Hi! So I'm pretty sure you know who I am by now. This is probably the 10th version of this blogsite and there's good reason for it (well, at least I think there is).. things change. My interests, happenings in my life.. .everything changes, sometimes for the worse but hopefully for the better.

I thought.. .
Friday, July 18th, 2008, 6:34p

..this day would never come.. .

But it's finally here.. This could possibly be the..

..best..

..movie..

..EVER!!!

I'm giddy.. .
Thursday, July 17th, 2008, 7:18p

I'm giddy like a cheerleader who was asked to the prom by the star quarterback.

Just a little over 24 hours and I'll be seeing my girlfriend. ;-)

That and I'll be at the opening night of 'The Dark Knight'.. God, I hope this movie isn't a let down. The last time I was sooo hyped for a movie was for 'Spider Man 3' and look what happened. It sucked ass!!

It's really amazing how much of an influence that pop culture has had on my life.. Especially with movies and tv.. During lunch, my co-workers and I were sitting around talking about our fave television shows and it was funny to find out how much we all had in common.. to imagine that when we were younger, we were all watching and laughing at the same tv shows.. One show that we all agreed was at the top of our list was 'Married with Children'.. Al Bundy was the MAN! My mom absolutely loved that show.. Even after the show ended, we always caught the repeats.

The one classic episode that we were raving about was the one where Al visits his old high school only to find that the trophy he won during the finals was stolen by his arch rival Spare Tire Dixon (played by Bubba Smith).. That was the BEST episode!

(courtesy of youtube.com)

I'm all about the good ideas.. .
Sunday, July 13th, 2008, 9:44p

That's how I do.

Hey all. Another blog entry, another weekend gone by.. I'm here at home watching the Mets / Rockies game with 1/2 a pepperoni pizza left in front of me..

I spent a majority of the weekend cleaning up here at home and then with Mariko at her apartment in Astoria.. We were trying to get tickets for the free Bon Jovi concert at Central Park but oh well.. I was trying to make it up to her by picking up tix at his concert this Monday/Tuesday night at MSG, but with tix starting at $200-300 a pop.. .I think I'll just hum 'I'll Be There for You' the next time I see her..

We didn't do too much.. and I think it was on purpose.. after our nearly sleepless weekend in Virginia and stressful week at work (although she did work a day more than I did), our bodies just totally shut down and we spent most of the weekend sleeping.

Things are good, blog.. really. It's funny how certain aspects of life tend to balance out. I've removed myself from unhealthy (emotionally speaking) situations and it's really paid off.. There's just one more situation that I need to fix..

The weekend fantastic.. .
Thursday, July 11th, 2008, 6:21p

Bleud had our first show in a while.. we were sponsored by taglish tees who invited us to play (alongside The Speaks) the Filipino Friendship Day in Virginia and we totally had a blast! Not since our first out of state gig in Maryland did Bleud travel in 4 separate vehicles..

The ride there was completely exhausting.. We left JC around 11pm and didn't get to the resort until 5am!! Nowadays Bleud is all about style and this past July 4th weekend was no exception. We stayed at a resort in Williamsburg and it was totally happenin'! this place had everything! Indoor pool, outdoor pool, washer, dryer, and the best was the jacuzzziiiii!!!

The sights were sighted and the scenes were scene.. Bleud rocked as usual.. we took tons of photos, ate tons of food.. if this is what rock star life is all about, shit, sign me up!!!

It was great to spend a whole weekend with the entire Bleud family (Arnold's kids and all!) and it was that more special that Mariko was there too.. we had our moment, underneath a tree in the rain..

The Speaks were cool.. Virginia Bee-otch was neat.. Sonic burgers rock!!

I own the road.. .
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008, 6:47p

A couple of Targets, Walmarts and Toys 'R Us visits later I finally have my own copy of Mario Kart for the Wii!!! Who's game?! Oh, if you wanna play, just send me your Wii# and I'll see you on the racetrack!

The Wii wheel is pretty cool.. Part of me still prefers the old school controller (which I'll probably pick up sometime next paycheck), but it's fun nonetheless.. I should've picked the wheel up when it was on sale at Target last week, but.. eh.. who woulda thunk that I was able to happen upon a few copies of the game? After spending quite a bit of time on the phones and in stores out-of-town, who knew that it would end up at the local Toys 'R Us? I guess the lady did know what she was talking about when she said that they might be getting some today (I was there yesterday afternoon)..

Gimme 'dat shet.. .
Monday, June 30th, 2008, 10:36p

Everybody wants something.

I'm a bit hungry. I want a burger. And a shake. That sounds really good right about now. Hi all.

It's a short week at work. I'll be in the office tomorrow and then Wednesday, most likely on the road. Thursday eve, Bleud will be heading to Virginia for a show.. it's been a while and it feels good to play..

I'm looking for some new music.. specifically j-rock.. Mr Tan recommended a few bands including Hearts Grow, Stance Punks, Long Shot Party and Flow.. I've never heard of any of those so I'm looking forward. I'm searching for some on youtube.. there's some really good Pillows music.. I want to update my iPod rotation.. I'm sick of my current play list. Anyone else have any recommendations? E-mail me..

Esjay and I are working on a little side project. If you know what to search for, she has some really awesome youtube videos that I was inspired by.. I want to do a mock Sesame Street/Mr Rogers show for fun.. (a la Avenue Q) I have all these ideas in my head so we're gonna sit down and come up with some stuff.. .

Damn, another project? *haha*

Good morning.. .
Monday, June 23rd, 2008, 7:26a

Hey everyone. Hope your weekend was swell. (swell?) Check out this youtube video featuring two of the manliest (sp?) men EVER! Its Arnold vs Stallone! Fantastic and funny editing job with a bunch of wtf?! moments. My fave part is where they face off w/ the machine guns.. enjoy!

Thanks to latinoreview.com for helping me start off the week on the funnier side of the spectrum.

Stop calling me people.. .
Friday, June 20th, 2008, 8:35p

Yes. Fate has brought me to this day. Finally. I will have my iPhone. July 11th, baby! Actually, maybe not *exactly* on July 11th. Maybe more like.. I dunno. . End of August or something.. No really! I'm gonna get it this time!

In other news, I just found out that I only have 13 more minutes left before I go over on my anytime minutes.. *eep*

Before I start my weekend.. .
Friday, June 20th, 2008, 8:08p

Hi. So yeah, there goes my Friday night. The original plans were to take my parents to watch 'The Love Guru.' No, seriously. My mom is a big fan of Mini Me (Vern Troyer) of the Austin Powers series.. So she sees the Love Guru commercial and sees Troyer getting flung across an ice rink and later says that she wants to Mini Me go ice skating.. I was like, huh!? After realizing what she was talking about, I planned to take them the following Friday evening.

Turns out they had double booked plans.. a friend of theirs had already made plans to treat them out. *grr*

Anywho.. I still have plans this weekend. Mariko and I are heading down to Egg Harbor tomorrow morning to the Renault Winery for some wine tasting. So sophisticated, no? *hehhe* Yeah, I'm a first timer so it'll be fun! Hope the weather holds up from today..

But before the fun starts, I've got a few things to take care of..

[x] Install a chain lock on my parents front door
[x] Laundry
[x] Clean the gerbil cage(s)
[ ] Drop off blank cds at Teds
[ ] Wrap Mariko's present
[x] Pay phone bill
[x] Renew my domain name

Busy busy busy..

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.. .
Friday, June 20th, 2008, 7:00p

About a month ago, I brought my Wii over to Mariko's after she mentioned that she never played before. (!?!) After setting it up and creating her Mii, we attempted to play a few rounds of Wii Bowling only to get the 'Unable to read disc' message over and over again.. After the need to Wii had passed, I did some research on the web and found this forum where a few users were reporting the same experience that I had.. A few mentioned that the Wii was actually scratching up their discs to the point that he had to pick up another copy.. one even went as far as saying that even after purchasing another Wii Sports disc, that one ended up getting scratched too.. *bleh*

Fast foward to the present and I finally get a chance to do further research on how to get the Wii fixed.. I registered my Wii on the Nintendo website and found out that I had an extended warrant of 90 days. I also found some troubleshooting tips just to make sure that sending the Wii off for repairs was the last and final solution. So I hooked up my Wii to test it out and whaddayaknow.. Friggin' thing works fine. Go fig.

Not that I'm complaining or anything! I think I'm going to pick up the new Mario Kart and Smash Bros. game.. *woot-woot!*

East siiiiiide.. .
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008, 1:11a

This past weekend, Mariko found out about another film festival in New York. There are just tons of happenings across the river! This past Saturday, Mariko and I attended the Second annual New York Food & Film Festival in Long Island City.

Despite the glum weather (thunder and lighting and rain, oh my!) we made our way onto the 7 train to Vernon Blvd and walked down to the NY Water Taxi area.. The festival was rain or shine (and they were serious about the rain) which made our trip all the more interesting. Yeah, man.. it was POURING out! We were right by the water, so the wind was picking up, the rain was really heavy and the tent that covered the small gathering of people seemed as if it were going to blow away at any moment. I thought Mariko and I were going to have a Dorothy and Toto moment..

Now, the concept of the festival is simple. Indy films combined with good food.. Like one of the hosts said in so many words, 'We show you great films about food and then we feed you that food.' Cool, huh? So Mariko picked opening night and what a night it was. After a few mini films, including one that showed a bunch of ice cream melting and un-melting *ahem*, we were treated to free cheesesteaks as we watched the feature attraction, 'This is My Cheesesteak.' It was a film about (you guessed it) the cheesesteak and it's beginnings. The film was so much fun, it was interesting and very informative. The cheesesteak wasn't all that bad either! Follow the linkage for the official website.

So here's the list of Cheesesteak joints that we're gonna hit in Philadelphia..

Pat's King of Steaks
Geno's Steaks
Jim's Steaks
Tony Luke's Olde Philly Style Sandwiches
John's Roast Pork
and
Steve's Prince of Steaks.

Anyone up for a cheesesteak?

Muse me.. .
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008, 12:34a

Still up. The Mets are on the west coast which means the games don't start until around 10pm here.. *bleh* It's cool 'cuz it works out for me. I'm most creative in the early hours of the morning which is why I'm usually up until around 1-2ish.. I know, it's not a good thing, but hey.. anything for the craft, right?

Speaking of which, just an update on the status of my writing.. I've been writing. I've just been keeping a bit low-key. I owe Ted and the rest of Bleud, a demo cd.. a demo cd that I've been working on and off for the past few months.. On the cd so far, are songs named, 'Lipstick Junkie,' 'Honey Chan,' 'Sweet Ride,' 'Disgustingly Happy,' 'iSpy,' 'You Don't Need Me,' and 'Emo-Nomo.' It's very easy for me to say that things are definitely different.. my outlook on things are very different.. so, naturally, my method and perspective in writing is.. different. I'm happy with how things are going and I'm looking forward to see how the band is going to accept.. or reject.. . the music. Either way, I'm just happy that my muse finally decided to show up after all this time..

Better late than never, no?

Aww sit.. .
Thursday, June 13th, 2008, 1:12a

For anyone interested, it's that time of year again. It's the New York Asian Film Festival which will be running from June 20th to July 6th. Unfortunately, I've been missing out on in the past few years, but not this time. The last time I was at the nyaff was in 2005 when I went to see 'Godzilla: Final Wars'. So again, click here to check out the entire schedule as well as for ticket information.

See you there!

So ulcer inducing.. .
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008, 11:02p

Being a ny (mets) sports fan can really take its toll.. It's something that I can't explain but it's something that I'm really into. I consider myself a huge fan (mets).. I stay up late at night to watch the games when the team is on the west coast, when at a bar, I ask the tender to change the channel to the game, I listen to the game in the car, I read the sports section of the newspaper every morning (even when I know they lost).. Even during the off season, I read the headlines, following the different trade rumors about how the team can make themselves better.. I've been to games, I've played the video games.. I take the abuse from the haters.. and even though they have a losing season.. I'm always there to follow the team during spring training.. .

So Billy blew the save (again) tonight.. .what's wrong with this team? But yeah.. they still won (31-33). It took 13 innings, but they won when Beltran hit a two-run walk-off home run.. . *ugh*

I don't try not to give a hoot.. .
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008, 5:45p

You know it takes more than three licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop. As a matter of fact, it takes a whole lot of sucking, too.. .

*ahem*

Umm.. what was my original point. Oh right. Song writing. (eh?) Trust me, there's a connection, albeit a very faint one.. (you'll see)

Song writing. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been inspired and I've recently gotten back into writing mode. Yes, it's been quite sometime since I've written a song that the band worked on and performed (see 'Starbuck').. ever since then, it's just been this empty void of uninspired downtime and unproductive months.. . Nada, zero, zilch in regards to music has been produced and it's been sooo frustrating.. .and if anything has come out, after a second listen it just sounds silly or (I feel like) it doesn't fit what the band has become.. .

Which is why I started up a second band.. .in an attempt to fullfill my Weezer wannabe persona, I started up another band. The original plan was to just do Weezer covers, perhaps test some songs that I wrote, but then it quickly became something else. I wasn't the lead anything and took a backseat, literally, behind the drums. I wanted be away from the spotlight, away from the pressure of writing music.. I just wanted to release some built up frustration and take it out on the snare sitting in front of me.. but at the same time, I wanted to write like I wrote during my first band. Stupid, thoughtless songs that didn't mean anything to anyone else except for me. But now, two songs that I wrote, that I really like, are in the hands of another.. Why did I give them away? I guess in an attempt to contribute..

But now, I've taken on another project.. and yes, I may be spreading myself thin, but I luv writing music.. I luv being creative and like I mentioned before, I've become inspired. And a majority of these songs are straight from this fresh feeling of <3 that I've been experiencing for the past 2+ months and it's great.. . .it's great.. . so yeah, no matter what lyrics or style of music comes out, I really don't give a hoot about what anyone will think.. .

See? There it is! Mr Owl!? Hoot?!

You're incredible.. .
Monday, June 9th, 2008, 9:32p

I can't wait to see this.. .In some ways this is a sequel (it picks up pretty much where the first left off) but for the most part (and in the eyes of 95% of comic book fans everywhere) it's a re-envisioning of Ang Lee's version of the Hulk (which I actually liked).

I realize that alot of fans were expecting a more brutal, destructive and action-packed movie.. Instead, we got a movie that focused more on the pain and suffering of the character.. I just don't like how all the critics knocked Ang Lee for the movie. C'mon. This is the director who brought us movies such as 'Sense and Sensibility,' 'Eat Drink Man Woman,' and 'The Wedding Banquet.' What did Marvel expect? Perhaps they confused him with John Woo? And again, I really enjoyed the perspective that they took with Banner's character, showing that he was very troubled, an emotionally unstable individual.. 'cuz that's what made him into the Hulk! Bruce is a crazy mo fo!

Now there are some things that I'm looking forward to in this movie (more high-paced action, the Abomination!) and there are some things that I wished didn't change.. .

I wish the cast stayed the same. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Edward Norton, but have you seen the trailers? He's so.. himself. Ok, so you probably could've said the same thing as Eric Bana, but seriously. Have you seen him lately? I've grown to enjoy his performances and I think if he got a second crack at it I think he would've totally rocked it. And Liv Tyler? C'mon now. Would you really trade her for Jennifer Connelly? Please.

By the by, if you do some searching on the internet, you'll find the latest trailer to the Incredible Hulk and a pretty cool surprise right at the beginning of it.. and its 200% more spectacular than what was seen at the end of the Iron Man movie credits.. . cameos galore!

Wah!

Yeah, I'm a comic book geek, what can I say?!

I eat too much.. .
Sunday, June 8th, 2008, 10:08p

.. but it doesn't really show.. Here's a quick rundown of the spots that I hit this past weekend.. .

Thursday, Yakitori Taisho
Friday, Brick Cafe
Saturday, Belmar Seafood Festival & Pete & Elda's Pizza
Sunday, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, Brooklyn Ice Cream

Yeah, I think I totally overindulged.. but there's nothing wrong with good food, right!? I think my fave the entire weekend was the L&L BBQ place that Mariko and I found in the downtown (ny) area..

Hey everyone. I'm sitting on the floor (too hot to sit on the couch) of Mariko's living room with the NBA finals on the tv, blogging about the past few days while she's in the kitchen (where the a/c is) uploading photos from the beach onto her laptop..

My feet are killing me.. .someone call 9-1-1. (get it?) No seriously, my feet are killing me.. I haven't done as much walking this past weekend than I have in the past month of May.. .er.. actually, that may be a slight exaggeration.. . maybe. If only I could get reimbursed for the footage that I do every month.. like how I get money back for putting work-related miles on my car.. .that would so rock.

I'm off from work tomorrow. I have another root canal scheduled in the morning, and after feeling the way that I did after the last one, I decided to just take a day. Besides, I'm also planning to get a haircut, do some laundry, wash my car and take care of a few more things (pay stupid parking ticket, write more music) before heading back to work on Tuesday..

And about the music.. .I'm inspired. Truly inspired. I can't wait to continue writing from this past weekend.. .

Random movie stuff.. .
Sunday, June 8th, 2008, 8:56p

Some random thoughts as they come.. . Hey, check out the image to the left. Courtesy of my fave movie reference website, cinematical, it's a promo poster for Kill Bill. (click on the image for a larger version) Such creativity! Man, wish I had a job like this.. .Look at how the blood just splatters out onto the street and past the car!! Incredible!

Speaking of cinematical, check this trailer out for the movie, 'On the Doll'.. .definitely not for the faint of heart.. esp. guys.. jeezus..

Zoobee zoobee zoo.. .
Monday, June 2nd, 2008, 10:08p

Last time I was at the zoo was probably when I was 6-7 years old.. Fast forward *censored* years later, armed with my aviator glasses, quick and witty sarcasm and a beautiful girlfriend, I find myself at the Bronx Zoo again, this time with a much better appreciation for all that was.. . I had such an incredible time (mainly because of the company that I had)! It's funny though how your perspective changes the older that you get.. From not really remembering, to being in awe of all the animals to feeling sorry for them that they're locked away in cages.. . How would we feel if we were locked away behind bars as animals were walking by taking pictures of us and talking as if we didn't understand them? It's funny too, because most of the animals were either sleeping or had their backs turned to us.. I liked how the Red Panda saw us and just walked away.. .*heh*

But yeah, Mariko and I had alot of fun and I'm sure we'll be heading back soon.. Next time, we'll pack our own lunches (can you believe water cost 2.50?! ridonkulous!) and hopefully there will be more animal action.. .

ROWWRRRR!!!!

(edited on Sunday, 6/08, 9:14pm)

Nuthin' but the tooth.. .
Monday, June 2nd, 2008, 9:46p

When I was younger, I remember taking many trips to the dentist.. I remember when my dentist used gas to dull the pain of drilling.. I remember the bitter taste of the spray novicane and the numbness that followed.. I remember having my wisdom teeth partially pulled out .. I remember having to wear braces and retainers during high school.. And I'll definitely remember having my first root canal earlier today.. After work, I went to the dentist for my appointment, totally dreading the canalization of my rootness.. and just when I thought the worse was over, after another x-ray, I found out that I had to go through the whole thing.. again. Thankfully, not in the same day, but next week.. but in some ways, I kinda wished that I could've gotten everything over with in one shot.. *ugh* My jaw is still sore and it still hurts when I bite down, despite a couple of pair of aspirin..

Someone pass me an apple.. .

I like Chocolate.. .
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008, 11:27p

Meet Yanin "Jeeja" Vismitananda. She will beat your ass. Seriously. She's the star of Prachya Pinkaew's (Ong Bak) latest film, 'Chocolate'.. and she's incredible! She's totally the female Tony Jaa! Here's a quick synopsis courtesy of imdb.com..

'An autistic woman with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money.. .'

Ok, so.. just like every other martial arts film out there, it doesn't sound like it has much of a plot, but that's part of what makes it a martial arts FILM! There's usually one theme when it comes to martial arts action! REVENGE!! That's all you need, baby!!! Check out the trailer courtesy of youtube.. .

TELL me you DON'T wanna see this!!! Did you see how she TOTALLY pwned the one dude through the pipe?!?!

So Sassy.. .
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008, 6:42p

If you know me pretty well, you'll know that I'm a huge movie fan. And if you know me even better, you'll know that I'm a purist when it comes to film. Remakes are incredibly insulting to me.. especially if the remake is terrible and does absolutely no justice to the original. And really, the current hollywood movie making trend is just ridiculous. The way I see it, there are three genres that are totally being milked by h-wood. 1) Comic books 2) the 80s and 3) asian cinema. If you're fan of asian cinema, then you know of the reboot thats been going on for the past decade or so due to the lack of creativy but moreso as the latest cashcow craze.. .and for this, I absolutely detest hollywood. Here's just a few of my fave asian films that I just wish they would've left alone.. .

Ringu (The Ring), Ju-on (The Grudge), Shall We Dansu (Shall We Dance), Dark Water, One Missed Call, The Eye, Infernal Affairs (The Departed), Il Mare (The Lake House), Shutter, and soon.. .A Tale of Two Sisters (The Uninvited) (which is actually slated for 2009).. I even heard that remakes are in the works for Battle Royale and Old Boy..

But then, they just did done did it.. .One of my favorite Korean films of all time has gone through the h-wood remakification process. . My Sassy Girl. . I was ALMOST interested when I heard that Elisha Cuthbert (Girl Next Door) was cast as the sassy one, but.. then I saw this..

My heart bleeds.. . my heart bleeds. But you know what.. according to my fave movie site, cinematical, this remake is going straight to dvd. HA! Losers.

And nothing against Elisha, but.. she's no Jeon Ji-Hyun..

I believe.. .
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008, 4:34p

I am sooo looking forward to this movie. Just walked through the door, plopped onto my couch, turned on the tube and there they were. Mulder and Scully on a retro episode of the X-Files. This past weekend, Mariko and I stopped by her friend's house who is going away for a month+.. as a favor, he asked Mariko and the rest of his friends to take care of his dvd collection.. and what a collection it is! Luckily for me.. he's an X-Files fan and had the ENTIRE collection! First inclination was to take seasons 1-9, but I felt bad. I mean, again, he's Mariko's friend and I barely know the guy (this was actually the first time I've ever met him).. But yeah, I've always wanted to pick up the first season 'cuz usually the first three, maybe four seasons of a show are probably the best and from reviews of past episodes, Chris Carter was just ON it when the X-Files first debuted. And yeah, it's great to see that they're actually filming wrapping up a second film!

Great stuff, man.. great stuff.

Wicked.. .
Friday, May 23rd, 2008, 1:35a

Just got back from the city.. Mike and Rhoda are in town for Memorial Day weekend and it was great seeing them! How long has it been? 3 years? Maybe more? A few months ago they had called me saying that they were planning to come to NY for mem weekend and that one of the things they wanted to do was to see 'Wicked' I was dying to see it and so I picked up a ticket as soon as they told me the date.. . Despite that I was happy to see Mike, Rhoda and Mikey (Soto), I felt bad because 1) Mariko wasn't able to see it with me and 2) my brother had a get together earlier this evening for this birthday which is officially today.. .

:-/

With Mariko, I had met her just after I had bought the ticket.. .but like she said, it would've been a bit awkward to ask her to go see a broadway show just after a few weeks of dating.. .but still, especially with seeing 'Wicked' being one of the things that we've been wanting to do together, I was bummed that it didn't happen..

With my brother, he sent an evite about his get-together about 2 weeks ago.. . *ugh* I felt really bad about not being able to meet up with him..

I just find it.. funny.. . how somedays I'm just sitting at home, bored out of my mind 'cuz everyone is out doing something else and then other other days, everyone's calling, wanting to do something. . But yeah, I guess I really can't be everywhere at the same time..

I really hope they let us out early tomorrow.. .

In a New York state of mind.. .
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008, 7:28p

Not too many people know that I was actually born in the Bronx.. And although I grew up in Jersey City and have spent most of my life here, I consider myself a New Yorker at heart. At the very center of my love affair with the city that never sleeps, is my fanaticism (is this even a word?) with the local sports teams, the Giants, Knicks and Mets.. .Yeah, if there's one thing I'm hardcore NY about, it's sports. One thing though, the irony of being a Mets fan is that, again, I grew up in the Bronx. Although my dad was a huge Yankee fan (prior to the baseball strike of 1994), I preferred the Amazins' from Flushing.. With Straw, Doc, Mex, Nailz, the Kid.. .talk about characters... what wasn't to love?! It's a shame that this is the last year of Shea.. .but then again, CitiField looks incredible.. . And oh.. I've been dying to see this movie.. it's called, 'Zen of Bobby V'. .it's a documentary on the former manager of the NY Mets and his career in Japanese baseball.. .he's incredibly huge over in Japan. .

Shake it.. .
Friday, May 16th, 2008, 6:57p

Wow. What a craptastic (coined by Sarah Jane) day today.. . Well, despite the gloomy weather, there was treasure to be had! I stopped by the local rite aid on my way home from work today and there, in the clearance bin.. . polaroid film!! I couldn't believe it!! Actually, what I really can't believe is how they're discontinuing the production of these pieces of art & history.. they were such a part of pop culture when I was growing up and now.. they'll soon be extinct.. . I know they've been talking about it for quite sometime now and wow.. it's finally happening.. This weekend, I'm going to go around to all the different rite aids and walmarts that I can find and try to stock up on the film.. 1/2 off, BABY!!!!

See ya guys. I'm heading off to Jay's to write and record some demos!

Mack daddy'll make ya.. .
Thursday, May 15th, 2008, 12:10a

Jump! Jump! Ever since I saw a promo for this, I've been so wanting to see it. I was stuck in traffic right at the entrance of the Holland Tunnel along Canal and Hudson and there it was flashing in front of my face. There was this video board (I guess that's what you could call it) that was showing a promo for Jump. "Wow," I thought to myself. A live, off-broadway kung-fu comedy show! Why not!?! It was ineb-inebriter-inebritabrr-inebritabrle. 'Cuz I'm such a big fan of kung-fu! Remember Sunday afternoon kung-fu cinema!? 'The Master Killer,' 'The Five Deadly Venoms,' 'The Crippled Avengers,' Gordon Liu, Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee! Such a great time to be a kid! So, yeah. I bought tix and Mariko and I are gonna check it out. Should be fun!

Wah-tah!

Regarding netflix.. .
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008, 7:27p

Let me tell you, netflix has been a total godsend for me. I consider myself a movie junkie and with netflix, I've been able to catch up on movies that I've been wanting to see all at my own pace. I'm always referring to cinematical, beyondhollywood and rottentomatoes for any and all types of films.. This week I have 'August Rush,' 'Gangs of New York,' and 'Crank' sitting on my desk waiting for me to watch them..

Who's nana?.. .
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008, 6:01p

CHO-nana!

As promised, here are the photos from the baking extravaganza this past weekend. Again, the mission was to bake a chocolate banana cake. Here is Mariko who was in charge of mashing the bananas and mixing it in with the eggs, water, milk, oil and the imitation vanilla extract.

And here I am with whisking everything else together.. the flour, baking powder and soda, sugar, salt and cocoa.. Wireless connection, baby! Powerbooks RAWK!

And here is the finished product! The ganache was made by boiling some butter and heavy cream and then pouring it into a bowl filled with chopped up pieces of chocolate. As mentioned earlier, the ganache was supposed to come out light and fluffy, but we didn't have access to a mixer. Despite that, the ganache came out pretty cool after we put the cake in the fridge overnight which made it turn into a frosty layer. Yeah, man. Baking totally rocks! It reminds me of chemistry lab which I really enjoyed way back when. Titration, baby! I can't wait until our next baking project..

Cookies and muffins and pies, oh my!

Take a walk with me.. .
Tuesday, May 14th, 2008, 7:23p

What if those three words just aren't enough what else is there to do I don't want to sit here and think too much I just want to think of you Don't let me ruin the mood with all my nervous talk just kiss me quick and shut me up Let's go for a walk take a ride on the path I'll be good to you I'll make you laugh Take a walk with me just wait and see I like the way that you let me be Disgustingly happy..

CJ phone home.. .
Sunday, May 11th, 2008, 7:06p

The weekend is slowly winding down and am I too. I just finished watching 'CJ7' written and directed by and starring Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle). It was.. cute.. Ok, to be completely honest, I was expecting much more, especially with this being a follow-up to Kung Fu Hustle which was incredible by the way. Speaking of which, there were a lot of homages to Chow's previous works and as always, the supporting cast had many familiar faces. It's great to see a group that works very well together, stick together. Pretty much like how Ben Stiller works.. Again, I enjoyed the movie, I did. Very simple story that has a family themed moral.. and in a way I can relate to the little boy. Oh, and the alien, CJ7, reminded me of Orbit from the Jetsons. I think the only disappointment was that there was no kung-fu involved (think more along the lines of his past films such as God of Cookery and The King of Comedy).

Anywho.. nice effort. But I'm glad that he's following up with a sequel to Kung Fu Hustle..

Perfectly imperfect.. .
Sunday, May 11th, 2008, 4:33p

Say it ain't so. A few tracks from the upcoming Red Album of Weezer have been leaked onto the internet. And of course, I'm certain I'm the last person to know. I'm listening to 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived.' It's really different from what they've put out in the past, but then again, we're talking about Rivers Cuomo here and different is pretty much their MO. (listen to the Blue Album and then Pinkerton) But yeah, chickity-check it out. Do a search on youtube.com. Also available are 'Everybody Get Dangerous,' 'Cold Dark World,' 'Automatic' which I think is sung by Patrick 'Pork and Beans,' and one that's actually sung by Brian titled, 'Thought I Knew.' I had already pre-ordered the album which includes a bunch of bonus tracks like 'Pig' which I really like.

Yay Weezer.

Happy Mother's Day by the way..

Two months later.. .
Sunday, May 11th, 2008, 2:26p

I've been trying my hand at new and different things as of late. Basta Pasta the other night, exploring previously uncharted areas of the lower east side during beautiful saturday afternoons.. and then there was last night when Mariko and I decided to bake a cake. Chocolate banana to be exact. The inspiration came from watching the food network.. One of the best things is that we enjoy doing things together and this definitely was something that we thought would have fun doing. Why chocolate banana? Well, Mariko loves chocolate and I go bananas whenever I'm with her.. *ahem* Ok, maybe not. It just pretty much worked out. She had some left over bananas and again, she loves chocolate. The cake turned out spectacular. The ganache didn't quite come out the way it was supposed to only because we didn't have a mixer.. we did put the cake in the fridge overnight which made the ganache into a nice icing layer and it was soooooo good! The photo for this entry is the photo from the recipe that we followed, courtesy of www.joyofbaking.com Mariko took photos, and I'll post them up when I get them from her.

Next up, apple pie!

Blackberry no more.. .
Monday, May 5th, 2008, 11:38p

I am officially sans phone for the next week. My phone has decided to give up on me.. I can no longer charge my phone and it died on me earlier this evening. So, apologies to anyone who's tried to call or text me (most likely no one) in the last few hours. But now you're wondering what happened to my earlier post in regards to the blackberry? Well, apparently my order was put on hold and later cancelled because that's what happens when you don't pay your phone bill. *sigh* So after speaking to a very friendly and helpful customer service rep, I chose another phone. . the samsung A737.. a far cry from the blackberry.. but you know, I'm glad I'm not getting the blackberry.. because at this point, it's more of a luxury than a necessity.. Ever see that weird 'feed the pig' commercial? Yeah.. I really don't have a need to surf the internet or have AIM on my phone (which would probably lead to an extra $20-30 on my phone bill).. I just need a phone to make calls and text..

And you know what... it's all a part of the plan.. .

Bayan ko.. .
Monday, May 5th, 2008, 11:34p

It's Asian Heritage Celebration next week at work and a friend of mine, who also happens to work at the same company I do, is helping organize it. And since Filipinos technically fall under the Asian umbrella, my friend asked me to participate.. What to do, what to do.. So she asked me if I could play a "traditional Filipino song" for the show.. You see, I'm a bit hesitant, not because I'm afraid of performing (I'm so over performance anxiety..).. its actually because I really don't know any traditional Filipino songs. . My plan was to ask my friends/family over the weekend for suggestions.. I kinda forgot, but then, on the way to work this morning, I remembered this song that I used to play on piano a lot when I was younger. 'Bayan Kong Pilipinas'.. Now, if you haven't recognized the guy in the photo, it's Freddie Aguilar, a famous Filipino musician.. he didn't write the song, but he helped make it famous.. So yeah, way back when, my family in the Philippines found out that I was taking piano lessons here so often, they would send over some piano pieces at the request of my grandmother.. I remember this other song that I liked playing, 'Beautiful Girl' by Jose Mari Chan which was more of a pop song..

Why so serious.. .
Sunday, May 4th, 2008, 9:26p

So if this photo of the Joker doesn't freak you out then.. You must be totally hardcore cool.. Yeah, if you know me by now, you'll know my fascination with this movie, The Dark Knight, thats coming out in July. Ever since Christopher Nolan took over the franchise, everything from the storyline to the casting has just been incredible. It's such a tragedy that Heath Ledger passed away.. and maybe I'm being a bit selfish about the subject, but I'm disappointed that he won't be able to play the Joker in the third film.. What disappoints me more is the talk about how they removed certain scenes from the film because of how "disturbing" they were.. according to cinematical.com, there was a scene where the Joker pretends to be dead and is in a body bag, which upset alot of people involved in the post-production. Now, dont get me wrong, I'm a sensitive person, but I feel in order to really pay tribute to such an outstanding actor, someone who was so involved in his work, we should be able to experience it fully.. I dunno.. that's just me.. Btw, if you're interested in seeing the second trailer, click here..

But of course.. .
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008, 10:56p

Yeah. Sometimes I wish I could lay my head down on a stack of pancakes.. Why? I'm not sure why. It just seems like an appropriate thing to do at this very moment. Pirates just tied the Mets in the top of the 9th because of an error by Jose Reyes. *ugh* It's the life of a Mets fan.. seriously. Nothing can ever be easy for us.. . I was hoping to finish up 'Dan in Real Life' so that I can send it back along with 'The Waitress' so I can continue to work my way down my Netflix queue.

Update: Mets win w/ a walkoff hit in the bottom of the 11th by David Wright scoring Endy Chavez. woot-woot!

Finally.. .
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008, 7:14p

I have a new toy.. and it's about time! I know what you're probably thinking. What about the iPhone!? Well, two things. 1) there's all this talk about a 2nd gen iPhone coming out, so I figure I'd wait until that happens and 2) I was able to get this bad boy for free! Turns out that I was due an upgrade from att for being a customer for 2+ years now that I was eligible for a free blackberry! only catch was that I sign on for 2 more years of service, but it works out anyway.. esp since the iPhone is exclusive att (legally).. I'm still waiting for my phone to come in the mail so hopefully sooon.. .my old phone is really cramping up my fee-low.. .

(c) 2008 briJOmi. All Rights Reserved.