Friday, March 27, 2009

L-O-V-E

Let love be your greatest aim. - Bible

Love means to love that which is unlovable,
or it is no virtue at all; forgiving means to pardon
that which is unforgivable, or it is no virtue at
all - and to hope means hoping when things
are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. - GK Chesterton

Love without criticism brings stagnation,
and criticism without love brings destruction. - Selected

Love is a short word, but it contains everything. - Guy de Maupassant

Love looks forward, hate looks back, anxiety
has eyes all over its head - Mignon Mclaughlin

Love blinds us to faults, hatred to virtues - Moshe ibin Ezra

When love and skill work together expect a masterpiece. - Ruskin

A man falls in love through his eyes, a woman
through her ears. Woodrow Wyatt

When two people love each other, they don't look
at each other; they look in the same direction. - Ginger Rogers

We are born to love. It is the principle of
existence, and its only end. - Benjamin Disraeli

If you judge people, you will have no time
to love them. - Mother Teresa

Thursday, March 26, 2009

FATHER

The most important thing a father can do for
his children is to love their mother - Theodore M. Hesburg

A father who will encourage his children in
pursuing as many of their goals as possible, and
who will get on his kid's bandwagon in such a
fashion can make a crucial differences in their
lives. - Alan Loy Mcginnis


STREET FOOD 101

What You Know And What You Don't!

STREET FOODS, who wouldn't want to get a taste of them? they're cheap,easily accessible and yummy; the perfect combination. But are they really as great or as safe as they appear?

THE LEGENDARY "KWEK-KWEK!"
Dirt cheap at P6.oo with free vinegar sauce and thinly sliced pickled cucumber. However, eating eggs more than three times a day will give you excess cholesterol. Plus,proper food preparation and sanitation are questionable.

REVENGE OF THE CHICKENS: CHICKEN SKIN AND CHICKEN "BUTT"
For P5.oo you get five butts in a stick,and P5.oo for 1 small supot of crispy chix skin.However,eating too much saturated fat is not healthy,not to mention food sanitation.

THE SUMPTUOUS PORK BARBECUE
Cheap grilled meat priced at P6.oo per stick.For sure we won't like the idea of Hypertension and Cancer in the future,right?

THIRST-QUENCHING BUKO JUICE
At P5.oo per small cup,Buko juice is good for UTI treatment,However, that may not be the case with the buko juice sold in the streets,because it has more water than coconut juice.

THE ZIG-ZAG ISAW
As you may already know, intestines, be it chicken, human or the likes, contain food and fecal matter.

I am not telling you to avoid these food. I am not telling you what to eat and what not to but I do hope that with this newfound knowledge, you would be able to choose what you eat more wisely. Being healthy is not solely about taking vitamins, but watching what you eat and making sure what you eat is safe.If the possibility of having Hepatitis A,Amoebiasis,Diarrhea,Cancer or Food poisoning does not discourage you, then by all means go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Skinny On CALORIES

Being beautiful these days meant being lean and thin. Beacuse of this, there is an increasing pressure on men and especially women, to conform to society's standards of beauty. Many have engaged in rigorous exercise to fight the bulge. Others still have jumped into the latest diet fads, took diet pills and even skipped meals entirely just to lose weight.
There is a long and winding list of tips and tricks that guarantee the shedding of extra pounds, but how true are these? It's time to separate fact and fiction.


Myth 1: "If you want to lose weight, avoid carbohydrates
Myth 2: "Skipping meals helps you lose weight."
Myth 3: "Food eaten after dark equals addition fat."
Myth 4: "Sweating is a good way to lose weight."
Myth 5: "Drinking fruit juice helps you burn fat."

So what is the real secret behind losing weight and keeping pounds off? Experts agree that the surefire way to be fit and slim is through good old exercise and eating healthy.There are no shortcuts to losing weight. After all, as they say, no pain, no gain.

Harry Potter Casts His Final Spell

Twelve years ago, J.K. Rowling introduced us to Harry Potter, The scrawny eleven year old boy with the lightning-shaped scar who lived under the spider-infested cupboard at Privet Drive. In the past six books, we've seen him face a three-headed dog, attend a death day party, travel back in time, take on a Hungarian Horntail dragon, experience his first kiss and come face to face with the evil incarnate himself,Lord Voldemort. It has been a fun and fascinating journey into the wizarding world. With the seventh book out, we get to see the grand finale, the conclusion to the epic tale of the The Boy Who Lived.
The Deathly Hollows is packed with action and suspense. The duels and encounters are very nicely written and well-described that you could vividly imagine the scenes as if you were actually watching a movie. All the narrow escapes, close calls and various twists get your pulse racing and keep you glued to the book.It's fast-paced and exciting, always making you wonder what's in store for Harry and his friends. Every turn of the page brings a mixture of trepidation and anticipation, and at the back of your mind you can't help but wonder who will die next, what the mysteries meant and whether Harry or Voldemort will triumph in the end.
Reading the last book left a bittersweet feeling. It was like saying goodbye to an old friend but at the same time I was happy that an epic story was finally coming full circle. Reading the first few chapters gave off a feeling of nostalgia. There were so many elements from the previous books that Rowling made references of:
Harry's first snitch, the "Potter Stinks" badge, his "I must not tell lies" scar and Sirius' mirror, among many others. In addition, lots of characters from previous books make their reappearance. It felt like the remaining puzzle pieces have been finally put in place and you can see how all the elements from the seven books are interconnected. Most loose ends were tied. But there were things, I presumed, that Rowling decided should be left to the reader. Overall, I loved the final book. Yes, admittedly some questions were left unanswered but it was a fantastic ending to a wonderful series. Indeed, in the end, all was well.

MOTHERS

Some are kissing mothers and some are
scolding mothers, but it is love just the same.
and most mothers kiss and scold together.
- Pearl S. Buck

Though a mother stays home and keeps her
house clean, it is still not a home unless she creates
the right spirit in the house. It is the atmosphere
created primarily by the mother that makes a
home worthwhile. - Bookhoff

A mother is...one who can take the place of
all others, but whose place no one else can
take - G. Mermillod

The mothers heart is the child's
schoolroom - HW Beecher

When mothers boast their babies are too
cute for words, we doubt them, for then they'll
take five hundred words to tell us about
them - Walt Streightiff

The Truth Behind Health Supplement

Food supplements are quickly becoming popular nowadays. From the tv and radio, flyers and billboards, and every other conceivable space visible to the public, food supplement commercials are everywhere, promising good health, miracle cures and long life.But what are food supplements? Do they prevent or cure certain diseases? Is it similar to that of a drug? And is there really a need to take food supplements?
BETTER WARY THAN SORRY
USA's Federal Trade Commission, as part of their campaign to alert consumers against fraudulent health care products, advices consumers to be suspicious of:
- Claims that the product is "natural" or "non-toxic". since this do not necessarily mean safe. Some supplements can contain potent stimulants or cause harmful drug interaction with other medicines.
- Testimonials from people who claim amazing results, as those testimonials are often undocumented and are not a substitute for scientific proof.
- Claims that a product is a "scientific breakthrough," "miraculous cure," "secret cure," or "ancient remedy."
- Claims that a product is an effective cure for a wide range of ailments. Claims that use impressive-sounding medical terms.

Many supplements in the market today present consumers with the claims mentioned above. To avoid becoming a victim of health frauds, it is important to learn how to asses health claims and seek the advise of health professionals.The best advise for consumers is to be smart and be skeptical.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.
- Indira Gandhi

Most people have a desire to look at the
exception instead of the desire to become
exceptional - John Maxwell

Our attitudes control our lives; attitudes
are a secret power working twenty-four hours
a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount
importance that we know how to harness and
control this great force. - Charles Simmons

Filipino Politics

Several alections have passed that I remained a spectator . I just let other people decide for my country while I complain about their choices along the way. A few years ago, I decided to spare myself from the hustles of voting because I already lost faith on both the candidates and the electorates.I ended up lamenting why such unprincipled and unexperienced politicians were chosen to run the government for the next few years. Indeed, I have to live with the consequences of my actions and decisions.
The famous trial of former President Estrada gave me some insights into the limitations of human rationality, it's implications on the decisions we make and it's long-term effects. Why do we elect someone in the basis of personality alone? We go for self-styled messiahs denouncing corruption and promising economic sufficiency and political equality. Yes, they introduce a virtually strong and coherent political platform but the problem is HOW will they be able to fulfill those lofty promises? In the end, the power will still lie upon to the voters, because it is up to them to discern the soundness of the politician's platforms and their ability to accomplish.
The Philippines still has a long way to go. Let us hope that education can really rebuild our society. And to those who have or are currently receiving good education, let us take part in political exercises such as elections because only with accurate information, sound judgment and rational decisions can we practice principled politics and hope that these could lead to the advancement of our nation.

ACTION

Our grandest business undoubtedly
is not to see what lies dimly in a distance
but to do what lies clearly at hand - Thomas Carlyle

Action may not always bring happiness,
but there is no happiness without action - Benjamin Disraeli

Well done is better that well said - Benjamin Franklin

You can discover more about a person in an
hour of play than in a year of conversation - Plato

Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble
actions characterize the great - Goldoni

Never do a wrong thing to make
a friend or to keep one - Robert E. Lee

Our acts make or mar us - we are the
children of our deeds - Victor Hugo


C-R-I-M-E-S

Educated or not, citizens in all countries have their own varying degrees of wickedness. There are only two reasons why this is happening: either they are in desperate need to survive or they are just sheer lovers of sin.Our country has not gotten better in the past years: the unemployment rate continues to escalate, the education system is a far cry from that found in other countries, and our politics is dirtier that ever. Others managed to survive the fiasco our country is having but there are those who lost their idealism and thought that committing a crime is the current norm.
These days, harming someone over something seems effortless. A cellphone is worth stabbing a random citizen, be it a frail-looking elderly or an innocent student. Unlike the old days, robbing could be done at noon with a voluminous number of people as audience.Rape is getting sincerely fashionable; the media often report grandpas forcing their granddaughters into sex. Neighbors shoot each other over a small piece of land. Ladies poison their sisters, fighting over the attention of a guy. Journalist killings are clearly becoming apparent. Perhaps these sad events shall be able to explain how once modest minds turned malicious.
See how Filipinos have stained their moral values? It is heartbreaking for a dreamer to witness the slow destruction of our ethics. There are times when I would stare blankly into space and contemplate about fake Islas Filipinas: Beautifully undisturbed and emancipated from aggression where nobody suffered anguish. What a lovely country to live in. But reality says otherwise; we are in the verge of breaking down. No wonder why most of the youth have displaced their idealism. If my passions weren't that persistent, mine could have probably vanished too.

"WHIRLWIND"

Today you love me
Tomorrow you don't
Today you care
Tomorrow you won't
Today you'll hate

Is this what we called fate?
Destiny or chances I guess....
For to be loved is a gift
And be taken for granted means hate....

So pathetic I could say
For this whirlwind relationship
Means so much to me....
So disappointing to know
That the one you gave your
Life's best has meant you hate....


-Venus-

To Write Is To Choose

When one writes,one must never be neutral; as what was taught to us in writing classes. We must choose a side. And that is to side with what is right and good. To be a neutral writer is just a mere chronicler, the good writer moves mountains.
If you see a man beating up his wife,do you just stay impartial and just write, "This man is beating up his wife"? I hope not. We do or write what we can to help.
And so, this idea should not just be for writers but for all of us. It is not just "TO WRITE IS TO CHOOSE," but also, "TO LIVE IS TO CHOOSE." In life, there are no gray areas (except our brains). We have to choose sides.It's either to be good or to be bad. it's cheesy, but certainly exact.
So what kind of choices have u been making? Do you go drinking with your friends instead of studying? Do you go malling instead of helping out at home? Do you choose to cheat rather that work on your own capacity? These are simple choices, but these choices make who you are as a person, and what you become in life.

My Apology

I do not blame you for hating me
I am also disappointed with myself
It's hard from me to admit that it
Was my doing that gave you pain
But then my agony cannot be compared
To the pain I have brought you
How dare I take pity of your
Pain when it is that who we condemned
Lose someone as wonderful as you.
My heart is being torn to
Shreds when all of my promises
Contradicted with those of my actions
This apology will not pay all of
Those mistakes I have committed against you
But then how can someone as pure as you
Love one such careless
As me? Then I realize that my actions
May be forgiven.
And that you love me still
I pray that your faith will not die
But in the end of this all,what ever is left
Of me, whoever I am, I will love you a
Thousand-fold. With all of what is me
I am very sorry....I am....


LIFE happens to us

Life instigates when? Life happens where? Life gives you what?

What do we think of when we consider this word? A mass of response can be gathered upon one's inquiry of this. The air we breathe when the world opened up its beam to us when we came out of our mother's balloon-shaped wombs is the most definite corporeal sign that we have acquired LIFE. To some, it doesn't merely end there because it is certainly the load that is in store from our environment that will ask us to slowly but with nip discern for ourselves that LIFE are the packs of responsibilities hooked and placed nowhere else but at our sturdy backs and that is what we have to patiently carry on. More deep beings do not allow the hollow desecration of Life's essence - since to them, the everyday living to which you offer the finest deeds you contain inside your being may considerately suggest that you are persistence living, and that is what you identify and define as your LIFE........

"An Empty Girl"

She's free but she's lonely,
She can do everything but she's still sad.
She wants to be happy but she can't,
She is fulfilled but still she feels so empty.
She's tough but she's striving,
She's brave but she still falls.
She's smiles but her heart cries,
She's an achiever but still she feels so empty.
She's unique but she doesn't feels great,
She's one of a kind but she doesn't know it.
She's humble but nobody sees it,
She's good but still she feels so empty.
She looks blissful but actually not,
She sounds cheerful but deep inside she's breaking.
She may appear satisfied but truly she's craving for more,
She's contented but still she feels so empty.
So please, when met her,
Leave something better,
And treat her with care,
So she won't feel like an AN EMPTY GIRL....


-Laurie Beltran-

Delving Into The Twilight

Are the Filipino youth of today ready to face the challenges of the millennium? Yes we are here to serve and not to be served. But most of us here are victims of the catastrophic events not only of the past but also of the present society. Most of us work at an early age instead of going to school in order to earn a living for our family. The effects of urbanization paved way to a limited access to education, clear water, stable job opportunities and prosperity to the rural areas. The pressure of globalization produces school dropouts and unemployment. And sad to say families from urban areas where all the opportunity are presently imitates the "neo-rich" lifestyle from the promiscuity and drug-addiction arouse. And if you ask, is there any resources left for us? If there is, it is unequally distributed right?
We are faced with certain issues and concerns that shook our normal functioning. We have real problems but we are not involved or even consulted for suggestions and solutions. Our voices were not heard. We seek the guidance of our Divine Providence to understand the meaning of an event or suffering. We employ discernment in this significant crossroad we are facing. But hope is vague as the twilight. Will you kindly help us?

UNTITLED # 06

When I looked at you my heart starts to race
My head is spinning; I'm lost in your gaze
I know nothing of the world around me
And life is just a blur
Your presence consume me
I think of your face, your laughter, your smile
I hang on your every word
You control my mind,my thoughts
And you posses my dreams
I long for your embrace
Not a day goes by when I don't think of you
If only you know.........

A Friend

Friends are like melons, shall I tell you why?
To find someone good, you must have a hundred try
A friend is someone whom you turn to
When our spirit needs a lift
A friend is someone we treasure
For true friend is a gift

A friend is someone we laugh with
Over little personal things
A friend is someone serious
Facing whatever life brings

A friend is someone who fills our life
With beauty, joy and grace
And makes the world we live
A better and happier place


-Chrisch-

Why Couldn't Snow White be with Cinderella?

The most beatiful things in life are the unexplainable things. Words are just words; created to express what the mind is thinking and to utter what is needed to say. Every human being needs words to be heard and be understood. But words are not enough to capture the entity of my feelings; of my LOVE - on how it could break rules, shake boundaries and how it could chose another path.... the path that people take because of fear of indifference, the fear to be judged wrongly and be cast out because you"re not going to "FIT IN" with the crowd. That is all because I chose to love my same kind.....Meaning, I appreciate more my same sex or same gender, anyway you'd like to describe it....I am a girl....She's a girl and we both loved each other. What's wrong with the picture? age doesn't matter so why not "gender doesn't matter"?
We already got the whole idea that it's not the usual boy-girl relationship. Is there anything wrong in sometimes going beyond what is usual? Why need of ridiculing us just because we're born to be different? Meaning, just because we're just a minority part of the society then we are already acceptable to be part of it.The sad truth is, there'll always be that stigma that discriminates. I believe that we only fear what we don't understand.Deletion of the ignorance is an important aspect in the process of acceptance.
In this day and age, the world is so chaotic that leads to a lot of misunderstandings because nobody seems to to take the time in opening their minds. It is so hard to believe that Ken couldn't love Barbie because he's in love with another Ken? It may not be the kind of match we see everyday but if only you could sit down and talk to them then you'd be fascinated on how intelligent and beautiful they were....So let's not hate Snow White if she is not waiting for the Prince Charming anymore not because she left her glass slipper and I found it but because we found love in its most mysterious, peculiar definition of it.
I respect that we are all entitled the right to express our own opinion. Express if you must but leave something for me too because I'm writing this believing that I am living in a democratic country that recognizes freedom of speech.You may believe what I say or not, I don't care because I know that from this article a lot of eyebrows will raise. I will just trust that you will have a pretty good head on top of your neck so use it well.

The Most Overused Word "LOVE"

LOVE is one of the most overused words in any language or dialect i could think of.May it be in Filipino "Pag-ibig", Bisaya "Gugma" or in Spanish "amor". I would love to go on but these three are the only translation i could think of,but the point is,love is there regardless of place and culture. We see love wihout actually noticing it. Little things! When a student assists an old lady croosing the street, when you give a friend a piece of advice, when you greet your teacher in the moning, when you hug your mom, when seeing a couple holding hands or a Dad playing with his kid.These simple things we see everyday is an example of love. It is too great to disregard. It is not just about boy-girl relationship, it is much bigger than that. The from my friends,family and most especially the Creator keeps me going. They inspire me in whatever I do.