Windsor's Voice

Realization: A struggle between the monarchy and speech defect; how a king faced embarrassment and met a friend he'd be forever grateful for can be worthy of an Oscar. Heart breaking at the beginning yet ended with so much grace. There was absolutely no room for shame. 


It was truly remarkable for a man of great stature, possessed such great power, faced his own flaws with dignity still intact. Embarrassed as expected but was persuasive. Like a valiant soldier who fears no guns, canyons, bombs, and even death, King George VI, afraid to hear his own voice continued to search within and victoriously ended what was like a war within his own soul. Inspiring. 


A must-see movie. I heard the audiobook is a must-try as well. 

127 hours eh?

Nothing can stop me from exploring the world even if it means cutting my arm in half. I was born to see the world and I'm gonna do it. 

International Women's Month: Isang Pagpupugay sa mga Natatanging Kababaihang Pinoy

Kung meron mang dapat maging aktibo sa pagsulong ng karapatan ng mga kababaihan,yun ay tayo. Tayo mismong mga babae ang dapat manguna sa pakikibaka para sa mga karapatang dapat tinatamasa nating lahat lalung-lalo na ang mga karapatan ng mga Pilipinong ina. 

Isa sa mga pinakamainit na pinaguuusapan sa Pilipinas ay ang pagsulong ng Reproductive Health Bill. Saklaw nito ang pagpapalaganap ng family planning upang maiwasan ang patuloy na paglobo ng populasyon sa bansa. Isinasaad din sa proposisyon ang pangangalagang pangkalusugan ng mga babae, lalung-lalo na ng mga ina at ng mga bata. Ngunit kung gaano man karami ang sumusuporta rito ay ganoon din naman karami ang nais kumontra. Isa sa mga nangunguna sa pagtaligsa sa pagpapasa ng RH Bill ay ang simbahang Katoliko. Iginigiit ng simbahan na anumang metodo ng pagkokontrol sa pagkakaroon ng anak ay isang kasalanan. Isa sa mga nagsulong ng proposisyon na ito ay si Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago. 

Si Defensor ang isa sa mga tinitingala at kung minsan kinukutya sa kanyang matapang na pananalita.  

• Isinilang noong 1945 sa lungsod ng Iloilo
• Tumakbo bilang Pangulo noong 1992 ngunit nabigo
• Unang naging senador noong 1995 at nananatili sa serbisyo hanggang sa kasalukuyan 
• Matapang at paklabang mambabatas
• Isang inang naulila ng anak 

Hindi lamang si Santiago ang kilala sa pagiging matapang. Kamakailan lamang ay nakilala ng mundo ang bagsik ng kamao ni Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton. Siya ang kauna-unahang babaeng Fil-Am na nakasungkit ng titulo sa Women's WBO Super Bantamweight at IBA Super Bantamweight. Sa kasamaang palad, sya'y hindi nagtagumpay sa kanyang huling laban. Gayunpaman, patuloy pa rin sya sa pag-eensayo para sa kanyang susunod na match. 

• Ipinanganak noong 1980 sa San Francisco, California.
• Nagsimulang mag-boxing noong 2004
• Binansagang "The Hurricane" dahil sa angking bilis at lakas sa pagsuntok
• Laki man sa Amerika, ngunit nananatiling Pilipino sa dugo 

Kung lakas lang din naman ang pag-uusapan, walang dudang si dating Pangulong Corazon Aquino na yata ang may pinakamalaking impluwensya sa pamumuhay natin ngayon. Hindi lamang dahil sya ang kauna-unahang babaeng pangulo ng Pilipinas kundi dahil sya rin ay isa sa mga instrumento ng mapayapang rebolusyon upang mapatalsik ang diktador na si Marcos. Sinong mag-aakala na ang isang simple at tahimik na babae ang makapagpapataob sa diktaduryang Marcos noong 1986? Inilarawan sya ng mga kapamilya at malalapit na kaibigan bilang isang mapagmahal na ina, matapat na opisyal ng pamahalaan at taong may malakas na pananampalataya sa Dyos. Kaya naman kahit sa kanyang pagpanaw, milyun-milyong Pilipino ang nag-alay ng kanilang panalangin at sama-samang naghatid sa kanya sa huling hantungan. 

• Ipinanganak noong 1933 mula sa angkan ng mga Cojuangco
• Kabiyak ni dating Sen. Benigno Aquino, Sr. at ina ng kasalukuyang Pangulo ng Pilipinas, Benigno Aquino, Jr.
• Ina ng Demokrasya

Marahil hindi magiging palaban ang mga babaeng nabanggit kung wala si Gabriela Silang. Siya marahil ang naging inspirasyon ng mga ito upang ipagtanggol kung ano ang nararapat at kung ano ang makabubuti para sa lahat. Ang dugo ni Gabriela Silang ay patuloy na mananalaytay sa ating lahat. Panalangin ko'y sana hindi ito mamatay. 

• Ipinanganak noong 1731 sa Ilocos Sur
• Asawa ni Diego Silang
• Binitay sa layuning ipaghiganti ang pagkamatay ng asawang si Diego mula sa mga kamay ng mga mananakop
• Asawa, BAYANI

Hindi ko man maisa-isa ang mga babaeng may malaking kontribusyon sa lipunan, dito man sa Pilipinas at sa buong mundo, mananatiling nagpupugay ang aking puso sa karangalang handog ninyo para sa lahat. Saludo kami sa inyong angking talino, tapang at pagmamahal sa bayan. 


Kasabay ng pagdiriwang ng International Women's Month, nais ko kayong anyayahan na tunghayan ang kwento ng 3 babaeng iba't ibang ang pinagmulan ngunit iisa ang isinisigaw ng damdamin. Ang Ganap na Babae (Garden of Eve) ay ipalalabas sa DL Umali, University of the Philippines Los Baños bukas, ika-10 ng Marso sa ganap na alas singko hanggang alas siyete at kalahati at alas otso hanggang alas dyis ng gabi. Magalak din akong iparating sa inyo na ang Ganap na Babae ay isa sa mga pelikulang nakasali sa Soho International Film Festival NYC (April 12-15, 2011)

Woah! I can't believe I'm posting this.

Float Away by Lindsey Ray 


Seasons change
Treetops sway
I am young today
Children play sidewalk games
As I dream away

That someday I'll float away
Over the sunrise
And leave this whole crazy world behind
I'll head straight for the stars
Somewhere on the way
I know I'll meet ya
And carry on with your hand in mine
'Cause you're the keeper of my heart

Flowers bloom sweet perfume
And I think of you
Birds of blue sing in tune
And I know it's true

That someday I'll float away
Over the sunrise
And leave this whole crazy world behind
I'll head straight for the stars
Somewhere on the way
I know I'll meet ya
And carry on with your hand in mine
'Cause you're the keeper of my heart

Someday I'll float away
Over the sunrise
And leave this whole crazy world behind
I'll head straight for the stars
Somewhere on the way
I know I'll meet ya
And carry on with your hand in mine
We'll head straight for the stars
The keeper of my heart
You're the keeper of my heart 

Nina's doppelgänger

This movie was not for everybody and so as this blog. You should be informed that this is my own evaluation. Whatever I wrote here is something you should never believe until seen.


To make this blog a lot easier for me to make, I decided to list all questions left unanswered and a very amateur-ish review of the movie.


1.) Mirror Effect - Nina saw herself on the paintings her mother made. The colors were gloomy and the faces distorted but still smiling. She saw jealousy, anger, and desperation from those.

2.) Struggle within the character - Hallucinations mixed with paranoia led to self-destruction.


3.) Not-so good childhood - Overprotective mother!


4.) Insecurity - Thought she was not perfect, which even led to  attraction to the same sex.


5.) Dependency - She thought she was nobody because her mother made her feel that she can't stand on her own.


6.) Theft - The stealing. She thought Beth was perfect and she desired to be like her. She thought she would become like Beth the moment she starts using her stuff.


Questions:


1.) What made her think she's not perfect? Does the absence of a father figure made her feel imperfect?


2.) When did she start the habit of scratching herself? What triggered it? What does it mean? Lack of self-confidence? The feeling of inferiority?


3.) The peeling of skin and the, urrgghh, the toes. What happened to her toes? That was just kinda disturbing.


I tried my best to elaborate on these thoughts but just like the movie, I'm twisted. My mind's a roller coaster now and I guess I'd be able to put these words together better if I hit the sack.

My Little Blue Pill

"Sometimes the things you want the most don't happen and what you least expect happens. I don't know - you meet thousands of people and none of them really touch you. And then you meet that one person and your life is changed."

-Love and Other Drugs

                                                                                                                                                     
One thing I learned today is that I must not judge "Love and Other Drugs". True that the first few parts of the movie were steamy but in the end, it just made my heart melt. 


1. I loved it when Jamie told Maggie how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. 


2. I loved it when Jamie told Maggie that she made him believe that he is enough.
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3. I loved how the movie ended and how I wished it was my story, minus the Parkinson's.


I wonder when I'd meet that one person who would change my life. I wonder who would want to take care of me and who would want to be taken care by me. I wonder how I changed from being a cynic to a cheesy blogger. I wonder if I'm being cheesy or all these are just true. I wonder.... 

I Never Liked Caves, Until Today

The "Survivor"-inspired title is not an exaggeration. You really cannot underestimate Sagada. 

 Saying it is such a beautiful place is an understatement. It is a place full of life, life you thought you would only see in movies. 

 

Sagada is 5 to 6 hours away from Baguio. Endless zigzag roads may have taken our sanity away but we were welcomed by such great weather and good food when we reached the place. The real adventure began when we trekked all the way to Bokong Falls, also known as Small Falls. Size didn't matter for the beauty of it and the rice terraces surrounding the falls was huge enough to catch our attention.

The adventure continued as we trekked for another hour to see the underground river, hanging coffins, echo valley and all the way to St. Mary the Virgin Church, where we met Kuya Alex, the one who drove the car we rented for the entire trip. Scratches, cuts, back and leg pains did not hold us back. We were exhausted yet excited to see the Sumaging cave, which was the highlight of this trip.
 

 

More anxious than ever, we dropped by Lumiang cave to see more coffins on top of each other, which you can view from the large entrance. The coffins were shaped like boats to symbolize a new journey these spirits would take. Take note, these coffins have been there for centuries. Another thing we noticed were the small gecko carvings on the coffins. The Igorots have always believed that geckos symbolize abundance, luck and transformation.The perks of having a guide.


Finally, we reached Sumaging cave. We didn't do the cave connection. I hope the next time I go to Sagada, I'd be able to do it. Anyways, the trail down to the deepest part of the cave was slippery and dark. The two guides held incandescent lamps to light our path. They even served as bridges when we had to cross from one slippery stone to another. A number of rock formations and cold, flowing water kept us in awe. Each time the guide showed us a rock formation, we would pose and give our "template smiles" for the camera. As we reached the deepest part of the cave, we were asked to choose whether to take a more adventurous path or take the safest way back. We did not intend to play safe during the trip so I bet you guessed which path we took. We crawled, swam into the cold water and crossed slippery stones. The experience was worth it. We were all smiles after hours of trekking and caving. We then walked our way up to the main entrance and rode the van back to the rest house.

We ended the night over some chips and instant noodles for the stores were closed when we came out of the cave. Some of us even stayed up until midnight for Justin's biscuit party while the others hit the sack with an empty stomach.




Sagada taught me to set aside my fears and just take the plunge. It also taught me to care more about others and not just myself. I experienced life in Sagada. I hope you could visit the place as well and maybe experience a better you.