The Bench

The Bench

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Chi Code is one of those movies that grossed more than any movie (or Dan Brown) critic could ever imagine despite its *ho-humm* and somewhat *pant pant* story-telling.  Compared to the book, it has several letdowns and (at least) something I was happy about.  Honestly.  I loved the novel, even made a review about it last 2004, and watching DVC–the most eagerly anticipated movie of 2006 and the subject of every religious conservative and some self-righteous politicians’ debate–cost me not just a hundred-and-fifty bucks. (more…)

Hed Turners

I thought it was rare that I would be seeing two of my favorite models, Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima, together in one pic.  I was soooooo happy when I found (not one) but several images of them together.  Take the image below as an example, which I felt was somehow definitely bastardized because of the big, yellow letters–the blog-master’s thoughts highlighted in an amusing yet scandalizing way.  So I scrapped the letters and took what is essential: their faces.

They’re always a pretty sight, ne? *sigh*

Alessandra Ambrosio’s official site is here. If you have pop-up blockers enabled in your browser, please disable them temporarily and let the site play tricks with your eyes.    Oh yes, you’re looking at a goddess, all right.

The search for those cartoon whatchamacallits is over. Somehow I was once obsessed with these toons that I get frustrated looking them up in Google. First of all, I don’t even know what search key to type!

They’re really uber cute and sexy. I planned on imitating how it was drawn, and then use Photoshop in coloring them.  Or maybe Corel.  Nevermind.  Anyway, it was a long story, meeting these dolls. Good thing Tin-Tin told me how to get them.

I’m talking about the Hed Kandi dolls–those lusciousl and cool girls you see on Hed Kandi albums covers. They’re the bomb and are now one of my favorite things in the whole world! Google offers a wide variety of image selections in its gallery. You may check them out here.

I ahve posted some Hed Kandi dolls are posted below, in case you still don’t know what I’m yapping about.

wHaT‘s NeW

I have included in my “blog roll” Butch Dalisay’s blog, Pinoy Penman. Butch has a column in The Philippine Star, which is where I got to know him and found that, well, he might be helpful for my writing improvement.

I have also update my best friend’s Web site link, since she’s now at home here in I.PH.  The Celestial Maiden has ascended, and with her departing come MisAnthropicRealist.  Welcome.

Of course, if there is some things we should greet with open arms, there is also some things we should bid goodbye to. I just heard from Tin-Tin that she’ll quit blogging for good, part of it is because she said she’s tired of blogging, and part of it is because blogging is prohibited in the workplace. Bummer.    So I literally scratched her site off my roll, but I’m still keeping the link available to anyone any time…for old time’s sake.

Anyway, I’m still here, and hopefully…yeah, this domain won’t get blocked, too.  (Rest in peace, LiveJournal).  It’s not my thing to hang out in Internet cafes/shops just to update blogs, Friendsters, and MySpace accounts, y’ know. *sigh*

The (Official) Philippine Star Web site

Talk is Certainly Cheap

When there are issues, it is not enough for two people to just talk.  They want their questions answered, else there is no point in talking at all…

The Look v02

It’s too early to be changing this blog’s design, but I changed it anyway.  When the first was called Sappy Summer (with the blues and the greens), this time I’d just call it Sunset.

Why orange?, I asked myself.  Well, it wasn’t intended.  It just happens that I got a good header and background combination.  I would have opted for yellow, since I think its becoming the IN color these days, and blue, but I already did the blue (with the green) and I think the blog would look too bright to make yellow as the background.  I was surprised myself when I realized that the orange scheme they have here is not the brilliant kind.  It suited well with the header, so I’m pleased with that.

I like orange, actually.  It’s like a “borderline color”.  It got some of its shade from a lighter kind of tan, gold, and yellow.  I’m an ignoramus when it comes to blending colors to produce a new one, and I swore I never memorized the color wheel, too, but that is the orange that I like and you are seeing here.

The tag line is taken from a Mr. Big song entitled “Goin’ Where the Wind Blows”.  I love that song the moment I heard of it the first time…which was yesterday.   My brothers and I were huge Mr. Big fans and listening to their music again brought back high school years with them in our humble abode, wasting the afternoon away in front of the radio.  *sigh*  Makes anyone feel younger, doesn’t it?    The complete lyric of the song is posted below.

As for the watermark, well, I initially picked the dune fences.  I thought it looked perfect, but again, I don’t feel its connection to the whole look.  It could have foreshadowed that of being bounded.  Limited by my own life principles, beliefs, and faith, which is actually a good great thing.  But by replacing it with candles, I decided, it would remind me of light. Either representing people as guides, enlightenment for our human aspects, or simply the “arrow” to the right way to go.  Not to mention that the colors were totally sync. Everything just looks…nice.

I love what I see now.  I’m sure you, too, will love hearing the Mr. Big song after downloading it here.  

“Goin’ Where the Wind Blows”

Yeah
Yeah
Goin’ where the wind blows
(Na nana na na na)
Yeah
(Na nana na na na)

“Start Living”

Stop worrying about what you don’t have and start finding real joy in what you do have. Stop agonizing over what might happen and start moving toward the best of what can happen.

All the richness of life is here today for you to touch. The limitless abundance of the universe is yours right now to experience.

– Ralph Marston

On Poseidon

I just knew we’re going to watch a movie yesterday without him telling me.  Besides, what would we be doing in Market, Market the whole day anyway?, I scoffed to myself when Daves told the driver to take us there.  We’d be going somewhere, he said a few hours before on the phone.  Maglalakad-lakad lang…mag-iikut-ikot.  As to the “somewhere” he’s referring to, he didn’t care to elaborate, as always.  That’s typically Daves.  Oh, okay, I said before we hung up.  I knew I should be asking where but didn’t, since I have this feeling that he wanted to surprise me. I was clueless, as always, whether I chose to be one or not.  Between the two of us, that’s typically me.

I was right about watching a movie.  But I didn’t know that the movie would be the drama/thriller Poseidon, knowing that boo can be so picky with movies since he’s a bonafide (and self-confessed) yellow cat.  I already knew what to expect from him once we enter that dark room.

Bummer that we had to miss the movie trailers prior to the main film; that was one of my most-awaited moments in cinema watching.  We were quiet for about ten minutes until the movie showed how luxuriously picturesque the ocean liner Poseidon was.  Can’t describe it fully in words, but the elevators looked like those 5-star-plus hotel elevators in the US we see on TV.  So there.

Anyway, two of the main characters literally bumped into each other at the lobby, and boo recognized Elena (played by Mia Maestro).  He was like:

“Hey, I’ve seen that girl before!”

At the poker scene, I realized that, by God, Jennifer Ramsey looks familiar, too! I was like:

“Hey, I’ve seen those breasts before!”

And those breasts (”Twins”, as she unabashedly corrected her father) belonged to no other than Emmy Rossum, the girl who played Christine in The Phantom of the Opera.

And then boo began giggling when the ship’s captain introduced the lovely Gloria (played by Stacey Ferguson of B.E.P.) and she began shaking her bootie.

To me, the movie is not a drag…unless you consider frightened, screaming people in fine clothes falling and hitting something hard–a balcony edge, or something–really dragging.  I enjoyed it immensely.  There were tear-jerking moments, and there were also annoying moments.  (Damn kid can’t stay in one place at least for ten freakin’ seconds!)  But it ended well. 

From start to finish, we never soften our grips on each others’ hands.

Bad…bad….BAD!

I haven’t been responsible yesterday.  Well, I guess I was not that responsible for the tasks assigned I volunteered for.  I did what I can do, though, despite being soooo busy with all the reports that needs to be edited and posted.  Before 6PM, before the other volunteers from the outreach project went to Ateneo for a seminar, Peter (officially) took charge of the task of designing the pledge cards and the poster.  I felt a mixture of guilt and gladness…not to mention that I was also quit appalled at myself.

Guilty because…I looked like the useless fellow of the group now.

Glad because…I can finally finish the book I’ve been reading these past few days.

Appalled because…as I realized it later that day, I really don’t want to do anything but to finish that damn book…and was rather thankful that Peter took over!

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Kapangan Outreach Project

I remembered I received an email from Chris a couple of weeks ago to ask if I could be one of the eager hands in the new, non-Trend Micro-related outreach project he was planning on doing in Kapangan, Benguet. (So I guess, sad to say, the initial plan of holding an outreach for the Leyte landslide was scrapped. =\)  I was surprised when he actually made me as one of his core people in this gig.

He’s very excited about it, and that exuding excitement is undeniably contagious.  We had a get-together last Thursday morning, and I can say that we are a power team. 

Chris has his hand in managing people (because he is a manager, by the way) and making things happen with much control and grace; Ruby, a technical writer from the other department, is blessed with perseverance, dedication, and belief in last-minute miracles; Peter, the sweet, tech-savvy, and uber thoughtful guy from the IS department, who couldn’t seem to stay in one place very long, always employs creativity at its best; Liezel, being naturally bubbly and outgoing, is the very first to volunteer for field work, where the fun actually is; and Ghia—dear, dear Ghia, always taking good care of AV all by herself—is commendable for her responsibility, patience, and good heart.

As for me, well, I may or may not have the qualities of my mates, but I do believe that I have this great thing, from the bottom of my gut to the base of my neck, about helping people.  It’s something I feel I could be really passionate about…other than doing or creating things with my hands.  (Hehe.  Don’t think funny now. )  Other than learning and discovering new things; other than improving what needs to be improved about myself.

I admit that I don’t have a main role to play in the project (I even feel that I won’t be going to Kapangan for some reason.) but I am not guilty.  I gave my word that I’d be helping them in whatever sick way I can, step by step by step, and to me, that is where the fun is: touching every aspect of what is great in the making yet not really grasping a part of it. It’s like touching water.

Not that I’m afraid of responsibility, or I don’t want to be held liable on anything when something wrong happened.  It’s just that…I do things best and I feel better about myself when people see me do little in the foreground, but I’m actually working more in the background.

Waer of the Wind

cloven rossette
from Helen to Paris:
“I found you!”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The author of this haiku reserves the right to inform true haiku aficionados, who by some means got themselves lost in this corner of blogdom and happened to stumble upon this humble post, to simply smile and forgive this author’s naïveté, if they find the above-written ‘ku’ somehow repulsive for their taste.

“Unburden Yourself”

Many of the little things that cause you continuing frustration can be greatly reduced or eliminated. 

The small frustrations are usually the easiest to get rid of.  Because they are small, though, you may not have made it a priority to deal with them.

Remember, however, that the small frustrations add up quickly.  When combined together, they can impose a major burden on our time and life.

So make the choice to unburden yourself from them, one by one.  Devote some time ridding yourself of many of those little frustrations that can add together to drag you down.

At first glance, it may seem like a waste to spend an hour or two dealing with something that normally sets you back only a few minutes each day.  Yet if you can save yourself those few minutes, day after day, month after month, it can add up to an enormous amount of time.

And by freeing yourself from more and more small frustrations, you free your mind and your spirit focus on the positive, meaningful things.  Find ways to unburden yourself from little frustrations, and you’ll find opportunities to add greatly to the richness of life.

- Ralph Marston

This is exactly the reason why I always deal with the small ones first before getting into the big ones.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Happy Birthday, Con.

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The Open Door

Evanescence’s latest album, The Open Door, was scheduled to be released on October 3 of this year.

Following the multi-platinum, worldwide success of FALLEN, THE OPEN DOOR is an ideal showcase for the band’s inevitable personal and professional growth, with songs of introspection, longing, doubt, self-respect and ultimately, empowerment and anticipation.  (more…)