Sunday, November 29, 2009

PAPAYA

PAPAYA
Papaya is a pear shaped yellowish-orange fruit that is native to Central and South America but mainly found in tropical climates around the world. Papaya is not only popular because of its delicious taste but also because of its medicinal properties.
Medicinal Properties:
• Latex, the milklike juice from unripe papaya contains the most concentration of papain, some people say it can help remove freckles.
• The Papain’s protein in papaya makes it helpful against heartburn and indigestion. Mixed with a little honey and taken before meals, it may even prevent heartburn.
• Papain also help thin the blood and discourage clotting.
• The fruit’s proteolytic enzymes and other compounds, including a substance called carpaine, work against intestinal worms and other parasites.
• Experiments done on laboratory rats suggest that papaya seeds might reverse infertility.
Other Ailments where papaya is beneficial: Blood clots, indigestion, infertility, ringworm, worms, abscesses, arthritis, blood clots, bronchitis, burns, circulatory problems, constipation, depression, enlarged lymph glands, eye inflammation, flu freckles, gallbladder problems, gas, hardening of the arteries, heart disease, hematoma, hemorrhoids, hodgkin’s disease, infections, infertility, inflammation, neurasthenia, oral inflammation, pancreatic inflammation, parasitic infections, phlebitis, psoriasis, rectal disease, respiratory disease, sore throat, stomach disease, tissue swelling, tumors, ulcers, urethritis, uterine inflammation, vaginal disease, varicose veins, water retention, wounds, yeast infections.
Recommended Dosage of Papaya:
• 10 to 50 milligrams of papain
• 1 to 3 tsps of papaya juice
• 1 to 2 tsps of dried papaya leaves in a cup of hot water
• 1 to 2 tbsps. of fresh papaya, or ½ to 1 tsp of juice of papaya daily.
• In case of intestinal worms and other parasites, munch on a dozen or so papaya seeds.Other Uses of Papaya Tree: The bark of the tree is good for making rope and the leaves are use as meat tenderizer.
Note: Excessive consumption of the fruit may cause thinning of the esophagus. Eating too much papain can also cause stomach inflammation. When applied externally, it might cause dermatitis in sensitive skin.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Stem cells

Methods of use - adult stem cells
The use of endogenous adult stem cells is ethical and legally straightforward. Under German law, the extracted stem cells are categorized as drugs. Because they are exclusively for personal use, they are individual drugs, and under German law do not require the same governmental approval as other drugs. Despite this, the clinic still has to obtain a manufacturing license from the surveillance authority. At the XCell-Center, it is guaranteed that the processes of extraction, cleaning and transplantation are all carried out in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards, thus guaranteeing maximum quality and safety for the patient.

For the last few years, attempts at therapy with adult stem cells from bone marrow have been carried out at university hospitals. This means that unlike animal testing with embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells are in-part, already being clinically tested. The well-documented success of the cardiologist Prof. Dr. Bodo Strauer from Düsseldorf can be seen as an example. He treated a patient suffering from a series of heart attacks for whom common therapies could not assure any chance of survival with the patient's own bone marrow stem cells. Nine days after the stem cells had been injected into the diseased area, the patient was able to leave the intensive care unit. Up to now, more than 300 patients have been treated in Düsseldorf using this procedure – most of them successfully.

The XCell-Center's treatment is based on the therapy experiences of more than 400 patients, treated both in the XCell-Center directly and in cooperation with other universities and research institutes (standing: October 2007). At present, the results of treating diabetes mellitus and stroke with stem cell therapy are looking particularly auspicious. Initial results have also been obtained from the treatment of patients with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's or Multiple Sclerosis.

Curing leukemia
The use of adult stem cells is by no means completely new. Stem cells have been used for the therapy of blood cancer (leukemia) for more than 40 years now. Normally this is done by allogenic bone marrow transplantation, i.e. bone marrow is taken from suitable donors. In this respect, the treatment differs from that which is offered by the XCell-Center because we use the patient’s own bone marrow stem cells. The hematopoietic stem cells contained in the bone marrow settle into the recipient's body and produce fresh blood cells there. At this point the original bone marrow and thus, the patient's leukemia cells have already been previously destroyed by chemotherapy. One problem is the rejection of foreign cells. The patient has to take medicine to suppress this reaction. Of special interest is the relatively new knowledge that these defensive reactions are in part beneficial: the cancer cells are destroyed more effectively by activating the immune system. One can speak of an anti-leukemic effect that helps to destroy the sick leukemia cells. In contrast to other diseases, the use of exogenous stem cells is desirable for leukemia.

Further methods of use under investigation
The spectrum of applications for the use of adult stem cells is wide. Examples include the use of adult stem cells for rebuilding cartilage and destroyed wrist, skin or bone tissue (keyword: Tissue Engineering). No studies have yet examined the well-documented research on human beings, proving this scientifically. Two studies published in professional journals in 2007 showed for the first time that endogenous insulin production in type 1 and type 2 diabetics is activated through therapy with adult stem cells. The questions of whether new insulin-producing cells are formed or whether existing cells are regenerated have not yet been clarified. The XCell-Center is conducting its own clinical studies parallel to the treatment of patients with different diseases using autologous adult stem cells.

The field of neurology is being examined very intensively. The use of adult stem cells offers a new treatment strategy for previously incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or Multiple Sclerosis. Here the defined aim is either to replace the damaged neurocytes with stem cells or to regenerate them. One approach that is of special interest for stroke patients: researchers from the "Fraunhofer-Institut für Zelltherapie und Immunologie" in Leipzig were able to show curative successes in animal testing with adult stem cells.

Components of the Cell Cycle

Components of the Cell Cycle


The Cell Cycle
Two events, copying and cleaving, represent the two larger phases of the cell cycle, interphase and Mitosis. Mitosis is the part of the cell cycle when the cell prepares for and completes cell division. During interphase, appropriate cellular components are copied. Interphase is also a time of checkpoints to make sure that the cell is ready to proceed into mitosis. Both of these two phases have further sub-divisions. Since the cell cycle is a "cycle" it has no distinct beginning or ending. Cells are continually entering and exiting the various phases of the cycle.


Interphase

G1 phase
G1 is an intermediate phase occupying the time between the end of cell division in mitosis and the beginning of DNA replication during S phase. During this time, the cell grows in preparation for DNA replication, and certain intracellular components, such as the centrosomes undergo replication. Before a cell begins DNA replication, it must ensure that it is biologically ready to take on such a process. G1 is the phase when this cellular monitoring takes place.

During G1, the cell reviews the cellular environment and the cell size to ensure that the conditions are appropriate to support DNA replication. Not until the cell is ready does it leave G1. If all is not ready to undergo DNA replication, cells can pause during G1 and enter a phase called G0. Depending on a cell's preparedness to continue in the cell cycle, G0 can last days, weeks, or even years. When the cell has reached an appropriate size and is in a supportive environment for DNA replication, it will exit either G1 or G0 and enter the next phase of interphase called S phase.

S phase

S phase, or synthesis, is the phase of the cell cycle when DNA packaged into chromosomes is replicated. This event is an essential aspect of the cell cycle because replication allows for each cell created by cell division to have the same genetic make-up. (The specifics of how this replication takes place is covered in the DNA replication SparkNote in the series of SparkNotes dedicated to Molecular Biology.) During S phase a number of events additional to chromosomee replication take place. Cell growth continues through S phase, as does the rate of synthesis of a number of proteins and enzymes that are involved in DNA synthesis. Once DNA replication is complete the cell contains twice its normal number of chromosomes and becomes ready to enter the phase called G2.

G2 phase

Similar to G1, G2 is an intermediate phase, a time for the cell to ensure that it is ready to proceed in the cell cycle. Occurring between the end of DNA replication in S phase and the beginning of cell division in mitosis, G2 can be thought of as a safety gap during which a cell can check to make sure that the entirety of its DNA and other intracellular components have been properly duplicated. In addition to acting as a checkpoint along the cell cycle, G2 also represents the cell's final chance to grow before it is split into two independent cells during mitosis.

Cell Cycle Summary
Interphase is made up of three distinct phases: G1, S phase, and G2. The G1 and G2 phases serve as checkpoints for the cell to make sure that it is ready to proceed in the cell cycle. If it is not, the cell will use this time to make proper adjustments that can include cell growth, correction or completion of DNA synthesis, and duplication of intracellular components. S phase involves the replication of chromosomes. All three stages of interphase involve continued cell growth and an increase in the concentration of proteins found in the cell.

Vocabulary
karyokinesis: It is the division of nuclear material in cell division.

Cytokinesis: It is the division of cytoplasmic material during cell cycle of division

Karyokinesis occurs well before cytokinesis. And both the above steps occurs in mitotic or meiotic phase depends upon the the type of cell.

Mitosis is a process of cell division which results in the production of two daughter cells from a single parent cell. The daughter cells are identical to one another and to the original parent cell.

In a typical animal cell, mitosis can be divided into four principals stages:

Prophase: The chromatin, diffuse in interphase, condenses into chromosomes. Each chromosome has duplicated and now consists of two sister chromatids. At the end of prophase, the nuclear envelope breaks down into vesicles.

Metaphase: The chromosomes align at the equitorial plate and are held in place by microtubules attached to the mitotic spindle and to part of the centromere.

Anaphase: The centromeres divide. Sister chromatids separate and move toward the corresponding poles.

Telophase: Daughter chromosomes arrive at the poles and the microtubules disappear. The condensed chromatin expands and the nuclear envelope reappears. The cytoplasm divides, the cell membrane pinches inward ultimately producing two daughter cells (phase: Cytokinesis


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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Famous Filipino Scientists

Felix Maramba - built a coconut oil-fueled power generator

Eduardo San Juan - astronomy - helped invent the Lunar Rover

Charle Mar Abelo - zoologist - study about animals

Jezrel Canlas - botany - study about plants

Jose Cruz- electrical engineering

Emerito de Guzman -work on the growth and development in vitro of the makapuno coconut embryo

Caferiono Follosco - Electrical and Agricultural Engineering.

Francisco Fronda H development of poultry industry not only in the Philippines but in the Asia region too.

Angel L. Lazaro III -Civil Engineer and Environmental Planner

Dr. Salcedo biochemistry, nutrition, physiology.

Gregario Velasquez -pioneered Philippine phycology and made the first intensive study of Myxophyceae or bluegreen algae

Teodula MTopacio Jr -leptospiral disease of domistecated animals

Joventino Soriano - plant cytogenetics and mutations

Angel Alcala is behind the invention of artifical coral reefs used for fisheries in Southeast Asia.

Arturo Alcaraz is a volcanologist specializing in geothermal energy development.

Benjamin Almeda designed a food-processing machine.

Julian Banzon researched methods of producing alternative fuels.

Ramon Barba invented practical flower induction treatments.

Doctor Benjamin Cabrera has developed innovations in drug treatments against diseases caused by mosquitoes and agricultural soil.

Paulo Campos built the first radioisotope laboratory in the Philippines.

Magdalena Cantoria is a noted Filipino botanist.

Josefino Comiso Filipino Physicist has been warning the world about global warming.

Doctor Lourdes Cruz has made scientific contributions to the biochemistry field of conotoxins.

Rolando De La Cruz Filipino scientist invented an anti cancer skin cream.

Emerita De Guzman researched the propagation of pure makapuno trees.

Doctor Fe Del Mundo is credited with studies leading to the invention of an improved incubator and a jaundice relieving device.

Anacleto Del Rosario Filipino chemist won the first prize at the World Fair in Paris in 1881

Ernesto Del Rosario is Filipino chemist best known for his achievements in biotechnology and applied physical chemistry.

Roberto Del Rosario is the inventor of the Karaoke Sing Along System.

Daniel Dingel claims to have invented a water-powered car.

Pedro Escuro is best known for his isolation of nine rice varieties.

Agapito Flores has been acclaimed by some as being the inventor of the first fluorescent lamp

Pedro Flores was the first person to manufactured the yo-yo in the United States.

Francisco Fronda is know as the Father of poultry science in the Philippines.

Carmen Intengan - Food and nutrition researcher a pioneer that helped improve the Filipino diet.

Amando Kapauan was a Filipino chemist who specialized in environmental chemistry.

Hilario Lara helped establish the National Research Council of the Philippines.

Felix Maramba built a coconut oil-fueled power generator.

Luz Oliveros Belardo researched the phytochemical properties of plants in the Philippines for natural products

Maria Orosa - Pioneering food inventor invented Calamansi Nip and Soyalac.

William Padolina has served as the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology for the Philippines.

Eduardo Quisumbing was a noted expert in the medicinal plants of the Philippines.

Francisco Quisumbing invented Quink ink.

Dolores Ramirez promoted the development of genetics in the Philippines.

Jose Rodriguez is a noted Filipino scientist and researcher who has invented methods of controlling leprosy.

Eduardo San Juan worked on the team that invented the Lunar Rover or Moon Buggy.

Alfredo Santos is a noted researcher in the chemistry of natural products.

Francisco Santos studied the nutritional problems associated with the Filipino diet.

Carmen Velasquez was a noted Filipino biologist.

Gregorio Zara - discovered the physical law of electrical kinetic resistance called the Zara effect

Prescillano Zamora - is best known for his research in plant anatomy-morphology including the taxonomy of Philippine ferns and the discovery of more fern species.

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

A Dream Within A Dream

Take this kiss
upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound!)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life
endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

This earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be for ever mine.

A Teacher's Prayer

I want to teach my students how--
To live this life on earth,
To face its struggles and its strife
And to improve their worth.

Not just the lesson in a book,
Or how the rivers flow,
But to choose the proper path,
Wherever they may go.

To understand eternal truth,
And know right from wrong,
And gather all the beauty of
A flower and a song,

For if I help the world to grow
In wisdom and grace,
Then I feel that I have won
And I have filled my place.

And so I ask your guidance, God
That I may do my part,
For character and confidence
And happiness of heart.

Og Mandino

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.
Og Mandino

Always render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be.
Og Mandino

Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity.
Og Mandino

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.
Og Mandino

Do all things with love.
Og Mandino

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.
Og Mandino

I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.
Og Mandino

I have never heard anything about the resolutions of the apostles, but a good deal about their acts.
Og Mandino

I seek constantly to improve my manners and graces, for they are the sugar to which all are attracted.
Og Mandino

I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.
Og Mandino

It is those who concentrates on but one thing at a time who advance in this world. The great man or woman is the one who never steps outside his or her specialty or foolishly dissipates his or her individuality.
Og Mandino

Love doesn't sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread: remade all the time, made new.
Og Mandino

Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats.
Og Mandino

Sound character provides the power with which a person may ride the emergencies of life instead of being overwhelmed by them. Failure is... the highway to success.
Og Mandino

Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.
Og Mandino

The person who knows one thing and does it better than anyone else, even if it only be the art of raising lentils, receives the crown he merits. If he raises all his energy to that end, he is a benefactor of mankind and its rewarded as such.
Og Mandino

There is an immeasurable distance between late and too late.
Og Mandino

To be always intending to make a new and better life but never to find time to set about it is as to put off eating and drinking and sleeping from one day to the next until you're dead.
Og Mandino

To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto and scramble through as well as I can.
Og Mandino

Tomorrow is only found in the calendar of fools.
Og Mandino

Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished.
Og Mandino

Work as though you would live forever, and live as though you would die today. Go another mile!
Og Mandino

You never know what events are going to transpire to get you home.
Og Mandino

Char!

To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward events. It is to perceive the essential nature of things. The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential. But on the other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible to see into the depth of things. And so the wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.

Joseph Campbell:

Climate Change: A Dub For Human Responsibility

No individual should wonder why life on earth is getting to be more impossible as our existence becomes longer and longer. One might dash into the notion of having a life-long happiness along his Way to the very core of his existence. Stand up and be awakened that if earth, sea and sky would work together against us, they could be dangerous indeed.

Issues on climate change have been a rampant subject tackled not only by scientists bit also in the community. We might come into realization that it’s going to be the end of the world. Not really. Take a move. Take a look on what you can do. This is not a non-sense matter which is just okay if set aside in lonesome, careless manner. We need revival- revival of care and not prolonging negligence. Nobody wants to suffer the furious revenge of Mother Nature or almost die in the blade of flashing lightings, pealing thunders and violent earthquakes. All of these signs of a whispering catastrophe- the cruel whisper of a Climate Change.

Climate change is caused naturally and by the hands of man. And almost certainly, we are the ones making the most of it. So, it is also a calling that when we make troubles particularly when concerned to Mother Nature, we must be the first tool to get out of it.

According to scientific studies, industrialization is the main reason of this big unveiling disaster to abolish all sorts of living. Escalating concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is an inevitable and tangible proof why we have to suffer this immense matter. High-level use of gasoline, fossil fuels and electricity contributes much to the greenhouse gases emission. Particulates such as carbon dioxide blanket the whole globe penetrating the protective layer of our home planet. If this happens, we must take into account that there could be global warming.

Global warming is the rise of global temperature. Chronologically, its first sign was revealed during a sudden change of the mean temperature in 1972. Deforestation is a big contributor to this taking up a part of 20 % of the whole greenhouse gases emission. If this becomes worst, glaciers and icebergs will eventually melt in polar areas which will cause sea expansion or sea level rise.

Sea level rise is an increase in the level of seawater on high tides. This is caused by the warming of water. It can affect marine lives in the sense of coral bleaching. Consequently, marine productivity will go down resulting to livelihood decrement. In addition, Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries of seal level rise.

Climate change also causes extreme weather events. This includes extreme drought, extreme rain and strong typhoons. Accordingly, it is said that there are 19 predicted tropical cyclones to pass in our country for a year. And during this phenomenon, possibilities of having soil erosion and landslides are very alarming to each individual. Livelihood will also go down and there will be food shortage. Climate is an imperative driver of food security. However, climate change aggravates food security.

Incidence of diseases would not be uncertain if this becomes even more infuriated. Wet and dry conditions may cause dengue, malaria and typhoid fever. So, be prepared and be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

All of these are the staggering canisters of our Mother Nature. So, if you think it’s time to make a move, make it now. Don’t waste a second for tomorrow will never be the same as today. Tomorrow, we might wake up with darkness and nothingness. Always remember that adaptation is a must to answer these great alterations. It’s not yet too late...

What's a Mother Worth?

I humbly appraise my mother's worth,
It began with pain to give me birth,
Which triggered off a love so strong,
Blossoming into a life-long bond.

When needed, she was always there,
Someone I realised would always care.
And the older I got the more I knew,
A mother's love sincere and true.

Now as I watch Mum age in years,
I'm happy to help and ease her fears.
Privileged now to play my part,
As she did for me from the very start.

Footprints In The Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."

~ Mary Stevenson

Please Hear What I'm Not Saying

Don't be fooled by me.
Don't be fooled by the face I wear for I wear a mask,
a thousand masks,
masks that I'm afraid to take off,
and none of them is me.

Pretending is an art that's second nature with me,
but don't be fooled, for God's sake don't be fooled.
I give you the impression that I'm secure,
that all is sunny and unruffled with me,
within as well as without,
that confidence is my name and coolness my game,
that the water's calm and I'm in command and that I need no one,
but don't believe me.
My surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask,
ever-varying and ever-concealing.
Beneath lies no complacence.
Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and alone ness.
But I hide this.
I don't want anybody to know it.
I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed.
That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind,
a nonchalant sophisticated facade,
to help me pretend,
to shield me from the glance that knows.

But such a glance is precisely my salvation,
my only hope, and I know it.
That is, if it's followed by acceptance,
if it's followed by love.
It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself,
from my own self-built prison walls,
from the barriers I so painstakingly erect.
It's the only thing that will assure me of what I can't assure myself,
that I'm really worth something.
But I don't tell you this.
I don't dare to, I'm afraid to.
I'm afraid your glance will not be followed by acceptance,
will not be followed by love.
I'm afraid you'll think less of me,
that you'll laugh, and your laugh would kill me.
I'm afraid that deep-down I'm nothing
and that you will see this and reject me.

So I play my game, my desperate pretending game,
with a facade of assurance without and a trembling child within.
So begins the glittering but empty parade of masks,
and my life becomes a front.
I tell you everything that's really nothing,
and nothing of what's everything,
of what's crying within me.
So when I'm going through my routine
do not be fooled by what I'm saying.
Please listen carefully and try to hear what I'm not saying,
what I'd like to be able to say,
what for survival I need to say,
but what I can't say.

I don't like hiding.
I don't like playing superficial phony games.
I want to stop playing them.
I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me
but you've got to help me.
You've got to hold out your hand
even when that's the last thing I seem to want.
Only you can wipe away from my eyes
the blank stare of the breathing dead.
Only you can call me into aliveness.
Each time you're kind, and gentle, and encouraging,
each time you try to understand because you really care,
my heart begins to grow wings--
very small wings,
very feeble wings,
but wings!

With your power to touch me into feeling
you can breathe life into me.
I want you to know that.
I want you to know how important you are to me,
how you can be a creator--an honest-to-God creator--
of the person that is me if you choose to.
You alone can break down the wall behind which I tremble,
you alone can remove my mask,
you alone can release me from my shadow-world of panic,
from my lonely prison,
if you choose to.
Please choose to.

Do not pass me by.
It will not be easy for you.
A long conviction of worthlessness builds strong walls.
The nearer you approach to me the blinder I may strike back.
It's irrational, but despite what the books say about man
often I am irrational.
I fight against the very thing I cry out for.
But I am told that love is stronger than strong walls
and in this lies my hope.
Please try to beat down those walls
with firm hands but with gentle hands
for a child is very sensitive.

Who am I, you may wonder?
I am someone you know very well.
For I am every man you meet
and I am every woman you meet.

~ Charles C. Finn, September 1966


What's a Mother Worth?

I humbly appraise my mother's worth,
It began with pain to give me birth,
Which triggered off a love so strong,
Blossoming into a life-long bond.

When needed, she was always there,
Someone I realised would always care.
And the older I got the more I knew,
A mother's love sincere and true.

Now as I watch Mum age in years,
I'm happy to help and ease her fears.
Privileged now to play my part,
As she did for me from the very start.

My Heart

Take my heart- it's yours
Do with it as you please.
Break it if that's what you want
Burn it if that's what you need

Treasure it if that's what you desire
Hide it away, if that's what makes you happy
Lock it up, it'll always be there

Drop it in a puddle, the rain will wash it away,
Toss it in the gargbage, it'll rot away,
Love it with all you've got and I'll love you with all I've got

Salawikain- Proverbs

Ang mga SALAWIKAIN
ay pamana at kalinangan ng lahi
na hindi dapat ipagsawalang-bahala at ibaon sa limot.

Proverbs or sayings
are part of one's cultural heritage
which should not be
taken for granted nor forgotten.

Ang mga salawikain o kawikaang Pilipino
ay mabuting hanguan
ng impormasyon hinggil
sa matatandang kaugalian,
paniniwala, asal, at gawi.

Filipino proverbs
are good sources
of information about
old traditions,
beliefs, customs, and ways.

Ang mga ito'y mga tagapagmansag
ng mayamang tradisyon ng lahing Pilipino:
maaaring maging gabay sa pamumuhay,
patnubay sa pakikipagkapwa, at suhay sa
pakikilaban sa karahasan ng buhay.

They also serve as guardians
of the rich Filipino tradition:
they could serve as guide to living,
advice on social relations, and encouragement
in facing life's harsh realities.

Ang mga pangunahing layunin
ng mga salawikain
ay ang pangangaral
o kaya'y ang pagsasabi ng
katotohanang hindi mapasusubalian.

The main purpose
of proverbs
is to teach
or to tell
truths that cannot be doubted.
Ang mga Pilipino
ay may sariling kalipunan ng salawikain.
Kung saan, paano, at sino ang
nagpasimula ng mga ito
ay walang makakapagsabi.
Marahil ang ilan ay dala rito ng mga dayuhan.
Ang iba ay pamana ng mga
ninunong Pilipino na nagpalipat-lipat
sa mga labi ng salinlahi.
Filipinos
have their own collection of proverbs.
Where, how, and who started
these sayings
nobody knows.
Perhaps some were brought
by foreigners.
Others are part of the inheritance of
Filipino ancestors
that were passed on from
the lips of various generations.

Ang salawikain ay
nasasa berso, maaaring may sukat,
at kadalasa'y may tugma.
Ito ang dahilan
kung bakit madali itong maisaulo
ng bata't matanda.

A proverb is
a verse, may have specific number of lines, and most of the time has rhyme.
This is the reason why
it is quite easy to memorize
by young and old alike.