Definitely Pulped Up!

I just drank a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy. They say it’s got ‘no preservatives added’. Aw, c’mon…It’s bottled juice. Is that even possible? So I thought maybe the makers of the drink have a very intricate method of locking in the freshness of the fruit. It really is hard to believe everything you see in ads nowadays, sometimes it’s just all about marketing and making products sell.

I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it’s got no preservatives added.  So I read the ingredients (even the fine print) and everything checked out! It really has NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED!  That means it doesn’t have ingredients that may turn out to be allergens, or worse...carcinogens!  Whew! Now that’s healthy goodness that tastes so good, I feel that my mind is now at ease with the idea of buying the drink often because it really tastes good.

So okay, it’s got no preservatives added. That’s really good, right?  Not just because it doesn’t have those icky, harmful ingredients, but it also means it is guilt free, it definitely is good for the body.

So far anyone who still has a hard time believing that Minute Maid has got no preservatives added - meaning it's THAT natural, it's almost like it's plucked straight from the tree, it's just as Mother Nature wanted your orange juice to be, it's got nothing but the good stuff yes, none of those potentially toxic stuff that can harm your brain, kidneys, heart; cause tumors aargh- the list of preservatives' bad effects just go on!!! Anyway, just to prove a point on just how good Minute Maid Pulpy is 'cause it's got NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED, I'm gonna drink a bottle, and even highly recommend it to my friends!

Feels good to know about the real pulpy deal, right? C’mon show me a smile on the comment box, and you might win yourself a Really Pulpy Deal! (That’s a chance to win a Minute Maid gift pack simply by commenting. Sweet! C'mon you just might be picked as the lucky 'commentor'!)

Love,
binog.net

Flickr vs Picasa Web

A little early this year, I decided that Multiply will be a repository of my photos - that is before I had my SLR. I never imagined that I will go into photography, and by taking pictures worth megabytes, it just is such a shame to be shrinking them down to what the site can handle.

There are a couple of other platforms that does let you keep detail online. I chose Flickr . I'm big on minimalism and I get that with Flickr. I also tried Picasa Web Albums , which is from Google. It you to store up to 1 Gigabyte of space for the whole lifetime of your account. Well, well, well, Flickr goes beyond that - I can upload pictures of up to 100 Megabyte every month. By that single reason,  I am choosing Flickr over Picasa Web Albums.

So there - you will not see any new photos in my Multiply account. And yes - no more gibberish on binog.net, everything goes to Multiply. Flickr will be my photoblog. Binog.net will now have photos that I can't help posting, with a little story on the side of it - literally on the side of it!

Photo on the side "10.16 - dawn before flight to PPS" from my Flickr with this caption - "Testing my gear before the trip! I guess they are right, if you are shooting the same scene, every shot is not going to look like the previous one. I think I will get there. Hahaha!"

Duet with Queency of Daughters 5 Band

I’ve been singing solo in a band since college but I never had a chance to have a decent duet with a girl. It just takes my breath away remembering that I just did last Thursday, and guess what, with my crush from Daughters 5 Band – Queency Villanueva. :D Happiness, hahaha! Came the 18th of November, the whole team went for a drink at Pier One, Fort Strip in Bonifacio Global City. Buckets of beer came in with delicious food.  We drank a couple of beer when the waiter served another plate. I gave the waiter my request. Good thing he was a good messenger, he gave it straight to Jurilou, who read out the request right there and then. Soon, they called me. Wohoho! And there we had it, Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang with Queency and me singing. I felt a connection with her while singing, which I did not expect. Whenever I'm on stage, I always feel all the crap build up, until all the nerves sink in. That's why usually, I end up doing better on rehearsals. Haha! But this one is different, it felt believable - I was understanding all the words um letting out. I'll definitely come back for a reprise! Too bad, no video of this one, but I totally enjoyed it. They were friendly enough to let us rob them from their other fans to take a picture on our table. They are really really nice. :D I have a couple more photos of that night right here:

Katelyn Epperly - The Scientist

I've always loved ballads, and in fact, I grew up with a library of ballads. It does feel old but what makes it special is the how much each line means and how it is delivered through a song. Pure. That is how I would describe one freaking ballad! Just check this out!

This Katelyn Epperly singing Coldplay's The Scientist. For sure, not so many know about her, even though she is one hell of a singer. She got voted off American Idol right before people go forward the big Idol Stage. She really sings good, all the techniques are there - control, phrasing, to name a few. I really don't get it, why did they vote off this girl. She puts her own spin on a pop song, and what did she get? But all I can say is, this is how you do a great performance out of a ballad - and well, good looks to make everything more enticing... Fwahahhah!

I maybe singing pop rock lately, but given the chance, I would love to sing a romantic ballad for somebody I love. I will make sure that when I do that, it is pure... and honest.

A couple more videos of Katelyn Epperly here!

Allison Iraheta - Holiday Acousticized

Posting one of my faves in her album. Found 2 acoustic versions!

A New Pair of Black Shoes

Got my self new shoes. I almost did not because this was an expense that was not planned, and saving gives me about all the reason not to buy a new one. But I guess, when you already see the pinky finger on your feet from a slash on the side of your shoe, it leaves you no choice, but to buy one.

Men's shoes are relatively more expensive than ladies' - it costs thousands of bucks before, but guess how much I got mine? 899 bucks! I guess, with new brands coming out, some things suddenly become affordable, like my new friend over here - Mario D' boro. The competition gets tighter for them, but it makes room for out-of-the-blue purchases for nifty and thrifty.

Drinking True Blood

 I've always loved vampire stories. I can still recall the first one I watched, "Interview With A Vampire" starring Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater and Tom Cruise - that was back in elementary school days. Mysterious. Dark. Twisted. It just makes every exchange of lines worth digging into. It may not be as action-packed as your sci-fi movies, but it has more depth instead. It's beyond six feet under. Another adjective would be sexy - think Aaliyah in "Queen of the Damned". Well, I have another word on the list, "quirky" - that's "True Blood" for you.

True Blood is based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris - "The Southern Vampire Mysteries". It is shown on HBO in the US since 2008. The show has an impressive list of awards and nominations, Emmy's, Grammy's and Golden Globe Awards to name a few (they are even on Ewwy's - something worth googling about). They are running three seasons now, with audience multiplying after each one.

Desperate Over Videoke + Tuned In To James Morrison

I've always loved singing. Whenever I go out with friends on a karaoke night, my hands would be grabbing the microphone from whoever is holding it. Singing makes me feel good. Well, this past few days, I've been putting a lot of effort into saving, so goodbye karaoke nights. I found out a silly way to get over it - enjoy it ala YouTube way!! :))

Just go to YouTube.com and search your favorite song, then append something like "karaoke", "instrumental" or "acoustic". A lot of people do covers and your lucky if you get a decent one. Good songs always gave good search results. Let's say your going to sing somewhere, you can even  get a minus one without spending a single penny. Try http://www.video2mp3.net/! That's gonna be your baby. :D

Want to experience my hobby? Here's a taste. I recorded a video of one of my sessions, uploaded it too you tube (its, hidden, haha!) and then extracted the MP3 using http://www.video2mp3.net/. Cut a segment using http://www.mp3cut.net/, uploaded it to Google Sites, used Google Reader widget and here, click PLAY!



That's the demo, haha! Wonder why there is a weird cut? Pumiyok ako eh, haha! Going to the song, that's James Morrison's "This Boy". Its one of the not-so-famous songs of one of the multi-awarded artists abroad. He's been on repeat on my Ipod Shuffle for a time now, and I never get tired of it. Try downloading his songs or searching in YouTube and you'll find out why his the real deal!

Broken Strings

First and foremost, at last, we have power back up! It seems like my house was the last one to get it back up, damn that storm Basyang. There. 0000-RANT-EXIT. EXIT (Full-Stop).

Last Saturday, my string just gave up. Hahaha! Its been more than three months now since I replaced the string of my badminton racket. Maybe I'm not playing that hard, but I'm working on it, and people said I'm really getting better (what a diversion for crying out loud, enough said). This one is RSL and does prove to be as durable as Yonex - or almost as durable. Used to be buying Yonex's which is around 400 bucks, this RSL is just around a hundred bucks. I think I'll be going for another RSL later. One more thing that I like about RSL strings is that they have a variety of colors. That small thing is a big deal to artsy partsy people like me, hahaha!

By the way, badminton racket right here is Prince's Oversize Sky. That's 85 grams +/- 2 with max tension of 28. Its head heavy, so smashers should be loving this. Talking bout price, I got it at Php 3,200 - not bad for an intermediate player's racket and I actually got this one year ago. So this should be a lot cheaper right now. Soon, if I go pro, I'll buy one of those expensive ones, hahaha! Soon... just see! Hahah!

Some photo stuff again! Took this photo right after my last hit using my first RSL string. Light is on the right, from the courts. Did some perspective thingy here to emphasize the subject and give it a big part of the frame. On post processing, I did my usual - level tweak. And here, I put a vignette (darker sides), still in photoshop. It does give the drama that I want in this photo, and also some lomo effect. And there we have it! :D

P.S. Title courtesy of my fave artist, haha! James Morrison, haha!

Shaved It Off

I choose a skin-head. Its comfortable, minimal maintenance and it makes me look like I just got off prison. Fwahahaha! Before I had hair reaching past my shoulders and I just can't feel comfortable about it, especially when its hot because I perspire a lot. Also been using product on my hair to have some spikes and whatever. I love burning out myself with running and badminton, so it does mean a lot to me to think less about my hair when I am dripping wet with sweat (yes, that is eeew, but it feels great, haha!). 

Took this photo right after I visited a barber shop in the market. Paid 50 for the service and had some real massage extra from it, something that you won't get from somewhere else. Before, I would pay like around 200 bucks for a crappy hairstyle. Shaving all the hair off is not just for comfort, also good for your pocket. It just is so practical. 

Time for some photography. I have here a shot of myself using the rotating live view of my Nikon D5000. I so love this feature because I can take a photo of myself! Didn't post process this one. The reds on photo are from the red curtain directly sun-lit on my left. It gives a dramatic feel on this photo (making me more of an ex-convict! haha!), with the help of some contrast. As every photography guru would say (well, as far as all I have encountered), the magic comes from lighting. 

Hope you could give me feedback about the photo and the whole blog! :D

Tumblr vs MEME by Yahoo!

While I was reading my feeds from Google Reader, I came across an entry that talks about MEME by Yahoo! Here is the direct link to the article from Pinoy Tech Blog. It is a lot like Tumblr.

So what is similar with Tumblr and MEME? Its like the compromise between blogging and microblogging. Let's say, you want to share a picture, video, link or whatever online, it will look nice. You can put each post like a status update on Plurk or Twitter, in form of a mini blog post.

Where is Allison Iraheta Right Now?

My semester is over. I just want to get my mind off school, so I spent a lot of time surfing whatever on the net. Here goes, I stumbled upon the coolest contestant of American Idol ever. Here is her full audition back in Season 8. Presenting, Allison Iraheta! WoooohoooO!!



Well, she is a light year away from here now! Check this out!



Hmmm... Some wrong details there, she is not 19, she is 17, going 18 I think. I do hope she makes it big, she is damn good!

Nip Tuck Ends

My cousin introduced me to Nip Tuck, and hell yeah! Its one crazy show! What made me dig into the series is the fact that it is medical in nature, and the most of it, because its twisted. Just watched two last seasons, and now, I'm into the hunt for the previous ones. Its just that it takes a lot of time to download previous episodes. But if all else fails, I may be keeping my desktop PC open 24/7.

Again, if there is one word that could describe this show, it would be TWISTED. Define twisted. Hmmm... Lady walked in McNamara / Troy, wanted her boobs upsized, used somebody else's credit account to pay for it, got caught by Troy, implants removed by Troy,  ended up murdered while in recovery room. Just one of my fave eps, and I just can't get enough, haha! I'm really gonna look for those early seasons! Too bad they cut the show...

I was waiting for the torrent download on EZTV when I found out that last weeks episode was the finale. Here is the release from EZTV:

When "Nip/Tuck" made its debut in 2003, it broke cable-viewing records and instantly distinguished itself with its stylized look, tongue-in-cheek tone, gorgeous stars and fresh take on America's obsession with beauty and youth. Those qualities earned it a Golden Globe for best drama, critical acclaim and water-cooler buzz that lasted for most of its first four seasons.

But when one of FX's signature series quietly wrapped last week on the Paramount lot, it did so without the usual fanfare associated with the end of a noteworthy show. In part, the silent send-off was because TV viewers won't see the "Nip/Tuck" finale, which finished shooting on June 12, for a long time, probably as late as 2011, making it tricky to publicize. Behind the scenes too, during the last week of production, there was an awkward sense that the end had already happened, since much of the crew had already moved to creator Ryan Murphy's new Fox musical, "Glee," last year, and Murphy himself was out of the country location-scouting for an upcoming movie.

"It's sad because it feels incomplete," said script supervisor Diana Valentine, who asked the cast to sign her finale script in between takes of shooting the show's last family dinner scene, which included almost every major character. Valentine, who joined the series in its second season, worked on "Beverly Hills, 90210" for its entire run. "It's not the same feeling I had when I was wrapping on '90210'. It feels incomplete, kind of separate. It's very hard."

Bye-bye, Nip Tuck!

How Does Binog.net Sound?

I wanted to do this a long time ago. Its simply cool to have your spot on the world wide web - my own domain. This is so out of the blue. I was just going through my inbox and invites in Facebook when I saw hostingphil.com on my page... and the rest was history. Fwahahahah!

Here is the screenshot of my last interaction with Hostingphil. Its really cool because there is this pop chat, the green thingy on the upper right corner. The person on the other end told me what I want and what I need. Good customer experience so far. For the domain, its Php 550 / year. You can pay through PayPal or any BPI branch. Planning to Budget Hosting when I'm no noob to blogging anymore.Thats another 600 bucks every year. Well, seems worth it.

Will be paying for binog.net tomorrow. So looking forward to it. Fahaynahlee!!

Kradison Is Crazy

Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta - Crazy - Feb 12

The finale of Rock My Town with Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, and Allison Iraheta singing to "Crazy."

These three are just crazy, each has an album and are everywhere promoting. A new batch is out and I still can't really find one who really knows what he or she is doing, unlike this three, who knew what they wanted to do from the start.

Plurk Surprise

I must have a lot of free time! Hahaha! Just joking! Haha! Its just that when you have a lot in your bucket, it becomes fun doing something else. But here, I changed my plurk theme. Been loving neutral colors lately and here goes my new plurk layout. Just dropped by to check my page and out of nowhere, I wanted to change how it looks like. Hehe!

After I logged in, I was surprised to see my Karma increase, been months since I last logged in. I froze my Karma because I was so over addiction to waiting new plurks all night. Found a couple of badges on my profile. Thinking that did the magic on my Karma.

Let It Rain doodle theme downloadable here.
My plurk page here.

Feel free to click my links in this post. :D

Kat McPhee's 1st Single Out - Had It All

Check out the track in her MySpace Music - > http://www.myspace.com/katharinemcphee

Some behind the scenes @ Rickey.org.

Whole album will be out on October 6. Let's watch out for Kat's "UNBROKEN"! I hope Allison Iraheta releases her 1st single too!

Katharine McPhee Is Blonde

It has always been a fact that Katharine McPhee is oh so sexy, be it the looks or the voice, she really has it (well, at least for me, haha). She really deserved to win over Taylor Hicks back in American Idol Season 5. Just a fan right here, crying out loud again. And it seems that producers sees through that too, because she will be releasing a new album on October 6 - that is entitled "Unbroken." And guess what, she's blonde for the album. PEOPLE puts it as "long brown locks" to a "sexy platinum shag." Look at the picture.

*Kat on PEOPLE's Website*


*Kat was brunette. Well, not anymore.*

*Kat's Profile Pic in Facebook

Here is an excerpt from PEOPLE:

"Katharine McPhee is a born brunette, but for the cover shoot for her new album Unbroken, which hits stores October 6, the singer is trading her long brown locks for a sexy platinum shag — and she’s sharing the look exclusively with PEOPLE. “My music is a little more edgy so that inspired me to be adventurous,” she explains of taking the leap to blonde with stylist Peter Savic. “I’ve never dyed my hair before so this was a pretty drastic change. I’ve always been known as a brunette but I’ve been thinking about it for a long time and it kind of just fit with all of the searching with the music and experimenting that I would do the same thing with my look.” And she’s been noticing other effects of the new style as well. “The look has affected the way I dress, it’s inspired me to be more adventurous with what I decide to wear. It’s silly that something so simple as changing your hair could have such a big effect,” she muses. “I’m just having fun with it. This is a great time for me to do something different. I’m young — I always try to have a good time.”"

More of the release on the real mag, haha!

---------
Check it out @ PEOPLE -> http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2009/08/05/exclusive-first-look-katharine-mcphee-goes-blonde-for-her-new-album/

Loving Agent Riley Adams

Stalking Lauren Lee Smith!

How could I miss movies like this? Lauren Lee Smith is here, so is Allysa Milano (loved her in Charmed)! I first encountered Lauren Lee Smith in CSI Las Vegas, Season 9 as Riley Adams. Her character in CSI is just so cool. I love everything about her. Being the stalker that I am, I surfed through some things about her and ended up with this movie. I'm done with Blake Lively, here is another victim, hahaha! Expect more posts about Agent Riley Adams. Bonus is Milo Ventimiglia of Heroes - Peter Petrelli he is. He's the lead by the way, hahaha!

Have you seen this movie? No?! Scavenge a copy! Give yourself a taste of it, watch the trailer right here.