Rest In Peace and Thank You President Corazon C. Aquino

artwork by KDLIG



SALAMAT...



Ipinagmamalaki ko na ako ay isang Pilipino.

Bright Lights

The Aurora Borealis

Auroras are natural light displays in the sky which are usually seen on night skies on the polar regions. In northern latitudes the effect is known as the Aurora Borealis named by Pierre Gassendi after Aurora the Roman goddess of the dawn and Boreas the Greek name for north wind. The southern counterpart of the northern lights is Aurora Australis.

As a curious child I loved burying my nose in books and many things have fascinated me. I have read and fantasized about this phenomenon of lights even though I knew since then that I will never see it unless I go to the places where they can be seen...the places near the poles!

Someday...someday... for now I'll just look at photographs of the beautiful bright lights...

MY Quarter

Where can you find two great people situated opposite each other for eternity?  Only on a coin... an American quarter dollar specifically...

George Washington and Helen Keller can be found on an Alabama quarter.  I happened to find this coin in my purse yesterday and I don't friggin' know how it got there.  Maybe somebody gave it to me as change.  I don't know who...  

I was just amazed with the words on the coin... LIBERTY on one side...COURAGE on the other.  Words that describe what these two great people possessed and fought for when they were still living.  

Why did the quarter come into my possession?  To remind me to have courage in order to fight for liberty?  On what ground?  On what war?  On what situation?  I don't really know...

I am keeping the quarter...  Maybe the greatness of Keller and Washington will rub off on me...someday...someday...

Camiguin Weekend

Last weekend I went to Camiguin with a LOT of people, my mother, and my sister. I never had much sleep the night before and I thought the trip will be canceled because it was raining hard until dawn. Anyway, everything went according to plan and I had fun. It was not a lot of fun but it was fun in its own way.

The trip to and from Camiguin Island was done the old fashioned way. From the Agora Bus Terminal in Cagayan de Oro we headed to the municipality of Balingoan and from there went aboard the ferry and sailed to the island. Once we got to the island we headed to Mambajao where our temporary residence was located. After a festive lunch, we rested a bit and then went from one tourist spot to another.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening of Saturday riding the hired bus (with a kamikaze driver tsk tsk) jumping from Walkway to the Sunken Cemetery to the Old Church Ruins of Cotta Bato to the Soda Pool to the Sto. Niño Cold Spring to Ardent Hibok-hibok Hot Spring. We didn't have much fun at Ardent though because it rained hard and the power went out! We went "home" and slept the night away... All of us were dead tired.

Come Sunday morning the sky was cloudy and I thought it was going to rain again but it didn't! We rode a small motor-powered boat to White Island (which is actually a sandbar) and basked in the sun! After an hour we went back to the mainland taking with us some souvenirs and photos we took on the sandbar. Later on the troop scheduled a visit to Katibawasan Falls but my sister and I chose to stay in our room and prepared our stuff. After lunch we all headed home and spent 4 hours split on the ferry and in the bus. Around 6pm we finally reached our humble home.

What's good about that weekend getaway? A change of environment for less than 48 hours. Hey it's better than being stuck the whole weekend in the same place you are stuck for a long time.

The downside? We never got to explore the island on our own. It's not nice touring with a large group, believe me!

The past two days were both fun and not fun but one thing is for sure, I'm going back to Camiguin and see its real beauty...at my own pace...without having to worry about being left by a bus...and hopefully with no rain!!!

Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this and this gives life to thee. -Sonnet 18, William Shakespeare

Color My World

I took this pic last night before I TRIED to draw something nice (it turned up ugly). The pencils are proof that I have been quite lazy with drawing and stuff. Would you believe that these darlings are in my possession for more or less four years??? They don't look like they have been used often.

These babies are actually Ian's "old stuff" and he sent them over so I can make use of them. Well I haven't!!! Somebody told me I should refresh my memory and tell my hands that there had been a time I knew how to draw...

Hmmm maybe I knew how...maybe I THOUGHT I knew how but actually I DON'T... Tsk tsk...

I quote one of my heroes: "Believe it or not, I can actually draw." -- Jean Michel Basquiat

Lessons from Buddha

A friend on StumbleUpon sent me this pic as one of his stumbles. I almost wept when I've read the text. Please click the pic if you want a better view of the text.

Why all the drama? The text reminds us to find ourselves in our own beliefs; to not give a damn about what other people say or think about certain things but only believing in what we believe in and to stand up for those beliefs until our last breath...

Nothing But Water

When I went to Metro Manila the other week, we visited the Manila Ocean Park so that Gweny (and us) can see some of the treasures of the ocean in the Oceanarium of the complex. It was a fun and interesting learning experience. Too bad I didn't take good pics... I forgot to set the cam to underwater mode... tsk tsk...

The Philippines is rich in marine life. Let's all help in preserving our seas by acting responsibly towards our environment.

The Herb

Cannabis sativa is an annual plant in the Cannabaceae family. It is an herb that has been used throughout recorded history by humans for various purposes such as fiber, for its oil, and as food, as a drug, as medicine, and for spiritual purposes. Different parts of the plant have different uses, and different varieties are cultivated in different ways and harvested at different times, depending on the purpose for which it is grown.

Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi/Sanskrit गांजा gānjā, hemp),is a psychoactive drug extracted from the plant Cannabis sativa, or more often, Cannabis sativa subsp. indica. The herbal form of the drug consists of dried mature flowers and subtending leaves of pistillate (female) plants. The resinous form, known as hashish, consists primarily of glandular trichomes collected from the same plant material. The major biologically active chemical compound in cannabis is Δdelta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly referred to as THC.

Humans have been consuming cannabis since prehistory,although in the 20th century there was a rise in its use for recreational, religious or spiritual, and medicinal purposes. It is estimated that about four percent of the world's adult population (162 million) use cannabis annually and 0.6 percent (22.5 million) daily. The possession, use, or sale of psychoactive cannabis products became illegal in most parts of the world in the early 20th century. Since then, some countries have intensified the enforcement of cannabis prohibition while others have reduced the priority of enforcement.

Medical cannabis refers to the use of the Cannabis plant as a physician-recommended herbal therapy as well as synthetic THC and cannabinoids. So far, the medical use of cannabis is legal only in a limited number of territories, including Canada, Belgium,Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, Finland and some U.S. states. This usage generally requires a prescription, and distribution is usually done within a framework defined by local laws.

There are many studies regarding the use of cannabis in a medicinal context.

Cannabis has an ancient history of ritual usage as an aid to trance and has been traditionally used in a religious context throughout the old world. Herodotus wrote about early ceremonial practices by the Scythians, which are thought to have occurred from the 5th to 2nd century BC. In India, it has been engaged by itinerant sadhus for centuries, and in modern times the Rastafari movement has embraced it. Anthropologist Sula Benet claimed historical evidence and etymological comparison show that the Holy anointing oil used by the Hebrew contained cannabis extracts, "kaneh bosm," and that it is also listed as an incense tree in the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts of the Old Testament. The early Christians used cannabis oil for medicinal purposes and as part of the baptismal process to confirm the forgiveness of sins and "right of passage" into the Kingdom of Heaven. The Unction, Seal, laying on of hands, the Counselor, and the Holy Spirit are all often synonymous of the Holy anointing oil.

Early Gnostic texts indicate that the Chrism is essential to becoming a "Christian." Some Muslims of the Sufi order have used cannabis as a tool for spiritual exploration.

There are a lot of bad and good feedback on Cannabis. Want to share your ideas?

Feedback welcome. :D

Up There

More than thirty thousand feet above the ground, a tear fell down my cheek... Those places in the dream where the encounters were supposed to happen I've set foot on...but the person to experience that ritual with and the tools, were nowhere in sight...

Sharks

Are you one of them???

Effects of Cold Water

I saw this image as I was surfing the net earlier today. I am not sure if it is 100% percent true but if I am going to base it on what my mother's doctor told her, then it must be.

The other week my mother had been taken to the doctor for a general check up because she had not been feeling well. After a series of tests, the renowned doctor (he is a notable doctor with a noble cause), he prescribed a bunch of medicines and told her to stop drinking cold water or drinks. He did not prohibit fatty food or such like other doctors do but only told her to stop drinking cold stuff and told her to take everything in moderation.

He got his point, too much of something can really kill!

What do you think? Do you believe that cold water has such effects on the body?

Hola 2009!

Hello World! Happy new year to everyone! Cheers to 2009! The year 2008 already came and went and even though it had not been perfect, it had been a good year for me.


So to all those who had been good, bad, and nevermind to me in 2008, cheers! Let bygones be bygones...

Ape Ape Hooray!

One Gorilla's Opinion
by
tom2001

It had been quite an eventful week and I have had my share of undesirable flu. Bevs suddenly sent the link to this image and at that moment I knew I'm going to post it here and here it is! Weeee!

The guy who took this photo swore he never manipulated the pic, no Photoshop, no bull... The ape got a tendon disease and the symbol stated by her middle finger is kind of a permanent condition on her hand. Either the middle finger sign was intended or not, I love the shot. Thanks for cooperating big ape!

Gorillas are the largest of the living primates and they are ground-dwelling herbivores who live in the forests of Africa (and in zoos tsk tsk!). The DNA of gorillas is said to be 98% to 99% identical to that of a human being and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the two chimpanzee species. Whaaaat??? Do you want to be called a relative of a gorilla??? Tsk tsk...

I remember seeing the movie Congo when I was in early high school and the domesticated gorilla in the film was quite smart, did American Sign Language and painted some stuff. Now I'm wondering if the film employed a real gorilla or a person in a gorilla suit... Maybe that gorilla in the movie is related to the gorilla in the pic above... Doing sign language stuff... LOL!

Anyway, I chose to post this photo because of the middle finger thingy... That's the whole point... Since I don't want to post my own ugly pic with my middle finger in the air, I'll just let this ape do her thing...

One big F**K YOU to FLU...




...and another one to some people out there who love sour graping because they didn't get what they want and they got crucified... tsk tsk... bato bato sa langit... :p

Riding With The Wind

When I'm sad, she comes to me
With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free
It's alright she says it's alright
Take anything you want from me,
anything.

Fly on little wing,
Yeah yeah, yeah, little wing


-Little Wing
by
Jimi Hendrix

Speed

Went to Kart Zone here in Cebu earlier this evening and went karting... well yeah that's me... and I realized once again that I should be banned to drive. My foot is quite heavy on the gas pedal. Maybe I'll run over someone... Hahahaha!

Well it was fun and my sister and cousins got addicted with the adrenalin rush and had more laps. I quit because I got frustrated with my so-called driving skills. Tsk tsk...

Yeah Baby!

Well, this was dinner earlier tonight at Casa Verde in Cebu City.

Boredom Loves Company

It's supposed to be "misery loves company" right? Since at the moment I don't feel miserable at all (thank goodness), I rounded up some of my multi-colored friends who are in sight since the others are already resting in peace in their homes.. Tsk tsk...

Thank heaven for yummy gummi friends...

Candles in the Wind

10 Nov, Monday, 10+ PM…

Odessa handed over the candles…

I lit the candles and said prayers…

1 for my family

1 for all my friends

1 for my beloved country

1 for the whole world

1 for love (of self and others)

Faith…

...the evidence of things not seen…

Beer Monks

Those green and brown stuff are empty beer bottles!!!

Who would have thought that Buddhist monks in Thailand’s Sisaket province will build a temple using a million beer bottles? The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple and its crematorium and washrooms are built with the combination of Heineken (green) and Chang (brown) beer bottles.

Another classic example of "One man's trash is another man's treasure"...