Tag: May 20, 2008

MAIGI kong pinagmamasdan ang tanawin mula sa bintana ng eroplano. Mula sa malayo, gatuldok na lamang ang mga kotse, habang ang mga bahay nama’y sinliit na lang ng ulo ng posporo. Ang kagubata’y tila isang berdeng banig, habang ang dagat nama’y parang asul na kumot na nakalatag sa isang malawak na sahig!

Gustuhin ko mang ilapat ang aking mga daliri sa tuktok ng bundok at sumalok ng tubig-dagat, hinding-hindi ko naman ito magagawa. Abot-tanaw ko ang langit at ang mga ulap, ngunit gaya ng pagtanaw ko sa mga bundok at dagat, mananatili na lamang akong isang masugid na tagahanga.

SA PARAANG lektyur kami sinanay ng mga propesor ng Journalism hinggil sa tamang paraan ng pakikipanayam sa iba’t ibang klase ng tao, magsulat ng magandang lead (pangunahing talata ng artikulo) at maglatag ng mga ideya upang makabuo ng isang makabuluhang artikulo.

Bukod pa rito, paulit-ulit din nila kaming pinaalalahanan kung ano ang dapat naming asahan sa ”tunay na mundo,” na aming haharapin pagkatapos naming mag-aral. Ilan sa mga ito ay ang mga ”sermon” na maririnig namin sa aming magiging mga patnugot kung sakaling mahuli kami sa pagpasa ng artikulo o may nailagay kaming mga maling detalye sa ipinasang artikulo.

PALASAK na paniniwala ng karamihan na mas nakalalamang ang mga kalalakihan kaysa kababaihan sa maraming larangan. Ngunit sa mga kuwento sa Lahi ni Adan: Kuba at Iba Pang Kuwento (UST Publishing House, 2007) ni Nonon Villaluz Carandang, napatunayan na ang kamalayang ito ay may hangganan.

Matapos mailathala ang kanyang naunang koleksiyong Angkan ni Eba (UST Publishing House, 2005) na tungkol sa katatagan at tagumpay ng mga kababaihan sa isang lipunang mabalasik at mapanghamak, minarapat ni Carandang na gumawa ng isang koleksiyon na tumatalakay naman sa kanyang sariling lahi. Si Carandang ay isang propesor sa Kagawaran ng Filipino ng De La Salle University at nagtapos naman ng mga kursong Journalism at Literature sa UST. Naging katuwang na patnugot rin siya ng Varsitarian noong 1995.

IT IS NOW a hundred days. A hundred days in between January 15 to April 24, 2008. In these hundred days, things have changed.

The morning sun scorches Hanna’s shoulders as she steps out of the house. It has taken her quite a while to get dressed, having been so busy trying to find “non maternal” clothes. She signals her baby Julie’s nanny to hop in the car. The nanny hurries toward the car, carrying shoulder bags and pushing Julie in her stroller.

“Manong, let’s go to St. Luke’s,” Hanna says to the driver. Today is Julie’s hundredth day, and Hanna wants to start her day with Julie’s monthly pediatric consultation. In the afternoon, they will head to the grocery, buy baby diapers, and then head home so the baby can rest.

IF A NOVEL is labeled “Harry Potter and the Holocaust” by the New York Times, it can only mean that it is probably worth looking into.

The novel is The Book Thief, by Australian novelist Markus Zusak. Unlike the author’s first few contemporary novels which carried with them the elements of the fantastic, such as I Am the Messenger, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and Getting the Girl, this new book sets itself in a totally different league and is considered Zusak’s debut as a historical fictionist.

THE WARM breeze and sunlight’s caress
Signal the stretch of a day’s stay–
As streets teem with toddlers
In torn and tattered jeans
Tracing the upward trail of hills.

I find my spot at the base of a tree,
My back lying flat on its sturdy trunk.
Birds soar toward the bright horizon
While I dwell beneath the dimness’ embrace.

In the shelter of my shade, a sudden gust
Brushed the sweat off my cheeks. A shaft of light
Seeped through the canopy of leaves.

Pulling myself up, I inch my way out of my loyal safe,
As the warm breeze and sunlight’s caress
Signal the stretch of a day’s stay.

Agnes Ruth Diana S. Bordado

IS THE Catholic Church ready for a fifth Marian Dogma?

Yes, said advocates of the proposed new dogma, Mary as Co-Redemptrix. The advocates include Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.

No, said critics, who warned that the proposed dogma would virtually equate Mary with Jesus Christ.

Last January 1, five cardinals, including Cardinal Vidal, sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI petitioning the declaration of a new dogma which would reportedly clarify the Virgin Mary’s unique cooperation in the work of Redemption.

“Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.” -Pope John XXIII

IT HAD been my ultimate aspiration to pass through the Arch of the Centuries and graduate with flying colors. Apparently, it takes a serious amount of diligence and dedication to one’s studies to achieve such a feat.

But after entering UST, my priorities drastically changed.

HAVING affected such global icons as Ronald Reagan and Cory Aquino, colon cancer is proving to be a fast-growing disease that can hit the high and the mighty, the poor and the lowly, at any place, at any time. But with the help of studies and the advent of newer technologies, researchers may finally put an end to this age-old cancer.

Colorectal cancer, a general medical term for both colon and rectal cancers, refers to malignant tumors that invade the intestinal walls and other organs of the body. The Department of Health classifies it as the fifth leading cause of death among Filipino males and females.

The colon is a part of the large intestine responsible for the further absorption of food nutrients and fluids from the small intestine, while the rectum, the final straight portion of the large intestine terminating in the anus, is where feces is temporarily stored before defecation.

AT FIVE years old, John Carl Nipas was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, an abnormality that causes difficulty in excreting solid waste due to the absence of ganglion cells, special nerve cells in the intestine involved in moving the stool from the large intestine to the rectum. The disease is curable but since Nipas is malnourished, immediate treatment is remote.

Nipas is only one of the many children suffering from malnutrition in the country.

According to a 2006 report by the United Nations World Food Programme, 19 per cent of all Filipinos are malnourished.