Thursday, March 15, 2007

A piece of advice everybody should hold on to: Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's free (to wear sunscreen)




Here's one song that really sticks to my mind whenever i seek advice. Posted below are the lyrics to Baz Luhrmann's speech for a song: Everybody's free(to wear sunscreen). To hear the mp3, do check out the earplugz. enjoy


Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99, wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth;
Oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….

You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss. Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…
The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, Tell me how. Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…

Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. DO NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents; you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard;
live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.


Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young; prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…

Source: Message in a Bottle

Friday, March 09, 2007

Writing exercises: (Nano- fiction composition in 55 words)




Figured this is a great exercise. In the writer's pool we were given instructions to come up with a nano-fiction in just 55 words, titles to start and with the parts:

a. Setting
b. Character/ characters
c. Conflict
d. Resolution

1. Trouble on the mountain side


They were just miles away to reach the ground. Pete, Sam and their guides were taking a break near the crevasse, took their last look at the mysterious beauty surrounding Devil’s gate. “We’d better be off guys, before it gets dark. Sam, is that snow coming down the side?” “Nope” Sam replied “its just clouds.”


2. Christmas in the Ant Colony

Christmas, the time for feasting in the ant colony. The queen before the crowd of workers decreed that whoever will open the enormous storage bins will become her king. Five drones and two workers stepped up for the challenge. The five drones failed but the workers succeeded, thus, the two became kings, a crown each.


3. Interfering with History

The time machine swiveled. From inside, Peter and Paul stepped out cautiously to see a prehistoric world before them. “All follies and ridicules are now long gone Paul, Look at the sight! we’d better step out and explore!” “wait” Paul retorted. “Perhaps we should linger awhile inside, I hear a ferocious roar in the distance.”

Friday, March 02, 2007

Writing Exercises: (Writing a personality profile without using a single Adjective- 300 words minimum)




whew! figured I have to post this one- another exercise given by my boss and man, I sucked myself on making it! I reviewed this one before submission, but still a few words managed to get through my caffeine infested eyes. This page, became bloody red upon checking.

Me in a nutshell


I was born into this world in the year of our lord, nineteen hundred and eighty, to teachers’- Jose and Virginia Amatong. I was raised by my parents in the town of Compostela – a town situated at the northern part of the island and stands approximately 24 kilometers from the metropolitan and has been enjoying my stay in that town ever since.

I attained the levels of education in the centers of learning on that place and eventually moved to the city.

After graduation, I immediately worked and moved from different establishments in the city to explore the other fields of writing before eventually moving to iCOMM International in order to equip my skills further in writing for the World Wide Web, marketing, and advertising.

I am one with adventurism, open-mindedness, and curiosity. I am willing to just about venture into anything that I might find to be of worth knowing.

I am an enthusiast of music- to the point where I’m singing the genre I like on stage, goldfishes, sci-fi and fantasy books, movies, arcade and PC strategy games, and I have a penchant for gardening and is slowly developing my knowledge in raising the ruminants on our farm.

In the 26 years of my existence, I am still wandering about, gathering what I could to prepare myself for married life. I have a fiancé right now and I admit that even if the thought of marrying her is on my mind I am still considering a lot of things. For one, I fear marriage without stability and I want things to go smoothly when the time has come for me to face that, without sacrificing my freedom to do the things I like.

I really enjoy the freedom that I have for now. Being a child without siblings, has taught me a lot of things- not only in the aspects of personality, my being, and all those things that can only be taught inside the four corners of a classroom, but how I look at freedom and life in a kaleidoscope of a child without siblings, left on his decisions to wander in the streets.

This is me, said in a nutshell.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

The Prisoner (An office daydream)


Tonight ill climb those high walls again
Which to me, no man would dare climb
Go past the sentries, In the dead of the night.
Run past the watchdogs, with eyes red as blood.
Ravenous, with teeth razor sharp.

Step upon those thorny bushes that cut like knives
Past those gleaming searchlights.
Get a grip on those protruding white stones
Slowly and painfully inch my way to the top.

This ball and chain ill try to break away
With an iron saw in hand, coupled with a hardened gut
frail hands must cut through this cell
A small burden for a prize I had long for.

Surely they’ll hit me with what they’ve got
The cunning arts I must employ
Battle with my fears, grind my teeth
In silence, I must camouflage.

In hell’s kitchen I will burn,
To get caught or not,
The only cards I’ll play

If I’d get caught
My body, in bullet holes will be pierced
But It’s worth the gamble, for freedom I pray…

Then all of a sudden, What the heck?
The thought I must leave for another day
For I’ve just waken up from a daydream.
Wipe the drool off my chin.

I still have to work, on my PC I suppose,
Got a moments loss, into a doze
Assignments to finish, and earn my way
For the good of my wages, there are bills to pay… (JAmatong)


Message in a Bottle


Message in a Bottle: Untitled (A dose of Prose dedicated to the famous)

Message in a Bottle: Untitled (A dose of Prose dedicated to the famous)