Prepare for MAXimum PAYNE! Aaaargh!

Woke up early this morning to prepare for work, as I usually do...
still a little drowsy...
still a little sleepy.

As I still have a few more minutes before I begin my morning routine, I decided to open up the Macbook and browse the page for Movie Trailers at Apple's site, as I haven't visited it for a few days now... looking for something new to download to our iPhone. Trying to look at the movie posters at the site, I spotted the last trailer I downloaded... Luke Wilson's latest movie, "Henry Poole Was Here". Browsing through the new posters, I caught something from the corner of my eye... an image that seems so familiar... like a memory from a distant past. Moving my eyes to where the movie title was, my conciousness suddenly went...
BAM!
Gone is the drowsiness...
Gone is the sleepines.
My mind suddenly went racing from 0 to 100mph...
Gosh! The movie's title is MAX PAYNE!

MAX PAYNE!...
one of the best action games I've ever played...
engaging storyline, pulse-pounding action, eye-popping graphics, topped off with innovative character controls like "bullet-time" (no offense meant to Matrix fans, but can you perform "bullet-time" in "Enter The Matrix"?)...
easily one of the greatest games ever...
getting the Hollywood treatment, finally!

Eagerly anticipating to watch the trailer for the first time, I find myself cheering on the Download status bar... shouting "Come on! Come on! Come on!" inside my head while our M1-Vodafone internet connection creeps ever so slowly. By the time I was able to sync it to our iPhone, I had to prepare for the office... aw, shucks! Good thing we have an iPhone, at least I can view the Max Payne movie trailer while I'm on my way to the office.

Ah... a Max Payne movie. Just the thought of watching a movie based on that game makes me wanna jump up and yell "Awesome!". But I don't wanna get my hopes up just yet... just in case it won't live up to my expectations (remember the movie based on Hitman... it's ok if you don't... i barely do). Deep inside though, I do hope (and pray!) it would go beyond my wildest imaginations, blow us all away, and make us feel the PAYNE!

Beep Beep... Beep Beep... Encore

As most of my topics in the "Beep Beep... Beep Beep..." series often leaned on the bad, the worse, and the ugly, I'd like to add one more to the finale... an encore... so that you'll know that my travel that day wasn't all bad. So here's one sight that's quite colorful, funny, cute, and most of all, lesser than bad. :)

L) "Donut Bai" - Ah vendors... sidewalk vendors, street vendors... what would a Philippine road be without them? I guess it won't be too colorful :) From street foods like Mang Ambo's Fishballs and Aling Nena's Barbeque, drinks like "Palamig" and BJ (ahem... B-uko J-uice), toys, clothes and even cellphones. Just a reminder for those willing to buy cellphones from them though, you better be careful lest you pick up the GSMs - "Galing Sa Magnanakaw" (From The Robbers). Aside from lighting up the streets, they're also convenient for most of us travellers as you could pick up almost anything you want while you're on your way. The trouble with some of these vendors though is that they no longer pick the correct space to sell their goods. With lots of them lining up the sidewalks, pedestrians are often forced to walk on the actual road... something that's not only very invconvenient but also very dangerous. Just hope these hard-headed vendors would find a place that would be convenient for them and for others (as long as it's legal of course, haha)... and that the government would enforce the rules on them. Anyway, I would have to commend MMDA Chairman Bayani "BF" Fernando for cleaning up the roads in front of Baclaran church. Awesome! Hope he runs for President :)

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Beep Beep... Beep Beep...

Ciao!

Beep Beep... Beep Beep... Finale

Hey hey hey, it's the final part of Beep Beep... Beep Beep... series. I know, I know, it may be sad 'coz there are lots more of them out there :) But rest assured you'll find some of them pop up in my blogs every now and then... in some form or another. 'Nuff talk, here's my final list of the uncanny Must-Sees/Must-Not-Sees on the Philippine Hiways...

J) Tickets Tickets Go Away, Come Again Another Day - As it's already a common sight to see lots of trash scattered all over the roads, I will no longer mention it here. What's worth mentioning though (or is it not?) is the fact that when you approach a particular toll gate along the highway I passed through, from a distance, you might think you're looking at snow scattered all around the gate. Well it's not snow, haha... they're actually receipts issued by the attendants at the toll gate to the drivers. Then, these drivers just throw them away as if it'll make a mess inside their rides... they should've just returned the receipts to the attendants. But I guess if a reward system like "return the tickets and get a chance to win money" won't work on these drivers, nothing else will... or a "punishment" perhaps :)

K) Billboards Galore - It was once a treat to have a joyride through the streets of Manila, especially for someone who came from the province, because of its "Cityesque" buildings and skyscrapers. But now, alas, instead of getting a view of these architectural beauties from the window of your bus, what do you get to see (or maybe I should ask who?)... a huge billboard of a "now-famous" actor endorsing new herbal medicines, another huge billboard of an almost nude actress advertising a new slimming clinic, and an even bigger billboard of the latest men's magazine cover-girl. Though these ads might still be considered as good "sceneries" for most people, I think it robs the cityscape of its gleaming beauty... aside from the fact that they are dangerous (remember "Bagyong Milenyo"?)