I'm currently obsessed with

1. Imogen Heap.
She has the most amazing voice, and her lyrics are out of this world! I recommend Headlock, Loose Ends, Tidal and Hear Me Out (Frou Frou). If she ever comes to perform here, I'M WATCHING! I don't care how much it'll cost. Arm and leg? Take them all!

2. Criminal Minds.
All the analyzing and thinking two steps ahead of the unsub just makes me feel so dang smart! Kudos, Jeff Davis, for creating a brilliant series.

3. Seth Godin's blog.
www.sethgodin.typepad.com
He's always been my choice marketing guru, and his brain farts online hold such deep insights in the corporate world, and the human persona in general. Love his "Arrogant" entry. It assures me I do nothing wrong when I do take my own stand, even if the whole world mocks me.

4. Planning my next beach trip.
Despite being über tight in terms of cashflow, I swear I've been away from salt water too long. I need to hydrate myself in the open water. I've always been good at budgeting for quick beach getaways. If my friends back out on me for this next trip, I'm going by myself.

Best Job In The World (NGC)

I've always been a fan of knowledge channels. I regularly tune in to Animal Planet, Discovery, etc. to check out what's new about the world and to rediscover the beauty and wonder of Mother Nature.

So last night, my dad and I were watching NatGeo, and at 10:00 PM, the premier of "Best Job In The World" with Ben Southall starts airing. And all I can say is...

"GAAAAHHH!!!!"

He literally landed the best 6-month stint E-V-E-R! Imagine getting paid to blog, not just about anything ah, about life in THE GREAT BARRIER REEF!!! Hopping from one fine-sand island to another, snorkeling in crystal clear waters, diving into one of the best wonders of the world, all with his girlfriend Bre the Canadian adventurer in tow.

I was literally thinking, why don't I have his life? Or the life of his girlfriend?!??!?! I was dying of jealousy throughout the program!

But seriously, if there is one job that could make life oh-so-worthwhile, that would be it. To be paid to live on the beach and create massive awareness for it. It's a campaign I'd willingly let my life be taken over by!

I want to live Ben Southall's life, but I'm not exactly sure where to start. I mean, the dude and his credentials are waaaaay over my head. He's lightyears away from me in terms of travel, capabilities and sheer adveturism, but its never too late for me to start.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Even before we were conceived, we were already loved. And that love is as unconditional and unrelenting as nothing else in the world.

Thank you for loving me, Mama. I love you back, and I can only dream it's just as much as yours is. Someday, I'll really grow up to be the person you never, ever have to worry about. I'll make you proud. Each day I strive for, is just for you and Papa.

Love you to the core.

Gone to soon...

My iPod's on shuffle mode again and it plays Michael Jackson's Gone Too Soon, one of the very few songs ever made that naturally tugs on my tear ducts. It's such a sad irony that, although he did record this song for a young friend of his who passed away, it would also be so appropriate for himself.

I'm no Michael Jackson fanatic but I do appreciate his art and music. I saw This Is It in the big screen and he was just so amazing. It was like watching him perform live (which I'm sure was the effect Kenny Ortega was going for), but at the same time showing his personality as a professional artist. The passion for music exudes from him, you learn so much just by watching.

Like his attention to detail while rehearsing "Human Nature," how a single micro-second missed beat by the keyboardist bothered him so much because it changed how it melded with the background vocals and the rest of the instrumentation. He was saying something about how getting that beat would make the whole song feel right, such a perfectionist, but I'm sure its only because his fans only expect pure perfection from him on stage.

It's so sad he's gone. I'm envious of the lucky few who truly got to see him live. He performed once in Manila... the Thrilla in Manila. I was a wee elementary chickidee back then, with no real appreciation for music. But I knew who Michael Jackson was. Who didn't? Who doesn't? Closest thing I have to that are the concert DVDs, This Is It, and a few songs in my iPod.

So dear MJ, I know you're even probably big up there, angels fawning over you as they chide you to teach them the moonwalk, but I'm still saying a prayer for you. Just a short shout out that you are very much missed, especially by the little people like me. I'll honor you by keeping your music alive. You certainly are gone too soon.

Fine line between girly-girl and nerd alert

I had a realization yesterday. I'm a bit of a geek.

While casually conversing with a friend about a potential boy I want to set-up with her, this strange mix of a line came tumbling out of my mouth:

"He's such a low-key personality, though. If you ever did hook up, he'd be so far under your saya, he'll be living with the balrog."

Saya is a formal wear of Filipinas. Its a popular Pinoy saying, "under the saya," to describe how a man is so subordinate to his mate (i.e. he's practically under her dress).

The balrog, on the other hand, is a fictional character from the Lord Of The Rings, representing the evil and fiery depthness of hell. It is the creature that brought down Gandalf the Grey as the fellowship was crossing the mines of Moria.

Hahaha! Yeah, my friend just gave me this quizical "Huwat the?!" look that brought me to peels of laughter. It amazes me how analogies like that can hold so much meaning to me. For something as fanstastical as a Tolkien creature to be connected to the very lame thing of trying to set up a friend with a guy. It's like mixing fanstasy novels with Gossip Girl!

And I'm kind of comfortable with that thought. My friends sometimes don't get my humor or my strange connections, but I don't mind taking a bit of time to explain.

Actually that brings me to this book a cousin gave me for Christmas, "The Mistborn: Final Empire" by Brandon Sanderson. What really reeled me in with that novel, and with the series for a matter of fact, is the intrigue and scandal that happens as you uncover this whole new world between its pages. I loved the chemistry build-up between Vin, the lowly skaa, and Elend, the most eligible nobleman; Loved the tension going on with Vin, as pseudo royalty, and Shan, the Blair Waldorf of their fantastical setting; Loved how expected, yet unexpected, the death of Kelsier came, and how I easily related it to the formation of structured religion, specifically Catholicism.

Yeah, so it's things like these that get me off. And it's the very same stuff I can talk to very few people about. Though I am not, apparently, an Eat Pray Love kind of person, I still get the same tidbits on life from the genre I read. I admit, proudly I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to my reading choices, but I am still a girly-girl at heart.

3rd post of the day. Welcome to my blog.

Seth Godin said in one of his blog posts,

"We've come a long way from a worker having just two channels (a resume and a few references) to having the choice of a dozen or more significant ways to spread her ideas. Choose or lose."

It's what inspired me to start this blog. I realized I don't have an outlet for my thoughts to the world. Yes, I have friends and family, but sometimes the things that kind of makes sense in my brain, when translated to audible words, don't make much sense afterall. I find however, that when I take time to type it all up, it forms a cohesive mental process that could likely affect the way my world, and someone else's, works.

Heads up though, this is not a blog that's going to be updated with the latest theater releases. I really don't have the cash to watch all of those and the time to blah-blah over them on the world wide web. Yeah, yeah, so what's up with my blog name, you ask. Well, I've been watching an awful lot of movies lately... so much more than I normally do. To think I was able to catch From Paris With Love, Book Of Eli, Kick-Ass and Iron Man 2 all in the cinema. Then wth all the sudden holiday declarations, I've so much free time to tune in to my favorite channels, namely Star Movies and HBO. (Quick sidenote here. I'm not a movie buff, nor am I an expert on TV programming.)

But you know how strange, sometimes unexpected insights come to you when you're watching a movie. THAT is what this blog is all about. Just random thoughts generated from the visual entertainment of the big (or little) screen. Don't be waiting for compelling reviews here. Just insights and a hodge podge of mental inuits from the mind of a semi neurotic girl with time on her hands.

So, welcome to my blog, boys and girls! Have fun picking thru my brain.

What I loved best about Iron Man 2...

... was how Sam Rockwell brilliantly portrayed the cuckoo-crazy antagonist. I'm no comic-book fan so I'm not sure how close or far his character portrayal of Justin Hammer was, or if Justin Hammer even is such a major part of the series, but daym the wit and banter of Sam Rockwell and how he neatly executed his comebacks... loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it!

"Gelatto. Genuine Italian. Flew it straight over from San Francisco."

I was laughing at practically everything he was saying. Even the bird talk with Ivan was hilarious to me!

I'm sure the comic-geeks are just churning in the shallow graves of their grimey computers. I've so far have not met one who has had positive things to say about the movie. They apparently didn't enjoy it as much as I did. But geeks will be geeks: high on expectations, living vicariously thru the movies they anticipate, mercilessly trampling down on it the moment it doesn't deliver the blood, gore and action they wanted to see.

But are we living in the time when not much else but special effects matters? Does a movie or TV show have to be riddled with special effects in order to generate a great review? Does it have to be guns blazing, bombs exploding, and curses a-flyin' to make an action flick work? What's happened to good dialogue and witty banter?

It was sad when no other person in the cinema was appreciating the lines of Justin Hammer. He was the most intelligently written person there. Stark was selfish. Rhody was self righteous. Pepper was too stressed. Ivan mumbled. I loved Hammer!

But then, this could go two ways: either the rest of the people watching were too unsmart to hear a good punchline, or I just have a strange humor.

Kudos, Sam Rockwell. You rocked Iron Man 2 for me. :)

Funny thing about shit, only good things grow out of it

I can't remember when exactly I first saw Joe's Apartment, but I think it was way back in High School. I was an MTV freak due to the idiotic boy-band phase of my life, and somehow I stumbled on this freakish MTV production of a boy who just moved to New York, in an apartment chockful of talking cockroaches.

I loved the movie! I know I was watching it with my siblings and we were laughing like cu-ray-zi!! Loved it so much to the point the opening song "Welcome to Joe's Apartment, we hope you like the show..." was a welcome LSS (last song syndrome).

Fast forward to the present: it was a declared Holiday a few days back and I had the very rare opportunity to stay at home and tune in to HBO. Guess what openning credits greeted my still sleepy ears! I couldn't help but smile and enjoy the thought that I'd be watching a beloved classic (at least in my book) while expending no brain energy at all. If you haven't seen this movie and you just want to have a real dumb, slightly gross but ultimately funny afternoon, I suggest you torrent this up and download away.

So, there I was half asleep, half barely watching Jerry O'Connell as Joe make a fool of himself, when lead cockroach Ralph says a magical line:

"Funny thing about shit, only good things grow out of it."

Shit = Fertilizer. It's the best all-organic fertilizer in the world! Smells horrible, true, but the benefits it gives to your garden is immeasurable. I guess if you're trying to look at this from a philosophical angle, you can say its similar to when you're down, there's no other way to go but up. It's actually the best line an optimist can give to a pessimist who's down, down, down and out. Won't totally make the pessimist feel bad because its only true, and not necessarily offensive because the saying is derived from shit.

Such a simple, frank and honest line, but really holds the gist of the movie, and of life in general. Haha! Who'd have thought such amazing life insights could come from a simple talking cockroach? When I was watching the movie back in High School, that line never stood out to me. I guess it only goes to show how we grow and evolve thru the years.

So, dear reader, I suggest you look back on your inane teenage life, try to tick in your brain what movies you'd like to backtrack. You never know, you just might pick up on something as insightful and amazing as shit.