Phoneography: Made In Candy

Customized candies from Made in Candy! See a small check mark on each candy? It's actually a company logo! Kewlness!

Skyfall (2012)

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

Directed by Sam Mendes

Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Berenice Marlohe, Naomie Harris

Rottentomatoes: 95%

IMDB  8.3

*minor spoilers ahead*

“Shaken, not stirred” — That’s how Skyfall, the 23rd Bond film, felt like to me. The essentials are the same, yet it feels like  a whole new drink altogether, as thoroughly refreshing, if not better, than the ones before. The flavor is uneven in an exciting kind of way.

Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) has crafted one of the most uniquely beautiful Bond movies of all. Skyfall takes the franchise to uncharted realms thematically, even visually, but at the same time, guides it home, to where it all began, setting up an exciting future to the greatest film franchise ever. Daniel Craig’s hard-edged, anti-Bond Bond, which many thought was undone by Marc Forster’s meandering Quantum of Solace, has the persona on firm footing this time around.

Read the rest of the review on http://printthelegend.blog.com/2012/11/02/movie-review-skyfall-2012-55-stars/

Looper (2012)

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

Directed by Rian Johnson

Starring: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt

Rottentomatoes: 93%

IMDB  8.1

Joseph Gordon-Levitt teams up with Director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom) once again in this time-bending tale of cat and mouse.

JGL is Joe, a looper, an assassin in the present year 2044. A looper’s job is simple: kill or be killed. Joe’s targets are sent to him from the future, the year 2074, where time travel will have been invented but immediately outlawed. In 2074, the forensic know-how and technology are so advanced that criminals cannot get away with murder. Therefore a brand new  enterprise has sprouted where criminals illegally use time-travel to send the intended recipients of their murderous affections 30 years back in time, to 2044, where guys like Joe kill them without fanfare and dispose of the dead bodies.

Joe’s life is of relative convenience. In between jobs, he gets high, makes love to way too gorgeous hookers, and saves half of his paycheck in dreams of going to Paris where he’d like to spend the rest of whatever semblance of life he is living.

Read the rest of the review on http://printthelegend.blog.com/2012/10/19/34/.

We’ve been doing it wrong!!!

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

Introducing a real product called Squatty Potty.

Beer Trick: Freezing SanMig Light before your eyes

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

We all like a subzero beer but here’s another reason to like it more –

You can perform a cool little trick with it. Watch it freeze before your eyes. =))

Here’ my first try, a video taken with my phone so its not the best quality but here it shows how it’s easy enough for me to do it on my first try. =)

Here’s where i saw it, and how.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_H5ZIoZSBo

Smoking at Work

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

Breathing through a stick of Marlboro lights in the smoking area on the side of my office building, which was uncharacteristically empty on a cold rainy night, I was so bored I was half-consciously counting the number of puffs it took me to finish my cigarette.–  Fourteen.

Fourteen breaths for one cigarette. Is that how many breaths I lose, kind of literally, with every cigarette I take?

How much smoking happens in my office anyway?

Suppose Yosi Kadiri, is to come to the office and heroically offers:

PS: I need to learn Photoshop badly..

“I will liberate you from the clutches of this deadly vice.. I will smoke your cigarettes for you and suffer this bodily corruption for your freedom.”  

What is he up against?

Last time I heard, there were about 600 employees in my office. Last time I read, about 28% of the Philippine adult population are smokers.

Assuming the office is a cross section of the Philippine adult population, then there’d be around 168 smoker employees in all. Let’s say each one smokes about 3 sticks per day and takes 14 puffs to finish one cigarette, then on a given day, there will be 7,056 breaths made through 504 cigarettes in the office.

For perspective, a normal person breathes about 12 times per minute, and If we are to “convert” these 504 sticks of cigarettes into one “Godfather” cigarette” it will be more than 80 feet long.

That is to say, poor Yosi Kadiri will have to climb up the 9th floor and smoke this “godfather” cigarette which will extend from his lips to the ground 9 floors below.

And to finish it, he will have to puff it for 10 hours non-stop.  Good luck.

The “Recipe” for a smoother Online Life: If This Then That (ifttt.com)

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

Online Life is catching up with the real one in terms of complexity and sheer effort in trying to organize it. Twitter, Facebook, News Aggregators, Blogs, Emails, etc.  There are simply too many things to keep track of to give a semblance of order in our daily web activities. We constantly need to log in to countless platforms to check out whats happening, send/get content from our favorite blogs/sites, that you wish you had some personal secretary to do these things for you.

This is why If This Then That (ifttt.com) is a great tool that i think is under-utilized by the majority of netizens. I myself have not even heard of it or any friend using it, until a few days ago when a co-worker mentioned it. ifttt.com’s game plan is simple:

And that’s just what it does. With almost comically simple steps, If This Then That interacts with the web platforms you are using and performs both the repetitive, and a lot of sophisticated tasks as well, for you.

For more information, view the full article here.

Dredd (2012)

As posted on Print the Legend by Choc:

Movie Review: Dredd (starring Karl Urban’s mouth)

Image from TheMovieBlog

Dredd 3D (2012)  (Dir. by: Pete Travis)

Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby

Rottentomatoes: 76%

IMDB  7.8

**

What sorcery is this? How can both the time-tested critics of rottentomatoes and the cinephiliacs of imdb.con both  miss wide off the mark here?  76% on rotten and 7.8 on imdb?! Mind blown.

This movie fails on so many levels I just don’t know where to start.

As a sci-fi movie, it’s insulting. I don’t even think this qualifies as science fiction at all. All sci-fi movies (the good ones anyway) all have two things in common, their “conditio sine qua non” so to speak. First, in science fiction, the socio-political landscape is markedly different, this is why sci-fi is so interesting (for me at least) because this different “background” as often shown, happen in the future or in a different “universe” from our own. “Universe” in cinematic terms, is the “world” where the movie happens (not necessarily a collection of galaxies). Sci-fi is often misconstrued as that movie featuring hi-tech gadgets, and quirky costumes, but it’s not simply that. A good example is the movie “Never Let Me Go (2010) ” starring Keira Knightley and Spider boy Andrew Garfield, adapted from Ishiguro’s 2005 novel of the same name. In Never Let Me Go, there were, literally, nothing that would indicate that the story is happening in a different “universe” from ours. There were no fancy gadgets or fancy costumes, it looked absolutely normal and of this world. Yet, this movie was science fiction at the height of its power.

On ICS Encryption

It's actually good to know that with the surge of smart phones where you take pictures of everything and sync in all your accounts including your business emails, credit cards, etc. you have the option of encrypting your phone.

Galaxy S3 Encryption Screenshot from Cnet

Now I decided to encrypt mine, took almost an hour, and now I feel a little bit secured. Thing is, I probably did not pay much attention to the warning, so I was thrown off guard afterwards when I found out I'm stuck on using either my pin or password on screen locks. So bye bye to patterns and face unlock... well unless I decide to reset and wipe out my data.

Some screen lock options disabled afterwards on my Galaxy Prime!

So think twice if you really want to encrypt your phone. I'm disappointed that I can't use some cool ICS features, but I'm keeping it this way for the sake of my accounts.

Phoneography: Basketball

Intense (heat) basketball on a Sunday at SR.

Phoneography: Herbie The Pomeranian

Herbie's fur is so much better even just a week after the vet suggested to remove chicken from her diet.

Roasted Mushrooms Escargot-Style

Guest Blog Posts for Weekly Recipes

All you need for those lazy days!

It happens to all of us. One week there is just no inspiration and no energy to make anything besides salad, a chicken breast, and a carton of mediocre ice cream. Those are the days when you wish you had a personal chef, or that at least the take out guy would appear. Instead of languidly flipping through your old cookbooks, why not take a quick look into your inbox at a Weekly Recipes e-mail? Our weekly newsletter is chock full of beautiful photos and delicious recipes ready to inspire you to end your cooking rut. We carefully cull the best of the web to bring only the most delicious and exciting new recipes straight to you! Subscribe here!

Here’s an excellent recipe from Gourmet.com, this and so many more when you subscribe to Weekly Recipes!

Roasted Mushrooms Escargot-Style 

from Gourmet.com

Rasterbating Clint Eastwood

What happens when you're all alone in your boring room, with the blank walls gaping at you, compelling you to do something with your hands? Simple. You give in. You lie on your bed and close your eyes. You clear your mind and you start being creative. You start picturing things out...and then you just do it. You RASTERBATE.

Be Careful of Those Vitamins and Supplements

From Evidence-Based Living

Yesterday, Yahoo!Health had posted a very interesting article regarding the dangers of vitamins and supplements. We all know that anything in excess (or deficient) could be hazardous to health, but apart from that, there are some other things to keep in mind when deciding on what to take in addition to your normal food intake.

Remove Gallstones Naturally

by: Dr. Lai Chiu-Nan
 

Image from ifood.tv

It has worked for many. If it works for you please pass on the good news. Chiu Nan is not charging for it, so we should make it free for everyone. Your reward is when someone, through your word of mouth, benefits from the regime. Gallstones may not be everyone's concern. But they should be because we all have them. Moreover, gallstones may lead to cancer. "Cancer is never the first illness," Chiu Nan points out. "Usually, there are a lot of other problems leading to cancer. 

RH Bill Memes

I respect everyone's opinion, but I am pro-RH bill. So here are some Reproductive Health memes I've gathered online. Save lives! Say yes to RH bill!

From Pro RH Bill Page

Have a break! (aka Philippine Holidays 2012)

Image from SeoPinay

Mid-year and I'm just having this post... guess it's better late than never --and there are a lot of remaining holidays left!

Plot your vacation wisely and use these breaks as a means to recharge and catch up on those things you said you planned to do but never had the time.

Below is a list of Philippine holidays and special non-working days as posted on the Philippine government's Official Gazette.

Crossing the street is more fun in the Philippines!

Accidents do happen because pedestrians ignore traffic rules. If they don't and they decide to cross the street properly, it's still sad as some pedestrian lanes have faded over time, worsening the drivers' ped xing-blindness.


With the increasing pedestrian related accidents, the city of Pasig, in collaboration with IdeasXMachina (IXM), came up with a very ingenious idea -- the not so pedestrian lanes!

Their solution: Create quirky pedestrian lane designs to make crossing fun and conspicuous to oncoming traffic.

For more info, here's a video clip featuring IXM taken from 24 Oras aired last July 13, 2012 by GMA 7:

Always With A Farter? There's A Reason To Rejoice!

Image from Instructables

This isn't a joke. 


Researchers from Johns Hopkins University found out that hydrogen sulfide, which is a component of fart, can actually help regulate blood pressure.


Check out what LiveScience has to say about this.

Anti-Carjacking 101

Thanks to Philippine National Police and GMA News TV for making good use of social media. They've recently come up with an anti-carjacking poster to make as many people as possible aware of this operation. Please spread the word too! Be safe everyone! =D

Baked Armadillo Eggs

Sorry, it was a bit oily! =p

No, this recipe doesn't include any armadillo at all. Why they named it such, no idea. Perhaps some versions look similar?


Anyway, armadillo eggs (the food) include sausages, jalapeno and cheese. The taste is really arresting, making it a potent appetizer.


Here's how we did it:

Easy Basil Pesto Recipe

Presto pesto

Sometimes, you just want to eat pasta with this thick creamy white sauce (or probably red sauce with meatballs on top) but you think about all those calories you've consumed for the day. Well, you don't have to completely deprive yourself of the cravings. You may still eat pasta, but to reduce that nagging guilt, try this healthier alternative: Pesto!

Creamy Mushroom Burger Steak

One time, due to oversleeping and not eating much the night before, you wake up so hungry. Worse, there's no leftover food to eat. You open your fridge, nothing to cook in sight, well... just a couple of burger patties, but what you want is a full meal with rice! The solution -- creamy mushroom burger steak.

This creamy mushroom sauce is very versatile. It
can even be used for carbonara!

Planting Seeds: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2012 Writing Project

"To see things in the seed, that is genius."

-Lao Tzu

The internet is such a blessing! Indeed we all are very lucky that in just a few keystrokes, we'd find what we need. This won't be possible though without its contributors who had exerted enough time and effort to share their talents, passion and knowledge.

Now, Influential Blogger, spearheaded by Janette Toral, came up with a writing project which aims to identify new and emerging blogs who are trying to make an impact on their readers. They're actually on their sixth (6) year now and Tof Salcedo, Philippine data center, Philippine online shopping, Manila Standard Today, DigitalFilipino Club, and Search Profile Index have already pledged their support.

Image from GT Review

I conjure all the good luck nature has to offer. Sure there may be obstructions along the way, but remember that after every night, there's always a new day.

And Then There Were None (1939)

"I'm afraid of death... Yes, but that doesn't stop death coming..."
- Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None

It is quite a given that writers have omniscient power over the universe of their narratives, but I admit that I tend to overlook that every once in a while. What, with hundreds of novels with similar storylines, you just can’t help but feel that somewhere in your brain, you already know how the story would end up. However, I tell you this; this is not the case for And Then There Were None. I had one hell of a ride, and I had no clue what to think. I didn’t even know if there was a supernatural factor or psychological thing going on, right until the very end!

Oh Sugar, You Are Not So Sweet!

 

When is a food a food? And when is it poison?
 

The sweetest poison.
(Image from Ecosalon)

Dr. William Coda Martin, in 1957, tried providing answers to these questions by defining what ‘poison’ is:

"Medically: Any substance applied to the body, ingested or developed within the body, which causes or may cause disease. Physically: Any substance which inhibits the activity of a catalyst which is a minor substance, chemical or enzyme that activates a reaction."

Infinite Light

Image from blog.myheritage.com 

For the light that shines since I opened my eyes,

so warm and bright whether calm or in strife,
never falters, never dims on each nook and cranny,
the very same guides me to see life's a daisy.


My voice may waver but my heart never shies,
for my love for you's the kind that never dies.
How can one forget that so special person,
who only has devotion for what she see's perfection?


To the One above, I can't thank Him enough,
for without her, it would be so tough.
Yes I'm lucky, and we all are,
these angels on earth are nothing but above par.


5/13/2012
Fam Mam

Brain Fart 05.10.12

Before anything else, I apologize. This post really is personal and is not intended for public consumption. I'm doing this for me, for my own good. I don't think I owe anyone explanations. Oh, well, if you insist and want to share in my insanity, I don't have any means to stop you...

Transform Thy Old Tshirts

Oh yes, I remember this being a sort of a trend for the young people around last year. 

But I was too busy then, and the video of Adam Saaks I'd seen had gaping holes everywhere, not at all apt for an old hag like me. 

The Wrestler (2008)

The Wrestler (2008)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky

"The Wrestler" centers on Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a wildly popular professional wrestler from 2 decades ago who now barely makes ends meet as an aging wrestler in the independent circuit. With his health beginning to fail from his physically demanding job, he tries to amend his life by quitting wrestling, reconciling with his daughter he abandoned long ago and pursuing Cassidy, a prostitute he's been infatuated with for quite sometime. But his efforts failed him, and then he receives an offer to do a high-profile rematch with his nemesis "The Ayatollah", the match could be his ticket to bring back the old days once again.Failing health and all, he must decide whether life is better lived inside the ring, or outside of it.

Knocked Up (2007)

Article written by Choc:


I finally had the chance to see Judd Apatow's follow-up movie to his monster hit the 40-yr old Virgin. I've read reviews about this one and after watching the movie, I can understand why so many women think this movie is sexist (and too vulgar). Even its ridiculously pretty star Katherine Heigl is on record calling this movie "a little sexist," and elaborates:

Knocked Up 2007 - Directed by Judd Apatow

"It paints women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as goofy, fun-loving guys. It was hard for me to love the movie."


I don't think that's the case however.

The Painted Veil (2006)

"Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people."

-The Painted Veil

An in-depth review by Choc:


Everybody says it, and everyone likes hearing the word, but what does "love" really mean?


One cynic said: "Love is just a ploy, devised by the gods to continue the species..."


Surely, not all of us share the sentiment of this hater. Most of us would rather intoxicate ourselves with the effervescent words of the great sages of love... this is why as high-school students, naive and idealistic, WE ALL loved Shakespeare...

The Phantom of the Opera is There Inside My Mind

Watched the 2004 film version starring Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler and Patrick Wilson in the movie theater thrice in a row.


Surfed within IMDB to cure the movie hangover.


Bought a VCD copy... then a DVD copy.


Played the movie again and again.


Sang along Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical scores on You Tube.


And finally.... would be watching the play live in just four months from now!