The Macroblog

If rappe (the repetitive and prolonged use of an app) were a criminal case, I would be guilty for five counts of it, and maybe even more. And one app that would not think twice of lodging a case against me would be Instapaper (which is described as “a simple tool to save web pages for reading later.”) I’ve been an Instapaper user since my college years, and until now, I still regularly use it. It’s actually the last app that I use before I go to sleep.

Well, you don’t need to have a handheld device to use Instapaper’s services, you just install a bookmarklet which you hit when you find an interesting article that you want to read at a later time (I should note that it’s Google-Reader-friendly). When you want to read that article, you simply go to your Instapaper account where you’ll find the link to that article. But there are articles that are impractical to be read on your computer, and let’s face it, reading could be time-consuming. I’d rather read during idle times (e.g., waiting in queue at the doctor’s office, travelling, etc.) than during the times when I have something else to do. Although I’m not saying that I’m not guilty that I read even when I have something more pressing things that I should do.

Coupling Instapaper with a compatible device (it works for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, Kindle, and other ebook readers) makes reading articles from the internet easier. And you could be a little more productive when you normally don’t. Basically, the app saves a copy of almost any webpage (even those websites with stupid paywalls) on your device letting you to access them at a later time even if you don’t have any internet connection. It also strips down the webpage to its barest form: just the article itself, no navigation bars, no sidebars, no footers, no “Most Popular” list and other lists that could be a big distraction to you. This is the text-optimized view, although it doesn’t work all the time; I think this feature depends on how the page in question was coded.

One nifty feature that I like is its built-in dictionary. Encountered a big word that you haven’t got the foggiest, like “lackadaisical,” perhaps? No problem, the Instapaper app lets you learn and expand your vocabulary without leaving the app. Just tap and hold the word that made you think you have a vocabulary of a five-year-old and tap define.

You could also make folders to organize articles — in my case, I segregate articles by topic: football, tennis, Youngblood articles, recipes, etc. But if you’re really obsessive-compulsive, arranging articles on your device is a big headache. It’s a multi-stepped process that would leave your thumbs worn-out (or your pinkies if your thumbs are too big and you’re forced to use them). Likewise, deleting articles is tedious too. I wish it’s as easy as organizing and erasing items in the Mail.app. On the other hand, the Instapaper website lets you do that in one or two clicks.

What makes it more useful is that a lot of apps have a “Send to Instapaper” feature. One of the most notable app that has this functionality is the official Twitter app for iPhone. After putting your Instapaper credentials, it’s as easy as swiping and tapping to send articles to your Instapaper account.

The app — complete with all of the features that I mention plus more — is available for $4.99. A stripped-down version is also offered at the app store for you to try. You may think that “Hey, that’s going to be a free built-in feature in Mobile Safari once iOS 5 comes out, but it looks like having a dedicated app for a reading list far outweighs Apple’s free solution especially if you are a heavy reader.

PS: If the owner of Instapaper is reading this, please add a search feature on the Instapaper website.

At first, you might think that Yakimix only serves Japanese food because just below the restaurant’s name, the word “Sushi” could be found. During the two times that I dined there, I found out that they do not only serve sushi, tempura, miso soup, and other classic Japanese food. A mix of cuisines were present in the buffet table; they serve Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and even American dishes.

For only Php 580.00 (or Php 499.00 during weekday lunches) you could eat whatever you want, and how much you want. Yes, eat all-you-can! Be sure to go there with an empty stomach, and early so you could enjoy the various food that they serve.

The ambiance is just fine. Sure, it feels like you’re eating at a better-than-normal restaurant, and space is not an issue. They have big chairs, so no matter what size you are — especially after you’ve satisfied your tummy, you’ll have enough room to sit on. Plus, the big chairs come with big tables, you’ll surely have enough real estate to place the food that you took from the buffet table. The only main attraction, aside from the buffet table, are the smokeless grills that you could find at the center of the tables.

What’s the use of the smokeless grill? Obviously, that’s for grilling the variety of raw items that you’ll find in one section of the buffet table. And yes, you’ll be the one who’ll grill your own food. Your options for raw food are almost endless — you could choose from hotdog, shrimp, fish, squid, vegetables wrapped in what looked like bacon, meat that looked like bacon sans vegetables, chicken, and more. The grilling part is fun, kids would surely love it. And you don’t have to worry about smelling like food after your meal as their smokeless grills really don’t produce smoke.

On the other side of the buffet table, you’ll find a selection of cooked items. Most of them are Chinese food, but as I’ve mentioned earlier, they offer other food that you might like. They had some sort of seafood pizza, ebi tempura, and others that I don’t remember. Their tempuras aren’t that good. I bet they aren’t their specialty. Tokyo Tokyo’s tempura are better, actually. I also have an issue with their sauces. They have a lot of sauces, but I haven’t found one that tastes like the regular sauce for tempura. You can’t really enjoy tempura without that sauce full of sweet rice wine.

A separate table is dedicated for various kinds of sushis. There were really lots of sushis. I haven’t tried them all, but most of them would be enough to satisfy your taste buds. The first time I went there, I mostly ate sushis. I’ve had so many of them that by the time we had to pay the bill, my lunch almost reappeared. They’re really that good. They also have sashimi, if you enjoy raw fish, be sure to try them too.

They also have a section for desserts. The first time I dined there, there was a cake from Red Ribbon. And on the second time, there was a Goldilocks cake. It’s kind of weird for me to see cakes like that in a restaurant like Yakimix. They also have other pastries and sweets, and ice cream (Selecta) that you could try if there’s still enough space in your stomach.

So if you like eating at an eat-all-you can restaurant that serves a humongous number of viands, be sure to check this restaurant. The probability that you have visited this restaurant is high, especially if you live in Metro Manila. But for people living outside the capital region, be sure to at least try this restaurant once. You’ll surely have a lot of fun dining with your friends or family.

Yakimix branches can be found at Tomas Morato, Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, Trinoma, and SM Mall of Asia.

I own only the first two photos. The rest are owned by various users on Flickr. Click on the photo/s to see more detail.

Atonement (2007)

© Working Title Films

Starring: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai, Saoirse Ronan,Vanessa Redgrave, Juno Temple, and Benedict Cumberbatch
Screenplay by: Christopher Hampton
Based on: Atonement by Ian McEwan

The Story

1935, on the hottest summer day, Briony sees Cecilia, her sister, undress in front of their longtime servant’s son, Robbie. Because of her immaturity, Briony interprets adult intentions differently and completely misunderstands it. The succeeding actions of the three — and a prior incident between Briony and Robbie — would result into Briony’s crime, a crime that would intertwine the lives of the three and which she would eventually try to atone for years as a nurse during wartime. Robbie is sent to prison, and eventually released, on the exchange of serving for the British Army — virtually severing almost all of his connections to his dear Cecilia.

My Take

In the first part, the time goes back numerous times to tell the story in the perspective of another character. In both book and movie versions, there’s almost no transition from one perspective to another, so if you aren’t paying attention to details, you’ll surely get lost in this labyrinthine story. This could either be viewed as a flaw or brilliantness. It makes you think where one perspective ends, and another one starts. But obviously, that makes it complicated.

The story could feel really heavy and boring, especially at the middle where Robbie is trying to escape from France back to England. I know some people who were not able to finish the movie because of this. In my case, I almost stopped reading the novel (I read it first before watching the movie adaptation). McEwan’s heavy writing could be simply termed as lullaby. It took me almost two weeks to finish it, and in my standards, that means it took me a long while. Although the cogwheel of this tale is Briony’s crime, the story as a whole is also dependent to some sequences from that boring part, remove them and the story wouldn’t be as powerful as it should. Well, I’m really glad that I was able to finish the book.

The beauty of the story lies at the last few pages of the book or minutes of the film where the reader or the viewer respectively is presented two different versions of the ending. The twist at the end is just so big that it will surely change your opinion on Ian McEwan’s magnificent novel. But the icing on the top is that whichever version you choose, you won’t escape the sadness that the story would bring to you.

The actors who played the main characters were well versed in what they were doing. The acting is just so good that you can feel that it really happened. I was really impressed with the mad acting skills of James McAvoy in this one. He’s a really damn good actor. Oh, and I’m sure that you’ll notice the music that was used in the movie. It’s so original, right? Who knew that the sound of typewriter could be used as background music, hu? Dario Marianelli (the composer) is inventive and an outright genius.

The Better Version

It’s hard to pick which is the better version. The movie adaptation is so close to the book that I can’t decide. It’s one of the rare movie adaptations that was really faithful to the novel. And although the twist at the end was presented differently in the two versions — a family reunion in the book, and an interview in the movie — it doesn’t make a big difference. So be sure to check both! But should they release another Atonement movie, I hope they’ll combine the two.

Tearmometer

Prepare at least eight and a half rolls of tissue, you don’t want your clothes to get soaked from tears. In other words, I’m rating this as 8.5 out of 10. It could have easily scored 10, but owing to the fact that there are boring scenes, I had to deduct a few points.