Writer's disclaimer: this week's mix of notables and non-notables is a rather eclectic one.

The past seven days prior to this posting were dark days for the local entertainment industry. Aside from the news of the passing of THE King of Philippine comedy, the industry also lost one of its most popular voices on radio. These simultaneous blows to the field are huge, and implied questions as to who among the young guard will fill their shoes.

In the backdraft of all the mourning however, there are some who just didn't give a fuck so long as their primal urge to unleash fury on the most mundane of stimuli satiates them.

On the positive side, last week also showed us that some people and institutions are still capable of doing acts and decisions that keep our oft-fragile sense of faith in humanity intact.

More about the abovementioned plus a few other less important (read: ice breakers) things below.

Here are this week's DIGs of the Week.

I'm not digging...

1) Dolphy's passing. Looks like the time for imagining a world without the comedy king of the Philippines is over, because now we have to live in it. Thank you for making us smile for decades, Mang Dolphy.

2) Annabelle Rama. She struck again. And at Dolphy's wake, of all places. In the initial piece by ABS-CBN.com about the matter, it was simply stated that Rama reportedly ran after a reporter with a walking stick with the intention of hitting him. In this update, however, Rama told her side of the story, claimed the whole thing happened far from the actual chapel and that she was set up by her rivals to make her look bad. She apologized and claimed that she went there to pray. Really now?

3) Lola Sela Bungangera's passing. Regarded as a pioneer in the radio drama genre here in the Philippines, Eloisa "Lola Sela Bungangera" Canlas passed away on July 15, 2012. In a report by TV5 by way of its website Interaksyon.com, it was stated that she succumbed to a lingering illness she sustained from a road accident last year. It goes without saying that she is a really big loss to the industry, as her trademark voice has graced the airwaves for decades.

4) That new swimsuit mode on Tekken Tag Tournament 2. The Tekken franchise had proven time and again in the past that no matter how many titles they release, it's guaranteed to be kickass and entertaining at the same time. Of course, I have my biases because of all the fighting games released, Tekken is my hands down favorite, having played Tekken 2 to the most recent Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Which probably was the reason why, when Audio Heavy cohort and budding music video director Paulo "Kurt" Claridades tagged me and a few buddies on a video on Facebook about a new game mod coming up for the most recent spin off of the Namco franchise, my face contorted to an expression of surprise/disbelief. Apparently, the guys over at Namco are introducing swimsuits into the wardrobe mix in their console releases of Tekken Tag 2. While I'm a fan of barely clothed women strutting their stuff while kicking someone in the nuts, I'm not exactly sure I like this new mod all too much. Sure, I'd get to see the likes of Lili, Christie and Julia in a whole new different light, but that means I'll also see the likes of Jin, Kazuya, and Raven wearing – of all things – the garbs usually worn by sumo wrestlers as swimwear. And the messed up part is, Ganryu – who in the game is the character with the legitimate background as a sumo wrestler – isn't wearing it. I don't think I'd be able to muster enough concentration when I try playing Tekken Tag 2 on the console with the knowledge that at any time, I'd see balls flying high on screen when someone gets grappled and hurled up in the air.

Here's the video preview from Machinima:

5) Counter-flowing motorbike riders

There was a time during my tour of duty with the now-defunct Home of New Rock when I assisted on a show for motorcycle enthusiasts called "Hardcore Brothers Motorcycle Radio." In one of the episodes, hosts Butch Llige and Jimmy Barinaga of the Hardcore Brothers discussed practical road safety tips for riders everywhere. The one that stuck to me the most is their tip that bikes, despite their ability to maneuver through traffic, should be treated as cars in the sense that its riders should observe proper decorum in traffic as one would when driving a four-wheeled vehicle.

I was reminded of this all of a sudden last week when I was caught in traffic because of some geniuses who apparently had no sense of direction. I actually don't like motorcycles, even when they're on the right side of the road. I almost got hit twice by one of these riders who couldn't wait for traffic to move forward and instead found it a smart idea to slalom left and right to avoid other vehicles stopped in traffic. Dear assholes, the road isn't yours.

I'm digging...

1) An act of benevolence from MVP. While some common folk will argue that the Quizon family didn't necessarily need the assistance, a good deed from the head honcho of TV5 is a good deed worth noting.

2) Full health care coverage for "the poorest of the poor." For all the perceived fuck ups of the current government, it is still good to know that they are still doing some things right. As reported by Manila Standard Today, government hospitals will be phasing out the charity wards traditionally offered for members of the populace that cannot afford hospital services and will provide full health coverage to them through PhilHealth. I'm hoping this isn't a flash in the pan thing involving and a lot of paperwork for the patient.

3) Sports team mascots. As far as I'm concerned, the Chicago Bulls' Benny the Bull is the best of the bunch. The team he represents thinks that way too. Hell, they think he's so good that, in fact, that they actually had Benny star in his own short films.

Here's one of 'em from 2010. And boy, is it real fun to watch!

Neither digging nor not digging...

The Tom Cruise – Katie Holmes breakup. They got divorced. Big deal. It's Hollywood.