since 1972

Wouldn’t you want to have one of these?

Thunder and lightning lamps by Mark Johns.

Rules your kid did not, and will not learn in school. Yup, yup and yup. Well, maybe I can spare my daughter.

Boy vs. Dog. 

Riley and David squaring off. 

Reblogged from rawbdz

He knew that he should have had a friend along. But it really was a persistent thought. He had to go. 

Now that he was standing at the ticket booth, reaching for the few bills he had left, his gut hesitated and tugged at mind. 

rawbdz:The art of Andreas Rocha mainly involves digital painting of skylines futuristic cities and beautiful landscapes and even a different form of abstract art.

Reblogged from heptagram

They grew up together, side by side. Watching the seasons wash across their gnarled bark. Til Death claimed the Valley and choked the life out of every living being around. They remain, twin souls, side by side, watching over the other; waiting for the other’s demise, wary that one might leave this mortal coil before the other.

nrkn:poisonwasthecure: Desiree Dolron

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio …..
“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote about the lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
(Read Habakkuk 1:4 - Mike’s comment not of Regina Brett’s ;))

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

14. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

15. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

16. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

17. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

18. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

19. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

20. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

21. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

22. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

23. The most important sex organ is the brain.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will
this matter?’

26. Always choose life.

27. Forgive everyone everything.

28. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

32. Believe in miracles.

33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

34. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

35. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

36. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

37. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

38. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.

39. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

40. The best is yet to come…

41. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

42. Yield.

43. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

44. Friends are the family that we choose.

Reblogged from randominternet

randominternet: just about to make some history

Maybe I should take a picture of my first steps too. Like now.

Great site for info on the animated film by H. Miyazaki “My Neighborhood Totoro”

http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/totoro/faq.html

What is Totoro?

He has been called many things from “a giant furry thing” to “a rabbit-like spirit”. Basically, he is a spirit of the forest. Totoro is not a traditional Japanese character: he came completely from Miyazaki’s imagination. However, he is obviously a mixture of several animals: tanukis (the Japanese version of raccoons), cats (the pointed ears and the facial expressions), and owls (the chevron markings on their chests and the “ooo”-ing sound they make with their ocarinas at night).

The name “Totoro” comes from Mei mispronouncing (she has a tendency to do so, though it wasn’t clear in the dub) the word “tororu”, which is the Japanese word for “troll”. When Satsuki asks her “Totoro? You mean, the Troll in our book?” she is referring to their book “Three Mountain Goats” (The Three Billy Goats Gruff). In the closing credits you can see their mother reading the book to them. Although it’s hard to see it on the tape, in the picture book for the movie you can see the picture on the cover shows a goat running over a bridge while a Totoro-like troll looks up from underneath the bridge.

Read the whole article here: http://definitelyfilipino.com/blog/2012/01/07/the-peso-chronicles-part-4-secret-stories-behind-the-new-200-peso-bill/

“Poor Boy From Lubao” or “Poor Boy From Banton”?: The Untold Story of the REAL “Father of Independence Day”

Known in history as the “Poor boy from Lubao”, probably one of Diosdado Macapagal’s lasting legacies was his rags-to-riches story that chronicled his journey from being a boy raised in an impoverished family to one of the country’s most respected and celebrated presidents of all time. His land reform programs had gained him public’s support and thetransfer of Independence day from July 4 to June 12, which has been fully credited to him, only added to his growing popularity as a “nationalistic” leader of his time. But just like a bolt from the blue, an unknown and almost forgotten name in history keeps on resurfacing and seems to be more worthy of the title “Father of Independence Day”. He was Gabriel F. Fabella and the “June 12 Independence Day” idea was HIS brainchild.

Taking inspiration from a product from the web, my co-teacher asked for this as her Christmas gift. Actually, I offered. So long over due, but I am triumphant. It looked really pretty on the bed. I kept the rejects of course, but it was worth all the effort!

School projects

Reblogged from indiohistorian

indiohistorian:

Farewell, beloved Country, treasured region of the sun,
Pearl of the sea of the Orient, our lost Eden!
To you eagerly I surrender this sad and gloomy life;
And were it brighter, fresher, more florid,
Even then I’d give it to you, for your sake alone.

In fields of battle, deliriously fighting,
Others give you their lives, without doubt, without regret;
The place matters not: where there’s cypress, laurel or lily,
On a plank or open field, in combat or cruel martyrdom,
It’s all the same if the home or country asks.

I die when I see the sky has unfurled its colors
And at last after a cloak of darkness announces the day;
If you need scarlet to tint your dawn,
Shed my blood, pour it as the moment comes,
And may it be gilded by a reflection of the heaven’s newly-born light.

My dreams, when scarcely an adolescent,
My dreams, when a young man already full of life,
Were to see you one day, jewel of the sea of the Orient,
Dry those eyes of black, that forehead high,
Without frown, without wrinkles, without stains of shame.

My lifelong dream, my deep burning desire,
This soul that will soon depart cries out: Salud!
To your health! Oh how beautiful to fall to give you flight,
To die to give you life, to die under your sky,
And in your enchanted land eternally sleep.

If upon my grave one day you see appear,
Amidst the dense grass, a simple humble flower,
Place it near your lips and my soul you’ll kiss,
And on my brow may I feel, under the cold tomb,
The gentle blow of your tenderness, the warmth of your breath.

Let the moon see me in a soft and tranquil light,
Let the dawn send its fleeting radiance,
Let the wind moan with its low murmur,
And should a bird descend and rest on my cross,
Let it sing its canticle of peace.

Let the burning sun evaporate the rains,
And with my clamor behind, towards the sky may they turn pure;
Let a friend mourn my early demise,
And in the serene afternoons, when someone prays for me,
O Country, pray to God also for my rest!

Pray for all the unfortunate ones who died,
For all who suffered torments unequaled,
For our poor mothers who in their grief and bitterness cry,
For orphans and widows, for prisoners in torture,
And for yourself pray that your final redemption you’ll see.

And when the cemetery is enveloped in dark night,
And there, alone, only those who have gone remain in vigil,
Disturb not their rest, nor the mystery,
And should you hear chords from a zither or psaltery,
It is I, beloved Country, singing to you.

And when my grave, then by all forgotten,
has not a cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let men plow and with a spade scatter it,
And before my ashes return to nothing,
May they be the dust that carpets your fields.

Then nothing matters, cast me in oblivion.
Your atmosphere, your space and valleys I’ll cross.
I will be a vibrant and clear note to your ears,
Aroma, light, colors, murmur, moan, and song,
Constantly repeating the essence of my faith.

My idolized country, sorrow of my sorrows,
Beloved Filipinas, hear my last good-bye.
There I leave you all, my parents, my loves.
I’ll go where there are no slaves, hangmen nor oppressors,
Where faith doesn’t kill, where the one who reigns is God.

Goodbye, dear parents, brother and sisters, fragments of my soul,
Childhood friends in the home now lost,
Give thanks that I rest from this wearisome day;
Goodbye, sweet foreigner, my friend, my joy;
Farewell, loved ones, to die is to rest.

José Rizal, 1896

—-

*The best and most accurate English translation of the Spanish original, translated from Spanish by Edwin Agustin Lozada. Italics and highlights are mine.

I still get teary-eyed reading this.