Woz interviews Rick about his Apple stuff

What Apple gear do you have?

I have an iMac, Macbook Pro, Macbook, iPod, iPhone, and very soon, an iPad. I was given another laptop at the office and it took me a while to figure it out again.

So you don’t have a PC anymore?

Nope.

All those Macs. Isn’t that overkill?

I use each unit for something specific. But essentially, everything is backed up on each unit. So I can transfer to one and it’s all there. No need to transfer files via email or flash drive.

Quote: Remember the American Express tag line “Don’t leave without it?” That’s how I feel about my Apple stuff. I feel naked without them.

So you bring everything with you?

Of course not. If I tell you I will have to kill you.

Okay. I want to live -- sheesh -- so let me rephrase the question – what will you bring now –Macbook or iPad?

The iPad. Cheaper to replace. God, I can’t believe I said ‘cheaper.’ (computes mentally about expenses). Sigh.

You must have some workstation at home.

I think of Tony Stark’s workroom in the movie iron Man. It’s a frigging mess. And to think I’m super OC.

What about iTunes?

It is as they say – it changed my musical listening experience. That’s what Apple is all about – not just the technology but the user experience. I’m so OC. My CD collection is filed according to genre then by alphabetic order of the artists and is chronological order for every release. Every disc is in plastic with the jewel case immaculately clean. Every disc is upright and spotless. Every time I play a disc it’s like a major operation in cleaning it and replacing it in the rack.

ITunes eliminated all that. I still buy CDs. Always will. But now, when I buy them, I upload them on my iTunes and put the disc away. I download the album cover and all the details and it’s on my laptop and iPod. I can mix and match with it. Something I was unable to do before. Plus it’s really handy.

Do you think that iPods make people anti-social?

Not really. I think it’s a great ice breaker to ask, “What’s on your iPod?” Like others, if I don’t want to be bugged, I slip on the headphones and I’m gone. Unless you're Jessica Gomes you can bug off.

Touchy bastard you are. Sorry. I don't want to die just yet. Your fave application?

How much time you’ve got?

Will you buy a new iPod?

Arrgghh. Yes, I will.

Any last thoughts on your Apple gear?

I’m a statistic.

Huh? How so?

In 2009, more than 10 million units of iMacs/Macbooks were sold, 24 million iPods were purchased, and 300 Apple Stores were open worldwide to serve customers. I contributed to Apple’s coffers.

And they've got Summer Courses too!

Wish I could enroll. Alas. I'm poorer than poor. Bwahaha. So this is for ya peeps with lotsa time on yer hands.

That black penguin sure looks cool

The Pacific -- coming March 14 on HBO

Reminiscing and Dave Stevens' The Rocketeer

I have this happy thought. Make them thoughts. During summer and other long vacations, I would always stay with my grandparents in Tarlac. When I was there, I always said to myself as I munched on a bowl of Frosted Flakes, “This is the life.”

I was spoiled. Yes, I was and I freely admit it. I’d sit on my grandfather’s favorite rocking chair watching television (they were connected to the US Armed Forces network emanating from Pampanga) watch cartoons and baseball.

Some days, my grandpa would take me to the train station where he’d let me go up the trains and cabooses. Other days we ride the bamboo rafts along the river. Sometimes we go to a farm where I’d jump on a haystack.

At night, I’d read those books on Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Read those Time and Life magazines of his about Camelot (JFK and Jackie), the Vietnam War, James Dean, the Beatles, Elvis, Joe DiMaggio, juke boxes, pulp novels, a time when right was might and not the other way around, and the exploits of gumshoe reporters.

Once or twice a week, walk to a nearby panciteria where I’d eat ice cream with barquillos. That was a treat if there was ever one. Some days my grandpa would take me to the convenience store where we’d buy comics. So I became a fan of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, X-Men, and other Marvel Superheroes. That pretty much made me a fan for life.

Those were the days that I cherish so well. They remain so vivid like a Norman Rockwell painting of my brown self in those golden days of summer. Where I’d sit on the tracks with the sweat running down my forehead and onto my nose. My grandpa would wipe my face with his handkerchief and ruffle my hair. I love the man and miss him tremendously.

Because of those days, I fell in love with the culture of a bygone era. Anything on the 30’s to the 60’s, I was obsessed with. Whether it was the music, novels, pin-up girls, heroes, and fiction. Some of my favorite television shows and movies are Happy Days, The Wonder Years, Homefront, Laverne and Shirley, Flash Gordon, A League of Their Own, and Oscar to name a few.

Even if I lost much of my personal collections during the flooding brought about by Typhoon Ondoy, I still seek to reclaim some pieces I cherish and simply must have.

One may say that they are material things. Those who say that know nothing of that loss. They are not only totems but signposts of our lives. They are things that were bought and have much value.

Today, I was finally able to get the late Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures. Ever since I first picked up a copy of Pacific Presents #2 in a bargain bin that featured Stevens’ character Cliff Secord clutching the Rocketeer jet pack, I’ve been a fan. It was like discovering gold. It was my only copy until the comics adaptation of the movie starring Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly and the fantastic novelization by Peter David. Then I was able to get the graphic novel of Cliff’s New York Adventure. But my collection remained incomplete until today.

Cliff Secord was Peter Parker without the webs. He was ornery and really nothing special until he got ahold of the rocket pack. If you loved those Indiana Jones movies where there was adventure, intrigue, and Nazis… well, the Rocketeer did it first.

Dave’s art is gorgeous. It’s lively and full of emotion. It pays a lot of homage to the pulp stuff of yesteryear with cheesecake shots and a dash of adventure (can you say The Shadow?). His women are bodacious and paved the way for artists like Adam Hughes and Frank Cho.

Stevens’ design of the Rocketeer’s helmet is one of comicdom’s all-time best. C’mon, name someone with a famous helmet – Iron Man, Magneto, Galactus? The Rocketeer’s fin is awesome!

The movie adaptation is faithful and Campbell is a deadringer for Secord. Betty became Jenny wasn’t the pin-up girl she was in the comics. But Connelly’s breathtaking beauty added to the charm.

After I closed the 148-page collection, I sighed, then went through it again like some photo album from a bygone day. I thought of good things. Good memories. Like my sainted grandfather. Ice cream on a hot summer day. Comic books. Stories of the 1930’s-1960’s. And Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer that will always have a place in my heart.

Dave Stevens died in March 11, 2008 after a long bout against leukemia. This coming March 11 will be the 2nd death anniversary. Thanks for your great work, Dave. Am so glad to have been able to correspond with you.

The Dream King is back

Missed out on Neil Gaiman's visit last time. This time I will not.

The Eternal Hong Kong

The Eternal Hong Kong

by rick olivares

In my first ever trip to Hong Kong, my mother told me to look out from the window at the lights that lit up Victoria Harbour. That exact moment was significant for two things: 1) ever since then, I always asked for a window seat whenever I ride an airplane, and 2) I fell in love with Hong Kong.

Like a moth to a flame, she calls out to me.

It is the one true place where east meets west. A unique melting pot and a hub for ideas, culture, and commerce. And there’s more… there’s the governing dichotomous principle of “one country; two systems” in relation to mother China.

Even with the emergence of China as a global economic power, Hong Kong has retained its vibrancy and importance. Their dollar is the world’s ninth most traded currency and it still is a financial pillar. And they have the most number of millionaires per square foot.

When I say the east meets the west, the latter is the British and European influence. I grew up watching F-4 Phantoms, A-10 Warthogs, and C-130 Hercules aircraft rumbling into the Pampanga sky when my grandfather would take me to the former Clark Air Base. My mother worked for a time with the US government and I would oft see US Marines detailed at the building’s lobby as security. So seeing British servicemen and the Union Jack in Hong Kong was a different experience.

Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore are all beautiful yet they still somewhat resemble being on home soil. Hong Kong… has a certain shimmer and sheen to it. It glistens in its temperate climes. The name in Cantonese means “fragrant harbour” and in the Old World sense, the harbor was the gateway to a new country. And the island is still one. Commerce, culture, everything passes through here. Even those imported goods that find their way into our stores.

I’ve always advised first-time travelers that if ever, their first trip abroad should be Hong Kong. That’s not because it’s the closest but because it offers a striking difference from ours whereas Thailand and Singapore still somewhat resemble being on home soil. Hong Kong is a truly a first world country in Southeast Asia.

Find me a place that is more fashionable here in Asia? Find me a place that is equated with shopping? Bangkok? Yes, it is a lovely place, but Hong Kong – the island is one shopping mall. And they were the first to have a Toys ‘R Us that is always a favorite. Here in Hong Kong, for those not used to going to Divisoria or tiangges in Greenhills, this is where you first learned to haggle for lower prices. For price-conscious Filipinos, haggling is a must if not an art form. And unlike on the home front where sales are faux sales, here prices truly drop.

Only you don’t need to shop ‘til you drop. Why wait when there’s a smorgasbord of culinary delights from the trendy (Lan Kwai Fong, Knutsford Terrace, and SoHo) to the street variety (Aberdeen, Causeway Bay, and Stanley Market).

Whenever I go to Ocean Park (at least once a year), I make sure to volunteer for the dolphin and sea lion show. I sit in the lower seats of the grand stand and raise my hand and jump like crazy so when the hosts ask for volunteers, they notice me. The jellyfish and shark exhibits are worth the price of entrance! As for the cable car rides – I’m going to have to admit that I suffer from extreme acrophobia. But a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. I sit inside those cars and close my eyes and pray a hundred novenas until I can set my two feet on good old terra firma. Somehow after every ride, my heart rate goes fast and I feel older. It’s a good thing there are rides, attractions, and games because they make me feel young again.

Maybe it’s the mystique of China. Maybe it’s a touch of Europe in Asia. I think of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, night markets, all these tourists that you will not see in Manila, sales at HMV, buying clothes at Giordano, eating at Vietnamese restaurants, the nightlife, walking along Nathan Road, going up to Victoria Peak and dreaming of buying a house somewheres when I become a billionaire – I can dream, can’t I? I enjoy the Double Decker buses, ferry rides along the river, the sense of fashion, Chinese mysticism, and enjoy the fact that what I’m looking for can be found here. I wonder at the cleanliness, the quiet efficiency of a place that steps out of a postcard.

I gaze at Hong Kong with a wonder of a first-time tourist every time I’m there.