№6: The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers | GTA Update | Blow Out | Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of th…
My name is Dr. Tedi Gustilo Villasor, a practicing counseling and sport psychologist here in Manila, Philippines. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to tedi.substack.com, a monthly newsletter where I touch on a number of entertaining, informative, or (possibly) useful topics.
The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers (25th Anniversary Edition) by Mr. Christopher Vogler | Published on August 4, 2020
July 16, 2022.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
While waiting for our flight to Manila, I came across Christopher Vogler’s book, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structures for Writers (25th Anniversary Edition). It was a book that I shouldn’t have thought twice about getting…
But I did.
I rationalized that I had already purchased a great many things during our trip and I was fairly confident that I would be able to source out the book locally in Manila. Should that happen to fall through, I could always settle for the Kindle or Audible versions of the book.
Call to Adventure
When we returned to Manila, I couldn’t stop thinking about this particular book. I made time to go to my local bookstore and when I placed my order, I was given the most unexpected news.
“I’m sorry, we cannot order this particular book.”
“How come?”
“It is classified as a book that cannot be purchased outside of the United States.”
As soon as the person behind the counter finished that sentence, I immediately regretted not getting the book back in LAX. It was already in my hands! Now, wasn’t that the point of buying a book in the airport: To consume it during the long flight home.
So, if my local bookstore wasn’t an option, I could always turn to Amazon.com right?
Nope.
The book that I ordered from Amazon was immediately refunded.
I would later discover that there was also no Kindle or Audible version of The Writer’s Journey.
All of a sudden, it became the most coveted of all coveted books.
A quest was born: Finding a copy for my personal library.
The Ultimate Boon
The quest for The Writer’s Journey finally ended in January 2026 when I happened to spot it in Books Kinokuniya Singapore.
It was their only copy and I wasn’t going to make that mistake twice.
Progress
Since the start of October, I’ve made it a point to read a couple of sections of The Writer’s Journey each week.
The content: So far, so good.¹
Grand Theft Auto V: My Last Playthrough (An Update)
After completing the main storyline last October 6, I’ve played sparingly over the last few weeks.² I saved the Lester missions for last and was able to manipulate the stock market to the point that Michael ($62,147,909), Franklin ($61,887,062), and Trevor ($60,033,360) won’t have to worry about money anymore.
I was also able to do this.
At present, I have purchased around 15 (out of a possible 25) properties in Grand Theft Auto V with Michael ($220,444 left) blowing his fortune on three theater properties (Doppler Cinema, Ten Cent Cinema, and Tivoli Cinema) and purchasing all of the available weapons (as well as their high-end enhancements) from Ammu-Nation.
Hey, he did say that he loved the “movies.”
Blow Out (1981)
Date released: July 24, 1981 | Date watched: October 9, 2026 (Amazon Prime Video)
Recently, I came across this Quentin Tarantino video wherein he stopped by a Manhattan Beach video rental store called Video Archives. From 1984 to 1990, Tarantino had worked there as a clerk and proudly shared that he had spent an inordinate amount of time in the premises.
At the 8:13 to 8:47 mark of the aforementioned video, Tarantino mused that if he had to go to a dessert island, the first (of the three movies) that he would bring with him would be Brian De Palma’s neo-noir movie entitled Blow Out (1981).
Blow Out?
I had never heard of it but with such a glowing endorsement, I just had to watch it.
Starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, and Dennis Franz; I had known all of these actors from other projects. Allen immediately comes to mind as Detroit police officer Anne Lewis (Robocop 1-3); Travolta from Pulp Fiction, Face/Off, and Swordfish; Lithgow in 3rd Rock from the Sun; and Franz as the nuisance Airport Police Captain Carmine Lorenzo in Die Hard 2.
I finished Blow Out (1981) in three sittings. It wasn’t easy to watch but I did appreciate the different camera angles that de Palma utilized. There was one in particular—an overhead shot—featuring the film room of Travolta. The shot pans across the one end of the room to the other.
The music (composed by Italian musician Pino Donaggio) was also perfect for most of this film as I would have used a different score for the climax.
In closing, I was glad to have watched Blow Out (1981) but it wouldn’t be my choice to take with me to a dessert island.
Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End (2024)
Date released: October 31, 2024 | Date watched: October 11, 2026 (Amazon Prime Video)
Other than being a Spanish zombie movie that ranked in the Top 10 on Amazon Prime Video, I didn’t know what I was getting into when I started watching Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End (2024).
Dubbed in English, Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End (2024) also features English subtitles but I do not recommend using both as liberties were taken on their respective translations.
Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End (2024) focuses more on the human than the zombie element. As chaos breaks out across Europe, Manel and his cat, Luculo willingly stay in his Galicia home a despite a mandatory evacuation due to a deadly TSJ virus. Not long after, a dearth in provisions forces Manel and Luculo to leave for the Canary Islands where Manel hopes to be reunited with his sister Belen and her family.
Of course, there are zombies along the way and the movie ends on a cliffhanger. Good thing I didn’t have to wait long for the sequel as Apocalypse Z: New World was released yesterday (October 30, 2026) on Amazon Prime Video.
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Date released: November 29, 2004 (Premiere | United States) | Date watched: October 14, 2026 (Godzilla Film Festival 2004 [October 14-20, 2026] | Philippines)
Exclusive to SM Cinemas, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) was among several films featured during the first Godzilla Film Festival in the Philippines. It was my first time watching Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) and like all of the other movies that I’ve watched in October, I knew very little going in. My kid filled me in on the rest.
This movie had everything! Two tangents if you will. The first focuses on the dawn of mutants (Earth Defense Force [EDF]) who are tasked to protect the Earth from Kaijus. During one such attack, aliens (Xiliens) suddenly appear from the sky and beam up the invading Kaijus.
Not long after, the true intentions of the Xiliens come to light as they use the Kaijus that they had at their disposal to bring humanity to its knees. This is where the other tangent comes in, Godzilla—who was trapped in the start of the movie—is freed to deal with all of the Kaijus while the EDF takes care of the Xiliens.
It was very entertaining and a must-watch for Kaiju fans.
Street Fighter (2026)
Date released: October 14, 2026 (Philippines) | Date watched: October 28, 2026 (Cinema)
It has been 32 years since the last Street Fighter movie—which was very campy and equally entertaining.
How different would this new one be?
For starters, I appreciated the blending of the animation scenes with the real-life ones. The 2026 version also had more faithful representations of Chun-Li, E. Honda, Guile, Blanca, and Dhalsim.
Overall, it was an entertaining movie and set up nicely in the end for a sequel.
If you haven’t seen it yet, bear in mind that there is only a mid-credit animation scene.
National Book Store SuperBranch Festival Mall (2026)
The new National Book Store SuperBranch in Festival Mall officially opened last September 15, 2026. Here is what I saw during my first visit.
Ty Jerome (NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the 2026-2027 Season | Week 1 | October 20-25)
Last March or April 2025, I was able to win an eBay auction that yielded this 2019-2020 Panini Encased Rookie Endorsements card of Ty Jeremy Jerome. Never did I think that he would one-day lead the NBA in scoring with a 34.7 points per game average (sample size, 3-games) and his team, the Memphis Grizzlies, to an 3-0 start.
Congratulations, Ty! ■
Questions?
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Till next month!
About
Tedi Gustilo Villasor, Ph.D. is a former columnist for Baby Magazine (Philippines) as well as a past contributor to NBA.com/Philippines. His other works include the indie comic books Lindol and OBIsessions.
Click here for more information on his work as a psychologist.
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Click here to order Lindol (with artist and co-creator Randy Valiente) from our online partner Secret HQ.
Click here to order OBIsessions (with artist and co-creator Jann Galino) from our online partner Secret HQ.
Click here to order Lindol (with artist and co-creator Randy Valiente) and OBIsessions (with artist and co-creator Jann Galino) from our online partner Libreriangelo (Facebook Page).
If you happen to drop by Comic Odyssey’s Robinson’s Galleria, the branch is stocked with copies of Lindol #1A, #6A, #6B, #7A, #7B, #8A, #8B, #9A, and #9B.
For local collectors who are looking for the limited edition Lindol #1 Blank Cover variant, you can find them in my Carousell.ph page.
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As a thick perfect-bound book, sadly, several pages have already broken off.
Currently, I have completed 70% of the game.
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