The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy Bill Simmons

My copy of Bill Simmon's in depth take and wacky perspective of the NBA finally arrived yesterday. The Book of Basketball The NBA According to The Sports Guy is one thick sanamagan. After reading the book, ill use this as TV Rack.

List price is 30USD but last December I bought this on sale from Amazon.com for about 24$ including shipping. The ship duration is about 3 weeks.

I've gone thru some pages (intro, the Isiah Thomas chapter, the Bill - Wilt debate chapter) and the read is entertaining and very promising. This is unprecedented. This could be the first time that I'll read a book cover to cover. I'll review my sched, maybe sometime soon I'll make book review of this NBA review. So that, you can review my review of this NBA review.

But, I'm not great at reviewing a book (in fact I am not great at anything) so I might as well L.E.N.D. this book to one L.U.C.K.Y. colleague at HOOPS.BLINK.PH (the gasping for air Philippine Basketball Blog) and let them read and review this.

Fukuya Japanese Restaurant

A meal set for 3 will hover around P400.00. Not bad really. For reference, Fukuya Jap Resto is a little better than Karate Kid. Just a little. We ordered 3 difrent value meals. Among the three, the GYOZA VM is the best and is recommended.
The GYOZA meal... includes the GYOZA, the tasty rice mix (veggies & meat chunks) and a side veggie coleslaw.

Costing around P100 for the GYOZA meal, P35 for an iced tea and another 30.00 for a soup (misu), an order of P160 per person is OK. Tasted good too.

3 valuemeals, 3 Stars!

KFC Italian Roma Rice Bowl

A long long long time ago, I was disgusted with KFC's Cheezy Meltz. Look who's back at Kentucky for another go around of their meal. Ako yun.

Yung kumare nyo kasi mahilig sa spicy chicken meal at sa gravy ng KFC. Kaya no choice, I frequent Kentucky a lot.

This time, I again tried another one of their "commercialized" rice bowl. I went to Italy, I mean, I ordered the ITALIAN ROMA and considering the price... this time, I rate this three-over-six OK.

(I wonder how one food Italian food connoisseur would react to this so-called "italian" meal.)

And himala, the chicken is meatier/bigger than expected and the fried eggplant is fresh. The rice is thicker compared to a regular order of chicken meal. Also, the sauce tastes different this time, perhaps the addition of white sour cream did the trick. To add, the meal is not ugly to look at. That adds to the value.

Speaking of value, tab is P110.00 with large Iced Tea.

Again, this meal OK. Maiba naman..

Sonya's Chicken

A birthday celeb called for another visit to Sonya's Garden. Ms. Sonya, or as I would like to refer to her, Tita Sonya (para parang close), usually gives presents if there are special occasions. Like birthdays, anniversaries, circumcisions, etc.

She usually gives cakes, cookies, sometimes even flowers, after all, it's a garden.

Anyways, last trip we had was different, she gave us a whopping double set of (what I think to be) braised full chicken. I repeat, 2 full chickens. Even for a party of 12, that's a lot.

For that, I'd rate the chicken, 5 stars!!!

Remember, dining at Sonya's Garden is eat all you can handle... consume 'til you pay the cr a visit... therefore, by the time the birthday chickens landed on our table, we were 90% full. No more space for meal.

At Sonya's, it's eat all you can but take home is no-no. Still, we tried, sayang ang manok! Thus, we asked the floor manager if it can be taken home, the floor manager says yes. But later, after she popped out of the kitchen, she said, di pala pede.

Ok lang naman. Pero still, I'd rate the inconsistency, 2 stars. =)

So averaging, the chickens are rated 3.5 stars!!!

I wonder where they put such leftovers? tapon? sayang naman....

Bride Wars

A "couples" comedy movie. Yep, for the hubbies and the wives, honeys and hugs, Brando & Tobert...

How do I rate it? Let's just say, if tickets are free / complementary tickets, I'll watch this. If not, I will not dole P300 to see this film.

And since, again, we got free tickets, we watched it at SM Cinema.

This one is for the ladies (and those who want to be ladies). Lot's of chit chats... lots of fashion... a wedding movie... a movie about frienship... this is your kind of movie I am sure.

It's along the lines of the Sex in the CIty the movie. Only, Sex in the CIty is wittier.

For me, it is passable chic movie pag free ang tickets and only 2 stars if not complementary tickets.

The upstaging tactics that Emma (Anna) and Liv (Kate) did to each other is the source of comical scenes. (SPOILER ALERT) I just felt that the catfight near the end isn't necessary and Emma's change of feelings (or lack thereof) towards Fletcher was so sudden. There could have been a better ending or better scenes that lead to that ending. Anyhows, this is my take, see for yourself. Take your partner of BFF with you.

And oh by the way, I am not gay. =)

Opening Benjamin Button

We had free tickets to watch new movie over at Glorietta last week. (Eh kami, basta libre passes and tickets, we watch new films and go to events. Pag wala free tickets, we get the next best option, wait for the ADVANCED COPY and watch the movie at home. Hello OMB!)

(ASIDE... Hasus... dapat gumawa na din kami ng HINDI LAHAT NG MAY CAMERA AY PIRATA! Hindi pa din pinapasok ang camera namin ng Ayala guards in fear of PIRACY of/by the OMB and moviehouses, etc.)


The choice that night: The Day The Earth Stood Still OR Benjamin Button. Because Button was on THX Cinema, that's the movie we picked.

Story is new, well sort of. Mel Gibson had Forever Young. This is Brad Pitt's version of parallel story line but this one going a little bit farther (and creepier).

Story goes... because of some clock curse, during the time Banjamin Button was born, he was born old. Some 80-ish. Then as he lived his 80 years or so, he went the other way around, he grew younger. That's where the story revolves, funny scenes came about, etc.

This is another Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt team up. (The other film is BABEL which is, btw, better than B.Button)

I'd rate this 3 of 5. Negatives... long play time (we went home 1.30am from a LFS), a lot of dragging scenes, unnessary parts, some long dialogue. Still, it's above average because Brad Pitt stars, sort of new story, funny scenes and malupit ang make up artists or CG effecs that made Cate and Brad look older and younger as the scenes require. (Pero mas nakatipid sana sa production cost if they hired Robert Redford to play the old Brad Pitt.)

RATING: Pwede na.

...This is Mario Hernardo... No Stars!\

Seven Pounds Is A Heavyweight

Watched Seven Pounds last night and a note of "FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION" continuously popped out ("advanced" clear copy kasi). The copy I guess is for screening purposes.

Ok, "Seven Pounds" has been considered.

And I like it.

A quick note... if you intend to watch this film, better not to to google the film and get the story. You should be clueless about the story line for better viewing.

The last Will Smith flicks are all good, "Hancock", "I Am Legend" and the one where he played as the matchmaker or love guru, "Hitch." And this Seven Pounds film tops all his recent films. IMHO. The story is awfully morbid and little hard to accept. Even if your drill sergeant or a cold blodeded assasin, you'll choke, tear up and crack with some of the emotions of the characters and some scenes.

This is part drama part love story and with some witty comedies/lines here and
there.

Some don't like (the critique, the "experts" and the conservatives) , well, we do. It is recommended. But I rather leave out the story in this post.

But if you're persistent to find what "Ben Thomas" (Will SMith) is up to, check the Seven Pounds entry over at Wikipedia. There, you get to know why the hell, it's titled Seven Pounds.

This is the closest I get t be as an spoiler...

Top 7 scenes from the movie Seven Pounds:

1. Ben phone call to Ezra (the blind man)
2. Ben presented Emily the fixed printing machine.
3. The love scene.
4. The "Crash" Dont text and drive poeple!
5. The bath tub "killer" scene
6. The "fields" date
7. The 7PM dinner

Nokia E71

Not really a Nokia handset fan (I had Motorola in the early years of chunky mobile phones, shortly switch to Nokia 5110 & 3210 combo in the Nokia boom coz its the uso phones, then i got the silver Samsung, finally, I used the Palm Treos the past years) but now back to Nokia I am.

Turns out, this E71 is the baby that would get me back to Nokia.

Nokia E71 was released mid year 2008 and this is truly one of the best smartphones in the universe. If not the best valued. Here's what I love about this phone...

• QWERTY! I am telling you, basta nag-querty ka na, it's so hard to get back at composing messages if your mobile phone is non-qwerty. Qwerty means like you type the words like you do on a computer. No need to press that friggin key number "7" just to get to type letter "S". The qwerty keypad alone makes this phone a must-buy.
  
• WiFi - This thing detects Wi-Fi connection far better than my laptop. It sniffs 2 routers in my neighborhood that my laptop can't see. The Wi-Fi sniffer is so strong I think Nokia E71 can detect the presence of spirits and ghosts. If you have humongous laptop, this might be a good phone for you. On meetings, bring this instead of your 15-incher and up laptops.
  
• Connectivity - This is the mother of all connectivity phones. All the network and connectivity are in this phone. All the codes/abbreviation are here (2g - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900;3G Network - HSDPA 2100 / 900 HSDPA 850 / 1900 - US version; Bluetooth, EDGE, the never-dying infra-redWiFi, GPS receiver, Micro USB, ). Kulang na lang, UNICEF, UNESCO, MILF, etc etc.
  
• Camera - The camera is 3.2 megapixels with an overkill options. (I'll blog about the camera function and sample pics sometime in the future.) Because this is primarily marketed as business phone more than anything, it is worth mentioning that, there is a secondary front camera for video calls.
• Quick Office Apps - Have not really tested this as of now but this is important to mention. On the go, user can make and view Word Docs, Excel Files, Powerpoint presentations
  
• Media - As with all new mobiles phones, this baby can view/play all the tunes, the presentations, the video clips (scandals included), the image files, etc. There is bundled earphone set and the built-in output speaker is loud enough to even enjoy multimedia experience. IT HAS FM RADIO TOO! And the FM signal/reception is good.
  
• The Looks - Check the pics. It's the first smartphone/pda phone that combines all the specs with the look to crave for. I got the silver-black (called Grey Steel) one and it's really one hell-sleeky phone. Super nipis man, it's like you're wearing, err, carrying nothing at all.
• Expandable - New generation phones are all expandable but have to mention this still. Having 2GB microSD (transflash) storage is handy. Storing a gig of music is now possible with room to spare for apps and photos. Nice.
• OTHERS - Fairly good prices considering the looks and what it can do; It has voice reader that allows you to listen to the text/SMS sent. You'd get good laughs out of this as the phone tries to read pinoy TXT-speak; Double modes function - You can switch your phone modes to personal or business (or to whatever profile you choose to it be named.)
  

I only got this thing for a week so I can't really put in the blow by blow review. But from the looks of it, physical and not physical, this phone is a winner.

Rating: 23 stars! (one star for every P1000 spent!)



Full specs here.

• 2G Network - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• 3G Network - HSDPA 2100 / 900 HSDPA 850 / 1900 - US version
  
• Dimensions - 114 x 57 x 10 mm, 66 cc
• Weight - 127 g
• Display Type - TFT, 16M colors, 320 x 240 pixels, 2.36 inches
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Five-way scroll key
• Ringtones Type - Polyphonic, Monophonic, MP3, True Tones
• Vibration - Yes
• Memory Phonebook - Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
• Call records - Detailed, max 30 days
• Card slot - microSD (TransFlash), up to 8GB, hotswap
• Buy memory - 110 MB internal memory, 128 MB SDRAM Memory ARM 11 369 MHz processor
• EDGE - Class 32, 296 kbps
• 3G - HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps
• WLAN - Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth - Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
• Infrared
• USB - v2.0 microUSB
• OS - Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI
• Messaging - SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
• Browser - WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
• Colors White Steel, Grey Steel
• Camera - 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(QVGA@15fps), flash; secondary videocall camera
• Built-in GPS receiver
• A-GPS function
• Java MIDP 2.0
• MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player
• Office applications
• FM radio
• Push to talk
• Voice command/dial
• PIM including calendar, to-do list and printing
• Built-in handsfree
• Battery - Standard battery, Li-Po 1500 mAh (BP-4L), Stand-by - Up to 410 h, Talk time - Up to 10 h 30 min

Departing Dicaprio

Mamamia, a film made in 2006, highly acclaimed (Oscar Best Picture 2007, but not Scorsese's best job), all-star cast…

…and I only saw last night. Err, the bloodshed ended past 1 a.m. That's how busy it has been these past months.

I am a fan of Dicaprio (not because of his teeny-titanic-movie but maybe because I get to see bits of Robert Deniro in him. Leonardo is a big fan of De Niro and it's no secret that he imitates Bobby D style) but his effort to become a toughie in The Departed fell short.

Three scenes stuck:

(1) He had this meeting/argument with Martin Sheen (Capt. Oliver Queenan) and Mark Wahlberg (Sean Dignam), the two were having a scuffle and Sheen was in the middle, Leonardo (William 'Billy' Costigan Jr.) had this fuckin grade school fighting stance. Comical. Check it out. Freeze the scene.

(2) At the rooftop scene when Leonardo DiCaprio held Matt Damon - Colin Sullivan (of the Bourne Identity series), it was like Brokeback Mountain all over again. He held Matt Damon like he's a lover. So soft man, so soft.


(3) After Leonardo Dicaprio was insulted with the "is it your period?" comment inside the bar (after ordering Cranberry Juice), he again had another awkward fighting stance, like drunken master type of position. His role was an academy graduate, I don't know where the hell he got that stance. Police school don’t teach hideous fight posture.

Among the leading players, Leonardo Dicaprio was the weak link in this film. Casting should have considered someone else for the role. Brad Pitt (the film producer) perfectly fits this role. Even the rapper turned quality actor Mark Wahlberg did better. Nice film still though. A lot of F-bombs in this film, a lot brain splashing too. My kind of film. Mob film. Gangster film. Mafia film. I like.

Thanks for reading my film review, sorry it came late. Just about a year late. Tune in next time, I'll review "Gone in the wind."

Seriously, I will play “Blood Diamond” right about now and see if Leonardo Dicaprio just had an off-night in “The Departed.”

Photo from Wiki too.