Point and Shoot

I've been restless ever since we got back from Ilocos. Having a taste of a mini adventure ticked something inside me. I WANT MORE. It also made me want to get a waterproof camera. I have posted pictures from our trip on my previous entry, but it didn't show any from the underground cave. It's not that my battery ran out or the memory card's full, it's because I was afraid to use my camera there. Which is perfectly sensible.

I have also observed that as time goes by, I'm leaning towards high-quality compact cameras more and more and rethinking why I wanted a DSLR for so long. Sure, it's definitely more versatile and all that, but do I need these extra features? Currently, no. Plus, it's inconvenient to lug around especially when you're traversing a rocky trail (which are slippery more often than not) and walking through streams and such. I want something I could use and carry anywhere and everywhere. So now I'm on a hunt for the perfect companion.

I have actually already found the one. I present to you the Sony Cyber-shot TX20:

Model Highlights: Certified waterproof, dustproof and shockproof, 16.2-megapixel Exmor® R CMOS sensor, Full HD 1080/60i video, dual record of photos and videos, up to 10fps, 3.0" touch screen


Or its pricier brother, the TX200V:

Model Highlights: 18.2 megapixels, certified waterproof and dustproof, 3.3" OLED touch screen, Full HD 1080/60p video, high speed AF, up to 10 fps, Clear Image Zoom, Optical SteadyShot™ with Active Mode


Would be thrilled to own an orange TX20! I know I won't be needing this until our next vacation (which is probably on December), but I just can't help lusting over it! The only problem is that I don't have the moolah right now. So yes, will be dreaming of you 'til then.

Anybody want to sponsor my purchase? Hee-hee.


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Images and info from Sony website

LOTR awesomeness

Visited several random blogs and saw this at Geek Out!:

These locally produced sets have exactly the same content as those that were released in the States when the DVDs first came out. Each 4-disc set has the feature films on the first two discs with commentary, a third disc with feature documentaries about the per-production of each film, and a fourth with documentaries on the making of the movie, post-production, and the release.

All in all, there's something like 15-16 hours of extras here, on top of the the extended cut of the films which watched end to end , would run about another 12 or 13.

Be sure sure you include a bed pan and some soda and chips when you gift these (available at Astrovision for about Php 900.00 each) and be prepared not to see your loved one for at least a weekend.

It's one of items listed in their 2011 Christmas Guide for Geeks and boy, am I glad I stumbled upon this. I don't usually visit the blog because it's mostly comics stuff but I searched for something LOTR and that led me to this.

Ah, you'll be mine someday. Just you wait.

On having multiple copies of books

If I remember correctly, I bought my copy of To Kill a Mockingbird during college. I loved the story and it became an instant fave, alongside my all-time favorite The Book Thief.

I never bought the same book twice; I'm not one of those people who collected different editions of their favorite books. I'd rather buy other titles, but that may change soon. How can you resist a cover like this?

I don't know if there's a hardback or trade paperback version of this, the only one available in a local bookstore is mass market paperback. That's actually better on my end, since it will be a lot cheaper thus, less guilt on shelling out money on a book I already have. But oh, I've always liked trade paperbacks (I prefer the size--not too large, and not too small & bulky), though most of my books are mass market versions haha. I must have this.

This one's a trade PB, but it's twice the price and though it's also pretty, I like the first one more. Plus, I will limit myself to just one extra copy. Though if I find a mass market one, I might be tempted to buy both. Yikes.

Naturally, I'd want another copy of The Book Thief. There's one other cover design that I know of, but I haven't seen it in any local bookstores. It might just be available in certain countries. I'm a bit tempted to purchase a hardcover version. That's justifiable, right? It's my favorite book! Having an extra copy of it is totally out of the question.

I will have these. Maybe next year, yes? Will this be the start of another addiction? I should hope not.

ETA: I obtained a secondhand copy of Coraline as mentioned in this post. As it is one of my favorites (book and movie, alike), I can't help but lust over the movie collector's edition and the one with the movie-version cover. 

Aaand, Scout, Atticus, & Boo: A Celebration of to Kill a Mockingbird. I didn't mention this in the original post, but I think I would like this one, too. Gaaah. This is not good.

Maniac, who?

My favorite Booksale branch is the one closest to where I live and the one I frequent the most. From this branch I bought my omg-i-found-one books: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I'm currently eyeing an LOTR trilogy boxed set and a photography book from the same branch.

The thrill of looking at, looking for, and buying books have surpassed the thrill of actually reading them. And when I'm not buying books, I usually scour the internet for book recommendations and reviews, lurking mostly on blogs I recently discovered.

Is that bad? I don't really think so. But I guess I should allot as much time and energy on reading as I do on this current book-hunting and buying frenzy. (Which I obviously do not.)

A few things: I have poor eyesight but my eyes are extremely fast in "locating" familiar titles/authors. I rummage like a maniac. I sometimes go to a particular Booksale branch for days in a row. I still end up buying books even if I forbid myself to even go to bookstores.


I'm turning vicious, folks. Better call the doctor.

Dear Self--

Just to remind you and practically shove this to your face: You need to get a job. NOW.
Why? Lemme give you some extremely important points.

Point 1: How would you get them film rolls processed? And in case you haven't noticed yet, they're already collecting dust.

Point 1.1: Also, you only have two rolls left in your film "stash." If cameras were living things, yours would be dead very very soon.

Point 2: How would you have this treasure your sister unearthed repaired?

Point 2.2: If the camera in point 2 deems irreparable, how would you purchase a rangefinder, which you said you want to give yourself for Christmas?

Point 3: How will you buy all them books you've listed and updated obsessively? With your current state, you won't even have enough money to buy a secondhand book.

And Point 4, and this I think is the most important of all: How would you pay for your phone bills? Remember, your debt is rapidly accumulating.

So, self, have I convinced you yet? Ye lazy slug.

Prioritized book spending

I've been obsessing about books again lately, ever since this. I told B I'd save P5k and splurge on next year's MBIF (or any big bookstore sale), to avenge (yep) my not being able to attend this year. HAH! I doubt if I'll be able to save up that much without being tempted to spend it on say, a camera, for film processing, and for stocking up on films. Even more so, if I'll have the heart to spend that much money in one day, even if it's on books.

I'll try very hard to restrain myself from buying unfamiliar books each time I visit Booksale 'cause however cheap they may be, it somehow keeps me from buying (or saving up for) the ones I've really been meaning to buy.

I am posting this list to remind me of the books I should prioritize in buying:

• Looking for Alaska, John Green
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer
• Ariel, Sylvia Plath (restored ed.)
• I Am the Messenger, Markus Zusak
• All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum
• Theft, Peter Carey
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick
• Moondogs, Alexander Yates
• The Collector, John Fowles
• If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, Robin Black
• The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
• How to Be Alone, Jonathan Franzen
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon
• What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, Malcolm Gladwell
• The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, Benjamin Hale
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, J. R. R. Tolkien
• Self-Portrait Photography, Natalie "Miss Aniela" Dybisz