ORAPRONOBIS
Gonna post 2 reviews (again) for Orapronobis this week. 
PS.
One will be about mass media and the other on children. These will be written in Filipino.
Hakuna Matata
Laughter cannot be purchased in a drug store, yet it is considered as the best medicine. It cannot be prescribed by a doctor. It cannot be in a capsule or in a tablet. It’s within us, deep within the chambers of our soul. Many investigations have been conducted to prove the health benefits of laughing. It doesn’t matter if you laugh like a jejemon (ajejeje), a witch (ahihihi) or a villain (bwahahaha). As long as you express your happiness, you can experience the benefits of laughter. For instance, a hearty laughter relieves pain. Studies prove that laughter helps produce endorphins, a chemical that relieves pain temporarily, in the body. Moreover, we change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues. There was a study conducted at the University of Maryland about the effects on blood vessels when people were shown either comedies or dramas. After the experiment, the blood vessels of the group who watched the comedy behaved normally— expanding and contracting easily. On the other hand, the blood vessels of those who watched the drama tended to tense up, thus restricting blood flow. So, instead of watching Mara Clara (peace Mara Clara fans! 
), go and try Gandang Gabi Vice. You will surely find yourself laughing until the end. Another healthy effect of laughter is the increase in the level of infection-fighting antibodies. With this, our immune system will boost its functions. All in all, whether these scientific researches are legit or not, we have to admit that happiness is the best feeling everyone could experience. Let’s live life in a Hakuna Matata way (Timon and Pumbaa’s motto remember?).With that, we will not only have a healthy body but a healthy soul.
*I passed this for my English Class a year ago.
The World’s creation according to the Egyptians
In my Archaeology class, we are assigned to report on ancient civilizations. My group picked Ancient Egypt as our topic. Well, who wouldn’t want to research on something as interesting as the life in Egypt, right? Honestly, Egypt has the most unique and colorful prehistory, which is the very reason why we picked it as our topic.
Below is the story of the World’s Creation by the Egyptians. It is interesting to note how similar of how different this story to the story we were told since we were kids.
Before the world existed, there was only Nun, the dark waters of chaos. One day, from this sea of chaos rose a hill named Ben-Ben. Suddenly, there appeared a man that stood at the peak of the hill. It was Atum, the first god. It was because of Atum’s breath that Shu, the god of air and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture were born.
After some time, Shu and Tefnut had children. There was Geb, the god of the Earth and Nut, the goddess of the sky. Nut canopied over Geb. The two gods bore four children in the names of Osiris, Seth, Nephthys and Isis.
Photo taken from: http://www.rainbowgryphon.com
Osiris ruled the earth for many years with Isis as his queen. However, everything did not went well when a jealous Seth killed Osiris. Because of this, the earth succumbed into the leadership of Seth. Osiris, on the other hand, fell into the catacombs of Underworld and there he became king.
It was Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, who avenged his fallen father. He battled Set and successfully overthrew the wicked king from the throne. He then became the king of the world.
For those who would want to know more about Egypt, please visit this website: Ancient Egypt.
The Day Pictures (And Creativity) Were Born
Back when I was a child, I imagined a world with no colours, no shapes and no lines. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to imagine such world. God has created us to perceive the world with our sense of sight. With it, we see a whole spectrum of colours, various forms and shapes and a variety of lines.
The Day Pictures Were Born is the 2nd episode of documentary series, How Art Made the World of BBC. Basically, this episode tells how human race started making pictures and why, in the first place, they started doing so. It goes back to almost 35 years ago, when human race first made pictures inside the caves.
- Altamira Cave, Spain
- The cave of Altamira in Spain was the first cave in which prehistoric paintings were first discovered. Deep inside the prehistoric fissure, a ceiling painted with bulls can be seen.
A painted Bison on the ceiling of Altamira Cave in Spain*
- Lascaux, France
- This cave is in the Southern France. Like Altamira, it houses paintings, mostly of horses and large animals.
A painted horse on the walls of Lascaux in France*
The caves mentioned above are just two of the caves with prehistoric paintings. Some caves in Africa and Asia show similar paintings of animals. Some archaeologists argue that at that time, prehistoric man started to deepen his attachment to his surroundings. As he started to discover imagery, he painted primarily animals.
Archaeologists say that the time when prehistoric man started to unveil his ability to perceive imagery was the age of “creative explosion.” They believe that prehistoric man had done those paintings just for art’s sake, and nothing else. It is no doubt that we inherit his creativity as we flaunt our ability to do a much more complex use of imagery today.
However, some anthropologists believed a much deeper analysis as to why prehistoric man painted. The fact that he was obsessed with animals says something about him and his surroundings.
Since prehistoric man lived in dark caves, he experience sense deprivation (sense of sight, primarily), and this compelled him to paint his hallucination in the walls.
A scientific experiment involving LED lights showed that as human eye is being exposed to blinking light, the brain processes certain hallucinations and visual images even though the eye is closed. This, scientists believed, is how the lighting condition of the cave made the prehistoric man grab an ink and start painting.
This documentary reveals vividly how pictures were born. However, not just the pictures came to life when man first took the courage to paint. Creativity also sprung out of nowhere. Imagine life if prehistoric man never started painting. Honestly, this world will be dull, like the world I couldn’t imagine when I was young.
*Photos taken from Wikipedia
Hopes
These past few days have been a total bummer for all the Filipinos. The wrath of the surge left almost 1 million Filipinos affected. And sadly, 19 were reported dead (as of the time this blog was posted).
What’s ridiculously annoying is that neither a tropical storm nor a brewing typhoon had caused the floods. You heard it right, it was just the southwest monsoon (or locally known as hanging Habagat) who brought persistent rains and turbulent winds in the country.
Most parts in Luzon were left in paralysis. Roads became impassable because of the knee-deep (or even higher) flood. Houses were submerged in murky water. Informal settlers left their shanties. Even dogs swam their way to safety.
Everything seemed like a Deja Vu of what happened during the Typhoon Ondoy back in 2009. After that incident, the government made measures to prepare the Philippines for similar incident that might happen in the future. A lot were left homeless back then. Commercial establishments and agricultural lands were left into waste, scarring the economy of the country.
How come that after that incident, we haven’t learned from our mistakes?
One reason of the severe flooding is the blockage of the drainage systems. A lot of sewers in Metro Manila are filled with garbage, the most common of which is plastic. It takes too many years to decompose a plastic bag, so it might stay in the sewers for a very long time. It is commendable that some of the cities and provinces (like Batangas) don’t use plastic bags anymore. Instead, they use paper bags. Plastic bags, when congested, clog the sewers and drainage.
Another problem is the illegal cutting of trees and quarrying. A capitalist will always see money in a every uncemented and unquarried area in their sight. The local government units, in the first place, should be the one to protect its sovereign over forests and mountains. But apparently, they team up against these capitalists. Who suffers? Their own people.
Informal settlers also contribute to the problem. A lot of them are congested in riverbanks and near the sewers. Their wastes directly go to rivers and clog the drainage systems. In turn, they are the ones primarily affected during floods. But we can’t blame them. The government should have established proper housing for them. But instead of providing housing projects, the current administration focuses on its band-aid solution to alleviate poverty, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
If we just learned from the mistakes we committed in the past, we would not be suffering now. We should blame nobody but ourselves.
It is amazing, though, to see the kindred spirits of the Filipinos coalesced. As heavy rains and turbulent winds continued to conquer the Earth’s atmosphere, we, too, continued our bayanihan efforts to help each other. Netizens flooded the online world with campaigns for donations and calls for rescue. School organizations established relief operations. NGO’s and other government institutions deployed help to affected areas of the country. City governors, councilors and the likes stretched their helping hands to give support (I just hope they would stop putting their picture on every thing they are giving).
As this calamity is about to end, we should keep everything we learn and cherish them. Equip ourselves with thorough discipline and relentless perseverance to preserve our country. It is us who should benefit from this land, not the others, so it is our duty to protect it.
As for the government, it should sort out its priorities. It should be pro-people. It should detach itself from the strings of the great puppeteer. It should be ready to serve its people, rich or poor.
This incident may leave us with a bittersweet lesson. But, as we all remember, after the storm that surged Noah’s Ark, God let out a rainbow, giving hope for mankind. There is always hope. And believe it or not, the hope we are waiting is just within ourselves.
MP: “The Greatest Olympian”
“It has been nothing but an upwards roller coaster. It has been nothing but fun. The biggest thing is nothing is impossible. All it takes is imagination.”
-Phelps
It was in the Water Cube when I first saw him. In 2008, he amazed me by winning every event he took part in the Beijing Olympics. A phenomenal finish with 8 gold medals was written down in the history of the world of swimming.
I don’t know much on how he started his Olympic career. All I know is that he started in Sydney 2000 at the age of 15. He became the youngest athlete to join the United States’ Swimming Team.
He made a major breakthrough in his field when he joined Athens 2004. He bagged 8 medals, 6 of which were gold and 2 were bronze.
The spotlight was on him on Beijing. And like what I said earlier, this was the first time I saw him. His historical feat of winning 8 gold medals (in all of his events) actually stirred controversies. He was questioned if he was taking performance enhancing drugs for his winnings were ‘too good to be true.’ Fortunately, he passed all the tests and was vindicated.
Along with his 8 medals were distinction of beating records. Out of his 8 events, he beat 7 world records.
After Beijing 2008, a lot of swimming fanatics were left anxious to know whether Phelps would be joining the USA contingent again for London 2012. And he just did. Once again, he dived through the waters of London’s Aquatic Center to defend his title(s).
All eyes were on him at the start of the swimming events. However, his first event was a major downfall for him. In 4×100 Individual Medley, he placed 4th, falling behind the Hagino of Japan with the time difference of just 0.34 sec (correct me if I’m wrong.).
This defeat was just the beginning, for he also lost his title for Men’s 200m Butterfly. He was behind De Clos of South Africa by just 0.05 sec. He was a champion in this event way back in Beijing and Athens.
On his first medley relay ( 4x100m Freestyle Relay), he and his teammates got silver, falling behind France by just a time difference of 0.45 sec.
His got his first gold this year with his teammates in 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final. Team USA clinched the title, ahead of France and China.
He defended his title for 100 m butterfly and 200 m individual medley for three Olympics in a row, making him the first swimmer to ever three-peat in two events.
In his last swim (4 x 100m Medley Relay Final), he got himself his 4th gold (and last) medal for this Olympics. With his two silver medals in the earlier events, he will be adding 6 more medals to his collection.
And to add to his Olympic medal collection is a silver trophy, reading “To Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympic athlete of all time, from FINA,”
Phelps might leave the Olympics for good, but his legacy will always linger as long as the Olympic torch burns. He will be, if not greatest, one of the best Olympians to ever grace the Olympic stage.
His story will serve as an inspiration to young swimmers to do their best and win the gold.
Photos are from London 2012 Site.
Here are some DYK’s I got from www.kidzworld.com:
- Michael Phelps is 6’4″ tall and weighs 200 pounds.
- Michael Phelps’ nicknames are “MP” and “Gomer”.
- Michael Phelps needs to wolf down a lot of calories to have the energy for all his swimming. For breakfast, he often eats two egg-and-cheese sandwiches, a bowl of grits, a large omelet and a tall stack of chocolate chip pancakes.
- Michael Phelps comes from a family of swimmers. His sister, Hilary, swam for the University of Richmond and his sister, Whitney, swam at the 1996 Olympic Swimming Trials.
- Michael Phelps is sponsored by Visa, Speedo, PowerBar, At&T Wireless, Omega and Kellogg’s.
- Michael Phelps has made an estimated $5 million per year in endorsements, plus a $1 million bonus from swimsuit maker Speedo for winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games.
- Michael Phelps attends the University of Michigan, studying sports marketing and management.
London 2012 Olympic Games Glasses from McDonald’s
I’ve been a follower of the recent events of the games of the XXX Olympiad. Having the Brits host this spectacular event makes me even crave for everything with 5 rings on it.
I never knew that McDonald’s has this Olympics promo. So when I saw their ad on TV, the next day after, My fiends and I went to McDonald’s just below the Quezon Avenue MRT Station.
To avail these glasses, you have to order a medium value meal. (I don’t really know what medium value meal is because I asked my friend to order for me.) Then, you have to pay 25 pesos to get a glass. Imagine, for just 25 pesos, you get a special edition Olympic glass! It’s no ordinary glass.
By the way, each glass is engraved with different sports symbols (pictograms). And since there are 6 glasses to collect, the 6 featured sports in each glass are gymnastics, athletics, swimming, basketball, football and cycling.
The glass I got was the one with swimming pictogram on it. Here are the photos:
London 2012 Olympic Games Glasses from McDonalds is in partnership with Coca-Cola.
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