Blah Blah Blogs: Gat Andres Tribute


Its BONIFACIO DAY, a holiday, but what is the essence? You may know Andres Bonifacio as the brave Katipunero who fought for freedom of the Philippines. But there are more to Bonifacio other than his bolo and his shredded cedula. His lived a life not like Rizal with foreign education and women. He was immersed with self-education and hard work to support his family. He sold fans and canes for a living. He was also into theater as an actor. Many of us may not know that he is also a poet as he wrote several poem inspired with the books he have read and the people he looked up to. So when he organized the KKK or Katipunan, it was also a league of intelectual but with more options of going into revolution. Rizal actually did not support his actions since it was not the right time. But even without Rizal's support the revolution did pushed through and eventually led the country into independence. There was also an issue that Bonifacio was the first president de facto of the Republic and not Aguinaldo. There was also rumors and debates that Aguinaldo was the reason for the assasination of Bonifacio and his brother. And still these facts and rumors still exist. Even he might not be the official National Hero, I still consider him as one. Not that he is superior to Rizal or Aguinaldo but to the fact that his love for the country was really pure and made real changes, he did not let time pass by to act. He made sure that he can still prove to be called a worthy leader by his intelect, passion and intention. This these things are what the world needs as a characteristics of a leader. That's Bonifacio.

Efren Penaflorida Jr -A Hero proves his worth (Blah Blah Blogs Special Feature)

"Serve, serve well,
serve others above yourself
and be happy to serve."
--Efren Penaflorida, CNN Hero of the Year

If you think HEROES only exist in comics, animation and fantasies, they are actually just like us-humans. Its kinda refreshing to see that aside from the glory given by Manny Pacquiao in the sport of boxing, we also get to encounter a hero by the name of Efren Penaforinda Jr. He does not have superpowers but he changed the world. He just received the honor of being CNN's Hero of the Year. Along with him are 28 other finalists (shortlisted into the top ten) that were also recognized as CNN Heroes.
I would really want to meet this person personally and probably have a chat with him about what he has done. I can feel his humilty leaking from his aura of love and service to his apostolate, to provide education to the poor pinoys using a pushcart (kariton) with books and other materials that acts as a mobile school. He actually founded the Dynamic Teen Company which is a group of volunteers that follow the same principle and works of Efren. I think these are the things needed by our world now, dynamic persons that would act on their own to be the change they are looking for. Its just so sad that we sometimes place our whole trust in politicians and other officers to clean the messes of society that we sometimes are to blame.
I felt very inspired about his win, the truth is, I hope in the near future I could also be that change that kuya Efren has shown to us. Obviously it is quite impossible and impractical but passion drives people like him to overcome them and change it to opportunities. If my memory is correct, he has been doing this thing for quite some time now and for the group that still continues to grow. Truly inspirational.
Efren said that the monetary prize from CNN will be used for the expansion of his youth network and some will be given to a church that will also provide relief efforts and help to people in need especially to the people badly affected by the typhoons. It is an eye-opener that one can really make a huge impact on the society by dedicating oneself in making a better society even if the only thing that you got is yourself.




The gala event, taped before an audience of 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre, premieres on Thanksgiving, November 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the global networks of CNN.

TIPID SQUAD is Here!


In this time where recession still lingers and causes households to tighten their belts, its a good thing there is a website that we can turn to so we rely in optimizing our resources and also create savings that we can use for the future. That is why the TIPID SQUAD is here!

Now as the Tipid Squad Team has been completed we can now expect their website would be of great help to us. And with their debut, they have a contest! Check out the details below or you may click on the link!
Tipid Dauqs Budget Tips!

(from the tipid squad website)

1. Create a post about the contest AND/OR our site’s theme (personal finance/budgetting)
2. Optimize the keywords Tipid Dauqs Budget Tips
3. Your entry must be created between November 20, 2009 and December 18, 2009

4. Link back to our site (http://tipidsquad.com) with title Budget Tips (e.g. Budget Tips) or simply copy this code and include to your post: Budget Tips
5. submit your entry on or before December 18, 2009 by leaving your name, e-mail address, and link of your entry in the comment box below.
6. Multiple entries are okay.

This contest is open to anyone living in the Philippines. Top 3 entries (which will be checked via google.com) by December 25, 2009, 11:59 PM will be declared winners. Winners will be announced by 12MN.

Prizes:

1st: P700
2nd: P500
3rd: P300

PLUS!!!!

Leave a separate comment in this post to guess the names of the squad’s members! The person who can give us the most number of names, if not a complete list of the squad gets a free .com or .net domain from us. First Name + Last Name or Nickname + Last Name will do. In case of tie, the first one who sent us the FIRST, most complete entry will win.

Every week, we will give updates and more clues to help you with your guessing so keep visiting the site or subscribe via your reader.

You can also add us up and follow us on plurk and twitter:

plurk.com/tipidsquad

twitter.com/tipidsquad

For the mean time, here’s the initial clues:

all



Blah Blah Blogs: PACMAN makes HISTORY!


Its official, Manny Pacquiao makes history as the first boxer (and Asian) to acquire 7 world titles! And this one does not come easy, it took years of hardwork and training in various places in the Philippines and in the world. Of course as a Filipino I am truly proud of this achievement of Manny. And what makes it more interesting is the fact that aside from the championship belts, he will return home more richer, more famous, and more respected.
Personally,I was kinda attracted to boxing because of two reasons: the Hajime no Ippo (Knockout) animé and Manny Pacquiao. Because both of them were really underdogs at first, then they also had personal struggles and habits that we see funny and amusing but also the determination to fight. Of course we would be more realistic with Manny and that's what he proved the fights he had with Dela Hoya, Hatton and now Cotto. Just to give you a excerpt of their training here is a video from HBO's 24/7.



Now let me just give you a quick round out of what happened in the fight. Of course we know Manny is a southpaw (left-handed boxer) and the advantage of Cotto is his size and strength. At the first rounds, Cotto was aggresive with his punches penetrating through Pacmans defenses. But in the following rounds, a visible sign of deterioration, blood was dripping out Cotto's face. And in each round as Cotto's face bleeds, it paves Manny a way to do more damage. Also this was also hindrance since it produces more pain with every blow. That was also what Manny experienced with Morales which also had a bloody eyebrow which eventually led him to his defeat. One common observation was in the last 4 rounds, he seems to be doing more footwork than punches, just to avoid being cornered, this is kind of awkward but it is still a strategy to survive. But you would also appreciate the endurance of Cotto to still stay standing even in the last rounds up to the 12th! Now that's real endurance!
The fight was ended on the 12th round with only 55 seconds left. The referee called it over even though Cotto still wants to stay up 'till decision time. And as this fight ends, history begins for Manny as he wins the bout came to a close. It actually made the viewers very happy with the fight that is worth the pay-per-view. And with this win Filipinos all over the world is celebrating the win with cheering and shouting.
Now, what's next for Pacquiao? Well he went to his concert after the bout and sang! And what he most excited about is his movie Wapakman that will be an entry for the Metro Manila Film Festival on December. So even if he would retire boxing after this, he is still a very happy man. But we would also not erase the fact that he could also face Floyd Mayweather maybe next year. Well just like boxing, everthing is unsure, everything is a mere probablity, and even a thread of uncertainty can make history.

Also just a petition for prayers and support for Z gorres which actually won in his bout a day before Manny's fight. He had a blood clot in his brain and went trough a brain surgery. Doctors say he will not return to boxing. He is still in a critical condition. Hope he can get trough this...

WOTL: Hate Late







I admit I am usually late with some of my commitments, but I made a lot improvements with this problem. Knowing also fellow pinoys, we do practice Filipino time which is the opposite of what other nationalities view the value of time. For us, we believe in the saying "its better to be late than never". But time for them is really gold, as in literally which they translate into money. And also the infinite reason for being late is traffic...but have we ever thought of any other reason like I stayed up and woke up late?
Its also hard for the others who are the early ones since most of the workers would arrive late, thus work is delayed...so does it mean that we are still poor because we are late comers? Its possible, yet a very chalenging task to overcome that I also still struggle. I just also learned from this WOTL that November was National Conciousness Month for Punctuallity and Civilty. Hope that we observe this and eventually be the new face of Filipino time...

Reel Deal: More Than A Game



For now, this will be the new segment for movies in this blog, REEL DEAL! I do love movies of all genres, from cartoons to the *bleep bleep* and documentaries which some people would just sleep troughout the screening. Since I am a keen observer, even if that is a movie, I tend to check on the plot, details, technical effects and event the acting if they seem to be effective. To think that at these season, good movies will emerge but of course there will be the bad ones. So it is our job as a movie blogger to salvage(save) you from these horrible experiences. Not to spoil you but rather to create a greater interest on the movie itself that is commendable.
I'm not really a die-hard fan of basketball but have great interest in it. And to think it is the story of one of NBA's superstars Lebron James, makes it very interesting to watch. We never known that he started with a group of friends called the Fab 5, which are also best friends. They started as a group when they were wee kids practising and playing at a basketball court at the Salvation Army Church. As they grew, they felt more like brothers and developed a certain kind of talent in Basketball.
The highlight of the movie was the struggle of the group when they went to high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary as they went to the finals of the National High School Basketball League. As usual there would be tensions between the coach, problems with co-players, family problems, financial mishaps ands fund raising that they went trough aside from the real game of basketball. The thing was their talent caught the attention of the general public and also the NBA. At this time Lebron showed his talent and confidence that brought the team to the finals. There were times of buzzer beaters that were exciting to watch. Of course, there were times of the comedy, tears and pure basketball fever.

Deliberation time kids!

Movie summary in 3 lines: commercial basketball documentary
Technical Effects 4 out of 5 stars (its like those nike, addidas commercials with fancy effects)
Plot 3 out of 5 stars (inspiring however it is not different from other documentaries)
Popcornmeter (the rating if this movie would make you hungrier while watching) 4 out of 5 stars (A lot of action in the court make you hungry!)
Acting and Actors 3 out of 5 stars (hey its a documentary!)
DVD worthiness 3 out of 5 stars (hope it includes NBA 2010!)
Sequel worthiness (not applicable, again its a documentary!)
Overall Rating 3 out of 5 stars







WOTL- Yes Can We?




I just remembered that it has been a year since Barack Obama was elected by the American people. So how is the US today... signs say that the recession is almost over. But there was even more problems like the health care issues, tensions with Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and many more. It seems the problems wont end, yet Obama shows his substance as a great leader and still has the coolness to be game for any American celebration. Actually I wanted Hillary to be the bet of the Democrats, but since they are of the same boat and Hillary is Secretary of State, so I think it okay. So all I could say is, happy election day Barack!

WOTL-Putim



In a society that had a mentality that a whiter complexion is the dominant and wiser people, its hard to see why people still crave to be whiter from their original skin color. Was it caused by ridicule from friends who disgust dark skin? Or is it a racial imprint to us that the color determines if you are civilized or not. And with all of the products that promise a whiter you, they are endorsed by people who are already white. Yes its one of the biggest irony in the Pinoy society and yet its end or enlightenment seems to be not seen in our culture. Gluthatione anyone?

WOTL-Slang








Word of the Lourd again kids! This time will tackle on the slang (isleng) culture. Does diction and pronunciation really a necessity and a requirement in our world today? Even the call center people like me (before), are not of the perfect caliber of speaking, yes we do make slip ups. I actually remembered some of my calls that I would mispronounce the words, yet the customer would still understand me. I have no bisaya blood, but I do find myself on those predicaments. Hey, there are lot of indigenous people that have better speaking and diction than us in the cities. And at the end of the day, we find these things funny. I just hope that these things would be just a lighter side of language and not eventually a issue we need to be dead serious or too sloppy that it degrades our communication skills... so chill... relax and have a soupdrinks ...

WOTL- He's back and Wasak



Hey Guys, I've been a fan of TV5's news program TEN, the evening news and I love the segment Word of the Lourd by the lead vocalist of Radio Active Sago Project, Lourd De Veyra. He is not really a journalist but looks more like an activist. However in this segment he tackles critical issue that usually most of us would ignore or take for granted. With this segment, he sheds light upon a topic mixed with a wacky perspective of videos and pictures that would highlight his points. Truly a new kind of journalism but still with the sense of responsibility and challenge to the public, which most news may lack. Hope you enjoy this first post for WOTL which we be a regular segment in this Blog. So take time to watch the video and it would be appreciated if you may leave a comment.
The video is not actually the first since they may be in random for now and the following weeks, however since this segment is aired once a week, I might need to catch up with post so you won't miss this awesome production. Today's video is He's back and wasak tackles about the busy world an the energy drinks that has become a norm to the regular worker or student that is both beneficial or fatal to our lifestyle and our health. I'm not actually a afan of these drinks but I do drink a lot of different liquids, which sometimes I may not know that the contents may be the same as these energy drinks. And actually I might need one in the next few days since I need to work a lot for our necessities right now. So cruel, yet we need to survive...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Opens New Temple In Urdaneta

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