My Internet Lifestyle

Follow the Gleeks on Twitter

nina — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:17:23 +0000

Glee has been taking the world by storm with its witty lines and amazing production numbers. Glee fans, also referred to as “Gleeks,” are scrambling to download full versions of the songs on iTunes or taping their own version and uploading on YouTube.

Get to know the Gleeks

Can’t get enough of Glee? The young stars of this hit show have taken to the web and are tweeting up a storm. Here are the Twitter usernames used by the cast members of Glee:

Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) – @msleamichele
Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson) – @frankenteen
Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabrey) – @alittlelamb
Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel) – @chriscolfer
Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones) – @msamberriley
Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang) – @jennaush
Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams) – @druiddude
Mark Salling (Puck) – @mark_salling

Dianna Agron, who plays mean girl Quinn, has a tumblr page, where she shares photos taken with her Canon G10. Check out her page at felldowntherabbithole.tumblr.com.

Philippine Blog Awards 2009

nina — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:50:51 +0000

It’s the season once more for the third Philippine Blog Awards. Nominations are now open for deserving blogs for the different categories. One distinct difference this year is the addition of a couple more categories, and some regional awards as well. Nomination is open from July 8 until August 13, 2009 at 11:59 PM Manila time.

The Philippine Blog Awards aims to recognize notable Filipino-owned blogs in their respective niches. With topics ranging from the arts, culture, technology and politics, Filipinos have become more abreast because of the fast growing blogging industry here and abroad. The Philippine Blog Awards is a venue to showcase notable blogs with quality content that engages readers from around the globe.

Source: Philippine Blog Awards website
With the tagline "One Blogging Nation," the PBA takes the awards to the three major island groups of the Philippines -- Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The awards night will kick off on the 9th of October at the Megatent Events Venue in Pasig City. It will be followed by two more awards nights in Cebu (October 17) and Cagayan de Oro (October 24).

Pokerface cover by Nick Pitera and the Shures

nina — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:22:46 +0000

Everybody’s going gaga over Lady Gaga and her Pokerface single. The song is really catchy and something that can make even the non-dancers dance a jig. She wowed us again when she did an acoustic version of her hit song, proving to everybody that she’s not just another pretty face.

Lady Gaga singing Pockerface (acoustic version)

So how does the song sound like when Nick Pitera gets together with the trio Shures covers it?

It’d sound like this:

Nick Pitera and the Shures’ Pockerface cover

Too awesome! If you’re a Nick Pitera fan, you can now follow his updates on Twitter, or you can also subscribe to his Youtube channel. Intrigued by the Shures? Subscribe to the Shure’s Youtube channel.

My picks for the Top 10 Emerging Influential blogs of 2009

nina — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:08:42 +0000

It’s time one more to pick the top ten emerging influential blogs among the thousands in the blogosphere. There’s really too many to choose from, and it’s just too hard to pick just ten. Nonetheless, here’s a start of my top ten list for Janette Toral’s Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009 Writing Project:

[EDIT] Completed my list, just in time!

Hay! Men! Ang blog ng tunay na lalake – this very new blog just sprouted out of nowhere, and everybody’s talking about it. You can’t get any more influential than this.
Pinoy Cravings – Melo started this blog because he wanted to separate the food posts from his travel blog. He’s been very diligent about keeping it updated, and it’s now one of the top ranking food blogs in the Philippines.
Magnetic-rose.net – I may be biased in nominating my friend Rotch, but her blog really do live up to her tagline: Japanese Pop Culture for Filipino Fans. She’s very passionate about all things Japan (she studied there, and went back to the country several times for both business and personal visits). She regularly attends cons in the Philippines and overseas, and as deep love for toys, Japanese culture and BL.
Good Times Manila – another new discovery that has me laughing too much. The diary excerpts from Rustom and Carmina’s last days of married life is too precious.
Happy Foodies – travel and food certainly go together, and a food blog is certainly the next step for these two travel writers and photographers. Ferdz and Oggie tantalizes us with mouth watering photos of delectable cuisines from their travels and places around the metro.
Let’s Go Sago – this little bear is certainly going places! You’re sure to find Jonel and Sago in one of the many blogger events, and if they’re not present, they’re on the road traveling. I can’t exactly finish off my list without putting one travel blog in it, can I?
New Media Philippines – because Carlo Ople had the guts to write about the white elephant in the room. Heh.
Video Chop – anything and everything you need to know about video blogging. Award-winning vlogger Coy Caballes shares his secrets to making great video blogs.
Cebu Bloggers – what better way to promote a city and a province than to write about it? The Davaoeños have done it, and this time, it’s the Cebuano’s turn.
Patay Gutom – because being patay gutom is the in thing this year.

This year’s writing project is sponsored by Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile and Blog4Reviews.com

More surprises from Britain’s Got Talent

nina — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:09:59 +0000

After Paul Potts and Susan Boyle, talent search show Britain’s Got Talent gives us another surprise in the form of Greg Pritchard.

I shan’t spoil the surprise — you have to see it for yourself.

To borrow Simon’s words, it’s like a dog meowing. Greg Pritchard’s performance is making me wish we have BTG on local TV. This is definitely more entertaining than American Idol!

34-year old British guy gets the best job in the world

nina — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:56:49 +0000

The much awaited announcement on who’s going to get the “Best Job in the World” is finally here: Ben Southall, A British charity fundraiser won is now the official caretaker of an Australian tropical island.

Ben bested 15 finalists, and over 34,000 applicants from all over the world for the job in the Australian island paradise.

Ben Southall, winner of the Best Job in the World

So what exactly is the best job in the world? Starting July 1, Ben Southall will be starting his duties of exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef and reporting back to the Tourism Queensland office and the world via blogs, a photo diary, video updates and interviews. Feeding the fish, collecting the mail and cleaning the pool is optional. For all this effort, he’ll be earning a hefty $110,000 salary. Definitely the best job in the world!

Free KFC Coupons from Oprah!

nina — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:56:16 +0000

Are you in the United States? If so, then you’re in luck, because you’re qualified to get two free Kentucky Grilled Chicken™ and two individual sides and a biscuit at participating KFC restaurants located in the Unites States, while supplies last.

The coupon will only be available for download between 9am CDT on May 5 until 9:59pm CDT on May 6 from the Oprah website. The free grilled chicken is redeemable at participating KFC® locations in the United States from May 5, 2009 to May 19, 2009 except on Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10, 2009.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Oprah.com for your free KFC!

Sungha Jung, fingerstyle guitarist extraordinaire

nina — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:15:32 +0000

Twelve year old Sungha Jung is another YouTube sensation, with his impeccable covers of popular hit songs. Unlike others who would sing these songs, he would play them on his guitar. On his custom-made guitar (made to fit his tiny frame), he performs a wide variety of songs from classical to rock using fingerstyle, a technique of playing the guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips.

Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, as performed by Sungha Jung

View more videos of Sungha Jung:

Billie Jean by Michael Jackson

With or without you by U2, as performed by Sungha Jung

Kiss from a rose by Seal, as performed by Sungha Jung

Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton, as performed by Sungha Jung

Susan Boyle surprises Britain

nina — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 07:38:14 +0000

Remember Paul Potts? He’s the cellphone store manager who was the first winner of Britain’s Got Talent back in 2007. He walked on the stage, seemingly lacking confidence and his statement that he will be singing opera was met with incredulous looks from both the judges and the audience. He blew them away with his powerful voice and he went on to win the competition. He now has a CD, and has performed all over the world to a full theatre.

Fast forward two years and here’s Susan Boyle from Scotland. Frumpy is the perfect word to describe this unemployed 47-year old single woman from West Lothian, Scotland. Though very cheeky, her outward appearance did not impress the judges nor the crowd. When she announced that she will be singing “I dream a dream” from the musical Les Misérables, you can see the smirks from the audience.

And then she started singing. The smirks were swiped off everybody’s face, including Simon Cowell’s and replaced with awe. She has a pure voice that can reach the highest notes without any visible effort. Unlike Paul Potts who had formal training in opera, Susan said she’s always wanted to be a singer, but never found the opportunity for it. Now she has it, and her performance was met with a standing ovation from the crowds even before the song ended.

Want to watch Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent? Click her to view the video on YouTube.

Playing Restaurant City on Facebook

nina — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:11:52 +0000

I’m not one for games nor for social networking sites, but damnit, Playfish and Facebook got me hooked! I blogged about my previous favorite, Geo Challenge, but with my spotty connection, I can’t really level up. I focused instead on Pet Society, but that became boring after a while.

Restaurant City Game on Facebook

Now, I’m absolutely addicted to Restaurant City, another Playfish game I play on Facebook. The game lets you manage your own restaurant. You get a small restaurant at the start of the game, a small capital for sprucing it up, and a basic setup with tables, chairs and a cooker. At the starting level, you have to hire two crew: one to cook, the other to take your customer’s orders, serve their food and bus the tables.

You also get to select what to serve based on the menu. The menu lists several items, and you’d have to have all the ingredients necessary to “learn” each dish. You can also level up each menu item, which gives you higher gourmet points that count towards leveling up.

The biggest challenge here is getting ingredients for your dishes. You get a free ingredient each day, and a bonus ingredient if you get the correct answer in daily quiz. You also get a free ingredient when you visit a friend for the first time. Alternatively, you can also trade ingredients with your friends. If you’re hesitant about leaving your ingredients open for trade, you can lock it, and if any of your friends are interested in it, they can request for a locked trade, wherein your locked item will be traded with your friend’s locked item. You will be notified whenever you get a trade request, and you have the option to accept or deny the trade.

Want to get more ingredients in Restaurant City? You can try persuading your friends on Facebook to play Restaurant City. Or if your friends are stubborn, you can add other Restaurant City players as friends on Facebook. Login to the Playfish forum, go to the Restaurant city section, then look for the Find New Friends section. Restaurant City players who are looking for new friends to get ingredients are all there. If you’re wary about adding strangers, you can set it so that they can only have a limited view of your profile. Instructions on how to do this are also on the Playfish forum.

That’s it! Have fun in Restaurant City, and I hope to see you there