The first part of the fourth installment in the Twilight Saga deals with more mature themes such as life and death, having control of your own destiny, and of course true love. Director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Chicago) brings the much needed sense and sensibility that were missing in the last two movies of the series. Condon’s vision of Bella and Edward’s wedding surpassed my wildest romantic imagination. It is one of the most beautiful weddings ever put on film. And to see past characters in the audience (including a cameo of the book author’s Stephenie Meyer) as Bella walks down the aisle brings a sense of closure and satisfaction to the loyal viewers. Yet, Breaking Dawn Part 1 is not without flaws. Some scenes are dragging and should have been cut in the cutting room. Others are so silly that I don’t know if the scenes were intentionally added for comical purposes or what. Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Edward Cullen is still woody (is it because of the heavy makeup?!) even thought he was on point in Twilight (2008). Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob Black, is the breaking star in this movie. He plays well his part in the love triangle between him, Bella, and Edward.

A review of a Twilight movie is not complete without a review of its soundtrack, which is usually loaded with indie rock bands and artists. This time around, a rising pop star, Bruno Mars, made it into the album with his infectious moody song “It Will Rain.” Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” is a more subdued song with lyrics that are more beautiful. My two favorites are the very catchy songs “Turning Page” by Sleeping At Last and “From Now On” by The Features. Also worth to check out is the wedding version of “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” by Iron & Wine and the instrumental version of “Eclipse (All Yours).”

Overall, Breaking Dawn Part1 did not disappoint. Let’s hope that the final installment (also directed by Bill Condon and to be released on November 16, 2012) will somehow close the deal by creating a long and lasting memory for the fans of the books and movie adaptations.

Almost everyone is in some sort of costumes or adorning accessories. Although the weekend we went to was Roman Bacchanal, I saw all kinds of costumes not necessarily related to the current theme. As a warning for parents, some costumes are very revealing and baring too much skin in my opinion. Also, some games could expose you to offensive language, insults, and jokes in adult nature. Good thing that those games come with a warning sign so children and persons with delicate ears could stay away.

We mostly walked and only stopped for a few game shows, but in the end it took us about 2 hours to do the whole tour. If you’re really into this kind of thing, I can see how you can easily spend a whole day at the festival, which is open from 9 A.M. until dusk. There are plenty of food courts, bars, and apparel and accessories stores. Turkey legs and funnel cakes seem to be in popular demands.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience. Would I go here again? Probably not unless I’ve out-of-towners that I’d like to impress I’d definitely bring them here! The festival will run for 2 more weekends so hurry up and make your plans!

November 19th & 20th – Barbarian Invasion
November 25th, 26th & 27th – Celtic Christmas

Here’s the entrance to the village wholly dedicated to all things medieval and more. It sure feels like going to Disneyland!

You can find ATM machines at every corner.

Apparently some people like to get married here. I saw a few chapels with different themes!

FFS = Fairies Fashion Show!

This Marie-Antoinette’s costume is so pretty!

Coming here, you almost feel out of place if you’re not in costumes!

That is one giant turkey leg!

Elephant ride? Check. Camel ride? Check. Lhama ride? Check!

As you can see, there are activities for all ages!

The Arena is HUGE! Unfortunately, we didn’t stick around long enough to catch a show but I bet it’s amazing. You should definitely print out a map and show schedule before going here; it would be tremendous help.

Manual Labor!

Drench the Wench

Saturday, November 19th: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. – Free admission
Sunday, November 20th: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Free admission

Winter Street Studios – 2nd Floor
2101 Winter St
Houston TX 77007

• Another great place to shop for one-of-a-kind gifts is the Discovery Greens Green Flea Market (3rd Saturday of each month). If you’ve got a friend on your holiday shopping list who is eco-friendly then you’ve got to come here. What you will find at this market is recycled, renewed, and refreshed objects. If you’ve been to Discovery Green, the flea market will be by the Listening Vessels or around there. Check out the items below I bought on my last visit.

Saturday, November 19th: 12 p.m. –6:00 p.m. – Free admission

Discovery Green
1500 McKinney St
Houston, TX 77010

I admit this ring if funky looking and probably not the right accessory that would go with anything, but I couldn’t help it but to buy it! I’ve just discovered Mexican skull art and so this colorful piece of jewelry had an amazing appeal to me.

I like these repurposed key pendants from Sun Art Studio! They do not come with the necklace, but you can ask the nice owner to cut you a ribbon so that you can wear it around your neck.

• Now if you’re looking for more traditional holiday gifts (think clothing and accessories for your little Christmas angels and sweet and sugarplums) and don’t mind the drive, you might want to check out the 2011 Annual Heritage Home Tour and Trunk Show at Giddings Stone Mansion in Brenham.

November 19th & 20th: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. – $15 per person for the tour and to shop

Giddings Stone Mansion
2203 Century Cir
Brenham, TX 77833

• To continue with traditional gifts, you will find plenty at the shops in the quaint turn of the century Old Town Spring. You will find a variety of antiques, collectibles, clothing and accessories for the home and gifts for all occasions. While you’re there, make sure to check out the unique Doll House and the cutesy Little Dutch Girl. Oh yeah and the ice cream at Ellen’s Café is da bomb too.

November 12th – December 24th

Old Town Spring
403 Gentry St
Spring, TX 77373

• For big sport fans, the Adidas Giant Tent Sale is not to be missed! You will find huge savings on footwear, apparel, and accessories. With so many choices to choose from, you shouldn’t have any reasons for not starting your holidays shopping early and avoiding last-minute frenzy!

November 17th – December 24th (Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.)

Sam Houston Race Park
7575 N Sam Houston Pkwy West
Houston, TX  77064

Happy Shopping!

LIKE

DISLIKE

All in all great players that we have seen compete fearlessly in this year’s Women’s World Cup and whom we have cheered and chanted as our national heroes. What is most amazing about these women is the fact that some are mothers AND extraordinary athletes. Tomorrow, they will go against a strong and consistent team: Japan. This team will have a chance of uplifting a nation devastated by tsunamis back in March. But I think thus far the US Team has played with class and the team spirit on the field is palpable. GO TEAM USA!!!

The Final Countdown–USA vs. Japan

“You’re messing with my Zen thing man”. This line borrowed from the Tron Legacy movie (awesome movie by the way) describes exactly how I felt when I received an e-mail from Netflix 5 days ago. It went like this:

Your current $9.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs will be split into 2 distinct plans:
Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming) for $7.99 a month
Your price for getting both of these plans will be $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99).

I didn’t mind so much about the last price hike (Netflix increased my combo plan from $8.99 to $9.99 back in November 2010), but this news came as a slap in the face. At the very least, they should have given existing customers a much better deal if they wish to keep both plans!

Apparently I wasn’t the only one angry at Netflix’s latest move. However, I wouldn’t go as far as cancel my subscription. What I would  probably do is only keeping the unlimited Netflix streaming plan and renting new movies from Redbox for $1/day.

”Expedition Impossible”, a reality TV show in its first season on ABC, is a cross between The Amazing Race and Survivor. 13 teams of three-person compete in many physical and some not so physical challenges in the beautifully exotic Kingdom of Morocco. You have one team, the “Latin Persuasion”, which is an all-woman Latino team and who were the first to get “evacuated” due to lack of teamwork. Another team is made up of firefighters, another of cops, and then you have the “No Limits” team which has a blind guy. This team is particularly inspiring because they’ve been in the top 5, which goes to show you that nothing is off limit. They all have to brave hiking in sand dunes and climbing snowy mountains, ride stallions and stubborn camels, and solve not-so-easy clues among many other things. The team that finishes last in each episode is sent home. Tune in every Thursdays at 8:00 PM Central on ABC to see it for yourself.

P.S.: Stick around after Expedition Impossible for Rookie Blue. This is also a great new show. Although not quite realistic, it is very entertaining! Goodbye to Americas Post Oak

I learned from this post that Americas on Post Oak (easily one of my favorite restaurants in Houston), will be closing its doors on August 20 after 18 years of service. I admit that I haven’t gone there as much as I would like to but I thought it was doing well… apparently it is not. Good thing the restaurant other locations are still open. Find your location here.
]]> http://spy008.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/from-like-to-dislike/feed/ 0 spy008 http://spy008.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/5-fun-things-to-do-this-weekend/ http://spy008.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/5-fun-things-to-do-this-weekend/#comments Fri, 13 May 2011 04:18:21 +0000 spy008 https://spy008.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/5-fun-things-to-do-this-weekend/ Continue reading →]]> It’s almost the weekend and luckily for us there are a lot of things going on around the city. The weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday shows no rain with highs in the low 80s and lows in the upper 50s, meaning there shouldn’t be any excuse to not get out of the house! Here are 5 things worth to check out:

DANCE & COMPETE. Craving for some yummy gyros? The 2011 Houston Greek Fest will kick off on Thursday, May 12th and will go on until this Sunday. The event is sure to bring authentic food, dancing, and fun to the whole family. It will take place at the St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church (near Memorial Dr.). Note that this festival is different from the Original Greek Festival, which usually happens in October. For more information about maps/directions, performance schedule, hours, etc. go to here.

The guys competing for the Gyro Eating Championship on Sunday, May 15th definitely have to like eating gyros! 4 dudes will compete for the $4,000 total cash purse. Note that this contest will take place at 2:00 PM at the same festival as above.

EAT. Now this is a genius idea: For one weekend only you can taste more than 20 of the best food trucks in Houston while listening to live music by The Tontons, Sideshow Tramps, Ancient Cat Society and more! This is called “Haute Wheel: The Food Truck Festival”, baby!!! Considering the discounted VIP tickets on sale at Voice Deal of the Day the other day were quickly sold out, expect to see big crowds this weekend! However, tickets are $16 and children 12 and under get free admission. I’d love to try Fusion Taco and Phamily Bites, which I’ve heard great reviews! I’m surprised to not see Melange Creperie on the list of participating trucks. Ok, granted the guy doesn’t own a truck but the food is amazing!

PLAY. If you prefer a pet companion over a human one then take yours over to the 2011 Pets Jam! You will find all things pertaining to your pet in one place: pet care and services, talent contest, parade, adoptions, fashion show, and many more. Your beloved furry friend will surely appreciate going out and about!

SUCK. …those crawfish heads. This is another event where children under 12 can get in for free: the Texas Crawfish & Music Festival. The festival marks its 25th year of existence year and spans 2 weekends (May 13-15 & May 20-22). While you’re at it, catch live music performances by some of the greatest bands namely Fuel, Lit, and Earshot. I’m actually surprised these bands are performing at local festivals like this. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pure awesomeness! Tickets are available at TexasCrawfishFestival.com.

Fuel–Hemorrhage

Lit–Miserable

Before and after photos from Japan here.

How you can help:

>>Donate to Japanese Red Cross Society<<
Google Crisis Response page dedicated to the 2011 Japan Crisis is an amazing well of resources for finding people, retrieve maps of shelters, make contributions to relief efforts in Japan. It is continuously updated to provide the latest information about this crisis.

• http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

>>Support Threadless T-Shirt for Japan<
100% of net proceeds from the sale of the community-based tee will go to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund.

• http://www.threadless.com/product/2836/Rebuild_Japan/style,shirt

>>Support The Morning Benders, Japan Echo EP<<
The guys of The Morning Benders band put together an 8-track EP to support Japan. You can download the album once you donate what you can from $5 to $100. 100% of these proceeds will be given to the Japanese Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund.

• http://www.themorningbenders.com/

>>Support Music for Relief, The Album<<
Music for Relief has launched a new collection of unreleased songs to raise funds for earthquake & tsunami relief in Japan. 

• http://japan.downloadtodonate.org/

Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park also designed 2 T-shirts to benefit Music for Relief’s Earthquake & Tsunami Relief in Japan.  They can be purchased here.

1. The Marvelous Wonderettes

Earlier this year, the 2010 Free Night of Theater introduced me to the extraordinary world of stage performance in Houston. Particularly, I was treated to the both nostalgic and very funny Marvelous Wonderettes created by Roger Bean. It’s described as a cotton-candy-colored pop musical blast from the past. At the 1958 Springfield High School prom, you get to meet the Wonderettes – Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy – four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts and voices to match. As you learn about their lives and loves and follow them from their eventful prom to their 10-year reunion, the girls perform classic ’50s and ’60s hits like “Lollipop”, “Dream Lover”, “Stupid Cupid”, “It’s My Party”, “It’s in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)” and many more! The older folks as well as the younger ones will surely appreciate enjoying an evening of divine comedy show with professional singing and performance! Tickets are now on sale starting at $21.

Stages Repertory Theatre
3201 Allen Parkway
(one block west of Waugh Dr.)
Main entrance on Rosine St.,
parking on D’Amico

2. Acadia Salad-Serve Set

I saw this beautiful salad-serve set for $49.95 at Crate & Barrel in the Higland Village. Beware that this is rather a huge piece.

3. Restaurant.com

Give eGift Card from Restaurant.com simply by choosing a card valued at $25, $50, $75, or $100. Select a design, add a personal note, and print or email your eGift card. Recipient redeems online and gets to pick from over 15,000 restaurants nationwide. You can currently get $25 restaurant gift certificates for only $2; thus, saving 80%! Enter promo code HOLIDAY at checkout and hit “Apply”.

4. William Rast for Target

William Rast is a Los Angeles, California based clothing company founded by Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala most known for their premium jeans. They’ve created a line comprising of tops, bottoms, and outerwear now on sale only at Target.

5. FlipFOLD Laundry Folder

Now you can perfectly fold your shirts, sweaters, pants – and even towels thanks to FlipFOLD Laundry Folder. This handy tool folds items to a uniform 9″ x 12″ size, making it easy to neatly organize your drawers and shelves. It’s sold at Container Store for $24.99. A smaller version is also available fit for kids’ shirts size and small towels.

It’s almost too predictable to decorate your walls with paintings or photos. You can choose to add a little twist by taking on this fun and easy project. The only things that you would need are 6 RIBBA frames from Ikea and 1 black and white photograph.

First, find a photo (I prefer black and white to create a dramatic decor) that you like. To create a focal point, choose a picture that’s converging to the horizon. Also, it would be best if the photo is already in digital format. If not, try to scan it into your computer.

Next, we need to split the photo into multiple pieces. To do so, go to PicSlice.com. Click Browse to select your photo and then click Upload. Click on Slice picture and enter Vertical Slice: 3 and Horizontal Slice: 2. To download a slice just click on it or if you prefer you can download a zip file containing all slices.

Finally, print out the images in 8×10 format. Insert them one by one into the frames. Mounting the frames is the tricky part because the frames have to align. I left about one inch in between frames. The final result looks something like below. Now you have a wall that’s no longer boring to look at!

This is one crazy video, but the song is so catchy!