One Down, Three To Go

Yay! I read Twilight in 5 days! And that was downright industrious reading, I tell you. I am dying in anticipation to see the movie. Twilight is the first of four books in this saga by the incredible author Stephenie Meyer. So I guess I'm off to the next three.

I have officially joined the coven and is dreaming to be an adopted powerful child of the Cullens! Just kidding! I remember reading Sweet Valley High in my teen years which is why reading this brings me a bit to the happy and convenient life we had then as young adults.

"Dark Chocolate" Novel

Most of my Facebook friends are getting addicted to this series by Stephenie Meyer. They say this is the new Harry Potter. I myself got intrigued by the titles of the books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. But as in chocolate, I guess this must be the dark chocolate among the latest mystery novels. Well I hope I am right.


I was at Bibliarch yesterday and saw piles of Meyer's books in the middle of the store. My sister in San Diego also says it has gotten good reviews and people are crazy about Bella and Edward. We both agreed we would read the first book running the same pace and have discussions about it everyday we would chat!

So, fad or no fad, I decided to join the bandwagon to cultivate my own curiosity. On the cover of the paperback, it reads "Now a major motion picture". Now we really have got to read the first book before the movie is released on November 21.

Robin Thicke's Magic

I first heard this song during the Miss Universe pageant held this year and wondered who the artist was. Then a few weeks back I saw a Samsung mobile phone commercial and this song apparently played in the background.

Last night, as I finally caught the Ellen Degeneres Show, Robin Thicke performed this live. Robin Thicke's genre is modern, sultry soul and R&B. I especially loved "Lost Without You" from his first album "The Evolution of Robin Thicke".

Now comes "Magic", a cut from his latest album Something Else. Yes, this could be something else, like the song of the year at the Grammys?

The Magnificent Art of Julian Beever

Almost always, I get instantly awed by works of art be it painting, sculpture, or architecture. Right now I could think of the paintings at the Sistine Chapel, the bas relief in most cultures, the Mona Lisa, the ionic and doric columns of the Greek architecture, the Trevi Fountain, Venus de Milo, and other masterpieces that relate to world humanities. I also like contemporary art just as much as I love the archaic.

Today I learned a new concept in contemporary art that involves brilliant optical illusions. Trompe-l'oeil (pronounced as trump-LOY) is an art technique that requires extremely realistic imagery so as to create the optical illusion in that one can visualize objects as three-dimensional, when in fact it is actually a two-dimensional piece of work. Trompe-l'oeil is French for "to trick or fool the eye", and dates as far back to Baroque period in the 16th and 17th centuries as its origin.

One of its new age proponents is Julian Beever, the famous English chalk artist that implements the Trompe-l'oeil tecnnique. Not on paintings. But on pavement surfaces. As an addition, he utilizes anamorphosis to better view his "chalk paintings". He has been doing this terrific chalk art since the 1990s, and he has been commissioned by corporations around the world to create advertising images, and murals in movies.

Here are samples of Julian Beever's amazing chalk works.

"Pavement Picasso" a.k.a. Julian Beever

"Mountain Dew Ad"

"Well"

"Sidewalk"

"Aveeno Ad"

"Batman and Robin"

"Village"

"Tower"

"Laptop"

"Singapore"

"Water Rafting"

I love stuff like this that captures the imagination. It puts one to a test in dissecting elements of an object and enhances the power of the artistic side of our brain. Did you enjoy staring at the images?

My Acid Jazz Influence

My acid jazz influence started when I was in my early twenties. I listened to music of jazz bands like Incognito (Nights Over Egypt, Still A Friend of Mine, Beneath the Surface), US3 (Cantaloop), and Brand New Heavies (Dream on Dreamer, Midnight at the Oasis). Since then, I have had a certain profound love for this genre.

For the past few years, I have also added D'Sound to my list, with a number of great songs to mention like Tatooed On My Mind, Talkin' Talk, Play Me The Song, Remember These Moments, Enjoy, Treasure, People are People, and Do I Need A Reason. Too bad, for some reason I can't catch them in their shows when they're here.

Now, I discovered one amazing song by Jamiroquai, an English acid jazz/funk/soul band with Jason Kay on vocals, thanks to my high school friend Marti who told me about the song. We're both fanatics of Everything But The Girl, another jazz band who does cool remixes of their albums.

Anyway, this song by Jamiroquai is called Seven Days in Sunny June. This is part of the original soundtrack for The Devil Wears Prada.

I think I'm having that last song syndrome.....hehe. =)

Face Detection with Photofunia

There is an online image editing tool that gives users a fun experience called Photofunia. A user can upload any photo and the application of the chosen background only takes seconds.

What's amazing in this software is its ability to automatically detect the face in the photograph. Here are some amazing effects that I've tested earlier. More effects are available at Photofunia so try it now!

Sango Burgers

I just had lunch with Twin at Mile Long at this new burger joint called Sango. I wanted to have rice but she dragged me here and convinced me that I should try their burgers. We were among the first customers during lunch so the service was pretty fast.

While waiting for the food, I was looking around the quaint burger place and noticed this shelf of Japanese magazines. On the other end of the restaurant, Japanese music videos are being played.



As with any Japanese restaurant I eat at, I would almost always choose anything teriyaki or katsudon. I'm not very fond of the maki stuff or anything raw. So from the menu, I instantly chose the one familiar to my taste buds. Twin wanted to try the rice burger, she's the adventurous one when it comes to food.

I ordered Chicken Teriyaki Burger with Tartar Sauce

This is Twin's Yakiniku Rice Burger

Other specialty burgers include Tonkatsu, Egg Teriyaki, and Chicken Curry. Rice toppings are also available such as the usual Katsudon and Gyudon. I just thought they had juices available aside from softdrinks. Nevertheless, the food was superb.


P.S. There's an added attraction in this place. The comfort room comes with remote controls. Cool!


It was really worth trying out Sango burgers! Good food I must say. Aside from the Creekside Mall Mile Long branch, they also have outlets at South Supermarket Alabang, and Pearl Drive Ortigas Center.

Knocked Up

Since we are in movies mode at present, this is one romantic comedy I've seen lately over HBO. It made me snicker a lot, it was my first time to watch Seth Rogen, and it made me excited to see Katherine Heigl again in a movie. Seth Rogen is funny and witty, and for me can be in the same league as Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider. And as usual, Katherine Heigl's acting was both charming and natural. In fact, this won the Favorite Comedy Movie at this year's People's Choice Awards.

Knocked Up is a story of Ben Stone, the computer guy and party lover who meets Alison Scott in a bar one night. Two months after, the one night stand comes to Ben and their story begins. The movie is so fun, tackling how acquaintances turned sour can flourish into friendship, and even how marriages can take on many challenges between couples as in the case of Debbie, Alison's sister, her marriage with Pete and their responsibilities to their two daughters.




Knocked Up is written and directed by Judd Apatow, also starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, making them a lot more interesting for me to watch since I last saw Paul Rudd in Clueless opposite Alicia Silverstone, and Leslie Mann who gave unforgettable acting in the Adam Sandler starrer Big Daddy. There is even a special appearance of Ryan Seacrest.

I just love romantic comedies!

Body of Lies

Two years after doing Blood Diamond, Leonardo DiCaprio is back with an action film entitled Body of Lies, which also stars "Gladiator" Russell Crowe. I want to see this movie badly. Gotta get my DiCaprio fix. And if there's one more reason for me to watch this, Ridley Scott directed it.

Monday Bits

Julia Roberts' Latest Flick. I saw Fireflies in the Garden last night. Released this year, this drama was written and directed by Dennis Lee. The cinematography was what I liked best in this movie. Although I prepared myself to watch something out of my usual romantic comedy trips, there was great acting done by the cast. Fireflies in the Garden stars Julia Roberts, Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Hayden Panettiere, Emily Watson, and Carrie Ann Moss.

Jamie, Oh Jamie. Last week I borrowed these books from my brother and as I scanned through the pages, I think I came to know Jamie Oliver more and more. Then I realized a few things: (1) the rock star chef loves extra virgin olive oil a whole lot; (2) that he cannot cook a certain dish without putting herbs to it; (3) he included a suggested basic list for every pantry that loves to cook i.e. canned tomatoes, almonds, dried pasta; (4) he doesn't buy pasta when he's shopping for ingredients, he makes pasta from scratch; (5) and his influence is more of Italian food, ergo his penchant for soups, salads and herbs.

"The Naked Chef" and "Happy Days with the Naked Chef"

Pork Chops with herbs! This is one recipe I'd like to try.

Another SATC Gift. My sister sent belated-birthday-early-yuletide gifts for the whole family. And although I mentioned about this wish gift from her, I still got all too excited when I lifted it from the box. Yay! The book almost completes my own SATC keepsakes. Sex and The City really got me hooked from day one, and if there's one thing I liked about the fact that they ended the television series with only six seasons, that's gonna give me an advantage to pick up the first five seasons fast. Hehe.

My SATC addiction. Is the movie DVD out yet? =)

New Arrival Coke Bottles. My sister also sent over something from Las Vegas. My husband's reaction upon seeing his new toys was just priceless! Thanks again Alan and Lenlen!

My favorite is the Las Vegas bottle.

Red Obsession

Just as blogging is my passion, my husband's own obsession has something to do with his enormous and still growing collection of Coca-Cola mementos.  From the time he entered the company ten years ago, he had already started this "project".  Up to the day of our wedding when we got the rest of his stuff from their house, it was only then I realized I have also married his collection.  Four years after, those boxes in our stock room have remained sealed and preserved, aging and becoming more vintage by the day.  

So over the weekend, during one of our spring cleaning sessions at home this year, we decided to open the boxes and check the souvenirs if something was broken or missing.  I instantly thought of laying them down on the table and take snapshots of just some of them.  I tried to photograph all of what we had but it was just too tedious to include all kinds that were in the boxes.  

I have chosen to show here probably the cutest ones in the collection.