When Mothers Become Bloggers: Super-Powered But Still with a Weakness

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"Some parents will surrender to consumerism in raising their children. It's a shame to see decent, scrupulous mothers and fathers in externally imposed crises of anxiety about doing the best for their kids. The greatest gift we can give our children is ourselves, with our strengths emphasized and our faults not hidden but, to a reasonable degree, controlled."

For a third world country like the Philippines, it's not enough to raise a family when the father is an average employee working for our companies that still has below minimum wage compensation for some of their rank and file. This is especially true for the contractuals or temps who came from agencies hired by the company.

This is probably why some mothers feel the need to find a source of extra income. Some would setup a variety or "sari-sari" store at their house, while others would also work for another 8 to 5 job. The smarter ones will find a way to take advantage of the Internet or social media. This gave birth to the Work-At-Home mothers who do online language tutorials, social media management, virtual assistance, etc. The most popular nowadays that keeps some mommies busy is blogging.

Now there are several types of mommy bloggers. One type would remain at home and blog about topics that were contracted via online. These are the ones who are sent product samples for reviews and write about their experience using the products. While there are some moms that attend events such as product launches, press conferences, block screenings, expos and summits, etc. These are the moms that go out of their way to leave their children under the care of housemaids, yayas or relatives so that they can earn a few more.

Exclusivity: Getting Across the Border

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We've featured him before, and we are thrilled to find out he has a new cover for us. There really is no stopping somebody as talented as Leo Ralph Villamayor. We are simply ecstatic to help support a fellow Filipino especially when the Philippines is now being recognized as the home of many outstanding performers.

You've seen Leo singing a cover of the Let It Go song from the Frozen animated movie of Disney, now he sings another song.

But we cannot show it to you right now until after a month where he was contracted exclusively for his video to be shown somewhere else.

It seems they recognized his potential to attract a significant audience so we need to wait a month before he is allowed to promote it at his own site, and others as well.

Which gets me thinking about "exclusivity" and when news becomes limited to be broadcasted by a single source.

We've seen headlines like "Exclusive" being flashed on the screens of a TV network when they report news that they claim they only have. This attracts more attention because it means they are the only source of the said information.

7 Smart Tips When Shopping for your Dream Home Online

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Every Filipino aspires to own a home. And with the rise of technology, shopping for a home online has now become simpler and easier. There are actually tools homebuyers can use to look up for a property.

Be safe and confident when buying a home. Here are smart tips you should do when shopping for a home online in the Philippines:


1. Assess your needs

Before you embark on your home buying journey, make sure you know what you need, your budget, the property you want, and where should you look. Don’t have a “buyer’s remorse” for failing to sticking to these things. Save yourself from regretting your purchase because you were swayed by catchy sales talk.


2. Do an information check on the developer
Conduct a thorough research on the property developer where you are planning to purchase your home. Find out what their experiences are in the industry, and how well they deliver. It’s also a good thing to check their finances, which are often available in their websites, to see how capable they are in working on a project.

Toycon Philippines 2015: Witness the Evolution of the Biggest Pop Culture

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The only reason why I go to McDonald's was because of the toys that come with every Happy Meal. I believe the fast-food is better off becoming a toy store so there will be a lot more happy people than obese.

Do you want to know why similar fast-foods became popular with the kids? It is because they designed their marketing strategies with the kids in mind. Those colorful mascots and equally vibrant interiors were specifically made to attract a child's imagination.

Take away all of those "kids  stuff" and their burgers won't sell.

Young or old, the fascination (or obsession and addiction) with toys as a pleasing eye-candy, a collectible, as a bragging rights trophy, or any other nerdy or geeky reason, will remain in everyone's heart.

What I really don't like (but always tempted to see) is to couple this fascination with lust for the opposite sex. The raging libido of young boys and men, who are the majority audience of toys, is a weakness that every creative outfit targets may it be online content, games, comics, magazines, film, or radio.

Admittedly, sex sells. This is why it will also remain as another motivating factor when selling the more adult-oriented toys. But it also seems the line is quickly thinning.

The Michelin Pilot Sport EV Reigns in Moscow

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Round Nine of the 2014/2015 FIA Formula E Championship took teams to the streets of Moscow after the extremely abrasive concrete taxiways of Berlin’s former Berlin-Tempelhof Airport on May 23.

Fine weather attracted a big crowd to the Russian capital’s famous Red Square, a setting which largely contributed to the success of Moscow’s first ePrix.

The layout of the track received positive praise from the drivers and played a role in the race’s magic, too. Imperfections are part and parcel of street venues and add not only to the show, but also to the challenge faced by the drivers, cars and tires. 

The varying grades of asphalt encountered in Moscow, not to mention the scars of repairs, sometimes on the racing line, painted road markings and drain covers all added to the complexity of their respective missions. The situation wasn’t helped by the hilly, bumpy track, but the teams’ MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV tires produced yet another polished performance.

Filipino Dishes You Must Try At Least Once

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Philippine cuisine is one that brings together cooking styles of Chinese, Malay, Spanish and American cuisine which are adapted to suit the taste and palate of the locals. Meals range from a variety of food styles including simple dishes as well as those prepared for festivals.

Here are a few Filipino dishes you must try at least once if you’re fond of Asian and Chinese Cuisine, and this will leave you asking for more:


Lumpia

This is how the Filipino egg roll is made and it makes for one tasty dish. It goes well as a snack and you can eat them fried or steamed. It can go great with a tangy salsa or vinegar sauce and if you plan on eating them raw and fresh you can mix up the flavour with some peanut butter to really get the zing.

Italianni's Shareable Combos: Savor, Share, and Save for Only P945!

Wazzup Pilipinas!
Go ahead and indulge your craving for excellent Italian-American fare because you can now have your favorite dishes at Italianni’s for an affordable price of P945. Available all day everyday in all branches, the Shareable Combos are good for 2 to 3 persons to share. They are generously portioned and offer as much as P520 in savings with every order.

These platters that include some of Italianni’s well-loved classics in one plate cater to discerning customers who want to eat good food without spending so much. The result is two mouthwatering Shareable Combos, all prepared meticulously using only the freshest ingredients that the Italian-American restaurant is known for.

First up is the Ribs and Fish Combo, a surf-n-turf platter brimming with the juicy goodness of meat and the delicate flavor of fish. This platter consists of baby back ribs slathered in honey mustard barbecue sauce, and parmesan crusted fish fillet that has just the right crunch and texture. Topping it off is a serving of pesto rice that goes well with the two dishes. 

A New Era of PC Gaming with Radeon R9 and R7 300 Series from AMD

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!

AMD recently ushered in a new era of PC gaming, unveiling its line of next-generation AMD Radeon graphics cards at a live webcast held in Los Angeles and broadcast to thousands of gamers around the world, joined by industry giants Microsoft, EA and Oculus. The AMD next-generation graphics cards mark a technology turning point in PC gaming, bringing super high resolutions, exceptional VR experiences, smoother gameplay, support for new, advanced APIs like DirectX 12 and Vulkan, and groundbreaking form factors to gamers everywhere through a top-to-bottom line of GPUs that fit virtually every need and budget.
Radeon R9 Fury series graphics – Don’t just upgrade. Revolutionize.

· Revolutionary inside – and out – The most advanced and innovative GPU ever created for the enthusiast market, the AMD Radeon R9 Fury X GPU represents a paradigm shift in GPU design in the chip previously codenamed “Fiji”.

· Innovative technology. Making beautiful memory – The AMD Radeon R9 Fury X GPU brings to market the highest GPU memory bandwidth ever, pioneered by a consortium led by AMD, High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) integrated on-chip delivering 60% more memory bandwidth over GDDR5 along with unprecedented 4096-bit memory interface. The Radeon R9 Fury X GPU delivers more than 3x the performance per watt of GDDR5 in 94 percent less PCB surface area, producing ultra-enthusiast-class performance in a mere 7.5” (19cm) board.1,2,3

Epson International Pano Awards 2015: A Call for Entries to Photographers Around the World

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Professional and amateur photographers around the world are invited to enter The Epson International Pano Awards to compete for over $50,000 in cash and prizes. Early-bird entries are open now until July 12, 2015.

Last year, Manila-born Dennis Ramos from the USA was the overall winner of the 2014 Open competition. His winning image was also first in the Open – Built Environment category.

The Epson International Pano Awards showcases the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and is the largest competition for panoramic photography. Advances in digital photography and editing software has resulted in a surge in the popularity of image stitching, especially in the panoramic format. Panoramic film photography also remains alive and well.

“Over the years we have been delighted to see this world-class photographic competition grow to the point where it now attracts thousands of entries from hundreds of photographers from around the world. Each year the photographs are more and more impressive and the outstanding quality of both image capture and print astounds me,’ said Craig Heckenberg, General Manager Business Division, Epson Australia.

Behind a Veil of Anonymity and Cloaked by Cyberspace

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We are so troubled with the current discussion ongoing at this particular blog post. It saddens us so much that a lot of people would not even have the decency to reveal themselves when declaring damaging statements, and continue to hide in anonymity. But who knows, maybe its actually just one person who was really pissed with us.

"Mixed emotions kasi natatawa lang kami dahil puro Anonymous ang mga nag-uusap ... hahaha!"

What was really troubling was this latter one introduced him or ...her self as a PR. The PR company may now be regretting having him or her. Such a disappointing character. We all know how PRs should behave, and what he or she posted was very unlikely of a respectable PR.

He attacked the event organizer, as well as the owner of the publication, and even the entire Wazzup community? To generalize everyone belonging to the community is not something we will tolerate. We dare him or her to reveal himself so we could soon find out who are left standing with a clear conscience.
Does a respectable PR person talk like this? If this person is impersonating a PR, please beware as he or she sounds not befitting of the industry he or she currently belongs in.  

Wake Up to Delicious Mornings With New Breakfast Dishes and Free Coffee at Italianni’s

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Set your alarms early because Italianni’s whipping up new breakfast dishes that are so delectable you’ll never want to skip breakfast again. 

Available at the restaurant’s Greenbelt and Bonifacio High Street branches from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., the new dishes are Bistro Corporate Chef Josh Boutwood’s way of delighting early birds who come to the restaurant. And you can enjoy all these with free coffee, all the more to perk up your day!

Simple but scrumptious, the Baked Ham and Cheese Bread Bowl is the perfect morning starter - strips of cured ham and sliced shitake mushroom in warm cheese sauce topped with a sunny-side up egg and served in a freshly baked bread bowl. 

Guests will also love Country-style Chorizo & Beans, an old-fashioned Italian breakfast that satisfies one’s craving for a filling meal that’s savory, salty, and sweet. It has chorizo and beans topped with two eggs then baked to perfection and served with grilled Tuscan bread.

True Deli Cafe: Tikman at Namnamin Ang Mga Natatanging Pagkaing Pinoy

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We would always say to never judge a book by its cover. But we could not really help ourselves since the outward appearance of something is a really powerful motivating factor to urge us to pay closer attention. This is why models would always be generally good looking and fit. The beauty of how things are presented plays a vital role in eliciting interests from people.

However, there are just some that you would only discover as surprising great only when you look beyond the lavish packaging and look closely at what's inside.

There's this restaurant located at the upper ground floor of Victoria Station 1 right beside the GMA-Kamuning MRT station that is totally underrated even though they have been around since 2011.

They do not have an impressive exterior. It's just a simple straight-forward façade with a small signage on top unlike those from other restaurants that really stand out because of either huge colorful signage or other stuffs like statues of their mascots, or big bold letters spelling out their name. There is nothing really special that will make you want to get in because of curiosity of what the inside awaits.

The cultural Filipino ambiance brought about by their Capiz shell window designs that adorn portions of the ceilings, some paintings hanged on the walls, and those lights and chandelier-like object made out of colorful bottles, the assorted textiles with various designs on the walls, the customized seats that can be easily rearrange as per seating requirements of guests, an elevated part of their restaurant sorts of highlight a veranda setting, make their interior really awesome as compared with other huge restaurants in the Philippines that just maximized on the space to make way for lots of tables and seats. In short, they made sure the ambiance stunning enough to please instead of just allocating everything as plain space.

But wait until you've tasted their food. This is when you will truly utter the word "Awesome!"  

TraBlogs: The Endangered Species of the Blogging Community

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Because of my blog, I keep on getting a lot of inquiries, and even reservations, for hotels, resorts, restaurants, etc. I just refer them back to my blog and ask them to look for the link pointing to the right people or organization they should contact. You can't imagine how many times I have answered a call only to find out the other person on the line wants to book rooms for their company at a hotel I blogged about.

Lately, I also get a lot of inquiries about my fellow bloggers. It now feels like I am the person they are calling to verify the characters of people in the blogging community. I would love to answer them all but I really hate it when they ask me about the primadonna bloggers - those who have an inflated view of their own talent or importance.They feel they are on the top of the food chain, and looking lowly on their fellow bloggers especially the newbies, getting ready to pounce on them when they feel the newbies are making a move on their common prey.

It is so shocking that the so called "elite and authority" bloggers who have been around for many years have grown to the idea that they deserve better as compared to the newbies. They are marking their territories by pissing on their so called "sacred grounds."

Many of them would even talk shit about the newbies, and malign them in front of PRs and event organizers. But of course I am not referring to all of them since I only hear about the Big Bad Bloggers while the others seem to be like ghosts - minding their own business and never engaging in hate threads.

Walang Unlimited Dahil Walang Forever: When FUP Means F*ck U People

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Let us not be deceived.

The Fair Usage Policy was created mainly because the telcos could not effectively deliver an "unlimited" Internet access with acceptable speeds "as advertised".

Let us say in our neighborhood, if majority of us use the Internet to watch online streaming videos on a daily basis (the near future as predicted), or download huge files from the cloud (or torrent sites :) ) every time there's something newly added (worst case scenario), it should not affect the connection of some who only use the Internet to check their email or social media accounts (they don't really need a fast Internet as compared to those accessing videos).... Why then would the telcos degrade everyone's speed to a crawl just to satisfy a non-existent few?

The truth: The telcos' infrastructure could not handle the over-subscription. Too many users on the same system that was built for less. Improving the infrastructure is costly, so they resort to degrading the quality of our Internet instead.

If I wanted my customers to be happy and satisfied, I would instead improve my infrastructure to be able to provide for the demand. But the telcos do not want to lose profit so being businessmen, they cheat their way out of this predicament. They would only need to use a lesser amount of money to influence (or bribe) those in authority like the NTC (It is quite bothering that this agency is only able to create policies beneficial to the telcos). Ask the NTC to help them make up a policy they eventually called FUP (which actually means "Fuck U People") so they can get away easily with this scam.

Five Ways Brokers Can Better Serve Millennials

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Data show that the majority of the Philippines’ approximately 40 million Internet users are 30 years and younger, the same people who are either planning to rent an apartment or purchase their first home.

This presents an unusual predicament to real estate brokers. As most of them are very used to transacting with older, less tech-savvy customers, they may not have the selling chops and necessary patience to deal with millennials.

With this, global property portal Lamudi Philippines dishes out five tips for capturing and dealing with the millennial homebuyer.


1. Give Them More Options

In the advent of the Internet, too much information is a good thing, especially in real estate, and millennial customers embrace this with glee. Nowadays, a typical online customer would have looked at least 10 websites before making an inquiry, and that gives them a lot of power over the purchase. As information is literally at the fingertips of your young would-be customers, it would be better to offer them as many options as you can.

Where Can You Reside If You Have Five Million Pesos?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Value for money, strategic location, and distinct amenities – these are the top qualities that house hunters look for in their investment search. With this in mind, Lamudi Philippines outlines five properties in Metro Manila that fits the Php5 million financial plan of homebuyers.


Pacific Place Ortigas Condominium – Pasig 

A walkable district with work, leisure, and learning options for you and your family offers a 100-sqm three-bedroom condominium unit. Ortigas, one of the busiest business districts in Metro Manila, highlights a complete urban lifestyle for on-the-go professionals. Live near one of the biggest malls in Asia and be surrounded by a healthy wave of delicious eats and nightlife to boot.


Ponteverde, BF Resort Las Piñas

Live the southern vibe for Php5 million in a fully fenced house and lot in BF Resort. This property has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a maid’s room, an auxiliary kitchen, utility area, lanai garden, and a garage for one car. More than its amenities and features, you also bargained for a community-oriented, city lifestyle.


Three-bedroom Townhouse, San Juan

A classy townhouse at the heart of shopping mecca that is San Juan City is a three-bedroom townhouse. Sitting on a lot measuring 42 sqm but boasting a floor area of 116 sqm, you have ample living spaces perfect for growing families. San Juan is not only known for its shopping district but also for its rich history and delightful gourmet finds.


Uptown Bonifacio, Taguig

Bonifacio Global City (BGC) is one of the most sought-after locations both for residential and corporate needs of investors. A 33-sqm one-bedroom unit in Uptown Parksuites starts at Php5 million and comes with a sleeping den, combined living and dining area and dreamy amenities. Bask in the luxurious setting of BGC and live steps away from exciting leisure centers.


One-Bedroom Condo, Salcedo Village, Makati

Live at the heart of the busiest business district in Metro Manila while staying within your Php5 million target. Pretty much everything you need and more is in Makati. Truly a comfortable lifestyle in a vibrant cosmopolitan setting.

Where to Find Metro Manila’s Cheapest and Most Expensive Office Spaces

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Companies looking for an affordable office space to rent should head to Quezon City to find cheap commercial properties. Based on Lamudi Philippines’ analysis of price data of its commercial property listings, Metro Manila’s largest city has the most affordable office space for rent, averaging Php503.79 per sqm.

The analysis also found that Quezon City’s most expensive office space for rent, located in Eastwood City, has a monthly asking price of Php1,208 per sqm, while the cheapest costs Php185 per sqm per month.

At the other side of the price spectrum are Taguig and Makati, Metro Manila’s most expensive cities for real estate, where office rents average Php763 and Php635 per sqm per month, respectively.

Makati, however, boasts the metro’s priciest office spaces. Office blocks in the city’s trendy Ayala Avenue command monthly rents as high as Php1,400 per sqm, while the city’s cheapest offices have asking monthly rents of Php300 per sqm.

Social Media Masquerade: We Are Not What We Seem Online

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Should access to social media come with a moral responsibility?

But then again, not. I'm afraid that social media has evolved beyond being social. It has become another form of entertainment. There is very little truth or sincerity on what we see or read online.
The whole world does not need to know our personal problems. Our online friends will not want to read about our failures. Our deep dark secrets should remain hidden from the scrutiny of the online bullies who are mostly pretentious little bastards with wieners the size of a cocktail hotdog. They try to make up for their insecurities by being a bully online.

Some would use an alter ego that will be comfortable in cracking jokes, or portray a character that defies ethics and decency - trying to achieve some naughtiness in between the wild antics, trying to impose a reputation they fabricated to catch some attention.

It's all about role-playing. Since we would not really express or show our real personality especially if we are part of the industries where public perception is key to our success. An artist that's more controversial and seemingly profound and highly iconoclastic gets more attention from an intrigued audience.

Ericsson ConsumerLab Mobility Report 2015

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!

There is no doubt that the mobile industry will continue to exponentially grow through the coming years, and not surprisingly to find out that video content will still be the most in demand by online users.

At a gathering organized by Ericsson at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel this June 16, 2015, members of the media covering technology and business matters were presented with an appendix to the Mobility Report. he presentation was conducted by Afrizal Abdul Rahim, Ericsson Head of ConsumerLab for Region South East Asia and Oceania. Also present was Elie Hana, Ericsson President and Country Unit Head, Philippines and Pacific Islands (outgoing). Mr. Sean Gowran will soon be taking over as Ericsson head for the Philippine market.

The key highlights of the Ericsson Mobility Report was that by 2020, we would have about 9.2 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, and when it comes to mobile broadband it will be  around 7.7 billion which is about 85 percent. We will have twice the number of smartphone subscriptions making 70 percent of the world's population having a smartphone. There will be 9x mobile data traffic primarily driven by video. For the population coverage, 90% WCDMA/GSM and 70% LTE.

As expected, the Philippines is dragging at the lower ends of each charts while countries like Singapore and Australia has the highest mobile broadband penetration. Popular apps were Facebook, YouTube, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Viber.

What was baffling by the report was that it declared that as of 2014, only 30% smartphone penetration was recorded here in the Philippines but is expected to rise at 40% within 2015. But maybe it is only in Metro Manila and other big cities nationwide where I see everyone owning a smartphone or two. Still, I believe those statistics should be higher.

Michelin N2: Proven Performance at Round 3 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The long lasting, high performance of the Michelin N2 tyre was proven at Round 3 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia this summer at Phillip Island. The round saw a format change from the normal sprint race format, to a mini-endurance Pro/Am format in the Porsche Carrera Cup. 

The weekend saw tight, hard fought battles throughout both hour-long races. Quick lap times, including a new lap record, were set at the end of the second race, with the team of Shane Smollen and Nick Percat taking the win. The lap record, however, was made by Scott McLaughlin in the Grove Racing Porsche. 

The Grove Racing team opted not to change their Michelin tires during the driver change, running the full hour race on the same set of tyres which had also been used in the qualifying round. With McLaughlin behind the wheel chasing down the pack, they were able to consistently set quick lap times. MCLaughline set the new Carrera Cup lap record on lap 33 of the 36 lap race. 

After the race, round winner Nick Percat said he enjoyed his successful return to the Carrera Cup series.

Tips to Let Kids Enjoy Their Meals At School

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Any parent with young children would admit that nothing can be more mentally draining than going through the painstaking process of preparing healthy meals for their kids’ baon.

Unfortunately, a lot of little fussy eaters have a tendency to wrinkle their noses, make faces, or deliberately gag on their food and bring home their baon. Thus, every meal has the potential of becoming a battle between you and your children. This shouldn’t be the case! Meal time is NEVER meant to become a fight.

Revive the fun in your child’s lunchtime! Accept the stage where your kids are s-l-o-w-l-y learning to adjust to a new school-year and to eating packed lunch with foods that are new to them, and save yourself from losing your sanity over unfinished food. Here are parenting hacks that may help:

Ekotek's Back To School and Mid Year Promo

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Welcome back to school, kids!

With a new school year comes new challenges, new opportunities to excel, new achievements to be unlocked, and more friends to be made.

We here at Ekotek are so excited to be part of your academic journey that we have come up with kick ass bundles that will help you do just that in school! Talk about starting the year right!

Get ready to rock the school year in style because from June 15-30, 2015, you can avail of the Rogue 2 with an 8GB MicroSD card, Ekopack 6000mAh or both for a fraction of the original price! You never have to miss out on group discussions ever again. Want something bigger than the Rogue 2 for note taking? No problem. You can also get the Ekotab Encore 2 with an 8GB MicroSD, an Ekopack 6000mAh or both. Hurry, promo is only valid until June 30!

The Back To School Promo is available in all Ekotek kiosks: SM Mega, SM Fairview, SM North, SM Las Piñas, SM Muntinlupa, Victory Mall Pasay and Victory Mall Antipolo.

No time to hit the mall? Don’t worry, you can get your Back to School goodies from http://j.mp/ekoteklazada, http://ekotek.theshop.ph/ and now you can even order via private message on Facebook!* How cool is that?

Click here http://j.mp/ekotekgadgets to know more about your favorite Ekoproducts.

Torre De Manila: Ang Pambansang Photobomber ng Pilipinas?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Nowadays, you'll get bullied online if you have a sentiment conflicting to the majority. You can raise an opinion but expect a lot of bashing afterwards.

It's just like saying you hate Manny Pacquiao, you'll end up being attacked by a mob because there are so many die-hard fans of the Pacman that can bury you deep down from all the trash comments that will create a thread as long as the Great Wall of China.

Such is the issue about DMCI's Torre De Manila. When popular online personalities such as Carlos Celdran actively urges everyone to go against the completion of the building because it destroys more than just a view.

When we take a glimpse of the monument of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, the sight of the condominium is not really a pleasant sight. The photo taken will no longer be great for your album or postcard. It's no longer as Instagrammable as before. Torre De Manila has become the glaring photobomber of the Rizal monument - The Pambansang Photobomber ng Pilipinas.

The Supreme Court has spoken. The temporary restraining order starts immediately. Oral arguments on the case will start on June 30. Thus the cranes has stopped moving, the construction has temporarily stopped.

Who Are We Fooling With All These Fabricated Social Media Exchanges?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Am I the only one who thinks negatively of Comments, Likes, Shares, Follows, Retweets, and other similar exchanges of many different forms?

Though there is nothing wrong with exchanges like "quid pro quo" or barter - something in exchange of something. But when referenced to a blog, it means you got those numbers because the other party was obligated by an agreement that you will return the favor.

It feels like you're only making your blog look desperate. That it cannot get the attention it deserves if you're not going to participate in an unnatural way to get views or engagement.

What is the point of getting lots of Comments, Likes, Follows, etc., from your fellow bloggers if you are obligated to give the same whether you (or they) deserve it or not?"

Then there are the "forced" requirements like you have to make your comments sensible and acceptable enough to qualify, you have to finish all the Likes within a certain amount of time, etc.,

It not only displays "fake" engagements, it also deceives the other readers to believe your blog is well-liked and so engaging that readers had to leave a comment.

It really feels so wrong.

Toni Gonzaga and Her Publicity Stunt at McDo

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Who goes out in her wedding gown, and with her groom, at a fast-food to personally order food even if she has people she can ask to do it for them?

You won't see me buying cheap junk food on my wedding day. It will be a disgrace to me and my wife (or husband). Our wedding day should be special, and taking me to where everything is wrong is not a great idea.

McDonalds is totally against what people in the Philippines should be promoting - our very own good (great) Filipino food. I can't imagine these fit and fab celebrities endorsing products that offer nothing but an unhealthy diet leading to obesity. Just like Jollibee, and the many other fast-foods that only offer those greasy burgers and fried chickens, their junk only sells because of their excellent marketing gimmicks.

To tell you frankly, I just go to McDo for the toys (and the mascots), or when a friend, colleague or relative is treating, but still I don't order the oily French fries or the "big" breakfast that's not really big. I prefer to just eat the spaghetti or apple pie (that has terribly gone so little). But if given a choice, I will stay away from these junk food restaurants. We have so many restaurants out there that offer better food at reasonable prices. Even the neighborhood "karinderia" offers better choices.