While i cannot express how much i mourn from the massacre in Maguindanao that killed more than 75 people, you can trust that i have included the souls of the victims in my prayers and that i’m hoping that the perpetrator would be swiftly given justice he deserve.

Digressing,

Christmas is almost here! Few more days to go and its already December. To which reminds me, i haven’t started playing Christmas Songs on my playlist nor that i have heard it randomly playing wafting through the streets or in every corner. I have not yet prepared a list of what will be cooked this time for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve Dinner) and Medya Noche (New Year’s Eve Dinner) and made plans on how to assemble it in the coming days. 

So much to do for the family, what about thyself? (LOL)

Who will accompany me this time for the next nine (9) mornings, attending mass everyday in succession while ecstatically awaiting the mass to be over and move on the much awaited part of every day which is the feast, having to taste Puto Bumbong and Bibingka. Or if its not available a person whose amiably game to join me gorge on siomai from Siomai House and lump down it with Gulaman. Sarap!

puto bumbong 

bibingka

Appetizing isn’t it? 

So who will it be? hehehe.

Anytakers? LOL.

Kidding aside, i wish everyone a Happy Holidays! And a Wonderful New Year to all!

source:upnowandwhatsnext

photo:CNN

Efren Penaflorida, my profound admiration is extended to you and your cause, your devout efforts in keeping the value of education extended to whom we know are too occupied in making a living and pays little to none importance to education. Kudos to your team and everyone who comprises Dynamic Teen Company! May your efforts be the catalyst of change where people start paying close attention to education, just like the government, who always take on precedence before doing something on the matter.

————————————

On another note, putting it mildly, it is disappointing to know that we Filipinos, born to a nation who turns a blind eye and a craned neck to our own agenda and motives (call to those in power) who often to enrich (blatantly worded) themselves instead of channeling this so-called power to change the lives of every filipino to a wider scale. So it is humbling to know that beyond, common problems encountered everyday like basic needs (food and shelter), there are still people like Efren who set aside their time and allocate their agenda to humanitarian work like providing basic education to children.

So, see the irony, before we could recognize our very own, for their work in making the lives of filipino worth having. It has to be acknowledge and given accolade by a foreign entity, the needed precedence before our government take into action what is identified by others (foreign) that is due in our country.

(Hay buhay nga naman) Sigh, life as it is.

In comparison, we are still a young nation, i said this because our forefathers wasn’t able to bequeath the right formula to prosper in the future and that formula may have been lost in time, despite not having the key ingredient to what we had in the past (hey! we are at the forefront of everything in Asia almost a century ago), we still have the innate characteristic that we are capable and full of youth.

And like Efren has proven, we filipinos have a lot of potential for growth and success. Instead of bickering nonsense issues and scandals, why don’t we put our attention to the basic needs which is at the bottom of the Triangle of Hierarchy. For us to reach the top of it, we need to have a stable foundation in which until today, we continue and strive to build.

As of late my top picks of a good merienda would be:

1. BLT sandwich from The Sandwich Guy. Aside from being affordable and value for money (just look at the innards of the sandwich!), it is also healthy and freshly made.

2. Mixing it up a little for my second favorite, goes to the very sweet and perfect gelato from Caramia, this pistachio flavored gelato hails from the owners of restaurant chain, Amici, who then branched out to have its own free standing ice cream bar to showcase all things Gelato.

(you can opt to consume it on a belgian cone, bowl or ice cream glass)

3. I have profess my love for juicy, beefy burgers! Specially if its one that is made from quality meat and cooked just perfect– grilled, this spot is earned by Brother’s Burger.

Just look at the patties and you’ll be lost for words. The amount of beef and calories in this serving will last you for a day so at P150/$3.50 is well worth it.

my only two cents is that, having a lot of customers and serving them doesn’t end on just providing a good meal, it also mean that they’ll provide a conducive haven to devour this little babies of a burger!

4. Being the one who was raised on the suburbs, i do appreciate a good kakanin (native delicacy) or filipino food that will make you nostalgic say… (ahh, this taste like home!). Very much like that of the Kutsinta. A specialty food that hails from the filipino love for rice.

5. Lastly, this is an all time favorite which everybody loves so i had to squeeze in albeit no need further affirmation as this had already garnered such a reputation for a good merienda (snack) treat for anyone.

But this one is not your regular run off the mill doughnut (donut?) as this is locally produced by an atenean and first served, tried and tested by the atenean before making it known as it is today as the elusive Cello’s doughnuts.

nowadays this can be found on major campuses in the Metro (Ateneo and De La Salle) and has its own brick and mortar store at the sky dome of SM North Edsa.

There you have it, my top picks as of the moment, as a preferential option to what pleases me at this time.

I know, there are still a lot uncovered to say the least, but you get the idea that eating good food not only makes you happy and stomach-filled but also appeals to your senses, enticing you to release and just for a while take a break and leave your encumbrances behind.

Ciao

Paolo

article: Brad Stone

“Tuesday was another typical day for John Chow, blogger and Internet entrepreneur in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Chow treated his 50,000 Twitter followers to a photograph of his lunch (barbecued chicken and French fries), discussed the weather in Vancouver and linked to a new post on his Internet business blog.

Then he earned $200 by telling his fans where they could buy M&M’s with customized faces, messages and colors.

Mr. Chow is among a growing group of celebrities, bloggers and regular Internet users who are allowing advertisers to send commercial messages to their personal contacts on social networks. For the last month, he has used the services of Ad.ly, a start-up based in Los Angeles, and Izea, based in Orlando, Fla., to periodically surrender his Twitter stream to the likes of Charter Communications, the Make a Wish Foundation and an online seminar about working from home.
In October, Mr. Chow’s income from Twitter ads was around $3,000. “I get paid for pushing a button,” he said.

It is perhaps the last frontier in advertising — getting regular people to send a sentence or two of text, on behalf of paying advertisers, to their friends and admirers. The idea, according to the entrepreneurs who are developing such services for Twitter and other Web networks, is that people trust recommendations from those they know and respect, while they increasingly ignore nearly ever other kind of ad message in print, on television and online.

Even the Internet giants are warming to the idea of harnessing informal chats between friends to promote their products and services. This month, Amazon.com said it would start paying commissions to individuals who refer buyers to the site via Twitter messages. (People must first sign up for Amazon Associates, a program in which Amazon pays Web publishers for referrals to its site.)

But the bigger opportunity may be in matching advertisers with so-called influencers — the more popular users of services like Twitter. A number of start-ups, like Ad.ly, Izea and Peer2, a division of Creative Asylum, a Hollywood ad agency, are pursuing the opportunity to put persuasive messages into regular dialogue on social networks.

“We don’t want to create an army of spammers, and we are not trying to turn Facebookand Twitter into one giant spam network,” said Joey Caroni, co-founder of Peer2. “All we are trying to do is get consumers to become marketers for us.”

For the most popular celebrities and bloggers on Twitter, such advertising can generate a surprisingly sizable payday. Ad.ly and Izea, which runs a service called Sponsored Tweets, say celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Dr. Drew and the musician Ernie Halter can earn up to $10,000 by sending a single message to their hundreds of thousands of followers. (Sample ad Tweet from Mr. Halter, which included a link: “sponsored: yo! cheese doodles is giving away sweet prizes in the “rock the cheese” video contest. Check it!”)

Izea receives at least 15 percent of the advertiser’s payment to more popular Twitter users, and up to half for the less distinguished. Ad.ly takes a 30 percent cut across the board. While both companies note their celebrity connections and the involvement of big advertisers like Microsoft and NBC, they really salivate at the prospect of marrying less notable Internet personalities with the huge pool of smaller advertisers.

For example, an expert on cycling, with 1,000 Twitter followers, might agree to send an ad about a new bike helmet — a message that might well be implicitly trusted by his followers.
One problem is that many Internet users eschew the idea of these ads, saying they commercialize authentic dialogue and undermine people’s credibility. “It interferes with your relationship with your friends and your audience,” said Robert Scoble, a technology blogger with more than 100,000 followers on Twitter, who says he “unfollows” people on Twitter who send him ads.

Facebook does not allow members to insert paid ads into status updates or profiles. “For us, it goes against the authenticity of the page,” said Brandon McCormick, a Facebook spokesman. Peer2 gets around the ban by offering users points instead of dollars; points are redeemable for Amazon products.

Part of the unease with this emerging form of advertising is rooted in the past. Three years ago, with a service called PayPerPost, Izea paid bloggers to pitch products to their readers. The endorsements were not clearly labeled as ads, and the service kicked up a dust storm of criticism in the blogosphere.

Ted Murphy, the C.E.O. of Izea, now a 30-person business backed by $10 million inventure capital, said the company initially “made a big mistake” by not setting disclosure standards for publishers and advertisers. Today, ad networks promote their standards; Izea’s ads on Twitter are typically demarcated with signifiers like “#ad” or “#sponsor.”

ONE new company trying to add transparency to the business is Likes.com of San Francisco, which plans to introduce its ad network in December. The company encourages bloggers and Twitter users to specify their tastes in restaurants, movies, books and other products, and then to publish those recommendations to their blogs and social network pages.

Advertisers can then see who has favored their products in the past, and how effective their recommendations have been at getting people to click on links. Depending on the advertiser, bloggers and Tweeters will be paid for every ad they send out, or every time someone clicks on the link.

Every Likes.com ad is clearly labeled as such, and once people click on a link, they are taken to another page that is also clearly labeled as a sponsorship. People are limited to posting an ad from Likes.com once every other day.

“We are trying to limit it, to prevent people from losing their following,” said Bindu Reddy, a former Google product manager who started the company with her husband, Arvind Sundararajan, a former Google engineer. “We know people are queasy about this.”

This is actually brilliant!

Well, if only i have that social position that Mr. Chow has. Its actually a practical business solution to let the word out (that is how i define an ad– mind you!), a perfect marketing strategy which has relatively small overhead cost but reaches the right audience (the twitter followers) targeted by the advertisers through this exploited channel.

So its not surprising that one of these days we can see a precipitous increase of people who want to earn money by wielding this new format to their already established venture (i.e. Google Ads)

Lucky for those who has a gazillion followers down their line.

So here is my timely Christmas Wish List. Its actually an installment of what i practically want to receive this coming season. Well, majority of it are gadgets, being the tech freak that i am. And who doesn’t want those new chi chi things and the smell of a freshly open box of your gift right? hehehe.

To start things off, the one who took the top spot as it is practical and a lot handy than carry a hard bound cover or paperback is the new Nook E-Book from Barnes & Noble.

1. Nook E-Book from Barnes and Noble

What i like about this is the design, the incorporation of a touchscreen color ( YES!) LCD makes it truly unique than other e-books (knock on kindle) plus it has an interface similar to coverflow from the Apple iPod and iPhones (coming from someone who likes everything apple). Among other things, it now feature 3G+Wifi, isn’t that great? every channel of sources available to you for easy access of that coveted book that you wanted, is now within reach with just a few hand gestures.

It cost $259 and is now available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble

2. Nikon D3000

As you might have noticed, once you’ve come of age, the level of appreciation for things have been refined and often our choices are influenced by different factors that reflect our priorities. As for me, it meant an upgrade from the usual point and shoot cameras, heck, sometimes i still get to use the old film cameras (yup, its those which has manual winding every after shot you made) and yet i still don’t get that precision i want for my subjects. And who on earth will not be convinced to make the switch after seeing those “pro” shots lodged on flickr.

Although this may lack luster as compared to its older brothers (bump to D90) which has HD recording and internal motor and an upgraded sensor plus the higher iso sensitivity, the Nikon D3000 will still be a very good buy or should i say gift for a budding hobbyist or novice photographer.

And best of all, this week its already price slashed to $459.95 for the Basic Kit with 18-55mm VR lens on BH photo video

On a side note, one of my coveted DSLR’s on the market, Nikon D90 (Body Only) 

is also down to $799.95. This is a perfect blend for those who are enthusiastic enough (physically and financially) to pursue photography.

3.  A dinner in a Michelin starred restaurant.

Recently, Michelin crowned Tokyo as the Top Three Star City. On its michelin guide for 2009, this side of the world has overtaken the reigning supreme of three star chef quality restaurants, Paris, and cementing the Land of the Rising Sun’s status as the “World’s Capital of Gastronomy”. 

According to news:  ”The latest edition of the Michelin guide to the Japanese capital awarded 11 eateries the coveted three stars, against 10 in Paris.”

“Tokyo also kept its title as the world’s most-decorated city with 261 stars in total — 34 more than last year — awarded to 197 restaurants.”

In the michelin rules, one star signifies a “very good” cooking quality, two stars mean “excellent” and three stars mean “exceptional”

photos: LUXUO 

to be continued

Many have regarded Former President Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino “Tita Cory” as the symbol of democracy following her instatement as President of the Republic of the Philippines after the dictatorship that saw its decline from the death of Cory’s own husband then Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino.

credit:levis_50117

Today that burning candle of democracy has been blown after her death to Colon Caner at 3:18 a.m at Makati medical center in Makati City, Philippines. Her remains lie at Heritage Park, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

I join with the multitude of Filipinos who will give a moment of silent prayer for the most revered person in our lifetime.

“Please insert your prayers here”

official press info available from the New York Times

as much as i dislike putting up memorial pages on my own space here on the web, but i do feel that this one merits everyone’s attention. Filipino or not. Regardless of race, if you value democracy, hers is a testament to what a single person can do for her own country.

like this 

Thank You note in the receipt of the newly opened Red Ribbon Bakeshop in my area.

its uncustomary

but someone who gets it after a days work will surely brighten up and most likely come back for this kind of service.

so from me, your very much welcome.

mood: happy

just when you thought that the weather will continue to be “good” to you after a sunny precedent, it will come back to you even harder.

its been raining the whole day.

now is lunch time and in a few hours i’m bound to leave to the hospital but considering the view outside it may come off as a challenge. AGAIN.

btw, did you know that cabs here in Manila do add insult to injury. they will rip you off with special rates (destination dependent) and completely disregard their meter.

i just hope i get a decent cab driver later and charge me by the standard fare using the meter.

nothing fancy, no fuss. self service.

look at that bbq at the hanged menu board.

their bbq is the best for its price. P33/stick (8 inches long)

they also serve noodles, chicken, fish and breakfast meals.

i can eat here all the time.

i’ll go for now, need to lose all that booze and bbq meals i had last weekend.