Now what?

December 25 has come and gone. Now what? I don't like to answer this question. But it always shows up on and after Christmas day. Christmas is definitely not over yet. I still have to attend two more Christmas parties before I call it officially over for me. But when that day comes, then what?

Should I look back at the year that is nearing its close? Should I make new resolutions like last year? I find myself unable to decide right now.

Roses in December

December is almost over and it's time to reflect on the year that is drawing to a close. It's time to remember the people who have made an impact on our lives this year. In a speech addressed to St. Andrew's University studentry in 1922, Sir James Matthew Barrie said, "God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." He described them, our December roses, as the people who we "cared for most and who have seemed most worth caring for". We don't have to think about them only in December, but we tend to, it's after all the last month of the year, the perfect month to honor them, even if it's just to let them know that we think of them this Christmas, our roses in December.


And so we think of them or perhaps write to them.

Those who have lent us money, however big or however small, when nobody else would.

Those who have helped us with our work even if they didn't have to.

Those who accompanied us to see a movie; otherwise we'd be alone.

Those friends we met at the badminton courts.

Those who helped us polish our badminton game and other sports.

Those who helped us beat other teams in DOTA; those we traded tips with.

Those who helped us finish the very long Legend of Zelda game.

Those who joined us in our coffee breaks and talked to us.

Those who continue to guide us in our spiritual life.

Those who gave us cellphone loads when we ran out of them (unless you are on plan).

Those who sent us SMS messages, excluding SPAM of course, when nobody else would.

Those who took time to read our web logs more popularly known as blogs. All four of them.

Those who took time to leave comments in our blogs. All two of them.

Those who'd write a blog entry like this, to show their appreciation. :-)

All those who make our lives bearable.

We think of them and thank them. And we wish them a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year ahead of them. Every time we show our appreciation to them they grow, and blossom, our roses in December. Our world is ever more beautiful, our problems easier to solve, and our predicaments easier to get out of because of them. We can do worse by not having them in our lives.



Note:
Thank you to Mungkey for sharing the letterjames link that I used for the three images in this blog entry.

Mug got Christmas

My mug got the Christmas spirit and tries to spread it. :-) Happy Christmas to all my friends who frequent my blog, to those who don't, and to the strangers who got dragged here by the search engines. Merry Christmas to all of you and may we have a wonderful new year ahead of us!

Pasko Na! (Bukas Palad)

We celebrated our office Christmas party last Saturday (December 10) and I'm happy that I received what I've wished for in the exchanging of gifts. It's not exactly my main wish, but I know that the one who picked my name did what he can to find it. And I'm happy that the gift is one of the items I listed.

For the second year in a row we had what we call a wishlist corner where we place what we wish for this Christmas (of course we had to be reasonable, or else we won't be getting what we listed there). I listed three in my wishlist this year, just in case one of them is not available:

1. Patrick Doyle - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Soundtrack
2. Bukas Palad - Pasko Na!
3. Bukas Palad - God in Silence

Last year, I listed about six and the one who picked my name didn't really exert enough effort to find even just one. I know this for certain because I saw some of what I listed displayed in the store that is very accessible (I can even say popular store). So this year, I'm very happy to get something that I listed in my wishlist.

If you are my friend, and you're thinking of giving me a gift this Christmas (for whatever reason), item numbers one and three are still available. Hehe... Thanks in advance! :-)

And how about the one that I picked? I'm proud to report that I've got what he wished for even though he posted his wishlist at the very last moment, right before the end of the office day on the day before the party. And this even though I've already bought my gift the day before.

To enter her mind

I'm writing a poem right now and I'm struggling whether to enter the mind of my subject, or to remain an outsider staring and describing. I'm sure that if I stay outside, the poem will be longer. If I enter her mind and write about what she feels it will be shorter. I'm staring at what I've written and I realize that I've entered her mind. To rewrite and stay out of her head or not? That is the question. Weighing the relative merits of going either way is kind of hard. Hard to the mind, that is. And now I'm reaching for Winamp and play "Dragostea Din Tei". It's a signal that I want to stop thinking. Numa numa yey...

Zabyer

Here's another homegrown website. Homegrown as in grown in Cagayan de Oro and Xavier University. It strives to be the exclusive "friendster" for XU students and alumni. It's still in beta (which means it's still under construction), but usable.

What are you waiting for? Register and add me to your friends list. That is of course if you're an XU alumnus or student.

Home for a few hours

I attended the second technical session of KLUG (Kagay-anon Linux Users Group) last Saturday, November 26, at Room CIT 503, Xavier University. Ahh, my school, my dear alma mater, it has been four years since I last set foot on your grounds. It's good to be back. You look more crowded than ever, but you feel like the same school that I left behind. You are the same school; the same library, the same chapel, the same Loyola House, the same Hayes walkway, the same CIT building. You are the same place that witnessed the forging of my early dreams, the same place that saw me take steps toward achieving them, and sometimes steps backwards toward not achieving them. It's hard to forget the campus where I spent the last eight years of my formal education. And it's hard not to be happy at being there again. The high school is no longer there, most traces of which forever gone. But without doubt, I was on the grounds where I armed myself with stuff to understand, or to try to understand the world around me. The moment I stepped through the gates, I knew I was home. It's good to be back, even if it's only for a few hours.

Hmm... All these nostalgic feelings are getting into me. I guess I'll just blog about what actually happened at the technical session next time. :-)

Harry Potter and the Catholic child

I was surprise to know that a friend of mine hasn’t read any of the Harry Potter books. When she was very eager to see the fourth film, I thought that, like me, she had read the books and was excited to see what the filmmakers come up with. But she hasn't, not even the first book which is the shortest in the series.

But the length of the books is not really the issue, anyway. Apparently a lay group of which she is a member forbids the reading of Harry Potter on the ground that it teaches witchcraft or sorcery. For those who’ve read the books, this presumption is obviously false. My immediate reaction was, "I thought you were Catholic?" She said she is and that it's her lay group that forbids the reading of the books.

I think all Catholics should know that the Vatican has no official position on Harry Potter and it's not hard to see why. There's nothing there that teaches or encourages the learning of sorcery. Everything is make-believe, made from the same stuff that we had plenty of when we're young. And just so it's clear, I'm referring to the imagination stuff. I understand that the very young children might falsely believe that there is such a thing as magic as presented in the books, but didn't we all believe, once, in Santa Claus? So even if the books will indeed make a child believe in sorcery, in time they'll come into conclusion that there's no such thing as magic just as in time we knew that there's no such thing as Santa. Of course to be sure that the child stays safe between the believing and the not-believing point of his or her life, the parents should be in constant communication with the child. Parental guidance is the key. And this is the point, I think. Parents should not worry about what their children read or what TV shows or movies they watch, so long as they're there to guide them. We should not be banning books or TV shows or movies. Let them read Harry Potter, or better yet read the books together with them and then discuss what it's all about. Don't deprive them of a rich source of imagination just because you're afraid they might get the wrong impression. Talk to them. Talk with them. That's all there is to it.

On the other hand, when I was young, my parents didn't really talk to me on what Catholicism is all about. I guess I'm lucky that I joined the acolytes group of our local parish when I was ten, actively serving until I was fifteen. My fascination with the rituals of the mass was enough to make me learn more about my religion, about the Catholic Church. Of course all these fascination with the rituals and symbols of the mass would have amounted to nothing if I didn't find the right books to fill me in on the secrets. :-) Luckily, I passed the scholarship and was able to get into a Jesuit high school, otherwise, my parents (and by that I mean my working mother) wouldn't have been able to send me there and I wouldn't have access to the library that contained lots of books about Catholicism. But that's another story and for another blog post (or not). My point is that when you're grounded on your faith, you can read anything and not be easily swayed the other way. Of course you may not want to buy the books and contribute a portion of your money to the author who you think might be anti-Catholic. But you can always borrow from your friends (no, not the money, borrow the books). On the other hand if you're not really interested about the books in the first place (not because of malicious presumption or anything, but because you're just not interested) then that's another issue.

Going back to the matter at hand, I wish I said to her the things I wrote above when the issue of to read or not read Harry Potter came up. Not that the world is better off if everyone has read Harry Potter, but as a friend it's my obligation to tell my friends what I know (though it's still up to them to decide) about issues that concern them or our faith. I guess I wasn't in the mood for a lengthy debate, especially that we are about to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It would ruin the evening.

"I thought you were Catholic?" Tsk tsk tsk… I hope I did not sound accusatory or all-knowing when I said it. Although I'm confident that it didn't ruin our friendship. Ruining of friendship takes more than that. It'll take something like saying something stupid like I love her or something, but that's another story and for another blog post (or not).

Goblet of Fire movie

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is without doubt the best movie of the series, thus far. It seemed everything has fallen into place for this movie. Everything from Steve Kloves brilliant screenplay, to Mike Newell’s inspired direction, to the main trio’s improved acting skills.

Even though the fourth is the longest book that has been filmed so far, the movie is more tightly-woven compared to the previous ones. A lot of subplots were cut, but the result is wholly satisfying. The result is not a story with a lot of cuts, but just one complete story. I think this time around they’d cut in the right places. I still can’t believe that the back-story of the creator of the Marauder’s map which played a significant role in the third book was not touched upon in the third movie. This time around they got it right. They’d cut the right things like Hermione’s S.P.E.W. movement, Percy Weasley, Ludo Bagman, and the Dursleys. It is at once the darkest and at once the funniest movie of the planned seven. I enjoyed this more than any other HP movie.

The three main casts (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson) have improved their acting skills. More than any other time, it’s hard to imagine any other three actors playing the trio in the remaining three movies. Just last year I didn’t care about the rumors of the trio not returning, but now I do. They should stay. It won’t be the same without them.

I’m not sure if I like Patrick Doyle’s musical score more or less than that of John Williams. Their takes are different from each other, although Hedwig’s Theme is recognizable. Doyle’s take on Hedwig’s Theme is refreshing, though I’m not sure if it’s better than William’s. I’ll leave it to the music experts to debate on that. All I know is that I enjoyed the musical score of this movie.

Steve Kloves who is set to pen the screenplay of the latest book (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) is a brilliant writer. He had set the bar high in this movie. It’s kind of sad and worrisome that he isn’t writing the next movie after showing us what he can do, given talented directors such as Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell. But I’m confident that Michael Goldenberg (Peter Pan, Contact) will be up to the challenge in writing the script for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I'm excited to see what Goldenberg will be able to create out of the longest book in the series. Too bad it won’t come out till 2007, but on the other hand it will probably be just in time for the release of the seventh and last book which would make that year doubly exciting.

Pinoy Big Brother downloads

Hehe... I can't believe I just spent fifty pesos on Pinoy Big Brother-related cellphone downloads. Thirty pesos for the PBB theme ringback (which those who call me, all two of them, will enjoy from now on every time they do). And another twenty pesos for the PBB theme ringtone which I actually use as my message alert tone so that I'll enjoy it every time somebody sends me an SMS, or everytime the servers act up and send me and my co-workers error alerts via SMS. I don't want to make it my ringtone because for one thing, I seldom get calls, and for another, I like my Hedwig's Theme ringtone which I always use whenever a Harry Potter movie or book is released.

Yes, fifty pesos for Pinoy Big Brother, a reality show I referred to as trash TV just months ago. This show has grown on me.

What does Catholic mean?

Steve Ray ponders what the word Catholic means, its history, and significance.

Read his take on just what Catholic means.

Sheep Dash and your reflexes

If you feel tired, but aren't sure of it, then this online game or test is for you. You know that you are tired (and need a coffee break) when you can't get past the Sluggish snail status. The site also has some articles about sleep.

Zelda and the Lampshade of No Real Significance

This is a well-made parody of the best role-playing game ever made. Unlike the real Zelda games, this one will only take you a few minutes to finish.

The Amazing Race 8

The Amazing Race, which recently won their third Emmy last Monday, will kick off its eight season next week. I am looking forward to this especially in light of the fiasco that was Rock Star: INXS. The Amazing Race is still the only reality competition where the winner, or I should say winners because it is a team-based competition, clearly beats the rest of the competition. It's never frustrating even if the team you're rooting for is losing because you can clearly see why.

SuSE Linux Day 2005

It was kind of boring, but I'm happy that I attended the SuSE Linux Day seminar sponsored by Dataworld, IBM, and Novell yesterday. The highlight for me was my winning a t-shirt that says, "Ruby Geek" for correctly answering a question on Ruby programming. At first, I was reluctant to answer because the speaker is from the same company as me. I was afraid that those who knew this fact would misconstrue it as unfair. I knew the speaker, but believe me I have never seen a line of Ruby code prior to that presentation. So I was reluctant to answer at first. But participant after participant answered incorrectly until nobody was raising his or her hand anymore. And so I raised my hand and got to answer. I deserved that shirt. :-)

Rock Star: INXS

I can't believe that J.D. won the competition. And he won it over Marty, too, and Mig, and Suzie. I guess dropping Mig in the middle of the finale was an ominous sign. I wasn't an INXS fan before this, and I think it will stay this way. INXS wasn't seriously looking for talent all along. They just wanted a summer-long (at least for those in the U.S.) publicity. What a joke!

I'm not just saying this because I'm a Filipino and was rooting for Mig who's also a Filipino. Even if Mig won I wasn't sure I'd be buying their album. None of the INXS originals that were played during the duration of the competition really made me like INXS. And it's not just because of the lyrics, the bigger reason is their music. It's just not what I dig. And now that their lead singer is J.D., I'm sure I'll not be buying their album, or even download an illegal copy of whatever single they're producing. I don't even like Easy-Easy, the single they premiered in the finale. I guess they deserve J.D.

Now if Mig releases an album, that would be another issue. He's not yet as rock a star as Marty or J.D., but I like his brand of songs (his lyrics) and his brand of rock. Now, if only he can get the house band to back him up they'd easily beat INXS at the charts.

Darn it

I forgot to vote in Rock Star: INXS. I, of course, would have voted for MiG. And it is not just because he is a Filipino, he truly is a great performer and singer. Whatever happens tomorrow night, I know he deserves to be in the final three. He did great tonight and I am surprise that he was in the bottom during the early round of voting. They need to have their ears checked.

SMS, connecting people

I tried to find a morse code learning software today. I haven't found a satisfactory one, at least not those which are free (freeware). I did find a simple text to morse code translator here. Of course the first word I tried was SOS. I immediately noticed that it sounded similar to the Special SMS alert of Nokia phones. So I entered SMS, hit translate, and lo and behold it is the Special SMS alert. I never knew this...until now. And guess what, the Ascending SMS alert (at least the ones for monophonic phones) is morse code for CONNECTING PEOPLE. Wow. I always found the Ascending alert weird. It's not the most melodic of phone alerts. I guess this is why they've removed it from the polyphonic phones (I don't know if it's true for all of their polyphonic models, but at least in mine it's no longer the Ascending alert). But now that I know it means connecting people, I wish they retained it. I wonder if the default Nokia alert is also a morse code message. I tried translating NOKIA, calling, human technology, hello, but it doesn't sound like any Nokia alert (ringtone). Maybe it's not. But if you do know what it is, please do tell.

New look

My friends Dondino and Eric are redesigning the look of their blogs. I got jealous and decided to redesign my blog, too. :-) I have always wanted my blog to look like this. Simple. Basic colors over white. I also renamed it to Carl News Network, the name of my webpage when I was still learning HTML and CSS in college. Ironically, too, during that time I was also trying to figure out how to automate the creation of my web pages. That was in 1999, I think. I thought of putting a textfile in a certain directory and then run a program to automatically incorporate it to my webpage. I never got around to finishing that program. But what do you know. Other people were thinking about it too. And their solution (blogger, wordpress, mtcomments) were much elegant than mine. I guess I wasn't the only one who thought of simplifying self-publishing.

One problem, though. I cannot change the URL to my blog. Actually, I can. But I don't want to. My friend's links to my blog will break. And so it will stay this way, smallerpicture.blogspot.com, the Carl News Network.

Edit:
My blog looks a bit clunky on an 800x600 screen resolution, but what the heck, I don't want to code in absolute sizes. I'm thinking of finding the middle ground, font sizes that are very accessible (readable) at 1024x768, but doesn't look gigantic in 800x600.

Dot aye-en-eff

I got this from Dondino's blog. Dondino in turn got it from Mark's blog. I don't know why I took the test, but since I took it I might as well post my result.


Which File Extension are You?

One of those idle moments

Look forward

My ex-classmates are talking about "risks" in their blogs. And I'm about to join them with this post.

It's nice to think of risk as the price you pay for change rather than it being a byproduct of change. I don't consider myself a risk-taker. And I don't just feel that way, I am that way. Months of trading in a virtual stock exchange called HSX (Hollywood Stock Exchange) tells me so. But from time to time I do take risks.

One such time was last month (I forgot the exact date). I was asked whether I'd be willing to transfer from Development (where I make programs) to Support Services (where I co-administer servers). I didn't have to answer immediately. But I did. I said, "Yes." It was not a split-second decision, but within minutes I answered, "Yes."

I love to develop programs. Computer Science, the course I took in college, is much more than that, but in three years of developing programs I've come to love it more than any other aspect of Computer Science. It's a creative process. One day you create how to accomplish a job, the next day you are creating another way to accomplish the exact same thing. It saddens me, sometimes it frustrates me, that our development manager doesn't see programming that way. Sticking to familiar ways of accomplishing things is not bad, perse. But it stops you from discovering better ways that are out there waiting to be found. And in our case sticking to the familiar doesn't even enable us to deliver projects on time. Something must be wrong with what we are doing. I see it. My colleagues see it. Unfortunately, our development manager doesn't. It's no wonder I agreed within minutes to transfer to Support Services.

I'm sure it will be hard the first few weeks, maybe months, of my new job. I'll be off my comfort zone. I will have to deal with new people and learn new stuff. But I'm determined to make this new job my new comfort zone. I have no problem with studying new stuff. There are so much out there that I'd like to learn that the problem really is choosing which to do first. I'm taking a risk. That pasture that I will soon moved on to may not be as green there as it is from way down here. But then if I don't go there I wouldn't know.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Got my copy last Saturday. Finished reading it yesterday.

I think Half-Blood Prince is way better than Order of the Phoenix. 'Half-Blood' is not significantly shorter than 'Order', but 'Half-Blood' is way leaner. Somehow for a book the size of 'Order', it contains too little muscle compared to this new book. JK Rowling has definitely cut the flabs in this one and if only she did the same with 'Order', it could have been a much shorter book.

Whoever pens the screenplay for this book will have lots of headaches, however.

English

I'm not writing in English because I want to show the world how great I am at writing in English. It's not also because I hate our native language (Pilipino) or my native dialect (Bisaya). No. I'm writing in English because I know that I need lots of practice in it. I am an aspiring novelist and need lots of practice in English. It seems that online forums and message boards are the only places that I can "say" things in English without being given the "look". I'm sure some of you here are giving it to me right now, but at least I can't see any of you. Hehe...

Read my long-term goal (or you can call it a dream) here. Like what I said there, I'm not sure whether I'll achieve this dream or not, I'm not even sure if I can sustain the interest, but it will be worth the journey whatever the outcome.

Farewell, Jaime Cardinal Sin

Jaime Cardinal Sin, 1928-2005

I was too young to remember what you did for me and other freedom-loving Filipinos back in 1986, but thank you. Thank you for bringing democracy back to our country. Goodbye.

Lazy man chases dream

Believe it or not, I just woke up one morning and decided that I want to become a published writer. "To write stories," I told myself, "that will be my goal in life." For years I was not interested in goals in life. That's because I had none until that day I decided I want to become a published author. From kindergarten, through elementary, through high school, college, and after college, I've been asked what my goal in life was. And almost every time my answer would be different from my previous one. Now, I am thankful to say, I have only one goal. I want to become a published writer, specifically to be a published novelist.

I am taking, what I believe are, positive actions towards realizing this dream. I've read Stephen King's "On Writing" and I'm currently reading Sol Stein's "Stein on Writing". I'm not a native English speaker and rarely use English except in official correspondence, in online forums, and this blog. I need all the practice that I can get, and all the nuts-and-bolts that I can lay my hands on. I'm sure I'll be able to learn things from these two books. I could do worse than not reading them. It will just be like college, again. Except that this time around, I'm having fun while learning how to write stories. I'm also praying that I'll achieve this dream. Studying and praying. I can already see the end of the rainbow. The only thing left is to find out if the pot at the end contains gold, or hot water.

I'm not sure whether I'll achieve this dream or not, but hey, it will be worth the journey, whatever the outcome.

Dogs Go Barking at Night

I wrote this poem one night when I was awaken by some neighbor's crazy dogs. Or maybe they were my dogs, I don't know. It's short because I didn't get up at all. I just used my cellphone, which doubles as my alarm clock, to write it.

When dogs go barking at night,
Inevitably sleep is beyond sight.
Try as I may to go back to sleep,
The barking pulls me back from slumber deep.

Abba Anokk and the Stubborn Pencil

This is my second poem to be posted here. I wrote this on February 22, 2005. I actually have a printed copy on my office drawer. The inspiration for this poem is my inability (not of my own choice) to use modern programming techniques at work. I'm probably the only one who can understand this poem.

In the land of Blast, somewhere near our distant past,
Lived Tong Mangato, oldest of the wise cast.
In the town of Subsequent, where fine days are frequent,
Lived Abba Anokk, bender most stringent.

Two paths have crossed.

Dark clouds form, as thunder grumbles.
Lightning strikes as bull wind squalls.
The Matrix has been opened. Divide by zero divine.
Not still, yet not in motion is Time.

Bright future's a-calling, Abba goes yearning.
Prophecy of five revisited, sixty the magic number.
And so shall famine stay, five more years it may
Before sweet rain creeps out of hiding.
Then the blackhole of thirty-six good Abba shall escape.

Phones go a ringing as printers go a printing.
Abba from his desk awakens with drools a dripping.
Pencil in hand, paper in second.
Escape plan drawn commences at dawn.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

I saw this movie on May 19, 2005, at Gaisano Mall Cinema 2. It's so far the best movie that I have seen this year. Not that I have seen lots of movies this year. But I did saw recently Kingdom of Heaven (which I like), The Interpreter (like this as well), and The Pacifier (don't like).

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is truly the best of the prequel, and probably the best of all six movies in terms of action. The fight scenes, especially the lightsaber duels, are excellent. The score by John Williams has become familiar thanks to my countless of hours spent playing Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. There are certain parts where I forgot I'm watching a movie and instead felt like playing the game... on a big, wide screen. The dialogue, as expected in any Star Wars film, is mediocre. But it is okay, and I did understand the story and felt for some characters despite the dialogue. I like it a lot. It's one of those movies that I must see several times in the theater, before I'll buy and enjoy the video for countless hours more.

'Hitchhiker's Guide' in 'The Pacifier'

I am waiting for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie for so long now, that forgot all about it. Its trailer was in front of The Pacifier, which I saw last Saturday. I didn't like The Pacifier at all. There were some laughs, but not enough to make me feel that I am watching a comedy movie. Vid Diesel's comic antics looks very awkward. His co-stars are no exceeptions. Or maybe the script is really just that silly and the actors couldn't help it. I like the fact that Lauren Graham was there, even though I feel that her talent wasn't put to good use in that movie. I mean, c'mon, she's very funny as Lorelai in The Gilmore Girls. And I like the "soundbites" from The Sound of Music. Hearing some songs from The Sound of Music in a Dolby-surround-sound theatre is wonderful. It sent chills down my spine. The Sound of Music is the first musical that I saw and I saw it only on TV. But I like it so much then and now that some songs, though I have not memorized them, are forever sketched in some small part of my brain. I wish they'd re-release the musical in theatres; digitally remastered, of course.

The trailer from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy looks very promising.

Life is a comedy

The motorized sikad ride on my way to work today was very funny. As you know, motorized sikad is a very noisy kind of local cab we have here. The driver kept on talking to me without realizing that I can't understand a thing that he was saying. So out of respect, I kept on alternating nodding my head, and smiling, and then saying yes. Inside I was laughing very hard.

That sticky feeling

It's official. Summer is here in my city. For two days in a row now, I woke up feeling sticky even though it rained the night before. Summer is here. It came late, but it's here. I think our city is indeed experiencing a climate change. Summer was supposed to come around late March; about a month ago. And rainy season is supposed to commence early May, but now I expect it to begin early June.

Benedict XVI

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, age 78, from Germany, Dean of the College of Cardinals, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, becomes Pope Benedict XVI after three rounds of voting. Long live the Pope! He's not as stern-looking when he smiles. I don't think I've ever seen him smile during the media coverage surrounding the death of John Paul II. I think he's a very good choice for a pope. God bless the cardinals.

No Pope emerged for April 18, 2005

The first vote was taken and as expected no cardinal emerged as the new Pope.

Smart online places

The following are links to some smart online places, you know, those sites na dili makabugok.

One Word

You'll see one word, then you have approximately sixty seconds to write about it. I say approximately because your entry is not posted immediately. You have to click Post to actually post what you wrote. So you can cheat. But then again, what for? It is not graded. You don't receive any money for it. You won't be famous for it. In other words, you cheat and you cheat yourself.

Poetry in Motion

You see the last few lines of a poem and you have sixty seconds to write the next line in ten words or less. Brilliant!

One Caption

You see a photo and you have sixty seconds to write a one-line caption. Marvelous!

All three websites are from the same company or person.

Poor man's pensieve

Every time I go to sleep, I think of a lot of things to add to this blog. But by the time I wake up, I forget all about them or lose interest on them. I wish my brain is connected to this blog. That way everything that I think gets stored here for future perusal. It will be sort of like a poor man's pensieve, or a Muggle's pensieve (the more appropriate term).

The 24-hour line

This is a map of the queue when it was halted some twenty four hours before the doors of St. Peter's Basilica are actually closed for public viewing of the remains of Pope John Paul II.

Things I've learned today:

• The conclave to elect the new pope will begin on Monday, April 18, 2005.
• The pope's last will is seventeen pages long, written in Polish, and written on various stages of his pontificate. It will be published Thursday (Rome Time).
• Jaime Cardinal Sin, archbishop emeritus of Manila, won't be able to attend the conclave due to health problems.

Procession

This is what I was watching last night up until about 12:30 a.m. local time. I dub what I'm doing as televigil. Monday night is usually comedy night for me with Star World's Friends, King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Fraser. Not last night. I mourn the pope's death. I also did a televigil (CNNi, Fox News, BBC World) last Saturday in solidarity with those in St. Peter's Square praying for the pope up until 12 midnight. Tonight, perhaps I'll spend my televigil with EWTN.

Things I learned last night

• The pope's funeral will be on Friday, April 8, 2005, with services starting at 8 a.m. GMT.
• The royal wedding scheduled on Friday is postponed by one day.
• Books by and about the pope is selling like hotcakes.

I mourn the passing of Pope John Paul II, a man whom I greatly admire. Why, you might ask. For one thing, it's because I am Catholic. For another, it's because I choose it so. Some people mourn the loss of a movie star. I choose to mourn the loss of a religious leader and philosopher.

Pope John Paul II is dead.

The beloved pope died Saturday, April 2, 2005, at 9:37 PM GMT+2 (Apr 3, 3:37 AM Philippine Time). Reasons for death are septic shock and cardiocirculatory collapse. He was 84.

Farewell, Pope John Paul II.

Pope John Paul II is dying.

I really thought he would be able to visit the Philippines one last time before his death. It is not going to be so.

HSX: I should trust my instincts

Two weeks ago, I lost the opportunity to make some serious play money by not trusting my instinct to short Robots. Last weekend I missed another opportunity by buying Ring 2 long, instead of shorting it, which was my original plan. Ring 2 adjusted low. But I'm a newbie in this stock exchange simulation game, so mistakes are inevitable. Still, a lost opportunity is a lost opportunity. I should trust my instincts more.

Note:
HSX is an online stock exchange emulation game. Joining is free. After joining you'll be given two million Hollywood dollars to invest. Instead of company shares that are traded in a real stock exchange, MovieStocks and StarBonds are traded here. It's a very nice, mind-engaging online game.

A thousand teardrops (I'll cry with you)

This is a poem I wrote awhile back (I couldn't remember exactly when) after I stumbled upon a website called Strong Verse. The tsunami disaster of December 26, 2004, in South Asia is still fresh on my mind when I wrote this. This is nothing special, of course, I'm not an accomplished poet, or even a poet if it comes to that. I meant this to be a private poem, but I also want to record some things in my mind. And a blog is a way to do it. This is better than a traditional pen and paper journal. And it's not like there are actually people reading my blog. I think I'm the only one who knows of this blog. So in a way it's private.

Should I count the teardrops?
They might number into thousands.
If not I will, I would make it so.
One for each soul awash.
Will each lessen the grief of the survivors?
One more teardrop for me.
One less for the lonely orphan.
One less child to be accompanied by Pan.
One less for a mother who now has none.
Not enough.
You'll continue crying I think.
I'll cry with you.

Sarah Brightman

I'm currently listening to some songs by Sarah Brightman. One song is All I Ask Of You featured in the Phantom of the Opera movie. I'm sorry to say, but the deficiency of that latest movie adaptation is clearly highlighted by her rendition. I wonder why she wasn't cast in the movie. Maybe she's too old for the role, which is unfortunate for her, for the movie, and the movie-going public.

empty

On my way from lunch I was walking on a concrete pavement, but I felt like walking in a barren dessert. Birds chirping reminded me that I'm not, but they made me feel like walking in a desserted forest instead.

Unfortunate events

The second movie I saw tonight is Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It's pretty good actually, though it's movies like this that reminds us why Peter Pan is a classic. I like the movie, and I actually care for the orphans, but I'm too sleepy to fully blog about it. Maybe on monday and not on a cellphone.

Phantom of the Opera

I just saw two movies tonight. The first one is Phantom of the Opera. You know what? Another movie on, a taxi ride, and now I am home blogging about it on my cellphone, and I cant remember any song. I mean I can recall some tune and a few words but I cant pinpoint exactly where they were sang and the context of which they were sang. I feel that I have just wasted over two hours of my time. I don't know. Maybe the lyrics were not that good, or maybe the singers were not that great, or maybe because I'm not a native English speaker that I found it hard to understand the story thru the songs, and thus found it hard to care for any single character in the movie. I have the book, though, from which it was adapted from, but I've decided early on that Id see the movie first before reading it. It seemed like a bad decision.

Orson Scott Card, my favorite movie/book critic

My new favorite movie and book critic is Orson Scott Card (author, Ender's Game). Over the years I realize that I tend to like the movies that he likes, and dislikes what he dislikes. His writing style is easier to understand than most popular film critic like Ebert, for example. He writes clearly, succinctly, and in a no-nonsense kind of way.

Han Solo and Princess Leia, across the stars

(I originally tried posting this entry via email several days ago. But for some reason it has not yet been posted. And there's no bounce message.)

I watched the newest edition of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD last Saturday, February 5. It's awesome! It looked and sounded like and to some extent better than sci-fi films made nowadays. I plan to watch the three again this weekend and this time listening to the audio commentaries by the likes of George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Irvin Kirshner, and some other people involved in the productions.

It seems that every time I watch this trilogy I discover new music as a favorite. Maybe it has something to do with the mood that I was in while watching them. My favorite piece of music this time around is a piece titled, Han Solo and Princess Leia. I like it so much that I created a polyphonic version of it (using Cakewalk and a midi I got from Music by John Williams website). I even came up with the first four lines of lyrics for the music:

In time, across the stars,
We'll meet and you shall smile.
In time, before I die,
We'll kiss and say goodbye.

Aww... Hehe. :-)

Peter and the Starcatchers, new novel

I bought this new book titled, Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It is intended to be a prequel to J.M. Barrie's classic, Peter Pan. As a prequel it seeks to answer some of the lingering questions about the original story. How Peter came to Neverland? How Neverland came to be? Why Captain Hook landed in Neverland? How did Tinker Bell came to be Peter's fairy?

It's a very good book. Hard to put down. As you finish one chapter, you can't wait to read the next one to find out what happens next. The 451-page (first international edition) book is packed with lots of actions and just the right amount of humor to keep the reader glued page by page. It is also very thrilling. You'll keep on guessing who's on which side, with lots of twist that are surprising without becoming incredolous.

It's worth every penny (or centavos). I hope they'll turn this into a movie.

Not weird enough

86. That's my WQ (weird quotient). According to the website:

82% are more weird,
8% are just as weird, and
10% are more normal than you!

I think I'm happy. How about you? Are you happy with your WQ?

New year

It seems that I've been neglecting my blog. Perhaps I should trick myself into thinking that this is a private log, that no one else will be reading this. Not that anybody else is reading my blog. I think nobody else but me knows of its existence. I should learn how to think aloud on this blog.