"Captain, I wish to report a mutiny.

I can name fingers and point names."

... And understandably so. Hell, if I were faced with an angry Blackbeard, I would've boot-scooted every other ass I could pass the blame on to, too. So (Captain) Jack Sparrow's reaction, nay, "instinct" is but necessary and done only rightly so in my humble opinion.

Plus it was hilariously apropos to the severity of the situation left hanging (pardon the pun, dear POTC fans.)  ;)

Seriously though, I think the new leg of The Pirates series started off excellently. Dark agenda resonated throughout the film, counterbalanced by flamboyant comedy of (Captain) Jack Sparrow. And the fact that only Johnny Depp can make thick man-shadows hot ain't a bad addition either.

I was lucky enough to catch POTC: On Stranger Tides on the big screen on its first weekend. Best of all, I got to watch alongside the people who share my humor: my siblings! If there's one thing that really ties the four of us together, its how we find the funny in the teeniest bit of action. We laugh at everything... even when they're not really meant to be funny (case in point: when stalactite fell on pirate extra. F-U-N-N-Y!!!!).

What's even better though, is that we all laugh at witty dialogue! If you've ever watched a movie and heard annoying snickering that no one else joins, you probably watched the movie with one of us in the theater. Lines like, "Captain, I wish to report a mutiny." uttered by (Captain) Jack himself, drive us up the wall! So we're mababaw. Who cares?!? At least I know I left the movie house brimming with endorphins.

I highly recommend On Stranger Tides to everyone. The new adventure of (Captain) Jack has just begun and I look forward to his reunion with the Pearl. Now, I'm off to download the extended versions of the first trilogy so I can appease my pirate hangover.

P.S.
Great ending. ;)

P.P.S.
Li'l brother libres ROCK!

But if its not right, then just maybe...

I have but one vice. Shoes.

(No, my growing book collection does not count as a vice, excuse me. Its as essential as the air I breathe.)

But going back to shoes. I love them. They're the first things I notice on a person, and I'm never shy about my compliments-to-the-shoe-owner. Let me loose on mall grounds, and I'll be a-bounding to the shoe side in no time. I love heel-hunting for the perfect pair... for whatever reason. Or for no reason. Sometimes, the only reason I need is I feel bad.

Believe me, I've had my share of literal miss-fits because of my impulse-"buy" sessions (I write "buy" under quotes because the acquisition doesn't always involve money). And not that it's really anybody's fault; mine is but a simple addiction, and the shoe is but a simple beauty that must be had. Others would be tempted to point fingers, simply for the sake of starting the blame game. But really, when a shoe doesn't fit right, it just doesn't fit right. Doesn't mean the experience shared with said-shoe is degraded any less.

The oh-so-pretty pair of shoes that completes the outfit may cause some veins to shut down and deaden some toes for the evening but one learns to deal with it. After all, vanity always comes with a price. Soon as you're home, though and just dying to get comfortable, ye ole Islander will never let you down.

Pretty is good... for that short while; pretty can  be great... on paper; more often than not, pretty is just that... pretty.  As pretty as pretty is, it isn't exactly something I'd want forever stuck on my feet unless I was gunning to be an amputee by 35.

So when the shoe, fits wear it, baby. If it feels good, put it on. But if its not right, then just maybe you have to deal with the short stint you need it on, then take 'em off and store 'em away in the collection closet after. Not fitting doesn't lessen the beauty of the shoe. Nor does it demean the severity of the addiction. Simply it means its time to pack 'em up and move on.

Someday, pretty will meet comfy in a miraculous pair, they'll be on my feet and all will be well in the world. I think they're called Cole Haan. ;)

The Music Or The Movie

Two factual tidbits about me known only by my family: one, I'm a Phil Collins fan. And two, I like 'em animated movies. They're my self cheap treats.

So of course, when Disney released their version of Tarzan, with songs written and performed by the great Phil himself, I'd be obsessed with it.

It was played over on the Disney Channel last Sunday and as the OBB (as opening billboards/intros go with animated movies) was flashing on the screen, a funny thought popped in my head: What comes first, the music or the movie?

Most would probably say that the movie inspires the music, but I'm not so sure. What do you think?

Me in a vintage dress

For the first time in the blogging history of Insights From The Movies, I write about what I'm wearing!

Quick side note, however: No, I'm no fashionista. I don't have an ounce of kikay-ity in me. I'm just a simple working girl who likes to dress pretty every now and then. That plus the fact that demin is too hot to wear in the heat of the Philippine summer.

So today, I don a simple one-piece printed knee-lengther with classic A-line cut skirt. It's a simple dress, really. Nothing abstract about it, not even the colors. What makes it special is from where I got it.

This was my mom's. She was on a purging spree earlier in the year and this dress was one of the treasures I decided to salvage from her "old clothes" box. Although I'm not entirely sure, this dress could be very much older than me but it doesn't look it. I love the fact that its old yet in excellent condition, not a nick out of place, and that its perfect wear for the summer season. I feel so comfortable in it, I'm actually Indian-sitting as I type out this entry. I also love the fact that this dress has history. My dad recognized it as Mama's dress; it was tucked away in the closet for a long time; then put in the discard box for me to find.

I have nothing against the new. Heck, I just bought me three new dresses over the weekend. But there's nothing like a classic. And note, this isn't my only fab find in the discard box so I've got a few more pieces to share with you.

Cheers to the free and the vintage!

"Don't Panic, Brother!"

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Ye who-thought-of-the-Greenwich-JLC-barkada-campaign-and-ran-with-it are sheer genius. Though not brilliant enough to turn this dough-gal into a Greenwich customer (yet...), it was enough to make me not want to switch channels every time the TVC came on in the gaps of A.I.

I'm not exactly a fan of the most recent string of commercials either. Merging the barkada of Anne Curtis with JLC's was a good move, but to put an undertone of cutesy-patutsy loveteam on it when no such loveteam exists was, in my humble opinion, the wrong turn to make. What made the "Hindi tayo tao, hindi tayo hayop. Bagay tayo, bagay!" fit was the fact that JLC has been in a longtime loveteam with Bea Alonzo. Making up this absurdly fictional JLC-Anne Curtis loveteam just doesn't work... for me.

HOWEVER! One line in the Parachute-Para-Shoot commercial just gets me LMAO everytime. Can you guess which it is?

Ah, me... ever mababaw. I find that this tiny line still makes the ad pristine. Even though the "Parachute?" ... "Para shoot... sa puso mo." punchline of Bruno and Solenn was too corny for its own good, that single hilarious line of "DON'T PANIC, BROTHER!" more than made up for it. For me, lines like these are the hidden Mickeys of the ad world. They're the gems the brilliant boys and girls cook up and wittily insert into an ad for the treasure-hunting enjoyment of freaks such as myself.

Though they've strung the JLC barkada for so long already, I think it's still got a few more seasons of TVCs left in it. Wonder what kind of hidden Mickey they'll put in next? And that 7-cheese pizza is kind of intriguing...

Brain Workout

(Again, reposted from... don't ask. *sigh*)

Visual puzzles enhance the mind's critical, logical and creative thinking skills. They are fascinating tools that foster activity in brain areas that are minimally used throughout the day. Personally, I find these conundrums to be relaxing yet invigorating. When I'm bored with what I do and need a little time in the workday to escape, I look up a few visual puzzles and riddle away to my little heart's content.

But for my first post in Y@H, I wanted to try something different. Here are my first attempts at creating my own visual puzzles. Granted they're not all original, but I still had fun making them and hopefully you'll have fun solving them. 

Answers will be posted as a comment soon. :)

The simple joys of fantasy

(Reposted from... elsewhere. Can I just say, I suck at experiments...)

I was finally able to complete Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy a few weeks ago, with the help of great Fully Booked Powerplant staffer Elly, and my journey through the tumultuous land of the Final Empire ended the other night.

The plot was in no way simplistic, and inasmuch as the lightning-fast action scenes of the books were exciting reads, its the easy division of good versus bad that strikes me best, and how the good overcomes the bad with trust, faith, hope and love. Not necessarily something one would expect from a fantasy novel but I guess that's what makes the series and its author special. The religious undertones that started in Book 1 were painted in full-color by the final page of Book 3, and besides giving a powerful insight in the development of structured religion, the books also stressed on the importance of belief. The lead characters, despite being powerful Allomancers, political geniuses and creative thieves, were all humanized by personal weaknesses and dilemmas, which only made belief and having faith all the more relevant.

I loved the surprising depth the series got into, despite its fantastical setting, and I'm truly looking forward to the next Mistborn Trilogy Sanderson will cough up. Mistborn: The Alloy Of Law, although currently promised as just a stand-alone novel to be released in November, will hopefully turn into a series, too.

But November's too far off for me to just sit and wait, so I went and started reading a new book right after. Jonathan Stroud is another favorite author of mine, penning the witty and oftentimes downright offensive words of Bartimaeus. Like Sanderson's Mistborn, the first three Bartimaeus books started out as a trilogy, but was recently extended with the stand-alone novel you see on the left.

That and the fact that both books belong in the fantasy genre end the similarities, though. The insights of faith and hope in Mistborn are countered by the oppressingly hilarious mouth of the mid-level djinn named Bartimaeus. The Ring Of Solomon's first page already left me in peels of laughter today and I'm sure so will each time the story returns to the djinn's perspective.

While both Sanderson and Stroud take on the essentially basic good versus evil theme, the way they communicate it in print is as different as black and white. One takes the serious melody, matching its end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it plotline. The other the overt opposite, practically millimeters away from curse and swear words that I almost hear the lead character cussing in my mind.

Fantasy isn't the only kind of book I read but it's definitely my favorite genre. If this little "review" piqued your interest in fantasy in the teensiest bit, I recommend you start your journey with Mistborn or Bartimaeus. For now, I've got a book to finish. Real world will have to wait as I escape into a world of magic. See you on the other side. :)

Rockstars For Parents

(Happy Mom's Day, Ma. Happy Birthday, Pa.)

I'm not writing this post just because it was Mother's Day yesterday and it'll be my dad's birthday in two days. I write this post now because, simply, my parents are rockstars. Read on and see if you'll agree.

Take Mama, for example. She's been wearing hard contact lenses for practically all her life. Hard lenses, men! Not like the flimsy things I put in my eyes sometimes. Hers are made from real glass shaped to fit in her eyes, and she wears them every frikkin' day. You know how she cleans one in "emergency cases," (like yesterday's puwing incident in the middle of the priest's homily) she pops it out, puts the lens in her mouth to clean with saliva, and sticks it back in her eye! San ka pa! Can your mom do that? I bet she can't!

The other day, as I was stuck in traffic on Edsa because of a build-up caused by a car with a flat, I couldn't help but remember this one time, while heading off to work in Makati, Papa and I ran into a bit of trouble called "The Flat Tire." I had an early meeting, and I knew the flat would make me late for it, so I texted ahead to our admin officer, giving her a quick run down of the situation. While I was texting away, Papa had pulled over, hopped out of the car and started changing the tire. Chino Roces corner Kalayaan Ave. was all a-buzz with the usual rush-hour traffic but my dad was like a superhero in action, swiftly working car magic like nothing else mattered. Would you believe, flat tire was gone and spare tire was in, in twelve minutes. As in, 12 minutes after pulling over, we were on the road again! I wasn't late for work, and even got to the office before the admin officer I texted did. Back on Edsa, I couldn't help but think that the two dudes standing idly by as three MMDA people changed their busted tire for them were probably gay.

Yes, these are little things that make me want to scream "I have the coolest parents in world!"

Ma, Pa, you rock. \m/