Archive for May, 2008
the colbert report
I finally got a chance to catch The Colbert Report (with Stephen Colbert) on tv tonight. Like his fellow comic news anchor Jon Stewart, Colbert parodies and pokes fun at current affairs and newsmakers in the US. While his show may not be as hilarious as the Comedy Central production of Stewart, the segments produced are still funny enough to garner a few chuckles.
And while I continue to be deprived of Jack TV, at least I now have a couple of shows to look forward to in Maxx.
picks of the litter
So I had another roll developed from my Lomo. Here are a few picks of the litter:
[click photo for larger view]
[click photo for larger view]
inattentive saleslady
Over the past few weeks, I have spend thousands of my hard earned pesos at Kodak Podium. I have had my film developed, digital images printed and I have even bought a few rolls of film. Generally, I didn’t really encounter any problems, until today.
First, it started with one of the other clerks. I had him print some of my images last week. I had, in passing, asked him if they had a frequent visitor or discount card. Sadly, he replied, they ran out of application forms, but he would remember my face… and give me a discount the next time I visited. Of course, today, he suddenly got amnesia.
Okay, fine. Not a big deal. I didn’t have too many photos printed, so it would only amount to a nominal amount anyway.
When I returned to pick up my photos, I was surprised to find that the white borders (which I specifically indicated to put) were not on the photos. By this point, I was already kind of irritated. But what got me really irked when I inquired about the oversight, the saleslady replied “Eh di niyo naman sinabi sir na lagyan ng white border.”
I don’t mean to nitpick, but first of all, I don’t pay good money to be told that I was at fault. And second, I clearly stated that I wanted white borders. The problem lay in the fact that when she inquired what size prints I wanted (and I replied 3R with white borders), she flitted off to a nearby computer and started tinkering with it. At least she got the size right.
So next time, I may just be heading to FUJI. They may be a bit farther, but at least they’re cheaper… and still have a clean slate.
Yehey… stealing?!
While I was driving from one of my favorite eateries, I received a strange text from one of my colleagues from work. One of the articles published in Yehey had seemed to create a stir… with one blogger in particular.
The owner of the blog Twoisequaltozero accused Yehey.com of stealing his article and publishing his work without his consent. A reply was quickly placed by Biz-Dev Officer Iggy Javellana aka tarugoman, in an effort to adress the situation.
Let me, however, put this issue to rest with an official statement from the Channels Department of Yehey.
- 1. The article in question was given to Yehey by its partner MCA Universal as a routine press release / article for publication
2. The said article had no instructions to credit any source or backlink any blog
We are not in the habit of stealing content or plagiarizing any work. Nor will we ever get into that habit. I don’t want to point any fingers or place the blame on anybody, at this point, until al issues have been resolved. As of this post being published, we have removed the “offending” article, until all parties have come to a general understanding of the process of publishing any material on the web.
I have been with Yehey for 6 years, myself, and have had my work reworded and republished. Of course, I did this PR work, so understandably, my work was passed on as general info to be used and abused.
Mr. Twoisequaltozero, thank you for taking time out to clarify the situation and rectify your original post. We don’t know where the connection got lost, but we hope to avoid any similar situations in the future.
the tides boracay
One week after our trip to Boracay for our coverage of The Tides, here are a few articles and specials that we churned up for the hotel.
- 1. A
- courtesy of yours truly
- 2. A
- by
- 3. A
recant of a Boracay first timer
- by Karla Henson
- 4. A
- of The Tides — both food and hotel
If you are an establishment that wishes to be featured, similar to what we did, simply contact me via email or email our department and we’ll get back to you.
rogue rocks
I used to be an avid reader of men’s magazine titles such as FHM and Maxim for the raunchiness, Playboy for the articles (haha, yeah right), and Details for the guy stuff. But I got tired of looking at overly airbrushed babes; blonde-haired, blue-eyed bimbos, and having to shell out my salary on expensive magazines, which after ogling and passing over once, finds its way to the trash bin or storage boxes.
For the past few months though, I have found a good reason to open up my wallet, and start another periodical collection — Rogue Magazine. The monthly publication features articles on pretty much everything under the sun, depending on the focus of the issue. Great photos, entertaining reads, hard hitting features are packed within the pages…
And this month’s issue is no different. But what caused me to write a snippet on this installment is the focus for this month — music, with one article in particular — Jose Mari Ugarte’s feature on Steely Dan. Ever since my neighbor introduced me to this enigmatic and quirky, yet extremely talented band (back in 1992), I have been fascinated by their sublime music — rock and roll, jazz, and pop all fused into a genre that you can’t quite place your fingers on and label. And their lyrics, ranging from the bizarre to the mundane to scholarly, just add to their musical genius, leaving you scratching your head, wondering what exactly they were singing about.
But this isn’t a review of one of favorite bands of all time. So if you wanna learn more on rock and rolls quirkiest sons, grab a copy of Rogue Magazine and check out Ugarte’s article on Steely Dan.
boracay bagyo
Last week, a few Yehey! employees and myself took a business trip to Boracay to cover The Tides. Yes, it was for work. But everyone that hops over to the paradise island of pleasure knows that there is always time to squeeze in a few hours of fun — grab a Jonas shake, munch on a few longga burgers, bask in the sun, and check out the sights of Boracay.
But as luck would have it, the sun refused to shine and the clouds were aplenty. And of course, with the clouds, came the rain. Three days of it. What is commonly believed to be one of the hottest spots in our fair country turned out to be a drenched and soggy island of unlucky travelers.
[cooped in our room, avoiding the rain]I try to find consolation by reminding myself that it was, in fact, a business trip. But even that got spoiled by the rain, as I wasn’t able to take many photos of our residence, due to the constant precipitation. Still, we made do with what we were given.
Being that we had a Boracay first timer with us on our trip, we decided to show her around the island and get her acquainted with some of the “usual suspects”. We had our shakes at Jonas, we had our longga burgers along the shore and we would have had a few Jam Jars by the beach, if Cocamangas was still standing… We also took her around D’Mall and various spots within the island, as weather permitted.
Of course, we also did what we came to do — interview some people from The Tides, sample some of their food, and of course, try out their comfy quarters (which we spent a lot of time confined in, because of the rain). But that is a a different story… which should be coming out within the next few days in the pages of Yehey.
All in all, it still was a pleasant trip. After all, anytime you can get away from the office is still a special treat. And I was able to take a few snaps during our stay, albeit limited.
Special thanks to the wonderful staff at The Tides for graciously accepting us as their guests, especially General Manager Pete Gonzales, Admin Manager Norman Tamayo and Food and Beverage Manager Natasha Ricafort.
the perfect gift for mom
Win some free swag and treat your mom to some great gifts this Mother’s Day, as Yehey! is giving away some prizes to honor the greatest women in our lives… our moms!
discovery of the day
Being a cheap bastard, I always look for ways to save money. However, ever since I got my Lomo cam, I’ve been shelling out a bit of cash for film, developing my rolls, burning the photos to cds, etc. My passion for photography was clashing with my natural instincts to be a tightwad (it runs in my dad’s side of the family).
But today, I made a discovery that may just save me a bit of money…in the long run.
I’ve been going over to Digiprint to have my photos printed, and the film rolls burned to CDs, as my previous encounter with Kodak left me wanting. By sheer coincidence, when I passed by their [Digiprint] St. Francis outlet, their printer was producing funky colors, so I decided not to take the chance. Kodak was the only other alternative in a walkable radius. I was a bit hesitant to bring my digital copies over, but my obsessive compulsiveness to have the photos printed today was stronger. Besides, I thought to myself, they’re already processed the natural way…without any color correction, so why not?
When I got to Kodak, I delightedly discovered their printing services were actually cheaper than Digiprint’s. (Php 6.50 for 50 prints and above versus Php 8.50 per print for Loyalty Card holders)
So now, I will go to Digiprint to have my rolls of film burned to CDs (Php 150 for up to 3 rolls in one CD versus Php 250 for 3 rolls in one CD in Kodak), but have my prints done in Kodak.
So to make a long story short, printing in Kodak is cheaper than in Digiprint. But Digital burning to CDs is cheaper in the latter.
Now I have to check out Fuji…
batanes… not the movie
Batanes has always been one of my “must see” destinations. But after two years or so of dreaming and planning, I never found the time to book a flight to the northernmost island of the Philippines. So when Brownie aka Julia invited me to her hometown to attend her wedding, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. Not only was I going to witness the marriage of one of my oldest (not by age) friends, but also get to discover one of the most beautiful and picturesque islands in the Philippines.
So on Labor Day, I set out for Batanes. Armed with my aging DSLR, my Lomo and my Holga, as well as a few rolls of film, I excitedly left Manila for a new adventure.
The flight didn’t take long. It was approximately an hour and fifteen minutes from the domestic airport to the Batanes landing strip. And thanks to Brownie’s perfect planning, our hotel (Shanedel’s) had provided a shuttle for our group to our residence for the next few days. So after settling in and taking a short nap, Kan and I headed out to discover the Basco, the capital of Batanes, as well as the largest and most populated town of the islands. The town seemed devoid of people, when we were navigating the streets… but we later discovered there was a feast in another town, thus the shortage of people loitering the streets.
After grabbing a bite to eat, we decided to head up to the lighthouse on the hill, to check out the view and “watch the sunset”. It was a good 20 minute hike from the plaza, but it was the best sunset I ever saw. But instead of narrating the rest of our day’s exploits, let me illustrate them via my gallery.
Day two offered a full set of activities. We all woke up at 5:30 to get ready for the Batan Island tour. We drove through…or I should say around the island, literally, stopping at several locations and points of interest. Along the way, we visited Lola Florestina Estrella, resident of the oldest standing (131 years and counting) Ivatan stone house; the Honesty Coffee Shop where visitors drop their money for purchases made in a makeshift piggy bank, as no one else is there to collect your money; the rocky shores of Valuga Beach, strewn with large volcanic rocks spewed from a volcano; and numerous other sites.
Day three was the wedding day. So instead of exploring the island a bit more, we decided to rest and get ready for the celebration ahead. At about 3:00, all dressed in our formal gear, we braved the afternoon sun and headed over to the picturesque chapel on the hill, built by the Abad family, to attend Julia and Andrew’s union.
The chapel was beautiful, the ceremony was laced with comedic bits but solemn, nonetheless, smiles were abundant, and the music provided by Noel Cabangon set the perfect mood for a wedding. Even the local residents couldn’t help but flock to the ceremony to witness the first grand occasion on the island… and biggest thing to happen since Dawn Zulueta and Richard Gomez filmed “Hihintayin Kita sa Langit”.
After the lovely ceremony, we all hoofed it to the Abad residence for cocktails, followed by the dinner and party at the Fundacion Pacita.
Day four — our last real day for any exploration. Naturally, we all wanted to make the most of our trip, so once again, we got up at the crack of dawn to make our way to Ivana and catch a boat to Sabtang Island. The ride was a bit unnerving, as the waves were huge and our engine was smoking all the way, but once we got our feet on land, we soon discovered that the queasiness was all worth it.
We first headed over to Savidug, to check out some Ivatan houses in the area and quickly made our way to Chavayan for more sightseeing. But along the way, we just had to stop for some photo ops along the gorgeous coastlines and striking scenery.
In Chavayan, I had the lucky opportunity to take a few snaps of the locals, including a very shy lola in her vakkul, the local headgear. And after a bit more investigation, we all headed to one of the local beaches for a short dip and some lobster lunch. The water was pretty cold, and unfortunately, it started to rain. But all in all, the experience was still all worth it.
Fearful of the rain (and its effect on the already ginormous waves), we all decided to head back to the port and back to Ivana. After another short nap, we headed over to the Abad residence (again) for our last night of fine food, wine and partying.
Once again, Noel Cabangon (as well as a few other guests) provided the musical stylings for the evening, with intermittent comedy adlib by Jimmy Javier and Sen. Noynoy Aquino.
As the evening wore on… and we stuffed our faces with food and drink, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad that when I woke the next day, I would be leaving such an island paradise. But with another swig from my beer bottle, I told myself to enjoy the moment and bask in the fact that I could always return to Batanes!
- Batanes has a population of about 15,000-16,000
- only the islands of Batan, Itbayan and Sabtang are inhabited by people
- Batanes is the northernmost and smallest province of the Philippines
- Batanes is composed of ten islands
- the islands are surrounded by the South China Sea and the Pacific ocean
- Batanes has a crime rate of 0%
- there is a delicious pizzeria on the island! Check out Casa Napoli along Abad st.
- bring cash! no establishments accept credit / debit card payments
- there is an ATM. but according to residents, it is usually offline
- be prepared to stay an extra few days, if you decide to visit during the rainy season
- flights to and from Batanes are limited
a few shout outs:
thanks, brownie for inviting me to YOUR beautiful island ^_^
thank you tito butch and tita dina for your gracious hospitality, and unending generosity
thank you to the basco lighthouse and special tree stump for the perfect location >_<
