Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate, Lara Esquivel, Anchor Books

Love against all odds is a nice story to read. The story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one and Esquivel’s Tita and Pedro is the other.

Tita is the youngest of the three daughters of Elena. Family tradition dictates that Tita, as the youngest daughter, is not allowed to marry and should care for her mother until the latter’s death. Because of this, Pedro was forced to marry Rosaura so as to be close with her as much as possible. The result is a tense atmosphere inside their home that is expressed by the author in magical narrative and exaggerations.

The book is presented like a cookbook that contains recipes, romances, and home remedies. The story is unfolded along with the preparation of the food in the recipe was cooked. The book has 12 chapters that correspond to the months of the year. Some of the recipes in this book are Christmas rolls, Northern style chorizo, Champandongo, and Chiles in walnut sauce. Food lovers and enthusiasts will definitely love this book.

Like Water for Chocolate is the story about love and its complexities. Loneliness and longing due to love abounds this novel as well as the triumph of true love as the lovers fought all the odds that blocked their way.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Motorola W156

The Motorola W156 is the least of all my favorites when it comes to cellular phones that I ever set my hands upon. Overall, Motorola W156 is not that bad. However, I have some issues regarding this phone.

Specifications

Motorola WI56 is a bar type 2G phone with a black and white screen. It is designed to be durable, yet not bulky enough to create discomfort and unease inside your pocket. W156 is simple to use and do not have other add on features like am/fm radio or mp3 player. It also features Motorola’s CrystalTalk technology that helps deliver crystal clear voice quality in noisy environments.

Motorola W156 also brags a long battery life. That brag is not without basis since the phone can last for days if left idle. It also last long under continued use during texting and calling.
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Problems

My main problem with WI56 is its keypad, which is not embossed. The keypad set-up makes it hard for me to type my text messages. Oftentimes I hit the wrong key when typing my messages.

Another problem that I have is when I am typing my text messages, I have a hard time shifting from small letters to capital letters and vice versa. Unlike the phones from Nokia, you can only change a letter from small letter to capital letter (or vice versa) if it is highlighted by the cursor.

The Verdict

Motorola W156 is one of the most affordable Motorola phone in the market. However, I do not recommend this phone. It is better that you buy other phones from Motorola.
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Sunday, December 6, 2009

Cherry Mobile D30

Cherry Mobile Phone is a new company that offers alternative models of mobile phones that are more affordable as compared to the ones that are being offered by Nokia, Siemens, Samsung, and other big mobile phone companies.

Cherry Mobile D30

As a gift for my father’s 50th birthday, we decided to look for an affordable 3G phone that has a camera and an mp3 player. We stressed on a phone that can play music because we know that our father likes to listen music (especially the ones that were so popular during his prime). What we found is Cherry Mobile D30.

Specifications and Accessories

Cherry Mobile D30 is a dual-SIM phone. This means that you can insert two SIM cards simultaneously in this phone. Dual-SIM mobile phones are ideal for entrepreneurs who have clients that are subscribers of different cellular networks. This is also good for text addicts who have textmates on either Smart or Globe cellular networks. The dual-SIM capability of D30 will let you keep one cellular phone for two networks, thus reducing the number of cellphone that you have to carry.

Cherry Mobile D30 also has one camera located on the back of the phone.

For music lovers, D30 can also be used as mp3 player. It has a slot for a microSD card, making the number of music files playable in your phone as virtually limitless. The loudspeaker is loud enough that it could be heard even if the environment is noisy. Aside from the mp3 player, Cherry Mobile D30 can also be used as a radio since it has the capability of receiving FM signals. Because of this, you can now listen to your favorite FM radio stations.

Softwares

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Available softwares in the phone are the regular functionalities that could be found on other phones like alarms, a software for converting length and weight units, currency converter, and an E-book Reader. D30 also have a software for calculating your Body Mass Index and monitor your menstrual cycle.

Connectivity

Cherry Mobile D30 has a port that could be used both for charging the phone and for connecting it to your laptop or desktop. Once the phone is connected to the computer, via USB, it will act as a regular mass storage device and will allow you to access the files stored in the microSD card. Connecting the phone via USB is an easy way of transferring picture and music files from the phone to the computer and vice versa.

However, this phone is only limited to the USB connection because it is not capable of connecting to the computer and other phone via Bluetooth or Infrared signal. This is a big turndown for this phone because you are prevented from receiving and sending large numbers of music, picture, and video files with other phones. Bluetooth is a necessity for 3G phones nowadays and the phone that does not have Bluetooth is not trendy.

The Price

We bought Cherry Mobile D30 at a shop in SM Megamall at a price of 3,500 pesos. The price is lower, as compared with other phones having the same functionalities from other mobile phone manufacturers.

The Verdict

The great advantage of Cherry Mobile D30 is its being a dual-SIM phone at an affordable price. We could use one of the SIM slots for a retailer SIM and we will start a cellphone reloading business. Dual-SIM phones, like Cherry Mobile D30, are recommended for anyone who want to start a reloading business.

The mp3 player, FM radio, and camera are good add-on for the phone. The camera, however, is not as powerful as those that could be found on more expensive phones. The obvious disadvantage of this phone is that it does not have a Bluetooth. However, other than the lack of Bluetooth, Cherry Mobile D30 is a nice phone and is recommended for those who are looking for an affordable dual-SIM phone.

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Read my review of Cherry Mobile 1202i.

Visit my personal blog, Before the Eastern Sunset, and read about my new article: Bad Broadband Installers

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The Eyes of the Dragon



The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
Eyes of the Dragon, Stephen King

How would you defeat an ancient evil that keep on coming back to bring doom to a kingdom? This is the question that struck me when reading Stephen King’s “Eyes of the Dragon.”

So far, this is my most favorite of all the works of the novelist who is known to be the master of terror. What I like about this novel is its element of fantasy which is like the books of the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In this novel, Stephen King acts like an ancient bard imparting an ancient history of a kingdom that was terrorized by an ancient devil. The incorporation of the devil in this novel is common in the works of Stephen King and it relates the book with other novels of Stephen King.

The novel is about the struggles of the two princes against the court magician who want to destroy the kingdom of Delain. When their father was murdered, the court magician Flaggs imprisoned the elder prince (Peter) and installed the younger prince (Thomas) as his puppet king. In his incarceration, Peter discovered that Flaggs was an ancient person who keeps on returning in the kingdom under different guises to create chaos.

Will Flaggs be victorious in installing a reign of terror in Delain? Or will Peter reveal the truth and return peace in his kingdom.

Stephen King’s excellent writing is evident in this novel, though quite divergent from his usual works of horror. The horror in this novel is minimum but the suspense is great. This book is recommended for those who want to read a nice novel of kingdoms, princes, and magicians.

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Visit my personal blog, Before the Eastern Sunset, and read about my complaints on Cdr-King’s “No Return Policy