A Taste of Indecision

shawtyness:

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”

It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!

(via yourqueenofspades)

(Source: thresca, via bucia)

How was your Christmas, Tumblr folks? We’re still on a bit of a Christmas high—here we have President Carlos P. Garcia and First Lady Leonila Garcia welcoming guests to their Christmas party in Malacañan Palace, 1960.

Holiday Lights From Around the World

For many of us, lights have been a part of the holiday season since as far back as we can remember. The custom originated in the 18th century when upper-class Germans began decorating Christmas trees. The lighting trend gained steam in the early 1900s, and by the mid-20th century it had become customary to display strings of electric lights as decoration not only on Christmas trees, but outdoors along streets and buildings.

This year, we’ve gathered Instagram photos from some of the best lights displays around the world. To see more photos, be sure to visit the location pages for each of the displays:

東京ドームシティ (Tokyo Dome), Tokyo

Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin

Galeries Lafayette, Paris

Rockefeller Plaza, New York City

Alumbrados Del Rio, Medellin

Frankfurt German Christmas Market, Birmingham

Pueblito Paisa, Medellin

Adding Color to Historic Photos [20 pics]
twistedsifter, twistedsifter.com
Artist Mads Madsen has an amazing skill for colorizing old black and white photographs. Even beside their original counterpart the results are impressive, bringing a new dimension of realism to historic images. An American Civil War buff, Madsen’s…

Adding Color to Historic Photos [20 pics]
twistedsifter, twistedsifter.com

Artist Mads Madsen has an amazing skill for colorizing old black and white photographs. Even beside their original counterpart the results are impressive, bringing a new dimension of realism to historic images. An American Civil War buff, Madsen’s…

(Source: mlq3)

Christmas Reflection

December 24, 2011 approaching 12midnight:

I was sitting on a high stool, sipping wine, chatting with my family and generally feeling relieved that the licensure exams are over. The past few months have been very physically, emotionally, and intellectually draining. Just like any other recent taker, I was hoping that I scored enough to secure my license. That was the first time that I felt that I was really out of school. I was looking forward to lots of leisure time; and boy, that was the life. It wasn’t until I got my license that I began to seriously plan for the future. And it was while staring at my brand-new professional ID when I first thought about the cost of getting it and the possibilities that it opens.

December 24, 2012 approaching 12midnight:

I was slightly tired and was wrapping up a PM shift. It’s been a few months since I started practicing my profession. Whatever optimism and euphoria I had upon getting my license had already fizzled out. And it wasn’t until then that I realized how great a sacrifice the nursing profession can be. For us, there are no normal weekends, no holidays, and not even storm signals exempt us from going to work. We invest a lot of time on patients who, more often than not, don’t even notice the fatigue that we have to endure. We have to abide by international standards using third-world resources. And oftentimes, we are harrassed over things by which we have no control over. Financial compensation is usually barely adequate and the physical toll of shifting schedules is quite hard to describe in words. It was at times like these that I usually ask myself: is it really worth it? Once upon a time, I thought getting a license was the biggest hurdle to get through…it is only now that I realize that the bigger challenge is how to stay inspired. To all nurses out there, I salute you. Living in a 24/7 industry is hard, but living for one that must operate come hell or high water means that there is no easy rest. Is it all worth it? I think we should always go back as to why we entered this profession…at the end of the day, a new day begins.

Sarap ng tulog ko.

Sarap ng tulog ko.

So dramatic (and traumatic) was the Philippine Revolution against Spain at the close of the nineteenth century that it has been an obsession of Philippine historiography for over a century now…This has tended to define patriotism as opposition to power - any power. It has tended to define ‘heroism’ as bravado. It has not fostered a truly satisfactory national notion of statesmanship in the general population. It has produced a democracy of mere numbers not genuinely enriched with political discernment and statesmanly horizon.
Florentino H. Hornedo (via iwriteasiwrite)

There is no ‘legitimacy’ in revolution; power belongs to whoever can seize it; and the newcomer is most apt to gain it who is most ‘pure,’ strict, and systematic.
Jacques Barzun (via iwriteasiwrite)

jeffcanoy:

Taking photos is one thing. But for someone who takes countless photos on a regular basis, archiving has become sort of a hobby in on itself.
Each photograph activates a sleeping memory hidden beneath the newer ones (i.e. pay the electric bill, feed the dog, eat). The ones that take frequent naps with your earlier memories of your elementary school or your first taste of Chickenjoy. Which is why I enjoy archiving. It’s one of those – hey, I suddenly remember that one time when I saw a woman who eerily looked like Keith Martin at the train station! Or, hey, this is someone that a friend introduced me to but I can’t seem to remember her name but I vividly remember that she enjoys throwing tin cans at strangers! Or hey, this is a photo that was taken when we were drunkenly racing each other using wheelchairs!
Which brings me to the photo above.
It’s one of the first photos I took when I started out as a reporter. I came across it while archiving. It was right around 2007, in the wee hours of the morning. I was heading home after sleepwalking through the graveyard shift when a car literally burst into flames right in front of our news cab. Luckily, the passengers were able to get out right before this vehicle was charcoaled. More than this moment however, I remember showing this photo to my friends in one of those let’s-get-together-to-ruminate-about-our-jobs sessions.
“Your job feels like you work for the movies,” my friend non-chalanted. Of course, I made up a verb in that previous sentence but you know what I mean.
And it’s true. As a reporter, you come across images so vivid that you don’t even need a camera to capture a memory. Sometimes, it does feel like you’re living in a movie – one directed by someone like Michael Bay who shoots everything even before a script is finished – filled with adrenaline-pumping musical crescendos to warn you that disaster (i.e. asteroid bits falling from the sky, evil gigantic robots wreaking havoc) is upon us. Followed by tinkling piano music to cue the end leaving you to feel good that inspite of the quality of the movie, the world is safe. And that even through frailty and hopelessness, anyone can uplift themselves into true winners with hearts of gold, and look sexy at the same time, like Liv Tyler and Megan Fox.
“Yeah, sometimes it does,” I non-chalanted with a smirk.
It doesn’t happen everyday but photographs like the one above prove and remind me that our workdays? Surreal.

Taking photos is one thing. But for someone who takes countless photos on a regular basis, archiving has become sort of a hobby in on itself.

Each photograph activates a sleeping memory hidden beneath the newer ones (i.e. pay the electric bill, feed the dog, eat). The ones that take frequent naps with your earlier memories of your elementary school or your first taste of Chickenjoy. Which is why I enjoy archiving. It’s one of those – hey, I suddenly remember that one time when I saw a woman who eerily looked like Keith Martin at the train station! Or, hey, this is someone that a friend introduced me to but I can’t seem to remember her name but I vividly remember that she enjoys throwing tin cans at strangers! Or hey, this is a photo that was taken when we were drunkenly racing each other using wheelchairs!

Which brings me to the photo above.

It’s one of the first photos I took when I started out as a reporter. I came across it while archiving. It was right around 2007, in the wee hours of the morning. I was heading home after sleepwalking through the graveyard shift when a car literally burst into flames right in front of our news cab. Luckily, the passengers were able to get out right before this vehicle was charcoaled. More than this moment however, I remember showing this photo to my friends in one of those let’s-get-together-to-ruminate-about-our-jobs sessions.

“Your job feels like you work for the movies,” my friend non-chalanted. Of course, I made up a verb in that previous sentence but you know what I mean.

And it’s true. As a reporter, you come across images so vivid that you don’t even need a camera to capture a memory. Sometimes, it does feel like you’re living in a movie – one directed by someone like Michael Bay who shoots everything even before a script is finished – filled with adrenaline-pumping musical crescendos to warn you that disaster (i.e. asteroid bits falling from the sky, evil gigantic robots wreaking havoc) is upon us. Followed by tinkling piano music to cue the end leaving you to feel good that inspite of the quality of the movie, the world is safe. And that even through frailty and hopelessness, anyone can uplift themselves into true winners with hearts of gold, and look sexy at the same time, like Liv Tyler and Megan Fox.

“Yeah, sometimes it does,” I non-chalanted with a smirk.

It doesn’t happen everyday but photographs like the one above prove and remind me that our workdays? Surreal.

It’s more dumb in the Philippines

ellobofilipino:

Trade Tripper - Jemy Gatdula

But is it really? It was only when Alvin Capino mentioned it in Karambola (DWIZ, weekday mornings; frankly, it’s the smartest radio talk show today) that I became aware of how shockingly low the Philippine’s average IQ level is. My first reaction was: well that explains a lot, particularly our propensity for undisciplined traffic and for voting idiots into public office.

The Philippines scored an average of 86, which (in the Binet Scale) qualifies as dull. I actually prefer the old, politically incorrect classification (if only to ram the point home): we actually are borderline cretin in terms of IQ, just one level up from moron and two levels up from an imbecile.

The country with the highest average IQ score is Hong Kong (with 107), followed by South Korea (106), Japan (105), Taiwan (104), Singapore (103), Austria (102), Germany (102), Italy (102), Netherlands (102). The US scored 98. On the other hand, the Philippines keeps for company countries such as Libya (84), Lebanon (86), and Burma (86). China, Thailand, and Indonesia all scored higher than us (100, 91, 89, respectively).

Read in full

Now before you “Pinoy Pride” advocates go off in a fit of rage and hunt down the author. I suggest you read the entire article since the writer cites certain factors which could have affected the IQ levels of students in some parts of the country.

Then again, the author actually makes a challenging write up which begs the question: Are Filipinos now more intelligent or dumber than Filipinos of previous generations? I think it is a valid question which makes us look into the quality of graduates our educational institutions produce and the quality of education being given to the youth.

I doubt though if our policy-makers would ask the question in the halls of power. I don’t think it would be something which would ensure media mileage for some who are up for re-election next year since it is not as controversial as the Reproductive Health bill, plagiarism and regulation of blogs.

But if you think about it though, the unending debate on the Reproductive Health bill, the endless justification by a Senator of how his staff’s actions cannot be considered plagiarism, and how some policy makers belittle online media - are these not indicative of the level of intelligence we have as a society? What do these issues say about us as a country and a people? Are Filipinos now more intelligent or dumber?

Meanwhile in Hong Kong… Parents go on hunger strike while students protest against a new curriculum.

(via bulelyl)

Today, we commemorate the death of Ronald Allan K. Poe, better known as Fernando Poe Jr., who died on this day in 2004. The action star ran for President in the 2004 elections but lost to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

On May 23, 2006, President Arroyo posthumously conferred the Order of National Artist for Cinema on Poe. This was confirmed by President Benigno S. Aquino III on July 20, 2012.

ABOVE: Stills from the 1964 film Intramuros, directed by fellow National Artists Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero

Tinatamad na naman ako…darn :-/

superawesomeshop:

365 Days of Hand Lettering by Lisa Congdon.

Buy prints in her shop.

(Source: sosuperawesome, via muntingprinsipe)

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