TOURISM IN THE SKIES

Welcome to the newly-opened adventure at Hugo Sky Lounge, Sierra del Oro at Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City. It's the place of your frappe-filled, sky-high and scenic dreams! Buckle up your seatbelts, mates, because you're about to hear a whole lot of awesome in this blog. And you're going to wish you were there, too.

If you're the type of person who likes a good view of the sunset and a starry night, then I'll hand you some information. If you enjoy easygoing cafe bossa nova jazz and sipping on either a cool iced venti or a cappucino, the place I just told you about might be for you. If you're that person who likes to go on crazy and risky (literally) sky-high adventures and go pet dangerous wild animals, what can I say except, you're welcome!

The CDOBloggers (whoa, I wasn't aware that I am one, already!) and their kids were invited for the soft opening and an exclusive Paragliding experience at Sierra del Oro on April 26 and April 28, 2017. At the site you can find the Hugo Skye Lounge cafe which offers good food and your probably your favorite pastries and shakes (if you have an extremely sweet tooth), a jazz restaurant, and soon-to-be-opened Noah's Ark zoo (watch out for the animatronics), and possibly a pool. 

I've got a lot more to say but it's currently up my bedtime so the Sierra del Oro Paragliding Adventure, the main attraction for the day, will be discussed more in my next blog...so cross your fingers, viewers!

(Sigh...) I really need to get some rest now. Chloe Orteza, signing out for. ☺

 

Movie Reviews: GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017)

We all heard of sci-fi stories, and especially the ones with cyborgs in it. Originally, movies like these were perceived as quite cliche when it comes to cyborgs--mindless humans under the control of a machine, and dangerous ones. We also heard of whitewashed films, and with the last Dragon Ball Z mayhem, I wasn't so sure at first with this, seeing as this film was adapted from its respective manga and anime series, and the leading character is a white.

But guess what? This film broke barriers. It defied cliches, followed the true plot and despite its violence, roused the audience. I was no exception. It is a truly amazing movie, even giving us a moral lesson on the virtue of humanity.

If you never heard of the anime series, I don't think you spoiler-haters aren't fit to read this.

Ghost in the Shell is a 2017 American science fiction and action directed by Rupert Sanders and written by Jamie Moss, William Wheeler and Eren Kruger, based on the Japanese manga and anime of the same name by Masamune Shirow. It film stars Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano, Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han and Juliette Binoche. Set in a near future when the line between humans and robots is blurring, the plot follows the Major (Johansson), a cyborg supersoldier who yearns to learn her past.

If you're looking for whitewashed versions, here ya go. It's got 10/10 accuracy and...whatever's on the plate. Don't go looking for Avatar or Attack on Titan or Dragon Ball Z (just no), go for the Ghost in the Shell.

Trust me, you're gonna wish you got a cyberkinetic body just to watch this repeatedly, without any health effects.

Book Review: MAGNUS CHASE AND THE GODS OF ASGARD

Ever watched those movies and read books depicting the life of Vikings? How about the Norse gods and the Nine Worlds? And not to mention, were the rest of the gods as well-known as Odin, Thor and Loki? If you think you’re good at mythology, name other gods aside from those three.

Give up? No problem. I also started out that way. Now, try to imagine this supernatural Norse world—only that it’s modern, and in Boston, of all places. Insert a homeless, sixteen-year-old pickpocketer with a near-unbreakable love for falafel, and (drum roll) you get Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

If you're not a fan of spoilers, I don't think you should read this blog. Or if you're curious...well, may the god of blogs and spoilers have mercy on you, puny mortal (sorry).

                

Introducing the new and improved Kurt Cobain...!

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is narrated by Magnus Chase himself, and the story is about his agonizing death as a free pass to the afterlife equivalent of Camp Half-Blood (or Jupiter?), Hotel Valhalla. Along the way with his sidekicks Blitzen and Hearthstone Alderman, and Valkyrie Samirah al-Abbas, they break a few…dozen rules in Valhalla, put the others’ lives at stake, and at the end, save the world anyway. Just like any other Riordan book, MCGA is action-packed and notoriously funny, and is filled with quests, a few bloodthirsty monsters and tyrannical deities on the side, and—again—closely linked to the world of Percy Jackson, plus the usual prophecies. And like any other book, there’s the usual clueless hero, the badass girl, and the guy who…well, is pretty much the sidekick (or in Magnus’s case, two sidekicks). The difference: the main character is a much darker example of Percy Jackson or any Riordan hero you come across—angsty, bitter, resentful and…ding, ding, ding! Prone to a lot of cursing, which is quite unusual in Uncle Rick’s books.  Another good example is how instead of enduring torture while alive, you die all day every day…which is oddly a normal occurrence for them.

Moving on to my opinion, I am very sorry to compare this but it caught my attention way better than Percy Jackson and the rest of the Seven did, combined with the Kane Chronicles. I don’t know how, but it’s probably the reference from famous shows and—oh, Thor, yes!—the internet memes. It may be the fact that it’s less corny, or the talking sword (sorry, Riptide) and the sass and sarcasm levels breaking the charts. As much as I love the previous series, I could relate more with Magnus Chase and his crazy Norse adventures, maybe because it had a very modern feel to it. Imagine a sword who sings Top 40 songs off-key, a dwarf promoting a fashion line, a thunder god who farts every few minutes, and the doorman of Valhalla taking selfies on his, um, phablet.

For any of you who are unfamiliar with Norse mythology and those with a sense of humor, this is more than highly recommended. And if you are prone to getting easily addicted, just don’t try to purposefully die in agony in order to get into Valhalla…it won’t work. Trust me.