Hi Guy!!! I'ma Back!!!... well kinda...

Hi guys!

Sorry for the long hiatus but I have been eyeballs deep in work lately and I really started this as a hobby and a stress reliever which I know is a pathetic excuse but it is the truth.  Also, I have been wondering about the direction I would like to take on my blog... I have been dragging my feet on this and I haven't really decided yet but right now, I think I will be mixing it up a bit and see what really gets me going... I just hope that you guys would like it too.

This by far does not constitute a promise to be here always, but I will do my bestest(?) to update the blog.. if not for you guys.. at least for me.

mumbling my welcomes...

Memories of my childhood -- Barrio Fiesta!

Okay!  Let's start the new year with a well loved restaurant.  One that has withstood the test of time and have been a staple favorite by Filipino families for years and years.  This is especially true to my family.

The place I'm talking about is Barrio Fiesta!

Yep... you know what I'm talking about...  The mere mention of the name already fills your head with old time favorites like Kare-Kare and Crispy Pata.  These are their best sellers!

I remember in the old days, back when I was a schmuck of a kid, my father always went out to gamble... (What the f***??? What it's got to do with Barrio friggin Fiesta???)  Well, I'll get to it... my father gambled as a means of relieving stress from work.  He managed an old Sash factory then... (sash what???)  It's a wood craft business (why the heck didn't you just say so in the first place?!?). 

He worked on it and managed it.  That's how he got all his children through school (including me) and was our main source of income.  Back to the story... Okay, he gambles away... when he won (and it was either he won big or lost big), he would always pass by Barrio Fiesta... the one located along Edsa... I'm sure you know it and have seen it one time or another... It's close to Ortigas along Edsa southbound... you'll never miss it.  Anyway, he would pass by there and buy Kare-Kare and Crispy Pata for everyone!  End of story.

Well... not quite.  Those were some of the rare times when we enjoyed Kare-Kare and crispy pata!!! (As you already know -- if you read my blog, as a child, I did not eat a lot of foods with veggies --Kare-Kare included -- a big loss for me!).  But I eat a lot of the Crispy pata!!! It was an absolute favorite as a child!  And this was always the target of my hunger whenever my father went home with his prized pasalubong!

The all time fave - Kare-Kare!

My father even had his own swear word which I could only surmise came from this incredible dish -- "Anak Pata ka!" he would say when he was frustrated at us... heh... good times!  It even earned him the nickname "Pata"" from his carpenters.

The famous Crispy Pata!

I remember it all like it was yesterday... my father coming home with the dishes... I remember the crispy skin of that pork leg and hearing it crack as I peel it off the leg... Oh. My. God. It was like angels singing... and when I put it in my mouth to eat and I hear each crackling in my mouth as I chew while it slowly melts away until it goes down smoothly down my throat and into the gaping chasm which is my stomach... it's pure unadulterated, cholesterol laden food heaven! For a kid... it was as good as it will ever gonna get.

Heh... enough reminiscing... so we got to try Barrio fiesta a few weeks back and I was flooded with these memories and I kept telling them to my wife as we got in and settled ourselves... we didn't order the all time faves but wanted to try some of their other dishes.  We ordered the Ampalaya con hipon because the wife wanted something healthy and I ordered the lechon Kawali (heheh!).   We added some plain rice to that order and we were set.  We didn't order much bcoz it was just the two of us.

 

Ampalaya on Hipon and Lechon Kawali

When the food came, it looked damn well scrumptious!!!  And when we got a taste.... man! Oh man!!!! It was delish!!!!  The lechon kawali will always be great for me but what surprised me was the amplaya!  it was damn near perfection!  All the ingredients were fresh and the ampalaya was cooked just right!  Barrio Fiesta did not disappoint even if it wasn't their signature dish.

All in all, we had a great meal at Barrio fiesta and already planning a comeback this year to try out their signature dishes and to further relive the memories of my childhood.

mumbling while drooling as I write this bcoz I am thinking of crispy pata...

Welcome 2012

Hey! Hey! Hey!

It's 2012 and though it is a bit late (I do have a life you know...), let me all greet you with a hearty new year!

And since I'm at it, let me greet you a belated Merry Christmas!!! Hahaha!!!

So there... the christmas cheer has been here and gone (about 5 seconds really)... and now we face another year ahead of us.  The past year went like a blur and this time next year, I'm sure we'll be thinking the same of this year!  Ain't I full of optimism and cheer today??

On that note, let me leave you with a quote from ~Bill Vaughan

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves."

Happy New Year to Everyone...


Mumbling my greeting 'coz my mouth is full...

Nicolas Was...

Ho... ho... ho...

So it's that time of year again...

Let's change it a bit shall we?... This year, let me share you a poem by one of the greatest minds of our generation... Neil Gaiman.  Yep. That Neil Gaiman. Of the Sandman fame.

If you don't know who Neil Gaiman is, look it up and try to read some of his works.  He's one of the best storytellers alive and some of his works have already been adapted to comics, books, and film.

You see in 1989, he wrote a very short poem about old Saint Nick.  And let me tell it to you now... this is not one for the kids...

Nicholas Was...
older than sin, and his beard could grow no whiter. He wanted to die.
The dwarfish natives of the Arctic caverns did not speak his language, but conversed in their own, twittering tongue, conducted incomprehensible rituals, when they were not actually working in the factories.
Once every year they forced him, sobbing and protesting, into Endless Night. During the journey he would stand near every child in the world, leave one of the dwarves' invisible gifts by its bedside. The children slept, frozen into time.
He envied Prometheus and Loki, Sisyphus and Judas. His punishment was harsher.
Ho. Ho. Ho.

 It really warms your heart... doesn't it?

As an additional gift for all who reads this... here are two animated shorts based on the above poem..

And here's another...

Ah... it really hits the spot ain't it? hehehe... So as you open your gifts and drink your eggnogs... give a toast to old Saint Nick...

My parting words to you... Merry friggin Christmas!!!


Mumbling my Ho.... ho.... ho....

The Magic at 89.9

So there's this radio station that I always tune into in the mornings.. and if you're one of "us" working yuppies (young urban professional?), you're already familiar with this particular program at 89.9 Magic.  Yep, I am talking about the Good Times with Mo Twister program every morning - Mondays thru Thursdays at 6am-9am in the morning.

This show has gained popularity (and some crap) through it's controversial interviews (forbidden questions) and of course it's enigmatic and funny host, DJ Mo Twister and DJ Mojo Jojo.  It has long since ceased with the controversial interviews but still remains strong and in my opinion, the best morning show on air in the Philippines today. Period.  Other DJ's that have joined the show were Andy 9, who has since moved on to a different program (still in Magic!), Maui Taylor of the Viva Hot Babes fame, and currently, Grace Lee (Korean) and Angelicopter (former listener of Good times with Mo turned DJ/celebrity).

DJ Mo Twister

I must admit that I have never really tuned on to the show completely (from 6am to 9am? uh-uh..) but rather, I catch it in it's mid-run which is usually the time I travel to the office.  Like everybody else, I heard about the show because of the controversial interviews... but now, I have grown an actual interest and fondness to the show and it's hosts.. with DJ Mo's smart topics and his amusing banters (fights) with his co-hosts (DJ Mojo and the girls).  From almost that day on, my car radio never left the 89.9 station.  Even when I'm going home at night, since I never change the station, I got introduced to other shows like the Boys Night Out (BNO), which is also another awesome show that I like that started small and has currently gotten it's deserved fame.

DJ Mojo Jojo

So why am I blogging about my favorite radio show?  Because it's my blog and after years of it's undefeated status as the premiere morning show, my fave show is now going to undergo a major change... for better or for worse, I'm not yet sure but since I am now a loyal listener, I will be sticking thru this times with them.  The major change I am talking about is that DJ Mo is going to go and move to New York.  Why?  Well, if you ask me, it's because of recent lovelife woes but I'm sure you're not going to ask me since you're already familiar with it.  Anyway... yeah it's a big change... but that doesn't mean that DJ Mo will be leaving the show... the plan is that he is still going to be doing the show... but from New York.  Naks!  Very Nice... very high tech... but how effective this will be still remains to be seen.   This week will be his last here in the Philippines... he will be leaving for New York within a few weeks so after this week, there'll be no Mo on the show for about a month... And on January, they'll be doing a soft launch of the show from there.

Angelicopter

Since it's his last week, the wife and I decided to take advantage of Bonifacio day and finally visit our fave morning show at their station!  We were planning to wake up early but actually woke up late but we still got to the station with about an hour left to the show!  And boy, there was a lot of people with the same intentions as me... to see Mo off and to wish him luck in New York.  We were outside the booth looking in and with us were about 20 other people.. and that was outside the booth! While inside the booth, I think there was another 15 people!  So we got to meet Mo, Mojo, and Angelicopter!!!  Grace Lee was absent due to a sickness.  The place is cool and cozy but a bit stuffy with all the people in there..  Mo came out every break just to say Hi, or to say that he isn't good with small talks and so just hangs out with us outside the booth...  I've never met any of them before but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are very nice people and very down to earth!  They hung out with the listeners who came by and I think Mo, shook the hands and hugged everyone that was there!  It was a great first time meet and greet for me and got the chance to have a lot of pictures with them!  Even the other listeners who were there were very nice to everyone else (is it because it's christmas time already?) and some of the long time callers who are also familiar were there (Like Melissa -- the crying lady and Mo's #1 fan!).  We had a really nice time and had wished we had done it sooner.

Like I said, there are major changes ahead but I know that they will pull thru this along with their huge and wildly loyal listeners.  That includes me and the wifey.  So here's to Good times wih Mo... may you have more power and may this change lead the show to greater heights!  To me and many others, the Good times with Mo show will always be the "Magic" in 89.9.

Mumbling my giddiness when I met the gorgeous Angelicopter!

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Heh.

One of the most awaited films of the teen generation is out and expectantly, has made record sales once again!  I know this comes a bit late and I actually never intended to blog about the movie but... since I am experiencing a drought in what to write and to what direction I want to take the blog as a whole, I decided to do this little filler.

Breaking dawn is one of the longest books in the Twilight franchise, not to mention that it is very lucrative for the studios to prolong their moneymaking cash cow by making it into two movies instead of one just to bleed every penny they can on the crazy twi-struck fans and believe you me, it works... they'll gobble it up... including me.

Yep. Me.

I'm not exactly a die hard fan but I have enjoyed the books, and like others, have waited with bated breaths on how they would translate it in the silver screen.  In the books, the first part of the story was actually slow since it focused on the wedding, the honeymoon and the birth... there was never really that much action in the first arc... in the movie, they made it work by incorporating the wolf shifters.. yep, I call 'em wolf shifters 'coz that's what they are... they are not werewolves so you just stop with your own commentary...  They made the birthing and the argument of the wolves as the climax of the movie and it still worked. 

And one more thing, this movie is for those who appreciate the book franchise... this is not going to make a lick  of sense for those who haven't read the book (and I've read commentaries from those people who don't read the book and then watched the movie) and would probably hate it so I am telling it right now, If you don't like or have not read the books, this movie is not for you... 

But on the other hand, if you are a fan of the book, you will love it!  You get to see the wedding, honeymoon, and the birth... the 3 most important facts in the first arc..  you get to see if the studios were able to match you're imagination of how it is setup and executed (though probably, you're imagination wins... mine did!).  And for me, I think the movie sums up the first part quite well...

mumbling my anticipation for the last arc...

The Vampire Wars... Rice versus Meyer!

Oooh... the internet and twitter has been a buzz lately because our old favorite author on vampires is now starting a fight with our current favorite author on vampires!

Yes! Yes!  It seems that Ms. Rice started to do some mudslinging using her characters from her book to deride the characters of Meyer's books!  On her facebook page, Ms. Rice posted a loaded question linking to an article of a North Dakota student:

 And then there is this other really pressing issue: should vampires sparkle? Think before you speak! This is probably the most important issue facing our time!!! (I have a suspicion that Louis, Lestat and Armand will refuse to discuss this. But then you know how contrary and difficult they can be.)...

 She then continued on to site what would her characters think of the vampires in Twilight:

Lestat and Louie feel sorry for vampires that sparkle in the sun. They would never hurt immortals who choose to spend eternity going to high school over and over again in a small town —— anymore than they would hurt the physically disabled or the mentally challenged. My vampires possess gravitas. They can afford to be merciful.

Oh Snap!!!  That has got to twinge even just a little...

Let the Vampire Wars via their authors begin...

mumbling my glee to the closest to a vampire war we will ever get..