Add Coins & Cash!

So I've started playing Cityville a lot lately. I wouldn't know where else you can play it and as far as I know, you play it on Facebook. It's a lot like Sim City or so they say since I've never actually played City (I played Sim Town back in the day). You basically create a town from scratch putting up houses, businesses and such, raising your population, earning coins (which are entirely different from cash apparently) and inexplicably worrying too much about harvesting carrots and corn.

I know a lot of people are big fans of these kinds of apps, but this and that one Poker game are the only apps I've ever played.

The point? It is actually, sorta kinda fun. Wanting to increase your XP and complete goals and yes, harvest strawberries and eggplants is relatively challenging and somehow gets my competitive juices going.

So yeah hey, become my neighbor and become part of my staff willya? I can't raise my population fast enough if you don't.

Verb-Noun-For-Reason Part 1: Read Fables for Boy Blue

So I came up with this impeccable idea a minute ago, which is a stroke of genius if I say so myself (or not). Regardless of the length of time and amount of effort I put into the genesis of this idea, when it is all said and done, I think this might just kick-start my blogging career. See, I've been trying to come up with my own schtick, a real reason for me to actively and diligently blog and I think I've found it. Instead of doing like a movie-review blog or whatever, which I never seem able to fully commit to, I've decided to expand on my micro-blogging a.k.a. my Twitter-ing (follow me here) and basically annoy you all more efficiently and effectively with what really amounts to longer Twitter updates. See, Twitter's inherent weakness (being too short) has trumped its inherent strength (ease) in a good way. If that makes sense. Basically, in an effort to convince you of their awesomeness, I'm going to be able to give longer answers as to why you too should like the things I like and deem awesome all. Get it? Aw, to hell with it. Let's just get this show started. Ladies and gents (like there is a plural amount of people reading this...), I welcome you to the first edition of Verb-Noun-For-Reason (Catchy title, right?) or VNFR for short.

Read Fables for Boy Blue.

Fables is a comicbook series published by Vertigo written by Bill Willingham and drawn (mostly) by Mark Buckingham about classic fairytale characters or "Fables" such as The Big Bad Wolf, Snow White, Prince Charming and many more, if they weren't just make believe and were actually alive and real, existing in our "mundane" world. The book mixes its curious premise with an engaging story and really strong character work, not to mention all those pretty pictures to create a wildly entertaining read.

Over the past few years, Fables has seen its fanbase grow larger and larger all the while maintaining the respect of many in the industry. It's definitely one of the best books out there today and has just recently passed the century-mark (100 issues). So why should you read it? Two words: Boy Blue.

Based on the children's nursery rhyme Little Boy Blue, this Fable might be small in frame and stature but through the course of the series, you discover how frickin' fantastic he actually is. Though you first meet Blue as the seemingly meek clerk of Fabletown's offices, he is also a war hero (even if he wishes he wasn't), is handy with a (Vorpal) sword - SNICKER-SNACK! - and is a gifted musician as well. He is one of the series' lead characters and has a hefty share of amazing adventures and stories, making him one of, if not the most popular, characters in the series. The problem for our dear hero? The guy has no luck with the ladies. Boy Blue is THE unrequited romantic. He is passionate, caring and kind, but fails when it comes to love and relationships simply because of bad luck and poor timing. Whether it's accidentally leaving behind Red Riding Hood as he escaped from the evil forces of the Adversary or acting too late to make known his true feelings for Rose Red (Oh yeah, Blue's got a thing for Red's), there is always something to derail a potentially spectacular relationship. How can you not feel bad for the guy? Sure, you may idolize him for rocking a bitchin' Witching Cloak, single-handedly infiltrating the enemy's capitol and having a higher kill count than most Fables but because he gets his heart broken more often than not, the guy is instantly relatable. And if there's one thing audiences love, it's the upstanding, capable and noble young lad who just can't land the girl.

Essential Boy Blue stories:
Fables vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers,
Fables vol. 6: Homelands
Fables vol. 11: War and Pieces
Fables vol. 12: The Dark Ages

The Elephant in the Room

It's normal, it's bland.

I get cocky, it's a risk.

Because at this point, I'm sick and tired of it all.

And in the end I realize...

Nothing good.

Putting yourself out there...It's awkward.

The Paper Trail Rant

The world runs on tons and tons of paper for some reason. Sure, you need manpower, electricity and fossil fuels to make it all work but from what I've discovered, paper is the driving force of every single action on this planet.

And it's killing the Earth.

So much paper is wasted everyday and it's terrifying that we as a society cannot see it. Do we really need six copies of that document and a reprint of this document because of one missing punctuation mark?

It's a ginormous waste of resources. And it is very, very disheartening.

This just underscores the fact that we have learned how to become worse human beings. Simple decisions and actions have all been made more complex in the name of "evolution." Eating up our natural resources cannot be the lasting mark of civilization. We have to figure out a way to abolish these practices because, simply put, WE'RE DOING IT WRONG. It does not have to be this complicated.

The "corporate life." Sigh.

Brilliant Ideas

It's never a good idea. Say it with me now: It. Is. Never. A. Good. Idea. In fact, it's the worst idea. You never learn do you?

Remember tonight please.

The 2011 Movie I CAN'T WAIT to See

It's not Cap or Thor.

It's not Deathly Hallows 2 either.

Nope, not Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Battle: Los Angeles, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Take Me Home Tonight, Super 8, Apollo 18, Vanishing on 7th Street, Green Lantern, X-Men: First Class or Cowboys & Aliens.

Give up?

It's this.

HOLY HUNDRED ACRE WOOD!

A Winnie The Pooh movie?

This is this year's Toy Story 3, but with more nostalgia. No one not loves, Pooh Bear.

I absolutely cannot wait for this.

Christmas Come and Gone

Happy Holidays everyone! Did everyone have a good Christmas? I hope you all had good food to eat, great company to spend time with a loads of gifts and presents. Lots of things to talk about this time so let's get right to it!

Christmas

Overall, Christmas this year was great. Sure, I spent Christmas Eve in MakatiMed (which has changed so much by golly) since my grandmother was sick and had to be confined, but hey, it was something different. I'm worried though that this is becoming a thing, since last year, it was my dad who was at the hospital for Christmas with the most intense toothache in the history of the world. I remember how he look so pained that night. It was horrible. Luckily, my Lola found the strength to soldier on (Thank you Jesus!) and after some shopping in Power Plant, she's all better now. Plus, my Tita got me these cute set of socks. They're Pacman-themed so it's pretty boss.

On the other hand, Christmas with the Favises was pretty awesome as always. The food was great, it was nice to get to know my little nieces better and Secret Santa was fun too. We left earlier than most and I wish I got to spend more time with them but hey, that's what next year is for. My one superwish though is that we finally get to have a COMPLETE Favis Christmas with everyone. That's something that's eluded the family for a while now. Here's to hoping!

Comicbooks

So, to put it simply, I bought a shitload of comicbooks this year. I got a lot of TPB's and hardcovers. Ultimate Spider-Man, Fables, Jonathan Hickman books, The Korvac Saga, it was a good haul. Having a stable salary does have its benefits.

Doctor Who A Christmas Carol

This year's Doctor Who Christmas special was the first for the Eleventh Doctor and the gang and it was pretty great. Some of the twists and turns were kinda predictable, but during Christmas, predictable is exactly what you need. Michael Gambon was a fantastic foil/ally and Matt Smith was great as usual. The lack of Karen Gillan was a little disappointing though but judging by the teaser trailer for next series, we'll be seeing a lot of Amy Pond in the next season. Speaking of the teaser for series 6 at the end of the episode, it was chock-full of spoiler-y, Doctor-y goodness and I seriously cannot wait for all of it to start.

A-Boys!

Many thanks to Junsi Agas for hosting this year's A-Boys Christmas get together. Personally, this was one of the better gatherings. It was great to see everyone again and to catch-up, and join in on the customary shenanigans.

The Town

So I just finished watching The Town and what a great movie it is! Again, it was sorta predictable in a way, but the characters felt so fleshed out that you came to care for them that watching the tragedy unfold was pretty exciting. The movie clocked in at almost two hours but I felt like we needed more. Not to say the movie was lacking, jbut ust because I wanted to see more of Jeremy Renner's character. All in all though, fantastic flick.

Okay, whew. I'm spent. Again, Happy Holidays everyone and I hope everyone's ready for the New Year. Can you believe it? 2010's already over! 2011 here we come! Toodles!

Hell Week

My fantasy team (the most important one) is currently down 0-8 this week in a 9-cat league.

Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche have not responded to the recent trade quite as well as I hoped they would, Steph Curry is still hurt and some of my other players have just quite simply been sucking it up. Ugh.

For Christmas this year, I wish for a magical turnaround. That is all.

I Am Sick

Sore throat sucks. You can't talk, you can't crack a joke, you can't laugh properly, you can't sing Daniel Bedingfield's If You're Not The One, you can't tease people about their love lives, I mean, I've got to find some way of amusing myself at work and I use my mouth for like 90% of those things.

I won't lie to you, sitting here in front of the computer is probably making it worse, but I need to be here, trust me. Oh well.

At least it's Friday tomorrow so there's no work and I'll get to rest.

Toodles!

P.S.

Almost forgot! My buddy Lex is back from Singapore. He'll be here for the holidays and I'm looking forward to seeing him. Welcome back PB!

Hello, Goodbye and a Promise

It seems as if every time I try to get this thing going again, I end up with a four-posts-in-one-day type blitz and then no-show for a month. Well, I'm here, promising, that I actually follow-through and start blogging for real again.

Micro-blogging, so convenient and easy, has completely eradicated the "need" for one-word/one-sentence entries, thus making it necessary that each post be substantial, purposeful and wordy. Which, for a young bloke like me who comes home from work semi-tired and only thinking of whether or not Andray Blatche actually gave a damn today and got some rebounds and blocks, pushes "real blogging" off of my to-do list. It just takes too damn long to blog. The internet beckons.

So on this, the 15th day of December, 2010, I declare that Jeri Favis starts blogging again. Why? Because I must. Because it is just. Because damn it, you need to take me seriously as a writer. And because a guy like me who loves comicbooks, basketball and the NBA, pop music, works for a bank and LOVES to eat needs to be able to tell the world about, or risk annoying and eventually losing another follower.

That is all.

When Life Imitates Art - Doctor Who Style

If you are a fan of Sci-Fi and of good stories in whatever medium in general, you should check out the website io9 and its Morning Spoilers feature (here's the link for the one today). In it, they provide the latest scoop about your favorite TV shows and movies.

The reason I bring this up is because the point of this post comes from their latest bit of Doctor Who news by way of The Press Association. It's actually a quote from series star Matt Smith, who plays the Eleventh Doctor, regarding his co-star, the lovely Karen Gillan, who plays the Doctor's companion, Amy Pond.

Here's the quote:

"She can't die, Amy Pond can't die. No way, I'd be sad. I'd miss Karen. I just think for this particular Doctor, his bond with Amy, I think there's a lot more mileage in it yet. I think there's a long way to go. So I can't see it happening any time soon. Don't worry, I won't let it happen - I'll save her, I'll save the day."

Don't worry, I won't let it happen - I'll save her, I'll save the day.

Fans of the show know how awesome this bit of news sounds and it basically underscores the fact that Smith is perfect for the role. That last line especially, sounds exactly like something the good Doctor himself would say. Suffice it to say, he's been taking notes and has got the role down pat and all Who fans should love him for it.

Long live The Doctor and Amy Pond! Long live Matt and Karen!

A Few Things...(Also: Spoiler Alert!)

1. So I picked up Halo: Reach over the weekend...AND IT IS EFFING AWESOME. I've only played it once and put it down after I finished the fourth level but I've seen enough of it to know it's going to go down as one of the greatest Xbox 360 games ever, let alone the best of the Halo franchise. I love how all the weapons are more effective than they were in Halo 3, how the Elites are so hard to properly take down and the gameplay is just sharper than it's ever been. Suffice it to say, the game is as impressive and awesome as they said it would be. I peeked a little at the 5th mission, and if the opening cinematic is any indication, I'm in for an all-out battle with the Covenant on Reach's harsh terrain. Can't wait.

2. On the same day I picked up Halo: Reach, I also got myself a copy of the second part of The Strain Trilogy, The Fall by authors Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. The paperback edition is only some three hundred pages so I'm trying not to rush through it (which I am failing to do since despite my busy schedule, I'm more than halfway through). Despite the fact that, since it's the middle book and you got the exposition and set-up in the first, so with this one, it immediately jumps into the action, I'm finding it moving a little slow. I love the book and all, don't get me wrong, and some of the developments have been interesting, explosive and down right sadistic so I think I'll talk about it all after I finish the entire thing.

3. Got my NBI clearance today (Monday, September 20, 2010) and even if it seemed like a million miles away (N.B. Monumento is VERY FAR from Makati), the process of getting myself cleared was pretty easy. Same with getting my police clearance and cedula. Snaps for the Philippine government!

4. I still have a lot of requirements to finish so I hope I didn't jinx it with that last one haha. *Knocks on wood*

5. Allow me, for one moment, to pour out my feelings.

I hate how, despite understanding that it's okay to be single and that I have tons of friends who love me (or at least like me a lot...or well, tolerate me) blah blah blah, I still feel alone and well, lonely. Like, just an hour ago when I desperately just wanted to talk to someone and I realized I couldn't, (and more importantly in this case, shouldn't), I just felt defeated and lost. It's a crap feeling I go through every now and then and it never fails to bring me down. So there.

6. Tomorrow, I continue my quest to accomplish all of my pre-employment requirements. Here's to that.

7. Castle, Supernatural, Smallville, Glee and whole mess of shows start this week. What bad timing I have, to finally get a job when all my favorite television shows begin their new seasons. Haha.

Okay, so that's it for now. Hope this is a good week for everyone. Toodles!