Three months in and I’ve found myself enjoying life here as a ubiquitous man-of-the house (translation: a bum). Slumping in front of the PC and surfing through tons of web pages that range from obscure online employment agencies to ludicrously priced porn sites has become routine for me and the ominous slab of unwanted flesh slowly bulging beyond belief just beneath my chest is a testament to this.
Still, it’s a life filled with reasonable benefits. I’m able to surf the Internet freely here, and have the freedom to visit any damn site I wish (IT rule: if an entity exists, there’s a page for it in the ‘net). I can sigh with relief that this life is unlike the one I left behind in the desert abroad where information is monitored, screened, and blocked as per their standards. A citizen’s life here is far better compared to a working professional’s life abroad. That is the truth behind all truths. Grass ain’t greener on the other side of the fence, darling.
Lately, as I filled my head with bits upon kilobits upon megabits upon gigabits of information the horrible and sickening reality just snuck up on me: That’s three years of my effin’ life I won’t freakin’ get back!
Okay, enough of that bull.
Aside from the PC fetish I developed, I also learned to appreciate the cozier side of things, like being a certified couch potato and the master of the TV remote control. Yup, there’s no denying it. I! am! da! man! Hear what I'm sayin', yo?
I’m always tuned in to an all-animé cable TV network Animax-Asia and to my delight have been pining for all the animé shows it has to offer. One show I’m looking forward to viewing is called ‘LaMB’. And no, this is not the staple meat dish in the desert, mind you.
What caught my interest about this show is not the promise of its digital animation. Far from that. What caught my eye is the story. LaMB is based on an award-winning script crafted by Filipino amateur writer Carmelo Juinio submitted to the Pan-Asia scriptwriting contest sponsored by Animax in 2007. Juinio’s entry, “Laminated Woman: To the Sand Planet Cerra” bested other entries that hailed from Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, and Korea. The rest, as we all know, is history.
The story’s premise is centered on the harsh desert planet Cerra where a unique political system exists. “Lamination” is a method adopted and sanctioned by this world to punish guilty criminals (or “LaMBs”) since it believes that lawbreakers should still remain productive despite being in a prison without walls. The LaMBs are cased in laminated (body)suits and are treated as disposable laborers of society.
Enter main protagonist Dr. Jack Griswold (voiced by Van Ness Wu of F4 fame), who is assigned to turn the planet ‘green’ with vegetation. Assisting him is ‘Eve’, hottie (ex-)scientist encased in a ‘laminated’ suit, and, dare I say it, the linchpin of the entire LaMB concept. As you can see from the picture here, she’s quite the looker.
Soon, Dr. Griswold and Eve are dragged into the planet’s uneasy political maelstrom as certain factions want to abolish the ‘lamination’ system through a revolution. Our protagonists both do their best to fight the tide of hate and violence, while trying to keep abreast their growing romance for each other.
Seems this is a very big production, with talents like Josie Ho (Hong Kong-based singer-actor) and Vivienne Tam (notable New York-based fashion designer) lending their voice and keen design, respectively.
In addition, the animé's amazingly incredible main soundtrack, "I Can Wait Forever", is from the album by French-Canadian pop-punk band Simple Plan, with additional music ('Summertime') from American-based The Click Five. Heavy hitters, all.
The animé series will be aired on Animax beginning March 24th and I am certainly looking forward to seeing it. This is an inspiration to animé enthusiasts in the Philippines and you make us all proud! Filipino talent truly is a force with a magnitude that is recognized the world over. Carmelo, U DA MAN! And for aspiring writers here, keep on writing guys! You’ll hit the big top soon. Trust me.
Also, allow me to take this opportunity to finally share my thoughts with loving reverence to my former girlfriend:
I believe in you. You are my personal ‘Eve’ because you opened my life to new avenues I didn’t know existed. In all honesty, I can’t recall my life before I met you. In the more than twelve years that the Almighty God allowed us to be ‘us’, I witnessed your metamorphosis and beheld your transformation from a budding greenie to a seasoned veteran of the craft.
Your skills in the writing arts are so exceptional now that I need to stand aside and watch with humble awe as you give life to a world less ordinary with the magic that comes from your hands. I know you are very busy with the intense load as demanded by your ‘rakets’, please keep on writing and keep on sending your entries to various contests around the globe. It takes time, I know, and an awful amount of your patience needs to be injected as well, but the same way that your entry made it to the final cut of the Imagining Ourselves anthology collection, I believe that the day your name will become renowned is soon at hand.
Don’t give up po. Because even if others can’t, won’t, couldn’t, and wouldn’t believe you, I will.
Always.
Soar high, my dear!
And know I am here to support you whenever you need me.
Because I believe, ‘Eve’.
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