The fabulous cheH tagged me with a... (drum roll please...)





Face Behind the blog meme.

Putting a face to the name of someone you haven’t met helps recognition and adds a more personal feel to your conversations.
What photograph shows you in a light we don’t often see through your blog?

I thought of a whole autobiographical account (in pictures) about me... but decided otherwise. (That would be a freakishly long post) So I settled with this one particular yellowish photo.


Look at me trying out for Baywatch. (I can't swim) I miss the good ole days when I can get away with a sando (tank top)... and when baby oil was used instead of sun block (ouch!) and by this I mean, that youthful notion of invincibility. I miss that...

We don't have beaches where I live. We have beeches (oooh, how original... a play on words). We actually have pine trees here in Baguio. Beeches just sounded (while I was typing it) wittier. I would have done the other homonym but I can't claim that my city is in any way special with regard the female dog populace. Anyhoo...

The salty scent of a nearby beach can send tingles up the spine of anyone who has spent most of hisher life on a plateau and whose regular notion of "a lot of water" is the Santo Tomas reservoir. The sight of the sky blue on teal horizon line never fails to take my breath away (Just ignore the canoodling couple in the background of this particular photograph) The rhythmic sound of crashing waves is as foreign a sound to a Baguio citizen as the sneeze of an Emperor Penguin is to an outback aborigine.

The largest amount of sand one sees in Baguio would be a 3 foot hill of gray sand outside a house being constructed. Enough to bury someone totally... but not enough to play beach volleyball on.
I love the beach. The sight, the smell, the sound and the feel of it all. (I'll add taste in this statement if and when I find myself crazy enough to taste sand)




I am tagging anyone who
a. reads this, and
b. hasn't done this yet.

(And by that, I mean you... I have a counter that records IP addresses so you better do it... or else, you'll find me sometime next week knocking on your door with a shovel and a bucket of sand)

Check David Airey's blog for details.





Link-o-Rama

David Airey :: Graphic Designer
Gayla at Mom Gadget
Char at Essential Keystrokes
Paul at Reflections
Rob at 2Dolphins
Zep at The In-Sect
Ingo at Stixster
Stevie at Lost In Cyberspace
The Paper Bull at (oddly enough) The Paper Bull
Lisa Sabin-Wilson at Just A Girl In The World
Dawud Miracle at dmiracle.com
Wendy Piersall at eMoms at Home
Dennis Bjørn Petersen at The Beta News
Randa Clay at Randa Clay Design
Drew McLellan at The Marketing Minute
Becky McCray at Small Biz Survival
Phil Gerbyshak at Make it Great!
Steve Woodruff at StickyFigure
Dave Olson at Live the GREAT life that you desire
Greg at Become a Remote Control SEO
Ariane Benefit at Neat & Simple Living Blog
Genesis at the At Home Mom Blog
Armen at iFFECT.NET
Mihaela Lica at Online Public Relations
Tara at Graphic Design Blog
Doris Chua at Home Office Women
Edward Mills at Evolving Times
Tony D. Clark at Success from the Nest
Jonathan-C Phillips at SmartWealthyRich
Karen at A Deaf Mom Shares Her World
Lisa Gates at intrinsic life design
Rammel Firdaus at rammelfirdaus.com
Carol at Pentimento
Adam Kayce at Monk at Work
Thomas at Technical Blogger
Tammy Lenski at I Can’t Say That!
Chris Brown at Branding & Marketing
Rory Sullivan at Hamelife
Derek Wong at Going The Wong Way
Embuck at embuck.com
Ms. Q at QMusings
Shelly Tucker at This Eclectic Life
Steve at Ramblings from the Marginalized
Troy Worman at on!blog
Lilith at Lilith’s Owl Nest
Revov at REVO-OVER
Karin at Stop/Start
Sha at Sha Money Maker dot com
Derrick Sorles at Life By Design
Ken Xu at Mysites Advisor dot com
Roberta at Roberta Ferguson
Donovan at Blog That Outside
Leanne Wildermuth at Artist by Nature
Ingrid at Through My Eyes
Don Lawson at Affiliate Watcher
The Giddy Tiger at Giddy Tigers
Mike Busson at Twenty Steps
Rosemarie at Miscellaneous Matters
Charity at Design Adaptations
Nancy at Erik Quinn: The Heart of a Family
Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz
Chris at Chris Hoyt
Faddy at Girl Next Door
Thess at In Nederland
Jean at A Great Pleasure
Suzie at 1Day@ATime
Jason at Blisslogs
Johnny at Really Smart Guy
Bob at BobMeetsWorld.com
Chin Nee at De ‘moments
Skipper at My Life Starts At Forty-Two
Seiche at Seiche
Leah at Leah’s Cafe
iRonnie at I Set No Corner
Andrew Boyd at Facibus on Blogging
Josie at Josie Two Shoes
Dr Ellen Webber at Brain Based Business
Mika at Text Unlimited
Nell at Tales of a Melodramatic Moron
Pen at the pen is mightier than the sword
Jamie at Terinea Weblog
Orlanes at Wanderlust
Cheh at Moderately confused Pinay in Deutschland
Mrs Pektus at Borrowed Heaven
K at K, speaking!
Chase at Queer Chef
Hanne at Lucid Unreality
Jill at Gelb9
Tish at The Kat House
Jessica at Life is RANTastic!
Logtar at Logtar’s Blog
Julie at TeacherJulie.com
Wilson at Get it Funk
Sue at Life in the Urban Zoo
Isabelle at Tricotine

Labels: alternati, memes

(lashing a whip simultaneously)

After being tormented by a friend of mine, who saw the movie several days before I did, with chants of "spider pig, spider pig...", I did what any self respecting Simpson fan would do... I saw the movie the moment free time peeked its elusive head.

Nome and a dooohme, a scissor lift and cocoa, the actual geographic location of Springfield, Homer finally overcoming that canyon...
I was thoroughly satiated by the movie. *sigh*



It's only proper to do a Simpsons 13th list. Here are...

13 Simpsonized Celebrities
(and then some...)

The first celebrity to ever be credited "himself" in the show was Tony "I Left my Heart in San Francisco" Bennett. I couldn't find a yellowed image of him online... so I picked these guys instead.



EDIT: Bush Sr. didn't actually "guest" in the show...





Ok, The Real List....

Lisa: So, Maggie's not a genius?
Cowell: She could be, at sweeping up hair.
Homer gets angry.
Homer: That's my baby jerk.
Homer punches Simon.
Cowell: Ow! You call that a punch? I felt it. But it was like so what!
Homer punches him again.
Cowell: Ooh! Again with the nose. I have a chin you know.



(Mulder and Scully watch Homer jogging on a treadmill)
Mulder: Wait a minute Scully, what's the point of this test?
Scully: No point. I just thought he could stand to lose a little weight.
Mulder: His jiggling is almost hypnotic!
Scully: Yes. It's like a lava lamp.



Mick Jagger: Welcome to Rock n' Roll Fantasy Camp, where you'll experience the complete rock n' roll lifestyle, without the lawsuits and STDs.
Homer: Wooo! STDs!




Lisa: Look! It's J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books! You've turned a generation of kids onto reading.
Rowling: Thank you, young muggle.
Lisa: Can you tell me what happens at the end of the series?
Rowling: He grows up and marries you. Is that what you want to hear?
Lisa: Yes…




Corgan: Hey cannonball, I like your statement: when life takes a cheap shot at you, you stand your ground. Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins.
Homer: Homer Simpson, smiling politely




Hawking: Your theory of a donut shaped universe is intriguing Homer, I may have to steal it.
Homer: Wow, I can't believe someone I never heard of is hanging out with a guy like me.




White: I love the sexy slither of a lady snake.




Paul: Linda and I both feel strongly about animal rights. In fact, if you play "Maybe I'm Amazed" backwards, you'll hear a recipe for a really ripping lentil soup.
Lisa: When will all those fools learn that you can be perfectly healthy simply eating vegetables, fruits, grains and cheese.
Apu: Oh, cheese!
Lisa: You don't eat cheese, Apu?
Apu: No I don't eat any food that comes from an animal.
Lisa: Ohh, then you must think I'm a monster!
Apu: Yes indeed I do think that. But, I learned long ago Lisa to tolerate others rather than forcing my beliefs on them. You know you can influence people without badgering them always. It's like Paul's song, "Live and Let Live".
Paul: Actually, it was "Live and Let Die".
Apu: Well, whatever, whatever. it had a good rhythm.




Hawk: Homer, you're heading for parental face plant! Do a 180 emotional ollie.
Homer: Finally, someone explains it to me in words I can understand!


Hope: (Entertaining troops) Hi I'm Bob "what the hell am I doing in Springfield" Hope. Hey, this mayor Quimby, he's some golfer. His ball spends more time underwater than Greg Louganis.

(P.S. I don't get the joke either...)




(On the way to school, Otto stops the bus and offers Metallica a ride; their tour bus has broken down.)
Otto: So what are you waiting for? Hop in.
James Hetfield: (Chuckles) Hop in what?
(The school bus peels away with Bart at the wheel.)
Bart: Look at me, I'm Otto! I'm a hundred years old and I drive a school bus!
Otto: Oh, man. Maybe me and Metallica can go splitsies on a cab.
(Hans Moleman slowly drives by in a pickup truck, with Metallica and their gear in the bed of the truck.)
Kirk Hammett: Hey, loser, we got a ride from a real fan!
Hans Moleman: I used to sleep with Lars' grandmother.
Robert Trujillo: Never listen to our music again!
(Hans Moleman pulls away as Metallica plays an instrumental from the song, "Master of Puppets.")




Leonard Nimoy: (appraising the monorail) I'd say this vessel could do at least warp 5.
Mayor Quimby: Yes, and may I say, "May the Force be with you."
Leonard Nimoy: annoyed) Do you even know who I am?
Mayor Quimby: I think I do. Aren't you one of the Little Rascals?




Billie Joe Armstrong: We've been playing for three and a half hours, and now we'd like to take a minute of you time to say something about the environment.
(The Springfieldians start booing & throwing garbage)

(And then the stage is upended... sinks... and Green Day does that Titanic violin thing.... hilarious!!!)




Honorable Mentions
Let's see how many you can recognize...






That was fun, no? Here's another one... Trying naming the album covers The Simpsons parodied.













Left: Nevermind (Nirvana)
Middle: Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen)
Right: Abbey Road (The Beatles)






I dunno which confirmed guest appearance I'm more anxious to see... Amy Winehouse or Jon Stewart. Predicament... predicament...










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Labels: area 13, blah (3x), geek am i

Michael Scofield had to spend months studying and researching every single thing between a screw he can use as an Allen wrench to D.B. Cooper, had to tattoo about 50 percent of his body with things as vital as structural plans of Fox River Penitentiary to a thanks-for-tattooing-the-obvious "Christ in a Rose" (alluding to Christina Rose, his mom's and boat's names... Does one really need a tattoo to remember a huge boat christened with your mom's name?) Anyhoo... He also mastered folding paper cranes. He did this all to escape from one prison... and eventually end up in another one.

(Post-Spoiler Alert)

My mode of escape is far less taxing, not to mention friendlier (and non-permanent) to the skin. These are all I need...



After catching an inch thick layer of dust on my movie backlog shelf, I finally got to see Pan's Labyrinth. It is, visually, a very beautiful film. It shows the whimsical world of Princess Moanna filled with faeries and magical chalk... but also, doesn't shy away from showing the terrifying world of fascist Spain filled with death, torture and a sliced mouth.


I always enjoy a well made film with not so well known actors. The absence of top-billed celebrities almost always lets the story and the craft stand out. A delight... as opposed to a mental montage of previous astounding roles flashing through one's head while watching a well known actor crash and burn, one suffers through in most well publicized films.


There is much to be said about fantasy literature... and conversely fantasy films. The transient escape they offer, no matter how bizarre to students of cynicism, is priceless.

Legendary authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis wrote escapist literature to the nth degree. Although probably not intentional, it seems they designed alternate realities to the Second World War. The fantasy worlds may have elves, dwarves, centaurs and a magical lamp post... but the terrors of war and death are real and wholly prevalent, but with a inkling that in the end, goodness will prevail.


Both put the fate of the world in the hands of seemingly atypical characters. Atypical in the sense that they are not a ripped Hercules or an Excalibur wielding King Arthur. Hobbits and children are the primary heroes in these tales... an empowering idea that anyone with a courageous heart can be epic worthy. They (as said poignantly by Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire) rely on the kindness of strangers. A faun with a red scarf, an emaciated hobbit with multiple personalites, talking beavers, talking trees... And they are under the guidance of someone "enlightened" in the Dalai Lama sense of the word... a white wizard and a lion with a soothing voice.


They wage war against the most Goliath-esque of enemies with legions of ferocious pawns. Sauron with his Nazgul, orcs and Uruk-hai... Jadis with her wolves, dwarves and minotaurs.

Contemporary works follow a similar trend. J.K. Rowling, especially so in her final books, had less than subtle metaphors about terrorism guised as deatheaters and dementors.


Even the Wachowski brother's Matrix Trilogy, has the elements of unlikely heroes and impossible enemies (not to mention insanely chic eyewear)


Escapism is underrated. Many brush it off as works of whimsy made by wishful authors or brothers on pot. Attempts at belittling reality. To the contrary, I believe these books and films capture the essence of the times they were made more than history books and CNN specials. The characters are ironically made more relateable (yes, even with hobbit feet and wands), the emotions on war more authentic. (yes, even with the dramatic speeches before engaging in battle) It captures the pre-war anxiety, the terrors of war, and the post-war oxymoron of, for lack of a better term, a bitter sweet ending.

(Ok, even I puked a little in my mouth with all this sentimentality)

Tolkien said it best...
"Escapism (has) an element of emancipation in its attempt to figure a different reality"



It's kinda like bad news broken gently during bedtime.












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Labels: blah (3x), boo-freakin-hoo, Bookworms Anonymous, movies