FOR millennia, humans have sought for ways to preserve their dead, perhaps as a way for the bereaved to remember, and for the deceased to be remembered. Since the body also served as a shell for the spirit, it was also believed by many ancient cultures that a well-preserved body, possibly better and purer than it had been in life, guaranteed a person to live beyond death in a comfortable afterlife. An incorrupt body could also be seen as a reflection of the soul: in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths, the body of an extraordinarily good person that has been revealed to be intact after death just may place one on the path to sainthood -- a prerequisite being that this body has not been preserved through embalming, but by some miracle. Examples of these saints would be St. Bernadette and Saint Elizabeth, of the Catholic and Orthodox faiths, respectively.

AT first glance, Leyte’s Baybay City does not seem to be a sight-seeing destination. But a closer look reveals that it is emerging as Eastern Visayas’ hub for faith, farm, and eco-tourism -- with a bit of a push by the Department of Tourism (DoT).

THE first film to come to mind watching this stony ground of a picture is Carl Th. Dreyer’s silent film, a wondrous series of gigantic closeups shuffled through at speed, arguably one of the most revered and the best-known version of the story.

CONSIDERING that Metal Max Xeno is just the second in the series to be released in the West after Metal Saga on the PlayStation 2, it’s hard to believe that 27 years have passed since the original Metal Max made its way to the Nintendo Family Computer. And how the title evolved from concept to fruition is a story in and of itself. Following the dismal sales of Metal Max 4: Gekko No Diva (3DS, 2013) and of the mixed reception to Metal Max: Fireworks (smartphone, 2015), publisher Kadokawa Games saw fit to swing the pendulum back to consoles and green-lit the latest iteration for the PS4.

By Michelle P. Soliman, Reporter PALAWAN’s Dimakya Island is a tiny green jewel floating in a sea of deep blue that turns a clear aquamarine...

AT THE TURN of the millennium, SNK Corp. came out with the two-dimensional SNK Gals’ Fighters on the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Designed to be the female version of the hugely successful The King of Fighters series, it was released near the end of the handheld’s life cycle. Needless to say, it was an attempt to boost flagging sales; it tried to widen the user base by making 10 distaff characters from popular licenses its protagonists under proven gameplay mechanics.

ACCLAIMED as the Philippines’ Last Frontier, Palawan is so blessed with marvels of nature that it is home to not just one, but two UNESCO World Heritage sites: The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.

The Czech Ambassador to the Philippines Jaroslav Olša, Jr. will be leaving his post in December, but he will leave behind an indelible legacy: Books.

IT TOOK me 15 years to return to Prague, half of the lifetimes of the people I was working with. We were in the Czech Republic for eight days to film a documentary. After three nights in Prague, the film crew and I would proceed to Litomerice, Mlada Boleslav, Olomouc, Brno, Cesky Krumlov, and Ceske Budejovice. The itinerary was designed by the Czech Embassy in Manila, particularly Ambassador Jaroslav Olša, who is translating Filipino stories into Czech, including one of mine, and sponsored by the Seoul-based Czech Tourism. I mention these parties because you know what they say about the best-laid plans. It’s the unexpected, unintended developments I look forward to: I travel for the stories, the weirder, the better.

LET’S FACE IT. The NBA 2K franchise is a venerable one built on both the intrinsic pull of its source material and the collective talent of its developers. Never has the National Basketball Association (NBA) been more popular, and its already immense global reach -- propped up by outstanding leadership and instantly recognizable marquee names -- continues to grow by the day. Meanwhile, Visual Concepts has turned the otherwise-vicarious experience of appreciating matches at the sport’s highest level into an extremely impressive undertaking.

GETTING from Singapore to New York in one hop is better than a layover -- even if it involves taking the world’s longest flight.

OUR beeline to Sweden takes us to Dubai in the Middle East, then another six-hour-plus flight to the Nordic country. A cogently woven tapestry of green and glistening swirls of water comes into view as the plane descends and breaks through a cloud bank. Arlanda International Airport goes up to meet us; a gateway into Sweden within the Stockholm County, but still some 40 kilometers south of the city that bears the name.