It looks like Kyle is distracted...

I got a Shonen Jump subscription a couple of days ago. I rarely pay money for any subscription-based service, but I made an exception for Jump. One thing that amazes me in manga (Japanese comics) is how much variety there is. there is a joke in some corners of the internet about this kind of variety: If you can think it, there is a manga about it. There will be some tropes. For example, a lot of them will be set in high school. That's because their core demographics is young Japanese boys in elementary or high school. The tropes notwithstanding, there is still an incredible amount of variety. You want a series about cooking? That's so basic. Of course there is. It's a whole genre of manga, with some sub-genres. Do you want one about reviewing food? Try Oishinbo, maybe Ms Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles. Want one about iron chef type cooking battles? Shokugeki no Soma or Food Wars, or the classic bread baking series Yakitate Japan. Want one about beating up dinosaurs and eating ...

Ever since Vice President Leni Robredo announced her candidacy for President, there has been a trend of universities lighting their buildings with pink, Leni's campaign color. Last year, Universidad de Sta. Isabel, Leni Robredo's alma mater, lit the façade of its building with the color pink. Adamson University did the same in October 2021. San Beda University (Pres. Duterte's alma mater) followed suit later that December. Hundreds of educators from UST, ADMU, La Salle, (and many more!) have also publicly endorsed Leni's bid for the presidency.  Why do universities show their support, if not their formal endorsement, for certain political candidates? People often answer very simply: "the candidate exemplifies the values of the university." This answer implies more than it seems. At the very least, it implies: That universities have a set of values that it wants to uphold, and That upholding that set of values means endorsing political candidates who exemplify ...

" Laozi, I don't mean no disrespect, but you need to fill your bowl with shit that makes some sense!" said Sun Tzu in the Eastern Philosophers vs Western Philosophers episode of Epic Rap Battles of History .  Except it makes a lot of sense. The function of a bowl is to hold something. If it has already been filled, then it ceases to be useful. Taoism (of which Lao Tzu was the founder) is, in many ways, about Emptiness. Chapter 11 of the Tao Te Ching, its central text, reads: Thirty spokes are joined together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that allows the wheel to function. We mold clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that makes the vessel useful. We fashion wood for a house, but it is the emptiness inside that makes it livable. We work with the substantial, but the emptiness is what we use. Philosophical Taoism concerns itself with understanding and living the Tao or the Way. The problem is that the Way is full of apparent contradictions and paradoxes th...

I was reading a book about terrorism while eating sweet and spicy tamarind candy. The book is titled "What Terrorists Want." The author, Louise Richardson, attempts to demonstrate how, by empathizing with terrorists, we may understand how we may defeat them. The approach is novel and dangerous. It is a promising departure from the common notion that terrorists are either too irrational or too amoral to negotiate with. Richardson argues that terrorism is rational and that terrorists at least believe their acts to be morally justified. It is also dangerous because it can be construed as loving the terrorists. Ender Wiggin said “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him... It’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves." Governments, including and especially the one currently in power in my country, tend t...