A Grand Convergence of Buyers of Assorted Playthings ( Toycon 2013 Coverage )

Sometimes, there are occasions in a year on a person's life where he has the highest regard. He (Or She) would do the extra work so that he/she would go on leave to go to that occasion to meet with friends or persons with the same interest and talk for hours on end, see the newest trends or find that elusive item that they have been searching for. There are sacrifices to be made, but it can be rewarding.

This is what the 12th Philippine Toys Hobbies and Collectibles or Toycon 2013, is all about. Held last June 14-16 at the SM Megamall Megatrade Halls 1-3, it is a large gathering of toy and pop culture fans. There are forums, display booths, various contests, media coverage and of course, merchants that sell TOYS, TOYS AND MORE TOYS!!!

I was able to attend the Convention on the second day ( June 15 ) by myself. My officemate was supposed to come with me, but other important things got in the way. It was fine with me, I can "toyhunt" better alone. I was at the Megamall by 12pm, and was surprised with the short line on the ticket booth. I was then confronted by a Marshall and said to me that the end of the line was at the other side. Slightly embarassed, I went to the end of the line. It wasn't that long and I got to the ticket booth for less than 5 minutes. The ticket price is 120php and you get a free Man of Steel bookmark and included on the ticket are discount stubs on the Big Boys Toy Store. When I already went inside, I prepared myself and my wallet and turned "ON" my toyhunt mode.

Halls 2-3 are where the merchants are, and there are a LOT. There's almost something for everyone: vintage toys, gundam models, videogames, anime figures, comic books, posters, indie comics, vinyl records, magnets, keychains, coca-cola products, art toys, lego sets, movie props, action figures, sentai, super robots, transformers, diecast cars, statues and even cosplay (costume play) accessories. The only trouble that you have is there are a lot of people, and not much space. So when a guy in front of you sees something that he likes from a merchant and would stop and check it out, it would cause "traffic" and would be burden from some. But in an event like this, you'd know what to expect.

Famous merchants are also present at Toycon as well. Big Boys Toy Store seemed to have the largest space   ever for a merchant selling mostly toys. They have 70% more floor space than the usual merchant does. Greattoysonline.com is there as well, mostly selling Anime stuff. Toy Empire, Maxicollector and Sideshow Collectibles has finely-detailed statues and 1/6th figures from different movies on display, which you can buy as well ( probably would cost you an arm and a leg...and another arm.) There are display cabinets for showcase only on Hall 2 by various toy groups, but mostly feature 1/6th action figures.

Hall 1 is where most of the food stalls are and the stage is. There are parlor games being done during my stay there, plus a panel about DC Comics' Justice League as well. What I noticed is that even though they have speakers and microphones used on the stage, you cannot hear what they are saying on Halls 2-3. I'm guessing they still haven't fixed that yet during my stay there, or it was meant to be like that to prevent consumers from being distracted by the noise.

At a function room in Hall 1 is where most of the display cabinets from numerous toy groups are located. I was kind of early to go there, as most of the display cabinets are not yet filled up. Even the various statues on one side of the Function Room are not yet set up. You can see a statue of Wolverine wrapped in bubble wrap. Near the exit of the function room are submissions from the custom toys category. Again, it appears the contestants have not yet submitted their entries so it is not yet filled up. Zoids Philippines, Robot Collectors Haven, Pinoy Toy Kolektors, DieCast Collectors of the Philippines, Vintage Toy Lovers and Philippine Bricksters are just one of the groups featured on the Function Room. 

As usual, an event like this garners attention from the media and advertisers, and some of them are trying to promote their products to the attendees. A booth from an FM station was there doing some parlor games to the amusement of the crowd. I saw Survivor Philippines Celebrity Doubles Edition finalist Maey Bautista in full cosplay gear, doing a segment for her TV show. There is a local online gaming company that lets you play their game son a huge screen TV. There is a leasing company handing out flyers. Warner Brothers Philippines had a large space in Hall 2 devoted to the Man of Steel and their next attraction, Pacific Rim. Coca-Cola was handing out free "Sakto" bottles. I was supposed to get one, but I again realized that there was a long line. Pinoy Big Brother Unlimited housemate and car show vixen Jahziel Manabat was there as well, representing Zoids Philippines, eager to pose for the libido-fuled males with cameras. There are cosplayers present as well, ranging from Spider-Man to Kamen Rider Black. 

What I like about this event is there are a lot to buy from and to see and do, not unlike TAGCOM last time
 ( check it here ). Heck , there's even a merchant selling vinyl records!!! ( I saw an opened the Beatles "Abbey Road" album for just 3000php. ) During my rounds at Toycon, I was able to purchase a Marvel Legends Sabretooth, DC Signature Collection Platinum and Tin from the Metal Men, a DC Comics Infinite Crisis comic book and a  handful of diecast cars. I wanted to buy more, but I was trying hard not to overspend. I went home tired, but satisfied with the event and my hauls. 

Here's to us Toy Nerds!!! Cheers. 

- "the king"

Hard Comedy...

Making people laugh is a tough business. We try to be relevant to today's audiences while still being tasteful and not offending any groups. One golden rule of making a joke is you can joke anything you want, but "Sex, Religion, Politics" is a big No-No. It's a tough business. 

So imagine my surprise when 2 practitioners of the art got some flak in less than a month. It just goes to show that Social Networks can really add gas to a small flame. 

These are top-rating comedian Vice Ganda on the "Jessica Soho-Gang Rape" issue and best-selling cartoonist Pol Medina Jr.  on the "Lesbian-St. Scho" 

The former got some ire from netizens when the famous comedian made an offensive joke on the "physically-challenged" newscaster from another network about her weight and saying that for a sex scene a "gang rape" was needed.

 

The latter was "indefinitely suspended" on the broadsheet Philippine Daily Inquirer for making a remark on a prestigious all-girls school and their lesbian students as being condoned by the people running a Catholic school... although the cartoonist feels like it is because of his earlier "Anti-Marcos" statements. 

( honestly, i can believe his angle... Pupung cartoonist got fired from the Times Journal in January 1986 because of his spoof on the Marcos radio campaign ad ) 

the controversial strip

Now, while there are a lot of people already giving their two cents on the Vice Ganda issue and my thoughts are not really necessary anymore as many already gave thought-provoking pieces, I felt like Pol Medina Jr.'s trial hits close to home because I love his work. I can draw and sometimes copied his techniques on some of my works. Many people buy the Inquirer for the cartoonist's opinion on a recent issue. 

It is rather untimely when a 25-year old strip has already become an "establishment" in the industry and got suspended for a dated and trite issue. For the followers of the strip, Pugad Baboy has been making fun of almost anything worth being printed as a headline on a newspaper. No issue is sacred as it cannot be discussed by Pugad Baboy characters, as they say. This one received unneccessary criticism. Even the cartoonist said the strip was "tame" compared to his other strips.  

Now while we are waiting for the fate of Mr. Medina, I will say this: St. Scholastica, lighten up. Mr. Medina is just making fun of a hard truth. If you are offended, then you just don't get the reality of the joke. And to the Inquirer: have some balls to defend Mr. Medina. He doesn't deserve something like this. Show the school the nature of the joke. I don't care if you need to do a Powerpoint presentation just for that. And to Mr. Medina: just be yourself. You can apologize to the school, but don't censor your jokes. We all need that during our morning paper reading. And lastly, to any comedians: kinda scary when netizens attack you, eh? I guess the Golden rule of joke-making is still important. 

- "the king" 

Covering A LoveSong Right

from deviantart user jsladephotographs

 Music is a universal language. It can set your mood for any upcoming activity that you might be doing and even your current state of mind. And to think all it takes is a melody, rhythm, some fiddling of musical instruments and a meaningful lyric / message. They even say that making music is a lot like making love. Both satisfy your dominant needs, and that is of expression. Even in troubling and trying times women have it easy because they were given words as a way of expressing themselves. And what did God give men to
compensate? Music. And no other music category is on a playlist of an average male when in a mixed bag of emotions than a love song.

Now, one of the greatest modern love songs made by a musician/ band is The Cure's Lovesong. The Cure is an English alternative goth rock band in the 80's. Their presence and popularity helped people be aware of the gothic scene in the 80's. Besides "Lovesong", their other famous hits are "Let's Go to Bed", "Boys Don't Cry, "Friday I'm In Love" and "Killing An Arab". The Cure released several albums and is still active in the music scene, with band members changing but the vocalist still present  in the form of Robert Smith.

by deviantart user Stephane Burlot

Lovesong was released in their eighth studio album Disintegration in 1989. Robert Smith wrote the song as a wedding present for his long-time girlfriend and then fiancee Mary. It peaked at # 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the band's best-selling single to date. A music video was made where the band played in a cave and Robert Smith was shown looking at what looks like a wedding ring in reference to the origin of the song during the start of the music video.

Check out the video below:

So famous was the song that it had several covers from different artists. Covers were usually done to give something new to an old song or to make the musician/band famous quickly. Whatever the case may be, here are some famous covers from the timeless song.

This is perhaps the most famous cover of Lovesong. Alternative rock band 311 gave a reggae mix to the song and was even featured on the romantic-comedy 50 First Dates starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.

                                 

Alternative rock band Death Cab for Cutie did a sad take to the song. Nothing really new, but listening to their take does make you feel a little bit sad. 

                                 

American Idol Season 12 winner Candice Glover performed the song during the Top 6 stint. She was applauded for her take on the song. 

Season 6 finalist Blake Lewis also did his take on the song, using the 311's version. 

                                           

Despite British singer Adele's credibility as a singer, her version of Lovesong, going the Bossa Nova route, was a poor attempt at the song. What's worse, a lot of people associate the song more with her version than The Cure's.

                                       

Dark Cabaret musician Voltaire gave a very memorable cover of the song, adding haunting piano and violin pieces, making it his own. 

                                     

There are also social-network-user-submitted covers as well. Youtube user Ein Astronaut gave his own take on the song as well, making a videosong on the famous video-sharing site. 

                                         

Famous alternative rock pianist Tori Amos did a cover as well. It was kind of noisy and a far departure from The Cure's vision of the song. 

                                        

American rock band Good Charlotte also did a memorable cover of the song. They mostly played it on a live audience. 

                                       

Another great cover was done by Japanese Electro-Pop Immi. It was difficult searching for it using Blogger's "Insert Video" option, so it is best finding it Youtube.

So there you have it. You can never keep a good song down, as they say. Check them all out, and hoping that you'll get a massive dose of LSS ( Last Song Syndrome ). Robert Smith sez thanks.

from deviantart user cherille

- "the king"

A Clueless Guy's Experience on a DSLR Photoshoot

"DI PORKE'T NAKA-SLR KA PHOTOGRAPHER KA..."

"YOU'RE NOT A PHOTOGRAPHER, YOU'RE JUST A KID WITH AN EXPENSIVE CAMERA"

"PURO KA AYOS NG SETTINGS NG DSLR MO, MAKUKUHANAN MO PA BA AKO SA SUNSET???"


Often that's what you would usually hear when someone's taking pictures using a DSLR ( digital single-lens reflex ) camera. They would lug their 5-pound camera, go crazy over the fixing of the settings like shutter speed, focus, which lens to use, aperture etc. and take almost anything they would deem as artistic. That is what usually one encounters as someone who has a hobby or someone seeking a professional job like this, but when you would look at it, every kind of hobby does get it's share of critics. Everybody's a critic, or I should say everybody CAN be a critic...

So I was surprised when I was given a chance to observe a photoshoot last Saturday by my college friends. They were supposed to be just taking photos of the sunset on the Baywalk area at the SM Mall of Asia, but my reliable friend got a "booking" from a model that they know previously and she agreed to meet us there. Imagine this: me, the most-hated ( well, probably ) person in the blogging community ( again, I'm just speculating... ) in an event that is most likely to test my ranting skills ( or skillz, even... ).

But no, I'm not one to rant senselessly this time, I'm already past that stage ( ? ) and felt that writing about what I've observed and take pictures of a "behind-the-scenes look" and what I can learn from my friends seemed a better blog post, especially with DSLR Photography drawing some flak from anyone that is able to type on a keyboard.

We met their model a bit late in the evening in a burger restaurant, and found out that the shoot is free of charge. It turns out my friend scours Facebook for any potential models with no money involved, willing to pose in front of a camera  for portfolio purposes or for something to add to their Facebook photo album. They would identify themselves as serious photographers and ask for a photoshoot appointment. Some would decline, others would agree and the "models" would refer them to their friends and in turn they could hone their photography skills better. There are instances where you can "see a lot more" from your model "anatomically" but you just have to be professional in the strictest sense or suffer the circumstances ( like a sexual harassment suit, for example )

Truth be told, there are some photographers that tag along in a photoshoot just to take pics of chicks ( wow that rhymes!!! ). You could almost get away with it w/ just a a few snapshots. But then I realized that this is also an art form in itself. It takes years of practice and dedication just to take the perfect shot, to know when to use a setting or a different set of lens. I remember the late rapper Francis Magalona having some really great photo-compositions during his time on an Elite Photography Club. I told that to my friends and they said that for every 1 or 2 good picture that you have, you have 150-300 bad ones. Which is why it is best to take a lot of snapshots to get a lot of good shots ratio.

After a brief introduction with the model and digesting some of the patties and assorted onions and lettuces that we ate, my friends took some quick shots with the model at the Baywalk area, often fooling around with the shots and making quick jokes and all. One of my friends told me that this is something like a "dry run" before the serious one. It's like checking what setting works for that particular day and all. After a few minutes of the "dry run" I immediately noticed the seriousness of the shoot, so I just observed and helped carry some of their stuff.

I asked my friend if the photographer or the model is the one who suggests what pose to take. He said it's both. I saw that on this photoshoot my friends are the one asking what pose to take for the model. One of my friends also told me that to get what you want from the model, you also need to have that mood as well. That means you must be happy if you want the model to be happy, a bit serious if you want the model to be serious, etc.

Usually photographers go to great lengths just to get the right shot. I find that true in their photoshoot. They would ignore the large number of people in the Baywalk area and their self-being for that "shot of the day". I mean they would crouch or sit on the pavement like this:

Just to get something like this:

Speaking of shots, my friends also told me that most photographers edit their photos first before showing it to the world. Nothing really drastic, really, just a few crops, resizing, lighting and some slight fixing of the  features of the model using a photo-editing software. ( Heck, I edited all of these photos you see here on my iPhone... ) And most importantly, they would place their "signature" on the photos, because very artist knows credit is very important.

So there. at the end of the day, they were happy with their photoshoot and I learned a lot from the photographer's POV. I became humbled from the experience and remembered the famous saying "Don't judge someone until you've walked a thousand miles under their shoes". Who knows, maybe one of these days I would buy my own DSLR and also take photos of some models. If I could contain my libido, that is.

Maybe I should take yoga or tai chi as well first...

- "the king"  

Assemblage of Plastic Figure Aficionados ( TAGCOM 2013 )

We all have different ways to deal with stress. Some go on vacation, meet with old friends over beer and videoke or shop for new items. Some people find peace of mind in buying new shoes, designer bags, clothing and in some weird way, new toys.

While today's economy will make you double-think of buying something "senseless" just to rekindle your second childhood, there is a sense of awe, amazement and wonder when you buy your favorite cartoon character when you were just 6 years old or your favorite superhero, immortalized in plastic.

I always have that feeling when I would go on my usual toy-hunting sprees on the yearly toy conventions or when going to Toys R Us, Toy Kingdom or the famous Greenhills Shoppesville place. I was hoping to get that same feeling or get some good toys to update my collection when I attended the 6th TAGCOM Toys and Hobbies Convention at the Robinsons Midtown Mall Atrium last Sunday, April 7, 2013.

Wow. Imagine my disappointment. TAGCOM 2013 was the "dryest" toy-selling event that I've ever been to. And I've been to a lot.

So there I was, I took the LRT ride and went down on the Pedro Gil Station. I heeded the handful of warnings made by fellow toy collectors to not to go there as it is "walang kwenta". "ang tumal" and "isang oras LANG ako umikot tapos umuwi na". I thought I could use the "down time" and check out what's new  around the toy-collecting community.

As usual I expected a huge crowd when I entered the mall, especially since Sunday is reserved for cosplay competition. For those not in the know, cosplay is "costume play", where you "dress up" as your favorite character ranging from anime, cartoons, videogames, comic books and even famous people ( if audiences would get it, that is. ). There is a very large community on cosplay, believe it or not. There are avid followers of famous cosplay personalities. ( read: stalker )

I shrugged the cosplay-lovin' crowd as I am not much of a fan and went straight to the several tables selling their toys. There are hot wheels, DC Universe Classics, Marvel Legends, McFarlane, Lego, Barbie, Gundam, NECA, Revoltech, FIGMA, Monster High, Hasbro, Tomica and so forth. Yet despite the many categories, after 30-40 minutes I already went to the last table and said "YUN LANG??!!!" There were a couple of "usual-merchants-that-are-always-present-at-conventions" that are notably absent, like Comic Odyssey, "that Anything-Coca Cola-related-merchant", and RADJJ Toys ( the latter if I'm not mistaken got bad raps from collectors so was booted out for the convention ) and 3 spots were selling make-up, wigs and the like for the cosplay community.

Honestly, there wasn't much to buy, either I've already bought that kind before or there really wasn't much to choose from. I only bought 3 hot wheels, a Marvel Legends Nightcrawler figure and a DC Universe Classics Cheetah to complement my recent Wonder Woman figure. All costs only 1080php. Wow. Usually I would spend 2-4k on these conventions, but I was ( pleasantly ) surprised with my few hauls. Heck, I could have gotten more when I would go to Shoppesville instead.

I wanted to check out the displays as well, but I wasn't able to as there was a huge crowd gathering since the cosplay competition has already started. I tried to check the displays a couple of times, but I really wasn't able to. If I went a bit earlier, I would have seen them. Alas, I had to resort to checking it out at my Facebook friend's photo album.

( credits go to fellow collector Joshua Parreno Basa for the following pics of the display cabs. click to  enlarge )

hairy wolverine

custom jordan figures

minimates

film props...

20k barbie for boys hehe peace. 

batcave

doomsday vs superman 

There was also a competition for Gundam-maker enthusiasts, there were a handful of collectors sharing their stories but I don't know much about them to appreciate it as much as I appreciate Marvel Legends.

All in all, I got some good finds but the event is very disappointing for my taste. Here's hoping that June's Toycon would make up for it.

- "the king"