weekend@sunstar.com.phSaturday, May 14, 2011

movies

4Thor

wheels

3

Old school classics

Everyone is meant to have a purposeful life, as Jigs Arquiza learns from this self-made gentleman.

A purposeful life

Sun.Star Weekend | Saturday , May 14, 20112CCHERRY ANN LIM Managing Editor, Special Pages and FeaturesJIGS ARQUIZA Editor CLINT HOLTON P. POTESTAS Writer

RALPH RHODDEN C. CAVERO Graphic Designer

cover story

“I think there’s a purpose for me. Day by day, I find out what it is.”

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Look at him and you’d think 26-year-old Kaiser Christopher Tan was an all-out party guy, but there’s more to him than meets the eye, as he explains “When

I was in college, I think I was able to go to Vudu only four times.” He now goes to Vudu most days of the week, being the popular club’s chief financial officer. “Entertaining is one of my passions, and when I was invited to be a partner at Vudu, I gladly joined the group,” Kaiser elaborates. He then adds with a laugh, “But one of the things I first learned about the business was how to be a bartender!”

It hasn’t been all wine and roses for this self-made young man, though. Kaiser relates when his family’s construction business took a downturn, “I think every family goes through a financial crisis of some kind, and when my family had ours, it took a lot of adjusting for me. It got to the point for us that corned beef was already a feast.”

apurposefullifelife

purposeful

Sun.Star Weekend | Saturday , May 14, 2011 3C

FROM C2

Old school classics

BMW E30

Mercedes Benz W123

Because of adversity, Kaiser learned how to be an entrepreneur the hard way. While still able to go to school at Sacred Heart College in Talisay, he didn’t have enough extras. Because of this, “Nagtukod ko og carinderia” during college, he says, adding “I even sold e-load for cellphones.”

The president of the Cebu chapter of the Philippine Student Nurses Association during his time, Kaiser graduated with a degree in nursing in 2008. Though a nurse, he had to help out with his family’s struggling construction company. Finding the work not to his liking, he asked to leave the business and find his own thing, creating a rift with his parents. “Wala jud mi tagdanay,” Kaiser confesses, “but everything worked out.”

Following his own road, Kaiser met a bank manager who gave him a generous loan, and used that money to buy a small parcel of land. He then purchased on account building materials from the families of his friends who owned hardware and construction supply stores, all the while hoping that his venture would bear fruit. The turning point happened when he was at church. During the offering, Kaiser found out that all he had left was a hundred peso bill. He offered it, praying “Lord, everything is all up to you.”

And then the much prayed-for result happened: business boomed for Kaiser Estates, the development company that he founded. Kaiser attributes his success to that one time at church, and since then, he has been doing his best to give back to the Lord. At present, Kaiser Estates has 19 developments all over Cebu, and according to Kaiser, part of each sale of each unit goes to the church and to charity.

Aside from giving to charity, Kaiser’s company also sponsors youth activities and environmental conservation projects. “I think there’s a purpose for me. Day by day, I find out what it is,” he says, adding “Going to church keeps me sane. My faith keeps me on track.”

wheels

Produced between 1976 and 1985, the Mercedes Benz W123 is perhaps the most popular model, selling almost three million units before being replaced by the W124 sedan, estate and coupe models.

With three body styles available, the W123 model came with numerous options like vinyl upholstery called MB-Tex, velour or leather upholstery, fice-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, central locking, headlamp wipers, seat heating, power steering (which became standard after 1982), retractable steering columns, anti-lock brake systems, airbags and

various other amenities. One really nice thing about these models was the fact that real wood was used as trimmings for the interior.

Engines came in 2,000, 2,300, 2,500, 2,800 and 3,000 cubic centimeter displacements, with 3.0 liter, 5-cylinder turbocharged diesels also available.

Very reliable, the Mercedes Benz W123 model line remains popular even twenty-five year after the last unit rolled out of the factory.

BMW started producing the highly popular E30 sedans, coupes and station wagons in 1982, with production going on until 1990 for the sedans and coupes, and 1993 for the convertible model.

The cars were available with four engine choices: 1.6 and 1.8 liter 4-cylinder engines for the entry-level units, and six-cylinder engines ranging from 2.0 liters all the way to 2.7 liters. The BMW E30 still remains as one of the most popular BMW models all over the world.

“Going to church keeps me sane. My faith keeps me on track.”

Mercedes Benz 300CE

An AMG-modified W123 sedan

A W123 station wagon

An E30 estate or station wagon

An E30 coupe

Sun.Star Weekend | Saturday , May 14, 20114C

movies

The Norse gods are off to a decent, though not divine, start in “Thor,” the latest movie in Marvel Comics’ big-screen expansion of its super-hero pantheon.

Held to a more brisk running time than some superhero epics that swell to Elizabethan stage proportions, “Thor” nevertheless manages to cram in a lot of Shakespearean intrigue.

Director Kenneth Branagh, whose big-screen Shakespeare adaptations include “Hamlet” and “Henry V,” pits father against son and brother against brother, with loads of palatial pride, envy, rivalry and resentment driving the action.

The human part of the equation often is where “Thor” comes up short, as in the puny humans of whom the god, played by statuesque Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, supposedly becomes so fond.

Fresh off her Academy Award win for “Black Swan,” Natalie Portman as Thor’s mortal love interest is a surprisingly insubstantial presence. We have to be told by a colleague that Portman’s Jane Foster is a “master physicist,” but there’s little in the actress’ demeanor to make you believe it.

Thor is the god who fell to Earth, but why he wants to stay among these little Earthlings never feels genuine, given the far cooler place he calls home.

That place is Asgard, the dwelling of superpowered beings who, in Marvel’s reworking of mythology, became objects of worship among the ancient Norsemen.

Hemsworth’s Thor is in line to inherit the throne from his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), over his scheming brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston). But after Thor defies his dad

and leads a mission of revenge against old enemies on the ice planet Jotunheim, Odin strips

his cocky son of his power and his mighty hammer, banishing him to Earth to learn some humility.

In the New Mexico desert, Thor falls in with scientist Jane, her mentor (Stellan Skarsgard) and their wisecracking assistant

(Kat Dennings, who keeps the movie lively with her comic timing and delivery).

The Asgard sets are impressive, but while the celestial setting of this heavenly dominion gleams, it often looks fake, even cartoonish.

“Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings” have presented much better fantasy lands.The action sequences also are muddled at times,

though an armored guy smashing things with a giant hammer certainly is a fresh take on superhero violence.

The plot — credited to three screenwriters and two story developers, among them Marvel Comics scribe J. Michael Straczynski — is a bit unfocused,

since it not only has to relate Thor’s journey but also help set up next year’s superhero ensemble tale “The Avengers.”

That film will team Thor with Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Mark Ruffalo’s Incredible Hulk, Chris Evans’ Captain America and other Marvel heroes.

The bridge in “Thor” is Clark Gregg, reprising his “Iron Man” role as Agent Coulson, an operative for SHIELD, the outfit that assembles the superhero dream team (stick through the “Thor” end-credits for a teaser featuring a prominent member of “The Avengers” cast).

While Jane, Coulson and the other humans gradually learn who Thor is and what he’s capable of, battles rage on among the Asgardians (Ray

Stevenson as one of Thor’s raucous comrades and Idris Elba as the realm’s vigilant gatekeeper are

standouts) and the frost giants of Jotunheim (with Colm Feore as their coolly menacing leader).

It’s a lot to pack into one movie, particularly when the battle expands to Earth, where an Asgard weapon is unleashed. The story flits fickly back and forth, but Hemsworth has true star power, a regal presence that helps keep the disparate elements stitched together.

He’s also quite funny, tossing off imperious quips with charm and roguish slyness. And there are beefcake moments where his rippling musculature puts the bare-chested wolf pack of the “Twilight” flicks to shame.

Born to superhuman power, Thor can naturally do things that Downey’s

guy in a metal suit or Evans’ soldier on super-steroids

could only dream of. So it’ll be interesting to see how Marvel overseers and “Avengers” director Joss Whedon handle the division of labor among the

superhero squad. Thor certainly

does humble down to a more collegial attitude

in his debut run, but “The Avengers” should make for

some engaging alpha-male, or alpha-Marvel, dynamics.

IMAGES FROM THE INTERNET

Sun.Star Weekend | Saturday , May 14, 2011 5C

short reviews

IMAGES FROM THE INTERNET

audiosyncracy

Meek’s CutoffThe journey is always the destination

in road-trip movies. What happens when the characters get where they’re headed isn’t nearly as important as the adventures they’ve seen and the bonds they’ve forged along the way. Director Kelly Reichardt takes that idea to an intriguing extreme: Her characters may not even wind up anywhere, but because of her naturalistic approach and deliberate pacing, we’re surprised to find we’ve experienced more than we could have imagined. This is true of her last two features, “Old Joy” and “Wendy and Lucy,” but especially of her latest and most powerful film yet, a stripped-down Western called “Meek’s Cutoff.” Reichardt trusts her audience, encourages her viewers to feel comfortable in the stillness and the quiet, and to draw their own conclusions from an ending that’s as profound as it is enigmatic. (AP)

Cave of Forgotten DreamsHe’s 68 years old and narrates his

documentaries in an unmistakably raspy whisper, his heavy German accent adding an air of mystery to everything he’s describing. And yet Werner Herzog has such obvious enthusiasm for the discoveries he depicts in “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” it’s as if you’re listening to a giddy little kid who learned the coolest thing at school today and can’t wait to tell you all about it. That’s just one of the many fascinating contradictions that mark the latest film from Herzog, who previously brought us tales of bears (“Grizzly Man”) and penguins (“Encounters at the End of the World”). Here, he prowls around a French cave containing spectacular prehistoric artwork that was closed off to the outside world over 20,000 years ago because of a rock face collapse. Once scientists found the Chauvet Cave in 1994 and began investigating inside, they came across vivid and pristine images of horses, bears, rhinos and other creatures that they estimate are over 30,000 years old – almost twice as old as previous finds. (AP)

Jennifer Lopez’s latest single – the international smash “On the Floor” – opens with this line: “It’s a new generation of party people.” And luckily the singer has taken note.

Lopez, 41, isn’t the same star she was 10 years ago, when she dominated both pop and urban music charts. She struggled with 2005’s “Rebirth,” and was worse off with “Brave,” which came two years later.

Lopez has never been a musical icon, and she probably never will be. But she is a great entertainer – and that’s reflected throughout most of her seventh album, “Love?”

The Pitbull-featured “On the Floor,” which has the “party, party, party” vibe that has taken over Top 40 radio, is irresistible and addictive. It was produced by RedOne, the man behind Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and “Poker Face.” The hitmaker also works his magic on the celebratory dance jam “Papi.” Lopez also has future hits with the Lil Wayne-assisted “I’m Into You” and “Good Hit,” a Fergie-sounding jam produced by The-Dream and Tricky.

Lopez is best, though, when she collaborates with producer D’Mile. The two songs – “(What Is) Love?” and “One Love” – were leaked in 2009, but they don’t sound dated. They’re biographical tunes about Lopez’s love life, which includes two failed marriages and stints with Ben Affleck and Diddy. If there’s something this girl can sing about, it should be love lapses – and when she does, she does it well. (AP)

Jennifer Lopez, “Love?” (Island Def Jam Music Group)

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Lopez’s strongest vocal performance is all over the groove “(What Is) Love?” It makes her role as a judge on “American Idol” a bit more fitting.

Globe supports CBE in its 10 years of empowering learning communities

Globe Telecom throws its support to the Cebu-based Coalition for Better Education (CBE), a multi-sectoral and membership-based non-stock, non-profit organization which is celebrating its 10 years of commitment to initiate and support education development all over the country.

CBE, being an expert on research and development of ICT integration in teaching and curriculum development, was tapped by Globe to become its major partner in the Global Filipino Teacher (GFT) and Global Filipino Schools (GFS) programs.

GFT is a teacher-enhancement training where CBE helps in developing capacities of teachers to conduct ICT-enabled learning activities in the classroom. Following its success, Globe and CBE together with the Department of Education, are now looking at further improving the capability of ICT-mature public high schools to become the community expert in ICT through GFS.

Globe is a pioneer member of CBE and has so far donated 30 desktop computers, internet connection, and phone lines to CBE’s Center for Teacher Excellence training center.

Cebu Mayor Mike Rama graces the opening of the Coalition for Better Education photo exhibit at the second floor of Ayala Center in Cebu City. The exhibit kicks off the six-month celebration leading to the tenth anniversary of the Cebu-based multi-sectoral organization and includes various projects undertaken by CBE with Globe Telecom.

The Queen of Mandaue coronation night was held last May 5 at the CICC. Photo show the Queen of Mandaue 2011 Charlita Muego Maitland-Smith flanked by Kymberly Maitland-Smith, Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede, Mayor Jonas Cortes, Governor Gwen Garcia, Divine Maitland-Smith, and Sarah Cortes.

Queen of Mandaue 2011

Sun.Star Weekend | Saturday , May 14, 20116C

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

books

feature

Once upon a rime, there was an easy roast chicken recipe, handed down by a fashion editor at Glamour magazine to her assistant, who was in search of a dish to prepare for dinner with her boyfriend. She made the chicken. Her boyfriend loved it. He had seconds. And shortly thereafter, he proposed. But that’s not all: Three more young women at the magazine made the chicken for the men in their lives who then, in short order, popped the question. Glamour published the recipe---dubbing it,

naturally, Engagement Chicken- and since then, the magazine’s editors have heard from more than 60 women who have gotten engaged alter making the dish.

Commitment-phobes be warned: This bird means business!

Of course, there’s more to life than weddings. And there’s more to this cookbook than Engagement Chicken. 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know also includes 99 of the magazines other most-loved, best-reviewed dishes, all designed

to get you exactly what you want in life, exactly when you want it. From Prove to Mom You’re Not Going to Starve Meat Loaf to Impress His Family Chardonnay Cake, these recipes will help you cook with passion and persuasion. And they’re all written with your real life and real needs in mind. Because, whether you’re a novice or an expert, cooking should never be intimidating--and it should always be fun.

by Cindi Leive / Glamour

100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know: Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life

Flying away with Moony

Moony working the crowd.

Cebu loves Moony!

Moony with designer and eventologist Mark Masa.

Ms. Anna Mendoza, Moony and ClubRadio’s Dennis Paolo Mendoza.

May 7, Saturday, was marked by plenty of Cebuano clubbers and house music lovers as the concert to attend. Held at the Mariner’s Court Convention Hall, the Black Light Costume Ball held Cebuano clubbers and house music lovers in thrall, as track after track of cool house and club music blared from the speakers.

With DJs Marvin Evangelista, Rhythm R and Patrick Rizarri doing musical reinforcement, the mostly Cebuano audience grooved to the music that night, awaiting the appearance of one of club music’s most iconic

artists.Appearing around 1:30 a.m., taking

advantage of the crowd’s rising adrenalin level, Moony made her appearance, singing one hit after another, like “Dove”, “Flying away”, and “For your Love”.

The Cebuanos definitely showed Moony how we partied in the Queen city. As the event drew to a close, not just a few concertgoers were disappointed to see Moony take her bows, but producer Paolo Mendoza promises that there would be more parties and concerts to come.

Sun.Star Weekend | Saturday , May 14, 2011 7C

Got 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:

weekend@sunstar.com.ph

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

Fax No. (032) 412-5552Email: palazzo_pensionne@hotmail.com

website: www.palazzopensionne.net

BED & BREAKFAST

scribblings

crossline

There is a reason for the things I say It is for the world to see For us, especially It is in the sunrise you show me And in the sunset I see each day Like in the promises I said That made you cry instead. There is a reason why we met one day It is for the world to see For us, especially It is in the life you gave me And in the gloom I brought our way Like in the hundred times I faltered In the realities you braved. There is a reason for us to pray It is for the world to see For us, especially It is in the light you carry And in the darkness I must cast away Like in the moments I surrendered And you said: we will be saved. Hope is not a pie in the sky Everything is in you and I.

Things that Bindby: Leo E. Repollo

I must admit the title is kindda irksome if you’re a little cynical that is. But I assure you, it’s not a love story. A little bit sentimental, but that’s it…

Ahh, May – the all-time favorite month of teenagers. If they say December is the month for kids, with Santa Claus and all; June for parents as they get their first taste of freedom away from their kids; then let May be the month for teenagers given the time to be with friends, visit places without worrying about homework and projects.

May is here once again and I couldn’t help but remember those memories I had as a teenager. I remember spending the whole month at my hometown Catmon. Though it was the time to do all the household chores since there was no class, it was never a big deal. As long as we could extend one hour from our curfew, then that will be more than fine.

The day would start at 6am- clean the house, cook breakfast, and do the laundry. Right after, we proceed to the chapel to do the catechism. Afternoon would then be spent doing cross-stitch, or playing Bingo with the oldies. At 4 pm- the bell would ring signaling the start of Flores de Mayo, and all of us teenage girls would take turns in leading the novena. After that, everyone would proceed to the beach for a late afternoon swim and if it gets adventurous, we would steal a boat and heed to the deep waters, or simply just squat on a “Po”, and catch the biggest fish. But the energy will be reserved for later, as evening is the highlight of it all. It would start with someone on the gate signaling you to hurry the dishwashing and dab your favorite cologne as it is time to go to the plaza. The “tinisan” as we call it, is where everyone meets and enjoys the basketball tournament of the season. You cheer your heart out for your favorite team, and clap the loudest everytime one of your cousins scores a basket. I remembered how I would secretly blush everytime my player-crush looks my way after pulling off a perfect lay-up. If we’re lucky and the team won, we will go down to the beach for a fabulous midnight snacks of bahug-bahug and coke. A guitar tutorial is also one of our favorites, giving

our suitors the chance to hold our little fingers while pretending to teach us how to do the D-A-G-A chords.

We would then spend our Saturdays renovating the nipa hut by the seashore. Our tambayan, as we cousins would call it. Of course there were other Saturday activities like going up the mountains for a waterfall swim, or simply climbing the trees of sinegwelas and tambis. Saturdays would also be devoted for community service like cleaning the plaza and tree planting. If not too keen for an outdoor game, and way out of cash, a Saturday job on an Aunt’s store was also be an option.

Oh well, those were the days. The days of pure, unadulterated vacations. Of non-techy, non-violent month of May. No drag racing on the streets, no League of Legends from morning to early morning, or endless and nonsense bantering on Facebook and Twitter, nor was there tagay sessions in some nameless bar. A one hell of a vacation indeed. The kind that made us enjoy the month while making our parents at ease of our where-and-what –abouts.

Reminiscing all those times, those things that we have experienced, those activities that we have enjoyed- I cannot help but wish that maybe my son and my daughter would experience it too. How I wished for them to learn the value of hardwork while doing community service; How it was to teach catechism to the kids, or just enjoy climbing a sinegwelas tree; I want my son to experience giving a wink to the prettiest girl in the crowd after making a three-point shoot. I want my daughter to make her guitar lessons extra special as it is being taught by the shy yet talented and cute boy from the neighborhood.

I guess as parents, we can’t help but pray that they spend their Mays in enjoyable yet less dangerous activities; As moms, we can’t help but hope that they would spend summer with a simple, yet worthy cause- that they would learn something during this season to help them become more mature and better individuals.

Summer vacation, summer getaway, summer escapades- all happening in the special month of May. #

Remembering Yesteryearby: Bless Roble-Misa

Sun.Star Weekend | Saturday , May 14, 20118CCHERRY ANN LIM Managing Editor, Special Pages and FeaturesJIGS ARQUIZA Editor CLINT HOLTON P. POTESTAS Writer

peeps (people, events and places)

Phil and James Younghusband

Carie Tan, Javi Sala, Kumiko and Shige Onda, and Danielle Nicole Keys

Charles Osmeña, BDO’s Jimmy Tarnate and Choy Cagampan, AmEx’s Mantosh Singh Partygoers at the Blue Launch

Corky Cotelo and Carlo Sainz

Elvira and Kaye LuymStanz Catalan, Carla Selma, and Devy TingAna Cordovil, Cybill Gayatin, Vani SathisanAziza Mondoñedo, Andy Almario, and Jay Chiongbian

The Reveal by the Buzybuddies

Alexis Yap, Kris Janson, Sian Maynard, Anna Igpit

They’re two of the most recognizable faces in Philippine sports today, and brothers Phil and James Younghusbands, of Azkals and Pinoy football fame, are now making waves as endorsers of American Express’ Blue Card, a credit card targeted at young and upscale consumers who not only love life, but the high life as well. Held at party palace The Penthouse Cebu last May 6, the launch was well attended by Cebu’s young creme de la creme, who spent the night rubbing elbows with the Younghusband brothers, American Express officers and Banco de Oro executives.

A few days later, on the morning of May 8, Sunday, people flocked to The Veranda at the Parkmall to watch the Pacquiao-Mosley match. Cheer after cheer rang out, with plenty of boos thundering inside the venue, and outside too, as referee Kenny Bayless made a bad call. Still, the PacMan prevailed, dominating the bigger Mosley, who spent practically the whole match dancing madly backwards, trying to avoid Manny Pacquiao’s deadly punches. At the end of 12 rounds, Manny Pacquiao once again stood victorious.

A weekend of sports icons

Phil and James Younghusband

Manny Pacquiao