John Mayer makes his musical move

John Mayer makes his musical move



JOHN Mayer had us waiting long enough.

His first album following a three-year hiatus, “The Search for Everything” reacquaints Mayer fans with the singer-songwriter’s soft rock roots as well as his much-missed playful and bluesy melodies.

The album’s first wave, with “Moving On and Getting Over,” “Changing,” “Love on the Weekend” and “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me,” isn’t just about rekindling his romantic down-tempos. Instead, it expands Mayer’s vintage sound with apparent influences from the country, acoustic, jazz and funk genres adding up to a spectacular comeback.

Diary of an ‘ukay’ virgin

Diary of an ‘ukay’ virgin


CLOTHES for only P150 a piece? I’m never shopping retail again.

For expert thrift shoppers, a P150 price tag is already too much. But for someone who got her entire wardrobe from the mall, the ukay-ukay is enlightening—that is, after you get overwhelmed with the variety of clothes right in front of you.

But I knew my first thrift shopping experience wouldn’t be a bust, especially when I had the ultimate ukay junkie Shaira Luna with me to get me through the basics.

‘Unfortunate Events’ leaps from page to screen

‘Unfortunate Events’ leaps from page to screen


REVERSE psychology never fails, and this is proven matter-of-factly by Netflix’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

The constant requests for its audience to “look away”—or stream a different series altogether—as they narrate the miserable lives of the Baudelaire orphans simply fall on deaf ears, and the new release’s eight episodes are consumed on a whim.

One would have to survive the drastically dragging theatrics of most of the characters in the adaptation of the first book, “The Bad Beginning,” before one gets hooked to the series. The acting at the start presented itself more apt for a live theatrical performance than one on streamed media.


Bringing the unfortunate events of our childhood back to life

Bringing the unfortunate events of our childhood back to life



IF THERE was anything I’ve done as sinister as Count Olaf’s schemes, it was hiding sequels of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” in the most unvisited parts of the library, burying the most borrowed books behind atlases, encyclopedias and other research references.
This was back in 2004, when library cards were still a thing and being on the frequent borrower’s list meant you were a cool kid. Foreign titles by Lemony Snicket and J.K. Rowling were also hard to come by because they were always sold out in bookstores.

Pokemon Center Tokyo: Every Pokemon fan's haven

Pokemon Center Tokyo: Every Pokemon fan's haven




SUNSHINE CITY, TOKYOThe name sounds like one of the towns you could find on your PokeNav, where the rest of your Pokemon journey awaits. Sunshine City, in the heart of Ikebukuro, Tokyo, houses the largest Pokemon Center in Japan.
Entering a Pokemon Center isn’t really how you wish it was—something similar to the Nintendo games.
There are neither Chanseys waiting on the counter to collect your Pokeballs to heal your Pokemon from battles, nor computers where you can store or trade Pokemon that you caught. It’s more like a PokeMart that takes care of (almost) all your needs as a Pokemon freak.
Since two generations have grown up with Pokemon, it’s no surprise that Sunshine City draws an average of a thousand visitors every day.




Just hearing the Pokemon Center song—or the same music that your Nintendo blasts when you go to a Pokemon Center in whatever game version you’re playing—is enough to get you overexcited even if you are still a few shops away.
The catchy tune has a surreal feeling, and you don’t have to be shy to hum along to it—everyone else does.