Man of style: Matt Bomer

He's that con artist-turned-FBI consultant in TV's White Collar. Although I'm not an avid viewer, I was instantly drawn to how Matt Bomer's character, Neal Caffrey, dressed up. He was always sharply dressed, mostly in suits.

GQ would be very approving of this getup.

His suits always fit him perfectly, with everything close to the body and his pants with just about the right length. He's mostly seen wearing a tie bar and cufflinks, and of course, his trademark fedora. Check out some of his looks in the series:

Urban Escape: Memo's Summer 2012 collection

Memo has just recently posted photos of their Summer 2012 collection called Urban Escape. Comfort is the name of the game, with simple yet stylish enough workwear pieces that are perfect for the scorching summer heat. While the collection observably veered away from color, it's grounded on khakis and other neutrals, which are still perfectly acceptable in this weather.

An apology from Sheridan Beach Resort & Spa

This is about my experience a month ago at Sheridan Beach Resort & Spa in Sabang, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, of which I wrote about in length in this blog (see post here). It wasn't all bad, to be honest, but after writing an overdue review in TripAdvisor last week, I emailed them to point out some areas they should address and improve on.

I wasn't expecting it but they emailed me a letter of apology signed by Mr Edgardo Tongco, their Corporate General Manager, which I'm publishing in full.

Thank you to Sheridan's Management for the reply. Now I'm looking forward to have these kinks ironed out because it really is a shame since their resort is really beautiful. I hope this will no longer be the case on my next visit.

Boracay and all its crazy ordinances

A couple of weeks ago I read on Red Pirates Pub's Facebook page (I wrote about them before here) that the Mayor's office had demanded that their beach garden be chopped down. Apparently, they were conducting a sweep of the beachfront to rid it of illegal permanent structures like shacks, gazebos, wooden buildings, and the like. But plants?

Red Pirates is tucked away into the far reaches of Station 3, away from the maddening crowd. It's a nice place with a laid-back vibe that it felt like I was not in Boracay at all. They have a nice little garden fronting the pub, which is a much-welcome refuge from all the chaos in the island. I don't have a proper photo of the garden but this is what a section of it looks like:

Thankfully the folks at Red Pirates have managed to get copies of these ordinances, with which they argued their case. Plants and shrubbery are in no way mentioned as illegal. In fact, the related ordinance states that preservation of trees and plants is mandatory.

It's just crazy how Boracay's local government is coming up with these stupid resolutions and how the people tasked to ensure their implementation are even more stupid. Not that I'm against everything; ordinances like the prohibition of smoking on the beach actually sits fine with me (and that's coming from a smoker).

Johnny Depp as a vampire: Campy and awesome

I just caught the trailer for the upcoming Tim Burton movie Dark Shadows, a new take on the 1960s/'70s gothic soap opera of the same name. An obvious favorite of the director, Johnny Depp plays Barnabas Collins who was turned into a vampire by a jealous witch in the 18th century and was unearthed in 1972.

I don't really know anything about the original soap but I'm loving the dark comedy and campiness evident in the trailer and I personally don't care if it doesn't stay true to the original. Also, after seeing a thousand and one vampire reinventions in recent times, it's a breath of fresh air to have a bloodsucker of the classic and campy mold once again. And Depp fits the bill perfectly.

Dark Shadows also stars Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham-Carter, among others. It opens this summer.

[Lookbook 03.16.2012] My dismal attempt at 'Noynoying'

In the same stupid mold as planking, owling and Tebowing, now comes "Noynoying," an irreverent jab at the Philippine president's supposed laziness and inaction. A play on his nickname Noynoy, Noynoying enjoys a variety of poses that depict his not doing anything but is mostly characterized by a slouchy posture, a dead stare with mouth agape, or a hand supporting one side of the face (best if you can drool!).

Well, I tried Noynoying for this lookbook post but the photos didn't quite turn out as what I'd wanted them to be. I kinda suck at it, to be honest. Guess I need more practice.

Eventually I bailed out and defaulted to my usual lookbook poses. It's Friday and I was enjoying the sunny vibe of my outfit.

Zooming in on the fantasy world of ants

I came across some really awesome photos today featuring of all things -- ants. They're the clever work of Russian photographer Andrey Paplov, who, while recovering from a spinal injury, began reading a lot about them. He later fashioned some props and photographed them in action.

The resulting photographs were impressive, awesome and cute all at once. Deprived of enjoying fairy tales in his childhood, Pavlov has now created his own fairy tales with these under-appreciated ants. It also helped that he had a theater background and the minuscule sets he painstakingly created have undoubtedly worked wonders.

Team fishing!

Free summer tote from Regatta

Regatta is giving away a summer tote worth Php 1,295 for every regular-priced jeans or chinos and boat shoes single-receipt purchase worth Php 2,495. The promo runs from March 14 to 25 in all Regatta stores nationwide.

I honestly haven't tried their jeans or chinos yet but the offer is quite tempting. The tote seems perfect for the beach this summer.

At least one is sorry

(This is an update on yesterday's post, Today: A double whammy in irresponsible journalism.)

After a barrage of criticisms online, and after the Philippine Daily Inquirer posted an apology on Facebook and on their website, the paper showed they really meant their apology and just how I wanted it to be -- by publishing it on their front page today. Yay!

I now rest my case, with the Inquirer at least. Arnold Clavio, on the other hand, remains unapologetic and cocky.

Today: A double whammy in irresponsible journalism

What a day! Filipino netizens were (and still are) up in arms today over two journalistic booboos: one by a leading broadsheet and another by an anchor of a leading TV station.

Sensationalism
First off was the unabashedly tasteless and insensitive montage of Demetrio Vicente, the 70 year-old witness from the defense panel of the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The caption read: "Character witness: The many faces of Demetrio Vicente on the witness stand. He's no ordinary witness after all. He's the cousin of the Chief Justice whose wife sold him seven parcels of land in 1990, where he now grows bonsai."

Vicente testified yesterday, March 13, on the purchase of seven parcels of land from the Chief Justice's wife, which the prosecution alleges was not declared in Corona's Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), the subject of Article II of the impeachment case.