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Was up this morning to watch the 83rd Academy Awards. There were several draws to it for me this year, despite them being unable to get any of the Twilight trio to guest. One was James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting. Another was that I've watched four out of the ten films nominated, and am looking forward to seeing three more. (We get some of the films later here.) Lastly, Colin Firth! <3 Also, Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield and Armie Hammer... I am happy that most of my favorites to win, won. But then again, Colin Firth and Natalie Portman were such shoo-ins for Best Actor and Actress, it was bordering on boring. LOL. The fight really was in the Best Picture category, except, apparently, that was a lock for The King's Speech, too. At one point, I thought maybe The Social Network or Inception would at least have a chance? I guess not. Personally, I was rooting for Inception. The Social Network was brilliant, of course. The screenplay was just a beautiful batter of wor...

I don't celebrate Valentine's. I did when I was a kid. I think I also did back in college. But later on, when I was part of a couple, was when I saw what all the single people saw about the day. Isn't that ironic? Kurt from this week's Glee VDay episode said it best: "It's a simple excuse to sell candy and greeting cards on a holiday." In fact, I think the scriptwriter quoted me somewhere, because I remember writing something like this on my LJ. LOL. But it's true. Why relegate yourself to one day a year to show affection? My husband surprises me with little things even though there's no occasion. I think those times matter more than a huge bouquet or a bucketful of chocolate on February 14. Anyway, here's a blog I found that shows you where to buy anti-valentine's shirts. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not against the day. I just think it's overrated.

Dear Blizzard, Have you ever thought of building a World of Warcraft Theme Park? Hear me out. It's not totally ludicrous. In fact if you search Google , you'll find that the idea isn't even original. There were rumors that the Chinese had plans of making one , though I'm sure considering all the technicalities, it won't come to fruition. If it does though, I'd still rather you be the one to do it. I mean, it's CHINA. I'm sure it's going to be unlicensed and illegal and the rides will be poorly-improvised and poorly-executed. If you need ideas, there's this post I found, which has some pretty interesting stuff, if you ignore the sarcasm littered here and there. For example, I like that he suggested the prizes for carnival games be faction marks, but instead of the ones from the Burning Crusade, they be from either Alliance or Horde. Your mascots can be all the faction leaders. There'll be spots like in Disneyland where people can have picture...

After Tuesday's patch, my husband and I logged on to see that the Alliance had control of Tol Barad, the contested PVP area past-level 85. Paul expressed concern upon hearing that Blizzard was going to make defending the fort harder than attacking it. Before the patch, Horde had held TB for about 2 weeks, so we wondered if that had anything to do with the slight change. (NAH. LOL.) Last night, we joined a raid. Taking it back should be easy, right? But we couldn't, for some reason. We'd get two forts and just as we're attacking the third, the Alliance would regain one of the two we had acquired. I remember thinking of it as their revenge. They probably felt like this last week, when they couldn't seem to get a foothold of Tol Barad and the Horde, well, whenever I was on, anyway, would literally hoard all of TB's dailies. "Hah, now they know how it feels!" It was quite frustrating being on the other end of the winning-losing spectrum. One of the raid me...

... was 93 minutes of INTENSE. Going in, I had a vague recollection of what it was about, having only seen the trailer the week before. I knew it starred James Franco and it and he were both nominated for Oscars. (Though, Franco has a lot of competition with Colin Firth this year.) I knew it was about an adventurer, Aron Ralston, who got stuck in the middle of practically nowhere because of a boulder that crushed his hand. And those 127 hours? The amount of time he spends struggling... with his fate, with his emotions, with his decisions, with the choice to live or die. Crudely, I can compare what he experienced with the five stages of grief: Denial. (You've GOT to be kidding me. Did this just happen?!) Anger. (WTF! STUPID ROCK!) Bargaining. (*chip chip chip* *grunt* *lasso rock and try pulling*) Depression. (*records on camera* Hi Mom, Dad. I might not make it. Just so you know, I love you.) And later on, Acceptance. You would think that to spend almost 2 hours in a cinema watchin...

Saw this on Citibank. I haven't been to one yet, so it should be worth a visit. More details on the event's site here .

They're going to make a How to Train Your Dragon 2 ! XD Excited mainly because of this guy... Cutest dragon ever.

I learned a new word today. Pusillanimous . (From Merriam-Webster.com ) Definition of PUSILLANIMOUS : lacking courage and resolution : marked by contemptible timidity — pu·sil·lan·i·mous·ly adverb Examples of PUSILLANIMOUS 1. pusillanimous politicians who vote according to whichever way the political wind is blowing Origin of PUSILLANIMOUS Late Latin pusillanimis, from Latin pusillus very small (diminutive of pusus boy) + animus spirit; perhaps akin to Latin puer child — more at puerile, animate First Known Use: 1586 Related to PUSILLANIMOUS Synonyms: chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, craven, dastardly, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered [archaic], poltroon, cowardly, recreant, spineless, unheroic, yellow Antonyms: brave, courageous, daring, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, gutsy, hardy, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, valiant, valorous I guess whoever invented the term "Pussy", whether it's the sh...

Among the things that made my first time out of the country memorable was that, for once, I went with something I loved, and chose to go to Japan where most would opt for the U.S. Another was the presence of my husband (then, boyfriend), Paul. It was fun because, while we weren't strangers to traveling, doing so without tour guides and just one other person for company was new, especially for me. We found that the first 24 hours was already a wealth of experiences. Our flight was delayed leaving, which is normal for the Philippines, I think, despite the plane being Cathay Pacific. Naturally, we had to disembark and take a connecting plane in Hong Kong, but since we were late, by the time we got there, it was about to leave and we were two of the few people it was waiting for. The ground stewardesses at HK International hurried us to our next boarding gate. Paul and I headed directly for the sign that read ECONOMY PASSENGERS. As we ran through the jetway, we looked at the windows ou...

This is one of the scenes that really touch me in Disney's new film, Tangled. The look on Rapunzel's father's face before they were to send out their lantern on Rapunzel's 18th birthday. He seems more heartbroken than the mom. :( I was relating that to friends of ours this evening over dinner. My husband, Paul, spoke up and said, "Kaya siya guilty, kasi siya dapat nagsarado ng bintana nung gabing yun." (He feels guilty because he was supposed to close the window that night.) If you haven't watched Tangled yet, go see it to find out why. Tangled is currently showing in local theaters. You don't have to watch it in 3D, but I suggest doing so just for the lantern scene. Pascal wants YOU to go and see their movie!

I just caught myself saying this to my husband about Blizzard's new promo: "Hey! There's a new promo! *click clicks* Something about a core hound? *gets excited* *clicks some more* *reads* If your account is protected by a Battle.net authenticator yadayadayada... *skims* We'll be picking two of the most memorable images each month in 2011 and awarding the winners with a brand new iPad... Oh. Meh. It's just an iPad. I thought it was about a pet. *closes window*" I know. I've got my priorities ALL WRONG.

Well, since it's going to be an impossibility at this point, might as well tell you. I was planning on going this year. (Thus, the whole "changing my passport" thing.) But, meh. Looks like it's not gonna happen. I guess that just makes one less Twilight fangirl at the con, to the joy of the attendees. Although I was hoping to cosplay, too, (not Twilight, of course) since that would have been so cool.

I'm sure you've read, seen, and tried this before. First you go to Google Maps. Then you click on "GET DIRECTIONS". Then you fill out Point A and Point B. Try Japan to China. #41 will say: Jet ski across the Pacific Ocean. Now try USA to Japan. #31 will tell you to: Kayak across the Pacific Ocean. At first I thought it was just the Google staff's way of poking fun at people who test their intelligence. ("REALLY?! You're asking us HOW to DRIVE from America to Japan?") But if you enter any of the other nonsensical combinations, e.g., Philippines to Thailand, New York to London, the site will give you a "We cannot calculate directions" message. Would've been fun to see what other cockamamie ideas they've used to replace the simple suggestion of "Take a flight from this airport to that airport."

Sometimes, I look at the controversial headlines the tabloids post, and think that they're doing it deliberately. Meaning, they say one thing, so that they can fish for a future reaction, resulting in stories. Take for example, a headline that goes, "THIS COUPLE ENGAGED!" Of course, if the couple is NOT engaged: Girl: Can you believe what they're saying about us this time?! O_O Boy: What is it now?! O_o Girl: Silly article says we're engaged! ^O^ Boy: Haha! Can you believe that? XD Girl: Haha. Yeah... *pause* >_> Awkward conversations follow. Maybe they'll fight. Maybe they'll break up. It's just more fodder for the media. In the end, they get what they want, even if they don't have the specifics. (Why specify, when your job is to speculate?) And that anti-gossip site? Gossip Cop? I follow that. I like to think that they fight for the good, so I tend to believe whatever they say. They're doing something different after all, which is sprea...

There's something you should know about me. When I watch movies or read books, I usually do so to be entertained. If I like it, I'll rave about it to my friends with all the cliche comments: "It's awesome." "Good." "Great." "Mind-boggling." I usually don't deviate from those superlatives. But when I highly dislike something, that's when I get specific. And really, considering my personality, it's rare for me to find something I don't like. I try to keep an open mind. I repeat, "I try ". In essence, that's how I write my commentaries on something. (I won't call them reviews, here, exactly. Okay, maybe for a teeny bit they are.) If you don't like my opinions, I'd just like to remind that yes, they are just opinions. You're welcome to make some yourself. You don't have to base them on what I think. I think that with most things in life, not just with me, that should also apply, yes? (Must...

I remember back in the day when I used to watch Batman with Adam West and Burt Ward. If I switched on the TV too early or too late, The Green Hornet would be on. It didn't have the same draw for me as Batman did. I found that the characters were more serious, compared to the Dynamic Duo, who had their campy moments. I was too young to even know who Bruce Lee was, but sometimes I would tune in just to pass the time. When I saw the trailer for this year's Green Hornet, I wasn't very impressed. It's a bad habit of mine, judging movies by their trailers. I've been proven wrong numerous times, namely by Pixar movies. While this wasn't a Pixar movie, when my friends scheduled it for our regular Saturday night outing, I shrugged and thought, "Well, why not?" I ask myself again: Well, why not? Because I could have saved my forehead from all the facepalming I did for the movie's first 50 minutes. No wait, let me rephrase that, since I'm not sure how lon...

Disclaimer: I am not a fan of horror movies. That aside, I didn't find The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins, too scary. Granted, of all horror movies, the ones that feature demonic things are those that frighten me the most, because, ghosts and goblins and fantastical serial killers may be spooky, but a lot are just figments of writers' extremely violent imaginations. On the other hand, demons and the devil, to my highly Catholic consciousness, are very very VERY real. I'm not sure if it was the general lack of gore or the fact that I HAVE watched The Exorcist, the grand-daddy of demonic possession films. My love for Anthony Hopkins could have overridden my fear... although at one point, I turned to my husband and giddily whispered, "It's Hannibal!" Or it could've been my frustration with the lead character. I mean, DUH. HELLO? It's "shown" itself to you FIVE MILLION TIMES! (I exaggerate. Meh.) Not even science has developed a voice changer th...

I've decided to apply for a US Visa this year. But I was advised to have my passport changed first. My current one carries my maiden name. When I go to the embassy for an interview, they said it might be better if I already present one with my married surname, so there aren't issues. Two years ago, when my husband (then, my fiance) and I renewed our passports, we only had to call a number, give our info, pay at the bank, wait for our documents and pictures to be picked up by someone, go to the Department of Foreign Affairs to finish processing and then our new passport would be delivered a week or so after. It was pretty hassle-free compared to the old days. Now, you have to go to their site . You can still opt to call, but they're mostly busy (when I called anyway). In truth, the organization of the site is pretty convenient. You set an appointment here and fill out a form. Make sure you understand the requirements going in! At the end, they'll ask you to choose a da...

I really haven't been updating anything. Not my LJ (which, I guess if you're a friend of mine, you'd know. I still keep that for my comms... and other stuff.) Not my travel blogs. (Who knew it'd be so hard to choose pictures! Or maybe I'm just lazy. No, that's it. I'm lazy.) I will... more like, SHOULD, write for cosplay though. I should. I should. I... shoulda, woulda, coulda . What I have been updating are my twitter accounts and tumblr. I guess I can't even count my twitter because I've recently put it on private... can't help the political musings and not-so-constructive criticism I spew on there. The government frustrates me and I need to let it all out... somewhere! Of course, the old fuddy-duddies in the seat don't understand that (or the internet) and I might end up in places I don't want to end up in, thus, the recent condom-ing of my sounding board. And tumblr. It contains all my favorite things... posted by other people. Lol. ...