THE STORY BEHIND ABBEY ROAD

Abbey Road is the 11^th studio album by the English rock band The Beatles. Though Let It Be was the last album released before The Beatles’ dissolution in 1970, work on Abbey Road began in April 1969, making it the final album recorded by the band.

                It is one of The Beatles’ most tightly constructed albums, although the band was barely operating as a functional unit at the time. Rolling Stone placed it at number 14 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. In 2009, readers of the magazine also named Abbey Road the greatest Beatles album.

                The front cover design, a photograph of the group traversing a zebra crossing, was based on sketched ideas by McCartney and was taken on August 8, 1969, outside EMI Studios on Abbey Road. At around 11:30 that morning, the photographer was given only 10 minutes to take the photo whilst he stood on a step-ladder and a policeman held up the traffic.

                In the scene, the group walk across the street in a single file (from L-R) with Lennon leading, followed by Starr, McCartney, and Harrison. McCartney is bare-foot. With the exception of Harrison, the group wore suits designed by Tommy Nutter. To the left of the picture, parked next to the zebra crossing, is a white Volkswagen Beetle motor-car which belonged to one of the people living in the block of flats across from the recording studio. After the album was released, the number plate(LMV 281F) was stolen repeatedly from the car. In 1968, the car was sold at auction for £2,530 and in 2001 was on display in a museum in Germany. The man standing on the pavement to the right of the picture is Paul Cole, an American tourist unaware that he had been photographed until he saw the album cover months later.

                The image of the Beatles on the crossing has become one of the most famous and imitated in recording history. The crossing is a popular destination for Beatles fans. In December 2010, the crossing was given grade II listed status for its “cultural and historical importance”.

Source: Wikipedia.com

                One of my most favorite songs, Here Comes The Sun, comes from the said album. How I wish I could someday visit this site and cross it myself. It is surely on the list of places I must visit.

THE BEATLES

Rubber Soul. Among my favorite
albums of theirs. 

The Beatles. I’m sure you’ve all heard of them at least once in your life time. And almost all of you have heard at least one song of theirs without even being aware of it.

                The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960. The group is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. The Beatles was consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals), and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the group later worked in many genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. the nature of their enormous popularity, which first emerged as the “Beatlemania” fad, transformed as their songwriting grew in sophistication. The group came to be perceived as the embodiment of ideals of the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

Source: Wikipedia.com

The last album of The Beatles

                Let It Be, Eleanor Rigby, Blackbird, Hey Jude, Michelle, Here Comes the Sun, and In My Life are among the songs of theirs that are my favorite. Let It Be is there most memorable and emotional song as it was there last. Personally, it was their best. Being able to influence many singers of today and contributing a large part of making music what it is today, The Beatles are truly a legend.

WORST FEARS

Everyone has a fear right? Even those who look like no one can be braver than them must have just at least one fear. For me, I have couple of fears. Well, some of them don’t really scare me. I just don’t like them. So here are some of my fears and dislikes:

1.       FROGS. I don’t like their bumpy skin.

2.       LIZARDS. I don’t like their cold and almost see through skin.

3.       GECKOS. They’re even worse than lizards. From what I’ve heard, it’s very hard to get these off your skin once they stick on to you. I just get really creeped out by their weird skin color and large size.

4.       ANTS. I’m not really afraid of ants. It’s scary though when they bundle up and make this big bunch of red crawling things. They just annoy me. They’re almost everywhere and they’re always many! And I don’t like it when I get bitten by one. They’re too tiny that sometimes you can’t see them.

5.       SWIMMING IN AN OPEN SEA. Although I do know how to swim, I’m still scared to swim in open water. Especially in dark water. I’m not scared of the creatures that might be lurking in them. Nor am I afraid of drowning. I just don’t like the fact that it’s very dark and it looks so endless. It scares me the most to be somewhere dark and it seems like you could just keep on going and going without reaching an end.

6.       SOMEONE CHASING ME ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE UNUSUAL. This never happened which is a good thing. Unusual people scare me more than ghosts do because I know they are real.

7.       WINGS OF A BUTTERFLY. I only like to look at butterflies but not touch them. Their wings seem so frail, fragile, and soft that I don’t want to touch them with the fear that they might get broken.

                I know that to some, these things don’t scare them at all. But it doesn’t mean that if I’m scared of them, I really detest them. They just simply freak me out but not in an offensive way. I hope one day, I will be able to overcome these fears.

WEIRD BUT TRUE II

Here is an excerpt from one of my Nat Geo Kids magazines that I received last January 2006:

1.       The world’s longest cake was 8,303 feet long- the length of about 28 football fields.

2.       Your body contains about 60,000 miles of blood vessels.

3.       You can buy potato-flavored ice cream in Idaho.

                I was able to buy malunggay-flavored ice cream at the Bee Farm during our latest vacation to Bohol. They also had other unusual flavors which tasted very delicious. And their ice cream cones were made of cassava.

4.       Spit can freeze in midair in the North Pole.

5.       A male ostrich can roar like a lion.

6.       An 11 year-old girl named the planet Pluto.

7.       Giraffes are the only animals born with horns.

8.       A Florida man can knot 39 cherry stems with his tongue in 3 minutes.

9.       Astronauts’ footprints stay on the moon FOREVER. There’s no wind to blow them away.

10.   You can fry an egg on a hot sidewalk when it reaches 158 degrees Fahrenheit.

These facts are really weird aren’t they?

ELIZABETH

YEAR II - ST. ELIZABETH SY 2010-2011

Yesterday was our last day of having regular classes. But it surely wasn’t just any regular day. It was filled with much laughter, tension, excitement, and lots and lots of tears.

                 What better way to spend our last day as Year II – St. Elizabeth than presenting a cheer dance? Yes, preparing for it did cause some misunderstandings and misinterpretations but we it all came out well at the end of the day. To be honest, we were already cramming. We were only able to polish our dance on the day itself. Nevertheless, I was confident in our dance. Everyone looked so cute and catchy in there tutus and bandanas. We were so tensed and nervous only to find out that we were the first to dance. Even so, we still enjoyed our dance very much. Maybe because it was something we all liked. I think that St. Catherine also had a very nice dance. They looked so cute in their colorful shirts. I found St. Anne very entertaining especially with Christie.

                I believe some of us thought we were going to be 3^rd only. But they were proved wrong. Everyone started to jump and shout very loud when we knew we still had a chance to be 1^st. Though we didn’t win, we were still very happy. Then followed the tears. Lots of tears. Some people thought we were crying because we lost only to find out that we were really crying because we didn’t want to be separated from each other. It has been a tradition of Assumption to regroup students each year. This means that every year, your classmates will change.

                Though I tried no to, but I also cried. I admit, at first I didn’t enjoy much my section. But I learned to love it. Everyone just seem to get along with each other very well. Our group was just filled with every kind of character. I can’t even put to words how great Elizabeth is. We have just gone a through a lot of ups and downs that we have become very close to each other. I’ll surely miss this section. It just moves me to tears thinking that for the next school year, we might not be classmates anymore. This year has been the best so far and wouldn’t have spent it with anyone else but St. Elizabeth.

                Thank you E-Beth, for making this school year a great one. I’ll surely miss all of you. I hope that the closeness we have right now will never tail off.

SILVANAS

Have you ever tasted a silvana before? A Silvana is a frozen cookie made with a layer of buttercream sandwiched between two cashew-meringue wafers, coated with cookie crumbs. Many describe it as a cookie version of a Sans Rival. I only have one description for it: HEAVEN. It literally just melts in your mouth. Once you take your first bite, it’s like you just want to keep on eating it forever.

                This brings me to the moment when I tasted my first silvana. I’m not sure if it was really my first though. But for sure, it was the most unforgettable. Anyway, this is how my story of how silvanas and I met: it was our last day in Manila and since our flight wasn’t until the afternoon, my sister and I figured to go Glorietta for last minute shopping. After going to and fro from shop to shop, my legs were already getting jaded. After a little more of walking around, we passed by House of Silvanas Bakeshop. My sister, since silvanas are also her favorite, bought some. As I took my first bite, I immediately fell in love with it. After eating all the silvanas, I just had to have more and so I went back to the bakeshop and bought myself more. Silvanas surely made me go home to Iloilo with a big smile and a happy tummy.

                And so that’s how I discovered silvanas. So to all those pastry lovers, silvanas is a must try! 

A FAT HEART

As I was going through my files, I saw my 3^rd Quarter Project for CLE and so I figured maybe I could share it with you, even if Christmas was 3 months ago already. I am always fond of looking back to Christmas Eve because of course, it is one of the merriest and most love filled moments of the year.

Gift giving at the Plaza

                I really enjoyed my whole 2010 Yuletide season experience. It all started my family and I going home to Ajuy to celebrate Christmas there together with other family members. One the eve of December 25, we headed to the Plaza. There were a lot of people, mostly children, gathered there enjoying the lights and music. I volunteered to help my father, some officials, and foreigners give away Christmas gifts. First, we gave out GMA Kapuso Network gift packs to Gawad Kalinga beneficiaries. Next we gathered all the children present and had them line up. We, together with the foreigners who in a way have to been Santa Clauses to a lot of people also, have prepared fruits to give to the children. Though it was tiring, it felt very rewarding giving out those gifts. To see those children so eager to get just an apple or orange made me realize a lot of things. I learned how ungrateful I have been at times and that I took the simple things that can already make other people happy for granted. I realized that God blesses me with so much yet sometimes, I still complain. Although it was just a brief moment, but it was an instance that made me more humble. This year was my second time participating in the gift giving. With the simple things we shared, we were already able to make others feel the true meaning of Christmas and brought out the atmosphere of sharing and loving.

                After the presentation we walked to the Church and arrived just in time for the Christmas Eve mass. After hearing mass, we headed back home and had our simple Noche Buena with the people at home.

                I spent the few days left before New Year’s Eve with family. We held a yearly Christmas party for the people working for us. It was one of our ways of showing gratitude for their help and loyalty. Part of the games was a dance contest between children. The kids gathered in the middle and danced. My mother and I couldn’t help but notice a boy whose head was unusually large. We were told that the reason for his condition is that he was probably overdosed with medicine. He was 11 years old already but still couldn’t speak well. I forgot exactly what grade he was in, but it was somewhere behind his age group.  The thing that pitied me the most was the fact that even though he was already in the condition that he was in, his mother still left him.  I don’t know if there is ever a reason sensible enough for a mother to leave a child, especially one in the condition of his. But I know I have no right at all to judge his mother because I’m sure she had an explanation for doing what she did.  I just hope that she has a good one. Nevertheless, I am glad that the kid enjoyed the party as well as the other people who were present. At the end of the party, we also gave some of our stuff we didn’t use anymore to our employees. I mostly gave out my shirts and shoes. I found it hard at first, giving those things away but I thought to myself that it is better for those things to go to someone else and make them happy rather than just being stored in my room. We also invited relatives who were home for the holidays to come with us to the beach.

                Last year, I honestly didn’t ask for any gift but still I felt very contented. Though my parents still gave me a simple present, I would’ve been happy already even if they didn’t give me anything for Christmas. I found happiness in sharing what I had with others

                Christmas season is the time of the year where we are given the chance to really show our love to others and be good disciples of Jesus. But let us not wait after 11 months to be good disciples again. Part of my new year’s resolution is to be a better person not only during the Yuletide season, but all throughout the year.

                My 2010 Christmas experience was truly enriching. While other people are saying they got fatter because of so much food this holiday season, I can say my heart did.

YOUNG VICTORIA

Young Victoria is about Queen Victoria of England’s life as a teen. Her life was never normal since at the age of only 18, she was already in line for the throne. Her father died early and so she was left with her bossy mother, The Duchess of Kent, and her ambitious advisor, Conroy. Because of their overbearingness, Victoria started to detest them.

                One day the Duchess of Kent invited Albert, who was Victoria’s cousin, for a visit. Albert is also the nephew of Victoria’s uncle, King Leopold of Belgium.  It was quite obvious that Albert was coached to win her hand. At first, she is annoyed as she has no intention of being married fearing that she might be controlled again. Albert though, is also tired of always being manipulated by his relatives. Victoria and Albert then talk openly and sincerely and become good friends.  As he returned home, she granted him permission to write to her. Victoria’s uncle then died and she was crowned Queen. Being queen at a very early age, with little very little experience, Victoria was confronted with a lot of challenges. A lot of people started to criticize her and her mother, who was only interested in getting wealthy, seemed to be no help at all. And so she decided to become independent from her mother. She finally decided that she didn’t the useless advice of her mother anymore and sent her and Conroy to a remote palace apartment. After that, she met Lord Melbourne, a prime minister, and embraced him as her sole advisor. She has become good friends with him. Though Melbourne truly cared for Victoria and wanted her to succeed, his motives were sort of self centered.

                Eventually, the public started to protest against her and the decisions she made. It was only then that she realized how much she needed Albert. She then invited Albert back to England. This time, Albert was determined to be kept in the wings any longer. Seeing his new resolution and struck by how handsome and sincere he is, Victoria invites him to marry her.

                Their marriage won over the public. However tensions between Albert and Victoria started to emerge. She wanted an obedient friend and lover, not a controlling husband. But he, reasonably enough, wanted to be her partner and equal, to be involved in her political decisions. Victoria was furious. She believed that she was the Queen and she should manage her own business. Albert was hurt and had little to do in his new role as Consort. Eventually, with the Dowager Queen Adelaide’s encouragement, she allowed him to re-organize the palace staff. He did a great job - the household was more efficient than it has been in centuries.

                Victoria became pregnant. Life should be perfect by then. But they argued when she sees Albert talking with politicians at a party. She incensed that he was taking the lead without her permission. They were later riding through the streets when a crazed man tries to shoot Victoria. Albert threw her to the carriage floor and was wounded trying to protect her.

                Shocked by the danger and amazed by the strength of his love, Victoria realizes what a selfish woman she has become. She begged for Albert’s forgiveness as he insisted that all he ever wanted was what was best for her. Trusting him completely, she now accepted his help. Together, they banished Lehzen who could not accept Albert’s place in the family, and her mother’s treacherous advisor, Conroy, who was still wielding influence. In a symbolic move, Victoria moved Albert’s desk next to hers and for the rest of his life they ruled together.

My favorite parts of the movie:

1.       When Victoria and Albert danced for the first time.

2.       When Victoria asked Albert to marry her.

3.       When Albert said to Victoria: “Good morning, Wife”, the day after they got married.

4.       The days they spent together after getting married. (Prince Albert was soooo sweet!)

5.       When Albert stood up against Lord Melbourne.

6.       When Victoria and Albert fought.

7.       When Albert commented about how dirty the palace windows were.

8.       When Prince Albert said: “For goodness sakes woman, smile! People would think we had fought.”

9.       When Albert got wounded after protecting Victoria from a bullet.

10.   When Prince Albert told Victoria the two reasons why he protected her which were: First, I am replaceable and you are not. Second, you are my one and only wife and I will love you until my very last breath. (This just melted my heart!)

11.   When Prince Albert said once again “Good morning, Wife” to Victoria. Only this time, Victoria was already holding a baby.

12.   When Victoria had Albert’s desk put just in front of hers so that when they work, they can face each other.

                So for all those whose weaknesses are love stories and just can’t help but admire those perfect leading men, put Young Victoria in you must see lists now!

*Summary of the movie was based on the summary provided by: victorianweb.org

FACEBOOK

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg

I bet you all are very adept already or at least have a know how of the little thing called Facebook. Well, it’s not so tiny. It’s actually something very big. In fact, there are even people who claim they can’t survive without being able to check their Facebook accounts.

                According to techterms.com, facebook is a social networking website that was originally designed for college students, but is now open to anyone 13 years of age or older. Facebook users can create and customize their own profiles with photos, videos, and information about themselves. Friends can browse the profiles of other friends and write messages on their pages. There is no doubt about the huge help FB has provided us especially in connecting with our far away friends and relatives or those we haven’t heard of a very long time. But has FB really been starting to rule our lives? Specifically the young? Maybe. There are students now a days who stay up until the wee hours of the morning just playing games on FB and not even doing their projects or assignments anymore. Though FB does have its perks, it also has a negative side to it once we get too obsessed.

                So the next time you log in to Facebook, think again. Are you really logging in for a purpose? Or do you think you can do other more useful things? Limit your time in using Facebook and make yourself more useful. And not only in Facebook, but also in other social networks, games, and the like as well.

THE PLASTIC BAG PANDEMICS

Fast facts about the plastic bag pandemics:

1.       500 billion to 1 trillion bags are used every year, worldwide.

2.       About a million plastic bags are used every minute.

3.       A single plastic bag can take 1,000 years to degrade.

4.       Plastic bags are the second-common type of ocean refuse, after cigarette buts.

5.       Every square mile of ocean has about 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it.

                These facts are very alarming, aren’t they? Sure, you might not be affected by any of these, but you will soon once this pandemic is not stopped. Have you ever left your trash purposely and pretended like you just forgot to throw it? Or maybe your trash fell while you were walking  but you actually meant for it to fall? I know some of us have been guilty. We humans, have recently been producing a lot of waste. Too much that we can’t anymore control them.

                When I was in 4^th grade, I was given the chance to go to the Kalahunan Dumpsite together with some other learners. It was a very eye-opening experience. Yes, you could smell the foul odor from afar. We were welcomed by dirty old garbage trucks. As we went further, I was taken aback  by HUGE  mountains of trash.  And most of them were still plastics. I bet some of those plastics were thrown away decades ago but they were still very recognizable. This then led me to question, what will happen next after all our trash can’t fit anymore? We were met by the person in charge and he oriented us about the Dumpsite. The whole experience surely inspired me to change my ways and become a much greener person.

                Going back to the plastic pandemic, most of us people use a lot of plastic but then take these for granted after merely one use. When we do this, we totally take for granted the whole purpose why we use plastics rather than paper bags because plastics last longer and therefore can be reused more times. It’s a good thing a lot of firms right now, firms that are influential, are beginning to become greener. Take SM for example. They already have this practice of putting groceries on boxes instead of plastics every Wednesday. And they also provide these green bags that are much sturdier and last longer.

                Humbly speaking, I myself have also started to do some green things myself. Namely, not using a straw whenever I have a drink. And, I whenever I order from McDonald’s, I don’t buy those ice cream sundays on cups. Instead, I buy Vanilla cones so that I don’t use any plastic. By doing this, I actually save more money but still get a happy tummy.

                So what are you waiting? Help stop this plastic pandemic and save Mother Earth! Be GREEN!