On Ninoy…

I would’ve written something nice for August 21, the commemoration of Ninoy Aquino’s death, but I remember the headline from two years ago:

Philippine Daily Inquirer front page for August 21, 2004.

Ironic, isn’t it? What was supposed to be a turn in the positive direction has led us to where we are now, a place where no journalist can criticize a non–transparent leadership, a time when freedom of expression no longer is a right but almost a crime. Did you hear the news that the number of politically–related killings for this year has surpassed the record for any of the Marcos dictatorship years? Is the Filipino really worth dying for?

Sometimes, I think aloud.

Band of Bloggers

Abe's soon to be home.

  • Jayvee taking a shot.
  • Abe taking a shot.
  • Rico helping me prepare for our next shot.
  • Jayvee.
  • Rico and Jayvee.
  • Abe.
  • Me - I can't stop giggling! Hahaha.

In typical fashion, I’m late. Rico [that's a PR6 link, bro] just wrote about our trip to Tagaytay last Saturday and both Abe and Jayvee posted on the topic earlier today. Since all four of us were male bloggers, we decided to call ourselves “Band of Bloggers.” Discussion ranged from blogging to other forms of geek talk, and even mushy girly stuff. Hahaha. This will likely be a monthly thing considering the trend in recent months, but beware — there is a tradition that we plan to strictly observe. Clue: it involves your monthly adsense/problogging check.

As you can see, we had so much fun taking photos we could’ve called it a flickr meetup. We dropped by the Crown Asia area on our way down from Tagaytay, planning to take photos hollywood–style. We ended up talking to an agent and dreaming of a problogger/IT community in the said village, problogging and/or telecommuting daily without the need for everyday Manila. Impossible? Big dreams? A friend from high school used to tell me, “dream big, so if you fall short you’re not that far from your goals.” Might make sense someday, somehow.

Two days ago…

Random flowers...

Two days ago, this weblog was four years old. I thank you and the rest of my [4 years x 365 days/year x 7 readers/day = 10220 readers] for being here, even if just for a short while. It’s still as fun as it was before, and surely will continue to be.

Of course I’m just kidding, I don’t have seven readers every day. Just you would do.

BukoPie

BukoPie is a new feed reader for WordPress I hacked from the SimplePie demo, allowing WP users to have their own XML feed reader right in the WordPress dash/admin pages. I added functionality for keeping a feed subscription list and tag–based categorization. I’m sure this isn’t the first feed reader for WP, but it fills my needs quite well. Try it.

Update: Installation is simple, just drop the bukopie folder in your plugins directory and activate the plugin.

Mini-Review: Click

Image of Click movie poster.

Would you believe I cried watching Adam Sandler’s Click? Yes I did. I wasn’t expecting this to be of any DVD–shelf value just like most Adam Sandler starrers, but this flick surprisingly has some. It’s not your typical watch and laugh affair, you may even feel it’s a bit lacking than expected in that department. It supposedly makes up for it by promoting — guess what — family values. “Family comes first,” the main character proclaims in a moment of reflection. Now that was a spoiler.

With or without spoilers, catch this movie if you’ve been planning to see it. Anyone who intends to watch an Adam Sandler movie surely doesn’t have much expectations other than have an hour of laughter, which I’m sure you’re still gonna get. In addition, you’ll be enjoying a not so typical story, one that at least tries to teach a lesson, something not too common these days. Think The Truman Show but lighter on the drama.

Aside from the things I’ve said, you can’t miss Christopher Walken doing what he does best. It’s hard to describe, but he has a way of making his roles truly his own. And then there’s a Dolores O’Riordan cameo singing “Linger,” one of her band’s biggest hits. Lastly, the end credits scrolls with the New Radicals’s “You Get What You Give” playing in the background, a personal favorite back in college. With all that, this is a good enough Friday night movie. Just go easy on the junk food. Now look who’s talking. ;)

Got a secret?

PostSecret book cover.

PostSecret book.

If you like the weblog, you’re gonna love the book.

A friend just bought a copy of the recently released PostSecret book through Amazon.com and had it shipped directly to Manila, all for less than 30 dollars. A good price, if you pretend that the shipping cost wasn’t almost half of the price you paid. I had a good look at it the minute it was delivered to our office and browsed the pages; I think it is even more interesting than the site/weblog. Reading long–kept secrets of random strangers transformed into postcard artworks and printed on real paper is a different experience compared to viewing them online in a webpage. It’s something I cannot completely explain, though it holds true for almost all great online art and literature — nothing beats sucking it all on paper.

I’m thinking of getting myself a copy, wanna grab one for yourself? We can pool and split the shipping cost. I’m sure you’ll treasure this book for a lifetime.

Mini-Review: Miami Vice

Miami Vice

We barely made it to the late afternoon screening of Miami Vice last Thursday, getting inside the theatre just as the first scene was rolling. From that point until the end, I don’t recall myself yawning and I didn’t take a bathroom break at all. The movie was that good! Well, at least for me. It was very entertaining, in a violent kind of way. I just love the “colorful” gunfights! The movie was not at all similar to the TV series from the eighties and Colin Farrell with long hair is just, well, fugly. Hehehe. Now that I’ve used that word on this weblog, I can now retire it. Seriously though, if you’re gonna see a movie this week, this is it. Nothing else worth catching on the big screen.

Look Up

Look up. [ Nokia 6230i ]

Scouting any location for a photo opp, you usually walk around searching for an interesting scene or a captivating view. On some rare ocassions though, all you have to do is look up.

Walking life with a tinge of uncertainty and doubt, we seek meaning and answers to questions we adamantly consider still unanswered. But all we really need to do is look up.

Try it, it works. Look up.

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