Zip-ping with Poi-se

Have you ever experienced relaxing by the beach or at the park when a stream of bright color catches your eye? It moves in a smooth wavelike motion against the clear sky, one after the other. These twirling ribbons in bright colors appear as if they're dancing in the air. They seem almost alive. Then you notice that these ribbons are being held by able hands. It is also likely that these people weaving these intricate sky serpents are hooked to their Ipods as they dance like they're on a trance.

Those cool looking thinggies are called Zips (named after Planet Zips - pioneer Poi company in the Philippines). Zips which are growing in popularity here in the country are inspired from Poi -- a traditional dance of the Maori natives of New Zealand. Poi literally means rock on a string. It was used by the Maori males for warfare and the females to attract a partner. The essential elements of poi are a weighted center and a piece of string. Sometimes they end with long flowing ribbons, other times with fuzzy balls or flashy LED lights. The more trained and courageous aficionados use flammable Kevlar at the end of their chains to spin fire.

What used to be a folk dance of sorts became a global fitness phenomenon. Today, poi/zips are being marketed as a cardiovascular-fitness craze, recreational toy, and an art form. These toys have emerged all over the world. Websites devoted to the art of poi have sprung up all over cyberspace. Communities of spinners trade techniques and videos.

In the modern world, the art of poi is practiced as an outlet for individual creativity. Moves are strung together to create seemingly complicated combinations. The more tricks a spinner can master, the wider and richer his routine becomes. To watch a skilled spinner at work is captivating. No “show” is ever the same and no two spinners are alike. Each individual imbues their personal stamp on their style. I have been zipping for about 4 months now and I have enjoyed every second of spinning my poi, whether I'm on the beach, the park, Bonifacio High Street or even in our own backyard.

But why would a bit of string, a weighted center and a flowing ribbon catch the attention of so many people? Well, first of all, it is fun. It truly is as simple as that. They sometimes have a calming effect on people. It's like doing cardio, yoga, tai chi and a performance art all at the same time.
 
And if you think ribbon poi are impressive, wait until you see fire poi in use! There is a whoosh of sound as fire poi begin to make circles in the air. To a poi fan, it is literally, the sound of energy. This harnessed power finds a conduit in the hands of the spinner as the energy flows from the spinner to his/her poi. The display, when done by someone with skill and finesse, is captivating. Coupled with the appropriate music, a fire dancing show can be mind-blowing.
 

 

Even if you don’t think spinning fire is quite up your alley, you can always pick up a pair of ribbon or LED poi and spin away. How quickly a newbie picks up the various moves depends largely on each individual. There are some who learn faster than others. Lessons help of course. You can find free tutorials on-line or buy instructional DVDs. Live classes are the most beneficial of course and there are a growing number of reputable teachers worldwide

 

But when it all comes down to it, the choice is all yours. It is your choice if you would like to have structured classes (Planet Zips hold regular classes in Alabang, Quezon City and Makati - where you follow modules from beginner moves to intermediate.. then advanced --with varying rates and packages) or be self-teaching (YouTube instructional videos). It is up to you to find out what your personal style is; if you like to spin fast to house music or lose yourself in tribal beats. There are no rules. All that is expected is that you enjoy yourself. As Planet Zips put it... Free, Flow, Go
 
Here is a video of Yuta - a famous fire poi spinner from Japan:

More About Poi/Zips:

Home of Poi

Planet Zips

Play Poi

Lawn of the Dead

It's been ages since my last (real) entry.. and a lot of things have happened to me and my family. Here are a few:

~ got a medical school scholarship
~ dorm (Facebook - MediSin Album)
~ Lola Josie's reunion with my Mama Mappie and our other dearly departed
~ Poi / Zips (will post something about this later)

In this entry, I will be sharing my experience with another tower defence game - Plants vs. Zombies.

Plants vs. Zombies is a game developed by PopCap (Bejeweled, Peggle, Feeding Frenzy)

The object of Plants vs. Zombies is simple: There's a zombie on your lawn. We don't want zombies on the lawn. Not only because the neighbors might point and stare, but also because if they make it all the way to your house, the zombies are going to come inside and eat your brains. Plants vs. Zombies is your basic tower defense game, with a wide variety of plants acting as the line of defense between your noggin and the shambling undead. You begin each round with a sneak peek at the zombies that are standing in the street, patiently awaiting their chance to jump the curb and make a beeline for your back door. You can then choose the plants you want to take into battle; certain plants are useless against certain zombies, so plan carefully.

The most important resource in the game is sunshine. Each seed costs a certain amount of sun to plant; the more powerful the seed, the more sun it costs. Sunshine falls naturally from the sunny sky, but not in large enough quantities to do you much good - you'll have to plant Sunflowers to boost your sunlight-gathering abilities. Even if you've got plenty of sun, you need to be wise about how and when you plant. Seeds take a certain amount of time to recharge after planting, so relying too much on powerful seeds that take more time to recharge can leave you wide open and vulnerable.

At first, you'll only have a handful of seeds at your disposal, but you earn a new seed at the end of each cleared level. You'll more than likely settle on a favorite combination of plants pretty early on, but Plants vs. Zombies does a great job of forcing you to reconsider your strategies. Sun isn't as readily available at night, for example, while the slope of the roof renders straight-shooting peas virtually useless. Wall-nuts that kept weaker zombies at bay are no match for pole vaulting or ladder zombies, and you can't plant much of anything in the pool without laying down a lily pad first.

That said, Plants vs. Zombies certainly isn't the hardest tower defense game you'll ever play - seasoned players will probably beat Adventure Mode without ever once losing a round. There's still loads to do, even after you defeat the final boss, though. You can tend to the plants in your Zen Garden, which spit out money if you treat them well, or visit the Tree of Wisdom, which spits out advice if you treat it well. You can also test your skill at an assortment of mini-games, though some are definitely more fun than others. Invisighouls, which pits you against an army of invisible undead, is particularly challenging, as is Portal Kombat, but Slot Machine and Whack-a-Zombie are a bit weak. Oh, but you're not done yet. Once you've worked your way through all of those, there are still two puzzle modes to master: Vasebreaker, in which you have to protect your brains while smashing all the vases on the lawn and my personal favorite, I, Zombie, which lets you switch roles and play as the brain-munchers themselves. But wait, you're still not done! You still have two different survival modes to conquer for each of the game's five different environments and believe me, Hard is no picnic, even for experienced zombie slayers. Once you've done all that, you can play through the game for a second time, when your neighbor Crazy Dave chooses your first three seeds for you in each round.

Everything about Plants vs. Zombies is high-quality, start to finish; the music is excellent, the art is charming and adorable, and the game's sense of humor will really have you grinning. The notes the zombies leave are priceless, and even their descriptions in the Almanac are hilarious. Plants vs. Zombies is fun in concentrated form, an intense dose of giggle-inducing entertainment beamed directly to your brain.

Rating

Graphics: 7

Sound: 9 (Brainiac Maniac FTW!)

Gameplay: 8

Over-all: 8

A Libre Me This, Libre Me That Culture

When I first heard that Binay was going to be the new Vice president, I wondered what aside from the behind-the-scenes machinations would make him popular. He was a surprise winner, after all. Then I heard from someone that in Makati, he gives a lot of freebies. For example, senior citizens could get free birthday cakes, or even money from government offices. It makes sense that a politician who will give dole outs often will be very popular.

But this reflects another bad side of our culture. It is a culture of dependence on or desire for dole-outs.

Ever heard the funny lyrics, “bili mo ko n’yon, bili mo ko n’yan, ha?” That typifies many Filipinos. There is still the cultural desire to have someone else give it to them.

For example, imagine yourself as a working class Filipino, eldest among the children, with a job and salary. You arrive home after work, and you hear the screams of “where are our French fries!” from your siblings. Your parents, who are already senior citizens, will demand, “when are you going to bring us to Boracay?” When you reply that your salary is too low for that, they’ll scream, “then go abroad!” You’ll go abroad, you earn enough to send them to Boracay, but your family goes there without you. Lugi ka. Add to that the hassle of going abroad, adjusting to another country and culture, separation from your own, etc.

In addition, Filipinos seem so afraid to work. Stories in Maalaala Mo Kaya to go like, “mula ng magkasakit si tatay, lahat kaming magkapatid kailangan magtrabaho.” It’s understandable if they have to stop schooling and go to work. But it gives the idea that it’s wrong if all siblings go to work. But there are stories where the children have graduated, but don’t go to work, and remain fed by the overworked parents. You should send your kids to school, but it’s a sin so send them to work? That’s one of the bad things our local media feeds our lazy people.

In addition, consumerism is tremendous in Filipino culture. Everyone desires to have the latest brand or be part of the latest fad. And to do this, they’ll ask for dole-outs from mama and papa, or from their working sibling.

And this affects the way our people vote. When candidates like Gordon come in offering the attraction of foreign investment to the country to generate jobs, they become less popular than candidates who offer freebies to people. “We will give you want you want, and you don’t need to lift a finger.” This is the most likely criteria that our people have for choosing their leaders. And this is what makes our country an idiocracy or kakistocracy.

Thus, I point you to Rafterman’s article that stated this undeniable truth: the reason for Filipino corruption and dysfunction is laziness. Filipinos, most of them for that matter, are lazy. And laziness can be found in all classes, from the richest to the poorest.

But I have to point this out: just look at most of the people who receive dole-outs from popular freebie givers. They’re still poor! Most of them are still poor because they wanted to receive fish. They refused to learn how to fish, all because of laziness. Then they’ll play the victim card again and say they’re poor. They’re not just poor, they’re pathetic.

I also have to mention this comment I saw from Ilda’s Offical Profile of Noynoy, which has the sense of a dole-out seeker:
 
CONGRATULATION !!! PRESIDENT BENIGNO NOYNOY C. AQUINO III. FOR BEING A PRESIDENT OF PHILIPPINES.I AM JUST A ORDINARY FILIPINO HOPING AND WISHING TO HELP OUR COUNTRY.BY YOUR HELP I WILL NOT HESITATE TO REQUEST ASSISTANCE PARTICULARLY AIR POLLUTION THAT CAUSE A BIG PROBLEM TO OUR ENVIRONMENT.I AM WISHING SO MUCH TO HAVE ASSISTANCE HELPING ME ON WHAT I HAVE.IT MAY COME CLOSER TO DEVELOP TOURISM ANDENVIRONMENT IF ASSISTANCE COME IN PLANTING IN ROAD ISLAND AND FRESH AIR THERAPY FROM GARDEN FLORAL FLOWER ANCIENT PLANT. FOR ME I JUST WANT TO DEVELOP THIS.I ASK A ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FROM YOU BECAUSE I AM COMFORTABLE IN YOU.I AM HOPING TO BE INTERVIEW REGARDING THIS AND SUPPORT BECAUSE I KNOW IT WILL HAVE A POTENTIALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT MOSTLY PREVENTING AIR POLLUTION AND OUR HEALTH. CP#(taken out for privacy). NOEL B. DALISAY.

Ayos. That keeled me over.

Though it’s for a business, Mr. Dalisay is still asking for a dole-out to help him start up. Darn, for support for his anti-pollution focus, why didn’t he think of Perlas? And if he wanted real support for his herbal business, why doesn’t he ask for funds from investors abroad? Problem is, our protectionist clauses are inhibiting investments from abroad, so people like Mr. Dalisay are kept poor by our pro-oligarch policies.

Hence, our culture today has become a “libre me this, libre me that” culture. It not only affects our lifestyles and family stability, but it also affects the way we vote. We have to break this culture of laziness and make it a value that everyone should work for their own keep.

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Anti-Pinoy: Culture of Libre (ChinoF)

Pilipinas - s/p Election 2010