Waiting for Inspiration…..

Yes, writing is hard when you have creative drought. So, whether you like it or not (Bon), I will post some pictures. Hahahhaa These are some pictures from a Sunday Trip in Manila

Living Life Without Comprises: Grindhopper: Building A Rewarding Career Without Paying Your Dues by Laura Vanderkam

        Life is too short for compromises. If you ever felt this way, you most probably are a grindhopper, a free thinker who has decided to work outside a 9 to 5 job. Years ago, grindinghopping meant being in the big bad world of starving with sardines, living with your nagging mother forever, and raised eyebrows whenever you meet your peers. Working for yourself is still not easy but technology has opened the doors to people who would not have it any other way. Author Launder Vanderkam is one of them and her book is a love song to anyone who has doodled, knitted, blogged, belly danced, and sang his way to success.
   Her book Grindhoppers serves as wellspring of hope for entrepreneurs who feel that the world has decided to place them in the cuckoo’s nest. There are tons of stories from wealthy grindhoppers. These characters range from soccer moms who turned domestic life into dollars to brash young lawyers who took the law into their own hands. The formula for success is never clear cut for grindhoppers but this is also the reason behind their success. These upstarts love playing in unpaved paths because they reap the benefits of making the road in the first place.
     As varied and colorful are their stories, Vanderkam neatly ties the virtues common to all entrepreneurs even if most of them don’t want to be described as disciplined for it suggest a corporate character . She lists 7 virtues of the grind weary.  These are being your boss, knowing your goals, seeing risks as benefits, working with projects and not one job, results driven, everything is negotiable, and having a network. If you agree to any of these truths, you might be grindhopper. So I suggest you start hopping while I find a way to end this blog better ! ☺

Website:http://www.grindhopper.com

Overspending for Books? CUT IT OUT! National Bookstore’s Price Cut Sale!

New Read Now Post: Making this Blog Fresh

      Since I can't always write reviews everyday, I decided to also make Read Now also a photoblog. I just started taking photographs last June. I admit that I am still a point and shoot person and am slowly learning to become a photographer. My only wish for my photos is that they spark creativity in whoever sees them because I believe art should beget art in whatever form. Don't worry, I still will write book reviews. Cheers!

Comment: Oranges in Chinatown, It is actually the best picture from the trip and surprisingly the least planned,

How To Be Cool: Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook by David de Rothschild

    Al Gore's campaign against global warming is a true study of a 21st century integrated media blitz. It started with his savvy documentary "Inconvenient Truth" and marched on with the global Live Earth concert. Now, his advocacy reaches print form using vegetable ink , biodegradable lamination and other science stuff I wish I listened to in school. This does not mean that this book by adventure ecologist David de Rothschild is inaccessible. If you have been following Gore's campaign, you will have noticed that everything is crisp, smart and aimed at you, the youth. The book continues this tradition by offering a calculated cool synthesis between content and visuals. The 77 tips are in themselves amusing (Tip 44: Build a Bat House) , well written with sarcasm (Tip 54: Say "Nuclear" Properly), informative (Tip 18: Say No To Styrofoam) and practical (Tip 67: Pass It On). Most are plausible and actually fun to do like Tip 48 that suggests to green your roof by creating a garden if possible. Some are just hilarious but true like adopting a glacier (visit http://www.nsidc.org). These tips are added impact by the illustrations that styled to look like the emergency "how to" guides you find in airplanes. The difference is that the characters sport tattoos, wear Keane t-shirts, and have i-pods.  The book is also media smart as there are tons of web links to explore after reading.
    If global warming is still not your thing, the last 10 tips focused on how to live in a total climate meltdown are worth reading just for a good laugh. There are suggestions such as buying a camel, learning how to barter, and colonizing space. Yet, they save the best for last that is to simply mutate and evolve. If you can't do that, you can follow tip 52 (Invent The Antidote) or just Tip 9 (Imagine). As for me, I will just follow tip 32 (Get Lost In Nature).

Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook
77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change –or Live Through It
by David de Rothschild
Website: http://www.liveearth.org

How To Be Cool:Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook

     Al Gore's campaign against global warming is a true study of

    a 21st century integrated media blitz. It started with his savvy documentary "Inconvenient Truth" and marched on with the global Live Earth concert. Now, his advocacy reaches print form using vegetable ink , biodegradable lamination and other science stuff I wish I listened to in school. This does not mean that this book by adventure ecologist David de Rothschild is inaccessible. If you have been following Gore's campaign, you will have noticed that everything is crisp, smart and aimed at you, the youth. The book continues this tradition by offering a calculated cool synthesis between content and visuals. The 77 tips are in themselves amusing (Tip 44: Build a Bat House) , well written with sarcasm (Tip 54: Say "Nuclear" Properly), informative (Tip 18: Say No To Styrofoam) and practical (Tip 67: Pass It On). Most are plausible and actually fun to do like Tip 48 that suggests to green your roof by creating a garden if possible. Some are just hilarious but true like adopting a glacier (visit http://www.nsidc.org). These tips are added impact by the illustrations that styled to look like the emergency "how to" guides you find in airplanes. The difference is that the characters sport tattoos, wear Keane t-shirts, and have i-pods.  The book is also media smart as there are tons of web links to explore after reading.
    If global warming is still not your thing, the last 10 tips focused on how to live in a total climate meltdown are worth reading just for a good laugh. There are suggestions such as buying a camel, learning how to barter, and colonizing space. Yet, they save the best for last that is to simply mutate and evolve. If you can't do that, you can follow tip 52 (Invent The Antidote) or just Tip 9 (Imagine). As for me, I will just follow tip 32 (Get Lost In Nature).

Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook
77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change –or Live Through It
by David de Rothschild
Website: http://www.liveearth.org
Available in   

Young and Foolish!: Peter Pan by J.M Barrie

        The original Peter Pan was written in the early 1900s. Thus, some words are outdated so it good to keep a dictionary nearby. The perspective of the book differs from the Disney film that celebrates youth. The original version takes on the recklessness of being young. Peter Pan’s boyish charm is replaced by rash and inconsiderate brat who is more concerned about playtime than people. He easily forgets others because they don’t offer him fun and excitement. It is a lesson in realizing why we need to grow up.

 Author: J.M Barrie