Top 10 Guitarists

The keyboard is my go-to instrument now, but the guitar will always have a very special place in my heart.  It’s the first instrument I learned how to play, and, as an amateur musician, I had spent years being primarily engrossed in the instrument, playing it, and – most importantly – listening to talented musicians who wield the guitar.  From the many guitarists I’ve listened to, I developed my own personal taste on guitar musicality – what styles or philosophies can produce the most pleasurable and rousing music from the guitar.  Of course, this “personal taste on guitar musicality” is not at all dependent on an actual definitive, objective standard, but merely on the preference that grew on me during my exposure to different guitarists. 

My “personal taste on guitar musicality” is reflected from my picks for this top 10 list of guitarists.  These guys aren’t picked by being the fastest, the most skilful, the most successful, the most technically savvy, or even the most awesome.  They are picked for being the ones that I am fond of listening, whose music has enthralled me, and had made an effect on my own thinking regarding how to play guitar.   

Honorable Mentions: Prince, Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Brian May (Queen), Steve Lukather (Toto), Matthias Jabs (Scorpions)

9.) & 10.) DON FELDER & JOE WALSH (Eagles)

There are many better guitarists than these Eagles duo, but they have earned spots in my most favorite guitarists list for being the ones behind the greatest guitar duet ever in “Hotel California.”  Individually, both of them are capable of some slick guitar solos.  But they are truly special when their guitars respond to each other, like in the two versions (original and acoustic) of “Hotel California.”  They also did a swell job in “Life in a Fast Lane.”        

8.) NUNO BETTENCOURT (Extreme)

 

My first encounter with his guitar talent was with Extreme’s famous acoustic ballad, “More Than Words.”  I found Nuno’s guitar work throughout the song very unique, catchy, and complementary in expressing the meaning of the song.  I was already impressed.  Then it got to the last part, and the shredding blew me away.  As I got to listen to more of his solos – with the electric  guitar – I learned that there is more to his talent than “More Than Words.”  I’m not really an Extreme fan.  Aside from “More Than Words”, no Extreme song really stuck with my playlists.  But I’ve always enjoyed Nuno.  He is a phenomenal guitarist; his solos consistently retain musical definition while being done through extremely (pun intended) fast, rousing shredding.    

7.) SLASH (Guns & Roses)

It was with Slash where I got my first understanding of what a lead guitarist is.  I was auditorily mesmerized (if that’s a term) by “Sweet Child O’ Mine” back then. Guitar playing in hard rock is often associated with distortion-heavy noise.  But as the lead guitarist of a legendary hard rock band, Slash is different.  There is elegance in his riffs – there is a real sense of priority for making comprehendible scales (listen to “November Rain”) over cathartic hard rock expression.  Thus, Slash, for some time, was my definitive guitarist.

6.) JOHN MAYER

He’s not exactly the most liked musician out there with his reputation as a big jerk.  But with regards to his talent, after watching his “Where the Light Is?” live album, nobody can deny that John Mayer is an extremely versatile player of both acoustic and electric guitars.  I’m awed by how he can sing and execute complex guitar riffs at the same time without losing a step.       

5.) JIMI HENDRIX

Hendrix is considered by many guitar enthusiasts and critics as the greatest guitarist in history.  Personally, he’s not my most favorite guitarist, but I nonetheless acknowledge his musical genius.  His riffs are natural, versatile, and melodically flawless.  He revolutionized guitar playing, giving us an idea – if not completely showing us – what more can be done with the guitar.  Every guitarist should listen to him for he will definitely find something to learn.

4.) JIMMY PAGE (Led Zeppelin)

Jimmy is a legendary guitar player, but I don’t really consider him as the most, er, “efficient.”  Nonetheless, the most awesome thing about him is how he’s always totally in control in every musical situation.  There is always an innate awareness in him on what needs to be done with his guitar.  He wobbles a bit, but his guitar playing is just oozing with charisma and smart melodic choices.  And that’s probably why many consider the guitar solo in “Stairway to Heaven” as the greatest ever.                  

3.) ERIC CLAPTON

He doesn’t do fast, flashy shredding or complicated sequences.  His style is simple but unforgettable and delightful.  He effortlessly knows what notes to utilize, and executes them with beautiful musical clarity.  It’s with listening to Clapton that taught me that guitar playing doesn’t need to be fancy, fast, and complicated.  What’s most important is producing good, pleasurable music – and simplicity and good musical taste can accomplish that.    

2.) RICHIE SAMBORA (Bon Jovi)

Back in my early teens, I found myself getting to really, really like Bon Jovi.  And, understandably, I developed an affinity to Richie Sambora’s guitar playing.  Since then, I’ve always believed that Sambora is underrated and underappreciated as a guitarist.  He is extensively “fluent” in the different guitar styles and genres.  He also did the most stirring solos I’ve ever heard.  Just listen to “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “Keep the Faith”, “Always”, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, etc., and let them do the talking regarding Sambora’s awesomeness.      

1.) NIGEL HENDROFF (Hillsong)

Nigel Hendroff is my most favorite guitarist ever since I learned how to play guitar.  This is, of course, primarily because of my Christian preferences.  Music is a terrific avenue in giving glory to God, and I appreciate and admire musicians who choose to dedicate their talents for the Lord.  The ‘Droff is a lead guitar and musical director for Hillsong, the largest producer of Christian Contemporary Music today, and is probably completely unknown outside Christian music circles.  He is nonetheless a gifted musician – proven to be impressive in playing both the acoustic and electric guitar.  He has proficient technical know-how in using effects to produce distinctive, more sophisticated guitar sounds – just like U2’s The Edge.  But unlike The Edge, who primarily relies on effects to hide his lack of depth and mediocre skill, the ‘Droff possesses a legitimate well-rounded skill-set.  

Top 10 Disabled Fictional Characters

Oftentimes, in fiction, the disabilities of characters actually work in increasing their appeal, especially when they still roll and kick butt in spite of these handicaps.  Thus, such was the standard of how I assembled this list – picking my most favorite disabled fictional characters that haven’t been significantly limited by their disabilities, but in fact remained as competent and successful – or even more so – than non-disabled people. 

For this list, the category “disabled” is limited to the physical or sensory kind – blind, deaf, lame, and such.  Therefore, fictional characters with mental disabilities are reserved for a future list (if that ever happens).  Moreover, those characters whose disabilities are fixed by cybernetic enhancements are not considered (since they won’t really be “disabled” then).  However, characters that use superpowers to help them function while handicapped are still considered.             

Honorable Mentions: Dr. Strangelove, Madame Web, Kaname Tōsen

10.) LINCOLN RHYME

I understand that Lincoln Rhyme is originally a character from a novel series by Jeffrey Deaver.  I’ve never read the books, but I got to see The Bone Collector, the movie adaptation of the first book of the series.  In the movie, he was portrayed by the great Denzel Washington.

Rhyme was a brilliant forensics detective who became a bedridden quadriplegic after an accident involving a falling beam.  However, despite of being paralyzed from the neck down, his mind is still very much capable of solving crimes.  Lying on his bed in his apartment, he relies on a high-tech computer equipment and police officer Amelia Donaghy, who does the legwork for him and communicates with him through a headset.     

9.) YOMI

Yomi is a character from one of the best anime series ever, Yu Yu Hakushu.  Though not necessarily a straight-up antagonist (there was already a “good-evil ambiguity” element in the anime’s last arc, “The Three Kings Saga”), Yomi was the last opponent that main character Yusuke battled (during the “Demon World Tournament”) before the series ended. 

Yomi is one of the so-called “Three Kings”, the three powerful rulers of the Demon World that are in an impasse among themselves (if two engages in war, the third one would strike his weakened rivals, ensuing to his or her absolute rule).  Originally brash and reckless when he was young, he often got into trouble and had to rely on Kurama to bail him out.  Probably fed up with him, Kurama sent a demon assassin to attack Yomi, resulting to his loss of eyesight.  However, becoming blind actually made Yomi more powerful over time – Yomi’s sense of hearing exponentially became more potent (he even gained four more ears); he became a calmer and more calculating combatant; and his power levels became immense. 

When Yomi was already a king of the Demon World, he – ironically – still chose to make Kurama his second-in-command, despite of knowing the fact that he’s the reason why he became blind.  Being already more powerful than Kurama, he could have easily exacted his revenge.  However, Yomi acknowledged that what Kurama had done was for the best, which, in fact, it indeed was, for it made him more powerful.   

   

8.) ZATOICHI

Here’s another blind badass who made the list (come to think of it, half of the spots went to blind characters).  Zatoichi is a fictional Japanese swordsman (I encountered this character after I’ve already written my lists on fictional samurais and swordsmen) from the late Edo period of Japan (1830’s-40’s).  The character was originally portrayed by actor Shintaro Katsu in a film series and a TV series.  But my encounter with the character was with the 2003 revival, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, in which the titular character was portrayed by Takeshi Tikano (who also wrote and directed the movie).      

Zatoichi spends his time and makes a living by roaming around, giving massages, providing acupuncture therapy, and by gambling with dice.  He lets himself have an initial appearance of a harmless, blind wanderer; but he unleashes his deadly swordsmanship skills whenever he encounters ruffians, bandits, or yakuza gangsters that oppresses or extorts the weak, innocent, and helpless.  In combat, his preference is extinguishing the candles that light the room and then using the darkness to his advantage in picking off his opponents.            

7.) ELI

The main protagonist of the film The Book of Eli is another Denzel Washington-portrayed character.  Living in a post-apocalyptic world, Eli gets by because of his all-around fighting and survival skills.  But what’s uncanny is that – which was heavily implied later in the movie – he’s actually blind!  Moreover – and more impressive still – is the fact that he had memorized the entire King James Version of the Bible.    

6.) SUSANNAH DEAN

A serial killer once attempted to kill her by pushing her in front of the train.  She survived, but she lost her legs – putting her in a wheelchair for life.  

Susannah Dean was originally known as Odetta Holmes, who had a split personality named Detta Walker.  Odetta and Detta are extreme, “yin-yang” polar opposites of each other, and it was in their merging that formed Susannah. 

Susannah is one of Roland Deschain’s recruits for his ka-tet – companions drawn from different time periods of New York City in his quest for the Dark Tower.  Just like the others, she was trained by Roland in the ways of the gunslinger, which transformed her into a badass warrior.  Despite being dependent on a wheelchair, she is as sharp, capable, and dangerous as her comrades.  In the fifth Dark Tower book, Wolves of the Calla, she would even learn how to wield masterfully the deadly throwing iron plates (like a chakram) of the Calla women.      

5.) TOPH BEIFONG

Toph Beifong is a character from Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel, The Legend of Korra.  Even when still at a very young age, Toph was already a master earthbender.  In fact, she’s the one who taught Avatar Aang – who, at that time, could already bend wind, water, and fire, but not earth – to earthbend.  She is so immersed and in tune with her earthbending that she even got to invent metalbending – tracing and utilizing the earth components in metal to bend metal itself.  After the formation of Republic City, Toph served as its first Chief of Police, commanding an elite Metalbending Police Force.      

Blind from birth, Toph learned from badgermoles (these blind underground animals were the first creatures that mastered earthbending) how to use earthbending to sense the “vibration” in the ground allowing her to be extensively aware and sensitive of everything happening around her.   

     

4.) ECHO

Maya Lopez a.k.a. Echo is now currently deceased in the comics (killed by the Skrull impostor taking the appearance of Spider-Woman during “Secret Invasion”).  She is one of my most favorite female Avengers, and I really wish she’ll get resurrected already (maybe post-Secret Wars?). 

Echo is deaf, but she can read lips and easily catches visual cues and body languages.  Though she has no superpowers, she, however, has Olympic-level athleticism and “photographic reflexes”, which is the remarkable ability of perfectly and effortlessly mimicking other people’s movements by just watching them doing these movements (kind of like what the Taskmaster can do, as well as Eyeshield 21’s Agon Kongo).  Due to this ability, Echo was able to become a professional-level pianist (uncanny, considering the fact that she’s deaf), a proficient martial artist, an expert acrobat (from watching Daredevil), an able pilot, and an exceptional sharpshooter (from watching Bullseye).

3.) ORACLE

Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl now (due to the New 52 reboot), but I liked her more as Oracle.  During the “Killing Joke”, the Joker shot Barbara Gordon and left her paralyzed.  This ceased Barbara Gordon’s career as Batgirl (though, as said earlier, she is Batgirl once more at the present).  However, this was not the end of her as a crimefighter and heroine.  Despite being confined in a wheelchair, Barbara still has her genius intellect.  Adopting the codename “Oracle”, Barbara became a hacker and information broker for the superhero community.  Her assistance is so invaluable that she was even asked to join the Justice League.  Moreover, even with her movement limited by her disability, Barbara is still a capable combatant and can still hold her own when needed.    

2.) PROFESSOR X

Charles Xavier eventually regained his ability to walk, but he is more identified as a cripple sitting on a wheelchair (so he’s qualified for this list).  Prof. X is so popular already that there’s no need to introduce him at length. 

He is an extremely powerful telepath; the range and application of his telepathy is probably unmatched in fiction.  The character is defined and driven by his dream – the so-called “Xavier’s dream” – of a world where mutants and humans are co-existing harmoniously together.  To bring this about, he knows that he needs to protect humanity from evil mutants as well as provide purpose and safety for the persecuted mutants (especially the young ones).  Hence, he created Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and the X-Men to help him realize his dream.     

1.) DAREDEVIL

My most favorite disabled fictional character is Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil a.k.a. “the Man Without Fear.”  He is, no doubt, the most iconic blind fictional character ever. 

He lost his eyesight when he saved the life of a blind man from being hit by a truck.  The truck was carrying toxic substances and some spilled on Matt, hitting his eyes, living him blind for life.  However, due to this same radioactive exposure, the potency of Matt’s other senses heightened toward superhuman levels.  Hence, he is extremely more sensitive and alert of his surroundings than other people.  After his father was killed by gangsters, Matt Murdock adopted the identity of Daredevil to avenge him and became a masked crimefighter.         

Though unable to see, Daredevil is compensated with a “radar sense” – which is kind of similar with bats’ echolocation – that allows him to sort of “see” his environment via sound vibrations.  Another interesting application of his abilities is using his superhearing as a lie detector while listening to the heartbeat of the one he’s interrogating.

Aside from his superpowers, Daredevil also trained to become proficient in many martial arts disciplines and be a very athletic acrobat.  

Chain of Thoughts: I'm a Bit Upset That 'Secret Wars' is Looking to Be Another 'New 52'

To be fair with Marvel, details are still not definite at this point, and it might not turn out to be too “New 52.”  Still, I’m a bit upset, for a couple of reasons:

• There were some cool things about it, but in general, I really hated DC’s “New 52” reboot.  So with what seems to me Marvel’s attempt to “New 52” its own multiverse, it gives me unfavorable vibes. 
• In connection to the previous bullet, I hate the commercial aspect of it.  Is Marvel trying to replicate DC’s commercial success (though brief)?  In fact, it was also announced – in an apparent cash-grab tactic – that Marvel is partnering with Hasbro, Funko, Upperdeck, and others for merchandising tie-ins.  I have no problem with Marvel thinking of ways of making more money, but, to me, it feels like all of this is being done principally out of making money from the hype, with the creative and sensibility aspects not being thoroughly considered.  It’s infinitely worse than NOW!-ing everything.
• Speaking of NOW!, I find it a lack of forethought in conducting significant and innovative status quo changes with Avengers NOW! when everything is going to be reset and changed again anyway by a subsequent reality-altering mega event.               
• One of Marvel’s edges through the years over DC is being able to figure out a way to keep its main universe’s continuity existent and compressed.  Hence, in Marvel’s main universe (Earth-616), no matter what is the “today”, all the things that happened from issue number one to the present issue – regardless of how many years it took in real time – have occurred within a ten to fifteen year period.  Though not perfect, it satisfies every Marvel fan, and – compared to DC’s confusing pre-“New 52” continuity (try researching for Hawkman’s history) – it makes the history of the Marvel Universe comfortably neat.
• The Ultimate Universe used to be awesome.  Then Ultimatum happened.  From then on – with some rare worthwhile instances (like what was done in Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates; I really liked this series) – the Ultimate Universe became garbage.  Cancellation of the Ultimate Universe is long overdue; the opportunity to send off Earth-1610 with a bang has passed already.  Doing it now in “Secret Wars”, with an attempt to salvage some of its facets, makes it pretty anticlimactic and seemingly desperate.   
• From Marvel EIC Axel Alonso: “The Ultimate Universe, the Marvel Universe, they're going to slap together. Imagine two pizzas: They're going to combine toppings, some toppings are going to drop off. And that is the Marvel Universe moving forward. It's more than the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe, it's all the universes you can imagine. That is the Marvel Universe going forward.”  Interesting analogy.  But it’s very likely that I will find some “toppings” dropped off from Earth-616 worth lamenting and griping about.  And, seriously, post-Ultimatum and post-Cataclysm, with the exception of Miles Morales, there are no “toppings” worth saving from Earth-1610.  However, I admit that I find it intriguing what “toppings” from the multiverse will become part of this new Marvel Universe.  By the way, will the “Earth-616” numbering of this new Marvel Universe be retained?    
• Spider-Verse is pretty awesome.  And it’s looking like Secret Wars – with different versions of Marvel characters from different universes instead of just Spider-Men – is merely a bigger version of it.  It’s not really a major nitpick.  But looking at it this way, some of the novelty of the premise of Secret Wars is lessened.
• The train of teasers back in 2014 on Secret Wars, which mostly alluded to notable Marvel events, are revealed to be new comic book series titles that will spin-off from Secret Wars.   More titles and details are to be announced in the next two weeks.  So far, the upcoming series (based on the teasers) then are going to be Civil War, Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies, Years of Future Past, Planet Hulk, Armor Wars, House of M, The Infinity Gauntlet, Old Man Logan, Inhumans Attilan Rising, The End (which appear to be all about the Ultimate Universe’s end), Age of Apocalypse, Future Imperfect, The Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows (which I hope would truly bring Pete and MJ back together), Avengers vs. X-Men, and X-Men ’92 (based on the beloved animated series classic).
• I’ll probably follow-up on this after two weeks.

'Justice League: Throne of Atlantis' is the Least of All 'Justice League' Animated Movies So Far

At its core, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is simply an attempt to introduce Aquaman to this animated universe since he was set aside for Shazam in Justice League: War (in the comics’ New 52 – in which this new DC animated universe is based on – the original seventh member of the initial Justice League line-up was Aquaman and not Shazam); the whole story merely served as the vessel and padding for it.  The movie also established the romance between Superman and Wonder Woman.  And aside from these two details, I find nothing appreciably special about the movie.  The overall narrative just feels so generic – it’s as if I’ve already seen this kind of story too many times before.  

I have a couple of nitpicks with JL: War, but I still found it better than JL: Throne of Atlantis.  The former has been more action-packed and had better character moments – both in quality and quantity.  In fact, if I’m going to rank all Justice League animated movies so far, JL: Throne of Atlantis is at the bottom (for the record, JL: New Frontier is still my most favorite). 

However, this is still the Justice League we are talking about, and the characters – and the team in general – is worth being excited about.  Watching all these superheroes interact is always worthwhile.  Heck, I would probably still watch a Justice League animated movie even if it’s just them hanging out in a café, trading banters and wisecracks for one hour.  Thus, JL: Throne of Atlantis is still entertaining enough, but only because it’s a film featuring the Justice League.      

Still, I consider this new Justice League universe a work in process, and I’m very much willing to give it more time to develop.    

Miscellaneous musings (some spoilers):

• Considering that they lacked chemistry in JL: War, I was hoping that the heroes would have already “warmed up” by now.  At the end of the movie, the Justice League is just only about to undergo the process of, as Batman puts it, “solidifying this team.”  But, once again, I’m willing to give time for improvement, including team dynamic.  Hopefully, by the next movie, they would truly be a perfectly compelling and thrilling team. 
• If all this actually leads to Lex Luthor joining the Justice League, as with the comics, then this “New 52” inspired DC animated universe might turn out to be a brilliant idea after all.   
• I understand that the DC animated features are more adult-oriented now.  But I still cringe whenever some expletives are spoken.  This is probably just the guy in me who considers the Timmverse, kid-friendly Justice League animated series as the definite animated take of the Justice League.   
• Though it seemed that he was underused here compared to other JL movies, Batman was still awesome in every second he was in.
• The thing I liked most about JL: Throne of Atlantis is Nathan Fillion returning to voice Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.  I had hated the A-hole Green Lantern in JL: War (voiced by Justin Kirk).  I don’t know if it’s just an illusion because I adore Fillion or if Fillion is genuinely just that perfect with the role, but it empathically felt like Green Lantern was suddenly perked up with charm and personality just because Fillion voiced him in this movie.
• Green Lantern’s vacuum “cleaner-mecha” construct is definitely inspired.  Two thumbs up. 
• Strange that Mera has been given more moments to be a badass than Wonder friggin’ Woman
• John Henry Irons a.k.a. Steel had a cameo.  I consider it a “cameo” instead of an “introduction” since, as far as this animated universe is concerned, I doubt that Steel is going to be featured further and become part of the Justice League in the future.  Cyborg makes Steel redundant.      
• The best moment of the movie is probably the part where Aquaman summoned a great white shark to devour Black Manta – Deep Blue Sea-style.  It was simultaneously hilarious and badass.  I never followed the New 52 Aquaman comics (where he has been redefined as a badass superhero after years of being ridiculed by comic book fans), but I know that the sequence was a reference to a similar moment in the comics.       
• Was there really a need for Ocean Master to kick every Leaguer’s butt so that Aquaman can be brought to a position to shine by being the one beating him?  Boo.  I know that this movie is Aquaman-centric, but still, I didn’t like it at all.  Felt too indulgent – the dumb kind.
• I’m tired of the idiocy of stories allowing underwater conversation through actual oral communication.  Unless the mechanics are explained, I always find it a distracting plot hole.    
• I applaud DC for continually kicking Marvel’s butt in the direct-to-video animated features category.  I still can’t believe that, up until now, Marvel still hasn’t figure out how to fight back.  They have plenty of good materials to adapt – but they don’t.  Marvel has more success and know-how in universe-building (as proven by its shared cinematic universe) but they aren’t applying it on animated features.  I’m just baffled.        
• Injustice: Gods Among Us is one of the most awesome comic book series right now.  And it’s the storyline/universe that I really wish DC would adapt next into an animated movie series. 
• Next from DC Universe Animated Original Movies this year: Batman vs. Robin.  Can’t wait. 

Chain of Thoughts: 2014 Highlights

Time for another late annual recap.  I will just copy last year’s format.

How I will remember 2014 for:

→ The expression “Boom panes!”

→ I could hear John Legend’s “All of Me” everywhere. 

→ ALS Bucket Challenge.  I didn’t find it fun at all.  Still, I hope it did indeed raise money for that cause though.

→ Loombands.  Now, that was a fad that died pretty quick.

This was a unique and ironic game because whoever plays this game will surely be frustrated by it but won't be able to stop playing.

→ Speaking of fads, there was the widespread addiction on Flappy Birds.  Personally, I didn’t get to play this app game, thankfully.  I did play Zombie Tsunami for a while though.   

→ Oh, and speaking of app games, if I had avoided Candy Crush in 2013 because of its addictiveness, it was in the summer of 2014 that I got to be briefly hooked on it. 

→ Tech support ended for Windows XP.  My five-year old netbook is still on XP. 

→ Speaking of my netbook, in early December, its monitor gave out; the damage was unfixable.  To still use it, I had to remove its monitor and attach a desktop monitor on it.  Fun set up actually.  Anyway, I now seldom use it now since my father gave me his laptop (Thank you so much, Papa!).                

→ The number of TV series titles I’m following significantly bloated in 2014.      

→ I re-discovered the awesomeness of file sharing.  I probably obtained nearly a terabyte worth of games, comics, movies, and TV shows from it.  (One of the probable reasons why I got into – as well as rewatched – a lot of TV series in 2014.)

→ At year end, I had 15 books in “The Pile” – books I bought which I haven’t finished or started reading yet. 

→ I had two trips this year.  In March, we had a mission trip to a leper community in Quezon.   Then in May, we participated in a Youth Camp in Cavite. 

→ I became back-to-back Bible Quiz champion in our church.  It was an awesome feel-good experience.  Best of all, the first prize was a tablet. 

→ I’m not much of an enthusiastic techie, and with a netbook and a smartphone, I found no use with the tab at all for a couple of months.  But then, I realized I could now play Plants vs. Zombies 2 because I now have a tab.  I remembered that I’ve always wanted to play this game ever since its release but wasn’t able to because I had no smartphone or tab.  Later in the year, I would also discover the special delight found in the practicality of an e-book.  So, thanks to the tab, 2014 was the year I finally got into e-book reading.

→ I passed the LET.  Yay. 

→ I had the silver anniversary of my journey towards Eternity (or I had my 25^th birthday, if you didn’t get that).

→ I actually only learned for the first time that the 1989 Batman movie was released in June 23 – the same date I was born!  (Aside from the movie’s silver anniversary, in 2014, it was also the 75^th anniversary of Batman’s first comic book appearance.)

No big deal, really.  Still, it felt kind of awesome sharing the same birthday with the Batman movie.

→ There were a lot of terrific comic book happenings, but probably the most exciting were the return of Peter Parker and the epic “Spider-Verse” event (which I urge Sony to adapt this into film).

→ In manga, Naruto and Kuroko No Basuke ended.  Both aren’t particularly exciting finales.  I’ve already grown tired of Naruto, but out of nerdy obligations, I still saw it through till the end.  And the finale of Kuroko No Basuke had been disappointingly bland and underwhelming.  Hunter X Hunter, after years of hiatus, finally picked the story again, but after a few chapters, went on another indefinite hiatus.  Boo. 

→ After years of providing our province’s electric needs, ALECO (Albay Electric Cooperative) had been taken over by San Miguel Corporation.  It was renamed APEC (Albay Power Energy Corporation), and, I think, for the first time in history, a private company now controls the power in the province of Albay.  During its first year of operation, APEC had earned the ire of the Albayanos.  Throughout most of the year, parts of the province had been plagued by infuriating sets of brownouts due to APEC’s incompetent management; rumored sabotaging by unhappy laid-off employees of ALECO (that has been fired due to their connections with its corrupt administration); presumed maintenance of its electric distributing system (and, maybe, even some overhauls); and, simply, the lack of power supply (the country will be facing a power crisis this 2015).  There was even a lengthy time during May – which had an awfully hot weather – when we didn’t have electricity for several days because APEC wasn’t able to promptly replace the broken components of a substation.  APEC was incapable of solving the crisis at hand by themselves, and it had to take the active help of our provincial governor for it to be addressed.  And despite of all their faults, they had the gall to overcharge their clients.  All of these exasperating things about APEC prompted me to coin the hashtag #APECfail (a pun for “epic fail”, get it?).          

→ Typhoon Glenda hit my hometown in July.  It was a legit destructive typhoon.  There were a lot of damages.  It even brought down my alma mater’s “Centennial Tree” – an iconic acacia tree that had been more than a hundred years old – which was able to withstand even the infamous “Reming” back in ’06, hence, I was a bit shocked when I learned that it was finally felled by a lesser storm.  Post-Glenda, I was actually expecting that we wouldn’t have electricity for about a month minimum.  But I was delightfully surprised (considering APEC’s problems) that it only took five days.  It was God’s grace, since, in many parts of the city and province, it took several weeks – and even months – before they got their power back.   

→ We were, however, spared from Typhoon Ruby in early December, ensuring an enjoyable Christmas since there would be electricity then.

→ There were some noteworthy airplane crashes.  But the most intriguing was definitely the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) back in March 2014.  In the middle of its scheduled flight from Malaysia to China, less than an hour after its takeoff, the plane disappeared from air traffic controllers’ radar screens.  Up until now, nobody knows what happened – whether it was hijacked, or crashed, or whatever.  It just… vanished.  And despite a multinational investigation and the largest and most expensive search-and-recovery venture in aviation history, there is still no answer – its disappearance still wrapped in Amelia Earheart-scale mystery.  Hence, it was inevitable for this to become another subject that conspiracy theorists can eagerly offer insights on.

→ Aside from the missing MH370, the most notable tragedies this year were the sinking of a South Korean ferry which took 304 lives – mostly students; the Ebola epidemic in West Africa; ISIS terrorizing in Syria and Iraq (in a related matter, I learned that the UN actually put hacks like Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singha in charge of their peacekeeping forces… just sayin’); and Kim Kardashian’s terrifying butt-naked pictorial.

→ Robin Williams passed away.  Well, there were a couple of prominent celebrities that died in 2014.  But Williams’ was probably the only thing that mattered to me.

Goodbye, Genie.  Be free.  (sniff)

→ “The Sony Hacks.”  Sony experienced several attacks by hackers named “Guardians of Peace” (GOP).  GOP released in the Internet several secret and critical information regarding Sony’s upcoming projects as well as copies of some unreleased movies.  Then, later, it was revealed that the likely suspect behind the attacks was North Korea because of their displeasure with “The Interview” – Sony’s comedy movie that ridiculed NoKor dictator, Kim Jong-un.  There were threats that a terrorist attack of “9/11” proportions would happen if Sony released the movie.  To my astonishment, despite Fed reports that such threats are unfounded, Sony actually folded and decided not to release the movie (eventually, Sony opted to release the movie but online).  This was really worth noting and being perplexed about since it’s the first time this happened.  Jimmy Kimmel reacted: "An un-American act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets a terrifying precedent."  I totally agree. If it worked this time, it will definitely be tried again and again! What's stopping the bad guys from moving on and anonymously targeting another movie they don't like? 

→ In probably the most epic casting news ever, Marvel hired the awesome Benedict Cumberbatch to play Dr. Strange!  I’m just crazy for Cumberbatch right now.  The man is extremely talented and charming.  2014 was the year he jumped past Nathan Fillion as my most favorite actor.
→ Warner Bros./DC revealed how Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman will look like.

She hasn't won me over yet.  But at least she bulked up.

→ In one of the most idiotic things in, well, ever, Hello Kitty is officially revealed to be actually NOT a cat but a little girl.  Wait, what?             

→ In relation to their involvement with Janet Lim Napoles and the “pork barrel scam”, senators Revilla, Jinggoy, and Enrile were sent to jail.  Prior to getting jailed, in an attempt to win public sympathy, Revilla did some of the most absurd, hilarious, and shameless gimmicks in the already ridiculous history of Philippine politics.     

→ Vice-President Jejomar Binay’s political enemies in the Senate unearthed some of his dark (no pun intended) secrets when he was still the mayor of Makati City.  The senators had actually provided some compelling accusations, and Binay, in return, didn’t provide a compelling defense at all.  He did challenge Sen. Trillanes to a televised debate, but backed down when the senator accepted (Binay was probably bluffing and didn’t expect Trillanes to bite).

One of the strongest arguments that support the senators’ accusations that surfaced in Facebook is this simple infographic that compares the cost of building the Makati City Hall 2 vs. the building of London’s City Hall. 

→ This year’s hottest government corruption scandal (this is like an annual thing already) is tied between Binay and the discovery that crime lords incarcerated in New Bilibid Prison are living luxuriously like, well, crime lords.  They have first-class accommodations, drugs, money, stripper bars, and Jacuzzis.  And one named Herbert Colanga was even able to nurture a musical career while in prison – and actually found success!    

→ Everyone’s favorite senator, Miriam Defensor Santiago, announced that she has cancer.  Despite of this, she still remained the most entertaining and most prolific senator in the Senate.   

→ Back in August, an MRT train got derailed and rammed into a concrete barrier in which around 36 passengers got injured.  This accident renewed attention on the horrible conditions of MRT.  And while I lamented on the fact that the Philippines still doesn’t have a modern rail system yet, MRT management and DOTC just pointed fingers at each other in whose fault it was.

→ The Philippines filed a case against China in the world court regarding the latter’s invasion of the former’s Scarborough Shoal – and beyond.  The Philippines has a strong case against China, but I’m a bit skeptical that anything will really come out of it.  If China is proven in the wrong (which is quite apparent), I doubt the United Nations will really actively enforce the ruling.  Remember Iraq?  Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, had continually violated UN treaties, but the UN never really made any move – only the US did.

China is still pretending that they lack common sense. 

→ What’s great: Pacquiao earned wins over Timothy Bradley (Mommy D was allegedly casting voodoo curses on Bradley throughout the fight) and Chris Algieri in 2014.  What’s not-so-great: he became a coach-player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

→ After a 27-game losing streak in a span of two years, the UP Fighting Maroons won a game during UAAP 77 (which the NU Bulldogs won in dramatic fashion).  The team was celebrated as if they had actually won the championship.  The university threw a bonfire party, there were TV guestings, and the UP Chancellor was even quoted of saying, “We have proven that we excel not just in academics” (lolwut?).  I really found it hilarious.  This win would serve as UP’s only win this season as they finished with a 1-13 record. 

→ Despite being eliminated in the first round and a 1-4 record, Team Gilas Pilipinas had an impressive performance in the FIBA World Cup.  There was a lot of hype and excitement.  Then, the team fell flat in the Asian Games.  To be fair, overall, the Philippines sucked in the 2014 Asian Games (1 gold, 3 silvers, and 11 bronzes. Ugh).

Kobe looks amazing in black.  He's the Black Mamba after all.

→ Kobe Bryant finally got to wear a black jersey in a game!  I’ve always wanted an official black Laker jersey (which only happened during 2013-2014 season) and I’ve always wanted to see Kobe play in such jersey (Kobe only played six games in the 2013-2014 season and never had a chance to wear it); it had been long overdue.  Ok, this seems pretty petty.  But, as a Laker fan, there’s not much to rejoice about in 2014  The Lakers completed their most horrible season in history (and are now undergoing what looks to be a worse one).  Spurs won the championship, now tying the Lakers with the most championships of this era.  In the offseason, Pau left the Lakers.   There was a slim chance that LeBron would choose to go to the Lakers, but he instead went back to the Cavs.  And the most exciting Laker thing I had in 2014 was probably Linsanity joining the Lakers.  That’s just sad.
→ WWE had its historic Wrestlemania 30.  And Undertaker lost his match with Brock Lesnar  – destroying his perfect Wrestlemania record.  In my opinion, Vince McMahon’s  decision to let Lesnar be the one to beat the Undertaker in Wrestlemania was a big mistake. 

→ Hoverboards have not been invented in 2014, so there will still be no prevalence of commercial hoverboards in 2015 as Back to the Future II had predicted (bummer).  However, there are some intriguing developments in cybernetics.  A guy named Les Baugh, who had lost his two arms, received two mind-controlled cybernetic arms!  They’re not yet permanent add-ons, but the researchers are optimistic that such technology would soon be.

2014 could have been the dawn of cyborgs!

Top 10 TV Shows of 2014

                

The volume of TV shows I’ve watched and followed in 2014 has dramatically doubled from the previous years’ set.  Hence, with a comfortable pool size, I can now, for the first time, make a top 10 list of my picks for the best TV shows of 2014.

Before I proceed, these are, in no particular order, all the TV shows I’ve watched and followed in 2014 (I’ve mentioned some already in a past post) but didn’t get into the top 10: The Blacklist, Castle, Elementary, Sleepy Hollow, Psych (ended in 2014 after an 8-season run), Almost Human (unfortunately cancelled), Dracula (finished; I believe that it was a mini-series, but the ending was as if there’s a season 2 – there is none), Defiance, The Big Bang Theory, Pinocchio (from South Korea), The Legend of Korra (I marathoned this during Christmas break), 24: Live Another Day, and Constantine; while these are the TV shows I gave up on and dropped after watching a few episodes: Gotham, Warehouse 13 and Crossbones.   

 

10.) HAIKYUU!

This anime taught me a lot about volleyball, and this is also my pick as the best anime series of 2014.  I already shared my thoughts on this exciting and fun anime in “Haikyuu! Made Volleyball Awesome to Me” – click the link to read the full article.      

9.) MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD

When it started in 2013, AoS had a slow start.  It was almost always deficient of any exciting, notably fun thing.  Only Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson was keeping it afloat.  It felt tedious often, as if I was watching it out of obligation of being a loyal Marvel fan.  Everything felt mediocre during its first dozen episodes or so.  Then in 2014, once it had its tie-in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, AoS immediately became a bona fide intriguing TV series worth watching.  From then on, I was greatly looking forward for the next episode.   And now in its season 2, this show keeps getting stronger and stronger with every episode.       

8.) THE FLASH

When I saw the trailer for this series’ pilot – which already basically gave away its entire plot – I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it.  Then, the pilot was leaked months before its official start.  I found the time and opportunity to watch it… and I was hooked (read more about it in “It’s Official: the Upcoming Flash TV Series is a Must-Watch”).

Grant Gustin’s Peter Parker-esque Barry Allen is the best version of the character ever.  The character’s lovable geek persona just resonates with disarming appeal.  Next to the lead character, Jesse L. Martin’s Detective Joe West and Tom Cavanagh’s Dr. Harrison Wells are also fantastically engrossing characters to watch.     

This show has some problems; the two major things being: a.) lack of chemistry between Barry Allen and Iris West; and b.) suffers cheesy, uninspired writing half of the time.  Nonetheless, the potential of and the good things about this show still outweigh the negative stuff.

The peak of this show, so far, is the “Flash vs. Arrow” episode – the first of two crossover episodes with Arrow – in which the Arrow and the Flash get to fight each other.  Despite the limitations of a TV budget and production parameters, the fight scene blew me away.  It was stunningly terrific. 

    

7.) ARROW

Watching The Flash paved the way for me to watch Arrow for the first time.  I was excited of the prospect of an extensive DC shared TV universe, and I intended to catch up with its flagship series and trace its foundation.  I started with season one and found it entertaining but not as awesome as I was expecting.  But in its second season, however, the kick-assery and narrative improved a lot – I became an invested fan.   It’s not perfect, but I find a lot of awesome stuff about it (along with other current DC TV series, I listed the things I like about it as well as those I don’t in my article evaluating DC’s TV programming).  It’s my hands down choice for best DC TV series right now.         

6.) I HEAR YOUR VOICE

This originally ran in 2013 in Korea, but it only got into Philippine TV in 2014, so I will count this as a 2014 TV show.  I am completely surprised how this Koreanovela has won me over.  I tried watching another Koreanova, Pinocchio, trying if I can replicate the experience I had with I Hear Your Voice.  Pinocchio has the same writer and lead actor as I Hear Your Voice, but the former doesn’t have the same depth and delightfulness as the latter.   I Hear Your Voice is truly special.  Heck, I even compared it with the classic Huckleberry Finn! ––     

  For me, I Hear Your Voice is something like how a certain gentleman valued Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.  This gentleman went to Mark Twain and told the author he wished he didn’t read Mark Twain, and was willing give a hundred dollars for it to be so.  His reason?  So he could have again the pleasure of reading Huckleberry Finn for the first time.
  Really.  I found it astonishing that I found myself wishing I haven’t seen the series yet, so I can have the pleasure of watching it for the first time.  I Can Hear Your Voice is that awesome.

(Read more in “I Hear Your Voice is the Koreanovela that Has Made Me Invested… And Swoon”)               

5.) BLACK MIRROR – CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Before this special, I had never been aware of the existence of Black Mirror, a British science fiction anthology series that is very Twilight Zone-esque – hence, extremely fascinating, dark, intriguing, and smart.  I haven’t seen any previous episodes yet (it has, so far, two series – the last one still back in February 2013 – with three episodes each; a total of six episodes before this Christmas special), but I bet that this Christmas special has perfectly defined the overall exceptional quality of Black Mirror.

2014’s Christmas special, entitled “White Christmas”, is a tremendously absorbing three-part tale that featured two terrifying technologies.  First, the capacity of “blocking” people in real-life (just like in Facebook).  Second, “cookies”, a device where one’s thought patterns is extracted and stored, creating a digital copy of the consciousness of that person.  This digital copy is at the mercy of the person that holds the “cookie” and is forced to become a slave of its original/owner.        

4.) DOCTOR WHO

I’ve always been meaning to get into Doctor Who – primarily because I know that the Doctor is one of the most unique and interesting fictional characters ever, and I want to enjoy the character – and it was only this 2014 that I finally get to do so.  When it was announced that the Doctor will undergo another regeneration with Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, I decided to finally start getting associated with Doctor Who.  Before the 8^th season started, I proceeded to watch its key episodes, especially “Day of the Doctor” (its 50^th anniversary special) and “Time of the Doctor” (when Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor regenerates into the Twelfth Doctor).  Just as what I had been suspecting for a long time, Doctor Who indeed turned out to be a show that is truly in accordance with my tastes; I was immediately charmed by the show’s quirky science fiction premise and rich mythology.

3.) TRUE DETECTIVE

My take on it:

  Next to Sherlock, True Detective could turn out as my most favorite TV show for 2014.  It was extremely engaging and thrilling that it was completely hard to turn away from it; I watched all episodes of the first season (pre-downloaded) in one sitting (that has to be something around eight hours straight).
  I’ve noticed that all of the TV shows I currently like and follow have elements of humor in them.  So it was kind of an “odd-man-out” case for the grim True Detective with me.  Despite having a “serious” tone, the show still mightily appealed to me.
  It’s just that there are a lot of things to love about this show.  First of all, it was an intelligent detective-mystery story, and I’ve always loved the genre.  The opening theme was also pretty fine and catchy.  The narrative and dialogue (especially whenever Rust is involved) were completely rich, stimulating, and simply well-written.  But the show’s finest appeal was the strong and captivating performance of its leads, Woody Harrelson and Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey.  The creepy and grim sensibilities also mightily boosted the mysterious charm of the entire tale.  Heck, the mood was gothic enough to provoke many fans to expect that a Lovecraftian, supernatural twist was going to happen.

(Excerpt from “Next to Sherlock, True Detective is the Best Thing to Happen on TV this Year”) 

I wrote the stuff above before I got to see…

2.) ORPHAN BLACK

I love Orphan Black.  I adore Tatiana Maslany.  This show is awesome.  There’s nothing left to say.  Read my full ravings in “I ♥ Orphan Black”…

1.) SHERLOCK

Sherlock is already a lock for one of my most favorite TV series of all time.  If it had been an already finished show, it would have qualified for my “Top 20 TV Series (That Had Already Concluded)” and it would have ranked second there.  Hence, I never had any struggle on what my number one choice would be.  What I wrote before…     

Hands down, Sherlock Series 3 is the greatest thing that came out in TV this year.  At this point, it seems unlikely for any other series to replace this as my favorite TV series this year.  Its Series 3 was just as excellent, intelligent, creative, funny, clever, and pleasurable as the previous two seasons – probably even more so.  Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman remain fantastic and charming as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.  If I will rate this show out of five stars, I will give it a six.  That’s how much I think highly of Sherlock.

…held true throughout the year.