18 - Farewell to 2nd Term (Part III): Ignite Speech Competition

During the same day, December 22, 2015, the ERC faculty also held the Inter-Class Public Speaking Competition. The speakers delivered their speeches after every performance of the speech choir.

This competition is done in every term, but it was the first time it was held during the speech choir competition at the same time. The each participant of this event represents their block. The student that will be chosen by their professor after they delivered all their ignite speeches in their room will compete in the competition. Accordingly, our professor in EPUBSP1, Sir Nomer, picked Nicole Timbol to represent our block. Her speech was about unconditional love of a mother, so basically, she discussed about all the sacrifices and the hard works of a mother for their children.

During the competition, the first speaker was Jeleen Llarenas from MA151. Her speech was about her life as a soldier’s daughter. I like her speech because I can see myself to her, from being a son of a soldier, I understand that being in her situation is not that easy. I remembered the time when all I have is my mom during the whole recognition day since my dad didn’t able to attend the event because of this duties. At those times, all I think is that my dad would be so proud of me, which is why I’d rather understand our situation than to feel bad about it.

The second speaker was Charella Gonzales from TM151. Her speech was about how Disney animated shows and films mold her life.

The next speaker was Nicole Timbol from our block, AC151. Like I’ve mention earlier, her speech was about the unconditional love a mother can give through their children. Before the actual competition and during her practices for this event, I sensed that she will be able to captive the audience’s heart if she will continue having this particular characteristic that she had. Fortunately, during her actual speech, I can tell that the way she delivered it was touching and moving since her topic is personal to most of us.

The fourth speaker was Loise Lane Antonio from AC152 and her topic was about understanding women’s behavior.

The last but not least, the fifth speaker was Benjamin Bajet from BM151. His speech was about different types of students in a classroom. Most of people in the auditorium, especially his blockmates, were screaming throughout his speech since his slides contains pictures of his them. His transitions were good, and he explained thoroughly the different types of students that a lot of us can relate to.

After all of the speakers delivered their speeches, the judges announced the winners for the contest. The 2^nd runner-up was Nicole Timbol, 1^st runner-up was Jeleen Llarenas and the champion was Benjamin Bajet. I’m happy for all of them, and I know that after all they have been through, their efforts were paid off the moment they were given this recognition.

17 - Farewell to 2nd Term (Part II): Speech Choir Competition

December 22, 2015 – Tuesday

This day was the second day of the culminating event for this year’s 2^nd term of all English subjects. Speech Choir Competition and Ignite Speech Competition took place this day, but for now, I will be focusing on Speech Choir Competition.

For this term, the competition was plotted with this season, which is Christmas, and the piece was entitled “At Christmas” by Edgar Albert Guest. To be honest, before the actual competition, I wasn’t really confident about our performance since we didn’t practiced much, and we allotted one week only for the whole practice of the routine and buying of the costumes and props.

As a part of each performance, we were also tasked to make AVP as an introduction, and I was assigned to that. At first, I didn’t really know how we are going to make this AVP special, since we do not want it to be just typical and usual. For me, I want the AVP to be just natural as much as possible, showing what we’ve been through throughout this whole project given to us. As we practiced for our performance, we took videos of us and compiled it. I took place to make the video on the last day of our practice, which is December 19, Saturday and I finished it in six hours (which consist of having my dinner, taking a bath and watching TV haha!). I watched all the videos, and I am glad that we’ve got enough videos to sum up everything during this activity.

For the actual competition, my block was first to perform, then followed by the remaining four blocks. After all of the performances, I just wished that we must be in the top three at least. Fortunately, we landed 2^nd Runner-up. Not bad at all, since we knew that the judging is really tough and other groups performed better than us. In line with this, my block will have a grade of 90% for the Speech Choir.

16 - Farewell to 2nd Term (Part I): Public Speaking Competition

December 21, 2015 – Monday

This day was the start of the culminating event for this year’s 2^nd term of all English subjects. While going to school, I already felt the excitement to witness all the contestants to showcase their speeches, and I’m hoping that most of the winners will come from our block.

The theme of the event was "The cult of celebrities and fantasies... a Filipino obsession?” Few days before the actual contest, our professor in EPUBSP2, Ms. Nina let my blockmates who will be participating in the contest present their speeches instead of having their persuasive speech. From the moment they had their practice for the contest in the room, I already knew that my blockmates had their edge from winning in this competition.

The day started as we all gathered in the auditorium. Six of my blockmates (Yana, Gracielle, Bianca, Ado, Carolyn, Angela) were assigned to three different rooms wherein each room will hold ten participants and only three will advance to the final round. While we are waiting, we played some games to break the iced. The first game was speed speech. In this game, players were given random words every fifteen seconds and with that they must create a speech and switch through each words smoothly. Contestants from that game were really funny and entertaining, which is why the room’s dull atmosphere were lessened while we were waiting for the contestants to come back. Another game is like an ignite speech but this was done by a pair. There is a topic given to the contestants and they were showed some of pictures that were not really connected with their topic, yet, they needed to manage to efficiently link it in their speech. The last game was participated by the whole block. Each block was tasked to sing a Christmas song and each song should only be sung once and should not be repeated by the others, or else, your block will be eliminated. Unfortunately, we didn’t win in that game.

After all the games, the host announced the nine finalists that will compete for the final round. Gracielle, Bianca and Ado were three of those nine. The speakers presented their speeches which of them linked the topic based in their life experiences: their insecurities and family orientation, while the others linked upon their point of views.

The next day, Gracielle Sitjar was declared as the champion of the said competition. Her speech was really powerful and heart-rending, and I commend her for that. I admire her bravery towards sharing her own experiences since not everyone can look back about the pain of the past has brought.

15 - Speaking With A Purpose

Speaking in front of a large crown is considered is a problem for many people. Being a good speaker is not easy. It takes a lot of effort to enable you to express your emotions to others and to be credible to your audience. Having a good eye contact, giving life to the emotion of the speech, and speaking clearly and pleasingly all contribute to effective speaking.

Friday, November 27 – With the theme “Whether it’s the best of times or worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got,” Asia Pacific College - Speaks held Speak Sense (Season 2), a public speaking contest for high school students around Metro Manila. The participants are expected to deliver their five minute speech piece sincerely and pleasingly in front of the crown.

At 7:30 am, students from School of Management and the contestants from the participating schools gathered in the auditorium to witness the day’s event. At that time, I am so excited to witness all of the contestants to compete with each other because I know that each one of them has something to say, particularly to express themselves. Two of my friends in the said competition also participated in the event.

As each speaker deliver his or her speech, everyone in the auditorium speak nothing but silence. Everyone lends their ears to each speaker, listening to every emotion and thought to connect with them. I really like how the speakers managed to speak in the front of a large crowd, knowing most of us are strangers to them. I personally loathe the idea of speaking in public, since it takes an effort to make my nerves comfortable.

After all the speakers have delivered their speech, few minutes later, the awarding ceremony begun. The 2^nd Runner-up was Jastine Sanduigang, from Pasay City Science High School. His speech was about how he almost died when he was a baby and how he got a second chance to continue his life.

The 1^st Runner-up was Dominic Co from Jubilee Christian Academy. Having another interpretation of the theme, his speech was about a girl that he asked to the prom, but they ended up going the other way around which made him bitter.

And the champion in Speak Sense (Season 2) was Phoebe Stacey Almario from Las Piñas East National High School. Her speech was about living in a life of a broken family. Her speech was really moving. She spoke with conviction and emotion, and that thing I think made her win the competition.

Everyone of them was great, and I think all of them can be a good speaker someday. This event just proved that each one of us can overcome our fear of public speaking to be an instrument to open the minds of people we want to express our opinions and ideas with.

14 - REVIEW: Zombadings: Patayin Sa Shokot Si Remington

Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington is an indie comedy film starring Martin Escudero. The story revolves to the life of Remington, who used to degrade and mock gays when he was young until he encountered a gay witch that cursed him to be gay when he turn 21. The film is also considered as a subversive movie, as it has a plot that criticizes gays a bit immoral way to entertain.

In the movie, Remington grew up doing the activities every man was expected to do. On the other hand, gays in their community were disliked, calling them as “salot sa lipunan.” It’s quite funny that the men in their community, as well as the friends of  Remington’s dad disliked gays, while some of them were just ‘tambays’, and women, like Remington’s mom work as a police. Even her partner in doing the job was a woman!

My favorite part is when Remington went to Hannah for the first time after he was been cursed already and became gay. He can’t help to talk natural but gay lingo. I laughed at the part when Marian Rivera called the albularyo ‘babe’.

We all know that being an actor in not really easy, but for Martin Escudero, he portrayed the role very well. He acted both being a man and gay without overpowering the other role. I admire his dedication in this project for giving such effort in order to study his role. I salute him for doing the kissing scene with his co-actor Kerbie Zamora for the sake of the movie because maybe for some, it is not easy follow very direction that is directed upon them. I also like Megan Young, since she carried the typical romantic comedy set-up of the film along with Martin Escudero. I saw their chemistry with each other. Lastly, Janice de Belen’s acting is really remarkable since I thought that she’s only into dramatic projects, but through this movie, I also saw her quirky and funny side.

I think the message the movie wants to convey other than not to hurt homosexuals is the whole gender quality itself. Everyone of us has the right to grow as a person in whatever way we want. Whether you are a man, woman, homosexual, bisexual or whatnot, you should be respected the way others respected themselves. The people in our society today should open their minds to give equal opportunity to everyone. We should not think that we are superior than the other gender, and instead, do whatever we wanted to be. At the end of the day, it is our life that we spend, and we should be glad as if there is no boundary that walls us through our own happiness.

Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington is really a must-see movie to everyone who’s looking for entertainment and laughter. It is also perfect to watch with family. I like the movie because the characters portrayed their role very well, at the same time, it is a kind of suspense film that will not make you become scared because of its comedic way telling the story.

13 - Plagiarism: Words & Thoughts

 “People seldom improve when they have no model but themselves to copy after” ― Oliver Goldsmith

According to Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is defined as ‘taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own'. On the other hand, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defined it as ‘the act of using another person's words or ideas without giving credit to that person’. Even though it was indicated in a different way from each other, both meanings convey the same thing: plagiarism is an act that is being credited for something made by someone else. 

Sometimes, students, or even professionals plagiarize on a purpose out of their present situation. They are required to publish their works on a limited amount of time but do not have the ability to compose credible works. They lose their faith in writing and its procedures that they plagiarize others to supply what they needed. On the other hand, people imitate the works of others simply because they lack moral values. Another reason is they have confidence that they will not be caught. While there are a lot of resources people found on the Internet which makes it easier to find something to imitate and make one’s work, that same method is used also to recognize people who just stole other’s work.

Moreover, to escape plagiarism, most experts said that we must take responsibility to make an act if we know someone who do these constantly. It is not good if we knew someone or an institution that we respect plagiarizes work of others. Not telling the case of plagiarism is equivalent in doing it yourself. In spite of everything, we are supposed to be accountable in our own studies, but we must also make sure that we are not up to steal someone’s ideas. The following are some of the suggested strategies to avoiding plagiarism:

• Understand the real nature of plagiarism. Make some researches in order to understand it more.
• Credit the sources that you used in your study.
• Revise the text that you have seen in other’s work—even if your article is not as good as the original author’s, writing in your honest way is far better than plagiarized one.

It is really important to give credits to the people where someone got the idea. Sure thing that no one was get sued from a study for having too many references, right?

Sources:

http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/242/466

http://wpacouncil.org/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf

12 - K-12 Implementation: Solution or Complication?

According to Department of Education, K−12 Curriculum covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School) to provide adequate time for mastery of perceptions and skills, improve learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.

The foundation

Before K−12 curriculum was implemented, our country was one of only three countries in the world and the only one in Asia that had still follows the Basic Education Curiculum (BEC). For scholars who are trying to compete in a progressively developing worldwide corporate market, this was been seen as a disadvantage.

For the students

The change began in 2011, when the universal kindergarten was introduced. Starting in 2012, several schools implemented the curriculum in accordance to DepEd’s memorandum. Public schools began having half-day classes for grade one students, with the Filipino as the medium of teaching, and private schools also made alterations in their own recognized syllabus. As follows, K−12 curriculum also means that students will graduate a bit older compared to those who graduated under the 10-year education system, but the two added years in the curriculum will let the students apply in any vocational jobs once they graduate. In relation with that, DepEd stated that future graduates under this curriculum will be more ready to take their tertiary education which suits their capabilities along with their established skills.

Implementation

Transition for Private Schools

Real situation

Despite the praises received upon the program by the government, K−12 program of the US has not even been able to improve the education system; with lesser resources in our country, we can say that this program will give challenge to the future.

There are too many graduates unprepared to go on higher education and even technical vocation. Many politicians said to cure all those insufficiencies – where until now, there is no appropriate teacher-student ratio that can support the incoming senior high school to learn new skills. Some of the requirements needed for K−12 are laboratories, computers, textbooks and more classrooms. Private schools have some of these materials and facilities, and can afford to support new amenities if needed, but how about the public schools? These are some of the concerns that are not openly addressed by K−12, and if we implement additional years, we can expect it will bring another burden to the never ending problems of the education sector.

If we will look in all sides, K−12 curriculum is definitely an idealistic program because of what it can give to its future graduates. But on the other hand, we should also look upon our capabilities in implementing this since we just focused on what we can get from it, rather than its whole requirements.

In the coming year, which we will now see its application to the first batch of senior high school prior to the implementation of the curriculum, we hope to see the affirmative response of the people along with the government’s efforts to solve all these shortages in order to make this K−12 curriculum be a true stake of our educational system, instead of the problem that so many now perceive it to be.

Sources:

http://www.gov.ph/k-12/

http://ph.theasianparent.com/advantages-new-k-12-curriculum/

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/33727/ready-or-not-k-to-12-curriculum-starts

11 - An Open Letter to Alfredo Salazar

 Dear Alfredo,

It has been almost eight years from the moment I met you in the dinner party and today, I’ve come to realize that everything about you was all different from what you are today.

Back then, with all of the things that we do, I didn’t know how you made me fell in love with you. Those were the days where I felt I deserved nothing special but your existence and actions spoke to me otherwise. I didn’t know how you have done that but I surely wouldn’t want to know it anymore. I’d took it as your greatest secret to me. I didn’t even know what else to say when you keep telling me that you adore and love me; but it brought happiness and at the same time, fear to me.

The happiness that I felt with you during our small talks is honest and free. I feared the day when we were already there and we didn’t know what’s next for us. I feared what might happened next when we became who we want us to be someday. All that was inside of my head was all like “If all else fails, we still have each other though. What matters the most is the present.” I choose to live by the moments when I’m alone with you. We thought our future as if it would never be shaped by our present life, but rather, with the choices we have made together.

But the moment I feared the most came. You left me.

Day by day, I thought of you, then I started to lose my motivation to accomplish everything that I have to do in life. I felt lost and odd. The feeling was like there is something that is removed upon you which can never be healed by anything. They all say it’s all part of giving the love for the wrong person but I don’t think it is really supposed to be like this. I lost my youth, waiting that one day, you might come back.

There was silence in my head that was deafening. I wanted to scream and tell everyone how painful and heartbreaking that was but I guess they wouldn’t understand it all. Maybe that earsplitting silence was just what I needed the most at that time. Maybe I was really meant to be noiseless after all.

Today, I know we’ve grown and developed so much as individuals and I think that’s the best part of the whole thing about it – nothing stops us from growing. It’s been a good, long run for us and I believed that it ended there. Our love for each other still shines through, like stars in the sky, but it will never be the same as like we’ve had before. As we go through life, I hope you will find your true happiness ...and so as I. I want you to know that I will always remember the times when I am with you and I will never regret the moment I met you.

Love,

Julia

10 - Builder of the National Identity

People from the west tremendously influenced our culture and beliefs today. They brought their practices in our country, as well as their language and literary works. While we Filipinos rejected some of these heritages, we also come up to create our own customs and styles. The members of the Spanish and English-speaking classes proves that as the early Filipino literature was written in Spanish, or English, we established proficiency in both written and oral communication which accordingly became our way to cope with different culture. Bienvenido Lumbera, has challenged in this point of view, and became one of those who restored our classic poems and stories in our Philippine literature.

Lumbera was born in Lipa on April 11, 1932. He was only in the age of five when he became an orphan. He and his sister were adopted by their caring grandmother, Eusebia Teru. He attended schools where his teachers commend him for his dedication in his studies, as well as in reading books and making literary works. Confident, he became an enthusiastic reader and entered the University of Santo Tomas with M.A. degrees, with the wish of becoming a creative writer. Before he graduated in 1953, he published his first stories and poems. Later on, Fulbright Fellowship took him to the University of Indiana where he earned his PhD in Comparative Literature.

A few years later, he came back to the Philippines to teach Literature, Philippine Studies and Creative Writing at the Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas. Sharing his knowledge from his studies, practices, and life, he did not only have the chance to teach in the country, but also in Japan. His definite form of writing inspired many of his readers until today.

He was able to create numerous well applauded literatures for publications and theater, some of which include Tales of the Manuvu, Rama Hari, Nasa Puso and Amerika, Bayan: Apatna Dulang Musika, Revaluation, Pedagogy and many more. In electing Bienvenido Lumbera to receive the 1993 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts, the Board of Trustees distinguishes his asserting faith in the place of the Philippine literature in forming the individuality of modern Filipinos. In 2006, he earned the title of Philippine National Artist for Literature.

According to him, language is the key to national identity. Until Filipino becomes the true lingua-franca of the Philippines, he believes, the gap between the knowledgeable classes and most of Filipinos will not be linked. "As long as we continue to use English," he says, "our scholars and academics will be dependent on other thinkers." His success, as well as his continuous love for the country's artistic traditions and languages just proved that we are all called to influence one another by being proud of our own heritage.

Sources:
http://freewayonline.com.ph/bienvenido-lumbera-biography/
http://www.rmaf.org.ph/newrmaf/main/awardees/awardee/profile/150
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenido_Lumbera

9 - A Celebration: SoM is the New SoAB

Last October 26-30, students and faculty from the School of Management (formerly School of Accountancy and Business) merge to celebrate the annual SoM Week.

Monday, October 26

While going to school, I thought of SoM week would be like. The event reminded me of how everyone in my previous school get excited when the third week of October come, which is also our Intramurals Week. When I entered APC, I was so amused with the vibe inside the school: the tarpaulin, the balloons and the people, talking as they are preparing for event.

Anyways, the event proper started at 9AM, where my previous school (Sto. Niño Catholic School) lead the parade with SNCS Drums & Lyre. I’m surprised that they were invited by APC to open this event. I thought that the last parade that I would be able join them was the Dayuhanon Festival last January, but with this event, memories from high school came back as if everything happened only yesterday. I missed (not really) being scorched under the sun while singing to the song played by the troupe, and I’m glad I experienced it again.

After an hour of parade from Lapu-lapu St. and going back to APC, my friends and I got to the school's parking lot and we were so tired. We came back in the school as if we’ve been through a war, though I still enjoyed the parade.

The program started with an opening prayer, and followed by the opening remarks of Ms. Victoria Nañagas, Executive Director of School of Management. She presented to everyone the new SoAB, which is the School of Management (SoM) that promotes unity among accounting and business students.

As the winner of  this year’s English Term 2 of cheers and chants competition, MA151 were given the chance to show their winning performance once again.

Asia Pacific College Dance Company (APCDC) also made the day wild through their spectacular and impressive moves that wowed the audience and make them want for more.

Last but not least, everyone became electrified as the Mr. and Ms. SoM 2015 participants walked for the pageant’s presentation of candidates. Every course supports their own representative, as each candidate show their poise and determination to bring home the crown. The parking lot was filled with a lot people screaming at the top of their lungs just to show their all out support for their own bets.

GO AC! GO AC! GO AC! GO GO GO GO!!!!!!!

…On the next days, I wasn’t able to join in other events because I decided to go home early.

Tuesday, October 27

As promised by Sir Nomer before the SoM Week arrived, that if we have a classmate needed to be out of the class due to the games, he will let us watch the game instead. Volleyball and basketball games for both men and women started this day. We watched the women’s volleyball game in the morning, and luckily, AC won over TM students.

Wednesday, October 28

I’m glad that Ms. Precy dismissed the class early after she gave a short activity on punctuations and capitalizations. Since I’m sleepy and tired (I don’t know why) back then, I decided to go home instead, and my mom was shocked that I went home that early.

Thursday, October 29

                On the 1^st subject, Sir Nomer gave us an activity, which is to finish the 2^nd and 3^rd body paragraph of our essay. The following subject, my classmates, together with Ms. Nina went to the auditorium to attend a seminar by P/Supt. Elbert Pagente about cyber security awareness. After the seminar (I went home), it was followed by a mass wherein the SoM faculty and students attended and offered  things such as canned goods, toiletries, notebooks, pens, and noodles for the people who were affected by the typhoon. It was succeeded by the Clash of Courses in the afternoon, where different courses from the students of SoM competed in different activities. Lastly, the SoM night (of course happened in the night) was enjoyed by some of our batchmates, since they were able to get a long and meet new friends in the same school.

Friday, October 30

The final day came: championship games. Every hardwork and sacrifice each student gave for this event was given a price when they were presented with their awards. In the evening, the title Mr. and Ms. SoM were crowned to Karylle Lapuz and Jennah Cruz from Marketing and Advertising. 

SoM Week was a blast! I hope that I will be able to join in other activities next year and I look forward for the upcoming College Week, hoping it will bring a lot of fun and new experiences.

8 - Trash the Ash

The number of young people today who smoke is constantly increasing. The problems that teenagers face nowadays were more likely to lead them to habitual vices like drinking alcohol or smoking. Some of them believed - incorrectly – that smoking will help reduce their stress and make them look like they can handle the problems instead of looking insecure. What they see in adults, also can affect as if they would become more mature by acquiring such habit. For females, a significant reason for them to smoke is the desire to look confident. According to a study, it shows that today, youth smoking rate is roughly 50% greater than the smoking rate of adults. This is very alarming, which is why our home, Asia Pacific College stands to solve this problem.

APC recently become concerned about the increasing number of young smokers among their students, that they have decided to strengthen the anti-smoking campaign. There are a lot of people who suffer from lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is why APC fortify the campaign to save many lives before it’s too late.

The question: Is everyone will have a positive response for the campaign? Will all of the youth smokers stop smoking? The answer: no. But for real, how could we have a solution for this problem? Let us first understand why it is hard for people to quit smoking.

When a person quit smoking, his or her emotions become different the way it is before. Even if they aren’t a type of person that is sensitive and emotional, the longing to smoke can make them turn into such person. They may find that it is tougher to stay in control, keeping their nerves calm and their temper low. For teenagers, some decides to avoid their parents, since thinking about their lack of love and guidance for them makes it worse. These are some of the feelings that youth is going in quitting smoking, which is why it is not that easy. Gratefully, there are methods to handle through these approaches and to handle one’s temper and anger.

The greatest treatment is avoidance. This is real for any illness, as well as taking away the symptoms of it. If you know what makes you mad, you can simply avoid it. After knowing what makes you angry the most, you must avoid what causes you to satisfy your desire to smoke. For many people, the cravings are caused by going back to places, individuals and memories from their past that have them smoking a lot. Once you start missing smoking, the tendency for you is to begin to feel uneasy, grumpy, and easily enraged. Effort to clear your mind is a step to simply handle the situation. This could include avoiding people and places that reminds you a lot in doing such things, but it will be an essential step to make changes to your life if you are going to take this seriously.

Lastly, seeking help to people makes everything better. Find someone you know who CAN HELP YOU A LOT. I tell you, talk to a family member or a friend who you trust the most, and they will never fail you. Ending certain vice, like smoking may not be easy, but through effort and help from others, one can successfully go through with it.

7 - Aliens on the Loose

Humans dominate the world: both nature and one another. No creature has done so much damage to our home, but sadly, this is just the start. As we see on the news today, some living organisms manipulate the environment, like for example; plants that are supposed to be harvested by the farmers are wasted because of bunch of pests that destroy it. But what if one day (hope not), these will become much worst like you’ve never think before? What if instead of chomping crops and other plants, these pets pests start seeking for human flesh? Or kill bodies to be in human form? Or somewhat rule the world?

Parasyte is an action horror film directed by Takashi Yamazaki, starring Shota Sometani, which features alien-like parasites that moved to the earth to take human hosts. The movie revolves on Shinichi Izumi, a student who lives with his mother in Tokyo. One night, a bunch of mysterious wormy alien-like creatures oddly land throughout Earth, and Shinichi was one of those who had been chosen to be a host. Going inside the head through the ear of their victims as they sleep, they eat their victims' brains and take over the bodies. But when Shinichi is selected by one of these beings, though, there's a minor problem. When he was lying in bed with his earphones on, one of these creatures is forced to find alternative opening into his head. The parasite went into Shinichi's palm and tried to reach his brain by going up his arm, but he held it using his other hand. In the end, the creature did not make it to get into his brain so instead of being able to control the parasite’s host, it can only control Shinichi's right arm and hand. Enforced by their common need, the creature (which Shinichi named) Migi (word for "right") promises Shinichi that he will protect him as long as he is with him.

As Shinichi copes to hide Migi from everyone, other parasites became more able to sense them. Sooner he finds himself as a target of madness of those who have effectively taken over the brains of their human hosts. Throughout the movie, both gradually come to know and understand each other as each tried to fight for their own goals.

There’s so much going on in the movie (and I admit I’m so fed up with all the emotions); one time you’ll laugh, the next you’ll find yourself sickening on violent killing spree, and sooner you’ll find yourself tearing up because of emotional incapacity of watching sad scenes like what happened in Shinichi and his mother in the near end of the film (please watch this film because I don't want to spoil too much on how epic this movie was!!!!!!). The film became progressively dark as the development followed; funny moments became lesser and more dreadful moments are presented.

If you want to watch a horror film and at the same time you want to follow a certain interesting plot (unlike any other horror films that doesn’t give importance to its plot and instead, give too much unnecessary jumpscares), 10/10 would recommend this for you!

6 - The Bizarre Vision of Reality

There are different types of theatres in accordance to the different types of genres that exist. One particular theatre is the Theatre of the Absurd, which shows an idea that does not keep an eye on an answer to a valid explanation. It takes the pointless idea and turns it into something interesting, which is why some people were left confused and tangled with boggling ideas in their mind after watching this type of play.

Last October 9-10, Asia Pacific College’s Teatré Phileo presented "Ang Tatay Mong Kalbo", which is an absurd play that emphasizes the silliness of human existence. In the play, words lost their capability to convey sense.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Santos

The story started with Mr. and Mrs. Santos in their living room, exchanging casual talks about their dinner, the news of the day and a family who all happened to share the name of Gin Santos. The ridiculousness in their words disturbed both of them.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Reyes

Hepe and Maria

The play sustained as the doorbell rings, and Mr. and Mrs. Reyes, arrived. Mr. Reyes thinks he used to know Mrs. Reyes before. But even after he believes he has proven that he and Mrs. Reyes are married and having the same child they were both telling, the Santos' maid reveals that Mr. Reyes has only piled up a surprising set of twists of fate. When both the couples met and talked, more senseless dialogues happened when they argue in many pointless things. The connection between Maria, Mr. and Mrs. Santos’ maid and Hepe succeeded the concluding chaos of random words into which the characters descend. The humor in the play resides primarily in the coated absurdity of the characters' verbal interactions. At the play's climax, a horrifying message is said as the characters gave another some of nonsense phrases. The play ended when the lights are on for Mr. and Mrs. Reyes, talking the same way Mr. and Mrs. Santos started the story.

All in all, the actors, as well as the technical team gave justice to the 'entertainment' factor a play must have. Even though I didn’t understand most parts of the play, I guess the message it conveys is the difference between man and woman in conversations. Women typically just want to be heard, men, on the other hand, usually offer a quick solution to what was being said. The clash between both sexes can never be denied because of both preferences and beliefs that existed even before.