Tag: September 30, 2008

HUWAG sumulat ng mga paksang hindi mo alam.

Ito ang binigyang-diin ng mga panelista ng ika-apat na Ustetika Palihang Pampanitikan na idinaos noong ika-14 at ika-21 ng Setyembre sa tanggapan ng Varsitarian para sa mga baguhang manunulat.

Ito ay bilang pagtugon sa mga problemang nakita ng Varsitarian sa mga ipinasang akda sa taunang Gawad Ustetika Paligsahang Pampanitikan noong mga nagdaang taon, naglalayon ang palihan na mapaunlad ang kalidad ng mga akda ng mga mag-aaral sa Unibersidad.

ANO NAMAN kayang klaseng “kaastigan” ang nilalaman ng panibagong akda ni Vlad Gonzales, isang propesor ng Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman, sa kanyang librong “Isang Napakalaking Kaastigan” (Milflores Publishing, Inc., 2008) na kasing-nipis at liit lang ng isang kuwaderno?

Sa unang tingin pa lang, mapapansin ang “astig” na disenyo ng pabalat nitong akmang-akma para sa mga mambabasang interisado sa mga bagay na may kinalaman sa pagka-astig, o ‘di kaya’y gustong maging astig. Sa pamamagitan ng kumbinasyon ng imahinasyon at katotohanan, tunay na naipakita ni Gonzales ang kakaiba, nakakamangha at “astig” na mga perspektibong hango sa pang-araw-araw na pamumuhay gamit ang pamamaraan ng pagsulat ng blog na maihahalintulad sa estilo ni Bob Ong.

No UST student figured in the winning column of this year’s Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, which serves as a barometer of the state of literary excellence not only in the writing profession but on campuses as well.

“It isn’t a good thing that not one (student) from UST won this year,” SEA Write Award recipient and UST alumnus Michael Coroza told the Varsitarian. He was the only Thomasian winner who attended the awards night at the Manila Peninsula last September 1.

HINDI lamang sa karagatan natatagpuan ang mga sirena. At lalong hindi sila eksklusibo lamang sa matatandang mitolohiya ng mga Griyego at Romano. Huwag akalaing sila’y bunga lamang ng mayamang guniguni ng tao noon at ngayon. Huwag silang habang buhay ibilanggo sa mga naninilaw na pahina ng mga kuwentong kutsero. Gabi-gabi, lalo na sa tuwing kabilugan ng buwan, sila’y pangkat-pangkat na umaahon sa dagat, ilog, at batis. Naglalahong kusa ang mga buntot nila habang nangangalaglag ang makukulay na kaliskis. Sila’y nakapaa’t sinusuyod ang sementadong dalampasigang hinihimod ng naglalagablag na pagnanasa. Malamlam ang mga mata nilang naghahanap ng kanlungang mapaglalagakan ng katauhang lupaypay. Tinig nila’y malambing. Awit nila’y mapanghalinang tulad ng mga along hinaharot ng hangin.

HEART disease topped the list of the leading causes of death among Filipinos in the last three years while some 46 million young Filipinos may be prone to cardiovascular diseases if they don’t make crucial lifestyle changes to boost their health, a study conducted by the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) and the Department of Health (DOH) said.

According to Dr. Eugene B. Reyes, chair of the PHA research committee, cardiovascular diseases refer to a class of illnesses which involve the heart, blood vessels, arteries, and veins.

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) has ordered the gradual phaseout of the use of mercury in healthcare equipment and facilities.

Mercury is a highly toxic, volatile, naturally occurring heavy metal that is fatal if inhaled and absorbed by the skin.

According to Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigo, chief pathologist of the Clinical Chemistry Section of the UST Hospital Laboratory, exposure to mercury may cause difficulty in breathing, poor memory, and insanity. Other risks identified by the DOH are tremors, impaired hearing and vision, paralysis, difficulty of sleeping, and emotional instability.

Aside from thermometers, mercury is also found in sphygmomanometers, laboratory staining solutions and preservatives, feeding tubes, and gastrointestinal diagnostic machines.

UST STUDENTS dominated the ArtPetron 2008, winning three grand prizes in photography and one in oil painting.

Grand-prize winners in photography were Advertising majors Alexa Remalante and Marcelo Bugaoan for “Lugod” and “Indayog” respectively, and Varsitarian photographer Paul Allyson Quiambao of the College of Architecture for “Season of Grace”. Another Advertising student, Blane Louie Rosales, won a grand prize for his oil painting, “Ipagpatuloy Ang Daloy Ng Alon.”

The grand prize winners received P30,000 while Rosales got P50,000. The grand prize winners received a trophy designed by National Artist Napoleon Abueva.

Rosales’ “Alon” combines realism and collage, rendered in eye-catching colors. In his painting, four children are crouched, with painting masks, festive flags and other colorful images on the floor.

LENSMEN Meo Remalante and Anlex Basilio, former Varsitarian artists and alumni of the former College of Fine Arts and Architecture (CAFA), combined photographic mastery and passion for nature in the photo exhibit “2x2: an Exhibit on Contemporary Digital Photography,” unveiled last August 26 to 30 at the Beato Angelico Gallery.

Remalante’s Northern Light series and Basilio’s O Oleiro Pelo Mar— all of 67 frames—captured mainly the picturesque Ilocos region and Bataan province.

No other smile can be at par with that of the Divine Mother, which has never faded even after a century and a half in Lourdes, France.

In commemoration of the 150th Marian apparition in Lourdes to St. Bernadette Soubirous, Pope Benedict XVI stressed that the smile worn by the Blessed Virgin during the holy vision extends beyond place and time, continuously giving hope to the unfortunate.

MANY a time has there been a debate on the relation of philosophy and theology, but only now has the concept “guardian of philosophy” arose, as one of the world’s best-known living French thinkers proposed it in the third World Congress on Philosophy held last Sept. 11 to 13.