What does Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) and Great Expectations (Gwyneth Paltrow, Ethan Hawke) have in common?
The main characters (the guys) have both been in love with one and only one girl from their childhood.
What does Matrix Reloaded and Star Wars Episode 2 have in common?
The main characters (Neo and Anakin) are very passionate - about their love (Trinity and Princess/Senator Amidala), and about the thing they're supposed to do.
What do the four movies above have in common?
I love them all.
Are you a sissy, hopeless romantic like...me? (???)
Then you'll love the movie Love Actually. It's bloody marvelous. (Pronounced "bludde mahr-v-ls")
[sub-labels: CPC movies]
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Monday, August 30, 2004
[Book Review] Angels & Demons [Dan Brown]
Not as fantabuluous (a term i hear from my mom) as TDVC (read the previous post), but great nonetheless. A must-read, if you ask me. You will learn a lot (as you would have with TDVC).
By the way, Angels & Demons is a prequel to TDVC, so if you read TDVC after A&D, you'll see some references to A&D. But, that is just a miniscule matter to the real deal.
If there was one thing with A&D (and perhaps TDVC also) that made me do, it was to post on my blog!
I read A&D within a span of probably... under 24 hours. I started reading it around Saturday midnight, slept at 5am, did my usual Sunday thangs, got back at it at around 10pm, slept at around 3am, and finished the thing for about an hour before work (I got to the office early) and within lunch time. I just can't put it down. (I heard myself say that for TDVC also, which I also finished just as fast.)
In a way, the implications of the point-of-conflict in A&D was as huge as that in Day After Tomorrow (2004 motion picture), I almost cried... Imagine that.
Anyhow, there were a few things worth mentioning from A&D.
First, the simpler of the two: "Sometimes our minds see what the heart wishes to be true." (or something like that) That struck me like lightning.
Second, there was this person asking me a question that goes something like "If God was a truly good, kind, and loving God, why does he let wars, sufferings, and the like happen to us and to the world?" Dan Brown had an answer to that. And it was similar to my answer to that person. Unfortunately, Dan Brown published A&D in 2000 , if I'm not mistaken, and I thought of that just last year. My answer, very similar to Dan Brown's, is this: "If you had a child (a son or daughter), would you make him stay at home so that he won't risk getting hurt or making mistakes? I will let him go out into the real world to make mistakes, and to learn, and to grow."
Hmmmm... That thought just made me think. (A thought that makes you think?) I would let my kid out into the real world for all of that, because I want him to experience the same things I have experienced in my life. And to me, those experiences are wonderful experiences! Could that mean, by analogy, that God himself have (or at least know very well) these experiences? I always say, experience is always better than book-based knowledge. Before getting into one commitment, I used to think that it would be all this and that, all easy-enough to handle. When I got into one, I learned a lot, and most of those I learned during that experience disproved many things I learned from books, stories, and words-of-mouth.
Now imagine this, I wrote all this (and I could write more) because of Angels & Demons, and The Da Vinci Code. Read them. I recommend TDVC first (because it's more interesting from the beginning pa lang). Meanwhile, I am still a Catholic. God bless, everyone!
-- ronjie ;-)
[sub-labels: CPC books]
By the way, Angels & Demons is a prequel to TDVC, so if you read TDVC after A&D, you'll see some references to A&D. But, that is just a miniscule matter to the real deal.
If there was one thing with A&D (and perhaps TDVC also) that made me do, it was to post on my blog!
I read A&D within a span of probably... under 24 hours. I started reading it around Saturday midnight, slept at 5am, did my usual Sunday thangs, got back at it at around 10pm, slept at around 3am, and finished the thing for about an hour before work (I got to the office early) and within lunch time. I just can't put it down. (I heard myself say that for TDVC also, which I also finished just as fast.)
In a way, the implications of the point-of-conflict in A&D was as huge as that in Day After Tomorrow (2004 motion picture), I almost cried... Imagine that.
Anyhow, there were a few things worth mentioning from A&D.
First, the simpler of the two: "Sometimes our minds see what the heart wishes to be true." (or something like that) That struck me like lightning.
Second, there was this person asking me a question that goes something like "If God was a truly good, kind, and loving God, why does he let wars, sufferings, and the like happen to us and to the world?" Dan Brown had an answer to that. And it was similar to my answer to that person. Unfortunately, Dan Brown published A&D in 2000 , if I'm not mistaken, and I thought of that just last year. My answer, very similar to Dan Brown's, is this: "If you had a child (a son or daughter), would you make him stay at home so that he won't risk getting hurt or making mistakes? I will let him go out into the real world to make mistakes, and to learn, and to grow."
Hmmmm... That thought just made me think. (A thought that makes you think?) I would let my kid out into the real world for all of that, because I want him to experience the same things I have experienced in my life. And to me, those experiences are wonderful experiences! Could that mean, by analogy, that God himself have (or at least know very well) these experiences? I always say, experience is always better than book-based knowledge. Before getting into one commitment, I used to think that it would be all this and that, all easy-enough to handle. When I got into one, I learned a lot, and most of those I learned during that experience disproved many things I learned from books, stories, and words-of-mouth.
Now imagine this, I wrote all this (and I could write more) because of Angels & Demons, and The Da Vinci Code. Read them. I recommend TDVC first (because it's more interesting from the beginning pa lang). Meanwhile, I am still a Catholic. God bless, everyone!
-- ronjie ;-)
[sub-labels: CPC books]
Sunday, August 08, 2004
[Book Reviews] The Da Vinci Code [Dan Brown]
Damn it! JUST READ IT!
Since I have my own rules and I follow them, I have set 5 as a maximum, so I rate this 5 out of 5. I could well rate it above 5. I had a midterm exam but after reading one chapter, I am lead to read the next. And here I am cramming. It's too good. I'll be reading another Dan Brown novel in the near future.
[sub-labels: CPC books]
Since I have my own rules and I follow them, I have set 5 as a maximum, so I rate this 5 out of 5. I could well rate it above 5. I had a midterm exam but after reading one chapter, I am lead to read the next. And here I am cramming. It's too good. I'll be reading another Dan Brown novel in the near future.
[sub-labels: CPC books]
Friday, August 06, 2004
[Book Review] Once Minutos [Paulo Coelho]
Here's one chocolate chip in the latest cookie by Paulo Coelho:
"You see that glass of anisette (wine/cocktail) before you?" he went on. "Now, you just see the anisette. I, on the other hand, because I need to be inside everything I do, see the plant it came from, the storms the plant endured, the hand that picked the grain, the voyage by ship from another land, the smells and colors with which the plant allowed itself to be imbued before it was placed in the alcohol. I I were to paint this scene, I would paint all those things, even though, when you saw the painting, you would think you were looking at a simple glass of anisette."
The person speaking was an artist. The person who created the artist is Coelho. And God created Coelho.
Overall, everyone's said it... It's a "daring" new book. To me, it's a Coelho classic. If you've read about Santiago, Veronika, Fatima, and Elijah, you don't want to miss Maria. Grab a copy now. Mine is for sale for $24.95. Hehe, I was absolutely kidding.
[sub-labels: CPC books]
"You see that glass of anisette (wine/cocktail) before you?" he went on. "Now, you just see the anisette. I, on the other hand, because I need to be inside everything I do, see the plant it came from, the storms the plant endured, the hand that picked the grain, the voyage by ship from another land, the smells and colors with which the plant allowed itself to be imbued before it was placed in the alcohol. I I were to paint this scene, I would paint all those things, even though, when you saw the painting, you would think you were looking at a simple glass of anisette."
The person speaking was an artist. The person who created the artist is Coelho. And God created Coelho.
Overall, everyone's said it... It's a "daring" new book. To me, it's a Coelho classic. If you've read about Santiago, Veronika, Fatima, and Elijah, you don't want to miss Maria. Grab a copy now. Mine is for sale for $24.95. Hehe, I was absolutely kidding.
[sub-labels: CPC books]
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Paulo Coelho
I admire Paulo Coelho. He has done things that some of us can only dream of. Nonetheless, I still am dreaming about writing a novel or two. Or three.
Anyhow, if there is one thing common between Paulo Coelho and me is, if I'm not mistaken, that our parents wanted us to become engineers. I am now an engineer, and Paulo Coelho is now an international bestselling author. Ah, but I'm still in my mid-20s. ;-)
Mr. Coelho went through some really unimaginable times in his youth, became a rock superstar back in Brazil and... I have read four of his novels. I think I'll be reading all the rest.
Anyhow, if there is one thing common between Paulo Coelho and me is, if I'm not mistaken, that our parents wanted us to become engineers. I am now an engineer, and Paulo Coelho is now an international bestselling author. Ah, but I'm still in my mid-20s. ;-)
Mr. Coelho went through some really unimaginable times in his youth, became a rock superstar back in Brazil and... I have read four of his novels. I think I'll be reading all the rest.
[Book Review] Veronika Decides to Die [Paulo Coelho]
RATING: 5 out of 5
Can you imagine that? It has been just over a month since my last post, and I have already finished a book that I haven't even planned yet on reading a month ago. Well it took me a while to read this book. Usually, for Coelho novels, I can finish them in one afternoon.
Veronika Decides to Die.....
You know how some people intentionally put you to misery, leave you in agony, increase your anxiety, and all that... And then in the end, you find out, it was all a twist; a modus operandi, maybe a prank. You are actually richer than you are, and you have 15 billion pesos in the bank, left by your great grandmother who intentionally wrote in her will that her first great grandson (or granddaughter) shall inherit all her riches, no one else.
And so, can you imagine how you feel this very moment?
I loved Veronika Decides to Die because I met some people with very interesting character and very interesting lives, although I never had that interest because it is easy to judge a book by its cover... And secondly, because Paulo Coelho is just simply smart. He got me again in this novel.
Coelho is one author who writes novels which I want to finish. You cannot predict at all (or maybe you could but... you could get so much into the story!) the ending or what will happen next, you'll meet fascinating people... It helps that Coelho novels are short. Haha.
While By the River Piedra was a little more predictable... And The Five People You Meet In Heaven was very predictable (not even halfway through the book) except for a few details and well, yeah, it's got a message, but its characters were less interesting... Hey, it's hard to write a novel after all!
Veronika Decides to Die is a story you should read. It's one hell of a ride. It's a great story. Not your usual bacon & eggs, but it is cooked to perfection. The scenes and the characters are very vivid, as By the River Piedra and most other Coelho novels offer. Or, I might not have read that much yet. Did I tell you that I have something to say about Paulo Coelho in thoughts?
Next in Line (for reading): Eleven Minutes (latest novel by Paulo Coelho)
[sub-labels: CPC books]
Can you imagine that? It has been just over a month since my last post, and I have already finished a book that I haven't even planned yet on reading a month ago. Well it took me a while to read this book. Usually, for Coelho novels, I can finish them in one afternoon.
Veronika Decides to Die.....
You know how some people intentionally put you to misery, leave you in agony, increase your anxiety, and all that... And then in the end, you find out, it was all a twist; a modus operandi, maybe a prank. You are actually richer than you are, and you have 15 billion pesos in the bank, left by your great grandmother who intentionally wrote in her will that her first great grandson (or granddaughter) shall inherit all her riches, no one else.
And so, can you imagine how you feel this very moment?
I loved Veronika Decides to Die because I met some people with very interesting character and very interesting lives, although I never had that interest because it is easy to judge a book by its cover... And secondly, because Paulo Coelho is just simply smart. He got me again in this novel.
Coelho is one author who writes novels which I want to finish. You cannot predict at all (or maybe you could but... you could get so much into the story!) the ending or what will happen next, you'll meet fascinating people... It helps that Coelho novels are short. Haha.
While By the River Piedra was a little more predictable... And The Five People You Meet In Heaven was very predictable (not even halfway through the book) except for a few details and well, yeah, it's got a message, but its characters were less interesting... Hey, it's hard to write a novel after all!
Veronika Decides to Die is a story you should read. It's one hell of a ride. It's a great story. Not your usual bacon & eggs, but it is cooked to perfection. The scenes and the characters are very vivid, as By the River Piedra and most other Coelho novels offer. Or, I might not have read that much yet. Did I tell you that I have something to say about Paulo Coelho in thoughts?
Next in Line (for reading): Eleven Minutes (latest novel by Paulo Coelho)
[sub-labels: CPC books]
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Future Books (and other stuff) to be Reviewed!
Well I have to make this announcement because I have made RONJBLOGs public... No, I did not make any IPO. Ok, not all people probably understood that joke.
Okay, back to business. I should tell you guys that as much as possible, I only like to read books that I know are bestsellers or potential bestsellers. And I do only read usually inspirational books, or... engineering books. Yeah, yeah, I am an engineer by day and a blogger by night. And I play basketball and badminton also during some nights, and watch the boob-tube and the big screen also on some other nights. Har har. There goes another... never mind.
Seriously now, I have to list these books so that you may know what to expect in the near future. You know, so that you might wanna come back to this site?
Actually, the business of reviewing books and stuff (like maybe CDs or movies or whatever else...) is not as easy as you think. I mean you have to construct your sentences very well to convey your real message. And to really give a good, complete review of the book, it will take quite a long write-up... Alas, I am not giving complete reviews of these books. I will be actually writing more like "reaction papers", you know, like those one page pambobola that is required by your freshman college instructor to write for that really boring play you watched, only so that your instructor can be sure that you really did watch that really boring play. And well, maybe get some entertainment out of your one-page literary piece.
So well, Coach Potato is about entertainment. Entertainment is what you will get here. Check out these really nice books. I will review them (please note that when I say review, I mean I will write "one-page reaction papers") soon on this BLOG. Keep posted.
One more thing, most of these books are books I highly recommend for reading. Some books though might not be of interest to others. We all know that one cannot please everyone.
So FINALLY, here's the (partial) list. ;-)
The Alchemist [Paulo Coehlo]
The Fifth Mountain [Paulo Coehlo]
By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept [Paulo Coehlo]
Thank God He's Boss [Bo Sanchez]
You Can Make Your Life Beautiful [Bo Sanchez]
You Have The Power to Create Love [Bo Sanchez]
The Prophet [Kahlil Gibran]
The Purpose-Driven Life [Rick Warren]
If I Really Wanted to Simplify My Life I Would... [Lighthouse Books]
Boy Meets Girl [Joshua Harris]
The Matrix trilogy of movies [The Wachowski Brothers]
Star Wars Episode 2 [George Lucas?]
Castaway [starring Tom Hanks]
Forrest Gump [starring Tom Hanks]
P.S. I have a separate blog for The Matrix trilogy. I loved those movies. However, as of today, I haven't posted much on that site. School got in the way of blogging. Till next post! Ciao! ;-)
[sub-labels: CPC general]
Okay, back to business. I should tell you guys that as much as possible, I only like to read books that I know are bestsellers or potential bestsellers. And I do only read usually inspirational books, or... engineering books. Yeah, yeah, I am an engineer by day and a blogger by night. And I play basketball and badminton also during some nights, and watch the boob-tube and the big screen also on some other nights. Har har. There goes another... never mind.
Seriously now, I have to list these books so that you may know what to expect in the near future. You know, so that you might wanna come back to this site?
Actually, the business of reviewing books and stuff (like maybe CDs or movies or whatever else...) is not as easy as you think. I mean you have to construct your sentences very well to convey your real message. And to really give a good, complete review of the book, it will take quite a long write-up... Alas, I am not giving complete reviews of these books. I will be actually writing more like "reaction papers", you know, like those one page pambobola that is required by your freshman college instructor to write for that really boring play you watched, only so that your instructor can be sure that you really did watch that really boring play. And well, maybe get some entertainment out of your one-page literary piece.
So well, Coach Potato is about entertainment. Entertainment is what you will get here. Check out these really nice books. I will review them (please note that when I say review, I mean I will write "one-page reaction papers") soon on this BLOG. Keep posted.
One more thing, most of these books are books I highly recommend for reading. Some books though might not be of interest to others. We all know that one cannot please everyone.
So FINALLY, here's the (partial) list. ;-)
The Alchemist [Paulo Coehlo]
The Fifth Mountain [Paulo Coehlo]
By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept [Paulo Coehlo]
Thank God He's Boss [Bo Sanchez]
You Can Make Your Life Beautiful [Bo Sanchez]
You Have The Power to Create Love [Bo Sanchez]
The Prophet [Kahlil Gibran]
The Purpose-Driven Life [Rick Warren]
If I Really Wanted to Simplify My Life I Would... [Lighthouse Books]
Boy Meets Girl [Joshua Harris]
The Matrix trilogy of movies [The Wachowski Brothers]
Star Wars Episode 2 [George Lucas?]
Castaway [starring Tom Hanks]
Forrest Gump [starring Tom Hanks]
P.S. I have a separate blog for The Matrix trilogy. I loved those movies. However, as of today, I haven't posted much on that site. School got in the way of blogging. Till next post! Ciao! ;-)
[sub-labels: CPC general]
[Book Review] Simplify and Create Abundance [Bo Sanchez]
Alright! I now have two reviews and counting! For my review (more like a "reaction paper") of Bo Sanchez' latest book, I actually wrote him a letter. It follows. By the way, I give this book 5 out of 5 stars, it's a must-read I think as it is a good reminder for us all. Oh and it's cheap. Bo Sanchez is a simple and great guy. I wrote a little short something about him in the RONJBLOG, thoughts.
------------------ Book Review: Simplify and Create Abundance [Bo Sanchez] ------------------
Dear Bo,
I would just like to say that I am a big fan of yours, specifically your books. I have bought all five of your books (the P150 ones; I haven't bought "Embraced" yet. I do have "The Way of the Cross" also. I hope I got the titles right...): Thank God He's Boss, You Have The Power to Create Love, You Can Make Your Life Beautiful, Simplify and Live the Good Life, and, I am in the middle of reading "Simplify and Create Abundance."
I can't help but react to your book. It is the message that many Filipinos need to hear, I think. I just recently read the chapter/section about poor Leny and Manager (and former house helper) "Helen." I think those two are two stories many Filipinos need to hear. If I would write a reaction paper on that chapter/section, I would say this...
Christianity and the Bible tell us that we should learn to accept, and to be thankful to God for whatever we have, for wherever we are, for whatever situation or condition we are in, and for who we are. "Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God." Et cetera. We know that envy and self-pity are our enemies... On the other hand, the Bible does not tell us that we should stop there. There was this one parable about... the talents? Or basically the one wherein the master gave his slaves some money and left for a while; he came back to find out that some of his slaves made more than the others out of those he left for them. In fact, the Bible is telling us that for whatever we have, we should make something out of it, make it grow. If it's money, we should make it earn. If we are indeed, say, financially deficient, we should accept that fact, be thankful for the littlest thing we have, but the thing is, we still have something. If we have hands and feet, we could use them in many ways to earn---to get to work, to use at work, etc. We have brains that we should not waste at all; by just internally brainstorming, we could come up with lots of ideas to be able to provide for our personal needs, and for the needs of others, including our families and loved ones. If we are not deaf, we could ask others to help us in our quest, and humbly give back in gratitude for their help. Even if we are blind, we know that even blind people could be productive. If we are still alive, let us not waste a minute of it doing nothing to make things better for ourselves and for others. If we have time, we could take a rest from all the work. The thing is, there are a lot of these "little" things that we forget we have that we could use so that we may not end up poor. Like Helen, she had free time in the evening, and she used them to take classes and finish school. She had feet to walk to her job interviews, a voice to communicate with her interviewers, a mind to help guide her to give her best answers, hands to fill up the application form, etc. Haha, and this is just one very simple example. There's this one person I know who thinks more like Leny; he thinks that "Mahirap maging mayaman..." And there's this other person I know who thinks that simplicity means being poor. On the other hand, I think we can be simple and have an abundant supply of whatever we need! Bo's message is truly something that all Filipinos should hear, and apply in their lives.
Okay, well that's that. But Bo, if I may make a suggestion. One thing I have observed is that, while many Filipinos understand English, like say when the LRT makes an announcement like "Next station is Araneta Center, Cubao", Filipinos can easily understand that; it's just one sentence. Most Filipinos know what "Stop" means, or "One Way", "Yes", "No", or "No Left Turn"... But I think not a lot of Filipinos really understand "Turn right anytime with care"... Haha, I might be being too judgmental of my fellow Pinoys now. Anyway, to explain my point better... I was an instructor for one semester at one of these universities and I made all of my students submit an index card with their full name, identification numbers, contact numbers, and I asked them to answer the question "What do you expect to learn in this class?" When I got the index cards, all their answers had all-English words, but I got frustrated because it's not even close to 50% who gave grammatically correct English sentences. My point is, though Filipinos are proud because we're probably the third largest English speaking nation in the world, it is still not our first language. It is not our natural language. Maybe only a few of us really may have had very good grades in our English classes back in Elementary or High School...
My point, Bo, is I think your books, your message should reach more Filipinos. Your books are not just for us who understand English. I appreciate it that your books are affordable (to me at least) at P150 each. I think it would be great if you would have your books translated into the natural language for most of us. Maybe you could have at least a Tagalog or Filipino version, or a Bisaya version... What do you think?
Nway, keep up the Good work, Bo. By the way, I did listen to one of your tapes already, "Loving difficult people." Hehehe.
That's it for now. God bless!
Ronjie Aquino
[sub-labels: CPC books]
------------------ Book Review: Simplify and Create Abundance [Bo Sanchez] ------------------
Dear Bo,
I would just like to say that I am a big fan of yours, specifically your books. I have bought all five of your books (the P150 ones; I haven't bought "Embraced" yet. I do have "The Way of the Cross" also. I hope I got the titles right...): Thank God He's Boss, You Have The Power to Create Love, You Can Make Your Life Beautiful, Simplify and Live the Good Life, and, I am in the middle of reading "Simplify and Create Abundance."
I can't help but react to your book. It is the message that many Filipinos need to hear, I think. I just recently read the chapter/section about poor Leny and Manager (and former house helper) "Helen." I think those two are two stories many Filipinos need to hear. If I would write a reaction paper on that chapter/section, I would say this...
Christianity and the Bible tell us that we should learn to accept, and to be thankful to God for whatever we have, for wherever we are, for whatever situation or condition we are in, and for who we are. "Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God." Et cetera. We know that envy and self-pity are our enemies... On the other hand, the Bible does not tell us that we should stop there. There was this one parable about... the talents? Or basically the one wherein the master gave his slaves some money and left for a while; he came back to find out that some of his slaves made more than the others out of those he left for them. In fact, the Bible is telling us that for whatever we have, we should make something out of it, make it grow. If it's money, we should make it earn. If we are indeed, say, financially deficient, we should accept that fact, be thankful for the littlest thing we have, but the thing is, we still have something. If we have hands and feet, we could use them in many ways to earn---to get to work, to use at work, etc. We have brains that we should not waste at all; by just internally brainstorming, we could come up with lots of ideas to be able to provide for our personal needs, and for the needs of others, including our families and loved ones. If we are not deaf, we could ask others to help us in our quest, and humbly give back in gratitude for their help. Even if we are blind, we know that even blind people could be productive. If we are still alive, let us not waste a minute of it doing nothing to make things better for ourselves and for others. If we have time, we could take a rest from all the work. The thing is, there are a lot of these "little" things that we forget we have that we could use so that we may not end up poor. Like Helen, she had free time in the evening, and she used them to take classes and finish school. She had feet to walk to her job interviews, a voice to communicate with her interviewers, a mind to help guide her to give her best answers, hands to fill up the application form, etc. Haha, and this is just one very simple example. There's this one person I know who thinks more like Leny; he thinks that "Mahirap maging mayaman..." And there's this other person I know who thinks that simplicity means being poor. On the other hand, I think we can be simple and have an abundant supply of whatever we need! Bo's message is truly something that all Filipinos should hear, and apply in their lives.
Okay, well that's that. But Bo, if I may make a suggestion. One thing I have observed is that, while many Filipinos understand English, like say when the LRT makes an announcement like "Next station is Araneta Center, Cubao", Filipinos can easily understand that; it's just one sentence. Most Filipinos know what "Stop" means, or "One Way", "Yes", "No", or "No Left Turn"... But I think not a lot of Filipinos really understand "Turn right anytime with care"... Haha, I might be being too judgmental of my fellow Pinoys now. Anyway, to explain my point better... I was an instructor for one semester at one of these universities and I made all of my students submit an index card with their full name, identification numbers, contact numbers, and I asked them to answer the question "What do you expect to learn in this class?" When I got the index cards, all their answers had all-English words, but I got frustrated because it's not even close to 50% who gave grammatically correct English sentences. My point is, though Filipinos are proud because we're probably the third largest English speaking nation in the world, it is still not our first language. It is not our natural language. Maybe only a few of us really may have had very good grades in our English classes back in Elementary or High School...
My point, Bo, is I think your books, your message should reach more Filipinos. Your books are not just for us who understand English. I appreciate it that your books are affordable (to me at least) at P150 each. I think it would be great if you would have your books translated into the natural language for most of us. Maybe you could have at least a Tagalog or Filipino version, or a Bisaya version... What do you think?
Nway, keep up the Good work, Bo. By the way, I did listen to one of your tapes already, "Loving difficult people." Hehehe.
That's it for now. God bless!
Ronjie Aquino
[sub-labels: CPC books]
Friday, April 16, 2004
Bo Sanchez
Bo is a living example of a man who has a lot of time to serve God first, and still have time to earn a lot of money. He earns more than enough money to feed his family, and more than enough love for other people to give some of that extra money to the needy. That is how his latest book, “Simplify and Create Abundance,” impressed upon me. It is a must-have book. Go get a copy for yourself and your loved ones!
ronjnote: i'll be most likely reviewing Bo's "Simplify..." book and a few others (recently read and not so recently) at the coach potato's corner.
ronjnote: i'll be most likely reviewing Bo's "Simplify..." book and a few others (recently read and not so recently) at the coach potato's corner.
Sunday, February 08, 2004
[Book Review] the compulsary first review: T5PYMIH
well, i am compelled to write one review... AFTER THAT LENGTHY SPEECH IN THAT PREVIOUS POST!
hmmmm... now, let's see...
the last two movies i saw (on the big screen) were Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions.
who's michael buble?
and who won the super bowl?
i guess you get the idea by now. what am i going to review? ahhh, yes, the books. i've been reading!
well, the last book i read was... The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
i have one word for T5PYMIH: CREEPY!
imagine dead people talking to each other! recounting some incidents while they were alive!
my advice: DON'T READ THE BOOK AT NIGHT!!!! or you'll end up like me, still wide awake at 2:24 in the morning!
i had to skip "part three" and "part four" of the book. i learned that, it was just a story as simple as a sandwich!
all you need to make a sandwich are two buns and something in between. in the case of T5PYMIH, the buns were as plain and simple as white bread, but in between, there's something like tuna with a whole lotta pickles and tomatoes. in other words, a lot of vitamins, and a lot of healthy stuff!
and yeah, as with all specially made sandwiches, you know, the type your mom prepares in front of you, there's always a story to tell that goes beyond the sandwich. while your momma's making your hamburger, she's probably telling you stories about how she used to cannot afford to eat burgers!
so that's about it. i could try to make a sandwich of my own, because the formula's pretty obvious, but wether it will be as good a sandwich as mitch albom's... bah, i'll just buy sandwich. why punish myself with making one?
so... all reviewers have some sort of rating system. others have five stars for really good stuff, others just either give a thumbs up or down sign, others---well they just want to always say the really bad thing about the book. pessimists. i'd rather be calling them pestimists!
anyhowsers, i give this book, a rating of five. because it has the number five in its title! harhar. that wasn't funny. but i'm serious. for the five bucks or so you pay for this mother, it's worth it.
GO BUY THIS SANDWICH! it's good for the bones!
yahoo! i'm done with my first review!
p.s. and have i mentioned that part of the story takes place in the philippines? but soldier is not "sundalong", mr. albom. unless that kid is under three years old.
hmmmm... now, let's see...
the last two movies i saw (on the big screen) were Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions.
who's michael buble?
and who won the super bowl?
i guess you get the idea by now. what am i going to review? ahhh, yes, the books. i've been reading!
well, the last book i read was... The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
i have one word for T5PYMIH: CREEPY!
imagine dead people talking to each other! recounting some incidents while they were alive!
my advice: DON'T READ THE BOOK AT NIGHT!!!! or you'll end up like me, still wide awake at 2:24 in the morning!
i had to skip "part three" and "part four" of the book. i learned that, it was just a story as simple as a sandwich!
all you need to make a sandwich are two buns and something in between. in the case of T5PYMIH, the buns were as plain and simple as white bread, but in between, there's something like tuna with a whole lotta pickles and tomatoes. in other words, a lot of vitamins, and a lot of healthy stuff!
and yeah, as with all specially made sandwiches, you know, the type your mom prepares in front of you, there's always a story to tell that goes beyond the sandwich. while your momma's making your hamburger, she's probably telling you stories about how she used to cannot afford to eat burgers!
so that's about it. i could try to make a sandwich of my own, because the formula's pretty obvious, but wether it will be as good a sandwich as mitch albom's... bah, i'll just buy sandwich. why punish myself with making one?
so... all reviewers have some sort of rating system. others have five stars for really good stuff, others just either give a thumbs up or down sign, others---well they just want to always say the really bad thing about the book. pessimists. i'd rather be calling them pestimists!
anyhowsers, i give this book, a rating of five. because it has the number five in its title! harhar. that wasn't funny. but i'm serious. for the five bucks or so you pay for this mother, it's worth it.
GO BUY THIS SANDWICH! it's good for the bones!
yahoo! i'm done with my first review!
p.s. and have i mentioned that part of the story takes place in the philippines? but soldier is not "sundalong", mr. albom. unless that kid is under three years old.
who is coach potato?
coach potato is the typical couch potato,
who has nothing better to do but eat potato chips,
and shout at the coaches on t.v., as if being the better coach.
prior to this post, this is my definition of CPC (coach potato's corner):
Thoughts of Coach Potato about basketball, and other sports--professional, developmental, amateur, or otherwise.
i figured, between now and the last post (September 2003), it has been almost five whole months. and there hasn't been any action on the corner. well, thank goodness for a really busy work (and school) schedule, and to the fact that the BIG CABLE COMPANY has exclusive rights to premium sports channels showing NBA and NFL games and that, well, my humble little cable company is the david in the cable tv arena... and of course, the PBA had its off-season starting in mid-december until mid-february... thus, here is coach potato, left with nothing to critique.
today, i have redefined CPC. it's more about reviews of different types of media: books, movies, CDs, magazines, articles, gadgets, people, t.v., radio, videos, sounds, etc. whatever could be reviewed.
let met get one thing straight though. i am not coach potato! coach potato.... is a creation. he's a fictional character. he can take on many faces. he could have many moods... he's a real critic. closer perhaps to being hypocritical? that shall be for you to judge. ;-)
ENJOY!
[sub-labels: CPC general]
who has nothing better to do but eat potato chips,
and shout at the coaches on t.v., as if being the better coach.
prior to this post, this is my definition of CPC (coach potato's corner):
Thoughts of Coach Potato about basketball, and other sports--professional, developmental, amateur, or otherwise.
i figured, between now and the last post (September 2003), it has been almost five whole months. and there hasn't been any action on the corner. well, thank goodness for a really busy work (and school) schedule, and to the fact that the BIG CABLE COMPANY has exclusive rights to premium sports channels showing NBA and NFL games and that, well, my humble little cable company is the david in the cable tv arena... and of course, the PBA had its off-season starting in mid-december until mid-february... thus, here is coach potato, left with nothing to critique.
today, i have redefined CPC. it's more about reviews of different types of media: books, movies, CDs, magazines, articles, gadgets, people, t.v., radio, videos, sounds, etc. whatever could be reviewed.
let met get one thing straight though. i am not coach potato! coach potato.... is a creation. he's a fictional character. he can take on many faces. he could have many moods... he's a real critic. closer perhaps to being hypocritical? that shall be for you to judge. ;-)
ENJOY!
[sub-labels: CPC general]
Sunday, January 04, 2004
[Movie Review] The Matrix Movies in General: Ratings + Blog {Thread} Intro
I'd rate them...
TWO THUMBS UP! ...I do have two thumbs. And well, if you believe in Zodiac signs, I'm a Gemini, and thus I'm a "Twin", I have split personalities, both of which give the movie a thumb up. Thus, my pathetic justification for two thumbs up. Two thumbs, same direction... That's providence. (Hey, can you try to determine for yourself which statements are serious, and which are sarcastic? Alright, thanks!)
FIVE OUT OF FIVE! ...Did I mention that it's just a movie? You know, some novels are great, and then they become great movies (or not). This was a movie, and was a movie. Get it? No? I did not think so. But it is always good to ask.
Others rate them...
ONE THUMB UP, or THREE OUT OF FIVE.
I say, are you trying to compare this movie with other movies? Didn't your mother tell you that comparing is not good for anyone!!!!??? Why compare The Matrix with The Godfather or Lord of the Rings? Come on! That's not fair!
Anywho, others say that the visuals are great, but the audibles? Hmmm, you know what, now I'm thinking, what college degree did the Wachowskis finish?
Well, I respect everybody's opinions. But I must say, The Matrix got all the praises, Reloaded got mixed emotions, Revolutions weeded out the real fans from the movie-hoppers! And people tend to talk a lot about the dialogues, the "MWAM" (Matrix Within A Matrix) Theory, the MWAMWAM theory, the visual effects, and so on and so forth. But there's more to that. So read the next paragraph because this is the last sentence of this paragraph.I'd like to react more about the symbols and the messages we can get from the movie.
There was this Filipino movie, which was rated "X", or basically, it was for adults only, and it had really explicit sex scenes, I guess. {I think I was referring to the movie "Warat."} Thus getting banned from public showing, getting all the hype, getting attention from "freedom-of-speech users", getting cut, getting a new rating (something like rated "R"), and finally, getting showed to a very curious public. People watched it and said, "There's no story, it's all about sex, sex, sex." Well, of course, we could say, yes, fornication is a bad thing. But there was a message in that movie; i.e., there was a story! And the story was that, there were these two people who fornicated, found out they were step siblings, and in the end, their lives were ruined. Pretty simple, but, I don't know, people didn't see that. Was it too obvious? Instead, people saw SEX SEX SEX. Well I guess if you put a BIG RED DOT beside a tiny green one on a big white canvas, it's easier to notice the color RED.
My point is, beyond the nice computer graphics, "wire-fu" coreography, and juicy dialogues... There was more to The Matrix movies. There were symbols, and hidden or shall I say, "watermark" messages.
Oh well, let me spoil for you one of these "watermark" messages. When I finished watching Revolutions with a friend, she could only say, though in another language, and hereby paraphrased in a way because I forgot her exact line: "The movie screamed nothing but FAITH. I saw nothing but FAITH FAITH FAITH. All I saw in the movie was FAITH." Haha...
Well perhaps, what you easily see first in a movie would be something that reflects of you. I did say PERHAPS, okay? I could paraphrase that statement, still. Anyhow, so I guess this series of short "reactions" to parts and parcels of the movie would be more about things that I, the author, relate to, or something like that. Thus, you may view these posts as viewed from another point of view, some of which might be similar from where you're at.
Get it? I hope so! Enjoy this BLOG!
p.s.Did I tell you guys that it's 4:30AM? Thus, pardon my weirdness, please. Thank you. :-)
[sub-labels: CPC movies]
TWO THUMBS UP! ...I do have two thumbs. And well, if you believe in Zodiac signs, I'm a Gemini, and thus I'm a "Twin", I have split personalities, both of which give the movie a thumb up. Thus, my pathetic justification for two thumbs up. Two thumbs, same direction... That's providence. (Hey, can you try to determine for yourself which statements are serious, and which are sarcastic? Alright, thanks!)
FIVE OUT OF FIVE! ...Did I mention that it's just a movie? You know, some novels are great, and then they become great movies (or not). This was a movie, and was a movie. Get it? No? I did not think so. But it is always good to ask.
Others rate them...
ONE THUMB UP, or THREE OUT OF FIVE.
I say, are you trying to compare this movie with other movies? Didn't your mother tell you that comparing is not good for anyone!!!!??? Why compare The Matrix with The Godfather or Lord of the Rings? Come on! That's not fair!
Anywho, others say that the visuals are great, but the audibles? Hmmm, you know what, now I'm thinking, what college degree did the Wachowskis finish?
Well, I respect everybody's opinions. But I must say, The Matrix got all the praises, Reloaded got mixed emotions, Revolutions weeded out the real fans from the movie-hoppers! And people tend to talk a lot about the dialogues, the "MWAM" (Matrix Within A Matrix) Theory, the MWAMWAM theory, the visual effects, and so on and so forth. But there's more to that. So read the next paragraph because this is the last sentence of this paragraph.I'd like to react more about the symbols and the messages we can get from the movie.
There was this Filipino movie, which was rated "X", or basically, it was for adults only, and it had really explicit sex scenes, I guess. {I think I was referring to the movie "Warat."} Thus getting banned from public showing, getting all the hype, getting attention from "freedom-of-speech users", getting cut, getting a new rating (something like rated "R"), and finally, getting showed to a very curious public. People watched it and said, "There's no story, it's all about sex, sex, sex." Well, of course, we could say, yes, fornication is a bad thing. But there was a message in that movie; i.e., there was a story! And the story was that, there were these two people who fornicated, found out they were step siblings, and in the end, their lives were ruined. Pretty simple, but, I don't know, people didn't see that. Was it too obvious? Instead, people saw SEX SEX SEX. Well I guess if you put a BIG RED DOT beside a tiny green one on a big white canvas, it's easier to notice the color RED.
My point is, beyond the nice computer graphics, "wire-fu" coreography, and juicy dialogues... There was more to The Matrix movies. There were symbols, and hidden or shall I say, "watermark" messages.
Oh well, let me spoil for you one of these "watermark" messages. When I finished watching Revolutions with a friend, she could only say, though in another language, and hereby paraphrased in a way because I forgot her exact line: "The movie screamed nothing but FAITH. I saw nothing but FAITH FAITH FAITH. All I saw in the movie was FAITH." Haha...
Well perhaps, what you easily see first in a movie would be something that reflects of you. I did say PERHAPS, okay? I could paraphrase that statement, still. Anyhow, so I guess this series of short "reactions" to parts and parcels of the movie would be more about things that I, the author, relate to, or something like that. Thus, you may view these posts as viewed from another point of view, some of which might be similar from where you're at.
Get it? I hope so! Enjoy this BLOG!
p.s.Did I tell you guys that it's 4:30AM? Thus, pardon my weirdness, please. Thank you. :-)
[sub-labels: CPC movies]
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