Before the month ends!

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...It's time to showcase another round of the latest songs I've been keeping in my playlist! Know it before a new month grows on you. :p

Starting with two OPM's recently released, here's Rico Blanco with Antukin and Pedicab in FX.






M.I.A. sings O...Saya for the OST of award-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire (It's not actually a song, it's more like a modern tribal song but really, i find it cool! XD)



Another one for the OST's, here's Love, Save the Empty by Erin McCarley from my new favorite movie "He's Just Not That Into You".

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From Beautiful Soul to Leavin', Jesse McCartney has another one for the charts with It's Over.




And last but not least, here's why Rihanna must have been sadly snapped at by his R&B sweetie: Bad Girl ft. Chris Brown! (This song has a version sand by Pussycat Dolls which was in turn, used for Confessions of A Shopaholic movie OST. I find Rihanna's version better though.)


Too bad Chris brown snapped at Rihanna! Jeez, just when I thought they were a great couple! :-|

TAGCOM 3rd Strike!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! It's Toys, Anime, Gaming, Cosplay & Movies once again!

Hobbiworx Inc. in cooperation with Robinsons Midtown Mall brings you.....

The 3rd TAGCOM Toys & Hobbies Convention
Feb. 29 & March 1, 2009
Sat. & Sunday
Robinsons Midtown Mall Atrium
Ermita, Manila
10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Admission is FREE

Visit Pinoytoykolektor forum for more info!

Girl Flicks Movie Review

Taking the rest of the afternoon work off, I relaxed and treated my SELF to 2 seemingly girl flicks currently out in movie houses. Here's what I got to say to the two best-selling novels-turned-movies "He's Just Not That Into You" and "Confessions of A Shopaholic".

He's Just Not That Into You showcases a set of intertwined stories of girls who love and fail in it (because, well obviously the guys they like are not into them.

Starring a handful of great actors: Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Scarlett Johansson, Kevin Connolly, Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long, they make up the perfect characters to portray 4 highlighted situations:

1) ...If he's not calling you
2) ...If he's not marrying you (I just had to get so teary-eyed in this story!)
3) ...If he's sleeping with someone else
4) ...If he's breaking up with you

...It all means H'e-s-NOT-interested! Either stalk the guy, learn from it or move on. Those are some of the true-to-life lessons the movie gives and truly gives a lot of interesting insights and tips (or signs as you could call it) on how to understand the opposite sex better.

Although this movie might seem to be a girl flick to some, I find it gender neutral to watch because guys would get to see from a girl's perspective the things the guys do (and do not) that eventually hurts US girls, and hopefully they would also lessen (if not stay away from) their so-called "male-ego".

"He's not that into You" is a movie for the singles, those in a long relationship, or you could watch alone (even if you're not single or not) and clear your head on some of the questions we've been so eager to get answered!

Movie Rating: 9/10

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Based on the novel by Sophie Kinsella, Confessions of A Shopaholic is the story about Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) who is a shopaholic for expensive clothing lines but barely makes enough money out of her crappy job to pay for her (12?) credit card debts.

Hoping to work for a famous fashion magazine in Manhattan called Alette, she ends up instead on a financial magazine called Successful Saving with the irony of writing about thriftiness or saving up and naming her column under "The Girl with the Green Scarf" (as debt collectors are already hunting her).

As her column gets attention and praises, it becomes hard for the shopaholic to keep on pretending she'd rather save up for a rainy day than buy designer clothes. She tried cutting back (without trying to sell her expensive clothes) but more disaster happens!

'Confessions of A Shopaholic' is a comedy with an unlikely love story that is a 100% girl flick and warning to never get too many credit cards. (Or you could just tell yourself to "buy only the things you need" before the mannequins start to come alive and tempt you of that new cashmere top only to realize it's only %95 polyester! :p)

Movie Rating: 7.5/10

Mid-Feb Spring Cleaning!

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At last, after quite some time I finally got to fully clean my room again and spring clean in the middle of February. Although some may grumble or get things in order, I saw some forgotten treasures I kept hidden in my drawers.

When we keep things, they obviously just pile up, waiting for the day we would sort them or throw them away. But this particular spring cleaning of mine turned nostalgic after finding some almost-forgotten memories in the pictures I've stored in my molding things. Pictures that date back from my childhood until college life (Yes, I have kept that much). It was funny seeing how years passed by and saw old friends, newly met ones, and friends that have stayed with me until now. I even saw some of the funny studio pictures I was eagerly joining in, posing without worrying about the world!

I also saw a pile of letters stationaries that flooded me back during my highschool hobbies. Studying in an exclusive school, colorful (not to mention scented!) stationaries were in! If guys during our time would go crazy about their gaming cards, fighting about it or trading them, stationaries were pretty much our "gaming cards". We traded with other classmates only to write on them and give to your special friends and well, keep the best ones to ourselves! XD And now that I've gone through some of the pile of letters written to me by old girl friends, it's funny knowing they were doodling on it during class.XD The time and date were mentioned, so you really know you're either having Geometry or Chemistry that time, enough to bore us out and just write simple mumblings like "Hoi Joan, mag-aral ka naman! Basa ka ng basa ng letters ko!" Hahaha!

I also got to dig up the letters from... ex's. And I was laughing about it, surprised at myself for even keeping it after all these years. (And it included their totoy pics too!) Hahaha! There was even one letter saying "From your secret admirer ". Like, LMAO! Secret admirer but you go mention your name?! Kids! But hey, I even kept some from much mature days.... but I wouldn't say who they were since you'd probably know them since it was only 4 years ago when I met 'them'!XD

I saw my diaries (and I'm going to stop there before I reveal some of my childhood secrets XD), projects, school notebooks (I've kept them OMG!!! XD), old hobbies and habits, and of course a lot of other stuff to throw away that filled a whole black trash bag!

So you're probably wondering why I even posted such 'almost-private' things... I actually threw those things already so I wanted to turn those memories into an article instead. At least I know internet would be part of the future so I could just go back to this page and read all about it.

I really didn't have to throw those things but I realized they would either pile up as [memorable] junk or I could just grow out of them because I can always keep those memories at heart. It's just actually easier to spark that memory with those physical things but then again, I know there'd be more memories to make in the future so I'm cleaning up this space for those new things to come and reminisce again someday. :)

To Earthend Patapons!

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I finally got to finish Patapon and see for my self "IT", the goal of the game (but If you did play this game, you'd know "IT" would eventually be revealed as the sun on Earthend and it is not the "IT the Patapons are looking for.) So the Pata-pata-pata-pon rhythm continues in Patapon 2 which is set to be released 72 days from now... that's on May 05, 2009!


And before Patapon fans get impatient, reminesce on the "beat-iful" sound of Patapon!

Here's a video for Youtube on the 4 Miracle dances by our beloved eyeball followers!



And obviously not the last time we'll hear it, here's the Patapon Theme Song that played on the closing credits of the game! "Chakachakachaka popori Uhhm popori!" So kawaaaaiiii!!! XD

"Push" Movie Review

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If you're fond of the TV series Heroes, or movies like Jumper and Wanted, this recently released movie some--how falls along that category. (Delay in "somehow" is emphasized)


Sci-fi thriller /action movie Push is the story about certain individuals possessing special abilities. “Movers” (in this instance, Nick Gant or lead actor Chris Evans is one) are the telekinetics with the ability to move and manipulate objects around them. “Pushers” (played by Kira Hudson a.k.a Camilla Belle and Djimon Hounsou as Henry Carver) can “push” memories and motivations onto unwilling and unwitting subjects; while Cassie Holmes (played by not-so-child-anymore star Dakota Fanning) are “watchers” who can see images of the future surrounding specific objects or people, there's also "sniffers", "bleeders" and so on.

Now these supernatural people living among the norm, trying to live a normal life (well at least for the protagonist), are being sought by 'Division', a shadowy government agency that aims to harness their supernatural powers to create their own army---be it for the better or worse, but brutally disposes of those who oppose.

Although the story might seem so over rated and falls short from the ranks of the movies I mentioned earlier, somehow Push still had some saving grace for the twist, not so complicated action scenes and a fresh sight to Hollywood movies as it was shot in the district of Hong Kong. Curiousity or fondness for this kind of movie might make you watch it, but I personally couldn't give much as a rank 7 (10 being highest) for this movie because there was indeed a lot of unanswered questions.

Reading the review of /films.com, they depicted certain issues that should have given highlight also in the story as to complete the elements of the movie.

"Certain questions are never answered: Do Pushers push memories and motivations onto people, or can they simply control minds? Do Watchers see potential futures or can they also see the present (because that’s actually a pretty big difference)? How much damage can a Bleeder inflict with his scream exactly? Why are some watchers so much more accurate than others?"

...No wonder I felt kind of lost after watching the movie. At least I wasn't alone on this thought. But don't think I find Push THAT bad! It could have been a "wow" movie if the concept wasn't worn-out or had 'seen' what could go wrong with the story like Alice Cullen (of Twilight) could do. :p (How i wished I had that power, I could have predicted the frustrating instance that my slipper strap broke inside the movie house so I went home dragging my flip-flops! XD)

If you don't know about this movie yet, here's the trailer:

*Sources:

http://www.themovieinsider.com/m4346/push/
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/06/movie-review-push/

Up, up and away!

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It's the last day of the 14th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival and I was glad to have witnessed it on the last day of the event.

It was worth it waking up at 3:30 in the morning to travel to Clarkfield, Pampanga and see the Hot Air Balloons before they taking off in the humid sky.

Some of the pics I took of the festival:

And aside from the freaky huge balloons to be seen, different exhibitions by the Philippine Army (Jet Plane, Photo Ops, Military equipment showcase and such), souvenir and entertainment booths and were also part of the itinerary and quite frankly, it's not everyday you get to see this kinds of exhibits! =D

Being in this festival was really fun and my camera sugar rush kicked-in once again! See more of the pics I took here at Flickr!

The Tale of Madness and Love

On this day of hearts, I'm posting one of my favorite internet articles I found long ago. I don't know who is the real author of this since there had been a lot of posts on this already. We could say anonymous, or we could say.. someone wise. :) Happy Hearts day everyone!

The Tale Of Madness and Love


A long time ago, before the world was created and humans set foot on it for the first time, virtues and vices floated around and were bored, not knowing what to do.

One day, all the vices and virtues were gathered together and were more bored than ever. Suddenly, Ingenious came up with an idea: "Let's play hide and seek!"

All of them liked the idea and immediately Madness shouted: "I want to count, I want to count!" And since nobody was crazy enough to want to seek Madness, all the others agreed. Madness leaned against a tree and started to count: "One, two, three..."

As Madness counted, the vices and virtues went hiding. Tenderness hung itself on the horn of the moon, Treason hid in a pile of garbage. Fondness curled up between the clouds and Passion went to the center of the earth. Lie said that it would hide under a stone, but hid at the bottom of the lake, whilst Avarice entered a sack that he ended up breaking. And Madness continued to count: "... seventy nine, eighty, eighty one..."

By this time, all the vices and virtues were already hidden - except Love. For undecided as Love is, he could not decide where to hide. And this should not surprise us, because we all know how difficult it is to hide Love.

Madness: "...ninety five, ninety six, ninety seven..." Just when Madness got to one hundred, Love jumped into a rose bush where he hid.

And Madness turned around and shouted: "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

As Madness turned around, Laziness was the first to be found, because Laziness had no energy to hide. Then he spotted Tenderness in the horn of the moon, Lie at the bottom of the lake and Passion at the center of the earth. One by one, Madness found them all - except Love.

Madness was getting desperate, unable to find Love. Envious of Love, Envy whispered to Madness: "You only need to find Love, and Love is hiding in the rose bush."

Madness grabbed a wooden pitch fork and stabbed wildly at the rose bush. Madness stabbed and stabbed until a heartbreaking cry made him stop. Love appeared from the rose bush, covering his face with his hands. Between his fingers ran two trickles of blood from his eyes.

Madness, so anxious to find Love, had stabbed out Love's eyes with a pitch fork. "What have I done! What have I done!" Madness shouted. "I have left you blind! How can I repair it?"

And Love answered: "You cannot repair my eyes. But if you want to do something for me, you can be my guide."

And so it came about that from that day on, Love is blind and is always accompanied by Madness.

Hamlet

"Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt the sun douth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt that I love."

-William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

Somewhere, someone's a year older.

And Someone ends up being a part of the "teen" category!

...Happy Birthday to me!
(Thanks to my officemates for the surprise greeting! XD)

Board message 1:

Sharing with you probably one of the best SMS quotes I've received and it goes:

"Sometimes you just have to forget the rules, follow your hear and see where it takes you... Never apologize for saying what you feel because it's like saying for being real. Never regret anything you said or did because at some point, it was what you wanted.. True strenght is being able to hold it all together when everyone else is expecting you to fall apart."

...How true.

Granado Espada FAA Competition

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Online MMORPG Granado Espada launches another round of talent-based community contest giving away in-game items that are uberly rare and tempting!

Following last year's successful competition called The Fantazzztic Film Awards or FFA (making a 10 minute machina based on each week's theme), the aim now is to make a 30 second game ad following the valentine's theme! The Fantazzztic Ads Awards just ended and it's time to view all the contestant's entry!

See their submitted works here. Only registered members/players may view GE's forum. You may register If you want, I suggest trying out the game too. XD

Particularly endorsing my friends' entries:

By DeSanggria Family:

Make it real



By the legendary FFA Grand Prize Winner, Reclusion Family:

Eyeball Version: Puppet


Eyeball Version: World Cross-over



Too bad I'm not active in the game anymore, I could have joined like back in the FFA days! :D But Kudos to all who joined, may the best Ad wins! (Well, the above videos should win... I was their actress! LOL! XDD)

What I've been up to.

For more than 3 days now, I've been unable to get 8 hours of sleep, work on my magazine articles, update my blog and well, get enough sleep.

So what's the root cause of this zombie-mode?

3 things that has become my recent addiction (after having none for such a long time XD):

Plurk.
- What can I say? Chatting is addicting right? Know what happens to me every minute of my life.. I don't mind, that's why I plurk right? XD +1 Karma point! Woohoo!~

Deviant art.
- I've been uploading my old and new photo collection taken either by camera phone or with a DSLR. Hope you drop by and check out my work! I'm happy to be getting good responses and favorites so far! Just click on the link and you'll be directed to my page! :D

Patapon.
- This simply adorable 2008 nominated PSP Game of the Year totally got me hooked and not to mention exercising whenever I try to follow the beats! I can't help but dance or tap to the tune as I march my Pata pata pata pons into missions and eventually lead them to Earthland! Currently at Mission 30, I wonder when I'll finish this? Patapon 2 is soon to come out already! ~XD

A cute artwork on Patapon copying the poster of the movie "300".
Kudos to the creator! (Sorry I couldn't find the site source)
The falling Zarapons knocked me out!XD

When lovesongs make a comeback

In this month of hearts, we expect to hear mushy songs keep on playing. But Celine Dion and Boys II Men days are way over rated so here are the hottest modern love songs that would give you a new tune to share with your lovey-dovey!

Starting off, here's a simple video but an awesome lyrics from Neyo in Mad.


After their hit song 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved', The Script makes another bang in Breakeven. (This was my LSS last week and after hearing this song again, I just couldn't get it off my head again!) "What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you~"


Ms. American Idol Kelly Clarkson goes for a clean and simple song--not to mention look, in My Life Would Suck Without You, currently the #1 song in Billboard's hit chart!


Falling inlove with someone else is common... that's why Fall Out Boy (You don't call 'em Fall Out's for nuthin!) decided it was better to love their own sins! Here's why they haven't failed to amaze me: American Suitehearts - tune + video + concept = love.

(The official video isn't available for embedding yet so just watch the video here.)

And aside from mutual and ego-love, here's the one we dub thee as 'obsession'. Here's Pink in Please Don't Leave Me.


Want more? There's still a long list of songs to be featured next week! 'Til then! ^_~v