Bitin Ka Pa? SB19’s “Simula at Wakas” Is More Than a Concert — It’s a Cultural Reset

(from the POV of a freshly converted A'TIN) 

Bitin kaba?

Isang linggo na ang lumipas mula nung pumutok ang Philippine Arena sa sigawan, iyakan, at sayawan. Pero sa puso ng maraming A’TIN, parang kahapon lang ang lahat.

Hindi lang ito basta concert.

Para itong panaginip na hindi mo gustong matapos. Isang pambihirang pagsasama ng talento, kultura, at pagmamalaki. At kahit tapos na ang opening ng SB19’s Simula at Wakas World Tour, tayong lahat—oo, pati ikaw na ilang beses nang na-replay ang fancams—ay parang tinamaan ng magic bug.

Bakit nga ba?

1. Ang Simula: From Practice Room to Global Stage

Hindi overnight success ang SB19. Mula sa matinding training under ShowBT Philippines hanggang sa iconic “Go Up” dance practice na nag-viral noong 2019, pinatunayan nilang kaya ng Pinoy makipagsabayan sa global stage—at hindi kailangan kopyahin ang iba. Kaya kung may nagsasabi pa rin sa’yo na “K-pop copycat” sila, ipanood mo nalang ‘yung 5-minute performance nila sa Wish Bus. Walang halong hype—talent lang talaga.

2. MAHALIMA, Bias, Wreckers at Iba Pa: Fan Culture na May Puso

Kung A’TIN ka, alam mong hindi lang music ang inaalok ng SB19. May sariling language ang fandom—mula sa salitang “MAHALIMA” (pinagsamang "mahal" at "lima") hanggang sa kilig sa bias at pagkalito sa bias wrecker. May pa-sticker, may fan chants, may fan-made MV cuts—lahat para lang mas mailapit ang fans sa bawat himig at hakbang ng grupo.

Ito yung fandom na may sariling mundo, pero bukas sa lahat. At ang pinakamasarap sa lahat? Walang gatekeeping. Kumbaga, kahit bago ka pa lang, “kasama ka na.”

3. P-Pop Na May Laman: Local Beats, Global Feels

P-Pop is no longer just a genre—it's a movement. Sa bawat kanta ng SB19 tulad ng “Dungka!”, mararamdaman mo ang amoy ng kalsada, ang tunog ng tambay, at ang ugat ng pagka-Pinoy. Hindi lang ito about being “inspired by K-pop.” Ito’y pagsasalin ng sariling kwento sa musika. Kaya kung napapansin mong may K-pop aura pero may tadyang ng Tondo o Taguig, hindi ka nagkakamali.

4. Beyond Charts: Ambassadors of Modern Filipino Identity

SB19 topped Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales multiple times, pero ang mas importante—dala nila ang boses ng Pinoy sa world stage. Sila ang una, pero hindi sila dapat maging huli. Dahil bawat tagumpay nila ay paalala na pwede pala. Pwede pala tayo.

5. Simula at Wakas: Trilogy ng Tagumpay

From “Pagsibol” to “Pagtatag!” at ngayong “Simula at Wakas,” SB19’s discography is like a diary of growth. Self-written, self-managed, self-made. Under their own label, 1Z Entertainment, hawak nila ang direksyon ng kanilang art—isang bagay na bihirang makamit kahit ng mainstream acts.

6. Bakit Tayo Tumatambay Dito?

• Dahil ang fandom nila ay hindi lang hype—it’s healing.

• Dahil sa kanila, may kwento ang bawat “NO” na nalampasan nila.

• Dahil kung kaya nilang umangat mula sa ghosting at rejection, bakit hindi tayo?

  
  

7. Para Sa Lahat: Fandom Na Hindi Kailangan ng Prerequisite

Hindi mo kailangang alam ang birthdate ni Stell o favorite food ni Pablo para matawag na fan. Kung naluha ka sa “MAPA,” napasigaw sa “GENTO,” o napangiti sa bagong “Liham,” you’re part of the story. Dahil ang fandom na ito, hindi elitista. Masaya kami sa bawat bagong ka-ride or die.

—

Bakit nga ba hindi pa rin tayo maka-get over? Simple lang.

Kasi hindi lang sila artista—sila ay repleksyon ng bawat Pilipino na lumalaban para sa pangarap. Sila ang paalala na sa bawat “Simula,” may “Wakas,” pero sa bawat “Wakas,” may bagong Simula.

Kung natamaan ka rin ng magic bug ng SB19, share mo naman ang bias mo o favorite SB19 moment mo sa comments. Tayo-tayo na rin ang magkwento ng success story na ito.

#SB19SimulaAtWakas #ATINMagic #PPopRise #SB19WorldTour #MahalimaForever #PinoyPride

-QTPodcast

Review: OpenRun Pro2 (Shokz) Wireless Headset

(note: this review of the OpenRun Pro2 is based on a 5-month use of the device (quite extensive)

As a native airPods Pro user since December 2020 -- nothing comes close to the user-friendliness of airPods from Apple. We made a separate article about Airpods Pro. - and it's worth reading if you're looking from a fresh perspective of a not-so-die-hard-fan of the Apple ecosystem (just kidding on the die-hard fan).

Fast forward to 2024 - December, a special someone gifted us an OpenRun Pro2 (visit the unboxing video from our FB page if you want to see the visuals). Roughly 5 months of use - as our daily driver for work calls, and inconsistent runs, jogs, or walks - we would say the sweet-black-wireless-headset lived-up to its promise.

trivia: we were never aware that there's an OpenRun Pro2 - mainly used for athletes in the field of running and sports, not until our special person explained in detail that it's been in the market for quite a while.

Let's deep-dive on its pros and cons, by rating these several metrics or factors from the standpoint of a consumer like us (who are into health & fitness use of tech gadgets + as a corporate individual working 9-to-5):

1. User-friendliness - to scope this meter, let's talk about the intuitive use of the gadget without having to read the manual and the fine-print. Plus, the usability factor - is it seamless to use within different platforms? Is it annoying? Is there a feature that we wish it could've been improved more, or they could just have simply remove it because it's irritating and not user-friendly? Let's get on.

Connectivity:

iPhone/Macbook environment - easy peasy, yes! it's compatible to Apple devices - and yes, easy to connect via bluetooth toggle and pairing. Once it's paired - it gets automatically detected, you need not to set-up again the next time you use it on your device. It's limited to 3 devices (mixed of apple or non-apple device) for the auto-detect to work; if you have a 4th device, you have to switch off the "pairing" from one of the 3 devices in its Shokz app (downloadable via App Store or PlayStore) in order for the 4th device to be seamless in doing auto-detect feature.

Windows environment - same like Apple, it's also magic! Remember we mentioned that we use this wireless headset during workhours -- it's connected to our company laptop, and it just worked! Once the OpenRun Pro2 is ON, our work laptop auto-detects it and when we are doing calls via MS Teams, it just blends or pops up by default as my audio input/output. (Later, we'll talk about noise cancellation in "sound quality").

Android environment - no comment. (Hahahaha! we rarely use Android) Forgive us, Android friends pero wala po kaming masamang tinapay sa inyo - p e a c e!

Charging:

easy as 1, 2, 3! USB Type C - the package comes with an end-to-end USB Type C cable, you must have at least 25-watt usb head charger to charge the device. We don't know if the OpenRun Pro2 has this feature ala-style-of-Airpods where even for higher wattages of chargers - it can regulate its input. It seemed like it does -- because I tried charging it sometimes using the big brick charger of MacBook Pro because for the life of us, we often forget our normal iPhone Charger (45watts), so far it's still working! (To be safe - - please charge it with the applicable wattage and not the 65watts or more charger head).

Operability:

Like how intuitive can you find the volume triggers, lower/higher? Yes - that's also a quickie, I didn't read the how-to and our fingers just ran through the knobs and buttons - Presto! we got it running how to turn ON and OFF (long press), and increase/decrease the sound volume is also a breeze. What we love when you turn on and off the device - there's an audio prompt telling you if it's low, medium or high in battery! Sweet, right? 

If you're the tinker-belle type re equalizers and sound settings - you can manage it in the app (Shokz App). 

 

Longevity (How long can It last before you charge again):

This is our favorite feature of this rocka-babe, it just seems to not run out of juice! we shared earlier that we use this for work and fitness (like 9 to 11 hours work turned-on, plus, 1-2 hours workouts or walks or run) - and it just doesn't die. At the end of the day, it just tells -medium battery - so we usually re-charge it every 2-3 days.

And to be honest, we rarely use the airPods any longer! Nyahahaha! We got a new fave!

2. Sound Quality - for us, sound quality is relative. But let's define it based on layman's standards.

Loud Enough to deafen when volume is maxed?:

Nadah! This is the beauty of OpenRun Pro2, it won't hurt your eardrum and hearing health. (welp is there such as thing as hearing health? - yessir there is! we'll cover that in the future). Primarily because (according to their website) it's a bone-conduction technology. You can click the link later to know more about bc tech, but to give you an idea - buds are not plugged in to your earlobes' holes (much so to the usual earphones or headsets where the sound goes directly to your earholes which according to science - eventually that'll cost you hearing loss for excessive usage. Since it's the opposite for OpenRun Pro2, all the more that we are loving this handy gadget!

Lossless Music? Anyone...:

We can attest that listening to music is still good and impressive, but not that great if we are to compare it with airPods. Yes we can still differentiate the bass, treble, and synthesizers but the wow-effect is not there compared to the airPods! About lossless - we feel that it depends on the media.. like Spotify or Apple Music - friends are telling us that lossless in Apple Music is way better than Spotify espcially if it's matched with airPods/Beats/ or the airPods Pro Max.

Noise Cancellation:

Yes - we can vouch for this, that it's perfectly working during noisy background. We constantly spotcheck our team mates during MS Teams Meetings both at office or at home -- they are not hearing any background noise.

Another plus points for Shokz is the capability for us to hear our surroundings because of the bc (bone conduction) technology without losing focus on the music while running or podcast content while jogging/walking even if traffic or horns of passerby vehicles are on the go. The same is true during office meetings - we can feel someone's presence behind the scenes, approaching behind our back or calling us despite the focus in listening to the convo -- this again because of the bc technology.

3. Aesthetics - the wrap-around the head like a back-skull-band is really catchy. Not eye-candy but quite in-tune to fashion. As if you're a detective or spy-on-the-go, we're not downplaying it but it's cool!

Easy to wear?:

Yes - it's like a plug-and-play on the earl-headrest. On the fly in putting it on as well as removal. Overtime, you won't be able to feel you're wearing one. During our adoption stage - like one-week of use, it was kind of hurting a bit, possibly because the band wasn't fully adjusted. Eventually, it was nice-to-wear and there's a feeling of "Oh shoot! I forgot my OpenRun2" whenever you're on the move and psychologically you knew instantly that you aren't wearing one.

 

Necklace Fashion?:

We made that up! Hahaha, someone, a stranger commented while we were waling the pavements of Vermosa - "what is that on your neck?". We politely answered - "Oh, it's a neck massager with earphones! hahaha". And thus, a new friend gained.

4. Overall Feels - we would say, we highly recommend it! Whether your main purpose is for sports or training, or even daily driver for work meetings - - go grab one. We believe it cost around 12-14K Php - nevertheless it's worth it.

We would just throw it in our backpack -- and yet it's not easily broken, or at least it hasn't been damaged as of yet. The water resistant flavor is there but ofcourse - you can't use it for swimming or in the shower. Sometimes we use it when we sleep by adjusting the band on top of our head - still cosy as C!

We are Rating the product as 5 out of 5 stars!

Hope you enjoyed reading and picked-up some tips in this review! rate and give us your comments or experience too about OpenRun Pro2 by Shokz!

 

~billymacdeus' blog 

The Art of Rejection (POV from an Insurance Agent)

Let’s talk about a job where “No” is the most common word you’ll hear.

Not just once a day. Or five times a week. Try hearing it twenty, maybe fifty times—before lunch. This is the everyday rhythm of an insurance agent’s life.

And yet, they show up.

Again.

And again.

With the same pitch. The same heart. And somehow, the same smile.

Pause for a moment. Let that sink in.

Because the average person—most of us, honestly—spend our lives trying to avoid rejection. We curate our posts. Second-guess our messages. We hesitate to speak up in meetings or tell someone how we really feel, just in case they say, “No.”

But insurance agents? They walk straight into that storm.

They knock on digital doors only to be ghosted. They send heartfelt messages and are met with silence. Some get laughed at. Some get blocked. And others are told, “You’re wasting your time,” more times than their paycheck suggests they should even stay.

But they do.

There’s an art to that kind of rejection. And more than that—there’s courage.

It’s easy to joke about them. We’ve all seen the memes. The punchlines. The rolling eyes when someone gets an “insurance agent” friend request.

But let’s be honest: these are people who wake up each morning and do the thing many of us fear most—facing judgment. Facing disinterest. Facing indifference.

And doing it anyway.

Why? Not just for the commission. But because they believe in something. In a product that could change someone’s life. In protection. In peace of mind. In purpose.

We rarely talk about the mental strength it takes to hear "No" a hundred times and still believe in your “Yes.”

We don’t praise that enough.

In a world that glamorizes instant success and curated lifestyles, there’s something raw and real about the quiet, determined hustle of someone selling security in the form of paper and trust. They’re building resilience like muscle. Rejection becomes their gym.

What if we had that kind of grit?

What could we start if we weren’t so afraid to fail?

What dreams could we pitch—again and again—without fear of being ignored?

There’s a quiet lesson in every insurance agent’s story. Not just about selling policies, but about selling yourself—to the world, over and over, without giving up, even when no one seems to buy it.

Maybe, just maybe, that’s where real confidence lives—not in being told “Yes,” but in surviving all the “No’s.”

And still smiling.

--Insurero

NCAP (No Contact Apprehension Policy) at MMDA Philippines

 

NCAP gradually builds discipline.. 

pagsunod…obeying  traffic rules.

NCAP brings “kaayusan”, organization at workflow.

Kaygandang pagmasdan ang larawan — gives us goosebumps na kaya naman palang sumunod ang Pinoy. 

NCAP isn’t panghuli, it’s pang-disiplina.

Walang huli kung walang violator.

Let’s drive smarter, not angrier..

Make the roads safer for us and our kids.

Thank you MMDA for your tireless efforts in executing processes that instill discipline and mindfulness. 

To fellow Filos— let’s support this initiative to tame our basic instinct na “bahala na si batman”, “wala akong pake” into a behavior that is something that we can be proud of - “may pagmamalasakit sa kapwa motorista”, “may respeto”, at higit sa lahat - “may disiplina”. 

-QT Admin

The Lost Art of Reading: Why Scrolling Isn’t Thinking

 

We live in a world of flickering seconds. A 15-second reel. A 10-second story. A 5-second scroll.

We’re no longer just watching — we’re consuming, fast and thoughtless, like junk food for the mind. And just like a diet of empty calories, this one starves something essential: our ability to reflect, imagine, and analyze. We are losing the very muscle that has built every revolution, every philosophy, every moment of profound change in human history — the habit of deep reading.

In 2025, over 91% of global internet users between 16 to 34 years old consume video-based content daily. Most of them do not watch past the 60-second mark. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts — they weren’t built to help us think. They were built to keep us distracted. And they are succeeding.

We no longer ask questions like “Why did this happen?” or “What are the implications?” We only ask: “What’s next?”

The Cognitive Cost of the Scroll

Scientists have a term for this: "cognitive impatience." In a 2021 Stanford University study, students who frequently consumed short-form content struggled significantly with comprehension tests and critical thinking exercises compared to peers who read long-form articles or essays daily.

Dr. Maryanne Wolf, a cognitive neuroscientist and author of Reader, Come Home, calls this the "shallowing" of our thinking. “When we read deeply, we activate empathy, inference, reflection — all the processes that make us human thinkers,” she says. “Skimming through a video doesn’t build those same circuits.”

Imagine losing the ability to read between the lines — not just in a book, but in life.

Imagination Lives in the Margins

Reading isn’t just about words on a screen. It’s about building a world inside your head. When you read a story, your brain lights up as though you’re living it. A video gives you everything. Reading makes you work for it. And in that process, your imagination — your most personal, powerful tool — begins to stretch and grow.

A generation raised only on short-form video loses that. Not because they lack talent or depth — but because no one reminded them of the value of stillness, of complexity, of sitting with an idea long enough to truly digest it.

When was the last time you read something slowly?

From Consumers to Creators

Here’s the kicker: people who read more, write better. They speak more clearly. They lead more effectively. Whether you're a student, a young professional, or someone finding your voice — reading helps you build it.

Social media doesn’t have to be the enemy. In fact, it can be the spark. What if our feeds were filled not just with faces and filters, but with thoughts? What if instead of dancing to someone else’s soundbite, we started conversations? Shared insights? Asked questions?

It starts with one post. One caption that says, “I read this — and it changed how I see the world.”

Before It's Too Late

There’s a reason tyrants burn books, not phones. Reading is dangerous — it makes people think for themselves. And that’s exactly why we must protect it.

Let this be the generation that reclaims its mind. That scrolls less and reflects more. That values silence over noise, insight over algorithm.

Because in the end, a reel may catch your attention — but only a well-written story can change your life.

So slow down. Pick up an article. Read the long caption. Share a quote that moved you. Post something worth thinking about.

Not for the likes. But for the legacy.

~Mac

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