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[Review] The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Rating: ★★ Category: Movies Genre: Romance Following "Twilight", "New Moon" is second movie adaptation of the book authored by Stephenie Meyer. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is about the character development of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), Bella's native American best friend. Vampires had only a supporting role here. Edward (Robert Pattinson) leaves Bella (Kristen Stewart) for a reason that "she doesn't belong in their vampire world". Then Bella turns into a recluse, not wanting to talk to anyone for some months. This part is really the most boring part of the movie. What do you get for seeing her sitting in the same old chair for months, with a misplaced background music. But then suddenly, she moves on and becomes close to Jacob Black. But Jacob turns out to be a werewolf. Along with it, the movie introduced new characters like the legendary Quiluete wolf pack, and the vampire royalty known as The Volturi coven. The specia

[Review] Michael Jackson's This Is It

"Like you've never seen him before" is really the appropriate subtitle for Michael Jackson's This is It. It presents the artist on his last performance on stage. Not only that, it also gives a glimpse of behind the scenes footage, which defines Michael Jackson as more than a performing artist. In 'This is It', Michael Jackson could be seen as a musician, an artist, a dancer, a singer, a filmmaker, a critic, and a superstar performer. But above all of his works, you could see that he is a person and leader, capable of touching those around him. He gave corrections and instructions to his musicians, ever mindful of his perfectionist personality. But he did these with kindness, always reminding them that this concert is done for "L-O-V-E. Love" Indeed, this passion could be felt as Michael Jackson took control of the stage during his performances. There were less narrations in 'This is It', as opposed to common documentaries. And tha

Under the Sea in 3D... and Me

One rare feature that I like here in Manila is the presence of 3D cinemas. It was my dream to watch at least one movie in 3D. And the most popular is SM Cinema's IMAX Theatre. There are only two IMAX Theaters: one located in SM Mall of Asia and the other in SM North EDSA. The latter is nearer from where I live. So, I decided to finally make my dream come true. Two movies were shown in the IMAX Theater: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Under the Sea . I have already watched the Harry Potter so I picked the documentary movie Under the Sea costing at PhP 250.00. It's good to be aware of our oceans and other sea creatures. As a kid, I've always appreciated the beauty of the sea. Dolphins used to entertain my trip to Cebu as they jumped in arches near the barge. But that was a long time ago; now, I don't see them anymore. In SM, there was a really spacious customer lounge for IMAX viewers. The floor was carpeted and it was furnished with stylish sofas. At

Life in my Sole

Life happens. It always does. Happiness or sadness is just two sides of the same coin that is life. But this time, I will introduce you to a new version of "Life". It was a rainy Monday. Fresh from the trauma of having faced the super typhoon Ketsana, my soul was also drenched in the gloom of Manila. One solution when you are sad is to think of happy thoughts. And so I did. I was at the Landmark in Trinoma. The first thing that came into my mind was a pair of sandals, one that I have always wanted for four years. Those beautiful Ipanema sandals, endorsed by Gisele Bundchen. My mind was entirely focused on that. I didn't know whether to buy it at that time, so I decided to just see and feel, then treasure the feeling that it would give me. I knew that those were in display somewhere in Landmark. I looked around and indeed there were! I spotted my favorite Gisele Bundchen Seed Collection. My heart just fell in love with a sandal named "Life" in lush white an

A Time for Michael

Just recently, I stumbled upon the this issue of Time Magazine. It was a commemorative issue of the late Michael Jackson who passed away last June 25, 2009 at age 50. He was on the cover, giving off an aura of youth and energy. He was smiling as he shyly covers his face. The black and white concept added drama to it. The picture was reminiscent of his music video In The Closet . It was the only time that I actually got into the in-depth news of his death. I was working in the laboratory when a co-worker told me that Michael Jackson had died. At first, I thought it was just a joke. He still had upcoming concerts to do. He died at a young age, I must say. But the truth hurts. And from then on, lots of tributes were shown all over them media. His songs were once again being played in the radio. Why is it that a person is only fully appreciated once he dies? Michael Jackson is a very influential part of my life. He was a complete stranger to me until the year 1996, when he went to

My Stop at MV Doulos

Ever since Ma'am Locaylocay mentioned a "Floating Bookstore" where she bought a Physical Chemistry book, I have always been intrigued. "Hmmm... I have never heard of it before. What does it look like?", I thought. Months later, I heard that the "floating bookstore" has docked in Cebu. It's name is MV Doulos. My interest of it grew when I saw on TV that the ship is one of the world's oldest and is maintained by an international crew. "I want to go there.", I said. However, with a lot of academic requirements on my hands, I failed to visit it. I was further saddened when I found out that it was their last voyage or something. "Looks like I will have the chance to go there ever!", I said with a heavy sigh. But in life, we are always given a chance. Lots and lots of them. Just this month of February 2009, I was surprised to see a brochure of MV Doulos. The ship is in Bacolod.Yippee! My chance has come! I'm so happy that i

The Oathtaking

Chemist Board Exam Blog Series Part 12 The Oathtaking Dark blue business suit. Elegant makeup. Sexy hairstyle. And a killer smile. Those are the formula of a woman attending the much awaited Oathtaking and Induction of New Chemists at the prestigious Manila Hotel. And really! That woman happens to be… me! The Manila Hotel was a very beautiful place. The foyer was adorned with gold and red. The chandeliers made it more grandiose than it already was, making a hotel for the rich and famous. But I was going to stay there for only four hours. I predicted that the ceremonies would last that long. My two aunts, Tita Dixie and Auntie Angie, accompanied me to this important event. I could see from their smiles that they were as excited as I was. A few minutes later, we gathered at the hall as the ceremonies were about to start. Gleenece, Rizza, Warner and I were seated at the back rows along with some new friends. I never knew that sitting there was a w

Ang Ballpen Ko

Hirap akong sumulat sa Filipino. Kung tutusin, ito ang pinaka-unang blog ko sa ating Wikang Pambansa. Pero, bakit ko nga bang naisip na gamitin ang Filipino? Kasi... dahil kay Bob Ong, ang paborito kong Filipino author. Na-inspire ako sa libro niyang "Stainless Longganisa". Filipino ang ginagamit niyang wika sa pagsusulat. In his honor, pipilitin kong gumuwa ng babasahin sa wikang hindi ko pa na-master. Pero hanggang Taglish lang yata ang kaya ko. Nahihintulad ko ang "Stainless Longganisa" sa isang importanteng handbook tungkol sa pagsusulat, pagiging manunulat, at paglalakbay ng manunulat tungo sa pagtupad ng pangarap. Nakukwento ang mga iyon ni Bob Ong from his experiences. (Ay! English na naman! Hehehe!) Siguro nagagandahan ako sa libro dahil may plano akong maging author. Ang problema nga lang, hindi ko alam kung anong topic ang isusulat ko. Basta gusto kong makasulat ng libro. Yun na yun! Pero sabi nga ni Bob Ong, marami pang sakripisyo ang kailangan at marami

I am a Chemist Thanks to Bob Ong

“Yehey! No Calculus!”, that was my reaction when I read the BS Chemistry prospectus when I was 16 years old. My college days were just beginning but I fear that Math was going to ruin it. Math17 Algebra Math25A Trigonometry Math36 Statistics Those were some of the Math subjects that I would be taking. Along with… Math51 Analysis I Math52 Analysis II Math53 Analysis III “Huh? What are those?”, I asked. I thought it was some new subjects for college. I never expected anything from it. So, without any second thoughts, I enrolled myself in BS Chemistry. However, I kept on wondering what the Analysis subjects represent. Then, I met Ate Patti who answered my question. “Analysis? Oh! That’s CALCULUS!”, she said as she gave out a heavy sigh. (T_T) “Oh no!”, I replied, having regretted that I asked. My hopeful and happy visions of college were suddenly enveloped in a dark cloud of pain and despair. I continued with my rants, “Why didn’t they just put Calculus there instead of maskin

My Thanks

Chemist Board Exam Blog Series Part Eleven My Thanks “You’re one of the top performing schools!.” That’s what our friend Jurgen said as the USC students jumped for joy and excitement. It never occurred to us that we would pass the exams, let alone be the second top performing school! All of us were so thankful to God and this brought us to greater faith in our prayers. Prayer works! I was still in cloud nine on the day of our departure from Manila. Well, all of us were. Jurgen, Jeb, Marvin, Gleenece, Erwin, Jason, Warner, Jerome, Josephus, and I were busy taking pictures of ourselves in NAIA terminal 3. We were so proud of ourselves and of our school! “Hey, my sister went back to all the churches that were part of her pilgrimage when she passed the Physician’s Board Exam.”, Marvin said. “Oh that’s great! Then, let’s do that, too!”, Gleenece replied with excitement. I wanted to go with them, but I visited a different set of churches. So, I de