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For-O
Here’s what happens when you get older: you don’t feel much has changed. And then, of course, you play your usual sports.
Your body doesn’t respond the way it used to. You can still lift heavy weights, but your explosiveness has been noticeably diminished. Your feet get wider, your skin wrinkles more than usual, you find white hairs on your head, your mustache, and nose hairs.
But you also get wiser. You find that you no longer have to tolerate the things that irritate you. You either speak your mind or you walk away. You also have a sense of where things might lead, having gone through pretty much all imaginable circumstances at least twice already. You also read something new into books that you’ve read before, and catch something you missed in the production of a song you have listened to a hundred times. You also catch that clever frame or witty remark you missed before in that movie you’ve seen five times. And you find yourself watching the 4th incarnation of Spiderman, 4th incarnation of Superman, and a black Nick Fury.
You’ve also been around long enough to see the younger generation wearing the same exact DM’s, Vans, Tretorn, KSwiss, Jordans you once pined for. And now that you can actually afford them, you relish that feeling of actually owning them. And you don’t feel the need to wear the same Flock of Seagulls haircut nor that Kid n’ Play shaved ‘do you once sported and now are back in fashion.
You may also find yourself in a position where people look up to you for guidance and counsel, and you are overwhelmed sometimes because it doesn’t seem that long ago that you were smoking joints with friends at the back of your neighborhood’s chapel. But it feels good. You’ve arrived.
Yes, 40 is not so bad.
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Happy Birthday!
Minsan mayroong isang kabute. Sabi niya, “I like m’self. Kaya lang, mayroong kulang.”
Sa mga panahong iyon, mayroong prinsesa. Sabi niya, “Nakaka-tense.”
Narinig siya ng kabute. Sabi ng kabute, “Bakit ka nate-tense?”
Sabi ng prinsesa, “Haha! Expression lang yun!”
“Ang ganda mo,” nasabi ng kabute.
“Echos ka,” sabi ng prinsesa.
“You know me right?” Ang ingay ng kabute.
Diyan nagsimula ang kanilang pag-iibigan. Di naglaon ay dumating ang isang maliit na kabute ( na kamukha ng prinsesa). Sabi ng maliit na kabute, “Waway!”
Bagaman masaya sila, may ibayo pang kaligayahan ang nag-aantay sa kanila.
***
Para lang malinaw, ako yung prinsesa.
Maligayang kaarawan, kabute! :)
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Retroed
I wrote this in 2007. I’m psychic.
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So I’ve been pondering on the survival of radio. Everyone acknowledges it, or are at least remotely aware of its downward spiral. I think it’s easier to swallow when you grow up downloading your music, or if you prefer visual interpretation of your audio favorites. Easier when you can skip to the next track. Or when you can carry your music with you on your phone. It’s easier when you grow up listening to annoying spiels on very impersonal DJs (who call themselves jocks nowadays, by the way.)
I find it a tad bitter pill to swallow. I grew up on Casey Kasem. I grew up eagerly browsing through catalogues of records. I grew up not knowing what to expect from a record I just bought. I grew up reading every line of every song (even liner notes) on album sleeves. I grew up dialing the phone to request a song. I grew up waiting for the next life-changing songs and/or artists on the radio. I grew up listening to the radio almost every single hour of every day.oOoEveryone wants to be the star nowadays. There is no mystique. No room for drama. No spontaneity. If not the star, they want to be the witty critic.
So now, there is no need for the spotlight. Everyone is on the stage. Rockstars are dead, if not dying. Much like my beloved radio. If the trend continues, who will be the audience? If everyone becomes the controller, who’s left to listen? -
http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/30323858219/kylecassidy-spent-the-weekend-at-castle-gaiman
Spent the weekend at Castle Gaiman relaxing gloriously and working on a Top Sekret art project. This is not the Top Sekret art project; this is Neil on a trampoline.
As promised.
Use it wisely.
I did not know I was being sneakily filmed. It was early in the morning and I was trying to wake myself up….
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More importantly, the song is awesome.
A few weeks ago in London, Amanda showed me this video in email. She’d just got it from filmmaker Jim Batt. I watched it with the artist Judith Clute. When it finished, we made Amanda show it to us again, and then again. We laughed and gasped in the same places each time.
I love stop motion, and I love imagination, and I love that it’s a rock video that’s fresh and imaginative. AND ALL STOP-MOTION.
There’s probably a metaphor in there somewhere relating to the open relationship Palmer has with her fans, but it also displays her willingness to bare all for her art. This feeling of being comfortable in her own skin can be seen in the stop-motion video – premiered here exclusively – for the excellent Want It Back, in which the lyrics to the song are scrawled on her body (bed sheets, walls and iPad). Talking about the making of the video, Palmer says: “I’m so comfortable being naked at this point that I almost forget … I’m also proud that that video has nudity, but it isn’t sexual or erotic … it’s using the body as a raw canvas, which I love.”
Filmed by Australian director Jim Batt, it’s a brilliantly intimate and anarchic representation of the song, the line “it doesn’t matter if you want it back, you’ve given it away” made even more open and honest.
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Review of ASM Reviews
So I really liked Amazing Spiderman. Apparently a lot did, too, as the movie continues to rake in the big bucks. It wasn’t until I read the critical reviews that I did a double-take and noticed that there were some holes in the story.
And then it dawned on me: “I did not even notice them as I was watching, so why does it matter?”
The thing is it’s easy to nitpick just about anything in this cynical world, where Lourd de Veyra types are considered geniuses and whose acerbic and sometimes bordering on asinine words are considered gospel (never mind that the template was provided by Jessica Zafra, and that should have ended there).
In the much-anticipated rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, I cannot believe how some quarters took issue with Joe Rogan’s pronouncement that Silva is the greatest martial artist ever. Some went on mentioning Fedor, Bas, (and all those other names that get you instant cred) as the best ever. I refuse to believe that the game did not evolve at all, that you can easily compare the pioneers’ skills against that of the game’s current practitioners. Granted, there are those who are so special that they are head and shoulders above everyone else in their field that to call anyone else as the greatest would be sacrilege (ie, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, The Beatles). But that should not prevent anyone from recognizing a great thing when they see it.
I would surmise that those ready to pounce on anything good are those eager to flash their cred badge. Of course, there were moments in ASM where I went “Oh, that’s too contrived” (the crane scene towards the end), but overall, the movie resonated. I did not feel like my intelligence was insulted. I feel more insulted by people needing to tell me that they know their pop culture history.
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2DTOYS
This is what I remember most about 2dtoys; when I was about 10 and he was about 7, he wanted me to draw him Voltes V. I refused for whatever reason. His mom (my aunt) told me to be more accommodating being that I was the elder. Against my will I proceeded to draw. As I was about to put pen to paper, he made a fighting stance: hands up, fists clenched, and with some tears still in his eyes, he made a scowl. “What a brat!”, I thought. And then it dawned on me that he was doing the pose he wanted me to draw Voltes V in.
As years went by he and I got close being that he was the only male cousin I had closer to my age. We drew characters and made comic books out of folded blank sheets of paper, stapled along the folded lines. Our characters, and their stupid names (not gonna get into that), are largely laughable. But those were great times.
Fast forward to the future. I have always admired 2dtoys crisp lines whenever he draws. That crispness translated well when he started customizing toys. (Check them out here)
His popularity grew within certain circles. These days, he is responsible for some of the most beloved GI Joe figures, alongside some of the rarest (if not elusive) Star Wars and Marvel Legends ever to hit the shelves.
Here’s an interview I had with the man.
I remember your collection of toys. You have so many! Whatever was it that drove you to customizing instead of just collecting some more?
Despite the number of toys out there, there’s still a number of characters that I love which weren’t getting made for whatever reason. So instead of waiting for the chance that toy companies would make them, I decided to customize them myself. Sometimes I’d customize because I didn’t like the retail product and wanted something more to my preferences.
Ever had major accidents?
I’ve cut my fingers plenty with an X-acto as well as burned them with hot wax several times, but thankfully nothing really major.
I heard you made a killing out of customizing. What was the most you made out of a custom? Were there weird requests? Was there ever a commission you turned down?
I wouldn’t quite say I’ve made a killing, The most I’ve made was $990 or something like that. But that was a one time thing. It was a Snake Eyes custom. Afterwards I finally got a chance to sculpt that character professionally, and I saw it as a chance to do the best I can, and make sure that the buyer was justified in purchasing my work. I get asked for commissions pretty regularly and I have to turn them down 95% of the time because of time issues.
You’re now a freelance sculptor in the toy industry, how did that come about?
The short story is that I went to San Diego Comic Con a few years ago. I saw that Hasbro had a portfolio review, I happened to have some pieces to show and they called a few weeks later.
What did you make for Hasbro? Anything you can tell us that’s in the pipeline?
I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of toys in brands like G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Iron Man 2, Captain America, and the Avengers Movie.
Who among those in the industry did you look up to?Man there’s too much to list. At the top of that list would be people like Dave Vennemeyer and Dave Proctor. Extremely talented people who I’ve admired and learned alot from.
Tips on customizing?Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Jump in, do what you can, and learn from it afterwards.
(Thank you to Nico for the Hawkeye pic above. He invites you to check out what’s coming up soon in your favorite toy store here)
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All The Other Kids With The Pumped Up Kicks
VVNDS. OBO. DS. OG.
These terms are familiar with current sneakerheads. The sneaker above (Nike Air Solo Flight) was one of the first sneakers I bought in the past. It wasn’t the first one though. I saved up enough from my allowance back in college to buy a fake Nike tennis shoe. When I got back to the dorm, this dude wearing Jordan BC3’s said of my shoe; “Nice.”
Bah. I wanted to get the Nike Air Revolution then, but of course that was out of my reach. Later on I was able to buy this:
This was the Nike Air Flight Turbulence. It was one of my favorite shoe.Around the same time, I also bought this:
The Nike Hype Uptempo. Had this in predominantly black as an alternative to my white Turbulence.
The last decent shoe I got was this:
The Nike Vis Zoom Uptempo. I was a fan of Allan Houston and I preferred this one over what I perceived then the too futuristic looking Foamposite (it was only available in gold and black then).
I wore these out, obviously. Aside from balling in them, I would also wear these riding BMX’s, commuting, malling, and everything else. Didn’t think much of it then.
Nowadays I am fortunate enough to have been able to purchase some of the shoes I have been drooling over back in college. Yes, that includes the Jordan 3.
I still use them as much as I can. It never made sense to me to buy something without using them (unless they’re paintings, or some other decorative item). I don’t buy toys and have them gather dust. I certainly don’t buy shoes and have them sit on boxes until the time comes when they crumble in my hands (I imagine I’d feel terrible not having enjoyed the shoe).
This is the reason why I don’t have VVNDS or DS shoes. I am not buying the hype either. I personally think that the Galaxy Foamposite is the ugliest shoe ever. I don’t even think the Concords are the greatest Jordan shoes of all time.
I guess all I’m trying to say is this: get the things you love, not because they’re hyped. Shoes were engineered to wrap around your feet, not to get locked up in a vault.
I even let my kid have fun with them.
