Yes, fellow Harry Potter fanatics, it’s true. Pasabog mismo ni J.K. Rowling. Our beloved Albus Dumbledore is gay.

Check out this link: http://hogwartsphilippines.org/book7/?p=180

Actually, huli pala ako sa balita, hehe! A co-teacher/friend/HP fanatic texted me last night and said, “J.K. Rowling just outed Dumbledore.” But since, wala akong kamalay-malay, I replied, “Ha? What do you mean?”

You can even make it sing, if that’s how you roll.

I checked my inbox a few minutes ago. Whoa, I won 1,000,000 Euro in a Brandenburg Lotto and another 1,000,000 Euro in The British Global Lottery. Wow, 2,000,000 Euro in one day!

I’m rich! I’m rich! I’m so freakin’ rich!

read the whole post

If things go right, the 25 or so bloggers who’ve signed up for the theater talk with Floy Quintos, 5:30-7:30pm tomorrow at the PETA Theater Center (plus a few friends who are showing up to lend a hand), will be in for a fun two hours of learning, good conversation and bonding with new people. Masaya itu! See ya there!

Read complete post here.

Its finally here! And I have been given the chance to own this famous fashionista planner. A planner that all kikay girls should have.

Aside from the great design, it comes with discount coupons to selected branches of the following establishments: All Flip Flops/Havaianas, Bayo, BYSI, Celine, Charles and Keith, Chocolate Clothing, Claw Daddy, CMG, Cocorama, Crustasia, Culte Femme Rustans, Cupcakes by Sonja’s, Fiorgelato/Fiorcafe, FlyWear Eyewear, Freeway, Get Happy Accessories, Heaven ‘N Eggs, Karimadon, Kashieca, Laybare Waxing Salon, Levi’s Girls Store, Luna Rustans, Maybelline, Moschino Fragrances, New Orleans Restaurant, RedCrab Seafood Club, RedBox, Rred Rustans, So! Fab, The Ramp Crossings, Tomato, VNC, and Ace Water Spa!!

Read more…

They are nowadays referred to as controversial anomalous phenomenon which is believed by some and shunned by the rest as mere figments of the imagination.

My eldest sister Fraulein could see them. Once during the night of a neighbor’s death, she saw the spirit of the dead man outside his house, looking in through one of the windows as if checking on his family. On another occasion, an hour before my brother Junior died in his hospital bed in a Makati hospital, Fraulein saw him sitting on the step of her house as she was coming home from work. Instead of approaching him, she immediately turned around and took a cab to the hospital. Already comatose, Junior was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival.

Read complete entry here. 

Related Post:
Amazing Race Season 5 – The Philippine Leg

Interesting to note that the French are starting to take notice of the Philippines.

First there was this show called Koh-Lanta, a Survivor type show. Koh-Lanta: Palawan has the highest viewership of the show with about 9 million viewers. The host has noted that the experience that he had in Palawan is “two of the best” the other being New Caledonia. A Filipina blogger has pointed out that this show has helped her a bit…

Video and more at Wake T-Rex

I listed thirteen problems (a bad luck number, from ten) and hope to have covered all the problems Filipinos are facing.

13. Garbage (Dirt and Filth)
I am not really sure whether what I am doing here is pure garbage, but garbage on the streets surely irks me. The average Filipino takes a bath daily, but does not clean about as often. I think we have to solve this problem.

12. Floods
Related to #13, this problem is personal to me. In Meycauayan where I grew, there is flood everytime there is rain (not so before). In fact, even when there is no rain, there is flood due to high tide. The same is true in many parts of Metro Manila. I guess flooding is a concern of many Filipinos and deserves to be on this list.

see more at Pinoy Solutions

The Eavesdrop Writer is Vienne and her blog transforms overheard conversations from just about anywhere into remarkable short stories. Read the character(s) come alive! Feel the character. Be the charcter. What you are about to read is part of her developmental project where each week, she posts a conversation- overheard of course, and invites readers to partake in finishing the story. Anything goes. You make your own ending. This is mine.

Meme’s are the new interactive revolutionizing experience to blogging! Know more about it and join in the fun- not to mention exposure!

To read the beginning of the story, click on the above button which will lead you to the Eavesdrop Writer’s own blog; and when done, read how I end story.

In March 2005 the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness was signed by 35 donor countries, 26 multilateral agencies and 57 partner country governments. Initiated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Paris Declaration is an “unprecedented global consensus to reform the delivery and management of aid.”

Read more at Mongster’s Nest

I was in the Philippines last week for a 7-day holiday. And I had a blast! I am now back in Vietnam and the new school term is in full swing. But just before my holiday ended, I left my heart in Manila.

What is it about the Philippines that fills my entire being and consciousness with such intense longing to be back in her loving arms?

Click here to read the 7 reasons why I love the Philippines…

Today is my son’s last day in school before they go on a two-week semestral break. It is also the day for parents to meet with the teachers to discuss their kids progress in school.

I am unsure why I keep thinking PTA (Parent Teacher Association) but I feel this meeting has come to be called just that.

His teacher then presented me with my son’s report card. It reminded me of my own back when I was still struggling through grade school. This time though instead of the familiar grades of 80, 85, 90… there written were 1, 2, 3, and 4 with 1 being the highest grade given. And instead of seeing subjects like Math and English, what was listed were school activities like – use of pencil and crayon, recognizing letters and numbers, initiating activities with other kids and the like.

Read more…

These are my first attempts of using my brothers SLR. Expect ugly pictures. But I’m reading about photography and yes, I’m practicing my composition. I actually shelled out 2 rolls of 36 shots in Pangasinan last weekend. I’ll show some of those in another post. The pictures below were taken last October 19 at the National Peasant Mobilization at CM Recto.

Take a peek!

Tol, tingnan mo sapatos ko, oh, balat yan ng buwaya, at etong nasa gilid, balat naman ng ahas, mahal to pag binili mo sa SM,” pagyayabang ni Topher.

Kami naman sempre, ma at pa. Kinamalayan ba naman namin sa mga balat-balat na yan. Eh basta kami point-point lang kami pag bumibili, di na namin inuusisa kung san nanggaling ang mga yun no. Pakialam namin dun.

Kaya nag-imbento na lang kami para naman di kami mapag-iwanan at nang makapang-asar na din tuloy. Nagkindatan na lang kami ni Siruis at alam na agad namin ang gagawin. Tinanong ko siya, “ikaw tol, anong balat yang sapatos mo?”, napapangisi na ako.

Ituloy mo na lang dito.

It’s easy to say that life is hard, and it’s harder in the Philippines. Among many Filipinos, many of them don’t even believe that they could make money in the Philippines. But let’s take a look who are the 5 richest people in the Philippines and their commonality.

And check out the World’s Richest Man, no it’s not Bill Gates.

Continue Reading at Wake T-Rex

Have you ever imagined the world that can be reached in an instant by the non-evil thought the searcher’s core heart to find the answers to his questions? Our individual journey in life finds our own individual answers of our own personal questions that is rooted to our very self’s situation that finds peace of mind and joy of heart. The “don’t do evil” by the Google company inspired me to be innovative with my own capabilities around in my handicap world.

Basil, a visiting Sri Lankan seminarian, joined the sophomore class of our college seminary at the start of the school year. Big and dark-skinned, with a high-pitched voice that belied his rotund, pear-shaped frame, he was sweetness personified, rather shy but very good-natured.

It took some time for him to feel comfortable enough to agree to do the first reading during Mass. He prepared for it by practicing whenever he could. Naturally, when the day came, it took on the status of an event, with everyone wishing him well on his first attempt at reading the assigned scripture in English.

Read complete post here.

“I would say that 99% of bloggers who monetize their blogs will not earn anything significant. The 1% that will succeed, though few and far in between, is still significant IMO considering the size of the total blogosphere.” (Read Part 1 and Part 2.)

Pinangatawanan ko na ang titulo, the Antisocial. Nakakatuwa kasi kahit wala pang mga laman, marami nang bumibisita. Siguro, nagmamasid lang at medyo curious kung anung ipaglalalagay ko dun. Siguro nag-iisip, “ano na naman kaya itong pakulo na to ni Buraot,” ” di na nagsawa, hay naku, wala talagang magawa sa buhay, ” at “walaaaaang kadala-dala!”. Sa araw ng mga kaluluwa, pormal ko itong bubuksan, para naman meaningful di ba.

Para malaman mo click mo dito.

Now, it can be said. Homework does not improve the scholastic achievement of students. In fact, it does the reverse.

In a study published in “Education Week”, it was shown that the practice of giving homework to students is not necessary and may even be harmful. It was “discovered that decades of investigation have failed to turn up any evidence that homework is beneficial for students in elementary school.  Even if you regard standardized test results as a useful measure, homework (some versus none, or more versus less) isn’t even correlated with higher scores at these ages.The only effect that does show up is more negative attitudes on the part of students who get more assignments.”

Furthemore, the study showed that “in high school, some studies do find a correlation between homework and test scores (or grades), but it’s usually fairly small and it has a tendency to disappear when more sophisticated statistical controls are applied.  Moreover, there’s no evidence that higher achievement is due to the homework even when an association does appear.  It isn’t hard to think of other explanations for why successful students might be in classrooms where more homework is assigned – or why they might spend more time on it than their peers do. The results of national and international exams raise further doubts.  One of many examples is an analysis of 1994 and 1999 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data from 50 countries.  Researchers David Baker and Gerald Letendre were scarcely able to conceal their surprise when they published their results last year:  ‘Not only did we fail to find any positive relationships,’ but ‘the overall correlations between national average student achievement and national averages in [amount of homework assigned] are all negative.’”

The study ends by saying that “finally, there isn’t a shred of evidence to support the widely accepted assumption that homework yields nonacademic benefits  for students of any age.  The idea that homework teaches good work habits or develops positive character traits (such as self-discipline and independence) could be described as an urban myth except for the fact that it’s taken seriously in suburban and rural areas, too.”

How I wish this study was done earlier. It would have spared me from those long hours of unproductive homework. Kidding aside, I think every responsible educator should look into this and re-think the unquestioned practice of giving homework to students.