MMDA’s got a new office — and its name is not pretty!

After the mess that the DOT got embroiled into, now we have another government office with another potential disaster.

The MMDA now has a new office — the Traffic & Transport Management Office or TTMO for short.  For our foreign friends this would be insignificant but for us Filipinos TTMO is a wordplay that does not sound so wholesome.  You can ask your Filipino friends if you want 🙂

But it begs the question again —  Do these people actually THINK before creating a new office name, or creating a slogan or designing  a logo???    In light of recent events, it seems that they DO NOT!

Check it out from the official MMDA site at: http://www.mmda.gov.ph/MMDAMC/MMDAMC05.html

Pacquiao 8-8!!!

I knew it! I’ve said it here before on my Nov. 2nd post that Pacquiao will stand victorious and he did!  Distractions aside, I knew that Pacquiao will demolish the bigger Margarito and will claim his 8th championship belt in 8 different divisions.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MANNY “PACMAN” PACQUIAO!!!

Recent Haul from Book Sale

I’ve got some great buys from my recent trip to Book Sale.  First off was Roger Ebert’s Four-Star Reviews 1967-2007, a massive book on some of Ebert’s highly regarded movies covering a span of 40 years.  Admittedly, I do not agree with some of Ebert’s reviews but in general he was able to nail most of them.  And yes, it was 3 years off but who could argue with its price (P120)?

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I was also able to buy 2 glossy mags at P100 apiece.  One a WWE mag that features all of the superstars profiles.  I no longer follow the WWE since HBK left and DX was no more, but I still buy their mags if they interest me.  And this one sure does.

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I was in geek heaven when I saw this mag on Twitter Celebrity Profiles.  Although I’m not a heavy Twitter user, I still check on my favorite celebrities tweets every now and then and to have a certified celebrity directory is very handy indeed.

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Lastly, I saw a copy of The Bourne Identity as I approach the counter to pay for my stuff, and I bought it as well.  I want to read the original story and not the crap story that they did for the movie versions.

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That’s all for now, see you again in my next trip to Book Sale!

PS2 is now 10 yrs. old!!!

I can’t believe that my trusty, ole PS2 is now a decade old and still runs strong!  The first ever PS2 was released on October 2000 and last month marks its 10th year in the gaming industry and 10 years is a lifetime in this industry considering that most consoles last for only five years or less.

Check out this article regarding this remarkable achievement for my favorite console of all time — the PlayStation 2: http://ow.ly/39FOM

Face-Off!: LRT vs. MRT

In the spirit of the upcoming Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight, I’m starting a new column: Face-Off!  And my first Face-Off! is between the LRT and the MRT.  As a long time LRT/MRT commuter, here are some of my observations between the two according to some of my own criteria:

Commuters:
LRT – More behaved as compared to MRT crowd but can get pushy during peak hours but still not as rude as the MRT crowd
MRT – Gets rowdy all the time especially from Guadalupe Station onwards (from Taft Ave.)

Comfort:
LRT – New trains are more comfortable than the old trains.  Old trains tend to be hot and drippy during rainy days.
MRT – Trains are newer than the LRT and more spacious although the A/C is  a little weak in some cars.  Also drippy during rainy days.

Best Stations to Ride:
LRT – Either Balintawak or Roosevelt Ave.  These are still new stations and the crowd volume is low.  I love it when the train enters these two stations.  You could actually lie down on the seats since most of the passengers get off at Monumento.
MRT – None!

Worst Stations to Ride:
LRT – Monumento Station.  Lots of people with some of them not easy on the nose!  At least you are guaranteed a seat.  EDSA Station is pretty tamed compared to Monumento even though the crowd volume is high since when a train arrives from Baclaran Station it is usually empty.  I’m not sure if the passengers are no longer patronizing the Baclaran Station or if they are skipping trains since I haven’t been to Baclaran lately.
MRT – North Ave. Station is the worst!  Although once you get in, you have a chance to grab a seat (after beating your fellow passengers! j/k)

Most Hated Feature (for lack of a better term):
MRT – SKIPPING TRAINS!!!  I usually ride in North Ave. Station and I could feel a collective curse coming out of the passengers when a skipping train skipped the station.
LRT – The LRT also has the skipping train feature but not as bad as the MRT.

Well, that’s all for my initial list.  Please feel free to suggest more criteria if you want 🙂

Willie Revillame — Back on the air!

I was watching TV the other night, when suddenly I caught sight of Revillame’s smug mug on TV5.  I guess he’s back!  It really befuddles me that Willie always finds a way to rebound after a big mess, and this time around with PNoy’s ex, Shalani Soledad, as co-host, nonetheless!

How could someone with Willie’s reputation still be in demand?  Well, I don’t know!  I guess we Filipinos do indeed have short-term memory…

PS: Reportedly, PNoy didn’t watch his ex-girlfriend’s show when it debuted last Monday (http://ow.ly/37etW)

All About Music

I was playing Bon Jovi’s recently released Greatest Hits collection when I found myself reminiscing our college days.  We were all Bon Jovi fanatics then and we even attended their concert at the Rizal Memorial which was interrupted by the rain and a riot ensued afterwards.

So music is not just something we listen to but is akin to a time machine that can bring us back, our minds at least, to a distant past connected with that music.  I know that most of you will agree.  I remember listening to Sting’s Greatest Hits when I was on an onshore assignment in the US way back in the 90s.  So whenever I hear Sting’s Fragile or Field of Dreams, I am instantly teleported to those good old days when Y2K was the big thing and the dot com was the rage and everyone was becoming overnight millionaires except me.  Fond memories, sure…

So the next time you hear a song, what events does it remind you of?  Hopefully, good ones!

Recent Haul from Book Sale

I admit, I’m more excited to go to Book Sale than Fully Booked.  It’s not the ridiculously low price but rather the fun of discovery.  Sometimes I go to Book Sale without a single idea of what to buy, but after an hour or so I would go home with a great book purchase.

Last Saturday, I was able to buy a hardback of Caroline Alexander’s The War that Killed Achilles – The True Story of Homer’s “Iliad” and the Trojan War, still in almost mint condition for only P165!

I actually didn’t know that this book even exists and when I found it (the title just grabbed me, being a fan of Achilles & Troy) I really felt that I discovered something great.

Here’s something from The New York Time Book Review:

Alexander is best known as the author of “The Bounty” and “The Endurance,” well-received books about sea voyages that took place long after the Achaeans set out to avenge Helen. But she is also a trained classicist, and “The War That Killed Achilles” suggests a joyful re- embrace of an early love. In its bones and sinews, the book is a nobly bold, even rousing, venture, a read-through of the “Iliad,” from beginning to end, always with a sharp eye to half a century of revealing scholarship, by great Hellenists like Gregory Nagy, Jasper Griffin, M. L. West and many others. The book’s best ideas won’t be new to readers versed in this work, but it would be hard to find a faster, livelier, more compact introduction to such a great range of recent Iliadic explorations. ~Where Men Won Glory by Steve Coates (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/books/review/Coates-t.html?_r=1)

BTW, in addition to the aforementioned hardback, I was also able to buy two mags, P100 a piece, on digital arts and photography — two subjects that are near and dear to my heart! 🙂

Here they are:

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So until the next adventure in Book Sale!

My saddest part of the week…

… are Sunday nights.  Since tomorrow will be a work day 😦

Bon Jovi on eternal repeat!!!

Brings back the memories of our college days… Rock on!!!

Japan would be spared from Mislang’s Tweets

Just read this news from GMANews.tv:

Mislang, an assistant secretary at the Presidential Communication Development and Strategic Planning (PCDSP) office, will not be part of the Philippine delegation to the APEC, according to President Benigno Aquino III himself.

That’s a good start! 🙂

Check out the complete article at: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/205189/aquino-mislang-wont-be-in-apec-meet-in-japan

Macro Photography

On a positive note, I would just like to leave all that Mislang brouhaha aside and focus on more uplifting stuff, like photography.

I’ve been long fascinated by macro photography but due to the exuberant prices of macro lenses I’ve been unable to delve into it.  Fortunately, there exists a rather inexpensive device that will enable the not-so-rich like myself to try my hands on macro photography.  This device is the reverse ring and by using it along with a diffuser one can enjoy shooting the macro way.

Here are some of my samples:

One Peso Coin

Boracay Souvenir

 

With regards to that rude Mislang person…

I found this excellent article by Boo Chanco of The Philippine Star.  Check it out here: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=626546&publicationSubCategoryId=66

Here are some valid points from the article that I want to highlight.  Please do click the link above and read the article in its entirety.  It’s a great read!

• If both my grandmothers were alive today and we told them the Mai Mislang tweets, they would have reacted by exclaiming three words: Bastos. Walang pinagaralan. They wouldn’t care if Mislang was a cum laude graduate of UP or even if she had a PhD in nuclear physics. She would still be bastos… walang pinagaralan.
• Monitoring the social networks over the weekend, there were those who said that we should be more understanding because Mislang is typical of today’s youth. I beg to disagree. I have three children ages 25-30 and they would never have done what Mislang did. It is all a question of breeding. Mislang may have had the misfortune of not having been trained well by her parents.
  
• It is simply basic and that makes it so difficult to understand why Mislang did it, to the embarrassment of the whole Filipino nation. When you are a guest in someone’s home, you act like a good guest. You should be respectful. If you are offered something to eat or drink, say thank you. If you do not like what was served, suffer in silence and even swallow it as if it was the most delicious treat in the world. When you are asked how you liked the food, smile sincerely and say it was great.  Now, if you are a public official representing the country abroad, do all those things even more. …

And I saved the best one for last:

Pacquiao vs. Margarito — IN 2 WEEKS!

 

Say what they want about Pacquiao being slower or Pacquiao being out of shape due to so many distractions, etc., etc… I believe that on fight day, Pacquiao will still stand victorious and will add another belt to his ever-growing list of championships!

If you are a true fan, do watch Pacquiao-Margarito 24/7 on HBO.  Two more episodes until fight day…

 

Aide of P-Noy in Tweet Controversy

I can’t believe that there’s another controversy surrounding P-Noy.  This time via stupid tweets made by his Assistant Secretary Mai Mislang.  And P-Noy even defended her saying that “she’s young and perhaps she didn’t realize that her simple acts had implications.”

For me, her age is not the issue here.  There are many persons even younger than her who know that it is impolite to disrespect your hosts by complaining about the food or wine that they serve, even more so if your hosts are from another land!  One stupid mistake and those foreign hosts might generalize it and they might have a negative perception of us.  Fortunately, the Vietnamese government is mature enough and understanding and they did not make a big deal out of it.  Remember that we Filipinos are easily offended from disparaging remarks made by others.  But do we offend others just as easily?

If P-Noy is so soft on reprimanding these unethical deeds, then those guilty will have the tendency to be repeat offenders.  I know P-Noy is a good person, but he is losing his goodwill fast, due to the ineptitude of the people that surrounds him.

Check out this related article: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/204832/aquino-wont-fire-aide-over-controversial-vietnam-tweets

Who invented 2-day weekends, anyway???

Here I am sitting on my desk, feeling the dread of the upcoming workday… I can’t believe that the 3-day weekend was over.  But it was great, nonetheless.  I had great photography at the zoo and at the harbor and had great rest as well.  But I feel that all the positivity that I got is being zapped by the thought of commuting to work again tomorrow.

Well, that’s life for you…

 

National Blogging Month for November starts now!

I have temporarily neglected this blog for two months now since I’ve been focusing my efforts on my photoblog, israelv.tumblr.com (shameless plugging!).  But now that it’s the start of the National Blog Posting Month for November, I will now focus on both and hopefully I would be able to post daily for the entire month of November.  So I wish all my fellow bloggers success and fulfillment and may we all have more posts to come!

Sun Broadband Wireless Prepaid P250 7 Days Unlimited is a big waste of money!!!

First of all, I would like to say that I’m totally satisfied with the P50 1 Day Unlimited Sun Broadband Wireless Prepaid.  So I was thrilled to learn that they would be releasing a P250 7 Days Unlimited card.

After purchasing the P250 card, I immediately tried it out.  It was actually okay for the first two days or so.  But after that, the connection starts to drop.  A download that usually takes around 5-7 hrs. is now taking 2 days plus.  Since the weather was kinda grumpy during those days, I’m attributing the dismal connection to the weather — I’m blaming it on the rain, as the old song puts it.

Movie Review: The Expendables

Watching The Expendables made me feel like a kid again watching those early Stallone flicks in the moviehouse like Over the Top, Rambo III and Demolition Man.  The Expendables is a 100% pure old-school action movie and I love every minute of it!  I haven’t had this much satisfaction in an action film like I did here.

Together with the action legend Sylvester Stallone, you have three martial artists: Jason Statham, Jet Li & Dolph Lundgren, an NFL linebacker: Terry Crews, a UFC Hall of Famer and former Heavyweight Champion: Randy “The Natural” Couture,a WWE Hall of Famer and also former Heavyweight Champion: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, a multi-awarded actor: Mickey Rourke, and fellow action legends in cameo roles: Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Congrats to Ms. Venus Raj for winning 4th Runner-up in the 2010 Ms. Universe Beauty Pageant

We came so close but it was OK!  It was William Baldwin’s fault 🙂

Yes, it was the Philippines vs. Mexico again in the final rounds but this time Ms. Mexico, Jimena Navarette, got the top prize — so congrats to her as well!