Jay Lagare

2006 June 7 to 10 Bangkok, Thailand

By Jay Lagare on Saturday, June 10, 2006

Just came back from Bangkok for meetings with a client and some partners (and partners-to-be). Actually, I was just there to accompany Migs and provide technical consultation.

We arrived wednesday and spent the time walking around a mall called MBK. It’s main attraction seems to be a HUGE mobile communications shopping area. While walking around, I noticed that there are MANY pretty Thai women (heck there are even some pretty Thai men!). Bangkok was nice already! Later in the evening, Migs interviewed a Thai who is interested in working with the company.

Thursday was all meetings. We met with the client, met with a partner, had lunch, met with another partner, then another. I mostly listened since technical issues didn’t come up. But it was still hectic and quite tiring. We ended late in the evening and simply crashed when we got back to the hotel.

General

Coraline

By Jay Lagare on Tuesday, May 30, 2006

“As the first stars came out Coraline finally allowed herself to drift into sleep, while the gentle upstairs music of the mouse circus spilled out onto the warm evening air, telling the world that summer was almost done.”

The last line of Coraline, as I finished it on the flight back from Bohol, seemed to me to be a fitting end to a great summer. I was able to watch backlogged TV shows, watched some movies, read a book or two, played airsoft, went to some beaches, even dived. I wasn’t able to cook, climb, nor go karting but I guess I can always put them off for the next summer. But I’m digressing, back to the book.

As everyone probably already know, Coraline is a children’s book with a twist. A dark twist as you would expect from Gaiman. It’s the typical premise of a children’s book: bored kid(s) having imaginary adventures that become all to real. But Gaiman was able to make it dark and creepy (a crawling severed white hand with loooong nails, now if that doesn’t raise goosebumps). It plays on every child’s (and who wasn’t?) fears (spiders, rats, etc) and multiplies them tenfold (the vividness of your imagination plays a factor). But most importantly, he was able to make it quite entertaining.

Rating: 4/5

General

2006 May 25 to 29 Bohol

By Jay Lagare on Monday, May 29, 2006

Some pics from my trip to Bohol on 2006 May 25 to 29. I was there to join the family for my sister’s birthday and my first nephew’s dedication. While there, I took the opportunity to dive at Balicasag Island (where, unfortunately, the divemaster’s assistant engaged in spear fishing grrr) and swim at Panglao Island. Pictures were taken using a Pentax Optio WPi.

Uncategorized

[Denise and] Denephew

By Jay Lagare on Monday, May 29, 2006

A pregnant woman gets in a car accident and falls into a deep coma.

Asleep for nearly six months, she wakes up and sees that she is no longer pregnant. Frantically, she asks the doctor about her baby.

The doctor replies, “Ma’am, you had twins! A boy and a girl. The babies are fine. Your brother came in and named them.”

The woman thinks to herself, “Oh no, not my brother… he’s an idiot!” Expecting the worst, she asks the doctor, “Well, what’s the girl’s name?”

“Denise,” the doctor says.

The new mother thinks, “Wow, that’s not a bad name! Guess I was wrong about my brother. I like Denise!” Then she asks the doctor, “What’s the boy’s name?”

The doctor replies, “Denephew.”

It’s a good thing my sister didn’t get into a car accident, get into a coma, had twins, nor relied on her brothers for the baby boy’s name. And so denephew was named Ioan.

General

The Da Vinci Code

By Jay Lagare on Tuesday, May 23, 2006

I’ve always had an interest in the history of religion, particularly that of the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the most powerful unifying and at the same time one of the most divisive forces known to mankind. Empires had risen and fallen. Wars had been fought, won, and lost. All because of religion.

Something as powerful as that would be a natural subject for writers of both fiction and non-fiction. I got started on the latter through the encyclopedia where I got my fill of the Church, the Crusades, the Knight Templars, etc. I got started on the former through David Morrell’s Fraternity of the Stone and Covenant of the Flame. The books, with their with shadowy militant religious orders, captured my imagination. Thus, when Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code came out, I immediately read it and found it reasonably good. It was also controversial because of its subject.

Of course, it’s just a matter of time when movie version comes out. But when it did, I was reluctant about watching it for two reasons: it has Tom Hanks (don’t ask me why) and I’ve already read the book. But I eventually relented for the sake of camaraderie :P

From what I’ve seen, it seems the movie would be a little confusing for those who did not read the book. On the flipside, it is too like the book. So much so that it got a bit dragging and somehow succeeded in becoming boring. Hank’s wooden performance didn’t help either.

Notwithstanding those who always compare the movies to the book and how the movie should be completely faithful to the book, this movie is an argument for keeping the two distinct. The book is a book, the movie is a movie.

One good thing about watching the movie though is that you get to see the things and places in Paris and London mentioned in the book. But that’s about it.

Rating: 2/5