[Blog Entry] Murder Mystery, Comics History, Shoot the Messenger

Murder Mystery

Our office is at the 16th floor of a certain building in Ortigas. Yesterday, we got a memo stating that bullets were found on a cracked window several weeks ago, on the 11th floor. On the same memo, another similar incident happened (with the same caliber of the bullet) a week later, this time on the 12th floor.

When it finally reaches the 15th floor, I’m expecting some excitement.

But honestly, it doesn’t necessarily mean we have a gun-toting shooter in the building. For all I know, it could have come from the outside, especially with people firing at the sky (Didn’t they take Physics? A bullet falling down has an acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2!).

Comics History

In the realm of Western superheroes, next week will mark the start of an ambitious event by DC. Infinite Crisis is well… a big crisis. Thankfully, DC’s writers are more down to earth (well, some of them are) than their rival company. It’s going to be interesting to see how things will develop.

In the meantime, when Villains United #6 hits the stands next week, we’ll finally know who the big villain is, and how it’s all tied up to the story arc that DC will be pushing for in the next few months. For those unfamiliar, there’s always the trade paperbacks.

Admittedly, yes, it’s the big reboot button, but we must remember that beginnings can only happen if there’s an ending… and US comics for me, have been an Ouroboros of sorts. I guess this is the closest thing you can have to a “final battle”, although the aftermath will be just as exciting.

Shoot the Messenger

Contrary to the saying “don’t shoot the messenger”, people do just that. Sometimes, I think that many Filipinos don’t get much work done simply because they don’t say what they want to say. They hint and circumvent at what they want from the other person. And if the other party still doesn’t get it, they don’t go outright and say what needs to be done. They’re afraid at what the other person might think, or perhaps be afraid that they’ll get scolded. Instead, they find someone else to tell the message, or hide in under the guise of “office memo”. And of course, just as predicted, the other person does get mad, and the focus of their frustrations is the messenger.

There goes professionalism down the drain. Which is why I say that if you’re afraid of company politics, get used to it. It’s everywhere, and leaving a company simply due to “office politics” won’t really help. I wish we can run away from some problems, but the fact is, they’re present everywhere. In grade school, I secretly wished that the following year, I wouldn’t be classmates with this or that person because they were bullies. Sometimes, I’d get my wish, but the bullies only got replaced by different faces, different people. It’s only when I accepted that they’ll always be there that I started coping with the problem, and formulated solutions.

Perhaps the reason why I haven’t taken up a pseudonym is because of all this. I may not like what you have to say, but if you stand by your statement and courageous enough not to hide behind someone else, then you have my respect. I’m tempted to say anonymity is for the weak, but I’m far from strong myself. Honesty, admittedly, will get you shot, but what kind of life can one lead if it’s constantly plagued by deceit?

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[Blog Entry] Links!

Links!

I'm at work and here are some guerilla posts:

Bioware Looking for Senior Writer. If you don't know who Bioware is... you're not a PC RPG fan!

On Giving Bad Reviews, and How It Hurts Your Chances of Being Published. Actually, I practice the same philosophy: why review bad books when there's not enough time to read all the good books in the world? Unless it's a blind buy on my part...

Mormon SF Writer Orson Scott Card Praises Serenity. Now if only they'd show the movie here soon (aside from the premier that happened on my birthday).

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[Blog Entry] Dream Stories

Dream Stories

Most of my dreams have often been incoherent (i.e. illogical, non-linear), with me as the protagonist. Lately though, there have been two dreams which would make good (not necessarily great) stories, and for once, I’m not in them.

Dream 1: Fantasy-Romance Folktale

There were two entities, a male representing the world of “light”, and female representing the world of “darkness”. The former is handsome and has wings like angels, while the latter is a beautiful maiden, caretaker of various beasts. They meet in the forest, the realm of the woman. It is foretold that the two should never fall in love with each other, that the world of light and dark should never mix, or else a great curse would fall upon the houses of both.

The first few times both of them meet, they are hesitant, wary of the warning. But as they continue to meet in the glens of the forest, they eventually fall in love. Both take the form of tigers, and consummate their marriage. When the female wakes up, she is suddenly attacked by a lion, attempting to rip her to shreds. The male wakes up, seeing his wife being attacked by a ferocious lion, returns to his normal form, that of an avenging angel. He drives the lion off his wife’s body, but before he can deliver a fatal blow, the lion speaks, and proclaims that he is the king of darkness, and what they have done is a crime. The female must be punished for her sins, and the punishment is death.

The male swears to protect her, and claims that he as a being of light, cannot be harmed by the king of darkness. The lion agrees to that fact, but replies that while he cannot harm him or her, he can punish her ilk. He will send his legions to hunt them down, and she will be the only one alive. The male, a leader himself, orders his troops to guard the woman’s kind. Some resent performing such a duty, but they obey him nonetheless. Thus the curse has been fulfilled, as the female’s caste is continually hunted down, while the male’s legions are forced to protect them, following them wherever they go and fending off constant attacks by the king of darkness.

Dream 2: Science-Fiction Multi-Generational Story

In the past, a savage and his family is taken away and bestowed with cunning intellect. He is a man ahead of his time and the epitome of civility. This is put to the test when his two children predict that a catastrophe that was going to strike the town, and the man must come up with solutions to blunt the casualties. With his superhuman intelligence, he saves a lot of people and is recognized as a hero.

Several years later, the savage’s two sons are the protagonist. As sons of heroes, they build themselves a ship and explore the outside world. Their father gives them his pet monkey to accompany them. They encounter pirate raids but one pivotal encounter is when they encounter the British. They are raided and the British commander confronts the two sons. Realizing that they too are civilized people, the British commander realizes his mistake too late as a collision with the ship causes him to stumble and lose consciousness. The sons manage to fend off the attack, and care for the unconscious British commander. They discover that he has suffered brain damage, and do not have the materials to cure him. Fortunately, their father’s monkey was apparently endowed with uncanny intellect as well, and has the skills and intelligence of a modern-day surgeon. The sons dodge the British long enough for the monkey to heal the British commander, and when he wakes up, proclaims to the rest of the world that the two sons aren’t villains but people who saved his life.

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