The Rookie Blogger

Trying to be a Good Photographer – Sinulog sa Naga 2012, Photowalks, and Events

2012-01-30T15:56:00.000+08:00

After missing out the largest festival in our country, I was still able to view a local version of Sinulog Festival. I don’t like attending the Sinulog celebration in Cebu City because of the sheer number of people. I have attended only once three years ago and it was not a good experience especially the long walks and crowded streets. Fortunately, we have a small version of the Sinulog Festival in our town.

Because I was not able and will not be able to take photos of the grand Sinulog celebration in the city, I tried taking pictures in our own version of Sinulog. It was quite difficult to get a decent shot because the dancers are moving and looks tired. I wonder how those photographers of this year’s Sinulog Photo Contest got an amazing shot. From more than 500 photos that I took, I only uploaded and edited 75 pictures [Album Photo – Sinulog sa Naga 2012].

Before, when I try to shoot events of celebrations, I always upload everything. As long as the focus of the picture is good, I always upload it. But now, I tried changing that habit because people will get confused on where to comment. With multiple albums for a single event, my friends always get lost while browsing and even worst, ask me to take down their embarrassing photos.

Editing photos is also something that I learned. Before, I use Adobe Lightroom to increase the vibrancy of colors of the picture. Increasing the intensity of colors of photos is not that a bad idea but some photos especially the dramatic and gloomy ones should not be edited this way.

For the past two years, I have been taking photos of events and join a couple of photowalks. I can say that my skills in photography have improved but looking at the previous winners of Pulitzer Photography Competition, I think that I have a long way to go and lots of things to learn.

Boracay Adventure

2011-12-05T20:04:00.001+08:00

With Cebu Pacific’s piso fare deals, I was able to get my butt to Boracay. This paradise island is considered to be one of the best tourist destinations in the Philippines. My friend booked me a cheap flight to Caticlan for November 25 and I got so excited. I enjoyed the flight to Caticlan because before the airplane landed on the airport, the pilot showed us the Island of Boracay. Even from afar, I can see the white sand stretch of the island.

When the plane landed, the first thing I noticed is a simple clean airport, quite different from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport that is crowded. The cost of transportation from Caticlan to the Boracay Island is reasonable. Arriving in the island is not that classy because there is no difference between the port of Cebu and their port in terms of looks. We traveled for a couple of minutes from the port to our hotel.

We arrived in our hotel early afternoon and the first thing we did was taking pictures near the beach. The sand of Boracay is certainly one of the best I have seen because it is very fine. Majority of the people I saw are foreigners so I was already expecting that the prices of meals and other stuffs are staggering.

Later that night, we walked along the white sand beach where some parts are well lit. Restaurants and bars are lively during the night where we saw a couple of live bands performing in different locations. Because none of us drinks alcoholic drinks, we ended up ordering expensive fruit shakes that tastes terrible.

The next day, we decided to try some water activities. We tried the banana boat first and this was my first time riding such thing even though this kind of water activity is available in Cebu. My first banana boat was a mess because I was not expecting that to be scary. After the blunder I experienced in the banana boat, we tried aquanaut or water helmet that devastated my eardrums. After the two water activities, we sat on a beachfront restaurant and later ate lunch. Someone offered us a cheap three-hour island hopping around Boracay. While on the trip, the weather starts to rage and the island hopping was stopped.

The next morning, we decided to eat our breakfast in our hotel because we noticed that their meals are a little bit cheaper than the restaurants outside. Upon finishing our breakfast, we went to Jony’s Shakes (supposedly Jonah’s Fruit Shakes but we didn’t know that we were on the wrong restaurant) and tasted an inexpensive but far better tasting fruit shake. We took a couple of pictures and then went back to the hotel to pack-up our bags.

I have seen a lot of white sand beaches in Cebu, Bohol, and Misamis Occidental but the white sand of Boracay is far alluring compared to others. I have already booked a flight and reserved a hotel for my next Boracay adventure in January 2012.

Photowalk with my Sony Alpha Friends

2011-11-09T21:48:00.020+08:00

With my new Sony α33, I went with some of Sony Alpha Cebu photographers to take photos in downtown Cebu City. It’s a nice experience to go with photographers that has the same brand with my camera because I can borrow some lens if I need to take photos that is way beyond the capability of my lens. Almost all of the Sony Alpha members have at least two lenses during the photowalk while I was only carrying one which is a little bit embarrassing. Another problem I have during that day is having no knowledge at all in street photography.

During that day, we agreed to meet in a fast-food chain near Basilica de Sto. Niño. We started taking photographs inside the premises of the Basilica and then moved on to Magellan’s Cross in which we saw other DSLR users taking pictures. Then we walked all the way to Plaza Independencia to continue taking photographs. Our endpoint was inside Fort San Pedro in which we took different kinds of photographs including our group picture.

Photos by: Lhar Santillan Gil

After the activity, we went to SM to meet a fellow Sony Alpha user to try on her lenses. Her lenses were one of the best and heaviest I have ever used. It was a nice experience though to use some of the lenses that I might be buying if I win the lottery.

Visiting Bohol for the First Time

2011-08-01T13:09:00.014+08:00

Bohol is one of the nearest provinces from Cebu and it took me 21 years before I get to visit this place. We started the trip with a one hour trip ferry boat bound from Cebu City to Tubigon, Bohol. It was a rough ride because of the bad weather but still, we arrived in our destination safely. From Tubigon, we went straight to Loboc to have some lunch in their famous floating restaurant and their food looks and tastes good. After eating lunch, we went to Carmen to see one of the best natural wonders of the world – the Chocolate Hills. The Chocolate Hills has been the icon of the province of Bohol for the past century. The 360-degree view of the place is one of the best scenes I have seen so far. Our last destination for our first day of the trip was the town of Ubay situated northeast of Bohol. I was shocked to see an airport in the Municipality of Ubay because the town is not that populated but they said that the airport was closed a long time ago.

The next day, we ate our breakfast and then traveled straight to Valencia but we stopped over Jagna to buy one of Bohol’s delicacies, the Calamay (Kalamay). We went to Valencia’s spring resort to eat our lunch. We stayed in this spring resort for almost two hours before going to Sagbayan Peak. Sagbayan Peak boasts one of the best views of the Chocolate Hills. The place has also a resort, large statues of my favorite cartoon characters, and a butterfly sanctuary. We only have few minutes to take some pictures of this picturesque place because we have to take the 4:00 PM ferry boat back to Cebu.

The whole trip was unforgettable especially seeing the Chocolate Hills and adding to that, I only spend less because some of the adventures of the trip were paid.

Dolphin Island Resort in Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park

2011-06-13T21:29:00.013+08:00

One of my unforgettable experiences was going to the Dolphin Island Resort in Misamis Occidental because for the first time in my life, I saw and touched real dolphins. It has been my wildest dream to touch one of these mammals because I only get to see these creatures in National Geographic. Some of my friends saw live dolphins performing in the Manila Ocean Park that is why I am so jealous and desperate to see one.

When I saw this dolphin rescue center in the internet, (yes, it is not a typical dolphin theater wherein you can watch dolphins performing) I immediately searched for a flight to Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental because I want to see these creatures. Luckily, the airplane ticket of Air Philippines Express bound for Ozamis City only costs 900 pesos (from Cebu and excluding terminal fee) that’s why I booked a flight instantly.

You need to take a bus from Ozamis that is bound for Oroquieta City or Dipolog City in order to get to this dolphin rescue center. This dolphin rescue center is located within the properties of Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park (MOAP) in the town of Sinacaban and this resort also boasts rich marine ecosystem and a small sand island. All bus drivers in the area know where MOAP is located so finding this place is not a problem at all.

When we arrived in MOAP, we paid 10 pesos for the entrance and another 300 pesos (round-trip) for the boat that will take us to the Dolphin Island Resort. Another 350 pesos was collected because I want to swim with the dolphins. If you are too afraid to swim with these creatures, you can try snorkeling around the island resort and see some recovering corals and numerous fish species. The small sand island is another attraction near the resort and it was my first time to see an island that disappears every high tide.

Swimming, feeding, and touching the dolphins was a great experience. The people who are working in the resort are also accommodating and friendly and this doubled the awesomeness of the activity.

Sony 50mm f/1.8 Review

2011-02-21T15:16:00.010+08:00

For just $150+ I already have a new Sony lens 50mm f/1.8. After I bought my Sony a300, I was already hoping to buy a portrait lens because the lens that came with the camera produces generic quality photos. After taking few shots with my new portrait lens, I am very satisfied with the image quality it delivers because for just a small amount of price, I can already shot professional looking pictures. These are the sample photos I took.

I just tried taking pictures of people until I learned that large aperture captures lots of light. After reading tutorials about photography in low light conditions, I began taking pictures at night. I tried taking pictures of landscapes and obtain satisfactory results. After I got bored shooting mountains and cities at night, I aimed my camera to the night sky and I was amazed by the results. Even though there are lots of pollutants in the air, I still obtained pictures that contain hundreds of stars that I can’t even see with my naked eye.

I am very impressed with my new lens because I can capture portrait shots with satisfactory quality. With this lens, I also learned long exposure photography for night shots.

Largest Known Star - VY Canis Majoris

2011-01-02T00:12:00.006+08:00

Ever since I was a young student, I am so fascinated with stars in the universe because of their sheer size and power. My vision of star exceeds that of our own sun. I always look further using my naked eye for some stars in a clear night. During my elementary years, the information I had about stars are limited; red giant stars like Betelgeuse and Antares, some orange giants, and the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius. I was always told by my science teachers that the largest stars are those classified as red giant stars. Well, by the name itself, red giants are really giant stars that are mostly 0.5 to 10 solar masses (0.5 to 10 times heavier than our sun) and the sizes of these kinds of star vary.

VY Canis Majoris compared to our sun. (Image from Wikipedia)

I was curious about stars that are very large that’s why I Googled for some answers. I was shocked while I was reading about a star with a catalog name of Mu Cephei which is classified as a red super giant. I didn’t know there was even a classification of a red super giant; I thought red giant is the largest kind of star. I kept on searching about stars that are red giants on steroids, and then I read about the VY Canis Majoris which is classified as a red hypergiant and is located in the constellation Canis Majoris. This star was first catalogued during 1801 but its absolute size was only discovered recently with the advent of space telescopes. Its size ranges from 1800 to 2100 solar radii, the largest and the most luminous of its kind and is 4,900 light years away from us.

There are googol^googolple (googol, 1 followed by one hundred zeros, googolplex is 10^googol) stars out there or maybe more and I think the stars we know today are just nothing compared to other undiscovered stars in the universe. Maybe in three years time, astronomers will be able to find a much larger star or maybe a star system that has an earth-like planet thriving.

Sony A330's ISO Test

2010-10-09T18:28:00.013+08:00

I always see blog posts about ISO tests of certain cameras and I always observe that they always capture images in a well-lighted room. Testing the ISO capability of your camera in a perfectly-lighted room is useless. Most often, the owners of these cameras are boasting that their systems produce little or no noise. Obviously, if there is perfect lighting for the subject, then there will be few or no noise in the digital image. I have heard that some expensive DSLRs can’t produce noise even at ISO 6400, way beyond the limit of my camera which is only 3200.

Increasing the ISO sensitivity of a camera will help brighten the image when the subject is not well lighted. Increasing the ISO level of the camera is also way better than using the built-in flash of a camera because these built-in flashes produce strong shadows when used in dark places.

So I decided to test my Sony A330’s ISO capability in a low-lighted room. Well, the results are quite promising for ordinary sizes like 3R and 4R but for 100% crop, some photos are unusable.

ISO 100

ISO 200

ISO 400

ISO 800

ISO 1600

ISO 3200

All of these images are unedited except for the comparisons between the full size and the 100% crop. Overall, Sony A330’s ISO sensitivity is excellent since the noise produced even at its maximum ISO level is still good for 4R or 3R prints. Adobe has also developed a software called Adobe Lightroom that has a feature that can remove noise without destroying much of the detail of a photo.

Venus Raj takes over Manila Hostage Crisis

2010-08-28T13:28:00.008+08:00

From a tourist bus, to the big stage, Philippines made some big news within 48 hours. First, an ex-cop hijacked a tourist bus filled with tourists mostly from Hong Kong along with three other Filipinos. Second is Miss Philippines' answer to the final question in the Miss Universe 2010 pageant.

Photo just to show two topics in one.

Let’s discuss first the Manila bus hostage crisis wherein Rolando Mendoza, 55, hijacked a bus parked near Rizal Park in Manila. He demands media to arrive by 3:00 PM because he has important announcements to make. Instead of the hostage taker to be the center of attraction of the news, the slow-moving SWAT and police was scrutinized by international media and organizations. Facebook and Twitter was then filled with topics involving Philippine police and SWAT’s shortcomings. A lot of people are now blaming the Filipinos for such incident but all I can say is that Rolando Mendoza or the PNP and SWAT doesn’t make up the whole Philippines just like Muslims are not terrorists.

Major major news in Yahoo international.

After the hostage crisis, Maria Venus Raj made a “major major” mistake in her life after answering the final question in the Miss Universe 2010 pageant. She said that she doesn’t have any “major major” problems in her 22 years of existence which is quite unbelievable for a normal person like her. She ended up 4th runner up in the pageant but according to Donald Trump, co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, she could actually win the title if only she answered it a lot better. The good side about Venus Raj is that she made it to the top 15, down to 10, then to the final 5. The last Filipina who became a finalist in the same pageant was Mirriam Quiambao who was a contestant in the Miss Universe 1999. Now, after the pageant, Venus Raj has a major mistake in her life because she did not answer the final question properly. Overall, she did a great job and I salute her for making it all the way to the final 5.

Me Rivaling Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Michio Kaku

2010-08-12T22:30:00.007+08:00

I just want to make my own view of the universe. You may be wondering why I am writing this but don’t worry, I’m not crazy. Some may find this post boring but I think someone out there likes this topic.

Credits: SpaceArt.co.uk

Most of us or maybe you are fascinated about the universe. When someone asks me how the universe was created, I would immediately answer the most famous theory of creation, the Big Bang. I can still remember when I was still in Grade six that there were theories like the Steady State Theory and the Bubble Universe existed but those two were sort of trashed when someone proved recently that the our universe is expanding. If you are going to ask me how big is the universe, well, it depends on when will you reach the question mark of that questions because the universe is still expanding up to this moment. Approximately, the universe as of this moment is 13 billion light years across; meaning, light will travel from one end to the other end of the universe for 13 billion years. That is also the approximate age of our universe.

Now, if you can conclude that our universe is way too big, you may be wondering about the “others”. You may be asking right now, “Where are they?” or speculate about the existence of aliens. There are a lot of reasons why we haven’t seen any aliens yet. One obvious reason is that the vast distance from one star to the other. We are sending radio signals to other stars hoping that any alien out there has a satellite dish and receives our signal. That’s rubbish! We are sending radio signals using our own electrical power but we have to consider that stars also emit radio signals and we all know how powerful stars are. It’s not just stars which produce massive amount of radio signals but also supernovas which is a hundred times more powerful than a normal star. The radio signals from the stars and supernovas will be mixed with our sent signal and thus destroying its form. The signal that will arrive to the alien’s receivers will be garbage not to mention we have obviously different languages. The other reason why we haven’t seen any aliens yet or aliens haven’t found us yet is that we humans and the species of the earth are not interesting. Similar to the analogy of man and ants, when we pass on an anthill, we don’t care who’s living there because for us, ants are not interesting. In this analogy, the humans are the aliens and the ants are us stealing food from the humans. Ants is somewhat interested in humans similar to us, we are interested about aliens.

Let’s talk about civilization. We have Mesopotamia, Persian, and a lot of civilizations we learned in our history class but at this point, we will be talking about the civilization in a universal scale. According to Michio Kaku, author of the book “Physics of the Impossible”, there are three types of civilization. Type 1 civilization is an empire who can control earthquakes, weather, climate, and anything planetary. Type 2 civilization is stellar; an empire who has exhausted the power of their planet and get their energy from their parent star. Type 3 civilization is galactic; they travel from one star to another star to acquire energy from it. If you are going to ask where we belong in these types of civilizations, well, according to Michio Kaku, we are type zero. We can’t control anything planetary and we get our energy mainly from fossil fuels not from the sun. Dr. Kaku has only three types of civilization but in my wildest opinion, there could be a type 4 civilization. Type 4 could be the creator civilization, our God. This civilization creates and watches the universes created by them. Sounds crazy but that’s the only way religion can get into physics and science - to be treated as the most powerful of all.

Now let’s go back to the universe. People nowadays are talking about when the world will end. I strongly believe that 2012 is a hoax. The movie is telling us that the earth, sun, and the center of the Milky Way will be aligned on December 21, 2012. Astronomers said that the alignment of the sun, earth, and the center of our galaxy happens every December and it’s not even a one day event, not only December 21 of each year. The end of humanity may not be exclusive as the end of the earth. But if ever the world will end on its own, one of the causes maybe is that our sun will undergo supernova and earth can’t withstand the blast. Another cause could be gamma burst from other stars that will directly hit and fry the earth. If we are going to imagine the end of humanity in a galactic scale and use the concept of the big bang and the expanding universe, there will be a time where everything will be ripped apart (a theory called the big rip). Just like a balloon being inflated, there will be a time that the balloon will explode. But the universe’s end will not be slightly different, instead there will be pieces or remnants like a blown up balloon, everything will be ripped from the atomic level and no one will ever survive, not even the type 3 civilization.

That’s all I can say as of this moment. I will write additional posts if I realize something.

LightBox for Blogger

2010-07-18T21:52:00.017+08:00

I actually planned to create a WordPress blog with a webhost because of the lightbox plug-in for WordPress but when I try to search for this plug-in for blogspot blogs, I was astonished that there’s a way to install the lightbox plug-in. I carefully followed the simple steps and after 5 minutes, one of the photos of my blog can be viewed using this plug-in. You can view the tutorial in the BloggerPlugins.org website.

Click to view image using lightbox plug-in.

The next day after installing the lightbox plug-in, I was so excited to take photos around so that I can make use of the plug-in. But before I can use this plug-in, there are some HTML codes to be changed.

Feel free to post comments on the photos. I am just starting in the field of photography that's why most of the photos taken looks crappy.

Because of Love

2010-05-26T00:08:00.013+08:00

I am always unfair to myself because I exert more effort in loving someone than taking care of myself. It's like an investment that I don't care if I lose big time. Love is the only element in a person's life in which I can fully offer, no doubt, and lots of guarantees. I don't care if someone screws me up or wastes my effort, what's important is that I showed to the person I love, or maybe a group of connected people, that I truly love someone and moving on is not my option.

I got a job, a very nice one, but still, happiness is not attainable. As if I am not allowed to enjoy or grasp the meaning of happiness like any other people in the world do. Filipinos are one of the happiest people in the world but I think statistics failed to count me. Even though all the other factors that are happening in my life right now are doing so good, some are even the best so far I have experienced, I am still unhappy and depressed because of love.

Some people are trying to cheer me up and I reply them a smiley face because I don't want them to go with my depression. Moving on is not a choice for me.

Thanks for reading this post.

I Bought a Sony a330

2010-04-30T16:12:00.010+08:00

I love taking pictures ever since I was a child. This passion started when my aunt bought a film SLR camera. Film makes each shot as precious as gold. Film cameras make me feel frustrated because I want to take photos of one scene several times but I can’t because I only have 36 and that number doesn’t even include the exposed ones. My passion for photography receded because of this reason.

The invention of digital cameras, then later the digital SLR’s, made me feel excited. First, I bought a cheap digital camera and then a cell phone with built-in camera. The output photos of these gadgets looks nice but I know best quality can be delivered through creativity and better technology. I bought another digital camera in CDr-King, this time a cheap one with a macro shot capability. The shots produced by this camera are way better than my old picture-taking gadgets.

The moment I got a job, I was already planning to buy a digital SLR camera. I canvassed DSLR’s at eBay and read reviews of cameras so that I can decide what brand and model to buy. Of course, like any other beginner photographer out there, price plays a very vital role in my decision. Finally, I decided to buy the Sony a330 digital SLR because almost all of the reviews I read said that it is the best camera for beginners. This camera has a cheap version, the Sony a230 but this camera doesn’t have a live view. Besides, Sony a330’s LCD screen tilts at a certain angle. This camera has also a very quick autofocus in live view mode and when I say “quick”, it’s extremely fast. So far, the photos I’ve taken using this camera are breathtaking.

The reviews I’ve read were right, it’s really recommended for beginners even for children who have interest in digital photography. Feel free to comment and suggest to the photos I’ve taken.

Gerald Santos - Birthday Concert

2010-03-29T00:38:00.005+08:00

Gerald Padua Santos, Pinoy Pop Superstar Year 2 grand champion, will be having his first major concert this May 15 at Cinema 6 SM North Edsa. He was born on May 15, 1990 that’s why the concert is entitled ‘Back on Track, a Birthday Concert’. Jolina Magdangal and Kyla will also be performing in his concert.

I have been following Gerald since he was still a contestant in the Pinoy Pop Superstar. Up to now, I am still watching and downloading his videos from the internet. I also joined recently the Geraldicts fans club which helped me track videos of performances of Gerald. My ‘My Videos’ folder is filled with Gerald Santos’ shows.

Ticket prices are P200, P300, and P750. For more information visit Gerald Santos’ fan page in facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Navotas-Philippines/GeraLd-Santos/119264281816. I really hope I can book a ticket to Manila and a ticket for the concert or else I will miss a portion of my life.

My Design for the CSG Shirt 2010

2010-03-11T00:41:00.008+08:00

Last February, all CS students of the University of the Philippines Cebu were informed that there will be a t-shirt design competition sponsored by the Computer Science Guild. The prize is a free t-shirt with the winning design of course. During the first few days of the competition, I was lazy and pay little attention to submitted designs posted in the CSG wall and facebook photo albums. Then one Sunday, I was encouraged by my classmate to join the competition. I created a design and then emailed it to the CSG president.

I was informed by the president that I submitted my design late and there is already a winner. Even though my design was in vain, I still uploaded my t-shirt design in my facebook album and tagged some CS students in it. There were a lot of people (take note the word phrase ‘a lot’) who likes my design and wants it to be the official shirt of CS students for 2010. I explained to them that I was late to submit and I was disqualified in the t-shirt competition.

One day, the CSG president messaged me asking for the PSD format of my design. I was so happy because I thought he will reconsider mine. I was shocked when they released the final design of the t-shirt for CS students - a highly modified version of my creation. This is the first time that I did not order an annual CS t-shirt.

People might think that I am angry to certain people but I am not. To people who might be offended with this post, I am sorry. I still have to blame myself for submitting late because I did not pay attention to the poster of the contest. I just learned a lesson.

Steven Silva - StarStruck 5 Ultimate Male Survivor

2010-02-23T18:01:00.006+08:00

Steven Silva is not my bet for the title Ultimate Male Survivor for StarStruck V, my vote actually goes to Enzo Pineda. I think judging was fair because he (Steven) deserves to win; it’s just my favoritism pushing me to sort-of complain with the results. Sarah Lahbati was also proclaimed that night the Female Ultimate Survivor. Enzo, Rocco, and Diva ended as runner-ups in the reality based star search. Steven, as well as Sarah, won a 3.5 million contract with GMA-7 and 1.5 million pesos money.

For me, this StarStruck Season V is the best season so far not just because of the wonderful episodes and amazing hosts but also because of the beautiful and handsome contestants like Princess, Sef, Ian, and Piero. My favorite hopeful of all time is Sef Cadayona, a commercial model who was unfortunately third to be eliminated.

The final judgment night was held at the Araneta Coliseum last February 21. The venue was crowded with color coded fans.

We Are the World Music Video - Haiti Tribute

2010-02-14T08:57:00.002+08:00

The song ‘We are the World’ was originally written to raise awareness for famine victims of Africa. Composed 25 years ago by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, this song topped the music charts across the world. The last recording date of the song was held on February 28, 1985 and on March 7, 1985, the song was released worldwide.

This year, ‘We are the World’ was revived to initiate a fundraising activity for Haiti earthquake victims. This time, the song was sung by over 70 stars and singers which include Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand, and Justin Bieber. Justin sang the opening of the song with a very cute voice quality. There were also parts of the music video wherein Michael Jackson’s original rendition was incorporated.

Some famous stars I know who were in the music video are Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, The Jonas Brothers, Nicole Scherzinger, Mary J. Blidge, Miley Cyrus, Enrique Iglesias, Jamie Foxx, Pink, and Jennifer Hudson. For me, the revival of the song was a great masterpiece by the producers and the artists who took part in making the music video.

To know more and help Haiti earthquake victims, just visit ‘We are the World Foundation’ website. To donate $ 10, text ‘WORLD’ to 50555 or buy this song at the iTunes store.

Paul Jake Castillo as PBB Double Up Big Winner

2010-02-11T22:34:00.005+08:00

Honestly, I only watch PBB Double Up once or twice a week because the rest of my days are reserved for thesis. Among the housemates, my favorites are Tibo, Johan, and Paul Jake and yes you’re right, my favorites belong to the big five. Of course, my vote goes to the Cebuano businessman Paul Jake Castillo.

Paul Jake is a 24-year old businessman who loves online games and Brad Pitt and yes, he’s still single. He literally changed the way I live my life because before, I hate text voting in TVs and radios, but now, I already cast my vote for Paul Jake four times. Even before, I hate texting even to my friends but now, I can’t imagine I’m texting and receives a machine generated reply. To vote via mobile for Paul Jake, just text BBS JAKE and send to 2331 for Globe, Sun Cellular, TM and Bayan Wireless subscribers and 231 for Smart and Talk N’ Text subscribers.

I think Paul Jake deserves to become the big winner of PBB Double Up because his attitude is so real – a typical ‘hambog na lalake’.

Gliese 581 c, d, and e - Possible Habitable Planets

2010-02-07T20:07:00.007+08:00

Just 20.3 light years away from earth lay a red dwarf star as old as our own sun named Gliese 581. This star has planets of its own and is the 87th closest star system next to our sun. The Gliese 581 star system is believed to have four planets; Gliese 581 b, c, d, and e.

Artists' impression of the Gliese 581 star system.

Most extra solar planets found by astronomers are closely the size of Jupiter or a lot bigger but Gliese 581c is just one third of the earth's size which means that the planets' gravitational force is just similar to that of our own. Gliese 581c lies in a belt called the habitable zone, an area around a certain star which enables water to be in its liquid form.

Gliese 581c is believed to have a runaway greenhouse effect and is more similar to Venus rather than earth. Just within the border of the habitable zone is the Gliese 581d which is roughly 7 to 14 times the size of the earth. Because it is in the habitable zone, water in this planet could be in liquid form and therefore, life could possibly exist.

In April 2009, astronomers found out that a planet which they named Gliese 581e in the same star system exists and has the size roughly close to earth. So far, this planet has the size closest to that of the earth than any of the extrasolar planets discovered.

More at: Space.comPhilippines Best of Blogs

Café World Delays My Thesis

2010-01-23T19:52:00.003+08:00

I can honestly say to myself that I am so addict with Facebook applications like Farm Town, Farm Ville, and Mafia Wars. These past few months, I’ve spent so many hours playing Café World. Even though I am so busy working with my thesis, The Rookie Slide Presenter and Editor, I still allocate a time everyday just to play this cooking-inspired flash game by Zynga.

Presently, I am level 44 (Pots and Pans Chieftain with 148,307 experience points) in Café World. I can already cook lots of food at this level. Please feel free to add me as a neighbor in this humble sophisticated flash game (if we are friends in Facebook).

I really enjoyed playing this game because the fun never ends as long as the cook (yourself) is still cooking. My only message to the players and future players of this game is that don’t be addict like me…

Gerald Santos - Pinakahihintay

2010-01-21T16:46:00.010+08:00

I am so frustrated that I wasn’t able to buy Gerald Santos’ latest album ’Pinakahihintay’. I saw his album once in Audio City but I didn’t have enough money at that point of time. I decided to buy it the next day. When I went back to the store, the sole copy of his album was gone.

I really love Gerald’s songs because it is so melodramatic. My favorite songs in this album are Gotta be Strong, Because of this One Song, I Promise You, and Hanggang. Other songs included in this album are Dadalangin Sa’yo, Andyan ka Lang, I Cannot Imagine, Pinakahihintay, Kailan Masasabi, and This Feeling Inside. This album is under Prinstar Music Philippines which is a new independent recording company.

I already bought Gerald’s first album ‘A Day on the Rainbow’ way back in 2007 and it's a great album. I also love his pictures in this album because it has a pastel theme.

Inside Gerald's 'A Day on the Rainbow Album'.

I wish I can buy Gerald’s new album ‘Pinakahihintay’ as soon as possible but before I can buy it, I have to scour every music store here in Cebu and find it.

2nd Annual Sinulog Fireworks Competition Videos (PyroFest 2010)

2010-01-16T22:26:00.004+08:00

Today, I just witnessed the annual Sinulog Fireworks Competition. I’ve seen a lot of fireworks display in events like fiestas and thanks giving parties but this one is a lot different – it’s a competition meaning not only one exhibit but a lot. There were eight competitors and one special presentation for this year’s competition.

Finale fireworks display.

The pyro works event was held at SM City Cebu Northwing parking lot. The place was all wet and muddy but it was worth it standing for almost an hour.

For more videos about PyroFest 2010, check out my Vimeo Account. All eight contestants and the special guest fireworks presenter were filmed.

My Favorite Photos of Gerald Santos, Sef Cadayona, and Ejay Falcon

2010-01-11T19:58:00.006+08:00

Sef Cadayona's first TV appearance was the Cornetto advertisement. After that, he joined GMA-7’s StarStruck Season 5, a reality based star search. Unfortunately, he was eliminated last December 27 - the fourth contestant eliminated. Up to this date, his Cornetto commercial is still aired in both ABS-CBN 2 and GMA-7.

Ejay Falcon is the big winner of the Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition Plus, a reality-based competition in ABS-CBN. He is a native of Mindoro but his biological father is French giving him a mestizo-handsome look. I remembered one of his videos wherein he was fishing and the other one is climbing a coconut tree.

Gerald Santos is the grand winner of another reality singing competition of GMA-7, the Pinoy Pop Superstar Year 2. I can still remember him perfectly way back in my high school years when he first appeared singing the song ‘Hanggang’. While he was singing that song, I noticed that I had tears in my eyes – seriously. I saw him in person during one of his mall shows in SM Cebu.

I love these photos because of no reason. I don't know. These three stars are still visible in Philippine television and I love watching them.

I Need $5 for Pangya (Closed - I Got $15)

2009-12-28T20:46:00.007+08:00

I have been playing Pangya (online golf game) for almost four years. Before, I used to play in the Philippine server but the management decided to close it down because the number of players is declining. Now, I am playing in the international server. This Christmas season, Pangya has this so called “Stocking Offers for Christmas”, an event wherein a player can have expensive items (when I say expensive, it’s terrifying expensive in Pangya) for a very little price. But there’s a twist, each player, including myself, should gather the so-called “Christmas stockings” by playing the game.

This event from Ntreev Pangya has lots to offer ranging from clothes to club sets. The item I want to obtain is the “Christmas Clubset” which is so cool because this item can only be seen in the stores every Christmas season (it’s pretty rare). There’s a problem, I already have all the items except for one which I cannot obtain if I don’t use electronic money. In the virtual Pangya store, it costs 1300 points and to be able to buy points, one must have real electronic money. The smallest amount a player can buy is 5000 points which costs $5. Huhuhuhuhu that’s all I can say.

I don't have Mulligan Rose which costs 10 for 1300 points.

Of course, I am not a beggar (as if someone is interested to give me $5) that will just accept some $5. If someone, a kind-hearted one, will give me money via PayPal, I will design him/her a 270x200 image banner (porn not allowed of course) to be linked ("do follow" method) to his/her blog or website. If there are two or more donors, then the size will still be the same but the banners will have a uniform theme. The banner will be visible up to December next year. The point is - I badly need five dollars now.

The position of the image advertisement.

I know Christmas season is over but I badly need some $5. I have roughly five dollars in my pocket (of course in peso) at this moment but the problem is I need an electronic one.

If you are willing to give me money via PayPal or just interested with my offer, you can leave a comment to this post. Anyone is welcome to grab this very little and simple opportunity. Deadline for this offer is December 29, 2009, the end date of the Christmas stocking event in Pangya. Thanks for reading. ahehehehe

Festival of Lights - Naga, Cebu

2009-12-08T20:36:00.015+08:00

Today, I just witnessed the christmas lights lighting ceremony in the town plaza of Naga. Before, the town plaza was just lit by few lights but this year, it's quite audacious - the whole place is very bright. Each tree is crowned with numerous simple christmas lights that as a whole, looks like small galaxies. The old municipal hall and the town complex are also covered with the same kind of christmas lights.

Christmas-themed old municipal hall.

Countdown to lighting of christmas lights and fireworks.

I know questions like over budget for christmas lights and decors could arise but the local government ensured the public that an honest audit will be conducted. Some even said that some lights and decorations are donations from the town mayor, Hon. Valdemar Chiong. Electric consumption is also a big deal not only to the local government but also to environmentalists - for not saving energy.

Here are some high-resolution photos I took today. I enjoyed a lot during the lighting ceremony especially when the host of the event starts to count down.

Christmas is just a day in the calendar but in our town, it is celebrated whole month long (up to January like last year).