August is Book Shopping Month

August is shopping month for me. Book shopping that is.

I try to hold off as much reading as I can, because August is the month-long sale at Powerbooks. Also, it's the the month when the Manila International Bookfair happens. It's normally held at the World Trade Center, Buendia corner Diosdado Macapagal Avenue (http://www.manilabookfair.com).

It's the time to renew magazine subscriptions (and pick up free back issues of other magazines, and freebies such as mugs, chairs and umbrellas).

My book list?
The Periodic Table by Primo Levi
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

I've already reserved Kurt Vonnegut and a bunch of related Lonely Planet titles (see entry below).

It's In The Works...

It's been fairly quiet here, and no new entries, but if you've noticed, there's a poll at the right, and your votes have been useful! I'll post another poll, but this time it'll be more specific, haha.

My Vacation Is In Your Hands. Sort Of.

I'm trying out the new widgets here, so I decided to have a poll... I'm planning to have a long vacation, and I need to save up for that. Say Jan/Feb next year? I really need a good break from work (stressful, yeah) but more importantly, it's more of a career break.

So, the options have been trimmed already. Out from the list is Morocco and Egypt, done already with SE Asia, China is reserved until after the Olympics, and Japan may be too expensive. You may have noticed that USA is not even in my long-list.

Anyway, it's a life goal for me to watch a tennis Grand Slam, that's why Melbourne is there; Central Europe to see the Bohemia and Prague; and northwestern Europe to visit friends in Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark. I'm skipping touristy France and Spain for future plans.

Help, anyone?

A New Blog - Sort Of

Hey, it's a rehash of my old blog - same template (copied, yes, lazy, I know). Sorry guys for the unanswered posts in the shoutbox, it got lost in the flurry of events.

I also lost the full bloglist, so just send me a message, so I can update my linklist as well.

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In other news, congratulations Roger Federer! A perfect record in Slam finals outside Roland Garros. It's Slam #11 now, so watch out Pete. The Fed Express is coming sooner than you think.


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Sigh, so many Wimbledon memories. And I'm not talking about tennis. More on this, if I remember, or if I don't get too lazy.

Posting Some Transformers Love

Finally, the movie of the summer has arrived. All I wanted with my summer movies is entertainment value: non-stop action, a healthy dose of humor, and a certain wow factor. Transformers delivers all that, plus more.

I was a kid of the 80s, and had a good collection of Transformers toys. Imagine my amazement in seeing these armor toys in full battle gear, falling out of elevated highways, and more importantly, morphing from the flashiest cars and meanest F22s to badass robots. Nostalgia factor plus cinematic enjoyment all rolled into one.

Throw in wonder boy Shia, foxy Megan, and a fantastic song from the Goo Goo Dolls in the mix, and we definitely have the crown winner for this year's best summer movie. I forgive you Michael Bay for having a soapy score on the action sequences, just don't do it again.

I still haven't finished adoring how good Let Love In by The Goo Goo Dolls, then they trump it with another great song. Here's the video for Before It's Too Late (take that Snow Patrol for cashing in on Spider-Man 3).