I can still remember Steve Jobs comparing iPhone with the other Smartphones in the market. How can he be so deceptive? And with all this iPhone hype, all we get is the same old big brother they’ve shown thirteen years ago.

The most frustrating part of buying an iPhone is it being solely tied to wireless provider AT&T, which not only narrows down the type of provider that could give you iPhone services, but also the country where you can actually use an iPhone. And yes, Jobs already announced before that Asia will be getting the iPhone early next year. We are now in a globalized community, and how do you think Asians and the rest of the world would react to this? Not to mention a few iPhone-ers who have been complaining about the bills that AT&T are imposing on them. Seems like the iPhone is not that of a smart choice.

Lately, we were disturbed by Apple’s announcement that unlocked iPhones could be expensive bricks in the future after the new firmware update. OK, we get the “no warranty for tampered iPhones” bit in the contract, but to actually let the gadget be ruined by this software update is totally irresponsible, albeit, big-brother-ish for all owners. Instead of preventing not to destroy the iPhone, Apple has actually, and “bravely”, faced all the anger that the entire Apple-converts community could give in exchange of locking their customers around the neck, and carrying them around as Apple wanted like helpless chihuahuas. I get the if-I-buy-a-Mac-I-need-Mac-OS-X bit, but at least they should at least give more effort on researching how to make iPhones work on any telco providng the standards the iPhone supports. If the feature can’t be supported because of lack of support by the telco, just disable it…

Not ruin the entire thing for making it work! Apple can’t even assume that the entire package works, even on a majority of users. As if everyone likes AT&T or something.

Seriously!

You must know by now why I’m angry. (Cry out loud!)

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Being sick had its advantages and disadvantages. It’s a big bummer that I am forced to be in a very low-speed connection (I can’t work as fast as I can at home), and I can’t talk with my workmates as if they’re sitting right beside me (IM clients and Skype won’t help). However, I was lucky to see the first few episodes of Lastikman, a story of a “Mr. Fantastic-ish” Filipino superhero who allegedly came from a distant planet and landed on Earth to save it and fulfill his destiny of being its only defense against extinction.

Lastikman really looks like the awesomest series in Philippine TV since Darna, or maybe the best ever. I really love love the CGI, and the cinematography is so glossy it even looked like one of those Pinoy fantasy movie trailers we see during the MMFF season. This Tuesday night, they showcased a CGI-filled chase scene where Eskappar (young Lastikman) and his father Irroian (played by Tonton Guttierez) tried to get away from the earthling-allergic planet. The chase reminded me of both movies “Minority Report” and “Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones.” I daresay that this is the best CGI that a Filipino outfit could do. It was so good in lighting and Physics it could even beat any CGI made in any Philippine movie made! It was sooo beautiful!

But like any other series in the Philippines, its only disadvantage was the pacing. It was so slow-paced and cheesy, and the sounds wasn’t really fixed up. I mean imagine a scene with lasers firing and exploding stalactites in a cave, and all you can hear were gusty winds. very disappointing. The music was too loud to the point that it didn’t match the scenes. There was this part of the scene that they somehow slowed down, but the music kept on rolling so fast, it felt awkward. Also, the chroma scenes (the scenes where production teams use a green screen to replace breathtaking backgrounds, which are usually seen in the latest Star Wars trilogy) were so choppy, it felt like one frames per second.

Another defect of every ABS-CBN soap series is being “ningas-cogon” (we have this grass called cogon, that when you burn them, they only burn wild in the beginning, but immediately stops after a small area is scorched black), meaning they just show the bells and whistles in the first few episodes, and the next weeks will be so dragging you would want to change channels (just like what happened in Panday and Rounin). They have to make each episode as exciting and fast-paced as Mari Mar (which already got into its d’enouement just this evening) or they would lose audiences again, like the way they lost audiences in Kokey.

Also, I already watched two Lastikman movies, and they all say that Lastikman was an earthling who had an asteroid encounter beside a rubber tree, and not some goo-earthling-born alien hybrid who came to Earth to save it from aliens. Sounds like Smallville for me, not to mention that he has three leading ladies, played by Iya Villania (the cheerleader and school crush, like Lana), Roxanne Guinoo (the bestfriend, like Chloe), and Toni Gonzaga (the reporter, like Lois). This was also the case for Captain Barbell and Darna.

I also saw in the beginning credits that Chito Rono is “Director for Lastikman Origins”, meaning expect Lastikman to “lose its pilot week’s flare” next week and the weeks to come.

At least, it was way better than the ever-dragging Zaido. Me and my brothers scream our hearts out to switch to Channel 2’s commercial run rather than watching Zaido. Yuck! (Take note, I watch Mari Mar so I’m not a network fan of neither Channel 2’s nor Channel 7’s).

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Tonight will be the twenty-first night of September. I must’ve heard that phrase somewhere…

Oh yeah, it was from Earth, Wind and Fire’s hit song, “September.” And then suddenly, it came to me that it’s the nth anniversary of ex-President Marcos’ announcement of him signing Proclamation No. 1081, more popularly known here in the Philippines as Martial Law. And like Samo Hung, Marcos made Martial Law a career. A good one. A lucrative one.

Ever wondered how a small-town boy went to becoming an instant billionaire (dollar-billionaire, perhaps)? OK, fine, I wasn’t born during these rough and tough times, but knowing that fewer people die today (as the press say) than before was a relief that I was born to live in a freer environment.

Oh, I forgot! I was born during the year Ninoy Aquino was assassinated. Same year when Michael Jackson released his single “Thriller.” No wonder it became popular among Pinoys! They see monsters everywhere during those times.

I remember my Gramps’ sister told me it was way better off before, during Marcos’ regime, than now, when officials tend to be more corrupt and more aggressive than before. She told me, it was better back then because you know who was corrupt, and everything just felt simpler. Yes, the prices of fish and rice might’ve increased dramatically during those times, but she told me, everything was simpler, in order. She didn’t mention anything about freedom. But now, it seems that every other official in the country, from the Barangays to the Malacanang Palace, are little Marcoses. I understand what she was saying, but what I can’t understand is why can’t she see that we are at an advantage today than before?

OK, people who say stuff against these powerful people might be “silenced” or “salvaged,” (“salvage” is a Filipino term for being gunned down and sent to a dark, and deserted place, and letting the corpse rot down memory lane) but don’t we think we could speak more at ease today than before? Didn’t we just convict a President for being corrupt? Why not do it now if we really feel that it’s time for a revolution? Do we consider ourselves mobsters if we become Barbaric towards corruption?

Oh, I forgot. I’m a hypocrite. I don’t say these stuff normally. I also don’t like being a “Political Afficionado.” Well, I guess there’s still something inside me left by the Marcos Regime. Can the Marcoses pay for damages because of me not being provocative enough? Surely Imelda would just dance this thing away…

To the sound of “Septmeber.”

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I felt nostalgic just being there. I’m a tearjerky, but I composed myself not to be super sentimental about my visit.

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All I can say is…

It’s sooooooooooo beautiful! Never lets me down being my most favorite show in the planet! I mean, I’ve been bitching about Season 2’s lack of cinematic quality compared to Season 1, which had all the necessary stuff in it (cinematography, production design, character, story consistency). Now I’m confident to say that Season 3 is up for more good things to come.

Obviously, “Orientacion” is a good title for a season premiere, and the episode introduced us to more cruel and savage prison grounds, which Season 2 has noted as “Sona”. The season premiere had tons of twists in it, and the best one that I loved was the woman crying outside the prison, claiming she needs to get her husband who died the other night. You really have to watch the episode yourself. I won’t spoil anything here.

About technical stuff, I love love love the new production set / studio. It was really meant to be a living hell on Earth. Though it was a bit dirty, dilapidated and takes an elementary student to get out of that place (There were no prison bars. Just prisoners gunning on your escape.), I find it really commending for the cinematographer to really give beautiful angles, colors, and blocking for each scenes. I personally like the part where they were being introduced to the “Master” of the prison grounds (I still dunno his name, sorry), it was just… perfect!

Alex Mahone is also worth noting since he changed characters, but the character shift felt natural, for he also had needs. Bellick was also funny in this episode, and I have to say this is one of his most powerful performances ever in the series (no wonder the execs keep him). Robert Knepper playing T-Bag just feels too stereotypical, though. He was still cast as a savage, and more likely, he’ll be a villain (again) in this season.

I’ll give the Premiere my 5 out of 5 (even with my disappointments with what T-Bag has become).

Seeing the show’s intro gave me an idea how emotional this season could get, and how tense the scenes will be. I’m really looking forward to seeing good episodes from Prison Break. Still holding on to that “Best Thing That ever Happened to TV” bit.

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My Dad has been waiting for this! The latest season of Prison Break is airing tomorrow (Philippine Time) at around 11AM. Not to mention that the 17-minute preview of Prison Break really looked awesome and still has that cinematic touch in it. I loved the part when Bellick was forced to drink from a puddle of muddy water. I’m really really looking forward to this!

And yeah, I still think Prison Break is the best thing that happened to television. (I don’t watch the Sopranos. I had incidents of nosebleeding everytime I watch an episode.)

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When I was a kid, it’s been a habit for me to watch Bioman, Maskman, and Shaider because they all have the high tech robots, weaponry, and sexy sidekicks with them (specifically the undie-niably cute Naomi Morinaga, playing Ami in Shaider). I actually find myself excited with the new Zaido series because finally, I have another chance of taking a peek (not on “you-know-what”… OK, I’m a hypocrite) on what happened to the Galactic Police, and if Ida and Lei-Ar really died in the last episode of Shaider.

Also, when I was a kid, until just recently (I guess four months ago) I believed that Ida was a woman, and I even remember her wearing a disguise, and thought to myself this Ida woman should also be beautiful in person. And then, I saw this YouTube video showing that the subtitles seemed wrong for they always use “he” in reference to Ida. Doing a little research confirmed her / his gender. She / He is a cross-dresser, and I started feeling goosebumps and chills from the insides of my bones…

EEEEEEWWWWW!

And yeah, the GMA execs assigned a “beautiful guy” to play the role of Ida. Meet Paolo Ballesteros, in his glow-in-the-dark gala dress.

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Yesterday, I had fun meeting again all the Open Source peeps I knew since college. This year’s celebration was a success, and I would like to personally congratulate the local team for bringing us a more relevant, less-geeky leg of the Software Freedom Day.

It’s just sad I needed to leave early to attend my brother’s girlfriend’s birthday celebration back home, but the programme’s pretty interesting, especially for those who want to use FLOSS in their systems. I also missed the part where Rep. Teddy Casiño spoke about the updates of the FOSS bill here in the Philippines.

Another interesting bit was the idea of having a "UN" for FLOSS, with each country having its own representative.

Not to mention there was free food for everyone. Yum! (I personally like Chopseuy and Barbecue. Nice choice Phil Team!)

Program Premises Entrance

UNDP Banner

PREGINET Presentation

Philippine Team Leader for SFD

Presentation About Sourcecamp

Live Feeds from Vietnam and Davao

Official SFD Shirts

Ruby on Rails Presentation

Yehey.com Founder Presentation

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Happy Software Freedom Day to all of the FLOSS people out there! And for those who are near the Manila leg of the event, see you there!

I’ll be posting pictures later.

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Here is the first batch of our short walk in The Fort. Actually, this is the first time I ever set foot inside the place, so I kinda took all shots from almost all angles, eager to see the results.

The Fort is a really nice, cozy, slightly quiet place, well, during the day. When the sun goes down, everything just goes crazy and raving.

Really nice and crisp shot

Fountain of (Night) Life

Cute couple

Flowers for You

Looks Zesty… Not really…

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