Galactic Judge

Since we're on the subject of things that are "Far out," the theme of this year's Digital Young Creators competition is "Intergalactic."

And we had our final judging last Thursday.

It's interesting to see how young digital creators approach an advertising brief, and you can see the advantage of content creators with an advertising background.

In the end, 2 of the 3 winners were from advertising agencies, while the 3rd one was a full-fledged content creator.

And yes, their talents were out of this world.

FMM: Out of this world

When you say "The Carpenters," you think of songs that are soft and romantic. No surprise, because that's the vibe of most of their songs.

But they have one song that veered away from their usual. It veered so far away, that it went to outer space!

"Calling occupants of interplanetary craft," is out of this world in so many ways. From the intro alone, you know that it's not going to be the usual song. 

Then, you have the lyrics like: "O please, Mr. Interstellar Policeman, can you give us a sign, give us a sign, that we've reached you." If that's not far off, I'm not sure what is. 

Another amazing thing about this song is the fact that it's celebrating it's 50th year this 2026! Yup, it was first aired in 1976, and was way ahead of its time.

As one of the popular sayings in the 70s best capture my feelings about this song:

It's far out!

Oysho you

Without much hype or fanfare, Oysho opened its first store here in MNL.

Their store is located in Greenbelt 5 and took over the old Marks & Spencers area.

Oysho is a Spanish brand under the Inditex group. So, it's the sister brand of Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Stradivarious, Bershka and Lefites. They specialize in athleisure wear, so it's Spain's answer to Alo and Lululemon.

Didn't have enough time to explore the place, but I'll see to it that I do so soon.

In the clear

Another thing remarkable about our beaches in Bacacay is the fact that the water is so clear!

You can really see everything happening under water.

It's another clear reason to spend more rime here.

Sun, sea and sand

Was fortunate to spend last weekend in Bicol with my parents, and it's always a goy to sake up to this view.

Spent the morning strolling by the beach, and this view of the sun, sea and sand followed me wherever I sent.

Makagomahon.

Tickled Sphinx

Had to take a snap of this super cute cat:

Because he reminded me of this:

We might have Egyptian royalty in our midst.

Like Daughter, Like Mother

Seriously, the resemblance between Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber is mind-blowingly uncanny!

They have the same career path. They both because cover girls. They're both faces of major make-up brands. And gosh, they look so much alike!

If Kaia had a mole where Cindy has hers, that would've been the ultimate!

FMM: Another Pillow talk

While typing the title of yesterday's blog entry, a very old song suddenly played in my head and the lyics resonated clearly in my head:

"Ooh, you can't find love on a one-way street, It takes two to tango, it takes two to even compete."

These lyrics are part of super catchy song that first played on air in 1973, by a singer named Sylvia Robinson.

Everything about "Pillow Talk" feels deliberate and thematic. From the soothing, R&B melody, to the enticing lyrics, all the way to the sultry way that Sylvia sang the song. It's gives peak bedroom vibes, which is just what the song is about.

Thanks to this song, now I've got something to talk about.

Pillows talk

Oh, the things you find on Shopee.

I'm a fan of Pillows, particularly their chocolate flavour. 

But apparently, there's a bigger universe of Pillows out there. Particularly in Vietnam.

They have Hazelnut and Coconut flavours! 

And yes, they taste as good as you'd imagine.

Gotta hoard more of these soon.

Sweet as Sugarhouse

It was one of the places that we'd frequent way back in high school and college.

Sugarhouse was a bakeshop and cafe that was a go-to destination back in the 80s and 90s. The ambience was nice, the food was really good, and the vibe was giving. (Yes, I'm talking like a Gen Z.) Suffice it to say, it was like the Mary Grace of their time.

One of the things that Sugarhouse was also known for was the fact that they sold sugar-free desserts. I'd remember how we'd buy Sugarhouse treats for our diabetic friends.

Memories of that bakeshop suddenly flooded in because of this:

Sugarhouse is opening in Ali Mall!

Sweet!