May 28, 2011

Orchids

It’s the onset of the rainy season here in the Philippines and I haven’t been going out of the house these days. Plus, I have cough and colds. I don’t want to miss on blogging, so I tried to look for old pictures here in my hard drive and found these lovely pictures of orchids!

These are the orchids of my relative in Baloy, Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. One of the most remote place in the Philippines. It’s almost near the province of Pangasinan, near the town of Carmen. Once a year, in December, I visit my relatives in this place. Only last year did I noticed that my aunt is growing orchids in the hot place called Barrio Baloy. I wonder how she did it, but it’s beautiful.

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Yup, that’s their humble house. Also, these pictures were taken using my very reliable digital camera, the Canon A495.

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“The Man Who Can’t Be Moved”

By Jaco Benin and Markki Stroem. Ang pogi ni Markki dito sobra! (Markki is very handsome here).

The video currently have only 626 views. Hopefully, fans of Markki will be viewing the video soon.

May 24, 2011

Justin Bieber

It’s 2:42 AM and I just finished watching Justin Bieber’s movie “Never Say Never”. I was actually cleaning my hard disk of disk space and I’ve been looking at my µTorrent list of movies that I’ve downloaded before that I haven’t watched yet.

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“Never Say Never” is actually a good movie. As far as Wikipedia is concern, it’s really a documentary. I have this habit of checking Wikipedia once in a while, when I’m watching a movie. Just to check for facts.

I admire the kid. He has good voice and the people behind him did a great job in promoting him as a teen idol and music icon. It’s not everyday that an artist sold out tickets to New York’s Madison Square Garden. And yes, Justin Bieber was the youngest artist to sold out tickets to this venue.

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The movie documented Justin Bieber’s rise to fame, from an ordinary kid growing up in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, to his current status, as a certified hit-maker.

I came across Justin Bieber via his song “Baby” which became my Last Song Syndrome (LSS) way back in January last year. I’m a fan of pop and Justin Bieber’s song got me. I have his My World 2.0 songs in my iTunes.

It’s sad to know that during his Manila concert last May 10, instead of publishing how his concert was a certified sold-out, or how good his music is, people dwelt with his alleged  snobbish behavior. Well, if it’s true, who cares? He has the right to do so, since he’s not someone’s “pet” or property. The only thing you could do (if you get offended by his behavior) is to stop purchasing his CDs or stop attending his concerts.

It’s true with all artist. If you don’t like an artist’s behavior, then stop patronizing the artist, foreign or local. To Justin Bieber, congratulations on your achievement so far. Again, it’s not everyday that an artist like you could sold-out a concert at The Garden.

May 21, 2011

The End of the World

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Harold Camping, 89, previously made a failed prediction that Jesus Christ would return to Earth in 1994.

But the head of the Christian radio network Family Stations Inc says he is sure an earthquake will shake the Earth on May 21, sweeping true believers to heaven and leaving others behind to be engulfed in the world's destruction over a few months.

That’s from Yahoo! Philippines.

Here’s what the Bible says:

32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[e] is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father.

Matthew 24: 32-36.

But one thing is for sure. The false prophets are amongst us. Including Harold Camping. For it is written:

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

Matthew 24: 26-28

I was actually surprised yesterday, when TV Patrol made a survey if we believe the world will end today, 12% of the respondents believed. 12% of the respondents were already deceived.

May 20, 2011

New Mouse and “Talong”

Due to my addiction to Ragnarok Online and DotA, I have to replace my mouse. It’s no longer responsive and I’ve been losing due to poor mouse performance. So I bought a new mouse, a Genius, which I prefer over Logitech or A4Tech. I guess it’s the best brand for a mouse (money and durability-wise). This cost me P350.00 from SM Megamall.

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Also, my friend gave me a very peculiar eggplant (“talong”). It’s green! And these are ready to cook! It’s from Lemery, Batangas.

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May 19, 2011

“Sinigang”

Sinigang” is a Filipino soup or stew noted for its sour flavor, due to the use of tamarind (“sampalok”). It’s another favorite dish of mine and my mom’s a master of this dish. She usually do it with pork or shrimp (“hipon”).

I don’t know how to cook but I added the recipe for this wonderful dish right after the pictures. I’ll feature more of my mom’s cooking in my next blog entries.

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Pork Sinigang Ingredients:
  • 3/4 kilo Pork, cut into chunks

  • 3 tomatoes, sliced

  • 2 onions, diced

  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced

  • 100 grams Kangkong (river spinach)

  • 100 grams String beans

  • 2 pieces horse radishes, sliced

  • 3 pieces gabi (taro), pealed

  • 2 pieces sili pag sigang (green finger pepper)

  • 200 grams sampalok (tamarind)

  • 3 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)

  • 1 liter of rice wash or water

Sinigang Cooking Instructions:
  • Boil sampalok in water until the shell shows cracks. Let cool then peal off the shells and with a strainer, pour samplalok (including water) into a bowl. Gently massage the sampalok meat off the seeds, strain again.
  • In a pot, sauté garlic and onion then add the tomatoes. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add pork and fish sauce then add the rice wash. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes then add the gabi. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the pork is tender.
  • Add the horse radish and simmer for 10 minutes then add the string beans, kangkong and sili (for spice-optional). Let boil for 2 minutes.
  • Serve piping hot.
Sinigang Cooking Tip:
  • Instead of sampalok fruit (tamarind), you can substitute it with any commercial souring seasoning like Knorr sampalok seasoning or tamarind bouillon cubes for this pork sinigang recipe.

Recipe taken from Filipino Recipes.

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May 18, 2011

View From Above

I’m scanning my hard drive for pictures that I can with you guys while I’m thinking of topics to blog, when I stumble upon these pictures taken from the 12th floor balcony of PhilPlans Corporate Center. It’s taken around 6 or 7am.

Opposite our building is Villa Kalayaan (along Kalayaan Avenue, Bonifacio Global City).

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May 17, 2011

Writer’s Block

Hi guys!

I’m really sorry for not blogging lately. I’m having writer’s block (as if I’m a professional writer hehe). I can’t think of anything to blog lately. Nothing interesting is happening to me lately. I’m just spending my day playing DotA 6.72b, Ragnarok Online (daily quests), watching movies, and reading news from Yahoo! Philippines.

During my 2 days RD (rest day), I spend it watching downloaded movies in my computer that I haven’t watched:

  • The Princess and the Frog
  • Ben 10 Alien Swarm
  • Mamma Mia! (which is a very good movie!)
  • The Wolfman
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Hopefully, something new would interest me soon, so that I could blog about it. Until then. Stay tune!

Feel free to give me suggestions on topics that I could blog about. Thanks!

Elmer Loves Oreo

May 14, 2011

My Friend’s Garden

My Czech friend, Honza, sent me wonderful pictures of his garden. I can’t help but admire at the vivid pictures and the scenery as well. He’s using a DSLR camera. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I do.

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I can’t wait to buy a DSLR!

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May 12, 2011

Carl Guevarra in “Blusang Itim”

“Blusang Itim” is a 1986 film starring Snooky Serna (Jessa), Richard Gomez (Angelo) and Joel Alano (Melchor). It’s the story of Jessa, a girl who turns beautiful by wearing a magical black blouse.
“Blusang Itim” is the latest film turned TV series from Kapuso Channel 7. This year’s cast are Kylie Padilla, Frank Magalona and Carl Guevarra as Jessa, Angelo and Melchor respectively. This is the biggest TV break so far for my crush Carl Guevarra, whom I last saw in the youth oriented film “Lipgloss”. I hope all goes well for him. Good luck Carl!
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Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Philippines and rddantes.
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May 10, 2011

Greenbelt Chapel

LegionHQ

This is the headquarters of “The Legion of Doom” (the arch-enemies of “The Justice League” a.k.a. Super Friends). I believe this is the inspiration for the Greenbelt Chapel. Both are domical in structure and stands in a body of water.

The Greenbelt Chapel (unlike the LoD HQ) is a place of peace, serenity, and reflection. It’s a great chapel amidst the busy district of Greenbelt.

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