I Love Joni!

Just a quick one to let fellow Joni Mitchell fans (I know there are a few of you out there) know that her new album, Shine, is already out locally. Don’t really know how long it’s been released, but it’s still in the New Releases of Music One. Bought a copy for 495 kesos. The album was percolating in my headphones the whole afternoon. Bliss….

Tags: jonimithcell, music

Stardusting

I drove for nearly 2 hours last Thursday from Alabang to PowerPlant and missed the first 5 minutes of Stardust. Good thing I’ve read the Charles Vess illustrated book and I more or less know what I’ve missed, otherwise I would have thrown a tantrum, or the popcorn, whichever was handier. Plus my girlfriend, who got in ahead of me, assured me that I didn’t miss much. And that she wanted to finish the popcorn.

It’s a well made movie in my opinion, despite the deviations from the book. The movie had a much lighter tone, and the ending differed somewhat. Plus Michelle Pfeiffer’s not in the book. Speaking of Pfeiffer, she must have 20 grandkids by now but she’s still hot! GILF FTW! Claire Danes on the other hand got uglier. Whatever happened to her? Sienna Miller had a pitifully small role here, which doesn’t bother me much. Pfeiffer’s still hotter than her.

The star (pun intended) of the movie for me was Robert De Niro who gave a superb performance as Capt. Shakespeare. This for me is his most memorable role in the last 10 years.

I am a big Neil Gaiman fan but I wasn’t at all disappointed with this film. Anyway, this is by no means a review. I’m just having mental diarrhea. Oops… gotta clean up now.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: neilgaiman, stardust, movies

Long time offline.

Just a quick post after being lost in the analog wilderness for almost 5 months. My PowerBook’s hard drive crashed last May. I just got another PowerBook last week and been trying to install and configure all the applications I used before. Luckily, I managed to retrieved most of my data from the crashed drive.

Now it’s a long ptrocess of trying to wrap my head around all these digital tools after relying solely on pen and paper. For fellow Mac addicts, check my profile on iusethis, with a list of my most used software.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: macosx, mac, iusethis

Phone Blogging

I got a new phone last week, a Sony Ericsson K800i. This is one of the first shots I took with the phone’s 3.2 megapixel camera. I’m also posting this entry using the phone, via an application called Shozu.

GodLovesUgly

Project 365, day 3.

This is Babo, the ugly doll. But he’s not really ugly. We both think so.

He is actually a gift my girlfriend got from her sister but I’ve gotten a little attached to him. He rides with me everyday and is quiet most of the time, but complains loudly when I use his tummy as my pillow. When the road is bumpy, he’s prone to jumping up and down and sometimes does a couple rounds of jumping jacks. I think he needs to see the dentist though.

But seriously, it’s nice to have a quiet companion who doesn’t mind me when I’m grumpy; doesn’t bug me for a bite off my cheeseburger; someone who’s appreciative, in his own quiet way, of my singing along to whatever’s blasting in my iPod earphones; and it helps a lot that he’s fluffy and gray and has cute yellow eyes. One of these days, I’ll teach him how to drink beer and check out the chicks in Alabang Town Center.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: babo, project 365, ugly doll

Come Bite The Apple

Project 365, day 2.

PowerBook and PowerNotebook perhaps? Or MacMoleskine?

I’m still very much obsessed with my Moleskine notebook, which is glaringly obvious. I guess I’m joining the back-to-paper movement, after a forced rehabilitation from 7 years of Palm addiction. I bought another Moleskine last night, a squared notebook this time, to which I’m migrating my to-dos/task lists from the PowerBook. This after weeks obsessing over which combination of software would help me get things done. Now it all boils down to pen and paper. I’m still trying to come up with the best system for this but I have a rough idea already. More on that next time, if I don’t give up, that is.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: apple, moleskine, powerbook, project 365

365 Days

Sometime before 2006 ended, I came across an article in Photojojo about Project 365, where you are encouraged to take a photo a day. I thought it would be a good challenge for me. I honestly don’t know how many weeks, or maybe even days, I can keep this up but I figure it’s worth a try. So here’s the first one.

January 1

My Montblanc Meisterstück fountain pen and my plain ruled Moleskine notebook, current objects of my obsession. In the background is my 12“ PowerBook. Analog and digital, yeah.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: fountain pen, meisterstuck, moleskine, montblanc, project 365, powerbook

Ink and Paper

I don’t know what it is about fountain pens but I love holding one. I love writing with it, even if my handwriting is mostly really lousy.
Way back in college, I had a Parker fountain pen that I got from my father. I used it to further my feeble attempts at being a poet. With a cassette of The Doors in the player (yes, we didn’t have CD players back then), a lapad bottle of Tanduay Rhum Dark in one hand and my trusty fountain pen in the other and a fresh page of my notebook lying in wait, I felt like Baudelaire or Rimbaud reincarnated. Well, a mediocre reincarnation, that is.
So back to the present, where I don’t drink Tanduay anymore, and that cassette must be in analog music heaven now. I’ve been meaning to get myself a cheap fountain pen for myself this christmas. This has been sparked by my interest in Moleskine notebooks, which I read about in a thread in the Philippine Macintosh Users Group forum, or PhilMUG. I was thinking of getting either a Parker or an Aurora pen.
A couple of mornings ago, I was in our bedroom getting ready for work when I heard my girlfriend downstairs shrieking. She ran up to our room and I was expecting to be told that our dogs fought again, or that our electricity bill had gone up the roof. I knew neither was the case when I saw she had a big smile on her face and a something black in her hand. Her dad apparently gave her one of his Meisterstück fountain pens. And knowing how much I wanted to have one, she then gave it to me. It also came with a bottle of Montblanc ink. Now I have to get myself a Moleskine notebook. And practice my cursives.

Technorati Tags: montblanc, Meisterstuck, moleskine

Happiness For Dogs

Is this a conspiracy between Pedigree and videogame console and accessories manufacturers? A couple of days ago, I read about this guy whose Xbox 360 was chewed by a dog. And today, my dog decided that my Wavebird wireless controller for the GameCube was yummy.  I wonder what they think of the Wiimote.

[composed and posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: GameCube, Wavebird, Nintendo

On The Road Again

My band, Loquy, played a gig in Davao last October 28 after almost a year of not gigging. We had a blast playing the gig, too bad I didn’t get to take pictures (I was busy playing, obviously). Here’s what we look like when we’re not playing.

First to arrive at the airport (after me, of course) was Niño, our flutician. Here he is looking happy and gay.

Second to arrive was Kevin looking very sleepy and hung-over but he perked up when I tried to take a picture of him.

Third to arrive was Louie, seen here having a smoke and coffee at the Tinder Box. It was a big surprise that he didn’t order beer. Or did he? Hmmm….

Accompanying us was Patrick Pulumbarit, former manager of Greyhoundz and Wolfgang, also known as “Red Bird”. No, his bird is not sore. It’s a name cooked-up by the Razorback or Wolfgang boys.

And here’s the obligatory band picture. Kevin loves Manny Pacquiao. Niño loves beer. Francis loves finger-smelling monkeys. I love Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. And Louie loves…umm… nothing?

The flight was super-delayed. Printed departure time was 3pm, and the flight left at 5pm so there was more than enough time for goofing off. Francis was lucky that it was delayed or he would have missed the flight. I guess lucky for us as well, or we would have had no drummer for the gig.
Here’s Francis goofing off with Niño.

And here’s Niño being himself, showing off his Spongebob Squarepants iPod case, and his mercedes-de-brazo eating prowess.

Here he is again post-gig, waxing poetic and philosophical aided by Red Horse.

After the gig and a long night and several bottles of beer, breakfast, er, brunch is in order of course. What to eat? What to drink?

I know… This special frappuccino looks good. Sounds better than engrish tea.

On the road again
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again,
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.

On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We’re the best of friends
Insisting that the world be turnin’ our way
And our way is on the road again….

[composed and posted with ecto]