Zayn Malik leaves One Direction

So One Direction has one member leaving. I learned about it when a classmate from high school on her Facebook status read "This is insane!" with a link that has Zayn Malik leaving 1D (One Direction).

Since the rather ridiculous pronouncement of fans in tears and the big fanfare on media, I was able to finally know the boy group that I only know because of their popularity with mostly young girls.

Because of this, Zayn Malik is a name I now know; and the rest, I at least know by their first names. The reason he left, he wanted to have a life. Good for him. I am baffled myself by the devotion and reaction of these kids.

Selecta Moo x Adventure Time

It was a typical day at the supermarket. I was about to grab a couple of cartons of milk, when girlfriend gushed at the sight of Selecta Moo's package with Jake of Adventure time.

We loved the show. We're crazy about it. If only they have more episodes shown on Cartoon Network, we could watch it over and over again.

As I was grabbing one, it was replaced by Finn. Who would choose Finn over Jake? She did. Finn looked sad, she said.

Selecta Moo has smaller snack sizes, too.

Dear HERO TV

I love anime. I grew up with it, and there was a time I badly wanted to be an animator, but I guess I am not talented enough.

There is an art in anime that very few people can copy. The storyline that accompanies them are often complex or hilarious and even both.

I take my anime-viewing very seriously. I've seen a lot, both dubbed in English or Filipino, and the subtitled. I love them.

My biggest complaint are the voices. We hear very few voices. It seems you have few people in your roster. Some change their voices to be older, pitchy or deeper, some change their intonation, which is good; but I don't think they are doing a good job at it.

People can tell that when one person is talking to himself. It's funny and frustrating.

We hear the same voices almost in every show. I don't think creating an identifiable voice for individual characters is a priority for you. Please do. There is a reason why We still remember Eugene's voice from Ghostfighter before.

Secondly, I hope you refrain from using overly used language or taglish. We think it's lazy. Look up a Filipino dictionary or get someone to polish the dialogue.

We appreciate you getting interesting shows, but it would even be better if the audience get a better viewing experience.

Your viewers love anime, and we think we deserve better. You know there are other means to watch anime elsewhere, please help us patronize your shows.

TV Today

I am awfully lazy. I am unemployed for now, and I still haven't received calls from my applications. So I watch TV more than I should.

I don't watch too much TV before, but I now have time to waste on shows like The Apartment and even Survivor. The last time I followed Survivor was like eight years ago, when there were still contestants who have moral issues about manipulation. There is none of that anymore.

Empire was a breath of fresh air. It's quite popular. It's an exciting story of a dysfunctional and twisted family.  Every episode hooks you up, getting more complicated week after week.

The two-hour season finale built up quickly with more twists, with an expected cliffhanger ending. I know it would be picked up for another season, but I was hoping for some resolution to at least half of the conflicts there. Instead, we have twice more in just one episode.

It could be tiring.

Speaking of tiring, The Americans is another show I follow. It is slow and somber like it's intended to be. You'll be surprised by how many developments happened after an hour.

It's hypnotic sometimes. Half of the time though, my mind wanders off and when I get back, they have a terrorist being burned alive.

Then I move to  Homeland, which I have not seen since season one. Despite that, I followed the story. And when I tuned in, Claire Danes is seducing the poor boy from Life of Pi!

Darn. I should pick up a hobby.

D&G and the Attack on Modern Family

D&G, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, are in hot water after some controversial statements on gay families and IVF babies. Dolce and Gabbana are gay and were a former couple, so people were surprised of the unsupportive comment against gay families or modern ways of having children. Words used were a bit harsh: "synthetic babies," "rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalog," and

Comments can be disastrous. John Galliano is still remembered for his anti-Jewish comments in Paris, and still suffers from it today. He seems to have repented, but D&G seems to be firm about it.

I was watching CNN earlier and saw a short interview.

"Every people [has] freedom for choosing what they want. This for me is democracy. I respect you because you choose what you want. I respect me because I choose what I want... This just my point of private view,"

That is a valid point, methinks. And the Internet is angry. I learned about it from Courtney Love. She's going to burn some clothes. Elton John started a boycott campaign. He was offended, stating, "How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'syntethic'."

Burger King Fragrance

We've encountered some interesting scents, but Burger King, for a limited time only, is among those right up there with their Whopper scent.

Yes, a fragrance in a nice glass bottle that would make you smell like a burger. Imagine the smell while passing by a Burger King in a mall, that nice beefy smell of cheesy grilled burger. Imagine it all over your body. The Whopper, nice and juicy, it will make you yummy.

Probably not.

Still, if you want to literally smell like a beefcake, it's only available in Japan for a limited time. Either you fly over there on April 1 or ask somebody you know. 

As weird as it is, I want it.

The Rise of the Smartwatch

The most anticipated wearable gadget of geekdom, the Apple Watch, is coming out soon. It will most likely big. With the success of the Pebble watch, being the most successful funding campaign in Kickstarter of all time, it is safe to say smartwatches will be big.

Slated  for an April 24 release date, people are curious. Surely, people  are reserving their watches. It comes in different specialized functions, prices and sizes, costing between USD 350 to USD 10,000, if you choose the ones with the 18K gold case.

We definitely can see its conveniences, like not going through your phone when you're in a hurry, and there will surely be apps to track our health and fitness. But would it be necessary.

I might pick  a smartwatch when the time comes that it is unavoidable, when the world deems it necessary to go through life with smartwatches. It is kind of scary. Maybe it's from watching too many sci-fi thrillers.

But do we need it now? Are watches doomed to be mere pretty accessories, obsolete and unimportant. And how will it affect watch makers around the world who have crafted fine time pieces for centuries? 

The Apple watch is still expensive, but so are luxury brand watches that does very little but tell time. If I get an Apple watch, I will probably wear it every day to maximize cost per wear; and if that happens, there's no turning back after starting that kind of lifestyle.

And is it going to be a good investment, to buy a watch that, like most gadgets, go outdated in a couple of years. Good quality watches stand the test of time, you could even pass it on to kids. Smartwatches will unlikely be that. Technology zooms in and out.

And why should you buy a smartphone with an 18K gold case that you would only use for a couple of years?

The Apple Watch, I want to like it, but I can't. I am curious too, but I have no intention to own it yet.

 Unless someone gifts me.

Cinderella Movie Review 2015

The new Cinderella movie had high expectations to meet. The story by Charles Perrault was well-loved, and the 1950 animated Disney film was a classic.

For me, the bar was raised by the grounded 90s Drew Barrymore movie, Ever After, that had no magic but they had Leonardo DaVinci instead — and Angelica Houston as the wicked stepmother. It is non-Disney, so we were able to detach the cartoon from this one.

Disney's new Cinderella movie, directed by Kenneth Branagh, was spellbinding. It drew the right balance of taking enough elements from the animated film and make it more relatable with new back stories.

We all know the story and anything else I say, or changes in the story, would be a spoiler. So let us just comment on some observations.

Cinderella (Lily James), for example, was self-consciously kind, simply because she was raised that way, unlike how fairy tale princesses tend to be naturally and nauseatingly perfect.

The Prince (actor James Madden) has a name here. He's called Kit, and he's no longer an accessory. He does more here than just be charming.

Would it be weird, if I want to own that green jacket?

Love at first sight in the ball was not favored and writers opted for love in the woods (like Sleeping Beauty minus the singing) and falling again more in love a second time in the ball. It's fast but is an improvement, is it not?

And probably, the most anticipated character is Cate Blanchett's take on the evil stepmother. She's got a name but we like calling her evil stepmother. She made the character so bad, we hate her, and a lot more complex that you wonder how she came to be. Wisely enough, they did not dwell on that too much.

I find shades of her character from the movie Blue Jasmine, only more evil.

Helena Bonham Carter appeared very briefly as the Fairy Godmother. She's still eccentric and pasty white, but it's refreshing to see her in that light apart from her Tim Burton stuff. 

I loved the movie. I thought it may get too dark for children (after watching other modern renditions going that route), but it is child-friendly. Many parents everywhere may find their daughters twirling in front of the mirror in their dresses. My girlfriend might be among them. She was emotional and giddy through most part of the film. 

That is a good thing, isn't it?

NOTES:

• We love it when Kenneth Branagh directs period and/or fantasy films. There is fancy and whimsy in it. His Thor movie had less action but had more magic in it in his helm. That element was gone in the sequel when he was no longer involved.
• Haley Atwell (Agent Carter) is Cinderella's mother, and she was enchanting. While daughter was humanly kind, this mother was more perfect.
• The costumes were amazing, There were criticisms about the blue gown. James wore a corset, they say. Her waist looked too narrow, and it must have been difficult to dance with that much layer of cloth. It's very beautiful, though.
• The shoes were made of Swarovski crystals. They altered the shoes digitally when worn. The shoes would make a beautiful centerpiece on a table somewhere.
• The posters and trailers did not give justice to Lily James. She's very gorgeous.
• Richard Madden has got swagger to pull off such tight white pants I wish I could, too. But really now.  I liked the the jackets a lot. Maybe I'll cut off the tail, and I'd wear it to work.

Corset, impossible layers and push-up bra, it looks great. Lily James is gorgeous.

Great conversation piece idea.

How anyone could pull off white tights like that is beyond me.

Zoolander in Valentino

The Internet was abuzz when Ben Stiller walked Paris Fashion Week as Derek Zoolander, the eponymous model he portrayed more than a decade ago, along with Owen Wilson who channeled Hansel, Zoolander's rival.

It was such exciting news. It overshadowed the actual show, which was really beautiful by the way. It's magnificent and everything looked really expensive. 

I could imagine people palpitating in awe at the beautiful clothes, then on to a climax with the surprise appearance of Zoolander and Hansel.

People stood up, the Internet was sharing images and videos, announcing the upcoming movie. Zoolander was a ridiculously silly but highly amusing  struggle of a male model. It was satirical, and I think the industry understood how ridiculous it can get sometimes.

How they will  pull it off, we don't know. It was about an aging model, now Zoolander should be really old, way too old by what I understand of the modeling industry. The first movie was in 2001. Maybe they should write about the changes in the industry, the death of the old greats and the rise of the hordes of silly fashion bloggers. 

First

Unemployment does not agree with me. While it was fun in the beginning, I am not so used with not having any money. I quit my other blog because I am so poor I can't pay even that anymore.

So here I am, back on Blogger, hopefully, able to write material that people might like, and for me to vent out. I need to put things on writing, because it's my only outlet.

Here we go again. My nth blog, hopefully the last of four -- or was it five?