Indiana Jones 4 Trailer Released!

The trailer for the upcoming Indiana Jones was released today. I guess it was a Valentine’s Day gift from Paramount for everyone. I’ll gladly accept, thank you. <3

The Indy series is one of the series that defined my early experience with films as a kid, including E.T., and Back to the Future. So the prospect of a new Indiana Jones movie was really exciting to me. I believe it was as early as 2000 that rumors of a new Indy movie being in development began to go around. Seven years later, I’m glad it’s all finally coming together and will be released on May 22.

Seoul’s Oldest Building Succumbs to Drunk Old Man

In a devastating loss for South Korea, the country’s National Treasure No. 1, the Namdaemoon, fell to a fire started by a drunk old man. Or at least, that was how the first reports were calling him. The latest word is that it was started by a man who also tried to set fire to the Royal Palace two years ago. Apparently he has some land issues with the government, I guess this was his way of getting some attention from them. But after this, he will only get the other kind of attention from the government.

The Namdaemoon was the southern gate of Seoul when it was a walled city in the past. Apparently the Japanese tore down the walls during its occupation of Korea and the Namdaemoon is the only remaining remnant of the great wall of Seoul. Standing in the middle of a busy intersection, it was a great reminder of the Korea of the past.

On the bright side, the stone base of the Namdaemoon received little to no damage. A heritage group will rebuild the famous landmark at a cost of $21 million and it will take three years to finish. Although it’s nice that it will be rebuilt, that aura of the old building will be gone. Oh, I wish wood wasn’t so susceptible to fire.

Architecture Profile: Frank Lloyd Wright

 

Since I want to get more involved in my major, I’m going to start doing profiles of architects who have tremendous effect on modern architecture and on me as a student studying architecture. The first one that I am doing is on Frank Lloyd Wright, who many view as one of the founding fathers of modern architecture. He is also arguably the most important architect in American history, up there with the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Phillip Johnson, and Frank Gehry.

Chinese Man’s Hair: 26 Years Without a Wash

 

 An 80 year old man from China washed his hair for the first time in 26 years. That is just amazing (and it probably smelled like, well, hair that hasn’t been washed for 26 years). His hair was so dirty and long that he had to have his family members assist in washing him. I wonder what they were thinking while washing his hair. Actually, I wonder what his family thought during this 26 period of smelly hair. Notice the murky color of the water…that’s 26 years of dirt, bird feces, and gel.

The old man’s local fans want to put him in the Guiness Book of Records. Good for him, at least he got something out of not washing his hair.

Funny CareerBuilder.com Commercial

I just saw this on Adult Swim just now. Quite funny and brilliant.

Tax Causes People to Become Environmentally Concious

In Ireland, a tax on plastic bags that was introduced 5 years ago has almost completely changed people’s reliance on plastic bags and instead use reusable cloth bags. This movement has been adopted all over the world, but it seems only it’s been a huge success only in Ireland.

When me and my family went grocery shopping in the Philippines, there was a promotion where you can get a free “green bag” to try to decrease the use of plastic bags. Hopefully, this will just be the start. We need to be more environmentally conscious. If a tax on plastic bags is required to assert this idea, then it should also be done in more places. *hugs a tree* The Irish have gotten so used to the idea of reusable bags that they frown when they see people carrying plastic bags. Go Irish!

Now excuse me while I drive my Hummer to the mall.

Philippines Economy Doin’ the Damn Thing!

The possibility of a recession in the economy of the United States is the center of attention these days in the global scene. And with a good reason, because a recession in the biggest economy in the world will have far-reaching effects in the economies of the world. But even with this slowdown in the United States economy, many countries like China are still experiencing tremendous economic growth. You can add the Philippines to that list.

The Philippines economy surged 7.4% in 2007, which is the fastest growth in 31 years! For those with bad math skills, that’s since 1976! Wow. Well since I became interested in the state of my home country about two years ago, this is probably one of the best news since then. The economy grew 5.4% in 2005 and 5.5% in 2006.

A Year’s Gone By

It’s been more than a year since my last post. In the first post I did on this blog, I mentioned that I start many things but don’t finish or maintain it. True to my word, I lost interest in writing this blog. I have no idea why. I don’t want to try to explain it either. The only thing I wanna say is that right now, I wanna start writing on this blog again.

A lot has happened since January 2007.

- Pokemon Diamond came out in April. 200 hours of gameplay later, I stopped playing it.

- I took money out of my savings to buy a Macbook Pro.

- I went to a club and got drunk for the first time, after which I vowed never to drink again. ‘Course, I broke that vow, not surprisingly.

- I transfered back to my old college, Chabot where I started taking Architecture classes.

- I have a newborn nephew, Isaiah, born January 18th. The first grandson of my dad!

- Spent New Year’s Eve in the Philippines, where I had the best vacation ever. We went all over the country from North Luzon, all the way to Visaya/Boracay. Next time I want to go to Mindanao! I also saw my family for the first time in 4 years, and met some of my young nieces and nephews I never met before. I can’t wait to go back!

Apple unveils iPhone at Macworld

Although it’s been heavily rumored that Apple was going to reveal the much talked about iPhone at Macworld, people didn’t expect anything this big. The Apple iPhone has amazed everyone, even causing Apple’s stocks to go up after the announcement.

Fort Bonifacio Global City, Philippines

Fort Bonifacio Global City is a masterplanned city that is designed to meet the needs of the 21st Century. That sounds like marketing speak, but this video explains it much better than I do.

I’ve been following up the developments of Fort Bonifacio for about a year now. New residential condominiums and office buildings are popping up all over the city. I might just buy a condo at this city when I’m older (and have the $$$)

The video shows a possible Fort Bonifacio 15 years in the future with the City Center densely packed with high-rises. Right now the City Center is in development with only the Retail Promenade in construction.

More pictures of the Fort Bonifacio Global City as it is now.