You've probably noticed by now that I've got a new blog title, and a new blog description. I've decided to gently renovate the site, for a couple of reasons.
1. Too many people using the line "Rants and _____".
2. Too many people using the line "random thoughts..."
3. Doppelganger. Very original, you crummy bastard.
I decided to go with State of (Ga)Nations, because some people used to call me Ganations. Long story. Plus its more unique than "Rants and Ramblings", my former blog's name.
As for the description, well, why not?
As for doppelganger, if you're reading this, I hope you get a conscience. Or some creativity. I know I do what others do too but I make sure that when I do it doesn't look like a TOTAL FRIGGIN' RIP-OFF of what they're doing. EMULATION is the sincerest form of flattery, not imitation. And I would be effin' insulted if you imitated me, you crummy bastard. I can forgive. But I can NEVER, EVER, EVER, FORGET.
As for me, I'm fine. Brain's cooling down, less work. More relaxation. Now I gotta recharge for the projects which I'm pretty sure will arrive.
Life's the same. But great.
As Better Than Ezra said (I'm listening to them right now, courtesy of my seatmate/officemate Enzo) "Oh, oh, its good."
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Another Rant...
Music is great. It affects my mood and my focus on work. So right now these are the songs constantly playing in my iPod...
Metallica S&M
Megadeth Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction
Black Sabbath's old songs
Mad Season (Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell and others, not the album of Rob Thomas)
Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions and Remasters
I love listening to music. Specially rock and roll and "old school" heavy metal. Not much into the new stuff. Some of them are great but I'd rather be stuck in my time warp of songs. Nothing beats classics. New songs I hear now are still great, but if you listen to them you'll find the influence of old songs. I can hear hints of Sabbath, Soundgarden, Led Zep, Rolling Stones, etc. in most songs now. I can't point out specifically, but they're there.
Though there are some bands now that I like listening to. I just don't want to buy their albums. I'd rather spend my cash on something else.
*Anyone wanna form a band? Plays rock, 80s glam rock and blues? Hehe. Just a thought. I miss high school, when I had a band.
Metallica S&M
Megadeth Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction
Black Sabbath's old songs
Mad Season (Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell and others, not the album of Rob Thomas)
Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions and Remasters
I love listening to music. Specially rock and roll and "old school" heavy metal. Not much into the new stuff. Some of them are great but I'd rather be stuck in my time warp of songs. Nothing beats classics. New songs I hear now are still great, but if you listen to them you'll find the influence of old songs. I can hear hints of Sabbath, Soundgarden, Led Zep, Rolling Stones, etc. in most songs now. I can't point out specifically, but they're there.
Though there are some bands now that I like listening to. I just don't want to buy their albums. I'd rather spend my cash on something else.
*Anyone wanna form a band? Plays rock, 80s glam rock and blues? Hehe. Just a thought. I miss high school, when I had a band.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
A Rant on Work
Okay. It's like this. Most of the 3D artists working here in Manila are veterans. And most of them came from just one company. The first. The pioneer. They are pioneers.
Despite their differing backgrounds they all shared one common thing. They were all pioneers of 3D. And they all share that bond, that no matter how different they are in beliefs, that bond will keep them together, in a way.
So what happens when a new grad of a hotshot course in computer animation suddenly enters a company with veterans? Well for one thing, the newbie has to earn the respect of the veterans. Not by being cocky and hotshot, but by being a team player. By being open to their teachings, and by being competent enough to hold their ground and prove that they can hang with the big boys.
In my case its been a year since I've been working. And I'm still trying to prove to them that I can be like them. Good. Passionate. Amazing. So far its been positive. I've been able to show that I can perform at a high level and get approval, not only from them, but from our directors also.
One cannot hope to be in good terms with the 3D artists if one tries to show them up, despite the fact that those guys are, well, gods. They started things here. The edge they have in terms of experience is way way way too great. Even if you studied a course related to what they do. Why? Because these guys love their job. And these guys are passionate about it. And these guys have been working in this industry for so many years that they know a lot more tricks than someone who just graduated.
What's the best thing to do when you get an opportunity to work with these people? Learn. Be humble. Earn their respect. Don't force yourself into the group or you will regret it. And never rest on your laurels. Because if you earn their respect and you start relaxing, you'll lose it just like that.
My mom told me that no matter what job you have, if the $hit hits the fan the job sucks. You'll be down and pissed. But once you overcome the problems, you've got the best job in the world. And I agree. I've had my ups and downs in 3D. But this job is the best job I can think of. If I were to go through all this again, I'd gladly do it. The only thing I'd change? I'd be more humble than ever, and more hardworking than ever.
3D. Best job in the world.
Despite their differing backgrounds they all shared one common thing. They were all pioneers of 3D. And they all share that bond, that no matter how different they are in beliefs, that bond will keep them together, in a way.
So what happens when a new grad of a hotshot course in computer animation suddenly enters a company with veterans? Well for one thing, the newbie has to earn the respect of the veterans. Not by being cocky and hotshot, but by being a team player. By being open to their teachings, and by being competent enough to hold their ground and prove that they can hang with the big boys.
In my case its been a year since I've been working. And I'm still trying to prove to them that I can be like them. Good. Passionate. Amazing. So far its been positive. I've been able to show that I can perform at a high level and get approval, not only from them, but from our directors also.
One cannot hope to be in good terms with the 3D artists if one tries to show them up, despite the fact that those guys are, well, gods. They started things here. The edge they have in terms of experience is way way way too great. Even if you studied a course related to what they do. Why? Because these guys love their job. And these guys are passionate about it. And these guys have been working in this industry for so many years that they know a lot more tricks than someone who just graduated.
What's the best thing to do when you get an opportunity to work with these people? Learn. Be humble. Earn their respect. Don't force yourself into the group or you will regret it. And never rest on your laurels. Because if you earn their respect and you start relaxing, you'll lose it just like that.
My mom told me that no matter what job you have, if the $hit hits the fan the job sucks. You'll be down and pissed. But once you overcome the problems, you've got the best job in the world. And I agree. I've had my ups and downs in 3D. But this job is the best job I can think of. If I were to go through all this again, I'd gladly do it. The only thing I'd change? I'd be more humble than ever, and more hardworking than ever.
3D. Best job in the world.
Monday, May 16, 2005
The Keys to My Heart (Supposedly)
This sounds corny but I saw this in Third's blog. Then it disappeared from his blog. I decided to try it out for myself just for kicks. Take note I just answered questions, this DOES NOT reflect how I see love and other stuff.
The Keys to Your Heart |
You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. |
In love, you feel the most alive when everything is uncertain, one moment heaven... the next moment hell. |
You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change. |
Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. |
Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. |
You think of marriage pessimistically. You don't think happy marriages exist anymore. |
In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted. |
Memorable Quotes and Random Stuff
Damn bored. Gotta think of something to blog about. So here's some of my more memorable quotes...
"Great minds think a lot."
"I stand erected."
"Deep breathely."
By the way I got a Mask Rider Ryuga today. Kem and I split the character packaged in the box. He got Zero I got Ryuga. Nice toy. Great articulation. Better than my Guyvers, Guyver II and Guyver III. The great thing about Ryuga is he's almost as scale as the Guyvers. Now if only I had Guyver I... What a fight scene!
My uncle loaned me his classic Olympus OM-1 SLR with telefoto lens. Sadly it has no battery and I can't find any store that sells the batt. Now I've got a camera and film, but no batt. Damnation. Maybe I should get the Canon EOS 66 already...
Maybe I should get the Dub City 2005 Ford GT colored blue. It would go well with my Dub City 2005 Ford GT colored red. Then if things go great I can also get a black one. Snicker snicker...
Go to Google and try out the language setting to Elmer Fudd. Then laugh and have a blast.
So now doppelganger's* not blogging anymore. Must've run out of ideas to rip off. At least I still keep blogging. Not like Big D who jumps on the blogging bandwagon then disappears. Crummy bastard. Rip-off artist.
_________________________________
* If you've got a friggin' conscience or a dose of humility you'll know who you are you crummy bastard.
"Great minds think a lot."
"I stand erected."
"Deep breathely."
By the way I got a Mask Rider Ryuga today. Kem and I split the character packaged in the box. He got Zero I got Ryuga. Nice toy. Great articulation. Better than my Guyvers, Guyver II and Guyver III. The great thing about Ryuga is he's almost as scale as the Guyvers. Now if only I had Guyver I... What a fight scene!
My uncle loaned me his classic Olympus OM-1 SLR with telefoto lens. Sadly it has no battery and I can't find any store that sells the batt. Now I've got a camera and film, but no batt. Damnation. Maybe I should get the Canon EOS 66 already...
Maybe I should get the Dub City 2005 Ford GT colored blue. It would go well with my Dub City 2005 Ford GT colored red. Then if things go great I can also get a black one. Snicker snicker...
Go to Google and try out the language setting to Elmer Fudd. Then laugh and have a blast.
So now doppelganger's* not blogging anymore. Must've run out of ideas to rip off. At least I still keep blogging. Not like Big D who jumps on the blogging bandwagon then disappears. Crummy bastard. Rip-off artist.
_________________________________
* If you've got a friggin' conscience or a dose of humility you'll know who you are you crummy bastard.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Hoy! Pinoy ako!
Maraming bagay na dapat di na pinapansin. Mga bagay na paminsan-minsan ay hinahayaan na lang. Mga tanggap na ng karamihan na karaniwan na sa araw-araw na gawain. Tama. Sige. Kung saan pupunta ang alon doon ako pupunta. Going where the wind blows.
Napansin ko lang, kahit na dapat hayaan ko na lang, na ibang klase talaga ang Pilipino. Ibang klase sa pagka-dupang. Sa pagka-bwakanangina. Pinakamagandang halimbawa ay ang mga Pilipinong motorista.
Ganito lang naman yon e, kaya tayo may batas trapiko para hindi magkabuhol-buhol ang mga kalsada natin. Para di tayo mahirapan at maperwisyo sa ating mga biyahe. Abante. Liko. Pulang ilaw. Tigil. Berdeng ilaw. Takbo. Dilaw na ilaw. Bagal. Preno. Iwas bangga.
Pero hindi ito puwede sa atin. Kasimpleng bagay lang. Kung dederetso ka pumila ka sa tamang linya. Ba't kailangan pairalin ang kagulangan ng tao at dadaan ka sa kalsadang para sa mga kakanan, tapos biglang kakabig ka papunta sa gitna para mauna ka? Ayaw mong maabala? Pakialam mo sa mga naaabala dahil sa kabobohan mo?
HOY! PINOY AKO!
Echepuwera sa mga ibang tao, ako dapat mauna. Lahat ng tao dapat makining sa batas, pero ako 'di kailangan. Kapag siningitan mo ang swapang, iisipin niya ay bastos ka at dapat ay makinig ka sa batas trapiko. Pero kung siya ang gagawa noon, ayos lang pare ko. Bwakanangina ka.
HOY! PINOY AKO!
Sige, maganda kotse mo. BMW, Honda Civic, 18-inch rims, maingay na tambutso. Lancer EVO 6. M3. F150. Tapos dadaan ka sa right lane para kumaliwa. Galing. Dupang. Pinoy. Ang yabang mo nga mas tanga ka pa sa driver ng jeepney. Mas suwapang ka pa sa kanila. Mas malala ka pa sa kanila.
Bakit? Kasi may kaya ka. May napag-aralan ka. Edukado ka (di sa iniinsulto ko mga "masa" kasi ang common sense naman ay di napapag-aralan at kahit sino puwede magkaroon nito) nga pero di mo naman ginagamit. Pinoy ka nga.
Dito kaunti lang ang nakikinig sa batas trapiko. Karamihan sugapa, suwapang. Pero pagtungtong sa ibang bansa, akala mo di pa nagkakasala ni isang beses sa buhay niya.
HOY! PINOY AKO!
Kay sarap maging Pinoy.
Di ko naman kinakahiya maging Pinoy. Nanghihinayang lang ako at sayang ang ating identity. Sayang tayo. Pagtatawanan (pinagtatawanan?) tayo ng ibang bansa kung ipapagpatuloy natin ito. Pero paano ito titigil e wala na rin atang may pakialam?
Ewan.
Basta, HOY! PINOY AKO!
Ikaw na bahala kung paano mo iintindihin ang sinulat ko.
Napansin ko lang, kahit na dapat hayaan ko na lang, na ibang klase talaga ang Pilipino. Ibang klase sa pagka-dupang. Sa pagka-bwakanangina. Pinakamagandang halimbawa ay ang mga Pilipinong motorista.
Ganito lang naman yon e, kaya tayo may batas trapiko para hindi magkabuhol-buhol ang mga kalsada natin. Para di tayo mahirapan at maperwisyo sa ating mga biyahe. Abante. Liko. Pulang ilaw. Tigil. Berdeng ilaw. Takbo. Dilaw na ilaw. Bagal. Preno. Iwas bangga.
Pero hindi ito puwede sa atin. Kasimpleng bagay lang. Kung dederetso ka pumila ka sa tamang linya. Ba't kailangan pairalin ang kagulangan ng tao at dadaan ka sa kalsadang para sa mga kakanan, tapos biglang kakabig ka papunta sa gitna para mauna ka? Ayaw mong maabala? Pakialam mo sa mga naaabala dahil sa kabobohan mo?
HOY! PINOY AKO!
Echepuwera sa mga ibang tao, ako dapat mauna. Lahat ng tao dapat makining sa batas, pero ako 'di kailangan. Kapag siningitan mo ang swapang, iisipin niya ay bastos ka at dapat ay makinig ka sa batas trapiko. Pero kung siya ang gagawa noon, ayos lang pare ko. Bwakanangina ka.
HOY! PINOY AKO!
Sige, maganda kotse mo. BMW, Honda Civic, 18-inch rims, maingay na tambutso. Lancer EVO 6. M3. F150. Tapos dadaan ka sa right lane para kumaliwa. Galing. Dupang. Pinoy. Ang yabang mo nga mas tanga ka pa sa driver ng jeepney. Mas suwapang ka pa sa kanila. Mas malala ka pa sa kanila.
Bakit? Kasi may kaya ka. May napag-aralan ka. Edukado ka (di sa iniinsulto ko mga "masa" kasi ang common sense naman ay di napapag-aralan at kahit sino puwede magkaroon nito) nga pero di mo naman ginagamit. Pinoy ka nga.
Dito kaunti lang ang nakikinig sa batas trapiko. Karamihan sugapa, suwapang. Pero pagtungtong sa ibang bansa, akala mo di pa nagkakasala ni isang beses sa buhay niya.
HOY! PINOY AKO!
Kay sarap maging Pinoy.
Di ko naman kinakahiya maging Pinoy. Nanghihinayang lang ako at sayang ang ating identity. Sayang tayo. Pagtatawanan (pinagtatawanan?) tayo ng ibang bansa kung ipapagpatuloy natin ito. Pero paano ito titigil e wala na rin atang may pakialam?
Ewan.
Basta, HOY! PINOY AKO!
Ikaw na bahala kung paano mo iintindihin ang sinulat ko.
Friday, May 06, 2005
The Wandering Camera
Writings on the Wall
Originally uploaded by Gani.
Okay. Past two days my officemates (Enzo and Kemikal) and I have been wandering the streets of The Fort. In search of photo ops. And boy did we find one.
It started yesterday. We went out for a snack and decided to go for a shoot. Luckily we all had our cameras with us. They had their SLRs and I had my trusty digicam. We walked all the way to this set of abandoned buildings, which we later found out were the remains of a marine engineering school. Photo op.
In we went, taking pictures of abandoned buildings, wild grass, and a dog crapping (that was my shot). Unfortunately it was sunset so light was hard to come by, and no we don't use flash. Even I turned off the flash in my camera. I got three nice sunset pics.
Anyway we decided to go for another round today. The photo you see was on a wall inside one of the buildings. Enzo particularly liked the shot. I think its damn spooky. Hehe. But I do like it myself.
If you want to see more of the pictures I took drop by www.flickr.com and you'll see me shots.
Peace out.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
My B-Movie Dream
Last night I had a weird dream. One of many, but this one was too damn clear.
It was like I was on a Hogwart's type place, a place where people studied magic. A place where wizards and warlocks dwell. And a lot of the people there were people from my own life. People I knew. Officemates, friends, relatives. The whole shebang.
So it was lunch and I invited a friend and his girlfriend to lunch in KFC (of all places there's a KFC in "Hogwart's"???) but due to a little disagreement we had to eat in the school cafeteria, which served steak. KFC over steak? This HAD to be a dream.
Anyway things got weird, a little time warp and now the school was under attack. I was hiding with some master wizards on top of a tower, and the marauding orcs were bashing the front door.
To make a long and meaningless story short, the leader of the orcs, a sorceress, floats up onto our tower. STARK NAKED. I DID say this was a B-Movie dream, right? She starts seducing the wizards, who can't seem to resist her, er, excellent figure. Hell, even I was mesmerized. Then the wizards cast a spell which would help them resist her power. And poof. A big-ass handkerchief appeared on her ample chest. WTF?!? The wizards start wrapping her up with beads so the hanky won't fall off, though I'm sure they were also doing that to get in a little groping.
Anyway after that bead sequence I wake up. And realize what a f*cked up dream I just had.
Maybe I'll make a movie about this one. In 3D even. Hehe.
It was like I was on a Hogwart's type place, a place where people studied magic. A place where wizards and warlocks dwell. And a lot of the people there were people from my own life. People I knew. Officemates, friends, relatives. The whole shebang.
So it was lunch and I invited a friend and his girlfriend to lunch in KFC (of all places there's a KFC in "Hogwart's"???) but due to a little disagreement we had to eat in the school cafeteria, which served steak. KFC over steak? This HAD to be a dream.
Anyway things got weird, a little time warp and now the school was under attack. I was hiding with some master wizards on top of a tower, and the marauding orcs were bashing the front door.
To make a long and meaningless story short, the leader of the orcs, a sorceress, floats up onto our tower. STARK NAKED. I DID say this was a B-Movie dream, right? She starts seducing the wizards, who can't seem to resist her, er, excellent figure. Hell, even I was mesmerized. Then the wizards cast a spell which would help them resist her power. And poof. A big-ass handkerchief appeared on her ample chest. WTF?!? The wizards start wrapping her up with beads so the hanky won't fall off, though I'm sure they were also doing that to get in a little groping.
Anyway after that bead sequence I wake up. And realize what a f*cked up dream I just had.
Maybe I'll make a movie about this one. In 3D even. Hehe.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Writer's Hindsight
Recently I wrote in a Yahoogroup about blogs. Typical rant, rambled on and on. But now that I'm reading what I wrote I sorta like the words that came out. Here, I'm retrieving them while writing this rant...
"take inspiration from the muses, take inspiration from the masses. take inspiration away."
I have no idea what I was on during the time I wrote that (just kidding - I'm clean). Sounds nice. Poetic. What was I talking about? I was talking about how blogs are expressions of oneself. You write from experience. Life experience. "live life, love life, life sucks. do what you want, do what you need. write a blog, unwrite a blog. unlearn what you have learned." Strange words, huh? Don't know what came over me when I wrote that. But it was impressive.
So you write. And you ramble. And you experience. And you share. And you write more. Until it becomes natural. Every experience becomes something bloggable. Every little nuance, every joy, pain, sadness you encounter. Makes you who you are. Right?
Everything we do in life nowadays is basically an imitation of something that happened once before. Like in the South Park episode "Simpsons Already Did It" where every "evil" trick of Prof. Chaos, er, Butters, was already done by the Simpsons. See? What we do now, no matter how original we think it to be, was done before. Okay, so maybe I'm pushing it.
But let's be honest. Sometimes imitation is flattery, sometimes its f*cking annoying. Right?
Me, I try to imitate the writing style of Scoop Jackson, formerly of SLAM magazine. Plus a few of my friends who've been influential in my thinking. I try to assimiliate their traits that I admire, while at the same time adding a dose of myself so that I'm not totally imitating them. And that is the flattering part. Imitating someone YET adding your own dose of self to make that emulation a way to glorify the person you imitated. Got it? No? Neither do I. Hard to explain, harder to understand.
"take inspiration from the muses, take inspiration from the masses. take inspiration away."
I have no idea what I was on during the time I wrote that (just kidding - I'm clean). Sounds nice. Poetic. What was I talking about? I was talking about how blogs are expressions of oneself. You write from experience. Life experience. "live life, love life, life sucks. do what you want, do what you need. write a blog, unwrite a blog. unlearn what you have learned." Strange words, huh? Don't know what came over me when I wrote that. But it was impressive.
So you write. And you ramble. And you experience. And you share. And you write more. Until it becomes natural. Every experience becomes something bloggable. Every little nuance, every joy, pain, sadness you encounter. Makes you who you are. Right?
Everything we do in life nowadays is basically an imitation of something that happened once before. Like in the South Park episode "Simpsons Already Did It" where every "evil" trick of Prof. Chaos, er, Butters, was already done by the Simpsons. See? What we do now, no matter how original we think it to be, was done before. Okay, so maybe I'm pushing it.
But let's be honest. Sometimes imitation is flattery, sometimes its f*cking annoying. Right?
Me, I try to imitate the writing style of Scoop Jackson, formerly of SLAM magazine. Plus a few of my friends who've been influential in my thinking. I try to assimiliate their traits that I admire, while at the same time adding a dose of myself so that I'm not totally imitating them. And that is the flattering part. Imitating someone YET adding your own dose of self to make that emulation a way to glorify the person you imitated. Got it? No? Neither do I. Hard to explain, harder to understand.
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