tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64616890152469551532024-03-05T17:38:14.205-08:00tenminutestops.com | Ten-minute thoughts that take you to the top.Ten-minute thoughts that take you to the top.Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05464656781716593718noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-87022478555185535352021-02-07T10:02:00.002-08:002021-02-07T10:09:09.836-08:00Creating Change and the Butterfly Effect<br />
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Overwhelmed with the enormity of the task of nation-building, some of us would more readily give up than do something. The oft-repeated cry of resignation is: <i>How can one man make a difference?</i><br />
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Malcolm Gladwell in his book <a href="https://amzn.to/3tAMCW3" target="_blank">The Tipping Point</a> wrote of The Butterfly Effect. It was also mentioned in the book <a href="https://amzn.to/3oZoU2n">The One Minute Millionaire</a> co-written by <a href="https://amzn.to/3oY9Bqv">Mark Victor Hansen</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tentop03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1455803316&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
and <a href="https://amzn.to/3oY9D1B">Robert Allen</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tentop03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1451624255&camp=217145&creative=399369" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />. It is also the subject of the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289879/" target="_blank">movie</a> of the same title that starred Ashton Kutcher and which explored the effects of one man's alteration of the past to the events of the present. <br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect" target="_blank">The Butterfly Effect</a> phenomenon underscores the fact that little changes can lead to dramatic results. It is so-called because it likens the little changes to the flapping of a butterfly's wings. It says that even such a tiny movement as the flapping of a butterfly's wings in Shanghai can affect the weather patterns in far away Australia. In The Tipping Point, Gladwell related the story that led <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lorenz">Edward Lorenz</a> to the recognition of this phenomenon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_VdNwaTxdnWL5lOm0kIfWGQwg6SVLKWoO9NGnHb3CwNTze1e_rCF8Hqzi_fLh-_rnVmt133aMj1R5x6KRuJhoVVLTtKUwBn5OgapWqI6jWVRCTYL5-eVHtFLc4YtjB7E9rPHWRjjdlt1/s1600/Creating-Change-and-The-Butterfly-Effect.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_VdNwaTxdnWL5lOm0kIfWGQwg6SVLKWoO9NGnHb3CwNTze1e_rCF8Hqzi_fLh-_rnVmt133aMj1R5x6KRuJhoVVLTtKUwBn5OgapWqI6jWVRCTYL5-eVHtFLc4YtjB7E9rPHWRjjdlt1/s1600/Creating-Change-and-The-Butterfly-Effect.gif" /></a></div>
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The Tipping Point is a reminder of that other phenomenon called The Hundredth Monkey, which is subject of the classic book of the same title. In the simplified story, there are 2 populations of monkeys residing in 2 distant and different islands (let's call them Island A and Island B). The story goes that scientists were studying a population of monkeys in Island A and in Island B when, in Island A, monkeys learned to wash their food in the sea discovering perhaps that their food tasted better when washed of soil and dirt. <i>The discovery was serendipitous!</i> It started with one monkey, then another imitated it, and another followed suit, until all the monkeys in the island had started employing the same process whereas, previously, it wasn't in their normal range of behaviors. What surprised the scientists was that when the "hundredth" monkey in Island A learned to do the same with its food, the monkeys in Island B - which is distant and had no connection or communication with the first group - somehow spontaneously learned to wash their food too. <br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_monkey_effect" target="_blank">The Hundredth Monkey</a> is most often used to illustrate how we are all connected somehow however much we are to all appearances disconnected physically. The actions of one always affect another. This story is sometimes brought up to explain why or how, after the Philippines had the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Revolution_of_1986" target="_blank">People Power Revolution</a> as a peaceful effort to overthrow the dictatorship in 1986, other countries also seemed to follow suit in fighting their own dictators. (More recently, it happened again in African and Middle Eastern countries, albeit with the help of social media.)<br />
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The phenomena of The Hundredth Monkey, The Tipping Point and The Butterfly Effect are all inter-related. The "hundredth" monkey was the "tipping point" - the critical point where change inevitably takes place and takes over a whole system, culture or, as in the monkeys, their way of life. In a sense, the first monkey was a butterfly flapping its wings in that while it was a single act, it led to many others and created a radical change.<br />
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As illustrated in these phenomena, there is no reason to be feel one's lone or tiny efforts to create changes are in vain. Like The Butterfly Effect, we are each like a small mustard seed that holds promise to grow into a mighty tree; and our actions, each a drop in a vast ocean that creates ripples and ripples until it grows into a wave. THAT is the power we each wield.</blockquote>
In our journey to the top, we must first believe that every action counts and can make a big difference. As <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=greatking79-20&keywords=Martin Luther King&index=aps&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=xm2&linkId=d9051fca836eab37d0baab4c104fc73a" target="_blank">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a> said, "You must take the first step in faith. You do not need to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step."<br />
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<i>See you at the top!</i><br />
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P.S. The phenomenon of The Hundredth Monkey has been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_monkey_effect" target="_blank">revisited</a>, and the claim of knowledge travelling from one island to another in a non-physical manner was debunked. However, the subsequent studies acknowledge that knowledge did get transmitted, from one monkey to another, and from one generation to another. In this instance, The Tipping Point phenomena and the Butterfly effect still apply.<br />
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<b><u>Book Recommendations</u></b>:<br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3rzhaFI" target="_blank">The Hundredth Monkey<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tentop03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=094202401X&camp=217145&creative=399369" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3tAMCW3" target="_blank">The Tipping Point</a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3oZoU2n" target="_blank">The One Minute Millionaire</a>Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05464656781716593718noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-81564458464477002602021-02-07T09:55:00.004-08:002021-02-07T10:00:16.136-08:00Reboot: The Pause that Moves You Forward<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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We use the term reboot with reference to technology ~ as in 'rebooting' a computer, meaning to turn it off then on to make it restart and allow us to continue our work 'on a clean slate', so to speak.<br />
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Because technology is so much a part of our life, we have come to apply the term as well in our own lives.<i> I need a reboot. It's time for a reboot. I guess there's nothing left to do but a reboot.</i> Well, perhaps you'd hear it more from the tech-savvy or those in the I.T. profession, or at least someone very familiar with computers; but nowadays, that's almost everyone. (OK you'd hear it too from those who love using idioms.)<br />
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When people use the words in those statements (and variations thereof), they mean a longing or a need to do something all over again, or differently. If they wanted to be more direct, they'd be saying something like any of the following: <i>Something has got to change. I need a fresh start. It's time to go back to the drawing board.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_cSVrn_t1sfAvVDoj8KvZv1QWH8agd6CeCFoSSgMaWgkx6S52xoltSpiwLQJmaKSEYQJtJionhCwgzNlLSItTOybSXdRt-sFDsoNcheYq5rOcGu-dxo-RMqPyPXqHlxH-32tTHj-riD-/s1600/Reboot---Pausing-to-Move-Forward.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_cSVrn_t1sfAvVDoj8KvZv1QWH8agd6CeCFoSSgMaWgkx6S52xoltSpiwLQJmaKSEYQJtJionhCwgzNlLSItTOybSXdRt-sFDsoNcheYq5rOcGu-dxo-RMqPyPXqHlxH-32tTHj-riD-/s1600/Reboot---Pausing-to-Move-Forward.gif" /></a></div>
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In computers, having to reboot can be tedious and annoying. But in life, the need to reboot once in a while can be thoroughly useful. In <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/06/necessary-endings-rizal-divorce-and.html" target="_blank">Necessary Endings</a>, we talked about the need to recognize when things must be made to end so that one can move forward. Necessary Endings and reboots sound the same in that the objective of both is assisting one to move forward; but they possess a <u>tiny</u> distinction.<br />
<blockquote>
A reboot isn't so much about ending something as it is about taking a pause before proceeding again. A reboot is a regrouping, a recharging of one's energies. a reconsidering of ones actions and options so that one can more consciously, reflectively and powerfully continue on with ones task, hurdle or project.</blockquote>
It is not about giving up on a goal; it is simply taking a breather. It is giving in to signs to take stock of what one has so far achieved before taking further action to move forward again.<br />
<blockquote>
A reboot is a de-cluttering of the mind, a disengagement of emotions, and a conservation of one's invested energies by removing oneself from a situation (physically, emotionally and mentally) to ensure that ones next step is not only right, but more effective, efficient and more aligned with what one has truly set out to accomplish.</blockquote>
In your journey to the top, welcome chances for a reboot as the pause it provides makes space for inspiration to flow in and ensures your inching closer to success.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>“Though you cannot go back and make a brand new start, my friend. </i></div>
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<i>Anyone can start from now and make a brand new end.”</i></div>
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~ John Maxwell (Today Matters)</div>
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<i>See you at the top!</i><br />
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<u><b>Book Recommendations</b></u>:<br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2YTDtd3">Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward</a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3aGp4Xk">Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow's Success (Maxwell, John C.)</a>
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<br />Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05464656781716593718noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-32274140601231683832011-10-06T22:17:00.000-07:002011-10-06T22:18:02.303-07:00In Memoriam: Steve Jobs (1955-2011)<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<i>Why has Steve Jobs' <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304447804576410753210811910.html" target="_Blank">demise</a> taken on the dimension of a personal loss to many?</i><br />
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The reason for it may be because through his technological vision - from the Apple I to the iMac, the Ipod, the Iphone and the Ipad - he became a part of our lives. Through all these products..:<br />
<ol><li>He allowed us a tactile appreciation of breakthrough design, not just a feast for the eyes, but a memorable encounter of a product, from selection in meticulously planned Apple stores, to the opening of that boxed product ~ the packaging of which was within Jobs' purview to ensure as every bit an experience as the product itself.</li>
<li>He gave us a richer experience of music through his Ipods. The quality of the music was clear, we can select all the songs we want, and through it construct the soundtrack for our lives as we go about living it.</li>
<li>He made us celebrate life with photos and videos, and he knew we only want our memory of those events captured in photo and video in the best quality possible, and he gave us the tools so we can play with them, from iPhoto, to the iMovies.</li>
</ol>In a way, his obsessive preoccupation to detail, to merging '<a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/06/phenomenon-that-is-steve-jobs-secrets.html" target="_Blank">technology with the liberal arts</a>', to coming up with a masterpiece always -- in a way, it reflects the great reverence Steve Jobs had for man. He believed with an abundance of passion that mankind deserves nothing less than excellence and nothing short of perfection. This philosophy he very much showed in his business, and very well echoed in his own life. Many find precious comfort and clarity in the words he left us, his life's lessons that we will all ponder upon as his instructions for living:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTMME9J_N5t4wZo5rwlg8xNRzGXM3zZcf8Bt8vjHMwAp5DRkbOMLgNgNremEGuU22Zq2Q1yovqgR8KTO4kAVe2BYgivJ1OPW3LI2v56ty9WIFouExl-CJ74oai94GmPkAV6Z9IGB0P9ql/s1600/IN-Memoriam-Steve-Jobs.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTMME9J_N5t4wZo5rwlg8xNRzGXM3zZcf8Bt8vjHMwAp5DRkbOMLgNgNremEGuU22Zq2Q1yovqgR8KTO4kAVe2BYgivJ1OPW3LI2v56ty9WIFouExl-CJ74oai94GmPkAV6Z9IGB0P9ql/s1600/IN-Memoriam-Steve-Jobs.gif" /></a></div><b>Death as Life's best Invention</b><br />
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true."<br />
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<b>Love What You Do, Do What You Love</b><br />
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”<br />
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<b>Connecting the Dots</b><br />
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”<br />
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<b>Follow Your Heart</b><br />
“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”<br />
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Through his results and his example, we have been inspired and showed a way to the top.<br />
<i>Thank you</i>, <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/search/label/Steve%20Jobs" target="_Blank">Steve Jobs</a>. <br />
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<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script><fb:like href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/10/in-memoriam-steve-jobs-1955-2011.html" show_faces="true" width="450"></fb:like>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-51648785186809140642011-09-02T04:26:00.001-07:002021-02-07T10:15:17.834-08:00Personal Leadership and Collective Responsibility<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<blockquote>The leaders one elect, be it in a nation or any organization, are a reflection of the people that elected them - what they know, what they value, how they make choices, or how empowered they are to make the choices that are best for them.</blockquote>The downside to electing leaders is the common tendency to imbue in these leaders all the capabilities one wishes they had which, more often than not, fall short of what they truly possess. Moreover, we tend to think that our responsibility in the process ends with the selection, rather than following that through with supporting the leader throughout the process of governance. Indeed, after an election, a leader becomes fair game to criticism and blame, as if all that is wrong in the system is his/her doing. To be fair, criticism is one way of supporting a leader, because through it the leader gains feedback and is able to adjust his leadership as he/she sees fit. But it's different when the griping is made irresponsibly, or is made only for its own sake.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxCYPhwsgTgUhz6d_ETjng1MrxX3x-wa8LF8RqPiS55D9GMCo0p8YFvK19XicjS2R5P6fDYuXXjhv4x-xQDkJChS3FDIgEtPtAOo44mT2fw_9ESpAf8jwaRNFoAWPTPR3mLgxxnuXRqjJ/s1600/Personal-Leadership-and-Collective-Responsibility.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxCYPhwsgTgUhz6d_ETjng1MrxX3x-wa8LF8RqPiS55D9GMCo0p8YFvK19XicjS2R5P6fDYuXXjhv4x-xQDkJChS3FDIgEtPtAOo44mT2fw_9ESpAf8jwaRNFoAWPTPR3mLgxxnuXRqjJ/s1600/Personal-Leadership-and-Collective-Responsibility.gif" /></a></div><br />
The tendency to suddenly heap all blame and responsibility to a leader is a demonstration of our seeming belief that with the election of the leader, our own part has been accomplished. It is like saying: <i>That's it, you're now in position, now make things happen for us. </i><br />
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As a member of a society or organization, that makes us passive participants to governance. In that sense, election becomes a way for us to wash our hands off from further responsibility or burden. <i>It's a cop out!</i><br />
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However, to make any organization work requires the dynamic interaction and cooperation of both the leader and the led. There is a school of thought that says when we elect others to positions of leadership, we also elect ourselves to our own positions -- we just simply call our own place citizenship (as to a nation) or membership (as to an organization). And as in the leadership position, citizenship or membership also carries an equal set of great responsibility.<br />
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A leader's worth is measured on his/her every action or inaction. As regular citizens or members of an organization, what we tend to forget is that while we are not visibly measured on the same standard as those in positions with titles, our own action and inaction has as much if not greater effect on the results that a leader will or will not achieve.<br />
<blockquote>Leadership is a futile exercise where the majority has no intent to follow or themselves take initiative. But indeed, it is a great leader one who is able to galvanize his/her people into action.</blockquote>When we think of ourselves in this way - as ordinary citizens/members of a nation/organization but whose actions actually and ultimately define what becomes of the nation/organization one belongs to - then that will have been true power - People Power - as we once called it, as in the Philippine experience in 1986.<br />
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Such power does not have to be displayed only on monumental challenges like of 1986. Such power must be practiced in everyday life, in ones tiniest duties as member or citizen, and in fact even in ones own personal goals. <i>No great nation or organization did zoom to the top that did not have members who recognized the power of their little efforts and turned that into collective strength from which to make its ascent to the heights of success.</i><br />
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Taking responsibility for what you create in your life ultimately includes taking responsibility of what you can contribute in your nation/organization. Your own journey to the top cannot be incompatible with seeing your nation/organization through to the top. That is personal leadership.<br />
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<i>See you at the top!</i><br />
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<u>Book Recommendations</u>:<br /><a href="https://amzn.to/2MHe18d" target="_blank">
The Tao of Personal Leadership<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0887308376" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /><br /></a>
<a href="https://amzn.to/3aXeQSD" target="_blank">The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0785288376" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /><br /></a><a href="https://amzn.to/2N8TwRS" target="_blank">
The 360 Degree Leader Workbook: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0785260951" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /><br /></a>
<a href="https://amzn.to/3oYaQGb" target="_blank">The Truth about Leadership: The No-fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need to Know<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0470633549" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-69174429186953899092011-08-24T03:29:00.001-07:002021-02-08T21:46:32.739-08:00Friendships and Business Partnerships: Making it Work<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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It seems like an ideal situation: Your friend of many years - the one who's always been there for you in important moments, the one with whom you have the most fun with or with whom you'd had so many memorable times - it seems almost a perfect idea to choose to have that friend for a business partner. Indeed - <i>why look elsewhere for a business partner when your buddy/chum/gal-friend is right there?</i> Now, if you are actually contemplating of doing a business with your friend, wait a moment and read this one first.<br />
<blockquote><u>Let it be said outright</u>: No, it's NOT entirely a bad idea to do business with your friend/s. That is NOT to say that it is necessarily easy or not fraught with risks.</blockquote>The reason most would warn against doing business with friends, esp. those who've had a bad experience with such a set-up, is not that businesses with friends have a greater chance of failure. (Regardless of who you do business with, the odds of a business failing is 9 in 10.) The reason, perhaps, is that when a business with a friend fails, there is a risk that you lose more than just the business. <br />
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<blockquote>A business with a friend entails greater risk because apart from the money you invest in the business, you also actually invest your relationship in the business. More than risking the money, you also risk the friendship. And while money can be recouped - well, friendship, when lost, can be harder to get back. Think <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/02/spite-mark-zuckerberg-and-origins-of.html" target="_blank">Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin</a> - <i>best buddies in Harvard</i> - who lost their friendship over <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/04/facebook-as-relic-of-human-existence.html" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. </blockquote><br />
<u>And so here is the advice</u>:<br />
If you'd like to do business with your friends, take stock of your biggest asset together (your friendship), and take steps to ensure it does not get lost in the highs and lows (or <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/06/necessary-endings-rizal-divorce-and.html" target="_blank">busts</a>!) of business. Here are some tips to making it work:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Communication</b><br />
At the heart of all the next tips is Communication. Be prepared to be always in communication with your business partner-slash-friend. Everything - from expectations, roles and responsibilities, profit sharing arrangements - should be discussed from the very beginning; and whatever else that is yet undiscussed must be brought out in the open and settled. Communication is key to ensuring potential problems are addressed before they even happen. A good and effective communication will only be possible if the element of trust is present. In the book <a href="https://amzn.to/3rA9zXx" target="_blank">Five Dysfunctions of a Team</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0787960756" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />, the 'Absence of Trust' is listed as the foremost reason for failures in teams and businesses as it stifles communication crucial to achieving the goals of the business.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Agreement</b><br />
Set up your rules. Agree to them, and then they become your agreements. These become the parameters of your business relationship. When misunderstandings come up, always look to your agreements to resolve it. As much as possible, agreements should be designed so that every manner or possible scenarios/problems/misunderstandings are covered. These agreements are the mechanisms that will take effect once conflicts/misunderstandings on your business arise. This way, the resolutions do not become arbitrary, and there is an "impartial" agreement that will tell you how to go about it. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3rA9zXx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibw-7JrWpQ9lE-xDX3zYN8WPgw_0GFN_dRC3YJtDApR31i3pgV8pnahyphenhyphenZCAhglEQFBizRHtOWcuQTieMZqDUHQ1HHoQz5RDhyphenhyphen3UuUc_lnFwf-QUfc0aucy1lz6Pv9MjhOLkS7GZsxiPPqh/s1600/Friendship-and-Business-Partnerships.gif" /></a></div><br />
<b>3. Commitment</b><br />
The 'Lack of Commitment' is identified as one among the <a href="https://amzn.to/3rA9zXx" target="_blank">Five Dysfunctions of a Team</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0787960756" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />. Your business goals will not happen unless you treat your endeavor as a real commitment. What is a commitment? Here is how Abraham Lincoln defined it:<br />
<blockquote><i>"Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism."</i></blockquote>What you invest in your business in money and time and effort is a <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/03/business-musts-focus-and-commitment.html" target="_blank">sign of commitment</a>. You have to honor your commitment. If you can't honor your commitment with your business partners, what hope is there that you will honor your commitment of delivering on your promises (in your product or services) to your customers? <br />
<br />
<b>4. Priorities</b><br />
Part and parcel of honoring commitments is giving your <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/03/business-musts-focus-and-commitment.html" target="_blank">business priority</a>. You could have many priorities, but even if there are greater priorities, it should not sacrifice the commitments you have made. If you have partnered with anyone, esp. with a friend, giving your business priority is not just about the business; it is about keeping your word, honoring your commitments, and giving your partners and friends a fair amount of respect. Before your customers can give you priority as a preferred supplier or service provider, they'll first have to see through your results that you do in fact give your business the priority it deserves. <br />
<br />
<b>5. Exit Strategy</b><br />
Things will not always work; and even as your enthusiasm in the beginning were off the charts, sometimes that could wane. Some better opportunity might come along; situations at work or in your personal life may change that will necessitate you to want to opt out of the business. Or maybe you're just not into it anymore.<br />
<br />
THAT is okay.<br />
<br />
Just make sure you do not become vague about your disinterest, or you just disappear. You still have business partners/friends counting on you. Inform your partners of your change of plans. Be unequivocal about it. And then let your exit strategy mechanisms come into play. Your exit strategy should be something that you have already spelled out and agreed upon in the beginning. The exit strategy must indicate the procedures for getting out of the business or dissolving the business entirely. <br />
<br />
The same due diligence you exert in evaluating your business should be the same (if not greater) amount of due diligence that you apply into ensuring that getting into business with your friend will not result to a loss of the friendship.<br />
<u><br />
</u><br />
<u>In the end, a friendship that flourishes with a business and a friendship that stands the demise of businesses is the better return on investment. </u><br />
<br />
<i>See you at the top!</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"A friendship founded on business is a good deal </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>better than a business founded on friendship.” </i></div><div style="text-align: center;">(John D. Rockefeller)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Book Recommendations</u></b>:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3rA9zXx" target="_blank">The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (J-B Lencioni Series)<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0787960756" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /><br /></a>
<a href="https://amzn.to/2MPUYsr" target="_blank">The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0307740986" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3juGE4x" target="_blank">The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0887307280" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3cXQACe" target="_blank">Business Communication (Harvard Business Essentials)<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=159139113X" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-43395626500457700732011-08-18T05:00:00.001-07:002021-02-08T22:04:03.481-08:00Your Job Description is not your Life Prescription<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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Among the staple questions we tend to ask when wanting to know more about someone we are meeting for the first time is (after getting their name, of course): <i>'What do you do?' </i>or, a variation, <i>'Where do you work</i> (and by implication: <i>what do you do there</i>)?'<br />
<br />
It's a fair question, and innocuous enough. You might be surprised though that, in certain cultures, being asked that question is frowned upon, thought weird, and a tad bit invasive.<br />
<br />
Anyway, in the Philippines, that is rarely a problem. Except perhaps if you are asked that question and you have nothing to answer for it. <i>Why would that be?</i> Here are 7 reasons why one would find oneself grasping for answers to that simple question:<br />
<br />
<b>(1) You are unemployed.</b><br />
Basically, <a href="https://amzn.to/3q29oUM" target="_blank">you are a bum</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1580085520" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />. You may just have come off from school and still looking for employment (which you discover is hard to find). Or you just got fired (the company was downsizing; or is outsourcing your job to a third world country) or you had just resigned (the boss was a $@#%; or office politics just ain't your thang; or the free iced tea was making you gain weight). Or you simply can't find a job that you feel you can connect to on a very deep level, <i>you know</i>? :)<br />
<br />
<b>(2) <a href="https://amzn.to/2Lyt97n" target="_blank">You are a stay-at-home mom/dad<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0830823360" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></b><br />
You're married (or whatever) and you think that the best use of your time is to be right there with your kids to watch them grow and see to their needs. Of course, this is not a 'job' (you are happy to do it, right?), but as you would say though, <i>It IS a full-time job</i>! But it does seem a little weird to make this your answer when asked what you do because, obviously, the question seems to expect some sort of an employment as a reply. Nevertheless, those who have mustered courage and find no shame in their chosen role, are able to express it with no issue. <i>And that's a good thing!</i> We have come a quarter of a way from 'Oh, I'm just a plain housewife/houseband!' Still many others find themselves queasy saying that. <br />
<br />
<b>(3) Your job is confidential/secret.</b><br />
You don't want the person making small-talk with you suddenly scampering away if you were honest enough to say that you are a gun-for-hire, right? Other than that, your job might just happen to be the classified variety, like a <a href="https://amzn.to/3q2E7Rn" target="_blank">secret agent</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1594030480" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /> or a private investigator, or a James Bond-type. So then, what do you say? You'll probably change the topic, make something up, or at least give the other person a warning: "If I tell you, I'm gonna have to kill you." <br />
<br />
<i>So go make something up instead! </i><br />
<br />
<b>(4) It's complicated.</b><br />
That is, your job title does not belong among these professions that need little-to-no elaboration: teacher, salesman, lawyer, doctor, etc. So you're a 'Senior Software Engineer' and, while that easily makes sense to you, <i>apparently</i> it begs a little more expounding, so to avoid that laborious process, just say, "It's kinda like a programmer." And then the question marks in the person's face disappear. (Or so you think.) This is different from having a really simple job whose title is merely embellished, like 'Chief Landscape Engineer' - a fancy name for 'gardener'. Although, yeah, it does complicate it still.<br />
<br />
The late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch" target="_blank">Randy Pausch</a> - the Carnegie Mellon professor who before succumbing to pancreatic cancer a few years ago, got famous through his 'The Last Lecture' <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo" target="_blank">video</a> which went viral on Youtube - shared in his book '<a href="https://amzn.to/3aLPAi3" target="_blank">The Last Lecture</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1401323251" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />' (an offshoot of the viral video) that while he is addressed professionally as Doctor (owing to his Ph.D., not an M.D.), when his mom introduces him to people, she says: "He's a doctor, but NOT the kind that helps people."<br />
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<i>That's what happens when job titles are not self-explanatory!</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3aLPAi3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Dhxk4o9Qw1XKrYRoGz4TDWQ7_IyzdA8gk2Z5HFT_sauUnj-_vVCpqNrwpSKRdzq26lz5oVIBaJtm9AJ5p2IFH6fbzj3wcP_xcclxgQIPpRZ0QWC-VEF5KkeyFJk0vhUnLjAsy9fizd2R/s1600/Job-Description.gif" /></a></div><br />
<b>(5) You're a C.O.O. </b><br />
You know, <a href="https://amzn.to/2MNNBBJ" target="_blank">Child Of Owner<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0002MPPVU" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a>; as in, heir to your parent's vast business holdings. All you need to do is turn 21, or wait for them to hand the reins on to you once they think you're ready. If they die, it's still falling on your lap. So, in the meantime, you're sitting on your bum, and... whistling a happy tune.<br />
<br />
<b>(6) You're living off of your parent's trust fund.</b><br />
And therefore, why bother working? Still, when asked what you do, you're at a loss for words. You don't actually want to reveal how <a href="https://amzn.to/2MNNBBJ" target="_blank">wealthy you are</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002TK6XZ0" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />; or just how idle (read: lazy) you've become just because your infinite well of riches (a.k.a. your trust fund) is financing all that you'd ever aspire to do or buy. <br />
<br />
So in this instance, <i>what do you say?</i> Ah yes, that business you've been thinking about for a long time now.<br />
<br />
But of course!<br />
<br />
<b>(7) You're into a LOT of things. </b><br />
You could simply introduce yourself a <a href="https://amzn.to/3pbcB3b" target="_blank">serial entrepreneur<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=190731251X" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a>, but you think it's limiting, because your interests are really vast and your endeavors are many. You want to be able to share them all, but the curt question 'What do you do?' does not seem to invite a kilometric and animated monologue. And because they're just so numerous, you don't know where to begin - <i>like all your interests are racing to be uttered first!</i> At the same time, to say that you are doing countless things might invite judgement: <i>Ah, she's a spaghetti-brain!</i> He does not know what he wants!<i> She has ADD! </i><br />
<br />
<b><u>BUT...Why this shouldn't bother you:</u></b><br />
Whatever it is, whatever the reasons may be, for your inability to come up with a respectable response to the plain question of 'What do you do?', it's alright. As they say: <i>No biggie. </i>Answer it anyway, either in the most honest way you can, or in the most creative way you can devise. Leave people to their judgements, and just be who you are.<br />
<br />
The truth is, and you'll notice this, the answers to the question evolves as time goes by.<br />
<blockquote>As you move from one job/profession/project to another, from nothing (unemployed/COO) to something (a real job maybe), from something (a stressful, unfulfilling 9-to-5, 6-day-a-week job) to nothing (a life, FINALLY!); as you strive to make something else of your life - maybe something more meaningful to you (a vocation, like priesthood, or <a href="https://amzn.to/3p6Tx5U">NGO work<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1593577877" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a>), something legal (gun-for-hire doesn't pay, you'll find out), something healthier (that allows you to get some sleep for a change!), something you actually like (not what your parents like for you - <i>sorry parents!</i>); as you make conscious choices to get your life under control, living life on your own terms and living life to the FULLEST -- you.. will realize that the answer to 'What do you do?' should not be something you allow yourself to define who you are (like a job description) or be restricted by (like a four-cornered cubicle).</blockquote>After all, what you do, is just one of the innumerable other things that comprise your identity. You don't have to be just one or the other. You can be ALL of it. You can be anything you want to be - now, or later, or all at the same time. No matter, it's all up to you. The moment you begin to believe that is the moment you begin to discover all your possibilities.<br />
<br />
<i>See you at the top!</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"The simplest questions are the most profound:</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Where were you born?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Where is your home?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Where are you going?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>What are you doing?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Think about these once in awhile, and watch your answers change."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">~ Richard Bach, <a href="https://amzn.to/2Z03l7i" target="_blank">Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0385319258" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a> (1977)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><u>Book Recommendations:</u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><a href="https://amzn.to/3aLPAi3" target="_blank">The Last Lecture<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1401323251" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></u></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3rEah62">The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0470888563" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2Z03l7i" target="_blank">Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0385319258" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2MOlguX" target="_blank">In the Pirates Den: My Life as a Secret Agent<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1594030480" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2LAV6eM" target="_blank">Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0333590333" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3p1hFXB" target="_blank">Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in Public Service<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1593577877" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2MNNBBJ" target="_blank">Born Rich Documentary<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002TK6XZ0" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3q29oUM" target="_blank">The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3aKW2pj" target="_blank">Stay-at-Home Handbook: Advice for Parenting, Finances, Career, Surviving Each Day & Much More<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0830823360" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-27858426596709653402011-08-17T02:19:00.001-07:002021-02-08T22:08:00.361-08:00Journey to the top, with Ten Minutes Tops!<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<br />
This <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tenminutestops" target="_blank">"Ten Minutes, Tops!"</a> (TMT) blog didn't start out with <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/02/10-minutes-tops-blog.html" target="_blank">lofty ambitions</a>. <br />
<br />
It was merely an exercise in self-expression. But now that half a year has passed and I look back at what I have been able to learn and accomplish through the blog, I am inclined to think about what is next for this blog.<br />
<br />
<u>In trying to figure that out, I came to asking 2 questions</u>:<br />
1.Why should anyone continue reading this blog?<br />
2. Why should I continue blogging on this?<br />
<br />
In attempting to answer those questions, and in trying to give my blog posts some coherence, I came to a decision: <u>To re-brand the blog that will both answer and satisfy those blog-existentialist questions.</u> (Why, Blog, <i>Why?</i>)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMAddiheM84lNTwozYJoxvIAE6XW2RPajIIm7m7JxypxJZnciewa1lUvm_04FoMyiH3fSPQXa5jVeYugNZxGMqwQsoGjgHnjKU97pBgXteQ_DFrSUJEZBBG3nlhMil2sXAzIjPOIJkXgD/s1600/Journey-to-the-Top.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMAddiheM84lNTwozYJoxvIAE6XW2RPajIIm7m7JxypxJZnciewa1lUvm_04FoMyiH3fSPQXa5jVeYugNZxGMqwQsoGjgHnjKU97pBgXteQ_DFrSUJEZBBG3nlhMil2sXAzIjPOIJkXgD/s1600/Journey-to-the-Top.gif" /></a></div><br />
The initial branding I made for this blog had focus on the amount of time that I either churned out the blog post (I didn't want to overcommit, hehe), or how long you had to read it (I know you're busy too). Both should be just for "Ten Minutes, Tops!" It doesn't matter what the topic was. As long as it's under ten minutes, it will get written and will (hopefully) find a reader.<br />
<br />
Now, I'd like to take that a step further. <br />
Actually, I want to kick it up a <u>notch</u>.<br />
<br />
There will still be that time element, but more than that, I'd like this blog to be a place where you find something that you can take away, maybe something that will be useful to your life, something that adds value to you. It's being conscious about truly making it worth your while to read, subscribe to or share the blog.<br />
<br />
I want this blog to be a source of information, ideas, thoughts, wisdom, ramblings and musings that ultimately will result in your being a better person.<br />
<blockquote>I want to join you (we're in this together) and support you (you can do it!) in your journey to success - to the top! Thus the new TMT slogan: "Ten-minute thoughts that take you to the top."</blockquote>Notice that in the blog's updated banner, the word 'thoughts' was actually superscripted on the crossed-out word 'wisdom'. My words may not always be wise, even as I hope they are, and even as I only have the best intentions. Still, I am self-aware enough to acknowledge that what I may think as precious wisdom culled from experience or from distillations of my interactions with others or from my readings - may just be one of many thoughts on the same subject. Still it is hoped that they are worth pondering upon, and may yet help you - <i>all of us </i>- reach the heights of success we desire.<br />
<blockquote>And as in any matter of theory, philosophy, "truths", facts, principle or piece of advice, the same adage applies: "Prove it right; prove it wrong." That is, if it works for you, well and good. If not, then on to the next, until you find what works. As Richard Bach would say, "Nothing has meaning until it changes what you think and who you are." </blockquote>These 'nuggets' of, at the very least, <i>kind</i> well-meaning advice, will still touch upon most of the subject matters I use to present my ideas: life, business, technology, history, travel and, <i>if it can be forced</i>, food. :) <br />
<br />
I hope you'll like this new approach I am trying to do. I've been very preachy anyway in <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/search/label/Inspirational" target="_blank">many</a> of my posts (can't help it!). Just making it official. :) <br />
<br />
<i>See you at the top! </i><br />
<br />
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<br />
<b><u>Book Recommendations:</u></b><br />
<u><a href="https://amzn.to/2YWqmHZ" target="_blank">The Success Journey: The Process of Living Your Dreams</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0785274294" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></u><br />
<u><a href="https://amzn.to/3q59pXN" target="_blank">Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0026IBY1I" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></u><br />
<u><a href="https://amzn.to/3tHYEx5" target="_blank">A Pace of Grace: The Virtues of a Sustainable Life<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0452285437" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a></u><br />
<u><a href="https://amzn.to/36XZ88x" target="_blank">The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0307455874" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></u>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-41510815621706698322011-08-16T02:56:00.001-07:002021-02-08T22:12:02.280-08:00Pilipinas Muna: Putting the Philippines and the Filipinos First<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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As a people, we are known for such things as the proverbial 'Bahala na' attitude and the procrastinator's malaise called the 'Mamaya na', also known as the 'Mañana Habit', as in putting something off for later what can be done now. The 'Bahala na' attitude derives from the term 'Bathala' - the Filipino word for god or deity. It refers to our fatalistic attitude, leaving our fate to the whims of the Fates, the Bathala or the gods. In the 'Mañana habit', we leave our fate for later, hoping later will take care of itself.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Maybe there is value in leaving some things up to the gods and, apparently, there is some value too to <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10/11/101011crbo_books_surowiecki" target="_blank">procrastination</a>; but more often than not, these beliefs/habits work to our disadvantage. We end up not facing up to what we need to confront, not getting done what we need accomplished. And in those, we do ourselves and our country a great disservice.</blockquote><br />
<i>My friends</i>, it's time for a Filipino reinvention. <br />
<br />
Instead of the 'Bahala na' and 'Mañana Habit' the kind of attitudes that define us, let us be known instead for something else, something that serves us, that works for us, and more importantly, something that works for our country. <br />
<br />
Let us be known for 'Pilipinas Muna'. (Philippines First.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3a018yM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKmcv6__T5wrNFtolGKQgOrHP8LkdI86t65rmhjEkyD70DVGlw77C3D9_QW1cVWp6olr0wm_IfYqhT1E0asB-ipGevKfYriAETqVwRkOpCHenjysIbfO12HdUce5VTCa-hPJJLfKFP655/s1600/Pilipinas-Muna.gif" /></a></div><br />
One of our greatest tragedies as a nation is that we are first to put our country and our people down. We are first to doubt our fellowmen, quick to judge and condemn, and vigorous in claiming negative traits as unique to our country.<br />
<br />
Like we are the worst.<br />
Like we are one-of-a-kind.<br />
<i>Like we are beyond help.</i><br />
<br />
The truth is that those negative beliefs we have of ourselves, our fellowmen and our country are false. The truth is we do not know other nations well enough to even be qualified to say what is or isn't unique about us, or what is worse about us compared to others. The truth is when we condemn our country and put down our fellowmen, we only curse ourselves. <i>You don't deserve that!</i> <i>We don't deserve that!</i><br />
<br />
There is one thing we can do for ourselves that only we can do for ourselves. We cannot expect to hear it from others first; we cannot expect others to do it for us first. It must come from among us. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">We are a country, a proud nation that puts its country, its fellowmen first. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Pilipinas Muna</i>: Philippines First.</div><br />
<u>In all we do/say/think/act, let us consider</u>:<br />
<ul><li>Does this bring honor to my country?</li>
<li>Does it serve the good of my fellowmen?</li>
<li>Does this put the Philippines first?</li>
<li>Does it reflect my pride for my country and my countrymen?</li>
<li>Does it honor my country not for what it is now but for the greatness it aspires to be?</li>
</ul><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Pilipinas Muna. </i><i>Because no one else can do it for us but us.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Pilipinas Muna. Because other nations will treat us first-rate </i><br />
<i>when we consider ourselves first-rate, </i><br />
<i>when we ourselves act first-rate, </i><br />
<i>and esp. when we ourselves speak first-rate of our country.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Pilipinas Muna. Because a nation that aspires to be number 1 </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>must first be number 1 among its own citizens.</i></div><br />
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Book Recommendations:<br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3tIZ8TI" target="_blank">History of the Filipino people<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0007BJX7I" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3a018yM" target="_blank">The First Filipino, a Biography of José Rizal<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=9712707407" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2MDJDM5" target="_blank">History and Culture, Language and Literature (Selected Essays of Teodoro A. Agoncillo)<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=9715062202" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3pZeocC" target="_blank">In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0345328167" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-63077873126782437552011-08-11T05:04:00.002-07:002021-02-11T00:54:55.188-08:00What makes a Dagupeño/ Dagupeña?<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script><fb:like action="recommend" href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/08/what-makes-dagupenodagupena.html" layout="box_count" show_faces="true" width="450"></fb:like><br />
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If you remember, in a previous <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/03/rizal-and-city-of-leonor-rivera.html" target="_blank">post</a>, I wrote about Leonor Rivera and Jose Rizal in the piece '<a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/03/rizal-and-city-of-leonor-rivera.html" target="_blank">Rizal and the City of Leonor Rivera</a>'. There, I romanticized the fact that in Dagupan City, Rivera St. intersects with that of Rizal St., reminding us of the time in history when Jose and Leonor's lives crossed paths in our very city. <br />
<br />
While Leonor Rivera was known to have been born and died in Tarlac, we know also that between that time, she had lived in Dagupan City for about 2 years. From the title of the feature, one can surmise that I was claiming Leonor Rivera to be a Dagupeña. <i>Was she really? </i>Some would argue that she is not and, in my blog where the feature first appeared, I had taken pains to say otherwise. Some of the thoughts that follow had appeared in the comments of that <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/03/rizal-and-city-of-leonor-rivera.html" target="_blank">post</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadPu8_9vqDTzWPZNwboBpzdKLs7kP9w_FKYSE9r9_7bfoqW6TEkAQgBT4YnZCbgoF8l7pabIhjNKejQ8hhaWdNFDsOl8poD5MdvACOtI8SngUYCplI0kyBYv-bXBdkLrda6zvWxoBkqr1/s1600/What-makes-a-DagupenoDagupena.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadPu8_9vqDTzWPZNwboBpzdKLs7kP9w_FKYSE9r9_7bfoqW6TEkAQgBT4YnZCbgoF8l7pabIhjNKejQ8hhaWdNFDsOl8poD5MdvACOtI8SngUYCplI0kyBYv-bXBdkLrda6zvWxoBkqr1/s1600/What-makes-a-DagupenoDagupena.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some recognizable images: Article title image adapted from Dagupeña restaurant logo; 'Have fun in Dagupan' image from Dagupan City Tourism website; statue is of the MacArthur shrine in Bonuan Blue Beach; white building is the Dagupan City Museum; delicious shrimps from Matutina's restaurant in Bonuan <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tondaliganbeach" target="_blank">Tondaligan</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In my opinion, Leonor Rivera could be as much a Dagupeña (where she lived for a while) as she is a Tarlaceña (where she was born). While we're at it, she could also even be a Manileña (where she studied). They are not mutually exclusive - although it is possible one may be more Dagupeña than say, a Manileña, depending on where one associates oneself most. To me, Leonor is a Dagupeña precisely because it is in Dagupan where she lived for 2 years, it is where her parents did business, it is where she had many friends, and it is also where she met and married her British husband (They were married in the old church behind St. John's Cathedral).<br />
<br />
But, having Dagupeño relatives does not necessarily make one a Dagupeño ~ like Jose Rizal who is said to have had an uncle in the city. At present day, there is a legal definition of residency: 6 months is enough and you can call yourself a local, you can vote, and you can run for public office.<br />
<blockquote>There, too, is association by affection: If I say I am a Dagupeño because I love Dagupan/Dagupeños/Bonuan Bangus/Pigar-pigar/<a href="https://www.facebook.com/tondaliganbeach" target="_blank">Tondaligan beach</a>/Matutina's, etc. -- then I must be; <i>who can dare contradict?</i></blockquote>I think it would not be much a stretch of the imagination to say that perhaps Leonor Rivera had grown to love Dagupan so much during her stay in the city that she would be happy to call herself, or would not mind being called, a Dagupeña. <br />
<br />
The city after all does not confer such titles. It is something that one appropriates for oneself. And the city would not dare dissuade anyone who proudly wears Dagupan in his/her heart. (Except, perhaps, if that person is running for public office without the necessary residency requirement; in which case, his/her opponents will raise hell.)<br />
<br />
One cannot satisfactorily answer what makes a Dagupeño/Dagupeña without also asking the other bigger question: What makes a Filipino? (OK, let's throw 'What makes a Pangasinense?' in the lot, too!) While the matter of being Filipino has legal (naturalized) and familial (natural-born) aspects, there is also, like being a Dagupeño/Dagupeña that matter of affection - in which case, the Filipino name is either (a) earned from other Filipinos who think you have proven yourself worthy of being called one (because you had the nerve to eat balut), or (b) claimed it for oneself (because you actually loved the balut!).<br />
<blockquote>To embrace a nation's food is one thing (and a big thing, make no mistake), but to also embrace a people and its causes, its aspirations, its struggles and its triumphs is another (and of much bigger merit, I must say.) </blockquote>I have met Filipinos who in every circumstance of their birth, nature and nurture are Filipino yet act and speak like they come from some other high-minded nation (<i>or planet!</i>). Also, I have met non-Filipinos who in their race, language or tastes are so far from being mistaken Filipino and yet they in every other respect ~ in their manners, thoughts, sensitivity, and social concern ~ are very much Filipino. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>In the case of citizenship, that is inherited or earned.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In the case of affinity, all that matters is what is in the heart.</i></div><br />
So if your heart beats for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagupan" target="_blank">Dagupan</a>, you are every bit a Dagupeño/Dagupeña; and if your heart beats for the Philippines, you, my friend, are as Filipino as the next Juan/Maria. <br />
<br />
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Book Recommendations:<br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2YY38Bl" target="_blank">The First Filipino, a Biography of José Rizal<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=9712707407" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3a2goLB" target="_blank">Rizal Without The Overcoat<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=9712720640" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><div><a href="https://amzn.to/3d2AM1e" target="_blank">Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)</a><br /><br />
<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-31886901520282338992011-07-29T02:20:00.001-07:002021-02-11T01:09:17.915-08:00Your Passion Project and the World<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<br />
<i>First off</i>, what is a Passion Project?<br />
<br />
Simply put, it is an undertaking, venture or endeavor that is very personal to you in the sense that it springs from, or honors your passion. It is a personal project, meaning that you yourself jump-started it, but it could also be a task, work, or responsibility given to you or which you volunteered for or maybe just landed on your lap, but which so happens to be aligned with your passion.<br />
<blockquote>A 'passion' is, of course, something that fires your belly, something that inspires you, moves you, excites you - like a cause, or a hobby, or an inclination. And you may get into it for no other reason than to 'scratch an itch', or because 'it is who you are', because 'it comes naturally' like a talent, and also maybe because, like <a href="https://amzn.to/373SFsv" target="_blank">Mt. Everest<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0805089918" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a>, 'it is there.'</blockquote>Here are some examples of people admired for having pursued their passion projects, and for that reason, became very successful. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak" target="_blank">Steve Wozniak</a> who, along with <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/search/label/Steve%20Jobs" target="_blank">Steve Jobs</a>, founded Apple Computers, was a passionate engineer. He was a creator. He built the first Apple computer by himself, while it took his buddy <a href="https://amzn.to/3jBhl0K" target="_blank">Steve Jobs' marketing instincts</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=007174875X" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /> to turn it into something people will want to buy. Both of them, the two Steves, combined their strengths and passions to build what Apple Computers is today. It was their Passion Project. <br />
<br />
Read <a href="https://amzn.to/3pbEqbx" target="_blank">The Pixar Touch</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0307278298" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />, and you'll be awed at, and have a tremendous sense of respect for the brains behind <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/06/phenomenon-that-is-steve-jobs-secrets.html">Pixar</a>. They were <a href="https://amzn.to/3tNo6Bm" target="_blank">Ed Catmull</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lasseter" target="_blank">John Lasseter</a>, and yes, Steve Jobs too. But Steve Jobs came later; he was part of the <a href="https://amzn.to/3a9sa7d" target="_blank">Pixar triumvirate</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0811850129" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /> because he believed in the project enough to have funded it in the beginning. But Pixar was truly and originally the passion projects of Ed Carmull (a brilliant computer scientist) and John Lasseter (a prolific animator and master story-teller). Both had a passion for animation and a grand vision for computer generated (CG) animation. Together, they brought traditional hand-drawn animation into the 21st century by developing the hardware and software necessary to make CG animation possible. The result: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Cars, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and <i>boy-can't-we-wait-what-they-next-have-instore</i>!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3pbEqbx" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtppTd7HvMCa83fQFepWL5nk4Kkx8XGJrzFxwZ3F4UVO8oeiRuUT0nKRXqZRXORPasI1j9ZEVNlhHUxXaOTnfVyhvQWZFii6b_GWA27naSMe8VRfl8Q2BPDo2bdWrGAm9gjKR37VP5Kxc/s1600/Your-Passion-Projects-and-the-World.gif" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3pbEqbx" target="_blank">Clockwise (from top left): The Passion Project; Mt. Everest; Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II; <br />
John Lasseter; Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
There are so many people in our history who are so closely associated with their passion projects that it defines who they are and the life they have lived. You know it is their passion project without them saying it (or knowing it) with the hours and years they have devoted to it, with the amazing success and reknown they've had with it. <br />
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<a href="https://amzn.to/2MMKdHu" target="_blank">Mother Teresa of Calcutta</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=159276309X" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /> we know had devoted a good length of her life to the service of the poorest of the poor. <a href="https://amzn.to/3aWMIP9" target="_blank">Pope John Paul II</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0375727329" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /> had been a tireless and an inspiring head of the Catholic Church. We honor them with veneration, and by putting them on the road to sainthood. There are artists (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lea_Salonga" target="_blank">Lea Salonga</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Cayabyab" target="_blank">Ryan Cayabyab</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/3tPgqP1" target="_blank">Michael Jackson</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00136Q4P0" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />), world leaders (<a href="https://amzn.to/373tsP1" target="_blank">Nelson Mandela</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0030565812" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />, <a href="https://amzn.to/2MS7F5S" target="_blank">Mahatma Gandhi</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0807059099" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />, Aung-san Suu-kyi<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1558611975" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />), thinkers (<a href="https://amzn.to/3jBDaNL" target="_blank">Albert Einstein</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0517884402" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />, <a href="https://amzn.to/37kzkDR" target="_blank">Benjamin Franklin</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1612930131" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />) and many more - names we will always remember for what they have done for us, for the world. <br />
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Their greatest gift is showing us the way: that when you make your passions your mission in life - your 'passion project' - you may get famous, you may get rich, you may become ultra-successful. That is a great benefit to you. <i>But what of your benefit to the world?</i><br />
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The world is enriched, blessed, and changed for the better.<br />
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<u><b>Book Recommendations</b></u>:<br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3pbEqbx" target="_blank">The Pixar Touch (Vintage)<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0307278298" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2MMKdHu" target="_blank">Mother Teresa's Secret Fire: The Encounter That Changed Her Life</a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3aWMIP9" target="_blank">The Wisdom of John Paul II: The Pope on Life's Most Vital Questions<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0375727329" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3jBhl0K" target="_blank">The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=007174875X" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><div><a href="https://amzn.to/3tNo6Bm" target="_blank">Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-6383525853171849612011-07-20T04:42:00.001-07:002021-02-11T01:17:50.750-08:00Of Love, Life and Meaning: Frankl and Vujicic<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<b>Viktor Frankl: <a href="https://amzn.to/2OvyKwt" target="_blank">Man’s Search for Meaning</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0807014273" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></b><br />
Frankl experienced harrowing years in a Nazi Death Camp. From that experience, he developed his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl" target="_blank">Theory of Logotherapy</a>, a psychological theory that focuses on man’s search for a higher meaning in life as his primary motivational force. This is as opposed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud" target="_blank">Freud</a>’s motivations based on pleasure, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Adler" target="_blank">Adler</a>’s on power.<br />
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Stripped of everything in the Nazi camps - from clothes, to possessions, to pride and identity - Frankl noticed that man still differed in the way they responded to these harsh situations. He says that the last of freedoms to remain and that may not be stripped away was the freedom to choose one’s attitudes from any given set of circumstances. The environment was not the all-determining factor to man’s reactions – man had free use of his will to meaning, his attitude, to assign meaning and an appropriate reaction to these situations based on this meaning. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2OvyKwt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjos46SuWsu700ZF7G2_MLBFVf71y0A1vraLYxemm-BBMVxdOUJcxHQl9s-79x3yWcpDuc3W9J47VJuRMor6vKnvOKi1RJggFyPZPoZ8a5Qe72Hd14D9GQMhmcK0m9aul27H-s8r3KXJf-F/s1600/Of-Love%252C-Life-and-Meaning--Frankl-and-Vujicic.gif" /></a></div><br />
From Frankl’s experiences, it can be gleaned that there are no circumstances too terrible to say that we could not help but act the way we did, esp. negatively or harmfully. We always have a choice, he is saying. He supports this in stating that even among prisoners who had experienced similar atrocities, their reactions were different – some managed to remain benevolent, others antagonistic. And that even among the prison guards, there were good ones and bad ones.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote>“In the concentration camps, we watched and witnessed some of our comrades behave like swine while others behaved like saints. Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions.”<br />
(Victor Frankl, <a href="https://amzn.to/2OvyKwt" target="_blank">Man's Search for Meaning</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0807014273" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" />)</blockquote></div><b>Life without Limbs: <a href="https://amzn.to/3a9rKxt" target="_blank">Nick Vujicic</a></b><br />
Victor Frankl's story brings to mind Nick Vujicic - that Aussie guy who is pretty much like an ordinary guy - EXCEPT he had no arms and legs, and yet had a bright disposition and has even used his situation to help others; whereas others with similar circumstances would have chosen to give up, withdraw from life, or ask life for pity. He did not let his circumstances dictate the outcome of his life. He travels around the world as an <a href="http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/" target="_blank">inspirational speaker</a> and his story truly tugs at the heart.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v4uG2kSdd-4" width="480"></iframe></div><br />
<b>Love, Chemicals and Choice</b><br />
This also reminds me of that scientific finding about the <a href="http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/love-actually-science-behind-lust-attraction-companionship/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">chemical basis of love</a>, where love is the function of certain chemicals or hormones that act on our physiology. That these hormones last for an average of 4 years. It almost renders us at the mercy of our hormones. But while the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_basis_for_love" target="_blank">studies</a> also show that proof of this is that most divorces happen on the 4th year (when the hormones start to wane), it also suggests that on the 4th year at least, those who remain together have used the power of their will, and no longer just the force of their hormones, to choose to stay with their partners. They have found meaning in the relationship and have chosen to preserve it.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote>“Man is not one thing among others; things determine each other, but man is ultimately self-determining.”<br />
(Victor Frankl, <a href="https://amzn.to/2OvyKwt">Man's Search for Meaning<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0807014273" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a>)</blockquote></div><br />
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<b><u>Book Recommendations:</u></b><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3a9rKxt" target="_blank">Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0307589730" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2OvyKwt" target="_blank">Man's Search for Meaning<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0807014273" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3tMSfRb" target="_blank">The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy (Meridian)<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001IDZKKS" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3d2mTQz" target="_blank">Recollections: An Autobiography<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0738203556" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/3qbmajM" target="_blank">Viktor Frankl: A Life Worth Living<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0618723439" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-64115468099366855062011-07-13T07:02:00.001-07:002021-02-11T01:56:28.774-08:00Digital Books, Kindle and the Death of Bookstores<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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Do you have an eBook reader yet, like the Kindle, Nook, and other such variations? If not, then I suggest you get one soon. Most smartphones now have apps that allow you to read ebooks, those are great ebook readers too. Let me tell why you should get an ebook reader. <br />
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Ever since Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com launched his <a href="https://amzn.to/3b0kaoi">Kindle</a> in 2007, ushering the era of ebooks and ebook publishing, the ebook phenomenon has skyrocketed. The Kindle has proved to be Amazon's now <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle">best-selling product</a>, such that other companies had launched their own ebook readers - like the Nook for example by Barnes&Noble, and Kobo by Borders.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3b0kaoi" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZe8OPMHFHWkc28iBqLaPXvxmy9dxSQpESoGXEaS5RFlEJl10DT1FGB-pA-z6W1UfQO8umSEQi4J_SiK5jlph4o5GSgAOagnFfhuwn74-0GVcn47CwLmgEtBfAshCyS-cYyYe7VUI2TVp/s1600/Kindle-and-Death-of-Bookstores.gif" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3b0kaoi" target="_blank">Jeff Bezos: Amazon and his Kindle</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>If you will recall, Amazon.com made its money initially and mostly from selling books online and delivering them to customers in a fast and efficient process. Amazon was one of the most successful web company that was able to get people comfortable with buying stuff online; selling books - made of good ol' fashioned paper - was its cash cow. <i>Why would it invest in developing a pioneering product like an ebook reader - a product that would directly compete with its own book sales?</i> Seems counter-intuitive right? In January 2011, Amazon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle">reported</a> that for the first time, digital books or ebooks were outselling their paper-and-print counterparts. In May 2011, they also revealed that in 2010, they sold more ebooks than print books.<br />
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<blockquote>“Our vision is every book, ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds.” </blockquote><br />
THAT is <a href="https://amzn.to/3rIR82W">Jeff Bezos</a>' Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) for coming up with the Kindle. By any measure, it is truly a huge goal. To come up with such a goal, and esp. a product like the Kindle, one has to be a true visionary. And no doubt, Jeff Bezos is one: <i>He saw a future where all books could be easily accessible. To get there, he needed a device like the Kindle.</i><br />
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<b><u>Carbon Footprints and <a href="https://amzn.to/2OvFx9r" target="_blank">Going Green</a></u></b><br />
And it all makes sense. Apart from the increasing penchant for doing everything digitally, there is also the global trend of making products that have lesser environmental impacts. Switching to paperless books is the inevitable direction to take if we are to truly adapt green practices. Trees are saved. Energy that would have been used in the printing and delivery of paper-based books are conserved. Carbon footprint - the new buzzword of the green revolution is minimized.<br />
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<u><b>Self-Publishing and Indie Authors</b></u><br />
Consequently, there has been a steady rise of ebook authors as well, or veteran authors who now launch ebook versions of their books. And it's no longer just big names who can have their book published. Self-publishing is now very possible, as ebooks can be made easily from word documents to pdf files and converted to all the other ebook formats to make it suit the different ebook readers. And even Amazon now allows anybody to have their ebooks listed via Amazon. Publishing is now democratized, the same way iTunes of <a href="https://amzn.to/3a7vuiW" target="_blank">Apple</a> has allowed music publishing democratic by allowing any composer, singer or band to sell their music (in mp3 or aac formats) via iTunes. No more need for big publishing houses or record companies before you can put your material out there. And the results for self-publishers have been very encouraging (read: lucrative), to the point that a number of them are now being signed up by traditional publishers too. (Google: Amanda Hocking)<br />
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<b><u>Amazon: Death of Bookstores Foretold</u></b><br />
I would guess that when Bezos saw how well books were selling via his Amazon.com, he already saw the potential of web stores in competing and obliterating his brick-and-mortar counterparts. And with the Kindle, he went a step further as he also will go against book publishers in effect. The result: Bookstore sales have been on a steady decline as more and more people are not only buying their books online but also buying books in digital format. Barnes&Noble tried to fight this off, even getting into developing their own ebook reader (the Nook) to stave off falling profits from sale of regular books. Because of this, they have survived; Borders - another U.S. bookstore - <a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2057760,00.html">was not as lucky</a>. It filed for <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41536256/ns/business-consumer_news/t/borders-files-bankruptcy-close-stores/">bankruptcy</a> in February 2011 and is slated to close down 200 stores.<br />
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<b><u>Other benefits of eBooks</u></b><br />
Books are great friends, wonderful companions, and are very very important to our intellectual growth (or even for simple brainless entertainment). BUT - they also take up so much space, gather dust, and get quite heavy in time (that is, if you have at least 5 boxes of them). <br />
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They also represent plenty of dead trees. <br />
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Much as the smell and texture of paper has become part of our reading experience, switching to ebooks is not only a step forward, but also answers a lot of problems. <br />
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As such, it is the way to go.<br />
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<b><u>Book Recommendations:</u></b><br /><a href="https://amzn.to/3qaeSN3" target="_blank">The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon</a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2LG5pOJ" target="_blank">One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1591843758" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br /><a href="https://amzn.to/3rIR82W" target="_blank">Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos</a><div><a href="https://amzn.to/2Z3brfi" target="_blank">How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-1064002472915746712011-07-02T07:13:00.002-07:002021-02-11T01:35:11.032-08:00My so-called Blogger's Life (So far)<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many have asked: Is it really just ten minutes? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>My initiation into professional blogging officially began when I joined the iBlog7: A Blogging Summit, organized by DigitalFilipino founder Janet Toral with the UP College of Law Internet and Society Org. I say 'officially' because that is my first time to attend an event by bloggers for bloggers.<br />
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<b><u>The Birth of "<a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/" target="_blank">Ten Minutes, Tops!</a>"</u></b><br />
Before this I had only been an occasional blogger - I blog in starts and stops. However, my very first blog was born in 2003. After that, I have had a couple more, though most of which I had kept mostly for myself and my family. 2003 is a long time ago, so you could say I am not exactly a newbie. But to write for a bigger audience (and deliberately), that is what's new, and that's something I only began to do last February 2011, with the launch of my public personal blog called "<a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/" target="_blank">Ten Minutes, Tops!</a>". If you'd like to know why I named it such, I blogged about it <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/02/10-minutes-tops-blog.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Many have asked me if I have really kept my writing to just ten minutes; the answer is, <i>not always</i>. Nowadays, I write to make sure you'll only have to read it for ten minutes, tops. I could have written or re-written it for more than ten minutes, add to that the effort to select and photoshop photos appropriate for the post. It's all to make the ten minutes you take to read my blog posts really worth your while.<br />
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I took blogging seriously not for any other reason than just to get myself to write - until having an audience became a very strong driving factor too. I discovered I had readers, and that sort of became reinforcing, so that from a weekly post, to a twice-a-week post, I came to the point of making blog posts daily. But that was exhausting (not to mention obssessive, hehe), so now I am down to a healthy 1-2 posts per week (although I would really like to write more often if inspiration were more abundant and there were more time). Honestly, when friends ask me they have been waiting or looking for my latest posts, I feel guilty for sort of letting them down. I know, that's absurb, but that's how I feel to a certain degree. That is how addicting blogging can be. <br />
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<b><u>The Joys of Blogging</u></b><br />
What I love about blogging is that I feel that I am better able to articulate much of my thoughts down. I admit more of my posts are probably on stuff I am the only one who give a hoot about - but that's okay. That anyone is reading is a bonus, although I find great joy in knowing that people actually do take time to read them. Based on analytics, I have learned that what people most like to read are posts on <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/search/label/Travel%20and%20Leisure" target="_blank">travel</a>, and on controversial <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/04/unwillingly-willie-revillame.html" target="_blank">issues</a> (or <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/search/label/Current%20Events" target="_blank">current events</a>), and also, surprisingly (and pleasantly), on <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/search/label/Jose%20Rizal" target="_blank">Jose Rizal</a>. While it is nice to cater to what people will tend to read, I try not to make that my motivation, because I really want to write on what I feel like writing, on what I feel I really have thoughts to share on. The better motivation would be finding people who care enough about the same topics to make time to read them. <br />
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<blockquote>The process of coming up with topics to write (I have a lot on my list), composing my posts, revising, finding the right photos, lay-outing and publishing have all been very engrossing for me. It seems like a simple process (it is; most blogging platforms are easy to use), but it's also a lot of work. I love to write, but that is not to say writing always comes easy. It can be tiring too, and like with most writers, I have a whole ritual before I could get myself to write (procrastination is a ritual, hehe).</blockquote><br />
One of the other joys of blogging is that there is a whole community of bloggers out there. I have met many them on the iBlog7 summit, and then again on a movie screening exclusively for bloggers (Fast Five sponsored by Pilipinas Teleserv), and then again on a press launch for RunnersRunner.com where I invited some of them, and then again for a preview of the <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/05/mind-museum-first-world-class-science.html" target="_blank">Mind Museum</a> where I gave away slots to fellow bloggers. Last June 23, I got a chance to meet more of them, as I had invited over 35 of them to a food event called Bloggers Buffet at Carol's Texan 5 - an event that I organized. It is gratifying to meet a lot of bloggers as they are a bunch of friendly and fun people - and they come from all walks of life. <br />
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<u><b>A Whole Lot of Blogging</b></u><br />
An offshoot of my blogging and all the things I have learned in the process is that Bloggers Buffet event. I now maintain another site www.bloggersbuffet.com which shall be a food event and food review blog - a service I now offer to restaurants and food places who want to promote their business. The website is still a work in progress, but do check it out for more updates. I also maintain <a href="http://www.clubtravelnow.org/" target="_blank">www.clubtravelnow.org</a> which is a travel club blog for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/clubtravelnow" target="_blank">ClubTravelNOW!</a> which I founded with a friend last September 2011. Aside from that, I have <a href="http://www.mountpulagadventures.com/" target="_blank">www.mountpulagadventures.com</a>, a blog I've had since 2005 but which I revamped this year to get more people to climb <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mountpulag" target="_blank">Mt. Pulag</a> with us at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/clubtravelnow" target="_blank">ClubTravelNOW!</a>.<br />
<br />
I have more sites under development - internet brands that I'd like to develop, all to give an avenue for my varied interests. I have also other sites that I am building for other people - clients, business partners, family and friends - to help them with their business and other causes. That too, is a result of my blogging. <br /><br />
Come to think of it, I have only been a professional blogger for less than 5 months, but I have already learned so much and I am excited about all the things I know can still accomplish. Like me, the blogging profession in the Philippines is still in its maturing stages, so there is still much fun to be had in all this process of discovery.<br />
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That, <i>my folks</i>, is my so-called Bloggers Life, <i>so far</i>. :)<br />
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<b><u>Book Recommendations</u></b>:<br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2Z5Gk2J" target="_blank">Social Media Marketing For Dummies<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0470289341" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /></a><br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2Nc7ORA" target="_blank">The Facebook Marketing Book</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1449388485" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="1" /><br /><div><a href="https://amzn.to/36Yfa2b" target="_blank">One Million Followers, Updated Edition: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days</a></div><div><a href="https://amzn.to/375k3Xb" target="_blank">Blogging with Wordpress: The Easy End-To-End Process Guide For Building And Managing Your First Blogging Website</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-54667235464409039072011-06-30T00:17:00.000-07:002011-06-30T00:35:43.753-07:00The Phenomenon that is Steve Jobs: Secrets to Apple's Success<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<i>Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. </i>Those were Steve Jobs borrowed words with which he admonished the graduates of <a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html" target="_blank">Stanford University in 2005</a>. In that speech, Jobs related his life story, the seemingly incongruent events in his life that had armed him with the experiences that he would later use to bring success to the companies that he founded: Apple Computers and Pixar.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UF8uR6Z6KLc" width="425"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Steve Jobs addresses the 2005 graduates of Stanford University</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>In the last 3 weeks, I've been able to read 3 books that analyzed the genius that was Steve Jobs. These books are:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Secrets-Steve-Jobs-Breakthrough/dp/007174875X?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=007174875X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Steves-Expanded-Leander-Kahney/dp/1591842972?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Inside Steve's Brain</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1591842972" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/MacIntosh-Way-Guy-Kawasaki/dp/0060973382?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Macintosh Way</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0060973382" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<br />
If one were curious about Steve Jobs and especially as to how he was able to make Apple one of the greatest tech companies of all time, these are the books to read (among several). They tell of the kind of man he is: very temperamental, a perfectionist, and an obssessive. But even if these characteristics seem like flaws, they are perhaps part of what allowed him to make happen his unique vision for every product that he and Apple churned out. Surely those characteristics are the very antidote to mediocrity and no-can-do atttitude that Steve Jobs has been known to despise.<br />
<br />
<b><u>7 Secrets to Steve Jobs' Success:</u></b><br />
<br />
1. <b>Simplicity</b><br />
In every product that they designed, Apple and Steve Jobs was always after simplicity. Simplicity may sound too easy, but there is actually complexity in simplicity as Jobs and his team found out. It is harder to keep things simple, than to make them complex. Because he had taken pains to make things simple, the world noticed it and they are rewarded for it. Just think of the very first Ipod: elegant, simple, and a true winner.<br />
<br />
2. <b>Customer Experience</b><br />
Apple does not do any user studies or focused group discussions to see what kind of products they should come up with or to determine how well their products will be embraced by the market. Steve Jobs is his own focused group, and if he doesn't like something, it doesn't get made. What Steve Jobs always keeps in mind is the customer experience. He treats himself like a customer, and he ensures that the customer will have the best experience with their products. <br />
<br />
3. <b>Design</b><br />
Design was key to Apple's success - from the Mac to the Ipod, then Iphone and Ipad. The design had to be simple, sleek yet state of the art. It had to be out of the box, it had to be unique, it had to stand out. It is for this reason that Steve Jobs kept with him talented designers who helped him realize his vision for his Apple products. Design wasn't just about aesthetics; it was every bit tied with designing for simplicity and superb customer experiences.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rX_SaMLpvfiB82TSF5XV3Cdmq15PjzrGgV5nNJRcG8bazIUvH4RZLuWn63WhdUBnHNbP943WGmkfGRoqO-8-BZJsPg7z_j7MKZkQ7ploYKyBYqi3Dav2d1vSNL3VAKVGiD_EeoDWK4ys/s1600/steve_jobs_apple-thumb-450x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rX_SaMLpvfiB82TSF5XV3Cdmq15PjzrGgV5nNJRcG8bazIUvH4RZLuWn63WhdUBnHNbP943WGmkfGRoqO-8-BZJsPg7z_j7MKZkQ7ploYKyBYqi3Dav2d1vSNL3VAKVGiD_EeoDWK4ys/s1600/steve_jobs_apple-thumb-450x450.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve Jobs and his Apple toys</td></tr>
</tbody></table>4. <b>Marketing</b><br />
Steve Jobs believes in marketing. He makes every effort to get the best marketing people and to conduct excellent marketing events - like the Mac World where he launches his latest products. He knows full well that a good product is no good if it does not sell that's why he does not neglect this aspect. He is every bit demanding in both the product development as well as in getting those products to their desired consumers.<br />
<br />
5. <b>Teamwork</b><br />
Even while Steve Jobs is notorious for his temper, he was able to maintain around him excellent people working as a team. The concensus is that while many fear getting Jobs' ire, they also deeply respect and admire the man for his brilliance. People try to get out of Steve Jobs way, and on the other hand, they want to make sure he is made happy with their work output. Steve Jobs has an eye for talent, and he assembles a team of great people to help him realize his vision. He knows that and has applied it both in his twin jewels: Apple and Pixar.<br />
<br />
6. <b>Passion</b><br />
Steve Jobs is very passionate about his beliefs. When he has in his mind an idea for a product, he becomes resolute in making it happen. His passion could be said to show up in his temper, his attention to detail, his perfectionism, his commitment to excellence. His life had always been about pursuing is passion, and the work that he does at Apple is definitely one of his. He values passion in both himself and the people around him. One of the reasons he was persuaded to invest in Pixar was that he saw the passion of the people there, esp. of Ed Catmull whose vision was to make the first full-length computer-animated movie. Jobs was sold to both Catmull's vision and passion.<br />
<br />
7. <b>Innovation</b><br />
The reason Apple has carved a name for itself and has set itself apart from Microsoft and all other technology companies is that they innovate. They do not create better versions of what someone else has already made; they create new things that no one has done before; or they do things exceptionally well that they jump light-years ahead of their competitors. It is through innovation that Apple was able to conquer the music industry: from being the #1 music player (Ipod) to the #1 music retailer (via iTunes) to the #1 technology store (the iStore). He redefines industries and creates whole new products entirely. <br />
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When you come to think of it, these 7 Secrets to Steve Jobs' Success are things we have already heard of before. You'll probably find it prescribed in any good business/self-help book. There is little surprise there.<br />
<blockquote>What is important to remember though is that while none of these is new, it is the faithful application that Steve Jobs made of these principles that really separated him and Apple (and Pixar) from the rest. That IS what's new - the commitment to excellence no matter what, whatever it takes. </blockquote>Like his 'Think Different' campaign, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs" target="_blank">Steve Jobs</a> is indeed the 'crazy one' who dared think he could change the world - and as we can know now, he definitely did. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dX9GTUMh490?rel=0" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Apple's "Think Different" Campaign: Steve Jobs' brainchild. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">It speaks as much about him as his very own aspirations for Apple.</span></div><script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<b><u>Book Recommendations</u></b>:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Secrets-Steve-Jobs-Breakthrough/dp/007174875X?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=007174875X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Steves-Expanded-Leander-Kahney/dp/1591842972?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Inside Steve's Brain</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1591842972" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/MacIntosh-Way-Guy-Kawasaki/dp/0060973382?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Macintosh Way</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0060973382" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-34054419060449674232011-06-27T20:47:00.000-07:002011-06-27T20:52:25.876-07:00Language and Identity: The Young Rizal and the Filipino-Americans<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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At age 8, the young Jose Rizal made his first poem, that of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa_aking_mga_Kababata" target="_blank">Sa Aking Mga Kabata</a>" (To the Youth), a poem in which he exhorted his fellow youth to love one's own language. He likened to "an animal and putrid fish" someone who does not know and love one's own.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Sa aking mga Kabata</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Kapagka ang baya'y sadyáng umiibig</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Sa kanyáng salitáng kaloob ng langit,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Sanglang kalayaan nasa ring masapit</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Pagka't ang salita'y isang kahatulan</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Sa bayan, sa nayo't mga kaharián,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>At ang isáng tao'y katulad, kabagay</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaán.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salitâ</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Mahigit sa hayop at malansáng isdâ,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Kayâ ang marapat pagyamaning kusà</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Na tulad sa ináng tunay na nagpalà.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Sa Inglés, Kastilà at salitang anghel,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Sapagka't ang Poong maalam tumingín</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ang salita nati'y huwad din sa iba</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Na may alfabeto at sariling letra,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Na kaya nawalá'y dinatnan ng sigwâ</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ang lunday sa lawà noóng dakong una.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">English Translation <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa_aking_mga_Kababata" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><br />
Rizal was a known polyglot - someone who is fluent in several languages. But he also knew that while there are many languages in the world, one must not allow one's own language to be drowned out by them; one must have a voice, one must be heard; and there is no better language to speak with than one's mother tongue.<br />
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Language is a distillation of one's culture; it is it's very essence. To not know the language of one's society is to lose out on that essence - like a body with no soul, like a face without an identity. <a href="http://ph.news.yahoo.com/okay-lose-language-not-filipino-americans-090003374.html" target="_Blank">Young Filipino-Americans are experiencing that difficulty</a>. They were born and raised in America, have acquired American citizenship, and for all intents and purposes they are American. <br />
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But to these young Fil-Ams, finding out who they really are is not a matter of birthplace nor citizenship. <br />
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When they look in the mirror, they look Asian; and they know that in their predominantly Caucasian environment, they are the odd one out. Their fellow Asian-Americans - the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Koreans - well, they seem to be having an easier time. For one, they are more in touch with their native homeland's culture. AND, they tend to have a better grasp of their native language.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoh9-bXBt7nAPaUV5xs5xypYjOdYj-a2M_AuGBnEdwjeRhEfRaWlKhSQwUn3rbqR7FjLyXo44KEZjxXvty94uxHZC2XdYuhb0kTWV5whkVekau0EL5MBLNatw3wZeYbWxml4Mqnp7gMY6i/s1600/Language-and-Identity--The-Young-Rizal.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoh9-bXBt7nAPaUV5xs5xypYjOdYj-a2M_AuGBnEdwjeRhEfRaWlKhSQwUn3rbqR7FjLyXo44KEZjxXvty94uxHZC2XdYuhb0kTWV5whkVekau0EL5MBLNatw3wZeYbWxml4Mqnp7gMY6i/s400/Language-and-Identity--The-Young-Rizal.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clockwise from Left: The Rizal @ 150 poster; author with friends (none of them are Fil-Ams, hehe) beside the Young Rizal sculpture at the Rizal Shrine in Calamba; Rizal's home and birthplace; author with Rizal at backdrop; the young Rizal's room which he shared with his brother Paciano. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>The reason many put forth for the Fil-Am's failure to know more about their native culture and esp. of their language is the Filipinos 'adaptability'. Even in the Philippines, English is a considered a second language and is in many institutions a medium of communication, and in many schools a medium of instruction. It's a product of our American colonial experience and the residual colonial mentality. That is why Filipino parents who raise a family in the U.S. tend to adapt easily to the American culture and find ease in the language. Their children naturally follow the same. There is little effort to try to teach the Filipino language to their children, except only by way of absorption which is inefficient in an environment where everything's American. Compare this with our Asian neighbors who find it imperative that their children know their mother tongue, even sending them to language schools both in the U.S. and in their native countries.<br />
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With the 150th birthday of the Filipino national hero Jose Rizal - a man of science, letters and the arts - we must heed to his call for our loving our own language. Part of that affection would be to share that language to our children. After all, Rizal was speaking to them when he wrote "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa_aking_mga_Kababata" target="_blank">Sa Aking Mga Kabata</a>" at age 8. Rizal then, like the Fil-Ams now, know that something within them is lost if they cannot be made to know the language that runs in their blood. <br />
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<br />
<b><u>Book Recommendations</u></b>:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/FIRST-FILIPINO-Biography-Jose-Rizal/dp/B00474BXRY?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">THE FIRST FILIPINO: A Biography of Jose Rizal</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00474BXRY" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lineage-Labors-Philippine-Patriot-ebook/dp/B003YUCB50?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Lineage, Life and Labors of Jose Rizal, Philippine Patriot</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003YUCB50" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lolo-Jose-Intimate-Illustrated-Portrait/dp/9719398531?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Lolo Jose: An Intimate and Illustrated Portrait of Jose Rizal</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=9719398531" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Jose-Rizal-Madrid-perspectives/dp/9715424074?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Looking for Jose Rizal in Madrid : journeys, latitudes, perspectives, destinations</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=9715424074" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-17128844212438690982011-06-24T14:02:00.000-07:002011-06-24T14:06:18.220-07:00Please LIKE to get a FREE IPad... OR read for more details..<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<br />
If Facebook and Apple will have their way, I might get jailed for this post (OK, not really.) But good thing it's just a hook to get you to read (and learn from) this post (hehe), because, <i>my friends</i>, Facebook has actually banned the use of the Like buttons for campaigns and Apple has prohibited the use of the Ipad as giveaways for contests. <i>Read on.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEica0ZGGzx8e6TTRQy1KE5QJqzfDPc7TwZ8R-kOZ49f-mqjhZl0EoVDWHBREQdJmeWMksCcZVDi_lI3OBrro1ZNzYqFwGVNkcvOLMPTG2bcdqPV_hv6DikXd2dPPLZapDC2sqjOz80HO9qs/s1600/Like-to-get-FREE-Ipad.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEica0ZGGzx8e6TTRQy1KE5QJqzfDPc7TwZ8R-kOZ49f-mqjhZl0EoVDWHBREQdJmeWMksCcZVDi_lI3OBrro1ZNzYqFwGVNkcvOLMPTG2bcdqPV_hv6DikXd2dPPLZapDC2sqjOz80HO9qs/s1600/Like-to-get-FREE-Ipad.gif" /></a></div><br />
<u><b>Facebook bans use of 'Like' functionality of Facebook for Promotions</b></u><br />
<br />
Yes, <i>they did.</i> Recenly, Facebook updated its <a href="http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php" target="_blank">Promotions Guidelines page</a> to in so many words say that they now prohibit the use of the 'Like' functionality by companies in their promotions. The policy states that the 'Like' functionality (and other Facebook functionalities) may not be used, as follows:<br />
<blockquote>xx xx xx<br />
You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant. <br />
<br />
You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking in to a Place, or connecting to your app. For example, you must not condition registration or entry upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a Wall.<br />
<br />
You must not use Facebook features or functionality, such as the Like button, as a voting mechanism for a promotion.<br />
xx xx xx</blockquote><i>My thoughts?</i> I do not see the wisdom in this prohibition. I agree that the proliferation of such promotions asking for 'Likes' can be irritating, but I do not think it merits the prohibition. The fact that people and companies have taken to using the Like functionality is proof that the Like feature provides some value to them. It is after all quite easy to use. <br />
<br />
If there was no benefit to using the Like functionality, be it for the company (does not really build the kind of fans they need) or the users (it's irritating to have to Like fan pages just because of a campaign) - then I think campaigns like that will die on its own. Already, I think people are growing weary of such campaigns, so to make the prohibition now is an overkill.<br />
<br />
But wisdom aside, I think the reason is more economics for Facebook. They need to make their Facebook apps earn, maybe it's not taking off as much as they'd like, and so the need to keep the people/companies off their Like buttons. The policy actually encourages the use of apps to launch campaigns. Facebook is also reportedly gearing up for an <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730704576066162770600234.html" target="_blank">IPO in 2012</a>, so this effort to monetize their features is an attempt to further up their valuation which some estimates say is as high as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/pda/2011/jun/14/facebook-ipo-shares-likes-100bn" target="_blank">$100B</a>. Un-be-liev-able!<br />
<br />
I think instead of prohibiting the use of Like buttons for campaigns, Facebook should focus instead on creating great amazing apps that will naturally attract people and companies to bring their campaigns there until they find it more worth their while that they leave the Facebook 'Like' buttons alone.<br />
<br />
On a lighter note, the guidelines that Facebook issued is silent on any repercussions or penalties should the guidelines not be heeded. Although it will be safe to assume that Facebook can shutdown a fan page or account that may be found to be violating the policy, the same way they shut down errant profiles/users that have been flagged by other users.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Apple bans promotions giving free Ipads</b></u><br />
<br />
Apple now <a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/01/apple-tries-to-put-the-kibosh-on-ipad-and-iphone-giveaways/" target="_blank">prohibits</a> any companies or individuals from giving away free Ipads, including Iphones and Ipods, as giveaways or prizes in contests or campaigns of any kind. For any exemptions, the campaign or promotions must first be submitted for review to Apple. The reason for the stringent measures apparently comes from the theory that their brands are Apple's most valued properties, as such they need to protect the integrity of their use. Here are some of the <a href="http://fortunebrainstormtech.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/apple_3pp_guidelines_1-1-11.pdf" target="_blank">terms and conditions</a> that Apple has laid out:<br />
<blockquote>xx xx xx<br />
• iPad, iPhone and the iPhone Gift Card may not be used in third-party promotions.<br />
• iPod touch is only allowed to be used in special circumstances and requires a minimum purchase of 250 units.<br />
• You may NOT use the Myriad Set font on or in connection with web sites, products, packaging, manuals, or promotional/advertising materials.<br />
• The use of "free" as a modifier in any Apple product reference in a prominent manner (headlines, call- outs, etc.) is prohibited.<br />
• You must submit all marketing materials related to the promotion of Apple products to Apple for review.<br />
xx xx xx</blockquote><br />
While initially, this smacks of killjoy, there is actually some good to it. For one, since the Ipad was released, computer, email and social media viruses have proliferated because they preyed on people's lust over the Apple gadget that were supposedly being given away for free. Taking a cue from the Love virus, these viruses feed on people's desire for the must-have gadget of the season (like love is the must-have emotion of all time) and many have fallen victim. To officially proclaim that Ipads may no longer be given away in any campaigns, it gives the contests/campaigns promising Ipads diminished credence.<br />
<br />
However, there are still a lot of other companies who just simply know that everybody wants an Ipad and as such have thought it the most effective enticement in their campaigns, and are offering it in valid campaigns. The free Ipad campaigns have been very effective as I noticed that fan pages of certain companies offering the deals have grown in numbers - even I had fallen for one or two of them (I mean, you'll never know when you'll get lucky, right?) Surely we still all want to get our Ipads for free, but with Apple's prohibition, these campaigns have also died down. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>On the one hand, Apple is letting go of millions of dollars worth of free advertising for its Ipad et al. with the prohibition of such campaigns; how can they do something so silly? Steve Jobs of all people who loves a good marketing should have surely seen that benefit. </blockquote><br />
What I can only wager is that apart from the viruses, one of the pitfalls of the free Ipad campaigns (which are too many and which may be valid) is that consumers, instead of actually buying the Ipads, just rely on the contests instead of buying the Ipads themselves. The other pitfall is that with the campaigns, Apple has seen the wanton use of Apple trademarks which may not be consistent with Apple's branding policies. It is Apple's way of protecting their branding. <br />
<br />
In any case, not everyone is happy with the prohibition, with others saying that if you have already bought an Ipad (meaning it is already your property), how can anyone take away your right to also give it away? Others say it is Steve Jobs characteristic control-freak tendencies showing up.<br />
<br />
Whatever the case, the prohibition seems actually more counterintuitive to the interests of Apple, so they must know what they are doing. We trust that, as always, Steve Jobs knows what he's doing. Until then, we're gonna have to buy our own Ipads.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b><u>Book Recommendations</u></b>:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Mezrich-Accidental-Billionaires-Founding/dp/B004S7QCEO?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">By Ben Mezrich: The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004S7QCEO" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Secrets-Steve-Jobs-Insanely/dp/0071636080?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0071636080" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Secrets-Steve-Jobs-Breakthrough/dp/007174875X?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=007174875X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-32978410070800013252011-06-17T02:48:00.000-07:002011-06-17T02:49:04.088-07:00From Conquerors and Conquered: To Buddies and Amigos<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<br />
I took my history classes very seriously; therefore I went through the whole indignation over the dramatic transpirations in our country during the Spanish, American and Japanese colonial times. I mean, <i>I can understand why Bonifacio and Rizal were pissed! :)</i><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI64TbYCtdTFY7JbzTgvSrOpMu4gorV8d2mEhdzQfLeKujqaksVRQEzly99xHFa8_VorZ7DPp7fIc3pEAdy39oy3jE_gihEX1iiBmCLPMnahEiwFT7g9xCl86xKLgdD7mbQaVikKbRs0K0/s1600/Spanish-American-War005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI64TbYCtdTFY7JbzTgvSrOpMu4gorV8d2mEhdzQfLeKujqaksVRQEzly99xHFa8_VorZ7DPp7fIc3pEAdy39oy3jE_gihEX1iiBmCLPMnahEiwFT7g9xCl86xKLgdD7mbQaVikKbRs0K0/s320/Spanish-American-War005.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before we could stand each other in elevators, <br />
we were smashing each other's fleets.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
But long after those textbooks of history classes, I thought it surreal when, working briefly in the U.S. for a multinational, I suddenly found myself in an elevator with my Spanish and American co-workers. I really had that moment, where I had to pause and - <i>talking to myself</i> - I thought it amazing that more than a century hence we should find ourselves - the colonizers and the colonized, the conquerors and the conquered - as happy co-workers, friends and equals. <i>Here we are</i>, I thought, <i>in an elevator together and about to have lunch, whereas before we were fighting over sovereignty, spices and self-determination!</i><br />
<br />
History is full of tragedies, and it can also be funny; it truly presents so many lessons that are there for the picking to those who care to look or remember. But the world has come a long long way from those imperialistic times. This experience of friendship between former colonies and their colonial masters, of countries that used to be at war but now bosom buddies, is also true for say, Korea and Japan. Korea was once a part Japanese imperialistic ambitions, having occupied it for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_under_Japanese_rule" target="_blank">35 years</a> in the 1900s. At the height of the nuclear crisis in Japan due to the earthquake in Fukushima, <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20110316-325743/SKorea-to-send-emergency-shipment-of-reactor-coolant" target="_blank">South Korea lent a hand</a> by sending an emergency shipment of reactor coolant. Even their <a href="http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20110315-325546/S-Korean-stars-help-former-colonial-power-Japan" target="_blank">KPop stars chipped in</a>.<br />
<br />
In the Philippines, the Japanese have extended a lot of goodwill via their <a href="http://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/bilateral/oda/aid.htm" target="_blank">Official Development Assistance</a>, among the visible benefits of which are infrastructure projects, such as the Quezon Boulevard flyover, the Guadalupe Bridge, that pretty bridge in Mabalacat - among several other financial and technical assistance that they have provided. Personally, I have been a recipient of a scholarship from a Japanese corporation back in college, and I have been much grateful and have done my part in <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/03/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-how-to.html" target="_blank">giving back</a>.<br />
<br />
That moment when I found myself in an elevator with former colonial masters was to me a coming full circle of me, my history education and present realities. The wheels of time have turned and the world has grown up. <br />
<br />
There are important lessons that must never be forgotten, and there are definitely good times ahead for new-found buddies, amigos and tomodachis. <i>Cheers!</i><br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Book Recommendations:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-War-American-Epic-1898/dp/0393303047?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Spanish War: An American Epic 1898</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0393303047" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-American-War-Philippine-Insurrection-Men-at-Arms/dp/1846031249?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection: 1898-1902 (Men-at-Arms)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1846031249" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-Hell-Japanese-Invasion-Philippines/dp/B001J65UO0?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">150 Days of Hell (Japanese Invasion of the Philippines 8 Dec 1941 - 6 May 1942)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001J65UO0" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-50952582598480026762011-06-10T02:54:00.000-07:002011-06-10T02:55:19.425-07:00Memory and Forgetting: Neruda and Jose Rizal<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rizal" target="_blank">Jose Rizal</a> is well-regarded and much admired for the his mind's sharpness - for how else can one man be the master of many languages and be also a doctor, a carpenter, writer, scientist, artist or geographer? He can clearly originate thoughts, and he must also be expectedly of a brilliant memory. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G8hYnyq1TEa6kiUbPTqhqiiWUCFny_vHW9kVy1eQ2z-5_5RWhhsXiLnc_qtyN64apKwtixoZ0hXI5L4b_dnKphH2xHl26VKHPtDqeyDRcxf6orZjJrx6VVM9JFr9yqd3wqzJh4BWk5p9/s1600/Memory-and-Foregetting-Neruda-and-Jose-Rizal.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G8hYnyq1TEa6kiUbPTqhqiiWUCFny_vHW9kVy1eQ2z-5_5RWhhsXiLnc_qtyN64apKwtixoZ0hXI5L4b_dnKphH2xHl26VKHPtDqeyDRcxf6orZjJrx6VVM9JFr9yqd3wqzJh4BWk5p9/s1600/Memory-and-Foregetting-Neruda-and-Jose-Rizal.gif" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Neruda" target="_blank">Pablo Neruda</a> said something striking about memory, that of love being short and forgetting being long. He said that in the very sad poem "Tonight I can write the saddest lines". Neruda's is right, of course, as emotion and memory are tight neighbors in our brain and as such always intertwined. That being the case, then a man like Rizal should obviously all the more have a hard time getting over memories of pain and of the circumstances around that pain. To me, it was probably that pain that shaped the man he is and the things that he would do for the country.<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Rizal's sister Concepcion died at age 3. It is said that this affected Rizal so much, even saying that it was his first time to shed real tears of pain.</li>
<li>Rizal's mother was unjustly jailed in 1891, upon the persecution of the Spanish, something that greatly distressed Rizal.</li>
<li>Rizal lost his first love, Leonor Rivera, to the whims of Rivera's parents who wanted her married to an Englishman.</li>
<li>Rizal pined for Rivera when he was in Europe and also pined for the country that he so loved.</li>
</ul><br />
Because of these memories, Rizal became a compassionate but thought-ful man, and he translated his various pain to the creative benefit of his country - through his writings, through his medical practices, his contributions in various fields of study.<br />
<br />
Rizal used his memory to populate his writings with stories of abuse and maltreatmeat under the Spanish - to shed light on Spanish activities; with stories of courage, pain and love by Filipinos - to show what Filipinos can do. He put them all in a book knowing that information will be better spread when in writing, and perhaps looking far ahead into the future that others may not forget the challenges that they in his time had confronted.<br />
<br />
The issues in Rizal's time still crop up at present, even as we are no longer under any colonial power. Rizal stirs our memory, and through his books prays that we not forget the lessons of history. He had always been atributed the words that encourage one to examine one's past (origins) or else suffer the misfortune of not reaching one's future (destination).<br />
<br />
I believe now that Rizal meant for this not just to refer to loving ones roots, not just simply knowing ones history, but putting this knowledge to good use, to letting it fire our bellies that we may all achieve our personal and collective goals, and most esp. our goals for the nation. <br />
<br />
<blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">"I want to show to those who deprive people the right to love of country, that when we know how to sacrifice ourselves for our duties and convictions, death does not matter if one dies for those one loves – for his country and for others dear to him."</div><div style="text-align: center;">~ Dr. Jose P. Rizal</div></blockquote><br />
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Book Recommendations:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Filibusterismo-Penguin-Classics-Jose-Rizal/dp/0143106392?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">El Filibusterismo (Penguin Classics)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0143106392" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Noli-Tangere-Spanish-Jos%C3%A9-Rizal/dp/8498160162?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Noli Me Tangere (Spanish Edition)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=8498160162" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reign-Greed-Complete-English-Filibusterismo/dp/1409969533?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Reign of Greed: Complete English Version of El Filibusterismo (Dodo Press)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1409969533" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/First-Filipino-Biography-Jos%C3%A9-Rizal/dp/9712707407?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The First Filipino, a Biography of José Rizal</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=9712707407" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Love-Poems-Song-Despair/dp/0143039962?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair: Dual-Language Edition (Penguin Classics) (Spanish and English Edition)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0143039962" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-25311576628332709322011-06-09T21:51:00.000-07:002011-06-09T21:52:59.813-07:00Necessary Endings: Rizal, Divorce and Apple<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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Endings are a part of the process of life - be it in business and relationships. That's what the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Endings-Employees-Businesses-Relationships/dp/0061777129?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Necessary Endings</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0061777129" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> is all about. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHroQT2ps8duSAi1WD4XtFC0dax6ZFXkTVU8MfWMR4S51X4pExC3RBrKpxErbAi1lJQL1xZYlJsyFH92WlQgB1kxngmPCQwRrcv4mhOR0LGBzaNFv7m_m6u9bIjzrkOqDCmmGiKaRWSkrn/s1600/Necessary-Endings-Rizal%252CDivorce%252CandApple.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHroQT2ps8duSAi1WD4XtFC0dax6ZFXkTVU8MfWMR4S51X4pExC3RBrKpxErbAi1lJQL1xZYlJsyFH92WlQgB1kxngmPCQwRrcv4mhOR0LGBzaNFv7m_m6u9bIjzrkOqDCmmGiKaRWSkrn/s1600/Necessary-Endings-Rizal%252CDivorce%252CandApple.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Author Dr. Henry Cloud</td></tr>
</tbody></table>While reading the book, my mind was in parallel running thoughts or memories of situations - be it in my life, business or in history- where to put something to a close had become necessary. Such events always come, and always not too obvious. Often our vision is blinded by emotions, by fear, by attachment, by disbelief. It is always after the fact when the clarity of their wisdom becomes more apparent. While the subject of endings seems innocuous enough, or hardly the subject matter fit for a full-fledged book - one will be thankful that author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cloud" target="_blank">Dr. Henry Cloud</a> had the reflectiveness to think it worthy of a treatise.<br />
<blockquote>According to Dr. Cloud, endings are as much a part of life as beginnings are. And it's precisely so that beginnings could happen that we should allow for certain things to end. To resist to end things that are not working - is to be stuck.</blockquote><u><b>Rizal and Necessary Endings</b></u><br />
It being our national hero's 150th birthday, I remembered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rizal" target="_blank">Jose Rizal</a>, and how through his writings, he had advocated the end to Spanish rule in the Philippines. He believed in the Filipinos' capacity for self-determination; and while even then there were still no 'Filipinos' - still no real Filipino nation to speak of - Rizal knew that given the opportunity, we will find our own identity and make a great nation for ourselves. Of course, the Spanish, stinged by Rizal's novels <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Noli-Me-Tangere-Touch-Not/dp/0143039695?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Noli Me Tangere</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0143039695" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/El-Filibusterismo-Subversion-Sequel-Tangere/dp/0824831322?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">El Filibusterismo</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0824831322" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />, wanted to put an end to Rizal - <i>literally</i>. To them, that was necessary, to silence the growing clamor for independence among Filipinos, and to continue the Spanish reign in the country, starting with the pesky but undoubtedly brilliant Rizal.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQRd80id5t9SBF_I1BAhP7FPsqUQNlXO5s5od0NZSz5FwTShBhJwoQsoFFey6cOhQb5gD4FtivlXUQyTNbAMHt8TtE3c0_Ib3HVrcXrdhBolQLZurZGjYQZXEF4rJQp1-GqnbP35qkqGv/s1600/Jose-Rizal-execution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQRd80id5t9SBF_I1BAhP7FPsqUQNlXO5s5od0NZSz5FwTShBhJwoQsoFFey6cOhQb5gD4FtivlXUQyTNbAMHt8TtE3c0_Ib3HVrcXrdhBolQLZurZGjYQZXEF4rJQp1-GqnbP35qkqGv/s1600/Jose-Rizal-execution.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rizal's execution in Bagumbayan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Rizal was shot in Bagumbayan by the Spanish in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rizal" target="_blank">December 30, 1896</a>. To the Spanish, Rizal's death was the fitting, deserved and necessary ending. To the Filipinos, it was only the start to the necessary and inevitable demise of Spanish rule.<br />
<blockquote>The ability to spot necessary endings is a skill to be learned; an important one because it determines the velocity of our personal, professional and national growth. It determines how fast we move from one bad relationship to the better relationship (personal and professional), from one bad business to the business that actually makes it worth your while, from one bad product to the product that conquers the world.</blockquote><b><u>Apple, Steve Jobs and Saying NO</u></b><br />
In the world of Apple and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs" target="_blank">Steve Jobs</a>, the ability to say no to one product is one of their key success secrets. Steve Jobs is a genius of a man, but before the world even got to see the first <a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank">Ipod, Iphone or Ipad</a>, they have had several iterations of the same product, and they had learned to let go of versions even at so late in the game, even at a cost of millions, in order to move in another direction which they feel is the worthy path to take. That the Ipod, Iphone or Ipad have experienced tremendous success is an argument to the worthiness of the process that Apple and Steve Jobs have taken. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rX_SaMLpvfiB82TSF5XV3Cdmq15PjzrGgV5nNJRcG8bazIUvH4RZLuWn63WhdUBnHNbP943WGmkfGRoqO-8-BZJsPg7z_j7MKZkQ7ploYKyBYqi3Dav2d1vSNL3VAKVGiD_EeoDWK4ys/s1600/steve_jobs_apple-thumb-450x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rX_SaMLpvfiB82TSF5XV3Cdmq15PjzrGgV5nNJRcG8bazIUvH4RZLuWn63WhdUBnHNbP943WGmkfGRoqO-8-BZJsPg7z_j7MKZkQ7ploYKyBYqi3Dav2d1vSNL3VAKVGiD_EeoDWK4ys/s1600/steve_jobs_apple-thumb-450x450.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve Jobs and his Apple toys</td></tr>
</tbody></table><u><b>Divorce and Happy Endings</b></u><br />
With divorce cropping up in the national psyche as another divisive issue, and reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Endings-Employees-Businesses-Relationships/dp/0061777129?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Necessary Endings</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0061777129" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />, I am further provided an argument for why divorce must be legalized. Coming from the paradigm of 'endings and beginnings as a part of life', truly marriages must also not be immune from that fact of life. Bad marriages must have a way out; bad relationships must be given a chance to end and start fresh. It is not about being pessimistic about relationships, it is about being humane, and being realistic. Undoubtedly, some people, however much they claim to love each other, are better off apart than together. Everybody deserves a happy ending, and if it takes letting go of bad choices, then we who are capable of choice must have the freedom to make it.<br />
<blockquote>When we desire a different outcome - in our life, career, relationships, and business - we must learn to let go of the things and circumstances that generated the undesirable situation in the first place. The letting go, the letting it end, the MAKING it end - are necessary to the change we desire, to the new beginnings we look forward to. </blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”</i><br />
<i> (Richard Bach; Author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull)</i></div><br />
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<u><b>Recommended Books:</b></u><br />
<u><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Endings-Employees-Businesses-Relationships/dp/0061777129?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0061777129" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></u><br />
<u><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Noli-Me-Tangere-Touch-Not/dp/0143039695?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0143039695" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></u><br />
<u><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/El-Filibusterismo-Subversion-Sequel-Tangere/dp/0824831322?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">El Filibusterismo: Subversion: A Sequel to Noli Me Tangere</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0824831322" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></u><br />
<u><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Illusions-Adventures-Reluctant-Richard-Bach/dp/0385319258?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0385319258" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></u>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-72681686965331779222011-06-02T04:45:00.000-07:002011-06-02T04:47:59.701-07:00Golf and Loving It: 5 Reasons To Give It A Try<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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Imagine a stick, a small multi-dimpled ball, a couple of holes in the ground and manicured grass. <i>Who could have thought there was some fun to be made of it? </i>That fun has come to be called the game of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf" target="_blank">golf</a>.<br />
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I knew some of the jargon from the game, having played it in the days of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Computer" target="_blank">Family Computer</a>, but the first time I ever played a real game of golf (i.e., in a fairway) was last April 2011. I never thought I'd like it as much as I did, and I enjoyed it tremendously that in the middle of half an 18-hole game I was already looking forward to my next. (I couldn't wait to redeem myself already!)<br />
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Why I am blogging about golf, why did I enjoy it so much, and why do I think you too should give it a try? The short answer is that I had some surprising unexpected realizations about it. Here they are in a top 5 list: (You know you like it in lists!)<br />
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<b>1. It's actually fun to play it with friends.<br />
</b>And especially if you are playing for the first time, you had better play it with friends. <i>Because you're gonna suck!</i> And there's nothing like the laughter and jeers from friends to help you laugh at yourself as well, and remind you not to take the game too seriously. Otherwise, you'll go crazy.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvFTHX2ErU4ucOZMJ0T1Gk3U5Sw45htl32HIYoKo0IHkriosDp2OVw3CPweOZBRqdAZDcA9lsLDwTFs2JpO0zUm1Pc5AT_KS6HCg1pzQxWqn4NdYL4YN6JvUG8DtwiiJ1ifAbAnkbWmls/s1600/Golf-and-Loving-It.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvFTHX2ErU4ucOZMJ0T1Gk3U5Sw45htl32HIYoKo0IHkriosDp2OVw3CPweOZBRqdAZDcA9lsLDwTFs2JpO0zUm1Pc5AT_KS6HCg1pzQxWqn4NdYL4YN6JvUG8DtwiiJ1ifAbAnkbWmls/s1600/Golf-and-Loving-It.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golf and Loving It: At the fairway with 'golf buddies' Jerome and Gleniel. :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>2. The view is beautiful and the green is relaxing.</b><br />
Most golf courses are built around pretty nice views, like in the Baguio Country Club where I had my first game. Walking in the green, taking in the view, and seeing those golf balls zooming in the vastness of grassland - it's just really breathtaking. (An extra treat is if you're playing in Baguio where the climate is cooler.)<br />
<blockquote>It is said that of all the colors, green is the most relaxing - so there's a reason why God made vegetation green. And because golf courses are green everywhere - I can see now why people find playing golf stress-relieving.</blockquote>N.B. <i>The proliferation of golf courses has some environmental implications. I mention it so you know I am not oblivious to those issues. Can we tackle that another time and just keep this a happy post? :) Thanks!</i><br />
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<b>3. It teaches you about yourself.<br />
</b>Like in any game or sport, the game of golf too is one helluva personality test. If you observe your self enough, it can tell you much about that person you see in the mirror: how you take challenges, how you handle pressure - or defeat, how you live your life.<br />
<blockquote><i>Lack focus?</i> Golf can help. <i>Hard on yourself?</i> Golf can show you that you are if you haven't realized it yet. <i>A perfectionist? </i>Well, stay clear of golf or it will consume you. Or then again, perfectionism can help to your advantage.</blockquote>While golf is best played with company (see #1), golf is pretty much a solitary game. You really play against yourself. Much of the battle is mental, much of the rewards is psychological. (In the case of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_woods" target="_blank">Tiger Woods</a>, a lot of economic rewards too.) To play golf, you had better like yourself a lot. Otherwise, you might hit someone with a club if your ball goes in the bunker. <i>Or you might throw yourself at the lake.</i> Just kidding.<br />
<br />
<b>4. It clears your thoughts and helps you think.<br />
</b>It's probably because of the surroundings being green and relaxing, and also because the course itself is so vast there is much space for your thoughts to wander or to stare into. While trying to hold the golf clubs right, trying to give the balls a perfect hit, trying to calculate how far in the distance you want your ball to go, or walking unhurriedly in the green from one hole to another - all are opportunities to think of something you're trying to figure out, or opportunities to clear your thoughts, or opportunities for new ideas to come in. And it's all effortless because the clarity just suddenly happens. <br />
<br />
<b>5. It's something new.<br />
</b>And it was in that spirit that I gave the game a try.<br />
<br />
And I was glad I did, because from this blog post, you can tell I learned a lot from the game. In the middle of the game I was already telling myself it was something worthy of blogging about. How I did in the game was nothing to brag about - I made sure the caddie was tipped well enough to hold his peace, hehe. <br />
<br />
<i>But the experience</i> - that's what it's about. This piece isn't so much about getting you to play golf as it is about encouraging you to try something new - whatever that may be. <br />
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There are always gems to be had of new experiences. Find yours. :)<br />
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<b><u>Book Recommendations:</u></b><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Places-Play-Golf-Before/dp/1584794747?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1584794747" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Golf-Mastering-Mental-Game/dp/0385504462?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0385504462" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Golf-My-Way-Instructional-Classic/dp/0743267125?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Golf My Way: The Instructional Classic, Revised and Updated</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0743267125" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-14720640459517137772011-05-29T22:28:00.000-07:002011-05-29T22:28:29.359-07:00Love and Royalty: Will and Kate<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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A mass of people lined the streets leading up to Westminster Abbey where a wedding was to be held. Even if much of the world was also watching, this spectacle really was a moment of historical significance and close to the hearts of the British. It was, after all, to be the wedding of the son of royalty, Prince William, to that of a commoner, Catherine 'Kate' Middleton.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4SmZgJlYbggTlscvhMlZqsmdekicZC9DWVSjntkhOAtsrQNhe-kff6IW34HH0qxEEBf9qtDQd8SMETZhi2QpVMnHJALnF-kGPjN5gh0AnsIiZWVfDOBC5wm7VtMtAZk0uHoGxTEny75R/s1600/Wedding+Photos+-wkrw.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4SmZgJlYbggTlscvhMlZqsmdekicZC9DWVSjntkhOAtsrQNhe-kff6IW34HH0qxEEBf9qtDQd8SMETZhi2QpVMnHJALnF-kGPjN5gh0AnsIiZWVfDOBC5wm7VtMtAZk0uHoGxTEny75R/s1600/Wedding+Photos+-wkrw.gif" /></a></div><br />
The world's interest in the event owes much to the fact that it was Prince William who was going to be wed, and the world had come to know of him as the son of the princess that the world adored and whose tragic death the world mourned - the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales">Princess Diana</a>. The British monarchy was seen as an archaic institution, and Princess Diana's inclusion in the family, by virtue of marriage to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Charles">Prince Charles</a> in 1981, was seen as an infusion of fresh energy to an institution that was teetering on the brink of irrelevance. The British monarchy owes much of its popularity now to having had Princess Diana, even as that marriage between Diana and Charles fizzled and even tainted with much scandal, until eventually resulting in the most saddening death of Princess Diana in 1997.<br />
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It has been nearly 14 years since Diana died. Between then and now, the world's interest in the British monarchy consisted only of inquiries into the second marriage of Prince Charles, and the growing years of the brothers Princes William and Harry.<br />
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The renewed public absorption in the monarchy now owes to the promising marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton - esp. as William has always been considered the male version of his mother Princess Diana, and esp. as Kate Middleton is looking very much fit to become a Prince's wife (or a future king's queen), being herself a lovely face. There is nothing like good looking people in royalty that inspires people's fondness for perfection, as in fairy tales.<br />
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While the wedding was certainly beautiful, what to me rescued it from being just another empty but high-profile international event - what to me gave it worth my time of actually watching the whole process live on CNN - was the message of the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams during the marriage ceremony.<br />
<blockquote>I believe, for anyone who listened, that message by the Archbishop put the event in proper context. He made it no different from the weddings that occur around the world, no more important nor no less signficant, no more challenging nor less of a commitment. He put the royal wedding on a par with any other wedding that requires the same effort to help make successful. Absent the trimmings of royalty, the pomp and pageantry, and the illusion of a fairy tale - it was still just about two people in love.</blockquote>Here is the text of the <a href="http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2011/04/29/bishop-of-londons-sermon-at-the-wedding/">message</a> given by the Archbishop Rowan Williams during the wedding of William and Catherine, the Prince and Duchess of Cambridge:<br />
<blockquote fontsize="12"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."</span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Many are full of fear for the future of today's world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in the celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them to the future.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to one another.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover that the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">It is of course hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. People can dream of such a thing but the hope will not be fulfilled without a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">You have both made your decision today – <i>"I will"</i> – and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely the power which has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. This transformation is possible as long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:</span><br />
<br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon, <br />
Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon."</span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, and mutual forgiveness, to thrive.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">I pray that every one present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today will do everything in their power to support and uphold you in your new life. I pray that God will bless you in the way of life you have chosen, a way which is expressed in the prayer that you have written together in preparation for this day:</span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">God our Father, we thank you for our families; </span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life </span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy. </span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. </span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.</span></i></blockquote><br />
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<b>Book Recommendations</b>:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Wedding-Prince-William-Middleton/dp/1603202161?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">LIFE The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton: Expanded, Commemorative Edition</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1603202161" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diana-Her-True-Story-Words/dp/0671024124?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0671024124" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Monarchy-British-Nation-1780-Present/dp/0521844614?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Monarchy and the British Nation, 1780 to the Present</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0521844614" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-55035727244629986572011-05-28T03:21:00.000-07:002011-05-30T20:24:54.881-07:00You're Invited! The 1st Bloggers Buffet at Carol's Texan 5 (June 23, 2011)<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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Attention, bloggers! You are invited to this exciting bloggers event called...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3g1wkQpmAv8wzxSOckCx2RIVlPjosd-LpmNlKzzXL3nvHSu8K37ucOJyTKdhMsGP9jhyphenhyphen9yf-tJ9874Ef36YtDT8E7MhF7ObnUVNe7VWoFhOxnt5lgdNqQtEP22rDj2d9RmnTC5f3aovG/s1600/bloggersbuffet-v5b.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3g1wkQpmAv8wzxSOckCx2RIVlPjosd-LpmNlKzzXL3nvHSu8K37ucOJyTKdhMsGP9jhyphenhyphen9yf-tJ9874Ef36YtDT8E7MhF7ObnUVNe7VWoFhOxnt5lgdNqQtEP22rDj2d9RmnTC5f3aovG/s1600/bloggersbuffet-v5b.gif" /></a></div>The best chicken and ribs in Manila has found a home in <a href="http://www.texan5.com/" target="_blank">Carol's Texan 5</a>, located in the bustling neighborhood of Little Baguio, San Juan. <a href="http://www.texan5.com/">Carol's Texan 5</a> is the next big thing in gustatory pleasures. Check out their menu:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.texan5.com/images/menu_front02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://www.texan5.com/images/menu_front02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The dishes are personal recipes of its owner, Carol, whose home dishes have always been a hit with friends, and so that got her started with the idea of a diner of her own. Being a big fan of American food, she named her food joint <a href="http://www.texan5.com/" target="_blank">Carol's Texan 5</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.texan5.com/" target="_blank">Carol’s Texan </a>5 is located at 2F 713 J. Abad Santos St. Little Baguio, San Juan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.texan5.com/images/texan5-map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://www.texan5.com/images/texan5-map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><insert map=""><br />
<a href="http://www.texan5.com/" target="_blank"> Carol's Texan 5</a> food is AVAILABLE for:</insert><br />
<ul><li>Dine-in</li>
<li>Delivery (within San Juan, Mandaluyong, Ortigas and Pioneer only)</li>
<li>Event Food Booths</li>
<li>Party Trays</li>
<li>Functions</li>
<li>Kiddie Meal Seats</li>
</ul>Get your chance to sample <a href="http://www.texan5.com/" target="_blank">Carol's Texan 5</a> signature dishes at this first ever <b><a href="http://www.bloggersbuffet.com/">Bloggers Buffet</a></b> organized by <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/" target="_blank">TenMinutesTops.com</a> in cooperation with <a href="http://www.clubtravelnow.org/" target="_blank">ClubTravelNOW.org</a>. It's an exclusive event for bloggers!<br />
<insert map=""></insert><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You're invited!</span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3g1wkQpmAv8wzxSOckCx2RIVlPjosd-LpmNlKzzXL3nvHSu8K37ucOJyTKdhMsGP9jhyphenhyphen9yf-tJ9874Ef36YtDT8E7MhF7ObnUVNe7VWoFhOxnt5lgdNqQtEP22rDj2d9RmnTC5f3aovG/s1600/bloggersbuffet-v5b.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3g1wkQpmAv8wzxSOckCx2RIVlPjosd-LpmNlKzzXL3nvHSu8K37ucOJyTKdhMsGP9jhyphenhyphen9yf-tJ9874Ef36YtDT8E7MhF7ObnUVNe7VWoFhOxnt5lgdNqQtEP22rDj2d9RmnTC5f3aovG/s320/bloggersbuffet-v5b.gif" width="286" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>June 23, 2011</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>7:00-10:00PM</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Carol’s Texan 5, 2F 713 J. Abad Santos St., </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Little Baguio, San Juan</b></span></div><br />
Enjoy <a href="http://www.texan5.com/" target="_blank">Carol's Texan 5</a> signature chicken and ribs dishes, buffet-style and free to invited bloggers. Get to know the food, enjoy the ambience, have a great time with fellow bloggers and friends in this first <b><a href="http://www.bloggersbuffet.com/">Bloggers Buffet</a></b> by <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/" target="_blank">TenMinutesTops.com</a> in cooperation with <a href="http://www.clubtravelnow.org/" target="_blank">ClubTravelNOW.org</a>.<br />
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After having your fill of the food, enjoy exciting prizes and freebies from event sponsors too!<br />
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<b>How to get invited to Bloggers Buffet</b>: <br />
1. 'LIKE' the fan pages of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/texan5" target="_blank">Carol's Texan 5</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloggers-Buffet/190140164368214">Bloggers Buffet</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tenminutestops" target="_blank">TenMinutesTops!</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/clubtravelnow" target="_blank">ClubTravelNOW.org</a>. (You must first be a fan of all 4 pages to be eligible for this event.)<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.texan5.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.texan5.com/images/texan5_logo.png" width="50" /></a></div>Carol's Texan 5 (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/texan5" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/texan5</a>)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/clubtravelnow" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiroXo9OeWsr2la8pQ8S8eLw258PsjX2s-_A4rZDC_DdSvG6Mnl5-VAbeZrtExOuogmN89CWv7emRT3UEewq5YDkntwpo7bkqyPMUXPCt45q81IckITluQA-jkNcD8WSpyVSsfMJnGzq6Q/s400/ClubTravelNOW-Logo-%2528Red-BG%2529-174x197.gif" width="50" /></a></div>ClubTravelNOW.org (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/clubtravelnow" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/clubtravelnow</a>)<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.bloggersbuffet.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_mJjMPPn1g2M0GxDCvwqrh94ussogdWfjLUGlgD4o3hj1qhGc94nzN63101anrI3K0wJo51Vo519Ig3vs8uYDg26ekGrRD_kA37e80Qu7Ncoz0fGokjE7dsu0yY0Sz-w7hmEMCBtjJ5p/s1600/bloggersbuffet-v3.gif" width="50" /></a></div>BloggersBuffet.com (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloggers-Buffet/190140164368214" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/bloggersbuffet</a>)<br />
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2. Blog about <a href="http://www.texan5.com/" target="_blank">Carol's Texan 5</a>, making sure the ff. elements are in your blog post:<br />
a. Mention: "Carol's Texan 5 offers the best chicken and ribs this side of Manila."<br />
b. Mention: Carol's Texan 5 contact details and address: <br />
Delivery: (02) 727.3843 / 0922.485.0154<br />
Address: Carol’s Texan 5, 2F 713 J. Abad Santos St., Little Baguio, San Juan<br />
c. Post: Carol's Texan 5 menu<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.texan5.com/images/menu_front02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://www.texan5.com/images/menu_front02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> d. Mention: Carol's Texan 5 Services:<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dine-in (Enjoy your best chicken and ribs at Carol's Texan 5!)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Delivery (We deliver to San Juan, Mandaluyong, Ortigas and Pioneer only.)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Event Food Booths (Got an event? Carol's Texan 5 booths are available for hire.)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Party Trays (Order trays of your favorite Carol's Texan 5 dishes for special occasions.)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Functions (Hold events at Carol's Texan 5.)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kiddie Meal Sets (Order meal sets for your office and kids parties.)<br />
e. Link to the Carol's Texan 5 website and fan page:<br />
Website: <a href="http://www.texan5.com/">http://www.texan5.com</a><br />
Fan Page: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.facebook.com/texan5">http:/www.facebook.com/texan5</a><br />
f. Link to the <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/">TenMinutesTops!</a> and <a href="http://www.clubtravelnow.org/">ClubTravelNOW.org</a> websites<br />
Website: <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/">http://www.tenminutestops.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.clubtravelnow.org/">http://www.clubtravelnow.org</a><br />
3. Answer this question in your blog post: "<i>Why would you like to be part of the first Bloggers Buffet?"</i><br />
4. Post: Your blog post link at your profile wall and tag the Carol's Texan 5 fan page.<br />
5. Email the ff. information to <a href="mailto:tristan@tenminutestops.com">tristan@tenminutestops.com</a> with subject "Bloggers Buffet":<br />
a. Your Full Name<br />
b. Your Email<br />
c. Your Mobile Number<br />
d. Your blog post link<br />
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<i>That's it!</i><br />
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You will be invited based on quality of your post and if all the parameters to be invited have been met satisfactorily. Those who will be selected will be sent confirmation emails. <i>Limited slots only!</i> You don't have to be a food blogger to join this event. But only 30 bloggers will be invited to enjoy the sumptuous chicken and ribs of Carol's Texan 5! Final invites will be sent out by <u><b>June 15</b></u>.<br />
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<i>Join now and see you there! :)</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvUe7bmLEEfUGZ1TT6EffZKlfHbCZtcOgcxVkOUNzoTxa88LYt69tXeIcMwBUEhHrxcHZiz1k5zvS3gWIMujdvmY1HCvGitP7m6uEJHCWwsaKPinhJjJY_3IKT8SKq3OfgtuluB-3l3Aw/s1600/Saints-and-Sinners.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvUe7bmLEEfUGZ1TT6EffZKlfHbCZtcOgcxVkOUNzoTxa88LYt69tXeIcMwBUEhHrxcHZiz1k5zvS3gWIMujdvmY1HCvGitP7m6uEJHCWwsaKPinhJjJY_3IKT8SKq3OfgtuluB-3l3Aw/s400/Saints-and-Sinners.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Within the span of a day on May 1, 2011, the world was abuzz with news of the Osama Bin Laden's death and the beatification of Pope John Paul II. There was also the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton just 3 days prior, but let's reserve that for another post. For now, let's talk about these two people in history - seemingly occupying opposite ends of the good/bad spectrum, and how they have both changed the world.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuVqhbANkqOdsfImQa9JH_AiIl7N-5rXXu1tNJ2kZs4nbUx3tewe_kr7wK2APItw2zANVcoqf19e_909LeVFLkM0L5XuN5jPLLfV2-F1p2hc0P-XZzDAyTiHP4c-OWCd3rHH7R_WtA0b2/s1600/Osama-Bin-Laden.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuVqhbANkqOdsfImQa9JH_AiIl7N-5rXXu1tNJ2kZs4nbUx3tewe_kr7wK2APItw2zANVcoqf19e_909LeVFLkM0L5XuN5jPLLfV2-F1p2hc0P-XZzDAyTiHP4c-OWCd3rHH7R_WtA0b2/s320/Osama-Bin-Laden.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Osama Bin Laden</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>Osama Bin Laden</b><br />
Osama Bin Laden is credited for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden">1998 United States Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania</a>. He has claimed to have masterminded the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center which killed nearly 3,000 civilians. His attacks were carried out with the help of Al Qaeda, an extremist group he had helped found and financed. Because of him, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan to annihilate the Al Qaeda and to smoke out Osama Bin Laden. The U.S., with its then president <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bush_Jr." target="_blank">George W. Bush</a>, led the charge and for 10 years failed to capture its greatest nemesis, until in May 1, 2011, the leadership of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama" target="_blank">U.S. President Barack Obama</a> finally found Bin Laden and skillfully terminated him in a <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2069455,00.html" target="_blank">military operation</a>. As soon as the CNN confirmed news of his death with the national address made by President Barack Obama, hundreds of Americans flocked infront of the White House gates in Washington and at Ground Zero in New York, in a <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-05-03-reaction-bin-laden-death_n.htm" target="_blank">spontaneous expression of their elation</a> at "<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2068858,00.html" target="_blank">having brought Osama Bin Laden to justice.</a>" There was obvious merry-making and a vigorous waving of the American flag. Nationalistic fervor was at a high.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xPbU_oNJDwLdhmTqX06-pveJybh8deN4boDVjCruyjF26peyFmskMc-JAlKFJewfFp3-mw_l4dEdvK0bvpvAPnTD74yU8jr43pWDzEDlv0H7rYbsz3Gttr8NtLvdxvZi86VXHdYdvSQf/s1600/Tapestry-of-Blessed-Pope-John-Paul-II.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xPbU_oNJDwLdhmTqX06-pveJybh8deN4boDVjCruyjF26peyFmskMc-JAlKFJewfFp3-mw_l4dEdvK0bvpvAPnTD74yU8jr43pWDzEDlv0H7rYbsz3Gttr8NtLvdxvZi86VXHdYdvSQf/s400/Tapestry-of-Blessed-Pope-John-Paul-II.gif" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapestry of Blessed John Paul II</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>Pope John Paul II</b><br />
Pope John Paul II has for years been the hero of the Catholic world, for being an inspiring leader of the Catholic faith for 26 years, and for being a charismatic pontiff who helped improve the church's relations with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II" target="_blank">Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion.</a> Considered as among the most influential leaders of the 20th century, he showed strength, courage and perseverance when he continued to give hope to many who look up to him for spiritual guidance and blessing - this despite suffering from Parkinson's disease during his last years. He visited the Philippines in 1981 and in 1995, showing his great favor for the country - the largest and only Catholic country in Asia. As such when he died in April 2, 2005, the world mourned his loss - Catholics and non-Catholics alike, world leaders and the common folk alike - for his effect upon the world was so great, his absence left a palpable emptiness. His successor, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI" target="_blank">Pope Benedict XVI</a>, could only barely fill his shoes. Last May 1, 2011, Pope John Paul II was beatified - one more step to his eventual sainthood, a process that was made quick by Pope Benedict XVI. Nobody could contest Blessed John Paul II's qualification as a saint - he was that much loved, he was that much revered.<br />
<blockquote><b>Stark Differences</b><br />
The differences in the two scenes could not have been more vast - on the one hand a celebration of a death - that of a known mass murderer; on the other, the mourning of a loss - of a known godly man, a fellow considered worthy of being a saint. It seemed easy to understand why one must celebrate the death of someone like Bin Laden, and mourn that of someone like Blessed John Paul II.</blockquote>But to me, at least, the image of a group of people throwing fists up in the air and howling in joy at the bloody extermination of a human being, is unsettling. It reminded me of a similar scene 10 years ago, of a group of Islamic extremists, supporters of Bin Laden, who themselves were raising their fists and firearms in the air and showing obvious joy at the death of thousands after the crash of the World Trade Center. Both images, from 2001 and from 2011, show the same insensitivity - to life, to human life, to that very thing that allows us license to call ourselves human. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNlRDR2Id6TbA8HRXbfny2NMoO2yHwZ9snWqNTrbkDdyPa2z585G-q_HTNDW_Q6okts_8PFYtc7KBrAy7DOn0L7PRmFbuVAPwDty0sFiUpEveves-MElavF1RVjD6VPQTpfFZ1huG8D_A/s1600/Celebration-of-Sept11-and-Bin-Laden-Death.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNlRDR2Id6TbA8HRXbfny2NMoO2yHwZ9snWqNTrbkDdyPa2z585G-q_HTNDW_Q6okts_8PFYtc7KBrAy7DOn0L7PRmFbuVAPwDty0sFiUpEveves-MElavF1RVjD6VPQTpfFZ1huG8D_A/s1600/Celebration-of-Sept11-and-Bin-Laden-Death.gif" /></a></div><br />
To think that the 2001 experience should have taught us differently, that of greater respect for the preciousness of human life after having lost so many loved ones at another man's own display of insensitivity, anger and hate. Ten years later we exhibit that we too have not gotten it - that life cannot be made to pay for life, that one life however foul or evil does not deserve the injustice of death nor the heartlessness of celebration. In a statement attributed to Bin Laden, he said that it was destruction by the U.S. of towers in Lebanon in 1982 that gave him the idea to strike the same kind of terror to America: by destroying the Twin Towers.<br />
<blockquote>Apparently we have not made much progress from the archaic "eye for an eye" notion of justice. And we are no different, it seems, from the terrorist we have vilified.</blockquote>In February 5, 1999, at the Quezon City jail in the Philippines, at the precise moment that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Echegaray" target="_blank">Leo Echagaray</a> was served the death penalty by lethal injection - I had a profound realization. I was there on a research, and was a witness to the effect of the Echegaray's death on alleged criminals. Echagaray holds the distinction of being the first Filipino to be served the death penalty after it was revived in the Philippines. Echegaray was executed somewhere else then, but there in the Quezon City jail were his fellow inmates, who all felt the heaviness of the death of one of their own. Other than that, <i>that was it!</i> At the very moment of Leo Echagaray's death, I saw how claiming someone's life - be it in the name of justice or for whatever depth of evil the sinner has caused - does not truly achieve anything. <br />
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The world goes on - life went on in that city jail - just as life now continues to run its course after Bin Laden's demise.<br />
<blockquote>The meting out of death for the supposed lofty cause of justice has sadly not given us real redemption - it only perpetuates injustice, it does make us better saints, it does not impart to us greater wisdom, it only inspires greater sin.</blockquote><br />
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<b>Book Recommendations</b>:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Osama-Bin-Laden-ebook/dp/B004ZS8YPG?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Killing of Osama Bin Laden: How the Mission to Hunt Down a Terrorist Mastermind was Accomplished</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004ZS8YPG" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Holy-War-Inc-Inside-Secret/dp/0743234952?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0743234952" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Witness-Hope-Biography-Pope-John/dp/B000ECXDNA?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Witness to Hope : The Biography of Pope John Paul II</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000ECXDNA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Threshold-Hope-Pope-John/dp/0679765611?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Crossing the Threshold of Hope</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0679765611" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-41932250241157272752011-05-11T20:36:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:39:33.647-07:00The Idiot Box gets an IQ: The Birth of SMART TVs<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script><fb:like href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/05/idiot-box-gets-iq-birth-of-smart-tvs.html" show_faces="true" width="450" action="recommend" layout="box_count"></fb:like><br />
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The Idiot Box. That's what it was called, apart from, of course, being the Boob Tube. The names, if you notice, aren't very flattering for such an appliance where we have both learned much and been <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/04/unwillingly-willie-revillame.html" target="_blank">dumbed down</a> much. But that is changing.<br />
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Last April 1-2, 2011, I attended the iBlog7: The Blogging Summit at the UP Diliman's Malcolm Hall. One of the sponsors was <a href="http://www.samsung.com/ph/smarttv/" target="_blank">Samsung SMART TV</a>, and the blogging community was introduced to the features of the said TV. <br />
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In a nutshell, the Samsung SMART TV is like regular TV, but with the computer's ability to also access the internet. With the Samsung SMART TV, one can watch regular programs on TV, watch more than one program simultaneously, while also being able to surf the internet. Imagine a TV screen having a window for each of your favorite TV channels, another window for Facebook, another for Youtube, or maybe Twitter. It's basically a TV with internet capabilities. <i>Or TV on steroids! :)</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YhtzR4zUl3P6fPP9-M4Hp868zqDIbPo1wOXBLW2donPaC19TcBOZc23sGM_4lM5aNfQuRWj6dCuxwLCuBvpaBGTomAfY-eOQS-CmX6UhWfWm-oNwMGJbH1O2SzRLhfxQx9HTzb_Y3jjw/s1600/Samsung-smart-hub.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YhtzR4zUl3P6fPP9-M4Hp868zqDIbPo1wOXBLW2donPaC19TcBOZc23sGM_4lM5aNfQuRWj6dCuxwLCuBvpaBGTomAfY-eOQS-CmX6UhWfWm-oNwMGJbH1O2SzRLhfxQx9HTzb_Y3jjw/s400/Samsung-smart-hub.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagine Life with a <a href="http://samsunglove.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Samsung SMART TV</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>One of its unique features is the access to Samsung's TV App Store where you can purchase applications for your SMART TV, the same way Apple has an Itunes store for music, and Amazon has a Amazon Kindle bookstore for ebooks. This is something that promises to revolutionize and totally redefine the 'TV experience' as we know it.<br />
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From the looks of it, it is hardly an innovation, just an integration of 2 different products - TV and computers. It seems simple enough, but I think its <u>implications are huge</u>. Seeing Sony and LG also launching a similar SMART TV, this just might be where TV is really headed. TV is getting a IQ upgrade with these SMART TVs. We're all able to watch TV shows on computers anyway, so this integration makes great sense. <br />
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Maybe regular TV will soon get phased out (or <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2128201/" target="_blank">die</a>!), and all TVs will have become smarter. Maybe this will also have an impact on TV broadcasting, if more and more people get their 'TV fix' on the internet - perhaps SMART TVs will pave the way for eventual 100% 'broadcasting' over the internet. It is not far-fetched, esp. with TV networks' transition into digital broadcasting; and Youtube, which has practically allowed anyone to 'broadcast' themselves via their own Youtube channels. Apple also came out with the Apple TV (which hasn't taken off as much as we'd like), and Google has Google TV too (which deserves a real good look, and maybe a separate post).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBRz37nb7pnWH1PtIPOKNUPu19y2aUmJMIK4GtCCaDEXVTvnUZTIdG6eAnmWNh1P-phZ-iKUsW4bU01EAyJJm5lM1rijGs17xfCpjV5-vKx1sdBlscSw_2vhiLKZ3QRXHDuyBBnRPQezI/s1600/GoogleTV2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBRz37nb7pnWH1PtIPOKNUPu19y2aUmJMIK4GtCCaDEXVTvnUZTIdG6eAnmWNh1P-phZ-iKUsW4bU01EAyJJm5lM1rijGs17xfCpjV5-vKx1sdBlscSw_2vhiLKZ3QRXHDuyBBnRPQezI/s1600/GoogleTV2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Google's Eric Schmidt talks about the Google TV</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Still, more and more TV brands are venturing into SMART TVs. I realize this may be TVs attempt to not be made totally irrelevant by the computers, and the other communication products fighting for people's attention - like the <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/04/my-blog-looks-good-on-ipad-is-that.html" target="_blank">Ipad</a> for example. (Or Samsung's own Galaxy Tab).<br />
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The Samsung SMART TV is a first of what will probably be several evolutions of the SMART TV - be it from Samsung or other TV manufacturers. Check out the Samsung website to see what it promises to deliver. <br />
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P.S. Recently, I entered into a contest to win a Samsung SMART TV. My entry is about the <a href="http://samsunglove.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">'7 Ways to Loving a Samsung SMART TV'</a>. Apart of listing the 7 Ways, I also posted a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLQpMl-pGC4" target="_blank">video</a> that is a tribute to what the Samsung SMART TV can do for us. Check it <a href="http://samsunglove.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">out</a>! :) And wish me luck. :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://samsunglove.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqAgA0I1bdjEQd45BMQ2MbSQ5KNiS1_DQ6HU3z59TOQgiMNEe-PftmC7b0xFtcpAH-EbrBLdgPKIlNGASBMiNCqZldtPCO0fk2TDQAd7BaR-rywU-icohhPM0F8S-_VBDCMxyAXO6cRLt/s1600/Picture+7.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Samsung Love: Counting the Ways to Loving a Samsung SMART TV</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6461689015246955153.post-37746039398146553862011-05-10T00:16:00.000-07:002011-05-16T23:25:11.330-07:00The Mind Museum: The First World-Class Science Museum in the Philippines<script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
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Experience science come alive in The Mind Museum, the first world-class science museum in the Philippines. It will open in December 2011 and shall be located inside the Fort, in Taguig, Philippines.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3sqKRDWyNEl41wjpZauQFydbbbf0RzSXD1jDh6-ji4_GyD3bDV_QIIC2KYU4jKE0tkEeBC6a1XdTAclsB3jIoY_JqUoc3E6wpfG69-mWFQ615IJdROqiXwidgC4OX7pVe_gsZA1jXAS0/s1600/TMM+Bldg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3sqKRDWyNEl41wjpZauQFydbbbf0RzSXD1jDh6-ji4_GyD3bDV_QIIC2KYU4jKE0tkEeBC6a1XdTAclsB3jIoY_JqUoc3E6wpfG69-mWFQ615IJdROqiXwidgC4OX7pVe_gsZA1jXAS0/s1600/TMM+Bldg.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mind Museum: Coming in December 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I first found out about this project a few years ago in the newspaper, and was excited about it, being fond of science and science museums. I was sold to their vision:<br />
<blockquote><i>"To build a home for science and to make it the FIRST WORLD-CLASS SCIENCE MUSEUM in the Philippines." </i></blockquote>As the project's vision also states, they want to make it a <i>"defining legacy that will give the next generation the wings to fly against the challenge of a future shaped largely by service and technology." </i>Having experienced state-of-the-art science museums in the U.S., I knew it was time for something like it to be experienced by many Filipinos.<br />
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The museum, which is already nearing completion, will feature <u>5 galleries</u> within its 2 levels. They are:<br />
<blockquote>The Story of the Universe: Its Beginning and Majesty<br />
The Story of the Earth: Its Story Across the Breadth of Time<br />
The Story of Life: The Exuberant Varieties of Life<br />
The Story of the Atom: The Strange World of the Very Small<br />
The Story of Technology: The Showcase of Human Ingenuity</blockquote><i>"With over 250 inter-active “minds-on” and hands-on exhibits, the museum will be a venue that will present science as entertaining, fun, and engaging," </i>the Mind Museum website states.<br />
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<b><u>Support The Mind Museum</u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Building a museum of this caliber is a big project. Its cost is in the P1 billion. It has already achieved great strides in making happen what it has at the moment - thanks to several corporate, private and individual sponsors who support the vision. You too can help! For as little as P1,000, you can donate and help build The Mind Museum. See <a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/LM/helpbuildit/helpbuildit.html" target="_blank">here</a> for details. Once you donate, you get to have a star, planet or galaxy named after you or a name you nominate, in their virtual exhibits. <i>I am happy to declare that I am a proud sponsor too!</i> :)</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/LM/news~level2/id-1304061105832/newsupdates.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXA46Nm3jHYUphCQ4KREZK9NxxpurvYZZNcB5s0I7jt68fALMIuEB4Jincg0hDpWnxoDDLGnuYGjzym0ELBKhkyqnYFaM_jvulRwSi0onkq79N9xoqWhgzmt9Jmw_NjkvipIX4HT2A2Z-/s400/TMM-Badge.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donate, Volunteer, Spread the Word!</td></tr>
</tbody></table></center><b><u>Minds at Work Campaign: Be the first to experience The Mind Museum</u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/global/UserFiles/image/20110429150428422_MAW_web_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://www.themindmuseum.org/global/UserFiles/image/20110429150428422_MAW_web_final.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>On behalf of the museum, I invite you to support this project by spreading the word about it and yes, making a donation. When you donate based on these <a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/LM/news~level2/id-1304061105832/newsupdates.html" target="_blank">mechanics</a>, you may get invited to be among the first to experience The Mind Museum’s first exhibit testing event called 'Minds at Work'. This will be on <b>May 26, 2011</b> at the <b>NBC Tent, Bonifacio Global City.</b> Get a chance to manipulate and play with a varied selection of exciting and engaging exhibit pieces that will give you a foretaste of the science fascination that will greet you when the museum is completed this December. This privilege is open to the first 75 donors only. <i>Hurry!</i> Read the mechanics <a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/LM/news~level2/id-1304061105832/newsupdates.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><u><b>Opportunity for Bloggers: Cover this Event!</b></u><br />
<i>Would you like to cover this event on May 26?</i> The event is exclusive for donors, but we also need bloggers to help cover it on the May 26, 3-5PM slot. How do you get invited to cover this event?<br />
<ol><li>Read up on <a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/" target="_blank">The Mind Museum</a>,</li>
<li>Make a great blog post about <a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/" target="_blank">The Mind Museum</a>, with specific mention of the <a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/LM/news~level2/id-1304061105832/newsupdates.html" target="_blank">Minds at Work event and donation mechanics</a>,</li>
<li>Link this <a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/2011/05/mind-museum-first-world-class-science.html" target="_blank">Ten Minutes, Tops! post</a>, the <a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/" target="_blank">The Mind Museum</a> and the <a href="http://www.themindmuseum.org/LM/news~level2/id-1304061105832/newsupdates.html" target="_blank">Minds at Work mechanics</a> to your blog post,</li>
<li>Click the 'Like' button below for the Ten Minutes Tops! Facebook Fan page, or go directly to the fan page to 'Like' it: <div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.tenminutestops.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcax5yrowcRYhDxvr5s__vdzUKN2HcstGy7Fx0hrRKQOkLBtMzXw4G6VZTcdW8ICMs1OGb03O3-KhvzuTkmrF5A5D1u5HzAXTyg3oXihhJqa185aaA6s_DDiNy9m0PmHq0dgMoekb7Lw/s1600/Ten-Minutes-Tops-Logo-170x170.gif" width="50" /></a></div>Ten Minutes, Tops! Blog (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/tenminutestops" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/tenminutestops</a>) <script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1">
</script><fb:like action="like" href="http://www.facebook.com/tenminutestops" layout="box_count" show_faces="true" width="450"></fb:like><br />
</li>
<li>Post a link of your blog post at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tenminutestops" target="_blank">Ten Minutes Tops Fan Page</a>, and</li>
<li>Email me the link of your blog post at this address: tristan@tenminutestops.com. Indicate subject 'The Mind Museum'. Please also include your Full Name, Blog Address, Email address, and Mobile Number.</li>
</ol><i>That's it!</i><br />
<br />
I will raffle off the invite to <b><u>4 bloggers</u></b> who will help promote the museum though their blogs. This is a great opportunity to lend your gifts to a good cause, and to help promote science in the country, esp. among the young.<br />
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Deadline of entries is on May 15. Selected bloggers will be announced on May 16. When you win, you will be one of <u>only</u> 10 bloggers invited to this exciting event. 6 slots already filled; you could be one of the 4 others! The schedule for bloggers will be on <b>May 26, 2011 </b>from<b> 3 - 5PM.</b><br />
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Join now! :)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b><u>051711 Updates</u></b>: Congratulations to the following winners who will get to experience The Mind Museum via Minds at Work on May 26 at 3-5PM. They are:</span><br />
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<a href="http://thelostboylife.blogspot.com/2011/05/mind-museum-to-open-at-fort.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Lloyd Salac</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.wordyliz.com/2011/05/amazing-science-at-mind-museum.html" target="_blank">Liezl de Ocampo</a> </span><br />
<a href="http://eventandmusic.blogspot.com/2011/05/mind-museum-first-world-class-science.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Dennis Esplana</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.deiville.info/2011/05/minds-at-work-mind-museum-fort-taguig.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Daryll Dial-Villena</span></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Thanks to everyone who participated and helped promote The Mind Museum.</span><br />
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<b><u>Book Recommendations</u></b>:<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Backyard Astronomer's Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1554073448" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Astronomy-Self-Teaching-Guide-Wiley-Guides/dp/0470230835?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide (Wiley Self-Teaching Guides)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0470230835" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/NightWatch-Practical-Guide-Viewing-Universe/dp/155407147X?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=155407147X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4