PML'S PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS (aka Dispatches from America)

2008-02-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

Less than 30 minutes to go and here's my picks:

BEST PICTURE

Will/should win: No Country For Old Men

BEST ACTOR

Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Should win: Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Could win: George Clooney, Michael Clayton

BEST ACTRESS

Will win: Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Should win: Julie Christie, Away From Her
Could win: Ellen Page, Juno

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Will/should win: Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Could win: Hal Holbrook, Into The Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Will/should win: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Could win: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

BEST DIRECTOR

Will/should win: Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Could win: P.T. Anderson, There Will Be Blood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Will/should win: Juno
Could win: Michael Clayton

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Will/should win: No Country For Old Men

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Will/should win: Ratatouille
Could win: Persepolis

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Will/should win: The Counterfeiters, Austria

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Will win: Sicko
Should win: No End In Sight

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Will win: Atonement
Should win: Ratatouille

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Will/should win: "Falling Slowly", Once
Could win: "That's How You Know", Enchanted

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Will win: No Country For Old Men
Should win: There Will Be Blood
Could win: The Diving Bell & The Butterfly

BEST EDITING

Will win: There Will Be Blood
Should win: No Country For Old Men

BEST ART DIRECTION

Will/should win: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Could win: There Will Be Blood

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Will/should win: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Could win: Atonement

BEST MAKEUP

Will/should win: La Vie En Rose
Could win: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

BEST SOUND MIXING

Will/should win: Ratatouille
Could win: No Country For Old Men

BEST SOUND EDITING

Will win: Transformers
Should win: There Will Be Blood
Could win: Ratatouille

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Will win: Transformers
Should win: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

2008-01-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

MY ANNUAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS & PREFERENCES

BEST PICTURE

My personal picks:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Juno

Others worth mentioning: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Into The Wild, Hairspray, The Kite Runner, and Michael Clayton

Eventual lineup:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Juno

BEST ACTOR

My personal picks:

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sam Riley, Control
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild

Others worth mentioning: Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl), James McAvoy (Atonement), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead/The Savages), Gordon Pinsent (Away from Her), and Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men)

Eventual lineup:

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

BEST ACTRESS

My personal picks:

Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page, Juno
Laura Linney, The Savages
Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray

Others worth mentioning: Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Amy Adams (Enchanted), Keri Russell (Waitress), and Molly Shannon (Year of the Dog)

Eventual lineup:

Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page, Juno
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

My personal picks:

Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood
Robert Downey, Jr., Zodiac
Paul Rudd, Knocked Up

Others worth mentioning: Tommy Lee Jones (No Country For Old Men), Max von Sydow (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War), John Travolta (Hairspray), and Michael Cera (Juno)

Eventual lineup:

Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

My personal picks:

Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Jennifer Garner, Juno
Kelly Macdonald, No Country For Old Men
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Leslie Mann, Knocked Up

Others worth mentioning: Samantha Morton (Control), Emily Mortimer (Lars and the Real Girl), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Charlotte Gainsbourg (I’m Not There), Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement), Allison Janney (Juno), and Michelle Pfeiffer (Hairspray/Stardust)

Eventual lineup:

Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement

BEST DIRECTOR

My personal picks:

David Fincher, Zodiac
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Others worth mentioning: Todd Haynes (I’m Not There), Jason Reitman (Juno), Wes Anderson (The Darjeeling Limited), Marc Forster (The Kite Runner), Sean Penn (Into the Wild) and Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)

Eventual lineup:

Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Joe Wright, Atonement

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

My personal picks:

Juno
Lars and the Real Girl
Ratatouille
The Darjeeling Limited
I’m Not There

Others worth mentioning: The Savages, Once, Knocked Up, Superbad, and Michael Clayton

Eventual lineup:

Juno
Eastern Promises
Lars and the Real Girl
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

My personal picks:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Zodiac

Others worth mentioning: Into the Wild, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Control, Away from Her, The Kite Runner, and Charlie Wilson’s War

Eventual lineup:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Into the Wild

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

My personal picks:

Ratatouille
Persepolis
The Simpsons Movie

Eventual lineup:

Ratatouille
Persepolis
The Simpsons Movie

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

My personal picks:

Sicko
No End in Sight
Nanking
Lake of Fire
War/Dance

Eventual lineup:

Autism: The Musical
Nanking
No End in Sight
Please Vote For Me
Sicko

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

My personal picks (from the original shortlist):

The Counterfeiters, Austria
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, Brazil
Persepolis, France
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, Romania
The Orphanage, Spain

Eventual lineup (from the 9 finalists):

The Counterfeiters, Austria
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, Brazil
Beaufort, Israel
The Unknown Woman, Italy
Katyn, Poland

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

My personal picks:

Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood (now ruled ineligible)
Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille
Dario Marianelli, Atonement
Alberto Iglesias, The Kite Runner
David Shire, Zodiac

Eventual lineup:

Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille
Dario Marianelli, Atonement
Alberto Iglesias, The Kite Runner
Alexandre Desplat, Lust, Caution
Clint Eastwood, Grace is Gone

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

My personal picks:

“That’s How You Know”, Enchanted
“Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)”, Hairspray
“Guaranteed”, Into the Wild
“Falling Slowly”, Once
“Walk Hard”, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Others worth mentioning: “Say” (The Bucket List), “Happy Working Song” (Enchanted), “Society” (Into the Wild), “If You Want Me” (Once), “Le Festin” (Ratatouille), “Beautiful Ride” (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), and “Let’s Duet” (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story)

Eventual lineup:

“That’s How You Know”, Enchanted
“Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)”, Hairspray
“Society”, Into the Wild
“Falling Slowly”, Once
“Le Festin”, Ratatouille

BEST ART DIRECTION

My personal picks:

Atonement
The Darjeeling Limited
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood
Hairspray

Others worth mentioning: Across the Universe, The Kite Runner, Zodiac, and No Country For Old Men

Eventual lineup:

Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood
The Golden Compass

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

My personal picks:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Hairspray
Atonement
Blades of Glory
La Vie En Rose

Eventual lineup:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Hairspray
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The Golden Compass

BEST MAKEUP

My personal picks:

La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
300

Eventual lineup:

La Vie En Rose
Norbit
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

My personal picks:

No Country For Old Men
Zodiac
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Others worth mentioning: American Gangster, Across the Universe, Into the Wild, I’m Not There, The Darjeeling Limited and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Eventual lineup:

There Will Be Blood
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country For Old Men

BEST EDITING

My personal picks:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
I’m Not There
Zodiac

Others worth mentioning: American Gangster, Michael Clayton, Juno, Into the Wild, and Atonement

Eventual lineup:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
Michael Clayton
The Bourne Ultimatum

BEST SOUND MIXING

My personal picks:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
No Country For Old Men
Ratatouille
Hairspray
There Will Be Blood

Others worth mentioning: American Gangster, Zodiac, I’m Not There, and 300

Eventual lineup:

No Country For Old Men
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Hairspray
Transformers
Ratatouille

BEST SOUND EDITING

My personal picks:

Spider-Man 3
Ratatouille
300

Eventual lineup:

Transformers
300
Ratatouille

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

My personal picks (from the original shortlist):

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Spider-Man 3
300

Eventual lineup (from the 7 finalists):

The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Transformers

2007-12-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

I had an fun time taking part in an independent film shoot on campus today. As opposed to working as a crew member in the previous shoots that I had previously participated, I was now working as part of the cast. And for the first time, I was actually paid for working on a shoot ($50 in cash).

2007-11-30T22:40:00.000-08:00

It's official, I now have more friends on MySpace than Friendster.

As of today:

MySpace - 193
Friendster - 191

I'll never understand why most Filipinos still prefer Friendster over the more superior MySpace. Then again, we have been patronizing Betamax and VCDs even though VHS and later DVDs were already the rage. Most of my classmates haven't even updated their MySpace pages since 2005!

2007-11-18T23:04:00.000-08:00

It's gonna be a busy week ahead for me!

I have to start working on my final papers for my Sociology and Health classes.

I still have to finish working on my portfolio and application for CalArts before the November 30 deadline.

I also have to start coming up with an idea for an audio-visual presentation for my sister's December 29 wedding.

I hope I finish these things through by the end of the week as well as still have enough time to chill and relax in between.

2007-11-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

Well, with the writers' strike now official, I might share this little video explaining what they're fighting for.

2007-11-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Funny video in relation to the writers' strike in Hollywood.

2007-10-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!

On this occasion, I present Tim Burton's 1982 stop-motion animated short classic Vincent. A story about a boy who wanted to be like Vincent Price and narrated by Vincent Price no less.

Enjoy!

2007-10-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

A music video directed by Mike Ott, one of my film class instructors last spring. The song is "Dancing in Our Graves" performed by The Cave Singers.

From Pitchfork Media:

The Mike Ott-directed video for "Dancing on Our Graves", a song by Seattle's the Cave Singers, reflects the track's sense of abandon. The stomping bass drum shoves forward the rest of the clattering percussion, and the insistent guitar picking worries less about changes (for the most part, one chord'll do ya) and more about relentless motion. It also sounds a hair like something from the Waterboys' Fisherman's Blues, a plus in my book. The video, with its scuffed black-and-white shots of tent revival rituals (we see people clogging and testifying, being healed by a hand and baptized in a river), finds its participants moved less by the holy spirit and more by the undeniable propulsion of the song's groove.

2007-10-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

I was at work at Six Flags Magic Mountain when I noticed that the sky had this unusual tint of red. When I saw the sun, I thought there was an eclipse at first. Then I felt a lot of dust being blown by the heavy winds followed by this smell that I would easily associate with wood. That's when I realize there was a wildfire going on. As I was walking to the bus stop headed home, it brought back memories of Mayon's eruption what with the sense of apocalyptic desolation that I have observed from my surroundings.

For the next three days, Santa Clarita (as well as San Diego and Malibu) was swamped by fires from almost all sides. A fire occurred near Magic Mountain but thankfully it was quickly contained. Classes at College of the Canyons were cancelled for 2 days, and me and my sister had to spend a night at my future brother-in-law's house, which was itself near a major wildfire area in Stevenson Ranch.

However, there were good things that came about from these events. I managed to capture the first footage of my camcorder of views of the huge smoke taken from different locations, whoch I plan to upload to YouTube soon. Plus, I was able to do two things I haven't done in a while: go to Pasadena and watch a movie in a arthouse theater/cineplex. The movie was The Darjeeling Limited, which never disappointed though it sucks that it didn't have the short Hotel Chevalier attached to it or the fact that the projector experienced technical difficulties where at times the ads would suddenly pop up and were simulatenously projected on the screen with the movie as it was already playing!

2007-10-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

What better way to start the month with the purchase of my very first camcorder. It's a Sony DCR-HC28 Mini DV Handycam Camcorder which was worth around $250 over at Best Buy, which is where me and my sister bought it (we split the bill).

Today also marks the 100th birth anniversary of my paternal grandfather Remigio Jacob Llaguno. Known to the people he admired as "Lolo Mio" and "Daddy Mio", he died 3 days after I was born, hence I was named Patrick Mio Llaguno in his honor (Patrick was after a brand of cologne). So yesterday was also the 20th anniversary of his death, 3 days after I turned 20.

2007-09-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

20@07!

2007-09-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

This is a 1965 Oscar-nominated experimental short film called Time Piece. This was written, produced, directed, and starring a young man by the name of Jim Henson. Yes, you hear me right, THE Jim Henson. Who knew the guy can make such a cool thing like this without a Muppet in sight? Fellow Muppeteer Frank Oz (Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Yoda in the Star Wars films) also later went on to direct comedies such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Bowfinger, and more recently Death at a Funeral.

2007-09-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to plug my aunt's website:

Lina Llaguno Ciani

2007-09-12T00:26:00.000-07:00

I just had a chat with one of my friends in the Philippines named Siddharta Perez. She just told me her dad (artist Dante Perez) just came back from the recently concluded Venice Film Festival. It turns out he served as production designer and also played the role of Death in Lav Diaz' new film Kagadanan sa Banwaan ning mga Engkanto (Death in the Land of Encantos), which was shot in my home province of Albay in the Bicol Region a week after the devastation caused by Typhoon Reming (also known as Super Typhoon Durian) last December. The film won a special award in Venice and is currently playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, along with two other Filipino films: Auraeus Solito's Pisay (Philippine Science) and Brillante Mendoza's Tirador (Slingshot).

While in Venice, my friend's dad was lucky to mingle with the likes of Heath Ledger, Adrien Brody (one of the stars of Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, which was also in the festival lineup), Woody Allen (premiering his new film Cassandra's Dream and whose early film Love and Death I just saw for the first time on TCM this weekend) and Sting. Too bad he didn't get a chance to meet Ang Lee (whose film Lust, Caution won the top prize), Brian De Palma (who won Best Director for Redacted) or Tim Burton (who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Johnny Depp and showed a preview of his adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd).

A few weeks ago, she was also lucky enough to attend the recently concluded Cinemanila Film Festival where Quentin Tarantino was a guest of honor and a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award. Along with a retrospective of his films, Tarantino also showed a bunch of '70s B-movies done by such Filipino filmmakers as Eddie Romero and Cirio H. Santiago that would influence his later career. She was also in the audience for the Philippine premiere of his new film Death Proof (one-half of the creatively ambitious flop Grindhouse). Here he is enthusiastically introducing the film to the Filipino audience. This clip was taken from someone's cellphone so the audio is a bit garbled.

2007-09-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

Almost six years after it first aired, Jon Stewart's post-9/11 speech remains as hearfelt and honest as ever.

From what I hear, there are still some dust from the debris left near Jon's apartment.

John Gibson, you can take those tastless comments of yours and shove up it your ass!

2007-09-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

R.I.P. LUCIANO PAVAROTTI 1935-2007

2007-08-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Sen. Larry "I'm not gay!" Craig (R-Idaho) talking about Bill Clinton in 1999:

My, my, someone needs a good spanking!

2007-08-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

This is the schedule of classes I'll be attending this fall at College of the Canyons. This might still be subject to last minute changes.

MONDAY

10:30-12:55 RTVF 118 (Intro. to Editing)/MENH-333
2:20-3:40 HLHSCI 100 (Health Education)/BONH-13

TUESDAY

12:50-2:10 SOCI 101(Intro. to Sociology)/BONH-302
7:00-10:00 THEATR 127 (Improv. Performance)/STCN-130
(UPDATE: THEATR 127 has been cancelled)

WEDNESDAY

10:30-12:55 RTVF 118
2:20-3:40 HLHSCI 100

THURSDAY

12:50-2:10 SOCI 101

I was originally going to take RTVF 125 (Intro. to TV Production) and RTVF 255 (Adv. Screenwriting), but 255 got cancelled and I couldn't fit 125 in my schedule after a trip to the counselor regarding the classes I needed to take to finish my AA.

I'm still deciding whether to still take RTVF 082 (Intro. to Avid) later this semester, but considering the near-burnout and academic overload I had last spring, I might just wait till next spring. At least I now get a day off between school and work on Fridays.

Hopefully, I can at least muster a C grade for each of those classes and finish and graduate with an AA by next spring (whether I transfer to CalArts next or take other classes to transfer to other universities is another question).

Classes I plan to take next spring: RTVF 082, RTVF 218 (Adv. Editing), RTVF 255 or 195 (Intro. to Screenplay Writing), RTVF 290 (Portfolio), THEATR 110 (Understanding Theatre), and THEATR 127.

2007-08-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

Classes for fall will be resuming in a week and a half, and I'll be turning 20 next month.

Stay tune to this blog for further developments.

2007-08-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

I was browsing around YouTube, when I came across this cool and catchy music video.

The music video is directed by none another than Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), who just also happens to be the boyfriend of the singer (dunno if they're still together). Look for cameos by Simon Pegg and Lucy Davis.

2007-07-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

Guess who has been featured as having the "Best Week Ever"?

Check out their other performances:

2007-06-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

Films I plan to see in Pasadena this week:

I can't wait to watch it the 2nd time around.

Too bad the director didn't live to witness its success.

I've been hearing good things about this, especially its music.

I find it odd that Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Jean-Luc Godard, or even Luc Besson didn't participate in this otherwise ambitious anthology film by 18 well-known directors.

I have always been a big fan of Mike White's work (including his recent effort Nacho Libre), so it would be interesting to see what he has in store for his directorial debut.

If I still have the extra time, I might also try to finally catch POTC: At World's End and/or Shrek the Third, plus another rewatch of Knocked Up.

2007-05-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, it seems to be a lifetime since I last updated this. I've been so busy the past couple of months dealing with my film class projects that I had almost forgotten this blog existed in the first place.

In actuality, I had written a couple of unfinished drafts the past month that are not yet ready for publishing. Hopefully, I could get those done with by month's end.

Just wanted to let you guys know that my personal statement film was accepted for tomorrow's Media Arts Showcase at the College of the Canyons Performing Arts Center. I found that out while on break from my work last Saturday. This scene almost captures my reaction from the news:

For my personal statement film, I had some classmates (most of them reluctant to even participate) each read a sentence from an outline to describe who I am as a person, an artist, and a filmmaker. I also incorporated clips from my high school graduation video and previous shorts that I did back in Long Beach. Also for this project, I was able to shoot some scenes for the first time on actual film (in this case, super 8) as opposed to video. I also used 6 different musical tracks within the final cut (edited on Final Cut Pro), which only lasts approximately 4 1/2 minutes!

While I'm happy my project made it to the screening, it was a shame I wasn't able to finish my other project before the deadline. It was a portrait of a classmate named Paul Zeigler, one of the first people I befriended when I started at COC and a great raconteur (which is a reason I chose him). Unfortunately, the project became cursed in my eyes after capturing some footage of Paul that almost got us in trouble with a teacher (for whose class I was doing the Portrait Project), this was followed by a 2 week suspension for returning audio/video equipment late, audio snafus in the phone interview that wiped out bits of really interesting stuff, plus the subject suffering from chronic back pains going back to his days as a flight attendant. By the time I was able to get the footage I need, I wasn't ready to cobble together a rough cut to show for the panel. The cut I was able to come up with lasted 6 minutes, a minute longer than the 5-minute limit imposed to us by the instructor. And I've always said to Paul that 5 minutes wasn't enough to cover his life and personality in a nutshell, and that I could film him talk for an eternity.

Suddenly, an ambitious documentary short is looming beyond the horizon...

2007-05-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

Today marks Election Day in the Philippines, and I recently took part in the electoral process for the first time as an absentee voter, having mailed my vote a few days before.

Here's my picks for Senator (in alphabetical order):

Angara
Arroyo
Aquino
Defensor
Escudero
Kiram
Legarda
Pangilinan
Recto
Roco
Villar
Zubiri

And for party-list, I picked Akbayan.

2007-03-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

This week I was treated to a surreal sight of Thais going back from school and to work. They were all trainees over at Six Flags Magic Mountain, probably as part of some work exchange program of some sort. I hear there will be there for about three months. My regular bus stop was teeming with Thais, that the bus was so heavily crammed like a can of sardines. They had to make the other employees already waiting in the transfer station to wait for the other bus. I trained one of them in how to spiel in the tram, but due to their overabundance, they had to send me home early in the afternoon yesterday.

So today, they finally found a way to deal with my work schedule by sending me to another department. I was assigned to the Season Pass processing office where I mostly kept the lines in order as well as assisting the guests in processing the needed info and getting their photos taken. What's interesting about it was that it was the first time I was working INSIDE the park (keep in mind I was working in the parking lot). I easily adjusted to my new (probably temporary) surroundings and was pretty upbeat throughout the duration of that job.

Plus my dad decided to drive me to work just for once, thus avoiding the overcrowded bus. Though I might try using that carpool service one of these days.

2007-03-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for this weekend. After work tomorrow (St. Patrick's Day), I'm heading to the College of the Canyons where me and my improv class are gonna make our first live performance. I also took the day off from work on Sunday in order to meet with the people who are interested in helping me with my film projects this semester. We hope to spend that day getting to know one another and sharing new ideas.

Plus I reached the 100 friends milestone in MySpace, WOO HOO!

2007-02-28T23:50:00.001-08:00

The official US trailer for Satoshi Kon's Paprika (a film I had earlier talked about here) has finally arrived:

The original trailers released earlier in Japan:

2007-02-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

The winners of the 79th Academy Awards and how I did well in my predictions ("will win" predictions I got correct are in boldface, "should win" are in italic, "could win" are in asterisk):

BEST PICTURE: The Departed
BEST ACTOR: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
BEST ACTRESS: Helen Mirren, The Queen
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine *
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
BEST DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese, The Departed (FINALLY!)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Little Miss Sunshine
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Departed
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Happy Feet *
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: An Inconvenient Truth
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Lives of Others, Germany *
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Pan's Labyrinth
BEST EDITING: The Departed
BEST ART DIRECTION: Pan's Labyrinth
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Marie Antoinette
BEST MAKEUP: Pan's Labyrinth
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "I Need to Wake Up", An Inconvenient Truth
BEST SOUND MIXING: Dreamgirls
BEST SOUND EDITING: Letters from Iwo Jima
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Lots of surprises in the minor categories, I mean Babel's score over Pan's Labyrinth? Children of Men losing in Cinematography? The Lives of Others winning over Pan's Labyrinth in Best Foreign Language Film?

Though I was finally glad to see Scorsese finally win an Oscar (presented to him by Coppola, Lucas, and Spielberg no less) coupled by The Departed winning the wide-open Best Picture race. This calls for a celebration, courtesy of The Dropkick Murphys:

2007-02-21T21:16:00.000-08:00

My annual Oscar predictions:

Will win
Should win
* = Could win

BEST PICTURE

The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
Babel
The Queen * (the votes might split to its favor)
Letters from Iwo Jima

BEST ACTOR

Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson

BEST ACTRESS

Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Kate Winslet, Little Children

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine *
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine *
Adriana Barraza, Babel

BEST DIRECTOR

Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
The Queen
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Departed
Children of Men *
Notes on a Scandal
Little Children
Borat

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Cars
Happy Feet *
Monster House

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Deliver Us from Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Pan's Labyrinth, Mexico
The Lives of Others, Germany *
Water, Canada
After the Wedding, Denmark
Days of Glory, France

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Children of Men
Pan's Labyrinth
The Prestige
The Illusionist
The Black Dahlia

BEST EDITING

The Departed
Babel
Children of Men *
United 93
Blood Diamond

BEST ART DIRECTION

Pan's Labyrinth
Dreamgirls
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Prestige
The Good Shepherd

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Curse of the Golden Flower
Dreamgirls
The Queen
Marie Antoinette
The Devil Wears Prada *

BEST MAKEUP

Pan's Labyrinth
Apocalypto
Click

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Javier Navarrete, Pan's Labyrinth
Alexandre Desplat, The Queen
Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel
Phillip Glass, Notes on a Scandal
Thomas Newman, The Good German

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"I Need to Wake Up", An Inconvenient Truth
"Our Town", Cars
"Listen", Dreamgirls
"Love You I Do", Dreamgirls *
"Patience", Dreamgirls

BEST SOUND MIXING

Dreamgirls
Apocalypto
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Flags of Our Fathers
Blood Diamond

BEST SOUND EDITING

Apocalypto
Blood Diamond
Flags of Our Fathers
Letters from Iwo Jima
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poseidon
Superman Returns *

2007-02-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

On this very special day comes a very special video courtesy of The Colbert Report:

2007-02-10T21:23:00.000-08:00

Today I had my orientation for my first paying job working in the nearby theme park Six Flags Magic Mountain as a parking lot attendant. Tomorrow I'll start my training and receive my uniform. While I'm happy I finally have a job to earn extra income, I've originally preferred a much fitting workplace that suits my tastes, which is why I previously applied at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Edwards Theaters, Ralphs, Starbucks, and Best Buy to no avail.

This week was also the start of my spring semester, and I'm both excited and nervous in taking film classes again. It's good to know that I've met some of my classmates earlier last fall, the teachers in the classes are hip and laidback (but still a strict demeanor when it comes to assignements), and I might finally break my self-imposed hiatus in making short films (though technically they were shot in video, mini DV format to be precise). Hope the same thing happens to my writer's block.

For one of my classes, the teacher assigned us to come up with an "idea journal" which I can't wait to get started. I've always considered creating a "book of thoughts" (like Fellini or Burton) once I finally got my career going in the future. In the same class, we were also told to do a "mission statement film", even though I'll almost basically do a film version of my Friendster/MySpace page.

2007-02-01T22:52:00.000-08:00

The two underground artists arrested for putting up the LED magnetic boards that caused quite a ruckus yesterday in Boston as part of a guerrila marketing campaign for a movie talk to the press and savors in their new cause celebre status. Enjoy!

2007-01-31T23:55:00.000-08:00

Today, Boston was in a state of panic when someone reported a bomb planted on a bridge.

This is one of the "bombs":

Some of these "bombs" were already "planted" in other cities weeks before (like this one taken in San Francisco):

There is now a T-shirt spawned by the incident:

America (well, mostly Boston) has found a new adversary in the form of the Mooninites!

2007-01-22T23:30:00.001-08:00

Thought I might post my Oscar predictions just before they announced the final nominations tomorrow morning.

BEST PICTURE

My personal picks:

The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
Children of Men
Dreamgirls
United 93

Others worth mentioning: A Prairie Home Companion, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Queen

Eventual lineup:

Babel
The Queen
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine

BEST ACTOR

My personal picks:

Clive Owen, Children of Men
Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Gael Garcia Bernal, The Science of Sleep
Peter O’Toole, Venus

Others worth mentioning: Edward Norton (The Illusionist), Richard Griffiths (The History Boys), Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking), Daniel Craig (Casino Royale), Will Ferrell (Stranger Than Fiction) and Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)

Eventual lineup:

Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Peter O’Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson

BEST ACTRESS

My personal picks:

Ivana Baquero, Pan’s Labyrinth
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Kate Winslet, Little Children
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sherrybaby

Eventual lineup:

Kate Winslet, Little Children
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Penelope Cruz, Volver

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

My personal picks:

Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Michael Caine, Children of Men
Michael Sheen, The Queen
Jack Nicholson, The Departed
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Others worth mentioning: Steve Carell (Little Miss Sunshine), Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine), Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Jaden Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), Paul Giamatti (The Illusionist), and Djimon Honsou (Blood Diamond)

Eventual lineup:

Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Djimon Honsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg (or Jack Nicholson), The Departed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

My personal picks:

Catherine O’Hara, For Your Consideration
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Emma Thompson, Stranger Than Fiction
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Toni Collette, Little Miss Sunshine

Others worth mentioning: Frances De La Tour (The History Boys), Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Science of Sleep), Lili Taylor (Factotum), and Claire-Hope Ashitey (Children of Men)

Eventual lineup:

Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine

BEST DIRECTOR

My personal picks:

Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Robert Altman, A Prairie Home Companion
Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Guillermo Del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth

Others worth mentioning: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine), Stephen Frears (The Queen), and Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)

Eventual lineup:

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima (or Flags of Our Fathers)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

My personal picks:

Stranger Than Fiction
The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan’s Labyrinth
United 93

Others worth mentioning: The Science of Sleep and The Pursuit of Happyness

Eventual lineup:

Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Pan's Labyrinth
United 93

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

My personal picks:

The Departed
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
A Prairie Home Companion
Children of Men
Thank You For Smoking

Others worth mentioning: Dreamgirls, The History Boys, The Illusionist, The Prestige, and Casino Royale

Eventual lineup:

Little Children
Dreamgirls
The Devil Wears Prada
The Departed
Notes on a Scandal

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

My personal picks:

Paprika
Cars
Monster House

Others worth mentioning: Happy Feet, Over The Hedge, and A Scanner Darkly

Eventual lineup:

Happy Feet
Cars
Monster House

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

My personal picks:

Deliver Us from Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Jesus Camp
Shut Up & Sing
The War Tapes

Eventual lineup:

An Inconvenient Truth
Jesus Camp
Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple
Iraq in Fragments
Deliver Us from Evil

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

My personal picks:

Water, Canada
The Lives of Others, Germany
Pan’s Labyrinth, Mexico
Black Book, The Netherlands
Volver, Spain

Eventual lineup:

Water, Canada
The Lives of Others, Germany
Pan’s Labyrinth, Mexico
Black Book, The Netherlands
Volver, Spain

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

My personal picks:

Javier Navarrete, Pan’s Labyrinth
Alexandre Desplat, The Queen
Philip Glass, The Illusionist
John Powell, United 93
Susumu Hirasawa, Paprika

Others worth mentioning: John Tavener (Children of Men), Dario Marianelli (V For Vendetta) and Hans Zimmer (The Da Vinci Code)

Eventual lineup:

Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel
Clint Mansell, The Fountain
Thomas Newman, The Good German
Alexandre Desplat, The Painted Veil (or The Queen)
James Horner, Apocalypto

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

My personal picks:

“The Girl in Byakkoya - White Tiger Field”, Paprika
“O Kazakhstan”, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
“I Need to Wake Up”, An Inconvenient Truth
“Till the End of Time”, Little Miss Sunshine
“You Know My Name”, Casino Royale

Others worth mentioning: “Real Gone” (Cars), “PJ & Rooster” (Idlewild), “Upside Down” (Curious George), “Listen” (Dreamgirls), “Love You I Do” (Dreamgirls), “Still” (Over the Hedge), and “The Book I Write” (Stranger Than Fiction)

Eventual lineup:

“Never Gonna Break My Faith”, Bobby
“Listen”, Dreamgirls
“Love You I Do”, Dreamgirls
“The Song of the Heart”, Happy Feet
“I Need to Wake Up”, An Inconvenient Truth

BEST ART DIRECTION

My personal picks:

Marie Antoinette
The Science of Sleep
Pan’s Labyrinth
Dreamgirls
Children of Men

Eventual lineup:

Marie Antoinette
Apocalypto
Curse of the Golden Flower
Dreamgirls
Pan’s Labyrinth

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

My personal picks:

Marie Antoinette
Dreamgirls
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Devil Wears Prada
The Illusionist

Eventual lineup:

The Devil Wears Prada
Marie Antoinette
Dreamgirls
Pan’s Labyrinth
Curse of the Golden Flower

BEST MAKEUP

My personal picks:

Pan’s Labyrinth
The Prestige
Click

Eventual lineup:

Pan’s Labyrinth
Apocalypto
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

My personal picks:

Children of Men
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Departed
United 93
Marie Antoinette

Others worth mentioning: Little Miss Sunshine, The Science of Sleep, The Illusionist, A Prairie Home Companion, and The Prestige

Eventual lineup:

Apocalypto
Babel
Children of Men
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Departed

BEST EDITING

My personal picks:

Children of Men
The Departed
United 93
Little Miss Sunshine
The Science of Sleep

Others worth mentioning: Pan’s Labyrinth, Casino Royale, and The Queen

Eventual lineup:

Babel
Children of Men
United 93
The Departed
The Queen

BEST SOUND MIXING

My personal picks:

Dreamgirls
The Departed
United 93
Casino Royale
Children of Men

Others worth mentioning: Cars and Pan’s Labyrinth

Eventual lineup:

Dreamgirls
Apocalypto
Cars
Babel
Flags of Our Fathers

BEST SOUND EDITING

My personal picks:

Children of Men
Casino Royale
Cars

Eventual lineup:

Superman Returns
Cars
V For Vendetta

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

My personal picks:

Casino Royale
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Superman Returns

Eventual lineup:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Night at the Museum
Superman Returns

2007-01-21T23:17:00.000-08:00

This list of my top 25 films of 2006 might still be subject to change in the coming months as I see more films from that given year. I wish I could go on further in explaining my selections, but I'm so lazy to do so for the moment.

1. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
2. Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris)
3. Paprika (Satoshi Kon)
4. United 93 (Paul Greengrass)
5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles)
6. The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
7. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro)
8. The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry)
9. The Queen (Stephen Frears)
10. Thank You For Smoking (Jason Reitman)
11. A Prairie Home Companion (Robert Altman)
12. Cars (John Lasseter)
13. An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggenheim)
14. Dreamgirls (Bill Condon)
15. Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola)
16. Casino Royale (Martin Campbell)
17. Dave Chappelle's Block Party (Michel Gondry)
18. Inside Man (Spike Lee)
19. The History Boys (Nicholas Hytner)
20. The Illusionist (Neil Burger)
21. The Prestige (Christopher Nolan)
22. Stranger Than Fiction (Marc Forster)
23. Inside Man (Spike Lee)
24. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (Kirby Dick)
25. Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest (Gore Verbinski)

Worth mentioning: Superman Returns, The US vs. John Lennon, Idiocracy, Art School Confidential, For Your Consideration, The Pursuit of Happyness, V For Vendetta, Happy Feet, Monster House, A Scanner Darkly, Lucky Number Slevin, Over The Hedge, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Nacho Libre, Ice Age: The Meltdown

2006 films I still plan to see: Strangers With Candy, Wordplay, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Flushed Away, Venus, The Devil Wears Prada, Shortbus, Fast Food Nation

Of an interesting note is Paprika (#3), which was the first film I saw in a theater before it even premiered in its home country (Japan).

2007-01-10T23:29:00.001-08:00

I'm no misogynist but it always bothers me in light of the recent Roman Catholic sex scandal that you always get stories of priests sexually molesting children but not nuns. It was like that there was a double standard thing going on.

Until now.

2007-01-05T23:42:00.001-08:00

More photos from the Rose Parade:

I think this was the float with Marie Osmond.

A better view:

The float of the City of Los Angeles:

Llamas on parade!

The Royal Court

And the parade marches on!

The Oak Ridge Boys performing their classic hit "Elvira"

Knights on Colorado Boulevard

Look at those hummingbirds!

Some rope tricks

More to go...

2007-01-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

Thought I might start sharing the photos I took during the recent Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena (with more to come).

These were taken before the parade reached my area and showed the huge crowd (most of them have camped overnight in the streets) flocking and giddy with anticipation.

One of those Fundamentalists, perhaps?

A close-up (well, not so close) of the Goodyear blimp:

The parade is finally here!

TO BE CONTINUED...

2007-01-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

What ironic way to honor the first day of the new year by reprinting the very last strip of Bill Waterson's Calvin and Hobbes:

2006-12-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

I'm going to Pasadena today to stay at my mother's place of work (she's a caregiver) to watch tomorrow's Rose Parade (with George Lucas as Grand Marshal). Great way to bring in the New Year! I will also celebrate by going to the nearby cinema to watch either Dreamgirls or Pan's Labyrinth.

2006-12-30T23:41:00.000-08:00

Today is December 30, and it marks the 110th anniversary (Rizal Day) of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal's death by firing squad in the place that now bears his name (Rizal Park).

It is also the day Saddam Hussein (or as I like to call him, So Damn Insane) was executed to death by hanging, ending an era of tyranny in Iraq that has only led to an occupation that was uncalled for and a growing sectarian conflict that may or may not be civil war.

Yet this is the Saddam we have come to know and love, the Saddam who engaged in a homosexual relationship with Satan to take advantage of his power in order to rule the world.

2006-12-28T23:45:00.000-08:00

Today is Innocents' Day, which commemorates the event where millions of innocent male babies were slaughtered on order of King Herod in his attempt to eliminate the newborn King of the Jews.

December 28 is also my father's 58th birthday, which means time to play this video for this occassion:

---

Gerald Ford, the "accidental president" (as well as the longest-living US president) who died this week, has this to say on these guys in the photo on interviews he requested should be released after he had passed away.

"Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction... and now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."

On Cheney's low approval ratings:

"Dick's a classy guy, but he's not an electrified orator."

Not to mention a skillful hunter.

2006-12-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everybody!

Thought I might share some great holiday videos from the online repository that is YouTube.

The first video has one of the oddest collaborations in music history: legendary crooner Bing Crosby and glam rocker David Bowie performing a duet of "Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth" in Crosby's Christmas special. Crosby had died a month before it aired, but a month before his passing, he recorded this duet which has now become a holiday staple.

The second video is Darlene Love performing "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" in Late Show with David Letterman (a show tradition for more than a decade now). The song is included in the classic holiday album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, which despite accolades from Rolling Stone (which named it as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time) to The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, was actually a failure in its initial release due to the fact that its release date (Nov. 22, 1963) was also the very same date JFK was assassinated, thus many radio stations at that time did not play any of the songs due to the period of mourning. Also, the Ronettes (the group who sang the Spector hit "Be My Baby") were the original choice to record the song, before it went to Love after the lead singer of the Ronettes was not able to put much emotion into the song. The song almost remained in popular obscurity until U2 did a cover version (which is also the third video) during their concert tour in 1987.

The next two videos are by two ex-Beatles: Paul McCartney's synthesizer-heavy "Wonderful Christmastime" and John Lennon's anti-war "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".

Count on Weird Al Yankovic to use the apocalypse as fodder for an entertaining holiday song. "Christmas At Ground Zero" is a song that only Dr. Strangelove would be proud of.

One of the best Filipino Christmas songs is "Fruitcake" by the band The Eraserheads. I did a short music video last year using the song, which I plan to put up on YouTube in the future. But for the moment, we will just settle for this low quality video:

The last video is The Beach Boys in its heyday performing "Little Saint Nick". Unfortunately, the person who uploaded the video disabled the embedding function so you will have to view it here instead.

2006-12-24T23:51:00.000-08:00

Two holiday offerings courtesy of Saturday Night Live:

2006-12-02T23:26:00.000-08:00

This is the blog's 100th post and not to mention it has reached more than 2000 hits.

On a sad note, I'd like to dedicate this post to Leonardo Reantaso. He passed away the same week as Robert Altman and was just finally laid to rest. "Lolo Narding", as I fondly called him, was the closest thing I had to a grandfather. My paternal grandfather died after I was born (hence I was partly named in his honor) and I never knew of what became of my maternal grandfather. "Lolo Narding" was my mother's uncle, and he and his beloved wife "Lola Ida" were the closest thing she had to parental figures since her mother/my maternal grandmother had died early. He will deeply missed, but he will always remain in our hearts and minds. I believe that death is only the next level in life, and he remains mortal in another realm.

Another sad note, a supertyphoon just hit my home province of Albay in the Philippines. This trigerred a series of mudslides from the Mayon Volcano almost wiping out everything in its path. It is the biggest disaster to hit my province, and from what I've been hearing, the situation has gotten more worse among the people, similar to what happened in Hurricane Katrina.

Some images of the destruction:

For more info on how to support these victims, visit this website or go to to the Philippine National Red Cross' official website here.

2006-11-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving weekend, I saw Satoshi Kon's new film Paprika in the only theater it was showing in LA for an Oscar qualifying run. Unlike last year when I saw Hayao Miyazaki's film Howl's Moving Castle at the landmark El Capitan Theater, I saw Paprika in a run-down arthouse theater located below a hotel in the middle of downtown LA. For those of you not familiar with Kon, he is the man behind thought-provoking anime like Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and the TV series Paranoia Agent. Next to Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, Kon is probably the best living Japanese animator right now. However, his works are more relegated in the art house circuit, leaving him criminally underrated both in his native Japan and here in the United States except for some few devoted followers.

As for the movie itself, no words can describe what I saw as I was continually struck with awe at the complexities, eccentricities, and even the perversities of the film. Right now, I'm still absorbing the entire film in my mind. Paprika is probably the most defining film of Kon's emerging career. Kon manages to combine elements that made his previous works great into one satisfying blend (the humor of Tokyo Godfathers, the epic beauty of Millennium Actress, the psychological thrills of Perfect Blue, plus the eerie suspense and beautiful confusion of Paranoia Agent) while continuing to explore the themes of blurring the line between reality and fantasy, and the pervading influence of pop culture in Japan. Like in Millennium Actress, Kon also finds time to experiment with the storytelling structure where dreams go back and forth to reality to the point where the audience could no longer distinguish which is which, culminating in chaotic madness within the film when both worlds collide. Add some movie in-jokes, a catchy score by Susumu Hirasawa (early reviews have noted how the opening sent some of the moviegoers near tears) and lots of fantastic surreal imagery, and you've got an esoterotic sensation in your brain!

This is the tricky part of the film, and I'm not talking about the plot itself. In the case of Kung Fu Hustle and Howl's Moving Castle, those films were released in their respective countries in 2004 and released theatrically in the US a year later. I designated those films as one of the best of 2005 on account that they were just shown on the US that year. This is what makes Paprika an interesting case. Despite making the rounds in the Venice and New York film festivals, Paprika won't be released in Japan until January, followed by a limited release in the US during the spring. Its inclusion in the Oscar shortlist for this year's best animated feature took me by surprise as I was expecting to root for it for next year's race alongside Persepolis, The Simpsons Movie, Ratatouille, and the third Shrek film. This marks the first instance that I saw a film before it officially premiered in its native country, and the closest thing I've been to a test screening. Which is way I'm now torn in deciding whether to designate this as one of the best films of 2006 or the first great film of 2007.

Still, I plan on rewatching it during its limited release to analyze it thoroughly, though the director himself advised the audience planning to see the film not to analyze what they're watching while still in the theater for doing so will only ruin the experience.

Midnight Eye interview with Satoshi Kon

An early review of the film

---

Later I saw The Light in the Piazza at the Ahmanson (first time I've been to that venue), wherein seated close to the orchestra. The score is truly spellbinding, giving the musical a sensual mood. Since some of the songs are sung in Italian (the setting is 1950's Florence, Italy), it was the closest thing I've been to an opera. Can't wait for Adam Guettel's musical adaptation of The Princess Bride.

2006-11-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

Went to REDCAT at the Walt Disney Concert Hall last Monday with most of my improv classmates. Our teacher Heidi Carlsen had directed a short play that was part of a series of performances that night. Let's just say we had a really great time there.

A shot of my classmates in the lobby:

With our teacher Heidi after the show:

Kristin and Amber:

Ernesto:

Yours truly:

Close-up:

Walt Disney Concert Hall at night (not quite a clear image):

2006-11-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

R.I.P. Robert Altman 1925-2006

And to think I just The Player in our film class last week, one of the best films about Hollywood. His last film A Prairie Home Companion was a fitting swan song to his long illustrious career.

In honor of Mr. Altman, I bring you a clip from his 1980 film adaptation of Popeye. It's Shelley Duvall (as Olive Oyl to Robin Williams' Popeye) singing "He Needs Me" as composed by the underrated Harry Nilsson. That song was later prominently used as a musical motif in P.T. Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love. Altman had been such an influence in Anderson's films, he even cast Altman regulars like Michael Murphy and Philip Baker Hall.

2006-11-18T23:45:00.000-08:00

Just saw Stranger Than Fiction this weekend, and I must say it's probably the best Charlie Kaufman film not written by Charlie Kaufman. It was actually written by newcomer Zach Helm and directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland). Will Ferrell gives his best performance to date as Harold Crick, a milquetoast obsessive-compulsive IRS tax auditor who one day begins hearing a voice who narrates every single humdrum aspect of his life. That voice is Kay Eiffel (played by Emma Thompson), a reclusive and cynical novelist trying to finish her novel about a man named... Harold Crick. Meanwhile, as the voice begins to disrupt his usual routines, Harold seeks help from an eccentric literature professor (wonderfully played by Dustin Hoffman) in trying to find out if his whole life will end up as a comedy or a tragedy, while finding love with the anti-establishment baker he's trying to audit (Maggie Gyllenhaal). But just as his life seems to get much better, Kay finally emerges from her writer's block and has found a way to kill off Harold Crick, just like the main characters in her past books.

Aside from the Kaufman and Pirandello influences in storytelling, the film also borrows elements from Joe Versus the Volcano (male protagonist becomes a hero in facing his own impending death), Harold and Maude (a person with a fascination for death and gloom rediscovers the passion for life from another person), Groundhog Day (protagonist goes through a period of self-improvement and finds a newfound appreciation in life brought about by a strange disturbance) and even Brazil (bureaucrat escapes from his humdrum existence and undergoes a series of surreal misadventures). The music in the film is also worth listening, a mixture of the old and the new. Check out the scene with Will's character playing Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World" on the guitar.

Also would like to add the fact that Tom Hulce was almost unrecognizable in his first film role in years.

2006-11-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

Move over Republican Revolution, the DEMOCRATIC DOMINATION has just begun. After 12 years in the wilderness, the Democrats finally regained all houses of Congress from the GOP. They gained at least 30 seats in the House of Representatives, bringing them a majority of at least 232 seats (with only a few races yet to be called). In the Senate, Jim Webb's close victory over incumbent George Allen of Virginia gave the Democrats a slim majority of 51-49 in the chamber (the number includes 2 independents who caucus with the Democrats: Vermont's Bernie Sanders and Connecticut's Joe Lieberman, who had lost the Democratic primary for his support of the Iraqi conflict but subsequently defeated Democratic challenger Ned Lamont). Other than Virginia, the Democrats won the Senate seats previously held by the GOP in Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island (ironically, the incumbent Lincoln Chafee was one of the few Republicans who opposed the Iraqi conflict and Bush's policies) while holding on to open seats previously held by Democrats in Maryland, Minnesota, and New Jersey. The Democrats were in control of nearly every congressional district in New England (comprising the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) with the exception of Christopher Shays of Connecticut, thus making him the only Republican from that area. In the gubernatorial elections, the two parties switched numbers with the 28 states now in control by Democratic governors and 22 still with GOP governors, a difference of 6 governorships. Ted Strickland became Ohio's first Democratic governor in about 16 years. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts became not only the state's first Democratic governor since Michael Dukakis, he was also the state's first black governor and only the second in the nation (after L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia). And Eliot Spitzer, the state attorney general well known for his crackdowns on corporate crime, won a landslide to replace Republican George Pataki as the governor of New York.

Despite the victories, the Democrats also suffered a few setbacks. Here in California, which has generally been a blue state (especially with 2 Jewish female Democratic senators representing it), Arnold Schwarzenegger easily defeated the Democratic challenger, state treasurer Phil Angelides. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. of Tennessee lost his bid to replace Republican Sen. Bill Frist (then the Majority Leader) and become the first black senator from the South since the Reconstruction in light of a negative ad run by his opponent, deemed racially insensitive by many. And Tammy Duckworth, a decorated Iraq veteran who lost both legs in combat, lost in a close House race in Illinois, though there might be a possibility of a 2008 rematch.

The election produced lots of political firsts: Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, formerly the House minority leader, became the first female Speaker of the House in US history. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada became the first Mormon Senate Majority Leader. Keith Ellison of Minnesota became the first Muslim ever elected to Congress, while Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Hank Johnson of Georgia became the first Buddhists elected to a US governing body. By the time the 110th US Congress convenes next year, there will be 16 female senators (a record number), 13 Jewish senators, 1 black senator (Barack Obama of Illinois, elected in 2004), 3 Hispanic senators, 2 Asian senators (both representing Hawaii), 71 female representatives (including new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi), 42 black representatives (non-voting delegates included), 30 Jewish representatives (Eric Cantor of Virginia is the lone Republican), 27 Hispanic representatives, 4 Asian/Pacific Islander representatives (including Fil-Am Robert C. Scott of Virginia), and one Native American representative (Tom Cole of Oklahoma).

Not every single Democratic incumbent lost their seat, not every single open seat left by the Democrats was taken over by the GOP, and not every single Republican candidate won (except for some open seats previously held by Republicans), as evidenced by this map showing the results of the Senate and gubernatorial races (SENATE- Light red= Republican hold, Blue green= Democrat hold, Dark blue= Democrat pickup, Light yellow= Independent hold, Bright yellow= Independent pickup/GOVERNORS- Dark red= Republican hold, Dark blue= Democratic hold, Light blue= Democratic pickup):

The new House composition (Blue= Democrat, Red= Republican):

The new Senate composition (Blue= 2 Democrats, Red= 2 Republicans, Purple = 1 from each party):

Hawaii currently has 2 Democratic senators and Alaska has 2 Republican senators.

The new party control of the state governors (Blue= Democrat, Red= Republican):

Also of interesting note, the incumbent congressmen Stephen Colbert personally interviewed for his popular "Better Know A District" segment in The Colbert Report all won re-election with the exception of Major Owens of New York, who had retired his seat this year. This also includes non-voting representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington D.C. (subject of one of the great BKAD segments) and Donna Christian-Christensen of the US Virgin Islands. Norton, along with another BKAD subject, Robert Wexler of Florida (who had ran unopposed and "admitted" to enjoying cocaine & hookers on the show), later appeared in the special midterm episode. When some congressmen refused to appear on the segment in the midst of the campaign season, Colbert interviewed their respective challengers instead. Unlike the incumbents, only one of the challengers won, former Orleans lead singer John Hall who now represents New York's 19th district. Hall re-appeared on the show after his victory and sang an a cappela rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner with Colbert.

Colbert, in his "Stephen Colbert" mode, launches into a brilliant absurd rant in reaction to the Democratic victories before walking out (but later coming back) from his show:

His first "Word" segment on the first day of the Democratic Domination:

And to cap it all off, a special In Memoriam video for the Republican majority:

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To "celebrate" the Democratic victories, I was finally able to catch the new film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhtan (check the first 4 minutes here). It had been sold out due to its limited release but has since expanded to many theaters. The film stars Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for his wannabe-gangsta rapper character Ali G and as gay French race car driver Jean Girard in the Will Ferrell film Talladega Nights, as Borat Sagdiyev, a naive, bigoted yet affable journalist from Kazakhtan who journeys across America and along the way encounters many people who in the process obliviously express their prejudices on film.

OK, so what if many of the people who appeared in the film are filing lawsuits against him, not to mention that he duped an entire Romanian village. Was it mean spirited? Yes. Was it offensive? Yes, but to prove a point like South Park. Was it hilarious? Did it satisfy me? Was it worth the price of admission? You're goddamn right it was! This is hands down one of the funniest films of the year, no wait... make it the decade... no! the 21st century! Hmmm... let's just make it of all time! Baron Cohen delivered with his semi-improvised performance and is definitely up there with the likes of Andy Kaufman, The Marx Brothers, the Termite Terrace gang, John Waters, and Joe Dante as a master in comic anarchy.

2006-11-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

Today is midterm elections in the United States. All 435 US House seats and 1/3 of the US Senate plus 36 state governorships are up for grabs. The Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to regain control of the House (currently controlled by the GOP 232-202-1) over the Republicans and at least 6 in the Senate (also GOP-controlled 55-44-1). While the House victory seems assured, they face a tough battle in the Senate with the GOP in 5 key seats, with 3 being considered very close to call (Montana, Missouri, and Virginia).

The 2004 maps of presidential electoral votes and popular votes by county (Blue= Kerry, Red= Bush):

NY Times 2006 Election Guide

Let's just hope for a miracle of change in the political horizon.

2006-11-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

What do you do after you made up with the guy who won an Emmy for which you were heavily favored and deserved to win?

You sing a duet with him, as in the case of Stephen Colbert and Barry Manilow (complete with misty camera effects and split screen):

Plus, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann offers his thoughts on John Kerry's recent joke controversy. Powerful stuff that deserves to be spread all over the Web in light of the close midterm elections here. (Backup link in case it gets pulled off of YouTube)

2006-11-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

2 clips from The Colbert Report:

Randy Newman performing his song "Political Science" on the show. What was once composed as an ironic satire of American foreign policy in the '70s has become a reflection of the current perception of the rest of the world to American power, just as the film Network was way ahead of its time in skewering the state of television entertainment.

This next clip has Stephen Colbert commenting on the YouTube purge of Daily Show/Colbert Report clips via his "Word" segment. It was then recently reported that Viacom (parent company of Comedy Central, which airs those programs) has since reinstated those clips.

2006-10-31T16:58:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

To celebrate the occassion, I present to you an mp3 of the infamous original radio broadcast of Orson Welles' adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, which caused a panic all around America by people who believed they were being invaded by aliens (or Nazis in some cases).

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells as performed by Orson Welles & the Mercury Theater on the Air (Oct. 30, 1938)

The original script can be found here.

And now let's do the time warp AGAIN!

2006-10-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

My uncle sent me this narrative poem he wrote about his experiences visiting The Big Apple (lucky him!) that I'm now sharing to you, with some minor grammatic edits:

It would be unconscionable to leave New York City
without writing a thing about the buildings in Manhattan,
the view from the ground
as an ant would have seen in her lifetime;

Tenderloins of steel, cubed by the enemies of trees.

I cannot fight it any longer
My muses rattle my fingers
Taxi dancers pressing my thighs
Searching for a pen...
Good! a computer right behind my back
on the second floor of a café on ___st street Queens.

I am just another tourist from Baltimore
Came all the way from Burbank, you know
Universal Studios and all, the sunny weather and all,
But they’re not enough to beat Manhattan.

Forever I shall remember
The torsos of the general public of NY Republic
Brushing their bones against mine
As I pelted hyperactive as a horny coed
Unto the arrowhead of humanity coming to me
Wave after wave after wave.
"Come on", my companion said,
"Hop inside my twin-turboed Volvo and avoid the crowd... C’mon!"
In vain.

The pavement is fodder for my feet,
the warriors and blacks and immigrants in the crowd gave me a high.
"Come to your senses, come on let's use the car."
In vain.

I escaped from the Volvo and walked towards Grand Central Station,
Ogling the ceiling, looking down the newspapaers stacked on the floor
I traipsed like an Aussie aborigine along 5th Avenue.
Went inside a building and watched Ciani’s egg paintings.
Those bloody eggs only made me hungry.

Why were the street names numbers?
45th, 73rd, Sharon Stone and my blacksheep
Uncle’s age displayed for motorists who think its cool to be young.
But why challenge youth? They’ll find out soon
its a lie and a trap and negative.
Forget time and just be glamorous like Manhattan.
I will be leaving New York City happy as a child,
I wasn't in love
Therefore I was not a sorry sight, Agatha.

TOY LLAGUNO
Vorhees, NJ
October 23/06

2006-10-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

I have an interesting theory on time travel. I'm not sure if a scientist has already come up with this, but this is a theory that makes time travelling a little bit more plausible (though there could be flaws, as most theories go).

Imagine that the world's first time machine has been built, and as a test, their first act of historical alteration is to let's say prevent JFK's assassination. So the scientists go back to the past to stop the event from happening, but do they really go back to the past?

The activation of the time travel apparatus creates a cosmic disturbance which splits the galaxy into two, creating two duplicate galaxies (just like how an amoeba would split). The scientists end up in the clone dimension unaware of what has happened, where they successfully prevent JFK's death yet their actions are not felt in our present world because their action have occurred in the duplicate universe.

So they go back to their previous time, however this creates another disturbance that leads to the creation of another duplicate dimension, based on the one they just came from (now slightly altered post-1963). They return to their time, where they celebrate the fruits of their labor. Many people now begin time travelling on a regular basis, unaware of the fact that they can never go back to their "original" dimension.

Back in our dimension, the scientists never came back home, after months of investigations surrounding their disappearance, they were declared dead by the government citing a possible freak accident involving the apparatus that literally wiped out all signs of their existence. Time travel has been rendered impossible to perform. Back in dimension 3, many families are still waiting for their loved ones to come back from their "history trips" while a class-action lawsuit against the people behind the time travel technology is brewing.

So what I'm trying to say is that it is possible to witness history unfold and alter the course of events, only big consequence is we can never really go back home, since we just jump forward into the clone dimensions of our own makings.

For a while, I'll be tentatively calling this the "Infinity Jump" theory until I could come up with a slightly interesting name.

Any queries?

2006-10-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

Something my sister found in her closet in our new house.

I might bring this to my audio production class sometime just for the sake of playing it.

2006-10-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post, been busy with my classes, watching as many indie movies as possible in Pasadena, and reviving my MySpace account. Still disappointed that my plans to go to New York City this month didn't push through. I feel like I want to break out of my apathy and just shout out loud "FUCK!" for a long time at the heavens. Even my trip to San Francisco during the Labor Day weekend was somewhat disappointing, I was able to go to Fisherman's Wharf (where I ate clam chowder served on a sourdough bread bowl) and pass the Golden Gate and Oakland Bay bridges, and that was about it. Never rode the cable cars, never visited Alcatraz (where my sister met filmmaker Peter Jackson when she went there early this year), never made a pilgrimage to Haight-Ashbury (center of Flower Power/Summer of Love '67), never bought or read a book in City Lights Bookstore (a monument to the Beat Generation), never took the 49-Mile Scenic Drive or went through the twists and turns of Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world). So now I plan on not just going to NYC and again to San Francisco, I'm also thinking of going back to the Philippines sometime in January (spring semester starts on February so there's time).

BTW, this is also the first post I'm making from my new room in my new house in Valencia (part of the city of Santa Clarita) since the previous one was done in the college library, still using the same CPU as the old PC but with a new wall-mounted plasma monitor which actually once belonged to my sister's boyfriend.

Oh and speaking of MySpace, I noticed that some of my fellow Bonakidz who have MySpace haven't logged in for almost a year or two. While I (and the rest of the Bonakidz) still use Friendster regularly, I think MySpace is a little bit better and more popular now than the former.

Also, with Google's recent $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube, it's nice to hear that Google Video and YouTube will still remain separate independent entities rather than turn to GoogTube. Their union could make an impact on the future of the Internet, particularly the path Web 2.0 is heading. Let's just hope YouTube doesn't turn into Napster and pander to the big media companies in light of the copyright infringement issues to the point where they now charge their service. And to think YouTube has been only in existence for only a year now, and they sure have come a long way from Lazy Sunday. Someday I'm gonna invest myself on that sweet Google stock.

2006-09-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

Today's my birthday, and that is all.

Thought I might share this recent video of Bill Clinton ripping Fox News a new one.

2006-09-10T23:35:00.000-07:00

A while back, this band called OK Go released this cool music video that soon developed a cult following on the Internet:

Now they're back with a much more elaborate video that's become a bigger hit on the Web (they even reprised their performance at the recent VMAs):

Interesting to note that the one lip-synching is not the lead singer but rather the bass player, and that the choreography for the videos were all done by the lead singer's sister.

But nothing still beats Spike Jonze's video for Fatboy Slim's Praise You (guerrilla filmmaking at its finest):

Bonus points: The lead dancer is played by the director himself.

2006-08-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

Just started my first week of classes yesterday at my new school The College of the Canyons. My first class was on the subject of improvisation, which was a challenging, tiresome, yet fun experience for me. Since my family hasn't moved yet in our new home at Valencia/Santa Clarita, I'm temporarily staying at the house of my sister's boyfriend's family, who have been very kind and generous to me as I try to behave as properly as a houseguest should.

And I might be going to San Francisco for the first time this Labor Day weekend.

2006-08-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Saw the touring production of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (based on the Frank Oz film starring Steve Martin & Michael Caine which was itself a remake of a '60s Marlon Brando-David Niven film called Bedtime Story) at the Pantages last Saturday. Despite being 15 minutes late and missing the new opening song they made especially for the tour, it didn't dampen my overall enjoyment of the show. Norbert Leo Butz was a live wire reprising his Tony-winning role as the crass young con man Freddy Benson (originally played in the films by Martin and Brando) to the delight of the audience. He was so much full of energy on stage that he basically stole the whole show from the equally talented cast. This is evident in his first song "Great Big Stuff" (the low quality video was taken from the original Broadway production):

After that I bought the soundtrack and went home. All I had to say was I had a ball, I had a blast, and it was a shame it couldn't last, to paraphrase a lyric from one of the song. And I was lucky since I just learned the Broadway production will be closing next month.

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Lately for the past few weeks, I have been riding the Metro train going to LA and Pasadena, sometimes by myself, sometimes with my uncle or dad or mom, and it's been a really enjoyable experience despite taking long to reach LA from my nearest station in Long Beach. At least I get to go out a lot even despite the hot weather.

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So Pluto is no longer a planet, which means my very eager mother served us noodles instead of the usual Neapolitan pizza. Oh well, at least technically it's still a planet, only its now a dwarf planet which could lead to further discrimination in the solar system for the likes of Xena or Ceres.

2006-08-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

Philippines declares war on invading catfish, other "alien species"

The headline is worth a chuckle, so now the government is going after xenomorphs and Wookies alongside Islamic terrorists?

2006-08-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hilarious article about Wikipedia from The Onion

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More Mel Gibson madness, courtesy of The Daily Show:

2006-08-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

Dammit! The recent Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris is closing on September, and to think I was planning to see it when my family goes to New York on October (their contracts were until Thanksgiving). First The Light in the Piazza (good thing I saw the PBS broadcast plus there's an upcoming LA production), now this. So I'm only left with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Drowsy Chaperone, Spamalot, Wicked, and Jersey Boys to look forward on the Great White Way. I would add Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but I decided to watch the touring production at the Pantages instead which has the added bonus of Norbert Leo Butz reprising his Tony Award-winning role.

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Mel Gibson's recent drunk driving arrest where he said some rather offensive things about the Jews reminds me of the classic South Park episode "The Passion of the Jew". Here's a clip from that episode showing crazy Mel Gibson in action:

2006-07-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like me and my family will be moving very far next month from Long Beach to Valencia before my sister goes back to the Philippines for vacation (lucky girl!). It sucks coz I already registered for fall in Long Beach City College months earlier and I'm expecting the next check for my financial aid a week before classes begin next month. It's complicated leaving with classes still not taken and having to transfer to another college to finish them, as well as the uncertainty of whether I'll still be getting financial aid due to this unfortunate turn of events. We were already finding homes in the past weeks, but the fact that we will actually be moving next month caught me by surprise and felt kinda rushed. And I really want to transfer to Cal State Long Beach.

On the other hand, Valencia is a great place (learn more about it here). The nearby community college (College of the Canyons) is just a bus ride away from our location. Valencia is the location of Six Flags Magic Mountain (which may be closing in the future) and a great educational institution called the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts for short). CalArts alumni over the years have included Tim Burton, Sofia Coppola, Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman), and Don Cheadle. It's more well-known as the breeding ground of some of the finest animators working today, like Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Lab, Samurai Jack), Craig McCracken (The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends), Stephen Hillenburg (SpongeBob SquarePants), Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou), and most of the people in Pixar (John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Ralph Eggleston, etc.). It just got easier for me to find another alternative of a school to transfer next once I finish my associate degree.

2006-07-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

Well, looks like Mayon is erupting again. Ha ha, para yatang nainggit sa paporma ni Bulusan.

Reading the article linked above as well as the related pieces about the eruption, it was only until now did I notice the person in the byline: Ephraim Aguilar. Apparently he's now working for the Inquirer after having graduated from Bicol University. Ephraim was one of the people I worked with on The Agnesian back when I was in high school. He was one of the people who consoled me and boosted my spirits whenever I would go onto a crying fit after getting teased and bullied. I hope he keeps up the good work and good luck on his future endeavors.

Boy, this sure brings back memories of my days as a campus journalist, writing articles while hanging out in the "office" exchanging barbs with fellow staffers and pestering my moderators with ideas on improving the publication that never saw the light (like a lampoon issue) because they were so out there not to mention the budget constraints. The best thing I ever did in The Agnesian was a well-researched article on the history of SAA based on the limited resources I could find, wherein I was able to trace the actual origins of The Agnesian back in 1950 (the grade school equivalent came around the '70s). It had always bug me that the volume number corresponded to the school's year of existence rather than the student paper's. When I made the discovery, I forced them to get rid of the volume number and in its place "Since 1950" (I wonder if they still retained it today?) was put instead. When I received a medal during my high school graduation for my work in The Agnesian, I felt I truly deserved it considering I was the very first of my batch to write for the school paper and that was in 1996, when I was the only one from grade 3 in the Junior Agnesian staff. By the time I was in grade 6, I was the associate editor and had placed 4th place in a school division writing competition in the sportswriting category (something I never really had interest writing about). Although nowadays I tend to focus more on writing scripts rather than articles, my journalistic "legacy" lives on through this blog. Long live citizen journalism!

And Siddharta Perez, probably the youngest to become the editor-in-chief of The Agnesian back when we were in second year (normally reserved for seniors) and the only person to hold the position twice (again in our senior year), now has a new blog.

2006-07-04T23:47:00.000-07:00

Today is the 4th of July, and considering the occassion, here's an interesting site that shows a safe and better way to celebrate during holidays.

You just need a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke and some Mentos to begin.

Have fun!

2006-07-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

Watching Manny Pacquiao on pay-per-view win (as always) his fight against Oscar Larios, something surreal caught my attention. There were ads adorned all over his boxing shorts, and he even put on a red cap with the McDonald's logo, making him a walking advertisement akin to NASCAR drivers. What's next, are they gonna tattoo their brands on him? In fact, when he was being interviewed with his usual carabao English, I was expecting him to say: "And to all my fans, go watch the movie based on my life, now showing in theaters everywhere."

2006-07-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

After a very long deliberation in my head, here's a list of my top 25 films of 2006, so better late than never:

1. King Kong
2. Batman Begins
3. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
4. Munich
5. Good Night, and Good Luck
6. Brokeback Mountain
7. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
8. War of the Worlds
9. Sin City
10. Howl's Moving Castle
11. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
12. The Producers
13. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
14. Walk the Line
15. (tie) Corpse Bride/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
16. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
17. Rent
18. Thumbsucker
19. Syriana
20. Match Point
21. Kung Fu Hustle
22. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
23. Lord of War 2
24. Memoirs of a Geisha
25. The Brothers Grimm

Also enjoyed: Elizabethtown, Red Eye, Wedding Crashers, Madagascar, The Longest Yard, The Family Stone

2006-06-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

Interesting article on the future of film criticism

2006-06-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today's the happiest day of the year, so enjoy!

2006-06-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Noel Vera for linking my blog on his site. To the uninitiated, Noel Vera is a Filipino film critic who regularly posts his reviews online and in publications like Business World. While I don't normally agree with some of his reviews, I think they're all well-written, filled with wit, and he provides strong passionate arguments. I love his various assessments of Miyazaki's films.
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I haven't been posting a lot lately, since I've been busy preparing for summer classes and I've been engorging myself in some summer reading. In fact, it had been a while since I've read a true book. For the last two years, I've been indulging myself in DVDs, CDs, the Internet, TV, but except for the occassional non-fiction stuff and graphic novels, never books of true fiction. It wasn't until I had to read Tim O'Brien's "In The Lake of the Woods" for my English class did I reignite my passion to read. So as summer was starting, I decided to pick a challenging book to read to pass most of my time during our brief weekend in Vegas and before summer classes began. That book was John Irving's "The World According to Garp".

I had actually seen the film adaptation with Robin Williams earlier, which piqued my curiosity about the book it was based on. After finishing the book, all I can say is that while the film delivered great performances from the cast (Williams, Glenn Close, Mary Beth Hurt, and John Lithgow), I thought it kinda oversimplified the plot and took so many liberties of what happens to be a very complex and interesting novel. Well, I guess it was for the better though, having finally read the book.

T.S. Garp is truly a very interesting character, as the novel chronicles in a Dickensian fashion his life's beginnings, escapades, passions, deceptions, temptations, insecurities, successes, failures, and finally his sudden death. Along the way, we encounter many characters of varying eccentricity that would play a role in the development of the person he would become and would ultimately shape his destiny. Aside from his feminist mother Jenny Fields (whom you might consider the novel might also be all about, from the very early chapters), there is also his wife Helen and their children, the lovable transsexual Roberta Muldoon, his publisher John Wolf, the rape victim Ellen James and a host of others of almost Felliniesque proportions. Sex, wrestling, writing, Vienna, and radical feminism are some of the recurring themes found throughout the novel. We are also treated to glimpses of Garp's work as a writer, notably his short story "The Pension Grillparzer".

"The World According to Garp" is a very engaging read, though it may not be for the faint of heart. Truly a great tale of "lunacy and sorrow", as one of the characters put it.

As for the next book I'm gonna read, it's either Mitch Albom's "The 5 People You Meet In Heaven" or Michael Chabon's "The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay". After reading "Garp", I might probably go for some lighter fare (in this case, Albom's).

2006-05-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

Article written online by my cousin Maya from Italy. (You might need to translate it to English)

2006-04-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Today's the 2nd anniversary of my blog, so in "celebration", I present for your humble viewing Peter Gabriel's classic 80's video "Sledgehammer" (with animation by Aardman, the studio behind Wallace & Gromit). Enjoy!

2006-04-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

the Ham
(38% dark, 50% spontaneous, 36% vulgar)

your humor style:
CLEAN SPONTANEOUS LIGHT

Your style's goofy, innocent and feel-good. Perfect for parties and for the dads who chaperone them. You can actually get away with corny jokes, and I bet your sense of humor is a guilty pleasure for your friends. People of your type are often the most approachable and popular people in their circle. Your simple & silly good-naturedness is immediately recognizable, and it sets you apart in this sarcastic world.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Will Ferrell - Will Smith

The 3-Variable Funny Test!
- it rules -

If you're interested, try my best friend's best test: The Genghis Khan Genetic Fitness Masterpiece

2006-04-13T23:48:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of my long permanent stay here in the US, and how did I celebrate? A dental appointment where I had a filling replaced and later watching the college production of Romeo & Juliet for my screenwriting class in the evening.

2006-04-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

FAN BOY (or GIRL)

You scored 56% film snobbery.

You are very likely passionate and very knowledgeable about certain types of films or genres and strongly prefer them over all the others. You are very likely either a huge fan of franchise flicks like "Lord of the Rings", "Star Wars", "Spider-Man" or "Harry Potter" or of certain specialized genres like horror or anime. You are at times close-minded over anything else about film.

How Big Of A Film Snob Are You? Take the test here.

2006-03-18T23:58:00.000-08:00

Kevin "Silent Bob" Smith shares a hiarious anecdote about his experiences working on the aborted Superman Lives project that was supposed to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage in the title role. (Medyo mahaba ito)

Incidentally, Jon Peters is still attached as the producer for the upcoming Superman Returns. I wonder if they will still be using his earlier ideas.

2006-03-17T20:27:00.000-08:00

SOUTH PARK vs. TOM CRUISE & THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

It's on!!!

After Isaac Hayes (the voice of Chef) recently quit the show over last November's episode that poked fun at Scientology (of which he is a follower), fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise (who was a target of that particular episode) successfully had a re-run of the episode pulled after he threatened a boycott in promoting his upcoming film Mission: Impossible 3 (Comedy Central, which airs the show; and Paramount Pictures, which produced Cruise's film; are owned by the same company). In retaliation, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the brilliant minds behind this twisted animated satire (which will begin its 10th season next week); gave this dignified statement:

"So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!"

--- Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu

To learn more about Scientology, go to this link here. And to watch the controversial episode for free, go here (Flash required, it also takes time to load depending on the length and connection). Don't worry about the ramifications, Trey and Matt don't give a damn about "illegal" downloading (as illustrated in that classic episode where Cartman becomes a Christian rock artist).

2006-03-12T23:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a week since the Oscars and I'm still shocked by the sudden Best Picture win of Crash over Brokeback Mountain. Good Night, and Good Luck and Munich were also far better than Crash. I also find the Avenue Q song "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" to present a clearer and better anti-racism message than that film. People (including yours truly) have been complaining lately about the predictability of the winners, but they should know to be careful of what they wish for.

Jon Stewart was hilarious throughout the show (you can check the opening here) and I think the critics are pretty unfair about his performance (same even goes to last year's host Chris Rock). Hope he comes back for seconds.

I'm not normally a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, but this American Express commercial he did during the Oscars is probably the best work he's ever did.

How I scored with my predictions:

Best Picture

Will win: Brokeback Mountain
Should win: Munich
Honorary mention: Good Night, and Good Luck
(THE WINNER: Crash)

Best Actor

Will win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Should win: Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
Honorary mention: David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Actress

Will/should win: Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor

Will win: Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Should win: Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
Honorary mention: George Clooney, Syriana

Best Supporting Actress

Will/should win: Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Honorary mention: Amy Adams, Junebug

Best Director

Will win: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Should win: George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Honorary mention: Steven Spielberg, Munich

Best Original Screenplay

Will win: Crash
Should win: Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will win: Brokeback Mountain
Should win: Munich

Best Animated Feature

Will win: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Should win: Howl's Moving Castle
Honorary mention: Corpse Bride

Best Cinematography

Will win: Brokeback Mountain
Should win: Good Night, and Good Luck
(THE WINNER: Memoirs of a Geisha)

Best Film Editing

Will win: Crash
Should win: Munich
Honorary mention: Walk the Line

Best Art Direction

Will win: Memoirs of a Geisha
Should win: King Kong
Honorary mention: Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Costume Design

Will/should win: Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Original Score

Will win: Gustavo Santaolalla, Brokeback Mountain
Should win: John Williams, Munich

Best Original Song

Will/should win: "Travelin' Thru", Transamerica
(THE WINNER: "It's Hard Out There For A Pimp", Hustle & Flow)

Best Makeup

Will/should win: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Honorary mention: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Best Sound Mixing

Will win: King Kong
Should win: War of the Worlds
Honorary mention: Walk the Line

Best Sound Editing

Will win: King Kong
Should win: War of the Worlds

Best Visual Effects

Will/should win: King Kong
Honorary mention: War of the Worlds

Best Foreign Language Film

Will win: Paradise Now, Palestine
Should win: Tsotsi, South Africa

Best Documentary Feature

Will win: March of the Penguins
Should win: Murderball

2006-03-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

Natalie Portman, Oscar nominated and Harvard educated actress, lets it all out gangsta style!

---

Funny excerpt from a book by this year's Oscar host Jon Stewart ("Naked Pictures of Famous People", p.99-105) :

The Recipe

The following recipe comfortably serves three to four thousand with room for a television viewing audience. For smaller events cut the production number and halve the presenters.

START WITH:

ONE VIBRANT, ELABORATELY COSTUMED DANCE NUMBER SET TO A MEDLEY OF POPULAR HITS. AS MUSIC SWELLS TO A CRESCENDO BRING THE DANCING TO AN ABRUPT CLIMAX. END MUSIC. ADD AUDIENCE APPLAUSE AND BOOMING INTRODUCTION OF THE WELL-RESPECTED, ACERBIC HOST. PLAY HOST'S SIGNATURE THEME SONG. CONTINUE APPLAUSE. CROSS HOST TO PODIUM. END MUSIC AND APPLAUSE.

HOST: General greetings and a query as to the audience's well-being. Affirmation of audience's well-being. Statement of own well-being. Survey of surroundings. Improvised analogy comparing surroundings to different surroundings. Sarcastic jab at expected length of proceedings.

PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER.

HOST: Confusion about actions of government officials. Statement of proposed personal action if given opportunity to govern.

PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER. IF LAUGHTER IS NOT FORTHCOMING:

HOST: Recognition of power and ability among audience. Statement of fear over possible consequences failure to entertain said powers would entail.

IF LAUGHTER IS FORTHCOMING:

HOST: Query as to audience's familiarity with behavior of recently disgraced cultural icon. Incredulity and displeasure at said behavior. Command for icon to discontinue behavior. Statement of new product created as a result of icon's behavior.

PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER.

HOST: Praise of audience for responsiveness and sense of humor. Query as to their readiness for program's continuation. Introduction of two participants who will begin process of bestowing honors: an unattractive, humorous male renowned for his portrayal of other unattractive, humorous males, and a female of great physical beauty who has achieved fame for her skill in walking while wearing newly designed expensive clothing.

ADD MUSIC AND APPLAUSE AS HOST LEAVES STAGE. BRING HUMOROUS MAN AND BEAUTIFUL WOMAN TO PODIUM. STOP APPLAUSE AND MUSIC.

MAN: (To woman) Compliment concerning sexual attractiveness.

WOMAN: (Stilted, as though reading aloud) Acceptance and return of compliment.

MAN: Lurid sexual innuendo. Winking proposition with broad physical gesturing.

WOMAN: (Stilted, as though reading aloud) Unusually intelligent rebuke of said proposition.

MAN: Surprise at intelligence of rebuke. Feigned lack of disappointment at rebuke. Conceited statement of missed sexual opportunity for the woman, again with broad physical gesturing.

PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER AMONG AUDIENCE AND PRESENTERS.

WOMAN: Query as to the identity of author of previously read statements and indictment of their ability. List of possible honorees.

STAND MAN AND WOMAN ASIDE. SHOW EACH POSSIBLE HONOREE PERFORMING THE TASK FOR WHICH THEY ARE TO BE HONORED. SHOW ALL PRESENT POSSIBLE HONOREES IN THE AUDIENCE WAITING FOR THE RESULT OF THEIR EFFORT.

MAN: (Opening a sealed correspondence) Announcement of the one true honoree.

GREAT REJOICING AMONG THE BELIEVERS IN THE VERDICT. REFLECTION AND BITTER QUESTIONING AMONG THE OTHERS. BRING THE HONORED ONE TO THE STAGE TO BE LAUDED. A FEMALE OF SURGICALLY ENHANCED SEXUAL ATTRACTIVENESS HANDS A TOTEM OF ACHIEVEMENT TO THE HONOREE, WHO GRASPS IT WITH GREAT REVERENCE. AUDIENCE APPLAUSE.

HONOREE: Breathless surprise. Self-effacing remark concerning previous outcomes of similar events. Feigned lack of preparation. Expression of gratitude for inventors of the totem as well as constituents of totem. Expression of gratitude for believers in verdict. Expression of gratitude for members of blood lineage and Supreme Exalted Being. Expression of gratitude for creators of shown task. Expression of regret concerning those who have not received expressions of gratitude. Statement of nonharmful intent for those who have not received gratitude. Plea for group subjected to persecution to no longer be subject to said persecution.

SWELL MUSIC.

HONOREE: Regret at musical interruption and self-criticism at lack of organizational and communication skills. Sudden remembrance of those still in need of expressions of gratitude.

DIM MUSIC SLIGHTLY.

HONOREE: Fear of further recrimination if closing remarks are not forthcoming. Hurried expression of love for those present, viewing or being.

SWELL MUSIC. AUDIENCE APPLAUSE. HONOREE IS ESCORTED AWAY BY PRESENTERS WHILE DISPLAYING TOTEM TO THE AUDIENCE. HOST APPEARS.

HOST: Perceptive remark concerning unexpected length and emotional tenor of honoree's presentation. Example of previous presentation famous for such characteristics.

PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER.

HOST: Introduction of corpulent woman, well known for recognizing and satirizing her physical condition, and an adolescent known for contracting a fatal illness.

REPEAT AS NECESSARY.

Editor's note: This ancient recipe was found in 1982 by archeologists on a Peruvian dig, outside the fabled Mayan city of Atachupulay...ay. It is but one of the many startling discoveries included in a new work by Erich Van Daniken entitled Weird, Huh? continuing his exhaustive efforts to prove the existence of alien visitations. This recipe, translated from its original Mayan glyph in 1985 by a really smart lady, was printed on parchment that dates back four thousand years. The parchment is made from the intestines of rare Andes mountain goats and although it was not dated scientifically, the feeling within the scientific community was, you had to be very primitive to still be writing on the guts and shit inside of a goat. Originally thought to be a recipe for using the rest of the goat, it soon turned out to be a more important find. The recipe details all the necessary ingredients of a successful entertainment industry awards show -- a full three to four thousand years before the existence of entertainment! Could the Mayans, a tribe that had only barely mastered the use of a sundial, have predicted this phenomenon... or did visitors arrive from the heavens bearing knowledge of an advanced civilization? Perhaps the truth will never be known.

2006-02-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

Jessica Zafra has a pretty funny yet interesting theory in her blog about the current state of emergency in the Philippines and its relation to previous historical events.

So the Philippines is one living, breathing mindfuck movie in the making? I would pay good money to see it in its entirety, although I already know the ending which, as most Filipino films have done, has copied from a classic film, in this case, Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (you know what I mean).

Also, the MTRCB has found the show "South Park" to be very offensive. [sarcasm] Wow, I'm surprised they have caught on by now! [/sarcasm] If they had taken a look at the more recent episodes (and the Oscar-nominated movie), they must understand that beyond the gross-out gags and innuendo, the show actually covers relevant social commentary in this current age. And for the love of God, keep in mind that cartoons are not made ESPECIALLY for children's entertainment only! I hope when they amend the Constitution, they pay closer attention to freedom of speech/expression, no matter how easily offended we may be when it comes to unpopular opinions (like birth control).

2006-02-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

MY ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS PREDICTIONS

Best Picture

Will win: Brokeback Mountain
Should win: Munich
Honorary mention: Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Actor

Will win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Should win: Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
Honorary mention: David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Actress

Will/should win: Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor

Will win: Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Should win: Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
Honorary mention: George Clooney, Syriana

Best Supporting Actress

Will/should win: Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Honorary mention: Amy Adams, Junebug

Best Director

Will win: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Should win: George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Honorary mention: Steven Spielberg, Munich

Best Original Screenplay

Will win: Crash
Should win: Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will win: Brokeback Mountain
Should win: Munich

Best Animated Feature

Will win: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Should win: Howl's Moving Castle
Honorary mention: Corpse Bride

Best Cinematography

Will win: Brokeback Mountain
Should win: Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Film Editing

Will win: Crash
Should win: Munich
Honorary mention: Walk the Line

Best Art Direction

Will win: Memoirs of a Geisha
Should win: King Kong
Honorary mention: Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Costume Design

Will/should win: Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Original Score

Will win: Gustavo Santaolalla, Brokeback Mountain
Should win: John Williams, Munich

Best Original Song

Will/should win: "Travelin' Thru", Transamerica

Best Makeup

Will/should win: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Honorary mention: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Best Sound Mixing

Will win: King Kong
Should win: War of the Worlds
Honorary mention: Walk the Line

Best Sound Editing

Will win: King Kong
Should win: War of the Worlds

Best Visual Effects

Will/should win: King Kong
Honorary mention: War of the Worlds

Best Foreign Language Film

Will win: Paradise Now, Palestine
Should win: Tsotsi, South Africa

Best Documentary Feature

Will win: March of the Penguins
Should win: Murderball

2006-02-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Pure Nerd

52 % Nerd, 34% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd. The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Take "The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test" now!

2006-02-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

On an unrelated note, US Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shoots a 78-year-old lawyer in the face during a hunting trip.

2006-02-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Wowowee: A Filipino tragedy

Disaster waiting to happen: Celebrities to die for

Willie Revillame, Noli de Castro, and Charo Santos appeals to the crowd

These desperate people wanted to get rich, only to end up dead or hurt trying. So sad.

Oh well, at least they set aside the stupid network wars for once.

2006-01-26T00:11:00.000-08:00

This was drawn by a former artist at Walt Disney Feature Animation after Disney announced it was buying Pixar for approximately $7.4 billion.

When I first heard the news, so many conflicting emotions ran through my head. My other thoughts about the merger:

* I do hope that with John Lasseter now in charge of both the Disney and Pixar animation studios, not only will the production of 2-D animated features resume but also the quality of those films will improve, considering the fact that he had mentioned Pixar doing a 2-D film in the future (plus the fact that he's a big Miyazaki fan may help).

* My biggest problem/fear is the risk of Pixar selling out to corporate Disney thus betraying their ideals, and whether Pixar's film slate will remain consistent both critically and commercially. I hope that never happens, then again, Steve Jobs is now the company's biggest shareholder. Oh well, better this than Michael Eisner. This could mark a new era for Disney.

* First, Dreamworks/Viacom, followed by this and WB/UPN, I wonder what's the next merger will be?

2006-01-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

My first post in the first month of 2006, I was suppose to post much earlier but I was so busy procrastinating the days before classes resume tomorrow. Anyway, let's get this over it and release the things that have been in my mind a lot lately.

---

Last month, me and my family went to Las Vegas after Christmas together with Auntie Be, Papa Toy, and Mommy Etta. We stayed at Excalibur, which was near MGM Grand where some relatives from Manila were staying. We went to watch La Reve, and I still found the time to watch the Vegas production of the irreverent Broadway musical Avenue Q by myself. Incidentally, both shows were based in one location, the brand new Wynn Las Vegas.

All I can say is, the $88 balcony ticket I paid for Avenue Q was worth it! Just imagine Sesame Street and South Park with a little pinch of Rent rolled into one (read the original NY Times review here). There are 5 words to describe the show, particularly its music: cute, catchy, funny, lively, and even touching. Not bad for a show that has the puppeteers center stage while performing their puppet characters (The Vegas production included original Broadway castmembers John Tartaglia and Rick Lyon, who also designed the puppets, so that was a plus). It deserves the 3 Tony Awards it won back in 2004 (including Best Musical over the heavy favorite Wicked). It's not for everyone though, especially if you're under 18 or just a very ultra-conservative person. But still, despite all the adult (or puppet) situations that includes puppet sex and laughing at other people's misery, the musical still offers assuring messages of hope & inspiration in making it and keeping up in the real world. This is exemplified by this lyric in the last song "For Now": "Life may be scary, but it's only temporary".

Favorite songs from the show: "It Sucks To Be Me", "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist", "The Internet Is For Porn", "There's A Fine, Fine Line", "The Money Song", "For Now"

I'm still listening to the soundtrack I downloaded online to this day. It's really that good!

---

After Vegas, I stayed with my mom at the place she was working in Pasadena so that I can watch the Rose Parade. Unlike in Vegas, the weather in Pasadena (well, most of California at that time) was very unpleasant. Heavy rains and winds may not have hampered the parade, but I got soaked wet trying to take pictures of the floats and fixing my easily wind damaged umbrella. The day before the parade, I decided to go to the nearest Starbucks to try to connect the wi-fi of my sister's laptop that I borrowed (which sadly was a failure). As I was walking to and from Starbucks, I was stopped twice by Scientologists who asked if I wanted a stress test (really!) but I gladly refused. Also, I couldn't help but notice the fiesta-like atmosphere in the streets. People enduring the drizzling rain and the cold breeze while setting up their seats, parking their RVs, basically camping overnight. They made bonfires, some set up booths that sold food and souvenirs while the rest frequent the nearby shops. The children play while the adults chatter over the weather. Brings back memories of the many fiestas I saw when I was in Bicol, only it was a lot cleaner and slightly less crowded in Pasadena. I wonder when I will go back to the Philippines? I don't think I might find the time to go back this year, but hopefully the next year, or if not, the next year and so on. I miss my former classmates, my relatives, my teachers (though it still bothers me that my GS teachers didn't go to my graduation feast even though they mentioned that they were grateful I hadn't forgotten them all this times), but not those stupid sadistic childhood bullies for whom I'm cursed to remember their ugly faces and names! But it's getting slightly off-topic, so I will stop before it goes further on.

---

2005 was also the year I was introduced to the wonder that is Hayao Miyazaki. And what better way to kick off the new year than with Turner Classic Movies' all-month marathon of Miyazaki's films (plus some other films from Studio Ghibli), some of which I haven't seen yet. I'm no otaku (the term used to describe an anime/manga geek) but the Miyazaki/Ghibli films are probably the best anime I have ever seen, the superb animation complemented by Joe Hisaishi's effective scores (he recently won a much-deserved best score award from the LA film critics for Howl's Moving Castle).

---

I've also finished reading Box Office Poison and Tricked, two graphic novels by up-and-coming sequential art talent Alex Robinson. Both these novels offer Robert Altman-style portrayals of everyday life while being populated by a host of quirky characters we are meant love, hate, or both. Tricked is by his far his most ambitious and also his easiest to read (320 pages, compared to BOP's whopping 608 pages!), as while BOP focuses on slice-of-life vignettes between a circle of friends/enemies, the latter focus on a single plot: six people's lives converge on one event that will change their lives for better or for worse. As the novel counts down to that fateful event, we are introduced to the characters and get a glimpse of their lives: a washed-up rock star, his new assistant, a counterfeiter, a lovelorn waitress, a music fan losing his grip on reality, and a young teenager looking for her long lost father. Some of their paths cross early on, and we also see the things that would motivate them in making the decisions that would drive the action of the story towards the climax. Robinson's work (as well as Craig Thompson's) is a great example that not all comics are limited only to superheroes.

---

As for my top movies of 2005? I'm still working on the final list, since I still have to check out some films before the Oscar nominations are announced.

2005-12-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

"And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty. And it stayed its hand from killing. And from that day, it was as one dead. "

Although it is common for some sequels to have the tendency to be better than the original film, it is rare for a remake to be a lot more superior than the original film. Peter Jackson's version of the 72-year-old classic King Kong is probably the ultimate film remake and also the top film of 2005 so far! The 3-hour running time and $207-million budget was worth it, I have to admit. It is a film that makes you laugh, cry, scream, cringe, and feel in awe at the same time. It's a film that has everything for everybody: action, romance, comedy, drama, horror, suspense, fantasy, and even a little touch of musicals. Jackson succeeded by paying homage to the original film that inspired him in his career, through the Depression-era setting, the subtle references in the dialogue (Carl Denham asking for an actress named Fay who is unfortunately busy working on an RKO film by Cooper), the final dedication at the end to the "original explorers of Skull Island"; as well in expanding the character development, the environment of Skull Island (The brontasaurus stampede and Kong's heart-pounding fight between 3 V-rexes are just exhilarating), and of course, the touching beauty-and-the-beast relationship between Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and the titular giant ape (Andy Serkis).

FUN FACT: Howard Shore, who had previously composed the music for Jackson's LOTR films, was the original composer and had recorded some music before he left the project due to creative differences with Jackson. He was replaced by James Newton Howard, who only had less than two months to record and compose new music for the film (this is documented in Kongisking.net). However, you can spot Shore making a cameo appearance in the film as the conductor in Kong's Broadway show.

2005-12-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

John Lennon

1940-1980

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

2005-12-03T23:41:00.000-08:00

You rule. in 15 years, you won't be as known as you
are now, but most of the people that will know
you then will like you (or else I'll beat them
with a stick). You're nice to listen to.

What band from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Interesting since lead guitarist Joey Santiago is a Filipino.

And more than 1000 hits already? Wow, what an achievement!

2005-11-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

Just for fun, I decided to make an attempt to translate the Eraserheads song "Alapaap" to English, here's the original Tagalog lyrics:

May isang umaga na tayo'y magsasama
Haya at halina sa alapaap
O anong sarap

Hanggang sa dulo ng mundo
Hanggang maubos ang ubo
Hanggang gumulong ang luha
Hanggang mahulog ang tala
Masdan mo ang aking mata
Di mo ba nakikita
Ako ngayo'y lumilipad at nasa langit na
Gusto mo ba'ng sumama?

Hindi mo na kailangan ang magtago't mahiya
Hindi mo na kailangan ang humanap ng iba
Kalimutan na muna
Ang lahat ng problema
Huminga ka ng malalim at tayo'y lalarga na
Handa na ba'ng gumala?

Ang daming bawal sa mundo
Sinasakal nila tayo
Buksan ang puso at isipan
Paliparin ang kamalayan

Masdan mo ang aking mata
Di mo ba nakikita
Ako ngayo'y lumilipad at nasa alapaap na
Gusto mo ba'ng sumama?

Now here's the English translation I did (I try to keep it in sync with the music as possible though I had trouble translating some lines to give it more sense):

There was a day when we were together
Come along, come with me to the clouds
O how good it is

Until the edge of the earth
Until the very last cough
Until the last tears roll
Until the shooting stars fall
Look very closely at my eyes
Can't you see something?
I'm flying through the very high skies right now
Would you like... to join me?

You don't need to hide or to be shy
You don't need to find somebody else
You can forget first
All of your problems
I want you to breathe deeply as we go up and away
Are you ready... to wander?

There are many things forbidden in this world
They strangle us constantly
Open your heart and your mind
Let your consciousness soar

Look very closely at my eyes
Can't you see something?
I'm flying through the very high clouds right now
Would you like... to join me?

What do you think? If all goes well, I might try translating "Ang Huling El Bimbo" next.

2005-11-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I last posted (heck, there are even some posts that I have yet to finish writing), but in case you're wondering how I'm doing, I snapped this recent photo of myself on my webcam (which I haven't even used for a while).

As you can see, my acne-covered face constitutes a mixture of ongoing raging adolescence and the ravages of insomnia (which is not necessarily a good or a bad thing). I wonder if the current cold climate may also have something to do with it.

2005-10-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

Two nights ago, I had a very strange dream. I dreamed that I was walking a long road destined to meet my former SAA classmates who have all been good to me. I first meet Tomas Cornelio near a church, we shook hands, had a brief conversation, and said goodbye to each other. But just as I was about to go forward, I encountered Jones Mortega, one of the many sadistic childhood bullies I've faced. I tend pointed at him and said "Fuck you!" then I turned the other way never completing my journey.

And that's when I woke up.

2005-09-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today marks my 18th birthday, me and my family are planning to celebrate by eating outside and buying any of the new film releases available on DVD.

Here's what occured during Sept. 27 in history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_27

Apparently, I share the same birthday as Google.

This was also the day one year from now when Jay Leno announced that Conan O'Brien will take over as host of The Tonight Show in 2009.

2005-09-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

You are a
Social Liberal
(60% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(31% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

2005-09-16T23:33:00.000-07:00

Today was my sister's 24th birthday. But back in the Philippines, a close relative of mine who died last Sept. 12 (Manila time) was laid to rest. Her name was Mercedes Margallo Locsin, but to me and the people she knew and loved, she was "Lola Edith". Wife to Jose Locsin, Sr. (My paternal grandmother's half-brother), mother to their 4 children and later the grandmother of their eventual offspring, Fatima devotee, and a friend to many. I got to spend a lot more time with her when I began to tag along with her son's family every Sunday. She may be strict at times, but I still enjoyed her company. I learned a lot from her about my family history through her vivid recollections and she help comforted me when I had this problem with bullies at school. R.I.P. Lola Edith, you'll terribly be missed as there can never be anyone like you.

2005-09-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Your film will be 45% romantic, 29% comedy, 34% complex plot, and a $ 30 million budget.

Ed Wood will get your film done waaaaay under budget, and will likely make it into a classic film of all time -- for all the wrong reasons. Let's face it, your life isn't terribly exciting to begin with, and it needs some camping up. His resume includes classics such as Plan Nine From Outer Space and Glen or Glenda? He's not afraid to tackle controversial topics, and may insist on portraying a transvestite in your film -- even if you've never seen a transvestite before. He was immortalized in the Academy Award winning Tim Burton film, Ed Wood -- go see it.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 16% on action-romance

You scored higher than 15% on humor

You scored higher than 41% on complexity

You scored higher than 39% on budget

Link: The Director Who Films Your Life Test written by bingomosquito on Ok Cupid