4/30/08

Under a different sky (Part 1)

He asked to see me again...five years after that last goodbye...

It was already 12 midnight and I was on my way home from Makati. Work’s been keeping me busy… keeping me occupied just to get over him. In between his sips of cappuccino, we updated each other… He told me about how happy he is with his life and how his plans are starting to take form. Plans we both made when we decided to make it official.

It’s been five years… He’s already the Director of this big IT company in Alabang and has been traveling the globe attending countless expositions and conferences. I on the other hand is busy with managing a team of Sales Executives in a big Real Estate Firm in Makati. Life has been good for the both of us but I was shy to admit that up until now I am still looking for that elusive true love. It was hard to admit to him that I still love him even after all those years. He told me I didn’t change and that I still look like the same person since the last time we talked. I would have just cut his statement and just grab him and give him a kiss but I had to control my emotions… I just smiled and thanked him.

"So how are you?" he asked, "Do you still go to that place in Tomas? Remember that bar we discovered while we were driving around that area bored out of our minds?"

I smiled at him and leaned back on my chair. He never aged... He looked like the same guy I fell in love with. Black hair neatly combed. Only thing that changed is his complexion... I see he’s been going to the beach a lot. He still has those Almond brown eyes that disappear every time he laughs. Blame it to him being half-Chinese.

The only thing different is back then we were both mending from the hurt of a break-up. We found ourselves falling for each other in the midst of all the pain and all the confusion.

“Hey you ok?”, he asked with those comforting eyes. I wanted to shout and tell him how stupid he is! Why did you have to leave? Where did we go wrong? Stuff I opted to keep to myself. “I’m good… just tired from work.”


To be continued...

Hope you liked my first attempt into writing a short story. Comments are welcome.

4/25/08

Pinoy Techie Blogger

Check out my new site at http://pinoytechieblogger.blogspot.com/

Zero Sugar?


NOT SO SURE IF THIS IS TRUE... JUST GOT THIS EMAIL FROM A FRIEND

In October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick. She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around. Walking was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed; she was in so much pain.

By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so sick.she just knew she was dying. She put her house, bank accounts, lifeinsurance, etc., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of.

She also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22 nd.

On March 19 I called her to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS.
I recall ed an article a friend of mine e-mailed to me and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda? She told me that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment.

I told her not to open it, and to stop drinking the diet soda!
I e-mailed her the article my friend, a lawyer, had sent.
My sister called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the diet soda AND she could walk! The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel 100% but she sure felt a lot better. She told me she was going to her doctor with this article and would call me when she got home.

Well, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed! He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind.
In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda...and literally dying a slow and miserable death.

When she got to Florida March 22, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning! She is well on her way to a complete recovery.
And she is walking! No wheelchair! This article saved her life.
If it says 'SUGAR FREE' on the label; DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!
I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on 'ASPARTAME,' marketed as 'NutraSweet,' 'Equal,' and 'Spoonful.'

In the keynote address by the EPA, it was announced that in the United States in 2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. It was difficult to determine exactly what toxin was causing this to be rampant.
I stood up and said that I was there to lecture on exactly that subject.
I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous: When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. Many people were being diagnosed in error. Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is!

Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually does not know that the Aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues its use; irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition.
We have seen patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas.

In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most of the symptoms disappear. We've seen many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly.

This also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia.
During a lecture, I said, 'If you are using ASPARTAME (NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting, pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss you probably have ASPARTAME poisoning!'
People were jumping up during the lecture saying, 'I have some of these symptoms. Is it reversible?'

Yes! Yes! Yes! STOP drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels! Many products are fortified with it! This is a serious problem.
Dr. Espart (one of my speakers) remarked that so many people seem to be symptomatic for MS and during his recent visit to a hospice, a nurse stated that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence!

Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product that actually makes you crave carbohydrates. It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!

These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs. Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin andis used primarily to preserve 'tissue specimens.' Many products we use every day contain this chemical but we SHOULD NOT store it IN our body!

Dr. H. J. Roberts stated in his lectures that once free of the 'diet products' and with no significant increase in exercise; his patients lost an average of 19 pounds over a trial period.

Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics.
We found that some physicians, who believed that they had a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms caused by Aspartame.
The Aspartame drives the bloodsugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the other amino acids necessary for a good balance.

Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE. Especially with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the blood/brain barrierand it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing various levels of brain damage, seizures, depression, manic depression, panic attacks, uncontrollable anger and rage.

Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well.
Documentation and observation also reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds in their behavior when these chemicals have been removed from their diet. So called 'behavior modification prescription drugs' (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed. Truth be told, they were never NEEDED in the first place! Most of these children were being 'poisoned' on a daily basis with the very foods that were 'better for them than sugar.'

It is also suspected that the Aspartame in thousands of pallets of diet Coke and diet Pepsi consumed by men and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the well-known Gulf War Syndrome.

Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects, i.e . mental retardation, if taken at the time of conception and during early pregnancy.
Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners. There are many different case histories to relate of children suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological disturbances talking about a plague of neurological diseases directly caused by the use of this deadly poison.'

Herein lies the problem:
There were Congressional Hearings when Aspartame was included 100 different products and strong objection was made concerning its use. Since this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, and still nothing has been done. The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets.

Sadly, MONSANTO'S patent on Aspartame has EXPIRED!
There are now over 5,000 products on the market that contain this deadly chemical and there will be thousands more introduced. Everybody wants a 'piece of the Aspartame pie.' I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame, knows how deadly it is.

And isn't it ironic that MONSANTO funds, among others, the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians?

This has been recently exposed in the New York Times.
These [organizations] cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to MONSANTO because they take money from the food industry and are required to endorse their products.

Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants. The bill would also institute independent studies on the known dangers and the problems existing in the general population regarding seizures, changes in brain chemistry, neurological changes and behavioral symptoms.
The bill was killed.

It is known that the powerful drug and chemical lobbies are responsible for this, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. Well, you're Informed now! YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!

4/23/08

Day shift!

We're now on our 3rd day in training and I must say I am having so much fun and learning so much... well more like remembering the days when I was in tech support. :)

I'm enjoying training so much and the schedule. I get to sleep longer and go to work as a normal human being! Our schedule is 10AM to 7PM and I'm so loving it! Anyway I got so fired up and decided to take it a step further. Will be going back to school to study Linux Administration and Networking soon. I'm so excited!

I'm going back to school!


coming soon...

Fring



Chat and call thru the internet using you mobile.

If you have Skype, AIM, Gtalk, Yahoo etc you can use your symbian phone to call and chat with your friends if you have a dedicated internet connection or a WIFI connection using your own phone.

Check it out: www.fring.com

You have Skype?


Let me know...

4/21/08

YM, MSN, Gtalk, AIM?

What's you're IM IDs friends?

4/19/08

USCC Signing Off


How to control the price of Oil - Interesting

THIS IS NOT THE 'DON'T BUY' GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO P30.00 PER LITER.

This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. If you are tired of the gas prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to read this please.

Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May!
It's worth your consideration. Join the resistance!! !!

I hear we are going to hit close to P60.00 a LITER by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas.

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can Really work. Please read on and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about P30.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently P45.00/liter for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at P30 - P35/liter, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace...not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.

The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas.

But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies SHELL and CALTEX.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of SHELL and CALTEX gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) .. and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.
If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!

(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people....&n bsp; trust me on this one.

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you!
Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from SHELL/CALTEX UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE P30.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

Keep it going

4/17/08

Got my WiLAN working!

Finally after weeks of trying to figure out what went wrong... I got my WiLAN working at home! Hehehe! Just had to install the latest firmware for my router. My friend adviced me to do this before but I didn't! Makulit kasi ako!

Well here's what I did:

1. Reinstalled Ubuntu
2. Downloaded the firmware update for my Linksys router at www.linksys.com/sg
3. Setup WEP

I'm so happy!

Multiply Inbox always full?

This is for Multiply Users...

Do you always gets PM (Private Messages) in your Inbox? This happens when a Multiply User sends a message to a group and someone replies to that message. I know some people don't mind getting this message but some people find it annoying (specially if more than 100 users reply to the same message)

Here's how to solve this problem:

Multiply has a feature where you can remove unwanted personal messages in your Inbox.

1. Go to Inbox
2. Click Preferences (It's on the upper right beside RSS and just above the Groups tab)
3. You will be taken to the Inbox settings.
4. Put a check mark on Show "Subscribe," "Pin," and "Remove" links.
5. Click OK.

The next time you go to your Inbox you will notice that there will be three small gray icons on the bottom right side of each messages. You can click the X mark to remove this message and for you not to receive a notification everytime somebody replies to that message.

4/16/08

Advice please...


Is anyone here planning to go to Dubai, Singapore, or KL? If you know job opportunities in Dubai or other Asian countries please let me know... Requirements and stuff. I'm musing over the idea of working outside the country again.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. :)

4/15/08

6th Month!

Thanks for understanding me and believing in me no matter how stubborn I sometimes can be. :) Love you be!

4/12/08

Silent Quotes

Bakit ba pati ako, binibigyan nyo ng malisya?
Ano ba ang kasalanan ko?!"
- Talong

"Hindi lahat ng malakas, super hero!"
- Putok

"Paano tayo makakabuo kung hindi ako papatong sa iyo?"
- Lego

"Kahit papaano, gusto ko din ng exposure!"
- Singit

"Hindi ko hinahangad na ipagmalaki mo na ako'y sa iyo. Ayoko lang
naman na sa harap ng maraming tao, ganun mo na lang ako itanggi!"
- Utot

"Hindi lahat ng hinog ay matamis!"
- Pigsa


"You never even thank me for making you happy, then you throw me away
just like that. I hate you for using me, for making my life full of
shit!"
- Tissue


"Panakip butas mo lang pala ako!".
- Panty

"Pinapaikot mo lang ako! Nagsasawa na ako. Mabuti pang patayin mo na
lang ako".
- Electric fan

"Hindi lahat na walang salawal ay bastos!"
- winnie d' pooh

"Ayoko na! Pag nagmamahal ako, lagi na lang maraming tao ang
nagagalit! Wala ba akong karapatang magmahal?!"
-Gasolina


"Hindi lahat ng maasim may vitamin C"
-kili kili

"Pilitin mo man na alisin ako sa buhay mo, babalik at babalik ako!
-Libag

Anung kasalanan ko sa iyo, iniwan mo na lang akong duguan..."
-Sanitary Napkin

"Bwisit na buhay ito! Araw-araw na lang, itlog! Umaga, tanghali,
gabi, itlog! Itlog! Itlog! Lagi na lang itlog!"
-Brief

"Sige, kalimutan mo ako para malaman ng iba ang baho mo!
-deodorant

"Ako lang ang makakapagpadugo ng ilong ni Manny Pacquiao!"
- English

"Hindi totoong anak ko si Bakekang! At lalong hindi ko kapatid si
Mike Enriquez! Kaya pwede ba, tigilan na ang tsismis na yan!"
- Shrek

4/11/08

Charice Pempengco to Guest on "Oprah"


AFTER "ELLEN," CHARICE GUESTS ON "OPRAH"
ABS-CBN News
Video by: FalseVoice2


Filipino singing sensation Charice Pempengco will once again charm audiences in the US and the rest of the world with her upcoming performance in the highest-rating television talk show, "Oprah".

"I have a guesting on Oprah. I already finished singing for an episode," Charice told ABS-CBN News.com in a phone interview after returning from London where she appeared in a popular British talk show.

But other than confirming her appearance on "Oprah", the young diva declined to give other details. However, she disclosed that a teaser for the episode, which includes her, can be viewed on YouTube.

"I think it's already on Youtube," Charice said.

The episode will air in May.

Charice returned to the country Thursday afternoon after appearing in the Paul O’Grady Show in London, Tuesday, April 8. Just as she did in the Ellen DeGeneres show in December 2007, Charice also delighted audiences in Britain with her performance on the TV talk show, Paul O'Grady Show.

4/10/08

McDonalds - Letter from a concerned citizen



As a child, going to McDonald's was always a treat for me. Growing up, I always preferred eating at McDonald's over all other fastfood restaurants, not just for the food but for the service as well. Now a businessman with a family of my own, I still frequent McDonald's especially with my kids. Given all these, it is therefore hard for me to imagine that one day I would find myself writing a letter expressing my utter disappointment with McDonald's and actually consider not eating there again. I wish to share with you my horrible experience so that you and your loved ones will be more careful when eating in restaurants (especially in fastfood establishments) where food safety and cleanliness, as I have learned, are apparently not always a guarantee.

On the morning of March 25, 2008, for breakfast, I bought an Egg Mcmuffin with coffee from the McDonald's Boni MRT Station Branch. (I would later find out that the said branch was owned and operated by no less than the head office.) On my third bite, I was surprised to feel in my mouth something resisting to break free from my sandwich. I looked at the sandwich and was so disgusted to see a fibrous object - partly white and partly green in color - that I immediately expelled what I was chewing from my mouth. Upon closer inspection, I saw a foreign object which looked very much like the fibers of an old cleaning scrub normally used to wash dishes and kitchen utensils. See picture attached.

Deeply bothered by what I saw and the thought of what I might have ingested, I went to speak to the manager. I was determined to find out who was responsible for this negligence. After explaining to the manager what had happened, I showed her the sandwich and opened it. All she could say was "mukha ngang sponge." I then asked her to show me all the cleaning materials used by the crew where the "scrap" in my sandwich could have come from. She quickly complied, but like a child trying to cover up a misdeed, she brought out a big plastic cleaning brush, which obviously had no fibrous part, and a brand new scrub. I therefore asked her to show me the old scrub which I am sure they had used earlier that morning. In a sudden turn around, she inexplicably now gave me the excuse that she could not show me any more materials because it was "against protocol." This irritated me even more.


To compensate, she offered to bring me to the hospital for a check-up but insisted that I just leave the sandwich so that they could allegedly investigate the matter. I insisted instead that she make an incident report for their head office. She again denied my request and was, by then, frantically calling up their "area consultant" who, in less than an hour, arrived at the scene. I thought the area consultant would be more helpful. Unfortunately, she merely reiterated to me that it is "against company policy" to show me their cleaning materials and to write an incident report. All they could do, she said, was to receive our written complaint.

Out of frustration, I had my staff call the Mandaluyong City Hall to ask that a sanitation officer be sent to the store to conduct an investigation. Two sanitation officers arrived within the hour. They asked the store manager to present their Business Permit and Sanitary Permit. It was then discovered that the store had no Sanitary Permit and worse, 55 of their crew members did not have health certificates! In other words, an employee with an infectious disease may pass on the sickness to a poor consumer by contaminating the food and no one would ever know. See attached file.

I also called up my wife to tell her about my ordeal and she called up her brother, a practicing lawyer. My brother-in-law, who was in the vicinity at that time, immediately came to the store and reiterated my requests. He called up the head office and spoke to a customer service manager, who said that we should just file a complaint with the head office. As a last effort to document what had happened, we placed the sandwich in a heat-sealed plastic bag to preserve it and asked both the manager and area consultant to sign and attest to the fact that the sandwich was sealed properly. Even that they refused. Fortunately, one of the sanitation officers offered to sign as a witness.

I left the restaurant far from being a satisfied customer to say the least. I was dismayed at how poorly the McDonald's employees handled the situation. They left me with no other choice but to file a formal complaint. In the meantime, I hope that this warning will help you and your loved ones avoid similar situations or worse, getting sick from the food they serve. McDonald's, being a leading fastfood chain and enjoying the patronage of millions everyday, owes it to its customers to serve them clean food and ensure that mistakes like these, which could cause harm, do not happen.


Wilbert Mateo

4/9/08

The Gridiron Gang - A Review


A tale of redemption based on the real life exploits of an American football team formed in a juvenile detention centre. Stars The Rock and Xzibit of 'Pimp My Ride' fame

Gridiron Gang plays out as a standard Hollywood redemption-through-sport movie, but it's based on some hard realities. The killer statistic presented at the beginning of the film is that 75% of the 120,000 kids in juvenile detention centres in the USA either go on to commit more crimes and end up back in prison, or die on the streets.

It was this tragic rate of recidivism that led a former American football player Sean Porter to start coaching the young inmates in his sport in the early 1990s in the hope that it would instil in them some sense of purpose and self-belief. The surprisingly successful team became the subject of a documentary - The Gridiron Gang - and this in turn inspired this film.

It's a heart-warming story and a big budget Hollywood film like lays it on thick. It's sentimental, unsubtle and gung-ho from the word go. It clatters through the issues and problems of the team members and races to an unsurprising conclusion. But these are no more than standard genre limitations. And, for what it is, Gridiron Gang is a very well made film.

The Rock has got screen presence as big as his over-developed biceps and his performance is never less than solid. Xzibit brings the same wry humour and charisma that helped make the exuberantly daft 'Pimp My Ride' such a success. The supporting cast of ne'er do wells turned football heroes are universally strong bringing the crucial element of humanity to their otherwise clichéd roles - the fat one who can't do press ups, the great athlete who has to overcome serious issues to thrive, his sworn enemy turned friend, etc.

Much of the dialogue  particularly the speeches The Rock growls out - appears to have been taken from the big book of Hollywood motivational platitudes. It's difficult to imagine anyone outside a blockbuster chewing out lines like: "On the Gridiron, we do it my way, not your way. Your way got you here. Whatever gang you claim, whatever hood you're from, this is your hood now." However, even this ripe speechifying turns out to be a virtue. In a fun bit of art imitating life imitating art, excerpts from the documentary shown over the end credits demonstrate that many of the team talks are directly lifted from the real Sean Porter's speeches; coincidentally making the feel-good nature of the film even more effective by reminding us that there is someone out there who really did get results.

4/8/08

The Holiday - A Review



Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could trade houses for a couple of weeks with a complete stranger half-way across the globe? Somewhere where you can be yourself and discover things about you that you don’t even know you are capable of. Somewhere where you can leave all your problems behind you and try to build a new life amidst all the hurt and pain caused by falling in love with the wrong person. And who knows maybe finding another chance to be happy.

Synopsis:

Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz), the owner of a prospering advertising firm that creates movie trailers, lives in Southern California. Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) writes the popular wedding column for London's Daily Telegraph and resides in a charming cottage in the English countryside.

Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz), the owner of a prospering advertising firm that creates movie trailers, lives in Southern California. Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) writes the popular wedding column for London's Daily Telegraph and resides in a charming cottage in the English countryside. Though Iris and Amanda live 6,000 miles apart, they are in exactly the same place: Just before Christmas, Iris and Amanda decide to take a needed break from the men in their lives (played by Edward Burns and Rufus Sewell) — and neither is much in the mood for a nostalgic chorus of "Auld Lang Syne."

Amanda, wanting to get out of town for the holidays, stumbles onto an internet site that specializes in home exchanges, and finds Iris' English cottage to be the perfect antidote to her troubles. On impulse, Amanda and Iris agree to crisscross continents and move into each other's homes for two weeks. Iris lands in Los Angeles on a spectacularly clear day warmed by the gusts of the seasonal Santa Ana winds.

Not long after she arrives at Amanda's Brentwood home, she is befriended by Arthur (Eli Wallach), a noted screenwriter from Hollywood's Golden Era, and Miles (Jack Black), a film composer who works with Amanda's ex-boyfriend. In England, where it is anything but balmy, Amanda is just settling into the cozy solitude of the snow-covered Rose Hill Cottage, when Iris' handsome brother Graham (Jude Law) comes knocking at the cottage door.
In an unexpected turn of events, both women discover that the best trips are the ones where you leave your baggage behind.

Conclusion:

Seldom do I get to watch a move that makes my eyes misty. I must admit this movie is definitely one of my favorites now. I would recommend this movie to people who still believe in love no matter how many times they failed in their previous relationships.

My new camera - Pentax Optio M50



I finally got myself a new camera... Been thinking about getting one for the longest time but since I'm a tightwad I was postponing it until now.

I was looking around at so many shops for the past two or three weeks trying to check the best camera for my money.

I was thinking of getting the Olympus Stylus 790 S that promises to be shock and water proof but Php 19K to as much as 20K is not practical for me though I know Olympus cameras take good quality pictures.

Then I found this other camera the GE G2. GE G2's very light and thin! It's cheaper at Php11K but my concern is there's is no service center here in the Philippines... none yet as what the sales lady told me plus GE's kinda new in the Digital Camera Industry.

I then checked out this Casio Exilim Z80 which is cheap at Php10K but when I checked the quality of pictures it takes... well let's just say I was disappointed. The colors are not right. The picture gets pixelated when you zoom it among other things.

I was starting to lose hope until I found this camera that is not too expensive yet takes good pictures like my old Kodak camera... (didn't buy Kodak because it's too expensive though the quality is really good) I found the Pentax Optio M50.

I remember my younger sister buying a Pentax SLR camera for her project when she was in college. She was taking up Advertising back then and had this photography class... Oooh I envy her! Anyway I decided to go with my gut feel and bought this cam and I must say... this is really a good camera! Will post pics soon. :)

Specifications
  • 8.0 megapixel CCD assures high resolution images
  • 5X optical zoom contained in a compact, lightweight body
  • Evolved Face Recognition includes “Smile Capture” mode to automatically capture smiling faces
  • Digital Shake Reduction automatically selects higher ISO, up to 6400, for blur free images
  • 2.5 inch, wide view (approx. 170 degrees) LCD makes capturing and reviewing images easy
  • Panorama mode automatically stitches a series of three images into one wide scene

Brothers&Sisters


Currently watching Season 1... can't wait to watch Season 2.

Premise:

The ongoing saga of a well-to-do but down-to-earth California clan of diverse personalities, from a liberal gay lawyer to a conservative talk-show host, and how their lives change after the death of a patriarch reveals that the family business is in trouble.

Brothers & Sisters Cast

Brothers & Sisters Cast

4/5/08

Perfect Stranger - A Review

Synopsis:

Ace New York Courier reporter Rowena Price (Halle Berry) will do anything to get her story---even if it verges on the unethical.

After her plans to out a U.S. senator’s homosexual relationship with an intern are thwarted, Price's next chance at a big scoop falls right into her lap. When her friend Grace (Nicky Lynn Aycox) is found murdered, the main suspect is revealed to be Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), a philandering high-powered ad exec with a very jealous wife.

With some help from her right-hand tech guru, Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), Rowena goes undercover as a temp at Hill’s agency, where her own good looks are bound to draw Hill closer to her, taking her to the facts behind Grace’s murder. No simple plot description can truly explain James Foley’s (AT CLOSE RANGE) twisty, tech-y thriller. It begins with a false setup, takes a whole other route, and makes a series of bizarre 11th hour revelations that not even the most seasoned viewer will be able to predict. The always watchable Berry makes us root for a character whose methods aren’t always the most scrupulous, and Giovanni Ribisi does a lot with the "sidekick" role. The movie gives Manhattan a slightly sinister glow of cool blue, appropriate to this tale in which nothing is what it seems, and trusting in someone is sure to cause regret---or worse. PERFECT STRANGER may occasionally defy logic, but that is not likely to deter those hungering for a handsomely made, star-fueled studio film with plenty of surprises.

Oh by the way... don't miss the ending... difinitely twisted!

Conclusion:

A movie for those who like to think... the movie made me think that at the later part of the movie there is something wrong and I thought well maybe that's how it is supposed to end. Then all of a sudden a different ending pops up from nowhere! Definitely a good movie to watch and will keep you glued to your seat.

The Illusionist - A Review

Synopsis:

In a world where nothing is as it appears, an illusionist and a police inspector face off in a challenge of wills that attempts to determine where reality ends and magic begins...all the while blurring the line between power and corruption, love and devotion, vigilance and mania and ultimately, life and death.

A supernatural mystery that combines romance, politics and magic, The Illusionist is the latest film from the producers of the Oscar® winners Crash and Sideways. The film stars Academy Award® nominees Edward Norton (Fight Club, American History X) and Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man, Sideways) as two men pitted against each other in a battle of wits. Norton plays a mysterious stage magician, Eisenheim, who bends nature's laws to his will in front of awestruck crowds. Giamatti co-stars as Vienna's shrewd Chief Inspector Uhl, a man committed to uphold the law and for whom magic holds no place in his ordered world. Jessica Biel (Elizabethtown) shares the screen as the beautiful and enigmatic Sophie von Teschen, who finds her future inexorably altered when she encounters the man called Eisenheim, and Eisenheim comes dangerously close to unlocking the dark secret of the monarchy that she holds.

When Eisenheim begins to perform his astounding illusions in Vienna, word quickly spreads of his otherworldly powers...even reaching the ears of one of Europe's most powerful and pragmatic men, Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell, Dark City). Certain that the illusionist is nothing more than an accomplished fraud, Leopold attends one of Eisenheim's shows, convinced that he can debunk him during the performance. But when the Prince's beautiful fiancé and companion, Sophie von Teschen, assists the magician onstage, Eisenheim and Sophie recognize each other from their childhoods-and a dormant love affair is rekindled. With Eisenheim and Leopold vying for Sophie's affection, it quickly becomes apparent that both will go to any length to claim and keep her love.

As the clandestine romance continues, Uhl is charged by Leopold to intensify his efforts to expose Eisenheim, even while the magician gains a devoted and vocal public following. With Uhl doggedly searching for the reasons and the man behind the trickery, Eisenheim prepares to execute his greatest illusion yet.

Conclusion:

I had that feeling that I might be watching a movie similar to "The Prestige" (another movie about a magician and his secrets), but I was wrong. This movie is by far one of the best written movie I've seen. I also commend the directors for making sure that the movie is not predictable... as you would find out at the end of the movie. And I thought I won't let myself be fooled. :)

4/4/08

The Lookout - A Review

What would you do if you wake up one day and you realize that things changed so much around you?

What if simple things like remembering stuff you did this morning... knowing how to cook pasta... Even remembering how to use a can opener becomes a tedious job.

What if you can't stop yourself from saying things? I mean ordinary people usually think first before they say anything. Especially things you say on a first date or a first meeting.

The Lookout starts with big man on campus/hockey star Chris Pratt’s driving his girl, his best friend, and his best friend’s date to a high school party when a horrific accident destroys the lives of all four of the high school friends. Two perish in the accident and Chris, the driver who was at fault, is left a shell of his former self. Flash-forward four years from the accident and Chris is no longer the stud everyone looked up to in school. He can’t remember things without writing them down – including the simplest tasks. His days consist of going to rehab to learn life skills and his nights are spent working as a janitor at a local bank. And instead of coming home to a hot young thing every night, Chris is living with a sharp-witted blind man (Daniels) who’s better equipped at handling life than he is.

Conclusion:

Definitely a must see movie... makes you treasure what you have right now even if it's just as simple and seems worthless. The movie is well written with alot of touching scenes that will move you and inspire you to make things better for yourself.

4/2/08

WIFI


Got myself a Linksys WRT54G broadband router... installed it and followed the directions and got it to work with the two SE P990i phones at home and the PSP but when I tried using it with my MSI Laptop running Ubuntu... it was detected but I can't seem to connect to it! Waaaaaaaaaaaah! Ok I'm over reacting again! I'll just do some research and hopefully I get to make it work. :)

Harold & Kumar go to White Castle - A Review


Synopsis:

Following up his hit DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? writer-director Danny Leiner has come up with the riotous road-trip comedy HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. Harold (John Cho) has graduated college and is now working at a cubicle, where he is abused by other workers and forced to do their jobs for them.

Kumar (Kal Penn) is expected to go to medical school to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother, but he'd rather spend his time partying. The entire film takes place in one night, as wild Kumar is determined to get a sack of burgers at White Castle, even though his more staid roommate would prefer to stay home and finish a project for his officemates.

While Kumar seeks fun and adventure, lusting after nearly every woman he meets, Harold dreams only of Maria (Paula Garces), the woman down the hall whom he likes but is too afraid to talk to. Harold & Kumar's excellent adventure includes an outrageous bathroom scene in a college; a cop who takes his job way too seriously; a group of extreme, rad dudes who harass Harold, Kumar, and a convenience store manager; LAW & ORDER: SVU's Chris Meloni as an incredibly disgusting possible psycho; and Neil Patrick Harris playing himself, making fun of his Doogie Howser image. In addition to plenty of raunchy--and very funny--references to sex, drugs, and rock & roll, Leiner also takes on stereotypes and the meaning of love.

Consensus:

It's something that you may wanna watch if you have nothing else to do... come on... this is a movie about two guys going to a fast food joint! But the likable leads and subversion of racial stereotypes elevate Harold and Kumar above the typical stoner comedy.

V for Vendetta - A Review


Synopsis:

Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a young working-class woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man known only as "V." Profoundly complex, V is at once literary, flamboyant, tender and intellectual, a man dedicated to freeing his fellow citizens from those who have terrorized them into compliance. He is also bitter, revenge-seeking, lonely and violent, driven by a personal vendetta.

In his quest to free the people of England from the corruption and cruelty that have poisoned their government, V condemns the tyrannical nature of their appointed leaders and invites his fellow citizens to join him in the shadows of Parliament on November the 5th – Guy Fawkes Day. On that day in 1605, Guy Fawkes was discovered in a tunnel beneath Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder.

He and his co-conspirators had engineered the treasonous "Gunpowder Plot" in response to the tyranny of their government under James I. Fawkes and his fellow saboteurs were hanged, drawn and quartered, and their plan to take down their government never came to pass. In the spirit of that rebellion, in remembrance of that day, V vows to carry out the plot that Fawkes was executed for attempting on November 5th in 1605: he will blow up Parliament.

As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious past, she also discovers the truth about herself – and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to ignite a revolution, bringing freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.
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Consensus:

Visually stunning and thought-provoking, the movie's political pronouncements may rile some, but its story and impressive set pieces will nevertheless entertain.

4/1/08

Cruel Intentions - A Review


Hey there upper east-siders! Sounds familiar? Before Gossipgirl there's Cruel Intentions. A movie similar to the popular TV series but in a way very different in the way the characters attack each other's reputation and social standing.

Kathryn (Gellar) and Sebastian (Phillippe) Valmont are step-siblings with ferocious sexual appetites and absolutely no conscience. Both sublimely Machiavellian, they take pleasure in trifling with the hearts and lives of their lovers -- and they've both had plenty.

Phillippe is brilliantly seductive and dangerous as Sebastian, who unexpectedly finds himself falling in love with Annette, conquered by her virtue. He embodies affected nonchalance, but is incredible to watch in the sex scene in which he finally surrenders to his emotions, and even more sensational when he fervently denies his feelings in the face of his step-sister's ridicule.

"Cruel Intentions" is literally "Dangerous Liaisons" transplanted to present-day Upper East Side Manhattan and featuring ruthless teenagers playing sexual power games instead of 18th Century French aristocrats.

Ok ok... I didn't watch it before when it showed here because I expected it to dumb. Good thing I have idle time and had the chance to watch it... and I admit I was wrong.

Ryan and Michelle deliciously breathe life to the charaters' cruel and manipulative acts. Sexy, seductive, and cunning!

A wager is forged between these two manipulators: If Sebastian succeeds with Annette, Kathryn will offer herself to him for one night of completely uninhibited sex. If he fails, she gets his 1956 Jaguar roadster. Good deal ey?

Suspension of disbelief is an important prerequisite here, because I don't care what kind of monied, elite family you were born in to, there isn't a 17-year-old on Earth as sophisticated, suave and depraved as these Valmonts.

Every word and action is done with grace and the lavish dialogue is blended beautifully into modern speech patterns and they habitually toss off double-entendres that would make James Bond green with envy.

Although part of the movie made me feel like I was watching "Wild Things" (a trashy movie, also about sexually diabolical teens) with a MENSA IQ, "Cruel Intentions" is surprisingly more than just that.

Witherspoon here though is a bit miscast as the chaste Annette, and while early on she is strong in defending herself and her beliefs against this sexual predator, who eventually falls in love with her... she somehow lacks something... I guess her age when she did the movie had something to do with it.

Blair is an even less convincing. For me she didn't made a mark. She's like a 4-year-old who hit puberty a decade early.

Overall, the movie is a masterpiece... although you shouldn't take things too serious as it can on certain parts feel like a soap opera.

A Home at the End of the World - A Review


Had the opportunity to watch this wonderful movie at my bebi's with Tatay Ryan. There was nothing to do so Ryan said we should check out this movie "A Home at the End of the World". I've never heard of the movie but I was game for it.

The movie is about Bobby and Jonathan who have been inseparable since they were teenagers in suburban Ohio. Bobby has suffered many losses for someone so young, and is starved for love and affection. Bobby at a young age lost his older brother who he looks up to in a freak accident. Awkward teen Jonathan has a nice family, and a particularly wonderful mother (Sissy Spacek).

The boys not only become as close as brothers, but they also experiment sexually. The two lose touch, but find each other again in their mid-20s in the early 1980s, when Bobby (Colin Farrell) moves to New York and joins Jonathan (Dallas Roberts) at the apartment he shares with Clare (Robin Wright Penn), an aging hippie. Bobby and Clare become lovers, however, Clare had planned to have a child with Jonathan, who is now openly gay and who is still interested in Bobby, and to whom Clare used to be attracted.

The trio becomes its own unique entity, questioning the traditional definitions of family and love, and dealing with the complications of their love triangle. Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Cunningham, who also wrote the screenplay and who was the recipient of the Pulitzer prize, this film marks the debut of director Michael Mayer. Erik Smith plays Bobby as a teenagejavascript:void(0)
Publish Postr, and Harris Allen plays the teenage Jonathan.

Overall I find it a really touching movie... though it may be abit too much for some people... especially scenes where the characters engage in sex and drugs but overall there is so much that you can learn from the story. Plus this is one of the first movies of Colin Farrell. :)

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