Wow! I had no idea that DVD compressions were different for the DVD media that are out there. I think the movie companies have their hands on the higher end compressions. Like I always say, where there's a will there's a way. If you cant save it to one dvd maybe theres a way to save it into two dvd's. I've gotta research this...(pulling out the pad paper and pencil: note to self, find out how to hack 7GB dvds to compress it into a 4 GB dvd.)

In other events, I am assuming you people watched the EMMY's last night. I of course again didnt win the vicarious "Best Stalking via the Comments Section" which was won by Gnome-Girl. I also didnt win the prestigious "Best Supporting Geek in a drama" category which was won by Chris. Oh lets not forget the new category that just came out this year, "Most Desperate Losers in need of Repros" which was unanimously received by a number of people coming into Kinko's all day today thinking they can get their last second projects completed in an hour.

If there's anyone out there that is in major need to watch some flix is me. So yeah, I want those movie coupons. Heres my email. How much are they?

Wow Jay, if you think April's Xanga page was all that, you should check out Friendster too.

And BTW I still cannot view the GROUP BLOG after I post and publish. Oh well, I'll just post the LINK HERE for all to use when they post and publish

No offense taken. I just wanna know why so many Filipinas are such HOTTIES!!! And why didn't I find this out until I was too old and too married to do anything about it??? :(

BTW, thanks for hardly ever posting jokes with Tagalog punch lines anymore. :) Though I have my tagalog translator link ready for when you do. ;)

Enough emoticons from me. I'm going back to April's blog to see if she has any new pics... :D (okay, just one more.)

Vince -- Congrats on the new toy! I've had my DVD burner (came with my setup, also from Dell) for a while now but I've yet to rip any movies. I've made some DVD Picture Shows (Ulead program) of our wedding pictures but that's about it. The problem that I encounter when I try to copy DVDs (not that they want to make it easy because it certainly would be bad for business, I just wanted to try it for the sake of doing it) is that most DVDs are 7GB and the media that I have only has 4GB or so capacity. When you figure out how to rip DVDs, please let me know!

April -- Haven't seen Lumpia but I will try to look for it. I was just surprised to see The Debut in a mainstream video store (rather than an Asian/Filipino joint). I heard about it from Trinnah but before that I didn't know what it was. I was thrilled because it's the first movie ever made about our lives. That's a milestone. Yes, it's low-budget and had areas of improvement but as a first step it was amazing.

Brian actually enjoyed watching it (surprise). He laughed at some of the jokes that most non-pinoys wouldn't get. Like when the two white friends were chowing down on Filipino food and this guy goes, "This stuff is really good! Specially this CHOCOLATE meat stuff!" Brian and I busted up laughing. We assumed that he was referring to dinuguan, of course. If he only knew!

Anyway, Brian said that the acting wasn't too bad. Tirso Cruz III did a really great job playing the father role. Brian said that the only bad acting in the movie came from (no offense Jay) the white actors. I tend to agree with him but I explained that the GOOD white actors are expensive and with the movie being independent and low-budget and all, they couldn't afford to hire them. GOOD Filipino actors on the other hand are cheap and easy to come by.

At any rate, the main character Ben is played by Dante Basco who incidentally also play Rufio in the movie Hook (with Robin Williams). Brian (the movie buff that he is) recognized him almost instantly. I doubted him at first. It took half of the movie for me to realize it as well and finally agree.

I was so excited about the movie, I had to share it with my mom. So we dropped it off on Sunday and then Brian will pick it up Wednesday so we can return the DVD on Thursday. I love Hollywood videos!! Mom wasted no time and watched the movie last night. She loved it, too.

I think it's a great movie not just for Filipinos to watch but also other folks because it gives great insight into our culture. Anyway, that's my bit about The Debut.

P.S. Does anyone have a Loews Ciniplex in their area? I have some movie coupons that I need to give away because they expire at the end of the year. Email me your address if you want them!

fiRst of aLL, a biGG hai 2aLL!

yup, dRama dnt stop! i saw d movie. didnt reaLLee think itz aLL dat. great cast... as in d oLder peeps. d cooLest thing wuz d tagaLog subtitLes... heehee*_* mah sibs cant speak or understand tagaLog, so dey wer actuaLLee writing woRds down 2show off 2deiR fLip fRiends. mah doRkie bRo kept sayin, "lintik!" coz it supposedLee means shit. i dunno bout dat tho... howeva, hav u guys heaRd of d movie "lumpia?" d onLee reason why i went 2d premier wuz becoz iM gud fRiends w/d bands on d soundtRack. phuz & rodsun. deyRe pretty kewL... acoustic lyk. hmm... i didnt get 2see d movie kc i voLunteeRed 2bee usher. haha*_* got a fRee shiRt. woo-hoo. enihoo... riLi wna see a gud fLip indie movie on d biGG scReen.

cent, congratz on d new toy.
iM tryin' 2get one for mahseLf. question: wut'z an LCD? iM tryin 2get a mini fLat screen for a tv in mah room & a dvd/cd pLayer as weLL. if i do move hiR in vegas [iM actuaLLee hiR rite now, but wiLL bee back in sugar Land tues] i want a system in mah room. any suggestions?

Whew! Its about time The Debut came out on DVD. It's been touring the US for over 2 years now. It came to NYC last year but I missed out in seeing it. They decided that they will only release it in certain theaters out in Manhattan. Boooo! After much hooplah and long waits in line. I decided not to watch it in the movies thinking it was going to be out on DVD/VCD soon anyway. I would like to see it on the big screen sometime. Maybe they will offer to put it up for a viewing at the Consulate where they show artsy stuff sometimes. And they show it for FREE! I love free.

Dot and I splurged this week and bought a DELL Dimension with a DVD burner. One thing one must put in mind when buying a DVD burner is the compatibility factor. We went to Best Buys which had DVD media on sale. The problem was that the media they had on sale wasnt compatible with our burner. If you buy a DVD Rewritable. The media you should get has to be a DVD + R. Any other version will not work. However, you can still view DVDs that are already burned. If you have a DVD Recorder you must look at the specs because there are several medias out there that cannot be mixed and matched for DVD recording. Theres the DVD R, a DVD-R, and your DVD+R that I already talked about. Needless to say, I ended up back at Best Buys yesterday to return my useless purchase. Be on the look out for any deals for DVD+R media. Dot is dying to try out our new toy...

Ching, I've heard rave reviews about that movie over here in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it yet. I may rent it from Hollywood videos soon.

"The Debut" - A Filipino American movie Anyone else seen this yet?

Random blog excerpt from masungit.net:

it's not the same . . : You know how I've said that there really is no point in trying to salvage a friendship where only one side is trying hard enough to salvage it? Well, I'm going through that again. It's just different now. I don't know if there's some hatred towards me, but it's just not the same. I wouldn't really care if we didn't hang out together so much. I guess I could try to distance myself, but we're from the same circle of friends. I don't want to confront her and ask her what her problem is with me because she's not really one of those people that can just say what she feels. She likes to beat around the bush. I know she has a problem with me -- I can see it with the way she talks to me, with the way she acts around me, with the way that she always somehow manages to exclude me from the "little groups" that are created everywhere we go. I could be just paranoid. I could just be thinking about it too much, but once again, I'm the one that it's happening to, so nobody can really understand how I feel when it happens. It's just weird. It's like junior high all over again. Back in the days when it was this other girl, me, and her. We would be hanging out at someone's house, and I'd be the odd one out . . like always. I'm getting really tired of it. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what to say. I don't want to say anything. I guess I'll just do what I've been doing. When it happens, I'll just get quiet because like she said, "I don't let it get to me too much." I guess some things are just more important than others.

Some people think that it will stop.  Like when I get to high school I won't have to deal with this crap.  And when it happens in high school, we are hopeful that when we get to college we won't have to deal with this crap.  And then when I get out in the real world, I won't have to deal with this crap.  It's something that one will just have to accept because it's human nature and there is no way to change that.

Update! Chris co-wrote THIS book! Its coming out in a few weeks. You can pre-order it on Amazon. Yes, I am so living vicariously through this guy...

Kudos to Blogger for placing all these new features like file uploading and spell checking. But I just cannot see that fact why I have to PAY for adding an RSS file to my blogspot site. Totally ludicrous! If it werent for the notoriety of google buying out blogger I wouldnt be here anymore. So how about it Evan? How about free RSS for everyone?

Thats great news JR. and ditto for Ching and Brian! My friend Yanni had her baby 4 days ago and they werent expecting her to give birth until 3 weeks from now. As far as TechTV, I certainly hope that Ching and Brain are learning the ins and outs of the computer world. Sad to say, I have stopped being an avid watcher of TechTV due to the fact that they booted Chris Pirillo from his show and also the way the producers have slowly filled the network with crappy new shows rather than technology info in the last 8 months. But dont let my boycott ruin your fun, enjoy Call for Help and The Screensavers while you still can.

Some things are worth cross-posting

Just got a call - I'm a grandpa again!!! My son and his wife were expecting a baby girl at the end of October, but she's here already!!! Lauren is 7lbs., 4 oz., so best guess is the docs were 6-7 weeks off in their calculations. Mom and daughter are resting comfortably.

I'll try to get pics...

Has anyone else noticed the new and improved Blogger features? Neato-burrito!

Net -- Brian and I have discovered the joys of TechTV.

Thank you April. Hey, are any of you interested in suiting up for next year's parade? All you have to do is go to the MarryMeWedding store just let me know ahead of time...

haha... i jst added cent & ching on mah fRiendster! yey! luv dat chinese pix cent!

How come when I click on View Blog on Blogger for the GS Blog I get a view of the zine? (Scratching Head)

Friendster.com! I am currently linked to Ching. Woot! Woot! Okay so now that I am part of this phenomenon who wants to get linked to me? You can search for me through netpanday@yahoo.com

What's Friedster? Do they sell fries online?