The Spectrum Magazine - Volume 63, Number 7 by TheSpectrum-USLS

VOLUME 63 NUMBER 7 | NOVEMBER 2018

THE GREAT ACCELERATION

THESPECTRUM FO U N D E D 1 9 5 6

facebook.com/thespectrumusls · thespectrum.usls@gmail.com VOLUME 63 NUMBER 7 · NOVEMBER 2018 Joshua Martin P. Guanco EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Katherine E. Co

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Victoria Marian B. Belmis MANAGING EDITOR

Robert H. Jerge III

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR NEWSPAPER EDITOR Starlene Joy B. Portillo ASST. NEWSPAPER EDITOR Ivee E. Manguilimotan MAGAZINE EDITOR Hezron G. Pios ONLINE PUBLICATIONS & PHOTOS AND VIDEOS EDITOR Martini M. Falco ASST. ONLINE PUBLICATIONS EDITOR Kynah Rhea B. Fuentes LITERARY EDITOR Alvin Brian S. Legario ASST. PHOTOS AND VIDEOS EDITOR Millen Andre E. Gela LAYOUT AND GRAPHICS EDITOR Glen Jed J. Descutido ASST. LAYOUT AND GRAPHICS EDITOR Alfredo R. Bayon-on Jr.

NEWSPAPER WRITERS

PHOTOJOURNALISTS

MAGAZINE WRITERS

VIDEOGRAPHERS

Ma. Angeline M. Mayor Joshua L. Mahilum Disney Marie L. Espartero Lance Christian M. Juarez ONLINE WRITERS

Charlene Marie D. Lim Ida Sarena M. Gabaya LITERARY WRITERS

Ma. Kristine Joy R. Bayadog Lorraine M. Labos WEB ADMINISTRATOR

Keanu Kent B. Gargar

Nicci Bernelle D. Aguilar Gerico T. Guanco Alfed Edrian D. Ama Kyle Jyrax D. Sevilla LAYOUT AND GRAPHICS ARTIST

Alexandra V. Bachoco ILLUSTRATORS

Andrea Danielle A. Gamboa Carl Hason T. Gerale Anna Theresa S. Parayno EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Chad Martin Z. Natividad

PUBLICATION MODERATOR

Jean Lee C. Patindol

The Spectrum is the Official Student Media Corps of the University of St. La Salle. Its editorial office is located at the USLS Student Activity Center, La Salle Ave., Bacolod City, Negros Occidental 6100; it can be reached through the telephone number, (034) 432-1187 local 172 and e-mail address, thespectrum. usls@gmail.com. All rights reserved. No part of The Spectrum may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the Media Corps. All contributions become The Spectrum property and the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to edit all articles for publication.

Editor’s Note

Speed kills. But what if I told you that speed breeds life, too? That it is the very speed of our planet’s rotation on its axis that yielded this once mass of molten rock into what it is today: a celestial body brimming with vitality down to its core. What I’m trying to say here is that speed can literally be the death of us all—that is, if you view the concept metaphorically or realistically. And at the same time, speed can be an ally, too—that is, if you, dear reader, know how to tame this force. In physics, speed is distance over time; it is the quotient of how far you’ve come in relation to the time you’ve spent reaching it. You can go too fast and prematurely reach your destination with nothing to get; you can go too slow, arrive late, and get nothing as well. This dichotomy can occur for those who can’t properly harness this primordial force. Rushing—as well as lying in wait for too long—may be really for fools after all. However, what I’m trying to imply here is the importance of one’s pace. Through your own pace, you, dear reader, can make speed yield to your bidding. In a world where those who are first are glorified by default, know that all of us have our own pacing. You may not be first right now in what you’re trying to reach, but remember that through your own pacing, you are going to clinch it one day—and it is going to be sweet and fulfilling. Haste isn’t always the best option; perseverance is.

JOSHUA MARTIN P. GUANCO

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

PHOTOGRAPHED BY: NICHOL FRANCIS ANDUYAN

Cover

About the

Gold emblematizes superiority. In Greek mythology, possession of gold means you are a cut above the rest just like a god. In alchemy, gold was the perfect material. In popular culture, gold signifies opulence, power, and notoriety. Nonetheless, gold melts away over time. It is feeble against the rush of events. Its darker side portends an illusion of brilliance. Where there is gold, there is subsequent erosion. This fortune turned mishap mirrors our human tendency: until the last speck of gold is rid by rust or vapor, we resume to gather trophies as if our losses are not as salient as our victories. With that said, gold does not stay golden. Gold ultimately reminds us that the layers underneath are layers worth to be ascertained.

Blitz In warp speed, humans outdo themselves. We transcend from runners-up to unstoppable champions. Our edge is situating ourselves on the cutting edge. The zeitgeist depends on our ruling will and principles. This must brand us liable for so many incidents, underscoring the ones beyond our spheres of personal space. Consequently, we are part of this narrative. We are shrinking as the world shrinks. We are always, always in a hurry. Our declaration of heroism never shook our core because we never really got the hang of it. Our inheritance is this planet laced with lifetimes and promise, slated to be passed on. Time after time, we shall move forward. —————————— The Spectrum extends its heartfelt thanks to these spectacular individuals: Neil Psalm Angelo Isobal for gracing this issue’s cover; Ms. Jean Lee Patindol for her love and support as our own motherator; our interviewees for inspiring us with their sobering stories; and God Almighty for the gift of life and truth.

ARTWORK BY: ANNA THERESA P. PARAYNO

contents 08

human interest

discussion

A Case of Fire According to Dwight

The Emergence of the Male Birth Control Pill society

“NO”: The Why’s and Extremes of Sexual Rejection discussion

The Social Underground discussion

society

discussion

Internet. Incel. Infection.

A Virtual Virus in the 21st Century

Here, Everywhere, Nowhere

Reel Talk with John Arceo human interest

Cover Story

THE GREAT

ACCELERATION

Infamous Legacies: Top Five Heists in History

37 - 41

history

MORE ON DISCUSSION 34 Clothing Size in Translation 69 Living in the Past: On Phantom Time Hypothesis

MORE ON HUMAN INTERESTS

Comics

The Featured Feathers of Pulupandan

49-51

environment

45 Pansexual is a Thing 52 Sixth Sense 58 Exorcism and Why Exorcists Aren’t Your Typical Ghostbusters’

MORE ON SOCIETY 30 A Snapshot of a Hasty Generation on a Mission 42 Revisiting Century-Old Beats

Tiempos Muertos sa Negros

The Secret to Inner Peace: A Mindful Breath lifestyle

Ang Pagmamason ng Perlas ng Silanganan filipino

hiligaynon

MAD SHACK 2018

Superluminal Travel with Tachyons 63-66

The Dead’s Declassified Horror Movie NonSurvival Guide entertainment

science

Film + Book

reviews 73-77

A Case of Fire According to Dwight BY: HEZRON G. PIOS PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MILLEN ANDRE E. GELA

human interest

(1) Carl Dwight D. Sales was six when he attended the birthday party of his cousin from his mother’s side. It conjured the usual Pinoy sensibilities: a gathering of relatives, endless pahanda, parlor games, a deafening sound system, and cheap giveaways. All these events unfolding twelve years ago, on the 26th of January. (2) Later on, Dwight saw his cousins, Jejomar, Chokoy, and an unnamed boy, in the act of exploring past the birthday celebrant’s backyard. (3) Dwight, sama ka samin! Punta tayo dun! urged the three. Dwight, juvenile and easily persuaded, came along with them. He was only curious and relentless, after all. And so the four of

them vanished from the ongoing party. Not a parent or guardian even noticed. (4) The boys found themselves at the entrance of a bodega. Its location, with a whole stretch of green enveloped around it, seemed out of place. However, the boy whose name shall remain in discretion, fled from the narrative first, perhaps spooked out or deliberately ditched. Therefore Jejomar, Chokoy, and Dwight stayed behind. Something must be unearthed. (5) “Nanghalungkat kami. Lahat nakabalot.” To their astonishment, there were packages of fireworks situated everywhere. Maybe each box portended high-risk danger: Keep out of reach of children. Caution:

Bigla na lang naglakad ang apoy. Nagyakapan kami ni Jejomar. Siya ‘yung unang nakalabas sa amin.

University of Santo Tomas (UST) Hospital. For almost 19 days, he stayed in the Intensive Care Unit.

flammable material. Do not store in high temperature. (6) “Si Chokoy naman, lumabas. May dalang pansindi. Pagkatapos, binato niya ito sa loob mismo. Bigla na lang naglakad ang apoy sa sahig. Nagyakapan kaming dalawa ni Jejomar. Umakyat sa amin ang apoy. Siya ‘yung unang nakalabas samin. Naiwan ako dun sa loob ng isang minuto. Nang patakbo na ako palabas, bigla akong nadapa. Binalikan ako ni Jejomar. Pagbalik namin sa party, lahat ng tao napatigil. Umiyak si Mama sabay sigaw, ‘Bilisan niyo! Kumuha kayo ng tubig!’ Tumawag sila kaagad ng ambulance.” (7) Dwight was rushed to the

(8) “I got burned with 56% of my body sustaining 2nd and 3rd degree burns. So bale yan ‘yung pinakamalala. Almost in and out of my body were damaged. Kinulang ‘yung panggastos namin sa UST tapos inilipat na ako sa Philippine General Hospital (PGH). Nagpagamot ako dun for almost a year and a half. Walang labasan sa unit. Every month, o-operahan ang burns ko; need ng skin grafting. Kinuha sa mga binti’t hita ko. Every day sa burn unit, kailangang palitan ako ng bandage kaya lagi akong sumisigaw, humihiyaw. Zonrox tapos betadine ang binubuhos sa mga sugat ako. Sobrang hapdi. Thank God naka-survive ako.” (9) Dwight, with immense regret, wished he was among his relatives who revelled at the celebration—wished he did not attend the party at all. (10) “Pero nung naaksidente pala ako, hindi na masyado sumisipot ‘yung mother ko kasi baka hindi niya na alam ang ginagawa niya. Nung nakalabas na ako sa PGH, andun lang ako sa bahay. Nanonood ng TV, naglalaro. Bawal lumabas ng bahay.”

(11) News abound, Mrs. Olivia Sales’ (or fondly referred to as Mama Olive) high school batchmates displayed generosity through their financial aid. Afterwards, the family received a grant from the Philippine Airlines Foundation (PALF), allowing Dwight to fly to Los Angeles (LA) at the age of seven. Upon arrival, they were featured in Fox 11 News. (12) In LA, a number of surgeons scanned Dwight’s photographs. Several reconstructions had been decided. At this point, Dwight had already undergone five surgeries in California, eight back in PGH. This amounts to a total of 13 surgeries. (13) “My doctors soon discovered na mayroon pala akong tumor sa brain sa likod ng left eye ko. Also, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder). For example, during class, bigla na lang akong kinakalabit. Apparently, due to my accident, I have developed seizure and epilepsy.” (14) There was a deliberate plan of concealing Dwight’s face with tattoos in order to make him look ‘normal’ once again. Unhappily, his personal doctor, Dr. A. Richard Grossman— plastic surgeon and founder of 9

Grossman Burn Center—passed away before his awaited operation. (15) “Bawal akong ma-expose sa mga neon lights. Bawal ako sa masyadong sweet, sa radiation. Bawal sobrang magpagod, magalit, magpalipas gutom at hindi kumain nang ‘di sa oras. Ang unang stage ng seizure ko ay mag-iiba ang panlasa ko. Pangalawa, ‘yung isang mata ko, hindi ko na kayang mailipat. Pangatlo, ang leeg ko, hindi ko na kayang maigalaw. The longest seizure I experienced was almost 10-15 minutes.” (16) At present, Dwight is a 19-year 10

old taking up AB Communication at the University of St. La Salle. His favorite pastimes include singing, playing football, and writing poetry. A middle child among three, Dwight has an elder sister, 21, taking up BS Hospitality Management and a younger sister, 16, currently a grade 10 student. Laguna used to be their home. However, their father bought them a residence in Avida Village North Point, Talisay City. This is a new beginning for him. (17) “Hindi naman maiiwasan ‘yung ma-bully ako eh,” he shared. Dwight then proudly declared that

he is his Mama Olive’s boy, given their unyielding relationship after the incident. (18) With utmost sincerity, Dwight recited his Mama Olive’s remarkable statement: Anak, paglaki mo, ‘di pa rin ‘yan titigil ang pang-aasar sa’yo. Nonetheless, Dwight heartily retorted: Kahit lagi akong napapaaway at nasususpend, move on na lang. (19) And so he moved on. Away from his troubled history, away from that bodega in the middle of the woods. For Dwight, the future can be dealt with levity.

discussion

, e r He , e r e h w No BY: JOSHUA MARTIN P. GUANCO ILLUSTRATED BY: ANDREA DANIELLE A. GAMBOA

Home.

The word alone can conjure images subjective to the person thinking. Sometimes, home can be the humble abode that contains an individual’s loved ones—their family. Other times, home isn’t a house but a sensation— be it love, belongingness, freedom, warmth, or a composite of those. On rare occasions, home can be the place of one’s origins—their nationality, their identity. But to third culture kids (TCKs), home can be a place, another place, or it might be nothing at all. Initially coined by American sociologists John and Mary Useem in the 1950s, the term “third culture kids” or sometimes—for clarification— “adult third culture kids”, refers to

individuals who spent a significant part of their early developmental years in a place different from the culture of their parents’ homeland or the country written on their passports, where they are legally deemed native. They are individuals who meld their mother culture with an adopted culture. Thus, bringing forth a new culture of their own, an amalgamation of their parents’ roots and the people they have met internationally: their third culture. But in this rapid age of globalization and open borders, who are really the TCKs? Hemispheres of a TCK TCKs are sometimes referred to as cultural hybrids, cultural chameleons, or global nomads. In fact, they are

mostly born to diplomats, expatriates, missionaries, and soldiers serving abroad. However, some TCKs are considered byproducts of interracial and/or transnational marriages. With that, TCKs are often characterized as individuals who possess an expanded point of view, understanding that there are various ways in looking at the situations, problems, or experiences they have. TCKs are also observed to possess a high regard for sensitivity towards themselves and to others. Because of their multilingualism, TCKs find it easier for them to function, adapt, and adjust effectively across multiple cultures. However, a survey from Denizen, an online, non-profit publication

TCKs are also o to possess a h bserved i g for sensitivity h regard t o w themselves and ards to others.

dedicated for TCKs, found out that most of the third culture kids had their first emigration before they reached the age of nine. The survey also purports that TCKs had lived in an average of four countries when the data collection happened—and this is what makes life hard for TCKs. As children of constantly emigrating parents—the ones who are working without the promise of a secured and lengthy tenure—TCKs are often jolted by the decision of leaving the country they are currently in, which forces them to leave their close friends and make new ones on an almost regular and systemized manner. This repeated process of leaving and losing friends— most especially in a young age—can make TCKs susceptible to anxiety, stress, and even depression. In contrast, one, if not main, concern for a TCK is rootedness; their quest of finding and knowing where home truly is. Having grown up in several countries, TCKs can’t help but explain or prove themselves whenever someone asks them the question: Where are you really from? This is somewhat a unique phenomenon to them—a “cultural” identity crisis brought about by feelings of inability to be in oneness with a nationality or a culture, that they are citizens of

everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The “Path” to the World The experiences of TCKs can be related to and explained by the theory of classical psychoanalyst Erich Fromm called “Humanistic Psychoanalysis.” Fromm postulated that modern-day people have been torn away from their prehistoric union with nature and also with another individual—from hereon, we apply that TCKs have been “torn away” from their union with their true home and countrymen—but they still retain their ability to practice reason, foresight, and imagination. Being self-aware of this, humans experience feelings of isolation, loneliness, and homelessness. And due to this, the need to be reunited with nature and human beings arises. Thus, prompting humans to strive hard in order to alleviate themselves from this dilemma all the while fulfilling Fromm’s postulated eight basic needs, namely: relatedness (to become united with the world), transcendence (the drive of finding purpose and freedom), rootedness (the need to feel at home with the world again), sense of identity (the capacity of being aware as a separate entity), frame of orientation (understanding that one has a place in

this world), excitation and stimulation (the active striving for a goal), unity (oneness between the person and the natural and human world outside), and effectiveness (the need to feel accomplished). Fromm’s hypothetical existential needs can be a tedious journey but it is still worth noting that Humanistic Psychoanalysis isn’t the surefire answer—it all still depends on the individual. While some continue to dig to where their roots have truly originated, other TCKs have embraced being “free citizens of the world”. In this era of globalization, the future of TCKs is bright and endless. Now, more people are finding out that TCKs belong to a growing subculture with their voices and stories starting to be heard and discovered—that they are the products of the world’s countries slowly opening and bridging their borders with each other. The sense of being home to everywhere and nowhere at the same time does not imply that TCKs do not have a place to belong to; in fact, it has never been that. What this simply means for them—and all of us—is that the concept of home isn’t fixed on a single location or people: it can be redefined, reinvented, and revamped.

society

The Emergence of the Male Birth Control Pill BY: HEZRON G. PIOS ILLUSTRATED BY: ALFREDO R. BAYON-ON JR.

It begins with foreplay. Followed by two bodies spliced by intimacy. Then bodily fluids spread elsewhere. Then hands gestured upwards: a zealous act of prayer. For some men, safe sex is accompanied with the use of a condom. For some men, not-so-safe sex is suggestive of pulling it out, a portion of being experimental, of engaging in the “thrill.” For some men, vasectomy eschews procreation; an irreversible means. Just this March, though, a new solution has materialized. Men will no longer obligate—or reinforce—women into shouldering the freight of being on the pill, given the Filipino setting and context. The male birth control pill is a solution, not a gimmick, but nonetheless a force to reckon with. It embellishes a future of ushering another discourse on the topic of gender equality. On April 26, TIME Magazine published the article “Are We Finally

Ready for the Male Pill?” by Alexandra Sifferlin. Her think piece thrusts the unprecedented volunteerism of men which girded from the Millennials to Generation X then Baby Boomers and which also spiked more than ever in terms of clinical trials in relation to male contraceptives. Furthermore, scientists are motivated to alter the current contraception imbalance and launch dry runs of disparate methods including pills and gels this year so as to attract drug companies with promising results. “Industry analysts believe there’s money to be made. If a new male contraceptive method is approved in the next five years, the market is projected to be around $1B (P54B) by 2024, and could grow at a rate of 6% over the next ten years, according to Global Market Insights,” Sifferlin wrote. Particular to the study is a drug called dimethandrolone undecanoate

(DMAU), taken once a day. The said drug suppresses testosterone for sperm development until the body reaches extremely low levels without serious side effects. Surprisingly, the researchers from the University of Washington and Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, headed by Dr. Stephanie Page, saw 83 men as their willing subjects. “We have a lot of positive momentum right now. [...] I think the field may be in a different place because the public is expressing quite a bit of interest. There are changes happening socially. It seems different from 15 years ago,” Page expressed. To extend beyond this discovery, this illustrates how a portion of men transitions from a misogynistic frame of reference into a more progressive outlook. Ten to fifteen years from now, this issue shall be a cornerstone for critical discussions on roles and parenthood. “It’s not a female reproductive rights issue; it’s not a male reproductive rights issue,” expressed Devin Patterson, 33, a data architect in Grand Rapids, Michigan featured

For some men, the pill regulates the culture of misogyny until it reaches complete eradication. in an article from Glamour. It was mentioned that Patterson has been championing male birth control among his peers since he was in college. “It’s a human issue,” he interjected. Subsequently, Hera*, 20, asserted the expansion of choices rendered by the male pill. “For sexually active heterosexual couples who do not want to get pregnant yet, there’s a sense of shared responsibility now. There’s always so much strain for a woman when she has to bear the responsibility of checking for symptoms, tracking her period and ovulation on a calendar, and then there’s the paranoia of a late or missed period. If male birth control pills are introduced, there’s

more complacency in the relationship which will increase trust as well,” she expressed. Hera also assured that the pills will not be a hundred percent foolproof, as most contraceptives are not, but at the very least the option is still provided for the couple. “Although further research should be conducted I think the main issue against it is the side effects, the benefits. But when successful, [the pill] would open up several pathways for sexually active individuals,” she concluded. This a breakthrough once dreamt in the distant past. Although the female birth control pill was revolutionized during the 60s, changed the course of the zeitgeist, it saw decades on

top of decades to see the dawn of its counterpart. For some men, the pill regulates the culture of misogyny until it reaches complete eradication. For some women, this absolves men and elevates their importance in the undertaking of sexual activity and pregnancy. For men and women, the pill, and other variations of quelling procreation, transports them towards a community wherein what makes their manhood and womanhood are made less complex by the existing values—which are all subject to change—and sharpened insight on the spectrum of sexuality. The male birth control pill is a milestone for the human race. 15

discussion

“NO”: The Whys and Extremes of Sexual Rejection BY: KATHERINE E. CO ILLUSTRATED BY: ALEXANDRA V. BACHOCO

And sadly, although we don’t conveniently witness extreme manifestations on a daily basis, male entitlement is not such a rare sighting. Author’s note: This article does not aim to generalize the totality of the male population, especially with possessing the toxic mentality towards women (to be subsequently discussed in the write-up), although it acknowledges certain tendencies men have which are based solely from research and existing statistics. With this said, the portion of the article that deals with extreme cases will mostly focus on the identified online communities of sexually rejected and frustrated men (called the “incel” community) and is not necessarily associated with all men. It has always been difficult to hear a “no”—may it be during your childhood years when your parents refused your heed to attend your friend’s birthday party, when you were rejected in a school audition for something you were really passionate about, or come adulthood, when a company you have laid your eyes on for so long turned down your longdesired job application. It has always hurt, that’s for sure. But that’s because our brains are naturally programmed to respond to rejection in a similar way to how we respond to physical pain, Psychology Today says. But in a contiguous area of discussion—being rejected romantically and sexually by a potential partner—there is something quite intriguing and also frankly appalling about how the reactions to the phenomenon are being manifested in the extremes in a multitude of ways across the world. We can easily pinpoint the worst cases of sexual rejection within the “incel” community (short for “involuntary celibates”), which is an online congregation of men who are sexually frustrated over being sexually rejected by women. On Brittany Wong’s article on HuffPost Life entitled “We Need To Talk About How We Deal With Sexual Rejection”, she expounded on how these incels have also expressed their fantasies online of raping and killing women due to the resulting emotions from their inability to acquire sex from them. Although last year saw Reddit wiping the main incel community from its online platform, the subreddit consisting of more or less 40,000 members had very often spread messages that expressed strong hatred towards women and all the while pushing for sexual violence against them. The most notorious example of terrorizing incels who went the absolute extreme was misogynist Elliot Rodger,

who accused women for his “suffering” after being continually rejected for sex, and who thereafter took the lives of six people in a killing rampage near the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2014. This comes from a common string of thinking observed from these men whose reactions to romantic, sexual rejection have reached this extent: most of them felt women were obliged to give them sex. And if they are rejected, they take it as a direct offense, an act that has “wronged” them. And sadly, although we don’t conveniently witness extreme manifestations on a daily basis, male entitlement is not such a rare sighting. And its prevalence still exists up to this day, still applies the burden on the fight of women all over the world against gender discrimination and sexual oppression. Science has something to contribute to these common incidents. Cited by Wong in the same article, Kimberly Resnick Anderson, a sex therapist and a clinical instructor of psychiatry at University of California’s school of medicine, reported men learn from a young age to “externalize” the experience of rejection, as opposed to women who have been taught by social customs to handle it more internally. Anderson also remarked that where women would usually blame themselves or suppose it was something they did wrong that caused the eventual rejection, men often assume there was malice involved in the refusal. “It’s easier to justify an aggressive reaction if you can convince yourself that you were intentionally ‘wronged’,” Anderson explained. Though, going to the bottom line of all of this, a lot of established writers and clinical professors who have bravely spoken about the issue all agree it just might be time to learn to cope with “No”: how it is something that should be addressed with a sense of normalcy in the experiences we confront throughout our lifetime. And maybe, it’s also time to reassess our feelings of entitlement toward other people, especially on the topic of sex, and with this, although many have said it before, it will be said here again: No one is entitled to sex, and to anyone’s body but their own. We yearn that there will never be another terrorizing attack on the account of hatred on women due to these reasons (or for any reason at all) ever again. 17

human interest

Reel Talk with John Arceo BY: STARLENE JOY B. PORTILLO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: ENA LOUISE P. APELO

Everything about John Gilbert Arceo screams cinematic. He has this wild, piercing look in his eyes that seems to speak louder than his already booming voice—something he has probably brought with him off the theatre stage. He talks with his hands, and curses for emphasis. His wedding ring is a tattoo of his wife’s name on his finger, which tops off the tattoo sleeves of clowns and other things that represent what he loves most. He looks like your typical badass goon, which he may have already played the role of at some point in his long-running acting career. But we’re not here to talk about just that. John’s life, although far from perfect, seems to be cut straight out of a movie. It began when he was four years old. Several artistas went to his hometown farm, he said, where nobody goes to except on fiestas. Seeing these celebrities perform on stage, he told his mother that he was going to be one of them someday. And true enough, two years later, he got his first acting job in a local staging of the play The King and I. “It’s so clear: I’m an artist. I want to entertain people and I want to be on the stage, performing,” he said with conviction. But Arceo ended up studying Nursing at the University of St. La Salle (USLS)—at least until the pinning rites—because that was what his family wanted. He then switched to AB Mass Communications to start fulfilling his dreams. After a year however, he realized that maybe school just wasn’t meant for him. The aspirant walked the same halls of USLS for six to seven years, but not because he was attending classes. Together with his friends Erik Matti and Lawrence Fajardo, who just like him are now big names in the film industry, John staged plays via the Maskara Theatre Ensemble at the Gallaga Theatre. He landed his breakthrough role in Handuraw sang Ca-Untao produced by the first batch of Negros Summer Workshops under director Peque Gallaga. It was the heyday of plays, and John’s acting stint. But it was also around this time that he had his greatest love affair. “I call it that because I was basically in love with drugs,” he explained, no holds barred. “I take it because it heightens my senses, in the same way that drinking relaxes us. Now, who wouldn’t want that?” In 1989, he tried shabu for the first time and eventually went to great lengths to sustain an affair that lasted 20 years. His voice, usually loud and fast-paced, was reduced to a mumble as he recalls the time his mother was diagnosed with

brain tumor. She was going in and out of the hospital, which cost the family thousands. As the oldest among his brothers, John directly received the funds intended for his mother’s hospital bills. He would buy her the needed diapers and a few medications, while the rest of the money went on to support his addiction. But no one caught on. “As an actor, I was even able to hide it from my wife. She knew I was drinking; she knew I was taking shabu once in a while because I let her see me smoke it—she thought I was in control, but she didn’t know how bad it was,” John shared, pointing to an air-conditioning unit overhead. He went on to tell how he once got away with stealing something similar by leaving the front frame of the appliance and selling the rest of the air-conditioner’s body. Eventually, his wife had suspicions when her jewelry started to disappear and cars wouldn’t come back parked in the garage. Bills were piling up, and their children’s tuition have remained unpaid for months. But this wasn’t enough of an eye-opener for him. Ironic as it sounds, John’s turning point was during one of his drug binges. It was seven in the morning on a sunny October when he started drinking. He spent P12,000 on shabu. Usually, when he takes it, he feels finer than the weather outside. So it came as a surprise to him when he felt empty. John buys another round for P5,000—again, empty. By four in the afternoon, he went to Robinson’s and got himself a new pair of Nikes—still empty. Something’s wrong, he said to himself. He was still drunk when he sat down on one of the benches inside the Redemptorist Church and told God: “If there’s anything you want to tell me, do it now. I’m either going to survive the day and live to see tomorrow, or I’m going to hang myself tonight.” He continued to sit still when he saw birds appear outside. These creatures, he surmised, could fly anytime they want. They don’t have money, they don’t have nice things, but they’re happy. “We only need so little to be happy.” John said, thinking at that time that perhaps, a higher being was trying to tell him something. You want me to stop? I will. He went out of Church feeling great—and so he decided to take more shabu. This went on until three in the morning, when he drove home inebriated. The actor told himself that what happened earlier was just hits from his shabu high. But when he got home, he started breaking down and woke up his wife. “I did not know where I was coming from, but I needed help. I didn’t want [this lifestyle] anymore,” he stated. Three

*John Arceo

They don’t have money, they don’t have nice things, but they’re happy. “We only need so little to be happy.”

days later, he had a plane ticket to Manila for a paid 75-day rehabilitation program, arranged by his wife. But just when he thought his life was finally going on the right track, two months later he received a call from the hospital. The doctor said John’s mother had 24 hours to live, and so his family was asking him to come home. Hesitant, he eventually decided to fly back to Bacolod. “There’s this feeling that you get from a mother, that only a mother can give,” he said, remembering how he asked all of their relatives to give him a moment alone with his mother the moment he got to the hospital. As John approached her and held her hand ever so gently, she squeezed it with all the strength she has left. “I was never there for her because of my addiction. But [...] without her saying anything, I knew everything was okay.” He went on to whisper to her: you can go. Even with all the tubes sticking out of her mouth and nose, she managed to give John a faint smile.

His mother died on the 13th of December that month. It was 2 am in the morning at his rehab room when John woke up to a clear voice calling him out by his nickname, Jay—and that was when he knew that she has said goodbye. A few minutes later, a guard knocked on his door, saying there was an emergency. To which he responded: I know. Between then and now, John has done a lot more of takes to turn his life around. He claims to be far from a good boy, but at least he no longer does what he used to do. Currently, he finds peace at home with two talented kids and a beautiful wife. He has just gotten back from filming an actionhorror picture entitled Circle of Bones, directed by Vincent Soberano. While another film he starred in premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, The Trigonal: Fight for Justice last May. More projects have been piling up, and John couldn’t ask for more. Life doesn’t get more cinematic than this satisfying happy ending.

discussion

The Social Underground BY: LANCE CHRISTIAN M. JUAREZ ILLUSTRATED BY: ALFREDO R. BAYON-ON JR.

None of your followers really know who you truly are behind the screen. Digital Natives frequently have the tendency to forget that social media is not just standardized as a tool for worldwide interconnection—duality can also be achieved through this medium. Any user on any platform is free to emulate a heightened, amplified, or altered version of themselves. With the ready-to-go toolset of filters and edits, the only requirement for managing this “cyber persona” is to be relentless at maintaining it. Of course, the freedom of being able to control people’s limited perception of you is but a stone’s throw away from making a completely fake profile. For what purpose? The sky’s the limit.

Online sexual misconduct can refer to a variety of things—from sexting, sending nudes, or even sharing full-blown pornographic videos.

Hyperbole aside, the actual motives of fake alternate accounts assume the position of leaning towards superficiality rather than grandeur. These can range from the benign—like separating work life from personal life as well as private or artistic accounts— to more sinister intents, like bashing people online or to even disrespect, demean, or sexually objectify people with the convenient shroud of anonymity. The difference between the two extremes is that one mostly involves the self and the other affects the privacy and ultimately, the lives of others—under this is online sexual activity. The Medium The sense of being anonymous begets a sense of liberation—people unbind themselves of accountability and thus, consequence. In actuality though, one is not entirely anonymous on the internet—most people log in with fake names or pseudonyms and more importantly, any device that people use to log on online has a designated IP (Internet Protocol) address. This refers to a unique string of numbers that serve as a device’s identifier. Regardless of this though, people still exploit anonymity for their malicious intent—especially considering most social media sites do not require valid identity verification. In fact, Facebook’s vice president, Guy Rosen, posted a blog on the online platform which stated that the site disabled around 583 million fake accounts from January to March this year. Given that most of those accounts were not just regular people using the site for personal reasons, the number is still staggering to comprehend. The Act Online sexual misconduct can refer to a variety of things—from sexting, sending nudes, or even sharing fullblown pornographic videos. The advent of social media combined with anonymity enables individuals— teenagers especially—to freely engage in these activities regardless of parental supervision.

Sharing nude photos of people is arguably the most common practice teenagers do in the context of online sexual activity. Having someone else’s nude picture is different compared to viewing porn in two ways: it is more private or personal and oftentimes involves someone in proximity—both of which can appeal to teens’ rising hormones more than the usual pornographic sites. The one who shares and contributes to the circulation of nudes may indicate a porn addiction as well—though some addictions lead to desensitization from repeating the experience too much. The more a person repeats an act of pleasure, the less dopamine they receive—a study on the brain’s reward system by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation says: “Continued, long-term addiction also results in the brain reducing the number of dopamine receptors in the brain to adjust for the increased dopamine in the system.” This causes the frequency of the act to gradually incline to make up for the deficiency—this is where the snowball effect starts to amplify its momentum. Once somebody reaches a certain point though, he/she will look for alternatives to soothe his/her urges. This can be in the form of more obscure tastes or fetishes, or to sharing nudes, or even pornographic videos as mentioned before. The Effect Addiction is a slippery slope for an individual, but when it affects the lives of others, the damage can be unpredictable. Using the sharing of nudes as an example, this can be detrimental to the reputation of the person in the photo—considering the breach of privacy and the danger of being spread almost

instantaneously. This downward slope of addiction is even more dangerous if it is done by a group or tight clusters—say, a group of friends. This adds in peer pressure and group mentality to the equation. Recover Connection writes: “An addict will experience intense physical cravings for the drug and an emotional obsession to take in the vice regardless of the consequences. Addiction develops over time and usually begins with misuse, moving toward abuse, and resulting in addiction.” People’s addictions worsen, and affect or enable other people’s addictions, which then curves into a gradually worsening cycle. This then becomes a stepping stone to more extreme acts, such as sharing of homemade videos, sexual harassment, or even rape. Grave acts like these come from simple causes and decisions—a candle that burns through its wax may just burn the entire house down and other people along with it. What ultimately dictates the purpose of social media is the choice of the users themselves. Action will be action, and inaction is still very much action. Solutions to bad behavior do not come from reminders or scoldings, they come from the breaking of the main causes of said behavior—lack of self-control, self-discipline, and respect.

society

Internet. Incel. Infection. BY: JOSHUA MARTIN P. GUANCO ILLUSTRATED BY: CARL HASON T. GERALE

On the afternoon of April 23, 2018, ten people were killed while 16 were critically injured when a rented Chevrolet Express van sped through the North York City Centre business district, deliberately ramming pedestrians who were treading through its busy sidewalks. The perpetrator: 25-year-old Alek Minassian; the casualties: mostly women. The incident rocked the city of Toronto, Canada. The whole country was in shock. However, what jolted it more was not the aftermath of the incident, but its prelude. Minutes prior to what many considered as the deadliest vehicle-ramming incident in Canada, Minassian already hinted on Facebook what he was going to do on that fateful day: The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger! Upon the post’s surfacing, people’s fingertips were glued to their respective phones, searching the recesses of the interwebs to find answers; to know what is the Incel Rebellion, the Chads and the Stacys, and the identity of Elliot Rodger—all of whom are allegedly the motivation behind Minassian’s deliberate road rage. However, what they have unearthed is not just any ordinary information, but a harbinger composite of pent-up repression and pure hatred. The Crusade Of [Repressed] Men Although not an organized militant group, the Incel Rebellion (with “incel” as a short term for “involuntary celibates”) is a group of men in various internet forums congregated by one common denominator: their inability to attract women to have sex with them. Due to this, members of the so-called rebellion have developed a vilipending notion towards women— reducing them into vicious beings whose sexual interest only align with what they consider as genetically-and-sexuallysuperior men (Chads). In addition, incels believe that they are denied the sex they are owed by the women (or the Stacys) that reject them. This, in turn, promulgates into a deep abhorrence for women—a contemporary form of male supremacy, with some even going to the extent of advocating rape and violence against their female counterparts. Yet the incels do not just loathe women, but as well as society itself, whom they believe has worn the cloth of feminism, enabling the Stacys to perpetually continue the cycle of their sexual oppression. This sexual militantism turned praxis stems from their own personal belief that the right of women to choose who they want to sleep with is the reason for their inceldom—that women should be regarded as subordinate to men no matter what. The incels see themselves as an oppressed class trapped in a society that favors the more muscular Chads. Some even go Marxist: if the cause of their suffering is society itself, then they might as well overthrow it in order to alleviate themselves from the sexual limbo they are in—and that makes these men even more dangerous.

With just one click, people get exposed to radical ideologies—both past and present—that infest their minds and cloud their judgment.

The Supreme [Gentle]man A number of incel forums trace their origins and motivations to Elliot Rodgers, a 22-year-old male who uploaded a video of himself last 2014. Twenty-four hours before he went on a killing spree and turned the gun on himself, Rodgers published his manifesto online wherein he shared his experience of rejection from women, consequently vowing to exact revenge on society for causing his feelings of loneliness and sexual repression. In the video, Rodgers specified that he intends to target the members of the Alpha Phi sorority which he considered to be the kinds of girls he always desired in college but never had the chance to hook up with. He later killed six in a stabbing and shooting rampage while injuring 14 along the process. He was canonized by such incel forums as a saint of the inceldom. In fact, his influence has inspired incels to make t-shirts with his face on it as well as cinematic fan videos of his misogynistic manifesto. The final seconds of the video seemed to be have sparked the flames in every incel’s heart—awakening their

untapped loathing for women and society in general, as Rodgers declared: “I am the true victim in all of this. I am the good guy.” He may have died a killer to world, but to the inceldom, Rodgers died as a savior: a messiah whose death signalled the nativity of this misogynistic ideology. The Terror Of It All The acts of Rodgers and Minassian have caught the attention of many, particularly the media who rendered inceldom in the box of terrorism. As defined by The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, terrorism is “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives”, and apparently, both of these incel attacks qualify, specifically the Toronto incident. Nonetheless, unlike most militant groups who possess a clear end goal, the incel rebellion only has a disturbing count of male members and/or supporters online pushing

each other into insinuating violence for the reason of their shared sexual frustrations. At the end of the day, the inceldom remains to be a group of men probably suffering from extreme social anxiety and depression congregating in online forums such as 4chan and r/braincells to vent out their repressions. In contrast, it is this complete embrace of their own helplessness which tags them as persons who can pose a threat that anyone can just easily dismiss. Nonetheless, one thing is certain: the age of accessible internet is here. With just one click, people get exposed to radical ideologies—both past and present—that infest their minds and cloud their judgment. The inceldom exemplifies that society’s hatred for women, misogyny, has outlasted eras, and now even more lurking in the dark ethers of virtual space: just a tap away from infecting someone else’s mind, or worse, drive an individual into a killing spree. Did the incel rebellion really just begin, or has it been in the veins of society since then—a parasite that has been eating off man’s rage? 25

discussion

A Virtual Virus in the 21st Century BY: ALVIN BRIAN S. LEGARIO ILLUSTRATED BY: ANDREA DANIELLE A. GAMBOA

Since 1958, both the young and old alike have been immersing themselves in what seemed to be a passing fancy at the time—video games. This concentrated virtual reality has been rising in the ranks as one of people’s favorite pastimes if called upon by boredom. Kids, both literal and at heart, were introduced to multiple fascinating characters such as Mario, Sonic, and Donkey Kong, and during this era, all the console powerhouses could only muster eight bits per frame. Fast-forward to the 21st century where video games seem more realistic than the actual world itself, the popularity of video games has skyrocketed to more broader heights. Recently, a new trending profession has hit mainstream media in the form of people streaming video games online. These “streamers” influence their viewers by streaming the online games they indulge themselves in. This, in turn, causes their viewers—mostly aged 18-35, with males dominating the pool—to become subservient to the aforementioned opinion leaders. But regardless of this influence, video games alone have a certain appeal that attracts players. Every after school or work, “gamers” would hurriedly go home and squander their time on the latest pixelated trends on their home consoles. Some would even skip school or work in totality just to stay at home and play. This can be viewed as an innocent hobby, however, hobbies have a knack for evolving into something much more severe: an addiction. Gaming Disorder, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, leads to a significant impairment or distress in several aspects of a person’s life due to addiction, specifically towards video games. Addiction can come in multiple shapes and forms. Factors such as peer pressure, physical, mental, and sexual abuse, exposure to drugs, stress, and lack of parental guidance can greatly affect a person’s likelihood of becoming addicted to a certain hobby. For example, DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) 2 has been a hot game for gamers to play nowadays. There are plenty

of kids, teens, and adults who give up hours and hours just to exhume time on virtual games. Even on school nights, these gamers play the said game and as a result, grades have been tanking due to the negligence of their academics. However, the gamers should not be the only ones guilty of making this so. A study from BMC Psychiatry concurs that gamers who have longer weekly hours dedicated to playing video games have more severe depressive, social phobic, and internet addiction symptoms. It can be supposed that these addicted individuals turn their attention to virtual reality as a form of escapism from their lives. This can stem from a heightened severity and amplification to the already present mental issues and that is why the World Health Organization (WHO) aimed to address video game addiction by recognizing it as a gaming disorder. On February, WHO announced that gaming disorder has been categorized as one of the many disorders that belong under “Disorders due to Addictive Behaviours” in their research on International Classification of Diseases. Their intensive studies propose that gaming disorders do not negatively affect the behaviors of most of the people who partake in playing video games. Nevertheless, this does not imply that gamers should spend almost all of their time on their consoles and personal computers, especially if it reaches zero involvement and interests on their daily routines and other physical, mental, and social activities. One can be tagged as someone with a gaming disorder when he or she shows a decrease in retention with regards to his or her personal, familial, social, educational, occupational, or related areas of personal cues—as explained further by WHO. One can be diagnosed with a gaming disorder if these symptoms are constant in at least a

If left unchecked, this will result to more and more damage to the mental and physical capabilities of the ones who acquired or have been thoroughly diagnosed with the disorder.

year. Other than addiction, although less likely, death is also another consequence for playing video games. In Russia, it was reported that a teen passed away due to Deep Vein Thrombosis after playing DOTA for 22 days straight. This proves that video game abuse can elevate to heights that lead to death. Here in the Philippines, the aforementioned cases are not as rampant and severe but addiction to computer games is very much alive. Reasons vary among personal and familial causes. “I skip class not because I want to. But the urge to play video games is far more greater than to study,” and “I stay late in school not because of classes but because of problems in the household. I’d rather avoid going home,” are just some of the answers given by college students on their reasons why they intice to divulge in video games via a local survey. Here in the Philippines, people who are addicted to video games have reasons that are similar to those who are diagnosed with gaming disorder but immediate help with regards to that problem is not yet available in the nation. Gaming disorder, simply put, is a very real and evident threat to kids, teens, and adults alike. If left unchecked, this will result to more and more damage to the mental and physical capabilities of the ones who acquired or have been thoroughly diagnosed with the disorder. Stigmas such as laziness, selfishness, and stubbornness are placed on persons who play video games, and this in turn advances the growth of mental illnesses. Perhaps instead of pointing fingers, an open palm should be given.

society

t o h s p Sna

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n o i t a r e n e g n o i s s i on a m ARTERO

BY: DIS NEY MAR IE L. ESP T. GUANCO PHOTOGRAPHED BY: GER ICO

53% with technology, gh they grew up ou ols like th to er n of unication ov s marked the daw in-person comm al er ni ef g. en pr cin ill m en e er th nf r video co ddenly Shortly afte nt messaging and of youngsters su and sta es in tch nc ba va r ad he l ot ca an gi a new age, just technolo n Z. These io an at th er e or en G M is n e— tio ur ct oughs, this genera barged into the pi to early twenties, liefs, scientific breakthr ly on their teens nt rre cu , es paradigm and be bi eir w th ift ne ess to the sh in e world with th itn before w ck ns ro tio to ra ne up d ge are all hype rare commodity e efforts of the a th g ch in su s w be llo fo to ich s em exuality, wh wa presence. Time se g these is homos ford to spend af on ’t r Am dn de ul it. en co G n ty. tio a taboo in socie that this genera sheer lack of earlier viewed as sed among ld. That, or their ore openly expres more than it shou en idity has be m flu g to Shepherd patience. es twice as fast, viduals. Accordin fli di e in e tim es e at JWT th er wh ced trend forecasting Born in a world an has been redu hlin, director of sp ug n y as io La tif nt te en at id Z n’s % of Gen DR” this generatio telligence, only 48 s, thus, the “TL; 65% In nd to d co re se pa ht m eig co sly as to a mea long; didn’t heterosexual oo ely “t siv to s clu y te sa ex la ns em tra 44% of th Syndrome which and humor have ennials, and only ill e, own M nc eir tie of th pa r im fo d it, rent clothes designe read”. Their w ffe y di bu ely ys tir wa en al an ey al th birth to of Millenni s. morphed to give ese hilarious pared with 54% Th m . co es er, em nm nd ge t— en m r it population of no form of entertain s been a boom fo this spike in the ha t ith W en e nt th co of le rs ib be elled as mem pictures with ed brevity, without heterosexuals, lab ng freedom tion’s standard of ity, laws concerni or fits in the genera in m + IA Q BT LG e. nc rights have been the lack of substa sion and gender tives”, online es na l pr ita ex ig of with “d e th d implemented, identity, Nicknamed as essfully passed an this generation’s cc of e first su th rt g pa on en am be s presence ha es of America that on at g St in d ow ite a sh Un dy e th stu in itical ge. Accord g to with a Vision Cr same-sex marria hones 15.4 hours ize tp al ar er, leg sm nt to eir Ce th e ch d by Pew Resear average, Gen Z us pe of device. research conducte 36) say than any other ty Z nials (ages 18 to en en G per week—more ill s, lly 74% of M illennial elder fu m just 23% eir ile th e wh , lik ge e un lin ria However, tion. In an on same-sex mar r ica vo un fa m ey m me-sex th co r al on As suppor t fo sa prefer more pers wbel, Research ey are opposed. ha th Sc y about sa an es D ud by tit ed at m a 2014 eased, other ar ticle publish cr fro in lts s su ha re , ge ce ria la ar m re Workp well. Majorities Director at Futu y have changed as show that even lit Z ua n io ex at os er m en ho G on survey conducted 31

now say homosexuality should be accepted by society (63%) and that the sexual orientation of a gay or lesbian person cannot be changed (60%). Nearly half (47%) say that people are born gay or lesbian. These opinions represent a shift over the past decade, even if in some cases the short-term changes have been modest. Despite these positive changes, the view that homosexuality and one’s personal religious beliefs are in conflict remains a powerful factor in opposition to same-sex marriage. The age of inquiry and the endless pursuit for truth gave birth to a new religion: no religion. Religious concepts have been questioned for their validity, the belief of the existence of God threatened by a rise in the population of agnostics, non-religious, and atheists. According to Pew Research Center, projections show a religion change worldwide with relatively small increase in the number of Muslims, a substantial increase in the number of unaffiliated people, and a substantial decrease in the number of Christians in coming decades. The unaffiliated, or so called “nones”, will receive a huge boost in population from those switching from Christianity. An alarming rise in the cases of mental health problems including

Generation Z may lack the wisdom and experience that previous generations have, but they prove to be a promising one. 32

cases of anxiety and depression also constitutes the burdens of this generation. In the Philippines, notions to counter this influx is being done, thus, Republic Act 11036, otherwise dubbed as the Mental Health Law, formerly a bill championed by Senator Risa Hontiveros. San Diego State University psychology professor Dr. Jean Twenge states that the Gen Z is more vulnerable than millennials were. “The [Gen Z] is on the brink of the worst mental health-related crisis in decades,” expressed Twenge. The Gen Z may not have been first-hand witnesses to the greatest geopolitical wars in history, they, too, carry their fair share of struggles seeing that the civil wars in the Middle East have flooded their social media accounts in the form of headlines and trending posts. It is also worth noting how in the several years

to come, the Gen Z will be taking over the upper hand especially in the workplace. This extends the conflicts left by the previous generations to their coverage of issues to be resolved. One primal representation would be the environmental concern due to its continuous, life-threatening impact to the citizenry. And although the setting for this generation’s “wars” may not often resemble 24/7 blood-lust or nationwide bombings, as some could be as unstoppable as virtual wars, such battles still disturb their day-today conditions. Generation Z may lack the wisdom and experience that previous generations have, but they prove to be a promising one— they are a hasty generation, heeding to the sense of duty, out to fulfill the mission to make this world better for the generations to come.

history

Infamous Legacies: Top Five Heists in History BY: ALVIN BRIAN S. LEGARIO ILLUSTRATED BY: ALEXANDRA V. BACHOCO

People steal for two reasons: to gain a vast amount of wealth and to capture the thrill of being caught. Pickpocketing and burglary, petty crimes as they seem, suffice to quench their humane thirst for larceny. This, in turn, places a low-risk low-reward scenario and, eventually, the so-called “reward” disappears—the loop goes on and on. There are those who raise the bar to the extreme—they are the ones more hungry. Many try and many fail but the ones who succeed, to them go the spoils. Referred to as geniuses to some and crooks to others, it is unmistakable that they have left their dishonorable mark in history. Here are my personal choices for the top five heists in history: 5. Hatton Garden Jewellery Robbery When people picture out the elderly, they usually imagine lolas cooking suman or lolos telling you stories of days long past. But this ragtag bunch of senior citizens tore down the stigma with what they did. “Elderly gang, 63, stole loot worth £14m but sold them for a fraction of the price” —this headline alone is enough to throw people off. This incident has been dubbed as the “largest burglary in English legal history.” On April 2015, the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company, an underground safe deposit facility in London, was burgled with the help of an inside man. Age is just a number after all. 4. Gardner Museum Heist Art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner bought 13 artworks with the intention of permanently displaying them in the Gardner Museum, but

this was not the fate intended for the paintings. As the city of Boston was busy celebrating St. Patrick’s day, two unknown thieves dressed as police officers stole the pieces of art from the Gardner Museum in succession. These culprits were synonymous to spectres, as they left no evidence behind. The total cost of the stolen art estimated at $500 million and to this day empty frames hang in the room, in hopes that they will one day be returned. 3. Wilcox Train Robbery Cowboys, indians, and poor hygiene made the Wild West famous. But another reason was the infamous Wilcox Train Robbery. On June 2, 1899, a Union Pacific train, running at full speed, was being flagged down before reaching a wooden bridge by rogue assailants on horses masquerading as officers from the train company. The train drivers halted, unbeknownst to them that the biggest heist of that American age was going to occur. After the locomotive stopped, the would-be robbers separated the carriages and began their pillaging. When they filled their sacks to the brim with money and valuables amounting to $36,000, the bridge ahead was blown up for a swift and decisive escape. 2. Antwerp Diamond Heist For three years, Leonardo Notarbartolo impersonated an Italian diamond merchant to gain reliability and rented an office close to the Antwerp

Bank, patiently stalking and awaiting for the perfect time to carry out his master plan that will later be dubbed as “The Heist of the Century.” Enigmatic, not much is known about Notarbartolo other than the fact that he was the leader of the thieves that the

estimated worth of the stolen gems and gold were more than $100 million and that to this day, the diamonds were never recovered. 1. D. B. Cooper Internet traversers and their mothers know of the tale of D. B. Cooper, the enigma that hijacked a plane and left no trace. This was so masterfully planned and executed that to this day, this man is still running free. The only trace left was a piece of foam from the duffel used to store the ransom money. Many have had the audacity to muster the strength needed to attempt a heist and many have failed. The legacy that they have left, tarnished and dull, is a reminder of how human necessity will overcome fear regardless of the opposition at hand. What these thieves attained in their lives is the infamacy that will forever live in the minds of the masses.

discussion

Clothing Size in Translation BY: CHAD MARTIN Z. NATIVIDAD ILLUSTRATED BY: KEANU JOSEPH P. RAFIL

In general, (clothing) sizes allow us to locate and purchase apparel that suit us (or others) better. A practical invention: the language of clothing sizes communicate to us in numbers and letters. There are double figures that vary by inches such as 18, 20, and 22. And there are the familiar uppercase letters that represent general widths: XS, M, XXL, etc. Various retailers have adopted different methods. A Generation of Body Diversity Individuals are diverse, or rather, identity is subjective, and that’s what allows us to stand out from the species of humans. Stereotypes potentially dilute individualism—that, and association. A size XS (extra small) v-neck would not especially denote malnourishment, just as an XXL (extra extra large) sweater does not sentence obesity. The body mass index (BMI), a physical measure, tells us that a ranged ratio of weight and height can be healthy. The formula for BMI is your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters, squared. If your BMI falls between 18.5 and 25 then your body mass is considered normal. Even then, the index only accounts for the numbers and not the factors which may have influenced our weight. The fashion industry, a globalized sector, not only attempts to meet the demand for apparel, but also dictates the trends for what should be worn. In 1970, the commercial standards were updated to “more accurately reflect the current population of women,” and the new standards became voluntary for manufacturers. Moving the Modifier The term ‘Plus Size’ is an industry standard that applies to any women who is over a (US) size 12. In the recent years, the plus-size market has been growing—and at a rapid pace. The number grew, and presently, the market for plus-size clothing is valued at 20 billion US dollars (1.08 trillion pesos). The term “plus size” first found its spot as a clothing section in the early 20th century. A store named Lane Bryant began advertising “Misses Plus Sizes” in 1992. In time, the term exceeded Bryant and was advertised by other department stores as well. Come 1953, an ad for the brand Korell was printed in a local paper in North Carolina with the line: “wonderful action-plus dress for the plus-sized woman.” At that moment, the modifier shifted from the clothes and its department and was assigned to the women. The Size-mic Women In the US society, plus-size models have had, as Body

Individuals are diverse, or rather, identity is subjective, and that’s what allows us to stand out from the species of humans. Activist Ashley Graham (size 16) put it, “no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt.” She has become the first plussize model to be featured in the annual swimsuit issue of the American sports magazine, Sports Illustrated—making history in a magazine that features curvy but thin models. Major brands offering flexible options, and plus-size models historically cast in beauty campaigns, at the working-class rung, the struggle remains real for the regular plus-size shopper. Subtractions of being a Plus-size In the Philippines, the translation of the growing shift is esoteric. Our most active physique police come in the form of relatives and rude strangers. The issue of accessibility also exists, alongside a limit of options. Universityregistered guidance counselor and mother Marijoy Gaduyon shared her experiences on both digits of the size: availability and stigma. As she observed, popular department stores such as SM or Robinson’s have an area for plus-size [women’s clothes]. Meanwhile, small shops are usually catered to the L size, providing XL options at most. Aside from shopping in plussize sections, she has also tried shopping online: “I’m 34 however I have big hips so because of my big hips I cannot fit anymore with the regular XL size so I have to order plussize,” she described. Growing up, from her teenage years until her married

life, she admits to have been a figureconscious woman, having been a size M for a long time prior. For many women, naturally, changes in weight are often punctuated by pregnancy. “When I started getting a little bigger after my first pregnancy, I was having problems buying pants because, if I say I am a medium-sized woman before, meaning I am just small-sized but I have to get medium-sized pants because of my wide hips. So, getting into large or XL was quite difficult because I might fit in the waistline but I could not get through my hips. Since I am not only figure-conscious but I love clothes a lot, it was very difficult at the time because I could not wear the clothes I used to love,” expressed Gaduyon. She recalled an incident when buying clothes in a mall wherein, as she was browsing clothes, a sales girl was quick to remark, “Ma’am, you can’t fit in that. We don’t have bigger

sizes for that.” “At first it was me saying that these are just rude people, so I was fighting over the issue that I got hurt over those comments. [...] I’m a public figure because I am a teacher so those things are quite difficult to deal with as I’m adjusting to my new body size,” she exclaimed. She assured that it’s alright to be where you are, so long as being plus-size does not bring you to the verge of unhealthiness because at that point, it’s very important that you do something about it. “I advocate for acceptance on this type of body and yet in reality I am the first one to criticize myself. So I guess real acceptance would mean: I look at

myself and say ‘yes, I’ve done this to myself but I’m going to do something so that I go back to fit.’ Fit is still both psychologically and physically healthy,” she remarked. Gaduyon added that she respects the decisions of those who wish to remain in their weights and the preferences of those who opt for a slimmer size, so long as name-calling is out of the picture, because insensitive words are never alright. “People need to understand that the struggle is real for people who are fat. We call it differently, we call it plus-size to make it sound good but it is still fat, so the struggle is real and we need to be more sensitive. We need to be more considerate,” she ends with hopeful tone.

Cover Story

THE GREAT

ACCELERATION

WORDS BY: HEZRON G. PIOS PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARTINI M. FALCO MODEL: NEIL PSALM ANGELO ISOBAL

In terms of ecology, the concept of Great Acceleration elucidates rate of the impact of human imprint to the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ecosystem since the Industrial Revolution. Up until now, our actions prompt sizable consequences both towards the living and the inanimate. Nevertheless, we should not relegate ourselvesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the ordinary onesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as mere nobodies.

The planet may have had grown accustomed to osmosis, but it is through proactivity that it transforms into a cancellation means against backward disposition, mushrooming here and elsewhere. In contrast, our zest for furtherance can be equally scaled with genuine concern. It is high time to fine-tune what expands our horizons. Pluralism employs complex, inner decisions out of us. So, let us stretch the realm of possibility just within our reach. For regardless of the condition, man as a species has always outperformed his previous selves. Therefore in every act of spectacle, acuity should be expected out of itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a yardstick of consciousness.

DOCUMENTED BY:

PROD TEAM:

KYLE JYRAX D. SEVILLA ALFED EDRIAN D. AMA

STARLENE JOY B. PORTILLO IVEE E. MANGUILIMOTAN ALFREDO R. BAYON-ON JR. GLEN JED J. DESCUTIDO ANDREA DANIELLE A. GAMBOA MILLEN ANDRE E. GELA KATHERINE E. CO

society

1, 2, 3, 4 2, 2, 3, 4

Revisiting centuryold beats BY: KYNAH RHEA B. FUENTES & JOSHUA L. MAHILUM PHOTOGRAPHED BY: NICCI BERNELLE D. AGUILAR ART BY: ANNA THERESA P. PARAYNO

As the melody permeates in the air, their bodies gracefully sway to the rhythm: the tapping of their feet resonates throughout the entire room, making it a sweet sensation rather than a disturbance to the ears. When their gazes finally meet, he offers a handkerchief—a sign of invitation. All the while, she covers her mouth with an abanico, suggesting modesty in women. It is past eight in the evening but they are still halfway towards performing their final rehearsal. Philippine folk dances, according to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, are dances under performing arts, that imitate nature and life. They are rituals for social and spiritual expression that

are handed down from generation to generation. Folk dances are also reflective of one’s culture, tradition, and beliefs. Francisca Reyes Aquino, a National Artist for Dance—who also founded the Philippine Folk Dance Society who pioneered researches to document Philippine folk dances— once associated Philippine folk dance to the “high culture of the Filipinos.” However, the state of Philippine folk dance seems to be questionable in today’s generation. Ever-growing Daryll Odango, a Physical Education (P.E.) teacher at LiceoDe La Salle, fervently believes that the present state of Philippine folk dance is growing—more so in today’s generation. Odango said there are groups here in Negros Occidental, including the Philippine Folk Dance Chapter

“I fear that someday, our children will never know our folk dance […] What would they answer if they are asked of our culture?” she said.

- Negros Occidental Chapter that help preserve our culture of folk dance through conducting studies so as to discover more variations of the practice from different localities and adding them to Francisca Reyes Aquino’s book entitled, “Philippine Folk Dances”. Additionally, he also pointed out the incorporation of the discipline in the curriculum of Senior High School aids in the fortification of the nation’s cultural margins by citing how it “widens the scope.” Odango reassured that the future of Philippine folk dance would be flourishing than ever. “Ten years from now, with the help of technology, folk dance will expand [and be enhanced] further,” he concluded with confidence. A feared future Sisters Ms. Rose Marie Seballos and Ms. Annie Marie Seva—head of Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH) Department of Bacolod City National High School and P.E. teacher, respectively— contest their view with regards to Philippine folk dance. Seballos and Seva assert that the category is slowly dying. According to them, exclusion of folk dance in

the literary-musical competitions, embracing foreign culture, limited time in P.E. classes and incompetent teachers contribute to a blurry end result for folk dancing culture. “If our government or the higher educators will not do something about it, our folk dance will simply die down,” Seva warned. Since Seballos shares the same sentiments with Seva, she further illustrated her case on the art form. “I fear that someday, our children will never know our folk dance […] What would they answer if they are asked of our culture?” she said. Furthermore, they shared how there should be an in-depth teaching of folk dances for the reasons that they conserve culture and history—a means of fully embracing and appreciating our identity and culture as Filipinos.

He also shared that although folk dances may have little innovations, they remain to stand as one of the “toughest foundation[s]” of the Philippine arts. The Philippine folk dance now executes more amount of strictness when it comes to the literature in which the dance was based upon. This involves the costumes worn during the performance, the accompanying music, the intended time measures and tempo, and lastly, the choreography. “There are changes in terms of innovations, but not really a total change,” Pacheco recounted. Having gone through minimal innovations and other artistic tweaking, the Philippine folk dance is no longer the fixed art form that is used to be. 3, 2, 3, 4

Just resting Meanwhile, Jesse Pacheco, 20, a local dancer and active member of University of St. La Salle’s Jean Baptiste Dance Company, argues that natives cannot do away from [Philippine folk dance] since it supplies them with a genuine mark of a true Filipino. “I cannot attest that it is dying, but rather resting,” Pacheco claimed.

4, 2, 3, 4. As the music fades, the dancers bow before each other. Satisfaction is found on their faces, sweat slithering all over their bodies: today’s rehearsal reaches its crescendo and, in the same breath, its conclusion. But everything does not end here. For tomorrow, the counting starts again. 43

*Lee Soledad

human interest

Pansexual is a Thing WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY:

MARTINI M. FALCO

A lot would say that pansexuality is not even a thing—that pansexuality is just a made-up sexuality. But, it is really a thing: pansexuality, or omnisexuality is the sexual, romantic or emotional attraction towards other people regardless of their sex or gender identity. Let’s dive into a young pansexual’s mind, and discover what it is like to be someone who identifies herself as such. Lee Soledad, a 19-year-old senior psychology major stated that her gender has no importance whenever she picks a partner. Growing up, Lee liked both boys and girls and classified herself as bisexual back then. This was diminished when she soon stumbled upon the term pansexuality: she felt the sound of that then-discovered term ringing more truth to her than the former. “I like you if you’re someone that could make me feel good and if I think I could make you feel good, too,” she shared, stressing that she sees beyond the looks. She has also dubbed herself as a precocious child: someone who would surf on the Internet for hours and search about random things that interest her. Finding out who she is as a person was a matter of curiosity for Lee. As a grown-up, her strong-willed personality has driven her to be unafraid of what other people might think of her. Sexuality, for Lee, is not something to be ashamed of. “Liking, loving someone regardless of their gender without being insignificant [is what I consider as pansexuality],” she added. Lee is very much open to let people know about her sexuality. In fact it

As a grown-up, her strongwilled personality has driven her to be unafraid of what other people might think of her.

is something she’d never hide— especially in school and to her friends. But as to her family, it is a different story. “No, [my family knows nothing about it]. They are like one of those typical conservative Christian families,” Lee said. She can remember her father once joking that he would disown her if he finds out that she is a lesbian. “I’m not open about it to my family but my boyfriend and friends knew that I’m pansexual,” she shared. Lee accepts who and what she is, and so this must explain why she’s very open to talk about it with other people. However, there were times when people would give her mixed reactions and looks of confusion. Coming out, then, for Lee is something she does not do towards non-accepting people. “Pansexual by the name itself obviously pertains to sexual relationships. Whereas panromantic

implies so many feelings such as romantic feelings,” she noted. Panromantic is when you like someone and love at the same time but you may not necessarily be sexually attracted to them. Pansexual on the other hand, is being sexually attracted to people. Lee expressed that she uses the umbrella term for both because it is hard for her to say that she is panromantic and pansexual at the same time so she employs the former instead since it is the one commonly used. To her, gender is not important and so is the physical attraction. Dating someone who doesn’t defend her sexuality is a big nono for her. “This is a part of my identity; it’s not something that can be erased,” she shared. Frequently debated by many is whether the use of the umbrella term bisexuality appropriately and

fully covers the definition of pansexuality, as the former term suggests the existence of a gender binary–a system that classifies sex into two distinct sets. But there’s one thing pansexuality and bisexuality do have in common: they don’t base their feelings on gender. Zachary Zane of Rolling Stones differentiates the difference between pansexual and bisexual: “the meaning of pansexual is clear: someone who is attracted—either emotionally, physically or both—to all genders. The prefix was chosen because it comes from the Greek root pan, meaning ‘all’. The prefix bi as we’re all aware, means ‘two.’” Beyond every sexuality there is, pansexuality is not just a made up sexuality for people to use because it is actually a sexuality. Concepts of sexuality is too fluid nowadays that people could just easily identify themselves as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. For Lee, knowing the real definition of pansexuality made her feel good about herself. She is not going to change her stand on this no matter what people say that might shake her. And no, the ‘P’ in LGBTQIA+ is not pedophilia but rather pansexuality that is a part of the rainbow community.

environment

The Featured Feathers of Pulupandan BY: CHAD MARTIN Z. NATIVIDAD with reports from: KYNAH RHEA B. FUENTES PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MARIANO O. JAVIER

Before dawn breaks, they are asleep. Resting on tall man-made structures that pass off as branches or in their natural habitats, within the crown of trees that tower over the coastal houses of Sitio Cavan, located in Barangay Tapong of Pulupandan City. In the darkness of 5 AM, you can barely make out feathers among leaves, tucking each other in a gesture Mother Nature taught us approximately millenniums ago. The bird-watching site in Pulupandan has been active for over nine years. Their migratory birds, sporting 48 species, consist of local, national and Southern Asian flocks. True to the name itself, interested aviary enthusiasts, both professional and casual viewers alike, can visit the Municipal Hall of Pulupandan proper to reserve a guide that will take them to the area. The practice of bird-watching has existed for centuries, possibly long before humans assigned a name to its doing. Its official development however, as a pastime and a scientific sport, was not established until the 20th century. Before that, field learners had needed to hurl bullets in order to identify the colorful beasts—in way of their corpse. Such practice was found to be marring, as it dwindled the numbers of the flying species, betraying their trust in the process. According to John Arlos, the sole bird tour guide in Pulupandan for five years, the number of birds that flock rose gradually in the past years only after the soarers themselves felt that there was more food to be caught, and

with less risk of getting shot at. Born and raised within the area, Arlos has observed the state of the habitat first-hand, long before his actions became an official tourist endeavour. There were more birds in the past that casually flew along the kilometer coastline facing Guimaras Strait. When Mayor Miguel Peña of Pulupandan came into office, he assigned Federico Infante, now the city’s Tourism Officer, to administer the area. Infante met up with Arlos as they trained in the art of technical bird-watching. This includes examining the various kinds of birds, their physical features and distinct sounds. Nature has since had its place in Arlos’ heart way long before he took part in the profession. The 45-year-old tour guide expressed his concerns to the Tourism Officer, and how he has witnessed the systematic hunting of the birds in the past, noting how they were sold in restaurants as ingredients for soup. Residents, including children, are permitted to enter the place without due payment. Even as the shooting died down, a lot of children still hunt for the birds’ nests and their eggs. “What they do isn’t fine at all, because they too have lives. They, too, feel pain like us humans. When we get injured, we feel pain too, don’t we? Naturally, we need to take care of them too,” expressed Arlos. Arlos believes that the area had so much more to offer than minute profit. Taking a walk along the coast just

The practice of bird-watching has existed for centuries, possibly long before humans assigned a name to its doing. to watch the birds and listen to their songs provided a refreshing kind of peace and relaxation. The birds enjoy frolicking over the beach for their morning baths. When they are done, they would dry themselves fashionably by breezing through the zephyrs, with some hovering lightly or taking their own walks by the coast, forming disparate footprints in the process. Infante requested from PeĂąa to set up a research base over where the bird site is located. After formal arrangement, Arlos said that 30 to 40 hectares is now allocated to cater the avians. A yearly survey is conducted to count the birds and their species, tracking whether there are additions or declines in their statistical rate. Arlos said that months and seasons create a factor as to the number of pervading birds. Several universities have since conducted researches in the area. Among those are La Consolacion College and 48

University of St. La Salle from Bacolod City, as well as Silliman University from Dumaguete City. Among the birds that permeate the area is the Garganey from Thailand. It originally started as a pair but had since been productive, and now estimates to 18 of their kind. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also the Grey Heron from Palawan and the Blackwinged Stilt, locally known as himantupos. The rest of the mentioned ones are the Little Egret, Chinese Egret, Purple Heron, Whistling Duck, and the Philippine Duck which boast the greatest in number. It costs 250 pesos to get a guide from the Municipal Hall, and 100 pesos per head for the registration. It takes a 10-minute walk to get to the area. Once there, a 5-peso coin is charged for a boat ride across the waterbanks. The best time to gaze is at 5 to 8 in the morning, or 4 to 5 in the afternoon.

comics

BY:

CARL HASON T. GERALE & ANNA THERESA P. PARAYNO

human interest

Sixth Sense BY: LANCE CHRISTIAN M. JUAREZ ILLUSTRATED BY: ALFREDO R. BAYON-ON JR.

Like any functioning system, input is required to have output—basic cause and effect. Machines render themselves useless without instruction, but people are not machines—at least not in the strict sense. In terms of biology, there is more nuance to an otherwise linear concept. But is the loss of one of the five senses simply the amplification of the others? Or is it the birth of something entirely new? Slowly losing your ability to see at a young age is not something you can really prepare for, it is something that is not far from life-changing. In fact, an online poll created by Research!America surveyed 2,000 people on the topic of eyesight—and almost half of the respondents considered blindness to have the most effect on their overall quality of life. Most of us already feared the dark when we were children—the temporary lack of visual stimuli induced anxiety amidst our innocence. How much more losing one’s eyesight permanently? Most of our fears are irrational, sure. But for Rafael Fernandez, one of those fears is a reality. Living in the more rural areas of Isabela, Negros Occidental, Rafael lived in his family’s farm along with his parents and ten other brothers. Life is always simpler away from the bustling urban city life, but during the young age of 12, Rafael came down with measles. His family was unable to afford proper medicine and vaccination, which eventually affected his eyesight permanently as he went through his teenage years. His case of measles damaged his cornea and his optic nerve, rendering him blind. And this made him stop going to school. On a short note, measles, being the leading cause of children’s blindness, remain prevalent in developing countries—more so in areas of poverty with little access to proper medication. Often contagious, the disease can easily spread from person to person in an uncontrolled environment. Rafael was not alone in his family though—not only being the youngest of 11 children in the family, he had three other older brothers who also had genetic blindness. With the encouragement and support of his older brothers, Rafael eventually found himself under the Christian Foundation

Even though Rafael lost his sense of sight, he gained a new kind of sense: one of hope.

for Persons with Disability Inc. (CFPD) where he began learning how to massage. Because of the foundation, he was able to find himself in a support group other than his brothers at home. “They empowered people like me, to be independent, and to not be ashamed,” he said. Having a source of sympathy and understanding, he learned how to accept his difference rather than wallow in self-pity. Shortly after, Rafael started to attend church and eventually was converted into a born-again Christian, turning his feelings of despair and discouragement into thoughts of hope and compassion. At the age of 17, Rafael sought fortune in Bacolod to look for work and soon landed a job at 888 Chinatown Square Bacolod—he then continued working there for the next decade. Regardless of his condition, Rafael grew up with the acceptance of most likely not being able to see again, gradually believing that everything happens for a reason— that it was not just a case of bad luck. “Even if people lose hope in difficult times and when things start to turn for the worst, you have to trust that God has a plan for you,” he said. As simple as Rafael’s story may be, it reminds us of a few things: the paths of the future are never definite and that everything happens for a reason. Trusting faith is what separates peace and worry from something unforeseen. For Rafael, this simply meant that to see is to believe. Even though Rafael lost his sense of sight, he gained a new kind of sense: one of hope. One that guided him better than his eyesight did—after the age of 12, he had to live in continuous faith, in others, and ultimately, in God. The lack of a sense does not mean that one is less human—it can actually mean the entire opposite. 54

Tiempos Muertos sa Negros BY: IVEE E. MANGUILIMOTAN AND MA. KRISTINE JOY R. BAYADOG PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MILLEN ANDRE E. GELA

hiligaynon

siyudad sang Bacolod, ang Dinagsa sa Cadiz, kag iban pa. Upod man sa mga ginabalik-balikan nga pagkaon sa Negros ang mga produkto sang pastry shops kag ang mainuswagon nga industriya sang inasal labi na gid ang mga inasal sa Bacolod Manokan Country. Pero sa bahin sang pagkamanggaranon sang duta ka probinsiya kag sa piyak sang matam-is nga produkto nga ginaani sang mga mamumugon, nagaabot ang mapait nga tiyempo sang tiggulutom: ang “tigkiriwi” ukon sayuron “tigkiliwi.” Magluwas sa ini nga termino, ginatawag ini sang mga sakada nga “tiempos muertos” ukon ang dead season kung sa diin wala ani sang tubo sa mga hacienda kag ang pamilya sang mga ubreros nagapalibog sang ila kalan-on sa ila mga panimalay. Ini nga unos gasugod sa mga bulan sang Abril pakadto Agosto.

Nagahimakas agod Mabuhi Kasubo lantawon nga ang mga mamumugon nga nagahimakas makapangita sang kwarta, mas naga imol pa gid samtang ang mga manggaranon, nagamanggad na gid. Ang pag-agwanta sang mga obrero sa uma indi mabaslan sang intsakto nga kantidad sang sweldo nga ginahatag sa ila. Dugay na nga nagakatabo ang ini nga mga sitwasyon sa mga kadutaan sang Negros halin sa pagsugod sang pagtanum sang tubo. Diri nga tiyempo indi mabasol ang tiggulutom sang mga ubrero bangud sa sunod nga anum ka bulan, magtapos ang pag-untat sang galing sa mga sentral, kun indi makasustenar ang ila mga amo, kinahanglan nila mangita iban nga pwede masaylohan kag maubrahan para lang mabuhi sa matig-adlaw.

aano kung isa ka adlaw hinali na lang nga mawad-an ubra ang imo mga ginikanan? Paano na lang ang inyo adlaw-adlaw nga galastuhan? Ini ang mga masami nga mga ginakabalakhan sang mga ordinaryo nga empleyado kag manug-ubra sa banwa. Kung sila nagakabalaka sang ila mga ubra, ano na lang ayhan ang pamilya sang mga mamumugon nga nagapuyo sa uma? Bugana nga Duta Bantog ang probinsiya sang Negros Occidental nga gin bansagan “Sugar Central of the Philippines” tungod sa malapad kag dako nga produksyon sang kalamay sa pungsod nga halin sa mga hacienda sang katubuhan. Bugana sa kadutaan ang Negros amo ang rason kung ngaa panguna nga pangabuhian sang mga Negrosanon ang pagpananum sang tubo, wala labot sa pagpanguma sang humay. Bilang sentro sang industriya sang kalamay, ang mga mamumugon sang Negros ang ginakabig nga may pinakamatam-is nga yuhom tungod sa bunga sang ila pagpanikasog. Duwa ang Sugar Industry Foundation, Inc. kag Confederation of Sugar Producers Association, Inc. sa mga kooperatiba nga nagasubaybay sa estado kag kahimtangan sang industriya. Upod sa ila nga ubra ang pagtaguyod kag pagtukod sang mga proyekto nga makabulig sa mga sakada. Magluwas sa produkto sang kalamay, ginapabugal man sang probinsya ang nagkalain-lain nga kapistahan kag mga pagkaon. Isa na diri ang malipayon nga kapistahan sang Masskara sa

i w i l i k Tig

Tiempos

Muerto

...wala nadula ang iya paglaum nga kun tani isa ka adlaw makatilaw man siya sang mahilway nga pangabuhi. Kada Sakada Wala nakatibawas kag nakaangkon sang ginhawa si Renato Tuting Jr., 39-anyos kag amay sa iya lima ka mga kabataan, matapos mangin ubrero sang halos katunga sang iya kabuhi sa panguma sa kampo sang EB Magalona. Sa subong, may ara na si Renato sang iya personal nga duta nga ginatamnan na sang humay kag tubo pamaagi sa bulig sang Agrarian Reform Law, kung sa diin gakuha ang gobyerno sang bahin sang duta nga agrikultural sa mga pribado nga panag-iya para ihatag sa mga mangunguma. Apang indi man madali ang proseso sang pagkuha sang duta halin sa Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), siyam pa ka tuig ang iya ginhulat kag gin-antos antis niya ini nabaton. “Nagdako ko sa hacienda kag

nagsugod ubra bilang isa ka obrero sa kampo sang 14-anyos pa lang ko. Ang sweldo nga mabaton ko kada adlaw indi dyapon makasustenar sa amon pang adlaw-adlaw nga galastuhan kag pagkaon,” butyag ni Renato. Sa adlaw-adlaw niya nga pagpamugon sa kampo, halin sa pananum sang tubo, pag-araro sang duta kag pagkarga-tapas, wala nadula ang iya paglaum nga kun tani isa ka adlaw makatilaw man siya sang mahilway nga pangabuhi. Sa paglabay sang mga tinuig, ang budlay nga pangabuhi sang mga mamumugon nangin mabudlay pa gid tungod man sa pagtuhaw sang high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) ukon ang “peke” nga substandard nga kalamay. Baylo sang tuod nga kalamay, ang HFCS ang gingamit sang iban nga kompanya

para ilakot sa ila mga produkto labi na ang mga soft drink. Sa pag-abot sang kapigaduhon, mas nangin baskog pa gid ang pwersa sang tigkiliwi. Nagahatag sang konsumo ang amo ni Renato parehas sang mga bugas kag de-lata pero naghagan-hagan ini kag nag-untat. Sugod sa amo to nga tion, nangayo na siya sang bulig sa gobyerno kag mga kaabyanan ya nga nangin recipients sang DAR kag nagdesisyon nga mag-aplay sa pagpati nga basi pa lang makuha na nila ang ila kahilway nga bisan nadugayan sila sang proseso, nakuha man nila ang kadutaan nga subong nila gina pangabuhi-an. Hangyo Sa masakit nga kamatuoran, ang tuod nga nagapakiwi sa aton nga mga mamumugon amo ang mga yuhom sang kasadya nga nangin masubo nga pagantos tungod sa kapigaduhon kag pasakit nga dala sang Tiempos Muertos. Isa lamang si Manong Renato sa pila ka libo nga mga mamumugon sang aton pungsod nga nagabulig pataas sang aton ekonomiya. Kung mabayluhan lang sang kwarta ang kada balhas nga ginakapital nila sa ila pagpangabudlay, sila na tani ang nakaangat kag wala untat nga makaginhawa sang tarong. 57

human interest

EXORCISM AND WHY EXORCISTS AREN’T YOUR TYPICAL ‘GHOSTBUSTERS’

BY: KATHERINE E. CO & IDA SARENA M. GABAYA PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MILLEN ANDRE E. GELA

The first thing that comes to people’s minds when they hear the word exorcism may include a plot story for a horror blockbuster film, high school students passing out in the provinces, a demonic possession in the guise of a mental breakdown, or any grotesque imagery that any individual might envision. What it really is Exorcism is loosely defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as an “adjuration addressed to evil spirits to force them to abandon an object, place, or person.” How it is done usually differs by the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist; it has been practiced by a number of religions and cultural systems including Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Given that exorcism is practiced in the Roman Catholic Church, the writers see it hereby more appropriate since at least 83% of the Filipino population in the country belongs to the said faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion.” The following account was from a Bacolod City-based priest and appointed exorcist who was willing to shed light on the very delicate topic. What the exorcists do Fr. Jude* describes the work of an exorcist as “a special ministry in the Church appointed by the bishop in order to assist the afflicted in driving out the evil spirits that possess [and] harass the person.” He further explains that it is mainly about the evil spirit attempting to destroy a person and steal his soul, and how it points back to the person’s poor relationship with God. Fr. Jude, however, argues on a certain stereotypical misconception: “They think that we are ghostbusters. No we are not.” He adds that it is more of a liberating kind of work as they try to free the afflicted from the attack of an evil spirit. “The [main] purpose is actually for spiritual healing, mental healing, physical healing, and complete healing,” he further elaborates. In addition, he narrates with careful confidentiality about the case of a possessed girl whose parents are actively into witchcraft. The said practice has been passed down the bloodline from her great grandparents, Fr. Jude adds. But it is a

GLOBALLY, THE PRACTICE HAS SO OFTEN BEEN MISREPRESENTED IN MEDIA, BEING VERY MUCH DISTORTED IN HOW IT IS PERCEIVED IN TELEVISION, MOVIES, OR SOCIAL MEDIA. case of exorcism that has not been concluded yet. “[As of now], we are not done yet with the session,” he firmly says, with eyes radiating a faint yet evident glimmer of hope. How it is actually done An exorcist is not a doctor you can just easily call in when you are sick in the same way that you cannot simply be a patient who can rashly assume that the symptoms you are having are associated to a demonic possession and immediately call for an official exorcism intervention. “First, when an afflicted person—we don’t even call [him/her a] patient—comes to us, we do interviews first [to determine] if it is really an authentic possession or a psychological problem,” he shares. The interview is followed by a serial probing into his/ her background history, and checking of medical records and psychological condition to finally conclude if there are manifestations of an evil spirit before the priest proceeds with the exorcism prayer. In recent news by The Guardian, it was mentioned that the Vatican requires exorcism training courses now to ensure that the exorcism ritual is done correctly by the priest. Who becomes the exorcist In every diocese, the bishop is considered the official exorcist. The faculty and authority of exorcism work, however, is also usually delegated to a priest as the bishop bears a lot of work, covering the functions of the whole diocese. So the bishop appoints a certain priest whom he sees has a strong and deep spiritual, moral, and righteous life solidly grounded in Christ. “It is never in my wildest imagination,” he expresses his bewilderment as his journey as an exorcist only began 5-6 years 59

ago. “This work is not an easy work; it demands a very deep spiritual life and I am unworthy for that but God… the bishop has chosen me,” he sincerely remarks. “[B]ut along the way, your constant battle with evil spirits makes you a little bit courageous, and of course with the grace of God, God gives you the grace,” he articulates with a light-footed poise. Exorcism, media, and dangerous practices Globally, the practice has so often been misrepresented in media, being very much distorted in how it is perceived in television, movies, or social media. But aside from the hyperbolical dramatization these tools bring, Fr. Jude has more things to forewarn about certain material shown in media. “Watching horror movies is a waste of 60

time,” Fr. Jude says, “like there are movies today that are about evil spirits… like The Nun—it’s against the Church. They want to destroy the reputation of nuns [...] and the Church.” Fr. Jude also asserts other manifestations of evil in everyday life. He says the devil can be hiding in the disguise of fake news, euthanasia, abortion, divorce, and divorce, among many. “This is the subtle attack of the evil spirit,” he illustrates. Aside from the aforementioned, he also mentions dangerous practices and activities that are strongly discouraged by the Church, such as witchcraft, the occult, engaging in the use of the Ouija board, and other new age movements including Pranic healing and yoga. “Sometimes, it is the devil’s way of entering the soul,” he states. This here somehow raises a red flag while also possibly opening a

topic of controversy for both Catholics and non-Catholics alike, considering that yoga, meditation, and energyhealing concepts and methods are now relatively popular in the new age and very much widely-practiced in casual comfort nowadays. The media have captured quite an inaccurate impression of what exorcism is and what exorcists do, therefore gathering truth from facts and the knowledge that we have from actual stories and experiences brings you to the reality of things. Leave the “Ghostbusters” title to Bill Murray and team from the 1984 supernatural comedy film, because something as mystical and alien to our ordinary experience such as exorcism, there is certainly more than what meets the eye.

*not his real name

filipino

Ang Pagmamason sa Perlas ng Silangan NI:

VICTORIA MARIAN B. BELMIS

Napakaraming sikreto ang kaakibat ng salitang Masonry o Freemasonry o Pagmamason at higit sa malamang ay may mga kakaibang teorya at konseptong umiikot ngayon sa isip mo tungkol sa organisasyong ito—mga paganong ritwal at satanismong seremonya. Ngunit malayo sa mga ito ang tunay na layunin ng pagkakabuo ng isa sa pinakamatandang kapatiran sa buong mundo, na sa ngayon ay may halos limang milyong kasapi. Sa halip, ayon sa website ng Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons - Philippines: ang freemasonry ay may layuning magtaguyod ng katarungan at kapayapaan sa pamamagitan ng isang kapatiran na nakasentro sa pangunahing prinsipyo ng pagmamahal, kaginhawahan at katotohanan. Bukod dito, ang teoryang nabanggit ay mapagbigay at mapagkawanggawa sapagkat hindi ito makasarili at lagi nitong inuuna ang pagtataguyod at pagpapabuti ng kalagayan ng sosyedad. Binibigyang-diin naman ng Sagradong Batas ng mga Mason ang katungkulan ng bawat isa na maging makatarungan sa pagbibigay desisyon at maging masigasig sa pagtuklas ng mga bagong kaalaman sa mundong ibabaw gayundin ang pananampalataya sa nag-iisang “Nakatataas.” Ngunit ang paniniwala sa tanging “Nakatataas” ay hindi nag-aatas o pumipilit sa mga Mason na maging kasapi sa isang natatanging relihiyon lamang. Mahalagang tandaan na kailanma’y hindi sagabal ang relihiyon sa pagiging isang mason— Budista, Katoliko o Muslim ka man.

Jose Rizal

Marcelo del Pilar

Mariano Ponce

Sa paglaganap ng pagmamason ay napukaw ang kaisipan ng mga Pilipino tungkol sa diskriminasyon at pang-aalipin ng mga Kastila.

Ang Pagsilang Sinasabing umusbong ang pagmamason sa Europa nang itinatag sa Inglatera ang pinakaunang lodge sa mundo—ang Grand Lodge of England—noong ika-24 ng Hunyo 1717, at mula rito’y lumaganap ito sa mga karatig-bansa katulad ng Ireland at Scotland. Sa ngayon, ang pinanggalingan halos lahat ng mga bahay-pulungan ng mga mason ay maikokonekta sa mga lodge sa Britanya. Ayon sa isang pag-aaral na ginagawa nina Bro. Felix Pintado at Bro. Dave Angeles na ipinirisinta nila sa Victorian Lodge of Research noong Oktubre 2016, tanging mga dayuhan lamang ang naging miyembro ng mga pinakaunang lodge na itinatag sa bansa noong 1856 ng isang opisyal ng hukbong-pandagat ng Espanya na si Jose Malcampo sa Kawit, Cavite. Ito ay pinangalanan niyang “La Primiera Luz Filipina.” Gayunpaman, ang maituturing na tunay na pinagmulan ng freemasonry sa bansa ay ang pagtatag ng mga illustrados o ang mga edukadong sektor ng lipunan noong panahong pananakop ng Kastila ng Logia Revolución noong 1889 sa pangunguna ni Graciano Lopez-Jaena bilang Grand Master. Kabilang din dito ay sina Mariano Ponce, Marcelo del Pilar, at Jose Maria Panganiban. Ngunit nabuwag ito nang ilipat ni del Pilar ang kapatiran sa Madrid kung saan itinatag niya ang Logia La Solidaridad na naglalayong ipalaganap ang propaganda ng reporma para sa bansa. Si del Pilar ang isa sa 62

mga tumulong sa pagtatanim ng ideolohiya ng pagmamason sa bansa sa pamamagitan ng kanyang mga akda sa ilalim ng sagisag-panulat na Plaridel. Kung gayon, siya ay itinanghal bilang “Ama ng Pagmamason sa Pilipinas”. Ang Rebolusyon Sa paglaganap ng pagmamason ay napukaw ang kaisipan ng mga Pilipino tungkol sa diskriminasyon at pangaalipin ng mga Kastila. Dahil dito ay patuloy na lumaki ang kapatiran sa bansa. Sa kabilang palad, mula sa Espanya, bumalik ng Pilipinas si Dr. Jose Rizal noong Hulyo 1892 upang itatag ang La Liga Filipina na naglalayong pagisahin ang noo’y watak-watak na bansa. Ngunit di nagtagal ay nakulong si Rizal dahil sa mga nobelang Noli Me Tangere at El Filibusterismo na parehong tumuligsa sa pamumuno ng mga prayle. Ang pagkamatay ni Rizal ang lalong sumiklab sa pagnanasa ng mga Pilipino upang makamit ang kalayaan. Ngunit hindi rito nagtatapos ang kwento tungkol sa pagmamason. Sa mga oras ng diskriminasyon at pagsupil ng katarungang pantao, pagmamason ang nagsilbing ilaw sa rebolusyong naging dahilan ng ating kalayaan–kalayaan na ating tinatamasa ngayon. At ayon pa sa unang Presidente ng Pilipinas na si Emilio Aguinaldo, ang rebolusyon ay “Masonically inspired, Masonically led, and Masonically executed.” Sa Kasalukuyan Patuloy ang rebolusyong

pinangungunahan ng mga mason magpahanggang ngayon. Dahil na rin sa pag-uswag ng kanilang bilang: higit 21,000 na ang mga aktibong mason sa mga pagkakawanggawa at pagtulong sa nangangailangan na kabilang sa Grand Lodge of the Philippines. Ang pagsali sa freemasonry ay boluntaryo at may kaakibat na responsibilidad at katungkulang dapat panatilihing sekreto at bukas sa mga kalalakihang gustong pumasok sa kapatiran. Kailangan ding mapatunayan ng mga naghahangad na sumali ang kanilang kredibilidad bilang isang mamamayan ng lipunan sa pamamagitan ng pagiging tapat at kagalang-galang. Noon ngang nakaraang buwan, labis ang galak na aking naramdaman nang nabigyan ako ng pagkakataon na maging parte ng isang programang paglilingkod na naglalayong paunlarin ang kaalaman ng mga mamamayan tungkol sa kalikasan sa isang coastal barangay sa bayan ng E.B Magalona. Kahit na hindi ko nakilala ng personal ang mga mason na isa sa mga nasa likod na pagkakawanggawang nabanggit, ang ganitong mga programa ng pagtulong ay nagpapakita lamang na buhay na buhay ang diwa ng kapatiran at pagmamason sa probinsya. Ang mga sikretong ritwal at seremonya ng mga mason ay nananatiling lingid sa kaalaman ng publiko. At ito ang nagbibigay ng lubos na pagkakakilanlan at hiwaga sa kapatiran na tanging mauunawaan at mararanasan lamang sa sandaling magpasya kang pumasok sa pinto ng kanilang bahay-pulungan.

MAD SHACK 2018 PHOTOGRAPHED BY:

MARTINI M. FALCO, MILLEN ANDRE E. GELA, GERICO T. GUANCO & NICCI BERNELLE D. AGUILAR

31 faces. 31 incongruous truths. This is the new wave of unsung heroes. They seek what is beyond superlative, polish what is marred. Together with the youth, they are invincible. And no force of evil can shut them down. 64

WORDS BY:

HEZRON G. PIOS

science

Superluminal Travel with Tachyons BY: VICTORIA MARIAN B. BELMIS ILLUSTRATED BY: ANNA THERESA P. PARAYNO

Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity (STR), which is expressed in the formula E=mc^2, revolutionized mankind’s view of the physical universe. The genius that was Einstein also believed that there was nothing initially moving slower than light can accelerate and surpass its speed. Take note: nothing. Just as we believe the man, the dream of travelling through alternate dimensions of space and time has always been well—a dream. Who would not want to go back in time to warn our then-unwise selves about the future, or just to know and feel what it would be like tens of hundreds of years from now? However, the only way for us to achieve superluminal travel, according to the intelligent minds of our time, is that if we manage to outrun the supersonic light. For big lumps of matter like us, it’s borderline impossible as Einstein’s theory suggests that in order for us, or any particle, to just be on par with light, you and I should possess zero rest mass or be simply mass-less. Now, how much more surpassing its speed? Doing the math with Einstein’s equation, we need to have a mass that is “lesser than mass-less.” Don’t lose that hope though, as per some theoretical physicists, as well as science fiction enthusiasts, suggest: there exists somewhere in this vast universe a particle that travels faster-than-light (FTL)—the Tachyon. Its existence, however, is just a hypothesis for the meantime. T is for Tachyon You may have heard about the swift particle in science fiction books and films. More often than not, these particles are referred to as the troublemakers. With its use, it causes space-time distortions and anomalies as well as intergalactic

wars, and even the apocalyptic end of the world most of the time. But what really are these speedsters? The name ‘tachyon’ was coined by American physicist Gerald Feinberg in the 1960s and was derived from the Greek word takhus which means “fast” or “swift.” These particles are proposed to have FTL speed and can be our ticket towards the theoretical superluminal travel that is travelling through space and time. One of the catches, however, aside from it being hypothetical for the meantime, is that it is believed to have an imaginary mass according to the University of California, Berkeley Physics Professor Raymond Y. Chiao in an interview article with Scientific American. By imaginary, it means it has a mass equal to a square root of a negative number. In addition to its mass being imaginary, an article by Science Communicator Colin Johnston in Armagh Planetarium stated that it would require infinite amounts of energy to slow these bizarre particles down and “conversely, a tachyon shedding energy would continuously accelerate.” Thus, it adds tons of question marks on the particle’s existence. Not just that, since tachyons are FTL particles— they “propagate backwards in time.” To put this simply, imagine a ball being caught right before it was even thrown.

However, the only way for us to achieve superluminal travel, according to the intelligent minds of our time, is that if we manage to outrun the supersonic light.

The Grandfather Paradox Before we dream of time travel and interstellar communication through tachyonic particles, here are some drawbacks that make this dream too unrealistic—according to the fundamental laws of physics. Firstly, its existence will disprove Einstein’s special theory of relativity, which has long been the basis of our current understanding of the universe. Moreover, tachyons as swift as time travellers open up a lot of paradox as it violates the fundamental causality principle of physics. Such as the classic Grandfather Paradox that states: “If a person travels through time and kills his/her grandfather before his/her mother’s conception then it disproves its own existence likewise, with FTL particles being received before they are even sent.” The possibility of the tachyon’s existence is exhilarating as well as mindnumbing. It will change our whole concept of the universe: it might lead us to space and time travel, or it might annihilate us. Physicists want you to surmise that proving its existence is far-fetched and more experiments should be made hereafter—still, no hope is lost.

discussion

Living in the Past: On Phantom Time Hypothesis BY: ROBERT H. JERGE III ILLUSTRATED BY: ANDREA DANIELLE A. GAMBOA

Take a moment and look at any modern calendar. Notice anything off? No? Well, according to German historian Geribert Illig, we are actually living in the year 1721 because the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor fabricated 297 years of history! Illig formulated the Phantom Time Hypothesis after discovering quite a few short-handed historical discrepancies from the Early Middle Ages, wherein the period’s lack of historical significance raised his and some historians’ eyebrows. His theory continues to explain how Pope Sylvester II, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, and Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII huddled together and conspired the forgery of records in order to make Emperor Otto’s reign begin in the year 1000—the Anno Domini or “the year of the Lord”—by filling in 297 years to the manuscripts. What Illig and other historians figured was that the Early Middle Ages, namely 614-911 Anno Domini (A.D.), were too boring to actually have happened. Given the momentous events of the surrounding eras, it almost makes it appear that the Early Middle Ages must have been fabricated! There were little to no documents for the time, and the lack of historic events posed questions with regards to the legitimacy of church records of events. Where the stink did these guys get so much time? In contrast, we did not always have the same calendar coming through the centuries. In 46 Before Christ (B.C.), Roman Emperor Julius Caesar proposed the Julian calendar as a reform of their Roman calendar. It used lunar cycles to go through days and calculated a year to be 365.25 days. This was the

norm until Pope Gregory implemented another alternative fittingly named the Gregorian calendar after himself, on October 1582. The difference in how the calendars tracked days left about ten minutes over every year. After over 1500 years, those ten minutes started to add up, resulting in the 297-year discrepancy. In order to compensate for this, Pope Gregory should have removed 13 days from the calendar in order to correct the transition from the Julian Calendar. Instead he removed ten days. The Phantom Time Hypothesis explains that the error in date correction is to make up for the days added by Pope Sylvester a few hundred years prior. Some who oppose the theory point to the Chinese and the Muslim calendars to disprove the Phantom Time Hypothesis because the records from those calendars are uninterrupted and still manage to add up correctly. What makes this conspiracy theory so phenomenal would have to be the convenience of its setting. The Early Middle Ages is a dark time for literacy. The only people

who knew how to read or write were from the church, or were in power. This made it really easy to just make almost 300 years of history spawn right under people’s noses, and they would not be the wiser. The church would just say something happened, and the people would just eat it up, because they did not know any better. The Phantom Time Hypothesis, even as a theory, brings up the fact that knowledge is power. The powerful can pull the wool over the eyes of the uninformed, and the uninformed will live their lives just as misguided as the people of the Early Middle Ages.

70 lifestyle

The Secret to Inner Peace: A Mindful Breath BY: ANDREA DANIELLE A. GAMBOA PHOTOGRAPHED BY: GERICO T. GUANCO

In a remote cabin warmed by the blazing Indian sun and cooled by the tailwinds swept in by the Mother Ganges, an aged man sits on the floor of his home. He chants, in his guttural machismo, a syllable that vibrates through the ground. A few thousand miles away, taking the same position as the man, I share a few deep breaths with a young woman who lacks the distinctions of a white beard and Indian decent, but who shares the knowledge of inner peace. We breathe in tandem, eyes closed like the man, and after my very first meditation session, speak the culminating words of namaste. “A yogi is simply someone who is following a path to find happiness and peace in life,” Eddy Tecson explains to me, as we take a seat on a mat in her private yoga room bathed in the afternoon light. At 23 years old, Eddy works as a private yoga instructor in the comforts of her home. We stroll through her labyrinth of a house, through her parent’s lush garden adorned by intricate bonsai trees and tomato trellises. She tells me stories about her travels and practice, her journey finding peace through yoga, and how it has changed her life. As we take a seat in the kitchen, the topic shifted to Eddy’s veganism. I’ve only known her for a short while but I’ve always admired her disposition towards the future. Eddy further discusses her choices of no longer consuming meat and consciously caring for the environment. “I actually dropped out of school and transferred schools a lot. I think I was looking for something… an experience, maybe? And I kept getting disappointed.

It wasn’t fulfilling,” she expresses when asked about the start of her practice. It was not until Eddy discovered yoga when she began to find that sense of fulfilment—her humble journey gearing as an act of connecting to her body even more. “At first, [yoga] didn’t do much for me. It hurt, actually! The stretches and poses were so frustrating,” she expresses. Later on, she demonstrated a few poses with half of her limbs in midair. The integration of yoga with relation to breathing got Eddy into the philosophical side of it. Since then, actual changes started to manifest: her strained relationship with her parents had subsided. “I felt as though I had to share what I was experiencing with everyone. I felt as though I found the solution—and so I wanted to become a teacher,” she cites. But when she decided to venture into education, Eddy’s perfectionism had resurfaced. In spite of that, the India Experience—with all its spirituality and essence—was all she ever wanted, but her academic history of dropping out made it arduous to fund her pursuit. Scholarships offered by yoga schools in Manila and Bali did not find themselves in the hands of Eddy, yet in the end she never gave up.

She took it as a sign: India was not meant for her. She has resolved peace within herself; India was already in her. An age-old adage summarizes of one of Eddy’s favorite philosophies she had learned from her journey with Yoga: When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. She took it as a sign: India was not meant for her. She has resolved peace within herself; India was already in her. But a day before her birthday, Eddy heard back from the school in the Yoga capital of the world: Rishikesh, India. Her scholarship application had been accepted and her path to sharing her revolutionary discovery kicked off. Her Indian experience were days spent on lessons about anatomy, philosophy, alignment and physicality of the study along the banks of the Ganges River. Eventually, all of her teachers and classmates from around the world became Eddy’s gurus. As we sip on piping hot mugs of homemade chai tea in her living room, we finish our interview with a meditation session, something I had

always perceived to be completely separate from Yoga. Eddy disclosed that the true purpose of Yoga is to prepare the body and the self to be able to physically sit and meditate for long periods of time. This practice permits experienced Yogis to enable their bodies to sit for hours, even days, mindfully fusing with their thoughts. This is Eddy’s personal advocacy— sharing her wisdom and knowledge of mindfulness (meditation) to others with the aim of helping them achieve inner peace. With palms pressed together and heads slightly bowed in gratitude, Eddy and I expressed the three-syllable word recognizing the divinity in each other: Namaste. As we individually return to the world, lit by the golden hour and the occasional roaring tricycle engine, I feel a lightness: a newfound gratitude for the person in front of me, and the awareness of the wonders of a mindful breath. 71

entertainment

Never listen to the elders when they warn you of something evil about a place.

Alright, look in front of the mirror and repeat after me: DISOBEDIENCE IS THE KEY. If you’re really planning on not surviving a horror movie, then you ought to know the basic rules of the rebellion. These people are already old enough to know what they’re talking about but, geez man, we’re Millennials and Gen Z: we’re destined to make our own choices and find out their own consequences. We can’t just be brainwashed by some adults—we opt to know the truth by revisiting what they went through before we conclude. To see is to believe—but to feel is to believe more. Go to that place with a big smile on your face and say: “I’m never coming back, but at least I was able to prove the elders were right.”

Assume that the bad guys vanish during the first kill.

We all know they do not. The horror will live on even if they die. The Scream series would be a great example. It currently has four movies on its basket and it all featured one antagonist, Ghostface. But, surprise! Ghostface isn’t the same person all throughout. Turns out it can be anyone. Monsters are deceptive. It can be your friend, your best friend, or someone you deeply trust whom you thought can actually turn your world around. Let’s say your special someone? (puke emoji). Or maybe anyone passionate for redemption and for power—anyone. They’re always in for a sequel. Baby, every setback is a setup for a comeback. Trust them and it’ll kill you. You’re not surviving this; you’re not even Cardo Dalisay to begin with.

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY:

Gotta love the clowns, they’re harmless.

Oh, clowns. They bring joy to every kid. Who the hell told you they’re terrifying? Remember Pennywise the Dancing Clown from the movie It? All he wanted to do was to be happy and be satisfied, and we should give that to him. Clowns are just a distraction from the real Big Bad; they’re just basically Level One, but if you want to get defeated on your first try, then, this is your chance. It will slowly lure and tempt you and eventually bite your head off unsuspectingly. But, all you gotta do is believe, man. Believe. Believe that Mayon is not in Albay, but in Naga. Believe.

Be the big dumb jock.

If the first four do not work then try this. It’s pretty easy, by the way. Be the team player. The one who leads the pack like he knows what he’s doing. Be the pabida, the pabibo—the false prophet. Be the pervert who thinks that molestation is a joke during a hearing, or maybe the one who acts smart when he actually just copy-pasted his speech from the internet. Your way of thinking just won’t endanger you, it will easily drag the whole group down or the whole nation if you’re lucky enough. (Still in the context of not surviving a horror movie; nope not trying to stray away.)

GLEN JED J. DESCUTIDO

Read the book—which is written in ancient language—your friend found from a basement, OUT LOUD.

Trust me, it just doesn’t conjure evil, it makes you look so much smarter than you were before. Imagine talking in a different tongue like you’re born with the language and unexpectedly waking up a horde of malicious entities that may or may not go after you and your friends, one by one. This step offers easy success even up to now. Try chanting “I-pepe, i-dede” thrice in front of the mirror, and the evil you conjure will make Bloody Mary look like she’s one of Winnie the Pooh’s cute friends.

6. All aboard!

Oh boy, Train to Busan remains to be one of the best zombie flicks to date. Another easy way to not survive a horror film is to actually be part of the mindless horde! You saw how Gong Yoo’s character successfully did not survive the film. Surrender your life to their way of living and you will all think the same. Let them brutally bite your neck and go with the flow. Be a part of the hive mind and never complain. Always see the good side because you’re much more of an Optimist Prime than a Negatron. Oops, wrong genre.

reviews

Rocket Science BY:

ALVIN BRIAN S. LEGARIO

“Nothing else mattered in that final round. There was no world around it. Except that Hal Hefner was at home. Just sitting at home. Like nothing or none of New Jersey was burning around him.”

Rocket Science is a 2007 American comedy-drama film helmed by award-winning director Jeffrey Blitz, who won the Primetime Emmy Award in 2009 for his sitcom, The Office. On the other hand, this seriocomedy proves that many a handicap can be conquered in all shape or form, no matter how intimidating the hurdles one may primarily go through and perceive. Reece Thompson plays Hal Hefner, a 15-year-old high school student with a minor yet socially estranged mannerism: the ability to stutter frantically. Steadfast to overcome this personal disadvantage, Hal elects for a severe course: joining his school’s debate team after being recruited by Ginny Ryerson played by Anna Kendrick, which sends him on a reckless dive into headlong cutthroat speech competitions, worthy for high-schoolers. This offers a much-needed boost towards remedying Hal’s impediment. Blitz, similar to his onscreen protagonist, addressed his occasional stutter during his formative years—a disability he eventually bested—which imparted him with a life-long interest in speech and storytelling. The movie starts off with Hal’s father, Doyle, finally walking out of his marriage, recently bidding goodbye to Hal and his older brother, Earl, in a speech from his resignation. There is a presence of serious undertones aligning with comedic value which can be appreciated by viewers with a

Lady Bird BY:

MARIA ANGELINE M. MAYOR

mature and elevated form of humor. The leads, Thompson and Kendrick, are fairly young in their acting chops in what promises to be extensive careers. Kendrick’s portrayal of Ginny makes you root for her even when you are not supposed to, whereas Thompson finely polishes the poignancy of his problems in order to meld comedy into situations that are considered dead serious. This combination piques an interesting and realistic take on the life of high school students—overachievers and nonsensical wallflowers alike. Young adult moviegoers can easily be tantalized by Rocket Science’s charming nature in carrying its characters’ persona not in an extended way. It is very rare that a film can capture the awkwardness that punctuates one’s life, then refashioning it so interestingly, where the naivety of youth briefly melds with the arrogance of adolescence although having an anti-climactic conclusion: driving away in the sunset in the passenger’s seat of his dad’s car. With that being said, you should at least give this 2007 film a try. Trust me, this film is not rocket science.

Lady Bird chronicles the story of a 17-year old senior high school student from Sacramento, California named Christine McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), or “Lady Bird” — a moniker she made for herself. Christine, being in the phase of her adolescence, usually shows off her strong guts to explore things she has not attempted before. She met a boy from her high school’s theater class named Danny (Lucas Hedges), whom she had an intimate relationship with for a brief period of time until finding out he is homosexual. They remained in good terms, however, Christine subsequently developed an intimate closeness with another boy, a member of a school band, named Kyle (Timothée Chalamet). The two met in a coffee shop. Christine and Kyle dated for quite a long time but this was halted when she discovered that Kyle deceived her into believing he, like Christine, has never had sex before; he was in fact no longer a first-timer and so this sparked her ill will towards him. This scenario depicts the main character’s perspective when it comes to her sexuality. And Christine is unapologetic in removing those who do not value it in the same way that she does 73

from her life. More than tackling the thematic issues of growing up, Lady Bird also highlighted the complex—often unresolved—dynamics between a daughter and a mother. Right at the beginning of the film, Christine and her mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf), were having an in-car conversation regarding Christine’s plans for college. However, the audience can immediately pick up that their relationship is comparable to the usual mother-daughter relationships that are found in other family-oriented movies. It is always the mother who is being stringent and rigorous, contradicting her daughter’s being stubborn and strong-willed; this marks Lady Bird as an open love letter to the mothers and their daughters. This directorial debut by Greta Gerwig has successfully managed to pull off the screenplay which took her several years to write, landing her film five nominations at the 90th Academy

Awards, winning two awards at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, and her being the first woman ever to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar for a debut film and fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director in the Academy’s 90 years. The pacing of the story is commendable as it was not draggy. Casting-wise, the physical looks of Christine’s brother, Miguel (Jordan Rodrigues), might leave the audience wondering why he has a hint of Asian features. But fathoming deeper into their dialogues, their lines in the film like Christine mentioning Miguel was getting good grades because of his race and Miguel calling Christine a racist may imply that he is adopted. All in all, Lady Bird is a must-see drama especially for the important messages it offers beneath the narrative. It can make us evaluate the life choices we make for ourselves and make us realize that no matter how bad our decisions are, there will always be another chance to recover from these mistakes.

Brave New World BY:

LORRAINE M. LABOS

The year is 1932 and the world is advancing towards a new era. One leaning more into technology. One fateful day, a writer of numerous influential books, stumbled upon an automobile factory, noticing rampant usage of machines. And it was there where Aldous Huxley, a well-established author, took inspiration to what was to become his most controversial and utterly compelling satirical novel yet—Brave New World. A novel that captures perfectly a nightmarish world controlled by a sophomaniac government. Here, bio-technology is in its apex. Natural production is no more as all babies are “hatched” from test-tubes; and with enough psychological manipulation, follow their predetermined social destiny with full compliance. As each individual grows, propaganda recordings are set as his lullaby, calling it Hypnopedia or sleep-teaching. And once reached adulthood, pharmacological manipulation in the form of “soma”, a drug that stuns emotional range, is readily available as well as other carnal pleasures to the individual. Huxley, therefore, successfully created a world revolving around the idea of totalitarianism—a society chiefly headed by cold, menacing bureaucrats. The book introduced contemporary visions on technology, government, life itself and even freedom. But Huxley had written it in such a way where the reader fails to understand if those ideas are good or bad, or maybe, good nor bad. Brave New World, to put it simply, is a literary minefield. First, you dive into a seemingly successful society of no consequences but as the novel progresses, you will explore the downsides of that impeccable regime: loss of freedom. Sometimes, it even leads you to an opposite path, where you first see evils of the ideas presented, then quickly lust over with the same ones. But the most interesting part is, once-imagined concepts of Aldous Huxley are currently observed in our world, parallels such as: continuously merging of biology and technology, our

reliance on anything that gives us pleasure, dominance of consumerism, and the gradual rise of politics. Almost as if the novel became a prediction. And although Huxley’s vision of what may come of the future sounds sickening, there is no denying that there is reality in his work. The novel is of quality writing but Huxley preferred a serious tone, a wide range of complex and advanced vocabulary, and sorts of scientific vernaculars—which may slowly confuse and become a burden to readers. Brave New World is a novel littered with feats made to confuse and bestow thought-provoking ideas to the readers. Crescendos of a whole spectrum of feeling and “what if” philosophies will surely rest on each readers’ mind, but best we remember that Huxley wrote a satirical piece of fiction, not a scientific prophecy, and that this novel is but a cautionary tale of authoritarian dystopia, not a guide nor a foreshadow of the future.

The Sellout BY:

LANCE CHRISTIAN M. JUAREZ

Social issues blur from being conversational taboo, caution signs, or small talk speed-bumps—things to think twice on—to outright unapologetic satirical spectacles. The Sellout by Paul Beatty is a prime example of those. Having won the National Book Critics Circle Award as well as the Man Booker Prize Awards, The Sellout is something farthest from surface-level. Published by Picador, the 289-page novel thematisizes on racism and slavery in the United States of America, further embedding it with unending wit and absurdity—surreal but nothing too far from the truth. Beatty sets the thought-provoking tone for Sellout right at its first line: “This may be hard to believe coming from a black man, but I’ve never stolen anything.” And as chapters start to flow in, the book does not take on an aggressive tone towards the racial biases and discredit, but rather accepts these issues as parts of society, ranging from racial stereotypes to stigma, and even outright slavery. The main protagonist, who’s commonly referred to as ‘Me,’ unfolds the events, both recalled and

This is How You Lose Her BY:

IDA SARENA M. GABAYA

imagined, from his previous and current life as if those matters were just what they were—realities. Me’s quest to impede his hometown of Dickens, California from being wiped off the map is accompanied by stitching together past experiences in the town to the present, as well as the morbid reality that comes after, or the lack of, one’s delusional fondness with regards to childhood. Beatty’s writing style weaves through these transitions seamlessly while also providing wit all throughout. There is not much character development in the book outside the recurring ones—Hominy Jenkins, Me’s self-proclaimed slave, and Marpessa Delissa Dawson, Me’s childhood friend and on/ off girlfriend to name a few. The characters around Me evolve throughout his life and as the book goes on, their more simple childhood personalities morph into more cynical and bleaky evolutions. Most other characters introduced mostly stay in their own archetypes—or put in place for exposition or elaborating plot points. The plot makes do not with an entirely consistent storyline but rather had countless branches from the main plot, but I believe that while Beatty does not mind, he is aware nonetheless. Outside that though, Beatty’s relentless writing style throughout the novel goes to show the hyper-awareness it has towards the topics it presents. Due to fully understanding both sides of the issues presented, Beatty knew how to discuss these in satirical contexts and through character dialogue. Littered throughout the chapters, Sellout seems to gain its momentum using a collection of stand-up comedy-like jokes topped off with endless references to similar books, movies, and historical figures in relation to racism. Regardless of this, the book does not just morph into a passive-aggressive literary work—it propulses the critical use of satire in order to discuss otherwise taboo topics in a lighter tone such as slavery and black oppression in a lighter mode and in the same breath not rendering them pretentious. Overall, The Sellout is not something you cannot read just once—there are countless paragraphs of satire which hold value, be it comedic or serious, in between the lines. Readers receive additional nuances on racism as they plunge further beyond Beatty’s surface-level social bantering. When Me was at a stand-up comedy show, and perhaps this encompasses the novel in its entirety, an onstage black comic exclaimed to a white couple: “Get out. This is our thing,” There was only one question which surfaced on Me’s mind: “So what exactly is our thing?”

The love of his life, the girl he met in college, the woman he cheated over and over in the span of six years, his brother’s girlfriend, his relationship with his mami, his neighboring high school teacher… Junot Díaz takes you back and forth in time as the red-blooded Dominican-American Yunior reminisces the women that entered and exited in his life. The book begins with “The Sun, The Moon, The Stars,” as the first among nine stories within the collection. In this chapter, Yunior tries to earn back the hand of his former girlfriend Magda after he was caught cheating.

The unifying themes underlying these stories are of heartbreak and broken relationships. Jumping around from one messed up relationship to the next, Díaz portrays Yunior as quite the ladies’ man. In Díaz’s stand-alone collection, you may have been misled by its title and book cover as it was more in the guise of a how-towin-her-back situation. But the first chapter has made it obvious that this is not some sappy full-blown romance love story when the protagonist makes efforts to mend the wounded hearts of his past lovers. The prose of Díaz has an electrifying signature because of his incorporation of Spanish-English terminology, such as sucio, m’ija, viejitos, abuelo, boca, which further grounds the readers into mining the protagonist’s complicated personal relationships in every flip of a page. But unlike all of Díaz’ masterpieces like Drown (1996) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), This Is How You Lose Her is further centered on Yunior’s complicated love life, wherein Yunior is the constant recurring narrator of Junot Díaz. Yunior is more than a protagonist—he is a product of Dominican masculinity: bigotry, suave confidence and a couldn’tcare-less attitude. The main character does not only share the same nationality with the author but also the same identical life who Junot Díaz himself may admit that his short story collections double as spin-off biography stories. In the final chapter, Yunior is now an author and a tenured Ivy League professor just like Díaz. In addition, This Is How You Lose Her shares the same trend with Diaz’s previous works: underlining the troubles of life as an American-Latino immigrant. On a psychoanalytic lens, the protagonist’s sexual urges and the manner by which he sees women only for sexual purposes

prove best how he possesses the Madonna-whore complex. It explains his inability to stay faithful and how his understanding towards his romantic partners (or women) are limited. Also, infidelity is thematic and thus explains why Yunior cannot commit and last with the ones he had shared intimate relationships with. In this excerpt of Yunior’s monologue that encapsulates the whole collection, no second or third chances are given and it hit him hard. “You try every trick in the book to keep her. You write her letters. You quote Neruda. You cancel your Facebook. You give her the passwords to all your e-mail accounts. Because you know in your lying cheater’s heart that sometimes a start is all we ever get.”

The Dragonbone Chair BY:

VICTORIA MARIAN B. BELMIS

“He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder.” - Qanuc Proverb All men remember the steep and perilous steps they took during their journey from boyhood to adulthood, but more so for the case of the simple kitchen boy Simon who was orphaned at an early age. A wanderlust himself, Simon left his menial chores and the castle walls of Hayholt after the great King John Presbyter passed away. As his first son Elias is crowned king, a chain of events set off that forced the new king to forge dark

deeds with beings of hate and malice. The ramifications of which see a good man die for his friends. Prince Joshua, the second son of the dead king, flees into the night. The tale of the Dragonbone Chair now takes flight. Just like my introduction above, the first novel of the Memory,

Sorrow and Thorns epic trilogy by Tad Williams is too long. However, the length and the very slow pace of the novel is justifiable in the sense that all the lores and backstories tackled in it are essential for a firmer grasp of William’s fictional world, and of course, for the better understanding of the next two books. Moreover, Williams paints Osten Ard in such vividness that he makes the wanderer in you sign up to Simon’s very long adventure. However, the stories about the dragons and the history of the kingdoms are all well-written but too long and full of details that sometimes it becomes confusing. William’s second novel is the epitome of fantasy, but it is very tiring to read (it took me almost a month to finish it because I had a lot of distractions and my eyes aren’t cooperating). You might also want to take note that this very series inspired George R. R. Martin to write the ever famous A Song of Ice and Fire (ASIF) and I actually came upon this book because

Howl’s Moving Castle BY:

CHAD MARTIN Z. NATIVIDAD

“Even Howl wouldn’t want an ancient heart like mine.” - Sophie Hatter By nature, a castle is a point of destination. It’s an architectural bulwark that people from downhill would hike to get to. In Studio Ghibli’s 13th motion picture, however, the film begins as the castle itself trudges towards you. The legged citadel has bony mechanical legs that hardly compensate its size. If it weren’t for the houses that protrude all around it, one would mistake it as some enlarged robot chicken. But for the people in the nearby village, it is simply home to a young wizard. Similar to most films directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the world in Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) unfolds without feeling the need to explain itself. Everything happens with an air of establishment—

of Martin. The influence that this novel gave Martin is greatly evident if you compare the two. If you are familiar with ASIF, then William’s Storm King, the undead Sithi ruler who aims to regain his lost realm sounds familiar don’t you think? So, if you are up for an epic-length of a novel and of course of dragons and throne games, this is the novel for you. Just don’t be discouraged to continue when more than half of the novel revolves around Simon while the rest is full of sudden changes of point of views, even that of minor characters. This 1988 novel, with about 700 pages, will never get old as the world of Osten Ard is as vast and timeless as the imagination of the author as well as the reader. The story may be about the usual good defeats evil but it is the magic in between that counts and makes this epic journey a good one. And spoiler alert: with Memory, Sorrow and Thorn they shall be able to regain salvation against the ancient Sithi the newly-crowned human.

all commonplace. Inside her brick home, we first see the female protagonist by a window. Soon, she leaves to visit the bakery and is stopped along the way by a pair of intrusive guards. Howl, a young man with conspicuously blonde hair, appears to extricate Sophie, flicking the guards away with a prompt spell. Before long, they are treading on air, escaping from a hoard of shadowy slime-like assailants below them. The Witch of the Waste then visits Sophie in her shop and breezes past her, inducing a curse of old age.The next morning, she consoles the “grandma” at the mirror, packs a loaf and cheese, then treks to the wastes in search of a cure—initiating the start of the adventure. Howl’s Moving Castle features an array of film elements trademark to the veteran animation studio. We see wizards opening shops in the village, demons juggling human issues, and an affection for flight and visual detail that is weaved throughout the course of the movie. But a two-hour film can only represent so much of a novel, and therefore, the film gave off an unnatural pace, awkwardly pitching subplot after subplot of content. Although, other commentaries argue that for Miyazaki to have fit everything in— despite the messy arrangement—was an accomplishment in itself for any animator, at the time. Joining the palette is Markl, Howl’s junior apprentice, subbing the work of his master when the latter is not around; Turnip, a speechless scarecrow / part-time clothesline; and Calcifer, a talking fire/demon bound to the castle’s hearth, who made a pact with Sophie that he’ll find a way to remove her curse should she remove his. The dynamic between the cast sets off a warm sense of family, despite how they happen to be united from contractual means (each with their own afflictions). Remarkably, it is the ironies of behavior, dialogue, and desire that complement the funky paradox of a migrating castle. In conclusion, Howl’s moving castle likens to a lucid dream. The plot can be slushy, but the emotions and desires of the characters are captivating, tempting you to adopt their urges as your own. While it may take some reoccuring to comfortably map a story, the ingenuity of its animated world makes it a recommendable addition for your list of preternatural fantasy films.

ARTWORK BY:

MARTINI M. FALCO

O W

IT IS NOT THE STRONGEST OR THE MOST INTELLIGENT WHO WILL

SURVIVE BUT THOSE WHO CAN BEST MANAGE CHANGE. -Leon C. Mengginson

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