Between the Covers: Stories from My Bookcase

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Movie Review: The Mighty Macs

If my Dad didn’t pick up a DVD copy of this movie, I wouldn’t have heard of it (unless they showed it on cable). So I’m glad he did.

To say that the film is about women’s liberation will probably be close to truth. It is set in 1972 and is a retelling of how a small Catholic women’s college went on to build a basketball team and win the first ever national championship for women’s basketball.

Cathy Rush, described as a tomboy who is in the brink of settling into the ‘normalcy’ of a married woman’s life, set out to do something she knew she was very passionate about. There were many challenges in her way and it is possible that anyone else would have given up, but not Coach Rush. They had no proper gym (no home court), had dresses for a basketball uniform, no funds, and attendance to their game was close to zero. Yet Coach Rush came to practice everyday demanding nothing but the best from her girls.

It took awhile, but that’s exactly what she got. Her determination and commitment to the team trickled down to every member until they worked as one unit. Their success caught the attention of everyone in the school, and eventually the whole country.

Though the film showed how girls can become whatever they want to be, and that we don’t need to be boxed in stereotypes, it was still very much about basketball and being a team.

Check out more info and steals from the film’s official site, The Might Macs. I also checked Amazon to find out if there was a book that this film was based on, but there’s none. I did find a book about that was also about the team, but in a different perspective. Check it out:

 

Oh and please do checkout my Minute Maid Pulpy post and leave a comment!

verabearpulpy

Monday, January 24, 2011

Who Moved My Cheese?

who-moved-cheese

I finally got my hands on a copy of the story, courtesy of my colleague Lords. I’d heard of this book from a class I attended a long time ago at NCO for Change Management, but I never got to read it until now. It was a pretty straight forward story, one that I have already heard before. It doesn’t offer much by way of surprises, but serves up kernels of wisdom.

Which character do I most identify with? I’m not sure yet. I’d like to think I have a bit of Sniff and Scurry, and a little more of Haw. I’ve gone through so many changes in the past five years, and I can say that my cheese has definitely been moved quite a number of times – both at work and in my personal life. I’ve found that a lot of times, changing my attitude towards a specific job or something that’s been introduced into my system, determines what the outcome will be. Sometimes, the right response may be to find another job, or end a relationship. At other times though, just a change in attitude towards the same job, or the same partners, is enough to effect a bigger and better change.

How do you respond to change?

Friday, January 21, 2011

Fully Booked

I receive the regular eZine of local book shop, Fully Booked. Sometimes I see interesting info, other times I just delete it. Today though I found two books particularly interesting:

hardsell  miral

Though I have a discount card with Fully Booked, I’ve got to admit that the books are quite pricey. If I were to get both these books, for example, I’d spend over a thousand pesos. So maybe I’ll checkout second hand bookshops first before I decide to get them brand new.

Hard Sell is where the Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway starrer is based from. I haven’t seen the movie (I don’t think it’s shown here just yet but I’ve seen the poster at Gateway Mall) but would love to see it, and read the book too. Miral, on the other hand, I’ve only heard of now. Isn’t that Frieda Pinto (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) on that cover? The story is quite interesting and should give one a glimpse of reality in another land.

What book recommendations have you heeded lately? Care to share a book or two for my 2011 reading list?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I Want iMac!

I so want an iMac.

Right now, I'm using Dad's laptop while the boyfriend is using the PC to post-process his photos from last weekend's photo shoot.

It would be awesome to use an iMac, with its widescreen crystal (AmoLED or whatever it's called) monitor.  But then again, if we had an iMac, Alfred would probably use it for PP and ditch my PC altogether. I think that our lust for an iMac is what kept him away from checking out specs for laptops to replace his old one.

Okay, sorry for another random post. I just had to shout it out one more time: I want in iMac!

Movie Review: RPG Metanoia

For the lack of a proper book review, here are my thoughts on the first Pinoy 3D animated movie:


It took awhile to convince the boyfriend to go and see the movie with me. It was an entry to the annual Metro Manila Film Festival that opens on Christmas morning, but it was already 2011 when we found the time to see it. He was hesitant to see it thinking it would be boring, and an epic failure. He was happy to be proved wrong.

We both truly enjoyed the film. The animation was amazing and the story was relatable. We recommend it for both young kids and adults of our generation. We found ourselves laughing in many parts, and admiring the art in others. It made us proud to be Pinoys just watching that movie.

The main characters are Nico and his friends who were spending the summer the way typical kids do these days: indoors, in front of the PC. But as things turned out, they rediscovered street games that kids of my generation enjoyed: piko, patintero, agawan-base, tumbang preso, syato, and many more.

Nico also learned a very important lesson - that being a hero is not confined to those who are capable of doing acts of greatness. That one needs not to hide behind an avatar to achieve great things. Being a hero is doing the right thing, for the people and the things that matter.

It would have been nice to see the film with my nephews, but it was a spur of the moment thing so we weren't able to invite them. I hope this isn't the last of its kind. A cartoon that is truly Pinoy and imparts values just as much as it entertains.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Choosing Your College Major

So I recently mentioned The Writing Nut here, saying that she was a classmate of mine from college. But we haven’t really been in touch so I don’t know what she does, apart from what she blogs. But I was thinking about how a lot of people end up in a field far from what they majored in at college.
Are you in a job that fits in with what you spent all those years in school for? I’m not. Not really.
I majored in BA Psychology at the University of the Philippines. For a while I thought about really applying that and going into research or something. Really work in the field (not Clinical Psychology though). My involvements in child rights advocacies weren’t exactly in line with my Psych training. In fact, whatever course I ended up taking, I probably would still have been involved in those organizations in the past.
Now, I’m in the BPO industry. Not in HR, but in Operations. Is there a degree course that people thinking of a career in the BPO industry could take up? I don’t think so. Did my education prepare me for this path? Not really.
But even if there was a degree appropriate for someone eyeing for call center employment, I still wouldn’t go into that. I’d rather enroll in baking school or maybe get an online business degree. Ah, Multi-Media Arts, or Web Design, I’d love to take short courses on those. Smile
My niece is graduating from high school in March. I heard that she’s planning to take up Economics. I wonder how she chose her major?

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Writing Nut

thewritingnutlogo_Layer-175x211

Let me tell you about a writer’s blog. She’s a writer and she blogs about writing, makes sense yes? Smile She also does awesome book reviews and author interviews.

I will have to admit, I have a bias for her since she’s my batch mate at the UP and we were even group mates for a paper in one of our major subjects (which one, I’d forgotten already). But I wouldn’t take a moment to blog about her writing just for those reasons. She really does amazing work!

I’ve been visiting her blog every once in awhile since I saw her post about it on Facebook, but it wasn’t until today that I really paused to read her author interview for Allison Burnett, and after that, her review of his book, Undiscovered Gyrl.

The way she writes the review makes me really want to step out and find a copy. It is that good. It’s nowhere like the reviews I pen. Haha. Open-mouthed smile Just based on that review alone, I’m already convinced that her stories are even more colorful. Can’t wait to someday do a review of her books. Smile

So if you’re looking for a good read, go check out The Writing Nut (and if you’re so inclined and in her area, join her children’s book writing group too).

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Manolo Blahnik Drawings

Did you know that the famous shoe designer Manolo Blahnik released a book sharing his creative process, and his drawings of his designs?

Well, he did:

cManoloBlahnikDrawings

Reviews for this book are mostly positive, coming from shoe lovers of course. I’ve personally never even seen a Manolo up close and would probably die without ever trying one on, much less own one. But like Nina Garcia’s The Little Black Book of Style, this book is channeling the hidden fashionista in me. Getting a copy of this book is probably the closest I’d get to experiencing Manolos.

Although the kikay in me would love to doll up and wear high heels (which I very seldom do), the truth is that if I had a choice between high heels and sensible comfortable flats (like those mbt shoes), I’d almost always go for comfort. Some say though that heels don’t have to mean uncomfortable. I guess I just haven’t found the perfect fit just yet.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Reading List for 2011

Do you have a 2011 reading list?

I don’t have a list just yet, but I resolve to make a survey of my unread books and endeavor to read them all soon. That way, I can make way for more books. I am open to suggestions people, so tell me what books you’d love to read this year and I’ll check them out. If you read a good book in 2010, tell me about it today Smile

Happy New Year everyone!