Isn't he cute?

St. John's School

What do stars tell me about life?

What do stars tell me about life? I don’t know. I think that stars are very beautiful. What do they tell me about life? Hamm……. Let me think for a moment. Stars are like us people. They also have their circle of life. They are born and they can also die. We have the same life style. If you observe them very much you will see that they are very much like us. You see, we have the earth as our home. And they have the outer space as their home, so were alike if we compare their home to ours. If we say, we have a family, they also have their own family, I think. You will see the constellations they are a group of stars, they are just like a family of stars. So if we compare our family with theirs, it’s just the same. We all know that we are born, stars are also born. Stars that are about to be born are called protostars and babies that are about to be born are called an infant. Sometimes when we look at the stars we can imagine that all our ancestors that passed away are there looking from the stars. And sometimes I imagine that all my relatives that already passed away are one of those stars. Some stars form familiar shapes. They are also grouping each other to form a constellation like: Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, Gemini, Taurus, Aries, Leo, Bootes, Sagittarius etc. they tell us about our horoscope. In astrology, a horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets, the astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word "horoscope" is derived from Greek words meaning "a look at the hours" (horoskopos, pl. horoskopoi, or "marker(s) of the hour.") Other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel, or simply chart, among others. It is used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents and forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology. A horoscope calculated for the birth of a person is called a natal chart (also known as a natus, birth chart, and/or nativity). In common usage, horoscope often refers to an astrologer's interpretation, usually through a system known as sun sign astrology. In particular, many newspapers and magazines carry horoscope columns based on celestial influences in relation to the placement of the Sun in the Zodiac on the day of a person's birth, identifying the person's sun sign. To create a horoscope, an astrologer first has to ascertain the exact time and place of the subject's birth, or the initiation of an event. The local standard time (adjusting for any daylight savings time or war time) is then converted into Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time at that same instant, which in turn is translated into the sidereal time at Greenwich. The astrologer will next consult a set of tables called an ephemeris, which lists the location of the sun, moon and planets for a particular year, date and sidereal time, with respect to the northern hemisphere vernal equinox or the fixed stars (depending on which astrological system is being used). The astrologer then adds or subtracts the difference between the longitude of Greenwich and the longitude of the place in question to determine the true local mean time (LMT) at the place of birth to show where planets would be visible above the horizon at the precise time and place in question. Planets hidden from view beneath the earth are also shown in the horoscope. The horoscope is then divided into 12 sectors around the circle of the ecliptic, starting from the eastern horizon where objects are just rising into view. These are called the houses and numerous systems for calculating these divisions exist. Tables of houses have been published since the 19th Century to make this otherwise demanding task easier. The stars tell me about everything that I have to know.
*The end*

GMA VS. ABS-CBN

V.S.

It is a battle that is being waged with the same intensity as the cola wars (Coke vs. Pepsi) and the fight for supremacy between the leading cell phone companies (Smart vs. Globe).
We’re talking about the network war between ABS-CBN and GMA 7. The objective: high ratings which translate into a heftier slice of the multi-billion peso advertising pie. Although the industry includes other players, the two are considered as the main protagonists.
For quite a while, ABS-CBN had a commanding lead over GMA. The latter was content to be a strong number two. Ironically, GMA was the number one station during the martial law era in the 70s under the stewardship of current ABS-CBN chief operating officer Freddie Garcia. When the Lopez’s got back ABS-CBN after the Edsa Revolt in 1986, the late Geny Lopez was able to convince Garcia to return to his mother station. It was Garcia who lifted ABS-CBN from the cellar to the top of the heap after only a few months on the job.
When Felipe Gozon took over the reins at GMA a few years ago, he told his team that he was no longer content being the runner-up in the lucrative business. His objective was to regain market leadership and trounce ABS-CBN. This meant committing more funds to the station’s operations so that it could produce more local shows and improve its facilities.
The initial strategy was a sneak attack into non-primetime shows, the morning and afternoon slots which ABS-CBN seemed to have neglected. Since GMA already dominated the noontime slots with its variety show Eat Bulaga, the network enticed its viewers to continue watching beyond the noontime slot with soaps and telenovelas.
As early as 5 a.m., GMA was already on the air with “Unang Hirit” which was followed by soaps and a talk show for women. That strategy seems to have worked. Although ABS-CBN continued its domination of primetime, GMA was slowly inching in on the market leader in the non-primetime slots.
The battle then turned to the primetime slots. With the slowdown in the production of movies for the big screen, the two leaders discovered that many of the top stars could be lured to appear in daily soaps, something unthinkable in previous years.
Even topflight directors like Joel Lamangan and Joyce Bernal were amenable to doing TV. ABS-CBN and GMA increased their budgets for what they called teleseryes or telesines. Previously, soaps were simple productions where scenes for a whole week were shot in a day in a studio. On Flordeluna for instance, the characters would just talk on for minutes on end to while the airtime away.
Those days have changed. Soaps are now shot on location and big names like Christopher de Leon, Eddie Garcia, Lorna Tolentino, Robin Padilla, Judy Ann Santos are the main attractions. Elements from movies like explosions, helicopter shots and simple special effects have also been added to make them more attractive.
There was a time when Latin soaps known as telenovelas were in vogue. Credit RPN 9 for starting the telenovela fever with Marimar. Soon both ABS-CBN and GMA rode on the telenovela bandwagon and RPN-9 could not keep up with the leaders.
Recently, ABS-CBN experimented with a soap many dubbed the “chinovela” because it originated in Taiwan.” It was called Meteor Garden and featured the singing group F4.
Even the most optimistic executives of the network could not anticipate the tremendous response of the televiewers. Meteor Garden zoomed to the top of the charts and the Taiwanese heartthrobs over-took Thalia as the latest pop icons.
GMA could not take this lying down and soon bought its own “chinovela” to compete with Meteor Garden but it was obvious ABS won this round. Now Chinese-sourced soaps are out rating their Latin counterparts.
If Meteor Garden was a coup for ABS-CBN, GMA would have its share of victories. Maalaala Mo Kaya is a long-running drama series in ABS-CBN that dramatized supposedly original letters from viewers narrating true-to-life stories. The show gained a reputation as a showcase of the network’s directorial and acting talents. It was also rating quite high. Then GMA decided to come up with a series called Magpakailanman, which dramatizes stories of real celebrities like activist-beauty queen Nelia Sancho and Sex Bomb dancer Rochelle Pangilinan. It is hosted by Mel Tiangco better known as the “Partner” of Jay Sonza and the newscaster on Front Page. Initially, it did not go against Maalaala Mo Kaya but when the ratings came in, the network knew it had a winner and aired it opposite Maalaala.
Although the ABS-CBN drama series was still ahead, Magpakailanman was only a few points behind. Because of the format’s success, even Maalaala Mo Kaya changed its approach so that it too came up with real-life stories of celebrities.
This is what the competition has done to the two leaders. When one network comes up with a successful show, the other has to come up with own to prove that it is the better network. We are reminded of Jollibee and McDonald’s. Once one puts up one outlet in a given location, the other has to follow suit.
The noontime slot has always been GMA’s pride and joy. Eat Bulaga, which is a co-production with Tony Tuviera’s TAPE has always outrated whatever ABS-CBN has to offer on the same slot. (Ironically, Eat Bulaga used to be on ABS-CBN.) In the early days, it was child star Aiza Seguerra who contributed greatly to the success of the show. These days, it’s the Sex Bomb Girls and their gyrating pelvises that have livened up the show.
Not to be outdone, ABS-CBN came up with Masayang Tanghali Bayan replacing Magandang Tanghali Bayan and its own set of gyrating dancers, the Gee Girls as well as sexy star Aubrey Miles and Fil-Austrian Cindy Kurleto. It also upped its prize in the game portion “Urong Sulong” to P2 million compared to Eat Bulaga’s P 1 million.
Willie Revillame, who was suspended years ago for his tasteless jokes on the old MTB, didn’t quite learn his lesson and continued with his naughty remarks. The regulatory body Movie, Television and Radio Classification Board (MTRCB) took notice and called the attention of ABS-CBN which promptly suspended the comedian as well as co-host John Estrada. Eat Bulaga would have its share of trouble from MTRCB. Joey de Leon had his own naughty encounter with a contestant and also got suspended.
This is what competition has done to the noontime show. One tries to outdo the other in terms of off-color humor hoping the MTRCB is not watching. There was a time when Eat Bulaga used the gimmicks of a foreign show Fear Factor to enhance its ratings.
Contestants were made to eat unappetizing delicacies like rats and cockroaches and that too prompted the MTRCB to issue a warning. That segment is no longer aired on Eat Bulaga.
The competition has also affected the stars of both networks. There have been “defections” on both sides although most of the defectors have gone from ABS-CBN to GMA. The idea being floated around is that the network has not treated them well. An ABS-CBN insider told us however that the network was only too glad to let go of these stars because they were no longer attracting ratings.
The network war has extended to non-programming issues. GMA has complained to the National Telecommunications Commission that Sky Cable, a sister company of ABS-CBN, is tampering with its signal especially during slots when their popular shows are aired, a charge strongly denied by Sky Cable. GMA launched a publicity effort that pictured the network as the underdog trying to fight a giant company.
Recently, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) suspended GMA for a show that featured Rosanna Roces engaging in a naughty segment with a guest. The network reacted by withdrawing from the organization. KBP is trying to find a way to get GMA back to the self-regulatory body of the radio-TV industry.
ABS-CBN has its own beef against its rival network. It has accused GMA broadcaster Mike Enriquez of saying on the air that ABS-CBN falsifies its ratings report printed in newspapers. The case has been elevated to the KBP.
So who is winning? ABS-CBN continues to be the market leader even as it acknowledges that GMA has improved a lot since the days when it was content to be No. 2. Meanwhile, expect more fireworks from both companies in their continuing effort to win the ratings war.

True Friends

Hi everyone today my blog is about telling who your true friends are and how you should care for them. I always wanted a girl for a true friend but it’s really hard for me to make such a relationship work .maybe the problem is in me of the fact that I am too independent, that I am busy but I tried many times to make one .unfortunately this person only used me. I deal with too much fake people. And it not then they’re always just ditching me for something. Hmm… Friends? Easily 2 find, but TRUE Friends is hardly 2 have. I have many friends but close friends? I don’t know exactly… Maybe I think they’re but they didn’t think the same… try to make me know more about them n let them know more about me… I think that need time- not short but cant say that will b long… don’t know… respecting some who r near u 1st…Aya fighting!!!!!!!! True friends are few and far between. Most people are acquaintances - which is fine for socializing and having a good time. A good friend will be there consistently, will share equally secret things about themselves as you do with them. What you want to look for is reciprocity (do they give back - not evenly but do you get what you give?). Also, before you consider someone a "true friend" remembers... they have to earn that place. So when you meet someone or if you review your present circle of friends... hang back and look at how they act over a period of time. Don't offer too much information about yourself that is precious to you until you see how they reveal themselves over time. People reveal their true colors quickly... once they relax with the group or with you. True friends are family you chouse to have around you and you can find them, but it takes time. I think there are true friends. You just have to make sure you are both honest with each other. Don't be willing to accept someone who just uses you when they feel like it. Make sure you both have things in common. And always be willing to try new things. It’s difficult to be a good friend but always you can try to be the best for that person special. There are true friends out there. They just aren't very common to find.I found many friends but with the time we are changing and never can be friends forever. Ok now one ask to you Broken Heart wanna be my best friend ;) Here are quotes that show friendship and these quotes also show how friends act.
Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure." -- Jewish saying
In my understanding this quote means that if you find a friend you will find a treasure because a friend is like a treasure that you keep. You must keep him or her safe because if you won’t it can be stolen away from you. Just like a precious treasure that you keep hidden. Now that my blog is finished you will already tell who you true friends are.

Women

Women's Day has been an occasion not only for celebration but also for reflection on issues currently affecting women on the African continent, which include sexual violence, institutionalized oppression and inadequate healthcare. You know, there are a lot of women that made very significant events. Like the black American that was first to take a trip around the world using an airplane. What are the roles of the women? The women are very important to us. Why? You ask me that question I will ask you, where did you come from? Did you come from your father? No, that is very impossible. There is no man that can bear a child. Even if they undergo sex change they still can’t bear a child. The women is very important to us because they are the ones who made us live. They always care for us. They give us everything we need. We all know that the father is always the one to get a job and to give the family their earnings. But some of the men this time are not giving their wives a share of what they earned. Why? Because they have other families. Some of them are wasting their money just for playing cards like “tong-its. We always play that. But we don’t waste our money just for that silly game. We just play that game for fun. You know my father used to play that game. He always arrived home late. There was one time that my mother was so angry that she went after my father. Then you know what she did. She went to him and pushed over the table they were playing at. And all the cards were flying and the money were all over the floor. The play mates of my father were so scared. They thought there was a war going on against my mother and my father. After what happened, my father did not play that stupid game again. He just spends his time reading the dictionary or maybe listing to the songs in youtube and using the yahoo messenger. You know, women have the hardest jobs ever. They have many responsibilities like taking care of us. And if they have many siblings like 9, 10, 11, 12, etc. the mother has to work so that they can afford to let their children go to school. She is the one that will budget the incomes of his husband so that it will be enough to make it through the whole year. It’s kind of hard to become a mother. But you have to accept the fact that you are a woman. And you have to accept the fact that you will get married someday and you will also have children of your own. And you will have an experience on being a woman. We should thank our mother for taking care of us. Even though we hate what they are doing to us. But they are only doing their best to make our life better and to let us be more disciplined so that we can be ready for what is in store for us in the future. So we should thank our mother for every good thing she has done for us. And we should say it now because it is women’s month. This is where my post ends, so thank you for reading my post and hope you will read all my other posts.

A Loving Heart

EEEEEEEEEEEEwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Hello to all my friends out there in the whole universe that are reading my blog right now. Hi!!!!!! Today my blog is about a loving heart. I don’t know why I came up with this idea, maybe it’s because I’m inspired. Oh my God, is it true. I’m falling in love again. Why does my heart keep on falling in love? You, does your heart fall in love always? If you ask a person what she or he likes he or she will then say “I want somebody to love me”. If he or she will say those words then that means that he or she is not loved. You know, loving is not hard but there is something that is really hard to get or figure out how to forget about that person that you already loved very much. And another thing that is hard to do is forgetting that only person that you already loved with all your heart and that is the hardest thing to do when you will love. I will give you part of the love story of my classmates when I was in elementary. This is how it goes, my friend is like a lesbian but she isn’t she only walks and talk like a lesbian but inside her heart she is really a true girl. Then she has another friend that is very close to her. That friend was the most trusted friend she ever had. Now there was one time that my friend had a crush on her classmate that was the second honor in our class. So she kept it a secret for a very long time. Until one day her most trusted friend asked her if she already has a crush. And she told her yes. After what she said, her friend kept on asking her who is the lucky guy. Until one day her crush passed by her and her most trusted friend saw her smiling as if she saw the man of her life. So her friend asked her if she had a crush on him and she told him no. but her friend kept on asking her and then she shouted yes. And her most trusted friend told her that she also has a crush on the same boy but after she said that she told my friend that that boy will only be yours because she does not like him anymore, so they became happy. But days after the revealing, she realized that she had mistake on telling her friend. Because when she went to school very early she was teased by her classmates. She asked her friend about it and you know what she said, she said that they had a truth or dare and when it was her time to tell the truth she told everyone who was the crush of her friend. And because of that, they were not speaking to each other again. But there was one hard time that my friend could not accept, it is that her most trusted friend and her crush was already you know “mu/ mutual understanding. It is very hard to accept that your best friend is now your worst enemy. But you know it’s a lesson to all of us to be more careful of picking those people who you will trust your secrets to. It’s very hard to find those kind of people in our time right now.

Money, Money, Money

Why is money important to us? Why do we need these things? You will find out after you read this post.
Economics offers various definitions for money, though it is now commonly defined as any good or token that functions as a medium of exchange that is socially and legally accepted in payment for goods and services and in settlement of debts. Money also serves as a standard of value for measuring the relative worth of different goods and services. Some authors explicitly require money to be a standard of deferred payment.[1] In common usage, money refers more specifically to currency, particularly the many circulating currencies with legal tender status conferred by a national state; deposit accounts denominated in such currencies are also considered part of the money supply, although these characteristics are historically comparatively recent. Money may also serve as a means of rationing access to scarce resources and as a quantitative measure that provides a common standard for the comparison and valuation of quality as well as quantity, such as in the valuation of real estate or artistic works. The use of money provides an easier alternative to barter, which is considered in a modern, complex economy to be inefficient because it requires a coincidence of wants between traders, and an agreement that these needs are of equal value, before a transaction can occur. The efficiency gains through the use of money are thought to encourage trade and the division of labour, in turn increasing productivity and wealth.
The value of money depends on what it can purchase, not what it is made of. Fiat money has value because it can be utilized to purchase goods and services, even though it has very little intrinsic value or utility other than as a medium of exchange. It is more difficult to concede that the same is true of gold and silver. While their intrinsic value remains unaltered by the quantity available, their value as a medium of exchange is directly depend on the availability of goods and services for sale. This is illustrated by the fact that when huge quantities of gold and even larger amounts of silver were discovered in the New World and brought back to Europe for conversion into coin, the purchasing power of those coins fell by 60% to 80%, i.e. prices of commodities rose, because the supply of goods for sale did not keep pace with the increased supply of money.[2] In addition, the relative value of silver to gold shifted dramatically downward.[3] Today's national currencies are backed by the governments that issue them, not by gold or silver, and the governments are backed by the productive capacity of the societies they represent. Money is one of the most central topics studied in economics and forms its most cogent link to finance. Monetarism is an economic theory which predominantly deals with the supply and demand for money. The stability of the demand for money prior to the 1980s was a key finding of the work of Milton Friedman, Anna Schwartz, David Laidler, and many others. Technical, institutional, and legal changes changed the nature of the demand for money during the 1980s. Monetary policy aims to manage the money supply, inflation and interest to affect output and employment. Inflation is the decrease in the value of a specific currency over time and can be caused by dramatic increases in the money supply. The interest rate, the cost of borrowing money, is an important tool used to control inflation and economic growth in monetary economics. Central banks are often made responsible for monitoring and controlling the money supply, interest rates and banking. A monetary crisis can have very significant economic effects, particularly if it leads to monetary failure and the adoption of a much less efficient barter economy. This happened in Russia, for instance, after the fall of the Soviet Union. There have been many historical arguments regarding the combination of money's functions, some arguing that they need more separation and that a single unit is insufficient to deal with them all. Financial capital is a more general and inclusive term for all liquid instruments, whether or not they are a uniformly recognized tender.

The Rainbow

What is a rainbow? Have you ever seen one? Why does it have many different colors? You can answer these questions by yourself if you will read my blog thoroughly.
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a nearly continuous spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc, with red on the outside and violet on the inside. More rarely, a double rainbow is seen, which includes a second, fainter arc with colours in the opposite order, that is, with violet on the outside and red on the inside. Even though a rainbow spans a continuous spectrum of colours, traditionally the full sequence of colours is most commonly cited and remembered as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. ("Roy G. Biv" and "Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain" are popular mnemonics.) Though rainbows are bow-shaped in most cases, there are also phenomena of rainbow-colored strips in the sky: in the shape of stripes, circles, or even flames.
Rainbows can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind the observer at a low altitude or angle. The most spectacular rainbow displays when half of the sky is still dark with draining clouds and the observer is at a spot with clear sky overhead. The rainbow effect is also commonly seen near waterfalls or fountains. Rainbow fringes can sometimes be seen at the edges of backlit clouds and as vertical bands in distant rain or virga. The effect can also be artificially created by dispersing water droplets into the air during a sunny day. Rarely, a moon bow, or night-time rainbow, can be seen on strongly moonlit nights. As human visual perception for colour is poor in low light, moon bows are most often perceived to be white. The rainbow's appearance is caused by dispersion of sunlight as it goes through raindrops. The light is first refracted as it enters the surface of the raindrop, reflected off the back of the drop, and again refracted as it leaves the drop. The overall effect is that the incoming light is reflected back over a wide range of angles, with the most intense light at an angle of 40°–42°. The angle is independent of the size of the drop, but does depend on its refractive index. Seawater has a higher refractive index than rain water, so the radius of a 'rain ‘bow in sea spray is smaller than a true rainbow. This is visible to the naked eye by a misalignment of these bows. The amount by which light is refracted depends upon its wavelength, and hence its color. Blue light (shorter wavelength) is refracted at a greater angle than red light, but because the area of the back of the droplet has a focal point inside the droplet, the spectrum crosses itself, and therefore the red light appears higher in the sky, and forms the outer colour of the rainbow. Contrary to popular belief, the light at the back of the raindrop does not undergo total internal reflection and some light does emerge from the back. However, light coming out the back of the raindrop does not create a rainbow between the observer and the sun because spectra emitted from the back of the raindrop do not have a maximum of intensity, as the other visible rainbows do, and thus the colours blend together rather than forming a rainbow.

Magellan's Cross

Have you seen the thing that is such called as the Magellan’s Cross? Have you touched it with your own bare hands? Have you seen it with your own naked hands? If you asked me the same questions I will say yes to the first and the last questions. Because I have seen the cross with my own eyes. I have gone to the place where it was planted. In this post of mine it states that there are many mysteries hidden behind the walls of this cross. And you will find out all of those mysteries if you read this post thoroughly.
Close to 500 years ago, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan planted a huge Christian cross in Sugbu (now Cebu) to celebrate the baptism into the Roman Catholic religion of island chief Rajah Humabon, his wife, and some 500 of their followers on April 21, 1521.The 485-year-old cross, called Magellan’s Cross, now stands at a small chapel located across Cebu City Hall and along Magallanes Street. The street is named after Magellan, Magallanes being the Spanish translation of the Portuguese explorer’s name. A sign below the cross says the original Magellan’s Cross is encased in the tindalo wood cross displayed in the center of the chapel. This is to protect it from people who chipped away parts of the cross believing it has miraculous powers or as souvenirs. Some, however, say that the original cross planted by Magellan was destroyed or lost and what stands there now is a replacement planted by Spaniards who came after the Portuguese explorer. Magellan was killed on April 27, 1521 in what is now known as the Battle of Mactan. The Portuguese explorer died when his men fought Mactan natives led by the island’s chieftain, Lapu-Lapu. Cebu City Hall now uses the cross as a symbol and the chapel’s image can be found in the city seal. Many other Cebu-based government and non-government organizations use Magellan’s Cross in their seals and logos. The cross is a popular tourist attraction together with other Cebu historical landmarks like the Fort San Pedro, built by the Spanish conquistador who came some 40 years after Magellan, and the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, considered the oldest church in the Philippines. Within the vicinity of Magellan’s Cross are Cebu guitar vendors and shell craft and woodcraft displays. The products are popular with the locals and tourists. Magellan’s Cross, as with many areas and landmarks in Cebu, is currently being renovated and restored in preparation for the province’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit this December. If you haven’t found out about the mysteries here are some additional information about this cross.
This cross is found in the middle of the busy metropolitan city of Cebu. This cross signaled the Christianization of the country as the cross is the symbol of Christianity. Magellan’s cross, as it is referred to, is housed in a well-preserved dome-shaped concrete structure. People who flock to the spot get a better view of the cross as it elevated on a platform in the middle of the structure. From the outside, the place resembles a covered deep well. On the concrete ceiling are found elaborate paintings that depict Christianity and religious symbols.
Now that my explaining of my topic is over you already know the secret of this cross or barely. There are many secrets and memories treasured in and by this cross.
Have you seen the thing that is such called as the Magellan’s Cross? Have you touched it with your own bare hands? Have you seen it with your own naked hands? If you asked me the same questions I will say yes to the first and the last questions. Because I have seen the cross with my own eyes. I have gone to the place where it was planted. In this post of mine it states that there are many mysteries hidden behind the walls of this cross. And you will find out all of those mysteries if you read this post thoroughly.
Close to 500 years ago, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan planted a huge Christian cross in Sugbu (now Cebu) to celebrate the baptism into the Roman Catholic religion of island chief Rajah Humabon, his wife, and some 500 of their followers on April 21, 1521.The 485-year-old cross, called Magellan’s Cross, now stands at a small chapel located across Cebu City Hall and along Magallanes Street. The street is named after Magellan, Magallanes being the Spanish translation of the Portuguese explorer’s name. A sign below the cross says the original Magellan’s Cross is encased in the tindalo wood cross displayed in the center of the chapel. This is to protect it from people who chipped away parts of the cross believing it has miraculous powers or as souvenirs. Some, however, say that the original cross planted by Magellan was destroyed or lost and what stands there now is a replacement planted by Spaniards who came after the Portuguese explorer. Magellan was killed on April 27, 1521 in what is now known as the Battle of Mactan. The Portuguese explorer died when his men fought Mactan natives led by the island’s chieftain, Lapu-Lapu. Cebu City Hall now uses the cross as a symbol and the chapel’s image can be found in the city seal. Many other Cebu-based government and non-government organizations use Magellan’s Cross in their seals and logos. The cross is a popular tourist attraction together with other Cebu historical landmarks like the Fort San Pedro, built by the Spanish conquistador who came some 40 years after Magellan, and the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, considered the oldest church in the Philippines. Within the vicinity of Magellan’s Cross are Cebu guitar vendors and shell craft and woodcraft displays. The products are popular with the locals and tourists. Magellan’s Cross, as with many areas and landmarks in Cebu, is currently being renovated and restored in preparation for the province’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit this December. If you haven’t found out about the mysteries here are some additional information about this cross.
This cross is found in the middle of the busy metropolitan city of Cebu. This cross signaled the Christianization of the country as the cross is the symbol of Christianity. Magellan’s cross, as it is referred to, is housed in a well-preserved dome-shaped concrete structure. People who flock to the spot get a better view of the cross as it elevated on a platform in the middle of the structure. From the outside, the place resembles a covered deep well. On the concrete ceiling are found elaborate paintings that depict Christianity and religious symbols.
Now that my explaining of my topic is over you already know the secret of this cross or barely. There are many secrets and memories treasured in and by this cross.

My Favorite National Hero

My favorite national hero is General Gregorio Del Pilar. I want to ask you a question; do you have a favorite national hero? Why is he or she your favorite hero? If you ask me the same questions I will say that he is my favorite because he is brave and he sacrificed his life for all the Filipinos. Why do I say such a thing? You will know why when you will finish reading my blog. Now I will tell you the life story of my favorite national hero General Gregorio Del Pilar.
Gregorio Del Pilar was born on November 16, 1875 in Bulacan. Marcel0o H. Del Pilar is his uncle.
Gregorio Del Pilar learned his first letters from Pedro Serrano Laktaw, a leading mason who wrote an extensive Tagalog-Spanish dictionary decade later.
Gregorio enrolled in the Ateneo Municipal in Manila. He graduated with a bachillerato at the outset of the revolution in 1896. He was an average student. He became an ardent student nationalist through his association with Deodato Arellano. Arellano was the first president of the secret revolutionary society the Katipunan. In Manila, the young Gregorio distributed pamphlets about the nationalist movement which his uncle Marcelo had written in Madrid.
Gregorio became an active rebel army when the revolution broke out. He displayed courage sacrifices in the battles he fought with the Spanish troops. Emilio Aguinaldo was so impressed with Gregorio’s military skills and had so much confidence in him that he made Gregorio a general.
Gregorio Del Pilar’s greatest achievement was the defense of Tirad Pass. The Tirad Pass was 1300 meters high. Clouds cover it’s peak during rainy seasons. But when the weather is clear it demands good view for miles around.
When General Emilio Aguinaldo fled from the American army Del Pilar and his men stood guard at the Pass. Del Pilar thought that an ensuing battle would necessarily delay the Americans from pursuing Aguinaldo.
Del Pilar and his sixty men built trenches on both shoulders of Tirad Pass. This would enable them to see the movement of the enemy from below.
On December 2, 1899 the American army reached Tirad Pass. The trail to the Pass was very narrow. So the American soldiers had to come up in single file. Del Pilar’s men kept up a continuous and accurate fire at the enemy. They also threw stones on the soldier’s heads.
Eventually the Americans found a secret trail to the top. Using it to advantage they surprised Del Pilar and his men. So, from the top of a nearby ridge, the Americans’ powerful rifles picked out one by one fifty-two of the sixty rebels.
The last to fall was Del Pilar. He had already been wounded on the shoulder and was ascending the summit of Tirad on his horse when a sharpshooter’s bullet hit him in the face. He covered his face with his hands and blood gushed forth. Then he fell backward, died. He died fighting for his beloved country. And that is why he is my favorite national hero.
My favorite national hero is General Gregorio Del Pilar. I want to ask you a question; do you have a favorite national hero? Why is he or she your favorite hero? If you ask me the same questions I will say that he is my favorite because he is brave and he sacrificed his life for all the Filipinos. Why do I say such a thing? You will know why when you will finish reading my blog. Now I will tell you the life story of my favorite national hero General Gregorio Del Pilar.
Gregorio Del Pilar was born on November 16, 1875 in Bulacan. Marcel0o H. Del Pilar is his uncle.
Gregorio Del Pilar learned his first letters from Pedro Serrano Laktaw, a leading mason who wrote an extensive Tagalog-Spanish dictionary decade later.
Gregorio enrolled in the Ateneo Municipal in Manila. He graduated with a bachillerato at the outset of the revolution in 1896. He was an average student. He became an ardent student nationalist through his association with Deodato Arellano. Arellano was the first president of the secret revolutionary society the Katipunan. In Manila, the young Gregorio distributed pamphlets about the nationalist movement which his uncle Marcelo had written in Madrid.
Gregorio became an active rebel army when the revolution broke out. He displayed courage sacrifices in the battles he fought with the Spanish troops. Emilio Aguinaldo was so impressed with Gregorio’s military skills and had so much confidence in him that he made Gregorio a general.
Gregorio Del Pilar’s greatest achievement was the defense of Tirad Pass. The Tirad Pass was 1300 meters high. Clouds cover it’s peak during rainy seasons. But when the weather is clear it demands good view for miles around.
When General Emilio Aguinaldo fled from the American army Del Pilar and his men stood guard at the Pass. Del Pilar thought that an ensuing battle would necessarily delay the Americans from pursuing Aguinaldo.
Del Pilar and his sixty men built trenches on both shoulders of Tirad Pass. This would enable them to see the movement of the enemy from below.
On December 2, 1899 the American army reached Tirad Pass. The trail to the Pass was very narrow. So the American soldiers had to come up in single file. Del Pilar’s men kept up a continuous and accurate fire at the enemy. They also threw stones on the soldier’s heads.
Eventually the Americans found a secret trail to the top. Using it to advantage they surprised Del Pilar and his men. So, from the top of a nearby ridge, the Americans’ powerful rifles picked out one by one fifty-two of the sixty rebels.
The last to fall was Del Pilar. He had already been wounded on the shoulder and was ascending the summit of Tirad on his horse when a sharpshooter’s bullet hit him in the face. He covered his face with his hands and blood gushed forth. Then he fell backward, died. He died fighting for his beloved country. And that is why he is my favorite national hero.

Love

What is the true meaning of love? Tell me, do you know that word truly means? According to my grandmother, her definition of love is that “Love is crazy” and that “love is blind but neighbors can see”. The meaning of the second quote is that the lover can’t see the bad characteristics of his loved one but others can. This means that love is truly blind. You don’t care what your loved one has. You won’t care whether he or she is ugly or handsome. You won’t care if he or she is selfish or if he or she is joining fraternities or if he or she is not serious in their studies. All you care about is that you love him or her with all your heart. You k now, I know someone that does the same too. He has a girlfriend right now. I don’t know why he loved that girl. I know that he knows that his girlfriend is very selfish. But I also know that his girlfriend is intelligent beautiful. I don’t know why he fell in love with that girl when he somebody is waiting for him that is better than that girlfriend of his. But that is not the true meaning of love. If you read the bible, you will see different definitions of love and they are all correct and true. Like the verse “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself; it is not puffed up. 1st Corinthians 13 :4. another verse said “ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1st Corinthians 13:7. And the last verse that is about love said “Love never fails. But whether there are prophesies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is a knowledge, it will vanish away. 1st Corinthians 13:8. Which do you think is the greatest faith, hope or love? In the bible, it states that those three things are important but the most important thing of all is LOVE. God also loses us , what makes me say that? It is because of this verse “For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son, and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16. It makes me say that God really loves us all because he gave his only son just to save us all. He really loves us all. Nobody except God has ever done that to save people that are not as important as his own son. We all know that it is very hard to loose your son or daughter. But He gave his only son’s life to save us all from our sins. Now that’s the true definition of love. It’s not the kind of love that you admire somebody because he or she is handsome or beautiful. It does not mean that having a girlfriend or having a boyfriend is a sign that you already experienced loving. What you feel is not love. It is only admiration. Love is measured on how you want the person you love to be safe. It is when you are willing to give your own life or the life of the persons who are very important to you. Just like what God did for us.

My Journey on Becoming a highschool student

Hi everyone. I am Marie Therese Baquilta a I–Villamor student of the University of the Philippines High School Cebu. Our school is one of the most known schools here in the Philippines. You know, for me, my stay here in UP is the greatest. I know there are a lot of people who hates me and there are many people here in UP that are insulting me. I don’t care. All I care about are my studies and my friends. I really love studying here in UP. There are many friendly people here. I learned many things on my stay here in UP. My classmates and friends told me that I have changed a lot. I have changed because of my friends. I have many friends here in UP, I think. But there are people that really made a spot here in my heart. There are three of them. They are Adelpha Albino, Gizelle Peras and Roxenne Lourdes Rosario. They are my closest friend. They are the ones who changed me. They changed me from being boyish to being a true girl. I will tell you how they changed my life. First is Gizelle, she was the one who thought me to be gentle. She thought me how to hide my feelings. Now I can hide my feelings. I can hide my feelings whether I am angry at them or I was hurt by what they said to me. She thought me how to stop my anger, because long time ago when I was still in elementary I used to punch those people who insult me or the people that I am angry with. Next is Roxenne, you know Roxenne and I always quarrel. I know that I have hurt her. So she thought me how to say sorry to the ones that I have hurt. and she has corrected me thousands of but I don't even listen to her and instead of saying thank you for correcting me I say to stop correcting me because sometimes when she gives me advices it makes me insulted. Because she gives me advice everytime. Now the last person that had made the most changes in me is Adelpha. She made many changes in me. By the way she is the one that made the most changes in me.

My Childhood Friends

My childhood friends are very important to me. They are important to me because they played a very big role in my life. They are the ones who thought me how to be a great person. I have four childhood friends. And you know they are all boys. I have childhood friends that are boys because in the past I didn’t like girls. I didn’t even want to be a girl. What was in my head before was how to become a man. But I changed after what had happened before just read and you will know how I become a true girl or am I. As I said before I have four childhood friends. They are Junrey, Paolo, Vincent Madrideños and Eric Montealto. We are friends for almost five to six years. We play together every weekend and every summer. We are very close. Every weekend when their father is not around (maybe on a trip) they usually stay at our house. One time they even slept in our house. I forgot to tell you their ages. So lets start from the youngest, Vincent is turning thirteen this year. Eric is turning fifth teen this year. Paolo is also turning fifth teen this year. And I think Junrey is turning seven teen this year. So that means that Junrey is the eldest among the five of us. You know, they are the ones who thought me how to play basketball. At first I really had no interest in that sport. But I became interested when Paolo was the one who personally thought me how to play. He was the first one to teach me. After that day I kept thinking that basketball shall be my favorite sports. Why? I don’t know why. Maybe it is because of Paolo. Three years after what happened they already matured. I discovered that Junrey already had a girlfriend. But for me it was nothing until my brother told me that Paolo also has a girlfriend. After what I heard I became angry. All that I was thinking that moment was to kill his girlfriend. Something came to me and asked me “do you like him?” and both my mind and my heart told me yes, yes, yes I like him, I like him very much. Why? I like him because he is kind, smart, athletic, strong, tall, handsome and the most important one is that he is a gentleman. He respects women. That is why I like him very much. Until now I still like him very much. but we can’t see each other anymore. Why? Because my mother is avoiding me from going to their house. She is avoiding me to see one of the members of the Madrideños Family. I don’t know why. But I think she is avoiding me to see Paolo. I think we were only destined to be friends. I really miss playing with my childhood friends. I miss their faces. I miss the way they smile and the way they laugh. My wish is that those days will come back. I wish that the good and happy memories will come back. I hope, wish and most importantly I pray that the five of us will see each other again. I really love my friends. I hope that they can still remember me. And I also hope that I too played a very big role in their lives. In Paolo’s life especially. When can we ever see each other again? I hope that it will be in this year. I really miss them.

My Family

First of all I will introduce the members of my family. My father is Leopoldo Baquilta. My mother is Jennifer Baquilta. My brother is Dexter Baquilta. And yours truly Marie Therese Baquilta. Let us start from me. I am Marie Therese Baquilta. 12 years of age. I am a product of Barrio Luz Elementary School. The school where there are many fights. Everyday there is always a fight. Once I fought with a boy. He was the one who started the fight. He started the fight by punching me in the face. I tried very hard to punch him back but I couldn’t. I was so frightened that I will be suspended. I was afraid because we were already in grade six and if I get suspended it would affect my grade. So I didn’t fight back. What did I do? I went to our room. I went near the mirror and saw blood on my lips. My lips then were as red as an apple. Enough about me and my school. Lets go to my brother. His name is Dexter Baquilta. He is 17 years of age. He is turning 18 on November 4. I will tell you where he studied. When he was in kinder one and two and grades one, two and three he studied at Samanthabadra Institute. When he was in grades four, five and six he studied in Barrio Luz Elementary School. And when he was in high school he studied in University of the Southern Philippines or USP. He is supposed to be a first year college student now. But he decided to quit studying for one year so that he could rest. You know, my brother is a good in playing the guitar. He knows different songs. He also knows songs that are not very popular. He is good in picking, plucking, etc. he also has a band. I still don’t know the name of their band. But they already started playing in different schools. I think they started playing last December. I love my brother very much. But he does not know about it. All he knows is that I hate him very much. Because we always quarrel everyday, every week etc. my brother is one of the persons who taught me how to play the guitar. Now lets go to my mother. Her name is Jennifer Baquilta. She is 37 years of age. She is turning 38 on June 8. She is a housewife. She is a great mother. But sometimes I get irritated. Why? Because when she speaks at me the tone of her voice is like she is very angry at me. And if we have something to quarrel over she does not want to be wrong. In my case I am always wrong in the eyes of my mother. That’s what I hate about her. Now lets go to my father. He is Leopoldo Baquilta. He is 42 years old. He is turning 43 this November 10. my father really cares for me. For me he is the best father in the whole world. He works in TESDA or Technical Education Skills Development Authority. And that is part of the story behind each of the Baquilta Family members.

The Thief

My elementary years was full of joy, laughter and tears. These years were full of joy and laughter because of my friends Julie Pearl V. Calinog, Jessa May dela Torre, Marjorie S. Limbaga, Eloise Joy Morales and Babielyn Murillo. We were so happy. We play together everyday. We eat our lunch together. We even copy our assignments from Julie. They say that she is the smartest in our group. We were so happy back then. Until one day, I knew that I really have one best friend left. And that friend that was left was Jessa. Julie, Marjorie, Eloise and Babielyn were only using me to get what they wanted. And thats one characteristic that I hate for my friends. They want me to buy things for them using my own money. They ask me to throw garbage for them. One of them even copies my answers during tests. That girl was my best friend before but my worst enemy now. You know I do all the things they want me to do for them. Why? Because I treat them as family. I treat them as my real older sisters. And I obey my older sisters. I know that I am a loyal friend to them. I have always been loyal to them. They are the ones who are not loyal to me. One day after the Christmas break my Daddy gave me P 100.00. I brought my money to school because I know that they are going to ask money from me again, so I decided to bring it with me. What was on my mind came true they asked me to buy stuff for them. What was left of my P100.00 was only P70.00. I put it in my wallet so that it will be safe. But one time I let Marjorie hold my wallet so that it won't fall out my skirt. Then we went to the CR after we went out the CR I asked for my wallet so that I can buy food for us. When she gave me my wallet there was only P20.00 left in the wallet. I asked her if she knows where my P50.00 went but she told me that she doesn't know where it went. I asked her over and over but still she said that she doesn't know where it is. I was starting to think that she was the one who stole all the money that was lost from me. I kept asking her if she has seen the money and she got angry at me. She said that I didn’t trust her. But who would trust a lying such like her. When we went back to school I told my classmates about what happened. And they also think that she was the one who stole the money from my pocket. I and my classmates decided to investigate this case. Before that stealing of money happened, Marjorie told us that she only had a little money. So I bought snacks for her. And after the stealing happened when classes were through she bought many foods. She gave all of us food. We asked her where she had the money to buy all those food. And she didn’t tell us where. We asked permission from her so we can open her bag and see what’s inside and she stared at us and when we started to check what is inside she cried. And when we saw her crying we stopped we said sorry and when I came to her side she pinched me so hard nobody saw what she did and I was starting to think again that she was the one who stole all the things that was lost from me.