Squirt Silly String Up My Nose

Persuade Me! I Dare You! Who can persuade me to keep blogging?! I’m so down lately. It’s all because of the stress I currently have to deal with: Exams, Marketing Plan, Marketing Bazaar, Finex Congress, Business Debates and lots and lots of reports and lectures. Add to that lack of sleep and my dusty cobwebbed social life, and you have the makings of a straight-jacketed nincompoop that’s slightly good with money.

I like that word, nincompoop. It’s really fun to say. I’ve never really had a favorite word, but I have some words I do like saying like LUDACRIS, WICKED, RAMBUNCTIOUS, NONCHALANT and of course, CHAOS to name a few. Another word I like using is the noun ME. Why? Because I don’t get to use it that often much less vocally.

So, to hit two birds with one stone, (did you notice nobody uses that line anymore?) I decided to get some “ME” time and unwind by nourishing the frosty side of me! This week, I amused myself two ways, 3D and 2D! Oh yeah, you know what I mean! I watched Ratatouille and The Simpsons Movie Back to Back! More than 3 hours of animated hilarity in all their high-tech and traditional glory was just what the doctor ordered! I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed both movies. I can’t favor one over the other! Ratatouille is magnificent because it’s about a rat who loves to cook! A rat! A cook! Perfection! The Simpsons is simply the best animated sitcom ever made and movie was like revisiting everything that made The Simpsons the longest running American sitcom of all time!

Since we’re talking about movies, read my review of Ratatouille, my first ever post on my newest blog, inFLICKted! Link me up okay guys! What a fitting start to my blog, a movie which tackles a lot about me: my cuisine fascination, my inhibition and desire to be a cook and my love of good food! You can even add to that the fact that I'm born in the year of the rat! Haha!

Speaking of things I love, I love the fact that COOKING and FOOD is slowly entering the mainstream. As of late, three themes are booming in the TV industry: POLICE, MEDICAL, and SCI-FI/FANTASY (LEGAL Dramas are starting to slip and EVERYDAY LIFE will always be big so I didn’t include it). Movies like Ratatouille and new movie No Reservations with Catherine Zeta Jones put cooking in the center of their stories. TV shows like Iron Chef, Kitchen Confidential, Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen are getting much attention. Thanks to cooking shows from the Food Network, great chefs are now sharing great recipes to simple cooks like me. I’ve always been adventurous when cooking and I appreciate good food, no matter who made it or where it came from.

Just last Saturday, I had lunch with a good friend in a modish town bistro. Along with our main meal, we decided to order basic Spanish treats like Tacos and Burritos. They were so delicious! I loved the kick the meat had and the heat was not overwhelming (for me anyway, hehe!) but you can feel it. This inspired me to prepare my own at home! I haven’t prepared Spanish food before so I decided to make the same ones we ate: Tacos, Burritos and added some Enchiladas. It didn’t disappoint at all! I am a big Italian aficionado but Spanish food is also really delectable!

Burritos (upper left), Enchiladas (below) and Tacos (upper right)

But of course, nothing beats a good Italian recipe. I have grown to love not just their cooking but their culture as well. I’ve even gone as far as learn their language! Yes folks, I’m currently learning Italian and I’m starting to get the accent they have! In no time at all, I’ll be speaking fluent Italian, then reading and writing! It won’t be long before the medium of writing in this blog would be changed! It would become… Jigs’ Italian Food Blog of Chaos!

I will advertise that new blog all over the internet just like those great memorable advertisements I saw in this show called Ad Persuasion. They feature commercials with really creative and original ways of grabbing your attention and persuading customers to buy their product! It’s really helpful to Marketing majors like myself. I have a subject called Professional Advertising where we analyze advertising efforts of different companies and find out why they used that type of marketing strategy. It’s all really creative and challenging but definitely my cup of tea. Thanks to Ad Persuasion, I’m starting to understand what it takes to make a commercial and what it needs to contain.

So, I tell you again, Persuade ME! Persuade me to keep blogging…in English! Or else I will definitely bring this blog to a whole new level where no one will understand everything I’m writing because I haven’t completely finished my lessons and then no one will dare visit my blog because it’s so messed up! We shall see who will come crawling back! Hahahahaha!

Wait.....Did that come out right?

The Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs of 2007

I was having second thoughts on doing this post. I had some issues with regards to the rules, but in time, I understood the idea. Too bad my blog wasn’t included (yeah, as if!). If only I postponed the making of this blog by a few months, then I’d definitely be a major contender (Ugh, keep dreaming! It’s certainly free). Guess I just have to settle for the 100 bucks then… If you haven't submitted your pick, CLICK HERE for details on how to join.

This is not at all ten. Nowhere near it. I’m sticking with the EMERGING and INFLUENTIAL criteria and not just the popularity thing:

Gagopolis

The blog is very amusing and insightful. He knows his audience and what interests them. I’m also pleasantly surprised on how well informed he is on inane but culturally pertinent topics. I’m into blogs like this. Witty and entertaining but definitely has attitude.

Manilenya

I am one of her blurkers. Haha! I’ve just recently started commenting on her posts. I like her simplicity, her sense of humor, her adventures… Her blog is one of the few that can inspire me to write about my escapades and do it in Tagalog even!

It’s not only fruity, it’s oaty

I think everyone would agree that there'd be no way of me not including this blog. Fruity personifies influential. She has charmed the blogging world in ways only the categorically insane could fully comprehend. It's just unbelievable! When I first started reading her blog, my short attention span, the enticing call of the 300 movie I was supposed to be watching and the heavenly taste of my Mozzarella Sticks couldn’t pull me away from reading her posts, one after the other. I actually think I’m scaring her because I am such a stalker! Hahaha!

The Philosophical Bastard

The title of Bloggigolo has been passed and no other blogger is as worthy of the title as Paolo Mendoza! He is oozing with ideas and creativity that he spews it everyday like artistic throw up. His humor is only matched by his great attentiveness. He notices the most minute of all things, and twists it for his own sick sick pleasure. Always have a open mind when reading his blog or viewing his videos, because it will prepare you for a side-splitting ride.

EXTRA DETAILS! IF YOU ARE AN AVID READER OF PAOLO’S BLOG, HE IS CURRENTLY DOING A MEME WHERE YOU CAN ASK HIM ANYTHING AND HE WILL DO A VIDEO RESPONSE. JUST TYPE YOUR QUESTION ON THE COMMENT SECTION OF HIS RECENT POST. I THINK, IF YOU ASK NICELY, HE’LL DO ANYTHING YOU ASK HIM TO! HAHAHA!

Ok, that’s it! I’m done, talk about barely making the deadline. The final results will soon be in and I wish the four of them good luck and hope they don’t forget me when they do win. And if you do forget me, I swear I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish!

The last line, too much?

UPDATE! I just wanted to add a few more to my list who definitely deserves mention. Let me do this really quickly which means I won't be adding descriptions, just links to their blogs.

CULTURE SHIOK

HAPPY SLIP

KUBIERTOS

GREEN PINOY

That's my final list! I hope Ms. Janette will still consider them! Goodluck to everyone!

inFLICKted

Freedom Writers, Alpha Dog, Stomp the Yard, The Hitcher, Catch and Release, Music and Lyrics, Bridge to Terabithia, Zodiac, Premonition, The Hills Have Eyes 2, Hostel 2, Disturbia, In the land of Women, Spider Man 3, The Ex, Shrek The Third, TNMT, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End, 300, Ocean’s Thirteen, Die Hard 4.0 and Transformers. These are just a few of the movies (which received a wide international release) I’ve seen this year. Definitely, it is shaping up to be a great year for movies. I think it’s much better than last year, but 2006 had brilliant offerings (Thank You For Smoking, V for Vendetta, Little Miss Sunshine, The Descent, The Queen, The Departed, Babel, Stranger than Fiction and Pan’s Labyrinth to name a few).

I’m a self-proclaimed movie buff. I watch whatever I feel watching. Whatever reviews it got, if it interests me, with all certainty, I will watch it. In order to repay an industry that has provided me with great entertainment through out the years, I try to watch via the silver screen. As much as I want to continue my support by buying original DVD copies, the steep price (when calculating the vast number of movies I love and its current price) cannot be shouldered by my limited fiscal resources. But not having an original DVD collection of movies will not deter me from enjoying them. I love analyzing films, breaking them down to get into its deeper essence. On the other hand, just watching the flick and not thinking of its logic or symbolism is also a great experience.

That is why, I have been thinking lately of setting up A SEPARATE BLOG just for my movie reviews. This is to prevent myself from flooding this blog with rants and raves. Movies have taken over my current disposition. I am compelled, engrossed, and obsessed. I am INFLICKTED. And now, I am inviting all other bloggers who are as inflickted as I am, to be a reviewer in my future blog. Do not hold back, everyone’s opinions matter. That’s the reason why I’m inviting other bloggers; my own opinion cannot accurately reflect those of others.

A movie review seems to me, a fitting ending...hehe...

It is the fifth installment of the very popular children’s book which can’t seen to keep itself from further diving into an even darker, scarier storyline. It is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

This year, Harry is looking manlier, Hermione is lovelier than ever and Ron doesn’t look like the Weasley he once was. Unfortunately, that’s about all that I can say for Mr. Potter’s closest friends because they were nothing but cheerleaders in this movie despite the fact that in the book they have a major conflict with the hero.

Luna Lovegood casting the Patronas Charm

This was also the shortest among all of the HP movies (only 138 minutes), however, the 5^th book, where the movie is based from is considered the longest (870 pages) of J.K Rowling’s novels which just doesn’t make sense. Which brings me to its new director David Yates, and screenwriter Michael Goldenberg. The screenplay of the 5^th book is faithful to the main story, even to the text found in the book. But to be sure, MUCH is lost. It was fast paced, and not the good kind. It felt like being fed handfuls of information without getting the chance to properly digest it, even more so if you haven’t seen or read previous installments. Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell definitely did a better job with the previous two movies.

Inquisitor Umbridge fires Professor Trelawney and Professor McGonagall comforts her.

The continuous visions and dream sequences can be a bit tedious. This is the only movie among the five that can’t stand on its own because of the several references to previous movies. This movie also crammed so many characters that a lot of the good ones were reduced to nothing but cameos. I have the greatest fondness for British actors. Maggie Smith, Gary Oldman, Jason Isaac, David Thewlis and the astonishing Emma Thompson are great British actors which barely had the time of day in this movie. In contrast, Alan Rickman and Imelda Stauton made lasting impressions. One criticism to Stauton’s character, Dolores Umbridge, way too much footage was given to her character. She quickly wears out her welcome because she literally takes the magic away from the magic school and her villainy takes away the dread of the impeding attack of Voldemort. Plus, when she finally gets what she deserves, it seemed as if it wasn’t enough. But, that’s just me.

Don't think I forgot about that wet kiss!

HP 5 isn’t all bad, the newcomers were excellent. Dolores Umbridge, the fascist fully clad in pink is the type of villain you can’t help but love and hate at the same time. Luna Lovegood the empathic classmate of Harry was a refreshing personality to the ensemble. Bellatrix Lestrange, a promising new villain with an underlying sadism (Helena Bonham Carter was perfect for the Role!). Action scenes were plenty, but the only outstanding scenes was the battle between the good and the bad side and of course Dumbledore and Voldemort's bout. But I wanted to hear some of the spells from the book rather than just a bunch of sparks shooting out of their wands. Even the scenes I liked still needed work.

All in all, the movie felt like 70% talk and talk and talk and only 30% action. I actually couldn’t wait till He-Who-Must-Be-Named appeared for the battle. That last part was the only portion of the movie that actually had me spellbound. The latest installment had lots of special effects. Sadly, the magic from the previous movies cannot be felt in this one.

Top 10 most jologs Songs that we used to like back in High School

…But we hate admitting we used to like them these days, haha! I must say, this countdown was painful to us – to our eyes and ears most especially. Reminiscing the videos of these on Youtube hurt because we can’t accept that we were that jologs to fall for these jologs musical acts, haha! What the hell were we thinking?! The only positive realization we have after this activity is we are assured that our taste have matured and improved.

This collaboration will be talked about throughout the blogging nation! This is Jigs and Rex and here is our combined hitlist of the most cringe-worthy songs ever! At least for us two. Hehe! In increasing order of jologsness…

10. AQUA - Doctor Jones

Jigs: I chose this because nowadays, no one makes songs as cheery as this

Rex: I object! There's Kim Chiu with her Kering-Keri.. hehe! With matching long and shiny hair pa!

Jigs: Gawd, please don’t compare the song to some second rate jingle!

Rex: Oh, so you mean Dr Jones is a first rate single?

Jigs: Yeah, it is a single! And it WAS popular then.

Rex: Sabagay. But watching the video is like watching Knorr’s Sinabawang Gulay, haha! But at least the male members sing / rap. They're not just decorations. It's one of those videos that I would watch when I am channel surfing, just to see how amusingly silly the ending is, haha!

Jigs: Pero that's the point nga! They were intentionally silly. It's completely a fun and mindless song which requires no further analysis.

Rex: Ok, fine whatever. It's still jologs.

9. B*WITCHED - C'est La Vie

Rex: Ah, the song that launched B*Witched pop career. The thing is, it's too, hmm, bubblegummy! The video is full of flowers, butterflies, clouds. Not to mention the stupid lyrics that have no connection at all to the meaningful French phrase.

Jigs: Haha! I agree! Did you notice that as they were dancing and stomping around the flower bed, hindi nasisira yung mga flowers?

Rex: Oo nga! Pobreng mga bulaklak! May pa-slow-motion high jump pa silang nalalaman!

Jigs: Tapos it was akward hearing their one liners (that doesn't really belong in the song), between the chorus and the stanzas. Their choreography sucks too and that damn dog had no business being there.

Rex: Actually, I think the choreo showed their potential as dancers. Their stomping had to do with their Irish lineage. You know, tap-dancing is big there. Tapos, they're fighting over this guy who isn't worth the bother!

Jigs: Whatever, jologs is jologs to me. Next song!

8. S CLUB 7 - Bring It All Back

Jigs: I never liked this group. Ang dami nila, and if each of them were to sing on one song, at most, each of them would get two lines. All of them are glorified back-up dancers.

Rex: Oo nga, no? As if 5 isn't too big for a boyband, they had to get 7, haha! But actually, the girls get the lead vocals most of the time. It's the boys who are the glorified backup dancers.

Jigs: Natatawa ako sa efforts nila to let the guys sing by letting them scream a line at the background.

Rex: Pero in fairness, the dance routine on this one is danceable for me, nag-mamatch naman sa hopeful message of the song. Yun nga lang, masyadong err, jolly?

Jigs: I think, kaya 7 sila, is to compensate for the lack of voice talent and focus on dance talent.

Rex: Pero bilib din ako kasi sa British culture, hindi baduy ang pinang-gagagawa nila. I mean, it's okay for boys to dance like this. Dito sa atin, aynako! Sigurado, tatawagin kang bakla, haha! Hanggang pagiling-giling lang ala macho dancer ang pwedeng gawin ng mga pseudo singer-hunks, tulad ng Cover Boys ng ASAP..

Jigs: I have one more criticism, The video seemed like a video compilation of a vacation and barely passes as a music video. For me at least.

Rex: Actually, snippets yun of a TV show they had in the UK .

Jigs: Ahh, so they're supposed to ba actors now huh?! Maybe they should just stick to that and leave the singing to the professionals, they just look so jologs.

7. 911 - Love Sensation

Rex: (sings) "Don't go changing, rearranging".. Haha! Pweh!

Jigs: Haha! Oo nga, they had to add science (chemistry) into the lyrics! I also hate the video for this song! It's just like a carnival vacation video compilation! And what's with the breakdancing?!

Rex: This is featured in Casper the movie, right? Walang connection between the movie and the carnivals in the video. And I don't think this is one of 911's more bearable pop releases..

Jigs: Haha! I was just thinking that! I also got from a credible source that the lead singer was on Prozac while doing this video, which explains his unusual merry self. Haha! Kidding!

Rex: And considering that 911 is a boyband that's supposed to make kilig the teenage girls, only the lead vocalist looks like a boy. The other two look like backup dancers, haha! Mukhang uncle ng lead vocalist! Mga uncles na jologs!

6. STEPS - 5,6,7,8

Jigs: Okay, before we begin, my taste in music cannot be held under scrutiny because of this song, I was young then and didn’t know better.

Rex: Haha! Only if you won't judge me for tolerating boy bands. Anyway, paulit-ulit lang naman lyrics ng kanta eh! Well, mayroon rin palang pseudo-rapping on the side yung isang male member, habang patango-tango naman yung isa.

Jigs: I won’t even call it rapping! Not even pseudo! He wasn't rapping as much as he was reciting words which rhymed but made no sense at all! Once again, another group where most of the members were useless.

Rex: You betcha. I thought they were like Aqua, but it turned out Steps can sing ballads, or rather, the girls of Steps, haha!

Jigs: It's a song I would consider a novelty song, with “Steps” (pun intended) you have to do and a chorus that is catchy till you really listen to the whole song and finally realize, "hey, this song is actually jologs..."

Rex: It's supposed to be techno dance song. But Steps' dance routing in this video is so corny and jologs! It borders more on cheerdancing than club dancing!

Want to know the rest of the top ten? Click HERE

10 Kinds Of Awesome

I told myself I wasn’t going to do this but I just can’t help it. Damn me, along with all the bloggers who will be giving their two cents regarding the awesomest movie for 2007! So far anyway. I know Harry Potter won't surpass it, but I’m still waiting to watch Across The Universe, maybe around September. So, what is this movie which deserves several forms of amazement? Don’t you already know?! Duh! It’s TRANSFORMERS! Why is it so awesome you ask? Then let me enumerate…

1) It’s the first awesome live action movie for the franchise and Asia gets to see it first! Cartoons, toys and comics are all well and good, but isn’t seeing Optimus Prime transform from a truck into his full realistic robotic glory worth the price of admission alone?!

2) It was nostalgically awesome! Growing up watching the animated series, playing with the toys and even getting my hands on a couple of the comics, it felt amazing reliving the past and remember what Cybertron was or who are the Autobots and the Decepticons. This movie is like a rallying cry to your inner child. I found myself rooting for the Autobots every time (I never root for the hero. Haha!)! Transformers is a childhood classic come to life. Thank God movies can still make me feel this excited. For the kids and teenagers today, to whom the Transformers are now entirely new, this will be without a doubt the greatest movie they have ever seen.

3) Michael Bay is awesome! At first, I really didn’t expect to like it. I didn’t know how Michael Bay was going to treat the movie, because he admitted that he wasn’t a fan. But I was wrong to doubt. It's Michael Bay's best movie since The Rock. Bay used every arsenal he had in order to fully capture the action from the wreckage Optimus Prime and Megatron left in their wake. Transformers bears the Michael Bay seal of approval, which means it oozes with wild, over-the-top, in-your-face action!

4) Speaking of action, it was, of course, AWESOME! Michael Bay couldn’t wait to give us a taste of what’s to come! All I could say after the first action scene was…DAMN! Humans got no chance against that sound wave like weapon (EMP? But why does it destroy everything in its path?)! Cars fly through the air, explosions boom at high decibels, roads crumble, Helicopters crash and gargantuan transformers gyrate their gymnastics as they miraculously change their form. The film is one giant spectacle with considerable entertainment value.

5) CG and Cinematography takes the cake at awesomeness. Without CG, this movie would be nothing! Seeing those transformations never gets old! Plus, they added the transformation sound! The sheer realistic look of the robots and great attention to detail are the factors that took the movie from dorkiness to a cinematic adventure. But I do think that the flames on Prime, unnecessary. Haha! Cinematography completed the overall feel and makes you believe in everything about the Transformers World!

Okay, don't tell me nobody else can see them?! (Click to enlarge)

6) The Human Factor was awesome! In the cartoons and comics, human interaction is greatly minimized or none at all. The robots’ interaction with humans give them more personality and depth. Shia LaBeouf is a natural at comedy, Megan Fox was a little more than eye candy and John Turturro was entertaining and irritating at the same time. Personally, my favorite was that bling-wearing, drug addict Chihuahua, Mojo!

7) It was a genre-mashed awesomeness. Comedy, Drama, Suspense, Sci-Fi and Action, Transformers can be argued as a complete emotional rollercoaster.

8) Awesome Script. It’s just what you come to expect out of writers who are big fans of the franchise itself. With Steven Spielberg at the helm as a producer, you get a script that’s so nerdy that you can’t help but love.

9) Sequels are awesome! There are already two sequels lined up to follow the obvious success of Transformers. I hope Michael Bay is still the future director. The producers plan to introduce The Dinobots and The Constructicons! Coolness!

10) Fun is synonymous to...AWESOME! This movie is the best fun I’ve had at the movies for the entire year! This is one of the few instances where it's OK to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it's undeniably a whole lot of fun! I’d definitely watch it again and again! Even if it is 140 minutes long! Every second is worth it!

As you can’t see, I didn’t enjoy the movie THAT much. Haha! It was really, as I’ve used the word multiple times, AWESOME. This is a movie which requires little thinking. Just sit back and enjoy every bit of the movie. If you watch it objectively and point out is flaws and criticize the script, then you won’t enjoy this movie that much (this is what happened to my brother, Haha!). I too had minor criticisms but nothing that would prevent me from enjoying this nostalgic adventure! Just soak in the awesomeness of this movie and enjoy it for all its worth. It’s more than meets the eye. You know I just had to add that last line!

In one line, my overall review for this movie is POPCORN-STOPPING. It is one of the few movies that would actually make me stop eating my bag of popcorn due to pure amazement.

Starting with this post, I will try and answer your comments (if they need answering). I never really checked my Haloscan. I didn’t know I could respond to your comments using it! Hahaha!