Araw Araw
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☀ Black Widow 🌙

☀ Black Widow 🌙

Welcome back to Araw Araw!

Joachim Tobias Bautista, Koby del Rosario & Titus Bautista
May 21, 2024

Good morning. NYC-Dublin portals are back but now with stricter measures. No more portal beefing and unnecessary nudity I guess.

Local News

🌊 Manila’s Pop-ups are Making Waves

By Tobias Bautista

Kim Angela Santos, Vogue

Manila’s vibrant crowd is flocking to pop-up events like Vintage Weekend, Salo Salo, Venus Collab, and Nirvana. Why? Because they’re more than just shopping—they’re gateways to slow fashion, ethical consumption, and a whole lot of fun. We chatted with the organizers to find out why these events are a hit.

Mika, founder of Closet by Mika, notes “Pop-ups let people tap into their unique taste and venture outside of malls.” They’re hubs for thrifting and creativity, where communities come together to celebrate style and sustainability. Venus Collab’s James sees it as a movement toward mindful shopping, making a positive impact on the community.

For organizers like Jen and Bram, the most rewarding part is seeing people connect over shared experiences and new discoveries. Mika adds, “At Vintage Weekend, we felt like we were all together, experiencing something amazing.”

Manila’s pop-ups are more than events—they’re vibrant communities where style, sustainability, and connection thrive. So next time you’re in the city, check out a pop-up—you might just find your new favorite outfit and a new friend.

World News

✈ Boeing can’t Catch a Break

By Tobias Bautista

Singapore Airlines

Buckle up for this bumpy ride: One person died and several others were injured when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit "severe turbulence" while flying from London to Singapore, forcing an emergency landing in Bangkok on Tuesday.

Singapore Airlines confirmed the unfortunate news in a Facebook post: "There are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. We had 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board."

The airline didn't spill the details on the number or severity of injuries, or whether the deceased was a passenger or crew member.

Flight SQ321 took off from London’s Heathrow airport and ran into severe turbulence mid-flight. The aircraft was diverted to Bangkok, touching down at 3:45 pm local time (0845 GMT).

Singapore Airlines assured that they are working closely with Thai authorities to provide medical assistance and are dispatching a team to Bangkok for additional support.

Tech

🤖 Sky is Falling

By Titus Bautista

OpenAI plans to remove one of its voice options, “Sky”, in ChatGPT as it eerily sounds similar to Scarlet Johansson. After showcasing its new feature of voice responses to audiences, users couldn’t help but recognize the actress’ distinct voice.

OpenAI claims that the voices used "carefully selected through an extensive process spanning five months involving professional voice actors, talent agencies, casting directors, and industry advisors". It seems like one of their professionals and talents was overqualified and sounded too close to Scarlet!

All this drew comparisons to a 2013 film, Her. Joaquin Phoenix starred as a character who fell in love with his mobile phone’s operating system, voiced by none other than Scarlet Johansson! gasp

Maybe next time they should consult with the futurist himself, Iron Man, and used Jarvis’ voice instead of the Black Widow…

Seems like plagiarism isn’t one of AI’s strongest suits then.

Sports

🌟 NBA All-Rookie Teams for the 2023-2024 season have been revealed

By Koby del Rosario

Golden Hoops, YouTube

The NBA has officially announced both the All-Rookie First and Second Team for the 2023-2024 regular season.

Headlining the fray is Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, who is looking to be the San Antonio Spurs’ budding superstar for the future after averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game. He is joined by his ROTY runner-ups, as Thunder stalwart Chet Holmgren and Hornets’ swingman Brandon Miller posted impressive first-year campaigns as well.

Rounding out the First Team are Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski.

For the Second Team, it consists of bright standouts in Houston’s Amen Thompson, Memphis’ GG Jackson II, Utah’s Keyonte George, Dallas’ Derrick Lively II, and Thunder’s Cason Wallace.

These notable names will surely make bigger splashes in the league soon enough.

🏐 Re-invented Alas Pilipinas will be tested as AVC Challenge Cup starts tomorrow

By Koby del Rosario

Gerard Manalang, Daily Tribune

With a new name and a new look, the first iteration of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation’s “Alas Pilipinas” will be put to the test from May 22nd to 29th for the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

The team will be fielding a mix of PVL stars as well as collegiate-rank standouts as veteran Jia De Guzman was named as team captain.

Joining her from the professional level are the likes of Sisi Rondina, Jennifer Nierva, Dawn Macandili-Catindig, Eya Laure, Faith Nisperos, Fifi Sharma, Vanie Gandler, Dell Palomata, and Cherry Nunag.

From the college side, the UAAP will be well-represented as notable names Angel Canino, Thea Gagate, Julia Coronel of De La Salle University and National University rookie Arah Panique are named to the roster.

Retired Brazilian volleyball player Jorge Souza De Brito will be serving his last tenure as head coach for the team, as he has announced that his contract with the squad expires later this year.

It’s going to be exciting to see how a revamped Philippine volleyball program will perform in its first taste of international competition. Alas Pilipinas will start their campaign on Thursday, May 23rd.