a musing: derivations of a non-conformist idealist

a musing: derivations of a non-conformist idealist

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Blue ribbon for Red Ribbon

Just makes you wanna dive in and forget your diet, doesn't it? Or makes you wanna just stare at it? In any case, Red Ribbon, just this weekend, launched their new Picture-Cakes via demos, raffles, and an exhibit of cakes at the Megamall. I wouldn't mind getting one of these beauties to make as a centerpiece at a party. These must cost a little more than the regular cakes so it still has got to be eaten. And I also wouldn't mind getting caught on camera slicing into it, smiling, then handing a plate with a slice to a suddenly-not-so-sweets-conscious friend. Incidentally, Red Ribbon has been around since 1979 so Happy 26th to you! I've always loved your Chocolate Mousse! (in moderation)

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Starstruck's Paulo Avelino

I'm not really a fan of Starstruck but after the success of at least their first batch of survivors like Jennelyn Mercado, Mark Herras, Katrina Halili, etc., one could only have a bit of admiration for these kids who really, really want to break into the showbiz scene. 18-yr old commercial model Paulo Avelino had the cute-sy boy-next-door looks and he was eyeing co-finalist Jewel Mische that gave him an edge for one title, that of half of the Ultimate Loveteam. Unfortunately, he got the boot tonight. From the dance performances I saw in SOP the past couple of Sundays, Paulo was overshadowed by the three remaining male survivors. Good luck to all of the remaining finalists who will be have a final showdown at the Marikina Sports Complex on March 25. They're all good-looking but they would need to work on their talents. Winning (and even just being in) a contest such as this is an opportunity to do just that. Don't waste it.

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300

Wow. Graphic and bloody and nice little story. Wow. Great art direction although a little over-the-top for Xerxes. And as for the Asian "immortals", well that looked tv-series-lots-of-villains-so-lets-make-em-wear-the-same-
thing-so-they-can-re-appear-in-some-other-scene... All-in-all still a good watch. I didn't like the traitorous monstrosity trying to be a Spartan soldier. It was too grotesque to have been born at all. Now the Oracle-dancer with the arousingly aroused nipple... until she got licked by another grotesque-ly disfigured mountain-top-dwelling, robed human-like thing. I felt for the captain and his son whose head got cleanly chopped off. The captain was saying that he regrets not being able to tell his son how much he loved him and was honored by the way the latter fought. I thought their nodding to each other just before the fatal blow was enough so the captain didn't have to get all Filipino-soap-opera-tic. And finally, the scene showing the 300 and the king downed by the arrows was worthy of stealing a mobile-phone camera shot for but I didn't surrender to the urge. My hand didn't retreat to get my pocketed celphone. The 300 died and I was still glued to screen. 117 minutes. Wow. At least 3.75/5 stars.

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Saturday, March 10, 2007

The new Fantine


Lea Salonga performs the role of Fantine in the Broadway revival of Les Miserables a little earlier than scheduled- March 2 rather than March 6. Here are pictures from rehearsals. You may also view a video of her being interviewed at the Broadhurst theater house during rehearsals with clips of her singing some of the Fantine parts. If you're ever on Broadway, catch Lea as Fantine in Les Miserables, playing at least until the summer.

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Thursday, March 08, 2007

Brothers and Sisters


Calista Flockhart of Ally Mc Beal, Rachel Griffiths from Six Feet Under, and Sally Field, who I always thought was like an American Nora Aunor, only funnier (love her in Soapdish), are the female leads in this ABC Drama series. I think Calista and Sally make for a very good daughter-mother tandem. The rest of the cast are fine. And the story, although a bit played-out, combines comedy, drama, and real-life-like situations and dialogue (versus theatrical or literary. It just sounds like lines you would hear someone you know has actually said) to engage the viewer and tug at the heart. 3.75/5 stars.

Trivia from its wiki entry:
- The show is also known as 7 Feet Under in some countries.
- This is Sally Field's first successful TV series in more than 35 years, after doing The Flying Nun
- Betty Buckley shot the pilot, but she was fired after focus groups reacted negatively to the character when shown the original pilot of the show (then named Iva Walker), therefore, Sally Field was a late addition for Nora Walker, proving that Field's character would be a more mothering role.
- In the pilot, the character of Kevin was originally named Bryan, and was played by Jonathan LaPaglia. Bryan was going through a divorce and custody battle after coming out of the closet. After the original pilot, Bryan became Kevin, now played by Matthew Rhys, who was established as out since high school and single.
in 1970.

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Animated at the Office


Here are my team-mates and I. I took these pictures this week using the "Frames" shoot mode on my new mobile phone. (From top - Joe and Vina, Ryan, Wilmore, and Mich) Hmm, maybe the flash didn't work on Ryan's picture- it's a bit dark. Or it's really just dark in space like in my cage.

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Sunday, March 04, 2007

Sony Ericsson K800i


Uploaded this using the new mobile phone I got yesterday, a Sony Ericsson K800i. I hope to be able to upload pictures as often as I can.

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Friday, March 02, 2007

Chicken in a bucket

Ask not if KFC uses real chicken to make us lick our fingers clean; ask how their gravy is made.

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