas in between, that I have almost forgotten how good, no, GREAT, it was just to hang. He made me this sweet scrapbook with photos from 1999 to the Boracay trip last summer: a smiling timeline of growing up and growing old together.
• Erik Santos is the Best New Male Artist in this year's Aliw Awards. Sugarfree bagged 2 awards: Best Alternative Song (Burnout) and Best Rock (Mariposa). So, yeay!
• In The Terminal. Amelia: I have to go. Viktor: I have to stay.
• Smoking menthols now, and gagging a lot.
• While walking aimlessly around Greenbelt 1 --- aimless with a purpose, trying to walk off too much beef kare-kare --- a promo girl gave me Korgivit-E samples. Later in the office, J saw the vitamin packs on my desk and blurted out, matter-of-factly: Thor, pang pok-pok yan. And in my head I was like, OH! Fun! So I took two last Saturday, in preparation of the, ahem, anniversary celebration. After a couple of beers after the concert, the boyfriend and I headed home. The boyfriend was being sweet and touchy and I was. Yawning. And yes, I slept through the entire thing. Woke up Sunday, 12:30 p.m.
• I postpone my writing duties to the museum like I would my diet. Bukas na lang!

The Remedy

Yes, as a dear friend pointed out, it's the blue period all over again. What to do.

1. Listen to Ella Swings Brightly.
2. Another round of threesome with Ben & Jerry. Maybe Chocolate Mint.
3. Watch porn.
4. Write the Non-Guided Tour script of the Museum's dioramas.
5. Read new Star Trek Next Generation novels, vol. 1-6.
6. Make porn.
7. Eat Wai-Wai's Tom Yum Instant Noodles, Shrimp Flavour.
8. Get drunk.
9. Watch more porn.
10. Sigh.

Sugar

There's nothing like a threesome at 1 p.m. And there's no one who can perform better than Ben & Jerry. My head's all kablooey with choco-chip cookie dough photon blasts. Logic sheilds down. Dizzy happy, set the course Mr. Paris, I'll be in the ready room.

To pay tribute to Dodo, whose path we now worship (the one leading to the middle aisle of Rustan's Greenbelt 1), here is ----

Top 10 Dizzyingly Sweet Songs

10. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
9. Into Your Arms - The Lemonheads
8. Everyday I Write The Book - Elvis Costello
7. Brand New Colony - Postal Service
6. Huwag Kang Matakot - Eraserheads
5. Summertime - The Sundays
4. Wonderwall - Oasis
3. Sorta Fairytale - Tori Amos
2. 1000 Things - Jason Mraz
1. I Get A Kick Out Of You - Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald version

So there. Wishing everone a heady, hyper-sugar afternoon!