Plants vs zombies

I think PvZ is a widely popular PC game, if not the most popular. I actually used the principle stated in Sun Tzu's Art of War. That is to occupy as many territories or squares as possible ranging from strong to weak plants. The theory is to displace the zombies. I finished the game many times. But question is do you apply this literally in the modern world? Like invading a sovereign country that is helpless and peaceful? Russia and China are the two largest countries in the world and also in land mass that is why these are the places you want to drill for oil deposits. Quit bullying the Philippines. As the Chinese philosopher Confucius said "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others." Chinese culture is already embedded in the Philippines and almost other countries - the people, food, literature and etcetera. I actually have a chinese nephew and niece. This is exactly what Sun Tzu was saying in occupying territories. The world loves chinese culture because it has good taste and definitely was not forced. This is in contrast to the thinking of invading foreign lands. The Philippines is relatively a toddler compared to older civilizations like China, India, the Americas and Europe. It is up to these older brothers to take care of their younglings. As wriiten in the Bible, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them." About the black gold or oil: http://lukasabridged.blogspot.com/2015/03/chasing-black-gold.html

Laundry day

Holy Week in the Philippines means a long weekend off, there are no classes for students and no work for employees. Everyone is in vacation mode. They also celebrate the Passion of Jesus wherever they go or whatever activity they do. As I said, Jesus is in God's image which is also knowledge. His death for me means the death of knowledge which is temporary because he rises again on the third day. So I guess there would be little or no learning to be had during these times. Although as you already know, this is just symbolic. Throughout the year, we will find the time to learn and the time to rest. I think I just wanna wash some clothes or watch some movies or revisit my playstation or some walking or whatever I can think later.

Genesis 13:14-16
14The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 16"I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.…

And then Abram was renamed as Abraham.

These days (4)

Honor Thy Father and Mother
Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) Of course, we have to respect our biological parents. But in this commandment, God is also referring to people who have been good influences to you whether they are older or younger than you. It doesn't matter if they live in a white house or make-shift houses. To honor them, one must continue going the right path.

The Beautiful Ones
The Filipino men and women in Palau is a collection of good looking people. There are also East Asians, Americans, Europeans coming by boatloads on the weekends and of course, the locals. I mean I see most of them lookers everywhere - in the streets, shops and the basketball gym. Okay I may be overly exaggerating because there's also less lookers and some are fat people. However its quite boring there because there were no magic shows or an animal zoo where I can see a fox.

Election time
Again it depends on your intuition, logic and conscience. Don't let anyone influence you in your voting. Three points of view. Whats your gut feel? What does the statistics say? Follow your heart.

On Tattoos
I think the whole chapter of Leviticus 19 is about idolatry. In verse 28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

I think this is not literal. It just means do not glorify the dead or corrupted people but rather follow the Lord or the good word or knowledge. It might seem that this is self-serving because I have a tattoo myself. But I really think its just a matter of good taste. For me I want my tattoo hidden while others think otherwise. Many people don't want any. That is well and good because its your choice. HOWEVER if you are gonna tattoo 666 on your forehead for everyone to see, that is just unsightly and obstinate.



Happy April Fool's Day!

Criminal minds

The opposite of the good word is corruption which means going away from knowledge, conscience and logic. Corruption means violence, killings, homosexuality, rape and other heinous crimes. These are ones the government must keep an eye on. They have demons that have to be exorcised and by applying 24/7 surveillance, the demons can be casted out. The world police owe it to the people to make the world peaceful, healthy and progressive place to live. Killing is a crime but it depends on circumstances as some kill in self-defense, some because of the law and country and some because of religion. We can cast out these demons by educating them with the good word. Call me self-righteous but I won't let a homosexual be near with my family. They are like a walking time bomb because they influence people with their corruption. The way they look at you makes you cringe. And their PDA is just disgusting. Man to man and woman to woman is not it is supposed to be in the Bible. It just says one man and one woman. So its up to the authorities and everyone else to watch the criminals' every move and discipline them to be productive individuals.

One Republic

Malaysia has a unity campaign called the One Malaysia and I thought our country could use the slogan. One Philippines. Malaysia is composed of malays, chinese and indians and also by religion Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. Despite altercations, the bottom-line is they make it work. I can just marvel at their concrete-grouted mountain sides on the country-side highways to prevent erosion as compared to the scary-looking road shoulders going to Subic. Probably the division of the Philippines can be illustrated by the number of islands. Remember more than 300-years of Spanish rule and we had about 200 revolts? My opinion is that our forefathers did not set aside their differences for a common goal. About time to change our ideology.

The key I think is to build bridges figuratively though physically I think it may be feasible to connect Negros to Cebu and Leyte to Mindanao. For now we only have the San Juanico bridge joining two provinces Samar and Leyte. Bridges will benefit the middle to lower class because its an inexpensive way of traveling and influence the economy of the two provinces. So I say support the President and all the authorities. Organize and/or support good causes. Rally at a designated place at the right time. Clogging the roads with strikers just impedes the commerce and trade. Your voice and complaints can be heard in the elections and the right avenues. It may be little things like avoid jaywalking by walking an extra 100 meters. Do your part.

Chasing the black gold

I have always wondered where the oil in the Middle East came from. I believe oil is from God. And God is science and evolution as well. In the beginning the word or knowledge was with God. Then they created animals whether big and small. And then He created Adam, he was to have dominion over animals. Logic says he cannot co-exist with the dinosaurs and other huge hunters so I guess these animals were long gone by the time Adam was created. Remember God is infinite, one day is same as one month or one year or a million years for Him. The theory of relativity. The seven days of creation is just symbolic. All these animals were created for man. At the time, Earth as suggested by experts is a huge mass of land. Just a thought, the blood and the remains of these ancient creatures and plants combined with the elements and was subjected to extreme pressures and extreme temperatures to what makes up the oil deposits. Like the process of turning coals into diamonds takes millions of years. If I would make an expedition to locate an oil deposit, I would look for a huge land mass for purposes of finance, politics and science. Absolutely not a place of over 7000 islands where there is very little to non-existent proof of pre-historic life. What people are searching for might be sitting right in their own backyards. Think man.

Woolly Mammoth Unearthed By Oil Workers In Siberia
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/31/mammoth-siberia-tusks-bones_n_6980096.html?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067

Sex and Well-being

My definition of sex is to procreate superior human beings while enjoying the pleasure that comes with it. I will be editing this post as I think of something. Going back to my very first post, that song by Louis Armstrong http://lukasabridged.blogspot.com/2015/03/what-wonderful-world.html:

 "I hear babies cryin'. I watch them grow.They'll learn much more than I'll ever know And I think to myself What a wonderful world."

The sperm and the egg cell

I believe the couple must abstain from sex until the female is ready. There is a monthly cycle for females so use that information. Note that there will be time that your female pets will be in heat. Animals do not have sex all the time. In abstaining from sex, I believe the sperm cells mature and develop. Same goes for the eggs. Survival of the fittest. That would make a superior human being. I have not read any research on this but I think its the law of nature. In addition to this, abstinence makes you sharp, physically and mentally strong and confident.

These days (3)

Cross referencing
To cross reference books and other media that spread the good word, you have to trust your judgement to seek for knowledge (and God is knowledge) whether its from ancient times up to modern day novels and works. Literature is a source of wisdom, knowledge and entertainment. I read parables and fables sometimes. I used to follow the late senator Juan Flavier's articles in the Philippine Star, which were compiled into books. Will have to get them one of these days. I also read novels by Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, Jack Higgins, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Harlan Coben, Lee Child (come on man, Reacher was supposed to be 6'5", just kidding) and many others. Too many to mention. And same goes for films, music and other forms of entertainment. Actually my blog title, Under the Same Sun is inspired by a song by the Scorpions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwyXnft6ZVk

Bolt and nut
It fits. One man and one woman. If you use the bolt in other holes it isn't designed for, the threading would deteriorate. Same goes for the nut. In the Bible:

1 Peter 3:7
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. 

They are weaker literally so husbands must be respectful, patient and understanding. As with another meaning, their reproductive organ is the weaker vessel so do not let corruption and wickedness take over you. See my previous posts --> http://lukasabridged.blogspot.com/2015/03/cancer-and-genetics.html and http://lukasabridged.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-practice-of-monogamy.html. Makes sense, doesn't it? Bible is a guide for healthy living and I think the same for the Koran and other texts.

1 man 4 wives
That is in Islam but if I were to interpret this using the essence of the Bible, this is about a man studying knowledge and he has to cross reference other books to be clearer. Not to be taken literally in my opinion. I think the guide when you study the Bible, or other books for that matter, is that to take into consideration the three things I am reiterating - intuition, logic and heart. One woman is already a handful, what more if you have two or more? People should open their eyes to logic, science and technology to destroy established dogmas and traditions.

Violence in movies, video games
I am a gamer and RE4 is my favorite all-time. It involves killing people, zombies and other ungodly creatures. It did not make me a violent person. There's this documentary from Japan where they smash ceramic plates, vases, TV and other equipment as a release from tension. They even shoot darts at the picture of their bosses. I guess its the same with video games. But like all things, we should do things in moderation. In relation to this, how about the butchers who kills animals as a job? Do they get violent from seeing blood? I don't think so. In movies, both the good and the bad must be portrayed so that young people can differentiate. We have censorship boards to control the ratings. The parents must prepare their offsprings to be responsible adults. Be aware of what they surfing online. The secondary advisers would be the teachers, guidance counselors, adult relatives and the long arm of the media.

Porn is from the devil
Porn and smut magazines should be completely eradicated because its the machinery of demons. To rid of this, one must ask for God's help which means do what is according to the good word and knowledge. These evil machinery makes people insecure, weak and dumb. Avoid those websites, delete sex videos and burn smut magazines. Go out and do something worthwhile!

The Picture Blog

Something about the unknown that makes you extra curious I guess. I've been to many provinces in Luzon whether work-related or for leisure so I can say your best-friends would be the malls, gas stations and fast-food shops where you can make a pit stop to refresh. Its okay to take pictures but not so much as to forget to enjoy the journeys. My out of the country travels includes Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE and the Republic of Palau in Micronesia. My plan is to be a globe-trotter. I be editing this as time goes by.

This is my favorite F1 car, the jaguar. My brother is the more avid fan - he collects toy cars, posters and meets the F1 drivers but he is just starting to learn how to drive. That's what he says because I been telling him to learn driving and get a car of his own.

And this is my favorite track. Its difficult to overtake here because of the narrow road width. The expertise of the drivers are tested there with the hairpin, bends and straight roads.

Just a thought. What if the Peruvian government make this drawing into a race track. I'd love to drive there. They say it runs for kilometers and the width ranges from 1 to 10 ft which would fit a car. Also they found a layer of gravel topping the natural ground so definitely can made into a driving track. As I read now, there are writers back then who believed this was made for racing.

Thing with selfies is that sometimes you won't like your picture. This picture is quite okay, presentable I guess. The trick is to shoot as much as possible then select the best looking one. Don't apply to relationships though.

My cat Tobey, actually my brother bought him. But I have grown attached to this cat and vice-versa. When he was younger, he likes lofty places but as he grow older, he became grounded.

 The Petronas Twin Towers! Quite a romantic sight especially at night, you know, with moon, the stars and the clouds.

These chili peppers made my stomach rumble with heat especially the yellow one and I spent quite some time in the toilet.

Told you guys about the peppers. This is the toilet in Bangkok, on one of the street food corners. Call me weird but I usually take photos of toilets in whatever condition. Now that I think about it, why did I have the time to shoot when I should be shitting? haha

Baby cabbage!!! Need I say more. Really missed this.

You also learn tradition and culture from your travels that are amusing.

 Braised duck noodles, hot tea with pickled peppers.

The architecture of churches are something to behold as well.

Yup I am Superman, don't tell anybody. Got this idea from idol Jon Bon Jovi.

 Come on man, that's just breath-taking. This is at the Lost World in Ipoh City at Perak, Malaysia.

Met this friendly couple in Thailand and went to tour for two days. Stupid thing to wear Bangkok shirt in Bangkok, do not do this ever again. We dared each other to see a bar with nekked women. Did not happen. :D

Ancient stones in Palau. Maybe as old as the ones in stonehenge. Touched the stones to connect with the old folks. Nothing happened.

Fried Kuar teow or something like that. Barley drink.

Do you see it? Mr. Octo on the upper right corner. The islands in Palau are joined by bridges and you can see the corals of the ocean underneath where I shot this.

Time travel story, VC 15 being transported to the 15B.C. My idol Vince Carter of course wears jersey #15. I actually made a 16-page picture story about him doing a commercial but never got around to sending it via mail. Story goes he is dunking in practice when he suddenly warped into space. At 15B.C. ancient people are playing basketball-like game with a basket attached to a beam 15ft high. One of them throws a leather ball towards the basket. Looks like it will overshoot when Vince comes from nowhere, catches the ball in mid-air, does a windmill and finishes with a tomahawk dunk. Cheers were heard all over.

You can do this while in traffic jam. Make words or phrases using the three letters on the plate. In this case PPN - can be population, preparation, panthers piloting nissan and etcera. Saw this also in a suspense/horror film but I been doing this before I saw the film.

Do not mess with a praying mantis. Tiny guy won't back down. Really amazing stuff. I was sizing it with my safety shoes jabbing the air. It suddenly jumped and attached itself to my lower leg.

A Coming of Age story

I believe these so-called disciples and early christians were like story tellers of that time. I'm a spin doctor and let's see how it goes if Jesus was a real person. I guess this would be a brief summary but I can elaborate at another time.

Upon birth, Jesus was given the gift of frankincense, myrrh and gold by the magis and I think they are symbols of intuition, logic and conscience. Jesus as a youngster debated with pharisees at the synagogues. Its same as a youngster chasing after women against older and more flashy rivals. So I guess Jesus won few debates he participated in but got his heart broken.

He went away bettering himself and when he was an adult, Jerusalem received him with palm leaves. He attracts people. He went on with his miracles. Making the blind see what is right and what is wrong according to knowledge and making the cripple walk and do deeds according to the good word. He also casted out demons from women although the demons from men are another thing. At one point, Jesus met a special woman. Yes I'm just making this up with intuition and logic and heart I guess.

The trials, embarrassment, and sacrifices Jesus had to endure with regards to his principles eventually led to his crucifixion or exposition. His mother and his supporters can only watch at a distance. The two criminals at his sides were like people playing good cop and bad cop with their opinions. At the end of the day, it's up to the woman to decide.

I really ought to teach at daycare, you know, telling stories to children.

These Days (2)

Whats in a name
Jelena Dokic/Jankovic (pronouced yelena), Jana Novotna (yana), Jena Malone. Always love the sound of these names.

How to kill a chicken
Taken the title from some random internet person. Here what i got: Better if you have someone holding down the chicken's legs. Pull the feathers at the neck part. Slit the throat and let the blood drip into a dish. Chicken struggles but is already weakened. Will be dead shortly. Immerse in boiling water for easy plucking of feathers.

The Race Equation
Brown + Yellow = Yellow
Brown + White = White
Brown + Black = Black
Yellow + White = White
Yellow + Black = Black
White + Black = Black
Just messing around. :)

Sex Analyzer
There's this portable device that I imagined, needle pricks into thumb to get blood sample. Device analyzes how many times you had sex, how many partners you had, tests for stds. Told this to couple of friends before, they just laughed. Horniness aside really.

Dancing and singing
This has been mentioned a lot in the Bible, but does that really mean that it has to be a praise song with God in the lyrics? As we have applied before, God is knowledge and in this case, the arts. I think it just means you can discern and appreciate dancing and singing done with good taste. Like that move was cool or your voice is amazing. Speaking of which, what's that hiphop song singing "flyyyyyyyy" on refrain? Having an LSS but not really a hiphop fan.

Sa jeep
Pasahero: Mama bayad, dyan lang.
Driver: Ilan to?
Driver: Ilan to?
Driver: Ilan to?
Pasahero: (Naasar) Ilan ba kasya sa sampu?

Avatar and Beyond

I'm a big fan of James Cameron's Avatar so I made fan-fiction sequel about 2010 I guess and I thought I share this here. Its unedited and incomplete though. Other sci-fi films that I love are Gattaca, Minority Report, and Vanilla Sky.


AVATAR AND BEYOND

Chapter One – THE MYSTERIOUS DISEASE

AN 8-FOOT NA'VI MALE swings one-armed on a tree branch, makes a full rotation and somersaults upwards into the sky. He landed perfectly feet first on the ledge-like platform near the base of the branch. It's Jake, wearing the ornate necklace for an Olo'eyktan, his eyes then fixed on a huge tree approximately 80 meters high at some distance away. He feels the branch vibrating beneath his feet.

Jake: (without looking) This is it, this is our new home!

The petite figure of Neytiri appears and follows Jake's gaze.

Neytiri: (clutches his hand) Yes it will be.

Moments like this, there is little to be said between the two of them.

--- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo --- ooo

ITS BEEN TWO MONTHS since “The Great Battle” Pandora, -------- its been two months but Pandora is by binary system of stars which makes the day night... (add details!)


ON THE PLAINS, where the Omaticaya settled after the "Great Battle", there is a already a semblance of their former life. Hunting, fishing, cooking, everyone is doing whatever chores they have in the past.

A couple of Na'vi kids giggle as they run and disappear into the woods. The metallic clank and hydraulic sounds of the Amp suit combine as it chases the kids. The elder Na'vi turns around to see what its all about and smiles.

Norm: I'm coming!

Norm now mans an Amp suit with relative ease – he can be forceful and yet be gentle at the same time. The People have grown fond of him with his help to bring order to the chaos and especially the kids. Make-shift dwellings Well, Norm is kind of like a kid at heart too.

One of kids slows down to a halt and began to cough incessantly. He cups his hand over his mouth and becomes wide-eyed in horror at what he saw – blood.

The incident marks the start of the epidemic that plagued the Omaticaya people.

JAKE AND NEYTIRI have now reached the top of the core trunk of the new Hometree. He sits on a corner with a serious look in his face. The events that transpired within the past month come back to him, flooding his mind with a wave of emotions.

FLASHBACK. The day after the fateful day, all are busy mourning and burying their dead. Mo'at and the People have relented to having the dead humans buried underneath for health reasons. Normally, the Na’vi let their dead in the hollow of the dead tree trunks. The place that was Home-tree is now ground zero lined up with plots and crosses.

JAKE SIGHS as he remembers that another ISV Venture Star will come in two years. The RDA surely will back. But he is more concerned on the more pressing problems at the moment. Norm and Max have been invaluable to him.

Neytiri is watching him.

Neytiri: What's troubling you? The Skypeople… they coming back?

Jake: (smiles wryly, gently caresses her face… and then he sees blood coming out from one of her nostrils.)

AT THE LAB, Max and Norm are testing the blood samples.

Norm: Every one of the people is infected except Jake. His having human DNA can be the reason.

Max: We have yet to see the results but I think Jake's blood have antibodies to fight this mysterious disease. And that's another thing, the disease; we don't know what's causing it.

Norm: The People are dying. And even if we know the antibody, Jake's blood won't produce us sufficient cure for all the people.

AT THE TREE OF SOULS, Jake kneels down praying to Eywa, his queue attached to 3 vines from the tree. He saw visions of a sea creature and a tree with white flowers.

Jake: Did you see that?

Neytiri, her queue also linked to the vine, nods.

Neytiri: It is dugong, the sea friend, you must ride it to get to the Ilang-Ilang tree. That tree is only found in the underwater caves.

Jake: Du-gong?

Neytiri: A sea creature that swims like no other and like ikrans, you will choose your own dugong and he will choose you.

Jake: (Talk about déjà vu) How will I know if he chooses me?

Neytiri: He will play with you.

Jake: Hahahahaha you gotta be kidding me.

Neytiri: You'll see. We must go to the Southern seas and meet the dugong riders and seek their help. They know the way to the underground caves.

Jake: Stay here, you are not well.

End of Chapter One.

Chapter 2 – THE DUGONG AND THE DUGONG RIDERS

AT A BLUE LAGOON, dolphin-like creatures are bonded with the Na'vi playing like a water polo game, in a game of 5 against 5. A large crowd of Na'vi gathered at the picturesque crest of the cliffs. The rule of the game is passing the ball (in this case a fruit like a coconut) to a teammate until they reach the end zone mark where they drop the ball to basket there. If a player drops the ball to the water, ball possession is awarded to the opposing team. Loud cheers are heard when a spectacled Na'vi rushes forward and intercepts a pass. He goes on to face a huge goalie at the end zone (only goalies are allowed to tackle the opposing player).

Crowd: (in Na'vi) Go Bal'tog. Nice one Bal'tog.

Bal'tog maneuvers left and right,and left again, faking with his dugong, the goalie is thrown offguard. He tries to keep up and jumps at the rushing scorer. Bal'tog sees him coming towards his left side. He grits his teeth, crouches, and puts his weight on his right side, traps the ball between his body and the animal as the right arm clutches tight to the queue. He extends his left arm thumping the goalie's chest which pushes him away and he goes down hard into the water. Bal'tog drops the ball uncontested to the ring.

Bal'tog: (grins) Game over!

Crowd: (Sounds of applause)

Their attention is distracted by oncoming group of Na'vi flying in their banshees. Bal’ tog, the young chief, looks up in anticipation.

Seeing the chief, Jake and 2 other warriors directs their banshees to where Bal'tog now sits resting.

Jake: Oel Ngati Kameie, Bal'tog, chief of the dugong riders.

Bal'tog: (in Na'vi) Oel ngati kameie, I have heard of you, Toruk Macto. I'm glad we finally meet. I would have joined you in the battle… How can I be of service to you?

Jake: (in Na'vi) Oel ngati kameie, call me Jake Sully, I am no longer Toruk Macto. But there is not much time; our clan is need of a cure, fast. I'd be very much obliged if you can show me the way to the underground caves… and the Ilang-Ilang tree?

Bal'tog: (keeps on nodding) Ok Jake Sully, my men and I will show you the way, but first, you must get your own dugong. It is the only way.

Baltog waves at his men.

AT THE DREAM GATE (as re-named by Max)

Max: Jake is talking about a dolfinus, the dugong, Grace has done some minor research on Pandora's sea creatures. If Jake successfully captures a dugong, he must pass through a series of underground tunnels and caves. It's easy to get lost in there. Sector 99.

Norm: Look at these tunnels and side tunnels.

Max: (points to a circular area) This is the place right here, the little sunlight that passes through the cave, that why the tree thrives in there. But something is blocking the entrance to the caves, last time I checked, it's not there.

Norm: We better tell Jake about it… but how, I have lost contact with him in hours ago.

Max: Well, there is something you can do about it… I've seen you control the Amp suit… follow me.

Norm follows him to an adjoining the lab room, and sees a Proto-type Aqua suit, basically works the same as the Amp suit, except for some controls.

Max: It won't be a piece of cake but I think you can manage.

Jake: Wow! But this tree, you think is the cure?

Max: We must try; the lives of the People are depending on it.

BACK AT THE BLUE LAGOON

Bal'tog: (in na'vi) Jake Sully, the dugongs are extremely fast swimmers and they are very smart. They are not dangerous but if you want to want to ride one, they will play with you until he is bored. It will take days, sometimes weeks. I got mine after two days.

Jake swims towards a group of dugongs. He spotted the one with reddish freckles. He smiles as it break away from the group and goes toward him. Jake tries to get close to it, but it runs off towards another direction. Half an hour later, he could not even get within five meters from it. As Jake remains inactive, the dugong goes underwater again.

Jake: (whistles using his hand) I haven't got all day for this! TONTO!

Jake's banshee came out of nowhere and lowers its tsaheylu. Jake grabs it and in one fluid motion, gets at its helm and went away.

The dugong resurfaces and looks around to see where his playmate is at. Its face seems quite perplexed. After a while, convinced Jake has left, the dugong swims away leisurely.

CLOSE-UP on the dugong swimming underwater, sea plants and other creatures are to be seen. It surfaces again to breathe when it feels a strong thud on his back. Jake iron-grips its tsaheylu and makes the bond quickly.

Jake triumphantly raises his left hand and heads back toward the chief. Bal'tog shakes his head in disbelief and points his finger to Jake, the entire clan cheers for him.

Bal'tog: (in Na'vi) Incredible, no wonder he successfully captured a toruk.

AT THE SOUTHERN SEAS, Jake, Bal'tog and 5 more riders, navigates at the seemingly endless ocean. Bal'tog raises his hand when he saw the distinct grayish-red rock formations. Down below is the entrance to the caves. Bal'tog and his men dives into the water.

Bal'tog: (resurfaces, talks to Jake) There are boulders blocking the cave. Let's see if we can move them.

All of them took turns but to no avail, it won't even budge.

A huge white figure appears behind them.

Norm in Aqua suit: Am I too late for the party?

Jake: Norm, you came just right on time! Hurry! We have no time to lose.

The Aqua suit goes down under water and surveys the boulders.

Norm in Aqua suit: Scanning… rock thickness 1 meter, rock 1.2 meters, rock 0.70 meter… No problem!

The Aqua suit levels its cannon at the rocks and starts to blast away.

End of Chapter Two.

Study Habits

Meditation I think is a practice universally shared by religions all over the world - christians pray in their churches, the moslems in their mosques, the buddhists in their temples and yoga for the hindus. By definition from merriam-webster, meditation is the act or process of spending time in quiet though. Lets read the verse on the Bible about meditation:

Matthew 6:5-75"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

As we have stated for the nth time, God is knowledge. What do you do when you study knowledge? Yes, go to the library where there is quiet. The other senses must also be satisfied before studying. One's eye must be focused on the book only, no foul smells, no other people bothering you physically and you are well-fed. Otherwise the mind will be distracted. See those guys studying at the coffee shops or the synagogues where they can be seen by men. Of course I also enjoy the ambience at the coffee shop to collect my thoughts but the ideal studying place is where you can close all the senses be it the library, your room and etcetera. If you do that, you will find the understanding of knowledge. And again for the uninformed, knowledge is science, technology, the arts and etcetera.

The Good Word and Media

Media refers to TV, radio and print but today the Internet is all of them rolled into one. In the old times, the good word is passed by writings, word of mouth and songs. The disciples illustrated media during those times in the story of Jesus preaching but the numbers multiplied quickly. Luke the disciple talks of five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish that Jesus broke into pieces and they were able to feed five thousand people.

This is a throwback to the principles of journalism. As Spider-man says, "With great power comes great responsibility". The media must spread the good word which also means good values, right conduct, science, technology, the arts and etcetera. We must get rid of counter-productive issues and keep moving forward into progressive solutions.

The story of Jesus as told by his disciples is not unlike the movies of today I guess as we have many versions of vampire stories. In every point of history, there seems to be a prevailing theme as the literature will tell us.

Going back to Jesus, remember how he loves children. I can say with children you can be yourself. You do not have to pretend you are someone else. Let them play, actually I have seen this being done in Japan if I am not mistaken. Moving further, this is a symbolism of knowledge and the young mind. Its amazing what the generation of today has been accomplishing at their young age. They are like a sponge. I remember when I was in high school how easy it is for me to absorb what the teacher says. So I guess the adolescent stage is where the learning of the good word comes in.

P.S.
I met an odd old woman in front of SM North Edsa last Sunday. She was oblivious to time, people and place while solving seemingly simple math problems in a yellow pad. If I remember correctly I saw her writing 5 + 2 = 7. Although it would indicate that she is capable of more complex operations cause I also saw 5 or more digits and more numbers scribbled all over the paper. My opinion is that there is a time and place for everything.

Cancer and Genetics

One of my brother is curious about the verse Deuteronomy 5:8-9 and its meaning. Lets see the verse:

 Deuteronomy 5:8-98Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

 This means these people are corrupted going against God's will, otherwise known as the good word, science, technology. They made their own rules for fun and pleasure. Like adopting sexual practices not advised by the Bible. Bible says one man and one woman will be joined into one. Treat the woman with respect. Any corruption would result in diseases like cancer which would be passed to the third and fourth generation.

Of Beers and Stuff

So ok I have this beer drinking spree going on, trying out some flavors which will get me dizzy enough to forget the melancholy that has enveloped me. More like beer tasting I guess. Asahi would be my choice as of the moment, while San Mig Lite comes in next. And yes, the beer tasting will continue adding Stella Artois and Brew Kettle (belgian) to the list.

But I digress, the reason I am writing about beer is that this made me think of the events in the Bible. You know, the famous wedding and the shortage of wine. Beer and wine are actually cousins, seriously. Story goes like the host was in a dilemma because they ran out of wine and he asks Jesus about it.  So Jesus went there and change water into wine. The guests were happy because they said the host saved the best wine for last and that it was not intoxicating. Must be carbonated water mixed with flavor, old-styled restaurants still mix it manually from what I seen in a travel show. There's also a beer with low alcohol content like the one they drink in the streets of Russia if I remember correctly. As I been saying, Jesus and God can be interchanged for technology. There was a time when Jesus as an adolescent was debating against Pharisees in the synagogues, after that the lost years of Jesus and then his return. There was a dark age in our history when technology was lost and it has come back.

This also goes for making the blind able to see again or making a cripple to walk again. They have the technology back then although in adolescent stage. The advancement in technology nowadays is amazing. I even see a medical procedure where a girl wants to be taller so she had that part between the knee and the foot cut off and then the doctors probably added bone to extend the leg. Really amazing.

I am also fond of the series Ancient Aliens and the History Channel. Ok go ahead and make assumptions, I do not care. They also showed there science-based opinion on how Jonah was taken inside a whale for three days. They said it could be some type of submarine. Search for the truth, people. Keep in mind your intuition, logic and conscience.

These days

Title is a rehash from my old blog. Basically where I write random events and thoughts from the day. If you wanna check it out, feel free to do so. ---> http://lukasiswriting.blogspot.com/

Scarface
Just thought I'd see the ending scene where Tony scans his monitors and prepares for the attack. Tony and his gang tried to fight back but the mob is just overwhelming with numbers. Tony wears a bullet-proof vest I guess because he took the gun hits quite well. Then a man wearing shades armed with a sawed-off shotgun shoots him in the back. Most probably no person would survive that shot at close range.

Destructive Weapons
In a report from Fox News, there was a Claymore Mine exercise at a coffee plantation and it proved to work 180 degrees from a range of 15 meters. Theory suggests it works 360 degrees but cannot be verified at the moment. Meanwhile an experiment for a newly-developed small heat-seeking missile suggests deadly range up to 60 meters.

A Recurring Dream
I was born in Palawan but I grew up in Marinduque, a heart-shaped island located at the center of the Philippines. I have a recurring dream from about 10 years ago that I was climbing the steps of my old school Immaculate Conception College. It is known as St. Mary's College nowadays. Usually a tricycle would bring me and my siblings to school.

The Enlightened Ones

God is also known for other names - we can call God as the word, truth, knowledge, science and technology among others. Anything against these are against God. God says one man and one woman shall become one. Naturally adultery, concubinage, homosexuality and other forms of corruption are against God. In the old times, Jesus and his disciples were able to cast out evil spirits from people. Some are lesser types that intense stares will drive the evil spirits out. However there are stronger demons that are immune to staring. On the contrary they initiate the stare-down and most of them hit people aggressively. The Enlightened Ones should bring heat to these demons that they will behave at least like normal human beings and be productive despite their condition. Its like bringing hell to these people. Demons do their evil work in the dark because they are ashamed of what they do like thieves in the night. The Enlightened Ones should bring the evil works of Satan and his minions to the light and expose them.

Remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? Two cities that are full of wickedness. Lot and his family fled to a tiny village but his wife looked back and turned to a pillar of salt.

Fleeing from Sodom and Gomorrah means doing away with the corruption and wickedness. By looking back, Lot's wife remembered corruption which would make her lust. This is comparable to Porn-watching. People must stop watching porn and for parents, its their job to censor whatever their kids are watching or surfing on the net.

The Bible is full of personification so one must not automatically interpret it literally. The Bible also has layered interpretations that sometimes there are more than one interpretation. Salt is a retarding agent meaning it delays the change in temperature of an object for a long period of time like hotness and coldness (means anger or coldness) so people should not look back on history and play the blame game. People must move forward. Think of two big cities and your guess is as good as mine. What is promising, encouraging and heart-warming is that there are hosts of Enlightened Ones who are bringing us to one direction.

The Practice of Monogamy

I believe the Bible is a guide for people to have a healthy, progressive and happy life just as other scriptures from the Koran, the Indian texts, Confucius and writings of the old-timers. I also believe these texts are all in congruence with the Bible having written before or after the Bible. But for my basis of discussion below, I would cite the Bible because I am not familiar with the other texts although I consider myself as a beginner in the Bible. The topic below is about the hair which is somewhat blurry to me at first but thing is you have to see things in context to have a better understanding. 

1 Corinthians 11:1-16

1Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 

2Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. 

3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

4Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.

5But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.

6For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.

7For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.

          8For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;…

9for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake.…

10Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.…

11However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.

12For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.…

13Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?…

14Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,…

15but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.

16But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.  

St. Paul, the writer of this epistle, said be like Christ. It means learn from me the good word. Then he illustrates the hierarchy of God to Christ to Man to Woman. Men are supposed to lead women because of superior genes as what is happening in almost fields of work today.

In verse 4, it tells us of distractions to the thinking of man. This can be explained by the image below:

Mahatma Gandhi and Jose Rizal, two of four geniuses of the Far East that I read somewhere, came from relatively well-off families and when it comes to women, Gandhi married at a young age, around 17 if I remember correctly, and Rizal's women can counted by the number of languages he spoke according to his friend and historian Ferdinand Blumentritt. What I mean is that their needs at the triangle above are satisfied at young age that is why the two geniuses went up to their level of thinking.

Verses 5-9 just reiterates that men are superior than women and must lead the women. However Verse 10 talks of exceptional women who lead.

Verses 11 to 15. Verse 14, long hair is a dishonor for man while in verse 15, long hair is a glory to a woman. One man and one woman dependent to each other and to God. Remember the verse that said "Let us make men to our image and likeness". It says be knowledgeable and search for the truth. And the conscience in your heart will tell if a teaching is right or wrong.

And as verse 16 implies as long as a couple based their relationship with God, they wouldn't need to join a church. Although for camaraderie and fellowship I think couples should join a church.

Incidentally, the Proverbs talk of gray hair:

Proverbs 16:31
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

Hoary head refers to gray hair and old age. Gray is a combination of white and black. So it means people cannot avoid to commit sin but as long as the sins are not grave, you can live a life of righteousness. The hair is composed of dead cells which means how you live your life will be your legacy that will live on long after you die. And it does not matter whether a man or a woman has long or short hair. 

I Don't Get Obese People

It just pains me when I see obese people. Put them in the old times, they wouldn't survive an hour. Imagine them in those helmets and armor and vests in the front-line of battles. What I'm trying to say is that its not normal for people to be obese. Have anyone read that book "That One Fat Friend" or something like that? I have not. But I can assume its not pretty.

I'm not trying to make fun of these people. In fact my brother has grown obese (or big) and I often joked him about it. He reasoned that having large servings of food in the UAE made him grow fat. But in fairness to him, he is still agile when I last saw him and he says he does some running. My family has always been sporty type - my older brother once tried out for Mapua basketball coz he was an aggressive baller but he was too small. At 5'9" he can't play power forward at the college level and has no handles to be a guard. My kid brother meanwhile would run rings around the UST block with ease. The distance he runs would be comparable to a marathon. My younger sister although the bookish type, can surprisingly run fast according to her in P.E. classes. Me and my oldest sister would be the least athletic although I would call it the laziest.

So that's one reason for obesity. Laziness. Then splurging on those Eat-all-you-can promos and fast-food shops. Then being a couch potato watching TV or in the internet watching other lives unfold in their eyes and not having physical exercise. Get up your couch man and do some crunches, push-ups and pull-ups or learn in your community colleges. Have some green leafy vegetables. Sheeeeeesh. :((

Three Questions

With Technology rising exponentially, new inventions and innovations follow naturally. But I think with every gadget or machine we create and re-create, we must ask ourselves three primary questions:

1. What's your intuition about the device?
2. What does logic say about it?
3. What does your conscience dictate?

Let's apply these with the development of nuclear weapons.
1. Is there gonna be another World War in the near future (like in our lifetime or the next) that you insist on building weapons of mass destruction? My intuition is none.
2. Logic says it can happen or not.
3. What does your conscience says about killing people? All people have conscience that they have it in their hearts to know what is right and what is wrong.

So if your gut feel is that there wouldn't be a World War happening soon and your heart says its wrong to kill people then why develop nuclear weapons when it can be used in progressive ventures like power plants. Of course, you develop these weapons and military as a deterrent to crime like the police are doing. No problem with policing I think but there should be only one policing body like the United Nations for the whole world that every nation will respect, trust and have compromises.

Some Remarkable People I Met

Sister Carter

You cannot miss her when you are in the Republic of Palau in Micronesia located east of the Philippines. Around 7AM along the main road, she would smile and wave to each and every vehicle and passersby. I was driven with curiosity and decided to wait up and talk to the blonde lady. BTW she really is a sister from Baptist ministry. So I asked her why she was doing that and she told me she felt lonely jogging alone. I promised her I would jog with her.


My Kid Brother

Not that my other siblings are not special. Just that I miss my kid brother. He is a professor in Sharjah, UAE. When we were young, he usually tags along with me whenever I go to activities with my neighborhood buddies. He is a blackbelter in Aikido aside from his training in Karate and I am a natural boxer so we would go on sparring at times but not like in MMA today.


Mr. Chang Foo Kwek

He was my Project Manager in Ipoh, Malaysia. We would go to malls after eating out coz we share the same apartment and his family is in KL about 2 hours away from our place. We seldom talked during those times but he taught me how to play golf. He is actually good at it coz he won a golfing event that year. I gathered he attended college in the UK like many others if I am not mistaken coz they have direct visa being a former colony of UK .

What a Wonderful World

About 20 years ago, I was singing this song aloud thinking I was alone when my father climbed down the stairs smiling at me. Let me share to you the lyrics.

"What A Wonderful World" - Louis Armstrong

 I see trees of green, red roses, too,
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.

 I see skies of blue, and clouds of white,
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.

 The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky,
Are also on the faces of people going by.
I see friends shaking hands, sayin', "How do you do?"
They're really sayin', "I love you."

 I hear babies cryin'. I watch them grow.
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

 Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Song about the promise of a peaceful, happy and advanced tomorrow.