on films, books, food, restaurants, favorite haunts in Metro Manila (and now, Philadelphia)...
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| rants and raves on films, books, food, restaurants, favorite haunts in Metro Manila (and now, Philadelphia)... |
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Sunday, December 28, 2003 I just finished the year’s hottest book The Da Vinci Code (that’s dada vinci code) by Dan Brown and I feel slightly ripped off of my time. It was a helluvan easy read (less than two days between sightseeing and shopping in Bangkok) but in the end of it all I had to show for the time and (minimal?) effort was a strangely unsatisfied feeling. It was pseudo enjoyable, in an action-packed sort of way. I hardly ever read action-oriented-written-by-men-for-men type of books (I think the last was Hannibal, more than a year ago?). My family is also semi-obsessed with David Morrell so there’s also a lot of him lying around the house. I was slightly vexed by the almost-overly-erudite tone of the whole book when Mr. Harvard Professor would start talking about his codes and art history what-nots. As I kept on reading reading reading (with most chapters 3 to 5 pages long, it’s easy to keep on reading) I realized I was more than halfway through the book and I was still waiting for something to happen. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was waiting for, but it hadn’t happened yet. The end was a little anti-climactic though, and of course … predictably unpredictable. Well I hear Columbia acquired the motion picture rights to the novel. Put some Hollywood cuties in it and I’m there. I’m gullible that way. posted by wys | 11:25 PM 0 comments Anywhere in the world you can be sure to find: 1. CNN – Anywhere in the world though you can be sure that there will be CNN, sort of like a security blanket reassuring travelers that yes there will be someone who understands English in any part of the world. Also there's that feeling that you're actually watching something more important than MTV or the Bachelorette and you're making yourself smarter by watching the news when in fact a lot of what goes on in CNN is pure drivel. 2. McDonald’s – Creepy Ronald McDonald is supposedly more easily identifiable than Santa Claus (not hard to believe, you can’t expect the non-Christian kids of China and India to know Santa). Thanks to the wonders of food technology, everything tastes amazingly the same all over the world. There’s also the added excitement of trying out local McFoods: pork burgers in Lisbon, spicy pepper sandwiches in Bangkok, taro ice cream in Hong Kong, spaghetti and fried chicken in Manila. 3. Chinese restaurants – If one is feeling lazy lazy lazy to find a good local restaurant, one can always look for a Chinese restaurant (preferably staffed by Chinese waiters) and content themselves with the reassuringly familiar. My dad’s excuse for seeking out Chinese everywhere we go is to be able to eat rice rice rice, especially outside Asia where rice is considered “exotic.” posted by wys | 9:04 PM Wednesday, December 17, 2003 My pics from my Malaysia trip are being posted little by little. Mostly boring scenic architectural shots. posted by wys | 9:38 PM 0 comments Sunday, December 14, 2003 Ah busy busy. Thank goodness I'm not studying anymore. Lots to do, lots to do. Cooked lunch last weekend but it was really corny old stuff that I've done a million times before. No time to read through recipe books. No time to go to the grocery. Oh well. No time to cook really, just threw all the ingredients together. Wapow, done. * * * Watched Ballet Philippines' The Nutcracker in CCP last night. Bad idea to go to Roxas Boulevard on a Saturday night. Boom na Boom looks like it's in full swing and the traffic was a worst I've ever seen. Nice enough production, with fancy Filipiniana type sets and all. Audio sucked eggs though, it sounded like someone recorded a CD onto a cassette tape, and recorded that onto another cassette tape. Well tickets were around PHP800 and for those prices one can't expect live orchestral accompaniment. I didn’t see all the famous/socialite type people who were supposed to be the guests at the grand party in the first act though. Maybe they only showed up for the first show. * * * Had dinner in Gulliver's (Gulliver’s of San Francisco, Great Eastern Hotel, 7842 Makati Ave., Makati City, T: 896-7475, 898-2888) tonight. For carnivores with an extra thousand or so bucks to spend on dinner. Very weird location, but people still go there anyway. Good stuff, but very pricey and I don’t think I’d ever go there if I had to actually pay for the meal myself. * * * Must waste more time watching movies now. I bought my Ayala Cinema M-Pass a few months ago and haven't gotten to use it yet. Not that there's too much to watch right now:
Tuesday, December 09, 2003 Will be posting the photos from my trip to Malaysia soon (if I find the time and energy). Nice enough place, but not very touristy and interesting. If my whole family went along they would be bored silly. Ah, break for month one. And then I study for Level II. Simbang Gabi next week! posted by wys | 11:29 PM 0 comments Wednesday, December 03, 2003 I read the funniest article in today's edition of Business World. It was an article from AFP (Agence France-Presse) written about Santa Claus' woes and lamentations this Christmas season. Good stuff. I'd post the link to the article, but darn Business World only keeps online articles for the same day. Some exerpts: Santa declares war on Rudolph, other reindeerposted by wys | 9:09 PM 0 comments |
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