the good within

..the world is full of trickery.
but let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

~ Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

"Muelmar Magallanes, a powerful swimmer who braved rampaging floods to save more than 30 people, but ended up sacrificing his life in a last trip to rescue a baby girl who was being swept away on a styrofoam box. Family members and people whom Magallanes saved hailed on Monday the 18-year-old construction worker a hero, as his body lay in a coffin at a makeshift evacuation center near their destroyed riverside village in Quezon City.“I am going to be forever grateful to Muelmar. He gave his life for my baby. I will never forget his sacrifice,” said Menchie Peñalosa, the mother of the 6-month-old girl whom he carried to safety before being swept away himself." - Judge on Jet Ski saves 100; teener dies after rescuing baby, 30 others from newsinfo.inquirer.net
"He went to his house and got his kid's inflatable swimming pool. inflated it and ferried his neighbors to higher ground. Mind you, this was in the cinco hermanos area right beside the marikina River. After ferrying his neighbor, he didn't stop there. He want back with the makeshift lifeboat to get his other neighbors who had kids and ferried them to higher ground. He did this several times for the rest of the residents in the area. He even drove a wounded guy to the hospital. All this he did after having his arm operated on last thursday." - The unsung heroes of Ondoy from tsikot.yehey.forums	"For the people of Sta. Monica in Novaliches, this Quezon City judge on a Jet Ski who plucked dozens of residents from swirling flood waters on Saturday is 'Superman.' 'I was so shocked by the situation when I heard that around 150 houses were already flooded,' said Judge Ralph Lee of Regional Trial Court Branch 83. 'I heard that so many families were already stranded on their rooftops because water from the Tullahan River was already overflowing,' Lee, 49, told the Inquirer. Lee drove from his Fairview home for the stricken community 30 minutes away with his personal water craft, life vests and two rubber boats he used on weekend wakeboarding sorties and mobilized a rescue effort that saved 100 lives." - Judge on Jet Ski saves 100; teener dies after rescuing baby, 30 others from newsinfo.inquirer.net
"CALAMBA CITY, Philippines - A member of the 16th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and four members of the Citizens' Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) drowned in a sudden surge of flood water while conducting rescue operations in Famy, Laguna at the height of typhoon Ondoy Saturday. Another Cafgu man remained missing." - Soldier, four militiamen die in Laguna rescue from newsinfo.inquirer.net
"On the way back to the gate, others were also accommodated. Babies were priority, as many were already showing signs of dehydration and exposure. We could not ignore them. I helped as much as I could, but there were just too many victims. In the end, we had to promise that the boat would return." - A Mother's Ordeal in Ondoy's Aftermath By Atty. Trixie Angeles	"Cabrera said three PARC staffers brought cat food and human food to PAWS directors Heidi Guzon and Gwen Protacio who have been trapped since Saturday with their 50 cats on the second floor of 11 Emerald St., Liamzon Subdivision, Pasig City. Three dogs from Provident Villages in Marikina City arrived at PARC Monday. There are now 185 cats and 40 dogs sheltered at the center." - Abandoned pets: Storm Ondoy’s forgotten victims from newsinfo.inquirer.net
"MANILA - I stared at the picturesque scene before me. Mountains of clothes and biscuits were dotted by old and young volunteers. Men and women, both frail and able-bodied, were carrying bags of canned goods, bottled water, and noodles to cars, vans, and trucks. A long line of people were signing up, whether to help pack items, to lend their vehicles, or to be deployed to storm-hit areas." - Volunteers flock to Ateneo to help 'Ondoy' victims from www.abs-cbnnews.com
"Private individuals and public institutions alike have flung their doors wide open to shelter those displaced by the floods. Television networks and retail businesses are gathering donations in bulk and delivering them to devastated areas or their respective evacuation centers. Churches and civic organizations are also taking up the cause by organizing fund drives, feedings, and daily sessions for packing relief goods." - Youth Volunteers Aid Ondoy Relief Efforts at Muntinlupa Red Cross from www.femalenetwork.com	"When typhoon ‘Ondoy’ devastated greater Manila, causing floods and stranding people, Pinoy and Hollywood celebrities made the effort to help the victims of the calamity." - Stars Descend to Help ‘Ondoy’ Victims from www.accesspinoy.com
Typhoon Ondoy relief operations: where to donate

ondoy / ketsana

www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph

Yesterday, I was trying to write a post when I heard my mother yelling at someone on the phone.  She was near panic because there was a big flood on the other side of our subdivision where some of our relatives are living.  They live near a creek and the water overflowed.  We didn't have any problems on our side so I thought the rain was no big deal but as it turns out, it's a different story for the other areas of the Metro.

We were all worried of what could happen if the rain didn't let up.  A lot of houses were already submerged in water.  People, including children, are on the roof of their houses or on elevated parts of street, helpless and waiting out the storm.  Some are guarding their appliances because it might get stolen.  They were also worried about the electricity.  One live wire plus flood equals hell.

My mom paid two guys to fetch our cousins.  They passed one street where the water was chest high, so one of the kids had to be carried.  They also had to be careful of open manholes while dodging the trash and cockroaches drifting on the flood.  They were crying when they arrived at our place.  Their mother was left behind, guarding the house and things while their father had gone off to work and had been stranded for hours.

The downpour slowed down in the evening and soon, our aunt was able to go visit us.  The kids ran and hugged her, she just laughed it off.  We gave her a blanket and some old clothes to bring back to the others who didn't have anything to wear.  They spent the night at our house.

Today, the sun is out and the storm moves on but water is still everywhere.  The weather bureau says that nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in just six hours over Metro Manila.  Consequently, Marikina and Pasig River overflowed.  We had local movie stars calling TV programs from their rooftops asking to be rescued.  A lot of people are still stranded and couldn't get home to their loved ones who are trapped and helpless.  As of 10 am today, more than forty people have died and there are some that are still missing.

There's a news program right now, where you can call in and pledge a donation.  One of the hosts was trying to rationalize, saying that this is God's way of making us realize that we need to call him and he's making us strong.  Other people are blaming the Government for not fixing the drainages and spending millions of emergency fund money for foreign trips.  Some point a finger to humanity for destroying nature.  However way you want to look at it, I think all of us contributed to the problem.

The challenge of this blog is to see the good in things but right now, I don't think there's anything good in this tragedy.  I'd like to agree with the host and say that this will make us strong and united and all that, but really, isn't it a whole lot better if the storm didn't happen in the first place?  I'd still prefer to live in a flawless world, thank you very much-- but that will never happen will it?  Shit happens every single day and the chances of us living in a harmonious environment with the perfect climate are growing slimmer every second.  No, I don't think I'll be able to find the good in here-- but I'm hoping that we'll be able to find the good in us.


Donations to The Red Cross Rescue and Relief Operations can be sent via Globe or Smart. Send RED (space) (amount) to 2899 (Globe) and 4483 (SMART). Donations can be made at 10, 25, 50 and 100. Kindly repost this.

http://helpondoyvictims.wordpress.com/
http://pedestrianobserver.blogspot.com/2009/09/help-ondoy-victims-in-philippines.html
3 drop-off areas designated for Ondoy victims' donations

the lost years

Last Monday was an Islamic holiday, Eid ul-Fitr.  It marks the end of Ramadan.  It was a non-working holiday so I happily spent the day alternating between watching TV and surfing the net.  Here's an interesting fact that I found: there's a part in both Muhammad and Jesus' life that are unknown, several lost years that are unrecorded.   Muhammad started preaching when he was around 40 years old.  Jesus started when he was in his thirties.  Before all that, there's an information gap between their childhood and adult years.  We do know that Muhammad dabbled in trade and he married at 25 but little is known of him during his later youth.  All we have are speculations but no actual history of who they were and what they did. What happened to them during those years? 

I do hope that someone will discover actual records of the life that they led before their ministry.  Maybe Jesus worked as a carpenter, building furnitures & houses everyday, while Muhammad was a merchant, bargaining with traders and counting his profits & losses.  It just makes them more within our reach-- working, needing the money, tired, bored & frustrated.  I think it makes their history richer. It's funny that such ordinary details could make one's history rich.  It just makes them more human than gods.

But it wouldn't be funny if that's all a person will ever have.  It wouldn't be funny at all if the history that he could've made goes by unrecorded, lost for good.

birds on the wires

Are there gifts in hiding around us?  Or do we take what we see and create a gift out of it?  Do we find them or make them?  In this picture, Jarbas Agnelli saw music instead of birds.  He translated it into a tune, using the birds as notes and sent the music to Paulo Pinto, the photographer.  This led to an interview in the same newspaper where the photo was printed.

Sources:
http://www.vimeo.com/6428069

the father of the green revolution

2006 Norman Borlaug Congressional Gold Medal

"When the Nobel Peace Prize Committee designated me the recipient of the 1970 award for my contribution to the 'green revolution', they were in effect, I believe, selecting an individual to symbolize the vital role of agriculture and food production in a world that is hungry, both for bread and for peace." - Dr. Norman Ernest Borlaug (1914-2009)

Norman Borlaug was born on a farm near Cresco, Iowa in March 25 1914.  He spent his childhood and teenage years working with the crops and animals.  In 1933, at the urging of his grandfather, he left the farm and enrolled at the University of Minnesota.

His encounters with the unemployed and the starving during the Great Depression shaped his outlook on life.  It was also around this time that he met Prof. Elvin Stakman.  He became involved in Stakman's research on plant breeding methods and the professor suggested that he take up Plant Pathology.

In 1944, he became part of The Cooperative Wheat Research Production Program, which focused on increasing wheat production in Mexico.  It was not easy.  They didn't have enough training and equipment, and the local farmers refused to cooperate.  The epilogue of his book, "Norman Borlaug on World Hunger", reveals his initial regret.  He wrote: "It often appeared to me that I had made a dreadful mistake in accepting the position in Mexico,".

But after several years of research, harvest time finally arrived.   He developed Pitic 62 and Penjamo 62, two disease-resistant varieties of wheat that produced more grain than usual.  By 1963, Mexico achieved production six times larger than in 1944.  95 percent of the crops were Borlaug's varieties.

After Mexico, his wheat strains were sent to India and Pakistan.  In five years, Pakistan's wheat yields increased dramatically from 4.6 million tons to 7.3 million tons.  By 1968, Pakistan became self-sufficient in wheat production.

India produced 20.1 million tons of wheat in 1970. There wasn't enough labor to harvest the crops; not enough carts to bring it to the threshing floor; not enough jute bags, trucks, rail cars, and grain storage facilities. They even closed down schools to use the buildings for grain storage.  They were also able to save 100 million acres of virgin land from being converted into farmland.

He began work in Africa in 1984 with Ryoichi Sasakawa, chairman of Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation.  Production of maize, sorghum, wheat, cassava and cowpeas increased.  The project will also be extended to Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Norman Borlaug passed away last Saturday, Sept 12, 2009 at the age of 95.  He died of lymphoma.  A lot of us, though, didn't know who he was until now.  Scientists predicted that a global famine will happen because of the population explosion, but Norman's discoveries saved us all.  He led a very fruitful life that has yielded much to humanity.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090913/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_borlaug

Marquez and his urine

As part of his pre-fight regimen, Juan Manuel Marquez drinks his own urine.  This practice is called Urophagia and it's part of a larger field of alternative medicine called Urine therapy.

It's incredibly nasty but it has been in existence for a long time in several cultures.  A lot of sources say that it's best to drink morning urine, taken mid-stream.  You can start with a few drops and then work your way to a full glass.

Aside from drinking it to improve one's health, urine can also be used for the following:

• Gargling for toothache and sore throat
• Vaginal douche
• Ear and eye drops for infections, glaucoma
• Sniffing to clear sinuses and preventing colds
• Application on the skin for massages, healing skin problems
• Hair and scalp massage to stimulate hair growth
• Drinking for meditation

Although advocates say that there are tons of benefits from drinking urine, it's still best to take it with a grain of salt.  It tastes better!  Just kidding.  Aside from Wiki, I found this good article about this topic.  Will Marquez win the fight against Mayweather?  I don't know.  All I know is urine will never be my cup of tea.

Sources:
http://www.lifepositive.com/Body/traditional-therapies/urine-therapy.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.youtube.com

on knowing a person

LIRA - Aranya
by M.B. Schwab

I went to a funeral last Monday.  Car accident.  A lot of people died this year, Cory Aquino, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, John Hughes.. and now a friend.  I attended a poetry workshop last year and we would meet every weekend, 8 hours every Saturday and Sunday.  There were about 20 to 25 of us and we would listen to lectures and critique each other's poems.  We participated in literary events, created a folio and held a fellows' night last December.  Now, our batch will never be complete.

We read his poems.  Some are poignant, some are funny and then there was one that seems to connect with his sister.  This was all a surprise to his family because they did not know that he wrote.  It's sad that they're seeing this side of him for the first and final time. I feel lucky to have been part of that side for one whole year and now we're introducing it to the people closest to him.  We're celebrating his art.

Everybody's so complex, so many sides, so many levels, I don't think we can really REALLY know anyone.  In addition to that, we're growing, learning and changing each minute.  I don't know about you but I'm having a hard time just getting to know myself.  It's even harder to open up and share yourself to other people, harder still to accept each other's shortcomings. But I think we can at least be aware of these difficulties-- and understand that overcoming these stuff will ultimately bring us closer to each other or, at the very least, it will bring us closer to ourselves.

John Baldessari's Throwing four balls in the air to get a square (best of 36 tries)

desordre.net

In this series of pictures, Baldessari attempted to get a square.  He selected 8 of the best out of 36 tries (36 tries is the standard number of shots on a roll of 35mm film).

It seems that none of them look like a perfect square though, the shape is random and the thrower doesn't have full control of the outcome-- but that's only because they're seen from a single point of view.  The shape's perfection actually depends on how we view the ball formation.  Shift the angle a little and soon we'll see a perfect square for each of the photos.

We can't always control how things turn out but we can always control how we look at it.   :)

putpockets in london streets

A putpocket is the exact opposite of a pickpocket.  They slip money in your pockets without you knowing.  If I hadn't read this article about them, I would've taken this to be an urban legend.  I mean, what for??  Turns out this was an ad campaign for TalkTalk, a British mobile operator.  The idea is that TalkTalk puts money back in your pocket by making you pay less for phone calls-- so switch to TalkTalk now! heheh.

Carried out by a team of 20 reformed pickpockets, this is a unique ad campaign and it will surely cheer people up during these gloomy times.  Finding extra cash when you least expect it, especially when you need it the most, is an instant upper.  I saw the video on YouTube and just seeing the sign, "Rejoice! Putpockets operate in this area." makes me smile.

Why can't we do that here in the Philippines??.. but  I guess if we did, everybody would be hanging around those areas for hours pretending to be some bystander or a pedestrian.  Or maybe people will just beat up those putpockets, thinking that they're really snatchers/pickpockets instead.

Is it better to be smart in giving or should we just give mindlessly away?  TalkTalk's ad campaign is what I would call smart giving.  It's an investment.  I know some smart givers who donate food instead of money to beggars so it won't be spent on gambling or rugby (to get high on).  Some would rather give their money to charities.  Some doubt the charities and give to the church.  Some believe in providing work for others, while there are others, really smart givers-- that prefer not to give at all, haha!  How in the world did giving become so complicated?

Sources:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE57I45C20090819
http://www.youtube.com