This is a place for asking simple questions that might not deserve their own thread. For example, if you have a question about a rules interaction, want sleeve and accessory recommendations, or suggestions for your new deck, then this is the place for you.
We encourage that you post any questions that you may have concerning Magic the Gathering here rather than make a separate thread for each question, though for now we won't require that you do so.
Rules Questions
Rules questions and interactions are allowed to be posted here, but if you need an answer quickly it may be best to use a dedicated resource like the 24/7 Magic the Gathering Rules Chat.
Deckbuilding Questions
If you're trying to get help with a deck, it is recommended that you post your decklist to a deckbuilding website so that it is easier to view. Some popular sites are Aetherhub, Archidekt, Deckbox, Deckstats, Moxfield, MtgGoldfish, and TappedOut.
Additionally, please include some description of what you are trying to accomplish. Don't just give us a decklist with no explanation, and don't ask extremely vague questions such as "what cards should I add to my deck to make it better?", because it's hard to give good advice in those cases. Let us know details, the more the better. Are you building with a particular strategy or theme in mind? Are there any non-obvious combo lines or synergies that people should be aware of? Are you struggling with a particular matchup, or are you finding yourself missing consistency in an important area, and need some help specifically for it? Let us know.
Commonly Asked Questions

I opened a card from a different set in my booster pack, is this unusual?

Don't worry, this is completely normal. If you opened a set booster, you have a small chance of obtaining a bonus card from a previous set. This is an extra card that does not replace any of the other cards in your pack, and is from a curated set of past hits that Wizards of the Coast has selected, which they call "The List".
You can view the contents of The List on Wizards of the Coast's official website. For example, the contents of The List for Streets of New Capenna boosters can be found here.

My foil card has a shooting start symbol over the bottom left. I can't find anything about it online.

All old-bordered foils have the shooting star symbol. Most sites that display card images just overlay a generic foil graphic over all foil cards, which doesn't include the shooting star. Your card is normal.

I love daily races. However, we know there are many problems with it. Rammars, questionable penalty system etc.
What I perceive is that most us, including PD are figuring out how we can have a healthy online racing environment.
PD is just a gaming company who doen't necessarily know how clean racing and penalty system work.
We are mostly average enjoyers who perhaps didn't train for proper level wheel to wheel action, which is completely understandable.
I believe systems and players will improve over time and be able to have a good fair races.
I understand it's sometimes tough to love daily races with these issues, but I just want to thank all of those who still participate.

Our success, both within our personal lives and in the professional realm, is often dictated by how we are able to communicate with those around us. After all, so much of our time is dedicated to social interaction and interpersonal relationships, even during the pandemic when the majority of these interactions occurred behind the screen.
However, for children with autism and related disorders, developing effective communication skills is harder than it would be for the average neurotypical person. In fact, it’s estimated that 40% of people with autism are nonverbal — with many others finding verbal or face-to-face communication difficult (AutismSpeaks)
While no two people experience autism in the same way, those with autism or related disorders may face communication barriers such as:

• Difficulty developing language skills.
• Difficulty regarding comprehension or understanding what others are saying or why they might be saying it.
• Poor understanding of non-verbal communication skills, such as body language, facial expressions, or gestures.
• Inability to maintain eye contact during conversation. Difficulty with self-expression.

However, there are various steps you can take to help your child with autism find their voice — with one of the most effective methods being therapy services such as speech therapy.

I've just been rejected from a role that's on par, if not more junior, than the one I currently have - same industry, role, everything; I'd slot in like a 2p at a fairground.
In the application it asked for a "desired salary" and I'm 90% convinced that it's because I asked for a salary that wasn't a piss take that I was rejected so early in the process. Like I say, I'm in the same industry, so I know exactly how much someone should be on.
Of course, there's no obligation on the hiring company to explain anything to rejects, but surely this is just 'race to the bottom' type stuff? There was no salary range on the job advert (which is a separate gripe of mine altogether), so it was basically up to me to guess what they might be willing to pay someone for the role.
My question is, how is this sort of thing not discussed more widely than us lot moaning into the ether online? When politicians talk about work and jobs, this sort of thing is never covered and I'd argue that it'd do more for workers' rights than so many other things they suggest.
Also, what would you guys do in this situation? I think from now on I'm just going to lie and suggest something around minimum wage (it is a junior level job, so this wouldn't be too ridiculous) and see how I get on...
And is there anything else you think should be illegal to ask at the application stage? I realise "illegal" is pretty strong, but tbh, fuck 'em; dishonest employers can get in the sea.

Here are some important concerns for customized furniture in Dallas:

Schedule a Consultancy Session

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Review Practical Limitations of Your Design

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Prioritize Comfort and Efficiency

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Shortlist Raw Materials

In order to achieve an experimental design, it is a must that we get hold of high quality materials. Such materials which are usually used for customized furniture Dallas are very difficult to find!
One way in which you can solve this issue to a great extent is to short list alternatives for each material your contractor is going to use. You can present this list to them in the very beginning and make it clear that you are not open for low quality swaps!

Create a Budget Buffer

Imagine creating custom bedroom furniture Dallas. Every step is bound to produce new challenges and a shower of new ideas! Because of this, custom furniture always Cost A little more than what we anticipate. Unlike readymade items, we can't set a single budget for them.
Creating a budget buffer involves setting aside additional funds beyond the estimated project cost. Usually, for residential projects it is good to allocate around 10-20% of the total budget for future changes.

Understand Your Residential Space

To measure residential space accurately we can take the following steps. Alternatively we can also get a professional furniture design company to help us out!

• Use a tape measure to record room dimensions, including length, width, and height.
• Note the positions of doors, windows, and other architectural features.
• Consider clearances for furniture placement and movement.
• Leave out regions that we will be adorning with home decor
• Create a scale drawing or use digital tools to plan an overall layout with space measurements in the sketch.
• Schedule a Consultancy Session

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So I posted here a couple of months ago concerned that puppy would only sleep on our bed and would howl all night if on her own. I was never overly keen on having her in our bed but my biggest concern was what would happen when she had to spend overnights with dog sitters. I got a lot of really helpful advice and wanted to thank you all for that.
After I posted, I decided to embrace being a dog-on-the-bed family. I have to say it did relieve a lot of stress and nighttime anxiety for me, but in the back of my mind I was still worried about how she'd be at other people's houses, knowing my husband and I had a weekend trip planned and the family that would be carrying for her are not dog-on-the-bed people.
Well this weekend was that weekend. Pupper and LO stayed with grandparents and the dog slept the entire night downstairs without making a single peep , apparently she was a dream for my in-laws. I'm equal parts relieved and furious lol. I guess it's like when your kids are well-behaved for grandparents but little terrors for their parents.
When we got pupper back, we decided to trial having her downstairs. Last night was the first night. I left a lamp on so it didn't feel like bedtime and gave her a dentastick.
For the first hour or so she barked on and off, but this time it wasn't sad barking or crying. It was more territorial. We live on a through-road whereas my in-laws don't so when cars went past she'd bark at the noise and the lights. When the road quietened down, though, so did she, and she eventually settled down and slept through the night, not waking until we went down to her this morning.
It could be beginners luck and tonight might be very different, but for now I'm just relieved that she'll settle on her own for others, even if she will need the occasional night in bed with us. I'm not stressed or worried anymore, if she does insist on coming into our bed I'm okay with that. But at least I know that if other people need to have her for the occasional overnight, she'll settle for them.
So yeah, that's the update. Thanks everyone for your help on my last post! It really helped make a difference in my mindset.

OPs come to visit us!
As the title says, I'm looking to to a Sam Vimes run! To me, this means 0 kills (is that possible? I think the guy who laid you out and took your sword is unavoidable, is that correct?), 0 alcohol and an iron adherence to the law, beyond the beer-and-doughnuts-as-bribes level.
Any tips for quests to take and to avoid?
I'm thinking bludgeon only to minimise the risk of fatal injuries- are there any other weapons choices that support this approach?
Any other suggestions to enhance the run? Dietary and perk choices that suit? Playing hard-core.
Mighty Om be praised!

• Putin + Kim Jong (Dictators)
• Blackwater (PMCs & Mercenaries)
• I5I5, H4M4S or 4L-Q43DA (Terrorist organizations)
• CIA & NSA (Governmental bodies and departments)
• Foreign invaders (Military & Special Forces)
• World leader (President & Prime Minister)

In terms of a dictator:

Figures such as Putin are the ones usually giving their subordinates such as mercenaries, special forces or the regular military the order to commit any crime against humanity, so they are the true mastermind, sitting behind the scenes while their subordinates commit the crime on their behalf.
They know that the police can't do shit to them, due to being in power of the country, so it'll not make sense as to why they would arrest someone above their pay grade. It does matter if you pursue the case via the ICC, that only works in absentia but not make them physically present.
They have their own military, law enforcement and equivalent of the CIA, so the police stand no chance on approaching them, despite these people being complicit with committing any crime, such as murder, torture, extortion, kidnapping, etc.

In terms of PMCs & Mercenaries:

Usually, they are employed by a private corporation. Even though the personnel look like soldiers, they are not fighting for a nation, solely for monetary gain, the rules for typical soldiers do not apply since they are not considered as part of the conventional military.
Heads of such PMC firms know that police can't arrest them directly, shifting accountability of their crimes to a third party just to save their own skin, so it'll be a challenge. A real example, there were American mercenaries who murdered 2 Iraqi nationals in cold blood but got away with it.
The most infuriating part is that they were pardoned by the president 9 years after it happened, plus the USA is not an official member of the ICC, making it hard for the victim to pursue justice, basically the government who hired them are deemed immune from legal repercussions.

In terms of terrorist organizations:

You will be in immediate danger if you dared to confront or called the authorities on such people and organizations, since they will kill everyone without mercy if they know you alerted the police of their crimes or atrocities. (Murder: Beheadings)
Police would be too intimidated to face them (since they will also target their loved ones), from terrorists ruthless as I5I5 are known to kidnap, torture and murder anybody regardless of their status and occupation. They have no problem on murdering both the judge and jury.
You can try to pursue justice, but it'll come at a huge sacrifice, plenty of judges, jurors, cops, lawyers, prosecutors, eyewitnesses, private citizens including yourself will all be prey, as all of you will be murdered by these people, so there is no trial or prison time for them.

In terms of governmental bodies & departments:

There is no luck, since they are politicians and have such a strong upper hand over the police, you can be the next Snowden but guarantee that you'll be labeled as a traitor and a whistleblower, you are basically doomed at this point. (There's not much you can do to save yourself.)
Organizations equivalent to the NSA or CIA can orchestrate an assassination staging it as an accident, while they utilize their governmental connections to conceal their involvement. The police are heavily tied to the state, so calling them while being targeted is useless.
These governmental bodies can also hire a hitman too, that is if you know too much. Since they can just order and pay a contract killer to assassinate you, who might subject you to torture eventually on considering killing you.

In terms of the military and special forces:

In a situation akin to what happened in Iraq, the soldiers will consider policemen in the country they are in as combatants, so the police will be murdered in cold blood, as the military remains steadfast about asserting their authority over them.
Despite if the military or special forces being complicit on murdering your loved ones, you got to consider that they are following orders from the higher authorities (usually their superior or government itself) so that will pose a challenge on arresting the true mastermind.
The cloest thing you can achieve is at least arresting one of the soldiers through military justice and a court martial to convict him or her, but not the official armed force branch itself. For instance, what happened at a prison in Iraq, the US troops abused the inmates there.

In terms of a world leader:

Again, like with dictators, they are the ruler of the nation. Whilst still in their tenure, they cannot be prosecuted, the only way that would work is to wait for their tenure to end, once they are no longer in office then you can pursue justice.
For example, Trump incited the insurrection of the white house, despite him not bearing arms, but his rhetoric exacerbated the influence on his supporters to storm the white house, it was too much for the police to handle, although they did arrest some figures involved.
Though Trump himself remained immune whilst in power, although after he was no longer president, there was a case against him for that, it is still dragging on until now. He is not been officially convicted of the insurrection back in 2021.

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Last night I realized I got every single SP I chased to turn around and ask me to meet them. This should be proof that ALL of your desires actually want you.
Chasing means you believe they don’t want you. You can initate conversations that’s fine but you need to come from a place of self worth.
We are talking about 5 different SPs here. And most of it was actually unconscious cause I didn’t realize the law but it was working.
Sp 1 (a girl) had me blocked on all platforms. Definitely the most hopeless circumstances I’ve been in. Refused to speak to me when I saw her in person and walked away. Lol it was BAD. But after one year of trying to reconcile I was like she will eventually want to talk to me. Then 2 months later this same person who kept ghosting me in person was waving at me when I saw her from a distance lmao. But this was unconscious. So I didn’t really try to reach out to her for years and then when I did we became extremely close just the way I wanted. Just the way I craved. She asked to meet me. Not to mention I maintained a belief that she was into girls for years despite her denying it and she eventually came out lol.
Sp 2: I chased and begged him to meet me and he kept refusing. I called him and begged for months lol. And then I was like fuck that. He will regret and then not too long after he was texting me again. And then kept asking me to meet him . I kid you not 6 years later this man is still asking me to meet him.
SP 3: : (a boy) I spent hours and hours day dreaming about us making out and having sex. But my god my self concept was on the floor at this point. He rejected me. I got into self love mode and started thinking he is not all that and bro was complimenting me and hinting how he wanted to make out and things. Again this was unconscious and therefore it took years to materialise cause i didn’t maintain assumptions. But we eventually did do EVERYTHING I day dreamt about. This is also the guy that said “I will never ask you out” and then two months into FWB he was hella nervous trying to ask me out and he did. And we dated. The relationship ended cause of my fears and doubts and that got me into conscious manifesting. I initially chased him and tried to manifest him. Stopped moved on. I eventually got back into manifesting him. All I did was convince myself and change my assumptions. Got him to chase me, ask to meet me and text me everyday just like I had craved for after the break up.
Sp 4: I did every manifesting technique in the book to get him to change his mind. All I had to do was change my mind. I started thinking “his loss” and then just weeks later he started saying he was thinking about me at 2 am. “Tables have turned” and asked me to meet him. (I also got rid of his 3p in 2 weeks)
Sp 5: my current SP. I asked him to meet him twice and realized nah he is gonna ask next. Then I kept thinking oh I know you want to walk around York with me in the summer. He literally word for word said he wants to walk around York with me in the summer.
Literally just tell yourself they want you, and they want what you want. Don’t think against it. Don’t question it. Accept it as true. It won’t take that long to show up in the 3D.

On a rainy Saturday afternoon not so long ago when internet connection was fluctuating in most homes, the 80-year-old Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, widow of the late Senator Heherson Alvarez, carrying a mini iPad, hurriedly alighted from a three-wheeled pedicab Toktok and stormed her way into a popular coffee shop in a mall in Manila.

A senior citizen in panic mode, she told the stunned baristas she’s looking for a Wi-Fi connection because she was about to interview retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio via Zoom.
The coffee shop, a known world brand, has Wi-Fi exclusive to its employees, so the old lady was told to try other establishments. She went from one coffee shop to another only to be told the same, until a kind stranger led her to a well-known beauty salon with a free internet connection.
The lady salon attendant was very accommodating to the octogenarian, even typing the password on her IPad. Of course, she needed to avail herself of their salon services. Initially, she opted for a haircut, but since she needed to talk and hear clearly who she was talking to, she settled for a foot spa with pedicure.
“They lowered the volume of the piped-in music, and since there were less customers because it’s been raining all day, I was able to do my interview,” Guidote-Alvarez said.
For the next half-an-hour, the hair dressers and manicurists working with their scissors, nail clippers and cuticle removers on their customers’ hair and fingernails, listened to Carpio and Guidote-Alvarez discussed how Filipino fishermen and the Philippine Navy ships helplessly negotiate their ways in Scarborough Shoal amid the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.
“They were all very nice to me. I was able to finish my interview, with newly pedicured nails,” she told The Diarist.
For those who’ve worked with Guidote-Alvarez, her steadfast, almost stubborn, nature to accomplish a task, is nothing out of the ordinary. She would improvise, find alternatives, call up friends and former students, wake them up from sleep, just to get things done.
But now, in her 80s, legally blind and nearly deaf, she has mellowed down.
Cecile Alvarez with her mentors, National Artist for Literature Alejandro Roces, Jr and Fr. James Reuter. SJ
In her twilight years, Guidote-Alvarez has been solely hosting the 57-year-old Radyo Balintataw on DZRH, one of the oldest radio stations in the Philippines, where she tackles a wide range of topics, from climate change, women’s health, theater, culture, dance, to current issues, apart from playing old recordings of classic radio plays she produced and directed, dating back to the late ‘80s.
She shared with TheDiarist.ph how she started and continues to host one of the longest running advocacy programs on AM Radio.
Theater on TV
After founding the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) on April 7, 1967, or exactly 57 years ago, Guidote-Alvarez thought of the need to expose PETA’s members to television, so she started conceptualizing Balintataw, which in Filipino means the pupil of the eye, but in a larger context has something to do with having wild imagination, or what you might see if you have a third eye.

“I designed Balintataw as a bridge between cinema and the stage, where the youth being trained in theater skills can have a ready-made laboratory experience linked with the film and entertainment industry that would likewise have a natural on-the-job training and orientation regarding the theatrical discipline of working with a literary script, whether dramatic or comic—not the regular improvised script done on taping or copycat scripts from foreign themes,” Guidote-Alvarez wrote in her yet-to-be published Memoir of a Freedom Fighter’s Wife.
“A primary goal when I conceived PETA was to initiate and sustain artistic expression that draws meaning and power from the lives of the people, and sharing the literary gems with a greater number of audiences through a Broadcast Theater-Film Program with Balintataw on Channel 5,” she added.
“No matter how little the pay, at least it provided our local writers with a little honorarium. I sought permission for award-winning pieces of the Palanca Playwriting contest to be fleshed out to reach the masses. The much-awarded playwright Bert Florentino served as our literary manager, assisted by Mauro Avena. Eventually, Isagani Cruz took over when Bert left for the US,” she wrote.
“Writers need exposure and encouragement through a regular TV performance that will give them a sense of achievement and inspire them to keep on writing with some kind of honorarium. I was glad Lupita Aquino (now Kashiwahara) agreed to be TV director and Robert Arevalo as TV host.
She got members of the PETA Kalinangan Ensemble to serve as stage directors. “This is to undertake preliminary preparation with a rehearsal with the actors for character development and memorization and preliminary staging,” she wrote.
Five months after PETA was founded, Balintataw TV premiered on Channel 5 on Aug. 19, 1967, coinciding with the Buwan ng Wika birthdate of President Manuel Luis Quezon.
The first play, whose title escapes her now, featured Armida Siguion-Reyna and Maria Eva “Chingbee” Kalaw. She employed photo journalist and award-winning photographedocumentarist/cinematographer, Romy Vitug, to work with her in filming outdoor scenes for Balintataw.

In the pre-Martial Law Balintataw, among those initiated into television were Lino Brocka, Elwood Perez, Nick Lizaso, Maryo delos Reyes, Mario O’Hara, Joey Gosiengfiao, Behn Cervantes, and Frank Rivera.
Among the stage actors who crossed over to television were Lily Gamboa, Angie Ferro, Lorlie Villanueva, Jonee Gamboa, Joy Soler, Sherry Lara, Gardy Labad, Noel Trinidad.
Like with PETA, Guidote-Alvarez directed and managed Balintataw for five years. Because of Martial Law, she and husband Heherson went on exile in the US to escape a military shoot-to-kill order on Heherson, who was tagged as a subversive.
Post-Martial Law
Internationally acclaimed auteur Lav Diaz mentioned in several interviews how he learned writing radio and TV scripts in Balintataw.
This happened in the late 1980s, when the Alvarez couple returned from exile.
Despite its absence on the air in the Martial Law years, Balintataw was honored by Star Awards as among the 20 unforgettable outstanding broadcast programs in the Philippines.
“This encouraged me to consider reviving Balintataw on TV. Another blessing was a FAMAS award for having an important role in the development of cinema recognizing Balintataw as a bridge for synergizing cinema with the stage, providing a pathway of entry of our PETA artists into film and for movie stars to consider enriching their experience by acting on the legitimate stage,” Guidote-Alvarez wrote.
Though she didn’t return to PETA anymore because it had been surviving well and had its own set of officers led by Brocka, she just tapped some of its members for the return of Balintataw.
For 14 years, the Alvarez couple lived in the US as political exiles, shown here during a Ninoy Aquino Movement meeting. Cecile revived Radyo Balintataw upon their return in the late 1980s.
Channel 4 stint
“I arranged to revive TV Balintataw on Channel 4 in 1989. We began with a drama about a rebel returnee, title escapes me now, but I clearly remember it was written by Lualhati Bautista and directed by Maryo de los Reyes. We also had a good story series on the hazing of Lenny Villa, an Aquila Legis Frat neophyte,” she wrote.
At the time, Heherson had been elected senator after having served as Agrarian Reform Minister and eventually Cabinet Secretary during the first year of the Cory Aquino Administration.
“We were able to unravel the deadly hazing process from a fellow neophyte who broke the code of silence as we revealed graphically, acted the cruel process used. I had Jose Mari Avellana direct it. This presentation won all the awards. Lav Diaz was training with us and he started writing teleplays. We also had Nora Aunor in an adaptation of Bert Florentino’s The World Is An Apple, adapted by Frank Rivera, and I had Nick Lizaso direct.”

Emmy Awards
Balintataw TV was selected as one of five soaps for social change recognized by Emmy Awards. The Philippines was one of five countries cited, with Mexico, India, Brazil and Kenya.
“The nomination was made possible by the wonderful support from David Poindexter. It was a supreme honor for our country to be recognized in the Emmy Awards, to be cited among the five Third World countries using soap opera for social change.”
Poindexter was a Methodist minister and TV producer who founded the Population Communications International.
Surviving on radio
“In spite of the cry about how television can be deadening the minds of the people with copied themes with an eternal favorite love triangle story, there was really no funding for Balintataw,” she wrote.
“Sponsors would go naturally to the commercial stations where big stars were paid highly for the starring role. Balintataw may have substance but we could not afford payment of bankable stars,” she added.
“Financial stress forced me to drop TV and remain on radio because I didn’t want to kill Balintataw per se just because we didn’t have funds.”
Creative classroom
“We have focused on Balintataw as a creative classroom on the air. I was able to talk to Fred J. Elizalde of DZRH and the president of the network, Mr. Jun Nicdao,” she wrote.
In the ‘80s, the HIV/AIDS became a global epidemic and in the Philippines, the general populace was still clueless on how to deal with it.
“In order to get funding, the first series I did was about the explosive news regarding AIDS in Asia. I got the DOH Secretary at the time, Dr. Juan Flavier, to act as himself, providing the data. It was easier to start off with an AIDS radio serial.
They did a minimum of 13 episodes to raise awareness about the disease.
“From then on, some of our television scripts we transformed into a radio version. DZRH provided us with our initial production staff, so we used some from the network and some of its resident artists and drama talents. Our time slots were changing but always coming after the long-running horror drama, Gabi ng Lagim.
“We worked on the themes of overseas workers, the drug problem, corruption, aside from portraying contemporary and literary classics serving as social commentaries,” she wrote.
Women playwrights
“We dramatized the works of noted women writers and playwrights like Estrella Alfon, Genoveva Edroza Matute and Marilou Jacob, who is distinguished in being a founding president of Women’s Playwright International.
“Apart from our PETA staple of writers, we involved young, upcoming and budding university and community theater groups.
“We also had a lot of foreign plays, where we could feature theater festivals beyond borders. We could do Shakespeare, we could do Euripides but also the current playwrights in the Arab region we translated in our language.
“We brought in Chinese contemporary plays, Malaysian, Indonesian and from other women writers from ASEAN member countries.”
Virtual history book
“The significance of Balintataw is portrayed as a virtual history book on audio as it unveiled events in the country. Radio is fresh, instant and up-to date,” she added.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Balintataw became Guidote-Alvarez’s outlet and therapy. Having lost her husband on the second month of the pandemic, a widow cocooned at home, she began hosting it six days a week, learning how to use an iPad and interviewing via Zoom.
The word “Balintataw” has been associated with her name.
Visual artist and editorial cartoonist Benjie Lontoc in casual meeting told us how in his younger days, when AM Radio was a national past-time, he was surprised to hear a Filipino adaptation of No Exit by Jean Paul-Sarte. This was when radio was airing soap, fantasy adventures targeting housewives and children.
Another was the airing of Larawan as a radio play in the 1990s, with Guidote-Alvarez as the voice of Candida Marasigan.
Leopoldo Salcedo (left) as Manolo in a confrontation scene with Dante Rivero as Tony Javier in PETA’s 1968 ‘Larawan’ directed by Cecile Guidote-Alvarez. (Photo from PETA archives)
In the 1960s, she directed Larawan, the first Filipino adaptation of Joaquin’s A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino for PETA’s second season. It ran from December 1968 to January 1969 at the Raha Sulayman Theater at Fort Santiago in Intramural. In the cast were Rita Gomez (Candida), Lolita Rodriguez (Paula), Leopoldo Salcedo (Don Manolo) and Dante Rivero (Tony Javier).
Guidote-Alvarez has a funny recollection of the radio play. It was Nick Joaquin himself who told her years ago how his pedicurist suddenly started a conversation about Larawan.

Joaquin was relaxing on the barber’s chair having a post-haircut pedicure and foot spa when the lady pedicurist asked him how the story would end. Joaquin was stunned because he didn’t want to be known in the barber shop as Nick Joaquin the famous National Artist for Literature, but just a regular customer.
“He told me he almost fell out from the chair. He was a very private person and the pedicurist recognized him as the playwright,” Guidote-Alvarez, laughing, told TheDiarist.ph.
When she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, she was given only three years to live. It’s been more than two decades since then. She has also conquered COVID-19 twice.
Over and beyond her work in theater and various advocacies, Guidote-Alvarez is among the few surviving practitioners of AM Radio broadcasting.
The beauty salon incident wasn’t a first for the octogenarian radio host. She occasionally went back there to interview guests and record her shows whenever Wi-Fi connections in her home fluctuated.
Despite all setbacks, man-made or otherwise, the steadfast Cecile Guidote-Alvarez’s voice continues to be heard in this mass media platform in an era that knows mainly Spotify. As Joaquin wrote, “to remember and to sing, that is her vocation.”
(Except Saturday, Radyo Balintataw airs daily on DZRH 666 Khz AM radio after ‘Gabi ng Lagim’, and live streamed on radio.org.ph. Some episodes have been uploaded on YouTube.)

Ok for starters this is a throw away account since I know they have reddit and I DO NOT want them to see this. Also we are friends online! Don't judge I have a ton of friends in LDR 😭 Anyways. I have no idea what to think and I feel like I can't ask my friends since we are all in a big friend group and I'm afraid they will tell him. Recently, I will call him G, and I have been getting close. I will also start by saying we have been friends since December. There was some drama that happened and he blocked the whole friend group. He ended up only messaging me about coming back and everything and now we are all friends again. Since then we have been getting closer. We were still some what distant but since my boyfriend and I started having issues he's become less distant (I should also note that my boyfriend and I have basically separated after an argument). We started talking a lot more and he even opened up to me about some personal stuff. A few weeks ago I showed him a friend of mine and he decided he liked her. I tried to set them up, but it sort of fell through. I hate to admit it but I'm happy it fell through. This led to us talking even more. We are very similar in music taste, thoughts, and movies. This is where I am now wondering if he likes me or if I'm tripping. He sends me music and songs he likes all the time. He also talks about movies and we even have a list we should watch (admittedly a lot with our friends but there are a few he thinks would be better suited for just us). We also just bought concert tickets together and plan to meet up after I said I wanted to go but had no one to go with. Anytime I talk about how I want to do things he always says how he would do them with me. How he would love to go do this or that with me. But when others mention it, he sort of shys away from the idea. We also stay up late, even after our whole friend group is gone. We play games together even though I'm bad. He sends me funny messages all the time now too. To the point where if he's laughing I know I'll receive the video. He also has apologized to me before about how he wants to not be as rude to me (we make jokes for sure towards each other) and how he feels it isn't right of him to do so. He also likes my Instagram notes and comments a lot on them. I know those reasons may not make it seem likely that he likes me but there are 3 specific instances that I think of. The first is when I was complaining about how I would be bored by myself at this thing I was doing. He said he wouldn't be busy at that time and I joked we would probably just talk in our group chat. He sort of laughed then started to stutter saying, "Well you know...You know...haha" And then said, "Well if you wanted..." and stopped himself. I don't know what he was going to ask. But we spent 2 hours during said boring event talking and he showed me his guitar and how to restring it. The second is the other day we were talking about movies. There is this movie he LOVES so much. We have regular movie nights with the gang and the other day it fell through. I said I was sad and wanted to watch the movie. He started to say "well you know...if you wanted" again. After some time of talking he nervous laughed and asked if I wanted to watch another movie with him just him and I. I agreed. We got off track as we usually do and ended up on the conversation of his favorite movie again. He then asked "We could watch [name of favorite movie] instead...together if you wanted to..". That brings me to my third scenario of the fact we watched the movie together by ourselves. I should also say he almost never stutters over anything and has no issues asking me to do xyz in games we play or to watch this video ect. Those 2 stuttering moments have thrown me off completely. 

ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, we had movie night today and he turned his camera on and my god He has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. His laugh is contagious as well. I almost want to be around him The most of all of our friends because he is so kind and has the best laugh. But his smile oh my god and his eyes. That's the first thing I noticed about him. I think I may have developed a crush on him. But do you all think he may have as well?