Happy Birthday Fr. Nebres

(Here’s an interview we made during AEA’s SingKwenta last December.)

From us at AEA, thank you for almost two decades of unwavering leadership and service to the Ateneo community. Not bad for someone with Professor Dumbledore’s aura of awesomeness. Kudos for a job well done in running this institution.

Thanks as well for accepting our invite for an interview. We learned a lot about how Ateneo and AEA was back then. Thanks for not backing down on the questions, no matter how controversial they may be.

Wishing you success in your future endeavors. :)

The Economic Cost of Japan’s Recent Earthquake

The 9.8 magnitude earthquake off the shore of Sendai in northeast Japan and the subsequent tsunami (with waves as high as 10 meters) brought indescribable anguish and casualty to the people of the Land of Rising Sun. The Japanese suffered a major blow in terms of human life (2414 confirmed deaths as of the latest count, with thousands injured or missing, and around 450000 people homeless and in evacuation sites). This disaster also inflicted damage to the world’s third largest economy. But by how much has the damage been done in Japan’s purse, and what would they do then?

Estimates of the costs of damage run up to around $ 171 billion, making the earthquake potentially the world’s costliest disaster ever. This scenario put extra strain on an economy that has been ailing for 20 years and has recently lost out to China. And we’re not yet considering the substantial humanitarian and production toll the earthquake took, and also the hysteria over nuclear meltdowns in reactors rendered derelict by the disaster. It has come to a point that the Japanese had to resort to rotational blackouts amid shortages in water, electricity, and other supplies.

The Nikkei Stock Maket took a major hit as it closed 6.18% lower on Monday, the first day the market reopened after the disaster. As a response, the Bank of Japan, the nation’s central bank, pumped 15 trillion yen (around $183 billion) into the economy to address the financial needs of the reconstruction and humanitarian effort. Foreign promises of assistance abound, but some analysts are positive that Japan can stand on its own and heal itself, therefore rendering aid as symbolic gestures. Even renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs is confident that Japan’s economy will bounce back right after restoration efforts have been done.

It certainly helped that Japan invested $1 billion on its early warning systems for earthquakes and tsunamis, therefore saving many lives in the process. And if history is any precedent, Japan has an extensive experience in bouncing back from the worst of scenarios, from being way behind before the Meiji Era to rising from the rubble of Nagasaki and Hiroshima of World War II.

Here’s to hoping for a fast recovery for the Land of the Rising Sun.

 

Programming Note: We’re Back!

Apologies for the quarter-long hiatus (and for the bad pun as well). We can think of different reasons: being eaten by Tumbeasts, acads, Singapore JTA, Facebook, finding horcruxes, dying from listening to “Friday“…

(FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU)

Anyway, so yeah, Avid AEAn missed out on telling us his exploits in gatecrashing AEA events like KamalAEAn 2 (awesome informal debate format BTW, kudos  to Hannah), SingKwenta, Ateneo YES+, Seniors’ Send Off, etc. He’ll be back with these stories.

And of course, congratulations to the new EXECOM 2011-2012!!! We’ll be posting more about them in the coming summer vacation. Get to know juicy stuff about them. Bistuhan time :D

But wait, there’s more! We’re still going to provide you with informative articles on economic concerns here and abroad. Because we’re relevant like that.

So to our three readers, just enjoy the show in the coming days. And oh, be prepared in case of zombie attacks in the Ateneo. Again…

Thank You Note for the People who Made AEA SingKwenta Possible

Oh hi there. I hope that you get to enjoy the short holidays. Well I know I enjoyed mine by putting up an additional 10 pounds and finishing a lengthy reading or two. And oh, trying (and failing) to comprehend Metrics.

This is a long overdue note of thanks to all the people who made “AEA’s SingKwenta: Where Yesterday and Today Meet” possible, and a raving success at that. I’ll try to remember specific names as much as possible in this list. (Warning: this note is quite lengthy)

 

Avid AEAn: Ang Kinky Niyo!!!

I went to this UBE thing last November 15, again expecting (and failing) to get free ube jam (and also failing at this corny joke BTW). Last time I went to a similar event, it was like a Talentadong Pinoy free-for-all. This time they decided to make things… uh… romantic. Heck, they even had a playlist straight out of my pang-romansa DOM uncle’s iPod for background music. You know, “Careless Whisper” and other stuff.

And again, I was late, but this time I had to break a horcrux before going. No, actually I came from a photoshoot and a business meeting and dancing with Hermoine cause she’s alone (hirap maging sikat, whew) before going to the UBE and getting surprised with what I saw as I enter. I thought I saw two guys trying to kiss lips-to-lips while this (bit too) perky emcee eggs them on. Yun pala, they’re eating a Pocky biscuit between them, and the catch is that whoever pair ends up with the shortest biscuit left would win. The shortest Pocky apparently came from a (real-life?) couple, with only 0.6 cm of biscuit left. I was like inggit wow so they did kiss?

Then the emcee wanted us to form groups of seven. Next game was card relay where we pass playing cards to the next teammate using our lips. Of course I placed myself in the most convenient position: in between cute girls at the back. Well, the cards never reached my way, and needless to say, the other group won. Napaghahalata kung sino yung mga sanay na…

Then the next game was something about melting ice using you and your partner’s hands. I kinda forgot what happened, except that one couple allegedly melted the ice even before we get to melt just half of ours. And so the UBE ended, quite anti-climactic. It didn’t help that there wasn’t so many of us there, as I can attest na maraming kasabay yung event. But I can say na malas lang nung mga di nagpunta dito, they didn’t get to enjoy a good kinky bonding experience.

And oh, as we were cleaning up the place, there was this fat semi-kal guy who kept on promoting this event he called Singkwenta. He said that it’s an alumni homecoming event and a Christmas party and more. He sounded kinda too eager and enthusiastic, but in fairness, I got what he said and maybe I’ll go to that event’s volunteer GA, and of course sa event na rin. For short, nadaan ako sa salestalk…

Things are really picking up in AEA eh?

(Up next: About this volunteers’ GA thing. Nadaan ako sa salestalk, pero OK naman ba talaga yung Singkwenta na yan? And wait, alumni homecoming di ba, so they’re gonna invite Noynoy?)

 

Is Santa a deadweight loss?

An interesting article from the Economist. Click here to know the answer to this question:

“Are all those Christmas gifts just a waste of resources?”

What to Get an Economist this Christmas

Here are tips on what to buy for Economists this season of giving (from the “Mind Your Decisions” Blog)

Gifts for economists, 2010

It’s that time of the year where I try to answer the following question: what would you get an economist?

There are plenty of good ideas in my previous guides, so you may want to get started there:

–Gifts for economists, 2008

–Gifts for economists, 2009

This year’s list adds on a few more economics related gifts.

So without further ado, here is the 2010 version of gifts for economists.

For the card player:

• Poker dealer button with timer
  I love this idea of putting a timer on the dealer button. This allows everyone to know how much time is left before blinds go up.
• Alternate suggestion: for bigger games, you might want a larger display like this poker home tournament timer

For the planner:

• The Economist wall calendar 2011
  This is a perfect accessory to put up around the home or in the office. The monthly images are drawn by by Kevin Kallaugher (“KAL”), The Economist’s editorial cartoonist since 1978. I received the calendar and the promo material said you can find the calendar in Barnes & Nobles and Borders stores online, from the Economist website, via telephone (            800-456-6086      ), and in Canada’s Chapter stores. The calendar retails for $14.99 – $16.99 plus shipping and handling.

For the board game player:

• Monopoly
  This is a classic board games and definitely brings about important economic concepts. I still love the classic version of the game with paper money and property prices in the hundreds. There is a new version that uses an electronic banking system – called plainly Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition which could be useful to prevent corrupt bankers (though I always felt stealing was an interesting element in the classic game). There is also a modern version known as Monopoly Revolution which features a circular board. It looks good though personally I’m sticking with the classic edition.

For the general read:

• SuperFreakonomics
  I got around to this book during the year and I’m still going through it. While it’s not as good as the Freakonomics (unfair, as that’s a high standard), it is definitely still worth a read and by now the price is very affordable at $18 for the hardcover.

For the movie enthusiast:

• The Informant! (Blu-ray, DVD)
  This is an interesting comedy starring Matt Damon. The plot centers around a whistle-blower concerning price fixing in agri-business, and this is based on the true story of lysine price fixing.

For the TV watcher:

• Modern Family Season One (Blu-ray, DVD)
  This is a personal preference, but I did enjoy how the characters got into amusing binds and had to think of strategy to get out of them.

For someone that likes cool t-shirts, mugs, etc.

• Economists Do It With Models merchandise
  The logo for the site EDIWM is very cool–a graph in the shape of a woman–and you can get this logo on tons of items like t-shirts, mugs, hats, or on a bumper sticker. I’m sure if you sport one of these items it would definitely be a conversation starter in the office or at a cocktail hour.

For a last minute gift:

• Amazon.com gift card
  I’ve mentioned this in years past: this is a gift that is pretty close to cash and reasonable for pretty much everyone. You can send it in the mail with free one-day shipping (crazy!), or as a last minute gift, you can send the gift card to a friend’s Facebook account.

Source: http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2010/11/29/gifts-for-economists-2010/

Avid AEAn: the the La Salle U’s turn to visit the Arrneow

Pardon me if this entry would be shorter than the previous ones. Unfortunately, the time allotted for their tour around campus coincided with my DotA time Defense from the Dark Arts class, so I only got to meet them during lunch time. At swerte nila ha, they get free lunch from AEA, while KKB mode kami kahapon sa La Salle canteen.

(Backgrounder: The day before, November 11, we were at their campus as part of TradeOff: the Ateneo-LaSalle exchange-student-for-a-day thing with a weirdly cute eagle-on-an-archer-costume promo poster. Their tour in the Ateneo was scheduled on a Friday.)

Over lunch, I got to talk to some juniors and seniors. I then asked how their class was. They were like “OK” and nothing much. I remembered asking about what their subject was; then knowing that they got to sit in International Finance class, I asked them if they found the prof handsome. One of them said “Siguro kung kapanahunan niya oo.” (Karen, I know… mag-hunos dili ka.)

To be honest, I found a few of them to be quite chatty and blunt, and I found myself a bit uneasy for some reason. But most of them are actually kinda reserved but still fun to talk with. And some of them are kinda cute. (Oops. But really. I know Mr. S**** will agree with me.)

After lunch, I went on to usher the freshie-sophomore contingent, including this cute Chinita girl in a red sleeveless shirt (napaghahalata, tsk tsk tsk) to their next class. It was a Mathematical Economics class, taught by the renowned and highly-esteemed Prof. Lanzona. After we got seated at the back, I then proceeded to go through my Philo readings while being there. (Sit-in lang naman ako eh. Promise, yun lang talaga yung reason. Tsaka may quiz doon bukas.) Ten minutes into the lecture, I looked around and they were kinda… lost. Maybe it’s just that they haven’t taken up the course yet or maybe it’s ora de peligro, but I swear I should’ve lent my Philo readings to the cute Chinita girl (or anything to keep her up, as if pampawala ng antok ang readings). After the hour-long lecture, I found myself telling them “I know, I know.” (No bad intentions there, we’re just too stunned astounded by his teaching prowess)

Avid AEAn: At the the La Salle U (Part 2)

(Oh yeah, about that lack of greens part. To even make things less green, what was once their football field is now being converted to the site where a building for their newly-established Law School will be erec… rise.)

Back to the tour. We first went to the La Salle building, maybe the oldest one there. It housed their Economics Department, among other administrative buildings. It also housed this mini-exhibit about La Salle history since they’re gonna celebrate their centenary next year. The exhibit included SIKAT (or was it SINAG?) , a solar car they helped build. Included in that building is the chapel, which apparently had historical significance since a lot of La Sallian brothers were massacred there during the Japanese occupation. Our friends at EconOrg even said that the faint brown stains on the floor were the exact spots where the brothers were killed, and no amount of floor cleaner can get rid of the mess. I knew it, this trade-off should have happened at night.

Then we went to the Yuchengco Hall, the biggest (and most picturesque) building there. We didn’t tour that much there, but I remember volunteering to take a group picture of my companions. Kaso wala sa bundok yung cellphone na ginamit, so I managed to press capture when they already began to leave their poses. Fail.

Then we’re off to SJ Walk, which is sort of their version of SEC walk. SJ for them meant St. Joseph (or St. John? Pardon the lapse of memory, I was busy looking for Carmina Topacio there)…

(oh there she is…)

…while for us Ateneans, it meant… uh… ano ulit? (haaaay Carmina… *blush*) The wider segment of the walk was for promotion of org events, where each org has its own kiosk. Among the events promoted (and shirts sold, among others) our friends at EconOrg have an upcoming party happening two days after the trade-off. I was surprised that profs give incentive points to those going to certain org events, INCLUDING THE PARTIES. I don’t know if it’s just me or I found that weird, especially when I tried to imagine if that happened to the Arrneow. (Try to) imagine Fr. Dacanay (or Maam Ibarra) giving incentive points to those who will go to Shindig.

Now that you’re sabaw at the thought, we went to a variety of buildings, including the engineering hall (where it’s mostly guys) and the neighboring liberal arts hall (where it’s mostly girls) and the “friendship” bridge where they… uh… meet.

Then we’re off to the library. It was a pretty big library, with four floors worth of books, memorabilia and artefacts. In their Filipiniana section, you don’t need to ask the staff to get the books for you, but you still can’t get the books out there. Their book selection is adequate, but I still find ours more plentiful. But I gotta concede that they still have the better information commons room. Located at the lib’s ground floor, the place is just hip and colorful, and they have Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf shop inside. Yes, a coffee shop, inside a computer room. No wonder the place is crowded.

In between walks, we found La Salle people to be amiable and articulate. And they conducted the tour pretty well, good enough to keep me interested and not wander off doing what I originally intended to do there…

(Ghost-hunting kasi yung gagawin ko. Ano ba’ng iniisip nyo? But I know a few who… uh… mate make… met some pretty friends there. Di ba *******? *wink wink*)

There was a second sit-in class after the tour. But for some reason I spaced out and can’t remember anything at that moment (or I’ll just say that para di ma reveal kung sino ako). But I heard from friends that the second sit-in was better than the first, which was already good enough. In that case, kudos to La Salle for having some competent, young teachers.

And thanks to DLSU EconOrg for being a gracious host and being part of this fun Trade-Off. I can’t really speak for the 16 or so people who went with me there, but I think we had fun in our sojourn to the green side.

And they said “See you tomorrow.” Wait, what? Oh, I remember, they’re gonna visit Ateneo naman the next day.

(Up next: it’s our DLSU EconOrg friends’ turn to visit Katipunan. Would they have a good time on the school on the hill? Are we greener than them? Ma-higad kaya sila? Susunod! Eksplosibo! Abangan! LOL)

Avid AEAn: at the the La Salle U.

Hi guys and gals! Call me Avid AEAn (until I get to think of a catchier pen name, or at least a less corny one). I’m just a random AEA member who happens to have way too much time on my hands to attend all AEA events and blog about it. (Just don’t bother to ask about my QPI. Or how I got access to make posts on this blog.) Note though: as much as I try to write about everything I experience, I may forget a thing or two, so bear with me and my Taglish writing, or better yet, hit the comments section for additional tsismis. And oh, parental guidance is recommended ;)

One random sembrea day (oo sembrea, bitin eh) as I opened my FB to do my routine profile-stalking Mafia Wars, I found out that I was tagged to this weird picture: 

(I mean, seriously, man?)

Kala ko nga cosplay event, so I signed up (thinking I’d appear as hybrid ng Oblation and FEU Tamaraw, para maiba naman.) Only to find out that I get to sit in a La Salle economics class to… learn stuff, and… go sightseeing. And since it’s only four days into the semester, heck, gotta give it a shot.

Aside for the early call-time, I had nothing to complain about the opening hours of the exchange program. Oh wait, medyo traffic pala. Pero we came in La Salle with minutes to spare for loitering in their mini-version of Macci Matteo Ricci (apparently they have these mini-study-halls in almost every building). And off we go to the first class.

AND HOLY SMOKES MAY AIRCON SILA EVERY CLASSROOM WOOHOOHOO :))

Not that I mind the Jesuits-love-nature-so-trees-are-better-than-aircon shtick, but that reasoning must go, if only for one-upping La Salle and nothing else. But aircon or no aircon, I find this first class (a Developmental Economics class) engaging. It did help that the prof was just twenty-something, and said that he had taught that section for various subjects already. But then the manner he discussed sanitation was clear (and graphic) enough even for someone who has yet to take Dev Econ. And no, wala namang kantyawan (or so I thought).

I remember him asking me though about thesis making in Ateneo for Economics students. And he’s kinda surprised that we do ours for a sem, while they do theirs for two sems to a whole year.

Then, off to lunch. They also have Happy House (you know, the Korean deli we have in Caf Up). And their version of Blue and Gold/AMPC offers a Mongolian bowl where you mix in two kinds of meat of your choice with any vegetable of your picking (either lahat yun or select or wala at all). But bottom line is, what we have in our caf, they also have it (well, aside from 7-11 and KFC). Pero.. MAS MURA ANG BILIHIN DUN!?!?!

During lunch, some of us exchange kwento over our respective classes, while some find their way to make landi with the DLSU EconOrg officers who ushered us for this exchange program. Istayl talaga ng mga mokong. *shakes head*

After lunch, they toured us around their campus. It’s quite amazing that as in halos all white yung campus buildings. Granted, sometimes they add shades of green, but the white facade is pleasing to the eyes. Or maybe because medyo sawa ako sa cream-and-brick at the Areneow (and, no, not the Faura, oh God NOOOOOO). But yeah, for a green school, they kinda lack greens.

(Watch out for Part 2, where I tell you more about the buildings, facilities and mga pa-next sceneries in the Animo school)