Showing posts with label Special Reports. Show all posts

Thursday, April 22, 2010

jejemon

I know. I know. Let me explain. I was taking a break sifting through the brillant articles of the Philippine Online Chronicles where I am their features editor. Earlier, I was tired, angry and frustrated at the ad hominem comments , taking jabs at my dear departed son in my blog entry, Why Manny Villar?

I doubt you are really touched by an angel; or what kind of angel could have touched you!? An angel who loves liars, land grabbers, opportunists, …. the likes of GMA angels; Gibo!; Gordon!
Can’t your angel see or feel the suffering of the Filipino people, specifically the people of Norzaragay!!? The victims of Ampatuans!!!, etc…..
Your angel must have come from the rich class, that’s why he can’t feel the miseries of the poor.

Whatever! Such attacks are nothing new to me. I see it in people who have nothing more to share in an intelligent discussion and so end up resorting to personal attacks. Whenever negative vibes hit me, I unwind and de-stress, step out and just be. I search for the flowers despite the mud strewn around me. There must be some flowers left in cyberspace.

While idling around cyberspace, I shared the Buhay Pinoy article, Who’s that Jejemon? in Twitter without bothering to read the article. I just thought it had a cute name.

To my surprise, @carlosceldran replied back to me with

@momblogger Jejemon are the new baduy people who text Jejejeje when laughing via text. Or say crap like wer n u? Dito n me.

For those clueless on Jejemon , they are defined as ” usually seen around social networking sites such as Friendster and Multiply. Jejemons are individuals with low IQs who spread around their idiocy on the web by tYpFing LyK diZS jejejeje, making all people viewing their profile raise their eyebrows out of annoyance” Come to think of it, I do encounter some of the Jejemon in the comments section and it takes quite an effort to read it. Jejemons are usually hated or hunted down by Jejebusters or the grammar nazi to eradicate their grammatical ways

The rest of Twitter-landia had a field day laughing “jeje” and churning out variations on the Jejemon phenomena in social media. @jovefrancisco noted that it is the non-political topic of the day in twitter to which I retorted that it is a good way to de-stress. Others scoffed that Jejemon is an old thing already. That's okay too. We're having a blast for now.

Inspite of its non-political nature, Jejemon discussion in Twitter managed to bring in current events and elections into the picture including the Ampatuan massacre, a vote block, party lists, and candidate named "Jejemon Binay" .

ka_fredo Party list ng #jejemon? AnG GhaLieng PiNh0Y
Bakla @helgatheweber I'm surprised the #jejemon talk only appeared on Twitter now. Haven't we been seeing these on Tumblr for ages now?
tinig Is the main suspect in the #AmpatuanMassacre also a#jejemon? Or is he something else?
williegalang Is there a solid Jejemon vote? I hope they don't vote as a block. (Sorry, non-Flip
tatancast GIBO to Jejemon: "I will send you back to elementary." :Jejemon to GIBO: Make me!....jejejeje...followers.)
@ganns @joniang Gordon will give Kindles to every student.G1BO will make send every jejemon back to school.Decisions decisions!
crowntastic RT @ellobofilipino: Yepyepyep! RT @cocoy Ppl are blowing off steam. Having fun. RT @crowntastic: what's with all these jejemon posts?
LOVE IT! RT @enuhski: @momblogger here's gibo and his platform on jejemons. :) http://twitpic.com/1h8ghd @obakesan@MaynMan1 @carlosceldran
jovefrancisco @momblogger i agree: de-stressing mode topic nga ang JEJEMON hehe

@ganns perused over @joniang tweet that “Gordon will give Kindles to every student.G1BO will send every jejemon back to school.” @enushki showed off Gibo Teodoro and his platform on Jejemon.

Pababalikin ko ang jejemon as elementarya

( I will bring back the jejemon to elementary school education)

As you might know, one of Gibo Teodoro's platform is on early education and even teaching English in Kindergarten.

What even made it even hilarious are two political ad spoofs in Jejemon using Nacionalista Party Opposition and Manny Villar’s scroll ad.

Galit ka ba sa jejemon?

The Anti-Jeje Party (a political ad spoof)

Manny Villar scroll spoof ad

I couldn't stop laughing and everyone soon had a blast sharing the videos and Teodoro's platform for Jejemons in twitter. Can you imagine the original Nacionalista Opposition ad garnered only 2,800 hits while the Jejemon spoof reached 80,000 hits in youtube in less than a week's time? The Jejemon is making Manny Villar and the Nacionalista party quite popular now. In time, it might even overtake Dick Gordon's viral video with the Moymoy Palaboy's "In the Jungle".

During my generation (late seventies), the counterpart may have been “jeproks” (derived from those living in Project areas in Quezon City) but then we didn’t have social media or cellphones. My daughter refers to Jejemon as a digital jolog or Jologs 2.0 according to Carlos Celdran. I won’t go into the discussion of their writing language, the Jejebet. I have long given up on deciphering their messages that are understandable only to the Jejes and Jejeologists (normal people that study Jejemons).

The sudden twitter discussion on Jejemon is a sweet respite from the usual arguments and fights over candidates and what-not . For over an hour, the twitter netizens exchanged notes, blowing off steam and having fun. The hits on the "Who's that Jejemon" surged, thus making it the most popular article in the Philippine Online Chronicles as I write this article.

jejemon-hits

As I surf the sometimes murky and scandal-ridden waters of Philippine politics in social media, I know that I can rely on my Twitter friends , just chilling and laughing along with them when the going gets rough. We may all agree to disagree yet we also know when to just be and have fun.

Join me? Jejejejejejejejejeje! I am @momblogger at twitter.

Screen cap from my twitter. Gibo jejomon photo originally from Aaron Obama and shared by @enushki , with fair use. Some Rights Reserved

Source: http://www.thepoc.net

Definition of Jejemon

Who’s that Jejemon?*
“GOTTA KILL ‘EM ALL!” sabi ng isang Facebook fanpage. Patayin sino? Sa pagbabasa ng birtuwal na pahina, at sa pagbabalasa sa ibang mga pahina sa Internet na nasa labas ng Facebook page na ito, nakita ko ang tinutumbok nila:

“JEJEMON ay mga taong ganito magtype 'e0wSsZz pOwhhZzmUsZtAhH nUah pOwhHzz kEowHsz?' Yung mga taong pinapahirapan magbasa ang iba sa mga pinopost nila kasi kumpleto naman sana ang letters sa keyboard nila, kung anu-ano pa ang ginagamit, like para sa G, ginagamit nilang alternate ang small Q or 9. Yung mga taong pinapahaba at ginagawang komplikado ang simpleng salita..Yan ang JEJEMON.”

JEJEMON. Kombinasyon ng mga salitang “Jeje,” dahil daw kung tumawa sa text ay "jejejeje" ang nakalagay imbes na "hehehehe," o kaya'y posibleng baryasyon ng “J.J.” o “Jumping Jologs” (mga taong inilalarawan bilang mga tambay sa labas ng concert grounds, nakasuot ng itim na t-shirt at pantalon—madalas kupas—at nakasumbrero o nakaayos ang buhok sa isang gilid, emo-style), at ng “Mon” na mukhang nanggaling naman sa salitang “Pokemon,” na pinaiksing tawag naman para sa “Pocket Monsters” (isang syndicated TV show franchise tungkol sa mga cuddly na halimaw na hinuhuli sa pamamagitan ng isang high tech na “poke ball” at ipinaglalaban sa kanilang version ng cute at cuddly na cartoon sabong). Sa ngayon, umaabot na sa lampas 23,000 ang fans ng fanpage (60,000 pa sa iba), at marami pang mga pahinang nagsusulputan, mga birtuwal na espasyong itinayo para sa paghahayag ng galit sa grupong ito.
Parang si Pikachu nga naman, o si Bulbasaur o Squirtle, mga halimaw na kahit anong gawin ay wala lang maiintindihan sa mga sinasabi.

jejemon_text

IBALIK DAW SA ELEMENTARY ang mga Jejemon. Saan sila dapat kumain? Doon dapat sa JEJELIBEE, nakakatakot naman daw kasi kung makita sila sa may Sbarro o Yellowcab. Tama nga naman, mas mura ang “Jejelibee” at ang mga combo meal nito kesa sa mga pizza at pasta ng Sbarro at ng Yellowcab, pero hindi naman talaga bawal pumasok doon ang kahit sinong tao. Nakakatuwa kung papabalikin sa elementary ang lahat ng mga hindi kayang baybayin ang salitang “hello” nang maayos, pero baka posible rin namang ni hindi nakapag-elementarya ang maraming Pinoy sa Pilipinas (seven to eight percent lang daw ng populasyon ang may access sa mga paaralan), Jejemon man o hindi, at paano ibabalik ang hindi pa nakapagsimula? Tama, minsan mukhang luma nga naman ang kupas na damit, iyong tipo ng pagkakupas na nagmumukha nang kulay abo ang dating kulay itim, minsan din ay madaling makita ang pekeng sombrero at bling-bling, madali itong maipaghiwalay sa iba (lalo kung sanay na sanay ang tumitingin sa mga orig na paraphernalia), pero paano bibili ng “orig” kung minsan ay umaabot sa dalawa hanggang tatlong libo ang isang simpleng kamiseta?

Baka nga ang Jejemon na ang pumalit sa trono ng “Jologs,” na ayon sa librong Jolography ay galing sa mga salitang “DI-lis, tu-YO, it-LOG,” mga pagkaing “pangmahirap” (na kinakain din naman ng kahit sino kung feel nila, lalo pag umaga, o sa mga hapong maulan). Baka ito na ang pantapat sa mga tinatawag na “bakya” noong dekada sitenta, na ginagamit naman na pantawag sa mga taong baduy, walang taste para sa kasusyalan, mga taong ang kaya lang isuot ay ang mumurahing tsinelas (na sa kasalukuyang panahon ng Happy Feet, Havaianas, at Crocs, mukhang hindi na ito ang nagiging batayan ng pagiging mura).

Kapag pinag-uusapan ang mga Jeje, minsan ay pumapasok sa isip ang salitang “konyo.” Paano, mali-mali rin namang mag-Ingles, pero, hindi bakya/jologs/jejemon kundi “sosyal.” Naiisip ko rin ang mga kakilalang bumibili sa mga diffusion line store o kaya’y mga second/third/fourth hand na merchandise sa mga ukay-ukay, pero imbes na tawaging “segunda mano” ay tatawagin nila itong “thrifted.” Naaalala ko ang pagkarami-raming kamag-anak at kakilalang nangibang-bansa na’t bumibisita sa Pinas para bumili sa mga tiangge, naroon sila’t hinahakot ang mga pekeng Lacoste, Guess, Girbaud, paano’y pagbalik nila sa Tate ay wala silang mabibiling mga imitasyon o kahit na anong damit na kasingmura ng mga damit sa sariling bansa. Sa bansang ito, bansa ng mga jeepney, manggang hilaw at bagoong, fishball at sago’t gulaman, sa bansang muling mapapansin ang init at sikip ng trapiko, ang baho at ingay ng lungsod, sa oras na numipis na uli ang mga dala-dalang pitaka, ang pitakang pinuno ng maraming buwan o taon ng pagtatrabaho sa dayuhang lugar.

Baka nga ganoon ang silbi ng tatak na “Jejemon.” Para may mapagtuunan ng pansin. Para may pangtanda lang na oo nga, may iba pa palang tao na mas grabe ang sitwasyon kesa sa atin. Sa atin na may pang-Internet para mag-Facebook, sa atin na may sapat na pondo para makapasok sa eskuwela, makapagtapos ng kolehiyo, makapagtrabaho sa isang okupasyong may sapat na suweldo para makapag-Yellow Cab o Sbarro tuwing a-kinse o a-trenta (at pagtawanan ang mga katabing customer na mas maliit ang inorder na pizza), para sa ating can afford sa kaunting mga luho. Sila, sila ang mga pocket monster ng kabakyaan, nakakulong sa ating kanya-kanyang poke ball ng pang-aalipusta. Pinakakawalan at ikinukulong natin sila kailanman at saan man natin naisin. Kasi, pag may “Jejemon,” may “Jejebusters,” at kapag naipakita natin sa ating mundo na bahagi tayo ng mas sosyal na paksyon, nakararamdam tayo, gaano man kaiksi o kabilis, ng ligaya at pagkapanatag.

Sabi ng isang kanta, “sino ang dakila, sino ang tunay na baliw?” Sa kasong ito, aSk k Lng p0wz, Hu p b c 2nAy n Jjm0nz p0wzz?”

Terms
Study of jejemon = jejemonology
language of jejemon = jejemonian

Source: http://www.thepoc.ne
Religion jejemon - jejemonism

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

What is jejemon ?

JeJemon - from urbandictionary

buy jejemon mugs, tshirts and magnets
1) Usually seen around social networking sites such as Friendster and Multiply, jejemons are individuals with low IQs who spread around their idiocy on the web by tYpFing LyK diZS jejejeje, making all people viewing their profile raise their eyebrows out of annoyance. Normal people like you and me must take a Bachelor of Arts in Jejetyping in order to understand said individuals, as deciphering their text would cause a lot of frustration and hair pulling.

CAUTION: THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE BREEDING! THEY CAN BE SEEN WRECKING GRAMMATICAL HAVOC ON FACEBOOK TOO!

2) Jejemons are not just confined to trying-hard Filipino gangsters and emos. A Jejemon can also include a variety of Latino-Hispanic fags who enjoy typing "jejejejeje" in a wider context, much to the disdain of their opponents in an internet MMORPG game such as Ragnarok and DOTA.

3) Basically anyone with a low tolerance in correct punctuation, syntax and grammar. Jejemons are usually hated or hunted down by Jejebusters or the grammar nazi to eradicate their grammatical ways.
On AIM or YM:

miSzMaldiTahh111: EoW pFuOh!

You: Huh?

miszMaldiTahh111: i LLyK tO knOw moR3 bOut u, PwfoH. crE 2 t3ll mE yur N@me? jejejejeje!

You: You are a jejemon! Don't talk to me, you uneducated retard!

miszMaldiTahh111: T_T

The Anti-Jeje Party (a political ad spoof)

>

now Jejemon 2nd top search on yahoo.com.ph today

Click Here to enlarge

here is jejemon today on twitter... used by maxenne magalona.. not used but she named her bbm(black berry) jejemon...^^,

click here to enlarge

then here another blog about jejemon from http://tjsdaily.blogspot.com

A Jejemon is basically a variation of homo sapiens sub-species Jeje that originates in the Asia-Pacific island nation the Philippines. Jejes on the other hand are of the pure and original form and is claimed to have originated in what we know today as Latin America. This post will discuss the Jejemon strain of the Jejes.

Jejemons (Jejemonus Filiponensis) are creatures of the night. Their activity period ranges from 8pm to 4am local time. They have been discovered by the world-renowned Filipino adventurer Juan dela Cruz in the early start of the millennium.

It is said that Jejemons are often seen clustering around social networking sites such as Facebook and Friendster. They are also spotted in massive numbers in television chat rooms albeit they were just starting to flourish at the time of Juan dela Cruz's discovery of them. To date, there is an estimated 7.4 million Jejemons thriving in the Philippines. They have since started booming proportionally with the fast global progress of technology.

An average Jejemon resume

It is difficult to distinguish Jejemons from normal human beings solely by physical appearance. They look like human beings, they eat like human beings, they dress like human beings (see: gangster). A Jejemon can only be distinguished by their writing language, the Jejebet. The Jejebet is a combination of the English alphabet and counting numbers which, in a strange mix of character substitution, surprisingly makes words that are understandable only to the Jejes and Jejeologists (normal people that study Jejemons).

Jejemons are generally thought to have very low IQs, although this claim still remains unproven. This might be due to the failure of the Jejebrain to produce and terminate brain cells than that of the normal rate of average human beings. Extreme head heat (which have been thought to decrease brain size) while wearing gangsta caps and gangsta shirts and 24/7 beer diets have been also attributed for the Jejemons' low IQ levels.

Below are some of the basic Jejemon words (Warning: May cause severe headache if you try too hard to understand. Patience and comprehension is required):

aQcKuHh - means me/ako
lAbqCkyOuHh - means I love you
yuHh - means you
jAjaJa - garbled words conveying laughter
jeJejE - a variation of jAjaJa; conveys sly laughter
iMiszqcKyuH - means I miss you
eEoW pFhUeEhsxz - means hi/hello

(Credits to Jejeologist Dharwin Chaarlez for the above)

The main media used by Jejemons are both basic and advanced cellphone units, television units and personal computer units.

Just a couple of years ago, Jejemons have started "evolving" their eye color (from the original brown to blue or purple or pink) through their extensive knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and various internet programs. This behavior is proof that they are indeed capable of higher intelligence, an action previously thought of as impossible by many Jejeientists (normal people that study Jeje sciences).

Normal people have since started to act to eradicate the thriving Jejemon population. These normal people identify themselves as Grammar Nazis and/or Jejebusters (started appearing 2 years after the Great Jejemon Infestation; also known as the GJI of 2001). They actively seek and hunt Jejemon communities with only one purpose: to eliminate. Their preferred weapon is the MG13-liLipAdkaAyUohH grammar gun and the BZ-aRayqcKuoHh rocket-propelled paragraph grenade. It is manufactured and supplied by an unidentified grammar armaments specialty group in an undisclosed location in the Philippines. Their equipment is mainly made of S-grade Manila Bulletin Newspaper vests which boasts impressive proper grammar. "Extream Panda" is currently the Grammar Nazi's mascot.

Recently the Philippine Government, spearheaded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has moved to the decision considering Jejemons a threat to society and its normal living conditions. With the upcoming elections nearing, presidential aspirants and political parties here and there have been vowing to halt the ferocious growth of the Jejemons. One well-known aspirant, Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has promised to push forward the JSE (Jejemon Specialty Education) into law if voted for president.

Gibo Teodoro Jr. (center) holding a JSE banner

Teodoro was one of the first to recognize the perils of Jejenism (the Jejemon religion; not to be mistaken with Jejemonism, the belief that Jejemons are superior than normal people) and its undue but very influential teachings. Jejeientists, Jejeologists, Jejebusters and Grammar Nazis have expressed their delight and have stated that they are more than ready to participate in this historic undertaking by stopping Jejemons from learning the Jejenese language (speaking language of Jejemons together with the Jejebet; has been recently discovered by Jejeientist Ranzkiedoodles during her grueling sojourn at Jejeland) and instead teaching them the normal speaking languages of Filipino and English.

A word of caution to normal people and would-be Jejebusters and Grammar Nazis: Be careful. They're out there. They prey on A+ grammar users like you. Make sure you have the right equipment to face them. When you come face-to-face with a group of Jejemons, do not fight back. Instead, delete their text message or close your internet browser and lie down. Failure to do so will result in severe headache. If you want to purchase armaments and protective gear for Jejemon elimination, feel free to do so by calling 1-800-JEJEMON. No licenses required. Not covered by the COMELEC gun ban. Conditions apply.

----------

here another related jejemon tool( yeah.. a tool or methond ) maybe a jejetool... the jejetyping
Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com
1. a form of typing used by jejemons to communicate with one another.

2. one way of abusing your computer keyboard's caps lock and shift buttons.

3. one way of butchering the Filipino language by typing in unnecessary letters in Filipino words and typing them in a way that only jejemons or people who have studied jejetyping as a major (or a minor maybe) back in college to understand how these kind of peoples communicate in their own "special" language.
1.jejemon1: hI MiSs, caN I hVe Ur NmEnDNUMbeR, n0h?

jejemon2: N0H wy, U'rE sO jOlOGZ WItH D wy U TyPe

P0Wh...

jejetyping the way jejemons like their sentences.

2. damn, with the way these jejemons type, they're gonna bust their keyboard's caps lock and shift keys! stupid jejetyping!

3. Aq ANg HipHop superstaR NG tondo bHeYBiE LoLz!

jejetyping for: ako ang hiphop superstar ng tondo baby!

What is jejemon ?

>

now Jejemon 2nd top search on yahoo.com.ph today

Click Here to enlarge

here is jejemon today on twitter... used by maxenne magalona.. not used but she named her bbm(black berry) jejemon...^^,

click here to enlarge

then here another blog about jejemon from http://tjsdaily.blogspot.com

An average Jejemon resume

Gibo Teodoro Jr. (center) holding a JSE banner

Pinoy student develops cheap oil technology

Source: Manila Bulletin

In a bid to produce cheaper oil as a solution to the increasing cost and harmful effects to the environment of fossil fuel, an 18-year-old student from the University of the Philippines (UP) has developed a technology that uses recycled plastic to harvest algae for oil production.

Janella Mae Salamania, a student of Applied Physics in UP-Diliman, whose project plan on renewable energy “Oilgae Harvesting Using Plastics” that deals on cheaper method of growing and harvesting algae for the production of oil has caught the attention of the Finnish government.

Salamania is among the 30 talented students, and the only Filipino, who was selected recently from 995 students from 65 countries to participate in the Millennium Youth Camp in Helsinki, Finland from June 6 to 13.

She said the applicants for the Youth Camp were asked to produce a project plan as the basis for the selection of the 30 students. Other selected participants came from countries such as Finland, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, the United States, Costa Rica, Argentina, India, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, New Zealand, and South Africa.

In Salamania’s project plan, recycled plastics and other plastic materials will be utilized to harvest algae instead of the expensive method using stainless steel for oil production.

With the use of recycled plastics, “we can actually harvest oil from algae as a source of renewable energy,” Salamania told the Manila Bulletin.

“The harvested oil from algae will serve as an alternative to the expensive and harmful fossil fuel. By using recycled plastics for harvesting oil from algae, we can also help solve the problem on the disposal of non-biodegradable plastics,” Salamania said.

“Algae biofuel has not yet replaced fossil fuel and remains uncommercialized in the country because the mass production of oil from algae remains expensive,” she added.

She said that given the chance, Salamania would present her study to the government “to further study and invest on this kind of renewable energy source.”

“It would be good if the government will help research other cheap materials, aside from plastic, to harvest oil from algae,” she explained.

Salamania pointed out that the use of algae as alternative source of fuel is better than planting jatropha and converting it to fuel.

“When we plant jatropha, we tend to compete with the farmers’ lands instead of helping them with their livelihood,” she said.

“There are plenty of algae in the Philippines where we can get our source of oil. If we develop harvesting of algae and set up a production of oil, we don’t just help the environment, but we also generate a source of income for the fishermen,” she added.

Salamania, an Oblation scholar, plans to pursue graduate studies, either a masteral in Physics or Geology, when she finishes college.

“When I finish my studies, I would like to work with the government, probably with the PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) or work in prestigious institutions abroad like NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration),” she said.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

The Crusades: Crescent and the Cross

Thursday, April 1, 2010

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
A depiction of the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem. The story opens in the Garden of Olives where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the controversial Jesus--who has performed 'miracles' and has publicly announced that he is 'the Son of God'--is arrested and taken back within the city walls of Jerusalem. There, the leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy; subsequently, his trial results with the leaders condemning him to his death. Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Palestine, for his sentencing. Pilate listens to the accusations leveled at Jesus by the Pharisees. Realizing that his own decision will cause him to become embroiled in a political conflict, Pilate defers to King Herod in deciding the matter of how to persecute Jesus. However, Herod returns Jesus to Pilate who, in turn, gives the crowd a choice between which prisoner they would rather to see set free--Jesus, or Barrabas. The crowd chooses to have Barrabas set free. Thus, Jesus is handed over to the Roman soldiers and is brutally flagellated. Bloody and unrecognizable, he is brought back before Pilate who, once again, presents him to the thirsty crowd--assuming they will see that Jesus has been punished enough. The crowd, however, is not satisfied. Thus, Pilate washes his hands of the entire dilemma, ordering his men to do as the crowd wishes. Whipped and weakened, Jesus is presented with the cross and is ordered to carry it through the streets of Jerusalem, all the way up to Golgotha. There, more corporal cruelty takes place as Jesus is nailed to the cross--suffering, he hangs there, left to die. Initially, in his dazed suffering, Jesus is alarmed that he has been abandoned by God his father. He then beseeches God. At the moment of his death, nature itself over-turns.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Voter’s confirmation in Comelec through the net

This is what we can read as the DISCLAIMER of this COMELEC Online Verification facility or tool:
Data is based on the submissions of our field election offices as of June 17 2009. If you think your registration record should be active, and this SEARCH facility gives you a negative result, please verify with the local COMELEC office where you are registered.

Pending submission of data from certain cities/municipalities, data from the 2007 Barangay Elections are still being used for this Search facility.

How to verify online your COMELEC Registration?

Here’s how:

1. Log in to Precinct Finder tool by clicking here
2. Then fill in the blank field as shown on the image below:

untitled
3. On the “First Name” field, type your first name”… on the “Middle Name” field, type your middle name… and on the “Last Name” field, type your last name. Then choose the

month, day and year of your birthday.
4. Make sure that the entries you filled on the form are correct. Then click the “FIND NOW”.
5. After that, the result will be posted just like what you’ve seen on the image below. This image is the screenshot of the result when I tried to verify my own COMELEC Registration

submissions of our field election offices as of June 17 2009. If you think your registration record should be active, and this SEARCH facility gives you a negative result, please verify with the local COMELEC office where you are registered.

ABOUT EARTH HOUR

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.
In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet. So sign up now and let’s make 2010 the biggest Earth Hour yet!.

It’s Showtime! Show the world what can be done.

Earth Hour by WWF

Earth Hour is organized by WWF. With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, it’s one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

Earth Hour 2010

In 2009 hundreds of millions of people around the world showed their support by turning off their lights for one hour.

Earth Hour 2010 will continue to be a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to show leadership and be responsible for our future.

Pledge your support >here and turn off your lights for one hour, Earth Hour, 8.30pm, Saturday 27th March 2010.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Study: Last Supper paintings supersize the food

Source: www.yahoo.com

AP – In this March 16, 2010 photo provided by Cornell University, Prof. Brian Wansink, holds a plate illustrating …
Has even the Last Supper been supersized?

The food in famous paintings of the meal has grown by biblical proportions over the last millennium, researchers report in a medical journal Tuesday.

Using a computer, they compared the size of the food to the size of the heads in 52 paintings of Jesus Christ and his disciples at their final meal before his death.

If art imitates life, we're in trouble, the researchers conclude. The size of the main dish grew 69 percent; the size of the plate, 66 percent, and the bread, 23 percent, between the years 1000 and 2000.

Supersizing is considered a modern phenomenon, but "what we see recently may be just a more noticeable part of a very long trend," said Brian Wansink, a food behavior scientist at Cornell University.

The study was his idea. For biblical context, he sought help from his brother, Craig Wansink, professor of religious studies at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Va., and an ordained Presbyterian minister.

The Bible says the Last Supper took place on a Passover evening but gives little detail on specific foods besides bread and wine.

"There's nothing else mentioned. They don't say there's a fruit cup or carrot cake," though other foods such as fish, eel, lamb and even pork have appeared in paintings through the years, Brian Wansink said.

For the study, he used paintings featured in the book "Last Supper," published in 2000 by Phaidon Press. They include perhaps the most famous portrayal of the meal, by Leonardo da Vinci. Computer technology allowed them to scan, rotate and calculate images regardless of their orientation in the paintings.

Details are in the April issue of the International Journal of Obesity.

The study is "not very meaningful science," said Martin Binks, a behavioral health psychologist and a consultant at Duke University Medical Center. "We have real life examples of the increase in portion size — all you have to do is look at what's being sold at fast-food restaurants."

A more contemporary test would be to analyze portion sizes in Super Bowl commercials, he suggested.

"That would be a much more meaningful snapshot of how this society's relationship to food has changed," Binks said.

Monday, March 22, 2010

55 pass electronic engineer, landscape architect exams

A total of 55 hopefuls passed the Professional Electronic Engineer Examination, and the Landscape Architect Licensure Examination held this month, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) said on Monday.
According to the PRC, registration and issuance of professional identification cards for landscape architect passers will be on April 5 until April 16, 2010.

Those who will register are required to bring the following:

* Accomplished Oath Form or Panunumpa ng Propesyonal,
* Current Community Tax Certificate (cedula),
* Two (2) pieces passport size picture (colored with white background and complete name tag),
* One (1) piece 1" x 1" picture (colored with white background and complete name tag),
* Two (2) sets of metered documentary stamps, and
* One (1) short brown envelope with name and profession;

Successful examinees should personally register and sign in the Roster of Registered Professionals, the PRC said. Registrants are likewise required to pay the initial registration fee of P600 and annual registration fee of P450 for the years 2010 to 2013.

Meanwhile, the oath-taking ceremony of new landscape architects and those who have not taken their Oath of Professional will be held on May 1, 2010 at 1 pm at the Bahay Kalinaw, U.P. Diliman, Quezon City. - Aie Balagtas See/KBK, GMANews.TV

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT LICENSURE EXAMINATION MARCH 2010
The Professional Regulation Commission announced on Monday that 15 out of 25 examinees passed the Landscape Architect Licensure Examination given by the Board of Landscape Architecture in Manila this
1. ALBAO, KARLA CHRISTINE DE LOS SANTOS
2. BALLESTEROS, NIÑA CECILIA VILLANUEVA
3. OMINGO, DHENE IAN FRANCISCO
4. DUMALIGAN, FAITH TUGUINAY
5 ESPIRITU, MICHAEL JOHN VARIAS
6 FAVILA, DAWNE PEDRERA
7 FLORES, MA LORENA PATRICIA MENDOZA
8 LIGSAY, LIA YADINE NAVARRO
9 PANINGBATAN, PAMELA CASTILLO
10 RAMOSA, SHERWIN OBOS
11 SABIDO, BRIAN ALAN LOZANO
12 SANTOS, ARGIE RITZ CLEMENTE
13 SERASPI, KENNETH RUIZ
14 TAÑEDO, APRIL MARIE MOLINYAWE
15 YAMBAO, FREDERICK INTAL

UK: London 2012 Olympics pose greatest terror risk

LONDON — An attack on London during the 2012 Olympic Games poses a major security threat to Britain, the government said Monday in its latest assessment of risks from terrorism.

Ministers also acknowledged growing concerns over an attack using chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, and warned that al-Qaida affiliates in east Africa and Saudi Arabia are gaining strength.

Publishing an annual report on Britain's counterterrorism strategy, Britain's Home Office acknowledged that the 2012 summer Olympics pose an acute security challenge.

"The government is working on the assumption that the greatest threat to the games is international terrorism and that the threat in 2012 will be high," the document stated.

Officials fear terrorists could attempt raids similar to those in Mumbai, India, in 2008, arriving on small high-speed boats and using gangs of gunmen to attack targets in central London.

Britain announced Monday the opening of a dedicated maritime security center — focused in part on piracy in eastern Africa, but also aimed at bolstering the country's defenses against an attack from the water ahead of 2012. Security officials have expressed worries that an attack against London could be launched from the River Thames.

"Things like the attack on Mumbai and the forthcoming Olympics in 2012 made us realize we needed to look at the maritime domain more closely," Britain's terrorism minister, Alan West, said.

In a written statement to lawmakers, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said al-Qaida's core leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan had been stymied over the last 12 months by military action in southern Afghanistan and strikes against key individuals. Since January 2008, seven senior al-Qaida leaders have been killed, he said.

But Johnson warned that groups in Yemen, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Algeria are increasingly capable of mounting attacks overseas. He cited as proof the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an airliner at it approached Detroit.

"An increase in the capability of some al-Qaida affiliates and associated groups, highlighted by the attempted Detroit airline attack, demonstrates the evolving and diffuse threat we continue to face," Johnson said.

Authorities say Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man charged with trying to blow up the plane, had links to known radicals in Yemen.

In the report, Britain's government said the threat of terrorists gaining access to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons had increased because of a surge in the trafficking of radiological material, and the sometimes inadequate security around decommissioned military material.

It disclosed that the U.K. routinely screens people and vehicles passing through British border crossings for signs of radiation. – AP

RP Miracle Team snatches Shield trophy

Source: Manila Times
By Emil C. Noguera

PHILIPPINE Miracle Team survived past host South Africa in overtime, 2-1, to snatch the Shield trophy of the Deloitte Street Child World Cup indoor football tournament held in Durban.

Filipino striker Mario Titoy scored the country’s two goals including the pivotal point in the third minute of the extra period.

The RP booters of coach Jess Landagan and co-manager Craig Burrows, advanced to the Shield finals after stunning Ukraine, 3-0, and Brazil, 6-2.

Overall, the Philippines finished fifth in the eight-nation tournament with a 3-2 win-loss slate after sorry loss to United Kingdom (2-4) and Tanzania (0-2) in the eliminations.

The Shield trophy is a secondary award in the Deloitte Street Child World Cup.

India posted a thrilling 1-0 victory over Tanzania in the championship match of the tournament proper.

“Throughout the tournament the Philippines team has remained very professional and has won everyone’s heart as they are known to be the friendliest team,” said Burrows.

The South Africans drew first blood in the seventh minute to the delight of the hometown fans but the Filipino underdogs never gave up when Titoy scored the equalizer four minutes later.

In the overtime, Titoy hit the winning goal three minutes into the extra period en route to the victory.

“These are the best children I’ve ever seen, they were the first group to ever say thank you,” Burrows quoted Umthombo Director Bullelwa Ngantweni, who heads the street center where the South African players came from.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Another gold, another new record

Source: Business Mirror

JESSIE KHING LACUNA appeared bound to become the country’s next best swimming sensation after capturing a second gold medal in the 41st Singapore Age Group Swimming Championships at the Singapore Sports School over the weekend.

Days after surpassing veteran Miguel Molina’s national record in the 200-meter freestyle, the 16-year-old Lacuna topped the 100m freestyle in a neck-and-neck battle with a record time of 52.13 seconds on Saturday night, beating Clement Lim of the Swimfast Aquatic Club of Singapore by .04 seconds and, in the process, breaking Mark Chay’s meet mark of 52.67 set in 1999.

It has been a swashbuckling performance for Lacuna in Singapore. Lacuna won the 200m freestyle final on Thursday with a time of one minute and 51.20 seconds for his first gold medal on Friday, moments after checking in at 1:50.90 in the preliminaries, erasing the 1:51.75 Southeast Asian Games star Molina set in the Laos Games just three months ago.

Lacuna also snatched a silver medal in the 400m freestyle with a time of 3:59.75, only .73 seconds behind gold-medal winner Haruki Washio of Japan.

Lacuna actually surpassed the Youth Olympic Games B 100m freestyle qualifying mark of 53.50 seconds. However, he still has to wait for confirmation for the Youth Olympic Games set from August 14 to 26 in Singapore as his time will still be ranked with other swimmers in the world.

Jasmine Alkhaldi, meanwhile, grabbed a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle with a time of 57.30 seconds in a closer race surpassing the Youth Olympic Games B qualifying mark of 1:00.03.

Alkhaldi, 16, touched the wall just .11 seconds late of gold medalist Ting Wen Quah of Swimfast Aquatic Club of Singapore and .07 seconds behind silver winner Aya Takano of Japan.

Jose Gonzalez also snatched a bronze medal in the 200m backstroke with a clocking of 2:08.39 going into the final day of competitions last night.

Hidetaka Okura of Japan and Rainer Ng of Swimfast Aquatic Club won the race with similar times of 2:06.05.

The 16-year-old Gonzalez also took the bronze in the 100m backstroke, checking in at 1:00.25. Ng of Swimfast Aquatic Club of Singapore won the gold in 57.67, followed by Okura of Japan (59.06).

Lacuna, Alkhaldi and Gonzalez trained at the New South Wales Institute of Sports earlier in the year.

Lacuna and Alkhaldi went for the gold medal late Sunday night after emerging as top seeds in their events. Lacuna topped the preliminaries of the 200m butterfly in 2:04.64, while Alkhaldi finished the 200m breastroke in 2:25.36.

RP kids win anew

Source: Manila Bulletin
RP kids win anew
By FRANCIS SANTIAGO

The RP street children continued their “miraculous” run by blanking the Ukrainians, 3-0 to storm into the finals of the 1st Deloitte Street Child World Shield Saturday in Durban, South Africa.

The win was a fitting sequel for the Filipino footballers’ stunning 6-2 win over Brazil Thursday night, a victory that booked them a slot for the SCWS trophy, a secondary award to the World Cup.

Midfielder Noriel Pineones, who scored four goals against Brazil, started the country’s onslaught with a fine goal in the 4th minute. Team captain Erica Mae Inocencio made it 2-0 for the RP team with another exquisite goal before Jayson Simangan sealed the deal.

Dubbed as the “Miracle team” for beating the odds in forming the team, the Filipino booters battle the host squad in the finals.

The South Africans trounced Brazil, 2-1.

U2 One - World Cup Germany 2006 Best Moments

World Cup 2010 South Africa is coming...
but here is the compilation of the best moments in the last world cup in 2006

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Software developers want stronger IP Law

MANILA, Philippines - An umbrella group of software developers said the next president should support measures that would strengthen the Intellectual Property Law, noting that piracy is causing revenue and job losses in the industry.

Bienvenido Marquez III, consultant of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), said the current law on intellectual property needs to be updated since it does not cover recent technological developments like the Internet.

“Right now, we have to update our copyright law because of the onset of the digital age. It is very easy to download. The current law (was enacted) in 1998. We do not have an updated law that would cover Internet downloading,” Marquez told The STAR in an interview.

“Hopefully, the next president will certify such bill as urgent in the next Congress if and when such bill is introduced,” he added.

Marquez said losses arising from software piracy alone reached $202 million in 2008, from $147 million in 2007.
“Many (workers in the industry) were laid off. It is a direct effect of the continued high piracy rate,” he said.

The BSA consultant said a bill that addresses copyright infringement in the Internet had been filed in previous Congresses but was bypassed.

“We should impose stiffer penalties against violators… For it to be real deterrent, the penalties should be increased,” Marquez added.

Under the law, copyright violators may be slapped with a jail term that lasts from one to three years and a fine ranging from P50,000 to P150,000 for the first offense; imprisonment of three years and one day to six years and a fine ranging from P150,000 to P500,000 for the second offense; and jail term of six years and one day to nine years and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P1.5 million for subsequent offenses.

Despite such penalties, the software piracy rate in the Philippines has remained high as it stood at 69 percent in 2008 based on a recent study by the International Data Corporation.

FIFA reports $196 million profit in 2009

ZURICH – FIFA made a profit of $196 million in 2009 and increased its reserves to more than $1 billion as football’s commercial appeal defied the global economic crisis.

In its annual financial report published Friday, football’s world governing body said it made its surplus on revenue of $1.059 billion. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he was a “happy president” that revenue had topped 10 figures for the first time.

“We are comfortable. I wouldn’t say we are rich,” Blatter said after a two-day meeting of FIFA’s ruling executive. “A good result has been achieved.”

Blatter said the financial report showed that awarding the 2010 World Cup to South Africa was a “good financial and commercial decision.”

In the report, Julio Grondona, the chairman of FIFA’s finance committee, said the first World Cup in Africa had posted marketing revenues that surpassed the results of the previous two tournaments, in Germany (2006) and South Korea and Japan (2002).

FIFA has focused on building its reserves in recent years to sustain it in the event that a World Cup is canceled and commercial partners have to be repaid. It originally had a target of $800 million to be set aside by the end of 2010, but has exceeded that with its equity now totaling $1.061 billion.

FIFA said its financial health hinged almost entirely on the successful staging of the World Cup and an equity of more than $1 billion would cover only the costs of the next 18 months.

“FIFA has thus far made it through the turbulence in the financial markets and the global recession unscathed and has emerged from the crisis in a stronger position,” its report said.

In 2008 it made $184 million profit on revenue of $957 million and its equity stood at $902 million. (AP)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Controversies hound Magellan’s discovery of RP

Source: Manila Bulletin
By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT
According to history, the Philippines was discovered by Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan on March 16, 1521. This was after he landed on an island “Homonhon” and later on, introduced Christianity to its inhabitants.

Four hundred eighty nine years later, the same story is being told to students as early as grade school during their History classes. But it seems that nobody remembered and would acknowledge Magellan’s discovery.

Department of Education (DepEd) Communications Unit head Kenneth Tirado said that Magellan’s discovery of the Philippines is part of lessons being taught in school under history.

“As for celebrating it, we may need to consult the National Historical Institute and it may also need legislation,” he said.

NHI chairman Ambeth Ocampo said that the reason behind why there are no celebrations about the discovery of the Philippines is because of the controversies that surround Magellan’s claim in its “discovery” and the contention between historians as to what really happened.

Ocampo explained that discussions are being undertaken this early for the 500th anniversary of the Magellan Expedition in the Philippines in 2021. “Half a millennium has passed and one would think that we should know all there is on the subject but till this day there are a number of controversial points in the story,” he said.

He said that among the most controversial would be Magellan’s discovery about the Philippines. Historian Gregorio Zaide said that Filipinos should see history from the distinctly Philippine viewpoint.

Ocampo said that Magellan did not “discover” the Philippines but merely “re-discovered” it. He said that how can Magellan discover a place that already had people in it.

The same belief of Magellan’s “discovery” was opposed by another Filipino historian Teodoro Agoncillo in an article "A Reinterpretation of Our History Under Spain" published in Sunday Times Magazine in 1958. According to him, “there are misconceptions in the treatment of our history that should be exposed and corrected for the intellectual health of our students and general readers.”

The foremost among these is the belief that Magellan discovered the Philippines because this came from Spaniard chroniclers that were tasked spread the greatness of Spain. He said that Magellan did not discover the Philippine because “our country already had commercial relations with her Asian neighbors hundreds of years before Magellan was born.”

But Agoncillo opposed Zaide’s proposal to change the word “discover” to “re-discover” because according to him, “how can you re-discover what is not lost?”

According to Ocampo, the controversies that surround history may contribute why it is taking a backseat. “Each generation writes its own history, each generation interprets history differently as it is based on their worldview, their needs, and their aspirations,” he said. Still according to him, this also explains why history is both “confused and confusing” and why it is “slippery as an academic discipline because it’s always open to new information new views,” he said.

Ocampo also shared that when he started teaching more than 20 years ago, he thought history was an informative subject, “because the challenge simply was to present the dates, names, places, and events in the most engaging manner possible but as I matured as a teacher I realized that history is actually formative.”

A historian himself, Ocampo shares that when he will write his own history, “I will not say that Magellan “discovered” the Philippines, that is the Spanish viewpoint. I will not say Magellan “re-discovered” the Philippines, for that is the rabid nationalist Filipino viewpoint. All I will say is that Magellan “arrived” in the Philippines in 1521,” he said.

He said that the dates, names, and facts will not change. “But one can readily see how the change of one simple word — from discovered, to rediscovered to arrived — how one word changes the whole way in which we see ourselves in relation to our past, our present, and our future.”

Ocampo stressed that history is the story of any nation came to be and usually illustrates the how the people fail to be the nation that they want to be. “History is not the only way to learn love of country, but it has a unique way of showing the different ways we see and deal with the past,” he said