Some Met Gala pictures

The Metropolitan Museum in New York is on my checklist of places to go to when in New York, if I'll ever go to New York. They have this gala annually, organized by the iconic Anna Wintour. So we expect it to be this fashionable event.

Until you see the people who attended.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Won't they feel cold? I am all in for sexy women in sexy clothes, but they look like honeymoon wear.  Expensive but something you should not wear on a formal event. OR why not just wear glitters and pasties, then hang a curtain on them. Rather than have famous designers paid, give more money to charity or something.

This is a scary trend though. If people go out to formal events wearing these in 2015, what would our daughters wear  to the prom in 2030?

We shudder.

There are some interesting looks out there. Some really good ones that are unfortunately overshadowed by a few attention-grabbing personalities. It almost made us think that the Met gala is tacky.

Speaking of attention whores, Justin Bieber looked good in that embroidered dragon jacket that I want so badly to snatch.

View image | gettyimages.com

It was on-theme, "China: Through the Looking Glass," which so many people did not follow. It was refreshing and cool. We hate the person, but we're starting to like him until three days ago. No, we still don't like him. We like what he has on.

There are people who made an impression, not by how they look, but who they are with.

View image | gettyimages.com

Preponderance of Zombies

Zombies do not interest me so much. I mean, the modern depiction of zombies. It's not to say stories with zombies do not interest me, as there are some movies that I have seen that are fairly good; but on a creature-creation aspect, they are not as interesting as vampires and witches.

Besides, there's just too many of them on TV right now. There are very few people who has never watched The Walking Dead. That's us.

from top clockwise: The Walking Dead,  Resident Evil, 28 Days Later, iZombie, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland

Although I've enjoyed Resident Evil, 28 Days Later and World War Z, the interest lied mostly on the psychology and effects on the human condition, and of course, the fight scenes that ensued later.

Unlike romantic vampires and majestic witches, modern zombies lacked individuality which earns them no empathy. Most often, zombies are represented as mindless human shells with nothing in their heads but the instinct to eat.

One of the more surprising zombie movies I liked was Warm Bodies, another post-apocalyptic movie, that had sentient zombies. If it was marketed better, I would have seen it earlier. The posters and trailers felt Twilight-y.

In two weeks, iZombie will premiere in the Philippines. It's about a gorgeous but intelligent zombie that works in forensics, who helps solve crime by eating human innards (or was it brains) to see visions from the dead. It borrowed some elements of so many stories that it's ridiculous and brilliant.

Would I watch that? Probably not, even if it's based on an Eisner-nominated graphic novel. The title alone ruined it almost immediately. As much as I hate zombies, we like ours to be traditional.

The Job I did not Have

The interview was the best I had in months. I did well, I think. It was for a brokerage company in the Philippines that will mostly work with ForEx.

The interview we had, I was seated with three other kids in their twenties who made me feel old. They seem like smart kids, a bit inexperienced with presenting themselves, though. With a little bit of work, I think they'll be good. 

Two of them came from top universities in the Philippines. It almost made me feel bad about myself, but like what I learned when dealing with situations like these: just swallow it up and be confident. I did not carefully  trim my beard only to choke and crash miserably. 

I did get a job offer. The job promises us to learn from experts. It would have been nice if I was younger; but we were only gonna get an allowance for food and transportation. I have bills to pay. If you've seen the place, the closest eateries there are coffee shops with fancy food. There's a McDonald's nearby, but you have to cross a busy highway with fast-driving cars.

I was the only guy who asked about client sourcing, and it seems like we have to grow our portfolio on our own. Networking is a recurring theme then.

I am gonna die working there. Will Smith can inspire people via his movie In Pursuit of Happyness; but I can get no high yields, because I have nothing to give, darn it.

Madonna - Ghosttown video with Terrence Howard

It was another day. Much of the week was spent looking for a job and looking at porn. Today, I was listening to Sia's old tracks and off to other songs and ran into Madonna's Frozen video on Youtube that I've always liked. Then there is this video from her new album.

We really don't like Madonna's recent songs, and her videos were a touch bit too trashy. It's refreshing to see a video that I liked. It does not has too much electronica, simple lyrics and more tasteful but still over-the-top feel. I mean, Ghosttown has a post-apocalyptic-themed video.

And then there is Lucious, I mean Terrence Howard. Not bad, and the dance bit was beautiful. Smart Madonna.

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The story of the lost phone and Brother Orange

There are times fact can be stranger than fiction. The story of the lost iPhone on Buzzfeed and how its owner was able to go from the United States to China, meet the person who got his phone, and become a celebrity is too incredible to make up.

This amazing narrative is immediately funny and very weird; and at the same time, touching. 

It gives us hope that despite all the cultural differences, we are all human after all — or something like that.

Backward Tech

When I did technical support, I was competent enough at doing computer work with minimal supervision. We do it for a living; so we try to learn as much as we could. It would be embarrassing if we didn't. But that was 2006.

2015. Three operating systems later, despite XP still being used by many people, I am turning into one of those customers I spoke with on the phone, who have very minimal knowledge of how computers work, that make representatives cry on their desks. I understand now. I don't get these all that much now.

My laptop runs Windows 8.1, and it's running very slow probably due to the malware I accidentally downloaded when I was installing a software that won't ever be used anyway. 

I asked the girlfriend about Windows components, which she also forgot. I was also looking for hidden files to manually remove the malware.

Editing has made my troubleshooting skills rusty, and so I had to do research about how to do something that was very intuitive ten years ago.

Maybe if I was using XP, it would have been easier; plus I am getting a bit older and more impatient to learn new programs.

Another sign of aging: recalcitrance.

Versace Rip Off Kesh?

The Versace rip-off accusation is making it rounds on the Internet. Kesh accuses The house of Versace of ripping off a t-shirt she designed for American Apparel. 

On her Instagram account she says, "Versace rip off. Sold out in three sizes. What is this madness?  From huge designer labels to small boutiques, to giant pop stars, to fame-hungry former friends. What is this? Why can't these companies, these brands, these people create their own work? What happened? Why do these people think that everything that they lay their eyes on instantly belongs to them?" 

She even brutally goes on to say, "At least make it better than the $30 original" and "This looks like a first draft."

Left: Kesh; Right: Versace 

To be fair, Versace's design isn't that bad. There is completion on there, but the better version would be a matter of preference.

Looking closely at Kesh's original drawings, we could easily conclude it was a rip-off. It had the same color scheme, similar concept and the details especially in the eyes is striking.

But however, as much as we would like to be on Kesh's side, art ownership and inspiration has a fine line. There are still differences.

Geometric design has already been in use by many ethnic cultures around the world and us a staple in contemporary art since the early 20th century.

The most that Kesh could do is tarnish the reputation of the billion-dollar company, which they're doing a good job of.

That said, I wouldn't buy the Versace shirt. Too expensive, IMO. Versace is selling it for $650. That's more than 200% what Kesh did.