Updates

Hmm... seems like the menswear blog will be coming sooner rather than later. The office products though will be part of my company's overall web strategy so more on that when we launch our site.

As for the menswear site, I'm still thinking on how to develop content for it. Style picks for menswear in this country are slim with only big mainstream boutiques such as Gucci, Prada, etc. available with their Men's line being sparse and small.

So it will probably be a combination of links from other sites and relevant observations and thoughts about the domestic fashion and style scene.

There will be a mix of how-to's, where-to's, information about brands and other events. Any suggestions are appreciated and you can email me at kevinclark.tan@gmail.com for your thoughts.

I will be working on the site now and hopefully be able to launch by the end of the month or next month at the latest with some preliminary content available.

My personal blog will still showcase my thoughts on various subjects though. So for more general topic ideas, see it here.

Thanks,

Kevin

Been Busy

Things have changed a lot since I last posted. I don't think the Office Products reviews site will push through and the Men's Fashion site will be delayed a little bit because of a decision that I had made early this month.

I have decided, with some of my friends, to open a menswear shop here in the Philippines. At the start, it will be online only, looking at retail further down the road. We're still deciding whether we're going to open our doors to overseas customers (if they're interested in buying), but we are hopeful that we can if the demand is there.

Our initial products shall be shirts and suits. We considered tie as well, but decided to put that off until later. We are still working on a lot of stuff for the initial collection, but hopefully we can get it out the door before the end of the year.

I don't know how successful this venture will be, but we will try our best to bring quality menswear to our country at an affordable price.

More information in the days to come.

Thanks,

Kevin

It's been a while

Yes, I know it's been a while since my last post. But now I will be back regularly posting stuff.

But more importantly, I am thinking of entering into two new ventures:

The first is an offshoot of what I am currently doing now, which is running an office supplies company. I am thinking of opening a blog centered around office products. Reviews, news and other stuff. I don't know how many people are interested in that kind of thing, but it shall also serve as a repository for various partners, customers as well as others to view. This will be a little bit more tied in with my company, Office Club.com, Inc.

The second is something that has been percolating in my mind for quite some time, but it is only know that I've begun to crystallize it in my mind. I am thinking of opening a men's style/fashion blog similar to endeavors such as the Effortless Gent, Dappered or the Style Blogger but for the Philippine audience. I know of Pinoy Guy Guide, but I feel that, as of now, it is still limited, but a good source for Pinoy fashion and style tips especially for men.

My Trip to Hong Kong

Hey people! I'm back from my trip to Hong Kong. I'll tell you all about it and also upload photos next week starting on Monday. Unfortunately, my hotel didn't have Wi-Fi and the internet cost an arm and a leg at the hotel room.

So, expect more to come in the coming days.

Trip to Hong Kong Update 1

Well, I'm all packed for my trip to Hong Kong. All my clothes and my toiletries are all tucked inside my new Tumi Luggage.

In a few hours, I'll be leaving for Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the primary international airport here in Manila. Our flight leaves at around 3PM so I hope I get some reading done.

I brought two books for reading on this trip: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Love Walked In by Marissa De Los Santos.

I hope I finish these two books before I come home.

Vacationing in Hong Kong

Hello readers (all 1 of you and that's being generous)! Tomorrow I will be off to Hong Kong for the Holy Week break vacation. I, with my family, will be gone for about 5 days and will be returning on Saturday. I don't know if we will be having an internet connection (that's free) where we'll be staying so I don't know how often I will be able to post, but I will if I can.

If not, I will be posting when I get back, thoughts and impressions as well as reviews and other helpful information along with pictures and maybe video (although the quality won't be great as it will be from my point and shoot Sony Cybershot DSC-W130.)

Hopefully, though I can post on Twitter and Facebook when I can find Wi-Fi hotspots (I'm not lugging around my laptop everywhere.) My Twitter handle is KC_Tan, my facebook profile is here.

So happy Holy Week!

Movie Review: How to Train your Dragon

I didn't expect much from this movie when I went into the theater and sat my butt down on my seat. I told myself, "Well, it isn't Pixar...". But I was very impressed with the movie overall and I was pleasantly surprised by both its story and the action scenes.

How to Train your Dragon is the story of a boy who befriends a dragon, a dreaded Night Fury, which no one has ever seen or heard of. This boy's name is, strangely enough, Hiccup. Oh, and he's a viking. And the movie's vikings see dragons as their nemeses. To top it all off, Hiccup is the son of the Chieftain of their village.

There are plenty of sub-plots within this story: the relationship of Hiccup and his father, the budding romance between Hiccup and the girl he has always liked, being an outcast from other kids his age. But the story is essentially the relationship between a boy and his dragon. How our preconceptions about something lead us to assumptions that can wholly be wrong.

That's why this movie works, everything is else is like whipped cream, nice but unnecessary to the main plot of how two different beings can overcome their differences and forge a lasting bond.

Of course, this being a dragon movie, there are a lot of action scenes. There are a lot of dragons that breathe stuff: both on-camera, fire-breathing dragon, fire-breathing dragon that is on fire himself; and off, dragon that can spray scalding water that melts people faces off.

There is also, near the end of the movie, a gigantic dragon that looks like Godzilla with wings and is pretty cool. I was amazed by how such a large creature could fly, even if it is just a movie, and an animated one at that.

As I was writing this and referencing IMDB for some names, I noted that Hiccup was voiced by Jay Baruchel, who is a frequently staple in comedies especially the Judd Apatow version. Although the entire voice cast was good: America Ferrera as Astrid, Gerard Butler as Stoick, Hiccup's dad, in particular, I thought that the standout was Hiccup.

Jay Baruchel really nailed it with his performance of Hiccup. Initially he had this whiny, grating voice perfect for a whiny, weak boy. But eventually, he turns into this man who is brave and willing to do anything to save his friends, particularly his best friend, the Night Fury, Toothless.

So, How to Train your Dragon is pretty good for an animated movie, although there are some scenes that maybe the kiddies would get a little scared of. Especially, at least to me, near the very end where a main character loses a limb. I can imagine the questions children might ask about like, "Mommy, where did the leg go?"

Also, the other stories feel tacked on, like the relationship between Hiccup and Astrid and the outcast subplot. The father-son relationship works better though and is a key factor in developing the story.

Also, I watched the non-3D version. I don't know if the 3-D version is any better, but I was satisfied with the non-3D one. I feel that most 3-D feels tacked on and isn't real 3-D anyway, just depth of field.

Anyway, if you're looking for your animated movie fix this first quarter of 2010, How to Train your Dragon is a pretty good pick.