Our social:

Latest Post

Monday, March 29, 2010

Movie Review: Cirque du Freak The vampire's assistant

Darren Shan is a normal 16 year old boy. Everything changes when he met a vampire named Larten Crepsley while watching a visiting freak show. Due to a series of events, Darren was forced to become a vampire to save his best friend's life and end a 100 year old truce between vampire and vampenezee.

The story is quite different from the vampire stories that I have read or watched. Despite being a film about vampires the movie lacks a very important component of all vampire stories – Blood. I was a bit intrigued. I wouldn’t really say that I completely enjoyed watching it. But I had to admit that it was a bit interesting because it is different from the popular vampire story like true blood and twilight. I am really confused though, I really don’t know whether the film is a horror or a comedy movie.

I found the movie’s concept on how to make a vampire weird. We have been accustomed to the idea that a vampire has to bite a human and let the human feed on their blood to complete the transformation. But instead, all they had to do is make a paper cut like wound and mixed the blood of the vampire and human by putting their fingers together. The story does not revolve around the typical vampire story stereo type. In the story, vampires use their saliva to heal themselves and they do age but they age very slowly.

I haven’t read the book and I base my opinion from the movie.This is one of those movies that I don’t think I’ll watch twice.  I might watch the succeeding 2 movies in the trilogy (if there would be any) just to see what happens next.  I wonder if I’ll enjoy the movie more if I read the book first. I guess I’ll just have to get a copy of the book so that I could make a comparison. 

Add to Technorati Favorites

Friday, March 26, 2010

Earth hour 2010


It all started in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Over 2.2 million homes and businesses turned off their lights for an hour in the hope to convey a message and inspire people to take a stand against climate change. A year after, Earth hour has gone globally with more than 50 million in 35 countries participating.

When it comes to the most number of towns and cities that participated in last year's Earth hour, Philippines has placed first worldwide. Over 10 million people in the Philippines in 647 towns and cities joined the simple act of switching off their light for an hour to convey a strong message to those who can make a difference with the fight against climate change.


Now on its third year, Earth hour hopes to inspire 15 million Filipinos in 1000 municipalities to joined the fight against climate change by switching off their lights on March 27, 2010 from 08:30 p.m to 09:30 p.m. Some people may think that this act is futile but think again. Last year's earth hour event has save 611 MWH of electricity. That is equivalent to shutting down 12 coal plants for an hour.

I turned off my lights for an hour last year to support this cause. I may have not made a lot of difference but then again any small act would do when it comes to fighting climate change

Add to Technorati Favorites

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Upcoming movie: The Last Airbender

M. Night Shyamalan would be writing, directing and producing the trilogy of the live action film adaptation of the animated television series Avatar: The last Airbender. The Film is titled “The Last Airbender” due to conflict of James Cameron’s film called Avatar.


The Fire Nation lead by Fire lord Ozai (Cliff Curtis) has wage a war to conquer all the other great nations. The fate of this nations rest upon a boy named Aang. Aang is the last known survivor of the peaceful Air nomads. In the beginning of the story, Aang only knows how to bend air but eventually he will learn all four elements and become an Avatar. People who could control the elements Water, Earth, Fire and Air are called “benders”. A person who could control all four elements is called “Avatar” Joining in his quest to stop the fire nation is Katara (Nicola Peltz) and Sokka (Jackson Rathcone). Katara is a 14 year old girl waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe and Sokka is Katara’s older brother. Prince Zuko (Dev Patel), a former heir to the throne of the Fire nation would try to capture Aang to regain his position as heir.

M. Night Shyamalan first heard about Avatar from her daughter who wanted to be Katara for Halloween. After watching the animated series with his family, Shyamalan decided to make a live action movie. Avatar co-creators Mike Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko are pleased with Shyamalan’s take on the adaptation.

The film is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies and set to release on July 2, 2010 in North America

Add to Technorati Favorites

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Jappy’s thought on being a first time dad


When I first heard that my wife is pregnant, I was filled with joy. I was so happy because having a baby is what my wife and I have been praying for.  We are lucky to be blessed with a child. I always thought that marriage is incomplete without a child. And I still do. We are now both eager for our child’s arrival to the world.
Three years ago, I wouldn’t have expected that I would be a father at this stage of my life. I have changed so much and have given up a lot of things. I have grown a lot more mature and lot more responsible in the last couple of months than I have in the last few years.
Now I also feel fear because everything is so new to me. Fear that we might not be ready to raise this child. Fear of what is to happen in the next few months. But I think I am afraid because I don’t know much about pregnancy. My wife and I have been reading up about pregnancy and have been watching a lot of videos on what to expect. And off course the advices from our friends and family helps a lot. Learning more about pregnancy and what to expect lessens my fear.
My wife is now five months pregnant and in a few months, she will give birth to our first child. She is very eager to buy things for our baby. But since we still do not know the gender of our child, we decided to wait. Tomorrow we will be visiting our OB and hopefully we will have another ultrasound to see how the baby is doing.
During her last ultrasound, the baby was so energetic. First it seems that the baby was not facing forward. I really wanted to see the movements so I asked our baby to turn around. And the baby did. The baby must have heard me. It was so exciting and seeing the baby through the monitor is such a delight.
We are also excited to know the baby’s gender but it is too early to know at this stage. My wife told me that if the child is a boy, chances are high that the child would be more attached to the mother. And if the child is a girl, it would be probably more attached to me. I don’t really mind if it is a girl or a boy. What matters to me is that the child is healthy. A friend of mine decided not to know their child’s gender until her wife delivers the child. He wanted it a surprise. I am not sure if I could have the same restraint though. I am so eager to know since this is our first child.
There is no greater joy than being a father. My friends have always told me once the child is born, you really can’t wait to go home. All your worries would be flushed away once you see your child. I can’t wait to see my child. We still have to wait about four more months.How I wish time could fly.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Pacquiao wins by unanimous decision against Clottey



The bout went on until the 12 round. Freddie Roach’s prediction that Manny Pacquiao would win by knockout on the 9th round did not come to pass. Joshua Clottey’s turtle defense was too tough for Manny Pacquiao to break. Clottey’s defense would have been the key to his victory if he did a lot more of counterpunching. Clottey caught Pacquiao off guard on several occasions but he failed to capitalize on it.

 Pacquiao was constantly trying to find an answer to Clottey’s tough defense. Clottey’s hands were up and defending his face most of the time during the fight. According to Compubox, Out of 1231 punches that Pacquiao made, 246 landed. While only 108 out of the 399 punches that Clottey made had landed.   

I have seen Clottey play dirty in some of his fights and surely some of his actions during this bout were a bit suspicious. Whether deliberate or not, Clottey was stepping on Pacquiao’s feet a lot to prevent him from moving around. A low blow was dealt by Clottey on earlier part of round 8th but Pacquiao quickly shrugged it off. Before the end of the 8th round Clottey landed another low blow. Clottey accidentally hit Pacquiao after the bell rang on the sixth round.

The Cowboys stadium filled with 50,994 people was expecting a lot more from the match. It seems to me that Clottey was waiting for Pacquiao to tire but unfortunately for him it didn’t happen. This is the first successful title defense of Pacquiao after winning the World welterweight title from Miguel Cotto last November 13, 2009. Everyone is wondering who will be Pacquiao’s next opponent. I think it would be either Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Shane Mosley. I guess it will depend on who will be the victor between Mayweather and Mosley’s bout on May 1 or if Mayweather will finally accept Pacquiao’s challenge

Add to Technorati Favorites

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Freddie Roach urges Manny Pacquiao to retire after two more fights





I have a lot of respect for Freddie Roach to even suggest Manny Paquiao to retire at this stage of his career. Why? Because even though he gets a lot of money (At least a million dollars in the last three fights) being Pacquaio’s coach, he still prioritize Pacquiao’s well being before wealth.

 Many people consider that Manny Pacquiao is at his peak physically.  It seems illogical to ask his prize student to retire this soon.  Freddie Roach knows the worst thing that could happen if a boxer stays in the game longer than he should. Roach is currently fighting his Parkinson’s disease which he got from being a Boxer longer than he should have. It is true that Manny is different than any other boxer today but one simple mistake or one wrong punch could change everything.

Roach has said that Manny has a lot of things to fall back on when he retires. He is a singer, an actor and now he is running for congress. The money that he has accumulated over the years is enough for him.  That’s true. But from what I have seen from Manny Pacquiao over the years is that he has an extraordinary drive to excel in what he wants to do. He lost in his bid for Congress in his hometown General Santos City but it didn’t stop him from aspiring for congress.

Manny Pacquiao still wants to fight Mayweather Jr. as long as they agree upon the terms of the match. Winning against Mayweather may not be enough for him to consider his career complete. Pacquiao has said that boxing has become such a major part of his life and is not sure how to end his boxing career. He said that "I hope to continue to fight. Boxing is my job and my love. I'm doing what I love, what I'm passionate about. So I want to continue. And I want to continue giving the fans what they want to see”.
I know that a lot of Filipinos wouldn’t want him to retire. I frankly wouldn’t want him to retire now. I also agree that he is on his peak. But then again I agree with Freddie Roach that it would be better for him to retire while he is on top rather than retire after losing a lot of matches like Oscar Dela Hoya. 
Add to Technorati Favorites
 

Roach predicts Pacquiao's 9th round win

After winning the WBO welterweight belt from Miguel Cotto on November 14 last year, Manny Pacquiao will defend his title against Ghana challenger Joshua Clottey in the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Boxing Enthusiast was hoping for a Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout on March 13. But after months of negotiations, both Parties failed to agree on the terms of the fight. Joshua Clottey may not be as good as Floyd Mayweather Jr., but it won’t be a walk in the park for Pacquiao. 

Joshua Clottey’s fought Miguel Cotto on June 13, 2009 and failed to win the WBO welterweight title. He hasn’t entered the ring since then. Clottey has won the last 5 match before losing to Miguel Cotto on June 13. Zab Judah was among those he defeated and is a speedy lefty like Pacquiao. 
Freddie Roach believes that his prize student would win by knockout by the ninth round and be the first boxer to stop Joshua Clottey before the 12th round. “Clottey has a strong chin but Manny would break him down to the body “says Roach.  Speed is still the main game plan for Pacquiao and Roach.  Clottey is very effective on the ropes and will throw uppercuts from that position. Spending time on the ropes during his match with Cotto is something Pacquiao would like to prevent when he faces Clottey. Pacquiao would also need to be more cautious against Clottey’s headbutt. Clottey was disqualified for frequently headbutting Carlos Baldomir in the 11th round of their bout. On the 3rd round of his fight with Miguel Cotto, Cotto was cut by an accidental headbutt.

The bout is set at 147 pounds. Manny Pacquiao is still underweight while Clottey is still trying bring down his weight to 147 pounds before the weigh in. I couldn’t wait to see them square it off in the ring. I do believe that Pacquiao would emerge victorious. But he should take him lightly. One wrong move or only one big uppercut  from Clottey could turned the table against him. 

Add to Technorati Favorites

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Earthquake hits Turkey


An earthquake struck Turkey at 4:32 a.m. (0232 GMT, 9 p.m. EST Sunday) turning building to a pile of rubble. The Kandilli seismology center recorded a 6.0 magnitude quake near the village of Basyurt located in the Elazig province. The province is 340 miles or 550 kilometers east of the Turkey’s capital Ankara. The U.S. Geological Survey however listed the quake as a 5.9 magnitude earthquake.

Hundreds of people had huddled around bonfires to keep them warm against the winter cold after the earthquake has their destroyed their homes or damage it enough to make it unsafe to be use as a shelter. The Kurdish Village of Okcular was almost razed leaving 15 residents dead. The poor mud-brick building infrastructure was blamed for the many deaths. More than a hundred aftershocks in the region were noted on Monday. These aftershocks were at least 5.5-magnitude. People had to use shovels and their bare hands to dig people buried in the rubble out. People from neighboring provinces of Tunceli, Bingol and Diyarbakir had to rush the streets in panic and had to stay outdoors.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey. In 1999, two earthquakes claimed the lives of 18,000 people. In 2003, 84 children were killed when their school dormitory collapsed in Bingol. The Total number of deaths reached 177. In 2007, buildings in Elazig were damaged by a 5.7 magnitude earthquake. Bernard Doft, a seismologist for the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute in Utrecht, said that the Haiti and Chile earthquake was direct connection between the Turkey, Haiti and Chile Earthquake. According to the USGS, there are around 134 earthquakes ranging from 6.0 to 6.9-magnitude a year. That is about two earthquake of that magnitude a week

Add to Technorati Favorites

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake Struck Taiwan


Less than a week after the Chile earthquake, Taiwan was hit by 6.4 magnitude earthquake at 8:18 am local time followed by several aftershocks. Taiwan is hit by at least three quakes of over magnitude 6 every year. On December 2010, a 6.9 magnitude quake was recorded 21 kilometers from Hualien City. The quake was centered is the county of Kaohsiung and was at a depth of 3.1 miles or 5 kilometers. Kaohsiung is located 249 miles south of Taipei

According to Kuo Kai-wen, director of the Seismology Center of Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, there is no geological connection between the Haiti and Chili earthquake and that there is nothing unusual with number of recent big quakes. People are just paying more attention to earthquake now because of what has happened to Haiti. The Activity is normal and is not so scary according to Mr. Kuo. In every 5 years, Taiwan is hit by a magnitude 7 or higher earthquake and a magnitude 6 or higher every 100 days.

The quake has caused power outages in Taipei while telephone service in some parts of Taiwan was affected. A train in southern Taiwan was slightly shifted off its tracks. Subway service in the city Kaohsiung was disrupted temporarily as well.  64 people were injured in the quake.

Taiwan, Chile and Haiti quakes are not within the same tectonic plates. In a year, there are around 17 magnitude 7 or higher quakes, around 170 to 180 earthquakes with a 6 magnitude or larger and at least one earthquake with a magnitude 8 or higher. Last year there were 16 earthquakes were recorded with a magnitude of 7 or higher.

So far this year, there has already been one earthquake with magnitude of 8 or higher. Chile was struck by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake only days before the Taiwan earthquake struck. The mainshock of the Chile Earthquake lasted for at least three minutes while the earthquake in Taiwan lasted for only a minute. Earthquakes are quite frequent in Taiwan. Majority caused minor or no damage at all. However, a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed more than 2,300 people.


Add to Technorati Favorites

Monday, March 8, 2010

Increasing Methane level in the atmosphere


We normally associate carbon dioxide when we talk about Global warming. Carbon dioxide traps heat and when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, the planet’s temperature increases as well. Methane could also trap heat and is 30 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Recent studies show that the methane level in the Arctic is increasing at an alarming rate. Methane concentration in the world’s atmosphere was between 0.6 to 07 in warm periods and from 0.3 and 0.4 parts per million during cool periods. Methane concentrations in the Arctic now average about 1.85 parts per million and has been highest in the last 400,000 years. The methane has been trapped in the permafrost for years and is now being release to the atmosphere due to the warming of the planet. The East Siberian Arctic shelf is releasing a large amount of methane comparable to the amount of methane release by the entire world’s ocean.

Other sources of methane come from rice fields. 10 percent of the methane in the atmosphere comes from rice farming. Methane in the rice field is created when organic material submerged in water decomposes. Several green groups have asked billion people who rely on rice as their staple food to eat less of it. This seems like an extreme measure and doesn’t seem like the right solution. Reiner Wassmann, a biologist specializing in climate change at the International Rice Research Institute said that the problem does not lie on the consumption of rice but on its production. Using less water is the key to lessen the methane emission. This could be done through draining of the rice field during the growing season. There is only one problem though, several farms uses nitrogen fertilizer. Draining of the rice field would cause the release of a more potent Nitrous Oxide.


Add to Technorati Favorites

Sunday, March 7, 2010

COUNTRY CODES - Y

Yemen+ 967
Aden 2
Amran 2
Hodeidah 3
Mukalla 5
Sana'a 1
Taiz 4
Thumar 6
Yarim 4
Zabid 3

Yugoslavia+ 381
Ada 24
Belgrade 11
Nis 18
Novi Beograd 11
Novi Sad 21
Subotica 24
Zemun 11

COUNTRY CODES - Z

Zaire + 243
Kinshasa 12
Lubumbashi 2

Zambia + 260
Chingola 2
Kitwe 2
Luanshya 2
Lusaka 1
Ndola 2
Zanzibar +259 
Zimbabwe + 263
Bulawayo 9
Chiredzi 31
Harare 4
Mutare 20

COUNTRY CODES - W

Wake Island + 808 
Wallis & Futuna Islands + 681 
Western Samoa + 685

COUNTRY CODES - U

Uganda +256
Entebbe 42
Jinja 43
Kalisizo 481
Kampala 41
Kyambogo 41
�Masaka 481
Ukraine + 380
Cherkassy 472
Chernivitsi 3722
Crimea 652
Denepropetrovsk 562
Donetsk 622
Ivano-Frankiusk 3422
Kharkov 572
Kiev 44
Kirovohrad 552
Lugansk 642
Lviv 322
Mykolaiv 512
Odessa 482
Slavyansk 6262
Ternopil 3522
Umani 4744
Vinnytsia 432
Zhitomir 41

United Arab Emirates 971
Abu Dhabi 2
Ajman 6
Al ain 3
Asab 5
Aweir 49
Bita Zayed 5
Buhasa 5
Dhayd 6
Dibba 70
Dubai 4
Falaj-Al-Moalia 6
Fujairah 70
Habshan 5
Jebel Ali 84
Jebel Dhana 52
Khawanij 58
Mafrak 5
Ras-Al-Khaimah 77
Sharjah 6
Tarif 53
Umm-ai-Quwain 6
Wadi Hatta 49

United Kingdom + 44 
Aberdeen 1224 
Aberystwyth 1970 
Alderney, Channel Islands 148182 
Bangor 1248 
Bath 1225 
Belfast 1232 
Birmingham 121 
Blackpool 1253 
Bournemouth 1202 
Bradford 1274 
Brighton 1273 
Bristol 117 
Cambridge 1223 
Canterbury 1227 
Cardiff 1222 
Carlisle 1228 
Carmarthenshire 1558 
Coventry 1203 
Dover 1304 
Dundee 1382 
Durham 1385 
Edinburgh 131 
Exeter 1392 
Fife 1334 
Glasgow 141 
Gloucester 1452 
Greenock 1475 
Guernsey, Channel Islands 1481 
Haddington 1620 
Harrogate 1423 
Hull 1482 
Ipswich 1473 
Jersey, Channel Islands 1534 
Kenilworth 1926 
Leeds 113 
Leicester 116 
Liverpool 151 
London 171 or 181 
Londonderry 1504 
Manchester 161 
Newcastle 1632 
Northampton 1604 
Norwich 1603 
Nottingham 115 
Oban 1631 
Oxford 1865 
Penzance 1736 
Plymouth 1752 
Portsmouth 1705 
Prestwick 1292 
Reading 1734 
Sheffield 114 
Southampton 1703 
Swansea 1792 
United States +1 
Uruguay + 598 
Canelones 332 
Mercedes 532 
Montevideo 2
U.S. Virgin Islands 340 
Uzbekistan +7 ���
����Ferghana 3722 
Samarkand 3662 
Tashkent 3712 
Urgench 3620

Copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved

Blogger Templates Design By Premium Blogger Templates