Revenge of the Fallen

Hell

2009-04-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am so frustrated right now.

Things are not going my way.

Nobody told me there'd be days like these.

I'm off to Asiana in Clark this weekend. Maybe I'll get my much needed rest. Peace, maybe?

Lady Luck, kiss me please!

Nibiru

2009-04-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

(Note: I wrote this article because a special lady requested for it. Hope she'd like it.)

I was in grade school when a very rare astronomical phenomenon occurred: the planets in the solar system aligned in one side of the sun. It was 1982. But before the actual event took place, many soothsayers sprung up. End of the world, they said. Better repent.

The planets did align for a few minutes but the world didn't end. The only thing that ended were the careers of the soothsayers.

End of the world predictions are nothing new. We do not run out of supply of date setters, modern-day prophets, and prognosticators. Believe it or not, the date of the end of life as we know it has been set in as far back as 44 AD!

Now it's 2009 and the latest buzz is that Nibiru, a comet planet, will collide or near-collide planet Earth in 2012. The effect of this astronomical get-together is, as you may have already guessed, the complete obliteration of all life on Earth.

Nibiru is the planet mentioned in Zecharia Sitchin's series of books. The author interpreted ancient Sumerian writings to arrive at the conclusion that this new planet will collide with Earth in the very near future. Actually, Sitchin's followers contend that the collision would happen in 2003 but since it didn't, they conveniently moved the date to 2012.

Maybe if these followers bothered to read more about Nibiru, they will know that in the Sumerian texts, the word Nibiru has several meanings but most likely it means "crossing" or "a bridge way." Before you ever think of burrowing underground and stacking on food and water in anticipation of the end of the world, please read this article.

So instead of living in fear, I suggest that you live life to the fullest; tell and show your parents how much you love them; make an effort to make yourself happy; be helpful and kind to your fellowmen; so that when the end comes, we will have no regrets.

Mindless Ramblings

2009-04-24T04:07:00.000-07:00

The night is unpleasantly warm. My journey has just begun. How far is it still? So far. I feel it's a million miles away.

Everything is a blur. My head is spinning. I just want to close my eyes and sleep. But sleep will not come. Not for many hours.

What am I doing? What has happened? I end up in another place. This is not what I want. I don't want to be here. Lights are blinding. The night has a thousand eyes. Looking at me with hatred. Accusing eyes; angry eyes. I bury my face in my hands. I'm sorry. Forgive me. I don't mean this to happen.

I look up and saw the night sky. It was pitch dark. No moon, no stars. Just black, unforgiving, menacing. I cringe in fear. I want to go home.

I fail. My quest is unsuccessful. But my spirit does not surrender nor my heart falter. I will try again next time. I will always try, for as long as I'm alive.

Home again, safe at last. It is still dark, but not unpleasant. Everything is quiet now. Sleep. Please come to me. I drift.

Outside, a night creature, probably a bird, makes an eerie sound, shattering the blessed silence, far into the night.

The Evil That Men Do

2009-04-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

In the June 10, 1991 edition of Time Magazine, on page 48, there's an essay there written by Lance Morrow, entitled Evil.

The essay would enumerate the evil, the atrocities, violence and viciousness human beings have wrought to one another throughout our history. Evil has been with us since the dawn of time. From Cain to Hitler to Saddam Hussein.

Never before the world has witnessed gross malignities such as the ones perpetrated by humans to each other. Men are the only creatures in this planet that kill for reasons other than food or survival. Evil must be deeply rooted in our being. Like it's a part of being human.

However, on the other hand, human beings are capable of profound kindness towards other human beings. This act of selfishness is never demonstrated by other creatures on Earth. Good, therefore, must be part of being human, too.

The question, then, is: Can we eliminate evil, leaving us with just the good?

But if we somehow banish evil, will good be as meaningful as it is now? Will there be balance in the philosophical world? If humans will never know of evil, how can they recognize the good?

Is it possible that animals are indifferent of good and evil but humans need both?

A dichotomy, then.

To appreciate the light darkness must exist. Angels must co-exist with demons. We will not know the value of life if we do not know of death.

That will separate us from the animals.

I Think Therefore I Am

2009-04-20T21:23:00.001-07:00

Reports say (as of this writing) that Stephen Hawking is hospitalized due to chest infection. He is seriously ill.

Here is what you will find in Professor Hawking's official website:

Monday 20th April, approx. 19:00 UK time

Due to very high demand, the website has been simplified to keep the server online. We apologise for the lack of in-depth content, which would normally be available here.

Professor Hawking is comfortable, but will be spending the night in hospital. The Cambridge University Press Office have a statement to this effect, and do not expect to have any further updates until mid-morning tomorrow.

Who is Stephen Hawking? Why is the whole world concerned about him? He is considered as the most intelligent person on Earth today. He is, as some sociologists would comment, the next traditional genius after Albert Einstein. He is the incumbent Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, a post once held in 1669 by the great Sir Isaac Newton. He wrote the very popular science book A Brief History of Time and its sequel, The Universe in a Nutshell. He is also involved in the search for a "unified field theory," a work Einstein started but wasn't able to finish.

Professor Hawking's list of works and accomplishments and contributions to popular science is remarkable, considering the fact that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a condition that has progressed over the years and has left him almost completely paralysed.

Indeed, it's not the body that makes us cripples, but it's the mind.

If you think you are a genius and do not know how to deal with it, why don't you try joining Mensa? Mensa is a worldwide organization of geniuses.

Here is the official site here in the Philippines:

http://ph.mensa.org/main.php

But before you head to the Mensa Philippines testing area with your lucky pen, you might want to exercise the ol' grey matter and take the IQ tests offered in these sites:

http://www.quizrocket.com/free-iq-test
http://www.testcafe.com/iqtest/iqtest.html
http://www.iqtestfree.net/

The exams in these sites will truly challenge your mental capacities.

Best of luck!

Will The Real Dinosaurs Please Stand Up?

2009-04-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

Remember the scene in Jurassic Park when a large sauropod (a dinosaur that stood on four legs with a long neck) stood on two legs and stretched its neck to munch on the tops of a tall tree? In reality, it couldn't have done that. According to biologists, long-necked sauropods preferred to feed horizontally, rather than vertically. Why, you would ask? Because it would take a lot of energy, in fact, half of the animal's energy intake, just to circulate the blood around the head and neck areas if it used its neck like giraffes today do. According to experts, these giants didn't have the hearts big enough to pump the required amount of blood for vertical feeding.

Not so long ago, it was widely believed that dinosaurs were reptiles and, therefore, cold-blooded. It gave rise to the idea that dinosaurs were big and slow and stupid. But later research shattered this idea. Dinosaurs were not reptiles, it was argued. They were related to the modern-day birds instead. They were warm-blooded and quick and agile.

Also, there are studies that point to the fact that Tyrannosaurus Rex was not a predator, but rather a scavenger. So the scenes in the movies showing T-Rex attacking other dinosaurs and humans for food could be wrong.

Science, really, has its way of shattering our fantasies. But I so much enjoyed Jurassic Park, The Land Before Time, and Dinosaur. What will the next scientific research reveal? That the dinosaurs can't really talk? Man.

My (Secret) Love

2009-04-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

(What's with this night, huh? I can't help it. I have to write this. Forgive me. I am sorry. I love.)

Sometimes I catch myself staring at you as you sit there a few feet away from me. You mesmerize me: the way the lights glitter on your hair; the way you move your hands when you explain something; the way you smile when I say something funny; the way your eyes pierce my soul when you look at me. You may not know it but I lock all those moments away somewhere in my heart where they will keep.

Sometimes I tremble when you touch my hand or arm on rare occasions. I've never known anyone as beautiful as you before and I know I will never meet someone like you again even if I live to be a hundred. You make this world a better place. And I am glad, thankful that we met and became friends.

And sometimes, when you talk to me, I hang on every word that you say. Being with you, being close to you, is something I always find so profound. It's like being part of something. Something not big or grand, but something simple, beautiful and true. You always take my breath away.

And if you still don't know it by now, I love you. I love you with the kind of love they told of long ago. I may not show it but it's always there. Somewhere, sometime, someone always thinks of you. Loving you from a distance. You are loved.

The World Has Moved On

2009-04-07T21:00:00.001-07:00

I just watched Bladerunner on video. It is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I haven't read the story yet but I already downloaded the e-book. Bladerunner is a good movie, with young Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard.

The last time I watched Bladerunner was in the early 80's; probably '83 or '84. That was more than 2 decades ago. Really, how time flies. Before we knew it the world has already moved on and there's nothing we can do but move along with it. Oftentimes we find ourselves looking back and wondering where has it all gone. Where are the familiar faces and places we grew accustomed to? Where have all the long summers gone? We can only reminisce. And wonder what happened to the friends we made along the way.

Sometimes, if we are lucky enough, we meet again some of the friends from our past. You would think that they'd remain the same. But you could be wrong. Quickly you will realize that the persons you knew in the past are far more different than they are now. Sometimes the realization will catch you by surprise. And reaffirm the fact that, really, the world has moved on. And how does the world move on? The world moves on one person at a time.

Badminton.Wicked.Books.

2009-04-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

So. I played badminton this morning. Guess who was my team mate in a couple of games? A member of the Philippine National Team. Awesome! While we were playing he was giving me some pointers to improve my game. But of course I've forgotten those pointers already. Ha ha. But who cares? I had fun. And that's the reason why I play badminton. To have fun and meet new friends with common interests.

I'm so tired and sleepy but I still have to go to work. No rest for the wicked, really. Speaking of wicked, have you already read the novel Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury? I still haven't. Though I promised myself to read it countless times already. Maybe if I can find an actual book, not just an e-book, I may finally read it. Currently, I'm reading Red Dragon by Thomas Harris simultaneously with In The Night Room by Peter Straub. Yes. I read two books at once. Don't ask. I like reading. I like going to imagined worlds once in a while.

Someone asked me once: if there is one book you'd like to be translated into a movie, what would it be? I would have to say Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. And I wish it could be directed by Steven Spielberg with Anthony Hopkins or Jack Nicholson as Jubal Harshaw. Anyone can play Valentine Michael Smith, except for Ben Afleck. Ha ha. I grok.

Sunday Morning

2009-04-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday morning. How does one feel on a Sunday morning? I wouldn't know anymore. My head aches because of lack of sleep. I don't feel well. Yesterday was not one of my best days. Bad news after bad news. Didn't get what I wanted. Was so busy at work. Customers piled up. Stupid email servers.

I'll play badminton later. Maybe my luck would change.

My head aches.

Hell.

Something Mushy This Way Comes

2009-04-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

The following essay was sent to me through email by a friend in 1999 (the day my cyberlife began) and somehow lost it the next year. I found it in one of those blogs just this year. And the feeling I experienced when I first read this email in the summer of 1999 still remains. So, if you feel like your heart is broken and trying to find some sense of it all, maybe this essay can help you realize. Maybe. Just maybe. So, please, read on.

Echoes of the Heart

Sometimes we close our eyes and just listen to the echoes of our hearts. We all fall in love and there are times when we love so much that we lose ourselves in our own emotions. More often than not, we wonder why there is love that grows and there is love that grows cold. We would start to search for answers and try to find where love has gone wrong. But in the end, we find ourselves where we started for we cannot question love when it has its own reason. Love will always be as it always has been: silent, mysterious and deeply profound.

Many of us believe that love is forever, that love never dies; only to be disillusioned in the end when we find ourselves empty and longing. We mistakenly look at love as a need to be fulfilled. But it is only a gift given to us. We shouldn’t hold it in our hands for we may never find the strength to let it go when it decided to leave. We should only embrace its warmth and glow while it lasts and then freely open our arms when it’s time to say goodbye.

We fall in love with someone; we don’t want that feeling to end for it is everything we want it to be. We pray that love will stay and grow in our hearts. But if it doesn’t, then we should never let ourselves taken by it.

For life should not end where heartaches begin.There is always a reason why we have to move on. When we have to say goodbye to the things we wanted to stay forever. Let us not waive our hands with a heavy heart. For love will set its wings free and find a place where it belongs. We may have lost it but then again, when we close our eyes and just listen to the echoes of our hearts, we will hear that feeling resounding silently forever. Then we’ll know that it has never left us. For the good that we have become of love will always stay. It will always be there reminding us that we should be thankful and happy, not because we have lost love, but because for once in our lives, that feeling lived in our hearts and made us happy.

Sh*t Happens

2009-04-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

What would you do if you knew exactly when all life on Earth will end? Will you do whatever you can to prevent it? Will you do everything to save yourself and your loved ones? Or will you accept your fate and believe that death is not the end?

These questions were answered in the movie Knowing, starring Nicholas Cage and directed by Alex Proyas, who also directed the movies, Dark City and I, Robot.

Knowing is a great movie. I recommend that you watch it in any means possible. (I downloaded it and watched it on my PC.) I liked the ending when Caleb and Abby were "implanted" in to a new planet. Like Adam and Eve in to the Garden of Eden.

One interesting note. The aliens in the movie resemble angels; and their ships are remarkably like the throne described in the Book of Ezekiel. So the question haunts us again: Are the gods described in the world's ancient religious writings actually aliens from another planet? But who can tell? We can debate all day long and we wouldn't arrive anywhere. For now it will be a matter of one's belief, of one's Faith. And that is what the movie is all about: "knowing" that somehow there is a better place for us after we left this sad, unforgiving world.