Deadpan Delivery.

Please comment to be added :)
(Comments are screened.)

And who best to bring these tidings than the mighty Federer (at Comlins Elements, Greenbelt 5)? Hohohohohoho.


I wish you all a blessed Christmas with your friends and families. :)

P.S. Nag-fe-feeling ako, but just wanted to let you know that I am incommunicado via mobile phone until I get back. So all Christmas and NYE greetings need to be via email or Facebook or LJ. M-M-M-Merry Christmas once again! :D

THAT WAS AN AWESOME BOOK AND SERIES!!! Percy Jackson joins Harry Potter and Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper on my fantasy YA Hall of Fame list! :-O


More to come...

In the meantime, I didn't know that a movie adaptation of the first book is already in the works... It's directed by Chris Columbus and is coming out in February 2010. It'll probably suck, as all book adaptations I look forward to always do, but here's the trailer anyways...

P.S. I don't know why I keep a lot of my sports-related posts public. Apparently, I think this is more socially acceptable than my detailed, insighful American Idol posts.

P.P.S. I have so many new books now, it's insane! (w00t!)

Edited to add on September 24: I loved, loved, loved this book. It explains what made that tennis match so great, and articulates why I find the Federer/Nadal rivalry so compelling.

...Except thank you. Whatever you may have to say about her presidency, she lived and led as a person of integrity, and that is why we celebrate what she gave to us.

I don't know where to start.
















Geez Louise, I haven't even started reading the articles yet, and I'm not posting all the videos. More to come...

I cannot possibly do justice to this achievement, so I will let someone else do it for me...

Grand Slam Federer storms to French Open glory
By Dave James

PARIS (AFP) — Roger Federer gloriously completed a career Grand Slam on Sunday by capturing a first French Open title, and a record-equalling 14th major, with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 win over Robin Soderling.

The 27-year-old world number two finally won a Roland Garros crown at the 11th attempt and in his fourth successive final having come up heartbreakingly short in the last three showdowns against Spanish nemesis Rafael Nadal.

His victory, ironically over the Swedish 23rd seed who shocked four-time Nadal in the last 16, took him level with great friend Pete Sampras as the holder of 14 Grand Slam titles.

He also moved into a select group made up only of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as men who have won all four of the Grand Slam events.

"It was probably my greatest victory, I was under big pressure. I did it and it's phenomenal," said Federer who broke down in tears after being presented with the trophy by Agassi, the 1999 champion, and while the Swiss national anthem was played.

"It was great to be on the podium as a winner for a change. Andre said it was my destiny to win this and that I deserved it.

Federer, who sent down 16 aces in the final, added: "Until the end of my career, I can play peacefully knowing that I will never again hear it said that I never won Roland Garros." ( Read more... )

* * *
Then again, let's stop beating around the bush, shall we? OBVIOUSLY all credit should go to me. I predicted (or at least wished for) this as early as February. And OBVIOUSLY without my tuning in to the two tournaments, he would never have won Madrid or Roland Garros. OBVIOUSLY. :P

ONWARDS TO WIMBLEDON AND #15!!!!!!!!

P.S. If Federer does win Wimbledon, I may need to take a break from watching him. This is all very emotionally taxing on me. Dammit, this is why I said I would not get re-addicted to sports. I get too fanatical!

P.P.S. I bought the cap already! Heehee. Hopefully, it gets here in time for Wimbledon. *whistles*

P.P.P.S. Then again, there's always the threat of Rafa... *shudders* http://tennis.fanhouse.com/2009/06/07/greatest-of-all-time-not-yet/

OMG! OMG! It's all happened so fast. An hour ago, I was still looking for free streaming sites on the web to watch Nadal and Federer's Madrid Masters final. Less than an hour later and I'm watching Federer win it in straight sets, seemingly without too much trouble. (I say seemingly because it's honestly hard to tell. The website I'm using buffers a lot so I can't really see the ball land 99% of the time. Also it's in Spanish. Or Russian. Can't tell.)

OMG! OMG! Can you believe it??? Federer won!!! Against Nadal! In straight sets! On clay (ending Nadal's unbeaten streak), and in Madrid, of all places! Talk about revenge being a dish best served cold!!!

I kinda don't want the French Open to happen anymore because it might tarnish this moment. Dare I dream of dominion in the French??? With Fed, it seems anything is possible yet.

Edited to add articles! articles! articles! And a pic. (Will edit this portion if I find better stuff later.)

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=ap-madridopen&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jqiEL6C15n_n0iG2lYX3iV5sqj5Q
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8054525.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/8512007
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12110_5331456,00.html
http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2009-05-17/1343.php (Ahem, this one's my favorite.)




P.S. I also saw some parts of the Agassi/Graf vs. Henman/Clijsters exhibition match at Wimbledon with Agassi and Graf doing a lot of PDA. Bleech.

Many of my favorite songs have an element of "escape" to them.


Ocean Avenue
Yellowcard

There's a place off Ocean Avenue
Where I used to sit and talk with you
We were both 16 and it felt so right
Sleeping all day, staying up all night
Staying up all night

There's a place on the corner of Cherry Street
We would walk on the beach in our bare feet
We were both 18 and it felt so right
Sleeping all day, staying up all night
Staying up all night

If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away

There's a piece of you that's here with me
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by
I can make believe that you're here tonight
That you're here tonight

If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away

I remember the look in your eyes
When I told you that this was goodbye
You were begging me not tonight
Not here, not now
We're looking up at the same night sky
And keep pretending the sun will not rise
Be together for one more night
Somewhere, somehow

If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away

Other contenders to the throne:
- "Iris (live in Buffalo edition)" by Goo Goo Dolls
- "Boston" by Augustana
- "We're on Top of the World" by Juliana Theory
- "Ants Marching (live)" by Dave Matthews Band

- Slashproof low profile metal chain with belt or bag loop connector
- Snatchproof chain allows the wallet to anchor to your belt or bag
- Cash compartment divider to separate currencies or receipts
- 3 card holders and 2 slip pockets
- Clear ID card window
- Zip closure

I watched the first and second episode of Legend of the Seeker this morning. I'm hooked! Granted some parts are kinda cheesy (e.g. Kahlan gazing at Richard in wonder --> what a typical male fantasy) and the plot is derivative of Star Wars and all that jazz. Still, I'm a sucker for these fantasy/adventure quest with hints of romance sh*t!


Legend of the Seeker is based on The Sword of Truth book series by Terry Goodkind, which I'd heard of, but never read. Now I have something to look forward to downloading when I get home.

Maybe it'll tank in the next few episodes, but assuming it doesn't, I'm recommending this to people who like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, etc. Otherwise, please don't make fun of my show! Tnx!

P.S. The lead actor looks like Nathan Fillion. <3!

P.P.S. Speaking of addictions, I've been buying Dark Mocha and Dark Berry Mocha frappes for the past few days from Starbucks. Curse them for exploiting my weakness!

Edited to add on May 4: I caught up over the weekend and watched all 19 current episodes. I officially love it!!!

It all started last February 20. Well, not exactly February 20, but thereabouts. February 20 was the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, before Conan takes over for Jay Leno on The Tonight Show on June 1. It was only the second episode of Conan I've seen ever since that dang JackTV moved out of SkyCable. (I used to watch daily.)

Watching the final show of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, I was reminded why exactly I loved Conan in the first place. Because it's good comedy, in the first place - silly, absurd comedy, true - but exactly what you want to see after a long, stressful day at work. Second, I've just grown to like Conan/his persona. He's like your smart, funny, geeky, goofy, extremely tall friend who made it onto television.

All of a sudden, I'm downloading torrents of the last two weeks of his show, and then some. I'm reading the articles about his departure, and watching whatever YouTube clips I can find. Most of the articles keep mentioning how he was really awful when he was starting out, how no one thought he would last. But here he was 16 years later ending his show, and even moving on to host The Tonight Show, which is like the holy grail of all late night shows. A true success story.

On YouTube, I even stumbled on the first episode he ever did, and in hindsight, it wasn't too bad. Most of the comedy elements were already there, just obscured by how nervous and awkward he was. Anyway, even now Conan is not someone who will bowl you over with his greatness; his humor is just the kind that grows on you. He's an acquired taste. Kinda like me. (Just nod, OK?)

Of course, watching his first episode reminded me why exactly he got the show in the first place - and I think this is an area where I'm remarkably well-versed on. I've always known he got the show because David Letterman left it to move to CBS, after he was bypassed by NBC to take over The Tonight Show when Johnny Carson resigned. I know because I've always had an affinity for late night talk shows. Looking back, I was already watching David Letterman in 1994-1995, when he was first starting out on CBS. (I can pinpoint the time exactly because I can even remember watching the sketch where Johnny Carson drove by and thinking, "Who was that?") As a kid, I had already been trained by my eldest sister to believe Letterman was cooler than Leno, although I would sometimes still catch Leno's show, and even Conan's sometimes. (What a pasty-faced, miserable fellow, I thought then, quickly changing the channel. Apparently, my younger self agreed with the critics at the time.)

( Read more... )

WATCH IT!!! WATCH IT!!!!! It's......priceless. (Sorry couldn't resist.)

*Sigh* Dear God, someday I'd like to have Audrey Tautou's figure. Thanks.

YOU ARE STILL MY KING, ROGER

This is a repost. Because I saw Little Women a few days ago, and four years later - heck, fourteen years later - I still feel the same way. Spare me your counter-arguments and well-thought-out conclusions. I am immovable on this.

("Bitch," I found myself exclaiming aloud, when Amy told Jo she would be the one to go with Aunt March to France.)

( Repost )

* * *
By the way, have I ever mentioned that Winona Ryder is one of my favorite actresses? SERIOUSLY. And this actually says a lot because I have very few favorite actresses.

There's Sandra Bullock, Tina Fey, the aforementioned Winona, and...that's it. (Reese Witherspoon is hovering around this list, but doesn't quite make it, especially since she divorced Ryan Philippe. (This list isn't very rational.) Meg Ryan might have been on the list at some point, but was dropped a long time ago. Amy Adams started out promising, but she's played the same ditzy character for awhile now.)

For favorite actors, however, I can rattle off names at the drop of a hat: Ethan Hawke, Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, Tobey Maguire, Scott Speedman, yadda, yadda, yadda. Why the difference, you ask?

Well, you know what they say about women being harder on other women? I have to say this is probably 100% true, even if what it says about our gender makes me wince. For the men, my criteria is not as stringent; admittedly, it's more about looks than anything. For the women, however, it's a different story... They have to achieve the grand slam of being smart, beautiful, funny, and sincere. I'm not sure if Winona Ryder fills these requirements as well as Sandy and Tina but...I just like her! She's a good actress. Whatever her true personality, she's always likeable onscreen, and I haven't found that since the likes of Meg Ryan were dethroned.

So spare me your Kate Hudsons, Anne Hathaways, and Keira Knightleys... The lack of girl's girls at the cinema nowadays is appalling.

In short, Winona, I miss you. *sigh* I wish you had never shoplifted.

THE BEST (in no particular order):



I've always claimed to be partial to YA and fantasy books, and I guess the list below reflects this bias. All five books are either fantasy, coming-of-age, or a combination of the two.

1) The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
>>> Read full review.

2) The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
When I read The Graveyard Book in the first week of December, I thought it would be the last great book I'd read for the year. I couldn't have been more wrong... The Book Thief just about blew my mind. The language and colors in this novel are so haunting that it's like listening to a beautiful piece of music. I think I half-fell in love with Rudy Steiner too, and a part of me is still crying for him.

3) The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
>>> Read full review.

4) Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
>>> Read full review.

5) Starter for Ten: A Novel, by David Nicholls
This book is simply...charming. I read it after watching the James McAvoy flick of course, and the movie sticks pretty closely to the book actually. What makes the novel work is the pompous but likeable voice of Brian Jackson, the main character, as he fumbles through his first year of college and the trials and travails of growing up.

( Read more... )

It's 2009. It's the new year, I'm 25, and I read 50 books in one year.

OK, OK, I cheated a little... I finished the last 40 pages of my 50th book earlier this morning. But 40 pages...come on! I only fell asleep yesterday because I was so close to the end. It's like when I stay up all night in order not to be late for something, and then an hour before I'm supposed to get up, I roll over in bed and think, "I'm safe now; I can't possibly fall asleep now." And then I do. For several hours!!!

Anyway, at least I didn't cheat the way my sister suggested and read a tween book to meet my 50-book requirement. In point-of-fact, I think I deserve a medal for completing 5 books, 2102 pages, in the last 10 days. I started Christmas vacation really cocky thinking 5 books would be a breeze, but somehow I forgot that I only really had 1 1/2 weeks and not 2 whole weeks of vacation.

The last 10 days have passed by in a book-blurred daze. I read so many good books in a short amount of time that I physically feel my brain being pummeled by profound metaphors and insightful human observations.

But it's how I have a good time.

Since I'm still feeling the literary aftershocks, I'll just list here the 50 books I managed to read this year. In the meantime, I'll recuperate and write my reviews some other time. My 5 best and 5 rest of the year will have to wait until the next entry.

( My magnum opus )

Despite the crispness of my circuits, reading 50 books in one year is pretty satisfying. The odd thing about books is, the more you read, the more books you end up wanting to read. Because books will refer you to other books, make you interested in a thousand other topics, etc. Quoting from the Nick Hornby book that I read just yesterday:

Zaid's finest moment, however, comes in his second paragraph, when he says that "the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire to read more".

That's me! And you, probably! That's us! "Thousands of unread books"! "Truly cultured"!

At the same time, however, books are meant to be savored, and I think I need a break from the book boom-boom action I've been having lately. Heck, I'll even drop my target to 40 books next year, as long as I don't count the romances, tween books, and really embarrassing chick lit books in the final total. (I told my sisters about my 50-book target and both of them believed I shouldn't be counting romances. Well......tough!)

P.S. Reading wasn't all I did this vacation. In fact, I think I was pretty productive. Please refer back to this entry and see how many to-do items I was able to strike out. You can also check out my Christmas wish list entry and see how many items I ended up purchasing. (Not good for my bank account.)

January 1 onwards is always an anti-climax to what has gone on before. I'm missing this vacation already, and it's not even over! *Sniff*

P.P.S. There should be another year-ender entry in the works, aside from the books.

Just when I'm ready to give up on the state of alternative rock music altogether, a CD like Death Cab for Cutie's Narrow Stairs comes along.


Hands down, this was my favorite CD of 2008. A very distant second might be the Twilight soundtrack, or Fall Out Boy's Folie A Deux (I haven't finished listening to it). I hear The Killers' Day & Age is pretty good too, but again, I haven't heard it yet. (Oh yeah, Coldplay's Vida La Vida wasn't too bad, but aside from a few singles, they left me - as always - a little bit cold.)

For 2009, I'm most looking forward to this CD:


I heard the carrier single "You Found Me" on the radio a few days ago and thought, "Aha, that's The Fray." And so it was.

( Video - great song, promise! )

I'm doing this a bit earlier this year... 2008 turned out to be a bit of a crappy year, but Christmas is shaping out to be halfway decent, maybe even fun.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

This is still my favorite time of the year. :)

OH MY GOD. This is just... This is just- THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ IN AWHILE:


Let me make one thing clear: I am not a rabid Neil Gaiman fan. I'm subscribed to his blog feed and it's on my friends list, but I haven't felt more than a flicker of interest in attending his local book signings, and to be honest, I wasn't even sure if his novel writing was worth all the hype. Discounting Sandman since it's more graphic novel than fiction, the only novels I've read of his are Neverwhere and Stardust, which I both enjoyed (especially Neverwhere) but I didn't think they were earth-shatteringly good. Maybe not worth his literary rock star status, and somehow not good enough for me to buy another of his books.

But the plot (or cover) of The Graveyard Book intrigued me, especially when Gaiman stated in his blog that it's the best work he's ever done.

Well, I may not have read most of his work, but I think he tells the truth here.

The story is solid - simple, moving, a profound morality tale that's not preachy. And The Graveyard Book is well-written. Period. The pacing and characterization are excellent, and it's written in the simple, clean prose that I like. I think this shows how much Gaiman has matured since his Neverwhere and Stardust days, which is the good thing about writing... Unlike almost everything else in life, it actually gets better as you grow older.

The aha moment I had with in the book was when I finally figured out what Silas was. I felt like bonking my head against the wall. How could I not have figured it out sooner? Especially since it's been on my brain lately with all the hoopla going on. Ahh, so that's why he can't dance the Danse Macabre, and why that's such torture for him.

And the thing with Scarlett was sad...but who needs her anyway? :(

The one thing I thought was a little self-indulgent was when Gaiman lists some nationalities and Filipinos are included. Hehe. Methinks that's a shout-out to all his fans here, but who's complaining?

I am in complete agreement with the reviewer on the back cover who said she wants to see more of the adventures of Nobody Owens. Right on. On the other hand, Gaiman has crafted a perfectly wonderful tale here already, which probably stands best on it's own.

Well done, Mr. Gaiman. You've finally made me into a die-hard fan.

( Read more nerdiness... )