The Boy Who Stutters

In the episode of Adam Ruins Everything - Why Home Ownership is Actually a Terrible Investment, he debunks the misconception of owning a house as the ideal choice for settling. Home ownership as the “American dream” or “the ultimate middle class ideal” is not so ideal after all since, as Adam says, “a lot of people who shop for homes would actually be better off renting”. People opt to home ownership with their primary reasons such as freedom, stability, and privacy, however that is not the case as renting offers more mobility thus freedom to “move whenever you want” as Adam puts it. Moreover, owning a house does not essentially equate to stability in financial sense as studies show that such mentality leads to higher unemployment; while you can have privacy and security either way. Adam also revealed that both options bill you periodically – “mortgage to some bank” or “renting to a landlord” whereas the former makes you pay off interest over time and the latter gives you service privi...

Samuel Jackson. Emily Blunt. Bruce Willis. James Earl Jones. King George VI. Who would have guessed that they were and still are stutterers? They make it appear so easy but these people share that common experience. For someone who stutters like me, having these personalities eases the burden of anxiety and hopelessness. If they can do it, so can we! Have you met someone who stutters or stammers? Someone who repeats words he just said. Someone who seems to have a hard time pronouncing the next syllable. Someone who sounds longer than he should. Generally, all people stammer. You may have not noticed it when you were speaking over the phone; you repeat words unconsciously. You may have not noticed it when you were feeling something; you prolong sounds in your breath. You may or may not have noticed these manifestations yourself, regardless, it does not mean you also have the condition. The difference between you and me is that I struggle while you don’t. I entered college and ...

            If you are to choose between mobile devices that are run by different operating systems, one offers wide customizability and the other one do not, one offers exclusive features and the other one has become common, one offers more convenience and the other one only becomes practical for some, what would you choose? This is the battle between Android and iOS, the top operating systems used in mobile technology. Android is developed by Google and the latter is created by Apple. These two have become the competition among the preference of mobile phone users. They have evident differences and don’t have many similarities. From customizability, availability, and usability, to innovative features and convenience, each boasts what they have to offer.             On our first entry, Google’s Android . It is an open source model, which means mobile device manufacturers can...

Hindi na laro ang paggamit ng mga salita. Alam ko ang galak kapag ang dulo ay magkatugma. Subalit hindi lang dapat panay tunog at emosyon ang mangingibabaw sa bawat linya. Nasaan ang loob at isip, lalo na ang itinatagong politika? Madaling magsulat, sabi ng isang manunulat. Pero kung ano ang isusulat, ayun ang mahirap. Laging tugma ang nakaraan, hindi ba nakakasawa? Laging may tanong, e paano hindi alam ang sagot. Kaya siguro tanong nang tanong – umaasa na makakakuha ng sagot sa mga salitang idinurugtong. Laging ganito nalang ba? Nagsusulat dahil maraming papel, ideya, pag-ibig, at sakit? Ano pa nga ba ang gagawin sa papel na naghihintay malapatan ng tinta, sa ideyang nais mabuhay sa salita, sa pag-ibig na hindi binalik at ipinadama, at sa sakit na hindi na pwedeng itago pa? Bakit ka matatakot magsulat? Bakit ka matatakot magsulat kung ang paglimot ay mas madali pala? Magsulat ka dahil alam mong kahit walang makaalala ay mababawasan ang pasan ng balikat. Walang dahilan para matakot...

Hindi madaling maging payat. Puno ng inggit ang loob kapag ang mata ay nakaramdam ng malusog. Kapag naman ang bibig ay nakakita ng maganda - magandang damit sa magandang katawan at magandang katawan sa magandang mukha, ang isip ay nakakaamoy ng hiya. Baligtad. Hindi ba? Nakakapagtaka na nakakaramdam ang mata ng inggit, nakakakita ang bibig ng mabuti, at nakakaamoy ang isip ng pangamba. Nawala na yata ang tiwala sa sarili o pag-asa ba. Nakakapagod kasing magutom. Hindi nakakapagod ang kumain.  Baligtad.  o Tama? Kumain daw nang marami - tanging solusyon sa hindi pantay-pantay na disposisyon.  Payat kasi hindi kumakain. Kumakain kasi may pangkain. May pangkain kaso tamad kaya raw payat. Halata ang pribilehiyo ng maykaya  sa may pag-asa. Halata rin ang kawalang gana ng sistema sa sistema ng baguhin ang nakasanayan na pagpapalipas, pagtitiis, at pagkaka-kabusog.  Sinuka ang pagkain; sumuka ng wala. Pagkagasing sa umaga ay tubig ang naging...

Balita ko, hindi ka na raw nagsusulat. Bakit? Hindi pa naman ubos ang tinta ng iyong panulat Nasaan na ang iyong mga salita? Hindi ba kailangan mo ito para sabihin ang mga hindi mabigkas ng bibig. Tumigil ka na. Tumigil ka na ba? Balita ko hindi ka na raw nagsusulat. Bakit? Hindi pa naman ubos ang ideya sa mundo. Nasaan na yung galit sa iyong dibdib? Hindi ba ayaw mong maipon ito dahil hindi sapat ang loob para magtiis? Mukhang nagpatawad ka na. Nagpatawad ka nga ba? Balita ko hindi ka na raw nagsusulat. Bakit? Hindi pa naman ubos ang pag-ibig sa puso. Nasaan na yung mga sakit na iyong kinikimkim? Hindi ba gusto mo ang pakiramdam ng may naisusulat. Tila masaya ka na. Malaya ka ba? Hindi ka na nagsusulat. Marami kang papel pero nawala ang iyong panulat. Hindi mo naman winala pero naligaw ito sa daming gustong tiyakin. Nag-iisa ka pero hindi mo alam ang tatahakin. Baka 'yon ang problema. Mahirap tiyakin ang daan kapag nag-iisa Wala kang kasamang maligaw...

            Which are better as pets: dogs or cats? Dogs and Cats were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago. Both had aided people: they help farmers as cats control rodents and dogs control herds. Over time, several different breeds have populated and people finally pet these domesticated animals.   Cats and Dogs serve as companions to people. However, which makes a better pet? Generally, people, especially pet owners, have long debated whether a dog or a cat makes a better pet. Differences between these two outweigh their similarities, but that doesn’t mean they don’t possess any. Factors that are usually argued upon are the difficulty of care, their interactivity, and functionality.               Both pets demand care. However, they require different difficulty of maintenance. Dogs need more frequent grooming than cats, especially those longer-haired...

Profound, complex, and beautiful.   The 2011 drama film of Alvin Yapan is an acclaimed motion picture that uses dance, poetry, and emotion to symbolize a deeper meaning about gender, sexuality, and character. The narrative involves a love triangle between Marlon (Paulo Avelino), Karen (Jean Garcia), and Dennis (Rocco Nacino). Dennis has started to invest emotionally on Marlon upon teaching him to dance to impress their literature teacher/dance instructor whom the latter is infatuated with. The film, however, does not focus solely on the romance of the characters but with the meaning behind every delivered poem, every dance routine, and every subtle projection of emotions through visual portrayal and effective sound. Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa is wisely created as there’s more than the movie plot – there are reflections of gender sensitivity and fluidity, paradoxical representation of sexuality, and philosophical insights about feminism, affection, and devotion.  ...

When we talk about death and life side by side, it seems easy to say to value the latter because of the former. Why can’t we value life without opposing it to death? People always say, “You only live once.” What’s that even supposed to mean? Make the best out of my life because I only got one life to live, is that it? Sure, I only have one life in this lifetime but aren’t we living every single day? We are living in time, in space, in this world of the living.  This is not the world of the dead, is it?  You deny and accept life and death at the same time in the same way only because you have no choice.  But what is death? Sure, it’s the end of life.  But what is it about death that makes your life so significant all suddenly?  Was it significant though?  Are you living now so essentially that you would not have any regrets when you die…anytime?  I realized life needs death but I don’t recognize the value of any means to live knowing w...

What truly sets the Independent Cinema apart from the Mainstream Cinema? In recent times, in the context of Philippine Cinema, independent films, also known as “indie films”, have been establishing their identity that distinguishes it from the domination of the mainstream movies or the commercial/popular cinema. However, indie films, due to their proliferation and feats, seemed to have formed their own style or genre. This paper aims to explore the denotation and connotation of the indie film as a form of cinema and consequently as a film genre. This is to further demonstrate the supposed definitions of indie film, which may constitute a new treatment in understanding the national cinema. Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay   What is indie ? As Carrie Szabo, a film and screen practitioner, characterized in her study Independent, Mainstream and In Between: How and Why Indie Films Have Become Their Own Genre , it is the abbreviation of the term independent which is ...