christmas homecoming

a lot of filipino families must be feeling happy today.

after downing a heavy meal, i decided to go up to the roofdeck. it’s always cool up there and it’s been rather quiet here for a few hours now (i haven’t seen any of my neighbors since noontime; i expect they must have gone home for the holidays).

since i live near NAIA, my quiet reverie didn’t last long. the high-speed rumble and whine of a jumbo jet streaking down to make its final landing made me look up. i watched idly as a procession of planes passed my vantage point in 5- to 10-minute intervals.

the whole time i was there (almost an hour), i counted at least 10 aircraft — 2 NWA, 1 Emirates, 2 PAL, 1 JAL, 2 Korean Airlines and 1 GulfAir, including 1 small jet with unfamiliar markings. it’s easy to spot and identify the planes’ markings because the moon is full tonight. in fact, a few more jets were lining up for touchdown as i was leaving. heaven knows how many of them are still stacked up there, holding their oval pattern as they wait for their cue to land on NAIA’s busy runways this 23rd, or rather early 24th, of December. just in time for christmas.

i imagine the folks who comprise the welcome wagon must be having a merry time craning their necks in all directions as they scan around for their loved ones while more and more planes come in .

well, y’all have merry christmas guys. 

"The Hobbit" gets the green light

after years of flip-flopping and disagreements involving both Peter Jackson (LOTR triology, Heavenly Creatures) and New Line bosses that have kept LOTR fans fidgety, the official word is out that J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" will finally be made. Jackson will produce the movies — yes that will be two (2) movies folks: one will cover the LOTR prequel (The Hobbit) and the other will cover the events that occurred between The Hobbit and LOTR. whew!

the first one is slated to appear in theaters by December 2010. Its sequel is set for release in December 2011.

jackson will not direct the movies, but as the films's producer and co-writer, he gets to have a major say in the final cut of the movie, as well as the choice of directors, stars, and other technical aspects of the project. on a related note, jackson is also currently developing a trilogy based on the Tintin series (Herge) for Steven Spielberg.

a look back

i'm back. i had to attend to a couple of things before i could finally turn to writing. they weren't anything major really, just a couple of those unresolved things that have been hanging around forever.

as zarine has pointed out, this blog (i've retained the original tagline "Recycled Thoughts") is almost 1 year old — yep, it's been that long. and if i remember right, one of the first entries i've posted was a rant on the limited movie choices available during the holidays. well guess what, it's that time of the year again — Manila Film Festival kicks off on Dec. 25, which means that in about a week from now and extending up to the first week of January (or even longer, like last year), we will be inundated by pinoy movies again.

nothing wrong with that really, except for the fact that many interesting foreign movies are also released around this time. which means, i'll have to wait until 2008 to watch I Am Legend. aaarrghh!

speaking of movies, i was able to watch The Golden Compass about a week ago and Elizabeth: The Golden Age last night. The Golden Compass was basically a disappointment, which is saying a lot for a fantasy nut like me. Nicole Kidman was effective in her role as the conflicted and duplicitous Mrs. Coulter, but the movie (based on the first book Northern Lights of Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials) was hard to follow and at the end of it, i promptly lost interest. with a $180M budget and A-list stars, this is really a big letdown. the polar bears were awesome though.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age isn't as good as its predecessor. It's watchable though, and cate blanchett's wardrobe as England's monarch is incredible. cate blanchett is simply a joy to watch as she grabs hold of your attention and never lets go until the ending credits roll. although Elizabeth: The Golden Age has a lot of flaws, ms. blanchett is ably supported by a brilliant cast (geoffrey rush, clive owen, etc.).

early morning serenade

this morning it rained slightly again, which was fine with me. with my bum knee and ungainly limp there was no question of me going out, so i took my time getting up.

i was on the verge of slipping back into dreamland when i heard this raucous caterwauling — which sounded like a plaintive whine from a maudlin drunk who hasn’t gone home for days.

‘cats!‘ i thought with a grin. it went on and on, like an endless concert of avenging banshees that you couldn’t escape from. finally, just for the heck of it, i joined the unearthly chorus.

my sudden (and unsolicted) participation obviously startled the performers because they stopped yowling for a bit, before launching into another aria. after 5 minutes, the early morning serenade began to acquire a more ominous tone. clearly there was was more growling and snarling this time, like a periodic clashing of cymbals.

curious, i leaned out of my window to investigate. there on the rooftop, a couple (although it sounded like there were 6 of them at least) of mean-looking, battle-scarred tomcats were getting psyched up for a knockdown, no-holds-barred brawl. in a flash, i reached for my celphone and began snapping away.

disgruntled at this untimely interruption, both feline combatants turned to glower at me balefully. (if feline looks could kill, i’d probably be lying dead at that moment weeheheh.) then, they turned to snarl at each other again, but except for a malevolent glare it was clear that the warbling warriors had lost their appetite for mayhem. then with a hiss both gladiators stalked off from the scene

in their eyes i must have been the ultimate party pooper. not only did i spoil their early morning concert, i had to come in and break up their fight, too. *LOL*

meowww!

it’s getting colder…

it’s definitely getting colder these days.

one surefire indicator: my electric bill has gone down. not much, but it’s enough to make me notice. another sign: i can’t last the whole night with my ACU turned on. this means i usually need to wake up around 5:00am to turn it off; otherwise, i’d end up shivering (despite my PJs and thick blanket) or else wake up with a stuffy nose.

also, the unpredictable downpour of rain has just claimed its latest casualty: me.

how did it happen?

i was reading in my room when the rain suddenly started. after shutting the windows in my bedroom, i rushed to the living room to do the same thing. in my hurry, i failed to notice that the floor was already wet. in a blink of an eye, i slipped and went sailing across the floor, performing an awkward half-split in the process, before landing hard on my right knee.

cra-a-aack. for one horrified moment i thought i had broken my kneecaps. (the thought of lugging around a heavy knee cast for months sounds uncomfortable and repugnant to me.) after several seconds i tried to stand up. despite the pain and the lacerated skin (a reddish bruise was already starting to show), things seemed basically ok. that is, until i took my first step.

so now, i’m limping around my place like a rickety cart with uneven wheels. i’m functional (which is a great relief) but after reflecting about the events of the past few days, i am forced to conclude that either i am one of the klutziest dorks around or else i’m just singularly unlucky.