The Lifestyle Section

Beginning of the end

2012-01-25T13:42:00.000+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 25, 2012

The Internet is an incredibly wondrous thing. It’s probably the most game-changing technology in modern history. But it’s not without its dark side. One of its deadliest aspects is that it enables copyright infringement. The Stop Online Piracy Act (or SOPA) of the United States House of Representatives, together with its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), aims to address that flaw by a more aggressive way of protecting intellectual property. But it’s not that easy. Here’s The Gist:

SOPA and PIPA have been shelved after US President Barack Obama said that he was opposed to them and after Internet heavyweights, including Wikipedia and Reddit, staged online protests. Countless of Americans expressed their disagreement to the legislation, flooding their respective congressmen with calls and mail. But why are so many people against it?

In a nutshell, the bills, if passed and enacted, will give copyright holders and US law enforcement the opportunity to seek court orders barring advertising networks and payment facilities from doing business with any Web site that’s found guilty of copyright infringement. They can also ask for the removal of links from search engines and require Internet service providers to block access to the sites.

The long and short of it is that popular sites like Wikipedia and YouTube will virtually cease to exist because they carry content whose copyrights obviously belong to others. That affects the entire online population, not just those in the United States. That means no more downloading from torrents, no more streaming and potentially no more blogging. The Internet will most definitely collapse.

The good news for netizens is that SOPA and PIPA are dead in the water. But it doesn’t mean that the Internet will remain an anarchy as a more streamlined version of the bill, called the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act has just been proposed.

And as if fanning the fire, the US federal government recently shut down the US server of file-hosting site Megaupload, where they have jurisdiction, and arrested the company’s key officials. As a response, the Anonymous network of hacktivists (people who hack to demonstrate their activism) flooded the servers of the US Justice Department, the US Copyright Office, Universal Music Group, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, causing their Web sites to crash.

Published peports indicate that the Web sites of TV network CBS, the French Media Company, Vivendi and Brazil’s Tangara De Serra, among other targets, have also been compromised. Nope, it’s definitely not anarchy; it’s war.

All that (Golden Globe) glitters

2012-01-23T13:41:00.000+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 23, 2012

The annual Golden Globe Awards not only acts as a platform for movie industry analysts to predict Oscar frontrunners, but also serves as a preview of the state of fashion. As the first major red carpet event of the year, all eyes are on the star-studded arrival area, where we witness the best and worst dressed celebrities pose for the cameras.

This year's ceremony is all about the accessories—the very items that complete an ensemble. Stylists pay extra attention to the details to make sure that their clients are as well put together as possible. Use of high-end jewelry like those from Bulgari is one of the most effective ways to achieve this goal.

Matching the refinement of her BCBG Max Azria in blue, Emily Deschanel steps out in three items from Bulgari's High Jewelry Collection: earrings in white gold and emeralds (13.05 carats) and diamonds (2.76 carats), a platinum ring with a triangular tsavorite (3.75 carats) and two TB diamonds and a platinum and 18-karat white gold ring with a square emerald-cut emerald and 12 diamonds. She finishes the look with a Parentesi Openworks white gold bracelet with full pave diamonds.

Claire Danes accentuates her edgy J. Mendel look with platinum earrings with princess-cut diamonds totaling 4.17 carats from the High Jewelry Collection and a Spiga bracelet in 18-karat white gold and diamonds.

Shining in an intricate Gucci number, Jessica Alba goes minimal with her jewelry. From the High Jewelry Collection, she chose platinum earrings with 37.14 carats of diamonds, a white gold bracelet with 386 diamonds (23.51 carats) and a white gold ring with diamonds.

Jodie Foster's classic teal Armani was dressed up with platinum earrings two emerald-cut diamonds, six pear-shaped diamonds, baguette diamonds and round brilliant-cut diamonds, a platinum bracelet with 84 diamonds (42 61 carats) and a white gold ring with a round brilliant-cut diamond, a pear-shaped diamond and pave diamonds—all from the High Jewelry Collection.

Complementing the flair of her white Monique Lhuillier gown with blue blotches, Sarah Michelle Gellar's sparklers include white gold earrings with chalcedonies, sapphires and round brilliant-cut diamonds and a platinum ring with three round brilliant-cut diamonds and pave diamonds from the High Jewelry Collection. She also wore an Elisia Diamond white gold and diamond bracelet and two Parentesi Openworks bracelets.

The gents were equally at their dashing best. Albert Brooks accessorized with Quadrato cufflinks and an Assioma watch. Josh Brolin's cufflinks were from the Quadrato collection as well. Mark Wahlberg matched his cufflinks with shirt studs. All were in 18-karat white gold with diamonds from the High Jewelry Collection. Menawhile, Ty Burrell's pink gold Sotirio Bulgari watch provided a style boost to his suit.

What’s more fun, mama?

2012-01-20T13:40:00.000+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 20, 2012

Tourism slogans basically serve as the “identity” of the place being promoted, may it be a city or a country. Now, our new—or not so new, depending on your perception—identity is fun. The country will now be marketing itself using the slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” Of course, it got mixed reactions from the people (although it wasn’t as universally bashed as “Pilipinas, kay ganda,” a slogan that I still think is a big bad joke).

Here’s The Gist:

This month, Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez unveiled the slogan and the updated logo to the media and social media, calling on the public to participate in the innovation and dissemination of the campaign. Immediately, #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines became a top-trending topic on Twitter and divided online socialistas.

As expected, memes based on the art on itsmorefuninthephilippines.com were soon unleashed and we were treated to a generous dose of crowdsourced creativity (example: “Social climbing. More fun in the Philippines” against a picture of a mountain showing the silhouette of climbers). This was picked up by Buzzfeed and compiled in a list called “25 things that are more fun in the Philippines.” Meme generators were soon created for people with little or no image-editing skills, as were tips on how to do a composite. (Not all results were flattering, though. CNET Asia points out, “Filipino netizens took it upon themselves to show all that is positive and negative of being Filipino in a tug-of-war of memes.”)

On Tumblr, a blogger created Web site badges for supporters using the logo as a template. A compilation of varying opinions within the Tumblr community was posted on pinoytumblr.com. Some time later on Twitter, it was all about school spirit as a spinoff—a hashtag beginning with “itsmorefun” followed by different school names—trended multiple times, leading a certain user to wittily quip, “stop with the #itsmorefun hashtags ugh that was so an hour ago.”

Of course, critics were quick to point out the obvious: that the slogan has been used by Switzerland more than half a century ago. Some also opined that the logo looks similar to Singapore’s “Your Singapore” visual. Not to mention that many believe the slogan isn’t catchy, that it’s inferior, that it seemed lazily conceptualized and design and that “WOW! Philippines” should’ve been retained.

With all the arguments laid out and the fact that it’s already out there, the only thing left undetermined is whether “It’s more fun...” will demonstrate staying power and translate into tourist arrivals. What do you think? Let’s talk about it on Twitter. I’m @EdBiado.

Dragon holiday

2012-01-18T13:38:00.000+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 18, 2012

On Monday, January 23, Chinese people everywhere will celebrate Chinese New Year, the most important of all Chinese holidays and arguably the most auspicious date on the Chinese lunar calendar. For the first time, it will be commemorated in the Philippines—the only country without grand-scale festivities to do so—as a special non-working day.

In fact, the only other territories that list the event as a public holiday aside from East Asian nations are Christmas Island, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei, all of which have exceptionally well-preserved Chinese customs and traditions with significant populations that practice Chinese religions. Singapore, in particular, is known to have the biggest Chinese New Year celebrations in Southeast Asia.

It seems appropriate and quite educational to make Chinese New Year a national holiday because many Filipinos have the incorrect perception about it. It is a common mistake to think that the presiding animal zodiac changes on January 1, the Gregorian New Year. There are people who have already started wearing their Year of the Water Dragon lucky charms (but it’s technically still the Year of the Metal Rabbit).

Waves of mainland Chinese immigration throughout history have resulted in about 20 percent of the Filipino population having Chinese ancestry today. A majority of which self-identify as Filipino. But it can’t be denied that China has an overwhelming influence on the Philippines. This is evident in cuisine, architecture, interior design, culture and tradition (feng shui, for example).

According to Proclamation No. 295 (the declaration of 2012 holidays), Chinese New Year is “one of the most revered and festive events celebrated not only in China but also in the Philippines by both Chinese Filipinos and ordinary Filipinos as well; and the joint celebration is a manifestation of our solidarity with our Chinese Filipino brethren who have been part of our lives in many respects as a country and as a people.”

However, critics are saying that there are already too many holidays in the Philippines and another one would be bad for business because of lost office productivity.

Basically perfect

2012-01-16T13:34:00.002+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 16, 2012

If you haven’t heard of Tony Melillo, don’t fret. He’s not exactly the most visible man in fashion, after all. Really more of a behind-the-seams kind of guy, Melillo is the creative director of the Selena Gomez clothing line and is currently in the process of developing a new line with Vanessa Hudgens. So within fashion circles, when Melillo appends his name on the label, it’s a big deal.

Next month, Barneys New York in the United States will begin carrying ATM by Anthony Thomas Melillo, a high-end brand of T-shirts. Yes, basic tees that will cost between $58 and $82 each. ATM is his latest attempt at a signature collection—the last few times failed to be successful because of the price points and because they were unflattering to body types other than perfect.

Melillo is very specific. The fit of his garments are made for toned and muscular physiques. And we all know that there’s not a lot of people with that kind of body. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that his brand is not really a mainstream one. But on the flip side, it seems that he’s the only one who designs and manufactures clothes that are strategically longer (for those who are vertically blessed) and with sleeves that are strategically wider (for those biceps). The new ATM venture is no different.

The designer himself admits that it’s not for everyone. But he’s willing to take that risk again, positioning his wares as a niche brand. It also helps that his mass-market Gomez line, which earned a reported $100 million in 2011, is giving him enough leverage to flex his fashion muscles.

What can we expect from ATM? There are crew necks, tank tops and V-necks that dip 6.5 inches in basic black, white and gray, as well as eggplant, lavender and blue. Of course, you can expect these expensive (around P3,000 a pop if we were to convert to local currency) tees to last long. So if you’re tall, buffed and have that kind of money to spare for a T-shirt, you know where to get one.

HTC Sensation XE: Return of the music phone

2012-01-13T13:33:00.000+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 13, 2012

Unboxing the HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio reveals one impressive detail: those red in-ear headphones with the all-too-familiar “B” logo that stands for Beats by Dr. Dre. Right of the bat, the question to ponder on is: is this HTC smartphone an audio-centric device? That will be answered after plugging the attractive earpieces in.

But that's not before making more first impressions. The front side of the phone is dominated by a 4.3-inch screen with a 960 by 540-pixel resolution. The receiver is a narrow red strip at the top while the buttons at the bottom (home, menu, back and search) are red as well, matching the headphones. It all looks very high-end but the back is a different story. The rubberized finish does have its ergonomic purpose but doesn't look too expensive, appearing disjointed from the sleek and upscale front.

The new Sensation XE (meaning “Extreme Edition”) boasts under the hood improvements from the original Sensation. Its processor is dual core at 1.5 GHz (up from 1.2 GHz) powering the Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread operating system (an update of version 2.3) and features Beats Audio support. The aforementioned headphones are YourBeats, a redesigned version of the Apple device-friendly iBeats model. (The older Sensation comes with stock non-Beats earphones.)

Like other HTC phones, the Sensation XE runs the HTC Sense user interface. It uses version 3.0 and includes apps such as Friend Stream (a social media aggregation program), Mirror (utilizing the front-facing camera as a face mirror) and Flashlight (switching the camera flash on to act as a flashlight). It has all the other apps that are, by today's standards, smartphone necessities.

The 8-megapixel back-facing camera is a notable feature, sporting a dual-LED flash and autofocus. It records 1080p high-definition video at 30fps. The front-facing one, on the other hand, is low-end VGA. Recordings can be stored in the 1GB internal storage and the stock 8GB microSD card (which can be expanded to 32GB).

As with any smartphone, performance and speed are important. The Sensation XE has a super-responsive touchscreen and apps load in a fraction of a second. This means that it's easy to be addicted to the handset and spend a lot of time on it—which also means that the battery has the tendency to be drained quickly. But when you have too many apps running in the background, there's always the task manager to help you manage and kill apps as needed.

Back to the sounds. Now that most smartphone makers have figured out what works, what doesn't work and how to balance performance, aesthetics and energy consumption, they're finding ways to stand out. That's where audio comes in for HTC.

By partnering with Beats by Dr. Dre with an investment of $300 million for a majority stake in Beats Electronics, HTC is positioning its Beats Audio-branded handsets as hip and trendy multimedia devices. The “deep integration of Beats technology, software and hardware” into HTC phones translates into HTC having the exclusive rights to incorporate, use and market Beats products together with their own. The association with the celebrity-driven consumer brand is definitely a boost to the mobile phone company's profile. And it certainly added street cred to the Sensation XE.

And that's exactly what the Beats Audio branding is selling—prestige. Sound quality doesn't necessarily follow. The red headphones produce a thumping bass, but that seems to be the only audible effect. Audiphiles would agree that superior sound quality is so much more than just powerful bass. That said, they're still better than the stock headphones that come with other handsets, especially because of their noise-canceling function.

As a whole package, the HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio has all the features that make a smartphone great and a really useful (and useable) mobile device. With the “cool factor” provided by the Beats hype, HTC does separates itself from the competition and could start a new trend in cross-branding. But more R&D still needs to be done if they want to achieve true “deep integration.”

Hackopedia

2012-01-11T13:30:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 11, 2012

If you’re a student doing a report on the impeachment case of chief justice Renato Corona and happened to be on Wikipedia on January 3 or 4 to do your research, you probably got your facts wrong. At different times throughout those two days, Corona’s bio page was maliciously edited, providing different false and speculative pieces of information about him. Here’s The Gist:

One edit says his title is “thief justice,” another claims that “the Filipino people is hoping for his impeachment” and yet another outs him as “gay.” Wikipedia editors are quick to spot these acts of vandalism and have restored the page to its “clean” status within hours, but not before locking it to prevent further edits from unregistered users.

This isn’t a new thing for Wikipedia as the “Vandalism on Wikipedia” page states that “frequent targets of vandalism include articles on hot and controversial topics and current events.” The chief justice definitely fits that profile.

Being a community-edited “encyclopedia,” the Web site attracts people with a variety of intentions. Many “editors” dedicate time and effort to write factual articles with citations while others use the site for promotion, pranks, smear campaigns and other personal motivations. Some of the most hilarious examples of vandalized Wikipedia articles are compiled by The Huffington Post in a story titled “The Funniest Acts Of Wikipedia Vandalism Ever.”

It only goes to show that Wikipedia isn’t exactly the most reliable source of straight facts. Sure, vigilant citizens may always be on the lookout for incorrect and baseless statements, but they can’t prevent them from happening, or at the very least, catch all suspicious edits before any kind of damage is done (meaning, before anyone gets to read them).

So if you happen to be that kid writing a school report, it’s best to verify from other sources if Corona is indeed rumored to be in an intimate relationship with Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez, as suggested in the defaced entry. Better yet, don’t use Wikipedia as a research material.

Who’s on the cover?

2012-01-09T10:27:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 9, 2012

We’re barely days into the New Year and we already have something delicious to talk about. It’s one of those things that are so laughably incredible, it’ll definitely make many a year-end review in December. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, so here’s The Gist:

When two of the country’s most prominent fashion magazines unveiled their January covers online, we let out a cumulative gasp of disbelief.

We recognize one of them and pretty much decided that the person who edited the photo had a grand ol’ time with the digital airbrush. Still, she was recognizable. In the pic, her arms were too skinny, her nose was different and her eyes were Korean. Still, we knew it was her.

The other cover is a different story. Is it Kristine Hermosa? Glydel Mercado? A new fashion model? Who is that girl? She’s super slim, she’s got perfect boobs, her hair is to die for and that face—oh my, that face. We had to squint our eyes to read the name beside the image to identify who she was. And boy, were we in for the biggest shock!

She’s a very public figure and we witnessed how she “transformed” through the years. But were we prepared for this? Hell no! Sure, she might have been uber-Belofied but how she looked on the cover is just beyond reality. She’s basically a cartoon.

Then, they showed us the behind-the-scenes video. In it, it was revealed that she does look like that, but not that thin, young and bone structurally blessed. The photo-editing took it to a whole new level of artificial-ness with poutier lips, more dramatic eyes, longer neck and—OMG—she has cheekbones!

However, reps from both publication are insisting that they did not alter the pictures but merely cleaned it up. Say what?! They can say it’s the makeup, the lighting and all those traditional enhancements, but we know better. And it’s time that they stop underestimating and insulting the intelligence of the Filipino public. We’re the people who buy your magazines, you know? Show some respect.

Fearless fashion forecast for 2012

2012-01-02T10:24:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | January 2, 2012

Amber may be the color of your energy, but color trend experts proclaim tangerine tango as the color of 2012.This shade of orange (Pantone 17-1463) will take over the duties of last year's honeysuckle pink as the most fashionable hue.

Hawaiian florals and prints, a ’50s-recalling style, are said to be making a splash this year, but in a restrained manner and not on beach shirts. They are expected to make an appearance as T-shirt designs. Modernized versions of the print have been seen walking the runways for Spring/Summer 2012 in the form of daring head-to-toe looks.

More throwback prints, particularly from the ’60s, are highly anticipated for their vintage appeal, which has been de rigueur for quite some time now. Our love affair with decades past continues this season with a renewed appreciation for the aesthetics of fashion icons such as Jackie O. We will also still be inspired by the hippie movement and the boho look, but in updated and streamlined elements. Frilly tops and quirky minis in wild prints (but muted colors) will be big all summer.

Sportswear takes a glamorized turn with the advent of “formal” sweatsuits. The traditionally slouchy look is updated—luxe fabrics, cropped sweatpants, metallic shades—to be suitable for uses other than a morning jog.

Come fall, we’ll be revisiting color-blocking and will opt for severe lines. Instead of fluid transitions that follow or conceal curves, the figure will be enhanced using boxy cuts and rigid shapes. However, silhouettes will be slim and proportions will be more natural. “Retro future,” as fashion forecasters call it, will see extreme tailoring from the ’50s, raised shoulder lines from the ’40s and demure evening flapper styles from the ’20s to create an homage-filled 2012 look.

The past infused into the present and future has been a favorite trend in 2011, but it's only this year that we'll see it in full effect because almost all new designs are and will be based on archival inspiration.

In terms of price points, affordable glam will reign due to economic conditions and the fashion industry's desire to be more accessible to the general public. High streets and fast-fashion stores will be recreating iconic designer looks for less and these very designers will be collaborating more with mass-market retailers, a continuation of 2011’s diffusion trend.

Pointed stilettos are a staple this year, allowing consumers to “recycle” their old pumps instead of having to buy new seasonal and trendy footwear. To accentuate and breathe new life into old clothes, belts of all sizes, shapes and colors will be a wardrobe must-have. The ’50s revival will also see a lot of peplum skirts, tunics and ballooning silhouettes—and belts will help create that desired hourglass shape.

Aside from the aforementioned tangerine, also look to similarly feminine shades to complete your 2012 look. Pale rose, peach and other shades in between orange and pink are uber-chic all year round.

The general feel for this year’s fashion is comfortable, but dressy, and classic, but updated. The keyword is romantic. Edgy styles are last year’s obsession. You’re in vogue and so 2012 if you’re in an ensemble that’s reminiscent of any era from the ’20s to the ‘60s.

365 days of pop

2011-12-31T16:19:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 31, 2011

It was a recipe for the perfect disaster and it was as if the universe schemed to punish us for being on the Internet too much and clicking “Play” on every viral video. The fifth weekday will never be the same again.

Rebecca Black’s “Friday” will be immortalized as one of the “worst songs ever” and its music video as an “epic fail.” We hated it so much, we begged all our friends to watch it so they can share our pain. The result? Black is Google Zeitgeist’s fastest-rising search topic of the year. The video has over 166 million views on YouTube, becoming the site’s 22nd most watched video of all time. The song charted on the Billboard 100 at number 58, on the Australian ARIA Digital Track Chart at number 40 and as high as number 6 on the UK indie chart.

If there’s one item to define pop culture in 2011, it’s got to be “Friday.” Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy best explains it when the TV series covered the song, “The show pays tribute to pop culture and, love it or hate it, that song is pop culture.”

Forbes magazine used “Friday” as an example to demonstrate the power of social media to give rise to overnight sensations. Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr are responsible for the notoriety of the viral hit.

But Black isn’t the only public figure that pop culture fans and casual followers were obsessed with this year. Remember the trending hashtag #ThingsLongerThanKimsWedding? Twitter was abuzz when the most famous Kardashian announced her divorce from Kris Humphries. The marriage lasted 72 days. Of course, we can list a million and one things longer than that. To think some had lofty ideas, saying that the televised nuptials were America’s version of the British royal wedding. What a way to set the bar really low.

Unlike Pippa Middleton, who was bestowed the title, “Her Royal Hotness,” by the press after going to her sister’s wedding in a limelight-stealing white dress accentuating her curves and her prominent derriere. One of Britain’s most eligible bachelorettes, she is the new object of the media’s attention, eclipsing Kate’s popularity and paparazzi appeal. Her backside joins Kim’s in terms of popularity.

That’s not to say that the Duchess of Cambridge is uninteresting. She’s been on the radar ever since she was linked to Prince William and was further catapulted to fame when the couple’s engagement was announced in 2010. Being the latest addition to the royal family, her every action has been scrutinized, her every ensemble, compared to other princesses and, more importantly, to the late Diana, Will’s mother.

Some are calling her a new fashion icon, but others are skeptical, calling out her “boring” sense of personal style, that she’s a “copycat” and her use of sheer leggings is a “faux pas.” You can’t please everyone, and as a future queen, she has to expect more criticism to come.

Especially now that opinions are not limited to conversations over coffee. Today, everyone publishes their comments on blogs, on forums, on social networking sites and everywhere there’s a place to write a comment. And we weigh in on everything, including social media itself.

Consider the debate when Google+ made its debut. Tech writers began asking if it was to be come the “Facebook killer.” At that time, news were coming out that the largest social networking site was losing users and that people were experiencing “Facebook fatigue.” Google+ seemed like the new viable option. MySpace, Google’s fastest-falling search topic of the year, officially died this year and analysts were predicting that Facebook will follow that road. But you can’t deny 800 million users. Love it or hate it, Facebook is here to stay. (At least for another year.)

Pop culture’s fickleness is made more severe with the increasing influence of Internet culture—an all-encompassing term to categorize memes, Facebook pages and likes, Twitter trending topics and blog posts. One day, we’re all laughing at Princess Beatrice’s royal wedding “Star Wars weapon” (also known as Philip Treacy hat) and the next day, we’re teaching one another how to dougie. But there’s one thing that’s consistent in the world of all things popular—and it has been for an entire decade.

The final chapter of the Harry Potter series elevated the standard of film franchises and their conclusions. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is among the best reviewed films of 2011 and set opening day and opening weekend records worldwide, shattering at least a dozen other theatrical records along the way. It’s the highest grossing film of the year, the highest grossing film of the franchise and only the ninth film to break the $1 billion mark.

And that could very well be the best thing about pop culture in 2011.

Year of idiots (2011’s dumbest newsmakers)

2011-12-31T16:05:00.004+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 31, 2011

Barely days before Christmas, a state of national calamity was declared in the wake of tropical storm Sendong, dampening the holidays of many Filipinos. The tragedy washed away countless fortunes, homes, infrastructures and a considerable number of lives.

But what the Philippines has always demonstrated in times of disaster is ‘bayanihan’. Like what we did after the Ondoy onslaught, we coordinated and mobilized (utilizing a variety of channels, particularly social media), we gave (showing that Christmas is indeed the season of giving) and we stay tuned (keeping ourselves updated on the latest developments).

If there’s another noteworthy thing about us, Filipinos—aside from our inherent spirit of bayanihan—it’s that we prefer to be kept in the loop. We are busybodies, we enjoy gossip and controversies, and we participate in the discussion. We meddle, we weigh in and we pass judgment, either informed ones or otherwise.

We talk about news items of grave importance, like the debate on the Reproductive Health bill, as well as buzzy, but also quite inconsequential, tidbits like the Christopher Lao incident. Yes, amid the political dramas, the Pacquiao win, the beauty pageants, the mall shootings, the natural disasters and the economy watch, Filipinos showed interest in plenty of randomness. For better or for worse, we give you a review of the year’s dumbest stories that made headlines.

Christopher Lao. Due to a tastelessly edited segment on a top-rating news program on TV, the poor guy not only got his car flooded in, but also triggered an online downpour of insults. After insisting that he should’ve been informed of the extent of the flood (clearly a lapse in judgment), Pinoy netizens felt it was their duty to inform him of their outrage and contempt, thus, posting punchlines all over Facebook and Twitter.

James Soriano. Again, opinionated birdbrains reacted without reading between the lines (maybe because they don’t know how to). “Bato-bato sa langit...” seems appropriate here. The sad part about Soriano’s essay is that it’s true; and the truth hurts; and that’s why we’re all in denial. All those negative responses only proved the guy’s point.

Billboard superbods. This year, the conservatives win when it was ordered that all billboards in Metro Manila that are deemed too sexy be taken down, never to be erected again. The first victims: the men-in-Bench-briefs of the Philippine Volcanoes. Why? Because they look good and the guy who rallied for the ban is insecure about his own body. And he gave stooopid reasons such as the images being inappropriate to be seen by children, that they were road accident hazards, blah blah blah.

Supersmokes. Another win for the high and mighty. When two magazines came out with covers depicting two high-profile actresses—one being the Superstar, Nora Aunor, who was celebrating her grand homecoming to the Philippines, and the other being the year’s box-office queen, Anne Curtis, showbiz’s resident wild child—anti-smoking advocates called foul. Smoking is bad, we get it. But those are magazines, not elementary school textbooks. When you demand people to issue public apologies, it means they did something wrong. Showing cigarettes on magazine covers doesn’t really fall under the “wrong” category. If it is, then it should be banned under the law. But it isn’t. So live with it.

Mideo Cruz. Oh yes, aside from censoring billboards and a silly proposal to “censor” planking, we live in a society where the powers that be also want to censor art that sends messages contrary to their beliefs. Sure, Cruz’s so-called “blasphemous” art isn’t what we’re used to. It provokes us, takes us over the edge and evokes a lot of negative emotions. But to censor it and prohibit it from being displayed at the country’s art and culture center? A bit much, don’t you think? If we really are that conservative as a society, it’s funny that no one wants to censor variety shows that sexualize young children and gratify poverty. Talk about double standards.

‘Batangas’ sign on Taal. Seriously, Gov. Vilma Santos? This is your way to boost tourism in Batangas? At least the suggestion wasn’t “Batangas, kay ganda,” which would’ve been worse. Still, labeling a volcano with a Hollywood-like sign is quite stupid, not to mention extremely ugly, according to many Filipinos. Proof? All those images circulating on the Web showing different national landmarks with labels edited in. “Albay” on Mayon Volcano is hilarious!

Anti-planking bill. Let’s just let that sit for a minute. Done laughing? Okay, let’s move on.

Battle of the brands. Without dropping names, you know which apparel brands this is about. First, this brand brings in an American TV star to be on their billboards. That bombed big time so they had to bring in an Asian movie idol. Then, this other brand gets another Stateside TV hunk to wear their underwear. It’s all over the entertainment pages and blogs, but to what end? Instead of dropping big money on publicity overdrive, why not just hire better designers and spend on improving the quality of the clothes?

Big bad blogger. While many people are angry at a certain blogger for being the suspected culprit in this blind item that exploded all over the blogosphere after being printed on a Sunday supplement, the worse criminal in the saga—the big bad publicist—is simply laughing their way to the bank. Everyone is so obsessed with the small nuances of the issue and seems to be forgetting the bigger issue, that is, is “blogger” now synonymous to “journalist?” A US judge says no, but we’re not in the US, are we? So maybe the answer is yes and since almost everyone has a blog nowadays, we’re all bloggers and, therefore, we’re all journalists. Yay!

Noynoy’s iPhone 4S. Umm, next.

Mr. Vicki Belo. Of course, we’re just making fun here. But wouldn’t it be appropriate for Hayden Kho to take Vicki Belo’s last name when they get married? We all know who’s the real man in the relationship anyway. When they got engaged in December 2010 and announced it a few months ago, it’s really not a question of who proposed to whom and who purchased the engagement ring. The question is why we’re even interested.

Twistergate. This is the holiday gift that keeps on giving. First, it was a mere video confessional, albeit with huge and controversial revelations and Reproductive Health bill undertones. Then, it was a make-out video. What’s next? A full-on Hayden Kho? She’s such a beautiful girl, making everyone forget about the moral issue of abortion and what the scandal will do to her acting career. The only thing people are thinking is, “Couldn’t she have picked an attractive guy?”

KC Concepcion. Really, you were surprised? Really, you believed that it was a real breakup and that it was a real relationship? Aw, you’re too cute! (Tip for the disillusioned and delusional: listen to “Don’t Fall in Love with a Homo” by Jonny McGovern.)

Cosmo Bachelor Bash. The increasingly tame and sanitized annual event for women (Swear to Cher, it’s for women!) to showcase the city’s most eligible bachelors—supposedly—has become nothing more than a parade of hipons (shrimps). It’s like an amateur pageant with the same wanna-be male models walking the ramp and teasing the crowd of women and gay men. Mostly gay men. (In Filipino, calling one a shrimp means they have a great physique but an ugly face because what do you do with a shrimp? You eat its body and throw its head away.)

Georgina Wilson. Why her so-called “guesting” on America’s Next Top Model became so talked about, we will never know. Wilson, who is a local model (in case you don’t know who she is), appeared on the show for barely three seconds as a stylist, contrary to many reports quoting her tweet that she “joined as a guest model/stylist.” Quite disappointing, actually.

Puey Quiñones. Once recognized as one of the most promising young fashion designers of his generation, Quiñones is now a thing of the past. His deliberate attempt to fool a client didn’t exactly go as planned. The genius plan was to change the label of a cheap ready-to-wear suit to pass for his own creation and sell it for 10 times the department store price. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for all of mankind, he was busted and relabeled from “promising” to “cheater,” “thief,” “liar,” “embezzler” and “fraudster.” That’s hard, if not impossible, to recover from. Serves him effing right!

Midas Marquez. And because the New Year needs to be cheerful and gay (that means “happy”), let’s end this article with the gayest (“happiest”) thing we’ve seen on TV this year. But if you want an even gayer (“happier”) viewing experience, you should check out the version of the video with another famous clip edited in as an inset. It can be found on YouTube using the keywords “Becky Midas.” Now, take it away, Jonny!

New kind of shopper

2011-12-30T15:21:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 30, 2011

There are many kinds of shoppers in the traditional and broad sense—the ones with brand loyalty, those who wait for sales and discounts, impulsive ones, those who purchase based on need and window-shoppers, couponers, hoarders, stockpilers, the list goes on. Of course, a person can be any one of the above or a hybrid of two or more kinds. But because of the not-so-healthy state of the economy of recent years and the rise of new shopping trends, there is a new kind of shopper in our midst.

Introducing the social discounter, which is technically part of the discount customer category, but more hardcore. The main driver of the discount hoarder is online group buying. This kind of shopper is a member of almost all social shopping Web sites and receives daily email updates of the newest products and services that come with markdowns.

The social discounter is a lethal combination of the discount, impulsive and window-shopping customer and makes purchase decisions based on want, rather than need and justifies the purchase by focusing on how much they’re potentially saving, which is a sign that they do want to get the best value for money. They may get a diamond peel even if they don’t need it or may buy a buffet for 10 without considering if they can actually use the voucher—just because of the 60 percent off.

They’re not necessarily shopaholics because they almost exclusively only indulge in social shopping and group buying. But they’re easily influenced and enticed by unbelievably huge discounts. And they’re your resident expert on anything and everything about the subject. The level of being a social discounter varies by individual—some can be casual participants of the activity and others can be obsessive to the point of maxed out credit cards solely for online purchases.

There’s definitely nothing wrong with being a social discounter. But it can be habit-forming and maybe even addictive. So exercise moderation.

The color of overeating

2011-12-29T11:51:00.000+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 29, 2011

In 2006, Dr. Brian Wansink of Cornell University and Dr. Koert van Ittersum of Georgia Institute of Technology studied the effects of the Delboeuf Illusion, an optical illusion of relative size perception, on food serving. Their study concluded that people tend to serve more when using bigger plates and tend to serve less when using smaller plates.

(A brief explanation of the Delboeuf Illusion: This applies when looking at a circle within a circle. The perceived size of the inner circle is dependent on the actual size of the outer circle. As the outer circle gets bigger, the inner circle appears to get smaller.)

This month, they released the continuation of that study, this time, investigating the effects of plate color. Still based on the said illusion, the research found a link between plate color and eating behavior, specifically, how much a person serves him or herself. The experiment used pasta buffets with red and white sauces and red and white plates. Hidden weighing scales showed that those whose food and plate had low color contrast (that is, white sauce on white plate and red sauce on red plate) served themselves 22 percent more, equivalent to 32 grams, than those who had a high food-plate color contrast.

The perception when your food and plate are the same color is that there’s less food because it seemingly blends into the background. When color contrast is high, the food is very much visible and its portion size, unmasked.

However, background color (table, tablecloth and placemat) can minimize the illusion’s effect because it draws attention away from the plate. The study reports that low plate-background color contrast reduces serving sizes by as much as 10 percent.

In addition to the effects of plate size, these findings can help us address our dietary requirements. So if your New Year’s resolution is to eat less, start by changing your dinnerware to small plates in high-sat shades to ensure maximum color contrasts. And get matching tablecloths.

A 10-step guide to party-planning

2011-12-29T11:45:00.002+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 29, 2011

Parties and gatherings are a part of everyone’s lives. All this month, you’ve probably been attending parties left and right. It is, after all, the season of get-togethers. As New Year’s Eve is two days away, most of us have already planned where we will be to usher 2012 in. For some, it's a simple dinner and firecrackers at home. For others, it's a big dance party at a hip club in the city. Still others have invited family and friends over to celebrate the turn of the year together.

If you're one of those attending any of these parties and have always been a party guest your whole life, do you ever wonder how the events are organized? We all have a favorite party that we've attended and the ones that sucked are memorable to us as well. And the key for a party to be remembered for the former is planning, planning and more planning.

1. The first thing to consider is the event's purpose. What is it for? Is it a New Year's Eve party for adults? Or are kids invited as well? Is it a birthday party for a friend or the golden wedding anniversary of your grandparents? Determining exactly what the party is about will dictate the other elements to make it a success.

2. Then, there's the date and time. Of course, weekends are your best bet because people have to go to work or school on weekdays. If you plan to get everyone drunk, it's recommended to do it after dinner—not after lunch. Do you want to feed everyone over a sit-down dinner, or do you want it to be drinks? If it's a birthday or anniversary, the date of the party should be close to the actual date of the birthday or anniversary, if not on the day itself. Holiday parties, on the other hand, are movable because people on your guest list could have other plans on the date of your choice. If it's just a random party that you're throwing just because, then any time and date will do.

3. The theme of the party is dependent on many factors. One of which is the season. It wouldn't be wise to have a bikini party at the rooftop pool of your condominium building in December or January because everyone will be freezing to death. It also wouldn't be fun to attend an Old Hollywood red carpet-themed party during the peak of summer if it will be held outdoors. Being in a tropical country, let's be sensible and come up with themes that are climate-appropriate.

Again, age matters. If you allow friends to bring their kids, make sure that the theme of the party is suitable for children. So no, Playboy Mansion is not on the list. Also decide how formal you want the event to be. Will it be black-tie formal? Or semi-formal cocktails? How about informal barbecue?

4. Consider the venue, its accessibility and how many guests it can accommodate. And the comfort rooms. You don't want people to start leaving because there's a long line at the toilets or because they're beginning to smell like stagnant pee. On your checklist: a whole lot of tissue paper, liquid soap and hand sanitizer.

If the place is out of town, will you be arranging transportation for your guests? If the party is at night, will it be safe for your guests and yourself to be in that neighborhood? How's the parking? Take note of all these things and be ready with a sketch of the vicinity map for those who aren't familiar with the locale. If it's a place that very little people know about, include the map in your invitation. If it's Greenbelt, then presumably everybody can find their way there.

5. Don't forget the guest list. Is the party just for your inner circle of friends? For family and relatives? Or for everyone you know? Make sure that your guests will be able to fit inside your venue. And think about your budget. Can you afford to host an event for 100 people? Or do you only have enough for half that number?

6. If the event date is more than half a year away, send out a “Save the Date” over email, just like how it's done on weddings. If the date is within a month or two, you can just send out the physical invitations, if available. Etiquette dictates that invitations are necessary for formal events but optional for informal ones. Indicate the dress code and theme, if applicable. Strictly implement the rules on RSVP so that you can have a definite headcount for logistical purposes.

7. Now, comes the food. Who's cooking? You, a family member, your maid or a caterer? Will there be waiters? Are you using your regular tableware, your fine china, disposable paper plates, rented plates or the ones provided by the caterer? Decide on this with your budget in mind. (Using breakable plates and expensive wine glasses isn't the brightest idea if it's a drinking party.)

You should also be sensitive about your guests' dietary requirements. If grandma, who has high cholesterol, is coming, it would be appreciated if you have a low-fat menu for her. Children should be fed with things they will like and enjoy, not uptight foie gras. Further, be sure that the beverages complement the food. Have options because people can be quite demanding when it comes to their drinks.

And the one tip that can save your life? There should be more than enough food and drinks. The rule of thumb is to have an additional 15 to 20 percent allowance. Translation: prepare food for 115 to 120 people if you have 100 on your guest list. Just to be on the safe side and no one goes home hungry.

8. Let's go back to the venue. Do you plan to dress it up? Remember your theme because how the place looks should reflect that. If money is not an issue, then feel free to hire a production designer to design and build a wonderland for you. For limited resources, stick to minimal jazzing up to add to the mood and ambiance of the place. Also in the category of venue enhancement is seating. If you want people to move around and mingle, there should only be enough chairs for less than half of your guests. You'd also want to arrange them strategically so that there's plenty of room and opportunities for interaction.

9. How about entertainment? Are you hiring a string quintet, a clown, a magician or a stripper? Or all of the above? Go back to your theme to see which ones will fit. Or maybe it's a simple slumber party. In that case, DVDs will do. Or is it a beauty slumber party where mudpacks and makeup are needed? New Year's Eve parties at home would almost definitely require party hats and paper trumpets. So have those in tow.

10. Lastly, you might want to give out party favors as a thank-you token to your guests and as a material object that can be associated with the wonderful memory of your super-fun, super-successful party.

The next day, sit back and expect the events of the previous day to be the most-talked about topic among your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Red velvet love!

2011-12-28T11:42:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 28, 2011

Trends in food and dining vary depending on location. Here in the metro, the trendiest food item this year is the red velvet cupcake. And it’s more popular than its bigger sibling—the cake version—because it can satisfy cravings without being too much, thanks to its restrained pint-size serving.

The cupcake, known for its rich red color, isn’t a new recipe but plenty of metronians are falling in love with it like it’s the hottest new thing, similar to the French macaroon craze a while back. And because of its festive color, it’s a popular holiday gift. But as a matter of fact, there are still a lot people who don’t know what a red velvet cupcake is made of.

Tracing its roots to southern USA, red velvet cupcake is actually chocolate-flavored but the choco taste usually isn’t that powerful because it’s mixed with buttermilk, which makes it sour. Buttermilk also adds to the tartness of the cake and brings out the red anthocyacin in unprocessed cocoa. (Processed cocoa produces a less pronounced red tint, and that’s why food coloring is often used.)

The sourness is then balanced out with a generous frosting of sweet cream cheese. The cupcake can come in bright red, dark red or reddish brown variations, corresponding to the ingredients used in each recipe. But many would agree that the best red velvet should have a soft, moist, almost velvety texture and a zesty taste, revealing a less than overpowering amount of acidity.

Red velvet cupcakes can keep well in the refrigerator for three days. But don’t freeze them because that will make the cakes dry and their frosting, hard.

Available at many quaint bakeshops all around the city, red velvet cupcakes are a hit at food bazaars and online stores. If you walk along the bake sale at Greenbelt 1’s restaurant row, you’ll find at least one stall with them on display and more at Eastwood, the Podium and elsewhere. And did you know that there’s a Red Velvet Ice-blended drink at the Coffee Bean?

Holiday memories are made of these

2011-12-27T20:22:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 27, 2011

Remember the outdated style rule that you should never wear gold and silver together? For a few years now, that supposed faux pas is the hottest thing in fashion. Ladies (and even gents) are given the liberty to mix and match their metallics. This is a statement of contemporary style, and also a reflection of today’s personality-driven aesthetics and free-spirited lifestyle and outlook.

Like the proverbial Pandora’s box, you never know what kind of silver-and-gold combination you’ll end up with when you enter a Pandora store. The jewelry shop, famous for its charmbracelets, has all these different charms for customers to choose from that range from the classic to the trendy. No two charmbracelets are the same because you get to pick your own charms to express your individuality and personal taste.

“We want women to express themselves,” quips Pandora designer Lisbeth Eno Larsen. “With Pandora jewelry, anything goes. You can create any combination or look that you want.” Their bracelets, made with either 14K yellow gold or sterling silver, can be accessorized with over 700 interchangeable charms—also either in gold or silver and adorned with precious stones, pearls, enamels and glass—for a personalized appearance.

You may create a charmbracelet on the spot, but what makes this kind of jewelry item so special is its ability to tell a story and serve as a biography of sorts. This can be achieved by starting with a bare bracelet and slowly filling it with charms that mean something significant to the wearer. With every life event or milestone, you fasten a new charm as a form of remembrance. For example, when your boyfriend proposes to you, you can add a heart-shaped charm.

“Pandora jewelry has both an emotional and modern quality, which is interesting and appealing to many women,” explains Lone Frandsen, another designer for the brand. “We play from elements of nature and new trends in fashion, color, pattern and interior design. But we still maintain our well-known feminine style.”

The result of this continuous innovation is a range of 1,500 unique pieces, including earrings and necklaces, available from their catalog, with 200 new designs debuting every year. Pandora’s distributor in the Philippines, the Lucerne Group, emphasizes this with Christmas-, New Year- and Lunar New Year-themed charmbracelets and charms for the holiday season. Options include charms shaped like baubles and Christmas ornaments, and those with Chinese characters.

“Christmas is a time when we remember and celebrate special moments together with our loved ones. There are many unforgettable moments during this season, and there’s no better way to capture these than through Pandora bracelets,” Lucerne managing director Emerson Yao says.

He adds, “These, being on your wrist everyday, will remind you of those unforgettable moments you had in your life.”

Pandora is available at Lucerne stores (Greenbelt 5, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Newport Mall) and Wrist Pod (Bonifacio High Street). A new Pandora concept store will open in March 2012 at the Super Block in Bonifacio High Street.

How do you feel about your Timeline?

2011-12-27T20:20:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 27, 2011

Facebook's new profile pages—something they call Timeline—is now live. It's different, to say the least, and we're wondering how this overhaul will shake up the social networking scene. Facebook is still the number one social networking site in the world with 800 million users (a virtual monopoly) and the update seems to have a lot to do with maintaining that lead.

The new Timeline is more like a blog than a profile, which could change how people view and engage in social networks. You have the option to upload your own header image (called the cover) to reflect your personality or if you simply want people to see a bigger picture of yourself. Also, each update or post looks like an individual blog entry. This major change is possibly the site's most daring yet. We're now forced to get out of our comfort zone and familiarize ourselves with a look so drastically unfamiliar, we may find ourselves getting lost on our own walls—sorry—Timelines!

As expected, critical and consumer response is varied. Whenever Facebook would change, add or remove something, people would take sides, either lauding the development or bashing it. This is no different. Remember how many of us were so irritated when the ticker first came out? (Guilty!) It's still irritating but we've learned to accept that it's now an inescapable part of our Facebook homepage and we can simply choose to keep it within our peripheral vision. But there's no ignoring Timeline, especially if you're one of those who find it to be hideous or prefer something more simplistic.

Still, looking beyond aesthetics, it does have its merits. Under the hood is where the true strength of Timeline lies. If you click on “Activity Log” located just underneath the cover image, you'll be taken to a page that looks like a “lite” version of Timeline, which only you can see. There, you can manually choose the stories to either publish on or hide from your page and adjust individual visibility settings. Activities are archived by month and year for ease of access. This means that you can go through all your posts from the day you joined Facebook and clean up your Timeline in an organized way. Yes, no more scrolling down endlessly.

Looking at the activity log, though, is it just me or does it look a hundred times better than the actual Timeline?

MMFF fatigue

2011-12-24T11:56:00.003+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 24, 2011

Let me start this article by saying that I’ve watched more Filipino films this year than I have in the previous five years put together. This was a good year for the local movie industry. It definitely wasn’t a teenybopper year, which, in my opinion, is a welcome change (read: No Other Woman). (Sidebar: I’m still waiting on a wide release for Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay, though.)

Now we arrive to the segment where the film biz and I disagree, the Metro Manila Film Festival, which begins its run tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited to see at least one of the entries—the one starring Maricel Soriano because I miss seeing her show all those pretend-actors-and-actresses how to act. But again, I digress.

It’s no secret that box office sales of domestic films are on a steady decline. That’s why all these actors promote their respective films with scripted sales pitches on TV, earnestly looking into the camera and encouraging the viewers at home (you!) to watch all the festival entries because, apparently, we all need to “tangkilikin at suportahan ang pelikulang Pilipino (patronize and support Filipino films),” like it’s our duty as viewers to keep the cinema business afloat.

But think about it. Many Filipinos watch more foreign—particularly Hollywood—films not because they cater to our colonial mentality. We do so because of the films’ production value, a factor that clearly the local movie industry doesn’t care about. It’s the mind-blowing plot and twists (think Inception), the impressive visual effects (think Avatar), the ingenious narrative (think Limitless), the likable characters (think Harry Potter), the breathtaking locations (think The Lord of the Rings), the superb soundtrack (think 500 Days of Summer), among other considerations, that entice us to watch foreign productions.

What do local studios give us? One story that’s retold 100 different ways, no twists and the same predictable ending. Once in a blue moon, we’ll stumble upon a gem like Ang Babae sa Septic Tank and we’ll send it to the Oscars for consideration. It’ll give us hope that there could be pleasant surprises to come, that it’s the beginning of polished scripts and high production values, that maybe there can be a golden age in Philippine cinema again.

Then, the holiday season comes and with it are the lazy templates. It’s the same thing over and over again—formulaic franchises, a token action film and a haunted object (this time, it’s a bag). It’s the same actors playing the same roles in their vapid star vehicles hoping to strike box office gold and a trophy for a job done (not well done, just done). That’s MMFF for you year after year after year.

It’s a hyped up annual event that seems to do nothing but serve as a major payday for the top-billing stars. It’s their way of cashing in on OUR Christmas bonuses, you know, as OUR Christmas gift to THEM because “we have to support the film industry.” There’s nothing wrong with that at all if, in return, they give us high quality films and performances. But they don’t.

If only people in the film-making business can get together, brainstorm, get out of their comfort zones and take risks to elevate the quality and standards of their work, then there could be Filipino films that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful—not the current trend of achieving only one or the other. If they really worked on it and are not be so focused on short-term financial gain, the MMFF could be a real film festival with movies that we can truly be proud of and brag about. And they should start with retiring the Shake, Rattle & Roll franchise.

Last-minute Christmas gifts

2011-12-23T10:01:00.000+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 23, 2011

If you’re not done with your Christmas shopping and are afraid to hit the malls this evening and tomorrow because of the crowd, or if you still don’t know what to get your loved ones, we got your back. So stop panicking.

By this time, you’re not left with a lot of choices even if you brave the stores, push and shove with everyone else and endure standing in line for a long time because everything is flying off the shelves. What’s the next best thing? Gift certificates—Starbucks, the Coffee Bean, Rustan’s, Ayala—anything that you know the recipient will enjoy. It doesn’t take more than a minute to finish the transaction (but you’ll still be queuing at the check-out counter).

Better yet, visit online stores (where many GCs are also available). Though, if you’re buying a physical item, it could still take awhile for it to be delivered. Instead, go for digital content.

Digital books, songs, movies and the like can be purchased and downloaded in an instant. Surely, at least three of your family members would love to be able to watch their favorite flicks on their mobile devices, add a few tunes to their music library or get an electronic copy of their most-loved books. For a personalized gift, curate a special playlist for that special someone.

For the kid (or the kid at heart) who loves games, there’s an app (or a dozen) for that. Gift your smartphone- or tablet-toting friend or relative with the gift of endless fun, courtesy of addicting paid gaming apps from the Apple App Store, the BlackBerry App World or the Android Market.

Meanwhile, check out deal Web sites for gift coupons. The usual suspects—MetroDeal, Ensogo and Groupon—have plenty of holiday offerings that can be claimed within and beyond the Christmas season. (And you’ll be saving a lot of money, too!)

Another thing you can do is to think big and book plane tickets via airline Web sites. For a complete “experience gift,” book hotels and plan activities as well. Of course, most destinations are already booked for the season, so plan the vacation for summer or any other time next year. This will definitely cost quite a fortune, but it’s way better than most material gifts.

So good luck, happy shopping and have a merry Christmas!

Sold out! (The season’s most popular gift items)

2011-12-23T09:59:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 23, 2011

What gift would you like to receive for Christmas? According to a whopping 51 percent of people surveyed by SmartGiftShopper.com, it would be an electronic device.

Tablets prove to be the most coveted gadget, with 22 percent of people who want electronics wishing to find one under their Christmas tree. It’s among the most popular Christmas gifts that companies give to their employees. The Apple iPad 2 and its myriad of accessories, including covers, docks and cases are selling out at a variety of retailers.

Same goes for phones, which are such a huge hit this time of year. A new phone, after all, makes for a wonderful Christmas present. This is evident when you walk around the mall because you’ll see every phone store filled with shoppers. The fastest rising star from Apple is the iPhone 4S. Having been launched at the same time in the Philippines by Smart and Globe, the smartphone received extensive media coverage. The last few days saw long lines at both carrier’s stores, with people eager to be among the first few to own one.

But other brands are not being left behind. The Samsung Galaxy Note, a phone and a tablet in one, has been getting a lot of attention lately because of its hybrid nature just as a lot of Galaxy models are hot picks across budgets and preferences. HTC Android phones are slowly gaining a following while new-generation BlackBerry models continue to be among the top mobile device choices.

Kids are dying to have tablets of their own as well. But parents are opting to give their children a more appropriate kind of tablet, thus, the popularity of the LeapFrog LeapPad, which has games, puzzles and apps that are fun and educational at the same time. App-inspired merchandise are flying off the shelves this season too. Toy and novelty stores are brimming with Angry Birds and Cut the Rope stuffed toys, mugs, pencil cases and even flip-flops.

High-tech gaming is a top activity among the youth and even twentysomethings and beyond. The “it” gaming device of the moment is the Xbox 360 + Kinect, the latest incarnation of the Microsoft console. The Kinect add-on allows for full-body gaming without the need of controllers and remotes, making computer-gaming a true physical activity, thus, gaining many parents’ stamp of approval.

Still, old-time favorites remain strong contenders. Lego, the classic building-block toy, is among the most searched playthings on the Internet and Play-doh is a recurring topic on mommy blogs.

Also holding their own against technology are books (physical ones, not electronic). On Amazon.com’s list of most gifted books is “The Hunger Games” Trilogy Boxed Set by Suzanne Collins. As of this writing, Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” bio is the top-selling, most gifted and most wished for book.

Personality-driven products are known to be perennially successful, like celebrity perfumes. According to online searches, people are looking for scents developed for and endorsed by Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Aniston. Music lovers, on the other hand, have Beats by Dr. Dre headphones on their wish lists.

Re-gifting etiquette

2011-12-22T09:54:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 22, 2011

The age-old question this season is: to re-gift or not to re-gift? People are usually on opposite sides of the fence on this “moral” discussion, but considering that we live in tough economic times, the practice seems to be gaining more and more acceptance in society, albeit with some rules on etiquette to be followed.

Personally, I believe there's nothing wrong with re-gifting, provided that you're doing so after giving it some thought. After all, there's no point in keeping items that you don't any use for, simply for the same of keeping them because they were gifts. And it's also better to give them away than to throw them out, especially if the items are actually useful to other people.

If you got a sandwich maker as a gift and you already have one, why wouldn't you “pay it forward” to someone who doesn't have one? But bear in mind that a hand-me-down is not, and will never be, regifting. So don't give your old sandwich maker away and keep the new one. Shame on you! Now, the other rules:

1. Change the wrapper. The existing gift wrapper may look presentable and almost new, but you know it isn't. So the least you can do is spend a little time, effort and money on a genuinely new wrapper. This way, it wouldn't be too obvious that you're giving a regift.

2. Never re-gift items simply to dispose of them. Many gift items are universally categorized as junk. So if you get a few of these things this Christmas, don't pass on the burden to somebody else. No one would appreciate getting tacky red sweaters with a reindeer in the middle. Or a pink plastic picture frame.

3. A 180-opinion of the previous point is: one man's junk is another man's treasure. But you can't be too sure if your teenage nephew would like that sweater. The best thing you can do to your trove of unwanted Christmas gifts is to auction them off at eBay. Who knows? Someone might be on a hunt for something you find extremely horrendous.

4. One way to regift without the guilt is to make it known that you're re-gifting. If you win a shiny new smartphone or tablet at your company's Christmas party raffle, it's acceptable to give it to a loved one who badly wants it (and also if you were actually planning to get the same item for them). Tell the recipient upfront how you got the item and why you're giving it to them.

5. Last rule is to never re-gift back to the original gift-giver (who gave it to you last year!), even if you think it's funny. Because it's not.

Noche Buena, international style

2011-12-21T09:49:00.002+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 21, 2011

Every year, we see the same kinds of food on the noche buena table, like hamon and queso de bola. At the supermarket, it’s all the same as well. When you go to misa de gallo, still, it’s the same bibingka and puto bumbong. There’s nothing wrong with that as these are all mouthwatering and indulging in them is arguably the best part of the Christmas canon. But if you’re thinking of trying something different, you can always get inspiration from the cuisines and Christmas dinner traditions from other parts of the world.

Like stuffed roast turkey, served with cranberry sauce if you want to go American. You should also have apple cider, Christmas cookies, hot buttered rum, mashed potato and mixed nuts. And don’t forget the fruitcake.

But instead of regular fruitcake, why don’t you bake a Christstollen? It’s a marzipan core with bits of candied fruits, raisins, nuts and spiced with cardamom and cinnamon and sprinkled with icing sugar. It’s still fruitcake—so it’s familiar—but with a German twist.

Oh, you want a meal with rice? The signature dish of Puerto Rico, arroz con gandules, is a holiday staple in that region. You can add a bit of Latin American flavor to your fried rice by frying it in olive oil and mixing in pigeon peas, pork and other flavorful ingredients. No culture shock there.

Craving for something drastically different? Make the holidays a virtual gastronomic trip to Sweden by creating a Swedish Christmas smorgasbord (called a julbord) complete with kottbullar (meatballs), different kinds of sausages, revbensspjall (spare ribs), breads, cheeses and savory side dishes.

Meanwhile, in Venezuela, the Yuletide spirit is most felt when making hallaca (a mixture of different meats and ingredients wrapped in cornmeal dough and plantain leaves). It takes a long time to prepare, so it’s known to reunite families during the holidays because everyone participates in the lengthy process.

Cooking up something new is always a challenge. If you’re not up for it, you can always stick to the tried-and-tested local delicacies. Or, do it like the Japanese: order buckets of chicken from KFC. (Yes, that really is their Christmas tradition.)

This year on Yahoo!

2011-12-17T09:47:00.001+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 17, 2011

Shamcey Supsup is the most popular personality in the country, if the Yahoo! Philippines top search list is the basis. Supsup, who won the Yahoo! OMG! Major Impact award, leads the list of most searched people, topics and events in this year’s edition of the annual Year in Review.

The report summarizes the year in the world of entertainment, news and trends. Unlike the Google Zeitgeist, the Yahoo! list is a study of user behavior, using search keywords, visitor behavior and the spread of top news and pages from the Yahoo! network.

PAGASA makes the list at number two, showing people’s interest in being updated on the latest weather reports, especially during typhoons. The NBA also made headlines when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat to win the championship. FHM’s sexiest woman in the country, Sam Pinto, is at fourth place. The Azkals soccer team, responsible for resurrecting the nation’s interest in football, is at number five.

Noynoy Aquino’s ex-girlfriend—also OMG! Celebrity of the Year—is a person of interest this year and the first politically inclined individual to appear on the list. At number six, she got the people’s attention by being a co-host at a controversial variety show and getting engaged to a congressman.

People love controversies, obviously. Another proof of this is Andi Eigenmann at the seventh position. Her newsmaker status was caused by becoming pregnant at a young age, even before her showbiz career is in full swing. The baby-daddy allegedly broke up with her at some point during the pregnancy.

Another young showbiz personality on the list is AJ Perez, who passed away at age 17 because of a road accident. Meanwhile, someone not so young, Marian Rivera, is at the ninth spot. Apparently, her historical fiction drama, Amaya, is so successful that her TV fame has translated into Internet buzz.

Rounding up the list of 10 are earthquakes. Yes, tremors overshadowed many other world events because they happened almost within the same time span. The quake-and-tsunami combo in Japan that devastated a large part of the nation, the one in New Zealand and the Negros Occidental shaker caused fear and made many Internet searchers curious about how they happen.

Below the top 10...

Manny Pacquiao was the third most searched sportsperson globally after Danica Patrick and Tiger Woods and the second most searched in the Philippines following the Petron Blaze Boosters. Other noteworthy individuals in sports include Simon Atkins, James Yap and Phil Younghusband.

In news and public affairs, Gloria Arroyo, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Spratley Islands, the Reproductive Health bill, Heidi Mendoza and crimes proved to be the most interesting within the Yahoo! portals. But of special interest are Christopher Lao, James Soriano and Mideo Cruz, who either did or said controversial and unpopular things.

The world news searches on Yahoo! Philippines were dominated by the Japan tsunami, royal weddings in the UK and Bhutan and Osama Bin Ladin. These three topics were also in the Top 10 global searches.

Yahoo! has other specialized lists in the 2011 Year in Review. Check out the names included in the Movies & TV, Business and Music lists on yearinreview.yahoo.com.

Secret Santa gift suggestions

2011-12-16T09:44:00.002+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 16, 2011

It’s the middle of the festive month and many Secret Santa games have started. It’s mostly done in the office and the most popular version is to present your “baby” with a “something [insert description here]” worth a small amount, usually less than P100, multiple times leading up to the Christmas party. Then, at the party itself, you’re supposed to give a relatively expensive gift.

The first part is where your creativity is tested. You should be able to give a decent gift with such limitations on appearance and budget. Here are some suggestions:

You can definitely get “something round and soft” worth around P50 at supermarkets and bookstores. Usable items include cotton balls, shower loofahs, stress balls and sponges. If the gift is to be opened immediately, you can give edible and perishable goods like cotton candy, ball-shaped sweets and dinner rolls.

For “something long and hard,” go to Japan Home Store for a variety of P88 wonders. There are umbrellas, office supplies (pens, pencils, etc.), chopsticks and display items that fit the description. Back at the grocery, look for detergent bars, candles and, if you’re quite a prankster, vegetables like cucumbers and carrots. At the bookstore, there are rulers and pointers. Or how about a bundle of decorative bamboo sticks found at the home décor section of most department stores?

If you need “something that smells,” head to the personal care section of the supermarket. For sure, you’ll find soaps, shampoos and conditioners within budget. Baby colognes and hand sanitizers are good bets as well. If you’re lucky, you might also be able to stumble upon reed diffusers and oil burners under P100. Of course, you can also get liquid or powder detergents and fabric softeners, or curry powder, vinegar and fish sauce.

An easy one is “something that glitters.” You can easily spot glittery items cheaper than P100 at the scrapbooking section of bookstores, where there is—you guessed it—glitter. You can also get glitter-covered baubles or other Christmas decorations. Look through the aisles to find glittery glue, glittery paper and glittery stickers.

What kind of other “somethings...” can you think of? Tweet me at @EdBiado.

Extreme diets of 2011

2011-12-15T13:10:00.002+08:00

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | December 15, 2011

Apparently, it’s not enough that we eat a healthy balanced diet and exercise regularly to be lean, fit and healthy. If some so-called weight loss experts are to be believed, we have to resort to some sort of extreme diet program to achieve the ideal weight and percent body fat. This year, we’re introduced to a few dieting and weight loss techniques. Some of them are revolutionary; others, quite insane.

The Paleo diet, for example, is a food intake plan inspired by the Neanderthals. It’s a program that has existed for quite some time now but gained popularity this year because of mainstream media attention. The regimen recommends you eat lots of meat and vegetables but abstain from grains altogether. And like our primitive ancestors, don’t cook your food! It also advocates living like a caveman; meaning, dieters will also have to do plenty of heavy lifting and running, as if running away from predators and chasing after your prey.

Also extreme, but in a different way, are the many forms of the controversial cleanse diets, a trend in Hollywood when actors need to drastically slim down for their next movie role. Beyonce, who went through the Master Cleanse liquid diet for Dream Girls, shed 20 pounds in three weeks because of extremely low-calorie intake. This year, the diet is said to have influenced countless women in America.

But evidently, it wasn’t as influential as the Dukan diet, which was tried and tested by Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, for her to be able to fit into her wedding dress. The protein-based diet plan has many side effects; among them, ketosis and flu symptoms due to withdrawal. It gained international fame and infamy because of its link to the British royal family and its strict strategy.

Perhaps, stricter is intermittent fasting, an outrageous weight loss program that requires a dieter to go as long as 36 hours without food. Someone please spell crazy.

Last on this list is the HCG diet. This diet encourages people to live on 600 calories a day (that’s roughly a Big Mac and a side of fries) and inject HCG—human chorionic gonadotropin—into their systems to stifle hunger. Afraid of the needle? You can also take drops. But what is HCG? It’s a glycoprotein hormone produced during pregnancy made by the developing embryo. Some cancerous tumors produce this hormone as well.

I told you we’re talking about extreme, which can also mean potentially destructive.