DURA LEX PYREX

Happy Easter

2008-03-22T11:25:00.002+08:00

Aside from Christmas, the Holy Week serves as another occasion when family members gather together. If you have a family as big . . . rather, as huge . . . as mine, you’ll always look forward to holy weeks when kinsfolk reunite and bond together, especially with the homecoming of family members who permanently reside in other cities or abroad.

I consider holy week gatherings as an opportune time to update each other with information on the whereabouts, the preoccupations and the achievements of family members. Save for some challenges which may have been encountered in the past year, it’s still tremendously a nice exercise to count a lot of things we are thankful to God for - - like new graduates who’ll soon become professionals and of high-yielding business endeavors undertaken by relatives that add substantially to the wealth of one’s clan.

* * * * * * *

I have never failed joining processions of the Santo Entierro whenever I am here in Dipolog on Good Fridays. I just do not know if procession organizers have failed to notice this, but it seems that in recent years, our processions have become similar to Alay Lakad and other ordinary local parades. I am particularly referring to the very fast pace at which people walked, as if everybody were in a rush to finish the procession quickly. I even had to control my laughter after a Carmelite nun unintentionally bumped me as she tried to overtake and block my way. I am therefore humbly suggesting to our parish’s procession committee to make the route shorter next year, and the pace slower, so that the faithful public could recite their rosaries or psalms more solemnly. We hope we can come up with a sacred, somber procession rite in the future just like what we see in Vatican. Just praying . . .

* * * * * * *

Ever wondered why we celebrated holy week relatively early this year compared to past years? According to the encyclopedia, “Easter”, which is a Christian festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, refers to the Sunday immediately after the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21. Take a look at the 2008 March calendar. The full moon falls on the 22nd of March and the nearest Sunday after such date is March 23. So there you have it, blame it on the moon, our Easter Sunday this year comes unusually early. It comes even before the school year ends.

* * * * * * *

There are a number of things and activities which we associate with Easter celebration. Most usual are beach picnics when people compensate food sacrifices they had during the lent with “eating all they can” salvo. To all picnic-goers, please don’t forget that it took you months and thousands of pesos to whiten your skin, just to have it burnt with an hour of sun exposure at the beach.

* * * * * * *

A few days after Easter, we expect to see the much-awaited results of Philippine Bar examinations. I know of some Dipolognon bar exam takers who, I am sure, are now starting to dispose nervous tensions. That’s normal guys. When you successfully make it, you’ll feel a bit taller, and you’ll have that great career twist in your life. Good luck, and congratulations in advance.

* * * * * * *

Tomorrow, March 24, is the opening of the week-long Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Athletic Meet. To the general public, try going to the ZDN Sports Complex at ZNNHS and see a great make-over of the place. To all athletes, officials and visitors from other provinces and cities, feel the warmth of Dipolognons’ and Zanorteans’ hospitality. Welcome to Zanorte!

* * * * * * *

The darkest hour in this world happened on the first Good Friday more than 2000 years ago. After that darkest hour, the brightest moment followed. We call such brightest moment today as Easter Sunday. May you embrace with much rejoicing the most important truth in the Christian world - - - that Jesus Christ is risen . . . that He is alive . . . and that He lives in us. Happy Easter to all our TP readers!

Minding Your Own Business by T2 Julz March 23, 2008 - Tingog Peninsula

Ken Lee

2008-03-09T21:30:00.003+08:00

BULGARIAN IDOL

Idol Aspirant: I'm going to sing Mariah Carey's song "Ken Lee" and after that....

Judge 2: What song?

Idol Aspirant: "Ken Lee"

Judge 2: Ken Lee?

Idol Aspirant: Yes

Judge 2: Don't you mean "Without You"?

Idol Aspirant: No

Judge 4: Go ahead then, go ahead

(And here she goes....)

No one ken to ken to sivmen
Nor yon clees tojo maliveh
When I gez aju zataveh na nalechoo more
New yonooz tonigh molinigh
Yon sorra shooo
Yes ee shooo, ooo

Ken Leee
tulibo dibu douchooo
Ken leee
Ken lee meju more
Ken Leee
tulibo dibu douchooo
Ken leee
Ken lee meju more

Judge 2: What was that language?
Idol aspirant: English

WTF...

2008-03-09T15:40:00.004+08:00

Paolo Bediones: Janina, how are you?

Janina San Miguel: I'm fine.

Paolo Bediones: Alright, so you won two of the major awards - Best in Long Gown, Best in Swimsuit, do you feel any pressure right now?

Janina San Miguel: No, I don't feel any fressure right now.

Paolo Bediones: Confident! Alright! Please choose a name of the judge.

Paolo Bediones: We have Miss Vivienne Tan.

Vivienne Tan: Good Evening.

Janina San Miguel: Good Evening.

Vivienne Tan: The question is, what role did your family play to you as candidate to Binibining Pilinas?

Janina San Miguel: Well, my family's role for me is so important becos der was da wa- they're, dey was da one who's... very... Haha... Oh I'm so sorry, Ahhmm... My pamily... My family... Oh my god... I'm... Ok, I'm so sorry... I... I told you that I'm so confident... Eto, Ahhmm, Wait... Hahahahaha, Ahmmm, Sorry guys becos dis was really my pirst pageant ever b'coz I'm only 17 years old and ahahaha I, I did not expect that I came from, I came from one of the taf 10. Hmmm, so... but I said dat... my family is the most important persons in my life. Thank you.

How to Beat a Cyber Bully

2008-02-29T08:09:00.002+08:00

Note: I just want to share this; got it from Yahoo!

See how this company rescued a woman from online harassment.

Web of Lies

When your online identity has been tarnished, Reputation Defender will help you clean it up.

By KEVIN SITES, FRI FEB 22, 2:26 PM PST

When Salina Rahim saw the MySpace page she nearly reeled back in her chair. The name and photograph were hers, but the profile description was complete fiction.

“I would have been horrified, absolutely horrified, if any family members had seen that,” Salina says from her tidy, one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles.

The profile described the exploits of a lusty “cougar” obsessed with sex and on the prowl. Even the book section read, “I’m too busy trying to please men to read books.”

It was piled on heavy enough, she said, to sound like it came from the imagination of a man — her rejected ex-boyfriend. To increase her torment, he took G-rated photos she had given him and added X-rated images of other women he found on porn sites.

Salina Rahim hired Reputation Defender to help her take on an online impersonator

Problems like Salina's are by no means limited to MySpace. With the explosion of social networking on the Web, many people maintain profiles on multiple sites, giving potential cyber-bullies plenty of targets.

And the task of removing unwanted personal information from the Web can be daunting. Just this month, a report in the New York Times highlighted the difficulties some users encountered in fully deleting their Facebook profiles.

For Salina, a modest 35-year-old fashion design student born in Great Britain to Indian parents, it was a devastating blow to her good name and reputation. It was also potentially dangerous — 75 MySpace users emailed her looking for a “good time.”

Salina confronted her ex-boyfriend and says he admitted to creating the profile. She decided to get a restraining order against him, which provided some protection against future harassment but did nothing to destroy the bogus MySpace account. We contacted the man named in her restraining order, but he claimed not to know her.

Next Salina emailed a generic MySpace customer service account but says the response left her confused and didn’t help bring down the page. That’s when she contacted a company she had heard about on a TV talk show: Reputation Defender.

Less than two years old, Reputation Defender is the brainchild of a savvy, shaggy-haired 29-year-old Harvard Law School graduate named Michael Fertik. He had the foresight to see potential value and profit in straining out some of the garbage that flows thick in the Internet’s information pipeline.

Michael Fertik founded Reputation Defender to help clients take control of their online identities

“A lot of the stuff that is put on the Web … that victimizes our clients has a strongly censoring impact on their lives,” says Fertik. “They don’t want to go out anymore, they don’t want to date, they don’t want to go to class, they don’t want to go to work.… It can take two or 20 minutes to destroy someone on the Web, and it can take hundreds of hours to repair it.”

In Salina’s case, Reputation Defender got the fake MySpace page destroyed within six weeks.

"Think of everything you put on the Web as a possible tattoo." — Michael Fertik

Fertik says the company uses a cooperative approach, finding the right person within an organization and appealing to them on a human level, rather than threatening litigation.

While some clients like Salina are trying to stop the spread of lies on the Internet, others are simply trying to clean up past indiscretions that have become part of their online identities — drunken or revealing photos, for example, that could torpedo future employment or relationships.

It works like this: Clients fill out a personal questionnaire that will be used in Reputation Defender’s deep search techniques. For a subscription of $9.95 a month, you get a monthly report of where and how you’re popping up on the Web. Don’t like what you see? For $29.95 per item, Reputation Defender will attempt to get it destroyed.

Reputation Defender employees scour the Internet for content about their clients

Not everything can be erased — government documents and media articles are off-limits as a matter of company policy. And if you’re a killer or sex offender trying to hide the trail of your shady past, no deal. Fertik says his company won’t take on convicted felons, but that doesn’t stop violent criminals and pedophiles from trying.

“Oh, every three days we get approached by some kind of crook or another who asks us to remove some evidence of past crime, and usually we just kick them off the system right away,” says Fertik.

He says the inquiries from the criminal sector of the population are a natural by-product of being a pioneer in the Internet clean-up business. And while Fertik’s company won’t help them, he believes there will be less ethical ones that will, either through illegal hacking of records or aggressive bullying and threats of litigation.

But to emphasize just how complex and fluid this field is, Fertik says he approves of some Internet companies who take on clients trying to clean up past episodes of juvenile delinquency.

“If you had an incident with alcohol when you were 15 or 16 and you know it was a mistake and you cleaned up your life and you moved on and now you’re very productive and you’re in graduate school and you’re on your way to a great career and then all of a sudden the Web remembers, this could end up hurting you.”

But this raises a serious question, one critics of Internet clean-up companies like Reputation Defender often pose: Does their work actually censor the Web’s defining characteristic — the free flow of information?

Fertik says he simply provides a level playing field for his clients. The Internet, he argues, provides an extraordinary long shelf life for unflattering words and images and gives attackers who know how to game search engine algorithms an advantage.

“I think that what we are doing is helping a search engine make sure it’s finding the best and most accurate and most reliable results -- instead of someone’s claim about the fact that maybe you smell bad,” says Fertik.

While a new Pew Research study shows that people are much more aware of their online identities than they were in the past — one in three Internet users will search his or her own name, for example — Fertik believes that really protecting ourselves means approaching the Web in a more thoughtful way.

“You should be really, really smart about what you put on the Web,” says Fertik. “Think of everything you put on the Web as a possible tattoo. Think of everything on the Web as a possible imprint on your forehead, as a possible scarlet letter for yourself that can just hang around your neck like an albatross.”

But for innocent victims like Salina Rahim, who get smeared by someone else, the offending material may be gone but its impact still lingers.

“I don’t really interact or participate in the social networking Web sites at all,” she says. “I just feel that that can come back and haunt you.”

Producer - Jamie Rubin

Video Editor - Steve Neilson

"California teen" photos courtesy of the Catsouras Family

She Made It

2008-02-22T16:33:00.002+08:00

Congratulations, Lynnie (my younger sister) for passing the December 2007 Nursing Board Exam! We're so proud of you. My kudos also to the rest who made it.

Among the top performing schools in the country, it is Silliman University which produced the most number of newly-registered nurses. Congratulations!

The top performing schools in the December 2007 Nurse Licensure Examination are the following:

A. WITH 100 AND MORE EXAMINEES

RANK SCHOOL NO. OF EXAM. PASSED PERCENTAGE
1 Saint Louis University 146 144 99.00 %
2 Xavier University 233 229 98.00 %
3 Silliman University 321 312 97.00 %
NOTHING FOLLOWS----------------------

B. WITH 30-99 EXAMINEES

RANK SCHOOL TOTAL NO.
OF EXAM. TOTAL NO.
PASSED PERCENTAGE
PASSED
1 Trinity University of Asia (Trinity – Quezon City) 41 40 98.00 %
2 Mindanao State University – Marawi City 76 74 97.00 %
University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center 31 30 97.00 %
3 Palawan State University – P. Princesa 57 54 95.00 %

In a New Package

2008-02-22T13:30:00.003+08:00

In selling products, packaging is essential. Customers get attracted to certain products because of quality packaging. When two companies manufacture the same type of product, the one which uses better packages always makes higher sales, holding other things equal. In practice, when companies already experience a plateau sales level, they sometimes resort to innovations on the package, rather than on the features of the product itself.

In political circuses, packaging is essential, too. This is how I make an analogy on the exposè made by Rodolfo Noel Lozada, Jr. regarding the scandal-ridden National Broadband Network Project. It’s the same story by a new personality, similar to the business strategy of offering the same product with a new packaging.

When asked by the press if Lozada’s exposè was really explosive, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said it is the same old story as that made by disgruntled businessman Joey de Venecia, and almost of same substance as the piecemeal testimony of CHED Chair Romulo Neri. The difference is that this time around, the “performer” in the person of Jun Lozada delivers the story, complete with dramatic projection, side-lighted with a kidnapping interpretation of a supposedly requested security measure.

Quite an effective performance! What Joey de Venecia and Romulo Neri failed to bring about, Lozada successfully delivered with a significant impact. Click na click sa takilya kumbaga. Kaya nga siya tinawag na “star” witness, dahil kumikinang ang kanyang pagka-bituin. And that’s why nuns and priests volunteered to take part in the support cast. Ambitious politicians, publicity-hungry civic society organizations, opportunity-driven business groups and other parties are following suit. Indeed, it could be an all star-cast, well-directed production.

* * * * * * *

I am still skeptical, however, and I am still discerning on where this political circus is heading. Before I will be totally misled by the crying guy’s indiscriminate namedropping, l would have to take note that Lozada also had lots of questionable deals when he was still the President of the Philippine Forest Corporation. My idol in the Senate, the ever-bombastic senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, pitched various strikes on the credibility of the whistle-blower. With Santiago’s cross-examination antics, I am made to believe that Lozada does not deserve to be totally believed.

* * * * * * *

A few members of the influential Makati Business Club (MBC) disclosed that they received threats and harassments from a Cabinet Secretary; that their businesses would be closely scrutinized by government authorities if they continue to take part in anti-GMA moves. “If you want a fight, we’ll set the BIR loose on you”, thus reported the national dailies last Friday. If these businessmen do not have something to hide, and if they rightly and honestly pay their taxes and government fees, there is no reason that they would be threatened. What about our local businessmen? Would they be threatened too if the present LGU administrations will exercise their regulatory functions over the former’s business activities?

* * * * * * *

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has not yet made public its position on the NBN controversy and on calls for PGMA to resign. Rather, PCCI keeps itself busy with its institutional development activities, one of which is the holding of a “Business Chamber Management and Development Training” for local business chambers under its umbrella. Dipolog Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President, Mr. Edgar Bagarinao, and Executive Director, Mr. Ernie Rojo, are going to Cagayan de Oro this week for such an activity. We hope DCCI will practice, when they come back, what the seminar speakers will share to them. I would be more interested in how DCCI, among its various functions, would proactively play its role of representing the business sector in addressing corruption in the local level, and in reducing costs of doing business.

(Tingog Peninsula February 17 issue of Minding Your Business, by T2 Julz)

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

2008-02-07T00:44:00.000+08:00

Kung hei fat choi is Happy New Year in Chinese. The year 2008 is designated as the Year of the Brown, Earth Rat, according to the website chinesefortunecalendar.com.

The Rat hours are from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., Fortune Angel noted in its website.

The hours cover late night and early morning. In the Western zodiac, The Rat’s equivalent is Sagittarius, the art-of-fengshui website said. It reign begins Feb. 7.

In character, the wikipedia said Rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. They have with great leadership and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the 12 signs.

Generally, art-of-fengshui said, Rats do well in advertising, law, and politics.

They will do well as counselors, entrepreneurs, researchers and writers. Rats shine in industries such as hotel, music, mass media, beauty, fashion and film.

What about famous Rats? From common knowledge and from springreetingcards.com and gotohoroscope.com, here are some A-list Rats.

Mickey Mouse, Mighty Mouse, Cameron Diaz, Remy (from the film Ratatouille), Charlotte Bronte, Speedy Gonzales, Mata Hari, Olivia Newton-John, Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey, Hugh Grant, Charlton Heston, Kris Kristofferson, Sean Penn, and Burt Reynolds.

For sure, people what to know what the forecast for the year. Here’s an overview from the website proastro.com

RAT. Rats will feel restless and their romantic relationships will be unstable. They may end an existing relationship and start a new one. Rats will have a lot of changes in their life this year, a good year.

OX. This year, the Ox will have stability, fewer changes and excellent interpersonal relationshipzs. The Ox’s career will be improved indirectly, especially if you have in a partnership.

TIGER. The Tiger is said to have a year of mobility, meaning you have chances to move home/office, travel and experience different changes. The Tiger will also travel on business or for leisure more often than usual.

RABBIT. This year, Rabbits will be blessed by the strongest star of positive relationships, Hong Luan. It will bring excellent love, luck and also it will enhance interpersonal relationship, which indirectly help a Rabbit’s career.

DRAGON. The Dragon will enjoy excellent interpersonal relationship and stable love relationship. Yet, there are signs of “torturing” in the Dragon’s marital life, which can bring love life problems.

SNAKE. The Snake will have an ordinary year with stable luck, i.e. without any conflict or any union shown in the constellation chart. There shouldn’t be any unexpected complication happening to the Snake’s personal or occupational life.

HORSE. The Horse is said to have movements and changes this year. In other words, the Horse is especially like to move home/office; travel or experience change in 2008. Such changes could happen to a Horse’s relationship.

GOAT. Goats are prone to gossips and arguments this year. Yet, the effects of “harming” are so mild they can almost disregarded. Luck would depend more on which season you were born.

MONKEY. The Monkey is in excellent terms with everyone and enjoys stable love relationships. Although there isn’t any specific lucky star in the Monkey’s constellation this year, the Monkey would still get help from others.

ROOSTER. Unattached Roosters have nothing to lose. They would just be annoyed by the many potential dates and they don’t know how to make a choice! This year, Roosters have double luck in relationships.

DOG. This year, the Dog will enjoy better social status and get hold of more authority, which is more advantageous for wage-earners. All wage-earners are entitled to chances of promotion.

PIG. You experienced a lot changes last year in terms of love relationship, living environment or career. If you have moved home or changed your job, such changes are settled and you might just work with them.

(Courtesy of SunStar Cebu)

I'm Back! :-)

2008-01-31T15:16:00.000+08:00

Hello guys and gals... I missed you all... This is my first blog entry for the year 2008. It's been a long time! :-) The holiday season is over and yet I wasn't able to share with you how memorable my Christmas and New Year celebration is....

Chinese New Year is just around the corner.... Kung Hei Fat Choi! :-)

We traveled to Hong Kong via Cebu (Cebu Pacific) last week with my friends. The funny thing is it's our first time in Hong Kong -- all eight of us. We don't have any tour guide nor someone who could assist us. The temperature outside HK International Airport was about 12 degrees Celsius and it's kinda cold for us who are used to the tropical climate of the Philippines. Riding CityBus N21, we were able to locate our temporary abode in Mong Kok, Dragon Hostel, a very affordable yet decent lodging place. The front desk guy is a Pinoy, so we were able to have a smooth transaction.

First day was spent mostly in HK's scenic spots and at the Night Market.

Second day, we went to Disneyland :-)

Macau was our destination on the third day....

The Venetian was truly magnificent....

On the fourth day, we had a "world tour" at Mainland China....

Eiffel Tower

Denmark

Egypt

Netherlands

and much more....

Our final day was spent at Ocean Park...

And we finally arrive home :-)

Maan Gale B. Bustaliño, 1977-2007

2007-11-19T13:34:00.000+08:00

Posted in Community by dotcom of Ambibo.com on November 18, 2007

From “Kate’s Simply Dessert” blog, a poignant remembrance:

” I am still in a state of shock. I just learned this afternoon that Maan Gale Bustaliño was one of the three casualties of the Congress blast last night. Maan was my student and yearbook staff. Somehow we’re friends and me pinagsamahan kami. Just last October 22 when I delivered a few boxes of cupcakes at the Senate, I asked the guard on duty and even the buyer of the cupcakes if they happen to know Maan. Kaya pala di nila kilala si Maan coz she doesn’t work there. Now, I know she works at the Congress, but only after she’s dead. So sad, really…”

Maan Gale B. Bustaliño

Born November 10, 1977
Died November 11, 2007

Daughter of Rodolfo E. Bustaliño, Dipolog City and Adelina Bilog Bustaliño of Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte. Only sister Alan and Abigail Bustaliño-Khio

Interment: November 24, 2007
Century Cemetery
Gulayon, Dipolog City

Elementary Batch 1990 Dipolog Pilot Demonstration School, Honorable Mention
High School Batch 1994 Andres Bonifacio College, Valedictorian
College, BS Tourism, UP Dilliman 1998
MA in Public Administration, UP Dilliman 2003
A semester away from her PhD, UP Dilliman
2nd year, UP College of Law
1998-2004 Congressional Staff, Rep. Herminio Teves, 3rd District Negros Oriental
2004-2007 Committee Secretary, Congress Special Committee on Globalization
2007- Chief of Staff, Rep. Henry Pryde Teves, 3rd District Neg Oriental.

"O Lord, extend to Maan your victory over sin & death...

Let her not be separated from you, but grant her a place in your eternal abode . . .

Amen...."

Chubby Gets a Second Look

2007-11-17T09:26:00.000+08:00

I've come across this article from The New York Times website...

Chubby Gets a Second Look

By GINA KOLATA

Published: November 11, 2007

HEALTH and beauty. They seem inextricable. That smiling, slender woman on the cover of Self magazine. The ripped guy looking out from the pages of Men’s Health. They’re thin. Their eyes are bright. They look like they’re bursting with energy.

Erik T. Johnson

They may well be. But they might be better off if they had listened to their grandmother and put a little meat on those bones. Chubby, it turns out, may be the new healthy. Who knows if it will be the new beautiful.

Two years ago, federal researchers found that overweight people had the lowest mortality rate of any weight group. Investigating further, they were able to link causes of death to specific weights. Obese people had more deaths from heart disease, they reported last week. And thin people? They had more deaths from everything but cancer and heart disease.

But there were 100,000 fewer deaths among the overweight than would have been expected if those people had been of normal weight. This is what might politely be called the chubby category, with body mass indexes (a measure of weight for height) of 25 to 30. A woman, for instance, who is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs between 146 and 175 pounds.

About a third of Americans fall into that range, defined, less politely, as “overweight” by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That’s not exactly the Madison Avenue vision of beauty. Perhaps Rubens, the Baroque master, was closer to the mark. The women in his paintings were considerably rounder than the women celebrated today. “Over upholstered,” as Holland Cotter, a culture critic for The New York Times, once put it.

It’s too soon to say. But it may not be a bad thing, say some social scientists. “The ideal image of a woman is almost impossible for anybody to achieve,” said Peter J. Brown, an anthropologist at Emory University.

Dr. Brown is among those social scientists who say that being thin really isn’t about health, anyway, but about social class and control.

When food was scarce and expensive, they say, only the rich could afford to be fat. Thus, in the 19th century, well-do-do men with paunches joined Fat Men’s Clubs, which gave rise to the term “fat cat.” Heavy women of that era were stage stars. Lillian Russell, “airy fairy Lillian, the American beauty,” weighed 200 pounds.

Those notions of fashion gradually gave way to a more streamlined physique.

The sponsors of a 1904 contest to find “the best and most perfectly formed woman” settled on Emma Newkirk, an athlete from Santa Monica, Calif., who stood 5-foot-4 ¼, measured 35-26-36, and weighed 136 pounds. That would have given her a B.M.I. of 23.3 — not overweight, but close.

The body mass indexes of Miss America winners, according to a 2000 study, have been steadily decreasing since 1922, so much so that for most winners in the last three decades their indexes would cause them to be considered underweight.

How thin is thin enough? One Miss America had a body mass index of 16.9, which is considerably underweight. A woman of Emma Newkirk’s height would have had to weigh 99 pounds to have that body mass index. That may help explain why, in recent years, as many as two-thirds of women and more than half of men have expressed dissatisfaction with their weight.

How did we get to this point?

George Armelagos, an anthropologist at Emory University, calls it the King Henry VIII -Oprah Winfrey effect.

Henry VIII, king of England in the 16th century, “was huge,” he said, which was a symbol of his wealth. To get that way, Dr. Armelagos said, “it took 100 people collecting food for him and cooking it.” Compare that to the billionaire Oprah Winfrey. “She has to have a dietitian and cook and a trainer so she doesn’t get to be like that,” he said.

Today, poorer people are most likely to be fat and so, said Abigail Saguy, a sociologist at the University of California at Los Angeles, “fatness is associated with downward mobility.” Weight has thus become a moral issue couched in health concerns, she said. After a while, it almost becomes inconceivable that anyone would see a fat person differently.

So what does this all mean for the chubby among us, who may be the healthiest, or at least, the most likely to live the longest? Will chubby become fashionable? That may have to await the day when chubby becomes inextricably linked to health, or privilege.

Dr. Brown, the Emory anthropologist, related how in the 1950s, white South African public health officials tried to warn people in a Zulu community about the dangers of obesity. They put up two posters.

One showed a fat woman standing next to an overloaded truck with a flat tire. “Both carry too much weight,” the poster said. The other showed a thin woman sweeping up dirt under a table while a fat woman stood nearby, leaning on the table for support. “Who do you want to look like,” the poster asked.

The Zulus thought the first poster showed a fortunate woman, so rich that she was fat and with so many possessions that her truck was overloaded. As for the second poster, they thought the thin woman was the servant, working for the obviously affluent fat woman.

Everybody's Favorite Game

2007-11-02T11:00:00.000+08:00

One of my favorite sports is Badminton. It's the game that bonds our clan. Every reunion that we have is incomplete without having a tournament (an informal one). My relatives from Negros Oriental are I think the best contenders and as of this moment they're in town to challenge the Champions. Haha!

This coming November 17-19, 2007 there'd be an invitational tournament in Dumaguete City. I want to experience an event outside the region, that's why I'm hoping that circumstances would permit me to join such sports event.

The pic shows our enthusiasm for this pastime that we even played a game during Halloween. See our costumes? Hehe! It's Janet and me in action. Thank God, we were not injured considering the non-suitability of our attire.

Yes, I know what's on your mind. It's not a candid shot rather scripted... isn't it obvious? LOL

Anyways, here are fast facts about Badminton courtesy of topendsports.com

Badminton is a game played on a court with light long-handled rackets used to volley a shuttlecock over a net.

Fitness for Badminton

At the elite level, the sport of Badminton demands an excellent level of fitness. Players require very good aerobic endurance, strength and speed. Badminton is also a very technical sport, requiring good hand-eye coordination and racket skills.

Badminton is named after the county seat of the duke of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England, possibly the region where the game was first played.
The official world smash speed record is 332 km/h (206 mph), set by men's doubles player Fu Haifeng of China, on June 3, 2005 in the Sudirman Cup. In the singles competition, the fastest smash recorded is 305 km/h (189 mph) by Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.
The weight of the shuttlecock is about 17-19 ounces. It usually lasts for no more than two games. The heavier the shuttlecock, the faster it flies. They also fly faster in higher temperatures and at higher altitudes.
The first badminton club in the US was the Badminton Club of New York, formed in 1878.
Badminton premiered as a full-medal Olympic sport at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
The International Badminton Federation's World Grand Prix Circuit, started in the 1980s, turned a primarily amateur sport into a professional one.
The IBF has 130 member associations around the world, with more than 14 million members.

Orbs

2007-11-01T12:00:00.000+08:00

What are Orbs?
by Dave Juliano

What are these balls of transparent light we find in photos taken in allegedly haunted places? I won't tell you I know the answer to this question. No one has the true answer to this question yet, but that's part of the job of researchers and investigator.

One of the leading theories concerning what orbs are and the one that I lean towards the most is that they are not the spirit at all. The orb is the energy being transferred from a source (i.e. powerlines, heat energy, batteries, people, etc) to the spirit so they can manifest. This may not even be a conscious thing the spirit is doing, just a natural way they get their energy. This would explain why the orbs are round balls. According to the laws of Physics energy being transferring like that would assume is natural shape of a sphere. This theory can also be tied into the EMF readings we get during spirit activity.

I always approach things with a bit of skepticism, so when I saw all these websites start showing off these photos as ghosts, I was just as weary as most of you. I just had to try it for myself. I took a 35mm camera that I had used regularly for 6 years in all types of lighting and weather and had never gotten an orb or other unexplainable photo before and went out with a few seasoned field investigators on a cemetery investigation. One of the investigators was psychic and she pointed out a few areas we should take photos, so I did. I also had ghost footsteps walkup behind me twice and I turned around quickly and took photos of the empty air. When I got my photos developed, I had these orbs and fog in those photos that I was told to take, as well as the footstep ones. All my other photos were normal. Coincidence?

Since we do not know what orbs truly are, just that they seem to be found mainly in areas where there is ghost activity, I will tell you what they are not. On a normal investigation there are about 10 people using 10 different cameras, 35mm and digital, and many speeds and brands of film. They all get their film developed at separate places. Let's say only half of these investigators get some orb photos. Are these water spots or dirt on the lens? That would mean that 5 people all had similar dirt on their lens and all 5 did not clean their lens either. Are these orbs film processing errors? Well the 35mm cameras all had their film developed in different locations and used different film so that is very unlikely. The digital cameras can't have film-processing errors. I am aware that some people feel that the orbs on a digital camera are an error in the digital processing of the image. When that error does occur in digital photos, the objects tend to be square in nature, not round and they cannot be semi-transparent, the pixel behind would have to be corrupted also. I will not even address the precipitation theory, no legitimate researchers takes photos in any form of precipitation. What about dust and dirt being stirred up? Can that be the cause of the orbs? If that were the case, I would think that there would not be normal photos in a sequence of photos from the same camera and location. All of the shots in a sequence should have the dust or dirt in it. We find that most orb photos do not appear in consecutive photos. All photographers present should get orbs if it is dust being stirred up as well.

These are just a few things for the skeptics to think of when they are condemning an orb photo as a fake or fraud and some things for investigators to consider when checking their photos for positives.

Dumbledore is GAY

2007-10-20T23:52:00.000+08:00

Note: This I got from www.abs-cbnnews.com

JK Rowling says wizard Dumbledore is gay

Reuters

NEW YORK - J.K. Rowling has outed one of the main characters of her best-selling Harry Potter series, telling fans in New York that the wizard Albus Dumbledore, head of Hogwarts school, is gay.

Speaking at Carnegie Hall on Friday night in her first US tour in seven years, Rowling confirmed what some fans had always suspected -- that she "always thought Dumbledore was gay," reported entertainment Web site E! Online.

Rowling said Dumbledore fell in love with the charming wizard Gellert Grindelwald but when Grindelwald turned out to be more interested in the dark arts than good, Dumbledore was "terribly let down" and went on to destroy his rival.

That love, she said, was Dumbledore's "great tragedy."

"Falling in love can blind us to an extent," she said.

The audience reportedly fell silent after the admission -- then erupted into applause.

Rowling, 42, said if she had known that would be the response, she would have revealed her thoughts on Dumbledore earlier.

Fans on the top Potter fan site TheLeakyCauldron.org (http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org) were divided on the news, some uncertain Rowling wasn't going to backtrack on the announcement, others saying it was unnecessary, and some welcoming the extra information on Dumbledore.

"This is even more awesome because it adds another layer to Dumbledore's character, which is already so rich and complicated. I hope he got over Grindlevald (sic) and fell in love again," wrote Amanda.

Rowling said she had read through a script for the movie adaptation of the sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and corrected a passage in which Dumbledore was reminiscing about past loves by crossing it out and scrawling "Dumbledore is gay" over it.

Rowling, a mother of three, is now estimated to be worth $1.12 billion, making her the first dollar-billionaire author.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- the seventh and final book in the boy wizard series -- became the fastest-selling book in history when it was released in July.

More than 11 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours in the United States and Britain.

Online Harrassment

2007-10-10T23:34:00.000+08:00

Note: In response to Mark Xander's call to get the word out, I have copied the following text from his site. I share the same sentiments. Read on....

Online harassment

A couple of weeks ago, I started receiving threats and defamatory remarks on this blog from a person who hides under the name Micah. This person comes to my blog everyday just to give derogatory comments. Moderation can only do so much, and the time spent reading threats can eventually take a toll on the enthusiasm of the blogger. It's a tough call.. I don't know who this person is, and judging by the things he says, he doesn't know me either. He hates my blog and feels the need to bring my morale down every single day.

I once promised my friend Thad that in a situation like this I will be the bigger person. Ignoring the comments worked for a while, but as of three days ago, my worst fear happened -- I started getting grave threats: "I can't wait to come to Dumaguete and have you nailed on the cross!", he announced. It's scary because my home address and my sister's cellphone number were once posted on this blog for business purposes.

Online harassment is real.

I am not alone in receiving hate and violence directed against himself through blogs. Countless bloggers throughout the world fall victim to online bullying everyday. Comments are usually anonymous with no urls or working emails. These perpetrators take advantage of the fact that they think they know you, but you don't know them. This gives them a sense of power.

This is especially true here in the Philippines, where the emergence of rascals with little regard for online civility is rampant. When I started blogging, I intended it to be a journal, an online diary. I, as a blogger, have the right to talk about my life. If you don't believe in veganism or have preconceived notions about me, you don't have to come here at all.

The bigotry is not necessary.

I never approved any of the comments. My blog is a celebration of life and health, and how veganism made me a better person. I also made a lot of friends in the blogging world -- a fact he does not like. In fact it led him to start posting rude comments on Ian's and my mom's blogs as well. This guy has some very serious problems.

What can one do? Today, Ian told me that it's time to act. He sent me a link to an article about online harassment that we can use. We need to save everything from now on. And then we can report to the proper authorities. I also texted my friend, ABS-CBN reporter RG Cruz, just in case I'm going to need his help or advice.

I am hoping that this article will help someone else. If no one writes about the reality of online harassment, more and more innocent bloggers will be victimized.

Get the word out. Blog about my story.

Heraldic

2007-10-07T14:26:00.000+08:00

Section 34 par (e) of the Republic Act 8491 otherwise known as The Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines prohibits the wearing of the flag in whole or in part as a costume or uniform...

Now take a look at the pic...

No, I'm not referring to Pacman (what a pose!) Haha! Look at Freddie Roach... He's wearing the Philippine Flag... Shouldn't he be penalized?

By the way, congrats Manny for having successfully defended his WBC international super featherweight crown against his latest opponent... and to Marco Antonio Barrera, farewell... Here's a prayer (posted by a fan) which I copied from his website:

our father who art in mexico
antonio be thy name
thy kingdom come
thy shall be done on earth as it is in barrera land
give us this day our daily victory
and forgive us our tresspasses
as we forgive those pacfans fans for being twats
and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from non belivers [sic]
for thy is the kingdom
the power and speed and accuracy and timing and glory
forever and ever barr-er-a barrr-er-a

And to Kyla for singing the National Anthem, this time, without deviating from Julian Felipe's musical arrangement and composition.

The High Cost of Being Fat

2007-09-19T21:42:00.000+08:00

Note: Sorry guys, I've been bombarded with lots of things to be done these past few days... Will try to have some posts later... Please bear with me... Just enjoy reading some articles I'm posting here, they may be interesting to you.... Ciao!

[Taken from Get Rich Slowly]

I am fat.

I am fat, but I am not obese. I do not pause to catch my breath when climbing stairs. I do not avoid hikes or sports for fear of failure. But — no mistake — I am fat. I am far above my normal weight. I carry 205 pounds on a frame built for someone forty pounds lighter. [PDF: Body mass index and health, from the USDA.]

How does this relate to personal finance? Your health is your most important asset. Not your house. Not your car. Not your job. Not your retirement account. These are secondary. Your health is your most important asset. Even someone as young as I am (37) can face serious financial repercussions from being overweight.

According to the USDA, “overweight or obese people are more likely than those at normal weight to have medical problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease.” Furthermore:

According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, in 2003-2004, an estimated 66 percent of U.S. adults were overweight or obese, along with 17 percent of children and adolescents. The total annual cost of obesity was an estimated $117 billion in 2000.

Another USDA publication [PDF: “Health Insurance, Obesity, and Its Economic Costs”], breaks down the individual cost of being fat:

The lifetime medical costs related to diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, and stroke among the obese are $10,000 higher than among the non-obese. Among the overweight, lifetime medical costs can be reduced by $2,200 to $5,300 following a 10-percent reduction in body weight.

Being fat costs money. It costs time. (Overweight people have shorter lifespans.) And it costs mental capital, too. I have experienced these costs in my own life.

Four years ago, I destroyed the ACL in my right knee while playing city-league soccer. I was out of shape and overweight, and my body betrayed me. I spent six months hobbling around, unaware of the injury’s extent. Ultimately, after several doctor’s visits, I had an MRI, surgery, and physical therapy. Even with insurance, this was expensive, especially considering I hadn’t yet wised-up financially. (Cost: roughly $2,000, and a loss of mobility in my right knee.)
Like many who are overweight, I suffer from sleep apnea. Last summer, I spent two nights in a sleep lab. I was given a prescription for a C-PAP machine. (Cost: $734.54, and that damned mask strapped to my face every night for the past year.)
When overweight, I suffer from mild depression. It afflicts my self-esteem and saps my will. (Cost: more mental than financial, thus far.)
Whenever I get heavy, I always join a gym. I pay for a year in advance, go for a couple weeks, and then gradually lose interest. Soon the guilt of having paid hundreds of dollars for a service I am not using becomes overwhelming, which makes matters worse. (Cost: Nothing out-of-pocket — paid by employer. I used to pay $300-$500/year.)
As I get bigger, I’m forced to buy new clothes. My wardrobe increases as I do. I tell myself that I’ll have lots of clothes when I lose the weight, but so far I’m only buying new. (Cost: about $200/year.)
Ultimately I spend more on food to subsidize my fat than I do when I eat healthfully. I’ve never examined the actual costs, but I’m sure all the candy and chips and soda are a steady drain on my funds.

In the past four years, I have paid $4500 because I am fat. And that doesn’t include food.

This post is not a pity party. It is a rallying cry for anyone who is out of shape, who has allowed their physical fitness to lapse. I know many adults who are at a healthy weight but who do not exercise. Just half an hour of exercise every day promotes better fitness. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of cancer and improves self-esteem. Just do it!

If you would like to pursue a course of fitness, here are some helpful tools.

Joe’s Goals, a free online goal tracker.
FitDay, a free web-based diet and weight loss journal. I’ve used this on-and-off for several years. I recommend it.
The book that helped me defeat the fat in 1997 is Realities of Nutrition. It’s fantastic. It doesn’t try to convince you one diet is better than another. It lays out the facts about nutrition. It describes what carbohydrates are, what fat is, what protein is, and explains how they work in concert to give the body energy.
The 29 healthiest foods on the planet
The world’s healthiest foods

When I stood on the scales on the evening of 07 May 1997, I was horrified. I weighed 200 pounds. I was 28 years old. How had I grown so heavy? I steeled my mind. Over the course of the next six months, I dedicated myself to eating healthy and exercising daily. I lost 42 pounds before falling off the wagon on Halloween night. Despite continued battles with food, for two years I remained fit. But then the weight came back.

I am ready to lose it again.

When Machismo Turns Lethal

2007-09-14T09:05:00.000+08:00

Note: This is a commentary authored by Michael Tan of the Cebu Daily News, which the blogger finds interesting, ironically brought by the fact that he isn't affiliated with any fraternity nor any organization or society that promotes "more than the usual" brotherhood...

There’s no lack of research to show that Filipinos have a high need for affiliation and that we get this mainly from smaller groups and organizations. As the organizations grow and build their hierarchies, power struggles emerge and splits occur.

A college freshman comes in and is dazzled by the alphabet soup of organizations, with something from everyone. The organizations work hard at recruitment with each new school year, sometimes with excessive zeal. Many freshmen do sign up with one or several organizations. Beyond social affiliation, the organizations are seen as a key to survival in big universities.

At University of the Philippines Diliman, frats have declined in popularity among upper-class Filipinos, but are still able to ride on past glory, mainly counting the rich, the powerful, the famous and infamous among their alumni: Ferdinand Marcos for Upsilon Sigma Phi, for example, or Juan Ponce Enrile for Sigma Rho. These are alpha male achievers held up to emulate, and for students from the underclass, they represent a world that could be theirs as well.

This is where machismo comes in. Frats represent a testosterone-driven culture that can be appealing to young males from more traditional backgrounds. The frat rituals are actually part of machismo allure; some of these students come from public high schools and communities with very brutal hazing as well.

Machismo turns lethal when combined with class. The wealthier fratmen are not about to beat some neophyte from their own class. And as the neophytes get beaten up, they’re picking up the frat’s sacred tradition: deep in their subconscious, they know they can get back the following year, by beating up new lower-class neophytes.
The frats represent an extreme in local organizational culture, with a feudal core that emphasizes conformity with organizational mates and obedience to “superiors” and that can be someone just a year ahead of you.

“Walang iwanan” is a phrase often heard. On the surface, it sounds noble, with its sense of solidarity and not leaving anyone behind. In reality, it smacks of a dangerous herd instinct. Throw in some Machiavellian student leaders, maybe even faculty members advising the organization, and you have a cult in the making.

The pragmatism and survival instincts are there, certainly, and some are smarter than others at maneuvering their way through the organizational minefields, but much more needs to be done by administrators and teaching staff.

In this age of the Filipino diaspora, we need to better prepare our students for the world out there. These will be young Filipinos who can build lifelong loyalties and friendships, who will be remembered not just for an infectious sense of humor and conviviality, but also for fierce independence of mind and of spirit.

Guilty

2007-09-12T10:20:00.000+08:00

Erap guilty of plunder
(ABS-CBN News)

Former president Joseph Estrada is guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of plunder and was sentenced to life imprisonment, the Sandiganbayan Special Division ruled Wednesday.

At the same time, the anti-graft court found the former president's son, Sen. Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, and lawyer Edwardo Serapio innocent of the charges.

Estrada is charged with plunder, made up of four counts of corruption, involving diversion of funds amounting to about P4 billion ($85 million). He was also charged with perjury.

The charges include taking commissions in the purchase of shares by government insurance funds, payoffs from gambling lords, diverting tobacco taxes for personal use and maintaining a bank account under a false name. The perjury charge relates to misrepresentation on earned income.

Estrada, hero of the downtrodden during years as a matinee idol, has called the charges trumped up and says he was hounded out of office by a coalition of the elite, including senior army officers, corporate leaders and Catholic bishops.

Born Joseph Ejercito to a well-to-do Manila family he dropped out of school in his teens, was thrown out of home by his father and took the name Estrada from a telephone book.

He shot to movie stardom at 24 and in 1998 was elected president by a record margin.

His win was viewed as a turning point in national politics because Estrada was not a member of one of the traditional political dynasties.

But his term in office was marked by reports of policy decisions taken after late-night drinking bouts, millions of pesos won or lost in gambling sessions and innumerable tales of mistresses and their lavish lifestyles.

Estrada has never denied that he was fond of wine or women, but has said that was part of his movie star life, and that he gave it all up when he became president.

Lay-Shu si Inday

2007-09-11T22:32:00.000+08:00

Sosyal si inday jokes are spreading through text messages nowadays. Nung bago pa lang sya, nakakatawa pa. Pero now, medyo nakakainis na... Hehehe! Pero adik pa rin si Juan, Pinagtyagaang i-blog ang mga forwarded 'sosyal si inday' jokes. So here you go. Enjoy!

The consistency was fine. But you see, it seems that the increased amount of sodium chloride affected the taste drastically and those actions are irreversible. I do apologize.

-nag-eexplain si inday kung bakit maalat ang ulam.

"Nurture others with positive truthful words, not words that hurt. It doesn't cost anything to do so. But mean what you say, and say what you mean. Do it everyday. This is one of the most obvious qualities of the most beloved people. If you cannot be generous financially, at least be generous with your words."

-sagot ni inday sa amo nya na di xa pinautang at minura-mura pa!

"Ipomea aquatica has become the constant ingredient to this Filipino delicacy which is very helpful in the digestion during the peristaltic process of the food we intake. Due to the continuous rain and floods, the harvest of the said vegetable has lessen the production in the market"

- sagot ni inday samin kung bakit walang KangKong sa nilutong sinigang

I am solitary. I find it hard to succumb into slumber. Though the downpour of rain should've made it easy. This exuberent emotional glue i have for you,cannot be
simply washed away. The multiplicity of what i feel for you is inevitable. This isn't platonic. It's real, true romance

- INDAY, nag eemote sa may bintana, habang iniisip si dodong,ang bf nia..

"potatoes, wen consumed n der raw state, r rapidly converted 2 glucose dat raises insulin leve;s bcoz of its simple sugar...wen cooked in high temperature lyk french fries, dey produce large amoun of free radicals n d body causing aging, clotting, inflammation, cancer, w8 gai... 1 french fry is worse dan 1 cigarette

- inday (sagot nya sa amo nung tanungin xa kung bakit di sya nagluto ng french fries)nuritionist din pala si inday

" I stay awake in the coldness of the darkened sky contemplating why, for some reasons, has my emptinessmade itself manifests, extending to that niche where i wasgiven life and growth, that because of austerity i was made seperated from...."

-INDAY habang ndi makatulog dahil na-ho-homesick . d=D

Heavy fire exerted by the stimulus affected the best conductor of heat which is the steel,causing the Oriza Sativa to change it's state of color,smell as well as the taste."

-sagot ni inday ng tanungin siya ng amo kung bakit nasunog ang sinaing.

Listening to the nonsense talk about someone's life is a pathetic way of entertainment..it doesn't contribute to the good of society..i hate character assassinators!..

- reklamo ni inday nang natsismis siya ng kapitbahay.

You'll never know wat u have til it's gone... And once u loose it, u can never get it back....

-si Inday na isnatchan sa quiapo!!!

Dear Mom,

Had i not been able to smell the salt, i must have collapsed moments ago. Junior has become a little monster to me. Remember the head accident he had? As if it wasn't enough, he was summoned by the principal of hil shabilly runned academe. Oh, such an erudite bunch of baboons! I never though being a governess can be such strenuous employ!

Your daughter,Inday

Dear Inday,

Walanghiya ka! Magpadala ka ng pera! Nasa ospital ang nanay mo, dumugo ang ilong pagkabasa ng pesteng sulat mo!

--TATAY

Drunken shrimp and blue lobster meat with caviar served with milagrosa rice (red variety) and apricot sauce..

Vegetables in balsamic vinegar splashed with extra virgin olive oil ..

Lychee and peach salad with sour cream and cream cheese topped with lemon zests..

---mga baon ni junjun sa daycare na inihanda ni Inday. SOSYAL!!!

Ich bin jetzt berühmt geworden dürch diesen Pexer.Mach weiter so,das gefällt mir!!!

(naging sikat ako ngayon gawa ng pexer,pagpatuloy ninyo gusto ko yan)

Si Inday marunong din pala maggerman!!

I believe that my trained skills and expertise in management with the use of standard tools, and my discipline and experience will contribute significantly to the value of the work that you want, my creativity, productivity and work-efficiency and the high quality of outcomes I can offer will boost the work progress.

- sagot ni Inday sa interview ng bago niyang amo!

Compromising safety with useless aesthetics, the not-so-well engineered architectural design of our kitchen lavatory affected the boy's cranium with a slight boil at the left temple near the auditory organ.

- sagot ni Inday nang tanungin ng amo kung bakit may bukol si Junior.

The consistency was fine. But you see, it seems that the increased amount of sodium chloride (NaCl) affected the taste drastically and those actions are irreversible. I do apologize.

- nag-explain si Inday kung bakit maalat ang ulam.

Donya: Bakit tuwing paguwi ko, nadadatnan kitang nanunuod ng tv?!

Inday: Because I don't want you to see me doing absolutely nothing.

"It's absurd! It was never a fact that he will inflict a fight. I can only imagine how you handle schizophrenic kids on this educational institution. Revise your policies because they suck!"

- Inday, kasama si Junior sa principal's office.

Amo: Inday, bakit nagkalat ang basura sa likod ng bahay?!

Inday: A change in the weather patterns might have occurred wrecking havoc to the surroundings. The way the debris are scattered indicates that the gust of wind was going northeast causing damage to the path it was heading for.

Amo: (nosebleed)

Stop your raucous behavior. It is bound to result in property damages and if that happens there will be corresponding punishment to be inflicted upon you!

- si Inday, pinagbabawalan ang mga bata na maglikot.

Sometimes, people choose to leave not because of selfish reasons but because they just know that things will get worse if they'll stay. Leaving can be a tough act, and it's harder when people can't understand you for doing so.

- sagot ni Inday kung bakit umalis si Angel Locsin sa GMA 7.

"To forrestall further hopes of acquaintance, my unfathomable statement to the denial of your request. Petition denied."

- reply ni Inday nang i-text ni dodong kung pwede sya maging txtmate.

Amo: Inday bumili ka nga ng mga isda, ay oo nga pala, inglesera ka na ngayon, would you please buy many fishes for this week's meals?

Inday: Judging by your statement, I believe you meant a variety of fish. The term fishes though rarely used, connotes a plethora of different kinds of the said gilled aquatic creatures. But the most pressing question before I go to the wet market would be: what type of fish? Fillet or not? Frozen or fresh? (pauses) Ahh…given the meager budget afforded by this household's quasi-peasant class taste, I assume I shall source the staple "galewng-gong". Yes?

Amo: Eh kung mag-empake ka na kaya?!

A Different Ballgame

2007-09-10T22:49:00.000+08:00

For carrying on “a different ballgame” outside his marriage, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Atty. Jose Emmanuel “Noli” M. Eala was disbarred by the Supreme Court.

According to the statement of facts in this case [click here for the full text], Guevarra first met Eala when his then-fiancee Irene Moje introduced Eala to him sometime in January 0f 2000. Eala was then married to another woman with whom he has 3 children. After Guevarra and Irene got married, he noticed that Irene frequently received phone calls from Eala, as well as messages some of which read “I love you” or “I miss you.”

Irene began to go home late at night or early in the morning of the following day. When asked for the reason, she would mention that she stayed the night in her parents’ house or she was just busy with work. They would have constant arguments, resulting in Irene abandoning the conjugal home.

On April 22, 2001, Guevarra went uninvited to Irene’s birthday party. He saw Irene celebrating her birthday with Eala, her family and friends. Guevarra angrily left the venue. Upon arriving home, he went through her belongings and found a love letter which reads:

My everdearest Irene,

By the time you open this, you’ll be moments away from walking down the aisle. I will say a prayer for you that you may find meaning in what you’re about to do.

Sometimes I wonder why we ever met. Is it only for me to find fleeting happiness but experience eternal pain? Is it only for us to find a true love but then lose it again? Or is it because there’s a bigger plan for the two of us?

I hope that you have experienced true happiness with me. I have done everything humanly possible to love you. And today, as you make your vows . . . I make my own vow to YOU!

I will love you for the rest of my life. I loved you from the first time I laid eyes on you, to the time we spent together, up to the final moments of your single life. But more importantly, I will love you until the life in me is gone and until we are together again.

Do not worry about me! I will be happy for you. I have enough memories of us to last me a lifetime. Always remember though that in my heart, in my mind and in my soul, YOU WILL ALWAYS
. . . AND THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU DO!

BE MINE . . . . AND MINE ALONE, and I WILL ALWAYS BE YOURS AND YOURS ALONE!

I LOVE YOU FOREVER, I LOVE YOU FOR ALWAYS. AS LONG AS I’M LIVING MY TWEETIE YOU’LL BE!”

Guevarra filed a complaint against Eala before the IBP Committee on Bar Discipline for grossly immoral conduct. Among the evidence presented was the birth certificate of Irene’s daughter, pointing to Eala as the father.

Eala for his part does not deny his relationship to Irene but argues that the relationship between them was not carried on under scandalous circumstances. The IBP Commission on Bar Discipline Investigating Commissioner found the charge against Eala sufficiently proven. This was reversed by the IBP Board of Governors, dismissing the case for lack of merit. The case was immediately brought to the Supreme Court.

Eala was found guilty of the charge and was DISBARRED for grossly immoral conduct, violation of his oath of office and of the Code of Professional Responsibility.

Eala eventually resigned as PBA Commissioner even before the PBA Board members could promulgate their decision to remove him from his position.

Incriminating Text

2007-09-09T15:18:00.000+08:00

Moral lesson: Do not take text messages lightly as they can be used against you in court.

This was the painful lesson former Court of Appeals employee Elvira Cruz-Apao learned when the Supreme Court found her guilty of grave misconduct and dismissed her from public service for extorting P1 million in exchange for a favorable ruling from the appellate court. Apao was executive assistant II of the acting Division Clerk of Court of the CA’s 5th division.

The complainant presented to the court text messages sent by Apao by which the latter asked for P1 million in exchange for a favorable decision of Zaldy Nuez’s case with the CA (Pagcor vs Nuez) which has been pending for two years now.

According to the Supreme Court, the text messages were properly admitted by the ad hoc investigating committee created by the CA since the same are now covered by Section 1(k), Rule 2 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence which defines ephemeral electronic communication as that referring to telephone conversations, text messages . . . and other electronic forms of communication the evidence of which is not recorded or retained.

Under Section 2, Rule 11 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence, “Ephemeral electronic communications shall be proven by the testimony of a person who was a party to the same or who has personal knowledge thereof.

In this case, the SC noted that the complainant who was the recipient of said messages and therefore had personal knowledge thereof testified on their contents and import.

According to the High Tribunal, Apao herself admitted that the cellphone number reflected in complainant’s cellphone from which the messages originated was hers.

“Moreover, any doubt respondent may have had as to the admissibility of the text messages had been laid to rest when she and her counsel signed and attested to the veracity of the text messages between her and complainant. It is also well to remember that in administrative cases, technical rules of procedure and evidence are not strictly applied. We have no doubt as to the probative value of the text messages as evidence in determining the guilt or lack thereof of respondent in this case,” the Court held.

Nuez initially filed a complaint for extortion against Apao with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission–Special Projects Group (PAOCC-SPG) in Malacañang. This led to the conduct of an entrapment operation by elements of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) on Sept. 28, 2004 when the supposed hand-over of the money was going to take place.

Apao was apprehended by the PAOCTF agents prompting then CA Presiding Justice Cancio Garcia (now Supreme Court Justice) to issue an order creating an ad hoc investigating committee that will investigate the case and recommend the proper administrative sanctions against her. The committee recommended her dismissal from service.

Nuez’s case was an illegal dismissal case against Pagcor. Complainant filed an illegal dismissal case against Pagcor before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) which ordered his reinstatement but a writ of preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order was issued by the CA in favor of Pagcor, thus complainant was not reinstated to his former job pending adjudication of the case.

Since he wanted expeditious decision of his case, Nuez sought the assistance of Apao sometime in July 2004 and the latter told him that a favorable and speedy decision of his case was attainable but the person who was to draft the decision was in return asking for P1 million.

When Nuez told Apao that he did not have that kind of money since he had been jobless for a long time, respondent replied, “Eh, ganoon talaga ang lakaran dito, eh. Kung wala kang pera, pasensiya ka.” Respondent even admonished complainant with the words “Wala tayo sa palengke iho.” when the latter bargained for a lower amount.

Complainant then asked for time to determine whether or not to pay the money in exchange for the decision. Instead, in August of 2004, he sought the assistance of the television program Imbestigador which accompanied him to PAOCCF-SPG where he lodged a complaint against respondent for extortion.

Apao, in his meeting with Nuez explained that the P1 million guaranteed a favorable decision only in the CA but did not extend to the Supreme Court should the case be appealed later. When respondent was asked where the money will go, she claimed that it will go to a male researcher whose name she refused to divulge. The researcher was allegedly a lawyer in the CA 5th Division where complainant case was pending. She also claimed that she will not get any part of the money unless the researcher decides to give her some.

The SC, in its decision, stressed that by soliciting the amount P1 million from complainant, respondent committed an act of impropriety which immeasurably affects the honor and dignity of the judiciary and the people’s confidence in it.

Meanwhile, in another case, the Supreme Court ruled that computer virus is not a valid excuse for delay in the filing of a pleading.

The High Tribunal upheld on January 24, 2005 the Court of Appeals’ denial of Helen Dagdagan’s second motion for extension and dismissing her petition for review for having been filed out of time. The litigant asked for the additional extension because a computer virus had caused the deletion of the entire draft of the petition.

“Deviations from the rules cannot be tolerated. The rationale for this strict attitude is not difficult to appreciate. These rules are designed to facilitate the orderly disposition of appealed cases. In an age where courts are bedeviled by clogged dockets, these rules need to be followed by litigants with greater fidelity. Their observance cannot be left to their whims and caprices. Moreover, rules of procedure are tools designed to promote efficiency and orderliness as well as to facilitate attainment of justice, such that strict adherence thereto is required,” the court said.

The SC noted that petitioner’s reason was “not compelling” for it to be granted. It said that petitioner’s counsel would not have encountered a problem if he had been systematic in his work as he could have saved the encoded petition in a diskette and printed it.

Rule 43, sec. 4 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended provides that an appeal be taken within 15 days from notice of the award, judgment, final order, or resolution. The rule allows only one motion for reconsideration but the CA may grant an additional period of 15 days within which to file a petition for review “for the most compelling reason.”

In this case, the Cordillera Administrative Region of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources dismissed petitioner Dagdagan’s letter-protest against the townsite sales application of respondent Marani Bacolod, holding that the public land in dispute was alienable and thus available for disposition.

Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration, but it was denied. She then elevated her case to the Office of the President, but then Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora denied petitioner’s appeal and affirmed the decision of the DENR.

Consequently, petitioner’s counsel filed a motion for extension of time to file a petition for review under Rule 43 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure with the CA. The CA granted petitioner a non-extendible period of 15 days within which to file her petition for review.

Petitioner’s counsel however filed an “urgent ex-parte motion for extension” of five days on the ground that his entire draft of the petition was deleted from the computer due to computer virus. The CA denied petitioner’s second motion for extension and dismissed her petition for being filed out of time.

(Source: The Philippine IT Law Journal; Article Authored by: Mary Ann Ll. Reyes)

Euro-English

2007-09-09T08:31:00.000+08:00

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible!

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as
replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

The Four Wives

2007-09-09T08:16:00.000+08:00

[I got this from my professor in Labor Law (thanks, Sir Judge!) via email]

The Four Wives

"In one of the Agama Sutras, the Buddha's early sermons, there is a very interesting story:

Once there was a man who had four wives. According to the social system and circumstances of ancient India, it was possible for a man to have several wives. Also, during the Heian period in Japan, about a thousand years ago, it was not unusual for a woman to have several husbands. The Indian had become ill and was about to die. At the end of his life, he felt very lonely and so asked the first wife to accompany him to the other world.

'My dear wife,' he said, 'I loved you day and night, I took care of you throughout my whole life. Now I am about to die, will you please go with me wherever I go after my death?'

He expected her to answer yes. But she answered, 'My dear husband, I know you always loved me. And you are going to die. Now it is time to separate from you. Goodbye, my dear.'

He called his second wife to his sickbed and begged her to follow him in death. He said, 'My dear second wife, you know how I loved you. Sometimes I was afraid you might leave me, but I held on to you strongly. My dear, please come with me.'

The second wife expressed herself rather coldly. 'Dear husband, your first wife refused to accompany you after your death. How can I follow you? You loved me only for your own selfish sake.'

Lying in his deathbed, he called his third wife, and asked her to follow him. The third wife replied, with tears in her eyes, 'My dear, I pity you and I feel sad for myself. Therefore I shall accompany you to the graveyard. This is my last duty to you.' The third wife thus also refused to follow him to death.

Three wives had refused to follow him after his death. Now he recalled that there was another wife, his fourth wife, for whom he didn't care very much. He had treated her like a slave and had always showed much displeasure with her. He now thought that if he asked her to follow him to death, she certainly would say no.

But his loneliness and fear were so severe that he made the effort to ask her to accompany him to the other world. The fourth wife gladly accepted her husband's request.

'My dear husband,' she said, 'I will go with you. Whatever happens, I am determined to be with you forever. I cannot be separated from you."

This is the story of 'A Man and His Four Wives.'

Gautama Buddha concluded the story as follows:
'Every man and woman has four wives or husbands. What do these wives signify?'

THE FIRST WIFE
The first 'wife' is our body. We love our body day and night. In the morning, we wash our face, put on clothing and shoes. We give food to our body. We take care of our body like the first wife in this story. But unfortunately, at the end of our life, the body, the first 'wife' cannot follow us to the next world. As it is stated in a commentary, 'When the last breath leaves our body, the healthy color of the face is transformed, and we lose the appearance of radiant life. Our loved ones may gather around and lament, but to no avail. When such an event occurs, the body is sent into an open field and cremated, leaving only the white ashes.' This is the destination of our body.

THE SECOND WIFE
What is the meaning of the second wife? The second 'wife' stands for our fortune, our material things, money, property, fame, position, and job that we worked hard to attain. We are attached to these material possessions. We are afraid to lose these material things and wish to possess much more. There is no limit. At the end of our life these things cannot follow us to death. Whatever fortune we have piled up, we must leave it. We came into this world with empty hands. During our life in this world, we have the illusion that we obtained a fortune. At death, our hands are empty. We can't hold our fortune after our death, just as the second wife told her husband: 'You hold me with your ego-centered selfishness. Now it is time to say goodbye.'

THE THIRD WIFE
What is meant by the third wife? Everyone has a third 'wife'. This is the relationship of our parents, sister and brother, all relatives, friends, and society. They will go as far as the graveyard, with tears in their eyes. They are sympathetic and saddened...

Thus, we cannot depend on our physical body, our fortune, and our society. We are born alone and we die alone. No one will accompany us after our death.

THE FOURTH WIFE
Sakyamuni Buddha mentioned the fourth wife, who would accompany her husband after his death. What does that mean? The fourth 'wife' is our mind [or Alaya consciousness]. When we deeply observe and recognize that our minds are filled with anger, greed, and dissatisfaction, we are having a good look at our lives. The anger, greed, and dissatisfaction are karma, the law of causation. We cannot be separated from our own karma. As the fourth wife told her dying husband, 'I will follow you wherever you go.'"

Happy Birthday, Mama Mary!

2007-09-08T12:20:00.000+08:00

Today we celebrate the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Insofar as the Church fixes her conception as December 8, this would be exactly 9 months. I wonder how they came upon that date?

This celebration is important not only for the role that Mary played in the life of Jesus, but it is also significant in the Roman calendar. To my knowledge, there are only three whose nativity is celebrated: Jesus, Mary and John the Baptizer. All other saints are recalled only on their feast day[s], which usually corresponds to their earthly death/heavenly birthday.

To celebrate a nativity is a special mark, noting that these people were set aside from their birth as a dwelling of the Holy Spirit. With Jesus, God-become-Man, it goes without saying. With John, we have a scriptural reference in Luke to his indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When Elizabeth his mother heard Mary approach, John lept for joy in his mother's womb.

With Mary, we have sacred tradition. It seems fitting that we should "ponder these things in our heart" when it comes to Our Lady.

(Above text taken from The Maternal Optimist's Blog)

Let us keep in mind that while Mary is the perfect example of the fruits of Christ’s suffering and passion and also our spiritual mother given to us as such by Christ while on the cross, she is not God. She is worthy of praise and veneration, but not that worship we should only give to God. She is an intercessor at her son’s ear, but only he and his appointed minsters have the authority to forgive sins. Let's all keep this in mind.

God bless everyone!

Unforgettable Philippine TV Ads

2007-09-07T21:43:00.000+08:00

While watching TV tonight, the new Bench commercial appeared on screen with Richard Gomez as one of the celebrity-endorsers along with his spouse Lucy, Piolo, Bruce, Kim & Gerald, et al. He's still in a familiar scene -- he's on a boat rowing, just like the old Bench commercial, I think more than a decade ago.

This prompted me to browse YouTube for some oldies but goodies commercials of the Philippine TV. Thanks to the one who uploaded these vids, you made my day (and night) hehe

Some of my favorites are in this "compilation":

The last one with the "Goodbye, Carlo Hotdog Commercial" was so sikat during my elementary days... I can associate this ad with my good buddy, Kaloy. (Oi, Karl nag start na ko blogging hehe)

Truly, commercials we see today on TV have become better and better but there are those that we still love to see despite being outdated but when you play it even a hundred times, you'd never get tired of watching all over again.

Some of the more recent ads I've seen on local TV that caught my attention are the Makulay ang Buhay by Knorr:

This one is so COOL! The San Mig commercial with Jet Li and the Pambansang Kamao being surrounded by hot babes...

And who could forget this classic San Mig commercial?

Sabado nights! This has made Ina Raymundo one of the most sought-after local female celebrities during that time....

Another classic... This commercial was sikat circa 1987... I think I was still in Grade 1 that time (I was 5 years old then). We still used to have the Black & White TV with only two channels to tune in -- RPN and PTV (now NBN)... Take a look at these beauties from the 80's...

There are still lots of vids of classic ads online, just search for them at your own risk... hehe!

Hope you enjoyed this post... Don't forget to leave some comments. :-)

26K

2007-09-07T21:33:00.000+08:00

I'm not an avid viewer of ABS-CBN & Endemol's Kapamilya Deal or No Deal but I just love the 26K... Here's a clip of their ultimate entrance... Enjoy!

The music's great and the girls are just so gorgeous....

Farewell, Maestro....

2007-09-07T21:14:00.000+08:00

Farewell, Maestro Luciano, your voice lives on....

Fear Factor

2007-09-06T00:11:00.000+08:00

It's the 29th wedding anniversary of my Mommy and Papang...we had a simple dinner sa labas (sa labas ng bahay, literally hehe) under the moonlit sky.

After our meals and "bonding sessions", I went home alone (temporarily I'm living separately from my parents) riding my motorbike. The road leading to my place is dark. Good timing, the light emanating from my bike struck at a scarecrow, I almost lost my balance (exag! hehe).

I fear that I may have this fear of the dark phobia or nyctophobia which is common among people who often fear that something catastrophic may happen to them in the night.

In the darkness, we can’t see very well, and for me, who is particularly very imaginative, this is somewhat frightening. A pervading sense can build that something sinister is just out of sight and arm’s reach waiting for its moment to strike.

I searched over the internet for some information about phobias and voila... I was dumbfounded by the statement of this person named Ross Menzies who is a psychologist at the University of Sydney:

People don't die of a phobia. They get rapid heart rate and they get short of breath and it can feel awful...but that's as bad as it gets, basically. And people need to learn to confront their fears - it's the avoidance of the bad feeling that maintains the fear over years or a lifetime.

Somewhat true.

I concur.

A Tribute to Pepe

2007-09-05T15:50:00.000+08:00

As the first visitor to leave a comment, this is some sort of "tribute" hehe!

See those letters behind? Ka Pepe: Isang Pagpupunyagi... I let those students perform a dance number for Pepe... hehe!

Nah, I just saw these pics from my laptop, I remembered watching this rehearsal a few days ago.

One

2007-09-05T00:30:00.000+08:00

One -- my very first entry for blogspot.com.

The title sounds like "Juan" -- the name that Maria Nina Teresita Salud Aseniero Dalman (yes, that's her real name! :-) ) "baptized" the blogger during their first few days as freshmen at law school, circa 2005. Since then, most of their fellas have been calling him by that name.

My first attempt at blogging is somewhat upsetting due to some glitches I encountered with my Friendster blog wherein there are certain times when I desired to post some of my thoughts online yet the link does lead me to nowhere.

Anyways, I'm back to square one here.

I just came from a birthday party where I was not invited (LOL). If only my tummy could speak, it would have told me to take a halt as the "inbox" has become "full" and there is "no space for new messages". Hehe! I know...but necessity knows no law. It there's someone or something to be blamed for this craving, it's the 3-hour midterm examination in Civil Procedure that we took earlier this evening.

Tomorrow, we will be having another examination, this time Wills & Succession, still to be administered by Judge Garcia. Yet, up to this moment (it's already 1:20 am) I'm still facing the laptop display wishing that a friend would go online and chat with me as I'm bored facing the illustration-less books of law. Haha!

Wish me luck!