I spent yesterday afternoon watching two films at Grandquelly's place. Had a terrible headache from being sleep-deprived, blame it all on the documentary I saw about the past five presidents of the Philippines which ended at 1AM that day. So to help me alleviate that dozy feeling I had, my dear friend and her sister prepared delicious lunch and dinner. I especially enjoyed the sisig, salad with cranberry sauce, bangus and chicken yakitori. Yes, I wolfed down those dishes! Thanks Q and R for a great time yesterday!
Okay, those two films. The first one is Love and Other Disasters written and directed by Alek Keshishian. Released last year, this funny and charming British film stars Brittany Murphy and a host of brilliant English actors such as Matthew Rhys and Catherine Tate who portray the lives of single and successful men, women and gay in London. The lines are stylish and the continuity of the story is flawless. There are only a few British movies on my list but this one is sure climbing the charts of good romantic comedies along with Four Weddings and A Funeral and Notting Hill.
Meanwhile, Keira Knightley shows her best in yet another period piece entitled Silk. Written and directed by François Girard, this art film is a story of Hervé Joncour, a trader of silkworms who marries his beloved Helene with the help of his employer. Now being indebted to his employer, he journeys to Japan as he was ordered to buy silkworms for use of the town's silk mill back in France.
But in another world, he finds himself becoming obsessed with a concubine of a Japanese warlord. His wife begins to suspect as letters are being communicated to Hervé. This movie makes unrequited love as well as unconditional love strongly apparent. Silk, released in 2007, stars Michael Pitt as Hervé Joncour and Keira Knightley as Helene.
I can compare Silk with another period movie which is Love in The Time of Cholera. Just as Silk had memorable lines like "Come back or I shall die", as the letters to Hervé are being interpreted, so does Love in the Time of Cholera, when Florentino tells Fermina Daza, "51 years, 9 months, and 4 days. That is how long I have loved you."
It did not help that the server was intermittent for the past two days. And to think the past two days were devoted to backing up files which I told you about. Add to that ripping some music CDs I found in my stockroom.
In between storing files, I explored Facebook and I'm really enjoying chatting with old friends and classmates from way back grade school and high school in St Scholastica's College Manila. Mark Zuckerberg is a genius in developing this networking site. I saw some posted items of my batch mates included funny class pictures and music of '80s and '90s that take us back to our good old days.
So next I thought what if I round up all my grade 6 classmates for a grand reunion? But majority are out of the country so this looks impossible to do. A lot of reinforcement needed here to materialize the plan.
Anyway, here is a sampler of pure '90s pop music that I posted in Facebook yesterday. One of many songs that bring back happy memories, this is Everything But The Girl's single released in 1991 entitled Old Friends. Yeah I know, melancholic song, but really nice.
Before anything really dangerous happens to all my files, I need to make a back-up soon. And when I say files, I mean about 2,000 songs, photos, videos, and website files. I was just informed that our IT director is flying to Manila to make a supervisory visit. Now I wouldn't want him to see the precious "junk" in my computer and drag them to the trash bin!
Counting the days to the arrival of this "demolition man," I'm about to take the next best thing against the destruction of my treasure. Now meet my new gadget.
This cute toy is the Western Digital My Passport portable external drive. It comes in 160GB, 250GB, 320GB, and 500GB, and in many colors. Go here for more information.
Perhaps I'll be spending a considerable amount of time picking up my files from different photo gallery sites, folders, and thumb drives. Welcome to File Storage and Back-Up 101!
The first few songs I heard by Celine Dion back when I was a college freshman were If You Asked Me To and Nothing Broken But My Heart, culled from her first album. I knew then that she had a great voice that was going to take her to instant popularity. And boy did it all happen to her. After years and years of concerts and recording albums, she married her manager Rene Angelil and went on a hiatus. She is now back to promote her newest album Taking Chances via a world tour.
Meanwhile, here's my own tribute to Celine. Her voice, enchanting. Her songs, glaring with emotion and she really projects well. Her music, just the right kind of pop jazz for me.
"If You Asked Me To"
"Nothing Broken But My Heart"
Prior to her concert at the Madison Square Garden last September 15, Celine watched an amazing journey of a 12-year old girl from the Philippines named Charice Pempengco, as she was phone-patched in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. I did not miss this show and watched the full 30-minute segment with Charice, how she vowed to protect her mother from her father's violence and their family's struggles. Oprah sent her crew to the Philippines and went back to the roots of Charice as she toured the crew to her native town. Oprah really dedicated her episode to this young girl and her impending career. Towards the end of the live conversation, Celine invited Charice to sing with her when she stages her concert at the Madison Square Garden.
I am posting this bit from the recent concert of Celine with Charice singing Because You Loved Me. Notice how Celine made Charice shine as she left the girl to sing and conquer the stage and the world with the magic of her voice. I just loved Celine for doing this to Charice, she is truly kind. This video made me cry by the way, definitely a YouTube moment, and a one-Kleenex affair.
Another Filipino and her feat, I feel so Pinoy today!
Eddie Romero, National Artist of the Philippines of 2003, and acclaimed film director, puts another feather on his cap as his next masterpiece is set to premiere at the Robinsons Galleria and Ermita cinemas starting September 24, 2008.
"Teach Me To Love" is a story of a student and his teacher, and their illicit relationship. Movie and television actress Maui Taylor plays the role of the teacher, and Nathan Lopez (of the Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros fame) as the student. The digital film also stars Ricky Davao and Tonton Gutierrez.
"Teach Me To Love" Trailer
Movies like this greatly interests me. Where could you go wrong with a seemingly captivating story, and an influential director doing a digital film that showcases the technical ingenuity and talent of Filipinos? I feel that another recognition in international film festivals is underway.
Yes, Jack Black is White. This is the name of the band who we saw perform last night at Eastwood City Libis, with my brother Joash on bass guitar. Their music can be described as "U2-esque," as coined by their lead vocalists as they were being interviewed live by Magic 89.9FM. A one-hour segment was devoted to this band who played songs by U2 and The Cure, including their original composition entitled "Thin Line (Between Love and Lust)".
The band members are mostly from La Salle and that is where they started having jamming sessions in the past but lost touch for years. Now, reunited after almost a decade of hiatus, these "responsible rockers" as they would consider themselves, are all set towards realizing their passion for music. On Tuesdays, they play at Gweilos, a bar located at Carlos Palanca in Legaspi Village Makati, and are presently accumulating bookings for corporate events.
Here is the video footage I took of them last night. The video may be raw, but the sound is certainly very good.
My good friend Apple and her husband Anton opened up their quaint restaurant along Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes Parañaque last December 2007. This couple would often host our Christmas dinners preparing the most sumptuous pasta, pizza, and many other appetizing dishes. Their love for friends and food probably was the reason for putting up their business which they called Chi's Brick Oven Kitchen.
"Chi" is the nickname of Anton Tirona, also the head chef of the restaurant. Their main attraction is the brick oven, where all the food they serve are cooked, and yes, including desserts. Many good reviews have been published about Chi's Brick Oven, the most recent of which can be found here, and another equally interesting review here.
So when time permits and if you're around the area, visit them and try good food at Chi's Brick Oven Kitchen.
Location: Unit 105, 209 Aguirre Avenue BF Homes Parañaque Metro Manila Tel: (632) 820-7210, (63917) 897-1117, (63917) 926-0555
Do you know Rob Pengson? I heard of him once or twice and I know he's one great chef and all. But most people, girls actually, seem to revere him as the "sexy chef". He's an internationally trained chef with a flair of eloquence and charm. That explains the sexy reference by the ladies.
I saw his cooking show on QTV11 called "Chef To Go" last Sunday night. With actress Heart Evangelista watching him cook and trying out the dishes, he prepared meals that involved different kinds of cheeses. There was this bruschetta with mangoes on top and showered with a cream cheese sauce; baked potatoes with onions, mozzarella and two other different kinds of cheese; and aligi pasta with generous shavings of parmesan and mozzarella. I forgot to take down the French names of the dishes but they certainly looked so delicious, easy to cook and gastronomically appetizing.
With all that said, we could use a little resemblance of Chef Rob to the English cooking sensation Jamie Oliver. This British chap, meanwhile, is called the "naked chef," but that nickname was used to refer to the simplicity of his recipes and not about nudity. My brother who worked as a chef for an Italian restaurant collected all of Jamie Oliver's books. To me, he's one rock star in the kitchen. Watch the following video where Jamie demonstrates the use of a food preparation instrument called the flavour shaker.
Ellen Degeneres and Portia De Rossi looked stunningly beautiful and happy in their pink and white wedding ensemble. I saw Ellen's captivating monologue and wedding footage in the second episode of her show in a new season, in her new studio, and as the new Mrs. Degeneres. No judgement here in this site. I am happy for Ellen and Portia in that the whole world can see how love really prevails and succeeds.
Ellen's opening monologue on her wedding was so hilarious, too good to pass up. Watch.
And here's the wedding footage where you see both their moms and how they've prepared for their special day.
Did you hear the song that was playing in the wedding footage and was sung in front of Ellen and Portia? The couple apparently asked alternative artist Joshua Radin to perform the song "Today" in their intimate wedding. They chose a good song to be their wedding song.
McCain objects to same sex marriages
To backtrack a bit, in May of this year, Republican presidential nominee John McCain guested on the Ellen show albeit their interview made for an exciting debate on a sensitive issue. After the California Supreme Court has legalized same sex marriages, McCain has issued a statement saying that he "doesn't believe the judges should be making decisions such as these."
Anyway, here is the transcript of that interview which made Ellen put McCain on the tight spot.
DEGENERES: We're back with Senator John McCain, and so let's talk about it. Let's talk about the big elephant in the room. So -- by the way, I was planning on having a ceremony anyway this summer, even though it wasn't legal. But I feel that at least I get to celebrate my love. Then it just so happened that I legally now can get married, like everyone should.
McCAIN: And I saw where someone even registered you.
DEGENERES: Someone -- yeah, illegally registered me. So I'm obviously excited. And to me, this is only fair and only natural. And what are your thoughts?
JOHN McCAIN: Well, my thoughts are that I think that people should be able to enter into legal agreements, and I think that that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas, decisions that have to be made. I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman. And I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue.
DEGENERES: Yeah, I mean, I think that it's -- it is looked at -- and some people are saying the same -- that blacks and women did not have the right to vote. I mean, women just got the right to vote in 1920. Blacks didn't have the right to vote until 1870. And it just feels like there is this old way of thinking that we are not all the same. We are all the same people, all of us. You're no different than I am. Our love is the same.
To me -- to me, what it feels like -- just, you know, I will speak for myself -- it feels -- when someone says, "You can have a contract, and you'll still have insurance, and you'll get all that," it sounds to me like saying, "Well, you can sit there; you just can't sit there." That's what it sounds like to me. It feels like -- it doesn't feel inclusive...It feels -- it feels isolated. It feels like we are not -- you know, we aren't owed the same things and the same wording.
McCAIN: Well, I've heard you articulate that position in a very eloquent fashion. We just have a disagreement. And I, along with many, many others, wish you every happiness.
DEGENERES: Thank you. So you'll walk me down the aisle? Is that what you're saying?
McCAIN: Touche.
DEGENERES: Well, my hope is someday it won't be called a contract; it will be called marriage.
I was just so fascinated with Ellen and how she was able to stand firm on her right to legally wed her partner. Beyond color, race, culture, love should flourish. After all, that was exactly what Ellen only wanted from the beginning wasn't it?
We're blogging about two movies I saw over the weekend. I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry was so hilarious, Adam Sandler and Kevin James of the Hitch fame make for a perfect duo in this project. Also stars Jessica Biel who looked very pretty for her role as the supposedly gay couple's lawyer.
Meanwhile, it was kind of weird watching Smother on Star Movies as it is also currently showing in theaters. How did that happen? I looked it up in IMDb, and it turns out the movie has apparently premiered last August 27. Star was a bit early in releasing it in television. Anyway, Diane Keaton who plays the mother who smothers her son is once again truly a work of art. The story was basic but she puts the color to the movie in the same manner that the beautiful Liv Tyler does.
My sister and I grew up learning the Beatles lyrics by heart as my mom had her complete collection of their albums and a big blue songbook that came with it. At least that's how vivid I can recall these things. I remember in the early '80s, we would play those large shiny discs onto our Marantz player all day long. Then an unfortunate accident happened in the late 1990s when my grandmother's house was caught in a huge fire where my mom's collection was. That treasure was such a great loss to us.
The Beatles is undoubtedly the biggest pop combo ever to have existed in the international music scene. From Liverpool, England, they released around 14 albums and sold over a billion records internationally. The Beatles' music helped define the culture of the sixties. So far, I don't know of any of our friends who has this great a liking or fondness for this group like we do. I kid you not, we could join a contest about Beatles songs and we can win it.
Nowadays, you can no longer find a compilation of all Beatles albums in one package. One time I was in Music One and there I saw the albums for sale but to be purchased separately. The discography of The Beatles would eat all of the space in this page if I were to list them all down. It is one massive record history I tell you. For those interested, you can see the full list here.
So I don't know what came over me yesterday and something just moved me to revisit the pop group's songs. They have been looping over and over in my music player up to this hour. Seems I've been bitten by the Beatles bug again. =) Their music takes me to an era I don't belong to, but nonetheless this is one example of how music can bring one person to a different world. Me, I shall forever be a big Beatles fan, anytime and anywhere.
Today while exchanging e-mail messages with Lizza, Jason, Yaz, and Lyra, a '70s song sprung out of the thread. This love song has great lyrics and it makes us remember our days when we used to hang out in a Makati bar (I actually forgot the name) around 2001. We would come and see Bedroom Boyz, the house band who plays only *music from the sixties to the eighties. I feel so ancient just recalling these things!
Anyway, here's Dionne Warwick and Johnny Mathis singing Friends in Love recorded in 1982.
*Oldies songs like "You Made Me So Very Happy" by Blood, Sweat and Tears, "You Can't Fall Up" by Tower of Power, "Neither One Of Us" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, and "The Harder I Try" by Free Movement.
Google, Inc. launches its own web browser called Google Chrome. I tried using it earlier and it works well delivering fast page downloads and should be quick to handle video-rich programs and other applications. The Google Chrome debut coincides with Microsoft's launch of the Internet Explorer 8.0.
This is a screen capture of my Google Chrome page. It allows you to bookmark your favorite pages by showing a grid of thumbnails so you can easily click on your most visited sites anytime.
Go here to download your own Google Chrome web browser now!
Our movie trailers will never sound the same again.
Voiceover legend Don LaFontaine has died due to complications from pneumothorax. He was 68. He is the genuine and godly voice behind 700,000 television spots and over 5,000 movie trailers.
His most famous work includes doing voiceover spots for films like "The Godfather," "Fatal Attraction" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." In the late 1970s, he was the official voice of Paramount Pictures. He also did projects for commercials like General Motors, Ford, McDonald's, Coca-Cola among hundreds of thousands of others.
LaFontaine once said, "My philosophy is that you have to really believe what you're reading, even if you think the film's a piece of junk. Even the worst picture is someone's favorite film, and that someone is the fan I am always talking to."
But what Don LaFontaine was most famous for was his trademark phrase "In a world ...," apparently used by many movies whose objective was to create an otherworldly atmosphere.
Here's Don LaFontaine's story told by none other than the legend himself.
Of course after Hillary's discourse, I bring you the defining moment of Barack Obama as he accepts the nomination to be the next President of the United States at the Democratic National Convention held in Denver, Colorado.
This 45-minute speech is one speech I will remember for the rest of my life. It was really touching to hear the words of Barack Obama, a tale of compassion that can be applied to our country if only our government leaders had this much concern for its people.
