Swine Queue

It was a letdown for my grand daughter to see the long queue when her school reopened today. She had to fall in line from one end of the block to the gate as the school was screening students who may have caught the much dreaded virus.

A few days after this school year started, classes were suspended as the World Health Organization declared the swine flu virus as pandemic. Some students were tested positive for the the H1N1 virus in Metro Manila while the Manila Archdiocese, earlier on, released the oratio imperata. To furhter control the virus, it has been advised that communion be received only by the hand and to refrain from the informal practice of holding hands while reciting the Lord's Prayer.



Last night, her yaya was not feeling well and my wife worried all night that the virus may have crept into our home. Thank goodness, the yaya was up and about this morning. Ahh, reminds me of, in spite of all the advances in technology, how vulnerable we humans can be to the forces of nature.

Photo: from, DAYLIFE, A school nurse takes the body temperature of a student at St. Scholastica's College in Manila, Philippines, at the opening of classes Monday, June 15, 2009.

School Opening 2009

She was still in grade 2 then, school was about to close; she had an allowance of twenty pesos a day. One year has gone as she went to grade 3 St. Withburga and got an allowance of thirty pesos. Today, school opens and her daily has gone up to forty a day, just to keep with inflation. A new set of uniforms and a much heavier bag as she has more books to bring. Ah, the travails of growing up.

Mardi Gras

First published at SCENE CITY on 5 February 2008

This young lady’s dad was bringing her to the school’s centennial year celebration when this photo was taken. The costume reminds us of Ati-Atihan festivities which has been described as the Philippine version of Mardi Gras.

While the Ati-Atihan honors the Santo Niño whose feast is held on January, Mardi Gras is celebrated during the last day of that ordinary-time interlude known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival (from the Latin words carne vale, meaning farewell to the flesh.)If Lent is a time of self-deprivation, Carnival is self-indulgence and “Mardi Gras" which means "Fat Tuesday" is misread as the last day for Catholics to indulge or worse, overindulge before Ash Wednesday starts the sober weeks of fasting and abstinence that comes with Lent. Mardi Gras is also called “Shrove Tuesday” or “Pancake Day”

Rehabilitation Medicine

The University of the Philippines was severely damaged by World War II and continued to operate in makeshift rooms. After the war, the university transferred to Diliman in 1948. The Manila campus was continued to operate and eventually recognized as an autonomous campus of the UP System.

The Damian Hall at UP Manila was named after Dr. Guillermo R. Damian, the first Filipino doctor who specialized in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. Damian trained at the Bellevue Medical Center, New York Universtiy where the chairman was Dr. Howard Rusk, known as the Father of Rehabilitation Medicine.

Dr. Rusk left his private practice to join the Army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He designed simple activities for hospitalized military personnel who were not physically fit to rejoin their units. His efforts caught the attention of top brass and was was summoned to set up similar programs for the Army. His Convalescent Training program gave countless disabled veterans hope and a sense of purpose after the war.

Food Stalls at the CAMP

From SCENE CITY, 4 February 2008

One of several food stalls at the University of the Philippines Padre Faura that cater to students of the College of Allied Medical Professions (CAMP). CAMP offers degree programs in the professions of Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), and Speech Pathology (SP).

Lovelier

This angel was taken at the Ermita Church. It's a bass relief holding a holy water font.

My interest in photography was influenced by many people. First and foremost was the late Rolando Ferrer Managing Editor of the Adamson Chronicle who was using a Nikon F which made me realize that my Canon rangefinder was not all that good for serious photography. I was amazed by how much Lando knew about the Nikon system so much so that I promised to get myself a Nikon. I have a high regard for this guy and I was influenced pretty much by the things he liked: writing, shooting photos and drinking beer. He rides a motorcycle but that was one item I stayed away from.

I did get a Nikon F photomic and one of those flash bulbs with the rechargeable battery that looks like a lady’s bag. I guess it really does not matter how dumb you are. As long as you have a good camera, you catch the attention if not the respect of others with less impressive equipment. Bert Santos, a commercial photographer using the Roleiflex twin lens became my friend and did the coverage for my wedding.

I stocked up on Nikor lenses, a 35 wide angle and a 135 telephoto. Had I known better, I would have gotten a 28 and a 105. I also got an enlarger and converted my bathroom into a dark room. I met more photographers, the ones who took up fine arts like Cesar Queaño, Nelson Rivera and Manny Santos when I worked with Freddy Ong doing advertising and promotion for Caterpillar Diesel Engines. It was then that I realized that I will stay in the little league when it comes to photography. I used to be Mr. Shoot during family affairs but that dwindled. Somehow, my wife got the hang of it as she became adviser of the school’s photography club.

One day, I decided I will shoot again. I realize that I will have to update myself with present day technology. And so here I am, fumbling around with this Casio (camera? I always thought they were calculators). Never mind if the photos are blurred, if the composition is bad and whatever… my eye sight is bad anyway… but that song is correct! Love is lovelier the second time around.

First published on SCENE CITY 31 January 2008.

Lotto

Somebody asked “How much winnings will I bet on System 9 in Superlotto getting 5,4,3 winning numbers?” I thought I would pass on this query to Teresa but she snubbed my request saying she hates gambling. So, I had to do my own computations.... she could have done this in a few minutes.

Here are my answers:

• 258,000 pesos for 5 numbers,
• 14,000 for 4 numbers and
• 2,000 pesos for 3 numbers.

It would have cost him 1,680 pesos equivalent to 84 bets.

In System 9, If you get five numbers, you have

• 4 five number winners
• 30 four number winners
• 40 three number winners

If you get four numbers you have

• 10 four number winners
• 40 three number winners
• 34 losers

If you get three numbers you have

• 20 three number winners
• 64 losers

If you hit the jackpot, aside from the jackpot prize, you have

• 18 five number winners.
• 45 four number winners
• 20 three number winners

The above totals 1,055,000 pesos on top of the jackpot prize.

Incidentally, there are 13,983,816 possible combinations in the Super lotto. If you were to play all the possible combinations, it will cost you PhP 279,676,320. So far the jackpot has not yet reached that much.

Note: My computations are based on the payout table given at the PLW website

It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings

“It ain’t over ‘till the fat lady sings” is a low brow's rule of thumb for second guessing an opera’s culmination. Some attribute this to Richard Wagner's 15 hour opera (Der Ring des Nibelungen) where an aria is sung by a fat woman in the finale.

This cliché is also alluded to Kate Smith, an American singer well known for singing Irving Berlin’s "God Bless America” in 1938. Her weight of 235 pounds was not obvious to her radio listeners until television came to the scene.


Whatever its origins, it has been used to mean that one shouldn’t assume the outcome until it has come about. This may as well refer to Susan Boyle who was an overnight celebrity when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables at Britain’s Got Talent. The judges (Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Ananda Holden) and the audience were skeptical, even sarcastic during the interview but Susan took the banter with a great sense of humor. When she sang, everyone was awed and gave her a standing ovation.

Susan took care of her ageing mother until her death in 2007 at the age of 91. Her devotion to caring for her mother was such that she did not have any time for herself. She was unemployed but an active volunteer at the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Blackburn.

It's not over for this lady. No sir, it ain't over.

Caravaggio

In the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox and certain Eastern Catholic churches, the first Sunday after Easter) is known as Thomas Sunday, after the Gospel passage read that day (John 20:19-31) which recounts the story of Christ appearing to the Apostle Thomas in order to dispel his doubt about the Resurrection. It should be noted that among Eastern Christians the Apostle Thomas is not so much remembered as "doubting Thomas," but is rather remembered for his confession of faith: "My Lord and my God," thus being the first to publicly proclaim the two natures of Christ: human and divine.

This is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, the culmination of the novena to the Divine Mercy of Jesus, a devotion given to St. Faustina (Mary Faustina Kowalska) and is based upon an entry in her diary stating that anyone who participates in the Mass and receives the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist on this day is assured by Jesus of full remission of their sins. The devotion was actively promoted by Pope John Paul II, who officially set its commemoration on this Sunday in 2000.

I learned about "The Doubting of St. Thomas" by Michelangelo Merisi, aka Caravaggio, from my daughter. Since then, I have grown fond and sentimental of the portrayal of the artist; it well depicts how curious and childish men respond to extraordinary occurrences.

Caravaggio used models from the lower classes of society in his early secular works and later religious compositions which appealed to the Counter Reformation taste for realism, simplicity, and piety in art. Many thanks to Karsten Thygesen who hosts CGFA-A Virtual art Museum for the image.

Painting: The Doubting of St. Thomas by Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi); Neues Palais, Potsdam