My Consoling Asylum: January 2008

Audio Ads: A Breakthrough in Web Advertising

Thursday, January 31, 2008 by Zang Caesar audio ads , make money online , web reviews

If you had raked money from your site's text and image ads when your visitors clicked them, you could be earning more in a way that is hassle-free and click-free. Yes, clicks may no longer be the trend one of these days because web advertisement has gone wonderfully revolutionized.

What I am talking about is Net Audio Ads. What you just need to do is put on the code to your site to enable the 5-second audio ads relevant to your site. And did I just say click-free above? Yes, you get paid for every visitor to your site or every time your website is seen, with no more clicks; the more the traffic, the better your earnings. Isn't that fabulous?

I have signed-up myself for Net Audio Ads a couple of months ago, and I am just excited for the launching of this breakthrough in online advertisement. Imagine, the advertisers buy ad plays on sites for 100% of visitors. That is more than cool, I tell you. It's time to be earning more, and it's also high time for you to sign-up yourself if you haven't done it yet. So far there have been 108 M sites who have joined, and this is growing. Would you let yourself be left behind? Jump on to the bandwagon!

What you will get with Net Audio Ads are the following:

100% free opportunity
weekly payment
earn from your own sites
referral earnings
massive residual income

You can also refer possible audio ads publishers to perk up your revenue. But time is of the essence. Affiliate program ends tomorrow, February the 1^st. Also, this is a limited opportunity. Hurry, sign-up now and refer others!

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Technically Easy examines My Consoling Asylum

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 by Zang Caesar accolades , blog updates

Yesterday, I checked who just linked to me upon seeing my Technorati authority went up a notch or two and was totally surprised to have seen that Technically Easy posted a full, comprehensive review about my blog.

Reading the review, I have learned many things about what the author did not like about my site, which might also be the things that can make the readers turned off. But Technically Easy so far has rated my blog as above average, as justified by these categorical ratings:

Design = 3.5 stars
Focus = 3.5 stars
Content = 4 stars
Spelling and Grammar = 3.5 stars
OVERALL = 3.5 stars

Not bad, eh? This is My Consoling Asylum's first time to be reviewed fully and comprehensively. I really did not know what came to the TE's author to have chosen this blog as one of the subjects for his blog reviews, a pursuit he so willingly does without payment but the mere thank you's from the blogs he reviewed. I guess he finds it amusing to be examining blogs that caught his attention, and I can assume that my blog did caught his attention.

Technically Easy just reminds me of the plan I had before: that of reviewing blogs that amuse me and had me reading with interest. There was many, but I don't know where to start and I fear I might not make the review as brilliantly as Technically Easy just did.

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The Apple of Your Eye and Eyecandies

by Zang Caesar prescription eyeglasses , web reviews , zenni optical

What good is your apple of the eye to you if your eyes are not in good condition, and how does he or she become the apple of your eye if you're not seeing well? Oh, looks, they deceive! And they'll deceive you a little more if you're not helping your poor eyes.

There's Great Discovery: Zenni Optical. With complete single vision prescription eyeglasses starting at amazingly affordable $8.00, it can aid your eyes back to seeing normally, or at least very close to that, with anti-scratch coating, UV protection, and lens edge polishing and beveling free. And there's a lot more you can get from all their eyeglasses. These include:

high quality stylish frame
thin, light index lens (1.57)
quality hard eyeglass case
microfiber lens cleaning cloth, and
full guarantee

You can also add some enhancements or upgrades to your Zenni Optical $8 Rx Glasses, or even the more expensive ones, like the premium photochromic lenses (which is clear while indoors, darkens outdoors in sunlight), premium anti reflective coating, sunglass color tint coating (7 available) and lens upgrade to either 1.61 or 1.67. All these are at varied prices. They will ship your eyeglasses at $4.95 per order, no matter how many glasses in the order.

True, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But with the Best Thing Found: Zenni Optical, your apple of the eye really becomes that and what you technically suppose is an eyecandy will be so much sweeter with better vision.

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Tag Tuesday: How Filipino Are You?

by Zang Caesar tag along , unique Filipino traits

Over time, the Filipino way of living has changed a lot, thanks to the influence of the western culture. The once-simple living has gone wonderfully sophisticated that it seems we have gradually lost the traits unique us Filipinos. Even so, we can't and won't deny the fact that rooted in our spirit and being is the pride that we are indeed Filipinos.

But how Filipino are you? Are the Filipino traits strong in you? Are you the typical Filipino? Take this simple quiz I have fabricated to determine your being Filipino. Read the items below and tell whether or not you do or exhibit them and count the items that are true to you. After evaluating all the items refer to the gauge below with your points. Remember to take seriously the frequencies (at least once, twice...) in the items; if you lack even one frequency, then don't count the item.

Here it goes:

you can speak Filipino (erstwhile Tagalog)
whenever necessary, you take the hand of an elder relative and pat the back of the palm of that hand to your forehead and say “mano po”
you know "bayanihan" and had witnessed it personally at least once
you've seen a bahay kubo at least once
you've ridden on a jeepney at least five times
you have separate clothes for in-house and outside use (pambahay at panglakad)
you've eaten adobo, dinuguan, kakanin, tuyo, dilis
your meal is incomplete if without rice
you hear Sunday masses and attend Misa de Gallo with your family
you can sing "Lupang Hinirang" very well, with no lines missed
you don't care donning ragged and torn clothes exclusively for use inside home
you have bought items in a "sari-sari store" at least ten times
you have played patintero, tumbang preso and piko during your childhood
you can sing at least five OPM songs, and know what OPM means
you know the Philippine presidents from the year of your birth onwards
you have witnessed "balagtasan" at least thrice
you've been recounted with stories involving aswang, tikbalang, manananggal, nuno sa punso
you've been read, have read or have heard Filipino legends (Ang Alamat ng...)
you've lived, stayed or visited Philippine places other than your city or town at least seven times
you've visited local (or public) wet market at least five times

Here's the gauge to tell how Filipino you are:
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19 - 20 = The Filipino blood, spirit and flame burns intensely in you. You are the typical Filipino, who takes pride of your nationality.
15 - 18 = You are proud of your being Filipino and that the traits unique to most Filipinos live in you.
11 - 14 = You are the Filipino who, even adopting strongly the cultures of other nations, still don't forget some old ways of the Filipino life.
7 - 10 = The Filipino culture has little by little been forgotten by you. You need to at least try some of the items mentioned.
4 - 6 = The Filipino culture has substantially faded in you, or that you have not been exposed to the true, authentic traits of being a Filipino.
1 - 3 = You're a Filipino, only that you may have not been born and raised in the Philippines and had not lived up or been accustomed to the ways of Filipino living.
0 = You're not a Filipino.

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As this is a tag meme, here I am tagging a dozen of Filipino bloggers who I'd like to challenge to evaluate themselves how Filipino they are, and if they are proud of it. They are JoanJoyce, Monaco, Makoy, Tessa, Chuy, Christian Bryan, JoyJoy, IdealPinkRose, Anah, Bariles, Cecil, and Tsaiko.

This does not prompt you to repost this quiz, however it would be better if you did. You have to add at least three items to the quiz, and you should tag a dozen people after your post. There are a lot of unique Filipino traits and I don't see any reason why you can't think of three of them. Do not copy or rephrase the listed items; provide/make your own and add them to the list above. Let's see how long the list can get.

Once you're done with your post, link back directly to this original source of post so I can trace how far the list goes. And since three or more items will be added to the pre-listed 20, the gauge should also change, and the range of the gauge lies on your own discretion. For example, if you have added four items, then the first range should be 19-24, or 21-24, whatever you like. Just make sure to use good judgment when changing the range.

Let's get it on. Every Tuesdays until the end of February, I will post those who responded to these post, and I will link back to them, too. Now that's another Technorati authority.

Photo by Mickey.

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There's magic in online pool

by Zang Caesar games and recreation , web reviews

My uncle and aunt have this one billiard table positioned outside our house for rental purposes, especially because our home is just few steps away from a school so you'd really expect that because they only have one billiard table, the students would really flock and wait for their turns to play.

Although I can play billiard at will on times that the table is vacant, I never had so much time practicing my playing skills. But I must tell you that once I had been an addict of playing billiard online, and still I do play sometimes. It is so much easier and a more enjoyable to be competing with another player online, and it was actually through online pool that I knew how the game is played; there's the 8 ball, which what I always play, and the 9 ball.

The goal for me then was to gain points, which you would be so wise to collect to get a good amount of it to go to tournaments and win cash prizes. I never had gone to such, although I really wished. But if you want to play pool for free or for real money against people all over the world and improve your skills, then you should experience the magic in pool with BilliardMagic. It is a multi-language site that offers 8-Ball Pool and 9-Ball Pool games, and also snooker. A luscious green for a backdrop makes it so cool and refreshing to play the game, which you can install right away if you click the “play now” button. They offer technical support for your concerns and with online tournaments you can treat your pockets with winnings.

So why play elsewhere when here's a good site to cap them all? Just believe in magic, and you will magicking your way to be the next online pool star.

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College - University: Let's attend

Saturday, January 26, 2008 by Zang Caesar academic , surveys

I've been dead for two days, at least in the blogosphere. I wasn't able to post a good article, let alone check my blog. But that's over now. I am still contemplating on whether I'll pursue my the exporting my posts here to my new website My Online Asylum, as I am having second thoughts about Hyperwebenable. I'm just thinking it over...

And so while I am not in a good mood to be posting any article, I'm just posting this survey. And oh, I answered yes when asked, "Were you, or will you be, more sexually active when attending college/university?" LOL...

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How do you pronounce Entrecard?

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 by Zang Caesar academic , Entrecard , opinions

The time Entrecard came into the blogosphere, I must admit I wondered how the word Entrecard is pronounce. Even in college I always had the curiosity upon how this word and that word is said, in the proper way, and have always been drawn to liking vocabulary that even my best friends had had me consulted for some terminologies, their meaning, their pronunciation, and more whenever there is not a probable book for consultation nearby. Not at all times I can answer them, though. I am just human, who errs sometimes, although I must admit that my penchant for words is unerring.

Haven't you also wondered back then, or up to now, how Entrecard is pronounced? Personally, the very first time I encountered the word I pronounced it as en-ter-card, with the reason that meter is sometimes spelled as metre (like centimeter - centimetre, diameter - diametre, etc.), and there were also the times I enunciate it as en-tre-card, with tre simply as that of tremors. Have you had the same experience too, like I did?

Later I have found out how Entrecard is really pronounced, or so I think, after a bit of self-realization and finally coming to an ahh... If you've been accustomed to pronouncing Entrecard with the ones mentioned above, then you might like to read on, and know finally how you say the word, with a bit more of class and style.

First let's us know Entrecard's etymology. Entre was taken from entrepreneur, which is pronounced, according to Webster, as (än' trə-prə-nűr”), the main (or the strongest stress) in the last syllable as indicated by ”, and the lighter stress on the first syllable as indicated by '. Card is of course from the word card, and it is stupid if you don't know what that is. It's pronounced as kard. Therefore, we can assume that Entrecard is enunciated as än' trə-kärd. The first syllable is said like that of encore (än-kōr), the second syllable a combination of tre and tra so that it sounds classy and the last syllable, simply, kard. And as this word is composed of three syllables, the stress is assumed to be at the first syllable.

If you go to Entrecard's homepage, there is a video (which only recently had I been able to watch) about Entrecard and how it works, and because it is a video, of course you will know how Entrecard is enunciated. In there it is pronounced as: än' trā-kärd (an-trey-kard). But that video is only making more confusion. Owing to the etymology of the word, and reading how Entrecard blog corrects the video on its blog, Entrecard is correctly enunciated as än' trə-kärd.

So now that you know how Entrecard is pronounced, go spread the word. And tell you've learned it from an English-teacher wannabe who happens to be me. So how do you pronounced Entrecard? It's:

än' trə-kärd.

(Note: This article has been edited twice; first, the original article posted my very first understanding and discovery of the word's pronunciation basing on my personal understanding, then it was re-edited when one of the comments (the four of them I already deleted because I found out I was wrong) said to watched the video on the homepage, and third I put back my original article with the same explanation of the word, as I found out in the end that what I believe was right is really right as confirmed by Entrecard's blog, which I have read just recently. See, I was right all along... I guess I can now really be an English teacher.)

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Rehab me! I'm an addict...

Monday, January 21, 2008 by Zang Caesar drug addiction , drug rehabilitation , drug treatment , health , web reviews

Oh, well, the truth is I am not, and the title was just to catch your attention, and I hope it did. Oh come on, let's face it, one out of ten or fifteen among my site's visitors may have once in their life they had tried illegal drugs, and that one of twenty who actually reads this post may have been addicted to it in the past or had undergone drug rehab once. I can only guess, though.

Drug addiction, if not on the topmost spot of this world's problems, has spawned and wrapped its dark tentacles on the lives of the many people nowadays. Regardless of race, age, sex, social status or citizenship, it continues to abominably affect the lives of the society. Drug addiction can be attributed to numerous factors, the most common of them the peer pressure, mere curiosity, and lack of parent's guidance or a pathologic family. It is sad that most of today's crime and irregularities are drug-related.

I must say I am lucky to have not succumb to the cruel hands of drug addiction, and have always been too wise to always think that it will do me no good. But what if one in your family is actually suffering from this kind of addiction? What would you do? What do you think is the best thing to do?

Of course, there's always the drug rehab. I think it is the best option there is. But finding the best rehab center for an addict's drug treatment may not be as easy as finding the speaker's port in the computer. There's got to be that only port where that speaker will fit. Similarly, a person who is for drug rehab needs the best place for him to completely heal.

Consider 4rehabilitation.com as they will assist you in sorting through the literally thousands of drug rehab treatment programs and available facilities to help you and your family select the most effective treatment for you or your loved ones, at no cost. You can even get information in their site about drug substances and what they do to the body and they also offer free drug and alcohol assessment. And once you know what surely may be best for you, they can refer you or your loved ones to the most proper drug rehab center.

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My Chemical Romance, Ne-Yo and Maroon 5: Who else will visit Philippines?

Sunday, January 20, 2008 by Zang Caesar entertainment , Maroon 5 , music , My Chemical Romance , Ne-Yo

2008 may be a promising year to all the Filipino music fanatics who crave for international artists as the first quarter of this year will be filled in with global rock, romantic and sexy tunes from My Chemical Romance, Ne-Yo and Maroon 5, who will be visiting Philippines on separate concert tours and separate dates to promote their individual latest albums.

The goth-emo rock band My Chemical Romance, known for their songs such as “Welcome to the Black Parade,” “Helena,” “I Don't Love You,” “Teenagers,” among others, is set to rock Manila the 25^th of January, 2008 at the Fort Bonifacio Open Field, Taguig.

There will be three sections for the venue with ticket prices starting at PhP 412.00 for General Admission (expect you watch the concert on screens), PhP 2,575.00 for the Silver Section, and PhP 3,862.00 for the Gold Section. Tickets are sold by TicketWorld. MCR gig is promoted by Viva Concerts.

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Ne-Yo's Ne-Yo Live in Manila will be on February 29, 2008 at the Araneta Coliseum. He will be serenading and entertaining his die-hard fans, especially the girls, with his popular and award-winning hits from his latest album Because of You such as So Sick, Sexy Love, When You’re Mad, Because of You, Hate That I Love You and more. HE will also be featuring the songs he wrote for Beyonce (Irreplaceable), Rihanna(Umbrella), Mario (Let Me Love You), and a lot more. This tour is Ne-Yo's treat to and thank his Filipino fans for supporting and helping keep his songs, especially “So Sick,” in the Billboard charts.

Tickets are available at all SM Ticketnet outlets or you may call 374-2222 or 374-9999 for inquiries and sponsorships. Ticket price ranges at P4,568, P3,570, P1,943, and P893. Limited VIP tickets are also available at P10,000 and 7,500.

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The boys of Maroon 5, namely Adam Levine, James Valentine, Matt Flynn, Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Maden, will be painting Araneta Coliseum maroon with their super sexy hits such as “This Love,” “She Will Be Loved,” “Harder To Breathe,” “Must Get Out,” “Makes Me Wonder,” “Wake Up Call,” and “Won't Go Home Without You,” among others, on March 5, (Maroon 5 and March 5, it figures!) 2008, Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets are sold at SM TicketNet with website www.ticketnet.com.ph, and can be reached at 911-5555. Seating and ticket prices are at the moment still on a “tba” (to be announced) status.

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Someone bring me to Disney On Ice!

by Zang Caesar anime and cartoons , children's stuffs , Disney on Ice , entertainment

Oh my... magic! Disney's magic is setting Araneta Coliseum with lovable enchantments with our Disney favorites'—The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, The Lion King, Peter Pan and 101 Dalmatian—chilling ice-skate musical (and I dearly hope the hot and excellent choreography did not at all melt the ice!).

If only I were located near Araneta I would have gone to the show the very first day, which was just last January 18, 2008 and it would have been any better if my family and I got there, especially that it was my brother's 24th birthday. But too bad all I can do is wish. I always love all Disney's animations!

So if you happened to be not anywhere far from Araneta then it's time you see the musical as Disney On Ice – Amazing Journey is still up and running until the 27th of the month with these following show times:

January 20, 2008 | Sunday at 2:00pm
January 20, 2008 | Sunday at 6:00pm
January 22, 2008 | Tuesday at 6:00pm
January 23, 2008 | Wednesday at 6:00pm
January 24, 2008 | Thursday at 6:00pm
January 25, 2008 | Friday at 2:00pm
January 25, 2008 | Friday at 6:00pm
January 26, 2008 | Saturday at 1:00pm
January 26, 2008 | Saturday at 4:30pm
January 26, 2008 | Saturday at 8:00pm
January 27, 2008 | Sunday at 1:00pm
January 27, 2008 | Sunday at 4:30pm
January 27, 2008 | Sunday at 8:00pm

Seat and Price (in pesos):
Patron VIP (104, 115, 1st rows of 105-108, 111-114) (Reserved Seating) -1340
Lower Box VIP (200-201) (Reserved Seating) -1340
Patron (Reserved Seating) - 1100
Lower Box (Reserved Seating) - 1100
Upper Box A VIP (Reserved Seating) - 900
Upper Box A (Reserved Seating) - 640
Upper Box B (Free Seating) - 350
Gen. Admission (Free Seating) - 150

For more info, please direct call to Kevin Tecson, Uniprom Inc – Sales Executive at 9113101 local 8335 or 09104014321.

Credits to Mukamo for these information.

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MCA now offers affordable advertisements

Thursday, January 17, 2008 by Zang Caesar blog advertising , blog updates , web traffic

Yes, you read it right, My Consoling Asylum (MCA) is now opening its door to advertising opportunities. The ads will be posted on the upper portion of the sidebar, just right below the bookmark and Feedburner readers.

How to advertise?
First, you must have a 125x125 image that will represent your blog or website, and that will be the only ad format MCA will be receiving. You can advertise by one (or two or all) of these following options.

1. AdEx™
2. Entrecard credits
3. Pay-me-bucks

Here's the detailed explanation on how these options will work.

1. AdEx™ or Advert Exchange™. All it requires is MCA and your website will just exchange advertisement opportunities by exchanging 125x125 image ads. No cost required, just mutual agreement.

2. Entrecard credits. You pay Entrecard credits to MCA for your site's advertisement in this blog: 40 Entrecard credits per day, 250 credits per week, and 850 credits for one month. Those are not too much as everyday you can drop your cards in Entrecard to a limit of 300 drops, not to add the getting dropped back by a number of visitors.

3. Pay-me-bucks. MCA will charge a very cheap and affordable $1 per month, through PayPal (czixang_gb[at]yahoo[dot]com.

What will you get with advertising in MCA?
MCA recently has been getting good amounts of traffic, mostly from Entrecard and organic traffic from Google search, that every week MCA's Alexa Rank (you can find it in the sidebar under extras) climbs 100,000 notches up (from 700,000+ it has gone 600K+, to 500K, 400K, oh it just keeps improving every week).

Also with people coming from Entrecard, as your image ad will look like it is a member of Entrecard and whether your blog's really a member of that or not, these bloghoppers will have the highest possibility to be clicking to your sites also as I will place your image ad just beside (or below if there already will be many) my Entrecard widget.

Now this is really cool. Advertise now! If you're interested, just leave a comment on this post or contact MCA's author at czixang_gb[at]yahoo[dot]com.

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The year that was... (another meme)

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 by Zang Caesar blog updates , meme , personal , tag along

Got tagged by Kuya Makoy several days back; actually it was a meme. Therefore I am obliged (am I really?) to do my own. The post is to summarize all the significant events that befell last year, but should be based on your blog's postings. Since my blog started September of last year, I still will include the preceding months but, of course, not based on the blog! And instead of doing the list on a quarterly basis, I'd do it monthly, but I'd try to keep it short as possible.

January

nothing so interesting happened except the usual hospital duties I had back then, whether in-town or out-of-town
got a new digital camera towards the end of the month

February

still the boring life at school
no Valentine for a date

March

graduated at last in BSN course, cum laude
completed my DR/OR cases

April

took the summer to relax
broke-up with my someone

May

oh I turned 21, and it only reminded me I am getting older
volunteered for NAMFREL in our diocese

June-July

started the in-house (school) review for the December 2007 Philippine Nurse Licensure Exam at the middle of the month

August

had all my DR/OR cases all signed by signatories, ready to apply at PRC

September

I started my blog with my very first post My Asylum, a poem
had hard time coping in the world of blogging
moved to Davao City for the extensive review for the board exam

October

had my first paid review
joined in a review-a-blog competition, my first joining to a blog contest

November

got approved at PayPerPost
had my highest pay for a blog review ($50, minus 35%)
AdSense disabled by Google :(
studied harder for the board exam

December

took the Nurse Licensure Exam at last
won 2^nd place in the review-a-blog competition
got my first encashed blog earning

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Protect your identity

by Zang Caesar finance , identity protection , identity theft , web reviews

We can always think that only personal material belongings can be stolen from us. But did you know your identity can also be taken away from you and be used to the thief's advantage? Well my friend Makoy recently posted his rant on how his log-in information in a poll site has been hacked, disabling him to sign in at that site. It's good that that was the only matter stolen, but what if it involved his personal information regarding money, especially credit cards?

Well yes, this happens online. As a matter of fact there are many thieves lurking (or crawling, that is) on the web. These thieves will use your identity to apply for credit online. So if you think you're too vulnerable for this, especially when you do transactions in internet cafes and not your personal computer, you need to have LoudSiren, which by it's name alone will really alarm you “loudly” if your identity has been stolen. It will protect consumers and lenders from all forms of identity theft. It can block impostors as the bank will note “fraud alert” to the phone number issued by LoudSiren (Debix) Identity Protection and directly will call that number to confirm that it's really you who are doing the transaction. If not, you can immediately reject the credit request and stop the fraudulent act before anything is taken or credited to you.

If you do a lot of online transactions that involve large amount of cash and significant submissions of your identity and you think you can become a victim (well everybody can), and even if you think you do them very securely, it would be better to start protecting your identity with Loudsiren Identity Protection before it's too late. The thieves can be raking money credited to you and that's really awful.

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Manila Ocean Park will open early February

Tuesday, January 15, 2008 by Zang Caesar environment , manila ocean park , oceanarium

Manila Ocean Park was supposedly to open last December 17, 2007 but since it was still undergoing construction those days the opening was moved to early February of this year. Where it was foreseen to host a different place to visit for December, the Manila Ocean Park will come handy not only for students this February but for those lovers who wish to give their Valentines date a bit of a “fishy” adventure.

Mabuhay! Welcome to Manila Ocean Park – the Philippines’ first state-of-the-art Oceanarium, open water marine habitat, boutique mall, restaurant row and function facilities all located in one complex at the back of the Quirino Grandstand.

Be ready, you might be greeted the same words when MOP finally opens its interiors (and exteriors too) for you.

Manila Ocean Park, the first world-class marine park to adopt a fusion concept, is a P1-billion project of Singaporean and Malaysian investors. It is owned by China Oceanis Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of China Oceanis Inc., a Singaporean-registered firm that has operated four oceanariums in China.

Manila Ocean Park will contain 12,000 cubic meters of seawater featuring 300 marine species indigenous to the Philippines and Southeast Asia, with marine species coming from the Philippine waters, not including the protected and indigenous species such as whale and sharks and other sea mammals. This would be the among the most advanced ocean parks in Asia, even larger than Singapore's Sentosa oceanarium.

The “oceanarium journey” is divided into several sections carrying Filipino names: Agos (Flow) section is rainforest-themed with eight tanks containing freshwater species; Bahura (Reef) section would contain artificial corals in 48 tanks, complete with their scientific and common names, and their ecosystem roles; Laot (Fishing Ground) would feature big fish and Eagle-spotted rays in a long tank; and Kalaliman (Deep) section will sport a school of barracudas a large tank.

The main attraction of the oceanarium is a 25-meter long walkway tunnel with 220-degree curved acrylic walls, which will give patrons a better viewing experience.

And as for the visit cost, P250 is charged for students, and P350-P400 for regular patrons, so prepare for the price to experience this wonderful oceanic journey.

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Pinoy Singer Vincent Bueno wins Austria's "Musical! Die Show"

by Zang Caesar entertainment , music , musical die show , news and media , proudly pinoy , vincent bueno

First there was Charice Pempengco who wowed the Koreans, by guesting on StarKing, and Ellen Degeneres after being watched on YouTube and had been subsequently summoned by the talk host show to perform live. Now, another Filipino international star is born, by the name of Vincent Bueno.

Vincent Bueno won the Austrian talent competition “Musical! Die Show” last Friday night (Saturday morning in Philippines) with his extraordinary presentations in the finale that impressed the European crowd.

“Musical! Die Show” (Musical! The Show) is a reality-based talent search similar that of American Idol, except it sports contestants' theatrical artistry and dancing skills and goes beyond the usual pop song interpretations.

There were 400 contestants who initially joined the first-ever “Musical! Die Show” and Bueno, the only Asian in the show, proved to be last man standing to gain not only the ultimate glitz, glamour and fame but also a total of 50,000 euros (P3 million) as grand prize after receiving 63.5 percent of all the televotes cast—a “landslide” win. His runners-up were Austrians Eva Klikovics and Gudrun Ihninger.

The three finalists sang two songs each, one being their favorite among their past performances and the other from their previous performance. They also performed duet and group numbers during the finale.

The second performer among the three finalists, Vincent impressed the people across Europe, through satellite TV or Internet video, by his renditions of popular Broadway classics such as “Greased Lightning” from Grease as his first performance followed with “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera, a number which he already performed.

Vincent wowed even the judges of Musical! Die Show the moment he performed his first musical number—"Hair" from the musical of the same title—showcasing his mighty voice, spectacular stage control and impressive stage presence, and electrifying dance moves.

Bueno was the only finalist who received standing ovations from the amazed auditions for both of his solo performances. All he could do after announced as the winner was to shout "I love you!" in Deutsch and also "Philippines! Philippines!" in the middle of his jubilation—a homage to his Filipino roots.

Aside from "Hair," "Greased Lightning," and "Music of the Night," the viewers of Musical! Die Show watched in awe as Vincent performed memorable songs from other hit musicals, like "Superstar" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Singin' in the Rain" from the musical of the same title, "I Wanna Be Like You" from Jungle Book, the German version of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" from Mary Poppins, and "Why God Why?" from Miss Saigon (the launching pad for Filipino artists, such as Lea Salonga, to successful international careers).

Now this is another brand of Pinoy Pride!

Hear Vincent Bueno's songs, or see more of his pictures.

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Higher Education Application Process

by Zang Caesar academic , college , surveys , university

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Is Google God-like?

Monday, January 14, 2008 by Zang Caesar blog , opinions

From the mere confusion I have had of Google, I started in BlogCatalog a discussion where I posted my personal theory why my blog didn't get any PageRank upgrade, and the only respondent to that discussion answered “Google can detect if you were sitting when you were making a post or were you standing... Google knows everything man...” I understand, and so much appreciate and had a good laugh about it, that man's satirical nature although I wish he furthered on the matter to enlighten me.

By that statement, it got me thinking that Google may be God-like and that I didn't mean that of the video game Dot All Stars—whatever that is.

Is Google really God-like—knowing everything as far as the web is concerned?

Spelling-wise, Google is not; it's three letter long of God. And just today, perfect for this topic that's been swimming around my head since two days ago, I landed in a blog revealing the myths of Google, of what we know and believe of it. It's a great revelation. It is not based solely on his opinion as the original article is evidence-based, with researches as back-up.

So what are the myths? They are as follows:

Myth #1: Google Knows All and Sees All
Myth #2: Google Will Not Rank Duplicate Content
Myth #3: You Must Get Links From Related Subject Sites to Rank
Myth #4: Your Site Must Focus On One Subject To Rank
Myth #5: High PageRank Means Good Rankings
Myth #6: To Maintain Good Rankings, You Must Add New Content

..and..

MYTH #7: THE BIGGEST MYTH: Ranking In Google Is Hard!

So is Google like God?

No, never. Google may be clever in its web pursuits, powerful on imposing PageRanks and is a Hercules on search engine industry but it has various flaws, unlike God, and a number of various claims which we have been poisoned with to believe and to hail Google as a gargantuan name with glory for every phase it sports and every face it shows us. Furthermore, God is not myth, while Google has many of it.

Google is neither like God nor a god online. It is only a notorious name that almost every thing and everyone that crawls in the web pay great attention to, just like that of celebrities whose lives we so eagerly tail.

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A Hypocrite's Note on Entrecard

by Zang Caesar blog updates , web traffic

I don't pertain to anyone with the word hypocrite, but me. You see I made a list of what to do's and what not to do's so to maximize our Entrecard experience but now I am violating one of my self-made ethics, the number 2.

Since I wrote that article I have put my Entrecard widget on the top spot in my sidebar, so bloghoppers can easily see it and drop their card immediately, without stealing any precious moment of theirs by being bothered to scroll down to find where exactly is my Entrecard widget.

So now I am putting that widget at the bottommost of my two-sided top sidebar. I have been receiving good amount of traffic from Entrecard and my Alexa rank has improved a lot each week but it just occurred to me that what if I put it below, just like how others don't bother to place theirs on top. I have found out on those sites as I go Entrecard bloghopping that when I scroll down to find their Entrecard widget I get the chance to see the articles posted on their front page and not just the post on the very top, thereby raising interest, if they really are interesting. In the hope that what frequently occurred to me will also occur to the minds of these Entrecarders, I now place my widget below, and hopefully the number of traffic from Entrecard will not significantly drop and instead bring more comments to my posts, as I expect it.

Well I really hope this will work. This is just a matter of experimentation of the hypocrite like I. If it worked for those blogs whom I took the time to locate their widgets, it might as well work for me.

By the way, the picture in this post just suits me as my friends call me “fish”, not because I smell fishy. Thought I'd let you know.

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Clash 003: GMA or ABS-CBN?

Sunday, January 13, 2008 by Zang Caesar ABS-CBN , AGB Nielsen Media Research Philippines , clash series , GMA , news and media , opinions

(Also read my other clash series:
Clash 001: The Oddity Between Erap and Me
Clash 002: Marylaine vs. Jen)

Not many months ago ABS-CBN filed a civil case against AGB Nielsen Research Media Philippines after a testimony of TV ratings cheating broke out from a Bacolodian man, confessing that he was one of those who worked for GMA to visit the houses installed with the panel monitors and tell home viewers to switch channels and stay tuned to GMA.

Of course this has created a violent stir between the three companies involved: ABS-CBN, GMA, and AGB Nielsen. The issue has become rather intense and got confused over time, resulting to more charges and complaints.

ABS-CBN filed a civil case of Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against AGB to stop releasing results of the TV ratings until the process of collecting data is made clear, accurate and reliable, but this has been already dismissed by regional trial court. When AGB still pursued on the release of the result, ABS-CBN filed contempt of court against AGB. But now AGB hits back the same case because of airing news which are allegedly spliced off of the truth behind the latest filed case.

GMA Network also filed libel against ABS-CBN, for having mentioned GMA as the culprit of the rating cheating. ABS-CBN based their claim on AGB Nielsen general manager's statement upon their interview, which she, Maya Reforma, spoke of GMA being the station involved in the irregularities.

One time when I passed by GMA as I was cruising through channels I got alarmed by their filing of libel against ABS-CBN because I knew that ABS-CBN did not at all dragged GMA name into the cheating without having a basis, which is of course Maya Reforma's statement, the very thing that crossed my mind in a space of a heartbeat when I saw GMA taking its action.

I know I may be partial in this article but I would just like to share my opinion; this is my blog, after all. I can say all I want. GMA's claim that ABS-CBN's mention of their network was due to misinterpretation and splicing off of Maya Reforma's statement sounds illogical to me. GMA's first airing of their statement on filing libel against ABS-CBN really got my brows raised, as I believe ABS did have basis, which is again ABG Nielsen general manager's statement.

The coming of more witness after all is making things way clearer than it had been, and truth shall prevail and in the end we will see who really works for their integrity in the most honest way. I despise GMA for these recent happening, and I revel in on the fact that the witnesses are making the fight of ABS-CBN for truth stronger and more glorious. I never really have developed love for GMA. I hate to think that every time I drop by their channel to do a quick glance when it's time for commercial at ABS-CBN I don't know most of their artists. They look so alien to me that my sister hate me for frequently asking her who's that and who're those. GMA just doesn't shine here in Davao, and there's only one show I watch in them, Pokemon, although I am missing a lot of it now as I wake up very late because of my night blogging.

Last but not the least, call me conclusive and pejorative, but I abhor GMA for its dirty game.

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From Zero to Mud Hero: A Whine on PageRank

by Zang Caesar blog updates , personal

Recently, there has been this what all the bloggers awaited: the PageRank update. I got wind of this event through my group in Yahoo when someone reported exultantly that her/his Page Rank has been perked up from zero to three when she saw it in Google Toolbar yesterday (although as I checked it hers was still zero). So I immediately checked mine, only to know it was still zero.

The loss of hope had not been made any clearer when today from about 60% of the blogs I had hopped on to posted an article on the current PageRank update, boasting how their PR zoomed up in just a matter of this and that—their blog's age. Oh I just envy them. But then there are those who grumbled through their post about what the PR update has done to their blog: some lost a notch or two in the rank and some still remained zero. Just like mine.

Back in December I had this one blogger who told me about PageRank, although I already knew how that works. The only supplemental information he had for me then was the possible date of the next PR update, which he predicted would be in January or early February. He must be a soothsayer. But I guess that is not so hard to foresee, and I am not quite sure whether he forecast his PR upgrade right, and mine too: he expected to gain from 1 to 2 and that mine from 0 to 3 or 4. Half-wrong, if he got the prediction for his blog right, and totally wrong, if both.

I really looked forward to the days of the PR update: and this was it. I was expecting back then that my blog's PR will go from zero to hero, but I guess it's mud hero. Ouch! Had it not been with the prediction of gaining 3-4 PR, I wouldn't have expected that much. But I am not blaming him, okay?

The only consolation, which My Consoling Asylum can afford me this time, is the amount of traffic I am getting, which keeps progressing day by day. I must admit that my envy to those whom I think my blog was better in terms of links, traffic and age has just grown overlong. They must really be joyful...

MCA cannot console me much, not now anyway; I need you guys who share the same feeling with me of being stuck at zero to celebrate with me. Come, lets party... and might as well plan a conspiracy to kick back at Google. Can I just slap them?

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Britney is the next Michael Jackson?

Saturday, January 12, 2008 by Zang Caesar Britney Spears , celebrities , entertainment , Michael Jackson , opinions

I know the moment she was rushed to the hospital was back in the days, nine days to be exact, but I was just reminded of Britney Spears in BlogCatalog discussion when someone started a thread entitled “when will Britney die?”. Oh it's really amusing, although the query is somehow morbid and malevolent. And from that I was reminded of the news report of the fateful hospital rushing.

I don't know if I am to feel sympathy for the girl, Britney, or not; I used to like her and her ever popular songs, but now it looks as though she had lost her marbles. On the report, I was reminded, a psychoanalyst named Dr. Bethany Marshall spoke of Britney possessing a very great potential to become the next Michael Jackson.

“... I think Britney could be pulling what I call Michael Jackson with just the more she is asked to step up to the play and take responsibility for herself, the more she experiences the consequences of her actions and the more she falls apart,” said Dr. Marshall then.

But Britney hasn't dangled one of her boys in the window, and she hasn't had a major plastic surgery for the face. Well, not yet, anyway. But whether or not she becomes the next MJ, I hope she will not end up very mental, because she is already off her rocker. And let us hope her and K.Fed's boys will grow up well and that she'll be a responsible mother herself, setting aside alcohol and (possibly) drugs and taking into consideration the farewell of the kids fir