From my family to yours...



...a blessed Christmas!

Have a wonderful Christmas celebration, everyone!  Enjoy the holidays with your family and loved ones. :)  Love, joy and peace be with you.  God bless....

***

Thomasian Christmas...

...an echo of the University of Santo Tomas Rector's Christmas greetings.
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by PAM

Happy Christmas to one and all!

A few days ago, the Rector of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) gave his Christmas greetings to the Thomasian community.  This happened, just a few days after the "Reproductive Health" Bill (in its "bicameral version") was ratified by both the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives, and its authors celebrating and crying tears of "victory".  Pres. Nonoy Aquino, who certified the enactment of the Bill as urgent, hailed the passage of the Bill by the lawmakers as a way forward in bringing about the "solution" to our "population problem".  Therefore, the Aquino government has something to celebrate for this Cristmas.

Meantime, the UST Rector's greeting geared the Thomasian celebration of Christmas toward how it should be: a celebration of the "greatest Love".  Please allow me to share the Rector's Christmas greetings with my fellow Thomasians worldwide.  Here goes...

In this joyful Season that speaks of the greatest Love,
May our hearts be inflamed with our commitment to the Truth,
For Christmas is a celebration of lives offered in the service of veritas in caritate.

May the cross atop the UST Tower be our Star of Bethlehem
Our beacon of faith, source of hope and reminder of Christmas love -
The timeless message of Christmas.

With the abiding presence of the Child Jesus and His unending grace
May you and I walk together in unity rooted in our shared vision
To build the Church, the country and the family.

Maligayang Paskong Tomasino sa Lahat!

- Fr. Herminio V. Dagohoy, O. P.
  Rector, University of Santo Tomas

***
It's a "purple world" 

So, yeah, this is the 'last time' that we, as a nation, celebrate Christmas with the parents of teenagers among us seeing the beautiful glow on their children's faces as they wholeheartedly appreciate their Christmas presents, innocence radiating from their faces.  Some of these teenagers probably glow in the spine-tickling sweet excitement of 'puppy love', and yet, they look up to their parents for guidance and love, afraid to make mistakes, eager to preserve their innocence until such time when their love for one person is sanctified in a blessed union... because that's what their parents, the Church, and the society teach them... because that's how it should be. 

Next year, and the following years, parents will be holding their children close to themselves on Christmas morning, wishing that they could hold on to their children's purity of heart and mind long enough until such time when they have matured enough to be able to distinguish right from wrong and wisdom from foolishness. Parents will be wishing that they could protect their beloved children from a society that tolerates experimentation of the human spirit, starting from one's body, under the guise of one's freedom to explore one's (and specifically a woman's) sexuality without 'suffering' from the consequence of such 'exploration', and to manage population growth.  Well, it's already started anyway... just listen to the DJs/presenters of radio shows on FM band these days.  The way they 'freely' say 'jokes' with sexual implications and discuss their own sexualities and others' as if they were experts and as if what they say was the universal truth with loud female DJs screeching tastelessly, over morning coffee is completely jarring!  Whaaaat, they allow these now on FM radio with kids listening????  How sad....  So, what's next?  Abortion?  Divorce?  *sigh*

Therefore, we savor our last true Christian celebration of Christmas as a nation!  But, as I tell my students, no human law could corrupt the spirit for as long as we allow our spirits to constantly bathe in the Truth... only then can we celebrate each day as if it was Christmas day.


***
Art credit:  Dante V. Lerma, M. D., "Paskong Tomasino"

The stress level is high...

...therefore, we sing...
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by PAM 

..."Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"Sometimes I feel like my only friend is the city I live in...

the City of Angels... lonely as I am, together we cry.

Take me to the place I love...."

Man, how awesome is that?!  Oh, and hey, kids, nevermind the tattoos, long hair and the bare chests.  They are RHCP... and you're you.  Stick to who you are. Just enjoy the exhilarating music... and the 'excuse' to scream. :)

And then, let's learn to "Walk" again with the Foo Fighters...

"I think I found my place... can't you feel it growing stronger?

Little conquerors... forever, whatever, I'll never say goodbye!

Learning to walk again...."



Feeling better?  I am! :)  Alright then, let's be 'good' again. :)

***

Rock it good....

Y'see, contrary to many people's belief that listening to/singing along with/playing rock music is a "rebel's thing", and therefore, 'evil'... it can actually be therapeutic. The "rhythmic noise" drowns out the angry protests in one's head against wrong, foul-smelling and unsightly stuff that surrounds them, and dissolves the emotionally crippling angst.  The "ugliness" in some of the videos can make some realize how 'ugly' they have allowed themselves to become, too, responding to the ugliness around them.  When they are done listening or watching the video, all the negative vibes are swatted away, and the soul becomes receptive to positive vibes again.  Then we can begin listening to "soothing music".  And then, with prayer, we can take care objectively of the "unsightly stuff" around... and make it vanish - forever! 

This is why, many engineers/scientists/innovators and other creative people are big fans of rock music... when the going gets tough in the lab/pilot plant/drawing board/computers, and all passages to success are blocked by seemingly unsolvable technical riddles, they need to fight back the frustration in their heads by screaming as loud as possible at frustration - through rock music.  That way, they avoid screaming at other people to let out their frustration... instead, they scream at the offensive 'air of frustration' that suffocates them, and rock music gives them the platform to do that.  Therefore, the louder the sound, the better!  After frustration retreats, then they go back to the lab/pilot plant/drawing board/computers with good old Beatles singing good old wisdom in merry tunes in the background while they accommodate the flow of creative juices once again.  OK, others would prefer Mozart's sonata or the music of Roberta Flack or David Foster, and that's wonderful, too. 

The point is, rock music isn't 'evil'... we just have to use it the right way, because anything that is used wrongly becomes an evil doer's instrument, like money for instance.  And that people deal with stress in various ways.  Some employ rock music to help them get through the rough patches with no evil intentions, after all, our minds conceive many a-wonderful things because God allows our imagination to touch the incredible beauty of the spiritual realms.  Such beautiful and refreshing experience precipitates to creativity... and rock music is among those precipitations.  And yet, it could be just "All Apologies", too.

"I wish I was like you, easily amused...."

*** 
Video Credits: Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.



A ray of sunshine...

...in my little world of sports, 'IKA' and Fulbie-ness!
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by PAM

'Sunshine' in the middle of all this Pacman-was-KO'd frenzy? I'm sure you're guessing that that sunshine's gotta be Lionel Messi's doing, right?  Ya know what?  Of course, you're right!  Hah!

Yep, he did it! With a
Thumb up... if you're the greatest!
(Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images)brace of goals in FC Barcelona's La Liga contest with Real Betis last Sunday, La Pulga surpassed Gerd Mueller, posting the highest goal tally in one calendar year in the history of the 'beautiful game' - 86 goals!  INCREDIBLE, I know!  And, nope, he ain't done yet, mind you, ah, nah!  

Last week, during FCB's 1-1 draw with SL Benfica in the UEFA Champions League, we stared in horror as Leo clutched his knee in pain while on the verge of equalling Mueller's 40 year-old record.  The whole football world waited in nightmarish suspense waiting for the FCB medical team to issue word on Leo's injury.  Later in the week, it was described to be 'just bruises' and, therefore, he was declared fit to play in the La Liga on Sunday. Whew!  And play, he did... providing the two goals in their 2-1 win against Betis, and eclipsing Mueller's record on the most number of goals in one calendar year for Club and country as well! And he didn't think much of the record feat, not more than FCB maintaining their position at the top of the Liga Table.  Awesomeness? Definitely awesomeness, couldn't be anything else!  Woohoo!  

Alright then, Pedro Pinto (of CNN), you may keep promoting Cristiano Ronaldo as a human-too-sort-of-a-football-god, but it's all smelling like a fourth Ballon d'Or for Leo here.  Even you cannot deny that... so, just let Don Riddell talk some sense into you, sir, to cushion the blow.  I'm sure you'll recover... you always have anyway!  =)  

There, Pacman, and my dear kababayans, we have hope... let's pray that Manny Pacquiao's misfortune last Sunday was a mere glitch, a 'minor' error of judgement... although the blow couldn't be mere 'bruises' 'cause he actually passed out on his way down the canvass, and stayed passed out for a few seconds. Whew!  Horrific!  Later in the night though (Monday early morning, Manila time), Messi turned ugliness to beauty.  Let's hope that a ray of sunshine from Mama Mary's loving hands chases away the horror of Pacman's nightmare (and all Filipinos', too).  Like I said before, we're proud of Pacman no matter what.  Now, if he picks up where he left off before straying 'away from sunshine', then we'd be more than just proud. Hooray!    

***
Striking a balance... sunshine through my (TV) sked

For the first time in a few weeks, I was able to watch all five episodes of "Ina, Kapatid, Anak" on TV last week.  This means that I got home everyday last week on or before 8:15 PM.  Hooray!  And after that very intriguing sneak preview last Friday, giving us a hint of what the 'IKA Gang' has in store for us this week, I resolved to win back 'my weekdays nightlife' from the selfish grip of work, and catch all five episodes again this week.  So far, so good. Hooray!  :)

***
A ray of scholarly sunshine...

Yes, yes... and yes again!  I got to sit in front of a formidable panel of big brains again today with their intimidating stares and sharp, fast-moving thoughts darting at me like Legolas' arrows.  I had to swallow hard several times to make sure that I haven't passed out.  

Yeah, I attended a Fulbright/PAEF (Philippine-American Educational Foundation) meeting to fulfill a task this afternoon... and I got that exhilarating feeling back again!  Cold, sweaty
That good old feeling....hands shaking, my mouth dry, both ears on fire, and my heart beating like it was going to jump out of my chest... that familiar feeling when I first sat for a panel interview, vying for a slot in the 2002 Scholars line-up.  Today, 10 years later, I got the same feeling all over again, but this time vouching for the wonderful men and women who are vying for a precious slot in next year's line-up of scholars... the thought of how those incredible men and women worked hard to get their names in "watermark" in the line-up, and were later counting on me to make their case to the Big Brain Panel so their names could be written in permanent ink in the prestigious list, felt like a Marquez uppercut for me - I was close to falling face down on the floor even before feeling the blow!   Honestly, feeling like that twice in 10 years, I can't tell which instance was harder!  And, honestly, I LOOOOVE IT!  How exciting!

The lunch was also fantastic today, especially with a company who speaks tirelessly of wonderful things, things that I only get to speak about - with myself - when reading good books... the enjoyable conversation over lunch did encourage me to check that my ideals are in place.  I wish of more days like this.  This is my problem with sitting on "big chairs"... they tie you down, and run you dry - until you're almost empty to just realize that you're drying up.  Thank goodness they can't touch your soul, even in your most dry spell!  In any case, I prefer sitting on grass, under the shade of a beautiful tree whose branches and leaves play the most soothing of music when the wind blows gently... lots of sunshine for the mind... and the soul.  So, now you know why I rarely sit on the 'actual' big chair behind that massive table that felt more like a bullet block in that cold, cold office... and if I had no choice but to sit on it, I'd usually sit on the very, very edge, so I could get away as fast as I could when my obligation to sit had been rendered. :)  Ah, life... always beautiful, but never perfect.  And yet, we love living it, just because it is a gift from God.

Alright, enough of that sunshine talk now.  It's nighttime... time to work!  Right!  Ugh!  Bring on Batman then! :)

***

The lights dimmed in Las Vegas as Pacman went down...

...a sad day for millions of Filipinos around the world.
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by PAM

I know, I know, I've always considered boxing as an "ugly sport" being a big fan of the "beautiful game", football (soccer).   But when Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao is concerned, I swallow my pride and join my family in a pay-per-view 'tradition' to support the valiant Filipino fighter. 

Today, Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico settled the dispute as to who is the better fighter between him and Pacman.  He knocked out Pacman in the 6th round of their match in Las Vegas, NV - SHOCKING, I know!  

Pacman went down in the 3rd round from a surprised big punch by Marquez.  But the Pinoy Pride just raised an eyebrow, smiled, got up quickly, and went back punching.  He came back strong, and knocked Marquez in the 5th.  For a while, it looked like Pacman had
Unforgiving ugliness... Pacman went down.
(Photo by Julie Jacobson/AP via LA Times)everything under control.  With Marquez's face bleeding badly, Pacman was winning the 6th round... he was surging forward, putting Marquez on the defensive with the Mexican's back against the rope, looking like he was about to put the match to a close with a big punch in the last 10 seconds of the round... when, all of a sudden, Marquez found an opening and quickly unleashed an unforgiving big one!  The surprised Pacman took the blow real hard and went down on the floor - face down - and stayed there for a few seconds, looking horrifically lifeless!  My whole family stared in disbelief, not caring that Pacman most definitely lost the fight, we were more concerned about his condition!  "Is he alive???" was all we can utter after a few seconds of silence amidst the frenzied noise from the TV. In a flash, we were all praying very hard for Pacman's safety.  Boy, that was hard to take!  Whew, incredible!  Ugly, ugly... boy, how ugly! And it happened to Pacman... of all boxers, and against Marquez, too! Dang!

In the interview later, Marquez was very gracious, admitting that Pacquiao could've finished him with his signature 1-2 punch, too, if not for that lucky opening. Pacman, as always, was gracious, too... until he was asked whether he'd entertain another chance to fight JMM.  He was saying something about resting... when the indomitable Bob Arum butted in to say, "why not?"  And then Pacman changed his tune to sing along with Arum. *sigh*  There, there, Pacman, greed can kill, ya know!  

Pacman, we're proud of you no matter what... but, please don't let Bob Arum and his greed for money take away that pride!  Time to think things over... if you fight again, prepare for it - HARD, with WINNING in mind - and don't just think of the money! Don't let Bob Arum pimp our country's pride and yours to greed for money! He has no right to do that, so please don't let him!

***

Saturday photo

For the habit of giving... via "The Hobbit".
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by PAM

"The Hobbit for the Habit of Giving"
a fundraising activity of the Student Brothers of the Dominican Province of the Philippines.

"Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away, ere break of day,

To find our long-forgotten gold."

Yep, we're all set!  We have our Dominican Studentate statement t-shirts.  And we have our tickets for the special screening of the much-awaited film by the award-winning director from New Zealand, Peter Jackson, based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novel of the same title, "The Hobbit".  

This first installment of Jackson's three-part film adaptation of the Tolkien novel, is entitled "An Unexpected Journey".  It is the account of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins of The Shire - a delightful character from one of Tolkien's best works, "The Lord of the Rings" (LOTR) - that led to 'the One Ring to rule the others' finding its way to The Shire.  Jackson also made the Tolkien epic fantasy trilogy that is LOTR into a massive film trilogy, each part was a worldwide mega-hit, both in the box office and in the Awards circuits. This thrilled all the avid fans of Tolkien and his works, especially LOTR. I remember catching the comics version of the book as a child, and later watching the cartoon adaptation of the trilogy on TV.  The last installment in the 2001-2003 film trilogy, "LOTR: The Return of the King", won Jackson the coveted Best Director award in the 2004 Oscars, among many others.    

Proceeds of this Dominican fundraising activity will be used for the Student Brothers' apostolic endeavors.  Those who are interested in supporting this activity may call Br. Jayson R. Gonzales, O. P. at (+63917) 833-0583.  Dominican and Thomasian geeks, UNITE!  December 13, 2012, 7:00 PM... see you all soon!  :)  

***

QOTD

QOTD #9: about characters, good intentions, and actions... from "Batman Begins".
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by PAM

"It's not who you are underneath... it's what you do that defines you."

       - Rachel Dawes (played by Katie Holmes) to Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale)
         "Batman Begins" by Warner Bros. Pictures, 2005
         directed by Chris Nolan, Batman played by Christian Bale
         
Can you tell... that I finally opened my Warner Bros. Batman series on DVD (with the beautiful Christian Bale playing Batman/Bruce Wayne), which was bought a... uhm, a lifetime ago?  ;)  HBO beat me to it - naturally!  They had "Batman Begins" playing this morning.  I can't complain, 'cause they obviously influenced me to relax and enjoy the weekend... first with Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf and the rest of the Fellowship of the Ring in the early morning, and now with Batman.  

Yep, I do love Nolan and Bale's Batman... they didn't make the Dark Knight wear light-colored tights under leather briefs, to begin with. =)  And, Nolan's Batman didn't need the aid of the fast-mouthed little noisy juvenile Robin to pursue his crusade.  Instead, he used impressive hi-tech gadgetry, which he developed together with his scientist ally, Lucius Fox.  The intellectual factor of the series is absorbing, rather than insulting... and the hero aspect seemed to have undergone thorough fine-tuning as well.  Yep, Nolan re-created Batman in a way that made the Dark hero as beautiful in character as Aragorn's... dark and brooding, mysterious and smart, brave and gallant, loyal to their friends, and both are reluctant to ascend to the glory of their heroism.  OK, OK, they (Aragorn as played by Viggo Mortensen and Bruce Wayne/Batman as played by Bale) are both beautiful, too.  There, I said it!  :)  Therefore, Nolan's Batman series is my favorite!

What can I say, geekiness is a way of life - can't be anything else.  :)

***
Who?  Me?  Sorry, pass....

Over the past month, a number of people have been requesting for interview with me... and I haven't accepted any of the requests - yet.  Yep, I seem to have been immersed in a "special pool" in my professional 're-creation' that a number of people are, all of a sudden, interested to know what's on my mind regarding a few things... important things, actually, to be fair.  Would you believe it???  Uhm, ahem, you don't have to answer that!  ;) 

So, yeah, I took the "plunge" in 'that pool' because I heard very good things from those who 'own the pool' - very good things that I, too, believe with all my heart.  Things that I have committed myself to over the years... I'm sure, my humble track record could attest to that.  The 'owners' would like world-class 'swimmers' to come out of 'that pool' after we're done training them. I thought it's worth taking the plunge for - even when there is a risk - big risk - of getting drowned... especially that I don't do 'butterfly stroke' too well, and many are mesmerized by the 'beauty' of the move rather than the mileage that an effective stroke could do to take the whole Institution in front in this race of powerful 'swimmers'.  :)

I heard things from the "pool owners" that were consistent with my ideals and my aspirations for the Institution where the pool is a center 'think tank'.  I know it's natural for many to wonder what an 'unfashionable swimmer' like me - 'no flash, just serious dash' - could offer.  And that's the thing... I haven't enough butterfly-ish charm to explain why good ole 'free style' - the style we all know and can efficiently use - is the way to go when you're 'dashing' to gain the lead, as you are being walloped by the wake of those ahead.  Power, speed, safety, gadgetry and artillery FIRST... beauty later - like how Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox, designed the Batmobile - and in the peace and quiet of the dungeon, too, mind you, away from people's distracting superficial 'hyperbole'.  But how does one explain these 'highly technical combat stuff' to those who mistakenly believe that Bruce Wayne is just an idealistic Ivy League-educated snob with a mighty temper and crazy mood swings in a 30-minute interview centered on butterfly-iery?  No way.  Therefore, nevermind the self-glorifying interviews and Facebook status updates... just watch the swim, or watch the Batmobile as it zooms... and watch Batman rounds up the villains in Gotham City.  That should be a better subject for a feature story - all about Gotham's rise to glory, rather than a focus on its 'hero' that merely helped Gotham realize how much it wanted that rise to glory by, first of all, ridding itself with the spiteful villains that dragged it to the rut hole.  Only until then that maybe we could start taking interviews, too - but just 'maybe'.  :)      

So, yep, "bat over butterfly" - for now!  Alright then, bring on "The Dark Knight"! :)

***

Friday night nostalgia...

...out of all the adrenaline pump induced by "LOTR: The Return of the King", thanks to HBO.
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by PAM

I remember growing up listening and singing along with this...

"I'd like to build the world a home and furnish it with love... 
I'd like to see the world for once all standing hand in hand... "

...which was turned by clever advertising into this...

"I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony..."

Later, something for the Christmas season came about, too...

"...that's the song I sing."

More than thirty years later, 'perfect harmony' is still a wish... but we're still singing along anyway!  Life is good. 

Oh, and by the way, Aragorn is the man!  Aw, yeah! :)  Boy, I can't wait to see "The Hobbit"!  Too bad Aragorn won't be there though.  Whatever, I'm sure the cinema would still be a "geek's paradise".  Indeed, life is good! :)

***

Whew! A sigh of relief...

...from the new Thomasian "licensed" Chemical Engineers!
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by PAM

And so, it's finally over... whew!  They worked hard, fought bravely... and they produced two topnotchers in the Chemical Engineer Licensure Examination given by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) of the Philippines.  Yep, two of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Chemical Engineering Department's Batch 2012 'hotshots', Engr. Daryl B. Carillo (7th place) and Engr. Jerome E. Magpayo (8th place), put the University's name back in the Top 10 list of ChemE Licensure Exam passers!  Awww, awesome!!  

It's been a while since the UST ChemE graduates managed to do something like this.  As a group, Batch 2012 managed a 63.39% passing rate, which translates to a total passing rate of 60.50% considering all the exam takers this time. Overall, the performance is better than the national passing rate of 54.8%, and an improvement from last year's performance.  That afforded the University 72 new professional Chemical Engineers - her newest contribution to the country's pool of highly qualified professionals, and the second biggest number in this examination's result.  

Congratulations, UST ChemE Batch 2012!  Thanks very much for fighting bravely out there - good job, guys!  Those who came out "hurt in the battle", victory is sweetest the second time around, you'll see.  So, c'mon, get up... and let's do it again! 

Alright, I guess celebration is in order?  It'd better be! ;)

***

Starting the Christmas Season right...

...with the family, of course!
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by PAM

As always... and as it should be, the reason for Christmas celebration is God.
And one reason for celebrating God is the gift of family...
...it's the Pinoy way - our family's way.

***