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Showing posts from August, 2006
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Kamukha ko daw...??? So. When I smile, MyHeritage says I look more like British actor Jude Law. But when I don't smile, I look more like Beijing-born actor and musician Leon Lai. The second photo, however, has a deceptive shade to it. My eyebags have been masterfully disintegrated by the photographer of Great Image, thus breaking a cardinal rule in photo retouching. But, hey, the MyHeritage results are flattering. I can't complain. :-)
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As Long As We're Understood images by jojie alcantara
Classicals, Dwarfs, and Trans-Neptunians Hooookay...the International Astronomical Union (IAU) just released the new definition of "planets" and a new category, "dwarf planets." (1) A "planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. (2) A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite. As an add-on, Wikipedia defines trans-Neptunian objects as objects in the solar system that orbit the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. This has three divisions--the Kuiper belt, Scattered
Animating an Industry Over the weekend, my nephews and niece were watching The Iron Giant , that wonderful 1999 animated feature megged by Brad Bird, the same genius behind The Incredibles . The film, about the special friendship between a young boy and a robot from outer space, is one of those rare films that got me crying. If I had been watching it alone, I would have bawled my eyes out. What made The Iron Giant unique, at least to me, is how the animators were able to make the giant robot express a wide range of emotions despite its lack of malleable facial features, by taking advantage of camera angles and the flexibility of the "lids" of the robot's eyes. I think the greatest challenge of any animator would be imbuing inanimate objects with human emotion, much like what Pixar did with Luxo, the now famous desklamp. Last week, I attended a symposium at La Salle Greenhills, “Story Development in Animated Film Making: The U.S.-Pixar Model and New Entry Points for Phili
Scatterbrained Many many years ago, a dear friend of mine told me this: "You have many ideas but you need to focus." I was hurt the time he said it, but really, nothing could be further from the truth. My neurosis comes from an irrational fear that I don't have much time left. Not in the normal course of a life, but in that I wouldn't have enough time to see all my ideas to fruition. Because the ideas come faster than the amount of time I have to produce them. (Which makes me wonder about Barbara Cartland sometimes, or should I assume that an army of ghost writers coughed out a majority of her 723 titles.) I remember a book my cousin shared with me, "The Ringmaster's Daughter" by Jostein Gaarder. In the novel, the protagonist earns a living by selling his ideas to author's suffering from a dearth of inspiration. He puts together a plot or a concept, chooses an author based on writing style, then seals a secret deal. I don't know his motivation f
Straight Talk You have to admire Isagani Cruz for being so bold despite his being paranoid and contemptuous, particularly in his PDI column yesterday entitled, "Don we now our gay apparel." I feel bad for his gay friends, assuming he has any. I won't go into the details of what he wrote, since my gay and straight friends have already dismissed Cruz as an angry old-timer who's viewpoints are stuck in the 1930s. As for me, he's simply making an opinion. An arrogant opinion, yes, but that's why he's a columnist--he gets paid to cook up occassional drivel. I honestly don't care about him taking stabs at gay people, particularly at the publicly loud and crass ones. Because, indeed, there are some members of the homosexual communty (like some of their heterosexual counterparts) who choose to attract attention in a crowd by being less than appropriate in their speech and manner and need to be a little more considerate in public. He even makes a disclaimer in
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Baby Jane Thanks to that wonderful Web creation YouTube , I finally, finally was able to see the music video of Christina Aguilera's new single Ain't No Other Man , as well as her MTV Movie Awards performance of that song. Way before Xtina became a fixture in the pop music world, we all know that she rendered her version of that Mulan theme song Reflections . I didn't like it, though I confess her version is part of my karaoke repertoire. There was something too hard-edged about her voice that didn't seem to fit the tenderness of the song. A girl with a big voice, her relatives would describe her, and back then she perhaps didn't quite know how to control her gift. I was first blown away by her four-octave vocal skills in the song I Turn To You . By the time Come on Over Baby was released, my excitement went through the roof. Loved the song, loved the video, loved her voice. (And she won the Best New Artist Grammy Award at 18!) Then came her duet with Ricky Martin,
Uno, Dos, Tres (Tagged by Jheck ) 3 People Who Make Me Laugh: Uno: High school pal Mike Dos: Current co-worker Gwyn Tres: Former co-worker Myrna 3 Things I Love: Uno: The World Wide Web Dos: My job Tres: My graphic novel collection 3 Things I Hate: Uno: Lack of time Dos: Misguided politicians Tres: Inflated egos 3 Things On My Desk (at home): Uno: A tee-shirt (???) Dos: My glass of "drugs" Tres: An old AAA battery 3 Things I Am Doing Right Now: Uno: Reading Dos: Thinking Tres: Typing 3 Things I Want To Do Before I Die: Uno: Become wealthy!!! Dos: Tour the Philippines Tres: Win an acting award. (HAH!!) 3 Things I Can Do: Uno: Sleep all day. Dos: Think all day. Tres: Roll my tongue. 3 Ways to Describe My Personality: Uno: Introverted Dos: Introspective Tres: Neurotic 3 Things People Might Not Know About Me: Uno: When I was a kid, I wanted to be a priest. Dos: I find grocery shopping therapeutic. Tres: My first French-kiss with a girl was for a Truth or Dare game. 3 Things I Thi