X-Men 3

I saw the movie this past weekend. It was a good movie overall, but I was a little dissatisfied about how things were wrapped up. It was certainly disappointing that they didn't even allow some character developments on the new mutants they introduced in this movie. But overall, it was good, not great, but good. I'm still bummed that Gambit was never included at all. He was one of my favourite X-Men, along with Scott/Cyclops and Hank/The Beast (wasn't Kelsey Grammer perfectly cast?). Jubilee actually made an appearance in this movie, but she was part of Magneto's crew. What's up with that?

Anyway, if you haven't seen the movie, don't leave the theatre when the movie ends. I suggest you stay put until the very end of the closing credits. That's all I'm going to say. ;)

In memory...

… of those who fought, and died for this country so that we all can enjoy freedom. We won't forget.

And we salute those who are still out there, fighting in Iraq. We support you.

And to the "greatest generation" - you are heroes and will always be remembered that way. We thank you.

Hope everyone's having a great Memorial Day.

Memorial Day.

Today is Memorial Day here in the U.S. (that's for my non-US readers, if there are any - haha!). I know I should be out there, either at the beach, or going to a bbq, but I opted to go in and work for a little bit instead. I really don't want to do much today. We already enjoyed some bbq last night at my uncle's house, and watched some movies, so that was pretty much our Memorial Day celebration.

When I got home last night, I watched the Band of Brothers marathon until I fell asleep. Yes, I know, I have the box set, but somehow it's different catching it on TV. You gotta love The History Channel! This past weekend, they showed a lot of movies and documentaries on the previous wars, and some about the one that's still going on to this day. Saving Private Ryan was on last Saturday night, so of course I ended up watching it. I've always been curious about WWII, but had become a "buff" not too long ago. Call me a nut, but oh well. Can't help but admire those who were part of "the greatest generation".

Wellington! and other matters.

I was watching 5 Takes (Pacific Rim) last night, and the TJs finally made their way to Wellington, New Zealand. And after seeing the show last night, I like Wellington even more. I started becoming interested in Wellington, and New Zealand for that matter, because of The Lord of the Rings. Most people know that I'm a big fan of LOTR (the books and the movies), so this really comes as no surprise at all. I would love to visit the sites where they filmed the movies. The 5 Takes TJs visited some of the "sets" last night on the show. They used to offer Lord of the Rings tours when the movies first came out. A tour of Middle Earth. That's something that I would definitely do. I'm not sure if they offer those anymore, however.

I finally saw The Da Vinci Code. (more…)

“Idol” blatherings…SKIP this if you’re not interested.

And our new American Idol is… (more…)

Got tagged by Jax …

Ten Simple Pleasures
Instructions: Name ten of life’s simple pleasures that you like the most, then pick ten people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used.

1. Singing
2. Reading (either my Bible or a really good book)
3. My family
4. My niece Nevaeh and nephew Tristen
5. Sleeping6. A really good, tight hug
7. Talking to a friend
8. Iced Marble Mocha Macchiatto from Starbucks
9. PBS/Masterpiece Theatre
10. Listening to 80s "new wave" music

Tagging: Jugglernaut, and everyone else who wants to do this. LOL (Can't think of 10 people at the moment.)

The lengths people will go to…

…to prove that there is no God.

Article on Harvard project

"A fool says to himself, 'there is no God.'" It's sad to see what lengths people will go to just to prove that there is no God. The mere fact that people try to prove He doesn't exist, just reinforces the fact that God DOES exist. If you just look around you, you'll definitely see the existence of God. It's in the trees, when you look at the sunset, the people you see every day. There is definitely a Creator that designed the universe intelligently, creatively, and with the utmost love and care, it's sad to see that people would choose to ignore Him and not recognize His existence, and live a life that's without meaning, and without purpose. A wrist-watch didn't just come into existence without a designer. Someone has gathered all the nuts and bolts, each one with a purpose, with a design and and objective in mind, and put it together so that it will do what it is supposed to do, which is, to tell time. The same goes with the universe, it didn't just randomly come to be so. It didn't just exploded out of nowhere. If that were so, the universe would be quite chaotic right now, wouldn't you think? Everything would be in disarray. The sun would be sitting on Earth, I'd be riding on a comet right now. Someone designed the universe to work the way it is working right now and everything in it.

God's existence is proven in everything and everywhere. People choose not to acknowledge Him because we, in our very nature, are selfish people, who want to live our lives our own way, which result in emptiness and despair, without purpose and meaning. What kind of existence is that? An existence that surrounds on a belief that there is no God. And that is just unfortunate. "What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" I'd choose to live a life knowing that there is a God, and He loves me (regardless of whether others do or don't), offered His only Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins (when I should be the one to pay the price for it) and that He created me for a purpose, and that I didn't just come into existence randomly. Nothing is random, everything has a purpose. People want to put God in a box and try to figure Him out, because we are afraid of what we don't know, what we can't control. That is why God is God. He created us, not the other way around. If we are able to understand Him and figure out His plans, He ceases to be God. So, no matter how much we try to figure out who God is, we will NEVER, EVER, know and understand everything about Him. The lyrics to one of Steven Curtis Chapman's songs come to mind and it goes…

God is God and I am not.
I can only see a part
Of the picture He's painting.
God is God and I am man.
I will never understand it all,
For ONLY God is GOD.

That is why this whole project that Harvard is trying to get started is a waste of time and a waste of money, because in the end, God is going to come out on top, whether you choose to believe it or not. God will always make Himself known, and He will be glorified in the end. Why don't they use those millions to feed the poor, or help fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa?
Oh, and I refuse to accept the theory that my ancestors are a bunch of monkeys. Just because we both have arms and legs and walk upright, doesn't prove that we came from monkeys. That's the beauty of having a Creator, every single creature is created uniquely and special. There might be similarities, but yet, individually, there's always a distinction.

Didn’t even know this actually happened.

First Filipino to reach summit of Everest

Pretty cool. Mabuhay ang Pilipino!

So, how many times has the summit of Mt. Everest been reached since Kiwi, Sir Edmund Hillary reached it for the very first time, ever? Does anyone know? Just curious, that's all.

Catching up with old friends.

Yesterday, I had a chance to catch up with Neva, one of my dear old friends from Biola. It's such a blessing just to be able to talk and update each other on what's been going on in our own lives. Before yesterday, I hadn't seen her in about 3 years! Since then, she has gotten married. I consider her one of my closest friends, and she and I kept each other accountable when we were both at Biola. She and I are both at different points in our lives, but somehow, things haven't really changed that much. We've decided to try and meet up as much as we can and probably become accountability partners again, and just pray for and encourage each other. I thank God for friendships like the one I have with her.

The heat is on.

It's becoming really warm here in Southern California. Time to hit the beach! I can't wait for the Memorial Day break, I'll probably take a trip down to the beach, and soak up some rays. I want to go on a road trip, maybe up north to San Francisco, or down south to San Diego. Just need to get away from L.A. for a little bit. We'll see, if a trip's within my budget, then I'll probably take one this summer.

I feel like a nomad. This urge for me to up and move from one place to another has always been a part of who I am. Well, at least ever since my family and I moved from Manila to Toronto. Not long after that, my family moved to the States, and now it's like I expect myself to make another move somewhere, anywhere. I can't stay in one place for so long, I think that's why I always have the urge to go on trip or a holiday - somewhere unfamiliar, and hopefully exciting. But ultimately, I just want to live in different parts of the world, not just go on a quick holiday, but actually live there. Maybe someday I'll get to do that. But for now, I will live vicariously through the books that I read and movies that I watch, which are, not surprisingly, set in a city or cities in Europe or Asia.

Oh, there are plans to go to Vegas in August, by the way. But I'm thinking twice about that, for financial reasons. We'll see.

OK, time to go. Heading home, a book awaits me. Have a good weekend everyone.