Fable

WARNING: The following article is ------- (drum roll) -------- for all who had been children. Smile.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American lecturer, essayist and poet of the 18th century, had written one wonderful poem entitled “Fable”. The following are the lines:

The Pilgrim Pope returns

GOD really works in strange ways! I was all excited after receiving three text messages that the relics of Blessed Paul John Paul II will be at the Cathedral on May 19th and that there will be veneration after the noontime Mass.

Come May 19, the early morning news I received from Lupit Church was that the Mass was already celebrated on the day of his birthday, the 18th, in the reclamation area Shrine. With a heavy heart, I went about with my errands, a trip to the dentist and on to the Cathedral at around 11:30 for some Legion of Mary business.

In the Octave of Easter… thoughts of Good Friday

WE ARE still in the season of Easter and we basked in the Triumph of the Cross. Daily readings and prayers affirm that our Savior Jesus Christ came to conquer sin in the world to free us from eternal damnation. Jesus through His humanity showed us the Way, the Truth and the Life-the guidelines and the sure path to heaven.

Ina

LAST Sunday was Mother's Day. Together with over 40 countries around the world, we celebrate the event giving credence to the importance of Moms.

Speaking Espangol

EVEN if we fought for our independence after over 300 years of Spanish rule, we certainly cannot shake off Mother Spain's influence. After all, the Spanish culture is deeply embedded in the Filipino way of life and there simply is no way of escaping it. And there's no better indication of that than in our language.

Yummy Baked Potato Skins

THERE'S a favorite appetizer in various Italian and American restaurants that always gets ordered by my family. That will be Baked Potato Skins. Every time we try a new restaurant and the kids see Potato Skins on the menu, you will hear my boys begging for us to get the appetizer. Usually in casual dining establishments like TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut or Outback, one can order Potato Skins with apps like Buffalo Wings, Jalapeno Poppers, and Mozzarella Sticks. Potato Skins usually are served with two kinds of sauces: sour cream and salsa.

Desserts, and more, anyone?

ONE author said that stressed is desserts spelled backwards. And as what most psychologists claim, one way we do when we are stressed is to eat, and eat to our hearts' and stomachs' delight.

We Negrenses have sweet tooth. Besides our love for fine dining, good food, and pleasant ambience, we also like to eat pastries -- chocolates, cookies, cakes, ice cream, tarts and anything that has sugar, caramel and icing.

Miss Joan of Art

"ALTHOUGH the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." These words of wisdom came from Miss Helen Keller, world renowned figure from Alabama in the US who amazed the world with her triumph over her inability to see and hear. An interesting trivia about Miss Keller is that her father the late Captain Arthur Keller was the editor of a newspaper called the North Alabamian. In Wikipedia, it is stated that she maintained a correspondence with prominent persons, a proof of her literary abilities.

Big game video game hunter

IF YOU ask anybody who's into first person shooter video games what their favorite game of all time is, the answers you are likely to hear are the following: Counter-Strike, Resident Evil, Battlefield, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, so on and so forth...

Wow Guimaras! More than just mangoes

MY CONCEPT of Guimaras was always associated with mangoes, but I never realized the Wealth of Wonders in our neighbor! Despite its proximity to Negros, this was my first trip ever! (FOR SHAME!)

La Vagoneta, bow

IF YOU pass by Silay-Hawaiian Central, just meters ahead is a corner on the left. Get off there and hop on a vagoneta for the ride of your life. Well, it might seem like a lifetime to get to the end of the tracks; this stylized railway car with a broad bamboo seat uses pedal power.

Bibimbap

BIBIMBAP is the iconic dish for Korea. It is simply - cooked rice, topped with cooked and raw vegetable toppings and meat, drizzled with gochujang sauce (red pepper paste) and, to top it all off, the pièce de résistance - a fried sunny-side egg. Wikipedia describes it as "Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables), beef, a fried egg, and gochujang (chili pepper paste). The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot."

Bin Laden's Death - The End of Terror?

HARDLY. Barack Obama himself said it wasn't over - there was still going to be much activity ahead for the mourning mujahedeen that Osama's money had funded through Al-Qaeda. But the common belief is that now that the head of the Al-Qaeda monster is gone, the rest of the body of terrorism should just wither away and die, right?

Happy thoughts for Mother's Day

I can fly higher than an eagle You are the wind beneath my wings. -as sung by Bette Midler

WHAT do Mark Zuckerberg and Justin Bieber have in common? Well, they both landed in Time magazine's May 2, 2011 issue featuring the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World. Thanks to the former, we have Facebook where we could communicate with family members, friends and acquaintances, some of whom are from other countries.

Paula's World

EACH of us has our own microcosmic world - the kind we created to live and survive in this bigger word. Much as our family gives us the loving and the secured world, we have our own different world in our circle of friends, in our own types of books to read, in our own genres of movies and TV shows to watch, in the genus of music we listen, and in the sort of socio-civic or religious works we do. And just like red, orange, yellow, and green of the rainbow, these affiliations, hobbies and interests color our world.

Who looked gorgeous and who was hideous?

WERE you glued to your telly last Friday from 5 in the afternoon? Well, I was and I guess a lot of royal watchers were or just mere mortals who wanted to be thrilled for a moment and be transported to a world so different from ours.

The royal wedding of William and Kate now Princess Catherine moved the Britons in their time of crisis, then it too was a breath of fresh air for commons throughout the world to dream….dreams are free, di ba?

Blessed John Paul II: The most beloved Pope

WHEN Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II, it cleared the way for the late pontiff’s beatification, the final step before sainthood. The Vatican announced that the beatification ceremony will take place in Rome on this Sunday, May 1, 2011. The Vatican likewise waived the normal five-year waiting period to begin a sainthood cause, on account of what it described as the “imposing fame for holiness” enjoyed by John Paul II during his life.

Happy Earth Day to us!

APRIL 19 was Earth Day and I celebrated it at SM's South Atrium Lobby. The program started with the oh-so-appropriate song ‘Lord, Heal Our Land’ as the opening prayer, then, Assistant Mall Manager Julia Javellana welcomed us guests and informed us of SM Supermalls' involvement in Earth Day.

Who's who in My Universe

THE 2011 List Issue of the Philippine Tatler magazine that I recently bought inspired me to come up with my own Who’s Who in my little corner of the universe.

There’s Pop Princess and celebrity endorser Sarah Geronimo along with Anne Curtis, goddess of beauty of Philippine television, Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, living legend of world boxing and Filipino politician, Younghusband brothers Phil and James and the other members of the heroic Philippine football team the Azkals.

On an island and 3 feasts

An island

AN ISLAND always connotes remoteness, isolation, distance. The word might even suggest lack of electrical power, which redounds to absence of cold refreshing drinks, air conditioning units, mobile and laptop batteries wearing out.

Entertainment piracy (in the Middle Ages)

All over the world, people are concerned about the rampant DVD/Blu-ray and MP3 piracy that’s strangling the life out of the entertainment industry. The government does its part by raiding and destroying DVD stands while the movie industry tells us, before every movie screening, that piracy is a crime that is punishable by law.

Modern pirates use methods such as the shaky video camera, movies burned to DVDs via computer, Telesync, Workprint, Telecine, etc. and are able to get a movie to DVD, sometimes even before the movie is shown in theaters.

God and the Easter Bunny

DURING Lent, the Lord Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, convicted of heresy and sedition against the Senate and the People of Rome, tortured and nailed to the cross. It is during this season that both the Western and Eastern churches unite in the commemoration of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross.

My Easter Person: The Faith with Confidence of Analu

ALLELUIA!!! CHRIST is risen!!! It is the season of rebirth and rejoicing!!! We are created to be Easter people but are we really? Christ died so that we shall be saved so are we embracing the message of Easter? Do we really believe?

Little Scotch Eggs…For Easter

EASTER will always conjure up images of the Easter Bunny and eggs. Why eggs? Well, eggs were always considered symbols of a new life. It was the Egyptians and the Persians who started the custom of exchanging eggs in Spring colors. The belief was that the Earth hatched from an egg. Early Christians adopted this custom only this time they used red colored eggs to symbolize the Resurrection.

Artikulo Relihosi, etcetera

HALLELUJAH! The Lord has risen! And as children of Easter morning, we cannot help sharing the triumph of our Risen Lord with one another.

The Jews among us

I NEVER expected to find two tombstones at the Burgos Public Cemetery that had the Star of David etched on them. Jews in Negros? The discovery caused bewilderment as well as curiosity.

Happy Thoughts for Easter Sunday 2011

THERE are times when we are in the Black Saturday of our lives. The reasons may be varied and complicated. They may also vary in severity and intensity. The result is one of utter dejection and despair. We bewail our wretched existence.

Mater Dolorosa and The Magdalena

ANNUALLY as per tradition, our family reunites in Talisay to join in the Good Friday procession. It is a once-a-year event that is likened to a grand reunion. While Holy Week is now an excuse to hit the beach or the mountains, our family makes it a point to make it "holy".

Have you attended a Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday?

HAVE you noticed that the Stations of the Cross now start with the Last Supper instead of the Agony in the Garden? Holy Thursday is also marked as the Last Supper of Jesus with His apostles. The Last Supper celebrates the Institution of the Holy Eucharist by Jesus Christ Himself and the institution of the sacerdotal priesthood. The apostles were the first priests.

Raining cats and frogs

LET me point out that that's not a typo - that title really does read "Cats and Frogs". It's a real thing and it's happened before: various flavors of animals falling out of the sky, just like the raining food from "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", except instead of hamburgers, you get... well... the rarest kind of beef there is. Instead of cuisses de grenouille or frog's legs, you get whole frogs. Sushi's on the menu too - very wet, with varying degrees of freshness - all falling from the sky.