10 things weird about you

I don't really know what constitutes 'weird' for everyone, but Din (i lab this gurl) tagged me (this sounds sooooooooo 2004) so here goes:

Instructions: A person who gets tagged must write in his or her blog ten weird things or habits or little known facts about himself or herself. He or she should also state this rule clearly. At the end, he or she should tag six other people, except the one who tagged him or her.

1. I am OC about drinking water. Nanlilimahid na sa dumi ang bahay, ok lang, pero di pwedeng konti na lang ang tubig.

2. My mother enrolled me on piano lessons when I was in Grade 1. I lasted two lessons. I bugged my father to buy me a guitar in highschool to be in a band. I ended up as 'band manager'. Some people at the worship team at church actually have to pause in their singing and give extra effort to mind their tones because my singing 'influences' their voices. Nevertheless, in my dreams, I remain a rockstar.

3. I believe I have powers. basta.

4. Girl-junkie ako nung highschool. Agnostic nung college. Kristiyano ngayon.

5. I have PC games that make me sleep - as in naka-upo ako sa harap ng computer, holding the mouse, snoring. I love them.

6. I HATE RATS. George Orwell's 1984 made me this way.

7. It's so 90s, pero nagbabaligtad ako nang salita. tihak atnak, tihak as pasuu-gap. my friends have to translate on the fly.

8. I don't fix my bag, my table, my room, my house -- but I can't leave my bed unmade after waking up. First thing to do yan. ever.

9. Sa sobrang kulit ko nung bata ako, lahat nang pwedeng pagkulungan, kinulong na ako. Sa banyo, sa kwarto, sa closet, sa kulungan nang manok. 5 minutes lang naman.

10. Lahat ng girlfriends ko nung highschool -- even the ones na sobra sobrang gusto ko at pamatay na panliligaw ang ginawa ko -- ako ang nakipag-break.

I tag Leah, Ida, Bebelene, Pareng Jorge, G!, John. Mag-post kayo mga kolokoy! :p

Firefox - quickened

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My Favorite Mistake

My Favorite Mistake
Season 3, Grey's Anatomy

[so you know what I’m talking about, drop by the Grey’s Anatomy episode guide or watch this video first:]



George and Izzie. George and Izzie. George and Izzie. They’ve been best friends since day 1. Has been there for each other through the terror residents, the death of Denny, the Meredith fiasco, ‘feeding the monster’ with Alex, STD with Olivia, the $8.7 million cheque, the death of George’s father, and Callie.

Callie, George’s wife.

It’s wrong. wrong. wrong. That’s the long and short of it. George is married, and that’s that. It was a mistake, something George and Izzie never saw coming but it did happen.

The hot, amazing – illicit – sex happened.

We saw it and we couldn’t believe our eyes. This is George and Izzie – the goofy duo that brings light moments to the otherwise overly dramatic lives of the surgeons in Seattle Grace. Sure, Izzie’s been mourning the death of Denny for a season now, but we have faith because it’s George. George the good guy. George the only guy who stood up to Callie’s father. The family-guy. The perfect, husband-material guy.

Then life pulled the rug from George’s feet through the death of his father. George being lost and holding on to the closest lifeline -- a spur-of-the-moment wedding with Callie. The constant fights with the wife. Izzie fighting for her best friend whom she thinks made a terrible mistake. Then the night they got drunk.

And the hot, amazing – and still illicit – sex happened.


I was watching this episode with my hand over my mouth completely mortified. When George finally remembered what happened, I could see the confusion and helplessness in his eyes. He knew nothing would be the same after this. He could lose his best friend. He is on the way to losing his wife. If he could take everything back, he’ll do it in a heartbeat.

But he can’t. It’s done. No power on earth can take back the mistake he made.

My favorite scene in this episode – my favorite scene in all of Grey’s Anatomy’s three series, is the linen closet scene when George just remembered what happened to him and Izzie. There were no words, because really, what can you say?

I like this scene because of its technical execution and the exemplary performance of the actors. I love it, however, because of what George chose to do in this scene.

They paced like caged animals because that’s what they really were – caged. Emotions were running sky high. They’re no longer drunk, but the sex could still happen right then and there. George was sorry, and confused, and with no inkling of an idea what to do. Then Izzie touches his face, and suddenly, possibilities – scary, surprising, confusing possibilities – arose.

George was bewildered but he knew the mistake he made could multiply in that closet. So despite emotions, despite what he wanted, despite the excitement, despite the possibilities, he walked out.

The world will say that if you feel something, be true to yourself and go for it. That’s why husbands who’s been married for 35 years leave their wives for a woman 20 years his junior who ‘gets’ him. But there are more important things than emotions. Like commitment. Like doing the right thing. At that moment in the linen closet, despite the shadow of the most horrible mistake he made in his whole life, George still chose the right thing. Most of us can’t quite claim the same.

I don’t know how the Grey’s Anatomy writers would sort this out. I don’t know how exactly but I would like to think that everything would be ok. That George would come clean to his wife, that they would work it out and everything would turn out right for them – George, Izzie, and Callie.

It will be hard, it will be hurtful, it may seem impossible, but I prefer to believe in redemption.

Both in TV and in real life.

dying of thirst, here in the fountain

In all my 26 years on this earth, 97% of my enemies emerged when I became a Christian.

I have had unbelievers laugh at me when I tell them about the Good News of Christ’s salvation – some of them my friends who jokingly remind me of what I used to do before I became a Christian. I’ve had colleagues and fellow students debate with me when I tell them about my faith. I’ve had my family cry when I speak of the need to become born again. I’ve met indifference, wonder, interest, disbelief and a host of other reactions, but not once did I get hurt when I spoke to unbelievers about sin and Jesus –- not once, until I spoke to my fellow believers.

Click here to read the rest of the article or visit Still Earthbound.

House of M

House of M is a comic book crossover mini-series published by Marvel Comics back in 2005. Lead writer Brian Bendis was quoted that House of M would "shake the world" of Marvel. While this claim may sound extravagant, House of M's far-reaching and lasting effect on the Marvel universe certainly propels it as one of the more important mini-series the publishing house has produced. Unlike Days of Future Past or the Age of Apocalypse which happened in alternate timelines, House of M took place in the mainstream Marvel universe.

To read the rest of the article, click here or visit the FullCup site.

PURE

We've had PURE light, PURE calling, PURE worship, and a host of other PUREs in FullCup's long run. Now we're going back to the basics -- plain. simple. unadulterated worship night.

PURE.

Come worship with us this Friday, March 9, 7:30 pm. Join us as we end our topic for two semesters -- "Who on Earth was Jesus?" and do what we are meant to do -- to shed our shame and fears, to let go of pride and hurts, to bow down and kneel towards the Lamb that was slain. All woship. All night. This Friday at the Cup.

i hate the cheesy things but here i am

because we met again.

now i want to be a body snatcher

BAKIT HINDI SA AKIN NANGYARI ITO????




Pare, pinag-pala ka. But for some reason, you don't want your photo posted, so I'm using your cameraman's.

Stranger than Fiction

We are all living dreary lives with the inevitability of death hanging over our heads. It doesn't matter whether you're a farmer or a rock star, the President of the land or a saleswoman no different from thousands of others, we are all living incomplete lives -- lives with holes so big we end up plugging ineffectively at them. We are, in essence, all Harold Cricks -- good at what we do but ultimately living pointless lives.

To read the rest of the review, click here or visit the FullCup site.

Autobiography: The Story of Our Lives

The questions we ask ourselves define the meaning of our lives. The answers we arrive at tell us who we are.

These are our questions.

This is who we are.

Eragon - movie review

Watching the movie Eragon is like eating a small cup of congee after you've been starved for a week - you know there's something good there, but it ends up sorely lacking.

To read the rest of the review, click here or visit the FullCup site.

Magic in my blood

i used to be the hermit of the basanos, but now... (got this from DinDin, by the way)

You are The Magician

Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, depending on dignity.

Eleoquent and charismatic both verbally and in writing,
you are clever, witty, inventive and persuasive.

The Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things so just by speaking them aloud. Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a salesman. Also clever with the slight of hand and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying to sell you snake oil.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Maid Miriam

Just got off the elevator with this goddess:

Ms. Miriam Quiambao

It's like cosmic surfing in the wake of a comet. The luminous beauty can blind you.

What's so Amazing About Grace?

Philip Yancey's writing has a wonderful quality supremely suited to the line of work he has chosen: he can make his readers re-evaluate things they thought they already knew.

Re-reading What's so Amazing About Grace for the upteenth time since I first got a hold of it back in college, I am amazed how little I still know about Grace -- and how Yancey's book clearly presents this often wispy subject.

To read the rest of the review, click here or visit the Fullcup site.

the hiatus

Like I've always known, it's not really that hard, although it remains a temptation whenever I sit and turn on my PC.

Two weeks to go.




In the meantime, watch this:

I Japanese!

Got this from the artistmonk


As the wandering storyteller:

My japanese name is 猿渡 Saruwatari (monkey on a crossing bridge) 聖人 Masato (sacred person).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

As slither dude:

My japanese name is ?? Komatsu (little pine tree) 拓海 Takumi (open sea).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

As Moks:

My japanese name is 猿渡 Saruwatari (monkey on a crossing bridge) 誠 Makoto (sincerity).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

As Mark Isaiah David:

My japanese name is 秋本 Akimoto (autumn book) 直樹 Naoki (straight tree).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Coolness.

Dancing to a different beat

Movie Review: Happy Feet

At the concluding parts of the movie, I must admit that there was only doubt in my heart – for how could one penguin, no matter how adorable he is – change events that are so obviously beyond him? How could one penguin change the set ways of humans? How could one penguin affect the whole Antarctic Circle? I would not have acted like Mumble did. He saw a need so he went ahead and tried to do all that he could to do what needed to be done, despite not having a morsel of an idea what he could do. He walked blindly into the unknown – with only the conviction that something must be done. Despite the pre-knowledge that this was a kiddie movie and that the producers would present a suitable resolution, I only had doubt.

To read the rest of the review, click here or visit the FullCup site.

Wii kicks ass

There's no other way to describe it -- the title says it all. Nintendo's newest gaming console bitch slaps competition like Marshall's massive hands as he gives Barney the 1st of five officially-sanctioned hits.

(If you don't know the show I alluded to, you really should start getting a hold of HIMYM).

Back to Nintendo's Wii (pronounced as 'we'), while other gaming consoles such as the PS3 and XBox 360 are engaged in pissing contests on the number of pixels rendered and additional, yet mundane things you could do with the console (such as watching DVDs), Wii leaves them all behind as it delivers a feature looooooooooooooong longed-for and imagined but never-before delivered: kinetic play.

Remember Daimos? Instead of lamely pushing buttons and pulling levers while battling enemy monsters, the hero is instead acting out the moves of the robot -- if he wants Daimos to kick, then he'd have to act out the kick himself. Wii does the same. With the help of a wireless controller that responds to your own actions, console gaming has just been redefined.

Imagine the soft thwack! of the tennis ball as you time your swing perfectly to return the unimpressive serve of your opponent. Maintain your stance and mind your elbow swing as you try a hole-in-one in golf. Carry the weight of the mountain in your swing as you chop off the heads of your enemies. Concentrate when you release that 10-pin when you play bowling. All of these done in real-world live action, baby. It's body kinetics at work, and it's far more satisfying than button mashing.

Like most new technologies, there are several hesitations about the Wii, like the fact that it takes more energy to play. But that may not be bad at all, as we combine exercise and play in a previously unfathomed level. Keep swinging that Wii controller the whole day and your actual swing might just improve a notch. It's easy to use, and everyone -- including those perpetually befuddled on which button to push, can use it.

I won't be surprised if the next generation of this console would have several wireless transmitters to be placed on different parts of the body and a 360 degrees goggle for a whole virtual reality experience. Yeah, that's how awesome this technology promises to be.

So you can have the chance to salivate on your own, you could view this video from the Wii site. Check it out. I like this console so much I'm beginning to believe in Santa again.

Moving FullCup

FullCup has moved to its new online home!

Join in the fun! See an extensive collection of FullCup pictures, an update on the weekly messages and music at the Cup, a review of the latest music/concerts/christian books or movies, and a calendar of our activities! visit http://fullcup.multiply.com

UNtiED

Review: Hillsong UNITED Live in Manila
21 November 2006
Ninoy Aquino Stadium



When I first heard that Hillsong UNITED would play in Manila, I must admit that I wasn't as thrilled about the idea as my friends were. Not because I didn't like them; there's a reason why UNITED's songs are a staple at FullCup after all -- they're talented musicians and, more importantly, their songs speak to FullCup's young regulars -- but the thought of going to a worship-concert that is predominantly more of a concert than worship initially didn't sit well with me.

To be fair, I have always been a tad uneasy with corporate/group worship. I'm more of a one-man-raging-at-the-storm-and-his-God kind of guy. Even at church, I always sit nearest to the window, eyes closed or locked to the distant sky. As I sing with the congregation, I'm flung light years away -- to a place where there's only me and my God. As some friends who have witnessed the rare tears I let go during worship ask me why I cry, I always give them the same answer: if I can't cry to my Father, to whomelse can I cry? In short, for me, worship is an extremely intimate and personal event. Having around 30 or so people with me is disconcerting enough -- what more with a couple of thousand?

But it was a concert, so I decided to go. Some might say that it's a praise and worship event and not a concert, but that's not being honest -- we came there for the band; otherwise we wouldn't have needed to pay P800 to get in. Ask anyone who argues if they'd pay that much to watch FullCup Project or Alab or any other worship team in the various churches in the metropolis. Yeah, I thought so too.

So I came into the event with misgivings. If it were packaged as a concert, I wouldn't have had any problem, but the event's tagline pegged itself as "the worship night of your life" -- a tall and presumptuous claim by the marketing people, if you ask me. Besides, I believe one of the must-do's of a praise and worship team is to never NEVER interfere with the worship of the people -- either with botched playing/singing or by the 'celebrity status' by the team. If a guy comes to church primarily to hear the team perform and secondly to worship, the whole point is ruined for me.

As concerts go, UNITED did extremely well. From the get-go, everyone in the stadium was jumping up and down, joining in at virtually every song of the line up. Nevermind that the venue was too small, or that the organizers continued their bad habit of overselling tickets, or that the aircondition was woefully ill-suited for the number of people who came, or that five minutes into the concert and the combined sweat of the throng and space constraints of the venue gave an unpleasant smell, or that the LCD screens were ridiculously small, or that the organizer's spokeperson kept using the Name of the Lord to manage the crowd. The band was superb, the audience extremely enthusiastic. As concerts go, we were having a hell of a good time.

Fortunately, 'a good time' is so... pedestrian, compared to the plans of my God. Sometime after the first two or three songs -- just after letting the people scream out their excitement for actually being in a UNITED concert -- the whispers of the Spirit began stirring in the heart. The circumstances might have been far from perfect, but Jesus did promise that whenever two or three are gathered in His name, He will be there. And as He has always been, that night too, He was faithful to His word.

A little later in the evening, the band gave exhortations and clarified the purpose of their tour -- something that the Spirit was already whispering in our souls. Between shouting and praising and clapping, and singing, some of us found ourselves talking with God despite the stars right before our eyes.

God is in control. I was reminded of that last night as I sang along with the Christian's counter-culture version of the Black Eyed Peas, U2, or any of the hottest bands these days. If I believed that God is able to work through my sins and shortcomings, why shouldn't He be able to do the same despite the complications brought by UNITED's talent and fame and the star-struck attitude of the audience?

Somewhere along the way, we found ourselves worshipping, more than joining in on the concert. Suddenly, the songs were not just excellent, they were true. Despite my initial misgivings, I found myself having the time of my life -- like any other time I was aware of my God's presence.

In the end, as one of my most favorite UNITED song goes, my God saves the day, and His Word never fails. My God made a way... it's gonna be all right. A good time is not what He intended, therefore He gave us an amazing grand time. UNITED's passion and performance was able to usher us into communing with our God -- and that, I think, is the highest praise that can be given to any worship team.



Author Notes: This review is also posted on FullCup's new site. It's still under construction, and we'll launch it real soon, but hey, feedback on the new site is welcome Ü