Johnnie Rockets Dancers

Caught this on video when we had our dinner at Johnnie Rockets in Tomas Morato.

Fireworks

Like many places around the world,  Filipinos celebrate the coming of the new year by making a lot of noise and lighting up the sky with fireworks.  Char Siew, Midori and I did not have to go far to witness a magnificent fireworks display.  We all trekked to Ayala Triangle where many humans and dogs were waiting for the big event.   Char Siew and Midori didn't like the loud noise - but they loved being pet and admired by the humans.

Here are snippets of the fireworks this year - taken using my iPhone.  I must admit - I wasn't thinking straight - I should have taken this horizontally.

The morning after - I woke up early to walk the dogs.  There is a huge mist/smog that settled around the city.  I guess - for one evening - we forget about global warming and light the sky up even if it means polluting the whole city with the fireworks.

Cinemalaya 2011 - Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa

Today is the opening weekend of Harry Potter 7 - Part 2.  Everyone in Manila are queueing up for the last Harry Potter movie.  I chose a different movie to watch today.  I made reservations a week ago to one Cinemalaya 2011's feature movie: "Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa".   I confess that I watched the movie because it features not one but two men that I think are the most beautiful men in Philippine Showbizness today.   That's why I was happy when apart from watching the movie - I was able to take pictures with both of them.  Of course - after looking at my photo - I regret not getting the haircut that morning so I can be more presentable in the photos.  Anywayz - bygones.

Rocco Nacino

Paulo Avelino

Watching the movie brought back memories of literature classes in high school and college.  It brought back memories of me struggling in my freshman year at Ateneo - under Dr. Barrameda's English class.  It also brought back memories of triumph in the Filipino lit classes.   I guess I did understand and appreciate the written Filipino word than the written English word.

The blogger and Rocco Nacino

"Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Paa" is a lovely movie.  I enjoyed watching it and not just because the two leading men were beautiful on screen.  I was actually drawn into the story and the symbolism that each scene portrays.   I find it refreshing to watch a movie where the theme is not in your face.   As a viewer - you would have to pay attention to what the characters are saying.  You have have to pay attention to each movement - to piece them all together.   I must admit - the subtitles in English helped a bit in understanding the movie.  If there are two things that I think this movie should be celebrated for - one is it's cinematography.  The other one is the perfect use of language - in Filipino and in the English translation.   I've seen Filipino movies before and only in this movie have I seen the English sub-titles so accurate.   What is even more amazing is how it preserved the poetry that is conveyed in the Filipino words spoken by the actors.

Paulo plays the role of Marlon.  A rich student who enrolls into a dance class because of a crush for his teacher.

Rocco plays the role of Dennis.  He was hired by Marlon as a dance tutor.

Jean Garcia was a pleasure to watch.  She reminds me of a lot of my teachers growing up.  I remember as a child, I would wonder how some teachers ( the good ones ) were always a step ahead of you.  Of course - as a grown up you discover why.  As a teacher - you see the same behavior from each batch of kids you teach - over and over again.

Blogger and Paulo Avelino

As for the two leading men - I applaud them for taking a challenging role.  Of course - it's not easy to take a role where you have to act like a classically trained dancer.   You will have to feel comfortable under your own skin - and shed your worries of people questioning your sexuality.   Paulo - playing the rich student who is infatuated with his teacher is well cast.  At times - I wished he could have expressed a lot more emotion in the scenes.  However - I think that if we are to think of his character as a spoiled rich kid --- then I guess it's ok for him to look bored in what he's doing.   Rocco - on the other hand handled his role very well.   As a dancer - I think he has a lot more grace than Paulo.   As an actor - I can definitely feel the pain in his eyes during the scenes where he felt deeply hurt from the unrequited love.

Leaving the cinema - I told myself - I definitely want to watch the movie again.  I felt that watching it once only allowed me to scratch the surface of the story and the characters.   In my opinion - maybe after two or three times of watching it --- a lot more of its beauty will be revealed.  However - even with one viewing - I do find that it's a lovely movie.

Cinemalaya runs through July 23 in Greenbelt 3 and CCP.  

Midori Plays Catch

I have an awesome trick to share with y'all.  I can't consistently do it yet but we practice everyday.  The great thing about practicing is I get to eat a lot of treats during practice.

Blogger's Note:  This is a guest post from Midori.

A Beautiful Day

Last weekend, Daddy brought us to the beach.  We had fun.  But I discovered two important things about myself.  The first revelation is that I can swim.  The second revelation is that I don't like the water.  Daddy tried to lure me onto the water but the only way that he was able to get me in is by carrying me like a baby and letting me go when the water is deep enough for me to swim.   Char Siew is the same way.

All in all though - it was fun times for us.   Daddy, Char Siew and I had a really good bonding experience. I discovered new plants to eat while grazing through the resort.  I also heard sounds that I have never heard in the city.  Daddy says those are birds, geckos, and other animals who live outside of the city.

I have tons of pictures to share - but I thought it would be good to start with this video.  By the end of this video - you will see me - sleeping and snoring after all the excitement.

Blogger's Note: A blog post by Midori the Beagle

After Bath Craziness

My Nanny gives me a good scrubbing with soap and shampoo twice a week.  I don't mind the scrubbing - that feels so good.  What I do mind is the soap smell that I'm left with after the bath.  I also don't like the half dry half wet feeling.  So I go crazy after my bath.  How crazy?  See for yourself.

Blogger's Note: A guest post from Midori The Beagle

Char Siew Fetch Video

When I'm bored, I pick up Char Siew's favorite toy and play fetch with him. He's really good at it.

Graduation Video Created using iMovie

This movie trailer was created using iMovie and was shot using my Sony NEX 5.  The Movie Trailer creation is a standard feature of iMovie.  It's awesome!  The application makes it really easy to create short movies that one can share from hours of clips that were taken during an event.   It also allows the movie maker to upload the clip to different sites like Facebook and Youtube.

The event is my Niece's pre-school graduation.  She's a bright kid.  So she ended up becoming the emcee of the event.  She's not a shy kid ( I think she gets that from her mom, and uncles ).  Of course - her Mom, my parents, and her uncles ( including myself ) are very proud of her.

I have actually shared this video on my Facebook page.  Everyone who watched it was amazed with the end product.  I must say that Apple really does a good job of helping us mere mortals in coming up with beautiful creations.  I may not end up with an Oscar statue for creating this Video --- but it really made my family's day when they watched the video. 

Movie Diary – Stepford Wives – 2004

Blogger’s Note: I am browsing through my old blogs looking for posts that I think are worth transporting into the House of Queens.

My friend and I had been waiting for this movie. It's a revival of a thriller which revolves around a community in CT where the women become ideal wives after their brains are fried by their respective husbands.

The thriller was transformed into a comedy. I think that attempt was a good move. I also think that it is well cast especially Glenn Close. I love it when she is cast as a psycho.

 

Personally - I love the fact that they have a gay couple. And I must admit that I could totally relate with the flamboyant man. In one scene - he was even wearing a shirt which resembles one of my Tyler shirts.

As a movie though - I think it failed to provide continuity. The dénouements was a bit hurried. But I've always hated those scenes for whodunits. I know that I could never come up with a fair assessment.

 

My recommendation: watch the movie - at least for the magnificent suits of Nicole Kidman. If you're a geek and you're married to a superwoman (or a superman) i suggest that you skip it. I don't need you having the wrong idea of transforming us Uber-Fabulous beings into robots so you can feel good about yourself.

Midori People Watching

The River Runs Through It

On our first visit to Thailand we didn’t have time to check out the floating market. We just didn’t have time since we were fully booked with all the temple tours and Ayuthaya.   We thought that it would not be our last trip to Thailand so we can just go to the floating market on our next trip. This year, we did get to visit Thailand again and we made sure that we booked a tour to the floating market.

The whole scene in the market is not different from any market scenes. The place was crowded and it was full of merchandise and hawkers trying to get the attention of the tourists who come in droves. However all of these take place on boats that ply through a small river. I thought that it would be interesting to share this with you through a video. Take note that the footage were all shot using my N97. I would say that for an amateur video – the phone delivers good shots.

Home Movies – Jump Midori! Jump!

In this post, I share a very simple YouTube video that we shot in the house.  It shows  Midori being trained to twirl by my best friend and myself.

If you were born in the 70s like me, you would have memories of your family and relatives getting together in your living room to view your most recent home movies.  The movies were crude and at times causes nausea as all movements of the camera are captured and not edited out.

Today – making home movies has been made extremely simple with the tools of the new millennium.  A lot of phones can take videos.  Point and shoot cameras can also take videos.  The best part of it all is that they are stored as digital files which can be easily edited via software like Windows Live Movie Maker.

Of course – the most important technology of all is YouTube.  This site has definitely provided the venue for regular people like us to show other people our Home Movies. 

I hope you enjoy the video.  if you need some tips on how we completed this video,  feel free to post a comment and we’d reach out to you and give you our tips.   We’re not experts but we have done it before – so we’ll share as much as we can with you.