Happy birthday to one of my favourite fictional characters: Harry Potter.
And to his creator JK Rowling, Happy Birthday too!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Dumbledore is Dead
Where were you on July 16 of last year? Do you even remember what you were doing at six o'clock in the morning (Singapore/Philippine time)? Probably still swimming in sleep land and snoring through your ass; but for me, I can still remember it very clearly like it was just yesterday. I was then on a queue to buy some book; it was no ordinary book, all right, by my standards that is.
July 16 2005 was a media-frenzy day in the world of publication, and I can't believe I was part of it, and a year after the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, here comes the paperback copy. For those who like reading paperbacks, now's your time to catch-up on what happened to Harry on his sixth year (I don't know how you were able to sustain your curiosity). Bloomsbury edition (UK) was released last month (23 June), but the American edition (Scholastic) will be due today (25 July).
July 16 2005 was a media-frenzy day in the world of publication, and I can't believe I was part of it, and a year after the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, here comes the paperback copy. For those who like reading paperbacks, now's your time to catch-up on what happened to Harry on his sixth year (I don't know how you were able to sustain your curiosity). Bloomsbury edition (UK) was released last month (23 June), but the American edition (Scholastic) will be due today (25 July).
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Spare me your comfortable shoes
Two dozen and ten years have gone
Since I first woke up and set
My tiny little feet to take the small steps
That would lead to life's every adventure.
I've walked on cement, on gravel, and on asphalt
Waddled in the mud
Touched the sand with my bare feet
Felt the freshly mowed grass
Crumple under me weight.
The beat made my feet dance
To an exhilarating tune
And each slow step swaying to a lullaby
Decelerated my thumping heart.
They said life is a journey
And my feet are already killing me
Yet I still have thousands of miles to go
Before I sleep.
Since I first woke up and set
My tiny little feet to take the small steps
That would lead to life's every adventure.
I've walked on cement, on gravel, and on asphalt
Waddled in the mud
Touched the sand with my bare feet
Felt the freshly mowed grass
Crumple under me weight.
The beat made my feet dance
To an exhilarating tune
And each slow step swaying to a lullaby
Decelerated my thumping heart.
They said life is a journey
And my feet are already killing me
Yet I still have thousands of miles to go
Before I sleep.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
The battle within
When Superman returned, Spiderman's teaser trailer came out. And if you haven't seen it, check it here.
It is awesome! Story-wise, I'd bet it's even better than the second movie; Peter Parker's superhero is the most complex character - even better than Batman, and far from the goody-two shoes Clark Kent. For the first two films, each had one villain, but this time around, it is going to be three, which is pretty much a handful for our friendly neighborhood Spiderman and not to mention the new girl that could keep him and MJ apart.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Gastronomic Adventures
I went back to the beloved Philippines last June 18 since my last visit of more than two years ago. It was a breeze trip - I wouldn't even call it a vacation - two weeks of a hectic schedule of attending weddings and shuttling between Gapan, Nueva Ecija and Las Piñas City. Having The Filipino Channel (TFC) in our cable in Singapore has prepared me to what to expect of life in Manila. I was no longer surprised of the many changes that have happened since I last left. Though I am now as impatient as a Singaporean taxi driver stuck in a slow flow of traffic, and that I got scared whenever there are brave pedestrians crossing the street when there are a lot of cars rushing through or that cars are swerving in the midst of huge buses in the busy street of EDSA.
When I first stepped inside an SM mall, I nearly drooled after seeing all the food stalls selling different kinds of grub you could think off at such low prices. I bought a box of brownies from Brownies Unlimited for as low as S$4, which I'm pretty sure that in Singapore could only afford you a slice of a decent brownie. Dieting be damned, I ate slices of pizza with pork ham - the real meat lovers heaven (no Halal in the Philippines, baby); in Singapore, you'll have to make do with turkey ham. Josh became acquainted with Jollibee, which he probably taught was a toy store, for he was only interested with the toy in a Kiddie meal. Nothing really compares to the joy of eating chicken with gravy be it from Jollibee, KFC or Kenny Rogers Roasters; Singaporeans haven't even heard of chicken with gravy - a nation wherein they have stickers at food courts telling the customers to ask for less gravy in their food (health conscious pricks!).
Here are just a few peeves: Jollibee no longer use disposables when you dine in their stores (yikes!) and that the spaghetti is not as good as before; servings at Kenny Rogers are so small and the food tastes different. Herman was even surprised when they gave him the half-slab of ribs he ordered; it looked like an over-sized hamburger patty. Though they now offer other flavours for muffins, the size has gotten smaller and the original corn muffin tastes different (but nothing beats the bad taste of muffins in Malaysia). Kenny Rogers Singapore maintained the quality and that theirs is what I'd say value for money (especially if it's a Pinoy doing his OJT who's filling up your plate), except that they don't have gravy for my chicken; a fried chicken that's great with ketchup would only come from Max.
Though your dollars could still go a long way back home, prices of primary commodities have risen to atmospheric heights. It's no wonder that most of them are sold in sachets: coffee, oil, sugar, cheese, butter, shampoo, detergent and softener. A serving of a pasta dish in Sbarro is almost of the same price in Pastamania, but my sister recommends their Chicago’s Deep-dish pizza highly.
After seeing commercials aired on TV, I've come to realize that just watching a local channel could introduce you to the type of people in that country. In Philippine television, you'll see a barrage of shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, soap, and mobile phone provider's commercials; in Singapore, on the other hand, you'll see lots of commercials on slimming, spas and of new models of hand phones. From these commercials, you can conclude that Filipinos are very meticulous with their personal hygiene and are SMS (text) crazy: with just 15 pesos a day, you can have unlimited text (doesn't matter whether your phone's model is already five years older). Singaporeans are very much fuzzy with how they look (forget about taking a bath everyday long as you weigh less than 50 kg); mobile phone providers only give subscribers 300 to 500 free messages a month for people still enjoy talking through the Bluetooth ear piece of their latest model phones.
When I first stepped inside an SM mall, I nearly drooled after seeing all the food stalls selling different kinds of grub you could think off at such low prices. I bought a box of brownies from Brownies Unlimited for as low as S$4, which I'm pretty sure that in Singapore could only afford you a slice of a decent brownie. Dieting be damned, I ate slices of pizza with pork ham - the real meat lovers heaven (no Halal in the Philippines, baby); in Singapore, you'll have to make do with turkey ham. Josh became acquainted with Jollibee, which he probably taught was a toy store, for he was only interested with the toy in a Kiddie meal. Nothing really compares to the joy of eating chicken with gravy be it from Jollibee, KFC or Kenny Rogers Roasters; Singaporeans haven't even heard of chicken with gravy - a nation wherein they have stickers at food courts telling the customers to ask for less gravy in their food (health conscious pricks!).
Here are just a few peeves: Jollibee no longer use disposables when you dine in their stores (yikes!) and that the spaghetti is not as good as before; servings at Kenny Rogers are so small and the food tastes different. Herman was even surprised when they gave him the half-slab of ribs he ordered; it looked like an over-sized hamburger patty. Though they now offer other flavours for muffins, the size has gotten smaller and the original corn muffin tastes different (but nothing beats the bad taste of muffins in Malaysia). Kenny Rogers Singapore maintained the quality and that theirs is what I'd say value for money (especially if it's a Pinoy doing his OJT who's filling up your plate), except that they don't have gravy for my chicken; a fried chicken that's great with ketchup would only come from Max.
Though your dollars could still go a long way back home, prices of primary commodities have risen to atmospheric heights. It's no wonder that most of them are sold in sachets: coffee, oil, sugar, cheese, butter, shampoo, detergent and softener. A serving of a pasta dish in Sbarro is almost of the same price in Pastamania, but my sister recommends their Chicago’s Deep-dish pizza highly.
After seeing commercials aired on TV, I've come to realize that just watching a local channel could introduce you to the type of people in that country. In Philippine television, you'll see a barrage of shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, soap, and mobile phone provider's commercials; in Singapore, on the other hand, you'll see lots of commercials on slimming, spas and of new models of hand phones. From these commercials, you can conclude that Filipinos are very meticulous with their personal hygiene and are SMS (text) crazy: with just 15 pesos a day, you can have unlimited text (doesn't matter whether your phone's model is already five years older). Singaporeans are very much fuzzy with how they look (forget about taking a bath everyday long as you weigh less than 50 kg); mobile phone providers only give subscribers 300 to 500 free messages a month for people still enjoy talking through the Bluetooth ear piece of their latest model phones.
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