Obama visits PH; Enters PBB House

US President Barack Obama came to the Philippines for his first state visit on April 28, 2014, but he was surprised when his originally 2-day stay in the country turned out to be a 100-day stay in the Pinoy Big Brother House.

Obama arrived via the Air Force One on Monday and was initially greeted by Vice President Jejomar Binay, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg, and all the other people who were too irrelevant to be mentioned.

Afterwards, he boarded the Navy One helicopter to the Malacañang Palace, effectively avoiding the parking lot that is Metro Manila.

Upon arriving at the Malacañang, he was welcomed by President Benigno Aquino, and both of them proceeded with the usual rights at a state visit, which includes the playing of the national anthems, review of the honor guards, and rendering of full military honors, including a 21-gun salute for the head of state.

Obama then signed the Official Guestbook at the Ceremonial Hall.

However, he had no idea that it wasn’t only the Guestbook that he signed. He also unwittingly signed a contract with ABS-CBN, allowing them to turn him into one of Kuya’s housemates.

After President Aquino conferred him the highest diplomatic honor, and after the state banquet, members of the cabinet aptly sang Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On as Obama is taken by Pinoy Big Brother’s production staff out of Malacañang and into the PBB House.

Militant leaders have expressed dismay over Obama’s prolonged stay in the Philippines, and has been trying to get him evicted, both from the PBB House and the country, by trending #PBBALLINObamaOut.

The Philippine’s Defense Secretary said that everything that they have spent for Obama’s trip and eventual entry into Kuya’s House will be worth it.

“It will help him do his work better if he is here in the country and in Philippine’s leading reality TV show which puts the spotlight on common Filipinos like that guy who happens to be a model, and that girl who’s a volleyball player,” says Gazmin in an exclusive interview with The PT.

“This is part of fulfilling his iron-clad commitment to defend the Philippines,” he added.

Obama’s state visit was timed to coincide with the signing of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement which allows access to American soldiers to military bases here in the country. Other than that, no one knows shit about it.

One of the military bases specified in the agreement is located in front of the ABS-CBN studios in Quezon City.

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2014 Horoscope!

I know, I know. I have completely neglected my blog… yet again. You can’t blame me. Schoolworks are just all in my face and then just when I have time to blog, I got sick with measles. Great. Just great.

So to compensate with my long absence, I have consulted the stars, the moon, the sun, and the planets about your fate this coming 2014.

That is why for my year-ender blog post, I am doing a horoscope based on your Chinese zodiac years, with a sociopolitical twist.

Are you ready? Here we go.

Katy Perry “Roars” at Plum Charts debut

Hello my little plumsters!

Over the past week, I have been thinking of making a chart which would basically be something like a compilation of as many charts (radio, TV, online stores) in the Philippines. I have tried to do different methods for weeks and weeks, until I found a very easy method for me to compile and average the charts.

So, the Plum Charts is basically an average of as many as possible charts in the Philippines. If a song charts on one chart, that song would get the corresponding number it gets on that chart (say, Applause is #3 on the MYX Charts, it gets a #3.) If a song charts on more than one chart, that song will get all its corresponding numbers on the different charts it’s on and would be averaged (let’s say that Best Song Ever charts at #1 on a radio station and it charts at #3 on iTunes Philippines, it will be averaged to #2.)

These numbers will accumulate throughout the week, and will be averaged at the end. The smaller the average, the higher the song will go up in the Plum Charts.

But what if a song does not chart everyday in a week? For example, Chinito charted on Monday, disappeared on Tuesday, and reappeared on Thursday. Of course, I have found a workaround via ratio and proportion. The whole process is quite mathematical if I explain it here, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Moving on, this week’s charts has Katy Perry on the top spot with her new single, Roar, from her upcoming album, Prism.

See the other songs which charted below:

Chinese fishing vessel spotted in Katy Perry’s new music video

It seems like the Spratlys isn’t the only thing that China is invading.

A Chinese fishing vessel had been spotted next to Taal Volcano in Katy Perry’s music video for her latest single, Brave.

It came as a surprise for Department of Tourism secretary, Ramon Jimenez, that the Taal Volcano and its surrounding lake was featured in the video. Even more surprising for him is the inclusion of a Chinese fishing vessel.

“[It is] a picture of the Philippines that is obviously Philippines – that this country is being invaded, and we cannot even roar or be brave about it. I am very surprised that she has captured this,” he told The Plum.

“It’s no secret that, when Katy Perry went to the country, she fell in love with Philippines. I would not be surprised if she made the choice of completely copying everything she saw here, including the Chinese ships, herself. [But] I do not know that for a fact,” he added.

The American pop star has visited the country twice, first in October 2009 and in January 2012, as part of her worldwide tour.

In 2012, American action film, Bourne Legacy, featured the slums and the dirt of the Manila; and just lately, novelist Dan Brown affectionately named the city, the “Gates of Hell.”

Pleased with the latest “cameo” of a Philippine location in foreign media, Jimenez on Saturday said, “We encourage all our friends around the world to feature [the country] in a realistic light.”

Manila to Add Wi-Fi Hotspots to Waiting Sheds

The City of Manila is planning to turn waiting sheds to not just waiting sheds, but also, Wi-Fi hotspots.

Mayor Joseph Estrada signed a memorandum of agreement, Friday, with Global Gold Goal Inc., who shall be shouldering the expenses of not only the Wi-Fi hostspots, but also solar powered streetlights, and CCTV cameras.

Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said commuters may start seeing the Wi-Fi-ready waiting sheds within the next two weeks along loading and unloading zones for buses, as designated by the city’s Traffic Management Committee.

So, if one of these waiting sheds are one of your stops, well, be sure to have your smartphone’s Wi-Fi connection enabled:

• Quirino-Taft Avenue
• Park N’ Ride Lawton Terminal
• España before Lacson (for northbound buses coming from Cavite province)
• the footbridge in front of the University of Santo Tomas
• Manila Multimodal Terminal
• Luneta Park
• Quirino-Taft Avenue (eastbound coming from Fairview)
• V. Mapa
• Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard
• Pureza Street
• Arlegui Street
• Park N’ Ride Lawton Terminal (westbound coming from San Juan)

Well, I see this step as a way to encourage more commuters to use the proper terminals/waiting sheds. I also see this as an opportunity for snatchers and/or hold-uppers to steal more smartphones which are newer and, should I dare say, much more functional than the shit they sell on sidewalks.

Source: http://technology.inquirer.net/29019/manila-eyes-wi-fi-ready-waiting-sheds