Tag: October 5, 2001

“What is essential is invisible to the eye.” --- the Fox in the The Little Prince

ONE vital attribute that God endowed to man is his innate dissatisfaction. Ask anybody you know what he or she would want out of life, chances are, you wouldn’t get a definite and precise answer. It seems that there is an insatiable hunger for people to derive more out of their lives.

Who could blame them? In the society we all live in, media successfully convinced society that it is normal, even necessary, to want more.

THE FORTHCOMING Semestral break rings a sounding bell to Thomasians, particularly students, for it smells long trip, vacation, and a good break after a tiring semester, or at least, for some. Semestral break marks the beginning of the dreaded thesis for college seniors and for some graduate students as well. Because of the strenuous legwork and extensive research it requires, the University library provides Thomasians reliable resource materials needed for thesis research.

THE NEW management of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital (USTH) has pledged transparency in its transactions and operations.

The one-year-old management, Summit Ventures Marketing Group, Inc., made the promise due to perceptions that it had tightened its policies on public information.

Past instances for which the hospital was perceived to have scrimped on giving information to the media was due to “lack of coordination and proper communication,” said Pilar Almira, USTH chief operating officer.

Butterflies are an endless source of fascination for the young and old. Tradition regards them with mystery, believing them to be visiting spirits of deceased loved ones. For many people, they are colorful paragons of beauty.

It is a good thing Thomasians can enjoy butterfly-watching at the Butterfly Sanctuary. Patterned after the santuary at the La Union Botanical Garden, it was a project undertaken by Dr. Romualdo del Rosario, Edwin Tadiosa and Dr. Lilian Sison, dean of the UST Graduate School (UST-GS).

VICE-PRESIDENT Teofisto Guingona Jr. urged Filipinos to excel more in science in the advent of technology and globalization.

“The more competent a nation is in science, the more it can absorb transferred technology and develop it further for its competitiveness in the international market,” Guingona said, as he addressed the World Conference on Science and Technology (WCST) at the Manila Hotel last Sept.13-15.

ANYTHING in excess is bad.

With the uncontrollable influx of technological advancements, scientific and medical breakthroughs, humans are left to contemplate on which would be beneficial to mankind even if the advances detract from the social and religious norms.

When humans are monitored through microchips in their necks, foods are genetically engineered, and activities are governed by programmed data, man is no longer living but merely existing in a highly-sophisticated environment of artificial intelligence.

Nature of A.I.

IN THE pitch-black darkness of this avenue illuminated by only a few lampposts, one could barely perceive the figures sprawled out on makeshift cardboard mats against the cold, filthy asphalted floor.

The place reeked of sweltering bodies, stale odor from broken bottles of beer, dense fumes emitted by vehicles, and clogged canals filled with litter floating in the murky waters.

Small heads peeked out of the old newspaper sparsely covering the lithe, tired bodies of children lost in their sleep – their only respite from a whole day’s work.

IT WAS almost beyond belief, but the tragedy did happen.

At around 8:45 a.m. of September 11 (EDT), the world watched in shock as two American Airlines flights successively crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Both towers subsequently collapsed, taking down with them countless innocent lives, including rescuers.

Almost an hour after the two aircraft slammed into the towers, another airplane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington.

Eighteen years. That was all it took for Ipe to realize that life ultimately led to nowhere. Once death comes, you’re a goner. You could be certain only of things in this life, but beyond it, you wouldn’t know anything. Is there a life beyond this one? As far as he knew, no one had really been proven to have come back to tell.

(Ipe!)

Nakalapag na rito ang katahimikan.

Nakahimpil ang lahat at wala kahit

kaluskos. Walang talinghagang mahango

mula sa agos ng tubig-kanal.

Di gumagalaw ang mga sanga ng puno.

Walang kibot na maaninag sa hating-buwan

na tumatanod. Laganap naman ang kaayusan

ngunit tila lumisan ang gaan sa dibdib.

Hinigop ng hilakbot at kinagat

ng pangingilabot ang init ng balat.

Hindi kaya pangitain ang lahat ng ito?

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