movies

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (2013)

i cried again watching this movie for the 2nd time. this clearly is not only an homage to the best magazine in the world, not just to film photography, but to the very core moments of life where you need to stop and take it all in, those moments and experiences that are just needed to be lived, an adventure by itself. i just had to watch this again, this time in 1080p. the cinematography is gorgeous and every thing building up to that end sequence just tugs at my heartstrings so hard id break. easily one of the best movies. EVER.

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filmmaking, laundry therapy, movies

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015)

there are movies that move you to tears and some to laughter. this one makes you scream and curse and rage and hyperventilate over the awesomenessofitall. it drives you mad. to the max. now i understand.

a lot have been said over the direction and the design (the costumes and car designs have been unanimously praised) of the movie and i agree with everything. it’s so awesome it blows my mind. the musical score and sound design were phenomenal; i especially love the visual aspect of the score pairing the army drummers onscreen with the kickass doof warrior character doing riffs on that rig, it’s insane! george miller. colin gibson. jenny beavan. junkie xl. john seale. tom hardy. charlize theron. nicholas hoult. they’re all insane!

another thing i love about it was the practical effects the director took lengths to do. it harks back to the days when cg was so low tech and most people do live effects and puppets and all to create a tangible, physical world to shoot in. i dont know if they shot in film as well (too tamad to research) but the look was just gorgeous and the effect visceral that if it were not for the 3D glasses i had on, i swear i was back in the old decripit theater downtown in my province in the 80s gawking at the fast paced road rage going onscreen.

i hate 3D but if there was anything you needed to see in 3D iMAX this year, this is it. 5/5

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art & design

a pile of stuff

remember that scene from “The Devil Wears Prada” where an associate editor had to choose between 2 belts before miranda priestly laments on cerulean sweaters and gowns? i never really gave it a thought it would happen at Landmark but there we were, Carlo​ and i taking 20 minutes just to pick one out of the hundred similar-looking WHITE CERAMIC SOUP BOWLS on display. too shallow, not too white, rim too wide, not enough rise, lip should be angled, too much angle, not enough angle.
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juice colored.

“it’s a tough call. they’re so different.”

at eto yung bowl. #ilovemyjob #ilovemyjob #ilovemyjob #emilyforever

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laundry therapy

Too much social

I should just stop taking photos hoping to post them afterwards and i never do. Like this photo below. Found painted leaves left out to dry probably for use in some tv commercial shoot calling for autumn leaves. Thought id add an interesting filter or two. Then i decide not to post it so this photo sits in my Dropbox, losing its potential to be what it was meant to be.

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Normally the need to post is overwhelmed by how much garbage is on social media timelines and my photo would just add to it. And so in the end i post nothing. Because they are really just people’s daily trash left out in the sun. Like dead leaves painted to resemble dead leaves. Somebody’s participation or need for validation of self online. It subtly screams, im here, like me. Here’s my dirty laundry aired for everyone to sniff.

As to why this photo even makes it to my blog and into your timeline, i cant explain that. In fact, this goes against the whole idea of this blog. Damn.

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musings

Past is pass

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Cleaning out my room i chanced upon an old rotring tracing paper tube and found old plates from my architectural past. As an undergad i considered myself an average arki student, skimming through with no real accomplishment.

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For one thing, even my arki professor noticed i preferred to hand-ink my plates and said i should have been in fine arts (and 4 years later i was). I did not find my groove in architecture back then. I felt it was too technical, too stiff. The whole culture was snobbish, too serious, and i struggled being creative within the confines of measurements and building laws.

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I was glad i left but thinking about it, i know i could do better now (not then, now). Now, i have more confidence in design and now, if i do decide to pursue architecture, i might actually have a chance in doing well. Wow, confidence. I, thank you. Lol.

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musings

design pet peeve

years ago, i studied to get a degree in architecture. while it didnt work out and i eventually shifted to fine arts, there were things i wont forget learning from my professors. apart from the study of aesthetics in building construction, i appreciated learning that architecture was also a study of the human form in relation to spaces around him with a dash of behavorial science.

fast forward to last thursday i went to the loo at a juju eats restaurant on pasong tamo extension in makati. as i stepped in i saw they’ve designed the toilet to have a mirror behind the water closet. for females who pee sitting down, this would be a non-issue. however, for a guy who now has to pee while looking at a reflection of himself and his dong doing number 1 in full glory, i find this odd and awkward. while i dont shy away from looking at my naked self in full body mirrors at home to dry off after taking a bath, i dont particularly feel the need to WATCH myself peeing.

don’t worry, im not posting a photo of me peeing. some people may get off on those kinds of thing but i wont indulge you. here is bathroom number 1 (which i also posted on facebook).

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id like to understand why designers resort to this. thing is, that very same day, i walked across the street and entered the building where i was supposed to have my meeting and eventually had to pee again and here is the cubicle at the men’s toilet. hola!

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when my meetings were done there, i transferred to another building on the other side of pasong tamo to have a meeting with my directors. having had another round of drinks, i again headed for the john. lo and behold.

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this was not the first time id encounter this kind of design for toilets. another restaurant in san juan had mirrors all over so you not only watch yourself frontal but also from the side. is this a thing now? it cant merely be an attempt to multi-task and check your hair while peeing or see if you having something between your teeth while holding your schlong. is this an oversight by female designers or the result of a dont-care attitude by male designers? is someone secretly narcissist and insisted on this design yet it has been replicated many times over hence an acceptable nature of people i never knew about? design, in fact, serves people’s needs so the bathrooms are a reflection of some fetishist necessity in human society. i could be overthinking this but it could also be a bad design trend. thoughts?

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food trip, musings

vahay kuvo part 2

ever since we did our marketing at marikina the other week, carlo and i have carefully documented the meals we produced and ate. apparently we still had to hit the neighborhood grocery for more items like cans of milk or some other ingredients not found at the public market. out of the stash of food we got here were the dishes carlo cooked and we both plated for instagraming (@luningninggerzi) :

DAY 1

that evening coming back from the market, this was the first we prepared. mussells with carrots and napa/chinese cabbage. instead of rice, we have sweet potatoes.

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DAY 2

lunch was fried big-bellied round scad (galunggong) with a bed of veggies consisting of baked sweet potatoes in basil, muscovado, honey, and blackbean sauce. dipping sauce is iloko vinegar.

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dinner was shared with tita tems (who doesnt go home for lunch). we had red snapper (maya-maya) steamed in lemongrass and other aromatics and seasoned with tamarind (sinigang) powder). since we used the small oven toaster, the fish was split in two and curiously, the head part’s drippings tasted differently than the tail part (the former was tasted like the ocean and the latter’s taste was more subdued). on the side we had a salad of boiled leaves of the sweet potato (camote tops) and fresh tomatoes, onions, in a sweet-sour vinegar sauce. there were also eggplants (boiled) paired with bagoong balayan (a kind of fish sauce) with calamondi. no rice tonight.

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carlo also proceeded to make his own chili sauce by chopping up sili labuyo, green chilis, and peppercorns. toasted the garlic in oil then cooked the chilis into it. sesame oil was added later on.

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DAY 3

lunch was just omelette and whole wheat bread. no photo. forgot. lol.

dinner was mantis shrimp (alupihang dagat) cooked in garlic and butter. on the side were sauteed veggies in peanut sauce (using local peanut butter. yum). i prefer to call these shrimps aliens because i think shrimps are of alien descent.

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here is the photo of how i plated the alupihang dagat. so crazy.

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DAY 4

lunch was blanched cabbage heads and tomatoes dipped in bagoong, calamansi, and sili, and eaten with hands. we also had fried galunggong and fried brown rice. galunggong had a sukang iloko dipping sauce.

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dinner was adobong manok, cooked for hours. adobong mother and child, as per carlo, this adobo was served with hard-boiled egg plus boiled squash and sweet potatoes. ripe cantaloupe for dessert.

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DAY 5

last lunch was stir-fried vegetables with an awesome plate of fried squid. dipping sauce is iligan’s pinakurat, the best vinegar in the world!

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we had to add a few more items purchased in the neighborhood grocery to supplement what we got from the market. this would amount to maybe another thousand pesos. our initial Php 940 plus about a thousand pesos, divided into more or less 8 dishes would amount to Php 242.50 per meal with 2 or 3 people sharing the whole meal. still awesome!

im sharing this because we do have fun preparing these dishes and eating them! im hoping to inspire others also who cannot escape the clutches of fast food. maybe for others as well, you should realize you dont have to spend so much to eat better. give a little bit of time to cooking and it will reward you. the greatest chef in the world, gusteau, does believe, “anyone can cook.” and while i dont do the cooking, i do the dishes and that’s still a noble chore. lol. cheers and have fun!

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musings

vahay kuvo part 1

carlo and i aim to simplify our lifestyle. the excessiveness of our world can be overwhelming and there will never be an end to what one’s lifestyle buries you into. we work in the advertising industry as production designers and it’s easy to get hooked into a superficial lifestyle if one is not conscious about it. averaging p250 meals at restaurants for one, free services to and from the office or the p260 taxi ride to the office and another going back home, that daily p165 grande starbucks coffee sealing your fake status in life. excessive! not to mention the small purchases of other items you may not really need.

it helps that we are not living in makati. we go home to an old, 40 year-old rented apartment in quezon city shared with my aunt who’s lived here longest in the neighborhood. food is a necessity but we are constantly reminded there are options always. i keep track of how much we spend a month and food takes up 60-70% of our expenses, through eating out or by groceries.

i remember as a kid life was so much simpler. mom goes to the market and comes back with loads of stuff. cooks meals and we share family time over a feast. it’s not too late to go back to that. sometimes, it’s not about spending less and going the cheaper route, it’s more about simplifying your life. going back to basics. buying local and reducing carbon footprint. celebrating home cooked meals. save the earth. all that jazz.

last month, carlo and i went off to the nearby marikina public market and spent P1200 ($27.21) on fresh produce. it took us 1.5 weeks to consume everything and that’s a good track record for us. this week we went back for more. there was a break with the cooking at home because we got busy with shoot projects but we’re currently back to cooking and eating at home this week.

before we left for marikina this afternoon, carlo and i planned to spend only P800 or $18 (plus P200 for taxi) at the market because we have to get a new lpg tank this month at roughly p550 (11kls per tank) as our old tank was all used up after 4 months of cooking (not bad). limiting expenses into a budget is crucial to simplifying lifestyles. money does not grow on trees, as everyone knows. here’s what we got this afternoon:

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here’s an accounting of what we purchased today. im a sucker for squid and mussels. and galunggong. we’re hoping this produce and stock will see us through a week’s worth of awesome meals. carlo will cook and i will do the dishes.

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P974 ($22.09) total. we sorta overspent but our commute transportation was reduced to p48 ($1.09) so we’re still within budget. you may have noticed we didnt buy pork today. that’s no coincidence. also, no rice. normally we’d get brown rice at SM save more for P55/kilo but im trying to cut down on the carbs so no rice, not even brown rice. P974 divided into 7 days into 2 meals per day would be P69 shared meals for 2-3 pax (carlo, titatems, and myself). p69 per meal with 2 to 3 people eating! that’s roughly an unhealthy burger meal at some fastfood chain for one! crazy, right?

simplify your life. in this excessive lifestyle we have in manila, we’ve stopped appreciating the beauty of a home cooked meal and spending on more important stuff like good quality healthy food that will keep your sugar levels and cholesterol down.  im blogging about this so i can share and maybe inspire others to see for themselves how beautiful our produce is in the philippines and stop buying fast food and eat healthier and eating fresh food everyday.

will post photos of meals as the days progress. cheers and have a simplified life!

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movies

INTO THE WOODS (2014, rob marshall)

ive already written here before that im a sooper fan of stephen sondheim’s INTO THE WOODS the musical. the anticipation on the movie version is nerve-wracking and its screening in the Philippines didnt come any sooner.

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the movie was nice. not that good, not that bad, only nice. after watching the movie, i couldnt help but look back at the original broadway production televised over PBS in the US and was blown away by the charm and wit of the musical. the whole thing was so funny that you do somersaults when act 2’s heavy mood brings you down. #anudaw the film was devoid of all punchlines from the original material. the film was being too serious for the kind of material it was working on.

i have to give credit to james corden and emily blunt for doing an awesome job as baker and wife. i did wonder why they didnt cast amy adams, who had done baker’s wife on a staging of ITW in central park with the witch and rapunzel’s mom from the animated disney film, rapunzel, donna murphy, playing witch and rapunzel’s mom. over sa meta, i know. meryl streep’s witch was a bit more tricky because bernadette peters did a memorable awesome job as the witch onstage. that does not say that meryl did bad. her “stay with me” and “last midnight” were hauntingly beautiful. disney just couldnt do to rapunzel in the film version what they did to her in the stage version. and that just sucks. 3/5

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