Simply Sydney...

I've put into my playlist on imeem.com a variety of versions of the song Kiss From A Rose that was originally done by Seal.

My list contains a guitar version, a piano version, another performed by Akafellas and lastly, the one performed by the original artist Seal.

Enjoy listening!

I found this Hindi Version of Pretty Woman by Shah Rukh Khan at imeem.com and it’s really cool. Too bad I wasn’t able to get the lyrics as well. Anyway, I’ll try to look for it, or, well, just ask a favor from a Hindi friend of mine….

Oh, and another version of the said song, performed by Van Halen, really cool, too!

I think you’ll agree with me when I say these are even much better than the original one. Enjoy listening!!!

Here's another forum topic that caught my interest; and here's what i think....well, everyone is welcome to post a comment, should you feel like agreeing with me, or otherwise. ;)

Falling out of love.... suddenly the spark, the excitement just isn't there anymore...

Sometimes things happen, but it doesn't mean that you intend for them to happen...probably one of the reasons why people fall out of love is because they get disappointed, when they get less than what they're expecting to have...

...It's like jumping from an elevated place, if we land without anything to cushion our fall, we tend to get hurt, but if we land on a soft, feathery matress, then we feel safe and protected.

Most of us, especially women, dream of a fairy tale kind of romance; we expect our partners to be our knight in shining armor that when reality strikes, we realize that we choose to live in a dream world...we become frustrated that we are not sleeping beauty who wakes up because our prince charming kisses us...instead, that prince charming happens to be a prince who turns into a frog.

we all have limitations...we fall out of love simply because we reach our limits without hitting the target...

…Ah, freedom, freedom, freedom. Freedom is a priceless gift that all of us may have. In fact, from the day we were born, we should have been enjoying the luxury of being free! Isn’t it good to be compared to a wild flower that grows freely in the fields? Or to a bird that freely spreads its wings as it glides through the air, welcoming the breeze under the bright sunlight?

But what if that freedom is suppressed, deprived by another human being? One who is more powerful and more influential? Even then, man can still be compared to a bird – only, a captive bird; one that is struggling to be free from being held in a cage; a bird whose freedom to fly is being hindered by iron bars. Man, then, can still resemble a flower in the fields – a flower crushed by destructive feet; left to wither in the heat of the sun.

Man’s greed for power and money – always the cause of tragedy, the root of all sufferings, the reason for loss of lives; and more often than not, the victims are the helpless, the poor, the weak. The powerful, the greedy, they resemble the iron bars which deprive the bird of its freedom; they resemble the feet that crush the flowers in the fields, trampling them against the soil.

Man’s cruelty against man had been existent almost after the world was created by God. From the time of Cain and Abel to the time of the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, and up to the present, all that are evil exist in almost everything that man does.

Everything that is good, we want for ourselves. Everything that is good –all for ourselves! Is it the reason why we inflict pain to our fellowmen? So that we will gain something good – for our own benefit?

God created man to rule over all His other creations, didn’t He? And we do! We rule over all that are visible to our eyes – the animals, the plants, and most of all, the people.

Yes, we rule! We dictate the lives of our fellowmen, what they should and should not be doing, or saying or wearing; how they should live their lives, how they should carry themselves; what they should do…Yes, we rule, we dictate, we dominate, we manipulate!

The thirst for fame, for power, for wealth – we drown ourselves with greed without knowing that by doing so, everything that is good in us dies with our hope of having a better life; one that is free not from trials but from the miseries caused by selfish people who think of nothing but themselves.

Isn’t it better if we turn our thirst for worldly things into a thirst for God’s unfailing love? Surely the world will be a better place to live in.

PHILIPPINES:

Geographical and Cultural Description

More than seven thousand one hundred islands; Pearl of the Orient; rich in culture, beautiful sceneries, a country that is home to hospitable people…wait, there’s more!

Striking Features:

Population explosion, poverty, unemployment, extra-judicial killings, increasing rate of politically-related crimes, conspiracy, deceit, corruption, manipulative tactics of traditional politicians, and of course, the never ending rallies everywhere. Boy, you name it, we have it!

A Rhyme for My Country

Philippines, a very dear name;

But most of the time now,

It’s always being put to shame.

It used to be the home of the brave,

Where heroes lay proudly in their graves;

But now, what has become of this nation?

Historical Background

In the older days, laying down your life for your country was what it would take before you could be called a hero.

Heroes then were the ones executed by firing squad, strangulation with an iron collar or “garrote”, and later on, shot in the head while climbing down the ladder of a plane…All of them had one thing in common, though – they died with honor.

They left a legacy; something that the generations to come would be proud of. To have a Filipino blood flowing through your veins was something to boast about.

…That was then…

Heroic Acts

…This is now…

The recognition of heroic act is very easy to gain nowadays. In fact, it’s just like candies being sold by vendors whose stalls are found under LRT stations. Now why do I say this? Some might be offended but the reality will hit you in the face without you knowing it:

All you have to do is climb the Mt. Everest, which, as everybody knows, has already been reached by numerous thrill-seeking individuals who did it for self satisfaction; to prove something to themselves and to the people around them. White, Asian, lame, blind…so what’s new? Flash! Flash! Your name’s everywhere! You’re the first Filipino to reach the top of the world! You’re on TV, you’re popular but that’s just it.

Oh, there’s another one; just simply cross the Iraqi border then let yourself be kidnapped and surely you’ll walk in red carpet when you come home; plus a house and lot, a capital to start a small business…and guess what? You can even run for the coming elections!

Political Situation

All you have to do is take the side of the “high and mighty” and you’ll win by hook or by crook! As for your opponent…well, they will either go to jail for whatever crimes that they can possibly be accused of, politically related or otherwise, or they may get killed through an ambush that will definitely be blamed on the New People’s Army or any other leftist groups.

Tourist Spots

The country’s pride: Palawan, Banawe Rice Terraces – the places that attract foreigners and make them want to repeatedly go back to our country – now pose a threat to the visitors’ safety. Now who would want to endanger his/her life for the sake of adventure and experience?

More Work For the Jobless

“More employment for the newly graduates and jobless Filipinos…” I think this line’s been repeated more than a hundred times already.

True, there’re more work for our countrymen, only, not here in the Philippines…Well, a promise remains “just a promise”, and I think it will stay that way for quite a very long time, considering the fact that the leader of the land is determined to stay in power longer than necessary.

People and Events To Remember

President Estrada won by a landslide during his time. Ironically, he was convicted of plunder [???]

… How about deception, is it also punishable by law? Uh…the “I AM SORRY” thing, remember, my dear fellowmen?

The late Fernando Poe, Jr. ran for presidency last May 2004 Elections.  Unfortunately, another candidate claimed the victory…Too bad FPJ died without knowing the truth…He could have been the 14^th President of the Philippine Republic. Moreover, it could have been proven that he really won fair and square.

…too late for the truth? I hope not…there are still many who are hoping that somehow, it shall prevail.

Manny Pacquiao achieved fame through sweat and blood. Did some red-plate rider help him in the ring? Nope. Yet, Manny ran for congressman…Poor “Pacman”; he may be a true champion in the ring, but when it comes to making sound decisions, he’s a real loser, letting himself be used and manipulated by some blabbering politicians who claim to have been with him ever since he started his boxing career…well it might have been true, only, they were outside the ring - betting. Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

Julia Campbell went to the Philippines to do charity works and yet she was brutally killed for no apparent reason, well, except for “mistaken identity”.  She was even blamed for her own death by some all-knowing, self-righteous “old man” who might never have experienced the love of a mother…Poor Julia? NO! Poor old man…someday, you’re going to die too, and if that happens, I hope that the things you said and did to many people will not come back to haunt you even in your grave.

Am I to be sued because of this? Well, I am affected by everything that’s been happening around me and I can’t just sit around and watch my country die in the hands of greedy beasts.

Furthermore, this is a FREE COUNTRY…or IS IT STILL?

I’ve found this topic posted on a forum of an all-Filipino online community/website…:

Gain knowledge thru theoretical learning, gain skills in applying to practice, theory and practice are essentials to competency. Somebody asks, which comes first? Theory or Practice? Or both?.

…So I decided to post an answer; I’ve posted this reply to that said forum, and well, I guess, I just want to have a copy of this to keep for further use, hehe!!!

THEORY

• is an explanation; explanation based on thought; explanation based on observation and reasoning, especially one that has been tested and confirmed as a general principle explaining a large number of related facts.
• a hypothesis proposed as an explanation; conjecture.
• the principles or methods of a science or art rather than its practice.

[source: World Book Millennium 2000 – International]

The word theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. In common usage, people often use the word theory to signify a conjecture, an opinion, or a speculation. In this usage, a theory is not necessarily based on facts; in other words, it is not required to be consistent with true descriptions of reality. True descriptions of reality are more reflectively understood as statements that would be true independently of what people think about them.

In science, a theory is a mathematical or logical explanation, or a testable model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise falsified through empirical observation. It follows from this that for scientists “theory” and “fact” do not necessarily stand in opposition. For example, it is a fact that an apple dropped on earth has been observed to fall towards the center of the planet, and the theory which explains why the apple behaves so is the theory of relativity. [source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory].

PRACTICE

• an action done many times over for skill.
• skill gained by experience or exercise.

[source: World Book Millennium 2000 – International]

Most commonly, practice is a learning method, the act of rehearsing a behavior over and over, or engaging in an activity again and again, for the purpose of improving or mastering it, as in the phrase "practice makes perfect".

Work practices are ways of structuring that are things one must do, or ways in which something is done. They are not implemented by technologies, but are usually conceived by intelligent humans, though not necessarily. In contrast technologies are things that one can usually buy. [source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practice]

THEORY and PRACTICE. These two words sometimes work together, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they always go hand in hand. One can be achieved without the aid of the other, which means that they are not at all interdependent.

One can put something into practice without relying on “theories” but rather on “facts” as guide; on the other hand, one can formulate a “theory” without relying on “facts” which can be obtained through experience, application or practice.

Ergo, I believe that the question should not be “which comes first?” but rather “which is applicable to you?” or “which do you find more useful?”  THEORY or PRACTICE?

In most cases, as based on my personal experiences, keen observation and full understanding of every aspect – of a certain subject, object, occurrence or whatever it is that needs to be explained or defined – is more effective than just a mere assumption of what is unknown or a speculation of what the possible cause of a certain phenomenon was.

I find it easier to understand things which I have personally encountered rather than those which I have just read from books. But then, I believe it depends upon the circumstance as well as the  person’s capabilities and preferences.

In school, some students excel in theories but appear to be poor when it comes to application; in the same way, some just need a cue in order to perform a certain task/activity with accuracy and proficiency.

In my opinion, not all things can be learned from a four-cornered room and not everything can be remembered thru jotting it down with a pen on a piece of paper. Sometimes the best classroom can be found not in a confined room but on the streets, and the best teachers are usually not the highest degree-earners, but rather the simple events that we encounter in our day-to-day lives.

A couple of years ago, before I had my first art exhibit, I happened to drop by a book store that sells second hand items. I looked around, tried to find the perfect subject for my first painting on canvas and here's what I've found: a post card of Palawan.

Left:a picture of Palawan;Right: a painting of Palawan, my first work on canvas.

Title: "Palawan

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 12" x 18"

I studied the picture and carefully chose the colors that I would be using. I took note of the brush strokes; tried not to linger on any angle since I was using acrylic.

Because it dries easily, I had to be careful, otherwise, the work would turn out to be a disaster.

I concentrated on the color of the water and the reflection of the rocks on it...I made some variations as one can see in my finished work.

One thing I like about using acrylic paint is that it gives a glossy effect on the subject.However, once it dries up and you're not careful with your strokes, uneven brush prints will be quite visible, unless of course you know exactly what to do about it.

I couldn't say what was I thinking then or what made me stop in the middle of my work...Maybe I got bored...Maybe I was tired...Or maybe I just wasn't in the mood; I didn't really know. I couldn't remember. All I know now is that I felt sorry I stopped; I felt unsatisfied cause I wasn't able to finish my work.

I found this unfinished piece as I went looking for something [which I couldn't recall what] among my things just a couple of nights ago:

This Iris lacks a petal, a stem and some leaves. I had already made enhancements, as one can see. I used mixed media on this; charcoal for the darker shadings and orange and gold metallic inks for variation. For the outline, I used a medium-sized silver marker.

Well, maybe I wasn't just contented with the outcome that time that's why I decided not to continue it...But when I found it, I realized that I should have....What do you guys think??? 

There comes a time in a person's life when he feels so helpless that he loses hope and faith in God.

I, honestly speaking, have had that same feeling once. I felt so depressed, not being able to find a solution to my problem that I even shouted, "God, please take away my life so that my pain will be taken away as well!" But just as I expected, God did not grant my plea, simply because: He knew what's best. He knew the solution to my problem and He knew that death was far from being the answer that I was looking for.

I've read a book entitled STREAMS IN THE DESERT [by LB COWMAN], wherein GOD made me realize and understand His purpose for not taking away my life the way I pleaded Him to do. On page 107 of the said book, it says:

     Why is it that GOD leads us in this way, allowing such strong and constant pressure on us? One of His purposes is to show us His all-sufficient strength and grace more effectively than if we were free from difficulties and trials. WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN JARS OF CLAY TO SHOW THAT THIS ALL-SURPASSING POWER IS FROM GOD AND NOT FROM US [2Cor. 4:7].

     Another purpose is to bring us a greater awareness of our dependence upon Him. GOD is constantly trying to teach us how dependent we are on Him -- that we are held completely by His hand and reliant on His care alone.

     This is exactly where JESUS Himself stood and where He desires us to stand. We must stand not with self-made strength but always leaning upon Him. And our stand must exhibit a trust that would never dare to take even one step alone. This will teach us to trust in Him more.

     There is no way to learn of faith except through trials. They are GOD's school of faith, and it is much better for us to learn to trust Him than to live a life of enjoyment. And once the lesson of faith has been learned, it is an everlasting possession and an eternal fortune gained. Yet without trust in GOD, even great riches will leave us in poverty.

Sometimes, we think that what we do is for the best; we often make decisions guided by human knowledge and understanding. We always forget that without the power of GOD, our lives will be in ruins...No wonder we feel depressed and helpless despite our efforts to achieve something...It happens, because we forget the most important source of strength and knowledge -- GOD.

When you feel like giving up, turn to GOD. He is the answer to all your questions, to all your doubts and fears, to all your needs.