When I'm Bored, I Drink

So obviously I've been drinking a lot lately.

Don't worry, I'm not an alcoholic yet. The German beer I've been mooching off of my dad is just that good. Seriously, if you ever get your hands on a Kapuziner, go for it. It's the one beer I've had that tastes better as it gets warmer.

So what else am I doing?

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(Nagbalik ang mga asterisk...) Anyway, I just finished reading a superb book called The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters.



If you like your fiction steeped in Victorian-era-shooting-jumping-across-roofs-repressed-erotica-behind-closed-doors-freaky-alchemical-shit, go for it. The book starts off normally enough, and then gets weird within the span of ten pages. And you're never sure what genre the book is aiming for, historical suspense, fantasy, whatever, until you're well into it, which was a plus for me. I quite enjoyed it. See more here.

The author seems to be a bit of a nut though. Methinks he should stick to writing, which is a much more credible field than positing conspiracy theories.

Of course, this now means my literary tastes have shifted once again. I think I was back in serious SF territory just before this book. Now I'm looking for more gothic supernatural fiction. My next project is The Looking Glass Wars, which I came across on (where else) Wikipedia. Hopefully it'll be just as bizarre as the one I just finished (especially since the sequel to The Glass Books is coming out in January 2009 pa. Piss-off talaga).

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Meanwhile, Wikipedia's been taking up a lot of my time. I think I've officially run out of things to look up on it. How sad.

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Living in Iligan, where, if you don't have cable you only get channel 2 and channel 7, has only increased my fascination with local TV shows. Fuck all that elitist shit about Western shows being more intelligent and edgy and socially-relevant. We all like junk food and your local telenovelas are the TV equivalent of that.

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I've been watching a lot of (gasp!) Iisa Pa Lamang of late. Man, I love our brand of cackling villainy (I'm looking at you Cherry Pie and Angelica). Angelica's acting and lines are so over-the-top and cheesy so as to be incredibly entertaining. What was her latest? Oh yes: "Kung miserable ako, damay-damay tayong lahat!" I love it! She's the sort of fabulously over-the-top baddie that I'm sure is attracting a massive gay fanbase as we speak. Of course, it helps that she's always in skimpy wear. I'm now very aware that a child star she no longer is (and I appreciate this very much). More scenes with her top falling off I say!

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I Love Betty La Fea, on the other hand, is wearing thin a bit. I liked it initially but it seems to be getting a bit formulaic. Betty goes to work, gets made fun of, has a pretty co-worker screw her over, gets yelled at by one of her pretty superiors, then manages to win somehow by the end of the episode. There seems to be no progression to the story. Obviously, comedy isn't channel 2's forte. And the one-dimensional cackling villains are not on par with their Iisa Pa Lamang counterparts. Ruffa and Wendy are getting really boring and annoying, I must say. That black guy playing the gay fashion director or whatever is still amusing though. I'm sure that's why he's there, to provide an over-the-top comic relief buffer for when everyone else gets boring.

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Seriously, you can see Ruffa's painful attempts to knock off Wilhemina from Ugly Betty and Miranda from The Devil Wears Prada. She even has a signature line a la Miranda's "That's all": "Now go!" Of course, Ruffa delivers it with far less style and punch than Meryll Streep. Tsk tsk.

Although she was an inspired casting choice though. She's very believable as a bitchy, superficial drama queen. After the entire nation being subjected to the public unfolding of her sordid family life, methinks this character is very close to her real-life persona. Maybe it's not so much acting for her as it is just being herself hehe.

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Seriously, I have no idea why the Gutierrezes have so many projects. Neither her nor her brother can act, honestly. Have you seen Richard? He's the same character in all his shows, just with a different premise for the special effects. If just being good-looking was reason enough to give people roles on TV, we should have lots more pretty young things clogging our sets. Though I suppose it has something to do with their taklesa mother who's prepared to shout down anyone who even breathes a wrong word about her kids. Histrionics palengkera-style! Honestly, can she hear herself when she's talking all that shit during interviews? I think the last bizarre interview of her I saw was when she was raising shit about Dingdong Dantes getting more attention at some underwear show while her son didn't get a proper AVP daw. Simple lang 'yan mare: Mas sikat si Dingdong sa anak mo ngayon. So why should he not get more attention than Richard? It's simple business.

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Man. Obviously, I've been watching too much TV hehe. I need to get work, if only to keep me from getting fat from sitting in front of the TV drinking beer all day.