Schick Barangay Tour in Pasig City

Give yourself a slick shave with Schick!

Last Saturday, March 9, Schick continued their Barangay Tour in Brgy. Kalawaan, Pasig City with a theme, "Suaveng Ahit, Gwapong Schick".

Good-looking men became better-looking men as Schick gives a free haircut/shave. There was also a basketball game sponsored by Schick to give the men a fun time and the women a great watching time.

Mark and Camille, the ambassadors of Schick introduced the Schick razor to the men and women—not only guys are shaving, even girls too. They also helped in cleaning up the barangay.

Schick offers a wide variety of products from normal skin to sensitive skin. The fact that the razors were disposable, and with razor blades that give a precise shave, Schick really is a recommended product to use.

Before the event ended, the Bloggers who attended the event got a chance to ask Schick and its ambassadors, learning surely a lot.

Don’t get stuck up with your old brand. Try Schick and enjoy a hassle-free shaving with its non-slip rubber grip!

You never know but maybe next time Schick will be in your barangay for the next Barangay Tour. Watch out for the announcement on where the Schick Caravan will go next!

Loving my Best friend

My love for my best friend is nothing intimate. It is pure friendship and no malice. I always think that our relationship status is what keeps us together for ten years.

I love hanging out with him. It makes me happy and giddy. His arm on my shoulder makes me feel always protected. And his smile always makes all my problems go away.

We spend all our weekends together, and if not in my place then usually at his place. A movie there and a game here, our life is a normal happy circle. We do the same things and never get bored. Just being together is what keeps us both contented.

All the years we have together are so valuable. There are no stiff days but only good days. When he finds a girlfriend, nothing changes. We still continue our regular weekends. He never goes as far away as the distance in our house.

He was diagnosed with cancer. But he tells me he’d rather spend his days being happy than thinking how sick he is. And by saying he wants to be happy, he means he wants to spend his remaining days with the woman he loves, and of course that is his girlfriend.

I don’t know what they do during weekends and I don’t want to ask. He never calls me again anyway. But I wish they’d watch a movie or play a game like we used to because I know that is what he loves doing even though it is not with me anymore. On the other hand, I spend mine thinking of him, and I never get bored.

When he calls me saying he has a note for me, I say I’d meet him in his place. I don’t ask about his girlfriend, I never did.

I sat across from him in the living room. He looks pale and sickly – cancer is so evident in him. I feel sad but not sad in a way that I want to blame the cancer or whoever it is to blame. How long we sit in silence is not something I could remember. He hands me the letter and I leave. The only thing he says is for me not to cry. I silently congratulate myself for being so calm.

I don’t want to read the letter. I know when is the right time to read it.

His funeral lasts for a week. As I walk on my way home from the cemetery, I pick out the letter he gave me the day before he died from the pocket of my jeans. The letter says,

Dear Janice,

I hope you are not crying as I told you not to. Our friendship lasted for ten years and I want to believe that you know me well enough to follow my instructions very well. Smile if you can.

Now, the inevitable has come. Remember that day I told you I want to die a happy man? Well, I am happy. And thanks to you. You make me so happy I couldn’t ask for more.

During the weekends, I think of you. I trust you enough that I don’t have to tell you that in person or over the phone. I hope you don’t spend your weekends watching a movie or playing a game because if you do then I’d rather kill myself, not that I’m not aware the cancer is doing that to me anyway. I want to tell you that I never get bored and I hope you aren’t too.

I remember you say that life is a happy circle. Indeed, it is. But I want to add too that life only becomes a happy circle if there is love. And with you, I find the meaning of life. And that is a life with love. Love for another human being doesn’t need titles like girlfriend, fiancée, or wife to prove there is the presence of love. The simple way of mutually feeling it is enough proof, because love need not be complicated. And with you, I feel love.

P.S.

Have I tell you about Sandy? No, of course not. We never talk about her. Anyway, her house is a mile away from yours. If you need a friend to talk to, she’s available. And she’s the one who offered. In our three-month relationship, I learned a lot. And one is she’s a good friend. I’ll be really happy if you get in touch with her.

P.S.S

Now you can cry.

Love,

Luke

I realize I can’t stop crying. And the next thing I know, my house is already a mile away, and I’m standing in front of a different house. She knows how I feel, and she understands.

Thanks Luke. With you I find love too. And with that, I live a happy life. Now is the time I meet a new friend.

Katy Perry Reveals Her True Self

Wondering what Katy Perry is doing on the big screen?

A 3D motion picture event movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me is a backstage pass, front row seat and intimate look at the fun, glamorous, heartbreaking, inspiring, crazy, magical, passionate, and honest mad diary of Katy.

The movie is a big surprise. Hiding behind the colorful dresses, big production, and the standout personality of Katy Perry is a life nobody would have thought she'd gone through, or maybe is still going through.

The movie works really hard to establish that Katy Perry is just like everyone else. Born and raised as a girl who goes to church, many consider Katy as a rebel when she appears on TV and turns out quite the opposite of how her parents brought her up. But Katy admits that she still believes in God. She is just like you and me, she has a dream and she wants that dream to come true.

"Be yourself and you can be everything," the Pop Star said.

In the movie, Katy Perry reveals her true self. She smiles, she parties, she works hard, and she cries. There are times when she has to choose between her life and career. Katy chooses her career. It is her life. Her fans love her, and she loves her fans back. Her fans are what keep her going.

Katy Perry proves in this movie how much deserving she is of her fame. She is phenomenal. Surely, many would love her even more after watching her movie.

Getting through a rainy day

How many times have you wished for the sun to come out during a rainy day? Probably a dozen times or so, hoping it’s already weekend and all you have to do is lay on your bed or drink a cup of hot coffee without the usual worries.

For some people, rain is a blessing. But for most workers and students, it’s an ordeal. There’s no way you’d want to get soaked in the rain with a useless umbrella and no mode of transportation to bring you home.

So to avoid a rainy ordeal, here are some tips that may be useful for you:

Check on the weather updates. It is better to check on the weather updates on TV or radio first so if you’re a student, you won’t need to go to school in case there is suspension of classes. And for those who still need to travel, at least you will know what to expect on the road.

Bring umbrella and other useful items like slippers and extra clothes. No matter what the weather is, always remember to bring an umbrella just in case. Slippers will prevent you from having your shoes get wet on the rain and extra clothes are also useful, especially when you need to walk on flood. Food like biscuits or crackers can also be of help in case you get stuck on traffic.

And when your feeling unproductive at home because of the rain, here are some cool stuffs you might try doing:

Prepare a steaming bowl of soup. Expect a chilly day during the rain. A bowl of soup is easy to prepare and will keep your body temperature warm.

Watch a movie on DVD. With someone or just by yourself, watching a movie can help you fight boredom. Match it with something to nibble and you’re great.

Read a book or a magazine. When’s the best time to read a book or a magazine but during a rainy day. Best to have a cup of hot coffee too.

Check on your e-mails and social accounts. If you don’t have time to check on your emails and social accounts on regular days, it’s probably a good chance to spend some time on it now. Your friends will surely be happy to hear from you again.

Always remember that rainy days can also be fun and exciting too. Minimal rains can be enjoyable especially to kids. They’d love to shower and run around the streets together with their friends while feeling the rain on their skins.

However, heavy rains can be harmful and hazardous so always be updated.

Keep  safe and dry!

VINCE GOLANGCO: The Man Who Turned Storytelling Into Business

Admit it or not, you know him.  You might even like him.  And why won’t you?  He’s a personality who hosts social events and a successful radio disc jock who holds the title as one of the cutest DJ’s in the Metro.

But before gaining fame from his radio job, Vince Golangco is first and foremost a blogger.

He founded WheninManila.com, a site which frames anything about the Philippines, as well as the very successful Blogapalooza, a sort of association of bloggers.

Seeing his expertise about blogging, Foster the Paper secured an interview with Mr. Golangco last March 2, 2012 at Paragon Plaza, who gamely shared the ingredients of his success in this relatively new world of blogging.

Below is the excerpt of the interview. Read on to know how wheninmanila.com and Blogapalooza were born and to learn the basic things for new bloggers from non-other than the master blogger himself!

Foster the Paper: How did you start blogging?

Vince Golangco: When I moved back in the Philippines I just wanted to share my stories with my friends from San Diego, from all over the world so I would just start writing.  I had different blogs before and of course for this one, for When in Manila it came from the same way as “When in Rome, do as what Romans do” so When in Manila, here are the things to do.  So it’s just me wanting to share stories.

FTP: Was there any particular reason why you started blogging?

VG: It’s just that I wanted to tell stories.  I’ve always been a storyteller.  So it’s like if I go to a really good place kunwari I visited a restaurant “Oh my God it was so good!”  I would tell my friends “You need to try this restaurant,” or “Grabe, you should try this dish. Ang sarap sobra,” so from that it was just me wanting to tell stories.  I started a blog while sharing things I did, from not just Manila but the Philippines and really the world because I travel a lot.

FTP: How did it become successful?

VG: I’ve read a lot about SEO which is Search-Engine Optimization.  Let’s say we both have the same blog.  Let’s say both of our blogs talk about gadgets, cellphones but I have better SEO.  So when someone searches, let’s just say they search for iPhone, , they will see my blog on the page one of Google.  Your page will come out on page 7.  So, sino kayang mas madaming hits? Ako.  Because no one goes on page seven of Google eh, do you ever click on page two?  So that’s  what SEO meana, unahan kayo sa Google.  I knew that.  Plus you have to write every day.  It’s really a commitment because content is king.  So you need a lot of content and the way you write has to be a certain way where it’s SEO friendly.  So a combination of liking to write and reading about SEO and doing research, combine those, for your blog to be successful.  I think those two are the main things. 

FTP: What are the perks of being a blogger?

VG: You get invited to go at the coolest events and you get to meet the coolest people.  Just two or three days ago, I was invited to Malacanang, to meet the President.  I get to meet the president.  And I got exclusive screening because National Geographic is showing a new documentary made by the Filipinos called Inside Malacanang.  The first time anyone ever watched it was inside Malacanang and the president was there so I got to shake his hand, I got to take some pictures.  Just among, amongst, a few other people I get to meet from blogging.  In New Year’s, I partied with Solenn because they wanted me to write about ‘Partying with Solenn’.  So I partied with Solenn and even better is they paid me to party with Solenn because they wanted me to write about it.  Who wouldn’t want to get paid to party with Solenn?  But it’s not just about the money though.   It’s really about meeting people.  I get to meet cool people and then I get to share my stories, so I’d say that that’s the most fun part, the best part about being a blogger. 

FTP: What’s the concept behind Blogapalooza?

VG: Because WheninManila.com gets so many inquiries.  Every day I get about 10-20 emails from people asking about getting promoted on my site, or how can they meet two bloggers or they need help with their online social media.  So eventually me and my friends said “Hey how about we put together one event, which is Blogapalooza, where all the bloggers can come and they can meet businesses who want to meet them?”

Because we found out, especially with small businesses that they can’t afford to throw a blogger event.  Because it is expensive.  To throw a blogger event, first you need to pay for the venue, yun pa lang it’s already 10k, 20k for these whatever restaurants.  Then you have to pay for food.  Oh my gosh that’s expensive!  Then if it’s a big venue then you have to pay for a host, lighting, sound system, etc.

Either way it’s expensive to throw a blogger event but worse, is the businesses, they don’t know who the bloggers are.  They don’t know who to invite.  I’m good friends with a lot of bloggers, I know who to invite.  So Blogapalooza was about inviting good bloggers who can you know, who can help a business out if they like your product.  If they like your product then they can write about it, it would help the business in some way.  And at the same time, businesses get a chance to meet them and the bloggers on their part, they get a lot of cool things to try out and a lot of cool things to discover.  So that’s the concept behind Blogapalooza, we call it the first B-to-B networking event which means business to blogger networking event.

Foster: How can one get good SEO?

VG: It’s very, very complicated.  SEO. The two main things I teach people whenever I speak, again it’s very complicated there’s a lot of aspects to it, are keywords and links. 

Let’s start with links.  Links, if a blog has a lot of links it tells Google that your blog is important.  Cause think of CNN, a lot of people link CNN.  Like, “According to CNN…” and then they link.  Right? On their blog.  Or they’ll like, “Oh, did you see the news on CNN? This happened today…”  So people linking to CNN,  there’s a lot out there.  That tells Google, “Oh there’s a lot of people linking to this.  It must be important.  This site must be good, so I’ll rank it higher.”  So that’s one.  If a lot of people are linking to you,  your SEO is better.

Number two is keywords.  A keyword is not just a word, it could be a keyword phrase.  So keyword is one word or a phrase.  Let’s say you are looking for food, let’s say steak.  ‘Steak restaurant in Manila’: so that the keyword phrase.

In you blog post itself there are certain ways, certain number of times you need to put that.  They say you need to repeat that about three percent of the time.  So let’s say you have a hundred words, you need to repeat that at least three times.  And then it has to be in your title, it has to be in your keywords.  Also in keywords you should bold one, underline one and italicize one.  So there are certain techniques to it, but the main thing is you repeat those keywords.  You repeat it over and over again in your article. 

So in an article you also don’t use pronouns.  Let’s say your article is about Justin Timberlake in Manila.  That’s your keyword, Justin Timberlake in Manila.  If I said “Oh Justin Timberlake is in Manila now.  I am so excited.  He is here to sing his songs,” that’s wrong.  Because no one’s looking for ‘he’ or I say ‘he is here to sing his songs’.  The way you write online is “Justin Timberlake in Manila, I’m so excited,” or “Justin Timberlake in Manila to sing his songs, blah, blah, blah”.  So you repeat it.  It gets a bit repetitive.

You don’t do it too much but you do it again roughly three percent of the time, three to five percent of the time.  So don’t use pronouns.  Those are the two main things, keywords and links.  Links at the beginning you ask friends, you say “Hey, pa-link naman.”  It’s called exchanging links.  So you link to them, they link to you, something like that and there are some online sites that does exchanges.  But eventually once you write good articles, people will link to you, sometimes they will get pictures from you, “Oh I got this picture from When in Manila” or somebody will link to you like “Oh my God this is such a good article you need to read this”.  So by the way it’s very complicated, it’s very long there’s a lot to it.

Filipino students win top prizes in Kaspersky Lab’s student conference on cybercrime in Hong Kong

Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content and threat management solutions, announced that students from the Philippines bested 12 other finalists from various countries in the recently concluded regional preliminary round of the Kaspersky Lab Asia Pacific and Middle East, Africa (MEA) Cup2012, an annual event that brings together students and young professionals from around the world in a collaborative environment to present and discuss issues relating to cybercrime.

The research papers presented by team leaders 21-year old Joshua Arvin Lat and 19-year old Ranyel Bryan Maliwanag won the first and second prizes, respectively, at the conference held on March 14 to 16 at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), a leading university in Asia in professional education and research.

Both Filipino students are from the University of the Philippines Department of Computer Science (UP-DCS). They said they carried out their researches at the department’s Computer Security Group.

Veniamin Ginodman, Kaspersky Lab head of educational programs management (left) poses with top prize winners Joshua Arvin Lat (center) and team member Rod Xavier Bondoc during the awarding ceremonies in Hong Kong. Not in photo is third team member Kevin Charles Atienza.

The top research paper written by Lat and his partners Kevin Charles Atienza and Rod Xavier Bondoc entitled “SOUL Sytem: Secure Online USB Login System,” recommended a secure online authentication system involving a two-factor authentication scheme using a password and an ordinary USB flash drive as a security token. The group took home US$1,500 in cash prize for their winning paper.

Veniamin Ginodman, Kaspersky Lab head of educational programs management (left) with second prize winners Ranyel Bryan Maliwanag and team mates Mariah Strella Indrinal and Marynyriene Silvestre during the awarding ceremonies in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Maliwanag and his team, composed of Mariah Strella Indrinal and Marynyriene Silvestre, created an application that uses voice recognition. Their research entitled, “Vox-Grid: A Mobile Voice Verification System,” which proposed a mobile voice verification system to improve the security of the username-password authentication scheme, won for the group a US$1,000 cash prize.

Third place winner was the research paper entitled “Mining Modules’ Dependencies for Malware Detection” by Masoud Narouei from the Shiraz University of Iran which won for him a cash prize of US$750.

This is the first time the Philippines joined the annual conference, which has this year’s theme of “IT Security for the Next Generation.”  

Their wins in the Asia Pacific and MEA Cup 2012 have earned for Lat and Maliwanag their respective spots to represent the Philippines in the 2012 Kaspersky International Cup of the IT Security Conference for Young Professionals to be held at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands on May 11-13, 2012. Kaspersky Lab is sponsoring the all-expense paid trip of the team leaders to the global round.

This time, they will be competing against the winners of the three other regional preliminary rounds held in America, Europe and Russia & Commonwealth of Independent States. Lat and Maliwanag as well as the other participants stand a chance to win the cash prize of 3,500 euros plus the opportunity of an internship at Kaspersky Lab or a visit to a professional Information Security conference together with the company's experts.

In the Hong Kong round, the research papers were presented and defended by Lat and Maliwanag to a panel of judges composed of experts from Kaspersky Lab as well as notable academicians and information technology experts from the United Kingdom, Australia and Hong Kong.

The undergraduate students from UP competed with tertiary and post-graduate students from the Asia Pacific, Middle East and African regions.

Selection was based on scientific and methodological level of work, the social importance of the topic presented, completeness, objectivity with collected information, as well as practical and innovation value in different areas ranging from technical, social, economic to legal topics.

“The quality of papers presented was of a very high standard with much thought and creativity having been put into the content,” said Veniamin Ginodman, Head of Educational Programs Management at Kaspersky Lab.

“Kaspersky Lab is committed to continue holding this student conference annually as a platform to engage in open discussion and knowledge-sharing to develop shared strategies and solutions to combat the relentless evolution of cyber threats. We hope that with more knowledge-building and sharing activities, the region will have an excellent youth brain trust when it comes to cyber security-related issues. Clearly, there is much potential here that has not been fully tapped yet,” he said.

A total of 52 papers were submitted to this year’s conference, five of which were from the Philippines. In Southeast Asia, only Malaysia and the Philippines made it to the Asia Pacific & MEA Cup 2012.

“This conference has again brought together the best from the Asia Pacific and MEA region with excellent support from internationally recognized academicians and analysts,” said Harry Cheung, Managing Director for Kaspersky Lab Asia Pacific.

“The cyber world is youth-driven and the contribution of the young participants in furthering knowledge on cybercrime will significantly add to the body of work now available,” he said.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is the world's largest privately-held Internet Security company, providing comprehensive protection against all forms of IT threats such as viruses, spyware, hackers and spam. The company's products provide in-depth computer defense for more than 300 million systems around the globe, including home and mobile users, small and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises. Kaspersky technology is also incorporated inside the products and services of nearly 100 industry-leading IT, networking, communications and applications solution vendors.

For further information about the company, please visit http://www.kaspersky.com.

(Note to reader: This article was originally posted by another site, and was reposted on our blog for sharing purposes only.)

Songs with "Because Of You" Titles

There are lots of songs with the same song titles, especially the English ones. But "Because Of You" songs is not just two or three...but many more! Here are some of them:

"Because of you, there's a song in my heart. Because of you, my romance had its start. Because of you, the sun will shine. The moon and stars will say you're mine forever and never to part." - James Darren, 2001

"Want to, but I can't help it. I love the way it feels, it's got me stuck between my fantasy and what is real. I need it when I want it, I want it when I don't. Tell myself I'll stop everyday, knowin' that I won't." - Ne-Yo, 2007

"You're my sunshine after the rain. You're the cure against my fear and my pain. 'Cause I'm losing my mind when you're not around. It's all (it's all), it's all because of you." - 98 Degrees, 1998

"You can paint a picture using words. You can make me feel I top the world. When you're near I'm never feeling blue. 'Cause you always know just what to do, to do. Touching the heart of me." - Gabrielle, 1994

"Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk. Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt. Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me but everyone around me. Because of you I am afraid." - Kelly Clarkson, 2006

"From what you do, because of you. You know I can't be there each time that you call. I swore not to come, but I'm here after all. I know by the look that I see in your eye. I won't stand around and I won't watch you die. From what you do, because of you." - Nickelback, 2004

"Because of you, the winter feeds my heart while summer blows and burns my disappearing youth. My love is gone. Never feel again. Because of love, I feel nothing. Because of you, I'll never feel again the agony of pain will never bruise or start." - Skunk Anansie, 2009

"Because of you, my life has changed. Thank you for the love and the joy you bring. Because of you, I feel no shame. I'll tell the world it's because of you." - Keith Martin, 2004

"I used to walk home all alone, it used to be so sad. I used to be all by myself, used to be so bad until you - you came along and took me by the hand. Until you - you came along and said that you'd be my man." - The Cover Girls, 1987

(Some versions of the songs on the list are revived by different artists.)