Not Safe

"Is - is he a man?" asked Lucy
"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion, the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh," said Susan, "I thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, abd make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king I tell you."

Link Lunacy (03.13.12)

I think you might have noticed by now how busy life has been for me. I have not found the time to update my blog for the past years. Just kidding. Weeks, I mean. Maybe even months. It is most frustrating when I want to say something, and yet have no time to say it. I am thankful, however, that there are other bloggers, websites, and whatnot out there address the issues for me. Of course, I don't agree with them a hundred percent of the time, but there are some articles every now and then that seem to have captured the very image from my mind. And then there are others that write about a bunch of interesting stuff...too good to pass. So enjoy the first of these "Link Lunacies"—a collection of links that I will be posting from time to time.

I'm not so much of an art person. I can't draw (well, not anymore,t that is), so my experience is limited to that of an admirer and appreciator. The concept of negative space art is one that is new to me, yet one that I find so interesting to look at.

Speaking of art, paintings have taken a whole new aspect. Check out these digital paintings. You'd think some were photographs instead of paintings!

Check out these cute crafts as well...some adorable needle feltings to go awww! all over. I'm sure my younger sister would love the bunnies.

And if you have any old gloves, instead of throwing them away, why not make them into chipmunks? I have not tried this yet, but it looks fun and interesting to do. Hey, maybe you can even sell them and become an entrepreneur!

Au revoir all! Till the next time!

In Defense of Sacapaño and Pascual

Eduard Sacapaño and Paolo Pascual
Images via Facebook

Recently the internet has been a hullabaloo of opinions and thoughts. Oh, just for us soccer fans, that is. The Azkals are now in Dubai for a training camp for a period of ten days, in which they will also play three teams: Uzbekistan, the Al-Ahli Sports Club team, and the Quantas Australian U-23 team.

Just a couple of days ago, the (supposed) squad list was released in the Facebook page, sending all sorts of comments, thoughts, opinions, and suggestions flying all over the place.

One of the hottest topics in the comments section was on the ability of two of our national team goalkeepers, Eduard Sacapaño (Army FC) and Paolo Pascual (Global FC), to play in international games. They are the reserve goalkeepers who play when either Neil Etheridge (Fulham FC) or Roland Müller (MSV Duisburg) are not available. Recently, they have been playing a lot, especially Sacapaño, since Etheridge and Müller haven't been able to obtain the permission to leave from their respective football clubs.

Much of the comments in the supposed squad list with regards to Sacapaño and Pascual were downright discouraging, if not offensive. There were people who exclaimed "Nako, talo na naman tayo niyan!" ("We are sure to be defeated!") when they saw who our goalkeepers would be. Others expressed their frustration because they feared Pascual and Sacapaño would not be able to do the job properly. Others felt that we would have no chance at winning the Asian Football Challenge Cup (which will happen on March) if Etheridge or Müller would not come back by then to guard the goal for our country.

While some comments were pleasant, encouraging, and uplifting, the rest of the comments were pretty awful and illustrates a mindset our present culture has created that we should be battling.

I wasn't shocked by the comments, but I was disappointed by the way the majority of the people think these days. Our generation is a generation of low expectations, low standards, and people stuck in their comfort zones. We hate challenge. We hate change. We hate anything that makes us exert more effort than we are used to exerting. We hate being on the floor, being stuck in some rut, but we never try to get out of it. We are trapped in this mindset where we don't expect ourselves to do much, and we don't expect others to rise above where they are right now.

If you were one of those watching football's growth in the Philippines from the very beginning (especially right after the Suzuki Cup happened), you should know how much football has grown. And so have our players. And goalkeepers. You can't grow without stretching. You can't get to the next level without exerting effort in the previous one. Someone said, "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Therefore, if you want to stretch and grow, then you've got to go beyond what you are used to doing. And one way for sports teams to do that is to play against other teams "bigger" (and better) than themselves. While winning [sometimes] matters in situations like this, the more important point is rising above where you are right now. Goalkeepers (and the rest of the players) who play against big teams have nothing to lose if, through that game, they are able to stretch themselves and achieve what they have never done before (even if their team lost the match).

I for one was overjoyed when I learned that Sacapaño and Pascual would be part of the squad going to UAE for the training. They deserve it. They've put countless hours practicing, training, and look where they are now. I watched Sacapaño as goalkeeper when the Azkals played against Incheon Citizen FC and I was so impressed. His performance has improved a lot (since playing versus LA Galaxy) and he is more confident now with regards to catching the balls. I am sure the same can be said of Paolo Pascual, whom I have seen in a few Global FC matches.

Guaranteed, Etheridge and Müller are the better goalkeepers, simply because they have been trained in countries that have been doing football for many decades now, and I have nothing against them for that. (In fact, they are two of my favorite players among the Azkals.) I think it is unfair, however, that we belittle  Sacapaño and Pascual. They do need more training and exposure, which is why I am glad they are on the squad list for the UAE tour, partly because they deserve it, and partly because I am sure they will grow in the area of goalkeeping afterwards. We need to keep rooting for all our players (in the clubs or in the national team). We need to keep encouraging them and supporting them in the games that they play regardless of the score after the final whistle. Ten years from now, with proper training and various games here and there, who knows what Philippines Football has in store for its fans?

Image via AzkalsFootballTeam.com

The full squad list has been officially released. View it here.

This post has nothing to do with who is foreigner and who is not. I'm half-Chinese, half-Filipino. I know how the Azkals feel when someone accuses them of feeling more foreign than Filipino. That's why I believe We All Bleed RED.

"The Lord of the Rings Medley" by Lindsey Stirling

There are certain kinds of music that simply makes one relax and reflect. The music of The Lord of the Rings is one of them. Kudos to Howard Shore for capturing the emotion of the book and turning it into tune. Below is a medley of the different melodies from the soundtrack, as arranged and played by Lindsey Stirling (who has become one of my favorite musicians). Enjoy!

Hollywood Doesn't Like Maters

I'm not talking about couples, pairs, or Valentine's Day. I'm talking about that tow truck with a cowboy drawl in the Pixar movie Cars 2.

Our family is not a couch potato family (I think I've 'fessed that several times already), thus we get to watch movies way later than when they are usually originally released. (Like I haven't seen Aladdin or Pocohontas yet—I know, I know, shameful!) I'm doing my best to catch up, however, and I'm starting with Pixar films. So I watched Toy Story 1 (finally!) last year, followed by Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. Then I watched Cars 1 and liked it pretty much despite the fact that I'm not that interested in cars (lowercase letter "c"). When the poster for Cars 2 was released, our whole family was pretty excited.

Then it came out in the United States (several weeks earlier than it does in the Philippines), and we were surprised and dismayed by the endless list of negative reviews and low ratings. What went wrong? Many labeled it as Pixar's worst ever film. Many gave it only one or two stars out of five.

Several of the reviews were of one accord. They all lamented the fact that Lightning McQueen was no longer the star of the show and that Mater, his oil-leaking, rowdy, rough-mannered best friend was stealing the spotlight.

Hollywood doesn't like Maters. Our society doesn't like Maters. The norm tells us to support and cheer for those who are strong, good-looking, and "hero material"—for all those Lightning McQueens out there. The world tells us that to be loved and accepted, we need to look good. It presents to us Ms. Perfect Barbie and Mr. Perfect Ken. It paints pictures of models, superheroes, superstars—all of them good-looking and strong and flawless.

It would appear as if society has written out a lie for us and we have swallowed it as we would have swallowed ice cream on a hot summer day. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Lightning McQueen and Superman. I have nothing against big, strong, strappin' heroes.

But what about those people with heart instead of good looks? What about those like Mater who did save McQueen and who is indeed the real hero of Cars 2 (whether the moviegoers liked it or not)? What about those like Quasimodo, who is the real hero of Hunchback of Notre Dame as Victor Hugo wrote it, and not the handsome (and arrogant) Captain Phoebus, as Disney retold it? Mater might have been indeed rough-mannered and rude, but that's because he's never been exposed to big cities with huge crowds, and new-fangled technology up until that moment he joined McQueen's team in Japan. It seems as if Hollywood (and our society) would rather take those hero material characters and put them in the spotlight (who cares if they were really bad, at least they're good looking!), and push the characters with good values and motives into the dark corners of the picture.

Good looks aren't everything. Strength isn't everything. A hero-ish aura isn't everything. A new sports car, glamorous clothes, an envied position in life—these aren't at all important things. Sometimes we're so wrapped up with how a person appears physically that we forget what is most essential—the heart.

“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 ESV

Tolkien Valentines

I'm not the kind of person to give Valentine cards. Nor am I the kind of person to celebrate Valentine's day (insert long explanation here). But I found some really funny and cute Valentine cards on Tumblr that pertain to Tolkien (and if you've read the books and watched the movies, prepare for the laugh that's coming). Enjoy!

The Wrong Kind of Love

Pusong Lito by Myrus



I
Bakit kaya mapagbiro ang tadhana?
Bakit kaya pagdating niyo ay sabay pa?
Pareho ko kayong gusto, isa lang aking puso
Di ko naman kayang pagsabayin kayo

II
Bakit kaya sa twing nag-iisa
Pareho ni’yong mukhang ang nakikita?
Tinamaan nga kaya sa inyong dalawa?
Kaya ang puso ko ngayo’y sasabog na (sasabog na)
Chorus
Ang puso ko’y nalilito
Nalilito kung sino sa inyo
Ang isip ko’y gulong- gulo
Gulong-gulo kung sino sa inyo
Sino ba sa inyo ang pipiliin ko?
Dalawa ang sana ang puso ng di na malito oh

III
Bakit kaya mahal ko kayong dalawa?
Kaya ang puso ko’y nahihirapan na
Ano ang aking gagawin, sino ang pipiliin?
Puso ko’y hatiin ni’yo wala ng iisipin



To my readers who don't read/speak Tagalog, basically, the guy is an Archie caught between a Betty and a Veronica. He says that both have managed to make him fall in love with them (yes, at the same time), and that he knows he can't love both because he's only got one heart. He is confused and he says he wishes he had two hearts instead so that he doesn't have to choose between them.

At a first glance (er, "hear," since this is music), the tune sounds pretty catchy and cute, the lyrics pretty amusing. There's this guy and he likes two girls and doesn't know what to do about them. I admit I was almost hooked to that song while hearing it played over and over again one lunch time while eating at Mang Inasal. But then I stopped hearing the song and started really listening to it, and when I got home, searched the lyrics.

It sounds harmless. Really it does. However, it sends a wrong message across, a message that not everyone is aware of. It's a subtle, sugared form of the collect-and-collect-then-select concept, which, in my days and for the people in my generation was definitely not a good thing, definitely not something to be praised or lauded. It's the wrong kind of love that has been glazed and re-packaged so you won't know the difference.

It's more than just being irked with Pusong Lito's message, it's about how the world—and the youth today, especially—view love. The world has made love cheap. Saying "I love you" to your pet fish is no different from saying "I love you" to someone you really care about. Love has been dirtied, trampled upon, resized from a gazillion pixels into a 100 x 100 image.

These days, it seems that culture dictates (or rather, hints, since I don't think it will own up to saying anything like that) that the more girls you've got hanging onto your arms and paying you all those frivolous comments and flirtatious winks, the cooler and awesomer you are. That if you wear immodest clothes and treat love and sex lightly, the more popular and preferred you will be.

I don't think God designed love—real, genuine, sincere love—to be that way. I don't think He designed it for a guy to fall in love with two girls at the same time and then wonder who he should pick. I don't think he designed it for a girl to flirt and become the object of lust and desire. I believe He designed it to be pure an holy between a man and a woman who desire to eventually become husband and wife. How sweet it must have been for Adam when he woke up and saw Eve. No other "distractions." No other confusing choices.

You might be thinking Whoa! I just have a boyfriend/girlfriend! I'm not yet ready for this marriage thing! That's exactly the point. Many young people get into relationships these days simply because they want to. Or because their friends are into romantic relationships. Or because TV series, movies, and music (like the one above) make love sound so exciting.

What young people fail to think consider today is that they are dealing with hearts. With emotions. With human beings that live, breathe, and feel. And they fail to realize that they're treating each other the same way they treated their plastic kitchen set and matchbox cars when they were kids. Yes, like toys. Toys they can replace when they're no longer wanted or no longer useful. Well, surprise, surprise, boys and girls! While you could get your parents to replace your broken toys when you were younger, you can't get anyone to buy you a complete, untainted, unbroken heart.

How much better, how much sweeter love would be if we didn't give away our heart sooner, and certainly not to two people at the same time! How much sweeter love would be if we waited patiently instead of rashly submitting to our emotion's control!

My desire is for you, young people, for all of us actually, to realize that this is no longer play time. We're no longer kids who can get what we want with cute smiles and a few tears. We're adults with responsibilities in our hands and we've got to take responsibility for our lives, including with regards to relationships.

Let's not listen to what culture, TV shows, movies, advertisements, magazines, our favorite celebrities all say without first checking the Bible. Let's not get sidetracked by what we see around us, what we see in the lives of our peers, what we see depicted in the media these days. Let's not downplay and resize love, but let's see love and live love as it says in the Scriptures.




Love is patient and kind;love does not envy or boast;it is not arrogant or rude.It does not insist on its own way;it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,but rejoices with the truth.Love bears all things,believes all things,hopes all things,endures all things.Love never ends...
1 Corinthians 13:4-8