halfwhiteboy

Last few days of August. After those periods of persistent rain, it was nice to see the sun come out and lord over the skies throughout the day. So I felt like going for blooms. But to avoid going matchy-matchy with shades of brown, I incorporated some color. The belt is a pinkish hue while the socks are reddish, just enough to stand up against the onslaught of brown (and khaki) all over.

The world certainly knows by now about Samsung's crushing defeat in a very expensive $1B U.S. lawsuit with Apple (call it a home court advantage, if you may). Unbeknownst to many, however, Samsung has ventured into fashion, having opened at least five stores already in South Korea since early this year. But there aren't actually any Samsung-branded clothes out there. Apparently, the electronics giant has a subsidiary named Cheil Industries that serves as its fashion arm. Cheil has launched the brand 8ight Seconds , described as a SPA ( s pecialty retailer of p rivate-label a pparel) brand also otherwise known as fast fashion. It promises to be "cheaper than Zara, trendier than Uniqlo." Love the layering. And the color of these shorts. I don't know about cheaper (than Zara) but they certainly look trendier (than Uniqlo). I went through their official blog and didn't understand a word. I suspect the site is blocking Google from translating the page. So...

What used to be a concept is slated to become a physical reality by mid-2013. The Instagram Socialmatic will let you take photos (of course), share them online (of course), and wait, print them in an instant? Yes, you read that right. The camera has an internal printer that allows special paper cartridges for printing your photos in that familiar Instagram shape. The paper sheets have a Post-it-style glue strip on one side. There's no info on megapixels but it has a 16GB storage space, a 4:3 touchscreen, 2 lenses with optical zoom, an LED flash, and is both WiFi and Bluetooth-enabled.

It's been known since last month that superstar-DJ Tiësto is doing a collaboration with Guess . The collection will reportedly feature skinny jeans, leather jackets, and graphic print t-shirts. And as promised, the first item off this collaboration is the limited-edition Tiësto for Guess watch -- and it's already here! The watch itself is a stunner. As described by Guess, it's made of gun metal stainless steel in a mixture of textures, treatments, and finishes. It's stylishly masculine and good enough for dressier affairs. Tiësto's personal logo is likewise etched on the watch's back.

Yesterday at work nearly every colleague who first saw me in the office wondered out loud if I forgot that it was a Friday. Others doubted if they just thought it was a Friday. You see, jeans and t-shirts are the norm on the last working day of the week, so you can say that I was overdressed.

Following all the hoopla over Louis Vuitton's latest campaign featuring the already-legendary Michael Phelps, news broke out that he may be in trouble for allegedly violating the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Rule 40, which provides that Olympians cannot promote brands that are not official sponsors between July 18 and August 15. The first photo, featuring Phelps in Speedos while in a bathtub, was leaked on August 13. Phelps's agent, however, assured that the swimmer won't be losing any of his medals since Phelps had no hand in the leak. This was later seconded by an IOC official, according to a report from  businessinsider.com . So I guess it's all settled then. Besides, the official ad campaign (not the one with Phelps in a tub) is A-grade. [ Source ]

I love weekends, long weekends especially. And the 4-day long one that we just enjoyed afforded us some time to rest and do household stuff. I also got to taste some delightfully good food courtesy of My Bibe. She's a good cook, just to let you know. And here are but some of the mouthwatering and eye-catching -- yet easy-to-prepare -- stuff that she's whipped up: Mexican bowl It may just be a salad but it's definitely satisfying. I know it says bowl but we served it on a plate. And why not? It's got some greens, tomatoes, onions, red bell pepper, sweet corn kernels and kidney beans. The dressing's made of sour cream, salt, pepper, paprika and hot sauce. There's also some crispy paprika-dusted tortilla on the side. I'm usually not a fan of hot, spicy food but I was digging the slight heat in here.

I am not an iPhone user. And although I can say I'm pretty much happy with my Android phone, sometimes I just can't help but feel envy towards users of this Steve Jobs creation. Yes, there's that "cool factor" that's always associated with anything Apple, something I totally agree with. Also, why do iOS versions of apps always seem cooler and better than their Android counterparts? Even when it comes to accessories, iPhones always have it best. These past weeks I've been trying to find my phone a cool case only to be repeatedly disappointed with what's sold in stores. Their iPhone counterparts, on the other hand, are about the sleekest stuff that you can find. My frustration has also led me online to, well, gawk at some really cool iPhone cases , wishing they could fit around my phone. Sure phone cases are primarily meant as an added protection for your phone from accidental dropping and the like but injecting a little style into that protection...

Last Saturday, My Bibe and I caught up with Cirque Du Soleil's Saltimbanco , which just had its Manila run from August 9 to 19. It was our first time at the Mall of Asia Arena, an overrated venue that had, like, the smallest and most uncomfortable of seats. And never mind the hell that we went through with SM Tickets (I'm still mulling over blogging about it); they moved us from the Upper Box to the Lower Box area although I had a nagging suspicion they upgraded almost everybody since empty seats abounded. I went into the arena knowing nothing about Saltimbanco. It was only from the souvenir program that I realized it's one of Cirque's longest-running shows, first exhibited in 1992. From what I've gathered, the show was later reinvented to play in large arenas. The stage was a colorful and flexible creation, allowing for Chinese poles to be mounted and dismounted, for trapezes to be set up, for set pieces to be rolled on and off, and more. The Sal...

Today, August 19, 2012, marks the 134th birth anniversary of the late Manuel L. Quezon (1878-1944), who served as the second president of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He is largely credited for promoting Tagalog as the national language and is therefore known as, well, the "Father of the National Language." This post, however, will not focus on any of his achievements as President but on his impeccable sense of style. Oh yes, the man did have style (unlike this sloppy joke of a president who can't even walk straight that we have today)! So since I haven't done a Man of Style post in a very long while, I thought today would be the perfect time to do one. [ Source ] Scouring the web for photographs of Quezon, I was struck by how the man had always been suited up and perfectly composed. He always looked dignified. Superficial as it may sound, I believe the way a public official dresses also contributes to the amount of respect that he can command. Look a...

It's been a while since my last outfit post. Well, a week in the hospital and another week or so of daily trips to the ER for my daily dose of IV-administered antibiotics, plus weeks of extremely wet weather -- not to mention floods -- do take their toll on one's enthusiasm. But now the sun is back, the weather's better, and I'm done with my treatment, so it's about time. It's not really the most striking outfit or anything. It's kind of subdued actually, but I like how the collar and cuffs contrast the rest of this striped shirt. It's also been ages since I last donned a tie, I believe, so I wore one here. The shirt's stripes are dark gray leaning on black, and the tie's obviously black. But I didn't want to be too matchy-matchy , so I slipped into a pair of blue trousers rather than in something black or gray. Subtle enough, I guess, though I kept the shoes and belt both black. I'll save the more colorful stuff for next time.

Much has been said about Sen. Tito Sotto's fallacious, crocodile tears-filled anti-RH (Reproductive Health) Bill speech recently, with which he was accused of plagiarism. I just love how quick and resourceful people are in amassing a wealth of information that's meant as a slap to the actor-turned-politician's face. But this one here is really clever: [ Source ] Just admit it and apologize, Tito Sotto. The mere existence of that exact same erroneous punctuation in your speech as contained in one of the blogs you (okay, your staff) plagiarized already says it all. Yes to the RH Bill!

Ever heard of a beauty queen who beatboxes before? Well, here's the Philippines' representative to the Miss World 2012 doing just that at the pageant's talent competition: She is 23-year-old Queenierich Rehman from Pasay City. I certainly have no interest in these pageants but this has certainly piqued my curiosity. So I guess I'll be watching how she fares in the competition, with the final round taking place on August 18. I still can't get over her, especially with the irony of her outfit against her song and beatbox medley. I never thought beauty pageants could be this cool. Go, Queenierich! ************* Too bad she didn't win. She made it to the top 15 but failed to land a spot in the top 7. And oh, Ms China won (how befitting given that the competition was staged in, well, China).

So there's much hype -- at least among Filipino people -- surrounding The Bourne Legacy , the fourth installment in the highly successful Bourne franchise. Well, that excitement obviously stems from the fact that a good chunk of the film was shot here in the Philippines, which is hardly a preferred shooting location for a Hollywood film. But how was the movie without the titular character played by Matt Damon? After Damon bailed out on a fourth Bourne movie, they brought in Jeremy Renner. It's no secret, however, that he does not play Jason Bourne but Aaron Cross, obviously a totally different character. Cross is an Outcome agent, one who's enhanced physically and mentally but who has to keep his regular dose of blue and green pills to stay this way. Unlike Bourne, he does not have amnesia.

I really have no clue about web design, HTML and all that. I simply make do with what little -- and I mean little -- knowledge I have for this blog. How nice would it be to have a customized slideshow or something, instead of just having huge, static photos in my every blog post... I've been reading up on this jquery slider for Wordpress and it seems very enticing. Yes, it's for Wordpress blogs. So should I shift? Accordingly, you can create your own customized video/photo sliders in no time at all, which is a huge plus for a programming-illiterate like me. The tool provides two main options in creating your sliders, the first of which is having full control with your own customized content, which you add/upload manually. The editor allows for fairly easy-to-follow steps, I must say. First, you choose a slide type -- whether video, photo, text, or custom.

I had just been discharged from the hospital last Saturday, and My Bibe decided we should "celebrate" somehow. We were originally headed for Italianni's in Greenbelt 2 but for some reason stopped a few steps short of it and ended up trying Ma Maison instead (which was just next to Italianni's, by the way). Part of The Bistro Circle , which includes, among others, Italianni's, TGI Fridays, Fish & Co., and FlapJacks, Ma Maison serves French and Japanese-Western dishes. The place sits on where FlapJacks used to be. Cozy and dimly-lit interiors. Interiors The restaurant sports a dimly-lit yet warm and cozy atmosphere ( which makes it quite hard to work with a cellphone camera, although my Samsung Galaxy S-III delivered somehow ). The interiors feature brick walls, wood, lamps, floral table cloths, and even copper pots and pans. It's quite charming, so to speak. Seating options include a couple of diner-type seats, a bar-type setting, and the tradit...

Saw these photos of Philipp Plein 's ad campaign for its Fall/Winter 2012 collection featuring Gossip Girl 's Ed Westwick, and I was floored. Shot by celebrated photographer Terry Richardson, the shoot is oozing with sexiness despite Westwick and French model Sabrina Nait being fully clothed all throughout. The set is full of white and mirrors, some partially smashed.

There's too much of London lately because of the Olympics. Even the weather here in the Philippines has gone all London for weeks now. This wet and gloomy weather only had me thinking of the beach, of the sun, and of what to wear there... My virtual meandering netted in me discovering this Portuguese brand called Impetus . Never heard of it before but my, oh my, am I in love with their beachwear! Tops, of course, of loving them is their length -- or lack thereof. They're short and exactly how I want my swim shorts to be. They've got everything from plain, solid colors to checks, to floral, paisley, and geometric patterns. Good thing they have an online store.