True love, like any other strong and addicting drug, is boring – once the tale of encounter and discovery is told, kisses quickly grow stale and caresses tiresome…except, of course, to those who share the kisses, who give and take the caresses while every sound and color of the world seems to deepen and brighten around them. As with any other strong drug, true first love is really only interesting to those who have become its prisoners.

And, as is true of any other strong and addicting drug, true first love is dangerous.

~Stephen King, Wizard and Glass: The Dark Tower Volume IV

These words were encountered by yours truly while hunting about for art to showcase in a webpage layout. I was rummaging through Dave McKean works and, voila, I found Wizard and Glass, Book Four of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series.

Each installment of the Dark Tower books is illustrated by a different artist, thus rendering to every one a distinct touch and mood.

The Gunslinger (Book One) was illustrated by Michael Whelan, while drawing chores for The Drawing of the Three (Book Two) went to Phil Hale. I also liked the work of Ned Dameron in The Waste Lands (Book Three), because the mild ethereal quality of his lines seem like a cross between Kaori Yuki (Angel Sanctuary) and Mamiya Oki (Lover’s Diary).

In my humble opinion, Wizard and Glass has the most exquisite artistry out of The Dark Tower books, displaying the unique dark surrealism so similar to McKean’s work in DC Vertigo’s The Sandman series.

Wizard and Glass has over 800 pages, plus 18 full-page color paintings and seven black-and-white drawings. All illustrations are by McKean, which is reason enough to buy the book. Never mind that the bound volume weighs around three pounds or so.

Most of today was spent in the suburb of Mandurriao. This part of Iloilo City is being touted as the “New Calle Real” because of the presence of SM City and several big restaurants and high-profile industrial establishments that have built branches in that part of town.

However, the roads to and from the plaza leave a lot to be desired – these are bumpy, uneven-sized, even precarious, as they tend to angle towards the rice fields bordering the highway and surrounding the airport runways. Not safe for driving at night, especially during times of heavy rain.

Anyway, after my meetings in Mandurriao, it was off to SM City to watch a movie.

I picked Men in Black II over Bad Company, the only two palatable among those being shown. Resident Evil has been pulled out, and Monster’s Ball only lasted for two days because practically no one watched it.

Men in Black II, in one word, was lukewarm. It somehow fell short in vigor, color and excitement compared to the first installment. The movie was too short, the action too rushed, plus the falling-in-love-with-an-alien emotional subplot was too contrived.

I know the purpose of this was to give depth to Kay’s character and it is commendable, but the way the events of the past were tied into the events of the present was done quite abruptly.

On the other hand, the onscreen chemistry of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones is still very effective. This might even work on other movies, other characters.

Smith’s Agent Jay still had his rookie enthusiasm and the desire to prove his worth as an MIB operative, just as Jones’ Agent Kay had the gritty, hardened most-feared-human-in-the-universe air even in his advancing years. Agent Kay is like fine wine; he could only get better and badder with age.

What I liked the most about the movie was the presence of engaging sidekicks: the talking badass dog Frank and the slightly perv but ultimately lovable Worm Guys.

My favorite scene was the one when Jay stepped out of a incident scene to find Frank in his car, sitting up front and barking (not singing) along with the Baha Men’s Who Let The Dogs Out? in perfect unison with the, well, barking part.

Here is a brief summary of the movie from The Internet Movie Database:

It has been four years since the alien-seeking agents averted an intergalactic disaster of epic proportions.

Kay has since returned to the comforts of civilian life while Jay continues to work for the Men in Black, the highly funded yet unofficial government agency that regulates all things alien on earth.

While investigating a seemingly routine crime, Jay uncovers a diabolical plot masterminded by Serleena, an evil Kylothian monster who disguises herself as a sexy lingerie model.

It’s a race against the clock as Jay must convince Kay – who not only has no memory of his time spent with the agency, but is also the only person alive who has the expertise to save the galaxy – to reunite with the MIB before Earth is destroyed completely.

My dear parents spent the hours following lunch time on their usual Sunday date at the mall, sans the bothersome presence of progeny (namely, yours truly).

Said progeny was at home, watching Philippine show business talk shows (alternating between The Buzz and S-Files, in hopes of gleaning more firsthand information into the Alma Moreno/Joey Marquez/Kris Aquino love triangle), teaching a friend hifalutin English phrases, and doing some “meat-gathering” for a study on Collective Bargaining proposals.

We have just drawn up a list of who to vote in tomorrow’s Barangay Elections for a Punong Barangay and seven Councilors. Most of the people in our line-up are part of the family that is, arguably, closest to our own here in Arevalo. Hard-working, sincere people, pioneers and fixtures in this suburb that has now expanded since they first set up their homestead here before World War II.

On a side note, Father confirmed that one of the so-called “nuisance” candidates for Iloilo Lone District Congressman in the 2001 National Elections died a month or so ago. He was Paquito “Bord” D. Pantin, an elderly man who campaigned with torn slippers in the La Paz Public Market area.

May the eternal peace of the gods be with you, Tiyoy Bord. May you find in death the victory you were denied in life.

The death toll on the current flood situation in the general Central Luzon and Metro Manila areas have reached 41, as of Thursday night.

Factor in several thousand families who have lost a good portion of their homes as well as those who were injured by thunderstorm and flood-related incidents. A big, ugly number.

Tonight’s episode of Debate on GMA-7 was quite interesting: A discussion on whether or not the rule “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” should be applied into Philippine law so as to properly punish kidnappers and other criminals who have committed atrocities with similar gravity.

The opening statement that caught my attention was the one made by the Chairman of the Commission of Human Rights: “Before we are even born, each of us have our human rights.”

My dear man, I have no argument with you on that, but consider this: Do those kidnappers even act remotely human, when caught in the frenzy of their self-righteous delusions of grandeur and Utopia? Are they human enough to consider the countless innocent lives that they sacrificed for their pointless causes, which are more to the personal gratification of their insane, power-hungry leaders?

They have no right to call themselves human. Orcs, more like.

By the by, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is NOT a quote from The Holy Bible.

It is from Hammurabi’s Code, with H-sama being a king of Ancient Babylon.

Over the past weekend, so much of yours truly’s free time was spent VF-ing (“veefing”).

I have now come to a most fearsome point where I cast Virtua Fighter‘s video game characters, in my dream movie.

Akira Yuki – Jason Scott Lee
Jason played Bruce Lee in Dragon, the latter’s biographical film, plus they have same compact body structure. Second choice is Paolo Montalban, who played Kung-Lao in Mortal Kombat: Conquest.

Pai Chan – Ming-Na Wen
She played Chun Li in Street Fighter, plus she looks good fighting in a cheongsam. Second choice is Kelly Hu, who stars in the TV action series Martial Law and could also kick some serious butt.

Jacky Bryant – Linden Ashby
He has the speed, agility and arrogance down pat, but they have to put a bucketful of mousse on his hair to make it all spiky. Second choice is James Marsden, because he and Jacky have the same facial features and he is good as a blustery macho-yet-softie type.

Sarah Bryant – Sarah Michelle Gellar
She already has the kick-ass Buffy moves and the blonde good looks. Second choice is Bridget Wilson, who played Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat.

Kage-Maru – Steven Seagal
Although he isn’t Oriental like Kage, Seagal and the Shadow Warrior are alike in an AWFUL LOT of ways – the chiseled features, the ponytail, the close-in fighting technique. Second choice is Byron Mann, Ryu in Street Fighter, but he looks too “suavely handsome” for the part.

Lau Chan – Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
He is used to playing Big Bad Grand Master parts, as he was Shang-Tsung in Mortal Kombat.

Wolf Hawkfield – The Rock
Gargantuan yet kinda sweet pro wrestler. Need I say more?

Jeffry McWild – Michael Clarke Duncan
Another big sweet lug, this time a family man. Big Mike has the part down pat.

Master Shun Di – Victor Wong
He played Grandpa in the 3 Ninjas movies, plus he already has the Drunken Master slurrish sort of – voice.

Lion Rafale – Orlando Bloom
Rebellious, hot and fairly young. He had all that training in LOTR and Lion’s Torou-ken would surely look good with his acquired elven grace. Hubba.

Aoi Umenokoji – Zhang Ziyi
Schoolgirl Aoi is young, pretty and spirited, plus she’s the love interest of the series hero Akira. Sounds like a made-to-order role for the Double Z.

Lei-Fei – Jet Li
The dour demeanor and the ability to kick ass even in bothersome Shaolin robes and capes, plus he looks good without hair as seen in the many Once Upon A Time in China movies.

Vanessa Lewis – Halle Berry
She played Storm in X-Men and looked okay with white hair, but as Vanessa she has to buff up.

To make our dream package complete, it is either Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) or John Woo (Face/Off, Mission: Impossible II) for director.

Theme song definitely by Korn.