Sunday, January 23, 2011

photography: reverie


Give yourself a break. Find time to be alone and be at peace. It helps cleanse the soul.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

wun manong: i was born upside down

 manongOn the 28th day of the first month of the year in 1982, my mom gave birth to the most beautiful baby in the world. And she named him Kristoffer John after a Catholic saint - Saint Christopher, patron saint of travelers. 


This year, I'm gonna set-up themed blogs for each month. And January, being my birth month, will be all about me. ALL ABOUT RADIKUS!!!


Things I know about me.
1. I love sweets and chocolates
2. I like listening to old songs (really old), the most I can remember was a 1930's song that goes like "I am getting married tomorrow, don't be late to church"
3. I download songs of Barry Manilow, Josh Groban, Michal Buble, Jose Mari Chan
4. I like boyband songs but was never a fan of any Boy Band
5. I like planning to go on adventures but still not much has materialized
6. I love to eat but I hardly ever gain weight
7. I just have one Kidney, and so was advised by my doctor to live a healthy lifestyle
8. I hate celebration, re: birthday and going to large scale parties. I am an anti-social animal

9. My favorite junk food is Mr. Chips and my favorite chocolate bar is Cloud 9. Actually as of this writing, I'm munching on my Mr. Chips.
10. I like drinking wine.


That's probably for now. We have the whole of January yet for more about me.


For February, it will be about my wife and all about love. Love is such a big umbrella so I'm trim it down to falling in love.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

RepairPal: Your friendly guide to car Repairs and Maintenance


Through an e-mail, a friend living in Texas was bugging me about his car needing tire replacements and an air-conditioning check-up. He's been getting referrals from his co-workers on trying the service of a small-time maintenance shop within his county but I suggested he take the time to rethink about his decision of having his car checked by unauthorized dealers. Cars are an investment and the repairs and maintenance is another concern. And if you want to maintain the best driving experience, you need to be careful in choosing a legitimate repair shop to care for your car. 

I convinced him to search online for Houston auto repair shops and sent him a website link for www.repairpal.com. He drives a 1999 Acura TL and the website provided him with useful information about his car and user feedback and an encyclopedia on cars and its maintenance - from oil change, to brake job to engine and electrical details. Plus, he didn’t have to make a phone call to ask for the repair cost. There's Repair Price Estimator tool that gave him an idea of how much he would pay for the repair.

My friend asked for a favor, and I gave him the favorable option. All the things he need is there. It’s just a matter of searching, clicking, choosing and making the right decisions.

Monday, January 3, 2011

from the back seat: The French Connection, 1971

I like watching movies, especially classics, the not-so classics and award-winning.

A few weeks back, I chanced upon a pirated-DVD store in Los Baños, Laguna and I found three CDs of movies (pirated off course) which is classified above: The French Connection (1971), In My Country (2004) and The Counterfeiters (2007).

I've been wanting to do a movie marathon but unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of time to spend a whole day being a couch potato. Coz if I do, I'd play the four-sets of my Astroboy CD collection and the other Philippine Indie films I've collected at a Video City store sale.

But I guess, if you really want it, you'll find a way for it. And sure enough, my itching of playing my "The French Connection" movie out of that pirated DVD stall in Los Baños came 3 days after Christmas day.

I'm on a day-off, my wife and her two siblings left for Las Piñas City for a spa moment in Festival Supermall. Left alone, there's nothing much to do than watch TV, surf the internet or eat the leftover-but-still-good food from Christmas eve.

More than watching it, I'd also like to try if that blu-ray disc is OK (re: video and audio quality), for this is going to be the benchmark of other pirated DVD buying spree in the future.

And there, I watched the movie, enjoyed the film and dude, the CD was great. Quality-wise, it was a-'sulit.com.ph'-like buy (re:satisfaction guaranteed). The subtitles aren't like the regular 12-in-1 discs, where the characters say one thing and the subtitle read another. And for a price of P200 for 3 movies, I find it worthy of my money, though you can buy used but quality CDs in any Video City outlet if they're on sale at a cheaper price.

In this 1971 American crime film, two New York City Police detectives, "Popeye" Doyle  (Gene Hackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Schieder) investigates the smuggling of narcotics from France.

Famous for its chase scenes, this is the first R-rated movie to win an Oscars for Best Picture.

One of the most notable scene out of the movie was when one of the smuggling men tried to kill Popeye and escapes through the subway station. Popeye's pursuit, determined to kill a criminal, brought him to the outskirts of the city through a fantastic car chase after a subway train. He caught the criminal and killed him without hesitation.

Click here to watch movie clip.

Also, in another chase or must I say 'stalking' scene, Popeye follows another player out of the smuggling syndicate, Charnier, or who they call "frog two". From his hotel, to the cold streets of New York, his seemingly discreet but obvious stalking was an epic episode full of outwitting and outplaying schemes that i thought I was watching an episode from Tom and Jerry and Oggie and the Cockroaches. Charnier escapes Popeye's wit with the sarcastic smile and the kitty wave of the finger.
I understood why Gene Hackman won the Academy Awards for Best Actor for a Leading Role for his portrayal of the real-life Popeye, Eddie Egan. His detrmination as a law enforcer, his tactical antics, the ruthless character of a cop and his sincerity to the job was well acted.

And I also understood why its Rated-R - the violence, the drugs and partly, a few seconds of a sex scene and exposure of a female butt. But more that that, its the reason of being based on a true story makes it a contemporary classic. The acts maybe fictionalized but the story is not.

So where does this blog lead me? Three points. Point One: I bought a pirated CD, which I know is a crime. Point Number Two: I watched a worthy, unforgettable movie. Point Number Three: I got my moneys worth!!!!


Note: search google or click here. It'll probably provide a more accurate and in-depth reviews.

Picture credit from here.