Memento - A Picture Tells A Thousand Words

Pinoy Weekend

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Halo Halo Halo

Pinoy Stash : VCDs, Magazines and CDs

Spaghetti Ala Pinoy

Pinoy Living In Canada
Toronto, Canada

"Have a sense of pride in your motherland. Just as your mother has given birth to you, so too the land has given birth to you."-Sri Sathya Sai Baba

"The hottest ~~day~~ week of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large , square houses of ~~Privet~~ Ponytrail Drive..."

So we decided to drop by our favorite Pinoy mart to get ingredients for our halo halo. It wasn't surprising that the ingredients we wanted (except for Pinipig and Leche Flan) were there. Ok, not all.

Upon reaching the apartment, we popped in "Blue Moon" and got a wee-bit of a surprise with the Palanca-award screenplay. We gave the Director a second chance as another Metro Manila Filmfest VCD, "Ako Legal Wife" saw a 20-minute exposure in our DVD player before it was thrown out of our 16th floor apartment window. Besides, we also liked Lamangan's previous period film "Aishte Imasu".

Ok, when we were watching the VCD, my expectations were high knowing that one, this was a Palanca and a Metro Filmfest Best Picture awardee, two, Eddie Garcia and Christopher De Leon were top billing and three, I didnt want the Php 290 that I paid for and the flight of the disc from Manila to LA to Toronto wasted.

To cut the long story short, it was. I mean, it wasnt a long story, it was a good story. But it was - wasted. Ok partly-wasted.

Let me tell you why. One, the sound engineering was just too much. Oft-played and off played during scenes which didnt need any sappy background rendition of the "Blue Moon" instrumental. The CGI was trying hard and the script, the script, why was it interspersed with so much English lines? I was hoping to watch a Tagalog film with at least 90% in Tagalog, but hey, I even heard Kyle Pineda, the character, Dennis Trillo played (you gotta love this guy, he was great in "Aishte Imasu" but better here with his natural acting) exclaim upon being asked how he was - "I'm good"....wow.

There was no problem having English lines in the script, its just that some characters seem so unnatural reciting them. I literally mean reciting - as if really read from an idiot board. It was contrived and unbelievable.

But overall, I only say partly wasted, because we loved the whole plot and how 3 generations stuck in a road trip had a multitude of stories and emotions to share. Plus, just like the 2nd VCD we popped in - "Close To You", topbilling Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz, introducing Sam Milby, they were showcasing a lot of Philippine provinces and scenes in the movies.

This was a brilliant idea that has finally saw its light. Finally, other than Karaoke VCDs, we were able to see Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, the Lion of Bagiuo, there was Mayon Volcano in Albay and of course a lot of Laguna where the first movie's plot surrounded. The other VCD had Negros, Davao and Bohol. Oh the tarsiers were cute. No wonder, Prince Charles almost took them home to England. Of course, he didnt.

It was a Pinoy weekend that we couldnt end without cooking Pinoy Spaghetti from memory. For non-Pinoy readers, that is indeed Hotdog and you wouldnt see it - but it is spaghetti with a dash of sugar :) And if you want the exact sweetness, there's also the sweet-style Spaghetti Sauce. (Click here for the recipe) yummmm...brings me back, not just to the Philippines, but to childhood birthday parties...

So, if you ask me, how am I..with the halo halo, the pinoy vcd and the spaghetti, I'd say - "I'm good!"

******

Oh, the opening line was an inspiration from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, showing July 2007. Besides, it was really the hottest week of Summer.

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