I’m not sure if it’s the intermittent rains, the good old hormones or just the fact that it’s a Thursday, but I’ve been feeling very nostalgic lately. So nostalgic, in fact, that I went through my hard drive and drafted at least three throwback posts. This one happened in November last year and I’ve been meaning to post it, but I never got to (obviously) until now. I’ve always had a hard time letting go of things (may it be material or something else, e.g. people) and I have this need to document them for one last time (in one way or another) before permanently deleting them from my life. Call it a blessing or a curse, but I’ve been a hopeless romantic ever since I could remember. Don’t get me wrong though. I don’t have a hard time moving on (albeit admittedly it takes me a long time when I finally decide to) it’s just that I believe that every memory, good or bad, is precious. It’s very a very cliche thing to say, but when all has been said and done, sometimes memories are the only things you have left.

So as I was saying before the overly dramatic paragraph above (curse you hormones! I knew it was you all along!) this happened last November 11th. We’ve always had a big family (not to mention our army of dogs) but it got even bigger when the relatives from the states came home to visit our Lola (Hi Lola! You’ll always be in our hearts!) Nothing overly interesting happened that day (aside from the 1500+ tickets we got at Timezone LOL) so I’ll just let the photos do the talking.

I’m guilty of enjoying what’s left of my summer break-cation! How about you? When does school start again for you? :)

Photos by: Me and Chelsea Ajose

I have always been a reader ever since I could remember. I dive at anything that has printed text - from books, journals, encyclopedias and letters, down to the product details in random items like shampoo bottles and tubes of toothpaste. Fast forward to the present, I still have that thirst for reading, now more than ever. Tangible print was all I had back then though, but with all the technological advances that come out each and everyday, I knew I had to keep up. I detested e-books the first time they came out. I was all, “WHY” and “asdfghjkl”, until I decided to try it out. I still prefer real books over electronic ones (of course!) but no one can deny the practicality and efficiency of the latter.

So what am I saying here? I’m saying that in this time and age, we are now presented with options, those of which didn’t exist before. Want to go traditional? Go ahead. Want to try out the latest innovation? No problem. That is exactly what LiveIt!, The Philippine Star’s latest offering, is. Imagine being able to access exclusive, complimentary and interactive content! Through the Augmented Reality app, LiveIt!, readers can now use the Philippine STAR mobile app. Just look for the LiveIt! Icon next to photos, news items, ads, and other contents, and watch them come alive in your smartphones. Press companies worldwide also use the augmented reality technology - Tokyo Shimbun and Dentsu Tokyo, The Independent, GQ and Rogue. Even Ikea used augmented reality to launch their 2013 catalog. LiveIt provides shareable content, from photo galleries, short video clips, to movie trailers of the latest summer blockbusters. Users can also let their voices be heard by using the share function which enables them to post on their Facebook timelines or tweet in their newsfeeds.

The best part about this, personally speaking, is that The Philippine Star does not aim to fully replace tangible print with digital versions but rather to merge print and digital without estranging the traditional readers. And to quote TPS, “For a newspaper with a strong readership and circulation, going all-digital is not a direction that it will embark soon. And with this augmented reality feature, it is a way to close the gap between the high speed byways of the digital arena and the relevance of the tangible printed page.”

Know more about how the LiveIt! app works by watching the video above. Download The STAR mobile app now on Google Play and Apple Appstore to experience LiveIt!

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