You're invited!

I attended the Better Together talk given by Jason and Crystalina Evert last night. What a great pair they make--and more importantly, what a great message they share! I will be writing about what I learned in the talk soon, but as it is a mere 7 minutes before work starts here, this is going to be a quick post.

I invite you to attend this talk, Worth Waiting For, on Saturday, September 7, 2013, 6-9 pm at the University of Makati (see poster above). This talk is for parents, and a good way to learn about their very crucial role in sex education. Here are short descriptions of what to expect. I hope you come! It's going to be really worth it!

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Romance without Regret

Today’s teens experience greater temptations than ever before. In the midst of this cultural assault against innocence and virtue, young people need convincing reasons to practice the virtue of chastity. Some think that "chastity" simply means "not having sex." But that's mere abstinence: what you can't do and can't have. Chastity is more than that, it is about what you can do and have—right now: a lifestyle that brings freedom, respect, peace, and romance without regret.

By addressing the issues that teens struggle with most, such as sexual pressure, pornography, modesty, and starting over, Jason and Crystalina offer encouragement for teens to maintain their purity or begin again if they’ve made mistakes in the past.

What can save the marriages of tomorrow? In an age in which the media tell young people that they cannot—and need not—control themselves sexually, Romance without Regret offers a refreshing, challenging, and entertaining message to students from junior high school on up. Get the male and female perspectives on living chastely, as you listen to their life changing message.

Raising Pure Teens
How is a parent to compete with MTV, sexting, Abercrombie and Fitch, Internet porn, and all the other influences that allure teenagers away from a pure life? In this seminar Jason offers communication techniques, resources, statistics, and a wealth of information to assist parents in their task as the primary sex educators of their children.

It works :-)

I recently came across this video--it's an anti-smoking campaign by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation. And while it's simple (no artsy camera angles or fancy picture quality), the message comes out pretty strong. Watch it and see for yourself... and remember that sometimes, we need to look at how it could be bad for kids to see better how some things could be bad for us, too.

  

You're invited!

Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio's Papet Pasyon

FREE ADMISSION 

April 1, 2012 - PALM SUNDAY

3pm and 5:30pm

Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio Teatro Papet-Museo

64 Mapagkawanggawa St. 

Teacer's Village East, Diliman, QC

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PRESS RELEASE

Pasyon for kids
In 1984, Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio wrote a puppet play that sought to bring back the Pasyon to the younger generation. The puppet play was premiered in 1985 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The Pasyon is a Filipino cultural tradition full of music and poetry performed during Holy Week for the love of the story of the Passion of Christ. It stands as a reminder for townsfolk to bear witness to the life of Christ, making the Lenten Season more meaningful.

This year, let the events of the Holy Week come to life in puppetry! Watch Papet Pasyon, the annual production of Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, the country’s homegrown puppetry troupe and children’s theater. Papet Pasyon is now on its 27th year.

Admission is free on April 1, 2012, Palm Sunday, 3pm and 5:30pm, at Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Teatro Papet Museo, 64 Mapagkawanggawa St. Teacher’s Village East, Diliman, Quezon City. For details email mulatpuppets77@yahoo.com or call/text 0918.903.2040. Bring your palms, and see you there!

September is special

It's a very special issue this month for Baby Magazine. For our cover, we have super-adorable 19-month-old Juan Aristeo Paz--Tio for short--smiling between his mother's legs. To read more about the shoot (and some behind-the-scenes photos!), visit Sunnyday's blog. We all have a lot to learn from these special little ones and their families!

Lots of meaty reads in this issue to help not only parents of children with special needs, but every parent or parent-to-be as well. From pick-me-uppers during some gloomy pregnancy days to knowing what to expect on the 9th month of pregnancy, and from info on Down Syndrome, Autism, & ADHD to making your home a haven for reading, there are so many things to learn!

I especially loved reading the stories of Dr. Beatriz Paz (the mommy of Tio) and Dr. Bambi Ronquillo, whose daughter Brianna, at 6 years old, got a Cochlear implant, enabling her to finally hear! Now Brianna is a sporty 12-year-old (badminton and swimming) and is eager to teach little kids to sign and talk when she grows up. How's that for empowerment? :-)

When I hear the words "quality of life" being tossed around in debates concerning "pro-choice" propositions, I always wonder why some big intellectual folks forget that human beings are resilient; they fail to take into account that, in the face of difficulties, we humans are designed to make new ways to reach our goals, which is why Team Hoyt still runs and Christopher Reeve was deemed a real-life superman. And you don't even have to look that far to come to that conclusion. Just read the stories in the magazine :-)

Baby magazine is published by Marathon Publishing Co. and is sold at all National Bookstores, SM baby department stores, Babyland (Robinsons Galleria, Shaw Blvd. near Cherry Foodarama, Eastwood Mall), Baby & Co. (The Podium and Power Plant Mall), Bufini, Procreation Shangri-la mall, Big & Small Co. Shangri-la Mall.

Haciendero baby

It's summer! And so hot! Who wouldn't want to bite into a cool and juicy slice of watermelon? It sure is very enticing to be in the shoes of the little watermelon farmer on the cover; little Mikle Flores's cute expression here is captured by Ralph Alejandrino.

What's so fun about the summer issue? Well, we've put together a lot of useful articles for parents and parents-to-be! What I remember most about this issue is that I learned how discovery is always something we can look forward to in everything that we do, no matter how much we've done it before. I've been with the magazine for three years and it was only in the making of this month's issue that I learned babies can't yet carry their own slice of watermelon! Little Mikle had such a hard time lifting the juicy slice that he (smart baby that he is) simply just bent down to get a big bite off the fruit--leaving us (Baby mag staff and his parents Karen and Mon) in stitches! Poor Ralph had to wait a few moments to catch Mikle with his face not buried in the fruit.

It's days like this that remind us how different babies are from the rest of us--and while we all know that they need our protection, support, and guidance, we can benefit from the fact that they (in their vulnerability and innocence) can teach us a thing or two about life and the world, particularly in that the world still has its mysteries... and that uncovering these mysteries (when we set out to discover and learn something new) is what makes each day a bit more special than the last. And if we have to bend down to the watermelon to have a sample of one of life's sweet and simple pleasures, then bend we do; let's not be afraid to try new things now!

Baby magazine is published by Marathon Publishing Co. and is sold at all National Bookstores, SM baby department stores, Babyland (Robinsons Galleria, Shaw Blvd. near Cherry Foodarama), Baby & Co. (The Podium and Power Plant Mall), Bufini, Procreation Shangri-la mall, Big & Small Co. Shangri-la Mall.

Why the sad face?

Have you ever noticed those big yellow stickers in buses and bus-stop waiting sheds that remind bus riders to let the elderly, the disabled, the pregnant, and those traveling with kids to get in the bus first? Those yellow stickers were made by the Rotary Club of San Juan Del Monte, and I think they're a good reminder for seat-hungry people to have a little charity.

I just found it odd (in a slightly amusing way, because this observation is so very... trivial) how the illustrations in the signs struck me as slanted. There is an illustration representing each person whom one should be considerate of. The old woman and the crippled man are smiling but the pregnant woman and the woman with kids are not. I may be reading too much into it, but I think it's unfair to show that having kids or being with kids pastes a perpetual frown on a face. In fact, commuting with (talkative) kids can even be very amusing.

I hope people would stop suggesting or associating children with doom. For homework, read this post from Generations for Life. Watch the video too. Good to know these things.

Papet ASEAN!

It's a busy time for puppeteers now that February is coming up. On February 24-26, puppeteers from different ASEAN countries (such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines) come together at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium (College of Music, UP Diliman) to showcase their different puppetry forms and techniques to help create appreciation and awareness among the younger generations.

At a time when television and the Internet rank high as main forms of entertainment for kids, the puppets of Papet ASEAN 2010 provide a different (and if I may stay so, creativity-enhancing) take on what entertains kids--and at the same time educates them. Join the Seminar on Puppetry-in-Education at the Claro M. Recto Hall, Bulwagang Rizal (Faculty Center), UP Diliman, at 4pm on Feb 25.

Here's the news snippet on the puppet fest:

“PAPET ASEAN 2010: Celebrating ASEAN Puppet Traditions” is a 3-day celebration of artistry, solidarity, and life as distinguished puppet artists and experts/scholars meet, perform and discuss the rich tradition of puppetry in the ASEAN.

Puppets come alive on Feb. 24 (Festival Opening) and Feb. 25-26 (10 am & 2:30 pm shows @ the Abelardo Hall Auditorium). The festival will feature Mascots and Puppets Specialists (Singapore), Pak Yusoff Mamat (Malaysia), 2 Indonesian dalangs, Anino Shadowplay Collective (Philippines), Ony Carcamo (Philippines), Roppets Edutainment (Philippines), and Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas (Philippines). A seminar on puppetry-in-education is scheduled on Feb. 25.

PAPET ASEAN 2010 coincides with the celebration of the National Arts Month, the U.P. Diliman Month and the U.P. Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts 50^th Anniversary.

Festival Organizer Samahan ng mga Papetir ng Pilipinas acknowledges the invaluable support of the ASEAN Foundation, ASEAN Puppetry Association, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, UNESCO, the Quezon City Government, PAGCOR, Theater Lighting Technology, Royal Embassy of Cambodia, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the University of the Philippines (Office of the President, Office of the Chancellor, Office for Initiatives in Culture and Arts, College of Arts & Letters, and the College of Music Department of Musicology).

Mark your calendar for Papet ASEAN 2010—February 24-26, 2010--and get ready for this magical puppetry event!

For inquiries, call/text 0918.9032040, 439.1471 or email papetir@gmail.com.

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Schedule of shows!

Feb 25/Thurs

10am and 2:30pm

Wayang golek dalang (Indonesia), Pak Yusoff Mamat (wayang kulit, Malaysia), Anino Shadowplay Collective (shadow puppetry, Philippines)

Feb 26/Fri

10am and 2:30pm

Wayang kulit dalang (Indonesia), Roppets Edutainment (table puppetry and muppets, Philippines), Mascots and Puppets Specialists (marionettes, Singapore)

Feb 26
Festival closing (after 2:30pm show)

Tickets (P200) are available at the Department of Speech Communication & Theater Arts, FC3069, Bulwagang Rizal, College of Arts & Letters, and Ticket Net)

Unusually, it works

A friend shared this book with me some weeks back and I almost found it in the Manila International Book Fair (almost, because I found its sister called Poetry Speaks to Children in A Different Bookstore). I think rhythm and rhyme (or not rhyme) makes any reading material for kids much more interesting. Not surprisingly, little reader me devoured a lot of poetry too: Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Laura Richards.... Obviously I liked the funny ones!

Perhaps the hiphop in this book isn't the humorous type, but it intrigues me a lot to see something so mainstream make it in literary circles and the classroom. What an interesting combination! Here's an excerpt from a review by Tarie of Into the Wardrobe:

"For most of my life I had a blind spot when it came to poetry, because nobody, not even a teacher or a librarian, introduced me to good poetry. If I had been introduced to poetry through Hip Hop Speaks to Children as a child, I know I would have been made a poetry lover much earlier in life."

Speaking of getting kids to love poetry, it's not really that hard to do. Poetry sounds really good aloud, and kids feel great having succeeded reading the lines right. One of the most important factors of successfully integrating a love for reading in the child is a high rate of success. Sounds very technical; but I remember that I would have never picked up a book that had too many words in it.

As an ender let me share a poem I read over and over again without ever getting tired. It's not hiphop, though, but it did use a lot of weird words. Now that I read it again, why do I feel like it's shorter than I remember?

Eletelephony
~Laura Richards

Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant-
No! No! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone-
(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I've got it right.)

Howe'er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk;
The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee-
(I fear I'd better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!)

Beautiful

I found a copy of Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe in the last Fully Booked sale at 80 off. Of course, I bought it; it was one of my favorite story books back when I was that little squirt who thought Nancy Drew was a ghost hunter.

I liked this book a lot because the pictures looked so different from what I was used to; this is a fairy tale--not a Grimm Brothers', but it had the same elements: a good sister, a wicked sister, magic, adventure...handsome prince--the works! What made it so interesting was the fact that it was different.

Growing up reading western books, I was used to seeing beautiful princesses who had long blonde hair and fair skin, blue eyes and red lips. You can just imagine how a book with the word 'beautiful' in the title and a brown face on the cover would have stuck out like a sore thumb among the many typical illustrated fairy tale books on the shelf to a western-beauty-brainwashed kid like me.

I picked up the story and enjoyed it very much--it was mesmerizing to look at the African images; I especially remember how the beggar boy's ear curled at the tip. The story was about two daughters, both beautiful. One wanted to be queen and the other just wanted to serve her father. One day, the king gave a summons to all the unmarried ladies in the land to come and meet him--he was looking for a wife. On the way to the palace (the sisters did not travel together), there were "tests" and the wicked sister failed them while the good sister passed. It's a story about beauty within: kindness, sincerity, charity.

It's interesting also to note that, having a "realistic" art style, the book is not really the type I would have instantly picked off the shelf--I would prefer to get the ones with the cute cartoon-y illustrations because, by experience, they tend to be funnier. But this book I got intrigued with because, besides it being African, I wanted to see if there was an image in it where the daughters really did look beautiful. (You have to excuse this kid.) They weren't conventionally (biased word) pretty but by the time I finished reading, I agreed that they were beautiful. Perhaps that was why the illustrations were more on the realistic side?


In any case, this is a book about real beauty, overlooking skin color, eye color, nose shape, lip thickness, hair texture and lash length. Nowadays, pop culture insists that beauty has only one face--preferably one that went "under the knife." But even kids would know that isn't true, if you gave them the opportunity to think it over. Because no matter how hard a brainwashing the media gives a person, every one, deep down, knows that what makes a person truly beautiful is the virtues that dwell in the heart.

Stay safe!

This month's Baby Magazine is all about safety! See that adorable tot on the cover? His name is Mark Angelo Pardilla--and he had lots of fun in our shoot (as you can see) because we let him rule the play area of Tumble Tots in Libis, QC! That "no paparazzi" sign on his shirt was happily disobeyed by photographer Ralph Alejandrino, who said, "Sana lahat ng baby ganyan!" after the shoot. Gelo is such a sociable lil'un!

In this issue we did stories on being safe with kids at the mall, a family's struggle with losing a child to rabies, preggy-safety when walking on heels, bathroom safety, among other pertinent topics. Get to know members of the school community who help make schools safer for kids.

I had the chance to interview Rex and Nina Tomen, advocates for rabies awareness in the Philippines. They lost their 5-year-old son Gian Carlo, whom they fondly call Poypoy, to the disease. And he got it only via scratch! Parents must be informed about what to do when their kids come in contact (get bitten, licked or scratched) by unknown and unvaccinated dogs or cats. You can visit the website for rabies awareness put up by Rex and Nina with Sangkap here.

Baby magazine is published by Marathon Publishing Co. and is sold at all National Bookstores, Babyland (Robinsons Galleria, Shaw Blvd. near Cherry Foodarama), Baby & Co. (The Podium and Power Plant Mall), Bufini, Procreation Shangri-la mall, Big & Small Co. Shangri-la Mall.

Whoever said they're just "potential life" is full of baloney

Must we need further proof that the baby in the womb is alive?

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Fetal Short-term Memory Found in 30-week-old Fetuses

ScienceDaily (July 15, 2009) — Memory probably begins during the prenatal period, but little is known about the exact timing or for how long memory lasts. Now in a new study from the Netherlands, scientists have found fetal short-term memory in fetuses at 30 weeks.

The study provides insights into fetal development and may help address and prevent abnormalities. Published in the July/August 2009 issue of the journal Child Development, it was conducted by researchers at Maastricht University Medical Centre and the University Medical Centre St. Radboud.

The scientists studied about 100 healthy pregnant Dutch women and their fetuses, measuring changes in how the fetus responds to repeated stimulation. After receiving a number of stimuli, the fetus no longer responds to the stimulus as observed by ultrasonography and the stimulus is then accepted as "safe." This change in response is called "habituation." In a second session, the fetus "remembers" the stimulus and the number of stimuli needed for the fetus to habituate is then much smaller.

Based on their research, the scientists found the presence of fetal short-term memory of 10 minutes at 30 weeks. They determined this because a significantly lower number of stimuli was needed to reach habituation in a second session, which was performed 10 minutes after the first session. They also found that 34-week-old fetuses can store information and retrieve it four weeks later. Fetuses were tested at 30, 32, 34, and 36 weeks, and again at 38 weeks. The 34- and 36-week-old fetuses habituated much faster than the 38-week-old fetuses that had not been tested before. This implies that these fetuses have a memory of at least 4 weeks—the interval between the test at 34 weeks and that at 38 weeks.

"A better understanding of the normal development of the fetal central nervous system will lead to more insight into abnormalities, allowing prevention or extra care in the first years of life and, as a consequence, fewer problems in later life," according to the study's authors.

Where is Up???

It was released last May and it's still not being shown here in the Philippines. Maybe in August. Here's a little article about Up that someone shared with me. Perhaps it's the fact that a story about an old man is hardly marketable that it's been put off so much in our cinemas. Nauna pa Harry Potter 6. Sigh.

I'm sharing this not only because of its insights--I pretty much like the way it's written; it may look long, but it doesn't read so long, you'll see!
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Up

Why is an animated film from Pixar about a grumpy old man raking it in at the box office?

I think I would make you laugh if I said "Disney" and "artistic integrity" in the same sentence. But for once, at least, there might be a good reason. Disney must have known that a film featuring a lonely old man would not send toy companies scrambling for the licensing that makes successful children's movies so profitable. But they went ahead with Up all the same, and the result is a film more exciting to cinema buffs (it was the first animated feature ever to open the Cannes Film Festival) than to profit machines (Thinkway Toys passed on Up despite their long-standing relationship with Pixar).

Yet, if not quite a franchise, Up looks to be the biggest hit Pixar has produced in years; the weekend grosses for the first three weekends are much closer to Finding Nemo (Pixar's highest-grossing film) than Wall-E or Ratatouille. Why? How did Up shut up the Wall Street demographic analysts? Maybe behind his quality-first positioning, Disney CEO Rober Iger knew something Wall Street didn't. Maybe a positive, heroic vision of aging can ring true in spite of the standard narrative of the increasing uselessness of the elderly as a growing economic burden on the younger generations.

What exactly did T. S. Eliot have in mind when he wrote, "Old men ought to be explorers?" My guess is he wasn't picturing a squat codger towing a floating house and an overweight cub scout from one end of a vast Venezuelan tepui to the other. The plot of Pixar's latest movie might sound like an all too literal dramatization of that line from Eliot, but the beauty of it is that that's just the point of Up: the main theme of this movie is the moral danger of taking things too literally.

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I found where this article comes from! (Finally!) Read the rest at MercatorNet. :D

Cora Cooks Pancit

Oh, I am drooling! My lola just made some pancit for us yesterday when we visited her in Cavite. You could smell it from the living room, a warm savory aroma, and when you put it on the plate, the whole bottom heats up so fast you might burn yourself if you're not careful. Nothing beats lola's cooking!

I discovered this book on the Internet--it's published by Shen's Books, and it has a Pinoy theme. How very interesting! Must keep eyes peeled for a copy somewhere. Here's the synopsis from the website:

Cora loves being in the kitchen, but she always gets stuck doing the kid jobs like licking the spoon. One day, however, when her older sisters and brother head out, Cora finally gets the chance to be Mama's assistant chef. And of all the delicious Filipino dishes that dance through Cora's head, she and Mama decide to make pancit, her favorite noodle dish.

With Mama's help, Cora does the grown-up jobs like shredding the chicken and soaking the noodles (perhaps Mama won't notice if she takes a nibble of chicken or sloshes a little water on the floor). Cora even gets to stir the noodles in the pot—carefully-- while Mama supervises. When dinner is finally served, her siblings find out that Cora did all their grown-up tasks, and Cora waits anxiously to see what everyone thinks of her cooking.

Dorina Lazo Gilmore's text delightfully captures the warmth between mother and daughter as they share a piece of their Filipino heritage. With bright and charming illustrations by Kristi Valiant, Cora's family comes alive as Cora herself becomes the family's newest little chef.

Rainy June day

It's June again! School again! Rain again! And what should little tots do to learn? Why, play of course! So for the month of June, Baby Magazine is focusing on play and toys that are really good for the kids. There's a special feature on Pinoy games, those simple but super-fun games we used to play in the school driveway or wherever. Kids today are not let out as much, some even don't want to go out because of the lure of computer and console games (especially now when some consoles promise you actually get to move around)--but if you encourage these old games to your little ones, who knows how much more fun they'll have?

There's also a feature on leptospirosis--that scary disease you get from wading in infected flood-waters! Not many people are aware that going out in the rain in inadequate gear can make one really sick...and not many people are aware that it isn't only flu that you can catch out there. So, buckle up those boots and give your kids some wellies and read about what else you can do to keep healthy during the rainy days.

I learned a lot from writing Catherine Lanzona's story--Catherine has five kids that she has been homeschooling for 4 years now. Her story is something to inspire parents who have been looking for a way to take their kids back from the prevalent and not necessarily wholesome culture of today.

Oh, and that very active cutie on the cover is little Jaden Chua Medina, who in the picture is comin' at photographer Kristin Alfafara Rodriguez of Little People Lifestyle Photography! Watch out, Kristin! Teehee! The photo was taken at Gymboree, Manila Polo Club. Baby magazine is published by Marathon Publishing Co. and is sold at all National Bookstores, Babyland (Robinsons Galleria, Shaw Blvd. near Cherry Foodarama, Shoppesville), Baby & Co. (The Podium and Power Plant Mall), Bufini, Procreation Shangri-la mall, Big & Small Co. Shangri-la Mall.

...and it was still hot

Does my entry title sound familiar? It should if you've been devouring picture books! It's the last line in Maurice Sendak's book Where the Wild Things Are. I love this book because the way it is told is so simple and yet it seems to mean more than those simple words...not to mention the way the images help tell the story and create a mood to get the story running! (In fact, there's a whole spread that has no words in it at all, but because of that you know instantly what "wild rumpus" means.)

The book introduces the child reader to Max, a little boy dressed in a wolf suit who makes mischief (running after the dog with a fork, talking back to his mother) and is sent to bed before supper. "Wild thing" is actually what Max's mom calls him because of his behavior. Go read the book if you haven't yet--no synopsis will do it justice!

Why I'm writing now about a book that has been around since 1963 is that there'll be a movie out this year! October 16! Woot! That link goes to the official movie site, where you'll see the trailer and some pictures. The movie looks Jim Henson-y awesome.

Where have the princesses gone?

The word "princess" has been used by media (to describe the Hollywood lifestyle?) and marketing giants (to sell!) so often that it's hard to think of it without that tiara-wearing, luxury-overloading, scepter-wielding, pony-riding and pink-overusing parody coming to mind. While there are admirable characteristics about Disney princesses (and even Barbie movie princesses), so much attention is put into emphasizing the prettiness of it all that the better side of the word is left to fester and fall away.

It's time to look for another image of a princess. And I have just the girl! She isn't blonde--she doesn't even think of herself as good-looking--she wears too-small clothing, she has lost all the riches she once had...and yet, she still offers an ear to her friends, makes up stories for lonely and cold nights, thinks about another child's hunger over her own, and meekly submits to the ways of the world while keeping her head high. Do you know who I'm talking about?

Illustration by Odelia Leaf

I finally read Frances Hodgeson Burnett's A Little Princess. You probably know what happened in that story, as it has been retold countless times... but I'd like to give a rehash: Sara Crewe, raised in India and sent to London to study, was a girl who had just about everything a girl ever wanted. Her father Ralph was rich man who liked to lavish her with gifts...she had the most beautiful (ridiculous, as Miss Minchin would say) wardrobe and everything a princess seemed entitled to. But one day, news about Ralph Crewe's death arrived, and along with it the vanishing of all Sara's fortune.

What I admire about Sara is fortitude and character--and what willpower that child had! I can't help sharing some Sara-isms with you! These are little lessons from a princess on how to be a real princess, or at least, someone strong, admirable and compassionate. Might be good to think about when the going gets tough!

On being a princess:
"Whatever comes cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it."

On giving:
"If nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that--warm things, kind things, sweet things--help and comfort and laughter--and sometimes gay, kind laughter is the best help of all."

On patience and fortitude:
"When you will not fly into a passion people know you are stronger than they are, because you are strong enough to hold in your rage, and they are not, and they say stupid things they wish they hadn't said afterward. There's nothing so strong as rage, except what makes you hold it in--that's stronger. It's a good thing not to answer your enemies."

On trials:
"Perhaps I have not really a good temper at all, but if you have everything you want and everyone is kind to you, how can you help but be good-tempered? Perhaps I'm a hideous child, and no one will ever know, just because I never have any trials."

On miracles:
"Somehow, something always happens just before things get to the very worst. It is as if Magic did it. If I could only just remember that always. The worse thing never quite comes."

Now I have someone new in my Awesome Fictional People list. ;-)

Kids on the train

I had the pleasure of sharing the train carriage today with two rambunctious little boys (to be fair, my back was turned and I couldn't tell if they were boys or girls, but they kept talking about "labanan" that I figured it was safe to assume their being boys). They were an amusing pair because they looked at everything they could look at, and gave a completely honest commentary on what they saw.

Along EDSA, as anybody who drives along that busy highway every day can attest, flash a motley collection of billboards. So it wasn't surprising to hear an announcement like, "Marie France, nye!" (making me rack my brain to remember what billboard that was on the other side of EDSA). I do hope advertisers would think twice before deciding to put such body-focused ads where kids could see them plainly. Clearly, the most insightful of us don't buy it--why should the rest of us?

The funniest was a comment they made when the train was about to stop in Ortigas station. We were slowing down to align with the platform when one of the boys said, "Huwag ka dyan, pagpasok nila, patay ka!" (Don't stay there, when the passengers come in, you'll die!) Should this pass unnoticed? Haha! I think someone finally pointed out how rough women could be. This, after all, was the female carriage. To think it took two boys (kids are allowed in the female carriage) just a few stations to sum it up in so matter-of-fact a statement... AREN'T YOU ASHAMED, LADIES?

Television says, kids say the darnedest things. I say, kids say it like it is.

Weird day

...for Blogger.

¿Que pasa, Blogger?
¿Donde estan mis entradas en mi blog?
¿Porque, porque?

While Blogger is being a traitor, here's a quote I wanna share (which is also in my Twitter if you read the sidebar of this blog). Not only TV, but also computer games and hand held devices take away significant reading time from today's kids. Just the other day I couldn't help saying how expensive a PSP was...and not just in terms of the one time shelling out when you get one from a store--your time drains away too. Imagine the many hours one could spend mesmerized by a video game when instead one could be reading, getting creative, learning an instrument, studying, talking with friends and family, or even sleeping and eating? (Yes, addiction could deprive you of even the basic needs.) So before getting any time consuming entertainment technology consider what you'll be spending in terms of time too. Life's too short.

Oh, and here's the quote (I don't have the name of who said it though):

“TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book.”

Be mine Valentine

It's Valentine's Day! Let me share a scene from Sita and Rama: Papet Ramayana, here being performed by Roel (7) and Aina Ramolete (10), future master puppeteers. In this scene, Rama and Sita sing a beautiful duet about love and service--which really do go together however people try to separate them.

Let me share the song lyrics (written by accomplished playwright and professor emeritus Amelia Lapena Bonifacio):

Awit ni Prinsipe Rama at Prinsesa Sita
P. Rama: Magmula sa araw na ito,
sumpa kong matimtiman
Lahat ka sa aking buhay,
hindi kita pababayaan;

P. Sita: Magmula sa araw na ito,
sumpa kong matimtiman
Ikaw lang ang mamahalin,
Hindi kita pababayaan;

Sabay: Maging anuman ang iyong pasiya,
ako ang mag-aalalay
Kasama mo ako sa hapis o saya,
sa hirap o kasaganaan.
Maging anuman ang iyong pasiya,
Ako ay nakaalalay;

Magmula sa araw na ito,
hanggang tayo'y sumakabilangbuhay!
Magmula sa araw na ito,
hanggang tayo'y sumakabilangbuhay!

---
For English speakers, forgive me, I can't make a better translation (that is an art in itself, I suppose). But here's what I did just for you:

The song of Prince Rama and Princess Sita
P. Rama: From this day hence,
I sincerely vow
You are all to me,
I will take care of you.

P. Sita: From this day hence,
I sincerely vow
Only you will I love,
I will take care of you.

Both: Whatever you decide
I am you aide
With you in sorrow and joy,
in hardship and abundance.
Whatever you decide
I attend;

From this day
until we pass from this world!
From this day
until we pass from this world!


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Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Spread the love ;-)

Brown Bag Auction

If you're not too busy this Saturday, why not drop by? You might take home something nice! A Brown Bag Auction lets you bid for a gift hidden inside a, well, brown bag (so that you don't know exactly what it is). Fun?

:D

---Sharing a note from Ditas of Mentor Philippines...

We'd like to invite you to this fund raising event which we call brown bag auction. We asked some people to give up a gift last Christmas and we've repackaged them in brown bags. Then we'll auction off the items to the highest bidder. The bidder won't know what s/he is bidding for until s/he opens the brown bag. The auctioneeer will provide a general description of the item. Items will be categorized under the labels "wearables and washables", "bath and beauty", "home decor", etc. starting bid for each item is 20 percent off the actual market price.

Proceeds of the auction will go to destitute patients of the PGH pediatric ward.

This is the second year we're doing this -- both the auction and the visit.

We "adopt" an entire pedia ward and buy the patients medicines, vitamins, diapers, toiletries, art materials, children's story books, fruits, etc. from the proceeds of the brown bag auction.

The last time we did it, the kids and their parents were very happy because after Christmas, wala na halos bumibisita sa kanila. Kaya yung outreach project is called PASKO PA RIN sa PGH.

It's also an alternative learning experience for the university students enlisted in a mentoring program my friends and I started in 2005. "Taking care" of a sick child, albeit only for 2 hours, is a very enriching experience for both the students and their mentors (volunteer mentors are young professionals working in various fields).

Hope you can come. You may also join us in the actual PASKO PA RIN event which will be on Feb 8, a week before araw ng mga puso =)

Invite friends, too.

Cheers,

Ditas