So why did I go to the OktoberFest 120 launch at San Miguel Avenue last Friday night? Well, because I was invited to get in for free.

Call me a cheapskate, but who can resist free passes to one of the most biggest events of the year? Oh, I didn’t just get a free pass, I got a media ID that gives me access to places like the VIP media lounge, and the front of the stage. Ha!

Feeling media person

So even if I don’t like to party, this was a chance for poor-little-ol’-me to experience the OktoberFest, uh, experience. Donned with a media ID and a camera, I set out to cover the event like a good member of the media.

Syento Bente?

You may be wondering why OktoberFest was launched a month early, I too was confused until I found out that the people over at San Miguel wanted to extend Oktoberfest from the usual 31 days of partying to 120 days. Meaning that this year’s OktoberFest would span for three months - from September to November. Thus, the spiel “OktoberFest Syento Bente: 120 days aapaw ang saya”.

No Match

Gunning to beat two world records (Longest Beer Bar and Most Number of People Toasting), San Miguel made sure that they’d win it hands down. Just look at the bar they assembled below. It’s about 600 meters long! The current record holds 240 meters by Taiwan.

Oktoberfest venue highlighted in red.

As for the most Number of People Toasting, OktoberFest 120 had beaten the current record of 13,500 by a staggering 15,000 toasts. That’s 15,000 half-drunk Filipino’s toasting at the same time!

Yeah, 15,000 people! It’s true! I’d even bet there were more. The whole venue was actually jampacked. I had to dodge every time a bumper came swinging by! It was crazy! At one time, they even had to stop people from entering because the venue was already full!

Beer + Music = Great!

Aside from the booze, OktoberFest is also known for its concerts. This year didn’t disappoint. San Miguel rounded up all the biggest bands of today (around 40 local bands) and even invited Third Eye Blind to play.

Shot of the main stage before the event

Because of the unusual shape of the venue, three stages were set up on different key locations ensuring that everyone can enjoy the music while gulping down their favorite beer.

The crowd started to get worked up the moment Rivermaya got up on stage. They played all the Rivermaya favorites and even the San Miguel OktoberFest Syento Bente theme song while a grand display of fireworks lit up the dark brewy sky.

People + Beer = Trouble!

Oh and of course, when there’s beer, there’s bound to be trouble.

Some people from the outside tried to force themselves in by prying the steel barricades that divided the venue from the outside world (C’mon! 120 pesos lang ung entrance fee! Look who’s talking! hehe). Although I didn’t notice the actual event taking place, all I saw was the aftermath. The riot police later came and prevented any more mischief.

Meanwhile, inside the venue, the bouncers also had their hands full as people began showing signs of irrational behavior brought upon by booze. People started to cause trouble. Some even tried forcing their way to get to restricted places reserved for the media and sponsors.

Fortunately, no one was reported to be seriously injured. Even if there were, I bet they have already forgotten about it thanks to the combined effects of beer and loud music. I did (I actually got elbowed to the face while I was headed to the exit).

After having experienced a night of OktoberFest, I guess partying late at night really ain’t that bad. Looking forward to another awesome OktoberFest launch next year.

(I don’t have night shots of the actual event. All the night pics I took we’re all blurred. I guess my cam’s busted. oh well.)

The comic strip starts off when Harry Porter along with Hermione Ranger, Frodo Braggings with Gollum Bagolum ran to each other while shopping at SM City Manila. What follows next is a twisted story of love, hate, war, and nonsensical comedy.

Be warned that the strip contains vulgar language and some nudity. Puro kalokohan lang talaga.

Enjoy!

I’d set up obstacles for my protagonist to traverse using different stuff; stacked VHS video tapes become castles or fortresses, chairs for mountains, the under of my bed as catacombs and so on. I’d have him fight monsters played out by other toys (who weren’t able to get the main role). I’d have him scale shelves and cabinets while defying the laws of physics. Just with the use of ordinary stuff, added with a little imagination, I was able to turn my room into my very own little big planet.

Years have passed and I have already outgrown playing the game in favor of more mature games. But even with all the complexity and the features new games offer today, nothing beats a good game that lets you use your creativity.

Lucky for us, the guys over at Media Molecule is currently cooking something sweet for our stagnating creative side. A game which they call “Little Big Planet”.

A planet full of fun

Set to be released on the PS3 later this year, Little Big Planet is a game where you could do pretty much whatever you want.

You get to control and customize small characters called Sackboys and move them around in a world that you can also be customized. You could place different objects from blocks, soccer balls, oranges that, upon placement, are immediately subjected to the laws of physics. You could even build complex machines using these objects like swings or even cars. You could color or vandalize your surroundings, and do lots of other fun stuff.

A heaven for the creative mind!

Yeah! Lemme see the videos!

“Where’s the fun in that?”, you ask? To give you a clearer picture on what the game is about, you could watch the videos below:

The first video is a trailer demonstrating what sort of stuff you could build in the game. Just imagine what other stuff you could build if you let the right side of your brain do a little workout.

On the second video below, the creators shows us what the game is truly capable of. PARTY SKATEBOARD! Yeeha!

You could so almost anything in the game! It’s like playing “adbenture” without having to clean up the mess afterwards!

Next is a demonstration on how to move about a fully customized level, complete with a boss fight. The level that you are to see can be made by anyone as long as you are creative enough.

So, what do you think? Don’t you think their little big planet is much more fun than ours?

I just wish I could save enough money to buy a PS3.

I was walking down Manila City Hall last night when I noticed an emergency ambulance helplessly stuck in traffic with its sirens wailing continuously. From the sidewalk, I could make out the driver’s worried expression as he gazed into the myriad of cars in front of him. It was obvious that traffic was the last thing the driver wanted.

Even though I couldn’t see what was behind the metal body of the ambulance, I can almost picture what was going on inside. I can see medics doing their best in administering first aid treatment. I can also see a man sitting by the door, crying and praying, and a woman in blood spattered clothes, lying on a stretcher heavily gasping for air, struggling to survive. Amidst all the chaos and panic swirling around inside the ambulance, the outside was surrounded with cars, motionless and as still as the night.

It is known that in the field of medication, every minute counts. This is also true when it comes to the duty of the ambulance team. Every second could spell life or death of the patient aboard it. Seeing as how the traffic stretches out into the distance, the patient is going to need to hold out for a couple more minutes.

I felt sorry for whoever was inside the ambulance. Of all the times he could get stuck in traffic, fate had to choose this very night.

Most emergency ambulances have the authority to pass through red lights, drive down the opposite lane, and are even permitted to break speed limits. It’s all great but once your stuck with traffic here in the Philippines, the word “Emergency” is almost meaningless.

Traffic is nothing new here in the Metro. Laws that were supposed to reduce traffic were already made and enforced, but unfortunately not much has changed. Even with the introduction of the MRT and LRT, the streets remain crowded. Loading and unloading signs are ignored unless there is police presence. People jaywalking everywhere. The lack of discipline of both motorist and pedestrian are to be blamed for the everyday gridlock.

I really wish we could find a solution to this traffic problem soon. I’d hate to see myself stuck in traffic if I’m the one lying inside the ambulance struggling for dear life.

Yep, yet another reason to hate traffic.

(Image courtesy of http://ems.medicedweb.com/)

• Air Gear - Rollerblading on steroids with insane tricks and battles.
• Bokura Ga Ita - Problematic relationships are a common theme in love stories. Bokura Ga Ita takes the viewers hands, sits them beside the main characters, and forces them to worry along with them.
• Bleach - It started out great until the time filler episodes started to air. I do think that Ichigo (the lead character) is pretty uninteresting and weak. I prefer the 13 captains more. They should’ve been the stars of the show.
• Chobits - Gotta love Chii’s cuteness. The story was interesting but the conclusion was a little confusing.
• Clannad - Has a number of good story elements similar to Kanon (Another anime created by the same group) but still falls behind on second place. Still, one could enjoy the pacing of the story as it jumps from one short story to another.
• Detective Academy Q - A more modern detective/crime story which focuses on the feats of a group of young detectives as they try to solve cases through the use of teamwork. Unlike Detective Conan, the characters in the anime couldn’t solve the cases by themselves, they must sought out each other’s skills and strengths in order to know the whole truth behind every murder case.
• Detective Conan - A detective/crime story with a twist. Most of the cases seem almost impossible to be solved but Conan, with his super deduction skills, still gets to solve them at the end of the day.
• Death Note - Light is one of the brightest students in all of Japan who have different ideals and perspective about the world around him. His dreams for changing the world to a utopia has become possible when he comes across a note book that actually has the power to kill individuals by writing their names in it. Deep, disturbing, suspenseful, original and brilliant, Death Note lets us witness the journey of a man who was brave enough to change the world through the means of a different method.
• Dokuro Chan - Widely acclaimed because of its twisted comedy infused with gore and blood. What I love about this anime is that it never fails to surprise. It takes on cliches and twists it in a funny way.
• Ef ~ A Tale of Memories - Love stories involving amnesia or memory deficiencies have been made a couple of times already, but Ef ~ A Tale of Memories still takes it on and manages to deliver it with more drama. The story tells how the couple deal with the dillema in their relationship.
• Fate Stay Night - An action anime that I enjoyed up to the very end. The story is intriguing, especially the story behind the servant, Saber. The anime has a great cast of characters which can make you fall for them easily. Has one of the saddest endings around.
• Flame of Recca - The tournament part was the highlight of the anime that is almost as similar as the tournament in Yuyu Hakusho. There were a number of memorable fights that is worth rooting for.
• Full Metal Alchemist - An anime that starts out light and comedic then in an instant shows its dark tones and seriousness. Dark, philosophical, and has a number of disturbing plot elements.
• Full Metal Panic - This anime made me a fan of mecha.
• Full Metal Panic (Fumoffu) - Full Metal Panic on a more lighter side. Sometimes it is just fun to watch the characters you’ve come to love do other stuff. Gotta love Bontakun.
• Futakoi Alternative - An anime that is really hard to categorize. It starts of as a stylized action, shifts to a more comedic phase, then love story, drama, and finally back to action packed adventure. The constant change in theme may confuse some, to me it’s more like showing life in its different phases. Worth watching if you are looking for something new.
• Ghost Hunt - Ghost busting; anime-style. At first I thought that it would be hard to scare people through anime, but Ghost Hunt somehow managed to pull it off while making the viewer crave for more. I’m not a fan of the horror genre, but this anime made things a little interesting.
• Gundam 00 - How do you put an end to all wars? Celestial Being answers the question with the use of Gundams. The great thing about this anime is that it is not just about robots and fighting. It also shows the true face of war, and the ugly side of politics and human nature,
• Hayate no Gotoku - Hayate is a battle butler is sworn to protect his master from harm. Battle butlers? Yes, apparently there are such things. Hayate no Gotoku is an anime-comedy that has a lot of very funny moments. There are a number of spoofs that are references from other animes that are sure to give you the giggles especially if you are well educated about the anime kingdom.
• Ichigo 100% - A harem anime filled with strawberries and panties. It’s old and pretty cliched, but still good.
• Jigoku Shoujo - When hatred comes to the point when you want the hated to die, most people would do anything to show their anger even at the cost of their own souls. Jigoku Shoujo shows how anger and revenge can easily take over a human’s feeble hold on self-control by showing the different lives of different people who have been wronged and have sought for the help of the hell girl.
• Jigoku Shoujo: Futakomori - After watching the first season, I immediately jumped to watching the second season. The story now revolves around the story of hell girl, how she came to be, and the reasons for why she is doing the revenge for other people. The story is great!
• Kanon (2006) - There aren’t a lot of anime that has the power to make people cry. This wonderful masterpiece perfectly weaves a great storyline with interesting characters to establish a connection with the viewer. The storyline was designed to make the viewer feel closer to the protagonist with each passing episode, so at the end, the viewer could be able to sympathize more with the character as he faces the final problem.
• Kage Kara Mamoru - It has an interesting concept (modern day ninjas) but it failed to keep things interesting after a couple of episodes.
• Kamen no Maid Guy - Naeka is the granddaughter of a billionaire who will soon inherit everything. In order to protect her, a super male agent dressed in a maid uniform is sent to guard her. The series is super funny especially with Maid guy’s weird powers (He claims to have 36 senses , can see through people’s clothing like an x-ray vision using his naked eyes, and other outrageous skills). The story isn’t anything grand but it is entertaining nonetheless.
• La Corda D’Oro -
• Love, Love? - A harem anime set around a production house that shows how a TV show called “Cosprayers” is produced (Which is also an anime). It is has a lot of funny and ecchi moments that is worth watching.
• Lovely Complex - Does height really matter in love? The story revolves around the lives of Risa and Otani, where Risa stands at 172cm and Otani at 156cm. A really funny anime with a lot of heart warming moments that can make any people fall in love. I loved it so much that I watched it three times.
• Midori no Hibi - Seiji Sawamura wakes out one normal morning to find out that his right hand has changed into a small girl named Midori, who happens to have a long time crush to Seiji. Seiji tries to get rid of her to continue with his normal life but eventually becomes accustomed to Midori and falls in love with her. Heartwarming and fantastic.
• Minami Ke - Its a story about a life of three ordinary sisters going around their normal lives. You’ll see them waking up, eating, going to school, studying, going home, eating, then finally sleeping. Albeit the mundane everyday events that they do, their interesting personalities make their journey interesting and funny.
• Minami Ke Okawari - The sequel to Minami-Ke. It continues with the story of the three sisters, now with more characters to liven up their world.
• Mojacko - One of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid. Heck, it was so widely popular hear in the Philippines that it was aired three times! Haha. It was the only one aired at that time that really captured the hearts and imaginations of the little Pinoy masses.
• Naruto - I know that a lot of people love this anime. I, on the other hand, have an OK stance. The story is great but it tends to lag on forever because of a barrage of filler episodes. I was like “Get on with it and finish the story dammit!” The funny thing is, if we would take out all the filler episodes, this anime would span at around 30-50 episodes.
• Naruto Shippuuden - The story of Naruto finally picks up here where Naruto and friends have grown up to adolescence. It’s much more action packed and fun. I just hope the creators doesn’t resolve to the same formula that they did with the previous installment.
• Oruchuban Ebichu - Ebichu is a hamster who shows her love to her master by cleaning the house for her and looking after her. However, her love for her master, coupled up with her little hamster brain, gets her in to trouble most of the time ending her up with a punch to the face courtesy of her beloeved master. Warning: this is not an anime for kids because it pushes over bounds that are not normally jumped over. It contains sex and a lot of green jokes. Funny as hell, though.
• School Days - A perfect example on how a love story can easily spiral down to a tragic ending. It starts off light complete with everything that you would expect from any love story. Once your hooked, the plot quickly makes a wild turn, taking you into the darker side of love. It plays with your emotions, disturbs your established concept of love, and shows you that not all love stories result in a happy ending.
• School Rumble -
• School Rumble ni Gakki -
• Shakugan no Shana -
  
• Shakugan no Shana 2 -
  
• Shuffle -
• Sky Girls -
• Slam Dunk -
• Let’s Go -
• Tenjou Tenge -
  
• True Tears -
• Wolf and Spice
• Yakitate! Japan -
• Yuyu Hakusho -
  

(Post Header image courtesy of ColonyWorks. All my anime shows are stored inside my computer)

Note: List is still being populated since I’ve played hundreds of games (I’ll try to add more to the list, so expect this list to get bigger soon)

• Advance Wars - A turn-based strategy as big and epic as World War 2 packed into a GBA Cartridge. I could play this game for hours!
• Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - A strategy game that lets you take on the roles of different personas in the history of mankind like Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan. Playing the game is much better than sitting through history class.
• BurnOut 3: TakeDown - Crash! Boom! Sweet…
• Castlevania II: Symphony of the Night - Platforming action filled with noir, vampires, monsters, and kick-ass powers.
• Crash Bandicoot Series - Who doesn’t know Crash Bandicoot? He became a temporary mascot for PlayStation during its early stages. The clever level designs, great boss battles, and easy controls made this one of the most enjoyable adventure games ever.
• Contra - Retro platformer similar to Metal Slug that is more fun when playing with a friend.
• GoldenEye 007 - It was one of the best multiplayer games when I was a kid. My friends and I would rent a N64 and could go blasting each other for hours. Gotta love it when blood slowly fills the screen reminiscent of the movie when you kill someone.
• Gran Turismo Series -
• Half Life - Getting out of Black Mesa is the best. It has a superb storyline that weaves the action and the game perfectly. The multiplayer is also as fun as the single player. There’s nothing as fun as placing a crowbar into somebody else’s head.
• Half Life 2 - Valve takes Half-Life’s greatness to a level that makes it worthy to be considered a masterpiece. The storyline is great and its execution is worthy of cinematic praise. It’s more like a movie and a game merged into one.
• Half Life: Counter Strike - Multiplayer haven that spurred the Counter-strike craze here in the Philippines. Fire in the hole!
• Final Fantasy 7 - The very first RPG Game that I played. I was confused of the battles at first (I didn’t know how turn-base battles work) but later got the hang of it after playing Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete.
• Lunar: SIlver Star Story Complete - The second RPG Game that I have played which taught me the basics of RPGs (Final Fantasy 7, my very first RPG game, was too difficult to pick up by an RPG newbie) It has great anime-style visuals, memorable music, and a great storyline that spans four discs!
• Mario Kart 64 - The first of its kind. Never mind the cutesy visuals, it’s super fun!
• Metal Gear Solid 1 - The game that defined the stealth-suspense genre. It was more spy-like than all the James Bond movies combined. Has a number of great boss battles (Gotta love the battle between Mantis and the Metal Gear) and the storyline is superb.
• Metal Gear Solid 2 - The sequel that was launched on the PS2. Nothing much has been changed, only the graphics that was revamped. The story isn’t that great either. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed playing it.
• Metal Gear Solid 3 - This is the title that made a big step to give the series a little boost. The camouflage system gave a little more depth to use of stealth. The first-person targeting made killing easier. Dialogue is top notch, and the boss battles were epic!
• Prince of Persia (Old version) - I remember playing this on the PC. The graphics were crap but the puzzles are great.
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - This game makes wall-running and acrobatic feats effortless. Gotta love how the player can slow and rewind time.
• Pokemon (Red/Blue) - I felt the need to catch ‘em all. Pika pika pika.
• Quake II -
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six -
• Sim City 3000 -
• Shadow of Colossus - If a video game were poetry, this would be it. The colossus’ are scary looking but at the same time wonderful in their own respect. I like how you need to think in order to defeat the colossus monsters.
• Sonic the Hedgehog -
• StarCraft: The Brood War -
• Suikoden I -
• Suikoden II - The first of the Suikoden series that I have played. It is one of my favorite RPGs of all time because of its great and captivating storyline focusing on war, friendship, and betrayal. All the 108 characters that you get in the game have their own personality and gives the world of Suikoden color and depth.
  
• Suikoden III - The third installment and the second I have played in the series. It is as riveting as Suikoden 2, only that it is in 3d. The plot is great and the introduction of the Trinity system tells the story from the perspectives of the three main characters in the game.
• Suikoden IV - The most disappointing title in the franchise because of gameplay issues. Story is still decent though. I ignored all of its flaws and still finished the game. What’s can I say? I’m an avid fan of the series.
• Super Mario 3 -
• Super Smash Brothers - Characters from the Nintendo universe battling it out against each other? Give me a front seat! Fun fun fun!
• Tekken 3 -
• Tony Hawk Pro Skater II -
• Twisted Metal Series - One of the first games I played on the PlayStation. It was one of the most exciting PS game at that time. The series lost its charm after a couple of sequels, though.
• X-Com: UFO Defense -

(Post Header image courtesy of venus577 of the GameSpot.com forums. Yeah, it’s not my collection, but I do have a decent amount of games.)

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.

- Charles Wadsworth

Amidst all the projects and studying that are screaming to be done, I decided to sit down and set them aside for awhile for today is a special day.

During the past years, my definition of Father’s day extends only to greeting your dad and afterwards, letting him treat the family to a nice father’s day dinner as our reward for remembering.

During those times, I never really understood what was so special about Fathers day that it has been given a whole day off the calendar just for people to celebrate. I’ve always asked myself, “What is so special about being a dad, anyway?”, “Why should I thank them?”

I later found out that the reason why I can’t understand Fathers day is because I didn’t really understood my own father.

My dad and I have a kind of relationship that is a result of long distance. While he was working abroad, I was doing mischief here in the Philippines. I spent most of my childhood away from him, that is why I know that whenever we get the chance to get together, he was doing all his best to make up for the lost time. I, on the other hand, wasn’t really doing anything to contribute to the relationship. I thought that it was okay the way it is.

The only time that we got the chance to bond with each other is through Playing Guitar Hero (Yeah, the PlayStation 2 game that lets you play rock hit legends using a mock guitar). Today I look at the same Guitar that we use on our mock gigs. The color has lost it’s snappy gloss look, and the stickers plastered over it had all aged and yellowed. It’s still working fine. And whenever I play it, I always wished that my dad was there to see how I manage to beat a song in expert mode. Then he’d have that proud fatherly look on his face that says “That’s my son” (hehe)

I know that Guitar Hero is an odd object to be the embodiment of our relationship. Nevertheless, it is the one that has stuck to both my mind and heart.

Today, having been more matured than in previous years, I now kinda have a little more of an understanding about why Father’s day is celebrated. It is not just about the person, per se. It is more on how the dad play the role as father to their children. Anyone can be a dad, but not everyone can be a great day. At least, that’s what I think. Oh, and that goes for moms too! (Sorry mom, if I didn’t get a chance to make a post about you on mothers day, I still love you pa naman e)

Thank you for everything, dad. I may be a little wayward at times, but rest assured I even if I go and thread a different path, in the end, I would still ask for your direction and guidance.

Keep on rocking, dad. Happy Father’s Day.

For rarely are sons similar to their fathers: most are worse, and a few are better than their fathers.
- Homer

If you were one of the many Philippine student nurses who took the June 2008 Nursing Board Examinations, then I bet that you are eagerly waiting for the result which will come out around August.

I too am waiting for the Nursing Board Exam Result June 2008 , for my girlfriend was also one of the examinees. As a show of support for her, I volunteered to be the one to stay up and wait for PRCs official release on their website.

I am also planning to post the June 2008 Nursing Board Exam Result here on my blog as soon as I get the results. Think of it as a service to the Nursing community.

All you need to do is to enter your e-mail address below and the list will automatically be sent to you! Yeah, I know I’m sweet.

Oh, and by the way, if you are looking for Nursing Care Plans, Drug Studies, Nursing Case Studies you could visit PinoyNursingBlag! Enjoy!

Police said Ces Drilon and her cameramen and their companion Octavio Dinampo were abducted in the village of Kulasi in the town of Maimbung. Drilon’s team arrived in Sulu on Saturday from Zamboanga City, said Supt. Julasirim Kasim, the provincial police chief.

“There is no demand yet for ransom,” Kasim said, adding, Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan convened the Crisis Management Committee to address the situation.

Read the full report at the Mindanao examiner by going here.

Let’s just hope the Abu Sayyaf won’t do anything drastic again.

Gandalf: I’m gonna need you to cast it [the ring] into the fires of Mt. Doom, or we’re all gonna die.
Frodo: What the… When?
Gandalf: End of day would be greeeat.
Frodo: “Are you *&^%$# CRAZY?”

Watch the short move below:

They should have released this long ago. Pfft.