Blog

  • Week-links 1: Feb 17 – 21, 2014

    1. Trello

      https://trello.com/

      Trello is the fastest, easiest way to organize anything, from your day-to-day work, to a favorite side project, to your greatest life plans.

      Trello
      A screenshot of Trello homepage.

      I’m trying this out for short-range project management – to-do lists and assignments – Trello answers all that.

    2. Scout

      http://mhs.github.io/scout-app/

      Scout is a cross-platform app that delivers the power of Sass & Compass into the hands of web designers.

      Scout
      A screenshot of Scout homepage.

      Here’s something I’ll also be trying along with Brackets – Scout. It’s an app that will watch for Compass and Sass files in a folder.

    3. Brackets

      http://brackets.io/

      Brackets is an open source code editor for web designers and front-end developers.

      Brackets
      A screenshot of Brackets homepage.

      I’m looking for a replacement for Adobe Dreamweaver for my front-end design work. I’ll be checking out Brackets and Sass.

  • Ang Na Ang Na

    This is the greatest discovery in my grade school days in the early 90s.

    Angna Angna Shirt - Threadless - 2021-01
    A yellow t-shirt with the print design of Angna Angna magic chant. This shirt is available on Damit na Punit shop!
    Ang Na - Ang Na
    Vic Sotto’s witty magic chant in his movie with Alice Dixson, Si Malakas at Si Maganda (1989).

    The kids who got smirks on their faces know what this “magic chant” by Vic Sotto really meant.

    Ang na ang na, sulakihin, sumaskidot, moko moko!

    Vic Sotto

    So I baffled Jaycelle one day with this abracadabra and told her to write it down to know its meaning.

    She still couldn’t get it so I rewrote it in a nice lettering so maybe one day we can hang it up on our wall and get our kid to ask, “what’s that poster, daddy?”

  • What You Say

    Here’s a series of posters with two words/phrases side-by-side – with the opposite meaning; some are about common phrases we always say in a sentence, like for example…

    Like for Example
    Like for Example
    Kick Ass - Kiss Ass
    Kick Ass – Kiss Ass
    Belly Dancing - Dancing Belly
    Belly Dancing – Dancing Belly
    Overt - Covert
    Overt – Covert
  • International Red & MMDA

    IR + MMDA + Bon Jovi

    International Red Design Studio has partnered with MMDA to provide you with the latest information on current and upcoming Metro Manila roadway constructions.

    We’re talking about interconnected infrastructures that will be worth the hurly burly traffic jam the constructions will cause.

    So to all passengers out there – whether you’re a commuter or a backseat driver – sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride (to the drivers as well).

    Say goodbye to yesterday
    Hit the gas there ain’t no brakes on this lost highway
    ~ Lost Highway by Bon Jovi


    By the way, Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway is up there with the logos because the album’s accompanying me tonight as I work on the project.

    I’ll keep you posted once the website has launched.

  • Violet Don’t Be Blue

    Violet Don't Be Blue

    Mix CD

    I heard it the first time when my friend from Malate, Ida, gave me a mix CD with 14 tracks. This particular song captivated me in a gloomy manner – just as Diana Krall’s Midnight Sun did. But the problem was that I didn’t know the title since she didn’t bother listing the track info.

    Years have passed – and I am talking CD burning here, not MP3s in flashdrives – Android phones came into being and SoundHound found its place into my phone. I tried to scratch this long time itch and was I lucky to find the singer and composer.

    Violet Don’t Be Blue is a song by Herbie Mann and sang by Cissy Houston (Whitney’s mom).

    Don’t let this song bring you down now:

    What’s That She’s Singing?

    I’ve reached the depths of Google search results for “Violet Don’t Be Blue lyrics” – page 6 to be exact – and still failed to find the lyrics of this song. I even used different search engines like Bing and Yahoo! to no avail.

    Search Engines

    So I transcribed the song lyrics myself (I’m unsure of several lines, though).

    A summer sun kissed a flower
    And warmed an hour in May
    On her young face
    His smile dried the dew

    Oh, but the time was coming near
    When spring would light another year
    Hear the cold wind blowing
    Violet don’t be blue

    A wishing star closed his eyes
    When Violet dreamed of love
    When her hopes like her petals
    All were new

    But now her tears had turned to snow
    Her heart’s a place icicles grow
    Hear the night wind blowin’, singin’
    Violet don’t be blue


    The reason I wrote a thing or two about this song is because I’m experimenting on animated icons – wherein as the song goes, the icons animate the lyrics.

    I’ll be posting samples soon.


    References

  • A Naked Woman Taught Me to Photoshop

    Adobe Photoshop
    Adobe Photoshop

    It’s been a long way since Photoshop 4 – eighteen (18) years and we’re now in the Cloud. Could it be any punnier that it was built from the ground “up”?

    This Internet Thing

    ’96 – I was in high school – clueless as to what the coolest nickname was for an e-mail address because what’s e-mail? We were only using the PeeCee to research on the Encarta CD. It was the same year I left alone the 20-volume encyclopedia and 17-volume macropedia to rot in the shelf.

    One very late night, I was asleep in the living room, I awoke to this weird sound – it was a robotic android-y sound coming from the computer area. Brushing my eyes from the slumber, I saw my brother in the dark with his face lit by the 15-inch monitor. I asked him what’s that I heard.

    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134215934″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

    “I’m surfing the internet,” he said it like he couldn’t be bothered.

    “Surfing? Internet? Can I watch?” Thought it was a new game he’s got there. Then maybe, just maybe he switched windows to Yahoo! Directories from whatever he’s doing.

    And that was the end of the Encarta CD.

    Surfing Sounds So Cool

    Surfing the Internet
    Mickey Mouse is gonna surf the ‘net in a true ’98 style.

    You see, surfing the ‘net is quite easy to learn – with all those underlined links and animated GIFs – pure fun in digital form. I waited for my turn every after midnight to connect to the internet with anticipation – that distinct sound of the 56k modem (which is now my ring tone) successfully taking you into another dimension – it’s my Pavlov’s bell.

    And so I found another reason to use the computer – to collect pictures of my favorite band of all time, Oasis.

    And Graphic Design!

    I’ve exhausted my “research” and “data-gathering” on Oasis and it left me with buttloads of band pictures. Then, just like how curiosity killed the cat, I wondered if I could “extend” a cut picture of Liam Gallagher’s shirt.

    Oasis Image Search Results
    Oasis Image Search Results

    Going past through Notepad, FreeCell, Solitaire, and Minesweeper, I found my way to this piece of software which I tried to tame at least once in my life. It’s called MS Paint. It was a pain to manually copy-and-paste similarly-looking pixels to form an extension of the shirt. But hey, this was no the Photoshop before I knew it existed but it did what I wanted – a pop-out Liam Gallagher.

    The Gallagher Brothers in MS Paint
    The Gallagher Brothers in MS Paint”/>
    I recreated the steps I took years ago – not the original picture I used, though; also this MS Paint is Windows 7 version.

    “Enter” Adobe Photoshop 4

    Adobe Photoshop, you were a mere proper noun and a software with the coolest splash image – congratulations you’ve already been verbalized. I’ve seen you in your Undo/Redo ability until your History capability.

    Adobe Photoshop 4
    A splash image of Adobe Photoshop 4.

    It sounded funny – the word “Adobe” – while I pictured an orange-y block of stone. And that nearly hindered me from getting interested in launching the program. “Photoshop” – it was just a place where you go to develop and print photos. No big deal.

    I wondered if it could take the pain MS Paint gave me. I launched the program and thought to replicate what I did in MS Paint – just click “File > Open…” and find whatever picture was lying on the Desktop. Or in the bowels of a 100-folder directory.

    Long story short, I found my brother’s pr0n stash.

    And that’s the beginning of the tale of a wide-eyed pimply teenager in front of a computer about to uncover life’s biggest secrets.

    Photoshop and Boobies

    Dolls and Adobe Photoshop 4
    Sunbathing dolls with a Photoshop placard.

    I opened one file from the stash.

    Why not the same picture of Oasis? You might ask. My reasons, my disposition at that time – I could not recall. But I remember I was happy, a determined person.

    The picture made me forget about my original plan – to extend Liam’s clothes, remember? Ironically, there it was – a picture of a flawlessly naked woman in front of me. I was being challenged to erase some itsy-bitsy body parts.

    And so I clone stamped it out.

    Alt+click-release + click, alt+click-release + click, alt+click-release + click. And more alt+click-release + click.

    Doll Smile
    I couldn’t post the actual edited picture because my hard drive crashed.

    Done. It’s not a work of art – but this accomplishment, like how the internet dawned on me, opened a new dimension – a world of possibilities what could be done to, say, a landscape picture or even a blank canvas!

    And so they say, “curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back.” Only to get curious again.

  • Mini-FFC #16 – Thoughts

    1st Topic: Dealing with Clients

    Speaker: Rina Malonzo

    • Listen to client needs – identify the real problem
    • Charge with eyes open – learn the product life cycle and the work involved
    • Set expections – be realistic, under promise and over deliver
    • Build trust – tell the truth, don’t disappear, failure isn’t an option
    • Tell clients if they are “wrong” – listen to why they don’t like a design, design for the customer, have an intelligent conversation – don’t simply say “OK”
    • Get a downpayment before starting a project
    • Get repeat business

    Showcasing Your Portfolio

    • Show your future – showcase the projects you want to attract
    • Show your best works in the first 5 items
    • Show at most 20 samples

    2nd Topic: PhoneGap

    Speaker: Chard Gonzales

    PhoneGap is a free and open source framework that allows you to create mobile apps using standardized web APIs for the platforms you care about.

    Source: http://phonegap.com/

    3rd Topic: RCSS

    Speaker: JP De Guzman

    RCSS (‘Recess’ / Narcissistic name – ‘Rain CSS’) is a PHP-based CSS Processor. Popularized by known CSS pre-processors such as LESS and SCSS, RCSS aims to bring the joy and fun back in writing CSS with nifty features straight out-of-the-box. Aside from the core feature built under its hood, it can be extended via plugins that anyone can easily write and share.

    Source: http://www.raincreativelab.com/rcss/

  • 2014 Resolute Resolution #2

    In meetings, only involve persons who can say a thing or two about your agenda.