Deck the halls!  

With a mere 19 days ’til Christmas, I finally settled down to watch last season’s romantic-comedy-just-in-time-for-the-holidays, Four Christmases.  Vince Vaughn’s character, Brad, finally takes his girlfriend home and, in the midst of yuletide merriment, she discovers that Brad legally changed his name – from Orlando.  Brothers Denver and Dallas were introduced, and Brad explained that they were all named in a very Brooklyn Beckham-esque way.  You’re forgiven, Brad.  Posh, are you listening?

Speaking of the holidays, on my recent travels I heard tots answering to Lyle, Hugo, Mara and Cecily – or I suppose Sicily, but let’s hope it was the former.

As for movies, I’m dying to see Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie.  While other girls were reading Anne of Green Gables, I was off in Victorian England, solving crimes with Holmes and Watson.  There are already hints of franchise potential, not unlike Pirates of the Caribbean, which got me thinking – if Sparrow could pop as a boy’s name in the wake of Captain Jack, will this film have a similar impact?  Sherlock and Holmes are out, and John is evergreen.  But how ’bout Watson?  I’ll be watching the boards!

Elsewhere in the blogosphere:

• Sebastiane has been featuring classics with all of their international variations included.  Think Andrew is a bit obvious?  Try Dreves.  Cathy and Cate don’t appeal?  Call your daughter Catherine by the unusual short form Trine – or opt for the variant Cathereau;
• My new favorite name of the week has to be Lillemor - also from Sebastiane’s site.  I’ve been puzzled by the so-fashionable Moa in Sweden.  Turns out Moa is a nickname for Lillemor, one that has eclipsed the original.  Apparently Lillemor is considered stodgy by modern Swedes, but in the US?  I think she’d offer an unexpected way to get to Lily – and fit just right with names like Eleanor, too;
• Over at Names from Adam to Eve, Laura wrote of her love for Hester, nn Hettie.  I’m a fan, too, so it is nice to see Hester get some love;
• Bewildertrix spotted a newborn girl named Montanna Skye.  It was an Aussie birth announcement, so maybe the parents don’t get the joke?  Or did they vacation in Big Sky Country and … cancel that thought;
• For Real Baby Names spotted a tot christened Basil Leif.  I suspect he’ll be one of those guys who refuses to hand over his driver’s license for fear his friends will discover the L isn’t for Leon or Lawrence;
• You’ve heard about New York’s just-released baby names of 2008 list, right?And Sophia and Jayden coming out on top?  Check out the Nameberry post for details and discussion;
• It’s that time again - Nymbler has released November’s Top 10 favorite names.  They’re  the usual suspects: Charlotte, Ava, Ella, Finn, Jack, Amelia, Claire, Henry, Grace and Benjamin.  
• But then there’s the far more interesting Top 5 Brand New Names: 
  • A twist on Brianna and Riley, Briley;
  • The lovely Cosima;
  • Word name Fable, a choice almost single-handedly launched by blogger Girls Gone Child; 
  • The literary Bronte;
  • Starbaby-inspired Nahla.

Speaking of starbabies, it was a busy week.  Thanks to Celebrity Baby Blog for the heads up on the following:

• Maya Rudolph welcomed Lucille, a little sister for Pearl - what a great sibset.  Please leave a comment if you hear about the girls’ middle names;
• Scrubs’ Judy Reyes welcomed Leila Rey.  Leila is the new Hailey – it is impossible to say how many there really are thanks to Layla, Lailah, Leyla, Laila …  But Rey is a clever nod towards mom’s surname;
• Singer Lisa Loeb welcomed daughter Lyla Rose;
• Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils welcomed his fifth child – son Maxime Phillipe.  For those of you who don’t follow hockey, it’s mahr TAN.  He’s from Montreal.  Older siblings are Anthony, William, Jeremy and Anabelle Antoinette; 
• Also in the Wide World of Sports, Chunky soup pitchman/Philadelphia Eagle Donovan McNabb welcomed his fourth child.  Son Devin James joins sisters Alexis and Sariah and brother Donovan;
• Heavenly Joy!  It’s a girl for music producer Rodney Jenkins and his wife, Joy Enriquez.  It’s not only an exclamation, it’s her name.

That’s all for this week.  Thanks for reading!

ayé !

après avoir bravé l’attente, le désespoir, le harcèlement (de ma part) je sais donc que vendredi je retourne gentiment bosser au sein de la Fondation qui m’avait accueillie pour faire mon stage de fin d’études.

Je suis contente d’avoir un emploi en ces temps de jobs faméliques. Je suis contente de bosser “sur”"pour” “avec” les réseaux sociaux, moins de faire de la relance journalistique…faudra trouver le bon équilibre. Je suis contente de retrouver l’équipe souriante de ma période “stagiaire”.

hop la boum c’est déjà un peu Noël.

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Norwegian/Swedish
Meaning: “little mother.”
(LIL-leh-MORE)

With the recent surge of popularity in Lily names, I thought this unusual gem might be worth posting, though considered an “old lady” name in Scandinavia, it might make a fresh and interesting option for an Anglophone parent.

Lillemor is relatively recent in history, she first appeared in Norway as a nickname and was first recorded as a full-fledged given name in Sweden in 1901. The name comes from the Norwegian and Swedish words lille meaning “little; small” and mor meaning “mother.” Ask most Swedes or Norwegians how they feel about this name and they will likely frown, she is somewhat the equivalent of a Mildred to an American. She was quite fashionable during the 1930s and 40s, and is hence, usually considered a name of its time. She has, however, spawned off a fashionable nickname name: Moa, which is currently very trendy in Sweden as an independent given name.

Her name-day is November 18. As of December 31, 2008, there were approximately 11, 198 women who bore the name Lillemor in Sweden.

Nicknames are Lily and Moa.

C’est beau ce titre de premier billet. Ca donne de l’espérance, ça fait retentir l’avenir avec tambours et trompettes. Faut juste que ça tienne ses promesses…

Je me souviens qu’il y a quelques années j’ai joué l’apprentie blogueuse et ça m’a plu. Donc je retente. Mais je me souviens aussi du boulot que cela représente.

On tachera  donc d’en faire un beau bazar avec des grandes réflexions inutiles et, je l’espère, du sourire.

Llevo ya demasiado tiempo cortándome de enlazar artículos de Pío Moa, porque si empiezo, no acabo. Sin embargo, tras la siniestra jornada de hoy, con el editorial conjunto de la prensa catalana en pleno, no espero más y declaro inaugurada la sección de memoria histórica.

Empezamos a todo gas, con una batería de artículos de Pío Moa, que narran acontecimientos de hace ochenta años, pero que venimos reviviendo en clave contemporánea, especialmente desde la siniestra jornada del 14-M.

No se trata de una declaración de intenciones, ni de panfletos, como he escuchado miles de veces antes de acercarme a sus sorprendentes artículos. Pío Moa ha dedicado, con rotundo éxito historiográfico, importantes esfuerzos a la tarea de desmontar todos los mitos que la izquierda ha desplegado.

No ha logrado asímismo calar en la población, ni en la élite intelectual, controlada por la izquierda. Para la progresía, Moa es el mismo demonio. Auténtico vade retro de la izquierda. Y a día de hoy, sin el visto bueno de la izquierda mediática, nada puede calar en la sociedad. El de Pío Moa es un ejercicio de memoria histórica sin filtros ideológicos. Moa disecciona el fenómeno y a sus actores con distancia de entomólogo, y el resultado es asombroso.

Sin embargo, sus libros se leen con comodidad y asombro. Comodidad, porque su estilo directo y organizado hacen difícil que se pierda el hilo. Además, y tristemente, el paralelismo clarísimo entre los hechos previos a la guerra civil y nuestros días, sólo facilita más la lectura de los hechos. De lo cual viene el asombro al detectar tal paralelismo.

Éste artículo sirve de introducción al trabajo del autor, que lleva años enfrascado en una rigurosa revisión, una relectura en perspectiva, incluso, de la guerra civil española, y sobre todo, de los años previos al conflicto. Pinche sobre el encabezado para acceder al artículo completo.

A continuación ofrezco una serie de artículos del autor, que dibujan los años previos al conflicto definitivo. Faltaría, para redondear la colección, el marco social que incluye en la introducción de su obra “El Derrumbe de la Segunda República y la Guerra Civil”, pero no contamos con transcripción alguna. Éste segundo texto es un artículo perteneciente a la publicación La Ilustración Liberal.

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Éste es el primero de una serie de cinco, cuyo índice y enlaces se encuentra abajo, al final. Muy recomendables.

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A continuación, varios capítulos de Los Orígenes de la Guerra Civil, disponible online en forma de artículos.

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Todos los actores importantes (la izquierda catalana, los nacionalismos vasco y catalán, el PC/PSOE, la Monarquía, la derecha, la Iglesia) están representados hoy día por personajes más o menos análogos a los actuales, y que se comportan con maneras muy parecidas.

Por tanto, los hechos, en muchas ocasiones, parecen calcados a los actuales, casan perfectamente con la evolución histórica más reciente de España, especialmente desde la llegada de Zapatero a la Moncloa, hace ya un larguísimo lustro. Por supuesto, las diferencias son evidentes, pero resaltan con claridad los hechos coincidentes con la actualidad.

Aside from New Moon, I had a double dose of movie last week with Disney’s A Christmas Carol directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Jim Carrey.

The movie is based from a classic Charles Dickens book about the infamous penny-pincher Ebenezer Scrooge who spends his days making money and never cared to enjoy anything else in life.

It was last Saturday afternoon when A Christmas Carol premiered in Mall of Asia’s IMAX Theater. Like the kid that I am, I was pretty excited for the IMAX experience since it was my first time to catch a full film in IMAX ever (yuh, I know I’m such a loser… the only time I was able to “experience” IMAX was in HK Disneyland–and it wasn’t even a full movie).

Anyway, I arrived at the venue just in time for the cocktails. In spite of the disappointing serving of food from Chowking (with one siomai each person), the event was pretty much amazing. It had free glitter tattoo and photo-taking going on. SM also had some chorale singers to fill the air with Christmas carol.

I loved the way Disney perfectly picked Jim Carrey to be Ebenezer. It was such a splendid comical execution, truly something both the kids and oldies will enjoy. I love how the 3 ghosts carried totally different personalities (and I personally hate the eerie Ghost of Christmas Future). Overall, A Christmas Carol is a movie that you can watch with your family on a typical Sunday afternoon.

Opening on Nov. 25 in regular theaters across the Philippines, as well as in Digital 3D cinemas and in IMAX 3D in SM Mall of Asia and SM North EDSA.

After several consecutive races, I can finally have a race I can call my own—no more running others’ pace, no more target time—freedom to run as desired, and Fit ‘N Right was the right venue for me.  It was a particularly interesting event especially that this was my first race at the SM Mall of Asia compounds. Here’s my rundown of things as it happened.

Background

A lot of runners were concerned when race packets weren’t outright distributed with registration because recent similar events went unwell, and despite the organizers’ best efforts what many runners feared happened again—delayed race packets distribution.

I registered a few days before the regular registration cut-off date.  Registration went smoothly and the people manning their booths were very friendly and accommodating.  As one of the endorsers of the event I knew how race packet claiming should have been, but when the claiming date came I’ve heard of problems.  I decided to claim my kit Thursday before the race and to my surprise my kit still wasn’t there!  I didn’t bother showing my disappointment with the people in their booth as I clearly know it’s not their fault and they were already being battered by anguish from angry runners.  They were very apologetic and informed me that they’d contact me if my kit was available, but until Saturday, hours before the race, I received no such message.  I was prepared for the worse—running without a race number.

Pre-Race

A few minutes before 5:30AM I was on queue to claim my race kit.  I was surprised at how many runners were actually there!  This was in no means your small time event; it was even comparable to events by Runrio!  After being in line for some time I was able to get my race packet containing a singlet, course map, and a race number with RFID—say what, RFID?!

The seemingly regular race bib

Yes, the biggest surprise for this race was the use of RFID, a first in local races.  We were introduced this year with disposable timing chips, and now FNR “silently” introduced RFIDs which I prefer over the former because you don’t have to lace anything to your shoe—it’s just there with your race bib!  Registration cost for this race was one of the cheapest for the year so it was pleasantly unexpected.  Things suddenly turned up for this race.

The RFID atop the race bib

Early on we had a hint that there may be a mass-start but thankfully somebody must’ve advised the organizers to start by category, making for a better start.  It was already past 6AM but the pre-race program was still being staged, and with much pressure from the 10K runners the race started 6:23AM, five minutes later followed by the 5K which was my event.

A Cautious Race

It had been a very long time since my last 5K run and I have to admit that I really missed it.  After doing an International Marathon sweep you may be wondering why I went back to 5K.  The reason was simple—I’m on my taper period for the forthcoming Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.  Of course being free of any pacer duty I can run freely—the temptation of “touching” my almost year-old 5K PR was too much to pass over.  With the flat and Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA)-certified course it was a perfect venue for a race, and a PR.  Unfortunately I had pains on my right side so I decided to take it easy—going as fast as comfortably possible without risking aggravating the injury.

I thought I had started relatively near the front row but I had a hard time navigating through the crowd.  Since I wasn’t able to warm up properly I just took that opportunity to do just that, and to my surprise the pain that was bugging me wasn’t there!  A few minutes later I spotted Natz (i2runner) and thought he’d be a good pacer so I ran behind him.

Since I’m in a “cautious mode” I decided to “ignore” other runners, including Natz whom I know was just around.  This was my race so I decided to race with myself and nobody else.  Before I knew it I was heading back to the Finish line.  That’s the beauty of a 5K—you won’t get bored.

Final kilometer, 18 minutes, a possible new PR looms.  500 meters later, I can see the Finish line.  It was one of the longest 500 meters of my life as I attempt to shave a few seconds off my 5K PR and upon reaching the Finish, 22:25 says my GF405 (gun time), a new PR!  I didn’t really expect to trim my 5K PR by 46 seconds especially that I wasn’t gunning for it!  A nice race it was.

The 5K Perspective

The Dare to be Fit ‘N Right Fun Run was a surprisingly well handled event, and in fact if it weren’t for the really notorious lowlights it would’ve been a very good race.  Here are my observations based on my 5K perspective:

Good:

• Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA)-certified race courses
• Excellent venue for setting new personal records
• Use of RFID
• Route markers (with color coding)
• Relatively cheap registration fee
• A lot of giveaways and raffle prizes

The lively stage

Bad:

• Race packet distribution
• Late start
• Insufficient water at cramped water stations
• Insufficient portable toilets with the number of participants
• A lot of runners weren’t given the post-race freebies
• Cramped baggage counter
• Late and inaccurate race results

Relief goods?

Summary:
It was another event with very good highlights and nasty lowlights but overall the race was Good (3/5).  I noticed that most of their problems stemmed from distribution (race packets, giveaways, baggage counters) and some from lack of experience (lack of water, lack of signs at the finish line, lack of portalets) but seeing how well the race was managed I can only assume that the organizers got the lessons that they needed. For the awareness of the organizers, here are some of the issues that are for improvement:

Late Start
Running takes time and for the sake of runners’ skins we try to avoid running with the sun high up in the sky by starting early.  If a program was to be held pre-race start it early so as not to delay gun start.

Water
Water supply should at least be sufficient for all runners, and the station should have long tables to avoid crowding.  Cups should at least be the number of times each runner would pass that station.  How much water is needed could easily be computed based on the number of cups.

Marshals
Some marshals are noticeably inexperienced.  You shouldn’t abruptly stop runners upon crossing the Finish line as it may cause them injuries. Get runners’ times with being obstructive.

Crowd Control
Crowds weren’t managed well at the Finish area leading to a very crowded area for late finishers.

Signs
If signs were placed atop the Finish gate there wouldn’t have been much of a need for Mr. Rey Langit to repeat himself over and over to guide runners.

Giveaways
Not all received their giveaways.  When I arrived (about 27 minutes into the event) there was already a long queue at the booth because the people manning the station stalled.  The situation turned worse as more runners arrived and until it was like a “relief goods distribution” center did I saw some movement.  Unfortunately they also didn’t pack enough for all the runners so many went home empty handed (including myself).

Baggage Counter
With more than 4,000 runners the baggage counter was ridiculously small and was seriously understaffed.

Fit ‘N Right 5K Route (10K is two laps of this course)

Hopefully the succeeding races pickup from the good points of this race and learned from its shortcomings.  To the more than 4,000 runners that Dared to be Fit ‘n Right, especially to those who have bettered themselves, Congratulations!

UPDATE: My time based on the original race results was actually 22:22 finishing 20th overall out of 1,181 5K runners!  One of the best finishes for me and it’s from a PATAFA-certified route!  Nice! 

Saw this post while browsing my Facebook.

“THE GENTLEMAN IS BACK! NEYO LIVE IN MANILA”

01.09.2010.8PM

MALL OF ASIA OPEN GROUNDS.. Here are the early bird ticket prices, you can get them directly from Paolo Cabalfin at 0920-9257893 or paolocabalfin@yahoo.com 7500(VVIP) 5500(VIP) 4000(PLATINUM) 2500(GOLD)

GET YOUR ORDERS IN NOW AS TICKETS ARE GOING FAST!

- So for all NEYO Fans out there, get your tickets now!

]]> http://riseofthepantyhose.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/wakeboard-show-at-westgate-alabang/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:11:13 +0000 thegypsywrites http://riseofthepantyhose.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/wakeboard-show-at-westgate-alabang/

I was driving home from working in MOA this afternoon when my tears suddenly came. I could not stop crying from Macapagal up until PAGCOR, Parañaque. And lucky for me, a few minutes after the tears died down, I received a call from a wakeboard buddy, Angelo.

I tried the sport a few months ago and I enjoyed it [even though I almost got hit in the head by a Korean kneeboarder who was not looking where he was going, dammmeeettt!] And ever since, Angelo has been talking to me about the sport and tips on where I can buy a vest.

So there I was on my abnormally-becoming-usual-baliw-moments of suddenly crying out of nowhere, when my phone rang to the song ‘Fireflies’ by Owl City.

Angelo was asking where I am and if I was going to Alabang. I didn’t know what was happening there so I asked him why. Apparently he has been trying to reach me since an earlier time to tell me that there will be a wakeboard show. So I hurriedly went home, changed clothes and dropped off my laptop, went to Westgate, Alabang with an almost empty fuel of tank.

It is my first time to actually see a wakeboard competititon or show and mygawd! Those world champs were amazing! I cannot imagine being able to do that. Here are some pictures:

More pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/90373879@N00/?saved=1. Will upload a rare video of Nick Davis doing a trick once I get it on YouTube!

Even though I got wet by Nick Davis [ggrrr!!!], I did not mind it all. I enjoyed watching them do their thing. And frankly, even though I would normally have freaked out going to Alabang by myself with an almost empty gas and a traffic SLEX, I allowed myself to be adventurous. I am living on the edge right now and if it’s the only way I can keep myself from thinking of YOU, then I would.

]]> http://docgelo.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/pinoy-comfort-food/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:02 +0000 docgelo http://docgelo.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/pinoy-comfort-food/

My family and I like Japanese and Italian foods but indubitably, we love Pinoy dishes the most!  Nothing beats the combination of rice and viands that are very Filipino.

In as much as we usually less favor anything that can be easily prepared at home, my wife, Tina with our son, Gabby and I still welcome the thought of eating ordinary Pinoy dishes in food places where we haven’t dined before or at least in restaurants that we have tried and tested  tasted that are known to satisfy our palates.

Few days ago, we had a chance to taste few of our favorites in a restaurant named after a group that sparked the revolution in Pinoy history…

KKK actually stands for Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangan na Katipunan  Kainan sa Kalye Kanluran because its pioneer restaurant is located at West Avenue, Quezon City.

The branch in SM-Mall of Asia is not that huge but it’s adequate enough to accomodate hungry diners’ cravings for our very own cuisine.

The interiors boasts of a poster of our national heroes appeared to be brainstorming over a grand feast. The walls were also adorned by woven bamboo-like material drooping gracefully.   

Upon receiving KKK’s simple laminated menu, I was ready to order two local dishes that I so love.  The first on my list was…

SINIGANG NA SUGPO, PhP 358+.  I’m one big shrimp/prawn fanatic! I like them buttered, grilled, steamed and yes, in sour stock with veggies. I guess other than the famous adobo (that I know originated from Mexico), sinigang is one viand that every Pinoy tongue is familiar with. And KKK’s version of Sinigang na Sugpo did not disappoint. The huge hot bowl contained 5 huge prawns to our delight! The veggies were still crunchy and were cooked with the plump prawns to almost perfection!

Here’s my lion share…aren’t those prawns a beauty? LOL!

My other all-time favorite Pinoy dish is Kare-Kare or Beef and ox tail in peanut sauce. I could have ordered it as well if I did not consider Tina’s choice….

KALDERETA SAN MIGUEL, PhP 280+.   It’s described in the menu as “baka niluto sa cervesa”.  Those beef cubes were so tender that once you dunk your fork into it, it shreds off effortlessly.  Its tomato sauce with carrots and potatoes stewed (with beer, hence the name?) to a creamy but not-so-thick base.  We only wish for its serving to be more than enough to meet one’s appetite

While Tina and I were sharing bowls of our comfort foods, Gabby was also enjoying his take on the sweets…

LECHE FLAN NA GATAS NG KALABAW, PhP 68+.     The use of Carabao’s milk made this dessert different from the usual leche flan, plus it’s  topped with macapuno strips.  Although Gabby had to asked me to scoop those macapuno strips out of the flan for he, I think, at an early age is a purist.

For our drinks, Tina had her usual serving of agua while Gabby and I ordered these..MANGO and BUCO JUICE!  I liked KKK’s  chilled coconut but I liked it better when the wait staff didn’t hesitate to give in to my request in a blink and made a small opening that gave me the moment to scrape its chewey soft pulp. And I tell you, I missed doing it when we were in Boracay last month. 

Other than the quantity of the Kaldereta, we’re happy with our lunch at KKK.   On our next visit, I’ll make sure we get to taste that Kare-Kareng Baka and I’ve heard that Adobo ni Jake Espesyal is another must-try. 

We join the owners and staff of KKK in saying yelling their battle cry- “Huwag matakot, Maki-Kain!!!”

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KKK Comforts of Pinoy Food G/F Entertainment Mall SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City / Tel # (63-2)556-0755. with branches at Level 3, Midtown Wing, Robinson’s Place Manila / Tel # (63-2)567-2186.  Kainan sa Kalye Kanluran 74 West Ave., Quezon City /Tel # (63-2)371-9099.

Hey all,

With the introduction of Glory of the Empire you’ll meet some Monster NPC’s too! Notice how some of them look like ancient extinct creatures!

Murloc
They are the legendary “Fish Men” old sailor would tell tales about. Don’t confuse them with mermaids, there’s nothing beautiful about these guys. Rumor has it that these are not creatures natural to the Earth, but actually visitors from the stars that got stuck on our planet. No matter what they are, you must be wary around these sly creatures.

Sand worm
The sand worms were once peaceful creatures that kept to themselves and lived far underground and out of sight, but after centuries of pollution these worms have mutated and become huge. They’ve started attacking people, so watch out!

Moa
These are rather fast moving flightless birds that have a powerful attack! One draw back to these animals is that once they get scared, they run away – and they run fast. Moa are known for not stopping for anything. So be on guard.

Frilled Lizard
This is a reptile native to Australia. It can take on larger animals due to its large fangs and quick attacks. Don’t let your guard down around these little guys.

Philippine Tarsier
The Philippine Tarsier is a tiny animal that usually hangs out in tropical areas. It’s one of the smallest primate animals on Earth. Don’t blow these little guys off just because of their size, when dozens of them descend on you in animalistic fury you’ll be dead in no time.

Bi-heads Snake
It’s a snake. They are dangerous. This one has two heads. Do the math.

Duck
Baby ducks waddle around all the time, and sometimes fall down storm drains. Please leave them alone. These cute baby ducks are soooo fluffy and innocent….

Dolphin
Dolphins are very smart and love to play! They get along with players just fine, but if you make them angry they have very, very sharp teeth.

Trilobite
Dont bite the trilobite, they have really hard shells. Trilobites live in the ocean and are quiet creatures of the depths. They move quickly through the water and can some times get as big as a horse!

Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal native to eastern Australia. They like building their nests near the water. It’s a bit weird looking but that’s no reason to ignore its poisonous claws.

I am looking forward to this new version very much! Have fun everyone!

I’m a big fan of the University of Michigan’s digital library, Making of America. MOA gives page images for some 10,000 nineteenth-century American books. The format is far from ideal — for online reading I prefer the Internet Archive — and the images are poorly formatted for printing (which may be due to Michigan’s proprietary interest in selling bound reprints), but the material itself is invaluable. I’ve spent many hours there browsing, finding incredible things. Incredibly useful, important, memorable, and delightful. Also: incredibly strange, amusing, dreadful, and dull.

The item below falls somewhere in the latter camp. To me, it’s dreadful amusing; to you, perhaps, dreadful dull.

Choice rhymes follow, with thumbnails that open onto larger views; click on the title page for a link to the complete text.

From George Van Waters, The Poetical Geography, Designed to Accompany Outline Maps or School Atlases; To Which Are Added the Rules of Arithmetic in Rhyme (1852):

Geography

The surface of the Earth, with all its tribes,
Of sea and land, Geography describes.

◊

The Earth

This Earth is but a mighty ball profound,
Just five and twenty thousand miles around:
One fourth the surface of this globe is land;
Three fourths are water, as you understand.

◊

Islands

Islands, upon all sides, the waves surround;
In rivers, lakes, and seas, and oceans found.

◊

Mountains

Mountains are high and elevated land,
That rises o’er the province, dark and grand.

◊

Volcanoes

Volcanoes, from their craters, vomit fire,
And smoke and lava, in a stream, most dire.

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Oceans

An Ocean is a vast extent of brine,
Or salt sea water, boundless and sublime.

◊

Gulfs, or Bays

A Gulf or Bay, is when the waves expand
To wide extent, encroaching on the land.

◊

Harbors or Havens

A Harbor or a Haven, is a port,
Where ships in safety, from the storm resort.

◊

The Equator

A circle drawn around the earth, and greater
Than any parallel, is called the Equator.
The Equator is a fancied line, that folds
Around the earth, half way between the poles.
This circle’s called the Equinoctial Line,
For when the Solar orb doth o’er it shine,
The days and nights are equal, as the clocks,
And watches all proclaim the Equinox.

◊

Tropics

Tropics are circles that restrict the sun,
Which with the equator parallel doth run,
Just twenty-three and a half degrees they shine
Both North and South the Equatorial line.

◊

Meridians

Meridians run from Pole to Pole (’tis true),
Cutting the Equator, at right angles, through;
They’re used to reckon distance, east and west,
And of all other ways have proved the best.

◊

Frigid Zones

The Frigid Zones include both land and sky,
Of parts which in the polar circles lie.

◊

Maps

A Map’s a picture, of the whole or part,
Of the earth’s surface, to be learned by heart.
The top is North, while South points toward your breast;
The right hand’s East, the left hand’s always West.
More Maps than one, bound up for school or college,
Is called an Atlas, and contains much knowledge.

◊

Maine

In Maine, Augusta, on the Ken-ne-beck,
Just 50 miles, if right I recollect;
There Hallowell, for granite we’ll remember,
And Bath for building ships of white oak timber.
Ban-gorʹ in lumber trades; as boards and plank,
And takes her place upon Pe-nob-scot’s bank,
O-ro-no, Frankfurt, Bucksport, and Castine (teen),
On the same banks, by the same glowing stream.
Portland by Casco Bay, chief town in Maine,
In fisheries and commerce holds her reign.

◊

Mexico

And Mexico, high on the table lands,
In the interior of the province stands,
Above the sea full seven thousand feet,
Adorned with temples rich and structures great.
Fair lakes are there, arrayed in evergreen;
High mountain peaks upon the south are seen:
There Popocatapetl smokes all below,
From its high summit, covered o’er with snow.
For her castle famed, from Mexico due east,
Is Veʹ-ra Cruz, three hundred miles, at least.
Southeast from Mexico, full eighty miles,
Famed for her churches, La Pu-e-bla smiles.
*Oa-xaʹ-ca, on this course, two hundred, stands,
Inhabited by numerous Indian bands;
While South, one, eighty, Ac-a-pulʹ-co keeps,   [180
For her harbor known by the Pacific deeps.
In the interior, Gua-na-xuaʹ-to shines,   [gwa-na-wha-ta
With Zac-a-teʹ-cas near the silver mines.
Que-reʹ-ta-ro, for beauty, has renown;   [ka-ra-ta-ro
As, for her pyramid, Cho-luʹ-la’s known.   [co-lu’-la
And Mut-a-mo-ras, on the Ri-o Grande,   [re-o-grand
Just o’er the stream from Texas, takes her stand.
Re-sa-ca de-la Palmʹ-a’s bloody ground,
With Paʹ-lo Alʹ-to, north of this is found.
While west from here, twice eighty miles away,   [160
On San Fernando’s bank, is Monterey.  [mon-te-ra
From Monterey, southwest, behold Saltillo,
Near Bueʹ-na Visʹta’s battle field her pillow.
From Ma-a-moʹ-ras, south, Tampico smiles,
Along the coast two hundred eighty miles.
While west from here, San Louis Potosi,   [lue potosee ʹ
Upon Tam-piʹ-co river makes her stay.   [tam-pee-co

* Wa-haʹ-ca.

◊

The Two Sicilies

Near Mount Vesuvius let Naples stay,
Long noted for the beauty of her Bay.
Pa-lerʹ-mo sits on Sicily’s fair isle,
And there Mes-si-na and Ca-taʹ-ni-a smile,
As Syracuse is known for ancient splendor,
The wine cup to Mar-saʹ-la we may tender.

◊

Afghanistan

Cabul, on Ka ʹ-ma tide, the Af-ghans greet,
Above the sea it stands six thousand feet.
Oe’r Caʹ-bul’s kingdom once Pesh-awerʹ reigned
The first in rule, e’er Cabul was enchained.
And Can-da-harʹ is by the dark Hel ʹ-mund,
The central point where Door-au-neesʹ abound.
Northwest of all, He-ratʹ, with Persia trades,
Where Hin ʹ-doo Koosh ʹ unfold their giant shades.

◊

Darfoor

And in Dar-foorʹ, Cob-beʹ as monarch reigns,
Where laughs Tam-bul, above her fertile plains.

◊

Egypt

Fair Cai-ro and Ro-setʹ-ta standing where
Egyptian ruins cloud the middle air:
There Thebes and Alexandria lie unfurled,
The dim resemblance of an ancient world.

◊

Liberia

Mon-roʹ-via, in Liberia we see,
Where Afric’s sons are numbered with the free.

◊

Guinea

In Guinea stand Bi-afʹ-ra and Be-ninʹ,
There Abʹ-o-mey — a pagan rude is seen.
Coo-masʹ-sie, where Ashantee’s tribes abide,
And push their conquests round on every side.

hvnt discovered the best free wifi spots around, but im quiet glad with moa’s (figaro). it was even 387 KB.sec  at one point. and it wasnt like that during my first attempt. epek na yang speed na yan saken in fairvi!

Belut … ?  kebayangnya pasti licin, kaya uler dan berwarna hitam. Belut merupakan jenis ikan yang berbeda bentuk dari ikan biasa. Belut banyak ditemukan di daerah pesawahan.

Nilai protein pada belut (18,4 g/ 100 g daging) setara dengan protein daging sapi (18,8 g/ 100g), tetapi lebih tinggi dari protein telur (12,8 g/100 g). Seperti jenis ikan lainnya, nilai cerna protein pada belut juga sangat tinggi, sehingga sangat cocok untuk sumber protein bagi semua kelompok usia, dari bayi hingga usia lanjut.

Fungsi utama fosfor adalah sebagai pemberi energi dan kekuatan pada metabolisme lemak dan karbohidrat, sebagai penunjang kesehatan gigi dan gusi, untuk sintesis DNA serta penyerapan dan pemakaian kalsium. Kebutuhan fosfor bagi ibu hamil tentu lebih banyal dibandingkan saat-saat tidak mengandung, terutama untuk pembentukan tulang janinnya. Jika asupan fosfor kurang, janin akan mengambilnya dari sang ibu. Ini salah satu penyebab penyakit tulang keropos pada ibu. Kebutuhan fosfor akan terpenuhi apabila konsumsi protein juga diperhatikan.

Well it has been quite a while hasn’t it? Not a lot has happened but I feel like writing.
Things have been pretty hectic lately but things have started to calm down a bit. I find myself occupied every night with some kind of studying. This week and next are my calm weeks. Only a few tests & quizzes that shouldn’t be too much trouble.

So Halloween was great! I threw a party where Andre very graciously allowed me to have it over at his place. My parents would go crazy if I had over at my place! Besides his place is much bigger and cooler. So Friday (10/30) Jill, Andre, and I worked together to get all the lovely decorations up. It was pretty sweet looking. We had streamers, red and purple lights, random party accessories, balloons with permanent marker art on them, and more. We were watching random haunting shows and Andre pretty much died from how awful they were. Hahahaha! Jill loved her balloon art.

Halloween day, Anung came over early that afternoon. I unfortunately realized that I had a Japanese essay due Monday and would not have time other than Saturday afternoon. So I was working on that for a good 30-60 minutes when she came. I didn’t want to do that since we barely get time together any more but i had to (except I found out Monday that I was mistaken about the due date and finished the essay one week ahead of time. Freaking lame!).
After that we got some more groceries and headed for the mall. I am sooooo poor after buying everything for the party that I really couldn’t afford anything. Anung bought me lunch, thank god! We went to MOA and hooooooooly cow it was packed! Lots of little kids dressed up, most of them looking annoyed or humiliated in some sort of way. We picked my friend Liz up who awesomely bought all the booze for the night!
We headed to Andre afterwords and got dressed and started cooking. I had apple cider which was very much liked all around. Andre and I were vampires, Liz was a dead Alice from Wonderland, Anung a necromancer, Jill and Ryan were zombies, Mike was a graveyard ghost, Dan was a something undead, etc. It was great. I should have gotten a big group picture. Damn.
We watched re-animator which ended up being like a MST3000 (Mystery Science Theater 3000) event. Good times with a weird old horror movie classic. Then we had dancing and social time. Totally forgot about the bobbing for apples and mummy wrap/TPing.
Overall it was good. I think everyone liked it (hopefully). It was a lot of fun and I’m glad I put it together.

As a random side note, I absolutely love genetics and how amazingly interesting it is. I cannot help but get giddy with all the unique mechanisms and how crazy our bodies are at preserving life. I definitely love learning stuff from my Developmental Biology and Genetics Lab. It’s really fun working with Drosophlia. They are creepy when you’re using a dissecting microscope and they kinda twitch and squirm. Also it’s disgusting when you accidentally behead one of them.

In other news I have started my new “internship” with Dr. Neil and Kerry. I was supposed to work with double mutants based on Dr. Lynn’s notes but they ended up being too confusing and riddled so I was given another small project for the time being. I am working with cytokinins and how they affect SPINDLY (also called spy agent which affects gibberillin activity). I basically have gotten an overview of my project and start planting Friday. Yay! I still need to research some stuff about this project so things are still a little muddled.
I definitely appreciate Dr. Neil and Kerry’s patience when it comes to explaining everything about Spy agent and how it works. It’s definitely interesting.

That’s it for now. Maybe I’ll post some pictures from the Halloween Party but most of them are posted on Facebook. Leave a side comment if you want me to post some pictures.

Went to MOA last Saturday to have lunch. Out of all the many restos and food chains around, we decided to try “Mongkok Dimsum and Noodles.” Since we’re in the mood for chinese cuisine that afternoon.
The place is nice, looks clean enough. And I love their big ceiling lights that really reflect the chinese ambiance. I just find their flooring weird because of the tiny orange and yellow tiles scattered around, above the grey cement flooring, looks like bits of pieces of art paper. Besides that, the interiors are good.

The food was great, I especially loved the lobster roll ’cause it’s my first time to try some.

Shrimp Dumplings = Php 75.00

Lobster Rolls = Php 75.00

Mixed Vegetables = Php 160.00

Mongkok Special Fried Rice = Php 130.00

I enjoyed every bit of the food here. And the price is just right. We gotta try the noodles when we get back though. Dining in Mongkok is ideal for the whole family. I’m even thinking of bringing my whole family here one of these days.

The finest Chinese cooks are here, indeed.