Retire already...

Brett Favre.

A classy athlete that I knew of the first time after watching There's Something About Mary (apparently, I hadn't discovered American football yet). After seeing the movie, his legacy began to grow on me. Here was a quarterback who was destined to break quarterback records. He has achieved what needs to be achieved as a quarterback in the NFL.

Fast forward to the late 2000s. Favre flip-flops from retiring to unretiring and does it in straight offseasons. The first time was tense. The second time was exhilarating. So anyway, how many years has this happened? I don't know because it has gotten to a point that I wouldn't care anymore. Flip-flopping just shows immaturity. It shows the lack of ability to make a decision. Why couldn't you decide? Is it that difficult to let go of the game? It just destroys your legacy. It's now considered untainted after the miraculous 2007 season (who would forget the scoop pass?).

And the demands. Who says that Favre could now demand for his role in the team? Wouldn't that just undermine the authority of the coach? How about the authority of the general manager?

And since the great Favre has no foresight towards his decisions, he has obviously skipped on the process of thinking through a season. As written above, 2007 was a miracle season. What happens now if 2008 would be disastrous with Green Bay starting Favre as the quarterback? Of course, another miracle season would be extremely miraculous but would that be more possible than a disastrous season after a miraculous one? The NFL is one of the most inconsistent sport leagues and Favre hasn't been a model of consistency, has he?

Avatar the Last Airbender

(a bit) SPOILER ALERT

Whew! Finally. After how many months (honestly, I don't know if it reached a year but I'm pretty sure it has), the animation series has finally reached the end. And what a way to end it all. I didn't have to wait for another week after one episode. Thankfully, Nickelodeon thought of putting the last 4 episodes together. Frankly, I think each new episode would just cancel out the previous one thus minimizing its "Oomph!" factor.

Specifics:

It was great seeing Aang and Zoku as friends. Its reminiscent of Avatar Roku and Firelord Azulon. And the last part where everybody else got to gather together is a fitting ending for the group. It epitomizes the whole series where love and friendship has always been put into importance.

Could the series have been improved further? I think not. Like I said, everything was timed just right.

So, what's next? Will there be more stories? Will there be more conflicts up ahead?

Princess Azula could still be a factor. And despite that some of the Fire Nation agrees to the crowning of the Firelord Zoku, I'm sure there are personalities in the Fire Nation who would hesitate to reverting back to their peaceful selves (once a warmonger, always a warmonger).

And if there aren't any new episodes, I expect M. Night Shyamalan to do good with his live adaptation of the animated series. With his daughters as his strongest critics, he should try to live up to the hype. 2010 is the expected year. I'll hope that it's going to be a good movie despite the criticism Shyamalan has gotten from his last 2 films.

Batman

The Dark Knight.

The World's Greatest Detective.

With the recent movie (hype) over The Dark Knight Returns, it occurred to me that Batman has always been one of my favorite characters ever since I started reading comic books. My brother was the Superman fan and I was "relegated" to the "lowly" Batman. Over role play, he was always Superman and I was Batman.

But what makes Batman such an attractive character (if not to you, it is to me)?

What has been left out from the movie is Batman the detective. Movie fans drool over his brooding personality, his "darkness" and the way he dispenses of criminals. In the DC comic books, Batman is one of the better thinkers of the DC Universe. Not exactly the wisest man, but intelligent and witty enough to solve even the toughest crime puzzles. He is known to be away from the other heroes as he works undercover (a third disguise, Malone, a gangster). At the end of the story, he pops out with the puzzle already solved a la Sherlock Holmes.

And then, it just dawns that he is only human. A bit superhuman because he has trained his body to be like an Olympic athlete but nevertheless just a normal human being with the cool gadgets and transportation. I might look at him as a dark James Bond in a cowl and cape. He lives the life as a millionaire playboy but goes into the night saving people.

And that I think is one of the reasons why the character is a favorite among comic book fans. His being human takes him closer to all of us. We are more likely to become Batman ourselves, one way or another.

As for the new movie, I haven't seen it yet but I plan to do so. Thankfully, the DC Comics company have transformed their movie characters into what they really are. No more cheesy comic book-like dialog that sucks too much (I'm talking to you, Joel Schumacher).

By the way, Batman comic books (especially the limited series) are always a good read. There are a rich set of characters that are involved in Gotham City, a city that doesn't seem to run out of criminals, especially the loony ones. And if you're a fan of psychology, you will notice that there are always psychological aspects to what happens in Gotham.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Not much of a space book reader but I'm enjoying Guardians of the Galaxy.

Maybe because it's been a long time since I grabbed an out-of-this-world adventure comic book. I'm talking about all those Infinity series, Silver Surfer, Galactus vs. whoever stuff.

The story of Guardians is light. The characters seem to retrace their steps as the reader gets into the whole story. And speaking of the characters, they are one kooky bunch. Fortunately, they are well-developed. 4 of the characters seem familiar to whoever has read the old Infinity Watch (Adam Warlock, Gamora, and Drax). The fourth familiar character is Captain Marvel (who has been reborn).

The racoon is lovably cute. Unfortunately, it's the only adjective I have for him. And he's supposed to be the demolitions expert in the team. In the second issue, he goes on an annoying binge by continuing his thoughts about naming the team as Guardians of the Galaxy.

One note about the old Guardians of the Galaxy team, I've never been a fan of it before. Well, again maybe because it's somehow out of this world. Space is even more vast but I always thought that the adventures that can be had is just minimal. Maybe I just need to expand my mind further.

Well, pick up Guardians of the Galaxy. :)

Continuation of top 10 Shadowmoor cards

One note: Unfortunately, I made a mistake regarding Inkfathom Witch. I thought it was the Turn to Mist like witch. Re-evaluating it, I realized it isn't that good. So, the top 10 cards are now down to just 9 cards. Hard to recall what I thought of as an honorable mention among the top 10 cards.

I finished with Demigod of Revenge the last time. I'm down to just 3 cards and they are:



Oona, Queen of the Fae

I must say that this is one wicked Legendary Creature - library depletion and creature production rolled into one. And it doesn't hurt either that it's a 5/5 flyer for just 6 mana.



Knollspine Invocation

In the tradition of Seismic Assault comes an enchantment that turns all the cards in the hand to direct damage spells. Granted that it's still costly to do so, still, a card worthy to turn around games.



Beseech the Queen

And finally, the best card that I can think of in Shadowmoor has to be one of the most versatile tutors I've ever seen. At the least, it could probably tutor a 2 or 3 casting cost card at the 2nd turn or 3rd turn. At the most (and costliest casting cost to play it), it could tutor a 6 casting cost card. And just like Flame Javelin, this card can be splashed anywhere. Now that has got to be something.

My Shadowmoor top 10 cards

This is a top 10 list inspired by the now-canceled Inquest magazine.

I might disagree with how Inquest used to do their list (who would have thought that Mortify would be the best card from Guildpact) but there are times that I enjoy how they rate their cards. They might miss out on some but nevertheless it inspires one to do similar things.

My criteria for creating a list: said card should be able to deliver an impact on its own (or if needing a couple of cards to deliver maximum impact, it should be a commonly available card type and not a specific card). I am a believer of combos. I adore how other people can think up of great combos. But this is not a top 10 combo list. A card, by its own, can easily be rated as "powerful" even on its own lonesome. A perfect example: Wrath of God.

And so, my list:



10. Prison Term

Finally, a Pacifism that can easily be transferred. One of the unfortunate things in Magic when using Pacifism is the realization that a better creature gets played right at the next moment that Pacifism is played. Prison Term ensures that succeeding better creatures won't be able to attack or block thus rendering the need to draw another Prison Term moot.



9. Flame Javelin

A direct damage card. How unusual is that? This card is because it can be splashed into just about any deck. Of course, it's lamer to pay 6 mana for 4 damage but the thing is, it's useful in any deck and that's enough.



8. Counterbore

I can't seem to have a top 10 list without a permission spell. This one mixes Lobotomy to Counterspell. Despite the high casting cost, it seems to have become a trend (I did write a long time ago that a decent counter spell without any frills or additional benefits is costed at 2UU). This card might not actually see play in any Standard Constructed deck but it sure looks tempting to break. Its power level is just fit to be placed in the top 10.



7. Vexing Shusher

And... one of the reasons why I kill myself with putting Counterbore in the top 10 list is simply because of Vexing Shusher. It's just the card that red and green are looking for. The card completely hoses blue mages' counterspells. And at 2/2 for 2 casting cost, it entirely fits the mindset of a red or green aggressive deck.



6. Godhead of Awe

Barring the weird art, this UW version of the Spirit Avatar cycle of Shadowmoor creates numerous problems. How about 1/1 creature problems. The mass effect it brings to the table is enough to turn the game around. And, oh yeah, 4/4 flying for 5 casting cost is not bad too.



5. Demigod of Revenge

How about that for another blue hoser? Or, even a slap to discard decks. Another of the Shadowmoor's spirit avatars makes an appearance and it's right for its color at black and red. Oh, and it's flying and it has haste. Other copies in the graveyard? They come right back and pummel for more possible damage. That's gotta hurt.

To be continued...

Hoarding the Nation of Horde of Notions

Is it possible to combine both collecting and competing in Magic? Collecting and competing are two aspects of Magic that I’ve always pondered on whenever I browse other players’ albums. It all started in Kamigawa block when the said expansion had a bunch of legends to jumpstart an idea of filling up several albums. In the Champions of Kamigawa prerelease, I opened up a Jugan, the Rising Star and a Konda, Lord of Eiganjo. Add to that the prerelease foil, Ryusei, the Falling Star, and I said to myself that I already had 3 of the numerous legends in Champions of Kamigawa. How many more to go…

True enough, I’ve been able to fill up my albums with Kamigawa block legends but at a financially crippling cost. To date, I can say that the Kamigawa block is the block where I bought a lot of packs just for the sake of searching for those legends. Useful cards from the block that were not legendary would be available for trade in exchange for any crappy legend. I often would say, “This is what I deserve for mixing collection with competition.”

Before Kamigawa, I already had a “respectable” Angel collection – an inspiration from an ex-girlfriend who liked angels a lot. But collecting the angels never compared to the eccentricity that I had burning in me with all the Kamigawa legends.

The trend has continued to Ravnica block (2 legends per guild), Coldsnap, Time Spiral block (the classic characters but I honestly lost count of what I have and have not), and recently in Lorwyn with a legend for each represented tribe.

Other recent themes added to the collection included lands, the Time Spiral 0 casting cost cycle of spells, Future Sight textless creatures, and X Edition tokens. Unfortunately I couldn’t keep up with the high cost of my purchases and had to give up the sparkling Time Spiral shocklands that I have been lucky to get in every fatpack.

Ebay

The reason for mentioning my collection troubles is because I recently went into an Ebay bidding binge and among the cards that I won was a set of Horde of Notions that ended at $0.99. Having already bought another item from the same seller, the shipping for the said set was discounted to $1.70. Then the other shoe dropped. I am actually spending more for the shipping than for the actual cards. Again, I have outdone myself, all for the sake of collecting legends.

I decided that I should try as much as I can to make use of the Horde of Notions in a deck. At least, this set of cards won’t end up just being collection album fodder. And how more convenient it is to turn this idea into an article. My inspiration for the deck is the preconstructed Elemental deck.
Deck construction it is

To start off, below is the decklist for the preconstructed Lorwyn Elemental deck. It’s a 5-color deck that’s primarily heavy on red cards.

# Name Cost
1 Wispmare
1 Dawnfluke
1 Mulldrifter
2 Æthersnipe
1 Shriekmaw
2 Mournwhelk
1 Flamekin Bladewhirl
2 Flamekin Brawler
2 Flamekin Harbinger
3 Smokebraider
3 Soulbright Flamekin
1 Incandescent Soulstoke
2 Inner-Flame Igniter
1 Inner-Flame Acolyte
2 Ceaseless Scarblades
2 Changeling Berserker
1 Faultgrinder
1 Briarhorn
1 Changeling Titan
1 Horde of Notions
3 Consuming Bonfire
2 Springleaf Drum
2 Wanderer's Twig
1 Plains
2 Island
2 Swamp
12 Mountain
1 Forest
2 Shimmering Grotto
1 Vivid Crag

The strategy of the preconstructed deck, as obtained from the magicthegathering.com site, is to use some of the creatures’ Evoke ability early. Later on when the game drags on, these creatures can be played at their full cost. Amusingly, Horde of Notions is a centerpiece due to its ability to play Elementals from the graveyard. The creatures that were played earlier with Evoke would be targets for Horde of Notions’ 5-color ability.
Preconstructed observations

2 automatic inclusions for my new deck are the Smokebraider and the Flamekin Harbinger. Smokebraider is a Signet for Elementals and helps speed up the deck. The Flamekin Harbinger is the cheapest of all the harbingers in Lorwyn and will search for the needed Elemental here. An Elemental deck would need a set of these two cards.

There’s only one Horde of Notions in the original build. That’s understandably so because it’s a preconstructed deck and there are always only 2 rare cards inserted. Talking about rare cards in the deck, the other rare is Incandescent Soulstoke. The Soulstoke pairs well with the Horde as its activated ability can bring an Elemental into play and bring the said Elemental into the graveyard at the end of turn. Horde of Notions, being a legendary creature, should have 3 copies. The Incandescent Soulstoke should have 4 copies.

There are only one each of Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw in the precon list. I’m curious why there’s only one Mulldrifter when it’s a common card. The Shriekmaw is also another Elemental worth considering because of its Terror-like ability (despite that it’s at Sorcery speed). It should be noted that the Mulldrifter flies while Shriekmaw has Fear.

Other Elementals with Evoke being considered from the preconstructed deck include Wispmare (enchantment removal), Aethersnipe (another creature removal), Briarhorn (instant creature pump), and Mournwhelk (discarder). I’ve set myself not to include Inner-Flame Acolyte (smaller creature-pump), Dawnfluke (damage preventer), and Faultgrinder (land destruction).

The rest of the deck is also disregarded, save for the Shimmering Grotto and the Vivid Crag.

So now the question surfaces on whether it is imperative that the deck should just stick to red cards only (and splash one other color) or continue the preconstructed theme of 5-colors. With the inclusion of the 5-color Horde of Notions, this would need to be a 5-color deck. The deck will still be red-based but will have a splash of the 4 other colors.

The rest of the deck

Of the 6 Elementals with Evoke that has been considered; only Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw are standouts to be included in the deck. 4 copies of each card will be placed in the deck. One other addition from the 6 is Wispmare for those unexpected pesky enchantments that might be encountered. I decided not to put in Aethersnipe because it can return only and not destroy. Mournwhelk has also been removed because I’m not that a fan of discard effects. Briarhorn has been thought of but its lack of evasion makes it a non-inclusion in this deck.

Time to add more Elementals with Evoke. Ingot Chewer is in as the Wispmare equivalent for artifacts. Also in is the huge 7/7 Cloudthresher – a safeguard for possible numerous fliers.

And here are other Elementals (the ones without Evoke) that will be added to the deck: Flamekin Spitfire, Nova Chaser and the lone non-Lorwyn card added to the mix: Timbermare. Only 1 Flamekin Spitfire is in the deck as a possible deadlock solution. There are 4 copies of Nova Chaser. It’s included for the possibility to tutor another Elemental by championing a Flamekin Harbinger and at the same time being able to swing for 10 damage. The lone Timbermare might just be a 4 casting cost spell dealing 5 damage or an opportunity to just tap out opponent’s creatures at the end of turn for the big swing by the next turn (suggested use with Incandescent Soulstoke).

Finally, the only non-creature spell that’s added is Fertile Ground. It’s scary to play a 5-color deck without the proper mana fixing thus the Fertile Ground is included to help out.

The Incarnations

The Incarnation cycle of Elementals in Lorwyn are bombs. Purity and Dread are tempting to include in the deck. I initially thought that I wouldn’t worry about casting the rest of the Incarnations with all the mana fixing that the deck already has. Or I could just find a way to get the Incarnations into the graveyard then use the Horde of Notions ability to play them from there. Then I remembered that no matter what, I just wouldn’t be able to play the Incarnations that way because they just get shuffled back to the library once they hit the graveyard. I scratch the idea of the Incarnations but I’m still putting a Vigor in my sideboard.

The deck
24 Lands:
2 Shimmering Grotto
2 Vivid Crag
2 Sulfurous Springs
2 Shivan Reef
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Karplusan Forest
1 Battlefield Forge
7 Mountain

32 Creatures:
4 Smokebraider
4 Flamekin Harbinger
4 Incandescent Soulstoke
3 Horde of Notions
1 Ingot Chewer
1 Wispmare
1 Flamekin Spitfire
4 Shriekmaw
4 Mulldrifter
4 Nova Chaser
1 Cloudthresher
1 Timbermare

4 Non-creature spells:
4 Fertile Ground

Sideboard:
1 Ingot Chewer
1 Wispmare
3 Eyeblight’s Ending
4 Eyes of the Wisent
1 Vigor
3 Krosan Grip

Voila!

Now, on to the prices of the rare cards and possible substitutions in case these cards are hard to find. Incandescent Soulstoke is currently priced at $4 by starcitygames.com which means it can probably be had for around P100. I absolutely do not have any idea for a replacement for Incandescent Soulstoke. The best suggestion would be to add more Elementals with Evoke.

Meanwhile, Nova Chaser is currently priced at $5 which would probably mean P125 to P150. If there are no Nova Chasers available, Changeling Berserker would have to do at half the damage (and at non-trample one) and at the same casting cost. Incidentally, the Changeling Berserker has the Champion ability also and can be tutored by the Flamekin Harbinger.

In case of a missing Timbermare or a Cloudthresher, I think Briarhorn would have to do at this point.

As for the lands, a list that might go like this would have to do in case of a lack of painlands:

4 Shimmering Grotto
2 Vivid Crag
2 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Island
4 Forest
7 Mountain

The list of lands above looks scary (to me). I might think of increasing the number of forests to ensure a 2nd turn Fertile Ground. Or instead of using a set of Fertile Ground, I’ll place Wanderer’s Twig to make sure I get that needed land out to be able to play whatever is in my hand.

That’s it. That’s the deck idea for the meantime. Meanwhile, I’ll wait for my Horde of Notions to arrive.

What I'm reading nowadays

It's been quite a few months that I've posted on my blog. Although I know nobody is reading this but if somebody happens to accidentally access my blog, thanks for the audience. I've been meaning to write about all the current comic books I've been reading for quite some time now. This post is basically a summary of what I'm currently reading nowadays.

In no particular order:

1. Amazing Spider-man - Brand New Day started out nice. I like the idea tremendously. But the story has not progressed as well as I expected. A lot of issues have been left hanging, most notably about the first villain (I even forgot the name) that Spidey faced. Seeing how Peter Parker deals with his teenager-like problems again has been delightful to experience once more but it has become redundant. There has to be some sort of progress to his situation otherwise he's still comparable to being a married man. And it seems that as the creative team changes, the whole story changes. There are just a few continued acts but the comic book is jumping from one story to the next without even finishing the previous situations. X-files anyone?

2. Batman books - Batman and the Outsiders and Gotham Underground. The interest on Batman has been existing since I started reading comic books. Batman is an attractive character considering that he's only a human without any actual superpowers. That said, he oftentimes relies on his brains to solve a mystery. The Outsiders comic book is being read because I started with the first issue and seemed to have gotten stuck with the succeeding issues. It's nice to see Batman lead a time. He's intriguing because trust is something that's difficult to come by with the time. An added attraction is Metamorpho, also a long time favorite. He's the comedian in the team. As for Gotham Underground, it's classic Batman at his finest. Wheeling and dealing punches and just using cunning to get through against a horde of supervillains.

3. Flash - Having followed the Bart Allen version, I feel obligated to follow this new series which is awkwardly numbered at a high issue number already. Nevertheless, the original (and more unique, in my opinion) speedster of the comic book fantasy world, is just an ordinary superhero. Take away the speed and he's a normal human being. Wally West and his family brings a little bit of reality to his fantasy.

4. Groo - the current series is Groo: Hell on Earth. I'm a huge fan of funny comic books and Groo is one of my favorites. Credit goes to my big brother who introduced me to this outstandingly stupid character. Hell on Earth is just like An Inconvenient Truth. In a way, the setting can be applied to our current situation where we are careless of the environment. Nicely done by Aragones and as usual, Groo is funny.

5. Iron Fist - The character appeals to me. Here's a rich dude (a la Batman) who's a master of martial arts. I think I got to the tournament match part (the current storyline) and it appealed to me more. But then, the story has tailed off. I miss the matches. Pure action. Some side stories here and there.

6. Justice League/Justice Society - Still yet another comic book that I've been "obligated" to read because I started from the beginning. Both series feature stunning artwork. The bump on JSA is that they keep on adding members to the team. Both series are great because of the whole team concept. Another bump: it seems redundant that no matter how unbeatable they supposedly are, they still get some licks but of course they win out in the end.

7. The Boys - by far, a kick-ass book that I'm enjoying tremendously. The story is the best out of everything enumerated here. It's just perfect. Here's a group of anti-superheroes figuring to be the police of rowdy superheroes. If it's Garth Ennis, there's going to be plenty of surprises and I can always afford to be surprised. Keep it coming!

That's all for the moment. There's more hopefully.

Slam Dunk 2008

I'm stuck to watching the clips/highlights. Thanks youtube!

This year's Slam Dunk contest has to best and most enjoyable I've seen in years. It's not about how high you can go but it should be how fun it's supposed to be. The NBA should put in participants like Dwight Howard, a player that has a lot of personality.

Way to go Dwight Howard!

ASM 546

It's a Brand New Day.

And I love it!

Maybe I love the Brand New Day side of Spider-man because he just got out of his marriage and I just got out of my own shackling relationship.

But the whole idea presents a whole lot of directions to go to. It literally frees Peter Parker from one damn obligation in his life (his wife). Being a bachelor allows him to not be at home every night to be with the wifey. Being a bachelor allows him to flirt with all those cute babes in dashing and sexy uniforms. Being a bachelor wouldn't make Peter feel guilty about humping one with Black Cat.

Peter is now a bachelor. Just like Bruce Wayne. The difference between the two is that Peter is not rich and his "roommate" does not know that he's Spider-man.

More power to Marvel on this one! I hope it sticks!

Top 10 Lorwyn cards

The cards I chose below are from my own point of view. How I think, I evaluate a card's usability and translate its power. It would have been much better if I didn't count them down (I might be mistaken with my judgment). So here it is. I added a few notes to my evaluation.

10. Shriekmaw

Among the first cards that got spoiled, it has relegated the usability of Terror. It's much more expensive than a Nekrataal but does the same job at 1 black mana lesser. And its Fear ability isn't so bad either. Late game beater.

9. Cryptic Command

The commands are interesting. 4 abilities to choose from in one card. It's always great to counter a spell so that's already one useful ability. Then there's tapping all your opponents creatures. And of course, the always important card advantage.

8. Vigor

It's quite big and adequate for its casting cost. Add to the ability of making the rest of your creatures seem like having a protection and making them grow bigger. Now that's something. And with Lorwyn being creature-based, there's sure to be a lot of creatures that can grow because of Vigor. Bravo to this Incarnation!

7. Mulldrifter

Ey, I shouldn't be missing out on card advantage. This elemental is as super (or even better) than Shriekmaw and it has evasion too. Card advantage is always good.

6. Mirror Entity

This one turn creature transformer can make those weenies be big and just end the game right there. Egads! The weenies have another weapon to rely on for massive creature damage.

5. Austere Command

Mass creature removal is always good. More so it's slightly selective mass removal. Another weapon for weenies who want to get rid of those pesky bigger creatures.

4. Garruk Wildspeaker

Probably the best of the new Planeswalkers. It can activate its big ability as fast as the next turn already. By itself, it can generate as many 3/3 Elephants as it wants. A powerhouse on its own.

3. Gaddock Teeg

More powerful stuff for weenies. This creature can just stop all those 4cc spells on its tracks. No more WoG, Damnation, or even those Blaze or Disintegrate.

2. Oblivion Ring

Observers are reminiscing Vindicate. Oblivion Ring is easier on the eyes with its single color casting cost and at the same speed and effect. Should be the removal spell of choice for white.

1. Profane Command

I couldn't believe that I'd be left with Profane Command as number one. Seems kind of risky to choose this card. But it's an excellent finisher with its Drain Life effect, or removal effect, or even its provision of fear to multiple number of creatures.

Criticizing my scholarship

This one is a highly different blog. I'm writing this to put my mind at ease as since there are certain details that needs to be answered to. I might forget all of what I will write here now, consequences of being older.

First up is an introduction to the said scholarship. The CHED scholarship entails me to give a return service of 2 years. The detail that I forgot to read about is whether I am deeply required to finish the said graduate studies.

So, I'm from Iligan City. I chose Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology as the delivering institution. I chose MSU-IIT rather than University of the Philippines-Los Baños because during the summer term, I would be required to be on campus. Choosing Iligan City relieves me of the problem of having to search for a place to stay. My officemate agreed to study at the same school.

The graduate degree in MSU-IIT is non-thesis Master in Information Technology. 6 units per semester for 4 total semesters plus 9 units during the summer term for 2 summers which equates to 42 total units. THIS WAS THE POSTED TOTAL NUMBER OF UNITS AS SUBMITTED TO CHED and the same information given to all participating institutions.

Upon submitting the application to MSU-IIT, we were given the go ahead to enroll. Presumably, the school and their instructors know that we have to travel overnight just to reach Iligan City. The suggested mode of instruction was set to be distance education. Upon meeting the instructors for Computer Organization and Data Structures, I was confident that this would be similar, or if not better than, the University of the Philippines-Open University system. Already, we were given an assignment by the Comp Org instructor. The Data Struc instructor instructed us that he would be providing us with notes by email.

So the first semester is on its way. We returned to Silliman, assignments in hand and immediately got to work on it upon arrival. Upon finishing, we submitted our Comp Org assignment and immediately asked for the next thing to do. Now here comes the strange part: our instructors had trouble emailing us back. Successive email messages for almost over a month entailed nothing and it became a joke between my officemate and I on whether we'd get any communication or not at all. The Comp Org instructor later informed of the unfortunate incident regarding their connection and we were to get our next assignments once we would be done with our teaching assignments in Silliman. Which meant to say that we were to go immediately to Iligan for our classes and this would be only during the semestral break (roughly 2 weeks). So, okay, I guess we didn't have any choice. They were the delivering institution and we were the students. It'd be awkward for students to do the demanding in this situation.

And so to the semestral break where we were given roughly two weeks to work on what they asked us to work. A semester worth of discussion would be crammed up in just that short of span of time. We wondered how they would be able to do it. In Comp Org, we were asked to read about journals about nanotechnology and Red Star and Yellow Star. In Data Struc, we were asked to report about linked list operations (which was fine for me because I knew about the subject already). Oh yeah. No final exams of any sort. And another thing, since it was already the end of the semester, we were given an Incomplete grade (two of numerous INCs that we would garner for the rest of our graduate studies).

Now here comes the fun part. As I indicated that there would only be two total years of schooling, the coordinator explained that it wasn't so. There would be an extra semester that would be for the Special Project. We were surprised at this. Our scholarship was only for two years and here they were suddenly changing the curriculum. My officemate and I decided to continue with our studies. What's one more semester? Surely, with how cheap the IIT tuition was, we wouldn't have any problems financially come the time when the scholarship ran out.

So, for the 2nd semester, we took Computer Graphics and Operating Systems. Were things going to be better after the initial guffaw in the first semester? Hell no! It worsened. All semester long, we emailed and we emailed to the instructors and we got more excuses about the connection being lost. How about during December? Who's kidding who? IIT instructors disappear during Christmas break. We waited until the second semester ended so that we could face them once more. We thought that, at least, it wouldn't be two weeks of intensive reading.

It was still the same. The Computer Graphics instructor asked us to make a graphical program in two weeks. What? Why couldn't you have told us in the middle of the semester? At least we would have gotten more time to do it and at the luxury of our office computers compared to having to rent one from an internet cafe. And more readings about virtual clothing, virtual trees, virtual leaves, etc. As for Operating Systems subject, at least we got better handouts but then, handouts don't explain anything. The instructor did hold some classes and even promised a final exam for us a way of evaluation (aside from the research paper that he wanted). The result? No final exam (again).

At least the summer term was technically better. We were sort of juggling around 5 subjects (3 regular subjects for summer and the 2 from the 2nd semester). My officemate was complaining about Programming Languages because we were IT students and not ComSci students. Well, there was nothing that could be done because, as the coordinator said, every graduate student passes through the terrifying Prog Lang instructor. All in all, we breezed through IT Management and Project Management. Both subjects were taught together under one schedule. If somebody can tell me the difference, please feel free to holler at me. Damn teacher got a lot of money out of two subjects taught as one. And it was funny. You had to text the instructor whether there were going to be classes.

Anyway to sum it all up, we had another subject (Artificial Intelligence) where the assignments were placed online but we were never told about it so were given another incomplete grade again. One subject (Expert Systems) had an assignment where we were just told that she (the instructor) expected us to make a mistake (and we did) and we were never explained what to do next.

Things got worse as we were nearing the end of our second year.

For the 2nd summer, I insisted that I wouldn't take any subjects because I wanted to complete everything before I tackle the next ones. The coordinator insisted that we enroll in Data Communications and Research Seminar (a stupid 1 unit subject where we would propose our Research Project). So we did. As I completed all my requirements for Artificial Intelligence and Multimedia Systems during the summer, I was also doing my proposal which seemed to never end because the instructor kept on asking what project I wanted. She kept on asking for my ideas and then shoot them down saying that they were undergraduate type of projects. So, I surrender myself to her telling her that it would be much better if I tap her projects, at least it's a REAL project to her.

And so, another semester passes and then suddenly we're informed that we're to take a comprehensive exam. We were shocked. This was never mentioned ever before. There would be a 6-subject comprehensive exam. As the semester progressed and the correspondence kept on, it became 4 subjects (Data Structures, Computer Organization, Operating Systems, and Programming Languages). I wonder if you would be able to say, "How are YOU going to take the comprehensive exam when all YOU did was read about journals?" If you would, I would kiss you.

So we took a comprehensive exam that I knew that I would surely fail. Comp Org was hell because our teacher (who was the coordinator of the IT graduate studies program) just kept on smiling and joking about it. Data Struc was hell too. We were doing the report about linked list operations only.

Anyway, we finally finished that part and another funny thing just happened. We were just informed that we passed but we never got to see an official score or paper stating that we passed our comprehensive exam. Talk about luck?

The final straw was when we enrolled in Project Seminar for the 2nd time (we ended up failing the first time because we never got to complete our incomplete grade). The new teacher had doubts in letting us enroll. It was a regular semester and he wanted us to be present in Iligan City for the last 2 months of classes. Talk about distance education.

Oh yeah, when we got into our third year of our graduate studies, the new coordinator suddenly told me that there was a residency rule of 4 years in MSU-IIT. If you couldn't finish in 4 years, your subjects are toast except for some 9 units (of I don't know whose choice). Wow! When we started out, this was never mentioned. Now that I'm on my third year, I have to hurry up and finish.

So there. The sad story of studying in MSU-IIT.

My daemon

Testing if this would work:



Apparently, my daemon is a female crow. Has to be a female because that's the way it is - opposite of my gender. The crow is understandable because I do like crows and I'd like to read more about them.

No comment about the movie though. Let's see if it would not be a box office bust.

Oh yeah, Nicole Kidman is as sexy and seductive as ever.

Reviewing (some) Tenth Edition art

Before we get into all the tribal lore (and LOTR feel) of Lorwyn with all the cute and feisty Kithkins, wise and wet Merfolks, still rowdy Goblins, scary (Kamigawa spirit-like) Elementals, literally hot Flamekins, big and sturdy Treefolks, (sometimes black) killer Elves, and all the rest that I forgot, let's take a look back at the new art of some Tenth Edition cards.

The release of a Core Set means spanking new art of some reprinted (and sometimes even debuting Core Set) cards. These cards might be Core Set regulars that have been sporting updated artwork as they were reprinted in past Core Sets, Core Set regulars that has never had new artwork ever even as they got reprinted, or debuting Core Set cards (thus never having the chance for an updated artwork).

Being an art afficionado (though not exactly an artist), I always take time to appreciate the new artwork of (new) releases. Tenth Edition being a Core Set and Core Sets being what they are, it will be much easier to look and choose through all the new art because I don't need to look at ALL of the cards. Sorting them is another matter though and my most gracious thanks to Cebu Regionals Qualifier 2nd placer Ramon "JR" Alivio for providing the list of Tenth Edition cards having new artwork. Obviously, Ramon had plenty of time in his hands.

Before anything else, here are some "disclaimers" to my "judging" technique:

1. As I'm not an artist myself (ey, I draw a bit but only for my own appreciation), the opinions here are purely my own and are debatable (well, what topic isn't debatable?). And that's why there's a forum for the debate. Have something to say? Post it!

2. How do I look at the art? Firstly, the art has to do something. A good illustration has to show a clear interpretation of its ability rather than just being a studio pose. The art has to "move". No movement means no fun. Readers might notice that there isn't one legendary creature in my list. Obviously, all these legendary creatures look like they are just posing. Probably the closest legendary creature that can be mentioned is Squee but the funny thing is, he's not shown as a nabob.

3. Second way that I look at the art is probably my normal human perception on appreciating how the colors are mixed together to form the masterpiece, how realistic the illustration is, how detailed is the drawing, etc.

4. While going over each drawing, I went through the process of giving each piece a rating from 1 to 5. 5 is very nice, 4 is good, 3 is average, 2 is "could be better", and 1 is really sucky. Maybe I'm scared of myself giving a rating of 1 because I'm not an artist (I'm biased to myself) so not one new art got 1. But I did give some 2s.

5. Not to impend me further considering my lack of artistic experience, I chose ten "top" artworks from the criteria above. They are not in order of preference. It's too difficult and too much effort to rank each art.

Without further ado, here are my top ten number 5s (I placed my initial reaction as well as further observations upon better scrutiny):



Air Elemental by Kev Walker
"better than previous, a much more intimidating elemental"

Kev Walker has always been well-known for his cutting edge artwork and he delivers big time with this more intimidating Air Elemental. Air Elemental has long been a favorite of mine (5 to cast 4/4 is good for beginners). Though the art makes Air Elemental look like Cloud Elemental (which is also incidentally in Tenth Ed), Air Elemental gets the nod.



Diabolic Tutor
"awesome and very diabolic"

How else do you show the gaining of additional knowledge through searching for that (possibly) one card to win you the game? One needs the diabolic aid of a tutor, in this case, shown by the skeleton (a possible symbol of evil and diabolism). Of course this art could be mistaken for any other black tutor spell out there but I'm giving a nod to the diabolism of Diabolic Tutor here.



Earth Elemental
"Rock on!"

Another favorite from the first impression. Earth Elemental being red certainly helps to give us an idea that it's the color of violence and chaos and the art is chaotic enought and befitting Earth Elemental. I was surprised that Anthony S. Waters did this. But then again, I haven't been looking really close at his works. My bad.



Evacuation
"I love the showing of the hands, it's trying to show that the pieces are being summoned back"

Well obviously that's what Evacuation is supposed to do... I've seen the other artwork for Evacuation and so far this one really shows a real evacuation but not necessarily done by entities that needs to evacuate. The hands provide the appropriate communication to us. Incidentally, the game of Magic uses hands.



Firebreathing
"nice vibrant colors of a creature breathing fire"

Now that's what I call breathing fire. And the fiery feel to it add justice to the card. I'm a fan of Briclot art too and this one really gets to me. Seems like I could feel the heat whenever I play this card (though playing the card is seldom).



Holy Day
"the weapons going up is just what the card does"

At a closer look, you'll see the arrows going up (and floating?). The illustration shows a war in mid-action. It's moving, yet it's not. Go figure.



Incinerate
"3 words: Burn, baby, burn!"

This art was chosen by readers and players of magicthegathering.com. From the sketch alone, you could see that the creature (looks like a zombie or a normal soldier) is being burned bad. Thus my initial 3 words. By the way, I think the Boros & Szikszai tandem has a great future ahead of them. They constantly turn up really good artworks.



Might of Oaks
"Matt Cavotta lost out on the poll, this one's really much cooler with the big oak fists and all"

I remember the poll. As much as I like Matt's work, the Jeremy Jarvis version blew me away. Yup, big oak fists. Now that's mighty. Nice symbolism all in all.



Regeneration
"wicked! the representation of regeneration is just wicked"

Regeneration reminds me of that "skin" regeneration spell from Kamigawa that had the creature removing the excess skin the symbolize the regeneration. That was kind of gross in a way of describing it. Tenth Ed Regeneration removes the gross part with the symbolism of flowers. Okay, it's now flowery.



The Hive
"nice creature producer and nice art to it"

What a funny initial comment. Well, I couldn't find a better way of describing this creature generator. I like how golden (or yellow) the hive is. Is it because it's all shiny that I'm attracted to the art.

Here are the other cards in Tenth Ed that I gave a rating of 5:

Faerie Conclave
Forbidding Watchtower
Fountain of Youth
Ghitu Encampment
Giant Growth
Hill Giant
Holy Strength
Legacy Weapon
Nekrataal
Overgrowth
Puppeteer
Robe of Mirrors
Sea Monster
Serra's Embrace
Shivan Hellkite
Story Circle
Sudden Impact
Time Stretch
Uncontrollable Anger
Unholy Strength
Wall of Air

Unexpectedly, I've got all five colors (and an artifact) present in my top ten. Too bad that there's no land though I did consider Faerie Conclave, Forbidding Watchtower, and Ghitu Encampment to be right up there with the rest of the 10.

Incidentally, here are cards from Tenth Ed that I gave a score of 2:

Bog Wraith
Lord of the Pit
Suntail Hawk
Wild Griffin

My decision on Lord of the Pit must be biased because I didn't vote for it. Hehehe. Well, I really consider it to be non-demonic considering how the left arm is positioned. It reminds me of gayness (ey, no offense to gay people).

All card images are courtesy of magicthegathering.com.

Polls

The link above is for Wizard Universe´s Captain America poll. There are 5 choices, namely: Hawkeye, Falcon, USAgent, Punisher, and Winter Soldier. Here are my takes on each choice and why I chose who I chose.

Hawkeye is an archer and he needs his bow and arrows. Although I think he´s as agile and athletic as Steve Rogers, Hawkeye is too hot tempered and too unpatriotic to don the mantle of Captain America.

Falcon definitely can´t be Captain America. The dude is too buffed up. I wonder if he´d be able to jump around the way Cap does.

Punisher is a hitman, a gunman and any other ¨man¨ as long as it´s associated with a gun. How ironic that Cap uses a shield (which can be described as the opposite of the gun because the shield deflects projectile objects like a gun). Punisher as Captain America would mean a gun-wielding Cap. And considering how sane (or insane) Frank Castle is, no villain would remain alive if the are captured by the Punisher-Captain America. And in closing on the discussion about the Punisher, he is too much of a vigilante to be Captain America.

Winter Soldier would be the next closest to the character I supposedly chose. Which leads me to the defining point on why I chose USAgent (despite probably some character issues with the Agent): the use of the shield. USAgent is probably the best suited person to wield a shield. He should be comfortable enough and he´s almost Captain America. But it´d be a gimme already if that´s the case right. So anyway, I wouldn´t be surprised if Marvel Comics would choose Winter Soldier to be the next Captain America.



The second link is for Wizard Universe´s poll for Spider-Man´s worst costumes. And again, a take on each choice.

The Ben Reilly version is probably the sleekest of the 5. It looks good and close to the Spidey original costume.

The Spider-man 2099 is probably a homage to the Black Spider-man costume and in a ¨dark¨ futuristic age, the black costume fits the bill. He just doesn´t look all that friendly being black.

I personally read the issue that featured the Silver Spider Armor prominently. I think the cover itself prompted me to ask my father to buy the comic book for me. It was the 100th issue of Web of Spider-man. I forgot the villain he was facing but Peter Parker had to do something about his costume (or had to think up of something) to not get killed easily so in a snap he made the armor. Of course he won against the villain!

The red and gold spider armor is courtesy of Tony Stark and featured prominently in Civil War. It´s actually a cool costume too and with all the arms coming out behind him.

And finally, the worst of the 5. Scarlet Spider costume with the grey (or blue) hooded jacket (or vest). I mean, where in Heaven´s name did he get such a jacket? And with the weird positioning of the spider symbol? Sheesh. No wonder Wizards voted this as the lamest character - off the charts!

2 concerts (6 rock bands) in a week

August 27 at the SU Founder's Day Booth Area saw Chippy (or Jack 'N Jill) sponsoring a free concert featuring Pedicab, Callalilly, and 6 Cycle Mind. August 30 saw another 3 band concert at Macias Sports Complex. This time the concert featured Imago, Itchyworms, and Rocksteddy.

Here's my take on the separate concerts:

It's the first time that I've witnessed a free concert topbilled by known bands and held at the Founder's Day booth area. The stage was too small but it was enough to allow each band to frolick and jump around (and without destroying the stage!). Thank God that the audio system was working really well and the vocals could be heard clearly by the crowd.

Pedicab isn't that famous to me but their sound was like listening to Orgy (not the sexual act).

Callalilly is more famous and I was surprised that they sang the songs that I would hear most of the time on the radio stations. Chalk one up for the ignorant!

6 Cycle Mind played revivals mostly and I would have preferred that they had more original songs.

The one thing about these bands was that they didn't have a distinctive voice that would enable a listener to identify one from the other.

Oh yeah, I was watching all this (and part of 6 Cycle Mind's performance) despite the rain. If it was a continuous downpour, it would have been even more fun. I was confused whether I was wet with sweat or rain...

After the Founder's Day, some organizers had the balls to stage a non-free concert and on a work night. Go figure. I had a free VIP ticket so I happily watched the concert. The venue was too big for a concert like this and they probably would have enjoyed it much better if they were playing at an open field (like the booth area).

Imago should be successful if they continue to release a lot of original songs. The vocalist certainly has a great voice. Hopefully she won't think about going solo and leave the rest of her bandmates out on the rain.

Itchyworms started their part with lively music and kept on with it. The main vocalist even had to change guitars in the middle of their whole part as one the strings probably broke. I appreciate their effort to get everybody in the band to sing. They sounded (and looked) like Side A.

Rocksteddy certainly proved to be a great main event. I must say that they must have planned all their moves: diving into the crowds, jumping over each other, and the guitarist banging the cymbals.

With the type of occupation that I have, I had to behave. Certainly, I could headbang my way but no sound made me feel like doing so. Maybe next time...

All 3 rock bands did well and they played to the audiences' delight. Nice performance in all!

Faker (again)

Here's one wake-up call for me one Wednesday afternoon. I'm reading Faker #2.

My review for Faker #1 is totally moot now. All this time I was thinking that the comic book would be a simple college setting story. But oh no. Now, it's kind of a supernatural suspense thriller mixed with emotions, suicide, relationships, etc. What's next Diggle? I'm raring to get on with the next issue.

Missing out on Astro City

Astro City.

Here in the Philippines, Astro is a brand of a cigarette. Cheap cigarette. If you couldn't afford Marlboro because you ran out of coins, you'd be smoking Astro to get almost the same effect. I actually can't relate. A friend told me about this because I asked him why he was smoking Astro when I know that he liked Marlboro. I can't relate because I don't smoke. Honestly.

Anyway, this blog is not about Astro the Cigarette. It's about Astro City by Kurt Busiek. It's probably one of the best comic books I've ever read. I even got high marks from other people when I said that Astro City is one of the best books out there. They all agreed. Kurt Busiek's storytelling style is just so good. Sadly, I can't compare Astro City to any of his works because I haven't grabbed any of his other works.

Here's my history with Astro City: The first issue I got to read was the one with Crackerjack. I think it was issue #5. Surprisingly, the point of view was from a villain - an alien disguised as an ordinary man. In that issue, in one chance encounter with Crackerjack, the alien decides on an invasion depending on Crackerjack's hero-ness. Crackerjack being the egoistic hero that he is ultimately leads to an invasion which until now I haven't read about any other issues.

I got hooked after that. I read the mails from the other readers and I got to know a lot about the other issues simply by reading the mails. I instantly asked my brother to look for issue #1 and thank God it wasn't that well known yet. I was able to get issues #1 - 4. Issue #6 came later when I discovered Ebay.

The joy of reading the Astro City limited series is that you really get to feel from the point of view of whoever is telling the story. You're literally in his/her shoes. It's refreshing, it's honest, it's full of "real" life. Here's a superhero genre comic book that probably doesn't have to always involve fighting and violence. Humans could tell the story. And even the superheroes too.

Anyway, I never got to say what the comic book is about. It's about Astro City, a city full of superheroes. That's it. Hehehe. Anyway, grab one. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

A different kind of review this time around (Harry Potter)

I just saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last Saturday. Imagine the situation first:

I just came from 5 rounds of Extended Constructed in Magic the Gathering. I was bringing an untested deck which was frankly taxing on my brain and nerve wracking as hell as I wasn´t really that ready to go into battle with such a deck. I did finish well but I got the shock of my life. I finished with 3 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. The only loss was surrendered in favor of my teammate who had a better chance of finishing number one. Talk about taking one for the team.

So we (or more precisely, my sister) decided that we would watch Harry Potter instead of Transformers. Frankly, I would consider Transformers as a much more interesting movie because of the special effects. And who wouldn´t appreciate those cool funky robots! I´ve been speed reading Harry Potter in the last year or so. Once you get to read the book, you would lose all appreciation for the movie. It just went south starting with Prisoner of Azkaban and it worsened with Goblet of Fire. Order of the Phoenix the Movie would just become one more movie that would be unappreciated by yours truly.

We hurried up our dinner as we had to catch the last full show. Thankfully the movie house accepted credit cards!

So, on to the movie proper. Well, I´m quite amused that they managed to cram up so much information into just a few minutes. By the way, Order of the Phoenix seems to be the thickest of the books so far and it elaborately describes the actions and situations that lead to each decree that the antagonist Prof. Umbridge issues. In the movie, it was just a simple Daily Prophet headline. Come to think of it, this movie seems to be using a lot of Daily Prophet exposure.

I honestly can´t say whether the movie would be understandable or not. Since I already read the book, the characters were already familiar to me (and I knew even further than that). I already knew a certain event would happen and it was just a matter of how the director would go about in presenting it.

I love the fight scene where Black appeared out of nowhere to save Harry. Now, that one is impossible to imagine while reading. The sudden arrival of the ¨cavalry¨ through the swishing of mist (or cloud). It gave me a chance to say ¨Wow!¨ for the first time in the movie.

So there you go. Maybe because of the fight scenes I´d give a rating of 8 out of 10. But the movie overall, I´d give it a 5 out of 10. It wasn´t there for me...

Faker

How do I begin?

This book got me hooked.

That good enough?

Anyway, I´ve been keeping a close lookout on new releases and I never knew anything about Faker so I figured out that I´d give it a try. I wasn´t disappointed over my decision to get this book. From the cover, I thought it´d be a book about supernatural powers (and I could still be mistaken after reading just the first issue). If the book stays as it is with it´s gritty look at college students, it´d still be a blast.

I´m surprised that Mike Carey still captures the essence of college life. Though I have a different college life than what the characters are having in the book, it´s the typical college life in America, I guess. I´m just amazed that Carey really got into it: the drugs, the parties, the puking, etc.

And a nice intro too with the seduction of the instructor. That girl can do it to me but of course I´m way much better than that instructor.

Well, all I can say for now is that these Vertigo books are doing really fine with their stories. I can´t wait to get my hands on the next issue.