Get Your Geek On!

If you haven't seen Iron Man on the big screen just yet, then it's time you should.  One of the best superhero movies I've ever seen in a while.  Oh, and don't leave the cinemas just yet right after the end credits- you'll miss a clip on what's in store for the next Iron Man movie.

In the meantime, here's some stuff you might want to read up on about this year's hottest Marvel superhero: "Everything You Need To Know About Iron Man"- Part 1, and Part 2.

Also, if you feel a little nostalgic, check out the classic 1967/68 Iron Man cartoon opening theme here.

Cheers, everyone!

Understandably, expectations run rather high when anyone plans a vacation. Not only do you work your ass off to get that much-deserved vacation leave (and not leave work hanging) of even just a few days, you also save up for it. And needless to say, it doesn’t come cheap at all- more so if you plan a rather ambitious overseas trip with hotel stays and all that.

I can’t help but notice that this year isn’t a good year for Cebu Pacific. From the online stories alone just these past few weeks, I’d say there’s a lot going on that leaves a lot of customers not just unhappy- but irate enough to write about it and tell other people how bad their experiences were.

Read the rest of the story here.

Weekend at home usually means I do some tidying up, getting ready to ship my clothes off to the laundry shop later that week, checking my food stores to see what needs to be bought from the supermarket, and just basically cleaning up the mess from last week.

I had my player on, and I felt like some good ol' 80's this particular weekend.  I took it one step further and actually blogged about some of the songs that stuck to my head as I was folding up dirty laundry.

Check out the mix-tape in my head:

1.  Jude Cole - "Baby It's Tonight".  Hey, did you know this guy manages Lifehouse right from the very start?  Yup, "Hanging By A Moment" and "You and Me" Lifehouse.  Fancy that.
2.  38 Special - "Back Where You Belong".  Some great southern rock n'roll!
3.  Journey - "I'll Be Alright Without You".  I think American Idol judge Randy Jackson already joined Journey by the time this single came out.
4.  Christine McVie - "Got A Hold On Me".  Love her as a solo artist as well as one of the creative forces behind Fleetwood Mac.
5.  Lou Gramm - "Just Between You and Me".  He's the dude who did lead vocals for Foreigner.  This one's a lovely song- go check it out.

6.  The Police - "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86".  I just seem to like this version better than the 1980's version.
7.  Neneh Cherry - "Buffalo Stance".  We lookin' good today... lookin' good in every way!
8.  Cameo - "Word Up!".  It’s the code word- no matter where you say it, you’ll know that you’ll be heard!
9.  Andy Taylor - "Take It Easy".  Remind me to blog about his other solo project, "When The Rain Comes Down".
10.  Pebbles - "Mercedes Boy".  Do you wanna ride?

11.  Icehouse - "Electric Blue".  Co-written by John Oates of Hall and Oates, did you know that?  And it's all over you- electric blue!
12.  Boy Meets Girl - "Bring Down The Moon".  For me, better than "Waiting For A Star To Fall".  Always was a big fan of Sharon Rubicam.
13.  The Romantics - "One In A Million".  Baby, you're the one!  One in a million- second to none!
14.  The J. Geils Band- "Love Stinks".  Yeah, yeah!
15.  Jody Watley - "Most Of All".  You turned your back on me, when I needed you most of all.

Check out my entries on each one by clicking on the links, or by visiting my other blog, "My Thoughts In Stereo", on Blogspot.  It's got lyrics, videos from YouTube, chords and tabs (sometimes), and trivia on those songs (at least stuff I could remember, anyway).

Cheers everyone!

I picked up a story from a couple of posts in the local blogosphere. A local TV show ran a feature on blogs, and called it "Beware of the Blog". No, I haven't seen it (sorry, no time to watch local TV these past several months), and everything I know is pretty much from what I've read from the blogs of some friends of ours- Noemi and Juned, in particular.

"Beware of the Blog" supposedly had some guests, and from what I gathered, the show's host tosses an issue, and the guests give their two cents' worth.

Here are some issues I'd like to comment on.

1. It seems that the guests believe that (according to Noemi's blog), "blogs are not reliable sources of information unless they come from respectable bloggers".

Who's to say a blogger is respectable or not? Who's to say a blogger is legit or otherwise. Apparently, one of the guests defined an illegitimate blogger as one who has a fake identity.

Here's how I see it: a blogger is a blogger. You have a blog? Then you're a blogger, regardless of whether you choose to use your real name or not.

I suppose some blogs can be treated more seriously than others- therefore, respectability may vary from one blog to another. Ultimately, however, it is the individual reader that chooses to see the blogger as an authority figure, or as just another waste of time.

Blogging gives anyone and everyone a voice. It's the great equalizer. I don't need my own TV network, radio station or printing press to get my message across anymore.

But a blog is only as powerful and as effective as its number of readers. The internet allows you to read or access virtually anything you want. If your blog has the numbers, then it means for some reason, people choose to read what you have to offer, rather than read something else.

I'd like to think that your readers and subscribers are fairly intelligent people- not easily cowed, swayed or even impressed. The fact that they keep reading your blog, and tell other people about it, does give you quite a degree of authority, and therefore, a fegree of respectability.

2. One of the guests said that blogs are like social rods and are used for social control.

Well, that's one way of looking at it- though it's not entirely true. Blogs can serve a number of purposes- and it doesn't necessarily have to be for social control. Some can be whimsical, others can be fun, many can be deeply serious, or informative and educational, but the vast majority are really just personal diaries and scrapbooks that just happen to be online.

But just like any form of media, blogs are all about keeping things honest. If someone feels that there's a story worth blogging about, and sharing about to the world, then it probably does have some value to it.

If a lot of people seem to be flocking into gossip blogs, then yes, it probably means something. Could it be that people take delight in the downfall of others? Or perhaps they're just in search of good story? Sheer curiosity perhaps? The reasons are many, and not necessarily definite or easily apparent. So just like a social rod, it can be an indicator of sorts.

But blogs aren't all about social control all the time.

3. Beware of the Blog?

Just a tad bit sensational for a title, isn't it? But seriously, why do you have to be afraid of blogs?

Blogs are wonderful tools for communication and interaction. But just like any other form of media, it can be subject to abuse and misuse. In fact, put a blog in the wrong hands, and you can have trouble easily brewing.

Again, blogs only have power if readers choose to give it power. Juned put it rather well, I think. If you don't like what you read, you may choose to:

a> ignore the blog altogether, and dismiss it as a total waste of time,
b> write back and leave a comment, and voice out your disagreement,
c> flag the blog as offensive, particularly if your blog is hosted on free blogging services like Blogspot or Wordpress.
d> sue their sorry asses, in particularly extreme cases, and I hope it never has to come to that.

Again, Juned put it nicely: Caveat Lector. Latin for "Let the Reader Beware".

Have any of you guys actually seen that TV feature? What do you think?

I gotta thank my good friend, Tessa for the heads up on this. We were just chatting on Yahoo, geeking out on this coming Friday's episode of Battlestar Galactica, when she mentions this nice little promotional video she found in her TiVo.

Fortunately for us who weren't able to catch it, it's actually available online. And I have to say, it's a really funny recap to bring you up to speed. Feel free to play it over and over again if you need to :) I watched it at least thrice already.

Spoiler Warning: the eight-minute clip is filled with spoilers from all three seasons, so don't watch it if you still want to watch your BSG spoiler-free. Otherwise, enjoy!


Everything you need to know about BSG right there, right? Time to get those DVDs! An all-new Battlestar Galactica comes your way this Friday, April 4 at 10pm/9 Central. Check out the new clip here on the SciFi.com official website, and watch Season 3 all over again in time for Friday!

Cheers, everyone!

Yep. I suppose you can call me a professional blogger now. And I couldn't be happier.

I've started blogging a little bit over a year ago. Though I may have already learned quite a bit about blogs and blogging since then, I still feel like I have much more to soak up on.

This one particular blog of mine- "Blog. Blogger. Bloggest!"- started it all for me. At first, it was a catch-all kind of blog that had a little bit of everything. Then it wasn't too long until I've decided to position them towards a certain niche. So now I got at least eight different blogs right now, each about a specific topic.

I was really just having fun sharing whatever I knew- at first it was just among friends, then friends of friends. Then I was being sent CDs and DVDs to check out, just so I could write about them.

I never considered it seriously at first, but then the money started trickling in. Not even through Adsense just yet, since I haven't even made a serious effort promoting any of my blogs. It was usually more of companies asking me to help them set up their blogs, or to write for them.
And it wasn't much- first a couple bucks here, a few more there. Then just within a few weeks, I've noticed that the rates were going up, and I was actually getting more writing jobs through my blogs.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd let go of my day job to take on a couple of contracts which were, needless to say, very much worth my while. How often does it happen that you do get a job offer that pays a lot more than your current job, for you to do exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life?

It doesn't happen that often to me.

So here I am, happily blogging from the comfort of my own home. Plus I have all the time to do whatever the hell I want- go to the gym, do more business, read a book, travel, blog some more or just laze around at home.

It's all very exciting, really.

Again, I know I'm not the best blogger there is out there, or one with the bb-ranking blog, or even someone with the best content, but I think I'm in a better position now to help other people do more with their blogs. Heck, it's the wave of the future.

To all my fellow bloggers and friends who have been blogging, and to everyone who's read any of my blogs- thanks for inspiring me to blog better. This bold new step forward could never be possible without you.

We keep blogging, and we'll help others keep blogging as well.

Cheers, everyone!

They say it's the best show on television. I say they're right.

In case you haven't heard, Battlestar Galactica's new season- season 4- premieres this Friday, April 4, on the Sci-Fi channel. We have a brand new episode coming our way, and literally picks up where the end of Season 3 has left off.

Naturally, the past several days have been spent on a marathon of Battlestar Galactica. I definitely have my favorite episodes- usually those involving the Galactica and its Vipers blasting away wave upon wave of Cylon Raiders, or some other impressive operation.

So it made me wonder: exactly what are the fans' favorite BSG episodes? I dug into TV.com's files, and here's what I dug up. I'll try to keep things as spoiler-free as possible.

The Top 10 Battlestar Galactica Episodes, according to TV.com.

1. Crossroads, Part 2. The last half of the third season-ender; season 3, episode 19. The writers threw us a curveball on this one- we find out who the four of the final five Cylons are, Baltar's trial comes to a tense conclusion, and Starbuck is back- enlightened and with a new sense of direction.

2. Pegasus. Season 2, episode 10. The Galactica runs into another colonial battlestar- the Mercury-class Pegasus. The crew is overjoyed as the two fleets join forces, until Admiral Cain- commander of the Pegasus- subsequently takes command of the new fleet. The Galactica crew learns about the harsh practices onboard Pegasus, and tension between the two battlestars quickly hit a boiling point.

3. Kobol's Last Gleaming. The first season-ender; season 1, episode 13. The Galactica discovers Kobol- the lost birthplace of humanity. This startling revelation somehow causes a split between Roslin and Adama. Roslin sends Starbuck off to a special mission. Adama sends Boomer off on a mission to blow up the Basestar orbiting Kobol. Someone is shot by a Cylon agent.

4. Resurrection Ship. Season 2, episode 12. The conflict between the two battlestars have been put on hold with the discovery of a Cylon Resurrection ship. As Galactica and Pegasus get ready for a joint attack- Adama and Cain try to outmaneuver each other to seize complete command of the military.

5. Downloaded. Season 2, episode 18. Boomer's consciousness is downloaded into a new body, and this time, she's reborn on Cylon-occupied Caprica. Number Six has been tasked to help her adjust to her new life in Cylon society.

6. Exodus. Season 3, episode 3. The Galactica returns to New Caprica, and with the aid of the Resistance, mounts a daring rescue operation to evacuate the Cylon-occupied planet.

7. Pilot, Part 2. The second half of the 2003 miniseries that kick-started the re-imagined BSG universe. It has been 40 years since the First Cylon War, and war has once again descended upon the Colonies, this time the Cylons wiping out the human home worlds and virtually destroying the Colonial fleet. An old battlestar might just be the only thing standing between the Cylons and the total destruction of the human race. Adama takes command of the remnants of the Colonial fleet. With all others in the line of succession dead, Laura Roslin, the Education Minister, is appointed president of the Thirteen Colonies.

8. Lay Down Your Burdens. The second season-ender; season 2, episode 20. The elections are finally underway, and Starbuck returns from her rescue mission from Cylon-occupied Caprica, along with a Cylon who delivers an unexpected message to Adama and Roslin. Roslin believes Baltar is a Cylon collaborator.

9. Flight of the Phoenix. Season 2, episode 9. The Galactica has been infected with a computer virus that is messing with the battlestar's functions and is scanning them for weaknesses. Tyrol's crew is hard at work on a new fighter they call The Blackbird. Oh, and a whole swarm of Cylon Raiders should be down on them shortly.

10. Home. Season 2, episode 7. Adama reassembles the fleet and heads for Kobol. Roslin and her party searches for The Tomb of Athena- which supposedly leads the way to Earth. Adama and Roslin make their peace and continue on the expedition together.

What are your favorite Battlestar Galactica episodes?

An all-new Battlestar Galactica comes your way this Friday, April 4 at 10pm/9 Central. Check out the new clip here on the SciFi.com official website, and watch Season 3 all over again in time for Friday!

Cheers, everyone!

I've always loved this little clip from Shrek (2001). Did you remember the first time you saw that little clockwork machine burst open into song, with a troop of little wooden puppets singing "Welcome To Duloc"?

My girlfriend and I were laughing our asses off in the cinema- and it's definitely watching over and over again. Thank modern technology for DVDs and YouTube, right?

Without further ado, here's the "Welcome To Duloc" clip from Shrek. Feel free to sing along! Enjoy!

Welcome to Duloc- such a perfect town!
Here, we have some rules: let us lay them down
Don't make waves, stay in line
And we'll get on just fine
Duloc is a perfect place

Please keep off of the grass
Shine your shoes, wipe your... face!
Duloc is...
Duloc is...
Duloc is a per-fect pla-ace!

Cheers, everyone!

While we're on the topic of digital single-lens reflex (dSLR) cameras, let's find out what kind of cameras Veronica Mars used on her CW show a year or two back.

See, I've been a huge fan of the TV series (one of my guilty pleasures, actually), and I have to admit, I was sorta impressed with that big-ass camera she slings around. Of course, it's fairly obvious that a set-up like that doesn't come cheap- but it made sense- since they run a small detective agency, it's all probably used for work.

At any rate, I've had a renewed interest in dSLR's recently. I figured that since I'm blogging professionally now (and full-time, I might add), it might actually make sense to get myself a better camera. By better, I mean, something that would be a step up from my handy 5.1-megapixel Sony Cybershot. So in an earlier blog entry, I actually did some homework.

Here's What I Found Out About Veronica Mars' Cameras.

Apparently, there's been a discussion on a VM fansite on Livejournal as to what kind of dSLR's were featured on the show. As far as we can tell, Kristen Bell's character had used three different cameras, all of 'em Nikons.

1. A Nikon D2H with a huge-ass zoom lens (possibly the 70-200 f/2.8 VR), used in the series premiere.
2. Then she also had a the Nikon 8800, as seen in an episode mid-season (of Season 1). It ain't no big deal, but a point-and-shoot that still has a lot of great features.
3. By Season 2, we see her wielding a Nikon D70 with the relatively cheaper, but still impressive 80-200 f/2.8D zoom lens.

Seems like a product integration deal for Nikon, but it's probably not (then again, they probably should have!). The fansite suggested that the show's director of photography, Victor Hammer (who might have a personal preference for Nikons) may have had a few spare cameras lying around, and therefore used one of his toys for Veronica Mars to play with. Nice.

You can watch the UPN/CW drama series over again on DVD, or just catch Kristen Bell on season 2 of Heroes, or as the omniescent voiceover on Gossip Girl, this time without the cool cameras. :)

Cheers, everyone!

Blogs and digital photography go hand-in-hand, just like Hall & Oates, Tango & Cash and Dungeons & Dragons.

I was at this one local bloggers' event not too long ago, armed with my trusty Asus EEE PC and 5.1 megapixel Sony Cybershot- my standard loadout pretty much wherever I go. Now when they start coming out with mobile phones that pretty much out-pixel your own compact digital camera, then I say it's time to get a new camera.

Incidentally, it was Fritz's Nokia N82 (yes, that's his phone pictured to the right) that made me realize it's really time to get me some new hardware. Juned had a hand in that too (a few months back), but the urgency was just driven home with the realization that my three-year old Cyber-shot can easily be obsolete in a couple of weeks. What? Oh, it's obsolete already? Well, so much for that.

So, back to our topic on great dSLR's for beginners:

In an article published on CNet.com.au a little more than a year ago, we get ourselves a helpful little look into getting our first dSLR. Sure, there may be better ones out in the market now, but when you know absolutely nothing about these babies, I'd say this article is a good place to start. In fact, I'm del.icio.us'ing/Digg'ing/StumbleUpon'ing it right now.


Why You Would Want To Get A dSLR

Maybe you don't have to. In fact, a compact digital camera (like my CyberShot) works just fine. But if for some reason, you'd want to take your photography to a higher level, then maybe it's time you start investing in a digital single-lens reflex (dSLR) camera.

I'm only geek enough to want to get into geekier things, so if you want to read up more on what a dSLR is all about, you may want to start Googling it up, or reading all about it here on Wikipedia.

According to CNet's Mary Lojkine:

An SLR is more responsive than a compact, allowing you to take photos more quickly; it gives you more control, so you can be more creative; and it's more flexible, allowing you to change the lens or use accessories such as flashguns and remote controls.

There you have it. Thanks, Mary.


Recommended dSLRs For Beginners

That same CNet article generally recommends these four entry-level SLR's, each has its own pros and cons, just like a Detour on The Amazing Race. But why these four? According to Mary,

...these entry-level SLRs are designed for people who are used to pocket-friendly compacts, the manufacturers have kept them small and light. Experienced photographers may scoff, telling you that larger and heavier cameras are easier to handle and hold, but if you're used to a compact, you won't want anything too big.

That being said, let's check out our four recommendations:

1. the Canon EOS 400D. The Canon EOS 400D ships with 18-55mm zoom lens. It has a 10-megapixel sensor, and it gives you great customization options with a wide range of lenses and accessories you can attach to it, depending on what you need. Has a good balance of auto, semi-auto and manual controls for you to explore as your skills improve.
2. the Olympus E-410. The Olympus E-410 is the smallest and the lightest of the four- great if you want to carry around less camera. It also comes with a 10-megapixel sensor. Compared to the Canon and Nikon, it comes with a better zoom range out of the box- with a twin-lens kit with 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses, or 28-84mm and 80-300mm in 35mm terms.
3. the Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 . The Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 also has a 10-megapixel sensor, and is a relative newcomer in the dSLR market, using the tech it got from Konica-Minolta. It has a built-in image stabilization option (whereas you have to get special lenses for the Canon and Nikon). It also has auto focus, anti-static coating and 21 compatible lenses.
4. the Nikon D40. Just like the Canon, the Nikon D40 also ships with a zoom lens, but only comes with a 6-megapixel sensor. Still not bad, and will still produce better pics than a regular compact, but you might feel you're lagging behind with this one. On the plus side, the Nikon also has a lot of accessories and lenses you can get later on, so in that regard, it's just as customizable as the Canon. That said, it's still a great transition camera as your first dSLR.


The Final Word

As far as CNet has presented, you have a good variety of transition dSLRs too choose from, depending on how you see yourself using your camera in the more immediate future. But here's what they have to say:

...it's a close-run thing, but for our money, the Canon EOS 400D has a slight edge. It costs a little more than the Nikon D40, but the extra megapixels will keep you happy for longer.

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope this helps you out as much as did for me. Still, don't stop looking around and checking out other cams. There might be other, newer models out there that could be better than the ones presented here. I'd sure love to hear about it if you do find any.

Cheers, everyone!

Following a story from Cryptozoology.com, I stumbled upon an article on Live Science's 10 Favorite Monsters, which you can check out right here.

Of course, you could read more about them, but to give you all a quick rundown- here they are in descending order:

10. Canada's Ogopogo - does it look like Champ or Nessie?
9. Dragons - interesting how, like ghosts, dragons are mentioned in so many world cultures.
8. The Giant Squid - now that's a LOT of fried calamari!
7. Champ - the monster of Lake Champlain. Read about it on a Readers Digest when I was a kid, I remember.
6. Chupacabra - the goat-sucker of South America.
5. Sirens - they're hot, they sing well, and they'll crush your medieval ships!
4. The Loch Ness Monster of Scotland - plesiosaur, giant snail-like creature, or downright hoax?
3. Werewolves - nasty little beasties!
2. Vampires - these have to be my favorite.
1. Bigfoot. Specifically, the North American sasquatch.

What are your 10 favorite monsters?

Welcome to The Cryptid Files on "Normal Paranormal"!

Even as a child, I had this strange fascination with monsters, strange creatures and mythical beings. There used to be a 'Monsters' section on the old Collier's Encyclopedia which I read over and over again. There's now a term for the study of these creatures, and it's called 'cryptozoology'. It's the zoology of weird things on our planet, and we have a feature right here on this blog.

According to Wikipedia:

In the study of cryptozoology, a cryptid is any animal or creature that has been reported to have existed, but has not been proven to. The literal meaning of the word is "the study of hidden animals". Their presumed existence is often derived from anecdotal evidence and/or other evidence insufficient to prove their existence with scientific certainty.

Cryptids are also uncommonly known by the term Unidentified Mysterious Animals or UMA, an intended variation on the popular term UFO. The English use of the term was coined by John E. Wall in 1983 and has been used ever since to describe the creatures which are the focus of cryptozoology.

The term 'cryptid' may include creatures such as the Yeti, Thunderbird or Loch Ness Monster, or relict animals (once presumed extinct) such as the coelacanth (to the right, from a picture on National Geographic). The term is also used to describe now confirmed animals such as the okapi (the deer-like mammal pictured below), once thought to be a fictional animal until it was discovered in the early 1900s.

Cryptids have existed for many ages, although earlier cryptids such as the griffin or dragon, are by and large considered mythical creatures which have never existed other than in popular fiction. Early cryptids include creatures such as the Kraken, which have now entered into legend as fictitious entities or have since been debunked and attributed to exaggerated sightings of creatures unknown in earlier times. Other cryptids include those which were known to man, but have since been pronounced extinct, as was the case with the moa and thylacine which are both reported to be living today. Despite the large number of reported cryptids, most are never proven and a large portion are debunked through thorough scientific investigation.

Of course, there are a whole lot of cryptids now, when I thought there were only several. Apparently, the list has grown to include a wide variety of creatures, whether from local folklore (like the Chupacabra of South America or the Leeds Devil of New Jersey), urban legend, or even old creatures from the past (like The Congo's Mokele-Mbembe, or The Beast of Busco in Indiana). Check out the entire list- at least one compiled so far- by Wikipedia.

From the Philippines, we have the aswang, manananggal and the tikbalang. I think there should be a kapre on that list as well, though they may have classified that one under 'sasquatch', 'giant' or 'malevolent tree spirit' under the 'Legendary Creatures' category.

In any case, it's always an interesting read, and something I'd like to get back to every so often. Hopefully we find a good story worth sharing to other people online, which is really what The Cryptid Files is all about.

Cheers, everyone.

The aswang is probably the Philippines' most pervasive supernatural creature. While most of the stories originate from the Western Visayas region, virtually everyone in the country has heard of them, and maybe has a story or two about them.

The aswang can probably be best described as a flesh-eating ghoul. As a ghoul, is it therefore, one of the undead? Which then follows: if it is undead, was an aswang then, a regular person like you and me? So what makes an aswang what it is? According to Wikipedia:

The trademark or major feature of aswangs which distinguish them from other Filipino mythological creatures is their propensity to replace stolen cadavers with the trunk of a banana tree carved in the cadaver's likeness. They are also said to like to eat small children. Their favorite body parts are the liver and heart. Other local names, especially in Capiz are tik-tik and wak-wak.

It's interesting to note, however, that the tik-tik and wak-wak may be entirely separate entities, and not necessarily aswangs. But who really knows? Over the years, the term 'aswang' has been used as a catch-all category applied to just about any supernatural creature in Philippine folklore, including witches, mananaggals, shapeshifters/lycanthropes, and other beastly things. Again, from Wikipedia:

An aswang is often interchanged with manananggal, but they are different. There are also characteristics and features that the Aswang also varies from Filipino to Filipino. They usually live near the mountains and they never go in to cities. But there are some reports of Aswangs in the cities.

The Aswang Myth

Capiz, a province on the island of Panay, seems to be (unfairly portrayed in popular media) as a hotbed for not just Aswang activity, but all manners of Philippine supernatural beasties.

It's still a fairly rural area with strong traditional connections, and there have been rumors of witch covens or clans of aswang hiding among the general populace- just the kind of stuff easily eaten up and perpetuated by media and pop culture.

Superstitious folk who believe in their existence can still be found in these parts. They typically adorn windows, rooms, etc. with garlic bulbs, holy water, and other anti-aswang paraphernalia which supposedly repels these creatures.

The myth of the Aswang is popular in the Visayan region of the Philippines, especially in the western provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Antique. One of the most famous urban legends in the Visayas region is the infamous Aswang Tiniente Gimo (lieutenant Gimo). Aside from entertainment value, mothers are said to tell their children Aswang stories to keep them off the streets and keep them home at night.

Similar to Count Vlad III Dracula of Transylvania in vampire stories, the most popular characters are the clan of Teñente/ Tenyente/ Tiniente Gimo of the town of Dueñas, Iloilo.

Other common characteristics and activities of the aswang in Philippine folklore, also on Wikipedia:

An aswang is a regular townsperson by day, and prefers an occupation related to meat, such as butchery or making sausages.

Aswangs have an ageless appearance and a quiet, shy and elusive manner. They can be distinguished from humans by two signs: one is the bloodshot eyes from staying up all night looking for opportunities to sneak into houses where funeral wakes are being held, and two, a penchant for stealing dead bodies.

According to the elderly, the Aswang can also transform from human to animal and animal to human. The Aswang can disguise him/herself as a pig, dog or a black bird. Supposedly if a person looks at them in the eyes, the reflection would appear inverted. During their nocturnal activities, they walk with their feet facing backwards and toenails reversed.

One type is the kikik which transforms into a huge bird/bat at night and prowls. The kikik looks for a sleeping pregnant woman. Then it extends a very long proboscis into the womb and kills the fetus by draining its blood. It is said that while this is taking place, a 'kik-kik-kik' sound is often heard.

In some stories, the kikik is an aswang's familiar, said to confuse people by its 'kikik' sound. If the aswang is near, the sound would be faint so that people hearing it would think that the aswang is still far away.

The term wak-wak or wuk-wuk is frequently used for the same creature in the Cebu region. The legends of the wak-wak and kikik are much the same, but the wak-wak is specifically supposed to change into its birdlike form by leaving behind its lower body, much like the Manananggal, another Philippine vampire. The cry of a night bird which makes a "wuk-wuk-wuk" sound is believed to be the call of this monster and is feared by superstitious villagers. As with the call of the kikik, the wak-wak is believed able to make its cry sound distant when the creature is near.

In Panitan(Panit'an) Capiz, there is a myth of the Dangga or Agitot. This type of aswang is typically funny because some say it is a handsome gay man that hunts women during the night and eats fresh blood like a vampire.

Another familiar is the sigbin or Zegben. Some say that this is another form that the aswang transforms into and yet some say it is the companion of the kikik. It appears to be similar to the chupacabra and Tasmanian devil in appearance with the exception of spotty fur. It supposedly has a wide mouth with large fangs.

Dealing With The Aswang

It is said that an Aswang can be revealed, with the use of a bottle of a special oil extracted from the boiled and decanted coconut meat and mixed with certain plant stems upon which special prayers were said.

When an Aswang comes near or walks outside the house at night, the oil is supposed to boil (or froth into bubbles) and continue boiling until the Aswang leaves the area. A buntot pagi, a stingray's tail, is also a very effective weapon against such beings; if one is brave enough to face the aswang in combat, a shiny sword made of sterling silver or an image of an old crone (a grandmother's) would effectively dispel their presence according to local folklore. The myth of silver weapons dispelling evil creatures is probably taken from western mythology.

In the case of the Agitot type of aswang, freshly drawn semenal fluids thrown or whisked at the Agitot's way would distract this aswang from attacking as it would lap-away the precious fluids before pursuing its intended victim. Rumors have it, that this type of aswang continues to prevail among modern societies, hence the anecdotal/idiomatic expression "hiding in the closet" or closet-queen.

Throwing salt at aswangs may cause their skin to burn due to the purifying powers of the salt crystals in witchcraft. By "salt," this means all acid-base combinations, not limited to table salt alone. Hypochlorides and other types of salts may produce the same burning effect in Aswangs.

Here's a story we found on another blog, this one from IloiloCityBoy. A local daily in Western Visayas, The Guardian, published this news report from not-so-far-away Antique province.

The article was entitled "Witch Killed My Daughter", and was published on 05 January 2007, written by The Guardian correspondent Albert Mamora. While IloiloCityBoy had provided the link to the main story, it seems that the story is no longer hosted on the original site, and is therefore not available.

Nevertheless, here's what we found on IloiloCityBoy's blog:

HAMTIC, Antique – Mystery shrouds the death of a 13-year-old girl in a village here amid speculations that an aswang or flesh-eating ghoul may have snuffed her life away. Estelita Adrada, 48, of Brgy. Asluman here had the shock of her life when she discovered her eighth child April Rose already lifeless inside their nipa hut early morning yesterday.

What shocked Estelita more was the wound on April Rose’s lower right jaw as if an animal bit her face off (see photo). Bruno Adrada, 24, April Rose’s elder brother, said April Rose was already feeling ill days before. Instead of eating a full dinner, April Rose only took bread and milk because of the fever and headache she contracted. Estelita said she was hugging her daughter while they were sleeping because the latter was not feeling well. All went well inside the Adrada residence until 4am yesterday when Estelita felt April Rose already cold and not moving.

The caretaker of a nearby beach resort home said their three dogs were barking at the Adrada house between 10pm and 11pm Wednesday but he did not see anything unusual in the area. Dr. Maria Eva Pacificador, Hamtic municipal health officer, who conducted an initial autopsy on April Rose’s remains, said the victim died between 10pm Wednesday and 1am Thursday.

At this point, the aforementioned link was supposed to take you to the rest of the story, but it's a dead link now.

Read more about the aswang, the Philippine flesh-eating ghoul, here on another blog entry.

Until next time.

I've always been strangely fascinated with the paranormal and the supernatural even as a kid. One of the first books I really got into was this old Reader's Digest publication called "Into The Unknown". I remember it so well because it was what got me interested in UFO's, ghosts, monster sightings, vampires, witchcraft, etc.

One other book I was so very into when I was a kid was "Mysteries of the Unexplained", another old Reader's Digest publication which had more of the same stuff, but offered more strange tales- stories of spontaneous human combustion, sinkholes swallowing entire houses, frogs raining down on a town, feral children- man, I could just go on.

And then I remember this one particular cousin of mine who, in addition to a whole other bunch of books, also has great stuff on Vampires, Witches, Werewolves, Extra-Terrestrial Encounters and so much more.

So it would seem that, yes, I do have a fascination for all these paranormal subjects. Having the internet around makes collating all these stories and observations and accounts so much more easier. And I thought, in March of 2008, why not have an entire blog about it and share what we know with others?

Thus this personal project, "Normal Paranormal". I wanted a blog that would cover just about any kind of weird, typically unexplainable paranormal or supernatural activity- whether local or global- expect to see stuff on ghosts and hauntings, urban legends, monster sightings, local myth and folklore, parapsychology, ufology, forteana, strange physics, and pretty much anything else in between.

Consider this new blog as a collection of stories of sorts. It doesn't have to be just from the Philippines. Isn't it interesting how ghosts, for example, are such a universal phenomenon? Just about every culture have ghosts and spirits in their folklore- something definitely worth looking into.

My aim is not to debunk, or demystify anything, or even provide an explanation as to what's going on. In fact, I've quite accepted the grim truth- there's a lot of stuff out there we couldn't explain, and let's just take it all at face value, and leave the dissecting to the experts, which I am clearly not part of.

So I hope to hear your stories as well. I'm sure a lot of people would love to hear about them too.

Cheers, everyone!

Forgive me for not getting the connection so much earlier, even if the photos had been out for almost a month already.

If you're a fan of Grey's Anatomy, you probably remember Denny Duquette, right? The dude who managed to snag Dr. Stevens' heart and left her with eight million dollars in Season Two/Three?

Well that dude is Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who incidentally, also plays John Winchester, demon-hunting dad of our two leads- Sam and Dean- on Supernatural. Yep, that's him on the right.

Right after I read Alan Moore's graphic novel all over again, I felt compelled to do some research about it online, and thus made the connection. Morgan plays the role of The Comedian in Zack Snyder's (same dude who directed "300") take on "The Watchmen". The movie is coming out about a year from now (in March 2009), but from what we heard, most of the footage has been shot, and the project is on post-production right now.

Now, as far as I know, The Comedian (the dude with the cigar in the pic to the left) doesn't really have super-powers- he's really a down-to-earth badass, almost like Marvel's Nick Fury. Even as superheroes had been outlawed in an alternate reality, The Comedian had continued to serve the US Government as a commando/special ops guy, touring global hot spots like Vietnam, Iran and pretty much wherever there was conflict- even helping quell some civilian riots at home.

Check out Morgan as The Comedian right here:

Now doesn't he look totally badass? Even if that just looks like regular Kevlar armor (I'm assuming) with a bandoleer of grenades + a standard army-issue grenade launcher, he looks rather menacing enough. Definitely worth watching out for.

According to FirstShowing.net, the movie arrives in theaters everywhere on March 6th, 2009. Stay tuned for even more Watchmen coverage, photos, and more exclusives on First Showing's official website.

Cheers, everyone!

If you haven't heard about it yet, it's about friggin' time you do: The Guild is probably the best thing since sliced bread.

It's an online series of webisodes, written by Felicia Day, that's been the talk of the town particularly since the series had bagged several awards, including the Yahoo 2007 Best Web Series Award, the YouTube Best Series Award for 2007, and the ON Networks/SXSW Greenlight Award for Best Original Production.

It's been a huge online success, the Pilot episode has over 1 million views since it was first posted on YouTube 8 months ago. Check it out for yourself, and see why it's such a delight!

Get To Know Your Guildies!

I've provided linkage to the episodes and other fun stuff below. In the meantime, I'd like to feature the cast and crew of this kickass new show, with stuff I dug up from the official website, www.watchtheguild.com.

Felicia Day (Codex the Healer) was born in Huntsville, Alabama. She was home-schooled all her life and got her first acting role as Scout in the Huntsville Little Theatre production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Felicia started college at 16, majoring in violin performance, and then in mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin.

She has been on television shows such as “Windfall”, “Strong Medicine”, “Monk”, “Love Inc.”, and most notably had a recurring role as Potential Slayer Vi on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” She has been in such films as “Bring it on Again”, “June” and most recently, the Emmy award-winning “Warm Springs”, with Kenneth Branagh.

Jeff Lewis (Vork the Warrior, and Guildmaster of "The Knights of Good") is an alumni of Acme comedy theater and a graduate of the Groundlings and Second City.

Jeff Lewis has written and acted in HBO’s Sketch Pad 2 and has written such shows as Nickelodeon’s Catscratch and Dreamworks Animation’s Toonsylvania. He has also entered the screenplay world with the wrapping of his script “For Christ’s Sake“, set to be released in early 2008. I believe he recently adopted a dog (I think it's Cubby, who can be seen on their Christmas vid right here! - Renzie). Congratulations Jeff!

Amy Okuda (Tink the Ranger) was born in Torrance, California. Amy began dancing when she was 13 and shortly got an agent, which eventually led to appearances in television commercials, music videos (as a dancer), and print (as a model).

She has booked an array of print jobs around the globe, such as ads for Apple laptop computers, Verizon, and for Jamie Kennedy’s “Kickin' It Old School.” Also in her resume are commercials such as Shoe Carnival, Japanese soft-drink company Suntory, and voice-over for AT&T.

More recently she has also landed a role in the TV show “Californication”, and has expanded her ventures into acting. “The Guild” is her first recurring role. Amy hopes to continue her wide sphere of activity, especially in her pursuits of acting. She plans to keep doing what she loves and putting her heart in her every endeavor.

Vincent Caso (Bladezz the Rogue) was born in Massachusetts and raised in Los Angeles. He attended a school for the Arts and, with his training in front and behind the camera, he decided at the age of 13 to pursue acting. Within a year he booked a lead in his first feature film, “American Fork,” from the producer of “Napoleon Dynamite.” Vincent is also an accomplished sleight of hand artist and playing card handler – he is never without a deck of cards, practicing and creating new tricks as he prepares to become a junior member of The Magic Castle.

Robin Thorsen (Clara the Mage) is a recent graduate of Chapman University in Orange County with a BA in Theatre Arts, and an AA from Marymount College in Rancho Palos Verdes. While at school, she appeared as Julia in "Lend Me a Tenor", Ethel in "Moon Over Buffalo", Lala in "The Last Night at Ballyhoo", Kate in "Ladies in Waiting", and the Nurse in "Romeo and Juliet".

She has also appeared in "Grease", "Brigadoon", "Damn Yankees", and "Arsenic and Old Lace". Robin was twice awarded an Irene Ryan nomination to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for her comedy performances. Theatre and film have been Robin’s passion for as long as she can remember. She is thrilled to have been chosen to play Clara Beane in The Guild.

Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo the Warlock) was born a winner. He had to fight six other fetuses (feti?) on his way through the birth canal just to make it onto this earth (It was part of a failed reality show on Fox called Womb Wars).

Sandeep now uses his survival skills and killer instinct to run Effinfunny.com, a stand up and sketch comedy community. You can also find out more about his personal struggles and triumphs at www.sandeepparikh.com, if he ever decides to update it. He’s currently in talks with everybody about producing everything. He’s repped at William Morris. They’re busy so don’t call. Unless its about Sandeep, then do call!

Everything You Need To Know About The Guild:

As mentioned earlier, writing cred for The Guild goes to Felicia Day. The online series is directed and edited by Jane Selle Morgan. The series is produced by Kim Evey, Day and Morgan (that's them from a Facebook pic to the left!) .

Well, for your convenience, I've put everything we got on The Guild right here. For episodes, check these out:

• Episode 1: "Wake Up Call"
• Episode 2: "Zaboo'd"
• Episode 3: "The Macro Problem"
• Episode 4: "Cheesybeard's"
• Episode 5: "Rather Be Raiding"
• Episode 6: "Total Wipe"
• Episode 7: "Home Invasion"
• Episode 8: "Tipping Point"

For official channels, you can check out the show's channel on YouTube, or on this great comedy site- Effinfunny.com. And you can also visit their official website for lots of great insider stuff and exclusive video, or you could check them out on Facebook and MySpace, and add them up to your profile!

You can check this pic out (as well as other cool shots) on The Guild's page on Facebook. Left-to-right: we have Vincent (Bladezz), Kim Evey (producer), Amy (Tink), Jane (director/producer), Felicia (writer/Codex), Jeff (Vork) and Robin (Clara). Not shown is Sandeep (Zaboo)- was he the one taking the pic?

Anyway, I've already thanked him here, but it's very well-deserved: special thanks to Mike of "The Mike Abundo Effect" for introducing me to The Guild.

Cheers, everyone!

While we've heard that The Guild is currently working on episodes 9, 10, and a much-awaited season ender, I decided to get my fix of The Guild on their YouTube channel.

So far they've had eight episodes posted:

• Episode 1: "Wake Up Call"
• Episode 2: "Zaboo'd"
• Episode 3: "The Macro Problem"
• Episode 4: "Cheesybeard's"
• Episode 5: "Rather Be Raiding"
• Episode 6: "Total Wipe"
• Episode 7: "Home Invasion"
• Episode 8: "Tipping Point"

But they also have a few other videos, which I've decided to focus on this blog post. The most recent is this one, where we have the crew show off their nice little ON Networks/SXSW Greenlight Award for Best Original Production, right before they bagged the Yahoo 2007 Best Web Series Award, the YouTube Best Series Award for 2007. I think it's just cute to see the whole bunch off-character every now and then.


Then we have a gag reel from a whole bunch of outtakes from the first three episodes, posted in mid-October of last year.


And finally, probably my favorite thus far, is this cute little Christmas montage they put together. Featuring the music of Don Schiff, with a creepy Santa and cute little Cubby :)

Read more about The Guild as I feature the rest of the other episodes on this blog, "Renzie On Gaming". In the meantime, you can check out their official website for lots of great insider stuff and exclusive video, or you could check them out on Facebook and MySpace.

'Til next episode! Cheers, everyone!

Now here's a lady who can easily be every gamer-boy's dream-come-true. Felicia Day, ladies and gentlemen: she's cute, she's funny, and most importantly, SHE PLAYS GAMES!

Seriously.

In a recent episode of Mahalo Daily with Veronica Belmont, we get treated to an interview with Felicia Day and The Guild co-star Sandeep Parikh. Of course, they talk about the online comedy series- what it's about, how they came up with the idea for it, and what's in store for The Guild in the immediate future.

Somewhere along the conversation, Felicia admits to being a gamer all her life- getting into PC games as early as 6 or 7 years old, and rattled off quite a few of the games I also played back then- more notably, the Sierra series of adventure games: King's Quest, Space Quest and Leisure Suit Larry!

Woohoo! Man, I loved those games! And that was back when games came in antiquated 5-1/4" diskettes. Diskettes, man!

She also mentioned the Ultima series, a bad Diablo addiction in college, and as we all know now from The Guild official website, a two-year addiction to World of Warcraft!

Anyway, you can check the rest of the interview on YouTube, or right here, as I have conveniently provided for your viewing pleasure.


Check her out on her very own website, right here- where you could check out more pics (like the one above), and the kind of work she's done so far. Smart little lady has even done some branding and is doing a great job marketing herself online. Heck, she's even designed the website herself! Well done, Felicia :)

If you haven't seen it yet, go check out The Guild- it's a hilarious online comedy series which you can check out on the show's channel on YouTube, or on this great comedy site- Effinfunny.com. I've also provided some linkage (to all eight webisodes thus far) right here:

• Episode 1: "Wake Up Call"
• Episode 2: "Zaboo'd"
• Episode 3: "The Macro Problem"
• Episode 4: "Cheesybeard's"
• Episode 5: "Rather Be Raiding"
• Episode 6: "Total Wipe"
• Episode 7: "Home Invasion"
• Episode 8: "Tipping Point"

Read more about The Guild as I feature the rest of the other episodes on this blog, "Renzie On Gaming". In the meantime, you can check out their official website for lots of great insider stuff and exclusive video, or you could check them out on Facebook and MySpace.

'Til next episode! Cheers, everyone!

Welcome to our continuing coverage of The Guild, my new online favorite, and winner of the Yahoo 2007 Best Web Series Award, the YouTube Best Series Award for 2007, and the ON Networks/SXSW Greenlight Award for Best Original Production.

In our last episode, Codex now knows why Zaboo is so weird, and all is not well in Cyd's household. Meanwhile, Tink shows off her babysitting skills, Bladezz gets back at The Guild, and Zaboo bids Cyd goodbye :) with an ethernet cord.

Guild drama continues in Episode 8: "Tipping Point". Enjoy!

Read more about The Guild as I feature the rest of the other episodes on this blog, "Renzie On Gaming". In the meantime, you can check out their official website for lots of great insider stuff and exclusive video, or you could check them out on Facebook and MySpace.

'Til next episode! Cheers, everyone!