nuntium universalis

1factum est autem in diebus illis exiit edictum a Caesare Augusto ut describeretur universus orbis 2haec descriptio prima facta est praeside Syriae Cyrino 3et ibant omnes ut profiterentur singuli in suam civitatem 4ascendit autem et Ioseph a Galilaea de civitate Nazareth in Iudaeam civitatem David quae vocatur Bethleem eo quod esset de domo et familia David 5ut profiteretur cum Maria desponsata sibi uxore praegnate 6factum est autem cum essent ibi impleti sunt dies ut pareret 7et peperit filium suum primogenitum et pannis eum involvit et reclinavit eum in praesepio quia non erat eis locus in diversorio 8et pastores erant in regione eadem vigilantes et custodientes vigilias noctis supra gregem suum 9et ecce angelus Domini stetit iuxta illos et claritas Dei circumfulsit illos et timuerunt timore magno 10et dixit illis angelus nolite timere ecce enim evangelizo vobis gaudium magnum quod erit omni populo 11quia natus est vobis hodie salvator qui est Christus Dominus in civitate David 12et hoc vobis signum invenietis infantem pannis involutum et positum in praesepio 13et subito facta est cum angelo multitudo militiae caelestis laudantium Deum et dicentium 14gloria in altissimis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis 15et factum est ut discesserunt ab eis angeli in caelum pastores loquebantur ad invicem transeamus usque Bethleem et videamus hoc verbum quod factum est quod fecit Dominus et ostendit nobis 16et venerunt festinantes et invenerunt Mariam et Ioseph et infantem positum in praesepio 17videntes autem cognoverunt de verbo quod dictum erat illis de puero hoc 18et omnes qui audierunt mirati sunt et de his quae dicta erant a pastoribus ad ipsos 19Maria autem conservabat omnia verba haec conferens in corde suo 20et reversi sunt pastores glorificantes et laudantes Deum in omnibus quae audierant et viderant sicut dictum est ad illos 1Nangyari, nang mga araw na iyon, na lumabas ang isang batas mula kay Augusto Cesar na nag-uutos na dapat magpatala ang buong sanlibutan. 2Ang pagpapatalang ito ay unang nangyari nang si Cirenio ay gobernador ng Siria. 3Ang lahat ay pumunta upang makapagpatala, bawat isa sa kaniyang sariling lungsod. 4Si Jose ay umahon din mula sa Galilea, mula sa lungsod ng Nazaret patungo sa Judea. Sa dahilang siya ay kabilang sa sambahayan at angkan ni David, siya ay umahon sa lungsod ni David na tinatawag na Bethlehem. 5Siya ay umahon upang magpatalang kasama si Maria, na ipinagkasundong mapangasawa niya. At kabuwanan na noon ni Maria. 6Nangyari, samantalang sila ay naroroon, sumapit ang araw ng kaniyang panganganak. 7Isinilang niya ang kaniyang panganay na anak, isang lalaki at binalot niya siya ng mga mahabang tela. Siya ay inihiga niya sa isang sabsaban sapagkat wala ng lugar para sa kanila sa bahay-tuluyan. Nagbalita ang mga Anghel sa mga Pastol 8Sa lupain ding iyon ay may mga tagapag-alaga ng mga tupa na namamalagi sa parang. Binabantayan nila sa gabi ang kanilang kawan. 9Narito, tumayo sa tabi nila ang isang anghel ng Panginoon. Ang kaluwalhatian ng Panginoon ay nagliwanag sa palibot nila at sila ay lubhang natakot. 10Sinabi sa kanila ng anghel: Huwag kayong matakot. Narito, inihahayag ko sa inyo ang ebanghelyo ng malaking kagalakan para sa lahat ng mga tao. 11Ito ay sapagkat sa araw na ito sa lungsod ni David ay ipinanganak sa inyo ang isang Tagapagligtas. Siya ang Cristo na Panginoon. 12Ito ang palatandaan ninyo. Inyong masusumpungan ang sanggol na nababalot ng mga mahabang tela at nakahiga sa isang sabsaban. 13At biglang lumitaw ang isang karamihan ng hukbo ng langit na kasama ng anghel na iyon. Sila ay nagpupuri sa Diyos at nagsasabi: 14Luwalhati sa Diyos sa kataas-taasan, sa lupa ay kapayapaan, sa mga tao ay kaluguran. 15Nangyari, nang ang mga anghel ay umalis patungo sa langit, ang mga tagapag-alaga ng tupa ay nag-usap-usap. Sinabi nila sa isa't isa: Pumunta tayo hanggang sa Bethlehem. Tingnan natin ang bagay na ito na nangyari, na ipinaalam sa atin ng Panginoon. 16Sila ay nagmadaling pumunta roon. Nasumpungan nila roon si Maria at si Jose, at ang sanggol na nakahiga sa sabsaban. 17Pagkakita nila, kanilang ipinamalita ang salitang sinabi sa kanila patungkol sa sanggol na ito. 18Ang lahat ng mga nakarinig ay namangha sa mga bagay na sinabi sa kanila ng mga tagapag-alaga ng tupa. 19Sinarili ni Maria ang lahat ng mga salitang ito, at isina-alang-alang sa kaniyang puso. 20At bumalik ang mga tagapag-alaga ng tupa na niluluwalhati at pinupuri ang Diyos dahil sa lahat ng mga bagay na kanilang narinig at nakita tulad ng pagkasabi sa kanila. 1Thời ấy, hoàng đế Augúttô ra chiếu chỉ, truyền kiểm tra dân số trong khắp cả thiên hạ. 2Ðây là cuộc kiểm tra đầu tiên, được thực hiện thời ông Quiriniô làm tổng trấn xứ Xyria. 3Ai nấy đều phải về nguyên quán mà khai tên tuổi. 4Bởi thế, ông Giuse từ thành Nadarét, miền Galilê, lên thành Bêlem, miền Giuđê, là thành vua Ðavít, vì ông thuộc về nhà và gia tộc vua Ðavít. 5Ông lên đó khai tên cùng với người đã đính hôn với ông là bà Maria, lúc ấy đang có thai. 6Khi hai người đang ở đó, thì bà Maria đã tới ngày mãn nguyệt khai hoa. 7Bà sinh con trai đầu lòng, lấy tã bọc con, rồi đặt nằm trong máng cỏ, vì hai ông bà không tìm được chỗ trong nhà trọ. 8Trong vùng ấy, có những người chăn chiên sống ngoài đồng và thức đêm canh giữ đàn vật. 9Và kìa sứ thần Chúa đứng bên họ, và vinh quang của Chúa chiếu toả chung quanh, khiến họ kinh khiếp hãi hùng. 10Nhưng sứ thần bảo họ: "Anh em đừng sợ. Này tôi báo cho anh em một tin mừng trọng đại, cũng là tin mừng cho toàn dân: 11Hôm nay, một Ðấng Cứu Ðộ đã sinh ra cho anh em trong thành vua Ðavít, Người là Ðấng Kitô Ðức Chúa. 12Anh em cứ dấu này mà nhận ra Người: anh em sẽ gặp thấy một trẻ sơ sinh bọc tã, nằm trong máng cỏ". 13Bỗng có muôn vàn thiên binh hợp với sứ thần cất tiếng ngợi khen Thiên Chúa rằng:14Vinh danh Thiên Chúa trên trời. bình an dưới thế cho loài người Chúa thương. 15Khi các thiên sứ từ biệt mấy người chăn chiên để về trời, những người này bảo nhau: "Nào chúng ta sang Bêlem, để xem sự việc đã xảy ra, như Chúa đã tỏ cho ta biết". 16Họ liền hối hả ra đi. Ðến nơi, họ gặp bà Maria, ông Giuse, cùng với Hài Nhi đặt nằm trong máng cỏ. 17Thấy thế, họ liền kể lại điều đã được nói với họ về Hài Nhi này. 18Nghe các người chăn chiên thuật chuyện, ai cũng ngạc nhiên. 19Còn bà Maria thì hằng ghi nhớ mọi kỷ niệm ấy, và suy đi nghĩ lại trong lòng. 20Rồi các người chăn chiên ra về, vừa đi vừa tôn vinh ca tụng Thiên Chúa, vì mọi điều họ đã được mắt thấy tai nghe, đúng như đã được nói với họ. 1 En ce temps-là, l'empereur Auguste publia un édit qui ordonnait le recensement de tous les habitants de l'Empire. 2 Ce recensement, le premier du genre, eut lieu à l'époque où Quirinius était gouverneur de la province de *Syrie. 3 Tout le monde allait se faire recenser, chacun dans la localité dont il était originaire. 4 C'est ainsi que Joseph, lui aussi, partit de Nazareth et monta de la Galilée en Judée, à Bethléhem, la ville de David: il appartenait, en effet, à la famille de David. 5 Il s'y rendit pour se faire recenser avec Marie, sa fiancée, qui attendait un enfant. 6 Or, durant leur séjour à Bethléhem, arriva le moment où Marie devait accoucher. 7 Elle mit au monde un fils: son premier-né. Elle lui mit des langes et le coucha dans une mangeoire parce qu'il n'y avait pas de place pour eux dans la pièce réservée aux hôtes. 8 Dans les champs environnants, des bergers passaient la nuit pour garder leurs troupeaux. 9 Un ange du Seigneur leur apparut et la gloire du Seigneur resplendit autour d'eux. Une grande frayeur les saisit. 10 Mais l'ange les rassura: N'ayez pas peur: je vous annonce une nouvelle qui sera pour tout le peuple le sujet d'une très grande joie. 11 Un Sauveur vous est né aujourd'hui dans la ville de David; c'est lui le Messie, le Seigneur. 12 Et voici à quoi vous le reconnaîtrez: vous trouverez un nouveau-né dans ses langes et couché dans une mangeoire. 13 Et tout à coup apparut, aux côtés de l'ange, une multitude d'anges de l'armée céleste qui chantaient les louanges de Dieu: 14 Gloire à Dieu au plus haut des cieux! Et paix sur la terre aux hommes qu'il aime. 15 Quand les anges les eurent quittés pour retourner au ciel, les bergers se dirent l'un à l'autre: Allons donc jusqu'à Bethléhem pour voir ce qui est arrivé, ce que le Seigneur nous a fait connaître. 16 Ils se dépêchèrent donc d'y aller et trouvèrent Marie et Joseph avec le nouveau-né couché dans une mangeoire. 17 Quand ils le virent, ils racontèrent ce qui leur avait été dit au sujet de cet enfant. 18 Tous ceux qui entendirent le récit des bergers en furent très étonnés. 19 Marie, elle, conservait le souvenir de toutes ces paroles et y repensait souvent. 20 Les bergers s'en retournèrent, louant et glorifiant Dieu au sujet de tout ce qu'ils avaient vu et entendu: c'était bien ce que l'ange leur avait annoncé. 1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register. 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:1-20

Windy City?

The first time I saw the windmill downtown, I thought it was just some temporary exhibit to showcase the virtues of wind generated energy, or something like that. After all, it is on the grounds of 'Exhibition' Place. I soon learned however, that it is a permanent fixture in the skyline and will be joined by another one. This thing actually works, producing 1400 mwh of electricity per year. Translated, that's enough electricity to supply 250 homes!? A simple blip in the entire power grid I suppose? But as I was driving up north last month I noticed something new in the horizon............. there must have been about 50 of these things, it looked like some kind of alien invasion, and they seemed to have just popped out of the ground because they weren't there over the summer? Apparently these wind farms will been sprouting up all over the province. Ontario has actually been lagging behind the other provinces, but I was pleased to see that something was being done............... (taken from the CWEA website). The goal is obviously to reduce the emissions associated with energy production, and for Ontario to have 10% of its power coming from renewable resources by 2010. So I guess the downtown windmill isn't just for show after all....Actually the story of its erection (no pun intended) is quite interesting. It was not a government-led initiative, but one by a group of enviromentalists who banded together to form the co-operative which owns it: Windshare. Ordinary citizens can actually buy shares in the windmill and share in the profits as well. For more information about wind energy, check out the Canadian Wind Energy Association website and don't forget to hug some trees while you're at it.

Catalyst

I finally caught the Christmas Spirit the other night. I seem to have been fighting it this year, scoffing at how the Halloween candy didn't even get a chance to get cold before all the store windows were filled with jolly elves and candy canes.....blatant commercialism!.... Or how early they were playing carols on the radio. I didn't even care that Santa was in town for the Santa Claus Parade! HUMBUG I say! Well what pushed me over to the bright side you ask.....it was a snow storm. I guess there's nothing like a good downfall of snow to give the place the ambience conducive to all things Christmas. These past few days have certainly been a doozie in terms of snowfall, and like the song says "it doesn't show signs of stopping". As I was driving through the white menace at 1 in the morning from one end of the boondocks to another end of what is now just the semi-boony area of my house, (the word boondocks BTW come's from the Tagalog word bundok which means mountain, but I digress....) I decided to just take it easy, besides, there were hardly any other cars on the road, and I didn't want to ditch my car like I did on that very same road years ago when I was still in high school. So I drove slowly, tuned the radio to 97.3 FM where the annual 24hr carol-fest had already begun a week ago. In between the festive music, was told a really amazing story. Not just amazing, but unbelievably amazing! I like to believe that it's true.....

Anyways, here's the jist of it: A radio listener had written a letter to the radio host about a story that happened over 30 years ago. He told of how his white hair and beard often got him mistaken for the jolly old elf himself. One day, while doing some window shopping, he noticed a young lady staring at him from a distance. Eventually she approached him and addressed him as Santa. She confessed how silly she felt that a grown woman still believed in Santa, but she just didn't know where else to turn. She told him that she had written several letters but just didn't know how to get them to him. She explained that her husband was a soldier sent to the Vietnam War, but that he had been lost. She had been looking for him for the past three years, and she had reached the end of her rope. So our willing Kris Kringle gladly took her letters as well as the lost soldier's info and picture and promised the young lady that he would do what he could. Unfortunately, he had no luck himself......Later that year, our friendly neighbourhood Santa took a trip to the Philippines. A doctor friend of his asked if he could make a trip to his village on the coast so that his young patients there could see Santa in the flesh. While there, he was told a story of how an American soldier had washed up on shore some time ago, suffering from amnesia. He asked to meet the poor guy, and low and behold, he matched the picture that the young wife had given him. When he called the soldier by his name, the soldier began to remember who he was again. Santa made the arrangements, and on Christmas eve of that year, he knocked on the young wife's door in full Santa uniform. Wishing her a Merry Christmas, he pulled the missing husband into the doorway. And the Christmas miracle was complete. Apparently they're still happily married and their kids still call him Santa. Wow....was that for real? What are the chances? Sorry, my re-telling of the story would have more impact if I had some sappy instrumental music in the background, like they did on the radio.....Has anybody else heard this story?

Anyways, as I got closer to home I saw a huge flag in the shopping center parking lot being battered by the blizzard of snow and ice .....how much more Canadian an image could you get? But it reminded me of the Christmases I spent away from home in the tropic climes of the Philippines, where there never was so much as a snowflake at Christmas time. My first Christmas away from home, was a little bit lonely, a little bit foreign....I was literally that person singing "White Christmas".....But soon enough the Christmas spirit would get me there too.....Without the snow, I would always look for the road side Christmas lantern (Parol in Filipino) vendors to herald the arrival of the Christmas season for me..... I've always been fascinated by these things, mesmerized by their flashing regularity and their chaotic joyfulness....maybe I was hypnotized by all the blinking lights the first time I saw one, and I've been hooked ever since.....I got snow now, but I do miss the bright lights of a Philippine Christmas. Other things I miss: the little kids who would serenade you with carols for your spare change and their subsequent thank you song, the fact that baby Jesus still outnumbers Santa Claus in the decorations that celebrate His birthday, oh, and the fireworks, did I mention the fireworks? New Year's eve is not the same anywhere else!

Oh well, Christmas eve is a month away, this Sunday is the first day of Advent - the season of preparation for the birthday of Christ, there's snow on the ground, the Christmas trees have been chopped down and are ready for sale, and the lights are going up everywhere. Time to put up the parols! Christmas is in the air......

Four Weddings, A Funeral, and a New Life....

That's life as they say.....c'est la vie (en francais).....it can change in an instant....it may seem like the end of the world at times....and then you realize that its actually just the beginning of a new one.....a better one....the one you were meant to be in.....Don't ask me why things happen....I ask the same question myself....pardon the cliche however, but I believe that everything happens for a purpose.... I've learned not to fight it, complain or despair....when I compare my own infintesimally small wisdom to that Wisdom which gonverns the universe, I must yield.....yield and trust that I have placed my life in the right hands..... "Do not be afraid" - John Paul II Angelo de los Angeles

I almost got married once too.....I chose a passage to be read at the ceremony.....instead, I read it to a friend years later.....she liked it enough to ask me to read it at her own wedding:

"Now I will show you the way which surpasses all others. If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love's forebearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. Love never fails. Prophecies will cease, tongues will be silent, knowledge will pass away. Our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect. When the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child I used to talk like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man I put childish ways aside. Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. My knowledge is imperfect now; then I shall know even as I am known. There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love" 1 Cor. 13:1-13

Love is God (not just another cliche)

Congratualtions to the newlyweds.....

Laurie and Lee

Allan and Jen

Jeremy and Catherine

Maricar and Eric

Farewell and Godspeed dear Amparo..........

Happy Birthday godson! Aiden de los Angeles

Lest we forget...

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army physician

The CN Tower

So what is that giant phalus in the Toronto skyline anyways.....does it do anything? .... what is is for? ..... these are questions I hear a lot about the C(anadian)N(ational) Tower.... I hadn't been up in 10 long years, but thanks to my friend on a secret mission, and now Maricel-->
I've visited it twice in the past 2 weeks.... Here are some interesting facts about the CN Tower:

1) Completed in 1976 after 40 months of construction, by the Canadian National Railway. It was to be a show of the strength of Canadian Industry. It was also built in response to the skyscraper boom of the 60's that resulted in poor radio and television signals in Toronto. Today, the broadcasting facilities on the tower provide for radio, television, and other telecommunication signals. So it IS good for something....

2) At 553.33 m or 1,815 ft, 5 inches tall, it is the world's tallest free-standing structure, and the world's tallest building (depending on what your definition of a building is anyway). Its glass floor and look-out level are at 342 m /1,122 ft, and 346m /1,136 ft respectively. The Skypod is the world's highest public observation deck at 147 storeys or 447 m /1,465 ft, and its roof is at 457.2 m.

3) In comparison, the Ostankino Tower in Moscow is 537 m/1,762 ft, the Taipei 101 in Taipei is 508 m/1,670 ft, the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai is 468 m/1,535 ft, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur are 452 m/1,453 ft, the Empire State Building in NY is 443 m /1,453 ft, and the Sears Tower in Chicago is 442 m/1,450 ft (527.3 m if you include its antenna).

4) Declared one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers along with the Itaipu Dam on the Brazil/Paraguay border, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Panama Canal, the Chunnel, the North Sea Protection Works off the European coast, and the Empire State Building.

5) Has a revolving restaurant at 351 m, containing the world's highest wine cellar.......it takes 72 min for one complete revolution....

6) It's elevators travel at 6 m/s or 20 ft/s, and only take 58 s to reach the look-out level at 346m /1,136 ft....there are 1,776 stairs if you're afraid of high speed elevators....

7) Visited by approx. 2 million people each year....for more facts come to Toronto....

So what's that mammary at the foot of the CN Tower? ....that's another blog.....

Murder in University College

I used to have a class in the building known as University College (UC) at U of T ......... it was a physics tutorial if I recall correctly.....scary...... ya, the physics part, and the fact that this building is haunted by a ghost.... Here's the ghastly tale in honour of All Hallow's Eve: His name was Ivan Reznikoff, a sculptor who worked on the construction of UC....Ivan was saving up his money so he could marry his long-time girlfriend. Unbeknownst to him, she was having an affair with another sculptor, Paul Diabolos.....they say that if you study the gargoyles on UC you'll find a smirking Diabolos accross from a cuckolded-looking Reznikoff somewhere on the building....Diabolos convinced the girlfriend to steal Reznikoff's money and run away with him. Needless to say Reznikoff was pissed when he learned the truth.....a fight ensued and if you look carefully, even after more than a hundred years, you can still find the mark of an axe swung against a door during the melee.... in the end Reznikoff is killed by Diabolos who buries his body under the stairwell, only to be found many years later after the fire of 1890...he was identified by the initials on his belt buckle. They say he likes to appear on the road near the front entrance, and his appearances indicate an impending disaster.....legend also says that his ghost will not rest until the "language of Greece ceases to show its face upon the college calendar" (Diabolos was Greek).....Greek is still taught at the University of Toronto.....

I am 1,018,111,743 seconds old and counting.....

Foo-Foo was just discussing how a friend of hers had so much time on his hands as to be able to determine how many seconds old he was....well if you don't have THAT much time on your hands, but would still like to know, here's a link: Birthday Calculator
Thanks for the link Jing!

Toronto Islands

A friend of mine recently paid a surprise and covert visit to Toronto while on a secret mission. So being the devoted Torontophile and eager tour-guide, I happily showed said friend around. I derive much pleasure living vicariously through first time visitors to what has become commonplace to me, I always learn something and/or appreciate something new about my environs. This gave me an opportunity to visit with another old friend of mine.......... The Toronto Islands ............... As a child I knew the Toronto Islands only as "Center Island", a place we would go to for picnics, log flume rides, cable car rides and petting zoos when my cousins from Jersey would come down.....in fact "Center Island" is just one of the handful of small islands making up the "Toronto Islands", it's where the kid's stuff can be found....as I grew older I gained a new appreciation for this collection of small islands just a stones throw from the city's lakeshore....The Native Peoples considered them a place of leisure and relaxation, and today that spirit has been preserved.....They are a NOT so central, “Central Park” for Torontonians….physically separated from the downtown core by Lake Ontario, the islands offer a nearby getaway spot, with bed and breakfasts, a nude beach, and hectares of parkland....Unfortunately, the fall weather has not been co-operating lately, so we couldn't really do so much exploring…..I guess all those record-breaking 30 plus degree days gave a false sense that the Earth's axis had shifted and that this part of the world was actually now in the tropics….But I guess the evidence in mounting, summer really is over, and the great hibernation is beginning.... have to wait another year to search for that nude beach I guess?

Wake me up when September ends.....

Has the summer of my discontent finally ended?.....I feel spent, like a man who is forced to wear his genitals as a pendant.....I had a chance to go to London today.... no, not England!.... just Ontario....it's a nice city, from what I was able to see of it...... I finally got to see the University of Western Ontario ..... Anh's Alma Mater....it's a nice campus...... it earns its reputation as the party capital of Canadian academe as I saw numerous students walking around intoxicated in the early afternoon..... ahhh to be young and wasted again.....

Alma Mater

Preparing for my exams has brought me back to my alma mater, the University of Toronto.... During a really useless gastroenterology lecture I decided to take a break and walk around campus. The old spirit of academe is still present, exactly as I remember. But today, you can appreciate numerous examples where the old architecture has been juxtaposed to newer more modern additions. In many cases the new has actually been incorporated into the old, without destroying the integrity of the original building. The ambience is definitely still conducive to the pursuit of higher learning.

Toronto's Poet Laureate

I came upon an article in a magazine while sitting in class....I know, I know, I should've been listening to the lecture instead of reading a magazine, but I digress....the article was about the new Poet Laureate for the city of Toronto; Fr. Giorgio Di Cicco....the funny thing was, the poem quoted in the article was about the priest's take from the other side of the confessional grill....funny because I had just gone to confession last week, and because I never really thought about what goes through the mind of the priest:

In the Confessional

do you want to know?
dark, how dark it is?
it is the lightest place I know. There is no light,
no darkness;
a lot of mumbling, foreign accents, weeping;
you hear the heart; the words drone, halt, put on hats,
it is the heart you want.
it is always the same human heart.
that is why personality bores me. it is the same heart
over and over, it is not sexy or stupid or bright.
it is the same song. love me, love me, tell
me i am loved. it is the same sin over and over.
and it goes like this; i am the worst sinner in the world,
what I am can never be forgiven. it is worn like skin,
to be raked off again and again with a hand in the dark
making the sign of the cross. it is my hand, raised wearily,
tired of the human creature worthless to itself.
i know God is not tired. i am just there,
i do not know what goes on between them, the grace that
shoots through me, what He does with them before and after.
i am just there to hear the heart, and say words that make
it beat. it is the same heart in the dark that is not
dark, i make a field for us to run in. i listen and take them
out of their skin, these bodies,
i take the skin from around the heart, the skin so tight around them,
i see nothing, i know nothing but the same old heart,
the young in it; and i grow old, child afer child and the
shucked bodies taken down the river like pelts,
with the sound of children behind me,
the nakedness of God and the deserving.
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, Living in Paradise: New and Selected Poems
"Part of why I became a priest was to help people finish the poem of their lives and to help write it with them or they write mine"

Haiku to Gas

You make my car go
Now you are so expensive
Shall I take the bus?

Make money at work
Just so I can drive TO work?
That is very sad

When will you come down?
I have plantar fasciitis
Zoom-zoom is thirsty

Spiritual Laundry Day

I finally made time to go to confession today. I hadn't gone in a long while and I felt I needed to reconcile myself. For several months I've felt disconnected and somewhat lost, my direction was all off, I was spread thinly over a crumbling cracker. Things may have been getting better somewhat, but something was missing....I needed to start over....What surprised me was the long line of people actually waiting to admit all the bad things they've done. I thought everybody stayed away from confession.....I know that when I was younger, I was traumatized as an old priest grilled me on exactly how many times I committed each sin I confessed, and came out more embarassed than renewed......well I still get palpitations waiting in line to the confessional, but thank God the confessors I encounter today have been fellow human beings who understand what it's like to be imperfect and constantly falling of the wagon....needless to say I came out today feeling renewed, refreshed and ready to get back on that wagon again. PEACE OUT!

fix your eyes on Him for a just a minute, even when your eyes are closed His image will be within you

Turning over to the Blogger side

Lately I've been hearing a lot of people complaining that their blogs are being erased on Friendster! I can't imagine all the time I've wasted blogging there just go down the drain in an impending Friendster meltdown, so I decided to transfer my blog here. Blogger seems to be a more vibrant blogging community anyway. Thank Jinx peace out.

....too busy for blog entries....

arrrgggh...

Taming my very own shrew

Tu Anh and I recently learned that there is a theatre at Ashbridge's Bay Park presenting William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". It's not your usual Shakespeare in the park 'cause there's actually a roof over your head, so rain or shine, the show will go on..... The backdrop of the stage is a great view of the park, and Lake Ontario in the disance. You can even hear the waves crashing onto shore, adding a pleasant background noise to the actors' dialogue. Shrew is the story of Kate, who has a reputation of being a shrew, a.k.a. a big beeeach. She is married off to Petruchio who subsequently tries to break her fiestly spirit to the point of total obedience. I must say, the end of this play must be a feminist's nightmare! I could've sworn that I heard a vein pop in Anh's neck. Some advice from Kate:

"Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,
And dart not scornful glances from those eyes,
To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor:
It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,
Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,
And in no sense is meet or amiable."

Take that Shrew-Anh!....just kidding sweetie hehe.....geez I'm gonna get a beating for that one....

Other Shakespeare in the park productions around town:

High Park: Much Ado about nothing
Withrow Park: Merchant of Venice
Brampton's Ken Whillan's Square: All's well that ends well (July 22-Aug 8), Richard III (Aug 12-29), Twelfth Night (Sept 2-3)
Mississauga Bradley Museum: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)