A Break-up Letter


I never expected I'd be writing you this letter. We've had six years of wonderful memories but I'm afraid it had come to the Read more

Welcome to the New Yoshke.com


New look. New attitude. New experiences. Honestly, I had been neglecting this blog the past few weeks because of my awfully hectic schedule. Work had Read more

Sometimes We Burn to Live


Whenever I meet people for the first time, it always happens. When they start their sentence with "I hope you don't mind me asking but," Read more

Judging By the Cover


Our office is just a stone's throw from where I live. In fact, all I have to do is cross EDSA and voila, hello Read more

Fireworks, Hormones, and this Blog Post


You remember last week when I told you I found it difficult to blog since I met you? Since we became a couple officially, Read more

Do They Read Blogs in Heaven?


Whenever I say that the earliest memory I have is the accident wherein I had my left arm somewhat toasted, I lie. My earliest Read more

Unusual Breakfast


Here we are again. In the usual corner. Usual table. Usual diner. Usual time. And most probably, usual meal. I'm getting tired of this Read more

Top 10 National Stereotypes


Heaven is where the cooks are French, the police are British, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by Read more

EDSA


It could have been a horrible Saturday. I was in the passenger seat. It was a bit raining. Normally, EDSA gets on my nerves. That's why Read more

Why Nursery Rhymes Are So Violent


A few months ago, I was teaching my 4-year old nephew some nursery rhymes with a DVD. After a lot of singing, he slowly Read more

Top 10 Worst Things to Say During Sex


Sex is the art of love. It must be done in the most enjoyable and most satisfying manner. This act of love of two Read more

The Promil Kid Drops the Bomb


Of all the living things created by God, I love my nephew the most. I call him the Promil Kid. He’s the cutest thing. Read more

Lists

Break Free from Singularity:
Top 11 Ways to Find Your True Love

Posted on by Yoshke in Humor, Lists, Love |

It’s nice being single. You don’t have to worry about coming home late. You don’t need to remember a lot of important dates. You don’t need to be conscious about how you look. You don’t have someone to share popcorns with when watching a movie. You don’t have someone to tell you that it’s all gonna be okay when you have a problem. You have no one to grow old with. Yes, it’s nice being single. It’s sooo nice that all the miseries in the world are attributed to being alone. It may be nice but remember that you can only take too much niceness.

Sarcasm aside, being single may have its advantages but the truth remains the same: no one wants to be alone. That’s why we all strive to search the world for our one true love. If you’re single and you are miserably tired of it, it’s time to stop pitying yourself and start your worldwide search for the right person for you. The right person has always been out there. It’s just a matter of finding them. Here are 11 of the easiest ways to find your true lurv.

11. “Can I buy you a drink?”

If you are really serious about finding the person of your dreams, go out and look for him or her. One of the easiest ways to find your your Mr. or Ms. Perfect is to hang out in a bar. You will never find your would-be significant other inside your kitchen cupboard. Go out, have fun and meet people. There are many reasons why this is effective. First, this is where guys and girls who love to have fun go and if you’re that type, you just might find someone meant for you here. Second, alcohol gives you enough courage and confidence to introduce yourself. Some of the greatest love stories do not even get a chance to start because they are both afraid to make a move. What a shame.

Why you should do it: Even if you didn’t meet anyone, you still had your booze. Nothing to lose.

10. “Hi. ASL?”

On second thought, you can still look for the person of your dreams without leaving your house. All you need is a good Internet connection. The cyberspace has become an active social world for romance-seekers all over the planet. People who are looking for love sometimes find themselves surfing the net, logging into some networking sites or entering chat rooms, hoping to find the person of their dreams.

Although it is regarded as absurd by most people, we cannot deny the fact that there have been successful love stories that started through the Internet. In cyberspace, you’ll find all sorts of people; it is impossible you cannot find someone who matches your taste. What is harder to accomplish is finding a person that suits you AND who are serious about meeting people in the web.

Yes, the Internet bridges people from all over the world and allows them to find true love in an instant. You have to remember, however, that the cyberspace is not the safest place in the world to meet the person of your dreams. Without proper discretion and carefulness, your dream romance can turn into a nightmare. You have to explore the cyberspace carefully.

Why you should do it: Who cares? Everyone does it anyway.

9. “Peace be with you.”

Religious differences are sometimes blamed for unsuccessful relationships. If you want to be sure that you will be spiritually compatible with the person you want to meet, go to a church or a synagogue or a temple or whatever name your religion gives for your place of worship. It gives you a couple of advantages. First, religious difference would not be an issue. Second, you are sure that the person is spiritually healthy and responsible.

If you feel guilty doing this, don’t be. It is not like you are doing a blasphemous act. You are just practicing your religion. While you are at it, why not do some multi-tasking? You want to find the person of your dreams? Praying might be a big help. Just don’t hike your skirt a little higher.

Why you should do it: Hey, God said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” You’re just being obedient.

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Top 25 Local TV Shows I Miss:
(Part 2) Comedy Shows

Posted on by Yoshke in Lists, Reviews, TV |

Heto na ang second part ng list na ‘to. If you missed the first part, click here.

15. ANG TV

4:30 NAAAA! ANG TV NAAAAAA! Doo waa didi didi dum didi dumm…

Ang sabi ng mentor ko, who happens to be WikiPedia (hahaha), “Ang TV was the first kids’ gag-variety show in the Philippines. Prior to 1992, Director Johnny Manahan enlisted a group of multi-talented kids (& pre-teens) to create the first ever gag-variety show for youngsters in the Philippines.

Most of the country’s current stars can point their humble beginnings to Ang TV. Popular celebrities like Claudine Barretto, Jolina Magdangal, Rica Peralejo, John Prats, Camille Prats, Paolo Contis, Angelica Panganiban, Patrick Garcia, Kaye Abad, Roselle Nava, Angelu De Leon – to name a few – all jump-started their careers as mainstays of the variety show…”

Esmyuskee, si Sarah Geronimo din pala ay dito rin nagstart. Akalain mo. At pati ang magkakapatid na sina Gio, Luigi at Guila Alvarez.

At grabe marami pa kong paborito dito na nami-miss ko nang bonggang bongga. Hmmm. Lailani Navarro. Lindsay Custodio. Jan Marini Alano. Marnie Arcilla. Sarji Ruiz. Jason San Pedro. Haaaaaaaaay.

14. VICTIM!

Oo na, nakakairita si Carlos Agassi na minsan parang trying-hard maging Ashton Kutcher pero pinapanood ko pa rin ‘to dati. It was first a segment on ASAP Mania but was later developed into a new primetime show to replace “Buttercup.”

Naaalala ko pa yung ibang pranks like yung pinasabog nila yung bahay na malapit sa set ng Lukso ng Dugo at syempre kabadong-kabado si Bernadette Sembrano. Pati yung pinabitin nila sa kawayan a la lechon si Alma Moreno para sa isang dance number.

Sige na, second-rate Punk’d pero what the heck. Sana ibalik nila ‘to. Palitan na lang nila yung host.

13. WHATTAMEN

Sabi nga ng professor ko sa Comm 100 dati, ito na yata ang pinakamaingay na show. (But then again, wala pang Wowowee nun na kahit na naka-mic na eh sigawan pa rin nang sigawan ang hosts.) Grabe, si Ai-Ai delas Alas dito, talak na lang nang talak. (MAAAATTTIIIII!!!!) Nakakatuwa rin si Marvin Agustin dito bilang tatanga-tangang probinsyano, hehe. At saka si Melanie Marquez na mortal na kaaway ni Ai-ai!

Pero I liked the show. Or maybe twas just Rico Yan. Haha.

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Top 25 Local TV Shows I Miss:
Youth-Oriented Shows, Etc

Posted on by Yoshke in Lists, Reviews, TV |

I grouped the programmes by genre. So the rankings don’t really matter. Ehehe. Sa batch na ‘to, yung talk shows, drama anthologies, and youth-oriented shows.

25. MAGANDANG GABI, BAYAN!

As my friend Dam-dam pointed out, there were two things that really made this show very, very interesting and enjoyable.

Halloween Special. As in. I swear, magkamatayan na tayo but I would not miss their Halloween episode. It was just sinisterly spooky. The reenactments were desperately haunting I couldn’t understand why I would always want to watch it even if I knew that I would be so totally afraid to be alone in the days to come. Tipong ihing-ihi ka na, ayaw mo pa rin mag-wiwi kasi nakakatakot. Grabe lang yung “black lady na nangangalampag ng pinto.” Hanggang ngayon she stars as the lead in my nightmares.

New Year Special. To quote Dam-dam, “yung New Year’s episode nila na pinapakita ang mga naputukan, naputulan ng kamay at tinamaan ng bala. Walang panama ang Grey’s Anatomy at ER sa masabaw na dugo na take note, walang konsepto ng blur at pixel.”

24. ALAS SINGKO Y MEDIA

Alas singko y media na, paboritong palabas ko sa umaga. Halina’t gumising na. Tayo na’t manood ng Alas singko y media.” Hihi,

Missing alas singko y media is almost tantamount to missing my childhood. The show was a significant part of my life then — a part of my routine. Tumututok ako dito while getting ready for school. Peborit ko ang traffic report ni Aida Gonzales kahit na taga-Batangas ako at wala namang kinalaman saken kung traffic sa Maynila (eh traffic naman araw-araw pag umaga, paulit-ulit lang yung report nila.) And I would wait until Cheryl Cosim had done the weather forecast (I was in love with her) before I would finally turn the TV off and leave for school. And I witnessed the Julius-Tintin love story blossom. Yeeeh.

23. MORNING GIRLS WITH KRIS AND KORINA

What I loooved about Morning Girls with Kris and Korina was that unlike many of our talk shows back then (and even today), they actually got to talk sensibly. At first, I thought their tandem would not work. But boy was I so wrong. Kris’s chismosa-factor blended well with Korina’s ruthless criticisms, all against a Talk TV backdrop. My fave segment was K2K, where the hosts comment on the various issues that bannered most newspapers. Kung sana ganito ang mga local talk shows natin ngayon, eh di masaya manood ng TV. But noooo, just look at Sis! It’s a frakkin’ circus!

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Protected: Top 10 Interesting Facts About Dreams

Posted on by Yoshke in Lists, Oddities, Science, Trivia |

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Top 10 Foods for Men

Posted on by Yoshke in Health, Lists, Science |

Men and women have different biological structures and needs. Hence, they need different food to keep them healthy. The truth is, men know exactly which foods to eat and which ones to avoid. The only problem is that temptation is too delicious to resist.

However, if you can’t help eating, then at least, eat right. You’ll be surprised that some of the most healthful foods for men are readily available. Here are ten of them.

10. Tomato Sauce

If you love eating tomatoes, tomato sauce or pizza covered with lots of it, you may be doing yourself a favour. Harvard researchers who studied the eating habits of over 47,000 male health professionals found that men who ate tomato sauce up to four times a week has 35 percent lower risk of getting prostate cancer than those who ate none. This is said to be caused by lycopene, a carotenoid that tomatoes have in abundance. However, it must be noted that lycopene is best absorbed when cooked. Thus, eating pizza might be healthier than gorging on fresh tomatoes after all.

9. Berries and Cherries

Berries and cherries are not just delicious; they are healthy, too, especially the blue, violet and red ones. These little tastebud-pleasers contain a truckload of anthocyanin, a health-protecting flavonoid. You will be surprised to know that these little wonders do not just contain vitamin C but also more than 4,000 different compounds that all have antioxidant properties.

Aside from fighting diseases, they may even slow down the decline in some of brain functions that accompany aging. In fact, they can even enhance brain function and keep it healthy. There is also no need to be worried about your weight because these are low-calorie fruits. So make sure you have strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and cherries in your diet.

8. Bananas

Yes, B-A-N-A-N-A-S! If you want a great source of energy, bananas are what you need. Aside from that, bananas can help your body regulate heartbeat, nerves and above all, blood pressure because of their high potassium content. Potassium-rich diets can reduce the risk of stroke.

Not only that, the mighty banana is also a rich source of vitamin B-6, just what you need to aid your immune system, maintain your nervous system, assist protein metabolism and form red blood cells. From now on, make sure you get to have one banana a day to keep health problems away.

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Doubtful Girlfriends

Posted on by Yoshke in Gay, Lists, TV |

“Lahat na lang ba ng gwapo ngayon ay bading? Wala na bang straight na cute ngayon?A friend was hysterical (I think) when she asked me this through Multiply. She was starting to doubt the sexuality of the guy she had been flirting with.

Almost two years ago, I posted a blog entry entitled Top 10 Signs that Your Boyfriend is Gay. It was December 2006. But due to its popularity, I reposted it April this year. If you have time, check it out here.

In fact, the two posts have been viewed about 3000 times already since I installed the views counter plugin just last week. The post ranks third on my Most Viewed Entries. The keywords “signs your boyfriend is gay” has been my top referrer since I posted it in 2006.

It makes me wonder how many women in the world actually find their partner’s gender dubious. Haha. But I thank these people for the significant fraction of my 408,000 hits since December 2006. I just hope they click the ads, haha.

July this year, QTV‘s Sunday evening show ANG PINAKA featured the same topic. Just that they counted down the familiar signs that your husband is gay. Here it is.

ANG PINAKA FAMILIAR SIGNS THAT YOUR HUSBAND IS GAY

10. shifty eyes on your honeymoon
09. you’re always more sexually aggressive than your husband.
08. your husband’s a diva fanatic!
07. your husband picks out the clothes he wants you to wear!
06. your husband is too vain for comfort!
05. he has an underwear fetish!
04. he is a beauty pageant freak!
03. he keeps souvenirs from gay bars and saves sexy men’s photos and gaysites in his computer!
02. numbers of gay escorts appear in his cellphone bills!
01. he’s extremely homophobic!

Hey, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that they ripped this off of this blog, but the similarities are striking.

What I’m pointing out here is that now, that list I came up with two years ago finally got some sort of credibility. Haha.

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Top 20 Cities I’m Dying to Visit (Part 2)

Posted on by Yoshke in Lists, Travel |

DEAR GOD,

Forgive me for being fickle. I changed it to Top 20 cities (from 17) to break the ties. There would’ve been 3 cities sharing the fifth spot but I reckoned it’s silly so I broke ‘em. Hehe. It’s your fault! Why did you have to make this world so beautiful, anyway? And why did you have to make me such an ambitious, discontent, sad person?

God, I’m telling you, I’m not going to heaven before I’m done with all these cities, aright? Oh, I’m sure you want me in heaven. Hell won’t accept me. They’re not ready for a new ruler yet. Hahaha.

If you haven’t seen the first half of this list, click here. Anyway, moving on…

8. MADRID, Spain*

“There has to be a Spanish city,” I demanded from myself. I was thinking Barcelona initially. But suddenly, Penelope Cruz Jose Rizal showed up somewhere on my mind, and I changed it to Madrid.

I’m soooo in love with Rizal. Had he been alive, I would’ve stalked him. Really.

I just want to go to the places he had been — the universities where he studied at, the streets he walked, the room he started writing Noli Me Tangere in, the places he frequented… I saw on TV that there is actually a “Walk with Rizal” tour in Madrid. I am so gonna sign up for that someday. Someday. <cue: Nina – Someday>

*For my great grandmother and the rest of the Zaragoza clan.

7. AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands

If I were a city, I would have to be Amsterdam. Not because it’s beautiful (but why not? haha) but because it is often dubbed “the most socially liberal city in the world.” The Netherlands stands for everything I value and fight for. Social liberalism. Freedom. Tolerance. Choice.

If ever I get married, it’ll be here in Amsterdam. The keyword there is “if.”

6. WARSAW, Poland

Warsaw is the most destructed city after World War II. (Manila, second.) That said, wouldn’t it be nice to see how much Poland has resurrected from ashes?

The truth is, what I really want to visit isn’t in Warsaw. It’s south of the capital, near Krakow. AUSCHWITZ. I want to be there. In the middle of the concentration camps. Be haunted by the gloomy atmosphere. Be awed by the silence left from the suffering that once was there. Be moved to tears by how humanity fell yet again.

Auschwitz is a constant reminder that we are fragile as a species. And that too often in history, power has corrupted many of us and has forced the others to extinction, which makes us almost no different from other animals. And that’s just sad.

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Top 20 Cities I’m Dying to Visit (Part 1)

Posted on by Yoshke in History, Lists, Travel |

DEAR GOD,

Let’s be clear. You are not gonna take my life back until I’m done enjoying the cities listed below. You hold your end of the rope and I promise to be good less evil. I swear, aright? Some of my reasons are pretty lame. But I’m sure you’ll understand. Thanks, Papa God. You’re the best.

20. VENICE, Italy

It was my first time to touch an encyclopaedia volume and the first picture I saw was that of Venice and the gondolas swaying on its flooded streets. I was 7 years old. Right then, I told myself that I just had to visit Venice. You see, I was born ambitious a romantic

But really, I won’t visit Venice alone. Someone has to go there with me. And it’s not gonna be my mother.

19. FLORENCE, Italy

I have no idea what’s in Florence and I’m too lazy to research right now. But three of my friends who have embarked on a European tour have been raving about it. Ahem Ayn ahem Tey ahem Rico ahem. So I don’t know, but since they love it so much, I might as well see for myself.

18. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil

I think Mardi Gras is such a fun event and no one celebrates this in a more grandiose and more astonishing manner than the Brazilians.

I’m not a Christian but it wouldn’t hurt to be face-to-face with Jesus Christ the Redeemer, would it? After all, it’s crazy enormous. Crazy enormous.

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Top 10 Most Notorious Serial Killers

Posted on by Yoshke in History, Lists, Mysteries, Public Affairs, The World |

In any known culture, murder is considered a heinous crime. This is because human life is valued more than anything else in the world. Throughout history, however, we have seen countless serial killers and mass murderers rise and spread terror. They are often seen as heartless monsters who are incapable of seeing life as sacred.

Many of these serial killers commit murders one after another because of a mental illness or pure hatred and rage. Whatever their reasons are, they still manage to keep the attention of the public on them and mark their names on history. Here are the top 10 most notorious serial killers of all time.

Warning: graphic language and gruesome pictures below.

10. THE PIOUS MONSTER

Real name: Gilles de Rais (France)
Murder count: 80 to 600

Gilles de Rais of France was a nobleman and a military captain in the army led by St. Joan of Arc. He was convicted of raping and killing dozens (or hundreds) of young children. Although he preferred boys, if circumstances required, he would make do with girls.

Surviving accounts narrate how Rais would lure young boys with blond hair and blue eyes to his residences. Then, he would sexually molest, torture and mutilate the poor kids. Most of the time, he would ejaculate over the body of the dying victim. He was not alone. He had accomplices helping him set up the heads of these kids so that they could judge who among these kids was the fairest.

Most of the bodies were burnt or buried and until now, the exact number of his victims is still unknown. However, it is placed between 80 and 200. Some think that it may even be as high as 600.

9. THE KILLER CLOWN

Real name: John Wayne Gacy (Chicago, Illinois, US, 1972 – 1978)
Murder count: more than 29

We know that clowns bring fun and joy to children. Well, one clown decided to prove us wrong. He brought terror, instead. Move over, JOKER. Hehe.

John Wayne Gacy is one of the most notorious killers in the history of America. He has two jobs. By day he was a business owner who loved to entertain children as Pogo the Clown.

But at night, he was a serial murderer, torturing and murdering kids. For six years, the bodies of his victims stacked up in the crawlspace of his home. Due to lack of space, he was forced to throw his next victims into the Des Plaines River.

He was finally caught when he let his last victim escape after a night of horrendous torture. When the police searched his house, they found 29 bodies piled up under the patio floor and in the crawlspace. In 1980, he was sentenced to death. In 1994, he was executed.

8. THE GAY SLASHER

Real name: Andrew Phillip Cunanan (US, 1996-1997)
Murder count: 5

Andrew Cunanan murdered only five people but he was very infamous all over the world. This Filipino-American serial killer was listed on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the FBI.

Cunanan always visited gay neighbourhoods in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many of those he met described him as articulate, intelligent and charming. He was also said to have extreme sexual tastes and sadomasochistic inclination. Most of all, he was also very handsome. And he put this asset of his to evil use.

Unlike most serial killers who pick up their victims in the streets, Cunanan eyed the rich and the famous. Yes, he killed only five people but these people were SOME people. And he managed to kill them in a three-month cross country trip. His first victim was a former US Naval Officer, Jeffrey Trail. Architect David Madson came next. The next to meet his demise in Cunanan’s hands was Lee Miglin, a real estate developer. He then killed William Reese, a cemetery caretaker, for his truck. And his fifth and final victim — Gianni Versace, a billionaire fashion designer. Because Cunanan was reported to be working as a prostitute, the media speculated that four of his victims were actually his clients.

There was a national manhunt for Cunanan. Before being captured, however, he committed suicide in a Miami houseboat.


Andrew Cunanan after the suicide

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Let’s Kill ‘Em All!
Top 18 Most Annoying Types of People (Part 2)

Posted on by Yoshke in Humor, Lists, Rants |

I originally wrote this part for crunkish.com, an amazing website that we put up. Hehe. Anyway, Let’s continue with the bashing. Hihi. If you missed the first half, click here. But first, a disclaimer: I’m actually guilty of being one (or maybe two or more) of these. Go figure. Haha.

10. THE SPAMMERS

I don’t know why I chose this picture, haha. (Hey, he looks like spam personified, hahaha.) Spammers are those who flood your inbox with e-mails telling 10-year old boys how to apply for a mortgage and encouraging straight women to enlarge their male genitalia. Spams fill up your inbox that it can be so hard to find which messages are real. Now, that’s really annoying. I know they’re just doing their jobs but oh well, their jobs SUCK.

And then there are trolls. They are those who purposely start a heated argument in online forums by flamebaiting. These attention-seekers would do all sorts of things to create discussion chaos by attacking other posters on a forum without listening to what they have to say. Even when they know they are wrong, they still insist just for the purpose of ruining the peaceful, smooth flow of opinions.

How to deal: A spam-blocker is enough to avoid spammers. When it comes to trolls, the best thing to do is ignore them and not reply to their posts.

9. THE KNOW-IT-ALLS

We understand that some people are just so knowledgeable that they sure know something wherever you lead the conversation to. Yes, we certainly understand that. What is annoying is when these people start to act like they know everything — as in EVERYTHING.

Have you ever had a a classmate who always has an answer to almost anything your teacher asks? What is more irritating is when he answers even those that are rhetorical. (Wahaha, sounds like my Broad Comm classmates, hihi).

Know-it-alls think that they know everything there is in the world and that they are always right. Most of the time, they also assume that everything they know are things that other people haven’t heard of. Another pesky habit they have is they cut you off in the middle of the conversation and they will be the ones who would start talking about the same topic as if you aren’t credible enough. What’s up with that?

How to deal: When in an argument with a know-it-all, never tell him that he’s wrong. Instead, say that you disagree and explain why. Enumerate your reasons and back them up with evidence that can be verified. Do all these in your most polite way.

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