12/25/08

Check out...

I won't be updating this site for the meantime while I focus on my career as a photographer.  You can view my portfolio at http://ayandeato.multiply.com/

11/13/08

Entrapped this Nov 15



Modelt: Jaws Andrada
Graphics: DominiquePaytone

FAQ's:
Q: When is the Shoot?
A: November 15, 2008 (Saturday)

Q: What time is the shoot?
A: 10am to 4pm

Q: Where is the Venue?
A: Cityland Shaw Tower Penthouse

Q: How do i get to the Venue?
A: From MRT Shaw station, walk past Edsa Shangrila Mall along Shaw Blvd. Cityland Shaw Tower is the Orange bldg next to Edsa Shangrila mall.

Q: Who Shall I look for when I reached Cityland Shaw Tower?
A: Proceed to the Information area, and inform the guard that you are part of the "Entrapped Event".

Q: Who can join and register for the shoot?
A: Anyone, male or female

Q: How do i register and What is the payment details?
A: please refer below details.

PAYMENT:

REGISTRATION FEE: Php 500.00


Q: What do i get for Php500.00?
A: Five (5) Soft Copy, Post Processed high resolution of your concept shot.

Q: Are walk in participants allowed?
A: Yes very much, everyone is welcome

Q: What do i have to bring on the day of Shoot?
A: your most fashionable sleeved shirt and extra dry clothes for boys, any fashionable top for girls.

Q: Will styling be provided?
A: Styling will be provided

Q: Who do i contact for inquiry?
A: Please refer below contact details.

09156235757 - Marxus Sebastian
09277915530 / 09228212926 - Ayan Deato
09273378835 - Garry Sabado

5152843 - Marxus Sebastian
5155532 - Garry Sabado

AFTER THE SHOOT YOU CAN STAY AND ENJOY THE POOL PARTY WITH COOL DJ GANI AROUND

WALK IN PARTICIPANTS ARE VERY MUCH WELCOME

8/25/08

The big day!

I was watching Nip/Tuck when I got an SMS from a friend inviting me to
his birthday party... And what a coincidence... we both have the same
day of birth. Then it dawned to me that my birthday is fast
approaching. Damn! I'm getting old!

More Updates...


Raiding The Fort Party Scene

Manila Ocean Park
Pics

Goodbye with the old and Hello to the new me
Pics

Happy Birthday Say Alonzo
Pics

Long break!

It's been a while since my last post.

Here's what I've been doing lately after I resigned from Dell.


Calle Crisologo - Vigan City
Drive to Vigan
Pics

Abra Trip
Vigan City
Pics

Baluarte Zoo Ilocos Sur
Pics

Happy Birthday Vince
Pics

Shake Mo TV Mo!
More here and here

8/9/08

Thanks!

I got featured in another site. WOW! Thanks po! You can check it out here.

7/24/08

Project Runway Philippines

Come July 30 ETC will be airing Project Runway Philippines. Here's a teaser!


7/23/08

7/21/08

I'm back to work!

Been out of the office for a few days... lately I've been suffering from lower back pains, lack of sleep, and recurring headaches. My doctor said I have to take it easy and advised that I take a break from work.

Had my X-ray of the Lumbo Sacral Spine last Friday and will be back to the hospital to check the results tomorrow. Being at home was a welcome thing for me since I was able to spend more time with my family and do attend to domestic stuff. It's kinda boring though because I can't go out and have turned down invites from my friends to go out since I really need to rest and take it easy or else.

It's nice to be back but I might need to file a leave again depending on the result of the X-ray. My doctor said I might need to undergo PT for next couple of days. I guess I needed this as well. Lately I've been pushing back on my vacation because of work... until now.

7/20/08

Project Blackout



Make-up by: TINA BIVAR AND GERARD DADUYA
Hair by: THIRD OCTAVO
Face Art by: DEAN IBAY
Photography: STEVEN BARRETTO and ASH CASTRO
Model: AYAN DEATO

7/10/08

Php1 / Liter Oil Prices Rollback

MANILA, Philippines - After weeks of unabated oil price increases, major players Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell on Wednesday
announced that they are rolling back the prices of their gasoline. The P1-per-liter rollback will take effect Wednesday midnight.

Raffy Ledesma, media affairs officer of Petron, said the P1 per liter rollback will cover the company’s gasoline products such as Blaze, XCS
Plus, Xtra Unleaded and regular gasoline.

Gasoline prices are expected to stabilize to P60.98 per liter if other oil companies will impose the same price rollback.

Latest monitoring conducted by the Department of Energy indicated that unleaded gasoline is sold at P59.10 to P61.98 per liter, diesel at P53 to P54.97 and liquefied petroleum gas at P631.50 to P688 per 11-kilogram cylinder.

As this developed, the militant think tank IBON Foundation said billions of dollars in global profits belie the "under-recovery" complaints made by oil firms in the Philippines in justifying the increase in the prices of oil, which was done in an almost weekly basis since last month.

In a statement, IBON said the mother companies of these firms abroad - particularly Shell, Chevron and Petron - continue to report record billions in profits.

"At any rate, the Big Three oil firms are clearly still making billions of pesos in profits, and thus any claim of so-called under-recoveries does not mean that they are taking any losses," it said.

Royal Dutch Shell, the mother company of Pilipinas Shell, posted net income of $27.6 billion in 2007, making it the second most profitable company in the world next to oil giant Exxon Mobil.

During the same year, Pilipinas Shell recorded profits of P4.12 billion, IBON said.

On the other hand, Chevron, mother unit of Chevron Philippines (formerly Caltex), reported a net income of $18.7 billion in 2007, 9% higher than in 2006 and enough to rank it the eighth most profitable company in the world.

Its local unit in the country reported P2.75 billion in profits in 2007, IBON said.

Petron, co-owned by government and by Saudi Aramco, recorded profits of P5.94 billion in 2007. Its net income has been progressively increasing in the last three years, posting P5.76 billion in 2006 and P3.42 billion in 2005.

"Aramco, unlike Shell and Chevron, is an unlisted company that is not obliged to report its financials, but its profits in 2007 are likely about $15 billion," IBON noted.

On the other hand, IBON said domestic profits do not even genuinely reflect the oil monopolies' overall profits because the transnational oil firms' local subsidiaries are merely booking their profits abroad "through the deceitful practice of transfer pricing to deflect criticisms of their massive windfall profits."

This overpricing has even been extremely bloated since last year by increasing speculation in world oil markets, it said.

"'Transfer pricing' however refers to oil firms' practice of further padding the price of oil they sell to their subsidiaries to shift recording of profits from subsidiaries to mother corporations. The net result of this transfer pricing is that the seemingly lower profits of the subsidiaries, because of higher costs of oil imports, are actually off-set by higher profits of the mother companies," it said.

Oil transnational firms are able to engage in transfer pricing because of their vast control of the different stages of oil production and distribution, IBON said.

In the Philippines, it said, around 90 percent of oil in the market passes through the Big Three, which use lower reported domestic profits to disguise the massive global profits they are making and to deflate public anger against them.

"Those mega-profits earned by exploiting unchecked monopoly control and covered up through unscrupulous practices, even as ordinary Filipinos reel from the harsh impact of escalating fuel prices, highlight the urgent need for government regulation and control over the local oil sector to help ensure transparency in pricing," IBON said. - GMANews.TV

7/9/08

Fuel prices affecting Manila Traffic

I don't know if it's just me but have you noticed how our traffic improved recently? I don't know if it's because of the fuel price increase that majority of Filipinos with cars opt to commute than use there cars to save money. I was on my way home after having coffee with my co-workers at Starbucks and I noticed that there are not too many vehicles on the road (that was around 1AM) along Buendia. Which is kinda odd because during that time traffic would be really bad. I also noticed more passengers are riding the LRT this afternoon going to the south from the north end of the station specially along the University Belt along Recto, Tayuman, and Quiapo. I heard there will be another increase on the jeepney, bus, and cab fare by Sunday! Sigh!

7/6/08

Quake hits Metro Manila and Rizal

MANILA,Philippines - A magnitude-5.4 earthquake was felt in parts of Metro Manila and Rizal rovince Sunday night, but state seismologists said no damage was reported.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director Renato Solidum Jr. cited initial information indicating the quake was tectonic in origin.

"So far ang intensity, Intensity 3 sa Quezon City. Naramdaman sa Manila and Pasig-Cainta (So far the reports we got showed it was felt at Intensity 3 in Quezon City. It was also felt in Manila and in Pasig-Cainta area)," he told radio anchor Rowena Salvacion of dzBB.

He said they are still tracing the epicenter of the quake, which he said was recorded at 8:01 p.m. The United States Geological Service (USGS) said the quake measured at magnitude 5.4, and traced the epicenter 153 km north of San Pedro, Laguna. It said the epicenter was also 159 kilometers east of Cabanatuan City, or 176 km east-northeast of Manila.

- GMANews.TV link: http://www.gmanews.tv

7/5/08

Crossroads...

Alot has happened this week... not to me but to the people around me. My 3 of my co-workers left the company last Wednesday. Three of my closests friends in the company were given a severance package due to redundancy of work. There has been alot of changes in the company and the management had to make the difficult decision to let go of those who they think no longer fits the work requirement of the company. To be honest I didn't really feel sad for them, I actually felt happy for them since they have been under tremendous stress over the past few weeks after not being able to make the cut to the new program that the management wanted us to be a part of. I was lucky enough as well as the majority of the group to have passed the toll gates required for the new program. But am I happy? To be honest I wish I didn't pass the exams... I wish I was given the option to leave the company instead of them. Recently I've been thinking of my career and where my life is going. I've been thinking what my life would be elsewhere and if what I have now is something that I would want to keep on doing. I've been considering the possibility of working back in the Cruise industry... probably under the IT department or back to the Entertainment Department. Singapore, Dubai, and South Africa are my options but up to now I'm still thinking if I should leave the country or stay here and probably switch to a totally different career... something more fulfilling.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. on the big screen?

The highly anticipated film production of TV series Friends has finally been given the go-ahead signal.

Cast members Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Courteney Cox (Monica Geller), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay) and David Schwimmer (Ross Geller) will reprise their roles for a big-screen adaptation 'within the next 18 months', according to insiders.

The actors have been inspired by the recent success of Sex And The City, which recently hit cinemas worldwide.

This is one reunion that is awaited by the millions and millions of fans of
the series which had aired for 10 years and until now re-runs of the T.V. series are still being shown in various networks and this is just one proof that F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is one of the successful shows
on history.

Source: r2designs.multiply.com


7/4/08

Boy Culture




A very fucked up story but a really good one!

7/3/08

The Dark Knight



Heath Ledger's last full length movie

6/30/08

The new Tax Exemption Law

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed into law a bill that would exempt minimum wage earners from paying income tax and increasing personal exemptions for other employees.

Arroyo signed in Malacañang Tuesday Republic Act 9504 or an act amending Sections 22, 24, 34, 35, 51, and 79 of RA 8424 or the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.


Senators Manuel Roxas, Francis Escudero, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Speaker Prospero Nograles were present during the signing.


The law aims “to provide financial relief to taxpayers in cognizance by the government of the hard times brought by multiple factors, including the current rice crisis, oil price hikes and the heightening inflationary pressure on commodities of all kinds and to help reduce the wide tax gap in the taxation of self-employed and professionals,” according to the five-page document released to media.


Senator Manuel Roxas, principal author of the measure, said the new law would “provide relief to our workers by increasing their take home pay.”


He added that the law would allow minimum wage earners to take home as much as P750 a month or from P33 to P35 a day.


"A worker in Metro Manila earning P7,900 a month will now have an additional P750 of take-home pay per month, or P34 per day. He can now spend this additional money for his needs or for his family's needs, such as food, medicine, and the tuition fee of his children, among other uses," Roxas said.


But apart from tax exemption for minimum wage earners, the law will also provide for an increase in the personal exemption of all taxpayers.


From the current P20,000 personal exemption for single taxpayers, P25,000 for head of family, and P32,000 for married individual, the tax exemption will be fixed at P50,000, Roxas said.


The additional exemption for dependents will increase from P8,000 to P25,000, he said.


The senator added that all holiday, night differential, hazard, and overtime pay would also be tax-exempt.


He added that the aim of both the House of Representatives and Senate was not only to increase tax exemption for workers but also to provide relief for minimum wage earners.


“The House focuses on increasing the exemption while I focus on minimum wage,” he said.


“We have fought for this for a long time. Many Labor Days have come and gone wherein we fought for this for our workers, and at last, income tax exemption of minimum wage earners is now a law,” said Roxas in an interview Monday.


For other salaried workers, the measure would allow an employee earning P455 per day or P10,010 per month to have an additional take-home pay of P472.59 per month or P5,671.02 per year if unmarried; P678.50 per month or P8,142.04 per year as head of the family; and P580.92 per month or P6,971.02 per year for those married with four children.


An employee earning P683 per day or P15,026 per month would have an additional take-home pay of P545.26 per month or P6,543.10 per year if unmarried; P1,307.18 per month or P15,686.20 per year as head of the family; and P1,190.52 per month or P14,286.20 per year for those married with four children.


Although the government is expected to lose around P14 billion a year with the new law, the government hopes to recover this through the optional standard deductions (OSD), which will “simplify the filing of income tax returns and benefits, in particular, professionals and medium, small, and micro entrepreneurs,” according to the law.


The OSD will rake in P15.03 billion tax revenues annually.


The law is said to take effect 15 days after its publication in a national newspaper.


INQUIRER.net
By Abigail Kwok
First Posted 11:23:00 06/17/2008

Nokia N7.65



CUSTOM MADE NOKIA Phone

NOW YOU CAN TAKE THAT CALL WHEN YOU'RE IN THE TRAIN , TAXI , JEEPNEY, BUS OR YOUR PRIVATE VEHICLE! Your days of being afraid to answer your phone in public are over!!!!

NOKIA 7.65 - CUSTOMIZED FOR PHILIPPINE CONDITIONS

6/26/08

Manila during the American Rule




I wish Manila could live up to it's colorful history. Manila was definitely beautiful way back then. :( Makes me wish we could do something to regenerate the city.

Miss Universe 2008


Miss Universe 2008, the 57th Miss Universe beauty pageant, will be held at the Crown Convention Center (Diamond Bay Resort) in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14, 2008[2] where outgoing titleholder Riyo Mori will crown her successor. 80 contestants are expected to compete in the event[3] which will be broadcast via NBC and Telemundo to TV outlets in more than 180 countries. The final presentation show is on July 8, the dress rehearsal on July 13 and the live telecast on July 14. Most activities are being held successively in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Ha Long and finally Nha Trang.

Fashion Manila

Guys do add this Yahoo Group if you are into Philippine Fashion

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fashionmanila/

6/25/08

Photography

I've always loved photography may it be just viewing them or taking some pictures myself. I've decided recently to push back my interest in learning photography to give way to other stuff but now I wanna pursue it. I'm in the process of picking out a good Digital SLR camera and I'm at a lost with so many brands and models to choose from.

Any suggestions?

6/23/08

How Frank made Manila crazier!




Ok, so I'm referring to Tropical Depression Frank here. It was a Saturday and it was my first day to go to work on a Saturday! Explains the empty LRT1 coach which is usually busy with students and employees during rush hour. I already knew that there is a storm coming but there's just so many thing on my mind so I never really gave much thought about it. Work was as usual boring! Hehehe! Good thing I have my close friends at work to make life a little more interesting. A few hours before our shift ends me, Kweng, Brian, and Nori were in a conference chat while attending to each others customers. We started talking about work then about government and then Frank! We then realized that the storm has already arrived in Manila and when I had the chance to look outside the building, I could see the devastation everywhere. 6AM and we were told that it is unsafe to leave the office and the company will be providing shuttle service going to designated areas around the metro but it will take an hour to two hours for the buses to arrive. 10AM and still no buses! The rest already left and signed a waiver re our safety stating that the company will not be liable for any mishaps that could happen outside. Fine! Kweng and I decided to watch Incredible Hulk first since it's still raining hard and there still no way we can go home... we just don't wanna stay in the office I guess. We did some window shopping around Mall of Asia before watching the movie (which by the way is way better than the first HULK movie). While walking around the mall we passed by the toy store and saw this really nice Transformers mask! Yeah that's me!

Finally the rain stopped abit so we decided to try our luck. Kweng had a hard time going home since there's flooding everywhere. I even got an sms from her saying that she paid Php250 just to get home since the cab had to go around and take alternate routes. I on the other hand had the worst experience. Malabon is synonymous to flooding while Valenzuela is know for it's rivers... well rivers that overflow during heavy rains. You see Valenzuela, Malabon, Caloocan, and Navotas are low lying areas... cities below sea level surrounded by rivers. Go figure! All in all I'm still happy to be home safe and dry!

6/21/08

Witch Amusement

Ma Yoo Hee (Han Ga In) is the executive of an advertising company. She would never be caught dead wearing make-up and only dresses in black. Her hairstyle and glasses are very business like looks, her only enjoyment in life appears to be the times when she's criticising everything and anyone. All of her employees and co-workers fear her and she is constantly talked about when she's not around. Her stern and harsh nature has earned her the nickname 'witch' When it comes to romance she is hopeless. No matter how many blind dates she has, not one has ever led to a second. The reason for this is her negativity and her inability to loosen up and express herself. She is, however, completely oblivious of her faults and cannot comprehend why she is so bad when it comes to love.


Chae Mu-Ryong (Jae Hee)
is an aspiring chef with a passion for French cuisine. He has an innate ability when it comes to taste and perfection. Every piece of food and every plate he prepares must be perfect. However this tends to get him into a lot of trouble because when working in a kitchen every moment counts and there is not possibly enough time to take so much care in preparation and decoration of meals. His criticism of a head chef's cooking causes him to lose his job. His parents have never really approved of his aspirations and dreams to be a famous chef and insist he return to medical school. He decides to enroll back into medical school but changes his mind at the last minute and decides not to.

Mu-Ryong discusses everything with his best friend and ends up going on a blind date to pretend to be someone else who backed out at the last minute. He declines at first since he already has a girlfriend, but his friend offers him money, and warns him however that the woman he will be meeting is rather different.

The woman he meets is Yoo Hee, and while under normal circumstances she would be rude, brash and boring, she tries to be nice and happy in an attempt to succeed on the date. However, her pretending is not very convincing and Mu-Ryong figures that it would be a matter of time before she loses it. The date ends when Mu-Ryong falls asleep for a moment, resulting in Yoo Hee throwing a glass of water at his face and calling him rude. He retorts back to her also, telling her to take care of her appearance the next time she goes on a blind date. The two then leave on bad terms.

While delivering food from his father's Chinese restaurant, Mu-Ryong becomes involved in a car accident, coincidentally with Yoo Hee. They exchange insurance information and Yoo Hee learns that he lied to her on their date, realizing that he is 1 year younger than her, and that he met her only as a favor to a friend.

Yoo Hee demands the money for the damage to her car to be paid within a week. However, Mu-Ryong doesn't have any money, and yet Yoo Hee is unwilling to compromise with him. He decides to use his school tuition, which was given to him by his parents, to pay for her car. However, he loses the money after being mugged on the way to pay her.

Mu-Ryong tells Yoo Hee he doesn't have the money but is willing to work it off, no matter how long it takes or what he must do for her to pay her back. Yoo Hee decides that Mu-Ryong could repay her by working as her house keeper, since she continuously looses her previous keepers.

Meanwhile, Mu-Ryongs girlfriend Seung Mi, who works at her father's restaurant, is expecting a new head chef: Johnny Kruger, a world renowned chef, who also happens to be Mu-Ryong's idol and an acquaintance of Yoo Hee as well.


Johnny Kruger (Dennis Oh), is a famous French Chef from New York. He despises that his stardom overshadows his cooking and concentrates only on his cooking in Korea. Yoo Hee and Johnny are close friends from way back but thanks to Mu-Ryong, Johnny is now considering the possibility of having a deeper relationship with Yoo Hee but will he succeed?






Yoo Joon Ha (Kim Jung Hoon) is an ambitious surgeon with whom Ma Yoo Hee has been in love with for a long time. Yoo Joon Ha is a cold-hearted character who is capable of betraying his most precious love for success. Though he is an ambitious two-faced character, he is a bad guy in the sense that his weakness stems from his strong desire for success.





Nam Sung Mi (Jeon Hye Bin) is the beautiful, kind, clever and ernest girlfriend of Chae Moo Ryong who, unlike Ma Yoo Hee, puts marriage in the first place. Nam Sung Mi is placed in this situation where she has to compete for the attention of his man with his work and his personal relationship with his boss Yoo Hee.

Sex and the City, a Top Grosser?

Here is the latest update regarding how our favorite foursome Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York, Samantha Jones and Miranda Hobbes did in the Box Office:

Domestic Total as of Jun. 18, 2008: $124,319,097

Distributor: New Line Release Date: May 30, 2008
Genre: Romantic Comedy Running Time: 2 hrs. 15 min.
MPAA Rating: R Production Budget: $65 million

TOTAL LIFETIME GROSSES
Domestic:$124,319,097 47.2% + Foreign: $138,800,577 52.8%
= Worldwide: $263,119,674

Unfortunately the film didn't score that much compared to the Monstrous hits like Spiderman, Shrek, Transformers. I have read some reviews like from The Tribune and most of the official reviews that I have read are not really good. Mostly were not captivated with the story like it did when it was shown at HBO.

So much for wishing a second part of the movie. I think this is not the best way to cap a historical series like Sex and the City. But still, the Sex and the City girls will be remembered as someone we have shared our lives with. Laughed, cried, fall in love with.


This is a re-post from my friend's blog about the SATC the Movie. I don't really feel bad that the movie didn't make as much as those other movies he mentioned because SATC has a captured audience (Adults) and those other movies are for General Viewing. I still love SATC and it made me laugh so hard when I watched it. I guess those who gave a not so favorable review on the movie are either fanatics of the SATC TV series expecting more or just plain clueless what the movie is about. Anyway I still think this movie is one of the best this year... Congrats SATC gang!

6/17/08

BLACKOUT


If you are also going let me know... got this message from Ash Castro just the other day. The details are below...

KB TEAM PRESENTS BLACKOUT
OPEN FOR EVERYBODY. HAPPENING ON JUNE 28 AT INDIOS BRAVOS STUDIO, MAKATI CITY. TO REGISTER PLS PM YOUR NAME, EMAIL, AND NUMBER TO KAIYE AT http://jennykaiye.multiply.com/ or email her at jennykaiye@yahoo.com. ALSO VISIT OUR SITE http://blackoutexperience.multiply.com/

THANK YOU ;)


ON PHOTOS ABOVE

MODELS : CRIS LOMOTAN, DIANA SANTOS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASH CASTRO
MAKE-UP BY GERARD DADUYA
HAIR BY THIRD OCTAVIO
POSTER LAYOUT BY DEAN IBAY


6/16/08

You Don't Mess With the Zohan






Really funny!

An Israeli agent fakes his death and moves to New York to become a hair stylist.

Starring Adam Sandler, Emmanuel Chriqui, Rob Schneider, Mariah Carey, Henry Winkler

Btw the movie also features two Filipino actors based in the US.

6/13/08

Top 100 most powerful Celebs

NEW YORK - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is the world's most powerful celebrity for the second straight year and for the fifth time ever, according to the 2008 Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List released on Wednesday.

The annual list also included two couples among its top 10. Actress Angelina Jolie came in at No. 3 and her partner Brad Pitt nabbed No. 10, while music mogul newlyweds, Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z were fourth and seventh.

Golfer Tiger Woods remained No. 2 and soccer player David Beckham was No. 5, while actor Johnny Depp took sixth. Music group The Police nabbed No. 8 after reuniting for a successful world tour and British author J.K. Rowling was No. 9 after the release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book.

"It's not surprising that Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods remain at the top this year -- they're certainly some of the biggest earners," said Matthew
Miller of Forbes magazine.

The rankings give the most weight to earnings over the past year but also factors in such things as Internet presence, press clippings, magazine covers and mentions on TV and radio.

During the past year Winfrey made $275 million, Woods, $115 million, Knowles $80 million, Beckham $50 million, Depp $72 million, Jay-Z $82 million,
and The Police $115 million.

While Jolie's earnings of $14 million and Pitt's salary of $20 million pale in comparison, the popularity of the couple, who have four children and
twins on the way, and their constant presence in magazines saw their power soar.

"Had (Jolie) made a couple of millions dollars more she probably would have been close to topping the list because the number of magazine covers that she was on, the number of stories she was mentioned in, far surpassed anyone else on the list," Miller said.

And it was Beckham's move to Los Angeles with former Spice Girl wife Victoria and their three sons in a blaze of publicity that helped propel him into the top 10 for the first time.

In contrast, Rowling earned $300 million in the past 12 months, more than Winfrey, but is a reluctant celebrity.

The 2008 top 100 is made up of 20 film actors, 20 athletes, 10 musicians, 10 talk show hosts, 10 TV actors, five "tween" stars, five directors/producers, five celebrity personalities, four authors, four hip-hop impresarios, four chefs and three models.

The "tween" category, a marketing term that usually refers to an audience ages 9 to 12, is new, Forbes said, with "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus making her debut in the top 100 at No. 35 "following a sold-out concert tour, a hit 3-D movie, and a controversial photo shoot that had the press buzzing."

Among those dropping from the list are Tom Hanks, Jessica Alba, Hayden Panettiere, Adam Sandler and Scarlett Johansson, The Rolling Stones, Elton John and Jessica Simpson.

The full list can be seen at http://www.forbes.com/celebrities


6/12/08

110th Philippine Independence Day

I was on my way home this morning from work and had a hard time getting a ride home when I reached Monumento in Caloocan City. I didn't realize that today is June 12 and that it is Idependence Day. It's sad because there was no celebration or anything special to commemorate this event in the office. They're more focused on Father's Day coming up this June 15th. Not that it's not an important day as well. I don't know, maybe it's just me but I think everyone should celebrate our independence though I must admit that up until now there are still some parts of this country that freedom is still a priced commodity. We may no longer be under foreign rule but the colonial mentality is still strong. Freedom from poverty, freedom to self-expression, freedom from corruption, freedom from human abuse, and the list goes on and on. But hey, it's just me... Happy 110th Independence Day Kababayan!

6/10/08

Rihanna - Take a bow

4 RP sites in TOP 10


Hot off the press! Four of the country’s top tourist spots have made it to the Top 10 list in the worldwide search for the “Seven Wonders of Nature.”

As of yesterday, Tubbataha Reef in Palawan was in second place, followed by Chocolate Hills in Bohol (fourth place), Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, also in Palawan (sixth) and Mayon Volcano in Bicol (10th).

The list of nominees and the mechanics for voting are posted on the poll’s official website http://www.new7wonders.com/ while the live rankings can be viewed at http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking.

Filipinos can still vote online for the Philippine bets until Dec. 31, after which the Top 77 nominees will be submitted to a panel of experts that will put together a shortlist of 21 finalists by January 2009.

A second round of popular voting for the 21 finalists will then follow until the end of 2009, with the Top Seven nominees being officially declared the new “Seven Wonders of Nature” by year 2010.

Source: Philippine Star

6/9/08

My first day at the gym

I woke up pretty early than usual today... woke up around 2PM and decided to grab something to eat (technically that's was my breakfast). Slept really late last night (3AM) coming from Enchanted Kingdom. Check out my previous blog here.

I left the house around 5PM to go to Pan Pacific Hotel at Slimmers World International Adriatico Gym. I would have left earlier than that if my sister didn't ask me to help her with her pets (Gold Fishes). It was a good 1 hour travel from Valenzuela to Manila but traffic wasn't that congested today. I guess everyone's in the provinces for the holiday. Slimmers is on the 6th Floor of the hotel just 5 minutes walk from Pedro Gil's LRT station. I got there and talked to Ms. Agnes who at that time I think was already to step out of the gym but still was very accommodating and ushered me into the changing room while she takes care of my files. After I changed into my gym clothes I went back to the reception area but unfortunately Ms. Agnes already stepped out. The receptionist was very helpful though and referred me to one of the Gym Instructors by the name of Jeff. Well Jeff was nice and there's something about him that says he's all business and serious with his job. He started telling me what to do and I guess he noticed that it wasn't my first time to go to the gym so he told me if the weights are a little to light for me to feel free and add more. Surprisingly my first day at the gym was great. There were some small details though that they need to work on. There are only two shower rooms in the male's locker room. Not that it was a problem a while ago since there was hardly a dozen of us working out that time. The locker that they had me use was old and the lock was not working. Good thing I have my own padlock. Other than that everything was cool with me. The staff seem to be alot friendlier than the other Fitness clubs that I've been too. I'm looking forward to going back to the gym and having my free massage and facial that comes with the package I got. :)

The Magic Stays



I remember asking my parents to take me to Echanted Kingdom when I was a kid. Back then Enchanted Kingdom was the premiere theme park in the Philippines. It is located in Santa Rosa City, Laguna, about 26 kilometers (16.1 miles) from Manila. With a land area of 17 hectares (41 acres) it promises an experience worth the travel. Recently, one of the rides, the infamous "Space Shuttle" was on the news after it stalled / stopped dead on its tracks with 25 passengers got suspended in mid-air. This happened first on June 20, 2004 and again December 12, 2007.

I still took my chance and went on the "Space Shuttle"... why? Well for one it's already a tradition that I ride it whenever I go there. Another is because it's the best ride in the park aside from the Go Cart and the Rapids. I enjoyed the diving show that they have this summer with foreign divers performing really neat tricks on the diving board. Check out more pics here.

6/7/08

Driving more traffic to your blog

I recently had the chance to go back to my blogging. Been looking around the internet for information on the new technologies and strategies to get more page views on my site. I guess I got really perked up with the idea of people getting really high page visits per month. I stumbled upon this website www.problogger.net. This website basically gives suggestions on how you can get more traffic to your blog and I found this really cool tool that makes it work really well called CrazyEgg that basically lets you know what you're readers are clicking on your website. Pretty useful stuff especially for people like me who doesn't have a captured audience yet. I mean, I've been blogging since 2004 but I never really got the chance to blog about something that I know my visitors would love to read about. Another tool that I'm using now that makes my work a lot easier is called ScribeFire it's really a cool tool that allows you to blog even without logging manually into Blogger. Saves me alot of time and energy. Well that's it for now... Will post more articles soon. :)

Narnia - Prince Caspian





Looking forward to watching this movie tomorrow. Will post my review once I see it. For now just watch the trailer that premiered online last Dec 5 2007.

Sex and the City





Definitely one of the best movies this year so far. It's a memorable movie for me, because for one I watched it in Festival Mall, which is really far from where I live. My first attempt to watch it failed... after trying to get a ticket at Greenbelt 3 and being disappointed finding out that the tickets are all sold out an hour before I even got there straight from work. So much for that... I'm not really a avid fan of Sex and the City unlike some people I know. I did watch the last few episodes of the famous TV Series before watching it just to get an idea where it left off. My only disappointment was the fact that there were a lot of scenes that were cut off from the movie. I guess it's because they were trying to get the R13 rating. I guess I'd have to wait for the DVD to come out for the uncut version.

6/6/08

I passed!


After 7 weeks of rigorous technical, networking, computer hardware and software training, me and my colleagues took our Tech Lab Exam yesterday and we all passed!

Today we told our Resolution Expert Exam and I passed again! Hehehe!

Got the results right after the exam and it says that I successfully demonstrated an overall level of understanding required of an Advanced Resolution Expert! How cool is that!

View pictures here.

Bleeding love - Leona Lewis



5/29/08

Where does my taxes go?

I just saw my payslip today and guess what... Php3000 plus was automatically deducted from my pay again! Grrrr! That's more than Php6000 every month. Makes me wonder who's politician's pockets benefit from our taxes!

Miscommunication



A co-worker got a pen stuck inside our printer. He started to try and remove the pen, but I told him we don't have time for that now, just put a note on the printer telling folks not to use it and then report it to the Help Desk.

So he grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled on it. I left before he finished the note.

About 20 minutes later, one of my techs comes in laughing and says he was just in the lobby, saw a piece of paper on a printer and went to investigate.

Attached is what he found. Sometimes things don't always come out the way you want them to........

How to be a Millionaire

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR MONEY What does it take to become a millionaire?
Question: What does it take to be a millionaire? With my modest income, it seems a near impossible dream for me. I can't imagine being able to save up enough money to be one. – Lisa S.

Answer: These days, the day time and prime time game shows on TV are raking in the audience and the advertising support — 1 vs. 100, All-Star K!, Gobingo, Pilipinas Game K N B?, Singing Bee, Wheel of Fortune, etc. Filipinos are tickled pink at the thought of taking a chance at becoming a millionaire in one day.

Lotto outlets also get long queues when there’s an upcoming super lotto draw. People, from the low-income to the middle-income classes, are lining up in hopes of winning the elusive jackpot.
But the chances of winning in game shows and lotto draws are very slim. Instead of dreaming about becoming a millionaire through these schemes, choose to work on becoming a millionaire yourself. No, Lisa, it’s not too far out to dream of becoming one.

Look around you. There may be millionaires you already know living in your neighborhood or going to the same office as you do. These are the people who live in their own homes with their own cars, whose assets total more than P1 million. Whether or not they feel like millionaires is up to them. But the crucial factor is that they have built up an asset base valued at over P1 million. It is an attainable goal.There are the really rich and visible millionaires who are business taipans. When you read their life stories, you’ll be struck with the fact that some of them were born poor. If they made it from rags to riches, there’s no reason why you can’t try.To reach that goal, you have to learn the secrets of millionaires. Here they are:

1. Treat money as something to save and invest. The minute you receive your paycheck or a windfall (example, an inheritance or a bonus), think of how much you can put away as savings. Then look for venues where you can invest your money. If you think this way, you won’t be tempted to splurge money. Some people splurge their retirement pay on BMWs or Mercedes Benzes. But when they get really sick, they find themselves with not enough cash to pay the hospital. So save more, rather than spend more.

2. Assume some risk when investing. When you play safe in investing, you’ll get safe (but low) returns as well. Millionaires have gone out on a limb putting up businesses which they hoped would earn — nothing is guaranteed. But it is in taking calculated risks that they are rewarded.
When investing, look at higher-yielding investments. Sure, they may be more risky than regular ones (such as savings and time deposits), but you may earn more in the long run. Just be wary of get-rich-quick investment schemes. Remember the adage: If it is too good to be true, it is.

3. Live simply. If you keep your cost of living low, you will have more cash to save and invest. Some millionaires have lived in the same homes they have had for the past 30-40 years. Or they live in the homes they inherited. You can also take a cue from the way millionaires live: not all party every night, nor do they buy every new car model that’s released. Instead, you’ll find these millionaires working at their desks at 8 a.m. and having just two cars in the garage.

4. Have a goal. Don’t just dream; set financial goals for yourself. By being specific, you will be more motivated to reach your goal. For instance, make it your goal to have your own home by the time you are 35 or 40. It may be a studio condo unit or a three-bedroom home in a subdivision—it will depend on your income and how you save over the years. Having a goal will help you focus your efforts well.

5. Choose good debt over bad debt. Take out a loan only when the loan proceeds will be used to earn you more money. For instance, apply for a bank loan to expand a business that’s feasible. But to take out a loan to buy assets that depreciate quickly (examples: sports cars, yachts, etc.) may not be wise as these assets will not earn you enough to pay off the loan. If you really want to buy such assets, pay in cash so you don’t have to pay the cost of borrowing.

6. Share your blessings. There seems to be a unique mathematical formula at work: The more you give, the more you are blessed back in return. Help those who are in financial need, and you may find yourself blessed all the more. If you’re an employer, share profits with your employees; they’ll be more motivated to work for you, leading the way to increased productivity.

7. Train children to handle money well. It would be sad if money you earned will just be spent unwisely by the next generation. Teach children the basics of money management, and caution them against vices such as gambling, drugs, and the like. Being responsible about wealth will be rewarded in the long run.

5/28/08

Repost : Models Needed

I'm helping out my friend... if you're interested details below...

Good day! We are in need of pretty female models ages 18-22 years old, mestiza or fair skinned, who are currently enrolled to the following universities / colleges:


1. UST
2. CEU
3. UE
4. Adamson
5. Lyceum
6. San Sebastian
7. PSBA
8. Trinity
9. St. Jude
10. University of Perpetual Help
11. Emilio Aguinaldo College
12. Our Lady of Fatima

If you know anyone, please contact FABTRIX PROMOTIONS and kindly email pictures and profile to the email address below. Thanks!

Trixie C. Tansiongco “FABTRIX”
Managing Director/Executive Producer
FABTRIX PROMOTIONS
Telefax: 8962619
M: 09176134184/ 09223044814
E: fabtrixprom@yahoo.com or fabtrixinquiry@yahoo.com

5/27/08

Tawa naman dyan...

Lumalabas ang kakulangan natin sa iodize salt pagdating sa mga trivia game show sa TV. Mapa Family-Feud, The weakest Link, o Gobingo, hindi pahuhuli sa pagalingan ang mga mamamayang Pilipino, lalo na sa kung mabilisan!”

SET THE CLOCK….

Host: Ano sa Ingles ang “hinlalaki”?
Contestant: Thumbmark

Host: Ano ang ginagamit ng mga swimmers para bumilis ang kanilang paglanggoy?
Contestant: Fast Shoes

Host: Kung si Superman ay may Lois Lane, ano naman ang kay Robinhood?
contestant: Pana.

Host: Anong “S” ang inuupuan pag nakasakay sa kabayo?
contestant: Silya

Host: Ano ang karaniwang hugis ng manibela?
contestant: Triangular

Host: Hindi ito boob, hindi ito tube, pero tinatawag ng iba na boob tube. Ano ito?
contestant: Bra

Host: Kelan ang Pasko sa Davao?
contestant: PASS…

Host: Anong tawag sa isdang hindi bilasa?
contestant: tuyo

Host: Ilan ang legs ng cartoon character na si Spiderman?
contestant: Eight

Host: Ano ang nationality ng sanggol na may amang Filipino Catholic at Protestanteng Ina?
Contestant: American

Host: Merong four seasons: winter, spring, summer, at fall. kelan nahuhulog ang mga dahon?
contestant: sa storm

Host: Anong bukol ang makikita sa leeg ng mga lalaki?
contestant: Kiss mark

Host: ano ang kulay ng orange juice kapag nilagay sa blue na baso?
contestant: ...Violet

Host: anong malambot na bahagi sa ulo ng sanggol?
contestant: batok

Host: magbigay ng bagay na ipini-pin sa damit?
contestant: Hairpin

Host: Ano ang nagpapaalat sa itlog na maalat?
contestant: Puti

Host: ano ang tawag sa mga needle-like projections na nakasabit sa ceiling ng mga caves?
contestant: Ice pick

Host: ano ang tawag sa plastic bag na lalagyan ng basura?
contestant: plastic bag na nilalagyan ng basura.

Host: anong C ang paboritong kainin ng mga rabbit?
contestant: Cacamber

Host: ang urine ay liquid: TRUE OR FALSE
contestant: False

Host: anong ang system ng MAth na gumagamit ng symbols instead of numbers?
contestant: ummm…China?

Host: anong ginawa ni MOses sa Red Sea?
contestant: Stop

Host: what is the capital of the Philippines?
contestant: P

Host: anong klaseng sapatos ang ginagamit ng mga basketbolista?
contestant: adidas

Host: sino ang pumatay kay David?
contestant: Goliath

host: ano ang tawag sa taong walang suot sa paa?
contestant: Slipperless

Host: kung ang bulag ay blind ano naman ang english ng pipi?
contestant: Walang salita

Host: anong sea creature ang kalahating kabayo at kalahating isda?
contestant: syokoy

Host: ano ang nasa gitna ng donut?
contestant: palaman

Host: ang salad dressing ba ay damit
contestant: (sandaling nagisip) YES!

Host: Anong klaseng sasakyan ang inaayos sa hangar?
contestant: sirang sasakyan

host: ano ang nilalagay sa sewing machine?
contestant: lagari?

host: ilan taon meron sa leap year?
contestant: 365

host: anong hayop ang di-nakakakita sa sa araw ngunit nakakakita sa dilim?
contestant: flashlight

host: Ano ang tawag sa laro kung saan ang dalawang team ang naghihilahan sa isang lubid?
contestant: tumbang-preso

host: kung manicure sa kamay, ano ang sa paa?
contestant: kuko

host: ano ang isunusuot ng mga boksingero sa ulo nila bilang proteksyon?
contestant: Sumbrero

host: ano ang tawag sa laman sa loob ng buto: marrow or muscle?
contestant: karne

host: para saa ang anti-dandruff shampoo?
contestant: kuto

host: anong englis ng ampalaya?
contestant: asparagus

host: ilang metro mayroon sa 300 meters?
contestant: 3000

host: anong sasakyan ang gamit sa “tour de france”?
contestant: Kalesa

Host: ano ang kasunod ng kidlat?
contestant: sunog

host: saan matatagpuan ang Quebec?
contestant: afghanistan

host: tinuturo ang G-clef sa anong “M” na subject?
contestant: Mathematics

host: ano ang halaman na tumitiklop kapag ito’y nahawakan?
contestant: Hiya-hiya

host: ano ang itlog na ayon sa iba, nakakapagpatigas ng tuhod?
contestant: TAMA!

host: ano ang isinusuot ng taong walang buhok?
contestant: Kalbo

host: anong zip ang ginagamit sa pagbukas ng pantalon?
contestant: pagbukas ng bag

host: anong “D” ang first word sa stanza ng JIngle bells?
contestant: dyingel?

host: anong “H” ang tawag sa taong nagiisa?
contestant: home alone

host: Sa anong bansa nakatira ang mga Hindu?
contestant: hindunesia

host: kungang ubo ay sa bibig, ano naman ang sa ilong?
contestant: Vicks

host: ano ang kulay ng strawberry?
contestant: ube

host: anong klaseng animal ang Afghan Hound?
contestant: Afghanistan

host: sinong American president ang nagkapolyo noong 1920’s
contestant: Apolinario Mabini..

5/25/08

Hurting... but moving on...

I guess I saw it coming... I wish you all the best. You know I'm just gonna be here for you no matter what. I had the best times with you and though it was brief I am happy to have been loved by someone like you. Unfortunately I'm not as strong as I think... I can't solve your problems and if you can't share the burden with me then I guess I'm not the man who you should be with.

What's next for David Cook and the rest of the gang?


National Tour ofcourse!

5/22/08

American Idol Season 7 is...



Congratulations David Cook!

5/21/08

Goodbye BABOY lifestyle

I'm going back to the gym come June. :)

I'm looking for gym bags, gym shoes, and supplements online and I'm so confused with all these options to choose from.

Any recommendations?

Talk about extravagant!








This diamond covered Benz SL 600 is Saudi Prince Waleed's 38th car! The price of the car is US$4,800,000. Though the majority of people can't afford it, if you are a fanatic car fan, you can touch this royal car by paying a premium of US$1000.

5/20/08

Multiply

5/19/08

Who would be the next American Idol?



Those of you who've been watching American Idol Season 7 wouldn't be surprised that these two guys are left to fight for the title. Early in the game I really loved David Archuleta's voice and stage presence... David Cook on the other hand didn't get my attention until later in the game when he started showing off his originality on stage and his charm. Cook definitely improved so much compared to his first few performances. He also lost weight and now looks like a star. Archuleta on the other hand started really strong and is still has a strong chance to win this game but he has to show something new to impress America. He did try something different last week when he sang "With You" but people got so used to hearing him sing ballads that's why when he sang the song it came across as him trying something that is not for him. I'm really not sure who will win this year... I guess we have to wait until they sing this year's song. Remember Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis? Everyone thought it would be Blake but when Jordin sang "This is my now", it totally changed everything. Who do you think will win?

''WHO WAS YOUR LAST?" (Repost)

Rule #1:
If you open this you GOTTA take it.

Rule # 2:
You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages you and asks

Rule #3:
Only answer True or False

Q: Kissed more than one person on your top friends? FALSE

Q: Kissed someone you didn't like? TRUE

Q: You like someone? TRUE

Q: Held a snake? FALSE
Q: Been suspended from school? FALSE
Q: Kissed in the rain? TRUE
Q: Sang in the shower? TRUE
Q: Sat on a roof top? TRUE
Q: Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? TRUE
Q: Broken a bone? TRUE
Q: Shaved your head? FALSE
Q: Played a prank on someone? TRUE
Q: Had/have a gym membership? TRUE
Q: Donated Blood? FALSE
Q: Had your heart broken? TRUE
Q: Broken someone's heart? TRUE

"Who was your last?"
just be 100% truthful
LAST PERSON.

1. You hung out with? MY SISTER GRACE
2. last person you texted? LUCIEN
3. last person you slept next to? MY SISTER GRACE
4. Went to the movies with? MY SISTER GRACE
5. Went to the mall with? MY SISTER GRACE
6. You talked to on the phone? MY MOM
7. Made you laugh? KWENG
8. You hugged? MARGO
9. you kissed? Secret... Sa amin na lang yun
10. Made you cry? Someone from the past... now onboard a cruise ship

WOULD YOU RATHER...

1. Be serious or be funny? FUNNY
2. Drink whole or skim milk? SKIM
3. Die in a fire or get shot? GET SHOT

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY...

1. Sun or moon? MOON
2. dark or light chocolate? LIGHT
3. left or right? RIGHT
4. Sunny or rainy? SUNNY
5. Hugs or kisses? KISSES
6. Where do you live? VALENZUELA CITY
7. Rock or Techno? TECHNO
8. Do you want to get married? MAYBE
9. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? TWIRL
10. Do You cook? YES
11. Current mood? SLEEPY

IN THE LAST 72 HOURS HAVE YOU...

1. Kissed someone? NO
2. Sang? YES
3. Been hugged? NO
4. Liked someone you can't have? NO

Repost this as, ''WHO WAS YOUR LAST?"

5/16/08

Planning my vacation...



I'm here in the middle of our training and I'm blogging! Hahaha! Me and my co-worker Kweng are planning on going to Hongkong, Macau and Shanghai by November... Hmmm... Tickets are really cheap right now... Hahaha!

5/13/08

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