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Life without sight

It is easy to take for granted the vision most of us have. However, there is a significant chunk of the population that must navigate life without their sense of sight, and much more are visually impaired in some form or the other. Blindness is a condition that comes in different forms. There is absolute…

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En pointe: Beyond the jumps and splits

“May ballet pala sa Pilipinas?” (Does ballet exist in the Philippines?) Such is a question often posed by Filipinos when thinking about the Philippine dance scene. And it is one that Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Ballet Manila founder and artistic director, hopes to answer—a barrier and a notion that she and many other local ballet enthusiasts strive…

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Of Reiki and reinvention: An inquiry into energy healing

A new decade has arrived; more people are looking to reinvent themselves with a fresh slate. But with every social media post of embarking on a journey toward a “new year, new me”, how many of these people are truly taking action to change and heal themselves for the better? Reinventing oneself takes more than…

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Fitness first: Hitting the gym in the New Year

To many people, the New Year season means a fresh start, with everyone seemingly enveloped by newness and change. Anything seems possible at this time of year, as the fireworks and horns usher in the clean slate that everyone looks forward to. A New Year’s resolution that many have in common is hitting the gym…

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Written on the shoulders of giants: Exposition into fanfiction

Fanfiction is a genre that has greatly benefited from the social nature of the internet. Born from communities centered around existing bodies of work, the act of consuming and creating fanfiction is inherently a labor of love. By pushing the very boundaries of the source material, fanfiction fundamentally alters something that a target audience already…

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Beyond the box: The process of game development and design

From stepping into the staggering galactic war setting in Imperium, strategizing one’s next move through analytical skills in Tetris, to emulating the toils of a farmer in Stardew Valley, the gaming world is indeed a diverse realm for one’s entertainment and escape. Video games have been a vessel of innovation for many, ushering in the…

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Catching waves, finding home: Surfing in the Philippines

Sandy blonde hair, a laid back accent, and a vocabulary consisting mostly of words like “totally”, “dude”, and “cool”; popular media has painted the stereotypical surfer in such a monochromatic light, leading many to believe that this is all that surfing entails. In reality, however, surfing culture transcends the stereotypes imprinted on us by media,…

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A story unfolding through time: The art of serialized storytelling

Taunted by cliffhangers, the suspense built by a scene cut too early tends to leave people seeking an immediate continuation to soothe their curiosity. The serialization of stories has allowed people to become invested in the unfolding of a story arc, often finding themselves on tenterhooks for what’s to come, their impatience and intrigue sometimes…

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Under the skin: Redefining the art of tattooing

Tattoos have come to take on different meanings throughout history, being one of society’s oldest art forms. Different cultural groups perceive tattoos in different ways. Some cultures didn’t look favorably on tattoos while for others, some tattoos carried deep cultural meanings. In Japan, many places ban entry if one has visible tattoos; some bath houses…

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Paw and tail: Defining the furry

In the deep, broad platforms of the internet, the term “furry” may be one that internet purveyors have come across, either appearing in the form of people wearing the iconic fursuits—costumes created to explicitly showcase animal-like characteristics—or in artworks of human-like animals. However, beyond the furry surface, there exists some confusion regarding the true nature…