Some aim to save the Pandas or Dolphins, while others are organized for someone with a terminal illness – all good causes, of course.
Motivation, however, is still a big problem as sometimes, the thought of doing good is not enough of an incentive, but what if the run had something more at stake? What if people had to run for their lives?

Picture running for five kilometres among five thousand other runners in a field covered with the walking dead, where the chance of enountering a zombie hungry for human flesh is ten steps to one and winning means living. That is the premise of Outbreak Manila. This month, The LaSallian brings you head to head with organizer, Deb Victa.

Dream Come Alive
Deb Victa, 20, a Mass Communications graduate of Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), started this run with a dream. Victa mentions that her parents owned an events company in the past, which inspired her to put up her own company. Her partner, Angelo Cruz, is a web developer who trained in the United States. While he was staying there, a run called “Run for your Lives!”a three-month long zombie fun run that travelled state to state, inspired him to create: Re-Create Events and Production, with its very firstreak
“I put up this events company with my parents helping me in the background,” said Victa. “We set up a company, and we only patterned it after “Run for your Lives” in the States so the idea is not entirely original, it is only inspired after “Run for your Lives” in the States, but we added more twists to it to cater more to the horror tastes of the Filipinos.”

Re-Create Events and Productions has big goals with Outbreak Manila, aspiring for the outbreak to spread from Nuvali, Sta. Rosa. “We wanted to go with “Outbreak Philippines,” but it does not roll off the tongue. Kasi (Because) we got big dreams for this, we want to bring it all across the country,” said Victa.

The partners named their event “Outbreak Manila” to make the name flexible for changing especially when they have to move to another location. People from various parts of the Philippines are already clamoring to have an Outbreak in their own cities like “Outbreak Cebu” or “Outbreak Davao.”

Dealing with the Living
Victa and her team had to get legal in attaching the concept of zombie fun runs to their name as some other group may use their concept. “There might be a few runs that might be popping up here and there so we had the idea patented so the idea of a zombie fun run belongs to Re-Create. We had to make sure that that was part of the process,” she said. “In this day and age, it does not matter anymore who is first or who had the original idea. What matters is who was able to sell it better. So that is what we are aiming for.”
Outbreak Manila may not be the first one of its kind in the Philippines, but Victa and her team aspire to make their brand stand out from all the other runs in the future.

The hype that their zombie fun run generated was more than they had hoped for. Their sponsor had only wanted them to get at least 2000 participants, to which Victa was scared on whether they could reach that target.
As it turns out, during the very first three days of registration, they had signed more than 1600 runners. They had to open more slots that reached 3500 which then escalated to 5000. They wanted to keep 5000 as their maximum, but by popular demand, they had to re-open registrations.

On the Outbreak
Outbreak Manila, in many ways, is not the average fun run. Each runner is given a belt with three flags that symbolize their health status in the run. Zombies would try to take those flags away and whoever makes it out of the track with a flag intact, wins. The obstacles, Victa shares, are not the typical kind of obstacles in military base camps or teambuilding exercises. There would be obstacle courses that would make runners feel as though they were in a horror movie or a video game. She tells The LaSallian that a particular obstacle would make runners feel a genuine “The Walking Dead” experience.

The zombie fun run has been advertised throughout the social networking universe with their Facebook like page having over 19,000 likes. With billboards featuring Jake Cuenca to instructional accompaniment videos that feature the actual site of the outbreak, people are buzzing the grapevine with news, inviting friends to run for their lives.

Victa shares, “Personally, I was never into running. If I were to run, this is the type of run I would want to join. It’s a fresh trail, a fresh concept.”

Like most runs, Outbreak Manila has its own cause to advocate. “Our biggest beneficiary would be the runners themselves. This event is really more to get them to have an active lifestyle, so it is really for them; for them to have fun and also to get fit in an inspiring way,” she said.

So what could people expect from the actual outbreak? Victa shares that there would only be one route in the entire run, but somewhere in the middle, there would have lesser zombies, but would be longer by around 300 metres. The horde way would be very tight with a zombie encounter every ten steps. “What would make you want to go through the horde way is the obstacles because I do not know if you remember our mechanics, but we have life representing flag belts with three flags on it. If you lose those, you can actually replenish your stash if you go through the obstacles. So more obstacles means more chances to get flags,” she said. “The whole route, the whole 5K can be finished in an hour by way of walking, but why would you want to walk in a zombie infested obstacle course, right?”

“There is evidence that advertising may have significant negative cultural impacts: increasing our ecological footprint by boosting consumption; influencing our values and identities in ways that undermine our concern about social and environmental challenges; and eroding well-being and freedom of choice,” the report noted.

The real battle for hearts and minds
Testing and building on the ideas of social psychologist Shalom Schwartz, researchers have unearthed a set of values common to various cultures and societies spanning centuries. The report highlights the distinction between values that are intrinsic – a sense of community, self-acceptance, benevolence, and universalism: a respect for the welfare of all beings – versus extrinsic, primarily self-centred values dependent on the perceptions of others, characterised by a desire to conform or ‘fit in’, protect self-image, and compete with others for financial success, personal achievement and power.

Extrinsic values translate to “higher levels of prejudice, less concern about the environment and lower motivation to engage in corresponding behaviors, and weak (or absent) concern about human rights,”while hindering personal well-being, as life turns into into an uphill battle for more.

As it relates to the environment, studies in the US and the UK show that adolescents who identify more strongly with extrinsic values are less likely to save electricity, reuse paper, or recycle. “Similar findings have been reported for American adults, among whom extrinsic values are found to be negatively correlated with the frequency of pro-environmental behaviors such as riding a bicycle, reusing paper, buying second-hand, and recycling,” wrote the report.

So where does Advertising come in? Advertising shifts social norms from intrinsic values to extrinsic ones. Said the report,“the great majority of advertising money is spent in ways that appeal to extrinsic values—that is, values associated with lower motivation to address social or environmental problems.

Regardless of the product, advertising feeds into contemporary culture’s triple axis of rampant, commercialism, consumerism, and materialism, the very ism’s numerousstudies consistently point out fail to bring happiness.

Advertising lures us in to shop, to buy, to consume – and punishes us with hooks of guilt whenwe fall short of the standards of Consumer Society where the unabashed pursuit of wealth is glorified as righteous while the masses who fail to climb up the ladder of opulence are summarily dismissed as lazy, or unblessed, or genetically weak, thus unfit to live.

Commercialised Humanity
Society has been kept in a perpetual state of infancy, where the childish urge to own everything, ASAP, is elevated to sacred status. All this, at a time when Earth’s resources have been stretched to the limit and funnelled toward the consumerist few with the money at their disposal, leaving precious little for the vast majority of the world’s poor. Not to mention for future generations.

The distinction between ‘citizen’ and ‘consumer’ in modern society is a blur, with nearly every relationship, act of political leadership and social transaction now underwritten in the context of “what is in it for me”.In the Philippines, consumerism cuts across class boundaries, with lower income families just as likely to borrow money to splurge on ‘wants’ like a television set, lottery tickets or processed food, as the wealthier swipe a credit card for a Prada handbag, a two hundred peso latte, and pricey but otherwise worthless antiques,all bought at the expense of more pressing needs like education and nutritious food… or in the case of the rich, charity and taxes.

But for many of the poor, consumption is likely a matter of survival. Their options for entertainment are limited to the local TV network-based televisions common in slums, temptingly blaring out commercials and images of high-status lifestyles, twenty four-seven.

Filipino urban society is doubtless consumer-oriented. It would not be unpatriotic to claim that the heroes we worship -the Azkals, Manny Pacquiao – have all been hijacked, compromised, co-opted, and masqueraded as still more icons of consumer culture. Alcoholic athletes on beer commercials, anyone?

Playing up the classic tricks of the advertising trade – emotional impact, make them cry, and flash the brand- Coca Cola exploited the plight of OFWs last December, in an online video that went viral almost instantly, Where Will Happiness strike next: The OFW Project.
The barefaced title highlights a company’s desperate attempt to equate happiness with an overrated diabetes inducing, fizzy sugar drink. While it may have been a heart-warmer, it probably left the participants of the “project” and their families indebted to a transnational corporation that likely plays a key role in depressing wages in the country and causing the OFW phenomenon in the first place.

It also suggests regularly pigging out on soda as a means to unite the family.

Advertisers have long countered that ads do not convince us to simply consume overall, and therefore have no impact since they simply “redistribute” consumption, shifting customers away from one product, say, Conditioner A with seaweed extracts to another, Conditioner B, also with seaweed extracts.

The evidence proves otherwise. The WWF report follows up, “ that advertising does … increase aggregate material consumption, it can be pinpointed as an engine of the least sustainable aspects of an economy that is currently using up resources, destroying ecosystems and creating pollution at an unsustainable rate. Such trends, in turn, threaten to exacerbate global poverty and pose grave challenges for just and equitable development.”

DISCLAIMER: This advertisement may influence you in ways of which you are not consciously aware. Buying consumer goods is unlikely to improve your wellbeing and borrowing to buy consumer goods may be unwise; debt can enslave.

Scarcely-lit cigarette butts dot the potholes here and there, bringing with them the illusion of fireflies sparkling in a seemingly endless pocket of darkness. Sunset hues ricochet off the gravelly path and intertwine with the shadows of the sweat-drenched crowd oblivious to anything, but their own bodily desire for economical food and emphysema-ridden vices.

Thus, we bring you the hidden kingdom of Calle Agno – that lush, secluded jewel of all green-clad scholars of the mighty De La Salle University. A thorny yet rosy path, behold the huntsmen and knights alike who tread this path with fear and wariness, for beneath the infinite darkness looms tentacles of the unknown – grasping and pulling gullible strangers into a permanent state of euphoria and forgetfulness.

Thus, on its peak season when travellers take the detour far more than usual, The LaSallian has issued a decree to rescue you from Agno’s hidden blood curdling horrors and show you the luxuriant paradise it truly is. Never fear, o brave explorer!

1. Thou shalt only wear leather-soled boots upon entering Agno (or anything other than flimsy footwear)
Trust us, you DO NOT want to don thin sandals or thick heels while parading around the pothole-littered Agno. Not only will you end up bruised or injured; you might also lose bucks when you snap one of those precious heels. The callous, gravelly path will see to that.

2. Thou shalt not hesitate to try out the variants of nibbles the villagers has to offer
And at accommodating prices, too! Agno offers variants food to satisfy the commoner. From exotic Chinese dimsum, breakfast munchies (think Bacsilog) to silky milk teas, Agno offers it all at prices a little over fifty pesos. All food worth living for is not always those found in five-star restaurants.

3. Thou shalt ALWAYS bring weapons and protective armor as a means of defence against feral beasts (or against the unpredictable weather)
The route from Andrew Gonzales Building to La Salle Hall offers roofs along the way to shield you against the weather – that is, except in Agno. Whether it is a sunny May day or a stormy June downpour, an umbrella is always handy in Agno. Not to mention hankies to screen the bitter stench of vehicular and cigarette smoke.

4. Thou shalt be wary of poisonous berries and misleading tracks (or of cunning strangers)
The danger that lurks in Agno is in some of its inhabitants – sly creatures hiding under false pretenses. This jungle is a public place, which makes it all the more precarious for students, even for those simply passing through. The LaSallian bids thee, guard your prized possessions.

5. Thou shalt be cautious of rushing carriages, especially with those hasty coachmen.
Cars and trucks that suddenly materialize behind you and honk at you with those ear-splitting horns are not rare in Agno. Remember: Getting trampled or run over is never an option.hh

6. Thou shalt have “town hall meetings” around The Agno.
One of the best things about Agno is that in almost any time of day, someone you know is going to be there. Whether they are at one of the plastic tables enjoying one of Agno’s delicacies, or just passing by for a quick smoke before an Andrew class; acquaintances are just about everywhere.

7. Thou shalt never fear to venture into the deepest passages of The Agno.
At this point, you are probably convinced that The Agno is truly a world class gem. Nothing can possibly beat its cigarette-induced spark. But alas, you are gravely mistaken. With a heart of pure and vans for extra walking, you will find that there is more to this wondrous kingdom. Between the trees and electrical post, lies a different region of Agno formerly known by brave knights and journeymen as “The Castro.”

8. Thou shalt familiarize oneself with the lively folks around tis’ wondrous kingdom.
As a bold adventurer, staying one step ahead is vital throughout your quest. Being informed is a key resource that can only be achieved with a striking smile and humble tongue. Making small talk with sellers around the stalls can mean better service and bigger servings in thy feast.

9. Thou shalt be armed with royal headgear when journeying on hot spells.
Aside from treacherous creatures lurking around the premises, one must stay aware of natural forces that strike from above. Summer time signals a whole new level of heat, which not only burns the skin, but blinds the eyes. Voyaging through with sunglasses for defence will allow oneto see The Agno in all her glory.

10. Thou shalt make known thy kingdom with fellow journeymen and honour thee ever long.
Upon entry, one does not simply walk out and leave The Agno. After experiencing tis’ hallowed grounds and its people and their colorful ways of life, visiting almost always guarantees permanent residency. Thus, for thy gain of kingdom and its peoples, one must strive to influence young padawans in its shining path. Keep in mind, you were once a freshman eating your lunches at the 6th floor of Andrew cafeteria.

Alas, our journey hath come to its completion. We now share a bond that will last through the dark ages. My brave comrade, I thank thee for thouloyalty throughout our wonderful quest in thy glorious kingdom of Calle Agno. I hope our humble decree hath shown this diamond in the coals its incomparable shine. Huzzah! Valiant journeymen, and may the cigarette butts be ever in your flavor.

Tropes are, simply put, elements authors add to their works of fiction to spice things up. We all have different perceptions of what makes something interesting, but tropes are exactly that—so ingrained in our minds that when we see tropes in action in a show, book, or a game, we perceive them as something as natural as breathing. A show is not a show without tropes. How exactly do they work?

Have you ever found yourself questioning why, out of thousands of Imperial Stormtroopers in Star Wars, not a single one could land a single hit on The Hero? That’s because our Stormtrooper friends are prime examples of graduates of the “Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy” trope, where they are trained to shoot anywhere as long as The Hero is not there. Ever wondered how, for dear life, Tekken characters keep perfectly normal faces even after exchanging numerous outrageously strong blows that would put demolition machinery to shame? That is “Beauty is Never Tarnished” in full action here for you. Gamers among us most probably do not care how the Dragon born in Skyrim could carry tonnes of armor, helmets, swords, battle axes, staves, potions, food, books, gems, bones, scales, and just about everything else and still manage to run full speed in the virtual world for as long as we enjoy the game, thanks to the almighty “Hammerspace Arsenal.”

Nobody really cares why they happen, yet we have come to accept them for what they are, simply because they work and nobody is complaining. Those are tropes for you. Tropes are what are left when you break apart a work of fiction piece by piece. Taken together, they create a hot pot of various plot elements that tell a story, indicate a scenario, or whatever it is the author wants. They are simple, yet are the heart of narrative fiction.

But what really made me see tropes as amazing and scary at the same time is that they hooked me from the moment I got to know them. Stopping by TV Tropes for me is an easy a four hour session of tabbed browsing and trope-esque revelation.

“Tropes are Not Bad,” of course. Knowing more about tropes has made me a critical consumer of fiction, in as much as this publication aims to make any reader a critical thinker.

Moreover, tropes have made me realize the value and sense of accomplishment in doing something yourself, kind of like that feeling when using a really long formula instead of using a shortcut. By knowing and identifying the tropes associated with a certain work, I would get a clearer idea of how events are going to work out. As a show plays out, I start analyzing every scene and every quote in an attempt to guess how it might end, instead of just taking everything in. To know your tropes is to know how they work within the show, given a fictional setting. After all, anything can happen in fiction.

I still find myself at pains to explain how the tropes I come across fit in with the books, movies and games I have read, watched or played.

But after hours (months) of troping around, maybe “Tropes are Not Good” for me after all. The power of the Trope comes at the risk of spoiling entire shows especially when you know who killed who even before the first episode of a series ends. In addition, I have found myself hard pressed to find new ways of enjoying fiction without becoming some kind of obsessive literary know-it-all all the time. But at the same time, tropes have allowed me to identify novels, games or movies that stand out from the rest.

Now that I have reached this far and told you the best I can what nifty little things tropes are, it is your turn. Try looking the site up when you have the time (plenty of time, I mean).

Disclaimer: I will not be held liable for spoiling all the movies you will ever watch for the rest of your life. You have been warned.

By the way, this article took me five hours to write, thanks to an opened Opera tab linked to TV Tropes just an Alt+Tab away. Just saying.

This month I tour you around The Mind Museum, one of the most awaited sites of its kind in the country. Five years in the making, it stands along J.Y. Campos Park in Bonifacio Global City, less than an hour away from De La Salle University.
The Museum’s architecture sets it apart from the rest; it draws one instantly to a futuristic façade inspired by the molecular structure of cells.

Mind Movers, a.k.a. curators, greeted me the moment I stepped in through the sliding glass doors to begin my clichéd ‘journey of wonder’. Feeling half my age, I clock in a little too early for the 6 pm tour, where I would get to meet Aedi the robot (“Idea”, spelled backwards), which is essentially an information desk, a cyborg-guide and a Mind Museum expert rolled into one. Children run up to him/her/it – poking, giggling, shoving – as parents, armed with cameras, rush to savor the Kodak moment.
For our first stop, we enter the “Hall of the 10 Most Beautiful Experiments,” aptly named to showcase visual representations of experiments on LCD screens, all based on Robert Crease’s book, The Prism and the Pendulum: 10 Most Beautiful Experiments in Science.

Just before the main galleries is the Hall of Philippine Science, featuring prominent local scientists, their lives and achievements, and topics spanning local issues from agriculture to climate change. Interactive stations begin here, spewing out random facts and trivia questions, some serious, others hilarious: “Where is the home of the most number of math geeks in the country?” To get the answer, you have to visit the museum and turn the square board for yourself to find out!

Past The Hall of Philippine Science is the most awaited part of the museum. On the first and second floors are the Five Galleries, stretching from left to right. Their very titles capture the full range of Existence in one breath: Universe, Earth, Life, Atom, and Technology, which has the second floor all to itself. Gallery descriptions are equally profound; in respective order: “Beginning and majesty, nature across the breadth of time, the exuberant varieties of life, the strange world of the very small, and a story of human ingenuity.”

An overwhelming array of attractions leaves a crowd of people and I breathless, excited and clueless as to where to begin. Nineteen year old Darl, for her part, says “At first, I felt dizzy and lost because the information was presented everywhere, but… I got used to it and ended up enjoying it anyway.”

In the spirit of the New Age, I begin with the Universe. One of the most visited parts of the museum, the gallery takes you to outer space, as well, almost. Matched by a sudden gust of cold air, radiant, planet-like spheres turn in their orbits in the dark and blue lights twinkle over my head.

Here, the Space Shell allows one to get on the ground and stargaze as a documentary on astronomy plays out above. It is an obvious favorite. “Everything just felt so real”, says Chrissandra, 18.

Leaving the Shell, I try on a space suit replica and try out ‘pods’ that feature sounds from outer space, the phases of the moon and the lifetime of a star. Other attractions include a model of the solar system, a mechanical exhibit of how scientists calculate the distance of stars from the Earth, and more!

Near the end of the exhibit is the Tunnel Craft, a two-way revolving tunnel, with moving images of space that connects it to the Earth gallery.

There I found Stan, the Tyrannosaurus Rex – apparently the first model in the country to be built from actual fossils. Beneath the 40-foot dinosaur is an opportunity to let out my inner archaeologist. A sand box allows visitors to dig for their own fossils with pails and shovels.

Next to Stan is the photo exhibit, “What Difference A Day Makes,” which condenses 4.6 billion years of Earth’s history in 24 images.
Walking further along, I spotted a little boy, his hands on a floating globe showing the current state of the environment and the effects of climate change. Mike, 5, smiles from ear to ear as he shows his mother and I how to make a tornado. Putting his hand over a sensor, the exhibit releases a whirlwind of smoke.

To the left of the globe is the Canopy of Life, its green leaves that hang over the interactive stations point to the five kingdoms of life: Protista, Monera, Plant, Fungi, and Animalia.

Leaving the rest of the planet behind, I entered the human world. At the heart of the Exhibit of Life is the human brain, rather realistically portrayed as an interactive grey blob. Each part corresponds to certain senses, memories and emotions, which light up as my hands move over it. Pumping next to it is the human heart (“Listen to your Heart”), which translates each tap of my taps on a druminto a red-lit heartbeat.

“Incredibly squishy and fascinating,” is how Raymond describes Small Worlds Within, a poke-able model of an oversized cell and its parts. Dotting the rest of the gallery are exhibits of DNA helixes, human migration, and evolution.

Then I arrived at the Atom Gallery, merging physics and chemistry on the molecular level: from a Static Ball that throws my hair up to the Science lab, where I get to see experiments performed up close. A huge Periodic Table near the back of the gallery has locker-style cubicles, each with an item meant to represent an element.

Eliza, 19, says, “I liked the Atom Gallery the most, particularly the Light Bridge, where they showed gamma rays, xrays, ultraviolet, visible light, etc. It was colorful! It made me remember lessons from high school.” Under the bridge is the Lightwriter Pendulux, an almost mystical tool thatuses magnetism to translate hand motions into drawings on a phosphorescent plate.

On the second floor is the Technology gallery, the last and largest one of all, divided into five sub-galleries: Who We Are, How We Know, How Things Work, Here to There and How We Live.

Who We Are zooms in on communication and language, itself a form of human cultural technology. In one station, I listen to my heartbeat as I read quotes and other bits of literature on a wall – a concrete example of how words move the heart, which sings to the beat of other forms of expression from music to the arts.

How We Know unveils our sense of discovery. I tinker with a couple of microscopes and telescopes it has on display, all instruments, which allow us to reach far beyond our senses, from the tiniest glimpses of our inner world to the outermost regions of space.

How Things Work mostly stems from the products of the industrial revolution: infrastructure, manufacturing and processing.

Here to There covers transportation and ways to bridge distances. Lastly, How We Live examines the links between technology, and culture and how both affect human health, from our lifestyles to our workspaces.

The ring of a bell signals an end to the three-hour tour. I exit the museum with the other visitors – each with a look of tired satisfaction. Each one, young and old, four to forty, each having seen things for the first time – or from a different point of view.

Often, the only excuse novel haters need to convince them to throw a book back in the shelf is, “they’ve got no pictures in them.” To the verbally challenged or the outright lazy, looking at pictures is easiest way to grasp a story. A picture is worth a thousand words, after all.

If that were true then Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral has much to say.

One of the first of its kind, ‘Chopsticks’ is a story constructed entirely out of photographs and graphic art. The almost textless novel speaks of Glory Fleming, a piano prodigy who, after a tragic accident involving her mother, could play no more than ‘Chopsticks’. She develops a relationship with Frank Mendoza, a troubled young artist who dreams of returning to Argentina to pursue his art. Together, they break through the confines of their lives and follow the path their love has made.

Reading ‘Chopsticks’ is akin to flipping through an independent romance film, with twice the voyeurism of peering at the characters’ personal lives. The unique approach to the story and it is enthralling. Visual elements, from snapshots to graphics, weave a full narrative from beginning to end, in the absence of wordy descriptions typical of novels. Every detail of an image, its color or composition, is given importance and lends itself to the story.

Though experimental in style, the message of the story is clear and poignant. ‘Chopsticks’ will have your heart beat with its rush of new love; it is a heart-warming tale and the perfect inspiration for that could-be summer romance.

The Magnum fever has hit the Philippines. And no, it is not from the heat, but from a sweet frozen treat.

Selecta’s “must-buy for the in-crowd” epic marketing attempt, tided over by a short-lived social networking craze, has whipped up a mid-summer storm for its Magnum bar.

At fifty pesos a stick, Magnum is hardly on the price or calibre of Häagen-Dazs, but with the hype slowing down and the lines getting shorter, many will still be left waiting for the royal treatment ads promised from this glorified Pinipig Crunch.

The Magnum Bar is, like many of its kind, a small square block of chocolate-coated frozen vanilla cream on a stick.Another five pesos will get you an almond variety, covered in a crunchy, armor-like Belgian shell, almost as hard as the coins of the dear souls that bought it. For the almond hater and/or ice cream gourmet, there is a chocolate truffle variety, which trumps the nuts in favor of a delectable coating of melted truffles, and an extra cup of diabetes. Magnum’s flavors–some not yet available locally – provide a different experience in every wrapper, that will leave you cool in the summer heat or hot in bed with a sore throat.

Kidding aside, it is not half-bad. With summer around the corner, this frozen chocolate delight is a saving grace against the 32 degree heat (then again, so is Manong’s Dirty Ice Cream). And if you are lucky enough to taste the chocolate truffle ones – seemingly more suited for instagram photos than in people’s freezers – you will know the cool feel of tasting a “prized” flavor for yourself. But sadly, this is about as far as Magnum gets. Dubbed the ice cream of choice for the social climber, subtle marketing leaves one with the sweet satisfaction of eating to impress rather than savoring it for its own sake.

Bookshelves are chockful of love stories with the same plotline of ‘boy meets girl and they fall for each other. Love is everywhere – or so the cliché goes in every song, story, poem, and work of art since man first found words to express a malady so painful “and yet so fair”.

But what if love were precisely that, a disease (no, seriously) – would you take the cure?

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver follows up on his bestselling title, Delirium. The story takes place in a dystopian present where love is a terminal illness, and where the law requires everyone to take the cure by the age of eighteen.

In Pandemonium, Lena finds herself outside the confines of the loveless society she used to call home; she reinvents herself and tries to relearn everything she knows to be true. New characters come in and truths are revealed.

Pandemonium is a sequel that will leave readers craving for the final instalment, Requiem.

The story is told in two points of time – “now” and “then”. It begins with the final scene of Delirium and shows Lena’s transformation from a meek, naïve girl to a new woman–made stronger by love’s disease. New characters like Raven, Tack, and Julian add interesting twists and turns to the plot.

Blending elements of dystopia and survival, Pandemonium is a story written so vividly that readers would feel an instant connection to the characters. The sense of resistance is stronger and prepares readers for the action to come in Requiem.

The sequel is solid, action packed, thrilling, and with a beyond-heart-wrenching ending. Readers are in for a read that will keep them mentally and emotionally captivated. According to Oliver, the third and final installment, Requiem, will be told from dual perspectives. It will be released sometime in February 2013.

Tending to academics and nursing injuries appear to be the main issues besetting the Lady Spikers in their declining yet another V-League stint.

“Na-invite kami ng Shakey’s V-league pero ang problema kasi nahirapan mag-adjust yung mga bata sa academics, trimester tayo eh,” Lady Spikers’ Head Coach Ramil De Jesus explained. “Pangalawa, makikita mo hanggang ngayon sumasakit ung balikat nila [Michelle] Gumabao, tapos yung ibang players…may mga tinatapos na thesis so talagang hindi nga nakakapag-training. “

The Lady Spikers, who owns three V-league crowns, last graced the tournament in the second conference of the 2007 edition.

Coincidentally, the time duration of the said event covers a mere two months after almost four months of intense UAAP action, which signifies clogging the Lady Spikers’ summer schedule even more.

Coach De Jesus is also concerned about the wear and tear that his squad has borne, and opts to let his players rest this summer, as a part of their recovery period.

Another factor for the Lady Spikers’ decline would be the trade-offs between imports, guest players and the team’s regular line-up. The rotation composed of players for the next season will be compromised to give way for the team’s guest player.

“Guest players and import players are the “stars” of the tournament. V-League, in my opinion, is clearly for entertainment and probably not good for a team that is serious in winning the gold medal,” Lady Spiker setter Mika Esperanza shared.

Coach De Jesus, however, recognized the great exposure that can be earned from the tournament, as well as competing against the top women’s volleyball squad across the country bolstered by seasoned foreign players.

In lieu of the V-League, the team will instead be focusing on physical conditioning, endurance training and muscle toning.

“Lahat ng skills balikan ko muna, kung ano yung nakita kong problema last UAAP. So more on physical conditioning kami, yun nga mga individual skills ng mga bata syempre,” Coach De Jesus explained.

The Taft-based volleybelles are set to compete at shorter tourneys, such as the 2012 National Inter-Collegiate Championship at Baguio City from May 14-19; the Philippine Volleyball Federation National Open; and the Philippine University Games (UNIGAMES), to provide exposure to the incoming rookies.

As of the chances of seeing the Lady Spikers in the premier volleyball league, Coach De Jesus disclosed, “Mayroon naman siguro, siguro ‘pag medyo maayos na yung condition ng mga bata saka ‘yung academics nila ‘pag medyo maluwag na.”

The DLSU Lady Spikers will once again grace the hard court as they set out to defend their back-to-back titles at this year’s Philippine Volleyball Federation National Inter-Collegiate Volleyball Championship, to be held at the Cordillera Career Development College (CCDC) and Benguet State University from May 14 to May 19.

“Kasi back to back champions kami dito [Inter-Collegiate]…may dalawang rookies kami then mix ng mga seniors, and then experiment ‘to kung sino ang pwedeng pumalit sa mga naggraduate kong players and madefend din syempre yung title,” Lady Spikers Head Coach Ramil De Jesus said.

UAAP Season 74 Finals MVP Cha Cruz will not be suiting up for the Green-and-White as she has already exhausted her playing years, but still to lead the Animo charge are mainstays Aby Maraño, Michelle Gumabao, Mika Reyes, Ara Galang and Mika Esperanza.

La Salle has added two rookies to their lineup, namely Mary Joy Baron from Baguio City and Princess Justine Tiu from La Salle College Antipolo.

“Mga walk-in tryouts sila na sinama ko sa team and dito ngayon matetest kung ano yung ability ng mga bata,” Coach De Jesus shared of his rookies.

The Lady Spikers are grouped with Emilio Aguinaldo College, AMA Computer University, Saint Louis University and the University of Baguio in Pool A.

The Lady Spikers and the University of Cordilleras Lady Jaguars, last year’s championship matchup, were given a day-off on the first day of tournament, being the top-seeded teams for their respective brackets.

The ladies in Green will first square off with the University of Baguio Lady Cardinals at the CCDC gym tomorrow at 12 noon.

Their male counterparts, the Green Spikers, bannered by 2011 National Intercollegiate Volleyball Championship MVP Myco Antonio, are slated in the Pool A of the men’s division of the week-long tournament.