Mantakin Mong May Binebenta Pa Palang Slumbook!

Wala na atang pinaka-swak pang pwedeng i-feature ko sa site ko ngayong Agosto, Buwan ng Wika, liban dito sa pinaka-kwela at mainit-init pang bagong produkto mula sa mga gumawa ng “Not The Planner 2010.” Alam nyo to, wag nyo ng i-deny pa. Dahil sa mga to kung bat tayo napasma nung mga bata pa tayo. Ito ay pinamagatang “akala mo lang wala nang slumbook pero meron, Meron, MERON!” Title pa lang, patok na patok na!

Dati-rati, ‘kala ko Pinoy ang may pasimuno ng mga slumbook. Sa US pala meron din nito pero slam book sya kung tawagin. Kajologan lang na biglang slumbook na sya sa colloquial. Taragais na ‘yan. Para sa mga hindi alam kung ano ito, dahil malay ko ba kung sing sira-ulo pa rin gaya naming Gen-Xers ang mga kabataan ngayon, ang tinatawag na slumbook ay usually isang notebook kung saan nakasulat ang mga imbentong tanong ng mayari nito na ginawa para pasulatan sa kanyang mga natatanging kaibigan. Andyan yung usual na Name, Address, Motto, Favorite Color, at mga kagaya pang “blanks.”

Kung marami kang slumbook na nasulatan noon, sikat ka. Kung marami kang napilit na sikat sa school mo na sumulat sa slumbook mo, mas sikat ka. Kung naka-yeba-yeba mo ang marami sa mga nauto mong sumulat sa slumbook mo sa murang mong edad na highschool, makati at pokpok kang haliparot ka nung bata ka pa. Ganun lang ka-simple yun.

Mapa-lalaki o babae dati ay may mga slumbook. Yung mga mayayaman, bumibili lang yan ng ready made at hard-bound na journals na magaganda ang design ng cover. Slumbook pa lang, may imaginary socio-economic divide na dati. Imaginary in a sense lang naman kasi wala namang mga matapobre sa school namin noon. Ang swerte ko nga eh. Yung mga naghihikahos naman sa buhay, yung notebook nila sa PE na wala namang nasusulat buong taon ang usually nacoconvert bigla para maging slumbook. Tinitiyaga lang nila itong sulatan ng mga katanungan, nilalagyan ng papel na overlay ang itsura ng mga artistang tulad nina Romnick at Sheryll as cover, tatahiin ang spine, at PRESTO! Instant slumbook!

Ang kina-iba siguro ng “akala mo lang wala nang slumbook pero meron, Meron, MERON!” slumbook na ito dun sa mga dati na nating nabili o nagawa ay mas bebenta to sa generation natin ngayon. Gawa itong Pinoy para sa Pinoy. Marami sa mga katanungan at blanks dyan ay nakasulat o may Filipino captions. Titigilan ko na pagsulat kasi alam kong dumudugo na ilong nyo kababasa nito.

On with the photos! Yung description ng specs, how to order, website, at FAQs ilalagay ko na lang pagkatapos nitong mga pics.

Maganda ang material ng slumbook. OK rin sa binding. Makakapal ang papel at alam mong de-kalidad. P200.00 lang sya. Mahal sya para sa kabataang nag-aaral pa lang pero sisiw na sisiw sa mga tanders na may mga trabaho na’t gustong gunitain ang days of our lives nung tayo’t mga virgin pang lahat.

Eto ang iba pang details na marahil gusto mong malaman tungkol sa “Akala mo lang wala nang slumbook, pero meron, Meron, MERON!” Notebook/Slumbook:

Size: 6in x 6in
Thickness: 1in
Cover: Chipboard covered with Red Cloth with black stamping
Paper: Bookpaper 60
Leaves: 123 leaves (246 pages)
Print: 90 pages 1 –color print
Price: PHP200 only.

Slumbook: 20 friends can sign!
Notebook: There are 90 leaves of notebook!

Website: Witty Will Save The World, Co.’s multiply page
Facebook page: Witty Will Save The World, Co.
More photos from the makers: please click here. (kung ako sayo, wag mo i-clock para may suspense ka pag natanggap mo ang bibilhin mong slumbook. Payong kaibigan lang, mamser)
FAQs on the slumbook and how to order: please go here.
Transact via text or email: through text 0906-4652191 or email wittywillsavetheworld at gmail dot com.

Na-excite ka ba? Aminin mo na! Give in! Uuuuuy, magte-text na yan! LOL. Sa mga utak sa likod ng Witty Will Save The World Co., galeng ‘nyo!

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A Narrative about Jeans, Epiphany, Take Two, Sale, and Savings

A month ago, I got this pair of Levi’s jeans from The Landmark for a discounted price of P1,750. The original price was P8,500. Slim fit, low waist, great detail, made in Japan, trusted brand, and a limited edition. And it’s black. Levi’s Black. Close to 80% off, rounded. For the record, nothing inedible has ever climbed my “most favorite” list faster than this 2-years off season pair of jeans (I did a quick research on Levi’s Black and found that 2-year off season bit out. No, I’m still not turned off).

I’ve been wearing them every week since.

It occured to me that at the rate I’m washing and wearing the same pair, they’d fade on me faster than that memory of a really bad one night stand. Or they could accidentally get bleached at the laundromat. Or they could get ripped apart after I find myself recovering from a freak knee-on collission with a tumbleweed rolling at 50mph while I happen to be prancing in one of them unmapped patches of deserts scattered all over Las Piñas (where they have a different time zone than the rest of the Philippines, allegedly). I stopped doing my GDP-related presentation as a solitary tear threatened to make a free fall down my left cheek. The fear swelled uncontrollably from my gut, upping me to my feet with a jolt, and then suddenly, BEHOLD! An epiphany.

When I got my pair a month ago, there were two of the same kind the “sale” rack. Both sized 30 and black (but not Binay-black). Both of them in the same pristine condition. Both on sale. There’s a slim chance that the other sized-30 jean-clone is still on sale in that same mall, unwanted and unnoticed, waiting, nay, WANTing, for my crotch to fill, and re-fill (again and again, repeat to fade), its crotchular section.

I went home tonight with my second pair of the same slim fitting, low waisted, finely detailed black Levi’s that I already owned.  Total cost for two pairs, bought one month apart: P3,500. Total savings: P13,500.

There’s this scheming, marketing ploy I’ve read off a magazine not so long ago saying if you happen to find a pair of jeans that fit you perfectly well, get a second pair of the same “everything.”  It might take a while for you to find a better fitting replacement/favorite, it added.  Since I pride myself as always being the obedient but logical one, can somebody please help me wipe this stupid grin off of my face?!

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Supafly Singled Out from the Quiapo Crowd

Kids, I have to warn you that fishing out your camera on the LRT platform can be very dangerous even if it’s a mere point and shoot camera you’re using. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon while we were lounging at the San Mig Cafe inside the Oceanarium after a day of walking around Manila, I was reviewing my shots and came upon this:

I don’t know if it’s typical of Quiapo to be this crowded but I wouldn’t be caught dead swimming with that swarm. I’m not really a crowd person is why. I zoomed at the photo to see if anybody’ll stand out. Yeah, one person did.

See him yet? Let’s zoom in a little more.

Wide view… magnified… magnified… hold it right there Supafly! LOL

Now, the big question after this exercise: “Can your point and shoot camera do that?” /gloat

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Year-Ender Post: 2009 in Fritzparazzi Photos

Whew! This took too long. I’m sure there’s an easier way out there but I’m old school (i.e. a noob) so I rocked the hard way. If we’ve had interactions in the past year and if in those moments I was crazily snapping away like a loon, then most probably you’ll be in one of the 250 odd “fritzparazzi” photographs I used to come up with this vid. I was too tempted to use photos of other bloggers from most events because I later realized I was missing a month’s worth of pics off my archives, July 2009 to be exact, but thought better. This should do, I hoped.

So I start out with the Baconator and end with a snap of the lunar eclipse that happened on New Year’s Eve. Ok, that’s a lie. The ending’s totally different and I might end up getting killed for having that up LOL. Watch the vid already so you’ll know what I mean.

This one’s for you. For the company, the good times, your work, your craft, your dedication, and your passion. I hope that one day, I could at last measure up with the amount of efforts you have put in this endeavor, with or without Google AdSense.

Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s to a better year ahead of us all. And world peace.

Cheers!

Note: You may want to watch the full HD sized format of this vid straight off its youtube page. You’ll see the detail better that way.

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What If… The Internet Died?

The thought hit me last night between sips of my scrumptious Bulalo soup and Sago’t Gulaman during dinner: What if the Internet died? What if it totally stops working and disappears from the face of the Earth? Is that even remotely possible? The answer: yes. Highly improbable, but not impossible. In the event that the Internet does end, the world as we know may change but not before these things can happen:

Online sellers will have to peddle on the streets

Hosting will be a gig and a chore rather than a service

Domain registrations will rightfully go back to the Registry of Deeds

Big halls like the World Trade Center will forever be booked and become one big chat room, divided into zones/categories

No more AdSense earnings

No more spam

No more blogger events

Hits will be painful

SEO guys will be jobless

Forum moderators will have to use mics to be effective

Scammers will be con men in trench coats in dark alleys or in corporate weare in malls doing MLM

Weather/torrent/RSS news feed addicts will convulse in withdrawal

_________ (fill in the blank with your take, share them in the comment section)

and my lame list could go on and on and on…

Cracked.com, however, egged its readers to come up with their take on “The World of Tomorrow (If The Internet Disappeared Today).” As expected, submissions of Photoshopped images came in droves. From the hundreds, they narrowed the best down to 20. #1 is HUHLOLZ, trust me!

In a totally unrelated note, here, have a radio transmitter.

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No More Bad Days Ever

In the living room a while ago, my gaze lingered on something familiar: a small black book that’s been sitting on a shelf untouched for a while now. I took it, saw the familiar silver letters on the textured hard cover, and remembered it was what Nina gave me for my birthday this year.

I took one more drag of the cig I was smoking before I began flipping through the pages. If this were effective, I thought, maybe I should have this with me wherever I go, just in case I or someone else needs it. First I opened it where Nina left the bookmark (more snapshots of the content after the jump). (more…)

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Cab UpLOLstery Be Hideous

One early morning, I hailed this random cab for work. Story of my weekday life. I opened the door, told the driver my drop off point, got in, said “Thank you” like clockwork (I always thank cab drivers as a habit, no matter what city I’m in. This gesture, I realized, almost always promotes a good vibe between me and my temporary chauffeur), and got myself comfortable on the back seat. No biggie, right? It gets better.

It took 2.5 seconds after my butt found its center of gravity on the cushion for me to notice the upholstery. No, more like upLOLstery. They reminded me of one blog post by Alexei a few months back where he showed another cab’s seat cover sporting animal prints.

OK, I may have been a bit harsh with my judgment so, here, see for yourself and prove me wrong. Be ready to say HOOOOOLY MOTHER OF FRRRRRR!

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. My initial reaction was to get my ass off of the material because it looked as though it belonged to some hapless and now-extinct animal from the wild. An animal with ticks, also multi-colored but blood sucking and hungry, ready to find another host to feed on.

Oh lookie here, it’s got a bronze plate tag, awwww. They don’t make it like this anymore, do they? Huh-YEAH, because we’re in the year 2009 and not the 60s, THAT’S WHY!

I told myself that this is may be the very fabric that nightmares are made off but, hey, I’m getting off this cab in under 10 minutes so there’s seriously nothing to worry about. Only then did my pulse rate start slowing down to almost-normal.

Do note that all the while, I was on my feet inside the cab, my ass pinned to a closed window, my back glued to the ceiling, and both my hands were holding on a sturdy fixture for balance (my left palm was spread flat on the back window and my right had apparently grabbed the driver’s then tousled hair, God bless him).

Good thing this is an isolated case of bad taste. I’ve only seen one, so far, in my regular weekday cab ride of 8 years. That’s a 1 out of a 2,088 reandom chance if you allow me to get geeky with it (na na na na na-na-na, get geeky with it!).

Part Deux to this entry can be found here!

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