42 Responses to “Sterling Komiks Series 4”

1. Fermin Salvador on October 30th, 2007 3:40 am

   Nice to know that Harold Dormido’s still around actively writing in komiks. He is one guy who passed through the proverbial eye of the needle to prove that he’s born to be a komikero. Way back in early 1988 as editor of Drakula Komiks and True Experience Komiks, he was sending me on a weekly basis a bulky envelope containing 5 to 10 scripts (for the then standard 4-page short story). The scripts were on clean white bond papers and nicely typewritten. But he was having problem with his use of kilometric sentences and unnecessary amount of words for texts. Something he needs to learn, by himself. I referred his case to E-i-C, Mr. Tenorio, who told me to send him letters, as needed, giving him advices on how to improve his writing. Which I did. This guy has determination and fertile imagination as he sent stories on different themes/topics from love stories to horror to action-adventures. He kept on sending scripts and the advices kept on coming back. When he learned the trick and got initial paybacks from writing, he decided to leave his hometown in Mindoro for Manila to work as full-time writer. I met him in person and became an irregular acquaintance as members of so-called “Cubao-gang” or “Cubao-pack” of komikeros who used to hang around every night at the various “kapihan” and hintayan” in the Cubao area. There were ups and downs. One time I heard that he decided to go back for good in his beloved Mindoro to spend the rest of his life catching sharks. The next night he’s back with his Bloops Brothers Anton Reyes and artist Ric Isiderio over a bottle of san mig and repacked nuts.

2. Rod Samonte on October 30th, 2007 10:40 pm

   That Gagambino cover retrogresses to a time in Philippine Komiks one would rather forget. And the snake was lifted right out of Coching’s cover, I think it was for Berdugo, from an era further back: the Golden Age. Notice the two different styles, the detail on the snake versus the obviously not well-research spider. Why can’t Sterling hire the likes of say, Leinil Yu, Alanguilan, Suayan, Baldisimo,Tadeo, Pagulayan, etc, the young guns of Philippine comics at least even for covers?
   Rod

3. Reno on October 31st, 2007 10:12 am

   Sterling can ‘t hire them because they’re expensive. :P

4. Robby Villabona on October 31st, 2007 12:24 pm

   I thought the spider’s just ok — I’m charging the eye pattern to artistic license to give it some modicum of facial expression.

   It’s the crocodile in KROKO that I find is not well-referenced. Just look at how far apart the eyes are and not sitting on top of the head (like a proper crocodile’s eyes should). Gutom ang aabutin ng buwayang iyan, dahil hindi makakakita iyan sa ibabaw ng tubig habang nakalubog.

5. Gerry Alanguilan on October 31st, 2007 2:04 pm

   Yeah…. but it looks cool, so that’s OK, isn’t it?…. Wha? Deja vu! I swear I heard that before!

   Seriously, my take on this is it’s not really a crocodile. I mean, really. Have you ever seen a crocodile like THAT before? That does BACKFLIPS? It’s a mutant creature that exists only in komiks that only happens to look like a crocodile… mostly! I mean… this is fantasy! Come on man, we’re not watching National Geographic here!

   At gutom talaga aabutin nya. That’s why he’s CRAZY and attacking and eating everybody, o diba? Obviously, there’s something in this creature that assures his horribly grotesque existence despite his seeming ocular deficiencies! Subaybayan!

   Now if I see this in a school textbook, telling everyone that it’s a crocodile, I’d be up in arms along wit ya, man! Come on now, lots of other artists in those komiks committing FAR more heinous offenses to the art of komiks… like crappy art. Let’s let em have it! :D

6. auggie on October 31st, 2007 3:04 pm

   Gerry,

   Croco is from Skull Islands, right ? Malapit lang yun sa Surigao di ba ? and creatures from the Skull islands have artistic licenses, that’s the most feasible explanation….

7. Robby Villabona on October 31st, 2007 4:45 pm

   I refer to the very first sentence on the 1st volume of KROKO: “Sa isang gubat sa Surigao nagmula ang buwayang ito” (kasunod nito ay isa pang pangungusap pero walang period yung nauna — another sign of sloppy editing).

   “Buwaya”, in my limited knowledge, is a crocodile (never mind the name KROKO, and no congressman jokes please).

   And if you look at that same 1st volume, you will see that on some pages it’s drawn with eyes on top of the head, on the side, one with black-out eyeballs almost on top (like a shark? snake?), but on the last page where its back is turned to us, his eyes are on the side of the head. (I don’t have vol 2 and 3 so I can’t say anything about those). If you’re not going to get it right, at least be consistent.

   Even if it looks cool to you, it’s still neither consistent nor well-referenced. I agree that he’s doing a much better job than the rest of the crappy lot, but if you claim to be the “official Philippine’s greatest illustrator”, then you’re work should be compared against the likes of Coching, De Zuniga, and Redondo, not the rest of the crappy lot.

   Not sure where you’ve heard that “it looks cool” reasoning before. Which one looks cool, the one with the eyes on top or the one with the eyes on the side?

   Seriously, how hard is it to look for crocodile photos?

8. Gerry Alanguilan on November 1st, 2007 7:15 am

   Short memory, Robby? I heard that reasoning from you, in reference to some other thing in our many discussions oh, a long time ago. But don’t worry about that, even I forget a lot of things nowadays.

   The eyes move about the head? Now THAT’s creepy!

9. auggie on November 1st, 2007 9:02 am

   Rob,

   Are back issues of National Geographic at BookSale now too prohibitive ?

10. Rod Samonte on November 1st, 2007 10:45 am

    To Robby Villabona,
    I just looked at your work in Deviant Art. Ang galing mo pala. I like the Darna ang Zhang Ziyi (one of two favorite Chinese actresses, you can probably guess the other). Maybe Sterling should hire you. Are you working in U.S. comics?
    Rod

11. Robby Villabona on November 1st, 2007 1:52 pm

    Now, I remember (I think).

    I remember saying that it doesn’t matter what particular drawing *style* a person chooses to use, as long as his drawing looks good in that style. If you choose manga, then do manga well. If you choose realistic, then do realistic well. Kahit na anong drawing style, nasa harap lagi ang mata ng tao at nasa ibabaw ang sa crocodile. Lahat sila may sinusunod na fundamentals, and two of them are ‘draw from reference’, and ‘be consistent’.

    So if that’s what you’re referring to, then I’d be happy to clarify that I didn’t say that to defend sloppy work. Just to defend the person’s right to choose a drawing style he’s good at.

    I don’t want to blow this out of proportion. I don’t think Hal Santiago is a bad illustrator. I don’t think he’s so great either. But the only point I was making was he doesn’t draw a convincing crocodile.

12. Gerry Alanguilan on November 1st, 2007 4:52 pm

    Yeah, I’ve been wanting to talk about that again, after observing closely artists who have chosen to draw manga. I have learned that for a lot of them, they are simply incapable of drawing any other way, having drawn nothing else but manga ever since they could pick up a pencil. Ask them to draw a passably realistic human face and they either can’t, or they have a hard time doing it. Which really shouldn’t be the case. Manga is a style, and like any other style, should only be used when one is adept at the basics.

    Now I can say the same for other artists who have not learned to draw any other way, having been so closely attached to a single style.

    It’s too bad because they have a hard time growing up to be much fuller artists. Fixating on a single way of drawing things at so young an age could sabotage their growth as artists.

    You ought to have seen this guy at one of my talks, who almost pleadingly asks me how to get past his manga style of drawing because he wants to find a more original way of drawing.

    I think younger artists need to be taught to be much more well rounded in their art, rather than always tell them to go ahead and do what you want as long as it looks cool.

    They have to learn this kind of thing because they can at least be *capable* of having the choice to draw in different styles, unlike the many young artists I’ve met so far.

    Oh, I’ll talk about more of this after the Komikon.

13. Fermin Salvador on November 2nd, 2007 9:31 am

    “I think younger artists need to be taught to be much more well rounded in their art”

    Here is where the importance of an existing and thriving free-market komiks industry comes in. No monopolization, please. The potentials in a Philippine komiks business should be made such that it will be attractive to investors who could (fore)see profits in varieties of
    Pinoy-made komiks they might find convenient to dip their fingers (and cash) into. Komikeros should think beyond Sterling, as no industry could survive by depending on just one company. The struggle [to make komiks-publishing a worthy prospect for investors] has just been started by komikeros collectively. CJC started Sterling and now we know that his mission is limited to that. Eventually we learn that the burden of the struggle still lies on komikeros shoulders, collectively.

14. jose mari Lee on November 2nd, 2007 8:08 pm

    “I think younger artists need to be taught to be much more well rounded in their art, rather than always tell them to go ahead and do what you want as long as it looks cool.”

    …and may add, señor Gerry…

    That some of these younger artists SHOULD WEAN themselves from SUPERHEROES, que writing or drawing. They have to try other genres to make their comic adventure more varied and interesting, not only for their own sanity, but also for the sanity of the reading public. Bawa’t makita mo na lang kasi ay puro super mascular guys na wala nang bahid ng kahi’t kapiranggot na katotohanan. Lalagyan pa ng mga BORLOLOY like the jeepney, kaya naitatago ang MALING ANATOMY. Magagalit sa kanila niyan si SUPREMONG KAPRE at paghahagupitin sila ng bikolanong urangon na buntot-page. Para na kasing HOT PANDESAL na naglipana sa tabi-tabi, at ang lasa ay pasama nang pasama.

15. Robby Villabona on November 2nd, 2007 8:45 pm

    Gerry,

    That’s a very different reason for a very different point then (similar to what Joe Mari Lee mentioned some time ago at PKMB). One which I agree with.

    That’s a reason for people not to start to learn drawing from manga, not a reason for people not to draw manga.

    In fact, I’d probably go a step further. People shouldn’t begin to learn drawing from comic books (most of them anyway). Avoid learning the fundamentals from the likes of Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Mike Mignola, Whilce Portacio, Michael Turner, Alex Nino, etc. etc.

    In the same sense, learners shouldn’t just stick to penciling, inking, and line art in general. Learn to use various media like charcoal, watercolor, and oil. Painting gives a more natural exercise in lighting, shadows, and creating volume. Penciling and inking just aren’t the right media for teaching these concepts well.

    Now when you’ve mastered the fundamentals, then choose to do what you want, manga included. It’s at that point that our opinions diverged.

    I’m a bit lucky since I did start learning from comic books, but inspired by highly realistic art, such as those from Neal Adams and Alex Raymond. However, it was from painting that I learned why Neal Adams would do his lighting that way, not from looking at comic art.

    Among artist’s work I’ve seen though, I’ve noticed that those that can only do manga usually don’t do it very well. I’ve found that chances are, if you are very good at manga, then you’re also very good at other styles (e.g. Ed Tadeo, Jhomar Soriano). As you said, it’s hard to be good in manga if you’ve not learned the fundamentals.

16. Robby Villabona on November 2nd, 2007 10:03 pm

    Auggie,

    Marami naman DVD diyan for reference. O kaya mga Steve Irwin videos. Or google and yahoo image search. O kahit diyan lang sa Parks and Wildlife for the real thing.

    Rod,

    Thanks. Is it Gong Li? After seeing Tang Wei in LUST, CAUTION it’s not an easy guess anymore :-)

    No, I don’t work in US comics. I’m just not into drawing superheroes anymore — and that’s the only genre in the US where there’s relatively stable work. I do commercial storyboards.

17. auggie on November 3rd, 2007 4:44 pm

    Rob,

    Kaya nga nagtataka ako kung bakit poorly referenced yung KROKO eh. Si Redondo at Alcala, sangkatutak ang National Geographic na reference, ipinapakita pa sa akin. I don’t know why the Greatest cannot avail of thse various references, andiyan lang naman eh…

    JM,

    Sukat na yang mga Superoes na iyan ! wala tayong futuro diyan dahil nauna na ang Marvel at DC. Ibang genres na dapat ang ini-explore. Historical fiction for example. Pero lahat naman siguro dumaan diyan sa superhero fixation na iyan, pwera lang sa akin. Hindi ko trip iyan kahit noong bata pa ako….

18. Rod Samonte on November 4th, 2007 10:25 am

    Robby,
    Yes, it’s Gong Li, both appeared in Memoirs of a Geisha but I was strongly opposed to two Chinese actresses playing Japanese, though I guess they carried themselves well. I’m a big fan of Chinese movies, (naiwanan na yata ang mga Hapon, where’s the next Kurusawa?), seen all of Gong Li’s movies especially her collaboration with director Zhang Yimou. I have not seen Lust/Caution yet, but it’s showing right now, so it’s next on my agenda.
    Rod

19. Robby Villabona on November 4th, 2007 2:45 pm

    Rod,

    I’ve also seen most of the Zhang Yimou films that starred her, though most recently I liked her in MIAMI VICE. I didn’t like CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, though she looked great there as always.

    Tang Wei was a pleasant surprise. A very strong performance from a relative unknown.

    That’s true — parang mahina ngayon ang Japanese films. It’s their animated films that are making international waves. If you haven’t yet, I recommend watching the old films of Kenji Mizugochi and Yasujiro Ozu. Films like TOKYO STORY, UGETSU MONOGATARI, and SANSHO THE BAILIFF should be at the top of a Japanese movies must-watch list.

20. Jose Mari Lee on November 5th, 2007 4:16 am

    I like the Japanese films when the country was just struggling after that horrendous defeat during the WWII. The films from late forties to mid fifties reflected the predicament of the masses.

    As late as 1981, Japan has produced yet another neo-realist film in black and white called MUDDY RIVER, directed by Kôhei Oguri.

    Its flavor, mood and poignancy are reminiscent of the films of DeSica, Zavattini and Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu. The setting is the slums of a harbor town. The plot focuses on the blighted friendship of two children and the truth of what their mothers were doing to suvive: prostitution. The final images, in classically pure monochrome on the river’s edge, are unforgettable. A must-see.

21. Gerry Alanguilan on November 5th, 2007 7:22 am

    JM… I really haven’s seen too many immediate post WWII Japanese films, except a couple by Akira Kurosawa, namely Drunken Angel and Stray Dog. Those 2 films show what I assume to be a realistic portrayal of a country defeated by America, and yet be so influenced by American values and pop culture.

22. Jose Mari Lee on November 5th, 2007 9:41 am

    I think that observation of yours is quite bang-on. It could be that when America compelled Japan to sign an agreement that Japan never engages again in atrocities inflicted by their country to Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), the population was all for it. Japanese military was put in the back burner, and never again did they plan or aspire to rule the world. So, instead of wasting their energy to politics, they have decided to just be number one economically :). In a way, Japan of the 50s looked up to America as their inspiration. It shows on the products they have produced in the 50s. Plates, cups, those little items – are even labelled DECEIVINGLY: MADE IN USA!

    But the catch is: USA is not exactly United States of America, but Usa, Japan :)LOL!

    Usa City is located in Oita Prefecture on Kyushu Island. They exported their products worldwide, but the number 1 recipients were America’s allies, like the Philippines.

    Maybe Auggie & Ginoong Samonte still remember the days when Filipinos were literally LAUGHING at ANYTHING JAPANESE made. Naalala n’yo pa ba ito, Auggie & Mr. Samonte? Baka tumawa pa kayo sa produkto ng Japan noon. LOL!

    I am saying this because I remember in Bicol when I was a kid in late 60s-early 70s, so many Japanese products produced in the 1950s where I remember seeing so many made in USA.

    But what really gave the Japanese so much relief was a SECRET DEAL (only revealed in early 90s after a group of activists in the US petitioned that the documents should be revealed to everybody) when Pres. Harry Truman (Mac Arthur was among the personalities there as well) asked Japan to surrender the documents on BIOLOGICAL WARFARE Japan used during the war (Japan was so advanced in this department that the US was itching to find out how they were done). In exchange for this deal, there will be no more prosecutions of war criminals after the hanging of YAMASHITA in Manila. Hence, many generals in the 2nd world War went Scot-free. And when the Japanese started to rebuild their country, the US welcomed their products (transistor radios and the likes), products that were already being made in the US and Canada, but were REFINED by Japan and sell them back much more expensive :).

    Japan cherishes their own tradition, but I guess they find it hard to resist the creativity of other nations, especially of the United States. They even eat more like North Americans now. In Tokyo, Sushis are more expensive than Hamburgers! So more and more young people go for the fast food than their traditional seafood dishes.

    I guess north American fastfood and MacIntosh Computers are the most popular US products in Japan :)

    Shall we hold our breath when China products become no longer HILARIOUS like they way they are now?

    Dapat, magpatawa na rin ngayon ang Pilipinas, para after a decade, tanggap na ang producto. Sarao Jeepneys and the Tamaraws? Panahon na siguro!

    Kung yung HUNDAI, pinagtatawanan dito noong 1984, o tingnan mo, binibili na ngayon :)

23. auggie on November 5th, 2007 11:21 am

    JM,

    I didn’t know that two great film giants, Kurosawa and Fellini were also Komikeros. Before a shot, they do sketches/drawings of their scenes to guide the cameraman/cinematographer. I do understand Kurosawa was a Fine Arts graduate. I don’t know the background of Federico F.I just read this recently in an interview with one of the contemporary giants today in Architecture, Spaniard, SANTIAGO CALATRAVA. He also sketches , before doing the final blueprint, and he is also a fan of those two great filmakers.

24. APOniKAPRE on November 5th, 2007 1:16 pm

    JM,
    sa totoo, itong mga superhero comics illustrators ay hanggan ngayon hindi alam ang mali nila sa kanilang mga drawings na superheroes.

    Ang mga drawings nilang mga superheroes kahit na naka-relax ay mga TENSE ang asta ng mga katawan na para bagang NATATAE ng TUBOL, hahaha. Iyong mga babae naman ay parang katawan ng mga BAKLA na BARBELISTA, at mga BAKLA rin ang mga arte, hehehe.

    http://comicsillustration.blogspot.com/

25. Jose Mari Lee on November 5th, 2007 1:53 pm

    Supremong Kapre:

    He-he. Dapat sigurong pakainin ng maraming RUFFAGES ang mga superheroes na ito para maiba ang expression. He-he.

    Auggie:

    Magkatabi lang talaga ang komiks at film. If ypou’re so used to komiks writing, you can easily migrate to films.

26. Ferres on November 5th, 2007 3:42 pm

    JM,
    Sorry, but I have to say no to the jeepney. It is clearly not a safe vehicle. The only impact protection you get is the body of the person next to you. If it were ever to be exported to a country with wider/faster roads it will be a bloodbath.

    Though, I’m ok with the Tamaraw, but I don’t personally know how it tastes compared to other kinds of beef.:)

27. Jose Mari Lee on November 5th, 2007 11:42 pm

    Ferres, exporting those jeepneys will entail renos to the vehicle. Seatbelts will have to be included, airbags installed.

    Exported as is, they won’t even make it to the slowest speed limit in Vermont, the slowest speed limit in the USA – 50 mph. :)

28. Robby Villabona on November 6th, 2007 12:52 am

    Gerry,

    Saw STRAY DOG, too. What struck me was how similar the fashion and musical score were between Japan and the Philippines at that time — which was essentially, American (as you pointed out).

    Note too, that airconditioning wasn’t common. Everyone’s using hand fans. Ganon din sa HIGH AND LOW. Hindi pa sila ganong kayaman nung panahon na iyon.

    JM,

    Ang inabutan kong equivalent ng “low quality” was “made in Taiwan” in the 70′s and 80′s. Nowadays all your Macs, Ipods, Iphones, Dells, Thinkpads, and HPs are probably made in Taiwan. When I used to ride bicycles, Taiwan-made bicycle parts wouldn’t last a week. Japan-made parts were the standard.

29. auggie on November 6th, 2007 1:24 am

    JM,

    Yeah, inabot ko pa yung mga shoddy products ng Japan noong 50s, in -fact, pinagtatawanan ko dahil ang layo sa quality ng US made products. But noong 60s, unti -unti ng improve, Cameras, electronics, etc, at mura sila compared sa European at US goods. Ang Toyota at Nissan noon, wala pang sinabi sa mga Detroit Cars ng big 3, namely, GM, Ford, Chrysler at meron pa nga ng AM Motors. Pero ngayon baliktad na, ang papangit na ng Motown cars, at nilalampaso ng mga Japanese cars, sa quality, performance, design/aesthetics, gas economy, etc.
    Ang SoUth Korean cars , ganoon din, grabe ang improvement by leaps and bounds and is already threathening Toyota and Company. Ang newest kid on the block is China, and so far is offering the cheapest car thus far. Ang Chery Motors China, eh merong QQ, which costs only 319,000 pesos ! Yung 1.600 sedan nilang Cowin., costs 465,000 bucks lang. Magiimprove din naman ito over time, at pabor sa consumers ito….

30. Rod Samonte on November 6th, 2007 4:51 am

    AponiKapre,
    Mang Kapre or should I say Mr.Dery, you’ve finally revealed yourself here by including your blog. Indeed you have an excellent website and blog as well. I like your comic illustration lessons, and looking at your artwork, you are indeed well-qualified. One of the Achilles heel (Jim Aparo for example of Batman fame draws horrible women) often encountered by comic illustrators (aside from facial expression) is drawing women. And I can see you have no problem with women. Among Pinoy illustrators, I would rate Zuniga and Henson among the best with regards to drawing women. Among U.S. comic illustrators, Frazetta has no peer, Frank Thorne is also excellent, and among the young comic artist, I like J. Scott Campbell’s women. Curiously Campbell was another Image artist following after Jim Lee but broke away with his own style. And I definitely agree with Robby Villabona, in an earlier comment in this same thread, not to learn from comic artist such as Jim Lee, Frank Miller etc. The Jim Lee style is like Manga, once you learn it, you can’t draw anything else: huge muscles,ten-foot tall women, small heads, angry expressions, teeth gnashing, etc. Once upon a time there was an artist who published several books on figure illustration, cartooning, etc. and his name is Andrew Loomis. This is where one should learn illustration. Unfortunately, his books which are all out of print are very expensive. If you live in L.A., there is an art supply store on Lankershim in North Hollywood, with several original oil paintings by Andrew Loomis. They belong to a museum and the owner won’t let me take pictures either.
    Rod

31. Rod Samonte on November 6th, 2007 6:28 am

    Robby & JM,
    I’ll check out those Japanese film makers you mentioned.
    JM,
    Actually, I don’t even remember those days when Made In Japan was such a bad thing (hahaha too long ago to remember). Still, the early Toyotas and Datsuns were not bad at all. Then I started collecting cameras, and this is where they excelled. I had an early copy of a Leica, a Nikon rangefinder that costs as much as a Leica now. Unfortunately, it got stolen at my home in Manila a long time ago. I still have early Nikon and Pentax SLRs, and they are built like tanks (watch American Gansters, they use Pentax SLRs in the movie). I still won’t buy Hundai, when there are Japanese cars available. And made in China are everywhere, so one can’t help but buy them.
    Rod

32. auggie on November 6th, 2007 9:04 am

    Rod,

    Oo nga built like tanks yung mga old Japanese SLRs, pero at my age, hindi ko na kayang magbitbit niyan maghapon, masakit na sa likod. Naransan ko na yan a couple of years ago dito sa isang bundok ng Antique, umakyat akong mi dala niyan, pag uwi ko sore back muscles ang inabot ko.
    Don’t fear the Hyundais, they are winning right and left with CAR OF THE YEAR awards, at ang designs nila, Wow ! sa Turin, Italy yata sila nagpapa design, at relatively cheaper pa ang cost nila as compared with the same Japanese cars. Curious ako dito sa mga Chinese cars, kasi ang mura…. parang mga DVD players. Alam mo ba ang pinakurang DVD player dito , would cost you about 1, 295 pesos, HUG brand, bumili nga ako eh, lahat kayang i-play, kahit Region 1 DVDs. Yung mga branded, madaling masira, at hindi ma-play ang mga Region 1 DVDs. Ganoon ang nanyari sa nabili kong Samsung, wala na, ang mahal pa ng repair….

    BTW, napanood ko na yung AMERICAN OUTLAWS at 3:10 to YUMA. Yung OUTLAWS, revisionist ang istorya tungkol sa buhay ni Jesse James, pero maganda, ayos si Colin Farrel dito. OK din yung YUMA, pero gusto ko kung mapanood yung lumang version….

33. Rod Samonte on November 6th, 2007 9:50 am

    Auggie,
    Panoorin mo ang original ng 3:10 to YUMA, Glenn Ford is the bad guy. However, in the new version, they changed the original ending, I won’t tell you how, para may suspense ka naman.
    Maybe the Hyundai cars have gone better. However, I will buy Korean electronics, especially TVs. I have a 25 inch Samsung that I have been using for maybe 10 years now and it’s still going strong, built like a tank din. Hahaha. Meanwhile my Sony’s have gone kaput already after one year of use.
    Rod

34. Erwin on November 6th, 2007 12:26 pm

    speaking of movies.. punta kayo dito sa blog na ito. anak ni Malang ang host.

    http://video48.blogspot.com

    daming old pinoy movie poster.

35. Jose Mari Lee on November 6th, 2007 1:07 pm

    Auggie& Ginoong Samonte:

    While it’s true that Japanese cars have improved a lot, their bodies are still TIN CANS. This part made Japs cars rather IFFY for me because I have seen so many Toyotas and Hondas figured in car crashes and… MAYHEM is a euphemistic word to use. I saw one accident that really bothered me for a long time. A 19-year old guy was driving, the girlfriend, 17, was at the passenger side. At 2:00 am, he hit an electric pole. It was horrendous. The Honda was divided into three parts. The front part PUMULUPOT SA POSTE! How it happened, only God knows. They died instantly and what a horrible sight. The saddest part was that I had to call 911 myself because I was the only car next to them.

    Another one, this time, a Nissan Exterra. I have just crossed the exit to the freeway, when this car skidded (the guy hit black ice) and the Nissan rolled over three times. It exploded into a ball of fire. Durog ang katawang lata ng Japanese car. Instantly, patay yung passenger.

    Kaya nga, I have always bought Volvos because they are built like tanks. Those Old Volvo DLs, my golly, paligid iyon ng bakal! Even the new Volvos (owned now by Ford), ay napaka-galing pa rin. Volvo pa rin ako, though I also drive an Explorer for long distance travels because Explorers drive so well, and very comfortable. I also drive a Nissan Pathfinder but I find it quite light. I can feel the wind and the passing trailers on highways. Masikip pa sa paanan at nakaka-cramps sa long driving.

    Mercedes MLS 500 are not that sturdy. My wife was driving one when she had an accident and died. She got hit by a 17 year old guy driving a a Hummer. Now, I guess you guys will understand what I feel about car crashes. Each one I see or hear or read about, becomes a reminder, and it is not easy.

    I know that accidents can happen anytime and can kill anyone. But, having a tin can car body is a precarious proposition. It’s like gambling, throwing the dice, so to speak. Despite what people say about American cars, they have very strong bodies and believe me, Auggie, some of them are really good. Test drive an Explorer or even an Escape. You’ll be convinced how good their handling is.

    Re: YUMA. I’m surprised you haven’t seen the orig Yuma? Mr. Samonte is right. You gotta see that one.

    BTW, Heather brought me your bikol book and the DVD of JACK & JILL and FLORADEMA, ANG BILANGGONG BIRHEN. Thank you. I haven’t burnt AGUIRRE AND FITZCARRALDO, though I have downloaded them already. As soon as I find the time, I’ll do it and mail it to you. I was actually shopping for Inodoros for the renos. It is so shocking that even these toilets, you can hardly find anything made in USA or Canada.

    AMERICAN STANDARD (US)- now made in VENEZUELA
    EUROVIT (Italian) – now made in CHINA
    TOTO (US) – now made in VIETNAM
    CRANE (Canada) – now made in MEXICO

    Nakakabaliw ito! Kung hindi ako pa mismo ang naghanap ng toilet, di ko malalaman na wala na palang inodoro na gawa dito sa North America. Bakit nahuli na naman yata sa bandwagon ang Philippines? Wala akong nakitang INODORO na made in the Philippines. Sana, trabaho pa iyon sa mga taong jobless ngayon, di ba?

    So ang predicament ko ngayon ay alin ba sa mga bansang ito ang lesser SLOPPY work? I like Eurovit because it looks so nice. One-piece, elegantly designed, belissima. Kaya lang, knowing China’s reputation…

    RobbyV:

    Apple Computer parts are usually made in Ireland, Japan, Taiwan (wala rin ang Philippines). But they are all assembled in CUPERTINO, CALI.

    Ay, teka muna… labas na ba tayo sa topic natin dito? Okay, I’ll shut up now :)

36. auggie on November 6th, 2007 4:34 pm

    JM,

    Good to know na nakuha mo na pala. Check the Galleon and Bagatao articles, ditto for the warring gueriilla groups ESCUDERO vs LAPUZ factions, and my own , GUACHINANGO. Check also Toots Jamoralin’s ORAGON, and the others….

    Is it possible for you to include the orig Yuma ? it’s no longer available here….
    Tungkol sa US cars, i’m just commenting on them within the context of the Third World realities. Hindi kasi practical dito yung mga big engines, at iba pang mga gas guzzlers na iyan kasi hirap tayo sa cost ng gasolina rito, at makitid ang mgadaan at highway dito. Kaya mas praktikal yung mga aSIAN CARS NA SMALL–ENGINED.Yeah there are still good US cars lalo na yung mga muscle cars nila gaya ng GT na Shelby ng Ford. Yung Hummer wala na yata…

37. Robby Villabona on November 6th, 2007 5:07 pm

    JM,

    Apple computers parts come from all over the world (if it’s got TI chips then there’s a good chance it’s made in Baguio, and maybe some Intel chips from here), but final assembly of Macs, Macbooks, and Ipods are done in China or Taiwan. Maybe in 2003 they still assembled a few models in the USA, but that’s ancient history.

    The reputation of Volvos as the safest car comes from it’s marketing focus, but nowadays it doesn’t top safety charts. In fact last year no Volvo model made it to the most respected insurance industry ratings list. In recent years, the safest cars tend to come from Acura (which is a Honda premium brand), Saab, Subaru (Japan), Audi, VW, and (surprise) Honda. So it looks like it’s largely a Japanese and German domination of the safest cars lists.

38. jose mari Lee on November 6th, 2007 9:40 pm

    RobbyV: Here in north America, the Chinese seems to buy: Acura. Kapag nakakita ka ng sloppy driving na Acura, alam mo na kung ano ang nag-da-drive :)

    My impression was only based upon what I’ve seen in accidents here. Little Japanese cars tend to crumble like wilted pansies during collisions, unfortunately, and I am not comfortable to drive one. It could be psychological, but for now, my mind is telling me not to do it.

    Rob, check out the safest cars/suv of 2007. Volvo XC90 is on top of the list with Acuras and Hondas. Mercedes MLS is also included, but I disagree, and this is not being bitter.

    I have 3 MacIntoshes and all of them are assembled in Cupertino. I think Apple Computers do not ship their assembled computers to another country. What I understand is: If you’re buying it in north America, you get the unit from Cupertino, Cali. If you’re buying it in Mexico, you get it from Mexico and so on. Now if the country doesn’t have a factory assembling these computers, I have no idea where they get them :)

    But here, the units are all assembled in Cali.

39. Robby Villabona on November 7th, 2007 4:17 pm

    When did you buy those and what models are they?

    I think the likelihood is, if it’s a custom-built Mac G5 then it probably is assembled in the US. All others (notebooks), IMac, are usually assembled in China or Taiwan. I know for a fact that China notebooks and desktops do get delivered in North America (just google it and you’ll see forums where people in the USA who bought in the USA state their Macs are assembled in China).

    OTOH, assembled in USA doesn’t mean anything when it comes to computers (because it doesn’t take much skill, and not much value is added). The value of Apple is in the design, not where it’s assembled. Apple’s component parts are basically from the same PC parts suppliers (mostly from Taiwan/China). Other than design, the value of the computer is in the component parts. Since the most likely to fail parts are hard disks, power supplies, and CPU fans, they’re the ones that merit scrutiny for quality.

    Japanese cars were indeed thin-skinned, but I think that’s only true up to the 70′s. When we were kids we used to get up on the roof of my Dad’s Dodge Dart and standing on it felt like solid ground. Then in 1976 he replaced the car with a Mitsubishi Galant and we couldn’t play on the car’s roof anymore without fearing it would dent if we sat on it. But since the 70′s oil crisis Detroit has stopped making virtual tanks, and most cars have more or less the same chassis thickness (within their own classes).

    Yes, one Volvo made it to the 2007 list, but I think none made it in 2005 (or was it 2006?). I just wanted to dispel the belief that Japanese cars have thin metal and are therefore unsafe. I found another list (below) listing the 11 safest of all time. 7 models are Japanese, 2 are Korean, and 2 are American.

    http://www.insure.com/articles/carinsurance/safest-cars.html

    Auto safety is really more a function of other safety features like front and side airbags, ABS, side impact beams, traction control, crumple zones, and roll-cages, more than the differences in chassis thickness.

    I think that the safest cars are anything that you drive in Metro Manila. There are very few lethal traffic accidents here because traffic is slow, and drivers are well-conditioned to react fast to other reckless drivers. :-)

40. auggie on November 7th, 2007 8:07 pm

    Rob,

    That’s true, kaya nga yung safety belt eh parang superflous tuloy. Ang babagal ng takbo, mag sa-safety belt ? Pero dito sa probinsiya kailangan talaga. Daredevil ang mga jeepney drivers dito, akala mo INDY 500 ang highway dito sa bilis nila. 80-100 KPH ang cruising speed nila.Kaya pag mi aksidente sigurado maraming patay. Ang napansin kong mga speedster dito eh yung biyaheng San Joaquin, Miag-ao, Tubungan, Igbaras… pag gabi na mas lalong bumibilis sila kasi kokonti na ang nasa Highway. Puro Southern route ito sa Iloilo.

41. jose mari Lee on November 7th, 2007 9:51 pm

    Rob:

    I opened my Imac and the power supply is made in Ireland.
    ATA BUS – Japan
    DVD-Sony-Japan
    CODEC-Texas Instrument, US
    Graphics/Display-ATI Radeon-Canada
    DIMMO- SDRAM – Taiwan
    InternalUSBModem.kext – US

    Wala yata akong makitang China or Philippines

    Re: Jap cars:

    Compared to domestic and Eurppean cars, Japs are still too thin for my trust :) It must be psychological. But I want to be relaxed when I’m driving, not fearing to experience what I have seen from Jap Cars figuring in horrendous accidents. Lalo na dito, at 100mph (though I remember driving along the Sacramento hwy @ 140! with a Nissan Car). And that happened because I wasn’t looking at my speedometer. Jap cars are so light that it’s so easy to go beyond the speed limit without realizing it. Not so in heavier cars. Kaya dahil malilimutin na ako sa speed limit, kailangan ko talaga, heavy car na lang. Kumbaga sa mga senior citizens dito, drive a BOAT. He-he.

42. Robby Villabona on November 8th, 2007 2:04 am

    JM:

    You didn’t say when you bought your Macs.

    You mentioned the brands of the parts, but did those parts mention where they were made, or did you just mention the home countries of the brands?

    Sony makes most of its DVD drives in China. Most of the world’s DVD drives actually come from China, Korea, or Taiwan (Benq, LG, Samsung) and are only rebranded by vendors like HP. ATI graphics chips come off the assembly line in TSMC in Taiwan. Kung Intel na yang Mac mo malamang made in Malaysia iyang processor (and some Philippines). Texas Instruments chips are made mostly in the Philippines (sa Baguio), including Firewire controllers and codecs. If your LCD panel is made by LG-Philips, it’s probably from Poland or China.

    Here’s some links if you don’t believe me:

    http://www.applefritter.com/Mac_Mini_Take_Apart_Guide — look closely at the DVD drive — made in Indonesia

    http://mactree.sannet.ne.jp/~kodawarisan/imac_intel/imac_intel01.html
    - ATI chip — made in Taiwan
    - Intel chipset controller – made in the Philippines
    - Intel processor — can’t see but most are made in Malaysia

    You shouldn’t confuse the brand’s country of origin with where it was made. The fact is most electronics parts manufacturing happens in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and China. It’s the design that comes from US, Canada, Japan, etc, though Taiwan is catching up (with Acer, Benq, Asus, HTC). Every first week of June people from all over the world go to Taiwan to discuss business with these manufacturers (who are mostly Taiwan based, but not all).

    I still think your fear (and stereotype) of Japanese cars are imagined and are largely based on anecdotal experience. There are light Japanese cars, and there are heavy Japanese cars. You can’t compare a Sentra to Volvo S80. Any number of reasons other than actual safety performance could be behind why you’ve seen what you’ve seen. But crash tests by auto insurance industries are probably the most objective source.