the garapata can speak...

This is for you, our lovely Prince.

2012-01-23T05:30:00.001+08:00

January 13, Friday, 2012

2012-01-13T18:42:00.000+08:00

'Nuff said.
:-)

Welcoming the first week of the year with a sneeze!

2012-01-05T17:27:00.000+08:00

The Garapata is feeling sick today. Been sneezing so much I can probably refill a tube of toothpaste. Allow me to spare you guys the times when I'd sneeze and end up giving myself a bukake-like mask. Ugh.

Come to think of it rOckY and I have been feeling under the weather for the last few days now. To try to help recovery happen faster, we've even opted to use separate glasses and reduce any kissing to close-mouthed smacking until we both get better. I guess it is for the best for now. That way, if one person gets better first, the other can catch up, rather than reinfect the other again.

It can be funny how in synch rOckY and I can be in times like this. Whether it be financial balancing, periods we crave for something, or something as simple as getting the urge to play Dynasty Warrior, we find ourselves matching wavelengths in so many ways.

Anyway, here's hoping we recover very soon. Still have a trip to O bar Ortigas to consider, a game with Mahar and Urim and a spa run with a friend to look forward to.

Antibodies, work overtime!

The First Wheelie Day for the Year!

2012-01-03T02:31:00.001+08:00

Just celebrated the first Wheelie Day of the year!

Had a deliciously heavy dinner/breakfast with rOckY today. A full rack of Baby Back Ribs, Corn on the Cob, and a Caesar's salad with blackened chicken strips. A tad pricey, but definitely well worth it given what Wheelie Day stands for in our lives.

Now, rOckY is at work and I'm at home. I should be getting more sleep but I just feel too cold and thirsty to do so. Might have to hydrate given all the drinking and partying that we indulged in during the holidays.

There's nothing better than knowing the man you love loves you back just as intensely and as honestly.

I love you, rOckY!
Happy Wheelie Day!

2011 comes to an end...

2011-12-31T19:50:00.001+08:00

...and while I am happy to celebrate it with my family, I do feel sad too that I can't celebrate it with Rocky yet. Given how there is no such thing as gay marriage yet in this country, my relationship with Rocky will not be recognized as a valid union with a partner. Ergo, I can't exactly tell my parents, "I'll be there tomorrow, because tonight I am celebrating New Year with MY family."

But I guess I shouldn't feel that bad about it.

There are many other people out there who are going through rougher times this year. From friends who are far away from their families and are forced to celebrate the end of the year on their own, to people who are now going through a trying time of grief and recovery and feel that with everything wrong going on, why celebrate this last day of 2011?

We have all been blessed.

Whether it be small things such as finding a job we love doing, or being able to meet new friends who are not just superficial entities seeking to move themselves further up the social ladder, we have been blessed. Whether it be having more than just a typical meal to eat tonight for the New Year feasting, or having someone to share the love and joy of your life with, we have been blessed. Whether it is because we now live in a bigger, better place, or own more expensive, stylish things, or whether it is because we simply know that we survive another day carrying a disease we have no choice but to live with, or just have a reason to smile no matter how crappy the day can get.

We have all been blessed.

2011 is almost over.
Let us start 2012 by celebrating every single day that we have been given.
And living our lives to the fullest.

Happy New Year!

LEGO sets I'd love to someday see

2011-12-22T18:48:00.001+08:00

With the coming of Lord of the Rings LEGO, I realized how much I'd love to see more kinds of LEGO out there. While unlikely, not to mention really expensive, there's no harm in the fun of hoping to see these happen someday.

1) BROADWAY LEGO SETS
I'd LOVE to own a RENT Lego set, with three separate actual location sets: There's the community block with Benny, Mark Cohen and Joanne, the dining area below for Roger, Mimi, Maureen, and the street side alleyway for Tom Collins and Angel (with drum set of course)!

Or can you imagine a Sondheim collection? Into The Woods LEGO set? Sweeney Todd LEGO set with meat buns unique lego tiles? Or even A Little Night Of Music?

Or a Broadway's Greatest Collection with a Les Miserables set. Or a Phantom of the Opera set. I know I'd love to see a The Lion King set too!

Maybe the sets can come with the CD of the soundtrack of the musicals, to be a good entry point as well for kids to appreciate musicals?

2) Post Apocalyptic LEGO
Can you imagine a series of LEGO kits that allow you to recreate scenes from movies like Mad Max or the future in Terminator? LEGO sets that have bricks that can be used to create damaged and worn down looking models? Bricks with "broken" portions and exposed wires. Tiles with shattered patterns on them. Maybe even rusted colored bricks and warped glass panels.

3) Steampunk LEGO
Sort of like a LEGO that is halfway Technic and halfway still basic LEGO. Gears and pulleys as normal pieces. Chain links as a common means of interlocking pieces. Tiling that can work as both patterns and building tools. Screw and bolt connectors.

4) Horror Greats LEGO kits
Can you imagine how a Jack the Ripper LEGO kit would be just awesomely cool? Or a The Frankenstein Monster set complete with Dr. Frankenstein laboratory? A Dracula kit with Brides you can have walk on the walls? My favorite idea: I would LOVE to own a Freddy Kreuger LEGO kit.

Unlikely? Yes.
But man, I'd love to see these happen someday.

Christmas Musings....

2011-12-22T06:02:00.001+08:00

This Christmas Season has just been one with so many wonderful moments. From rOckY's awesome Ghibli Christmas gift (which is being featured one Totoro-related item at a time at www.Baduypride.com), to the ABBA Christmas Party where we were all in fabulous costumes, to the annual Gift Giving event at DSL Lipa for the Bro. Rabisa Gift of Knowledge scholars, to being able to spend time with Ives, Sophie and Jam who are here from Los Angeles for a few weeks, to getting invited to Christmas dinners, receiving sweet messages thanking me for being part of the lives of others, and so much more. I have so many things to be thankful for, that it feels wrong to celebrate them too much given the tragedy that has happened in Mindanao and other similar less than happy events this December.

(Once again, wrote this for Garapata Can Speak, but realized it works better in Baduypride.com, so pardon my moving it there.) Read the full post here:
http://www.baduypride.com/2011/12/christmas-musings-of-garapata.html

My most awesome Ghibli Christmas Gift!

2011-12-19T06:36:00.002+08:00

A more comprehensive blog post to follow.
But til then, here's a sneak peek at what rOckY got me this year!

LOVE!!!!!!

:-)

One book this Toy Con is all I needed

2011-12-18T00:31:00.000+08:00

rOckY and Urim and I decided to head to SM Mega Mall today to check out the Toycon for some toy hunting. I guess considering we decided to head there around 8p.m. the usual horde of cosplayers wasn't that much present anymore, which personally I feel is a good thing. I don't have issues with cosplayers. I do have issues when people who support/accompany the cosplayers push me and my friends away to give them room. I don't need to name names, but am sure many of you know who I am talking about.

rOckY had a great time shopping with a bunch of Transformers to add to our growing collection. I am sure he has a lot he'll want to talk about that so will wait for him to blog about it in his own blogs. One thing is for certain, there's nothing more fulfilling than seeing the man you love enjoying the chance to purchase things he longed to have.

Urim, too, had a shopping spree, finding the gifts he needed for this Christmas shopping. It was funny how all three of us at one point swooned over a book (It was "The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service") as well as a mini-statue of Totoro and the girls waiting at the bus station, but thankfully reason (and budget) won out and we decided not to get them.

I slowly looked around the trade paperbacks and found myself tempted to get a few JLA trades, the Weapon of the Gods trade collection of the comics, but there was one book I saw which definitely was worth buying: Aberrant TERAGEN! Incredibly, it was mixed among the comics and being sold at 80% off, so I was able to grab it for only Php180 (which translates to around US$ 4.1) Sadly, I couldn't find any other role-playing stuff around, so I just spent the rest of the time walking around and supporting rOckY in his purchases.

We also bumped into Casey, who was dressed up as Green Lantern, as well as a few other friends. While I still feel the name "Toycon" doesn't really capture what the event is (and out of gratitude for the book I found, I won't elaborate further tonight) I'm just happy that events like this exist to make certain hard-to-find stuff much more accessible, if not affordable.

Thoughts While Alone One December Eve

2011-12-14T02:51:00.000+08:00

I had a HUGE blog post written up here on this. But then I realized it was better posted in Baduypride.com

So go check it out! :-)

The link is
http://www.baduypride.com/2011/12/thoughts-while-alone-one-december-eve.html

Thanks for reading!

Happy Pride!!!

2011-12-03T01:11:00.001+08:00

Happy Pride Everyone!

I'm Antonio Gabriel A. Abad IV, 34 years old

and I am proud to be a bisexual man in an committed, honest, loving gay relationship

with my partner, Rocky Sunico.

(Rocky, me and our friend's baby.)

Happy Pride Everyone!

At our favorite haunt.

Being wacky while travelling.

The plaaaaane!

Attending a friend's wedding.

Geeking out with my dad over the Star Trek movie.

My first ever picture of Rocky.

Me on our second night of hanging out.

Happy Wheelie Day!

2011-12-02T00:03:00.001+08:00

Happy Wheelie Day to my one and only rOckY!

I know, I know, the image couldn't be any more suggestive.
But hey, it could have been worse I guess.

Punk!
PUNK!
PUNK!

Now this is very interesting...

2011-11-20T15:07:00.000+08:00

I might not like the lead, but damn, this poster makes me wanna see the movie.

Gotta love the Muppets

2011-11-19T15:05:00.000+08:00

Especially when they can make me like this.

Okay, I have to admit, this is cool.

2011-11-18T15:01:00.001+08:00

This is very cool.

Let's do more than just party this Christmas!

2011-11-12T19:23:00.001+08:00

Reposted from disoadiva

PinoyG4M and the Akei LGBTIQ Working Group is teaming up to aid the Home for the Golden Gays!

Choose one or both ways to help:

I want to sponsor:
You may donate cash by contacting us below or you may opt to give slippers, colorful shirts, fans, combs, handkerchiefs and/or toiletries. Pledges & donations will be publicly listed but you may request to remain anonymous.

Click here for instructions on how to donate via GCash.

Click here for a list of Internation GCash Remit partners.

I want to volunteer:
Join us for a fun afternoon at the Home!
1:00 - 5:00 PM
November 26, 2011 | Saturday
Home for the Golden Gays
#108 David Street corner F.B. Harrison, Pasay City

For more information, visit the event's page on Facebook.

You may also join the conversation in the PG4M forums

Home for the Golden Gays

The Home for the Golden Gays is "a refuge for the elderly and vulnerable gays of Manila. A home for those, who have nowhere else to go, for those whose families have rejected them, and for those who simply want to be in the company of other elderly gays."

PinoyG4M: Straight Talk for Gay Men

PG4M (Pinoy Guys4Men) is an online message board for Filipino and Philippine-based gay and bisexual men. This site aims to provide a venue for conversation and exchange of ideas among its members, providing a venue for friendship, a sense of community, and a sounding board for opinions and concerns of gay men regarding the current issues and trends facing not just the LGBT people, but the society in general.

Contact:
Lanchie Abanco
+63 917 365 9620
lanchie@gmail.com

Akei LGBTIQ Working Group

The LGBTIQ Working Group of Akei considers the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual & questioning/queer (LGBTIQ) peoples as one of the last great civil issues of our time. In countries around the world, LGBTIQs face issues on multiple fronts--in justice systems, workplaces and even among their peers. Akei plans to concentrate on improving movement tactics, social networks and cultural capital in the LGBTIQ community through harnessing intellectual resources so as to create systemic changes in how LGBTIQ people are treated in society.

Contact:
PJ Salenda
Akei LGBTIQ Working Group
+63 918 942 8513
prsalenda@gmail.com

Check out TAGSESSIONS

2011-11-07T23:03:00.001+08:00

As a way to track all the games I run, I've decided to create a blog to showcase them. While I still plan to create stand-alone blogs/websites when appropriate for long term chronicles, all games that I can track will be given their own entry page in tagsessions.blogspot.com

I love how the Dynamic Template of Blogger works well for this site too. With a click, you can see what year what games were run, or what systems have been tackled, and so on and so forth. As always, I'm open to the idea of running demo games for people who've never tried a real table top role-playing game, as well as running one-shot sessions for people who want to try playing with me.

Here's hoping more and more people enjoy table top gaming!

Play on!

Ever Heard of Spring Heeled Jill?

2011-11-03T23:36:00.002+08:00

http://springheeledjill.com/

Check it out today!

The net was super wonky everywhere for a few minutes.

2011-10-26T21:11:00.001+08:00

I wonder when someone will admit it. Something happened just minutes ago. Was it Anonymous and a counter-attack I wonder. Hmmm.

Disturbingly hypnotic. Beautifully wicked.

2011-10-26T21:03:00.002+08:00

Mound by Allison Schulnik from garaco taco on Vimeo.

Allison Schulnik, I love it.
Thank you for this.

Keep them coming

2011-10-26T10:27:00.001+08:00

I posted the other day about the dream house Rocky and I hope to get and I'm happy that many quickly contacted me with supportive suggestions. I've sent my resume out to some of you, and have also replied back to the emails of others. As of now, I have real estate referral options, online publishing options, possible outsourced work, lecture referral options and a few other requests for a portfolio as well.

Thank you so much for the help. More offers and suggestions are always welcome, but it does feel great to know how many friends are out there who are willing to help out.

The baby steps to getting the dream house have begun. I've even gone all the way to Paranaque to speak to my mom about it and heard her suggestions as well. So far, everything seems positive and I can't wait to see how things will evolve.

On the online publishing front, I'm looking at doing some (or maybe even all) of these:

1) Role-playing game related output
I am looking at either coming up with my own table top role-playing game system, which I can then market and sell online at places like drivethrurpg.com and the like. I'm also looking at the SAS (modules) that White Wolf Gaming Studios produces and checking if they allow people to create their own and sell them (the way there was an open license for d20 materials some years back. Alas as that link shows, they don't. They do allow you to send summaries which if they like, can lead to them publishing it.) It is kind of disturbing though how WWGS' submission guidelines link leads to this. Deep down, I'd love to make books in a similar vein to Giovanni Chronicles (like a Toreador Chronicles that starts during the Renaissance era, or a Brujah Chronicles opening with the Fall of Carthage. My favorite idea that I'd love to work on would be a Malkavian Chronicles, which spans from Ancient Rome to the modern days, but the players go through it out-of-sequence to represent a greater madness afflicting them. So every new gaming session, they randomly roll which era they are playing through, and are allowed to use knowledge of sessions played in the future eras as a reflection of them tapping into the Malkavian Madness Network.)

Maybe it is time to have my Lurker system copyrighted and released?

2) Fiction output
I'm looking at getting my Surviving Manila zombie story novel released. I can probably start with releasing Skydiving Without Parachutes. I'm also reconsidering going back to my Dragon series (You can find it's many entries here.)

On the comic side, maybe it is time for Adventures of the Keyboard Kingdom. And my dreams of a short film will best be approached as a comic for now (assuming I can finalize if I want it to be a straight or gay couple).

Either or all can be released for the Kindle as well. Maybe a few free torrents for the curious.

Beyond these, I'm really hoping to land a few new side-line job options which really good friends have contacted me about. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to grab a job that can be accomplished while working at the computer, so it won't force me to abandon other possible offers. Maybe by the Grace and God, things will look better on this end (yes that wordplay was intentional.)

Anyone else looking for property? I have a few great suggestions that are also environmentally friendly.
Need a motivational speaker for your office? I have a great suggestion I can offer you.
Curious to what range of work I do? Well, there's my online comic diliman, which shows how I can do comics, as dark as they can be. There's this old site where I housed my other comic-related stuff. There's always my old deviantart account which I haven't updated in a long while.

And here are some links to commercials I worked on in the past as an Art Director and Graphic artist.

Long Distance Direct http://youtu.be/RBvas5DFhxQ
Starry Starry Store http://youtu.be/DYSDpFsuRIE
Long Distance Direct (sequel commercial to first concept) http://youtu.be/t1e51mscGKU
Sarimanok One http://youtu.be/OWnfZ7LmYpI

My online short film called SWEETIE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeZXpDIRq40.

I also acted in a few short filmes, including a short film called MUSE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKfMCZAP65w.

Had a geeky webshow called Fandom Live! which lasted for around twoyears. Most of the episodes arecurrently offline (the former server hosting them was physically damaged) but afew episodes were reuploaded here: http://www.youtube.com/user/fandomcafe.

All in all, things are looking brighter ahead.
Let's keep fanning this flame larger!

Games to consider running in the near future

2011-10-22T14:48:00.000+08:00

In as much as many have remarked that it seems impossible for me to have so much time to run so many games, I still find myself looking forward to coming up with other games to run for my friends. Not that long ago, I posted my hopes of running a Psychosis game, a DC Heroes game, a Weapon of the Gods game, a H.P. Lovecraftian game, and a PULP game. So far, I only have the Pulp game to run someday soon.

Then of course there's my desire to run MODELS, my secret-agent game. The RPG Musical remains a dream of mine to actually run (searches of the net so far reveal similar yet different achievements from what I had in mind). And of course, there's always the desire to run more horror games and terrifying one-shot sessions, especially with games like those by John Wick or Wraith the Oblivion in my shelves waiting to be used.

Here are a few other ideas I've been finding myself excited to run:

EPIC FANTASY

My partner, Rocky, has recently gotten me hooked to a show called Pillars of the Earth. The show nicely reflects the political machinations and manipulations that happen between the Church and the Nobility during the medieval era. As fictional as the story may be, the show nicely captures the interplay that I loved in games like Vampire the Dark Ages as well as how I tend to approach d20 games. While most appreciate Dungeons and Dragons for the MMO feel it provides, I like using it to have medieval age set gaming sessions for larger groups. And yes, I must admit, as much as I do love Game of Thrones, I'm really liking the interplay of Pillars of the Earth more. I guess I like the pacing of the show a bit more. And the host of characters. Now, with both as great springboards for inspiration, I'd love to get my hands dirty again and run either Vampire the Dark Ages, Mage the Sorceror's Crusade or even d20 again. (Yes, d20, not 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons which really makes me think too much of MMO games).

SCIENCE FICTION

On the other hand, having successfully run a Serenity - Dr. Who crossover game, wouldn't it be wise then to consider even more games with Dr. Who making an appearance. Whether it be an actual Dr. Who game session, or one which has the Doctor and his friends cameoing in another game, it would be cool to have a chance to run stories that involve time travel the way Dr. Who does it. Maybe this would even make it easier for me to run a Star Trek game for Rocky, since a Dr. Who crossover would be an easy way to explain away the inconsistencies of my Star Trek knowledge.

PULP ACTION

Then there's the PULP games I've been wanting to run for a while now. In as much as an easy way in would be to play existing characters like how he had the DC Heroes game, I would love to dip my hands back in the complex metaplot of the Trinity Universe. To reintroduce to my players the role of the Aeon Society for Gentlemen and how it becomes instrumental in the eventual rise of the Aeon Trinity and the interplanetary adventures set in the future would be a blast! I definitely would want my players to consider totally unique characters of their own in such a game though. Playing existing characters tends to work best for limited run game sessions only.

In many ways the Adventure! system has been a game system I keep trying to run for a chronicle but gets regulated to merely one-shot sessions. So far, I've run around five Adventure!games so far (with the last one, to my recollection, being a game with my best friend Tom and my good friends James and Eman) and I really would love to get a chance to run a long-term chronicle in this some day.

80-90s

I aslo wonder if its time to consider running a homage of games for the things we love from the 80s and 90s? I am sure I am not alone in feeling that many of the reimaginations and relaunches of 80s shows have been terrible. Transformers could have been a billions times better had it been by a different director. Thundercats so far has, in my opinion, more misses than hits with its new incarnation. Voltron is just sad. Very sad. I think the only real success has been My Little Pony, which frankly I haven't gotten my hands into. Nor do I have any plans of doing so. But what about running them as one-shot games? Wouldn't anyone want to try being Aeon Fluxx in a game? How about a MASK game? Could you imagine what direction I'd take a Silverhawks RPG?

Lastly, and I know Rocky will so be afraid of the day I do push through with this. I want to run an RPG based on this show.

Taken from theuniblog.evilspacerobot.com

Because, yes, it is "ADVENTURE TIME!"

I know there are people out there working on 8-bit rpgs using this show as a springboard. Or choose-your-own-adventure types of games. But I think one can run a game using Big Eyes, Small Mouth as the system. I wonder if I'd ever get players for this?

From quirkilicious

Never was a Cornflake Girl?

2011-10-22T03:46:00.002+08:00

Oh Tori... looks like you were.
:-P

Gaming needs its own space

2011-10-19T10:46:00.003+08:00

I have been gaming for practically most of my life. It sometimes frightens me to think of how many game sessions I've actually run in total through-out the years. If gaming were a child, I'd probably have a ten year-old or something. It is nice how my partner, Rocky, has been very supportive of my gaming hobby. We search for good books when we're at bookstores abroad, we consider adding to our dice collections, and most awesome is how he actually even sets up Google Calendars to help me keep track of which game session is coming up and so forth.

BOOOOOOOOKS!

From what began as my weekly weekend games with my neighbors at Tahanan Village, my gaming life soon expanded to running sessions for both cousins, and schoolmates, when they wouldn't be inclined to go play basketball or whatever other sports instead. In school, I recall running games even DURING classes, by passing around a small notebook that had scribbled on it the scenarios that were unfolding and having the players scribble back their actions for the turn. It was around college that my gaming chops were really worked out, with one Mage chronicle having around SIXTEEN players (and mind you, this was a table top game, not LARP nor forum-based) and in another instance, running a game chronicle that was so popular, it had three additional spin-off chronicles to follow it (with players having characters who were generational relations of the first set of PCs).

I've run games at conventions both local and abroad, and it is touching how there are gamers in Los Angeles who do occasionally email me to ask if I'm running another game at the upcoming Memorial Day Strategicon. I've run Live Action role-playing games, both officially and unofficially. I've run games through web forums. I've run games using ym. I've run a semi-game in Google Wave too. And in Google Plus. I've had a game which had players that were BOTH playing via table top and semi-Larp. I've had games which had interactive websites as part of the game. I've even made gaming aids, playtested a few games (such as Part-Time Gods and HERO Sidekick)

Can never have too many dice.

It can be overwhelming to see it all written down, to be honest.

But I guess it just shows how much gaming is my major hobby. If there was a way for me to actually earn a living or make a career out of this, I would love to do so. (looks around for people willing to literally give me a salary to run games)

But as the links above probably have already preempted this part, and thanks to Blogger.com rolling out these really cool Dynamic Templates, I decided to try and make a blog that recorded as much as possible the games I have run through the years. I already have a Facebook Group for all the people who've played under me to sign up in (and stay alerted when I have openings for more players or a whole new chronicle) and I thought a nice blog to keep a record of these games would be fun. I used to create a geocities site for each and every game I ran, but now that Geocities.com is dead, I thought it might be best to track what I could in a blog. While I still plan to make an individual blog for every major game chronicle I run for my friends, I felt the need for a major hub to track all the other games, big or strange or small.

Who would have thought this
naked baby would become a storyteller?

So, allow me to invite you all to TAG Sessions, or the Tobie Abad Game Sessions blog.

If you recall a game you played in which hasn't been recorded in this site (and even better, if you have pictures, etc of that game that you'd want to have me post as well), do contact me and let me know. :-) For those who want to try a game under me sometime (or again), best shoot me a message on Facebook so I can add you to the group.

Ah gaming.
Maybe it was time for me to formally write a game that can be sold?
Or finally run that RPG MUSICAL I have mapped out!

Dream: Spit Scandal

2011-10-16T09:18:00.001+08:00

Today's dream started with me and Rocky walking the streets of Singapore. It was night and the street lights were all aglow. We were headed somewhere (or going somewhere, I forget) when I suddenly realized I felt something stuck between my teeth. Using my tongue, I was able to slide the small piece of food out from between my teeth. Unfortunately, muscle memory kicked in and I suddenly spit the small fragment out.

The very moment I did that, I realized what a mistake it was to do that in Singapore. Known as the Fine City of the world, I remembered how spitting was one of the big no-no's that tourists tend to do. And I had just did it.

Cue in action-movie moment. I told Rocky "I'll be right back," and ran off, heading into the nearest building and searched for a place to hide away. I saw a nearby public locker room and slipped inside hoping to hide from the police. I found myself staring at a large room with seven toilets and no walls separating them and realized there was no hiding in here. The police stepped inside and dragged me back out to the street.

I tried to explain to them that I didn't mean to spit on the road. I tried to sweep up the small fragment of food that I had coughed up and wrapped it in a piece of tissue paper, then promised them I won't do that again. The police decided to give me a break and leave me with a warning.

So I gratefully waved good bye and hurriedly returned back to Rocky's side. I told him about it and we were laughing about it as we continued to walk towards Orchard road. Of course, that moment I find myself feeling another piece of foodstuff stuck between my wisdom teeth and molars. Pulling out a toothpick, I reach back and try to pry the food particle out. As I finally free it up from the tooth space, I end up doing it again.

I instinctively spit.

The lights in the street all dimmed.
Save for the street light directly above me and Rocky.

We hear the sirens.

And I scream as my phone begins to ring.
I wake up, and see it's my best friend Tom calling.
But that's a dream for another day.

Letters to my Ten-Year-Old Self

2011-10-12T01:35:00.001+08:00

Admittedly, I should have done better artwork. But I guess I was pressed for time.
If they ask me to send in stuff again, I will be sure to do so.

But yeah, here's a cool simple e-book that might interest you all.
Check it out!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/95604

Dream Entry: Bavarian Penis and Sheath Crime

2011-10-11T01:39:00.002+08:00

Sometimes I have dreams which seem very... uh... tricky to share in my blog. But part of me thinks it may be best not to be afraid of how crazy they get. After all, dreams are always going to be interesting things as far as I am concerned.

So here is one of those dreams that I had to think about before posting, given its controversial content. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Dream begins with me and Rocky both in our swimming shorts. We are supposedly in this underground river cave with a bunch of our friends from PG4M. It is some kind of an outing and we are crawling around the tight crawlspaces illuminated only by lines of sunlight or these strong white lamps screwed onto the walls. Two of our dearest new friends, L and J are nearby and excited call us to come close. Rocky walks up to them while I wade in the waist deep water to see what's up.

Sorta like this, but with more holes where sunlight streams down, and more spongy sand areas where you can dig about and lie down.

"We got you both a unique present which is sure to excite you!" L declares with a smile and produces a box. Rocky takes the box and begins opening it, while I submerge myself into the water by hugging my knees. I rise up to see Rocky holding this silicon-dildo which roughly matches my actual.. uh... erect size. I find myself impressed with how accurate it was crafted and I end up blushing. "I made it," L proudly proclaims.

"The gift showcases my highly-praised homemade secret sauce," J smiles and points out to Rocky how it has a channel pretty much like a urethra. Sealed as a default, if squeezed (or shall we say, manipulated) the right way, the plaything squirts out a nicely viscous white syrup. I blush as I tell them, "Guys hindi na namn kailangan niyan!" But Rocky instead starts squirting all over the cave walls and me and jokingly proclaims, "Tobie does this too in our house, but he covers more walls."

Now just change donut to another shape and you get the idea.

I opt to head out and buy us something to eat. I leave the tourist spot and find myself walking outside along the road (shirtless but in my wet swimming shorts which is under my jeans and shoes). When I get to this place where I think the food was being sold (hard to recall this detail) a group of armed men show up and gather all us of there into their vans. We end up being brought to some office somewhere and are told that at gun point that we will be stealing for them. I get a sense they're some kind of NGO that needs funds and since it was election season, they were targeting this wealthy candidate.

They tells us all to strip off our clothes, and are given these aboriginal penis sheaths (in the dream it was long cones of dried leaves/woven strips of paper, but to my recall in real life they use wood) and ski masks to wear. Many start having issues with undressing and are threatened with guns again. I just drop my clothes, and work on getting the penis sheath thing on me. But the thing happens to be too short and uh... the girth isn't enough to accommodate me. Complaining I need a bigger one, they end up telling me to "Go naked na lang." ("Go naked instead.")

Minus the wood ring skirt. But you get the idea.

As we head off to the target's place, I recall thinking to myself, "Buti na lang Rocky isn't here. He's underground..." ("Good thing Rocky isn't here. He is underground..") which I know was because I was referring to him at that underground river thing, but I end up laughing as I wake up at the thought it could be misunderstood as him being a terrorist or rebel spy or something.

But yeah, me and my strange dreams.

Wet dreams can be weird

2011-10-07T20:14:00.000+08:00

Had two dreams today.

The first one totally dissolved. I was struggling to recall it, but alas it dissipated so quickly I failed to grasp anything. What I can recall is it had something to do with water.

The second dream was strange. And disturbing.

In the dream, Rocky and I were living in some massive condo unit. By massive I mean there's the main living room entrance, there's the walk-in kitchen with a center table, side walk-in refrigerator, there's the main bedroom, the guest bedroom, bathroom, and a second living room area with a wall-mounted flat screen television and a balcony. Everything was shades of blue and gray. Rocky was fast asleep and I was busy tidying up the place when a sudden downpour occurred. Moving to the wall to press the "Close Windows" option (think ipad embedded in the wall with graphic display of the room), I heard a thunderous roar and suddenly some cables in the kitchen broke free. I quickly headed there to see if it was a dangerous gas leak or so, and seeing it was the gasul line, shut the main feed.

Then water poured down from the main pipes. The sudden downpour sort of dislodged the water tanks and the pressure popped some tubes. I went to the phone and tried to call for help but the building admin couldn't hear me. So I realized I had to go down myself to call them.

First, I went to the pipes to slow the flooding. I saw water was bubbling up from the lower pipe (rather than down from the upper pipe) and realized it would be easier to temporarily seal it some how. This is where it gets weird. I walk up to it and plop in each pipe a rat that was around half the size of my arm. Each rat began to balloon up with water, then upon reaching its limits, stayed engorged and sealed the pipe.

Now imagine him bloated to around three times his size.

Yes. I didn't realize I was dreaming yet.

Satisfied, I hurried off to find the building admin, after a quick check to see if Rocky woke from the racket. Thankfully he was still fast asleep.

Down the stairs, I find the building admin surrounded by some guys in white and green outfits who were trying to sell him some magazine subscriptions. I asked the admin to help and he admitted he needed more manpower to do the work with him. Genius in me came to life and I looked at the men in green and asked about their magazines, but told them I can see them only after they help out. So with five of them in tow with me and the building admin, we headed back up. The guys saw the work that needed to be done and the admin quickly gave directions. I guess to facilitate work better (oh shush, don't contradict me :-P ) the five men dropped their clothes and worked in their underwear. At one point, a burly one asked me if I can help so I joined them in the wet work of reattaching the pipes, heaving and lifting and getting drenched.

Something like this, but hotter.

Then Rocky woke up, walked in to see me and five nearly naked soaked men resting in a now draining pool of water. The building admin commended us and said, "Ang ga-galing ninyo. Parang sanay na sanay!" ("You guys were so good. Almost like you were very used to doing this.") And Rocky gave me the look.

I woke up that moment, still beside my sleeping partner, and half-intending to explain, "I was just-"

He snored back.

Sometimes, my dreams make even ME wonder.
But yeah, gotta admit, those five men were hot.
HAhhahahah!

(Oh and the title? Let's just say it is nice to know you were hoping I was going to share *that* kind of a dream.)

Rainbowed Pride

2011-10-06T13:50:00.000+08:00

Today's dream:

Rocky and I were at Ateneo or someplace to watch a theater/musical production. It had finished and we were pretty happy about it and decided to eat somewhere nearby. We was a small restaurant that looked pretty quaint and went inside.

Being the only customers there, two waiters and the lady cashier decided to approach our table and give us maximum service. The waiters brought glasses of water and quickly mapped out the plates and utensils while the lady handed us the menu. In a bid to tease us and break the ice, she joked, "Sir, parang bagay kayong dalawa!" ("Sir, I think you two look good as a couple!") and started laughing. I looked at Rocky, then held his hand and smiled. She just kept laughing, and I realized she thought we were going along with her joke. I got the playbill, because for some reason it seems we started advertising www.baduypride.com on it to support theater, and showed them the page. The page had me and Rocky hugging with all these rainbows and baduy stuff around us. The page was something no-straight man would ever dare pose in, unless they were in theater. Or Hollywood, I guess.

Sorta something like this.

The waiters saw it, smiled and congratulated us on being so open. The lady cashier couldn't take it. She started going all, "Sir, baket naman! Sayang! Ang pogi ninyong dalawa!" ("Sir! But why? Too bad, you two are so handsome!") and all that jazz. I just smiled and leaned close to kiss Rocky.

And again realized I was dreaming.

Thankfully, as I opened my eyes, Rocky had just gotten home from work and was coaxing me to wake up. It is so nice waking up to see him there. At least this dream was more sensible than the others, right?

Dream: Maan's Wedding

2011-10-04T04:41:00.001+08:00

Just after dinner today, I found myself falling asleep real bad. We were still watching an episode of PERSON OF INTEREST when I realized I kept nodding off and drooling over my shirt. It was only after Rocky asked me if I was able to get any sleep that I realized I had stayed up all the way from the previous day, since Sunday after O bar Ortigas, I stayed up for a late night massage, nodded off for an hour at most, then stayed up again for work.

Anyway, the dream.

I found myself in a wedding, sitting on the front row of seats right of the altar. The parents (not just the men but the mother and father of the bride) were with me. Rocky and I noticed beside us was a CD player that had been rigged to play music through-out the Church. As the sponsors finally all came in, I noticed the music had shifted to something very-un-wedding (I think it was Beyonce or something) and looking up I realized (somehow) that this was the wedding of my dear friend Maan A. With a shock, knowing she wasn't a major Beyonce fan, I stopped the music and quickly scanned the cds for something else to play. Strangely all I could find were those funky 70s romance music (the kind you tend to hear in porn films) if not 80s theme songs, which wouldn't be so bad if they weren't show theme songs.

So I was panicking. The Bride had appeared and people were all clapping. Somehow time mixed stuff up cause as the bride walked down the aisle, the moment she got to the groom it was already the time they exchanged vows and were pronounced man and wife. So I had to find a song real quick.

I found a disc of Everything But the Girl and decided it would have to do. I recalled Maan used to tell me she loved one particular song from it and decided at least even if others thing its a strange song for the vows, it was something she liked. So I set it and the moment the two exchanged their "I do's" I ran it.

It was "Didn't Know I was Looking for Love."

Rocky told me it could have been worse. I could have mistakenly played "I don't want to talk about it" for example. So all was good. I leaned in to kiss him and woke up realizing I was smooching the wall beside the bed.

Yeah. Me and my dreams.

Sometimes, you just gotta SCREAM

2011-10-03T18:46:00.000+08:00

Tried to run John Wick's Schauermarchen last weekend with Rocky and our friend Mahar, but sadly things weren't moving in the direction I wanted. While both were nicely feeling the growing tension and the implacable atmosphere of horror, the game just wasn't panning out as I had hoped.

The unofficial character sheets I made for my two players (this paper is printed then cut in half) Each pair of hands represents a child they play. Why so many? I told them, because if you die, then some other player can try next time. And they can see the remnants of someone who tried to escape but failed.

It wasn't really anyone's fault in particular. The game was disturbingly beautiful in how it was written. The system was so lite it seemed like a game you can run in any event real quick even for non-gamers. The mood was there. The music was adding to it all. But there were factors which I now know for certain I should bear in mind in future one-shot horror games.

1) No distractions
For a horror game to succeed there should be absolutely NO distractions. No laptop running on the side for players to check their social networks. No snacks on the table. Maybe even no larger drinks that obstruct the view. It won't help either to have food delivered during the game. Or friends text you while you run it.

Horror games have a need to maintain a delicate balance of fear and fun. Too much fear, your players may end up going all defensive and stop wanting to be afraid. They'll turn hero at every turn, even if there's no reason to. They'll act like McGuyver going against Sadako, rather than embrace certain horror tropes or finding ways to fight the horror without leaving the genre. Or worse, they go very defensive and start throwing out humor to calm themselves down. Gory descriptions get humorous replies instead of disgust. Dying non-playing characters are reacted to with, "At least it wasn't me" rather than a moment of shock.

2) No out-of-character moments
Since building tension and emotional reactions are so paramount in a horror game, players need to stay in character as much as possible. This doesn't mean they don't have a character sheet or refer to game stats or systems. That would make gaming very very difficult save for when you're playing with mature, long-term gamers. But this does mean limiting any inter-player conversations to happen ONLY in character.

The basic reason for this is to help support #1. Kinda pointless to grow the tension of how the vampire is slowly approaching your paralyzed body when the two other players whose turns aren't up yet are whispering about the latest Lady Gaga video. Likewise, it doesn't help feed the fear if as the Storyteller narrates how your character is dangling from the window's edge if you then turn to the player beside you and remind them, "Don't forget to use that spell to heal me, okay?

Lock any interactions between them to be "in character" only. A large morsel of what makes horror work is the feeling you are separated or isolated or trapped from being in the safe company of others. In a role-playing game, unless you have enough room (and patience) to have players isolated in different rooms, you're most likely having them all sitting in a circle or around a table. So the isolation is best pushed in how they can interact. To the very least, it will force the players to think, "Oh gosh I so HOPE he...." which in itself adds more to the tension your game will want to cultivate.

3) No sickness
Considering how much I love gaming, I pushed for the session to continue even if I was nursing a sore throat from the previous night of debauchery. (I was screaming my tonsils off as I cheered for a friend who was dancing with drag queens, but that's another story for another day.) Part of me, of course, humorously thought "the bad voice should be okay... its horror anyway." But instead, it had me having to clear my throat in the most inconvenient times. Kinda annoying and disrupting to describe how a grinning man with meat hooks is slowly walking towards you if you end up coughing, clearing your throat and spitting out phlegm between phrases.

As much as it may be common sense not to game when not feeling well, I have to admit it will be something I shall force myself to remember.

4) No second thoughts
If you're running a real horror game, be sure you have players who are definitely interested in playing in one. Excusable as it may be for first timers, the last thing you want is players who mid-game decide, "Uh can we stop. I want to play something more super heroic instead." Remember, playing a real horror game is not about playing something "more real on role-playing than others" or something "more mature than most games." Almost any genre can be approached more maturely. Or can emphasize more on roleplaying.

Horror is a genre. Like science fiction. Like fantasy. Like Military.
And like all genres, they can even be mixed up to create even more awesome games.

But yeah, the players shouldn't have any second thoughts. To the least, if the game seems far darker than they expected, they can all a time out or cancel the game. But with players who definitely like horror, this shouldn't even happen at all. Because those players know it is a commonly accepted trope to have a character die from either something really stupid, "I'll be back..."

In conclusion:
So yes, in the future, if I ever opt to run any real horror games, and not games with a touch of horror, I will require my players to be truly willing to embrace that genre. I don't expect all players to instantly be ready for it, but I do want players to let me know they are playing such a game because they like the feel of getting scared, the thrill of going against the unknown, and the knowledge later on, the game ends, and they're all still safe. And satisfied.

Happy Wheelie Day Rocky!

2011-10-02T00:00:00.000+08:00

Don't believe you know me
Although you know my name.
I don't believe the faults I have
Are only mine to blame.
I don't believe in magic
is only in the mind.
I don't believe i'd love somebody
Just to pass the time...

But I believe in you
And I believe in you

I don't believe that beauty
Will ever be replaced
I don't believe a masterpiece
Could ever match your face
The joker's always smiling
In every hand thats dealt
I dont believe that when you die
Your presence isn't felt

But I believe in you
And I believe in you
But I believe in you
And I believe in you
And if you ever have to go away
Nothing in my world could ever be the same
Nothing lasts for ever, but together til the end
I'll give you everything I have again and again

'Cause I Believe In You
I believe in you, I believe in...

'Cause I believe in you
And I believe in you
But I believe in you
And I believe in you
I believe in you, I believe in
I believe in you, I believe in
I believe in you, I believe in
I believe in you, I believe in

I believe, I believe, I believe in you....
Happy Wheelie Day, Rocky.

We've gone through so much. And we've weathered more than most realize. But no matter what has happened, I still will always believe in you.

Today's WTF dream

2011-10-01T14:59:00.000+08:00

Today's Strange Dream:

Me at Singapore with friends to perform in some kind of a function. My dad is there too. The friend mix is kinda strange, having old schoolmates like Roseann G, geek friends like Zuri and Zooey Deschanel. At one point, while waiting to be allowed to perform, Urim shows up to tell us that they are requiring a full medical check up for all who are taking part. Urim starts sharing these medical tablets (they look like hydration tablets, only there's around three inches wide in radius. He tells us with a frown they're requiring "invasive anal exams" as part of the exam. I cock my head towards him and jokingly reply, "We'll that's gonna be a problem for you straight people" and walk away.

I decide it would do me good to get a full shower so after the exam we can head off to prep for the performance. I rush off looking for a good place to take a shower. It is at this point the location shifts to BF Homes Paranaque (walking down President's avenue, from Tropical Hut towards where Shakey's used to be) as I search for a shop selling shampoo and soap. I notice this massive building on the left (which isn't here in BF but is the building in Singapore where Rocky and Mina and I located the gaming shop Paradigm Infinitum) and comment to myself how stupid I was not to see it before all those times I'm looking for toys. Again the scene shifts, and this time I'm in Don Bosco Makati looking at the not-so-clean bathrooms and thinking, "No, there's a better place I can shower. There was this bathroom no one uses..." and I hurry away through hallways until I emerge at De La Salle University and enter the SPS building where I used to meet my Malate Literary Folio friends. At the fifth floor, there's a clean bathroom (which now on hindsight, I recall never had a shower) where I then shower facing an open window. I realize just before I start that I forgot to bring a towel and a change of clothes, but decide better I'm clean than not.

Quick shower. Then I'm back in line at the medical exam. The doctor finally receives me and he gives me one look and says, "Nice. Okay you're done" and part of me realizes he may have been giving anal exams only to the guys who didn't seem to look clean or good? I step out and seeing this jerk who keeps hitting on me at O bar Ortigas coming up next in line, I decide to evilly say out loud, "Wow, that doctor really used all FOUR fingers at the same time in the anal exam."

With the exam done, I find myself meeting up with my fellow performers and as we make our way to the performance hall, Zooey and I start coming up with an impromptu song. I wish I could recall right now the whole song and the chords, but damn, it was cool singing with her in the dream. Snippets of the song I could recall are:

Z: I believe in you
T: I believe in you
Z: And you know it's true
T: Yes I know it's true
Z: I believe that sometimes something happen when
you're starting to get up again
after a painful fall you had before.

T: I believe in you
Z: I believe you do
T: And I know it's true
Z: Because it's all so true
T: I believe we're always going to find a way
to rise up at the end of the day
and stop feeling we live on the floor.

Both:
Because when the going get's harder
The day seems to get tougher
The hurdles reach for the sky

Z: You'll be there to say
T: "I'm with you all the way"
Both: And if other's ask why...
Z: It's cause I believe...
T: I believe...
Z: I believe
T: in
Both: You.

So sappy, yes, but awesome, especially since we were literally just coming up with it as we sang (and gosh I so wish I could get the music down). As we sang this song, we were walking out of the exam building, down Orchard Road, then turning a corner to what became the downhill slope of Santan street in Tahanan Village, then finally, into an old fort-like building you'd see in Intramuros which had these fun trap-like surprises for tourists who visit. My dad kept asking us for the lyrics to the song we made up, because he kept telling us we could use it in our future performance (at this point, yes and only at this point, did I realize I was dreaming: my DAD is my director in theater? Wait, that didn't make sense. And yes, somehow everything else earlier did.)

Intramuros, from majadeen.blogspot.com

I start walking with Zooey ahead of us, and me, Roseann G and Zuri arm-in-arm, and my dad behind us, as we start singing the song "Anything Goes" mixed with "I'm the Bravest Individual" of Sweet Charity, complete with us doing the arm-swaying dance of Bravest Individual while we hop over puddles (oh and I should add at this point, Rosie was preggers in the dream. Around six months worth.) My dad's having some trouble navigating the stairs so we kinda slow down. But then, I decide to sprint on up ahead of everyone else, and find Rocky waiting for me at the side entrance to the theater. He gives me a kiss and tells me, "I can't wait to see it" and I smile and realize it is time to wake up.

Yeah, me and my dreams.
Crazy, ain't they?

Guess what we finally got for the PS3!

2011-09-30T16:52:00.000+08:00

Ico.

And Shadow of the Colossus.

Guess who's the happy doggie.

:-)

Where's the Fog?

2011-09-28T23:23:00.001+08:00

A friend of mine shared this video some time back and in as much as I love seeing a new incarnation of the Silent Hill franchise come to life, I had to share his comment on the trailer.

Where is the Fog?

A Silent Hill story without the foggy spookiness just doesn't seem right. But the story bits hinted at in this game seem compelling though. I'm not too keen on the new "Pyramid Head" sort of villain though. The hammer just makes me think the got parts they liked in the Cristophe Gans movie, then wanted to have a hammer guy due to Thor.

But yeah, ultimately it is a Yay! More Silent Hill!response from me.
Here's hoping it is as fun as the earlier games.

Forgetting lending

2011-09-28T00:46:00.000+08:00

So stupid of me.
Lost track again of who borrowed our copy of Batman Arkham Asylum.

So to make sure I don't forget others:
BJ Recio currently has Demon the Fallen.
Paolo Narciso and Kristine have Kabuki Circle of Blood, Pride of Baghdad and WE3.
And Mahar Mangahas has many of my DVDs.
Gigi still has my copy of Elmer.
Adrian (I presume him and not his ex) has my Popllollies & Bellibones and Music & Magic Disney CDs.

Stupid stupid Tobie.

EDIT (8/29):
Just confirmed that:
Sam has Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires
Aldwin has Batman Arkham Asylum

Ah, gotta love social-networks. They can help communication move faster, indeed.

The Thing is...

2011-09-20T22:31:00.001+08:00

The trailer makes it look like a monster flick, rather than the psychological horror of the original film.
I only hope it is a case of bad trailer editing and the actual film still has the growing tension of horror and not just the cheap screams of a scream-fest movie.

This looks like a prequel though, rather than a remake. Wasn't the original movie about a team finding the remnants of an earlier team?

Color me envious.

2011-09-19T14:40:00.000+08:00

I am absolutely envious.
ABSOLUTELY envious.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12831518@N05/4471727474/

The Legend of Zelda has all the life lessons you need.

2011-09-18T11:15:00.003+08:00

Tori Amos is back with Night of Hunters

2011-09-14T01:49:00.000+08:00

Tori Amos has resurfaced with a new album that combines beautiful classical tunes by Chopin and Bach and others with the emotionally vulnerable and visceral creativity of her musical touch. Add to that mix the occasional participation of her 11-year old daughter, Natashya Lorien Hawley and her niece Kelsey Dobyns and you end up with an album that reminds one of her earlier albums and yet propels her forward in her creative path.

Night of Hunters, which comes out September 20, is an experience to listen to. Away from her usual band, she works with the Apollon Musagete String Quartet and clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer to create a multi-faceted blend of songs that sound both familiar and new. With titles such as Shattering Sea, Battle of Trees, Edge of the Moon and Star Whisperer, among many others, Tori crafts an interesting interplay of old and new with each piece as strains of the familiar classical pieces flutter beside her strange and delirious lyric play. Already I find myself having a few favorites, with Cactus Practice making me smile the way The Happy Phantom used to be my blanket against sad days and Job's Coffin making me seriously wonder if she is also preparing the two young girls for a serious future career in the music industry. I find myself hearing strains of Emiliana Torrini and the delicate vulnerability of a budding Bjork in their voices.

Admittedly, however, I am not completely in love with the album. In many ways I feel Tori was smart to dive back towards songs that displayed on the forefront her mastery of the keys, but in many ways as well this move feels possibly too late (?) While her earlier albums had an honest confessional quality to them, Night of Hunters feels more like a creative thesis or an imagination-driven statement that wants to be noticed. Still, I have faith in Tori. While I may be long gone from the days of being a faithful Ears With Feet or Toriphile, I do still plan to treat this album like a bottle of long sought-out wine. Maybe, just maybe, I'll learn to appreciate it with a few more gulps before I finish the bottle completely.

Listen to the WHOLE album legally by clicking here.

Have you heard of the Onyx Path?

2011-09-03T15:56:00.001+08:00

Here's a sneak peek of what we White Wolf gamers can look forward to.
OH. MY. GOD. I am soooo excited!

Sep. 2011: (VtM) Vampire: The Masquerade – 20th Anniversary Edition (PDF)

Oct. 2011: (VtM) Dust to Dust

Nov. 2011: (VtR) Strange, Dead Love

Dec. 2011: (MtAw) Imperial Mysteries

Jan./Apr./Jul./Oct. 2012: (nWoD) House Divided Series

Feb. 2012: (Ex) Masters of Jade

Feb. 2012: (WtA/WtF) Werewolf Translation Guide

Mar. 2012: (CtL) Victorian Lost

May 2012: (VtR) Secrets of the Covenants

Jun. 2012: (Ex) Shards of the Exalted Dream

Aug. 2012: (Mt?) Mummy: The [?]

Sep. 2012: (WtA) Werewolf: The Apocalypse SAS

Sep. 2012: (Mt?) Mummy Supplement #1

Nov. 2012: (Ex) Scroll of the Monk, Vol. II: Scattered Lotus Petals

Dec. 2012: (MtA/MtAw) Mage Translation Guide

Dec. 2012: (Mt?) Mummy Supplement #2

We also announced our Onyx Path (Classic World of Darkness) products for the next year:

Winter 2011-2012: (VtM) V20 Companion

Spring 2012: (VtM) Children of the Revolution

Summer 2012: (MtA) Convention Book: New World Order and Convention Book: Progenitors

Fall 2012: (WtA) Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition

Winter 2012-2013: (cWoD) Hunters Hunted 2

You can read more about this at White Wolf's forums:
http://forums.white-wolf.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=52168
http://forums.white-wolf.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=51358

Check out the four page flier about this here:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=93846

Happy Wheelie Day!

2011-09-02T19:04:00.000+08:00

You gotta love people who have a passion for things they love.

HAPPY WHEELIE DAY!

I love you so much, Rocky.

May this be something we celebrate for the rest of our lives.

Okay, this won me over.

2011-08-31T21:35:00.000+08:00

[RPG Update] Scion:Hero

2011-08-30T00:46:00.001+08:00

Rocky and I just got back from Singapore and thanks to my good friend Gabriela, we found this lovely gaming shop called Paradigm Infinitum. To quote Gabriela Lee, "It's at this dinky little shopping center called Midpoint Orchard. It's squashed between a construction site and Courts along Orchard Road. The nearest MRT is Somerset." With Mina, Rocky's sister, helping us, we found the shop at the third floor, sandwiched between hairdressing salons.

The shop was a geek haven deep within the shopping storm that is Orchard Road.

There were role-playing game books, board games, card games, Warhammer miniatures, dice, and so much more lovely things a non-geek would probably struggle to understand. There were some people playing while we were there, and admittedly I was tempted to check what was going on.

The two male store clerks clearly knew their stuff, which was a godsend. While I failed to get their names, the two guys were really helpful sharing information on any games we found interesting. It is always nice to have clerks who can really talk shop when it comes to gaming stuff.

Among the books that tempted me were the boxed set of Exalted: Dreams of the First Age and the complete set of Scion books which looked just beautiful seeing them laid down beside each other. The Exalted box was around S$80. The Scion books on the other hand were at around S$50 each. Knowing the errata mess that Dreams of the First Age was, I decided to get the first book of the Scion line instead. I might never chose to complete the set physically, I can easily run games with the main book and the pdfs supplementing it.

Needless to say, the book was just beautiful.

With a lovely dramatic cover, pages that were rich with color, and nicely written fluff, the book was definitely a good purchase. I couldn't help but start reading through the pages once we got back from the shopping trip, and even stole moments reading more pages while in the bathroom. I got a stab running a Scion-lite game for Rocky and Urim based on the Luna Brothers' comic, The Sword.

Comparisons to White Wolf Gaming Studios' other game, Exalted, are clearly there. The stunt system is still present, as is the power (and detrimental effects) of having powerful Virtues. I still feel slightly sad they stuck to the Defense Value approach in the game. I always felt a more active approach to defense seemed appropriate for games that emphasized on over-the-top fight sequences. I guess that was something that I felt Weapon of the Gods and first edition Exalted accomplished far better than the 2nd edition of Exalted.

The book was quite robust, with lots of system and crunch mixed with healthy helpings of story and fluff. Even more, the book had a large section devoted to antagonists and sample characters, which nicely gives new players to the game more ideas to approach creating characters. And add to that the introductory story that can be used as a jumping point for a chronicle, which reminds me of the wonderful direction that was accomplished before with the limited arc Orpheus line.

I wonder though when I will be able to run this game. And more interestingly which gaming groups would be the ones to experience it. Comparisons to Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Mike Carey's Lucifer series would be evident for those who try the game. I plan to spend more time to read the rest of the books to get a better grasp at what direction they took the game.

But yeah, there is definitely a nice warm feeling knowing I have a whole new game system to eventually run for my players. In as much as I can get the pdfs of games I like, there's something very personally fulfilling about having a new book to add to our shelf.

Welcome to our gaming book shelf, Scion: Hero.

I absolutely AGREE.

2011-08-23T00:43:00.000+08:00

‎"You have the right to be offended, and I have the right to offend you.

But no one has the right to never be offended." - Ricky Gervais.

I say, "Amen to that!"

Ongoing Tobie Games

2011-08-19T22:44:00.001+08:00

I currently have three ongoing role-playing games. There's something to be said about being able to have more than one ongoing game chronicle at a time. Currently they are the following:

♦

TABULA RASA

With Paolo, Kristine and Baki as players.

Inspired by the works of Warren Ellis (Planetary, Global Frequency) and the unexplored myth of the Machine God in the new World of Darkness system, Tabula Rasa explores the lives of three individuals who find themselves part of a global, and perhaps even beyond global, conspiracy.

Marcus Helvig has discovered he has the ability to empathically read the hidden meanings in people's words. Natalie Straffon has become the ultimate cipher, comprehending as well as speaking in languages she has never learned. Jacob McCalister has become an psychometrist with the capacity to gleam impressions of strong emotional events from things. And Emiko Lee, a cibopath, who can perceive impressions on the other hand through any chemical traces mingling in anything she eats.

The four have become investigative agents under the Tabula Rasa and have discovered the existence of something known as The Cult of the Machine God.

♦

Faeredoom
With Dennis and BJ as players.

As a foray into the Changeling the Lost game system, Faeredoom is a mind-blogging modern horror tale of lost freedoms, faerie folk mischief, and the foreboding echoes of eventual doom.

Martin Gray, a help-desk operator who had lost the use of his legs after a rock-climbing accident, and Mike Laird, a struggling horror-writer who once was a teenage celebrity, find themselves gaining the attentions of things that watch in the darkness. Gray finds himself stalked by a misshapen creature with vicious yellow eyes. Laird finds himself constantly visited by tiny creature with a thing for human teeth. Are they just nightmares? Or something worse.

♦

The Forsaken Kingdom
With Rocky, Mahar, Victor and Urim.
Game site here.

Changeling the Dreaming remains one of my favourite games. It is with great joy that I get to re-explore this game setting with my partner and our friends. Set in the Kingdom of Apples, the four kithain quickly discover that only by working together than they overcome the darkness of the coming Endless Winter.

Lady Songbird ap Fiona, Rendsever the Steel Gnasher, James McTaggert and Flynn Wordweaver must find a way to rescue the missing High King before Concordia tears itself apart. And before the oathcircle tears itself apart as well.

I feel CHEATED

2011-08-16T18:27:00.000+08:00

To Mr. Davey Aguinaldo,

It is now August 16, more than two weeks since the last requested extension that you asked for in paying me the amount of Php4,000 for services rendered. Looking back at my email threads, you were supposed to pay me way back for work finished back in April 2011, but asked for extensions.

This is not the first time you have asked for extensions, and this is not the first time you have "vanished" and failed to answer more than three emails inquiring on the payment. I've included below the last email thread that we had exchanged way back in June. As can clearly be seen:

1) As of May 10, I already had concerns about you suddenly disappearing on me. Back then I had sent you three emails asking for an update. You replied SIX days later, asking for my patience, which I had very generously and kindly given to you.

2) Your last email, as seen below, gave me hope. It made me believe I should trust you. Even if you asked for such a huge extension. June --> August.

3) Now, it is August, I have sent at least four emails (spread out over the last two weeks). I have even sent you private messages via Facebook (your account can be found here) and I have even asked my friends who know you to send you a message if they have time.

4) I am finding it very hard to not think you are cheating me out of what you owe me. In any business transaction, once communication goes out of the window, it is hard to get a good picture on what is going on. And right now, all I know is you have not answered me for a very long and unacceptable period of time. If you do contact me with a proper explanation AND with the confirmation of settling what you owe me, then I will write an update to this post, stating things ended well. And I will delete this original post. But until then, I feel this blog post is necessary to both express my concern over how business had been conducted and a warning to my fellow freelance writers.

While some people might say Php4000 is a small amount to make a fuss over, I am doing this because I do not want my other friends to find themselves in a similar predicament. Back when I was writing for you, I shared to many of my friends and contacts your email address so they can consider contacting you for writing gigs as well. Now, I am afraid if they too will not be paid for the work they send in. I already know of one other friend who has not gotten paid.

I am absolutely disappointed in how this has turned out. I am even considering contacting the website which you had me write articles for to inform them which articles were written by me and that you never paid me for them. I have all email exchanges, word documents and notes regarding them which I can present as evidence. I sincerely hope there is a good explanation to your sudden loss of contact. And I hope you do properly settle the amount you owe me.

Until then, I leave this blog post up as evidence. And as a warning to others who might hear of your name and consider working for you.

Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:22 AM

FROM:

Davey Aguinaldo

Hi Tobie,

Still no updates. Sorry. Give me until August. If client does not pay, I will find a way to get you payment.

Thanks,

Davey

On Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 3:48 PM, Tobie Abad wrote:

Hi Davey,

Any updates?
Hear from you soon.

Tobie

From: Davey Aguinaldo <d.aguinaldo@gmail.com>
To: Tobie Abad
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2011 8:34:40 PM
Subject: Re: Pending payment for work rendered. Third email.
Hi Tobie,

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I still owe you. unfortunately, HTDT still has not paid me and I am pretty down financially since I had to pay some of the other writers partial payments out of pocket.

Currently, I am dry. My online writing business has suffered because of this. As of today, I only have about 3 small clients. I have sent a demand letter to HTDT through my brother who is a lawyer about 3 weeks ago... but they have not responded yet.

Please give me more time... if HTDT does not pay, I will find a way to pay all of you guys.

I do have some writing jobs coming in... that pays slightly better than HTDT... around P115 to P125 per article. They pay on time and I have not had any problems with them so far. If you are interested, I can get some work for you for the meantime.

I really apologize for this. If I had someway to pay all of you, I would. Hoping for your patience.

Davey

On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 11:59 AM, Tobie Abad wrote:
Hi Davey,

This is my third email asking about the status of the delayed payment for work I have already rendered.
There has been no response to the earlier two messages. Please reply back as soon as possible.
I am starting to get concerned.

Thank you.

Tobie

Dragons are among us!

2011-08-12T16:45:00.001+08:00

Not too long ago, I had a chance to watch this:

And admittedly I LOVED it so much. While a larger majority of the audience was of an age range far lower than mine (read as "between 14 years old and 5") I admittedly had so much fun I was watching in awe and just snapping away all the pictures I could.

Now, I recently heard about this:

So yeah, can you imagine how excited I am?
I only pray someday this reaches the Philippines.

Google Search by Images : Interesting!

2011-08-11T17:08:00.001+08:00

Decided to try Google's Search by Images option today. For those who aren't familiar with it, you can actually drag-and-drop an image into Google to search for related images or information on the image. I recall how I used to joke around with some friends that Google might at some point not even need any words plugged into it to find stuff.

Looks like we are here.

For testing, I tried throwing in an image of me and Rocky, a picture we took some months back.

The results were fun:

Google was able to find the blogpost where I had the picture featured, presumably by searching for the title of the file, and comparing it with other specific information it had extracted from the image (everything from dimensions to resolution, etc I would assume).

I found the Visually similar images very FUNNY though! Many of them clearly reflected the dominant colors in the image. Some tried to reflect whether it had two people or not. All in all, an amusing system.

Try it out!

Animal or not to Animal

2011-08-05T23:58:00.000+08:00

Not quite sure yet how to feel about the new DC Universe Animal Man.

I love Animal Man. The Vertigo stories nicely explored the concepts of animals, humanity and the Green. The DC Universe Animal Man was fun too, especially when he was part of the Justice League.

Yep, Animal Man is one of the few heroes who broke the fourth wall and spoke/saw us readers.
Zatanna was another.

The new one. I'm not so sure.

I do like this particular except from the script though for the coming comic:

Buddy leaps through the air towards Edwin, fists clenched and barking angrily.
1. (CAPTION) BUDDY: This man is troubled. He’s experienced loss that I can barely fathom. But now he’s also endangered all these innocent children…and I can’t allow that.
2. (CAPTION) BUDDY: I grab my favorite “action hero” cocktail of animal abilities…
3. (CAPTION) BUDDY: Strength of an elephant, reflexes of a fly, speed of a cheetah…
4. (CAPTION) BUDDY: And the bark of a dog. That one always freaks them out.
5. BUDDY: BARK! BARK!

So yeah, maybe, just maybe I will give it a chance.

TRUTH for thought

2011-08-04T04:08:00.000+08:00

Think about it.