shhh...

some people have to hide their shopping bags of clothes or shoes from family members. i have to hide one or two (small) bags of books because i still have quite a backlog.

but i couldn't resist these (hehe)


ever since their Nov 2008 issue, I've been on the lookout for WIRED. their artists make the covers great (look at that solarized effect and oh, the metallic ink they use for the pages, lovely! the special ink use is even restrained in a Zen art sort of way --spot lamination is now so five years ago, hehehe)
also helps that this particular issue helps me jumpstart my research on an article i'm working on...


After reading Tietam Brown, I couldn't resist picking this up. Mick Foley, possibly one of the few wrestlers who do the sport with the most heart, throw everything they have into the ring, and miraculously walk out with their brain cells intact. And writes amazingly well! He can do the claw on Danielle Steel any day, hehehe (unfortunately he's too much of a gent to do so).


Never read anything by Camille Paglia, so i figured this would make an interesting start...


Same with Terry Pratchett (as a standalone author, not as co-author on Good Omens)

and...

George Carlin...nuff said :D

hannah & gus make a (food) porno

during someone's former life as a managing editor, she had the pleasure of meeting gus-gus, the unofficial mascot of the magazine she worked for.

foodie, raconteur and all-around travel buddy, gus-gus lived for adventure (although he's retired from all that now, content to sit in his lifeguard's chair somewhere near the editor-in-chief, dreaming of beaches and babes in bikinis to save, preferably a nice half-polar, half-grizzly mestiza who likes to frolic in the waves and is utterly cool. rawr.)

of course he could not say no when invited to be a judge at a tuna culinary competition about 2-3 years ago in General Santos (now famous for its other export, Manny Pacquiao). guess who gleefully accompanied him on this food trip.

the guy who did the inviting? none other than chef Ed Quimson.

(freshly filleted tuna sushi)


(no, gus wasn't arrested, they really had armed military people roaming the malls --unless there was a buy-one-take-one sale going on at the army surplus shop they didn't know about)


as part of the tour, the group also checked out the Saranggani Bay operations, a huge facility that could easily make a decent military base (think Subic). Fishponds galore, even in the bay itself, harvested regularly and processed for sale locally and internationally.


(some of the best Spanish-style bangus/sardines ever)


and of course you have plenty of fish, a chef on hand and an available kitchen. what to do? cookfest!

chef came up with tocino-style fish, sweet-and-sour white fish, sinigang and a very memorable baked codfish buried in salt. gus' companion came up with the steamed lapu-lapu with ginger and green onions. everyone was pretty much in a food coma after that.

analog vs digital

remember mixtapes? friends would copy from other CD's or cassettes onto a blank and give them to friends (this was before Tower Records/Music One and better stocks at Odyssey/Fully Booked) --spread the love for music, share the joy, that sort of thing :D

when my mom finally bought herself a mini component in the early 90's, she loved the fact that she could play 6 CDs, two cassettes (not all at the same time) as well as listen to AM/FM. well, that component finally died (mitigating factors include meddling from the sprout during his toddler/grade school years) and my mom thought of buying herself a small radio. the fast talking saleslady was pretty good, because ma walked out with an expensive lemon that promptly chewed up one of her precious cassettes. so before the week was over, i brought her back to the appliance store, made sure the return was made, and waited for my ma to choose a replacement, without interference from salespeople trying to make their quota.

wouldn't you know it, she ended up buying something that was almost three times the price.


to console her (pun intended), i taught her about the USB port. apparently she didn't get it, until i brought one pre-loaded with a few bits of Frank Sinatra and Ray Conniff. and once i noticed the "record to USB" button, i casually remarked that it was possible she could use it to record tv/radio shows, as well as CDs onto it, maybe even her precious tapes. (which was confirmed after i read the manual)

that got her eyes sparkling. the following weekend, she brought out an array of tapes which we spent an afternoon recording (boring the sprout to no end). matt monroe. jack jones. nat king cole. and, God bless them, the platters. yup, golden oldies weekend. and i had to drink cups of caffeinated tea to keep awake after a heavy meal at Cookbook Kitchen.

and...eek! the stuff i had from High School! mercy me. no, those weren't put into the USB, i'm still looking for my "Off the Deep End" by Weird Al.

gone too soon

will miss the guy first introduced to me as "eggy" (even though all the other siblings have the same initials!)

this is the guy who misses him more. they grew up together, as playpen buddies (i've seen the home movies where eggy peers around his playpen and some diapered kid scoots around with that weird and very familiar feet flat on the floor short-but-quick shuffle butt-tucked-in, tummy-and-chest out position --yes he still scoots around that way, sans diapers)


rest in peace, even if i don't agree with people who say that the good who die young are needed more in heaven --that's just b.s.

surreal interview

it was a pleasure to interview Bob Blumer yesterday with the other foodies/journalists :D
and reading through the cookbook was so much fun, especially when Blumer has suggestions for "music to cook by"

Dude, barely 48 hours in a country isn't enough to sample Pinoy cuisine, y'know?

la, di, da.

you learn new things everyday. for instance: fan belts on washing machines do get worn out by frequent use (especially when one always runs a full load), but this is the first time i've seen a toothless fan belt!

down to the gums. Sheesh.
Now I have to catch up on a week's worth of laundry. Excuse me :D

It's raining books! (sorta) :D

www.worldebookfair.com

apparently, for a limited time only, bookworms all over the world can get their hands on e-books galore thanks to the generous people behind the world e-book fair. i'll probably get a few books after i get over the "whee! i'm raiding the candy store!" giddiness.

i think the first free e-book i was able to download was "little brother" by cory doctorow, thanks to a link from neil gaiman's website. never managed to finish it (i was reading it to keep awake during deadlines at the office) ...come to think of it i should finish it, hehehe.

so, what will you download for yourself?