FT Chronicle

sChOOL is COOL!

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Ah… at last…

After a long break with your stomach be full in Christmas and your lungs and fingers survived the New Year’s Eve , school days are now at hand! Well, better start the 2010 with a determination and also a pledge to do best that you can. Better shake your head now and eradicate the eerie aura of the Yuletide feeling and embrace yourselves to a same-old-brand-new school conditions.

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Let us start with tweaking lexicon to make college life less serious.

It’s a compilation of dictionary jokes from the Internet and SMS. I added some of myself:

ALLOWANCE – force that motivates you to go to school

BALL PEN – device used to draw something on the desk

BONUS – the key to pass the exam

BOOK – used to cover when sleeping or texting while in classes

BREAK – most enjoying subject

CLINIC – home of the best actors and actresses

DESK – serves as the students’ freedom wall and also a great companion during examinations

ERASER – throwable weapon of an angry teacher

GROUP STUDY – alibi used by students to be with friends in a drinking session

HOMEWORK – disturbs you when you watch TV

HUNGER – condition produced by five minutes of continuous studying

I.D – alternative ruler to draw straight lines with

LATE – happens when the teacher arrives earlier than expected

NOTEBOOK – substitute to fight heat

PROFESSOR – it’s either an angel heaven sent or a wolf hiding in sheep cloth

REPORTING – part time job (sometimes, full time) you are not paid for

STUDYING – causes sleepiness faster than a sleeping pill

SUMMER CLASSES – a viable alternative to a summer job

TOMORROW – deadline

UNIFORM – where you wipe your wet hands after going to the comfort room

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I cannot forget the essay of Jorge Bocobo saying college students today is more of uneducated than being truly educated. Let this new semester be significant to you rather to spend it dull and meaningless. Find answers to life. Seek for a better purpose

As what J.R.R. Tolkien has said through his novel, the Lord of the Rings, “Not all who wanders are lost.”

TO MY CLASSMATES, see you when I see you…

BLOG OUT!

US and Canada-Avatar has topped the Christmas box office in a record-breaking weekend for cinemas.

Sci-fi epic Avatar took $75m (£47m) in its second weekend, according to early studio estimates.

In its 10 days of release, Avatar has made $212m (£132.6m) in the US, and could be on its way to grossing more than $1bn (£625.6m) worldwide.

“This thing is going to be playing and playing, I can tell you that,” said Bert Livingston, 20th Century Fox distribution executive. “There’s a lot of business out there. Everybody’s got good movies out.”

In second place was Sherlock Holmes, which stars Robert Downey Jr as Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective with a weekend total of $65.4m (£41.m), taking $24.9m (£15.6m) on Christmas Day alone.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, which opened on Wednesday, took the third place with $50.2m (£31.4m) at the weekend and $77.1m (£48.2m) in its five days of release.

It’s Complicated, a love triangle comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, opened in fourth place with $22.1m (£13.8m) in takings.

In fifth place acquired $11.8m (£7.26m) was Up in the Air, starring George Clooney.

He may be buried under several feet of soil. He may have said that this time, this is it. Michael Jackson might be gone but he will never be forgotten.

People know him as one of the best, if not the best, performers of all time. He grabbed the spotlight with his single-sequined glove, tight military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses as trademark. He awed millions with his astonishing moves from his moonwalk to his crotch-grabbing action. His supreme energy tops with his high-pitched voice in every song he is singing.

He holds the record of having the bestselling album. He had dominated the charts and dazzled more on stage. Yes, he is the King of Pop, he is Michael Joseph Jackson.

But before all the ‘Billie Jean and Thriller’ madness, he once became a child, a child who did not enjoy his childhood years entirely due to his stardom. In his early years in the entertainment world, he and his brothers sang most of the songs we hear when Christmas nears. Ironically, he did not have a chance to celebrate Christmas when he was a child because of his religion. I myself do not that he is behind the songs I love when I am a child who waits and get excited as Christmas comes.

For the Christmas holidays, we can still keep Michael’s memory alive with one of Michael Jackson’s Christmas songs, to name a few:

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Give Love On Christmas Day
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Little Christmas Tree

Frosty The Snowman

The Little Drummer Boy

The Christmas

Someday In Christmas

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Up On The House Top

This season, we will be hearing those classics again. You cannot escape Michael Jackson. Now, can you tell me once again, who’s bad?

The Yuletide nights begin to cool and the breeze of the air calms the crying baby. The night is just too spectacular; I see vivid flickering lights and hear joyous laughter. But as the days go by and as Christmas nears, the heart grows fonder. The nights seem to be much colder below any degree and I seem to be deaf, hearing only silence. You are all I need this Christmas, all I ever wanted everyday.

The stars in the heaven coincide with the blinking of the eye, same as the heart beats every time it pounds. I know wherever you are; we’re both watching the same sky. And a dove will fly to the hearts of everyone and a voice will shout it is Christmas time!

To the fathers and mothers who are in the farthest shores, who stands as breadwinners of their young joys. Seas they have traveled to seek for fortune and days they counted away from their family. A huge box of presents is not enough to fill the hungry hearts and their longing souls. All they want is to see you in Christmas, all they want is to see you soon.

To the dearest ones who just reached their graveyard, why did you have to go and leave us this Christmas? Tears may fill the cups for a drink with everyone who loves you sees an empty seat. Laughter may be replaced by silence and a prayer and each one will tell a story or two. An empty seat may be seated by one but your presence will be felt when joy began.

My heart starts to wander in the great vast sky. One will come and soon will invite me to join the feast inside rather to stay in the cold outside. I tried to refuse because I want to feel the cold and later to find your caressing warmth. My good old friend has persuaded me, he is great at it. I’ve been welcomed by warm open arms but I still feel cold, lost in the Christmas lights. I try to feign a smile, a good old grin. I see the table abundant and the children excited. I see faces of joy; I hear voices of bliss and emotions. But I see no reason to sit and enjoy, I see no you in the Christmas ball.

For all those who longed for their loved ones, for all those who missed their friends:

All that they want is you; all they have ever wanted is you.

With you, the winter breeze will be the warmth of their Christmas nights.

First Lady Michelle Obama Wednesday called to Americans to donate toys for deprived children also, telling them not to forget older kids in the “tween” years.

She said as she toured a collection center for the “Toys for Tots” scheme that there are more than enough toys for younger kids and it is really hard to find toys for the older ones.

She also noticed that the gift boxes there for kids aged 11-14 are almost empty.

Obama brought with her some 500 toys donated by White House staff but guaranteed that it is only 30 percent of what they actually collected .

She said everyone at the White House had stepped in to support the effort, which was first launched in 1947 by the Marines.

President Barack Obama and his wife both donated gifts to the campaign, but no details were made available except that their daughters Sasha, 8, and Malia, 11, had helped picked toys for children in their age range.

The Marines’ goal this year at the Quantico base in Virginia is to collect 150,000 toys to distribute to 75,000 underprivileged kids from civilian and military families.

Christmas is most special with its nights. People always find themselves wandering in the cold ambience with lights that glitter in their eyes. You will see colorful stalls of anything good and children running and laughing along. There’s a variety of food out there! It is a feast everywhere!

My classmates and I went one glorious night. One has said that he wants to know what a puto bumbong, a purple colored rice pastry, will taste like. It is his first time; we laughed for his mediocre request but later, granted his wish.

Puto bumbong became a part of Filipinos’ Christmas tradition. Folks who attend the dawn mass will find themselves eating the purple colored delicacy seasoned with melted butter, grated coconut and sugar. Who could ever resist the aroma of the steamed glutinous rice cooked in bamboo tubes? Who could ever refuse the sight of melting cheese and butter that will make anyone drool?

Writing this piece, I almost start to attach puto bumbong to Christmas giving its way to the pantheon of Christmas symbols. But then I know that making a thing to be a symbol of anything is not necessary. I can say that the stickiness of the rice can remind us of a family perhaps, the Holy Family. I can say that the purple color symbolizes royalty, and royalty is for our Savior the King, Jesus. I can say that the sweetness of the dish explains the flavor of life to be enjoyed. But, it will only overstate the true purpose of the puto bumbong.

It is just made for reasons. Friends will share laughter and stories with every bite. Families will enjoy the cold night after the mass. Puto bumbong will just complete a Filipino Christmas. Christmas will always be the same. Serene, peaceful, and calm, they are just synonymous.

Christmas is now nearing and we can hear the jolly songs everywhere. People start to plan things and gifts and the children count the days that pass by. You see excitement in their twinkling eyes. But there is one thing a man can ever wish. It is to see his only love: the passion of his years. And in an unexpected scene taken out from a movie, it is a joy to see her among the crowd under the flickering lights.

GLIMPSE

Ryan Reyes

I saw her tonight, unexpectedly

She wears a kind of the blue elegance

Then I heard her called my name audibly

I looked at her eyes and waved in stance

Amidst the crowd, she blazes her beauty

I turned back, seeing her fades with the throng

Those five seconds bestowed by destiny

How I wish that golden moment took long

I resumed my walk as people passed by

Kept on seeing faces and gleaming lights

I wish I could have said to her goodbye

Tonight, one of my memorable nights

My ardent feeling for her enliven

Long ago, I thought all of them wither

I wish we would cross each other again

And we’ll share that glorious night together

Online retailer eXpansys, the exclusive stockist of the new Motorola Milestone has sold out the new high-end handset in just 2.5 hours last December 10.

eXpansys received well over 1000 pre-orders for the Milestone in the week leading up to product arriving in the UK, and the retailer says it’s increased its order to Moto twice. The good news is that the phone should be back in stock in time for Christmas.

Still thinking of the best gift for your love ones this Christmas? Try this up-to-the-minute Robosapien robot that is capable of autonomous behavior and equipped with interactive sensors to recognize objects and respond to sounds.
It responds to touch and sound with advanced sensors like a camera that detects skin tone (hold out your hand, and the robot knows to shake it) and object color (the robot collects blue objects when handed them).
It can be programmed to execute more than 60 different movements, including dancing, exploring, lifting items, or bowling.
The robot has true-to-life bi-pedal walking gaits and realistic double-axis head turns.It can use its sonic and infrared sensors to guard an area (sounding an alarm when motion or sound is detected) and to interact with other Robosapiens.
The robot avoids obstacles intelligently as it walks, and sonic sensors detect sharp noises, responding with a hearty Hey, there! and turning to face the sound.
It can bend and pick up small objects on command, using its precision-gripping, articulated fingers, and then it can throw the object to you.
It requires six D batteries and three AAA batteries for the remote control. It has a height 23 1/2”, width of 16″, 11″ in diameter and weighing 10 1/2 lbs.

Resource reading: hammacher.com

LOS ANGELES — No ‘bah humbug’ for Ebenezer Scrooge! “A Christmas Carol” collected about $31 million to open as the weekend’s top movie.

The Disney animated adaptation Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic, with comedian Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge and also as the three holiday ghosts that show Scrooge his error, topped over the King of Pop out of the No. 1 spot as “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” went as second placer with $14 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Carrey and his co-stars performed on a simple soundstage as digital cameras filmed their acts, with computer animators attaching costumes, sets, props and other effects later.

Having around the films for nearly two months, Disney is still looking for “A Christmas Carol,” particularly over Thanksgiving and Christmas itself.

“A Christmas Carol” came in ahead of “Polar Express,” which had an opening weekend of $23.5 million. But it is behind $55.1 million opening for Carrey’s previous holiday tale, “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” in 2000.

News via TheBostonChannel

See the A Christmas Carol Official Trailer