BA’T DI PWEDENG MAGKA-SNOW SA PINAS!

Snow, wow, bet na bet ito kapag palapit na ang Yuletide season o Pasko. Kapag kasi may snow, feel na feel ng mga taong nasa Kanluranin partikular sa US ang panahon ng  taglamig kapag umuulan ng snow. Teka, ba’t napag-uusapan uli ito? Naisingit lang po! Sa mga kanugnog bansa natin sa Asya gaya ng Vietnam, aba’y umulan sa kanila ng snow. Kaya, marami din ang nagwi-wish na sana raw ay umulan ng snow sa Pilipinas. Teka… teka, alam ba ng mga ito ang pinagsasabi nila? 

Tropikal country tayo kaya di bagay ang snow rito. Ako man noong bata ay wish kong mangyari ito. Pero, dahil sa nakikita kong pailing-iling si lolo Igme nun sa palayan ‘e parang ayoko na. Bakit ko nasabing ayaw kong magka-snow sa Pinas? Kung marami itong signipikans kuno; naku, mas marami itong dis-adbanteyds sa ating bayan. Iisa-isahin ko para matauhan ang iba dyan na gustong umulan ng snow sa Pinas.

-         Una, sagabal ito at magiging pasaway sa mga magsasaka. Papaano ka magtatanim ng palay kung puno ng snow ang palayan. Pati hayop magkakasakit ng pulmunya.

-          Oo nga’t tipid sa aircon dahil malamig. Kaso, baka mauso ang pulmunya, trangkaso, at sipon. Baka mauso ang pagtitinda ng halo-halo na galing ang yelo sa snow.

-     Madulas ang lansangan at tiyak na trapik. Matetengga ang mga sasakyan. Magmamahal ang gasolina, gas, at pati uling.

-       Kakaunti ang magche-check-in sa mga hotel at motel. Puwede na kasi sa bahay magloving-loving. Uunti rin ang pupunta sa mall para magpalamig kapag nagwi-window shopping. Uunti ang sales, malulugi ang negosyo. Malamang na magkaroon ng lay-off sa mga empleyado. Kapag marami ang natanggal, marami ang mawawalan ng trabaho. Kapag ganun, darami ang tambay na mawawalan ng raket. 

   Kapag walang raket ang tao, alang pera at baka maisip gumawa ng masama. Kapag nagkagutom, talo-talo na at baka pasukin ang mga malls para kumuha ng groceries. Mga prends, tuloy na tin ang usapang snow sa susunod na isyu.

Misteryo ng Cardiff Giant

File photo noong ika- 16 ng Oktubre 1869 sa pagkakahukay sa Cardiff giant sa bukid ni William Newell na pinsan ni George Hull. (google image)

Noong ika-16 ng Oktubre 1869, ang pagkatuklas sa isang higanteng labi ay sinasabing isang malaking pandaraya ng Estados Unidos. Kasama na nga rito ang Fort Dodge. Noong mismong petsang iyon, ang 10 foot, 4/2-inch tall, 2,990-pound petrified man at ang eight wonder of the world ay natuklasan sa isang farm sa Cardiff, N.Y. 

Ayon kay David Parker, director ng Fort Museum and Frontier Village, ang isang huwad na kaganapang ito ay nagsimula noong tagsibol ng taong 1866 noong si George Hull ng Birmington, N.Y ay nasa Ackley upang dumalaw sa kanyang kapatid na babae.

Ayon pa kay Parker, mayroong tent doon at nangangaral ang isang preacher at nagbasa ng talata sa Biblia (Genesis 6:4) na mayroong mga higante sa lupa noong mga panahong iyon. Sinabi pa ni Parker na si Hull ay isang atheist at sumali sa isang diskusyon sa naturang pangangaral.

Nagpasyang makipagdiskusyon si Hull at nakipagbiruan sa preacher. Noong tag-araw ng taong ng 1868, si Hull ay nasa Fort Dodge noon at nagtanong tungkol sa gypsum rock quarries. Ayon sa talang kuwento ng The Messenger noong petsang Mayo 23, 1868, si Hull at si Mr. Martin ng Cedar Rapids ay nagtangkang mag-quarry ng gypsum sa ganang kanilang sarili ngunit nabigo. Inupahan nila si Michael Foley ng Fort Dodge upang gawin ang trabaho para sa kanila. Pinamahalaan ni Foley ang pagtitibag ng slab (bato o marmol) na tumitimbang ng 5 tonelada at may taas na 20 talampakan, 3 talampakang lapad, at may 18 pulgadang kapal.

Ang naturang gypsum o mineral na solido na mala kristal (na yari sa Hydrated Calcium Sulfate) ay ipinadala sa railhead sa Boone at dinala naman ito sa Chicago. Ayon pa sat ala ng The Messenger, ang sukat at bigat ng slab ay nagdulot ng problema kay Hull. Dahil halos 1,200 pounds ng material ang nabawas sa naturang slab para lamang tumakbo ng maayos ang tren. 

Nang dumating iyon sa Chigago, ang mga iskultor na inupahan upang iukit ang bloke ng gypsum sa hugis ng isang higanteng tao na hinahawakan ang kanyang sikmura na parang bagang nakadarama ito ng matinding sakit.

Ang mga iskultor ay pinasumpa na ilihim ang tungkol dito dahil sa iniisip ni Hull na isang hidden agenda. Ginamitan pa sulfuric acid ang naukit na pigura para bigyang gulang o edad ang hinulmang higante. Tinurukan din ito ng mga karayom para makalikha ng skin pores para gawing makatotohanan ang higante. Pagkatapos nito ay inilagay ang higante sa isang malaking kahon at ipinadala sa Union sa estado ng Nueba York. Noong  Nobyembre taong 1868, muli iyong napasa kay Hull.

At mula rito, lumikha ng planadong istorya ang kelot (kung papaanong matutuklasan ang naturang higante) kasapakat ang pinsang si Hull na si William Stub Newell na naninirahan sa labas ng Cardiff. Ang plano ay ibaon ang higante sa bukid ni Newell at hayaan ito roong nakabaon sa loob ng isang taon. At pagkatapos ay huhukayin ito at palalabasing natuklasan ang higante na nabuhay libong taon na ang nakalilipas.

Karisma ng Dragonball Z

Hello again sa inyo, my beloved readers. Sana ay nasa mabuti kayong kalagayan. Sana, hindi kayo magsasawang basahin ang mga kabulastugang nakasulat rito. Di bale, nakagagamot naman ito ng mga sakit lalo na sa tiyan. Buweno ang ating topic sa isyung ito ay tungkol sa karton na Dragon Ball Z. 

Nung bata-bata pa ako ay napapanood ko na ang cartoon na ito at nagandahan ako. Sa channel 9 pa ito noon pinapalabas at sa wikang English pa ang lengguwahe. Marami ang nahatak ng Dragonball Z sapol nang Dragonball pa lang ito nung maliit pa si Goku hanggang sa magkaroon na ng Z soldiers. Aba, kahit anong henerasyon ata ‘e kilala ang mga  karakter ng Dragonball Z saka yung mga kontrabida.

Kaya nga, tinagurian itong Number 1 cartoon sa Asya noong dekada 90 at umarangkada rin sa US. Ang naturang cartoon na ata ang isa sa may pinakamahabang serye at mula sa mga labanan nito, maraming cartoon na nagsulputan ang gumaya sa estilo ng Dragonball Z, simula sa labanan sa arena at sa mga kapa-kapangyarihan. Saka eto ang cartoon na hindi ata nalalaos. Na kahit ulit-ulitin mong panoorin, di ka magsasawa. Isa pa sa nakaka-adik sa Dragonball ay ang mahabang serye ng labanan na umaabot ata ng kulang-kulang isang buwan. Alam yan ng fans ng Dragonball.

Sample dyan ay ang Freeza, Cell, at Majinboo saga. Saka yung karakter nito, mahuhusay ding umarte. Saka may mapupulot kang aral sa nasabing cartoon gaya ng pagkakaibigan, pagmamahal sa mga mahal sa buhay, sa kalikasan, sa mundo, pagiging maamo at mapagpatawad. Di ba’t ganyan ang karakter ni Son Gokou? Kaya nga sa tanda kung ito ay nanonood pa ako ng nasabing cartoon. Teka, my belabed readers, dyan muna kayo, manonood pa ako ng labanan nina Goku at Freeza.

Mga Ka-Look-Alike ni Kathryn Bernardo

Sikat na sikat  na teen star sa ating bansa si Kathryn Bernardo (* o Kathryn Chandria Manuel Bernardo sa totoong buhay) . Na isa sa pinaka-matagumpay na aktres sa kanyang henerasyon, na katambal naman ng hottest teen hearthrob ng bansa na si Daniel Padilla. 

She was born in Cabanatuan City located in the province of Nueva Ecija on March 26, 1996 and thus beginning her journey through life. She is the daughter of Teodor C. Bernardo and Luzviminda M. Bernardo. Teodor and Luzviminda, loving parents, raised their four children in the best possible way. It was from here that Kathryn flourished into the person she is today. 

Before she became an artist Kathryn was a student at OB Montessori center Inc. which is located at Greenhills. Now she is taking a home school program at the Angelicum College. She was discovered from her breakthrough role as Mara in the drama series Mara Clara. The drama series was continually gaining high television ratings at prime time. After Mara Clara, Kathryn also appeared in a teen show, Growing Up, again gaining high ratings and became number two in the afternoon block show on Filipino television. She also played the role Mikay and Princess Areeyah in the prime time show, Princess and I, a romance-drama themed television series which was the first and only Philippine show to be taken in Bhutan. 

Her career started in the year 2004 with the movie Gagamboy. In the year 2011 she gained her lead role in the film Way Back Home. The movie was a box office hit in the Filipino movie industry. She also starred in a horror film Shake, rattle And Roll 13. Her performance in this horror movie gained positive reviews. Among her other movies are Sisteraka which was released in the year 2012. Aside from being a good actress, Kathryn is also a popular commercial and a print advertisement model. She is also a good singer. Kathryn was able to release a single from the television prime time, Princess and I. The title of the single is “Mula Noon HanggangNgayon” which was originally sung by Lea Salonga. Her album reached Gold as of September 2012. 

Napansin ko lang, marami pa la siyang kamukha. Medyo may napansin na akong tatlo. Dalawang foreign at isang local. Heto at kilatisin natin. Dahil kung hindi mo kikilatisin, malilito kang tiyak. Narito na sila. 

Nadine Ilustre

Isang baguhang aktres pero naging matagumpay agad na aktres nang bumida sa pelikulang " Ang Diary ng Panget" katambal ang dating PBB housemate na si James Reid. Sa unang tingin, mapagkakamalan mo at kikilatisin, medyo may resemblance sila. Marahil, ang pagkakaroon ng hawig ni Nadine kay Kathryn ang naging malaking factor kung kaya ang bilis ng kanyang pagsikat. 

Takei Emi - Si Akei ay isang Japanese actress at model na ipinanganak sa Japan noong Disyembre 25,1993. Nagpinta at rumehistro lang sa senstido ko na may similairy sila ni Kathryn noong napanood ko ang Samurai X The Movie. May anggulo minsan  na hawig na hawig siya ni Kathryn. Pero, nagsimula talagang sumikat ito nang gumanap sa dual role sa drama series na "W no Higeki" adaptation noong 2010. 

Swasti Sabdastantri - Si Swasti( a.k.a Chua)  ay isang  bassist ng sikat na banda sa Indonesia na KOTAK Band. Medyo mamanghya ka rin dahil hawig din siya ni Kathryn Bernardo. Ipinanganak siya noong Abril 3, 1988. 

ANG LINDOL, TURIN SHROUD AT SI DA VINCI

Sa ilang panahong nagdaan, ang Turin Shroud na kung saan nakabakat ang mukha ni Jesucristo pagkapatos ng kanyang crucifixion ay naging sentro ng kontrobersiya at debate. May ilang naniniwala na ang shroud ay totoo at ang iba ay naniniwala na ito ay peke o isang medieval forgery. 

Ngayon, isang pananaliksik sa Italya ang isinagawa ng mga scientist; na kung saan ay naniniwala sila na ang imahe ni Cristo ay kagagawan ng isang malakas na lindol na naganap noong 33 AD. 

Na kung saan ay naglabas ng neutron particles na nagresulta sa aksidenteng pag-imprenta o pagbakat sa imahe ni Jesus sa damit gaya ng pagkopya ng isang X-ray. Karagdagan pa sa paliwanag sa pinagmulan ng nasabing imahe, sinasabi rin sa isinagawang research na ang pagtaas ng lebel ng carbon-14 isotopes sa tela ay lumalabas na 768 taon ang gulang base sa radiocarbon tests. Ayon sa scientist na pinangungunahan ni Prof. Alberto Carpinteri mula sa Politecnico Torino, lumalabas sa radiocarbon na isinagawa sa Oxford University noong taong 1988, ang tela o cloth ay lumalabas na 728 taon lamang sa halip na 1,967 taon.

Kung kaya, lumalabas na pineke lamang ang nasabing shroud. May ilang scientist din ang nagmungkahi na ang neutron radiation ang responsible sa ghostly image ng crucified man na naka-krus ang mga kamay. Pero, hindi naman maipaliwanag kung papaano nangyari ang radiation. Noong taong 1898, isang abogado ang kumuha ng naturang larawan ng nasabing tela. 

Ang kanyang negative ay naglalabas ng detalye kasama ang facial features na tago o di nakikita ng mata. Sinasabi rin na ang shroud ay hindi yung telang ginamit na pambalot sa labi ni Cristo nang namatay ito. Kundi, ito ay tela kung saan nakahulma ang mukha ng Italyanong pintor na si Leonardo Da Vinci. Kaya. Pinagdududahan ang pintor na siya ang pumeke sa Turin Shroud.

My 150 List of Most Beautiful Women of All Time

Here's  my list of the most beautiful women of all time: ranked also based on talent and accomplishments, but, more on looks alone. 

This is a test to see if the so-called "Wisdom of the Crowd" will actually be able to determine who the most beautiful woman of all time is. This list does not only include prettiest current actresses, but the most beautiful women in history. 

Note:  Rank may change if I already complete the list and may change the result. I currently doing this stuff to complete the list based on research, study and will of my instinct. Suggestions are welcome so I can make a right decisions to complete the list. Thank You. 

This list is unranked, unordered and ungraded. Rank will occur if I already complete the list. 

Marilyn Monroe

Scarlette Johansson

Grace Kelly

Audrey Hepburn

Sophia Loren

Racquel Welch

Salma Hayek

Sharon Tate

Sharon Stone

Charlize Theron

Ursula Andress

Demi Moore

Julie Newmar

Keira Knightley

Natalie Portman

Audrey Tautou

Aiswarya Rai

Virna Lisi

Tamanna Bhatia

Olga Kurelynko

Phoebe Cates

Winona Ryder

Drew Barrymore

Eva Mendes

Monica Belluci 

Rita Hayworth

Ava Gardner

Man Plans to Live Alone on an Iceberg until It Melts

Italian adventurer Alex Bellini (Photo: adventure-journal.com) 

In a bid to get people to take climate change more seriously, Italian adventurer Alex Bellini is going to live on an iceberg until it melts. He plans to take on the challenge in the spring of 2015, on an iceberg in Greenland. He expects that he’ll have to live there alone for at least eight to twelve months.

Alex, who is now based in the UK, plans to live inside a survival capsule while on the iceberg. “Survival capsules are sort of floating Kevlar saucers, four meters in diameter, which are used as lifeboats on oil platforms,” he explained. “I will live in the capsule on the iceberg until it melts – which generally happens within eight months – or up to a maximum of one year.”

“Then, I’ll go adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, inside my capsule again, until I wash ashore.” He plans to carry 300 kilos of dehydrated food and electronic equipment along with him. Although he is yet to pick the perfect iceberg to live on, he said it would most probably be broad and flat, about 60 by 20 meters.

“ My objective is reporting and investigating, by means of scientific methods, the entire lifetime of an iceberg,” he added. “I want to prove how the pace of ice-melting has dramatically accelerated over the last decades. We’ll also play the symbolic card: the adventure of a man floating adrift on an iceberg will come to represent the condition of the whole humankind going adrift on an endangered planet.”

Alex is a former banker who gave up his cushy job in the early 2000s for a life of uncertainty and adventure. Since then, he has run over 23,000 kilometers in marathons, and rowed across the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. But his current project is his most ambitious one yet, and riskier than anything he has ever tried before.

“Yes, probably I’m a bit crazy,” he admitted. “On the iceberg, I will be generally alone, but for short periods of time I will be meeting with writers, bloggers, environmentalists. We are all aware of the risks I will potentially be facing, but part of the adventurer’s job is also risk managing. When the iceberg will be too small to keep me on its ‘back’, I will use my survival shelter as a life raft with which I’ll go adrift and I’ll then wait to be picked up and rescued.”

“The North Atlantic is a very busy area and I expect to stay at sea up to 7 to 10 days,” he added.

Alex said that he’s also treating the iceberg project as an opportunity to experiment with new technologies. “I’m thinking about communication technologies, which I will use to keep in touch with my family and my team, but also energy technologies. For example, my technical equipment will be powered by a rowing machine that will convert my muscular energy into electricity,” he explained.

Funnily enough, his survival capsule doesn’t come with a toilet of its own. “Nope, I’ll use a bucket for that,” he laughed. “It’s funny, it has taken me a bit to realize that the bucket is the best pooing device. When I was crossing the Atlantic, at first I tried to poo jutting out my butt from the boat. Problem was that, when the sea was rough, it kept throwing the stuff back into the boat. At some point I started using the bucket and it worked nicely.”

Although his project sounds incredibly exciting, there are bound to be periods of boredom when he’s stuck all by himself on a piece of ice in the middle of the ocean. But Alex is prepared for all such scenarios. “It will be challenging, since there won’t be any significant physical effort involved in this adventure,” he admitted. “I’ll take something to read, of course. In addition, my wife and I enrolled in the psychology program of an online university, so we’ll try to study ‘together’ via the internet.”

Incidentally, Alex’s family seems to be quite comfortable with what he’s planning to do. “We talk about the project every day, and my wife is the coordinator of the team,” he said. “We can say that it’s a family business. Both my daughters know that I will live for a few months on an iceberg to draw the world’s attention on environmental issues. When I told her, the elder (4 years old) replied: ‘It’s an important thing, Dad."

Alex said that he was inspired to choose the iceberg project from his study of history. “One of the characters I admire the most, a man who left his mark on the history of the last century, is Umberto Nobile,” he said. “He famously made a journey to the North Pole in 1928, in which he survived for 48 days on the pack with eight other team members. He inspired me.”

Alex has a lot of advice to give to people who want to become adventurers themselves: “Life is like a pendulum: the higher you lift your ambitions, your commitment, the difficulties you’re ready to go through, the higher the reward you’ll get.” True, that!

Source: odditycentral.com/adventure-journal.com

Rainbow Grapes, are they Real?

With digital software like Photoshop being used ever so often to alter things so perfectly, it’s hard to tell what’s real anymore. Take these photos of the so-called ‘rainbow grapes’ that have been doing the rounds online for about a month. They’re about the coolest-looking fruit I’ve ever seen, but are they real?

Well, yes and no. Rainbow grapes do exist, but they are just regular grapes photographed in a ripening stage known as Veraison, or the ‘onset of ripening’. “When grapes go into the final stage of ripening, the young immature grapes have a very dark, opaque green color and a very hard texture, like little rocks,” said Larry Stone, master sommelier and restaurateur. “And then when they go through veraison, the skin goes through coloration. If they’re white grapes, they go from a dark green to a kind of yellowish green color, and they get more and more transparent. A red grape will go from a green color to a red color.” The shade of red depends on the variety of grape.”

And at the end, once they’re all ripe, all grapes of a particular variety display the same final color. That’s why you can’t buy or eat Rainbow Grapes, but you could certainly witness their beautiful transformation.

Source: Hoax or Fact.com

Sixth-century tomb in Nara hints at pyramid shape

An ancient Japanese tumulus. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 STA3816

A large rectangular tomb in the village of Asuka in Nara Prefecture, may have been built in a rare pyramid shape, archaeologists say.

The Miyakozuka tomb is believed to have been built in the latter half of the sixth century. It was likely a terraced pyramid made of multiple stone layers, experts at the municipal education board and Kansai University’s Archaeological Research Institute said Wednesday.

The tomb may have been influenced by ancient tumuli built near the border between China and North Korea, given the similar structure, the experts said.

It is thought that Soga no Iname, a Yamato Dynasty leader who died in 570, was buried in the tomb. He is known to have close links with the people who migrated to Japan from China and the Korean Peninsula.

After excavating the mound and areas surrounding Miyakozuka tomb, the group of archaeologists found stairlike architectural remains at three locations.

Four layers of stones were found at one of the three locations and one layer was discovered at each of the two other locations.

Based on the findings, the group said it believes that the tomb had a pyramidlike structure with seven or eight stone layers.

The mound is estimated to have been at least 4.5 meters high on the east side and 7 meters high on the west, with each side being over 40 meters in length.

Soga no Iname is known to have had strong ties to the ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo because he is believed to have had two wives from that area.

The village of Asuka is known for many megalithic discoveries, including the Ishibutai tomb believed to have been built in the seventh century for Soga no Umako, a son of Iname who died in 626.

In a survey started in 1967 by the Kansai University research institute and others, clay pots and ironware were unearthed from the Miyakozuka tomb. But the mound’s size, structure and other details remained unknown.

Source: JapanTimes.com