The Cool School

The sad truth is that The Cool School never existed. I even made a website for this but nothing happened. It didn't push through. It doesn't make me sad though. I don't even feel regretful about it. For the very first time, I will be sharing the free website I created using Microsoft Office Live. http://thecoolschool.web.officelive.com/default.aspx


Because of this, I thought of creating a new portal for my collection.

Meet Boredom

Boredom is the most resourceful thing that ever existed. I guess not everybody would agree but it's for you guys to figure out why.


Personally, I come up with strange yet creative ideas when I get bored. Even with the most unattractive subjects, photo enthusiasts like me and professional photographers, can create something beautiful out of them. That's another thing about photography that I love. It gives pleasure not only to yourself but also to others to see something you often take for granted come out perfect when photographed.


Boredom makes me more productive.

The Church and the State

I'm no saint and certainly not into politics but one cannot ignore the ever-growing competition between the Church and the State. Who's right and who's not? The State seems to have failed us. Does that mean the Church has to take over?
New Frontiers for the Catholic Church: Positive and Negative Democracy in the Philippines | Maboloc | LUMINA.

Make Reading a Habit

It's never too early to teach a child how to read. Save them from complete technological damnation before it's too late! Or buy them a Kindle instead.


Learn what happens to kids when they turn their backs from reading here.

S.O.L.O

This blog is a duplicate. Wondering why? I manage two blog sites. One is my personal blog and the other is work-related. WordPress makes me feel stupid so I prefer Blogger. That's also the reason why this is more updated than the other. However, I finally came up with the most brilliant idea that would surely keep me updating my WordPress account. Here's my first photo blog inspired by an article I found here.




American-Vietnamese relations

"The White Riders"


Never mind the dust. These tourists seem to enjoy riding solo around Ho Chi Minh City.

Test Shoot with Popoy

Been reading too much about photography since 2011 started and yesterday I decided to buy another accessory for Laura. I was reading some articles on DPS when I saw this article. I immediately looked for a pop-up flash diffuser so I won't have to bring a speedlight with me when I travel and shoot outdoors. Below are some sample photos I took using Popoy, Laura's new accessory. I must say that Popoy will be Laura's forever partner.

ISO 800 30mm f4.2 1/3sec w/o Popoy

ISO 800 30mm f4.2 1/3sec w/ Popoy

ISO 800 30mm f4.2 1/3sec w/o Popoy

ISO 800 30mm f4.2 1/3sec w/ Popoy

My New Year's Wishlist

Yes, you read it right, I have already listed my wishes for this year. I just realized that it is unfair not to give people enough time to save up in order to grant my wishes and so I decided to make a list of what I want before the next Christmas comes.


Let me start it with a dream. Every child dreams of having a Christmas village. No living thing exists in this village and is only something your eyes could feast on. The changing lights, the miniature shops, church, houses, old grandma crocheting, Santa and his reindeer, and many more make this village appealing, not just to kids, but also to the kids at heart. Because of that certain "appeal", I wish someone would give me a Christmas village, or maybe take me to wherever it is.


Next is probably the simplest wish you could ever hear or maybe you know someone who's fond of reading and often uses paper clips as bookmarks, who also wishes for a new bookmark which actually adds excitement to the art of reading. It's like garnishing your home-made pasta with fresh parsley. Aside from smelling the scent of paper and ink, carrying the weight of that 642-page "The Historian" in hardbound and the sound of paper being flipped by the reader's delicate candle-shaped fingers, as a book lover I enjoy the anticipation of going to the next page and not even clipping that nice bookmark on but just caressing it. Plus, you get something nice to look at aside from the text.


Moving on, I wish that I could get more camera accessories. I'm a photo hobbyist so I tend to explore more and as I do so I begin to crave for accessories that will enhance the quality of photos I take. I have shaky hands and so I often bring my tripod with me. I already have a tripod so that's not my next wish. I just got a lens cleaning pen from a coworker so I don't need a new one yet. I'm planning to take another workshop and after that I'd probably wish for a set of studio lights. This surely requires more money to be spent and that's what this early wish list is for.


Last, but I'm sure I'd come up with more wishes as the days pass, I wish that I could go on another backpacking trip with my friend Carmelle. I love traveling with her because you can take her anywhere and you won't hear her complain at all. She's also an historian which is great for a budget traveler like me because that means we don't need a tourist guide. We never had a tourist guide when we went to Cambodia and Vietnam last summer. Carmelle also does well in Math so that's good for me because I don't need to do all the conversion all by myself.


That's all I can think of for now. This is a reminder I should share to all my friends.