Finally, film distributors have set the local playdate for Batman 2: The Dark Knight. Batman & co. will be swooping into local theaters come July 17th, so make sure it’s marked in your calendar folks.

The latest batch of Dark Knight trailers, which was shown when Kung Fu Panda hit the theaters about 3 weeks ago, has convinced me that this is going to be one tough film to beat. heath ledger, may he rest in peace, looks disturbingly malevolent in his scenes. i’m glad chris nolan had opted to show the Joker in a less buffoonish light. he’s still flamboyant, but this time he is believably terrifying.

christian bale brings his trademark mesmerizing intensity into his role, and i also expect the excellent cast of support characters (esp. michael caine, gary oldman, morgan freeman, aaron eckhart) to deliver the goods with their usual ease and panache.

talk about odd couples!

meanwhile, i am also giddily anticipating the arrival of Pixar’s Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth class). Early reviews are slowly trickling in, and the consensus is one of unanimous approval. Wall-E rocks!

Wall-E is supposed to hit theaters sometime next week, which leaves me wondering why i haven’t heard anything definite about its local playdate. i hope we don’t get left behind (no pun intended).

michael phelps takes the next crucial step in his attempt to rewrite sports history in the 2008 Beijing Olympics by signing up for 9 individual events in the US Olympic Trials, which is set to begin on June 29 in Omaha, NE.

phelps, 23, is aiming to qualify for the US swimming team by entering the following events: 100, 200 & 400 m freestyle; 200 & 400 m individual medleys, 100 & 200 m backstroke, and 100 & 200 m butterfly. currently, phelps holds the world record in 200m & 400m IM, 200m butterfly, and 200m free.

many avid sports watchers are expecting phelps to turn in excellent times during the 8-day event, because this time he would be shaving (something that he eschewed in most of his recent races), and then of course there is rampant speculation as to how well he can perform wearing his Speedo LZR Racer suit, which other swimmers will also wear.

it is expected that even if he qualifies for all 9 events, phelps will dropping a few so he can concentrate on races that he is more likely to dominate. he is also largely anticipated to qualify for team relays in the coming Olympics. go michael!

—-o0o—-

it is highly likely that this won’t be my last post on michael phelps. in fact, you can expect more of the same as the Beijing Olympics nears. in any case, here is an interesting article about the swimmer.

after months of grumbling and whining about the endless stream of steamy days, i finally got what i wished for. and then some.

when the rain started in earnest around 2:00pm yesterday i actually sighed in relief. by 5:00pm the relentless onslaught began to worry me — i had yearned and prayed for rain, but i dreaded the flood that usually follows.

by 7:00pm the torrential downpour stopped, and i thought that was it so i went out to buy some food. it was even beginning to feel uncomfortably warm as i walked outside. i should have known the ’storm’ was just gathering steam. by midnight the howling winds began rampaging throughout the metro like some avenging beast gone loco.

the onslaught continued even as i dropped off to sleep around 4:30am.

when i woke up i wasn’t surprised to find that there was no electricity. a few moments later, a text message came. it was from my sister informing me that our hometown had been hit hard by floods and that our parents had to move to higher grounds because the first floor of our house was waist-deep in water.

electrical power was restored here in the metro about an hour ago, so now i can at least ward off the feeling of being isolated by surfing. *sigh* i guess that’s the weather for you. you can’t arrange it to suit your schedule. and it has this unfortunate habit of whacking you just when you least expect it to.



 

got hooked up… finally!

no, not that kind of hook-up. (as if!) not unless you count being hooked up to the net via SmartBRO’s lines for 1 year as something of a commitment (although financially, it feels like one).

i was originally aiming for a phone + DSL package with PLDT, but the lengthy waiting time (2-3 weeks) and the intimidating list of requirements turned me off. honestly, after going through the list i felt like i was being vetted for some hush-hush job that millions of aspirants are lining up for. excuse me, if i’m being constrained to pay a thousand bucks a month, i expect to be convinced, persuaded, or cajoled to avail of their service — and not being daunted or dared to do something about it. it’s not like it’s the only service provider available out there.

i mean, seriously, can’t PLDT see how many potential customers are being driven away because of its slow response and cumbersome requirements?

uhh… as incredible as it sounds, i didn’t plan to turn this post into a rant actually. it just sort of slipped away from my grasp heheh.

at any rate, i’m hoping this will have a damping effect on my celphone bills, which shot up by 2- to 3-folds these past 4 months. and assuming i’ll have enough time and the right motivation, i hope to increase my online activities in these next few days.

for now, i’m just surfing various sites to my heart’s content.