one with a lot of things in it

feels a bit odd to be popping back here after an eternity of blogtime. so much has happened in the past few weeks, i hardly know where to begin.

right. let's try going through things chronologically.

it seems like ages ago, but i suppose i should start with the day Mabel and i spent in Enchanted Kingdom with her family... oddly, all i can remember from that day is that i unwittingly caused a bruise about the size and shape of a middle-sized, black gerbera to, er, bloom on Mabel's right knee with a paintball. sure, there was the wall climbing, and the getting wet and Mabel losing her hat on the log, but the bruising seems the most newsworthy at this point.

yes, if you've seen it, that was me. i'm owning up to it. i plead the dumb luck defense, as i could hardly properly aim the thing through the massive mask and the cloudy goggles over my glasses that kept slipping down my face. but yes, i do still feel remorse for it, particularly as i don't think it's gone away just yet. i am an awful person.

fast forward a couple days, Elmer invited Mabel and me, with our good friend Eman, to a "beer appreciation" thing at Beer Paradise over on Polaris Street. The beer was amazing, particularly after spending my entire life thinking that beer could only taste one or two ways... however, i would not suggest you go there to get wasted. go with a lot of friends, and order one of everything. or as near to everything as you can get with the number of friends you take with you.

i personally recommend the Orval, the Grimbergen, and the Tripel Karmelite. admittedly, all those are of the more expensive variety, but i can't remember the names of the other beers. any of the fruit beers for the stereotypical ladies.

then go someplace with beer for 30 bucks to get wasted. a warning though; other beers will likely pale in comparison after you've had the Belgian stuff they have at Beer Paradise.

Danny and Michel, the pair of Belgian gentlemen who own the place, are either really nice people, or are very good at pretending to be; either way, it would be great to see their venture take off. we need more places like theirs around here, imho.

they make a classic buddy movie pair, those two, with Danny the loud, funny, entertainingly obnoxious one (his version of "Ano ba!" is beyond belief), and Michel the quiet, serious, more business-minded of the pair.

Going back in time a bit, i spent hours on the Sin City double disc set Mabel got me from her time in the US. i'd meant to say more about it, but, well, i can't remember half of it, so "Sin City is the most awesome movie i've seen in ages in all its forms, and that includes the re-cut and the green-screen versions" will have to do until i can re-wrap my head around it for blog material.

suffice to say that Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez not only made the most awesome movie to see theaters in recent years, but they also made the most interesting DVD material i've seen so far.

which goes in stark contrast with X-Men 3. since Bryan Singer left the project for Superman Returns, the movie has been doomed in my mind; seeing it, however, has doubled my frustration, as the movie had a lot of potential. admittedly, it seems fair to assume that Brett Ratner did a better than decent job of throwing something together that was even marginally worthy of theatrical release, but the odds were exponentially against him pulling it off.

shame, Singer, shame. Superman Returns better be worth it. though with Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, it's hard to imagine how it could not be at least slightly cool.

it occurs to me that i'd meant to say something about the whole Da Vinci Code nonsense, and how it being banned in theaters in Manila has to be one of the most repressive and idiotic things to happen in recent years, but, then again, a lot of repressive and idiotic things happen all the time, so it hardly seems worth saying any more on the subject.

anyway, i've neither read the book, nor seen the movie, so it doesn't seem quite fair for me to say any more about it either way.

oh, one last thing, a friend of mine, Nikki Dy-Liacco had a book signing thing last Saturday for "Yellow Paperclip" (click the link on the sidebar). i feel awful for not being able to make it, nor advertising it here sooner, but, well, spilt milk, i suppose.

"Yellow Paperclip" is a wonderfully imaginative and quirky book that deserves to be read and re-read to and by all discerning and undiscerning children all over the world. here's to seeing that colorful refugee from the office supply room off on more journies and destinations.

Mabel and i are still waiting for our autographed copy, by the way. ahem.

right. i'm off to Grumm City, or wherever the blank page/screen may choose to take me, though i don't imagine i'll make much progress wherever tonight.

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good grief. had to pop right back in after logging out. i knew i'd forget something. the most important bit of news at that.

Mabel and i turned 2 last Thursday. hurrah. now, didn't i say i was an awful person?

right, on with your own business then.