On August 18, 2010 at 3:40PM Manila time (12:40AM PST) Frederick "Derick" Vincent Filler was born in Manila, Philippines. Congratulations to Trickie and Beccs, welcome to the world of parenting and sleepless nights. ;) The parents are back home since yesterday. Click on the pictures below to visit Becc's Facebook gallery and see more pictures.

Our big boy started pre-K today. Here is a quick video of him. I took another one which is a bit larger and I'll upload that later.

Here is the 2nd video. This one is in HD (double click on it to take you to Youtube for the HD controls). Taken from my Tmobile Samsung Vibrant phone.

Lola Amparo the heart of the Villareal family passed away this morning peacefully in her sleep at the home of her son Joel Villareal in Mountain View, CA. The family had kept vigil over her the night before. She had just turned 97 this February. She leaves behind her children Joel, Mollyn, Methy, Mimi and Mile, 15 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and their families. She will be dearly missed but it comforts us that she has now joined her husband Ben and her daughter May in heaven. May god grant her here well deserved rest and peace.

The family is still organizing the prayer services and funeral plans. Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available. Please send your condolenses to any of her children or use my email form and I will forward it to the family.

Lola Amparo Villareal
February 13, 1913 to March 18, 2010

Update: Well the Detective Comics #27 auction broke the previously set record. The final selling price was a whopping $1,075,500! So Batman takes the crown from Superman as being the most iconic superhero comic book character a few days after Superman's own record breaking sale. If you want to get a feeling of the atmosphere during the final bidding listen to this MP3 recording from Heritage Auctions.

Ever thought someone would pay a million dollars for a comic? Well guess what it just happened. On a side note the is also a current high grade auction of the 1st Batman comic (Detective Comics #27) due to complete on the Feb 25. The pre-live auction bid is already at $425,000. Let's see if this breaks the Superman record. Here is a video of the Detective Comics #27 comic.

Superman’s debut comic sells for $1 million

Sale breaks record of $317,000 for the comic that originally cost 10 cents

updated 1:28 p.m. PT, Mon., Feb. 22, 2010

NEW YORK - A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman has sold for $1 million, smashing a record set just last year.

The issue sold Monday morning is a 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books. It features Superman lifting a car on its cover and originally cost 10 cents.

The transaction was conducted by the auction site ComicConnect.com. Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the site and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles, orchestrated the sale.

Fishler said it transpired minutes after the issue was put on sale at around 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. He said that the seller was a "well known individual" in New York with a pedigree collection, and that the buyer was a known customer who previously bought an Action Comics No. 1 of lesser grade.

"It's considered by most people as the most important book," said John Dolmayan, a comic book enthusiast and dealer best known as the drummer for System of a Down. "It kind of ushered in the age of the superheroes."

Dolmayan, who owns Torpedo Comics, last year paid $317,000 for an Action Comics No. 1 issue for a client. Others have sold for more than $400,000, he said, but this copy fetched a much higher price because it's in better condition. It's rated an "8.0 grade," or "very fine."

Dolmayan said he didn't buy this copy but he wishes he could have.

"The fact that this book is completely un-restored and still has an 8.0 grade, it's kind of like a diamond or a precious stone. It's very rare," he said.

There are only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful have been rated so highly. It's rarer still for those copies to be made available for sale.

"The opportunity to buy an un-restored, high-grade Action One comes along once every two decades," Fishler said. "It's certainly a milestone."

The sticker shock was astounding to Fishler, nevertheless.

"It is still a little stunning to see 'a comic book' and '$1 million' in the same sentence," Fishler said. "There's only one time a collectible hits the $1 million threshold."