ME, ME, ME, ME!

Got this from Redjeulle of When excrement hits the Ventilation

Four Jobs I've Had In My Life
1. Fry Section of Jollibee when I was 17
2. production assistant (PA), eventually became co-script writer and assistant Director
3. Professional Ass Kisser for a multinational pharmaceutical company
4. Currently in one where I just leave my brain at home

Four Films I Can Watch Over And Over
1. My Fair Lady
2. Sense and Sensibility
3. Oliver!
4. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring Again

Four Places I Have Lived In (before finally settling in Manila)
1. Davao
2. Pampanga
3. Cagayan de Oro
4. Cebu

Four TV Programs I Love To Watch
1. Euromaxx on DW-TV
2. Culture Express on CCTV
3. Whose Line is it Anyway?
4. Grey's Anatomy

Four places I have been on vacation
1. n/a
2. n/a
3. n/a
4. Uh, what does "vacation" mean? *scratches head*

Four Places I Would Have Visited, Had I Had The Money
1. Batanes
2. Palawan
3. Hong Kong (Buti pa si Emilio Aguinaldo, nakapunta na at libre pa ang pamasahe niya!)
4. Russia (what I get for reading War & Peace twice)

Four Websites I Visit Daily
1. Inq7.net
2. Manila Standard Today Online (why do they always have photos of near-naked has-been starlets?!)
3. Airliners.net
4. International Herald Tribune Online

Four Of My Favorite Foods
1. Kare Kare (my Mom and Yaya's versions)
2. Dinuguan (my Aunt's)
3. Stuffed squid i make myself
4. Grilled fish, especially yellow-fin

Four Places I Would Rather Be
1. Under a tree near a beach catching up on my reading
2. My Mom's room to watch all the 800-title DVDs I've amassed the last 2 years
3. Somewhere in Manila :-p
4. 30,000 feet up in the air (in an aeroplane, I hope)

CURRENTLY READING

Sunrise With Seamonster

Traveler extraordinary and master of the unexpected insight, Theroux has now brought together the travels that fell outside the scope of his other books. In Sunrise with Seamonsters his journeys take place not only in the exotic, unexpected places of the world but in the thought, reading, and emotions of the writer himself.

The author of The Great Railway Bazaar and The Kingdom by the Sea scans Corsica, Afghanistan, Uganda, and Burma with a wickedly sharp eye; perceives the “seamonsters” off Cape Cod; gets thrown out of Malawi; and takes his chances at his high school reunion, in a leper colony, on the New York subway, and in the world of patrons and patronage. The people he meets along the way, either in person or in their pages, are as wildly assorted as Graham Greene, John McEnroe, V. S. Pritchett, Rudyard Kipling, Henry Miller, and Richard Nixon, but each emerges as a distinctive Theroux portrait, in light and shade, seen suddenly anew.

In Theroux’s view, “it is a ridiculous conceit to think that this enormous world has been exhausted of interest. There are still scarcely visited places and there are exhilarating ways of reaching them ... It is every traveler’s wish to see his route as pure, unique, and impossible for anyone else to recover ... The going is still good."

Source: Paul Theroux

AC-CENT-TCHU-ATE THE POSITIVE!

I found myself humming this song today, written by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen and sang by Bing Crosby (?) in the 1944 film Here Come the Waves.

Thanks to Luxuria Music for making it available to our generation.

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

(To illustrate his last remark Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark What did they do Just when everything looked so dark)

Man, they said we better
Accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
No, do not mess with Mister In-Between
Do you hear me, hmm?

(Oh, listen to me children and-a you will hear About the elininatin' of the negative And the accent on the positive)

And gather 'round me children if you're willin'
And sit tight while I start reviewin'
The attitude of doin' right

(You've gotta accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between)

You've got to spread joy (up to the maximum) Bring gloom (down) down to the minimum
Otherwise (otherwise) pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene
To illustrate (well illustrate) my last remark (you got the floor) Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they say (what did they say) Say when everything looked so dark Man, they said we better Accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
No! Don't mess with Mister In-Between!

JACK WILD, 1952-2006

Jack Wild, the former child actor who portrayed the Charles Dickens character Artful Dodger in the 1968 film Oliver for which he was nominated an Academy Award, passed away a few days ago of mouth cancer. He was 53.

I first saw this film when I was 7 years old during a visit to Bukidnon. Mom's copy, an original Betamax tape ordered from the U.S., is still with us.

THANK YOU!

WEDDINGS AND DEBUTS 2006
February 17-19
Weddings and Debuts 2006
Megatrade Hall, SM Megamall
Project of The Wedding Library

Once again, we were seen at Megatrade Hall at SM Megamall with our booth for The Mango Farm. This year, the order being something Filipino, we came up with an idea of using an all-capiz ensemble to surround our 2X3-meters booth. The rest of the ideas like the banig-wrapped, multi-layered platform came from Mike Santos of the Farm.

Vatel Manila wishes to thank Ate Letty Yanga of Quiapo's famous Ils de Tules (ilalim ng tulay, for those not in the know) for discounts and speedy delivery on the capiz curtains. Henry, as well, for taking time to make the long walks to and from Quiapo. Tony of the Farm for the amazing (and erstwhile secret) artistry. To SB, for understanding and supporting my work. And to Mike, for the chance to make these ideas come to life!(Why is this sounding like a thank-you speech for the Oscars?!)

Here's to more booths for the Farm!

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

What do you see first? Do let me know.

MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS

"The show must go on but the clothes must come off."

Genre: Comedy / Drama
Running time: 1:43
Director: Stephen Frears

Tending to Mom at home has its rewards. One of them is the ability to watch movies with her - an activity I absolutely enjoy. Our latest film together was one bloody amusing work entitled Mrs. Henderson Presents featuring one of my favorite actresses of all time, Dame Judie Dench, (also seen in the Oscar-contender Pride and Prejudice in the role of Lady Catherine de Bourg) here teaming up with Bob Hoskins (Stay, 2005).

Mrs. Laura Henderson may be a widow but she is by no means going to spend the rest her days playing bridge. The Windmill Theater becomes her game and the infamous showman Vivian Van Dam becomes her partner and fiercest opponent. The Germans are bombing London as Laura convinces Lord Cromer to allow her actresses to be the one thing no one could ever imagine: Nude. Brought to its knees by war, what Mrs. Henderson Presents brings a nation to its feet in applause. (Official Synopsis)

The chemistry between Dench and Hoskins is perfect for the subject, and while there is indeed a show of flesh from screen to screen, this does not entirely hog the entire film. For humor that is totally priceless - typically English but very funny nonethess - this is the film to rouse your senses from the state of emergency we just came out of recently. Cheers!

COMING HOME TO THE CITY OF GOLDEN FRIENDSHIP

Some of the photos of the trip are found here.