Now Entering The Great (Fire)Wall of China

Ok, I been very busy these past few weeks, and coupled with bad internet connection, my blogging speed has slowed down to a crawl. Lots of backlog, some even three months before! ( i.e. Lea Salonga Concert, the Big Deal, the Cebu escapade etc. ). In fact, I have all but lost my very own internet connection in my home, and now (ninja-like and silent as death) been blogging here in the office.(Blogger's note:Edited 3 hours before flight)

That means a wee amount of time, so I'll just touch on the highlights and hopefully get to talk about them soon.

1. "Ni hao China! Nimen hao Zhonggou ren! Er ... donde est el banyo?"

Going to China in a little while. Probably the last of the travel itenerary of the quarter. The first quarter of the year is always the busiest time for us, lots of travel to and fro Manila, and in the end, to China for the annual Canton Fair. Have to brush up on my chinese, as most likely I'll be the one to do the talking (my bro speaks better, but he likes to keep quiet), usually ordering food, asking for where the toilet is etc. Tiring? You betcha.

2. "Bonjour Monsieur! C'est facile! C'est magnifique!"

Just for trips, decided to study the French language after work. It's a beautiful language, although you do have to watch out for the pronounciations and the silent letters (there's a lot of them!). Since I'll be going to China tommorow, I'll be missing three classes, which sucks. But I'm pretty confident as to learning quickly; compared to the Chinese Language, French is easy once you get a hang of the proper pronounciations. Oh, and the teacher is cool, who is a pinay expat (I think), a little strict but nice.

3. "Uh-oh".

Speaking of trips, been listening to the music of Taken by Cars. First thought it was foreign band, from the accent of the vocalist and trippy beats, and from the cool music video. Then found it was a group of young local collegiate students ( um, this needs checking, but from their pictures, they look young ... or maybe just that I'm getting old? Arrrgh... ). Anyways, if you like Bloc Party (and local band Pedicab) and other bands of that genre, give this a try, though they're a bit more tame (but more bouncy).

4. "1st Law of Robotics: Never harm a human being"

Have just watched Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. Yep, due to uncertain circumstances, the movie was released way way back but I have just watched it now and I can say it's good that I waited for the DVD quality copy (read:pirated). Plot is good, Batou is back but without Major Kusanagi, the cinematics up to par with the times (actually the Original Ghost in the Shell was way ahead in it's times in animation when it was first aired a decade agao, as with Akira, but I digress), but the thing that really got me was the weird enchanting soundtrack, which was a reflection of the first movie. I really believe that music sets the tone, and if any Filipino directors would get the hint and use subtle yet scene setting music for their movies, I'd kowtow to them.

That aside, I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to anyone, even those without the slightest inclination of watching anime. But I would suggest that you watch the first movie first, and then Innocence, and the plot would't make much sense.

5. "End of Contract"

Speaking of Pinoy movies, anyone seen "Endo"? Indie film, part of the Cinemalaya Festival? I haven't, but if you have a copy, I'd bow and scrape for one. Well, not really, but you get my drift.

I support the indie film scene. They have right now the most original content and have that dignity that raises the bar for Filipino filmmaking. From Pagdadalaga with Maximo Oliveros, Pisay and now Endo, a lot of people are saying that the Filipino scene is having a Renaissance. And that's a statement for the local megastardom industries. Anybody notice what the regular movie houses are churning out? Superpapalicious with Vhong Navarro. Good God.

Ok, that's it. Right now, I'm waiting for my flight to Guangzhou, and as luck would have it, my flight has been delayed (Cebu Pacific is always delayed. If it was right on time, it could one of the signs of the impending Apocalypse) and we have been asked to transfer to a better location (read: father away and more inconvenient.) Anyways, this will be last post for the month, unless the hotel provides free internet service and The Great Firewall of China is down ( if you're in China, you cannot access certain restricted sites, including Blogger. Freedom of speech and communism et al.) In the meantime, au revior and zai tien!

State of Mind: Deja Vu China

Song of the Day: Uh Oh by Taken by Cars

Book of the Week: Watership Down by Richard Adams

Want/Need: Business Class Seats ( and again deja vu takes away with this one)

The Sign Says: Don't Stop To Rest

ACK!

Ok, been very very busy this month, I'll update this blog once I get breathing space, perhaps next week. Lotsa things happened, and I'm still in the middle of work to get things written down. But to recap a bit, I've been to Cebu (Holy Week), I've been to Manila (WorldBex Convention) and now preparing to leave for China (Canton Fair) in a couple of weeks. Whew. And there was the baptism of my niece, the regular brownouts, the lucrative deal with ________ is now almost a reality, choosing the right church and venue for our wedding, deciding Paris for our honeymoon (nauna pa yung honeymoon plans kesa sa wedding plans, hehehe) , started writing again with the Palanca, trying to work out by boxing etc. etc. etc.

And of course, got a lot of new books, hehehe.

Oh, anybody notice the heat these days? Toasty.

Maybe I'll redo the look of this site soon. Hmmm.

'Nuff said.

State of Mind: Whirlwind With Dorothy (and this time, I'll kick the dog)
Song of the Day: It's The End Of The World As We Know It by REM
Book of the Week: Dragons of Spring Dawning by T. Hickman and M. Weis
Need/Want: Ice Cold Beer, a Book and a Reclining Beach Chair ... in the Alps