By: Christelle MarambaThe Kalaidzhi is a gypsy clan from Bulgaria, and a subgroup of Roma people, who are constantly discriminated all throughout Europe. Every spring, in the town of Stara Zagora in Central Bulgaria, they hold the annual Bride Market. The Bride Market is an event wherein poor families of the said clan are able to sell their daughters to the highest bidders. The young women are usually dressed in provocative outfits, full-blown make-up, and sky high heels. They also dance around flirtatiously, hoping to attract high bids from other gypsy men. The annual Bride Market is actually a tradition of the Kalaidzhi and despite the event’s negative connotations, the Kalaidzhi are actually devout Orthodox Christians and are known to remove girls from school at 14 or 15 to keep them from mingling with boys. The Bride Market is like any event, with the girls in one group and boys in another and they check each other out and occasionally shake hands, while the parents stand discreetly in the background. The cost of a bride used to be between 3,000 – 5,000 U.S dollars but has since dropped due to the worsening of the economy.
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By: Mhon Navarro Canon has announced probably one of the most anticipated camera in years: the 5D Mark IV. It's full of improvements and some remarkable new features, it is a worthy successor to the 5D mark III. Along with it comes two new lenses, the EF 24-105 mm f/4L IS II USM and EF 16-35 mm f/2.8L III USM.
The 5D Mark III is known as the bread and butter camera of almost all wedding, portrait and event photographers and as a camera that can shoot any situation and perform competently and reliably. Following it up was no simple task, and it seems Canon has really brought its standards to the highest level. Specifications • 30.4 MP CMOS sensor • ISO range of 100-32,000 and expandable to 50-102,400 • DCI 4K (4096 by 2160) at 30/25/24 fps with 8.8 MP JPEG image extraction • Dual Pixel raw file format that allows post-production fine-tuning of focal point, image ghosting reduction and foreground bokeh shifting • 61-point (41-point cross type) AF system with an expanded coverage and focusing down to -3 EV • 7 fps continuous shooting speed • Wi-Fi and NFC to allow the users for remote shooting and sharing of images • GPS for geotagging of images • DIGIC 6+ processor • Fully functional touchscreen to allow for setting changes, focal point selection, and image review, including pinch-to-zoom gestures • 150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor including anti-flicker protection • Dual Pixel CMOS AF • Time-Lapse movie mode • 100% coverage viewfinder • Dual CF and SD card slots • Mirror vibration control system to ensure maximum sharpness EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM The EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM is an update to Canon's highly popular walk-around lens with expected improvements in sharpness. Specifications • Focal range: 24-105mm • Aperture range: f/4-f/22 • 17 elements in 12 groups • 4 stops of image stabilization • Zoom lock switch to prevent lens creep • One large-diameter, glass-molded, dual-surface aspherical element along with three addition glass-molded aspherical elements for edge sharpness, low vignetting, and minimal distortion • Air Sphere coating to reduce flaring and ghosting • Ring-Type USM focusing motor with full-time override • Dust and water resistance • Fluorine coating to reduce smears and enable easier cleaning • 10 rounded aperture blades • 0.23x maximum magnification with 18" minimum focusing distance EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Canon also announced the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM, an update to their popular and highly capable wide angle lens. Specifications • 30.4 MP CMOS sensor • ISO range of 100-32,000, expandable to 50-102,400 • DCI 4K (4096 by 2160) at 30/25/24 fps with 8.8 MP JPEG image extraction • Dual Pixel raw file format allows post-production fine-tuning of focal point, foreground bokeh shifting, and image ghosting reduction • 61-point (41-point cross type) AF system with expanded coverage and focusing down to -3 EV • 7 fps continuous shooting speed • Wi-Fi and NFC to allow for remote shooting and sharing of images • GPS for geotagging of images • DIGIC 6+ processor • Fully functional touchscreen to allow for setting changes, focal point selection, and image review, including pinch-to-zoom gestures • 150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor including anti-flicker protection • Dual Pixel CMOS AF • Time-Lapse for movie mode • 100% coverage viewfinder • Dual CF and SD card slots • Mirror vibration control system to ensure maximum sharpness by Marve SangalangWhat is Fictophilia? It is a condition where a person have strong desires, sexual attraction, intense feelings of love towards a fictional character, similar in strength and application of those felt towards real people. This also may be considered as an addiction or a fetish, fictional characters may come from Anime characters, books, online games hero etc. Persons who experience Fictophilia are called Fictophiles. Here are some signs that point out whether you might be a Fictophile:
You use your Fictional character's name as your password. A strong admiration pushes you to use their names because you are confidently sure that you will never ever forget their name. You know all the information about the fictional character, even the smallest detail. His/Her history, family background, clothes, favorites and character itself. You can also recognize him/her by his/her voice. You always wrote his/her name at the back of your notebook, on walls, on armchairs, almost everywhere. You always recall his/her name as many times as you blink. Your phone gallery is full of his/her picture. You always watch him/her (Anime), you always use him/her as your hero (online games). Even on your Facebook account, you make him/her as your display profile or use his/her name as your account name. When you and your friends are talking, you always mention his/her name. You always talk about your fictional character crush even if your friends can’t relate. You can’t last a day without looking or talking about your fictional character crush. You always think of him/her, you spend your time day dreaming about a person that doesn’t even, and will never ever, exist. Before you sleep you think of him/her, and when you wake up, the first thing that is in your mind is his/her face. Lastly, your standards on chosing your partner is based on your fictional character crush appearance. You always look for a total package man/woman just like characters in a fictional book, manga or anime. You are not easily attracted to a real person anymore because your attention is focused on the fictional character. By: Mhon Navarro When you are shooting some truly amazing outdoor locations and you’re getting disappointed as you realize your shot is not as good as what you expected, and you bought a camera with multiple bodies and some expensive lenses that is more expensive than a car. If you find in this kind of situation, then these tips are for you. Tip #1: The Golden Rule of Landscape Photography There is a rule for landscape photographers that must be followed. Without following this rule, you’ll never get the results top photographers do. A landscape photographer can shoot only two times a day: (1) dawn. Shoot about 15 to 30 minutes before sunrise, and 30 minutes to an hour afterwards. The only other time you are allowed to shoot is: (2) dusk. Shoot 15 to 30 minutes before sunset and up to 30 minutes afterwards. Why you are only allowed to shoot at these times? Because these are the only times of the day when we get the soft, warm light and soft shadows that give your landscape a professional quality lighting. Tip #2: Marry Your Tripod Since you’ll be shooting in low light all the time, you will need your tripod to help you. Always shoot with a tripod for landscape photography because there is no hand-holding in the professional landscape photography world. Tip #3: Composing Great Landscape Know your foreground, middle ground and the background of your subject. That means when you’re shooting a sunset, your foreground is the beach and not the water. Your middle ground is the ocean reflecting the sun or the sun itself. Your background is the clouds and sky. Tip #4: You need a wide-angle lens Buy a super-wide-angle-lens and not a fish-eye lens. If you’re trying to capture it all, a super-wide-angle like the 12mm lens is the trick you need to take in the big picture. It helps you create a 2D photo that has depth of field and feeling of being there. Tip #5: What to shoot at sunset Besides shooting the sun, another great subject to shoot at sunset is silhouettes. Two basic rules in shooting silhouettes: (1) make your subject easily recognizable. Don’t make your viewers ask “what is that thing?” and (2) position your subject in front of the setting sun and expose for the sky. Keeping all this in mind when shooting will help you give your landscape shot more depth, lead the eye, and tell a story. By: Allyn I. Villahermosa Photo courtesy: Google Images Acted by Jennylyn Mercado and Jericho Rosales who were both hailed as the MMFF 2015 best actor and actress, let’s all look back at the saddening yet inspiring film of Mia and Ethan.
Changes draw Mia and Ethan back to where they were long ago. Mia, a well-known scriptwriter tells her once upon a time in her large hit films. As fate and destiny and with the help of their friends make a way for their paths to cross, Ethan decides to unravel the secrets behind her ex’s films and realize that it was their story that made his ex-girlfriend inspired to write several top grossing films in the industry. Forgiveness changes their life and rekindles their lost love. Will a second chance really give them the chance to fix everything that was once broken? Mia and Ethan however proved whether “forever” does exist or not. The story was a typical love story yet how it was delivered was unexpected. It is not spoon-fed and in the mean time, the lines were truthful and real. Ethan’s death was a loss but it was not showed as if the loss was the important thing above all. The whole scenario was focused on how truthful Mia is and how she held on with their promises with Ethan. As an ending, Mia left the theatre with the line, “Nasa iyo kung ipagpapatuloy mo ang forever. May forever hangga’t hindi ka nagmo-move on at hindi bumibitaw sa mga pangarap niyong dalawa.” The movie itself answered its title #WALANGFOREVER as “May forever sa taong hindi bumibitaw.” The film was very timely, very relevant with the issue of the youth and inspiring to hold on to dreams and promises, above all. by Marve SangalangHuman beings are actually attention seekers. They always want to be noticed, to be the star and to always have the spot light on them. A lot of acts and schemes are made just to catch others attention, impress other people and to be pleasing, but people tend to do nonsense and stupid things when they are depressed, have no one to turn to, and feel so down. The feeling of being neglected is the top most reason why people come up with weird and immature actions. Here are 3 stupid things people do when they feel neglected. The World full of only Me - You feel that you are all alone. You make yourself believe that no one cares for you and that all kinds of people are the same. You isolate yourself from others because you think that it is better to live alone. No hurts, no burdens, and fewer expectations. You also keep in mind that since you were neglected once, you will be neglected forever, whether by the people you love, your friends, and even the people you may encounter in the future. You have your own world and you don't want anybody else there. The show not to care act - Since being ignored is the most painful experience you may encounter, especially when the person who neglected you means a lot to you, you tend to be bitter. You act like you don't care; you act tough and pretend that they are nothing to you when in fact they really mean a lot. You also make them feel like you don't need them and that you are okay even if you're hurting inside, fooling yourself that you don't need those people in your life. You think that if you don't show any care and affection then that would be the time they finally notice and care for you. You put up walls and push people away. The Suicidal move - When a person feels depressed, he/she may want to end his/her life abruptly. Living in this world full of people who doesn't notice nor appreciate your presence is one of the worst things in life. You can't come up with a good and worthwhile decision; all you think about is that no one cares for you so there is no reason to live. You hurt yourself just to get the attention of others, this is the only reason you know to catch everyone’s' attention. These three things may seem funny or a foolish act to us, but this is crucial. People who suffer from feelings of neglect really needs a friend, brother, sister, family or just anyone who can make them feel okay. By: Patricia BaguioAre you a commuter? What do you usually do to ease your boredom? Do you play mobile games? Listen to music? Or you’d rather sleep?
Here in Pangasinan, local residents and foreigners were amused by this public jeepney that offers free Wi-Fi connection. This strategy was made to divert the boredom of the passengers while on a trip. The fast connection of the internet has been tried, so the passengers enjoyed surfing online. There is no problem if they will get stuck in heavy traffic, because they are having fun.The route of “Kissmark Jeep”, name of the jeepney, is Sta. Barbara- Dagupan, driven by Gerald Villanueva. You can ride here if you are going to Robinsons Calasiao. According to the driver, he pays 1000 pesos per month for the internet, expensive yet it makes priceless seeing his passengers’ smile. One time, a foreigner passenger gave him an envelope with $5 on it because he was amused by his tactic. While having fun in the trip, The POSO Dagupan authorities remind passengers to double the security of their gadgets while using it in a public place to avoid snatchers. The activity inside the jeepney is very tempting, snatchers will know about the situation and they might take advantage of it. By: Patricia BaguioIt is common these days to hear a story of a single mom raising her children by herself. What is strange about this woman in Cavite is that she is a single parent of five children with different nationalities. Her eldest child is Korean, second is Canadian, the third child is Indian, the fourth one is British and the youngest child is Filipino.
Recently, Hannah has been one of the players in the TV game show Wowowin, hosted by Willie Revillame. In the show, she was admired by the audience because of her performance, until she shared her story as a single mom. This is the story of Hannah Cariño, a mother of 5 foreign children and how she met their fathers. She was raised in Cotabato City and worked as a pole dancer in a Korean club. This is where she met the father of her eldest child. When she told the Korean that she’s carrying his baby, the Korean left her hanging. At a young age, being a single parent is not easy, so her relatives adapted her child since she is not ready to take responsibility. After that, Hannah went to Manila and worked as a show girl in a club in Makati Avenue. One night, she met a Canadian man and had a one night stand. She got pregnant and never saw him again because he went back to Canada the day after they met. She forgot his name and his contact number. After Hannah gave birth, she left her baby to her mother in the province while she is away. When she returned to the bar, she’s no longer a show girl but a pole dancer this time. In the year 2009, she quit the bar and moved on to a bigger one at Makati Avenue, this is where she fell in love with an Indian national. The guy told her that he loves her and will accept her no matter what, and when the Indian found out that Hannah is pregnant and he is the father, he didn’t believe her and left her. Since then, Hannah promised herself that she’ll never love again. However, this promise was broken when she returned to the club. When she came back, she met a British national and got pregnant once more. Three months into her pregnancy, they still had a communication and the guy promised to support her and the baby. Then someone betrayed Hannah and started spreading rumors about her, so when she gave birth to their child, she has been left for the fourth time. After a year, Hannah moved to Fort Bonifacio and met a Filipino Policemen with whom she fell in love with again and fathered her youngest child. But just like her ex-boyfriends, he left her as well. Now, she’s single parent of five children with different nationalities and is exhausted in finding her true love. When she told her story, many people admired her for being a strong woman and for not giving up despite the struggles that she went through. By: Christelle MarambaWe’ve all had those moments where we feel something but we just don’t have the right word for it. We think long and hard on how to describe it but we just can’t, because we don’t have the word for it in our language. Well, how about we try to borrow from other languages!
That moment when you are eating and you know you are already full but you just can’t stop because everything just tastes so good, consequences be damned. We all get this feeling when we are in an eat-all-you-can restaurant or in a buffet.
Have you ever had that feeling of happiness when something bad happens to someone you do not particularly like? It’s a bad feeling, I know, but don’t deny that we feel this way sometimes, especially if it’s towards our enemies.
That feeling when nothing seems to go right, when our day, or even week or month or year, sucked so bad it seems like a never ending story of unfortunate events? Yeah, that horrible luck.
That moment when you like someone and you’re 99.99% sure he/she likes you back but you’re both afraid to make a move because it might ruin everything. Ever been in that moment?
That feeling when you miss someone or something so terribly that even the most intensifying intensifiers can’t do the job to describe exactly how much you miss that person or thing.
We all know what to call the situation of someone not loving you back, it’s called Unrequited Love. However, what about the feeling of unrequited love? It’s not simply called heartache.
If you ever experience Lethologica again, try looking it up on the internet. You'll never know, the word you're looking for might just be from another country. By: Joy Apostol Do you ever find yourself biting your nails when you’re just sitting comfortably on your couch or when you have your recitation in class or an interview for a job? If you’ll ask me, I’ll say yes. I’ve been biting my nails whenever I’m worried about something. However, these past few days I noticed that it became an uncontrollable habit, so I did some research about it.
Million years ago in ancient Greece, there was a man who was said to accumulate his intellect through biting his nails. A Stoic philosopher, Sidonius, called this particular man, Cleanthes. He was the first recorded nail-biter in history. Also, the technical name of nail biting is, “onychophagia” that also from a Greek word meaning "nail-eater." People tend to think that nail biting is a normal and uncontrolled grooming behavior. However, American Psychiatrists decided to count nail biting as a form of "pathological grooming," together with hair pulling, plucking out of eyelashes, or skin picking behaviors, that is actually associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). There are various speculations as to why people bite their nails. The first was because of preoccupation, tiredness, or a wish for simple comfort. The next was a sign of an inside aggression toward yourself. The third is being a perfectionist, it is because they’re focused on excellence,it appears that they’re more defenseless to body-focused repetitive disorder that’s why they easily get bored or frustrated in just a little misdeed, and tend to take it out on little things around them. Lastly, most experts agreed that biting of nails is a way for people to release stress. Nail Biting is caused by feelings of stress and after some time, the behavior becomes uncontrolled. It becomes automatic behavior that has no connection with external stimulus. Nail biting as a psychiatric disorder really exists, but if you’re a teenager, don’t react like you’re already going to a mental hospital because based on the Journal Behavior Research and Therapy, young adults who experience nail biting does not result from psychological disorder but simply from boredom and stress. So nail biting is not really terrifying. However, if you repeatedly bite your nails, it can leave your fingers red and sore and the area of skin around your nails may bleed and become infected. Be careful because it can transfer germs that are buried under the surface of the nail into your face and mouth. |
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