I woke up at 5:40AM and looked outside to see lots of clouds running across the morning sky so I gave up for the nth time my chase to shoot Mayon today. Usually by experience, if Mayon shows up, it's up until 9AM and clouds will hide it after. Legend have it that the the jealous Ulap will hide Magayon from everybody, hence, it's like that since I knew about Mayon. Lucky is your day if this showing up extends in another 30 minutes after 9AM.

I went out still at around 7:45AM to buy some bread and donuts. And I was amazed! Mayon is in full view. No clouds rolling, only hugging it from the side.


I packed my camera and commuted to Forest Lake. It's a new graveyard on the mountain top that has the spectacular view of Mayon. It's 8:15AM. The jeep's been taking too long to wait for more passengers. The trip is bound for Buenavista, Legazpi's farthest barangay. I'm becoming impatient and planned to shift to Cagsawa Ruins, but I wanted to have that mountain top shot...


It took another 25 minutes before the jeep started to trek the mountain and I was there after 5 minutes. And it's playtime.


Thanks for my friend Mark for rekindling my interest in photography. I was already drifting away when suddenly he was like "Uh-oh"...

Kid's stuff.
Nice food.
For the soul.
It's got chocolate inside.
Crunchy too.
Bursts as you bite.
Happy New Year!

New York has no shortage of ways to ring in 2010, and one of the best is with a live soundtrack. The pop and jazz critics of The New York Times have chosen some of this year's most promising New Year's Eve events in the New York metropolitan region.

MARIAH CAREY New Year's Eve as it should be: flamboyant, grand, emotionally conflicted, slightly manic, just a touch sloppy. Through all the iterations of Ms. Carey's public image, the one constant has been her voice, which has never softened, even if it's been underused in recent years. It's almost certain, though, that in this show, the beginning of a two-month tour supporting her new "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" (Island), she won't be coy. There may be reveling elsewhere in the city, and an oversize scrum clogging Times Square just a few blocks away, but Ms. Carey's performance is certain to be this night's true spectacle. The bawdy R&B singer Trey Songz will open. At 9 p.m., Madison Square Garden, 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, Manhattan, (212) 465-6741, thegarden.com; $20.10 to $175.75.

Source: New York Times | Vijay | Mariahdaily

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MFC: I hate to read this when I know I can't make it to the garden. Sobs.. (haha)

I only saw this because I'm curious what's it about. It turned out to be an almost 3 hour-long movie, I did not check the screening hours before entering the cinema.. haha

I love the seamless special effects. It's almost real! These animators are soooo good! But I was not comfortable seeing the tails... it's devilish...

I heard that it's a must-see on 3D! Hhhmmm.. will I cut short my loooong vacation just for this?

Starring: Gabby Conception, Angelica Panganiban, Derek Ramsey, Kim Chiu

Laurice Guillen always makes Angelica seductively attractive in her innocence, in her naïveté. She first reinvented Angelica Panganiban in the hauntingly bizarre "Santa, Santita" way back then. This triggered a reinvention on Angel's showbiz image. And there was no turning back for her. Which is good.

With their second movie together, Laurice once again captured Angelica in her revealing performance, in nubile or just showcasing her acting chops. Angelica glides in every scene like an angel descending down from somewhere. Her face brightens the gloomy sequence. Most noticeably especially during when she was walking and you can remember the Angelica of "Banana Split." Her comic mixing the drama. Perfecto! I can hear myself almost laughing.

The movie started with flirting - Adrian (Gabby) and Liezel (Angelica). Then the whole storyline creeps into the amazing web of the intricacies of love. Unrequited love. Failed relationships. Fighting for the love dramas. Redemption.

Those usual love story themes. But, I would also say that the plot was handsomely written, screenplay got some substance on the dialogues with the everyday real-life or movie-bound conversations. It has got another great direction from Laurice, superb acting from the uber beautiful Angelica. Derek can act too, Gabby's wig-like kinky hair sometimes distracts, Liza Lorena's big eyes is everywhere (just like the old times...) and it's scarey.

Interestingly though, I was disappointed with how editing was handled. It was not tight. Scene sequences do not flow together in the first half. It was distracting me a bit. Well, only a bit.

And oopss (do not read further, here's some spoilers), Star Cinema is fond of car accidents lately. Here, Derek's car accident is not as thrilling a shot like Luis Manzano in "In My Life." We'd like surprise scenes where shock is inevitable.

P.S. - The newly renovated Bichara Cinema is really good. It tastes like old Hollywood. Movie tickets are cheap at Php95 a piece.

3/5 stars!

Also, on my Bicol appetite revisited, I tried to redo my all-time
favorite laing, now made with Mayon cultivated, native "gabi" (natong/
bunor) leaves. I made a new variation to this regular meal I used to
cook with pork meats. Instead, I put in tuna chunks (in brine) and
Sorsogon caught squid.

To top it is another personal staple -- the exciting crispy calamari.

Hhhmmm... now I'm thinking what's next in the menu.

Another thing I missed Bicol is the uber-sarap personal favorito - the Pili Mazapan. It comes in 2 variants - regular or baked. The baked version has got more intense pili roast flavor, which I like best.

I have created an (ehem) excitingly new recipe as inspired by Mr. Choi's "Hot Prawn Salad." In the absence of prawns in the locality and rushing to get this salad done (deadline is at 5pm as told), I thought of alternatives and hopefully it will be loved by relatives at tonight's partey! Instead of the usual cold dressing, I'll make it this version with a warm dressing due to lack of cooling time...

The salad is topped with marinated chicken breast fillet fried to crispy golden brown (with party time in the next hour, I'm musing if the crispiness is still there). Fruit cocktail straight from the can plus diced apples, carrots, cucumber with whole corn kernels and boiled marble potatoes make up the whole package. Warmed dressing of cream, condensed milk and some mayo wrap it up.

Now... it's Bon Appetite!!

Updated: 12/27/2009

Due to (ehem! hehe) public demand, here's how I was able to pull it through:

Salad

* 1 big can of your usual favorite Fruit Cocktail, drained
* a cupful (or depending on whether you want more) of whole corn kernels, diced cucumber, diced carrots, nata de coco
* loads of marble potatoes (grocery stores usually sell this miniature bite-sized patata)

Dressing

* 2 big cans of Alaska condensada (Alaska brand for nostalgia)
* 3 Nestlé cream tetrapacks (If you opt for low-cholesterol, go for Del Monte All purpose cream)
* some spoonful of Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise
* Loads of L.O.V.E.

Drain the fruit cocktail from can. Boil the potatoes until done. Mix the ingredients slowly. Be careful not to cut, slice or smash the fruits (LoL). Simmer the dressing until about slightly hot.

Serve warm.

As requested by Weng, we put aside some of it and chilled it overnight. I was checking the cold taste and I am amazed how the cucumber changes the whole structure of this salad. It was quite refreshing to the bite.

In this time of year, it's very festive to track traditions and have a mouthful of what we love to eat best during the holidays. This time, I chanced upon the supermarket ice cream freezers with limited edition of Puto Bumbong flavor in ice cream. Thanks to Nestle!

I would say it's got the flavor of the puto bumbong with a tinge of ube and some cheesy flavor!

Great find! Grab one before it runs out!