The Heavier Lighter

This definitely makes it into my crazy crap list.  

This monstrous abnormality does turn heads at the smoking room, but fails miserably at usage.  Even with highly functional opposable thumbs, it's pretty fiddly to handle.  The body is just way too bulky.  The huge spring mechanism is just way too difficult to press.  And  honey, I don't see this thing fitting in my purse.

Yes, the Chinese thought of this breakthrough.  I'm sure it's darn right amusing and the Chinese would've thought they were geniuses when they cooked this up.  But will it survive the smoking public?  Quite honestly, I think this lighter will die out even earlier than my left lung.

Thomas the Trainsformer: Stranger than Fiction

Christmas season is also the season of knock-offs.  It's the perfect time for fakers to crawl out of the woodwork and sell their plagiarizing wares to unsuspecting bargain hunters.  Some of these fakers, however, push the envelope and get ultimately creative in their fakery.  Take for example this awful find I got from a traveling toy cart --The Thomas Trainsformer.  Seriously, it's 3 cheap plastic trains (obviously nabbed from the famous Thomas and Friends series) that you can attach together to form a...wait for it...a Thomas the Tank Engine Super Robot!!! You guessed it, it's Japan-made.  In fact, the set also comes with a VCD of 8 Thomas and Friends episodes, all dubbed in Japanese --with no freaking subtitle option!

The toy breaks easily (at P20, why am I not surprised).  Ours did as soon as Kenji tore off the plastic casing.  But that's hardly the manufacturer's fault.  It's the consumer's fault for being cheap and uncaring of quality and decency.  *kicks herself on the noggin*

Eating Up the VeggieTales

One afternoon, my husband came home from his weekly movie run.  The kids were thrilled!  Nothing beats weekends with a fresh flick and a fresh tub of buttered popcorn.

So can you imagine their dismay when they found out the movie Dada bought was... VeggieTales???

What the dickens was VeggieTales?!  It's not made by Pixar, not by Dreamworks --so it might as well be junk.

Well, my boys are eating their words now.  VeggieTales, a series of movies featuring cutely drawn vegetables talking about good values and God, actually caught our boys' fancy on the get-go.  I thought it would be like one of those boring biblical cartoons.  But VeggieTales had the edge and the wit.  It retold the bible stories in a new, engaging manner each time.

From Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego and the Golden Calf, VeggieTales offered Rack, Shack, Benny and the Chocolate Bunny.

From the classic David and Goliath, VeggieTales brought forth the spunky Dave and the Giant Pickle.

From the daunting Moses and the 10 Plagues, VeggieTales gave the hilarious Moe and the Big Exit.

It's the same basic story flow.  But the difference is in the funnier role players, the wackier scenarios, and the side-splitting script.
Purists would go and bash these deviations from the originals.  Some would say it's a violation of the sacred word.  But, seriously, as long as kids learn the very same moral lessons from both stories, then it would cause more good than bad.

Values are further pushed through another VeggieTales sequence called Larry Boy --a clumsy yet valiant superhero cucumber out to save kids from telling lies and spreading rumors and disrespecting their parents.  Miro and Kenji absolutely love this gourd!

And to cap the sweet deal, the movie series brim with great songs as sung by the zany duo, Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato.  You guessed it --the songs still instill all that is good no matter how silly they're sung.

I'm giving VeggieTales a thumbs up for being such a win-win movie choice for many weekends now.  And two thumbs up with the sweetest hug to my husband for bringing it home.

We give '9' a 10

Sadly, this movie didn't enjoy much fanfare here.

Simply because it's a computer-animated release presumably made for kids, but with a storyline that has nothing to do with kids.  It started gloomy and ended gloomy.  And I'm not talking about The Corpse Bride-gloomy.  There is absolutely nothing --and I mean, nothing!-- funny about '9'.

Set in the apocalyptic era after the war of man and machine, this 'cartoon' had no slapstick character who served as the running joke or the comic relief.  The characters were all eerie-looking rag dolls with souls, feelings, guilt, and a hunger for survival.

And your connection with them is borne out of fear, mystery, and empathy.
The whole plot feels real in its surrealism.  The story --a veritable, beautiful goldmine of knowledge and awakening.

I guess that's why my boys loved the movie so much.  Apart from having a yen for the Dark (well, you can blame me for that), it gave them a chance to think.  Miro even said, "I'll be more careful when I invent robots in the future, Mimi.  I don't want them destroying humans.".  And Kenji mused, "Even little things can fight big things." --referring to the part when the numbered dolls finally defeated the Machine Overlord.

There are lessons learned.  And I don't mean a peashooter lesson like Play Nice With Your Toys or Ogres Have Layers.  This is way beyond that.  There's Strength In Numbers (pun unabashedly intended) being one of them.

'9' is a must-watch for children and adults who feel like seeing an animated flick to be able to think and feel, rather than just laugh.   Luckily, it's available on DVD.  We have 3 copies. :)

'9'.  Directed by Shane Acker and produced by Tim Burton.
Tim Burton... why are you not surprised?

Paranormal Activity Shmacktivity

I'm a horror flick freak.  So when Paranormal Activity broke out, it simply begged me to watch it.  I'm a big fan of the Blairwitch Project so when I heard Paranormal Activity had the same shit going for it, I was as giddy as a ghoul.  My husband and I watched the film exactly at midnight for added effect.

But I guess my expectations were too high.  The movie flopped for me that night.  It was just not the same as being trapped in the wilderness with your camera being attacked by the unseen and the unknown.  Being in a house as a film location gave you somehow a comfort zone...even when fighting off the poltergeist.

So I decided Paranormal Activity didn't scare me at all.  And went to sleep.

The very next night, however, had me rethinking that brazen statement.  Last night, I didn't sleep a single wink!  I was up all night hearing bumps and toys moving in the living room as my family slept soundly.  I decided to turn on the TV to drown them out.  But, as you would have it, one sound made it through despite the Today Show.  It was a little girl sobbing and then saying "Mama..." and then sobbing again...  

Hah!  How's that for absolute creepiness!

Being the proud bitch that I am, I decided not to wake my husband up and just watched TV until the alarm went off for morning.  Lol!

So my second (terribly delayed) opinion:  Yeah...Paranormal Activity rocked my socks.  It's definitely something to talk about and lose sleep over.  And in my book, that makes it one of the best horror flicks of the season.

Although The Ring will always have a special place in my heart.

My Rock Collection

"The downside of being strong is that you have no one to run to at the times when you are weak." 

-an Anonymous Wise Ass

And so, during these tough times, I don't run. I just get angry. And this is the side I allow people to see.
Being ' the rock' everyone relied on, I bottle in the real emotions. Every bit of frustration, depression, and fear stuffed secretly inside me that I think I would simply, eventually implode. 

Until yesterday.
When I realized I DO have my very own rocks at home.

JING: He's relentless when he's supportive. He's picked me up many times (even when I don't tell him what's gotten me down) with a good talk over ice cream, Jamaican patties, hugs and more. He makes me feel great about myself (even when I never told him beforehand that I felt horrible). Thank God I married an empath! :P

MIRO: His big boy successes inspire me to haul myself back up from the floor and dare to pursue a dream that people talk me out of. I mean, nobody thought he could make it in the school's basketball team --but he did! So why can't I? (dare to pursue a dream...not play basketball. lol!)

KENJI: He's the epitome of manic energy and uncontrollable joy. Very tiring, but also very contagious. He jumps, runs, gets into trouble --and still feels awsome about it! It would be embarrassing to give up and maintain a sad, shuddering fetal position seeing that this child would never. EVER!

Sure, I haven't really ran to them with all my worries. Not technically anyhow. But seeing them gives me strength. Makes me realize that I don't have to be in this alone.

So thanks, boys! I love you! YOU ROCK!

Sabangan, Laiya Love

I'll let you in on our beach bumming secret.
We go during the off-seasons --it's cheaper that way and we avoid the hectic summer crowd.
And, we insist on Sabangan Resort at Laiya, Batangas --because of its pure awesomeness.

Sabangan is a rustic, pretty, little resort nestled between vacation spot giants, Blue Coral and Aquatico.  It's a sore thumb in comparison.  It doesn't have Blue Coral's jet ski action.  And none of Aquatico's infinity pool glory.  What Sabangan simply offers is family bonding to the serene shiznit. 

It doesn't have a hotel set-up.  It gives you your own dainty, airconditioned cottage.

With cozy, native, meticulously-designed interiors.

With your very own nature-inspired front yard.

And your very own huge sandbox backyard.

You get the same upper class kind of clear waters.

And the same luxury of fine, powdery sand.

Oh and you're given your own kitchen, too.  None of those expensive restaurant prizes.  You cook your own food in the comfort of your own 'home'.

When you're done with the beach, there's the lumberrific playground.

And the open-air game area that gives a whole new meaning to the term 'shooting the breeze'.

See?  Unprecedented, unrestricted family bonding.

That's Sabangan.  My wisest decision in family vacation relaxation yet!  And that's no secret.