G.I. Joe Theme Song
Yo Joe!
He’ll fight for freedom wherever there is trouble,
G.I. Joe is there!G.I. Joe…
A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe is there.Its G.I. Joe against Cobra and Destro,
Fighting to save the day.
He never gives up, he’s always there,
Fighting for freedom over land and air.G.I. Joe…
A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe is there.

(spoken)
G.I. Joe is the codename for America’s daring, highly trained, special mission force.
Its purpose: To defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world.

He never gives up, he’ll stay till the fights won -
G.I. Joe will dare.

G.I. Joe…
A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe!

I posted the lyrics because I know you’re at least as dorky as me. And also because I want this song to stick in your head for the rest of the day.

If you asked me if I remembered the G.I. Joe cartoons of the 80’s, and if I was sitting down, I would’ve stood up and started singing the intro theme song, including the spoken narrative in the middle part of the song. This wouldn’t have been embarrassing to me at all. Kids now can sing their Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer themes when they get to be our age. We had Transformers, He-Man, and G.I. Joe (and Chip n’ Dale. I love those squirrels.) But I pity the kids who grow to be nerded up by Spongebob. Or Ben 10. (Though I don’t think Beavis and Butthead helped us out either.)

But enough about nerds and dorks (or as a friend of mine would say, “Enough about me.”) I’m still trying to wrap my head around the recent tragedies that have been happening lately — and I’m not talking about MJ’s and Tita Cory’s deaths. I am talking about the recent groanfests-for-movies Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and the currently showing G.I. Joe movie.

Now, let me just go on record to say that I love blockbuster movies. I enjoyed Star Trek. Iron Man was golden. The first Transformers movie was passable (it was riveting to count how many times Shia Lebouf would shout “No no no!” in the movie. I counted 52. Someone even compiled it on video. I swear, sometimes you gotta do stuff like this at the movies.) They’re fun, fast-paced, and keep you occupied for a good couple hours. And some of the really good ones stand out because there’ll be something in the movie you’ll rehash or reenact with your friends for a good long time, maybe even some years down the road. Yes Man had the Jumper scene. The 40-Year-Old Virgin had the waxing scene. The Dark Knight had The Joker. Transformers had Megan Fox — and we can always talk about her. In fact, I can ditch this article and talk about her right now…

There’s a reason why I put up the lyrics of the G.I. Joe theme song up there — because I know that most of the people my age can relate to this cartoon, and usually it’s the theme song that does it. And it drives home the point of this article — the cartoon is more than 20 years old, and we can still remember the theme song. But G.I. Joe the Movie? I’m 99% sure there’s not a whole lot to remember there.I’m sitting here trying to recall one good thing about the movie, just one moment that stood out that would’ve defined the movie as rewatchable because of that scene alone, and I’ve sat here for the last 54 minutes and came up with nothing. I just ended up humming the theme song over and over in my head.

I am open for argument right here. Where shall we start? The accelerator suits? The female leads in tight black outfits? Snake Eye’s creepy mask with pouty lips chiseled in? (This ranks right up there with George Clooney’s Bat Nipples.)

ue eyes cannot avert our attention enough from those rubber nubbins.

George Clooney's blue eyes cannot avert our attention enough from those rubber nubbins.

Channing Tatum’s “I’m already unhappy!” face? (When will he ever come up with a different facial expression? Is Keanu Reeves the actor he most looks up to?) Tyrese Gibson for the comedy relief (Oh wait, that was Marlon Wayans! I got my token black guys all confused.) Is there anything original about this movie at all? They should have just changed the movie title to G.I. Joe: Rise Of The Stereotypes so that we wouldn’t get all confused. (Though in the movie’s defense, the cartoon was guilty of this same problem. In fact, those 80s cartoons were filled with all kinds of innuendo and social propaganda.)

But then again, maybe I was approaching this with totally unfair expectations. But maybe I have a right to them because this was one of the definitive good-guy/bad-guy cartoons of my generation. It helped put a lot of things in perspective with regards to war and crime, and the difference between bad and good, as opposed to watching the news, which was of course too complex for 7-year olds. These cartoons made us understand that there were bad people around and that bad things happen, but at the end of the day, the good guys always come out on top.

As the movie wrapped up, that’s still the message we essentially get, albeit wrapped in a very weak package embellished with car crashes and the destruction of the Eiffel Tower (It had it coming. They’ll be blowing up the rest of the world’s landmarks in the upcoming disaster movie 2012). Maybe a little more effort should have been shown to please us Gen-Xers rather than today’s teenagers. I noticed a lot of people in the theater were enjoying the movie. I could have gotten a haircut instead during that time and at least felt good about it after.

Though there is one single small victory for the movie that I enjoyed for the entirely wrong reasons — SPOILER ALERT — I got to see Joseph Gordon Levitt amuse with his Rex Ryan/The Doctor/Cobra Commander (with the James Earl Jones evil voice) roles. I totally bought into his role as the awkward Rex Ryan, but his villain portrayals reminded me of Dr. Evil, and that whole time I was totally waiting for him to put his pinkie finger to the corner of his mouth. Needless to say, I enjoyed his scenes.

Maybe I should have watched Public Enemies instead.

@iconpool

From a comedian: “Men only want 3 things from a woman: Food, Sex, and Silence.”
5:19 PM Jul 24th from web

My friends and I were arguing over this over Twitter, with me valiantly trying to defend the shallow needs of mankind by declaring an end-all argument — claiming that I could come up with 10.

The things I get myself into.

Now I have to come up with this article because I could not do justice to the sentiment in a 140-character tweet. I mean, look at that quote. Are us men really that simple to predict and so easy to accurately describe? Really? 12 words? Is the line so thin between being a man and a dog?

Of course, I say — it’s not that simple. So in behalf of all men — real, self-admitted, and secure — I lay down on the tracks of the oncoming train of controversy the writing of this article is going to bring. Honestly, I should be writing my will first, as this might be too life-altering. But all you’d get anyway are a bunch of clothes and books.

So screw the will. Here are the 10 things instead:

    1. Sex.

      Is there any question why this is first on the list? It is the responsibility of every man to keep to the go-forth-and-multiply mission. In fact, can we just say that we are overburdened by this? Is there any other way to oversimplify this statement? There are no lines in between to be read. Yet I know that this is going to get rehashed and misinterpreted somehow. I can’t win.

      But let me take off my laconic and insensitive hat for a moment. I do believe that sexual compatibility is crucial to a relationship. Sexual attraction gets you through the first few years (You’ll have sex like it’s going out of style.) as a couple. Maybe it’s hormones. Or maybe it just feels good. Or just maybe a lot of us went to Catholic school.

      And I’m not going to play the morality card. This is about what guys want right? Guys want sex. It doesn’t necessarily have to happen (and believe me, it doesn’t happen for a LOT of guys — minority by choice, majority by other more dubious factors.). It’s just the truth. Some guys just want it more than others, and some guys just want it more obviously than others, and some guys are just really good at keeping it together, like they recite some mantra or something. I can talk about this all day long, but I have to explain the other 9.

      And can I just say that I wasted 3 paragraphs without making a point. It’s sex. That thing is pointed enough by itself.

        1. Food.

          People don’t go coming up with quotes like “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” unless there was some truth to it. So are you ready for the shocking truth? There is some truth to it.

          You cannot underestimate how emotional a man can get when he is unable to satisfy his needs. If a man is hungry, he needs to eat.

          The best example/analogy I can come up with here is Joey Tribianni. If you don’t know him, I am willing to lend you my 12-box DVD set of Friends, wait for you to blitz through the 10 seasons, blooper reels, and special features, then come back to this article. Ready? Done? Alright. We can move on, yes?

          In fact, Joey is the perfect set-up man for Nos. 1 and 2. The Joey character stereotypes that the normal guy should be oversexed and overeating, and that everyone not the type was questionably gay. (Yes, I’m of the opinion that Joey is the most “normal” among the male characters in Friends. We may differ here, but this is my article, not yours.) (And I have no problems with gay people. I have gay friends. The “gay” reference is for when Joey meet Chandler for the first time, he thought Chandler was gay. Go watch the DVDs again!)

          Again, I’m trying to oversimplify so that there won’t be room for argument. I used a Friends reference. Shouldn’t that help you get it?

            1. Silence.

              Ever wonder how two guy friends can go to a bar and just drink beer in silence? Really, sometimes we just need a minute or two. In fact don’t girls need some moments of silence too? Though, using the analogy above, I’ve never seen two girls sitting in a bar with blank stares while sipping on cosmopolitans. Or are there girl bars where these things happen? It would be helpful if we guys know these things.

              Men brood. It adds to our mystique. We can go for long periods without saying a word, even among friends or partners. Sometimes people take this the wrong way and think that we’re either pissed or borderline murderous. That’s not the case. The moments of silence are therapy. The world can be a really noisy place sometimes. So look out for those times when the guy’s eyes glaze over, he sees right through the TV, and think, “Maybe he just needs some quiet time.”

                1. Listening.

                  When a guy declares that he needs to say something, it can only go two ways – either you’re about to hear something really profound, funny, or intelligent, or you are about to witness something potentially disastrous.

                  Now isn’t that compelling enough for you to tune in?

                  So how do you know when it’s time to listen? Remember all those cheesy movies John Cusack used to make? He’d belt out those one-line all-timers that either sink the movie or take it to cult status. And he’d usually start those lines with these to catch the unsuspecting woman’s attention:

                  There’s something I have to tell you… Ultimate cliffhanger of a statement. This line will just make your heart stop because 99% of all bad news started with versions of “There’s something I have to tell you…” (Other versions include “We need to talk…” and “I’ve been meaning to tell you this…”, with the former eliciting the same reaction as the original). But do you end up running away the moment you hear it? No! You are compelled to stay for the potential axe to drop because you know it can go either way – you strike gold or you get a slap in the face.

                  You know what? I’ve been thinking… He’s been thinking! At this moment you’ll have to stop painting your nails and listen. Guys think a lot. But it’s a rare thing for guys to share exactly what he was thinking about. And as usual, you may get something really meaningful, or he’d say “You know what? I’ve been thinking… Our sofa set is still covered in plastic. That’s weird.”

                  The point being? If a guy declares he has to say something, you gotta tune in. Let it pass and you lose him for good. You don’t know how crucial it is for us to have an audience.

                    1. Relevant Gifts.

                      This takes talent and commitment. And a little FBI training. So many girlfriends and wives get this part wrong.

                      Buying gifts that you think your partner will look good in? Frowned upon. Gifts you think would jumpstart a new hobby or interest? Nope. Gifts that will make our bathrooms smell nice? Do they really smell that bad?

                      I hope you’re all catching on to the idea.

                      Think of a dog, and you just gave it a porkchop. It would be the happiest dog on earth. Why? Because you gave it what it wanted. (I hate making man/dog analogies. It’s too easy and we’re too similar. But it’s necessary to simplify my point.) But if you gave the same dog a heaping plate of broccoli, celery sticks, and croutons, he’s gonna start at it for a few seconds, hesitate, smell it, and make a face of doggy disgust and then move along. You can’t turn a dog into a vegetarian. Nor can you turn your boyfriend into a philatelist by giving him a framed collection of rare stamps on your anniversary.

                      We’ll appreciate the gift of course. There was a lot of thought put into into it… just not the right kind. Seriously, if I had a penny for every WTF uttered because of an unexpected gift…

                        1. Laughter.

                          Every guy thinks he’s funny and smart. Part of the blame goes to the women who look for guys who are “witty” and have a “sense of humor.” And how do we quantify that? It depends on what you’ve been watching. Some find Willy Revillame funny, so they wish their next boyfriend has that same… uh… quality.  Let us now pause for a moment and pray for these women and our country in particular.

                          The point being? You get what you ask for.

                          So if your boyfriend makes a joke that you know he’s been saving for the right moment, (re)act accordingly. Even if he makes a total ass of himself. (maybe it was part of the joke.) If the appropriate reaction is you laughing at him, let it rip. You’ll have to figure out how to explain to him that he was being corny, but you found his overall performance cute. But don’t say that. That’s mine.

                          Be careful about guys with heightened senses of humor though. They will expect you to keep up with them. If you can’t, they can be condescending and bore of you easily. So do your research and run his routes. It’s hard work, but so is making people laugh.

                            1. Be Relevant.

                              Us guys can be so useless sometimes, and we need you to pick us up during those rare moments.

                              I hate the trophy girlfriend syndrome. Some guys go for the Hiltons and the Kardashians or the Riveras of the world because it will make them look like the handsomest, richest, most well-endowed guys on the planet. (These are the guys who have limited their criteria to the first three.) But when he has to go around introducing her around and deal with small-talk, his stock will fall faster than Goldman Sachs. Everyone will be on to him. Everyone can see right through him. He’s the guy comedians joke about.

                              But if the girl was interesting and relevant, say, a doctor who had just saved your life by pumping your heart with her bare hands, now that’s interesting.

                              I’m telling you, it’s not always about the sex.

                                1. Compliments.

                                  This is almost similar to the laugh card, except that it’s not. Compliments can be a form of deflection. And trust me, we guys aren’t trained to see through them. We’d eat them up, including the backhanded ones. We’d be like “Awwww thanks!”, pause for a good 10 seconds and then go, “wait… what?” It happens to me all the time. We men are suspicious creatures with egos bigger than our heads. Compliments feed both those needs. They keep us on our toes, wary that we’re being made fun of, at the same time we’re thinking “She just said I had Brad Pitt’s eyes!”

                                    1. Friendship.

                                      You know who the best girlfriend is? The one who’s also your friend.

                                      Guys keep a really tight circle of friends, and the ultimate compliment he can pay a girl is when he considers making her part of that circle. I know a lot of guys who have friends who have never even met their girlfriends because she doesn’t like hanging out at bars where there are LaSallites. (Relax. It’s just an example.)

                                      But this is a touchy subject, because some guys prefer keeping their love life separate from their social life. But if you’re the type of girl who gets checkmarks for every other criteria, you could be the one who’ll build the bridge over that chasm. We’re talking about potential “She’s a keeper!” status here.

                                      It’s here where the compatibility thing might play a role. If your guy is a basketball fanatic and watches live games, it might not work out if the girl goes with him because she likes going to places with bright lights and rowdy crowds. It’s not also enough if she likes going to the beach because she likes the feeling of sand between her toes, and he goes there purely to surf.

                                      This is where you the girl needs to make you mark with the things you have in common.

                                      I can’t believe this is turning out like a murderous Doctor Love column. It’s almost like I’m single-handedly killing every girl’s portrait of a dream guy by twisting his neck.

                                        1. Trust.

                                          Because. We guys can be idiots sometimes. We are clumsy, dense goofs who don’t know the difference between girls hitting on us and the Starbucks barista who’s always been super nice and remembers your name and usual order. We only snap to our senses when things get dicey. (Hate to do it, but here’s the dog comparison again) It’s like dogs, we always love it when our belly gets rubbed, no matter who’s rubbing it.

                                          The thing is, if you’ve checked off the first 9 criteria (criteriae? criterium?), then your guy is in a much better place. (Again with the dog comparisons!) You train your dog to eat only from your hand, and he’ll only eat the porkchop that you throw at him.

                                          I almost played the “dogs are loyal, and so are men” card here, except that there are truer things in life than that statement.

                                          The bottom line is that guys need the trust, else we don’t function. The whole checklist becomes immaterial. It’s like your Dad gives you a Ferrari, except that it comes with an MMDA enforcer in the passenger seat who’ll ride with you wherever you go. It’s beside the point.

                                          At the end of the day, everything is based on trust.

                                          And sex.

                                          These are all easily disputable. Honestly, I was just trying to prove that I could come up with 10 things. It’s not like there’s a guy handbook out there where I copied this off from.  Go ahead, let’s all argue about this. Let me just bend over then we can get started.

                                          <!–[if !mso]> <! st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } –>

                                          1. Sex.

                                          Is there any question why this is first on the list? It is the responsibility of every man to keep to the go-forth-and-multiply mission. In fact, can we just say that we are overburdened by this? (I am a prick.) Is there any other way to oversimplify this statement? There are no lines in between to be read. Yet I know that this is going to get rehashed and misinterpreted somehow. I can’t win.

                                          But let me take off my laconic and insensitive hat for a moment. I do believe that sexual compatibility is crucial to a relationship. Sexual attraction gets you through the first few years (You’ll have sex like it’s going out of style.) as a couple. Maybe it’s hormones. Or maybe it just feels good. Or just maybe a lot of us went to Catholic school.

                                          And I’m not going to play the morality card. This is about what guys want right? Guys want sex. It doesn’t necessarily have to happen (and believe me, it doesn’t happen for a LOT of guys — minority by choice, majority by other more dubious factors.). It’s just the truth. Some guys just want it more than others, and some guys just want it more obviously than others, and some guys are just really good at keeping it together, like they recite some mantra or something. I can talk about this all day long, but I have to explain the other 9.

                                          And can I just say that I wasted 3 paragraphs without making a point. It’s sex. That thing is pointed enough by itself.

                                          1. Food.

                                          People don’t go coming up with quotes like “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” unless there was some truth to it. So are you ready for the shocking truth? There is some truth to it.

                                          You cannot underestimate how emotional a man can get when he is unable to satisfy his needs. If a man is hungry, he needs to eat.

                                          The best example/analogy I can come up with here is Joey Tribianni. If you don’t know him, I am willing to lend you my 12-box DVD set of Friends, wait for you to blitz through the 10 seasons, blooper reels, and special features, then come back to this article. Ready? Done? Alright. We can move on, yes?

                                          In fact, Joey is the perfect set-up man for Nos. 1 and 2. The Joey character stereotypes that the normal guy should be oversexed and overeating, and that everyone not the type was questionable gay. (Yes, I’m of the opinion that Joey is the most “normal” among the male characters in Friends. We may differ here, but this is my article, not yours.) (And I have no problems with gay people. I have gay friends. The “gay” reference is for when Joey meet Chandler for the first time, he thought Chandler was gay. Go watch the DVDs again!)

                                          Again, I’m trying to oversimplify so that there won’t be room for argument. I used a Friends reference. Shouldn’t that help you get it?

                                          1. Silence.

                                          Ever wonder how two guy friends can go to a bar and just drink beer in silence? Really, sometimes we just need a minute or two. In fact don’t girls need some moments of silence too? Though, using the analogy above, I’ve never seen two girls sitting in a bar with blank stares while sipping on cosmopolitans. Or are there girl bars where these things happen? It would be helpful if we guys know these things.

                                          Men brood. It adds to our mystique. We can go for long periods without saying a word, even among friends or partners. Sometimes people take this the wrong way and think that we’re either pissed or borderline murderous. That’s not the case. The moments of silence are therapy. The world can be a really noisy place sometimes. So look out for those times when the guy’s eyes glaze over, he sees right through the TV, and think, “Maybe he just needs some quiet time.”

                                          1. Listen.

                                          When a guy declares that he needs to say something, it can only two ways – either you’re about to hear something really profound, funny, or intelligent, or you are about to witness something potentially disastrous.

                                          Now isn’t that compelling enough for you to tune in?

                                          So how do you know when it’s time to listen? Remember all those cheesy movies John Cusack used to make? He’d belt out those one-line all-timers that either sink the movie or take it to cult status. And he’d usually start those lines with these to catch the unsuspecting woman’s attention:

                                          There’s something I have to tell you… Ultimate cliffhanger of a statement. This line will just make your heart stop because 99% of all bad news started with versions of “There’s something I have to tell you…” (Other versions include “We need to talk…” and “I’ve been meaning to tell you this…”, with the former eliciting the same reaction as the original). But do you end up running away the moment you hear it? No! You are compelled to stay for the potential axe to drop because you know it can go either way – you strike gold or a slap in the face.

                                          You know what? I’ve been thinking… He’s been thinking! At this moment you’ll have to stop painting your nails and listen. Guys think a lot. But it’s a rare thing for guys to share exactly what he was thinking about. And as usual, you may get something really meaningful, or he’d say “You know what? I’ve been thinking… Our sofa set is still covered in plastic. That’s weird.”

                                          The point being? If a guy declares he has to say something, you gotta tune in. Let it pass and you lose him for good. You don’t know how crucial it is for us to have an audience.

                                          1. Relevant Gifts.

                                          This takes talent and commitment. And a little FBI training. So many girlfriends and wives get this part wrong.

                                          Buying gifts that you think your partner will look good in? Frowned upon. Gifts you think would jumpstart a new hobby or interest? Nope. Gifts that will make our bathrooms smell nice? Do they really smell that bad?

                                          I hope you’re all catching on to the idea.

                                          Think of a dog, and you just gave it a porkchop. It would be the happiest dog on earth. Why? Coz you gave it what it wanted. (I hate making man/dog analogies. It’s too easy and we’re too similar. But it’s necessary to simplify my point.) But if you gave the same dog a heaping plate of broccoli, celery sticks, and croutons, he’s gonna start at it for a few seconds, hestitate, smell it, and make a face of doggy disgust and then move along. You can’t turn a dog into a vegetarian. Nor can you turn your boyfriend into a philatelist by giving him a framed collection of rare stamps on your anniversary.

                                          We’ll appreciate the gift of course. There was a lot of thought put into into it… just not the right kind. Seriously, if I had a penny for every WTF uttered because of an unexpected gift…

                                          1. Laugh.

                                          Every guy thinks he’s funny and smart. Part of the blame goes to the women who look for guys who are “witty” and have a “sense of humor.” And how do we quantify that? It depends on what you’ve been watching. Some find Willy Revillame funny, so the wish their next boyfriend has that same… uh… quality. (Let us now pause for a moment and pray for these women and our country in particular.)

                                          The point being? You get what you ask for.

                                          So if your boyfriend makes a joke that you know he’s been saving for the right moment, (re)act accordingly. Even if he makes a total ass of himself. (maybe it was part of the joke.) If the appropriate reaction is you laughing at him, let it rip. You’ll have to figure out how to explain to him that he was being corny, but you found his overall performance cute. But don’t say that. That’s mine.

                                          Be careful about guys with heightened senses of humor though. They will expect you to keep up with them. If you can’t, they can be condescending and bore of you easily. So do your research and run his routes. It’s hard work, but so is making people laugh.

                                          1. Be Relevant.

                                          Us guys can be so useless sometimes, and we need you to pick us up during those rare moments.

                                          I hate the trophy girlfriend syndrome. Some guys go for the Hiltons and the Kardashians or the Riveras of the world coz they look like the handsomest, richest, most well-endowed guys on the planet. (These are the guys who have limited their criteria to Nos. 1 through 3.) But when he has to go around introducing her around and deal with small-talk, his stock will fall because everyone will be on to him. He’s the guy comedians joke about.

                                          But if the girl was interesting and relevant, say, a doctor who had just saved your life by pumping your heart with her bare hands, now that’s interesting.

                                          I’m telling you, it’s not always about the sex.

                                          1. Compliment.

                                          This is almost similar to the laugh card, except that it’s not. Compliments can be a form of deflection. And trust me, we guys aren’t trained to see through them. We’d eat them up, including the backhanded ones. We’d be like “Awwww thanks!”, pause for a good 10 seconds and then go, “wait… what?” It happens to me all the time. We men are suspicious creatures with egos bigger than our heads. Compliments feed both those needs. They keep us on our toes, wary that we’re being made fun of, at the same time we’re thinking “She just said I had Brad Pitt’s eyes!”

                                          1. Friendship.

                                          You know who the best girlfriend is? The one who’s also your friend.

                                          Guys keep a really tight circle of friends, and the ultimate compliment he can pay a girl is when he considers making her part of that circle. I know a lot of guys who have friends who have never even met their girlfriends because she doesn’t like hanging out at bars where there are LaSallistas. (Relax. It’s just an example.)

                                          But this is a touchy subject, because some guys prefer keeping their love life separate from their social life. But if you’re the type of girl who gets checkmarks for Nos. 1-9, you could be the one who’ll build the bridge to that chasm. We’re talking about potential “She’s a keeper!” status here.

                                          It’s here where the compatibility thing might play a role. If your guy is a basketball fanatic and watches live games, it might not work out if the girl goes with him because she likes going to places with bright lights and rowdy crowds. It’s not also enough if she likes going to the beach coz she likes the feeling of sand between her toes, and he goes there purely to surf.

                                          This is where you the girl needs to make you mark with the things you have in common.

                                          I can’t believe this is turning out like a murderous Doctor Love column. It’s almost like I’m single-handedly killing every girl’s portrait of a dream guy by twisting his neck.

                                          1. Trust.

                                          Because. We guys can be idiots sometimes. We are clumsy, dense goofs who don’t know the difference between girls hitting on us and the Starbucks barista who’s always been super nice and remembers your name and usual order. We only snap to our senses when things get dicey. (Hate to do it, but here’s the dog comparison again) It’s like dogs, we always love it when our tummies get rubbed, no matter who’s rubbing it.

                                          The thing is, if you’ve checked off Nos. 1 to 9, then your guy is in a much better place. (Again with the dog comparisons!) You train your dog to eat only from your hand, and he’ll only eat the porkchop that you throw at him.

                                          I almost played the “dogs are loyal, and so are men” card here, except that there are truer things in life than that statement.

                                          The bottom line is that guys need the trust, else we don’t function. The whole checklist becomes immaterial. It’s like your Dad gives you a Ferrari, except that it comes with an MMDA enforcer in the passenger seat who’ll ride with you everywhere. It’s beside the point. At the end of the day, everything is based on trust.

                                          And sex.

                                          If you’re like me — hyperactive, adventurous, living in a tropical country, and good-looking (Arguably. Just throwing that out there to make sure I haven’t lost you after the first sentence.) — you won’t take the coming of the rainy season sitting down. You can complain all you like, you will still bregudgingly carry that awkward-looking umbrella or musty coat with you when you leave your house.

                                          Most people with vacation plans also grumble at the first sign of dark clouds. Well, don’t cancel those plans just yet. There are some ways you can get creative with your vacation when it’s pouring outside. I’ve listed 6 here to get you started. There’s plenty other alternatives too, just remember to keep an open mind.

                                          * Try River Rafting.

                                          Go out and get wet! It’s really not that bad. Some activities actually improve with that extra push of wind or water, and rafting and surfing are great water activities you can try. With rafting, the rivers change with the added volume of water, making for interesting rides or added surprises in the rapids. There are white water rafting sites in Cagayan Valley, Cagayan De Oro, and Davao. Just make sure to consult your water guides to ensure your safety. And of course, don’t go when the storm signal is at #1. For very obvious reasons.

                                          * Try Surfing!

                                          Surfing season is determined by the tides, winds and the swell. But oftentimes the rainy season provide a happy exception to that rule, as rains and winds can also very well affect waves. The Philippines has a lot of accessible surf spots you can visit when the conditions are right. Zambales is 3 hours away, and La Union won’t take you 6. Once your local weather report predicts un-sunny weather, Check your favorite wave forecast website (Here’s one for La Union: http://globalsurfari.com/surfforecast.aspx?San%20Juan,%20La%20Union) and get ready to pack your (rain)gear.

                                          * Go to a museum.

                                          Go ahead, inject a little culture into your life. Museums aren’t bad at all. If you couldn’t answer the call of the wild because your flight got canceled, head out to your local museum (there are plenty in Manila. Do a Google search and there’ll be more results than you can cover in one day.). If you’re in Paris, you’ll visit the Louvre. Why not do the same here? For sure, you’ll learn something interesting.

                                          * Visit friends, relatives, or loved ones.

                                          After your culture trip, why not build on your relationships? Visit with long-lost friends or with relatives who live within your vicinity but you just couldn’t find the time to see. With your travel plans temporarily set back, you now have the time to spend a few hours with them. It doesn’t matter what you do, that loved one will appreciate and remember the quality time you spared even if it was just over a cup of coffee.

                                          * Play indoor games.

                                          If you and your friends have been huddled on your doorstep, unable to go further because the sun suddenly took the rest of the day off behind nasty storm clouds, go back inside the house, drop your bags, and play charades, board games, or card games. You will literally forget that time exists because we forget how fun these activities are! My friends and I once spent 8 hours playing charades with Tagalog movies. That’s an entire day gone right there. These games also bring out the competitive side in everyone. And of course, the extra bonding time does wonders for group dynamics.

                                          * Stay home.

                                          Read a book. Clean your room. Dust off your DVD player and watch those movies you bought 3 months ago. Come up with a new hobby. Sleep. There are actually a lot of things you can do at home if the weather just won’t let you leave. Sometimes you just have to take a hint from the universe (or take a hint from your parents) and actually stay put. The last thing you should do is pout — it just makes you restless and irritable, making the weather even more terrible for you. The point is to take the time to relax. Your home is the best place to do that.

                                          Of course, I suggested these options because they have worked for me. It’s not very hard to come up with an alternative plan. I am not a planner at all, I’m as gung-ho as the next idiot. But I do keep an open mind and almost always stay positive, and that’s half the battle right there.
                                          So good luck with your travel plans. Don’t forget your umbrella.

                                          There has not been much activity going on in this blog, so I’m sure this comes as a shock. Heck, even I’m a little dazed. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share Luis’ take on osculation, or what us common folk refer to as Kissing.

                                          He had a rather interesting take on the matter of saliva exchange –

                                          For guys, kissing is generally the first step towards sex, hence the use of “bases” to denote how far you’ve gone with a girl. (We’d lose track otherwise.) Droll sports analogies aside, this is an important consideration if you’re a female because it’s usually rare that a guy will just sit there and kiss you for hours without expecting to hit a home run at some point.

                                          It’s different for girls though. Instead of being merely a stepping stone, kissing is symbolic of the act of sex itself. If you’re kissing a girl and the only thing going through your mind is, “Can I put my hand on her boob yet” then it’s possible that you’re disconnecting with your partner a little bit. Generally speaking, although a guy will still sleep a girl who happens to really suck at kissing, the reverse is not true.

                                          He makes a few more interesting points that I found myself unconsciously nodding my head in agreement to. Go see if you do the same. Check out more of Luis’ blog here.

                                          Happy Valentine’s day, all you star-crossed lovers!

                                          Here’s something for you Canon users, or you who just enjoy hearing about sales –

                                           

                                          40% Off on Canon Items

                                          40% Off on Canon Items

                                          I’m currently trying to get word if they’re including SLRs or lenses in the sale. If they are, then a 40% discount on a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens would be a pretty sweet deal.

                                          I’m a Nikon user myself, but I will definitely be over there to see if I can get myself a Selphy printer, or a digicam. Sometimes my Nikon D70s takes too long to whip out of the camera bag for those quick capture moments. I cannot, for the life of me, stand taking photos using my cellphone.

                                          Photokina 2008 is barely a month away, and camera giants Nikon and Canon (or Canon and Nikon, for my latter-biased friends :) ) have started pumping out new babies to hungry photography enthusiasts the world over.

                                          Canon is said to be releasing the EOS 50D, a sister model of last year’s popular release, the 40D. Nikon, on the other hand, is set to release the D90, the world’s first DSLR with Movie Mode (at a sweet 720p HDTV quality, albeit forgettable Mono sound quality, so that they can still say, “hey, at least we still bothered.”).

                                          I’m a Nikon user, and I love my D70s (which is now in danger of being replaced and moved into a DSLR nursing home if there ever was one), but I can appreciate what both brands have to offer.  If I had assimilated myself into the Canon family first, I would probably still be using the brand until now. I’ll let other people defend their brand advocacies and just nod along to each argument. :)

                                          So here’s a quick look at some readily comparable features available in the upcoming Canon 50D and Nikon D90:

                                          Nikon D90
                                          Canon EOS 50D
                                          Effective pixels
                                          12.2 mp
                                          15.1mp
                                          AF Points
                                          11 points
                                          9 points
                                          LCD Monitor
                                          3.0″ TFT LCD
                                          3.0″ TFT LCD
                                          ISO
                                          ISO 200 to 3200
                                          ISO 100 to 1600
                                          Continuous Shooting
                                          4.5 fps
                                          6.3 / 3.0 fps, 60/90 frames
                                          Damage to Bank Account
                                          $1299 with 18-105 VR kit lens (or roughly around Php 60k)
                                          $1599 with 18-200 IS lens (or roughly around Php 72k)

                                          If you need more facts and specs so you can brag about how great the new Nikon is to your Canon-toting friends (or vice-versa), visit both hands-on previews at the ever-reliable Dpreview website (Or straight here for the EOS 50D review, and here for the Nikon D90 review).

                                          The Philippine Blog Awards 2008

                                          I had to interrupt my daily routine (of doing nothing) to deliver really important news — My good friend Trish Morente’s travel blog Restless Wander, has been nominated for Best Travel Blog for the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards! Way to go Trish! Everybody’s proud of you and rooting for you to get shortlisted among the finalists :) And although this isn’t as newsworthy, I’ve also added you onto my Blogroll (Now there’s two of you in there :D )! Woohoo! You’re not only being nominated for awards, you’re being added onto people’s blogrolls! You’re on a winning streak! :D

                                          They’re posting the finalists soon, so I’ll be sure to check back, and I expect to see your fine blog in there, because you deserve it! Good luck!

                                          Update: Another friend of mine’s blog, karlo rules the world without strobes, has also been nominated under the Best Photography Blog category. Congrats Karlo! Pa-Outback burger ka naman! :D

                                          The bar is open... and so am I!

                                          I was browsing through my hard drive for pictures that I could send to my friends for fun, and I dug this one up. This is my friend from way back in high school and best friend, Nathaniel (if he asks, tell him I didn’t use his full name), sitting at the bar, during one of our friend’s gigs at Dayo Bar in Quezon City.

                                          So why post this? 2 things –

                                          1.) I’m convincing Nat2x(as we shall call Nathaniel from now on) to use this on Facebook as his profile picture as a symbolism of his singlehood. Since he’s looking to be dating, why not advertise it right? So here you go, a complimentary bump for you on the photoblog.

                                          2.) I’m trying to generate questions and conversation on the pictures that I post, and this one just made a host of questions run through my mind when I looked at it. If it does the same for you, please do share it :) I’m hoping to share this with Nat2x later on, and intend to have a good laugh over it.

                                          Also, Every photo or series that I post will be called Picture of the Day (Hence the acronym in this post’s title) or Series of the Day. It just seemed cooler to be naming things this way, don’t you think? Later all :) -D-

                                          Update: Nat2x just saw me putting this on the blog, and he approves of this message.

                                          River, the Beach Lab.

                                          River, the Beach Lab.

                                          This is River. He’s the star of the San Juan Surf Resort in Urbiztondo, La Union, aside from Luke Landrigan, of course, the other La Union women’s attraction and surf star (a shoutout to Luke and the good people of Billabong Surf School at the resort! See you guys soon!). This lazy, irresistable lab is the epitome of the surfer’s lifestyle. If this dog could talk, he’d sound like stoned surfer Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”), whose portrayal just stereotyped surfers everywhere (Surfers aren’t stoners duuude. Nooot coool.)

                                          River here, however, has that same surfers’ demeanor. He just loves to hang out at the beach, loves the water, loves all the love and attention that the ladies give him. But to answer the lingering question in your mind, NO, the dog can’t surf. At least, not to my knowledge. I’ll be sure to watch out for that the next time I go back.

                                          But he sure can sunbathe like he’s being paid to do it. Awesome.

                                          … but there is this photoblog. Hi! My name is Don Manganar, and I am a freelance photographer and writer. This here is my first photoblogproject. I have blogged before, and have been shooting for 2 years, so I can’t really say that this is something new to me, but I can tell you for sure that I am very excited about this project. Let’s just say that I’ve made a commitment with myself to keep being immersed in the very things that I love doing — writing, photography, and the Internets.

                                          The challenge in the past has always been to keep the blog interesting and updated, but now most of my excitement comes from the fact that I have lots of photos that I want to share with you, both old, current, and new (wait, I said both. Sorry.) No use for all my pictures to lay wasted in my hard drive. Might as well post them, and maybe you can tell me how the heck I got the shot to come out like it did.

                                          I really hope to make the site user-friendly, interactive, and fun. I hope to see lots of discussion, criticism (constructive or otherwise), and advice, that will help me, and all other photographers or writers out there. So expect this site to be constantly evolving, as I also hope to evolve into a better photographer-slash-writer through our interactions.

                                          I’m really looking forward to this! And I hope you are too :) See you in the next post!

                                          Cheers,

                                          Don