Miss Potter (a review)

MISS POTTER

Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor,Emily Watson

Lovely. Cute. And the farm with a small dwelling house (where half of the scenes were shot) is a perfect place for someone who wants to get away from the noisy city life.

The film is about Beatrix Potter, who would rather stay single than be married to someone she does not love (this idea is also backed by her bestfriend Millie Warne portrayed by Watson. You should listen to her narrate the only 2 good things men can do and the so many hideous things they can make to the lives of their wives...). But Norman Warne (played by McGregor), the publisher of her first book, is just too good-looking to be consistent. And just as when she has become so head-over-heels in love with the guy, he dies.

So back to being single. But Potter, no matter how much her mom insisted that every woman should marry and she was not an exception, was already happy being with her friends—the animal characters of her children’s books. See, it all boils down to one thing—happiness.

But the story has quite a happy ending for Miss Potter.

No. This real story does not hit home.

Beautiful People

America Ferrera Katherine Heigl Patrick Dempsey Drew Barrymore

Sandra Bullock Scarlett Johansson

Jen Aniston Reese Witherspoon

People's "Most Beautiful People" for this year. Mm-hmm. There are 100 of them and Jessica Alba is not in the list, I wonder. Whatever!

Anyway, I watched this movie the other day and got disappointed.




WILD HOGS

Four biker wannabes played by Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy hit the road off for some adventures...and there, they meet the (mis) adventures of their lives. There are funny scenes, yeah, but not enough to keep your apapangig hurt like crazy. Trailers are just so promising, I want to sue whoever makes them!

to do or not to do

America Ferrera, according to the report I've read, is not happy about her doing a sequel of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, citing no reasons at all.

Rumors have it that the not really Ugly Betty star has actually come a long away after that 2005 dramedy, and that the prequel did not make very well in the box office, never mind the not-so-good reviews it received.

But whatever... "If the pants fit, wear 'em."

nesperennub

Nesperennub, a Theban priest buried around 2800 years ago and now a resident of the British Museum, has undergone a CT-scan at a London hospital...

3D images of Nesperennub show that, very unusually, he was mummified with a shallow, irregular-shaped bowl on his head. The bowl, it was later on found out, was actually part of the embalmers' working equipment. It was placed on the head to catch run-off resin, and had hardened unexpectedly quickly, cementing the bowl firmly to the skull. There are signs of attempt to remove it. However, the embalmers just decided to leave it there, and carry on with the wrapping of the body, hoping that their mistake would pass unnoticed. Which it did...for nearly three thousand years.

the Harry Potter mania continues

There’s always a kid in every one of us (I for one is a big example, but duh!), and it’s quite funny when we let our “little” selves come out in the open once in a while, without reservations. At our office, where “respected” individuals congregate after a day of foraging for bits and pieces of stories to be fed to the public the next day, I am not a bit surprised that there are also (big) kids there. Including some “big” people, my bosses (but there are also those who frown most of the time, and these are what we call losers). And their being kids are so apparent especially when they are so excited about a thing or happening (and it's actually what makes it an exciting place to stopover at despite the heat inside because our aircon units are so wonderful! they just don't want to work anymore.). Like what is going on these past few days, one of the people there got a copy of the much-awaited Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book (exactly! The book 7 of the famous HP series), and of course, she passed it around to everyone (which is almost half of the entire population in the office) who loves HP. And this blogger was just fortunate enough to be sent one (I swear, I really screamed when I learnt of this news). Oh, you just can imagine the hype at the office when each HP lover has the ecopy stored in his/her computer. After reading a few chapters (i dunno how they manage to do it while doing the real work. haha! because in my case, i write before anything else. beleb et or nowt!), there’s this sharing of information of what they had read so far and blah blah blah…One reader, who had the copy first, was even quick to inform the mob that she found the story “weird” and “Rated R” because Harry has actually had sex with some girl (uy!), and other mushy stuff in it. And while she was explaining this to us, one workmate/reader was covering her ears and asked if could just hold it because she wanted to read the story herself. I also wanted to know it myself but I just could not help, with the excitement and all, who could.

Then suddenly, the provider of that ecopy told us what she first gave us is not the real version, and it’s not even complete. Nyi! And added, since she had already read part of the “real” version, some good stuff of the story like who dies here, et cetera, et cetera. Oh, how I love my workmates!

So since my other workmate found the first version weird, I stopped reading it and jumped to the “real” one (so we could compare in the end which story is really by JKR or neither one. syet! Haha!). And interestingly, what I’m reading has the JKR style or so I believe. But I really think this is the real one, as so far, the plot is keeping me glued to it (I slept well past 1am last night without realizing it was already that late), the kind JKR would give to her readers. Char!

And while I’m finishing the book, my workmate, at her end, is also engrossed with the incomplete version (I will be reading it too after this one), and we exchange via SMS what we’ve read so far in the hopes of trying to figure out which is real or not. Mine is real, I think. And she thinks, hers is too. Aahh…but whatever, everyone is really going crazy by these two versions. What if these are all fake? Then, we will just be OMG-ing! But I like my fake version, if ever. And if ever the real version is really not in our hands YET, the writer of this book is great, and since the 7th installment is the last, I hope there would be more writers to come to write fake HP books to let it live forever. Because there is just no reason why it cannot!

I am so partial, and so smiling. :)

finding peace

breathing fresh air at Portofino Resort, Mactan Island. sigarilyo nala'y kuwang...tsk tsk tsk!



a boat for parasailing. there are also jetskis, banana boat rides, among others, in this resort. haay, kanus-a pa kaha ta modatu haron maka-try nata ani samtang nag-two-piece. hahaha!

in the news (here and abroad)

1. Julia Campbell, a 40-year-old US Peace Corps volunteer who had gone missing on Easter Sunday, was found in a shallow grave in the mountains of Banaue in Ifugao province yesterday. Why would anyone want to end a life owned by someone whose only intention of coming here in our country was to help our fellows? This country is really getting exciting by the day!!!

2. Seung-hui Cho is accused of murdering 33 people at Virginia Tech. Reminds me of the Columbine High School incident wherein, 8 years ago, 13 were killed in a massacre perpetuated by two students, who incidentally were Cho's heroes. Oh, Lord, heal our land. (but i so understand why Cho did it, he could be another victim of racial discrimination, for all we know. however, racism or not, the way he had done it won't still end that problem that has been there since time immemorial.)

3.Sanjaya Malakar is out of American Idol. Okay, fine. I don't like him anyway. haha!

4. Mr. Public Service. Oh, that's the slogan used by one of our candidates for councilor in my town. And everytime I see his poster, which is everywhere, with this slogan in it I always feel like throwing up. Ghad, I can't remember a thing he had ever done in the name of public service since he was elected as our councilor, which is, get this, for two consecutive terms already. And I'm going to do something about this. You better watch out, Mr. Public Service!

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It will be out in the market this July, and it seems like lightyears away. But by some miracles, someone gave me a copy of this most-wanted book. I am seriously serious! So for now, I will be burying myself in it. And I will certainly be back for the review.

Quotable Quote

"Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop." --Merideth Grey of Grey's Anatomy.

a view from the bukid is another bukid

Banlasan, Trinidad, Bohol. taken during my visit there last holy week. when i get rich i will really buy a bukid. i swear.

i went diving again!!!

and this time in Gilutongan Marine Sanctuary. you heard me right! I did not just go swimming in the sea but i went diving in this famous Gilutongan Reef in Cordova town. and since i love writing let me go into details if you will.

the place is just similar to Moalboal: the white sand seabed (is this how you say it? DENR help!) that makes it easy for you to see what's underwater even when you are still aboard your boat. and man, they don't just have schools of fish there, universities jud! and they come in all sizes, shapes and colors. once underwater you really don't want to go up again. i mean, that quickly.

the first time i went down i completely forgot the cold (i wasn't wearing a wet suit 'coz i am not a professional diver and i've none) when right before me was a "parade" of fish. or nag-rally ba to sila...ambot! i saw yellow, stripes, white, mint green, among many others. lami kayo i-take home or isugba. hahah!

And while all six professional divers I was with went to the deeper portion of the sea, I satisfied myself just a few feet below our boat since the scene there is already breathtaking enough. And besides, they were going 60 feet under and I am like a neophyte (just my second time to dive) and unlicensed and scared to go to that depth. Cripes! My first dive was designed for the first-timers, about 20 feet, and I was even terrified then.

So this time, I was only allowed to go within the radius of three meters from our boat and practically the same distance from the many Korean feet that were dangling everywhere. There were many Sandra Oh’s kababayans today, they were either snorkeling or just floating everywhere with their life vests they looked like a scene from Titanic when it sunk.

And like the Moalboal Reef, Gilutongan has its own “kantil” (cliff) too. It was really scary. I actually climbed back to our boat when i was near this part. Mahug pa nuon ko. Hahaha!

The visit to Gilutongan this morning, for the part of the divers, was to compare the reef to the Lagundi Reef in Talisay (story of this can be read in tomorrow’s ish of TF), while for me, it was both work and recreational (hehe!). My skin is so hot right now. We were under a canopy of the motorized boat while journeying to and from the place, but it was just very hot. I just hope the sun did not burn it.

And I just hope there would be more free dives in the future. :)

susmaryosep!

susmaryosep! gabii naablihan akong pagkababaye ug pagkalalaki (katawa lang!!) sa duha ka establisyemento dinhi sa Sugbu. Una sa Club Temptation diin hapit naman to naghubo ang mga babaye didto uy. Naa gani usa ako nakit-an nga tungod sa kadako sa iyang lubot katunga ra sa iyang lubot ang natabunan sa pwerteng muboa niyang shorts. saon nalang, panuhoton jud to sya ba.

oist! trabaho ra jud to akong giadto didto noh. gipakuyog kos among advertising assitant (AA) haron ma-interview kuno tong tag-iya sa Tokyo KTV Bar and Resto, tupad ra sad sa Club Temp. Siya ra sad diay tag-iya sa maong club. Pag-abot pa jud nako, kay sayo-sayo man ko didto, mayo nalang wa ko nisud sa maong "resto" kay ug nahitabo pa, nah! shock kud ko ato ba. di ba og resto naa man nay mga lamisa ug bangko, nah didto kay wa jud kay makit-ang lamisa gawas sa mga center tables kay puro man couches ang naa didto. pagsud gani nako, pag-abot na sa among AA ug photographer, nashock intawn ko kay mga babaye nga murag naghubo na ang misugat sa akong panan-aw sa dihang giablihan na ang pultahan sa maong "resto." sus ginoo! mao diay nang KTV sa Japan sa? mao man kuno na ingun sa tag-iya.

paghuman namalhin dayun mi sa Club Temp kay papiktyuran kuno ang sud. ug didto, hapit na jud tawon naghubo ang mga babaye. ingun ang tag-iya, "pretty" kuno ilang mga gurls. pretty ka dyan! unsa kahay bati'g nawng sa inyo noh! hahaha! nakauna lagi ko. hehehe! aw, naa sad bya'y mahagpat, pero lalisunon pa sad lagi. niak niak niak! nah ambot lang, unsaon kaha ni pagsuwat ron kay waaahh...wholesome bya among paper. char!

ug sa dihang gida ko paghuman sa among AA sa Naughty Ka, ang balaang gay bar sa Banilad, dapit ra na sa Crossroads. first time nako sa gay bar, ug sa duha-duha nashock napud kaha ko. lagi, sukad karon motan-aw najud ko tanan talan-awon niining kalibutana ni, tanan hasta kanang naay live show. yati! kugang-kugangan ta aning kalakiha dah! asa ba nang mga live show ron? basin kliyente japun na sila sa among mga AA. hahaha! so didto, pagsud pa gani namo, naa mana siya'y mura'g "tilon" una ka makasud sa main bar, ug sa dihang giablihan nako, ay day, ang lalaki nga ga-cycling shorts nag-grind bya. kamao bya sya, in fairness. pero mahimuot man kos iyang sayaw oi, feel jud kayo niya hilabi na pagkita niya namo nga nisud. wahaha! libre ra ning amo dong oi, wa bya mi entrance fee kay trabaho ra ni'ng amoa. nyahaha!

then nisud dayun sa backstage tong laki nga gamay ra ba'g notz, ug pagbalik niya mam, nagtapis nalang. ngeek! then sayaw nasad ato iyang makahilak nga moves. pramis, sige lang ko'g agik-ik mayo nalang naglagubo ang sound system kay nah, maaan jud kong pra-pra. unya nisunod na sad tong usa ka tawo nga mura'g tindero og debede, kana bang turko. guapo bya sya pero murag bading. ug nagbrief ra sya ha, with matching black leather boots. ug mam/sir, iyang notz wa kapuno sa sudlanan sa iyang brief. kabantay mo anang brief sa mga lalaki di ba naa mana'y murag special "case" para sa ilang kinatawo? wa jud siya kapuno ato doh. then iya pa kunong hana-hanaon og pagguwa. uy tawon, don't bother! hahahaha!

luod man sila didto uy, mga arangan bya silang hitsura pero panington jud sila pag-ayo, as in! hapit gani ko motikuka sa kaluod. OA nuon ko usahay, sensya na.

hangtud karon wala pa jud ko kasuwat para sa Club Temp ug Tokyo kay naglibog ko unsa'y i-angle, ako ba'ng kashock o ang mga nagkatag nga babaye didto. deadline bya ron. hahay! ambot uy, nganong nisugot man sud ko aning maong assignment nga straight news ra man ta ko, sa mani's gitawag nga "way layp ba" mao ni'ng sanong kay sanong nalang ta bisa'g wa kibaw unsay gisanongan. balik pa kuno mi sa Naughty Ka ig sabado ah kay wa man namo na-interview ang tag-iya kay nagcasino man, na mao na ni ron. pero exciting sad bya sya bisag luod gamay. dah maanad ra lagi ko. naa diay balak pirmihon. hahahah!

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PS: let me post this one lang kadyot. myLot User Profile

at it again

finally, a new coffee shop in town has captured a quite similar taste (or a lil better) of Starbucks' mocha frappuccino. it's Mr. Coffee. i tried its frappe mocha yesterday, and i kind of liked it. a tall order for P95 (Starbucks gives you the same size for P120) is worth it. i think it's the ice cream that gives it that creamy taste. instead of using whip cream as a finishing touch like what Starbucks does to mostly all its frappuccinos, Mr. Coffee whips up its own version of this mocha drink with more ice cream. i saw how they blended my drink, and it's got more ice cream than the coffee-flavored concoction. the only downer in this imitation though is the weak straw and the cheap cup. but they are just starting out and maybe soon they could imitate Starbucks' better-looking cup plus the logo, too. hahaha!

anyway, Mr. Coffee is located at Paseo place, that's somewhere in Mabolo, a few meters from Kartzone.

their frappe kona mocha is also good. i can't explain the taste but it's more caffeinated than the frappe mocha (that’s actually explains the “kona” word according to the barista), and that's what makes it...yummier? aah..go and try it yourself. :)

and here's a good news for all coffee drinkers out there: according to a report, Coffee users at lower risk for Parkinson's disease. well, at least noh!

the trip to the bukid of Bohol

A view from the top of the bukid of barangay Banlasan, Trinidad, Bohol

The house, where we stayed for two days and two nights, is on a hill facing this view. It’s really cool, like everytime we had nothing to do (which was practically all the time) we either chased the animals (goats, chickens, cats or each other) or mag-muni-muni. A good part of this area I'm viewing is owned by the family of one of the three people I was with in that three-day trip to this side of the country.

Tambay sa lantay

One of the exciting things to do both on daytime and nighttime is lying in the lantay while listening to the music or lulling to sleep. Although it’s hot here during the daytime, the fresh air helps a lot in making you feel so comfortable under the sun. But we also had a mango tree to cover us from the direct heat of the sun, so falling asleep easily was guaranteed.

During the night, this is also the best place for stargazing. I did just that while listening to my music on our last night here. And it was so relaxing.

One of the picturesque beauties of Banlasan (us excluded)

This was taken on our way to the Batungay Cave. One of the most exhausting treks we had. We just walked our way there thinking that it was just a “walking distance” from our base. Walking distance, my ass, it was like walking in flip flops from Colon to Basak, Cebu City! And it was not an ordinary walk because there are steep roads along the way.

At the Batungay Cave entrance (Trinidad, Bohol) with Elm and Carlo

Inside the Cave

This more than compensates for our bone-tired bodies. The tour inside this cave is no longer spooky though, as there are already lights in most of the entire place. And the kids, there are everywhere, sometimes irritating. But they served as our tour guides too. The map said there is a treasure digging somewhere in the middle, but we weren’t able to see that part because you have to pass through a very narrow route plus knee-deep water to reach it. With only some pieces of old cooking tools, I don’t think it’s worth it. But maybe next time, when we are dressed to crawl and prepared to ward off the bats and the snakes. Hmmm...

Their own version of Badian, Cebu's Kawasan Falls, and the Ang Tatlong Itlog!

The bukid, where this spot is, is actually across from our base, quite far but reachable. A 20-minute habal-habal ride will get you there. Habal-habal ride in this town, by the way, is quite expensive. The trip to and from the Kawasan Falls cost each of us P80, makapurdoy uy!

The water from the falls is murky, as you can see it. Owing most probably to the dry season. There was rain the night before we came here, but it was not enough to replace the old water that has been there since only God knows when. But it was still a welcome treat after all the exhaustion from the habal-habal ride and the heat. And this is a far cry from our first day in the bukid, during which we bathed at a well of muddy water. That part of Bohol is near-drought, most of the rice farms are actually dying, and the water is scarce. So we had to make do of what was in front of us. I swear, all four of us did not want to bathe using that kind of water, of which source is inhabited by frogs and snails (I kid you not!). But only at first, because the very very long trek to and from the river, which has also gone almost dry, had already tired us and left us no more option but to bathe in that muddy water. So simple a life they have there, and we were sharing it. Our own version of penitensya.



See the falls? And me?

Yikes!

After the fun, nanglabada.

Back to Cebu

We were supposed to go to Panglao. We even took the more than two-hour v-hire ride from Tubigon (an hour habal-habal ride from Trinidad, where we came from), and paid P120 each (mahal kayo sa?), to get to Tagbilaran for us to see this famous beach. But because the journey was endless and we got to Island City Mall at noontime and our trip back to Cebu was at 5PM, we had to cancel the Panglao trip--our very last stop supposedly before we had to go home. It was kinda sad, but I'd rather be home before nighttime than see that place, which, by the way, takes more than an hour to reach (plus the trip back), and miss the boat. That'd have been lovely! I love adventure but I was already too exhausted to try some more of it. And I was almost broke already.

So last night, after thousands of habal-habal rides I got home safely after that full 3-day trip to Bohol, boat rides included. And I'm now very tanned. Hahaha!

Happy Easter, everyone!

barred

the bar exam results are out, and my friend/workmate is still not in the list. it's her third take already, and it's just so not fair. i don't know why i said that. well, i don't have anything to say and anyone to blame to. she did her best, had even enrolled in big-time review courses for last year's exam. but it all did not work, or should i say, she is not just lucky. for three consecutive years?? oh, that's really bad. i haven't texted her 'cause i don't know what to say. it may not be a good time to do it. i really don't know. i'm really so down by this news. she's a nice person and a good friend, she does not deserve this. :(

a very long vacation

for the regular workers, there will be like at least five straight non-working days (from Holy Thursday to Monday--Araw ng Kagitingan). thats really kewl! but only if you have a place to spend this long weekend at. in my case, i'm too poor to go to boracay. :( the gang was planning to spend the first week of April in Moalboal, Jute's hometown. but the gang had no idea it was a holy week, and most of the gang members do not like to be far from their homes at this time of the year. sab-an sila sa ilang mga lola. hahay! so plan aborted!

so siguro, since i'm so bored these days, and the thought of spending this weekend at home is already sickening enough, i may be going to Bohol with friends. sa bukid na walang papel, that is. i really don't know. i'm still thinking it over, considering that the place where we are planning to attack is a real bukid and there will be a lot of hiking and sighing along the way and my sexy body is still sexy as it is, i mean, please catch the drift i'm already tired.

that's the plan right now. i really want to go to a different place, and if that Bohol trip will be cancelled i may instead be going to my cousin's place in Minglanilla, that's just next to my town, and spend the vacation with her three big kids singing their favorite rock songs or playing word games in the computer. then i'll go home when they start to piss me off. i'm still open for invitation though.

meanwhile, my favorite TV show--Grey's Anatomy--will have spin-off series with Dr. Addison Montgomery on the frontline? Wow!




by the way, i took the grey's diagnosis, and I'm Miranda. nyahaha!