Ballet Phillippines presents Coppélia

the coppelia cast

I received a most generous gesture when my friend Herlene invited me to watch Ballet Philippines' Coppélia at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) last Sunday. I was so excited as it is my first time to watch a ballet show by the most prestigious ballet group in the Philippines. So even if I was so tired and sleepy from the previous night wild partying, I dragged myself out of bed to travel three hours from Cavite to Manila to watch the show.

It's a story about an engaged couple Franz and Swanilda, the life-size doll Coppelia and an eccentric doctor who created Coppelia. The ballet is composed of three acts. On the first act, Franz and Swanilda was about to be married, but Franz had this fascination with the doctors life-size doll Coppelia. On the second act, Swanilda managed to get into the doctors house with her friends. But the doctor arrived and she had to hide in the closet where Coppelia was also hidden. Franz, wanting to see Coppelia also managed to get into the doctor's house but the doctor had drugged him. Swanilda, not posing as Coppelia managed to trick the doctor and rescued Franz. They were reconciled and ultimately, got married. You can read the complete story here of Coppelia here. Personally, I thought Franz of the story was a royal jerk. Why be infatuated with a doll and profess his love for Swanilda at the same time. But then again, I was there to watch the Ballet and be enveloped with the audio-visual treat of the orchestra and the magnificent dancing and would like to ignore Franz psychology at this point. I may not be able to appreciate ballet the way that it should be appreciated by the ballet connoisseurs but a part of me know that I am watching something really good. This are just for the reasons of how the dance are executed, of the discipline in following show schedules, and the heart-felt performance. It is for the reasons of understanding the story without lines but just music and movement that proved that it was indeed a beautiful show. A personal note though and I say it again and again, that even if Ballet is not a mainstream entertainment, it should be made available to the public. I define available as to be advertised in the mainstream media and not just in lifestyle sections of the broadsheet. So that the public will be given the chance to appreciate it. I think the masses need to appreciate art just because it makes one's life richer and broadens one's perspective. Congratulations to the cast of Coppelia and the Ballet Philippines.

photos courtesy of this cute girl , ;)

Eggplant Balls with Mustard and Honey Dip

This is probably the cheapest recipe (under 100 pesos) I have done for this blog. But nevertheless, my roommates liked it. Edith kept sneaking into the kitchen to taste bits while I was cooking. Ayrah kept saying "ang sarap" (delicious!) while watching the United Concert. Ana ate a piece, an accomplishment, since she doesn't eat vegetables at all. And Ruby, well, what can I say, she always does love eating. hehe. It just makes cooking so worthwhile with such appreciate roommates.hehe. I should really get serious with the Culinary Arts School, lol.

So anyways, its affordable and simple. Grill the eggplant first, peel off the skin and cut into small pieces. In a bowl, mix eggplant, cheese, bell pepper, ground pepper, salt, bread crumbs, ground pork, one egg. Scoop a spoonful in your palm and form it into balls same like how you make meatballs. Deep-fry. Serve with mustard and honey dip

Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson

David Guterson depicts in Snow Falling on Cedars a piece of history of World War II. It's a story of how the World War II has changed the lives of the people in the quiet island of San Piedro, a west coast community swarmed with Japanese immigrants at the dawn of the 20th century. These immigrants came to San Piedro from their homeland to become fishermen and as farmers planting in the vast strawberry fields.

On the onset, it is a trial of a Japanese-American war veteran for a murder of also a war veteran turned gill-net fisher. But throughout the story, the main plot became a back-drop of a story of a love found and a love lost driven by the circumstances by the still shocking treatment of the Japanese-Americans community in the Island of San Piedro during the World War II.

In February 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on flyers entitled "Instructions to Citizens of Japanese Ancestry". With this, the US Relocation Authority mobilized over 120,000 Japanese immigrants, who left their homes to relocation camps at different parts of the country. The tar paper-covered-barracks were scarcely furnished and barely livable ---- not so far to be described as a prison camp by the Japanese interned on them where they were subjected to tight security and curfew hours. But for the US government, it was a military necessity to protect the Japanese Immigrants from citizens who have anti-Japanese sentiments resulting from the bombing of the Pearl Harbour. On the other hand, it is also a precaution against espionage and from those who have sentiments for their Asian homeland. In 1988, in a public law, the US Government apologized and paid for what was ruled as injustice to the Japanese-Americans.

In the story, Hatsue Miyamoto, a young, beautiful but often rebellious Japanese-American left behind a love for a Caucasian male, Ishmael Chambers during the troubled times when Japanese-Americans where treated with hostility. A rapturous love that they both kept a secret at a time when such a love was unacceptable.

After the war, they met again in San Piedro. But this time, Hatsue is already married to the accused man on trial, Kabuo, whom she met in Manzanar, one of the relocation camps. Ishmael, on the other hand, having lost an arm in the war continued her father's legacy of running a newspaper and officially became a reporter on Kabuo's trial. But even so, Ishmael still feels regret over how his childhood love with Hatsue has ended. For a small community like San Piedro, to be brought again in a way that divides color and beliefs was heartbreaking reminder of tainted history of the discrimination of the Japanese Immigrants who surprisingly gave no visible protest and silently followed the directive as they were hauled and uprooted from their homes to the camps. Ishmael on the other hand felt a different kind of misery and longing for his one true love, especially knowing that Hatsue has moved on with her life and considers their love as a distant past and a foolish notion of a naive girl.

And because I have read this over and over again, on this review I have come to understand a part of the reason why it is titled Snow Falling on Cedars. Inside the hollow of the cedar tree, where Hatsue and Ishmael always secretly meet and where their love blossomed, is a secret world apart from the world outside in which the falling snow is a blanket on their passion hindered by strict traditions. Inside, it was easy to forget divisions and obstacles. It appears as though that everything seems possible.

At the end,by some twist of fate, Ishmael, the forgotten lover, was the one who proved Kabuo's innocence for the murder. The whole trial has enabled him to understand and accept the things in the past that cannot be undone and to live with the decisions made at the moment when it was necessary to make them.

Hunt for the Strawberry

While having a meeting on a Tuesday afternoon with my co-planners, I asked out of the blue and way out of the topic of ERP, meiruka, scheduling, blah blah being discussed at the moment of where I could buy fresh strawberries. Punky, always accommodating of my sometimes off-topic, crazy outbursts answered that it could be found in SM Bacoor, Hypermarket or Megamall. So I started the hunt at SM Bacoor, unfortunately, the fruit guy told me that it was not yet the season for strawberry. Well I understand that and so I went next to SM Hypermarket which is supposed to be SM mall conglomerate's biggest supermarket, fruit season or not. It's thirty miles and two hours ride from Cavite. Well at least thats that's still nearer than SM Baguio, where I can bet with my life, they have strawberries. But that prove to be my unlucky day. I still can't believe SM Hypermarket don't have strawberries! With some tweaking on the web (yes, I can be obsessive). I learned that Robinson's Supermarket supposed to have the freshest and the not so easy to find fruits and delis, so the next day I visited Robinson's Imus and I was not disappointed and found the sweet rubies.

On a tropical country like this, these rubies could be really so hard to find. How I wish I could walk again in the strawberry fields of La Trinidad and smell the luscious scent of ripen strawberry. The Benguet region, specifically, the La Trinidad valley is the only zone in the Philippines that has considerable large plots of strawberry farm. In 2004, President Arroyo declared March 18 as the strawberry festival of La Trinidad. The harvest is on the month of the Festival but there is also another harvest around November. But maybe it's nice to try planting them on other places too since Benguet is so far.Tagaytay is a cold place and fit for strawberry growing but I only see miles and miles of pineapple fields there, no strawberries. But anyways, I'm really no expert with growing strawberry.
But now that I have them on the fridge, I at least don't really have to imagine about La Trinidad. And I even made myself a Strawberry Bavarian. And because of this hunt, I learned some things about strawberry.

Strawberry is good for you because:
It can cure digestive upsets like diarheaa and dyspepsia
It can also cure stomach worms ( ewww??)
It's good for arthritis and gout and even for bladder stones and liver problems

Click here for Strawberry Bavarian Recipe

Related Links:
Cheesy Chicken Lollipop with Creamy Corn and Mashed Potato
Other Recipes

Harvest Romance - Fernando Amorsolo at the Metropolitan Museum

Seven of the most prominent museums in the Philippines is paying homage to the National Artist for Visual Arts, Fernando Amorsolo. These museums are the National Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Lopez Museum, Yuchengco Museum, The Ayala Museum, GSIS Museum and The UP Vargas Museum.

Last Saturday, me and my friend, Herlene went to my first stop at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila patroned by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines). MET as it is fondly called, is showcasing what Amorsolo is best known for - tranquil paintings and sketches of the nostalgic farm and rural life in the Philippines. The exhibit is appropriately called BayaANInanding, "Ani" which means harvest in Tagalog. It shows the overflowing reap sowed by an extraordinary filipino talent that is Amorsolo.

Fernando Amorsolo was raised in Camarines Norte but was born in Manila on May 30, 1892. He was named a National Artist in 1972 and died two years after in 1974. He graduated in the College of Fine Arts in University of the Philippines. But even before that, when he was thirteen, his family moved to Manila to reside on the house of a painter and his maternal uncle, Don Fabian Dela Rosa.He first discovered his talent for painting under the tutelage of the Don.

The central theme of Amorsolo's paintings are the sceneries and everyday life in a farm. He painted farmers planting rice, women harvesting fruits and cooking on mud pots (palayok) or just walking on a beaten track on the side of the mountain - essentially finding beauty in the most simple chores. He even have paintings on farm past times like cockfighting and sleeping on afternoon siesta breaks under a mango tree. He shows these scenes from the valleys of the Tagalog region, the heavenly scene of the Baguio mountains and the rugged terrains of Muslim south. Truly, he is a sensual and romantic painter. His paintings are endearing for its unassuming simpleness and appreciation of what we find our lives as ordinary. He does them in various medium - pen or ink in paper, oil on canvas, oil on wood and board.

Amorsolo was also an avid traveler. He takes time with his friends to visit places where he gets inspiration for his paintings. But what's the romance did Amorsolo found in such back-breaking work like farming and land tilling? A simple reason - Farming is the representation of the cycle of life itself and what can be more fascinating than life? You know the similarities are uncanny - you have to make sure that the land is properly turned over and irrigated,carefully nurturing it.You protect the crops from damaging elements. And there maybe times when crops are lost but most of the times the land is going to be bounty. Like life, you celebrate the generosity of God and earth that nurtures you back with good harvest.

As I was standing in the gallery with my friend, I wondered how many Filipinos know about Fernando Amorsolo's works. Seeing that me and my friend are only two of the six visitors that day, I would say not much. Filipinos are made to believe that art and museums are for the elite when in truth, it is mostly about the majority's experience that the artist conveys. It is the truth-seeking on the nature of a person and a heritage of a nation.It is my hope that the educators of the young today would see past beyond the stereotyping and open the eyes of the young generation to the richness of these heritage.

Unfortunately, taking of exhibit photos are not allowed inside the museum but if you want to personally see his works, you can visit MET which is just beside the Bangko Sentral in Roxas Boulevard. The exhibits will run at the seven museums until early of 2009.For more information on the date of the exhibits, click here.

My next stop is at the Ayala Museum, where Amorsolo's work about women are being exhibited. It is entitled Amorsolo’s Maidens Concealed and Revealed.
A nice trivia you might not know, Amorsolo painted the Ginebra San Miguel bottle logo that depicts Archangel Michael defeating the devil not known as Marca Demonio, he used the money to finance his studies abroad.

Musically Inclined

Saturday morning, woke up at 6:30 a.m. with aching muscles. Fun, crazy badminton marathon every single night the past week. A chat friend asked, "What's good with playing badminton?" Ummm...lessening my waist's excess baggage and a way to release my angst instead of smashing house furnitures?? LOL.

Anyways, I accompanied Ayrah to the Salonga Music Store at Araneta Center. That day was the day that she is getting her new guitar. We have conspired to drag my brother who loves everything about guitars to the store so he could pick a nice guitar for her. My brother opted to educate two ignorant creatures who were awed with a cute contraption called a tuner. I could not believe though a guitar could be worth Php135,000 , how in the world could a guitar be worth that much? My brother, with a shrug answers that Jimmy Hendricks' guitar was auctioned at $1,000,000 and someone bought it. Ridiculously crazy really, if you ask me.

Salonga Music Store Guitars On-Sale until end of October

After much thinking, Ayrah beamed with excitement as she is holding her baby guitar, Brooke. Thank goodness she did not choose the name Gorgonia, Cobralyn or Junior.hahaha. I like the name Philomena though. Read more about baby Brooke on her proud Mama Ayrah's blog at Buntong-Hininga.

After which, we went to a videoke booth in Timezone Gateway Mall. Oh yeah don't we all love to sing our heart away. My sister who just came back from Atlanta, Georgia told me that almost everyone she met there asked her if it's true that all filipinos are good singers. My sister, in her most beaming smile and a wink said,"Sure!" Well, my sister might be very well not telling the truth but I do know that singing is in every filipino blood. Roberto del Rosario, a filipino, invented the karaoke and if that isn't proof enough, I don't know what else is.

Ayrah and guitar Brooke at the Oasis, Gateway Mall

I just have to say though that I am a fan of my brother's and Ayrah's singing voice so I recorded them without them knowing....on my ever-reliable sony ericsson phone. I'm sure they will kill me if they knew I plan to post it, but i'm still going to post it anyway because it's a shame for such talents to remain undiscovered. And it might very well remain undiscovered if this blog is still at the bottom of the page ranks, so people please read and comment on my blog! LOL. But first, I have to find an AMR to Mp3 converter... so yeah, the videoke booth recordings will have to wait until the next blog.

The Manila Orchidarium Reopens on December 2008

After my early morning swim last Saturday, I went back to the apartment and got ready to go home to Quezon City but with a detour first to the Manila Orchidarium. But just my luck, when I got there I was informed that it was temporarily closed for renovation and will reopen on Christmas. I was disappointed since it was supposed to be my visit after four long years. Right in the middle of downtown Manila, the Orchidarium is a one acre home for hundreds species of orchids, other plants and butterflies. It's lush life is a direct contrast to the jaded urban life outside its wall and is one of the few sanctuary for the city's urbanites. Inside it you feel closer to nature and in a way, experience a therapeutic effect of being surrounded by beautiful plants and butterflies. Since Philippines has a tropical climate, the orchids thrive gloriously on it's rain forests. According to the Philippine Orchid Society, there are 940 species of orchids belonging to 130 genera in the Philippines. It is also said that 75% of orchids in the world are sourced out in the Philippines. The most famous among them is of course, the Waling-Waling (Vanda Sanderiana) photo from the POS website.

The Orchidarium is going to be open for the public on December everyday for 150 pesos entrance fee. And if you are wondering how to get there, these are some helpful directions.

• It is right beside the National Museum at Orosa St and Finance Road. Fifty meters away from Manila City Hall.
  
• whether you are coming from Cubao, Baclaran, or Divisoria, just ride a Quiapo-City hall Jeepney, get off at the Rizal park then walk in the direction of the National Museum
• when riding the taxi, tell the driver to take you to Rizal park, every local driver should know that
• when taking the LRT, get off at the Lawton LRT station then ride the jeepney going to Quiapo-PGH-NBI, get off at Rizal Park
  

Well, hopefully on one of my blogs on December I can show you the inside of the Orchidarium.

Google Hacks for Downloading Files

There are many useful peer-to-peer file sharing softwares like Limewire and Bearshare, and they are pretty easy to use. Although, you might also need intricate firewalls to protect your computer from virus coming everywhere from the files shared. An alternative to that is Google Hacks. Google Hacks is a free software that can do almost the same function as the file sharing programs like searching for your favorite music, e books, videos and even torrents and applications. You can install it by going to the website and downloading and installing the GoogleHacksSe

tup1.6.exe file. The interface should look like this. Let's try searching for music file. Type in Cassie Long way To Go. A new tab will appear on your web browser like below. You can click on the link and download the file that you want.Although there are still restrictions on the downloads, it is safe and the search results are impeccable in relevance as long as you know what keywords to use.
Please take note notice written in the software that program is for education purposes only

Private Underneath

Girls, we might not have the Beyonce/Jessica Alba/Katrina Halili body stats but all of us cannot resist that urge to explore our femininity by wearing those super feminine lingerie.It's one of those self-pampering we do, which we so deserve if i may so. hehe. Although we sometimes buy them for our partners, most of the time we buy them for ourselves because admit it or not, when we are wearing them we stand a little taller and feel a littler sexier. It's a private affair with our red under wears and push-up bra that we just love wearing.

luckydollstore

Recently,I have discovered two online lingerie store. Luckydoll online store is a bit edgy, some stuff are a shocker, although there are really wearable fun items. I love one corset there (i'm crazy about corsets these days). Another online store that I have stumbled upon is Hot Pink Lingerie. Although they have a walk-in shop at 2nd level of the Power Plant Mall, you can check some of their items online.

luckydollstore

Cheesy Chicken Lollipop with Creamy Corn and Mashed Potato

This recipe is very easy to do. It took me only about one hour to prepare. If you want to make a nice meal but don’t want to take a lot of time to prepare it, this recipe is really a good choice. I had fun making it but had more fun eating it with my roommate. =)

Basically there are three recipes to complete the meal

o Cheesy Chicken Lollipop
Chicken drumstick, breading, pepper, salt ,cheese

o Creamy corn
Butter, Corn kernel, cheese, red pepper, green pepper, evaporated milk

o Mashed Potato
Potato, cheese, butter, onion leaves

Cheesy Chicken Lollipop
Prepare chicken drumsticks. With a knife flay skin and meat off the bone, pushing meat toward the other end like a lollipop. Season with pepper and salt. Grate cheese and put in one bowl. Put breading in one bowl. Dip chicken in egg, coat with cheese then breading. Deep fry.

Creamy Corn
Dice red pepper and green pepper. In a pan, melt about 100gms of butter. Put green and red pepper, then the corn kernel and cheese. Pour in evaporated milk, salt and pepper. Simmer until milk is reduced and creamy.

Mashed Potato
Boil potato and mash. Mix in butter, cheese, pepper and onion leaves.

And just for fun, put in a cute plate.

Related Links

Recipes

Strawberry Bavarian

That Pretty Mutya

This would be a very late review of Mutya Buena’s first solo album Real Girl. It is not my fault; I stumbled upon it a year too late. It is sad that there was a lack of foresight of her label’s marketing arm to promote the album in the Philippines. I believe, Mutya, just for the sole reason that she is half-Filipino, would be embraced by the Filipino music fans e.g., apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas, Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls to name a few. Yes, Filipinos could be weirdly loyal that way.

Anyways, Mutya Buena, formerly one-third of the Brit pop girl group Sugababes released thirteen tracks in her Real Girl album in June of 2007. Sugababes is the only girl group I admire because their music is unique and their act makes sense. Mutya has brought a lot of this no fear, no nonsense attitude into the group with her soul-soothing voice and beckoning, mysterious beauty. It was appropriate to name her album Real Girl and continue this legacy although this time with more of her personality.

The album is dance, soul and R&B. The first single off the album is Real Girl. It is distinguishable with the intro starting off with the unmistakable intro from Lenny Kravitz song Ain’t over ‘til Its Over. Lenny Kravitz co-wrote the song and it landed at the UK Singles Chart at Number 2. Aside from the collaboration with Kravitz, Mutya also did a single with Amy Winehouse, B Boy Baby. Winehouse does the chorus off a 1960s song by The Ronettes, Be My Baby while Mutya sings the verses. She also sang with George Michael in This is Not Love.

just a little sketch i made

One of my favorites in the album is the dance song called Song for Mutya (Out of Control), collaboration with the dance duo Groove Amada. It’s a fun, dance song although I was a bit disappointed with the music video, it was somewhat a little too unimaginative for a song that has a real potential.

You should also listen to the song Strung Out which starts out with a piano solo and is progressing dramatically. Well, that’s mostly because I can relate to the song these days and maybe some would do too... strung out/ you are wasting all our love away/ I’m running out of words to say... =( Other music player worthy are Not Your Baby and Wonderful.

( My ) Sexy, Edgy, Tough Audi R8

While exchanging a very long email with a friend we got into topics about cars. I like cars but him, well he is so crazy about them. He said and I quote " It's just everything about it... the exotic cars and the sounds of the engines". It sounded like we were talking about women to me. Hahaha. He asked me what car do I like and said that he knows that it was a tough question to ask a lady.Not tough at all, Audi R8 in Electric Blue. I like to describe my future (hopefully) car as Sexy but Tough. Does that sound a woman again? :D

Like everything else I look for when I want something, I prefer a balance sensibility and style. And I think I fell in love with R8 because it is that. Audi R8 is reviewed to compete with other thoroughbred sports car as Maserati GranTurismo, Porsche 911 Turbo, the Aston Martin V8 and Corvette Z06. These exotics are engineered to give that power steering feel in the racetrack, but Audi R8 opted to be in the middle ground as a sports car of rigid, aluminum body and magneto-rheological dampers that gives that comfort and smooth ride in everyday drive. It sells at whopping $115,000 but still way cheaper than those above mentioned.

Some of the features worth putting your money on are:

(1)Acceleration of 60 mph in 4.4 second and a top speed of 187 mph
(2)Magneto-rheological dampers for everyday comfort driving
(3)All-Quattro wheel drive with six-speed manual or R-tronic Transmission
(4)Sexy styling and an edgy attitude
My sports car enthusiasts friend loves Lamborghini LP640 but he said he is falling in-love with Koenigsegg CCXR too when he saw one near his office building. Well I guess there are numerous beautiful cars to choose from out there, and if you have the money and if it makes you happy, by all means get yourself one. As for me, I will have to figure out how to have my own Audi R8 (donations are welcome, haha).

Koenigsegg CCXR photo courtesy of Cokes

Strawberry Bavarian Recipe

Ingredients
Strawberries 250 grams
Skim milk
unflavored gelatine powder
sugar and vanilla essense

How to Do it
In a cup, pour gelatine powder add small amount of cold water to dissolve the gelatine then add hot water
add sugar and vanilla essense and chill until syrupy
in a bowl, crush strawberries
add crushed strawberries to the gelatine syrup
chill skim milk, whip until stiff
fold milk into strawberry mixture
serve in a dessert glass