Monday, March 16, 2009

Excited for Hong Kong!

It's Monday again and the weeks off to a good start so far. Not much email on work yet. I hope it stays that way, particularly because I have only 2 days of work. The week of our Hong Kong trip has finally arrived. We'll depart for Hong Kong on Wednesday and come back on Sunday. Cza's sanity keepers have been taking care of our itinerary. It's only now that I've taken a look at it. Just so I wouldn't be too clueless with the places in Hong Kong that we're planning to see. I did a quick google image search. I copied some of the image search results and pasted them below.

I'm a whole lot more excited for our trip now! Wohooooooooo!


Hong Kong Airport

(Image from here)


City Gate


(Image from here)


Symphony Of Lights

(Image from here)

Avenue of Stars

(Image from here)

(Image from here)

Night Market

(Image from here)

(Image from here)

Central Station

(Image from here)

(Image from here)

The Peak Tram

(Image from here)

View From the Peak

(Image from here)

The Sky Terrace

(Image from here)

The Ocean Park

(Image from here)

Ngong Ping, Giant Buddha

(Image from here)

Hong Kong Disneyland

(Image from here)

(Image from here)


Macau Tower

(Image from here)

Senado Square

(Image from here)

Macau Venetian

(Image from here)

Cotai Strip


(Image from here)

Thursday, March 12, 2009

M Cafe

M Cafe at the Ayala Museum. I've passed by this place hundreds of times walking from the office and heading to Glorietta. It's a nice and classy place which I was curious to dine in. I have some friends though who've dined there previously and said that the place was nice, but the food is expensive and not really that good. Hence dining at M Cafe became just a distant memory. It actually came to the point that I didn't know the name of the restaurant anymore.

Yesterday, Mike & Anne invited us to join them at M Cafe. We said yes, and I thought "M Cafe... hmmmm.. that sounds vaguely familiar". I couldn't remember were exactly it was, but I was sure it was at Greenbelt. so Cza and I parked Troopie at Greenbelt 5 and asked the Security Guard at the mall where it was. He said it was at Ayala Museum, and that's the only time I started to remember.

And so we began our long walk from Greenbelt 5 to M Cafe. Passing by the ATM first, because we were expecting the food there to be expensive. When we got there, Mike & Anne were already seated and had ordered the tandoori chicken and braised ribs for us. They said the food was good for sharing and that we should order one more. Looking at the menu I found that not all the dishes were expensive. The price of the dishes ranges from P300 to P1000. Cza left it up to me to choose which dish to order. And being the budget freak I am now, I ordered the Crispy Liempo which costs around P300. hehe

Our orders. Couldn't remember their exact names on the menu though. Each dish costs around 300 bucks.

Crispy Liempo


Braised Ribs


Tandoori Chicken


The inside of M Cafe is quite nice. It's classy and cozy at the same time. The few paintings and pieces of art hanging around are pleasing to eye. Outside the cafe is a bar area which nice too. It's a nice place to have a few cocktails.




We had enjoyable dining experience at M Cafe. Unlike what I was expecting, the food was actually good. I was so full afterwards too. I think we would have done alright had we ordered only two dishes. But all three dishes were actually worth trying out.



Museum Café
G/F Ayala Museum, Greenbelt 4
Makati Ave. cor. Dela Rosa Streets
Ayala Center, Makati City
Tel. #: (02) 757-3000

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Jogging


Cza and I decided to try out jogging. We both thought it's an excellent way to get in shape. Plus it's FREE! hehe

Originally we were supposed to go jogging around The Fort area. We see a lot of joggers whenever we go there. On our way there yesterday, while we were in traffic along Jupiter St. We decided to jog at Legaspi park instead. There is a jogging path there and it would be easier for us to find one another in case we get separated while jogging. And so off to Legaspi park we went..

The moment we got there, I knew it was a good idea already. It was already around 7pm and so the parking was free. Upon entering the park I was surprised to see a lot of joggers. A whole lot more than I expected. Which is actually a pleasant site. I got more motivated to jog. I jog regularly at the treadmill in the gym and I wanted to show off to the other joggers what I was capable of.

And so we started jogging. After two rounds around the jogging path, I was already out of breath. I'm really out of shape. hehe.. I forgot that jogging outdoors is not the same as on a treadmill. It's easier on the treadmill. Jogging outdoors is much harder but is more effective in my opinion.

I walked around the path for a while to catch my breath and started to jog again. I was able to jog five rounds this time(YES! my personal best!). I walked two rounds and jogged for three more. Walked two rounds again and jogged for a final 3 rounds.

I think we did pretty well on our first try at jogging. We're planning to do this regularly. I certainly hope we do. I used to jog regularly around San Lorenzo park back in college. I was also trying to loose weight back then. I remember liking it because it did help me loose weight and flatten my tummy up a bit. I think jogging is more effective than doing crunches. Well maybe the best way would be to do crunches and then jog after.. Anyway, let's see if our jogging will indeed help us in our quest for fitness.

Monday, March 9, 2009

The Watchmen

I didn't know much about The Watchmen going into the cinema. All I know was it's based on a graphic novel by Allan Moore and that it's one of the best graphic novels of all time. I was originally planning to buy a copy of the novel and read it before the movie came out. But then I thought I might just end up getting disappointed with the movie if I read the novel beforehand. And so I avoided learning anything about The Watchmen and just wait for the movie. I think this was a good move on my part. Because I ended up liking the movie.

It's not your typical superhero film. You may get dismayed of you watch this expecting it to be like Spider-man, X-men or Iron Man. This movie is more like V for Vendetta(also an Allan Moore graphic novel) but has more action in it.

The story takes place in an alternate history where costumed vigilantes walked among us and affected certain moments in history. One of the most notable changes in history was the Vietnam war. With the help of Dr Manhattan, the only Watchmen with superhuman powers, America was able to win. And this victory resulted in Nixon getting re-elected as president. Now it's 1985, Nixon is still president, super heroes are abolished and the US is on the brink of nuclear war with Russia. At this same time, The Comedian, a member of The Watchmen, is thrown off his apartment window and is killed. This prompts his fellow Watchmen Rorschach to investigate who the murderer is. Rorschach theorizes that someone is killing off former superheroes. But his investigation leads him to uncover something far more bigger.

The movie is rather long, moves in a slow pace and has a series of flashbacks. But I didn't really have a problem with this because I found the visuals so stunning. Zack Snyder used the same techniques he used when he directed 300. Literally bringing the comic book image to life on the big screen. Like 300, the results were amazing.

The members of the Watchmen are all individually interesting characters. All the actors who played them did a great job representing them in the movie. Billy Crudup, who's voice and image was used to create the computer generated Dr Manhattan, was able to effectively speak as one who is losing touch with humanity. Mathew Goode was believable as Ozymandias. The smartest man in the world who, without conscience, will do what it takes to save the world. Patrick Wilson, Malin Akerman and Jeffrey Dean Morgan were good playing Nite Owl, Silk Spectre and The Comedian respectively. But among the actors, Jackie Earl Haley stood out as Rorschach. He was the toughest and most interesting character of them all. Haley portrayed him excellently. My favorite scene in the movie was when Rorschach was in prison, and after splashing an inmate with boiling oil he says "You just don't get it... I'm not locked in here with you. You're all locked in here with me!". Best scene in the movie!

The Watchmen is a dark and complex story. It's the type of story that can most effectively be told as a graphic novel. Turning this into a movie is extremely difficult. So my hats off to Zack Snyder. I think no one else could have done a better job. Though the movie is long, it's actually rich in detail and excitement. It's a long movie I'd love to sit through and watch again.

Friday, March 6, 2009

a few min before the weekend..

It's Friday once again! The weekends almost here. In a few minutes from now, Cza and I will be heading to her family's home in Guimba. We're going to be spending the weekend there for the fiesta. Hopefully we could get lots of pictures. We haven't been taking pictures for quite some time now. Our cameras, Rhino & Cammie are due for some exercise.

Oooooh! I just remembered I haven't told my parents about me going away this weekend. hehehe.. Aren't I the good son...... Ok. There, I just sent them a text message telling them about this weekend. hehehehe..


The Watchmen

The Watchmen is out in cinemas today. I've been looking forward to seeing this movie. Don't know much about the story or what to expect. All I know is that this based on a ground breaking graphic novel which I think first introduced the idea of flawed superheroes. It sounds interesting enough... I've read some early feedback in PEx from ones who've already watched it. Some say it's long, complex and boring. But some say it's awesome and spectacular. Whether it's a good movie or not, I'll be the judge. But I'll have to wait till Sunday or Monday to watch it.


Naruto

I became a fan of Naruto after playing the Ultimate Ninja Heroes game on my PSP. I knew nothing about Naruto before that. While playing the game, I found the characters and the premise quite interesting and got hooked. I loved the whole ninja, hokage, chakra, jutsu etc things so much that I bought DVDs of the entire series. I've only been able to watch like 15 episodes of it yet though. But I liked the few episodes I've watched. Will get around to watching all the episodes some time.

Just yesterday, I was able to obtain a copy of Naruto Ultimate Ninjas 2: The Phantom Fortress for my PSP. I've only been playing it for less than a day, and I like it already. Though, there are only a few changes/upgrades from the 1st game. I still found it exhilarating.

Well the weekends here! Have a nice weekend everyone!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

I was planning to watch this last night at midnight. But I was dead tired when I got home at around 10:30 and didn't get a chance. Luckily I was able to catch a glimpse of Jimmy Fallons late night debut this morning while CJ was still using the bathroom.

I think he did fairly well. His first guest was Robert De Niro who doesn't make much guest appearances on talk shows. He's not much of a talker as he puts it. But Jimmy handled there scipted segment quite alright. You can tell he was a bit awkward and nervous. It's understandable. It's his first show and he needs time to get comfortable.

His second guest was Justin Timberlake. I didn't get to watch this portion however. CJ was finally done with the bathroom by this time and it was my turn. But I've read that it was one of shows winning moments.

I hope Jimmy Fallon does well in the long run. I think he shows promise as the host of late night. He got high ratings for his first show. So he's off to a good start.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li

And comes the first movie of the year which I did not enjoy. But I cannot say I was disappointed with this movie. Particularly because I never expected this to be a good one. But even though I didn't expect this movie to be good. I still watched it at the chance that I might be surprised and that it turns out to be fine. This movie met my low expectations.

Kristin Kreuk stars as Chun Li. She definitely has a very beautiful face. But that face of hers can't seem to properly portray any emotion on screen. Scenes when she cries comes off as exaggerated. And scenes where she's supposed to be fierce aren't effective because her face is so pretty and she still looks like a nice person.

The same goes with Chris Kline who plays Charlie Nash. He's supposed to be this really tough Interpol cop. And he tries to make his face look like he's a really tough guy. But it only results in him looking goofy. I laugh every time he appears in a scene and he's trying to act all macho.

I think Kreuk and Kline both have the potential to become brighter stars than they already are. They just need to hone their acting skills more. They can start by looking into a mirror and practice which face works in displaying a characters emotions on screen.

Michael Clark Duncan and Neal Mcdonough also star in this movie as Balrog & Bison. They're the villains here. Bison is the main villain and Balrog is one of his henchman. Both of them are respectable actors. But appearing in more movies like this could loose the respect they have. Michael Clark Duncan did rather OK however. He didn't do anything to further lower this movie.

Mcdonoughs portrayal of Bison however is rather odd. Bison is supposed to be someone of pure evil with no good left inside him. But like Kreuk & Kline, Mcdonough doesn't look at all evil. It's kinda hard to find him scary. And another weird thing is his Irish accent. In this movie, Bison's origin is that he was the son of an Irish couple who migrated to Bangkok. His parents died when he was just a few months old and he grew up in the streets of Thailand. If he grew up in Thailand, then why does he still have an Irish accent. It seems the Irish accent is genetic.

This movie basically did a lot of wrong things. They even forgot to put in subtitles. The few fight scenes, though short, were rather alright. I wish I could say that this is a movie is based on a video game and should not be taken seriously. But the way this movie is depicted on screen states that it should be. The first Street Fighter movie was a bit cartoonish and ridiculous. But at least it was fun to watch and it appeals to kids. This version attempts to be the cooler Street Fighter movie but only succeeds in turning the first movie to be the better one.