How much is that dog in the window?

Say hi to the eye-dog. Those bright eyes are its indicators. :-)

Wouldn't you be surprised to know that this dog has a 20x20-foot square living quarters all to itself? She's got her are puppies inside with her and a whole sack of dog food stocked up for the new year.

One more thing, there's a computer with a DSL line running in there. Once I find out her blogsite, will let you know!

Fireworks, Food, and Family

We thought this was part of the fireworks contest that was supposed to be held in the area, but alas, just SM's rendition. It was still nice though while sitting at Gerry's Grill to watch while having dinner.

Repost: Jericho Rosales - Jeans Band

Due to some reason, FeedBurner corrupts this upload (as experienced by Ros). Alright, may as well try using YouTube which was recently acquired by Google and compatible with Blogger!

So then Ros, Ai-Ai - here you go as requested.

Thanks for inadvertently helping me learn some new things about blogging. Heheh!

Movie Review: Silver Streak (1976)

George Caldwell: You stupid, ignorant son of a bitch, dumb bastard. Jesus Christ. I've met some dumb bastards in my time but you outdo them all.

I had the funny experience of watching this movie, perhaps for the first time in memory on cable just now. Then it dawned on me :-)

During college, my buddy Harvy would utter these words at times for fun. That was the time of knowing Mex and some other ping-pong guys at the gym.

Anyway, getting ready and cleaning up the house at the moment ....

Gumbo Shrimp, Fried Shrimp, Baked Shrimp ...

Good-bye Joe, he gotta go, me oh my oh
He gotta go-pole the pirogue down the bayou
His Yvonne the sweetest one, me oh my oh
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
For tonight, I'm a-gonna see my my-my cher a mi-o
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou

Settle down far from town get him a pirogue
And he'll catch all the fish in the bayou
Swap his mon to buy Yvonne what she need-o
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou

I've never had gumbo before but after that song and Bubba Gump's comments, I was intrigued. My officemate Patty said she loved the dish. It just so happens that next to the office is a small but locally famous bakery that also makes it. By the pint, quart, and bucket. And it comes with rice too.

Gumbo contains some shrimp, cajun sausages, pepper, bits of chicken, some crab, rice -- basically a mix of everything. And it is excellent eating!

Ate the half of the quart tonight, tomorrow the rest. Then a dessert of berry cakes. Nice.

Never Ending Story: Tami-S and Melissa-G

I was trying to figure out what drew me to MG and realized her smile looked exactly like the Princess in the Never Ending Story.

It was during one of our movie viewing sessions in grade school that this film was first shown. I have to admit I was smitten by the innocent smile and soft-spoken voice. Kudos Atreiu!

Years later, Google helps me find Tami Stronach as a dance choreographer in New York.

So is it really Melissa because of Tami? Nah, on the other hand I like both their smiles.

Yeah, it probably doesn't help that my mom's a dentists. Ergo, this smile and teeth fetish. Duh!

Snap! Take Along the Toolkit

At last all the items have arrived!

Took a trip back to Bath & Body Works at the behest of the missus to swap in some hand wash for hand gels. It was zip in and out and done in 10-minutes so no charge for parking. Had some luck getting a space as well coming into the lot. Good one.

I wasn't sure what Ashley would appreciate, but since the Sock'em robots are good to share we figured to get some hand-eye coordination going. As I remember he wasn't as active as his older brother Avery so this tool set should hopefully give him hours of fun.

--------------

Myself, I remember playing with wooden alphabet blocks when I was younger. The outstanding color was a maroon block .... letters P and B and an H. They were about 4-inches across, but that could be just how a little boy perceives them. Haha!

When I was stationed in Taiwan for a few months in '99, I brought home a special set of building blocks for my son. He didn't play with it much, alas, the kids of these age.

Well, it was my gift and part of my heritage. Those blocks I actually still see back home in Irisan at my mom's place still. Good thing the termites haven't gotten to them as much as the rest of the house :-(

Giant Subs

No, this isn't about the Nautilus or anything from Captain Nemo's Thundersub.

Last night I finally consumed the last bits of the sandwich taken from Uncle Brent's during Josh's birthday party. There was a good 4 inches left with the meat running out so I cooked up some instant Chicken ala King sauce and smothered it with the left over fries from lunch's Amigos resto.

With a bottle of IBC rootbeer, excellent.

See the scale on this thing, its many times bigger than a pack of cigarettes!

The surprising part perhaps is that although some things do get diluted due to size, strawberries for example, some things can actually taste better.

Cherish - Unappreciated (2006)

[Chorus:]

I'm feeling really unappreciated.
You takin` my love for granted, babe.
I don't know how much more,
I can take from you.
You don't do the things you use to do.
You don't even say I love you too.
and lately I've been feeling,
Feeling unappreciated.

[Verse 1:]

Woke up this morning and saw your face
And you didn't look the same as yesterday.
I got the feeling that you can't seem to see,
What you want to be.
And lately it ain't been the same at all.
When you're here its like I'm invisible
I still can't seem to see where I went wrong.
Coz I'm feeling

[Chorus:]

I'm feeling really unappreciated.
You takin` my love for granted, babe.
I don't know how much more,
I can take from you.
You don't do the things you use to do.
You don't even say I love you too.
and lately I've been feeling,
Feeling unappreciated.

[Verse 2:]

Lately our house is not a home
You come in, take a shower and then say I'm gone.
what am I to do
With my heart just leave
But my feet won't move
Today is our anniversary
But you haven't even say two words to me
I'm trying hard to give you another chance
But ooh baby I'm feeling

I'm feeling really unappreciated.
You takin` my love for granted, babe.
I don't know how much more,
I can take from you.
You don't do the things you use to do.
You don't even say I love you too.
and lately I've been feeling,
Feeling unappreciated.

[Verse 3:]

Oh when I first met you
I thought you was the most perfect man
That I ever seen
I still don't understand why
You treat me like you do
I use to give into your lust
Now I see the truth
Oh no I don't want to hear it all through
Yea I know I'll still be missing you
But it's not worth the pain
That came from you
You made me feel
unappreciated

[Chorus:]

I'm feeling really unappreciated.
You takin` my love for granted, babe.
I don't know how much more,
I can take from you.
You don't do the things you use to do.
You don't even say I love you too.
and lately I've been feeling,
Feeling unappreciated.

Don't love me no more
Heeey wooo hooo
unapreciated.
I'm feeling unappreciated

Cake and Drinks

We went to visit the Pidazo's today and as usual I didn't know what to expect. Its quite a large clan I am in :-)

Said hello to my aunts and uncles, then kissed my aunt who's also my grandma. Thats a fun story for another time.

Anyway, looking at the table there was food galore. Just the thing as we'd been driving an hour in traffic to Fullerton and I was so dizzy from my diet.

In the middle of the cake was Jonathan's picture , nice way to make the announcement and find the birthday boy. He's in his teens. :-)

As we were eating Uncle Charlie immediately invited us for drinks. Its freezing in California so am thankful to have worn the jacket bought with my soon-to-be wife. Warm and smooth, just like her skin

But, I digress. Am not a J&B fan so left that with the rest. There was some Coors beer, skipped that as well. In Baguio fashion, Cuervo Gold tequila. As mixed drinks that my buddy Art always does then, top it with margarita mix and a little salt - voila!

Sea water flavor. Just kidding, but it really does taste like the beach. Ah, soon next year a few days on the white sand beach would be nice.

Upcoming Movie: Turistas Go Home

Walking out of the cinema, I noticed this poster on the wall. Wonders what it is, and lets look it up a bit later.

------------

Ah, found it. The film is called "Turistas". The initial reviews aren't so nice, but the fact that it stars Melissa George (remember Michael Vaughn's wife from Alias?) -- I am watching this hottie!

Movie Review: Stranger than Fiction

I remember when my mom used to bake at home. The warm smell of fresh bread.

Yeah, particularly this time of year during the Christmas holiday when it would be banana, carrot, fruit, and rum cake.

For that matter, myself I'm more into baking stuff rather than cooking. As a kid I would make my own pancakes topped with Caro syrup, or perhaps make some puto.

The cooking part I got from my dad. It would usually be a dash of everything available that in my own way would contribute to the flavor.

The designing and presentation, I would say is attributed to Wok with Yan. Some mornings I would wake up, grab some hotdogs, fry a few eggs, shape some veggies, then wake my parents with a presented breakfast in bed. Sweet, some day I hope my own kids would do that, too.

------------

I seem to appreciate Will Ferrell over Adam Sandler these days. Perhaps its the style of comedy, not too slapstick. Don't get me wrong, see my review of Click. However will comes across with gem over gem these days. Regardless of the other reviews for this movie, I think its actually sweet.

The story is about an IRS agent, Harold Crick, and his watch.

One day a fiction writer who usually kills her characters in the plot starts to write. Harold startlingly hears her narration of his life and actions. At first it bothered him no end, but in hind sight whatever she wrote did lend him some insights on his attitude of life's routines. Wake up, brush teeth, chase the bus, coffee breaks, home, and sleep at the same time each day -- all about saving time. But shave time and skip experiences for what?

During one distracted visit to a baker, the narrative voice intones that he really fancied the baker. At the time perhaps it wasn't what was on his mind, but see where positive suggestion leads to. He falls for the rebellious baker who is half-in and half-out of liking him.

At some point the writer decides to make a threshold chapter, her character's death. Hearing this leads to Harold's search of finding ways to make her narration stop to stem his death.

Eventually, he finds the identity of the author and it does help that he worked at the IRS where he used tracking information to locate her and call her. This knocks her off her feet for sure. Imagine, writing a character's death which happens in real life.

She finishes the script but doesn't type it in until .... reviews it to find a way out. He reads the script at one point and realizes that there is just no way to avoid death and not derail the narrator's master piece work. Accepting his fate, he tells the author to finish typing and walks away.

Thats the saving grace of this character. The willingness to sacrifice for the greater good. Thus he lives, thanks to his wrist watch at the culmination of the modified plot!

As the author said, (paraphrased) "The man knows how he's going to die and yet goes on ahead and allows me to finish my work. Isn't that a man worth saving (from death)?"

Perhaps I saw these words at some point "No greater love is there than this, than for man to give up his life for the sake of others." That was written on an evangelical book long time ago in my parent's bathroom. At one point they thought I'd become some kind of priest, in fact. But again, thats another story for another day, and another batch of beers. :-)

Beyonce - Irreplaceable from B'Day (2006)

to the left
to the left

to the left to the left
everything you own in the box to the left
in the closet, yes thats my stuff
yes, if I bought it, then please don't touch (don't touch)

and keep on talking that mess, thats fine
could you walk and talk, at the same time?
and- its my name thats on that bag
so go move your bags, let me call you a cab
standing in the front yard, telling me
how I'm such a fool, talking 'bout
how I'll never ever find a (wo)man like you

you got me twisted

you must not know 'bout me
you must not know 'bout me
I could have another you in a minute
matter fact, (s)he'll be here in a minute (baby)

you must not know 'bout me
you must not know 'bout me
I'll have another you by tomorrow
so don't you ever for a second get to thinkin'
you're irreplaceable

so go ahead and get grown
call up that ch(d)ick, and see if (s)hes home
oops I bet you thought, that I didn't know
what did you think
I was putting you out for?
because you was untrue
rolling around in the car that I bought you
baby, drop them keys
hurry up, before your taxi leaves

standing in the front yard, telling me
how I'm such a fool, talking 'bout
how I'll never ever find a (wo)man like you

you got me twisted

you must not know 'bout me
you must not know 'bout me
I could have another you in a minute
matter fact, (s)he'll be here in a minute (baby)

you must not know 'bout me
you must not know 'bout me
I'll have another you by tomorrow
so don't you ever for a second get to thinkin'
you're irreplaceable

so since I'm not your everything
how about I be nothing? nothing at all to you
baby i won't shed a tear for you
I won't lose a wink of sleep
cause the truth of the matter is
replacing you is so easy

to the left to the left
to the left to the left

mmmmmmmm
to the left to the left
everything you own in the box to left

to the left to the left
don't you ever for a second get to thinking
you're irreplaceable

you must not know 'bout me
you must not know 'bout me
I could have another you in a minute
matter fact, (s)he'll be here in a minute (baby)

you must not know 'bout me
you must not know 'bout me
I'll have another you by tomorrow
so don't you ever for a second get to thinkin'

you must not know 'bout me
you must not know 'bout me
I could have another you in a minute
matter fact, (s)he'll be here in a minute (baby)

you can pack all your things- we're finished
cause you made your bed now lay in it
I could have another you by tomorrow
don't you ever for a second get to thinkin'
you're irreplaceable

Back to the i-Dog Pound

*Alright this is going to be my 5th try posting this, but this time on regular Blogger since the latest update of Picasa doesn't seem to be compatible with Blogger Beta. I dunno, same company but ....


It appears dogs are easier to find than cats. I've been shopping online for a black one since last week on Amazon, Target, Circuit City, BestBuy, RadioShack, KB*Toys, ToysRUs but to no avail.

To top it all off, arrived at Target Pasadena East expecting a white one. After several minutes of thumb twiddling waiting for the stock to arrive from back I was greeted by four colored dogs.

Alright, its a sign. Forget the cats, the i-Dog is an automatic classic in Apple Mac fashion hue. That is, its white. Hey baby, here's your gift viewable immediately online. Hehehe ... :-)

Taking and Viewing Good Times

I dare say, this digicam has been with me places.

However, as things go together with ease and mobility -- sometimes you have to let go of some possible baggage.

You can clearly see this item is really decked out, sans the light needed to be attached to the shoe and perhaps a zoom-lens to extend its already nice Carl Zeiss clarity.

That large one on the right is a macro lens, I'll leave you with imagining what close up clear pictures you could have from that :-)

Elmo and Fairytales

This shirt here is one I bought many moons ago, in Asian XL. You can't imagine the many attempts I had to wear it since its a classic shirt from a play -- of which I am an addict, in a way. Hey, now I just did!

So my bottle of non-sleeping side effect formula is almost finished. I'll need to get a new one for this holiday season in preparation for some major lamon.

As usual got the usual from McDo again, #5 Ranch Crispy Chicken with Coke this time.

Oh, I need to remember who Dora goes to. I believe it was to Rhae and Airiz. Then Elmo was for Craig. Its all coming together now ...

Sock 'Em and Doodle

Just in today -- part #2 of the online orders. This is getting to be fun.

There are 3 tykes that should enjoy these knock-out robots, they are also good to share since you'd look silly playing alone on these.

That drawing pad is for the Nice and sweet little girl.

Another saga of late night junk food, I believe this was Pibb this time. The cost of all these toys is that I am on diet and only eat once a day.

Pathetic? Perhaps but check my waist-line later. Hehehe. :-)

mycoke

here's a sample wallpaper from MyCoke