You're so fat

I was told last night my thighs have become bigger. I think it's because of all the shnazz I've been stuffing down my throat - chips, fried chicken, ox tail kare kare, bopis, chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake, butter cupcakes, crab fat, oysters, prime rib, crispy pata, carpenter servings of rice - and that's just last weekend. But having to hear that I've gained weight was a never a bad thing for me. In fact, hearing someone tell me I look thin will make me dash to the grocery and buy a carton of full cream milk to chug down my esophagus. For those who blow up like a Macy Float despite maintaining a specific daily calorie intake, the New York Times shares a possible insight to that problem: The End of Overeating, a new book by the man who fought big tobacco as FDA commissioner, tells us why we crave Chili’s (wait, we crave Chili’s?). According to the Washington Post, David A. Kessler rummaged through the chain’s dumpsters to find out the ingredients in things like, say, the 910-calorie egg rolls (they contain 7 grams of fat and 1,960 milligrams of sodium) and confirmed what we already knew: “Instead of satisfying hunger, the salt-fat-sugar combination will stimulate that diner’s brain to crave more … And the food industry manipulates this neurological response, designing foods to induce people to eat more than they should or even want.”

Summer Series 3: Sweet escape

I told a friend last night that taking breaks is healthy. A walk in the park, an afternoon at the mall, a leisure drive around town. But sometimes, you just gotta go far, far, far away, you know? Well, not THAT far.

With the north being the new south, Subic is a destination that remains to be an almost secret - everybody knows its there but no one talks about it. That means less cars, less traffic, and less chances of bumping into anyone from Manila.

And to some, thats quite a big relief. If you want to skip town and recharge yourself (like this weekend and all other long weekends thereafter), take a scenic drive up to Mountain Woods, a cozy bed & breakfast-esque place tucked away in a peaceful enclave in Subic. It has all the ingredients for a perfect vacay getaway: a helping of great food and drinks at its restaurant, Le Jardin (think a belly busting motherload of steak, pasta, pizza, seafood, and other local faves) with an added bonus of a healthy share of star gazing when you nurse a bottle of good Cabernet or Merlot at the Tree Top View Deck, a serving of quiet comfort with its lush contemporary Euro-designed rooms, and a large dose of peace and tranquility thanks to the amazing view and greenery of the mountains (it ain't called Mountain Woods for nothing) and Subic Bay on the horizon. You can also wash away all that stress and bake yourself to a golden crisp at the infinity pool. Escape to paradise at Entemedor St., West Kalayaan, Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBMA). For reservations and inquiries, ring the Mountain Woods’ Manila office at 671-7349 or 671-1068.

Public service announcement

Pigs are cute. No, not the redhead in glasses. Unfortunately, the babes of this world are carriers of the Swine Flu which is infecting Mexico and the US. According to Associated Press: A unique strain of swine flu is the suspected killer of dozens of people in Mexico, where authorities closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in the capital on Friday to try to contain an outbreak that has spurred concerns of a global flu epidemic.

The worrisome new virus — which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before — also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths in the U.S.

"We are very, very concerned," World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human ... It's all hands on deck at the moment."

The outbreak caused alarm in Mexico, where more than 1,000 people have been sickened. Residents of the capital donned surgical masks and authorities ordered the most sweeping shutdown of public gathering places in a quarter century. Closing schools across Mexico's capital of 20 million kept 6.1 million students home, as well as thousands of university students. All state and city-run cultural activities were suspended, including libraries, state-run theaters, and at least 14 museums. Private athletic clubs closed down and soccer leagues were considering canceling weekend games.

Here are some facts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about how swine flu spreads in humans: • Swine flu viruses typically sicken pigs, not humans. Most cases occur when people come in contact with infected pigs or contaminated objects moving from people to pigs. • When flu viruses from different species infect pigs, they can mix inside the pig and new, mixed viruses can emerge.

• Pigs can pass mutated viruses back to humans. Transmission among humans is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu - by touching something with flu viruses and then touching their mouth or nose, and through coughing or sneezing. • Symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to those of seasonal influenza - sudden fever, coughing, muscle aches and extreme fatigue. This new strain also appears to cause more diarrhea and vomiting than normal flu. • Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu although the CDC is formulating one. • People cannot catch swine flu from eating pork or pork products. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses. (So fry em good. Yum. Crispy pata)

Summer Series 2: Oozing awesomeness

It's an art, being able to stand on a board for several seconds, trying to balance yourself on that mighty wave (and at the same time hoping a shark won't pop out and bite you). The experience must be amazing - feeling you've gone a notch higher than the messiah by gliding on water rather than walking on it. I could only but imagine how it really must feel for surfers. As Paolo put it, "surfing oozes awesomeness and makes you think you can make a living oozing awesomeness and soaking in other surfers' awesomeness." For those who do not want to soak in other people's awesomeness but would rather get some of that awesomeness for themselves and at the same time channel Keanu Reeves in Point Break or Kate Bosworth in Blue Crush so they can look really, really awesome is all but a couple of hours drive away (yey for the SCTEX!) from Manila. Awesome surfing classes are now being offered by surf deities Corey Wills and Mika Santos at White Rock Beach Resort Hotel, which probably has the only wave pool in Subic. The newly added water sport activity in one of the best vacation spots that side of Olongapo gives you a chance to ride the wave to awesomeness with a certified surfing trainer. If you want to take a break from surfing, you can try out the Super Bowl slide. You slide into this long tube, swirl around this huge bowl, then shoot out into a pool. I was giggling all the way down until water was sprayed on my face. It's so. much. fun. Watch it in the first part of this video. Corey's School of Surf at White Rock Schedule: Saturdays & Sundays, 6 to 9am, 12 to 2pm, 6 to 8pm Stage 1 (1.5 hour basic surf lesson) P1,500/day session P1,800/ night session Promo rate includes: - full surf instruction (basics of surfing) - stretch for surfers (pre and post stretch to keep you loose and limber) - super soft surfboard rental - lifeguard supervision - certificate of attendance Stage 2 (1.5 hour free surf session) P1,200/ day session P1,500/ night session Promo rate includes: - super soft surfboard rental - lifeguard supervision - certificate of attendance For more information, click here.

Breakie time

It was my then 7 (or 8 or 9 or 10) year old nephew who told all of us one morning in Tali what the word, breakfast, meant. "It's to break the fast," he said. According to foodgeeks.com, breakfast means :

"to break the fast from the previous night"

Why none of the oldies knew that is beyond me because I didn't think of that either. Incidentally, last month's issue of Esquire (the one with Clive Owen on the cover) had a really interesting feature on breakfast food. It featured recipes from different chefs, tips on choosing the best coffee, and a healthy list of "the best breakfasts across America." My favourite one (which I will try) is Griddled Egg-And-Bacon Sandwich from Chef Randy Zweiban of Chicago.

"Start off my rendering two nice, thick slices of applewood-smoked bacon, diced small, in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Crack some fresh black pepper over the bacon, and while it's cooking, whisk three large eggs with a tablespoon of sour cream and a quarter cup of water. Whole-wheat bread or grain break works nicely with this - lay out four slices and top each with sliced cheddar. When the bacon is just about done, strain out the fat and add the eggs to the pan with the bacon. Let them almost set before lightly scrambling them with a wooden spoon. When the eggs are about done, divide them onto the two slices of bread. Sprinkle salt on the eggs and cover them with the other two slices of bread and cheese. After wiping out the pan with a dry cloth, add some of the used bacon fat and a tablespoon of butter to the pan on low heat and place the sandwiches on the pan. Cover and let them cook for about 4 minutes until they are golden brown, then flip them over for another 4 minutes. When the cheese is melted, they're done."

I really don't like this song. It's amazing though how a lot of people have thought otherwise, did their own dance stunts, and owned it. To promote Beyonce's performance in some event, 100 (although it doesn't look it) ladies danced *that* song in Picadilly. It beats doing that freeze act in Grand Central Station in New York. Although that was clever too.

Coco

I wonder when or if they'll release this here.

Dishing out

Next to Dlisted, The Dish is my other source of morning chuckles everyday. Danielle Fishel never fails to make me laugh while having breakie.

The machinist

According to wikipedia, Christian Bale starved himself for over four months prior to filming The Machinist, as his character needed to look drastically thin. Allegedly his eating consisted of one cup of coffee and an apple or a can of tuna each day (approximately 275 calories). According to the DVD commentary, he lost 62 pounds (28 kg), reducing his body weight to 120 pounds (54.4 kg). Bale wanted to go down to 100 pounds (45.3 kg) but the filmmakers would not let him due to health concerns. With this site, anyone now has a chance to see how they'll look if they did the same! Weightmirror is a site that has this exclusive (aka "a sham" according to Paolo) weight-loss simulation technology automatically detects your face and body and simulates weight-loss. Try out this revolutionary technology completely for free by uploading your photo. Here's my before (left) and after (right): Pffftttt. Not much of a change.

Uh huh

Earlier, I asked Juan what his facebook status meant.

Juan Sarte III "I don't feel any pressure right now...."

He sends me the url of this video: