An "Iron Man" Article I Wrote

Here's another "test" article I wrote for a job poster from whom I never heard again... Just in case...

Iron Man’s Ammunition

Many proclaim Iron Man (Hollywood Movie) as a superhero film finally done right. Released on May 2,n 2008, it made a killing in its opening weekend grossing more than 98 million dollars and ranking third among the highest-earning opening weekends of 2008. Giving a less comic page-derived feel than the usual underdog-turned-mutant offerings under this category, the film veered away from dark drama or cartoony comedy to create a crowd-pleasing mélange of action-packed scenes, serious themes and comic deliveries. There are certainly many factors that contributed to the movie’s massive success. From the casting and script to the effects and gadgetry, Iron Man (Hollywood Movie) is armed with many winning elements.

Dynamite Lead

Robert Downey, Jr. brings maturity and a wonderful balance of gravity and lightness into the character of Tony Stark. Given to an actor who’s not ripe for it, the role would not have been portrayed with as much charisma and pizzazz. Downey was able to turn Iron Man into a multi-dimensional and endearing character. He is backed in Iron Man (Hollywood Movie) by a stellar cast including Gwyneth Paltrow as the plucky Pepper Potts, Jeff Bridges as the villainous Obadiah Stane and Terrence Howard as the indefatigably reasonable Lt. Col James “Rhodey” Rhodes.

Spectacular Effects

The director Jon Favreau wanted the movie to be believable. It was important to him to make transitions between the computerized and the practical to be as subtle as possible. He found the team to make this possible in Industrial Light &Magic. ILM was also responsible for the marvelous visual effects in movies like “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and “Transformers”. The story of Iron Man (Hollywood Movie) is set in the current. However, some very advanced technologies factored in the plot, hence the need to make the movie as realistic as it could be even with the infusion of futuristic components. ILM remained true to form and even garnered a nomination in this category at the Academy Awards.

Stunning Script

Iron Man (Hollywood Movie) is filled with witty quips and clever quotes. Coupled with the masterful timing and delivery of the actors, the dialogues were extremely enjoyable. The plot itself is very much derivative. After all, it was originally penned decades ago, albeit the effort to make it more relevant in the screenplay. It’s still about the playboy genius millionaire who escapes death and builds an iron suit. However, with the right lines and exchanges, the movie’s script was able to achieve novelty.

Smashing Music

The official soundtrack of the movie is one of the coolest ever put together. Spearheading the list is Black Sabbath’s Iron Man. There are also tracks from AC/DC, Audioslave, Ghostface Killah, etc. Overall music is by Ramin Djawadi, a true-blue Iron Man fanatic and heavy metal buff. He and Favreau agreed that there would be a lot of crushing percussions and distorted guitars.

General reception for Iron Man (Hollywood Movie) has been enthusiastic. It even earned Saturn Awards for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Science Fiction Film. It received nominations from a wide range of award giving bodies, from the American Film Institute to the Kids’ Choice Awards.

Just in Case It WAS a Scam

I think I may have been scammed into writing these articles. I'll delete these if I get paid, but I'm not holding my breath.

Task 1: OFWs Channel José Rizal

José Rizal led such an extraordinary life both as a private and as a public figure that it’s quite hard to think of ordinary people comparing to him. He was a certified genius. He had a brilliant mind and possessed many skills. He excelled in both the sciences and the arts. He had tremendous courage, which showed itself distinctly during that very special time in history. Indubitably not a paragon, he had his faults, but his virtues were clearly emphasized both in his life and in his death. José Rizal was a man of singular character, but he remains to be such an inspiration that his noble traits still echo in many of our modern day heroes. Considering this, for instance, we can identify the parallelisms between his life and that of an OFW’s.

Leaving Country and Family to Better Serve Them

José Rizal first went abroad to further his education in 1882. He knew that if he bettered himself, he could be much more useful in service to his own people. A few years later, he also completed his eye specialization so he could operate on his own mother. Like the OFWs of today, he withstood loneliness and the absence of most things he held dear, knowing that a sacrifice in that respect was necessary. Where José Rizal was able to contribute greatly to the Reformation Movement and acquire skills that enabled him to help his countrymen, OFWs give financial support to the nation, greatly influencing its economy for the better, as well as provide a much more comfortable life for their families.

Loyalty to the Philippines

He was clearly besotted by the charm and beauty of many of the European cities he stayed in and visited, but José Rizal remained true to his country. No matter the exquisite loveliness of the literal and figurative flowers of Heidelberg, the Philippines kept its place in José Rizal’s heart. Our OFWs, on the other hand, are able to experience and enjoy the better conditions and higher standard of living in the first world, but they continue to long for home.

Giving Glory to the Philippines

Like José Rizal, our OFWs impress other nationalities with their skills and hard work. Rizal was without a doubt an impressive man. Every time he manifested excellence, the glory bestowed on him is reflected upon his country. The same is true for our OFWs. Many of them coming from a place of hardship and poverty, the OFWs know how to work hard and well. They acknowledge better than people from more affluent nations the blessing of employment. This is why their employers appreciate them. José Rizal was also driven by the needs of his country and with this higher purpose, he performed better than his contemporaries.

Task 2: Getting to Know José Rizal

Today’s youth are burdened with so many newfangled contraptions that their attentions tend to lean more toward high tech materialistic pursuits. It is true that they are distracted. Everything comes so much more easily nowadays that the values have been modified. What was relevant 20 or 40 years ago may not have as much bearing on their lives as it did with their parents and grandparents. For many young people, it is mostly about the present and the future. You wonder if they look back and bother to know about the past. José Rizal is definitely part of the past, but he made such a mark in national history that he should be part of the present and the future as well.

Do Kids Today Still Know José Rizal?

The Department of Education is making sure that today’s pupils still learn about José Rizal. The curriculum dictates it. José Rizal is discussed in Social Studies, Sibika or whatever the current terminology for the subject is. Philippine history classes must mention him. Many universities still require Rizal classes as a general elective, such as Philippine Institutions 100 in the University of the Philippines. The question is how in-depth the knowledge is about this fascinating historical figure. Do kids today still have the lines of “Mi último adios” memorized? How do they feel about Rizal? Is he becoming more and more like a character in a story or does he remain real? Are they in awe of José Rizal? There was a time in Philippine education when Rizal was presented almost as a god. Most kids today would probably find an iPhone more impressive than a person from the distant past, no matter how wonderful.

Would They Think He Was Cool If They Got to Know Him?

José Rizal was extraordinary in every way. He was a man of many facets. His life was spent campaigning for change and his death sparked a revolution. The man was responsible for the course Philippine history took. Other figures contributed, but he was the most dominant character during that time. He truly deserves the honor of being the national hero. José Rizal was a fascinating man. He was a scholar, an artist and an athlete. His brilliance wasn’t dorky. It was his intellect that produced those novels of hard realism and those poems of marvelous romanticism. He was attractive to the ladies and he clearly wasn’t immune to their charms. He was popular and at ease at social gatherings. He evidently had plenty of charisma.

What Would It Take to Get to Know José Rizal Better?

The man must be presented as the interesting character that he is. More than the typical history lesson, discussions should also give due attention to his literature. The writings of José Rizal are very revealing. His poems are very moving and his novels very reflective of his philosophies. To reach the current generation, he must also be presented to the youth in the media and technology familiar to them.

Paid Post Scams

I recently signed up with two paid blogging programs and... I'm not so sure it was a good idea. I'm talking about Blogadvertisingstore (formerly PayingPost, I believe) and the other one was Blogs4reviews. They had the exact same layout, the exact same process of application... To be eligible to take opps, one of the requirements was to install a code within the head tag of your blog. When I did that, my blog wouldn't load properly anymore. I'm not sure if it was just the BAS one that was problematic since I deleted the B4R one first and then lost the code, so I couldn't check. Anyway, I removed the two codes, but since I'd already accepted an opp from BAS, I went ahead and did the post. I should have done more research before going ahead with the applications since upon googling about the BAS code, I came across numerous entries about the program being a scam (they allegedly do not pay the bloggers for posts they've made) and then the code itself was supposed to be malware. I have yet to encounter a warning about B4R, but I think I'll wait before pursuing anything. Anyway, it's not like there were opps available (BAS had 6 for me right away, sigh).

The Word on Work-Online.org

Some time ago, I joined work-online.org upon a fellow blogger's referral. It sounded like an okay site. They pay you to write "stories" (essentially keyword articles - 400 words minimum, btw) and they pay you 25 pence for each one while you haven't completed 100 stories. Go over the 100 count and they pay you 50 pence per story. Go over 300 and they pay you 75 pence per story. Once you have 500 stories under your belt, they pay you a whopping pound (a quid! gah! about 77 php for 400 words!) for each one. That's really not a lot, but to justify going for this rate (since I usually get paid by local publications 1k+ php for a 500-word article)- um, my understanding is that you can write about anything so long as you include the necessary keywords. Research isn't necessary (or bugging an expert to quote in your article). You get opps in bulk. You can eke out 400 words in 3 mins without the usual writing standards you adhere to. I was just waiting for the right time to start trying this site out when I came across this discussion in MyLot. This person has earned about 65 pounds and has yet to be paid. She said she'd contacted the admin a few times and she always just got assured that she would be paid, except that there has been no follow through just yet. She said she'd update us if and when she gets paid, but no word from her yet. I think I'll wait before writing anything. I'm definitely not referring anybody yet. If the word on the (cyber) street remains bad, I'll ditch it with no regrets.