Rough Groove

Dole’s sweet corn

I was at the grocery shopping for some food stuff that I intended to bring with me during my trip home to Cebu via Masbate when I came upon Dole’s Sweet Corn. I was stumped! I never imagined that steamed/boiled sweet corn can be packaged, vacuum packed and sealed this way. Much to my curiousity, I picked one.

When I reached home, I opened it. I was apprehensive at first about the taste wondering if it will still be delicious since it looked like bruised fruit. However, upon tasting it, it’s still like the usual stuff even if its not freshly cooked!

Now, what will they think of next?

Ronald McDonald House Charities

“Thank you! When you buy a Happy Meal, 50c is donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities.”

Is there something wrong with this poster found in a McDonald fastfood store? Come to think of it, a Happy Meal costs between 65 - 100 pesos (about a little less than $2.50 –> $1.5 - $2.3 to be exact) and a mere 50 centavos ($0.01) is donated to charities? Frankly, I’m not sure what the cost breakdown is but I’m a bit disturbed. Is this how a multinational corporation treat its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs?

CSR has been a byword by corporations for a few years now. The idea is noble: give back to the community or to the people the gains and blessings that big corporations has been reaping through activities and programs that benefit a community. These can be medical outreach programs, cleanups for the environment, educational contributions or giving to charities.

But sometimes, these activities are suspect. Some use it for tax breaks while others use it to deodorize negative publicity. There are also corporations who use it to make people think that when they part with their money to buy the company’s products, they are actually helping contribute to the betterment of a certain charity. But just $0.01? I couldn’t just believe it. I just think that McDonalds can do better than that!

Heroes: End of Vol. 2

After 11 episodes, Season 2, or properly, as the show puts it, Volume 2, this wonderful series has now ended with the assassination of Nathan Petrelli as he was giving a press conference to expose the workings of Primatech and tell the world the reality that there are gifted individuals in their midst. Did his mother planned all this to protect the secret that the founding group, killed one-by-one been by Adam Monroe, has been keeping?

On the other hand, Sylar got his abilities back after injecting himself with the antivirus against a mutated strain of the Ashanti virus that rendered him powerless. Now that he’s capable again, the next season will be more exciting in the aptly called, Vol. 3: Villains.

Lumindol habang nakaupo sa trono!

Whew! I was sitting this noon at my white throne when suddenly the apartment I’m in seemed to sway. Split second and I realized that a tremor just hit Makati! P&%@! I’m all in the buff and I was concerned that when it all comes down (heaven forbid!) I don’t want to be found in a state of undress. I don’t want to be tabloid fodder!

Anyway, this noon’s tremor was really sudden but I do hope that no aftershocks happen.

Overhyped Havaianas

Okay. I own one. Just got it the other day because it was on sale less 20% (at P716 or $17) at All Flip-Flops at the newly opened Greenbelt 5 in Ayala. And I got a few pairs for my mother, my sister and my niece for Christmas. Well, what I can say about it? Its overhyped. Its a successful marketing campaign that is said to rake in P300,000 (unconfirmed but read it in an article about this items) per day. Its so successful that its now very common to see people even in malls wearing flipflops that a few years ago will be frowned upon. Other brands like Crocs, Dupe, etc. are all coming in too to cash in on the boom.

From the feel, comfort and built, there’s not much a big, big difference with the counterfeit Habana which I got from a street vendor in Olongapo last week for only P50 (about a dollar) when my Nike sandal broke. Or even the reliable Spartan which is the tsinelas (slippers) of choice in my childhood years or with those ubiquitous blue Island sandals that was a fad during high school.

Really, its all a marketing hype. A successful one.