Paubari

That title is not even click-bait

So I have always wanted to have a personal blog where I can share my thoughts and ideas online. Although I tried the alternatives like Wordpress or BlogSpot, most of them looked lame as hell. 

Plus the fact that Wordpress asks you to pay for your domain?

No dice for a broke dude like me.

Anyway, I was looking about and I saw Tumblr and asked my girlfriend about it. You see I used to vent out my frustrations and hatred on my Twitter profile. I had that profile ever since 2011 and I recently deactivated it. (I have another profile for my writing though but that’s mostly creatives.) I won’t dive into too much detail but I’ll say this,

Cancel Culture is trashy as hell

Groupthink removes common sense

People there appeal too much to tribalism.

FOMO or GTFO

So back to the blog idea. I’m a pretty vocal guy and I like sharing my 2 cents on topics that other people don’t like diving into. Admittedly discussing ethics and promoting philosophy online has degraded my mental state. So here I am posting about lighter things so that I can recharge myself.

BUT DO NOT BE MISTAKEN

I will still write about things like Philosophy and Ethics, just not too political if you catch my drift.I’ll also be exploring different facets of society, maybe sprinkle in some pop-culture reviews, and project updates every now and then. I’m just glad that I finally have a space to call my own. 

Thanks in large part to my Girlfriend who helped me edit the HTML work. I swear when I was zooming about Tumblr it almost didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t have a clue how upvoting or liking things worked. What the hell are notes? So I kept pestering my Girlfriend with so many questions. I thank her for her patience cuz tbh I felt like a boomer trying to navigate through a government website. 

I don’t even know if people will be reading this. Let alone jump onto my profile and browse what I have to offer but what I can say is this “Welcome”.

*Disclaimer: This blog post is my opinion on the matter. If you have a different opinion on it, I respect it all the same. A large chunk of the screenshots used were from the Halo Infinite Gameplay Trailer*

MABUHAY everyone and welcome to my corner of the internet!

It finally dropped. After a year of waiting in baited breath. Microsoft dropped their Halo: Infinite gameplay. They did it during their XboxGamesShowcase which aired live on 24th July 2020. It wasn’t a surprise that the first thing they featured was Halo. Besides it being a console exclusive. Halo is one of the few games that dropped a trailer that revived my love for the game. If you’re not familiar with the announcement trailer, you can find it here.  

So before I fully geek out on this game, I’ll explain why the announcement trailer was a huge deal. You see after Bungie passed the torch onto 343 Industries, Halo was at it’s peak. (except for the failed MCC launch but we won’t go into that). For the longest time, Bungie was the sole proprietor of Halo and they called the shots. So it was a fond farewell when they announced that they were leaving, making Halo: Reach a heartfelt goodbye. Bungie pulled the cord by leaving us with a masterpiece. A game that goes full circle, a prologue to the entire series. Having played Halo CE (Combat Evolved), 2, and 3, it gave me such chills. I don’t care what people say with the gun design choices, Halo: Reach strikes a chord in my heart like no other game.

This is the reason why a lot of fans were skeptical about 343 industries touching such a precious project. Everyone felt like it was a fitting end but I guess money comes first for Microsoft. A majority of fans were disappointed with Halo 4. They revamped everything, EVERYTHING. From the armor choice to enemy design. It was like they tarnished the IP that Bungie curated so hard to perfect. You can argue that they were trying to make the game theirs but that’s moot. The game already has an established fanbase. If you suddenly change everything just to make it seem like the idea was yours, that’s disrespectful. I don’t even want to talk about Halo 5: Guardians. The lore was just thrown outta the window. Imagine putting the Arbiter in the game AND NOT HAVING HIM MEET CHIEF? Such a wasted opportunity.

If it wasn’t obvious yet, I no longer followed Halo after that abysmal display. I’m sure other people chose to not follow the timeline anymore which in turn would cause for sales to dip. That’s why I’m glad that when they released the Announcement Trailer, they managed to blend their design choices with Bungie’s. What came out was a “Old meets New” type of design and honestly, it brought a tear to my. Especially when the piano chords struck of the Halo CE theme. Plus, seeing that halo ring? CHILLS. I played the Original version of Halo CE so the callback was simply wicked. That’s why I’ll be comparing a lot of the released Halo Infinite gameplay to Halo CE. You’ll understand why soon enough.

“As Chief drops in, he immediately has his trusty Assault Rifle with him”

The Assault Rifle which has the same design as the Halo Reach one. That was a +1 in my book. Oh and this takes place on a Halo Ring so another 1000+ points in my book. 

The gun sounds were okay, they sound pretty standard and I’m fine with them.

“Chief opens a Map showing important locations, upgrades, and database.”

So I was a bit surprised when a map was pulled up. Idk about Halo 5 but the other Halo games had NO maps available. Mostly because the level design previous games had were more of a linear type of story telling. EXCEPT Halo Combat Evolved. I remember playing the first level of Halo CE and I was confused as hell. I mean, I almost kept running around in circles just trying to find where the next objective might be. By the looks of this map, it seems Halo Infinite might be going the same route as it’s ancestor (Halo CE and Halo 3: ODST). A semi-open world map where you can carry out objectives the way as you please. Keep in mind this is speculation my part but if it turns out to be like that then...

“Chief has a grappling apparatus and pulls himself towards an armored Brute.”

“Chief uses his grappling apparatus to reach high places and scale past obstacles like a steep mountain side”

“Chief uses his grappling apparatus to pull an explosive barrel towards himself and proceeds to toss it at a mounted plasma machine gun.”

This grappling apparatus is such a HUGE addition to Chief’s mobility. In partner with armor abilities, this can seriously open up wondrous new avenues at how you can tackle each objective. Not to mention it pushes you to think more outside the box and use the environment as your advantage. Of course, if something like this is added, there’s a possibility for the combat to be more stressful. It doesn’t matter tbh as long as it’s fun!

“Chief equipped with what seems to be a shotgun/bruteshot looking gun while activating an objective ping that alerts the location of objectives onto his HUD.”

The Shotgun/Bruteshot gun looks like a cool gun to play with! From my observation, it fires slugs rather than scatter shots. Making it more precise more precise than the standard UNSC shotgun. Also observed are small marks on the HUD that points where an objective might be accomplished.

“From this shot it seems that Chief activates a modified Z-4190 Temporal Protective Enfolder/Stationary Shield originally found in Halo 3.”

The reason why I speculate it’s a modified “bubble” shield is because of the shape of the device tossed onto the ground. Plus the main enemy of the game are called the “Banished”. Which are basically a covenant group that were shunned from the original crusade. A large portion of their ranks are allegedly Brutes and Brutes were the ones carrying the “bubble” shield in the third game.

“Chief melees a Brute”

I obviously won’t end the blog post without talking about this particular shot. A lot of people were egging on 343 Industries because of this scene right here. They kept talking about how the game is lacking in textures. There are multiple reasons why the insults aren’t justified and here’s some of them:

This gameplay trailer might be a demo reel from an earlier build. That means that 343 is currently developing the game and this is the left over content that they could show at the time. I’m half expecting them to suddenly wow us so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. 

This game needs to run with backwards compatibility and cross-platform AT THE SAME TIME. Aka, it wants to be three things at once; Be available for an older gen of consoles, run on the new gen, and perform well on PC. So I can excuse if the game doesn’t have groundbreaking graphics like TLOU2, RDR2, and Uncharted 4. It needs to be a decent shooter game and that’s what it’s trying to achieve.

As a Halo fan who lost faith in the franchise, I can honestly say Job Well Done to 343 Industries. They’ve managed to bring a spark back into my heart and I will surely play this one. I look forward to see what more they have to offer and I’m genuinely excited for when they release the game.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post! If you like what I do here, feel free to give me a follow to stay up to date with my other blogs.

MABUHAY everyone and welcome to my corner of the internet! 

It started about a year ago. I was in the midst of writing my current novel within my cramped room. By cramped I mean REALLLLYY cramped. You see my previous creative space was just a room where we dump all of our unused items. 

So, our compound has an apartment complex going up three floors (including the rooftop). The lower apartment used to be where my grandmother lived before she died. (RIP) The middle one is currently occupied by my older brother and his live-in partner. The highest one before the rooftop is currently empty and is just being used to house unused junk. It was empty for years and only recently a light bulb went off my head. 

Why don’t I use that spare space and make it into my creative space?

A monumental task for sure since I need to remove cobwebs, clean up trash and junk, scrub the walls and floors, making sure the toilet works, etc. 

Since I am a broke ass, I only have enough money to do a few things so I settled on cleaning one of the rooms! The Apartment as a whole is a large project and when money comes rolling in, that’s when I’ll probably start funneling cash into remaking the entire apartment space. What I did do for the time being is repainted one of the rooms and placed all my personal belongings there!

So here’s a semi-tour of of what it looks like! 

So as you reach the door, this sign greets you.

Imagineering

A term I found whilst watching a GTA V streamer. One of the rooms had the word Imagineering and I realized something. It’s a cool term for people who create stories and craft realities with them. But, that’s just my personal twist on it. Originally, Imagineering is the term Walt Disney incorporates when building their theme park rides. Hence, why the font for it is akin to the Disney lettering.

The word THINKING and NOT THINKING on the bottom is like those signs where it says “Busy & Not Busy” or the “Do not disturb.”

As you enter, by the right side is where the cabinets are. A lone poster from an old detective stares at you while on the other side is a small whiteboard. Mostly for notes and reminders but currently it hangs there proudly to greet you.

Beside the cabinets is a small bookshelf filled with my favorite books. If i remember it correctly the ones inside are; The Full Set of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Some Fantasy books, Halo, The Walking Dead, and an assortment of other shorter books.

On top is some books talking about “The Power”. Some documentary or something about things geniuses have in common. On top of those is an old Gormitti figure, a nameplate my girlfriend made for me when we were in college, and a pre-built ship in a bottle. Most of the knickknacks on top are just leftovers from my aunt and her family. They used to live in the second floor before moving to North America.

Beside the small bookshelf is a repurposed metal shelf. On top is where I put all my geeky stuff so. Some Dungeons and Dragons gear, Magic the Gathering cards, old XBOX 360 games, a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure writing mat, and a lone board game named One Night Ultimate Werewolf.

This is what the other side of the wall looks like. Not all the time since I don’t always bring my laptops up there. This is just what it looks like functioning. The back is still bare bones and needs some proper acoustic treatment.

So yeah, hoping that I would become more productive in this space. If there are any updates, I’ll put them on here!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post! If you like what I do here, feel free to give me a follow to stay up to date with my other blogs.

MABUHAY everyone and welcome to my corner on the internet!

Paused Gamer

A title that clicked with me outta nowhere. Or did it?

You see, ever since I was introduced to video games at a young age I have always longed for their escape. I’d remembering spending countless hours playing Pokemon Fire Red and Sapphire on my GameBoy Advanced.

When I was gifted a Playstation Portable (PSP) I was ecstatic. I finally got one of my own. I always had this neighbor who had the best stuff growing up. No hate, I love him like a brother since we grew up in the same compound. As a child growing up in a household where money is hard to come by, gadgets are a very rare occurrence. Seeing your neighbor have the latest ones leaves a twinge of jealousy in my heart.

moving on from that tangent...

After a few years, I finally got an Xbox 360. My very own games console that I can call my own. My mum worked hard in another country to get it and I can never thank her enough. Gaming, like books, has helped me escape reality. I’m sure almost every gamer can relate to the feeling of accomplishment. Whether it’s successfully finishing the campaign of a game or pulling off a wicked score streak. The feeling of achieving acts of magnitude is intense. That’s why I will never understand people who lobby against video games or label them as villainous.

I remember a time when I was in the height of playing video games. It was euphoria. Getting home and going to Xbox live. I only got it for like 9 months ever but those were amazing.

What sucked was my Dad who was really disconnected. He hated my hobbies and would shove sports down my throat. He even threw out my Xbox once out of pure anger that I was actually happy for playing games.

I have more stories, good and bad, but I don’t want to bog down this blog post with too much of it. What I want to focus on is how much Pausing from gaming has affected me.

Don’t get me wrong, occasional breaks from playing games is needed. This isn’t about that. This is pausing from playing video games indefinitely. 

After my Xbox 360 broke due to it being plugged in a wrong volts outlet, I was supremely upset on the inside. Outside I didn’t make a fuss out of it because it was already gone. That’s when it started. New releases popped out the year after. The next generation of gaming consoles would be released 2 years after. When they were released, I couldn’t relate. I used to be up to date with new releases. Talking about gaming with my friends and discussing newly released games every free time we had. That was gone.

In High school me and my close friends would stay up all night playing LAN Co-op at a close friend’s house. Even if their TV was small, we loved it all the same. Those were one of my fondest memories and I loved reliving them. When college came, that was gone as well. We couldn’t afford our own PCs anymore and our consoles were becoming obsolete. Gaming felt like a thing of the past.

The more years pass the more I feel a disconnect from that version of me. I can feel him thumping at the walls of my inner psyche, wanting to come out again. The best remedy I have for him is by playing mobile games from time to time but my heart knows that it’s not enough. Playing video games for me is not just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle and a passion. Video games are an art form that anyone can enjoy. People who deny this are either in denial or was shamed for liking it. I just hope that some day people can understand the benefit of playing video games. 

I just hope that some day my hiatus from gaming would finally be lifted.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post! If you like what I do here, feel free to give me a follow to stay up to date with my other blogs.

*Disclaimer: This is part 1 of a 2-part series!*

MABUHAY everyone and welcome to my corner of the internet!

Having lived in the Philippines all of my life has made me hardy against the elements. You see in our country, the weather shifts are sporadic. It doesn’t care if other countries have seasons or the world is in a particular equinox.Here you’ll experience truckloads of torrential rain for a few days then scorching dry heat out of the blue. That’s why people here are no stranger to crossing flooded streets or scorching asphalt roads. (RIP shoes) Hence, the reason why this life story sticks with me.

It was July 30th of last year (2019) when I started thinking about attending writer festivals. Back then I was in the outlining phase of a novel project I was working on and I thought about looking for inspiration elsewhere. That’s when the idea to contact a friend of mine came to mind. My friend is a Creative Writing graduate of University of Santo Tomas (UST) and I was wondering if he knew the ins and outs of local writer fests. He was kind enough to forward me a post from his university publication house. 

An annual event called “The Philippine Readers and Writers Festival” was to take place in Raffles, Makati. Raffles Makati is a “high-class” hotel located at the business district/center of the metro so it made sense that they’d hold their events around there. It was sponsored by National Bookstore too so I thought they’ll probably have something good. I have never attended their event nor any other writer festival so I was expecting nothing out of it. Except of course a learning experience and wisdom nuggets from seasoned writers. Though I was hesitant at first because I wasn’t a student of their school so I feared facing prejudice against the UST publishing house. I got over my fear and decided to go. 

Sparing you the minute details of what happened, I contacted them since they were offering a free ride. After a parental consent from was signed, I giddily prepared my clothes and other stuff for the trip. I was checking weather news updates since it has been a habit of mine before a trip. There were announcements of heavy rainfall and possible flooding. I shrugged it off since most of the weather reports here aren’t too accurate from time to time. Again, sporadic weather conditions are sporadic. I kept that information at the back of my mind and packed a jacket for the possible cold venue. Keep in mind, a day before my trip the weather was skin bone dry so I didn’t sweat about the rainfall.

On the night prior to the morning I left heavy rain started falling. I was afraid that the event would be cancelled so I asked the person I was in contact with in UST to update me if it does get cancelled. Waking up the next day, I felt a bit bummed out because the heavy rain didn’t stop. The street where UST is located has garnered infamy because it floods easily. Knowing this, I was hesitant to leave but I was determined to go. I texted my contact and told them I’ll be joining them still. Before I left my house the rainfall was reduced to droplets so I didn’t wear my water proof jacket. Instead I just wore a sweatshirt over my shirt and made sure to wear my lucky maroon vans shoes. 

To get to UST I had to catch a train at the LRTA-2 Cubao Station going to Legarda Station then ride a tricycle the rest of the way. The train ride went off without a hitch but my tricycle ride was most unfortunate. First off the heavy rain started picking up again, second the tricycle terminal took a long time to find passengers which leads to, third the streets to begin flooding, and fourth I was told sit at the back of the driver so my feet weren’t protected at all. My vans shoes was at the mercy of the heavy pouring rain and yes it was soaked to the sole. But, I didn’t call em my lucky shoes for nothing. Heavy rain was battering our small tricycle like cavemen clubbing a mammoth. I was soaked! From backside to feet, drenched in water. If I didn’t live the stoic lifestyle and mindset I would have been pissed off the whole time. The tricycle driver stopped short and made us cross the street. I had to run through wades of filthy street water but at last,I finally see the meet up gate. 

I head towards the gate and give the guard the information he needed. He let me stay near his guard house. I was wringing the water from my clothes, waiting for a text of confirmation from my contact. I can now positively say that one of the shittiest feelings in the world is having two pairs of clothing on and have them both be wet.

to be continued...

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post! When I was writing this post I realized how lengthy it was so I decided to split it into two parts. If you like what I do here, feel free to give me a follow to stay up to date with my other blog posts.

Always remember to make something amazing~

*Disclaimer: This blog post is my opinion on the matter. If you have a different opinion on it, I respect it all the same.*

MABUHAY everyone and welcome back to my space on the internet!

My country, Philippines, has been under quarantine for 3 months now. I keep seeing data that the Philippines has spent the longest time in quarantine but I’m too lazy to check that. What really saddens me this quarantine season is how much isolation has gripped me.

To preface this I still live with my family but we’re not that tight-knit. Add on to that, my Mother is working in another country and she was the only one who actually understood me. She has been outside of the country for 6 years and I miss her more everyday. 

With that. I often distract myself with pleasures or obligations I have set myself. Pleasures involves playing video games while obligations counts as maintaining the content I put out on my public Instagram page. With all these pleasant distractions I should be doing fine right? That’s what I kept telling myself for the past 3 months at least. At some point I started feeling antsy, my feet felt like they wanted to walk somewhere far away. When isolation hits, it hits hard. 

My girlfriend lives away and I can’t visit her because quarantine. My University graduation was cancelled and might not push through at all because of quarantine. I can no longer hang out with my friends because of quarantine. This quarantine has fucked me up mentally and I’m sure other people have been as well. 

I want to say it gets better but it doesn’t. The isolation wraps itself around you, making you feel like nothing in life is worth doing. 

Why fall asleep when you have nothing waiting for you after waking up?

 Why bother with things when it seems like the world itself has halted? 

Hopefully after a few months this train of thought leaves me. For the mean time I’ll distract myself further. 

What I’m truly afraid of in this isolation is the people who are most alone. Some of you may or may not know this but an OG streamer named Byron “Reckful” Bernstein has only recently taken his own life. Though already combating depression and bipolar disorder, the added isolation of quarantine has stripped him of his remaining sanity. One of his last tweets were inviting his friends to stay at the spare rooms in his apartment. 

I think what resonated with me most about this is how much it hits close to home. I have friends who I think I can rely on but all of them are always busy. An unbalanced connection with my relatives has led to sour household companions. I just wish the world would fast forward or the world can heal faster. I’m scared that I might be on the same path as Reckful. I don’t want that.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post! If you like what I do here, feel free to give me a follow to stay up to date with my other blogs.

*Disclaimer: This blog post is my opinion on the matter. If you have a different opinion on it, I respect it all the same.*

MABUHAY everyone and welcome back to my space on the internet!

Mobile Game Check! is a new blog series I’m starting where I talk about and review mobile games. Now, hold up. Before you start pelting me with rotten fruit keep in mind that there are Mobile Games out there that are actually worth your time. Mobile Games that, dare I say, is enough to challenge the awesomeness of old console games.

I will be judging this game and all future games under 3 tenets which will be GRAPHICS, GAMEPLAY, and STORY. Though I might sneak in what I like to call COMMENDABLES. These are qualities that a game has that adds to their uniqueness, charm, and overall playability. Afterwards I shall be rating the game 

BLANK out of 10 Smartphones. Obviously 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

So let’s check out Occidental Heroes!

For starters, what is Occidental Heroes? According to the game developers Ensit Media, Occidental Heroes has

“No hand holding, no reloads, no mercy. Explore the Occident and its bustling towns and ancient ruins. Learn about your heroes and guide them a comfortable retirement.”

GRAPHICS

Occidental Heroes is a 2D Pixel game. As far as pixel games go in the Android play store, it’s not too shocking to the eyes and gives that old-school feel of playing choice-based games. Nothing too revolutionary but they use what they have at full capacity and that in itself is worth nodding at.

As far as I know, their art is all original. Attached are pictures of what the game looks like as you play it.

GAMEPLAY

The way the game plays is a turn-based strategy RPG that balances resource management and equipment.  Though the main resource you think you have to check is supplies and gold, the only thing that truly matters is Resolve. The Resolve resource is the most important resource you have to manage in this game. 

RESOLVE DOES NOT GO UP, I REPEAT RESOLVE DOES NOT GO UP.

If you get dry on supplies, you lose resolve.

If the character gets damaged for more than half their health, they lose resolve

Why is resolve so important? Well, the only way to get 100% game completion is by completing ALL the story events of each mercenary. If a Mercenary gets to 0 resolve, they will forcefully retire and flavor text shows how sad and miserable their lives are. (no joke) At first this irked me but after a while it actually made sense. This ain’t for casual completionists.

When it comes to combat, it’s pretty straightforward except for the Archer. Archers in this game were poorly designed. Their attack mechanic is hard to predict at first so newbies beware.

Random Encounters exist here too, from military deserters to cultists. You’ll meet a wide range of enemies, all of which you have to utilize different type of tactics. For example, military deserters have stronger gear than you and.move more coordinately compared to wild animals who just run at you, fangs snarling.

You gain a lot of gold from accepting quests and it’s fun to read the flavor texts at first but it gets repetitive later on.

STORY

There’s not much of a story in the game per se, it gives emphasis to the stories of the mercenaries you hire and your character themselves. Though there is some semblance of a hero arc but in the Occident, reality is king. All of you are just mercenaries battling your inner demons,your past, and earning coin all at the same time. 

There is a subplot of natives v.s. settlers but you have to play it to know about it.

COMMENDABLES

Character customization actually changes the appearance of your sprites.

Customize every aspect of your Mercenary Group. From name to banner!

Remember skulls in Halo? That’s the best way I can describe these added challenges you can subject yourself to.

The most commendable is the starting screen, when you first open the game.

The devs know what they’re doing!

Final Verdict:

Occidental Heroes is a unique case of finding a diamond in the rough. As most mobile games are just cash cows designed as games, this game is an actual game. What really sets it apart aside from the classic RPG elements and just generally being a good game is that it has almost no ads. Thinking back on it, I’ve barely had a run in on ads and I played this game for 10 hours straight. (Unlike some games who bombard you with ads)

Because of this, Occidental Heroes gets an 8 Smartphones out of 10!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post! If you like what I do here, feel free to give me a follow to stay up to date with my other blogs. 

No, it ain’t rule 34.

*Disclaimer: This blog post is my opinion on the matter. If you have a different opinion on it, I respect it all the same.*

MABUHAY everyone and welcome back to my space on the internet.

Speaking of the internet, I really love the internet and at the same time I hate it. I mean, I think everyone can agree that the internet is a double edged sword. The internet gave us social spaces that connects people from around the world. 

Though social media is oftentimes a bane on the lives of people, there is no denying it has done a lot of good. 

Stemming from these websites are uhh the not so likable ilk but that’s the internet for you. Everyone has the right to do as they please in their corner as long as it isn’t illegal. 

I remember spending a majority of my early days on the internet browsing sites like Miniclip or Y8, just playing flash games on end. Games like Fire Boy and Water Girl, Box Head Zombies, etc.

Growing up,I would also have computer classes in my school and they would give us warnings about the Do’s and Dont’s on the internet. Besides those classes, places like 9gag and (old) Facebook promoted these rules while I browsed em.

Basically it’s these

Just because it’s on the internet that doesn’t make it true.

Don’t trust people blindly.

Just because it’s on the internet, that doesn’t make it true. 

9-11 was an inside job

Lizard People disguise themselves to rule the world

The Moon Landing was Faked

Vaccines causes Autism

The Earth is Flat

5G towers emit Harmful Radiation

As much as it’s FUN to make a meme out of all these, there is no way people would actually believe this bullshit right?

WRONG

Some of these tinfoil hat theories have been circulating the internet ever since it’s inception. People actually subscribe to these and think it’s real. 

Take it with a grain of salt.

How come nobody uses that anymore? Not every information on the internet is a credible source. This type of thinking has done harm and will continue to do harm. 

One well-known case is “The Slender Man Stabbing”

a tl;dr for the lazy ones out there, The Slender Man Stabbing happened in the Spring of 2014 when two 12-year old girls lured their friend into the forest and stabbed her 19 TIMES. For whatever reason you may ask? To appease Slender man. Yeah, to appease a fictional character. 

Don’t give that bullshit about him being an Urban Legend or some shit. He was created as a submission in a Photoshop Competition back in 2009 for a comedy website called Something Awful. In their forum board they hosted a competition and the rest is history.

Don’t trust people on the internet blindly.

This is obvious for scammers but what about people under the guise of doing a good deed? 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and sites like GoFundMe has made online begging or as I call it “E-begging” a trend. Admittedly E-begging is not a bad thing since some of it used for good things like cancer treatment or puppy meds but make no mistake, it’s begging. It’s not just charity, it’s begging and you shouldn’t have an ego when you beg. You’re asking for other people’s money when in the first place you are not entitled to their income. Just because they have an extra five or ten lying around doesn’t mean you deserve it for yourself.

It’s rare that E-beggars use the funds for malcontent and when it does it shows you how wary you should be of scams. Hell, not just e-beggars, it’s even someone offering you a job or an item at a lowered price only to cuck you by the end. Make no mistake, the world isn’t fair and if it wants you to taste dirt, it will. 

One such case is a 20 year old teen from my home country aka Philippines. She fooled another Kpop fan and swindled her 10,000 Php (Philippine peso) under the guise of using it for her grandpa’s meds. Read the thread here 

Another is the more recent 14-year old kid faking cancer. How do I know he faked it? He admitted to it.

All those people giving him awards must feel so stupid right now. I know I would!

I can go and on about crab mentality and mob mentality but you wouldn’t be reading my blog post if you’re one of those people. We promote individualism and self-thought here. None of that tribalism.

Sad to think that now, a random anon does an allegation and everybody suddenly believes them? People can give their 2 cents about a topic but by the end of the day FACT is different from FICTION. Why are all these people so blindly willing to give away their stuff and or money? Dopamine probably. They get a kick out of helping people and they feel like they’re a better person by doing so. 

My advice? Grow up people. Fact check and do background checks. Do your homework about anything and everything. Don’t blindly trust people on the internet just because they like the same show. These people are still human.

Stay safe out there! Don’t forget to make something amazing~

*Disclaimer: This blog post is my opinion on the matter. If you have a different opinion on it, I respect it all the same.*

MABUHAY everyone and welcome back to my space on the internet.

“History repeats itself.”

A phrase often heard repeated by older people to scold and lecture the younger generation. I have also heard this repeated by professionals, educators, and people who are under the lens of public scrutiny. I for one believe in the importance of history and promote the relevance of it today. Admittedly memorizing dates are boring but taking the essence of the lessons that stem from previous events are much more vital for growth. 

The people in these history lessons are human. Even if they are shown in a menacing and infamous light or shown in a heroic and praise worthy one. They’re human regardless and they make mistakes. From their mistakes we can start examining ourselves because if we act the same way as somebody acted in 1690s, then we done goofed. 

One such mistake that leaves a deep scar in the progress of humanity are the Salem Witch Trials. 

if you wanna read more into it, here’s a link

If you want a quick rundown, here’s the important deets. Three children from the town of Salem started having “fits. A local doctor deemed it was of supernatural causes. The three children blamed Tituba, the Parris' Caribbean slave; Sarah Good, a homeless beggar; and Sarah Osborne, an elderly impoverished woman for their fits. Claiming that they practiced witchcraft, the three women were tried and two of them pleaded innocent with only one admitting to seeing “demonic visions.” Due to this alone,the three women were put to jail.

As paranoia gripped the throats of the townsfolk, they started pointing fingers and jailing others with barely any substantial evidence. One such evidence is the timid answering of a four-year-old kid. Yeah, imagine getting put to jail because a kid thought you did devil magic.

After a few months the total death count for it is:

19 Hanged on Gallows Hill

A 71-year old man crushed to death with stones

Several people dead in Jail

And after 200 people were unlawfully jailed, it only took for the Governor's wife being accused that ended it all. Turns out that being a Governor’s wife masks you from such accusations. Too bad for those who died right. Reparations were made but the names of the dead were already long sullied. 

Thinking about all of this, it sounds awfully familiar doesn’t it? 

“Cancel Culture” can be closely related to modern day Witch Hunting. And as stated by Merriam-Webster, the modern definition of Witch Hunting is,

“A situation where accusations are made freely, especially against someone or something that is not popular with the majority.”

I’ll admit it, Cancel Culture is a double-edged sword. It can do good IF exercised with caution and brought forth proper evidence. But the amount of people slinging accusations around left and right without providing evidence beyond anecdotal account is jarring. Whatever happened to “innocent till proven guilty”? Since when did anecdotes ever become the “Truth” that the majority should cling on? 

If you rely on anecdotes as facts then you’d be no different than the townspeople of Salem. You’d hang a person based on paranoia, majority vote, and hearsay from children. Twitter is the largest offender of this. A large volume of people there don’t care about the background of the person they’re cancelling nor care enough to hear the side of the one being cancelled. If a blue check mark personality deems it just because he gets a lot of likes, a career genocide will happen.

And if someone did some devious shit in the past and is no longer doing it today, does that not mean that they have grown?. Where are all the mental health advocates who promote “growth” but snarl at the air like rabid dogs because of one offensive tweet ten years ago. Honestly it’s indicative of how much society has regressed to the town of Salem.

*Disclaimer: This blog post is my opinion on the matter. If you have a different opinion on it, I respect it all the same.*

Weighing in on the PlayStation 5 vs Xbox One X debacle.

*DISCLAIMER: I wasn’t able to acquire any of the previous generation consoles. The reason behind that is I’m a legitimate broke dude (unlike some people I know). So this blog post is based off of my observations of the market and all of the information that both companies have released to the public.My last game console was an Xbox 360. I rarely played a PS4 because of friends and relatives so yeah.*

Being a proud-ish owner of an Xbox 360, I’m confident in saying I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible. Hopefully...

MABUHAY everyone and welcome back to my space on the internet. 

Whether you’re a PlayStation Fanboy or an Xbox Fanboy, one can admit that the current generation of consoles weren’t as hyped up as their previous counterparts. I remember scouring the internet around 2011 and 2012. Popping by forums of people just arguing back and forth. It was the age old debate.

HALO vs COD

Both amazing games and both sparked a lot of things we find on the internet today. COD giving birth to Machinima (the company), no scope compilations, and of course all those meme edits. THOSE 360 NO SCOPE 420 BLAZE IT, DORITOS MOUNTAIN DEW SNIPING MOM HOLD THE CAMERA having a stroke.

*clears throat* Of course let’s not forget Halo. The flagship game of the original Xbox. The reason why Red v.s. Blue (the online series) even exists. 

“But Nico, I thought you we’re gonna discuss the consoles?” I can hear you thinking aloud.

Anyway, my point was: These video game consoles got high amount of sales because of their console-exclusive games.

Common sense right? Well, not for everybody. 

A lot of people can argue back and forth about the specifications of each machine or how much is it. But by the end of the day we can all agree that the games released with the consoles is what makes or breaks it. Hell, the reason why I wanted to get an Xbox 360 was because of Halo: Reach. 

How about sales for the Nintendo Switch? Besides games like Zelda: BotW, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Pokemon games, and the newly released Animal Crossing: New Horizons. What other reason will you buy the Nintendo Switch? For Skyrim? I don’t think so.

So understand that is the reason why the current hype of consoles were not as huge as their older generation counterparts. I think the console most guilty of being negligent when it came to console-exclusives is the Xbox. At least Sony showed their exclusives at the start of their console reveal. Xbox doesn’t give a damn about their exclusives anymore. After the b.s. they pulled with Halo:Guardians. I didn’t want to touch another Xbox console because of that. Oh and that lame excuse for Gears of War 5 was another one for apocalypse console fail bingo. 

Hardware-wise, I don’t mind it as much until Pewdiepie sarcastically said that “It’s gonna be in your living room for a long time.” Obviously it’s important for some people who care about designing their room but personally I don’t mind. It’s what inside that counts. 

Let’s take a look at what’s inside~

Image courtesy of: https://www.tomsguide.com/face-off/ps5-vs-xbox-series-x

It’s no surprise that a console that is backed by Microsoft will obviously have better specifications. Just staring at the graph and you’ll know that these units were built for speed. For all those nerds out there, there I made the specs version of the article. I hope y’all are satisfied.

The Games

PlayStation 5 has announced the remake of Demon Souls. That in itself is a way to wring people in. I won’t pretend to be a console elitist and act like I give a damn about Ratchet and Clank or all those other games. Gran Tourismo do be looking fresh tho and that Miles Morales Spiderman game too. 

One of the good things Xbox series X has is extreme backwards compatibility. It can boot up select games all the way back to the original Xbox  Let’s not forget how Xbox showed an abysmal display of their “gameplay” reveal trailer. All they did was show game cinematics and we all KNOW that cinematics does not equate to actual gameplay. I’m honestly just waiting for Halo:Infinite to drop.

So if I’m hedging my bets, my money is on the Play Station 5. FOR NOW. Disregarding how much rule 34 and anime waifus the PS5 console has.

Picture from: https://www.reddit.com/r/MoeMorphism/

I’d rather have a waifu than a cyber fridge. *mic drop*

Thank you for taking the time and reading my post. As always my 2 cents only. Subjective in my experience. All opinions are my own.

Are we Human?

I would often stand in front of a mirror and look at myself

Staring at the features on my face and the color of my skin

I have eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, and everything else

Slowly analyzing my features I think “Hey I’m human”

Because of this, I find it hard to understand other people

The people who stare at other humans and think “I’m not like you”

Closing their gates or doors on the faces of fellow humans

Stopping them from trying to do what everyone else is doing, live

Imagine the thoughts that would plague your mind

As an unrelenting force of nature starts knocking on your door

As the four walls and a roof you call home start tumbling down

As you see your neighbors and friends buried in the rubble

Whether the destruction was wrought by greed or nature

Humans are left wandering aimlessly in search for compassion

Yet what they receive are an insult and a half with turned backs

Sideglances of eyes with raised eyebrows and bated breath

At what point have we disconnected ourselves from reality

Turning down our fellow humans who are struggling

Halting their tire march to rest because of presumptions

Truly, what have we become? Less than human?

Refugees are still humans. They didn’t choose what happened to them. Let’s stop the prejudice and give more compassion.

Kalayaan

Patawarin ang mga kumakapa sa dilim

Pagkat ang lampara sa kalsada ay nakapatay

Nakabalot sa binti ang kamay ng lagim

Mabagal na naglalakad parang pilay

Sa bawat yapak alalahanin ang nakaraan

Mga kababayan nating nagbigay-ilaw sa daan

Mga Bayaning nagsilbing inspirasyon sa ating kaisipan

Punasan ang mukha at ang luha ay itahan

Taimtim na magpasalamat ngunit wag tatatalikod

Silipin lamang ang mga naiwang lamparang pundido

Wari gawing makabuluhan ang pagsunod

Isaisip at isapuso ang mga naging sakripisyo

Ngayon ang tamang panahon upang magisip at magpasya

Tanunging ng mabuti ang sarili, ako ba ay gagalaw?

Wala nang ibang maglalakad at mauuna

Bilisan, Magmadali, at baka ang loob ay maagaw

Yakapin ng mahigpit ang mga naliligaw

Tumingala sa langit, antayin ang bukang-liwayway

Gabayan natin ang isat-isa papunta sa ilaw

Sabay sabay nating tawirin ang tulay

Magbigay pugay at magpasalamat sa mga nanunang tao. Mga naging gabay natin sa daan papuntang kalayaan. Alalahanin na ang kalayaan ay hindi nakakamit ng walang sakripisyo.

Where Salty Dogs Lie

Cottonfields of blue and yellow blanketing the sky

As the sun bobs down towards the murky depths

 Millions of eyes glittering like diamonds I spy

The Moon arises from the deep in lengths

The salty air reminds me of a home spread far

Within these waves, none shall claim my name

Remove me from my ship and my heart shall scar Aye it is true, the ocean is a creature none can tame

For when you sail you submit yourself to its mercy

Many leagues don’t count for anything in this world

Whether death be wrought by a blade, ball, or scurvy

Your soul would find better peace in the underworld

Who knows what hides beneath the curves of the ocean

Could be sharks longer than ships or whales larger than islands

Yet like a mother, it rocks us in a cradling motion

Soothes our slumber with a peaceful silence

The ocean has been around far longer than you or I

There is no doubt that she will outlive us all

Even if millennia or more go by

The creatures it protects shall stand tall

My my imagine if the ocean could speak

All the tales, All the stories it can share

I hope the future of the ocean isn’t bleak

I hope the future can give the ocean proper care Please try to imagine I’m a Sea Captain reminiscing about the ocean. Or not and just listen to the narrated version.

I never learned how to ride a bike

As a child I would hide behind hardcovers

Averting my gaze as the other kids played

I would peek from time to time and ponder

I would rather be heavy than bruised Growing up I enjoyed my lonesome

Frequently I walked accompanied by none

Save my mind who joined me at times

Clouding my head with thoughts of doubt

As cyclists would pass me sometime

I started listening to my mind

Cyclists learn to balance early on

Perhaps it affects their lives

Until now I can’t ride a bike

commending those who can

I realize there is freedom in cycling

Sprinting with carbon fiber legs

I often escape reality by taking long walks

Only recently I realized I can add the distance

If only I would learn how to ride a bike

Perhaps I would finally achieve balance

I wrote this for World Bicycle day 2020. Yeah I don't know how to ride a bike so, lay it on me.

I love video games with a passion...

Yeah, I wrote this article.