DiveAbout

DiveAbout http://diveabout.multiply.com/ Fri, 4 Jul 2008 15:35:45 -0000 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:53:25 -0000 DiveAbout http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/logo http://diveabout.multiply.com 100 100 Finally. From the <a style="font-weight: bold; " href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080618-143262/UPDATE-2-Ces-Drilon-companions-free" target="_blank">Philippine Daily Inquirer</a>: MANILA, Philippines--Kidnapped television reporter Ces Drilon, cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion and Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo were freed Tuesday night, nine days after they were abducted in Sulu province. For those who sent SMSes, chatted via YM, communicated through e-mail and other means: thanks for the prayers. For those that perpetrated this crime: I hope you all get hunted down. 'Yun lang.   http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/36/Finally. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:53:25 -0000 THREADLESS SUMMER SALE!!! Most Tees now on sale from US$10.00!!! Be a good friend/contact and use this link to buy. <a href="http://www.threadless.com/?streetteam=diveabout">http://www.threadless.com/?streetteam=diveabout</a> http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/35/THREADLESS_SUMMER_SALE Mon, 2 Jun 2008 17:21:03 -0000 Beef. Know anyone who has a Tower Club Membership? Bribe 'em to bring you in. This is only happening this month (June). <a href="http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/SEOnQAoKCmgAAGhvWlQ1"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SEOnQAoKCmgAAGhvWlQ1/image001.jpg?et=pyUfXtnUlcfVBUq%2ByzAZxg&nmid=0" border="0"></a> Php 1,000.00 (around US$23.00) isn't bad for an all-you-can-eat Prime Rib dinner. Just make sure to run 20km after. Hah! http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/34/Beef. Mon, 2 Jun 2008 07:55:25 -0000 Nasi Lemak CAPSULE REVIEW (Meaning, short and sweet, folks) Nasi PALPAK, more like it. This place was advertised to have "Authentic Singaporean Cuisine," with dishes like Bak Kuh Teh (Pork Rib Soup) and Hainanese Chicken (Steamed Chicken and Ginger). The food was meh, and the service was horrible. Experience as follows: SERVICE: Slow and inefficient. Maui got her food a full 30 minutes (!!!) after we ordered. And this was just DIM SUM, mind you. Inexcusable. Steaming some chicken feet and roasting Chicken Satay should never take that long. Even the Satay sauce came AFTER they served the actual chicken skewers. TASTE: Disappointing. Their "house special" - the Bak Kuh Teh was bland and uninteresting. Sure, it was tender, but the flavour wasn't there. Yang Chow Fried Rice - FAIL. Unseasoned and not pleasing to the palate. The Chicken Satay was overcooked, dry and tough. Satay sauce (late, btw) was way too chunky. RECOMMENDATIONS: Avoid it like the plague. Bad service, crap food. For pr... http://diveabout.multiply.com/reviews/item/4 Thu, 29 May 2008 17:41:23 -0000 Parents, this is where your college money is going... Frankly, I am...speechless. Parents work hard to send their kids to school, and THIS is what happens? http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/33/Parents_this_is_where_your_college_money_is_going... Wed, 7 May 2008 12:50:07 -0000 Wedding updates, sort of... Received an e-mail invite from Hizon's Catering a few weeks ago about a Grand Food Tasting event they were having last Sunday. Now, Maui and I think Hizon's so totally rocks. Their spread during last years Philippine Advertising Congress was an exercise in indulgence. Such thoroughly yummy nosh that merited (at least) three return trips to the buffet. I sent the confirmation that we were going. An excerpt from their invite: <a href="http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/SCCQewoKCmgAAELPZIo1"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SCCQewoKCmgAAELPZIo1/Picture%201.png?et=m6G%2B1zinuy5GLftmCXA3lg&nmid=" border="0"></a> And that we did last Sunday. After some initial confusion (they didn't bother to confirm who registered via e-mail), we made our way to our table, where we found out that it was more of a sales event than a Grand Food Tasting. The food was delicious, mind you, but there were sales reps at every table asking us to fill out forms on what event we needed them for. So naturally, things went to the wedding. But we were there for the food, and not to book them as caterers, so we deftly evaded questions on the specifics of the event. A sample conversation: Stacy (sales rep): ... http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/32/Wedding_updates_sort_of... Tue, 6 May 2008 17:24:14 -0000 Random Thoughts 1) I use biodegradable plastics and fill my car with biodiesel. There's a shortage of raw materials to produce these earth-friendly items. I drive food prices up. People starve and eventually, die. 2) I use non-biodegradeable plastics and fill my car my car with conventional petrol. I poison the environment. People will eventually die. Hm. http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/31/Random_Thoughts Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:40:26 -0000 Feeding the T-Shirt Fetish <a href="/photos/hi-res/upload/SA32XwoKCmgAAGMFaxs1"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SA32XwoKCmgAAGMFaxs1/Picture%201.png?et=KGM96FHkUzcGc0JWlokR8g&nmid=" border="0"></a>Lovely, insane stuff going on at non-insane site: CNN.com's got a nifty mini-app that enables users to grab headlines from its front page to turn them into t-shirts! Benjamin Palmer and his mad cadre of web guys at <a href="http://barbariangroup.com">The Barbarian Group</a> have come up with a great way to publicize the site's subtle redesign. Though not all headlines are printable (would've liked "Oprah called anti-Chirstian cult leader), there are still a good number that you can use. These semi-custom shirts are available for $19.99 and are printed on American Apparel shirts (same as Threadless!). My first shirt says "Weird fish leave sea, spawn on beach." LOVES IT. Go to us.cnn.com (apparently works on the US site only), and look at the "Latest News" section. You'll find some headlines with a little t-shirt logo beside it. Click on that, then get your coolie piece of news history. http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/30/Feeding_the_T-Shirt_Fetish Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:31:27 -0000 Threadless! <a href="http://threadless.com/?from=diveabout" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft" src="http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R@Bq4woKCmgAAGYXbOQ1/Picture%201.png?et=yS%2BgsL31S1XJlWKzLCBmxQ&nmid=" border="0"></a> Ah, we love sales, especially when it's a <a href="http://threadless.com/?from=diveabout" target="_blank">Threadless</a> sale! Hipster cred starts at $9.00! Maui and I have bought five shirts already. Offer runs until 23 March and most stocks are already running low. Click on the the graphic on your left or that large-ish link up top. http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/29/Threadless Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:26:22 -0000 Roadrunner Party, 07 March 2008 Local post production firm Roadrunner hosted a well-attended party with a well-stocked bar. That can only mean one thing: pictures of drunk people! Perfect place to test the abilities of Stuart, my new ultracompact "party" http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/album/37/Roadrunner_Party_07_March_2008 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:28:41 -0000 DMC Class + Butch's Impromptu Despedida Right after one of our Dive Master classes, our resident seafarer Butch announced that he was making an emergency trip around the world and would be gone for the next 3-4 months. Which called for drinks. And as divers go, there was a whole lot of http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/album/36/DMC_Class_Butchs_Impromptu_Despedida Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:13:45 -0000 ImprovEverywhere Wonderful, inspiring group of NYC-based pranksters/actors who stage massive, weird productions like this one: More than 200 actors from ImprovEverywhere went into New York's Grand Central Station and...froze for a whole five minutes. Of course, everything was documented. See more of their shennanigans on their <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://youtube.com/user/ImprovEverywhere">Youtube page.</a> http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/28/ImprovEverywhere Tue, 11 Mar 2008 04:34:37 -0000 Going Nuts! I've been having to keep it a relatively tight secret for the last month or so, but last 06 March 2008, Elly (Managing Director of OgilvyOne Manila) was in New York to claim our 1st place trophy at the <a href="http://www.caples.org/caplesnight/winners30.html">30th John Caples Awards</a>, considered the top awards show for Direct Marketing. We won for BMW Philippines' "Walnut Blast" direct marketing pack. It's my first international award, and I'm rather proud of how the whole thing came about. Many thanks to our insanely wonderful BMW clients for believing in the work and helping the agency produce the pack. This really shows that if agency and clients are on the same page, everybody wins out. We sent them on a regional hunt that took them to Shanghai, apparently the only place one could source whole walnuts. Vielen Dank to the crazy BMW Marketing Communications Team. And to Gavin, AJ, Allan and the suits on the account, WE DID IT! <a href="http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R9OKcgoKCmgAAFVqMlY1"></a><a href="http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R9Qf@goKCmgAAHLjA301"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R9Qf@goKCmgAAHLjA301/OgilvyManila_BMWBlastDM_A.jpg?et=yEcEk0%2CrXCbdw4K0bpiaIg&nmid=" border="0"></a>1st place, baby! Wootchie Bootchies! Funny that this piece was ignored during last year's Philippine Advertising C... http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/27/Going_Nuts Sun, 9 Mar 2008 08:06:33 -0000 Creative Guild in Boracay, 29 Feb - 03 Mar 2008 Maui and I, along with a few hundred advertising creatives, troop to Boracay to get some sun, rest and drink. http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/album/35/Creative_Guild_in_Boracay_29_Feb_-_03_Mar_2008 Tue, 4 Mar 2008 05:28:32 -0000 A New Hope Okay, so if you've been following Philippine current events, we're chest-deep in another stupid government scandal. And while I may act ambivalent about the whole bit, I am generally concerned about where this country is heading. The government says that our economy is the best it's been in 31 years. But it's not good enough. People are STILL starving and well, in terms of infrastructure, we still pay the highest price for the lowest quality. This is progress you say? So the children of People Power 1 are now grown up. We have the income, the numbers and, more importantly because of the Interwebs, the power to influence. Friend <a href="kipling91.multiply.com">Lawin</a> has an interesting germ of an idea of bringing about People Power 2.0. Read up, and if you're interested, spread the word and let's see where we can take this. --- *Please feel free to repost this on your blog. - Jason Income tax, in an ideal world, is how a government generates money in order to fund its programs and functions, pay government workers' salarie... http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/26/A_New_Hope Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:02:55 -0000 Rats! Literally. Maui and I, in addition to the three wonderful dogs in our lives, have added two very wily rats to our ever-growing Noah's ark of animals. <a href="http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R6nxIgoKCmgAABwSRas1"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R6nxIgoKCmgAABwSRas1/Chip.jpg?et=OWiF9wCQRXPdvB2aOjqhog&nmid=" border="0"></a> This is Chip. He's a Husky Rat, named so because apparently, this breed of rat has the markings of the Siberian Husky dog. He's a rather affectionate fellow, quite tame but still a bit skittish because of his new, non-pet shop surroundings. Chip is very friendly, as we're able to take him out of his cage and let him roam around freely. His companion, Edna, we think is preggers and she's quite fierce - she bit me last weekend and I haven't really forgiven her for that yet. It's pretty great having a couple of odd pets in my flat. At least I have some other things to fuss over. They're not your typical vermin. As the various sites on the web say, these animals are quite clean and maintenance free. No extra-special care is needed since they eat practically ANYTHING and they're quiet. Problem is, they have the tendency to reproduce quickly, ... http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/25/Rats Wed, 6 Feb 2008 17:51:11 -0000 Oh shoot. I'm blogging this from a television advert shoot right now. Well, it's not really a television advert yet. They call this a videomatic, basically a test shoot to show participants in a focus group discussion. I find this process (testing an advert idea) thoroughly time consuming and highly unnecessary, as the outcome of this little test will determine if the actual advert will be shot or not. Too much process leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And I'm not too comfortable about letting a room of people decide the fate of one of my scripts (even though it's not an award-winning one). Let's get this over with, dammit. Lurvin' the fact that we've managed to jack strong Wi-Fi signal from somewhere. At least I can keep myself entertained. http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/24/Oh_shoot. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:41:01 -0000 Well, Well... ...well. Meaning, three days of rest, industrial-strength antibiotics and lots of TV. Now, I'm in much better shape than I was last week. Dengue test came out negative, thank God. So I'm back to work recording stuff for a new television advert. Over lunch, Telly (our producer) treated us out to Little Tokyo, a bunch of small Japanese (duh) restaurants near the recording studio. On the way out, we chanced upon this little chap. Quite possibly the luckiest cat in the Metro. Imagine a lunch of fresh tuna, salmon, squid and what not. We've dubbed him "Yapusa." Yakuza + Pusa (Filipino for "cat.") <a href="http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R5mNhwoKCmgAAHHXIt41"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R5mNhwoKCmgAAHHXIt41/Image004.jpg?et=%2C2ybqsd0Pc5KVPC6dIdu0Q&nmid=" border="0"></a>Eat your heart out, Garfield. http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/23/Well_Well... Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:20:45 -0000 Bleagh. Okay, so all those meds and vitamins + lots of fluids didn't work, so I *finally* went to a hospital today. That didn't work out so well either because of the volume of people so I went to a small diagnostic clinic, where they asked for a CBC (complete blood check) and had me do some x-rays. They're saying it's a bronchial infection, but the doc is also checking for dengue fever, which, really stresses me out, though I know it's just a process thing and they have to be thorough. I'm now on industrial-strength antibiotics, which I really, really dislike. Not just because I can't drink, but I generally frown on antibiotics as a cure-all for these minor feverish episodes. And besides, this particular antibiotic treatment costs $$$. Almost a thousand bucks (pesos, I mean) for just THREE pills. Ouch. Just hope I'm tip-top in time for Friday. http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/22/Bleagh. Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:42:25 -0000 Cough, cough. The inevitable has happened. After a hellish workweek of multiple OTs and such, my body's given out and I'm now nursing a minor cold/fever. What's adding to it is this freakish weather we're having. Long drizzles + Manila's constantly polluted atmosphere makes for a nasty allergic cocktail. Of course it's been rough. I've been in bed for the last day. If not in bed, I'm popping meds, loading up on fluids and vitamins. I refuse to be put down by this bug, even though I really should get some rest. Highlight of my day? Maui totally surprising me this afternoon by showing up at my flat with a pack of chicken soup. http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/21/Cough_cough. Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:03:26 -0000 BOOM. Pitch prep went a bit badly this afternoon as an internal agency meeting resulted in our ideas being ripped apart, shredded and remixed into incoherent goo. Nothing survived. Or if anything did, my brain shut off and told me everything was lost. As a result, I'm stressed out, exhausted and am nursing a mighty nasty migraine. But I am casting aside the pain and negativity because in about 15 minutes, Steve Jobs will take the stage to make the Keynote Address in MacWorld 2008. Pathetically geeky, yes. Boom! http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/20/BOOM. Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:46:25 -0000 2008, so far. Let's see: Two weeks into 2008 and we've had four known resignations. Pitch season has started, so the creative group has sharpened their pencils and we're all desperately trying to come up with ideas for the 21st January presentation. Any success? Not really. Or maybe we're being a *bit* hard on ourselves. I really don't know. Perhaps people are still recovering from the holiday revelry, or maybe it's because we lack an Executive Creative Director (read: creative head honcho and he/she who serves as a point of inspiration to all) and our collective morale is down. Lest I throw off people with this rant, I would like to state that The Agency is a-ok. We're still loving every minute of our jobs, though there are occassional hiccups in the system wherein we find ourselves in creative limbo. The kids need a mentor and the seniors need someone to keep them churning out the work. But we're all big kids now, and we can take care of ourselves. We still have our Wiis, PSPs, comics and cheap bee... http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/19/2008_so_far. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:00:12 -0000 Finally, updates! (Well, sort of) Here's the thing about being an advertising grunt: There are times when the workload gets so massively weird that you barely have any time to do the simplest things, blogging included. And there are times when you DO have the time to do things, and all you want to do is sleep and just generally zone out. The recent holiday season was a bit of both - lots of work (some new TV adverts in the pipeline which I'll post as soon as they air), lots of holiday merrymaking (though much less than before - I'm getting too old to crawl home) and me just generally wanting to be a Luddite. Maui, unfortunately, had bronchitis over the break, so Christmas and New Year's celebrations were kept to a minimum so she could heal. It sucked not having her around at some parties especially now that we're engaged and all. She's all better now, though. Hurrah to antibiotics! Gift-giving (and receiving!) was particularly fun this year. Our first batch of pre-wedding gifts have come in, all books about planning, etc.... http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/18/Finally_updates_Well_sort_of Tue, 8 Jan 2008 15:31:28 -0000 BOING! <a rel="nofollow" href="/photos/hi-res/upload/R2H0LAoKCnIAAHuMewU1"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.diveabout.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R2H0LAoKCnIAAHuMewU1/BoingBoing.jpg?et=7XASzzLzaYDX9mUNIQ8vjg&nmid=" border="0"></a><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/12/neil-gaiman-helps-fa.html">Boingboing</a> picked up our proposal story, and the feature was written by no less than <a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_doctorow">Cory Doctorow</a>. Now that that really caps off a stressful week in a very good way. http://diveabout.multiply.com/journal/item/17/BOING Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:15:52 -0000 Proposal Video! Major thanks to Russ Molina for capturing the proposal on vid. I hadn't planned on anyone filming this. Russ, you really http://diveabout.multiply.com/video/item/3/Proposal_Video Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:34:07 -0000 Blast from the past! Shots from more than a year ago - Gweilos 12 July 2006. xBBDO, BBDO, JWT and soon to leave http://diveabout.multiply.com/photos/album/34/Blast_from_the_past Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:00:44 -0000