Captain America: The First Avengers

a Chris Evans starrer

This is another movie treat from Dubs :)

We had Slammers Burgers for take-out food and though the burgers were tasty, it was messy. During the movie I had to run to the washroom to wash off the icky stuff on my hands. I thought it was ketchup but it was mayo after all.

I'm not having Slammers Burgers again inside the movie house. I do miss the yummy popcorn at Gateway.

seats 9 and 10

Overall, the movie isn't outstanding. Hayley Atwell does look pretty as Peggy Carter. And of course, Chris Evans is hot. Whew!

Hayley Atwell

Peggy Carter

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II

we got lucky! first day screening of HP 7 part II!

Dubs was having a hard time deciding when to watch the movie. We were losing hope that we could ever get tickets for a Friday night movie or for over the weekend. Almost all SM IMAX Cinemas were booked for the weekend and reservations for the following week were not yet available. 

It was a surprise when Dubs came Thursday night at the book fair while we were just texting. He was asking me to check online for seat locations at a 3D Cinema in SM Megamall. Turns out that a scalper approached him for movie tickets. 

From first to last, I read HP by borrowing from friends.
I acquired my own set  last quarter of 2010.

We went to see Mr. Scalper and check if we can use the Dub's gcs which he meant to use for buying cinema tickets. Without further prodding, Mr. Scalper agreed to give us the two movie tickets in exchange for Php 500 worth of gcs.

A "bittersweet" movie. It's sad to see the HP movie franchise come to an end. Dubs and I were nostalgic and kept talking about when we first came across the book and the time it was adapted in film. I guess we both cannot believe that time flew by that fast. The entire Harry Potter experience after all was intertwined with our high school, college, and young adult lives.

a family friend shows us her HP outfit;
she's part of a group called Hogwarts Philippines.

It's sad to see the movie come to an end. It's that same feeling I get every time I watch the last few episodes of Friends Season 10. The Harry Potter movie series certainly made my imaginings a thousand times more vivid. 

Childhood Hero

she was in pink from head to toe :)

The other day Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago came by at the 15^th Philippine Academic Book Fair. It only took a few seconds for Almacious to convince me that it was certainly okay to have a photograph taken with her. (Okay, Mr. Services did me a lot of convincing, too. And, thanks to Sir A for taking the photo.)

Posing in front of the camera usually makes me feel self-conscious but I would like to think that I usually step up when the occasion calls for it. Last Saturday, July 16 at the SM Megamall was certainly one of those occasions and I’m glad I stepped up to it.

You see, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago was one of my childhood icons. I think that to my young mind she was an epitome of what a woman should be: feisty, eloquent, and intelligent; and that she is a lawyer and an Ilongga were also my other reasons for liking her.

In 1992, I remember my lola asking me who I want to be when I grow up and I said I want to be like Miriam Santiago. I can barely recall lola’s exact reply but it was clear that she disapproved of my choice of a hero.

Fast forward to nineteen years later, I realize that I have not grown to be a true fan of my childhood hero. I could not tell for sure if it was because of lola’s opinion or if that idol thing was something that I simply outgrew as a kid.

Still, fact remains that she is my childhood hero. Yay! Now I have a photo with her. Now, someone please get me Vince “The Prince” Hizon =)  

Banyo Disenyo

Finally, I have (partly!) enacted on my design idea for our little bathroom! It cost me Php 181.25 to do this project: frames, photo printing, and mounting tape expense.

resort or beach photos inside the bathroom

The idea here is to display photos that were taken from our individual trips. Since three people share the room, each should have one photo. I had two specific considerations for the photos. First, that it shows us swimming and second, that it showcases natural beauty. The challenge was that candid shots of us swimming were very hard to find and that those 'swimming' photos were not all nature photos. So I settled with these:

The Ayu Spa, Punta Bulata (Sipalay, Negros Occidental) 

Puting Buhangin aka Lukang Beach (Pagbilao, Quezon)

Club Manila East (Taytay, Rizal)

Overall, I'm contented with the mix of photos. Lil bro Ansaw liked it and he couldn't wait for his photo to be included. He's also helping me find a photo for Dongrr. I couldn't gauge Smartin's reaction but I hope he secretly does like it. As for S and J, I'll probably have a better grasp of their response when they get back next year :)

my canvas awaits (aka the other bathroom wall) :)

The Day I Learned Ad Hominem

oh, here's another clever attempt.

thank you for teaching me ad hominem and for confirming that i understand the concept. coz i deliberately said those words to invoke ad hominem when you made me realize that you only have prejudices, emotions, or special interests but NOT intellect or reason.

(note to myself: oh bugger, i have to double check that ad hominem definition sometime, Ilda might have spouted those definition straight from wiki and if so, that definition needs to be validated. wiki can be so unrealiable sometimes.)

the "intellectual volley" was fun until i realized that you wont engage in an educated argument and you're just haphazardly throwing your preconceived notions around and claim it is "what matters." wow, i honestly feel you should get over yourself. but hey, i wont burst your bubble anymore after this last one.

good thing though not all Filipinos think the way you do. sabi nga teacher ko sa La Salle "Dont take everything hook, line, and sinker." Sabi naman ng professor ko sa UP "Be critical and look at things in a multi-disciplinary perspective." there's hope for me, coz they still teach these at school!

in parting, cess is a 25 year old well-educated Filipina who despite the adversities and struggles of the present society still believes that the Filipinos can be critical thinkers who not only see one-side of the picture, see not just one-act but has the capacity to understand the entire scenario. and that capacity to understand social phenomenon coupled with compassion is something that she tries to apply when she interacts with people. people from all walks of life be it mayor, sheriff, squatters, or even plain narrow-minded people. she tries to appeal to reason but if reasoning wont work she can freely butt out.

good night all delusional beings reading this. i'm delusional myself for trying to understand you and for trying to uncover depth or dimension to extract substance. there was none. what a surprise.

p.s. i was about to include the link so you can get context of what the blah i'm talking about. but i decided otherwise. but on the otherhand here it is http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2011/07/law-and-order-philippine-style/comment-page-1/#comment-5703...better you think for yourself and get those bolts and nuts grinding...

SIDCOR Sunday Market at the ETON Centris

My second time at the SIDCOR Sunday Market.

Ang mag-iloy :)

Ansaw tried their Paella Negra. He says it was muy delicioso! 

This sir here is cooking the Paella Negra.

A spicy balut dish from the booth next to Casa Paco.

Lengua, a dish that now reminds me of Prof. Helen :)

Are we tv-watching babies?

potpot is our boob-tube :)

Are we a generation that can be described as 'tv-watching babies' and does that even mean anything somewhere? Me and my friends opine a lot about getting senseless stuff on local television channels. We honestly feel that there's talent aplenty laying around untapped. Better stories, better actors, better execution. The Filipino movie and tv-watching public are diverse and some do have discriminating tastes. I do not have figures to support my theory - is there a study that tells us about the Filipino Viewing Perception?, share it to me and I'd like to get informed - but if I were to speak for myself and some people I know, we do have discriminating tastes. We do watch Filipino shows and movies and we want quality ones if we are to spend our money for it. Sometimes having just beautiful people can replace overall good content but that does not create continued patronage.

Please, tv and movie producers whoever you are, please please just give me something more than just pretty faces.

PS. I do agree with Jose Javier Reyes when he wrote about Amaya and 100 Days to Heaven as good news on tv these days.