Tomasito's Way

Music and Me: Zoom by Fat Larry's Band

2009-04-11T15:45:00.000+08:00

Zoom just one look and then my heart went boom,
suddenly and we were on the moon,
flyin' high in a neon sky ohh ohh
Bang Just one touch and all the church bells rang,
heaven called and all the angels sang,
sunrise shine in the midnight sky ohh ohh

(CHORUS)
Oh Zoom you chased the day awayyy,
high noon, the moon and stars came out to play,
then, my whole wide world went zoaom
(High as a rainbow as we went flyin' by,
faster and faster we were higher than high,
for once in my lifetime i was finally free,
and you gave that to me)

moonbeams dancin' in the afternoon,
shadows blowin' as the roses bloom,
lookin down on a wonderland,
Smack just one kiss and i was outta whack,
all at once there was no turnin back,
all so far above the brighter star ohh ohh

(CHORUS)

zoom - fat larrys band

The Godfather (March 24, 1972)

2009-03-24T11:21:00.005+08:00

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The Second Best Movie of All Time, as announced by the American Film Institue, The Godfather celebrates 37th year of success in March 24 2009.

courtesy:www.wikipedia.org

The Godfather is a crime novel written by American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City (and Long Beach, NY) and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the backstory of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.

The book introduced Italian criminal terms like consigliere, caporegime, Cosa Nostra, and omertà to an English-speaking audience.

It formed the basis for a 1972 film of the same name. Two film sequels, with new contributions made by Puzo, were made in 1974 and 1990. The first and second films are widely considered to be two of the greatest films of all time.

The Corleone family patriarch is Vito Corleone (The Don), whose surname (Italian for "Lionheart") recalls the town of Corleone, Sicily. Similarly, the maiden name of Corleone's mother is Corigliano, named after the town of Corigliano Calabro, Calabria; an area well known for 'Ndrangheta activity. (Puzo, however, never mentioned the family name Corigliano in the text of the original 1969 novel.) Vito has four children: Santino "Sonny" Corleone, Fredo "Freddie" Corleone, Michael "Mike" Corleone, and Constanzia "Connie" Corleone. He also has an informally adopted son, Tom Hagen, who became the Corleones' consigliere. Vito Corleone is also the godfather of a famous singer and movie star Johnny Fontane. The Godfather referred to in the title is generally taken to be Vito. However, the story's central character is actually Michael, and a central theme of the novel is that it is Michael's destiny, despite his determination to the contrary, to replace his father as the family head.

The Corleone family are in fact a criminal organization with influence in many areas of crime, notably Protection and Extortion, Gambling and the Unions. Under the Don is his consigliere who is a 'cutout,' to protect the Don from implication. The book also explains the consigliere position as that of the Don's most trusted advisor and counselor. The operational side of the organisation is headed by two 'Caporegime,' or 'Captains.' Peter Clemenza and Sal Tessio are high ranking officials in the family.

The plot deals with a gang war fought between the Corleone family and the other four of the five families of New York. After Don Vito Corleone is shot by men working for drug dealer Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo, his two sons, Santino and Michael must run the family business with the help of consigliere Tom Hagen and the two Capos Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio. When Sollozzo and an Irish police captain are murdered by Michael, the conflict escalates into a full scale war which results in Santino's death and Michael, despite his wishes, ascending to the head of the family. He slowly becomes more ruthless than his father, even killing his brother in law Carlo Rizzi, who played a part in Santino's murder. Also as the story progresses many of the minor characters, such as the Don's godson Johnny Fontane and his friend Nino Valenti, Sonny's former girlfriend Lucy Mancini, and Michael's bodyguard Al Neri, are expanded on and given their own subplots. Many of these subplots are not included in the movie. The novel culminates when Michael has his two main enemies, the novel's main antagonist, Emilio Barzini and a lesser but still severely important antagonist, Philip Tattaglia, assassinated. After the total elimination of the Tattaglia Family and Barzini Family, Michael sells all his business in New York and makes the Corleone Family a legitimate business in Las Vegas.

Rest in Peace, Bro!

2009-03-07T16:26:00.003+08:00

Rest in Peace, Bro!

Francis Magalona
October 4, 1964 - March 6, 2009

Selena Live: The Last Concert

2009-02-26T22:06:00.005+08:00

Fourteen years ago in Houston, Texas, Selena Quintanilla Perez brought down the Houston Astrodome with over 65,000 live audience, a never-before event that broke records of tickets sold for a concert held at the said venue. While it was Selena's biggest and most successful concert held , it was her last night at the Astrodome, following another successful concert in 1993.

Selena: A Life Story (Courtesy: www.selenaforever.com)

The tragic shooting death of Tejano singer Selena spawned a reaction within the Latino community that can be compared to the reactions to the deaths of Elvis Presley and John Lennon. An enormously popular singer in Latino communities across North America, her music crossed cultural boundaries to touch the lives of young and old alike. A flamboyant, sexy stage performer, sometimes hailed as the Latina Madonna, Selena was nonetheless considered a role model for off-stage she was family oriented, active in anti-drug campaigns and AIDS awareness programs.

She was born Selena Quintanilla to Mexican-American parents in Lake Jackson, TX. Before her birth, her father Abraham had been a member of Los Dinos. When Selena began performing at the age of ten, her father became her manager and Los Dinos became her backing band. She made her recording debut in 1983 after appearing on popular the radio show of L.A. deejay Johnnie Canales. While Selena grew up understanding Spanish, English was her first language. Her first records were recorded in Spanish and she sang the words phonetically. After her music began to catch on, she began learning Spanish formally and by the time of her death, she was fluent in the language.

In 1987, she was named Female Vocalist of the Year and Performer of the Year at the Tejano Music Awards. Two years later she signed with EMI Latin and in 1990, she and Los Dinos released their eponymous debut album. Later that year she released a singles compilation, Personal Best, and she also released Ven Conmigo. In 1991 the title track of the latter became the first Tejano record to go gold. Selena also released two more albums, including one of Cumbia music, Baila Esta Cumbia that
year. Selena married Los Dinos' lead guitarist Chris Perez in April of 1992. Other group members included her brother, Abraham Quintanilla, III, who played bass and penned many of her songs, and her sister Suzette, the drummer. She won a Grammy in 1993 for Best Mexican American Performance for her album Selena Live. That same year, she released an album of love songs, Quiero, and she also opened Selena Etc, a clothing manufacturing business. In 1994, she made her feature-film debut in Don Juan DeMarco, in which she played a singer. Later that year, she and her band embarked upon a tour of New York, LA, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. Amor Prohibido was released in 1994; it was nominated for a Grammy and went gold. In 1995, Selena began preparing to make her breakthrough into the American pop mainstream.

In the spring of that year she was working on her first English-language album, when she went to a motel room in Corpus Christi, TX, to fire 34-year-old Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who managed Selena's boutique in San Antonio, and the founder of the Selena fan club. A few days before the confrontation Selena's father had unearthed paperwork proving that Saldivar had been embezzling from the fan club. Saldivar and Selena argued and as the singer left, she was shot in the back. Selena didn't die right away and managed to stagger into the lobby where she named Saldivar as the killer. An hour later, Selena died in a local hospital.

It was a death that rocked the entire Latino music industry. Saldivar was convicted for the murder of Selena on October 23rd, 1995. Three days later she was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 30 years.

A special service was held in the Los Angeles Colliseum where she was to give a concert. Less than a month later, Texas governor George W. Bush declared April 16, "Selena Day," in her honor. Dreaming of You, her final album, was released posthumously in the early summer. It became the first Tejano album to reach number one in America and was double platinum by the end of the year.

Last Dance/ On the Radio - Selena

Word of the Day: Elation

2009-02-20T23:22:00.007+08:00

I never understood what the meaning of the word Elation really was until yesterday. When I learned that I passed the Civil Service Commission's Professional Examination held in November last year.

www.dictionary.com explains:

elation
noun
1.	an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression [ant: depression]
2.	a feeling of joy and pride

...

I was in an intense mixture of emotions when a good pal at the gym told me that the list of the examination passers was already posted on CSC's website. I got no hold of internet that morning , leaving me uneasy throughout my fitness routine. Between optimism and pessimism, I stood on the parameter of pessimism. I never had an ounce of hope that I would make it! All these times, I believed that I failed the test. Starting with my negligence at reviewing for the exam. I only gave it barely a week to scan through the pages of the Civil Service examination reviewer I bought at the United Bookstore. And I had a partial run-through. I only went deeper for English ,Filipino and Clerical. I can't for the life of me do the Mathematics! Thus, reaching the 80% mark on the scale was nearly impossible, or so it seemed!

Finally I took a seat infront of desktop PC and went to http://www.csc.gov.ph/. I looked for a link somewhere on their homepage for the list of passers. And there it was! I clicked it. I clicked not in the hope of seeing my name on the list. I clicked to confirm the absence of my name on the list! It took about a life-time to load the whole page of family names in alphabetical order. And since my family name falls on letter U, I had to struggle and wait til the page drops to letter U! There must have been tons of users accessing the same link around the country so that loading was at a snail speed. I had to refresh the page again and again. At last, the status was done. The list was now loaded completely. And so the final verdict. I scrolled the down to the bottom. My sight missed letter U and went straight to letter Z. So I looked back up to letter U...

Uh-oh!

I couldn't believe my eyes. It read in capital letters: UDASCO, VINCENT TOM I

Could I be dreaming? No, I couldn't! Then I scrolled up again and look for the header of the page. It read: Civil Service Commission Examination Passers. I noticed I was starting to smile. And that smile turned into a chuckle. And that chuckle turned into a burst of laughter! God, I passed the exam! I couldn't believe! Thank God! I was totally elated!

Music and Me: Whitney Houston's Run To You

2009-02-17T12:56:00.004+08:00

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is anAmerican Singer, actress, record producer, film producer and former fashion model. Houston rose to international fame in the mid-1980s and her crossover success opened doors for many other African American women women to find success in pop music and movies. She has been referred to as "The Voice", and is known for her "powerful, penetrating pop-gospel voice".

In the 1980s, Houston was one of the first African-American female artists to receive heavy rotation on MTV in its early years, even when the network was leaning more towards a white male rock dominated format.Her debut album became the biggest selling debut album of all time for a solo artist, her follow up album was the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, and she holds a record seven consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard 100 chart.

Houston continued her success into Hollywood in the 1990s, starting with the box office hit The Bodyguard. The soundtrack to the movie is the best-selling soundtrack of all time, and the single "I Will Always Love You" the best-selling single by a female artist and 3rd best-selling song in the history of music. She continued the decade with other successful and culturally significant projects before returning to the studio. Houston is the fourth best-selling female recording artist in the U.S according to the RIAA, and is the "The Most Awarded Female Artist of All Time"according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

After Houston married former R&B singer Bobby Brown at the height of her career, rumors of drug abuse started to affect her popularity. This led to a decline in her public image and her album sales dropped during from 2000 to 2008, with stories regularly appearing in the tabloid press. After successful trips to rehab, Houston divorced Brown and gained custody of their only daughter in 2006. Her seventh studio album is scheduled for release in 2009.

Courtesy: www.wikipedia.org

Welcome Back Whitney, my all-time idol!

Run to You - Whitney Houston

For Run To You sheet music download, click this.

My Grandma Turns Octogenarian

2009-02-16T15:34:00.008+08:00

Born to Luciano Pacturan Y Abecia and Filomena Sabuero Y Navarro , my grandmother, Jovita Pacturan Y Sabuero Viuda de Udasco, was born eighty years ago on a beautiful February 15 day.

February 15, 2009 was a very special day to Lola Obing for she turned sweet eighty! Everybody in the family was excited and prepared a simple but happy celebration on her birthday.

We put some food on the table. Yum! And the birthday cake! I and my sister Cherry took off to a bakeshop to order a cake two nights before Lola Obing's big day. Well. age is just a number. It's really your heart that remains young all your life. I thought a Disney themed birthday cake would be perfect for a young at heart. So I picked up the Disney Princesses cake. Lovely, said everyone when they saw the cake!

The party started well over lunch-time. But it went great. The food were superb. Humba, Spaghetti, Pancit, Lechong Manok, and some softdrinks here and there. Picture taking and a handy cam for the record.

A good uncle who hailed from far, completed my Lola's birthday celebration.

Personally, I thank God for blessing my Lola Obing with her 80'th year on this world. And hoping and praying for a few more years to celebrate her birthdays.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

2009-02-14T11:36:00.003+08:00

courtesy: www.wikipedia.org

Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome. The name "Valentine", derived from valens (worthy), was popular in late antiquity. Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14. It is even uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or more saints of the same name. For this reason this liturgical commemoration was not kept in the Catholic calendar of saints for universal liturgical veneration as revised in 1969. But "Martyr Valentinus the Presbyter and those with him at Rome" remains in the list of saints proposed for veneration by all Catholics.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Saint Valentine the Presbyter, is celebrated on July 6, and Hieromartyr Saint Valentine (Bishop of Interamna, Terni in Italy) is celebrated on July 30.

The name "Valentine" does not occur in the earliest list of Roman martyrs, compiled by the Chronographer of 354. The feast of St. Valentine was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among those "... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." As Gelasius implied, nothing was known, even then, about the lives of any of these martyrs. The Saint Valentine that appears in various martyrologies in connection with February 14 is described either as:

A priest in Rome
A bishop of Interamna (modern Terni)
A martyr in the Roman province of Africa.

The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in the Nuremberg Chronicle, (1493); alongside the woodcut portrait of Valentine the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II, known as Claudius Gothicus. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't finish him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. Various dates are given for the martyrdom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273.

The official Roman Martyrology for February 14 mentions only one Saint Valentine.

English eighteenth-century antiquarians Alban Butler and Francis Douce, noting the obscurity of Saint Valentine's identity, suggested that Valentine's Day was created as an attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of Lupercalia. This idea has lately been contested by Professor Jack Oruch of the University of Kansas. Many of the current legends that characterise Saint Valentine were invented in the fourteenth century in England, notably by Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with romantic love.

While a website of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and other sources give different lists of Saint Valentines, the Catholic Church's official list of recognized saints, the Roman Martyrology lists seven: a martyr (Roman priest or Terni bishop?) buried on the Via Flaminia (February 14); a priest from Viterbo (November 3); a bishop from Raetia who died in about 450 (January 7); a fifth-century priest and hermit (July 4); a Spanish hermit who died in about 715 (October 25); Valentine Berrio Ochoa, martyred in 1861 (November 24); and Valentine Jaunzarás Gómez, martyred in 1936 (September 18).

Earliest church dedications

Hagiographical sources speak of a Roman priest and a bishop of Terni each buried along the Via Flaminia outside Rome, at different distances from the city, with each venerated on February 14. In the Middle Ages, two Roman churches were dedicated to Saint Valentine. One was the tenth-century church Sancti Valentini de Balneo Miccine or de Piscina, which was rededicated by Pope Urban III in 1186. The other, on the Via Flaminia, was the ancient basilica S. Valentini extra Portam founded by Pope Julius I (337‑352), though not under this dedication.^[12] The basilica apellatur Valentini, "is called Valentine's"; but early basilicas were as often called by the name of their former owner as by the saint to whom they were dedicated: see titulus.

This, the earlier and by far more important of the churches, is dedicated to the less prominent of the two saints, Valentine, presbyter of Rome; this was the Basilica S. Valentini extra Portam, the "Basilica of Saint Valentine beyond the Gate" which was situated beyond the Porta Flaminia (the Porta del Popolo, which was the Porta S. Valentini when William of Malmesbury visited Rome). It stood on the right hand side at the second milestone on the Via Flaminia. It had its origins in a funerary chapel on the site of catacombs, which the Liber Pontificalis attributes to a foundation by Pope Julius I (337-352). However, the dedications of two basilicas dedicated by Julius are not specified in the Liber Pontificalis. It was restored or largely rebuilt by Pope Theodore (642‑649) and Pope Leo III (795‑816), enriched with an altar cloth by Pope Benedict II (683‑685) and by gifts of Pope Hadrian I (772‑795), Pope Leo III and Pope Gregory IV (827‑844), so that it had become ecclesia mirifice ornata, "a church marvellously adorned". The monastery of San Silvestro in Capite was annexed to it, and in the surviving epitome of a lost catalogue of the churches of Rome, compiled by Giraldus Cambrensis about 1200, it was hospitale S. Valentini extra urbem, the "hospital of Saint Valentine outside the city". But in the thirteenth century the martyr's relics were transferred to Santa Prassede, and the ancient basilica decayed: in Signorili's catalogue, made in about 1425, it was Ecclesia sancti Valentini extra portam sine muris non habet sacerdotem, "the church of Saint Valentine beyond the gate without [enclosing] walls, has no priest".

In the catacombs connected with the basilica of Valentine, outside the Porta del Popolo, nineteenth-century excavations unearthed two hundred Christian inscriptions. Lanciani reported, from the chronicle of the monastery of S. Michael ad Mosam, an account of a pilgrim of the eleventh century who obtained relics of saints "'from the keeper of a certain cemetery, in which lamps are always burning'. He refers to the basilica of S. Valentine and the small hypogaeum attached to it (discovered in 1887)."

The earliest written Acta for Saint Valentine were written in the sixth or seventh century, when the hagiographical was well established, with pious accounts of miracles and torture shared among many texts and applied to many martyr-saints. The longer of the two is that written of the martyr Valentine of Terni and his cure, through faith alone, of a crippled child. Bede, in the eighth century, knew of both hagiographies and included transcripts of both under February 14 in his martyrology.

In the Golden Legend

The Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine, compiled about 1260 and one of the most-read books of the High Middle Ages, gives sufficient details of the saints for each day of the liturgical year to inspire a homily on each occasion. The very brief vita of St Valentine has him refusing to deny Christ before the "Emperor Claudius" in the year 280. Before his head was cut off, this Valentine restored sight and hearing to the daughter of his jailer. Jacobus makes a play with the etymology of "Valentine", "as containing valour".

The Legenda Aurea does not contain anything about hearts and last notes signed "from your Valentine", as is sometimes suggested in modern works of sentimental piety . Many of the current legends surrounding them appear in the late Middle Ages in France and England, when the feast day of February 14 became associated with romantic love..

St. Valentine's Day

For more details on this topic, see Valentine's Day.

Historian Jack Oruch has made the case that the traditions associated with "Valentine's Day", documented in Geoffrey Chaucer's Parliament of Foules and set in the fictional context of an old tradition, had no such tradition before Chaucer. He argues that the speculative explanation of sentimental customs, posing as historical fact, had their origins among 18th-century antiquaries, notably Alban Butler, the author of Butler's Lives of Saints, and have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars. In the French 14th-century manuscript illumination from a Vies des Saints (illustration above), Saint Valentine, bishop of Terni, oversees the construction of his basilica at Terni; there is no suggestion here yet that the bishop was a patron of lovers.

Relics and liturgical celebration

In 1836, relics that were exhumed from the catacombs of Saint Hippolytus on the Via Tiburtina, then near (rather than inside) Rome, were identified with St Valentine; placed in a casket, they were transported to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland, to which they were donated by Pope Gregory XVI. Many tourists visit the saintly remains on St. Valentine's Day, when the casket is carried in solemn procession to the high altar for a special Mass dedicated to young people and all those in love. Alleged relics of St. Valentine also lie at the reliquary of Roquemaure in France, in the Stephansdom in Vienna and also in Blessed John Duns Scotus' church in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland. There is also a gold reliquary bearing the words 'Corpus St. Valentin, M' (Body of St. Valentine, Martyr) at The Birmingham Oratory, UK in one of the side altars in the main church.

Of greatest interest at this altar is the rich coffin which lies beneath it, containing the body of St. Valentine, a martyr whose relics from the Roman catacombs were given to John Henry Cardinal Newman by Blessed Pius IX in 1847.

The Saint Valentine who is celebrated on February 14 remains in the Catholic Church's official list of saints (the Roman Martyrology), but, in view of the scarcity of information about him, his commemoration was removed from the General Calendar for universal liturgical veneration, when this was revised in 1969. It is included in local calendars of places such as Balzan and Malta, where relics of the saint are claimed to be found. Some^[who?] still observe the calendars of the Roman Rite from the Tridentine Calendar until 1969, in which Saint Valentine was at first celebrated as a simple feast, until 1955, when Pope Pius XII reduced the mention of Saint Valentine to a commemoration in the Mass of the day. It is kept as a commemoration by Traditionalist Roman Catholics who, in accordance with the authorization given by Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of July 7, 2007, use the General Roman Calendar of 1962 and the liturgy of Pope John XXIII's 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, and, as a Simple Feast, by Traditionalist Roman Catholics who use the General Roman Calendar as in 1954.

The feast day of Saint Valentine, priest and martyr, was included in the Tridentine Calendar, with the rank of Simple, on February 14. In 1955, Pope Pius XII reduced the celebration to a commemoration within the celebration of the occurring weekday. In 1969, this commemoration was removed from the General Roman Calendar, but Saint Valentine continues to be recognized as a saint, since he is included in the Roman Martyrology, the Catholic Church's official list of saints. The feast day of Saint Valentine also continues to be included in local calendars of places such as Balzan and Malta, where relics of the saint are claimed to be found.

I Travel: Fort Pilar, Zamboanga City

2009-02-10T10:18:00.007+08:00

The most beautiful spot in Zamboanga City, Fort Pilar - Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza - is now a fortress of Catholiscm on this part of Mindanao. What was then a stone fort built in defense against pirates and raiders has evolved into a place of prayer, reflections and yes, tourism. I happened to see this place in 2004 in a working stint with Pfizer as a Professional Healthcare Representative. I and my friend and classmate at the training, Doctor Gian, stayed at his uncle's residence in Guiwan for a week. His good uncle (I forgot the name) toured us around the city so as to give us a rough trajectory. Our last stop was the Fort Pilar.

Here's a brief history of this beautiful citadel set in a beautiful city of Zamboanga. Courtesy: www.wikipedia.org

In defense against pirates and raiders of the sultans of Mindanao and Jolo and upon the requests of the Jesuit missionaries and Bishop Fray Pedro of Cebu, the Spanish governor Don Juan Cerezo Salamanca approved the building of a stone fort in the year 1635. The fort was originally called "Real Fuerza de San Jose".

The cornerstone was laid on June 23, 1635 by Fr. Melchor de Vera, a Jesuit priest-engineer. This date also marks the founding of Zamboanga as a city which then was known pre-Spanish days as Jambangan and Samboangan. The construction of the early fort continued within the governorship of Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, ex-governor of Panama. Because of insufficient manpower, labourers from Cavite, Cavite, Cebu, Bohol, and Panay had to be imported to help the Spaniards and Mexicans in the construction of the fort. This period also marks the beginning of the Chavacano language as a pidgin that eventually developed to be a creole language for Zamboangueños.

Fort Pilar was attacked by the Dutch in 1646 and was later abandoned by the Spanish troops who went back to Manila in 1662-1663 to help fight the Chinese pirate Kui Seng (or Co Seng, Koxinga, Guo Xing-ye in Chinese) who had earlier defeated the Dutch. In 1669, it was reconstructed by the Jesuit missionaries after pirates and raiders continued to destroy it. In 1718-1719, it was rebuilt by the Spaniard engineer Juan Sicarra upon the orders of Spanish Governor General Don Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda and was renamed as "Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza" in honor of the patron virgin of Spain. Our Lady of the Pilar. A year after, it was stormed by Dalasi, king of Bulig and 3,000 Moro pirates but the Spanish forces resisted the attack. In 1734, a statue of the Our Lady of the Pillar was placed above the eastern wall of the fort making it an outdoor shrine with an altar for praying. In 1798, the fort was bombarded by British troops, but again it proved robust enough to repeal strong military attacks. Fort Pilar was the scene of a mutiny of 70 prisoners in 1872. On September 21, 1897 the virgin made an apparition, according to the people who witnessed it they saw the virgin standing mid-air over the Basilan Strait, she had her right hand raised to signal the onrushing waves to stop, saving the city from a tsunami". Tradition reveals the Virgin Mary appeared to a soldier on December 6, 1734 at the gate of the city. Not recognizing her, the soldier asked her to stop. Then, he recognized her and fell down to his knees.

Following the Spanish-American War, the Fort Pilar and its Spanish troops surrendered to the Revolutionary Government of Zamboanga on May 18, 1899, under General Vicente Alvarez, a Zamboangueño, at the onset of the Philippine revolution against Spain. The Spaniards, in reality, again abandoned the fort after Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States of America a year before in 1898 by the Treaty of Paris. On November 19, 1899 the fort was captured by U.S. expeditionary forces and during World War II in 1942, Japanese forces captured and took control of the fort. It was recaptured by the United States and Filipino troops on March, 1945 and was finally and officially turned over to the government of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.

Fort Pilar is now an outdoor catholic Marian shrine and a museum. It is the major landmark of Zamboanga City and a symbol of the city's cultural heritage.

I Travel

2009-02-09T22:20:00.001+08:00

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

Music and Me: Jeux Interdits (Forbidden Games)

2009-02-09T21:50:00.005+08:00

One of the most played classical guitar pieces, Jeux Interdits is one heart-pounding musical creation by an anonymous virtuoso. Popularly known as Forbidden Games (English for Jeux Interdits), it must be in every professional guitar player's portfolio of sheet music. Personally, as an aspiring Pianist, it sounds heavenly as well on the piano, that is why I prodded with much effort on finding its sheet music for piano. Fortunately, I found one transcribed sheet music of Jeux Interdits. Not the original, but it will definitely fill the same nostalgia, i'm sure! So for classical guitar listeners, here's Jeux Interdits or Forbidden Game, as played by Narciso Yepes. the original sound track for the French film Forbidden Games - Jeux Interdits. Bravissimo!

Jeux Interdits - Narciso Yepes

Finally, Napanood na Ko nAPO Sila!

2009-02-03T10:59:00.031+08:00

One of my good ol' 80's reminiscence were the music of Apo Hiking Society played through a cassette tape on a cassette player - mp3 players and iPods were nowhere conceived then! Don't get me wrong, I was only in grade school then; who could blame me if I liked that 'Doo-bie-doo-bie-doo' brain-itcher? The ever sensual 'Yakap sa Dilim', the satirical 'Blue Jeans' and the national anthem of friendship, Awit ng Barkada, were among my top five Apo favorites. And then there was the all-time favorite love song 'When I Met You', completing my own top five chart! As a kid, I never had any hint what these songs were talking about. All I dug for was the very core of music that Buboy, Danny and Jim offered.

Back in February of 2007, the versatile trio came here in Cagayan de Oro to perform in a concert at the Lim Ket Kai Atrium, followed by a tree planting activity held the next day in Mapawa Reforestation Area, Mapawa, Gusa, this city. Days before the concert, I was hoping to see them perform live. But being financially constrained then, I missed the event (aaaawe). Luckily, my MCDII (Mindanao Community Development Innovations, Incorporated) family invited me to join the tree planting, with the special participation of the Apo Hiking Society. Having interacted with them up close and personal was one of the most unforgettable experiences in my life. We took pictures with them and ate lunch with them at the Ranch House of the Pelaez Family, the owner of the vast Mapawa land. I did have fun with them. But, at the end of the day, I still regretted missing their concert.

More than a year later, December 2008, the Apo Hiking Society entertained the Cagay-anon's once again at the Lim Ket Kai Atrium, for the 10th anniversary celebration of a famous local restaurant. And for the second time, I missed the opportunity of seeing and listening to them live. But for unknown reason, I just let this opportunity pass me by. I believed the right time would eventually come for me to watch Apo Hiking Society in a concert. And yes, two months after, they came back!

For a cause!

Oh yes! Apo Hiking Society came back for the Cagay-anons, this time, with a good cause. And that is to help the displaced families of the great Cagayan de Oro flood last January. In line with Xavier University's Jubilee Celebration in December of 2008, a concert by Apo Hiking Society was set to go in February, as the finale. Danny Javier related during the concert that they were reluctant to accept the invitation to perform for the third time at a close interval here in Cagayan de Oro. But it might have come out later with a profound reason being the good cause of helping the victims of the flood that sent them back here . What was really special about this concert is that they performed right at the heart of Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan, the sister school of Ateneo de Manila University, Apo Hiking Society's Alma Mater!

As an alumnus of XU, I was proud myself to be a part of such a great endeavor, hand in hand with my musical pedestal, the Apo Hiking Society. I was like hitting two birds with one stone. While I was able to help my fellow Cagay-anons, I also took the rare opportunity to finally enjoy the music of Apo live.

February 2, 2008. I will never forget this date!

Music and Me: Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw by Emil Pama

2009-01-31T16:47:00.005+08:00

Emil Pama is also the composer of the popular Bossa Nova hit by Sitti Navaro Para Sa Akin. His versions, of acoustic ingenuity, are in an entirely different panorama of acoustic music than that one popularized by the Philippines' Queen of Bossa Nova, Sitti.

Kundi Rin Lang Ikaw

Kundi rin lang ikaw
Ay di bale na lang
Pagka't nasa sayo ang mga pangarap ko
Oo nga't marami pang nandyan
Di ka mawalay sa aking isipan
Kaya't ako'y maghihintay na lang

Kundi rin lang ikaw
Ay siguro huwag na lang
At baka paglaruan lang
Puso kong walang alam
Oo nga't marami pang nandyan
Hindi mo ba ako nasasakyan
Kaya't ako'y maghihintay na lang
Kundi rin lang ikaw

Refrain:

Ang buhay ko ay biglang nagbago
Ang lahat ng bagay ay gumaganda
Makita ka lamang sinta ko
Masaya na ang araw ko
Kaya't ako'y maghihintay na lang
Kundi rin lang ikaw

Kundi rin lang ikaw
Para bang ayoko na
At baka di na makita
Ang isang katulad mo
Oo nga't marami pang nandyan
Hindi mo ba ako nasasakyan
Kaya't ako'y maghihintay na lang
Kundi rin lang ikaw

Repeat refrain

Bridge:

Kahit man lamang sa awitin ko
Ay madama ang pag-ibig ko

Ang buhay ko ay biglang nagbago
Ang lahat ng bagay ay gumaganda
Makita ka lamang sinta ko
Masaya na ang araw ko
Kaya't ako'y maghihintay na lang
Kundi rin lang ikaw

Emil Pama's Kundi Rin Lang Ikaw

Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw - Emil Pama

Sitti's Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw

Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw - Sitti

Across the Nation: Post New Year and Chinese New Year Blast?

2009-01-30T15:31:00.003+08:00

A sad and gruesome news shocked the entire nation yesterday as tragedy transpired at a fireworks factory in Trese Martires, Cavite.

The full story from www.abs-cbnnews.com:

The death toll in the powerful explosion that ripped a fireworks factory in Trece Martires City on Thursday has been raised to eight.

Four of the six remaining victims, which have been brought to the Funeraria Mabini in Trece Martires City, are already identified.

The four victims who have been identified are Clodelio Iso, Marlon Rodrin, Angelo Francisco, and Gerardo Amparo Jr.

Earlier, Superintendent Steve Ludan, Cavite police spokesman, said the death toll may rise as retrieval teams continue to search the "razed to the ground" Star Maker fireworks factory in Barangay Conchu.

Ludan said arson investigators and ordnance personnel have yet to determine the cause of the deadly explosion that took place around 10:45 a.m.

Superintendent Reynaldo Galang, city police chief, said medical teams have recorded at least 70 injured people.

City Mayor Melencio de Sagun earlier said only two bodies of the five fatalities are intact. He said three other bodies that belonged to a woman and two men were dismembered.

De Sagun said he has suspended primary and secondary school classes in the city because of the tragedy.

Galang said the fire sparked by the explosion spread to a nearby building of the Yoshita Electronics. The electronics factory's owner, Salvador Tan, also owns the fireworks factory.

Powerful

Police had said the powerful explosions created several craters on the factory's compound. Radio dzMM reported that one crater measured 200 meters wide.

Efren Saniel, a resident living meters away from the factory, said he was at the kitchen when the first explosion took place.

Saniel said he ran for safety, but a falling metal door of their house hit him. Saniel's home was partially damaged by the blasts.

"We felt the explosion's impact. It's like our house was being lifted from the ground," he said.

Cavite provincial police chief Hernando Zafra said the blast was so powerful it nearly brought down the whole factory. He said the blast was heard by people three kilometers away from the site.

Most of the 70 injured in the blast have already been discharged from hospitals.

Five of the victims, however, are still confined, with two still in critical condition.

The city government is now studying plans to prevent the factory from being rebuilt after the incident. With reports from Ron Gagalac, Zyann Ambrosio, Julius Babao, and Jeff Canoy, ABS-CBN News, and dzMM

Laughter: The Best Medicine!

2009-01-25T21:04:00.003+08:00

With the onslaught of Global Economy resulting to millions of job lay-offs here and there, with the ever-growing inflation rate (that's why it's called inflation - lol) and the never-rolling-back gas prices, with the deranged political quo and justice system, who, on earth, still wants to laugh?

I believe in Pinoy's sincerity to love life. In our fidelity towards our fellows. For that, we, Filipinos, manage to LOL - laugh out loud - even in our most trying and crying times. We are cunningly good at finding genuine ways to shrug our cares off and just laugh. It's not stupidity. It's practicality. For as we always agree... Life is short. Life is too short to waste it on problems and problem-solving. Why yes, we let the problem take care of itself!

Now stop, read, and laugh!

REPORTER: Sir, kung wala po kayong evidence, witness or suspect ano
na po ang next step ninyo??
Police: DNA na...
REPORTER: sir, ano po yung DNA ???
police: "Di Namin Alam "

Man1: Away kami ni misis, nag-Historical siya
Man2: Pare baka ang ibig mo sabihin ay nag-Hysterical
Man1: Hinde, historical kasi inungkat lahat ng kasalanan ko!"

"Naglalakad ang mag-ama, nakakita ng eroplano
ANAK: Tay ! Krus! Ang laking krus!
TATAY(Binatukan ang anak): Nakita mo ng krus eh! Lumuhod tayo!"

Employee: boss pwede ba ako nalang ang papalit dun pwesto sa manager natin na kamamatay lang?
Boss: ok lang sa akin na ikaw ang pumalit sa kanya, ewan ko lang
kung papayag ang punerarya.

bobo1: Pare, alam mo ba tawag sa paniki na mababa ang lipad?
bobo2: hindi eh! ano ba pare?
bobo1: Lowbat pare! Lowbat!

Boy: Nay! Muntik na ako maging top one sa klase!
Nanay: Bat mo naman nasabi?
Boy: Ini-announce kasi kanina yung top one sa klase. Ang tinuro ni ma'am yung katabi ko. Muntik na ako!

Bush visited the Philippines and Erap acted as his translator:
Bush: "Lets help one another..."
Erap: "Tayo'y magtulungan. .."
Bush: "...let's strive together..."
Erap: "...tayo'y magsikap..."
Bush: "...because in union there is strength."
Erap: "...dahil sa sibuyas may titigas!"

Bongbong -- Pare sinong idol mo?
Chavit--Si Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Bongbong-- Sige nga, spell Schwarzenegger.
Chavit --Hindi, joke lang pare, si Jet Li talaga idol ko.

Erap writing on a slum book:
Favorite Actor:
Arnold Scharzene... ... (erase)
Arnold Schwarze... ... (erase)
Arnold Schwarzz... ... (erase)
Arnold Shwazenne... . ..(erase)
Arnold Shwazenner.. . ..(erase)
Arnold Shwarzenneg. . ..(erase)
Arnold Schchwarzenne. .. (erase)
Arnold Clavio

Pare 1: Pre, nasusuka ako kaya lang di ako masuka
Pare 2: Madali lang yan, pre ~ sundutin mo tonsils mo (pare 1
sinundot ang tonsils ..)
Pare 1: Di pa rin e
Pare 2: Hmmmmm ... sundutin mo pwet mo (pare 1 sinundot ang pwet
...)
Pare 1: Wala pa rin
Pare 2: Ngayon, tsaka mo ule isundot sa bibig mo ... pag hindi ka pa masuka nyan ewan ko na!

Holduper: Pili ka, wallet mo o pasabugin utak mo?
Biktima: Ikaw na bahala..bastaa pareho po yan walang laman!

Pare1: Pare, bat naman hanggang ngayon wala ka pang syota? wala ka pa bang napupusuan?
Pare2: Meron.. Manhid ka lang! (hihihihi! )

Sa isang mumurahing airline:
Stewardess: Sir, would you like some dinner?
Passenger: Ano ba ang mga choices?
Stewardess: 'Yes' or 'No' lang po

ANG NAKARAAN....
May ibinulong ang daga sa elepante. Biglang hinimatay ang elepante. Ano ang ibinulong ng daga?
DAGA: Buntis ako, ikaw ang ama!

SA PAGPAPATULOY. ...
Dahil di makapaniwala ang elepante, dinala nya ang daga sa doctor.
Tuwang-tuwa ang elepante at masayang ibinulong sa daga ang resulta.
ELEPANTE: Ako nga ang ama, at elepante ang anak natin, at kambal
sila!
(patay ka!)

TEACHER: Anong similarity nina Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Ninoy
Aquino at Apolinario Mabini?
STUDENT: Ma'am, pagkaka-alam ko po, silang lahat ay pinanganak ng holiday! ?

ERAP: Soli ko tong nabili kong DVD.
FPJ: Anong problema?
ERAP: Walang picture, tsaka sound. Sayang. Suspense thriller pa yata to. Tsk, tsk...
FPJ: Anong title?
ERAP: "The Lens Cleaner"

BATA: Pabili nga po ng ubas....
TINDERO: Wala kame ubas
KINABUKASAN??
BATA: Pabili nga po ng ubas.....
TINDERO: Wala kame ubas
KINABUKASAN ULIT??
BATA: Mama, pabili nga po ng ubas....
TINDERO: Sinabi na ngang wala e! Pag nagtanong ka pa, iistepler ko na yang bibig mo!
AT KINABUKASAN NA NAMAN ULIT??
BATA: Mama, may stapler kayo?
TINDERO: Wala..
BATA: Pabili nga po ng ubas

PROMDI: Lam ko promdi lang ako kaya wag mo kong lolokohin! Bakit
ganito ang kwarto ko?!?! Maliit, wala pang kama at bintana..... ha?!?!
ROOMBOY: Sir, nasa elevator pa lang po tayo...

MRS: Bakit ngayon ka lang?
MR: Pasensha na, nagyaya mga officemates ko, nagkainuman lang. Hehe! Hik,
MRS: Lasing ka no?
MR: Ako, lashing? Hindi! Hik
MRS: Anong hindi?! La ka namang trabaho, pano ka nagka-officemates?

Jun-Jun: Inay! Ako lang ang nakasagot sa tanong ng titser namin
kanina!
Inay: Very good! Ano ba ang tanong ng titser ninyo?
Jun-Jun: "Sino ang walang assignment?"

Titser: Ano ang hugis ng mundo?
Juan: Kuwadrado po, maam!
Titser: Hindi! Ang mundo ay bilog.
Juan: Pero maam, sabi ng lolo ko, narating na niya ang APAT na sulok ng mundo. May sulok po ba ang bilog?

Thelma: Sabi mo, dok, safe ang calendar method. Eh, bakit ako
nabuntis?
Dok: Paano nyo ba ginamit ang kalendaryo?
Thelma: Ginawa naming banig.

Boss asks sexy secretary to a dinner after overtime: Are you free tonight?
The sexy secretary replies: Sir, ha... huwag naman, FREE... Bibigyan na ang kita ng discount!

Girl: Maganda ba ko?
Boy: Oo, kaya lang, Bumbayin ka...
Girl: Hindi naman ako mukhang Bumbay, ah?! Tisay yata to!
Boy: Oo nga, pero 'yung amoy mo, Bumbayin!

Eliseo: Sobra na talaga ang katangahan ng kumare mo. Ang akala niya, ang LAWSUIT ay uniporme ng pulis!
JoshuA: Sus! Tanga nga! Eh di ba, uniporme ng abugado yun?!

Host: Ano po ang maipaglilingkod ko sa inyo?
Tanda: Pwede ho bang manawagan?
Host: Ilang taon na po kayo?
Tanda: 98 anyos na po ako.
Host: Wow! Ang tanda nyo na pala! O, sige po... manawagan na kayo.
Tanda: Itay, umuwi na kayo! Hindi na nagagalit si Lolo sa inyo!

Namatay ang isang mister na babaero. Sa requiem mass, sinabi ng pari patungkol sa namatay, "An honest man, a good man, a family man" et
cetera.

Binulungan ng biyuda ang panganay na anak, Pakisilip nga ang kabaong kung ang daddy mo nga ang nasa loob!"

AND MY FAVORITE:

Sa isang ospital...
Lola (may cancer) : Doc, anong gagawin nyo sa akin?
Doc : Che-chemo, lola.
Lola : Titi mo rin! Bastos ka! Walang modo!

All Deserve a Chance!

2009-01-21T23:26:00.004+08:00

(courtesy: www.cnn.com)

Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. Watch the full inauguration speech »

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Here Comes Back the Sun!

2009-01-17T16:09:00.028+08:00

(Photos courtesy: www.awatiro.com)

It's Raining... Oh Men!

For the record - well at least in my own recollection -, last week was the longest gloomy weather condition the city had ever been through. Not only was it gloomy, it had moderate to torrential rains and occasional gale. It all began on the night of January 10, 2009. Rain started pouring on my rooftop like a madman throwing stones everywhere. Surrounded by corrugated GI sheet roofing of the next house (my lola's), my small upper floor bedroom turned into a heavy metal noise factory. Rain pounded so hard leaving not a single inch of silence. Thus, getting sleep was almost impossible.

When I woke up the next day, it was a dark and cold Sunday morning. The rain heavy. Bombo Radyo Cagayan de Oro recounted rising flood in various parts of the city. Of course, the ever-flooded areas of CM Recto Avenue - along LimKetKai Center and MUST (formerly MPSC), Kauswagan high-way and lower Carmen where among the first mentioned to have sunk.

The rain that day lasted for more than 11 hours and never had it poured low to a drizzle. PAGASA said there was no sign of storm or tropical cyclone within the Philippine Area of Responsibility. Instead, the so called tail-end of a cold front was affecting the vast skies across Bicol Region, eastern section of Visayas and Mindanao.

Like Never Before...

Exactly a week before that, Cagayan de Oro River rose to extensive water levels after a downpour that lasted for hours. Leaving hundreds of homeless in its wake. This made me reaffirm that quote "Lightning Strikes Twice". Save for the rising of Cagayan de Oro River, 'lightning struck harder the second time!" Floods were almost everywhere across the city. Iponan River and its nearby barangays were not spared. Zone 8 of Barangay Bulua sank waist to chest-deep. A landslide in Pagatpat tolled to one death. And several landslides incidents were heard of in different sloping spots of the city. A bridge in Opol, Misamis Oriental ,partially collapsed resulting to a paralysis in traffic along Western Misamis Oriental.

Came Wednesday, January 14, another non-stop rain stranded motorists for more than an hour. Coming into the city from the west was unlikely due to flooded Kauswagan Highway, Carmen along Patag Road, and Canitoan. A bittersweet consolation: the water went not as deep as it was the past Sunday. Mayor Constantino Jaraula told the press that the last time Cagayan de Oro went through such a hard rain was in 1957. But never this widespread and high!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

As the Sinulog Festival in Cebu came closing in, I got butterflies in my stomach over perennial bad weather. Uptown, Cagayan de Oro Airport showed low to zero visibility. Thus, most incoming flights were cancelled in the course of this cold front. Gale winds slapped the shores of Macajalar Bay destroying homes. One uncle of mine purportedly told me that a passenger ship bound for Cebu from the Port of Cagayan de Oro, routed back two hours after departure due to strong waves across the sea and that he already cancelled his trip to the Queen City. Gees! I, my sister and three friends already paid our return tickets to Cebu and what dismay would it lead us to if we wouldn't be able to make it to Cebu for the Sinulog 2009! Oh rain do go away!

Friday, January 16th, thank God, it was a misty morning. The sky was pale with light and I heard a roaring of jet engine toward the west. This was a promising day. Saturday would be our flight to Cebu. I had been looking forward to flying again to Cebu and joining this year's Sinulog. I could only imagine how smooth our trip would be as we even already booked for our accomodation in downtown Cebu City. Last year, I joined the Sinulog for the first time and it was a total blast. We got short of preparation then but all that started well, ended well.

Raindrops Kept Falling on My Head :(

My cell phone's alarm clock reverberated sending me up to my feet and head for the showers. But... uh-oh! Did I hear raindrops on my roof? It was 4 in the morning, Saturday. Our flight to Cebu at 6:40. Please let the sunshine up! I said a little prayer while under the shower. Hoping that a few hours by then, the sun would eventually rise. Unmistakeably, I heard a jet engine heading south for the airport. A spark of hope! We were on our way to Lumbia at a quarter before 6. No sign of the sun. Rain was persistent. As we neared Cagayan de Oro Airport, fogs were evident. It was a gloomy sight. As persistent as the rain, we checked in. Terminal's public address announced PAL's definite cancellation of all incoming flights from Manila. Our flight with Cebu Pacific Air was temporarily put on hold due to poor weather condition. The thing was, Cebu Pacific's airbus from Manila went hovering above the airport terminal and runway. No way it could touch down! Later it was announced that the flight was diverted to Mactan Airport in Cebu and that the already airborne flight from Cebu returned to port of origin and concerned passengers were requested to wait for further announcements. And freakin' finally, our flight was definitely canceled due to deteriorating weather condition. Awwwe...

Here Comes Back the Sun!

Sunday was a sunny day. There was a scent of bittersweet surrender as I rose and open my bedroom window. Regret overshadowed me but what a heck. Seeing clear blue skies for the first time in a week somehow gave me relief and renewed hope. After all, I am a Cagay-anon. Thankfully I was not affected by the rising water here in Cagayan de Oro. But still, the week-long gloom affected me in an odd manner. I've had my share of this year's unforgettable 'tail-end of a cold front' experience that left thousands of Cagay-anons crying out for help. We were all in this together. What matters now, here comes back the sun!

Salute to a Departed Star

2009-01-13T10:40:00.000+08:00

Heath Ledger Wins Posthumous Globe for Dark Knight

courtesy: www.hollyscoop.com

Nearly one year after Heath Ledger' s tragic death, he won the Best Supporting Actor award at tonight's 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

The Dark Knight director Chris Nolan accepted the trophy on his behalf with what can only be described as a somber moment.

"All of us who worked with Heath on `The Dark Knight' accept with an awful mixture of sadness but incredible pride," Nolan said. "After Heath passed, you saw a hole ripped in the future of cinema."

During the Golden Globe Award nomination announcement back in December, Terrence Howard talked to Hollyscoop about Heath's performance.

"Even if someone else won in his category, if I had won in that category, I would give it to his family because he truly had the best performance.

"He gave more than I have seen any other actor give, he brought a new light. How do you step into Jack Nicholson’s shoes? How do you do that and stretch that? He stretched Jack Nicholson’s shoes,” he told Hollyscoop.

No one was surprised by his win and he's already generated a lot of Oscar buzz. Only one actor has ever won a posthumous Oscar, best-actor recipient Peter Finch for 1976's "Network," but 2009 is already looking to be a historic year. Do you think Heath will swept the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars as well?

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Music and Me: My Immortal - Evanescence

2009-01-11T23:13:00.000+08:00

A good friend from RAN Online suggested this song to me in-game. I have heard this song over the radio for a countless times. I like its score, yes. But until tonight, I have never had any clue how deep and passionate the passages here are. Evanescence truly gives justice to immortality. The immortality of pain. The immorality of absence. The immortality of time. The immortality of love.

My Immortal

I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

[Chorus:]
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

[Chorus]

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along

[Chorus]

My Immortal - Evanescence

Cagayan de Oro's Black Nazarene

2009-01-09T20:37:00.000+08:00

Never has one Cagay-anon - or a Mindanaoan,- expected of such a grandeur experience that marks a history of Roman Catholicism on this part of the Christian world. That is when the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro officially received the miraculous Black Nazarene icon from the Minor Basilica of Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, today. The icon, being the second replica of the original Black Nazarene, is now housed permanently at the Jesus Nazareno Parish in Lapasan, this city. Monsignor Elmer Abacahin, accounted during the 7AM mass, that last year the Nazareno Parish requested to borrow the robe of the Black Nazarene of the Minor Basilica in Quiapo. It turned out that archdiocese in Quiapo was not only sending the Black Nazarene's robe to Cagayan de Oro. They were actually sending the replica of the 'Callejeron' in time for the 50th Jubilee Celebration of the Jesus Nazareno Parish.
A simultaneous traslacion or transferring of the Black Nazarene were held here in Cagayan de Oro, and in the city of Manila - still in transit as of this writing. Then called as Black Nazarene of Quiapo, the replica is now called the Black Nazarene of Cagayan de Oro. Escorted by Cagayan de Oro's very own Hijos del Nazareno de Cagayan de Oro, the traslacion of the Black Nazarene proceeded with veneration coming from all of walks of life shouting 'Viva!' here and there.
Personally, I was awed by the mere sight of the sorrowful Jesus Christ heaving a cross. From His coming out from the Saint Augustin Metropolitan Cathedral to His entrance at the Jesus Nazareno Parish, I stayed close by, feeling every minute of it. It was my second time to see the Black Nazarene, my first time back in 2004 when I visited Quiapo Church. But walking Him under the heat of sun side by side with the devotees, it was whole new experience! And I was a part of yet another breakthrough in Cagayan de Oro City.

Power Outage?

2009-01-07T21:59:00.000+08:00

I was itching to go blogging last night, after my weekly dose of RAN Online, when the monitor went black, followed by a muted sound of explosion from somewhere far, outside the shop. And the lights went off and back on again But, strangely, both the emergency lights turned on - these lights only go out in the absence of electric power! Then I noticed, the lights were low and pale. There must have been power fluctuation. Some online game users had to wait for the power to go back to its normal phase. But to everyone's disappointment, we never had the regular power back. I decided to call it a night last night and closed shop! Up to this point, I have no idea what came up last night. Was it a power outage? A transformer at a nearby provision got busted? Was there a bomb explosion? Oh please no! *Knock on the wood!*

Black Nazarene in the City of Gold

2009-01-05T16:11:00.000+08:00

From ABS-CBN News

The highly revered image of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo was brought to Cagayan de Oro City Monday as part of the celebration leading up to the feast of the widely believed miraculous antique image of a fallen Jesus Christ under the cross.

The callajeron (pilgrimage image of the black Nazarene) was brought to Villamor Air Base and placed inside a C-130 plane of the Philippine Air Force at around 3:30 a.m. The plane left for Cagayan de Oro City at 4 a.m.

Monsignor Clemente Ignacio, parish priest of the Quiapo church, earlier said the Pastoral Council allowed the image to be brought to Mindanao after learning that many Mindanaoans are devotees of the Black Nazarene.

City Glimpse

2009-01-04T20:04:00.000+08:00

From hereon, I will be posting pictures of Cagayan de Oro City - just a simple glimpse of what the city looks and feels like at the certain time of the day! This morning, I heard over the AM radio that a Tropical Depression was looming Northeast of Mindanao , particularly in Surigao del Norte area and its surrounding provinces. PAGASA dubbed the storm, Auring, the first declared tropical depression for the year 2009! Just as there was a long heavy rain yesterday and the night before, the city was astounded and perturbed by the rising water level of the Cagayan de Oro river that left hundreds of residents on Isla de Oro and nearby areas homeless. Good thing today, the rain went away. But the sun barely shone. Gusts of wind slightly trailed downtown. If you may notice the Philippine Flag on the photo - taken at the Udasco Residence along Tiano Brothers Street - , you could guess that she was wet from being drenched in rain last night and yesterday. But hey, she was waving like it was hot and windy! This made her wet and wild in the city! Haha!

Rising White Water

2009-01-03T17:37:00.000+08:00

From Channel News Asia

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines: About 5,000 families in southern Philippines have been displaced by flash floods and large waves spawned by heavy rains, officials said on Saturday.

Over a hundred houses have been destroyed and many people are fleeing their homes in the face of rising waters in the northern part of the southern island of Mindanao, civil defence officials said.

Regional civil defence director Carmelito Lupo said that most of those whose homes were destroyed were from Cagayan de Oro city but officials were still trying to get information on the situation in the surrounding areas.

Local officials in Cagayan de Oro said that over 2,000 families had to be evacuated to basketball courts due to rising waters on river banks.

Evacuations were also underway in nearby Ginoog City and other areas where flash floods have been reported, said provincial officials.

Local officials said two children, aged one and two, were narrowly rescued from the floods but no casualties had been reported yet.

High School Reunion - The Event Planning

2009-01-02T16:40:00.000+08:00

Thirteen years ago, I bid my high school Alma Mater - Liceo de Cagayan - a bittersweet farewell. Bagging memories, good and bad. Some constantly reminisced. And the rest forgotten with the coming of age.

Today, we are about to conceptualize an event that one will never forget. A Grand High School Reunion. In 2010.

Huwaaaaaaaat?!

Lol! You heard it right!

In 2010!

This is a grand preparation to give our classmates who are now based in different parts of the world ample time to plan for homecoming in 2010 and join the reunion with us here. Isn't that exciting?

More updates to come!

A year after my high school graduation, Hollywood released a hit chick flick Romy and Michele's High School Reunion . A plot about two women getting into a lot of trouble when they go to their high school reunion and lie about their lives after twelfth grade. One of my all-time pop-corn-in-the-couch favorites!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-01T22:41:00.000+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May all of us share the abundance of blessings from our Almighty Father.
That for every challenges and opportunity that we encounter this year,
He will guide us with each step of the way!

KUDOS to all of us in 2009!

Bring it on!