God is all, and all is in God.

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)

'He denied that the Bible was inspired by God down to the last letter. When we read the Bible, he said, we must continually bear in mind the period it was written in. A "critical" reading revealed a number of inconsistencies in the texts. But beneath the surface of the Scriptures in the New testament is Jesus, who we could well be called God's mouthpiece. Jesus preached a "religion of reason" which valued love higher than all else. Spinoza interpreted this as meaning both love of God and love of humanity. Nevertheless, Christianity had also become set in its own rigid dogmas and outer rituals.

***

'Are you saying that I cannot decide for myself?'
'Yes and no. You may have the right to move your thumb any way you choose. But your thumb can only move according to its' nature. It cannot jump off your hand and dance about the room. In the same way you also have your place in the structure of existence, you are also a finger of God's body.'
'So God decides everything I do?'
'Or nature, or laws of nature. Spinoza believed that God - or the laws of nature - is the inner cause of everything that happens. He is not an outer cause, since God speaks through the laws of nature and only through them.'

***

'God is not a puppeteer who pulls all the strings, controlling everything that happens. A real puppet master controls the puppets from outside and is therefore the "outer cause" of the puppetts movements. But that is not the way God controls the world. God controls the world through natural laws. So God- or nature- is the "inner cause" of everything that happens.'


- excerpts from Sophie's World

Gong-chan & Yu-rin

Laugh + Cry + Fall in love...over and over and over and over and over again! ^^

Arrogance of Youth

Clint Eastwood had proven in the movie, Gran Torino, why he is an icon in Hollywood. He is the main actor, director and producer of this movie which got its' title from a Ford vintage restored car.

He is Walt Kowalski, a Korea veteran and a widower, who prefers to be alone with his canned beers and loyal dog, Daisy. But he was soon entagled with the gang pestering their neighborhood, particularly his next door neighbors, Thao Vang and Sue Lor.After a lot of growling, snapping and snarling, he got closer with the siblings and felt protective of them. He was furious when the gang bullied Thao and marked his face with a cigarrette and anguished when Sue was brutally tortured and raped by them. Walt soon realized that 'Thao and Sue are never going to find peace in this world as long as that gang's around.' He then decided to act on his last mission to ensure their safety and peace of mind, even if it means that he needs to sacrifice his life.

In his last will and testament, he gave his precious Gran Torino to Thao, much to the dismay of his family. It symbolized that he was passing a newly rebuilt hope for him and his responsibility to make the most out of his life. Thao was shown serenely driving the car with Daisy on the passenger seat as though thankful to Walt and accepting his challenge to tread the right path of life.

a.k.a.

Edward Cullen a.k.a Robert Pattinson had step out from his shiny, silver Volvo to be a presenter in the Oscars. Swoooon!

maZterpiZ

Carlo Vergara's Ang Kagila-Gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni ZsaZsa Zaturnnah had earned a cult following in the comic book and the movie releases. It is about the adventures of Ada, a typical 'gay' parlorista, after a magical stone fell on him. The stone transformed him into a sexy and powerful heroine, ZsaZsa Zaturnnah. With the help of his loyal and funny assistant, Didi, he is about to save their small, peaceful town from the clutches of the evil Queen Femina with her Amazonistas; and latter decide if he will let himself fall from the charm of Dodong who pledge to love him despite all odds.



To celebrate the birthday of my sister, Nica, and to support Filipino talents, we went to CCP theater last Feb. 15 to watch the musical play rendition of ZsaZsa Zaturnnah.

The whole play was an all out laugh trip with witty punchlines and gay humor. The music and choreography were an extravaganza of energetic, soulful performances. The adaptation and direction were sheer genius.ZsaZsa was treated as a musical spectacle which is set to capture the funny bone, heart and imagination of the audience.It also has a strong sentiment about gender equality, belief in oneself and true love.



Eula Valdez as ZsaZsa had been perfect for the role as she can definitely sing and act as the gay heroine Ada, trapped in the curves and beauty of ZsaZsa. Nailing the part with her comical antics, she also had some heartfelt moments when she thought Didi had died and the encounter with the zombie form of her father.



Wilma Doesnt as Dina B., and the rest of the Amazonista had also been scene stealers led by their Queen Femina with their accents, 'crayola' costumes and production numbers as they did their 'Transmorphication--Execute' routines. They are villains, yes, but they are all adorable and hilarious.



Nar Cabico as Didi had solicited the most laugh, and arguably, the loudest cheer in the curtain call because of his uncanny comedy, good singing voice and A+ talent. I love his performance, he was a big part why ZsaZsa the musical had been a roaring success!

Doubting Meryl

St. Thomas had doubted Jesus when He appeared in front of the apostles after He resurrected. To prove that it was indeed Him who had risen from the dead after three days, He showed them His palm which still has a wound from the nail when they crucified Him in the cross.

In this movie, it was the turn of Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius Beauvier to DOUBT if Father Brendan Flynn just has a soft spot for Donald Miller, the first black student of their school, or if the priest already has an 'untoward' fondness to the boy.


The root of her DOUBT is when Sister James told her that the priest called for Donald in the middle in the class, returned smelling alcohol and saw him put the boy's undershirt in his locker. Father Flynn was able to come up with an explanation that made sense to Sister James and said "I don't think Father Flynn did anything wrong." but Sister Aloysius just snapped: "You just want things to be resolved so you can have simplicity back."

And the case was really not resolved by telling it's audience if Father Flynn is guilty or not. Instead, there is a need to read between the lines in their confrontations to get a clue if Sister Aloysius is just a malicious, paranoid nun or Father Flynn really is a child molester. There are also some clues like the priest always wants the window to be opened but the curtain covers it, and that he wants his manicured nails to be long, as he showed his students "...long but clean."

And as Sister Aloysius warned the priest: " I will step outside the church if that's what needs to be done, till the door should shut behind me!" she talked with their superiors to tell them her DOUBTS. They hear her out and remove the priest from his post. Only to be transffered to another school with a much higher position.

Not attaining her conviction that she will fight Father Flynn and he will lose, she just cried at the arms of Sister James, though she already has her certainty, it will still remain as DOUBT.

Partial Solar Eclipse

Manila Bay, Philippines.
www.time.com

I was promoted at work as a Team Leader. We have an up-coming trip in the province this April. Nica and Jeje are going to celebrate their birthdays. My project study is still yet to be finished. I am waiting for my new LCD monitor and better CPU. The sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a must-see. The number of my student per day is becoming overwhelming. I am turning 27 this March 30. I like the new Milo commercial because Japoy Lizardo was on it.I am really sleepy now, gotta turn in to bed.

Art at its' Purest

To celebrate the birthday of my good friend Melissa, we decided to be nationalistic and cultured at the same time. Repertory Philippines was running a Nick Joaquin play " A Portrait Of The Artist As Filipino" so we went our way to OnStage Greenbelt, Makati to watch it.

Synopsis from www.repertory-philippines.com

A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino is considered the most important Filipino play in English.

Set in Manila in October 1941, it tells the tale of two of Don Lorenzo's daughters, Candida and Paula Marasigan to whom Don Lorenzo has given the portrait and the many different forces want the painting. The daughters resist the temptation to sell their father's self-portrait, which could fetch a small fortune, and ignore their siblings' coercion to dispose of the family house. Imminent war, practice blackouts, and sleazy figures from Manila’s nightlife make a colorful context.

''Portrait of the Artist'' is an engaging, well-plotted metaphor for the passing of Old Manila. It focuses on family conflicts in which old cultural models are reconciled with modern values and the influences of Western values on Filipino identity.

LIES

Underwold Rise of the Lycans was the first movie of the franchise that I watched so I went to the cinema with an almost 'tabula rasa' mind about it. Sure it was known that Kate Beckinsale is the kick-ass female lycan hunter, Death Dealer and that the movie has a goth feel in it. But without much background about it,the movie becomes more interesting to watch with the gore, sword fights, forbidden love and the piercing dark atmosphere.

The heroine in the story was condemned to death. So if she died, how come that there had been two Underworld stories? It turned out that she was not Kate Beckinsale all along but it was another actress, Rhona Mitra. The story was about Sonja, the mother of Kate's character Selene. On how she 'consorted to an animal'and 'messed up the bloodlines'as his furious father and leader of the coven Viktor accused her. But she argued that she fell in love with the lycan slave, Lucian.She helped him and the other lycans to escape for their freedom. Sonja was supposed to meet Lucian to run away together but Viktor discovered her treachery and confined her, so he went back to the fortress to rescue her but got caught. The vampire council, lead by Viktor, unanimously voted that Sonja must die despite being pregnant, while Lucian was forced to watch her demise. The Vampire v.s. Lycans battle ensued, calling their warewolves brothers to fight with them, the Lycans was victorious and ovethrew the vampires from their own fortress. Lucian overpowered Viktor, but at the end, the vampire proved to be resilient and not easily killed. He was later shown to be smuggled out in a ship, resting on his casket to regenerate cursing that 'this will just be the beggining'. Thus starting the long, waging war between the Vampires and the Lycans.

To end the movie, Kate as Selene was shown in the opening sequence of the first Underwold movie being told about what really transpired in the past. That it was the vampires who started the conflict and her families were murdered by Viktor himself and not by the lycans as she was led to believe, on which she only coldly replied: "Lies."