Aug21 weekend

3

movies

The Expendables4

wheels

Cars, cars, cars

Saturday, August 21 2010 [email protected]

Tinker BelleWhat does a newly-married woman do right after her honeymoon? Clint Holton P. Potestas finds out.

cover story

CHERRY ANN LIM Managing Editor, Special Pages and FeaturesJIGS ARQUIZA Editor CLINT HOLTON P. POTESTAS Writer

Sun.Star Weekend | August 21, 2010C2

JUN VELEZ Art Director | RALPH RHODDEN C. CAVERO Graphic Designer

Tinker belleNot a single trace of

sleeplessness was obvious. With an hour’s delay in her 4:30 a.m. flight from Manila to Cebu, she breezed straight to her house for a quick wash-up, got dressed in a black, one-shoulder jersey tunic, slipped into a vintage pair of jeans, and then went back on the road behind the steering wheel.

Her first day as a working gal with a hyphenated family name has officially begun. So to speak, back to reality – whether she likes it or not.

“It’s the most beautiful place I’ve been to,” beamed the newly-married 27-year old Noreen Tseng-Fernandez, sun-kissed from her recent trip to the Republic of Maldives where she and her husband spent a seven-day honeymoon, followed by another week in Phuket, Thailand.

While nothing was seemingly altered in her life after the wedding, Noreen has never been this fulfilled: a sound mind, a balanced life, and a fast-rising career in fashion accessory designing.

“I wish I could spend my entire lifetime traveling and diving in Maldives,” she went on, narrating her daily grind. In Cebu, she takes hold of the managerial duties in the family-owned Granite Industrial Corporation along Hernan Cortes Ave., Mandaue, flying to China every three weeks to source supplies, not to mention the several trips to Manila for another business venture.

“But here I am – back to reality.” A kiosk in the innermost part of the establishment

houses the accessories she designed herself. In May 2008, she won the first Cebu Fashion Accessories

Design Competition, wowing the judges with an oversized bib necklace made of metal and mirrors. The victory came months after she launched her line in Formo at the Banilad Town Centre.

At first, Noreen wanted to pursue a fashion design course in Shanghai but her father asked her to manage the family business. As a compromise, she completed a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering at the University of San Carlos-Talamban Campus.

“I wanted to be a fashion designer, but I turned out to be a fashion accessory designer because I also like to tinker. It started out as my hobby until I launched my line two years ago,” the pretty costume jewelry designer said. “And I want to invest in something for myself.”

Surely, the ascendance of accessory designing is also due to the almost universal desire to casually layer, to toss something ineffably stylish over whatever one is already wearing, and head out the door. According to Noreen, she won’t make anything she won’t wear herself.

So what is she planning for next year? You’ll just have to wait and see, but whatever it is, you can be sure that they’ll be as pretty and unique as the designer.

C3Sun.Star Weekend | August 21, 2010

wheels

PHOTOS: AMPER CAMPAÑA

The weekend of August 13 to 15 was an exciting one for automotive enthusiasts, as the One Cebu Inter-Auto Club Meet once again held court at the parking area of the Cebu International Convention Center. Practically everything that had anything to do with motoring could be found at the convention center grounds, and car lovers went agog at the various automobiles on display.

Auto clubs from all over Cebu showed off their members’ rides, with marques such as BMW, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen very well-represented, but the older-model cars, presented by Old School Cebu, were a big hit among the 70’s and 80’s generation.

Dealerships such as Subaru exhibited their latest units, while other booths hawked their wares and services.

According to Ron Duterte, the Inter-Auto CLub Meet is not really a car show. He explained that it is a way for car owners to meet other car lovers and make new contacts to source out parts and information. Ron also said that the meet promotes friendship and camaraderie among motoring fans.

Cars, cars, cars

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Katrina with a Cosworth-killing BMW E30 M3.OlD AND NEw. A Volkswagen Type 3 Notchback and a Subaru Legacy sedan.

CARS AND HOT GIRlS GO TOGETHER. Stop looking at the girls and check out that Corolla.

movies


IMAGES FROM THE INTERNET

“The Expendables” is an exercise in nostalgia for the bygone era of muscly, macho action films. It’s willfully out of date, like an aging hair band that can’t pack away the spandex.

Sylvester Stallone, the director, co-writer and star, has said he set out to make a movie “with brains and brawn, not modern technology.”

Stallone thus comes across as a kind of Rip Van Winkle, had Van Winkle only been a die-hard Guns ‘N Roses fan. “The Expendables” is awash in motorcycles, tattoos, black leather, glistening biceps and big guns. Though the “Rambo” star’s suggestion that contemporary movies have lost something of their masculinity and authenticity bears some truth, surely the answer isn’t to pretend the last two decades never happened.

But here we are with “The Expendables,” which immediately — and without irony — announces its defense of such kitsch with, yes, a fade to a full moon.

Stallone is Barney Ross, the leader of a group of mercenaries who are played by most of the remaining defenders of high body count, testosterone-filled action: the British action star Jason Statham (blade expert Lee Christmas), the Chinese martial artist Jet Li (as Yin Yang), WWE wrestler Steve Austin (Paine), ultimate fighter Randy Couture (Toll Road), former NFL player and Old Spice commercial actor Terry Crews (as the absurdly named Hale Caesar) and Dolph Lundgren, famously the Russian boxer Ivan Drago from the “Rocky” films (as the loose cannon Gunner Jensen).

But the “all-star” action lineup also includes cameos from Bruce Willis (as a contractor) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (as a rival mercenary).

Schwarzenegger makes a brief appearance, entering through a

light-soaked doorway

like an action film angel. The scene is played for as many wink-wink laughs as possible; as he exits, Willis’ character wonders what his problem is, while Barney wryly replies: “He wants to be president.”

The most respected actor to be summoned for duty is Mickey Rourke, who plays the group’s job hunter, a grizzled former mercenary named Tool. It’s a testament to Rourke’s abilities that he somehow manages to move through “The Expendables” enlivening it with old warrior wisdom (in a monologue, he says he’s dead inside, “Dracula dead”) while still maintaining his dignity.

The crew is hired out to storm the fictional Caribbean island of Vilena, where a corrupt general (the usually comedic David Zayas) and a villainous, rogue CIA agent (the well chosen Eric Roberts) are in power. The general’s daughter (Giselle Itie) is leading a resistance, and she quickly becomes a focal point of the mission (“Bad Shakespeare,” notes Roberts’ character).

There are the slightest of political undertones: The mercenaries — perhaps like America — have become too soulless in their warring

occupation. There’s a gratuitous waterboading scene, as well. The possibility of redemption hangs in saving Vilena.

But the world of “The Expendables” has shockingly little connection to anything like the real world. The principle setting on Vilena is a military compound like that of any “Rambo” movie or shoot ‘em up video game: cargo boxes, sand bags and watch towers — all of your cliche fodder for explosions.

“The Expendables,” too, has the shallowest of world views. There’s little room for women

(Charisma Carpenter plays Lee Christmas’ cheating girlfriend, who quickly recedes

from the film) and the men are most comfortable bantering with

each other and cheering knife throwing contests. Morality isn’t

complicated, the only really firm rule being that hitting women is intolerable

— quite the moral stance.Frequently, “The Expendables” is so

incoherent, even on its own terms, as to be laughable. Menacing one-liners (like the one after a traitorous minion is shot: “Now we can see the inside of him, and I see lies!”) and poor production values made me wonder if I walked into not a movie theater but a time warp. This is a movie world where irony never happened.

But that Stallone can be so ardent about returning to this kind of film gives “The Expendables” a strange charm. It’s absurd, easy to make fun of and remarkably out of touch. But one imagines it’s exactly the movie Stallone wanted to make. He loves this stuff, and one is inclined to allow him his quixotic, boyish dream where he is forever leaping through explosions and killing bad guys. (AP)

IMAGES FROM THE INTERNET

Sun.Star Weekend | August 21, 2010 C5

audiosyncracyshort reviews

IMAGES FROM THE INTERNET IMAGES FROM THE INTERNET

The SwitchNot a single moment rings true in “The

Switch,” which is unfortunate because it’s actually about a situation in which a lot of women find themselves. Jennifer Aniston’s character, Kassie, is a single, 40-year-old New York TV producer who wants to have a baby but doesn’t want to wait around for a man – or worse yet, the wrong man – to make that happen. So she turns to a sperm donor, only to have her longtime best friend, the uptight stock trader Wally (Jason Bateman), switch the specimens in a drunken stupor. Like most situations – and like the similarly hokey “The Back-up Plan” from earlier this year, starring Jennifer Lopez – this one is played in broad, sitcommy fashion, utterly divorced from the way people behave in real life. (AP)

Animal KingdomWe know we’re in for a different kind

of family values early in “Animal Kingdom” – right off the top, actually – as we watch a teenager sitting next to his passed-out mother on the couch while some inane game show blares on the television in the background. It’s only when the paramedics arrive at their shabby apartment that we realize she’s dead from a heroin overdose, and yet the boy’s expression remains stoic throughout. This development will force Joshua “J” Cody (James Frecheville) into a life with the relatives he never really knew – relatives his mother tried to keep him away from because they were even more screwed up than she was. Now, this 17-year-old must find his place among them, even though he’s clearly in over his head from the start. (AP) A Dusk til Dawn Party with

the Queen of Sexy House BONNIE BAILEY, live in Cebu City.

Sarah Blasko’s smoky vocals have garnered her praise from her native Australia, and she’s using them to enchant U.S. audiences with her third album, “As Day Follows Night.”

Blasko’s wistful narrative of love’s aftermath begins in the stage that dawns just as the sobbing stops and the analysis starts.

“Down On Love” is a song about a self-guided escape from the dumps of an aching heart. The ambling piano is a whimsical complement to the song’s dreamy up-and-down melody.

A rich array of instruments is a boon to the haunting collection of songs, which feature tinkling hi-hat, no dearth of piano, and what sounds like a howling musical saw on the dusty “All I Want.”

“I don’t want another partner, so don’t try and break the spell/ I can’t even understand me, so don’t think that you can help/ When I say things and see things, there’s no way on earth to tell/ what I want/ what I want/ what I want/ Cuz I don’t even know myself,” she sings.

The stern “No Turning Back” gives way to the heated “Lost & Defeated.” The subtle shifts in emotion in some cases make one track sound indistinct from another, but Blasko’s honest lyrics make the disc worth a listen.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: Aside from having an utterly enchanting voice, Blasko is fearless in her vulnerability. She acknowledges the pain of letting go of love against her own wishes on “I Never Knew,” making her all the more endearing.

Sarah Blasko, “As Day Follows Night”(Dramatico Records)

Club Radio 93.1, the only house music station in the country, that brought into Cebu internationally known house music legends such as DJ Mark Doyle of Fierce Angel and DJ Stonebridge now brings you house music sensation BONNIE BAILEY.

Be part of history as the Queen of House, Bonnie Bailey, with massive worldwide hits like Ever After, Everywhere, Firefly, Millions of Milkshakes, Kingdom of Pretty and more comes to the Queen City on August 28, 2010 (Saturday) for a dusk until dawn sexy house party. The event will be at the Mariners Court Convention Hall, located beside the historical Fort San Pedro and the Waterfront Police Station (Pier 1). The event site is just 5 minutes away from SM Cebu and can be seen in Google Maps for your reference.

Gates open at 6pm with heart pumping performances by DJ Surf Boutwood of Hey Jude Boracay, superstar Cebuano DJ’s Hans Congmon and Bong Durano and Club Radio 93.1 FM’s very own Marvin Evangelista. Get ready to party hard as the event will end at 6am the following day! This is made possible by San Miguel Light.

You can also get to meet and greet Bonnie Bailey in person at 2pm on August 28 at the Ayala Center Cebu Activity Center. Be one of the first 100 guests to arrive and have the opportunity to take pictures and ask her questions.

For ticket and table reservations, please visit www.bonniebaileycebu.com or contact 0915-8517875; 0922-8993250 or 032-2560931. Tickets can also be purchased at the Club Radio station in Mariners Court Cebu, Ayala Center Concierge, Fitness First Ayala Center, Alejandros Restaurant, Penthouse and The Loft.


circus of fanciesPami Therese Estalilla

books

TEXT AND IMAGES FROM WWW.FULLYBOOKEDONLINE.COM AND THE WEB

The things we do not know

Last Night atChateau Marmont

Some of the most beautiful things in this universe are the things we do not know.

Of course, it is human nature to try and find out- and it is an admirable trait in everybody who engages in this pursuit for understanding. Where would we be, after all these millennia, if we accepted only what was within our field of vision and never thought to explore places beyond? (By places, I mean also the unrevealed aspects that lie behind everything we know as a fact, the series of unknown causes and consequences that accompany every witnessed event.) We would have stagnated as a race; we would have stalled our evolution.

Taking it a bit further, there are phenomena that modern science has not, as of this moment, been able to explain. From the very beginnings of time, we have been making efforts to provide logical explanations for such mysteries. In the ancient days, our ancestors did this by weaving origin tales. Although we now brand these as myths, there is still not a man on earth who can tell, with absolute certainty, the exact tale of how and why we are here and what happens when we are no longer here. There are varying versions of the Creation story and The End of The World in different religions, folklore, and scientific theories, but not one has been proven to be thoroughly correct, thus cancelling out all the other theories or beliefs. Perhaps the truth contains elements from many of the different tales; perhaps it is something entirely different.

While I admire people who believe in one particular explanation with unflinching rational conviction- I am happy to admit that I simply do not know.

Apart from this grander picture are the smaller things in our everyday life that defy explanation- coincidences, miracles, prophetic dreams,

psychic predictions, and all such brushes with the “supernatural”, which is just another way of saying that something just happened that we were unable to logically explain. People have different reactions to these- fear, denial (dismissing even a plainly perceived event as “a figment of the imagination”), a shift in perspective which may involve a sudden interest in the occult, or a strong need to explain the mysterious occurrence in rational terms.

Whatever the reaction is, even if it happens to be denial, the mind works overtime. It is during these speculative moments that the imagination is tasked to supply what the person does not know. And as a result of this, we make the thing bigger than it is- it becomes darker, more enigmatic, more terrifying, or more beautiful.

For example, if confronted with a mysterious tunnel shrouded in complete blackness, we would populate it in our minds with fantastical and horrific creatures, we would make up stories and histories, we would dream up the most spectacular destinations. And all the while, the tunnel may very well be nothing but a void with no other inhabitants but a family of rats, and it may lead to a dead end.

I can’t help thinking that in a lot of cases, if we were suddenly provided with the true explanation behind something we didn’t understand, it would turn out to be a lot less than we imagined. Still waters may run deep, but they may also very well be rain puddles.

So while my natural curiosity will always prod me to try and find out, I’m glad to not know everything. It gives us room to imagine, and such a poor life it would be without imagination.

Imagination dresses up the things we do not know in garments more elaborate than they could have thought up themselves, and that is why they are so beautiful.

Brooke loved reading the dishy celebrity gossip

rag Last Night. That is, until her marriage became

a weekly headline.

Brooke was drawn to the soulful, enigmatic

Julian Alter the very first time she heard him

perform “Hallelujah” at a dark East Village dive

bar.

Now five years married, Brooke balances two

jobs – as a nutritionist at NYU Hospital and as a

consultant to an Upper East Side girls’ school,

where privilege gone wrong and disordered

eating run rampant – in order to help support her

husband’s dream of making it in the music world.

Things are looking up when after years of

playing Manhattan clubs and toiling as an A&R

intern, Julian finally gets signed by Sony. Although

no one’s promising that the album will ever hit

the airwaves, Julian is still dedicated to logging

in long hours at the recording studio. All that

changes after Julian is asked to perform on the

Tonight Show with Jay Leno – and is catapulted

to stardom, literally overnight. Amazing

opportunities begin popping up almost daily – a

new designer wardrobe, a tour with Maroon 5,

even a Grammy performance.

At first the newfound fame is fun – who

wouldn’t want to stay at the Chateau Marmont or

visit the set of one of television’s hottest shows?

Yet it seems that Brooke’s sweet husband – the

man who can’t handle hot showers and wears

socks to bed – is increasingly absent, even on

those rare nights they’re home together. When

rumors about Brooke and Julian swirl in the

tabloid magazines, she begins to question the

truth of her marriage and is forced to finally come

to terms with what she thinks she wants – and

what she actually needs.

by Lauren Weisberger

Sun.Star Weekend | August 21, 2010 C7

crosslinescribblings

49 Gen. Sepulveda Street, CebuTel. No (032) 255-0105 & 412-5551

Fax No. (032) 412-5552Email: [email protected]

website: www.palazzopensionne.netGot something to share with us? Sun.Star Weekend invites readers to contribute original, unpublished

poems and essays or commentaries about funny or memorable moments in your life. Please email your contributions to: [email protected]

BED & BREAKFAST

IMAGE FROM THE INTERNET

I am Tasha, two years and a half. Grown-ups around me don’t think I am capable of serious thought. At least, that is the impression I get when they talk to me. And the way they talk ABOUT me…even in my presence! Do you know how embarrassing that is?

This morning, I was enjoying myself spinning around doing a ballet like the Dancing Princesses. Then I tripped and broke my mom’s vase. I expected her to ask me if I hurt myself. Instead, she scolded me for being careless. My knee hurt a little but not as much as the thought that the vase mattered more to my mom than I do.

I wanted to tell her that she should keep her expensive décor in the closet while I am still small because I need space to explore. I need to know what else I can do with my hands aside from drawing, brandishing a sword like a musketeer, or operating my portable DVD. I need to know what else I can do with my legs aside from climbing on the back of my Lolo when we play horse, climbing our steep stairs, which is tricky, dancing, jumping from a chair or running around the house.

I have been making one discovery after another and it is exciting. I discovered that I can use my mouth in many ways. I can sing out loud like those beautiful girls on TV; I can tell the grown-ups exactly what I want to eat and chocolate is definitely one of my favorites. I can cry when I want attention. If I don’t get what I want, I cry harder and pretend that I am about to throw up. That usually sends my mom rushing to me to find out what is wrong. If I want something real bad and they all say No, I stomp my feet and roll on the floor screaming. It used to work but I think they began to catch on. Later I heard Wawa say “Let her cry. It is exercise for the lungs.”

I enjoy imagining things and using my hands. Once, I got out this big box of bits and pieces and scattered them on the floor. I started making a house and was so thrilled to see it coming together. Suddenly, my Ate swooped down on it and instantly cleared the floor. My house! It was gone just like that! When I started crying, my ate said we were having visitors. Why did she not talk to me first instead of explaining afterwards? That house was so important to me. She really hurt my feelings. She did not even say “I am sorry.”

I try to appreciate grown-ups because they are really nice people. Like when mom and dad would bring me to the mall where I can ride on that nice wooden horse on the merry-go-round. Or when I get sick and they are extra kind to me even when I scream because my head hurts so bad. Or when my Lolo says “I’m sorry” because he forgot to bring home the chocolate cake he promised. Or when they ask me for a big hug and they say “love you, baby.” These are times I really

feel good about myself. But it is my Lolo who truly delights in me and makes me feel special all the time.

On many occasions, however, grown-ups put my patience and understanding to the test. I often hear them say “don’t do this” or “don’t do that”. I even hear the hint of a warning when I am told to “be a good girl or daddy won’t love you anymore.” These are times I really feel unsure about myself.

I learned to put up my own defense when I discovered the word NO. Many times I have to keep repeating the word because they seem slow to understand. I remember how I had to shout “No” just so I could wear my favorite blue dress to a party and not the pink one they wanted me to wear. Another time, mom wanted me to just sit and watch DVD films instead of going out to play in the yard. She wanted me to stay clean after my morning bath while I wanted to have fun. When will grown-ups realize that we have different tastes?

I know it is disrespectful but sometimes I have to raise my voice to make a point. When I start shouting, however, they shout even louder. When I shout some more, I get threatened with a spank. That’s when I clam up because I scare easily. My silence, however, does not mean I concede. It simply means they succeeded in scaring me.

I wish I could take this up with my friends because grown-ups sometimes confuse me. I hit Trisha once because she grabbed my doll. I was severely scolded because I was told it is wrong to hurt someone. But I remember being given a good spanking for a reason which was not even clear to me. Does it mean it is okay for a grown-up like my dad to hurt me but it is not okay when I hurt someone else? Is there a different rule for adults and for children like me?

The highest point of my day is always play time. I forget everything else. And I just enjoy myself whether I am playing with wawa, my mom or my Lolo. Of course, I love playing with other kids best of all because we understand each other perfectly even when we are silent. With adults, I always have to make an effort to explain and sometimes they still can’t get it after all the effort I make.

Right now, I am having the time of my life. Even when adults want me to grow up fast by telling me what I should do and how I should do them. I am not even sure I want to become a grown-up. They seem to be serious most of the time and seldom have fun. Now, why would I want to be like that?

One thing I truly need right now is to feel safe and loved for being me and not because I behave the way grown-ups want me to. Sometimes I hear them say that I am a terrible two. Honestly, I don’t want to make life difficult for them. I am just being me. And I am only two years old.

“What’s Wrong with Grown-ups?” (a Toddler’s Point of View)

by Maika Amor

Princess Daniseby Anthony Elgi V. Marfa

I traveled back in time to the Romantic periodWhen there were chivalrous knights, kings, and high castlesWhen all men of noble blood gathered in courtsWhere they sought glory, fame, and fortuneAnd there were others who wanted to love and be loved I was one of the knights who sought loveAnd in that castle I met Princess DaniseA girl with a beauty like no otherI offered her a dance and it was our momentWe danced underneath the moon that shone so bright I looked at her and I saw her eyes glitterShe gave me a smile that I couldn’t resistTouched like an angel whose skin felt like velvetAnd as we spent time togetherI fell in love with herIndeed, Cupid’s arrow has hit me We got to know each other through the nightExchanging stories about our different livesAnd then I met her parents who treated me dearlyI asked them if I could have their daughter’s handWorthy of her love, they gave me that honor There in the altar we exchanged our vowsPromised to love each other ‘til death did we partAnd all people of goodwill looked at usWishing us luck as we both share our loveLove has indeed destined us to be together


peeps (people, events and places)

When Blue and Green meet,and other stuff...

Formo turns five years old!Formo celebrated its fifth anniversary with a five-day series of treats for their customers. Beer was sold at ridiculously low prices, and the place was packed to overflowing from August 11 to the fifteenth.

Ateneo-La Salle Golf ClassicThe Green Archers and the Blue Eagles got together last August 16 and 17 at the Cebu Country Club, not for a rumble, but for a golf tournament. Ateneo won the tournament, and happily, no golf clubs were swung at any heads. Instead, everyone trooped over to Treff at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel for the awarding of trophies, and a rousing “Hail, Hail” from the La Sallites capped the ceremonies. Till the next one!

GOlF BUMS UNITED. (Top photos, from left) Abon Cimafranca and Dondi Joseph with a couple of friends; Paola, Mariano Martinez and Woody Wuthridge; Migs Martinez, Alfonso Martinez and Bayani Garcia; (This row, from left) Jun Dizon, Dave Karamihan, Jay Melasa and Bob Martinez; Krystle and Kaira; Althea of RCTV.

Elmer Dado at The PenthouseElmer Dado once again wowed Penthouse regulars with his percussion skills, as he and his Grupo Tribale performed at the popular club last August 14.

5-DAY PARTY. (from left) Abdul Hafid and some staff from Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa; VUDU resident DJ Maxie Perez with Carla and Arlene; The Sun.Star Cebu sales staff.

BANG THAT DRUM! (from left) The Penthouse’s Renault Lao with loving wife Wawa; Elmer Dado hitting the skins; Dianne Gandiongco with a friend; Penthouse regulars having a good time.

Aug21 weekend

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Transcript of Aug21 weekend