Who am I to judge?

But apparently, I can!

Honored to be part of the shortlisting jury for this year's Kidlat Awards. 

Watching and judging all the entries reminds me of my days of a young creative. And seeing the work showed me that creativity can really come from anywhere.

Sometimes, being judgmental can be fun.

Hello. Farewell.

To have a Friday Magic Madness song featuring Dolly Parton is apt, considering that she just passed away a few days ago.

But let's give her another kind of tribute.

The type that goes back to 1969, and features the unforgettable voices of Louis Armstrong and Barbra Streisand.

"Hello Dolly," was originally sung by Louis Armstrong in 1964, for the musical of the same name. It was one of his biggest hit songs, and even won awards in 1965. Then, in 1969, the musical had a film adaptation, and this is where his duet with Barbra came about.

If you listen to the lyrics, it could very well been talking about Dolly Parton. 

"I feel the room swayin' while the band's playin'
One of your old favourite songs from way back when
So golly, gee, fellas have a little faith in me, fellas
Dolly'll, never go away, promise you never go away
Dolly'll, never go away again"

She might have gone ahead, but considering the legacy she left, "Dolly, you'll never go away again."

SoMeone's excited

They say that Christmas in the Philippines officially begins on September 1. 

Or does it.

It's August 27 and you can already see this at SM.

Even n August, they've got it all - including Christmas - for you!

Parton is such sweet sorrow

Yesterday, the sad news broke that country legend and overall singing icon - Dolly Parton - has gone up the the great music hall in heaven.

Growing up, we'd hear a lot of her songs, from the iconic "9-to-5," "Jolene," and her ultra popular duet with Kenny Rogers, "Island in the Stream."

Undoubtedly, she was the queen of country music, and she inspired a whole new generation of country singers, most notable being Miley Cyrus.

From what has been said and written about her, she has a huge heart and was always generous with her time and talent. She nurtured and mentored young singers, and was happy with the success of country performers that came after her.

She's truly a legend, and that's why millions of people with always love her.

You will be missed, Dolly Parton.

Orange you surprised? Part deux

Seems like I"m having an orange moment.

After that orange juice discovery in One Ayala comes another orange discovery, courtesy of our neighborhood Daily Supermarket.

Bissin Orange Wafers aren't exactly popular - even known - in the Philippines. But I've seen this brand in SG, particularly in Valu$ store. I've never tried it back then, cause it felt like it was a knock-off of Nissin. 

Now that I've tried it, my opinion in the brand completely changed. These wafers are very light and crispy, and the orange filling has the right amount of tang.

No surprise that I'm going to buy more of these soon.

Basket case

During my grocery run yesterday, the person in front of me had a very eye-catching basket of groceries.

Two of our clients were in her basket - Gardenia bread and Nestle Yogurt.

In that case, it really deserved to be photographced.

Orange you surprised?

I've written about Jooz a couple of times here. It's that instant orange juice kiosk in SG that's been a staple and stop every time my travels take me there.

And surprise, surprise. Look what they have in One Ayala?

It's the same product, same format, almost the same price in SG. The name is similar, using "juice" as the inspiration. But this one drops the "i" and just says "Jucebox."

Was in a hurry, though, so wasn't able to try it.

But I'm definitely trying this the next time.

Meals with Mark: Follow the Curve

One of the activities that Mark and I decided to do more this year is to try restaurants in the South. 

After our trip to Aizu a few months ago, one realization is that there are a lot of interesting places to eat around his turf.

Yesterday, we tried one of his go-to places - Curve Coffee Collaborators.

Primarily, it's a supplier of coffee beans that also hosts roasting workshops. So, they have an intensive coffee selection. But they also have food, like pasta, sandwiches and rice meals.

We decided to have the chicken pesto and scampi pasta, plus the grilled cheese sandwich. They were all flavourful and filling, and worth the price.

There's still a lot of items on their menu that's interesting, so that just means we'll be back here soon.

FMM: Lead the (high)way

On today's Friday Magic Madness episode, we have one of those songs that made me exclaim: "What?! This song is 35 years old already?!"

It's a hit from Tom. Cochrane from 1991 called "Life is a Highway." We were in college when they released this song, and some of my schoolmates would play it in the CMC walkway on lazy afternoons. That's why this song always reminds me of college.

But for today's generation, they're more familiar with this ditty because of "Cars." It was remade by Rascal Flats and was used in the soundtrack, which made the song gain more traction.

I'm a fan of the song either way.

Virali-tea

So, there's a viral video about a HK Sprite iced tea recipe.

It's been passing by my feed for days, and even my friends are sharing the recipe with me.

As a former HKG resident, of course I had to try it.

Following the recipe on the video, the iced tea turned out a bit pale and light on the black tea flavour. So, I modified it and used 3 tea bags, and it made a world of difference.

The black tea taste is more pronounced, and the fizziness of the Sprite keeps it light and effervescent. Then, there's the kick of lemon after.

Some viral vids are worth paying attention to.