BED WEATHER

It's raining again today.  The last time I checked my Twitter timeline, feeds from PAGASA says expect more heavy rains in the coming days as the low pressure area that has been looming outside the Pacific has just turned into a tropical depression.  Great! More rains? Its not like the summer just hurried its way back to the western hemisphere and left us wanting more.

I'm more of a "sunshine" person than a "rain" one.  There is not much to do when it is raining. Artificial lights are turned on.  It does not give off any therapeutic heat or excite any biological D's in your system.  Cant even go outside.  As I work from home, waking up to this kind of weather is the hardest part. The sight of the cold pillows and the crumpled bed is just overpowering.  They will slowly but surely pull you back to sleep and since you command your time, it is rarely optional if you find yourself gravitate towards those hedonistic cues.

The clock says it's already past 12 noon and I can see a ray of light struggling to peek out from behind those angry gray clouds.  I do find comfort in this unrealistic realm of thought.  I believe it makes us more human and vulnerable to prevaricate from time to time.  While others may perceive rain as literal blessing to wash and cleanse the souls, others find it hard to accept how unpredictable rain can get by ruining their "parade."  One thing is for sure, the rainy season is really upon us now.  I mean c'mon.  What kind of fool can argue with that?

    

MONDAY MOVIE REVIEW

Someone just told me recently that I am an unwanted "flooder" on their Facebook timeline and news feeds, that they cant stand to see every thoughts I post.  It was really something uncalled for since we were not that chum chum.  Good thing I found another avenue to share my so-called "spillovers."  Here's an encore of my Monday Movie Review for other unsuspecting followers to see haha...

Spain's highest grossing film of 2009, Agora is a historical biopic drama that shed light on how one woman's struggle and philosophy revolutionized the entire system of ancient astronomy, top billed by Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a 4th century Greco-Roman intellect and helmed by acclaimed Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar. The film richly illustrates a tapestry of social unrest and religious turmoil. Highly Rec. 4.5/5

This film will surely fancy all spelunkers albeit be mesmerized by its panoramic three-dimensional rendition of gripping underwater adventure laced with suspense and drama. A well-crafted script with just about a handful of ham actors. 3.5/5. Be ready for that bucket of pop corn.

 

The kind of slasher film that got stuck in the 80's. Literally a film to die for, like watching a gory mocku-drama botched by high school students high on methane. Still thankful I survived watching the whole film. Tragic waste of time. 2.5/5. No need to add salt to finish the popcorn.

 

In the tradition of burgeoning bromance genre, this films cashes in on the ineptitude and misadventure of its main casts. The Hangover meets I Love you, Man. Only this time, Owen Wilson is nowhere in sight. LOL. Slapstick comedy at its finest. No wonder it feels like Hangover Pt.2. Andito pala si Zach Galifianakis hehe...4/5. More popcorn please!

Currently wreaking havoc on this weekend's US box office receipts, this film strangely exploits an invisible menace that looms on the horizon. Spoiler alert is an option but I dare not say for suspension of disbelief that Roswell and Area 51 still do exist. Go watch and figure! 4/5. Ubos na ang popcorn hehe

 

Capping off MMR with Dinner For Schmucks, a screwball comedy French remake. The deadpan humor really made me sick to my stomach. Sumakit ang ulo ko dito from start to fin. Cant accept the fact that Steve Carell and Paul Rudd agreed to be dragged into this whole complex hunk of poo. Really not funny. Just over the top "Hollywood funny." 2/5.

 

 

 

 

 

YOU'RE FIRED!

As I was channel surfing the other day, I caught a snippet of the upcoming season finale of The Apprentice.  Though I always thought of that show as vapid and full of crap, I was taken aback by how Donald Trump could easily fancy you with his commanding demeanor.  Here's a thought. What if you were growing up and he was your dad.  Yes, he consummately fires his pseudo-apprentices perennially on the boob tube.  Its a no brainer.  I'm afraid it must have been a household from hell like everyday you have to wake up and instead of your mom shouting at the top of her lungs, it is Donald giving you a quick thump on the head for starter in the morning LOL.  Would he ever fire you at all or kick you out of the house if he feels lousy to at least consider you as one of his offspring?  I wonder hows it like to have two other robotic siblings and if hes a boring dad.  His itinerary is way too predictable.  Office, office and more office.  Does he ever get to think of going home for a change?  Does he still remember the exact current count of his plush condos and apartments or at least know the difference between a garage and a backdoor kitchen?  Does he still have time to check and fix some broken pipes or replace the rusting lavatory flush tank, better yet pick the menu for the day?  I wonder if he still has time to breathe and pause for a while after rearranging his stash of bonds and dollars in his vault.  Does he ever freak out whenever his house help accidentally finds a stray Benjamin downstairs and do finders keepers?  Will he ever gonna change his hairstyle soon or does it ever occur to him that it ain't sometimes cool to see him tired on TV?  It makes his hair fall to the other side rather than the regular combover that he sports LOL.

He will make the word "PAL" ancient.  It does not and will not exist in his vocabulary.  "PAL" is a very strong word.  Well frown all you want.  We dream of being one every once in a while though "bum" would be much more politically correct...

Forgive me for my train of thoughts today.  This is just me acting up when I am totally bored out of my wits.  I just hate it when I don't drink my meds ceremoniously.

HEAR NO EVIL

Longstanding exposure to both audible and inaudible range of electronically-altered forms of human voice has already taken its toll on my auditory faculty and acuity.  It is alarming of course! There are times that one ear would just fall dead and play dumb on me.  Other times, it just hears a low-pitched humming sound.  Newsflash! "tinnitus" on the loose!, much like a miniscule bee buzzing inside my ear.

I love listening to any genre of music.  I can say I am now immune to all sorts of decibel-defying bass, drum-banging blasting type of sounds from overpowering surround SFX, and even the countless "videoke nights" across the fence.  What would become of me if this nuisance goes on and on?  It is literally annoying so to speak.

My late mom would always remind me to keep the volume low to which I will always answer back that it just wouldn't work out that way.  It would be like watching a silent film for me.  Should I be worrying now?  It is still way too early to seek ENT intervention.  I don't want to lose my job.  Not yet, not now, lest I want to be a "PAL" sooner than I would expect.

Guess I have to tone down a bit on my music and movie-watching habits.  Better yet, I might try saving up for some extra bucks to buy boxes of Q-Tips.  Maybe this is just years of me not cleaning the "anatomical drums" haha...

FREELANCE GLOBETROTTING

Among the living prolific writers of our generation, Paulo Coelho I must say is not just your typical old-fashioned litterateur but also a modern renaissance man who has evolved into a techno-savvy scribe as well. His body of work is not just confined anymore to the pages of his books but it transcends now the boundaries of culture and technology.

At 62, one would wonder how someone's aging neurons could still absorb so many ideas both from his real-life experiences and from the surreal ones scattered in the world wide web. I really love his blog and it is my everyday habit nowadays to at least devote an hour or two to visit the site and dabble on his insightful takes on everyday life, and so today, I chanced upon his fresh post about some useful tips when traveling abroad. I did not find any "share" buttons and I'm not so sure if I could retweet the post either. In a nutshell, here is an excerpt of that post.

1. Avoid museums. This might seem to be absurd advice, but let’s just think about it a little: if you are in a foreign city, isn’t it far more interesting to go in search of the present than of the past? It’s just that people feel obliged to go to museums because they learned as children that travelling was about seeking out that kind of culture. Obviously museums are important, but they require time and objectivity – you need to know what you want to see there, otherwise you will leave with a sense of having seen a few really fundamental things, except that you can’t remember what they were.

2. Hang out in bars. Bars are the places where life in the city reveals itself, not in museums. By bars I don’t mean nightclubs, but the places where ordinary people go, have a drink, ponder the weather, and are always ready for a chat. Buy a newspaper and enjoy the ebb and flow of people. If someone strikes up a conversation, however silly, join in: you cannot judge the beauty of a particular path just by looking at the gate.

3. Be open. The best tour guide is someone who lives in the place, knows everything about it, is proud of his or her city, but does not work for an agency. Go out into the street, choose the person you want to talk to, and ask them something (Where is the cathedral? Where is the post office?). If nothing comes of it, try someone else – I guarantee that at the end of the day you will have found yourself an excellent companion.

4. Try to travel alone or – if you are married – with your spouse. It will be harder work, no one will be there taking care of you, but only in this way can you truly leave your own country behind. Travelling with a group is a way of being in a foreign country while speaking your mother tongue, doing whatever the leader of the flock tells you to do, and taking more interest in group gossip than in the place you are visiting.

5. Don’t compare. Don’t compare anything – prices, standards of hygiene, quality of life, means of transport, nothing! You are not travelling in order to prove that you have a better life than other people – your aim is to find out how other people live, what they can teach you, how they deal with reality and with the extraordinary.

6. Understand that everyone understands you. Even if you don’t speak the language, don’t be afraid: I’ve been in lots of places where I could not communicate with words at all, and I always found support, guidance, useful advice, and even girlfriends. Some people think that if they travel alone, they will set off down the street and be lost forever. Just make sure you have the hotel card in your pocket and – if the worst comes to the worst – flag down a taxi and show the card to the driver.

7. Don’t buy too much. Spend your money on things you won’t need to carry: tickets to a good play, restaurants, trips. Nowadays, with the global economy and the Internet, you can buy anything you want without having to pay excess baggage.

8. Don’t try to see the world in a month. It is far better to stay in a city for four or five days than to visit five cities in a week. A city is like a capricious woman (or a capricious man, if you are a woman): she/he takes time to be seduced and to reveal him/herself completely.

9. A journey is an adventure. Henry Miller used to say that it is far more important to discover a church that no one else has ever heard of than to go to Rome and feel obliged to visit the Sistine Chapel with two hundred thousand other tourists bellowing in your ear. By all means go to the Sistine Chapel, but wander the streets too, explore alleyways, experience the freedom of looking for something – quite what you don’t know – but which, if you find it, will – you can be sure – change your life.

As an old hippie, I know what I’m talking about… - Paulo Coelho

For sure, if I were to be given a chance to travel, I might find this post helpful. Fresh off the boat will I be? I don't think so now...

X-Cess: Coelho fanatics out there can visit his blog at http://paulocoelhoblog.com/

BEING JOHN MAYER

A couple of weeks ago, as I rummage into my collection of bootleg CD's, I stumbled upon my John Mayer’s "Room for Square" CD, his first successful mainstream album, which I found lying in a pool of rip-offs in a derelict lot in Taft, and funny as it was, it still conjures up pleasurable and ugly memories of the not so distant past when my life was in total standstill.  

One particular song, which I am fixated to is "St. Patrick’s Day", the song I played probably a million times and not to mention those countless nights I endured hearing it just to render me numb from the so called quarter-life crisis.  I am very much aware that almost all people in their mid to late 20's, in one way or another, went through this ambivalent phase in their lives, the series of depression, the stress of worrying about things left undone, and the agony of procrastinating over failed decisions in life, and yet to be able to identify yourself with a sad song is as absurd as the idea itself.

Mr. Mayer is still a genius.  Coming up with such song that essays life as it drifts to obscurity is an understatement I think….

“Everybody, it seems to me, just wants to be just like you and me…No one wants to be alone at Christmas time"

LOVE AT FIRST SNIFF

Ever wonder why some people get to say love at first sight when in fact, other than their biological makeup would dictate, it is actually the nose that does the job.  When mammalian species are in their fertile stage, they emit special hormones called pheromones that are released during seasons of mating.

Lets say for example, on a date, a man’s sweat containing invisible chemical particles including pheromones will mix with the air and when inhaled by the opposite sex, it would travel through the sensitive neural endings of the nasal apparatus that would cause a chain reaction of chemical changes sent as signals to the brain and in return would heighten the sexual sensitivity of the ovulating potential sexual partner.  This law of nature dictates the urgency to copulate and painstakingly, through years of evolution, that we get to choose the compatible carriers of our suitable genes.  Cut to the chase, you already know the ensuing events after that....LOL.

So in case you are in for a date, don’t forget to bring roses, ok?

Whew!!! Watching Discovery Channel late at night really did pay off!