Photoblog - day 50, May 30 2010

Prince of Persia tickets:

Indicative of our having watched the movie, which was what we did Sunday afternoon after Barbie had finished with her lecture in a client's site.

To say that I enjoyed the movie would be a very conservative statement. I guess I came in curious - armed with a few comments from friends who'd seen it the previous days... yet curious to see how it fares with the game.

Of course, in my case, said game was the PC version representing the crude, 2D version... and not the more sophisticated version that Bryce had the chance to try in his PSP. When I saw that new version, I was amazed with the graphics and the character's acrobatic moves. What I saw in the movie was what I was hoping to see - specifically, the main character's moves as he was being chased. Just as some people were probably curious to see how Angelina Jolie would do the moves of Lara Croft all those years past, I was curious to see how Jake would handle Aslan's moves.

What I saw, I liked and had to smile secretly as I saw some moves that I could relate to the game - namely the running and somersaulting across roofs, the sword fights and overall traps and mystery in an Arabian (or Persian) setting. Here's hoping for a sequel... and meantime, I'm looking forward to the DVD. If you're still wondering if it's worth the ticket price, let me say that I highly recommend Prince of Persia for it's sheer entertainment value.

Obviously, this picture was just a simple and straightforward shoot - no technical stuff... just wanting to preserve a point in time.

Photoblog - day 49, May 29 2010

Birthday boy!

Today is Bryce's birthday, and the cake blowing you see here is not the start of his celebration - but the culmination of the day's activities... yup, the cake blowing happened late at night after having had a very heavy - but filling lunch at Amici and dinner at home c/o Ate Vicky.

Aside from the Amici lunch, we went around Greenhills and ended up buying a Guitar Hero for Bryce. After all this, we went to SM hypermart to do some groceries and after which we went home. Bryce then assembled the guitar and set up the game - and we rocked for a few songs before having to leave again - this time for the Shangi la (for the ladies), while Bryce and I killed time going around SM Megamall.

In our run (well, not really - more like Brisk walking) we really got the stuff (in my case a mix of new and old comics. After which we went back to fetch Barbie and Bernice, as we all went back home to enjoy some seafood pasta... and a few more sessions of Guitar Hero.

Photoblog - day 48, May 28 2010

Evening Traffic and Rain:

Fridays always means I need to come in for work real early (before 7am) and leave the place by 7pm - all this because I have to follow a number coding scheme to help reduce traffic. Unfortunately, if your Friday evening happens to be rained on - since the afternoon, and said weekend's start also happens to fall close to your typical pay day - then expect to get stuck in traffic.

Simply put, this was what I (and many frustrated motorists) experienced - and even as I tried to wiggle my way through the jam, I realized that one of things I tried doing - but unsuccessfully capturing with my camera is 'rain' - for smoe reason, I found it difficult to capture rain... though I do believe I'm not the only one, s I've read somewhere that many movie makers / directors likewise find it hard to capture rain. The best I could probably do was to show the wet surroundings - but it just looked wet... no sign of rain.

So, I decided to grap my camera (when I was in a stop position - of course) and take pictures of my surroundings to later see if I could capture rain - if not the droplets, then maybe the surroundings which might show the rain's effects. This particular shot happened in an unplanned manner - I was stopped by the traffic cop , since the way ahead was already congested, and since it was an intersection - I could see the effects of the rain really well... so I took the shot.

The effect was what I wanted - the cop directing traffic while wearing a wet raincoat (though he may have been better off wearing a one with reflectors) indicates the rain, and if that did not sink in - the ground showing the rain droplets striking pavement will let the observer realize that it is raining. Lastly, if one were to look closely, there are a few (well... at least one) blurs streaking downward - that's the rain. So until I can get one better, I'm satisfied with having captured rain in a snapshot... and hey, I did not mind the traffic so much after this, as I was pleased with my opportunity to take the shot.

Photoblog - day 47, May 27 2010

Coffee round the world:

One of Starbuck's innovations is to introduce a wide selection of coffee types with differing flavors, representing different parts of the world... specifically (of course) by way of letting us taste their coffee.

Now I'm not exactly a coffee connoisseur, having just been introduced to the practice of taking coffee around a decade ago (I normally prefer taking tea, you see) - but one of the things I always liked when entering a Starbucks - or any other coffee place for that matter, was the aroma of the coffee being brewed.

Nowdays I do appreciate the differing flavors of the coffee I get to taste, and even like the more flavorful coffee - like the one's Barbie brought home from Guam some months ago... the Kona coffee with Vanilla or Hazel Nut flavors. Some would call them these gourmet coffee - while purists would frown on them... oh well, mine is not ot debate... but enjoy. And this is where the Starbucks selection shown in this picture comes in. If half the enjoyment is in the discovery - then I'm in for a long haul, since Barbie and I normally consume a bag of these in roughly a month. Oh, and before I end this, let me just say that I also really do enjoy our very own Batangas Barako Coffee - in fact I make it a point to have some, whenever I visit my mom and sisters in Cuenca.

This picture was just a straight away take, while I was enjoying a frapuchino (another Starbucks introduction) to offset the hot morning temperature, I noticed the stand and thought 'why not take the pic for my photo blog? ' - and I did.

Photoblog - day 46, May 26 2010

Proudly Philippine made...

Miguel Syjuco is new to me - I've never had the chance to read any of his previous works (assuming of course that he had such things - like I said, I don't know).

I did learn a bit about his book 'Ilustrado' in a book review cum magazine article - and the fact that the book won the Man Asian Literary prize while still a manuscript? Whoa (doing my best Keanu rendition), that's got to be something... right?

So naturally, on my usual visits to the bookstore, I spied upon a copy of Ilustrado, looked at the price tag... not too bad - and got myself a copy. S I was in the middle of some deep reading, I had no time to discover what Ilustrado had in store for me... until now.

So yes, I've started reading Ilustrado, and am finding Syjuco's work to be interesting. I've yet to see where this is going, but at least it isn't as deep a read as the previous book I was reading. Will I be fan? Still too early to determine - yet I will admit to the writer's ability to describe things, and some of his words are not your typical 'average' vocabulary reader's cup of tea - lucky for me, I still do not find the need to grab a dictionary or do a Google search.

Once I'm done, I just might post a review for this... though in another blog site.

Photoblog - day 45, May 25 2010

Future Coaches:

In a previous photo blog, I took a picture of one Application Analysis training session - just to point out that it happened to be what I was doing that day. Well there have been other similar training in the past ever since - though not captured.

Today, however, I decided to take a few pictures of another training I've been conducting on a regular manner - that being a Coaching-related training, where my participants are expected to learn and hone their coaching skills... and that is precisely what these people are doing - specifically, practicing and honing their coaching skills while in the training room. After all, just like any other skill - practice makes perfect. This was just half the group, as the room (for a welcome change) was spacious... so much so that I could not get a decent picture of everyone.

So here's to a new batch of future Business Coaches! Hope they took the lessons I imparted seriously.

Photoblog - day 44, May 24, 2010

Frangelico, Kahlua, Bailey's

Either of these three has a great taste - and will make a welcome aperitif. Just grab a shot glass - or better yet, serve them on the rocks... sit back and enjoy. But what about when we mix them all together? Is this even feasible? Of course it is... I mean, it's not as if their flavors will contradict each other - in fact, the opposite may be true.

Frangelico does have the hazel nut taste; Kahlua on the other hand, is coffee flavored and Bailey's is Irish Cream. So they can definitely combine to have those great taste - heck, I can even add one more flavor... and that is just plain Vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Now... I wanted to take this picture because all three bottles were dark colored, and they would look well against a black background, with just a hint of the bottle's shape - either by the labels or by the reflections. The picture itself was more on auto-setting to ensure I had a clear and crisp picture.

Photoblog - day 43, May 23, 2010

Paella!

This was what Barbie and I had for lunch, following our hearing mass in Greenhills' The Promenade - and since we were rather tired of eating at the usual joints, we decided to try something different - thus we came upon La Paella, at the 2nd floor of the Promenade walkway.

For the uninitiated, Paella is a Spanish dish - mixing rice with a variety of viands... in this case, I'll just let the picture do the talking (or you can google / wikipedia it). All I can add to this is the fact that the Paella uses a relatively sticky rice and after the ingredients are cooked - the rice is added, and then cooked - together with the other items. The end result is a delicious array of taste - from oysters. to chicken, to some veggies. I'll stop now... I'm starting to feel hungry.

Photoblog - day 42, May 22, 2010

Free Comic book Day!

Once a year, for the past few years, the comic industry in the U.S. decides - through it's retail distribution channels (i.e. comics shops) to dedicate a day in May as "Free Comic Book Day".

The idea, of course, is to introduce comic books as a reading interest for the non-readers... to drum up interest to those who don't really buy comic books on a regular basis; and in said manner, hopefully bolster the industry's buying public.

The practice has yet to fully catch on back here - as most large comicbook retailers here in the Philippines find it difficult to participate in a like-minded pursuit. For one, there seems to be little effort in synchronizing the event with that of the U.S. (with possible exception to one - Comics Express, I believe tries doing just that), so the impact or visibility is much less noticeable (just as I had not noticed any announcement from Comics Express - and I know both Filbars and Comic Quest seemed to have snubbed the entire idea entirely). I suspect that another reason is that the comics may be free - but shipping is not... and that definitely hurts said distributors who have to ship these things from one continent to another.

Still, with retail outlets like Fully Booked - which ironically is more a book store than a comic specialty shop (though I might clarif that they have the seemingly widest array of graphic novel selections I've seen), free comic book day seems to be picking up visibility-wise. In fact, it is through Full Booked that I got to experience my very first Free Comic book Day. How was it? Well the entire thing seemed organized - then again, it is Fully Booked third year doing this, so they did have two previous executions to learn how to do it right, and the only peeve I have is that I could only get one comic free when I wanted to have at least four issues in batch of freebies (they only give one comic per person - a reasonable idea when the intent is to reach a wider customer base, but lousy to the reader who has to agonize over which to choose).

Does the event itself lend to more sales for their stocks - in this case, graphic novels? I would have to say 'yes', considering that I got three digest type reprints of old Spider-man and Fantastic Four issues... ones I would hardly have noticed had it not been for one helpful bookstore attendant's suggestions. So thank you - Fully Booked... but please, next time... could we at least have two?

Photoblog - day 41, May 21, 2010

Orange M&Ms anyone?

Yup! You read right! Orange flavored M&Ms... after their experimenting with the mint flavored variety, the Mars Corporation decides to come out with a new version of their classic best-seller - and when I saw this in S&R, I just had to get two packs so I could try it out... and should I really like it (and I do like orange-flavored chocolates), I could have another bag on reserve anytime I want.

That said, I just had to take a picture of these beauties as I placed them on a heart-shaped glass container... then take the picture in an opaque background. That way, the M&Ms would really stand out in the picture, and in line with this, I also increased the contrast... the result is what you see.

Photoblog - day 40, May 20, 2010

Starbucks in the Techno Hub:

A Starbucks is a Starbucks... and any store for said franchise is as good as any other. Right? True... though others would be quick to point out that some branches are not designed equally... and I would equally state that there are other places that are more welcoming of it's clientele by the way the place is designed.

Others are easily designed real well, but their ambiance is left wanting based on certain criteria - in my case, the ambiance of the store is better for me if it's a place I can hang around in with little or no noise pollution. Thus if there are too many rowdy or noisy people around, then it's a turn off to me.

On the other hand, few stores, like the one I've posted, cn boast of having a very picturesque surrounding - showing a lot of space, greens almost matching a golf course, a long and winding jogging path - complete with lights for evening runs, a man-made creek and simple yet elegant architecture all contributing to what is the basic look of the Ayala Techno Hub. Even in the afternoon heat, I could appreciate the landscape... and in a city so inundated with concrete... this view becomes a very welcome change. Now if only the Techno Hub were just closer to my usual hang outs.

Photoblog - day 39, May 19, 2010

Playfull pals...

Yes, this is Bubbles and Neco... hamming it up this evening. Bubbles can, of course, easily overpower Neco - the fact that she allows Neco to get away with all the abuse being given her, is proof positive to show how strong their unique friendship happens to be.

I've got a lot of pictures of these two in various poses, and I can imagine coming up with an album just for them.

Photoblog - day 38, May 18, 2010

Veggie drink anyone?

This evening is the start of Barbie and me trying out a nearly all Veggie/ Fruity concoction set up by an ex-colleague of hers.

The idea here is to substitute these shakes for breakfast and dinner meals for 28 days. Hope I get to finish the 28-day program.

Surprisingly, this particular shake was indeed very filling (it was my dinner), and I was able to survive the night without the need to take anything else. Equally surprising...? These concoctions actually taste good. No blandness... no bitter after taste. I thought it would be a struggle to drink these things (nothing is cooked), but I'm actually enjoying the experience - and let's face it... if, by doing this program, I lose a few pounds too... well, that would be a good thing too, right? Here's keeping my fingers crossed for the next 27 days. Cheers!!!

Of course , this also serves as my solo picture for the month.

Photoblog - day 37, May 17, 2010

Silent Witness to Many Generations:

I found myself having to fetch Bryce at the North Forbes clubhouse after my work. Being a high class and exclusive place, it was not the usual place I would find myself in - not that I never went to Forbes - I have, but rarely... and normally during Christmas reunions with friends.

But even then, I hardly give the clubhouse a second glimpse... let alone the tall trees surrounding them. So I can just imagine how old some of these trees are - how long they've been silent witnesses to generations of people coming in and out of the clubhouse.

As I took the picture, I wanted to show the trunk, which as can be seen, is likewise intertwined with vines that long ago grew into permanent fixtures of said trunks. If trees could talk... what wisdom would these branches share?

Photoblog - day 36, May 16, 2010

Bonsai exhibit at the Podium:

This was something I discovered by accident. We did not really have any plans for visiting the Podium this particular day - and it's rare that we dedicate a Sunday to visit this place... usually staying in Greenhills.

This particular day, however, we did find a reason to go to the Podium, as we came up to the 2nd level, we saw all these great-looking bonsai plants on exhibit. Naturally, since I brought my camera with me, I found myself taking pictures of all these plants... or should I refer to them as works of art? I used to have a colleague who knew all about making bonsai - and how the process seemed to dwarf the natural growth of the plant... and the way he described it, you'd think that dwarfing a plant (or tree) was obviously far from natural.

Anyway, as I looked to these plants, I could not help but notice the exquisite art form of these entries - imagining all the necessary planning and imaging that came into the creation of these plants. I can't imagine myself spending time doing all these - and because of that, I'm simply at awe with these plants. I'll most likely post the other pictures in a special blog post specific for sharing my experience with these plants.

For anyone interested, the exhibit will be running until end of May. There are also talks/workshops for people interested in learning just how to make their very own bonsai - with tips and even some materials coming from the experts themselves. Sorry if I can't give more details - I was there to take pictures, after all... not write down pertinent factoids.

Photoblog - day 35, May 15, 2010

My monthly stash...

No... I don't mean anything illegal or hallucinogenic... hardly at all - and if the picture is not obvious enough, then let me spell it out - my monthly stash means my comic buys for the month (or in this case, representing the titles I buy the past two weeks.

I've collected comics since I was... oh, about child of 9... and got more serious about the hobby by around high school. Back then, it was all Marvel comics - nowadays, it's a combination of Marvel and DC. I normally stick to the traditional heroes - thought I wouldn't mind trying a new title or two once in a while. I might even say that comics has given me the passion to read and learn more... and yes, I dabbled in a few fan fiction these past years... and may do so again.

So why has this hobby stayed with me? I guess I like the stories I read - and the characters I follow. I enjoy reading the adventures of heroes... and even find inspiration in them - even if they're just fictional characters.

Photoblog - day 34, May 14, 2010

Snack surprise:

This particular day found me at work at the usual McKinley place, teaching the usual course (Application Analysis), with a new set of participants... but that wasn't what was really different - nope.

Nor was it because we had a trainer-in-training (Lovern) who we asked to cover a few portions of the course - with Fiel and me playing support on the side, just in case she needed our help - turns out she didn't by the way. Nope... what was memorable for me was the fact that I was hungry during an awkward time in the training - with snack time still some ways off. Lucky for me, Lovern had a couple of snacks which I had not seen before - let alone tried... and truth be told, it's not a snack I'd normally get.

But had it not been for this particular day, I would definitely have not discovered how "combi" is a great tasting snack. Goes to show how I take a lot of local snacks for granted. Then again, was it just because I was hungry?

The funny thing is... the idea for this particular snack seemed so simple, I wondered why no one else thought of doing it - crackers used to sandwich wafers. For some strange reason, this worked - and I enjoyed eating this snack. Thanks for sharing, Lovern!

Photoblog - day 33, May 13, 2010

Ode to the carabao:

In the garden found between the Greenbelt buildings; situated near the garden's chapel stands several distinct statues of the carabao - a traditionally known companion to the lowly farmer.

Known for it's patience, gentle demeanor and strength, the carabao (a.k.a. water buffalo) can be seen in many artworks where the subject being portrayed is a farmland; often showing children and / or farmers either plowing the fields or just lazing under a shade... and with them can be found said carabao. If man's best friend is a dog... the carabao is definitely the farmer's best friend. These beasts of burden are usually tasked with pulling the hoe; plowing the lands before planting the seeds or saplings.

This particular sculpture has been around a long time now... and despite it's myriad changes in design, the Greenbelt has always kept these metallic sculptures around, but it is only now that I hve had the consideration to take a picture of it - not plainly, but to use it as a subject for varying lights and shades. The foreground of plants and the background of greens bring forth visuals of these gentle creatures being led by a boy, riding the lead carabao, from the fields - back home to the farm... at least, that is what comes to mind as I was taking the picture.

This was a challenge in itself since I wanted to capture the picture using no flash (to de-emphasize the statues themselves and capture their silhouette instead) but I did not have a tripod (still betting around to buying one), so the majority of the pictures I had with the night setting turned in with differing levels of blurry images - as my hands could not be as steady as the camera demanded.

This particular photo, though, was definitely clearer than most - as I was able to place the camera on top of a low light post - thus having the needed stability that a tripod would offer.

Photoblog - day 32, May 12, 2010

Barbie's new toy:

Yes. what she's holding as a Wii remote... thus, that look of determination is based on how concentrated she is in playing virtual bowling in our new Nintendo Wii.

This, I might add, is just the start of her 'game play', so she still looks dry and clean - he he he. As the games would progress, she would start building up sweat - and as she would switch to virtual golf, her screams of delight (or frustration) would be heard up at the second floor.

I got the Wii as a birthday gift for Barbie - who plans to get the virtual yoga later, and Bryce - who plans to play guitar hero. We chose the Wii over another game console due to the fact that the Wii is known to be more physically active - so it cold promote some cardio work-out for whoever is playing... myself included. I even got a second remote to ensure that two players could share the gaming experience.

Night two of the game console and I already notice a lesser number of hours using the computers. Now we can have more bonding moments - thanks to the Wii. I tried capturing some action shots... but did not find them to be worth sharing. Ah well... better luck next time.

Photoblog - day 31, May 11, 2010

Bernice modeling?

Not really, I just liked the effect that the green Marks & Spencer signage looked - lighted from inside and placed against a smooth, black wall. It definitely looked stylish, and I just thought - why not take it's picture?

To add a semblance of reason to take a picture of it, I asked Bernice to pose by it's side - thus allowing me to have my picture of the sign - and likewise having a reason to take Bernice's picture.

Nothing extra-ordinary about this picture... just a straight away shot. Unfortunately, it seems that the real color of the signage was not captured - as you can see, it looks white instead of green... with only a hint of green reflecting against the smooth black surface. Oh well... at least I got to take Bernice; who's fashion sense could possibly land her in billboards.