Netnet Camomot
ON Saturday morning, the Internet was crawling. I’ve been receiving calls from their reps, asking if I want to have this tablet. And I always tell them I’m not interested in any more gadgets—I have enough, thank you. What I need is a faster Internet connection! Why can’t they see that? Every Pinoy has been complaining about that, and this company calls us up to offer more gadgets. Talk of lost in translation!
A new year should mean better technology, but the way it’s going in Pinas, it could only mean another year older as we inch our way to dual citizenship—Pinoy and senior.
Once upon a time, the words “panuhot” and “tun-og” didn’t even ring a bell to the young ones. But when you’re young once, those are among the words you become familiar with.
The advice I often hear now is to lose weight for the knees. And these are for other people whose knees need to recover. If that’s not also a reminder for me to lose weight, I don’t know what will finally convince me.
There’s this particular date in January that makes me extend my Christmas gluttony and say, I’ll go back to dieting after this. That day is so over now, I have no more excuse. By the time you’re reading this, even the paksiw is so gone.
It was the age on the birthday cake that did make people take a second look. No, it wasn’t 18, although the invite did say it’s going to be a debut, which prompted a friend to respond with, “Mag-18 roses ba ta ana?” My reply to that: “Yup! First dance ka.”
The age on the cake was much older but they still refused to believe. Haha! The mom of my high school classmate was like, Whaaaaat? Of course, she knows our batch’s real age.
It’s another year older for all of us in this world as the new year kicks in and makes its presence felt. In Hollywood, however, it’s time for... No, not another HollyWEED episode. January is the start of the awards season with appetizers, such as the Golden Globes, providing hints on who’s going to win the award of all awards—the Oscar.
For one who hasn’t been watching TV in the last year or so, watching the TV portion of these awards only inspires birds to go chirping outside my window. We both can’t relate with the cheers. So, they chirp.
At least the Oscar is for movies which I do watch when they inspire curiosity. This month has been busy in that department: “Sing,” “Collateral Beauty,” “Rogue One.” Our high school class now has a Saturday club, and my family, Berks, and Rotary-club-prez classmates are also into movies, so there’s a possibility of watching a movie at least twice.
The other Saturday, only two of our high school classmates were present—I and Jiji Dingcong. But the dinner we had at Shakey’s was good for five people. Regular-sized Manager’s Choice pizza thin crust, a platter of spaghetti carbonara, and a pitcher of iced tea! We were supposed to watch “Sing,” only to find out that it’s shown in the afternoon. We arrived there after 5 pm. Or was that after the Mass at Limketkai Center? Gosh. I couldn’t even remember. Senior moment pa more.
We went to the ticket booth, and “Sing” was no longer singing then. So, we asked what’s on instead. And it’s “Rogue One.” Jaws to the floor. Wow. But our hearts were already set on “Sing.” Frustration could indeed lead to, uh, a feast, thus, the dinner for five.
Among the three movies I’ve watched, though, “Rogue One” is, of course, the best. Any “Star Wars” movie is always interesting even to a non-fan. With Carrie Fisher now gone, a non-fan would also hold on to the franchise, hoping to find a glimpse of Princess Leia, and “Rogue” didn’t disappoint.
Meryl Streep’s acceptance speech for her Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes had this as its last line: “As my friend, the dear departed Princess Leia, said to me once, take your broken heart, make it into art.”
That’s the same speech with a blind item on US President-elect Donald Trump. But it’s that last line that had me staring into space for a while.
You reach a certain age when you’ve had it with broken hearts. No, not of the romantic kind. The romantic kind is expected. Men will always be men.
There are many other ways to break the heart, the kind that could make you stare into space for at least one and a half years as you wonder, Why? Eventually, the answer will arrive. But before that can happen, you’re advised not to waste time in waiting for the answer. Dory even has better advice: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”
Two other movies are way up there, too, when it comes to satisfaction guaranteed: “Sing” and “Collateral Beauty.”
“Sing” has cute piggies that sing. Any piggy collector would go gaga over that. So cute, so cuddly, you could almost hog, er, hug them. This is the movie where you laugh, cry, dance, and, well, sing. Major piggy power. Piggy Gunter has the perfect line for it: “It’s gonna be spicy, no?”
The Urban Dictionary describes gunt as the “bulging area found on large older women between the waist and the genital area. Not quite a gut, not quite a c*nt… The Gunt.” O my gas. TMI—too much information.
Let’s talk about “Collateral Beauty” na lang. This is a movie with twists and turns that could help you get lost and found in a maze. You won’t sing or dance in this movie. I don’t remember laughing. Yup, you’ll cry. It’s not the “The Phantom of the Opera” kind of crying, but you’ll cry.
