Quaere Verum

Another Marvel comic book character makes the jump to the big screen. Here's the trailer for Ghost Rider starring Nicholas Cage. Note: Turn off the background audio first at the bottom of the page before clicking the play button.

According to this article on Wikipedia , the Philippines ranks fifth overall in the world in terms of English speaking population. Ahead of the Philippines are India, the United States, The European Union, China, and the United Kingdom. The accuracy of the figures is disputed though, for various reasons (see this page ). It's a bit surprising to know that India is actually the top English speaking country in the entire world, even ahead of traditional English speaking countries like the United States or the United Kingdom, but the figures seem to bear that out. Considering that I really don't have any figures of my own, I guess I'll have to take their word for it. If you're interested to know, rounding off the top ten following the Philippines are Germany, Canada, Australia, Pakistan and France. It's not really that surprising that the Philippines is among the top English speaking countries in the world today. Historically, Filipinos have always been avid English s...

Another of my favorite songs. This song was written by Creed frontman Scott Stapp as a testament to the power of lucid dreaming . Take charge of your dreams. Higher Creed When Im dreaming Im guided to another world Time and time again At sunrise I fight to stay asleep Cause I dont want to leave the comfort of this place Cause theres a hunger, longing to escape From the life I live when Im awake So lets go there Lets make our escape Come on; lets go there Lets ask can we stay? Can you take me higher? To the place where blind men see Can you take me higher? To the place with golden streets Although I would like our world to change It helps me to appreciate Those nights and those dreams But my friend Id sacrifice all those nights If I could make the earth and my dreams the same The only difference is To let love replace all our hate So lets go there Lets make our escape Come on Lets go there lets ask can we stay Can you take me higher? To the place where blind men see Can you take me hig...

When I was still in elementary school so many years ago, I distinctly remember one of my religion teachers saying that out of all of God's creations, it is only man who has a soul, as we are the only ones made in His image. When pressed by the class to elaborate, particularly with regard to whether animals, such as dogs and cats have souls, she answered in the negative. If I remember it correctly, this is how she put it: Tao lang ang may kaluluwa dahil sa lahat ng nilalang, tayo lang ang natutulog na nakaharap sa langit. (Translated: Only people have souls because out of all of God's creations, we are the only ones who sleep facing heaven.) In retrospect, I'm not particularly sure if she was serious or pulling our legs, considering how impressionable as youngsters we in the class were. Well, this memory came in a flashback as I chanced upon our cat sleeping on the couch on our lanai: Facing heaven, as my teacher put it. Well, our cat faces up when it sleeps. Does that mean ...

You've probably read this before, but what the hey, it's funny. :-) Some snatches of uniquely Filipino wisdom: "Ang buhay ay parang bato, it's hard." "Better late than pregnant." "Behind the clouds are the other clouds." "It's better to cheat than to repeat!" "Do unto others... then run!!!" "Kapag puno na ang salop, kumuha na ng ibang salop." "Magbiro ka na sa lasing, magbiro ka na sa bagong gising, 'wag lang sa lasing na bagong gising." "When all else fails, follow instructions." "Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika, lumaki sa ibang bansa." "To err is human, to errs is humans." "Ang taong na gigipit...sa bumbay kumakapit." "Pag may usok...may nag-iihaw." "Ang taong naglalakad nang matulin... may utang." "No guts, no glory... no ID, no entry." "Birds of the same feather that prays together... stays together." ...

Well, actually I am. And glad to be one at that. But this lecture delivered almost 80 years ago by Bertrand Russel , a British philosopher, writer and advocate of logicism and atomism, takes a completely opposite tack. While this piece may not go as far as convince me to abandon my beliefs, it presents some very interesting and sound arguments, sensible, logical, and devoid of the high-handedness of some more recent Atheist writers. A pretty fascinating read. And some of his points are quite agreeable, regardless of whether you're a Christian, an Atheist, or anything in between. Ultimately, the choice to believe is a personal one, depending on one's faith...or lack thereof. As for the popular question if there is a God, then why are so many people suffering in the world today? see this earlier post . But that's just me. I'll let you judge the piece for yourself. It's a bit lengthy, so I hope you people bear with me. Why I Am Not A Christian Bertrand Russel As your ...

This short film is eerily fascinating. Artist Ahree Lee has been taking digital photos of her face since November 2001. In 2004, she combined all of her daily shots to form a sort of "time lapse" short film where every second is equivalent to about a week of real time. What's even more fascinating is that in all that time her appearance, and even her expression hasn't really changed much. And the background music is as eerie as the entire montage. Take a look. Note: Turn off the background audio first at the bottom of the page before clicking the play button. You can view the full length version of this short film here .

Corporate Lesson 1 : A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbour. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that ?"... "It was Bob the next door neighbour," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?" Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure. Corporate Lesson 2 : A priest offer...

Philippines: Growing number of political killings risks retaliatory spiral Numbers of political killings in the Philippines are increasing for a second year, with at least 51 killings in the first six months of 2006 compared to 66 collated by Amnesty International in the whole of 2005. The leadership of the armed insurgency has threatened to form retaliatory assassination squads. The killings follow a pattern of unidentified men shooting leftist party members before escaping on motorcycle and have taken place in the context of an intensified counter-insurgency operation. The Philippine government has failed to protect individuals, according to an Amnesty International report released today. Read the press release in its entirety here . Links: Philippines: Political Killings, Human Rights and the Peace Process - Amnesty International

What?!?! All that effort in visiting this blog, at alang bagong post?!?! Can't be helped I'm afraid. I'm in the middle of something. As long as you're here, how about a quick game? :-) Click Here to get this from FreeFlashToys.com!

If you're a Transformers fan you may find this interesting. It's a teaser trailer for a Transformers live action movie to be released next year. :-) Note: Turn off the background audio first at the bottom of the page before clicking the play button.

One of my favorite songs. :-) Plush Stone Temple Pilots And I feel that times a wasted go So where ya going to tomorrow? And I see that these are lies to come Would you even care? And I feel it And I feel it Where ya going for tomorrow? Where ya going with that mask I found? And I feel, and I feel When the dogs begin to smell her Will she smell alone? And I feel, so much depends on the weather So is it raining in your bedroom? And I see, that these are the eyes of disarray Would you even care? And I feel it And she feels it Where ya going to tomorrow? Where ya going with that mask I found? And I feel, and I feel When the dogs begin to smell her Will she smell alone? When the dogs do find her Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow To find it, to find it, to find it When the dogs do find her Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow To find it, to find it, to find it Where ya going for tomorrow? Where ya going with that mask I found? And I feel, and I feel When the dogs begin to smell her Will ...

I have a history of asthma. Have I ever mention that in this blog? Well, its been a while since I last had an attack, but somehow I strongly doubt it if I have seen my last dose of salbutamol . I average about one mild attack a year. It's been more than a year since my last one, and hopefully I haven't jinxed myself by saying that. When I was a kid I had quite frequent attacks, which were treated with injections in the ass back then. As I grew older, the frequency of attacks became less and less, but it doesn't seem as if I completely outgrew it. With air pollution the way it is nowadays, I doubt it if I ever will. As an asthmatic, I have always been somewhat picky with the air I breathe. I've had a thing for air conditioning since I was a child, whether in buildings or vehicles, which gave some people the impression that I was well-to-do and wasn't used to being in hot places. Actually it had nothing to do with being well-to-do. Cool, dry air is always easier to br...

Are you a comic book type of person? Well, in my case I'd like to think that I am, and even at my age I still on occassion read comics and graphic novels. I have about a dozen or so graphic novels in my personal collection, notably DC 's Death of Superman , Batman: Knightfall , Zero Hour: Crisis In Time , and a smattering of Marvel 's Spider-Man and X-Men graphic novels as well. I'd like to buy more, but lets face it, graphic novels aren't exactly the cheapest, nor the most practical book purchases out there. The cheap ones are at least about P500.00 or so, but certain compilations, especially the limited release or hardbound ones, can easily breach P1,000.00, P2,000.00, and sometimes even more. While they can be expensive, they're also quite fascinating, and oftentimes addictive, if you find yourself following a particular story or plotline. Fortunately, for us cheapskates, there's a less expensive alternative. I'm referring to comic book files prolifer...

Years ago, a woman named Dorothy was severely burned while attempting to extinguish a grease fire on her stove. She was left with second and third degree burns all over her arms and face. Dorothy was taken to a local hospital where a team of doctors administered treatment. Perhaps no pain is as excruciating as that of being burned, and no process more traumatic than that of having skin grafted back onto your body. Dorothy had to undergo a series of skin grafts that kept her in the hospital for several weeks. This made Dorothy extremely difficult. The doctors, nurses and hospital staff could not get along with her. She refused to accept visitors nor their gifts and argued constantly with her doctors. She frustrated the entire staff. The pain of the accident and the difficulty of the healing process had transformed Dorothy into a bitter and antagonistic woman. One day, Dorothy met another patient who introduced himself simply as Sarge. It was obvious by looking at him that his burns were...

I wish I had the time or inclination to post something more meaningful or substantial or interesting, but I don't. I'm running out of time. I'm not really worried though, I think I've done my part. Of course, I still don't think it's enough, so after posting this I'll be going back to my routine. Well, whether I make it this time or not, I'll leave it all to whatever plans God has for me. I could prepare and prepare, but if according to him its not for me, then its not for me. But if it is, theoretically I could just quit what I'm doing and I'll still get through it. Nah. God helps those who help themselves. And I better help myself if I want to do good. It can be tiring at times, doing virtually what amounts to be the same thing day in and day out... But if I pull it off, it would be all worth it. I have a lot of plans if I make it. Sincerely I would really like to do things the right way and make things better for a lot of people. Nowadays a lo...

Can you cry under water? How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to? Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity? Why does a round pizza come in a square box? What disease did cured ham actually have? How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours? If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing? Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV? Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway. ...

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said, "How do I know if I married the right person?" I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, "It depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?" Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind. Here's the answer. EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love... because it's happening TO YOU. People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet." Think about the imagery of that __expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing no...

Here's a clip of the classic 1996 "Roxbury Guys" Saturday Night Live sketch starring Will Ferrel, Chris Kattan, and Jim Carrey. Absolutely hilarious. :-) If you don't find this funny there must be something wrong with you. :-) Note: Turn off the background audio first at the bottom of the page before clicking the play button.

If you have a blog or a website, you may be interested to know that you could actually earn money from it, and you don't have to shell out a single cent up front. Of course, you'll be needing a computer and an internet connection. That's probably already taken care of, or you wouldn't be reading this right now. :-) So how exactly do you make money? Though there are a lot of potential ways of generating revenue from your blog or website, by far the easiest and simplest way (to my mind) is through affiliate/referral programs. So what exactly are affiliate/referral programs? These are programs sponsored by a number of internet-based companies in which registered members earn credits/commissions/points through referrals and subsequent registrations or transactions made to other websites, particularly other referral or internet advertising companies, or those offering specific products or services. In other words, if you refer a visitor on your blog or website to another we...