World War Z (2013)

Movie gross notwithstanding Z trumped S. S of course refers to Man of Steel which came a week before World War Z. 

In writing this I had second thoughts about comparing a superhero story and a zombie apocalypse story.  Should I?   I couldn't help it in the end after feeling pleasantly surprised at how World War Z turned up.  The story didn't leave an empty feeling in the mouth, walking corpse or whatever notwithstanding.

Magic 76

According to survey there is a magic 76 percent who have found their calling. 

These employees as the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development (CORD) defines it see, “work as an endeavor one engages in for the satisfaction of doing it, a lofty, nonmaterial goal or a sense of self, and feels highly energizing and fulfilling.”  

Where's the Water Gonna Go?

Saved by Jobless Growth

Since 2010 the Department of Budget and Management has lost: An Assistant Secretary to resignation. An operations director to the Office of the President.

Another Two operations director to resignation.  They are now consultants somewhere else. Another operations director to, I am not sure, optional retirement or resignation.  

Is there a really difference, either way they are no longer with the Department.

Tagging makes Clark Kent obsolete

“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.” Marianne Williamson

The most famous underwear in comics is that of Superman.  There are two reasons. One, because it is red and two, for some reason he does not wear it under the blue tights.

When I saw the publicity shots of Man of Steel I thought finally the franchise found people with good taste.  Then I finally learned where the underwear came from.  In a featurette Man of Steel director Zack Snyder states the inspiration for the famous red underwear were those of Victorian era strongmen.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

If there is any doubt in your mind that the White House can be taken, then that doubt is all you need to avoid the film Olympus Has Fallen.

I had my doubts and it made the first few scenes hard to swallow and predictable.  In real life the White House would be hard to capture, to consider it possible still limits you to a few possibilities.  And to watch in unfold on film makes those choices even fewer and apparent snuffing out the excitement. 

Inspire, Motivate, what?

Money can motivate.  Exemplary employees will stand out and get rewarded for the fruits of their hard labor, sure that’s possible. Nurture team spirit?  Sure, everything is always possible.

However it is wishful thinking or maybe delusional is the word to think that money alone especially money with extra added baggage an inverted pyramid would be the magic bullet in solving employee motivation. 

After 7 Months...

217 days or 31 weeks or 7 months and 5 days since Deputy Presidential Spokesman Abegaile Valte announced a story about 3 bonuses for government employees coming December 2012: the 13th month pay, the Productivity Enhancement Incentive, and the Performance Based Bonus.

How much can Employees see?

Employees can always see each other and judge the Performance Based Incentive System from there.  Are their co-employees as productive as the money and rating implies or are they just better at kissing ass?

It still begs the question how much of the other bureau’s performance can they see and accept.

Statistically the Slogan is false

Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.

The line puts in simplistic terms the state of the nation.  Gloria was evil.  There was poverty all around.  If she via her anointed will lose control of the Presidency in that 2010 election then candidate Aquino will clean up government.  Once the government is clean and is following the straight path (daang matuwid) prosperity should follow.

Man of Steel (2013)

Man of Steel the movie has resurrected that perfect man from the planet Krypton.

Actually reborn is more apt description instead of resurrection as the franchise is trying to be reborn into something other than a continuation of a saga.  It went to such great lengths that what the older generation has referred to as the red briefs over pants is gone.  Gone also is the iconic John Williams intro that made movie goers feel they were flying up to the sky.

Man of Steel will make it on its own for this generation or it does not, and the first few days in the box office are looking good.

It's a Calling

76 percent say it’s a Calling.

The outlook on work serves no purpose especially if lumped together.  How we see work is a personal choice; to each his own as they say.

The trend shows the young are not buying and the old in this Department if that is their honest feeling are figuratively dying out anyway.

The statement serves no purpose, except to convince the people to shut up.   Who dares go against the 76 percent of co-employees they do not see. 

Do you see the 76 percent anywhere around you?  Look to your left, right, in front; how many do you see?

Floods and Traffic Lights

There are colors in the news bulletins today that I only heard of now so I had to look it up just so I don't mistake Code Red for Signal No. 3.  

One of the sources I came upon was a Twitter post by the Official Gazette of the Philippines.  The color codes refer to floods not storms, and the used colors are the same as that of a traffic light: red, yellow, and green. Red means Evacuate.

Avengers (2012)

I have been watching Carmine Gallo for a while, always wondering if I can apply his lectures to a class report someday. Actually I was more hoping that I will cease to be the kind of person who Jerry Seinfeld describes as picking the casket instead of the person delivering the eulogy. 

Carmine was a former reporter and anchor on CNN and CBS; he now consults for big corporations advising them on effective communications. Among his lectures is a message map wherein there is one message supported by three supporting messages.

Now how does this relate to the Avengers?  That answer is simplicity.  

I have been thinking about the recent blockbuster a lot.  It made $1.4 billion dollars as of June 30 according to imdb.com and with revenues like that everything’s good right?

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

First of all nobody shot at anyone at the cinemas so safe to say the only copy cat the Philippines is going to have are Pirates.

After seven years of waiting for every few years for a new sequel to come in the trilogy is finally complete. 

Chronicle (2012)

With Avengers and Batman still months off, I was honestly dumfounded looking at the Now Showing movie posters in Gateway.  I didn’t want to go home but I wasn’t sure what to watch.

The 4th installment of Underworld first caught my eye, and I would have watched it too since it had a hot lead star. Eventually I caved in to my uneasiness, with the narrative of the franchise went backwards before going forward I felt was not a good sign this 4th installment will be a good one.

Thor (2011)

Claws. Sharp ,three bladed, indestructible. Back then in high school it seemed most of my peers wanted, pretended, or wondered if a real life human being can ever have one. Why? Because Wolverine was a star.

I always thought he was cool but I never joined the bandwagon. Thor was the one for me. His firepower, the chivalric-like culture in the stories, and all the meaning that comes with being called a god drove me to the Asgardian rather than the cigar smoking mutant.

The Other Woman (2009)

 

 

I’ve always thought a pretty face is as a plus in any movie.  But often if they can’t act it makes me think I’d  would have had a simpler time just googling for images.  Fortunately there are those who can act and Natalie Portman is among them.

Before winning an Oscar as ballerina in Black Swan, this particular pretty face was in a small film called The Other Woman.  Adopted from a book called Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, the movie as its title implies, is a story is about the woman outside of the marriage, or to be more accurate, the woman of the second marriage. 

via GIPHY

Constitution and By-Laws of the Budget Union for the Declaration of Genuine Employees' Thrusts (B.U.D.G.E.T.)

PREAMBLE

            We, the employees of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Procurement Service (PS), in order to promote our moral, social and economic well-being, protect and uphold our individual and collective rights, promote our common welfare and interests, foster morale, efficiency, integrity and above all, honesty in public service, as well as foster relationship among ourselves, do hereby ordain and promulgate this Constitution and By-Laws.

Priestly VFA?

“Fact-finding body

In this country, Rosales said, complaints against priests who commit sexual abuse may be raised before bishops. The subject priest would be made to answer the allegations before a fact-finding body.

If found meritorious, the case would be elevated to the Vatican, where it would be decided whether the priest should be defrocked, Rosales said.”