More of Taal Volcano

© Joselito Briones

Here's a digitally enhanced film version of the photo of Taal Volcano, as viewed from Tagaytay. I think last time I showed you the digital version of this, it was accompanied by complaints about food there, so I'm making this one into another foodie, with a recipe for fresh fennel atsara (more like a salad).

Fresh fennel salad (for 2)

Ingredients:
1 bulb fennel, finely sliced and thoroughly washed,
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, diced or cut into decorative shapes
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
fresh chillies or pepperoni - as hot as you can take, optional
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. vinegar
palm sugar to taste
salt and pepper

Mix fennel with vinegar and lemon juice with hand thoroughly, squeezing the fennel slices. Add ginger, palm sugar, carrots, chillies, and onions. Toss. Add salt and pepper. Chill before serving.

It goes really well with any grilled or roasted meat.


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Don

© Joselito Briones

I'm sure by now you're probably tired of my Hong Kong photos, so I thought I'd change it a bit by showing you a portrait I took recently. This one was taken in Carmona, in the Philippines. This one is of the oldest among my numerous nephews, Don, or Dionisio (he was named after my paternal grandfather, the only grandparent I knew).


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Sleek Hong Kong: The Departed

© Joselito Briones

Just so you won't get the impression that Hong Kong is all old and monotonous, here's a photo of one of the best buildings there, in Admiralty. It's already an icon in Hong Kong, of course, the Bank of China, by I. M. Pei. The best time to look at it is the early evening in Autumn, when the sky is clear and deep blue, there's no fog, and you can see the lines clear and sharp all the way to the top.

As this is the last Hong Kong image I'll be showing you for a while, I'll just write here something else that Hong Kong is famous for. Movies! Action movies to be exact. Okay, fine, it's not about a Hong Kong movie, but something based on one.

The movie, of course, is "The Departed", based in Hong Kong's 2002 critically acclaimed thriller "Infernal Affairs".



And what a movie! The cast was excellent, especially Mark Wahlberg and his filthy-mouthed character. Jack Nicholson just cruised through it, like it's all fun and play for him. Matt Damon adopted his inscrutable poker-faced persona in the "Bourne Identity" franchise, and even Leonardo di Caprio, who showed teen-level angst in what is meant to be a grown-up role, managed to project a bit of grit in his eternally pre-pubescent voice. The star of the movie though, no question asked, is director Martin Scorsese. The way he constructed the twists and plots was the work of a true master. It was also great that, in what I assume other people would see as plot holes, instead of spoon-feeding us, the audience, with every details, he let us figure things out for ourselves. Ok fine, there are still holes in the plot, but who cares! The tension was unrelenting in the whole movie, there was no chance to think of inconsistencies - until the next day when you've had about 24 hours to mull things over.

I'm not even putting a synopsis here. Go watch it, it's great!


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