Featured: Personalize-Your-Chrome (Offline/Online)

          Just tonight, I noticed Google’s new feature on Google Chrome’s internet browser. (Can you believe it? I started typing this spot-on! Then, one or two hours later, it’s uploaded!)

         When you click on the Google Chrome icon, it opens the internet browser window. On the upper right hand, at the top, in line with the Exit, Maximize, and Minimize buttons is the new feature of Google Chrome internet browser. It has a human head icon that when you click it, a little tab pops with a bigger icon.

          You’ll see the following on the tab:

     It is composed of:

      1.Icon – the big picture in a circle frame.
2. Name—your chosen name under the icon. Below the name is a request: Sign in to get your tabs, bookmarks, history, and other settings on all your devices.3.   Sign in to Chrome button
4.   Switch Person— It is like a social media site, wherein you can log out and change to another person’s Chrome profile. This is a feature for those two or more persons using one computer.
5.   Go incognito – This means private surfing, but not so private…

             Now, you just have to change the settings to personalize your own internet browser.

     1. CHANGING YOUR ICON

       Click on the icon right away if you want to change your icon.

         A box will open giving you choices which pictures to choose from and below these icons is a space provided where you can type your chosen name in a box.

          Click on your chosen icon, and type in your name then Save.

          But the easiest way is when you are online, you simply log in to your Chrome account and there it was. Your Chrome account's profile picture appears as your icon instead of choosing from the pictures presented on the screen shot above.

2.     PERSONALIZING YOUR SETTINGS:

ON STARTUP

            After saving, the Chrome Settings will appear to give you the chance to make your internet browser more personalized.

            On startup section is where you can choose what happens to the browser once you click the Google Chrome icon on your desktop or Windows Tab.

            If you choose Open the New Tab page, once you open your browser, a new tab will appear. This new tab is empty and therefore, you will have to type in the website to start off with your internet surfing.

            It will look like this:

                

               If you choose Continue where you left off, when you open the browser, it immediately shows or opens the last website that you’ve been into before you closed the browser.

               It goes like this:

                  If you choose Open a specific page or set of pages, you will have to input which pages you like the browser to open once you click it. Therefore, you will have to choose that option then click the Set pages link. A small tab will pop out, providing you the spaces where you should input links of websites (as many as you like!) that you want to appear automatically when you open your browser, then click OK.

                So once you open your browser, this one or two websites will open altogether automatically.

                APPEARANCE

Most probably, majority of Google Chrome users don’t mind about their browser’s start-ups but they feel it more personalized if they see it on the appearance of their browsers, so this is what the Appearance section of the Google Chrome settings is all about.

                There are two primary options for the appearance of your browsers. The first one is Get Themes and the second one is Reset to default theme.

                You already know the default theme of Google Chrome— white and blue. And when you open it, the tab shows Google and there’s an empty bar below it for typing in your searches and stuff.

                On Get Themes, you have to be online to activate this feature. Clicking this leads the user to Google Themes where there are lots of themes to choose from! From anime themes to colorful nature. You can browse, choose what you like, download it then install it. (That’s how I got my sweet and calm pinkish Google browser theme color!)

                And voila! Your own personalized Google browser theme!

                Show the Home button just means you can add Home on your browser’s bar, right beside the reload button.

                

                You can personalize your Home button, whenever you click it, you always go to that specific website that you consider your home, which usually is the site that you always log-in or open.

                Want to stay updated about the changes in the stock market but you always forget the url? Just click the Change link beside the New Tab Page below the checked Show Home button, choose Open this page then type in the website’s url on the empty bar beside it. Click OK.

                Clicking Always show the bookmarks bar adds another bar on your browser. So, it will look like this:

Without bookmarks bar

With bookmarks bar                

                This makes going from one favorite site to another more convenient because you will only have to click one of these bookmarks on the bar instead of opening another tab and typing one website link after another.

                SEARCH

                This feature is simple, you just have to choose which search engine you prefer to use in your browser.

                So if I choose Ask.com, it will be search engine to automatically appear on the browser when I typed on the empty search bar for a word that I just want to search or look up to on the internet. So when I press enter, results from Ask.com shall appear. That’s what also happens if ever your choose Google or Yahoo, etc, for a search engine.

                If you click Manage search engines, this is where you can add other search engine sites if ever it is not in the choices of search engine sites that you can set to personalize your browser.

               Click on Add a new search engine, then type the name of the search engine. In the picture above, it was on the first box that I typed Google. The second box asks for Keyword, so I simply put in Google, and lastly, the url of the search engine, so I put www.google.com. After that, click Done and you’ve added another search engine on your list.

                Then, you can make that website set as your search engine by making it default.

                Place your mouse’s arrow on the side of the new search engine you added. It will be highlighted in blue and a Make default button will appear. Click that and it automatically gets added on your default search settings list.

Finish and save your settings by clicking Done.

                PEOPLE

                Now, this is a little tricky for me because I am already too sleepy to tinker a lot about this section of the Google Chrome browser’s settings (and I know you are all aware that I am not some computer expert but a fellow user like most of the blog readers are) but I still hope this will be helpful.

                On this section, there appears your personal user icon. You can choose to check any of the following features.

                

                Look! Isn’t that the user profile you did earlier? The one named Alien (current). Yes, that means it is the current user of the browser while you are checking the settings.

                Enable user creation from the profile manager has the following features: Add a person…, Remove… and Import bookmarks and settings…

                On Add a person, you can add another user profile on your browser who can use it by logging in using his profile. It also undergoes the same process you have encountered in making your own user profile offline.

                Remove… is used whenever you want to remove the other user from their access of using your computer’s browser.

                

                Just click on their icon (making their user profile on the list be highlighted) then click Remove…

                There are Enable Guest browsing and Enable user creation from the profile manager options. On Enable Guest browsing, you pick one of the users and put a check on this option if you are letting this user browse on your browser. On the picture above, your user profile is Alien, and Jill is another user, maybe a friend or your sister. You allow her to browse on your browser when you checked on Enable Guest browsing.

                Now, she is able to browse but… not able to create another user on your browser for another person. But if you checked on Enable user creation from the profile manager, she will be able to create a user profile for her brother Jack.

                

                Once you sign in using your Google account, you will be able to control and keep track on what websites these users you added are opening or going to.

                

                You can also create a desktop shortcut for the user you added.

               The advantages I can see in this is it helps in preventing one user’s important bookmarks of websites be deleted by the other user because they only use one browser. This feature helps to separate their browser’s saved bookmarks, organize works of two or more people who use one computer, and can also help parents to limit their children from what websites might influence them badly online.

                Until here, folks! I won’t get too technical with something I don’t know a lot because the next part of this setting is the Advanced Setting where all about your browser’s privacy, passwords, languages, and other web settings.

(c) OriginalAS/AnamarieSoya

Point-Of-View: Love and Material Things

Seen this picture on Facebook? It was posted by Virgin Radio Lebanon page and I was a little blown away by the comments I have read. Well, of course, my little devilish side always crave on slapping people back to their senses.

But instead of joining the argument, I just shared the picture and there is where I put my comments about it that goes like this:

There is something trivial about love such as the relation of material things in it. Well, we obviously knew that not a material thing can equalize love, nor money can buy love. And of course, these do not guarantee that anyone who gives you an ice cream, flowers, necklaces or rings. But then, for all the true lovers out there, we tend to provide the people we love with these material things (or any other things) not to buy their love or blind them with money you've got or you can afford, but it is simply because you want to make them happy through these. Maybe it seems too shallow, but what we always target is the pleasant surprise in their eyes or the smile on their faces- that is how much we love them. We don't have to play saints, we have to admit that we live in this world and that somehow we also want a solid, material evidence of our love for them or a material thing that expresses our feelings, just like why wedding rings are made of, or necklaces or friendship bracelets. It does not equalize the love we feel, but at least, these makes our loved ones happy and feel appreciated, we want to make them feel that we don't regret and we are willing to spend money on them and these things become a solid representation of it, of our love, something that whenever we cannot express love due to distance or our absence, looking at these things will always remind them of our love.  

[I really have to make a long comment like this due to the comments in this picture. I don't know why people have to be so negative just to show off how smart they are when it is already the obvious that no material thing can equalize or guarantee love.  ]

(c)OriginalAS/Anamarie Soya

Point-Of-View: Spaghetti Western Trilogy/ The Man With No Name

Note: Some of the words are meant to be italicized, but since there's some malfunction on the site while I was copying my draft and retyping it here, I only used bold or underlines on the words (and some are not ) to save time.

The 50s, the 60s, the 70s… eras of the rising cowboy TV series and movies, where you watch real men saddled up on their horses taking care of business, cigar-smoking, wine drinking, guns and ropes, and cowboy hats and boots, and deserts, and saloons, and wanted posters are everywhere.

Regarding this, yours truly, must admit that I only heard a “few” about the Western. Not totally very few, but it is too few for those who knows a lot about it. I heard it from Bone Thugs’ Ghetto Cowboy and saw one cowboy on The Toy Story (Woody), yet what lured me into these cowboy stuffs is Clint Eastwood.

Actually, the first Clint Eastwood movie I’ve watched was Gran Torino, very far from the cowboy characters where he first started with. Being a fan eventually lead me to watching The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I heard the song first on an album my father played, I never knew it actually came from a movie.

So, I started off with the descending chronological order of the movies in watching. First, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, next A Few Dollars More, and lastly, A Fistful of Dollars.

The following are my sound review about the three movies, starting off with the first among the trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars.

A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964)

Which is faster: a pistol or a rifle?

That is one of the things that this first installment of the trilogy got in store. The Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) suddenly appears at San Miguel, took a drink and stays at the town where people only get rich from two things: liquor and guns. You either leave the town rich or dead.

What’s more reason that number two is so significant in this town? It’s got two bosses— the Baxters and the Rojos. These rival clans kept the town imbalanced. Why not? The one wants peace, even peace through violence, and the other wants violence for self-profit.

With the Rojos over there, and the Baxters over here, the Man with No Name decides to stay in the middle. Could he still stay in his position if the two clans joined forces? Or was the merge just a fraud to cover up a crime? Watch out on how he outsmarts the gringos and saves a family in danger of being separated for good.

Rate: 5/5

For me, the whole plot of the movie is well-written, deliciously Western especially with some Spanish in the dialogues, the whole set-up is so Western, not a thing out of place, even the features of the casts fits for the Western people.

Their performance in the movie is clean, impressive, wasn’t overly dramatic but still touches the emotion there is in the movie, although personally, there is not that much emotion in the movie but simply wits. How the Man with No Name outsmarts the rivaling clans is really, really cunning.

If emotions in the movie were to be discussed, yes, there is a sting in me when I watch Marisol and Julio’s situation (the couple in the movie), and a stronger sting in my heart watching Mrs. Baxter curse the Rojos as they are being murdered during the fire— a curse so full of bitterness, pain and wrath all mixed in the persona of the black veiled woman who always appear so calm, steady and no visible emotions. There are parts where you’ll feel the sting if you looked at the scene in depth, such as a friend’s loyalty, a longing for a loved one, a sacrificial love… the movie has these.

It is intriguing what the Man with No Name’s past is. For in the movie, he said it himself to Marisol and Julio that he knows someone who has been in their situation too, which, for certain, that person is the Man with No Name himself.

I have no complaints in this movie, in fact, not a scene gave me a moment of boredom or dullness. It is action-packed, merciless killing and bloodshed and fighting, but it has a heart in scenes which has sense of humor, and emotions that are mostly deeply rooted from pain and misery. But most of all, the smart arrangement of the movie’s story and how smart the Man with No Name is, those really impressed me.

FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965)

Two after one man.

The Man with No Name returns for the second movie of the Spaghetti Western Trilogy: For a Few Dollars More.

“Where life had no value, death, sometimes, had its price. That is why the bounty killers appeared.”

What’s a man got to do to earn more dollars? Of course, the usual bounty hunting it is for the Man with No Name, but this time, killing has to do not just with the money as Angel Eyes came to the scene to join our nameless cowboy. Simply put, the Man with No Name wants the dollars, Colonel Douglas Mortimer a.k.a Angel Eyes wants vengeance.

It is a brotherly vengeance for Angel Eyes— whose brother-in-law was murdered and sister was almost raped but decided to suicide— that drove him to set off and hunt their murderer, a wanted man named "El Indio" that the Man with No Name-- Monco, is also after to earn a few dollars more.

But the two, with the heating bank robbery scheme of the man they are after, decides to join forces in order to pin him down dead, and his group— dead or alive.

A bank robbery, betrayals, pretense and vengeance— these and more are in store in this Western movie.

Rate: 4/5

The plot and its twists are amazing, but a bit too predictable for me. Although how the betrayal of each member of the bandits amazed me. What made Angel Eyes’ intention unpredictable is that it was not made mention of, not a single clue was given, that it was to avenge the death of his sister. As for the Man with No Name, it is predictable that he is out to hunt and use his wits and guts for the money. But still, it is well-written, I admire the great timing that each scene has, including the right timing for the lead characters to meet and the coincidences that binds them together to set on the mission with each other.

In comparison with the first movie, there is less emotion on the second Spaghetti Western movie. It is an eye-opener on how wild the wild, wild West is— power by position, power tripping, crimes, violence, even violence against women and prostitution, bounty killing, vengeance... But then, there is a strong emotional impact on the movie on the scene that flashbacks the death of Angel Eyes’ sister— the feelings of jealousy, envy, desire to kill, lust, surprising pain and desire to die.

But these did not make me love the trilogy any less. It still has the elements of impressive wits and guts, action, some scenes are funny (Clint Eastwood’s visit with the old man who lives by the railroad) and of course, it is as Western as it should be.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)

It takes one man for a fistful of dollars, two to earn a few dollars more, and three for more money and a wild, wild, West experience.

The trilogy’s last film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly has made its remarkable masterpiece experience for its viewers, sealing the Spaghetti Western movies’ last entry closed excellently.

Among the three, the third movie surely made a huge impact and it is what people remember most in the trilogy up to this day.

It is the continuation of the adventure of the Man with No Name (played by Clint Eastwood) who has to earn dollars for a living. Even a sinner has a guardian angel, something we can relate to Angel Eyes’ dialogue in the film, and so, the Man with No Name— a.k.a Blondie— serves as Tuco’s guardian angel for a split of their earnings.

But then, all gets mixed up when Blondie breaks off the deal. Now Tuco’s on a hunt for revenge to kill him!

Until the two, under not-so-favorable-circumstances, has to work together to find Bill Carson’s money to have it for themselves, of course! Tuco knows the cementery, Blondie knows the name of the grave. Too bad they have to deal with Angel Eyes to get Bill Carson’s money too!

Rate: 5/5

First of all, I admire the plot and its twists. There is really an adventure on the third movie for the characters are led to many places, from the ordinary Western setting in the presence of wanted criminals being hunted, hangings and saloons, they have been into different camps and civil battles as captives then as dynamite planters, and finally, the graveyard where the hunt for money begins and the battle for it ends there too.

As usual, Blondie used his gun, guts and wits to win the game. It is what I admired about him the most, that cunning, smart-ass he is. The three lead characters are representations of three kinds of people that you mostly meet— the good, the bad and the ugly, of course! Can you determine who the good people are? Who the bad ones are? Who are those with ugly personalities? This movie might give you some clue!

Saddle up and ride on the action, the thrill and excitement of this suspense adventure that leaves you clueless of what’s going to happen next.

OVER-ALL REVIEW:

These insights and ratings about the movies are based on my own point-of-view or opinion. I highly recommend this movie for Western movie fans, of course. But then, these are also like a mind game for its viewers, so it does not always promise to be lively and kill anyone else every now and then— that’s where the suspense resides so be patient somehow.

One more thing, I have noticed that the movies have the same actors who play a role in one film, different from the role they played on the previous movie. Take Tuco’s brother on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Pablito as an example and his role on For A Few Dollars More as a thief. Of course, it is impossible that he used to be a thief then changed his name and became a priest since it is mentioned in TGTBATU that Pablito Ramirez had been also sent away from his family to study for his priesthood. But hey! Isn't that a good strategy to for the movie to save on their budget, or let's say they must have targeted to be a low-budgeted film in order to earn bigger than their expenses? Now that sounds really wise! Another example of this instance is also "El Indio" in For a Few Dollars More and Ramon Rojo in A Fistful of Dollars.

Anyways, no need to be confused by that, since, in the movies, you will never be really confused about these. In fact, as a viewer you might give less attention to it.

Comparing among the three, it is easier to follow the track of the story line of A Fistful of Dollars, beautifully made and more emotional. If it is about A Few Dollars More, then you will be satisfied by how action-packed it is, there are no such sappy moments and the charisma of Angel Eyes and the Man with No Name, and their team-up is really strong in this second movie of the trilogy. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, forever a remarkable product of the Western movies, is stuffed with values, emotions, actions and truly an adventure film full of unpredictability and a touch of nostalgia from its scenes that seemed to be rooted from a part of American history.

Source of Photos: Google Images

Featured: MBY Books

Suddenly, I felt the need to put up a new business. Simply because, I feel like the house is crowded by books that I don't read anymore and I think it's taking up too much space for my other books, and so MBY Books is born!

So attention, lover of books!

MBY Books sells second-hand books in their good condition. The pricing depends on their rarity (are these books hard to find on bookstores?), original and recent purchase price given by the bookstore sells it, transportation fee and its condition (is it still  in good shape or looking a little bit too much of a second-hand?).

There are variety of books to choose from: Sweet Valley High, Precious Hearts Romances pocketbooks, some children's books like The Witch, Anne Rice's and more, more, more!

And surprise! MBY Books does not just sell their books, they might also buy your books! A collector of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books, this page also announces that anyone with those books can sell it to them! Purchase is not guaranteed though but has to be negotiated.

Just like the page, browse the books they sell and pick the ones you like, PM them to confirm purchase and negotiate the meeting place, and it's done! You only have to meet up and pay and the book is all yours!

Interested? Go to the page now! Here at https://www.facebook.com/MBYBooksLPC
Note: Meet-ups are at Las Pinas City, Philippines area only.

(c) AnamarieSoya/OriginalAS

Point-Of-View: Friendships and Honesty

One thing admirable about friendships is that you can be honest with each other without feeling uncomfortable or scared. There is a point that this kind of honesty gets on your nerves, but there is also a point when unfortunately (and unexpectedly), it becomes disrespectful.

Those are the kind of honesty that are admirable if delivered well. If you were concerned with the person then your honesty may hurt but you will be very careful not to add an edge on the honesty sword that you'll stab on that person. It is just like how a  mother would scold her child about a misconduct than tie him upside down and hit him with a paddle so he won't do it again.

Simple as that.
But since this is about honesty in terms of friendship, we have to look at it on another perspective.

You have first to figure out if this person is really honest, it takes time and proper observation, which you are able to do on the first stages of your friendship, and which you can only finalize a conclusion is the friendship lasts longer than expected or when it ends.

Source: Movatar.com

Now, the tricky part here is how they deliver honesty. Nicely or not. If nicely, that friend may either express concern or display weakness. If not, that friend may seem really sure about his/her observations or what he is saying, either wants to see the change regarding that honesty immediately (ex. You're having a hard time moving and breathing because you are so overweight, you look like a pig! How many times do I have to tell you to get some exercise!")

Another tricky part here is if their honesty really intends to help, or if they are using this as a back-up to justify their wants to insult you, belittle you, discourage you, disrespect you, or criticize you. Why would some other people want that? I don't know.

For some reason, I do love honesty but be careful on how you deliver it. You must be honest, but be careful who you are hurting, and remember that it's your friend you are talking to.

Your honesty must display concern (if you really are concerned), and not be just because you want to enjoy yourself with the benefit you'll get from  it.

There is a difference between: "What kind of grades are that? You should study hard, you fool! Don't just fuck around, will you? Get your ass up and do your school works!" and, "You're so stupid, look at you, your grades are better at scuba diving than you! Know what? You are so stupid you probably don't have anything inside that brain of yours to make you graduate from your course! You are so dumb and stupid and I bet your brain gets toasted everytime you try to think hard!"

See how honesty should work?

P.S. Forgive me for using cursing words. Just being my good, 'ol straight talking, sharp-tongued writer.

Featured: Man's Best Friend

A dog is a man's best friend.

These lines are way too common you probably thought you are having ear worm for hearing this a couple of times especially coming from dog lovers. It is hard to explain the special connection that links dogs to humans; how these animals could love their human friends a whole lot more than themselves, and how humans can love them almost as equally as they do.

We heard stories about this kind of relationships between men and dogs, stories of their amazing friendship, how each become a part of each other's families and lives, as well, stories of how the other rescued the other from either accident or loneliness... such special things.

Reading this certain blog on Robyn Arouty tugged my heartstrings. Not in a way that because it is really dramatic or too tragic or effectively written and photographed (but maybe that helped to overflow my emotions), but simply because it gave me an insight on what there is in a dog's mind before he actually dies.

You can see it for yourselves in this link: http://www.robynarouty.com/i-died-today

It made me miss my boy a lot more. He just died three days ago, but oh, how I miss his barking. Some people may think that this kind of binding between a dog and a human is too exaggerated. I even react like that sometimes when I watch people on TV who spend too much money for sending their dogs on spas or buying them some cute outfits, but then, I simply understand the feeling to be so attached to these pets, treating them a part of your family, like a brother or your own baby.... That feeling that shall remain all along with the memories you shared together.

Point-Of-View: No Exception to the Rule

Since I was in my elementary days I have been an aspiring writer.
I started off inventing my own magazines, own news paper, and love stories, of  course (for such a young age!). I have always loved reading stories, therefore, if I were to get hooked on writing, well, the initial hobby made it inevitable for me to be lead in this writing hobby.

My writing improved and improved. When it comes to the English grammar, I found myself comfortable with it (and fluent) since I also practice speaking it so often since I was a kid. Tagalog is my native language, so I don't have much problem with it either. Moreover, I have been a school paper writer during elementary and high school.

But I don't know. Sometimes, the desire to go with the trend, to be appealing to the mass or to please readers, I began to forget the rules in writing.

It actually started off during the rising popularity of the Wattpad website. I found different kinds of writers there, but majority of them wrote kind of a little different from what I have seen.

Some used emoticons, improper spacing, wrong grammar, improper use of punctuation marks, etc. And most of them wrote on first person POV! To tell the truth, it seemed fun to me. I am very open to things that are new to me and experimental too, so I also adapted that style on one of my stories (just one story), and unbelievably, it had a lot of read and votes than my formally written stories. Why did I do that? Because of pressure, I guess. Envy, I guess. I desired to be heard, to lure people to read my story, to gain the appreciation I need to motivate myself to write. I let the people motivate me and not my inspirations.

Still, I don't know why I felt uncomfortable with it. So I usually bounce back to my old and own way of writing, and one Wattpad writer commented, appreciating that he still found a writer who follows the rules when it comes to writing.

It was flattering, I saw his point on how important it is to follow the rules in writing. Not just that you are expressing your ideas in a story in a proper way, but it also is a visible proof of the quality of your work. As a writer, it matters to avoid typos, use the proper punctuation marks and the right grammar.

Some may think that being a writer is a gift, a talent. But as for me, it's the imagination that is a gift. Writing is a matter of practice, a skill to enhance to be able to reach a lot of people with your words. But then again, there are no exceptions to the rule.

With that, I learned to be my real self when I write. Rules in writing? They will always be important to me. It helped me not to let the pressure change my style, nor go with the trend when I don't have to.

For being a writer, you are not just responsible with the message your story gives to its readers, but the quality of your work is in your own writing's presentation grammar-wise, and the right punctuation marks.

The trends may fade away, but not the rule.