The Comic Artist

There are only a few amateur or "underground" comic artist in the Philippines. Manix Abrera is one of those. Being a comic artist means having to think about stories that people would like to read about and also illustrate the characters and the setting to be further enjoyed by the reader. Which means a good comic artist should be good in writing and illustrations.

One of Manix's work is entitled 'KIKOMACHINE' which are single strip comics (If I'm not mistaken). They're short and fun to read. He writes mostly about everyday scenarios that most people could relate to. Like trying to change test scores, being mature and acting your according to your age, having only words to take a heart away, and seeing a professor enter a wrong classroom. His works are funny but also true, easy to relate to as mentioned before. He also uses simple language so readers could be interested more than reading complicated and deep English. Although it's fancy and it sounds smart, it wouldn't have the same feel to it. It wouldn't feel real. using simple languages will result in to an effective work, especially in literature and art.

Being an artist means to communicate social issues or whatever to a certain target audience. A good artist delivers these messages effectively; However, people today recognizes artists as people who could create 'beautiful' works even without any meaning to it. Only a few could execute such things, creating art not just for respect but for the intention to suggest a thought.

The Rise of Technological Dependencies

Technology has been expanding and developing exponentially since the day of it's birth. Back then, you have to carry kilograms of weight just to have 120mb of disk space. And in the early 2000's, The largest memory a laptop could have is around 280Gb. Nowadays, since technology has evolved, 1 Terabyte of space (1,000 gigabytes) could fit in a 1 inch by 60mm casing. With that kind of memory storage, a lot of small devices could fit tons of applications and programs that simple people may use to help them with everyday tasks. But every good has it's bad.

It's agreeable that science makes our work easier and faster, but that does not always mean for the better of our selves and social environment. The social networking websites are for people who wants to be MORE social or for those who ARE NOT very social and wants to be. Sadly, these social networking sites and applications just pulls people away from their peers and more into the application. Everybody would know how it feels to be fully ignored by their tech-consumed friends in the middle of a group work.

People needs the satisfaction of other people giving likes. Some people would rather see how many likes they got and compare to other people, and they use this type of approval from others to establish a higher social status. On another note, people nowadays depend on apps to do everything. Sometimes it's helpful, but after a few weeks, it just gets annoying. Who uses waze for 2 weeks for the same route and destination ?! Also, it is much better to taste the food yourself rather than reading reviews. Reviews help, by the way, but not dependable .

Technology will soon consume us until it makes us create its own body. It is slowly killing us as well as we kill the environment. Mobile devices are useful, yes, but not to the point that these devices should do all the work, to the point that we forget about out health.Technology, especially in small devices are excellent, but never should be dependable.

Ang Di Magbago Tayo (Mulitmedia Art Exhibit - Sept 6 - 9, 2016)

The BIBO team was given a project that requires an exhibition about whatever topic they may choose among themselves. In this case, to eliminate or "kill" a negative trait about an individual. The peg is to simulate a crime scene; the victim being the negative characteristic, and the criminal, who is the artist that has to kill the victim. To further clarify, the "taya" is the person who did not change or eliminate the characteristic, and the victim is the embodiment of a particular negative characteristic.

The exhibition shall explore the   polarities of the human psyche -  concept of good and evil. The exhibition aims to visually articulate   that everybody has a negative characteristic in themselves and each individual has the choice to eliminate these unwanted traits through their own initiative.

The concept of the exhibit is to mimic the idea of a crime scene where each artist shall be both protagonist and antagonist. The participating artists shall illustrate personal negative traits through their selected mediums.  The art works are intended to confront the viewers and the artists alike on how to deal with their negative characteristics.

As an interactive element, the exhibit will feature a crime scene look and feel and the group’s individual art work is their crime showcased in their specialization. The concept is that each member is a suspect in a crime of murder and the audience or visitors are the ones who will decide who the killer is.  But they don’t know that each member killed a characteristic about themselves that is unpleasant, negative, or somewhere along those lines. The audience role is to find out or investigate who likely killed the victim by analyzing each artwork as clues and evidences.

The location for the exhibit will be preferably held inside a house (or a well divided space) because it is where a person contemplates about himself and sees negative things. And also, if the crime is about oneself, it is more likely to happen inside a home.

In the end of the exhibit, there shall be a "Taya", a person that failed to change. The point of the exhibit is to show people that there will be something one will not tolerate about themselves and will have the desire to change but could not. Hopefully this encourages people that there will always be  a way, there is still a chance for self betterment, and there will always be a better choice.

Veggies or Meat ?

According to Vegetarian Society, they define a vegetarian as: "Someone who lives on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with, or without, the use of dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish* or by-products of slaughter.". Then again, do they get the sufficient nutrients they need ? Or its main purpose is it also a way to cut down on calories and fat? Is it just about the diet or a lifestyle ?

The good side to being a vegetarian is that there are more health benefits. A lot of health problems could be prevented like the development of kidney stones and gallstones , a lower risk in heart disease,  obesity, high blood pressure, and more. but of course, That doesn't mean that eating meat does not have benefits. Meat could offer high amount of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy saturated fats. There are also a lot more Iron in meat than in vegetables.

Now the bad side of being a vegetarian. There may be nutrient deficiency in doing a vegetarian diet. There are vitamins that could be found in meat that are rare in a vegetarian diet, these vitamins help the nervous system, digestive system, and even improve eye sight and skin.

In conclusion, we need to depend on all fruits, vegetables, and meat to have consume all necessary vitamins and minerals in order to survive. Going vegetarian doesn't ensure good health; however, having a balanced diet will. That means eating all sorts of food. Yes, there are benefits from being a vegetarian, and there are also benefits from being a meat eater, so why not eat meat at veggies to get both their benefits? If going vegetarian is just about the taste of meat, then that is a whole different story.

I could listen to him all day

A good teacher is knowledgable , wise, able to explain ideas clearly and effective. But a teacher who can be included in the 'favorite list' is fun to be with, approachable , and could present thoughts that are entertaining. In APC, there are only a few professors that could be one of the 'favorites' since the population of APC faculty and students is fairly small compared to the majority of universities and colleges.

Mr. Dustin Celestino is one of the best professors in APC. He's an english teacher who has a degree in philosophy and is part of the filipino free thinkers, which makes his lessons quite fun and satisfying to listen to. Outside the classroom, Sir Dustin talks to us students like he is not even our professor. He jokes around, talks about beers, and more. There are not that many professors who one could hang out with. It's very sad to know that Sir Dustin is not teaching in APC anymore. He is a great help to digimed students, research writing students, and any other paper work because of his knowledge. With all the good things said about Sir Dustin, there shouldn't be any question why he shouldn't be one of the best professors, even if his classes are often hard to cope with.

Sir Dustin will be missed in APC, because of how we enjoy spending time with him. A good professor is hard to come by, but a professor one could bond with is even more difficult to find. Hopefully someday, after all the hard work in school, we all get to meet our favorite professors somewhere and have a good time . Because this particular professor has been a great help in finishing college.

From Skinny To Fat

Before one could reinvent their selves, one must first recognize that there is a need to change. Reinventing oneself is a huge challenge in life but offers a great reward in the end. It is often seen as a betterment or an improvement of a person. Hard work and dedication is needed in order to successfully reinvent oneself.

Growing up as an underweight boy who was always told funny jokes about being too skinny at almost every situation, it has become a reminder that someday, something has to change. From recent discoveries, working out was the answer to gaining weight, despite people's popular opinion that working out is for losing weight. The body needs to notice that more muscles mass is needed to move; thus stimulates muscle growth. Discipline, on the other hand, is tough to come by. Proper diet is also required to be able to gain weight, not just by exercising alone. Because the body needs to grow, there must be nutrients used to build muscle.

When people hear the word 'diet' , they often think that it is to reduce the amount they consume . But it really means eating the right food for the intended purpose. Eating junk food is fattening, but it does
not necessarily carry all the nutrients and vitamins needed to grow healthy and well developed muscles. Although it works, it is never really an option because of the poor results it may deliver.

At the end of the day, it all starts with the intention to change. The realization to reinvent oneself is the first step, the second is planning, the third will be the execution. Hopefully, everybody would have the will to follow through  with their plans. As mentioned before, reinventing oneself is one of the hardest challenges a person will do in their life.

Bayani ?

Learning about what it takes to be a 'Bayani' baked a few questions in mind. How ? What could a student realistically do ? It is difficult to gain respect and be an influential person because of all the judgement on social media. One act of bravery could turn into an act of fame whoring; "pabida" or "pasikat" as they say.

The Dakila event held in Asia Pacific College made a lot of sense and opened a lot of eyes. There were interesting topics that were tackled about the kastila era . It was shocking to know that when Christianity was introduced, it was their weapon against all threats. The one thing that stood out the most was the 'bulletproof' vest that was only made with a thin cloth but printed with the marks of God. It was told that because it was blessed, it will repel all bullets; it was never tested since the holder died by hanging. Aside from that, they talked about how a bayani becomes a bayani. They've also differentiated Bayani from Hero, and the big point is as time goes on, the meaning of the words will evolve. And soon after, Hermano Puli was introduced, a forgotten hero . They have also introduced another film, after the Heneral Luna, is Hermano Puli. The speakers wanted us to know about Hermano Puli because of his love for the country, how he inspired people to stand up and fight for the country they love. Now they talk about how a Bayani loves a country; Love for God, for the people, and for the country. Basically at the end of the talk, it revolved around those words.

Today, it's tough to inspire some people. They look up only to a few who aren't even local citizens. Who doesn't want to inspire and pass on vital knowledge about the country they love. But that does not mean it should stop there. Just because it is difficult to be a bayani, does not mean one shouldn't try. Like what the speakers have shared, "Love for God, Love for the people, Love for the country". Those things would be sufficient to become a better person for the country.