cartoon character makeovers

Yes, the old cartoon characters we grew up with have been given a makeover! The new ones are all thinner than the original plump, round versions.

Some even say the new Rainbow Brite has a thinner face and fuller, more red lips.

And the new Strawberry Shortcake has, longer hair, larger eyes and fewer freckles!

Some people have been appalled by the change and how it affects how little girls view beauty. To be honest, this could be a chicken-or-egg kind of situation. I asked Isabella and she says she likes the new ones better. So it could be that the makeovers are such because this generation's taste has changed remarkably from ours. It could also be that Isabella's taste (and as they say, view of beauty) has already been shaped by Manga or the scrawny characters of Cartoon Network (very different from the round, chubby ones of Disney Junior, which I personally love and watch even when Noah is not around. My faves are Doc McStuffins, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso and Word World.). I'm not really sure which came first, which affected what. One thing I do know is that there is one character that Isabella, Noah and I agree is incredibly cute...

Yes, we all agree Puss is so cute in his big-droopy-eyed sick-puppy look!

Photos from here, here, here, here, here and here.

random Friends reminders

My previous post on the anti-theft lunchbag here reminded me of Ross and the episode where someone stole his sandwich despite his warning limerick. It's what brought him to the deep end and led to his sabbatical. "My sandwich?! My sandwich?! MY SANDWICH?!!!"

Yes, random objects remind me of my favorite TV show, Friends. This throw reminds me of the throw that Rachel used to cover herself when she walked out of the bathroom naked and Chandler was in their apartment. 

The one on the show was less colorful, but they're both crocheted and allowed Chandler to say, "That's a relatively open weave and I can still see your... nippular area." Eep, too bad for Rachel.

The many funky rings in this picture remind me of Phoebe and how she had to take all of her rings off when Mike proposed to her.

This dollhouse reminds me of the one Monica inherited, that didn't go well with Phoebe's toys - especially the giant dog statue.

And remember how Phoebe & Rachel were in a Literature class and because Rachel didn't bother to read Jane Eyre, Phoebe got her to compare Jane Eyre with Robocop in front of the whole class.

Finally, these chairs remind me of Chandler and Joey's lazy-boys (Rosita was the name of the one who died).

I wonder if the chairs in this picture are also facing the 'Stevie the TV' of this house. :)  

Photos from annnniegirl, lushlee and pinkwallpaper.

Click here for previous posts that show how addicted I am to Friends.

my nighttime drive

Speaking of listening to the radio during drive-time here, there is this DJ that makes me want to just grab my bag and get out of my car. In fact, I've stopped listening to this particular radio station on my way home from work. Because I just couldn't stand the accent of their female DJ.

When it started about 3 months ago, even though her accent really bothered me, I kept listening to her every night that week. Oddly, it didn't occur to me to switch stations. I think it was because I felt there was something wrong with her pronounciation, but I couldn't tell what was wrong exactly. So I found myself repeating her pronounciation of certain words over and over to figure out what sounded so wrong.

And I swear, it's not because my standards are too high. I'm perfectly fine with barok Filipino-English. After hearing this DJ, I don't even mind the trying-hard-to-have-an-American-twang kind of Filipino-English. Because this girl just says things in a majorly wrong way.

For example, the word "debut". I wouldn't have minded hearing "day-byu" or "de-bu". But mixing it up and pronouncing it "de-byu" just gave me a migraine.

I later found out from a friend that this DJ is really hot-looking. Doesn't she know that radio is a medium for 'better-heard-than-seen' people? Those 'better-seen-than-heard' types like her belong on a visual medium like TV! As Joey of Friends said, "Radio, that's just for ugly people."

Photo from annnniegirl.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post - my morning drive. Click here for previous posts on my Friends addiction.

the runway show i DID watch

I would have liked to see Project Runway Philippines Season 3 winner, Milka Redoble's finale collection LIVE. It would have been great to see how the fabrics really look (am sure it's different on TV) and get a glimpse (though probably a far view) of the construction (was that puckering I saw on TV?). But I didn't get tickets this season.

I do remember watching Season 2 with Isabella and a few friends. I remember being sooooo excited for Isabella because at that time, she dreamed of becoming a fashion designer (she now wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up).

She had her own Project Runway sketchbook and designed some pretty amazing ensembles. And to think, she was only 11 then!

I found it endearing how she designed outfits for other people. She didn't just stick to her own style. Because early on, she declared her style as G.P.R.S. - Gothic Princess Rock Star. Imagine skulls with hearts for eyes. Yet not all of her sketches were G.P.R.S.!

A year later, she was such a fan of Project Runway that for her birthday, I gave her a "shopping-at-Mood" experience in fabric stores in SM Megamall.

Since then, Isabella has switched dreams. She doesn't even watch Project Runway with me anymore. So while I wish I could have watched this past season's finale live, if I had to choose just one time to watch a runway show with Isabella, I'd still pick that day in 2009... When it was still a dream come true for her.         

Photos are my own, from Isabella's old scrapbooks, and from here.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post - the one about this season's winner.

a little something for our country

I won't pretend to be the most nationalistic Filipino. I'm not (though I did get teary-eyed during the National Anthem of one of Isabella's school programs after getting back from linving in Singapore for work). Like most of you, I recognize both the good and the bad about the Philippines.

But today, on the anniversary of Philippine independence, let's all do a little something for our country. Whether it be to go on a Philippine History Tour like Carlos Celdran's Intramuros one (which I found to be very enlightening as it was a very different point of view from what I learned in school. I also discovered from his tour that the ceiling details of the San Agustin Church is painted, not sculpted.)...

Or schedule a trip to local sights you haven't been to. It's sad that a whole year later, my Lakbayan score from here is still a C. I haven't added any new places to my online map that charts how much of the Philippines I've visited. To think, I got my HKIA Frequent Visitor card this year. Shameful!

Or add to the viral itsmorefuninthephilippine photos and hashtags to promote Philippine tourism. Did you know that BBDO, the brilliant advertising agency that developed the campaign only developed those three ads in their website here? The photos here, here and others you may have seen were all created and shared by regular Filipinos!

Or watch a Pinoy movie or TV show (I hear GMA News TV has brought a lot of substance to Philippine TV). Or listen to OPM music. Or buy from the many Pinoy entrepreneurs these days. Or read Before Ever After, Filipina Samantha Sotto's internationally-released novel or Pugad Baboy, which is now on its 23rd compilation. Or laugh out loud at Pinoy humor.

Or even just eat Pinoy streetfood like fishballs... the cleanest of which, I believe, are in UP because they go beyond a 'no double-dipping' rule with a tiny paper tray and squeeze-type-bottles as sauce-holders (so double-dipping is not even possible).

Or teach your child a new Filipino word. I think I'm going to teach Noah the word "kalayaan" today.

Let's all do a little something for our country today.

Photos from here, here and my facebook friend D's wall.

delightful dinner dysfunction

I grew up eating dinner in front of the TV. We did it as a family. We would eat in our den with trays on tables like these (ours weren't as pretty though) and watch TV together. We watched dramas like Dallas, Knots Landing and Falcon Crest. We watched comedy shows like Three's Company, Who's the Boss?, Punky Brewster, Cosby Show, Alf and Perfect Strangers. I also remember watching Buck Rogers, Greatest American Hero, Moonlighting and Scarecrow & Mrs. King. We talked about our day during commercials, but once the show started again, we either laughed together, groaned together at annoying cliffhangers or playfully teased those that bawled during sad episodes. I didn't have a TV in my room and I never felt I needed it. Perhaps because TV time was family-time rather than alone-time for me.

I realize now it was odd not to sit at the dinnertable at dinner. And if you're wondering how my brother and I learned good table manners with this dinner-in-front-of-the-TV habit, I think it's because our mom used to take us out to lunch every weekend. I remember how when we were kids, we frequented Cafe Rizal in the old Rizal Theater, the Manila Garden coffee shop, SM's Cafe Elysee and Trattoria Uno in Ali Mall (see related post here). I also remember how my little brother would even pull our chairs for my mom & me at these restos. I'm sure the other lunch patrons who saw us kids with our napkins on our laps and scooping our soup away-from-rather-than-towards-us wouldn't have believed we ate our dinners on cafeteria trays in front of the TV.

I guess I have to admit that growing up, our dinners - maybe even our lunches - were not very common. Some would probably even frown upon them and call them dysfunctional. But for me, they were delightful family-bonding memories. And I wouldn't have had them any other way. 

Photo from FYNCT. 

oops, my neurosis is showing...

You already know I'm a Friends fanatic from here and here. So I hope I've eased you in gradually enough that you are ready for how neurotic this obsession really is...

I've actually visited Monica and Chandler's building on Grove and Bedford in New York. Where Central Perk should be is a quaint little place called The Little Owl (at least it was when I was there almost 5 years ago).

At the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in California, I got to see the house Monica and Ross grew up in - the one where most of the flashbacks of bubbly fat Monica and Chandler's flock-of-seagulls-hair were shot. We also passed by Stage 24, the only stage in the WB lot with a name: The FRIENDS Stage.

And of course, my favorite FRIENDS moment of all: standing right in the middle of the Central Perk set!

It was so surreal. We were so giddy about being there that we didn't even catch the part when our tour guide said we were not allowed to touch the set. By the time we realized it was prohibited, we had already leaned on the iconic orange couch!

I have watched each episode at least a thousand times that I know things like their apartment numbers started out as 5 & 6, but soon changed to 19 & 20. I have never encountered a Friends trivia question I could not answer that I, my hubby and the other Friends fanatic we know have come up with our own trivia games like: Name the 10 Thanksgiving episodes in the right order, or Name the 10 season-enders, or Name the most celebrities who've guested on the show. And we've been playing that last game for so long, actors from shows of today were not even considered celebrities yet: Actors like Michael Vartan of Alias who played Tom Selleck/Richard Burke's son who Monica also dated, Glee's Principal Figgins who was Joey's doctor when he had kidney stones, CSI Miami's Emily Procter who, I swear, looks and sounds like the girl Joey dated when he was the Hombre perfume guy, and of course, House's Hugh Laurie who sat beside Rachel on the plane to Ross' wedding in London.

Oh, and between me and my hubby, we have collected a considerable share of Friends shirts: You already know of my Regina Phalange shirt from here. We, of course, also have shirts with the FRIENDS logo, the Central Perk logo and the iconic couch. My hubby has one with Joey's signature pick-up line, "How you doin'?", one with a cartoon of a smelly cat & "what are they feeding you?" printed on the back, and one with Ross' sketch of how they were supposed to maneuver his new couch up the stairs of his building - with scribbles of "Pivot! Pivot! PI-VOT!!!". I almost popped $30 at the NBC store for a regular white tee with...

ROSS GELLER

BACHELOR BASH

1998

... in plain black i-think-Times-New-Roman printing on the front, had it not been for my enterprising friend K who insisted she could easily have those words printed on a white shirt. Maybe we could even add Joey's headshot at the back - which is actually more like the actual giveaway at Ross' bachelor party. Explore my photo archive for photos of these shirts. And as luck would have it, I chanced upon Ross' FRANKIE SAYS RELAX shirt in the most unexpected place -- a People Are People store! It's much bigger than Ross' tiny t-shirt, but it seems as thin and comfy. And like Rachel, I love to sleep in it!

And so even though they've taken their final bow...

I love that there are still bits and pieces of FRIENDS in existence today. Oops, my neurosis showing again... Hope I haven't scared you away. If it helps, I promise to make this my last Friends post for a while. :)

Photos are from here, YouTube (screenshots) and my own. Source of the Final Bow photo is credited in my original post here. Photos of the shirts in my picasa archive are from here, here, here, here, here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Oops, My Neurosis Is Showing... series. 

my impossible wishlist

After writing that post on my excessive wishlist, I got to thinking about an impossible wishlist...

1. To watch a Friends episode live. When we went on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Burbank, California two years ago, we went inside the Two and a Half Men studio. Filming the show wasn't scheduled that day but we got to sit where a live audience would and right in front of us was the set of Charlie's house. It hit me then how sad it was that I would never get a chance to watch the filming of a Friends show. Good thing the Friends Central Perk set was part of the WB Tour so I at least got to see it up close. 
2. To taste Trattoria Uno's Zuppa Marinara again. When I was growing up, there were very few mall choices. One of them was Ali Mall and they had this quaint little Italian restaurant there with patrons' graffiti all over the walls. We ate there all the time. They had freshly-baked bread and the best Seafood Marinara soup! If I am not mistaken, it was owned by the Aranetas and in later years, would sometimes be closed because the chefs were busy with a private party of the Araneta family. I remember going there in later years and Zuppa Marinara was no longer on their menu but the chef would gladly cook me and my mom our favorite tomato soup! But a few years ago, Trattoria Uno closed down. And tasting their Zuppa Marinara again sadly lands on my impossible wishlist. Sigh.  
3. To munch on Jack & Jill Barbecue Curls again. I haven't found anyone who remembers Jack & Jill  Barbecue Curls because only Chiz Curls survived the test of time. People remember Munchees (which I wasn't a fan of) but nobody remembers the Barbecue Curls packed in a red and yellow foil pouch. I remember loving it when I was a kid. But to be honest, decades later, I have a very faint recollection of it's actual taste. So I'd sure love to try it again! A snack I do remember so well - that I can almost taste it - is the original Planters Cheese Curls that came in big cardboard canisters. I remember they brought out the "selfish" in me. When my friends were over at my house, I'd hide my big can and offer everything we had to eat at home - except for my salty, cheesy Planters Cheese Curls. Now sometimes, a Cheetos Crunchy would start out tasting like my old Planters, but the flavor at the end will be quite different. And don't be fooled by the Cheese Curls you might spot nowadays in a blue canister and yellow lid (even those that use the Planters brand), they are so NOT the same. The Cheese Balls versions are pretty close to the original. But the Cheese Curls are never like the original.
4. To see a photo of my old toy creations. When my brother and I were little, we would make pretend horses using side tables as the body (with a pillow so it would be soft to sit on), our mom's belts as reins & stirrups, and our teddy bears as our horses' heads. I also remember building various things out of Lego... Like a dog with an open slit as his mouth. The flat hole led to his belly so we pretended the "smooth flat two" Lego pieces were dogfood. The memories are so clear in my head but it would be great to have a photo as a souvenir.

5. To be one of those names in the credits of Disney's Beauty and the Beast or Toy Story. When I first watched Belle, I was so in awe of her expressions & actions - how her eyebrows furrowed, how her eyes widened with emotion, how her hair would fall down her face and she would brush it off. She seemed like a real person! I was also captivated by the very realistic majestic ballroom. And to this day, I love the songs! As the credits rolled down, I remember wishing my name was one of those many names. It would have been great to be a part of such a grand project. It was, after all, the first ever animated film to be nominated in the Academy Awards for Best Picture. I would have also loved to be part of the Toy Story production team. The first-ever animated film in CGI with three-dimensional characters... and toys I grew up with as the characters! That would have been awesome! Oh and just so it's clear, this wishlist item is not only impossible because the movies were made a long time ago, but more because I have no idea how animated films are made! I don't even know how to use Photoshop! It's just really fun to dream of being part of such a Creative Team.

Oddly, I thought thinking up this impossible wishlist would make me sad. But dreaming up the possibility of these impossible wishes was actually quite enjoyable! 

Friends photo is my own and the Beauty & the Beast animated gif is from annnniegirl.

Click here and here for previous posts that show my addiction to Friends. Click here for another nostalgic post on Ali Mall and other old malls.   

excessive birthday wishlist

Since it's my birthday, I thought up an excessive wishlist. They're absolutely unnecessary everyday things that I would absolutely love! [You might notice that shoes & bags are conspicuously absent from my list - because, I argue, they are a necessity! Haha!].

1. Friends DVD box sets. Yes, plural. The regular kind which is exactly what aired on TV. And the kind with never-before-seen additional footage. So I can compare and spot the extra jokes. What makes this even more excessive is I already have all 10 seasons. It's just that some seasons are the regular kind and some are the ones with extra footage. When I watch my DVDs from the extra-footage sets, at certain points, I catch myself thinking, "hey, that's an extra joke!" I'm never totally sure which is why I'd [neurotically] like to compare the 2 DVD sets. And despite the fact that I've watched every episode at least a thousand times to the point that some episodes don't play well anymore, these extra jokes escape me now! The only extra footage I can remember now is the one of Naked Ross sipping tea with Ugly Naked Guy when he was trying to get Ugly Naked Guy's apartment. And that is one extra visual I don't quite care for. :) 

2. Daily delivery of large Bubble Tea Royal Milk Tea Cold with extra bubbles   

3. My own Candy Corner (candy bar) at home - with unlimited supply of my favorite candies! Hmmm... since I'm making excessive wishes anyway, I would love to have a wall of M&Ms - segregrated by color - in those clear tubes that you find in the M&Ms stores. And I'd love to have every color - especially those that are not available in the pouches from the grocery!

Ooohh! I just looove the idea of these things on my excessive birthday wishlist.

Photo of the various scenes from The One Where They All Turn Thirty from here. Click here, here and here for previous evidences of my Friends fanaticism.

dear Cougar Town judgers

When I tell people I enjoy watching Cougar Town, I feel them judging me. I don't blame them. Even the Cougar Town folks know the title's bad. Because the plot cannot be further from the title. So they poke fun at it in every episode with a new commentary mocking the title in the title sequence.

So dear Cougar Town judger, I suggest you try watching the first season. Sure, the first 2 to 3 episodes were about cougars, but the rest will leave you in stitches. Because the funny titles do not even come close to how totally hilarious this show is.

You'll have to be in your mid-30's to mid-40's to appreciate the jokes though. Pretty much the age of Friends fans by now. In fact, it's a lot like Friends except the 6 friends drink wine instead of coffee.

Photos from here, here, here, here and here.

Click here and here for previous posts on my Friends' obsession.

bracing myself

Am bracing myself for the day ahead. I am anticipating a difficult day at work today.

But on stressful, exhausting days like these, I remember what one of my old co-workers would always say: "Diamonds are made with fire and extreme pressure."

So I know, something good & beautiful will come out of this long, hard day.

You never know... Maybe Chuck Bass will leave a diamond ring on the steps of my office tonight. Pardon the cheeky joke. They're both in khaki trench coats, so I couldn't resist. Plus, a sense of humor always helps on days like these.

Photo from heritage and here.

that kind of day

As awful as it may be, I have to admit I draw a bit of comfort that even models have that kind of day.

That kind of day always makes me late for work. I end up trying on many different outfits before I find one that doesn't make it look so much like that kind of day.

But when that kind of day goes on for weeks, it's either time to hop on the treadmill or go shopping for bigger clothes! I prefer the latter. After all, as Carrie Bradshaw once said, "Shopping is [my] cardio." :D 

Photos from harpersbazaar and here.

Click here and here for previous posts on that kind of day.

"in a little room called the kitchen"

In case you haven't watched this episode, don't worry, I promise not to spoil it so much. For this post to make sense, all you need to know is that Marshall brought the gang to a Hibachi grill restaurant against Barney's liking. I was laughing out loud when, as Chef Takumi started his Hibachi cooking stunts, Barney said, "Oh, that reminds me. There's this other restaurant we should try sometime. What they do is, they cook your meal in a little room called... the kitchen. What's the name of that? Oh yeah, every other restaurant in New York City!"

That's exactly how my hubby feels about shabu-shabu restaurants! It doesn't help when he's already hungry when we get to the restaurant. Seeing food in front of you, albeit uncooked, is understandably difficult for someone who's famished. So he'd much rather restaurants cooked our meals, as Barney said, "in that little room called the kitchen".

Photo from here.

Click here for a previous post about my hubby. Click here for a previous post that is NOT about my hubby.

do you remember?

Do you remember when we used to fill out autograph books in gradeschool? Do you remember how we scribbled TMTM as our answer to "Favorite Songs"? Do you remember a dedication in your own autograph book signed off with JAPAN (Just Always Pray At Night), or ITALY (I Trust And Love You), or with the more common TCCIC (Take Care Coz I Care)? Turns out, we started the OMG and LOL textspeak of today!

Do you remember the questions... Who is your crush? What is your motto? What is your most embarassing moment? And... What is love? 

"Define love." I don't quite remember what I wrote down then. But I do remember a great big love at that time... 

Do you remember the wedding of Kermit the Frog and Ms. Piggy in the movie Muppets Take Manhattan? My brother and I even had an LP record of the soundtrack! So I remember this song that leads up to the wedding so clearly...

Sadly, I could not find a clip of the actual wedding ceremony... But I do remember the funny sing-song pronouncement so fondly...

"Because you share a love so biiiiiggg...

I now pronounce you Frog and Piiiiiggggg!"

Do you remember?

Photos from designeditor and muppet.wikia.

my name is NOT Regina Phalange.

I was wearing this Regina Phalange shirt of mine today at Starbucks and after taking my order, the girl at the cash register looked at my "nametag" and decided against asking for my name.

That incredibly confused me because Regina Phalange was Phoebe Buffay's pseudonym. Just as Ken Adams was Joey Tribbiani's alternate name. And because I had an alternate Starbucks name of my own. They never could get my name right. I would repeat it three to four times and they would still get it wrong on the cup.

Barista: "Your name, ma'am?"

Me: "Epi."

Barista: "Emmy?" 

Me: "No, Epi."

Barista: "Ellie, ma'am?"

Me: "No, Epi."

Barista: "Eddie?"

Me: [sigh] I give in, "Yes, Eddie."

Scrawled on my cup: "Teddy" [mild expletive under my breath]

So one day, when the Starbucks barista asked for my name, I uttered, "Vivian". And they got it in one shot! The spelling on the cup was right too! From then on, my Starbucks name became "Vivian".

So imagine my confusion when the Starbucks barista did not only NOT call me by my real name "Epi", but also did NOT call me by my pseudonym "Vivian". Instead, she called me by a new name: "One Coffee Jelly Frap for Ms. Regina".

Disclaimers:
1. Yes, I am a Friends fanatic. See related post here and here.
2. Epi is not my real, real name. Neither is Vivian. Nor Regina.
3. I didn't use my old nick (during my IRC/mIRC/ICQ days of yore) because that would have been a similarly long and confusing dialogue. 

 Photo from here.