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This is a portal site for all Katbaloganons. Feel free to use Mga Katbaloganons, Mga Polong, Mga Nanhiuna, Mga Happenings and Mga Kalagasan. Ti Goyong

My Tribute To Father Bobby Sison

Submitted by Jun Mescallado Click here...

My Tribute ReMixed CD To Michael Jackson

Submitted by Jun Click here...

Monument in Israel honors Filipinos For saving 1,200 Jews from Holocaust

Submitted by Nino

By Volt Contreras
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:37:00 06/28/2009
Filed Under: War, history

MANILA, Philippines—Before Schindler’s List, there was another document—the Philippine visa—that saved hundreds of Jews from the gas chambers and mass graves of the Holocaust. In 1939, two years before World War II reached the Pacific, the Commonwealth government under President Manuel L. Quezon allotted 10,000 visas and safe haven to Jews fleeing Nazi Europe. Some 1,200 Jews made it to Manila before the city itself fell to Japanese invaders. Before sunset on June 21, 70 years later, the first ever monument honoring Quezon and the Filipino nation for this “open door policy” was inaugurated on Israeli soil. The monument—a geometric, seven-meter-high sculpture titled “Open Doors”—was designed by Filipino artist Junyee (Luis Lee Jr.). At the program held at the 65-hectare Holocaust Memorial Park in Rishon LeZion, Israel’s fourth largest city south of Tel Aviv, the mere mention of “Taft Avenue” by one of the speakers brought Ralph Preiss to the verge of tears. Preiss, a father of four now in his 70s, later explained that Taft Avenue was where a synagogue-run soup kitchen provided the first hot meals he had as a refugee. He was eight when he arrived from Rosenberg, Germany, with his parents at the port of Manila on March 23, 1939. “If I stayed in Germany I would have been killed,” Preiss, a retired engineer living in Connecticut in the United States, told the Inquirer in an interview. “My cousin who lived in Berlin and whose father was a lawyer went to Paris [instead]. The Paris police handed them over to the Nazis, and they were sent to Auschwitz and got killed,” he recalled, adding: “I’m very grateful to the Philippines for opening the doors and letting us in.”

‘Salamat sa inyo!’

At the program with an audience of around 300, Max Weissler, glib as a jeepney driver plying the streets of Quiapo, barked onstage: “Thank you! Salamat sa inyo lahat, lahat nandito! Nakapunta kayo lahat! Salamat sa inyo!” “Unfortunately,” Weissler noted, “very little is known about this great deed of President Quezon and the Filipino people during the Holocaust. Very little is known about this among us Israelis, the Jews around the world, and even in the Philippines.” Weissler was 11 when he and his German family settled in Pasay City. To eke out a living, his mother baked cakes that his father sold. They all survived the war, and Weissler went on to fight another by joining the US Army in the Korean War. “We came to Manila with practically nothing and always found help one way or another from the Filipinos,” Weissler said. “They have an open heart, and this is why we have this monument.”

3 triangles

Junyee won a competition held by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in February 2007 for the monument project. He bagged a P300,000 cash prize for his design, which bested seven other entries, including one submitted by a National Artist, according to the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv. Rendered mainly in steel and set on a base of marble tiles shipped from Romblon, the monument depicts three doors of ascending heights (three, five and seven meters). Viewed from above, Junyee’s work joins together “three triangles”—one representing the triangle of the Philippine flag, and the others signifying the two triangles that form the Star of David in the Israeli flag. Etched on the marble floor are three sets of “footprints” approaching the doors. The prints are said to be those of Weissler, fellow Jewish refugee George Loewenstein, and Doryliz Goffer, a young Filipino-Israeli born in the Philippines and a granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor.

Modena’s mission

In November 2005, speaking before the Rotary Club of Jerusalem, then Philippine Ambassador to Israel Antonio Modena launched a “campaign for the remembrance of the Philippines’ humanitarian support for the Jews,” according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. That campaign merely proposed that a marker for the Philippines be placed on the Holocaust Memorial Park’s “Boulevard of the Righteous Among the Nations,” which features a row of red granite blocks with the names of countries and number of persons in each country who saved Jews. But the response from then Rishon LeZion Mayor Meir Nitzan “surprised” the Philippine mission: Not just a slab of granite but a monument with its own prominent spot in the park was to be built to thank the Philippines and its people. Technical and financial difficulties delayed the completion of the monument for two years; Modena and Nitzan originally set the inauguration in 2007 to mark the golden anniversary of Philippine-Israeli relations. Modena died of lung cancer in February 2007. His name is first on the dedication plaque unveiled at the “Open Doors” monument on June 21. Modena’s campaign was said to have been inspired by the 2003 book “Escape to Manila: From Nazi Tyranny to Japanese Terror” by Frank Ephraim. The 246-page eyewitness account gathers the voices of 36 refugees, who described in detail their arduous journeys to Manila, the lives they tried to build, and their fresh ordeals under Japanese rule. Born in Berlin, Ephraim was eight when he fled to Manila with his parents in 1939. After the war he immigrated to the United States, began a career in naval architecture and later worked with the US Department of Transportation. Ephraim died in August 2006. “He was very attached to the Philippines and was very anxious to go back there. We were supposed to go, and then he got lung cancer and that was the end of it. It was just too bad,” said his American widow Ruth, another special guest at the inaugural.

Filipino pride

Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano, who attended the inaugural on the invitation of the Israeli government, shared passages from the book which, he said, “made me proud to be a Filipino.” Quoting Ephraim, Durano read: “Filipinos were a tolerant people who never interfered or took any action against the Jews. [Their temple] on Taft Avenue was very visible and Jews attended services and congregated in front of the temple without the slightest disturbance. “There was never a ghetto in Manila, and Jews lived in close proximity with Filipinos, and all sides introduced neighbors to each other’s cuisine, music, culture and history.” According to Durano, the “Open Doors” monument “celebrates the most powerful force on earth, second only to God’s will, and that is the human will.” “It was just amazing, the will of these Jewish families who escaped to Manila. Some had to go through Siberia, some had to take boats for weeks and months,” he said. But also, Durano said, the monument “celebrates the Filipino heart ... a heart that touches others with compassion, a heart that makes one a blessing to the world.”

Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. To subscribe to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper in the Philippines, call +63 2 896-6000 for Metro Manila and Metro Cebu or email your subscription request here Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer's day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer's Reader's Advocate.
Or write The Readers' Advocate: c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94

10 Deadly Sins of Negative Thinking

1. I will be happy once I have _____ (or once I earn X).

Problem: If you think you can't be happy until you reach a certain point, or until you reach a certain income, or have a certain type of house or car or computer setup, you'll never be happy. That elusive goal is always just out of reach. Once we reach those goals, we are not satisfied we want more.

Solution: Learn to be happy with what you have, where you are, and who you are, right at this moment. Happiness doesn't have to be some state that we want to get to eventually it can be found right now. Learn to count your blessings, and see the positive in your situation. This might sound simplistic, but it works.

2. I wish I were as ____ as (a celebrity, friend, co-worker).

Problem: We'll never be as pretty, as talented, as rich, as sculpted, as cool, as everyone else. There will always be someone better, if you look hard enough. Therefore, if we compare ourselves to others like this, we will always pale, and will always fail, and will always feel bad about ourselves. This is no way to be happy.

Solution: Stop comparing yourself to others, and look instead at yourself what are your strengths, your accomplishments, your successes, however small? What do you love about yourself? Learn to love who you are, right now, not who you want to become. There is good in each of us, love in each of us, and a wonderful human spirit in every one of us.

3. Seeing others becoming successful makes me jealous and resentful.

Problem: First, this assumes that only a small number of people can be successful. In truth, many, many people can be successful in different ways.

Solution: Learn to admire the success of others, and learn from it, and be happy for them, by empathizing with them and understanding what it must be like to be them. And then turn away from them, and look at yourself you can be successful too, in whatever you choose to do. And even more, you already are successful. Look not at those above you in the social ladder, but those below you there are always millions of people worse off than you, people who couldn't even read this article or afford a computer. In that light, you are a huge success.

4. I am a miserable failure I can't seem to do anything right.

Problem: Everyone is a failure, if you look at it in certain ways. Everyone has failed, many times, at different things. I have certainly failed so many times I cannot count them and I continue to fail, daily. However, looking at your failures as failures only makes you feel bad about yourself. By thinking in this way, we will have a negative self-image and never move on from here.

Solution: See your successes and ignore your failures. Look back on your life, in the last month, or year, or 5 years. And try to remember your successes.. If you have trouble with this, start documenting them keep a success journal, either in a notebook or online. Document your success each day, or each week. When you look back at what you've accomplished, over a year, you will be amazed. It's an incredibly positive feeling.

5. I'm going to beat so-and-so no matter what I'm better than him. And there's no way I'll help him succeed he might beat me.

Problem: Competitiveness assumes that there is a small amount of gold to be had, and I need to get it before he does. It makes us into greedy, back-stabbing, hurtful people. We try to claw our way over people to get to success, because of our competitive feelings. For example, if a blogger wants to have more subscribers than another blogger, he may never link to or mention that other blogger. However, who is to say that my subscribers can't also be yours? People can read and subscribe to more than one blog.

Solution: Learn to see success as something that can be shared, and learn that if we help each other out, we can each have a better chance to be successful. Two people working towards a common goal are better than two people trying to beat each other up to get to that goal. There is more than enough success to go around. Learn to think in terms of abundance rather than scarcity.

6. Dammit! Why do these bad things always happen to me?

Problem: Bad things happen to everybody. If we dwell on them, they will frustrate us and bring us down.

Solution: See bad things as a part of the ebb and flow of life. Suffering is a part of the human condition but it passes. All pain goes away, eventually. Meanwhile, don't let it hold you back. Don't dwell on bad things, but look forward towards something good in your future. And learn to take the bad things in stride, and learn from them.. Bad things are actually opportunities to grow and learn and get stronger, in disguise.

7. You can't do anything right! Why can't you be like ____ ?

Problem: This can be said to your child or your subordinate or your sibling. The problem? Comparing two people, first of all, is always a fallacy. People are different, with different ways of doing things, different strengths and weaknesses, different human characteristics. If we were all the same, we'd be robots. Second, saying negative things like this to another person never helps the situation. It might make you feel better, and more powerful, but in truth, it hurts your relationship, it will actually make you feel negative, and it will certainly make the other person feel negative and more likely to continue negative behavior. Everyone loses.

Solution: Take the mistakes or bad behavior of others as an opportunity to teach. Show them how to do something. Second, praise them for their positive behavior, and encourage their success. Last, and most important, love them for who they are, and celebrate their differences.

8. Your work sucks. It's super lame. You are a moron and I hope you never reproduce.

Problem: I've actually gotten this comment before. It feels wonderful. However, let's look at it not from the perspective of the person receiving this kind of comment but from the perspective of the person giving it. How does saying something negative like this help you? I guess it might feel good to vent if you feel like your time has been wasted. But really, how much of your time has been wasted? A few minutes? And whose fault is that? The bloggers or yours? In truth, making negative comments just keeps you in a negative mindset. It's also not a good way to make friends.

Solution: Learn to offer constructive solutions, first of all. Instead of telling someone their blog sucks, or that a post is lame, offer some specific suggestions for improvement. Help them get better. If you are going to take the time to make a comment, make it worth your time. Second, learn to interact with people in a more positive way it makes others feel good and it makes you feel better about yourself. And you can make some great friends this way. That's a good thing.

9. Insulting People Back

Problem: If someone insults you or angers you in some way, insulting them back and continuing your anger only transfers their problem to you. This person was probably having a bad day (or a bad year) and took it out on you for some reason. If you reciprocate, you are now having a bad day too. His problem has become yours. Not only that, but the cycle of insults can get worse and worse until it results in violence or other negative consequences for both of you.

Solution: Let the insults or negative comments of others slide off you like Teflon. Don't let their problem become yours. In fact, try to understand their problem more why would someone say something like that? What problems are they going through? Having a little empathy for someone not only makes you understand that their comment is not about you, but it can make you feel and act in a positive manner towards them and make you feel better about yourself in the process.

10. I don't think I can do this I don't have enough discipline. Maybe some other time.

Problem: If you don't think you can do something, you probably won't. Especially for the big stuff.. Discipline has nothing to do with it motivation and focus has everything to do with it. And if you put stuff off for “some other time”, you'll never get it done. Negative thinking like this inhibits us from accomplishing anything.

Solution: Turn your thinking around: you can do this! You don't need discipline. Find ways to make yourself a success at your goal. If you fail, learn from your mistakes, and try again. Instead of putting a goal off for later, start now. And focus on one goal at a time, putting all of your energy into it, and getting as much help from others as you can. You can really move mountains if you start with positive thinking.

Typical Golf Joke ...

Submitted by Ted

BEE STING

A young woman had been taking golf lessons.

She had just started playing her first round of golf When she suffered a bee sting.
Her pain was so intense that she decided to return to the clubhouse for help and To complain.

Her golf pro saw her come into the clubhouse and Asked, 'Why are you back in so early? What's wrong?'

'I was stung by a bee,' she said.

'Where,' he asked.

'Between the first and second hole,' she replied.

He nodded knowingly and said,
'Then your stance is too wide.'

Three Things In Life Refresher

Submitted by Ted

Click-Open the PPS attachment to remind you of The Three Things in Life that are important. (Speaker volume up for nice music)
TED Click here...

4th 2009 Katbaloganon Novena

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Lord of the Dance at 'Britain Got Talent'

Submitted by Ted

To see another entertaining performer at the 'Britain Got Talent' Click here...

40th Day for our beloved Romeo Q. Bartolome

more...

3rd 2009 Katbaloganon Novena

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This is a true story from the Japanese Embassy in US!!!

Submitted by Gody Olaso

A few days ago, Prime Minister Mori was given some Basic English conversation training before he visits Washington and meets president Barack Obama...

The instructor told Mori Prime Minister, when you shake hand with President Obama, please say 'how r u'.
Then Mr. Obama should say, 'I am fine, and you?' Now, you should say 'me too'.

Afterwards we, translators, will do the work for you.'

It looks quite simple, but the truth is...

When Mori met Obama , he mistakenly said 'who r u?' (Instead of 'How r u?'.)

Mr. Obama was a bit shocked but still managed to react with humor: 'Well, I'm Michelle's husband, ha-ha...'

Then Mori replied 'me too, ha-ha.. .'.

Then there was a long silence in the meeting room.

2nd 2009 Katbaloganon Novena

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‘Rigodon de Honor’

Twenty pairs take part in the ‘Rigodon de Honor’ at Malacañang as part of the 111th Independence Day celebration Friday, including Sunshine Cruz and Australian Ambassador Rod Smith, Julie Defensor and Ali Atienza, Liana Romulo and Vince Perez, Vivian Tan and Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, Becky Garcia and Ambassador Alexander Yano, Mimi Aquino and Gabby Claudio, and Chiqui Roa-Puno and Babe Romualdez.

This Will Blow Your Mind in Disbelief ! ...

Submitted by Ted

Open the LINK below and you won't believe what you are seeing with your own eyes ! Click here...

Orchids of Vietnam

Submitted by Ted

Open the enclosed PPS file on the beauty of God's creations, by way of numerous Orchids of Vietnam. And while enjoying the Orchids, try to fully absorb the accompanying words of wisdom. (raise speaker volume up for equally beautiful music)

TED Click here...

A Collection of 10,000 Songs From 1904-2003

Submitted by Ted

Click on the LINK below to listen to an enormous collection of 10,000 Songs from the year 1904 to 2003.

(This should keep you occupied for a long while so you might consider listening one year at a time) Click here...

APARTMENT FOR RENT

Submitted by Ted

A married businessman agreed to pay a beautiful girl $500 to spend the night with her. They did their thing,

And, before he left, he told her that he did not have any cash with him, but he would have his secretary write a check and mail it to her, calling the payment 'RENT FOR APARTMENT.'

The next day on the way to the office, he regretted what he had done, realizing that the whole event had not been worth the price. So he had his secretary send a check for $250 and enclose the following typed note:

Dear Madam:

Enclosed find a check for $250 for rent of your apartment. I am not sending the amount agreed upon, because when I rented the place, I was under the impression that:

#1 - it had never been occupied;

#2 - there was plenty of heat; and

#3 - it was small enough to make me feel cozy and comfortable.

However, I found out that:

#1 - it obviously had been previously occupied,

#2 - there wasn't any heat, and

#3 - it was entirely too large.'

Upon receipt, the girl immediately returned the check for $250 with the following note:

Dear Sir:

#1 - I cannot understand how you could expect a beautiful apartment to remain unoccupied indefinitely.

#2 - As for the heat, there is plenty of it, if you only knew how to turn it on.

#3 - Regarding the space, the apartment is indeed of regular size, but if you don't have enough to fill it, please do not blame the management.

So, please send the rent in full or we will be forced to contact your present landlady.

New Seat Belt law

Submitted by Nancy

This becomes effective June 3, 2009 . The National Highway Safety Council has done extensive testing on a newly Designed seat belt.

Results show that accidents can be reduced by as much as 95% when the belt is properly installed. Correct Installation is illustrated below....... Click here...

High Court writes finis to 16 cityhood cases

Submitted by Benny Malinao

By William B. Depasupil, Reporter

Thursday, June 11, 2009

THE High Tribunal has ruled with finality, declaring as unconstitutional the cityhood laws that elevated the status of 16 municipalities into cities in violation of the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

The Court en banc handed down the ruling after it junked in its March 31, 2009 and April 28, 2009 resolutions the first and second motions for reconsideration filed by the respondent cities and refrained the parties from filing further pleadings.

The High Tribunal, in a six-page extended resolution, said: “. . . there can be no doubt of the intention of this Court to consider G.R. Nos. 176951, 177499, and 178056 finally closed and terminated. Basic is the rule in our judicial system that litigations must end and terminate at some point.â€

On March 11 this year, the League of Cities of the Philippines asked the High Court to declare as unconstitutional the conversion into cities of the 16 municipalities, namely Baybay, Leyte; Bogo, Cebu; Naga, Cebu; Catbalogan, Samar; Lamitan, Basilan; Mati, Davao Oriental; Bayugan, Agusan del Sur; Borongan, Eastern Samar; Batac, Ilocos Norte; Tabuk, Kalinga; Tandag, Surigao del Sur; El Salvador, Misamis Oriental; Carcar, Cebu; Guihulngan, Negros Oriental; Tayabas, Quezon; and Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte.

In its petition, the LCP said the laws creating the new cities are void for violating the provision of Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code, requiring the municipalities to have a generated income of at least P100 million each for the last two consecutive years.

The law also requires a municipality to have at least a population of 150,000 and a land area of 100 square kilometers before it can be converted into a city, the petition added.

The LCP said the representatives in Congress of these municipalities pushed for their conversion into cities despite the failure of the municipalities to meet the provisions of the law.

Records showed that on November 18, 2008, the High Court, by a vote of 6-5, nullified the 16 Cityhood Laws. On January 13, 2009, it denied with finality the motion for reconsideration, there being no substantial arguments raised.

On March 31, 2009, acting on the January 19, 2009 letter of former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza, which urged members of the Court who inhibited themselves from the case to participate, “the Court re-voted on the motion for reconsideration and resolved by a vote of 7-5 to deny the motion for reconsideration with finality for lack of merit, the basic issues raised therein having been passed upon already.â€

In the same ruling, the Court also decreed that no further pleadings shall be entertained.

However, the Court later allowed the filing of a second motion for reconsideration. On April 28, 2009, by a vote of 6-6, the Court denied the second motion for reconsideration for lack of merit, and also “since a majority of the Court did not vote to grant it.†On May 5, 2009, respondents’ counsel received a copy of the 28 April 2009 Resolution.

Generally, a decision becomes final 15 days from receipt by the parties of the denial of the first motion for reconsideration. However, when a second motion for reconsideration is considered and denied by the Court, such as in this case, the decision becomes final 15 days from receipt by the parties of the denial of the second motion for reconsideration.

Consequently, on May 21, 2009, 15 days after May 5, 2009 (the date of receipt by respondents of the denial of the second motion for reconsideration), the November 18, 2008 decision of the Court became final and executory, and was forthwith recorded in the book of entries of judgments.

The Court thus resolved to expunge the subsequent pleadings on the merits of the case, and merely noted the May 28, 2009 letter-request of former Solicitor General Mendoza to recall the entry of judgment in this case.

The Amazing Four-Fingered Pianist

Submitted by Ted

An example of human perseverance to overcome adversities.

This is amazing!!!!!! Simply unbelievable !

Wow, talk about a mother's love and overcoming overwhelming handicaps! Click on the YouTube LINK below: (introductory message is in The YouTube window) Click here...

A Beautiful Romantic Story with Needed Interactive Responses

Submitted by Ted

Maybe a bit long, but very interesting and definetely well worth the read. Remember: Your Own responses are needed as interjected in parts of the story.

King Arthur and the Witch

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question.
Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death.

The question?...
What do women really want?

Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end.

He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.

Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer.

But the price would be high; as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.

The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first.

The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!

Young Arthur was horrified.
She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc.. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life.

He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden; but Lancelot, learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur.

He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table.

Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's question thus:

What a woman really wants, she answered....is to be in charge of her own life.

Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared.

And so it was, the neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom and Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.

The honeymoon hour approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him !
The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened ?

The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth, be her horrible deformed self only half the time and the beautiful maiden the other half.

Which would he prefer?, the maiden asked: Beautiful during the day.......or beautiful during the night?

Lancelot pondered the predicament.
During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate moments?

What would YOU do?

What would be YOUR OWN answer ??

What Lancelot chose is found below.

BUT....make YOUR OWN CHOICE before you scroll down below. OKAY?

(Scroll down)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noble Lancelot said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself.

Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.

Now.....what is the moral to this story?

(Scroll down)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The moral is....
If you don't let a woman have her own way.....
Things are going to get ugly !

TED

FAVORITE DESTINATIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Submitted by Ted

If I remember correctly, Rosemarie & I have been to only 7 of the numerous Marvelous Places in Italy shown in this beautiful Power Point presentation: The Collosseum in Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi, Milan's La Scala Opera House , Positano in Amalfi Coast, and San Remo, (part of the Italian Riviera that we toured on a day trip when we were in Monaco). What seem to be missing here is Venice, my own favorite.

Now make sure your computer speaker volume is raised up to listen to Luciano Pavarotti in the background. (Due to senior moment I cannot recall the title of the Popular Operatic song he is singing here) All that I remember is we dance it as a tango music ! Will someone please tell me the title ??

TED Click here...

1st 2009 Katbaloganon Novena

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4 Pinoy studes win awards in US science fair

By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:04:00 06/06/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Four Filipino high school students have won prizes in an international science competition proving that science education is alive and well and thriving in the Philippines.

Sixteen-year-old Jovani Tomale’s passion for numbers is helping save the Philippine Eagle and has earned for him second prize in the Animal Sciences category during the International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) held in the United States last month.

Two other high school science projects won in the Intel ISEF competition: One by Kevin Jer David, 16, and Orven Jules Dumaoang, 16, and another by Angela Joyce Yap-Dy, 14.

The annual contest, sponsored by Intel Corp., brought together some 1,600 students from 50 countries. Nine students from the Philippines competed by presenting six science projects.

Tomale came up with a mathematical formula to help identify the sex of an eagle, proving that tinkering with numbers and equations is both fun and relevant.

“This is my share to save the Philippine Eagle,” Tomale told the Inquirer.

His project started with a simple field trip more than a year ago when he was still a senior high school student at the Davao City National High School in Davao del Sur.

Listening to talks by officials of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), a Davao City organization that aims to save Philippine Eagles from extinction, Tomale was struck by a simple problem that hampers the breeding of eagles in captivity.

“It was hard for them to determine the gender of an eagle,” he said.

Visual sexing

The foundation usually resorted to what it called “visual sexing” or determining gender by observing the eagle for several days, a method that is very susceptible to error.

“This problem led me to think of something to help the foundation,” Tomale said.

The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is a huge, broad-winged forest raptor endemic to Luzon, Leyte, Samar and Mindanao. It is one of the world’s largest and rarest eagles. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists the Philippine Eagle as “critically endangered.”

It was difficult to identify the sex of the Philippine Eagle because male and female have the same physical features, Tomale explained.

If there was an easier and faster way to tell an eagle’s sex, this could help increase its threatened population.

Formula

Tomale worked with his uncle Vladimir Kobayashi, an applied mathematics graduate of the University of the Philippines, who taught him the basic principles of statistics.

Several months later, he came up with a formula that included information like the length of an eagle’s bill and leg. His formula correctly identified the sex of at least 17 eagles.

Tomale has given his formula to the PEF. He said he would pursue his love for numbers by taking up accountancy at the Ateneo de Davao University.

Other winners

Winning the grand prize in the Plant Sciences category were David and Dumaoang, both graduates of the Philippine Science High School. The two, who are incoming medical students at the University of the Philippines, studied how disease-causing bacteria can “communicate.” By being able to disrupt the communication, they can prevent the disease-causing bacteria from becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Meanwhile, Dy won a special second prize award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. She discovered that milkfish bile, which is usually discarded when cooking, could be converted into an anti-cancer drug. It works especially against lung and colon cancers, which are among the top killers in the world.

Intel presented the winners in a press conference yesterday.

Real science

Education Undersecretary Vilma Labrador said the four students represented that 20 million public school students who “are doing their best.”

Labrador noted: “Is the quality of education falling down? ... This is a proof [that it is not].”

David, one of the grand prize winners, said his experience in the international contest showed him that science “is not just memorizing concepts, real science is when you get to answer your own questions.”

He said the country “needs more scientists” and while he acknowledged that support for science research in the country has been increasing, “there is still room for improvement.”

Intel’s higher education manager for corporate affairs Joselito Tulao said the contest aimed to “develop science and technology in the country.”

9 months later

Submitted by Gody Olaso

Jack decided to go skiing with his buddy, Bob. So they loaded up Jack's minivan and headed north.

After driving for a few hours, they got caught in a terrible blizzard. So they pulled into a nearby farm and asked the attractive lady who answered the door if they could spend the night.

'I realise it's terrible weather out there and I have this huge house all to myself but I'm recently widowed.' she explained, 'I'm afraid the neighbours will talk if I let you stay in my house.'

'Don't worry,' Jack said, 'we'll be happy to sleep in the barn and, if the weather breaks, we'll be gone at first light.' The lady agreed and the two men found their way to the barn and settled in for the night. Come morning, the weather had cleared and they got on their way. They enjoyed a great weekend of skiing.

But about nine months later, Jack got an unexpected letter from an attorney. It took him a few minutes to figure it out but he finally determined that it was from the attorney of that attractive widow he ha d met on the ski weekend.

He dropped in on his friend Bob and asked, 'Bob, do you remember that good-looking widow from the farm we stayed at on our ski holiday up north about 9 months ago?'
'Yes, I do.' said Bob

'Did you, er, happen to get up in the middle of the night, go up to the house and pay her a visit?'
'Well, um, yes!' Bob said, a little embarrassed about being found out, 'I have to admit that I did.'

'And did you happen to give her my name instead of telling her your name?'
Bob's face turned beet red and he said, 'Yeah, look, I'm sorry, buddy. I'm afraid I did. Why do you ask?'

'She just died and left me everything.'

BRIDGES (and WORDS) OF FRIENDSHIP

Submitted by Ted

Click and enjoy a collection of magnificent Bridges from all over the world, with accompanying music and Words of Friendship.

Rosemarie and I have seen ten or eleven of these bridges.

Sit back, relax, turn up speaker volume, and enjoy the music and pictures.

TED Click here...

EXTRA-ORDINARY PHOTOGRAPHS

Submitted by Ted

Click and you will see some remarkable photographs from all over the world, some you may have seen before but others may have not.

Ted Click here...

Software Engineer Log File And His Wife

Webmaster

Husband - hey dear, I am logged in.

Wife - would you like to have some snacks?
Husband - hard disk full.

Wife - have you brought the saree.
Husband - Bad command or file name.

Wife - but I told you about it in morning
Husband - erroneous syntax, abort, retry, cancel.

Wife - hae bhagwan !forget it where's your salary.
Husband - file in use, read only, try after some time.

Wife - at least give me your credit card, i can do some shopping.
Husband - sharing violation, access denied.

Wife - i made a mistake in marrying you.
Husband - data type mismatch.

Wife - you are useless.
Husband - by default.

Wife - who was there with you in the car this morning?
Husband - system unstable press ctrl, alt, del to Reboot.

Wife - what is the relation between you & your Receptionist?
Husband - the only user with write permission.

Wife - what is my value in your life?
Husband - unknown virus detected.

Wife - do you love me or your computer?
Husband - Too many parameters..

Wife - i will go to my dad's house.
Husband - program performed illegal operation, it will Close.

Wife - I will leave you forever.
Husband - close all programs and log out for another User.

Wife - it is worthless talking to you.
Husband - shut down the computer.

Wife - I am going
Husband - Its now safe to turn off your computer