Play of words

I have seen Jonathan Larson's Rent last Saturday night and one of the most moving songs from the musical is Without You. Roger and Mimi singing a double solo while they realize how they die without each other.



Lyrics | Rent Cast - Without You lyrics

Sunday morning, I woke up and watched My Fair Lady which stars Audrey Hepburn. I haven't seen this until that morning. Though I have heard Arlo singing "Wouldn't it be loverly?" and "I've grown accustomed to her face." I've listened to "On the street where you live" on the classical radio. But this song caught my attention because this is the opposite of the song i have mentioned above. It's also called Without You but with a whole different meaning.



Which do you like more?

A Thai Surprise

To break the habit, I was made to choose a place where Arlo and I will have our dinner before our scheduled screening of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. Since we usually enjoy Asian fares, I thought of trying Chef Choi or Jatujak; obviously, I chose Jatujak since I haven’t tried it before and it would be nice to try it out with my partner.

Thai food can be too spicy for the Filipino taste so the waiters ask us how they will prepare the dishes we chose. Arlo is not a big fan of spicy food so we specifically asked to go mild on the spices. For starters, we had the crunchy catfish and mango salad. I really enjoyed this dish because of the play on texture and flavour. The catfish meat was like pork floss that we had at Su Zhou Dim sum. The green mangos were cut like thin noodles and it gives the salad a sweet and sour taste. Nuts, red chilli and cilantro blended together this light salad that would whet your appetite.

If you haven’t had Tom Yum other than the cup noodles version. You’d be surprised with how much flavour there is in this soup than just salt and MSG. Leeks, galangal, cilantro were the prominent herbs and spices infused in this soup. Arlo mentioned his minimal tolerance for sour taste, too; however, he chose this dish. He loved it but I can see his tears well up his eyes as he sips the soup. The fish, squid and shrimp were cooked just right and complement the strong flavor of the consomme.

Red curry beef was good but it might have worked if the flavor was more intense. I have to say that beef was tender and the sauce has the right creaminess in it. It worked well with the other dish and the plain Jasmine rice we had with it.

Their service is good and the waiters were accommodating. The ambiance is very youthful and made Thai more pop than exotic. Presentation was made modern yet still has the home-cooked meal feel into it. We’ll surely be back to try their other dishes.

Avatar

Recently, Mother Nature has been making her presence felt through tremors, volcanic eruptions, rising sea level and melting icebergs. You can't help but think that the world may be coming to an end. Recent research are done to find a new home for man. This is the premise of James Cameron's latest film, Avatar.

Avatar stars Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington. The film brings us to the planet Pandora where humans are exploring to extract unobtanium, which will help resolve Earth's energy crisis. In order to this, a group of scientists lead by Dr. Grace Augustine (Weaver) uses Avatars to diplomatically mine these minerals. But, they have to befriend them first by establishing diplomatic relations with the natives. Jake Sully (Worthington) works with Dr. Augustine while taking orders from Col. Quartich (Stephen Lang).

I won't spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it. But to give you an idea, it's like a re-telling of Pocahontas in a more modern setting. She's been given a new look using technology. Pocahontas was made edgier and sexier. Science gave John Smith (Jake Sully) an armor using a human-Na'vi hybrid body that masks his real identity.

Advance special effects were employed to make Pandora come to life. They made the planet like earth under the depth of the sea. The plants and animals have bioluminescence that emits its own light at night. They also have their own rhinoceros, wolves and panthers. Connection to nature has never been real as the natives of Pandora can literally connect to their roots and to nature.

Politics and environmental issues are related to the audience through a very entertaining medium such as this. I only hope that the people will see beyond the 3D images that the movie wants to impart to its audience.