The Historian again, this time in hardback!

In my previous post more than a week ago, I said that I’ve finally found a much-sought after book, The Historian which I got for P220 at Pick a Book store in Market Market.  Then just last Sunday, I also found a hardback copy of The Historian, in almost mint condition, at the Book Sale in Waltermart for only P165!  This is great!  I’ve waited long and hard but in the end I got both the paperback and the harback at excellent prices!

Finally got The Historian

After meeting an eBay seller for a Revoltech that I bought, I was able to discover a new budget bookstore in Market Market called Pick a Book.  So I checked out the books that they have, and lo and behold, I found a copy of The Historian in mint condition and for only P220   I have waited for a long time to buy a copy of The Historian in Book Sale since a copy costs around P300 to P400 in National Book Store, but to no avail.  Good thing I discovered this new book store.

From Gotham City to Quezon City

Two weeks ago, SM Fairview had a mall show where you can meet and greet The Dark Knight.  I was actually waiting for this even since I’m a big fan of The Dark Knight.  But it somewhat slipped my mind and while we’re having coffee in SM last Nov. 2nd, a voiced boomed out in the Annex Atrium that The Dark Knight meet and greet will be starting soon.  Sadly, I didn’t have my dSLR with me.  So my wife took my picture with The Dark Knight using my cellphone cam.  It’s not as good as a dSLR pic, but hey, it’s better than none.  So it was a surreal moment for me as I’ve finally met & greeted my favorite superhero of all time, Batman aka The Dark Knight.

Astro Boy coming soon in theaters!

Wow, when I heard that Astro Boy is being made into a CG movie I’m stoked!  First of all, I was thankful that they didn’t do a live-action movie but a CG movie instead.  This is an excellent move.  Since a live-action movie would not do justice to Astro Boy and would just ruin it.  But a CG movie on the otherhand is the next logical step from the original anime.

I’ve been a fan since the anime of the 80’s.  I remember watching it on Sunday afternoons while I’m vacationing in Nanay’s house (BTW, she’s my grandmother but we all fondly call her Nanay).  While watching Astro Boy, Nanay would serve me hot pan de sal with scrambled eggs.  Those were the carefree days!

So hopefully the CG movie would GET it right and I’m hoping that it would be as enjoyable as the original anime.  I could still hear the original theme song in my head: “Soaring high in the sky…”

Bookmarksmagazine.com – Yet Another Site for Book Lovers

Hey fellow booklovers, I’m just going through the stacks of discounted magazines in Book Sale yesterday when I chanced upon a November 2008 issue of Bookmarks Magazine.  This is my second issue of this magazine since I was also able to buy one, last year I think.  I enjoy this magazine since it’s fully loaded with book reviews, recommendations and other stuff book lovers would love.  Actually I haven’t had a chance to see newer issues of this magazine in National Book Store.  Well, even though it’s a year old, I still love the reviews.  The mag has excellent reviews of Stephen King’s Duma Key and Robert Harris’ The Ghost (which I both own in hardbacks) plus loads more.  Then I also checked out their Web site and it’s as fun as their mag.  Actually, I’ve just signed up to receive their newsletter.  So what are you waiting for book lovers, check this site out at http://bookmarksmagazine.com/

NaNoWriMo is almost upon us!

November is fast approaching.  I have planned, since last year, to join this year’s NaNoWriMo.  Although I’ve registered and all, I still have doubts.  I’m not sure that I can do it.  I’m not sure if I have the skill and the discipline to write 50,000 words in a month.  I can’t even think of a good plot to write about.  Well, let’s see…

Excellent Jacket Cover Art for Stephen King’s Under the Dome

Stephen King’s latest novel is coming on Nov. 10th.  In the meantime, feast your eyes on the jacket cover art of this sure bestseller hit!

For more info check out http://promo.simonandschuster.com/underthedome/

Bookreporter.com — The Site for Book Lovers

I have been searching for a long time for a Web site with book reviews.  I don’t like the book reviews from Amazon.com or BN.com.  Finally, while searching the other day, I chanced upon bookreporter.com.  It has all the latest reviews for the latest books.  It has a great archive of reviews for books released in the previous years.  And I especially like the Books Into Movies section where they discuss the latest movie adaptations of novels or short stories.  Another great section is Word of Mouth.  Here you can see reading recommendations by other readers.  All-in-all an excellent site for book lovers!

Themes for Google Chrome

I love Google Chrome due to its simplistic but efficient and functional design.  But sometimes I wish that Chrome would have something akin to Firefox Personas.  A lightweight way to change the look of the browser.  And after some time, Themes for Google Chrome had been released and my wish had been granted.  My personal favorite is the Marc Ecko theme and I have a screenshot here to display it in its full glory!

Here are the some of the other cool themes for Google Chrome:

If you are not using Google Chrome yet, what are you waiting for?  Download it now at http://www.google.com/chrome

Product Review: PC to TV Converter by CD-R King

I love movies and I love TV series.   And I have a bunch of them in DivX format.  Sure I can watch them in my laptop LCD but nothing beats watching them in TV.  That’s where the PC to TV Converter comes in.  It displays whatever is displayed in your laptop LCD in your TV.  And it works!  Last night, I bought the converter at a nearby CD-R King and I went home, installed it and got it working (Say what they say about CD-R King but I’m still happy and satisfied with their products!).

It’s so easy to install.  The monitor cable connects  to the laptop VGA out port and straight to the converter.  The USB power supply connects from the converter to one of the USB ports in the laptop.  The video (yellow) RCA cable connects from the converter to the TV video in port.  I then connected my laptop audio out to the Aux port of my stereo system.

And the next thing to do — play those DivX videos!

Book Review: Shutter Island

After reading this book all I can say is… Wow!

This is really an excellent book!  I love the atmosphere (the feeling of loneliness, hopelessness and paranoia in the island), the great dialogue between the characters (conversations between Teddy and Chuck, between Cawley and Teddy, between Teddy and the Warden, etc.) and the memorable characters themselves (Teddy, Chuck, Cawley and the Warden, even though appearing in only a few scenes, stood out).

I love the twist at the end which I won’t mention.  Honestly I didn’t see it coming.  And I’m happy that I didn’t since it made a much harder impact than if I did.  And the story stays with me long after I’ve finished the book.  It’s that good!

Now I’ve added added Dennis Lehane to my list of favorite authors.  My next Lehane book to read, Mystic River (which I’ve already watched before but I didn’t know then that it was a Lehane book…).

Shutter Island, the book, is surely a must-read!  I’m hoping that the movie adaptation, with Leo DiCaprio, is a must-watch as well.  BTW, I read the book after seeing the movie trailer so I’m actually visualizing Leo as Teddy, Mark Ruffalo as Chuck and Ben Kingsley as Cawley as I read.  Made it more fun…

So what are you waiting for?  Read the book before the movie comes out in Feb. 2010!

Image United — A crossover to watch out for!

Even though I’m not as big a fan of Image as Marvel or DC, I’m still familiar with some of their characters (Spawn, WildCATS, Witchblade) and their creators (McFarlane, Liefeld, Portacio).  I have not followed any of their comics.  But when I saw this latest crossover featuring their most famous creations, it got me interested.  I also liked the fact that each of the creator will draw his own character in the comic.  Who knows, this might be my jumping point to the Image Universe.  I’ll give this one a try.

Here are some cool images from Image United (from CBR):

On the left is the cover featuring none other than the most famous Image character (at least for me), Spawn, and on the right is a new character by Marc Silvestri, Barricade.

Check out some of the other great covers here at CBR: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23121

My Two Centavos: “The rain has stopped, the storm has passed…”

Hello to all!  Hope everyone’s safe after one of the most devastating typhoons have hit the Philippines.  It’s sad to know that the typhoon left so many homeless and so many who have lost not just their homes but their lives.  But at the same time, it’s uplifting to know of how everyone in his or her own big or small way have tried to help their affected fellowmen around the country.  Let us continue to support one another as we face another typhoon heading our way.

BTW, check out this great post on the storm in Darna Girl’s blog:
http://darnagirl.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/ondoy/

Create an awesome Web site with Yola

If you want to create great looking Web sites the easy way, try Yola!  It’s one of the best free home page creations site that I’ve ever tried.  It’s fun and easy.  I’ve tried some of the other sites but so far this is the easiest and most fun.  Highly recommended!

Check it out here: http://www.yola.com

Search by sentiment? — Cool idea!

Have you ever wished that you could search all the user feedbacks for a certain product that you want to buy?  Sure you can search for product reviews but nowadays most of the feedbacks by the real users are done via blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc…  So imagine consolidating all those feedbacks for a product that you want to buy then basing your decision on those feedbacks.  I think that would definitely help a consumer make a smart decision.  Well who knows, maybe the next evolution of Google would include search by sentiment.

Inspiration rather than Intimidation

I’m starting a new category for my posts and I call it… tada! My Two Centavos… hehe, for lack of a better title.

Anyways, I received this awesome article at DPS on How to Be Inspired and Not Intimidated By Other Photographers and I immediately saw myself in the “intimidated” category.

I always feel this when I’m starting to learn something new.  Years ago, when Flash was new and still owned by Macromedia,  I was able to create a simple yet okay Flash presentation.  I’m quite proud and happy about it until… I saw other Flash presentations in the Web.  Wow, my work is dismal compared to the others.  After that, I’ve stopped doing Flash.  Same thing happens when I was learning the guitar.  I got intimated by other guitarists which are way better than me.  Now I’m learning DSLR photography and hopefully it won’t happen again.

The point of the article is that we should be inspired by the excellent work around us instead of being intimated.  Particularly in the photography field where there are so many excellent photographers, there is a strong chance that we will be intimated by the amount of excellent pictures that abound.  But instead of having that negative point of view, we should instead be inspired by those excellent pictures.

One thing that I also picked up from the article is to avoid being a copycat but to develop our own style.  In that way, we can be proud of our own little achievements.  So hopefully, and soon, I will see myself in the “inspired” category.

Vote for Bayan Knights in Komikon

Please vote for the Bayan Knights in this year’s Komikon Awards.  For details on how to vote, please check out this link:

http://bayanknights.blogspot.com/2009/08/vote-for-bayan-knights-in-2009-komikon.html

MRT Annoyances #2 – Skipping Trains

This is one of the most single thing that I hate about the MRT.  Imagine waiting for minutes for a train to arrive — only for the train to just bypass your station!  This usually happens in the North Ave. station.  And it happens so frequently, not a few commuters are infuriated everytime  it happens.

“Tulaan sa MRT”

I first saw these poems in the LRT.  They were posted above the windows near the ceiling.   Now, I’ve found them in the exteriors of the MRT.  Now, you can read poetry while waiting for the next train.

LRT/MRT – To be connected at last…

Ever since the MRT got finished, I’ve been wishing for it to be connected to the LRT.  And now it seems that my wish is becoming a reality.  Here’s a picture of the ongoing construction that will close the LRT/MRT loop.