what's in a name?

All my brothers' names, including mine, start with the letter "A". Antonio, Ariel (me), Armond, and Achilles. I don't know if the letter had any significance to my parents – it never occurred to me to ask them.

What I was told, however, was that my grandmother (who was into names and numerology) made sure we had lucky names. According to her, the letters in people's names corresponded to numbers. And these numbers all fell under four different fates: Buenas (lucky), Penosa (painful), Peligrosa (dangerous), and Muerte (death). Now, don't ask me if this is a fair segregation – apart from one, all the others seem to suck.

Do I believe in this kind of thing? I don't know. But I sure got fascinated by what people said about the name of Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino boxer who is currently the world's best. They say his name is very lucky indeed: "Manny" sounds like "money", while "Pacquiao" sounds like "pakyaw" (which means "to get everything" in the Filipino language).

Interesting analysis, for Pacquiao now ranks 6th in Forbes.com's list of the world richest athletes. :-)

So parents, how about naming your baby "Euro", "Dollar", or "Gazillionaire"? LOL

(Top) The Fujio Akatsuka Bearbrick with the letter "A" on its chest was created by the Beams retail chain in Japan to promote Mangart Beams T, the new line of Manga-inspired Tees at their concept shop in Daikanyama, Tokyo.

The bear is a representation of Fujio Akatsuka (1935-2008), a famous Japanese manga artist who created many famous cartoon characters such as Daddy Bakabon (see t-shirt below). You can check out his official website here.

i heart eavesdropping

Last weekend, I paid a visit to my chiropractor, Dr. P. I wasn't in any kind of extreme pain, really; my back just felt a bit stiff and I thought the doctor could simply snap my misaligned bones right into place.

While I was waiting in my cubicle in a pale blue examination gown with packs of hot compresses on my back, I suddenly heard voices. They were coming from the next cube – that of a father (who I imagined was in his thirties and an American, judging from his accent) and of his son (who sounded like a lovable 3-year-old).

The dad spoke first. "Now, you just keep still there while Daddy gets a massage, okay? Can you do that? Then after we're finished here, I'm going with you to wherever you want to go."

The boy replied, "Okay, I'm going to sit here and... and wait for you. Then... then I want to go where you want to go, too, 'cause I love you... I love you all the way to Pluto!"

"Really? Well, I love you all the way to Pluto and back."

Not to be outdone, the little one quickly said, "I love you to all the way to Pluto and... and... to all the planets in the world! All the planets!!"

At that point, I was smiling and waiting for his dad's answer. There was a bit of a pause, then dad let out a very slow and breathy "Wow!" I could almost see him smiling, too.

After an hour, I walked out of the clinic feeling better, thanks to Dr. P's healing hands, and the infectious love between an anonymous father and son. Some say laughter is the best medicine; I say it is love, too.

It's Valentine's Day. Share the love, people! :-)

(Top pic) The Bearbrick with the heart icon was designed by New York grafitti/graphic artist and illustrator Todd James a.k.a. REAS. It was one of ten (10) Bearbricks from the Bearbrick World Wide Tour (BWWT Set B).

Pic by Yours Truly. Copyright 2010. Background painting detail by Filipino contemporary painter Popo San Pascual.

tapas town

There are 3 reasons why I gained weight after my first 3 days in Madrid, Spain.

1. The food is "muy delicioso".
2. There is a place to eat at every turn.
3. Shops are closed between 2 to 5pm (siesta time), so there is nothing for tourists like me to do but EAT, EAT, EAT!

Reason #3 led me to a place called Mercado de San Miguel (below), a 1900s public market that reopened in May 2009, after it started restoration in 2008 in the hands of private businessmen. Encased in glass and wrought iron, the place now houses delicatessens, tapas bars and stalls that offer meat, seafood, fruits, cheese, wine, beer, dessert, coffee – even books.


This is how it looks just before it gets full at lunch time.(Which is around 1:30 to 3pm!)

Above is the meat stall where everybody buys Jamon Iberico, a type of cured ham that is only available in Spain. You have to take a number when there's a crowd.

Customers normally order "cien gramos" or 100 grams. (Yes, that is an Iberian pig's hoof that you see. LOL)

My other favorite stall is the one with "aceitunas" or olives. (That's Jun, waving.)

I couldn't help but order 2 of each of these "tapas de olivas". Para mi, they're the best! The olives provide a refreshing aftertaste.

Anchovies with poached "huevos" (eggs) on toast, a must-try.

"Croquetas" (potato croquettes) of different flavors are sold here. The one with calamares negros (black squid ink) is my favorite.

This is the cheese stall where you can buy Manchego, the most popular cheese in all of Spain.

The best desserts in the entire market – Pastel de Nata (left) and Pastel de Queso (right). Both are eggs tarts but with different flavors; one has coconut while the other has cheese.

Because of the number of choices, you'll probably have dessert more than once. :-)

To drink, I always had the Spanish "sangria", a mixture of red wine, brandy, triple sec, fruit juice and sugar. It's so light and easy to drink; you'll get drunk before you know it!

Madrid isn't like New York, Hong Kong or Paris when it comes to shopping. If it's any indication, you won't find a Balenciaga boutique here (even though its original designer and founder, Cristobal Balenciaga, was born in Spain)!

In Madrid, what you save in shopping money, you gain in calories! :-P

(Top pic) The Spain "We Love Football" Bearbrick is one of a series of bears representing some of the countries who participated in the 2006 World Cup. Produced in cooperation with Kentucky Fried Chicken Hong Kong.

Photos by yours truly. Copyright bearbricklove.com 2010.

red hot passion

Last March 24, I was at the London Heathrow Airport waiting for my connecting flight to Madrid, Spain. Instead of sitting in the lounge for coffee, pastry and Facebook, I decided to kill time by window shopping.

Okay, I admit that with me, window shopping can turn into panic buying at the sight of a sale sign or a hot new item.

So, yes, I ended up getting the bright red loafers on the left.

Frankly, I had to think hard of where I would wear them before I gave the cashier my Visa card. Probably not to church, like what the vain little girl did in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale entitled "The Red Shoes" – the priest might deny me Holy Communion! I doubt if I would wear them to a bullfight in Madrid, either, unless I wanted the bull to run after me. And I don't think I have a chance of ever wearing it to the beach, but that's not because of its color, right?

Nevertheless, red is awfully attractive. And like red roses, red lips, red hearts, red sportscars, red apples, strawberries and cherries, those shiny red Bally shoes are simply irresistible to me.

(Top pic) The red Jellybean Bearbrick from Series 18. Pic by yours truly / Copyright March 2010.

the figures behind the fight

Did you watch the Pacquiao-Clottey match last Saturday night? According to CompuBox, a computer program that counts and categorizes punches thrown and connected in boxing matches, Manny Pacquiao's red gloves landed 246 of 1,231 punches; Joshua Clottey connected only on 108 of 399.

The numbers indicate that Clottey practically didn't put up a fight! According to many viewers, he was trying to cover his face the whole time. After 12 rounds, Pacquiao was declared winner.

At a press con, Clottey explained, “He’s very, very fast. I tried to catch him, but he always manages to move out. He’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”

Clottey earned $1.25 million, excluding pay-per-view revenue, a figure which could run up to more than $3 million, according to some speculators.

Seems like Clottey wasn't a loser after all. :-)

(Top) The Tokidoki Fighter Bearbrick, the fifth (5th) 100% bear designed by famous Italian illustrator Simone Legno.

Bearbrick pic by Yours Truly, Copyright March 2010 / Fight pic/info from LA Times Online, paquiaovsclottey.boxingnewsupdates.com

the best of 19

Here it is, finally – my Series 19. I am going to admit outright that I didn't get the complete set because I felt that the others weren't special enough. I mean, some people got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to create a bearbrick and they blew it... :-/

Thank God for the talented bunch who designed the wonderful bearbricks above!

First row, left to right:

Jellybean (Carolina Blue)
Pattern (Leopard)
Flag (Spain)
Horror (Uglydoll / Wage by David Horvath)
SciFi (Star Trek – Spock)
Cute (Shoko Nakagawa / Watanabe Entertainment)

Second row, left to right:

Animal (Paradise Lost, Donkey Sister by Jimmy Liao /Jimmy S.P.A.)
Artist (Kazuki Kuraishi / KZK)
Artist (Bad Robot)
Secret SciFi (Momotaros Imagine / Masked Rider Den O)
Secret (Stussy / XXXth Anniversary)
Secret Artist (My Dirty Diamonds / Matt Black)
Secret (Revolver Japan /Kiri)

(If you want to see which ones I didn't want/get, look for them here.)

I really like the Leopard Pattern and the flocked Kazuki Kuraishi bears. But the Uglydoll bearbrick is my favorite because it has a very interesting love story behind it.

Back in 2001, toy designers/lovers David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim had to part ways as she had to go back to her native Korea. He regularly sent her "I miss you" letters with his little "Wage" character drawn at the bottom of the page. Once, Sun-Min surprised David by sending him a plush doll version of Wage which she sewed herself. It was so cute that they both decided to sell copies of it at the Giant Robot Store in LA. Its overnight success gave birth to more Uglydoll characters that also became bestsellers in designer toy stores. David and Sun-Min are now married and have little cuties, not uglies, of their own. :-)

Happy Valentine's Day, bearbrick lovers!

Pic by Yours Truly / Copyright February 2010 /Uglydoll plush pic from www.iksentrik.co.uk / Drawing from www.uglydolls.com

the baseball hero

My visit to Taipei would not have been complete without a trip to Hot Dog Toyz, probably the best bearbrick source in the whole of Taiwan. I dropped by on January 1 – what a exciting way to start the year! As I leaned close to the display shelf, I immediately spotted this bearbrick in baseball uniform (see above).

The saleslady (who remembered me from last year's visit) told me excitedly, "That's supposed to be Chien-Ming Wang. He's a Taiwanese who pitched for the New York Yankees. It comes with a nicely-bound book that contains all his baseball records."

She rummaged through piles of unopened boxes and lifted two boxed sets. "There's two versions – two bearbricks, two different uniforms, see? But both record books are the same."

"So he's a baseball star, huh?" I smiled.

She frowned a bit. "Yes, but since 2008, he's had a series of injuries – now, he's out of the team."

I reached out for the boxes and examined them.

"Those have been marked down," she continued, "Less NT$400!" (That's US$12.50)

Half of me was happy about the discount, although the other half felt sorry for Chien-Ming Wang. Imagine, mementos and memories of his glory days as ace pitcher for the Yankees had just depreciated! :-/

While trying to shrug off my mixed feelings, I placed my Visa card on the counter and said, "I'll take them."

Wang currently lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey with his wife, Chia-Ling Wu, and their 7-month old son named Justin Jesse.

Pics by yours truly. Copyright January 2010. Info from wikipedia / www.nj.com

2009 be@rbrick of the year

I've never hit the 'buy-it-now' button on eBay faster than when I first saw the Jimmy Liao bearbrick (above). Released during last year's Taipei Toy Festival, I consider it my favorite bearbrick of 2009 for two reasons.

1. It's simply beautiful. From composition to color. From idea to illustration style.

2. It promotes art, not a brand of jeans nor a department store.

Jimmy Liao is Taiwan's best-known illustrator. A design graduate from the fine arts department of the Chinese Culture University, Liao worked in an ad agency for twelve years. After a bout with leukemia, he quit his advertising job and started to write and draw books for children.

The bearbrick's design is based on an illustration which first appeared in Liao's book, "How To Own A Corner" (below).

According to someone I asked, the Chinese caption at the lower right of the page says, "I wish that in every corner of the world, everyone will find his own happiness." A beautiful wish for the new year, isn't it?

By coincidence, I am now in Taipei, Taiwan, for a short holiday. Instead of a trip to a museum or park, I first opted to visit the Nangang Subway Station because I read somewhere that Jimmy Liao's work decorate the station's walls.

See? I took pictures!

Below is a humongous hare, a recurring figure in Jimmy's work.

The little cat-boy carrying the moon is a character from his book, "The Moon Forgets".

I love this chair collection! Do you see the sitting girl?

The giant drummer boy below is sitting along the main corridor that connects all exits.

Below are the three most arresting images that I found alongside the train tracks.



Taipei's subway stations are generally not remarkable. In fact, I find them rather antiseptic. But at the Nangang Station, Liao's whimsical imagination has delighted many local commuters and tourists like me.

Whenever I chance upon art on the street, whether it's painted graffiti on the side of an old building or a commissioned mural on subway walls, I find instant joy. There's really nothing like beauty to brighten up any corner of the world.

Happy new year, bearbrick lovers! :-)

All pics by yours truly. Copyright January 2010. Info from culture.tw, taipeitimes.com

game over!

What a score – unbelievable! Level 23??? You are the Tetris champ of all time!

Congratulations, Anna Padilla! Please email me your mailing address so I can mail you the 3 bears, okay? :-)

score a tetris be@rbrick!

Wanna join?

All you need to do to win a Tetris Bearbrick (and more) is to play Tetris, the popular video game invented by 53-year old Russian computer engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1985.

1. Where to play:
freetetris.org

2. How to join:
Take a screenshot of your highest score and email it to acomia@pldtdsl.net

3. What's the prize:
one (1) Tetris Bearbrick, one (1) Red Jelly Bean Bearbrick, one (1) Ren Bearbrick, all from Series 18 (left).

4. Deadline for submission: Nov. 18, 2009. Announcement of winner: Nov. 20, 2009. If you win, I will send you the prize via registered airmail – it's that simple!

So, why buy these bearbricks on eBay when you can get them here for free? :-)

(Pics by Bearbrick Lover / Copyright, October 2009.)

beauty & the be@rbrick!

Where can a Be@rbrick lover get a haircut?

At the Be@utybrick Hair Art Studio, of course! :-D

(Left) Owned by a young Korean stylist named Shin (who speaks fluent Japanese), it's a place where one can get a haircut like a Korean pop star's. For only P600 / US$12.

Too bad I shave my head! LOL

Location: Unit 103 Doña Consolacion Building, 122 Jupiter Street, Bel-Air Village, Makati City, Philippines.

Thank you, Sunny, for this very amusing discovery! ;-)


(Top pic) The white bearbrick with the "scissor" eye was designed for CUBE Art Bookzine by Sartoria Communicazione, a design firm based in Modeno, Italy. Released in December of 2004, it's one of ten Worldwide Tour Bearbricks (Set C).

Info/salon pics from The Jonas Chronicles, spot.ph / Hair pic from apnimarzi.com / scissors pic from ironscissors.com / Bearbrick pic and digital imaging by yours truly

anybody out there?

I was checking my email last week when I heard my business partner S (who was reading the newpaper) say, "A new planet's been discovered – doesn't that make you think we may not be alone in the universe?"

Could she have been referring to the planet named WASP-17 which was discovered by the UK's Wide Area Search for Planets project in collaboration with the Observatory of Geneva last August 2009?

The planet, which is approximately 1000 light years away in the constellation Scorpius, is said to be twice the size of Jupiter.

Planets (like Earth) are thought to form when dust particles and gases around a newly-formed star gather to form rocks.

"The dust bunnies under your bed grow in a similar way." said Scott Kenyon, a planet-formation theorist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "And after a million years, a dust bunny can get pretty big."

So that explains the planets. But not the human race.

Well, lemme put it this way: if we came from interstellar dust bunnies, then I don't wanna know! LOL

(Top pic) The Interstellar Bearbrick, a rare secret bear from Series 17, was designed by Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca of Chamanvision Visual and Literary Art Studio. It was inspired by "Interstellar Transmissions", Vaca's art book of digital images inspired by Jazz, Detroit Techno, Hip Hop, Electro and Funk – music by various artist that were built on themes of time and space.

According to his website, "Vaca is a visual artist/writer working in various mediums including digital, writing, drawing and photography. His artwork is exhibited in art galleries around the world, including Parco Museum in Tokyo, Japan and the Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, Japan. His writing is published in literary journals, magazines, books and anthologies including Dance the Guns to Silence. His photography is published in various art books including Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents."

WASP planet background image from NASA / Bearbrick pics and digital imaging by Bearbrick Lover / Info from chamanvision.com, space.com, spacedaily.com

graffiti's glamour boy

It's not unusual for graffiti artists to achieve a certain level of fame and fortune later in their careers. Consider Kaws, Shepard Fairey (of Obama hope poster fame), Futura, and Slick, for example. Their art moved from streets and subways to hip galleries, fashion labels, designer vinyl toys and graphic design.

But among all of them, none lived a life more glamorously than the Parisian graffiti artist named André. After all, he's French. And handsome (see below, left).

This year, he became the star of the Belvedere IX Vodka campaign, along with Monsieur André (above, right), the character he made famous on the walls of Paris in the early 90s.

André's other early claim to fame was the "love graffiti" (above). He would paint the name of a lover over a random spot in Paris, on commission.

Because of his cool image, the Palais du Tokyo commissioned André to open a store (called Black Block) within the modern art museum. It sold everything hip, including toys based on his Monsieur André character (above) as well as global street fashion (below).

Later, André's partnership with high-profile friends resulted in a chain of successful clubs – Le Baron, Paris Paris, Le Regine (with Lionel Bensemoun) and La Montana (with Olivier Zahm). That's how he became the "it boy" of the Parisian club scene (below).

But the André style did not end there. Soon, he went into the hotel business with Hotel Amour (below, left) near Montmartre, probably the best "chic & cheap" hotel in Paris. I'd love to stay in one of its Bearbrick-decorated rooms! (below, right)

"Graffiti is not vandalism but a beautiful crime." – André

From artistic outlaw to lifestyle prince. I guess that's what happens when creativity combines with business savvy. Who says street artists have to starve? :-)

(Top) The Monsieur André Bearbrick designed by André is part of the Bearbrick Worldwide Tour Set A, released in 2004.

Info/other pics from cyanatrendland.com, theselby.com, labelnetworks.com, guillotine.com, blackblock.org, hypebeast.com, myspace.com, chicinparis.com, style.com, anthemmagazine.com, bkrw.com, www.lebaron.jp, lacoquette.blogs.com, belvedereix.com, blackblock.com