tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87714694014475064192011-04-22T05:22:25.260+07:00"Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk, Do the Deeds, Live the Life."Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.comBlogger1051100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-68079386432280932652009-04-10T00:36:00.003+07:002009-04-10T02:14:27.970+07:00

Alright,Yeah, it was early last month when the event was held, and this little essay is perhaps a bit way overdue, but I'll go on ahead anyways and start rambling about it.I like the fact that they went through the pain of staging this thing called a website for their ticketing purposes, complete with a feature so commonly called 'payment by credit card'. In my mind's eye I was thinking printing

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-78382291845770832052009-01-21T14:20:00.005+07:002009-01-21T16:47:34.961+07:00

Like millions of people in the US and around the world, me and my brother was waiting for Obama's inauguration speech on January 20th 2009. The timing falls smack dab in the middle of the night between January 20th 2009 and January 21st 2009, Jakarta time. It's the first time in the history of the world that an African American is inaugurated as president of the United States, and both of us felt

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-74683047245967646702009-01-21T10:31:00.003+07:002009-01-21T14:05:57.896+07:00

Movie Review Slumdog Millionaire Directed by: Danny BoyleCo-directed by: Loveleen TandanThere has been quite a lot of good words said about this movie. A friend who's a movie freak told me about it once, and the movie popped up in Time magazine just a tad later after hearing it from him. The movie then won the Golden Globe award for best picture, and it became a must-see in my list (actually, any

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-37464098275942883982009-01-19T13:38:00.005+07:002009-01-19T17:58:44.989+07:00

It sort of sucks to realize that you really miss something after it's gone for 3 months.It came unexpectedly. Was on a casual conversation with a colleague when he asked about my previous assignment. I started talking about how it was, and found myself uncomfortably silent after finishing my story. All the images of the places I've been to and the people I know rushed through my mind, and I felt

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-8562661115352638632008-12-19T09:14:00.005+07:002009-01-21T14:05:31.421+07:00

I felt like writing something about my turning 30 the other day (or was it earlier than that?). But along the way the urge just dissipated bit by bit. And now seems like I'm at the last few precious drops of that urge, and the rest has just gone down the drain. Since I have nothing to do at the moment (a nicer way of saying that I'm bumming around), I decided to make use of these last few drops

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-81979152461194755802008-11-14T11:20:00.003+07:002008-11-14T13:05:45.642+07:00

Movie ReviewWall*EDirected by: Andrew StantonVoiced by: Brent Burtt, Elissa KnightI'm kinda late when it comes to watching this movie. It went on showing in theaters about a few months ago and I didn't go and see it (a terrible sin for a Pixar fan), and I only managed to grab a DVD copy about a week ago. Still, it was better than nothing. Big screen or a laptop screen, these don't matter when it

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-74337012397954529702008-11-13T13:35:00.007+07:002008-11-13T15:00:55.603+07:00

Movie ReviewBe Kind RewindDirector: Michel GondryStarring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny GloverThe movie started out a bit ho-hum when I watched it. A dying neighborhood; a pair of friends; an old VHS rental store owner, whose store is an old building where an old legendary Jazz player was born (a claim made by the store owner himself); and a plan to demolish and build new buildings. Put them

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-91417300420202472882008-10-14T21:57:00.006+07:002008-10-16T00:31:53.297+07:00

...is where I am right now. I remember the feeling well. I went through it last year, before I left Manila for the US. I was staying in an apartment that was assigned to my friend, and I was just waiting to leave. I felt I was not welcomed. I felt like I didn't belong anymore. I was not here and yet was not there either. It was time to move on, but not just yet.In the US it didn't take long for

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-48994016770391747622008-10-13T01:08:00.000+07:002008-10-13T01:09:17.363+07:00

2 years, 1 month and 8 days. That’s how long it’s been since I first set foot here in the Philippines. Time flies by, and before I know it, it’s time for me to leave. I could come up with a lot of cliches here, like “it’s been quite a journey", “what an experience!", “I have learned a lot!", “it’s been nice working with a team that has such and such kind of people with such and such kind of

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-78919687169833074832008-09-24T14:48:00.003+07:002008-09-29T14:20:23.335+07:00

Bowel movement. I hate it when I had to wake up from a perfectly nice sleep just because my stomach was begging to be emptied. Not doing so, however, could produce catastrophic result so there I was forcing myself to wake up. Most of my body would still like to sleep, but my dear tummy said that it misses the white throne.I like it when it didn't have to take that long.A streak of sunlight passed

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-88149745944564895192008-08-07T14:00:00.002+07:002008-08-07T14:54:35.961+07:00

I guess it's a well known 'urban legend' that my apartment in Makati, Manila, is a bit on the haunted side of things. There were many tiny spooky details such as seeing shadows from the corners of my eyes, radio turning on by itself at certain hours, friends (who claimed to be able to see the unseen) saying that there was a lady in red standing just near where my work desk is in the apartment. I

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-34293336168251632008-07-12T23:15:00.005+07:002008-07-13T10:36:19.582+07:00

Movie ReviewWantedDirector: Timur BekmambetovStarring: James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina JolieWent to watch this movie with no high expectations. Only remembered some parts of the trailer, the most memorable one being where the main character shot a bullet that curved around Angelina Jolie's face and hit the bull's eye right behind her back. Thought it was going to be just another cheap

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-66341909128207115602008-03-10T12:36:00.011+07:002008-03-13T15:07:09.851+07:00

The one thing I like about hangin' out with professional (or pro-wannabes) photographers is that I get to go to all kinds of interesting places. Even though they're packing heavy-duty SLRs and all I have is a lousy second-rate point-and-shoot, but the adventure more than makes up for the lack of first-rate photos I bring home (Mind you, they're not first rate because of picture "technical"

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-89356291091870383902008-02-07T19:29:00.000+07:002008-02-11T22:02:06.853+07:00

Finally, after 2 testing cycles (read: trial and error/hit-or-miss), after loading close to 1 million records in total, after arduous validation and reconciliation process (read: counting other people's money and making sure I didn't lose/misplace/overlook/forget even one cent), after so many defect resolutions (read: cleaning up a lot of mess) after so many e-mails sent, finally... ...it's show

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-87416744417363707572008-01-31T12:21:00.000+07:002008-02-11T21:30:35.628+07:00

A beginning has to have an end, isn't it? It gives a chance for another new beginning to start.It has indeed been awhile since that post about a weekend sleep over. A lot has indeed happened to our family (I'll be calling it 'outfit' or 'group' in this post from time to time) since that time. Dodski has rolled off the project, as well as El Pipil (though their spirit and legacy are still with us

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-72504561517738129612008-01-24T10:10:00.000+07:002008-01-24T12:28:04.262+07:00

Movie ReviewSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber from Fleet StreetDirected by Tim BurtonJohnny Depp; Tim Burton; B-movie-like title; musical; a set of deadly sharp razor blades, (and, perhaps, Sacha Baron Cohen of 'Borat' fame) you could probably tell from these things that this is going to be a very interesting movie. And interesting it definitely is. Excellent, even.First, let us begin with the

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-63529707660841176572008-01-21T14:06:00.000+07:002008-01-21T16:40:54.411+07:00

Fear said 'hello' to me again when one weekend my friends were planning to go wall-climbing and asked me to come along. I went along, but I didn't go climbing. I just sat down looking at them climb that wall and went wondering whether or not I'd be able to face it again.My fear of heights. Of falling. Of dying.As I sat there on the bench looking up at that wall, at my friends scaling it, I

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-84157212883244124122008-01-17T12:28:00.000+07:002008-01-17T18:12:17.466+07:00

Book ReviewI Am Legend Richard MathesonI must say that I have to thank the movie 'I Am Legend' because it led me to the realization that a brilliant novel with the same title (on which this movie is very loosely based) exists. If you read my review on the movie then you'd know that it's about the (supposedly) last man alive named Robert Neville, about an unknown disease, and about living alone

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-21603895732951121302008-01-15T20:35:00.000+07:002008-01-15T21:32:18.713+07:00

Movie ReviewI Am LegendDirected by Francis Lawrence Alright, this is what the story's all about: a black man being chased around by a pack of Neo Nazis. Okay, okay, I was just kidding. After all, that's what the 'monsters' all look like: pale, bald, with manic look in their eyes. Add to that the fact that Robert Neville (Will Smith) is an african-american. Very well, let's get to the proper

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-24118890090093184472007-12-07T09:49:00.000+07:002007-12-09T01:44:39.407+07:00

This is an ode to that ever present canopy high atop our heads and our tallest buildings. We might take it for granted often times, and God knows I do take it for granted from time to time. I mean, it has always been there and it has never literally come crashing down on our head (though it does happen, figuratively, from time to time in our lives but the sky's never really to blame in these

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-39797186526238455432007-12-05T17:05:00.000+07:002007-12-05T17:22:13.410+07:00

Vegas ended, and it was time to drive back to Los Angeles. I didn't go straight back to San Francisco, though. Stayed overnight at my buddy's place in Orange County. The next day he and his wife took me to go visit some of the nearest beaches there in Los Angeles. Forgot the names, but as the picture on the right suggests, one of them was called Newport. The beaches were okay, though nothing

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-46168995839855382342007-11-23T09:41:00.000+07:002007-12-04T15:28:37.720+07:00

A trip to the US is not complete without visitting Vegas, right? Well, personally I don't really think so (New York, I believe, fits this bill better), but still it'll add to the catalog of cities I've visitted. Not saying that I have a zealous ambition in adding the number of items in that list but I'm always glad with anything that comes my way. With that in mind, how could I turn down a

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-88313925553378778952007-11-04T15:50:00.000+07:002007-11-04T16:52:47.853+07:00

A long and arduous season it has been, my dear child,Many a sunny days have passed coloring your skin brown,Many a stormy nights have you endured,Yet with innocent eyes braves you these days without a frown,Though not yet it is your future assured.Many a mistakes have you made, cuts and bruises inflicted, humiliating defeatsAnd yet many a victories have you achieved under,the faces of the

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-90770245573271745012007-10-29T20:47:00.000+07:002007-10-29T21:58:32.373+07:00

Movie Review V for VendettaDirected by James McTeigueBased on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta tells the story of one masked vigilante called simply by the codename 'V' (Hugo Weaving). Set in the bleak fictional future of Great Britain, V vows vendetta against the repressive British government and started wreaking havoc not only by the destructions of key governmental

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-8322877282184832442007-10-09T20:05:00.000+07:002007-10-15T22:12:10.561+07:00

Movie ReviewThe Bridge on the River Kwai Directed by David LeanWhoa. 1957. Old movie, but in full color of course. Ran across the DVD in one of Manila's many markets. Knowing that this movie's got a lot of praise, I thought that I owed it to myself to see it and find out by myself why it's one of IMDB's top 250 movies of all time (and why it won Academy Awards best picture long, long time ago).

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-64827953816585572342007-10-08T10:55:00.000+07:002007-10-08T12:50:06.525+07:00

Movie ReviewDisturbiaDirected by D. J. CarusoDisturbia, I've been wanting to see this movie for quite awhile. By the time I realized that IMDB gave it a decent review, the movie's out of circulation in the many theaters near me. My luck came around when I found a DVD of it back when I was visiting good ol' Jakarta. Got the chance to pop it into the DVD player on a good Sunday evening (while

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-33586137241860442342007-10-07T22:24:00.000+07:002007-10-08T09:11:49.390+07:00

Book ReviewWatchmenAlan Moore and Dave GibbonsAlright, I'm not much of a comic book fan (and please bear in mind that comic is different than manga, it's Japanese counterpart). I don't follow stuff like the Marvel Universe, or Justice League of America. I mean, I know X-Men, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and all those superheroes, but only in general terms. My exposure to these characters is

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-51805803834821991672007-10-03T14:27:00.000+07:002007-10-03T22:49:35.844+07:00

Music ReviewCorinne Bailey Raeby Corinne Bailey RaeFirst heard of her in a compilation CD called 2007 Grammy Nominees. The song they put in that album was 'Put Your Records On'. The song started out relaxing and picked up tempo a bit during the chorus and throughout the rest of it. I was not deeply interested in her until, as always, I was browsing through Amazon and saw her album and realized

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-52791275984310839922007-09-30T18:45:00.000+07:002007-10-01T14:46:51.857+07:00

Movie ReviewNo ReservationsDirected by Scott HicksThe management in the apartment where I am currently staying in Makati held a movie night-out event and invited the all the occupants. It was Friday night and since I got nothing else better to do, I figured that there's nothing wrong with it. Along with my other colleagues, we went to Rockwell to see the movie.I thought that 'No Reservation' is a

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-28594755319684380322007-09-30T17:45:00.000+07:002007-10-01T14:47:11.352+07:00

Movie ReviewResident Evil: ExtinctionDirector: Russell MulcahyThe story of Resident Evil: Extinction continues from the previous movie where the world was turned into barren wastelands thanks to the infamous T-Virus. Alice (Milla Jovovich) is on the run by herself, fearing the possibility of hurting anyone around her and at the same time trying to find a place safe from the virus. Claire Redfield

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-54766551788157490112007-09-11T01:24:00.000+07:002007-09-17T18:47:30.149+07:00

...called Berkley is one of the place me and some colleagues of mine used to frequented when I was in the US (I went there three times, actually). There was this really good ramen restaurant (which, alas, I forgot the name), they served big tasty portions for quite a reasonable price (for US standard, that is). And yes, in all of my three visits there, I ate there. Some of the houses in

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-11498850778497239062007-09-10T22:17:00.000+07:002007-09-11T01:37:57.943+07:00

Music ReviewCocoBy Colbie CaillatAbout a week ago I was surfing the net and I was reading an article in CNET about Apple announcing a new line of iPods (by that time, the CNET reporters were on site in San Francisco attending the event). And sure enough, the next day Apple announced this new line of iPods (the new Nano, the new classic, and the anticipated iPod Touch with iPhone-like capabilities

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-89160889992805598142007-09-07T05:32:00.000+07:002007-09-07T06:12:39.569+07:00

I just don't get it, really. The cashiers at most of the convenience/department stores and restaurants here in the Philippines are obsessed with giving coins for change, even when I know for sure that they have bigger denominations (paper-based ones, of course) inside their cashier machines. I might be wrong here, and they might have some purpose in giving coins, but really why would you want to

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-30247193228583286642007-09-07T01:53:00.000+07:002007-09-07T02:02:00.790+07:00

Though it didn't win during the project performances showcase in the office's outing in Yogyakarta recently, I can safely say that we, the people of Jakarta office in our project, are proud of this video that we made. Didn't really take much effort, because we were enjoying every minute of it. Much of the credit goes to Pipil, who did all of the video editing. He's done a great job!Without

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-45602304020891597442007-09-06T23:47:00.000+07:002007-09-07T03:52:16.136+07:00

Movie ReviewSurf's UpDirected by Ash Brannon and Chris BuckOh, another movie about penguins? Wait, let me correct myself: another CGI movie about penguins? So, what's new this time? Well, for starters, these penguins claimed that they were the ones who invented surfing (along with cave paintings for proof), and instead of the cold arctic ice, they surf in a tropical island. Cody Maverick (voiced

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-67034692363495725542007-09-06T22:10:00.000+07:002007-09-06T23:31:58.242+07:00

Movie ReviewBlades of GloryDirected by Josh Gordon and Will SpeckWell, I must say that I was really entertained by watching this movie. Nothing really special about the story. It's basically about two rival skaters, Chaz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (John Heder) who, due to a scuffle between the both of them, got banned from the men's single competition for life. Their only

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-50629575930737119172007-09-06T00:20:00.000+07:002007-09-06T06:36:06.229+07:00

This time around, I woke up first before my room mate did. Did the usual morning business and then went down for breakfast. This time, after the other swore off the hotel's morning buffet, we went together to have dim sum for breakfast. The dim sum restaurant was quite near the hotel, and it was along the way to the subway station. Very convenient indeed. As to be expected, the food was

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-55069854827603931512007-09-04T23:53:00.000+07:002007-09-05T00:49:22.460+07:00

It probably wasn't such a good idea watching a horror movie before you go on a graveyard shift.Now that the security guard has turned off some of the lights and that there was no one around (except, of course, for the security guard who, no surprise here, was snuggling in his chair at the time of this writing and was about to produce an orchestra out of his snoring), my imagination started

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-25202218718205845492007-09-04T22:10:00.000+07:002007-09-04T23:48:50.340+07:00

Movie Review1408Mikael HåfströmMike Enslin (John Cusack) is a writer who writes books about haunted places, but he doesn't believe in anything that he could not see. One day, he came across a certain hotel in New York called the Dolphin Hotel that has a fabled room where many of its previous occupants died horrible deaths. Intrigued, he came with the intention of investigating it, but met with

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-60133686004667157492007-09-04T12:57:00.000+07:002007-09-04T13:29:54.060+07:00

Movie ReviewBourne UltimatumPaul GreengrassI have always liked the Bourne series, and this final iteration is probably the best one out of the three. The story picks up where the second movie left off. Bourne is on the quest of trying to find out who he really is and why he became who he is right now. Along the way, he saw an article in a newspaper with his name in it and an operation named '

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-78953679975045646452007-09-03T09:25:00.000+07:002007-09-04T12:56:57.286+07:00

My room mate (and my supervisor in the project) woke me up at around 8 am in that Saturday morning of August 25th 2007. We were supposed to go out looking for breakfast that morning, but I told him to just go ahead because he was all prepared and I was basically a lazy ass. I thought that I'd probably be eating at the hotel's breakfast buffet. About 5 minutes after he left I realized that I

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-86832380473411434802007-08-30T22:58:00.000+07:002007-08-31T17:08:39.039+07:00

Life's been a pretty dull affair for me for quite some time, and I knew that I needed to inject some sort of a variety into it. So when a co-worker and friend asked me, early in July, to come along for a trip to Hong Kong at the end of August, telling me nothing beyond the fact that we'd be getting discounted prices, I signed up without thinking twice. When I heard that there would be around 18

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-6075440954365715052007-08-29T16:13:00.000+07:002007-08-30T15:43:07.834+07:00

Movie ReviewRush Hour 3Directed by Brett RatnerIt's been awhile since the last Rush Hour movie, which was Rush Hour 2. In this third iteration, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker team up again for some hard-hitting (Chan's part) and fast-talking (Tucker's part) action. And seems like this time, Tucker's character can hold his own in the martial arts department (with some tutelage from Jackie Chan, most

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-75400885956663960162007-08-29T13:42:00.000+07:002007-08-29T15:21:07.880+07:00

Book ReviewThrone of JadeNaomi NovikThe second book of the Temeraire series tells the story of Laurence and Temeraire's journey to China. It seemed that China was unhappy with the fact that the egg of a Celestial had fallen to Britain's hands ('His Majesty's Dragon', book 1 of the Temeraire series), and due to some political maneuvering by Britain and China, they were both forced to go on a

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-50455946806967174332007-08-17T19:26:00.000+07:002007-08-29T16:09:42.803+07:00

Book ReviewHis Dark Material OmnibusPhilip PullmanI came across this book thanks to a certain movie trailer called 'The Golden Compass'. The movie is set to be released sometimes in December 2007. 'The Golden Compass' is actually part one of a trilogy called 'His Dark Material'. The trilogy contains 3 books, and they are 'The Golden Compass', 'The Subtle Knife', and 'The Amber Spyglass'. I was

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-24233541734451248422007-08-16T12:17:00.000+07:002007-08-16T16:57:54.278+07:00

I'm looking forward to the release of this movie. I've almost completed reading the trilogy, and from the trailers I've seen so far, it looks quite promising. I think the movie creator added some more visual flairs when it comes to the machineries and architectures from Lyra's world. We'll see how the translation from the book to the movie fares when the movie is released this December 2007. I

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-52636887275327480082007-08-10T08:31:00.000+07:002007-08-11T10:35:30.445+07:00

Music ReviewMinutes to MidnightLinkin ParkI became interested to Linkin Park ever since I heard 'Crawling' a long time ago. The combination of Mike Shinoda's rapping and Chester Bennington's singing (and most of the time, wailing), along with Han's mixes is something that is highly unique and sets this band apart from others in it's genre. Hybrid Theory was a good album, and Meteora's my personal

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-26458981747617065622007-08-08T18:13:00.000+07:002007-08-11T10:27:46.455+07:00

...sucks.Yes, really, Los Angeles for the most part was a let down. At least, Hollywood was a big let down. Just a strip of road with pavements full of stars. But still, I'm happy to say that I've been there.I and two colleagues of mine went to Los Angeles around the end of May. A friend of mine, who lives in Orange County which was about 30 minutes from Los Angeles, agreed to let us stay over at

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-66643889300586610332007-08-07T19:40:00.000+07:002007-08-11T09:49:55.108+07:00

Movie ReviewParis, Je T'aimeVarious DirectorsThank God for SQ and its line of good movies in its in-flight entertainment system, I got to see another fine movie. Paris, Je T'aime is actually a collection of short movies done by various directors revolving around the theme of Paris, beauty, and well you guessed it, love. The stories range from the very normal to the very strange and the movie

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-54446023797193494082007-08-06T12:08:00.000+07:002007-08-11T09:05:59.633+07:00

Music ReviewAlright, StillLily AllenEvery now and then I would find out about new singers and their debut albums. It could be either from a website, or heard about it from someone. I found out about Lily Allen's Alright, Still from a website called meebo. They have a room dedicated for her fans in there. Didn't know that she was a singer until I found her album accidentally in Amazon.com. Found

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-42061291255567147882007-08-05T15:16:00.000+07:002007-08-11T09:01:31.569+07:00

Movie ReviewRatatouilleDirected by Brad BirdPixar has quite did it again this time. Let me get some things out of the way first: since it is made by Pixar, comparison with Pixar's previous masterpieces is inevitable. I still think that Finding Nemo is their best one so far, with The Incredibles coming in a close second. With that said, Ratatouille is still an excellent movie, an animated one of

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-35381008490970736402007-08-03T15:14:00.000+07:002007-08-11T08:50:13.074+07:00

Movie ReviewLive Free or Die Hard (Die Hard 4.0)Directed by Len WisemanThey finally came up with another Die Hard movie, after all these years. After a summer full of so-so sequel, I don't have a high expectation over this one. But I was not disappointed, since the movie turned out to be a real Die Hard movie all the way through. I heard that the rating PG-13 was much talked about, especially

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-83998700069697595492007-08-03T12:38:00.000+07:002007-08-11T08:43:48.160+07:00

Movie ReviewHot FuzzDirected by Edgar WrightIt's amazing how you can discover good movies out of nowhere. To be fair, a lot of other people might have discovered this movie sooner than I did and were already talking about it. But, well, I wasn't expecting this much fun and quality when I chose this movie out of the list of in-flight movies available during my flight from Singapore to Manila last

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-27720619395360410012007-08-03T10:14:00.000+07:002007-08-11T08:40:05.778+07:00

Movie Review300Directed by Zack Snyder*Expletives abound in this review*Let me start this review by simply saying that 300 rulez!Fuck those who said that the story sucks or that there's too much violence in this movie. This movie is about coolness. This movie is about action. This movie is about looking good in a minimum amount of attires. This movie is about a bunch of cool-looking Spartans

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-82252334701034127342007-08-03T08:39:00.000+07:002007-08-11T08:37:14.968+07:00

Book ReviewHarry Potter and the Deathly HallowsJ. K. RowlingAt last, the famed Harry Potter saga comes to an end with this seventh and final book, 'The Deathly Hallows'. For those who are familiar with the series, Harry's quest in this final book is to find and destroy the rest of the Horcruxes. These are artifacts in which Voldemort, Harry's and the wizarding world's arch-nemesis, has sealed

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-68868991292272613482007-08-02T16:26:00.000+07:002007-08-11T08:32:50.032+07:00

Book ReviewHis Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1)Naomi NovikDragons are creatures of fantasy. They exist mostly in fantasy worlds in books and movies. They usually have bat-like wings, four legs, long neck, long tail, steel-like hide and if they're really special, they breathe fire. In this book, Naomi Novik has managed to create an interesting twist to dragon lore. What if dragons exist in

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-52070631187491823662007-08-02T13:27:00.000+07:002007-08-11T08:28:32.796+07:00

Movie ReviewTransformersDirected by Michael Bay"More than meets the eye." If you're a Transformer cartoon fan (like I am), you should be familiar with this line. I don't know where it came from, but for sure I hear it in the opening theme song. I've always liked the cartoon series, and was quite into the toys. Due to lack of money and lack of space, I only had a couple of 'em. Really wanted

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-70475909686142704012007-08-01T19:35:00.000+07:002007-08-11T00:49:49.235+07:00

After arriving on US soil on April 26th 2007 (US time, which is at the time 15 hours behind of Manila time), I went to the client's office in Concord the next day to take a look at it (so eager was I to get things started!). The office was a spacious, 4-story building with 4 "cores" and three indoor gardens. One garden was an ordinary garden with benches strewn from one end to another. Another

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-13318774411065115522007-07-22T20:36:00.000+07:002007-08-11T00:35:10.044+07:00

Book ReviewCloud AtlasDavid MitchellTo say that David Mitchell is a gifted writer would probably be an understatement. I probably had said that in my review of Ghostwritten (the first book that I've read which was written by him), and I don't mind saying that again here. After reading Cloud Atlas, I must say that I was very impressed. His writing styles are now more distinct and unique from one

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-39811629249105494652007-06-08T07:40:00.000+07:002007-08-06T12:07:13.035+07:00

Can you believe how much shit must I go through just to secure my US visa? Because I requested for a work visa instead of a tourist visa, matters became complicated. It was good enough that the company took care of everything, but still what was bad was the waiting time. Waiting for the interview schedule and then waiting for the passport to be returned by the US Embassy. What was especially

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-64537671164617412682007-06-08T07:11:00.001+07:002007-06-08T07:34:34.089+07:00

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-16428778373847775792007-06-07T04:25:00.000+07:002007-08-07T09:36:58.633+07:00

As I sit here in my temporary cube in Concord, California (more on that later...), contemplating the fact that I am once again about to leave a place I just got accustomed to, I tried to recall the significant events that happened during the course of my life starting on early April 2007 up until this point. Trying to put them up here before I lose steam and the stories become more like entries

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-47344370067196013952007-06-06T16:25:00.000+07:002007-08-07T09:37:26.482+07:00

"So, we'll be going to Tagaytay and Laguna then, since you told me that both are quite near. But we won't be going down to the crater since I don't think my mom could stand the boat ride and the horse ride," I told my driver, Lito. He nod his head, but I could see that there's something bothering his mind. Before I could ask, however, he went ahead and said "Sir, I think it would be better to

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-36521866141329486042007-05-11T08:47:00.000+07:002007-08-06T12:07:52.240+07:00

It's one of those time when I found a song for the occasion and everything about it just took the words out of my mouth.It's Michael Buble's "Home"."Home"Another summer dayHas come and gone awayIn Paris and RomeBut I wanna go homeMmmmmmmmMaybe surrounded byA million people IStill feel all aloneI just wanna go homeOh, I miss you, you knowAnd I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-91787712651487172892007-04-03T14:16:00.000+07:002007-04-07T09:43:37.155+07:00

Movie ReviewTitle:Blood DiamondDirector:Edward ZwickCasts:Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer ConnellyWriters:Charles LeavittSolomon Vandy (Hounsou) is a fisherman who lived with his wife and son in one of the fishing villages in Africa (Sierra Leone, I think). He led an ordinary life (for a fisherman, at least) until one day a rebel army came to his village to pillage, plunder, and

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-41014892550169702792007-02-27T04:17:00.000+07:002007-08-06T12:08:19.507+07:00

Getting a ticket from Manila to Singapore on the weekend during the earlier weeks of January 2007 was a pain in the ass. January 11th? Sorry, fully booked. January 18th? Too late, overbooked. All thanks to those balikbayans going back to wherever country it is they're working in after spending their Christmas holiday in the Philippines (and they all transit in Singapore). For those of you who do

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-90293138309243468142007-02-01T23:32:00.000+07:002007-08-06T12:06:16.532+07:00

The sound of a cellphone ringing and Do talking stirred my sleep early that Saturday morning on January 20th. I have only been asleep for less than 2 hours that morning, and thus I was not deep in slumber, making waking up a not-so troublesome affair for me during that time. Even though I couldn't listen to the conversation on the other line, but from Do's reply I knew it was Bob and I knew he

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-37423090264554042192007-01-21T23:01:00.000+07:002007-02-01T23:30:32.276+07:00

It had been quite a tiring week indeed, last week. I went home at around 9 o'clock (at least) during most of the days of that week, thanks to a lot of issues to solve and a lot of tasks to be done. And, well, I wasn't the only one though. I think it was quite a tiring week for most of my team members in the big, loving family of DC. I was fast becoming a workaholic that even CK's given up on

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-16665731487700226602007-01-09T14:43:00.000+07:002007-01-09T21:56:19.488+07:00

She was our house maid. She was a 'babu', as she would often called herself. She had been there even before I arrived in this world. She had been working with our family even before my mother got married. She served my family with sweat, tears and at times, blood. There was a period of time, however, when she went to the service of one of my mother's aunt. It did not last long. She went back to

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-65237909785182747682007-01-04T17:57:00.000+07:002007-08-07T09:41:15.315+07:00

Yes, it's another 'song for the occasion' (a. k. a. filler post), though the occasion has passed for quite some time. But I just heard this song and it struck me hard.I only wanted you to feelHow I thought you deserved to feelThe way you always said you wanted toYou wanted all we have to be realAnd every word we say to be trueStill after all I gave, it's not enough for youWell I can't give

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-27365758247791177272007-01-01T20:56:00.000+07:002007-01-02T23:37:04.303+07:00

I never thought that my New Year's Eve here in Manila can turn out to be quite interesting. It started out a bit boring, really. I'd been spending my time at a friend's apartment, enjoying the hospitality of his PlayStation2 while he was away. The game 'Okami' had me hooked for awhile now (as always, a review after I have finished the game), and that was what I'd been playing for several days.

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-37621871601204113392006-12-31T17:02:00.000+07:002007-01-02T23:36:32.428+07:00

I would like to say that this year is mostly about work, professionally, and the end of another stage in my life, personally. Many new things have I learned, many more mistakes have I made, but if you ask me should someone (or something, or God) gave me a time machine to go back to the start of the year (or any time in the past for that matter), would I change a thing? Would I have made different

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-86714945425372082352006-12-31T07:55:00.000+07:002006-12-31T08:39:37.522+07:00

A Book ReviewTitle:Teacher ManAuthor:Frank McCourtI knew Frank McCourt's 'Angela's Ashes', his Pulitzer Prize-Winning autobiography book, from my uncle (who happens to be of the same age as I am) whose girlfriend lend him the book. Read a couple of pages while we were having an island-holiday retreat and I was hooked, then decided to get my own copy. I don't know what the criteria for Pulitzer is

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-7633773211523556732006-12-29T12:49:00.000+07:002006-12-30T13:20:25.256+07:00

A Book ReviewTitle:GhostwrittenAuthor:David Mitchell"Try reading this, and when you're done, let me know what you think," a friend of mine said. And so I did. He lend me the book, and about 3 - 4 months after that (dude sorry for holding your book hostage for so long a time, I promise I'll return it to you when I'm back in Indonesia), I finally finished reading the damn thing.So, what's the book

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-52331936690420207822006-12-25T09:27:00.000+07:002006-12-25T12:47:57.728+07:00

"Would you mind being the searcher?"This one should be interesting, but I knew back then that I was going to be the butt of people's jokes, but what the heck, the gal needed my help and I knew that I could make things interesting. However, before that I had to ask something, "Wasn't it supposed to be that guy?""That guy said no, he doesn't want to play the game...please, could you be the searcher

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-77675679051644505872006-12-19T00:04:00.000+07:002006-12-19T01:01:55.068+07:00

I noticed lately that songs weren't always about love. I mean, well, there were still some love songs, but at least they were not the kind of "I love you, you love me, we're one big happy family" love songs. Or, maybe, it was just that my playlist was loaded with songs that were not the mushy-mushy kind of love songs. Yeah, I guess this is the most appropriate reason. Most of the songs were about

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-26609355473521780592006-12-16T16:37:00.000+07:002006-12-19T06:58:01.078+07:00

It was Wednesday, November 29th 2006 and after waiting for a bit more than a month since my last fly back, I finally get to go home again. We left the office during the late afternoon, me and a friend of mine, for Ninoy Aquino airport. Check in was a breeze thanks to SQ's online check-in facility, and the flight was uneventful (turbulence was a regular issue). Wanted to watch one of the movies

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-48945590524357731892006-12-15T09:22:00.000+07:002006-12-16T16:35:51.721+07:00

It has been quite an eventful time for me lately. There was the project's Christmas party last week, and there was my company's Christmas party last night (which happens to be my birthday party as well) and there's the project's deadline looming very close in the horizon.It has been exciting, yet I have a feeling that things have been going on a little bit to fast for me these last couple of

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-22250790556263014272006-12-13T22:57:00.000+07:002006-12-15T08:56:25.650+07:00

A Game ReviewConsole:Nintendo DSTitle:Elite Beat AgentsDeveloper:Nintendo/InisI like musical games where you have to do something (press a button, move your hands, etc) in accordance to the rythm of the music that is playing along. I admit that I'm not too good at playing the DDR series, since I'm not so nimble with my feet and it's kinda hard to practice since you have to go to the arcades first

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-24222348369988684502006-12-10T18:26:00.000+07:002007-08-11T08:03:45.396+07:00

I am a ghost who has been haunting apartment number A65. I have been staying in this place even before I enter this ethereal plane where wandering souls lost their way to the next life. Someone murdered me when I was sleeping in my apartment on a sunny Sunday afternoon about a year ago. Whoever that someone is, he or she got away with most of my possessions. I have a suspicion that one of the

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-55685057654236943592006-11-21T23:23:00.000+07:002006-11-21T23:29:40.343+07:00

The day you left methere was a feeling I have never shownThe day you told methere were the words that I have never knownAnd now it's overSo what's left that I should ever feelcause since the day you left me I have been so aloneAnd now we're left with broken promisesmy heart can't take no moreand now we're left with broken promisesmy mind has had enoughDeep inside methere are things that I have

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-16418200417808320192006-11-21T22:32:00.000+07:002006-11-21T23:22:03.926+07:00

A (Belated) Movie ReviewTitle:ClickDirected by:Frank CoraciWriting Credit:Steve Koren (written by) andMark O'Keefe (written by)Cast:Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken, David HasselhoffOne glance at a 'Click' poster and you will think "Oh, another Adam Sandler movie." Just another movie you watch to kick back, have a simple dumb fun, preferably with a date. I was about to completely

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-17930449161658099442006-11-19T21:55:00.000+07:002006-11-19T23:42:26.105+07:00

Movie ReviewTitle:Casino RoyaleDirector:Martin Campbell:Casts:Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judy Dench, Jeffrey WrightWriting Credits:Neil Purvis, Robert WadeI'm not much of a Bond fan. All I know about James Bond are: James Bond ("Name's Bond. James Bond."), 007, Vodka Martini (shaken but not stirred), Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, fancy cars (with lots of fancy sci-fi

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-2858814359443010692006-11-18T21:01:00.000+07:002006-11-18T21:49:35.476+07:00

Game ReviewConsole:Nintendo DSTitle:Phoenix Wright: Ace AttorneyDeveloper:CapcomHave you ever wondered what it feels like to be a defense attorney? Well, this game does not give you THAT exact feeling, but what it gives you is an entertaining adventuring time. Yes, even if the premise of this game is to put you in the shoes of Phoenix Wright, a 'rookie' defense lawyer, but in heart it is actually

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-15022877552496331262006-11-18T20:04:00.000+07:002006-11-18T21:53:27.532+07:00

A Book ReviewTitle:FreakonomicsAuthor:Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. DubnerLife is a big question mark indeed. Anywhere you go, you'd find yourself asking "Why this? Why that? How so?" and so on. Some questions are downright serious, and some questions are downright silly. Sometimes the answers to these questions are so obvious. And sometimes, if not most of the times, the answers lies lurking

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-56985287235876843372006-11-14T10:43:00.000+07:002006-11-14T18:16:24.787+07:00

I read this book once, it's title is 'Awareness'. The writer was Anthony de Mello. You see, I really like de Mello's books, because they are usually quite eye-opening. The things that are written in his books might be hard to swallow at times, if you really reflect yourself on it. And the things that he wrote in 'Awareness' are no exception. Coming from a Catholic priest, this book might be

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-3397331692215694252006-11-13T21:42:00.000+07:002006-11-14T13:55:59.478+07:00

A Movie ReviewTitle:Flags of Our FathersDirector:Clint EastwoodCast:Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam BeachWriting Credits:William Boyles Jr. (screenplay), andPaul Haggis (screenplay)James Bradley (book), andRon Powers (book)Before we go to the review, I would like the reader to see the following photograph to better understand what this movie is all about:A photo is worth more than a thousand

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-7410143730916282572006-11-05T15:53:00.000+07:002006-11-14T13:54:24.479+07:00

Movie ReviewTitle:The PrestigeDirector:Christopher NolanCast :Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Andy Serkis, David BowieScreenplay:Jonathan Nolan and Cristopher NolanBased on a novel by:Chritopher PriestI have been excited about this movie since I saw the trailer and saw the caption 'from the director of 'Batman Begins'!'. The casting was also promising: there was a

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-68750889390583652162006-11-04T21:13:00.000+07:002006-11-14T13:31:38.431+07:00

...and SpringA Movie ReviewTitle: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and SpringDirected by: Ki-duk KimWriting credit: Ki-duk KimI have been wanting to see this movie for awhile. Thanks to the Manila International Film Festival, I finally had the opportunity to do so.So, what was the movie all about? The movie is about the story of a young monk in the care of an older, seasoned, monk. The movie shows

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-22344512312283570512006-11-04T19:25:00.000+07:002006-11-14T13:21:37.584+07:00

Most of the Thais, the Malaysians, and the Singaporeans were gone for the week because they were flying back to their own countries. And I had no idea on what to do during the weekend, only that I had to go to the church on Sunday and that's it. My other friends either had families to take care of, or had guests to entertain. I was on my own, it seemed to me.So, on Friday, while I was left with

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-47346845501586120862006-11-01T01:27:00.000+07:002006-11-14T13:02:09.548+07:00

Did I disappoint you or let you down?Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.So I took what's mine by eternal right.Took your soul out into the night.It may be over but it won't stop there,I am here for you if you'd only care.You touched my heart you touched my soul.You changed my life and all my

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-80899390538363427462006-11-01T01:00:00.000+07:002006-11-14T13:01:20.823+07:00

Tired of all the malls and the restaurants here in Manila, I decided to pass the invitation to go to Rockwell (Power Plant Mall) for dinner. I opted instead to wait for my colleagues in my project to finish their work for the day and go out and have some nerdy fun (read: play DotA). To be honest, I suck at playing this game so I was a bit reluctant. However, the next day was a holiday and I have

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-88843329232692265782006-10-30T21:17:00.000+07:002006-11-14T12:59:00.441+07:00

Many people feel the need to get connected. I do too. With easy access to the internet, cellphone, and other means of communication...it's so easy to get connected. And there is always the old way: meet people face-to-face and just talk.And people crave connectivity...I do too...But lately, I am sick of it all. With the all-you-can-take-while-your-eyes-still-open connection to the internet and

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-2724068838116281992006-10-29T14:36:00.000+07:002006-11-14T12:58:08.169+07:00

C'mon, gimme some lovin', my babies...:PAfter doing some casual research in the internet, I decided that I want to buy these babies. I was a bit reluctant at first in shelling out about 90 USD, but I went ahead and bought it and it was a very, very good investment. I was thoroughly impressed with the sound quality.Mike, I'm going to use your own words in this, a'ight? So, a friend of mine (who is

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-56272047466055016262006-10-29T13:38:00.000+07:002007-08-07T09:36:22.227+07:00

Tagaytay was alright,The people in my project had been planning to go there during the weekend for quite some time, get ourselves on the boat to arrive at the island-slash-volcanoes and ride horses to the top of one of the volcanoes and see the lake in the crater. Thanks to one reason or another (usually bad weather) the plan had always got cancelled. Until one weekend.We finally managed to go

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-60559678617238873302006-10-17T21:29:00.000+07:002006-11-14T12:56:37.036+07:00

Beat Monday. Very tiring for some reason, though not many issues at the office. So you'd think it was a good one, eh? Not exactly. Bland. Panda eyes, shit I need more sleep. Three cups of coffee didn't help. Felt like my consciousness took a back seat of all the action and let my brain and body go on auto-pilot with a dying battery. Just a blur of activities, people runnin' around doin'

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-60218700206879885422006-10-13T20:58:00.000+07:002007-08-07T12:40:50.239+07:00

India,If you're reading this blog (unlikely, but who knows), I'd like to thank you for it. Now, if I may I would like to spread the words. A sister might be in need of it, so I'd like to post the lyrics of your wonderful song.Here goes:Back when I had a little, I thought that I needed alot,A little was over rated, but a lot was a little to complicated,See zero didn't satisfiy me, a million didn't

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-688161818578731102006-10-12T20:32:00.000+07:002006-11-14T12:55:39.133+07:00

The nightstand was glowing yellow,The tea cup on the living room's desk is steaming, carrying with it a herbal scent,"Turn the Stars On" by Acoustic Alchemy was playing softly in the background,And I was asleep on my sofa, a book in my hands.Nothing could be near to such perfection,A companion and a golden retriever would complete it,But for now,It is enough for me.

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-40499780442687426402006-10-12T16:36:00.000+07:002006-11-14T12:53:34.500+07:00

The day is dying, and the sun is returning to it's humble resting place,The horizon is red, and the gulls are circling the sea in honor of the coming evening,And finally the ocean embraces the sinking sun, and time froze,Unspoken words hung in the air,Unsung songs fills the emptiness,And finally night claims the day...City lights and the street lights shone,And the night breeze cools down the

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771469401447506419.post-68006075170585750122006-10-02T20:54:00.000+07:002006-11-14T12:52:48.704+07:00

It has been awhile since I last had a good exercise. I know that I've been living quite an unhealthy lifestyle lately, and it has started taking it's toll on my body. So last Saturday afternoon I put on my jogging track and my jogging shoes and went for a quick one around the block where my apartment was.I couldn't believe that my stamina was THAT bad. Without going into too much details, I'd

Ariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17163974383135392569noreply@blogger.com0