When the rainy season comes, most of us in the family sing the children's song "Rain, Rain, Go Away" because we want the rain to go away and come again on another day. But today, it seems that the rainy season is unpredictable because of climate change. Let us do our part, at least in the simplest ways, to help reverse the effect or be resilient to the changing climate.

But we're not going to talk more about climate change, but we're here to discuss the board games we play during the rainy season. So, what do you think are the top three (3) board games commonly played at this time of the year?

There are many board games that we can play and enjoy. Some are easy to play, and other board games are complicated, but all are fun, especially at home during the rainy season.

But before we indulge ourselves in naming which of these board games are on top of our list, let us check out its definition and explanation first. According to Wikipedia, a Board game is defined as tabletop games that are typically pieces that are moved or placed on a pre-marked board or playing surface and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games. Many of these games are competitions between two or more players, and most of these represent real-life situations. Lastly, these board games, basically have different types of rules to be followed to enjoy the game.

So, according to us, here are the Top 3 Board Games for Families during a rainy season.

Scrabble. This board game is the first on our list. It is also one of my favorite board games that really enhances our capability.

It is a word game that basically enhances your vocabulary. Families can enjoy playing this game together. It is played by two or four players, so if you're a family of four that would be great. Players score points by placing tiles on the board forming a word, each tile bears a single letter and each letter has corresponding points. The game board is divided into a 15x15 grid of squares. The tiles must form a simple or complex word in a crossword fashion. It read from left to right in rows or downwards.

To be more acquainted with the game you can always check out its rules online or with the attached paper indicating its production date.

Monopoly. This is the game that teaches us how to invest, budget, and spend. Though it is in a game mode of learning, still, you can learn from it.

It is a multiplayer game that is themed about economics. Meaning, this will teach us about the economic process in a simple way. In the game, each player will roll two dice to move around the board game. The game gives emphasis more on the buying and selling of properties, thus later on monopolizing everything and that's how you win the game.

Snakes and Ladders is the third on our list of board games. Just like Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders use dice and board with boxes to move around, the only difference between monopoly and snakes and ladders is the use of paper money as means of barter.

When the players roll dice and navigate the board. Landing on a ladder means advancing a square further up the board while landing on a snake means they have to go back to a previous square. The game aims to reach the final square. This game is a race that's based on sheer luck and is popular with children.

These three board games are our choices that families can play together, especially during the gloomy and wet weather or the rainy season.

With the advances in technology, board games are moving out of the board and into the digital world. If you're tired of playing the usual board games or if you're going solo and wanted to have the old school board games, better play in the digital world. The net is a vast resource. All you have to do is search!

 

As I move a year higher on my time here on Earth, let me share some significant meaning or some information about the number 21. All are listed in no particular order.

• Don't you know that 21 is considered a triangle number – it is the sum of the first six whole numbers (1+2+3+4+5+6=21).

• I don't know much about the Fibonacci sequence but you check it out in google to know more about it, accordingly, 21 is the eighth number in the Fibonacci sequence, where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones.

• This is new to me, a shape with 21 sides is called a icosikaihenagon.

• If you're not convinced check out the elements table, 21 is the atomic number of the chemical element scandium.

• The summer and winter solstices take place (usually) on June 21 and December 21 respectively.

• 21 is the minimum voting age in Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Samoa, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau (an independent territory of New Zealand), and Tonga.

• 21 is the age of majority – or the time when you’re legally an adult – in Bahrain, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Egypt, Eswatini, Gabon, Grenada, Honduras, Kuwait, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, Samoa, Singapore, and the UAE. But it is considered a “major” birthday in many countries and cultures, and many people throw a big party to celebrate.

• There is a lake in the US state of Minnesota called Twentyone Lake.

• Twenty-one, or vingt-un/vingt-et-un (“21” in French) is the name of card game in which players try to collect cards whose values add up to 21, or as close as possible. It’s the basis of the popular casino game, blackjack, which is the focus of …

• If you like movies, the 2008 heist movie 21 is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team, a group of US university students who used card-counting techniques to beat casinos at blackjack.

• This is interesting, there are 21 spots or dots on a standard, six-sided dice.

• For music lovers and for an Adele avid fan, 21 is the title of Adele’s six-time Grammy-winning second album, which features songs like Rolling in the Deep, and Someone Like You. She was 21 years old when she released it.

• Another thing about music, Twenty One Pilots is a popular American rock duo.

• Continuing about music, 21 Guns is a 2009 song by punk-rock band Green Day that questions war and patriotism

• A 21-gun salute is a military way to honor royalty or world leaders.

• In history, between 1717 and 1816, a British coin called a guinea was made up of 21 shillings. (Until the 1970s, shillings still existed; there were 20 shillings in a pound and 12 pence in one shilling. It was a confusing time.)

• The flag of Kurdistan features a sun with 21 rays.

• A game of badminton ends when a player reaches 21 points.

• In a game of ping pong, it is used to be played until the score of 21 but that rule was changed by the ITTF in 2001.

• Three-on-three basketball, or the 3x3 street ball, is a single game period of 10 minutes, with the winner the first team to score 21 points (or be closest to 21 at the end of 10 minutes).

• In Philippines history, Martial Law was declared two (2) times in the entire archipelago, and both declarations were done on September 21.

• On September 21, a boy named Marco Polo was born.

 

The leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan continues to create memorable shopping experiences at 9.9 Super Shopping Day. Boosted by increased shopper traffic and support from Shopee's platform tools, top local sellers sold 6 times more items on 9 September than on an average day. These seller offerings in turn created more value for customers, who snapped up the best promotions and mas mura prices on items ranging from their daily essentials to the latest gadgets.

Shopee’s 9.9 Super Shopping Day brings more benefits to Filipinos by providing buyers with convenient shopping experiences at the best deals, while helping sellers grow their businesses. Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines shared, “We are committed to benefit online shoppers, by bringing them more joy, value, and excitement every 9.9. This drives us to use our platform to deliver the best value for money with our Mas Mura sa Shopee* offers, and to explore other equally fulfilling possibilities that serve the evolving needs of customers and businesses alike, especially as we gear towards another meaningful year-end shopping season.”

Shoppers secured daily essentials at better deals

Shopee worked with sellers to curate a wide assortment of ₱1 and ₱49 deals, helping users get their money’s worth when they shopped their everyday essentials in Home & Living, Health & Personal Care, and Women's Apparel during 9.9. Filipinos were keen to maximize the available deals in acquiring their daily necessities, with one shopper saving as much as ₱200,000 for essential back-to-school items like a new laptop, laptop accessories, and desk accessories.

Businesses achieved more traffic and a big boost to their sales

Local sellers took advantage of 9.9 to grow their businesses, with one top local merchant from Valenzuela City selling over 400,000 packs of face masks on 9 September alone. Another fashion accessories seller used Shopee Live to engage with their followers, gaining 80,000 views during their 9.9 livestream. Meanwhile, leading brands Uni-Care, Unilever Beauty, and Maybelline also saw a boost in orders as shoppers looked to Shopee for their go-to branded parenting essentials, personal care products, and beauty must-haves.

Shopee’s in-app features brought more value and entertainment to all users

Shoppers were treated to plentiful days of fun from August 26, leading up to a star-studded TV special on September 9. Countless users tuned in to Shopee livestreams 87 million times and engaged with in-app games for over 16 million total plays throughout the 9.9 period.

ShopeePay brought users more convenience and rewards

Filipinos continued to enjoy seamless, value-for-money payments as they took advantage of ShopeePay's ₱1 Load & Data promos, with purchases tripling on 9.9 compared to a regular day. Local shoppers also used ShopeePay to pay off their wish list items on mobile phone accessories, skincare products, and kitchenware sets while payment transactions with various billers doubled during the super shopping day.

To stay updated on the latest mas mura deals and promos, download the Shopee app from leading app stores and follow Shopee Philippines on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

 

The kilig-tawa story of Malta, played by Herlene Budol, and her sweet but quirky romance with the incredibly handsome Sieg, portrayed by Joseph Marco, sent romcom fans in frenzy throughout the series. Many could relate to the twists and turns a woman’s heart goes through in learning to love herself and be open to the love of another.

“Ang Babae” increasingly appealed to young and young-at-heart viewers and morphed into a massive online sensation. After all, it was a feel-good series with cliffhanger moments, racking up more views and leaving heady fans wanting more after each exciting episode.

On top of their effusive support gleaned from each episode’s comments, fans also drove “Ang Babae” content to hit status on TikTok. As seen in all the videos labeled under the #angbabaesalikodngfacemask hashtag, followers expressed their own creativity and enthusiasm on TikTok.

Fan edits of lead characters Malta and Sieg, as well as clips of their favorite scenes garnered over 11 million views on TikTok, spreading the kilig and laughter to more enthusiastic fans and potential viewers who eventually latched on to the show.

The TikTok trend backs up the numbers as it shows the amazing dedication “Ang Babae” fans display. They might as well brace for a second season, considering the finale’s last scene: just when Sieg proposed marriage to Malta, her childhood ‘crush’ pops up in her life.

Vincent Co, President of Puregold Price Club, Inc., is justifiably proud of the company’s unique retailtainment initiative. “We are very happy with the success of ‘Ang Babae sa Likod ng Face Mask,’ ” says Co.

“We could not have done this without the wonderful cast as led by Herlene Budol and Joseph Marco; the entire production crew; and the followers that viewed ‘Ang Babae’ week after week and spread the word about this mini series,” he affirms. “We hope to bring more panalo stories and entertainment to all our viewers and customers in the future.”

You heard that right! You can get awesome discounts with S&R’s PISO SALE, exclusively available via MetroMart App and website. From September 16-19, 2022, select items can be purchased for only ₱1.00 when you order and get it delivered via MetroMart across select branches of S&R.

The S&R PISO SALE promo will have various items available for a limited time per day, so stay tuned and make sure to add to cart right away. These items include Spam and Prem luncheon meats, Yakult, bottled drinks, milk, potato chips, and more.

All MetroMart customers can avail this promo, with or without an S&R membership card.

“Christmas and the holiday season play a very important part in the lives of Filipino families. Our MetroMart family is very excited to help kick off the holiday season at the start of the 100 days countdown to Christmas with the S&R Piso Sale, and other upcoming promos and events.” Stefano Fazzini, CEO and co-founder of MetroMart, said.

The S&R Piso Sale promo is applicable to New and Existing Users of MetroMart. A min. spend of ₱2k is required in order to avail the 1-peso sale items. Only completed checkout of orders within the sale period can avail the discounted items.

New to MetroMart? Get a ₱200 discount for a minimum order of ₱2k. Use the promo code “MMNEW” on the MetroMart app or website upon checkout. This is applicable across all stores and supermarkets for New customers, valid for one-time use until October 16, 2022.

MetroMart is the #1 online grocery delivery service in the Philippines. Our grocery partners include S&R (with or no membership card required), Robinsons Supermarket, Landmark, The Marketplace, Shopwise, All Day Supermarket, Merrymart, Super8 Grocery Warehouse, Ever Supermarket, UltraMega Supermarket, and over 500+ specialty store retailers like Pet Express, Baby Company, Toy Kingdom, Toys”R”Us, National Book Store, Office Warehouse, Southstar Drug and AllDay Rx. Customers can order from their favorite stores on the MetroMart app and have it delivered to their door in 2 hours! For more updates on MetroMart, like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @metromartph. Order groceries online or download the app via https://bit.ly/DownloadNowMM

 

"Once an artist, always an artist," maybe this is a phrase that I could define Jay Justiniani, the former vocalist of Cueshe and now the lead vocals for the band "Fireflies." After seven (7) years and the onslaught of Covid19, Jay is back to singing, and this time he sings with the "Fireflies" band.

Early this September, a gig happened in Fiyo Bagi Restaurant and Bar. It is the relaunched of the "Fireflies" band together with a new set of band members. The current members of the group were composed of Junjie Dosdos, the keyboardist when he was in Cueshe, now Fireflies' songwriter and rhythm guitarist. JC Del Rosario IV is also a songwriter and bassist for the band. RM Tolentino, the drummer. Pat Galut, the lead guitarist. Of course, Jay Justiniani, Cueshe's former vocalist and now the lead vocals of the group "Fireflies."

Right after a few song performances of the group, which include pieces from the former band where everyone is familiar with Jay singing, a press conference was held together with some bloggers and media present. It was exclusive enough for a small number of individuals and platforms to cover print, TV, and online.

Centuries ago, the basis for development and progress were buildings, water systems, trade, and colonies. Now, electricity is one of the major components to consider in development. For one reason, almost all of the machines, equipment, vehicles, and devices are run by electricity. Productions can't run without the power of electricity.

At present, electricity plays a huge role in our daily lives. From home to work, we all use electricity. It has been the power that runs our machines and equipment. Though we can live without electricity, our economy won't make it.

 

Pelikulove, a multi-arts portal which aims to provide arts education and a platform for artistic and socially-relevant content, is launching the first-of-its-kind “Shout Out Festival (Maghayag at Lumikha)” Online Festival from September 19 to 25, 2022.

In cooperation with the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, the “Shout Out Festival” is a seven-day online festival of short films and stage plays, a culminating activity of the enrollees of the Pelikulove master classes of National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee, and Palanca Hall of Fame awardee Rody Vera. The works are produced in cooperation with regional theater and film organizations and can be viewed for free at pelikulove.com beginning September 19.

There are three sets of works to be showcased; each set is composed of three productions.

Set A features the short films “Libro for Ransom” tackling the theft of Jose Rizal’s masterpieces written by Ralph Morales and directed by Arjanmar Rebeta, “Cooking with Love” written by Viva Andrada O’Flynn and directed by Delfin Castillo, and “When a Manananggal Loves a Man” by Raymund T. Barcelon and directed by Neil Azcuna of Integrated Performing Arts Group off MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology.

SM Prime Holdings, Inc., one of Southeast Asia’s leading integrated property developers and leading conservation organization World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines have entered a collaboration in adopting a more robust reporting framework to address the climate crisis.   

This is a major partnership of WWF with a Philippine company towards the development of a bespoke program towards decarbonization.  

Sustainability at SM Prime is at the core of its corporate identity. SM Prime is at the forefront of spearheading sustainable practices as well as setting records in pioneering programs to consciously protect the environment and strongly focus on resilience in its developments.  

Under the partnership, SM Prime will adopt the Corporates for a Better Planet Initiative (CBPI), WWF-Philippines’ flagship program that provides an actionable framework for organizations to operate sustainably within the paradigm of the climate crisis.   

“We are delighted to work with WWF Philippines on this sustainable journey. Focusing sustainability within the context of the Philippines ensures that our strategies and projects are highly material, efficient and more responsive in addressing local concerns surrounding resilience and adaptation. We need to be one with the worldwide community to achieve this and we need to work with global experts to get this right,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said.  

Climate change is one of the most pressing and defining global issues today. The Philippines currently ranks third globally when it comes to climate change vulnerability. In relation to its geographical location, it is more exposed to altering intensities of climate change manifested through erratic weather systems and natural calamities. These risks are rife with complexity and uncertainty and organizations typically fail to properly assess their implications. The CBPI program takes a holistic approach towards this pivotal issue, addressing these risks from a custom-built, science-based perspective.   

By partnering with the WWF, SM Prime will be able to enhance and determine climate change solutions that will be reflected through responsible and transparent reporting.   

The first phase of CBPI involves gauging where SM Prime stands in its sustainability initiatives and setting a science-based target in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. SM Prime published its first Integrated Report in 2021 under the Integrated Reporting Framework which provides an overview of our value creation model — how we seek to create value for our stakeholders by contributing to national progress through investments and interventions critical to the country’s socio-economic growth.  

As a champion of climate action in the Philippines, our partnership with WWF adds another enhancement to transparent reporting by ensuring greenhouse gas (GHG) computations are accurate and use appropriate methodologies.  

With the need to broaden efforts to protect the environment, this partnership forms part of group-wide efforts under the SM Green Movement that aims to improve the quality of life of communities through sustainable solutions to promote a green planet, green living and a green culture.  

SM Prime’s partnership with WWF dates back to 2007 under Hamilo Coast, its leisure resort development in Nasugbu, Batangas.  

WWF closely monitors the health and viability of the Hamilo Coast area including three of its coves designated as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)—the Pico de Loro, Etayo and Santelmo.  

In recognition of its conservation efforts, Hamilo Coast was cited by WWF-Philippines as its longest standing Sustainability Partner in 2020. 

 

Hamilo Coast, the premier beach resort town in Nasugbu, Batangas, maybe the weekend haven of the country’s affluent set, yet it is on track as a thriving model of sustainable eco-tourism practices.

Touting 5,800 hectares of prime seaside development, Hamilo Coast is a project of SM Prime’s Costa Del Hamilo, Inc. (CDHI), which carefully integrates residential, resort, leisure, commercial, and institutional land uses in the sprawling estate. But beyond its vast scope and stunning vistas, Hamilo Coast embraces sustainable tourism at the core of its philosophy and shows how beautiful beachfront homes can harmonize with nature and the environment.

2022 marks Hamilo Coast’s 15th year of productive partnership with the conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF). Hamilo Coast and WWF have been working together on key areas for sustainability—coastal resource management, ridge-to-reef management, solid waste management, mangrove reforestation, the use of renewable energy sources, and environmental awareness.

The hype is real—all-in-one money app Maya is giving its users free Bitcoin, plus a chance to take home PHP 1,000,000.00 worth of this popular cryptocurrency – and all you have to do is pay with Maya.   

In the past few days, social media was abuzz with Maya users sharing their delightful surprise of randomly receiving free Bitcoin. Digital billboards in various cities prompted specific Maya users by name to check their crypto wallets to see if they are lucky recipients of free Bitcoin. One Maya user, Cebu student Reinzel Cabrera, even received a shocking PHP 1,000,000.00 worth of Bitcoin with virtually no effort – just by regularly paying with Maya!   

 

SM Foundation (SMFI), the corporate social responsibility arm of the SM group, together with Maxeon Solar Technologies, recently powered up the Lemery Pilot Elementary School (LPES) in Batangas through the Sinag Schools program.

This social good collaboration between SMFI and Maxeon aims to provide clean and renewable energy to schools in grassroot communities by installing solar panels on an SM school building, especially to those that have low operating expenses.

In addition to the solar panel installation which intends to power positive change in the way energy is consumed in public schools, the program also aims to enhance the understanding of students in terms of energy management and the need to transition to cleaner energy alternatives with lower environmental impacts.