Litratong Pinoy #18: Dalampasigan (Beach)

Nakalulugod masilayan ang mga batang naglalaro sa dalampasigan. Nakakahawa ang kanilang saya sa pagtatampisaw sa tubig. Kahit na anong lamig ng dagat magsusuot lang ng makapal na surfing suit at sige na uli ang ligaya sa paglalayag sa ibabaw ng kanilang surf board.

It's so delightful to see children playing in the beach. Their exuberant frolicking in the water is so infectious. No matter how cold the sea they'll just don their thick surf suit and continue with their surfing happiness aboard their boards.

Wall-E

 

Last Saturday, I took the whole family to watch the critically acclaimed movie Wall-E. There were lots of resistance from the two elder teenagers thinking that this is another kids' movie and they're much more grown up for that. Hah! No sooner than they started the short film before the main one they were already in stitches. Nobody can resist a Looney Tunes-type of cartoon and that short film certainly was in that category.

I don't try to analyze or be a critic with any movie that I see. The only qualifier I ask after the end of each is - did I enjoy it? Once in a while I come across films that entertains me and at the same time makes me introspective. Wall-E is one of these. While I am tickled by the cute main characters (Wall-E and Eve) the sepia-like beautiful in-a-desolate-way landscape Pixar created is riveting. Makes you think of your responsibilities as a human being to this planet to prevent that cataclysmic scenario from happening.

Okay if I'm honest, Wall-E certainly entertained me - a lot. But it did not grip me as much as Finding Nemo or Toy Story did. After a day I couldn't remember much of the details of the plot. I wonder why? Maybe because the main characters have no speaking dialog? Or the second half of the film is not as elegant and more cartoonesque than the first? As I said I'm not into analysing films so I'll leave it to the professional critics to do the job. I'll just wait for the DVD to come out and add it to our collection.

Litratong Pinoy #17: Sa Gawing Kanluran (Over In The West)

 

Ang pinaka kaluraning lugar sa Englaterra ay tinatawag na Land's End sa probinsiya ng Cornwall. Ang namamagitan mula dito hanggang sa dalampasigan ng Estados Unidos ay ang dagat ng Atlantiko. Likas na maganda ang baybayin sa gawi dito kaya't dinadayo ng maraming turista. Makikita mo sa karatulang ito ang layo ng Land's End sa iba't ibang bansa at lupain.

The westerly-most place in England is called Land's End in the county of Cornwall. The only thing between this place and the coast of USA is the Atlantic Ocean. The coastal area of Land's End is naturally beautiful hence lots of tourists flock to it. On this sign you will see the distance of Land's End from different countries and places.

Bad Day

Siguro alam nyo na dahil Tagalog ko sinulat ito ay dahil magre-reklamo ako. :)
Hindi maganda ang naging araw ko kahapon. Mula umaga hanggang gabi kundi may naiinis sa akin o may kina-iinisan ako.

Unang-una ay itong kasamahan ko sa trabaho. Nagkamali ako ng konti sa salitang ginamit ko sa email invite na pinadala ko sa kanya. Aba, nireject ba naman at sinabi doon na hindi daw niya ine-expect na siya ay magpre-present. Wala akong problema doon sa pagtutol nya pero susmaryosep 1.5 metro lang ang layo nya sa akin sana kinalabit na lang nya ako at sinabi nya ang hindi nya pagsang-ayon. Samantalang kinse minutos bago nito eh masayang nagkukwentuhan kami ng buhay-buhay. Bigla na lang nag-iba ang turing nya sa akin. Pakiramdam ko ay parang bata o pusong mamon o ewan ko kung may topak itong taong ito.

Sumunod naman ang kapit-bahay namin. Nagulantang na lang asawa ko nang paglabas nya ng pinto ay pinuputol nila ang malaking halaman na malapit sa boundary ng aming bahay. Wala na siyang magawa dahil nakalbo na ng husto. Nang makita sya ng kapitbahay sabi ba naman ay - "pinuputol na namin ito okay lang ba?". Eh ano pa bang magagawa eh putol na! Tignan nyo ginawa:

 

Hindi man lang nag sabi bago ginawa ito. Bago kasi nito ay pinutol nila ang hedge at parte ng halaman (bush) na yon na nakalawit sa parte nila. Nagpasintabi sila at sabi namin ay putulin nila ang nasa kanilang side. Baka akala nila porke't hindi namin ginagalaw yung sa ganang sa amin ay bale wala na ang halamang iyon. Naiinis pati mga anak ko lalo na yung bunso kasi nga naman bahayan ng ilang ibon iyon at natutuwa siyang panoorin ang nagliliparang minsang maingay na ibon. At ang bush na yon ang nagsisilbing tabing namin para hindi kami nakita mula sa kalye kapag lumalabas kami sa side door. Iyon din ang proteksyon ng bahay sa minsa'y malakas na hangin na nanggagaling sa harap. Nakakapanibago paglumalabas ako pakiramdam ko parang lantad na lantad kami. Haaaay!

Tapos nagka enkwentro naman kami ng panganay ko. Grumpy siya dahil mag singaw at hindi makaka-kain. Aba nagtatatarang ba naman dahil sa mga problema nya. Ano daw ang kakainin nya. Kapag tinatanong ko naman alam ko daw dapat ang mga paborito nya. Sa madaling salita gusto niya akong maging psychic at hulaan ang nasa isip nya. Kapag nililista ko ang mga alam kong paborito nya lahat ayaw. Haay buhay nanay ...

Kaya nang gabi ay nanahimik na lang ako at nag blog. Mabuti pang kasama ang computer hindi nagrereklamo. Huwag lang mawalan ng broadband access. Hehehe!

Hamilton Wins In German F1 GP

 

Hammi did it again! Lewis Hamilton pounded on the tracks in the German F1 Grand Prix to win it in a convincing show of his racing talent. He led for almost half of the race having pole position at the start. However, the deployment of the safety after Timo Glock's horrific looking crash almost cost him the win. His McLaren team decided at that time not to pit him thinking that he'll be able to get enough lead time later to do his final pitstop even though almost all of the front runners took advantage and were all refueling and changing tires. But the safety car trundled on for four laps - longer than they have anticipated. He finally had to pit from the lead at lap 50 with only about 20 seconds lead from second place Massa. Clearly it was not enough because he was in fifth place as he emerged from the pits. From then on he overtook Kovaleinen, Massa, then finally Piquet to gain the lead again at lap 60 and up to the finish. Great drive Lewis! Wish you all the best in Hungary!

Litratong Pinoy #16: Luntian (Green)

 
Ito ay kuha sa Lizard Peninsula ng Cornwall ang pinaka-kanluranin na probinsiya ng Englaterra. Ayaw ko sanang isama ang ilang ligaw na damo sa harap ng litrato pero isang urong ko pa at ako'y isang kawawang pisat at bali-baling tao. Nakabingit sa malalim na bangin ang lugar na ito kaya't may hangganan ang aking pagpapaka-dakila sa pagkuha ng litrato.

Ang karamihan ng 'damo' dito ay hindi talagang damo kundi isang tipo ng 'succulent' na halaman na tinatawag na sedum pachyphyllum o jelly beans sa mas madaling salita. Nakakapamangha na ito ay lumaganap sa buong kapaligiran ng bangin na ito.

This is taken in the Lizard Peninsula which is the western-most county of England. I really did not intend to include some of the wild grass in the foreground but one more move on my part and I am one poor splattered and broken-boned person. This area is at the edge of a high cliff therefore my sacrifice to photography has got limits.

Most of the 'grass' that you see here is not really grass but a type of succulent plant called sedum pachyphyllum or jelly beans in common language. It's amazing to note that this plant spread out all over the whole cliff face.

Great Sporting Weekend

 

What a sporting weekend it was here in UK. First there was the high-octane thrilling win of Lewis Hamilton in the F1 British Grand Prix. Like last year's monsoon-rain-drenched Fuji race, Lewis proved he is a master of the wet. He continued to pile on the pressure and made almost no mistake while the rest of the field were spinning like pinwheels on the slippery tarmac. He silenced his critics with his masterful win in impeccable style. Congratulations Hammi !

Then there was the drama and extended excitement of the Nadal-Federer cliff hanger of a championship match in Wimbledon. It was just as well that the weather was dreary which was a further incentive to be a sports coach potato for a day.

In the comfort of our living room I often call Lewis Hamilton 'Hammi' whenever I urge him on. The name makes my teenage son cringe. Well I thought the Finnish drivers' names were cute. Names like Miki, Kimi, Heikki, Mikka, etc. So I thought why not Hammi though I don't want it to sound like a pet hamster.

I have been enthralled by this superbly talented young man ever since he came on the F1 circuit last year. People have grudgingly to admit that his entry was a massive boost to the flagging popularity of F1 with his proven ability on the track, his good looks, articulateness, likeable personality, including the accompanying controversy with Fernando Alonzo.

Years before I used to follow F1 but became quite disinterested because the only person who wins all the time was Michael Schumacher. He was a very dominant talent in those days that others simply didn't have a chance. Now there is an injection of young bloods who are more or less of the same abilities that would make each F1 meet unpredictable, exciting and watchable. Besides Hammi, there's of course Raikonnen, Alonzo, Massa, Kubica, Heidfeld, Rosberg, even Vettel. It's a shame that there is a big disparity in the performance of their cars otherwise it would have been extra thrilling. That is one reason why sometimes I prefer watching a touring car race since the cars there are more or less of equal footing so it is down to the driver's ability to win. Though I wouldn't want the extreme uniformity of the American NASCAR stock racing where same cars go around a oval track. For me it is just too boring.