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Boracay wildlife
2008-04-10 05:26:00
Contrary to popular belief, Boracay hosts some awesome migratory species. Below are some photos of them caught in their natural habitat.But let me caution wildlife photographers, especially the amateur ones. These species can come down hard on you if they ever catch you taking their photograph. Their male partners can be especially territorial and won't think twice about ripping you apart if they catch you taking an interest on their mate.Best if you employ telephoto lenses at all times.
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Coke Angel TV Ad
2008-04-06 16:52:00
After months of panic, weeks of CGI work and days of frayed nerves, it was all worth it. I have to give it to Coca-Cola for giving us a wide berth in exercising our creative freedom and giving us the chance to scout for the best production team money can buy in the making of this ad.
More About: Angel , Coke

From Bangkok to Boracay
2008-04-06 16:08:00
After slogging through Bangkok traffic for three weeks shooting Coke's latest TV ad, after routinely being whisked from one location to another, after going for 24 hours without sleep at times, I needed a break.And so I find myself here, frolicking in the clear waters of Boracay . Yey! This is one of the most enjoyable Boracay trips I've had, after having gone tired of the wild, tourist-infested, gray and car-choked city that is Bangkok. I feel like a cheap version of those super rich jet setters. Jetsetting but not quite, not in the real sense of the word. But what the heck, I love it here. Ang sarap dito!

Thai women rock
2008-04-04 13:55:00
Me and a fellow Filipino ad guy were chilling out inside Siam Paragon, one of Bangkok's biggest malls. It was way past noon and we haven't had lunch yet.Me, The Ad Guy: Gutom ka na?Fellow Ad Guy: Hindi. Ikaw?Me, The Ad Guy: Hindi rin.Fellow Ad Guy: Bakit kaya?Me, The Ad Guy: Sa ganda ng mga babae dito,busog na busog na tayo.Here's a photo of one of the models in a car show inside the mall.The thing is, most Thai girls (at least in Bangkok) look like her. No, really. Having rode Bangkok trains whenever we had the chance to, you can't help but notice that Thai girls are quite lookers.Several theories me and my fellow ad guy came up with on why Thai girls look stunning:a) Most of them work in tourism-related businesses.b) Cosmetic surgery is cheapest in Thailand.c) Indo-Chinese blood is a killer combination in terms of looks.d) Really spicy food burns off fat even before they accumulate.Or, most of the girls we saw were probably Bangkok "she-males" or transvestites.
More About: Women , Rock

Bangkok: A City Without a Face
2008-04-04 08:46:00
One thing great about Bangkok is the abundance of really cheap hotels. Now lest you think cheap means rundown and cockroach-infested rooms similar to the dingy hotel in The Beach, no.For 2,900 baht (roughly 3,700 pesos) per night, this is what you get:Bangkok is building hotels and malls like there's no tomorrow. Which is really a result of its giant, multibillion dollar tourism industry. For example, the newly refurbished Central World (below) is the world's third largest mall, dwarfing our own Mall of Asia.However, the tight concentration of Bangkok's hotels and malls, though first world in quality, has turned the city into a claustrophobe's nightmare. One thing I miss about Manila are the vast tracks of empty space one can still find within the city.Bangkok's building boom has mostly wiped out quaint structures like the one below. And with them, the city's face.Though Bangkok's temples, tuktuks and bazaars ensure that the city will keep its character, its transformation in...
More About: City , Face

Marooned again in Bangkok
2008-04-03 09:26:00
Marooned again in Bangkok since Monday. Times like these I remember my economics professor, Ma'am Solita Monsod and her lesson on law of diminishing returns which states that satisfaction over something diminishes over time.From my self-photo below, it's obvious how I have grown tired of this place. After all, it's Asia's gridlock capital and it reeks of Tiger Balm from all the massage spas all over the city.However, one thing remains clear. I still can't get enough of the fact that compared to Filipinas, Thai women sure know how to make themselves look awesome.

Cool April Fools' prank on a Mac
2008-03-31 07:26:00
So your office cube mate has just been promoted. And with it he gets a shiny new Mac. In the meantime, you've been doing the same sh*t for over ten years now and to think your cube mate was your trainee just six months ago.Now he's your boss.If you've ever felt wronged, unappreciated and dismissed as a has-been, it's April Fools' Day tomorrow and you have every right to play this prank on someone's shiny new Mac.(If you find this too complicated, you can find simpler ones in Wired's Top 10 April Fools' Prank s for Nerds.)
More About: Cool

Project 1 Ang Sarap Dito MTV
2008-03-31 04:26:00
Another shameless plug. I am not at liberty yet to divulge the extent of my involvement with this MTV. Let's just say, I am involved, period.The band members for this song are: Raimund Marasigan (Sandwich), Clem Castro (Orange and Lemons), Francis Reyes (The Dawn), Carlos Calderon (Chicosci), Jazz Nicolas (Itchyworms), Uela Basco (Chilitees), Katwo Librando (Narda/Duster)Yes, I've bashed Orange and Lemons many times in this blog and now one of their members is involved in this project. Mea culpa. You can now sue me.Watch for cryptic clues. In due time, you'll understand what they stand for, trust me.
More About: Project

Jollibee TV Show
2008-03-31 03:44:00
Here's an unabashed self-promotion plug. If you're a parent, please have your kids watch the upcoming Jollibee TV show on GMA 7. Why? First, because I thought of some of the story plots (not that I wrote the TV scripts, I merely threw some ideas just like how Spielberg summarized Transformers as a story of a boy and his car).Second, because I'm privy to the story plots, you can be assured that your kids won't pick up "hidden messages" of witchcraft and homophobia similar to the silly rumours surrounding the Harry Potter books. Third, you can also be assured that all the storylines are kid-friendly. Nothing of the Jollibee-Hetty scandal of two years ago.Finally, we are all kids at heart. Who wouldn't wax nostalgic about Jollibee? It would still be fun to watch this first-ever Jollibee show to air on TV whether you're single without kids, single with kids, married without kids or married with kids.Heck, even Carl Parkes, an influential American blogger who writes anything and e...
More About: Show

Rice crisis in the Philippines
2008-03-28 02:10:00
No matter how much spin President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo puts on the spiralling cost of rice, there is an impending rice crisis brought about by our rapidly growing population.Evil as this may sound, I wish the crisis becomes full-blown so that we will be forced to turn parts of Metro Manila into something like this: I count myself as one of the more fortunate city dwellers to have parents who grew up in rice-producing provinces. My happiest childhood memories are those of summers spent waking up to views like this with the smell of burning freshly harvested rice stalks wafting in the air.Even if I grew up in the city, in my heart I've always been a probinsiyano (rural folk). I've never dreamt of living in a high-rise. Instead, I've always reminded myself to one day build a wooden bungalow in the middle of dad's rice field in La Union.At home we often eat with our bare hands (mind you, scrunching rice with the right mix of pinakbet is an art form in itself). Mom and dad constan...
More About: Philippines , Rice , Crisis

Papaya Dance in Good Morning, America
2008-03-27 02:22:00
So the Papaya Dance , made popular by Edu Manzano in Game Ka Na Ba, has gone global as even the hosts of ABC's Good Morning , America picked up on it in a recent telecast.This YouTube video of army men shuffling to the tune is by far the most popular video clip of the dance and is also the reason why the hosts of Good Morning, America were able to get wind of the dance craze.First the dancing prisoners of Cebu, now the papaya dance. What's next? I leave that up to the wildy imaginative minds of Filipinos.
More About: Good Morning America

Krispy Kreme March 28 opening promo
2008-03-27 02:02:00
Imagine getting a box of Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnuts every week for free for a full 52 weeks, or one year. Now that's what's up for grabs for the very first customer in tomorrow's opening of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts just right across from my office, at the JAKA Center along Ayala Avenue.First 300 gets a box every week, for a full month. The catch: the store opens at 6AM so you probably have to camp out by tonight to beat the night shift call center agents who will undoubtedly be there at the crack of dawn.
More About: Opening , March , Promo

Obama, Clinton genealogy
2008-03-26 11:55:00
I'll be damned. They're one big family. According to researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Barack Obama is related to Brad Pitt while Hillary Clinton is related to Angelina Jolie.It figures. Obama has Brad Pitt's charisma while Hillary has Angelina Jolie's devil-may-care attitude. But when it comes to the nitty-gritty of the genealogical study, it shows that Obama is seemingly destined for the White House.He's related to six U.S. Presidents (unfortunately though, George W. Bush is one of them) and one of history's greatest leaders, Winston Churchill.As for Hillary, she's related to Madonna and Celine Dion. Well, her relation to Celine Dion explains why she's easy to hate while her Madonna connection explains why I have yet to meet a gay man who doesn't admire Hillary.But who gives a hoot about these genealogical studies? For all we know, we're all related to each other if one is to consider the Out-of-Africa model of the origins of man.Thus, nobody ...
More About: Genealogy

Thinking about Apple boosts creativity
2008-03-26 03:55:00
Just as I wrote before, I think Steve Jobs sold his soul to the devil. In return for what? To become the most creative thinker alive today, that is.Either that or Jobs is the reincarnation of Leonardo Da Vinci.My suspicions have been bolstered by this recent study which reveals that merely thinking of Apple (the brand) can spark creativity.Really freaky, if you ask me. Even freakier if you consider that in all creative workplaces such as ad agencies, design firms and computer animation studios, the machine of choice is an Apple computer.No wonder my ideas of late have become markedly fresh as I'm considering getting a Macbook Air.
More About: Creativity , Thinking

Cancer cells seen up close
2008-03-25 05:06:00
In light of former president Corazon Aquino being stricken with colon cancer, here are some photos of cancer cells and other deadly diseases as seen through powerful electron microscopes.Dreadful these diseases may be, they look beautiful from up close, which is really ironic. Colon Cancer Cells Breast Cancer Cells Prostate Cancer CellsAIDS Virus Meningitis Virus
More About: Close

Manila Ocean Park photos
2008-03-24 02:54:00
Full of people, noisy kids everywhere, unorganized entrance and ticket system, lack of access for the disabled. But hell, Manila Ocean Park was worth all the hassle.It was a Good Friday well spent in the heart of the city. Will definitely be back for the bigger sea creatures due to arrive once the park becomes fully operational sometime in the middle of this year.
More About: Photos

Manila is all mine
2008-03-19 10:00:00
As the sun goes down on Manila today and millions head for the provinces for the Holy Week break, the city will be left empty and it will be all mine. Mine , I tell you.For the second year in a row I'll be staying in the city this Holy Week. But this time, I'll make the most of it by driving around Manila's roads on Good Friday. Heard some malls and even the Manila Ocean Park will remain open throughout the week so there won't be reason for me to get bored.Time to live out all my I Am Legend fantasies.

Barack Obama confronts race
2008-03-19 06:51:00
An Obama supporter doesn't hold back. A poignant image that says it all when Barack Obama dared to face the issue of race during a speech in Philadelphia. See, this is why I am all for Obama. He's got balls bigger than Clinton and McCain combined. He's not a politician that will say things you want to hear. He'd say things as they are and lets you think for yourself rather than shove ideas down your throat.After his Texas and Ohio defeats, I honestly think Obama would have a very tough time getting that Democratic nomination. However, much like Al Gore, Barack Obama may lose the race for the White House but history will be kind to him.
More About: Race

Nestle All-Purpose Cream TV ad
2008-03-19 02:46:00
Great TVC thought up by some of my officemates. This is a coup of sorts in the Nestle universe. As anyone who has worked with Nestle knows, the company shuns anything that has to do with death or anything that may offend a particular ethnic group. So this TVC is a brave move for them. Hopefully the buzz it currently generates will open their minds to more risque ideas.
More About: Purpose , Cream

People who want Manny Pacquiao to lose
2008-03-18 02:03:00
While some Filipinos were unimpressed with Manny Pacquiao 's victory over Juan Manuel Marquez, a victory is a victory and I'm sure Pacquiao's latest win is savored by most Filipinos nonetheless. While it is almost unthinkable that any Filipino would wish for Manny's defeat, I actually know plenty of them.As you very well know, Manny Pacquiao is every marketer's dream. He has been endorsing a gamut of products from sportswear giant Nike to the lowly battery brand Motolite (the logo of which has been pasted on his butt in many of his fights).And with endorsements, come the making of TV commercials.Now TV commercial producers and fellow creatives who have worked with him have sworn to high heavens that Manny Pacquiao is the epitomy of an a--hole as far as TV shoots go. People such as myself who've never met Manny found this hard to believe given Manny Pacquiao's demeanor in front of TV cameras.Floyd Mayweather IS an a--hole, but Manny?Still, these people insist that the People's...

Juan Manuel Marquez should have won
2008-03-17 03:12:00
On the PAL flight to Manila yesterday, all of us Filipino passengers were asking the flight stewards if Manny Pacquiao won his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez as we were 37,000 feet up in the air and had no idea what was going on.The stewards had to ask the pilots for news since they're the only ones who had real-time radio contact with Manila. As soon as the pilots confirmed that Manny won, claps and whistles erupted inside the plane, to the bewilderment of the non-Filipinos flying with us.Watching the replay last night, Juan Manuel Marquez should have won that fight--if it was an Olympic championship.But it wasn't. It was a professional fight where millions of dollars were at stake and where fans look for excitement, not a clinical display of boxing skills.Yes, Marquez was more skillful compared to Manny, as trainer Freddie Roach admits. But Pacquiao packed the punches and provided the reason why fans paid millions to watch the fight.Marquez doesn't get it. He is continually ...

Nosepicking in Bangkok
2008-03-14 08:01:00
While shooting here in Bangkok , our group can't help but notice the tendency of residents to pick their noses in public. While Filipinos are not immune to the same habit as I see nose-picking in public all the time in Manila, here, it seems, the habit is more rampant.Many times we've seen gorgeous, smart-looking Thai office girls suddenly "digging for gold" out in the open, as if they have the sidewalk all to themselves.And then I discovered the reason for this habit.We had a shoot for one whole day out in the middle of Bangkok. When we got back to our hotel, I discovered to my utter amazement how huge "gold nuggets" can grow inside one's nostrils just from spending an entire day out in the center of the city.Now I perfectly understand the habit and I am not bothered anymore. I just hope I won't imbue it and bring it home to Manila.

Lost in Bangkok
2008-03-12 14:57:00
So here I am, doing the tourist bit in Bangkok , the famed river boat cruise where one can see the magnificent temples of this city.See, doing the tourist bit is not really my idea of having a good time in a foreign land. Yes, the cruise was wonderful but fake, I think.I’d rather that I get lost in the heart of a bustling urban area such as Bangkok than be holed up in a boat with retirees while drinking red wine.The other day I rode Bangkok’s own version of Manila’s MRT and LRT going to Pantip which is their gadget heaven where you can buy all the digital gadgets you can imagine at half of the price in Manila.It was my first real off-day as we had no shoot schedules and I chose not to be driven around in the production company’s van.First observation is how tourist-friendly their train stations are. The instructions are summarized in clear symbol and picture forms so you don’t even have to bother with the English instructions.Second observation is the weird sound you hear w...
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Craving for Filipino food
2008-03-09 11:13:00
Just one week of nothing but Thai food and I'm already craving for adobo, pakbet, nilaga and sinigang. While I loved Thai food even when I have yet to visit Thailand, I've discovered that food is as intertwined with one's nationality.I've never been away from the Philippines this long before and I firmly believe that my parents' ritual of burying my umbilical cord on the place I was born had some bearing why I never seemed to have any desire for leaving my country of birth.Though I dread to quote Erap, I agree with the man--Sa Pilipinas ako ipinanganak, sa Pilipinas ako mamamatay. (I was born in the Philippines, I will die in the Philippines.)
More About: Food , Filipino , Filipino food

Obama vs. Clinton: Why democracy sucks
2008-03-06 18:23:00
Good thing I was busy here in Bangkok, for if I were in Manila I would have descended into depression over Barack Obama 's loss in Super Tuesday II. Though the fight was expected to be a nailbiter and though I really didn't brush off Hillary Clinton as one cannot count out a Clinton, as most pundits have correctly asserted, Obama's loss has made me realize that sometimes, democracy can be a shitty idea.Democracy cannot work if most of the population are uneducated. Case in point: our own politics where inept movie stars have been elected simply on the basis of popularity.In Hillary's case, the Clinton name has become a brand name. Hence, she is more popular. And on that account, she has a better chance at winning large states where Obama is virtually unknown.And so, though I am disheartened, I still cling to the hope that Obama is destined to change America and change the world, as he has promised.The fact that a junior senator such as him can take a fight to an established tande...
More About: Sucks

One night in Bangkok
2008-03-04 07:33:00
Blogging from Bangkok . Been here since yesterday and will be around for two weeks. For work, and of course, for pleasure, as any full blooded guy is aware of, Bangkok is guy heaven.Last night a production executive took us to one of the most upscale girly clubs in the city. Not the seedy sex shows crawling with rowdy white guys. It's called the Soprano Club. And boy what a club.First, it reminded me of those 50's clubs I used to watch in old Sampaguita Films starring the likes of Rogelio Dela Rosa and Eddie Gutierez. The waiters are dressed in 50's style coat and tie and although the band was playing contemporary rock and the girls (more on the girls later) wore decent, sexy dresses, the whole place with its velvet curtains and mini table lamps really looked like a scene straight out of Goodfellas. Second, there were no white guys around. The place was crawling with obviously rich Thai guys, instead. And the strange thing is, they brought along their girlfriends to watch the show...
More About: Night

Prince Harry fighting in Afghanistan
2008-02-29 02:13:00
Yes, that's Henry Charles Albert David Windsor or Prince Harry , third in line to the British throne serving his tour of duty in Afghanistan . Why on earth would a prince, living in the lap of luxury and splendor in England, a certified chick magnet, choose to be deployed in Afghanistan to be a "bullet magnet" instead, I have no idea.But it says a lot on how this fellow was brought up. I have to commend Her Majesty, Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana for a job well done.The Hiltons could learn a thing or two from the British royals on how to properly rear a child. Paris Hilton is a textbook case for privileged families on how NOT to bring up a child.Now, could you imagine a scion from any of the Philippines' de buena familia (old rich families) doing the same thing, like serving in Basilan to fight the Abu Sayyaf?Dream on.
More About: Fighting

Clinton's inept campaign
2008-02-28 11:10:00
There couldn't be a more apt depiction of what has happened to Hillary Clinton's campaign than this political cartoon by artist M.Wuerker at Politico.com.Annointed as the Democratic nominee just three months ago, Hillary Clinton's run is almost at an end right now.Barack Obama's 20 plus years of experience as a community organizer certainly paid off as his grassroots campaign virtually outhustled and outmaneuvered Clinton's formidable political machinery, racking in enough money to outspend Hillary's campaign by a factor of 2 or even 3 to 1.Obama simply applied that age-old tactic against a big, powerful foe: go insurgent.Hillary had always trumped her "Ready From Day One" line. But from how things look, it is Obama who looks to be ready on day one.Read this smart article on what Hillary Clinton's campaign says about her.
More About: Campaign

How people around the world count cash
2008-02-28 03:33:00
Here's a very interesting video on the many ways people from around the world count cash.I never knew there are different ways people count money depending on the region of the world they live in. Some, I think, are inefficient and prone to mistakes. But what do I know?It's revealing we Pinoys count like the way Americans and most Europeans do. Goes to show we really have a Western mindset.
More About: People , World , Around the world , The World , Cash

Boeing 777 pilot fired after low pass
2008-02-28 02:20:00
A Cathay Pacific Airline pilot who made a low fly by (in aviation lingo, he basically "buzzed" the control tower, in reference to the shudder that is felt in nearby buildings by such a maneuver) after taking delivery of a brand new Boeing 777 in Seattle was fired.Oh come on, the guy was just having fun with his new toy. I mean boys will be boys, we never grow up.So what's the big deal here? There weren't any passengers on board and the plane was brand, spanking new so there was no chance there'd be a mechanical malfunction during the fly by.Oh well, blame it on the 9/11 terror attacks. Since then, the world has lost all innocence and the sense of fun, especially when comes to planes and flying.Here's the video composite of photos taken as the pilot buzzed the control tower:
More About: Fired , Pass , Pilot