Monday, February 28, 2011

OPC Song Picks [2011.2.27]



Yeng Constantino has gone a long way from being the first Grand Star Dreamer of Pinoy Dream Academy. She now has plenty of hits under her belt, including this fourth single from her album Lapit. "Wag Na" is now on its 7th week at #1 on this blog's Pinoy Top 10. Here are the song picks this week:

Overall Top 10
February 27-March 5, 2011
  1. Miranda Cosgrove - Dancing Crazy
  2. Avril Lavigne - What the Hell
  3. Yeng Constantino - Wag Na
  4. Colbie Caillat - I Do
  5. Jessie J - Price Tag (feat. B.o.B)
  6. Charlie Green - A Friend Like You (with Rachelle Ann Go)
  7. Hot Chelle Rae - Tonight Tonight
  8. Ashlyne Huff - White Flag
  9. Jennifer Lopez - On the Floor (feat. Pitbull)
  10. Train - Marry Me
Pinoy Top 10
February 27-March 5, 2011
  1. Yeng Constantino - Wag Na
  2. Charlie Green - A Friend Like You (with Rachelle Ann Go)
  3. Rivermaya - Remenis
  4. Young JV - Kaibigan Lang
  5. Gloc-9 - Walang Natira (feat. Sheng Belmonte)
  6. Mark Bautista - Kahit Na May Mahal Ka Nang Iba
  7. Eevee - Larawan
  8. Yeng Constantino - If It's Love
  9. Urbandub - We Kept It Hidden
  10. Tanya Markova - Linda Blair

Friday, February 25, 2011

The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business - EP01

Before I start off with the episode, let me first introduce my Pebble Ranking for The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business. I’ll start off with this standing based on their previous finish and how I actually like the teams:

Pre-Race Rank Team Members Original Season Previous Finish Personal Favorite Starting Points
1 Jet and Cord 16 2nd (9 pts) 4 13
2 Ron and Christina 12 2nd (9 pts) 3 12
3 Margie and Luke 14 3rd (8 pts) 3 11
3 Jaime and Cara 14 2nd (9 pts) 2 11
5 Gary and Mallory 17 6th (5 pts) 4 9
5 Flight Time and Big Easy 15 4th (7 pts) 2 9
7 Kisha and Jen 14 4th (7 pts) 1 8
8 Mel and Mike 14 6th (5 pts) 2 7
8 Kent and Vyxsin 12 5th (6 pts) 1 7
10 Amanda and Kris 14 8th (3 pts) 2 5
11 Zev and Justin 15 9th (2 pts) 2 4

Just a quick stat: There are 5 teams from Season 14, while there are 3 teams that previously finished in second place.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Janitor - A "Billionaire" Parody

A friend of mine, itago natin siya sa pangalang Ure, posted on Facebook: "I want to be a janitor." That gave me an idea for this parody, to the tune of Travie McCoy's "Billionaire" featuring Bruno Mars. Here's the recording:



JANITOR
Parody to "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars
New lyrics by JP Cabrales

Download

I wanna be a janitor so frickin' bad
Sweep and mop the floor 'til I go mad
I wanna make all the toilet bowls so squeaky clean
Throwing all the garbage while I sing

The mess will vanish from your eyes
I'll drive away the ants and flies
Removing dirt is my delight
Oh I, I'm sure
You won't complain no more
If I am the janitor

20110221

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

OPC Song Picks [2011.2.20]



Even before "Hey, Soul Sister," I've already liked Train. Their songs "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" and "When I Look to the Sky" are my favorites. Their song "Marry Me" is the third single off Save Me San Francisco and is proving to be a great follow-up to "If It's Love." It's currently at #8 on the Overall Top 10. Here are OPC's song picks this week (and yes, all are non-movers on the Pinoy Top 10):

Overall Top 10
February 20-26, 2011
  1. Miranda Cosgrove - Dancing Crazy
  2. Yeng Constantino - Wag Na
  3. Colbie Caillat - I Do
  4. Avril Lavigne - What the Hell
  5. Jessie J - Price Tag (feat. B.o.B)
  6. Charlie Green - A Friend Like You (with Rachelle Ann Go)
  7. Jennifer Lopez - On the Floor (feat. Pitbull)
  8. Train - Marry Me
  9. Pink - Perfect
  10. Ricky Martin - The Best Thing About Me Is You (feat. Joss Stone)
Pinoy Top 10
February 20-26, 2011
  1. Yeng Constantino - Wag Na
  2. Charlie Green - A Friend Like You (with Rachelle Ann Go)
  3. Gloc-9 - Walang Natira (feat. Sheng Belmonte)
  4. Eevee - Larawan
  5. Mark Bautista - Kahit Na May Mahal Ka Nang Iba
  6. Yeng Constantino - If It's Love
  7. Urbandub - We Kept It Hidden
  8. Tanya Markova - Linda Blair
  9. Frencheska Farr - Today I'll See the Sun
  10. Six Part Invention - Til the End

Monday, February 21, 2011

Survivor: Redemption Island - EP01

A new season of Survivor is on! Here are my thoughts while watching the premiere episode of Survivor: Redemption Island:

Opening Scenes
  • Phillip, from the Ometepe Tribe, is labelled as "Former Federal Agent?" with the question mark in the end. What's up with that?
  • Matt, still from Ometepe, looks like Fabio, last season's sole survivor!
  • Zapatera, just like a nearby barangay!
  • Jeff Probst sitting at the back of the helicopter with his feet hanging in the air, that's gotta be a little scary!

Rob, Russell and Redemption Island

  • So Rob and Russell do not appear on the opening titles (maybe they still want to surprise those who don't know when they make their entrance later).
  • R&R (Rob and Russell), nor any other castaway, will not be having R&R (rest and recreation) while playing Survivor.
  • So Rob receives cheers while Russell gets some heads shaking.
  • Redemption Island! Just like Isla Purgatoryo from the Philippine version (but I didn't actually watch that on GMA).
  • So Jeff mentions that they are in Nicaragua. For a while, I thought this will not be revealed in-show, as it would become obvious that they are on the same location from last season.
  • Russell: "I'm not here to sabotage anything for nobody. If I came back and did something like that, it would be pretty stupid." Yup, right on that! But don't take his word for it!

Tribe Life

  • Mike to Ralph: "Your superhero nickname is Steel Wall." Sounds like something football-related, which reminds me of Coach Jimmy Johnson.
  • Kristina immediately looks for a clue to a hidden immunity idol (but didn't find one).
  • So Russell's tribemates are closely watching him, and they know his style!
  • Though there wasn't any clue, Kristina finds a hidden immunity idol. So she's got the Russell Factor! Makes me wonder why Russell's not searching for it this time around on the other tribe.
  • The hidden immunity idols (HII) being found so easily seems to be getting old already. Maybe the producers should consider making it more difficult to find next time. Otherwise, they should just probably retire the HIIs altogether.

Immunity Challenge

  • Ometepe is falling behind in the challenge. They got 4 men and 5 women. Zapatera's got 5 men and 4 women. Could that have been a factor?
  • Zapatera's logo seems to be that of a dinosaur (or a lizard or reptile), while that of Ometepe's seems to be a bird.
  • Jeff: "Zapatera had a gigantic lead. And it is gone!" C'mon Ometepe, give me a come from behind win! Oh well, didn't happen.

Post-Challenge and Tribal Council

  • Rob and Russell don't have a "description" appearing beside their names. Cool! They don't need it anyway. Are they the only ones to get such distinction so far? I guess so.
  • Good thing they're on a new tribal council set. I didn't dig the surrounding graveyard last season. Pun intended.
  • Jeff, did you just say asterick?! "Rob, a lot of talk about guys having a free pass. I would put an asterick next to your name." Shouldn't that be asterisk, or am I missing something?
  • Way to go, Phillip! Big reveal on Kristina's immunity idol.
  • Phillip not being able to pronounce Frencheska's name correctly seems quite funny.
  • And way to go, Boston Rob! Kristina shows Rob her immunity idol and even lets him hold it. Too bad he wasn't able to convince (or intimidate) her to give it to him.
  • Jeff: "This has been one of the most amazing tribal councils." We believe you, Jeff! We can see it on your face.
  • It was indeed a great tribal council! So long, Frencheska! See you at Redemption Island.

Note on this season's tribe names: Zapatera is a volcano while Ometepe is a two-volcano island in Nicaragua.

It's a nice first episode and this should be another interesting season of Survivor! Till the next episode! Survivor: Redemption Island airs on Jack TV every Thursday, via satellite at 5pm and primetime telecast at 10pm, with replays every Saturday, 8am.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

GoGear Gone Grrr!

It was April 2010 when I decided to buy an MP3 player. My mobile phone, a Nokia 3110 classic, is already capable of playing MP3s and it even has a decent music player, but using it to listen to music for several hours consumes too much battery power, thus, the reason why I wanted a standalone MP3 device.

One of the features I required was the support for MTP. MTP, or Media Transfer Protocol, allows me to manage my playlists the way I want to. I was making heavy use of this feature on my N3110c. Based on the Philips website, the GoGear Spark sufficed, so I bought it at Wellcom.

But there was no MTP feature on the GoGear Spark, even after thoroughly examining it. I tried updating the firmware, still no MTP. I even tried to search for a workaround that would allow me to enjoy similar playlist control, but it's not even close to the convenience of an MTP device. I felt cheated by the Philips website. That’s considered false advertising, ain’t it?

Maybe it would have been possible for me to exchange my Spark for another MP3 player at Wellcom, but at the time, they also didn't have any other item that met my need. Maybe the law even states that I could return it and get my money back. But Wellcom was actually of no fault regarding my purchase. I can only put the blame on Philips. (And probably on myself too since I didn’t bother checking with product specification and consumer reviews on other websites and just relied solely on the “official” information from Philips.)

So I called Philips Consumer Care, asking for my options on what they might be able to do for me. A refund was on my mind. But they instead opted to replace the Spark with a GoGear Vibe, which was fine with me. I got the Vibe on May 14, 2010, after almost a month of getting in touch with them. The Vibe did have MTP support, and I was satisfied. Everything was well.

Fast forward to late December 2010. The Vibe wouldn't turn on anymore. I didn't even drop or misuse it, so who knows why it suddenly died just like that. I checked it in at Pro Logic, the Philips authorized service center in Cebu, but I was told it was beyond repair. Since the GoGear is still under warranty, they said they would take care of things and file for a possible replacement unit. The technician told me to keep the busted Vibe, but instead asked for the receipt, saying that the information he needed for processing was there. Although a bit hesitant (that is my only solid proof of purchase after all), I gave it to him. Yeah, I know, my bad.

Anyway, I made several follow-up calls to Pro Logic in January 2011. The bottomline: it's still being processed, according to them. With the lack of development, I decided to contact Philips Consumer Care again in mid-February, telling them of my present woes. A representative got in touch with me. In our correspondence, I made mention of the receipt, and I was told that the receipt should be always with me and if the need arises, I should only be giving a photocopy of it. I was instructed to turn over the busted GoGear Vibe to Pro Logic, and I did so. The unit shall be sent to the Philips head office in Manila.

While at Pro Logic, I asked to get my receipt back, but I wasn't able to. I tried to reason that the receipt should be with me, as what the representative told me, but to no avail. I was told it's on file and that it wasn’t retrievable at the moment, so I should just come back to get it. This is what bothers me as there might be something else going on. This should serve as a lesson for me that next time, I should never let go of my original receipts.

The technician at Pro Logic also mentioned that Philips’ policy is for them to only replace items once, which they have already done for me back in May. But why should I be the one on the losing end when (1) it’s them who placed wrong information on their website, and (2) it’s them who made a device which is not durable?

I am hoping:
  1. for a favorable action from Philips, which would either be a refund, or an MTP-enabled replacement MP3 device with a capacity of 4 GB (I wouldn't complain if it's more),
  2. that I would be getting my receipt back as soon as possible (or that the receipt would be a non-factor in the event that I don't get it back), and
  3. that it would be straightforward from here on and that a resolution would be reached before February ends.
I recommended the GoGear as a more affordable and even better alternative to the Apple iPod. However, at present, I am un-recommending it as it is bringing hassles and inconvenience to me. And certainly, I am not getting the value of what I paid for. It’s not even one year old, and it’s already out of commission!

The GoGear is a very good MP3 player (while it is still functioning). I am also satisfied with how my concerns are handled by Philips Consumer Care. Now if only Philips has a better service center (only complaint here is the receipt issue) and longer-lasting, tougher devices.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

OPC Song Picks [2011.2.13]



The music video for Avril Lavigne's "What the Hell" debuted this weekend on the MYX weekly charts. It was OPC's #1 pick for January 2011 and currently sits at #4 on the overall weekly Top 10. Here's this week's list:

Overall Top 10
February 13-19, 2011
  1. Miranda Cosgrove - Dancing Crazy
  2. Yeng Constantino - Wag Na
  3. Colbie Caillat - I Do
  4. Avril Lavigne - What the Hell
  5. Jessie J - Price Tag (feat. B.o.B)
  6. Pink - Perfect
  7. Charlie Green - A Friend Like You (with Rachelle Ann Go)
  8. David Archuleta - Falling Stars
  9. Train - Marry Me
  10. Ricky Martin - The Best Thing About Me Is You (feat. Joss Stone)
Pinoy Top 10
February 13-19, 2011
  1. Yeng Constantino - Wag Na
  2. Charlie Green - A Friend Like You (with Rachelle Ann Go)
  3. Gloc-9 - Walang Natira (feat. Sheng Belmonte)
  4. Eevee - Larawan
  5. Mark Bautista - Kahit Na May Mahal Ka Nang Iba
  6. Yeng Constantino - If It's Love
  7. Urbandub - We Kept It Hidden
  8. Tanya Markova - Linda Blair
  9. Frencheska Farr - Today I'll See the Sun
  10. Six Part Invention - Til the End

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

OPC Song Picks [2011.2.06]

Overall Top 10
February 6-13, 2011
  1. Miranda Cosgrove - Dancing Crazy
  2. Yeng Constantino - Wag Na
  3. Avril Lavigne - What the Hell
  4. Pink - Perfect
  5. Ricky Martin - The Best Thing About Me Is You (feat. Joss Stone)
  6. David Archuleta - Falling Stars
  7. Train - Marry Me
  8. Gloc-9 - Walang Natira (feat. Sheng Belmonte)
  9. Taio Cruz - Higher (feat. Kylie Minogue)
  10. Fefe Dobson - Stuttering
Pinoy Top 10
February 6-13, 2011
  1. Yeng Constantino - Wag Na
  2. Gloc-9 - Walang Natira (feat. Sheng Belmonte)
  3. Eevee - Larawan
  4. Mark Bautista - Kahit Na May Mahal Ka Nang Iba
  5. Yeng Constantino - If It's Love
  6. Urbandub - We Kept It Hidden
  7. Tanya Markova - Linda Blair
  8. Frencheska Farr - Today I'll See the Sun
  9. Six Part Invention - Til the End
  10. Callalily - Liwanag

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Mr. Pluffy

Just recently, the 6th floor of Metro Ayala Cebu has been opened to the public. Among the food stalls you’ll find on the area is Mr. Pluffy! At the Mr. Pluffy Food Cart, you can get your cotton candy or popcorn for as low as P15. Or you can choose the ultimate Mr. Pluffy cotton candy at P35, and the super-sized Mr. Pluffy popcorn for only P45! Me and my Godsend Debbie have tried both products already, and they're good!

Mr. Pluffy also offers a cotton candy party service. For as low as P2,500, get 4 hours of cotton candy making for your birthdays, reunions, school activities or any other occasion!

Just contact Ihna at 0918-9416940, (032) 238-7435 or (032) 512-4287.

Mr. Pluffy, delighting your taste buds.