Corporal Garth Raymond’s Personal Logs:

START OF RECORD

Battle Date: June 30, 2288:

I HATE ZOMBIES! The statement alone gives me power whenever I say this to myself and because it is the truth. In fact, I liked it so much that I stenciled it on my trusty ironclad armor. Yeah, I know, these ironclads are antiques. They are more of relics from the Fourth World War; can’t blame the higher ups since resources for warfare has become scarce. Survivors will get their hands to any weapons they can get from hand-held weapons to long range projectiles. Nuclear missiles that can decimate a country were a thing of the past. The countries that had them disarmed their nuke missiles during the turn of the 22^nd century. I guess they are now regretting why they’ve done it. But we have an alternative - nuke canisters. They are weaker than the uranium powered missiles but one of these babies can decimate a city block.

It has been 2 years since the first incident of the infestation occurred. Experts are still searching as to what is causing the zombification of people. I’ve seen friends, neighbors, and families being infected and joining the despicable undead since then.

I joined the Clearance Operatives 5 months ago. At first we were tasked to seek out and bring zombie specimens so that the white-coats can examine them and perhaps find a cure to reverse or at least stop the process. They’ve tried different mixtures of antibiotics, serums….stuff like that. But they concluded that every “cure” that they administered to the infected was simply mutated by the virus at the molecular level; rearranging their components and rendering them harmless to the virus. So, there’s no hope for the victims. Not for long, our objectives changed from “Seek and Rescue” to “Search and Destroy”.

Luckily (or unfortunately) depending on one’s point of view, I was raised in an orphanage.  And that, too, was not spared. It all started when a nun brought into the infirmary who she thought was a homeless person, but it turned out that the man was a newly created zombie. The devil bit the right arm of the nun and ripped it from its joint. Panic ensues. The children were easy targets. 

We arrived at the orphanage and we were greeted by shuffling,  grunting, decaying, and blood crusted little zombie boys and girls. It’s painful to be one of the heavily armed ironclad personnel at the site and being ordered to raze to the ground the orphanage where I grew up with. It only took us five minutes and one canister of nuke to do the job. Nuking the place was not necessary, but we have to make sure that none of those abominations survive.

END OF RECORDING

Labyrinth: A Jim Henson film

Damn! It's been a while since I saw this movie. I did not know that it was produced by George Lucas. Anyway, as I write this it is Saturday. And on this afternoon there's nothing good to see on TV; nothing to do also since it is hot outside. So I did what any logical person would do - watch a movie. 

Google image: Scene from Labyrinth - Jared and Sarah

I flipped through our selections of animations, sci-fi, chanbarra, Buster Keaton, Kurosawa, musicals, and I finally stumbled upon the movie Labyrinth, which was lying in our shelf for quite some time. I casually browsed through its features and selected the documentary about how the movie was made. It was amazing! 

Google image: Jim Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990)

The last time I saw the documentary I felt like a child in a toy store, and when I saw it again I still do felt like a child in a toy store. Jim Henson was a genius when it comes to story telling. The film was released way back in 1986, and mind you they made the film before the computer generated effects (except of course the flying owl at the intro credits).

I hope that when they do a sequel of this movie, they will follow the style of Jim Henson. No fancy computer effects. They should use latex puppets, animatronics, choreographed actions (courtesy of Cheryl McFadden also known as Gates McFadden who played Dr. Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation). Hoping of course that David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly who played Jared the Goblin King and 16-year-old Sarah Williams respectively, will be there too to establish sense of continuation.

The soundtrack was great too, which were performed by David Bowie. I especially like the ballroom dance scene. Jennifer Connelly was stunning, and as a kid of '86 I had a crush on her then (ha ha ha).

More than 20 years had passed since then and it still brings out the kid in me. I believe that if Jim Henson is still alive today he will continue to give us stories of wonder and innocence - the things we lose along the way.

The MRT and LRT fare hike!

The MRT and LRT, two of Philippines most sought after mode of transportation that ferries people across Metro Manila, is going to increase their fare. It is a sad thought that this increase should happen, when there is a global economic turmoil which could also mean additional burden on the masses since most of the commuters belongs to the middle and the lower classes of society. MRT, whose tickets ranges from Php12.00 to Php15.00 will become Php50.00 more or less and the LRT will charge Php22.00 per passenger from its current Php15.00.

The government’s rationale for this decision was based from the SONA of President Aquino that the coffers of the government is losing money from subsidizing the operation of the two said train systems. Naturally, the decision was met with strong protests from cross-oriented labor and student groups.

Though I am not using the trains at this time, I too disagree with the proposal. I can see the chaos it will bring once this is implemented. People will block the main thorough fare to catch a ride just to get to their work. Imagine, if we were infuriated when these two main transportation modes stop operation due to power shortages that causes us to be late for our work and having to squeeze into a jam packed busses and  mind you these things happens only once in a blue moon, the same scenario will occur EVERYDAY if the increase pushes through. Hence, the purpose of the trains of decongesting the streets of cars, commuters and public transportations will be put into naught. People will be late for their work and being late means loss of revenue for the companies. It is the 1980’s once again MANILA.

However, there is still a glimmer of hope. The government is rehabilitating the PNR or the Philippine National Railroad. Though this project was started by the previous administration with reported anomalies, it is still the best alternative for the said problem. But this must be finished soon so as the people may reap its benefit;s otherwise, the government should be able to guarantee the commuters that they can provide a smooth and fast travel similar to that of the trains when the people uses the highway. And frankly speaking which I doubt heavily.

Tarot Cards As Writing Prompts

Writers are magicians....

Whenever I'm stuck or having a writer's block, I usually get my brain to jump start by using writing prompts. So, you might ask "what is a writing prompt?" They are usually a simple statement or a photo presented to the writer so as to get a general idea as to what to write about.

... they can write anything under the sun.

These writing prompts can come from various sources. One can get them from the pages of the magazine, a line from a book, something that was heard, or photos from the internet.  These are best when writing a personal essays. But what if you are stuck in the middle of a story? What if you want to create a short story and yet you do not know how to express your ideas in a coherent manner? As we all know, writers of stories are conjurers in their own right and having a writer's block is a death sentence to them.

Sometimes they are wise

Sometimes they are fools too.

This is where one can use the tarot cards for story telling. Yes, I think that they can be good writing prompts. Imagine with just only 56 cards with illustration and with each one has its own meaning both in normal and reversed position when put in a spread. You do not have to use it for divination, just simply know the meaning of each card and its location in the spread then you can have a story to tell to almost infinite possibilities.

Why not try using the tarot cards in this manner. There are websites who offers free software for download and there are those who provide information for free on how to use the cards.  Try reading the various types of card spread since each spread has its own purpose. Just keep your handy dandy notebook close by for notes.

Unleash your creative juices, Learn how to draw!!

just an example as to what you can do!

One of my hobby is drawing. But my drawing is not that top-grade! It is usually composed of doodles and Japanese manga like characters that jumps right out from my imagination and into the pages of my sketch pad. I do not have any formal training but those who see my sketches says I'm good at it. Though mine is a mediocre classification of drawing, there are those whose bread and butter comes through their art. They would welcome any help that could further enhance their craft.

Before, we all know that art is not for everybody but now there are tools where one learn how to draw cartoons and other artistic expressions. Isn't it wonderful to learn that a budding artist can have the information  he will need that can be also added to their arsenal of drawing techniques or where one can learn how to draw right in the comfort of their home by just popping in a DVD and be instructed by a professional whenever they want to? Also wouldn't it be comforting to know that the necessary tools will be provided for like to learn  the art of character design, how to draw cartoons, or perhaps creating a vector toons for the web and to jump start or polish your craft? If your answer is yes click here to find out more.

I hate Zombies!!

Among the monsters that man has concocted, it is the zombies that I hate. Unlike their undead cousins, the vampires you cannot reason with them, and they are disgusting. They grunt and chase you in hoards until they block your means of escape and eventually they will eat you or turn you in to one of them.

There is a possibility that a zombie infestation could happen with all the bacterias and germs that are floating around not to mention the viruses that have been discovered and yet to be discovered ready to mutate by nature's whim. Before, zombies are slow walkers but now they are agile and abled climbers too!

But what is a Zombie? Traditionally, zombies were created by powerful magicians or wizards to become laborers or slaves (an organic robot perhaps?). But now, zombies were also created by science either through alien influence, viral mutation, or even radiation. Unlike with a wizard as a cause of zombification, once you killed the wizard the zombies goes with it too; however, with science based zombies the cause of it is always as what have been stated above.

I guess, the real reason as to why I hate zombies is what they represent. They represents mindless individuals who cannot stand on their own ground. They could also personify, in some way, philosophies of men that should have been dead but refused to die due to ignorance. Also, we can equate the zombie's need to feed on consumerism. And the so called necessity to conform with a group so as not to be "left out". 

I hate zombies, but come to think of it I could be one of them.

A newbie's perspective on how to earn money through blogging

I am new to blogging and this I do not deny; however, I became even more interested to this exercise when I found out that I can earn some decent money from it. And there were those who really made a living out of blogging.

Like a diligent student, I researched on the art of blogging and boy it came as a surprise when I was bombarded by information from all sides! Now, my head is in a spin trying to sort out the data so as not to have an overload. I remembered a quote from Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) when he said "from one thing, know ten thousand things". Now, this does not mean that you will learn ten thousand things literally; it only meant that you will learn a lot of information if you want to engage in the enterprise not only on blogging but from anything. 

There are websites that offers tutorials and tips on how to write a blog which includes correct grammar, punctuations, composition, copywriting, layouting, traffic generation, sites where you can earn money from your blog, etc.

If you want to continue to pursue your blogging, I have provided the links that are very informative with regards to blog writing and earning from blogs. There are only four which I can provide for now, but I will add more as I research further.

Recommended Sites:

• 8 Habits of Highly Excellent Bloggers
• Why You Can't Make Money Blogging (Do not be fooled by the title!)
• 26 Sites That Pay You to Blog 
• Bukisa

Like what I have said, I am a newbie so I still have a long way to go before I reap the  fruits of my labor, but hopefully I will have my fruits. For now I'm just enjoying the experience of blogging.

If you like to add anything like tips, additional information, useful websites feel free to comment or email me so we can share it in the blogging community.

Thank you

Say what?

Have you ever seen a document, a statement or a question that has no coherent meaning at all?  Isn't it infuriating to read them because of their grammatical errors? They are common on the packaging of products that came from China. I do not blame those who have translated them because of their limited knowledge of the English language.

 Example: A warning message from an ointment: "Keep away from eyeballs".

 And believe me, that this is just one of them. You can search other humorous translations using the internet and I guarantee you that they will make you laugh. Why not check out this site: http://www.jnweb.com/funny/translation.html

 Now, what would you make of this question: "How will your filled film house the apparent clause?"

I've been racking my brains out trying to decipher this question. It seems that I will have to hire a cryptographer or perhaps employ the use of an Enigma machine for this one.

My theory is that, since the Chinese character is so complicated that a single character can have more than one meaning, the translators were confused as to what is the correct or direct translation of the character into English. But it could be worse, they could have been using a universal translation software and relying on what it gives to them.

Lego toys

You might be wondering as to why on earth that a 35-year -old man would talk about Lego. Well, I'm not particularly talking about Lego I'm talking about the concept of the toy whether it is the Lego or pseudo-Lego (the cheaper ones). I like to tinker with them. I can easily construct something based on my imagination. And the moment I got tired of the design or wanted to change it I can deconstruct it and make me another. Besides I used to sculpt with plasticine but they are messy; however, I can not sculpt the way a Michelangelo would sculpt a statue of a David. I go with what my imagination dictates me at that time and with Lego I can make my imagination run wild. 

Reunion of Friends

Last Saturday July 3, I attended a reunion with my classmates from college. There were only 15 of us, but it was fun (actually "fun" is a weak description of our get-together). The last time most of us saw each other was way back in 1996. Imagine, more than a decade had passed since that time. What I can say, besides from the development of gray hair, change in body structure and of status we have not actually changed at all!

The get-together was formulated when a friend of ours posted a blurred class picture. When I saw the photos, I remembered that I also have the same class picture. So I scanned mine and posted it in Facebook and tagged those whom I know, and of course, to spare having a bad eye sight in the long run (no offense , you know who you are). Due to this posting, most of us tried to find other classmates in Facebook and in no time at all we have managed to reconnect with most of them and our circle of friends grew.

In a matter of just less than a week, comments flooded the photos. Right there and then there was an instant reunion in cyberspace. Even our professors whom we have not seen for a long time joined in the "commotion". It was one of our classmates who organized the reunion that resulted in boisterous laughter which lasted until the wee hours of the morning. We are hoping that in our next get-together more will attend. There was also a plan to use Skype or Yahoo Messenger for those who are out of the country.

It was a trip down memory lane. We have managed to bridged the chasm of social standing and geography all together.