Ate China...Ano Ba Talaga?

Nakakalito ang mga Chinese na yan. They imposed a fishing ban on Scarborough Shoal yet they sent almost a hundred ships, carting away giant clams and corals as fast as they can. They are systematically ravaging the ecosystem of the area...and for what? Wala pa akong alam na Chinese herbal or traditional medicine na pampatigas o pampatagal sa kama na gawa sa coral (Most of their traditional medicine are always 'to keep the Yang up'...kahit yung kinuha mo e pampaluwag ng hininga o panglaban sa asthma, laging me side effect na titigas etits mo for 35 days or kahit 80 times ka nang labasan e uhaw ka pa sa sex).

Well, seriously, China has been advocating one thing and doing the other at the same time. They asked the Philippines to stand down, but they in turn sent ships upon ships in the area. They even had the gall to hold naval drills on the area as they asked other nations to stand down. And they keep pointing out that they've always been doing these naval excercises. So bakit wala sa balita ng international press yung drills nila for the past years? Kahit anong nation sa buong mundo e kapag gumawa ng naval excercises, news agad yon kahit sa tabloids.

This only presents one thing, walang isang salita ang Chinese government.

They bully others into doing what they order the world to do under the guise of national or diplomatic policy, but the actions they take are very opposite on what they preach. Hypocites? Or just plain greedy liars? They are like the doped up addict friend that you have, that you always end up believing their promises in a hope that they chang their ways and actually are telling the truth. Well guess what, China has always been playing on the sentiments  of everybody. They are playing the world for a fool.

Now they are saying that the naval excercises are just a drill and not a practice into invading another country (a South East Asian country with the area they are doing it in). Maniniwala pa ba kayo?

Maligayang Pasko

Anu-ano ang naranasan nyo ngayung Pasko?

Maliban sa mga nasalanta ng bagyo, mga namatayan sa Mindanao...naging maligaya ba?

Sa pagdami ng kaso ng holdapan.

Mga nabiktima ng snatcher at mang gagantsyo

Sa mga ninakwan at nawalan ng mga pinaghirapan para maging masaya ang pasko ng mga kriminal.

Sa mga na-ambush ang mga payroll at bonuses.

Sa isang matandang banyaga sa Ayala na naisnatch ang wallet o bag sa tanghaling tapat habang nasa gitna ng maraming pulis at traffic enforcer.

Sa mga ganitong kaganapan. Dapat bang magkaroon ng Pasko sa Pilipinas?

Makati...isang malaking Banyo...

Bad trip talaga yesterday...

Nagmamadali na nga ako maka uwi, with a birthday cake in tow for my son. Pero di ako makapagmadali kasi ang mga sidewalk sa Ayala Ave. are totally covered in tiles. E nag uuulan pa. Apat na beses ako nadulas... And now my left foot is blackened (sabi ng officemate ko nagka sugat sa loob..and that is blood inside) and hindi ko mai bend ang paa ko. There were a lot of people with me who were walking at a snail's pace because the entire Ayala Ave. sidewalk is a 'dulasan festival' of sorts. Hirap na nga akong maglakad before pa sa harap ng Enterprise kapag umuulan kasi madulas, naisipan ng Makati na pahirapan ako lalo by putting tiles on the whole Ayala Ave.

Akala ko kasi nakarecover na ang mga pinoy sa 80's phenomenon na 'basta naka tiles, sosy!!!' (with kasamang hiyaw ng "ahaaaay" sa dulo) nung nagaaral pa ako sa kolehiyo. Kaya nga mostly ginagamit ng designers e road bricks or other materials with a high friction rate even when wet.

Kaaaso meron n naman palang hang over ng 80's phenow movement. Kaya kailangan kong bumili ng sapatos na mas makapit dahil sa ginawa sa Ayala. Pero, dahil wala pang bonus, sa may Dela Rosa na lang muna ako dumadaan.

(Ay, naku...nasabi ko pa...baka Dela Rosa naman ang tadtarin nila ng mga tiles...oo yung mga mariwasa na pambanyo...para kahit maaraw, basag ang bungo ng mga naglalakad...put@#%in@)

Saan Patungo ang mga Kabataan.

Nanunuod ako ng TV nung isang araw at nabibigla ako sa mga naririnig ko: Gustong ibaba ang edad kung saan pwedeng litisin bilang kriminal ang isang bata.

Ano?

Alam ko na maraming pasaway dyan pero ganun ganun na lang ba ang solusyon?

Pagkatapos ay napanuod ko naman ang ibat ibang balita kung saan ang mga bata mula 10 taon hanggang 15 taon gulang na nagiging magnanakaw, holdaper, pusher, and worst of all, rapist-killer.

Sa ibang krimen, ginagamit lang daw ng mga sindikato ang mga bata kasi mababaw na parusa lang ang maipapataw sa kanila dahil sila ay mga bata. In some cases, hindi na sila kinukulong sa presinto...pinapauwi o pinapaalis na lang agad.

pero sa tingin ko, tamang gabay habang sa paglaki ang tamang daan para maituwid sila. At sa mga sindikato na tinarantado ang kinabukasan ng mga batang ito, kailangan sila ang hagilapin ng batas.

Kailangan tandaan na ang kabataan ay dumadaan sa sinasabing 'formative years' kung saan nahuhubog and kanilang pagkatao. Kapag mali ang nakikita nila mula sa mga matatanda na gumagabay sa kanila, at tinatanggap ito na tama, ang kanilang sense of right or wrong ay nagbabago.

At ang mga batang naging biktima ay kailangan padaanin sa isang mabisang rehabilitation program, hindi sagot ang pagkulong sa kanila kasama ang mga hardened criminals sa kulungan.

Its Just How It Is (Too Weak to Defend the Philippine Republic)

Recently there are a lot of blunders, issues and cover-up concerning our politicians and military officials. They are always in cahoots with regards to issues of election fraud, disappearance of activists, misappropriation of government funds, and the like. Covering each other as the need arises. And with a feeling of gratitude, will turn and cover for the other as well. Careful in making sure that all the money and the power is kept in their small circle of 'kumpares' and 'kumadres'.

Then what about the people? Those diligently work and support the government and the military with taxes from their wages and manpower in the form of themselves, their sons and their daughters. The people are the ones working for them yet it is they who act with treason and play on the public's trust. The people are being beaten down until there is no more will left in them for a better life, just the desire and need to make it through the day. As a lower middle working class citizen, I have felt this way a lot of times. Times that upon hearing news about the billions of pesos of taxpayers money are used to ascertain their grip on power, to get their kicks, or simply just to get their way so they can amass more money and power, my will to fight slips away. I just have to work so I can earn something to feed my family. I closed myself up and cared about nothing else.

The fund from the taxpayers are immediately diverted into the coffers of the politicians, political aides and corrupt military officials who, as one blogger stated, in an event of an invasion by another country, are the first ones to escape abroad with their ill-gotten wealth. Its seems that patriotism, like chivalry, is already dead...especially to those in power.

Its every person for themselves up there, to cover-up for themselves. Proudly beating on their chests while shouting here and there about protecting the motherland, the people, and their families, while the soldiers and commoners are used as cannonfodders for their own gain.

How to Clean a Newly Extracted Tooth

Last Sunday, I had a minor procedure done to remove my broken wisdom tooth and the infected molar which was penetrated. Last time I had such a procedure done was almost 20 years ago.

As I collected the extracted molar, the dentist quipped 'Do you want to keep them as souvenirs?', to which I replied 'yes'. She then gave me the procedures on how to clean them to enable storage.

First of all, cook off the flesh by giving it a h

ydrogen peroxide bath. The flesh and blood that remains attached to the tooth shall then weaken like boiled meat on an animal's bone. Once in a while I would rise them from the chemical bath then scrape the flesh off. For those who don't know, our teeth still has a few flesh in them, so you might need to make the peroxide bath in stages of flesh removal.

After that, bath it in clorox... maybe to whiten and further clean the tooth.

I love the feel of clean, pulled teeth and play them around like a pair of dice.

Is Registering you Laptop or Cellphone the Solution for Cyber Crimes?

Hinihikayat ng NBI na dapat i-register ang mga laptop para kontra cyber crime. Para ba talaga sa pangiwas cyber crime o dagdag annual registration fee? Sa Pilipinas ko lang yata narinig ang ganitong panukala, the same way that you can only find elevated U-turn slots in the Philippines.

You don't find them in other countries because its clearly not the solution.

they don't do this in the US or Japan. The NBI is eying the wrong solution to a problem which other countries already has a solution to...and it doesn't involve registering your laptop...or cellphone...or other storage media.

mangyayari nyan pati CD-R King lalakad na rin ng registration pag bumuli ka ng gadget sa kanila...just like buying a gun

Why not undergo a study first, instead of blaring to the Senate that there is a need to register all media and portable devices to the goverment.

Sad and lonely

Nakakalungkot isipin na ang mga taong pinagkatiwalaan natin sa pag protekta ng ating bansa at pamayanan, sila pa nagsisimula ang katarantaduhan.

Ganito na lang ba mangyayari palagi?

At kapag me pumapasok sa eksena na babaguhin at tutuwirin ang sistema, kinukuyog ng masasagsaan ng pagbabago.

Sa dami ng kaso ng pulisya at ng militar ng Pilipinas, me paraan pa kaya para maisaayos ang lahat at manumbalik ang paniniwala ng mga tao sa kanila?

Radio shall never die...

With the closing of the most prominent rock station in the Philippines, NU107 (107.5 on the FM dial) , which carried the torch of promoting new and cutting edge rock music for the last 23 years, a lot of messages and topics flared the message boards and social network sites, but there was this message that hit me, flared me up if you will. It said that we are at an era where radio is reduced to a community of DJs sharing and listening to each other, in this age of digital music players and music on demand sites and streamers.

I say nay...

Not a lot of people has access to these kinds of music distribution. The upper and middle upper elite who are in the know or who has access to these sort of things cannot discount the masses and their preference. Radio has been a media which has been around for almost 2 centuries and has been overcoming boarders. And new songs that you load to these digital music players has to get introduced first in those stations. The internet has done a good job of introducing new acts but the delivery to the masses still depends on radio airplay.

Everytime you ride a public transport, enter a local eatery, a small scale shop...its is the humble radio who provides ambient music, entertainment and information to the masses. Only those shops with pirated MP3s and audio CDs are blaring out those digital music format from their worn out, over pumped speakers. Blasting R&B or Techno music on a 30 watt speaker with no subwoofer at full volume? ...please... There should be a city ordinance to wipe off that kind of noise pollution that puts even the loudest horn on an EDSA bus to shame.

And with cheaper and cheaper portable MP3 flooding in from China, the lowly transistor reciever is still the most accessible tool with the less fuzz and less requirement to work.

Now I'm not bashing on new formats of electronic music distribution. I welcome it. My band does the same. But we never undermine the far reaching arm of radio. We still think its an integral part of the music reaching a wider audience. Of spreading the message to a wider spectrum that you shall ever know.

(screen capture by JP Reyes)

Random Ideas for the Air Force

Lets face it, our Airforce don't have the capabilities to protect our skies against the top war machines of neighboring nations such as Singapore (which sports an F-16) or Vietnam (with their SU-27s) or Japan (and their locally made Mitsubishi F2), but partnership with our neighboring nations and security agreements with the US ensure that we don't need to.

Remember that our Airforce has mainly a dual role of giving support to our Army and Navy. Provide air support in the incursions of the Philippine Army against the insurgents and bandits, as well as complement the Navy in their operations of ensuring our sovereignty on the seas around our archipelago.

But sadly, the our Air Force is greatly under equipped, given the large area they have to respond to. So I came up with a few random thoughts about augmenting the Philippine Air Force's inventory.

I'm okay witht he planned increase spending for equipment like UH-1's and C-130's because they provide logistical support for all branches of the armed forces, as well as quick response vehicles in the event of a natural disaster.

To support the Army with air support, we need a high speed aircraft for strafing runs or precision ordinance delivery. The story of a humble wooden wonder used during World War II comes to mind; the De Havilland Mosquito. In a documentary, it was said that majority of its components were made by piano makers and wood craftsmen. Considering we have a lot of those manpower available (Taytay alone is home to a lot of these craftsmen) and the resources, and with today's development in laminated plywood and artificially strengthened timber, I feel that there is an opportunity on the following that example. Given enough support for local development, its a short to medium term answer to augment the Air Force's current inventory.

As for its support role for the Navy, patrols and reconnaisance can be provided by unmanned drones. If you look at YouTube, there are a lot of jet powered RC plane designs that shows a lot of promise. Mount them with flight and observation cameras and you got yourself a survaillance platform that saves on fuel and can be maintained with off the shelf parts and components. You can also arm them with a M249SAW or 2.75 rockets and you have a weapons platform that is capable of intervening if needed.

I hope the powers that be in the Armed Forces realize that research and development are also needed within their ranks to enable the fighting elements of their forces a chance to get the job done and get back home alive.

The Problem With Enforcement

After being a victim of 'huli-dap' for 2 times now, it makes me wonder about the 'public over the police and the military' clause of the 1987 Constitution.

To make it plain and simple...they have the guns...which are more powerful than words...or swords for that matter. Guns that, this is the ticker here, has been paid for by my taxes and authorized by the branch of the government which swore to protect me. I see everyday the real 'cops on the street' with their authority backed by the national government and their gun, which in turn gives them full power over the people. No where to turn to because they all start to look the same, even innocent, good-looking, well-kept cops can surprise you. If you mistakenly report to a cop who, by any chance, is on the take...you are good as dead.

And don't around preaching with those pro-gun or anti-gun sentiments. Its a matter of choosing between the fork in the road...as one leads to good, there is also a lot which sways to evil. Its human nature which we can't do anything about.

There is no real enforcement of the clause in the Constitution. Because when the authorities start to move, you are already dead....salvaged...rubbed out...what ever you want to call it. Public opinion only sways the police to act on reports of abuse only when the act is already done, and the damage is done. There is no real measures to prevent it. And don't go whining around that its hard...or its impossible...or its too troublesome. Hey, so is earning a days keep which 40 t0 45% goes to them.

For Filipinos, its all about power...and power is not such a good thing...they are not used to it. When they grab a hold of it, they never want to let go. Like the phrase I heard once "Power is like the microphone in a karaoke, once you grab hold...you will never let go".

And trust is a commodity that should be sparsely used.

HedgeZero at Headstock Bar

(I accidentally posted this at a different blog...so I re-posted)

A few days ago,we were invited by Sir Ferdie to play at a place called Headstock Bar. He used to get us for Club Dread before, but I heard he moved on to manage band events for this particular place.

Although its the first time I came to know about this place, I heard they've been around for quite some time.

What I like about this bar is the spaciousness. The stage is spacious. The band can really move around, with enough space for a 7-piece band. The round shaped stage is so placed that the intersection of Araneta Ave. and Quezon Ave. is set as the background. Aside for the billiard table the entrance, there are two spaces for the patrons. There's the main hall, in front of the stage, and a balcony facing the road. Its the same area setup as Mag:net at Global City, but Headstock has greater accessibility to these areas since there are sliding glass partitions to the balcony...which can also convert the setting to an open air event.

I love their sound equipment...amps, monitors and all. Its here that I was able to recreate the bass sound that I really wanted without buying an active bass. Mad props also to Sir Ferdie's mixing. The stage lighting would need a little work though. I was blinded by the LED spotlight the whole gig.

With reasonably priced beer and pica picas, I like hanging around that place even after our slot, its a shame we arrived late because of our work. The first band was nice enough to stay around for our set.

If you get the change to drop by, you got to try the Mojos. Its thinly sliced with a nice salty breading and a hint of spiciness (I ended up buying 2 plates which I consumed by myself). It goes well with the beer that they serve ice cold.

I hope to go there again sometime.

Japanimation: Store for 2nd hand Goods from Japan

I heard through a friend that there's this magical place where there are second hand books, manga, magazines and toys from Japan being sold on the cheap, in fact, he got his picture books of some idols for a measy price of Php100 each. My friend said this place is called Japanimation, a second hand goods store in Quezon City.

I searched the web and found the one and only viable link through a blog. The place is beside the Sto.Kristo Chapel at Road 20, past Congressional road, in Quezon City. It was described as a warehouse with the goods bundled together in boxes or shelves according to their type. Like in other warehouse outlets, its up to you to look for the goods you need. They are not arranged in any order except for their type. So you have to spend some time shifting through the boxes and shelves while looking for that special item that strikes your fancy. And thanks to that post, we were able to prepare the things we need after looking through dusty containers.

The place is reminiscent of various recycle shops that sprouted around Tokyo during the slow decline in the economy. As various electronics are discarded for the new ones, the old ones are collected, or sold, to these recycle shops, a bit reconditioned, and sold at a lower price...much lower. Let's put it this way, I was able to purchase a portable CD player for Php200, MD player for Php100 and Japan release CDs of various Japanese and US artists for Php50.

(racks of J-pop CD's...one day is not enough to sift through all of them)

There are a lot of shoes and clothes on the store front. Just behind them are shelves of second hand audio and video electronics as well as those LD's from the early 90's ( so all you equipment freaks out there who still have their LD players, this is one of the few places where you can get good titles). There are also game console controllers and some old hand held games. The inner warehouse contains the old and recent vinyl records (a nice collection at that), along with music instruments (I saw a Japanese koto there too) and some of the more larger electrical equipment. most of the toys you see sold at conventions are located on the store front connected to the inner warehouse. It has shelves and shelves of figurines, toys, costumes and more.

My son was excited about the boxes of up-to-scale replicas of automatic firearms and hand guns. These air-soft pellet guns are so realistic, up to the magazine release, the cocking mechanisms, and you can put the small plastic bullet replicas on the revolvers. Those were soooo neat. The AR-15 and M4 Carbine replicas goes for Php1800 and Php1300 respectively. Don't think about using them on playing in air-soft courses since they are single pump action type...not those automatic types.

I, on the other hand, was excited with shelves upon shelves of J-pop cds and magazines. I think one day is not enough to look though all the stuff they have in there. Remember that all of these are not arranged in any particular order, so its hard to find what you want specifically. You have to dig though bins and bins of CDs and books.

(volumes of "EVA Slot" are available...)

Looking though their printed material, they have a large collection of Japanese style and culture publications, notably the 'kogaryu' and 'sentaa guy' magazines...along with a few music and car magazines, concert picture books, movie production notes and manuals. For the fans of the Evangelion series, I saw a lot of EVA SLOT mags. Sorry for the legion of Gundam followers, but I got all the GUNDAM DATA FILE mags I could find. If you're looking for some R18 or hentai comics, there are a few. I myself got a fan comic for Gunslinger Girl...featuring Claes.

(just a few of the items I was able to get)

But amidst all the excitement, there is one thing that I was disappointed in. I was told that the items sold here are sold at really low prices, specially the toys and the figurines. But it seems that the owners have wised up and raised the prices...a lot...that they are now at par with shops in malls. I even got to talk with some of the patrons who frequented this place for a long time. Even they noticed the sudden rise in the prices of the figurines. From Php15, it was raised to Php50 each. And the polaroid camera the blogger was talking about which was bought for Php150 is not at least Php250. The main selling point lEft, for me, is that you get Japan quality goods, rather than the 'Divisoria' items sold at a much higher price. And it holds a lot of unique Japan items.

I'm not as excited as before but I still plan to return next month in anticipation for their next batch of goods.

Genocide

Most of my random thoughts can be classified as sick or twisted...but this just comes out of morbid curiosity, roused by things I read about...or things in the media that spike my attention.

A few months ago, I bought a book entitled "Genocide: A Groundwork Guide". A book by Jane Springer

A nice rocking title, and the book is small enough to fit in my gadget bag...just something to read about during my long trips to work...or to my parent's house.

Now don't get any ideas...its not a 'field guide' of sorts, explaining the hows of proper genocide execution. It just tries to better define genocide and its implications to society and human history.

Well now, we all know that genocide is the deliberate murder, pillage or rape of an entire race... either physically or to eliminate their lifestyle. Where's the trouble in defining that? You can make a whole book about that matter without running out of material?

Uhhh...no and yes..

The book does deliver a varied definition of genocide and its various use throughout history. But the issue, the main problem is this...How do you bring the planners and the executors of genocide to justice if you don't define the groundwork rules to accuse them by?

It has been a long struggle for victims of genocide. It is also a sensitive matter in the UN as each countries deal in this matter in their own way. Some countries deny the existence of state sanctioned genocide because they deem it either necessary...or due to their customs and traditions... this is where the UN draws the line. They cannot interfere the a nation's internal politics and/or customs.

Not unless the US..the mighty defender of the free world...declares it so.

But in the past, the US has been one of the greatest instigators and executors of genocide. Other countries tried to do it, they succeeded.

Their large dependence and utilization of slave labor from Africa, where their freedom and sense of identity is forcibly erased to serve their own means. Their insatiable greed for wealth that drove them to destroy the American Indians..the real Americans...the people that took them in during the famine, where they always celebrate the start of their aggression yearly. The Filipino-American war, where hundreds of children and old men were slaughtered in Batangas because they couldn't find and fight the ones that attacked them, chose a weaker prey in their stead...then to be lauded as heroes by their generals and political leaders. (Sounds familiar? they were attacked by Saudis funded by oil money so they attacked Iraq) . The attempted eradication of the way of life of other countries that didn't to their notion of normal...or just because they got in the way of their greed. And....

Whew...wait a minute...I off course there for a second.

Genocide also shapes the direction of human evolution and history. As a more aggressive and powerful group becomes successful, another is purged out of existence. The victors of the massacre are also the ones that write which 'truth' shall be recorded as history, therefore such atrocities and misconduct shall never be brought into the light ever again. As their form of society and culture disappear, isn't that worth noting as genocide?

The list of reason goes on...

So as you can see, genocide is a tough nut to crack as different cultures clash with different societies.

And in the end...nothing can bring back the immense loss of life a single undefinable word can bring about to the world.

The Tatami Room Clone Conversion

I always love Japanese architecture, both the traditional styles and the modern styles that are now integrated into the International Style.

In the styles of western architecture utilized in Japan, there's always something Japanese left in the design: the Tatami Room. In all the types of buildings or structures I've observed in Japan, there's always an allocation for that private/ intimate/public/ traditional space.

I love the aesthetics and the utilization of that room. So I tried to adapt that design into the living space I am currently renting out.

Since tatami mats are not sold in the Philippines, we had to improvise. To simulate the soft rigidity of the compacted rice straw, we assembled these small, inexpensive rubber mats.

With double sided tapes, a tightly woven 'banig' is secured to the rubber mat. The banig is used in place of the Igusa (soft rush) straw. Fortunately, the banig we bought almost has that same soft texture and the sides are bordered with cloth...just like the real tatami mat.

One major feature we applied is this low Japanese style table, almost like the one used in a kotatsu...without the heater, of course. This article was a hard table to find. It took us almost 2 weeks in looking for it...and after finding one, it was the last stock.

The Final Product.

It didn't turn out as I planned it to be due to lack of resources but it did half the trick. Add a couple of seat pillows for guests and presto, a tatami room clone.

The PAF Aerospace Museum

Along the stretch of road leading to the NAIA domestic terminal, at the entrance to Villamor airbase, lies a modern glass and concrete structure housing the PAF's Aerospace Museum. Its collection includes various uniforms of the PAF, model planes, cut sections of actual plane parts, guns, an interactive flight simulator and a vast collection of memorabilia. Aside from the indoor exhibits, there's also the outdoor 'Aircraft Park' that shows off the various aircrafts used the Airforce in the past. All of these for a small entrance fee of P20 (USD 0.44).

Dioramas and photo galleries on the 2nd floor showcases the history of flight in the Philippines under the American Commonwealth period, the inception of the airforce into the armed service, and its 'trial by fire' as the country was pulled into the Pacific theater of the second World War.

You can't help but feel pride as you move along the halls with stories of our brave and valiant pilots who, against all odds, was able to step up and defend the motherland against a larger, more experienced, and better equipped invading fleet. Especially with the story of Lt.Jesus Villamor who, along with a handful of defending pilots of that day, was able to fend off the Japanese fighters and bombers who came straight from their attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Aircraft park was a joy to go to. You can go and ride the cockpit of some of the planes and helicopters in the exhibit. My son and I fooled around with the anti-aircraft gun at the center. We had a lot of fun there. Good thing the weather was overcast that day.

I must say, this has been an eye opener for me and my visit there has changed my view about the state of the Philippine Airforce. All I heard from the past is that they only used WWII planes like the Mitsubishi Zero and the American P51. A kids, we even joked that a bombing mission entails dropping grenades or warheads to their targets...like in those old WWI films.

As I grew up, I did heard about the conversion and wide use of the Broncos but I never heard that the PAF used jet engine fighters like the F5A and the Sabre. As old as they may be, I am still awestruck when I see those old "Jet Age" airplanes.

Along with their wide range of WWII memorabilia, are the survival gear and weapons of Lt. Onoda. The Japanese soldier who stayed behind and was instructed to 'never surrender nor commit suicide'. He was instructed to surrender in 1975...30 years after the end of WWII.

Along with the various jet engine parts in the 1st floor are the different experimental weapons platform undertaken by the Armed Forces. Its also noted that these experiments, conducted to make our Armed Forces self sufficient, was scrapped due to political matters.

All in all, our trip to the PAF Aerospace Museum was well worth it. Its sure to bring out the inner child as you play along with the youngins.

Segregate...diversify...with 'Food is an Adventure'

I was thinking...

Recently, I am spending more time on culinary adventures than my previous stint in bar hopping, gigging, slamming at clubs and shit...

so now I decided to seperate my food articles to my new blog "Food Is An Adventure"

I will also be reposting all my food articles there...

Juse to keep things in order...I do have a lot of intrests that even I can't keep up.

Its still a work in progress, though...

DVD: Batman and Robin

I read the bad raps about the 'Batman and Robin' movie but that didn't stop me from making it my latest DVD purchase. I remember it being a good watch back in the day and I wanted my son to get the same experience I have had.

Well the film goes like this; Batman is now an accepted figure in the police force and the public, new villains arrive at the scene, Batman and Robin saves the day, enter additional vilain, springs other villain, they fight it out and Batman saves the day again. In the background, there are underlying issues about the trust in Batman and Robin's partnership, Alfred's illness, and the addition of Alfred's niece who ends up being Bat Girl.

While watching the movie, I noticed...I didn't enjoy the film as I used to before. The script was like a string of corny on-liners and/or wise cracks/ comebacks...specially for Poison Ivy and Mr.Freeze. And the way it was done...uggghh...it made me sick and then some. Talk about overacting. It did occur to me that the film has that circus-like feel to it. With all those neon colored stuff and excessive use of black light and baby color tones.

My son liked it though...one might wonder what he would think about it when he grows up.

I also hated the special features because it was in text format. If I wanted to read about something, I'll get a book. Imagine 'reading' the behind the scenes and various other featurettes instead of watching them.

I'm not sure if this is for the Philippine edition DVD only. But I must say that this one sucks.

I recommend not wasting your time and money on the DVD. If you really just want to watch the movie, just go out and rent one.

DVD: Ghostbusters Movie box set

I happen to come across a DVD box set of one of my childhood favorite movie franchise. 'The Ghostbusters' movie box set includes the DVD of the 1st and second movie.

It was fun to see them again in action, and the antics of Harold Ramis, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson still is funny to me even until now. Its one of the few film franchise that I believe would still appeal to the newer generation of viewers. As proof, my son named these films as one of his favorites (alongside Garfield, Avatar and Alvin and the Chimpmunks).

I had to admit that my preference in characters had changed. During my childhood, I looked up to Peter Venkman... now, I prefer Ray and Winston. Their one liners gave the story some enjoyable punchlines.

As the film is not much of a laugh-fest...it is still enjoyable to watch because of the story, the dynamics of the characters, and the situation they all get themselves into.

As much as the film brought a lot of laughs, viewing enjoyment, and a bit of nostalgia, the special features left a lot to desire for. The featurette about the special effects used was a total bummer, it made me fall asleep at least three times. I was expecting the same featurette I saw back in the 80's. It was more of a documentary back then...now its like a long commentary with the effects supervisors chat it up.

The Roving Space Shell and The Mind Museum

In the middle of Market Market's activity center in Fort Bonifacio, there is a small pneumatic shell structure that serves as a mobile planetarium.

They hold shows starting at 1 pm from May 29 to June 5, 2010. 

This is to support and introduce the proposed Mind Museum to built in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.  The Mind Museum is a world class, ultra modern science museum and exhibition center with a sleek design and a lot of exhibit nodes in store.

Personally, I can't wait for this project turn into reality. At long last, we will have a science center that would not only focus on the conservativeaspect but also on the wider range it has to offer.

Check out their website