Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Gran Torino
| Rating: | ★★★ |
| Category: | Movies |
| Genre: | Drama |
Yesterday I watched approximately 85 percent of this film when it was shown on HBO and while the original reason for it may be due to Clint Eastwood producing, directing but also lending his stellar presence to the film - I also surprised myself by flicking away a few tears in witnessing the movie's ending while chomping on my porkbits and pesto pasta.
I gave a thoughtful pause over my actions later, and I realized that it really had more to do with the hope and loneliness that I felt was expressed if the story was to be sketched out in a barebones version. While I can give a nod also to what others may perceive as a "glossy" overlay of the rugged impact of Clint Eastwood's famous face and gravely tones, the coolness of a Gran Torino car and a not-so-subtle social commentary on the changes to a formerly-white-working class neighborhood in Detroit, in the end I think that it boils down to a simple and oft-declared message that “There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.”
While others may argue that what the protagonist of the story was really just practical and to be expected, I would still stoutly maintain that its not that easy to do.
From wiki:
The story follows Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed Korean War veteran who is alienated from his family and angry at the world. Walt's young Hmong neighbor, Thao, tries to steal Walt's prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino on a dare by his cousin for initiation into a gang. Walt develops a relationship with the boy and his family.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Birthday Calculator says...
With regards to my birthdate in relation to today's date:
Your date of conception was on or about 7 July 1969 which was a Monday.
You were born on a Monday under the astrological sign Aries.
Your Life path number is 5.
Your fortune cookie reads:
A thrilling time is in your immediate future.
Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 3 & 9.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 8.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 6, 11 & 22.
The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2440675.5.
The golden number for 1970 is 14.
The epact number for 1970 is 22.
The year 1970 was not a leap year.
Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/6/1970 and ending 1/26/1971.
You were born in the Chinese New Year of the Dog.
Your Native American Zodiac sign is Hawk; your plant is Dandelion.
You were born in the Egyptian month of Paony, the second month of the season of Shomu (Harvest).
Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 22 AdarII 5730.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 23 AdarII 5730.
The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.17.16.11.11 which is
12 baktun 17 katun 16 tun 11 uinal 11 kin
The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Monday, 22 Muharram 1390 (1390-1-22).
The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 29 March 1970.The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 26 April 1970.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 11 February 1970.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 17 May 1970.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 24 May 1970.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Thursday, 1 October 1970.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 21 April 1970.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 10 February 1970.
As of 5/26/2010 6:22:06 AM EDT
You are 40 years old.
You are 482 months old.
You are 2,095 weeks old.
You are 14,667 days old.
You are 352,014 hours old.
You are 21,120,862 minutes old.
You are 1,267,251,726 seconds old.
Celebrities who share your birthday:
| Scott Moffatt (1983) | Norah Jones (1979) | Matt Doran (1976) |
| Celine Dion (1968) | Ian Ziering (1964) | M.C. Hammer (1962) |
| Paul Reiser (1957) | Eric Clapton (1945) | Astrud Gilberto (1940) |
| Warren Beatty (1937) | John Astin (1930) | Rolf Harris (1930) |
| Peter Marshall (1930) | Frankie Laine (1913) | Vincent Van Gogh (1853) |
Top songs of 1970
Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 5.74050880626223 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)
Your lucky day is Tuesday.
Your lucky number is 9.
Your ruling planet(s) is Mars & Pluto.
Your lucky dates are 9th, 18th, 27th.
Your opposition sign is Libra.
Your opposition number(s) is 6.
There are 308 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 41 candles.
Those 41 candles produce 41 BTUs,
or 10,332 calories of heat (that's only 10.3320 food Calories!) .
You can boil 4.69 US ounces of water with that many candles.
In 1970 there were approximately 3.7 million births in the US.
In 1970 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1970 in the US there were approximately 2,158,802 marriages (10.6%) and 708,000 divorces (3.5%)
In 1970 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.
In 1970 the population of Australia was approximately 12,663,469.
In 1970 there were approximately 257,516 births in Australia.
In 1970 in Australia there were approximately 116,066 marriages and 12,198 divorces.
In 1970 in Australia there were approximately 113,048 deaths.
Your birth flower is DAFFODIL
Your birthstone is Aquamarine
The Mystical properties of Aquamarine
Aquamarine is often used to experience love and mercy. It is said to help ease depression and grief.Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)
Jade, Rock Crystal, Bloodstone
Your birth tree is
Hazelnut Tree, the ExtraordinaryCharming, undemanding, very understanding, knows how to make an impression, active fighter for social cause, popular, moody and capricious lover, honest and tolerant partner, precise sense of judgement.
What my name means (Numerology)
You entered: Catherine
There are 9 letters in your name.
Those 9 letters total to 47
There are 4 vowels and 5 consonants in your name.
What your first name means:Latin Female Pure, clear. Form of the Latin 'Katharina', from the Greek 'Aikaterina'. It was borne by a number of saints, including St Catherine of Alexandria, a 4th century martyr who suffered torture on a spiked wheel. Irish Female Variant of Katherine: Pure. Clear. Innocent. From the Gaelic form Caitlin. Greek Female Pure. Famous bearer: Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. French Female Pure, clear. Form of the Latin Katharina, from the Greek Aikaterina. It was borne by a number of saints, including St Catherine of Alexandria, a 4th century martyr who suffered torture on a spiked wheel. Anglo-Saxon Female Innocent.
Your number is: 11
The characteristics of #11 are: High spiritual plane, intuitive, illumination, idealist, a dreamer.
The expression or destiny for #11:
Your Expression number is 11. The number 11 is the first of the master numbers. It is associated with idealistic concepts and rather spiritual issues. Accordingly, it is a number with potentials that are somewhat more difficult to live up to. You have the capacity to be inspirational, and the ability to lead merely by your own example. An inborn inner strength and awareness can make you an excellent teacher, social worker, philosopher, or advisor. No matter what area of work you pursue, you are very aware and sensitive to the highest sense of your environment. Your intuition is very strong; in fact, many psychic people and those involved in occult studies have the number 11 expression. You possess a good mind with keen analytical ability. Because of this you can probably succeed in most lines of work, however, you will do better and be happier outside of the business world. Oddly enough, even here you generally succeed, owing to your often original and unusual approach. Nonetheless, you are more content working with your ideals, rather than dollars and cents.
The positive aspect of the number 11 expression is an always idealistic attitude. Your thinking is long term, and you are able to grasp the far-reaching effects of actions and plans. You are disappointed by the shortsighted views of many of your contemporaries. You are deeply concerned and supportive of art, music, or of beauty in any form.
The negative attitudes associated with the number 11 expression include a continuous sense of nervous tension; you may be too sensitive and temperamental. You tend to dream a lot and may be more of a dreamer than a doer. Fantasy and reality sometimes become intermingled and you are sometimes very impractical. You tend to want to spread the illumination of your knowledge to others irrespective of their desire or need.
Your Soul Urge number is: 2
A Soul Urge number of 2 means:
With the Soul Urge number 2, your motivation is centered on friendships, partnerships, and companionship. You want to work with others as a part of a cooperative team. Leadership is not important to you, but making a contribution to the team effort is. You are willing to work hard to achieve a harmonious environment with sensitive, genial people.
In a positive sense, the 2 Soul Urge is sympathetic, extremely concerned and devoted. The nature tends to be very sensitive to others, always tactful and diplomatic. This element in your nature indicates that you are rather emotional. You are persuasive, but in a very quiet way, never forceful. You are the type that makes really close friendships because you are so affectionate and loving.
If this number is over-emphasized in your makeup, you may be over-sensitive, with a delicate ego that is too easily hurt. You may be timid or fearful, too easygoing for your own good.
Your Inner Dream number is: 9
An Inner Dream number of 9 means:
You dream of being creative, intellectual, and universal; the selfless humanitarian. You understand the needy and what to help them. You would love to be a person people count on for support and advice.
Club 80s Internet Radio - The 80s Remixed!
Club 80's is the 80s music center where you can hear extended 12” mixes, new remixed versions, cover versions, live versions, post 80s releases (from New Wave artists), and 80s related or inspired artists.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A hilarious case of mistaken identity: our neighbor's helper trumpeted like a seasoned tv newscaster that Dolphy died by the seaside. My mom was shocked, so I trawled the net and told her I couldn't find any breaking news on it. After 1 hour, our tv was turned on to the news channel and it obligingly spit out news about how a dolphin was found dead in Lapu-Lapu, Mactan Island *toink*
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Bolonio, Batirol, Bow!
For those who asked me before about which was which -What is shown in this picture at the far right, is what we use when we make our sikwate (hot native chocolate) - which we pair up with puto, bread, budbod, bingka, or whatever takes our fancy.
These are the newest ones we have in our kitchen arsenal because our older ones are now full of holes. These two were hastily bought from Tabo-an market here in Cebu as I wanted to sip my sikwate right away.
Bolonio - the stirrer/whisker (I think its also called batidor)
Batirol - the container
I kind of miss too the old, espiso tablea from the southern towns...
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Fwd: Letter from A Brave Filipina
Usually stuff like this goes to spam or trash folder - either automatically through my system's filters or I do it myself so I can lessen the emails I have to plow through.
But I took a second look, and though I do not know until now how true it is that a certain Remedios from ADB wrote this letter or if it was just passed on and on unwittingly, and if so, then I too helped in its perpetuation - and for this I cannot say I am sorry.
A disclaimer though I must add for this post - I do not guarantee nor claim anything in relation to the named writer and details below - but I do think it has a relevant and timely message to all Filipinos, wherever you may be - even those who may not feel the pinprick of the gentle "barbs" in this letter.
++++++++
I wish all politicians and public servants could read this letter.
Subject: A Letter From A Brave Filipina
Very interesting letter. Share this with your friends and associates who still honestly believe that our beloved Philippines is worth saving. I salute the person (Remedios C. Paningbatan) who wrote this letter.
================== ========= =============
To all Filipinos Everywhere:
I used to think that corruption and criminality in the Philippines were caused by poverty. But recent events tell me this isn't true. It is one thing to see people turn into drug addicts, prostitutes, thieves and murderers because of hunger and poverty, but what excuse do these rich, educated people have that could possibly explain their bizarre behavior? And to think I was always so relieved when petty snatchers got caught and locked away in jail because I never fully realized that the big time thieves were out there, making the laws and running our country.
Every night, I come home & see these "honorable" crooks lambast each other on TV , call each one names, look each other in the eye and accuse the other of committing the very same crimes that they themselves are guilty of, is so comical and apalling that I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I have never seen so many criminals roaming around unfettered and looking smug until now. These criminals wear suits and barongs, strut around with the confidence of the rich and famous, inspire fear and awe from the very citizens who voted them to power, bear titles like "Honorable", "Senator", "Justice", "General" and worse, "President". Ironically, these lawless individuals practice law, make our laws, enforce the law. And we wonder why our policemen act the way they do! These are their leaders, and the leaders of this nation - Robin Hoodlum and his band of moneymen. Their motto? "Rob the poor, moderate the greed of the rich."
It makes me wonder what kind of schools they went to, what kind of teachers they had, what kind of environment would produce such creatures who can lie, cheat and steal from an already indebted country and from the impoverished people . It makes me wonder what their children and grandchildren think of them, and if they are breeding a whole new generation of improved Filipino crooks and liars with equally negligible conscience. They all go to mass & receive communion! Heaven forbid!
I am an ordinary citizen and taxpayer. I am blessed to have a job that pays for my needs and those of my family's, even though 30% of my earnings go to the nation's coffers. I have complained time and again because our government could not provide enough of the basic services that I expect and deserve. Rutty roads, poor educational system, poor social services, poor health services, poor everything. But I have always thought that was what all third world countries were all about, and my complaints never amounted to anything more.
We see Scandalous government deals. Plundering presidents pointing fingers. Senators associated with crooks. Congressmen who accept bribes. Big time lawyers on the side of injustice. De Venecia ratting on his boss only after his term has ended, Enrile inquiring about someone's morality! The already filthy rich Abalos and Arroyo wanting more money than they or their great grandchildren could ever spend in a lifetime. Joker making a joke of his own "pag bad ka, lagot ka!" slogan.. Defensor rendered defenseless. Gen. Razon involved in kidnapping. Security men providing anything but a sense of security. The average Juan de la Cruz could not even imagine in his dreams. Is it any wonder why our few remaining decent and hardworking citizens are leaving to go work in other countries?
They say the few stupid ones like me who remain in the Philippines are no longer capable of showing disgust. Many like me feel anger at the brazenness of men we call our leaders, embarrassment to share the same nationality with them, frustration for our nation and helplessness at my own ineffectuality. It is not that I won't make a stand. It is just that I am afraid my actions would only be futile. After all, these monsters are capable of anything. They can hurt me and my family. They already have, though I may not yet feel it..
I am writing this because I need to do something concrete. I need to let others know that ordinary citizens like me do not remain lukewarm to issues that would later affect me and my children. I want to make it known that there are also Filipinos who dream of something better for the Philippines. I want them to know that my country is not filled with scalawags and crooks in every corner, and that there are citizens left who believe in decency, fairness, a right to speak, a right to voice out ideas, a right to tell the people we have trusted to lead us that they have abused their power and that it is time for them to step down. I refuse to let this country go to hell because it is the only country I call mine and it is my responsibility to make sure I have done what I could for it.
We can pray.. After all, they cannot be more powerful than God!
I implore mothers out there to raise your children the best way you can . I beg all fathers to spend time with their children, to teach them the virtues of hard work, honesty, fair play, sharing, dignity and compassion - right from the sandbox till they are old enough to go on their own. Not just in your homes, but at work, in school, everywhere you go. Be good role models.
I call on educators and teachers - . . Instill in them love of their country,, help us mold our children into honorable men and women. Encourage our graduates, our best and brightest, to do what they can to lift this country from the mire our traditional politicians have sunk us into. The youth is our future - and it would be largely because of you, our educators, that we will be able to repopulate the seats of power with good leaders, presidents, senators, congressmen, justices, lawmakers, law enforcers and lawful citizens.
I ask all students, young people and young professionals everywhere to look around and get involved .. . YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU! Let your voices be heard. Text meaningful messages to awaken social conscience. Try your best to fight moral decay because I promise you will not regret it when you become parents yourselves. You will look back at your past misdeeds and pray that your children will do better than you did.
Remember that there are a few handful who are capable of running this country.. You can join their ranks and make their numbers greater. We are tired of the old trapos. We need brave idealistic leaders who will think of the greater good before anything else. Be good lawyers, civil servants, accountants, computer techs, engineers, doctors, military men so that when you are called to serve in government, you will have credibility and a record that can speak for itself.
For love of this country, for the future of our children, , I urge you to do what you can. As ordinary citizens, we can do much more for the Philippines than sit around and let crooks lead us to perdition. We owe ourselves this. And we owe our country even more.
Remedios C. Paningbatan
Administrative Officer
Office of the General Counsel
Asian Development Bank
Tel (632) 632-4248
www.adb.org
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
2010 Philippine Elections Reminders: Casting your Vote
) 1.) ESTABLISHING IDENTITY OF VOTERS
Before you can vote, an election officer needs to verify your identity. Once that’s done, you will be given a special ballot and a marker that you will use to shade ovals near a candidate’s name.
Make sure you get it right the first time. So it’s best to have a list of the candidates you want, then go over it carefully, then shade the ovals near the candidate’s name of choice. The special ballot contains the list of all the names of the candidates, from the president down to the local councilors. You can see an oval next to each name. You only need to shade these ovals, no need to write names.
2.) SHADING THE OVAL
3.) DON’T OVER VOTE
Word of warning: Don’t over vote. The machine will not count those votes. If you vote for two presidents, for example, your vote for that specific contest will be rejected but not the entire ballot.
Only one vote for the following:
- President
- Vice President
- Governor
- Vice-Governor
- District Representative
- Mayor
- Vice Mayor
- Party List
For a position where a voter is allowed to choose more than one candidate, a voter can under vote, for example, if you choose to fill up 8 spots for the 12 senatorial spots, then your votes are counted. So again, keep a list of all your chosen candidates. Use that as a guide when you vote on election day. You don’t want to forget your candidates on election day.
When you’re done voting, bring your ballot to the election officer who will ask you to insert it to the PCOS machine. Remember, you will be the one feeding your ballot to the machine and not the election officer. As this happens, the small screen in the machine will show the number of ballots sent or casted.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Charmed Scripts & Screen Captures - Your #1 source for Charmed transcripts since 1999 -- www.charmedscripts.tv
http://www.charmedscripts.tv/index.html
Still incomplete as of this writing..but during the heyday of "Charmed" this was a good resource for eps I wanted to review.