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:

Still Have NO Idea What the Napoles Pork Barrel Scam is all About?

The last few weeks had been a nasty time for both the social and political sectors of the Philippines. When the issue first came up about an unknown business woman and her supposed link to a huge pork barrel scam, everybody thought that it was just a phase, after all, there had been quite a number of issues in the past about the careless use of the politicians' budgets. However, as days passed, more and more evidences came up for air, and for once, the Filipinos realized that maybe this time, justice might prevail.

In a most surreal way, this controversy has now blown up to what Philippine Daily Inquirer's Amando Doronila call as "the object of the biggest manhunt in recent Philippine criminal history".

Introducing, Nunu's House!

Ever since 2001, Tomo Tanaka of Nunu's House produces one of the most amazing miniatures I've ever seen online. Each and every one of his creations boasts such fascinating clarity of details, the cuteness factor as well as the perfect texture for every . Seeing them at first glance, one would have mistaken them for normal sized things, but most of them were even smaller than a coin.
His most popular pieces were the miniature food. Here are some of my personal favorites:

Look at that sauce, and those bananas!

Day 6 - your all time favorite movie

It may sound cliche to some of you but I absolutely worship The Godfather.

My love story with the film began when I read Mario Puzo's book of the same name. It's a good novel and I realized that I need to watch the movie adaptation immediately. Fortunately a friend of mine gave me a copy and I finally saw it. The Godfather has been all over the media for many years now, dubbing it as one of history's best movies ever produced, so I'm not entirely ignorant of its existence. However since I already know what to expect after reading the book, watching every scene and seeing the characters come to life makes the experience a hundred times better.

What I love most about The Godfather was the way they portrayed family loyalty. Marlon Brando gave an incredible portrayal of Vito Corleone, especially in showing genuine concern for his sons and acquaintances.
Plus, Al Pacino looks so pretteh in this film. I don't understand why the filmmakers were reluctant to have him as Micheal. I mean looking at his face (and his height) no one would think he could assassinate a bunch of mafia bosses, but he did and he was positively effective that way.

What's not to like?

I have tons of favorites when it comes to movies, but I have this feeling that The Godfather will reign over my heart for quite some time ;)

On the European Hair of the 18th Century

I borrowed a book from the school library yesterday titled "The Long and Short of it: Five Thousand Years of Fun and Fury over Hair" by Bill Severn (Best known for his books on magic tricks. Magic. Tricks.) It's an old hardbound, yet contains a very good history on the way people treat hair and hairstyles over hundreds of years. There are lots of satires, debates as well as preferences that went in and out as different hairstyles went by. What fascinated me most was reading on how 18th century European ladies styled their hair:

Day 5 - discuss your feelings on the word “love” and the way it’s used in today

Love is so freaking broad. It is one word that constitutes a never ending horizon of an ocean. It could pertain to a love of an old man to his dog companion, the love of a mother feels while watching her son play happily with friends, the love of a sophomore feels for that senior, well you get the idea. Oftentimes however, love could also be connected to false promises, broken hearts and letting go.

A man may whisper "I love you" to his partner one peaceful morning then by afternoon, said the same three words to his mistress. A young girl might swear upon the heavens and the earth that she absolutely "love" this rock band she's currently listening to, but changes opinion upon hearing a song by another artist. A woman could also say that what she's feeling is "true love" but could not proclaim it to the world since the man she fell for is already taken.

Life is not perfect, so is love. Thus I am not aggressively against the careless way some people use the word these days. Everybody wants to hear it anyway. Who knows, maybe every time it is uttered as a form of deception or false assurance, a small sprinkle of honesty is spoken along with it, so not all "lies" are really lies.

In the end it's not the words but the actions and the intentions that matter most.

Finally Watched "The Conjuring" [May Contain Spoilers]

I watched The conjuring mainly to discover what all they hype was about. I chickened out at first since that stupid Annabelle doll is the first thing you see in the introduction. When I tried watching it again the next day, I finally finished it. It's a good film, I was entertained, horrified and yeah, I don't think I'll play hide and seek for a while, nor would I distrust a dog's behavior.

What blew me away was that the part I was scared most wasn't the usual make-you-scared scenes of the movie. True, the surprises they used were good, the dark corners were perfect, and that motherfucking doll. Creeps the fuck out of you, just utterly disturbing despite that the real life doll was actually cute.

Not fair!

The scariest scene for me was when Lorraine Warren started enumerating all the suspected ghosts she had researched about the Perron house and their back stories. It was a simple scene but I sure had goosebumps. When she talked about Bathsheba the witch, then that other mother, then the son. Whoa a houseful of ghosts. It really made sense after all the weird occurrences the family was experiencing. So my reaction? "Oh shit there are more than one ghost omfg how shit shit"

Another cool thing about this film is the possession scene. Unlike most exorcism movies, this one wasn't exaggerated, no heavy prosthetics, no gymnastic stunts and lesser gore. Maybe because this time, the movie is truly based off true events, and not a heavily edited anecdote. In fact, the paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren herself became the consultant to the filmmakers. It gives viewers a new reason to trust in the overused "Based on true events" theme in horror movies.

To read more about the movie and its history, read this article here, very informative and I highly recommend this film. Especially if you're planning to watch it alone ;)

Yakult and Tea

Last week, I blogged about me getting back into the world of tea. So far, I'm doing good and realized my love for the bitter warm taste of Earl Grey. However, I want to start trying out things with tea that I haven't tried before. Honey, milk, and lemon are popular tea enhancements, but lately I noticed the tea houses around the city offering Yakult based drinks. Apparently Yakult + Tea = Awesomeness. I wondered if it would yeild the same result if I tried this at home. Then I asked myself, why the hell not?

Unfortunately I'm busy right now, but I will update on this later when I'll finally try it.

Day 4 - your most significant childhood memory

How do you exactly know when a childhood memory is significant? I'm not sure sure what to include since my childhood had been a fortunate and happy one. Life was way better those days.

Well let me tell you about me and grandfather instead. My grandfather was one of the kindest man that ever lived. He's somewhere in heaven right now but I will never forget him. He was a gentle man, too generous and a grandfather to the core. My favorite memory with him was when he visited us for a few days when I was around eight years old. After a whole busy day at school, I always make it a point to arrive home early and watch Dragon Ball Z.

Afternoon ritual for kids of all ages

When my grandpa was present we watched it together. We were both definite Goku fans. An episode will crawl itself until night time, and my mother will always talk how amused she was when she saw the two of us with eyes glued to the screen like two toddlers. Oftentimes, grandpa will fall asleep unnoticed too, even if it's in the middle of one of the eternal battle scenes. Also this is the reason why I give sentimental value to Dragon Ball Z. Anime works in mysterious ways. This memory didn't gave me a dramatic lesson in life and realizations and shit, it is significant simply because it's one of the most treasured memories I have.

Day 3 - your thoughts on religion

I was born and raised as a Catholic in a Catholic country. I am neither thrilled nor sanguished by my religion though. For me, I don't want to be pulled down by the traditions of the church I grew up in, I respect all other religions, as well as their own gods or their own version of God. What matter to me most is not how you worship, but on who you are as a person.

I could say I am devoted to Him in my own way, I believe that everything in life has a reason and as much as I could, I try to have a strong faith despite all the shortcomings I'm getting. However, I don't believe that the Bible is perfect, I don't trust priests, I don't go to Mass every Sunday. Some people might say that I'm doing it wrong, I'm not traditional, someone even told me that I'm an athiest. I must be the first ever believer who is at the same time an atheist. Cool logic bro, very informative.

Why? Do I have to go to church every single Sunday to be called a good Christian? Do I need to say my confessions weekly? Do I have to shout out to everyone that I memorize the Bible and all the names of the saints to be a good person? Due to that kind of logic, I decided to be a little silent on how I do things with God. 

In conclusion, religion for me are just versions of beliefs, I accept all differences and every religion has its own awe-inspiring elements as well as bad sides. No religion is above another. I believe in God, but I don't like to treat my faith as a public display or a decoration. My faith is a personal relationship with Him, and noone could take that away from me.

Day 2 - your thoughts on death

A good reminder to all humans out there: We are all going to die. So stop being a special snowflake and act like death is a distant star in the unreachable heavens above, waiting to be discovered because in reality, it's a fucking meteor that could fall on you anytime anywhere.

That pretty much sums up my idea about death, I believe I could die in any way but I accept this mystery and talk about it in a casual way. Unlike those superstitious bastards who refrain from talking about death like it's Voldemort's name, I am already laying down my plans for my funeral.
Songs to be played:

1. Koe by Arashi 
2. Be with You by Arashi
3. Gangnam Style by Psy
4. Carry on my Wayward Son by Kansas
5. Konseki by Ninomiya Kazunari

Haha, the third and the fourth are merely for the lolz, though I want the Japanese songs to be played with English translation to be shown to everyone, then everyone would feel the pain and the memories along with the words of a foreign music. Booyah

Why should people be afraid of it in the first place? It happens to everybody, like we are born to die right? In fact and we actually welcome the fact of our existence's ultimate destination, we began to appreciate life more. We will live life to the fullest when we know that we only live on borrowed time and bound to return it someday.

Death is not something to be feared or hated. Let it be a reminder how beautiful life is and not taking it for granted.

Link Feature: Three Pinoy Online Shops to Bookmark

Besides the ongoing blog challenge I'm doing right now, I will also start featuring websites, blogs and all other cool things I found online. For this first post for the series, I am putting three Philippine-based online shops under the spotlight:

Heima

Heima® Home & Lifestyle is an online shop that takes pride from their original product lines. They design furnitures like chairs, tables, etc.The cool thing is they accept custom-made orders, giving home furnitures a cute and unique twist with good attention to detail. I love going through their catalog, everything looks contemporary but colorful. They also offer home decors, cameras, phones, paper products, and from the screen cap above, typewriters. They sure are versatile, and that's a good thing.
Browse more from their shop here

Hey Kessy

Hey Kessy is just one of the increasing number of washi tape resellers online. The reason why I chose to feature this shop instead is because one, they are affordable and readily available in Philippines. This would mean lesser shipping expense as well as lesser risk. They also sell other paper products like stickers, party bags, paper straws, but also offers tote bags. But they are best known for their washi tapes nonetheless. I love their wide selection of designs, from polka dots to floral designs. It's really neat since craft materials are almost always hard to find in Philippines.
See them here, and hessy kessy is also active in Facebook

Belle de Jour 

Belle de Jour is French fashion lingo for an “It” girl. From a personal DIY project, BDJ power planners have certainly come a long way. The company "envision products that empower Filipinos to —try, dare, fail, succeed, experience—live." Classy. They are now specializing in creating sophisticated and girl-power themed planners, and journals, plus membership into their very own community.
The journals also consists of articles, and coupons, making it more than a regular woman's journal. I don't personally use planners, I am not the organized type of girl, but their products are worth the look though. Find out more about them here

Day 1 - your favorite picture of yourself and one interesting fact for every year you've been alive

Look into my eyes.

I don't know why but I just love staring into this pic. Maybe I just love the way my eyes look. This was taken years ago and my hair was still long.

By the way, here are 19 interesting (I hope) facts about me:

1. I love Kitkat, I could finish a box in one day if possible.
2. I still have my childhood stuff toy with me (nope not a teddy bear) She's a stuffed sheep and apparently is as old as I am.
3. Talking about toys, I never had a teddy bear. Seriously.
4. I hope to visit India someday, they have one of the most colorful cultures ever.
5. I like eating anything that has cheese on it.
6. Which means I like lasagna too.
7. Ever since I was 13, I've only been using only three pairs of shoes.
8. I collect books. I've already acquired so many titles my mother had them transported to a relative of ours for safekeeping.
9. I don't trust strangers.
10. I'm a fast reader. I finished reading ASOIAF in less than two months. A 400-page book could be finished in one afternoon.
11. I am moody when it comes to drawing
12. Nobody seems to like the music I love. =(
13. I'm a 4chan lurker, fave boards: /po/, /cgl/, /gd/ and /x/
14. I love basketball, and tends to swear while watching games
15. I don't know how to swim
16. I love singing but singing curses me to the deepest hell.
17. I have three moles on my left arm, and three more moles on the right arm and they are placed almost parallel to each other.
18. I love dogs and cats.
19. But I've never been to a real zoo before. You know, I haven't seen an elephant, lion, tiger or a giraffe in person.

Let Us Talk About Tea

I love tea. I practically grew up with it. I even preferred tea over water when I was younger. However I'm only the teabag type of fan. I still consider myself a newbie, I absolutely have no idea on the basics of deciding whether the cup I'm having is good or not, I was even surprised when I read about brewing tea, temperature and steep time are included in making tea. Like w-what the hell are those? I need a thermometer?

So here I am, trying to get inside the world of tea. Why all of the sudden? This is due to me noticing the increasing number of milk-tea establishments in the city. The weird thing is, I hate the sweet taste of milk overpowering tea that it has become an after taste instead. That woke up the sleeping giant in me. I missed drinking tea all of the sudden. Memories of afternoons came rushing back. I suddenly remembered a younger me putting lemon in a teacup, or my mother pouring milk into a mug of dark ceylon.

So now since I'm craving for tea, let me now refrech myself on how to actually make a cup: