ALDORITHM

Absentia

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:45:16 +0800

The only reason I’ve been neglecting this blog is that I hate the layout. See I accidentally installed a theme I just wanted to preview, thus erasing all the hard coding I did way back in January/February. One day I will sit down and properly modify the theme, if only to bring life back to this page. (Plus, I need more ad hits!)

Facebook: the hell? I don’t recall ever listing...

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:05:26 +0800

Facebook: the hell? I don’t recall ever listing “photography” under my interests. But I can let that slide because I do like to take pictures. BUT GRAFFITI???

I sorted my music library by play count so I could listen to the...

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:57:29 +0800

I sorted my music library by play count so I could listen to the songs I haven’t played ever. In the process I found out the ones with the highest play count. Funny that only one of these songs is in my Last.fm overall top tracks!

Tiny secret

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:38:00 +0800

Tiny secret

Tell me again why

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:06:39 +0800

airline food is an oxymoron.

Word! Watching Monk season eight, the final season. Over the...

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:52:00 +0800

Word!

Watching Monk season eight, the final season. Over the years the murder mysteries have become weaker, Adrian’s OCD a little cornier but I gotta say, I’m gonna miss this show.

Today's Finds (06/04/2010)

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 01:17:00 +0800

Indulging ze sweet tooth!

Nothing beats a batch of freshly baked cookies. Whether it’s from Micha’s Los Baños or Mrs. Fields, it’s hard to pass up on this sweet treat once the aroma grabs you. Unlike Micha’s or Mrs. Fields though, Famous Amos doesn’t specialize in the soft, chewy variety. The factory-baked, packed-and-sealed Famous Amos is just all right but the freshly baked cookies from the Famous Amos shop are something else.

You can take your pick from five cookie types: no-nut chocolate chip, macadamia chocolate chip, chocolate chip pecan, double chocolate chip, and butterscotch chip pecan. I got 200 grams of no-nut chocolate chip and double chocolate chip; the cookie bag is almost empty now!

I’d seen a lot of J. Co cafés over the past few years but never really bothered to enter one until today when I saw that it offered frozen yogurt. Incidentally, I was also told of its prized donuts so I had to make time for coffee there this afternoon. I have to say…

J. Co did not disappoint. The donuts were amazing.

So amazing that I didn’t mind getting three donuts when I only ordered for two. Apparently, you get a free donut when you get a coffee, but how was I to know! Anyway, I think the measure of the awesomeness of any donut brand lies in its humblest hoop, which is usually the glazed. I thought nothing could come close to Krispy Kreme’s glazed but one bite into J. Co’s version had me wanting more. (Thank godz for the free donut!) I think this is how the glazed donut should be: sweet but not too sweet (Krispy Kreme’s is a little too sweet), poofy, soft, and, most importantly, melt-in-your-mouth. It was so good that I wanted to nab the one the person at the other table left untouched on his plate.

But the crew member got to it first. (What was that customer thinking?)

The other donut I got, Cheese Me Up, was also very good but it had the disadvantage of being sampled after the amazing glazed. The coffee-of-the-day (which they like to call COD) was all right. (I’ll write about the frozen yogurt in another entry.)

It was a crowded afternoon at the coffee shop but I was still able to read my book in peace. Aside from the good food (which was reasonably priced, might I add), what made this coffee experience a little more special were the little details about the place.

Like the tables — each one depicts a J. Co donut and a short, creative description.

And the little notes on the J. Co napkins and donut sheets. (I find that these details do matter!)

And the interiors were a sight to behold too. Just take a gander at those lights!

FCUKING COFFEE MUGS. Who thinks of that?!

Finding Lomography

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:44:00 +0800

My first Lomography camera was a gift; the next one, an online purchase. Over the years they’ve given me immense joy (and frustration) but I’ve always wondered what it’s like to enter a real, authentic Lomography store. I’d seen photos online and they all looked like candy stores in that you simply couldn’t leave without buying something, anything.

The Lomo craze has especially heightened over the past years with the availability of cameras and paraphernalia in Team Manila, Fully Booked, and Cubao Expo shops. I think it’s great that the products are more accessible now but I still think there’s no greater joy than buying your Lomography camera in person, at a Lomography store.

Well, I finally realized this “dream” a few days ago when I got to step inside one!

What made this visit more special was the fact that I didn’t know there was a Lomography store at this mall. It was my mum who told me about it. I didn’t believe it at first but then she described the walls of the shop as covered in photographs so I knew it was the real thing!

I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was a relatively small shop but how could you not take your eyes off the spectacular mosaic of lomographs? The wall on the right was covered in pictures of predominantly warm hues; the other wall, cooler hues.

Gratuitous!

I was too excited to properly take pictures of the main merchandise displayed on a geometric shelf at the center of the shop. On the countertop there were different types of film, books, photo albums, and cute Lomo keychains. Bags and shirts were also displayed beside the counter. Actually, everything you see on the online shop was there! (Well duh, it IS a Lomography store.)

Of course I wasn’t planning to buy a camera this day but I WAS going to ask my friends who are going to Singapore this month to buy me one. Essentially, this purchase was already predetermined. So which Lomography camera did I get?

A Holga!!!

A Holga 135 Black Corner to be exact. One day I will commit myself to a camera that uses medium format film but my comfort zone really is 35mm! This 35mm Holga has been in my wishlist for years and I am just pleased as punch to have it in my possession now! Well, technically, this wasn’t the exact Holga in my wishlist. I know about the vignetting effect in Holga pictures but I didn’t know about this “black corner” version (because there’s that and your regular 35mm Holga). This Holga wasn’t available the last time I checked at Team Manila so you can just imagine my glee when I found this tucked inside the lower shelf in the Lomography store! I didn’t even care for this “black corner” sh!t, I just knew I was going to leave the shop with this 35mm Holga in my hands.

And now I have it!

Today's Finds (06/01/2010)

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:28:09 +0800

Another food post.

First off: microwave popcorn is UNHEALTHFUL and you know that.

Now that that’s out of the way, how can you simply resist microwave popcorn as sinful as this? THIS Orville Redenbacher is gluttony at its finest! Orville was the first microwave popcorn I tasted, way back in 2000. In the early noughties, I used to get this particular variety (and its counterpart pour-over butter) at South Supermarket. But then they suddenly stopped appearing on the shelves and the taste of hot popcorn smothered with cheese/butter soon became a distant memory. So you can just imagine my joy when I spotted this at the grocery store yesterday!

Naturally, good popcorn must be accompanied by good drinks:

Today's Finds (05/31/2010)

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:24:00 +0800

Food edition! (And oh, this is my 100th post!)

Blue Ocean! That’s blueberry soda with mango syrup and seed-like jelly thingies (I’m sorry I will find out what those are!).

Orientalia pizza, which was surprisingly very delicious. This is full-on Asian pizza with broccoli, crab sticks, tofu, fish, and sweet Asian sauce. Doesn’t sound very appetizing for what is traditionally known (and loved) as an Italian dish but it was really, really good.

An ice cream parlor! But I didn’t get ice cream here.

We got ice cream here! But my sister beat me to the flavor of the month, Global Cooling Crunch. (When with company, I like for us to get different flavors.) This was, without question, the best ice cream I’ve had this year! It’s “roasted chestnut ice cream swirled with a caramel ribbon and chocolate-covered honeycomb candies.” The medley of the flavors made for one very gratifying treat.

Day 114 Outtake It was a HOT graduation day in UPLB last April...

Sat, 29 May 2010 00:57:58 +0800

Day 114 Outtake

It was a HOT graduation day in UPLB last April 24. This is an apt description, not a complaint. Lest we forget, last year’s centennial commencement exercises were met with a heavy downpour. I’ll take the heat over the wetness!

Day 112 Outtake Needing sleep.

Sat, 29 May 2010 00:40:02 +0800

Day 112 Outtake

Needing sleep.

This video is hilarious! Lost has left a looong trail of...

Fri, 28 May 2010 00:49:00 +0800

This video is hilarious!

Lost has left a looong trail of unresolved questions that I didn’t go into the finale expecting answers to everything we’ve been asking from as early as season one. But I really, really wanted to at least get the answers to two things:

First, who did Juliet shoot in the canoe scene in season five, episode four? (It’s 2:54 in this video.) A lot of fans thought this was going to be a significant part of the plot (like flashback Juliet shooting future Sawyer) but alas, it just happened to be one of the series’ trivial details. (And I just read that the producers didn’t feel the need to shed light on this scene as it wasn’t essential to keep the story going.)

And then I would have wanted just one last look at the statue of Taweret, which has been my fixation since season five (my favorite season). But I knew this was unlikely because the story behind the statue seemed to be pretty much wrapped up in season six, episode nine.

I was in awe after finishing the first season in August 2005 that I ran a list of questions I needed answers to, pronto! Five years later, all but one of the questions I listed have, in one way or another, been addressed in later seasons. Now that the show has ended, it seems that all these questions/mysteries were just part of the story — NOT the story itself. In the finale, it was clear that Lost has always been about the characters and their relationships. And while there are still many unresolved items, I thought the show gave an appropriate and “resolved” ending for the characters who “once were lost but now are found.”

Quarter-Life Blues

Fri, 28 May 2010 00:00:00 +0800

For my birthday (more than a month ago), my ever dearest friends *surprised* me with me a box brimming with birthday cards from people at work and selected students. Now I’m not a fan of surprises but, as surprises go, this one was pretty awesome. And I don’t think I’ve thanked those who took the time to write me a greeting so thank you to: Candy, Sherwin, Cla, Roxy, Robert, Mar, Liza, Marifi, Tita Nitz, Tito Dante, Tita Nel, Ma’am Juvy, Ma’am Serlie, Ma’am Duday, Ma’am Ciejay, Tita Lisa, Kuya Louie, Tito Aga, Cheecko!, Sir Bumatay, Ma’am Chek, Heidi, Tita Chato, Aira, Cristina, Aliyah, Ara, Ma’am Mads, Aiza, Tito Bernie, Tita Mila, Ma’am Melds, Tito Benny, Theia, Bea, Czeska, Lynette, Raizza, Pia, Leovy, Itche, Sir Romel, Tita Fe, Ma’am Ofie, Ica, Maren, Gabe, Venus, Ma’am Mia, Monica, Fil, and Anonymous.

52 cards in a box. That’s probably the most number of greetings I’ve EVER received in my 25 years (funny, 52 for 25). Well the note did say, We hope you’ll never tire of reading Happy Birthday. I’ve always been materialistic, making a yearly wish list for my birthday but rarely getting anything in it. But at the back of my head I’ve always maintained that a personalized birthday card/greeting would be just as perfect as a Leica M8 Rangefinder camera, which will forever be in my wish list.

So yeah, this was a pleasant surprise and a welcome addition to my storage space where I’ve been keeping notes and letters from as early as 1995. But the thing was, not even this box of positivity could salvage the “happy” in this birthday. Because, to my recollection, this was my gloomiest one to date. And I don’t know why so the easiest thing is to chalk it up to…

Quarter-life blues.

I’ve been going through stuff I wrote five years ago and to my utter amusement, my younger self loosely talked about quarter-life crisis and the feeling of standing at crossroads. Good lord, this kid was so naive and delusional. Those entries were written the period after college graduation, when I didn’t know what to do with my life. Whatever sentiments they were shoulda been classified as post-grad confusion and not quarter-life crisis. (I probably couldn’t help it, all my other batch mates succumbed to this imagined crisis too.) But y’know?

I think it’s kinda real now.

Well it’s not like I’m in a bad place or anything, it’s just… a lack of contentment. Like something’s missing and I’m not making the most of my wherewithal. Oh why am I boring you with this.

My folks have always told me that birthdays should always be celebrated. But that was the problem: I tried celebrating my birthday over the past years but it didn’t really offer me anything… profound? So this year I thought, why even bother to expend time and stuff over something that’s not going to effect any difference on you anyway.

I didn’t even make the mandatory birthday wish. In the words of Vanessa Carlton, it was “just a day, just an ordinary day.”

Day 109 Outtake

Lee/Crystal

Thu, 27 May 2010 03:06:00 +0800

Clearly, it was Crystal Bowersox’s night. Momma was on FIRE! And after a couple of weeks of not-so-hot performances, she delivered when and where it counted the most. Lee was visibly nervous but he picked up the energy by the third song. Unfortunately, Crystal seemed to beat him in all three rounds, judging by the panel’s critiques.

The thing is, however, the one whose light shines brighter on this night doesn’t always end up the victor. If the finales of the previous two seasons are any indicator, then we definitely know who is going to win American Idol Season 9 later!

I like both of these contestants and I wouldn’t mind seeing either of them win. Taking the entire season into account, I thought Lee did slightly better than Crystal. But based solely on last night’s show, Crystal simply hit it out of the park. I think Lee suffered from not-so-great song choices whereas Crystal had the advantage of performing ones that brilliantly showcased her talent. That last song (Up to the Mountain) was just incredible… without question the best performance of the season for me. I love Patty Griffin (especially love her album Living with Ghosts) and Kelly Clarkson also did an amazing rendition of this song a couple years ago on Idol Gives Back. If Crystal doesn’t win, I hope the producers still decide to release this single.

Actually, we could do without the hypothetical phrasing because it doesn’t look like Crystal’s going to win anyway, what with Simon predicting Lee’s win this week on Ellen and the fact that Lee has never been in the bottom two. Online polls also reveal better odds for Lee but I haven’t checked Dialidol, which has always correctly predicted the winner.

To some degree, this Lee-Crystal showdown reminded me of the Season 8 finale AKA the battle of the Davids. It was clear that David Archuleta had the better night (Simon called it a “knockout”) but the very nervous David Cook ended up winning in one of the most emotional finales ever. I was on Team Archuleta but, in hindsight, I could totally get why David Cook won. Whenever I revisit the performances of that wonderful season, it is always clear to see why David Cook is an American Idol.

Crystal was leaps and bounds ahead of the very nervous Lee last night but instinct tells me (well, a lot of people actually) that Lee is going to emerge victorious. And like I said, that won’t be a problem because either of the two truly deserves it.

Last season is a different story though because, one year later, I’m still scratching my head why — of the 12 finalists — Guitar Boy won. For the record, I don’t like the attention whore Glam Boy has turned into but it was clear to me last year that he should have won it, hands down.

Anyway, back to Season 9. So it’s Simon’s last year which means next year Randy Jackson will be the only original judge sitting in the panel. The ratings have plummeted this season and some suspect it’s because of Paula’s departure. Like I said at the start of the season, Ellen’s great, Ellen’s entertaining, Ellen’s funny… but the show doesn’t really need her. A lot was riding on her inclusion in the judging panel but, apparently, not even she could boost the show’s ratings. Notice Ryan never really acknowledged the magnitude of votes that were cast during results show, the way he did seasons past?

I’m not surprised at all that the show is losing viewers because I’ve been pretty bored with the season myself. It just isn’t as exciting as before. I don’t know if it’s because of Paula’s absence or the number of judges or the one-hour results shows but to me American Idol has lost a bit of its magic.

Ironically though, the results seemed to pan out right this season. (Then again, the predictability could have been a factor why the show’s become so boring.) What I like about the final two this year is that they are both the best in their respective semifinal groups (Lee for the males, Crystal for the females). And haven’t we all predicted from the start it was going to be Lee vs Crystal? I can’t say the same for most of the previous Idol seasons wherein at least one of the potential winners was eliminated before the finale.

I guess that’s pretty much it… I felt the need to write about the show because I always do every year (except last year because ze blog was down). Here’s hoping for a better Season 10 because I really want to continue following this show!

HAHAHAHAHA! I was looking for something I wrote five years ago...

Wed, 26 May 2010 22:27:00 +0800

HAHAHAHAHA! I was looking for something I wrote five years ago and then I stumbled upon this.

This would be filed under Post-Grad Depression.

Day 108 Outtake Aaaaah, a new pair of shoes after more than a...

Wed, 26 May 2010 03:50:58 +0800

Day 108 Outtake

Aaaaah, a new pair of shoes after more than a year. I used to buy a lot of shoes before but then I stopped and I don’t really remember why. What’s ironic is, I still love collecting shoes but I’ve come to realize that I don’t actually love wearing them. If I could, I’d wear slippers every day instead.

I Scream! (Part One)

Wed, 26 May 2010 03:29:00 +0800

Day 107 Outtake

Without question one of my favorite Operation 365 pictures!

Growing up as a kid in foreign land, I looked forward to the ice cream man every Sunday. More often than not, I would get a popsicle but what I really wanted was ice cream and jelly, a rarity in his freezer. It wasn’t hard to catch the ice cream van because you could hear the jingle from a block away. I would run to my mum or dad to ask for a dollar so I could help myself to a cold treat. Of course there were days when I would pass up on ice cream but the van never failed to linger in front of our house, waiting for that chinky Asian boy to run up to his window.

I still love ice cream — whether it be of the humble variety peddled by Mamang Sorbetero (as in the picture) or the more special fare in fancy freezers. Whenever the family gets the chance to travel, we sample as much ice cream as we can get. My dad and sister love chocolate and mint (blech) while my mum leans more toward rum and raisin and fruity flavors. Most of the time, I get two scoops — one chocolate and one berry.

Yes, there’s a difference between gelato and ice cream. I think it has something to do with the amount of cream used because gelato appears to be more packed than ice cream. I’d passed by this Gelato Bar once or twice at the mall and I wasn’t going to leave without sampling its “dessert with style.” The gelato display was fcuking gorgeous I couldn’t decide on which flavorS to get. Most likely I got a chocolate-strawberry combination because, like I mentioned, that’s what I always get.

At our time of visit (2008), there were only two Fruits and Ice Cream Summer Cafés — one in Tagaytay and one in Boracay. Now they have one in BF Homes and Alabang Town Center. The reasonably priced ice cream was certainly a treat for all of us but it was Cla who appeared to derive the most FIC pleasure. Would love to post pictures of her, enraptured by her ice cream cone but she’d kill me.

Ah, Baskin-Robbins! I always did hear about you on American movies when I was a kid. So I was delighted to be able to taste you for the first time in 2007. The ice cream was all right but I absolutely loved the sherbet flavors, especially Sunset Sherbet (a tangy treat of mixed-berry, orange and lemon sherbets in vivid sunset colors). The one in the picture, if I’m not mistaken, is Rainbow Sherbet. I also kind of loved Love Potion #31 (cupid’s white chocolate and raspberry ice cream swirled with raspberry ribbon and loaded with raspberry-filled chocolate cups and chocolate chips) but probably more for the name than the taste.

I just love ice cream packaged in a paperboard tub with a plastic cap. This wasn’t how ice cream pints looked like in the country in the ’90s. Ben & Jerry’s is another brand I always see at the movies. What I love about this line is the creative set of flavors and each flavor’s unique name. My favorite one is Everything but the… Simply decadent.

Unfortunately, I haven’t tried New Zealand Natural’s frozen yogurt yet. But the ice cream is superb, if a little expensive. I love: Boysenberry Dream, Forest Berry, and Chocolate Ecstasy.

Ah such a shame, Go Nuts Donuts. You had the best donuts in town until Krispy Kreme came along. And it never was the same after that. Now you’re selling your prized ice cream and of course I needed to try it. I got the New York New York because your (not particularly courteous) staff told me there was no more Strawberry. It was okay. I wouldn’t have minded the taste but the problem was, you implied in your poster that this was THE ice cream of all ice creams.

I was excited to find out last year that Gelatissimo was taking shape at Greenbelt 5. Now open, the place is almost always packed when I pass by. This is another gelato bar with impeccable product display. And you can ask for flavor samples to help you decide which one/s you want to get. My favorite flavors are: Veronese Chocolate (tastes like Ferrero Rocher) and Forest Berries. For a thrill you might want to try their Chili Chocolate which is… hot.

To be continued…

I love covers (especially those that do justice to the original)...

Tue, 25 May 2010 01:20:13 +0800

I love covers (especially those that do justice to the original) but I am generally not a fan of artists/bands that play more covers than original material. Having said that, I do think Boyce Avenue’s version of Dave Matthews Band’s Crash into Me is not too bad. There’s nothing fancy/different here as the singer stuck to the original melody and acoustic arrangement.

Now I know hardcore DMB fans are probably going to rip this cover to shreds, especially because it’s done by a relatively up and coming band. You might have heard that Stevie Nicks has also recorded her own version of the song, which she says is “a female take.”

I love both covers. I think it’s because Crash into Me is a truly beautiful song, questionable lyrics notwithstanding. It was this song (which was played in Excess Baggage) that made me really sit up and take notice of the music played in movies and on TV shows.

Today's Finds (05/23/2010)

Sun, 23 May 2010 22:42:00 +0800

Three things:

A blue chair from SM (because even the sale items at Dimensione were a tad too pricey for my taste). I would have preferred one that was wooden, or at least didn’t have legs like these, but it’s my favorite shade of blue (though the lighting here doesn’t do it justice) and I’ve always wanted a blue chair in my room so this one satisfies.

A red pill box. Ah, what convenience. I was on-trip last week and did not know where to store my multivitamins and meds. I did find a tiny Tupperware container in the kitchen but this red pill box makes for better storage. I woulda gotten the one with 14 compartments (labeled Monday to Sunday, each day with an AM and PM compartment) but it looked a little too bulky for a pill box.

And lastly:

Strawberry syrup!!! It’s hard to come by flavored syrups here. Now I can make a decent pink lemonade and no, I won’t be using McCormick strawberry extract anymore!!!