style and labels.

I was surfing through fashion pages when I came across an article about a simple mom writing about her Prada shopping experience. Of course, I got a little curious how she did her writing while standing in a fitting room room with mirrors on all four sides (I’m thinking she’s using a smartphone or something, not a pen and paper). As I read along, she recounts how she got into the situation, and how she fared in the shopping spree. Well, I must admit the shopping experience was priceless, at any rate. I mean, which apparel shop would offer you cappuccino the moment you step into the store? And I doubt I’d spend two hours in a single store just to decide which clothing to buy.

As the writer relates her experiences in wearing expensive clothing, shoes (Manolo Blahnik—a brand I only discovered through Sorority Life in FB, haha), and bag (she bought a $1,500 Louis Vuitton bag), I realized that the writer was simply confirming some of my own ideas about wearing labels/branded stuff. Most people (well, I’m referring to the middle-class people) notice first the style or design of what you wear, not the brand itself (sad, isn’t it?). But of course, that applies to stuff that don’t have the brand name plastered all over it. People can’t tell if you’re wearing Mango, Zara, Liz Claiborne unless you show them the label or something.

Then there’s also the additional burden of being cautious whenever you carry around highly-expensive stuff, for fear of being a victim of theft. You can’t be absent-minded, since you know exactly the value of those stuff you buy. One can feel wealthy and modish wearing clothing from stylish brands, but I find turning inexpensive pieces into a fine and smashing outfit to be more interesting.

If you’re interested in reading Kyran Pittman’s article, here’s a link to it:  Splurging for Fashion.

theme songs and movies.

I’m not really into trendy music (by that I mean songs that have become mainstream now), so I don’t know what new singles are out there right now. After having seen The Sorcerer’s Apprentice a few weeks back, the theme song “Secrets” by OneRepublic remains in my head. The nice tune and lyrics really got me hooked to the song.

Somehow I find it interesting that theme songs (or any song in the OST) can somehow make or break a movie. If the theme song is memorable, people would most likely associate the song with the film, thereby never letting people forget the movie. So far, I can remember a few movies (most are my favorites) just because I find the theme songs memorable—Anastasia, Beauty and the Beast, If Only, Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera, 13 Going on 30—and the list goes on. And I’d like to think it works the other way around, too—that songs have become memorable just because of a movie I’ve seen.

An “A” for A-Team

I really wasn’t planning to watch a movie today, since I just wanted to stay home, rest, and enjoy the long weekend. When our dad “sort of” dropped a hint (well, that’s how I interpreted his asking where my cousins were going for the afternoon), I knew I just had to tell my brothers to convince our dad to go out and watch a movie. My younger brother wanted to watch A-Team, a movie which I had been waiting for but I had no idea it was already out in the cinemas. After a “pleading” act from my brothers (hehe), our dad agreed to our plan. Our dad doesn’t really like going out very often, since he thinks going to the movies cost a little too expensive (and meaningless). But since one of our cousins sponsored our movie-going escapade today with the Citibank promo, dad was a lot more comfortable with the idea of watching a movie.

We had dinner at Penang Hill (a Malay-Asian restaurant) before the movie—the food at Penang Hill was great (will try to blog about the food experience some other time). When we entered the cinema, the trailers had already started playing. I actually make it a point to be early for the movies so I can watch the trailers, but this time I only managed to catch a few—Knight and Day, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Inception… I forgot the rest. XD

Okay, now for the real review for A-Team. From the trailer alone, I was aware that it’s a pure-action movie, a genre that I’m not really into. But A-Team is one of those action movies that don’t get too violent or too boring over time. It has a good blend of humor, cleverness and wit, subtle romance, action, and drama. Chances are, if you’ve visited the Wikipedia page of A-Team (even now, I still haven’t!), you’d already know the story. But I would love to watch the film a second time; I enjoyed that movie that much, just as I liked Prince of Persia (because Jake’s so cute).

Below is my short and incomplete analysis of A-Team. There are details about the movie contents, so if you don’t wish to read the spoilers, you can stop reading here. My conclusion for the movie is an “A.” Dialogues, sound effects, and cinematography are amazing. I definitely loved the actors as well—they were great.

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*Spoiler Alert* – The following text may contain spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the movie (but you are planning to), I suggest you don’t read it now. Perhaps when you’ve finished watching the movie?

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The tag line for the posters for A-Team is “There is no Plan B,” which sums up how clever the characters were. Hannibal Smith’s plans are so precise, detailed, crazy, and ultimately, effective. His well-thought out plans are executed to the dot. At the moment it sounds all-too-unrealistic, but if you analyze the way they operate, they’re all simply geniuses (in their own way, of course). The members of A-Team adapt well into their situation, especially when things don’t go as planned.

One of my favorite things in the movie is the strong bond and close relationship between the members of A-Team. They implicitly trust each other; it’s as if they know A-Team would rescue them when something goes wrong in their operation. Of course, when they all met for the first time, they had doubts on each other’s abilities, but since their first mission, they had formed a deep and lasting bond (even prison couldn’t separate them forever). Their differing personalities totally complementary. There’s Hannibal, who is the head of A-Team—the serious and collected thinker who develops the plan for their mission. Then there’s Faceman Peck, a smart, flirty ladies’ man. B.A. Baracus, is the hot-headed big guy of the group, who totally hates flying. H. M. Murdock, meanwhile, is a quiet but skilled pilot who has a loose screw in his head. The coolest (not to mention the funniest) scenes, I think, in the movie are those that include Murdock flying planes and helicopters, and B.A.’s expressions upon discovery that Murdock will be piloting. But despite B.A.’s dislike of Murdock’s piloting skills, it’s only Murdock who can calm B.A. so quickly, just by offering to cook B.A.’s favorite dishes.

The cinematography, dialogues and sound effects are perfect, at least to me. The angles from which the scenes were taken were great; they made the film more dynamic than it already is. The spoken lines were just too funny to ignore. Here’s a list of some of the lines I tried to remember (may not be the accurate words):

“They’re trying to fly a tank.” —> Jessica Biel’s character. Where have you seen a flying tank?

“I forgot how beautiful you are.” —> from Faceman, a common yet effective punchline!

“First, there’s distraction, then diversion, and division.” —> Faceman again. I must admit, it makes sense.

“He’s a patient here.” —> a nurse from the hospital spoke of Murdock, who had just finished stitching up B.A.’s gun wound.

“You look very… tanned.” —> from Hannibal. He trapped Faceman in the tanning machine to help him escape from his maximum-security prison.

“Just when I got serious, you panicked, and you ran.” —> Faceman talking to his ex (Jessica Biel’s character).

That’s what I could remember so far. I wasn’t actively memorizing the lines throughout the movie. I wasn’t even planning to write a review until I started watching the film. XD The ending is somewhat open ended, I hope there’s a sequel for this or something. Or not. This movie is one great movie; it really cheered up my gloomy mood. The film drew out a lot of smiles and laughs from me, even from the inconsequential details.

As for the actors, I applaud them for doing such a great job. I saw Bradley Cooper for the first time in Alias, but he didn’t look as appealing as he did in A-Team. And oh—-his unusual-shade light blue eyes are to die for! He just looked so…. cute and cool! Liam Neeson did well; I didn’t know he could pull off a role like Hannibal Smith. He looked very different that I even mistook him as Harrison Ford! Quinton Jackson and Sharlto Copley I’m not familiar with, but their funny interactions were crazy! Copley’s attempt in pretending to be mentally ill in a psychiatric facility (just moments before he was “rescued” by the A-Team) was hilarious! Having the pretty Jessica Biel on set to add a small romance scene was great—she’s simply a good actress, is all. It’s refreshing to watch an action film that contains very little romance, such that the romance doesn’t necessarily affect the outcome of the story.

I’ll cut my review here, since I think I”ve already written about the important aspects of the movie that I really liked. =) Thanks for reading! ^^v

I Ai Anime

Watch out for another event brought to you by Otakuzine Anime Magazine and SM Megatrade Office! Tell your friends about it too!

*Update (06/26/2010): Here’s a new e-poster for the event~! There has been (at least as of this moment) no announcement yet about when the official site for I Ai Anime will be up for viewing.

shopping sites and modeling

I’ve been working as a 3D modeler for about five weeks now, and everytime I need to do interior designs, I would sometimes try to get ideas from the Net on which furniture and lamps to use for the model. Of course, creating 3D models would be far easier if I have a photo of an object I wish to model, rather than to create one without any reference photo. With reference photos, I get an idea of the approximate sizing or dimensions of the object, so it’s easier to visualize if the object will fit into the scene I’m trying to make.

As advised by one of my employers, I check out some specific furniture-makers’ websites to see the things they offer to clients and designers. But that’s when I have a lot of time on my hands. When pressed for time, I would rely on a online shopping site to find appropriate furniture and lighting fixtures. By appropriate I mean furniture that are used for specific rooms or spaces. So far, I’ve been assigned to model bedrooms and living spaces, so I need to look for attractive beds, lamps, and armchairs.  Looking through online shopping websites is, in my opinion, quite practical and time-saving, since I know the things I see online are readily available in the market. Should my employers or the clients ask about the furniture I’ve included in the model scene, I can tell them right away where to find them. They can check the details and pricing of the furniture at their leisure, and even browse other pages if they would prefer something else. Now that I think of it, I realize that the Internet has become such a valuable place for us 3D modelers. Don’t you think so?

paid to click

GENERAL NOTE: I’m not paid by anyone to write this article. It’s my way of promoting myself and the paid-to-click sites. It started out as an entry about my experience, but as I went along it somehow became a tutorial. If I made grave mistakes/misconceptions, please remember that I’m writing about what I see, think, and feel. And I’m putting this on my personal blog, not on a new techie blog since I want to promote my personal blog for the meantime. I may consider transferring to a new blog if I gain enough traffic, articles, and confidence to open up a techie blog.

Okay, I’m getting all hyped up with my new “project,” which is about paid-to-click websites.  I’m looking for alternative ways to earn money, even a small amount. And no, my purpose isn’t mainly about earning tons of money, it’s about the “how to.” I’ve always wanted to try stuff like these (for years), but I never really got serious about it so my previous earnings were lost. And now I’m hoping I could really stick to this project and prove that bloggers can really earn EXTRA cash.

I’m not expecting these paid-to-click sites to pay for my shopping expenses whatsoever, so you shouldn’t either. But hey, trying these doesn’t really hurt; they just require TIME from you to check out their ads. I admit it’s a slow process for me, but I’m willing to wait it out. If you’re not the patient type of person (like me), maybe you can learn how to be one through paid-to-click sites.

So let me introduce the basic concept of paid-to-click websites.

1. You sign up (preferably under a friend or someone—-hopefully that one’s me!) on the website, then activate your account (most websites require you to verify your email and stuff).

2. Check the “Browse / View Ads” section. This is where you can find the ads you’re allowed to click.

3. A new tab/window opens for the ad you click. You just WAIT it out. Some ads require you to wait for at least 15 to 30 seconds.

4. When the timer’s up, some sites will require you to click on a link (or a box) to confirm that you finished viewing the ad. Others automatically credit your earnings to your account.

5. Do the same thing for the other ads that’s available on the “Browse/View Ads” section.

And done! That’s how paid-to-clicks are done. And to save time, I open up all my paid-to-click accounts and open one ad  from each while doing something else (either work or surf the net) so I don’t get bored while waiting. Done that way, I don’t even feel like I’m wasting my time looking through the ads! I do look at some ads, just to check what they’re about, but usually they’re mostly offers targeted to the US market. I do paid-to-clicks to relax, to enjoy a break from work (I’m not saying you should do paid-to-clicks while at work. If it’s not part of your job to do paid-to-clicks in the office, don’t do it there. I do mine at home, where I’m more comfortable).

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Now I’ll talk about how you really earn from paid-to-clicks. Please do note that I haven’t cashed out (meaning get paid by the company running the paid-to-click websites) YET. I plan to do so when I’ve reached the minimum amoount. I actually I planned to write this article AFTER I’ve cashed out, but I figured time is of the essence. I thought maybe more people would be inclined to ask about the paid-to-click scheme before and after the cashout procedure. So, in a sense, this post is a short tutorial about it. I’m learning what I can about it, and if anyone’s interested in joining me, perhaps I could assist them on how to do it.

1. You earn cash (in US dollar currency) by clicking and viewing ads. Each ad will earn you $ 0.005 up to $ 0.01. It’s pretty small, but can definitely add up if you click EVERYDAY. It’s been almost a month since I joined, and I’m nearing the one US dollar mark.

2. You earn cash when you refer your friends and family. This one I haven’t really tried since I’m waiting for my cashout before I do all-out advertising for the paid-to-click. If you’ll sign up under me, you’ll be helping me prove that this strategy works.

If you’re still not convinced why you should try signing up under me, then I’ll tell you why. I’ve realized that unreferred members are BOUGHT or RENTED by paying or upgraded members. It means that if you sign up without a referral ID or number, the paid-to-click system can use YOU to earn more money for those who rent or buy referrals. It’s not that it’s bad or anything, it’s just that if you compare referral-buying (renting) to direct referrals, the latter can help people earn more. I haven’t done thorough research on it (yet), but if I have spare time, I’ll try to analyze if this is true or not. Bottomline is, if you know a friend who is a member of paid-to-click sites, ask them if you could sign up under them. I’m sure they’d be very grateful to you, and in return they can tutor you on how you can earn.

3. You earn cash when you buy or rent referrals. This is what I was talking about earlier. It’s slightly more complicated to explain so I’ll tell you how I understand this system. If it’s still confusing for you, feel free to leave a message/comment and I’ll try to explain it further.

As a member of the paid-to-click sites, there’s an option of buying or renting referrals. “Buying” or “renting” basically means the same thing: you’re paying the site/system to help you earn more money. It’s ironic that you have to pay in order to earn, right? You pay the system to earn clicks (cash) from unreferred members (and I’m one of those unreferred members, since I found the paid-to-click websites through search engines). The cost of buying/renting referrals vary according to the paid-to-click sites, and what they earn you varies as well. I haven’t tried this as well, since my Paypal account is still unverified, so I can’t try it on one of the paid-to-click sites even though I want to. =(

If I do get to try this part, I might try to do an article about it.

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If you didn’t read my lengthy explanation above and you simply skipped to this part, I suggest you read why you should sign up under someone (if you won’t sign up under me). If you’re lazy to scroll up, I’ll tell you the shortcut version here: I’d be very grateful if you can help me in this personal project. A little too shameless in plugging, but hey what I said is true. In return, I’d be glad to answer your questions about the paid-to-click scheme—if I do know the answers, that is! I sometimes check the websites’ FAQ’s, but I think having someone who’s tried the system to answer basic questions about it would be good. It’s a win-win situation for you and me, since we get to learn together. ^_^ Everything I know about paid-to-click websites came from personal experience and (somewhat extensive) research.

I won’t write the pro’s and cons of these paid-to-click websites right now (maybe some other time, along with the scam sites I’ve signed up with before), but I’ll just promote the sites I’ve tried and tested to be earning me decent US cents.

Oops. I just remembered that I can’t promote one other site at the moment. My referral banner isn’t available at this moment. Hehe.

BUX-MATRIX

summer’s end

Wow. I haven’t been really writing (blogging) lately. After the thesis, I just didn’t feel like blogging for a while. I basically spent much of my time playing a game—Luna Online. It got me hooked for a while (about two months) before the novelty wore off. I mean, I still like playing, but the leveling speed isn’t fast at my current level.  My character requires sixteen (yes, 1-6) hours to level up, so I figured I shouldn’t play too often now. I just feel so…. tired and useless when I play all day.

Which reminds me the purpose of this entry. Well, I just got a job—an apprenticeship in an architectural firm in Pasig. It’s a small firm, around 10 employees/summer interns; and the office is small and cozy. I feel quite excited for work (although the stipend disappointed me), since the firm focuses on residential projects. I’ve always wanted to start working on residentials. XD

I was a little depressed earlier today when my aunt called. She wanted me to meet a friend/acquaintance of her, who was involved in construction/architecture, or something like that. My aunt said that the firm was a big one, but they had foreign contacts (German, Chinese, etc.), so she figured it would be a good opportunity for me. Sadly, I had to reject that offer since I already said “yes” for my new work. The principal architect had mentioned that many had applied for their firm, but none (so far) had taken up their offer of apprenticeship. I didn’t want to disappoint the architect by backing out of my “promise” to show up next week Thursday. Besides, the principal already introduced me to the staff, who all seem nice. Another reason why I rejected the offer was that I didn’t want to end up like my sister, who had difficulty (perhaps hesitant would be a better word) in resigning from her work because her (previous) boss was an acquaintance of our aunt. I know my aunt means well, but I don’t want to end up staying in a company where I’m not satisfied or happy with what I do. But anyway, I did explain to my aunt why I don’t want to even try meeting up with her friend, and she’s fine with that. I simply told her that I’m just starting out, so I want to gain experience in the small firm. If I don’t like it, then that’s the time I’ll take on her offer (if it still stands by then XD).

So, technically, since I’m to start next week Thursday (because I’ll  be away for camp on Monday till Wednesday), there’s no vacation for me anymore. The only vacation trip that I’ll be taking would be next week’s Powercamp, and after that I’ll prolly be working nonstop. Weekends are reserved for rest and choir rehearsal. Maybe I should really put my Starbucks planner to good use and get myself (and my life) organized.

OzineFest 2010!

shopping at shopwiki

I have been an online shopper for, what, two years? Mind you, I don’t shop very often… just once or twice a year. And I shop at only one website anyway.  But when I came across the Shopwiki website a few minutes ago, I find their website quite interesting. It’s not at all the same with the website where I buy my stuff. Shopwiki has a clean and no-nonsense webpage design (which I appreciate, considering I prefer minimalistic designs); it loads quickly because of it. And oh~ so many photos of the items being sold. And so many available items! Books, clothes, arts and crafts, music, among others. =) There are even DVDS of Japanese animés and manga boxed sets!

Being the art-enthusiast that I am, I immediately clicked on the Arts and Crafts section, and saw a selection of items on Ink Art (under Drawing category). I suddenly remembered the time when I tried Chinese brush painting at a summer class a few years back. Although I’m not very good at it, I still hope to get myself a set of brush and ink (and the appropriate paper to go along with that). Soon. Just…. not at the moment. Hahaha. I am trying to hold on to my New Year’s resolution of not spending on things I do not need right now. Perhaps when I find a job after graduation. XD I’ll just add a brush and ink set to my wishlist for 2010!

The Knit Scarves also happened to catch my eye. There are some items showing actual knitted items and books on how to knit. I remember I’ve tried knitting for a time when I was younger, but alas, I couldn’t get past a single chain. Not that I was bad at it that I decided to stop. The Internet had yet to exist when I tried my hand on it, therefore I had very limited resources on how to learn to do it properly. I’m thinking of trying it again this year, primarily because I wanted to make my own scarf (and perhaps some for my family and friends too–if I can). It’s quite rare for someone who lives in the city–like me–to find a really nice and comfy scarf in malls. But then again, should I fail to make a decent scarf, there’s always Shopwiki. Ooooh~ I see a nice, blue scarf from Forzieri. Tsk. I hope I can someday shop online and not worry about custom duties whatnot. XD

I find Shopwiki (on overall) a really nice place to shop online–the items link to the seller’s website, in case the buyer would like to see more information and photos of a specific item. There are even pages dedicated for guides in buying specific items, like Digital Cameras. I think this is the first time I’ve seen an online shopping site have that kind of feature. Browsing through the page on cameras and accessories, I just remembered to include a camera tripod for my wishlist. And a Nikon DSLR. It is a wishlist anyway.

Things/items are categorized properly, and searches can be made using keywords (that’s in case you don’t know in which category the item you want belongs to). The prices of items are shown according to several sellers’ offers, so the buyer can proceed to whichever seller has the lowest price for the item. If I were the Becky Bloomwood sort of shopaholic, plus a Luke Brandon partner, I just might go online shopping right now.

decisions, decisions.

What a way to end the year! We had to send aerial perspectives of our building design to our professor through e-mail. Since a classmate told me that some of our classmates would not be submitting anything, I thought of doing the same. But I didn’t want to be behind schedule any further (because I already am), so I worked on the 3D model all day today, despite my novice skills in using Autocad and Sketchup. I worked on revising some parts of my newest (and hopefully final) design, which included the main staircase, the AHU room, and the washroom. All three spaces had to be crammed in such a small space, so I ended up making an oddly-oriented staircase with open risers. Not precisely child-friendly stairs, but I’ve seen other stair designs that are even less child-friendly than mine. haha.

Anyway, I tried to do the 3D model in Autocad, since I can simply extrude the polylines I made based on my CADD plans. Then I realized how late it was, just ten minutes before 12 midnight. For some reason, my mind thought of finishing up the model and submitting photos of it to my professor, no matter how ugly it looked. I did some sketching earlier in the evening, making possible designs for the elevations, but I ended up not doing the design for the model. For one, I knew doing my hand-drawn designs would take a lot of time, so I opted to submit a simple massing of the structure. I still feel a bit dissatisfied with my current design, especially with the roof plan, but I’m still working on it. Three minutes left ’till midnight, I managed to send six photos to my professor, all but one being aerial/exterior perspectives. I submitted one interior, showing the atrium–it’s the first interior perspective I did, and it looks a bit interesting. I hope my computer skills and finished model can do justice to the ideas I have in my head. XD