Work Productivity and Timing in Ramadan

The workdays for non-Muslims remain the same for almost all the companies in Saudi Arabia. While the Muslims observe their Ramadan by shortening their worktime for at least 2 hours, some notable Muslim, don’t like the idea of shortened workdays, noting that Ramadan is a time when followers of Islam should work harder than ever before.

According to them, Ramadan is not an excuse to be lazy but a time to excel under difficult conditions. Coz strife and hardship strengthens society and builds character.

In fact, some international businesses find it more difficult to conduct business with Islamic countries during Ramadan.

Productivity drops during the month, with both the public and private sector observing shorter working days, and business travellers should expect their plans to be disrupted.

International business transaction seems to be disturbed by the timing of Ramadan. Actually, even during regular months, the Middle East working days overlap with the most available time in international business arena.

In Saudi Arabia alone, week-end falls on Thursday and Friday while most countries consider Saturday and Sunday as their business holidays. So the international business operation in Saudi Arabia limits to 3 days only – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Furthermore, the time difference shortens the period. Take for example if a Saudi company transacts business in the Philippines, which has a five-hour difference in GMT. Philippine business hour usually from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (3:00 PM to 12:00 NOON in Saudi Arabia). Saudi business time starts at 7:30 A.M which is 12:30 P.M. in the Philippines. Hence, business hours everyday for both countries is limited to 4 ½ hours maximum (that is, 4 ½ x 3 days (MTW) = 13.5 HOURS in a week.

So during Ramadan, where offices in Saudi open at 9:30 a.m., the business hour transactions can only be possible in the Philippines from 2:30pm to 5:00 pm.

My Latest DVD Collections

I added the following DVDs to my library, downloaded from the net:



"A Bangkok Love Story" - Thai Gay Movie

Plot:

A loner gunman named Mhek is assigned to kidnap a police informant named It, but Mhek has a change of heart when he is ordered to kill It.

In a gunbattle with his employers, Mhek is wounded, but It grabs Mhek's gun and returns fire. The two men then escape on Mhek's motorcycle.

At Mhek's rooftop hide-out, It tends to Mhek's wound and finds himself attracted to Mhek. While giving Mhek a bath one day, It initiates sexual intercourse with the hitman. Conflicted, Mhek demands that It leave him alone. It returns home to his fiancee, Sai, but is no longer interested in continuing a relationship with her. It spends his days pining over Mhek, and tracks down Mhek's brother, Mhok, and their mother. Mhok is HIV positive, as the result of sexual abuse by his and Mhek's stepfather, and their mother is dying of AIDS.

Mhek's dream is to take his mother and brother away from Bangkok to the mountains of Mae Hong Son Province. But after Mhek's mother witnesses Mhek and It kissing each other, she commits suicide by hanging herself.

It's fiancee, Sai, also witnesses the kissing by Mhek and It, and terminates their marriage plans. Meanwhile, Mhek's former employers are gunning for him. It decides to take matters into his own hands, and goes to Mhek's bosses' hide-out and shoots them both. Mhek, meanwhile, is planning to meet his brother at the railway station to leave Bangkok for good. But before he can board the train, he is apprehended by the police and sent to prison.

Years pass by. Mhok dies of AIDS at a hospice in northern Thailand. It visits Mhek in prison and reveals that he was left blind in the final gunbattle with Mhek's bosses. Eventually, Mhek is released from prison, and It meets him. But before the two men can leave to start their life together, Mhek is gunned down by an assassin. It eventually gets his sight back, and the first thing he does is to look at his mobile phone, which has a picture of Mhek on it that he took many years before.




Ang Lalaki sa Parola - Filipino Gay Movie

t its heart, "Ang Lalake sa Parola" ("The Man in the Lighthouse") is a tale of self-discovery.

It is the story of Mateo, played by up-and-coming hunk Harry Laurel, whose search for his estranged father (Richard Quan) leads him to the town of Lobo, Batangas. Once there, he finds out that his father, who disappeared when Mateo was but five years old, is now working in Dubai.

Mateo decides to wait for his father to return and settles down in Lobo to become the caretaker of its lighthouse. While he is acting in this capacity, he meets Jerome (Justin de Leon), a gay man from the city. The former is inexplicably attracted to the latter like a moth to a flame, despite the fact that he is very much attached – and to a woman at that.

As he falls deeper in love with Jerome, his girlfriend Suzet (Jennifer Lee) struggles for his love and attention. To paraphrase Shakespeare, Mateo is faced with a decision – to come out, or not to come out? That, indeed, is the question.

"Ang Lalaki sa Parola" is sure to delight both gay and straight audiences alike. How so? Yes, homosexuality is one of its major themes, but it is more than a simple "gay interest video." It is a heartwarming tale of two people finding themselves by finding each other – something that everyone can relate to – gay or straight.

According to its director, Jay Alterejos (whom i've known way back in 1998 coz we have a common friend, Bong), "Life is a journey and a continuous search for something. We might be looking for our roots, happiness, or even material fulfillment. At the end of the journey, we realize that the search is all about finding one’s true self, and learning to accept and embrace it."

"Ang Lalaki sa Parola" is Harry Laurel’s film debut. He hails from Legaspi City, Bicol (my hometown) and is the newest member of Viva’s Men of Provoq. Alan Paule, Crispin Pineda, Dexter Doria, Monti Parungao and Sheree also star.

I remember in 2004 when he lost in G. Albay pageant. I was there (among the less than a hundred audience in a big Albay astrodome) watching the search with James Blanco as their special guest, and Harry seemed to be unnoticed. Anyway, he has gone this far good enough and i'm glad he looks more manly than the winner of the G. Albay 2004 search who, i heard, is now a certified "ka-baro".



Formula 17 - Taiwanese Gay Movie


FORMULA 17 puts a lighthearted, humorous spin on gay life in Taiwan, painting an idealized portrait that contains no mention of the difficulties associated with the gay community. Ponderous topics like AIDS, societal pressures, or coming-out issues are absent, and there are no women or straight people--only beautiful young men with hearts more or less made of gold.

This candy-coated depiction comes off as a refreshing celebration of the simple joy of being young, gay, and in love. Tien is a 17-year-old country boy who has just arrived in Taipei to meet an internet friend he has been corresponding with. It soon becomes clear, however, that the prospective man of Tien's dreams--whose online handle is "Beast Man"--is only out for one thing, so Tien flees to a nightclub where his childhood friend, the flamboyant Yu, slings drinks with enthusiasm. Yu takes his naïve friend under his wing, scoffing at Tien's dogged insistence on waiting for love before he loses his virginity, and attempting to educate him in the ways of urban existence.

Tien persists in his virtue, resisting the advances of a hunky plumber hired by Yu and his crew of queens for the purposes of deflowering the boy. Meanwhile, it seems Tien has caught the eye of the local playboy, Bai, whose reputation for loving and leaving is well-established. Tien is likewise drawn to Bai but is justly wary of his past, and the two enact a halting courtship fraught with misunderstanding that stems from Bai's fear of intimacy.

The entirety of the film takes on the structure of a Greek comedy, complete with a chorus--Yu and his friends, who provide humorous commentary on the action--and a deux ex machina that pretty much saves the day. There is never any real doubt as to how this love story will end, but the pleasure of the story lies in the telling.



Adam & Steve - Comedy Gay Movie

In most romantic comedies the lovers meet cute. "Adam & Steve," directed by actor Craig Chester (familiar from his roles in such gay-themed indie films as "Grief" and "Swoon"), adopts a new approach. In this ramshackle if intermittently amusing effort, they meet gross.

And I do mean gross. We first encounter the titular characters via a prologue set in 1987, when Adam (Chester) is a Goth partygoer and Steve (Malcolm Gets) is a glam dancer. Hooking up at a club, the pair attempt to get it on, only to find their foreplay rudely interrupted by a burst of diarrhea prompted by the baby laxatives that have been mixed into their cocaine.

Whew! Cut to years later, when the more conservatively dressed figures, unaware of their previous encounter, meet again. Adam is now a bird watcher tour guide and recovering addict who hasn't been in a relationship for months, while Steve is a promiscuous psychiatrist. This time they do meet cute, of sorts, when Adam accidentally stabs his dog (not fatally).

The resulting courtship and inevitable complications form the crux of the story, which quickly settles into a familiar mode. Adding some comic spice to the proceedings are Parker Posey as a formerly obese stand-up comic who can't seem to remove the fat jokes from her act and former "Saturday Night Live" star Chris Kattan as Steve's straight, horndog roommate. Also on hand are Julie Hagerty, as Adam's accident-prone mother, and Sally Kirkland, no doubt wondering why Oscar nominations seem to count for so little in one's ensuing career.

The performers struggle to wrestle laughs from the crude material, and to their credit actually succeed to some degree. But ultimately "Adam & Steve" mainly goes to prove that indie gay romantic comedies can be just as witless, vulgar and over the top as their straight, major studio counterparts.


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Rambo is Back!

Rambo returns on the screens with the fourth sequel The movie has been getting mixed reviews but most critics predict high box-office receipts. Sly is turning 62 this year but he was is a decent shape for this movie, as well as in the Rocky's fourth sequel a year ago.

In new picture, person is beheaded, dismembered the bodies, break the throat with naked hands and shed fountains of blood naturally. So much of violence was not shown in any of the previous episodes of the saga. We shall recall, that films "First blood", "Rambo: First blood. "Part 2" & "Rambo 3" together collected 614 million dollars worldwide. And in America, arguments are on what censor ratings to give to the new film "Rambo IV" made by Sylvester Stallone. Some experts are consider that the next "Rambo" deserves rating NC-17 and then film can be correlated, for example, with "Caligula" of Tinto Brass. Person, less than 17 years of age, is not allowed for viewing such movies. This is the strict rating which is also assigned to pornographic movies. As a matter of fact, NC-17 is not the exclusive attribute of sexual films. Among the movies, many horror genre films and even "Kill Bill" of director Quentin Tarantino, which was released in original version on DVD, had received such certification. However, the creators of Rambo series of films were never concerned that their creation can earn rating NC-17, instead of usual certificate R (where children of u to 17 years should be accompanied by adults). Besides, with the release of film, one more scandal of religious character can crop up. As is known, central character of the saga - veteran John Rambo - always personified ideologically correct aspirations of American people. Firstly, Rambo having returned home after the Vietnam War, launched guerrilla attacks to highlight the attention of society towards the problems of veterans. Then, Rambo fought "Bad Russians", who attacked "Freedom-loving people" of Afghanistan.

To tell the truth, now the situation in this Eastern country has changed by cardinal manner and the film, where the American is at war with Mujahedeens rebels, looks already as a certain ideological diversion for audience in USA. Now, the question will be the protection of Christian missionaries, who were taken prisoners in Burma. In this connection, even the name of the movie at one time sounded as: "Rambo. Sacred war" and it already smelt slightly of a certain crusade against the faithless. In the last "Rocky", Sylvester Stallone specially did not try to be original and now, probably, he remains true to self. Nevertheless, in some details, "Rambo -IV" differs from the previous Rambo movie series.

For the first time, friend and instructor of the protagonist - Colonel Samuel Trautman, whom Rambo rescued from the captivity of Soviet Soldiers in Afghanistan in Rambo –III, is missing in the latest movie. Actor Richard Krenn, who portrayed the role of friend and instructor, died of cancer. James Brolin ("Traffic") was invited to play the character but Sylvester Stallone decided: "Trautman died the same day on which my friend Richard Krenn died" and thus, the character was deleted from the script. For the first time, music for the film "Rambo" was not scored by Jerry Goldsmith, who also died of cancer.

Well and at last, the most important thing:

Sylvester Stallone never directed the previous Rambo movies. Some time, raging imagination of SLY gave birth to witty names for the sequel. Apart from "Sacred war", "End of the world", "Bloody river" & "To hell and back" and "In the Serpent’s Eye" have been considered. Finally, the set of ideas infuriated the admirers of the film and they pleaded on Internet to leave to film the simple and understandable name - "Rambo". Stallone reluctantly agreed and explained the audience that the "Rambo – IV" is not the last part of epic Rambo series. It is already in circulation that, SLY has already signed agreement for the fifth film.

Some great stuff to consider for the fifth Rambo film courtesy of freakingnews:

iPod: Past, Present, Future

The first iPod was unveiled to the world in October 2001. They used 5 Gbyte hard drives the size of a coin. The wheel of controls on the front was revolutionary at the time, and remains integral to the design of all iPods to the present day. Critics did not universally welcome the device. In particular, the $400 price tag was thought extortionate.



Although the classic was updated and improved, it was not until 2004 that a major new product was added to the iPod range. The Mini launched with a 4 Gbyte capacity, 8 hours of batter life and a $250 price tag. A 6 Gbyte version was added early in 2005 which had more than double the battery life.




By 2005, the iPod had become such a cultural icon it was being used as a marketing platform. U2 and Apple created a black and red version to coincide with the launch of the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.




Apple supreme Steve Jobs had always dismissed the flash memory stick form of music player, and the iPod’s success had certainly suggested he was right. But in January 2005, he made a U-turn on that philosophy with the launch of the Shuffle. The $99 512 Kbyte memory stick was directly aimed at undercutting the budget Flash device market.





Introduced in September 2005, the tiny Nano replaced the Ipod Mini. It was available in either 2 or 4 Gybte versions and came in a simple choice of black or white. A new scroll wheel was introduced that worked with a light stroke of the finger.




Only a month later, Apple launched the Video Ipod. The unit looked like an overgrown Nano, but packed a massive 60 Gbytes of storage in the highest capacity version. Software on the Nanos and Video Ipods was also becoming more sophisticated with the inclusion of calendar and address book viewers.




The smallest iPod ever created was introduced in September 2006. The Shuffle Mini is little larger than a book of matches, and features the scroll wheel on the front, and a clip on the back so that it could be attached to clothing. It became an instant hit with gym junkies who bought it in several colours to match their lycra fitness outfits.




In the first week of September this year, a complete overhaul of the iPod range was announced. The Nano is shorter and wider than its predecessor, but the same thickness. It is available in five colours and two capacities – 4 or 8 Gbytes.




The original high capacity iPod has been renamed the Classic. The top of the range 160 Gbyte version sells for around $350 in the US. New 2 Gbyte Shuffles have also been released that retail for around $80.





The most dramatic leap forward in the new family is the iPod Touch. The scroll wheel has disappeared – at least in a physical form – but you can still operate the device using a virtual wheel that appears on the screen. A Gbyte16 version will set you back over $400.

The Rape of Lang-Widg

Written language without proper grammar and spelling is like a sketch without colors. Unfortunately, the World Wide Web has affected the English language so that the celebrated Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez called for the scrapping of spelling.

“Spelling, that terror visited on human beings from the cradle onwards, should be pensioned off,” once Garcia Marquez told a meeting.

The statement, no doubt, is provocative. But there must be some reason behind this provocation: What made Garcia Marquez call for the ‘pensioning off’ of spelling?
This stems from the modern trend where literature has been reduced to the level of day-to-day language. The popularity of the Internet has swept aside all norms and forms of spelling. Aiding and abetting this downward spiral is the mobile phone Short Messaging Service. Language is telegraphic, and spellings shortened to mere alphabets. Thus ‘you’ has become ‘u’, ‘r’ is enough for ‘are’, and in ‘c’ you can ‘see’.



Rules of grammar have been thrown out of the ‘Windows’ (I mean the operating system). Communication is instant. People are now guided more by phonetics than the lexicon. Thus ‘accommodate’ is now ‘akomodate’, ‘accident’ is ‘axident’ and because is ‘coz.’

These are the pangs of the learning process which every teacher and student has to bear. I was surprised when I read Garcia Marquez’s statement. He is a leading light of literature. If he upholds the rape of language, then who is going to stop it? He should be the one fighting to keep language and literature pure.

No doubt, there are those who justify this rape of language in the name of popularity. The global village has a new dialect which is easier for the ‘netizens’ to understand and faster to communicate. E-mails and text messaging are different from traditional letter writing, argue those who favor the style of electronic discourse. But does traditional letter writing exist any more? Space constraint restricts me from bemoaning the death of letter writing.

Communication is different from correspondence. Those sharing e-mails or sending text messages fail to realize that they are not communicating but corresponding. I think this is the basis of the problem.

What is a World Without Filipinos?

Let's imagine the entire world waking up one day to discover Filipinos have disappeared. I'm talking here about the six or seven million Filipinos currently working overseas in countries with names that run the entire alphabet, from Angola to Zimbabwe .

Let's not worry first about why or how the Filipinos disappeared; in fact, it becomes academic whether it's a day or a week. Just imagine a world without Filipinos.

Think of the homes that are dependent on Filipino housekeepers, nannies, caregivers. The homes would be chaotic as kids cry out for their nannies. Arabs, Hong Kong and Singaporean and Taiwanese yuppie couples are now forced to stay home and realizing, goodness, there's so much of housework that has to be handled and how demanding their kids can be and hey, what's this strange language they're babbling in?

It's not just the children that are affected. The problems are even more serious with the elderly in homes and nursing institutions, because Filipino caregivers have provided so much of the critical services they need. When temporary contractual workers are brought in from among non-Filipinos, the elderly complain. They want their Filipino caregivers back because they have that special touch, that extra patience and willingness to stay an hour more when needed.

Hospitals, too, are adversely affected because so many of the disappeared Filipinos were physicians, nurses and other health professionals. All appointments for rehabilitation services, from children with speech problems to stroke survivors, are indefinitely postponed because of disappeared speech pathologists, occupational and physical therapists!

Eventually, the hospital administrators announce they won't take in any more patients unless the conditions are serious. Patients are told to follow their doctors' written orders and, if they have questions, to seek advice on several Internet medical sites. But within two days, the hospitals are swamped with new complaints. The web sites aren't working because of missing Filipino web designers and web site managers.

Service establishments throughout the world -- restaurants, supermarkets, hotels -- all close down because of their missing key staff involved in management and maintenance. In Asia , hotels complain about the missing bands and singers.

In the United States , many commercial establishments have to close shop, not just because of the missing Filipino sales staff but because their suppliers have all been sending in notices about delays in shipments. Yup, the shipping industry has gone into a crisis because of missing Filipino seafarers.

The shipping firms begin to look into the emergency recruitment of non-Filipino seafarers but then declare another crisis: They're running out of supplies of oil for their ships because the Middle Eastern countries have come to a standstill without their Filipino workers, including quite a few working for the oil industry.

Frantic presidents and prime ministers call on the United Nations to convene a special session of the Security Council but Ban Ki-Moon says he can't do that because the UN system itself is on the edge, with so many of their secretarial and clerical staff, as well as translators, having disappeared from their main headquarters in New York and Geneva, as well as their regional offices throughout the world. Quite a number of UN services, especially refugee camps, are also in danger of closing down because of missing Filipino health professionals and teachers.

Ban Ki-Moon also explains that he can't convene UN meetings because the airports in New York , Washington and other major US cities have been shut down. The reason? The disappeared Filipinos included quite a few airport security personnel who used to check passengers and their baggage.

Ban Ki-Moon calls on the World Bank and international private foundations for assistance but they're crippled, too, because their Filipino consultants and staff are nowhere to be seen. Funds can't be remitted and projects can't run without the technical assistance provided for by Filipinos.

An exasperated Ban Ki-Moon calls on religious leaders to pray, and pray hard. But when he phones the Pope, he is told the Catholic Church, too, is in crisis because the disappeared include the many Filipino priests and nuns in Rome who help run day-to-day activities, as well as missionaries in the front lines of remote posts, often the only ones providing basic social services.

As they converse, Ban Ki-Moon and the Pope agree on one thing: the world has become a quieter place since the Filipinos disappeared. It isn't just the silencing of work and office equipment formerly handled by Filipinos; no, it seems there's much less laughter now that the Filipinos aren't around, both the laughter of the Filipinos and those they served.

Should Social Networking be banned?

The social networking phenomenon, which allows users to create profiles containing photos and lists of personal interests, exchange private or public messages, and join groups of friends like Friendster and Facebook, is the second most popular destination on the web. Nevertheless, it represents dangerous territory at work - a messy fingerprint that blurs the line between work and play, and one that could leave an indelible mark on your career.

There's also a good reason why firms are increasingly looking to ban Friendster and Facebook in the office, just like our Saudi office - quite simply, there are enough distractions in the workplace.

A recent US study found that the average 18 to 34 year-old spends 45 minutes of each work day conducting personal business on the internet. For many addicts, however, 45 minutes just isn't enough - and their work is bound to suffer as a result. After all, why schedule a meeting or pick up the phone, when it's more interesting to sit there ‘poking' an old acquaintance you haven't bothered to keep in touch with for the last 30 years?

On the lighter side, these sites are great alternatives to stay in contact with friends and family back home, without the expensive phone calls, of which we are all casualties of. Post pictures, have conversations with friends - past and present - and for those with slightly voyeuristic tendencies, check out what your mates got up to at the weekend.

Staying in contact with friends is actually easier than using regular emails. Finding long-lost friends is an added benefit of the site. It can be quite therapeutic to see which of your school friends are doing now.

However, we can’t blame our boss if they choose to block these sites in our work places. After all, they are paying our services to their advantage, and spending more time on the net for personal use is against their policy.

Laro... (Pantasya Episode 3)

"Laro," about four basketball players (Nicco Taverna, Dexter Castro, Brent Lee and Adam Torralba) who are taking a shower in the locker room after an intense game, and a shy guy (Kyle Zenoria) who takes a peek at them and later joins in the fun.



Narration..

Basketball ang nagpakilala sa totoong ako…
Bata pa ako, mahilig na ako sa basketball…
Kabisado ko ang paraan ng paglalaro… mga regulasyon na dapat sundin..

Ang basketball ay laro ng team, pero sa maniwala kayo sa hindi, kahit minsan, hindi ako naging miyembro ng team o maglaro saan mang tournament.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit…
Siguro, depende rin yon kung paano mo titingnan ang laro..
Para sa akin, ang basketball ay parang damdamin ng tao..parang laro ng buhay…

Sa court, bawat kilos at galaw mo pinipintasan.
Pagnaka-score ka, okey ka.
Pag hindi mo nai-shoot ang bola, badshot ka…
Suwerte mo pag nakapuntos ka ng free throw.. malas mo pag na-foul ka.

Ang pinakamahirap ay yong kapag ang bola ay nara ere…yong ilang segundong nakalutang siya sa ere… saan ba siya babagsak? Sa loob ba o sa labas ng court?

Hindi ko alam, pero ganoon ang nararamdaman ko sa sarili ko…
Para akong bolang nakalutang sa ere… may mga tanong na dapat masagot….

Saan ba ako babagsak?? Sa loob ba o sa labas ng court? Miyembro ba ako ng team? o solo along maglalaro?



Pag wala akong pasok sa eskwela, lagi akong nanonood ng basketball sa subdivision namin.
Pinagmamasdan ko ang mga players….Pinagaaralan ko sila kung paano magkantiyawan…biruan…pati pagkain.

Noon Friday, Inter-barangay tournament, nag desisyon ako…
May gusto akong patunayan sa sarili ko….
Kaya sumali ako sa kanila..
Yon bang para akong miyembro ng team… di na importante kung sa loob o labas ng court..
Ang importante, nakasama ko sila…


(Shower scene from "Laro")
Photos taken from puri_titiwang yahoogroup

Marami sila, pero parang iisa pa rin sila…. Iisang ginagawa nila…sabay-sabay o halos sabay-sabay!

Sinabi ko sa sarili ko..okey lang pala kung maglaro ng basketball ng solo…parang one-man team..

Hindi ko alam pero sa buhay ng tao, darating at darating ang panahon na malalaman mo ang katotohanan tungkol sa sarili mo…. Nasa sa iyo na yon kung tatanggapin mo o hindi…
Ito ang oras ng pagbagsak ng bola mula sa ere…
Malalaman mo kung sino ka talaga…
Mahirap aminin sa sarili pero ganoon pala iyon…Ginawa mo na, pero wala kang choice kundi aminin..

Kung ganoon ka talaga, walang saysay ang pag-dedeny….

Siguro naman, hinid ikakalat ng player na iyon ang nangyari sa amin.. dahil kung tutuusin, siya ang naging instrumento para ilabas ang totoong pagkatao ko…
Sigawan mo man ako ng foul tungkol sa pagsisiwalat kong ito…. Pero yon ang totoo…
Ang pagkakaiba lang namin siguro, miyembro siya ng team… ako hindi….

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