How I will remember
2014 for:
→ The expression “Boom panes!”
→ I could hear John Legend’s “All
of Me” everywhere.
→ ALS Bucket Challenge. I didn’t find it fun at all. Still, I hope it did indeed raise money for
that cause though.
→ Loombands. Now, that was a fad that died pretty quick.
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| This was a unique and ironic game because whoever plays this game will surely be frustrated by it but won't be able to stop playing. |
→ Speaking of fads, there was the
widespread addiction on Flappy Birds. Personally, I didn’t get to play this app
game, thankfully. I did play Zombie Tsunami for a while though.
→ Oh, and speaking of app games,
if I had avoided Candy Crush in 2013
because of its addictiveness, it was in the summer of 2014 that I got to be briefly
hooked on it.
→ Tech support ended for Windows
XP. My five-year old netbook is still on
XP.
→ Speaking of my netbook, in
early December, its monitor gave out; the damage was unfixable. To still use it, I had to remove its monitor
and attach a desktop monitor on it. Fun
set up actually. Anyway, I now seldom
use it now since my father gave me his laptop (Thank you so much, Papa!).
→ I re-discovered the awesomeness
of file sharing. I probably obtained nearly a
terabyte worth of games, comics, movies, and TV shows from it. (One of the probable reasons why I got into –
as well as rewatched – a lot of TV series in 2014.)
→ At year end, I had 15 books in “The
Pile” – books I bought which I haven’t finished or started reading
yet.
→ I became back-to-back Bible
Quiz champion in our church. It was an
awesome feel-good experience. Best of
all, the first prize was a tablet.
→ I’m not much of an enthusiastic techie, and with a netbook and a smartphone, I found no use with the tab at all for a couple of months. But then, I realized I could now play Plants vs. Zombies 2 because I now have
a tab. I remembered that I’ve always
wanted to play this game ever since its release but wasn’t able to because I had no smartphone
or tab. Later in the year, I would also
discover the special delight found in the practicality of an e-book. So, thanks to the tab, 2014 was the year I
finally got into e-book reading.
→ I had the silver anniversary of
my journey towards Eternity (or I had
my 25th birthday, if
you didn’t get that).
→ I actually only learned for the
first time that the 1989 Batman movie was released in June 23 – the same date I
was born! (Aside from the movie’s silver
anniversary, in 2014, it was also the 75
th anniversary of Batman’s
first comic book appearance.)
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| No big deal, really. Still, it felt kind of awesome sharing the same birthday with the Batman movie. |
→ In manga,
Naruto and
Kuroko No Basuke ended. Both aren’t particularly exciting
finales. I’ve already
grown tired of Naruto, but out of nerdy obligations, I still saw it through till the
end. And the finale of
Kuroko No Basuke had been
disappointingly bland and underwhelming.
Hunter X Hunter, after years
of hiatus, finally picked the story again, but after a few chapters, went on
another indefinite hiatus. Boo.
→ After years of providing our
province’s electric needs, ALECO (Albay Electric Cooperative) had been taken
over by San Miguel Corporation. It was
renamed APEC (Albay Power Energy Corporation), and, I think, for the first time
in history, a private company now controls the power in the province of Albay. During its first year of operation, APEC had
earned the ire of the Albayanos.
Throughout most of the year, parts of the province had been plagued by
infuriating sets of brownouts due to APEC’s incompetent management; rumored
sabotaging by unhappy laid-off employees of ALECO (that has been fired due to
their connections with its corrupt administration); presumed maintenance of its
electric distributing system (and, maybe, even some overhauls); and, simply,
the lack of power supply (the country will be facing a power crisis this
2015). There was even a lengthy time
during May – which had an awfully hot weather – when we didn’t have electricity
for several days because APEC wasn’t able to promptly replace the broken
components of a substation. APEC was
incapable of solving the crisis at hand by themselves, and it had to take the
active help of our provincial governor for it to be addressed. And despite of all their faults, they had the
gall to overcharge their clients. All of
these exasperating things about APEC prompted me to coin the hashtag #APECfail (a pun for “epic fail”, get it?).
→ Typhoon Glenda hit my hometown
in July. It was a legit destructive
typhoon. There were a lot of
damages. It even brought down my alma
mater’s “Centennial Tree” – an iconic acacia tree that had been more than a
hundred years old – which was able to withstand even the infamous “Reming” back
in
’06, hence, I was a bit shocked when I learned that it was finally felled by a lesser storm.
Post-Glenda, I was actually expecting that we wouldn’t have electricity
for about a month minimum. But I was
delightfully surprised (considering APEC’s problems) that it only took five
days. It was God’s grace, since, in many
parts of the city and province, it took several weeks – and even months –
before they got their power back.
→ We were, however, spared from
Typhoon Ruby in early December, ensuring an enjoyable Christmas since there
would be electricity then.
→ There were some noteworthy airplane
crashes. But the most intriguing was
definitely the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) back in
March 2014. In the middle of its
scheduled flight from Malaysia to China, less than an hour after its takeoff,
the plane disappeared from air traffic controllers’ radar screens. Up until now, nobody knows what happened –
whether it was hijacked, or crashed, or whatever. It just… vanished. And despite a multinational investigation and
the largest and most expensive search-and-recovery venture in aviation history,
there is still no answer – its disappearance still wrapped in Amelia
Earheart-scale mystery. Hence, it was
inevitable for this to become another subject that conspiracy theorists can
eagerly offer insights on.
→ Aside from the missing MH370,
the most notable tragedies this year were the sinking of a South Korean ferry
which took 304 lives – mostly students; the Ebola epidemic in West Africa; ISIS
terrorizing in Syria and Iraq (in a related matter, I learned that the UN
actually put hacks like Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singha in charge of their
peacekeeping forces… just sayin’); and Kim Kardashian’s terrifying butt-naked
pictorial.
→ Robin Williams passed
away. Well, there were a couple of
prominent celebrities that died in 2014.
But Williams’ was probably the only thing that mattered to me.
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| Goodbye, Genie. Be free. (sniff) |
→ “The Sony Hacks.” Sony experienced several attacks by hackers
named “Guardians of Peace” (GOP). GOP
released in the Internet several secret and critical information regarding
Sony’s upcoming projects as well as copies of some unreleased movies. Then, later, it was revealed that the likely
suspect behind the attacks was North Korea because of their displeasure with “The
Interview” – Sony’s comedy movie that ridiculed NoKor dictator, Kim
Jong-un. There were threats that a
terrorist attack of “9/11” proportions would happen if Sony released the movie. To my astonishment, despite Fed reports that
such threats are unfounded, Sony actually folded and decided not to release the
movie (eventually, Sony opted to release the movie but online). This was really worth noting and being
perplexed about since it’s the first time this happened. Jimmy Kimmel reacted:
"An un-American act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets
a terrifying precedent." I totally
agree. If it worked this time, it will definitely be tried again and again!
What's stopping the bad guys from moving on and anonymously targeting another
movie they don't like?
→ In probably the most epic
casting news ever, Marvel hired the awesome Benedict Cumberbatch to play Dr.
Strange! I’m just crazy for Cumberbatch
right now. The man is extremely talented
and charming. 2014 was the year he
jumped past Nathan Fillion as my most favorite actor.
→ Warner Bros./DC revealed how Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman will look like.
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| She hasn't won me over yet. But at least she bulked up. |
→ In one of the most idiotic
things in, well, ever, Hello Kitty is officially revealed to be actually NOT a
cat but a little girl. Wait, what?
→ In relation to their involvement
with Janet Lim Napoles and the “pork barrel scam”, senators Revilla, Jinggoy,
and Enrile were sent to jail. Prior to
getting jailed, in an attempt to win public sympathy, Revilla did some of the
most absurd, hilarious, and shameless gimmicks in the already ridiculous history
of Philippine politics.
→ Vice-President Jejomar Binay’s
political enemies in the Senate unearthed some of his dark (no pun intended)
secrets when he was still the mayor of Makati City. The senators had actually provided some
compelling accusations, and Binay, in return, didn’t provide a compelling
defense at all. He did challenge Sen.
Trillanes to a televised debate, but backed down when the senator accepted
(Binay was probably bluffing and didn’t expect Trillanes to bite).
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| One of the strongest arguments that support the senators’ accusations that surfaced in Facebook is this simple infographic that compares the cost of building the Makati City Hall 2 vs. the building of London’s City Hall. |
→ This year’s hottest government
corruption scandal (this is like an annual thing already) is tied between Binay
and the discovery that crime lords incarcerated in New Bilibid Prison are
living luxuriously like, well, crime lords.
They have first-class accommodations, drugs, money, stripper bars, and
Jacuzzis. And one named Herbert Colanga
was even able to nurture a musical career while in prison – and actually found success!
→ Everyone’s favorite senator, Miriam
Defensor Santiago, announced that she has cancer. Despite of this, she still remained the most
entertaining and most prolific senator in the Senate.
→ Back in August, an MRT train
got derailed and rammed into a concrete barrier in which around 36 passengers
got injured. This accident renewed
attention on the horrible conditions of MRT.
And while I lamented on the fact that the Philippines still doesn’t have a modern rail system
yet, MRT management and DOTC just pointed fingers at each other in whose fault it was.
→ The Philippines filed a case
against China in the world court regarding the latter’s invasion of the
former’s Scarborough Shoal – and beyond.
The Philippines has a strong case against China, but I’m a bit skeptical that anything will really come out of it. If
China is proven in the wrong (which is quite apparent), I doubt the United Nations
will really actively enforce the ruling.
Remember Iraq? Iraq, under Saddam
Hussein, had continually violated UN treaties, but the UN never really made any
move –
only the US did.
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| China is still pretending that they lack common sense. |
→ What’s great: Pacquiao earned
wins over Timothy Bradley (Mommy D was allegedly casting voodoo curses on Bradley throughout the fight) and Chris Algieri in 2014. What’s not-so-great: he became a
coach-player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
→ After a 27-game losing streak
in a span of two years, the UP Fighting Maroons won a game during UAAP 77
(which the NU Bulldogs won in dramatic fashion). The team was celebrated as if they had
actually won the championship. The
university threw a bonfire party, there were TV guestings, and the UP
Chancellor was even quoted of saying, “We have proven that we excel not just in
academics” (lolwut?). I really found it
hilarious. This win would serve as UP’s
only win this season as they finished with a 1-13 record.
→ Despite being eliminated in the
first round and a 1-4 record,
Team Gilas Pilipinas had an impressive performance in the FIBA World Cup.
There was a lot of hype and excitement.
Then, the team fell flat in the Asian Games. To be fair, overall, the Philippines sucked
in the 2014 Asian Games (1 gold, 3 silvers, and 11 bronzes. Ugh).
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| Kobe looks amazing in black. He's the Black Mamba after all. |
→ Kobe Bryant finally got to wear
a black jersey in a game! I’ve always
wanted an official black Laker jersey (which only happened during 2013-2014 season) and I’ve always wanted to see Kobe play in such jersey (Kobe only played six games in the 2013-2014 season and never had a chance to wear it); it had been long overdue. Ok, this seems pretty petty. But, as a Laker fan, there’s not much to rejoice about in 2014 The Lakers completed their
most horrible season in history (and are now undergoing what looks
to be a worse one). Spurs won
the championship, now tying the Lakers with the most championships of this era. In the offseason,
Pau left the Lakers. There was a slim chance that LeBron would choose to go to the Lakers, but he instead went back to
the Cavs. And the most exciting Laker
thing I had in 2014 was probably
Linsanity joining the Lakers. That’s just sad.
→ WWE had its historic Wrestlemania 30. And Undertaker lost his match with Brock Lesnar – destroying his perfect Wrestlemania record. In my opinion, Vince McMahon’s decision to let Lesnar be the one to beat the Undertaker in Wrestlemania was a big mistake.
→ Hoverboards have not been
invented in 2014, so there will still be no prevalence of commercial
hoverboards in 2015 as Back to the Future
II had predicted (bummer). However,
there are some intriguing developments in cybernetics. A guy named Les Baugh, who had lost his two
arms, received two mind-controlled cybernetic arms! They’re not yet permanent add-ons, but the
researchers are optimistic that such technology would soon be.
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| 2014 could have been the dawn of cyborgs! |
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