Gossip Girl Season 2

Here is the extended preview for season 2 of Gossip Girl. It begins September 1st, and the long wait is going to end.

I'm excited to watch season 2, the preview makes me very curious and EXCITED.

Movie Review: Death Race

Genre: Action

Death race. The trailer seemed to show a promising movie, but you can't judge a book by its cover.

I think that the race is over, Death Race lost big time.

The movie is set in a somewhat futuristic setting, although not too far into the future. Once a NASCAR champion, Jensen Ames, (Jason Statham), hits rock bottom after the steel mill he was working at had closed down. He had a family to support, his wife Suzy (Janaya Stephens) and their baby girl rely on Jensen to survive. Jensen's day of misery did not end at losing his job. Shortly after Jensen checked on their baby girl Suzy is brutally murdered, and he is framed for her murder. Jenson is sent to Terminal Island, the worst and toughest for-profit prison in the country run by Hennessey (Joan Allen)

Prisons have become different in the future, they are now privately owned, for-profit organizations. There is no such thing as rehab in prison. Most inmates would spend time building their cars in order to compete in Death Race, a pay-per-view sport created by Hennessy.

The 3 stage race is simply a kill-or-be-killed sport, where inmates compete with one another, and the first to get 5 wins would be the first to get out of Terminal Island.

Each inmate gets to drive a monster car which they built loaded with guns, missiles, flamethrowers, napalm, and all other types of weapons for dealing death to other competitors.

Hennessey convinces Jensen to secretly take the place of the late 4-time superstar winner, Frankenstein, and wear his metallic mask in the race. If Jensen wins just one race, he can go home to his baby daughter. To get to the finish line, Jensen must kill his competition before they kill him.

There were some scenes in the movie wherein I caught myself laughing, it was surprising to find some humor in such an action-packed movie. Most of the laughs came from the over-the-top violence which a movie like this would provide. Yet, there were some cool one-liners that kept me beyond the crazy-ass violence.

As disappointing as the movie may seem, I think one of the few saving graces it had was the quality and quantity of the psycho violence each inmate dealt to one another. The brutal weapon-charged car on car violence was simply insane.

Another good thing about the movie is the sound quality and design. The quality of the sound pulls viewers into the movie as much as the visuals did. It reminded me of the pod race in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The sound was amazing.

As for the bad part, there are too much to mention. The plot was more than stupid (I think they had to force the plot) the dialogue was not any better, and the ending is worse than any movie I had ever seen.

If you'd like to be positive about Death Race, think of it as a REALLY BAD comedy movie. Or a really bad horror flick, if the over-the-top violence would scare some viewers.

In reality, Death Race is simply an ambitious action flick gone wrong. The few laughs and the psycho violence might have enticed the audience, but the story line will surely make viewers disappointed.

I give it 2 stars out of 5.

Food Review: Amazing Cones

Sadly, the name was simply a name, and nothing more.

I first heard of Amazing Cones from my mom, she was raving about how this new store had served an innovative snack, a pizza in a cone.

I was curious, how could a pizza be placed in a cone?

So in hopes of satisfying my curiosity, and my empty stomach, I dropped by the store to taste the food for myself. I asked the people what their bestseller was and they told me that it the supremo italiano was their bestseller. So I ordered that along with the black gulaman variant of amazing ice. I was told that the black gulaman was also good.

After I got my order, I wasted no time to taste the food that was supposedly yummy. Unfortunately, I was not satisfied with the food quality.

In my opinion, the pizza in a cone was I bit overpriced, maybe you had to pay the price for something new and innovative. The amazing ice wasn't that good either, it was like an ice slush with chunks of black gulaman mixed with it. It was also a bit too overpriced for me.

There are still a lot more to taste in Amazing Cones, but I doubt if I would be going back anytime soon.

I give it 2 stars out of 5.

Visit them at V-mall in Greenhills Shopping Center. Or visit their website at: www.amazingcones.com

Philippine Pride in PBA Draft (or lack thereof?)

I watched the recently-concluded PBA draft a few moments ago and I was a bit surprised at what I saw. A significant number of draft applicants, and players do not even know the Philippine National Anthem.

For crying out loud, you are playing or are applying to play for the PHILIPPINE basketball association. You should at least know the national anthem because applicants and most players are supposed to be Filipinos. I have nothing against bringing Fil-Am players to come over and play for Asia's first play-for-pay league, but you are Filipinos, you should at least know the anthem of your motherland!

There was an interview with this draftee, and the interviewer asked him what he expects from the PBA. He said something like, "I don't really know what to expect. I mean going here, and leaving my family back home (the US), and playing here is going to be a great experience for me."

I found it funny that he calls the US as his home, but he simply called the Philippines as here. I can't really blame him, if he had the choice, he'd play for an NBA team without thinking twice. Like the case of most Fil-foreigners, he came here to play because his level of play is not good enough for the level of play in the NBA. Other than that, most foreign players, especially those from NCAA Division I teams have a much bigger chance in becoming a star in the PBA than even qualifying for the draft in the NBA.

Take Gabe Norwood for example, he got a special consideration from the PBA because he could not meet the deadline for legal documents. The PBA gave him, and other Fil-Am applicants more time to submit their documents so that they could be entered in the draft. Even DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez himself was the one who allowed Norwood's papers to be released.

If it wasn't for Gonzalez' "opinion" on Norwood's situation, he and the other Fil-Foreign players would have not been able to join the 2008 PBA Draft.

Would these players show more Philippine pride in the years to come?

I really hope so.

Is John McCain trying to be innovative?

There are a lot of jokes about John McCain and his age all over talk shows. Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Chelsea Handler are only some comedians who have taken a stab at John McCain's youth (or lack thereof)

He is a Republican candidate, and he is leaning more for the war than his Democratic counterpart, Barack Obama is. He is labeled as "'conservative', but not 'a conservative.'" I think that line is somewhat self-explanatory.

Anyway, back to the real topic. Out of the many possible choices as his veep running mate, he chose Sarah Palin. Other than being a first-term governor of Alaska, Palin has no other political experience. Being in office in a state that has more reindeer that people, Palin does not really show promise in being McCain's running-mate.

Their age difference is also something to be noted, McCain is 72. Palin, at 28 years younger than McCain, was born at an entirely different generation. She was learning how to walk when McCain was already in Vietnam, serving in the war.

According to several articles I've read on the internet, Palin's life story is somewhat impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But I don't think that even qualifies her to be a VP nominee.

Her political positions on gay marriage, abortion, education, and crime are quite remarkable. She is against gay marriage (she used veto powers for barring benefits for gay couples); for death penalty; and she is also for full funding of education.

It is should be noted that Palin was chose among a field of heavyweights. Among them were Mitt Romney, Mike Bloomberg, Joe Lieberman, Mike Huckabee, and even General David Petraeus.

So, why did McCain pick a lightweight when he had so much heavyweights as his disposal?

CNN's Paul Begala says that Palin is more than unqualified to become McCain's runningmate.

In a way, I agree, little has been heard about Palin. What things have she done that has made her look qualified in McCain's eyes? Does Ol'McCain need a new pair of frames?

Begala also said that in choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate, McCain is not thinking "outside the box," as some have said. More like out of his mind.

I could not really agree nor disagree with him, all people deserve a chance. Then again, I am writing solely from the information available to me, Begala is an expert in this field.

Is John McCain simply trying to be innovative, or more to his decision than what most people think?

Only time will tell.

A Look Back

Here is a blog I published last year. One of my first blogs, if I may add.

Mediocrity and Respect

me·di·oc·ri·ty –noun, plural -ties.

1.	the state or quality of being mediocre.

2.	mediocre ability or accomplishment.

3.	a mediocre person.

Mediocrity, what does that have to do with us Pinoys? Last Sunday, I went to the house blessing of my aunt, it was just a small gathering of friends and family. In the Philippines, any celebration of course, calls for food right? She called for a catering, when I saw the food, I didn't really like it to be honest. Filipinos can be associated with mediocrity, in fact, I believe that we studied the bad habits of Filipinos, one of them was the "bahala na" habit or in english, mediocrity. I know that us Pinoys aren't the most hardworking, even though we are known to be resourceful... Going back to the event, I can rant all day about the food, but I will not do that because I would say way too much. The food in the party was okay, not really the BEST ever food I tasted, but I didn't think anyone payed much attention to the food, other than me.


That was pretty much the end of the bad part, I don't want to rant on negative things. We get associated with mediocrity, so what? Most people know that Filipinos tend to look at the brighter side of life, we love to give joy, and we are taught to be respectful to everyone. even if there is much mediocrity in our culture, I believe we make up for this by giving great service and respect. In other countries, I don't think that they really say "sir" or "ma'am" when they talk to you.

For Example:

McDonald's USA: Hi there! How are you? What would you guys be havin' today?

McDonald's Philippines: Hello sir/ma'am, welcome to McDonald's, how may I help You today?


I have nothing against people from other countries, I just want you guys to realize that even if some of us give mediocre products, chances are those people would serve with respect, because that is what we are known for.