Si Ploning na ang maysabi,
O minsa'y nagtanong,
"Hindi ba mas masarap isipin,
Na kaya ikaw ang mas nasasaktan
Dahil ikaw ang mas nagmamahal?"
Huwag kang matakot Mae,
Huwag mangamba,
Hayaan mong dumaan ang nakaraan.
Hayaang saktan ka ng karanasan.
Hayaang mga sugat ay humilom.
Hayaan mong ngumiti muli
Ang iyong isipan,
Iyong puso,
Iyong damdamin.
'Kaw ang mas nasaktan.
Dahil ikaw ang mas nagmahal.
(Ayon kay Ploning)
This is a birthday poem in lieu of a message I wrote for an office mate's birthday. Every time somebody celebrates a birthday, one of my office mates would collect messages and create a powerpoint presentation to be sent to the celebrant a day or so before his or her birthday.
May 17 - Happy birthday, Ruvy Mae.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Theater Report: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
May 27, 2008
Ayala Center Cinema 1
7:10 PM
Attendance: 90% of capacity
Previews:
Narnia 2: Prince Caspian - this is the only trailer attached it. Looks great and it has been chosen as the movie night pick for June so I'll probably see this for free (just like this movie).
Story:
By nature, Indiana Jones movies aren't enjoyable when you already know how the story went and how it ended. So let me just quote some spoiler-free plot posted in IMDB:
This is a fun summer flick, just like the first three movies in the series. Some people will probably not like the ending, and I had to admit I had to pause to decide whether I like what I was seeing or not. But by then I've enjoyed the journey going to that ending that I thought it was pointless to search my feelings whether I like the ending or not. This is an Indiana Jones movie after all. An over-the-top ending should be expected.
I love the music of John Williams. There's a certain Star Wars feel to it that I half-expected old Indy to wield a lightsaber when in peril. The theme (March from the Raiders of the Lost Ark) is arguably one of the most recognizable movie themes and it made me feel nostalgic listening to it inside the theater.
Harrison Ford looked clearly a bit too old to play the Indiana Jones character. You have to suspend disbelief that a character that old can kick butt. If ever there's going to be an Indiana Jones 5, somebody else would probably take over the role. Somebody in this movie (and you'd understand who when you see this one), or at least the character will be it, the next Indy.
Will I see it again? I don't know. Perhaps I'd see it again just to check out the newly-renovated SM Cinemas 7 & 8, but it's not really among my priorities right now. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes. It's worth the ticket price that I didn't have to pay to see this movie (thanks to the movie nights).
Ayala Center Cinema 1
7:10 PM
Attendance: 90% of capacity
Previews:
Narnia 2: Prince Caspian - this is the only trailer attached it. Looks great and it has been chosen as the movie night pick for June so I'll probably see this for free (just like this movie).
Story:
By nature, Indiana Jones movies aren't enjoyable when you already know how the story went and how it ended. So let me just quote some spoiler-free plot posted in IMDB:
Famed archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. is called back into action when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls.Thoughts:
This is a fun summer flick, just like the first three movies in the series. Some people will probably not like the ending, and I had to admit I had to pause to decide whether I like what I was seeing or not. But by then I've enjoyed the journey going to that ending that I thought it was pointless to search my feelings whether I like the ending or not. This is an Indiana Jones movie after all. An over-the-top ending should be expected.
I love the music of John Williams. There's a certain Star Wars feel to it that I half-expected old Indy to wield a lightsaber when in peril. The theme (March from the Raiders of the Lost Ark) is arguably one of the most recognizable movie themes and it made me feel nostalgic listening to it inside the theater.
Harrison Ford looked clearly a bit too old to play the Indiana Jones character. You have to suspend disbelief that a character that old can kick butt. If ever there's going to be an Indiana Jones 5, somebody else would probably take over the role. Somebody in this movie (and you'd understand who when you see this one), or at least the character will be it, the next Indy.
Will I see it again? I don't know. Perhaps I'd see it again just to check out the newly-renovated SM Cinemas 7 & 8, but it's not really among my priorities right now. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes. It's worth the ticket price that I didn't have to pay to see this movie (thanks to the movie nights).
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Theater Report: Ploning
May 4, 2008
SM Cebu Cinema 6
7:00 PM
Attendance: a pitiful 3% of capacity
Previews: Just in time in coming in. Missed all of them.
Story:
More than a story about a woman who waits for the return of her lover whom she had not seen for over a decade, this is a story of a town in Cuyo, Palawan. This is a story of a small towns, traditions, beliefs, culture, and day-to-day life.
Thoughts:
Some brave reviewers called this the rebirth of Philippine cinema. If it's true, I'd say it came out of the womb gasping for breath. First, it opened along side Iron Man, this year's Hollywood curtain call for the Summer Blockbuster Season. People who are skeptical of or hate Tagalog movies will flock to Iron Man. Second, people who dig Tagalog movies and all the negative thoughts they connote will flock to "When Love Begins". The rest will skip the movies altogether and buy any of Shannon Hale's books (Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets, Princess Academy, A Book of a Thousand Days) that have recently been carried by National Bookstore. Only people who still believed that the Philippine cinema could produce good movies from time to time will go see this. And there were only 10 of us when I went to see it.
And it was confusing. For a simple enough premise, it managed to confuse the audience and probably itself. It tried to be a drama, comedy, romance, and suspense all at the same time, all the while (or perhaps because of it) becoming nothing more than a sketch of a small coastal town in the Philippines. From the first minute down to about five minutes before it ended, the movie beg me to ask questions, the biggest of which is what's the deal with Ploning? And at the very last minute we got the answer, in a monologue, with tears under the rain scene. The answer was wholly unsatisfying because there was no clue whatsoever that it was the reason why Ploning acted the way she did. And so it felt contrived. The writer or writers withheld information so that in the end they can surprise us with the answer.
I saw this movie as nothing more than the writer/director's vehicle for his love of his homeland in Palawan. Yeah, Cuyo is beautiful. Its beach breathtaking (in an undeveloped, natural kind of way). But mixing it with the unfocused and underdeveloped story of a girl named Ploning was an unfortunate decision. Add to this the decision to release it during the kickoff of the summer blockbuster season in the US (and the now common worldwide simultaneous release of big Hollywood movies) and this will inevitably be lost in the crowd. This is different from the usual Tagalog movie fare (not the least of which is the language used in the dialogues), but it shared the same weakness as the other Tagalog movies.
Would I see it again? No. Would I recommend it to my friends? No.
SM Cebu Cinema 6
7:00 PM
Attendance: a pitiful 3% of capacity
Previews: Just in time in coming in. Missed all of them.
Story:
More than a story about a woman who waits for the return of her lover whom she had not seen for over a decade, this is a story of a town in Cuyo, Palawan. This is a story of a small towns, traditions, beliefs, culture, and day-to-day life.
Thoughts:
Some brave reviewers called this the rebirth of Philippine cinema. If it's true, I'd say it came out of the womb gasping for breath. First, it opened along side Iron Man, this year's Hollywood curtain call for the Summer Blockbuster Season. People who are skeptical of or hate Tagalog movies will flock to Iron Man. Second, people who dig Tagalog movies and all the negative thoughts they connote will flock to "When Love Begins". The rest will skip the movies altogether and buy any of Shannon Hale's books (Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets, Princess Academy, A Book of a Thousand Days) that have recently been carried by National Bookstore. Only people who still believed that the Philippine cinema could produce good movies from time to time will go see this. And there were only 10 of us when I went to see it.
And it was confusing. For a simple enough premise, it managed to confuse the audience and probably itself. It tried to be a drama, comedy, romance, and suspense all at the same time, all the while (or perhaps because of it) becoming nothing more than a sketch of a small coastal town in the Philippines. From the first minute down to about five minutes before it ended, the movie beg me to ask questions, the biggest of which is what's the deal with Ploning? And at the very last minute we got the answer, in a monologue, with tears under the rain scene. The answer was wholly unsatisfying because there was no clue whatsoever that it was the reason why Ploning acted the way she did. And so it felt contrived. The writer or writers withheld information so that in the end they can surprise us with the answer.
I saw this movie as nothing more than the writer/director's vehicle for his love of his homeland in Palawan. Yeah, Cuyo is beautiful. Its beach breathtaking (in an undeveloped, natural kind of way). But mixing it with the unfocused and underdeveloped story of a girl named Ploning was an unfortunate decision. Add to this the decision to release it during the kickoff of the summer blockbuster season in the US (and the now common worldwide simultaneous release of big Hollywood movies) and this will inevitably be lost in the crowd. This is different from the usual Tagalog movie fare (not the least of which is the language used in the dialogues), but it shared the same weakness as the other Tagalog movies.
Would I see it again? No. Would I recommend it to my friends? No.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Theater Report: Iron Man
May 6, 2008
Ayala Center Cinema 1
6:10PM
Attendance: 95% of capacity
Previews:
(Missed some on the account of my companions having to buy food from a very slow-moving-line in KFC one level below the theater.)
Kung Fu Panda - looks fun, but Wall-E is the must watch animated feature for me
Indiana Jones 4 - I'm definitely watching this. As a kid I used to confused the theme song of the Raiders of the Lost Ark with the one from Star Wars. ROTLA theme is very catchy. It'd be good to hear it again now in Dolby Surround glory as Indy kicks enemy butts and gets the treasure. But I hope the company picks Narnia 2 as the Movie Night pick of May.
Story:
Tony Stark, billionaire-genius, owner of a big weapons manufacturing company gets kidnapped in Afghanistan and made a horrible discovery that the weapons his company manufactures are being used by enemy combatants to kill, among other, the very people he thought his weapons protect. Ha! I live in the Philippines. This is non-news. Anyway, Ugly Big Villain (UBV) #1 orders him to build a weapon (Jericho Missile System). Instead he, with the help of Token Assistant in A Wrong Place and Time #1, conjured an armor that would lead him to become Iron Man and escape captivity. As he tried to escape it was Ugly Big Villain #2 who tried to stop him with UBV#1 no where in sight. A somewhat confusing switch, if you really think about it. But you don't have much time to think because he escaped, perfected his armor, fell in love, betrayed, and went on to kill both UBVs (with #1 as the first token Enemy Kill), all the while spectacular explosions go off all around. Ok maybe not really all around, but that's how I saw the movie, a one heck of a spectacular fireworks display with deep enough characterizations and a way to start the Summer Blockbuster Season.
Thoughts:
The last sentence of the previous paragraph pretty much summed up what I thought about the movie. It's well worth the 140 pesos I didn't pay for the ticket on the account that it got picked by The Firm as the Movie Night pick for April and was able to get 1 of the 100 slots available. I'd say that it's like the Spider-man and the recent Batman movies. It's character-centric as opposed to just mindless-spectacle.
(Spoilers ahead. Stop reading if you plan to see the movie and don't want to have any idea what happens, though I try to be very vague as possible.)
Just don't think about it that much. Or else you'd realize that later in the movie it's revealed that UBVs and minions were actually supplied by Betrayer #1 with the very weapon that they tried to force Tony Stark to build for them. In fact, in the middle of the movie where UBV #1 gets killed you'd actually see the weapon in action being used by UBV #1 on innocent civilians. Then if you think even harder you'd realized that in what Pepper saw later about the supposedly ransom video for Mr. Stark the bad guys were paid to kill Stark, not kidnap him. Confusion to the Nth power. You'd see the kidnappers trying to up the price of killing Stark all the while asking him to build The Weapon (that Betrayer #1 already supplies them with). So I suggest that you just sit back and enjoy the ride and not to think too much. Or else you'd further realized that the UBVs already have brilliant minds that can read Iron Man armor design. What's stopping them from reverse engineering The Weapon they already had access to? Why do they need Stark? I know. They didn't need Stark. On the contrary, the screenwriters need that "premise" to have a reason for don't-care-much-for-the-world Stark to turn around and become Iron Man the superhero. Just accept it and enjoy. You definitely will.
Would I see it again? No, I'm saving up for Narnia 2 and Indiana Jones 4. Would I recommend it to my friends? Definitely, yes. It's fun. Unless you're saving your money to see "Ploning" starring Judy Ann Santos, an even more confusing movie than Iron Man for those who think too much. I'll post my theater report on Ploning next time.
Ayala Center Cinema 1
6:10PM
Attendance: 95% of capacity
Previews:
(Missed some on the account of my companions having to buy food from a very slow-moving-line in KFC one level below the theater.)
Kung Fu Panda - looks fun, but Wall-E is the must watch animated feature for me
Indiana Jones 4 - I'm definitely watching this. As a kid I used to confused the theme song of the Raiders of the Lost Ark with the one from Star Wars. ROTLA theme is very catchy. It'd be good to hear it again now in Dolby Surround glory as Indy kicks enemy butts and gets the treasure. But I hope the company picks Narnia 2 as the Movie Night pick of May.
Story:
Tony Stark, billionaire-genius, owner of a big weapons manufacturing company gets kidnapped in Afghanistan and made a horrible discovery that the weapons his company manufactures are being used by enemy combatants to kill, among other, the very people he thought his weapons protect. Ha! I live in the Philippines. This is non-news. Anyway, Ugly Big Villain (UBV) #1 orders him to build a weapon (Jericho Missile System). Instead he, with the help of Token Assistant in A Wrong Place and Time #1, conjured an armor that would lead him to become Iron Man and escape captivity. As he tried to escape it was Ugly Big Villain #2 who tried to stop him with UBV#1 no where in sight. A somewhat confusing switch, if you really think about it. But you don't have much time to think because he escaped, perfected his armor, fell in love, betrayed, and went on to kill both UBVs (with #1 as the first token Enemy Kill), all the while spectacular explosions go off all around. Ok maybe not really all around, but that's how I saw the movie, a one heck of a spectacular fireworks display with deep enough characterizations and a way to start the Summer Blockbuster Season.
Thoughts:
The last sentence of the previous paragraph pretty much summed up what I thought about the movie. It's well worth the 140 pesos I didn't pay for the ticket on the account that it got picked by The Firm as the Movie Night pick for April and was able to get 1 of the 100 slots available. I'd say that it's like the Spider-man and the recent Batman movies. It's character-centric as opposed to just mindless-spectacle.
(Spoilers ahead. Stop reading if you plan to see the movie and don't want to have any idea what happens, though I try to be very vague as possible.)
Just don't think about it that much. Or else you'd realize that later in the movie it's revealed that UBVs and minions were actually supplied by Betrayer #1 with the very weapon that they tried to force Tony Stark to build for them. In fact, in the middle of the movie where UBV #1 gets killed you'd actually see the weapon in action being used by UBV #1 on innocent civilians. Then if you think even harder you'd realized that in what Pepper saw later about the supposedly ransom video for Mr. Stark the bad guys were paid to kill Stark, not kidnap him. Confusion to the Nth power. You'd see the kidnappers trying to up the price of killing Stark all the while asking him to build The Weapon (that Betrayer #1 already supplies them with). So I suggest that you just sit back and enjoy the ride and not to think too much. Or else you'd further realized that the UBVs already have brilliant minds that can read Iron Man armor design. What's stopping them from reverse engineering The Weapon they already had access to? Why do they need Stark? I know. They didn't need Stark. On the contrary, the screenwriters need that "premise" to have a reason for don't-care-much-for-the-world Stark to turn around and become Iron Man the superhero. Just accept it and enjoy. You definitely will.
Would I see it again? No, I'm saving up for Narnia 2 and Indiana Jones 4. Would I recommend it to my friends? Definitely, yes. It's fun. Unless you're saving your money to see "Ploning" starring Judy Ann Santos, an even more confusing movie than Iron Man for those who think too much. I'll post my theater report on Ploning next time.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Theater Report: Forbidden Kingdom
April 23, 2008
Ayala Center Cinema 1
7:30 PM
Attendance: 95% of capacity
Story:
Jason is a kung fu obsessed teenager. He frequented what looked like a very weird video shop ran by an odd old man. He found a staff that turned out to be magical and was once owned by the Monkey King. Jason turned out to be "the one" who'll free the Monkey King from a Jade lord curse. To do that, though, he apparently had to travel back in time or to use the movie's term, "go through the gate of no gate" (what the heck?) to when Jackie Chan wore a hideous wig (I hope it's not his real hair) playing the "drunken master" (which I have to say he couldn't do as well as he once did years ago) and Jet Li was, well, Jet Li. Trained by these two masters, the evil Jade simply had no chance. There's this girl they threw into the story at a fight scene in a tea house who obviously was just thrown there so that the movie will have a female character (which otherwise doesn't add to the story). Jason fell in love with this girl later, or at least the writer tried to fool us that he did. This subplot has got to be the most underdeveloped love subplot in the history of impossible movie love affairs. This female character was simply just the token love-interest-of-the-hero role. The writer tried to flesh her character out by having her tell the story of how the evil Jade lord killed her father and burned down their village. But the way she told it and the way the "flashback" was presented on screen, I just didn't care. In the end her character was insignificant. Negligible. And sure enough she was killed later in the movie. And I shed not a single drop of tear. Even the circumstances upon which she died was a token kill-the-love-interest-of-the-hero act. In the end Jet Li trainor of Jason turned out to be a strand of hair of the Monkey King (which he used to clone himself) and drunken master Jackie Chan turned out to be odd old man from the odd old videoshop. The token love-interest girl reappeared in her 21st century hot girl glory seconds away from when the end credits scrolled up. And Jason smiled a knowing smile.
Thoughts:
The way I described the story above should be enough for anyone to gauage how I feel about this movie. What an utter waste of 140 pesos. Several of us from the office decided we should watch a movie. A mini poll was conducted. This movie won. It might look like I spoiled the movie by telling what happened in the end, but in reality I'm saving you (all four of you who read my blog) from accidentally spending your hard-earned cash on this movie.
Would I see it again? Would I recommend it to my friends? If you have to ask, you'll never know.
***
Actually, if I forget about the 140 pesos I paid for the ticket for a moment, I believe the very simplistic love connection presented in the movie between Jason and the token heroe's-love-interest can happen in real life. When both of you are eight. At that age, there's a big chance that your crush also has a crush on you. And you go on having a crush at each other, spending a lot of time together, writing each other notes, until such time that the two of you graduates from elementary school and had to go each other's separate ways because you are going to an all-boys high school and she an all-girls one.
I don't know. Just my opinion.
Ayala Center Cinema 1
7:30 PM
Attendance: 95% of capacity
Story:
Jason is a kung fu obsessed teenager. He frequented what looked like a very weird video shop ran by an odd old man. He found a staff that turned out to be magical and was once owned by the Monkey King. Jason turned out to be "the one" who'll free the Monkey King from a Jade lord curse. To do that, though, he apparently had to travel back in time or to use the movie's term, "go through the gate of no gate" (what the heck?) to when Jackie Chan wore a hideous wig (I hope it's not his real hair) playing the "drunken master" (which I have to say he couldn't do as well as he once did years ago) and Jet Li was, well, Jet Li. Trained by these two masters, the evil Jade simply had no chance. There's this girl they threw into the story at a fight scene in a tea house who obviously was just thrown there so that the movie will have a female character (which otherwise doesn't add to the story). Jason fell in love with this girl later, or at least the writer tried to fool us that he did. This subplot has got to be the most underdeveloped love subplot in the history of impossible movie love affairs. This female character was simply just the token love-interest-of-the-hero role. The writer tried to flesh her character out by having her tell the story of how the evil Jade lord killed her father and burned down their village. But the way she told it and the way the "flashback" was presented on screen, I just didn't care. In the end her character was insignificant. Negligible. And sure enough she was killed later in the movie. And I shed not a single drop of tear. Even the circumstances upon which she died was a token kill-the-love-interest-of-the-hero act. In the end Jet Li trainor of Jason turned out to be a strand of hair of the Monkey King (which he used to clone himself) and drunken master Jackie Chan turned out to be odd old man from the odd old videoshop. The token love-interest girl reappeared in her 21st century hot girl glory seconds away from when the end credits scrolled up. And Jason smiled a knowing smile.
Thoughts:
The way I described the story above should be enough for anyone to gauage how I feel about this movie. What an utter waste of 140 pesos. Several of us from the office decided we should watch a movie. A mini poll was conducted. This movie won. It might look like I spoiled the movie by telling what happened in the end, but in reality I'm saving you (all four of you who read my blog) from accidentally spending your hard-earned cash on this movie.
Would I see it again? Would I recommend it to my friends? If you have to ask, you'll never know.
***
Actually, if I forget about the 140 pesos I paid for the ticket for a moment, I believe the very simplistic love connection presented in the movie between Jason and the token heroe's-love-interest can happen in real life. When both of you are eight. At that age, there's a big chance that your crush also has a crush on you. And you go on having a crush at each other, spending a lot of time together, writing each other notes, until such time that the two of you graduates from elementary school and had to go each other's separate ways because you are going to an all-boys high school and she an all-girls one.
I don't know. Just my opinion.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
New banner
I thought it would be nice to have a banner for my blog, so I created one. The picture in the banner was that of the lake at Del Monte Golf Course. It's probably the tee #11 or #12 for senior golfers. I don't know. I forgot. But I love this part of the course. The tee was in a little island in the lake. I like that it had a bench at the end of the bridge that connected the little island to the rest of the golf course. Spread around the golf course were the company houses provided for Bugo and Plantation-assigned DM executives. How nice it would be at the end of each day to sit in that bench, relax, think, and blog.
***
And of course, whenever I think of the DM Golf Course, I remember her. And yeah, I wouldn't admit it before, but they were right, I went there just to see her, at least at first. But if I really think about if, if I can be objective about it, more than half the time (probably even two-thirds) I went there, I never saw her. So in the end I'd like to think that this proved that I went there because of the golf course more than anything else. One time I went there with just two hours of sleep (went home at 2:00 AM from a Saturday night out with friends, slept, and then woke up at 4:00 AM to get ready). I remember I was very sleepy in the ride going to the course, and sleepy while eating breakfast at the clubhouse. But as we started and I got to see the view of the course, breathed the fresh air, smelled the freshly-cut grass and the pleasant smell of pine trees, I was energized. The whole course was more than 6 km of walk, but I forgot that just minutes before I was tired and lacked sleep. There's something about walking that golf course that I love. It's the reflections about my life that I got while walking the scenic route. It's the reason why I now call this blog "Walk With Carl". This blog, like the walk, gives me a venue to think about my life and where it's headed. Now it's not literal where I write my goals in life here in this blog, rather this blog has been a tool for me to reflect on where I came from (my history, at least that which I chose to write about) and gives me an insight or hint at where I am headed.
***
And yes, the Moalboal trip last weekend. And the customary birthday post (which I conveniently forgot to write). More on these later.
***
And of course, whenever I think of the DM Golf Course, I remember her. And yeah, I wouldn't admit it before, but they were right, I went there just to see her, at least at first. But if I really think about if, if I can be objective about it, more than half the time (probably even two-thirds) I went there, I never saw her. So in the end I'd like to think that this proved that I went there because of the golf course more than anything else. One time I went there with just two hours of sleep (went home at 2:00 AM from a Saturday night out with friends, slept, and then woke up at 4:00 AM to get ready). I remember I was very sleepy in the ride going to the course, and sleepy while eating breakfast at the clubhouse. But as we started and I got to see the view of the course, breathed the fresh air, smelled the freshly-cut grass and the pleasant smell of pine trees, I was energized. The whole course was more than 6 km of walk, but I forgot that just minutes before I was tired and lacked sleep. There's something about walking that golf course that I love. It's the reflections about my life that I got while walking the scenic route. It's the reason why I now call this blog "Walk With Carl". This blog, like the walk, gives me a venue to think about my life and where it's headed. Now it's not literal where I write my goals in life here in this blog, rather this blog has been a tool for me to reflect on where I came from (my history, at least that which I chose to write about) and gives me an insight or hint at where I am headed.
***
And yes, the Moalboal trip last weekend. And the customary birthday post (which I conveniently forgot to write). More on these later.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Moalboal
I have been talking to an officemate through instant messenger about our plans to go to Moalboal (which I assume is a scenic beach/dive resort to the south of Cebu City) tomorrow. The original plan was for an overnight stay, but due to the resort being fully booked, it was decided that it will just be a whole day affair instead. It's fine by me, considering that the alternative was to stay overnight, sleeping on the beach using a sleeping mat. It would have been cool actually if I think about it but only so long as it wouldn't rain. If it rains, it'd be uncool and very cold night of non-sleep. So it'll just be a whole-day affair.
Now this Monday will be a public holiday so I guess I have an extra free day to buy a Rubik's cube and learn how to solve it.
***
I've just upgraded to Vista SP1. The total download was just around 67 MB (I guess because I've installed all updates from Windows Update just last month so my PC needed only a few updates to be officially called "SP1") and overall the whole activity probably took around an hour and a half to finish. I'm happy that I didn't experience any of those horror stories regarding installing SP1, though I guess it's still too early to tell if the installation went well.
I'm sticking with Vista for now because it came pre-installed with my PC. All other OS that I'd like to try will have to be installed in VMWare Server that I've already downloaded but have not yet installed. Interesting because in my previous PC, it took just about 5 days after buying it before I made it into a dual boot (the other OS being Mandrake Linux). Of course I was still in college then and I had plenty of free time to install and reinstall different operating systems. And it came with just Windows 98. And I wasn't "online" then so a downtime due to OS mishaps doesn't mean much. Now, I just want to check my Gmail everyday.
People say that Vista is slower than XP. And I get them. My previous PC, at the time that my parents bought it for me, just barely met the minimum requirements to run Windows XP. But when I finally installed XP (a release candidate, not the final release) I immediately notice the improved performance. It was noticeably faster than Windows 98.
This time around, my PC is not top-of-the-line, but I'm certain that with this specs, XP will fly like the wind if it was the one preinstalled. But I'm sticking with Vista for now. It came preinstalled with my PC and I'm sure a significant portion of the price I paid for it was for the OS. So I'm enjoying the privilege of "Genuine" Windows, whatever that means.
***
Update: The trip to Moalboal will be an overnight stay after all. I just hope it wouldn't rain.
Now this Monday will be a public holiday so I guess I have an extra free day to buy a Rubik's cube and learn how to solve it.
***
I've just upgraded to Vista SP1. The total download was just around 67 MB (I guess because I've installed all updates from Windows Update just last month so my PC needed only a few updates to be officially called "SP1") and overall the whole activity probably took around an hour and a half to finish. I'm happy that I didn't experience any of those horror stories regarding installing SP1, though I guess it's still too early to tell if the installation went well.
I'm sticking with Vista for now because it came pre-installed with my PC. All other OS that I'd like to try will have to be installed in VMWare Server that I've already downloaded but have not yet installed. Interesting because in my previous PC, it took just about 5 days after buying it before I made it into a dual boot (the other OS being Mandrake Linux). Of course I was still in college then and I had plenty of free time to install and reinstall different operating systems. And it came with just Windows 98. And I wasn't "online" then so a downtime due to OS mishaps doesn't mean much. Now, I just want to check my Gmail everyday.
People say that Vista is slower than XP. And I get them. My previous PC, at the time that my parents bought it for me, just barely met the minimum requirements to run Windows XP. But when I finally installed XP (a release candidate, not the final release) I immediately notice the improved performance. It was noticeably faster than Windows 98.
This time around, my PC is not top-of-the-line, but I'm certain that with this specs, XP will fly like the wind if it was the one preinstalled. But I'm sticking with Vista for now. It came preinstalled with my PC and I'm sure a significant portion of the price I paid for it was for the OS. So I'm enjoying the privilege of "Genuine" Windows, whatever that means.
***
Update: The trip to Moalboal will be an overnight stay after all. I just hope it wouldn't rain.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Just dreams
Last year, I attended the World Youth Day Cross vigil here in Cagayan de Oro. The cross was en route to Sydney, Australia for the World Youth Day 2008. I dream of attending the event.
Last year, I wanted to attend a solitary retreat for my birthday.
This year, I would have loved to attend the three-day stay-in holy week retreat sponsored by Xavier University.
In kindergarten, I wrote "Doctor" as my ambition in our yearbook. In elementary, I wrote "Physical Therapist". In senior year high school, I wrote "Accountancy" as my first choice on what course to take. In college, I finished "Computer Science".
From when I was seven until I was nine, I used to draw stick drawings that to me passed as "movie posters" on a cardboards. Now I have this secret ambition of writing a novel. Could I ever achieve this?
In college, I told myself that I would write computer games for a living. Now I write business applications.
We were close. And then far. We connected. And then lost touch.
I dreamt. And then hoped. Changed my mind. And then hoped.
Life is more than a journey. It's a chase. May I gain speed as I grow. And so may you.
God speed.
Last year, I wanted to attend a solitary retreat for my birthday.
This year, I would have loved to attend the three-day stay-in holy week retreat sponsored by Xavier University.
In kindergarten, I wrote "Doctor" as my ambition in our yearbook. In elementary, I wrote "Physical Therapist". In senior year high school, I wrote "Accountancy" as my first choice on what course to take. In college, I finished "Computer Science".
From when I was seven until I was nine, I used to draw stick drawings that to me passed as "movie posters" on a cardboards. Now I have this secret ambition of writing a novel. Could I ever achieve this?
In college, I told myself that I would write computer games for a living. Now I write business applications.
We were close. And then far. We connected. And then lost touch.
I dreamt. And then hoped. Changed my mind. And then hoped.
Life is more than a journey. It's a chase. May I gain speed as I grow. And so may you.
God speed.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
“For you, a thousand times over,” Hassan answered when his best friend Amir asked him if he would eat dirt if Amir asked him to.
This is a story of two generations of two boys, best friends, who got separated from each other at the time of Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. Two boys. And their two fathers. Amir and his father ended up living in America, while Ali and Hassan were left in war-torn Afghanistan. The circumstance upon which they were separated from each other is difficult to describe without spoiling the story. Just know that there’s going to be a search to reunite. And with it, the search for atonement, and salvation.
This is one of the best novels I’ve read in years. Afghanistan, the country I only heard about or seen in TV’s when the US retaliated from the 9/11/2001 attacks on the twin towers of NY’s World Trade Center and several other locations in the US, was vividly described. I could almost see the streets, hear its noise and chatters, and smell the fragrance and the stench as Amir described his life and his country then and now. I could see Amir and Hassan run up the hill and watch over their village (it reminded me of those times when my friends and I would climb up a hill and watch our village below, fascinated at how organized the houses are in the subdivisions, and the vastness of the ocean beside it). But more than their country, the two boys themselves, along with their friendship and their fathers’ friendship, were expertly characterized by Hosseini. Ten to twenty pages on and I found myself caring for the book’s main characters. From the back cover of the book I gathered that an invasion was going to do something to the lives of the characters and I found myself anxious to read on the circumstance of the two best friends’ separation, and the eventual search to reunite.
I’d definitely recommend this book to my friends. Last week a colleague told me that she wanted to read a book over the long weekend (3-day weekend due to public holiday) and asked me for a recommendation. I bought several books since moving to Cebu, but I had a hard time recommending one because I liked them all equally and none of them really stood out from the rest (all of what I would readily recommend I left in my home city, Cagayan de Oro). She wouldn’t admit it, but she leans towards fantasy so I ended up lending her my copy of “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman. I had a backup fantasy recommendation, “The Goose Girl” by Shannon Hale, but she wanted to borrow just one book. Anyway, had I already read “The Kite Runner” when she asked for a recommendation, I definitely would have recommended it. A thousand times over, even though it isn’t fantasy.
This is a story of two generations of two boys, best friends, who got separated from each other at the time of Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. Two boys. And their two fathers. Amir and his father ended up living in America, while Ali and Hassan were left in war-torn Afghanistan. The circumstance upon which they were separated from each other is difficult to describe without spoiling the story. Just know that there’s going to be a search to reunite. And with it, the search for atonement, and salvation.
This is one of the best novels I’ve read in years. Afghanistan, the country I only heard about or seen in TV’s when the US retaliated from the 9/11/2001 attacks on the twin towers of NY’s World Trade Center and several other locations in the US, was vividly described. I could almost see the streets, hear its noise and chatters, and smell the fragrance and the stench as Amir described his life and his country then and now. I could see Amir and Hassan run up the hill and watch over their village (it reminded me of those times when my friends and I would climb up a hill and watch our village below, fascinated at how organized the houses are in the subdivisions, and the vastness of the ocean beside it). But more than their country, the two boys themselves, along with their friendship and their fathers’ friendship, were expertly characterized by Hosseini. Ten to twenty pages on and I found myself caring for the book’s main characters. From the back cover of the book I gathered that an invasion was going to do something to the lives of the characters and I found myself anxious to read on the circumstance of the two best friends’ separation, and the eventual search to reunite.
I’d definitely recommend this book to my friends. Last week a colleague told me that she wanted to read a book over the long weekend (3-day weekend due to public holiday) and asked me for a recommendation. I bought several books since moving to Cebu, but I had a hard time recommending one because I liked them all equally and none of them really stood out from the rest (all of what I would readily recommend I left in my home city, Cagayan de Oro). She wouldn’t admit it, but she leans towards fantasy so I ended up lending her my copy of “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman. I had a backup fantasy recommendation, “The Goose Girl” by Shannon Hale, but she wanted to borrow just one book. Anyway, had I already read “The Kite Runner” when she asked for a recommendation, I definitely would have recommended it. A thousand times over, even though it isn’t fantasy.
Theater Report: Vantage Point
February 21, 2008
Ayala Center Cinema 1
7:30 PM
Attendance: 95% of capacity
Previews:
10,000 BC (looks enjoyable to watch, but the story is hard to deduce from the preview)
Horton Hears a Who (definitely for children)
WALL-E (from the creators of Finding Nemo, I’m definitely watching this one)
Meet The Spartans (a parody of “300”, looks funny and dumb at the same time)
I don’t remember the other previews.
Story:
The president of the United States attends a summit on anti-terrorism and got assassinated. Secret service agent Barnes, who took a bullet for the president in a previous assassination attempt, tried to catch the unknown shooter right there and then. The story is told from several points of view (thus, the title “Vantage Point”).
Thoughts:
This is a storytelling that I haven’t seen before, or I don’t remember seeing before. So its storytelling was fresh to me. You’d think that watching a film constantly being rewound several times, each time presenting a different vantage point of the same central situation is boring, but it wasn’t. Okay, maybe you wouldn’t think that, but I certainly did. I expected it to be boring. I even thought it was going to be a political drama (but then that’s my fault because I haven’t seen or read an ad for this film). I probably wouldn’t have gone to this movie had it not been for free (the company I worked for have what we call “Movie Nights” where every month they chose a movie that we have the opportunity to watch for free). When the email for this month’s Movie Night came and I learned it was going to be “Vantage Point”, I commented to my colleagues that I wish they chose “Jumper”. But I saw “Jumper” a week ago and now that I saw both movies I thought the company got it right in choosing “Vantage Point”. It was great, edge-of-your-seat thriller from beginning to end. Later in the movie the story just went improbable, but it’s okay. The premise itself, I think, called for improbability in order for the film to be made. I’m not a fan of its plot, but I’m definitely a fan of how it was told and the pace that it was told. It’s the kind of storytelling that you only get to see in good television these days (“24”, “Lost”, “Prison Break”). I thought “Vantage Point” showed me, if anything, how TV’s “24” would look like in the big screen and how it would sound like in a Dolby Digital theater. I heard rumors of a “24” movie and I think it would be great.
Would I see it again? Maybe I’ll see it again in DVD, there’s not much reason to watch it again once you knew who did what. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes.
Ayala Center Cinema 1
7:30 PM
Attendance: 95% of capacity
Previews:
10,000 BC (looks enjoyable to watch, but the story is hard to deduce from the preview)
Horton Hears a Who (definitely for children)
WALL-E (from the creators of Finding Nemo, I’m definitely watching this one)
Meet The Spartans (a parody of “300”, looks funny and dumb at the same time)
I don’t remember the other previews.
Story:
The president of the United States attends a summit on anti-terrorism and got assassinated. Secret service agent Barnes, who took a bullet for the president in a previous assassination attempt, tried to catch the unknown shooter right there and then. The story is told from several points of view (thus, the title “Vantage Point”).
Thoughts:
This is a storytelling that I haven’t seen before, or I don’t remember seeing before. So its storytelling was fresh to me. You’d think that watching a film constantly being rewound several times, each time presenting a different vantage point of the same central situation is boring, but it wasn’t. Okay, maybe you wouldn’t think that, but I certainly did. I expected it to be boring. I even thought it was going to be a political drama (but then that’s my fault because I haven’t seen or read an ad for this film). I probably wouldn’t have gone to this movie had it not been for free (the company I worked for have what we call “Movie Nights” where every month they chose a movie that we have the opportunity to watch for free). When the email for this month’s Movie Night came and I learned it was going to be “Vantage Point”, I commented to my colleagues that I wish they chose “Jumper”. But I saw “Jumper” a week ago and now that I saw both movies I thought the company got it right in choosing “Vantage Point”. It was great, edge-of-your-seat thriller from beginning to end. Later in the movie the story just went improbable, but it’s okay. The premise itself, I think, called for improbability in order for the film to be made. I’m not a fan of its plot, but I’m definitely a fan of how it was told and the pace that it was told. It’s the kind of storytelling that you only get to see in good television these days (“24”, “Lost”, “Prison Break”). I thought “Vantage Point” showed me, if anything, how TV’s “24” would look like in the big screen and how it would sound like in a Dolby Digital theater. I heard rumors of a “24” movie and I think it would be great.
Would I see it again? Maybe I’ll see it again in DVD, there’s not much reason to watch it again once you knew who did what. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes.
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