Tag: July 1, 2009

TWO MILLENNIA have passed since St. Paul was born and yet his works continue to strongly influence the world today.

As such, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated 2008 as the “Pauline Year,” a year meant to emphasize the significance of St. Paul’s teachings in the present time.

This June 29, the Pauline Year comes to an end with the Pope delegating seven cardinals as his special envoys for its closing ceremonies in different Pauline sites around the world—Spain, Jerusalem, Malta, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, and Lebanon. This day also celebrates the feast of St. Peter, the first Bishop of Rome.

The celebration was proclaimed by the Holy Father “in order to listen to St. Paul and learn today from him, as our teacher” as stated in his homily for the opening of the Pauline Year last June 2008.

FOLLOWING the introduction of its own YouTube Channel, the Vatican has launched its newest webpage www.pope2you.net featuring different applications to bring the Gospel to the technology savvy generation.

In his Message for the 43rd World Communications Day last January, the Pope encouraged the young people to take on the responsibility of evangelization in the digital world. However, he stressed the responsible use of new technologies in fulfilling this mission by giving utmost attention on the quality of the content disseminated through these media.

Pope2You serves as an online hub for four functionalities of social network, electronic media and other web portal services.

The site includes the Vatican YouTube page introduced in January, where users are given access to videos and audios of the Holy Father’s pastoral activities and other news on the Catholic Church.

THE NEW interactive portal of the Vatican City “Pope2you.net” uniquely features “WikiCath,” a webpage that contains some of the Pope’s inspirational messages on how the youth should view cyberspace. But the page should not be mistaken for Wikipedia.org, an online encyclopedia whose contents are supplied by users.
Here are some of Benedict’s thoughts on cyberspace:

•    In today’s computer world, the word “digital” refers to everything that is represented by numbers or works by manipulating numbers. But the Pope has gone beyond the technicalities of the “digital age,” saying that this concept is not merely an instrument to serve its purpose but rather a means to create deeper relationships among people who use anything digital in their everyday lives.

INAYA ako ng magaling kong Ate sa Quiapo dahil magkikita raw sila ng mga kabarkada niya. Bukod sa libreng pamasahe at pagkain, bibigyan niya pa raw ako ng pera at siya pa ang gagawa ng mga takdang-aralin ko. Dahil sa mga magandang pangako niya, nagpauto naman ako.

SA PANAHON kung kailan ginagapi ng kasamaan ang kabutihan, kailangan ng mundo ng isang bayaning magliligtas sa sangkatauhan na walang hinihinging kapalit o pagkilala.

Pinatunayan ito ni Bob Ong sa kanyang ika-pitong libro, ang Kapitan Sino (Visprint Inc., 2009), kung saan sinasabi niya na ang bawat isa ay may likas na kakayahang tumulong at maglingkod sa kapwa gamit ang sariling abilidad.

Si Ong ang nasa likod ng mga akdang ABNKKBSNPLAko?! at Bakit Baliktad Magbasa ng Libro ang mga Pilipino na kinagiliwan ng mga mambabasa dahil sa magaan nitong tono at nakaka-aliw na pagsasalarawan ng mga pang-araw-araw na gawain ng mga Pilipino. Ang mga akda ni Ong ay nagsimulang sumikat sa Internet kung saan una niyang nilathala ang kanyang mga sulatin sa website na Bobong Pinoy. Isinara ang naturang website noong 2001.

Sa kanyang pinakabagong libro, pinakilala ni Ong ang mekanikong si Rogelio Manglicmot bilang si Kapitan Sino, ang superhero na “mas matibay pa sa orig”.

ONE LESSON most Thomasians learn the hard way is that University life can be a tad expensive, thus the need for practicality.

It pays to be street-smart and to save up some money for a rainy day (or for when a busload of handouts need to be photocopied). Thus, the Varsitarian has compiled a map for the cheap finds on food, school supplies and hang-out places around UST that get you through while savoring the bittersweet life in the University.

Feel-at-home eateries

A few steps away from Dapitan gate is the famous V. Concepcion Street which houses an array of home-style restaurants such as Auribel, Merries, Pasta Plates and Hapag Kainan.

Auribel offers delectable Filipino dishes like caldereta and pork chop for as low as P40.

Customers can hardly tell what their favorite dishes are because the restaurant alters its menu everyday.

YOU GRAB a cup of latte in your favorite spot at the coffee shop, turn your iPod on and open the thick book in front of you. Finally, you’re ready to study.

Others may perform a different ritual. They stare at the ceiling, seeking to block all thoughts unrelated to the task at hand. They make the sign of the cross, take a deep breath, then start reviewing.

Students employ different, and sometimes absurd, learning strategies, but which of them really work and which ones are just plain silly?

Three guidance counselors from the Faculty of Arts and Letters have given their insights on the do’s and don’ts of studying.

Know your learning style

“Know the reasons why you want to achieve good grades so you know what your anchor is,” guidance counselor Lalaine Lachica tells the Varsitarian.

TALK about turning misery into opportunity.

Two Thomasians didn’t fret when school officials required students to wear their IDs on campus all the time.

Dominick Galauran of Engineering and Vincent Chua of Fine Arts knew they didn’t have to sacrifice their fashion style—their “porma”—over it. So they came up with something not exactly novel: UST lanyards.

The strings were not their inventions, but the uniquely Thomasian character of their designs—the black-gold, black-white colors—made their “GoUste” lanyards a fashion must-have these days.

“Why not we make the wearing of IDs more fun?” Galauran argued.

Crossing to the mainstream

In 2007, Galauran and Chua created the lanyards initially for members of GoUste.com forum, a social networking site for Thomasians. Back then, the vibrant lanyards were originally not for sale but were simply used to help promote the site.

WILLIAM Faulkner said about writing, “Everything goes by the board: honor, pride, decency. If a writer had to rob his mother, he will not hesitate.” He further said, not without humor, that the “Ode to a Grecian Urn” might be worth any number of old ladies.

Faulkner would be amused to know that aspiring writers everywhere have “stolen” snippets of everyday life for a budding story. This is especially useful, since people in general cannot remember absolutely everything that happens in a day. Many an episode I have done so myself, pen and paper in hand, recording that fleeting retort or that witty comment by some passerby, only to forget it.

More people nowadays seem to own big and expensive square pendants.

It seems that everyone is buying Digital SLR, but for all the wrong reasons. It is now becoming a fashion statement; people would only own Digital SLR just for the trend rather than the deeper purpose of this technology. In short, the essence of photography has been forgotten...

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My life as a photographer began when I was in third year high school. My friend literally dragged me to a photojournalism seminar in our school. I got interested when he suggested I join the documentation team. At that time, I did not know anything about photography. I had to start from scratch. Bit by bit, I learned more about the art by looking at eye-catching photos by renowned landscape photographers Marc Adamus and Galen Rowell. I fell in love with the way they used light to portray the beauty of nature.