SMAP vs Arashi?

Japanese idols are often depicted as lucky individuals who have made it big, they represent the public and has a close relationship with their audiences. In order to do so, they are not supposed to be seen as intimidating. What's the golden formula then? They must be good, but they must not be perfect. Nowadays, there are two big names in Johnny's, namely SMAP and Arashi. Despite having sempai/kohai relationship, people just love to compare one against the other.

Now Trending: Anne Curtis' Outburst

In an article published on entertainment site Pep.ph, JR Isaac, editor and publisher of Circuit Magazine, narrated to Pep editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon how the incident unfolded last November 23.

Describing it as a typical Friday night, Isaac said he was then hanging out with his friends Leah de Guzman, Charina Zarte, Nix Alano, Phoemela Barranda, Jake Cuenca, and Cruz at the Privé Luxury Club along with the bar's co-owner JM Rodriguez.

Isaac said Curtis was also at the place hosting a bachelorette party for a friend.

Then Anne got up to go to the ladies' toilet. Unknown to her, John Lloyd and Jake Cuenca followed her. The two boys, knowing that Anne was super "kikay" tried to pull a prank on her. They started banging the door of the toilet non-stop, getting louder and louder making Anne so agitated.

The two continued banging the door until they heard that Anne was about to get out.
While waiting for his drink along with de Guzman near the bar, they heard someone shouting from behind. Anne Curtis came out of the restroom of Prive, shouting “who’s banging my door?”
She saw JR Isaac and Leah de Guzman nearby. It was at this instance when the drunk Anne concluded that it was they who were banging the door earlier, and without a word she slapped them both.

Shocked by the scene, John Lloyd then suddenly emerged and approached Anne to tell her that it was he and Jake who did the banging. Anne, who was mad as hell, slapped John Lloyd and shouted at him with all her might, "You are an addict! "

For unknown reason, she screamed “You, what are you doing here?” when she saw Phoemela and pointed at her saying "I can buy you, your friends, and this club!"

Saying things happened so fast, Isaac recalled being ushered by the bouncers away from the drunk Showtime host.

"The management and [club] PR all came to our table and apologized to us. They saw the whole thing. They know we were the ones slapped. In the end, we stayed. We didn't allow it to ruin our night,” he said.

According to Isaac, he harbors no ill feelings toward Curtis because he has known the actress since way back.

Meanwhile, Curtis took to micro-blogging site Twitter to address the controversy.

“Hey everyone. I will be making my official statement now & after this, I will not be giving any interviews about this issue anymore. I choose to do this right away because I’ve always been an open book & I don’t like to hide anything…
For those who have read about the issue, yes, most of it is true. I admit to that & I have apologized to all parties included immediately… When I was told of my behavior AND the person who started all of this, due to this persons inappropriate behavior, apologized to me too… Just as I did. Which I accepted too. I choose not to go into detail because I’m not the type to ruin someone else’s name…
Now.. I had been on the super popular juice cleanse for 3 days & attended my best friends bachelorette that night, had one too many drinks which led to some of these unfortunate events. That’s why they say ‘Drink in moderation’. I will charge it to experience & a lesson learned. I’m sorry if I let any of my fans down…. As you all see, I’m just like any other person that makes mistakes in life… 

Thank you to everyone that has messaged me about their support. With where I am today I owe all of you my honesty. Good night.”

The "Apology" is kinda off. Does she seriously think that her Juice Cleansing=Bitch Slapping alibi will actually sell? My mother had tried this diet a while ago and I never tasted a slap on my face, despite having provoked her for multiple times already. Yesterday, a smiling Anne Curtis appeared and proclaimed "Isang masaya at moving on na tanghali sa inyo my super sexy madlang people," during the opening of the noontime show. Hilarity ensues:

LOL

SOURCEs: 1 2 3

Bisaya Edition!

I'm one proud Bisaya! It's a Philippine vernacular but has more speakers compared to the Tagalogs, reaching the Mindanao and Visayas islands. Another note-worthy thing is the never-ending debate as to which is the real national language (but it’s never a good idea to poke either group with a stick haha). But I'm not going to blog about Bisaya pride today though. In fact, I'll try to teach the correct use of certain words and expressions we use. The idea started with this article which does not truly define the right way to use some of the words. I want to try my hand at writing a similar post.

First, let me introduce our bad bad words. I have to because we're talking about expressions right? Swear words would always be present when it comes to that topic regardless of language. Here are the Top Four:

1. Yawa- The Devil. Literally. So using this as an expression when you feel frustrated or you fell down the stairs is automatically regarded as bad word, after all, you are calling the Devil's name. But apart from swearing it could also be used in normal sentences.
2. Yati- Honestly, I have no idea what this means, but it is also regarded as a swear word, only a tier below Yawa.
3. Atay- There's this theory that this word derived from a chicken disease that weakens the liver. So if you say "Gi-atay ka!" well, it's more of a curse than anything.
4. Peste- Self explanatory.

Now let us continue with other Bisaya words:

    1.  Tsada/Nindot- Both words mean the same thing, which is "nice" but their differences comes in the geographic region they're being used. "Nindot" is a word from Cebu and it is widely accepted that Cebuanos are the ones who use this term more than any other Bisaya. "Tsada" on the other hand is generally accepted as a Cagayan de Oro term, hence our tourism motto.

    2.  Gilanlan- This is the Bisayan for the Tagalog word "pinapapak". I highly doubt that there's an English equivalent for this one. This is the act of directly eating salt, sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, powdered milk, peanut butter, nutella, etc. It could also mean munching on a meal minus the rice.

    3.  Gayud- This adverb which means"very" is another common source of confusion. These days the word "gayud" is commonly shortened to "jud" so best remember that both are the same.

    4.  Langgam- In Tagalog/Filipino,"langgam" means "ant" while in Bisaya it means "bird".

    5.  Maglibang- In Filipino, libang means having entertainment or fun, or just being not bored. However in our side of the archipelago, libang means taking shit. So if you happen to hear someone say "Malibang sa ko" It means that he'll be going to the bathroom to dump some shit.

    6.  Gugma- Here's the "love" translation at last! It's actually a BisDak, or Bisayang Dako. Gugma is part of those deep, ancient words that only the old guys seems to know about, thus those who actually use this word are either in complete utter seriousness or just poking fun at the word itself.

    7.  Lugar Lang- This is what you call out to signal the taxi or jeepney driver to stop if you're in a Bisaya region. If Tagalog people say "Para", "Lugar lang" is more of a longer statement like "I-lugar lang" which is simply "Please place the vehicle somewhere at the side of the road since I'll be getting off now"

♦♦♦

One last note for the Manila people, YES I'm talking to you, most especially the people from the national TV channels and media personalities

Can you please, please, refrain from pronouncing Butuan as "Butu-An"? 
First, because it's wrong. The correct way to say it is "But-Wan" and second, it sounds perverted and ultimately hilarious to the rest of the Philippines. Do you even know what "butu" means? It's a fucking penis in Bisaya. 

Yes darlings, you've been calling an innocent Mindanao city a Penis for more than a decade. Considering how this had been going on for years, any kind of justification for this kind of faggotry has long been pulverized.
OH WAIT, other regions have a different translation, but it gets better actually, their version of "butu" is the vagina. 

Day 15 - Your Celebrity Crushes

Obviously I went an extra mile for this post. I made a collage of my beautiful babies:

My future husbands

1. Lee Hyuk (조빈) is the gorgeous half of the Korean duo NORAZO which debuted way back in 2005. He is currently known for having such an amazing 18 level octave vocal range and just being the sexy eye candy.
During his pre-debut days, his father was actually against his dreams of becoming a singer. He didn't have enough money for classes too, so Lee is said to have walked to Youngdong bridge so he could sing out loud without distracting anybody. He was also said to have frequent subway stations too as he practices his vocals as the train approaches. That's all in the past now as he had come a long way.

2. Jin Qin (金勤) has been a huge favorite of mine ever since I saw his cute smiles in Skip-Beat! and Hayate the Combat Butler. Unfortunately he only plays minor roles despite having good acting skills. I really am fuming, I mean he's so hot and adorable in his Weibo account (of course I'm following him). But anyways, I'm happy he was able to get himself into successful Taiwanese dramas, maybe he'll get his big break soon.

3. Satoshi Ohno (大野智) An artist, singer, host, actor, dancer, deep-sea fisherman, and the leader of the popular boy group Arashi. Could I ask for more?

4. Tom Hiddleston. Let's face it, Loki was just one of those unknown villains outside the world of comic-book fans. But when this guy wore the green and gold costume and smiled maniacally on the big screen, everybody just fell for the evil guy. Oh yeah, he went to Eton too, as well as University of Cambridge. When it comes to his appearance, he's just flawless:
Yes, I'm a Hiddlestoner.

5. Jensen Ross Ackles is another celebrity crush! I love Supernatural, and before that I was hooked on Smallville, so loving this guy is no surprise. It's almost impossible to imagine him and Dean Winchester as different persons since it's as if he always in character outside the show.

6. Alfredo James "Al" Pacino. The younger version or his present day self, I salute this man. My mother loved the movie Scarface which I only appreciated when I finally watched it. Then came Godfather  which became the final nail on my neutrality coffin, and I was transformed into a giggling fangirl.

To sum up everything:

Days 12, 13 and 14- Your thoughts on drugs and alcohol

Day 12 - A picture of the place where you were born
It's currently impossible since my hometown is miles away. I'm not even sure if the hospital still exists.

Day 13 - Discuss your first kiss
Imaginary

Day 14 - Your thoughts on drugs and alcohol
Alcohol's alright, especially the light and tasty stuff. I hate beer though. But since I'm not really what others call as a social (yep not even close) drinker, I'm not in the position to really judge the beverage or the people drinking it.

However for drugs, I blame the persons using them carelessly. Marijuana sounds OK, the most common ones are actually useful in the field of medicine, so I truly am annoyed at how guys tend to abuse these drugs. Plus, being on the road to self-destruction is really sad to behold too. If these drugs were left alone, I highly doubt they would be even illegal. Such is life, there's no turning back now.

Finally Found One of my Fave Stories Ever

The Egg

by Andy Weir

As an introduction, let me just share that I first read this from Galactanet. But I truly fell in love with this simple, mind-blowing short story that I want to have it in this blog too, in case I lost it again. For those who have not yet read this composition, go on with scrolling this page then, I assure you that it's worth your few minutes. If you think Quantum physics, religious debates and political theories are enough to blow your minds, you were wrong (but don't worry it's not going to be too much of a 2deep4u):

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn't look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn't have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you've gained all the experiences it had.

“You've been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn't understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you've done, you've done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you've lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

Fin. But see why I love this?
Quite a fascinating and fantastic concept on the idea of life. It's not usual to get a good story like this where we are forced to really think it over. It's not supposed to be literal of course but the one soul-for-everyone thing just gets to me. Putting relationships with different people under a whole new spotlight all of the sudden. Just fucking brilliant.

 

Help Typhoon Haiyan Victims

Hey folks, been quite busy lately. Between school and other priorities, it's been a full week for me. Things got worse when the Typhoon Haiyan came to Philippines days ago.

Believe me when I say our country is somewhere beneath that cottony thing

Just to clear things up, I'm not a victim of the calamity, thank you to those who emailed me asking for our situation, but we're OK. We live in the northern part of Mindanao and fortunately we only got a cloudy day with scattered rain showers, no floods and no causes for alarm. However our fellow Filipinos living in the Visayas region were greatly affected by the storm, right after an earthquake from weeks ago, and it is enough to bring down our morale. After all, our city had our share with such disaster when Tropical Storm Washi in 2011. We saw how hard it is with no water or electricity, cleaning the roads and the debris, and the bodies. Dead bodies floating everywhere, shortage of caskets, it was chaotic while it lasted.

Seeing a similar event (and unfortunately worse) happening to Leyte and other areas of concern, is really depressing to tell you the truth. There were reports of looting in malls, hijacking trucks containing relief goods, food shortage and even the communication lines are so dead. If you happened to see footages of field reporters going around the place, try to observe the surroundings. If there's one thing you need to know about Philippine roads, most especially in the provinces, is that we are tropical through and through, literally forests everywhere, even among the smaller barangays or smaller cities. But when you look back at the videos, you could only see pathetic tree branches and the wide cloudy sky instead of green leafy umbrellas. That is the extent of this disaster, changing their homes to something unidentifiable.

But since our own city managed to survive and got back on its feet, I believe it could also be possible for them too. Any kind of help will be very much appreciated as we couldn't do this alone.

How to Take Action and help he victims attain safe water, food, shelter, hygiene supplies, medications and other basic needs.

• Philippine Red Cross- These guys had been a huge help, rest assured your donations are wisely used for the victims. Choose a campaign (Haiyan and Central Visayan Earthquake are equally important) and choose your method of payment.
• ABS-CBN Tulong Na
• Kapuso Foundation Operation Bayanihan
• Gawad Kalinga Operation Walang Iwanan
• World Food Programme
• UNICEF Philippines
• Philippine Government

For Filipinos hoping to donate through mobile text, subscribers can follow these steps:
SMS-Text RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4143 (Smart)
G-Cash- Text DONATE<space>AMOUNT<space>4-digit M-PIN<space>REDCROSS to 2882
You can donate the following denominations:
Globe: 5, 25, 100, 300, 500 or 1000
Smart: 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1000

Day 11 - Your Biggest Fear

Trypophobia

The fear of holes.

FUCK FUCK GOOSEBUMPS

I began noticing this "fear" of mine when I was still in high school. I hate seeing irregular holes in walls, pancakes, drawings or even imagining them. Makes me feel nauseated and wanting to get away from those ugly-as-sin craters as soon as possible. I never really thought much about it through the years but with the help of the ultra-reliable internet, I was able to discover that I am not alone. Apparently it's commonly called Trypophobia and despite being treated as an unofficial phobia, a lot of people actually accepted it as part of their list if fears.
I have found my family.

The best part is as recently as three months ago, Trypophobia is considered by psychologists as an 'invention', or in kinder words, 'a new and uncategorized' phobia. Technically they were right. But just this September, a study from the University of Essex considered that it may have been an old surviving instinct, a natural biological reaction as the brain associates the holes with danger.

Sounds legit. But this is still my number one fear so far. I can't even begin to tell you about those fucking lotus pods, and those fucking photoshops of lotus pods on a person's skin.

GOD I HATE THEM

Days 8, 9 and 10!

Day 8 - ten things you’d like to say to ten different people, without using names
I'm usually frank to people regardless of consequences. This habit of mine makes it hard for me to befriend others, but at least I don't keep things to myself. So all the things I needed to say has been said already so I don't think I'll need this anymore.

Day 9 - your favorite blog
Too many to mention. I've been lurking in the internet since forever and it owuld take a long time for me to finish putting the all my fave links here. However I could share the blogs I'm following in Google, so if you have free time, have a look at my list here.

Day 10 - a picture of your favorite relative

My aunt and Grandma! =)

The Late Review: Pacific Rim

Finally finished watching Pacific Rim. Now don't get me wrong, I've seen it many months ago but only up to the part where two kaijus appeared. Over the weekend I was able to finished watching it once and for all and for those who told me it was shit, it was actually awesome you ungrateful assholes. It's an eye candy, monster edition, stop complaining.

Well of course to be fair, it has its long list of cons, that can't be helped. However I'm still seriously pissed to those who treat Pacific Rim as if it's the year's worst crap ever. Come on guys, stop with the exaggeration, it does not make you sound like an honorable movie critic. The film isn't perfect but it sure is enjoyable.

Now, since we've just talked about the downsides of the movie, might as well go on with it, here are the cons:

1. The acting seems off. Fortunately, Idris Elba saves the day. I was quite happy to see Ron Perlman too even if it was only for a minor role.

Thou shall not move.
Thou shall not move

2. Dearest Mako Mori, I love your bravery and stubbornness and all but I really am distracted by your hair. Not that it's bad, but I'm a girl too and I found myself worrying over your short bob for the rest of the movie. Seriously, I'd rather have you in a much simpler hair style.

3. The world government's only contribution to Jaegar-making is... Financial assistance. That's the main impression I got, then later on they told Pentecost that the robots are not effective anymore so they will just have to withdraw their helping hand in a few months. Like bitches, you actually think your wall is a better idea? del Toro should remember that world leaders in movies may have common sense too.

4. Why are there still civilians living near the Pacific? In the prologue it was stated that the people somehow overcame their fear of the monsters since they now have Jaegers and had became complacent later on. BULLSHIT. Those are aliens, huge motherfucking monsters trampling on buildings like spoiled brats, normal people won't just live on at the same place like they used to (unless of course if they're not stable in the head or something) Would have been more realistic if humanity have cowered in the middle of China-Russia and the Kaijus are still coming in.

5. Gipsy Danger survived because of the huge magic sword! Good job Mako for not forgetting about it. Maybe the others could have stood a chance if they remembered this secret weapon. OH WAIT, it's because they don't even have one! All they had was tiny knives and useless punching metal fists and my mind couldn't comprehend why.

Naturally I won't leave out the good parts. Here are the reasons why PR is my fave movie this year:
1. Remember that flying kaiju? I was pleasantly surprised. Made me howl like "FUUUUUCK!" Wait, then there's the jaeger sword making its appearance out of nowhere? Also remember when Pentecost walk out to be a jaegar pilot once again? How about the cute Ashida Mana a.k.a mini Mako crying her heart out? DUDE. Can't count the number of times I sat in front of the screen with my mouth hanging open. Speaking of...

Damn, you could have been Christian Grey =(

2. Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket is just perfect, he has the perfect voice for the prologue and justifies his ass-kicking character with that sexy body of his. Mako approves.

3. Despite having Mako as a semi-love interest, I'm happy to see that there had been no kissing scene. Mako had developed a crush on Becket but at the last part where they were together in the ocean, they look like siblings.

4. The soundtrack is simply amazing. This one just gets me hyped every fucking time.

5. Perfect eye candy. Movie nowadays are filled to the brim with CGI but Pacific Rim is different by actually having uniquely designed monsters, amazing fight scenes and memorable jaegars.

6. The best prologue I've seen in a movie so far. Fast but not hasty, covers all the necessary details, from the people, the government, the economy, and the complacent attitude as well as capitalism humans love so much.

I knew from the first time I saw the trailer that this movie is for me. It felt like Gundam and Voltron all over again, my childhood loves finally making it to to big screen. I have no problem with the movie's downsides, as long as I'm entertained, I will love it. After all this is why it's called the Entertainment Industry. So for all the haters out there, HATE ON BITCHEZ

Music of the Day: Wanna Be With You by Lead

Reading Crazy Rich Asians

This debut novel by Kevin Kwan has been in the bestsellers list for sometime already. From what we could identify from the book's title itself, as well as the reviews found online, this novel is about the different stereotypes of rich Asian families, their lifestyle and their behaviors.
I decided to pick this up since I'm an Asian and Philippines sure has its share of Chinese millionaires. If you'll bother to look at our 50 Richest guys, it's the Filipino-Chinese getting the top three thrones.

Plan #1: marry myself into one of their sons and shit

Anyway, I'm several pages in it now, and it's actually hard to read to be honest. Especially with the places they were going and the things the filthy rich characters were buying. How am I supposed to know what a Poltrona Frau leather is? What is the taste of an Iranian beluga caviar? Thus Wikipedia became my best friend. The book also mentioned a few establishments that I know nothing about, so here is what I discovered about them:

• Parsons The New School For Design is a private art and design college and is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious art and design universities in the world. 
• Cambridge Judge Business School which is consistently ranked as one of the world's leading business educational institutions. 
• The best thing I learned about was the elite British stockbroker and investment bank Cazenove. This bank is rumored to be the appointed stockbroker to Her Majesty The Queen and that despite its 'blue-blooded' reputation and its complete aversion to publicity, it is still one of the most successful brokers and corporate advisers in London.

Back to the main subject, Kwan sure made a long list of Asian stereotypes, just take your pick. I can't possibly list them all here, but despite their differences, I found a common denominator that is applicable to the daughters of the wealthy Asian families:

For the small group of girls growing up within Singapore's most elite milieu, life followed a prescribed order: Beginning at age six, you were enrolled at Methodist Girls' School (MGS), Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS), or the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ).  

After-school hours were consumed by a team of tutors preparing you for the avalanche of weekly exams (usually in classical Mandarin literature, multi-variable calculus, and molecular biology), followed on the weekends by piano, violin, flute, ballet, or riding, and some sort of Christian Youth Fellowship activity.  

If you did well enough, you entered the National University of Singapore (NUS) and if you did not, you were sent abroad to England (American colleges were deemed substandard). The only acceptable majors were medicine or law (unless you were truly dumb, in which case you settled for accounting).  

After graduating with honors (anything less would bring shame to the family), you practiced your vocation (for not more than three years) before marrying a boy from a suitable family at the age of twenty-five (twenty-eight if you went to med school).  

At this point, you gave up your career to have children (three or more were officially encouraged by the government for women of your background, and at least two should be boys), and life would consist of a gentle rotation of galas, country clubs, Bible study groups, light volunteer work, contract bridge, mah-jong, traveling, and spending time with your grandchildren (dozens and dozens, hopefully) until your quiet and uneventful death.

Spoon Feeding. Seriously, their lives are already planned out in such amazing detail it's like reading a script. The same thing goes for the hilarious way some characters view marriage. There's this funny scene where a girl named Isabel was confused whether to marry a certain guy or not since she's in dilemma since her boyfriend is just a commoner. Then a 'good' friend Francesca decided to narrow down things for her:

"Let's be generous and assume that Simon is making a measly eight hundred thousand a year. After taxes and CPF, his take-home is only about half a million. Where are you going to live on that kind of money? Think about it, you have to factor a million dollars per bedroom, and you need at least three bedrooms, so you are talking three mil for an apartment in Bukit Timah. That's a hundred and fifty thousand a year in mortgage and property taxes. 

Then say you have two kids, and you want to send them to proper schools. At thirty thousand a year each for school fees that's sixty thousand, plus twenty thousand a year each on tutors. That's one hundred thousand a year on schooling alone. 

Servants and nannies, two Indonesian or Sri Lankan maids will cost you another thirty thousand, unless you want one of them to be a Swedish or French au pair, then you're talking eighty thousand a year spent on the help. 

Now, what are we going to do about your own upkeep? At the very least, you'll need ten new outfits per season, so you won't be ashamed to be seen in public. Thank God Singapore only has two seasons: hot and hotter, so let's just say, to be practical, you'll only spend four thousand per look. That's eighty thousand a year for wardrobe. I'll throw in another twenty thousand for one good handbag and a few pairs of new shoes every season. 

And then there is your basic maintenance  hair, facials, mani, pedi, brazilian wax, eyebrow wax, massage, chiro, acupuncture, Pilates, yoga, core fusion, personal trainer. That's another forty thousand a year. 

We've already spent four hundred and seventy thousand of Simon's salary, which leaves just thirty thousand for everything else. How are you going to put food on the table and clothe your babies with that? How will you ever get away to an Aman resort twice a year? And we haven't even taken into account your membership dues at Churchill Club and Pulau Club! 

Don't you see? It's impossible for you to marry Simon. We wouldn't worry if you had your own money, but you know your situation. The clock is ticking on your pretty face. It's time to cut your losses and let Lauren introduce you to one of those eligible Beijing billionaires before it's too late." 

Isabel was reduced to a puddle of tears.

I still have a few pages to read but the theme is already obvious: How a Rich Asian family would accept a mere Cinderella-like mortal into their lives.

The sad thing is I've actually heard similar stories in real life, and usually the ending is either having the child of the rich Chinese family disowned or in some fortunate cases, forgiven but not forgotten. He/she won't be allowed inside the family business anymore and the commoner wife or husband will have a lot of catching up to do. Quite dramatic but stupid. But I guess if you came from an old successful clan, family traditions and heritage are taken seriously.

So What's the Real Deal w/ Kim Chiu ?

Before you fangirls scream bloody murder at me, I just want to make myself clear to everyone: I actually like Kim. I'm not a huge fan but I don't dislike her.

Judging from all the hate Kim is receiving from the Pinoy netizens (most especially in the past few years) it's quite obvious that her reputation of being an alleged retokada is gaining ground inside the minds of Filipinos everywhere. When she tries to defend herself by confronting her bashers, she is almost always called Patola Queen seconds later. I don't pretend I'm intellectually superior to anyone, but from my perspective, these types of behavior's perfectly childish. If these haters were in her shoes, they could have done worse.

Things went a bit scary a few months ago when a few throwaway accounts started bashing her in a more severe way and this was the worse:

The Weird Relationship of EXO with Some of Their Sasaeng Fans

The Korean music industry is bigger than the Japanese these days. Let's face it, they have more popular idol groups an the bigger fanbase worldwide. I like Kpop too but my world revolves around Norazo and old Girls Generation music videos. So when I first heard about EXO from a few friends I was seriously clueless. I haven't heard their songs nor do I even care to listen.

One day, I was reading through Asianjunkie's posts when I noticed a few articles were written specially for EXO's sasaeng fans and it certainly made me interested all of the sudden. The latest news I knew of them was that just this September 15, EXO had to cancel their fansign event in Daejeon because the situation was too chaotic. (Photo related)


I clicked around Google for a while and from the looks of it, EXO fans are unfortunately labeled as the worst fan base in KPOP industry. Worse than TVXQ's.
That is one serious allegation since if memory served me right, even if they are already JYJ and DBSK, the fans are still reported to be anything but sane. Now blogs are comparing those to EXO's. How and why? 

For those who doesn't know the term, Sasaeng fans are basically groups of batshit crazy obsessive Korean fanatics. They are the Korean counterparts of the Japanese Yarakishi. However, where the Japanese idols are heavily gaurded by their agencies, the fans of Korean stars could have a more direct access to their famed idols, stalking and harassing them to no end has became their favorite pastime, hoping for that one fateful day where their lovely Oppas would fall in love with them and shit.
So I find it quite unfair for others to judge the entire fanbase based on them alone.

So what is it that they've truly done against EXO all these years? Let me count the ways. Made the list from various sources, so I am not so sure with the accuracy.

Surprisingly Mean Celebrities?

I was browsing thorugh a few reddit pages when I happen to came upon this Askreddit post:

Now, this subreddit is just full of good questions but this particular one is attention-grabbing so I decided to read through it. As expected, most of the replies are the usual "I asked for an autograph and he/she declined so he/she's a bitchy shit" shit. It's hard work to actually read legit sounding experiences with mean celebrities, without all the drama of being scorned by someone famous.

To sum them all up, Demi Lovato, Julia Roberts, and Anne Hathaway are apparently mean girls in real life. Lindsay Lohan is said to be bitchy too but her weirdness is more noteworthy, so it's not really clear which is the real thing. The most surprising I read about was Micheal Jordan is the default Horrible Dick in Real Life. Oh and that Rachel Ray "is a terrible human being".

In the neutral side, Emma Watson is extremely introverted/shy and Mariah Carrey is (not surprised here) is a total diva.

On the brighter side, Adam Sandler, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez, John Mayer, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Taylor Swift, Mila Kunis, James Franco,Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alec Baldwin, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Jeff Bridges, Dywane Johnson, Robin Williams are are ultra nice guys.

Last but not the least, Keanu Reeves is a saint.

Well, these are not my experiences or opinions, it could be a full decade before I could even meet a Hollywood celebrity in person.

So to read how various experiences formed into conclusions, read the rest of the thread here.

Link Feature: 3 Websites to "Waste" Time

Time is gold as the saying goes, but most of us tend to forget its importance and take me for example. I usually spend hours on Tumblr or 9gag, but that results to me forgetting about online projects, or just leave me feeling guilty of having wasted my time on pictures of cute cats,
Now, I promised to myself that if I ever had a lazy mood and only had internet for company, I could at least put that time to good use. So let me share to you my three favorite websites to help us waste time effectively:

Cracked

Easily one of most popular humor sites online. Everybody knows about them and the only introduction I could give it that they share knowledge in a funny way.

Cracked had been quite lucky with their viewers all these years and had given itself a makeover, making the entire page easier to navigate compared to its older self. Another good improvement is that the writers are now updating almost everyday so visitors could always expect to find another note-worthy article to look forward to.

Some favorite articles:

-The 15 Most Shameless Fake Photos Ever Passed Off as Real
-5 Things Movie Trailers Need to Stop Doing

-The 11 Most Badass Last Words Ever Uttered

AsianJunkie

Focusing mainly on Kpop, Kdramas, plus a dash of Jpop and fangirls on the side, AsianJunkie has always been my favorite Asian Entertainment website. I've been reading their articles for years, and despite the internet humor and troll-poking celebrities, they still managed to discuss the issues effectively. It could be from controversies, hilarious fan comments, new singles, and even G Dragon's fashion sense and this constant crusades against creepy fangirls and fanboys. Lastly, they're pretty useful to keep up with the asian entertainment news.
Some favorite articles:
-Perfume reveal new album art for ‘LEVEL 3′, a new song ’1mm’, and Kashiyuka’s forehead
-New K-Pop Groups Likely Victims Of Impending Market Correction Due To Oversaturation
-Top 5 Best C-Pop Artists For Virgin Ears

ListVerse

Learning is constant, but doing research on your own is shitty. But since Listverse exist, I am at peace. Covering science, society, history and more, their articles share Top 10 of every topic, summarized and understandable. You could already learns tons of stuff just reading through them in an hour. They are a bit similar to Cracked, a serious version is more direct to the point.
Some interesting articles:
-Top 20 Human Cannibals by Country (yep it's not always Top 10)
-10 Innovative Pieces of Technology That Failed Miserably
-10 Extreme Examples of Gender Inequality

Something to Watch Out For: Harry Potter Spin Off Films!!

Kevin Tsujihara, Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment announced that there would be an expanded partnership with best-selling author J.K. Rowling. So what are these guys going to to create this time? Apparently turning the Harry Potter's Hogwarts textbook "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" into a film! Now I'm puking rainbow. 

There's more: This project is planning a film series, J.K. Rowling would also serve as the screenwriter and everything is still set in the wizarding world and will feature magical creatures and characters familiar to each and everyone of the muggle fans. 

"It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' into a film, I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts,' realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood. As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn't dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.
Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry's gets underway.

-J.K. Rowling

And I thought everything ended with the Deathly Hollows, I remember fantasizing about a sequel or something. But now, since 're having this, count me in! It's such an amazing idea, and I hope that even after these films would come to fruition they will start on making a series for...the stories of Hogwart's founders. Hey I could dream on! I mean I don't think people actually saw a spin off coming right? There is hope.

What To Wear for the Lower Half

The following scans from a Japanese magazine. But since I have no idea where these exactly came from (I mean just look at all those magazines, it's impossible to search through them all), I decided to save the scans and share them here. First things first, each row shows different types of legs, and the columns signify the shoes, skirts, leggings and jeans used by the models. With the chart you could identify which combinations look good on certain types of legs. From what I could decipher:

✕ Bad        △ OK        ◯ Good

Please be reminded too that the magazine's fashion sense does not necessarily mean it would be the same for others. So just chill away and be calm if you happen to disagree with one of the combinations below.

Shoes + Shorts / Skirts

Tights + Skirts

Skirts

Pants

Quite comprehensive, I hope I'll be able to unearth an upper body version soon.

Music for the Day: Still Cover by JMM (Micheal Shimamoto and Henri Roberto Mauricio)

Because I  just came from our class retreat and this cover really made a mark on me, especially since it is one of my favorite songs from Hillsong =)

Day 7- talk about your idol and how they influence you

Idols who influenced me? Eh, I idolize tons of guys and gals out there, but I don't think I worship their footsteps enough to create a teeny tiny bit of influence in me. I mean, I don't see any improvement or resemblance on myself that could be compared to those people. But for the sake of content, I will just have to enumerate my fave people, regardless of effect. Inspiration time:

Jonathan Carroll, I absolutely love this guy, his books are the best thing that ever made its way to Earth. One of my serious frustrations in life was that his books don't get the attention they deserve, and when I say attention, I mean becoming top bestseller in every country with movie adaptations. He's that good. The way he writes makes me want to meet his characters in real life. He's also notorious for the weird things that's happening inside his novels too. Like Neil Gaiman said, Jonathan Carrol "has the magic" 

Audrey Hepburn! She died the year I was born. Yep a constant disappointment. Anyway just absolutely adore her, she's really beautiful, the epitome of a woman's timeless elegance. Even during her later years, she's still stunning. In the time where plastic surgery is a total stranger, natural beauties like her truly shine.

Natalie Portman makes this list too. Incidentally, she looks like Audrey hahaha. This time however, it's not only her beauty I admire, but her brains. Wait I'm not saying I don't like Audrey Hepburn's brains too, it's nt like that, it's just that Portman's is a little bit on higher tier compared to most humans. A research assistant at Harvard, fluent in five languages and has also pursued graduate studies, all the while making movies. Like whoa girl, just whoa.

Michio Kaku. Cool guy, I've always been delighted with the notion of parallel universes and the Quantum physics. He made me love this complicated part of science and very understandable. People should try to listen to him once in a while.

As for now, these are my idols. I'm sure I still have a few more but these guys just make it to the top spot.

Philippine Legend of the Snake Beneath the Mall

The basic story is this:
When a businessman's wife became pregnant with twins, everyone in the family became excited. However when the wife finally gave birth, only one of the twins was human, the other was a snake. Despite having a snake for a child, the parents still accepted him, but due to the situation, the businessman decided to hide the snake in a secret basement of their family business, a shopping mall. To keep up with the monster's large appetite, they installed a trap in the fitting rooms inside the mall, to imprison a victim for the snake to eat. As years went by, the businessman noticed his shopping mall becoming successful, and credited his snake son for the good luck, thus the snatching of victims continued.

The Robinson's Snake is still the most popular version though. During the 1980's, Gokongwei allegedly had twin girls, but one of them was a snake who lays golden eggs. There had been similar stories of the snake child way before the Robinson's one became known though. A strong one was from Davao city, in which the said snake was being transferred between branches once in a while to avoid suspicion. The same rumor has also been attributed to Cagayan de Oro's Gaisano Superstore. The odds of getting a snake child is getting better it seems haha.

When I asked my mother about this snake legend, she replied that the establishment was Jerry's Shopping Center. In the version she knew, the businessman suddenly died. Without the head of the family to take care of the snake, it soon starved and died alone. Its death brought down the good luck it had fostered when it was still alive. Now, only a few branches remained in Mindanao. She only heard it from somewhere, so again it's a rumor, but I enjoy the way this version ended the tale.

When Husband and Wife Keep Diaries

Food Craze!

Food is food, diamonds may be immortal bastards and money makes the world go round, but for all living things, eating has always been the main priority. I mean look at Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, a status won't be complete without taking a pic of your meal. The same goes for Tumblr with all food porn and there's that infinite list of food blogs too. Plus in real life, people tend to follow food fads too.

A new restaurant in town? Everyone flocks to that establishment. They have a new menu? Long lines await the cash register. Tastes good? Marketing through word of mouth persists. So here are some of the food fads/ food innovations I noticed:

I Love Yoshiki and all but...

When I saw this announcement on my Faceboook News Feed, I seriously thought for a moment that he was a woman. Like a corporate lady or something. Feels bad man, feels bad.

Nino's in a bad mood~

From what I could understand, a few people were taking photos despite the ban on taking pics. Nino (and I'm not sure with this action) motioned for them to stop. They didn't and went on with the photography. This is the allegedly result: Nino looks pissed. 

Looks like the fans had thrown away whatever fan etiquette they know and it's sad.

Kapamilya Caravan for Kagay-an Festival 2013!

Stars from ABS-CBN's Primetime shows visited Cagayan de Oro last night for the Kapamilya Caravan, the regional offering for this week's fiesta. With a good friend of mine, we arrived at SM City as early as 2pm! There were no chairs so we were just standing while waiting for the program to begin, and we waited for three hours. Three. Hours. Standing.

Despite the cold and the aching legs, we still have the advantage of being near the stage, so everything is in full view. When the local artists started the event, it was already late in the afternoon, right before sunset. A bunch of games sponsored by known brands dominated the first few hours. They paid for marketing, so they're going to get it. Even if I had fun watching the games, most people in the audience were already impatient. Even the grey heavens above looks like it would weep anytime.

Games you Don't Want to Play 3

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on this blog post are for informational purposes only. 

I will not be liable for any errors or omissions, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. It is highly recommended NOT TO "PLAY" THEM, because you just don't "play" with the unknown. If you do choose to ignore this advice, do so at your own risk.

Once more we delve into the world of paranormal, here are four new additions to my Games You Don't Want to Play Series. So buckle up and let me take you for another creepy ride! O that sounds weird, but yeah feel free to read them and you better read those red words above.

List of Name Now Being Considered to Replace PDAF [Mwahahaha]

So this joke is all over Facebook right now, mostly compiled from the responses of a Twitter challenge from ANC anchor Lynda Jumilla. In accordance to President Aquino's deletion of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the internets created a list of hilarious alternative:

1. Budgetary Allocation for Collaborative Outreach Nationwide (BACON)
2. Lawmakers Initiative for Emergency, Miscellaneous and Personal Outlay (LIEMPO)
3. Livelihood Empowerment for Countrywide Humanitarian Outlaw Network (LECHON)
4. Pinagandang Iligal na Gastusin (PIG)
5. Countrywide Universal Priority Initiatives Treasury (CUPIT) Fund
6. Totally New Government PDAF Audited to Satisfaction (TONGPATS)
7. National Assistance Program of Lawmakers Engaged in Swindling (NAPOLES)
8. Holistic Lawmaking for Development of All Filipinos (HOLDAF)
9. Selective Enforcement of Budgetary Outlays (SEBO)
10. Government Outlay Line-itemized and Appropriated Yearly (GOLAY)
11. Fund Integration for Social Housing (FISH)
12. Bridges, Excavations & Elevated Roads Fund (BEEF)
13. Countrywide Allocations With Accountability and Transparency (CAWAT)
14. National Allotment for Countryside Amelioration and Welfare (NACAW)
15. PNoy's Initiative for Good Governance CountrYwide (PIGGY))
16. Countrywide Assistance for Special and Important Matters (CASIM)
17. Budget for Allies for Continuation of Party Dominance (BACON-PD)
18. Hearty Allocation of Money (HAM).
19. Benigno Aquino Development Assistance Fund (BADAF)
20. Countrywide Outreach and Rehabilitation Assistance Fund (CORAF)
21. BSA's Awesome Budget for Outstanding Allies of the Year (BABOY)
22. Horrifyingly Unlimited Money for Belmonte, Aquino and Allies (HUMBA)
23. Pnoy's Allowance and Treasury Allocation (PATA)
24. President Aquino’s Nationwide Outlay for Transparency (PANOT I)
25. President-Approved National Outlay from Treasury (PANOT II)
26. President Aquino's Political Action and Initiative for Total Allocation of National Budget (PAPAITAN)
27. Social Initiative for Service in Governance (SISIG)
28. President’s Overt Revenue Kickback (PORK)
29. President’s Outlay for Countrywide Handling of Emergency Rehabilitation for Opulence (POCHERO)
30. Outlay for the Interest of Noynoy and Kinsfolks (OINK)
31. Countrywide Re-distribution of the Inherent Source of Patronage for the Yellow President’s Allies, Toads and Associates (CRISPY PATA)
32. Legislative Allocation for Reform and Development (LARD)
33. Barangay Initiatives for New Allocations Granting Oversight On Non-Government Associations Nationwide (BINAGOONGAN)
34. Presidential Oversight for Relatives and Kin with Budgetary Entitlement from Legislative Largesse Yearly (PORK BELLY)
35. National Allotment for Countrywide Amelioration and Welfare Initiative Fund (NACAWIN FUND)

The Pork Barrel Makeover

So yesterday Aquino made the move to finally kill off Pork Barrel:

Amid public outrage over misused public funds, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III has called for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or the "pork barrel." [Yahoo News]

This is good news. The budgets funds are not entirely abolished. That's impossible, but the administration had promised to create a better system that hopefully would lessen corruption.

1. Consumable soft projects – such as medicines, fertilizers, and training materials, to name a few – will not be approved unless it will be proven that people will benefit.
2. Quick infrastructure projects, such as dredging and asphalt overlays, are out.
3. Non-governmental organizations and select government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) will no longer be allowed to be used as fund channels.
4. Lawmakers can only fund projects for their district or sector.
5. Government bidding processes and budgets will be publicized. [Rappler]

Incidentally, I sat in this forum at school regarding the Priority Development Assistance Fund yesterday. My mind was in and out the talk since the speaker had the smallest voice and I barely heard a thing. But this female speaker then came up and gave a more understandable discussion on what is truly happening with the budget allocation of the country

Apparently, after giving the budget of a certain project to the implementing agency (ex: Dep-Ed, national government units, etc.), the money would be transferred to the service provider/s (suppliers, NGOs, contractors, etc.) Then within in this transaction comes the magic shit, a.k.a. the kickbacks.

kick·back  [kik-bak] noun
1. a percentage of income given to a person in a position of power or influence as payment for having made the income possible: usually considered improper or unethical.
2. a rebate, usually given secretively by a seller to a buyer or to one who influenced the buyer. 

Personally, I feel that it was really badass how the government had overlooked this system for many years until now, goes to show the population of crocodiles we the citizens of the Philippines have voted for.

So anyway, here come the Napoles issue of fake NGOs and millions of Pesos. How these guys managed to sleep at night is one of the greatest mysteries of humanity, seriously they are one pile of batshit crazy bitches. I hope that whatever the president has in store for the future, it will yield good results.

Affleck is now a Batman. Hilarity Ensues

As mentioned in this year's San Diego Comic Con, there will be a sequel to this summer's Superman movie"Man of Steel". The coolest thing the fans heard of the plot was that this is gong to have a Batman vs. Superman theme. Everybody loves bromance, so everybody went booyah. What's more, the movie has been scheduled for release on July 17, 2015.

Then this new development erupts: Ben Affleck replaces Christian Bale as Batman.This isn't the first time that Affleck has played a superhero in a movie though. The audiences loved him in Daredevil, but apparently movie critics feel the opposite. What happened then is happening now since there is this huge pile of mixed reactions online. I want to be on the neutral side but this one just ended it for me:

Will he be the best Batman ever or will he butcher our favorite masked hero? Time will tell. But I will back out of this one. There is still this one long list of Marvel & DC movies and my eyes are just tired of seeing all those sequels and reunion of heroes and shit. It's the annoying bandwagon and as much as I want to support Batman, I have to take a rest.

Iponan's Patron Saint: San Guillermo

Iponan is just one of Cagayan de Oro's many barangays. I've lived in this part of the city for more or less seven years. Like most towns in the country we have our own patron saint, San Guillermo in which our annual fiesta is held in his honor. I'm not a huge fan of fiestas though, they weren't the same way they used to be. however my interest was revived when I read about the city's legends of San Guillermo.

I was in our school library that day when I chance upon an extremely old book. Within it were stories and legends from Cagayan de Oro, all pages type written. Of course I searched for ones that is related to where I was currently living then. I wasn't disappointed, the barangay of Iponan has its own share of tales: