Why, Hello!: Flowers from Farmers Market, Cubao

Found one nice article when searching for information about where to buy fresh flowers and get the most of my resources! Nice read!



Why, Hello!: Flowers from Farmers Market, Cubao: Let me start this post by admitting that I do my fresh food shopping at our neighborhood Sunday market, so I had never been to Farmers Marke...

Goal

I will work hard to get you CPMA... 

The Start of the End: Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

24 January 2010
I have posted a blog entitled 'A Safer Haven for Bloggers: No More'.

There, I have made mention of the the 'Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2009', I believe it was H.B. 6794 that time. There have been other versions and now was passed into law last 12 September 2012 by Pres. Aquino.

It is now known as Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175.

The law's other provisions are beneficial. Except for the part that covers Internet Libel, where you can no longer express yourself in any form and venue over the internet.

The start of the end of freedom of expression in the Philippines. The start of the times when our mouths would have 'busals,' and our fingers, would have restraints.

I guess Pres. Aquino is trying to make another history - much worse than that of Marcos's Martial Law, which his late mother and former president, Cory Aquino fought for, believing that the Filipino people deserves freedom. The same freedom he has now allowed to be tainted and to be trampled upon with impunity by people who believed that their names don't deserved to be judged and spit upon.

Nonetheless, still many are not fooled. Just a few days ago, 9 October 2012, the Supreme Court has issued a TRO stopping its implementation - for 120 days.

And then what?

I need not quote the Constitution and our Bill of Rights just to say that I have justifications and contention.

It is my right to freely express myself, in any form.

I hope the new SC Chief Justice have enough guts to say know to her President and to the proponents of this law.

Revise it, fine. Just remove that part that denies us of our rights. And the very vague ones, where for sure those pathetic people have intentionally left out.

A Horizon

I suddenly am feeling daunted, and realized the misery of helplessly hoping for a phantom. People come and go but it pains the one who clings to those short lived memories. Josh Groban's "Awake" plummets with my feelings to the nether...

 

... But as his "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" started booming on my ear drums, my descent suddenly stopped; and the ascent started with the new resolve that those not so significant few are just a trickle on the vast ocean that a many more shares with me... 

 

... It is not a hopeless hoping after all.

 

A Safer Haven for Bloggers: No More

The Philippines was declared as one of the unsafest place for Journalists since the dawn of Marcos's Martial Law in 1986. The Arroyo government was worse - journalists' blood colors the waters around Malacañang Palace bloody red. The last most inhumane treatment of Journalists was still unsolved as of Press time, referring to the Maguindanao Massacre done in cold blood by the Ampatuans - fed by the bloody hands of Malacañang.

Then the past few days, another alarming case reached my interest through one of the wall posts from Rep. Liza Maza of Gabriela Women's Party-list:Maza raises questions on libel case filed against blogger. The blogger was named Ella who allegedly "exposed and criticized the DSWD’s alleged inability to deliver relief goods to typhoon victims and hoarding of relief items in its warehouses on October 21, 2009 at the height of relief operations for victims of tropical storm Ondoy," quoting Maza's statement on her website.

This fact is alarming. I have been a blogger for quite sometime now and oftentimes speaking my rage, sentiment, opinion on different issues that confront me as a citizen imbued with the right to freedom of speech and expression. To blog and speak against an entity - person or organization, who is known to the public as not different from what you are saying is now a ticket for you to stand before a judge and a court? Well, I don't think Ella is alone in her sentiments, isn't she? It is not only DSWD for chrissake.

Filipinos were never dumb Secretary Cabral. so don't make us one. Rep. Maza was correct - show us the facts and we will decide. But is it worth questioning is the question.

Now, with the new law that they are trying to pass in Congress - the CyberCrime Act, would things be worse than this?

Will there be no more safer haven for even us bloggers?

A Child's Birthday : My Birthday

I realized just now that I am aging. 7 days from now, I will be a year older.

It makes me think really deep; makes me contemplate on how my life has been for the past 21 years.

Not good enough. So many dreams unfulfilled - caused by quite a lot of misjudgments on my part and up until now, being debated inside me if they're something to be regretted...

I am a year older but everything in me would just not grow up.

I am still a child.

Out of Inspiration

When writing, I always look for an inspiration to write..

As of now, there is none. I don't know when one may come.. till then

soy un escritor de pluma-menos...

Tasty as Mom?!

I love bread. It's one of my favorite breakfast ever. Here in the Philippines, we have this habit of dipping our bread on hot coffee. We also have a very special brewed coffee locally made in Batangas, one of our provinces here and we call it Kapeng Barako (Barako Coffee). Barako is the Filipino term for the male stud of an animal, and has become associated with the image of a tough man. The most famous bread in the Philippines is pan de sal.

Well, going back, I just bought a loaf of bread from a bread station in one of the malls here in Naga City. And look what I found, and look closely in the pictures below and guess what might be wrong:



Did you find it? It's right there! The phrase that says "So good... like mom"! I was like, what the heck?! Do they really mean what I was thinking? I really thought about it a long time. Presenting different angles on how one will understand and take the phrase.

This is just one of the tragic results of the misusage of the English language. Maybe what they mean is this: "So good... just like Mom's homemade bread." At least they could have added the apostrophe s ('s) after the word mom: "So good... like mom's". At least with that, we can speculate that it is something that mom makes, which in this case, could be home baked bread. Or the best thing to be done here is complete the phrase. With the phrase "So good... like mom," the only meaning I can think of is this: The bread is as tasteful as my mom. What a very dirty phrase, right? I was trying to find a way to at least point that out to them. I just remember this when I was browsing through my phone and found these pictures. Maybe I am just wrong with my analyzation here. Here is the manufacturer of the bread being supplied to that mall:

Disclaimer: This is just my inquisitive mind inquiring. No intentions of destroying someone's reputation :-).

Vocation

The bird is standing by to eat this starving child. This picture was voted as the best journalistic photography many years ago. And the photographer later committed suicide because of his emotional breakdown attaching to his own work.
(The pictures and texts are courtesy of Suwan Victor Juntiwasarakij's blog ~ click picture to visit his blog)

The other day, while on board the multicab (our local mode of trasporation) on my way home, I feel so tired because I just finished my shift which was graveyard shift, just like everyday. I was so sleepy as well. Nonetheless, the mother and her el niño (little boy) didn't fail to catch my attention. The little boy has an unusual body swelling. The mother was trying to remove the morning glory in her child's eyes and the child was trying to push away her hand. It was a very nice picture of them two. The little boy's face especially was swollen, and his eye bugs drooping down because of the swelling. He seems to be having some breathing difficulty as well. Such an innocent child. He was too young to know pain, nor to define it and worse, to experience it. Children like him seems to melt my heart out of pity for them, that I hate looking out of the window of the bus when going home at night when I was still in Manila. You will see homeless street children sleeping in line on the side street pavements, with carton boxes as their bunks. We're not rich ourselves but I can't help to think myself as very fortunate and feel great pity for them.

Long before, I have felt in my heart the need to help them in the future. Maybe join an organization which has a genuine intention of helping children like that little boy. Or even put up one myself. Thinking about the little boy made me teary eyed. I have still little siblings and I always cry thinking about them experiencing the same. I just can't imagine it, and I will never permit it. Only if I can do the same to all suffering children.

Even pictures of suffering children or those children in war pictures would always crush my heart. I always have these questions in my head and heart every time I am seeing these sufferings:
Why are these things permitted?
Who's the cause of all of these?
Why is our governments doing nothing?
Why do most of us become selfish and uncaring?
What can we do to end them all?
When will all of these end?
Et cetera, et cetera.

So many questions, but so few are the answers. So many dreams, but so few have the courage to make those dreams a reality. Including me. When will I answer the call that I do so often hear, I don't know.

Still so many crossroads. A lot of roads still untraveled. The path to my vocation seems too far but already, within sight.



I have posted Michael Jackson's song, Heal The World because this is the most appropriate song for this post and a personal favorite of mine. This song never fails to move me and as well as mist my eyes. This is for me the most inspirational song that I have ever heard.

This is as well a tribute for MJ, forever the King of Pop, in spite of the controversies that surrounded him. Rest in Peace MJ. You will forever be remembered through your Music.

Praying for Emma Rose

As I was browsing for other pages here in Blogger, I accidentally stumble upon this attractive blog about an innocent and little angel who doesn't fully understand pain to suffer it. Upon opening the page, the header is that of the picture of that little girl angel and her name, Emma Rose, and the description of what she's going through right now, that says:

"Emma Rose was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (now known as Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis) in September, 2008 at 18 months. Follow our journey as we live the ups and downs of JIA)."

The one who created the blog is her very courageous mother. I admire her mother so much because in spite of it all, she remains strong, along with her family. Though I cannot speak for her about the pain she might be going through with her daughter's ordeal. Emma Rose is taking more medicine than I ever took in my 21 years so far, one to prevent the inflammation from becoming worse. Now, since I can't really give her a material donation, I am helping out in my little way, which is posting her picture button in the four blogs that I am managing. So if you want to know more and get details, just click on button in my page or the one above. That's one little way of ours to help her out.

If only we can help all children. They're too young to understand pain, much more to suffer them.

Joe Jonas doing Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)

Well, this was kind of hilarious and as they put it, awesome. Yeah, for me, Joe Jonas' masculinity was never compromised. He was sport to their fans' requests and he did great. Well, watch the video, salivate for his muscular thighs and prominent butt, yeah, watch out for his butt people :-D... This is awesome, and I love you Joe Jonas!!!

A Child's Mute Cry for Peace

I just finished watching Discover Channel's Indochine: A People's War in Colour II. I really was dumbstruck by the presentation. I believe the first part was during the French colonialism and war against the Japanese while the second part, the one I was able to watch, was under the Americans. It (2nd part) retold the Vietnamese peoples' struggle, anguish, patriotism and hate against foreign interventions, sharpened by past experiences with the French and Japanese. The Vietnamese people were primarily led by the VietCom thru influence from the North. While the pictures and the footage were rolling, on the background, you will hear the explanations and accounts of first-hand witnesses along with the narrator. Very disturbing pictures were shown, of slain VietCom (though it was emphasized in the documentary that the Americans along with Australians, New Zealanders, and South Koreans, have branded all South Vietnamese as VietComs even before arriving), people forced to leave their houses, villagers living underground, children laughing, learning and anguishing, and a lot more, mostly disturbing and outrageous pictures and videos.

One of my favorite part was when a first-hand medical person was narrating how they moved underground just to be able to operate. They'd never leave their patients and let them die alone.

One witness recalls how the South Koreans and some Vietnamese (those who have waged war against their own people) raped their women and did "more outrageous things." Depicted as well were how captured VietComs were tortured and forced to confessions (eventually killed we could guess).

Furthermore shown were slow motion videos of jets as they dropped bombs on all houses that lay on it's path. These air raids were authorized by then U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. A witness recalled how one of their shelters with five women in it was bombed. Only one woman was recognizable. There was that one woman who was hugging her dead child very hard that that they were unable to separate them.

It was really morale boosting how the Vietnamese retaliated against the U.S. and foreign forces, of women fighting, especially those women on the North whose husbands were fighting in the South. The Vietnamese had their share of violence of course, when they have these American pilot captives, whom they as well punished, before their authorities, though the citizens wanted to kill them right there and then, fueled by anger, by anguish of their loved ones lost. How they as well tortured those pilots through solitary confinement, physical torture and hunger. I however, don't know who did the worse evil when it came to torturing their captives.

One man witness even recalled how she got his wife's letter only after 2 years, and all he can do by then is kiss it because the writings were unreadable. It was so because the letters have to be hand carried by soldiers from the South through Cambodia and Laos before they reach their destinations in the North. That means going through rivers and everything.

But even after the Americans and all its allies left beaten, the war continued in the South, this time preventing the Communist North from taking over totally, which eventually the North was able to do later on.

What really touched me most was the crying child at the end of the documentary, with bombs exploding in the not so far background behind him literally. It was the most silent yet loudest and hardest message, or more of an appeal to all people. Stop this selfish fights. END WARS!

PEACE!!!

Itinerary

Whether we accept it or not, but it is a bitter truth that we just can't go to all places in the whole world, even in our whole lifetime. I don't know, but I've never heard of someone who was able to visit all countries, cities and towns in the whole world. The truth is, we might have never even visited the town next to ours, or the state, or city or province, whichever applies to you. However, I am putting here the places where I'd want to go to (really would want to go to) in my lifetime. The main reasons for such choices are:

• the history they hold and preserve
• the beauty of them that life will not be life if we will not see them, literally
• the friends whom I met and loved (people with whom I interacted in person, those whom I met in the internet, etc.)

Without further adieu, here are the places I'd like to visit, or should visit I should say:

1. Seattle, Washington
2. California
3. Rome, Italy
4. Jerusalem
5. Mexico
6. Belgium
7. Lourdes, France
8. Spain
9. New York
10. England
11. the Netherlands
12. Australia
13. China
14. Hong Kong
15. Taiwan
16. Indonesia
17. Malaysia
18. Thailand
19. South America
20. Every Province in the Philippines

Well, that's the initial list... And I haven't fulfilled even a single one of them yet. That's understandable Al, because you just made the list you know :-)...

The list is lengthening, so better get going Al!

$1.00 Elephant Behind The Back

While rummaging through my wallet, I found all sort of stuffs which are so important to me that throwing them away would mean slicing off a part of me, a very important part of my past which defines me as I am now, and who knows, will define the future me as well. There was the small plastic pouch with the tissue papers neatly folded, with my friends' signatures. We scribbled our signatures on those tissue papers when we were together in our favorite place in Legazpi City. It is a small and cozy Chinese restaurant where the foods are great and as well as cheap. Such memory.

But the thing that brings back a lot of happy memories is the $1 USD neatly folded so it looked like an elephant. It was so perfectly folded so that the "Illuminati" symbol accidentally became the eyes of the elephant. Nice right? And the other interesting thing about that is that, it was folded by a very good friend behind his back, without looking at it, just feeling it while he folded it to that perfect elephant dollar.


In Summer of 2007, students from Garfield High School in Seattle, WA went to our University as part of their mission to impart technology. The organization's name is Global Technology Academy. Well, it was a very memorable experience. I volunteered to be an exchange student, to body up with one of their students as well. My brother's name is Conor McBride, a tall guy with curly golden hair and deep eyes. He's so techy and kind, and really have a lot of stories to tell. The 1$ bill was his. While the one who did the folding is his colleague, Sam Levine. Ah, the most intelligent and full of humor guy. We communicate with each other through Facebook and Email as well.

+++---***---+++

Rain

It's already Summer here in the Philippines. But one lazy and usual afternoon, while waiting for our service in the park, an everyday routine, the rain suddenly pour down. Even when were on our way to the site in the company bus, the rain was till pouring down. I don't know how many times I said this, but I love the rain.

That rain the other day in particular made me think of something memorable. It has a distinct smell. I opened the window on my side, and I did smell the rain. It's like the odor of a freshly cut tree. I can vividly see in my mind our small property in one of the forest in my hometown, where we would usually spend time with our father, bonding with him, as he's the one taking care of it from time to time. I could see the trees with their sap flowing freely whenever the Bolo hits their trunk, flowing to the ground. As we let them down to dry under the sun.


I can see as well in my mind the dry rivers snaking through our parcel of land, all the way from the perfect coned Mayon Volcano. The stones, small and big alike looked ancient. They're still on the state of unbecoming. Mosses all over some of them. Ferns protruding from the banks. Their hairy young shoots looks very much attractive and inviting. The dry sands are so good to lie on, warmed by the day's sunshine. But one thing I do not dare do is wander and look under stones, fearing that snakes might be lurking from somewhere.



Looking around you will see the sun's rays piercing through the overgrowth, through the trees, golden sunset rays. Owls and other birds are singing in chorus, as if challenging the other. (Sigh..)


Ah, childhood memories.. How I wish they're within grasp all the time...

Century Tuna - Superbods

Century Tuna - Superbods

Posted using ShareThis

The brother of a friend and colleague of mine is joining this competition and I believe that he deserves to win, so I am posting this here as a way to express my support.

One view will be one vote for him. I thank you all in advance!

When Can One Say That He's Not Gay?

I had this experience when I began to ask myself that question, when can one say that he's not gay. A networking page, the profle picture is the sexiest that he can appear, a photo album which all the pictures are nude men, groups they're affiliated are all gay / gay oriented groups, in a relationship with a gay.

It's just like bullshit that he will say that he's not gay. What a crap! Am I really afflicted by such worse idiocy, that I will not connect things in such logical sense? A logic that will point to none other than the fact that he's gay. Duh!

Maybe this is just caused by some sleep deprivation or something. Maybe from stress or blemish from some "selfish, imbecile, and good-for-nothing" inklings.

***Sigh*** -- take note, a long sigh.

I got to sleep.

When your faithfulness is being challenged...

Sometimes, we meet people whom we never know will be an important factor in the continuance of our existence. People, whom we met in a very unusual place, to whom we fell into, almost unexpectedly, and suddenly, we just found out that we can't live without that person. But since you met that person in that very unsusual place, you won't easily believe the things that he will tell you, though you know inside you that he is sincere and that he cares and needs you as much as you cared and needed him. You will exchange "I love you"s and know within yourself that you are sincere with that love and that he too feels the same thing for you. Yet, we sometimes cannot escape from destiny's claws, that she will challenge us, to prove our worth. But even though things and circumstances say that he is not serious, still you hold on to his words that he love you, and then just try to console yourself with things and thoughts like, "he was just busy", "he was sick", or "i am just becoming too possessive and paranoial". Still, we continue to love him despite of the misgivings and "he continue to disregard me" thoughts, almost unselfishly. And sooner, it will be known to us, that our sacrifices and waiting were not in vain, for our thoughts are true, and that we were ableto hold on. Then total satisfaction, and unfathomable happiness brought about by a faithful love,

will soon follow...

¡Soy tanto en amor con usted mi bebé!

¡Te quiero!

Keno - A Friend Lyrics

I've still been searching
And long have I waited
For someone to like me as me
To laugh with
To cry with
To be just beside with
A friend that's who I need

To fight with
Make up with
To know that you need them
Believing that they need you, too
To walk hand in hand with
To argue to talk with
A friend that's who I need

And even though
I make mistakes
And never do anything right
A smile, a hug
Can change all that
And everything will be alright

Someone who'll share all my dreams and ambitions
Someone who'll love me as me
I need this person
Someone to rely on
A friend that's who I need

A friend that's who I need

This is my all time favorite song. When I was in high school, i lived in a dormitory in an all-boys school, and it is really very lonely there at first, but fortunately, I was able to cope up with the loneliness later on. And considering the discriminations that I get from my colleagues, add up to that loneliness which almost engulfed my being, and almost became hate. Also, the real me, has been my problem too. Not so many were able to accept me as who I am (the usual) and it add up to that heap of daunting experiences and feelings. So, during those times, this song really touched my heart and my being, and now, it still does. I can say that I am still looking for that Adam who will accept me as who I am. I had encountered many, unfortunately, they are not my Adams. I am hoping that I finally find the right one for me. So that, I may stop singing this song, though I have no intentions of doing so. I believe, that our everyday life is a constant search for the perfect thing, for the perfect experience, a state of bliss.

Where are you?

¿Dónde está Usted?

¿Dónde?

Sorry, I Love You: Nun-yi-kkot (SnowFlower)

Nunye Ggot Lyrics (Sorry, I love you OST / MISA)

Onu-sae ki-ro-jin ku-rim-ja-rul tta-ra-so
Ttag-gom-i-jin o-tumsogul kudae-wa kotgu inneyo
Sonul machujapgo ku-onjae-kkajirado
Hamkke-in-nun gol manuro
Nunmuri nanungolyo

Parami chara-wochinun mankum
Kyowurun kag-ga-wo oneyo
Chogumsshik i-gori guwiru
Kudae-rul ponae-yahaet-don kyejori uneyo

Chigum orhae-yi chonnung-golchul parapabo
Hamkke innu-nisungane
Nae-modungol dangshingge jugoshipo
Iron gasume kudae-ranayo
Yakhagiman han naega ani-eyo
Irohke gudael sarang-hanun-dae
Kujo nae-mami i-rolppunin-gojyo

Ku-dae-gyo-chi-ramyon
tto oddoni-ri-radu
halsu-i-ssul-komman gata / kuron gipumi tuneyo
unuri jinago ddo-onjegga-jirado
uri sarang-yong-won-hagil
Gido hanu-i-ssoyo

Parami naye chang-ul hun-dulgo
Odu-un pammajo kkae-umyon
Kudae apun giolmachodo
Nae-ga da chiwochulkkeyo
Hwanhan ku misoro

Kkutobshi nae-rinun sae-hayan nunggut-dulro
Uri koddon i koriga
Onu-sae pyonhan gotdo morununche
Hwanhan bichuro mulduro-kayo
Nugungal wihyae nan sara-gan-nayo
Mu-woshidul da hae-chugo shipun
Irol-ke sa-rangin-jul pwae-wossoyo

Hung-shi gudae-in-nun gododin-ji arat-damyon
Kyo-ulpam pyori dwae gu-dael bicho-ssul-tende
Utdon naldo nun-mure jochodon sulpun bamedo
Onjena gu onjena
Gyote issol-kkeyo

Chigum orhae-yi chonnung-golchul parapomyon
Hamkke innu-nisun-gane
Nae-modungol dangshinke chugoshipo
Iron gasume kudae-ranayo
Ul-ji-marayo
narul parapwayo
gucho gudaeye gyoteso
hamkke itgo shipun mam ppunirago
tashin kudael nohchi anhulkkeyo

kkutobshi nae-rimyo uril kamssa-on
korigadulkhan nunkotsokeso
kudaewa naegasume chogumsshik
jakun chu-o-gul kurineyo
yongwanhi naegyote kudae issoyo

_________________

SnowFlower
English Translation by: Jungie (from www.aheeyah.com)

Suddenly as I followed your growing shadow
I was walking with you inside darkness.

As we hold hands until whenever that might be
Just being together makes me cry.

As the wind becomes colder, winter comes closer.
Little by little, on this path, comes the season when I had to let you go.

As I watch the first snowflowers of this year right now,
In this moment that we share together, I want to give you my all.
Do you know of my heart?

I wasn’t always so weak, I’m loving you like this but
that’s all my heart can do.

If I was by your side, no matter what the task may be
I feel as if I can do it. I get that feeling.

When the wind rattles my window and even the dark night awakens,
I’ll erase even all your painful memories.
With that bright smile.

With these white snowflowers falling endlessly,
The sidewalk that we are walking on glows with a bright light,
without even knowing that it’s changed.

Have I lived on for someone else?
Wanting to do everything for them, I learned that that was love.

If by chance I knew where you were,
I would’ve become a star in the winter sky and shined on you.

Even on days when you laugh and sad nights that are damp with tears,
I’ll be by yourside always, whenever that may be.

As I watch the first snowflowers of this year right now,
In this moment that we share together, I want to give you my all.
Do you know of my heart?

Don’t cry, look at me.
All I want to do is be together with you by your side.
I won’t let you go this time.

Inside the snowflowers that fill this path and shower on us endlessly,
little by little, small memories are being drawn inside our hearts
Forever by my side you are there.