The D Spot

Belated it may be, from my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

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Here are the regular and special holidays in 2011 as released by Malacañang yesterday, 20 December 2010, under Proclamation No. 84, signed by President Aquino. This still follows RA 9492, or the “Holiday Economics” law passed in 2007.  The implementing guidelines will be promulgated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Regular Holidays

• New Year’s Day – January 1 (Saturday)
• Araw ng Kagitingan – April 9 (Saturday)
• Maundy Thursday – April 21
• Good Friday – April 22
• Labor Day – May 1 (Sunday)
• Independence Day – June 12 (Sunday)
• National Heroes Day – August 29 (Last Monday of August)
• Bonifacio Day – November 30 (Wednesday)
• Christmas Day – December 25 (Sunday)
• Rizal Day – December 30 (Friday)
  

  Continue reading "2011 Philippine Holidays" »

The Philippines is listed in the world as having the longest and earliest Christmas holiday. As early as September, homes all over the country start putting up Christmas decorations. By October, malls are in full swing for the pre-holiday sales. By November, the Christmas bonuses are out so that by December, everyone is already in full holiday mode.

During the holidays, Filipinos are in a more generous mode. There are many outreach projects, fund raising activities, and donations during this time of year. Christmas parties are everywhere, as well as exchange gifts and Kris Kringle. Puto bumbong is out for the people who attend Simbang Gabi.

Continue reading "Paskong Pinoy— A toll on productivity" »

Saving money is not easy, especially if you’ve never done it before and you’re used to spending all your income in a month. There are a lot of ways to save money, but the most effective ways are those that you can easily do.

Here are some of the best ways to save money:

Manage your electric consumption at home. Make use of energy efficient light bulbs for your home. Turn off lights when not in use. The small savings you get from these habits will pile up to huge ones in the future.

Manage your other utilities. Do you have a regular landline and other cellular and mobile phones? If yes, how often do you make use of them? Make an accounting of your phone usage. If you don’t use your landlines often because of cellular phones, maybe its time to disconnect them so you can save on monthly fees.

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Back in Time
It has almost been 2 decades since the gruesome Vizconde massacre that happened on the fateful night of June 30, 1991, where Estrellita Vizconde (47) and her daughters Carmela Vizconde (18) and Jennifer Vizconde (7) were allegedly murdered by Hubert Webb and 7 other conspirators in the Vizconde residence in BF Homes Subdivision, Paranaque City. There were also indications of Carmela Vizconde being raped.

This incident was one of the highly-celebrated massacre cases in the Philippines as the suspects belong to well-off and powerful. The alleged mastermind, Hubert Webb, is the son of former Senator Freddie Webb; the other 7 other conspirators were Antonio Lejano II, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian and Miguel Rodriguez, Peter Estrada and Artemio Ventura, and Joey Filart who are sons of an entertainer, a retired commodore, prominent lawyers, wealthy businessmen, and a former command chief respectively. Another accomplice of the crime was former Paranaque policeman Gerardo Biong who allegedly was contacted by Hubert Webb to clean up after his mess and either remove or tamper all incriminating evidence like bed sheets, clothes, and blood stains present in the Vizconde residence.

Continue reading "Vizconde Massacre: A Case where Truth and Justice are Elusive Dreams" »

My white MacBook has been with me for 3-1/2 years now. I bought it in May 2007. I am not sure when I noticed it, but 2- to 3-inch cracks developed on the top cover (particularly on the palm rest, both left and right, and and on the sides of the frame around the LCD) of my MacBook. I didn’t mind at all. I thought that it was only because of wear and tear, and I was ready to get me a new MacBook Pro anyway.

My youngest son, Alan Jr. had been sharing with me his readings of forums and articles in the Internet about the white MacBook. He said that the white MacBook had several factory defects, and in fact a lot of them were covered by recall. Oh yes, the battery was replaced twice because of this recall–thanks to the hardworking and friendly staff of Ynzal Marketing Corp. where I bought my MacBook.

But it never crossed  my mind to ask if the cracks were covered by the recall.

Continue reading "Cracks on the Top Cover of My White MacBook (non-unibody) Covered by Recall" »

Raising your metabolism will help you to reduce weight faster. There are certain types of food that are quite low in calories but difficult to break down, resulting in your body burning more calories when digesting them thus helping you to lose weight. These are called metabolism-raising foods or negative calorie foods. Some of these are zucchini, cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli, celery and lettuce. These, combined with other foods will raise your metabolism faster and help you to maintain a good figure while eating healthily.

• Consume foods rich in antioxidants to boost your metabolism. Berries, green and leafy vegetables, red beets, dried fruits such as dates, apricot and peach, beans and nuts are some of the foods that you can consume daily to increase your metabolism.

Continue reading "Tips to raise metabolism–faster than fast!" »

It is said that the value of a good education is priceless. As parents, we want to give our children the very best, and provide them the best opportunities so that they can have a secure future.

I was with a group of parents recently who were comparing notes about their children’s respective schools (mine are in high school and college, but I have 2 granddaughters in pre- and grade school). All their children are currently enrolled at top private schools around Metro Manila. I was on the side smiling at their discussions. At the back of my mind, I thought I have been through it all—25 years beyond me struggling with tuition fees and school-related expenses and activities. But the way my kids have shaped up, and where they are now, I have no regrets sending them to good private schools—Miriam College, Claret School (the eldest and youngest went to Claret in grade school) and the Ateneo. Oh yes, Monica went to St. Theresa’s College in grade and high school. A child’s education is of course a joint school-parents responsibility.

Continue reading "The Cost of a Private Education" »

How would you react when out of the blues you find yourself face-to-face with the man who hurt you so much? The man who dropped you like a hot potato, just like that, abandoning you in the midst of a beautiful love affair, so passionate, so beautiful you thought there was no end to it. No explanations, no hints, nothing! Dropped you for dead!

After so many months and you have numbed yourself of the pains, and hurts, so intense that you literally wanted to run away from it all, cowering to the pits.  And when you thought that you have moved on…along comes the very man who mattered so much to you. Along comes the man who says, “Hi!” or waves a hand of recognition.

Would you act stoical, as if nothing has happened? Would you slap him smack on the face to make him feel, at least physically an iota of what you have felt before? Would you blurt out all the anger, all the questions in your mind, and all the doubts that were in your heart? Would you just walk away? Or would you feign amnesia. YES! AMNESIA! and tell him, “Do I know you? Sorry I had an accident, and I have amnesia.”

Continue reading "My Amnesia Girl – A Movie Review and Quotable Quotes" »

A 3K, 5K & 10K fun run to benefit the missions and charities of the Society of Jesus

Sunday, November 21, assembly at 4:30am
Blue Eagle Gym, Loyola Heights Campus

Registration centers: University Athletics Office at the Blue Eagle Gym, Rockport at Trinoma, The Shoe Shop at Rockwell, All Terra at Ortigas Home Depot, All Terra at Club 650 in Libis, and at the RunnersRunner.com website

Continue reading "Big Blue Katipunan Run 2" »

Last Monday, November 8, Valenzuela City councilor and Presidential ex-girlfriend Shalani Soledad made her TV co-hosting debut on Willing Willie. The country waited in baited breath to see what Willie’s new co-host was like, giving the show the highest rating in it’s two week run.

So, what’s the verdict?

Shalani is a jarring contrast to Willie’s over the top personality and widespread masa appeal. She seems rather quiet and reserved. In fact, she seems to belong more hosting a dinner at home rather than hosting a popular early evening game show.

She doesn’t yell on the mike. She’s soft spoken that viewers have to strain to hear her speak over the screaming fans and blaring music. Unlike other female hosts and co-hosts from other networks, she doesn’t wear fancy gowns or draw attention to herself with outrageous clothes, hairstyles and makeup the same way other variety show hosts do. Willie seems to make up for her lack of spunk by being even louder and more maka-masa (if that were even possible).

Continue reading "Shalani on Willing Willie" »

It is never a good idea to take something that does not belong to you—whether it is a pair of sunglasses your friend accidentally left at your home, a little snack you could have easily pilfered from the store, or even the words and ideas of another author. It is often a universal line of thought that taking another person’s written language (called plagiarism), is just as immorally despicable as stealing any physical item. This is because plagiarism is still—at its very core—taking something that does not belong to you.

This is the reason why respectable people often go to great lengths not to slip up and make no such mistake when it comes to publishing material openly to the media. But even those chosen to represent us can make mistakes once in a while—the perfect example being the disastrous ruling of a magistrate in the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, concerning comfort women. The idea itself was quite fine and it made sense, but the reason why it was so disastrous was that the magistrate had been accused of plagiarizing multiple parts of the ruling, with plenty of evidence to back it up. The fact that such a sensitive case was carelessly plagiarized by a respectable person from the Supreme Court (owing to “accidental removal of proper attributions to the three authors” by the legal researcher) was too ridiculous a mistake for the media to ignore. And just like that, the reputation of that magistrate was tarnished—all because of some copied sentences. Justice Castillo was later cleared by the Supreme Court, but at what cost?

Continue reading "Different Plagiarism Checkers Available Online" »

Mawiwili ba ang Taong Bayan?

After months of waiting, court orders and much hoopla and controversy, underdog TV host Willie Revillame is once again back on television with his new show Willing Willie. Shown on TV 5, it departs from the noontime slot and is making its own headway at the 6:30 pm time slot on Mondays to Fridays and 5:00 pm on Saturdays. Instead of competing with other entertainment programs, it’s going head to head with the evening newscast and primetime telenovelas. For its initial episode, Willing Willie garnered an audience share of 31.9%. ABS-CBN got 29.1% while GMA’s got 27.9% (ref: Nielsen report). That’spretty solid!

Willing Willie takes the same basic formula of other noontime shows and its hugely popular predecessor Wowowee. It still has the song numbers, rambunctious dance numbers and game show portions that give away huge amounts of money. Truly, a lot of thought has been put into the program and it seems like the producers didn’t spare any expense. As Willie sings a song, he goes up to the audience and hands out a few hundred pesos. Tearfully, these people accept the handout.

Continue reading "WILLING WILLIE—a week after (a review)" »

Here is a memo dated October 4, 2010, received from the Associate Principal for Student Affairs of the Ateneo de Manila High School addressed to the Ateneo High School Community. I am sharing this with you, dear Readers, as I feel it is a timely reminder not only to the Ateneo HS Community, but to all parents, students and schools as well. I am quoting it in full.

Social networking sites allow the free interchange of information and expression of feelings on a global scale. Text, photos and videos can be uploaded and downloaded at any location on the planet with Internet access. The power of this technology creates a new freedom that did not …

Continue reading "Internet Concerns and Action Points–a timely reminder to all students, parents, schools, etc." »

Everyone has the right to adequate shelter, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If so, then about 1.6 billion people living in substandard housing have been violated of their rights. More or less 4.5 million of these people are Filipinos. Worse, these figures might rise to about 40% in 2030 if the problem is left unsolved.

Today, October 4, 2010, the United Nations Habitat (UN-Habitat) celebrates World Habitat Day 2010. It is celebrated every first Monday of October. The event is not a fancy celebration but an awareness campaign “to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.” This year’s theme is Better City, Better Life, which focuses on urban dwelling.

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The University Bonfire celebrating the championships of the UAAP Seniors Basketball (3-Peat), UAAP Juniors Basketball (3-Peat), UAAP Juniors Swimming (6-Peat) and AGS Small Basketeers (4-Peat) teams

Sunday, October 3
Mass at 4:00pm at the Irwin Theater
Program at 7:00pm at the Ateneo Grade School grounds

There will be no classes and all university offices will be closed on Monday, October 4.

Source: The Blue Post

Continue reading "Three for History (Ateneo Bonfire)" »

President Aquino is nearing his 100th day in office. For the first three months of his Presidency, we can certainly say that his positive momentum is still riding high. People are still largely optimistic, seeming to give him a chance to get his footing and providing ample time to see some policies set forth. The President still enjoys wide popularity with the masses, and his administration is yet to be rocked with scandalous allegations enough to warrants cries of impeachment.

Unlike the previous presidents before him, P-Noy won a largely uncontested election. His grassroots candidacy resonated with the public. He has won based largely on his family’s illustrious personas as public servants in the service of the Filipino people. So far, he seems to follow his parents’ lead. His character remains untainted although his competence may be questioned.

Continue reading "Nearing 100 days in office—the President’s achievements so far" »

Amidst a crowd of between 22,000 to 23,000 spectators (televised live nationwide and worldwide), the pep squads of each school showed their best in the Samsung-sponsored 2010 Cheerdance Competition.

The UP Pep Squad did not cease to amaze from start to finish, with their Masskara and Panagbenga-inspired routines. They executed their routines flawlessly and did not let down the UP Crowd that came in full force. This more than compensated for the 14-0 performance in men’s basketball. This is UP’s 6th overall win in the competition, the last being in 2009. Last year, they settled for 3rd (with FEU and Ateneo ranking 1st and 2nd respectively.

The FEU Cheering Squad, 2009 champion, settled for 2nd with their “Japanese Samurai” concept, while the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe went home happily for the 3rd with their “Year of the Tiger” theme. UST has regained their place in the Top 3 this year.

Continue reading "UP Pep Squad Wins Season 73 UAAP Cheerdance Competition (plus videos of 8 teams)" »

FINALS (Araneta Coliseum)
Sept 25: Saturday – 4:00 pm FEU vs ADMU

SEMI-FINALS (Araneta Coliseum)

Sept 16: Thursday – 3:30 pm FEU 69 vs 59  DLSU (overtime at 55 all)
Sept 19: Sunday – 4:00 pm ADMU 68 vs 55 AdU

Note: FEU and ADMU have gained the twice-to-beat advantage after completion of Round 2.

STANDINGS (Wins/Losses):

Continue reading "UAAP Season 73: Semi-Finals Schedule, MVP Award and Mythical 5" »

About 50 million people in many parts of the world, particularly in the tropics, are already at risk from dengue fever. Worse, there is no cure for the dengue virus since it is a viral disease. But the good news is that there are many things you can do to at least stop the spread of the virus. You can also do something to cure the symptoms. If not, the worst case scenario might happen—death.

Death caused by dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), the worst form of dengue fever, is up to 30% of the cases. And this usually occurs in children and infants.

In the Philippines, a dengue epidemic is looming, which could be full-blown in a matter of time.  There is a 75% increase in cases compared to those of last year, which is of national concern. This is why the DOH is undertaking intensive efforts for information campaigns and clean up drives from barangays to cities around the country. It infects people across all sectors–the rich and the poor.

Continue reading "Dengue Alert—Things you need to know about dengue
" »