TV Watch: Camelot

The story of King Arthur have been permuted many times over but it still attracts the fancy of many viewers.  Maybe because the Arthurian legend is so rich in terms character that you can build off anyone of them.  Of course Arthur remains to be the favorite subject. 

Well this version of Arthur is in the line of Spartacus:  blood, gore, sex with the addition of sorcery---a testosterone rush for the action junkee!  Starring Jamie Campbell Bower as King Arthur, Eva Green as Morgan, Joseph Fiennes as Merlin, Tamsin Egerton as Guinevere, and Claire Forlani as Igraine.

Adrianne Palicki: The New Incarnation of Wonder Woman

After Lynda Carter gave life to the DC comic superheroine in the TV series "Wonder Woman" from 1975-1979 no one has claimed the role since.   I can still remember when I sat agog watching this beautiful lady in the star-speckled undies stomping on bad guys left and right.  At my young age it was my first taste of porn.  Naturally, I watched it every chance I got.  The recent chatter about a new Wonder Woman revived my swooning over the Amazon Princess.  

Adrianne who?  Well let's go ask the ever reliable Wikipedia.  Hey!  She's actually blonde!  If you're a follower of the TV series "Supernatural"  Adrianne Palicki played Jesse, the doomed girlfriend of Sam Winchester.  The brunette-do will take a little getting used to though.

Adrianne (left) and Lynda (right)---now and then.

The spandex pants is a disappointment...and blue boots? 

What were they thinking?!

Due to fan outrage, the costume designer finally got to his senses and

changed the boots back to red.  Now why don't we bring back

that star-speckled undies!

Oh man, this would have been real nice!

Remembering Shiela Marie Advincula

I was multi-tasking this morning (like I normally do)---cooking breakfast and surfing the web---when out of curiosity I had this narcissistic urge to Google my name.  Well, most of the hits pointed me to my blog site but there was this site, melanieuchi.multiply.com, that apparently mentioned my name.  Apparently, it was a rollcall of sorts with a bunch of other names (a couple of which were officemates) and then I realized that it was the blog site of the aunt of a former officemate's nephew who had bone cancer.  She made a blog to thank those who contributed for her niece's chemotherapy way back in 2007. 

Her last post was dated November 26, 2007 and I wanted to think that the date did not mean the worst of thoughts.  Unfortunately, it was.  Her name was Sheila Marie Advincula---SM for short---and she was 10 years old when God took her to become one of His angels.

The blog site contained  pictures of SM during the various stages of her treatment and I found it ironic that there's this little girl suffering from a debilitating form of cancer still able to smile while other people sulk and curse with their petty problems. 

Sheila Marie may not have lived to enjoy a full life but she left us with a lifetime lesson that our existence is how we choose it to be and no matter the circumstance that we find ourselves in---it's all a matter of how we want to deal with it.  Life is a CHOICE.   

May eternal light shine upon our beloved SM oh Lord and may she rest in peace.

It's a wonder how SM can still smile given her situation...

Are you Getting the Right Caffeine Fix?

My craving for java is stemmed by the need to be awake durng those unholy hours which for me is around 7am when I settle my sweet ass on my office chair and around 2pm in the afternoon when all logic seem to leave my mental processes and I go into crash mode.  Thanks to Standard Chartered I usually get a free large gourmet cup in the morning on my way to work.  In the afternoon, I'd get my caffeine fix at the office pantry or if the state of my wallet permits, from a nearby Starbucks outlet. 

Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant which temporarily wards off drowsiness and restore alertness. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance which maybe the reason why gourmet coffee shops has become a booming business venture.  Technically, they are legal drug dens.  Of course, coffee is not cocaine, cannabis or LSD.

Anyway, given the end in mind and after reading Starbucks' Nutrition by the Cup brochure, I have come to realize that I'm ordering the wrong drink.  Normally, I 'd vary my order from a Caramel Macchiato or Caffe Mocca but based on the brochure I can only get a maximum of 180mg of caffeine in a venti size order.  Funny thing is I thought that going venti will actually give me extra caffeine---WRONG!  You still get the same two espresso shot whether it's a grande or a venti.  The additional 4oz is milk.  That would just be like additional cream to the standard two packet order.  No wonder the price difference is but a couple of pesos only!  Ingenious strategy to upsize I should say.  So I suggest that unless you want to pay P10 more for additional cream on a Venti Caramel Macchiato go grande instead and just get additional cream packets from the condiments table.

Now, if it's a wake up jolt you want ,order for a brewed coffee where you can get up to 400mg caffeine trip guaranteed to give you four hours of mental alertness.  Naturally, it does not have the same creaminess and flavoring of a Caramel Macchiato but it does gives you the necessary kick to survive the rest of the afternoon. 

Danica Patrick: Bodacious Race Girl

If cars and beautiful women can marry, they would be a perfect match---NASCAR racer Danica Patrick posing with a slick hot rod.

Java Trippin' at Starbucks

I took the wife for a coffee fix this afternoon at Starbucks SM Fairview. They had a new store at the third level and got the chance to enjoy a relaxing slow day (the Annex branch was packed when we stopped there). We got the chance to seat on cushioned seats and savor the lingering smell of freshly cut plyboard and paint but no matter---the place was devoid of the buzz and chaos that would make up for a gratifying java experience.

I ordered for a Grande Cocoa Cappucino and a Grande Caramel Frappucino for the wife. "Can I take your name sir?" asks the friendly barrista to which I answer with gusto: "Nonoy." I had to articulate that clearly since most people would always miss it as NOYNOY. Personally, I'd rather be called DICK. Anyway...

"One Grande Cocoa Cappucino and one Grande Caramel Frappucino for Nonoy please," relayed the friendly barrista. I pay up and since I was in a mood for chocolate chip cookies went out to buy Chips Ahoy---perfect for coffee! Yum! Yum! I leave my wife to fetch our drinks and when I come back she told me an interesting story.

Well I know for a fact that doctors have bad handwritings but thanks to pharmacists they are able to make sense of what's written on the prescription pad. Unfortunately, there's no such equivalent for barristas or should I say...well you be the judge. Apparently, my name was misread as HENRY and when my order was up the poor girl was calling for Henry. A few moments pass and no one was laying a claim of the java. Fortunately, the wife had the good sense of approaching the counter and straighten things out. So I check out the cup and low and behold---I read NONOY. Check out the picture below and tell me how you read it.

Japan, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis

While we in the other parts of the world worry and pray for the safety of family and friends living in Japan, the Japanese are have actually accepted earthquakes as part of their day to day event. 

Japan sits in what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire along with other countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Russia, United States, Chile, Mexico, and New Zealand.  The Ring of Fire is that area in the world where 90% of the world's largest earthquakes and 80% of the world's biggest volcanic eruptions occur.  It is where 75% of the world's active volcanoes can be found (10% of which are in Japan).

 

Japan's location happens to be in the area where there is much crustial instability.  As many as 1,500 earthquakes are recorded yearly where magnitude 4-6 on the Richter scale a normal occurence.  Minor tremors occur daily in various parts of the country.  Major earthquakes happen infrequently.  The Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, where 130,000 perished, the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, which claimed 6,434 lives, and the one which rocked the country yesterday measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale occured in the 20th century. 

Underwater earthquakes also exposes Japan to tsunamis or tidal waves.  One hundred ninety five events has been recorded over the last 1,313 years until 1997 which happens to be the most in the world---no wonder the Japanese coined the word "tsunami" roughly transalted into English as "harbor wave".

Earthquakes and tsunamis are basically a Japanese event.  You'll know who is not Japanese when such event happen---they are the ones who are running around in panic.  My apologies, just making light the situation worrying about friends and relatives in Japan.  Praying for their safety.