From flashbacks to cash backs

by on September 4, 2011

The Smurfs, the fictional woodland creatures approximately three apples in height, took the world by storm twenty years ago. The blue-skinned blitzkrieg won the feeble hearts and minds of children everywhere, making its way into the franchising world of comics, toys, video games, ice skating shows and music recordings. Fast forward to today, and the [...]

Lost in Thought (Catalog)

by on September 4, 2011

It all started with “You Should Date an Illiterate Girl,” which you stumbled upon Twitter or Facebook as a result of a web traffic explosion—in turn caused by bleeding hearts and tongue-in-cheek nonfiction. You’re home alone one night and procrastinating, the deadline of your paper at the back of your mind. Thought Catalog is in [...]

Psychology, Philosophy, and Planking: A Thesis

by on September 3, 2011

Thanks to the Internet, the 21st century has bore witness to some of the strangest human behaviors to date – online dating and mail order brides, Japanese game shows, the existence for an unknown reason of a plethora of cat videos, 2girls1cup – the list goes on. The whole concept of internet culture is so [...]

The new home of Pinoy rock

by on September 1, 2011

In an industry where it’s all about the money, success for an FM radio station in the Philippines requires staying in tune with the masses. When poor audience reception leads to the lack of advertisers, a station either dies or shifts to a pop music-based format. Shortly after NU107’s closing, another radio station RJ UR [...]

League of the underdogs

by , on August 26, 2011

In the 2006 movie Accepted, Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) files for the accreditation of South Harmon Institute of Technology, a school that he started on his own. When the School Board asks for the curriculum of the “institute,” a white board filled with a handwritten list of subjects was presented. The curriculum detailed all kinds [...]

True Blue, Through and Through

by , , on June 18, 2011

Die-hard Atenean. Often, what comes to mind is the mental image of a person clad in blue, enthusiastically cheering in a game at the Araneta Coliseum. This is probably the easiest, most overt display of support and devotion to the Ateneo community, but it is hardly an all-encompassing stereotype. Based on the stories of these [...]

The Ateneo Bucket Bingo (It’s Not a List!)

by , on June 18, 2011

If you think four years is long enough, you are mistaken. One day, you’re a freshman who confuses Kostka School for Kostka hall and the next thing you know it, you’re bidding farewells on graduation day, promising each other a batch reunion five years in the future. You’ll find the only things you regret are [...]

Initiation rites for the blue-blooded

by on June 17, 2011

Transitions can be a tricky phase, particularly in college. You bid farewell to all things familiar in high school, then face the next chapter in an unknown territory. For some, the drastic change of becoming a small fish in the vast blue waters is a fearsome prospect. In Ateneo’s case, enter the Freshmen Orientation Seminar—better [...]

Let Them Entertain You: Your Hosts of OrSem Lipad 2011

by , on June 10, 2011

A Boho thespian, a half-Indonesian beauty, a spunky Chinita with swagger, a closet nerd, and the outgoing Dollhouse FBuddy (aka Finance Officer). Put them together and you get the fab six tasked to welcome the latest herd of freshmen. This year, Vannah, Josh, Jaz, Gabe, Raisa and Jelo have shown that they are ready to [...]

Love in the Time of Recession

by on March 2, 2011

Dating, like all economic goods, has a saturation point. While people fret over the existential aspect of love, they tend to forget that you pay a monetary upkeep to maintain a relationship by going out on dates. You can romanticize or intellectualize love all you want, but your wallet has just an equal a say [...]