November 3, 2010
Home-cooked goodness but with international elan and chic
Named after Gen. Carlos P. Romulo—the first United Nations president from Asia—the Romulo Café is ensconced at the corner of Scout Tuason and Dr. Lazcano streets in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. Even before it opened, the stylish, sleek façade was enough to make curious motorists stop and inquire when it would open. The aesthetic carries over to the restaurant’s black-and-white interiors, its’ walls adorned by framed photographs of the famed diplomat with prominent personalities like American presidents John F. Kennedy and Harry Truman. But, despite appearances, the food isn’t as cosmopolitan as you would think and instead, traces its origins back to family recipes cooked up originally in Romulo’s hometown of Camiling in Tarlac.
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May 3, 2010
Tears for Fears finally played in Manila yesterday, May 2. Nineteen songs and it ended far too soon.
1. Mad World (intro/”orchestral”)
2. Everybody Wants to Rule the World
3. Secret World
4. Closest Thing to Heaven
5. Sowing the Seeds of Love
6. Call Me Mellow
7. Mad World (original version)
8. Memories Fade
9. Raoul And The Kings Of Spain
10. Quiet Ones
11. Floating Down The River
12. Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
13. Seven of Sundays
14. Billie Jean
15. Pale Shelter
16. Break it Down Again
17. Head Over Heels
~ Encore ~
18. Woman in Chains
19. Shout
Roland talked between #5 and #6 — he said that they had played all over the world in the past two-plus decades, and he wondered why it had taken so long for them to come here. This was of course met with a typhoon of enthusiastic screaming from the utterly packed coliseum. He and Curt seemed suitably overwhelmed by the responses of the Pinoy audience. Between #12 and #13 Curt spoke — he started off with “Mabuhay!” — and he mentioned that their Philippine visit had resulted in him being deluged with the most Twitter messages he had ever received.
The middle of their set was mostly unfamiliar to the audience (I still can’t believe they performed something from Raoul, and no less than 5 songs from Everybody Loves…) Curt Smith’s “Seven of Sundays” was surprisingly touching, and won the crowd over by the chorus, and then Roland did an unexpected and somewhat bizarre cover of “Billie Jean” (in response to the chants of “Eighties! Eighties!” perhaps?). “Break it Down Again” launched the screams into the stratosphere, and then “Head Over Heels” sustained the frenzy, and then they left for a while, but came back and ended strong with “Woman in Chains” and of course “Shout.”
Glad I was there. Thank you for the tickets, you know who you are. 
Songs I hope they play the next time they come here: Advice for the Young at Heart, Change, Watch Me Bleed, Start of the Breakdown, The Working Hour, Mothers Talk, I Believe, Broken, Year of the Knife, Goodnight Song, Famous Last Words.
[Original Facebook note]
April 7, 2009
A Tribute to a Great American Hero
Ushered in by Obama becoming the U.S.A.’s 44th President, the present era has been touted as one for heroes. To be specific, American ones. But before anything else, we look back and pay tribute to one of their greatest champions, whose body of work has brought us all together to celebrate one man beating the shit out of another. Not to mention very short shorts for heterosexual men.
Best Inspirational Speech:
Rocky Balboa. Funnily enough my favorite inspirational speech comes from a character that was in all the movies yet hardly plays a significant role—it’s Duke, Apollo Creed’s former manager, played by Tony Burton. By this time Rocky is once again the underdog, a total has-been who is almost a joke to his fans and the generation of boxers he inspired. He is facing his mortality, his old age, and his uselessness. He decides to go against current heavyweight champ Mason Dixon, and everyone expects him to go down early in the fight. Before he begins training, Duke tells him how it’s gonna be done —
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April 5, 2009
Honda has been quite busy for the past few years. They ran their Formula 1 team until the end of the 2008 season, built a humanoid named Asimo, and even launched the HondaJet aircraft. Closer to home, they’ve been putting together the pieces of the 2009 Honda City.
There were speculations that Honda would take a daring step, possibly an imaginative concept car? When spy images of the new City leaked out in late 2008, it was clear Honda did indeed take that leap of faith. And it paid off—the 2009 Honda City is oozing with so much sex appeal that it somehow makes up for the previous generation City’s somewhat goofy styling.
The new City’s front facia looks as if it was inspired from one of the characters of Star Wars or Transformers although the car’s project leader said it was actually inspired by the arrows used by Greek archers. The car’s streamlined grille and angular headlight lenses gives this subcompact designed for the Asian market an illusion of size. This sleek look extends over the rising roofline and past the stubby rear end, giving it a more masculine stance. Even with a shorter trunk, the new City is over a thumbnail longer than its previous generation and boasts of a 506-liter trunk capacity. The new City now bares similar lines to its bigger brothers, the Civic and the Accord.
Not only does the new City look big on the outside, it also feels roomy inside. By extending the wheelbase, designers managed to extend the rear legroom by a remarkable 25 millimeters. That might not sound like much but it could mean the difference between a comfortable ride and a regrettable one for someone vertically gifted.
Weapon of Choice
The City’s 1.3-liter and 1.5-liter i-VTEC engines produce a whopping 100 PS and 120 PS respectively—astonishing figures from relatively small displacements. Remember the Honda Civic ESi from the early ‘90s? It needed 1.6 liters to produce the same output as the City’s 1.5-liter powerplant.
Drivers of the City are assured of loads of fun especially with the 1.5-liter engine, which transmits power to the wheels through a 5-speed automatic transmission with F1-inspired paddle shifters. Despite the high output, both City engines are fuel-efficient and pass Euro 4 standards for emissions.
All City variants come with Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution), and Brake Assist (BA). In addition, 1.3 S and the 1.5 E models are equipped with an iPod-ready sound system and dual SRS airbags. Only the 1.5 E gets fog lamps, side mirror turn lamps, 4-wheel disk brakes, plus the exclusive “Polished Metal” color (as shown in the showroom pictures).
A few years ago, people bought the City simply because they couldn’t afford a Civic. But the third generation City has now made a mark for itself and is no longer a mere second option. The new City is breaking barriers with its impressive standard equipment and striking looks—just what it needs to go up against the big boys.
Prices start at P 676,000 for the 1.3-liter model and P 806,000 for the 1.5-liter model.
Story and photos by Christopher T. Kho, originally appearing in UNO’s March 2009 issue. Showroom photos were taken at Honda Cars Shaw.
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