The last Ang Huling El Bimbo?

Alex has posted about The Eraserheads reunion concert. Many are hopeful that it will push through. After all, all the bands that came after them were all aspiring to be as big as the four guys. Yes, they were THAT big. But would I watch? Nah. I’d rather remember them when I saw them last in a concert, which turns out to be about twelve years ago. Besides, I hate concerts. But if somebody gives me a free ticket, I’d reconsider.

Meanwhile, we can all reminisce over this vid, which is the first Philippine music video that ever won a Moonman. FYI, it was directed by  Auraeus Solito, the guy who brought us Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros)

And try to download and read Adam David’s El Bimbo Variations. It’s effin hilarious! You don’t have to be an expert in stylistics and semantics to appreciate it. F*ck, it’s the funniest, most intelligent piece of reading material I’ve come upon in years!

In defense of Heath and Maggie

This will be my last post on The Dark Knight, I promise!

Watched it again yesterday with Jasmin and Dyosa. Was a little disappointed that although they loved it, the other two didn’t share my enthusiasm about the film. Sigh… but must accept the fact that tastes vary and thus results differences in opinion.

What did we find conflicting? There are two points, actually - 1) Maggie Gyllenhaal and 2) Heath Ledger.

They see no difference in Maggie GYllenhaal’s portrayal of the Rachel Dawes character from that of Katie Holmes ( in their words, they were both pa-cute ), and that Heath Ledger, despite his “good performance,” wasn’t “that” brilliant.

Speechless

Just got back from the movie theater where I watched the first full show on the official opening day of The Dark Knight. Jessica Zafra wrote in her review (the only one I’ve read about the movie) that, “This is possibly the best superhero movie ever made.” Guess what? I cannot agree with her more!

NO SPOILERS, I PROMISE!

Tomorrow is D day

Speaking of heroes…

Ito si Flori, kapag lunok ng bato. Hindi pa nakuntento, sinama pa sa drama si Captain Barbel.

Byronic Batman

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch and relish Gotham Knight. I was happy to hear Kevin Conroy’s voice again. But what really tickled my Batman bone was how Josh Olson, David Goyer, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Jordan Goldberg, and Alan Burnett present Batman as flawed as any human in each of the six segments of this post-Batman Begins and pre-Dark Knight collection of animated vignettes. No synopses here from me. If I start writing about each and every one of the episodes, I would have to put spoilers. Nuh-uh. Not good. You have to watch Gotham Knight for yourselves.

It just made me feel that my observations all the more valid about how Lord Byron would be proud of Batman as a hero. Here’s the Byronic hero checklist. See if you can find any or all of the attributes in Batman (mostly based on the Modern Age Batman):

high level of intelligence and perception
cunning and ability to adapt
sophistication and education
– Bruce Wayne has spent time in Cambridge University, the Sorbonne in paris, Berlin School of Science, blah, blah… He has also spent six weeks in the FBI before traveling to the East and learned diverse disciplines and almost all forms of martial arts. He has learned to use the shadows, and to use psychology and fear for offense and also as defensive tactics. He has also gone to Africa where he is able to learn how to trail and to track in the dark.  All of these has made him both a world-class detective with a sharp mind and photographic memory, and a very dangerous killing machine.

mysteriousness, magnetism and charisma
being an exile, an outcast, or an outlaw
emotional conflicts bipolar tendencies, or moodiness
– Leading two complete opposite lives, with one trying hard to protect the anonymity of the other? Hmm…

“dark” attributes not normally associated a hero
cynicism
arrogance
self-destructive behavior
struggle with integrity
a distaste for social institutions and norms
disrespect of rank and privilege
self-criticism and introspection
a troubled past
– The last item says it all. As a kid, Bruce Wayne believed in the values that his father had instilled in him and these are those of duty and respect for the law and that reason and self-discipline are always aopve violence and brute strength, while his mother also set an example of compassion by aiding those who were weak and helpless. Yet, all these were challenged by the death of his parents from the hands of a petty criminal. His conflicting convictions and emotions have led him to seek the truth. Along this journey to self-discovery, he is able to develop his own sense of justice - at the expense of him becoming cycinal, hard, and ironically, just as conflicted and shrouded in pain as ever.  He simply learned to live through them and now use them for his work as the vigilante, Batman.

power of seduction and sexual attraction
social and sexual dominance
– Do I have to elaborate on this or is the fact that Bruce Wayne is a millionaire playboy enough to convince you of this? And what about Batman’s allure? Or the complete opposite fusion of both? We can always ask references from the following women:
Sasha Bordeaux
Vesper Katherine Fairchild (if you can bring her back from the dead)
Shondra Kinsolving
Julie Madison
Linda Page
Victoria Vale
Selina Kyle/Catwoman
Talia al Ghul/Talia Head

Get your Gotham Knight widget

Absolutely bats!

Fiction Series 001 - No Parking (Part 1)

This is my story. If you feel the need to post it elsewhere, have the courtesy of asking permission from the rightful author - ME!

Found this in my “creative writing” folder. I wrote this five years ago and I decided to post this here in parts. I neither edited it nor added anything. So if there are grammar and typo lapses, please pardon me. I find it hard to edit my own stuff. It’s fiction, by the way . If it resembles actual people and circumstances then they’re just coincidences. LOL

NO PARKING
by Flori Maximo

It’s the stuff straight out of a teen-age girl’s dreams – riding on the passenger seat of a BMW, being driven by a fairly handsome guy who is prone to stealing shy glances whenever possible. Unfortunately, I have just ungracefully careened past the teen mark. I glance at the fairly handsome driver who just in time turns his head just to flash a rather cute smile. I smile back wanly before resuming my newly acquired interest in side mirrors. I sigh figuratively. Instead of feeling giddy and waffy, I feel as if there is a brewer in my stomach concocting a Heineken.

What does someone do in this kind of situation? It isn’t really my fault if turning twenty leaves me without having any confidence when it comes to flirting, or courtship, or God forbid, love! There are only two kinds of boys I knew. The first are those who have no romantic interest in me and mainly treat me as a buddy-buddy, and the second are those who have no interest in me, period. It isn’t because I am hideous to look at. Well, maybe your eyes will have to cover more than a fair share of surface area, but I am no heavier than a sack of rice.

I am totally lost in my own insecure ponderings that I almost do not hear the first few bars of a Celine Dion classic.

Just great! He’s now playing the soundtrack of Bridget Jones’ Diary. BMW and chick-music? I cannot suppress my smile.

“You like the movie?” he asks in halting English.

Hmm… let me think about that, an overweight woman being fought over by two guys, by Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. We’re talking about Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, people! Ooohhh…. for crying out loud, I am only twenty, and I have no right to be this delusional!

“Not really,” I say in Japanese.

Then he looks at me funny, as if it is a mortal sin for a girl to not like the movie.

“All by myself…”

Is this even for real? He’s friggin’ singing with Celine! I cringe in horror as I steal another glance at him. Goodness! He really feels it. I shift my attention to the road. It suddenly seems to be a very, very long road home.

TO be continued…

And now for some e-mow peekchurs

(Mis)Spelling intentional.

For someone who detests the “fad,” I sure do like to post about it, don’t I?

****

Funny , I’ve been posting my pictures in all the social network sites to which I belong. I never did like doing stuff like that (hence the avatar). But since my friends keep on posting pictures there, and some have me in them, I thought, might as well post the good ones. So I decided to swallow my pride and joined the bandwagon.

Now I’m getting comments there like, I lost weight, that I look sexy, and stuff. Wow! Haha! Thank you, guys! Luv the luvly comments. You are my true friends. *stick my tongue at you*

But really, I didn’t lose weight. All I did was to pose a certain way so that my lurvhandles and pata thighs/arms don’t show. As for the sexy part? Well, haha. I’ve always been that Seriously, although I am not an artist and have only basic knowledge of Photoshop, I do utilize the program to crop and add lighting effects. The make-up though is all mine. Yes, I’m beginning to be an expert in creating smoky eyes!

And before I babble on, here are some pictures that I haven’t posted in Friendster, Multiply, MySpace, and Facebook (whew!).

Presenting -

FLORI PIC SPAM ALERT!

High-tech dress-up dolls

If you’re a girl who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s in the Philippines, you can probably relate to me when I say that I used to buy paper dolls at sari-sari stores. You know, those one-peso things that even have free candy in their plastic packets?

I miss those days when kids were contented with cheap stuff. No Bratz, or heaven forbid, High-School musical dolls ( do they actually have them?)! Gaahh!

Anyway, since things have become virtual since then, I’m glad I found this Korean site: Roiworld. It’s in Korean but I linked it to the page where you’ll just have to click the pictures to get to the actual dress-up game itself.

It’s great if you’re bored with the same old thing you do with unlimited net access Here’s a sample of what I’ve created a few moments ago. The ensemble is something I would actually wear:

Also advisable if you want to try out different dresses without being tempted to actually buy them