Mixed up post of an update

Blog updates have hit some snags in terms of time element and opportunity. Time on account of work and the major downtime after work in the form of sleep and the usual banal routines. As to opportunity, my niece is the one I have to go around since she uses the P3 (Which I tentatively named "Lady Vectra" since Late February on account of "her" restored status. A story idea I was toying around weeks ago.) in my room as her current gaming platform of choice since she got hooked on this MMORPG called Tantra. My god, I never thought kids nowadays play online computer games and be swept on the allure and vogue of the game which draws in young kids, teens and adults who have the time, resources and internet time to do so, whether by hook or crook.

As to the friendship update, things have started to mend on that front. It started off by a series of email correspondence to open the way, a cell phone call and finally two phone calls and a visit to his place. Things are rolling again but its tempered as well as renewed by some updates and insights during the incommunicado period. My niece is very happy for the mending of the friendship.

RANT MODE ON

My usual weekend entails an expedition to Makati Cinema Square or the area in FTI for some DVD finds. But as of the past two weeks, the finds and picks have rather become slim. The selections were limited and in short supply since I heard some buzz by the sellers of the pirated media is that the OMB (Optical Media Board), the zealous arm of the Media Regulatory Board, have been conducting numerous raids on major supply points and location in the Manila area. The raids have pretty much reduced the opportunities for me to get any movies I favor. The worst part is that the zealousness of the OMB also covers their domain for bootleg PS2 game discs and PC software CDs. Talk about collateral product casualties. My niece was pretty much upset that if they stamp out purchase to very affordable and accessible PS2 games, we would have to shell out thousands to purchase a single original PS2 game disc or PC game. I was entertaining the thought in regards to the agenda of the OMB, as they are publicly known for, they're out to stem the tide of pirated movies and music which they were first created for and not to be granted extra powers to cover software. The other public known but downplayed agenda is to stop the spread of porn. With them stopping the access to porn, its just going to add more sex offenders and sex-related crimes since the OMB have pretty much removed a medium which can divert the attentions of sexually-frustrated people to doing harm to other people or themselves. The stamping out of porn also reminded me of the movie Equilibrium starring Christian Bale, wherein a future society bans expression of emotions and the acquisition of material objects which can evoke emotional responses due to memory association. If the US has the Department of Homeland Security, I would just call what the Philippines has in a way called the Department of Homeland Morality. Not exactly the Tetragrammaton from Equilibrium for sure, but it seems to be like any so-called Morality and Decency Authority which has been done in many incarnations in fiction. The idea of such an organization would something to tinker or consider as a faction of note in some future projects for certain or something I pipeline over to the Twilight Empires universe as some radical splinter faction.

I have been pretty irked the past few mall/shopping center visits that you can't find a convenient trash receptacle ever since the recent bus bombing that happened on Feb 14 in Makati. Finding no trash receptacle leaves holding the bag until you can dispose of it at home or by illegal dumping. Damn terrorists always like to put a damper on things as far as the regular flow of routine goes. *Pushes a button on his desk, several low-yield antimatter charges teleported to various terrorist cell locations and detonate on arrival. Subsequently, network of satellites equipped with VORPAL cannons fire down from orbit on other locations for good measure.*

RANT MODE OFF

Given how my work saps my strength and creative energy, opportunity times also gets to be very scarce. I will have to put in a post which happens to have a contribution by suggestion from someone I will call "H.M.Garou" who happens to own the Belly-Up Dog Bar a ways south from this doghouse. More next time.