Movie Mania

During the whole first week of my sembreak, I was bedridden due to my fever. So I got nothing to do but watch movies and a series (the last airbender; i don't really watch tv series). I was never a movie person mainly because my parents were the least enthusiastic people i know when it comes to watching movies, so as kids, we were raised unfamiliar to movies. But I've always tried to expose myself to them. I started watching indie films more than a year ago. It was a great starter for me because they presented unusual story lines, especially those of my former professor sir Alvin Yapan who directed award-winning indie films such as Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe, Rolyo, and Huling Pasada. Sometimes it takes a week for me to fully decipher the movie plot. My friends were also good influences because they watch the annual Cinemalaya.


My inclination to movies grew strong, and now, I prefer movies that are unique, mind effer, and something intellectual. My usual routine when I watch movies is that I watch those heavy and mind-boggling movies first, then watch a light one, probably a romantic comedy or chick flicks, then another heavy movie. When I say heavy, it's not really something tragic or dark films like Schindler's List. It's just that, it's something that requires active neurons and is a conflict-filled movie, away from those romanticomedies.

Official Poster of Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe

The infamous Sir Alvin Yapan

Official poster of Huling Pasada

I usually list down movies that I watch so I can keep track of them. And because of this growing fad for movies, I plan on investing on DVDs. Movies are a form of literature, and it's something cathartic, entertaining and a learning experience. One of my habits as well is listing down quotes that I like from the movie. And now, I'm planning to do movie reviews here on my blog! :D It's something that i thought would be useful for those planning to watch a movie, and helpful for me since I like sharing my thoughts. I don't know if I could really lay out this plan perfectly, considering that I only get to blog on my free time, and second sem will start after a week, plus that horrible fear I have, the 7:30am class. When I start to adjust with the semester and hopefully, load rev that 7:30am class, I will try my best to pursue this movie review part of my blog. Let's all hope for the best! :)

Poetry 101: Two Songs for Hedli Anderson

This has been long overdue. :| well, as you all know, my enthusiasm for poetry has been continuously blossoming since I had introduction to poetry back in first year college. I do not necessarily dissect poems like a mad scientist. More of a silly lab student who likes staring at fancy figures under the microscope. So I came across this poem on the internet, and I found out that it's actually a continuation or probably a second chapter to the previous poem I posted on this blog, the Funeral Blues. To see the post, you can check it out here. The poems are called Two Songs for Hedli Anderson, unsure if that's really the title for both, or just a general title for the two poems (since the first one has its own title). I could not find any real title for this second poem, but it's really an interesting one.

O the valley in the summer where I and my John
Beside the deep river would walk on and on
While the flowers at our feet and the birds up above
Argued so sweetly on reciprocal love,
And I leaned on his shoulder; 'O Johnny, let's play':
But he frowned like thunder and he went away.

O that Friday near Christmas as I well recall
When we went to the Charity Matinee Ball,
The floor was so smooth and the band was so loud
And Johnny so handsome I felt so proud;
'Squeeze me tighter, dear Johnny, let's dance till it's day':
But he frowned like thunder and he went away.

Shall I ever forget at the Grand Opera
When music poured out of each wonderful star?
Diamonds and pearls they hung dazzling down
Over each silver and golden silk gown;
'O John I'm in heaven,' I whispered to say:
But he frowned like thunder and he went away.

O but he was fair as a garden in flower,
As slender and tall as the great Eiffel Tower,
When the waltz throbbed out on the long promenade
O his eyes and his smile they went straight to my heart;
'O marry me, Johnny, I'll love and obey':
But he frowned like thunder and he went away.

O last night I dreamed of you, Johnny, my lover,
You'd the sun on one arm and the moon on the other,
The sea it was blue and the grass it was green,
Every star rattled a round tambourine;
Ten thousand miles deep in a pit there I lay:
But you frowned like thunder and you went away.

When I first read this poem, I had mixed emotions. Had it been uttered on its natural syllabication and rhythm, it actually sounds joyful. Sounds like the first two lines of a limerick, only gone up to 6 lines. Magnificent imageries and romantic scenes are thrown on the first four lines of each stanza, but the last two ruins the whole image, like a perfect blending of liquid colors on a pond disturbed by a huge rock landing on it. And again, no nosebleed words. Every meaning is reachable and no need for a thesaurus.

What's also good about the poem is that although the word selection is not hifalutin or hyperbolic, it uses the setting to set up a grandiose emotion, similar to how a pompous person describes his vacation or his date with a girlfriend like "When music poured out of each wonderful star?/ Diamonds and pearls they hung dazzling down/Over each silver and golden silk gown." Well, we're not sure if he/she is a woman or a man because, again, W.H. auden is gay, but the persona's not the poet, so put this poem into whatever context you want. :D after describing the beauty of the setting, it would then burst the bubble through the last two lines. It builds up this expectation to the reader that Johnny will say yes to the persona even for once, but up until the end of the poem, he didn't. Sad. :\

Another thing that I like about the poem is that, it translates to every age bracket, whether it be during the teen ages, adulthood, marriage times or our decaying days. You can read it like it's one of your teenage dreams gone bad because of a jerk, or a marriage dilemma one is going through, or a sweet-gone-sour relationship of two old people reminiscing how they have been during their youth and how they are now that grampa's out of his gun load already. Or it could actually be a whole walk of life, starting from the park dates, matinee balls, your Paris vacations together, up to the point that your body now lies under the ground, and Johnny still "frowned like thunder and [he] went away." It's sad it's sad, but hey, that's the beauty of the poem; it brings us to such mixtures of emotions that after reading it, we don't actually know how to feel about it. Well for me, that is. :) enjoy reading it over and over. you might get something new from the poem the next time you read it. :>

Wooden Horse Steakhouse

It was a Sunday evening, and usually, families go out and spend their Sundays together. Such routine was never really a habit for my family, but once in a while, we still go out and enjoy dinner, whether complete or not. Last night, since my dad had just arrived from his business trip in Auckland, the family decided to have a dinner out. Unfortunately, my brother is in Batangas so we lacked one member of the round table, but that didn't stop us from satisfying the craving of our grumbling bellies. My dad suggested that we eat at somewhere new. We went off to see this new bistro in front of Alabang Town Center along Madrigal Ave. The bistro is called Wooden Horse Steakhouse.

(pardon for the set of pictures that i would be posting on this entry. i only used a 5-megapixel camera on my phone. :D)

The Wooden Horse Steakhouse is a dinner-only restaurant which opens at 6:00pm every night. You have to carefully search for it because it's hidden behind the Franck Provost-Starbucks-Pancake House building. Well, we arrived there at 5:30pm, but the owner, a friend of my dad, was there so he insisted to have us seated immediately. At first I doubted the restaurant's reputation because there were no customers entering, 'til i knew of their opening time. :D after a couple of minutes, the restaurant was already filled with hungry customers, and many were foreigners maybe craving for some original american style steak.

The ambience of the vicinity was country-style Texas, filled with cowboy hats and a mini-bar on the side and the walls were filled with photos of Cowboys and Indians. The furniture sets were first class, and just the tables and chairs make their own statement. Each table has a bottle of wine on top of it, and what I loved the best about the restaurant is that the customers are able to see the chefs doing their own gastronomy in the kitchen. You get to see the flames and smokes while they flip those steaks on the griller. lessens the paranoia if the kitchen's well maintained. It's definitely not one of those cheap bistros. (sadly, i was not able to take a photo of the whole restaurant)

For the food, the prices were very affordable. Prices range from 120 to 500, exclusive of the steak prices. As for the steaks, the cheapest you can get is 690, and it ranges around 750-2400, per order that is. hahaha! But don't be overwhelmed by the price. They're definitely worth the moolah.

So we ordered clam chowder soup. It was just good for one, and we had Buffalo wings & Calamares for appetizer.

HAHAHAHAHA. apologies for the photo. The appetizer was barbarically devoured by my family, especially ME that i forgot to take a photo of it first. :)) The calamares and buffalo wings weren't the best that I have tasted, but there's no bad food for a hungry stomach. It was ok, kind of a mediocre for me. The dip was not as awesome as that of other bistros like CPK. 

Again, i could not stop the hands of my parents from ruining the plating of the salad before i could even take a decent picture of it. :)) we had two orders of Caesar Salad, and this was my kind of food. The salad was great, had that sweet, bacon-y and fresh taste. And for some weird reason, I had the "Ratatouille" experience, the "going back to your childhood" experience because the salad had this Mik Mik taste. :)) for those who don't know Mik Mik, it's this white/chocolate powder on sachets and you use straw to indulge the sweet kiddy taste of it. and the salad's croutons had a subtle touch of that distinct milky kick.

Mik Mik! with the straw and those hearts. :)) got it from google.

My mom ordered grilled Salmon steak. The veggies were fantastic. The carrots had the perfect crunch and sweetness to them. I'm not an avid fan of fish dishes, but the Salmon was very tender and the sauce makes it even better.

Now this one's a muchow baby back ribs. I gotta say, the dish was perfectly cooked. just a slight scrape of the fork on it makes the meat shed off the bones. You can't ask for any more tenderness to it; it's perfect the way it is. But the taste of this baby back ribs is something new. It's not the usual hickory bbq sauce poured all over it. It tasted sour-ish and spicy. It's not bad AT ALL, but not the usual baby back ribs you expect. It's only around 400 pesos but trust me, it's meatier than what it looks like. :>

This was the main performance, the highlight, and the grand finale of the night, and I WANT AN ENCORE!!!  My dad and I ordered Sirloin steak for each. Now, I'm really not a steak person. I always find them expensive and I don't want my parents gagging up on me when I say my order to the waiter, but since I was sick for more than a week, I did not care at all. :)) All that mattered to me was treating myself with delectable delights. I only ordered a 5-ounce sirloin steak since i'd be sharing the baby back ribs with my sister, AND THAT WAS THE BEST 5 OUNCES OF MY LIFE. =)) I had mine medium well, and it was tender. the knife just goes through it with just the slightest effort of my hands on it. And that cheese/butter on it really makes everything work. i rarely gorge myself with steaks, and my criteria for them were still in the making, but after eating this, man, its just has to be better and better every time I eat steaks. The steaks were quite expensive, but really, if you want to be satisfied, you got to try it. It is worth the penny.

I just got this from google. :)) forgot to take a photo of my drink

For our drinks, we were supposed to have a bottle of wine since it goes well with steaks, but unfortunately, there was liquor ban yesterday since barangay elections will be held the next day, which is today, this morning. So I ordered bottomless iced tea for myself. It's only 50 pesos, cheap for a bottomless iced tea, BUT IT WAS ONE OF THE TWO BEST ICED TEAS I HAVE EVER TASTED (the other one's from Orchard Golf & Country Club). I'm guessing that they put peach syrup on the iced tea. Reminds me of Dole peaches. :D

As for the services, the waiters were very friendly, very spirited. The owner was one of the chefs and he himself was cooking our food. After our dinner, the manager even approached us and asked how our dinner was, and after a while, he relaid our message to the owner. He gave us his two thumbs up and his thank you sign (he's japanese, go figure) while in the middle of cooking. Such a nice dinner we had there.

Not all the dishes were the best I've eaten. Overall, the wooden horse steakhouse experience was like a sexual intercourse. Starts with kissing, foreplay, builds up the tension, and BOOM, a delightful and very titillating climax. That sirloin steak definitely gave me a Foodgasmic experience. It was the best way to end the week and most of all, put an end to my weeklong sickness!