Sunday, November 11, 2012

Kalanggaman Island- Underwater and Reef Shots



Recently, I went with some friends and explored Kalanggaman Island off the coast of Palompon Leyte, and Northern Cebu, Philippines.

Figured this is a good take to share with you some underwater footages on Youtube below consisting of teeming aquatic life, tame fishes and untouched coral reef all in bright clear waters.

At just waist deep of water off the island's coast, one could just simply while the time away snorkeling and watch magnificent life underwater.  To get these great shots, we just used regular underwater cameras and had an excellent time clicking our way through. Enjoy!




Tuesday, May 08, 2012

A call to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines and restore national pride


Though the truth hurts that we’re lagging behind our Asian neighbors in terms of military technology and might, it’s never too late to wake up and heed the call to boost our armed forces. As history witnessed- the Spanish and American colonization, World War II, Korean War, UN Peacekeeping missions and the ongoing Communist, Terrorists and Moro Insurgencies. The Filipino soldier’s bravery and tactical knowledge was and will never be in question.

But as time passes, we’ve seen enough mishaps and obvious circumstances wherein we can conclude that given something more, our armed forces (Navy, Army, Air force) could’ve easily crushed the state’s enemy within a much shorter time frame. 

We need to let the ideal sink in that we are now in the modern world and so goes with it, new armament and equipment to better be at pace with modern warfare. I say why don’t we tap on local resources (Like the defunct Santa Barbara Rocket, Defiant 500, Hari Digma and the recently successful Kalakian Armored Personnel Carrier) as it’s been quite proven that we have great inventors here who can do more at a fraction of the cost than buying what we need abroad. Hey, we have gunsmiths, engineers and technicians which, given adequate government support can very well come up with great products that’s at par or even surpass international standards!

Going local generates more jobs that we badly need right now plus, we could be proud with ourselves knowing that we have developed and used something that’s truly ours.

The current intrusion and “bullying” of China in what is clearly our territorial waters will hopefully serve as a wake up call for us to unite, set aside our differences, stop the corruption and internal strife and focus more on building a more capable military posture as external threat and foreign aggression is clearly imminent.

We cannot just rely on the US to help us in the time of need as we have dumped the means to do so. The US bases were stationed here to check on would be aggressors…Nevertheless, It’s about time we look up to the Commander in Chief and the brave men and women of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and support their every undertaking. Mabuhay!




Below is a Youtube vid (2012) feature on the AFP and assets from PinoyVendettaCrusade




Saturday, May 05, 2012

Avengers - One totally cool initiative!


Being an avid fan of the Avengers in the comic books and cartoons, I was skeptical and excited at the same time as to how the movie will turn up. And It turn up I got more than what I expected for the movie was- thanks to one great director and an all-star cast, one hell of a beautiful mess! 

Dragging along Richelle my partner in crime, we opted to spend our Labor Day date and watch the movie at the best theaters in town- SM Cinemas at SM City Cebu and man the place was jammed with people all eager to get in! We had no choice but to wait for our turn in what seemed to me like an endless line but after quite a few agonizing minutes, we managed to slip through the gate and found a seat at the premiere section. 

Watching the movie, I was impressed at the plot which comes quite far from mediocre as with most superhero movies (especially if you’re a comic book fan) the plot did not strayed much from its comic grassroots and it has all the right mixture of thrill, action and most importantly, strong humor hence, the occasional laughter from the audience can be heard amidst dolby surround speakers! 

Let me give you some tidbits on the movie and a peek at the characters: 

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)

The Director of International peacekeeping agency- S.H.I.E.L.D. who’s previously seen at the end of the character movies (Captain America, Ironman and Thor) as the one who is recruiting them all for what he calls as the “Avenger Initiative.” In the movie this time, he takes the lead as the core of all the action now greatly involves his agency, Helicarrier, people, resources and that the fate of the world lies in the hands of the team he strongly believes in.

Tony Stark / Ironman (Robert Downey Jr.)

The infamous genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist with a state of the art mechanical suit of armor. His life took a 360 degree turn as he finally learns to cope up with leadership ties from being a sole operator, to finally getting along with the team members especially their leader, Captain America. 




Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans)

Best loved World War II super soldier, who was endowed with superhuman abilities and physicality by an experimental serum. Steve Rogers this time will come to terms with himself after waking up in the modern world and will finally get the message of selflessness, heroism and teamwork through Tony Stark’s armor. 





Thor – Norse God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth)

Is the enigmatic and very powerful Asgardian thunder god who possesses the mystical hammer Mjolnir and earth’s self- proclaimed protector. This time he is tasked by Asgard to go to Earth to retrieve the Tesseract- a cube with immense energy and bring his brother Loki – Norse God of mischief back to their realm for persecution. He crossed paths with the team after a failed attempt to free Loki and gets into a melee as he was confronted by Ironman and Captain America. He later agreed to join the team as he sees the impending peril which will fall on earth as a result of his brother’s folly. 

Dr. Bruce Banner / The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) 

A noted scientist, who became the Incredible Hulk after he was exposed to gamma radiation. He is quite unstoppable in his monstrous state, which is ignited whenever he feels a sudden surge of emotion such as rage or excitement. In the movie, The Hulk comes as quite the focus as he gets into friction with other members and eventually gets to come to his senses to aid them in battle…abruptly focusing his “smashing” rage on the enemy… the result of which is you don’t want to be at their side when that happens. 

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson)

A highly trained operative of S.H.I.E.L.D. that holds an ace up her sleeve for combat skills, espionage and the likes, hidden behind a beautiful face. In this movie, she is depicted as the love interest of Hawkeye, who at first became a minion of Loki but was freed by her after a fierce fight. Together, they make up the non-superhero component of the Avengers. 



Clint Barton / Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) 

Known as the World’s Greatest Marksman, archer and master assassin, this S.H.I.E.L.D. operative certainly packs the gauntlet even with eyes closed. In the movie, he first became a minion of Loki and ran several missions for him including the attack on a German facility and later stormed the Helicarrier to free him. After a confrontation with the Black Widow, he was freed from Loki’s incantation just in time as the team’s about to take Loki and his invading army head on.

Loki- Norse God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) 

Thor’s brother and nemesis with the power to influence minds. Being the movie’s main antagonist (depicted in the character movie Thor) he is always scheming on ways to get even with his brother and rule everything he sets his eyes upon. In his exile, he comes in contact with a warring alien race known as the Chitauri and their tyrant ruler- The Other, makes a pact with him and sets about his plans to rule Earth, manipulate the Tesseract and eventually try to subdue the Avengers. 



Now I’ll just stop digging the theatrics further to avoid a great spoil and just leave you to watch the movie. Trust me it’s definitely worth your every buck. 



Friday, March 30, 2012

An inkblot expression- My very own portrait sketch from Axistrizero!

 ...For the nth time, this is definitely not a Black Eyed Peas' Apl.De.Ap. portrait mind you, just his number one fan from the Philippines... 

Kidding aside, a friend of mine who's an artist gave this sketch as a present during my birthday. Thank you very much Arnold and more power always. 

Arnold Ramirez is a graphic artist that's based in Cebu City, Philippines (Click here to visit his website) and accepts various freelance projects- from portrait sketches, graphic layouts, corporate identity requirements to flash projects and website designs. 

In case you need help with your designs or want to give out a unique gift such as a portrait sketch to a friend or a loved one,  you can just simply email him at axistrizero@gmail.com.