Commenting on the deteriorating interest in home cooking, the program mix on The Food Network and the Cooking Channel, and the general dumbing down of the public, Seattle Times nutrition columnist Carrie Dennett says: More than half of these shows are “food-related entertainment,” not “instructional cooking programs”… One visible fallout from this loss of basic ... (more)
On cardboard sandwiches and tummy fillers
Posted on May 13, 2012 · 16 Comments
Saturday night, we went out to see The Avengers. Alex had seen it with her school friends on opening day because, well… she had to be among the first. It’s a Robert Downey, Jr. thing. She’s smitten. Speedy and I, on the other hand, hate seeing any movie on opening day. We don’t like jostling ... (more)
“Love, pain and everything in between”
Posted on April 22, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Last month, Speedy and I went to see another play. Alex was the production’s assistant lighting designer. I won’t beat around the bush. Alex is my daughter, she likes me to write about her theatrical projects, I want to be encouraging and supportive but I also want to be honest. Love, Pain and Everything In ... (more)
Dear Alex, congratulations on the success of Hedda Gabler
Posted on December 19, 2011 · 2 Comments
In the sticky rice congee post, I mentioned how Alex got really ill after a hectic theater production. The production was Hedda Gabler. I offered to write a review, I think Alex was worried that I might lambast it, she said no review, so I didn’t. There were certain aspects of the play that I ... (more)
Three films that will make you change the way you view film as art
Posted on October 18, 2011 · 16 Comments
There were recent films that I wouldn’t have watched even if I had been given free premiere tickets and even if the tickets came with a free dinner. Transformers 3 was one of them. Total waste of time as far as I’m concerned. Truth be told, these days, and especially after Captain America which was ... (more)
I read that Lea Salonga was among the judges in this year’s Miss Universe pageant. I knew that the pageant would be televised this morning, Manila time, but I’m rarely awake before noon these days. Too bad. I’ve always liked watching the evening gown competition. Speedy read afterward that Bb. Pilipinas Shamcey Supsup won as ... (more)
Contagion: one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen
Posted on September 13, 2011 · 8 Comments
We have a VCD copy of Wolfgang Peter’s 1995 film Outbreak. People dying from a deadly virus for which there was no vaccine. Sam and Alex watched that film so many times when they were toddlers. Sam because she thought the monkey (the host of the virus) was super cute. It’s been her dream to ... (more)
The Catholic population has no monopoly on artistic standards
Posted on August 12, 2011 · 42 Comments
I would have commented earlier but the controversial “Kulo” art exhibit was closed before I could go and see it. Sam happened to be at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) — for an entirely different reason — when the brouhaha was at its height and she witnessed a religious group of religious protesters ... (more)
World War II, the Japanese occupation and Josef Mengele
Posted on August 5, 2011 · 7 Comments
I was born two decades after World War II. I don’t remember when I first heard about World War II but I do know that much about what I knew of the 1940s came from three sources — books (both textbooks and fictional novels), movies and television, and my grandmother’s accounts. The textbook angle is ... (more)
A friend posted the video on Facebook. I learned the song when I was in grade school, years after it was released in North America. I didn’t even know at the time who the singer nor the composer was. I wouldn’t know the name Joni Mitchell until I was in high school when my brother ... (more)
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