Think Tanks Club

Teacher and student bonding 

Think Tanks Club

For our last club meeting, we were assigned to visit another club and join with whatever they were doing. I was assigned to the Think Tanks club. At first, I didn't really know what kind of club it was until I observed and asked my friend what their club is about.

When I first entered the Think Tanks club, it felt weird since they were all looking at me. I saw some familiar faces and some new ones, too. I didn't really know what to do and I didn't really join in with them since they were doing a group work about the laws for the government cause. To put it simply, they were doing an activity about politics. So I just went around asking questions and interviewed them. There were a lot of paper works. They all created random, creative and useful laws.

Their Laws

Discussing ideas

My opinion of the club is that it's nice how they are into this and that this club is interesting and fun in a way that isn't so obvious the first time you think about it.

By: Stephanie Lee

iSurvived My Visit to iSurvive

Last week Tuesday, November 4th, I was tasked to explore the wild. Well not exactly the wild, but I visited another club called "iSurvive" along with Alexis Sim of BH DRIVE THRU. Since this is my first visit to another club, I can describe this experience as rather new and refreshing.

The first thing I immediately noticed whilst inside the classroom was the power point presentation because it had their temporary logo which contained their motto, and their club verse, 1 John 5:4 which states: "4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."

After seeing these things, I asked myself if the club followed the context of the verse, or if they strayed far away from it. To find out, we joined our fellow survivors for that day's session. Mr. Quitzon, the club moderator, grouped everyone with  4-6 members per group. Each group was tasked to create a new logo for the club which exemplified the values which sets them apart from other clubs. These values which I think are of utmost importance are teamwork, unity, synergy, and perhaps the willpower to overcome the world.

The next task given to each group was to create an obstacle course that would take place next year. An obstacle course by definition is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual or team must navigate. For me, an obstacle course would allow everyone to compete in a united fashion, to show the values an "iSurvivor" must have, and to apply their Bible verse as it involves overcoming obstacles.

iSurvivors patiently designing their new logo and planning out their obstacle courses.

Well for me, being an iSurvivor for one day, I can say that this club does exhibit teamwork and unity, and it followed the context of their club verse. It has been a great opportunity for me to be a part of this endeavor because it allowed me to experience these values firsthand.

by: Raymond Acero

Funny Fun Fantastic Funtastic Math

                                                              Funtastic Math

   "Uhh, math class again, could this probably get any worse," said the students. "You bet it can, surprise test!" replied the teacher. All of us think that math is boring and lame but did you ever think math could get more fun and fantastic? Well, if you think it could, you're right! Apparently there is a club out there called Funtastic Math.

From left to right, 1st on the left is Mam Bagcal(Club Adviser), 2nd is Tiffany, 3rd is Timothy,
 4th is Mason Co and the is Drew Co

   Funtastic math is a club that aims to show us that math can be fun. The club's adviser is
Mam Bagcal and the officers are: Tiffany, Timothy, Mason and Drew Co. The club is indeed very fun because of all the games, jokes and effort in trying to make it feel fun. If you don't believe that math is fun well then come on down Funtastic Math in G7-Rizal on their Christmas party.


   The club officers have been planning a special and different Christmas party. I'm sure that there's that anticipation in you but just to suite your enthusiastic anticipation, I'll give you some things to expect, they'll have KFC, All Cheese Pizza and Junk Food! They'll also prove that math is fun on December 10 because they prepared us an intermission number and a math jingle. Don't miss this chance to see and feel that math can be fun. All of these things may make math more fun but watch out because they still have 1 month to kidnap(Borrow) students for their big plan.

"Two heads are better than one" in every thing

   Now we all know that there's always that something that tops off the others and it needs to be in harmony with an event. Well, they came in prepared, they plan to make a gigantic Christmas parol! They wanted to be creative so they planned to make it out of cellophane and sequins. I am really surprised with their perfect way of combining geometry with Christmas event.

A symbol of perfect harmony of geometry and Christmas

Idea proposal by Ellise Lim from snapshot.

   So do you believe that math can be fun, now? Well, I do just because they were able to mix math with a special event. I now hope you believe that math can be fun in any possible way, even in sarcasm.

Made by Charles Ong

Snapshots Photo Shooting Session

Our last club meeting was a very interesting experience.  Each of us was assigned to different clubs for that meeting only. We can join with what the clubs are doing, or we can just observe what the club is doing. My partner (Bianca Diaz) and I were assigned to observe Snapshots.

When we first walked through the door, we were shy to join with what they were doing, so we just stood in one corner and observed the club. While I was observing them, I heard their moderator say to prepare their things needed for the photo shoot and to start doing their assigned tasks. I didn't have any idea about what they were doing, so I asked some of the club members about it.

I found out that all of the club members were grouped with five people in each team to do a photo shoot.Their goal for that club meeting was to have nine different shots of themselves with different emotions placed in collages.

The groups can choose their own theme and the background for their photo shoot.  One group I asked had chosen a Disney theme while another group had chosen a Halloween theme.

I saw that they had a lot of fun doing the photo shoot, and I also enjoyed  it. Some of them were really creative, and wore accessories to enhance the theme , and they even add props to make their pictures look better. 

This is how we express ourselves.
Portraying Disney characters make us feel like Princesses,
and brings back memories from our childhood! :)

By: Christen Pena

Visiting Fit Squad

"What? We really have to do that?"
-One of the surprised students-

Our last club meeting on November 4 became a visit to the other clubs. You were part of the other club for that meeting only. You could join what they were doing like what some of my other club mates did, or you could simply observe what was happening which was what my partner, Hazelle Lee and I did.

We were assigned to be a 'part,' of Fit Squad, and it's exactly what it sounds like -- people doing exercises.

When my partner finally decided to tag along with me to walk nearer to the crowd of people, the first thing I noticed was that they were doing these exercises while some people at the side were doing jump ropes. For most of the meeting, the moderator of the club, Mr. Sherwin S. Villarin, was teaching the students an exercise. I can't quite remember what he was yelling, but I think it was, "Drop! Close! Turn!"

"So what do you want for our Christmas party?"
-Mr. Villarin encouraging the unwilling
students to give their suggestions.-

After their activity, Mr. Villarin called everyone to sit near where he was standing at their makeshift podium and gave a lecture. I half-listened to it and decided that I felt slightly bad for the students. He was lecturing them on the much needed improvement on their practical test (which turned out to be the exercise that they had been practicing the whole meeting). Afterwards, Mr. Villarin encouraged the students to give their suggestions for their Christmas party next meeting and reminded them to improve on their practical tests.

by: Mitchel Rey

A Trip to FUNtastic Math

Well, our latest club meeting turned out to be a field trip of sorts . . . to the other clubs. It's kind of like being a part of that club for that specific meeting, only, you're still a member from your original club . . . It's kind of hard to explain.

Anyway, my partner--Charles Ong--and I were tasked to observe the FUNtastic Math club. I thought it was just going to be another boring Math lecture, but were we in for a big surprise when we found out what they were really talking about.

"Christmas is the season for our love for Christ; we should really make our next club meeting all about that."

That was the first thing I heard as soon as I walked through the door of Grade 7 - Rizal where the meeting was held. The club moderator, Ms. Angelica Bagcal, called the club officers to the front just as she finished uttering those words.

They were talking about their Christmas party for the next meeting.

I guess I was just reminded that sometimes, we think we know it all, but we don't. We go too far with our lives thinking that we're going to run out of time and that we need to hurry. And it's true--our time will run out . . . eventually. But that doesn't mean that we should forget about everything else that we think don't matter.

School, friends, family . . . Those are just some of the things we deem important in our lives. But let's not forget the most important thing of all, and that is our Savior--Jesus Christ.

"God used beautiful Mathematics in creating the world." - Paul Dirac

by: Robyn Mikaela Rey

Flightless

"Flightless"

Written by: Mitchel Rey and Robyn Rey

Tattered white feathers stained with red. They were hers, and they weren't. Graceless wings.

"And then she met him."

She had a soul as pure as it could be in this wretched world. Her heart loved for all it was worth. Her wings were delicate -- something that had never been touched by war. And then she met him. The horridly scarred saw this. They warned her to stay away and told her that she'd only become broken like they were.

But she did not heed their warnings, thinking that they were wrong, that he was different. And he was different. Seeing this, she grew even more in love with him -- deeply, desperately and despondently in love with all caution thrown to the wind. And with that, she gave him everything she had.

Then there came a time when he asked her to go through hell and back. With the assurance that he would be waiting for her, she bravely marched on. Poison was fed, scars were constant and blades were wielded, yet she refused to give in. She was battered, bruised and barely there, and suddenly, she was outside, enveloped by the warm, fading light.

She called out...

and it echoed...

                    echoed...

                               echoed...

yet he never answered. She looked for him up and down, left and right, never stopping. But he was gone.

Her beauty and innocence shattered, she wept. The scarred wept with her, and the still pure ones merely gave her questioning looks, never understanding why the tears flowed freely down her face. Such is the price of full understanding.

Tattered white feathers stained with red. They were hers, and they weren't. Graceless wings.

DIY Lunch with Kersten Loo

This is a collaboration with Kersten Loo, a member of the BH Drive Thru.

Tired of eating the same old plain white rice? Try Hot Whiz Rice, a Rey family specialty. This recipe began with the simple experiments of Reynaldo Rey, the cook of the family and the uncle of one of the creators of this post.

Here's what you need:

- oil
- hot dogs
- rice
- chiz whiz

Procedures:

First, you place the oil in the frying pan until it's heated. Afterward, place some sliced hot dogs in the pan. When it's finished cooking, add rice in the pan and add the desired amount of chiz whiz. Mix everything until it's cooked and you'll have your dish waiting to be eaten.

We hope that you'll enjoy the Rey family specialty as much as we do.

Co-written by: Mitchel Rey

WATTPAD 101

Hello to all you Wattpad readers out there! Want to know what’s hot right now in the Wattpad Pop Fiction department? Yes? Well here are our all-time favorites to share with you guys! :)

 wattpad  is a website that allows aspiring writers and journalists to share and create their own stories. Not only that but if books get extremely popular and well written, this can lead for it to become published as an official hard copy book. Isn’t that amazing?

This is Stephanie Lee doing a collaboration with Vanilla Skittles from http://league-of-bloggers.tumblr.com/

ENJOY~!

1.) Operation Break the Casanova’s Heart By Alyloony

One of those “Good girl meets Bad boy” kind of plot line. Naomi Perez, an average teenage girl who is one of the few people emmune to Stephen Cruz ( the most popular guy at school) charms. She had already despised him a bit because he had crushed millions of hearts, leaving them simply scattered to the ground. At first everything is at its normal pace, but when Naomi’s best friend, Kryzel, gets her heart broken into two by the one and only Stephen. Let’s just say things can get a little messy. After reaching her breaking point, her anger towards him overflows, which gives her the strength to sign a contract stating that she has to make Stephen truly fall head over heels for her, become his girlfriend;then, finally dump him and avenge all those destroyed hearts.

Here’s the catch: You can’t fall in love with him.

This won’t be too simple. The more Naomi tries to be his girlfriend, the more she will get to know him. Letting her see a different side of this so called bad boy. Will she succeed? Or will she fail? Could she really break the casanova’s heart?

REVIEW TIME! ( SPOILER ALERT)

Personally I found this book very interesting. Its one good read that can show that not everything you see is what you get. Sometimes in life you must learn to understand one another and learn to love them for all their faults. Its like ” Never judge a book by its cover.” Naomi thought that Stephen was just being a big meanie to girls; however, there is more to this story than simply playing with girls. He had a bad past, a past that sacred him, and his father hadn’t exactly been setting a good example towards him when it comes to the opposite gender. Not everything is as it seems. You’ve got to learn how to dig a little deeper and get to know the person before even making a statement about them.

2.) He’s Dating the Ice Princess by Filipina (P175)

This is a book that is written in tanglish meaning that the author may switch languages at times ( from English to Filipino to Korean). Miss Charice Eliza Mendoza, AKA: the Ice Princess. Heart as cold as -273 degrees, sealed away from anyone. Lonely life? That how she likes it. Daryl Seak Kang, a korean who is also the school’s number 1 hearthrob strikes a sudden interest in her, her life gets interesting. You see Daryl is in search for a long lost girl whom he had met in a competition a while back. Thinking that Charice may be the girl, he starts to spend more and more time with her. On the other hand, Charice isn’t used to having someone around her especially someone like him. How will things end up for the both of them? Will Charice learn to open her closed doors to others? More importantly is Charice really the girl he had been search for and if not who will he choose? Charice or little miss mystery lady?

REVIEW TIME! (SPOILER ALERT!)

An cool find! This book teaches that people who are isolated from the world can become part of it again by giving them a little love and attention. Each one of us should know that we are’t alone, someone will always be there for you so don’t feel like keeping yourself hidden from others. Learn to communicate with one another. Charice is a very secluded girl, doesn’t want to be noticed nor bothered by anyone. Opening her doors will hard, but it isn’t impossible. All someone needs is time and effort like how Daryl had shown this to her. Which is why I liked the book :)

3.) TAKE TWO: A Place In Time by j_harry 08 (P195)

A girl named Shay lost her first love Terrence, for he had passed away after his illness. Now, she only has a sketch drawn by him by a certain boy called “Nathan.” She then meets a boy who she is certain is him, but denies it stating that his name is Jiroh. Still not buying it she is persistent about getting to know him, and why he has been acting up. Soon, the two characters will eventually draw closer together. One question still remains on Shay’s head: “Am I ready to let go?”

REVIEW TIME! (SPOILER ALERT)

Let It Go. This was the first phrase that popped into my mind. Story tells others that each one of us should let go of the past and look onto the future. Learning not to forget the past but simply treasure them as memories. Don’t cling on to them, instead the lessons you had learned in the past do them in the future. Like how Shay learned to move on and start a new beginning. Thats why I liked the book, for me it isn’t your typical run on the mill type of book. It gives people a idea on how to move on in life.

Thats all the books we shared to you guys. Hopefully this had helped you get to know the neat books that are present all over Wattpad. You can buy these books at any local bookstore near you :) Tons of more books await for you in Wattpad. Check it out  :) Till Next Time! :)

Top 5 Songs 2014

Music is one of the most diverse thing there is.... there's just so many combinations, and kinds of music. Music can be used as a mood trigger, or just when you feel like listening to one. Here are the top 5 songs as of 2014:

1. All About that Bass (Meghan Trainor)

This song is ranked 1 in billboards mainly because of its catchy tune.

2. Shake It Off (Taylor Swift)

Shake if off is one of the recent songs that the popular artist Taylor Swift released and was ranked 2nd in the ranking.

3. Bang Bang (Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj)

Or course Bang Bang would not fall back taking 3rd place in billboards.

4. Black Widow (Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora)

This song, topped 4th place is a recent song released and competing for the top of the chart songs.

5. Habits (Tove Lo)

Habits, the last in our list, was ranked number 5 for its inspiring lyrics and tune.

by: Tristan Juansing in collaboration with Nadine Lee of League of Bloggers

The Fault in Our Stars in a Nutshell

There's almost no better plot than a cheesy love story. It's what gets the people excited and giddy for what might unfold between the two protagonists.

Enjoy the book. Relax. Explore.

Presented in both a movie and a novel, a quite recent love story has caught many romanticists' attention. Well, what could be more romantic than two teenagers who are simply looking for their purpose in this world eventually falling in love? And let us be mindful of the fact that they were not just ordinary teenagers. They were cancer-diagnosed teenagers. And there's the catch. Everything was all set, and that was exactly what the story needed to give them a story.

Well, we wouldn't really want to spoil the whole thing, so if you'd like, you can simply read the summary of the whole story here . . .

. . . or, you could just read the novel itself. That way, you could get a better sense on how the story was really depicted.

But you know what really makes us sad? It's the fact that sadly, they didn't end up together. Well, they did, but . . . ahh, you have to either watch the movie or read the novel to understand. :)

Sometimes, life is kind. It gives us exactly what we want and need out of nowhere with no strings attached, and it'll always make you believe that finally, for once, your life is actually going the way you want it to--that everything's actually okay. But you see, that's the thing about life. It's completely and utterly unpredictable.

Just when Hazel finally thought that life was finally turning up for her, tragedy struck. She was left heartbroken. In the end, she learned to accept that some things just happen for a reason and that some love stories just aren't meant to last anywhere but in the mind.

We'd love to write some more, but we wouldn't want to spoil you any more than we already have! So that's basically it! The Fault in Our Stars in one tightly-sealed nutshell. :)

by: Robyn Rey & Myles Charlayne Sy

A Game With A Twist! 

By: Christen Peña & Hazel Lee 

Bored? Looking for an adventure , a different and unforgettable experience? Come on ! Welcome to this world , where you can enjoy playing piano music game differently. Let's take a journey together where we will discover a hidden story as  you go along with this game.

Deemo is a unique piano music game that will entice you and will likewise lead you to a different world and gives  you a different kind of experience. Deemo also  features a background story , and was created after cytus and was made by Rayark inc , an independent game corporation from Taiwan and who developed the popular music game called Cytus. As you go along with the game , the story will be further revealed and more songs  will be unlocked. You can also find some hidden songs in the treasure room.  Besides that , each song has a meaning behind it . In addition to that, it will make you want to repeat the game again and again . The more you continuously play this game , the more it will make you unable to stop playing, then it will lead you to become addicted with this game , and makes you want to stay in this world forever .

Summary/storyline of Deemo :

A girl falls down from the sky, the girl's heart is sick and she also has memory loss. She tries to get out by distracting herself with dreams and adventures with her friend whose name is Deemo who is actually her doctor or  subconscious mind’s metaphor for her heart. The tree stands for the way out of her situation and the piano symbolizes her dreams.  Whenever the piano is playing , her memories slowly returns.  She kept dreaming of happy things and because of this, it helped her to temporarily forget about her illness . It made her feel like she is nearing a cure. Eventually her heart did not cure , therefore ending the girl’s life. It ends with her grieving her own death. When she dies , every time  Deemo plays the piano the tree never grows anymore. Because of the tree’s lack of growth the girl is now eternally trapped in her dream world so in  other words she's dead and can't come back to life anymore. When the tree's growth had maxed out , he never played the piano anymore. Sometimes he is only seen reading books at the library which also indicates that the girl’s heartbeat is fading.

Mechanics of the Game :

Deemo is a piano music game that allows you to “play the piano notes” as the piano keys drop from top to bottom as you play the game.  As you tap the notes , you can see that there are piano notes appearing , so this can make you feel like playing the piano. Which means if you are inclined in piano or if you are interested in music , especially when you have passion in playing piano you will enjoy this game. There are also three different levels , first is the easy, the next is normal , and the last level is hard. Each songs you play also have different levels of difficulty. You can also adjust the speed level of the game  , speed levels are from 1-9. There are also 3 different types of notes you can see  in the game. First type of note is the black notes(glowed white) these are piano based notes, and most of the songs have these notes . Second type of note is the white notes with a black spot in the middle, these  are non-piano notes,  example of these are guitar , drums , vocals and many more. Lastly , is the yellow notes , these notes will  be played by sliding the notes  instead of tapping.As  you score higher , you will be able to unlock new songs ,  and unlock new story trailers ,  And as you continue to play this game ,new game areas will be unlocked and the height of the tree continuous to grow taller.  There are new hidden songs in the game area.  Once you open this game , click on the left of the piano then you will find a library. Inside the library you can discover new hidden songs  and you can view the past story trailers .Also when you click on the right side of the piano you can also unlock new songs  , but this will work only when the height of the tree grows to a certain height. You can unlock and discover  new songs by tapping anywhere in the library.

Our favorite songs from Deemo ( Soundtrack/songs you must try! )

1.  Reflection (Mirror Night ) by V.K

This is one of our favorite piano soundtrack from Deemo , and one of the noted piano soundtrack in Deemo , as well as V.K's songs. This song is a realization of Deemo's potential as a pianist. The album cover of the song illustrate him looking at his long fingers ,because  it is  one of a pianist’s dream to have long fingers to press distant keys simultaneously with one hand.

2. Evolution Era by V.k.                  

This is one of our favorite piano soundtrack as well in Deemo , also one of the well-known piano soundtrack of V.K.  This is the part where Deemo somehow learned how to read and play music.

3. Wings of Piano by V.K.    

Wings of piano is one of our favorite piano soundtrack as well that is in Deemo.  Aside from that , Wings of piano is the most popular  piano soundtrack of V.K. This song implies that  he gets the privilege of finally get his hands on the piano. Deemo's wings are used as his outfit , to imply his Brave Frontier as for his  final form, who is appearing in his dungeon's final stage, where he appears along with the girl .In this picture , Deemo seems to be appearing from her head, being behind her and having no lower body, this possibly hinting that she is at hercomatose state also  Deemo's existence as an element of her subconscious.

4. Reverse Parallel/ Parallel Universe by V.K.   

Reverse Parallel or also known as Parallel Universe is also is one of my  favorite piano  song from Deemo. This song shows Deemo standing in front of a clock, holding onto the clock’s hands. This means that the clock can’t show the time without its hands, which is a metaphor to the fact that he had something to do with her death.

5.  Yubikiri-Genman  by Mili    

Yubikiri-Genman is one of our favorite Japanese song from Deemo. Yubikiri-Genman in Japanese means "Pinky swear promise".The flowers behind her  shows that the  girl is becoming  closer to her death. Also, the huge rest 

music symbol above the flowers adds up to its intent that  she is going to die on the other hand  Deemo tries his best to fulfill his promise from preventing the girls death even when he’s hurting , the thorns wrapped around his legs shows that he is hurting. The girls tears also shows that she knew that her life is getting shorter , that she will leave him all alone anytime soon.

Ratings-10/10 :)

All Good Things

Being content.

Love. Hope. Joy. Peace. Freedom.
Made by Mitchel Rey
via Picmonkey.

Taking chances.
Being comfortable.
Listening to music.
Doing what you love.
Accomplishing a goal.
In love and being loved.
Writing your own fantasy.
Spinning around and around.
Getting a perfect on a hard quiz.
Being in a complete state of bliss.
Hanging out with your best friends.
Collapsing on the bed after a long day.
Gazing up at the stars in the night sky.
Talking to someone you want to talk to.
Eating cake or something equally delicious.
Doing what you want without a care in the world.
Settling down with a book and drifting off into another world.
Standing at the edge of the cliff and preparing to jump, to leap.
A single bright beam of sunlight shining through the gloomy clouds.
The feeling of having stitches in your stomach after laughing too much.
A glimpse of a memory of your mother smiling down at you and telling you she loves you.

Love. Hope. Joy. Peace. Freedom. All good things in life. Things that are just within our reach, waiting to be noticed, grabbed, appreciated.

by: Mitchel Rey & Robyn Rey

Jambee,Jumbo,Jamba Juice

                                                                  JAMBA JUICE

   From Starbucks to Chatime and now...Jamba Juice. People nowadays are more conscious when it comes to their health, they intend to know the contents of the food, before consuming it. Just because the food is healthy doesn't mean it taste bad, and Jamba Juice is the perfect example for that.

Healthy and Nutritious as promised by Jamba Juice

   In 2011, the first Jamba juice opened in the Philippines, it is located at Bonifacio Global City. Through the years Jamba Juice expanded all throughout the Philippines, and now, after 3 years it already has 13 stores found in the Philippines. I first knew about Jamba Juice when me and my family were strolling around and we saw Jamba Juice, we were surprised because it is the same name of dogs: Jumbo, Jambee and Jamba.

   I personally like Jamba Juice because it tastes so good, and at the same time it is made of fresh fruits which makes us healthy. There are a wide variety of smoothies you could choose from, but some of their best sellers are Banana Berry, Five fruit frenzy, and strawberry surf rider. I prefer Blueberry smoothies since I'm a fan of berries and rarely get to taste them. If you are a fan of mangoes, which i know a lot of people are (like Alexis Sim from Bhdrivethru), she would recommend you trying Mango-a-go-go. Mango-a-go-go is her favorite smoothie because it contains mangoes, passion fruit mango juice, topped off with pineapple sherbet, that will surely leave you wanting more. I still suggest that they give the customers a opportunity to create their own drinks so they could feel more at home and the company could get new recipes from the customers themselves.

   Another great thing about Jamba Juice is that they have a photo booth, you could take pictures and then send it to your email. So for people who loves drinking healthy smoothies and taking pictures, Jamba Juice is the perfect place for you!

Made by Alexis Sim (from BH Drivethru) & Charles Ong 

Pac-Man in Our Everyday Lives

           Omnomnomnomnom < - - - This onomatopoeia accurately depicts a famous icon from the 80s which lives on until this very day. This famous icon is the one and only... Pac-man

Manny Pacquiao

Wait not this Pac-Man.

THIS.

Play Pac-Man here!

Pac-Man is an arcade game that was created by Namco, first released in Japan on the 22^nd of May, 1980, then released on a later date in the United States on October, 1980. It then rose to fame and became immensely popular that this game is still recognized until this very day. You can try this game out for free by clicking the link above for you to enjoy the fun and highly-addictive experience you’ll get with Pac-Man.

Playing this game for the first time, you would most likely feel that it’s just one of those fun and highly addictive games, but nothing can be learned from it. After all, it’s just a video game. But alas, that’s where you are mistaken dear readers. Upon pondering whether or not some life lesson could be learned from this game, I fixated my eyes and studied this old and classic game. After a while, I realized something of great significance. “Eureka!” just as Archimedes would say.

Looking closely at the game mechanics, a life lesson could be learned, so let’s first go through the game mechanics. In this game, the player controls Pac-Man and navigates him throughout a maze where he must collect all of the pac-dots and fruits. When all of these are eaten, you then proceed to the next stage. However, the game isn't so easily won. Four enemies are released periodically from their cage, and they all have but one objective, eliminate Pac-Man. Fortunately, these four enemies can be thwarted by consuming the fruits located throughout the maze. These fruits give Pac-Man a temporary power boost, allowing him to consume his foes and send them back to their cage, only to be released again after a short period of time

Four Enemies

Pac-dots and fruit

Pac-Man

               The simple game mechanics is applicable in real life situations. Pac-Man is a representation of everyone of us. Each day, we face challenges , both big and small, and accomplish several objectives in order to complete these challenges, just like how Pac-Man meekly consumes pac-dots one by one until the very last in order for him to proceed to the next level. However, with great challenges comes great opposition. The four enemies of Pac-Man represent obstacles that seem to obstruct us from accomplishing great things. Pac-Man manages to face these adversaries by consuming the fruit, the fruit which aids Pac-Man in his task. And in the same way, all of this comes down to whether or not we choose to face these obstacles and obliterate them from our paths. By turning to fear and not facing these obstacles, we then delay ourselves from attaining our goals.

               In the end, we can call ourselves Pac-Men or Packed-Men because we are packed with challenges, goals, objectives, and as such. From this game, we can learn that we should face our fears, for what is there to fear if fear itself fears us, and of course more importantly, God is always with us, so who can stand against us.

Written by Raymond Acero, and Enrique Ibanez of BH DRIVE THRU

The Psychological Effects of Social Media

by: Rizelle Jane Lu & Michael Purisima

Interactions in social media.

           Social networking sites (SNS) are gradually emerging from time to time. As of July 2014, a total percentage of 98 percent of 18 to 24 year olds had already used social media. The leader of all social networking sites is currently Facebook with over 1.4 billion users (Statistic Brain, 2014). Facebook is one of the most addicting social networking sites. Active users of Facebook check their accounts more than five times a day. In a recent study conducted by IDC, the global provider of market, about 25 percent of smartphone owners ages 18 to 44 say that they couldn’t remember the time where their smartphone wasn’t with them. Social media can become a compulsive behavior in its users (Sperry, 2014). In some studies, nearly half of teens report feeling “addicted” to their phones and about 20 percent feel addicted to social media that could lead to digital peer pressure (Elements Behavioral Health, n.d.). The addiction of users in using social media could affect one’s self-perception. 

          Social media could affect the users’ self-perception. We Heart It, a social networking site reported by Time conducted a survey where they gathered 5,000 female social media users ages 13 to 24. We Heart it discovered that there is a deep cruelty among teenage girls and women in online communities, about 66 percent experienced being bullied on Facebook, while 19 percent experienced being bullied on Twitter, and 9 percent were bullied on Instagram (Sass, 2014). This shows that bullying has entered the cyber world, and users of social media can be bullied easily that could cause the users to feel depressed or unease. Cyber bullying also causes one to be anxious and stressed. Online cruelty can be even worse than face-to-face threatening because it is hard to find out when it is in social media (Elements Behavioral Health, n.d.). Bullying in social media could be worst than actual bullying, for in social media anyone can bash continuously and the bashers may be anonymous. Australian National University’s National Institute for Mental Health Research conducted a study regarding cyber bullying. They analyzed from Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter, that people who use social media late at night are much more likely to suffer from depression (Sass, 2014). This is another study that explains that one can be depressed not only through cyber bullying but also using social media late at night. 

             Social media could cause digital peer pressure to its users. In the Journal of Adolescent Health there is a previous study examined the behavior of 1500 teens in Los Angeles from the impact of social media posts, and they found out that users who often browse images of their peers partying more probable to imitate the behavior through drinking and smoking by themselves. Digital peers are proven more influential than a teen’s real life friends (Maypole, 2013). The digital peer pressure in social media can trigger individuals to follow what they see, thus making them to do similar thing. The severe depression and pressure brought by social media provoke users to change one’s identity.

This blog entry could also be found in my partner's blog: League of Bloggers

Delicacies

Hi, I'm Ashley from League of Bloggers. My partner is Bianca Diaz. We wrote this blog entry as a collaboration.

Dango :)

I have a homemade recipe and I'll show you my favorite Japanese food.

1. Toast-bread-butter-sugar!
Step 1 : Get a slice of bread and apply it with butter.
Step 2 : Put brown sugar.
Step 3 : Toast it in the oven until the sugar becomes slightly solid.

My favorite Japanese food or dessert is dango.