The Contra Code on FB

As a kid growing up during the "Family Computer" age of the 80's and early 90s, I was one of those who got to experience the action-packed (?) game of CONTRA. Since most video game users back then were guys (girls were usually limited to MARIO or TETRIS, or preferred to remain in the lowtech fantasy world of BARBIE), we didn't really care whether or not there was a nice story or a good ending. All we knew was to kill the bad guys, be they ghosts, monsters or aliens.

CONTRA remains to be one of only a minute few that had a special cheat code for game enhancement. This cheat code came even before the invention of any GameShark or GameGenie or what not. It came as a hidden trick to the game itself. All you had to do was get this code ( press UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT -B- -A- -START-) in during the Video game intro to get an instant 30 lives (sometimes it's as many as 99 lives). For 2 players, you had to make sure you pressed the -SELECT- button prior to -START- so the option would move to "2 Players". Here's a vid I found on Youtube :

This code would become a certification for any guy to prove that he had played CONTRA. The Masculine Game. This and other codes would increase your level of Coolness. Other codes or cheats involved pressing on the -SELECT- button in between rounds in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out to gain more energy and a certain coin trick to warp thru stages in Star Wars (I've never done this one). However, once you have done these, especially in front of others, you would be considered super cool.

Moving back to the current date, The Contra Code of way back has risen from the ashes of Obscurity and Time and made its way to the most popular Social Networking Site, Facebook. Little is known about how such code came to penetrate the pseudofantasy world of Facebook, but if you've got time and are curious, go to your "home" page and press UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A and start scrolling up or down.

Suddenly everything will be so clear and bright.

Now I know how someone sentenced to die by the rack feels.

Watch for VERDE SPA

Been under a lot of stress and pressure lately, what with all the work backlogging because of the typhoons, with all the (tiring but fun) relief operations, and with both my reports for Grad School falling on the same week.

I finally finished my oral report on "Philippine-American Relations" and its 10-page written counterpart yesterday, for Foreign Policy Class. After the 2&1/2 hour ordeal (an hour report, the rest was defense/discussion), I told myself I needed a massage (I hadn't had one for weeks, anyway). I didn't get it last night though, because I was too tired, so I got one tonight.

I had originally considered SPADA, where I had gone the past few times, but I remembered one of the attendants there saying that there would be a new spa opening next door. When I asked her then why she was telling me this, she said she had been recruited by the said place and it would be bigger than SPADA. Remembering her advice, I decided to see if it was already open.

As I turned right going towards Adventist Hospital from Taft, I spotted it. It is literally next door to SPADA on the same building, as she said. This new place is called VERDE SPA, and it has just begun to operate. When I entered the place, I could already see that the place was bigger than the other. The counter and couch areas did not feel too cramped, and there was even space for a wash area behind the counter.

VERDE has a designated locker room area, I believe one for males and one for females, while SPADA lets their guests change in the bedroom (something I found not too spa-like). VERDE also supplies towels and "massage clothes" (i.e. robe and shorts) with slippers, while SPADA only has robes and slippers.

Intrigued by the melon scrub that the counter attendant told me they had, I requested for a body wash prior to my massage. I also wanted to compare this area to that of the other spa. As of now, this area is still a bit empty,having no matting for the concrete floor. The scrub/wash bed is a big block of concrete lined with a cushion-layer for comfort. I'd have to say that SPADA's scrub bed is still more comfortable than this, as that was a real massage bed designated for wash, but VERDE's bed provides better neck comfort as they have the facehole in the concrete bed (SPADA's bed did not). Also, I noticed that VERDE's scrub/wash room was a bit dark,but I was told that there were lights for the area, they just havent been switched on (normally done by request).

As I finished my body wash, I went up to the massage area. On the way, I spotted a little wooden sauna room, though this was not yet operational. Immediately, I thought this is going to make a huge difference with SPADA. Another this I noticed was more showers and bathrooms (SPADA has one communal little, err, people's room). When I got upstairs, I could see the size difference again with SPADA as VERDE's upstairs space looked like a large hallway with 9 bed areas. I'm not exactly sure about SPADA's upstairs because I haven't counted, or gone beyond their wash area (which is upstairs), but it still looked very much cramped compared to VERDE's area).

One vital improvement I noticed with VERDE compared to SPADA was that the beds were elevated. This "feature" makes it easier for the masseur/masseuse to focus on the massage, as the client is much closer to the hands and arms of the masseur/masseuse without the latter having to bend down or kneel. The beds of VERDE also have the faceholes on them, which are very vital to the customer's relaxation and breathing.

After my massage, I got to talk to VICTOR, the proprietor of the place, as he was manning the counter. Apparently (for those who want to try), they are having their GRAND OPENING on Saturday, Oct. 17, where their services are 50% off! When asked what other differences VERDE had from SPADA, he answered that VERDE has a Sauna Room (which I had already spotted) and a mini coffeeshop, where customers could order some snacks and drinks while waiting for their massage or waiting to go home.

So, here's a new place to go to : VERDE SPA, located on the same building as SPADA. Their price is the same, but the place is bigger, and soon to look better.

Bonfire and Oktoberfest

I have never been to any Ateneo Championship Bonfire until last night. Entering the gates of the campus for the first time in a long time, I didn't know what to expect, really. I knew it wasn't going to be just a simple bonfire where pieces of wood would be set ablaze and we'd have roasted mallows and weiners while stories of glory would be told.

When I got to the GS parking lot, the place looked as if there was a school fair. Food stalls, concessionaire booths and lots of people. People who knew each other, young and old, all part of the festivities.

It reminded me a little of our school fairs back in high school and elementary where it was all about fun booths and being with friends, celebrating and forgetting about everything negative at least for that day.

Didn't stay too long at the bonfire, for I had a prior commitment to Manny's Oktoberfest. Left Ateneo around 8:45 pm to head for Manny's place, which I overshot on entry as I had forgotten how the house looked.

Friendly faces old and new were all present to celebrate another year of friendship, another year of life. Manny and Iea prepaed lots of drinks wo partner with the delicious goulash and the sausages. Different shapes and sizes, all yummy.

So here's to you guys and all of us, for another year.

Tell the World

I woke up to a strange LSS. It was the theme song of the World Youth Day Celebration back in 1995 held in Manila, "Tell the World of His Love".

For those that don't know the song (it is infectuous, believe you me), I'm sure you can easily find the source for the audio (maybe even video) track, but let me share with you the chorus:

Let us tell the world of His love
The greatest love the world has known
Search the world for those who have walked astray
and lead them home
Fill the world's darkest corners With His light from up above
Walk every step, Every mile, Every road And tell the world,
Tell the world of His love

Then it struck me: Over the past week or so, the Filipino People have done just that. With the aftermath of Ondoy, despite the threats of Pepeng, We the people, remained steadfast in helping and sharing what we could, what we had with those who lost and did not have.

So scripture says that Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13) But what if there were a greater love by living and continuing to live for not just one's friends but our neighbors?

I remember one of our Philo101 lessons "the Socius and the Neighbor", in that society dictates that by mere association, we are all everyone else's socii. However, we choose to be someone's neighbor through our actions. With our deeds and actions this past week, the Filipino People have just become one enormous neighborhood, whether friends or not.

These relief operations are tangible examples of "giving until it hurts, giving until it hurts some more and eventually until it hurts no more". Sweat and Tears (maybe even blood?) in amounts equal to Ondoy's onslaught were (and are still being) given, all in the name of Goodness, Goodwill and Generosity.

With the light generated from within us, we have truly lit the world's darkest corners and told the world of His Love.

Standing Up to the Storm

I have never seen so many angels as I have today, not surprisingly, on the feast of the angels. I remember this day yearly because today also happens to be the birthday of my cousin, martina ANGELa. (Happy Birthday, Mima!)

Who says angels have to have wings? Church doctrine and common practice has associated the term with cute Cherubs and Seraphs, and the archangels Michael, Raphael, Uriel and Gabriel.But as far as I know, the term "angel" is derived from the latin term for "Messenger".  So, technically, when you've got a message to deliver, you are an angel. Maybe that's why even in his most evil state, Lucifer, is still referred to as a "Fallen" angel.

But lest I veer off from the goodness of this day, I have never seen so many angels as I have today. I have also witnessed the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish. But this time, it was the multiplication of relief goods.

Lyceum's CPAD (Communication and Public Affairs Department, where I belong) all went to Poveda to help out with repacking the relief goods. When we got there, the place was filled with angels with a unified message to send: "No storm is going to stop us from doing our little part". Classes were suspended for a whole week, yet students of all ages (some even as young as Grade 2) were all there, packing sacks and sacks of relief goods for families they don't even know.

The strange part is that the boxes of relief goods for repacking just kept on coming and coming. No politicians' names, no NGO name-droppijng, just boxes and boxes, sacks and sacks. In his time, Jesus did this same thing with just 5 loaves and 2 fish, and this took place in a specific location (a small mount, with around 5000 people, or so they say). Today we packed goods that will go out to a much bigger range and number of people. Humanity and the spirit of "bayanihan" transcend and religion. I will go out on a limb by saying that not everyone present today is Catholic (maybe not even Christian). But the angelic message still remains.

Immortalized by the most controversial "angels (in their own right)", Lennon and Macartney... "All you need is LOVE".

The wrath of a million tears

You see things like this on the news and in the movies. As a setting for a story, a major motion picture, to add a dark color and a sad soundtrack to a blockbuster. But seeing and experiencing things like this happen live, with your own eyes, is quite surreal.

Images that will forever be etched in the collective subconscious of Mega-Manilenos are the photos, videos and live feed of the rage of the storm that was called "Ondoy".

The video of the group who, save one, never made it past the underside of the bridge in Rizal, The countless corpses and overturned cars, the insenstive comments of some "filipina" in Dubai (The term Filipina in quotation as she has obviously not shown that she deserves to be called one),the outpouring of support from the angelic samaritans (some even to the point of sacrificing their own lives), and of course celebrities as well, for ne'er a story be complete without them and they, too, were equally affected.

Soaking in the tearful aftermath, one cannot help but ask "What now?". When everyone has recovered from the fury of the storm, will this just be another memory swept under the rug? Will we just let this be another spectacle in time, through which we survived but did not resolve much like the tragedies of the Superferries and Sulpicios?

This calami-tragedy struck me as more of a grieving, melancholic Mother Nature than an angry one. Baguio in 1990,Mount Pinatubo in 1991, Ozone, The Bocaue Pagoda and other similar tragedies all felt "angry". Those seemed as if the discipinarian in Mother Nature spoke up and screamed "This is what you get for treating me like this". Ondoy's case was much different. It felt as if she just poured out in one day (or a few hours) years worth of tears held back, and every single drop of those tears united in one titanic display of authority.

 We must cuddle up to Mother Nature, show her our love and affection, before she leaves us for good. She might just, so as the late MJ said : "Let's make a better place for you and for me".

The Jobe Issue

Eligibility issues take to the floor once again with this Jobe Nkemakolam issue. Honestly, from the moment I read the first article on it, I knew right away that it was a personal matter. It's a typical case of "mother disliking the daughter's boyfriend". What normally happens in this scenario is that the mother stops at nothing until she gets her way.

So now, because he (Jobe) knocked her daughter up, she exacts revenge by bringing (or trying to) his team down. Today, this superficial issue has been settle when CHED declared him eligible. But what about the deeper issue?

What's to say that this is not an issue of Racism? Because Mr. Nkemakolam does not look like someone she wants for her daughter, the mother goes and does this? I'm not saying that this is the issue, but it could be, considering his physical attributes and the usual superficiality that most people have.

So what now? Now that this issue has been resolved, I doubt it's gonna just die out like that. Mother dearest is probably scheming up another attack. Now this may or may not involve the team, but she's definitely after his head and won't stop until it's on a silver platter.

I wonder if she thinks that her daughter got pregnant because Jobe willed it like Zeus in Ancient Greece?

Super Mario in the Real World

Growing up in the 80s and the 90s, you could not have missed out on the Super Mario Brothers and all the different adaptations, sequels and spinoffs. I found myself learning more and more everyday about the Super Mario World.

 Over time, questions arose such as:

• Who is the older brother? (I heard that Luigi was older, but this was just hearsay)
• Are there two princesses with different names or is it just one?
• What will Bowser do to the princesses? Eat them?

 Also, once you enter into adulthood, you begin to associate some of the images and characters with subliminal meanings. Even before I saw this video, I already thought to myself "Was Mario (or his creator) under the influence of narcotics?".

Playing the game, even just at a novice level, the player experiences mario's different power-ups. The mushroom, for example turns mario "super". The flower gives Mario firepower and the star, renders him invincible.

Back in the real world, "Shrooms" (or Magic Mushrooms) are hallucinogens similar to LSD, in which user experiences an intense appreciation of everyday things, normally taken for granted, and a feeling of having found their "true self" (http://www.guide4living.com/drugabuse/magic-mushrooms-effects.htm).  This altered state of perception could lead you to believe that you are larger or more powerful than you really are, hence the "super" state.
The flower is a slightly more complicated association. Though I cannot recall of any flower as a drug in itself, I know of users who have smoked/puffed pollen much like they smoke pot/marijuana. Lighting them up coulkd be the association of firepower and the flower. Also, the symbol of the narcotic-influenced hippie culture was the flower.

An even more complicated association would be the star and its invincibility. When Mario touches the star, he becomes temporarily invincible and flashes many different colors. Now, in 1938, research scientist Albert Hoffman derived LSD from ergot, a fungus found growing wild on rye and other grasses. Five years later he underwent the first ever LSD trip by mistake while carrying out an experiment in his laboratory. "..I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense kaleidoscopic play of colours." And the world hasn't looked back since. (http://www.guide4living.com/drugabuse/lsd.htm) Aside from the flashing of many colors, it can also alter one's perception, such as appearing invincible, as this is a hallucinogen.

Of course, I still enjoy, my Mario games. I'm not saying that Mario IS an addict, but the association is just funny. I mean it may be possible but so what? it's not like kids who play Mario become drug addicts (well, not because of the game anyway).

The video should provide for a laughtrip. That should give you a natural high.

The Quiet One

There's hardly ever a group of people, where everyone is just as loud and outspoken as the other. Normally, in a group of four or more, there is at least one quiet one. But with the "silence" comes power. Usually, when the silent one speaks, everybody listens.

The voice of the quiet one is often filled with a resonance and charm of churchbells as the ring and reverberate as cherubs in the sky. The messages they bring are simple yet lasting.

Such was the case of our late chairman, Sen. Sotero H. Laurel. I will admit, I never knew him. I never even met him. And yet, he is spoken of in the highest regard by everyone whose lives he has touched. He was not a man of the spotlight, and yet, his very existence has brought about many great things to our people and to our country.

He has left behind a great legacy in Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU), as it makes its way towards its 60th anniversary. Being a bastion of Academic Excellence in the country as its founder,Dr. Jose P. Laurel envisioned, LPU was nurtured and cared for by Sen. Sotero, as he brought Lyceum from Manila to Batangas, Laguna, Makati and Cavite.

Sen. Laurel was also "one of the ‘Magnificent 12’ who voted against the extension of the United States Military Bases" in the Philippines in 1991. Thus, as if to honor him for his participation that nationalistic act, he was taken peacefully in his sleep on the 18th anniversary of that historic moment.

Sen. Laurel was not a politician. He was a public servant. He was an educator. He was not one to take the mic, but when he did, people listened. People, the Filipino people, remember and will remember him for his life and what he did with it.

I cannot help but allude and compare Sen. Teroy (as he was fondly called), to the late, great Beatle George Harrison (as Music is the only way I can express my thoughts well). George Harrison was not as vocal and outspoken as Paul and John. He was not as distinct as Ringo. But when he spoke, people listened. When he cracked a joke, people laughed. And when he played his guitar, people lived.