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.

Food for The Soul

      We all know that all of us needs to eat. Every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we eat to sustain our physical health. Have you ever thought of our spiritual health?

      Living in a musically inclined family, I am challenged to be the best. When I was a child, I would always wonder, why would we make music when you could download them from the internet? When I grew up, I gained a better understanding of what music really is.

      Music is just like food, but instead of eating them, we listen to them. Music feeds our soul and makes our spirit healthy. God gave us music so that we could enjoy our lives and make the most out of it. Music is the food for our soul.

Don't forget to "eat." 

by: Tristan Juansing