What is wrong with this picture part 2

You be the judge of this.  I would "offer" proofreading service perhaps?

Were open 24 hours??? - so now they are not.  Ah yes Thursdays to Sundays only.

Check out the "on the house freebies"  :)

And I guess the first thing that would be stolen is the security camera!

It's More Fun in the World of Charlie Brown

All I need is one more try
Gotta get that kite to fly
And I'm not the kind of guy
Who gives up easily
             - Charlie Brown
                From the Broadway musical comedy "You're a good Man Charlie Brown"

February 11, 2012 at Ma Maison Greenbelt - I just came from opening night of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. Since last week the missus and the little girl has been egging me to buy tickets for us to watch. Honestly I've seen it before when I was younger (and about half a waistline smaller) via Repertory Phils' version with Raymond Lauchengco as Charlie Brown. Back then, I didn't really enjoyed the play. I mean I am a true Peanuts fan, I have the books and merchandise but my young mind can not appreciate these humans trying to be my beloved comics characters.  I basically enjoyed the cartoon special of the play much better which still included the songs from the musical.  But that was the old version, the one I saw in my youth was the 1967 off Broadway version.  I am glad that the one we saw is the 1999 Broadway revival version which includes the two great additional songs "My New Philosophy" and "Beethoven Day" where Kristin Chenoweth  had her Tony Award winning performance.

The play was very enjoyable both for somebody who have seen it before and for my daughter who is just beginning to appreciate Peanuts.  Never mind that the actor that played Charlie Brown - Robbie Guevara is already in his 40's (Charlie Brown really is a candidate for male pattern baldness anyway) but you have a stage full of talent right there that nobody can probably pull it off better with. Veterans like Franco Laurel (as Linus), Carla Guevara-Laforteza (Lucy), Sweet Plantado (Sally), Tonipet Gaba (Shroeder) and Lorenz Martinez (Snoopy).   Trivia: on the 1980's version by Repertory Phils, Snoopy was played by Bernardo Bernardo.

For me the revelation of the night is Tonipet Gaba - I have't seen him onstage prior to this play and I usually see him on TV doing children's shows like Art Angel, but boy can this guy sing!  I somehow notice though that the style and execution is a "faithful reproduction of the original' 1999 play (sorry, I have been watching too many Senate impeachment hearings.)  There are times that I close my eyes during the play and I can visualize Kristin Chenoweth performing there based on the videos I saw on Youtube.

But that didn't diminish the fact that this a good material to work on with great songs and overflowing with feel good moments particularly the song Happiness. Sounds familiar? Here's a few verses of the song to refresh your memory:

Happiness is morning and evening,

Daytime and night time too.

For happiness is anyone and anything at all

That’s loved by you.

Yes, it's that song.  it is probably the most famous of all Peanuts songs and has become a staple of kids audition pieces :)

I recommend for you to watch You're a Good Man Charlie Brown it runs every Saturday and Sunday until March 3 at the Carlos P Romulo Auditorium RCBC Plaza in Makati City.

Bring you kids they would love it, if you have none then bring the kid within you.

Jollibee buys into regional restaurant chain

Jollibee's global expansion is fever pitch with the inclusion of a 50% stake of SuperFoods Group SuperFoods Group owns and operates Highlands Coffee Shops in Vietnam, Highland Coffee Packaged Products and Hard Rock Café franchised stores in Macau, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.

Read the attached article from the Philippine Daily inquirer Jollibee buys into regional restaurant chain

US DOJ files antitrust suit against AT&T, T-Mobile merger

 

DOJ files antitrust suit against AT&T, T-Mobile merger - Aug. 31, 2011

In other business news, the US Justice Dept filed an antitrust lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block AT&T's $39 billion merger with T-Mobile.  This mega-deal seeks to create the largest Telco in the US.


So why am I interested in this bit of news?  I don't know this AT&T T Mobile deal sounds awfully familiar.


http://ph.news.yahoo.com/pldt-buy-51-5-percent-sun-cellular-operator-20110328-235500-902.html

 

Ah right, it sounds like that PLDT and Sun Cellular deal that is still being reviewed by the government.  The US decision would create a big argument in favor of Globe Telecom who is also seeking to block the PHL version of the mega-deal.  What does this mean for the average consumer?  It is the end of competition and as what the government fears is the start of another monopoly. 

Taking Your Kids To The Movies? Watch Out!

WARNING: This blog entry is rated PG-13 for explicit language and videos containing adult themes/humor.

So you bring your kid to watch a movie.  You checked the ratings and it's rated G.  So you know it's safe, right? While you believe that the movie may be age appropriate (save for some jokes that only the adults can actually get the "true" meaning) you only get to realize that there might be a few not too kid friendly scenes even when the actual movie has't started yet.  Yes, be weary of those PG RATED TRAILERS!

Case in point, today we watched the movie The Smurfs which is based on the cartoon characters created  by  the Belgian cartoonist Peyo.  We grew up watching the cartoon series featuring the little blue creatures and the movie is actually one of those that I have been anxiously waiting to be released ever since the trailer went out last year.  The trailer for The Smurfs always pops out from every G rated movie that came out recently so it is expected that you would have a bunch of kids watching the movie.  So why the hell would trailers for these two movies be shown to prelude The Smurfs takes out any logical explanation I could think of except that the movie operator is a complete asshole.


Bad Teacher - there are a lot of adult themed scenes and humor. Cameron Diaz's hotness is not an excuse.


Horrible Bosses, ok so Jeniffer Aniston is rally sexy in this movie but even her first scene in the trailer makes me want to grab my kid and run out of the theater.  By the way, loved the Prius joke.

So you see that sign at the beginning of the trailer?  It says that the trailers are approved for "appropriate audiences."   It means that they are appropriate for the audience of the movie being shown and not a clearance for the movie theater to show the trailer to all movies being shown.  And guest what? Both Bad Teacher and Horrible Bosses are rated R (like the middle letter in the word "MORON" which is the best description I could give to those who thought of showing these trailer on a G rated movie.)

So what to do when this happens to you? Here is my take on it

1. Don't over react by trying to censor the material yourself.  Covering the kid's eyes and/or ears would only create the exact opposite of what you wanted to achieve as doing so would only make the kid more curious about the topic.  It would be best to hold the kid's hand and try to explain that the violent scene is bad and should not be imitated.  For adult humor and scenes featuring sex and/or nudity , I leave that to the discretion of the parents on how to handle it but I do caution about tagging sex as "bad" or "dirty."  Trust me, you would have a harder time later talking to your kid about sex if you portray sex that way.
2. To be safe, come inside the movie house only a few minutes before the actual start. This way you somehow lessen the possibility of watching an inappropriate trailer.  The actual start time is posted on your ticket and in the ticket booth, so you won't miss it.  These time schedules are normally accurate.  Use the extra time to take a leak or buy some popcorn.  Do this so that you also don't end up doing those things in the middle of the movie and probably ruin the movie not just for yourself but also for the guys sitting behind you or those in your row that you need to pass through in order to get out.
3. Don't take the incident passively.  As responsible parents we should try to get the authorities or the movie house administration's attention regarding the content of the trailers being shown to G rated movies and try ensure that only age appropriate materials are shown in cinemas.

As for me, right now I am looking for ways to contact Cash and Carry Cinema so that I can tell them to f___ themselves...

I mean, to find themselves a good movie theater administrator so that he can screen the content of trailers prior to them being shown.

Relax!  Watch a movie.

FB Scam Alert! Don't click on that post about the woman who had an orgasm on a roller coaster

Lately, I have seen a couple of posts on my wall saying that a (male) friend of mine liked/commented on a video showing a woman having an orgasm on a roller coaster.  If you see it, don't click on it!  According to spotnblog.com this link is actually a survey scam. See the full article on this page http://www.spotnblog.com/facebook-scam-this-woman-has-a-orgasm-on-a-roller-coaster-lol-mylikespage-com/

However, if you were intrigued by the picture of the woman on the link then put that itchy finger to rest.  I present to you below the actual YouTube link where the scammers used the screen grab to lure you to their site.



OK, now that your curiosity was answered stop clicking that link and spread my blog instead :)

Liking this blog and clicking on any ad is highly appreciated.

May 22, 2011: The Day After The World Was Supposed To Come To An End

Good News! You are still alive, the rapture didn't come and earth is still intact.
The bad news is that you still need to pay that loan, you still need to go to work on Monday and yes, the LA Lakers is still eliminated from the NBA Western Conference.

I now pity those who followed Camping blindly in believing that the world would end on May 21st. Some have really put their life savings on that singular belief made by a false prophet. But I am even more ashamed that our local media made a big fuzz out of it (with ABS-CBN even presenting a special report on it.) Yes it does attract attention but for crying out loud what makes them now different from the outrageous tabloid papers?

I am no bible scholar but I believe that no one knows when the end of the world would be. My idea of a rapture is ones own death. That is the time that you meet God. And I think we missed the whole point of the rapture, it is to prepare yourself for the time you meet God and face your final judgement. Lesson learned: Do good in everything that you do in your daily life for no one knows the time nor place when you would have your own personal rapture.

Now excuse me as I play REM's song It's the end of the world as we know it. Yup and I feel fine.