New year blessings

My wish for you in 2009:

Beauty for your eyes to see
Comfort on difficult days
Faith during your lowest moments
Smiles to brighten your day
Rainbows to follow the clouds
Courage when the way gets dark
Laughter to kiss your lips
Patience when you need to wait
Hugs when your spirit sags
Friendships to lighten your being
Love to fill your life

Happy New Year!

Image from wallpapers.dpics.org

Rejoice!

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord."

Luke 2:10–11

May this blessed day fill your hearts with love and peace.
Happy Christmas!

Adoration of the Shepherds
Domenico Ghirlandaio, Florentine, 1449–1494
Image from the Web Gallery of Art

Sunday evening blues

Every now and then (like right now) on Sundays, as soon as the sun sets and it gets dark, I start getting depressed. It's a combination of a lot of things, most beginning with "I did not…"

• do all the chores I needed to do
• do all the other things I wanted to do
• get enough sleep or rest
• read all the blogs, newspapers and book chapters I wanted to read

Weekends are really just not enough to do all these (especially when you only get half of Saturday off from work). But what really gets me depressed is the fact that I only have one night's sleep separating me from another thankless week at work. When I was younger, I felt the same way about school. I think that's why I always end up sleeping very late Sunday nights—you know, trying to keep Monday morning at bay. Because when you sleep, you don't feel time passing and next thing you know it's Monday. How juvenile can one get, right?

I'm not normally this glum, thank goodness. I don't like feeling this way at all—it's tiring and it makes it harder to accomplish anything. There's still some chocolate-filled bonbons in the refrigerator. Time to have a couple, I think.

To those in the same hemisphere as the Philippines: I hope you have a wonderful week. And to those on the other hemisphere: have a peaceful and restful Sunday.


Public domain photo of "Sunset Over the Sahara Desert" by NASA from www.solarviews.com

110 years of independence

Today, we are celebrating the 110th year of Philippine Independence from Spain.

On June 12, 1898, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule.

This declaration was not recognized by Spain or the United States, however, because that same year, Spain ceded its colony to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris. Philippine independence was only recognized by the U.S. on July 4, 1946.

Proclamation of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898

I was going to say that maybe we should have a second celebration on July 4, to commemorate our independence from the U.S. But on second thought, are we really?


Read more about the Philippine declaration of independence at Wikipedia.

The silliest holiday ever

On Thursday, June 12, the Philippines will celebrate it's Independence Day.

But in an effort to boost local tourism, our brilliant president had issued a proclamation stating that the Monday closest to the actual holiday will be the non-working day. And the proclamation covers most Philippine holidays, not just Independence Day. So today's a holiday, and everyone will be at work on June 12.


I'm grateful for the extra day off from work, of course, but today's proving to be just an ordinary day for me—cooking and catching up on chores—as I suspect it is for most Filipinos nationwide. I mean, how many Filipinos can actually afford to travel?

So on Thursday, if anyone has organized events and celebrations, who will be able to attend, if everyone's back in their workplaces?

And our government wonders why Filipinos aren't patriotic.

Endangered Species Day

I'm a day late for this because it's already Saturday here—that's what happens when you don't check your email everyday.

Three years ago, the U.S. Senate declared the third Friday of May as Endangered Species Day. It is meant to promote the conservation of all plants and animals threatened with extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources maintains a Red List of Threatened Species, if you are interested. I've signed up at the Center for Biological Diversity to get news and to be able to sign petitions.

If it's still Friday in your part of the world, or even if it isn't, you might want to send these e-postcards to your friends and family to help spread the word. Click on the image and it will bring you to the web form for sending them.

Happy Endangered Species Day, everyone!
Although, honestly, I don't see how it can be happy.

Resurrection

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you." Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.

~ Matthew 28:1–8

The Morning of the Resurrection
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, English, 1833–1898
Image from the WebMuseum

Happy Easter, everyone!

Death

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit;" and when he had said this he breathed his last.

~ Luke 23:39–46

The Crucifixion
Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Flemish, 1564–1638
Oil on Panel, Church of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, Paris, France

Palm Sunday

On the next day, when the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and cried out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel."
~ John 12: 12–13


Date Palm
Phoenix dactylifera

The Date Palm is a palm extensively cultivated for its edible fruit. Due to its long history of cultivation for fruit, its exact native distribution is unknown, but probably originated somewhere in the desert oases of northern Africa, and perhaps also southwest Asia. It is a medium-sized tree, 15–25 m tall, often clumped with several trunks from a single root system, but often growing singly as well. The leaves are pinnate, 3–5 m long, with spines on the petiole and about 150 leaflets; the leaflets are 30 cm long and 2 cm broad. The full span of the crown ranges from 6–10 m.

History of dates
Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated around the Persian Gulf, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BC. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia in 6,000 BC. In later times, Arabs spread dates around South and South East Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. Dates were introduced into Mexico and California by the Spaniards by 1765, around Mission San Ignacio.


Photo of Phoenix dactylifera from Murcia, Spain by Seweryn Olkowicz from Wikimedia Commons. Text from Wikipedia.

Why couldn't it have been a whole number?

Today is leap year day. Here's a simplified explanation of why and when we have it.

• The Earth orbits the sun every 365.2425 days.

• To make up for that .2425 day, one day is added to our calendar every 4 years.

• But one-fourth of a day does not equal .2425.

• Therefore, years which are divisible by 100 are not leap years, unless they are also divisible by 400, in which case they are leap years.

• 1600 and 2000 were leap years, but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not.

• 2100, 2200, 2300, 2500, 2600, 2700, 2900, and 3000 will not be leap years, but 2400 and 2800 will be.

Image from the Creation Museum

1986

Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo
The video that captured the mood of the 1986 People Power Revolution




A video created by Edward Fatal using the song "Ten Thousand Fists" by Disturbed




Learn more about the 1986 People Power Revolution from these websites:

• The 1986 EDSA Revolution Website
• EDSA: The Original People Power Revolution by Angela Stuart Santiago
• EDSA: The 1986 People Power Revolution of the Philippines

May you be transformed by the love around you

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me,i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain, has such small hands

~e. e. cummings (1931)

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Year of the Earth Rat

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Keong Hee Huat Chye!

Congratulations and Be Prosperous!

The Rat is the first sign of the Chinese zodiac and signifies new beginnings. This year is thus an appropriate time to start new ventures, especially groundbreakings. This includes new ideas, directions, and ways of doing things.

Earth favors those who are tied to the land, do a lot of routine work, deal with practical matters, or perform work of a spiritual nature.

The Rat tends to take a lot of risks, while Earth is associated with practicality and stability. This creates balance and can lead to good profits, increased productivity and all sorts of accomplishments. Looking at the characteristics of both Earth and Rat, it could be a very good year for those with careers in business, construction, engineering, academia, planning and the clergy.

Read more in chinese.astrology.com
Image from The Magnificent Paper Cuts found in MyWeb3000.com

Dies Cinerum

Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.
~ Genesis 3:19

Ash Wednesday. Carl Spitzweg, German.
Oil on panel, c. 1860.

Image from MuseumSyndicate: Experience Art and History

Carl Spitzweg painted several versions of "Ash Wednesday," as he was captivated with the theme of the lonely outcast harlequin for a number of years circa 1860's. The composition in each of the versions are similar, in that they depict the isolated clown, contemplating the passing hours in a dark, shadow-filled cell, with only a slight ray of light to sustain him.

Ash Wednesday figures in this work as a metaphor for this isolation. Spitzweg was a devout Christian, who grappled incessantly with the notion of transience in life. In the Christian church, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, and it was the practice in Rome for penitents to begin their period of public penance, obliged to remain apart until they were reconciled with the Christian community on the Thursday before Easter. When this practice became outdated, the beginning of Lent was symbolized by the placing of ashes on the foreheads of the entire congregation.

The notion of separation without reconciliation or redemption was not lost on Spitzweg, consequently symbolized in his harlequin series. In Spitzweg's diary, he recalled the ceremony of Ash Wednesday and the intensity of his priest's words, "Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." Indeed, in the Old Testament, ashes were used as a sign of humility and mortality, sorrow and repentance for sin. For Spitzweg, the harlequin in jail offered a way to reflect on humanity in general, and expose the constant struggle between moral and immoral tendencies within the self. The figure of the harlequin was celebrated in many European countries through traveling theater productions, and Spitzweg had the opportunity to specifically watch the festive and colorful Commedia del'arte. Additionally, he read much literature on the topic of the harlequin in its manifold symbolism. The harlequin's pointed cap, and bright costume sets up a strong contrast to the sombre cell, presenting a most poetic and powerful work.

Text from Artfact

Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him.

After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

~ Matthew 3:13-17

Cross-shaped baptismal font, ca. 4th century, Paros, Greece
Photo by Vangelis



Baptismal font in Bartholomäuskirche, Tossens, Wesermarsch, Germany
Photo by groenling

Three Kings Day

And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

~ Matthew 2:9–11

The Journey of the Magi. James Jacques-Joseph Tissot, French.
Oil on canvas, c. 1894.

The Adoration of the Magi. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish.
Oil on canvas, c. 1655–60.

A new year

A new dawn, a new beginning.

May your 2008 be filled with peace, prosperity, success, love and joy.

Happy New Year!

O blessed day!

Behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
Matthew 2:9


May the birth of our Savior
fill your heart with love and peace
on this blessed day and all throughout the new year.

Christmas Blessings
to you and your loved ones

December 10, 2007

Today is Human Rights Day.

And Human Rights Day 2007 starts a year-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.




Yeah, right.

Visit Human Rights Web for comprehensive lists of human rights resources on the web.

First Sunday of Advent

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.

Whatever your faith or religion, know that during this special season, you will be in our prayers. May you be blessed with a life full of love and all the blessings it brings: peace, understanding, acceptance and happiness.