Avatar

I first read about Avatar a few months ago. Where? I forgot because I was not that interested at that time. I remember it was described as the film that will change the face of cinema forever. Big words. I did not click the link to watch the trailer because I was reading about This Is It.

I do watch science fiction because of the production design, the computer generated imagery but I have not been excited in any movie that belongs to that genre. To say the least I have no intention of watching Avatar in the big screen. I will just wait for the DVD copy.

Avatar was shown in the Philippines on the third week of December. I am not one to ride the bandwagon (in fact, oftentimes I find myself having a different opinion from the bandwagon). I have to see what I have to see. I was intrigued by how a lot of people gushed at how great the movie is. And how publicities regard Avatar as the movie that will revolutionize 3D film making and that movies will be divided into Before Avatar and After Avatar. I like that I have to admit. Advertising at its best and I allowed myself to be lured.

Oh well, if this is indeed a movie revolution, I should be a part of history and watch it together with my family.

I am glad we watched it, more than glad. My husband, who is a sci-fi enthusiast, loves the concept and the CGI. My daughter who is not patient with movies lasting more than it should (except maybe if it's a Disney movie) loves it. She was also engrossed with it just like me. I sat there at the movie theater not bracing myself for anything but I was hooked five minutes after the movie started.

James Cameron always has big movies which my husband all loves - The Abyss, Terminator 1 & 2, Aliens. I have watched them all too but my only favorite among his movies is Titanic.

Avatar is now included. Avatar, as it has been said, is about the greed and the imperialistic attitude we all possess which destroys our environment - the balance of life. The climate conference in Copenhagen was held a few days before the showing of the movie. Talk about timing.

Anyway, I have not watched Sigourney Weaver in a long time. It's good to see her in this movie. She's her usual fiery self.

Let me dwell more on the CGI. I love, love, love it!

The lush forest with all its giant trees and wild plants is just beautiful to see especially when the plants light up. Is this how the Garden of Eden looks? I wish this is how it is on earth. Imagine a place with floating mountains. Think about communing with nature, us, understanding what they need and want, and them, understanding what we need and want. And they all light up at night as we pass them by. Beautiful. Truly larger than life. Humongous.

I love how the Na'vis were created. They were designed beautifully. Tall, slender, blue skin, wide eyes, graceful, nice, well-kept dreadlocks. Spiritual.

Tell me what is the real set and what is CGI. You cannot really tell. It's seamless. The CGIs can actually act. It scares you sometimes they act better than the real actors. :)

The year in Avatar is 2154. Several light years away from Earth is a place where a mineral called Unobtainium can save our planet from losing its energy reserve. Will this ever happen? Who knows? But a sequel to Avatar will probably happen in the next years.

Church Team Buiding December 2009

Our church mates from our group call it Sports Fest but I would say it is more of a team building created for three reasons: 1. to get to know the other groups which hold their church duties in a different schedule, 2. to strengthen the bond in our group, 3. to unwind after our end-of-year Thanksgiving.

This has been going on for about three years now if I am not mistaken. My husband had been attending this and he always enjoyed going. This is the first time my daughter and I went with him. Thank God we were able to wake up early or else we missed all the fun.

We arrived a few minutes before seven in the morning. My daughter was not quite in the mood at the onset. But I know she will get to catch up because our churchmates are very accommodating and most of them know her already.


The assembly was already quite a number, around forty, by seven in the morning so the games started. All in the name of fun and good times. My daughter joined the first game.


I took this time also to take a lot of pictures of the place. One interesting area is the Peace Wall, a mural where messages about the people's desire to achieve peace in the country were inscribed.

I often pass by Quezon City Circle, a famous landmark in Mega Manila which contains the remains of Manuel L. Quezon (the first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines). This morning was just the second time I visited the park. This was the first time though that I went around and took some pictures.

My daughter and my husband went to the topmost step. Oh what a great photo opportunity for me. :)


This team building was worth getting up so early in the morning. I am inspired by the enthusiasm of my churchmates and the bonding that I get to build with them by joining activities such as this.

This is also one way to inspire my daughter to be active in our church. She gains more friends and gets to see how much fun it is to be involved in church activities.

A Star Is Born

My daughter loves music very much. She had her guitar lessons then but she has not yet enrolled in any voice lessons class. I asked her several times because I see her talent in singing but she kept on declining. She does not want any recital, that is why. She was contented recording her voice on our computer and on the cell phone. I let her be.

It came as a pleasant surprise to me that she auditioned for their school's Music Made Easy program to be a part of the performing group all composed of kids - from the vocalists to the drummer to the guitarist and keyboardist. It's a part of the Music and Media Arts Workshop provided by their school. She was chosen as one of the five vocalists from their grade level. She was really happy and so was I. Jumping for joy actually. :)

I also admire their music teacher who had been very patient guiding the children. He was able to motivate them well.


My daughter preparing to sing.
I admired her courage to audition and her confidence to sing in front of the whole school. She is used to performing but always with a big group. This time they will only be around eight students on stage. All eyes will be focused on them. We eagerly anticipated the culminating activity. The group will hold a mini-concert for the school.


Go girl!
Aside from being a part of the choir, their group sang two songs, one of which was Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours". This surprised me a bit because the kids know the song. They have a broad scope when it comes to music and not limited to Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus.

Yes, I was a proud mommy watching my daughter holding the microphone, singing her heart out with matching hand gestures and walking on the stage. She did not freeze from being nervous. She told me before the program she was having butterflies on her stomach but she did so well there was no trace that she was nervous.


All smiles after the program.
Ironic, she now agreed with me to enroll in voice lessons on summer. It's as if she tested the waters first if she can perform in front of a huge crowd before deciding to really hone her talent.

This is one mommy moment I truly enjoyed doing. The pictures taken on stage are blurry. My own camera malfunctioned so I have to borrow at the last minute. I have a new camera now, :). Anyway, I was supposed to share this a few Mommy Moments ago but due to time constraints this post stayed on my draft. I am proud to share this today. Happy Mommy Moments to all my fellow moms!

***Read more sharing at Mommy Journey.

Litratong Pinoy: Paskong Pinoy

Sinasabing ang Pilipinas ang pinakamatagal o pinakamahabang magdaos ng Kapaskuhan. Kapag pumasok na ang mga buwang nagtatapos sa "ber", nasa isip na ng mga Pinoy ang Pasko. Samu't-sari ang mga pre-holiday sale sa mga malls. Marami na ring naglalabas ng mga paninda magtatapos pa lang ang Oktubre para sa paghahanda ng mga Paskong pang-regalo.

Iyan ang mukha ng Paskong Pinoy - mall sale, parties at paglalagay ng Xmas lights sa tahanan para lalong maging mukhang festive ang paligid. Sinasamantala na rin ang family reunion tuwing Pasko sapagkat karamihan ay nakabakasyon.

Alam mo ring malapit na ang Pasko kapag ang mga poinsettia ang unti-unti ng idini-display sa mga malls at sa mga bilihan ng bulaklak. Isa na rin itong simbolo ng Kapaskuhan sa Pilipinas.


Gustong-gusto ko ang poinsettia. Buhay na buhay ang mga kulay at talagang nakadaragdag sa pagkasigla ng paligid. Sana nga ay hindi lang tuwing Pasko mayroong ganitong uri ng bulaklak.

***An entry for Litratong Pinoy.

Snow

The unpredictability of the weather all over the world is getting predictable. Who knows, a tropical country like the Philippines will have its share of snow in the years to come. There is no need to make-believe anymore.






***An entry for 5 Minutes for Mom WW and Wordless Wednesday.

Fort Santiago

One of the activities included in my daughter's HEKASI subject (Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika - Geography, History and Civics...whew!) is to visit Fort Santiago with the family. It aims for a vicarious experience for the students of a great part of the last days of Dr. Jose Rizal before his execution at Bagumbayan (Rizal Park or more popularly knows as Luneta).

I see this as a wonderful idea by most schools. A light discussion on a historical event among the family members proved to be very engaging for us. The last time we visited The Walled City was maybe seven years ago when my daughter was still a toddler. This trip to Fort Santiago was very much appreciated.


Our visit coincided with the Marian Convention. Different floats of the Virgin Mary were on exhibit inside the fort. I had a good time taking pictures even if it was so crowded and the temperature very humid.


One of the many interesting exhibits inside the Rizal Shrine was the enshrined vertebra of the national hero with a bullet wound. My daughter was in awe when she read what was embossed on the glass partition of the cabinet. We were all in awe.


The last steps of Jose Rizal were immortalized by embedding brass plates from his detention cell to the gates of Fort Santiago. You can see a lot of children following his steps just like what my daughter did. "He's got small feet", she said. Small he may be in height and built but big in courage, goals and vision for the Philippines.


We went around Fort Santiago for almost two hours. My daughter finally had to sit on the pavement and rest before leaving the area. We were all tired and exhausted but definitely, we had a great time visiting Fort Santiago. It was a different experience reliving a part of our history.


Next stop is looking for a place to eat. Changed top as it was really hot in Fort Santiago and bought my daughter's monthly dose of Total Girl magazine. While waiting for our orders, my daughter went back in her present time and browsed her magazine, read about one her favorites, Justin Bieber, her present-day hero so-to-speak. :)

This is my first entry for Pixel Bug Weekend. I love joining photo meme and I hope to do this consistently. :)

Litratong Pinoy: Hudyat (Sign)

Katulad ng karamihan sa mga mommies, hilig kong kunan ng litrato ang aking anak. Maraming beses ko na ring naibahagi sa blog ko na ako ay isang "mamarazzi". Hindi kailangang may espesyal na okasyon para kumuha ng larawan ng aking anak. Minsan ay stolen shots or candid shots, minsan naman talagang tinatawag ko siya para mag-pose sa harap ng camera.

Pero lumalaki na ang anak ko. Kasabihan na nga na nagkakaroon na ng sariling disposisyon ang anak kapag ito ay nagmamature na. Pati ang pagkuha ko ng litrato sa kanya minsan ay mukhang hindi na niya nagugustuhan lalo na at sunud-sunod ito sa loob ng ilang minuto.

Madalas sinasabi n'ya ng derecho sa akin na ayaw na niya magpa-picture. Minsan naman may hudyat na nagsasabi sa akin na tama na at tigilan ko na ang pag-click sa camera.

Kapag tinakpan na ng anak ko ang mukha n'ya, hudyat na ito na tumigil na ako sa kakakuha sa kanya ng litrato.


Ngunit sa aking obserbasyon ang hilig n'yang kuhanan ang sarili n'ya ng picture, solo at kasama ang mga kaibigan n'ya. May term nga dito, luvo. Luvo ay ang sobrang pagkahilig sa pagkuha ng litrato ng sarili. Napapansin n'yo ba, ganyan ang mga kabataan ngayon.

***Bisitahin ang Litratong Pinoy para sa mga larawang nagbibigay Hudyat.