In other business news, the US Justice Dept filed an antitrust lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block AT&T's $39 billion merger with T-Mobile. This mega-deal seeks to create the largest Telco in the US.
So why am I interested in this bit of news? I don't know this AT&T T Mobile deal sounds awfully familiar.
Ah right, it sounds like that PLDT and Sun Cellular deal that is still being reviewed by the government. The US decision would create a big argument in favor of Globe Telecom who is also seeking to block the PHL version of the mega-deal. What does this mean for the average consumer? It is the end of competition and as what the government fears is the start of another monopoly.
WARNING: This blog entry is rated PG-13 for explicit language and videos containing adult themes/humor.
So you bring your kid to watch a movie. You checked the ratings and it's rated G. So you know it's safe, right? While you believe that the movie may be age appropriate (save for some jokes that only the adults can actually get the "true" meaning) you only get to realize that there might be a few not too kid friendly scenes even when the actual movie has't started yet. Yes, be weary of those PG RATED TRAILERS!
Case in point, today we watched the movie The Smurfs which is based on the cartoon characters created by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo. We grew up watching the cartoon series featuring the little blue creatures and the movie is actually one of those that I have been anxiously waiting to be released ever since the trailer went out last year. The trailer for The Smurfs always pops out from every G rated movie that came out recently so it is expected that you would have a bunch of kids watching the movie. So why the hell would trailers for these two movies be shown to prelude The Smurfs takes out any logical explanation I could think of except that the movie operator is a complete asshole.
Bad Teacher - there are a lot of adult themed scenes and humor. Cameron Diaz's hotness is not an excuse.
Horrible Bosses, ok so Jeniffer Aniston is rally sexy in this movie but even her first scene in the trailer makes me want to grab my kid and run out of the theater. By the way, loved the Prius joke.
So you see that sign at the beginning of the trailer? It says that the trailers are approved for "appropriate audiences." It means that they are appropriate for the audience of the movie being shown and not a clearance for the movie theater to show the trailer to all movies being shown. And guest what? Both Bad Teacher and Horrible Bosses are rated R (like the middle letter in the word "MORON" which is the best description I could give to those who thought of showing these trailer on a G rated movie.)
So what to do when this happens to you? Here is my take on it
Don't over react by trying to censor the material yourself. Covering the kid's eyes and/or ears would only create the exact opposite of what you wanted to achieve as doing so would only make the kid more curious about the topic. It would be best to hold the kid's hand and try to explain that the violent scene is bad and should not be imitated. For adult humor and scenes featuring sex and/or nudity , I leave that to the discretion of the parents on how to handle it but I do caution about tagging sex as "bad" or "dirty." Trust me, you would have a harder time later talking to your kid about sex if you portray sex that way.
To be safe, come inside the movie house only a few minutes before the actual start. This way you somehow lessen the possibility of watching an inappropriate trailer. The actual start time is posted on your ticket and in the ticket booth, so you won't miss it. These time schedules are normally accurate. Use the extra time to take a leak or buy some popcorn. Do this so that you also don't end up doing those things in the middle of the movie and probably ruin the movie not just for yourself but also for the guys sitting behind you or those in your row that you need to pass through in order to get out.
Don't take the incident passively. As responsible parents we should try to get the authorities or the movie house administration's attention regarding the content of the trailers being shown to G rated movies and try ensure that only age appropriate materials are shown in cinemas.
As for me, right now I am looking for ways to contact Cash and Carry Cinema so that I can tell them to f___ themselves...
I mean, to find themselves a good movie theater administrator so that he can screen the content of trailers prior to them being shown.
However, if you were intrigued by the picture of the woman on the link then put that itchy finger to rest. I present to you below the actual YouTube link where the scammers used the screen grab to lure you to their site.
OK, now that your curiosity was answered stop clicking that link and spread my blog instead :)
Liking this blog and clicking on any ad is highly appreciated.
Good News! You are still alive, the rapture didn't come and earth is still intact.
The bad news is that you still need to pay that loan, you still need to go to work on Monday and yes, the LA Lakers is still eliminated from the NBA Western Conference.
I now pity those who followed Camping blindly in believing that the world would end on May 21st. Some have really put their life savings on that singular belief made by a false prophet. But I am even more ashamed that our local media made a big fuzz out of it (with ABS-CBN even presenting a special report on it.) Yes it does attract attention but for crying out loud what makes them now different from the outrageous tabloid papers?
I am no bible scholar but I believe that no one knows when the end of the world would be. My idea of a rapture is ones own death. That is the time that you meet God. And I think we missed the whole point of the rapture, it is to prepare yourself for the time you meet God and face your final judgement. Lesson learned: Do good in everything that you do in your daily life for no one knows the time nor place when you would have your own personal rapture.
Now excuse me as I play REM's song It's the end of the world as we know it. Yup and I feel fine.
Should you fear the Black Mamba? We asked this question around and we got the following answers:
"Yes, because he's across the road."
- a chicken crossing the road
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to...”
- Yoda
"I'm sorry Yoda, I will let you finish but the Black Mamba's got one of the the best videos of all time!"
- Kanye West interrupting Yoda
"Why would you fear it? Just because it's black? That's discrimination!"
- an African American
"Why would you fear it? Just because it's a snake? That's cruelty to Animals!"
- a PETA supporter
"Why would you fear it? Just because it's Kobe Bryant? That's...that's...that's a good point."
- an NBA fan
Updated Feb.7.11 The Lakers and the Black Mamba just lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yup the year is correct this is the Cavs without Lebron and the same Cavs who now holds the record of 26 straight losses in a season . So I think they are not afraid of the Black Mamba afterall.
Catch the new Kobe Bryant shoes Nike Zoom Kobe VI which would be launched together with the premier of this movie errr ad.
We were having our usual weekend grocery after dinner. This time we were at SM Hypermarket in MOA. I just couldn't resist taking a picture of what seems to be a misplaced product.
Why did the merchandiser place San Miguel Premium in the lane of diapers escaped any logic that I can think of. The merchandiser probably thought that moms who goes in this lane looking for diapers would see the beer and she might probably say to her self "hey yeah, since I am buying diapers I might as well buy some beer too." Not!
People sometimes tell me "Why do you blog?" "It's a good thing you find time to blog." Well, my answer is simple, I blog so that I can sleep. I am already an insomniac due to years of sleep deprivation and since the cause of me not sleeping is because I have a lot of things my mind the only way to release it is to write.
You see, writing keeps the other half of my brain balanced since I deal with numbers and people everyday at work. And even though I would have loved to be creative in making a memo I don't want to confuse people if I am announcing something or writing a reprimand letter. For business, I write logically. Here I can have freedom in any topic I choose and in the best way I can express myself.
And I am not a professional writer, my wife is the one who writes (and believe me if she blogs she would make more sense than these ramblings.) But I make it a point that I write from the heart. What you see here are extensions of what I really am.
Before blogging came, I used to write songs, poetry and even started my concept on a novel. Sadly, only the songs are the ones that I have kept. I wasn't able to save the poetry I have made and the novel was stored on a 5 1/4 diskette(yeah, I know it is that old.) But one of these days I can sit down and write that story again. And since I only write for fun, there is no pressure nor deadline or trying to please an editor.
So I would recommend blogging to release your creative self and to obtain balance in life. And it is not that hard, think of it as a very long tweet where you are not limited to 140 characters.
Last December, I won three prizes that really made my holiday joyful.
The first one was when I won 100 pesos of unlimited internet from Smartbro for their Fun Free Fifteen promo.
click on the photo to enlarge
While this prize was very modest, still the surprise and the joy of winning was there. I actually haven't received the prize yet but have already been contacted by the promotions coordinator. Also notice that if I have won the next hour (this being an hourly contest) I could have won an Ipod Touch.
The second prize, was when I won a JVC Picsio video camera during the company Christmas party. Now this is one sweet deal.
And the last prize that I won is a Skechers Sling Bag, a towel and a P500 discount for a Skechers Shape Ups.
click on the photo to enlarge
I actually won this hours after I won the Picsio. I guess my stars were aligned during that day :-) I've already claimed this prize but have not actually used the P500 discount yet. You may see the Skechers Facebook Page here www.facebook.com/pages/Skechers-Shape-ups-Philippines.
It was a wonderful season and what a way to cap off a year that feels like a high speed elevator (-:
But still, I thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon me and my family for the past year and looking forward to the great things He has in store for us in 2011.
