The Babel Machine

I was trying out Windows Movie Maker just for kicks and came up with this “Always Sammy” home movie/slideshow of some of Sam’s holiday pics.

The background music is “Another Sunny Day” from the incredibly talented band Belle and Sebastian. I got the free MP3 from Salon.com’s Audiofile daily download.

Yeah, I know some of the lyrics aren’t, um, suitable for children, but don’t tell Sam that, hehe. It’s a great song, after all.

Free video hosting, video codes at www.vidiLife.com

I downloaded the free trial version of PhotoJam 4 from Shockwave.com and created a Sam birthday PhotoJam just for fun.

It’s a really nifty application and I’m tempted to purchase it after the 120-minute trial expires.

Get a copy of the PhotoJam 4 trial and find out how cool it is.

Are you a pro wrestling fan? Then prepare for the World Wresting Entertainment Raw Live Tour in Manila on Feb. 24 to 25, 2006.

Here are the event details from WWE.com:

WWE RAW Live Tour
Date: February 24, 2006
Venue: Araneta Coliseum
City/State: Manila, Philippines
On-Sale Date: Thursday, December 15, 2005, at 9 a.m.

Ticket Information: Ticket prices: PHP 3,500, 3,300, 2,000, 900 and 400

Reserve now at 9115555 and http://www.ticketnet.com.ph/ or go to your nearest SM ticketnet outlet for tickets.

Hurry as tickets are being sold fast.

3 Way WWE Championship Match with Mick Foley as the Special Referee
John Cena vs. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H

Tag Team Special
Shawn Michaels & Ric Flair vs. Edge (Lita) & “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters

Tag Championship Match
Big Show & Kane vs. Tyson Tomko & Snitsky

Shelton Benjamin vs.Carlito

Chavo Guerrero vs.Trevor Murdoch

Woman’s Championship Match
Trish vs. Torrie Wilson

Viscera vs. Lance Cade

*** Line Up Subject to Change ***

It’s mind-boggling, really. Triple H? Mick Foley? Kurt Angle? HBK? Rick Flair? All in Manila at the same time? With many more WWE Superstars also coming, including the gorgeous WWE Divas Trish and Torrie.

I checked out www.ticketnet.com.ph and it gave different details, particularly when it comes to ticket prices, so I guess you should keep checking for the latest updates.

Here are the details I got from the TicketNet Philippines Online Reservation when I checked:

WWE Raw Live Tour
John Cena, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Ric Flair, Kane, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Big Show, Carlito, Torrie Wilson, Lita and many more

Category: Sports
Venue: Araneta Coliseum
Website: http://www.wwe.com/
Event Date/Time:
February 24, 2006 Friday at 6:00pm
February 25, 2006 Saturday at 4:00pm

Seat and Price:
Seat Location Price
Ringside (Reserve Seating) 10440
Patron (1st 3 rows) (Reserve Seating) 5220
Patron (succeeding rows) (Reserve Seating) 3654
Lower Box (Reserve Seating) 3446
Upper Box A (Reserve Seating) 2088
Upper Box B (Free Seating) 940
Gen. Admission (Free Seating) 418

Time to start saving, WWE fans.

Merry Christmas in advance, everyone!

Right now I’m trying out the 14-day free trial of RealNetworks’ SuperPass, as well as the CinemaNow online movie service.

Both offer movies-on-the demand, though it’s slim pickings over at RealNetworks. Still, I enjoyed watching Mark Hamill’s mockumentary “Comic Book: The Movie” for free via SuperPass. Pure genius. I used an S-video cable to connect my PC to our TV and watch the online movies there.

I’m a huge fan of entertainment-on-demand, particularly games-on-demand, and believe that we should accelerate the growth of this service in the Philippines.

On that note, check out Turner Broadcasting Systems’ GameTap games-on-demand service. It’s only available in the US right now, but it’s a glimpse of the future.

Here’s an excerpt from my INQ7 Infotech @Play column piece:

I’m looking forward to the day when broadband-powered game- and entertainment-on-demand networks will become the norm, doing away with the inconvenience of having to find space for physical discs while also theoretically minimizing the impact of piracy. Let everything reside on the network, just as we’ve been hearing for over a decade now.

For this to happen, however, the service providers should also have current titles on the list of games-on-demand, as well as compelling content for their virtual TV networks.

Check out my @Play column.

By the way, in case you haven’t heard, the Philippines will have its own edition of the popular gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly. Yeah, I know, the launch of EGM Philippines has been an open secret for the past few months hehe

Anyway, the HIP (that’s Hinge Inquirer Publications; yup, Hinge is now also part of the Inquirer family) team invited me to write a regular column, and of course I said yes. So do watch out for the first issue of EGM Philippines.

So, how will hackenslash and INQ7.net be involved with the online version of EGM Philippines?

Sorry to leave you hanging, but just stay tuned.

After all, the future is just around the corner.

Check out my INQ7 Infotech story on the opening of a new $2.5-M facility for HP Philippines’ business process and application outsourcing business.

Senator Manuel Roxas II, whom many believe has plans of running for president (well, assuming we’ll still have a presidential system in the Philippines) and has good chances of winning if he does, was the guest of honor.

Here’s an excerpt:

[Roxas] explained that back then, call centers, medical transcription and other BPO services had been derided as low-value-added jobs by the information technology industry. He said, however, that it turned out that the country did not have enough skilled IT professionals to tackle higher-value IT outsourcing projects that the industry wanted to target, even as the call center and BPO industry turned out to be a blessing for the Philippine economy.

“Now that we’ve built up a skilled workforce of 100, 000 IT professionals, we need to increase our efforts in encouraging more Filipinos to go into IT and training them with the right kind of IT skills. So that when we do, in fact, aspire for higher-value outsourcing projects, we will have credibility,” Roxas said.

Read the full story.

Got this e-mail from Pam Pastor (ppastor@inquirer.com.ph), editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s 2bU! section. It’s also posted on her blog, so it’s really from her.

I don’t want to sound paranoid, but with e-mail hoaxes and people spoofing other people, you have to check.

OK, I admit it, I also texted Pam to make sure it was her

Here’s Pam’s message:

Hello

I’ve never had the desire to spam your inboxes but I believe this is for a good cause.

I am writing to ask for your help.

Recently, I received a letter from Lorenzo Veneracion, a retired judge who has spent the past fifteen years helping the children of Payatas in Quezon City. Aside from assisting them with their education and teaching their families to become more productive, they also put up soup kitchens and have been feeding 1000 children a meal of rice and vegetables every day. They have two centers in Quezon City – the Soup Kitchen and the Lighthouse Center for Children. This NGO (Foundation For Soup Kitchen, Food Bank and Training, Center Inc. and Lighthouse Center for Children Foundation, Inc.) is licensed by the DSWD and is accredited by the Quezon City Government.

They have been reliant on donations from Rustan’s Supermarkets – Rustan’s has been providing second harvest vegetables, beef bones and baked products. The rice is also donated.

Mr. Veneracion said that he and the other people from his NGO have been trying to get partners and sponsors but they’ve been unsuccessful so far. They have written to different politicians too but have been ignored.

We at 2bU! want to help the children of Payatas too. We will be releasing a story on the soup kitchens on December 21 in the desire to encourage young readers to do what they can to help these children too. We will be visiting them next week. Before our visit, we would like to collect donations that we could bring with us when we go there.

Several companies have expressed interest in becoming sponsors but I thought you might want to help too.

Believe it or not, the cost of feeding one child per day is only P2.75.

Your donation of P27.50 will be enough to feed 10 children.

Your donation of 275 will be enough to feed 100 children.

Any amount will definitely be appreciated.

Donations in kind will also be a big help. Here’s an excerpt from an e-mail sent by Mr. Veneracion.

“We are open to donations in kind, like rice — if you can solicit rice, and also mongo beans, dried dilis, dried alamang, soy sauce, brown sugar, vegetable oil, sayote, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and all kinds of veggies in season, fruits like pineapple, or powdered milk, food flavorings like ginisa mix, chicken cubes, meat cubes and others.”

If you’d like to help in any way, please e-mail me or text me at 09179056173.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to other people you think might like to help.

Thanks so much.

Hoping for your favorable response

Sincerely Yours,
Pam Pastor

Hope you can also help. Please e-mail or text Pam. It’s for a good cause.

Who says gaming is just a fad?

Here’s an excerpt from my INQ7 Infotech story on the E-games.com.ph launch:

STRESSING that online gaming is an important and fast-growing business sector in the Philippines, the head of the country’s Department of Trade and Industry welcomed the entry of the first localized massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on the free-to-play model.

“Some of our officials in Congress are taking a close look at online gaming, because some of these might be forms of online gambling. But this is not the case here. It is good that IPVG is bringing in this new content and new form of entertainment,” Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said in a brief speech at the official launch of the online game portal e-games.com.ph on Dec. 6 in Makati City.

Read the full story.

Here’s my INQ7 Infotech @Play column piece for this week:

ONE OF THE great things about managing a gaming news site like hackenslash is that I’m partly earning my living out of playing games. Well, partly because I also edit other sites for INQ7.net, but you know what I mean.

Which is why setting up my gaming network at home is not just for fun, but a serious matter. It also helps you get away with telling your wife that you’re upgrading your PC, purchasing a game console, or buying games because it’s part of your job. Ahem, it also helps to have a wonderful, understanding soul mate like my wife Ellen — really, honey, I need this stuff for work.

Read the full story.

I killed a lot of birds with one stone while I was in Mumbai from Nov. 24-27.

Here’s an excerpt from my hackenslash article that talks about India’s first gaming summit and the formal launch of the Indian chapter of the Asian Gaming Journalists Association:

“Last year, when we held the first R.A.G.E. Gaming Awards, it was basically just an exercise to gauge the gaming market,” Mihir Shah, managing partner of R.A.G.E., told hackenslash as he recounted why they decided to hold this event. “The reaction to the gaming awards was very positive, so we decided to hold the first gaming expo this year.”

This year’s R.A.G.E. Gaming Awards, which was held in the evening of Nov. 25 at the Rang Sharda Auditorium, was a far cry from last year’s humble affair, as it drew hundreds of attendees and luminaries from the Indian gaming industry.

Read the full article.

Speaking of chickens, here’s a pic of Sam at a kiddie party she went to at KFC while I was covering the World Cyber Games 2005 Grand Final in Singapore.

They grow up so fast, don’t they?