With a hint of affiliate links and data gathering of domain registrant owners’ emails, you can now roll out a good side income from referring people by posing as GoDaddy.

Just like how these guys did. Only take note of what you do and make it believable. 1st off, don’t use a GMAIL account. Second, at least make the design look legit and not an HTML experiment by a newbie who managed to make their “Hello-World.html” yesterday.

I didn’t even bother clicking. It could either be a phising site, or an affiliate link. Either way, remember, you can easily get GoDaddy codes from a more reliable source like this NamePros thread, if you’re in doubt.

According to SMTickets, David Guetta’s hitting the Philippines and will be playing his toys up in SM Arena this coming October 12, 2012.

Better save up now because apparently, tickets are starting at a price tag of P3,170!

PATRON (standing) – P7,920
LOWER BOX (reserved seats) – P5,280
UPPER BOX (free seating) – P3,170

Hopefully we can nab a few tickets, even just to give away for free on the blog. If that ever happens, we’ll let you know!

As Dolphy leaves the material world, a lot of people are trying to be remember so many of his antics back then. But probably the most famous one at hand is his scene from “Father & Son,” featuring his Banayad Whiskey TV Commercial Shoot.

Many laughed back a couple years younger and while there is no such thing as the Banayad Whiskey, Pepper.PH managed to concoct their own ‘recipe’ by bashing together so many alcohols too hard to imagine when taste comes to subject! Maybe that’s why Pidol, himself, can only bear such a face!

Banayad Whiskey Bottle

On another note, while the image of a Banayad Whiskey is at hand, Love Army managed to materialize the fictional alcohol into a visual rendering, which made many people think if there really is one!

Banayad Whiskey Design on Print

Alongside the render, is an actual design to be done on shirts to be distributed by the lifestyle brand, which will be produced in a limited quantity, with part of the proceeds to be donated to the Dolphy Foundation.

After years of wanting a skateboard of my own, last year my savings were enough to purchase my first longboard – a Loaded Vanguard with Bear trucks and Orangatang 86a In Heat wheels. I named him Odie (like Garfield’s cute dog) because of its brand Loaded. I’ve had him for 9 months now.

First things first, a longboard is still a skateboard – but longer. haha. I say this because there are haters out there who want to give a clear distinction between the two. To be honest, I don’t really mind ’cause whether it’s plastic, wooden plank (or even metal?), long or short, as long as its on four wheels, it’s a skateboard.

Before I share with you some of my pocket escapades with Odie, let me give you a quick background to understand why I’ve been so stoked ever since I’ve had my longboard in my life.

The Backstory:
Ever since I could remember, I was a shy but active little girl. A little ball of energy that could not be contained – be it dancing, playing musical instruments, sports (normal or extreme) or whatever else I wanted to try. I loved being in the outdoors. Thanks to the X-Games and The Mighty Ducks trilogy (and Joshua Jackson) my love for all things extreme grew fonder. Josh is such a dreamboat isn’t he? anwayyyyy, i digress.

Unfortunately, due to my medical history (I suffered a stroke at the tender age of 13), I had to stop playing contact and extreme sports altogether. It took a long time before doctors gave me the ok to do a limited list of physical activities. This took years. And so much other stuff happened in my life. I got depressed without even realizing I was.

Surreal and Stoked:
Fast-forward to now, 12 years after – I am a proud owner of a Vanguard and loving every stoking minute of it. I think I’ve been making up for lost time. That time when I was younger wishing I already had my own board and maybe I would’ve skated the inside and outside of my school campus. Or wishing that I never had a stroke maybe I could’ve done the sports that I wanted to try. But nevermind the shoulda, coulda, woulda’s. Let’s live in the here and now.

Every opportunity I get, I skate. I don’t have a schedule so it’s pretty much spontaneous. I usually go Saturdays and/or Sundays to local parks and parking lots and skate around. But when I have lots of time, I do cruise around the metro. It’s pretty dangerous, but I’m aware of my limits so I don’t push myself into careless things. In the parks that I frequent, there are communities of longboarders/skateboarders, some of which I have talked to. They were also also willing to teach me tricks. They’re a friendly bunch of folk. If ever I do get the chance, I would want to join them in their late-night skate jams but I figure I’m too old for that. I value my 7-8 hours of sleep (raise your hands if you feel me! haha).

I’m glad that my friends are also loving longboarding as well. Some of them surf already so when they learned I bought a longboard, they were beyond stoked. So everytime we would see each other they’d ask if I brought my board with me (which I always do, by the way. haha) and we’d have a quickie skate jam. My other friends who don’t surf or skate love to give it a go. It’s a great way to break the ice.

Soul Skating:
I could go for 3-4 hours straight just cruising. No kidding. Because of that (and a healthier diet) I have lost 10 lbs and counting already. Waking up for an early morning stoke is one those delightful simple things. I was never a morning person but waking up to skate is all worth it. Specially when I have the empty road/park to myself. Just, ugh-mazing. Last Christmas, I walked & skated from Ayala Ave all the way to Bonifacio High Street. It was my bday-slash-xmas gift to myself. It was one of the best gifts I ever gave myself. Got heaps of stoke.

Thanks to longboarding, I’ve started to gain courage of a different kind. It’s a personal thing but I think those who have felt this too understand what I’m talking about. I think that when you start something, continue to pursue it, and get better along the way, there’s a great sense of accomplishment that comes with that. You don’t even have to be the best, you’re just doing it for your own benefit. Skating is not just a hobby to me, it’s my therapy and my escape. One day at a time I get better with every push I make with my board and with my life.

So go ride it. I’m not saying go buy yourself a longboard or a bike or anything of that sort. I’m saying go with your own flow. Let go of the fears that are holding you back and just ride life like a longboard (erm, skateboard). Soak up the stoke for as long as it lasts, then push forward and cruise, carve, dance, flip along the way. Go for it and ride the heck out of it!

Stop and Shop:
I wanna say a thank you shoutout to the owner of Longboards Manila, Paolo Vasquez. I’ve only met him once but have talked to him several times online, he’s an all-around awesome guy. He was very patient and helpful answering my noob questions. He knows his boards I tell ya. His shop is located at The Collective in Malugay St, Makati. Stop by when you do have the time. The Collective is one of those hidden gems in the city.

If you do want to score your own longboard, start local. Most of the longboard shops in the Phils have websites (trust me, I scoured the Internet when I was looking for boards and local shops). They’re friendly and accommodating to any queries you may have. Just be polite and no hating please.

Share the Stoke! Stay Safe, Wear A Helmet!

xoxo,
Lish

So meanwhile in the Philippines, Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson and Vice Gov. DV Savellano along PC/Supt. Orlando Mabutas destroyed part of the 106 Million Peso – worth of Marijuana plants in Ilocos Sur… by burning them!

Not sure if they all want to get high or just want to destroy. Either way, everybody’s bound to be happy by the end of the day.

Photo by Dante Tacata.

Last June 2, 2012, the Aftershock! pool party was held at St. Giles Hotel Makati along Makati Avenue and I was invited primarily via Love Army. It was a blast!

The primary concept of the pool party was to bring the Boracay Code in Manila. Event was done thanks to RP Events Team, GoodFellas Productions, and Baby Girlz’ Crew alongside all other sponsors.

Watch this (link):

For photos, you can visit the follow Facebook Albums for snapshots from videos taken during the event: Album 1, Album 2, and Album 3.

If you want to be in on some of the hottest parties in town, be sure to like RP Events Team on Facebook! While you’re at it, like Not Offline and Love Army as well!

A few moments later the display started flickering on and it turns out it’s not just the display, but the camera itself is turning on and off for a number of times. I still managed to use the SLR considering how the flickering stopped after being turned on for about 5mins. Like it somehow warmed up.

The day after I decided to turn it over to Canon Service Center in Paseo de Magallanes to have it checked because I intially thought it was still under warranty. Unfortunately, PH does not recognize International warranties so yeah, tough luck for me.

I still had to turn it over and have it checked for a rough estimate on what needs to be worked on.

After about 4 days I got a text message from Canon. They claim that the problem was the mirror box and is quoting me almost PHP15,000 for it.

Now I don’t really know much about how a DSLR technically works, but I’ve never received an error message like others claim in forums, and I still managed to take successful photos before handing in the SLR. A mirror box, as far as I can tell, will hinder me from doing so if it was broken, yes?

Plus I also asked an experienced guy towards SLRs and said a mirror box isn’t likely to be causing the power outtage but the motherboards if it is faulty. If the mirrorbox was faulty to begin with, errors would be displayed in the screen/LCD, which was not happening.

The weekend after receiving the quote, I pulled out my SLR, got home, tested it, and it’s now totally not working.

Upon further searching, I encountered this post by Anthony Go in DPP.

this is what happened a few months back >>

my camera had an error 99 problem
brought it to the service center to have it checked
they told me that they will diagnose it first and it will
take 3 days. ok no problem for me since i have a backup cam
after 3 days i called them up, they told me that it is still being
checked.

to cut the story short, i received an update more than a week
after informing me that i have to pay 7k++ because of the mirror
box failure and the shutter assembly.

so i went to the said service center just to talk to a technician
and not a cs agent to really know the case. when i talked to the
technician, the first thing i asked was if they are sure that the
mirror box failed, and if they checked it. he informed me that he
has not opened the unit, so i asked him how can he be sure that
the said parts are the problem and his answer was, usually
yun lng ang sira.

i waited for more than a week for this guy to give me a guess as
to what the problem was. i pulled out the unit and sent it to canon
hk. they replaced the shutter assembly free of charge (warranty)
and they were wondering why there is a quote for the mirror box
the repair took only a few days as compared to getting it
“checked” here.

this is the first time i had a problem with canon cs, all my other
transactions with them went smoothly, lens cleaning, calibration
and stuff like that. i dont know what happened in this case but
ill still purchase canon.

Now it leads me to wonder… All I know is, I need to find a way to make this work again. But there are so much hopeless comments about Canon’s Service Centers which kind of make me think if it’s okay to go back to them again…

Just found myself out in La Union the other day to attend a birthday party of friend’s kid. I won’t be sharing photos of the party, but I’ll be sharing photos of the trip!

Surprisingly, I drove through it. It took about 8 hours one way. Such a long drive it is, though I think it can be lowered down to about 5 hours if you drive fast enough. I was driving between 60-100kph then due to unfamiliarity.

Getting to La Union is fairly simple.

1. Drive through NLEX
2. Take Dau Exit
3. Enter SCTEX
4. Take Luisita Exit
5. At the end of Luisita, turn right at McArthur Highway
6. Keep on going straight until you reach La Union

Driving Through SCTEX

SCTEX Luisita Toll Fare as of Apr 2012

That easy. What’s a pain in the ass is the drive. Literally. As mentioned, it will take a while and it can really tire up your body, though I’d have to say it is pretty doable. But boring and tiring.

We mainly visited Bauang and San Juan in La Union. We thought of going up to Baguio City but it would entail another 1.5hrs of driving from there and rest was needed.

It's kind of a sad photo...

What’s in La Union? I’m not particularly sure. But being in Bauang, La Union, a friend mentioned there should be an endless supply of garlic and no source of onions……

But seriously? I heard there are good waves here. Unfortunately, as seen in the photos, our visit was untimely and we did not get to see any waves. We stayed at the San Juan Beach Resort. We did get to see a couple of dogs riding boards as their owners paddle through the water.

So yeah, if you ever plan on taking the driver seat towards La Union, be prepared, it will take a while. But of course, such time can be ignored if you got company and a good set of stopovers

Driving back, we stopped by the Basilica of our Lady of Charity in Agoo. We also encountered a couple of vendors on the side of the road primarily selling good quality sundried fish like Bangus, Salmon, Espada, Squid, Dilis, as well as special home-made bagoong (shrimp paste) and suka (vinegar). There’s also a nice source of  flavored cornick along the way. And yeah, once you’re in Tarlac, a stop by Isdaan is a good way to feast through fatigue of driving and rest for a couple more kilometers left til you hit Manila.

FYI, there are buses who only cater to around 16-20 passengers. It has a built in restroom and seats are more spacious. No stop-overs as well. So do consider that if driving isn’t your type.

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II is my very first prime lens. Reading this article, you might be laying it out as an option. So let me list down simple reasons as to why I chose this prime lens as my first. Hopefully, they’ll help.

1. Entry level

Shooting with a prime lens is a totally different experience as you can not zoom and it’s always a good idea to try something along the entry level scale rather than jump into more complicated stuff beyond it.

If you’re thinking of buying your first prime lens, and your SLR’s a Canon, then this is a great choice. Do this first. Then once you’ve got the feel of it, upgrade.

It’s like choosing your camera, you don’t jump in on the 5DMIII just yet mainly because it’s top of the line, when you don’t even know how to handle the basics of it via a lower version.

2. Low lighting

We all love to see in the dark. And while we can easily adjust the shutter, ISO, and aperture, lenses with a high base f/Stop will probably compromise by giving you more chances of having your photos blurred up.

Good quality of focus in the night

That’s the great thing about this, you have a small base of f/1.8 which means your base composition at this low aperture is already well lit up and you can apply a higher shutter to reduce your blur chances and make that great shot.

3. Video

DSLRs nowadays have video-capability, which encourages a lot to make videos and shorts. A troublesome feat is when your scene gets dark enough that almost nothing gets recognized.

Low Light Video Visibility in the Club

This lens will do the job in making elements in your scene more visible. Need a shot of your friend to be mugged in an alley? No problem!

4. Bokeh

Bokeh, the term for that creamy blur, is what’s applied to things that are outside the depth of field against the subject being focused on, thus more concentration on the subject.

Bokehlicious with the aperture wide open

This is such an aesthetically pleasing feature of photos which totally create variety and a much more ‘pro’ feel on those images and scenes.

5. Cheap

Above everything else to consider, the price of this lens is the main thing to take note.

The price is around PHP3,000-PHP4,000 retail, which is a lot easier on the pockets than other prime lenses at hand. I got mine at PHP3,000, already with a hood and a UV filter.

For what it can serve up, this is really a bang for a buck, giving individuals with a lower budget a great prime to toggle with.

It should be noted though that the low price is probably due to having a plastic body and mount and that’s perfectly fine, as long as you know how to take care of it.

Really nice focus on a certain focal length

Another thing is that this lens has only 5 aperture blades. That only means that blur shapes might be a bit rough, more pentagonal than round, at a certain aperture, though people who wouldn’t know much about it won’t really notice or find any difference.

This lens stood by me for about a year until it broke because my friend grabbed my DSLR and dropped it, lens first. Yeah it sucks but hey, it’s a cheap lens so I’m not quite surprised.

If you do have a higher budget, it’s upgrade – the Canon 50mm 1.4, is about 5x the price. But an even higher budget, I suggest you take the Sigma 50mm 1.4, which is around PHP20,000 as I have.

Yup! I upgraded. I know what I need this lens for, thanks to the Canon 1.8, and it’s practically a good investment. Til then, consider this lens as it has done me great. If you’re just starting, no doubt this is what you need.

This coming May 12, 2012, DJ Neil Armstrong will be spinning the beats at the Sky Lounge in Bonifacio Global City from 4pm onwards.

Who’s DJ Neil Armstrong? Well, where do we start:

• Jay Z’s tour DJ (2008 and 2009)
• adidas Global Brand Ambassador (2010)
• Founding father of the DJ Collective the “5th Platoon”
• Spinned alongside artists De La Soul, The Roots, Kanye West, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean and more
• Member of critically acclaimed two-time Grammy-Nominate jazz band Russell Gunn and Ethnomusicology
• Made an indelible mark in the sub-genre of Hip-Hop known as “Mixtape Culture”
• NBA’s DJ of choice for the Rookie Shootout since 2006
• Rocked 100,000 fans at the Glastonbury Festival
• Anchored perfomance in the Letterman show
• Spun for adidas at the Olympic Games in Beijing
• Shared the stage with Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye West, Swiss Beats, Puff Daddy, Timbaland, Memphis Bleek, EPMD, Method Man and more
• Played alongside Slayer, Interpol, The Cool Kids, Neil Young, Mark Ronson, Coldplay, Linkin Pak and NER

So yeah, find your way to Bonifacio Global City (BGC) this Saturday! Party’s gonna be exclusive and tickets will be available via Adidas stores listed in the poster above.