velascomike.com

Follow up to Paseo Interlomas mall

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:35:00 +0000

Last year I wrote a post regarding a new mall that is under construction on my neighborhood, Paseo Interlomas (see original post here) and I wanted to update on the subject.

The construction last year was almost drawn to a stop (I suspect lack of funding was the main reason), but in the past couple of months the construction site seems to have been reactivated and the are now busy as ants.

I have also noticed that on the developer’s website, www.gicsa.com.mx there is some updated information and new renderings. Here is the description found on such website:

Paseo Interlomas is the modern version of a park combined with a regional shopping center. This place will be the first community center in the area to be developed inside a spectacular building with open and closed spaces meeting the highest security standards. This commercial concept with nearly 1.4 million square feet of built area and a parking area of more than 1.9 million square feet will include two department stores 16 stadium type movie theaters with THX mega screens (6 VIP), 12 restaurants, a food court and 180 retail spaces of all sort of services and specialty shops. The following are some of the project’s attractions: skating rink, health and fitness gym, a family entertainment center, children’s attractions and dexterity games as well as an art exhibition center and a hotel.

And here are the renderings:

From the renderings it shows that we can expect a Liverpool and the ubiquitous Sanborns. I will continue updating when I know more about it.

Quit Stalling. a video.

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:54:00 +0000

This video was made by a relative for an Oxfam campaign. It needs to get views in order to win a trip. Please watch it and share it with your friends.

I still exist, look at my new design

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Hey there, welcome again to my blog. A blog which I have left unattended for five (long) months, sorry for that.

I tried to choose a new design that is simple and that I can modify and tweak as my blog goes on. It may still need some tweaks. What do you think of the new design? Is it too dark? did you prefer the old design? Please let me know.

I promise to post more frequently, at least once a month. If you have anything that would like to see on the blog, don’t hesitate and leave a comment.

Finally, for those returning after the long hiatus, thanks. You are the people that matter the most :)

Visit to Tepoztlan

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:18:00 +0000

Last Saturday I went to visit Tepoztlan with my brother and a couple of cousins. Tepoztlan is a little town located about half hour from Mexico City. This town is a traditional Mexican tow with old houses, small streets, a traditional marketplace, traditional food, handcrafts, etc.

We arrived late due to the heavy traffic (it was a long weekend and people escape the city in hordes) and we were hungry. We ate at the marketplace in a small stand that sells “antojitos”, basically quesadillas, sopes, and so on. First I ate an itacate, a triangle-shaped dough filled with the filling of your choosing, mine was potatoes with chorizo. Then I have a cecina (salted beef steak) taco and a cuitlacoche quesadilla, mmm I love cuitlacoche. Finally a chapulines quesadilla, tasty and something different.

To end the day we went walking through the handcraft vendors and bought a couple of things before returning to Mexico City.

Here are a couple of pictures from my visit to Tepoztlan:

Quote of the Day:
Vegetarian is an old Indian word meaning bad hunter.
--Anonymous

Barack Obama wins

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:25:00 +0000

All the projections points towards it.

Although I am neither American nor live in the United States I am happy that this election turned out this way. It is a much needed change for the United States. But above all it means a renewed hope for that country. It is also a day to be marked in history as it is the first African-American to be elected as President of the United States.

I hope that this new President works towards a better world

Am I an Omnivore?

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:55:00 +0000

Am I? According to Very Good Taste if you call yourself an omnivore you should try this things at least once in their life. There are a few things I haven’t heard in my life.

So let’s see how I do (the bold ones are the ones that I had)…

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (typical in every Mexican breakfast menu)
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (the Spanish variation, morcilla)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries (I have blackberries growing in my house since forever)
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans (or as the Cubans call “Moros con cristianos”)
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche (and it’s better cousin, Cajeta)
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (crickets)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (a little too risky for me)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear (tunas)
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears (buñuelos) or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict (I LOVE EGGS BENEDICT)
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef (I’ve been dying to taste Kobe beef, but is too expensive)
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

adding up to 40 out of 100. Not bad but there are a lot of things to try out. I think that it also depends on the place you live and the places you have visited, so if you are a frequent traveler of the world you probably have no excuse in getting a higher score.

So, how did it go for you? Post in the comments or a link to your blog.

No Harry Potter Movie for this year

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:51:00 +0000

In an unexpected announcement, Warner Bros. Pictures have made the decision to move the release of the sixth Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, from it’s original date of November 21, 2008 to the next year, specifically on July 17, 2009.

Warner’s president, Alan Horn, explained the two reasons for this delay: “Our reasons for shifting ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment. Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers’ strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films—changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of. We agreed the best strategy was to move ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer.”

The Teaser Trailer for the movie has been around for two weeks, building up the hype for the fall release.

I don’t like this decision at all. First, the reasons given for the delay does not have to do anything with the movie itself, the movie would be the same if releases on November. Second, the last Harry Potter movie was released over a year ago. And third, it delays the next movies for the last book, The Deathly Hallows Part I and II, originally intended for 2009 and 2010, to 2010 and 2011 respectively.

“We Have Water”

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:31:00 +0000

That is what William Boynton of the University of Arizona one of the scientist from the Phoenix Mars Lander said regarding the confirmation of water in Martian soil.

This news are …. I mean one thing is seeing what appears to be water on images transmitted from Martian suburbs and another, complete different thing, is receiving confirmation after chemical tests.

Maybe this news will pass without much furor among the massive amount of information that passes through our eyes each day, but I really think it could be one of the greatest discoveries of all time. It may mean that Mars one held some kind of life, or it may mean that humans could inhabit Mars one day (as distant as it may see).

I am no expert on the matter but I wanted to express my opinion in my site (yes for those 5 people out there reading it)

You can find the news on this page: NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended.

Quote of the Day:
A good composer does not imitate; he steals.
--Igor Stravinsky

Happy Birthday bro!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:40:00 +0000

Today is my brother Andrew’s birthday, so this post is to congratulate him.

Happy, very happy birthday Andrew!!!

New York City Trip 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:10:00 +0000

If you read my last post you may wonder what I actually did on my trip. Sine this was my second trip to New York I mostly have already seen the main stuff (the Statue of Liberty, the Met, Times Square, Ground Zero, etc.) I was only missing a few important things. So in my trip I went to those places and some other places out off the beaten path.

I arrived on Monday afternoon to JFK, it is a nice airport but it takes a lot of time to get to Manhattan due to the high traffic. I checked into my hotel and went to grab dinner at the Empire Diner, it was very good. On Tuesday morning I want to pickup the tickets for the baseball game and checked out the New Yankee Stadium, it is a beauty!Later that day took the 2-hour sightseeing tour of Circle Line, it was OK but far from wonderful, maybe for some first-timer in New York could be good. To end the day, I visited Brooklyn’s Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. Who doesn’t loves pizza, and the pizza in New York is the best I have ever tasted (so far) and Grimaldi’s is one of the top spots in town.

Moving on to Wednesday. In the morning I spent 3+ hours visiting the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), they have some cool art in there. Lunch at the obliged Kat’z Delicatessen, pastrami sandwich. The rest of the day was reserved for the Yankees. Oh my gosh, what a experience that was, definitely one of the best experiences of my life! Since you board the a 4 train packed with fans to The Stadium to the last out of the evening, everything was memorable. The first pitch was made in space aboard the International Space Station. My seats were a little above behind and to the right of the home plate. The Yankees pounded the sox 15-9 in a 4:10 hour game.

Thursday. Grab a doughnut at the Doughnut Plant. Later I visited the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens to see the Cherry Blossoms. Then I went to The New Museum in The Bowery, it is nice but feels like just an art gallery. My lunch for the day was at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, lovely and delicious place between the trees in the park. Finishing the day was the second Yankees game, seats in the Bleachers. It was a pity that the Yankees lost.

On Friday morning I visited the Upper West Side (H&H Bagels, Zabar’s, and some of the area around them) and Central Park. In Central Park I visited Strawberry Fields, rented a bike and drove the 6+ miles circuit, and rested some in Sheep’s Meadow. In the afternoon went to do some shopping in the 5th Avenue Area. In the evening went to The Blue Note in the Village to enjoy some Jazz.

The last day in the morning went to Chelsea Market, and old Nabisco factory where the Oreo cookie was invented and now it is transformed into a food market and offices. Finished my shopping and packed my things for my flight back to Mexico.

Here are some photos of the trip, hope you liked this post :)

PD. Sorry for the LOOOONG delay for this post, no excuses this time. Sorry.

New York City Trip 2008, Part 0

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:02:00 +0000

Last month I made a trip to New York City. I really like New York because you have a great amount of things to do, to see, to eat, etc... It was my second trip to NYC and I'll write some posts and upload some photos about it :)

The idea for this trip surged from my wish to see the Yankees play in the Yankee Stadium before they tear it down later this year. It has always been kind of a dream of mine to do that. So after thinking a lot about it I made up my mind to do it. So when the Yankees tickets for this season were made available I was able to buy tickets for two games at The Stadium against the Red Sox! I was so excited, the greatest rivalry of baseball.

So I've made my trip plan (flights, hotel reservations, etc.) around this two games (April 16 and 17).

On the next posts I'll write about the trip itself...

--
Quote of the Day:
It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust
--Samuel Johnson

WRC Corona Mexico 2008 photos

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:45:00 +0000

As promised, here are a few photos of my trip to the WRC Corona Mexico 2008.

Quote of the Day:
Forgiveness is not an occasional act: it is a permanent attitude.
--Dr. Martin Luther King

Earth Hour 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:33:00 +0000

Tomorrow Saturday March 29th, at 8pm local time, switch off your lights for one hour to make a stand against global warming. The idea came form Sydney, Australia where in 2007 thousands of people turned of the light. Here is a video

YouTube - Earth Hour 2007

Quote of the Day:
All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific.
--Jane Wagner

While writing this, I was listening to "No" by Shakira

oops, too much time since I posted anything

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:58:00 +0000

Sorry for the lack of posts, I have keep forgetting to post. I'll post a few pics of the Corona Rally next week, and hope to post most often, sorry again.

WRC Corona Rally Mexico 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:08:00 +0000

In a few hours I am off to Leon, Guanajuato for the World Rally Championship, Corona Rally Mexico 2008. I'll take lots of pictures and post some when I come back. See ya!

Yankees, here I come

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:05:00 +0000

I have my tickets for the Yankees vs Boston games on April.

I am so, so happy!!

Paseo Interlomas, a new mall in the neighborhood

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:46:00 +0000

I live near a zone that is thriving with commerce and new residential developments, Interlomas. This zone has a variety of shopping centers, both small and large, supermarkets, cinemas, schools, a university, etc. The growth of this zone in the last years has been astounding. This growth has brought a lot of traffic to the zone and it lacks some roads to be better communicated (see Hueyetlaco).

So, why not, let's make a new shopping mall, one of the largest in the Mexico City area.

This new mall is currently under construction. It will be called "Paseo Interlomas". It was designed by the Fernando Teruya Design Studio and built by GICSA. This mall will feature 15 movie screens (5 of them VIP), an ice skating rink, two mayor department stores (Liverpool and "Palacio de Hierro"), about 79,000 square meters (~850,000 square feet) of retail. Bellow you can find a rendering of the project, click on it to see more images:

I like new projects that beautify the city and the space we live in. I also expect the projects to be reasonable and include adequate planning and impact mitigation measures. For what I have read, this project also include a road plan to help cope with the traffic that will generate.

The mall is projected to open in summer 2008, although by judging the current progress I would say it will open near the end of 2008 or beginnings of 2009.

UPDATE: you can find a followup to this article here.

Quote of the Day:
Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.
--General Omar Nelson Bradley

† Rest in Peace Father Marcial Maciel, LC

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:16:00 +0000

Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ passed away yesterday January 30, 2008. Father Maciel died at the age of 87 of natural causes in the United States of America.

Father Maciel was the founder of the schools I have attended almost all my life. Since preschool, elementary, middle, and high school at the "Instituto Cumbres" and in college at the "Universidad Anáhuac". The Legionaries of Christ have been an important part of my formation.

I just wish to extend my prayers and condolences for the Maciel family and to all the community of the Legionaries of Christ and the "Regnum Christi" Movement.

50th Anniversary of LEGO

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:12:00 +0000

Today, January 28th, is the 50th birthday of the LEGO brick.

Lego history began in 1932 in Billund, Denmark, where Ole Kirk Christansen founded a small factory of wooden toys. The name Lego comes from a fusion of the Danish words “LEg” and “GOdt” which means "play well".

In 1947, Christansen bought the first plastic injection molding machine in Denmark. He developed the early prototypes for the LEGO brick and in 1958 he patented the LEGO brick. Today’s LEGO bricks still fit bricks from 1958.

Below is a timeline (from gizmodo.com, click the image for the original article) of LEGO.

LEGO, is launching a kit to commemorate it's 50th birthday, 3 gold bricks included (LEGO Town Plan).

With information and images from:
Gizmodo, LEGO Brick Timeline and LEGO.com, 50th Birthday of the LEGO Brick.

The Lion King

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:52:00 +0000

Sunday afternoon I went to see The Lion King, the theater play from Broadway, although I didn't saw it on Broadway... I saw it in the "Auditorio Nacional" in Mexico City.

Back in 2005 when I went to New York City I tried to see it, but was not able to get tickets. So Sunday I've finally got my chance to see it.

The show was beautiful. Everything was spectacular, from the costumes, to the music, to the production. Even for a tour show, no details were left unattended. The show was presented in it's original language (thanks!) with Spanish subtitles on the video screens. The "Auditorio Nacional" it's a fairly large venue, it accommodates up to 5,500 persons for a theater play, so even if you don't get the same feeling you'll get in a smaller theater in Broadway, it was a very good experience.

Quote of the Day:
Life is not an exact science, it is an art.
--Samuel Butler, the younger

www.velascomike.com

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:39:00 +0000

Hello!

Finally I have decided to give my blog it's own address so it easier now :-). Now you can access my blog @ www.velascomike.com

see you around...

While writing this, I was listening to "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette

2.0.0.8

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another year.

May you have the opportunity to do all the things you want to do, visit the places you want to go and be happy with your family, and/or friends.

While writing this, I was listening to "Where The Streets Have No Name" by U2

You know it's Christmas when...

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:26:00 +0000

You see a bunch of cars with Reindeer Horns

Yes, that is the latest fashion in Mexico City. They are all around us, a reindeer invasion. They even have red noses! I like it.

I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas!

PD. Frohe Weihnachten! (That's 'Merry Christmas' in German).

Quote of the Day:
You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise.
--Lucius Annæus Seneca

Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows... READ

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:47:00 +0000

Last night, after almost six months, I finally finished the last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Yes I know I might seem to anyone like a s-l-o-w reader, but I read it slowly on purpose. I was slow because I like Harry Potter books a lot, and I enjoy reading them, so if I read it too quickly I would be left out with no more HP to read. So I decided to read two chapters of the book each week.

Just wanted to share a few opinions...

(Spoiler alert ON) Don't read on if you haven't read it!

It was a great book, worthy of the Harry Potter series. The last two chapters had me on the edge of the seat. I am glad that there were no main characters deaths (Hermione, Ron or Harry). The deaths of Lupin, Tonks, and Moody were sad, but Fred's death was the saddest. It did ended as I expected, with Voldermort dead and Harry Potter "The boy who lived" alive. It was a nice touch that Voldermort died by it's own curse backfiring.

(Spoiler alert OFF)

I am sad that there will be no more Harry Potter books, but at least we have the movies to look forward to.

It's been great knowing you Harry, good bye and farewell!

Birthday No. 27

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:52:00 +0000

Hello! Today is my birthday! Yay!!

The most special day of the year, the weather is awesome and I'm feeling exellent!

I've got up to an early start today since I had German class (more on that later) in the morning. But besides that, it is a lovely day! :-)

At German class they sung me Happy Birthday in German, it was cool. I've written it down for you to read:

Viel Glück und viel Segen,
auf al deinen Wegen.
Gesundheit und Wohlstand
sei auch mit dabei!

which literally translates to:

Much luck and much benediction,
on all your ways.
Health and Prosperity,
may also be added to the list.

bye for now..

While writing this, I was listening to "Wake Up" by The Arcade Fire

Quote of the Day:
Wherever you are -- be there.
--Anonymous