16 - Ignite Speech Competition

Ignite? Speech? Finals? These words gave me a surprise, well first of all when I heard the word ignite I wonder what does it mean for it was actually my first time to know that there was what they call Ignite Speech. When our teacher explained what and how to do an Ignite Speech, we were a bit calm for we think it was very easy but when we were all at the process of thinking a topic we were all stressed out. Since this Ignite speech was a part of our finals me and my classmates strive hard and focused on our speeches.

As I deliver my speech I realized that Ignite speech wasn't that bad, in fact it was kind of interesting, after everyone had deliver their speeches, we had focused on our speech choir but along with it one of our classmate will be representing our block for the Ignite contest. As he prepares his speech we, his classmates, was very supportive and so we helped him with the pictures he needed for his slide presentation. The Ignite contest was also held the same date whit the Speech Choir competition which is yesterday, December 22, 2015.

The program flow was an alternate presentations of speech choir and Ignite, Benj was assigned to be the last speaker to deliver his Ignite Speech. As he present his speech, the crowd was somehow entertained and of course with the support of our block we were able to get the attention of the crowd as well, good thing his points wasn't deducted with our noise.

Then comes the time for announcing of winners, and we were somehow confident that Benj will win for we know that he was able to deliver his Ignite speech very well, and so He did won as the champion for the Ignite contest. We the BM 151 were very full of joy and pride well who wouldn't be? we treat each other as a family and we are all together happy with one's victory.

15 - Public Speaking Competition

 According to a study, speaking to many people or in other words PUBLIC SPEAKING is one of the greatest fears most people have, but good thing we the SOM students were given the chance to overcome that fear through our English Term.Throughout our English Term, our teachers had made sure every one of us improved our skills in speaking, writing, and analyzing. We were given a lot of activities such as essay writing, technical writing, proofreading, giving a speech.

 As our English term end, we were given a chance to prove all of the things we have learned. It was December 21, 2015 when the inter-class public speaking contest was held at the APC auditorium for the SOM students. Every block have six (6) representatives to give a speech about the cult of celebrities and fantasies...a Filipino obsession? Unfortunately nobody from our block got into the finals, but we are still thankful and proud with our classmates who represented our block. Congratulations to the Winners!

14 - The Phantom of the Opera

Having been heard of the words phantom and opera made me curious of what was it, it made me think if it was a movie, a show, or a book and so I was able to answer my questions when we the BM 151 watched this beautiful and classic play of The Phantom of the Opera.

I found out that it was actually a British film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux. This Phantom of the Opera is a worldwide entertainment phenomenon that has been staged in one-hundred-forty five (145) cities across twenty-seven (27) countries. The Phantom of the Opera celebrated its 25th Anniversary year at the Royal Albert Hall last second (2nd) of October in the year 2011. Cameron Mackintosh presents The Phantom Of The Opera in a fully-staged, lavish production,and was screened live worldwide.

Phantom Of The Opera stars are Ramin Karimloo as ‘The Phantom’ and Sierra Boggess as ‘Christine. I can say that they are really talented, besides of having a good voice they are also good in acting. As I have watched their play, I wanted to keep on watching it over and over again but unfortunately I don't have any copy and there is no free full uploaded video of it on youtube so I just play it on my mind. So far this is also included in my favorites, and the last thing I would like to share is that through this I'm inspired to be stronger in achieving my dreams in life like what the character of Sierra Boggess which is Christine had shown in the play.

13 - Media Literacy

" Mobilizing the Millennials as Socially Responsible Prosumers"

 

Media Literacy as I see it is very important today. Why? Because our world today, we are bombarded with different forms of media. But first what is media literacy? It provides a framework to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms – from print to video to the internet. It also builds an understanding of the role of media in society. With these definitions, we are now aware of what it is. Hence through this, it help us understand the media that we consume. Through this also can interpret very well the message the media conveys. And since we can understand, we can also contribute, react, and take part in a conversation/debate about the matter.

Last November 25, 2015 three guest speakers from GMA network gave us a talk about media literacy, they are actually journalists so they know a lot about finding information how to deliver or present it well enough for the public. Honestly I grew up watching in the channel of GMA and I have kept on hearing the news from them and everytime they end the news program they always recite or say "walang kinikilingan, walang pinroprotektahan, walang kasinungalingan, serbisyong totoo lamang" the three speakers who came to our school proved and had shown this promise of their company by not being bias. They have also admitted that there will always be sugarcoating but hopefully and as much as possible coating the details and the whole news is a no no. When we present information we should  be honest and be sure of all the data, and of course deliver the information or news with a not so negative way. Another thing I learned from them is not to depend always on what data is given to you, we should also do our research and better know every information.

As I end, Media Literacy is very important for everyone for through this we do not only become consumers of media, but rather an analyst, evaluator, and creator as well. Thus it would be great to help in spreading this kind of literacy for we become not only “clickers” but “thinkers” all the more. 

12 - PLAGIARISM

Technology of today keeps improving, and most of us consider technology as a big help in our work and in our life. Being exposed to technology was very helpful indeed, yet having this kind of ability and control with what we use most people abuse what they benefit from it. Having every information about almost everything present in the world put into digital and published online, many people find all of this information and copy it without acknowledging where they got it and who published it, and this is what we call Plagiarism.

image from: writersdepartment.com360 × 239

The definition of plagiarism according to the online dictionary which is dictionary.com, it is an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author. While plagiarism according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own or to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.


But is Plagiarism really a crime?
Here in the Philippines we have a law that governs intellectual property known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and this is named as the Republic Act No.8293. This is an act prescribing the intellectual property code and establishing the intellectual property office, providing for its powers and function, and for other purposes, therefore plagiarism is a crime.

image from: www.plagiarism.com

From now on, we should site our references with the right format.There is this what we call A.P.A which stands for American Psychological Association, this a style which is commonly used to cite sources. Using APA style in citing references helps us to give proper acknowledgement for the author's/publisher's/site's...etc. work, therefore using it doesn't only helps us with the information but it also helps us to be safe from the work of plagiarism.

image from: library.alamancecc.edu

References:
                    plagiarism. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved November 29, 2015 from Dictionary.com 
                    website http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism

                    Plagiarize. (2015). Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
                    /plagiarize 

                    What is Plagiarism? (2014). Retrieved November 29, 2015, from http://www.plagiarism.org
                    /plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism/ 

11 - About Mikael De Lara Co

To be given a grate and unique gift by God is something that we should really be thankful for. Not all of us were given the talent in dancing, singing, drawing, and of course creating different literary works especially poems. Today let me share to you something about a free-lance writer of the new age, he is Mikael De Lara Co.

MIKAEL DE LARA CO 

Mikael, very known to be called as "kael", is one of the very distinguished poets in his generation. He was born in Makati City on the second day of April in the year 1983.
He graduated grade school in Lourdes College, high school in Philippine Science High School, and college at the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in BS Environmental Science. Since his college days, he has been writing primarily in Filipino and had received recognition for his poetry, and he has experiences in editing, teaching and translating.

One of Mikael's greatest work is Hands For A Fistful Of Sand, it is said to be one of his contributions to the society for it gives rise to the new age of writing and that the well thought of image and underlying messages written in this collection are helpful in synthesizing and influencing a new breed of writing and genre in our culture.

Mikael is a first placer in the prestigious Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, winning first place with his poem Hands For A Fistful Of Sand, and as I have included above that he had received recognition for his poetry, it includes print space in the Philippines Free Press, Sunday Inquirer Magazine, Aklat Likhaan, Dapitan, Tomas, Matanglawin, Pilosopo Tasyo, and Heights. He has also published fiction and non-fiction in Heights, Matanglawin and Manila Bulletin.

Besides of his talent in writing poems, Mikael is also talented when it comes to Music. He plays lead guitar for the new wave/punk/blues band Los Chupacabras, and is the  lead vocalist for Gapos, a progressive rock/jazz/blues band with a social realist bent.

Truly we are unique in our own ways by having different talents and creativity with the things we show to the world, and the things the we prove to them. 

Reference: Mikael Co. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Mikael_Co

10 - Aerobic Exercise is the Best Way to Lose Weight

Many people are into being fit and healthy, and some are struggling with what they call "diet" while some spend too much in the gym. Going to the gym or lifting weights is said to be the best way to be fit and healthy, but a research say that Aerobic Exercise is the best and most affordable way to lose weight and burn unhealthy fats.

Before anything else, let me share you more about Aerobic Exercise. According to Medicine Net, Aerobic exercise also known as Cardio is any activity that you can sustain for more than just a few minutes while your heart, lungs, and muscles work overtime. This kind of exercise requires pumping of oxygenated blood by the heart to deliver oxygen to working muscles, it stimulates the heart rate and breathing rate to increase in a way that can be sustained for the exercise session. Having known of the facts about Aerobics, I realized that Aerobics should be limited to how long can you do the exercise because if the level of intensity is too high, it is no longer an aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise includes running, swimming, dancing, hiking, walking, kickboxing, and other activities that makes your breathing a bit hard, makes your heart thump, and lets your blood course through your vessels to deliver oxygen to the muscles to keep you moving.

But what makes Aerobic exercise the best way to lose wight or to burn unhealthy fats? Why not weights or go to the gym? Well, as I research about it I have found answers from the site of Medical News Today and Live Science, and they have included there that "according to the study of an expert group from Duke University people, who did both aerobic exercise and resistance training, they did not see further improvements to their health — in terms of liver fat, insulin resistance and other measures — beyond those who did only aerobic exercise." "Their study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, is the biggest randomized trial to measure revisions in body composition from three different types of exercise in overweight adults who do not have diabetes, and results showed that people who did aerobics for eight months lost about 2.5 square inches of belly fat, as measured on a CT scan. That's about 1.5 times as much as people who did a combination of aerobic exercise and weight lifting, and about 20 times as much as those who only lifted weights. "Resistance training is great for improving strength and increasing lean body mass," said study researcher Cris Slentz, an exercise physiologist at Duke University. But aerobic exercise is better for losing belly fat because it burns more calories, he said. " 

Fats are the ones that we consider in gaining weight and just to add up belly fats, to be more specific, are said to be more of danger than other fats because a study have shown that belly fats comes with higher risks of heart disease, diabetes and certain kinds of cancer, and that is why we need to burn it through the help of doing some cardio exercise. However, a study conducted by researchers at the Center for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas have found that Aerobic exercise doesn't only limits its benefits to the physical health of a person, especially aging adults, but also mentally and/or emotionally. From the site of Center Brain Health : " The study, sedentary adults ages 57-75 were randomized into a physical training or a wait-list control group. The physical training group participated in supervised aerobic exercise on a stationary bike or treadmill for one hour, three times a week for 12 weeks. Participants’ cognition, resting cerebral blood flow, and cardiovascular fitness were assessed at three time points: before beginning the physical exercise regimen, mid-way through at 6 weeks, and post-training at 12 weeks. “By measuring brain blood flow non-invasively using arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI, we can now begin to detect brain changes much earlier than before,” said Sina Aslan, Ph.D., founder and president of Advance MRI and collaborator on the study. Exercisers who improved their memory performance also showed greater increase in brain blood flow to the hippocampus, the key brain region affected by Alzheimer’s disease. “Physical exercise may be one of the most beneficial and cost-effective therapies widely available to everyone to elevate memory performance,” Chapman said."

Wow! Aerobics really is beneficial for everyone. Having known that this kind of exercise doesn't require a lot of money and of your time plus its extra benefits on our mental health, I am much more inspired and motivated to be fit and healthy. Since at first, most of us had no idea that a simple walk is already an aerobic exercise I hope that as you have read this blog of mine you too were amazed and inspired. So keep your body moving and stay healthy! :)


References: Aerobic Exercise: Learn Examples and Routines. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
                  http://www.medicinenet.com/aerobic_exercise/article.htm
                  Aerobic Exercise Best Way To Burn Fat, Not Weights. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from   
                  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/254158.php 

                  Staff, B. (2011, August 29). Aerobic Exercise Is Best Way to Burn Belly Fat. Retrieved November
                  17, 2015, from http://www.livescience.com/15815-aerobic-exercise-cuts-belly-fat.html 

                 Center for BrainHealth. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/blog_page/study-finds-aerobic-exercise-improves-memory-brain-function-and-physical-fi