tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297942652024-03-24T15:22:53.093+08:00Public Static<b>Batteries not included.</b> <br><br> <i>
Think of this as my twitter, except longer <br>
and not (just) about what I just ate for lunch </i>REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.comBlogger1114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-57269927246721105962015-01-05T22:14:00.002+08:002015-01-05T22:14:46.861+08:00Red Diaries: Baguio!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's a bit amazing how I've managed to travel to so many
countries of the world and still have never gone to Baguio in my 30 years
existence. Well, once, but I was barely a year old then so I don't remember
anything about it, so it doesn't count - which also applies to a lot of places
where I just got wallplaster drunk and promptly lost all my related memories.
The main reason why I never got back to baguio after that, not counting a
possible persona-non-grata status I do not know of, is that everytime somebody
in my family suggests going to baguio (i.e. me) somebody else (i.e. mom) will always suggest going to Tagaytay instead
which is kinda like Baguio, only instead of going north you go south and
instead of seeing Igorots, you see lots of people offering inexplicable
boatrides to Taal lake.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So anyhoo, my in-laws decided to take me with them to Baguio
along with my 1yo kid and my wife. I said "oh wow. This is finally
it." I took it as a chance to improve my scope of travel in the
Philippines, which up until that trip marked the most northern place I've
travelled to as Clark Pampanga (relatively speaking it’s far north already. Why
else would you be seeing so many white people there?) <o:p></o:p></div>
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This also counted as the longest road trip I've embarked on
since that one time we crossed Saudi Arabia from Dhahran to Jeddah (which is
like driving from Ilocos to Zamboanga) across cities, deserts, and unsanitary
truck stops. Even so, the road trip was just as hard with all the crying,
pooping, and vomiting involved – and that’s just us parents. Don't get me wrong,
my baby was perfectly behaved at the start of the trip up until she got
bored - which
was around the time we started the car engine in the garage. After that she
kind of treated the car as her personal jungle gym and constantly relocated
herself into various locations in the vehicle causing varying levels of
discomfort to the rest of the passengers. I would not have been surprised if at
some point we found her playing inside the exhaust manifold. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And almost every
single person in Manila woke up one Christmas and said "hmm I think I'll
go to Baguio" more than of the
entire population density of our capital shifted to Baguio practically
overnight and threatened to capsize the island of Luzon. Suffice to say,
traffic was horrendous. It took us almost 10 hours to get to Baguio - which is
almost the same travel time as going from Makati to Libis on a weeknight (que
horror)! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Still, I finally got to Baguio. And it's just as I imagined.
(Like Tagaytay but with less Taal boat signs)<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first night I was able to go to Burnham Park because our
Hotel was strategically located beside it, which was awesome. Burnham Park
looked to me like what Rizal Park could've been had we not allowed it to be
destroyed by commercial establishments, asphalt, and copious amounts of low-cost
hookers. I particularly loved the lake in the middle of it all, where one can
for a small amount of money, rent a boat to row back and forth on - or for
free- sit down on one of the benches and watch people who have never done
boating in their lives become uncomfortable after five minutes of rowing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day we went to the Strawberry farm which isn't so
much of a farm as it is a market place since they were selling everything from
corn to broom sticks to shawarma. And no, it wasn't strawberry shawarma either.
Yeah, I was disappointed too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After that we also went to Mines view park where one can
admire the scenic beautify of people admiring the scenic beauty of the Cordillera
Mountains. As a bonus trivia, if you squint really hard you can probably see
communist insurgents waving back at you and asking you to join their cause
(don't. it's a tourist trap)<o:p></o:p></div>
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I got to eat corn and roasted squid which was very
delicious. Since we're far from the ocean, I assumed the squid is native to the mountains, using its tentacles
to swing from tree to tree, caught using barbecue sticks hurled at it by fierce
hunters. It also might be useful to mention now that I don't do background
research writing these articles (you’re not my teacher don't judge) <o:p></o:p></div>
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We also stopped by one of the greatest testaments to
Filipino culture - SM Baguio and ate at the world famous Mann Hann. And no,
it's not the same as the one in SM MoA. The spicy squid, for one, is made of
mountain squid. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Seriously though, we're practically the only people who
would probably go "This is such a wonderful place. The air is clean, the
food is awesome, the view is exhilarating. But you know what's missing?
Astrovision, Buko Joe, and a stuffy foodcourt." <o:p></o:p></div>
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Later that night, I raided the ukay ukay shops. Tourists
from Manila seem to go gaga for these second-hand thrift shops that contain
stuff they love to ignore back in Manila and there was more than one instance
that I found the shops in Manila selling the same thing for cheaper. I don't
know. It must be the cold weather. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I also went back to Burnham Park, this time alone - which
changed the game entirely. In the span of 15 minutes, three dudes approached me
asking if I'm interested in a) chicks b) full body massage c) full body massage
with chicks. I think I spent more time shooing them off than soaking up the
scenery. Operative term being "shooing" because I don't really want
to be stranded in Baguio left only with a questionably integrity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Also dropped by the night market, which is basically the
ukay ukay shops that already closed for the day moving their stuff in the
middle of the street and selling them for basically the same prices as earlier
that day. The tourists love it. I don't know. It must be the weather. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Before going back to Manila the following day we got to
visit the local palenke, by which I mean the seemingly-local palenke clearly
intended for tourists from Manila. Because unless the entire population of
Baguio has clearly switched to a Strawberry-Ube-Walis Tambo diet, that market
was not exactly selling anything else you need to survive. Where are, for
example, CDR-KING power banks?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I got me a boatload of strawberries which until today, more
than a week after the trip, I'm still struggling to finish. If ever somebody
stabs me with a knife, I swear I'll probably bleed strawberry mush instead of
blood. It's practically the same color so I don't really mind. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We also stopped by the Pink Sisters convent, which contrary
to popular belief, is actually more of peach than Pink. Also, apparently
they're not the same nuns who make child-labor flavoured ube delicacies. I got
confused. They didn’t mind. They probably get that a lot. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The trip down was pretty much uneventful, which left me room
for introspection. Sometimes it takes a trip to another place in the same
country to change your perspective on things. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Like a renewed love for nature. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The value of family bonding. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And how Baguio Oil is a big lie. <o:p></o:p></div>
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REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-32529809015749638902014-11-13T14:20:00.002+08:002014-11-13T14:20:11.606+08:00Atop Giants<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>(this was my final speech for ToastMasters' Competent Communicator course, delivered last March)</i><b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Good evening, fellow toastmasters, guests. I stand before
you here today for my final speech project, to deliver something inspiring.
This is by far the most difficult topic for me. Most speakers would draw from
their personal lives, and admirably so, would inspire with their experiences. I
admittedly have none of that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You see, I was born to a well-to-do family. I was never left
wanting. I was never hungry. Or poor. Or alone. I studied and graduated in
reputable schools. No honors. No vices. I studied a lot but I slacked off even
more. I went to work doing what I did best. I worked hard and played harder.
And now here I am. Boring you all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, I was born five meters from the finish line and all I
needed was to take the final few steps and succeed. I thought there's
absolutely nothing inspiring about that. Until I realized something.
Inspiration is not always an experience. Sometimes it is a spectacle. So
tonight, I'll just talk to you about WHY I was in fact born so close to
success. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My parents. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My father and mother arguably had similar beginnings. My
father, a fisherman in his youth, and my mother, a baker's daughter. They both
worked their way towards their education and founded our family on nothing but
the degrees on their back, the wits about their heads and the sweat of hard
work and dedication. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have always
admired that. But what made me admire them more went beyond just being able to
provide for our family. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'd like to share just one story. One that happened when I
was five and we were still living in Saudi Arabia. A Filipino couple stayed in
our house for a few weeks. I remember they were a charming couple. We later
brought them to another city we never heard of them again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> No big deal right? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I later learned of the story more after I grew up. As it
turns out, these couple were runaways. One night my dad was in a phone call
center when the two approached him and asked him for shelter. Sheltering
runaways was illegal, but my dad took them in anyway. Complete strangers. At
the risk of endangering us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The couple ran away because they were being maltreated. And
at the time the only way you could get safe passage back to the Philippines was
to stay in the Philippine Embassy at the kingdom's capital - a good 400 km
away. So we hid them for a week in our house. My parents fed, sheltered, and
comforted them and when the opportunity came that would give my dad an official
reason to travel to the far city so we had the right cover, we took them with
us to Riyadh. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throughout the ordeal we kids were brought along. The police
became less suspicious when kids were around. Less paperwork was checked. I
remember there was a certain degree of foreboding and danger in my parents'
faces throughout the trip. It was the fear of getting caught, apprehended, and
have our entire family jailed for helping the couple escape. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As if by the work of God's hand, there were no checkpoints
that day. There were a few close calls but we managed to bring them to the
Embassy. Many tears were shed and hearts grew light and heavy at the same time.
We had done it. And we had done it for nothing in return.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I later asked why. Why the risk. Why the selflessness.
Was it God? Was it instinct? What would drive my parents to risk it all for two
strangers we've never met? To this my mother answered, and I will never forget
it until today. "Because it is the right thing to do."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's not enough that my parents had provided for all our
needs despite starting from scratch. Through this story, through many other
stories, they taught us values by example. They taught us that some things go
beyond our basic instincts and comfort zones. Things like principles, morality.
The reason why I became what I am today is because I had such great parents.
Selfless, principled, and compassionate. I have a kid now. Possibly more one
day. I will never have the awesome stories my father had as a fisherman, a
dockworker, a construction worker, or an amazing crosscountry escape. But I
shall try my best to become the paragon standing beside my children. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Life never deals equal amounts of fairness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My life so far was never designed to be
inspiring and that's okay. I stand now before you, not as a testament to my own
story but as a witness to the greatness of other people. Of my parents. And now
that I am one myself, I realize that success is ultimately measured by the
legacy that we leave behind. We are all born into this world standing on top of
giants. It is therefore our duty, one day to grow up to become giants in our
own right for the next generation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the greatest human beings we can be. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As parents. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Good evening.</div>
</div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-55862579307639396132013-12-31T08:19:00.001+08:002013-12-31T08:19:10.661+08:00Resolutions 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another year done, another list unfulfilled. We try, but it's hard. This was my list from last year:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">1. Write screenplay for at least two short films</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">2. Publish at least 10 articles for the InTouch magazine while doing edits. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">3. IELTS</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">4. Check prospects for another job. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.796875px;">4. Continue the stuff above that I did not completely abandon (book, running, swimming, standup)</span><br />
<br />
I missed almost everything on my 2013 list but that's okay. It's amazing how much stuff you don't never plan, but turn up anyway for the betterment of everybody. This year:<br />
<br />
I got married. And this time it's no longer an online game marriage. <br />
<br />
I went back to the US. I returned from the US.<br />
<br />
I joined Inforum. I drank the free beer.<br />
<br />
I rode all the rollercoasters I missed the last time I was in Orlando.<br />
<br />
I drank butterbeer. <br />
<br />
I returned to doing amateur standup comedy. I still suck at it, but hey, free beer every now and then.<br />
<br />
I now have a baby. She drinks a lot but beer's off the menu. <br />
<br />
I joined Toastmasters. I learned there's not much toasting beer there, but it's all good. <br />
<br />
And the Martians have been thwarted for another year (If you think I'm making this part up, look outside and see if there are any flying saucers. No? You can thank me later.) <br />
<br />
It's been a very good year.<br />
<br />
Next year, I want to:<br />
<br />
1. Finish the godawfully delayed book that I've been trying to publish for almost a presidental term's length already.<br />
<br />
2. Host an event.<br />
<br />
3. Join the Toastmaster's speech competitions.<br />
<br />
3b. If possible actually win something.<br />
<br />
4. Create that 10 minute killer set for Standup Comedy<br />
<br />
5. Raise baby into the awesomest 1yo kid and beyond.<br />
<br />
6. But first, baby cosplay (because she wont remember jack)<br />
<br />
7. Go back to running/swimming. Finish Zombies Run!<br />
<br />
Good bloody luck to everybody. Myself included. More of myself actually.<br />
<br />
Toodles!</div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-85653971635435457322013-11-27T14:11:00.003+08:002013-11-27T14:11:51.629+08:00What's been up?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In case anybody asks what the hell happened to this blog and why I have not updated anything remotely original for the longest time, I'm proud to say that I have a bucket-full of excuses for you to choose from.<br />
<br />
I am guest writing at Agila News at the moment. You can check the links out for my articles. It's still the same Public Static content, just more news-y.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://agilanews.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/spain-sends-church-rebuilding-team/">http://agilanews.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/spain-sends-church-rebuilding-team/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://agilanews.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/santa-claus-naughtynice-list-unconstitutional-bayan-muna/">http://agilanews.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/santa-claus-naughtynice-list-unconstitutional-bayan-muna/</a><br />
<br />
I also got married. I now have a kid. Yes, I did both at the same time, in parallel. Man was meant to multitask. Specialization is for insects.<br />
<br />
I'm also doing standup comedy regularly now. So if you want to hear old jokes from this blog rehashed for oral delivery, you can go watch during my sets in Chihuahua GB2 and Tomato Kick Katipunan (sometimes).<br />
<br />
There's also Toastmasters, which I'm proud to say I'm almost done with the first set of speeches. You can message me if you're interested to join in the fun.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, my twitter @redkinoko is still active and dapper as fuck. Follow me if you like silly oneliner jokes that are 160 characters or less (because I'm mostly lazy now. Well, lazier-ER)<br />
<br />
That said, thanks for dropping by. I'll try to resume my blog articles in a while. <br />
<br />
<br /></div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-92099928789974579512013-11-12T19:03:00.001+08:002013-11-12T19:03:22.959+08:00Ony The Best<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's times like this when I'd like to believe in the selfless brotherhood, the camaraderie between strangers, the love that unites peoples, and the heart that gives unconditionally. I'd like to believe in the joy that can only be brought by giving, the sorrow that drives to help, the empathy of the human spirit. I'd like to believe in humanity. In hope. In that I am not alone in thinking this. <br /><br />I'd like to remember this moment, not as that one moment where a storm destroyed records, communities, and lives, but that one moment we as a people were able to put aside our differences, ignore our bickerings for a moment, and ultimately find a common cause on the most basic levels of morality to help out every way we can. I'd like to remember this moment and feel pride, not simply because we did something good, but because we did something beyond what's expected of us. <br /><br />Count the blessings that you have this year, then make change for the less fortunate. It's been a bountiful year for everybody. I know it has been for me. I'd take a look at the wall posts, the instragram pictures, the tweets - the past - and know how kind life has been. Unfortunately it's not the case for everybody. There's a cry from the less fortunate. Let goodness beget more. There's always something you can give. And there's always something only you can give. Let's share what we can. Let's do what we can. Let's be the best we can be at life's worst. That one day when we look back at this moment, we'll be able to smile and we'll be able to say <br /><br />"We shined together in our darkest of times".</div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-65719397424580039822013-11-07T17:15:00.002+08:002013-11-07T17:15:19.434+08:00Toastmasters Competent Communicator Speech #5 : Videoke Culture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
T<i>he following article is a transcript of my recent Toastmasters speeches. They're not meant to be read in written form, so a lot of context may be lost in the process. Also, proofreading. LOL. </i><br />
<br />
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I'll be talking about the cultural impact of Videoke, which I'm sure Filipinos love on a genetic level and that this song will contain singing. The bad news is that I will be singing. That said, Good evening, Fellow toastmasters and guests. <br /><br />We're the only country that uses the term Videoke. Did you know that? Videoke, or Karaoke as it was originally called, was first popularized in Japan, which is their biggest contribution to the world next to fuel efficient cars, instant noodles, and pokemon. Karaoke in Japanese is from is roughly translated to "Please don't sing My Way". <br /><br />There's still some debate as to who invented the Karaoke, through the best way to put it is that it was invented in parallel in Japan by Daisuke Inoue in Japan and Roberto Del Rosario in the Philippines at about the same time. That's how much we love karaoke. We know it's already going to be invented, but we'll invent our own just to make sure. The invention is largely influenced by minus-one recordings that were again, popularized by Filipino performers in Japan. So if there's any country that really really wants Videoke to come into existence it's US. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />I don't think there's any other culture in the world that let Karaoke sink deeper into tradition than Filipinos. For instance, we're the only country in the world where Videoke machines have wheels. We don't have to go to videoke. Videoke goes to us! In the province, one baranggay could have two machines or rent, and they'd be used for all the events of the entire village and by all events I mean ALL. parties, weddings, elections, FUNERALS, you name it, videoke will be there. <br /><br />We love karaoke so much, there are provincial buses that have questionable brakes, but excellent Karaoke systems on board. That pretty much shows our priorities. Ferries have Videoke. BP Alcaraz has videoke, presumably because they want to sing the Chinese away from our territories.<br /><br />It's even more evident here in Manila. Our Top 3 night outs are 1. drinking beer with friends. 2. Videoke. 3. Videoke drinking beer with friends. Why Videoke? It's a good way to celebrate. and a good way to forget your problems, unless your problem is your singing voice. In which case, it's a good way to face your problems. We love videoke because we Filipinos associate strong emotions to SOngs. If GLEE were real life, it'd be all about Filipinos. We have a song for every situation there is. Heartbroken basted? <i>Ang putong di mabile...</i> Meeting an Ex? <i>Muling ibalik ang tamis ng pagibiiiiiiiig</i>. Got friend zoned? <i>KAIBIGAN LANG PALA.</i><br /><br />In the short span that Videoke has been around, our culture has grown to adopt it like it's always been there for us. I'd like to think that's always the case. That when I die, as all Filipinos eventually do, I want to be up there in the heavens, facing St Peter. I want to say to him, "So, how did I do?" And I'd hear something familiar. <br /><br />*CUE VIDEOKE SCORE MUSIC*<br /><br /></div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-76330747350322496552013-08-27T00:05:00.000+08:002013-08-27T12:58:09.911+08:00Crying the Pork Away <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's so easy to complain, isn't it? Heck, nowadays you don't even have to voice out to complain anymore. A few clicks, a few button presses and you're already complaining using the voice of some other person in the internet. In the digital age we thought we could finally have absolute freedom of opinions. What we actually got was the absolute freedom to repost other people's opinions. In that light, it's never been easier to complain and it's now even easier to be angry, stay angry.<br />
<br />
But is anger, complaint, and discontent all there is to fixing things?<br />
<br />
When one of the organizers of the rally today was asked of what can be done in lieu of the pork, she couldn't say anything remotely practical and said "well, we're not the experts".<br />
<br />
No one is.<br />
<br />
But if you're going to be responsible enough to carry a protest you should be responsible enough to try and understand the situation as well. Not one or the other. They have to go hand in hand. How else would you know something is being done? Solving a problem as an adult isn't just about complaining. It's about understanding the picture and pointing out where it can be fixed. There's a difference between "I WANT MY CANDY" and "You have candy, and I deserve it because." It's called maturity. Maturity in complaints means knowing what can be done and acting on it rather than just waiting for somebody else to hear you.<br />
<br />
So here's a bigger picture.<br />
<br />
Not THE big picture, just a bigger one.<br />
<br />
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree, the pork needs to go. The fund disbursement roles should change hands from legislative to executive branch (which, yes, includes the office of the president). But until that role actually changes hands, removing the PDAF at once means a lot of people who have good reasons and are depending on them will be left hanging. Scholars. Sick people. True charities. Yes, they exist. Nobody ever mentions them because nothing's interesting about them, other than they are in need of assistance.<br />
<br />
You cannot just tell these people "Tough shit, you've been sucking from a particularly corrupt, deprecated teat. Better start looking somewhere else." There is nowhere else. Believe it or not, the PDAF is one of the fastest ways one can get financial aid when you're part of the marginalized and outside Metro Manila (where there's PAGCOR, bigger charity groups). Ask anybody who was in actual need and benefitted from it. I'd like to bet half of the people in the rally today have never seen it in action. Sure it's not incorruptible (hell no). Sure, it doesn't serve a lot of people. Sure it reeks of feudalism. But I can assure you, it does work when you're tens of thousands of pesos short of getting that kidney transplant for your father.<br />
<br />
You cannot say "Well they should itemize this in the budget!". That's the whole point of PDAF. The fund originally existed for priority issues that fell outside the items mentioned in the budget. How can you anticipate Lolo Lando's kidney failing during budget deliberation? Storms? Dengue Outbreaks? Famines? Visits of the Lopezes?<br />
<br />
You cannot also say "Well we're the ones paying taxes so we should be the ones benefiting, not them!" News flash. Taxation serves three purposes. Running government services, economical control, and redistribution of wealth. While running public healthcare, charity services, and emergency response falls to the first part, when things are not running as efficiently as they should, a special avenue needs to be made available to fix where the seams aren't perfect. PDAF belongs to the third, and it aims to provide for those special exceptions that the first component cannot address.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong. There is an issue at hand. The PDAF is not working as intended and this has to be addressed, yes. But will we be be able to address it now and solve the problem forever? Good bloody luck with that. Because as long as there is a need and the people see the last viable
solution in PDAF, there will still be calls for its return in one form
or the other. And for so long as it exists, the problem stands. A gradual transition from dependence in pork to smaller priority funds on executive bodies and working oversight is the only way this can get fixed without long term repercussions. <br />
<br />
Abolishing pork is a goal, not a solution. The solution is actually a longer and gruelling process of reform that requires gargantuan political will and ever present vigilance from the populace. But of course that's too daunting and far too complex to place in a banner and gain traction in this age where the average attention span is often no longer than two clicks or 140 characters.<br />
<br />
It's hard. And the first thing you can do to actually make it work is to get over the idea of simplicity. It never is. It's called daang matuwid, not daang madali.<br />
<br />
Because complaining is easy.<br />
<br />
Understanding, understandably, never is. </div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-32819223439879115252013-07-19T16:21:00.001+08:002013-07-19T16:21:18.241+08:00Plot Fridays : Dambana <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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2015 - The Philippine envoy to China is assassinated en route to a three-party talk. 24 hours later, an anoymous warning is plastered online via various hacked government websites of nuclear counterstrike. Three days later, a major Chinese city is devastated by a dirty bomb explosion. China demands justice and reparation for the action by presenting a five point unconditional ultimatum. The Philippines clears itself of any links to the terrorist act and refuses all but one demand.<br />
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Citing its defense doctrine, China declares war and moves in to execute their Battle Plan Orange, beginning a successful invasion and proxy occupation of Manila and outlying regions. Against all expectations, no UN coalition is formed to intervene. Abandoned and abruptly pushed back to the far hinterlands, resistances form amongst the displaced Filipinos.<br />
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One group of resistance gain notoriety among the invading forces calling themselves the Los Bravos. They get a mission from contacts of Americans covert operatives to rescue the imprisoned Vice President. Things get awry, and they end up running away from a dedicated group of elite forces with a dying Vice President in tow. Along the way they learn the uncomfortable truth behind the assassination and the terrorist act that began it all. Eventually, they realize that they have with them the one key piece of information to turn the tides of liberation.<br />
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That is, of course, provided they survive to tell the tale. </div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-76716538069152272022013-07-12T13:49:00.000+08:002013-07-12T13:49:22.932+08:00Twitter One-liner Roundup (Sept 2012 - July 2013) @redkinoko<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There's something special about assknobs who've never worked a day in their lives rant about squatters being lazy and self-entitled.<br />
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1. Legalize porn 2. Set unrealistic expectations for an entire generation of boys 3. Population ↓ 4. Tissue and lotion industry ↑ <br />
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My concept of a low cost 3D printer involves a wad of clay, a schematic printout, and copious amounts of whiskey.<br />
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Casper was a 2-hour long movie about what it feels like to be dead and still friendzoned.<br />
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Something's wrong with our generation if we have to go online before we can learn if somebody is a person of prayer.<br />
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Word of the day: Gallivanting. In Tagalog, "nangangahoy".<br />
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Drunk playing billiards sans a shirt at 9 in the morning. It's amazing how my ideas of being successful and being a failure are the same.<br />
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Why does Team Bon Chon Of The Game sound more of an affront than a corporate award?<br />
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New term of the day: #kiligtae as in "sa sobrang kilig... " Usage: "Dumaan si Dong kanina, walang Tshirt. Ayun, kiligtae naman si Maria."<br />
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Remember before the 2008 financial crisis, the biggest problem that we had deal with as a country was Hale's music? #wehaditgood<br />
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I wish I could rename my city Mon. Then I can skip the first day of the week on the grounds that it's Mon Day. #okaythatmadesenseinmydream<br />
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Release a bunch of plastic toys and nobody cares. Tell them it's collectible and everybody starts losing their minds.<br />
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People complaining about pictures of two hot chicks kissing in support of basic rights proves people will complain about just about anything<br />
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In other news, hell no longer requires a VISA to visit and will be issuing multiple entry passes for EDSA commuters on Friday evenings.<br />
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We're looking at the first generation of parents to raise their kids as online spectacles. We're looking at the birth of Generation #Like.<br />
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Actual happiness is what happens when we're too busy trying to capture the moment on instagram.<br />
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#insultoftheday His meter's still running but the engine's died long ago.<br />
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If the stock market were the police the biggest offense in the book would be counterflowing. That said, have a nice trading day!<br />
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The market is like the hulk and you're like Bruce Banner. The market does what the market wants and at the end of all that, you're shirtless<br />
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Sabi nila di na iniisip ng tao si Rizal. Di siguro nagcocommute at gumagamit ng barya yung nagsabi nun.<br />
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When the waters rise and the streets bog down into a quagmire of metal, mettle, and mud - the street vendors shall inherit the earth.<br />
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Why does "taba ng utak" sound more like an insult than genuine praise? haha<br />
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Sana parang siopao na lang ang mga tao. Depende sa kulay ng tuldok kung ano ung tunay na dinadala nila sa loob. #creepysaunaramifications<br />
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You'll know if a person is from the future by the current problems he is able to laugh at and the joyous, fleeting moments he cries to.<br />
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It would be so awesome if in #GoT the true king of the north would turn out to be Santa Claus. House Claus: You Better Watch Out.<br />
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Independence 'nday . She's taking a day off. From Tyranny. #pinoymovieideas<br />
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Remember. Starve your senses, feed your imagination.<br />
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And I have a good hunch that they ask you to use streetsmarts when trading so that you're practiced for when you're sleeping in the streets.<br />
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No swimming stroke in the world can save you from a raging waterfall better than avoiding being in the water in the first place. #stocktrading<br />
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Remember, you won't run out of problems but you can choose which ones to fuss over. It'd be a waste to get wrinkles over something trivial.<br />
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Zoren/Carmina may have upped the bar as far as weddings go but thanks to the Freys, you can always say "Well at least it wasn't THAT bad."<br />
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The morality of this generation can be summed in a sentence: "Help my friend by clicking like!"<br />
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Sometimes I think George RR Martin has a trim() function given how quickly he removes all those extra characters.<br />
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DUDURUGIN KITA AT WAWALISIN #randompinoyactionmovietitles<br />
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SABONG NG DUGO #randompinoyactionmovietitles<br />
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#throwbackthursday Alternatives: #trombonethursdays #trogothursdays #trololololothursdays #throwbackchato<br />
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You gotta hand it to Jimmy Santos then. Nobody's laughed at him in decades but nobody's gotten pissed for just as long.<br />
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Nothing beats the empowerment stock investment gives you by allowing you to mismanage your funds firsthand.<br />
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Now if Daniel Padilla came out as a lesbian, THAT would be surprising. It will explain a couple of things but still...<br />
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If you want a garland around your head, you gotta learn to stick your neck out some.<br />
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A good team strategy is like a shitty boy band. #1D<br />
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The thing about Candy Crush is it allows you to give life while depriving you of yours.<br />
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Heard SM Aura, thought it was a shortened nick for Sodom and Gomorrah.<br />
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Why is it that the same guys who hate Yes/Love radio tend to be the same people who keep on using "pag may time"? San kaya galing yun, aber?<br />
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#VinDieselSpotting sounds wrong. I didn't even know he had periods.<br />
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Eksena sa gas station: Gasboy: "Boss anong ikakarga natin ?" Drayber: "Diesel." #VinDieselSpotting<br />
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I don't see how it's treasure when we call it seafood. Gold is treasure too but you don't see me eating that for pulutan.<br />
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Overheard at the elevator this morning : "Isa lang sa binoto ko di pumasok. Sayang si Jack Enrile." That's democracy at work for you.<br />
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I'm just saying if these casinos really want Filipino customers, they'd have Jueteng, bidyo karera, and sabong ng gagamba at the tables.<br />
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A waffle is just a pancake that goes to the gym.<br />
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Jetlag is the fine you pay for violating nature's law against travelling faster than the Earth's revolution.<br />
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What can you say of a society that blesses using Instagram and prays using Facebook?<br />
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Kaya mahirap business dito eh. Once a month,nasa BIR ka na,pagdating ng tax season, babalik ka pa ulit. Daig pa ang babae sa dami ng dalaw.<br />
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Other franchises Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson should be inserted in: Enteng Kabisote, Shake Rattle & Roll, all John Lloyd-tries-to-cry movies.<br />
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Google should call a localized version of Google Streetview as Google 'Skinita.<br />
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With the kind of justice that gets handed out for highprofile cases in our country, it's still amazing we're not resorting to vigilantism<br />
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A normal human being has to do the Number 2 at least once a day. Why in the world we have to hide it is beyond me. Shouldn't we be proud?<br />
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A stupid idea does not go as far as a stupid idea and cooperative friends.<br />
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Sa mga nagiisip magmadre, "Dont start nun wont be nun."<br />
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London now has automated urinals that come out at night for drunk people. Cool, but when I'm drunk, everything's automatically a urinal.<br />
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"May distinction ba kung pang patay pang wedding or pang office yung barong?" "Wedding -pag nakatayo ka.Funeral pag nakahiga ka" @patpating<br />
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That footnote in the map will never be worth the split blood it will be written with.<br />
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Machete. The original fertility statue.<br />
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If they do build that Titanic II ship, they better make sure all the cars in the cargo hold are double locked.<br />
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Nagpatugtog ng "It's Raining Men" sa loob ng car pag all-boys gimik. #FriendshipOver<br />
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Nagbukas ng Humpy Dumpy (yung violet) habang katabi ka sa loob ng Field Trip bus. #FriendshipOver<br />
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The one line you don't want to hear from the surgeon: "Wala pang three seconds.."<br />
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Pulled-out-of-my-ass trivia: Pope Gregory XIII shortened February to help out guys who overspent their salaries during Valentines.<br />
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At the very least can we get a choice of downvotes and upvotes in a computerized election? I don't know who to vote,but I do know who NOT to<br />
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I kind of wish our local elections were like the Oscars.We'd speculate for months on the nominees and then at the end,Anne Hathaway wins<br />
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After a while you end up making more comments about your craft than actual output. That, ladies and gents, is where all the drama comes from<br />
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What were my teachers thinking when they made us do valentine's day cards? In an all-boys school?<br />
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Plot fridays: A boy wakes up to find the ghosts of Rizal, Bonifacio, and Lapulapu helping him with everyday life. Hilarity ensues.<br />
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When will we ever get The Apprentice, Star Wars edition?<br />
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Osaka Irridology is far from useless. It gives you a license to stare at a girl's eyes without coming off as a creep.<br />
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Back then you didn't need a cause to run. And you didn't need to run to help a cause.<br />
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Kung gusto mo malaman ang tunay na pananaw ng tao sa relihiyon, utangan mo ng malupit.<br />
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Pg nakakakita ako ng kalbo na makapal ang balbas,iniimagin ko nagbakasyon yung buhok sa leeg tapos naging permanent resident na sa katagalan<br />
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Lahat naman ng coke bumubula pag bagong bukas. Balikan mo ako pag sumingaw na at kaya mo pa rin yang inumin.#loveadvise<br />
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The robbers aimed for a shop on the third floor inside a crowded mall surrounded by perpetual traffic. That's about as crazy as it gets.<br />
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It's possible that those haters you call are just normal people who have good reason to hate you because you're a complete ass. #sadtruths<br />
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Can we have a Lea Salonga rule wherein odds of Lea being mentioned in any conversation about theater music increases exponentially overtime?<br />
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They were playing the Zoren/Carmina nuptial vid at the entrance of a Weding expo, just to remind the guys how high the bar is right now.<br />
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You gotta embrace the pleasant random moments of life. They aren't likely to happen again if you miss them the first time around.<br />
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The best writing is the one that you do when you are supposed to be doing something else more important.<br />
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It's a bit f'ed up that one day when we have kids, we're going to tell a fairytale and we have to clarify that it's not one of the reboots.<br />
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Tandaan. Kahit si Juan Tamad na naghahantay na lang malaglagan ng prutas ay nag-effort maghanap ng lugar kung san may malalaglag na prutas.<br />
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Ang tunay na kayamanan, yung hindi madaling manakaw. Tulad ng megayatch, eroplano, at building.<br />
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Mahirap tumulong ng tunay sa kapwa kung yung kanang kamay mo nasa mouse at nagcclick ng "like" at "share". #ponderisms<br />
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Madalas kasi, mas takot pa tayo sa solusyon kesa sa problema.<br />
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And then the angel said "But my Lord, all that you said will make the Programmer the easiest occupation of all." God winked. "Legacy code."<br />
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In love with the idea of making something that far outlasts my lifetime.<br />
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The greatest tragedy of our generation is in thinking that the ability to spend money for stuff is pretty impressive.<br />
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Being an adult means some values that you held on to as a kid has to be compromised sometimes for the greater good of everybody around you.<br />
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Happy New Year, unless you're following the Chinese calendar, or from a country west of our time zone, or a Martian.<br />
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What's worse than a hipster? A hipster with an internet connection.<br />
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I believe in a destiny that courses through possibilities that you carve for yourself<br />
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He said he wanted an occupation that allowed him to travel a lot. I guess now that he's homeless...<br />
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Syet, para kang procedural programming. Wala kahit kaunting class. #insultoftheday<br />
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Always act in a manner that would not disappoint fans, real AND imaginary.<br />
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If you don't want the world to end, just keep running faster than the earth spins and it will always be today.<br />
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"You know what'd be a pimping way to celebrate my birthday? Red round cheese balls and pear-shaped cured pork meat. That'd be bangin' yo."<br />
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Jai alai is the only sport that genuinely scares me, even as a spectator. A ball travelling that fast hits you in the nuts, you're gone brah<br />
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Having facebook/google+/twitter buttons on porn sites is a lot like having souvenir photo booths inside strip clubs.<br />
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I guess people stop using "Lolo mo" as an interjection when they stop having lolos around. : (<br />
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The main difference between caroling here and abroad is that in addition to the spirit of Xmas and festivity,we have the spirit of extortion<br />
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You know it's possible that the other reindeers hated rudolph in the same way drivers hate people who always drive with high beam lights.<br />
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Masakit lang yan sa gilagid pag yun ang ginagamit mo sa pagiisip.<br />
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Whenever somebody says "Unang tagay sa demonyo" do you think he really drinks it?I wouldn't drink from the ground. Or from the GD bottlecap.<br />
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Doing christmas hit songs remixes should automatically disqualify you from Santa's nice list.<br />
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Awesome stories are formed when extraordinary things happen to ordinary people.<br />
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Please don't mistake emotion for motion.<br />
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Bakit artista at pornstar lang ang may screen name? Hindi ba pwedeng pati mga programmer din? Mga karpintero? Mga habalhabal driver?<br />
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If your sandcastle keeps getting swamped by waves, don't blame the builder for not making it tough enough. Move the fucking castle.<br />
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Being the leader isn't just about making big decisions. It also means overseeing the run-up prior to the part where you have to make one. :|<br />
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It might be that for gift wrappers, Christmas is that one time of the year that they have to deal with more red tape than usual.<br />
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Frosty The Snowman should be the president of Samahan ng Malamig ang Pasko.<br />
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Imagine how much more productive the senate would be if there were loaded revolvers just lying around for anybody who'd want to use them.<br />
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Whenever foreigners say Asians can't drive,I just imagine inviting them over to take a crack at driving anywhere in Metro Manila for an hour<br />
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In the US it's called Thanksgiving. In Manila it's called "Hurray, they're celebrating Thanksgiving over there so we don't have to work" day<br />
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Nothing makes you reevaluate your future faster than getting clocked real bad in the nuts.<br />
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It's amazing how what we do for a living and what we do to get a life are almost always completely opposite things.<br />
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Never ask me to hold the elevator door by saying "Up?" because my programmer mind will just say "true" and move on to the next thought.<br />
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The real sideeffect of not dying by old age is an exponentially increased fear of dying from everything else.<br />
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Why can't we have sports categories for people who juice? I bet competitions there would be pretty intense.<br />
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#datingtips When your date says "kadiri"/"kadire" instead of "yuck",you know you're on a whole new level of grossing her out.<br />
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Online protesters are the best.They make zero difference like the offline kind ,but they don't block the roads I have to use going to work.<br />
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Always appear one notch dumber than your mark. Unless, of course, you already are.<br />
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It's amazing how much the things that we fear eventually shape our personalities.<br />
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Pag binato ka ng bato, batuhin mo ng tinapay. Tapos habang pinupulot nya, stone cold stunner mo. Kwits, g*go.<br />
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Whenever I ride the MRT,I pick a random person and try to build a story based on features I can observe.That's speculative fic in a nutshell<br />
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It's a lot easier to motivate yourself when you realize your pace right now is enough to warrant getting shot in the head in other countries<br />
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When I'm dead people should bring food to my grave not flowers.In the off chance that I do come alive, I don't want to eat petals.<br />
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Pag nagkaanak ka, pangalanan mo ng "Ulam" para pwede nya gamitin pickup "Pangalan pa lang, ulam na."<br />
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It's those little compliments from people you'd least expect to appreciate that just blow you away.<br />
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Management term of the day: "Paralysis through analysis."<br />
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I want to become an orthopedic for the sole purpose of saying "ayos na ang butubuto" and mean it.<br />
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I'm guessing all the workers at the mug factory are doing overtime already in preparation for supplying about 80% of all gifts this Xmas.<br />
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Yung amoy sinehan yung office area dahil sa popcorn at wiwi. (not sure kung san galing yung wiwi)<br />
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"She's so full of herself!" shouted the girl. And then the mortician came in. #shortstories<br />
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Please don't say "He's so full of himself!" because I get scared at the thought that a person can be filled with something else.<br />
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Since we're going to have tons of money from the Sin Tax bill, can we like, spend some to bring back Yosi Kadiri?That guy was hella trippy.<br />
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Simple lang naman ang pangarap ko. Gusto kong magmodel para sa mga videoke music vids.Magaling akong maglakad at magpanggap na nagmumunimuni<br />
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See, the best stories are the ones that are so riveting you can't even pay attention to how it was delivered.<br />
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The best relationships are based on mutual agreements, like "I'll stop calling you, if you stop calling the cops."<br />
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#stratos #livejump If you want to recreate the feeling of being in the balloon, go to Google Maps,then zoom out very slowly for two hours.<br />
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Sleepy but still waiting for #redbullstratos jump. After 2000 years somebody will go faster than an enraged mother holding a chinelas.<br />
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People will believe anything you whisper to them, especially at gunpoint.<br />
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The scary part of death is not the idea of the end. It's the idea that life will go on for everybody else but not for you.<br />
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School Pride: For when there's lack of individual merit, one has to find distinction by association.<br />
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Editorials. Feh. When people agree with you, you say you have the pulse of the people and when they don't, you say you make them think.<br />
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A Catholic University should always be a University before it is a Catholic institution, the same way the boat bow comes before the rudder.<br />
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Sore throat. It sucks that i have to speak at work sounding like the ghost of Christmas hangover.<br />
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Pag naging mayor ako, pag maglalagay ako ng EPAL sa mga signage ng projects, mukha ng mga artista gaya ni Jeric Raval at Gestoni Alarcon.<br />
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I sometimes think Santa elves are running my mucous glands. The slightest sign of cold and they start producing like crazy.<br />
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If Noah was born in Manila, nobody would've jeered him while building the Ark. "Ah, that's just genius," his neighbors would say.<br />
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For as long as there's somebody seeding porn out there, camaraderie amongst perfect strangers will never die.<br />
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If it's true love then there's no need to say "once upon a time".<br />
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If Professor X taught highschool, he'd have been bombarded with pubescent thoughts and he cant even complain. "No, Omega Red! Oh god no!"<br />
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Being Professor X is like following each and every twitter account in existence. And there's no unsubscribe. Nakakakalbo yun.<br />
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You can choose to be sophisticated alone or you can choose to be happy with the rest of us.<br />
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I can never understand why laser sounds have to be included in any cheerdance music.<br />
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As kids when we played jeepney, everybody wanted to be the driver. Riding an elevator with adults prove that few people ever go beyond that.<br />
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First military to weaponize mold wins everything.<br />
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Does anybody still use "Putris" as a bad word, or has it gone down the path of retirement along with "linsyak"?<br />
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Don't peg your IQ to the gas price. If you're late, you're late. Speeding in the fucking parking lot won't save your irresponsible ass.<br />
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Once upon a time I thought the "rebels" who stood by the sidelines on any issue and said "meh" were cool. Then I turned sixteen.<br />
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If ever Forever 21 ventures into casino, well, fuck Blackjack.<br />
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What Would Bernardo Carpio Do? Be perpetually angry, that's what. I'd be angry too if I were a badass giant and somebody names me Bernardo.<br />
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Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people. Mind controllers make you discuss stuff you shouldn't.<br />
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A mountain given the lifespan of a tree,a tree the lifespan of a fruit,a man given the lifespan of a fleeting- they are still what they are<br />
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".. like she took a dive on the ugly pool and scored a perfect 10" #insultoftheday<br />
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Ang pride ng mga nagaaway, parang party line. Kung walang magbababa, walang magkakaintindihan.<br />
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If I wanted to hang with somebody whose personality is defined by the newest gadgets he has, I'll befriend a product catalog #insultoftheday<br />
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Crossing the street in Manila is on a need to know basis. You'll know it's safe to cross once you've made it across.<br />
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Tip: Philippine sidewalks are inhabited by super dangerous killer invisible ninjas. Commuters will risk walking along the road to avoid them<br />
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"They call jeeps Kings of the Road because cross them and they can literally send your heads rolling - along with the rest of your body."<br />
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The Many Hairstyles of President Aquino #reallyshortbooks<br />
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Romance of The Three Kingdoms wouldn't have fit Twitter because it definitely has more than 140 characters. #tsaotsaosaidso<br />
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Friends are like dahon ng bayabas. They don't always necessarily make the situation better, but they do help in easing the pain #tuliquotes<br />
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I don't know if ever they'll need one, but tell Sodom and Gomorrah I've found their perfect poster child. #insultoftheday<br />
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I bet fewer people would pay as much attention if they changed the Facebook "like" into "lick". Fewer, mind you.<br />
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REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-17691039139280226622013-07-09T13:40:00.004+08:002013-07-09T13:40:52.968+08:00Massive Facebook Oneliner Roundup (Sept 2012 - July 2013)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Let's take a moment to thank the fact that Facebook did not exist before we got our act together and started behaving like perfectly normal human adults. For the most part, anyway.<br />
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Last of Us is awesome, not just because you get to play old Gerard Butler with a young Ellen Page sidekick but because of the attention spent in the details. If some dude from the game dev team spent time making sure the direction of flowing tears shifts when a person changes the angle of his/her head, you know damn well they're pulling no stops.<br />
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Fast and the Furious IS Twilight for men. There's them cheesy lines that would pass easily as highschool pulp and instead of vampires and werewolves, there's cars and unbelievably sexy race chicks. At the middle of it all is a heavily built up guy with black hair and a sparkly white dude blasting through one ridiculous plot device after another.<br />
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Crack Nancy Binay jokes one day, defend Jessica Soho the next.<br />
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PSA: Dear froshies, avoid clumping together and blocking entrances/tight hallways/entire road lanes whenever you feel the urge to convene on where to eat. The answer is nowhere because the new school motto is Religio/Mores/Kayo Bahala. Carrion of froshies that get stuck and starve to death is a major cause of human traffic and late book returns. Upper classmen in a hurry to fail their next class do not like to get delayed. Thank you. <br />
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House Parati-yon-absent , House Lannis-terrible-job, House Targarabekaramiwork, House Greyjoybeenanamankinakinkokanina George R R Anting. #earlycornfridays<br />
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"Started from the bottom now we here." - Tetris.<br />
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The one advantage Dialup modems had is that they gave you some time to reflect on the reason why you're going online, while listening to the ponderous machine songs like "BRRRRRRT PEEP PEEP PIIIIIIIIIING. BRRRRRRRRT. Are you sure you're just going to scroll mindlessly your facebook feed? BRRRRRT. EEP EEP." And just to make sure you're pretty sure of your purpose, the modems would make you retry this 27 more times.<br />
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I sometimes wonder what it's like for the kids of Nancy Binay, with their mother recently becoming the brunt of an entire nation's jokes. I'd probably feel bad everytime I open up facebook, but then I'd forget about it later when I'm swimming in a pool filled with gold dust and russian models.<br />
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Never confuse democracy failing with democracy failing your expectations. Yes, citizen, you have a say. But having a say in matters is just half of democracy. The other half is being able to freely argue and, in consequence, influence the decision of others. If you're going to say that you did your job by just voting, you did half a job. The other half was convincing other voters why your choices are better than theirs. If you didn't get what you voted for, you probably didn't say what the rest should've voted for. That's how it's supposed to work - because there will be times that something is agreed on by many without being right , and there will be times something right will not be agreed upon by many. - Albert Einstein during the Malolos Convention of 1521 , Vienna Italy.<br />
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Erap jokes are in again, but only if you live in Manila. And only if it's still 1998.<br />
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When we have to rely on a half deranged senator, the internets, and humor to deliver us electoral justice, you just know nothing ever works anymore.<br />
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Using the MAX() function in a varchar column always ends in tears<br />
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The last season of Game of Thrones will be about Arya Stark defeating the leader of the white walkers, Frieza with the help of super saiyan Daenerys. Jon Snow finally completes the 7 magic crystal balls that summons Aegon's biggest dragon from the sky that grants him 1 wish. When the dragon god asks for a wish he says "Bran should have listened to mother and stay put instead of climbing up" and then everything in the world will be all right again.<br />
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Squatters started cropping up near the place where we play basketball. It's<br />
( •_•)<br />
( •_•)>⌐□-□<br />
(⌐□_□)<br />
an Out-of-Court Settlement.<br />
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Dear Facebook, stop asking me about additional personal information. We're not on a date. :D<br />
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Globe sends me my March bill 2 months late with an amount 5x my usual charges, with my data plan switched to per kilobyte, and with oodles of WAP data charges pegged at 136 pesos PER megabyte. I didn't even know WAP still existed beyond 2003. At this rate, it wont be surprising to find charges for downloading Rico Yan operator logos and Linkin Park ringtones in my next bill.<br />
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Is it just me or are all posts that contain the prefix 'Insta' intentionally asinine? This message included<br />
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You won't know how good you are at budgeting until you're stuck in the dumper with just two squares of tissue to work on.<br />
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Thank you NAIA terminal1 for reminding everybody what it was like to fly 30 years ago.<br />
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There's a reason why 'rest of your lives' starts with 'rest'. Haha<br />
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30 minutes on the road, 2 accidents, countless traffic violators. Ain't nothing holy about driving during Holy Thursdays.<br />
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It's called Candy Crush because you play with candy in exchange for crushing your hope.<br />
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History term of the day: Aliping Namamahay: Alipin na hindi makanumber2 sa mall.<br />
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Suddenly it means so much different when you reverse "Stay hungry, stay foolish".<br />
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Playing bingo should never be a crime. Yelling "bingo!" as a passer-by is, and should be punishable by canning.<br />
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So I was thinking if you were a space rock and I were Russia, eventually I'd meteorite? #HELLYEAHCORNFRIDAYS<br />
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You know youre in love when thoughts of intentions replace thoughts of consequences.<br />
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Lack of religion, given enough conviction, is just another religion.<br />
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I bet if Apple comes up with a product called iPrison, the owners wouldn't be as happy with the idea of Jailbreaks.<br />
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I guess the main reason Mongolian Masterchef never took off is that every season, the judges will win.<br />
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"An SQL query walks into a bar and sees two tables. He walks up to them and says 'May I join you?'" I laughed so hard, I nearly dropped my index.<br />
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The absolute craziness of the last 2 Matrix movies made me forgot how awesome the first one was. The action movies were fluid and stylish. The plot was barely solid and full of holes, but maan was it fun. I remember that for the better part of the 2000s, every other action movie tried to be the matrix, the matrix screensaver was THE screensaver, and there are about a hundred parodies for every iconic scene in the movie. We got tired of it all, but that don't make the move any less awesome.<br />
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"Oo nga no? Once upon a time, Youtube was a person and had a name. We called him Bob Saget."<br />
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The feeling you get when you see a friend appear in another friend's wall-posted pic and you didn't know beforehand that they actually knew each other is the same feeling you got when you saw Nick Fury appear at the end of a Marvel movie for the first time.<br />
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Super Mario jumps up and down with coins in his pockets and when he gets home at the end of level 1-1 he sets off fireworks. Pinoy si Super Mario, tanggapin na natin.<br />
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If you want to know what thinking ahead is all about, ask the Spaniards who decided to shoot Rizal one day before New Year's eve. Happy Rizal Day, everyone.<br />
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If speed kills does that mean traffic jams will lengthen your life?<br />
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FYI, the new Syntax Bill penalizes you for poorly written code.<br />
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If you live your life on day at a time, you'll realize everything's the opportunity of a lifetime.<br />
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Siguro yun yung problema sating mga pilipino. Di tayo marunong sumuko. Mabuti madalas, masama naman minsan. Pag natalo sa eleksyon, nadaya at magaapila. Pag nasesante sa gobyerno, TRO tapos apela sa CA. Pag di nakuha yung gustong mangyari sa bill, ilalaban pa rin. Imbes na umamin na "Tama, iba pala ang gusto ng sambayanan" at pagtulungan na kung ano yung napasa, napili, at napagbotohan, laban pa rin kung laban.<br />
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Nagising. Nagtaka na hindi nagalaram yung telephono. Hanap usual spot. Wala. Hanap sa bag. Wala. Hanap sa iba pang lugar. Wala. Inisip kung saan huling ginamit ang telepono. Sa taxi, kagabi. Panic mode. Palit password sa lahat ng account. Facebook. Twitter. Google. Linkedin. Inisip plaka ng taxi. Inisip pano malalaglag yung telepono. Tawag kay Anna. Paring phone. Nagring sa tabi. Nadaganan lang pala ng face towel. Nganga na lang.<br />
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The only real reason a congressman should ever have is that "my constituents will it". His job is to be the crier that echoes the voice of the populace. It is not for him to judge what is best on everybody's behalf. It is for him to listen to the voters that put him to office. He is not a leader. He is not a king. He is a representative.<br />
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The main difference between caroling here and abroad is that in addition to the spirit of Xmas and festivity,we have the spirit of extortion A group of caroling adults would sometimes go around in a vehicle blasting prerecorded songs from their speakers stopping only long enough to get the aguinaldo. That's not caroling, dawg. That's a drive-by!<br />
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After using the net for a while you learn that you can answer pretty much every question in your head with a few clicks. What takes a while longer to comprehend is that for some questions, it's far more fulfilling to learn things by asking another person.<br />
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lan kaya ang miyembro ng "Samahan ng Malamig Ang Pasko" sa Alaska?<br />
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I cannot accept "Christmas Season" as a valid reason for traffic unless I meet somebody who actually only uses his vehicle during -ber months, Santa not included. Do people hand out cans of gasoline to caroling kids?<br />
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Internet justice isn't.<br />
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Casper was a 2-hour long movie about what it feels like to be dead and still friendzoned.<br />
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First they moved the terminal away from majority of office goers, then they started issuing tickets, then they raised the prices of tickets, then now they're saying the tickets will no longer be honored when you're riding the commissioned colorum fx/vans. I have good reason to believe there's a special department in McKinley Hill whose sole purpose of existence is to make commuter life miserable.<br />
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It looks like Domaindlx and Bravehost are also gone now. Geocities is long gone as well, and I can't really care about what happens to Tripod. Once upon a time, these sites seemed like they were going to be around forever. Seemed, anyway. I learned the hard truth at the price of countless lost files. Moral lesson? Back your files up. Don't rely on any online website just because they seem like they'll still be around tomorrow.<br />
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The eternal optimist in me is saying that my crappy handwriting is to serve as a human CAPTCHA for when robots start infiltrating our society. Good luck reading my name, terminator sir.<br />
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When people ask me how long on the internet I've been I reply to them that when I got a 56k dialup modem for the first time, I considered it an upgrade.<br />
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See the problem is that every time I see a post decrying possible trespasses in freedom of speech, I scroll down and see freedom of speech in the form of paraphrased Vice Ganda quotes on top of stolen images from the net. Hoy haaaaaaaah. Yun lang.<br />
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Happy Teachers Day to all the teachers. Thank you for imparting us, through those countless exams, random recitations, and report cards, our first real practical application of prayer.<br />
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The best part about going to a school of colloids is that classes are always suspended. (yes, it's a chemistry joke. what are you going to do about it?)<br />
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I just saw and bought the freshest looking T-Bone steaks at the market. This is probably the closest I'll ever get to experiencing the thrill of the hunt, but what the hey.<br />
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We should treat life the way we treat camera film and make colorful, beautiful memories from negatives. (Obsolete quotes)<br />
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There's a sense of irony in seeing a witty quip about Sotto's stolen speech being reposted anonymously all over Facebook. Let's not kid ourselves. Sotto isn't the root of the problem. He's just the most blatant, most expensive manifestation of it.<br />
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"Todays child grow up with the internet. By the time a child born in 2000 hits the age of 10, they have seen more dicks than a proctologist born in 1946 did in their whole career. "</div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-33018809258212090632013-07-08T18:22:00.001+08:002013-07-09T13:15:40.093+08:00Laws of the Game of Thrones Universe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-T2-kweXEl9yUzvLYeWzoGWYDbsXqCtJUpcFb86HmH5rfLWmK2YHCxh-YzMSPQl9nhDhAfBnbRN_zQlI3Ns7SCoEvuDvEMuGNtYE0gFxdFWQrOimOAr-MwhaAwRH41VfgAl6sxg/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-T2-kweXEl9yUzvLYeWzoGWYDbsXqCtJUpcFb86HmH5rfLWmK2YHCxh-YzMSPQl9nhDhAfBnbRN_zQlI3Ns7SCoEvuDvEMuGNtYE0gFxdFWQrOimOAr-MwhaAwRH41VfgAl6sxg/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="userContent"><b>Law of Episodic Folicular Entropy</b> : Sansa's hairstyle is not allowed to repeat more than once per episode<br /> <br /> <b>Stark's First Law of Colocation</b> - Starks are not allowed to stay in Winterfell. <br /> <br /><span class="text_exposed_show">
<b>Stark's Second Law of Colocation</b> - If more than two Starks are in one
place, one or more of them will be unnecessarily displaced.<br /> <br /> <b>Stark's Third Law of Colocation</b> - If you're a Stark and Arya is nearby, bad things will happen to you. <br /> <br /> <br /> <b>Law of Cosmic Pyrochromosomal Order</b> - If you have dragon blood, the universe will let you get what you want. Eventually. <br /> <br /> <b>Pyrochromosomal disorder corollary</b> - Bitching about it really helps. <br /> </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> <b>Law of Seasonal Overdilation</b> - If winter does come, it will be a long ways to go before it does.<br /> <br /> <b>Stark's Law of Seasonal Principle</b> - When Winter comes, the Stark house words become "I told you so."<br /> <br /> <b>So's Law</b> - The actual rate of winter coming. <br /> <br /> <br />
<b>Martin's Law of Homeostatic Mortality</b> - The net of characters
introduced and characters killed off in the TV series is relatively
zero. <br /> <br /> <b>Extension of Martin's Law of Homeostatic Mortality</b> - This applies for ALL characters ('cept Denaerys. She bitchin' real yo)<br /> <br /> <b>Law of Nomadic Parlance</b>: Growing up in the wild inexplicably causes you to have irish accent<br /> <br />
<b>Renly's Law of Hygienic Superiority</b>: If you're in the top 5%
cleanest-looking characters in westeros, you're automatically gay. <br /> <br /> <b>Yo Law</b> - Ned Stark, lol. <br /> <br />
<b>Law of Emancipatory Predictivenes</b>s : If you take all the unsullied,
free them, and then ask them to nominate a leader, they will
inexplicably pick young Barack Obama. <br /> <br /> <b>Law of Canine Liberty</b> : The hound does what the hound wants. <br /> <br />
<b>HBO's Law of Object-based Feminism</b> : Any regular female character
between ages 18 and 40 will go noods at some episode past , present or
future.<br /> <br /> <b>Black Watch's Dilemma</b> : The so-called impenetrable wall isn't. <br /> <br />
<b>Martin's Law of Oriental Persistence</b> : Asians and the orient in general
do not exist. But dragons do. Wrap your head around that. <br /> <br /> <b>Hodor's Law</b>: HODOR HODOR, HODOR HODOR HODOR<br /> <br /> <b>The Dothraki Universal Proof</b>: It is known <br /> <br />
<b>Greyjoy's Enigma</b> : There is no explanation why Theon still exists in
the show given the mortality rate of pretty much everybody else. </span></span></div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-85620370003069856302013-07-05T14:44:00.000+08:002013-07-09T13:13:13.322+08:00Stock Market Terms for Filipinos <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Streetsmarts</b> - Yung klase ng talino na magagamit mo para mabuhay sa kalye pag nalugi na lahat ng pera mo sa PSE.<br />
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<b>McArthur Stock</b> - Mga stock na bumabagsak bago tumatalbog sa mas mataas na presyo. "I shall return"<br />
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<b>Sharon Stock</b> - Mga stock na sobrang bigat hindi na makagalaw sa charts.<br />
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<b>Delata </b>- Stock na kahit ibaon mo ng 3 taon e hindi nagbabago ang estado. <br />
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<b>Bull Market</b> - cycle ng stock market kung saan lahat ng hulanalysis e tama. <br />
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<b>Bear Market</b> - cycle ng stock market kung saan lahat ng hulanalysis e tama daw. <br />
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<b>Annual Stock Holder meeting</b> - Libreng doughnuts at aircon in exchange for depreciating investments. <br />
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<b>Long term investment </b>- Term na ginagamit ng mga tsupitero pag sobrang baba na ng value ng stocks nila, pwede nang ipaconvert sa certificates at ipamunas ng pwet para lang magkaron ng silbi. <br />
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<b>Short term investment </b>- As in literally, short lang ang ilalagi ng investment mo bago ito maglaho mula sa paulit ulit na pagkalugi. <br />
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<b>Elliot Wave analysis</b> - Dalubhasang paraan ng pagalam ng movement ng stock sa pamamagitan ng pagkaway sa stock price habang gumagalaw papalayo ito sa iyong target price. Si Elliot ang unang tao na nakadiskubre kung pano kumaway ng tama. <br />
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<b>Candlestick analysis</b> - Pag wala ka nang pambayad ng kuryente, kailangan mo na talaga ng candlesticks para magbasa sa dilim.<br />
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<b>Staying liquid</b> - Staying at home and drinking liquids to fight off depression. More specifically, alcholic liquids. Johnny Walker = 100% liquid. <br />
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<b>Tsupot </b>- Tsupiterong kuripot. <br />
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<b>Tsugi </b>- Tsupiterong lugi. <br />
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<b>Ghost Month</b> - buwan kung kelan matumal ang kita at malas magbusiness. Para sa Chinese, ito ang August. Para sayo, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June at July din. <br />
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<b>P/E ratio</b> - Ratio of blood to urine whenever you P/E your pants. <br />
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<b>LBI </b>- List by imbentong (price). Gawain ng mga bagong list na kumpanya kung kupal ang mayari ng kumpanya at gusto nilang may pangparty sila pagkatapos maglist sa PSE. <br />
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<b>IPO </b>- Initial Pampaluging Offer. <br />
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<b>Ceiling price</b> - Presyo ng ceiling labuyo. <br />
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<b>Broker </b>- Ang mangyayari sayo pag broke ka na tapos nalugi ka pa rin. <br />
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<b>Stock Dividend</b> - Number you use to divide your earnings after the price of the core stock holding drops from the number of stocks that flood the morket. <br />
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<b>Cash Dividend</b> - In layman's term "pansigarilyo lang bossing" <br />
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<b>Asset Consolidation</b> - Act of gathering all the money of the stock holders before the company owners put them in a large bag and laugh all the way to the bank. <br />
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<b>Resistance </b>- part of the chart people want broken but never does. <br />
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<b>Support </b>- part of the chart people want to hold but never does. <br />
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REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-41714900330293310862013-06-05T15:20:00.002+08:002013-06-05T15:20:13.289+08:00Keep it real, Enrile. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Enrile's about to deliver his speech in the Senate in a few. Everybody's asking what its going to be about. Here are a few possible topics: <br /><br />5. He's going to tell his 1st person account on who killed ninoy<br /><br />4. He's going to tell his 1st person account on who killed Lapulapu<br /><br />3. He'll start selling youth pills<br /><br />2. He'll be delivering a lecture on the evils of garlic and why stakes to the heart are dangerous things<br /><br />1. He's going to come out as a lesbian to Tito Boy <br />
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ENRILE? Y RLY. </div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-84917943377596641642013-05-16T23:06:00.003+08:002013-07-09T13:18:39.854+08:00Quick 10. Reasons why Senator Binay couldn't attend her proclamation:<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">She was cooking dinner for her family, nanay-de-pamilya and all. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">She'll have her own coronation ceremony in the Kingdom of Makati.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">She's holding out for Dick.. Gordon. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">She's still out doing motorcades.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />Risa kidnapped Nancy and is now debating the new senator inside a mock senate she's created in an abandoned warehouse while eating gobs of chocolate.<br /><br />Moonlighting. She's still doing OJT, remember?<br /><br />Struggling to crawl her way out after being buried by tons of stupid online internet memes. <br /><br />Still trying to get the indelible ink off her finger. <br /><br />She doesn't want to stand next to Grace Poe's ridiculously pasty white complexion.<br /><br />She was there. The lighting was just bad. </span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><span style="color: #37404e; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-55995097335041978732013-03-08T13:51:00.000+08:002013-07-08T19:48:23.833+08:00President Marcos And Sabah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Disclaimer: I write historical fiction. I am not a historian. What you read here are products of years of playing around with historical fact to create stories. </i><br />
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We all know that some time in the late 60s, Marcos planned to invade Sabah by training commandos who would slip into Sabah, sow chaos, and ultimately lobby politically to break the claimed territory out of Malaysia and into Philippine custody. And we all know that during the training, the commandos mutinied and were culled in what would be known as the Jabidah Massacre, with only one survivor escaping the prison island of corregidor and living to tell the tale. The account was then made public by the then-opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. in the Philippine Senate, which then concentrated the dissenting clans of Mindanao into full-on rebellion that lasted for almost 40 years with the succession of the MNLF, MILF, and the more recent BIFF. We also know that Malaysia, in seeking to prevent another attempt by the Philippines to plan out another retake of Sabah, secretly helped the MNLF with their struggle by providing Libyan arms and funding in the Philippine backdoor. And finally, we know that first quarter of 2013, the Sultan's Royal Army, with the backing of MNLF, finally went to Sabah. <br />
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Those are the things that we do know. <br />
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But there are still some things that never really got clarified. <br />
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<span class="reference-text">Most of what the public knows of Operation Merdeka came from <a href="http://corregidor.org/heritage_battalion/jabidah.html">Benigno Aquino Jr. who, the Bangkok Post cautioned at the time as, at the baseline, a politician with great rhetorical skill, and may have formatted the information in such a way that it would stir up greater emotions among the populace</a> and the spotty Senate hearing that led to nothing but dead ends.</span><br />
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<span class="reference-text">The Jabidah Massacre, on the other hand, being a top secret mission, was never declassified. Nobody in the military gave their official account of the massacre.This means the sole source of information is Jibin Arula, the only survivor of the massacre, who by his own account, never saw anybody die. Even then, the number of actual participants, and killed participants are inconsistent, even across Arula's multiple interviews. Sociologist and author of "<span class="citation" id="CITEREFWilliam_LaroussePontificia_Universit.C3.A0_gregoriana._Centre_.22Cultures_and_Religions..222001"> <a class="external text" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=qyo-Hti0-KAC" rel="nofollow"><i>A local Church living for dialogue: Muslim-Christian relations in Mindanao-Sulu, Philippines : 1965-2000</i></a>" </span><span class="reference-text">Arnold Molina Azurin went so far as saying that the massacre is a myth. </span></span><br />
<span class="reference-text"><br /></span><span class="reference-text">And what of the reason for the massacre? According to what little informatio</span><span class="reference-text">n we have, the dissent came from when the commandos realized that they were going to fight with, potentially, other tausugs and muslims, as well as the non-payment of the stipend originally promised to them. On the other hand, Arula himself claims that the massacre came from when they tried to write a letter to Malacanang reporting concubinage and poor living conditions being given to them while in training, possibly intercepted, and then used as a reason to terminate the program. Given that everybody in the program was killed except for Arula, who actually gave the first reason? And is the second reason, at the height of martial rule, and given that the program was Marcos' personal project , justifying the program termination? </span><br />
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<span class="reference-text">The lack of information and the inconsistency of what we do have is important due to the pivotal effect that the incident has impacted our Nation's history. It's tantamount to having Rizal executed in private and having one of the Filipino executioners recount the tale for the rest of us. </span><br />
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<span class="reference-text">That said, we can play a few more cards of what-if in this story. </span><br />
<br />
The biggest wildcard here is the then-president Marcos. What role did he play in this whole fiasco? It's safe to say that he at the very least know of the operation, given its risky internationally diplomatic nature. <br />
<br />
What if Marcos intentionally allowed the leak of the Jabidah Massacre to foment rebellion in the south? What if he allowed Malaysia to train and supply armed groups for 30 years thinking theyre on top of the game when in fact they're just buying the guns they'll be shot with? What if he knew that the Tausugs will eventually try to reclaim Sabah on their own? <br />
<br />
If one might recall the Sardraukar in Frank Herbert's novel Dune (which although unrelated, coincidentally is published a couple of years before the start of Operation Merdeka) are the toughest warriors in the universe and were secretly raised trained in a prison planet where only the toughest survive. <br />
<br />
What if the entire rebellion in the south was part of Marcos' masterplan of arming and training those concerned with Sabah's legitimate ownership with the full goal of having the Philippines gun for Sabah one more time without the government directly involved? <br />
<br />
Operation Merdeka hope to train a few dozen commandos. <br />
<br />
If any of this is actually true , the real Operation Merdeka trained an entire nation.<br />
<br />
<i>More disclaimers: I do not support any violence happening in the South as of writing. I believe there's no reason for blood to spill over political issues. And again, in case anybody ever stumbles upon this in the future, I wrote this with the full intention of creating historical fiction, nothing more. </i></div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-15575106376101681962013-01-23T00:37:00.001+08:002013-07-08T19:48:32.486+08:00Wedding Expos 101<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every once in a blue moon, a strange phenomenon happens in convention centers, activity centers, and event tents all over the country. People from different walks of life gather together and discuss topics and prepare for activities such as feeding the masses, clothing the naked, and sheltering strangers. No, I'm not talking about charity events. They're called Wedding Expos, which is what happens when clumps of clueless couples-to-be have a head on collision with people out to milk as much money from them as possible. If you're going to get married and you're into mainstream marriages, chances are at some point in your preparation, you will have to go to these strange occasions that seem to have its own traditions. If you've never been into one, or went to one and had such a traumatizing experience that your mind completely wiped out all the horrible memories out, let this article serve as your guide towards a healthy and hopefully, violence-free experience.<br />
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Just like most conventions, with the exception of the annual nationwide jueteng get-together, Wedding expos require you to register upon arrival. Pertinent information such as marriage date, religious affiliation, annual salary, and DNA swabs (sometimes) are collected, quite possibly for the benefit of getting a genetic footprint for gullibility. Grooms and brides-to-be are required to declare that they are soon to be married and are given special "badges" so that they are easily recognizable, herded, and <s>sent to concentration camps</s> treated with extra care by the exhibitors. These badges are required to be worn throughout the affair, even though wearing one will cause you to get constantly mauled by booth reps desperately trying to hit quota. NFL-style pile-ups are not unheard of. In some expos, and I kid you not, there are bouncers roving around for the sole purpose of ensuring you are wearing your <s>star of David /s> badge, by force if necessary. </s><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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Another thing notable about these wedding expos is that every, and I mean every booth, including the one reserved for the venue janitorial service, has flyers. These flyers vary in shapes and sizes (from the size of a toe nail clipping to the size of the scale territorial map of the Soviet Union). You are handed out these flyers with military speed and efficiency and by the time the synapses of your brain tell you that you don't need it, you'll find out you are already holding one in your hand. Or a thousand. There's no avoiding it short of stabbing the one handing the flyers to you with an icepick - and only after you've gotten the flyer. It is therefore possible to stay in the convention area for about an hour and accumulate the equivalent of the paper material used in a municipal campaign season. By the time you do get married, chances are you've visited more wedding expos that you can visit - and therefore, have probably accumulated enough leaflets to fill your new home - or make a new one with 3BD/2TB entirely out of recycled pamphlets.<br />
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What was that? You mean these leaflets are for information? Hahaha! I knew a couple who actually leafed through every pamphlet given to them one time. By the time the couple finished, they were finally able to avail of the senior citizen discounts. With the amount of information you get from handouts, you can probably figure out the meaning of life, the Unified theory of the universe, and the logical pattern of Vina Morales' hair in one go. Given the time. Some wedding expos, exhibitors are kind enough to provide bags for your leaflets or pieces of your spine after being shattered from carrying all those papers.<br />
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Moving on. If you're reading close to the posting date, there's a close chance that at the entrance of the hall, the wedding video of Carmina and Zoren is being played over and over again. This is, of course, to remind all men entering the wedding expo that as of 3Q 2012, the "bar" has been set higher by Zoren, now the official enemy of all Filipino men wanting to propose and get married within the next hundred years. Thanks to him, if your proposal does not involve the element of surprise, Boy Abunda, cherryblossoms, Kris Aquino, Boy Abunda, and inexplicably dancing midgets - you have already failed your bride-to-be.<br />
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Seriously, thanks a lot, Zoren.<br />
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(Side thought: In hindsight, however, I do believe the man is a genius. Despicable and vile, but a genius. Think about it. He plans the perfect "wedding of the century" that everybody will be talking about, gets various companies to help out in exchange for being able to say they took part of the "wedding of the century", which is the subtle equivalent of getting endorsed by every woman watching The Buzz every Sunday - and the man does not pay a single cent. You will be able to see him being the official endorser of every service he used, but still, how many of you will get to freeload an entire freaking wedding? Good bloody luck. Like I said. Evil, but genius. Anyway...)<br />
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Well worth noting as well that Wedding Expos are a lot like car shows. You all came for the exhibitors, but people still will check out out what you brought along with you (car, woman, womancar). You can count on women staring at husbands-to-be like they're comparing Super Trump cards, while the men care comparing brides-to-be like, well, brides-to-be. On a minor note as a passive-participant in this game: Why is it that the older the woman, the uglier the husband-to-be? Don't answer that.<br />
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Aside from the bride/groom showdown showoff, there's the booths, which is arguably the actual purpose of people going to conventions. It's hard to keep track of that sometimes when you're engrossed with other things, like wondering how much you hate Zoren. The booths are usually manned by pretty ladies and good looking gents, again, kind of like a car show. Unlike the carshow, however, you probably have your partner with you, watching your every move. Which kind of begs the question why the hell would booth exhibitors hire good looking reps when they just increase the chances of a fight that might break up the wedding and prevent them from doing business except of course the reservation fees that are absolutely unrefundable under the oath of ... oh wait. Nevermind. <br />
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To further entice customers, all booths have "expo-exclusive" promotions like freebies and discounts you can only avail during expos. Freebies are sometimes off-kilter and totally unrelated to what you are buying, such as buying a wedding gown gets you a free rice cooker, and renting an orchestra will net you free 1hr legal annulment counseling. Still, freebies are freebies and if there's one thing Filipinos are big suckers for other than celebrity weddings, it's free stuff. (I realize that I've been ragging on about Zoren and Carmina too often already. I promise this will be the last one)<br />
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In the next half we will be discussing the types of booths that you will be encountering. But since I'm about as tired as my jokes, I'll have to take a rest from typing and go play darts with my new Zoren target practice tarp (What?? So I suck at keeping promises. Got a problem with that?)<br />
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<i>To be continued. </i><br />
<div>
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</div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-19234938627611560722013-01-14T17:53:00.001+08:002013-01-14T17:53:03.451+08:00Resolutions 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
First, a result of my last year's resolutions: <br /><br /><b>Things to do for next year:</b><br /><i>- Publish "the" book<br />- Give car a serious maintenance run , Brakes, wheels, suspension<br />- Give standup comedy another go<br />- Read at least one Elliot Wave theory book<br />- Cook the perfect steak</i><br /><br />My steak's vastly improved. With the introduction of tenderizing, the right amount of oyster sauce and pepper, and the better timing of cooking, I'm now less susceptible to serve half-raw, half-burnt steaks with a taste that treads between roadkill carcass and burnt rubber. When you're coming from that direction, any improvement is a vast improvement. <br /><br />The car's gotten an oil change, new brakes, wheels. The suspension turned out to be still good. I also replaced the lights, wiper fluid, and cleaned up the windshield from old stickers. <br /><br />Standup comedy didn't materialize. I'd like to say I've been busy but the truth is, I've been out of the game for so long it kind of scares me to go back. Watching my old vids kind of tell me that my jokes suck. But hey, there's still this year. <br /><br />Read an Elliot Wave Theory Book. Two, even. Realized that in the wrong hands,it's more prone to give you bullshit predictions than other techniques. I picked off what I could, however, which I am now using for my week to week trading. <br /><br />Publishing the book's been tricky. I've been editing the book for the better part of last year. I'm working with an old friend to do the artwork for me and it looks like the publishing's going to take more than just early this year. Good things don't need to be hurried anyway. <br /><br /><br /><b>Others (aka shit that may or may not happen, kinda like sex on the first date):</b><br /><i>- Android programming<br />- 10 lap regular swim<br />- At least one marathon</i><br /><br />No android programming. I swapped it with other technologies I could use better at work, which I still suck at as well. But hey, sucking at something means you're actually trying, right? RIGHT?<br /><br />No swimming either. My regular hangout's a bit too crowded these days. Maybe I'll try again. Maybe. <br /><br />Marathon? I run 5k every now and then. My android app called ZOmbies Run make it more festive, but lately I haven't done so again. I'll give it another go this month. <br /><br /><b>This year:</b><br />1. Write screenplay for at least two short films<br />2. Publish at least 10 articles for the InTouch magazine while doing edits. <br />3. IELTS<br />4. Check prospects for another job. <br />4. Continue the stuff above that I did not completely abandon (book, running, swimming, standup)<br /><br />Here's to another year of dicking around and pretending that partial progress is actual progress.<br /><br />Yay!<br />
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<i>p.s. Oh yeah, updating this blog once in a while sounds good too. </i></div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-69600197429401705922013-01-02T23:34:00.000+08:002013-01-02T23:34:10.749+08:00When Did Video Games Hit Mainstream?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Earlier today I came across a short article asking the absolute moment that videogames hit mainstream. The answer's probably not the same for everyplace, and the answer's probably not even the same for every person but as somebody who started gaming in the Philippines as early as 1986, I can at least shed some light (from my direction) on the subject. <br /><br />The first probable time you can say gaming hit the mainstream is with the release, and the subsequent popularity of the Nintendo Family computer (Famicom), peaking sometime in the early to mid 90s. Before this, gaming was restricted to godawful personal computers that required multiple floppies and amazingly confusing jargon to install. For those who bitch about having to copy paste cracks, update software and the like, try having to update your bios and experiment with IRQ/DMA/IO just to get your game to work on DOS with sounds.<br /><br />No, with the Family computer, anybody with a TV, a system unit, and a game cartridge could operate it. Hell, even my mom played it. Rental gaming centers popped up for the first time too, which was the reason my parents were called by our principal when i was in first grade for cutting classes. For the first time, video games were accessible to those who have the money but don't have the techie knowledge.<br /><br />The one thing that the NES fever lacked is the idea that it could be for everybody. It was a toy, pure and simple. Adults would have none of it and those few that do, are afraid of talking about it in public, as though it were some sort of weird bedside fetish. <br /><br />This changed sometime in 1995, when the playstation was released. The PS1 was radically expensive initially, but it was introduced not as a kid's toy, but as an entertainment appliance. Michael Jackson endorsed it. Michael Jordan endorsed it. Superstars endorsed it and not the prepubescent models of Nintendo. The games that came out were not only sophisticated. They were mature. They had blood. Violence was more graphic. The only thing that held back its popularity was its price. At 30,000 pesos a unit, it was not for everybody. <br /><br />And then something else happened. Sometime when the PS1 units finally started depreciating, piracy came in. Don't get me wrong. Piracy has existed far longer than I have as a gamer, but with the age of CDs, piracy no longer meant having to shell 200 pesos for a 300 peso discount on a cartridge. It meant, in the year 1998, you can buy an entire game for the price of 30 pesos in the middle of a video store (Astrovision, from my experience) inside a mall. At 12k a system unit and 30 pesos a game, adoption exploded. Rental shops were everywhere. Every other classmate had a system unit. Games were swapped with abandon, both old and young. <br /><br />Videogames was now accessible, and for all ages. At this point I can say that VGs have already hit the mainstream, but there's one more step. <br /><br />Sometime in the year 2000, in parallel with the playstation's popularity, the PC once again became a popular gaming device of sorts. Game cafes started growing around the country for one big reason: Counterstrike, a first person shooting game. Whereas as recent as 1998 people had to go to Greenhills just to be able to play a decent 30 player game, by 2000, every other mall or college hangout had a cafe that could host a game twice the number of players. Counterstrike, at its very heart, is really the first popular multiplayer game that doesn't just have players alternating in two controllers in front of the TV. It didn't need taking turns. Counterstrike was a game that involved people and in turn, socialized gaming itself. <br /><br />It did not need investment in buying a console either. Anybody of any age with 40 pesos (it was still expensive at the time) could buy an hour, sit down, learn the game, and play with friends. It became an acceptable alternative to other social activities. Even girls finally got involved (a very rare sight prior to year 2000, to be honest). Tournaments were setup, cliques formed within and outside the game cafes, and people were no longer as afraid of telling other people what they like to do. People recognized videogames, albeit still with some apprehension, but accepted that yes, some people, adults even, consider it as an entertainment. A sport. <br /><br />That year, I walked into a game cafe one of five in the same mall with my friends, saw college girls playing with guys who looked anything but geeks and spent two hours in Counterstrike playing against them. <br /><br />It was at that moment that I realized, videogames have finally hit mainstream. <br /><br /></div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-2721606595127601212012-12-13T11:29:00.002+08:002012-12-13T11:29:51.757+08:00MacPox <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Before the Europeans arrived in continental America, there was already a bustling civilization of Aztecs, Incas, and Indians there. What happened though is that when the Europeans arrived, they carried with them smallpox, a disease that is commonplace in Europe but unheard of in America. The Europeans were affected by it, but multigenerational exposure to it has minimized the fatality percentage on their population. The Americans, the real Americans, did not have such an advantage. It was new, their bodies quite literally didn't know what hit them. The population nearly got wiped out in what could be a worse percentage toll than the bubonic plague. <br /><br />Why am I mentioning this? It's almost like the same thing with Windows and Mac users. Once upon a time Mac users were a niched minority and very few took interest in targeting them with viruses and malware. Fast forward to this year, there are now much much more Mac users than ever before and more and more virus writers and malware producers are targeting the Mac. Some of the types written for Mac are actually just ported versions of PC viruses and malware. While the PC counterparts still exist, people are very much wary of them now, and with the abundance of AV software and just a general distrust for pretty much most vectors of viruses, the damage is much more limited. <br /><br />On the Mac however, it's quite the opposite. With the years of reinforcement of the idea that the Mac cannot get any virus, most of the userbase is the perfect new target for old viruses. Nobody's defending, nobody's wary and we just might be looking at the smallpox phenomenon all over again. <br /><br />Too early to tell? Who knows?</div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-7731982158465442092012-12-11T10:29:00.000+08:002012-12-11T10:29:29.631+08:00How to Level Up in Ingress<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJkjtwb0M8NxkFvs5tdwVfMNMKzXIWUURD7SmaX07zsZyC-FeNugSwtZkB4wQSGZ2vMP6LpA2jSyWpKUGW8Cg-DLqIfyYsrTT4MUE8RgvmW2lhAYk88QqgyaG6LJyyjdUvahddw/s1600/ingress2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJkjtwb0M8NxkFvs5tdwVfMNMKzXIWUURD7SmaX07zsZyC-FeNugSwtZkB4wQSGZ2vMP6LpA2jSyWpKUGW8Cg-DLqIfyYsrTT4MUE8RgvmW2lhAYk88QqgyaG6LJyyjdUvahddw/s320/ingress2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
So I've been playing this game called Ingress for a couple of days now. It's an augmented reality game by google that lets two factions fight over fictional portals that appear in local landmarks (Intramuros, Rizal park, etc) using energy called XM gathered from places where there are lots of people. It's currently in closed beta but soon it will be open for everybody. Here are a few things that I've learned:<br />
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1. Portal requests take a while, 2-3 weeks, and even then, Google can reject submissions just because.<br />
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2. There are portals around already. The quickest way to find them is to use the dashboard at http://www.nianticproject.com<br />
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3. The stronger the portal, the harder it is for lower level characters to occupy it. Leveling is key. <br />
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4. You level by doing actions, constituting action points. Here are the levels available so far and what they mean as far as stats are concerned:<br />
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<table><tbody>
<tr><td><b>Level</b></td>
<td><b>AP required</b></td>
<td><b>Max XM</b></td>
<td><b>Burster Damage</b></td>
<td><b>Burster Range</b></td>
<td><b>Resonator HP</b></td>
<td><b>Best Build Portal</b></td>
<td><b>Portal Range</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>3000</td>
<td>150</td>
<td>50</td>
<td>1000</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>160 m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2</td>
<td>10,000</td>
<td>4000</td>
<td>300</td>
<td>75</td>
<td>1500</td>
<td>1.5</td>
<td>810 m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td>
<td>30,000</td>
<td>5000</td>
<td>500</td>
<td>100</td>
<td>2000</td>
<td>2.5</td>
<td>6 km</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4</td>
<td>70,000</td>
<td>6000</td>
<td>900</td>
<td>125</td>
<td>2500</td>
<td>3.5</td>
<td>24 km</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5</td>
<td>150,000</td>
<td>7000</td>
<td>1200</td>
<td>150</td>
<td>3000</td>
<td>4.0</td>
<td>40 km</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6</td>
<td>300,000</td>
<td>8000</td>
<td>1500</td>
<td>200</td>
<td>4000</td>
<td>4.75</td>
<td>81 km</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td>600,000</td>
<td>9000</td>
<td>1800</td>
<td>300</td>
<td>5000</td>
<td>5.125</td>
<td>110 km</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8</td>
<td>1,200,000</td>
<td>10000</td>
<td>2700</td>
<td>400</td>
<td>6000</td>
<td>5.625</td>
<td>160 km</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And here are the ingress actions and their respective action points:<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td valign="top" width="115"><strong>RESONATORS</strong>:</td>
<td valign="top" width="300"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="84"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Placing a resonator</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">125 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Destroying a resonator</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">75 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Placing the first resonator on a portal</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">500 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Placing the eighth resonator on a portal</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">250 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><strong>LINKS</strong>:</td>
<td valign="top" width="300"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="84"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Creating a link</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">313 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Destroying a link</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">187 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><strong>FIELDS</strong>:</td>
<td valign="top" width="300"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="84"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Creating a control field</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">1250 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Destroying a control field</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">750 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><strong>OTHER</strong>:</td>
<td valign="top" width="300"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="84"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Applying a portal shield</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">150 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="84"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="84"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><strong>COMBINATIONS</strong>:</td>
<td valign="top" width="300"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="84"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Placing the final link on a field</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">1563 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="84"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Destroying a [full] portal</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">600 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Destroying a portal + (1) link</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">787 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Destroying a portal + (2) links + control field</td>
<td valign="top" width="84">1724 AP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="115"><br /></td>
<td valign="top" width="300">Destroying a portal + links + cf + capture + mods</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When you're new, linking and recharging resonators is the best way to level. If you're lucky enough to find undiscovered portals, go for it. Items can be found by hacking occupied portals. <br />
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That said, good luck and happy gaming!</div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-46044437587353395062012-11-28T16:12:00.001+08:002012-11-28T16:12:26.952+08:00Realizations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If I were to go back to all those stuff I worried about in my youth, I'd be laughing instead of worrying. <br />Because I know that there are far more important things that actually matter in the long run. <br /><br />If I were to go back to all those opportunities I found as unnecessary, I'd take them.<br />Because I realize that some things only happen but once and can't be relived over again. <br /><br />If I were to go back to all those moments that I thought were unspecial, with people I always see, I'd treasure them more<br />Because I realize that those moments happen but once, afterwhich they can only be remembered<br /><br />If I were to go back to all those fights that I thought I had nothing to lose, I'd patch them up as fast as Ican<br />Because I realize that the wounds get harder to heal as time goes on. <br /><br />If I were to go back to all those times I loved, I'd love even more <br />Because there's no such thing as enough when it comes to being passionate and sincere. <br /><br />But I can no longer go back. Not you. Not anybody. <br /><br />That's why it's important to look forward with the intention of looking back.<br /><br />From this moment on I will live like I'm already from the future, gone back, and given the second chance to do things over.<br /><br />That someday I will look behind and think about all those things that I've done, and I can smile. <br /><br />Because I've realized. <br /> </div>
REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-70820091055117365172012-11-26T14:42:00.001+08:002012-11-26T15:07:15.069+08:00Where's mah money?<div><p dir=ltr>So last week I tried for the first time to issue a cheque to myself. Long story why. Anyway it turned out that my account had been marked as dormant. Apparently banks like to keep your money but not so much. If they find out the account is no longer being transacted on they start pinching money from it bit by bit like fish on a lake nibbling on a dumped corpse.</p>
<p dir=ltr>Yes I'm working on my analogies.</p>
<p dir=ltr>Anyway if you got a dormant account you can't deposit, you can't withdraw, and you can't issue cheques from it. You can't undormant a dormant account. It's still your money but you can only look at it. At least until you go to the main branch and tell the manager there that no, the mob did not rub you off for bad payments and yes,  you are alive enough to withdraw.</p>
<p dir=ltr>So that's what I did. </p>
<p dir=ltr>Lo and behold  the place where my branch stood was now a vacant lot. Many WTFs were had this morning. </p>
<p dir=ltr>So I went to another branch just to check what happened. It did not help that the branch name is BPI Sherwood. </p>
<p dir=ltr>Yes. The king of thieves forest. </p>
<p dir=ltr>Anyway turns out that I wasn't the only one who realized that analogy because the branch relocated to another place near the old place but far enough from corny robin hood jokes. </p>
<p dir=ltr>So I wasnt able to reactivate my account today. It will have to stay dormant fir a while longer. At least until I can figure out how to convince the sheriff of Nottingham that I'm alive and out of corny references. </p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUc_P48tPbzewSfMB_NuQaiSy01X7orPvQ-JNPAXVPVjV2pCFW2RQzYShhbioU7BDdBhFepqCEdmcKTNwHtGS9_91SuoKf30dlAIGdaklZr_Qh-AuPo9vg6wQ6SRIZEvWfga21w/' /></div>REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-55979979054905280162012-11-23T11:01:00.000+08:002012-11-23T11:01:20.548+08:00Gregorian My Ass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBCeSoKzn3vMyWqKtaR_YAMO1JSYLFNPKvQEA6-o81S8NfcoAkGpNNcyJaag578q16XMyhuTJq_T-nnl0E8yiss9Onr1KKeYvkAKKH0v5x6VqVXLOUC7ZRceIuLEWW-y-PH8ziQ/s1600/Gregorian-Christmas_Chants_y_Visions-Frontal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBCeSoKzn3vMyWqKtaR_YAMO1JSYLFNPKvQEA6-o81S8NfcoAkGpNNcyJaag578q16XMyhuTJq_T-nnl0E8yiss9Onr1KKeYvkAKKH0v5x6VqVXLOUC7ZRceIuLEWW-y-PH8ziQ/s320/Gregorian-Christmas_Chants_y_Visions-Frontal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Gregorian Chant albums have the most misleading covers. Whereas you'd be expecting a hard-rocking epic doom choir to herald the Ghost of Christmas Post-Apocalyptic Future from the illustration, you'll actually get 50 minutes of men singing in falsetto to the tune of songs like "Kiss from A Rose" and "My Heart Will Go On". That'd be like watching a DVD with an Expendables cover and an Eat Pray Love content. <br /><span class="fullpost">
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On a related note, I once entered a strip club that made women dance to Gregorian Chant songs. It blew my mind. I wonder if Pope Gregory had this in mind when he
first thought a bunch of guys singing together in unison would be
pretty badass. </span>REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-66946789244871297442012-11-17T17:18:00.000+08:002012-11-17T17:18:16.628+08:00Rufo's Famous Tapa Vito Cruz Delivery Number5220936
You're welcome.
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REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29794265.post-90938047639394318532012-11-16T18:19:00.001+08:002012-11-16T18:19:40.759+08:00E-Abandonment IssuesWhy are people so upset when their phones have new models released in the market "too soon"? Um, hello, sir. Your phone won't stop working suddenly when it realizes it's not the newest bitching product around. If that were the case, we'd probably be treating phone releases like the second coming. Phones will be flying left and right overnight, not because that last phrase makes sense, but because fuck you that's why. <br />
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And if the manufacturer suddenly decides to stop upgrading your OS, your OS won't suddenly die from lack of attention. It's a phone, not a three year old child. By comparison, the S40 has been around since the advent of the 5110. If Magellan had a phone it'd probably have used the same OS. It's still perfectly find today and you can still find shady Armenian yahoo groups supporting cracked Bantumi games for S40 handsets .<br />
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<span class="fullpost">
Do you go "Hold on! Don't release the November issue of FHM yet! I still have the October issue and it's still perfectly readable!" every time a new magazine serial hits the stand? Because that's what it sounds like when your GS3 is suddenly made obsolete by the GS4. Listen, the companies don't need your opinion on how long their flagship model phone should stay flagship. If they decide to switch flagship models faster than the CEO's switch trophy hooker-ish GFs, tough shit.<br />
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If any it's better for the lot of us. The faster the models get changed, the faster the older ones depreciate, and before long, even Joe Fishball has a quadcore five inch phone that can compute the tax for half of Metro Manila in two minutes.<br />
<br />
<br />
Oh, there you go. Another update from your favorite phone maker:<br />
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<i>Fuck you. The world's not going to wait for you to get sick of your phone. </i><br />
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Back to normal programming. <i><br /></i></span>REDKINOKOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513385746498034003noreply@blogger.com0