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.

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In a complete reversal of his earlier fighting stance of not accepting a pardon, disgraced former President Joseph Estrada applied for “full, free and unconditional” pardon from President Arroyo.

From having his spokespersons demand an “all-encompassing” amnesty, Estrada now had his lawyers withdraw his motion for reconsideration with the Sandiganbayan for his September 12 guilty verdict on two counts of plunder.

While insisting to bowing on the “wisdom of my lawyers” after realizing that “I don’t really stand a chance with the justice system that we have…,” Estrada also justifies his change of tack by saying that this would “start a healing process” for the “sharply divided nation” and that he can do something better for the country if he was free.

The long and short of it, he claims, is he was doing it with “the highest national interest” in mind.

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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.

Perhaps I will never ever understand the world of politics. Philippine politics, specifically. But, come to think of it, I don’t think the politicians do either. That’s why if they’re not at each other’s throats, they “unite” to get at another’s.

Former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada was unseated during the People Power 2 amidst all the numerous allegations against him. Some people questioned the legality of the process, but I believe the Filipinos (well, some, if not most) had spoken their displeasure over his presidency. Then a few weeks ago, the Sandiganbayan found Erap guilty of plunder after a 6-year long trial. He was sentenced to a penalty of reclusion perptua.

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“Fuck this shit ATM!” That’s what I’m screaming at the Union Bank ATM in Cebu Ayala this afternoom (13:41 to be exact). The machine is not dispensing cash as it should be! WTF! Good thing, only a man in his mid-40s saw me in my shit queer desperate look (sigh). “Maybe the ATM run out of bills”, that’s what he told me! WTF! I know it’s not, when I checked my balance again,

Read more at Obnoxious Queer.

It’s been very difficult for me to write an entry the past few days. The Glorietta 2 explosion was really disturbing. There were theories of bombings, gas leaks and basement accidents milling around, all of which just fed our fears as we searched for answers.

Read more here.

Isa sa kadalasang karamdaman ngayon ay related sa stomach problems. Nariyan ang dysentheria, gastroentiritis, diarrhea, constipation, cholera, kabag at mga parasites sa bituka. Kadalasan ang mga yan ay sanhi ng unhealthy at maruming pamumuhay. Basa lang ng basa.

IN AN earlier post, I called for prayer and sobriety. At least there is one who positively responded to this call–that is Señor Eric who posted the prayer of St. Francis in his blog, the followed by Rhodora who posted a very beautiful prayer.

Waiting for a few hours, and when no one heeded my call to show sympathy to the bereaved, I asked 3 of my Flickr groups (Semana Santa Filipinas, Pinoycentric, and Pinoy Kodakero) to post their flower photos as a sign of sympathy to the bereaved. I was surprised with the response. I believe these people are very busy, yet they found the time to post something for the Glorietta victims’ families. Many have already responded, and I hope there would be more in the coming hours/days. I never thought it is possible. We usually/ normally send real flowers. But this time, we realize e-flowers will make it possible!

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AS A FOLLOW THROUGH of my previous blog about this issue, I always make it a point to watch the news regarding the conviction of Former President Joseph Estrada for the crime of plunder. While watching him on the news yesterday, I realize once again that he did not only make himself lesser credible, but made him rather pathetic as he has, again, brazenly demonstrated his rude audacity.

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I received this forwarded message from a friend:

13 days after pacquiao victory against eric morales naganap ang wowowie stampid,…13days after pacquiao victory against larios, mayon volcano errupted, many died in mudflow,…tapos ngaun e2 na naman 13days after pacquiao’s victory against barrera, 8 people confimed died sa pagsabog sa glorietta. creepy?

So, I tried researching it to post on my Blog Bites Blog and these are what I found:

* January 21, 2006, Manny Pacquiao defeated Erik Morales and the Wowowee stampede happened February 5, 2006
* July 7, 2006, Manny Pacquiao defeated Oscar Larious and on July 18, 2006 Mayon Volcano started erupting and the dates there after.
* October 6, 2007 Manny Pacquiao defeated Marco Antonio Barrera and Last October 19, 2007 a Blast in Glorietta Mall in Makati Happened…

Wow, that is so creepy… I got goosebumps after I finished the research…

Related Post:
New Marine Species?

What we don’t see in everyday life does not mean it’s not there or we don’t need to preserve it. This is especially true about our marine life. Even though some of us don’t have the luxury to dive, to check the what our sea has to offer, scubamagazine.net was kind enough to bring you marine life in HD from the Philippines. Enjoy.

Video at Wake T-Rex

Related Post:
Philippine Marine Species in HD Video
New Animal and Plant Species Found in the Philippines
The Philippines is like the Galapagos Islands X 10
Mysteries of Life in the Philippines? Part 2 with Audio!

In the world of biological science, the Philippines is pretty important. It is seen as a hotspot, no not a Wi-Fi hotspot but as a biodiversity hotspot teeming with life. And being so, the chances of finding incredible to new species to science are great.

Continue Reading at Wake T-Rex

Wake T-Rex has been down a couple of days last week due to a hard drive crash. If you see error here and there let me know.

While that was happening, there has been report about a explosion in Metro Manila at the Glorrieta Mall. There has been no conclusive findings yet, but it is of course either due to an accident or terrorist act. What really matters is that what happens next, the possibility of other militant groups trying to cause panic, and how fast the government can show its responsibility to protect its people.

So far, investors are unfazed about the blast and would continue to invest in the country.

Wake T-Rex

Here’s To You, Sis!  

On the Occasion of My Ate’s Birthday

Ate - two syllables - “A”- pronounced as in apple. - “ah’-te” means “Eldest Sister.” 

Much of the close family relations that Filipinos have are said to have been inherited from the Chinese. 

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