El Rey(jr) visita los castillos!

Have you ever been to a real castle? Here are two short stories about my trips to two equally magical castles...

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland

It was beginning to get dark, the shadows were getting longer and the air getting colder. We rushed to the castle at the Disneyland Theme Park in California and arrived with ample time to take photos and tour inside the famous castle.

"Opened on July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all Disney castles.." ref.

We (still) got rhythm - 9 years later!

A Theme Thursday Post

"Each morning I get up with the sun..."


Below is a video of the UP Concert Chorus performing a medley of Gershwin's songs, taken during one of our concerts in Norway way back in the year 2000.

I remember that the stage was huge, the lights and the sound systems were perfect - and the audience was amazing. We even had Norweigian visitors we met at a festival that we attended earlier that year.

I was beginning

A Theme Thursday Post

Zero

I was beginning to get bored
inside my mummy's tummy
so I kicked the joint and split
through this passageway so tiny

It took me three whole days
it was a special trilogy
until at long last I was born
on that night of a syzygy

Puberty

I was beginning to grow
hair in places that you know,
and my voice was always cracking
Oh, what about my singing?

So I went to the Doc
To seek medical support
But instead, he circumcised me
Now I'm no longer "supot".


Lol.
*supot is a Filipino word that means "uncircumcised".



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"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Funk" and other funky movies

A Theme Thursday post

We used to play this hilarious game where we replaced words in movie titles with the word "itlog" or "egg" in English. Now, let's try it for the word "funk", replacing words in the worldwide top grossing movies of all time (as of end June 2009!)

#1 (1997) "Titanic Funk" - hm.. it's one word!
#2 (2003) "The Lord of the Rings: Return Funk of the King" - hahahaha!
#3 (2006) "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Funk" - he's dead already!
#4 (2008) "The Dark Knight Funk" - why is it dark? on second thought, I don't want to know...
#5 (2001) "Harry Funk Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" - can you imagine if J.K. Rowling named the lead character Funk instead of Harry?
#6 (2007) "Pirates Funks of the Caribbean: At World's End" - or Punks. hahaha, maybe the writer had a bad case of "P & F syndrome".
#7 (2007) "Harry Potter and the Order of the Funk" - yah man @ Harry.
#8 (2002) "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Funky Towers" - I wonder what funky towers look like? Maybe there's a huge photo of James Brown on the facade!
#9 (1999) "Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace Funk" - it goes together right? Phantom Phunk! cool..
#10 (1993) "Jurassic Funk Park" - OK, i can't think of anything witty (and wholesome) for this one...

Other notable titles:
#12 "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Funk" - erm... eherm... this is a wholesome blog!
#38 "Kung Fu Panda Funk" - and the protagonist fights using funky dance moves lol!
#57 "WALL FUNK-E" - yeah! funky baby!
#150 "My Big Fat Greek Wedding Funk"
#176 "The Curious Case Funk of Benjamin Button"
#190 "As Good Funk as it Gets"

What's your favorite movie? Replace one word with "Funk" and see what you come up with! Share it in the comments box below!

Interested to see the full list of highest grossing movies worldwide? They're monitored by The Numbers! Check 'em out.

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"I miss those lovely days of..."

A Theme Thursday post

"Good day sunlight, I'd like to say how truly bright you are..."

Summer ended early in the Philippines this year. Too early! It was only the beginning of May when the first typhoon arrived and a storm warning signal was declared over parts of the Philippines. Now as I type this post, typhoon Feria (local name) is raging outside my window...

Next week it will be July. That means hoping for a bright sun shiny day is over, summer has lost to rain. This battle is now over. Soon the rains will completely take over: the skies will be dark for most of the day, the stars at night hidden by the dark clouds.

"You don't know me, but I know you, see, you're my favorite star..."

I miss the summer, when the sun is out and up. I miss the beach at summertime, when the sand and the water is warm and the nights a cool respite. I miss having ice cream and halo-halo to cool off. I miss not needing to bring an umbrella every time I leave the house (I keep losing it :p). I miss not having muddy floors to wipe. I miss jogging at sunset.

"..who needs shelter from the sun? Nothing, no, not anyone..."

What do you miss most about the summer?


Quotations are lyrics from "Who Needs Shelter" by Jason Mraz. If you like Jason Mraz, here's his blog, "Freshness Factor Five Thousand"

Swinging with "The Real Group" and "The Swingle Singers"

I've been absent from Theme Thursday for the past couple of weeks. But since this week's theme was my suggestion, then I will play! The theme for this week is: "SWING". I gave a few suggestions in the "Whoops" theme post and mentioned about possibly moving to "verbs" after taking on several "noun" themes. I think verbs can prove to give a broader spectrum, and hopefully get our creative juices flowing. I was really interested in themes that can be interpreted in a lot of different ways so that the posts will also be as varied! Anyhow, here's my take on this week's theme...

The Real Group

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!" I have been particularly interested in a song for quite a while but never really researched about it until now! I was introduced to it via this version by The Real Group, an amazing, amazing professional vocal group composed of 5 singers from Sweden. The group itself was formed about 25 years ago. Current members Emma Nilsdotter, Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth, Peder Karlsson, and Anders Jalkéus.

Here's a video of The Real Group singing "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)".... It's LIVE!

"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard. The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for Brunswick Records (Br 6265) on February 2, 1932. - Wiki

The Swingle Singers

Now, the Swingle Singers is an 8-member, multi-Grammy Award winning, acapella singing group formed in 1962, but is still around today (with new singers of course!).

I was lucky enough to meet one of the Swingle Singers personally in 2000 during the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF) in Scotland: composer, arranger, choral conductor, teacher and singer Mr. Ben Parry was first Bass with the swingle singers from 1987 to 1992.

The Swingle Singers are now part of the music for the new Fox series "Glee", a musical comedy. It's not being shown here in the Philippines yet, but from news stories and the trailer, it sounds like it will be a huge hit here too. Here's why I think so!

A Theme Thursday post

Finally Off to the Beach!!! Puerto Galera Summer 2009.

The storm before the calm

This has got to be the most stressful vacation preparation I ever went through.

On the day before our scheduled trip to Puerto Galera, I was closely monitoring the PAGASA website for updates on the weather. They lifted the storm signal warnings just in time for me to convince my friends that it's safe to take the boat through the shark infested waters on the way to White Beach, Puerto Galera in Mindoro. :D

On May 2, onboard Paolo's dad's pick-up, we drove to and parked at the Batangas Pier and made our way to the boats. It was a quick enough trip, only about and hour and a half, but that didn't stop Liz and Jenny from taking a nap, and Princess for finishing her "baon" Romance Novel (yep, she was crying like a little girl over it too!)

The Beach

We arrived on the cream colored beach too early for the 2pm check-in time... but the good people at White Beach Guest House allowed us to check in at no extra charge. It was not a beachfront resort though, the place was okay if a bit far from the beach. It's clean and quiet at night. There's a kitchen, and even a place to grill. The path from the beach to the house was a bit difficult to traverse, especially if you're a bit drunk (haha, yes this was based on experience!) and there was this spray of water coming from who-knows-where!

"...the water was a deep turquoise and the islands a lush green..."

We had an early lunch then went straight to island hopping and snorkeling. The water was a deep turquoise and the islands a lush green, but the sky was a bit grey, remnant clouds from the storm that just passed. Nevertheless, the view, the waves and the wind was relaxing, and we were grateful the sun was not too glaring and burning.

We went first to the Coral Gardens, awesome place. Fishies all around. Unfortunately, a few minutes off the boat and I hit my foot on a coral; one small bit of coral punctured the side of my left foot. Ouch. Anyway, we still swam around, fed some fishies some toasted bread (no, really) until they were full. (Basta, Mama! Molto pieno! - sosyal ng Italian fish :p )

After that we went to The Sandbar, this strip of sand with water on either side. After some camwhoring picture-taking, we stayed a bit and had some halo-halo there too to cool down and relax.

Tricky Boatman

When our boatman asked if we could skip Bantayan beach, we thought we were going straight to the next snorkeling spot, but he took us back to White Beach and we ended up just paying him less than what we were supposed to. Bummer, because we still wanted to find Nemo.

We just settled on swimming around at white beach, which was not bad at all, my friends got their massages and Liz and Bing and I went to get our Henna tattoos. Mine was a huge paw on my left shoulder.

"...we were all set for a night of booze and partying..."

Grilled food dinner is always great on the beach! With our stomachs full, we were all set for a night of booze and partying. :p There was actually a beach party going on, something Rubber duckie productions with the featured band being Urbandub.

But we didn't like the music all that much so we opted to go to this bar playing more dance-able music. Turned out it was an all-gay-waiters/waitresses place, and when Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls played, they all went to the front of the bar to dance. Haha! Whoa!

We ended the night drunk and happy, (some of us just drunk, ehem..) and slept like babies, looking forward to a second and more relaxed day...


Read part 2 here - Puerto Galera: The last summer outing

Whoops!

I was goin' to write a post,
my brain brimming with a host
of possibilities, a most
exciting Thursday worth a toast!

But I'm sitting here instead
my home internet is dead!
No one paid the monthly bill...
No one had the urge nor will...

So my friends, 'tis my short note
In a hurry, this I wrote
I don't want my boss to see
My screen on 'Born a Syzygy'!

...whoops!



A Theme Thursday post

Blown away by Clean Energy: Bangui Windmills

A Theme Thursday post.
Bangui Wind Farm in Ilocos Norte, Philippines.

On the way to the Pagudpud Beach, north of the Philippines, we stopped by to take photos of the Bangui Wind Farm. The sun was about to set so we had to hurry to catch the last sliver of light. We were just in time. :D

According to WikiPilipinas, the Bangui Windmills are located in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. It was a project by the NorthWind Development Corporation as a renewable energy source and ...to help reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The project is the first “Wind Farm” in the Philippines consisting of wind turbines on-shore facing the South China Sea and considered to be the biggest in Southeast Asia. This clean energy source provides 40% of the power requirements of the whole Ilocos Norte province.

Personally, I was just blown away by how clean energy could be so cool. ;)

This photo of me and my dad, actually won for me a feature at our monthly e-Newletter sent to all sites in the world. :D




Want to read more about our trip to Pagudpud? Read this "Pagudpud and other related Adventures"

"I have Aquaphobia"

A Theme Thursday post

Actually, no I DON'T have Aquaphobia. (sorry, lol!)
But I could very well have developed a fear of water after having experienced two, shall we say, "watery" accidents.

"...getting an anxiety attack when splashed with water..."

What is Aquaphobia anyway? Aquaphobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of water. Not to be confused with "Hydrophobia" (which is also fear of water but in a more I've-been-bitten-by-a-dog kind of way), Aquaphobia is manifested by avoiding activities such as swimming or boating, and may extend to getting an anxiety attack when splashed with water or thrown into a pool.

Wikipedia explains further that Aquaphobia may be "a reaction to a traumatic water experience - a near drowning or other such event."

The first of two events happened in Feb 1999... It was our graduating year in high school, and one of our friends was celebrating her 18th birthday (traditionally called the "Debutante"). It was a formal afternoon party followed by a swimming party. Unfortunately I had a bit of a fever that day and so I decided not to go swimming. After the formal event, I was just lounging around the pool watching some of my friends swim.

"...I found myself flying through the air and down into the deep end..."

While I was standing near the 6-feet deep side of the pool, I suddenly felt a jolt and found myself flying through the air and down into the deep end of the swimming pool. Someone has pushed me in as a prank!!! Mind you, I was all dressed up in my slacks and leather shoes. It was too deep for me I don't even remember reaching the bottom (yep, I'm that short...) and when I finally surfaced, the panic began.

I was trying to scream "Help! I can't swim!" but I couldn't even breathe. I willed myself to reach the side of the pool, thinking "will nobody help me?". I was almost at the side when the debutante herself shouted "He can't swim!" and only then did people help me out of the pool. It must've been only a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity to me. Gasping for air, shivering and coughing, they scampered to get me a towel and a change of clothes.

I only found out later on that everyone thought I could swim.
"Damn it. I need to learn how to swim..." but I didn't. And so when accident #2 came around, I was still grossly unprepared...


READ PART 2 HERE: "If I let go, I'm going to drown!"

"If I let go, I'm going to drown!"

This is the conclusion of the post titled "I have Aquaphobia, a Theme Thursday post"

It was a bright sunny summer day back in 2004.
We were having a great time in Sur, Oman, visiting my dad. We went to the Turtle beach early in the morning and saw sea turtles laying eggs, dozens of tiny baby turtles, we also rode on camels, rode ATV's and went up and down the sand dunes.

Off on a speedboat along the coastline of the Gulf, we were being stupid adventurous and accepted an invitation to ride on the banana boat... with no life vests.

"...since I was going on a floating device, I wasn't so worried..."

I asked them to be careful and not go too fast because I wasn't a very strong swimmer. At the time, I had learned how to swim short distances, but I've never been in open water before without a life vest. They reassured me that they would be careful, and since I was going to be on a floating device, I wasn't so worried. It was my first time to go on a banana boat. I didn't realize it was going to be like that...

The banana boat was big enough for only 2 people. My dad and I boarded, and the speedboat started pulling us. It was great! Exhilirating! Exciting! I was even cheering and howling while holding on tightly to both side grips of the banana boat...

And then it happened: the speedboat revved-up, and with the change in speed, the banana boat tilted, then turned on its side. My dad let go instantaneously (which was the proper thing to do), but I didn't. The turn made me lose my grip on my right hand, so I was holding on to the banana boat with just my left hand.

The speedboat was still running and I was being dragged over the water, my left hand holding tightly on to the banana boat for dear life. My arms and legs were flying all over the place (which my sister later described as like watching a rag doll). But I had no feeling in my body other than my left hand. And I had no other thoughts just, "don't let go...don't let go or you'll drown! DON'T LET GO!"

I managed to hold on until they slowed down and pulled me in. I even managed to laugh and say I was fine after the fact. But for a while after that I was seriously scared of the open water.

The lesson folks: Don't be crazy, wear a life vest.


Have you ever almost drowned or had a "near miss"?

P.S.
We actually have this on videocam, but when I fell off the banana boat and was being dragged over the water, my sister who was holding the cam forgot all about shooting so all you see is the floor of the boat. :p

Theme Thursday: Earth!

This is a blast from the past for me, from my childhood (which, come to think of it, is now quite distant...) watching cartoons on television. One particular cartoons series I enjoyed was Captain Planet and the Planeteers. This week's theme reminded me of it because it's always the first element they shout. I actually know this next one by heart...

Kwame: ...Then let our powers combine! EARTH!
Wheeler: FIRE!
Linka: WIND!
Gi: WATER!
Mati: HEART!
Captain Planet: By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!
All: Go Planet!
*Song - Captain Planet, he's our hero! Gonna take pollution down to zero...

- then I don't know anymore. Haha!
This video, I conveniently found on YouTube, the intro to Captain Planet's first episode:



I really enjoyed this series because aside from the entertaining action sequences (hehe) they also have tips on how to save the earth at the end. I think this is really helpful in making children aware of how pollution affects the world.

This is one of my favorite cartoons from the 80's. But just to reminisce, my other favorite cartoons then were Transformers, Voltes V, Daimos, Thundercats, He-man and the Masters of the Universe, Care Bears (stare!), Visionaries (this one is my favorite!), King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table, Thundercats, and so many others! Haha...

What was YOUR favorite cartoon series?

How to eat Balut

Really, there's only one thing that came to my mind when I found out Thursday's Theme was "egg", and that is...

BALUT

For the weak hearted, DO NOT PROCEED! :p ...

Balut is a Filipino delicacy (yes it's food!), a soft boiled duck egg with a semi-formed duck embryo. It is also widely regarded as an aphrodisiac.
Enjoy the rich taste of balut, the yellow part is soft and the darker part is crunchy! Why crunchy? Because it's the little unhatched baby duckling!

How to Eat Balut

Here's how to properly enjoy a balut:

1. Well, first you have to buy one from a street vendor who usually comes at night yelling, "Baluuuut!!! Baluuut!!!". He will give you one egg wrapped in old newspaper shaped liked an upturned sailor's hat, and a small plastic packet of salt.

2. The egg is kept warm in the vendor's cart, so it will be a bit warm to the touch. Hold it firmly at the smaller end of the egg and crack open the other side by lightly tapping it on a hard surface (you head will do!)

3. When you've created a small hole by removing some shell bits, you suck out the juice of the balut (complete with all the duckling's amniotic fluid!). Slurp! Very good!



4. Take off the rest of the shell to get to the "meat" of the balut. Chow down with conviction (and don't stop to think!) eating the yellow part with a bit of salt, and the crunchy baby duckling too.



5. Enjoy your balut! "Pampalakas ng tuhod!" (To make your knees strong!)


All photos are from a friend's recent birthday party, with san miguel beer and balut among other things!

Related article on Balut!
NBC's Fear Factor

Theme Thursday: Mineral

My thoughts about a mineral
do not come up with several
Quite opposite! A general
feeling like a struggle...

My freshman year I was "Opal"
Which now I learned isn't a mineral!
because opal has no crystal-
-line structure..thats for real!

(Hm...I need to shave my stubble)

Hold on this is not normal...
can't find words ending A-L!
A challenge to my mental
capacity! Be gentle.
At least I didn't use "rectal"
In this my rhyme so playful

I fumble and I foible
I diddle and I babble
just to make a single
post on my Theme-a Thursday.

oops.




Vote for me to be filipino blog of the week!! (yes you can vote daily!)

Theme Thursday: Vegetable

Quickie post!

Did you know that the term VEGETABLE is not a botanical term, but only a culinary term?

Did you know that a tomato is NOT a vegetable but a FRUIT! Well, a BERRY to be precise. It is referred to as a vegetable in culinary terms, but it's really a fruit (like a coconut is not a nut but a fruit!)

And the tomato is NOT the only culinary vegetable that is a botanical fruit: eggplants, cucumbers, and squashes of all kinds (such as zucchini and pumpkins) share the same ambiguity.

VEGETABLE backwards is ELBATEGEV. - random!

From the letters in VEGETABLE, you can form the following 5-or-more lettered words: table, beget, beetle, bagel, gable... add some more!

Theme Thursday: Animal

こんにちは、ようこそ！
Here's a couple of weird/unique animals we saw at the zoo in Tagaytay.

The first one is a 5 legged-cow...

This second one is an albino carabao (water bufallo) with an albino baby...

Both photos are from my Valentine's Day 2009 set, Liz and I went up to Tagaytay for Valentine's Day, which will be the topic of a separate post. :p

On Thursday we're off to Baguio! Yay!

Talking Fish at the Manila Ocean Park

Photos from the Manila Ocean Park

Here are some photos from when I visited The Manila Ocean Park with my girlfriend for her birthday last year...

I found Nemo (in Manila!) - I knew it!

Creepy looking fishy eggs that sort of look more like lizards than fish...

I bet your eyes would be this red too if you had to sleep with them open. :p

I can talk to fish 'cause I'm a Pisces. :p

Happy Valentine's Day Liz. I love you!

a Theme Thursday post

Statue: The UP Oblation

Oble - UP Oblation

The statue dearest to my heart is called the "The Oblation".

The Oblation is the symbol of the University of the Philippines, the university I went to for my Engineering degree. I have so many wonderful memories of UP. It was where I met my girlfriend of course. Haha.

Theme Thursday: Kitchen

From Coffee Messiah: Sometime last year a fellow blogger started Theme Thursday, and anyone who wanted could post something on their blog on Thursday relating to the theme.

This week's topic is KITCHEN.

Here's my Theme Thursday blog...
The first thing that came to my mind about KITCHEN is, of course, that it's where people cook. I don't really cook. I just really eat. So in the absence of food cooking stories and photos of our kitchen, I thought to share some stuff about kitchens and scary movies...
__________
1. As a young boy, I loved watching horror movies even if they kept me up half the night. After a good intense scaring, I would lie in bed with the blanket covering my whole body (the feet too! coz I was scared zombies would grab my feet) and with only my eyes and my nose showing.

On one particular night, after watching Freddie Kruger almost kill Nancy on "A Nightmare on Elm Street", my elder sister scared me half to death telling me she could hear a the rustle of the shower curtain and a little girl calling "Nancy...Nancy!" coming from our KITCHEN!
________________
2. One of the scariest scenes in The Sixth Sense was when Cole had to pee and after he did, he heard someone in the KITCHEN and thought it was his mom. Here's the excerpt from the screenplay:

Cole instantly stops peeing. His body becomes very still. He slowly reaches for the toilet handle and flushes. He closes his pants and turns. He doesn't come out of the bathroom at first. He just stands there and stares into the darkness of the hall. HIS BREATH FORMS TINY CLOUDS IN THE COLD AIR.

Cole finally steps out into the hallway. His eyes catch a SLANT OF LIGHT now coming from the kitchen.

Cole hesitates before being drawn to the kitchen. He moves down the hall and turns the corner -- coming to a stop in the doorway of the KITCHEN.

Cole stares at the back of a person cooking food on the stove. Cole's fear slowly fades away.

COLE: Momma? Dream about daddy again?

The person turns. It's not Lynn. It's a strange woman. The
woman's face is demented. A purple gash cuts across her
forehead.

WOMAN: DINNER'S -- NOT -- READY!

Cole's face turns the color of ash.

WOMAN: What are you going to do?

Cole backs up to the doorway.

WOMAN: You can't hurt me anymore!

The woman smiles menacingly as she thrusts her wrists forward...They've been savagely cut.
__________________________

WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!
OK OK. It's past midnight and I'm all alone in my room writing this so I have to stop now 'coz I have to sleep (and I'm kinda freaking myself out. hahahah!!!)


Other Theme Thursday posts:
Coffee Messiah
Booksandacupofcoffee
Basstuna
Mouse Medicine
The Ancient Sword
Listen 2 Auntie
World Traveler
Life at Willow Manor