Monthly Archive for February, 2007

2006 Movie Awards

Published
by
mai
on February 27, 2007
in conversation on a barstool and lady with the spinning head
. 0 Comments

Here are my picks:

Worth waiting in a looong line

  • Half Nelson
  • Children of Men
  • Pan’s Labyrinth
  • Little Miss Sunshine
  • Letters from Iwo Jima

Worth the ticket price

  • The Departed
  • Jet Li’s Fearless
  • Casino Royale
  • Match Point

Buttery popcorn and a large Icee made this better

  • V for Vendetta
  • Marie Antoinette
  • Babel

I should have stayed home and cut my toenails

  • Ultraviolet
  • Black Dahlia

DVD Gems

  • The 3 Burials of Melquiades Castillo
  • Laurel Canyon
  • Heavenly Creatures

Missed them but will watch for the DVD.

  • Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
  • The Dead Girl
  • Strangers with Candy
  • Shortbus
  • The Queen
  • Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny
  • Apocalypto
  • Notes on a Scandal
  • The Painted Veil

The fruits of too much tinkering

Published
by
mai
on February 27, 2007
in happiness is a warm gun
. 0 Comments

I freaking played with my theme today and now I think I messed it up royally. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled ad nauseam and still its not working like I want it to.

:S

Pizza-aah

Published
by
mai
on February 26, 2007
in crumbs from your table
. 0 Comments

I love Nizario’s, but now I’m infatuated with Escape from New York pizza

clockwise:
2 slices SUPER COMBO (Mushrooms, Olives, Onions, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Pepperoni, & Sausage)
YOU SAY POTATO (Sliced and Roasted Potatoes & Roasted Garlic Cloves over Pesto Sauce)
THE GOURMET (Fresh Spinach, Feta Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes & Artichokes)

Ferry Plaza booty

Published
by
mai
on February 25, 2007
in crumbs from your table
. 0 Comments

Purchases from the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market last Saturday.

Ferry Plaza booty

clockwise from top:

coffee from Blue Bottle: 3 Africans, Giant Steps, and Mesa de los Santos (limited issue I think) — all great drip, dried orange slices from Bellaviva, Almond Brittle with Bittersweet Chocolate from R.L. Alfieri (the man giving free samples was saying it was “better than young love” hehe), and Lemon Caramels from Miette.

Please Sign the Petition for House Bill 2991: imposing higher penalties for cruelty to animals

Published
by
mai
on February 24, 2007
in Noteworthy, heartland, things to make and do and zooropa
. 2 Comments

from the Petition Site

A Brief History of the Dog Meat Trade

Traditionally, dogs were sacrificed and their meat eaten when a family was faced with bad luck, or when a death was witnessed. It was the belief that a dog’s spirit protected and guarded the spirits of the living family. However, this was an infrequent practice. Greed and corruption has evolved the ritual into a massacre of over 500,000 dogs a year in the Philippines as a commercial industry. Although most Filipinos detest the practice and do not eat dog meat, it is still concentrated in areas in and around Baguio City and the Cordilleras Region.

What is the current law?

The Philippines’ Animal Welfare Act of 1998 (Section 8 of the Republic Act No. 8485) prohibits the torture of all animals with the exception of livestock. In addition, it does provide an exception to killing for religious purposes. Unfortunately, the Act fails for three reasons: (1) there is no direct prohibition against the commercial dog meat trade; (2) the penalties are minimal; and (3) there is a lack of enforcement due to corruption and bribery of police officers.

The cost of a trader to keep his business of slaughtering dogs for profit:

* Traders plead guilty and pay a fine of not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000 = $20.35) nor more that Five thousand pesos (P5,000 =$100.00).

* It pays for Traders to pay a penalty because it’s actually less than bribing a police officer.

* It is a $3.8 million dollar industry and the payment of a penalty is small cost of doing business.
What needs to change?

Because this barbaric commercial industry provides a steady flow of income not only to the traders but to officials and police officers, the dog meat trade remains unscathed from the Welfare Act. However, House Bill 2991 is currently pending in the Committee on Revision of Laws that provides a stiffer penalty to dog meat traders. Introduced by Representative Francis Escudero, the creation of the bill was based on the need to upgrade an Act that, as noble as the objectives of the law are, the traders remain elusive because the penalty is unrealistic. The penalty must be upgraded.

What can you do?

OUR GOAL is to obtain OVER 50,000 signatures by APRIL 30, 2007. The Bill is expected to be addressed by Congress in May 2007. It is obvious that the only way we can ensure that dogs in the Philippines are protected is to place the Philippines government under the international spotlight.

References:
Status of House Bill 2991: http://www.congress.gov.ph/bis/qry_show.php
Animal Welfare Act: http://www.dogmeattrade.com/library_articles/philippine_act.html

* Click here for more information
* Sign Petition
* Email this petition to your friends

________________________

Cross-posted from Sherwin’s Me.Find.Home

An online petition initiated by www.DogMeatTrade.com is calling to every animal-loving being out there for help in showing the Philippine government that there are indeed a lot of people out there who support a move to amend the law on animal welfare by imposing higher penalty for cruelty to animals. The amendment is referred to as the House Bill 2991.

A query at the website of the Philippine congress regarding the status of the Bill shows the following results:

Bill Summary and Status
13th Congress
SPECIFIED HOUSE BILL/RESOLUTION NUMBER
2001-07-04 TO 2007-02-12 (Date of Filing)
Ordered by Bill Number
Search Results (1)

HB02991 [History]
Session No.: 13-1RS-023
Significance: N
Date Filed: 2004-09-22
Full Title: AN ACT TO INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR CRUELTY TO ANIMALS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 8 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8485

Principal Author: ESCUDERO, FRANCIS G.Date Read: 2004-10-26
Primary Referral: REVISION OF LAWS
Bill Status: Pending with the Committee on REVISION OF LAWS since 2004-10-26

The online petition is targeting 50,000 signatures by June 30, 2007. As of today, February 12, 2007, there are only about 6,300 signatures. We need at least 317 signatures per day till June 30 to reach or surpass that target. My personal target is 100,000, which translates to 679 signatures per day.

It can be done if you sign now and ask your friends to do the same. In fact, if you ask only 2 friends of yours that are listed in your address book, and then those two friends do the same and each asks 2 other friends to ask 2 friends each to do the same and so on and so on, the target of 100,000 signatures can be reached and surpassed in just 16 days by you and your friends’ efforts alone and assuming that each email invitation is complied with only every 24 hours! You can reach a million signatures in just 20 days through the power of exponential growth! Imagine if you asked more than 2 of your friends…

I’m not saying that you go send out to everyone in your address book (but it wouldn’t really hurt if you did that, too). But a whole-hearted plea to a handful of friends will go a long way for this petition. Again, let’s try and harness the power of email to support this petition.

This is a legitimate initiative that will help those who are lobbying for laws that help and protect animals in the Philippines.

For more information about the online petition, please go here.

Please sign the petition now!

Click here to email this petition to your friends.

Thank you very much.

Lakas tama circa 2004

Published
by
mai
on February 20, 2007
in stories for boys (and girls)
. 1 Comment

2am, deadline the next day — and braindead already.

Sea Coconut cocktail

It’s going to be a long night.

One purchase leads to another

Published
by
mai
on February 18, 2007
in desire and things to make and do
. 0 Comments

I finally received the Audrey Kawasaki print that J bought me (I “earned” it by migrating their mail and website to a new webhost). It’s really nice and I am once again ganado to fix the apartment. I am so bad about this that there is no cogon to even ningas haaay.

Anyway so I’m looking at the lovely print. Which is this one

Mia & Mai

and I’m thinking that I hope to have an original someday. And then I see that she designed some IPod protector skins for GelaSkins Inc.

But then I look at the all designs and I’m stumped again, I can’t decide which one to get na naman.

Anyway check them out, ganda!

Post-meal nibblets

Published
by
mai
on February 18, 2007
in crumbs from your table
. 0 Comments

Lunch today was microwave Pad Thai (for J) and microwave Orange Beef w/ Rice (for me). But dessert made up for it.

left to right:

Cherry Bomb - Meringue with a chewy dark cherry center

Millionaire’s Shortbread - bastard child of Cookie and Candy: a layer of chocolate fudge over nutty toffee / dulce de leche over buttery shortbread.

Dulces de Leches - 2 thin shortbread cookies with a secret ingredient in the center. Can you guess what the secret ingredient is?

from Sweet Things at the Cal-Mart in Laurel Heights

I wish that instead of the Society / Party pages in the newspapers, they placed photos of food lined up instead.

Honeyinmytummy

Published
by
mai
on February 17, 2007
in crumbs from your table
. 1 Comment

Our friends E and R go to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market every Saturday. And for the past 2 weeks I have tagged along. Ya ya ya I know its sometimes too froufrou and sometimes overpriced. But everything is pretty, and today the sun was out and the air was warm, and even J who doesn’t like walking around ended up going to the market where a pretty young lady was playing the accordion and singing her special version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by the pier while we went to get some coffee** and breakfast.

Today we got some herbed white cheese, some eggs, and (although this was not a planned purchase) a superduperyummyhoney from Marshall’s Farm. There were so many types available that I was overwhelmed, but the lady at the stand gave us little spoonfuls of different types to try. I got the Star Thistle honey this time.

It is really easy to like, and is almost like butter in texture, and although I can imagine this in coffee and tea I think I will enjoy this best straight out of the bottle with a spoon (I take that back — I toasted half a bagel and had it with this honey and cream cheese SARAP!!!). And I will definitely be back to try the other varieties (the Almond Blossom, Napa Valley, Mt. Tam, and Saints& Sinners.

Sophie likes it too shhh.

 

________________________

**Since it was quite warm today I got to try the iced coffee, and wow that really “hit the spot” hee. I was trying to find out how to make it and found a post here.

New Orleans Iced Coffee from Blue Bottle via Meathenge
verbatim

1 pound coarse ground coffee
2 oz. roasted and ground chicory
2.5 liters of cold water
1 fine mesh sieve
2 quarts whole milk
3-4 oz. sugar

Soak the coffee & chicory in the cold water over night at room temperature. The next day strain it through your fine mesh sieve. This should render you about a quart of concentrate.
Add yer 2 quarts whole milk and yer sugar (make a warm slurry with a little of the milk first so the sugar melts well).
Ice it.
Drink it.

True Confessions of a Shocked B2B and her Proxy Fiance’

Published
by
mai
on February 16, 2007
in beautiful ghost / introduction to songs of experience, conversation on a barstool and one step closer
. 4 Comments

** I thought this post was lost for good, but apparently I had a draft of it in my old blogger blog.This reminds me of the *fun* wedding preps that didn’t prepare us for the challenge, and fun, and shock, that is marriage.

________________________

Setting:
2004. Bridal Fair in one of Manila’s hotels. Not the biggest bridal fair around, in fact the place isn’t filled with suppliers, and the mood is a bid subdued.
________________________
Main Characters:
Mai - harried Bride-to-be, sarcastic squinty person who is more prone to making nasty remarks than saying kind words, still undecided about most of their wedding suppliers, frequent visitor of bridal fairs as she hopes to finally decide on and book their suppliers.

Erik - Mai’s friend from her elementary days, faithful companion to wedding fairs, kinder than Mai, but still with AH traits inherent in all Mai’s friends. Generally introduced at wedding fairs as (1) the bridesmaid, (2) the bride, (3) the fiance’

Shutterbug - Pushy photographer. Really quite good, but a bit too full of himself.
________________________
Mai and Erik case the fair. It isn’t very big, and in fact the suppliers don’t even fill up the function room. Nothing much they haven’t seen before - except a booth selling kinky underwear which has a poster of a model in a thong, complete with pubic stubble (hello Photoshop please), and a potential florist - 2171 Flowers - whose albums are filled with beautiful stylized arrangements. Mai and Erik agree that 2171 merits a 2nd look, but are a bit shocked to learn that a lily-of-the-valley bouquet would set you back from 15,000 - 20,000 bucks. Oh yeah, and a bagpiper.
________________________
Mai: slim pickings, eh?

Erik: Yeah. Not the most rewarding fair visit we’ve made.

Mai: what say you we leave. Grab a bite to eat. Window shop.

Erik: Sold!
________________________
Mai and Erik walk toward the exit and pass Shutterbug’s booth.
________________________
Bug: (smiles widely) Helloooo ladies.

Mai: Hello

Bug: So ladies, can I show you my work??

Mai: Actually..

Bug: Here here come here have a seat here here take an album and have a look at my work….my work, beautiful

Mai: Actually…we were just leaving (to herself: ahhh, I wanna leave)

Bug: Ladies!!! Have a seat!!! So who is getting married? (looks at Mai and Erik)

Mai: Me…but actually…

Bug: Ahhh good. Here, have an album

Mai: (to herself - actually, I’ve already booked our photographer….)

Bug: So when is your wedding? Ah….Feb 2005??? So far away! Ahhh, Tsk tsk tsk, I will need to charge you an extra 10,000 pesos then. But lucky you, I am not yet booked for that day!

Mai: (to herself - WTF, stupid Mai, you should have told him you’ve already got a photographer booked, now you have to sit politely, listen to his swill, and waste both your times)

Erik: (to herself - WTF, stupid Mai, get the balls to tell him you’ve already got a photographer so we can leave and eatttt!!!!)

Mai: Ah….you see…

Bug: (interrupts) : HERE! Sign my directory. Lucky you! I don’t ask just anybody to sign, you know — they have to be special…because I pick my work! I dont shoot just anyone!!

Mai: (to herself: Just shoot me then you fucking idiot hehah!)

Bug: Now you see, what I do, it is not just weddings, you know, it is FASHION! You will look FASHION!!

Mai: Huh?

Erik: (to herself: Putangina)

Bug: Here, look at this shot, is it not FASHION!!! the RAINBOW LIGHTING!!! the MOOD!!! so GLAMOROUS!!! lucky BRIDE!!! Shot by ME!! The SKILL, the EYE!!! the GENIUS!!! You know

Mai: Uhh, welllll…

Erik: (to herself: Putangina)

Mai: Ahehehe (tries to rifle through the album and sees a photo of wedding rings…)

Bug: Oh yes! look at THAT!!! those WEDDING RINGS, shot so beautifully, so FASHION!

Mai: (to herself: What the hell is this…could it be….)

Bug: Look look at the PICTURE!!

Mai: (to herself: PUTANGINA!!!! Its a PUBIC HAIR!!! Stuck to the photo!!! POTAPOTAPOTA)

Mai: (tries to flip to another page)

Bug: (flips page back to hairy ring photo) WAIT!!! LOOK AT THAT PHOTO!! See how I shot the RINGS! You know!! Not like how other ORDINARY photographers would. I do it in FASHION!!! You know!!

Mai: (tries to flip to another page) Ahhh Look at THIS PHOTO! It looks FASHION!!!

Bug: (flips page back to hairy ring photo) WAIT!!! LOOK AT THAT RING PHOTO!! Let me explain my FASHION STYLE!! Those RINGS, shot in FASHION, you know!

Mai: (tries to flip to another page) Ahhh but this other photo is NICE!! PHOTO!!! FASHION!!!

Bug: !!!WAIT!!! (flips back to rings and holds album very firmly) LET ME EXPLAIN MY FASHION STYLE!!!

Mai: (eyes glaze over, listens submissively)
________________________

Mai and Erik leave the fair and start walking around the mall.
________________________
Mai: Yo, Erik, did you see the hair?

Erik: What hair?

Mai: (mimics Erik) “What hair???” What hair?!! That fucking wiry little pubic hair that was stuck to the picture of “the rings….YOU KNOW” There was a PUBIC HAIR stuck to the picture…and it was this close to my nose!” You just missed the single remarkable thing that happened in this fucking fair. Hehah!!!

Erik: Whatttt??? YAKKK! That’s just too gross.

Mai: I know….

Erik and Mai continue walking

Erik: Hey, what do you think…how did it get there…

Mai: Eeeh. Dunno, it’s really strange. I mean, he doesn’t do his layouts in the nude right? Gross. What does he do, jack off to the photos??? Putawattafuck

Erik and Mai continue walking, in deep thought

Erik: Unless, unless…you know….he liked the bride….

Mai: Or….he liked the groom…