My Town, My Home

I was born and raised in a town where everybody knows everybody, where secret is a non-existing word and where gossip mongers put even the most relentless paparazzi to shame. But for all its people-imperfections, my town is a picture of utmost serenity: Waking up to the sweet chirping of the birds and sleeping to the soft rustle of the breeze; and breathtaking beauty: Lush greens against a sky of the bluest blue.

Life in my town is slow, really slow. My mom complains that progress will never see the light of day here. Honestly, I don't care. After the stress of living in the city, I welcome the leisurely pace of my town.

The church bells ring at 5 in the morning, and the faithful walk to church for the mass an hour later. By that time, my town has woken up to the noise of the roosters and the smell of breakfast. My favorite are the pandesal, literally, salt bread. Then I would dip those tasty bread into a cup of hot tsokolate, chocolate drink made from pure cocoa. Incidentally, it's my most favorite drink ever and nobody does great tsokolate than my grandmother.

The rest of the day, my town displays a sense of busyness. Some of the people go to the nearby city - the province's trade and education center - while the rest stay behind and just go about their daily routine. Whenever I come home for vacation, I immediately proceed to my grandma's house, where a steaming kettle of hot tsokolate awaits me, after breakfast at my own house. The rest of my day is spent lazing about the house, helping my aunt man the store, and listening to my grandma's story of her youth.

The church bells ring again at 6 in the evening for the Angelus, then again at 8 in memory of our dead. By that time, the town is quiet. Rarely do you see people roaming the streets. All other fun activities are done inside the houses. My town is as still as the night.

When I was in High School, I could hardly wait to leave my town and begin my adventure in the city. I likened myself to Belle from Beauty and the Beast: There must be something more to this provincial life. When I finally arrived in the city, I sometimes thought to myself that I will never come home to my town, even during the summer and Christmas vacation. Funny, but after only a year of city adventures, I was counting the days 'til vacation so I could return to my town and relax. It just goes to show that even the best of us have to eat our words. Or the city is just too stressful for my taste.

I try to come home whenever I can, and whenever I want to relax. There were times when I would just come home for a day, then it was off to the city again. It turned out it was more tiring that way. So when it was announced that it was going to be a long Halloween weekend, I grabbed a ticket home. It has been a while since my last visit. And it has been ages since a really long vacation. Right now, I'm in front of my dad's computer...yes, in this town where my mom said there'll never be progress. Of course, I will not equate her progress to mean wireless networks. She means it politically, a topic I will never write about in this blog. Then again, I might.

I'm enjoying this vacation, a treat that'll probably never happen again in another five years. I'll let you know...if I'm still bloggin', that is.

An Arabian Day

It was a tension-filled afternoon (the cause of which I might write about someday), and to loosen up, I popped the Aladdin trilogy in the player.

Of all the Walt Disney cartoon adaptations of fairy tales and legends I've watched so far, none is as modern as Aladdin, from the dialogues to the songs. You wouldn't expect less from a cartoon where the Genie calls Aladdin 'Al', would you? So anyway, I was later treated to an afternoon of wise crackin', lamp rubbin' Arabian fun.

While the original was everything a Disney movie should be - smooth animation, witty dialogues, and the rich, rich colors - the second and third installments, while with stories as exciting as the original, paled in comparison. The colors were just dull. And what happened to the elaborate markings on the flying carpet? And where were the other thieves? A 40 thieves song-and-dance ensemble would have been pretty impressive. Surely sequels, while only for video release, deserve as much attention to details as the original?

However, whatever disappointment I had with the animation aspect was well compensated by the wise-cracking Iago and the simply funny Genie. The songs were lovely, too. I noticed that while this cartoon has every right to go pop vis-a-vis the songs, the singers delivered wonderfully with just the right amount of pop and classical; so unlike Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, where there was much wailing going on in the singing in a bid to make it pop.

The trilogy is worth the watch if only for those really funny dialogues and delightful songs...well, the second and third installments, anyway. The original: Definitely worth the watch for everything.

Major Blog Makeover

I had 'overhaul' in my mind for the title, but I thought 'overhaul' was such a strong word, so I opted for the 'makeover'. And what a makeover it is.

I finally managed to have ads on my blog, after a week of 'error on page'. But I cannot, for the life of me, understand why I seem to have difficulty in copying and pasting pictures for my entries to make them a tad more interesting; although my entries are interesting enough as they are, with or without pictures (hahaha!). I added some page elements too, considering that I've kind of branched out a bit to include reviews of my favorite movies and books. So on the right-hand side of my blog, there's a List. Inspired by John Grisham's The Last Juror, I added a Religion Corner, which will consist of Bible passages, or prayers to Saints, or anything that has to do with anything religious. I also added a Currently reading... corner. The title of the said corner pretty much gives you an idea what it is about, doesn't it?

I wanted to add pictures, wallpapers really, of my favorite movies at the end of the blog page, but I had difficulty in making them shrink to fit. What the heck. I might be adding a few more page elements for quotes whenever I feel like it.

Anyway, I like the way my blog looks now. I'm seriously contemplating of changing the template once in a while (read: once a month), just for the heck of it. We'll see.

A Fairy Tale-y Day

It was a rather boring afternoon. I was looking through my movie collection when my eyes landed on the cartoon section. And there they were: The Cinderella Trilogy. Yes, folks, Cinderella is a trilogy.

I grew up to Walt Disney. My favorites are the fairy tale adaptations. Although Beauty and the Beast is my most favorite of the lot, Cinderella closely trails behind. Imagine then my delight when Disney decided to follow up Cinderella's story with its release of Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and Cinderella III: A Twist In Time. Everybody knows Cinderella's story; who doesn't? Probably the greatest fairy tale ever told, Cinderella has inspired more movies than any other fairy tale. She and the Prince living happily ever after is a good enough end for me. But in the tradition of sequels, I decided to get myself a copy of the second and third installments. It's nice to keep up with your favorite Disney characters.

Cinderella II: Dreams Come True is a collection of stories from the mice's perspective. There isn't much singing going on in this cartoon, unlike the original, but the animation is more luxuriant. The songs have a pop feel to them, but I didn't like them that much because Cinderella is, well, a classic. Leave the pop songs to, say, Aladdin. There isn't much magic going on in this installment either; except for the second story when Jaq, you know, the mouse, wished himself to be human. Other than that, none of those wand waving and 'bibbidy-bobbidy-boos'. Quite a disappointment, really. But still, Dreams Come True was cartoon fun.

Cinderella III: A Twist In Time is an exciting look at what could have happened if the slipper hadn't fit. The Fairy Godmother accidentally knocks her wand away and it lands right in front of Anastasia. Fascinated, Anastasia brings home the wand to her mother, who, instead of just magicking back her family's affluence, seeks revenge. She summons the forces of nature and turns back time to the day of the slipper-fitting. With constant waving of the wand, the stepmother manages to have the slipper fit Anastasia and the Prince to fall in love with the latter. The fun begins with Cinderella trying to convince the Prince that it was she he danced with at the ball, she he fell in love with.

There's sinister magic in this third installment; none of the innocence of the original. But I thought it was what made the cartoon exciting. At least there was magic. It was nice to hear Cinderella and the mice singing again. But what I really loved about this cartoon was the more active participation of the Prince. He was given more lines, more screen time, a meatier role: This was definitely his cartoon.

Next cartoon project: The Aladdin Trilogy.

Food Trippin' Weekend

It was one of those long weekends: Friday, the 12th, was declared a holiday, it being the end of the Ramadan. Somehow, though, I didn't feel the weekend was long enough. It's almost Monday and I'm like, 'Where did my long weekend go?' Well, where DID it go?

Thursday night was spent watching Season 9 of Friends. I had a blast! I laughed so hard I don't think I can wait long enough to buy the entire series. I laughed until the wee hours of Friday morning so, naturally, my Friday was spent sleeping the entire day off. And now I'm asking myself where my weekend went (rolls eyes).

At least Saturday was kind of productive. I had a haircut at David's, the parlor I always go to for a nice do. Then my cousin and I headed off for SM North and that was when the fun started. Hungry, we searched for a new joint to sample. Tokyo Cafe was right there along the passage from The Block to the cinemas, and the food looked sumptuous, so we dived right in.

I didn't notice the interiors but I do remember that the place was small, cozy small, that is. I noticed the really big Italian backdrop though so I sort of did a double to see if we entered the correct place. Yes, we did. It was time to order.

I'm not a fan of Japanese food, so I went for the safest: chicken recipes. I had the Chicken and Cheese Rolls, which is a new addition to the menu. It consists of fillets of chicken rolls stuffed with melted cheese, a potato something as a side dish, and a tiny bowl of sauce which tasted very much like the sauce of an Italian spaghetti. My cousin had the Shrimp Burger, and it was huge.

My dish was delicious. The chicken meat was tender, and there was no grease, at all. It's tasty with or without the sauce; I opted for without because I'm not that into Italian sauces. By the time my cousin and I were through with our orders, we were stuffed. The servings were meant for sharing and that's quite a relief because the dishes can be quite expensive for ordinary wage earners. Anyway, it was worth the visit and I'm thinking of visiting the place again for its pizza and pasta.

We decided to walk off our big bellies, so it was National Bookstore next. I got myself a copy of the Penguin Classics: Jane Austen's Persuasion and Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Yes, I kind of was influenced by the movie The Lake House. Anyway, I decided to head home because I had a send-off dinner to go to. Food, food, and more food!

That time around, it was Napoli's at Timog Avenue. We had the New York Classic Pizza and Seafood Marinara. It was not my first time to eat at the place. My friends and I frequent Napoli's if only because the servings are quite hefty, it's almost impossible to finish your orders. Of course, everything there is simply delicious, that goes without saying. So I was once again stuffed, which made me beg off Sunday breakfast.

Book focus:The Last Juror by John Grisham ( The Last Juror Paper )

The Lake House: Timeless Love Story

I am a Korean Wave follower, and one of the Korean movies that I really like is Il Mare. When I learned that the movie The Lake House was a remake of the Korean flick, I was a bit skeptical. For one, I'm not a fan of remakes, particularly the Asian to Hollywood type. Second, bizarre plots are Korean movies trademark, so I seriously doubted whether Hollywood could pull this off. Finally, Hollywood has a tendency of butchering artistically-made Asian films.

Anyway, the movie. The story begins with Dr. Kate Forster leaving a note for the new tenant of the picturesque house on the lake she just moved out from with a request to please forward her mail to her new address in Chicago.

Enter the new tenant, Alex Wyler, who comes across the letter and is somewhat baffled by its contents. Kate's letter mentioned paw prints by the front door, which aren't existing. The letter also mentioned a box in the attic, but the box simply isn't there. Besides, as far as Alex knows, before him, no one has lived in the lake house for years.

So Alex dismisses the letter, until that fateful day when a dog wanders in the lake house, steps on some paint, and leaves prints by the front door. Alex is reminded of the letter and in his curiosity to solve the mystery of the paw prints, decides to personally deliver his letter to Kate in the address stated in her first missive. The thing is, the building Kate is supposedly living in doesn't exist yet. The area has one of those 'On this site shall rise..' signs.

Alex comes to the conclusion that the lady might just be pulling his leg, stating an address that doesn't exist and a date that's all wrong. She dated her letter 2006, when it's the year 2004.

Kate decided to play the 'date' game with him: If he insists that it's 2004, then he better watch out for the spring snow. He scoffs at this, naturally. But then, it snows.

'Can this be happening?' he asks.

The continued correspondence between the two blossoms into a wonderful love affair which would have been perfect if not for a teeny, weeny detail: They live two years apart.

I love this movie, I don't quite know where to begin.

Everything about this movie was so calm - the directing, the actors' portrayals of their characters, the musical score - that I felt soothed despite the confusing premise. My skepticism had nothing to do at all with the perplexing premise. I initially knew that the movie was a remake of Il Mare so I expected the odd plot. Hence, I set aside all logical thoughts and suspended my disbelief; otherwise, I'd go crazy analyzing this movie and I haven't even started on the dog. This movie begs you to simply appreciate it for what it is: A love story with a powerful message that true love comes to those who wait.

My skepticism bordered more on whether Hollywood can pull off a bizarre plot characteristic of Korean movies. I was awed. I am now a remake convert, if just because of this movie. The director, Alejandro Agresti, made this movie his canvass, bringing in really amazing sites of Chicago, blending them with the actors' superb performances, and finishing it off with smooth transitions from the past to the present to the past. Needless to say, this movie was a work of art.

The movie hardly had scenes of Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves together, and this is supposed to be their characters' love story. Still, it worked for me because the actors have an inexplicable connection with each other, apart or together. Take Speed, for instance. In that movie, neither had the chance to at least gaze into each others eyes to establish the romance, but you feel the attraction is there. And if the actors' natural closeness isn't a plausible explanation to the effective love story, just look at the way they portrayed their roles. There was top-notch acting going on in this movie, even for Reeves who's usually stiff. Reeves felt wonderfully relaxed here that he had some quite powerful scenes - the train, Kate's birthday, the time when he browsed his father's memoirs. Both actors shone in this movie and I can't think of anybody else who'd portray their roles as perfectly as they did.

End result: The Lake House won both me and my quill. Why, it can't seem to stop writing praises about it! It was so masterfully directed, it is now my most favorite movie in the romance genre, so far.

The Housewife and The Politician

The online petition and the calls for apology by an affronted country are enough to express outrage over the racial slur made by the television series Desperate Housewives. I need not join the fray. But when my cousin swore she heard a local politician say 'Teri Tatcher' on air, I just couldn't let it pass without giving my two cents' worth. Here goes...

First, the housewife. I, who am located at the extreme end of the political spectrum, was personally insulted by the tasteless remark. And that's because I happen to be a Filipino. Imagine then the insult Filipino doctors might have felt considering that the remark pertained to them.

For those who say that we're overreacting and that the remark was just probably a joke - nice try, fellows. Sure, I can take a joke, even if the joke's bordering on insult, provided that the person who delivers it is a true blooded Filipino. Teri Hatcher's character in the series is not a Filipino; hence, insulting a nation to which she does not belong hardly qualifies as a joke.

Let's look at it from the series' perspective: This doctor informs Hatcher's character that she's undergoing menopausal stage. Hatcher's character might have found this insulting given the stereotype and her ignorance on the concept of 'menopause'. So she insults the doctor back with a remark where she thought it'll probably hurt him the most - his education. The intention then of the character was not to make the doctor laugh. There was a clear intent to insult the doctor. Call me dense, but I cannot locate the joke there.

The scriptwriter had an array of retorts laid out before him but he went right ahead and used that which would insult a nation over a trivial thing as menopause, a process every woman goes through.

The network handling the series had already issued an apology and I fully quote the article:

"The producers of Desperate Housewives and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offence caused by the brief reference in the season premiere," a statement said. "There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines. As leaders in broadcast diversity, we are committed to presenting sensitive and respectful images of all communities featured in our programmes."

Thanks for even mentioning The Philippines in your series but if you have nothing nice to say about it, then leave our country alone (Chris Crocker mode on)!

Now, the local politician. He used to be an actor. Actor-politicians aren't new in my country. They breed, this particular specie. Anyway, he represents a beautiful Southern province. He doesn't really strike me as intelligent, but whatever my opinion on his intelligence is worth, it's probably less to the good people of this province. This gentleman rose from the ranks - councilor, a few positions more, then Congressman. He is probably a very efficient public servant for the people in this province to elect him as their representative.

So, what seems to be my problem with him? Well, he has already earned my displeasure for a statement he made on a certain issue (not the Desperate Housewives thingy). It's more of his meddling on an issue that's beyond his jurisdiction than his remark that annoyed me, really. Now, he gives his opinion regarding the racial slur and I'm cool with that. He's just doing what politicians do best - jumping into the bandwagon. But I'm thinking, 'what the heck?' The more people voice their outrage on this Housewives remark, the better. However, his saying the wrong name on air really irked me: 'Teri Tatcher'? C'mon! Ok, Congressman, repeat after me: Teri Hatcher.

Word to the wise: Be more knowledgeable of the facts of the issue you're commenting on; otherwise, just shut up.

I rest my case.

The Saint: Espionage or Romance?

A saint is someone invoked by Catholics to intercede for them. In my limited, yet accurate, knowledge of the lengthy process of Canonization, a truly remarkable person, living or dead, must perform at least three miracles to be canonized a saint. Vatican has yet to determine whether the miracles performed are, indeed, miracles.

Russia is in the midst of a political turmoil, and on top of that, its citizens are dying from extreme cold. What Russia needs is a miracle, and billionaire nationalist Tretiak is willing to perform that miracle. But to do so, he enlists the help of master thief and elusive disguise artist Simon Templar. The latter's assignment: Steal the cold fusion notes from Dr. Emma Russell, the genius behind the scientific phenomenon that could change the world. I will not even pretend to understand what this science mambo jumbo called cold fusion is all about.

Anyway, the assignment seems like a walk in the park for our very suave espionage hero. After doing a background check on his victim, discovering that she's one lonely romantic with a fascination for magic, Templar poses as dashing debonair Thomas Moore and seduces his way into Dr. Russell's brassiere - where she keeps her cold fusion notes. Piece of cake. What Templar wasn't ready for, which, however, was predictable from our end of the spectrum, was him falling in love with his prey.

In the game of cloak-and-dagger, surrendering your heart is one dangerous move.

At the end of the day, The Saint is a love story. But thank goodness for its espionage theme. And thanks too to the director for squeezing in thrilling chases and fascinating disguises just when the scenes between Val Kilmer's and Elizabeth Shue's characters become cheesy.

I am not underplaying the remarkable tactics and suaveness of Val Kilmer's character, which the actor portrayed impeccably. Neither am I disregarding the espionage theme of the movie, which I find really enthralling. The point is, Kilmer's character did a 360 degree turn when he meets Shue's character. From being cold and cynical, he becomes this dashing hero intent on protecting his woman. Remember the scene in that icy cold river? If a man can dive under that to save my medicine bottle, I'll marry him in a heartbeat.

And why am I gushing about this movie that's classified as an action thriller like it's some chick flick? Two words: Val Kilmer. This guy is hot! Sequels, please.

When a person constantly changes his name, personality and appearance, he may lose sight of the person he truly is. This movie appeals to me because of the subtle message of not being afraid of your past and your pain. Kilmer's character is running away from his past, from his pain, afraid that he will not be able to love and be loved. So when Shue's character was able to 'strip him naked', so to speak, he was afraid, yet fascinated. Who is this woman who does not know anything about him and yet knows him? And how did she find him, when even the best of the Interpol couldn't?

Simon Templar uses the names of Catholic saints to aid him in his close-call escapes, which are, in themselves, miracles. But the miraculous thing that ever happened to him is Dr. Emma Russell loving him, in spite of everything.

Ok, I'll stop here...it's getting a bit cheesy even for my quill.

Pimp My Ride and Public Commute

New York has the Subway. Hong Kong has the MTR. The Philippines has the MRT or Metro Rail Transit. I've ridden the MRT countless times but I can never, for the life of me, understand why I can't seem to get used to it.

I drive a 1992 Toyota Corolla XE. It has been in the family for 15 years. And in a culture that's a staunch believer of hand-me-downs, my car is a hand-me-down, from father, to brother, to me. I'm not complaining though. Except for minor scratches, which are barely visible unless you're nose to nose with the car, my car can still fetch a good amount when sold. Not that I have any plans to sell it. My mother won't let me. Being the first family car, it is protected by what we call 'sentimental value'.

I didn't get the car straight away. I had it only when I was in second year college. My parents decided that I should experience the wonders of public commute during my freshman year. This declaration was received in panic. Yeah, I rode public transport when I was in the province but this was the city! The city, for crying out loud! Do they really think I'd survive those jeepneys running like mad in the streets, those cabs that charge triple the regular fare? Turned out I was being overly dramatic. The jeepney rides weren't that bad. Except for my hair being in a constant mess when the jeepney roamed the Metro like there's no tomorrow, I was grateful that I had to put up with it for only 15 minutes, my house being so close to my University. The cab rides weren't all worked up as I pictured them to be. In fact, the drivers were quite friendly and rarely did I come across one who charged me an excess fare.

When I was finally given the keys to my car, surprisingly, I wasn't that excited. Sure, it would mean the end of my public commutes, but other than that, there was nothing else to it. I'm a homebody, and so is my car. When my destination does not have decent parking spaces or is somewhat new to me, I take the public transport. Other than these though, I drive whenever and wherever, which are far and between anyway.

Then came the MRT, a transport I highly recommend if you're not a fan of bumper to bumper traffic. The only problem, too many people. This is one huge matter in my case because I'm afraid of crowds, and I'm a self-proclaimed claustrophobic. Back when I was riding the MRT to work, I would go to the station an hour earlier so I could have the luxury of waiting for a vacant carriage.

It has been months since my MRT rides but I was forced a trip down my public commute memory lane because I rode the MRT yesterday. What's more, the station where we, my cousin and I, got on and off were full of people. Where did they all come from? The wonderful thing about the MRT, however, is its link to the malls. I was thus spared the horrors of being shoved by the crowd to the noisy streets of downtown Cubao.

I still prefer to drive to my destination, traffic notwithstanding. I'm patient anyway.

The Prince & Me: A Fairy Tale & More

The movie has the makings of a fairy tale: Dashing, handsome Eddie meets and falls for pretty, ordinary Paige Morgan. Of course it helps that Eddie happens to be the Crown Prince Edvard Valdemar Dangaard, a fact unknown to Paige.

Prince Edvard is every inch the irresponsible heir to the throne. To the utter disappointment of his parents, the King and Queen of Denmark, he whiles away his time racing cars and chasing women. In short, Prince Edvard is a paparazzi's dream.

Paige is from Wisconsin; a simple girl with a simple dream: To enter Johns Hopkins and work for Doctors Without Borders. She is every parent's dream child - intelligent, independent and responsible.

Their worlds collide when Prince Edvard, not quite ready to take over the 'family business' yet, decides to fly to Wisconsin, where he hears the girls are wild. He poses as Eddie, a foreign exchange student, and has a disastrous initial encounter with Paige: He, thinking she's just another wild college girl; She, adamant that he's a 'royal pain in the ass'.

The two get long eventually, as is to be expected from people who are constantly thrown into each other's company. They got along too well, in fact, that they find themselves falling in love. It is during this time that the now mature Eddie is recalled to Denmark to take on his princely duties, as his father is terminally ill. Stunned, Paige has to decide whether to stay and pursue her dreams or abandon her future and follow Eddie across the Atlantic.

The movie may be classified as a romantic comedy but it manages to be more than that with its theme of female empowerment. It's easy enough to say that this movie is a fairy tale: An ordinary girl finally meets her prince charming, who, in actuality, is a prince. But the movie is not your ordinary fairy tale because we have a character, in the person of Paige Morgan, who does not dream of castles or princes, but dreams of medical school and working in places that aren't exactly tourist destinations. In fact, Eddie himself admitted that he finds Paige intimidating; he, of the royal blood, who has had a fair share of intimidating people.

The fact that Paige and Eddie ended up together in the end does not lessen the female empowerment theme the movie carries. The DVD has an alternate ending which, I later learned from director Martha Coolidge in her commentary, was the originally intended ending. In the alternate, Paige turned her back on Eddie, returned to Wisconsin, and realized her dreams. Some, and even I on occasions, think that this is the appropriate ending given the movie's strong pull towards women who realize their dreams. But Coolidge decided to have the lead characters back together because of their strong love for each other. And I must say I totally agree, not because I'm a sucker for happy endings. The movie laid down the love foundation perfectly that the fairy tale ending looked like the originally intended ending and the alternate, well, just an alternate. Besides, the prince was willing to compromise so all is well. It is possible to have your cake and eat it too.

Another factor for the fairy tale ending would be the sizzling chemistry between Julia Stiles and Luke Mably. Anyone who saw this movie cannot just ignore the obvious on-screen attraction and opt for the alternate ending. I surfed the net for news of an off-screen romance between the leads but Stiles already has a boyfriend and it isn't Mably. Still, I was thrilled when I came across this interview on Mably:

Thinking back, what’s your favorite memory from shooting "The Prince & Me?"

Lots of it. There was so much to do in the movie, but I really enjoyed doing the stuff with Julia. I really miss seeing her face every day. I think she’s a really special actress, a very exciting actress to work with. (Source)

I'm not laying down my quill on these two just yet.