Simple Living

Be Healthy - Eat Malungay

2010-12-20T11:12:00.000+08:00

Cellphone Effects

2010-10-31T01:15:00.001+08:00

CELL PHONES & WIRELESS DANGERS

The Largest Biological Experiment Ever
By Arthur Firstenberg

(original in Eldorado Sun- http://www.eldoradosun.com/Archives/01-06_issue/Firstenberg.htm)

Fundamentals

The most basic fact about cell phones and cell towers is that they emit microwave radiation; so do Wi-Fi (wireless Internet) antennas, wireless computers, cordless (portable) phones and their base units, and all other wireless devices. If it's a communication device and it's not attached to the wall by a wire, it's emitting radiation. Most Wi-Fi systems and some cordless phones operate at the exact same frequency as a microwave oven, while other devices use a different frequency. Wi-Fi is always on and always radiating. The base units of most cordless phones are always radiating, even when no one is using the phone. A cell phone that is on but not in use is also radiating. And, needless to say, cell towers are always radiating.

Why is this a problem, you might ask? Scientists usually divide the electromagnetic spectrum into "ionizing" and "non-ionizing." Ionizing radiation, which includes x-rays and atomic radiation, causes cancer. Non-ionizing radiation, which includes microwave radiation, is supposed to be safe. This distinction always reminded me of the propaganda in George Orwell's Animal Farm: "Four legs good, two legs bad." "Non-ionizing good, ionizing bad" is as little to be trusted.

An astronomer once quipped that if Neil Armstrong had taken a cell phone to the Moon in 1969, it would have appeared to be the third most powerful source of microwave radiation in the universe, next only to the Sun and the Milky Way. He was right. Life evolved with negligible levels of microwave radiation. ** An increasing number of scientists speculate that our body's own cells, in fact, use the microwave spectrum to communicate with one another, like children whispering in the dark, and that cell phones, like jackhammers, interfere with their signaling. ** In any case, it is a fact that we are all being bombarded, day in and day out, whether we use a cell phone or not, by an amount of microwave radiation that is some ten million times as strong as the average natural background. And it is also a fact that most of this radiation is due to technology that has been developed since the 1970s.

As far as cell phones themselves are concerned, if you put one up to your head you are damaging your brain in a number of different ways. First, think of a microwave oven. A cell phone, like a microwave oven and unlike a hot shower, heats you from the inside out, not from the outside in. And there are no sensory nerve endings in the brain to warn you of a rise in temperature because we did not evolve with microwave radiation, and this never happens in nature. Worse, the structure of the head and brain is so complex and non-uniform that "hot spots" are produced, where heating can be tens or hundreds of times what it is nearby. Hot spots can occur both close to the surface of the skull and deep within the brain, and also on a molecular level.

Cell phones are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, and you can find, in the packaging of most new phones, a number called the Specific Absorption Rate, or SAR, which is supposed to indicate the rate at which energy is absorbed by the brain from that particular model. One problem, however, is the arbitrary assumption, upon which the FCC's regulations are based, that the brain can safely dissipate added heat at a rate of up to 1 degree C per hour. Compounding this is the scandalous procedure used to demonstrate compliance with these limits and give each cell phone its SAR rating. The standard way to measure SAR is on a "phantom" consisting, incredibly, of a homogenous fluid encased in Plexiglas in the shape of a head. Presto, no hot spots! But in reality, people who use cell phones for hours per day are chronically heating places in their brain. The FCC's safety standard, by the way, was developed by electrical engineers, not doctors.

The Blood-Brain Barrier

The second effect that I want to focus on, which has been proven in the laboratory, should by itself have been enough to shut down this industry and should be enough to scare away anyone from ever using a cell phone again. I call it the “smoking gun” of cell phone experiments. Like most biological effects of microwave radiation, this has nothing to do with heating.

The brain is protected by tight junctions between adjacent cells of capillary walls, the so-called blood-brain barrier, which, like a border patrol, lets nutrients pass through from the blood to the brain, but keeps toxic substances out. Since 1988, researchers in the laboratory of a Swedish neurosurgeon, Leif Salford, have been running variations on this simple experiment: they expose young laboratory rats to either a cell phone or other source of microwave radiation, and later they sacrifice the animals and look for albumin in their brain tissue. Albumin is a protein that is a normal component of blood but that does not normally cross the blood-brain barrier. The presence of albumin in brain tissue is always a sign that blood vessels have been damaged and that the brain has lost some of its protection.

Here is what these researchers have found, consistently for 18 years: Microwave radiation, at doses equal to a cell phone’s emissions, causes albumin to be found in brain tissue. A one-time exposure to an ordinary cell phone for just two minutes causes albumin to leak into the brain. In one set of experiments, reducing the exposure level by a factor of 1,000 actually increased the damage to the blood-brain barrier, showing that this is not a dose-response effect and that reducing the power will not make wireless technology safer. And finally, in research published in June 2003, a single two-hour exposure to a cell phone, just once during its lifetime, permanently damaged the blood-brain barrier and, on autopsy 50 days later, was found to have damaged or destroyed up to 2 percent of an animal’s brain cells, including cells in areas of the brain concerned with learning, memory and movement.1 Reducing the exposure level by a factor of 10 or 100, thereby duplicating the effect of wearing a headset, moving a cell phone further from your body, or standing next to somebody else’s phone, did not appreciably change the results! Even at the lowest exposure, half the animals had a moderate to high number of damaged neurons.

The implications for us? Two minutes on a cell phone disrupts the blood-brain barrier, two hours on a cell phone causes permanent brain damage, and secondhand radiation may be almost as bad. The blood-brain barrier is the same in a rat and a human being.

These results caused enough of a commotion in Europe that in November 2003 a conference was held, sponsored by the European Union, titled “The Blood-Brain Barrier — Can It Be Influenced by RF [radio frequency]-Field Interactions?” as if to reassure the public: “See, we are doing something about this.” But, predictably, nothing was done about it, as nothing has been done about it for 30 years.

America’s Allan Frey, during the 1970s, was the first of many to demonstrate that low-level microwave radiation damages the blood-brain barrier.2 Similar mechanisms protect the eye (the blood-vitreous barrier) and the fetus (the placental barrier), and the work of Frey and others indicates that microwave radiation damages those barriers also.3 The implication: No pregnant woman should ever be using a cell phone.

Dr. Salford is quite outspoken about his work. He has called the use of handheld cell phones “the largest human biological experiment ever.” And he has publicly warned that a whole generation of cell-phone-using teenagers may suffer from mental deficits or Alzheimer’s disease by the time they reach middle age.

Radio-Wave Sickness

Unfortunately, cell phone users are not the only ones being injured, nor should we be worried only about the brain. The following brief summary is distilled from a vast scientific literature on the effects of radio waves (a larger spectrum which includes microwaves), together with the experiences of scientists and doctors all over the world with whom I am in contact.

Organs that have been shown to be especially susceptible to radio waves include the lungs, nervous system, heart, eyes, testes and thyroid gland. Diseases that have increased remarkably in the last couple of decades, and that there is good reason to connect with the massive increase in radiation in our environment, include asthma, sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorder, autism, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, cataracts, hypothyroidism, diabetes, malignant melanoma, testicular cancer, and heart attacks and strokes in young people.

Radiation from microwave towers has also been associated with forest die-off, reproductive failure and population decline in many species of birds, and ill health and birth deformities in farm animals. The literature showing biological effects of microwave radiation is truly enormous, running to tens of thousands of documents, and I am amazed that industry spokespersons are getting away with saying that wireless technology has been proved safe or — just as ridiculous — that there is no evidence of harm.

I have omitted one disease from the above list: the illness that Caller B has, and that I have. A short history is in order here.

In the 1950s and 1960s workers who built, tested and repaired radar equipment came down with this disease in large numbers. So did operators of industrial microwave heaters and sealers. The Soviets named it, appropriately, radio wave sickness, and studied it extensively. In the West its existence was denied totally, but workers came down with it anyway. Witness congressional hearings held in 1981, chaired by then Representative Al Gore, on the health effects of radio-frequency heaters and sealers, another episode in “See, we are doing something about this,” while nothing is done.

Today, with the mass proliferation of radio towers and personal transmitters, the disease has spread like a plague into the general population. Estimates of its prevalence range up to one-third of the population, but it is rarely recognized for what it is until it has so disabled a person that he or she can no longer participate in society. You may recognize some of its common symptoms: insomnia, dizziness, nausea, headaches, fatigue, memory loss, inability to concentrate, depression, chest discomfort, ringing in the ears. Patients may also develop medical problems such as chronic respiratory infections, heart arrhythmias, sudden fluctuations in blood pressure, uncontrolled blood sugar, dehydration, and even seizures and internal bleeding.

What makes this disease so difficult to accept, and even more difficult to cope with, is that no treatment is likely to succeed unless one can also avoid exposure to its cause — and its cause is now everywhere. A 1998 survey by the California Department of Health Services indicated that at that time 120,000 Californians — and by implication 1 million Americans — were unable to work due to electromagnetic pollution.(4) The ranks of these so-called electrically sensitive are swelling in almost every country in the world, marginalized, stigmatized and ignored. With the level of radiation everywhere today, they almost never recover and sometimes take their own lives.

“They are acting as a warning for all of us,” says Dr. Olle Johansson of people with this illness. “It could be a major mistake to subject the entire world’s population to whole-body irradiation, 24 hours a day.” A neuroscientist at the famous Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Dr. Johansson heads a research team that is documenting a significant and permanent worsening of the public health that began precisely when the second-generation, 1800 MHz cell phones were introduced into Sweden in late l997.(5,6) After a decade-long decline, the number of Swedish workers on sick leave began to rise in late 1997 and more than doubled during the next five years. During the same period of time, sales of antidepressant drugs also doubled. The number of traffic accidents, after declining for years, began to climb again in 1997. The number of deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, after declining for several years, rose sharply in 1999 and had nearly doubled by 2001. This two-year delay is understandable when one considers that Alzheimer’s disease requires some time to develop.

Uncontrolled Proliferation

If cell phones and cell towers are really deadly, have the radio and TV towers that we have been living with for a century been safe? In 2002 Örjan Hallberg and Olle Johansson coauthored a paper titled “Cancer Trends During the 20th Century,” which examined one aspect of that question.7 They found, in the United States, Sweden and dozens of other countries, that mortality rates for skin melanoma and for bladder, prostate, colon, breast and lung cancers closely paralleled the degree of public exposure to radio waves during the past hundred years. When radio broadcasting increased in a given location, so did those forms of cancer; when it decreased, so did those forms of cancer. And, a sensational finding: country by country — and county by county in Sweden — they found, statistically, that exposure to radio waves appears to be as big a factor in causing lung cancer as cigarette smoking!

Which brings me to address a widespread misconception. The biggest difference between the cell towers of today and the radio towers of the past is not their safety, but their numbers. The number of ordinary radio stations in the United States today is still less than 14,000. But cell towers and Wi-Fi towers number in the hundreds of thousands, and cell phones, wireless computers, cordless telephones and two-way radios number in the hundreds of millions. Radar facilities and emergency communication networks are also proliferating out of control. Since 1978, when the Environmental Protection Agency last surveyed the radio frequency environment in the United States, the average urban dweller’s exposure to radio waves has increased 1,000-fold, most of this increase occurring in just the last nine years.8 In the same period of time, radio pollution has spread from the cities to rest like a ubiquitous fog over the entire planet.

The vast human consequences of all this are being ignored. Since the late 1990s a whole new class of environmental refugees has been created right here in the United States. We have more and more people, sick, dying, seeking relief from our suffering, leaving our homes and our livelihoods, living in cars, trailers and tents in remote places. Unlike victims of hurricanes and earthquakes, we are not the subject of any relief efforts. No one is donating money to help us, to buy us a protected refuge; no one is volunteering to forego their cell phones, their wireless computers and their cordless phones so that we can once more be their neighbors and live among them.

The worried and the sick have not yet opened their hearts to each other, but they are asking questions. To answer caller A: No shield or headset will protect you from your cell or portable phone. There is no safe distance from a cell tower. If your cell phone or your wireless computer works where you live, you are being irradiated 24 hours a day.

To caller B: To effectively shield a house is difficult and rarely successful. There are only a few doctors in the United States attempting to treat radio wave sickness, and their success rate is poor — because there are few places left on Earth where one can go to escape this radiation and recover.

Yes, radiation comes down from satellites, too; they are part of the problem, not the solution. There is simply no way to make wireless technology safe.

Our society has become both socially and economically dependent, in just one short decade, upon a technology that is doing tremendous damage to the fabric of our world. The more entrenched we let ourselves become in it, the more difficult it will become to change our course. The time to extricate ourselves, both individually and collectively — difficult though it is already is — is now.

LET’S LOOK AT CHOCOLATE!

2010-10-31T01:03:00.003+08:00

CHOCOLATE OR CAROB?

Let’s look at chocolate!

Methylxanthines

It is at least vaguely understood by most people that the use of beverages containing methylxanthines (rhymes with Ethel Francine) such as caffeine, theobromine and theophyllin cause physical or physiologic damage. It is not well known, however, that these ill effects are serious, sometimes calamitous, and may involve any organ or tissue from scalp to sole. The reason for this widespread damage is to be found in the chemical nature of methylxanthines, their ability to alter the very protoplasm of cells, and to attach or concentrate in cells for an unknown period of time.

Methylxanthines are found in coffee, tea, colas and chocolate. The subject of this discussion is primarily chocolate.

Effects of methylxanthines

The immediate effects of methylxanthines begin shortly after taking the drink or medication containing them, and last about four hours. After eating chocolate or drinking cocoa you may have imperfect balance, racing of the heart, high pitched voice, insomnia, fatigue, and finger tremor. Other symptoms may be delayed for hours or several days and include sleep disturbances, headache, restlessness, palpitations, tremulousness, unsteadiness, vertigo, reflex hyperexcitability, irritability, agitation, anxiety and general discomfort. (1)

If one is accustomed to the regular use of chocolate, one may feel less alert, less contented, more sleepy and irritable when there is a delay in drinking the cocoa or eating the candy. Many troublesome diseases are made worse by methylxanthines—heart disease, allergies, diabetes and fluid retention. Depression may be caused by them, and they most certainly contribute to our “violent society” with its crime and child abuse. Most gastrointestinal disturbances are aggravated and some are caused by methylxanthines. All of the methylxanthines have been associated with chromosome damage and deformities in the offspring of the user. Cancer is more common in those who use methylxanthines. Disease resistance is not as strong. And this is only a partial list!

Chocolate, Breast Disease and Prostatic Hypertrophy

Apparently all the methylxanthines step up cell growth in certain glandular tissues. Since they pose an interference in the normal activity of certain enzymes, they act as poisons. True to their chemical classification as cellular toxins, methylxanthines shut off enzyme signals, in this instance the signal to stop growing. As a result, certain glandular tissues under the influence of chocolate may begin developing cysts and fibrous tumors especially in the breast, the so-called fibrocystic disease. One young physician with full-blown fibrocystic disease was consuming a massive quantity of methylxanthines daily (1,300 milligrams) when she learned of this effect on the breasts. She stopped using coffee, tea, colas and chocolate to determine if her breast disease would disappear. Within a month, the lumps in her breast started to subside. By two months the fibrocystic disease had disappeared. It was not without a struggle, as she suffered severe withdrawal headaches that could not be relieved even by her headache medications. It seems wise to advise women everywhere to cut out the use of methylxanthines as a breast cancer control measure. (2) Many physicians believe that the effect on the male prostate is similar to that on the female breast.

Evaluation of Chocolate as Food

An evaluation of chocolate with a judgment as to its suitability as a food will result in condemning chocolate on three counts: (1) its inherent chemical toxicity, (2) the additives required to make chocolate palatable, and (3) the harvesting and primary manufacture. Let us take a look at each of these factors individually:

(1) The inherent chemical characteristics of chocolate:

Theobromine in chocolate is the principle methylxanthine, causing central nervous system stimulation, sleeplessness, general or localized itching, depression and anxiety.

All brands of cocoa contain more tannin per cup than the estimated 2 grains per average cup of tea. Tannins have been implicated in certain cancers of the digestive tract. Children who have a bedwetting problem will have more difficulty when given cocoa. Caffeine content may be as high 112 milligrams per cup of cocoa beverage. Cocoa may interfere with calcium absorption. (3) The cocoa consumed by children in the mistaken hope that the addition of cocoa and sugar will increase their calcium intake may actually tie up calcium they get from such excellent sources as whole grains, legumes and greens. Chocolate contains 0.45 to 0.49% oxalic acid. The oxalic acid combines with calcium to form an insoluble compound, calcium oxalate, which passes out of the body unabsorbed. (4)

(2) Additives required to mask bitterness:

A bitter taste is usually associated with harmful alkaloids, pyrolysates and strongly alkaline substances. An unpleasant taste sensation is a warning signal that something potentially injurious is in the mouth. Masking the injurious agent with sugar does not eliminate the danger.

A large amount of sugar is necessary to make chocolate palatable. Furthermore, oils must be combined with chocolate in order to eliminate an unpleasant grainy consistency in chocolate. Generally, milk, cream, or oil are added which produces an extremely rich and unhealthful food. Any reasonable quantity eaten is certain to obstruct digestion and cause fermentation.

(3) The natural contaminants in chocolate:

Most cocoa beans are produced in countries where sanitation levels are far below those generally practice in the United States.

The cacao is a small, beautiful tree indigenous to the tropical regions of the world, where millions of pounds of chocolate, milk chocolate and cocoa powder are produced annually. Cocoa is defined as the food prepared by heating and cracking the beans from the cacao tree. Chocolate is the solid or semi-plastic food prepared by finely grinding cocoa. It must have a minimum of 50% fat.

The pods are cut from the tree, piled up in the yard of the farmer, and fermented, a process which takes from three to eight days. During this process, people walk over the piles; insects, rodents, small animals and other living things make their nests in piles; and many types of contamination may occur during this primary part of the manufacture of chocolate. At the peak of fermentation the temperature builds up, which promotes the growth of bacteria and molds. It has been shown that large quantities of aflatoxin, the cancer producing agent from the molds, can be produced in cocoa beans. (4) The fermentation is essential for the development of the chocolate flavor. During the fermentation process the bean’s own enzymes and wild yeasts enhance the fermentation process. After fermentation the seeds are sun dried or kiln dried and then are ready to be shipped to the chocolate manufacturers where they are roasted and ground to make a chocolate “liquor” somewhat like soft peanut butter. In this stage bacterial contaminants multiply. (9)

Since sugar and fat both tend to exude from candy, additives are placed in candy to prevent the surfacing of these materials. Rancidity of the fats can usually be detected after storage at 86 degrees F. from six to twelve weeks. The unpleasant flavor heralds the presence of the harmful change that occurs with aging of fats. Rancidity can be delayed by certain additives. Whipping agents and other additives provide lightness of texture. (5)

In a booklet published by the United States Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare entitled “The Food Defect Action Levels,” a specifications listing of “current levels for natural or unavoidable defects in food” lists the natural defect levels in chocolate in the form of “insects, rodents and other natural contaminants” that are allowable by the Food and Drug Administration. Allowed in chocolate and chocolate liquor used in the manufacture of such products as chocolate bars, up to 120 insect fragments per cup or two rodent hairs per cup.

Four percent of cocoa beans may be infested with insects and still carry the blessing of the FDA. Visible or solid animal excreta must not exceed 10 milligrams per pound. For chocolate powder or pressed cakes there must not be more than 75 insect fragments in 3 tablespoons of the powder!

Many individuals who believe themselves to be allergic to chocolate are in fact allergic to the animal parts that are in chocolate. One 11 year old boy was hospitalized for abdominal pain and vomiting blood. He had suddenly developed purpura, tiny spots of hemorrhage in the skin all over the body. It was discovered while he was in the hospital that his attacks of skin hemorrhage and abdominal pain could be brought on within a few minutes of giving chocolate, either by mouth or by scratch test in the skin. (6) Chocolate is also a common cause of “pruritis ani,” an uncomfortable itch around the anus, the terminal part of the colon. Stopping the use of chocolate results in prompt cessation of the itch. (6)

Should you like to have further information about this matter you may obtain materials from FDA Guidelines and Compliance Branch, Bureau of Foods, 200 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20204.

It seems uncanny that chocolate could ever have gotten to be considered a special food for children. The Ladies Home Journal way back in October 1930 carried an ad from Baker’s Cocoa that read, “The weekly treat became a daily delight and Jimmy’s weight went up.” What a shame that children have ever been allowed to have any product from cocoa. Even though chocolate might induce children to drink more milk and eat more empty calories from sugar and fat, in mice experiments the extra milk does not result in improvement in nutrition, but only makes their body fat greater! (6)

As for me, any one of the above features would banish chocolate from my dietary forever. Fortunately for us chocolate lovers, a good substitute is available that has a much more favorable manufacture and a greater likelihood of being processed under more sanitary conditions—carob. On all three counts it is a better product than chocolate. It contains no methylxanthines. It does not require sugar, being naturally slightly sweet. And most esthetically, it does not require fermentation to develop its flavor. I recommend it as being superior.

Agatha M. Thrash, MD

What is carob?

Carob comes from the carob tree (botanical name Ceratonia siliqua) which is grown mostly in the Middle East. The carob tree belongs to the legume family and produces long pods which are dried and ground finely to produce carob powder.

Referred to in the Bible, the carob pods helped sustain John the Baptist during his wilderness sojourn and are often called St. John’s Bread.

In ancient times, carob pods were considered to be very valuable because when used as feed for cattle and sheep, the animals flourished. The dried seeds from the pod were often used in trade like money. From this the word “carat” (Gk. keration carob bean) is derived, which is still used today by jewelers in describing gold.

What is the nutritional value of carob?

· Almost 8% protein (like other legumes) compared with 2-14% protein in pre-packaged, sugar-laden cereals sold in supermarkets.

· Contains a great deal of natural sugar: about 46%.

· Contains the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

· Contains some trace minerals such as iron, manganese, chromium, copper, and nickel.

Carob is not an “empty-calorie” food!

Compared with chocolate, carob is three times richer in calcium, but has one-third less calories and seventeen times less fat.

Carob is also a rich source of pectin, which aids in digestion and elimination. Pectin is in the group of indigestible complex carbohydrates commonly called fiber. It is the substance which makes jams and jellies set up. The pectin in carob is useful for arresting simple diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Pectin settles the stomach, and like all fiber, helps take up poisons and toxins in the intestine and eliminate them from the body. Use a 5% concentration, about 1 Tbsp. of carob powder to a cup of liquid; or simply make a paste of carob powder and water. Lignin is another member of the fiber family found in the “woody” part of the carob pod. Both the pectin and lignin have a beneficial cholesterol-lowering effect characteristic of dietary fiber.

Therefore, in order to achieve a fine “chocolaty” flavor with excellent nutritional value and the absence of harmful stimulation, use carob powder in any recipe calling for cocoa or chocolate.

References

1. Psychopharmacology in the Practice of Medicine by Murray E. Jawik. Reviewed in Journal of Family Practice 4(6):1180-1888, 1977.

2. Medical World News, March 19, 1979.

3. Chocolate, Coca Cola, Cocoa and Coffee. International Nutrition Research Foundation, Riverside, California.

4. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 62(5):1076-9, September 1979.

5. Gott, Phillip P. All about Candy and Chocolate. Chicago, IL: National Confectioners Association, 1958.

6. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 6(2), 1960.

7. American Journal of Surgery, November 1951.

8. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 32(12):1171-4, December 1956.

9. Applied Microbiology 20:644-654, October 1970.

check this out!!!! earn money in simple way

2010-10-15T22:54:00.001+08:00

Earn $2000/month via part time jobs. Easy form filling data entry jobs

Earn $1500-2500 per month from home. No marketing / No MLM .
We are offering a rare Job opportunity where you can earn working from home using your computer and the Internet part-time. Qualifications required are Typing on the Computer only. You can even work from a Cyber Café or your office PC, if so required. These part time jobs require working for only 1-2 hours/day to easily fetch you $1500-2500 per month. Online jobs, Part time jobs. Work at home jobs. Dedicated workers make much more as the earning potential is unlimited. No previous experience is required, full training provided. Anyone in any country can apply. Please Visit http://www.earnparttimejobs.com/index.php?id= 3007739

The First Sunday of Advent....

2009-11-29T17:10:00.005+08:00

Advent (from Latin, adventus, meaning" coming towards) is a four-week season of preparation for Christmas. The first sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the church's year.

Advent and Christmas focus both on the past---the coming of Jesus as an infant born into poverty in Bethlehem, abd the future - the coming of Christ in glory to fulfill God's loving purposes for humanity. This is reflected in the church for each Sunday of Advent. Advent this year comes at a time of anxiety and hope. Many of us are struggling and are afraid for our future. It's not easy to hope when times are bad. Mary, as she waited for the birth of her child into an uncertain world, knwe how to live with hope---to belive the promise of God. So Advent is a time when we wait, with Mary, for the birth of new life into a world living in the shadows of death. (SOURCE: uccp newsletter_

Sign Up Now @ LinkfromBlog

2009-09-28T23:32:00.002+08:00

Interesting right?
Well, I just had signed-up for myself
and I believe I will be able to make
it here at LinkfromBlog.

Go! Go! Go!

TCP: Sound of Music

2009-09-28T23:00:00.003+08:00

My first time to join TCP!

I know this is a very old-fashioned blockbuster movie but I guess everyone loves to see it even nowadays. Am I right? I know you are all familiar with the Von Trapp family singers.
So great and cool movie to watch for the entire family over and over again.

Happy TCP!

How True Is It?

2009-09-27T23:55:00.000+08:00

The question would be... Chew more, Weigh Less?

Next time you grab a handful of nuts to snack on, count to 40.

A recent study revealed that when people ate a small serving of almonds, 40 chews quelled hunger better than 10 or even 25 crunches of the same amount of nuts.

The Magic Number
Not only did the extra chews help curb hunger best, but also the feelings of fullness lasted longest when people gave the nuts the extra chews. And the practice may work with other foods, too, because researchers suspect it may simply be the mere act of chewing that switches on your brain's satiety center.

Cool huh!

I'm Back!

2009-09-25T11:59:00.000+08:00

It's been quite awhile that I haven't updated my blogs because of my busy schedules.
Just this week was a busy day for me because I attended a 3 day-seminar
and prior to the said event was also a long busy week preparation.
I miss my blogland! Now, I hope I could find more time doing my usual rounds
like bloghopping in the blogosphere! Thanks for the visit anyway!

ME
BACK!

Tag on Relationships

2009-09-11T11:39:00.004+08:00

As usual I was tagged by my best friend Phebie of LOVEs Haven. It's my first time here to answer tag questions online. *wink*

What are your middle names?
Legaspi

How long have you been together?
13 years of being together

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
in a span of one week...whaaaa...

Who asked whom out?
What? ;)

How old are each of you?
I'm 35 and she's 30 *wink*

Whose siblings do you see the most?
My sis..

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
When my parents make decisions for us...gggrrrrr...

Did you go to the same school?
Nope!

Are you from the same home town?
Nope! I'm from CDO and she's from ZDS

Who is smarter?
Academically speaking, I guess I am! lolz...

Who is the most sensitive?
My wife...

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
anywhere...

Who has the craziest exes?
ahmm... MEH?

Who has the worst temper?
Wifey...

Who does the cooking?
MEH oftentimes

Who is the neat-freak?
both of us....

Who is more stubborn?
ahmmm...me again?

Who hogs the bed?
she does!

Who wakes up earlier?
Me because i have to work at 8am...

Who is more jealous?
ah for sure she is!

How long did it take to get serious?
easily because I am a serious man!

Who eats more?
I eat a lot!

Who does the laundry?
Me...sometimes the both of us!

Who’s better with the computer?
I can say I am!

Who drives when you are together?
Of course meh!

Thanks for the tag bes...If you wish to answer also, just grab it! :)

The Mommy Journey's 1st Blogversary

2009-09-07T19:05:00.002+08:00

This is my very first try to join a blog contest here in the blogosphere. Mommy Chris of The Mommy Journey will be celebrating her 1st year anniversary on September 10 and I'm giving it a try. It's so simple, no sweat at all just click it HERE.

Here are the prizes:

1st winner
blogspot makeover by Momgen Designs
4000 EC credits from Nishas world and baby Alisha
2000 EC credits from Dorothy's Vineyard
1000 EC credits from Blog Fusion
1000 EC credits from Worth's Road
1000 EC credits from Mouth's Delight
125 x125 ad space for 1 month from There is Happiness
125 x125 ad space for 1 month from Twins Happiness

2nd winner
blogspot customized template by Web Blog Designs
$5.00 from Thoughts and Obsessions
5000 EC credits from Simple Happy Life
2000 EC credits from Bitz n Pieces of My Life
2000 EC credits from Empowered Mom
125 x125 ad space for 1 month from Also Mommy
125 x125 ad space for 1 month from TH Corner

3rd winner
5000 EC credits and 125x125 ad space for 1 month from The Mommy Journey
2000 EC credits from Inhale... Exhale...
2000 EC credits from Just the Tip of the Iceberg
$5.00 from Inspirational Insights
125x125 ad space for 1 month from iluvcontest
125x125 ad space for 1 month from another contest

4th winner
3000 EC credits from Chuchie's Hideaway
2000 EC credits from Honeysweet Learning Center
2000 EC credits from WhereAbouts
$5.00, 1000 EC credits and 125x125 ad space for 1 month from Just About Anything
125x125 ad space for 1 month from Sherry Contest
125x125 ad space for 1 month from Sherry Rambling

5th winner
$5.00 from Our Family Story
5000 EC credits from a housewife's journal and an extraordinary path to parenthood
2000 EC credits from Dharlz Creations
125x125 ad space for 1 month from That Blog 4 Me
125x125 ad space for 1 month from Travel Blog

Anyway, advance Happy Blogversary Mommy Chris!

Got my OC Sampler Pack

2009-09-07T01:24:00.003+08:00

A friend of mine named Phebie asked me to sign-up in HERE for a freebie.
In less than a hour, I was able to have my claiming coupon
for my OC Training Sampler Kit from LimKetKai National Bookstore.
As simple as that, I already have them in hand!

WFW: Jesus Never Fails

2009-09-02T15:23:00.004+08:00

This is my very first entry for this meme.
I am so excited to share about God's wonderful promises!

Be blessed!

Be Strong with Magnesium!

2009-08-17T00:14:00.000+08:00

Been feeling like a wet dishrag lately? Could be you’re low on magnesium.

Magnesium is a multitasking mineral, and one of its jobs is to power up our muscles. Unfortunately, many of us don’t get enough of it -- especially as we get older.

Is Frailty Inevitable?
To counter age-related muscle loss and bouts of feeling wimpy, you need to do two things:

* Build up your muscles.

* Be sure you’re eating a balanced diet and getting your fair share of magnesium.

Not Enough

2009-08-02T17:05:00.000+08:00

Pleasure, material, possessions and even great knowledge do not bring lasting satisfaction. What we need is more than fun, finances and fame to be fulfilled. But have you think about those persons who committed suicide? These were people who had failed to find the meaning of their existence.

Our lives indeed, do have meaning for both time and eternity. Why? because we were created in God's own image. We have an eternal purpose and the hope of heaven. This is enough to bring deep peace and joy to our lives.

just wanna share this verse to you...

"What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world,
and is himself destroyed or lost?"
Luke 9:25

Busy Mode

2009-07-17T20:02:00.001+08:00

Last four weeks ago, we were so busy preparing for the National PCO-PO-RFU Coordination Meeting. Phebie and I were one of the secretariats for the said 3 day event. It was indeed a stressful yet a successful and a memorable experience we had!

Here are some pics we have...

during the field visit...

the secretariats...oops! sorry I am the one who took it

A Prayer of LIFE!

2009-07-17T00:22:00.000+08:00

As I was blog hopping, I was able to stumble at my friend's site~ Elaine of Laine's Abode. I thought of sharing also this prayer to you...so here it is!

Teach me Lord to be sweet and gentle
In all the events in life
In disappointments
In the thoughtlessness of others
In the insincerity of those
on whom I Relied.

Let me put myself Aside
To think of the Happiness of others
To hide my little pains and heataches
To suffer from them.

TEACH ME TO PROFIT by the suffering
That comes across my path let me use it
That it may MELLOW me not harden
Nor embitter me
That it may make me PATIENT
Not irritable
That it may make BROAD in my FORGIVENESS
Not narrow, haughty and overbearing.

May NO ONE be less good for having come
With in my influence no one less PURE less TIME.
Less KIND, less NOBLE for having been
A fellow traveler in our journey
Towards Eternal Life. AMEN.

(More thins are wrought by prayer than this dream of.)

-from Rev. Fr. Brower-

Back to School

2009-06-08T07:15:00.000+08:00

After enjoying the two months school vacation break, my daughter is so excited to be back in school once again. Meeting with old classmates and new friends excites her most. But well, being a student is not just purely fun but she really has to study so as not be removed in the honor's list. As a father, I am always be so proud of whatever achievements she has in life!

Happy Birthday!

2009-05-02T06:07:00.000+08:00

Today is a very special day for me that I wanted to thank the Lord for the

additional LIFE He has given me in my fruitful YEARS!

May God grant me whatever my heart's desire...

Increase Your Link Tags

2009-03-02T14:35:00.000+08:00

I got tagged by a friend named Phebie of LOVE's Haven. It claims to increase back links. I surely need it this time. Thanks so much Pheb's for tagging me along ....

1. Try to make a post just like this one and mention this process.

2. From the list of blog sites below remove the number 1 and move the rest in the list 1 step higher (i. e number 2 becomes number 1, and so on). Add your blog name in the 5th position. Don't forget to copy the links. (Here's my list-my site added in the end)

1. LOVE's Haven
2. Mother Knows Best
3. So Much To Tell
4. Laine's Abode
5. Simple Living

3. List at most five of your friends blog site here with link and inform them of this post and ask them to do the same. Here's my list:

Tammy
Debbie
Payatot
Lulu
Aiza

Disney Kids Picture

2009-02-21T17:54:00.000+08:00

If you are looking for a Disney Kids Picture then just visit HERE.

Am I a Fireman Yet?

2009-01-24T16:38:00.000+08:00

I just want to share this story which is so uplifting and can make you cry and question yourself each day to live life to the fullest, help others, and stop whining about high gas prices. :) Just a warning to all: don't read if you wish to remain the same person you are today.

Please scroll down the story below:

In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up & fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible the leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dream to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, 'Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?' Mommy, 'I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.' Mom smiled back and said, 'Let's see if we can make your wish come true.' Later that day she went to her local fire Department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her 6 year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, ‘Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary Fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards!

And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat - not a toy -- one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.'

'They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast.'

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck.

Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls.

He rode in the different fire engines, the Paramedic's' van, and even the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news program.

Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, he was so deeply touched. He lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept - that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital.

Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a Fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition.

The chief replied, 'We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire?'

'It's the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?'

About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window--------16 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room

With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they LOVED him.

With his dying breath,

Billy looked up at the fire chief and said,

'Chief, am I really a fireman now?'

'Billy, you are, and
The Head Chief,
Jesus, is holding your hand,' the chief said

With those words, Billy smiled and said,

'I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and
The angels have been singing..'

He closed his eyes one last time.

The Blessing Tree!

2008-12-24T23:59:00.000+08:00

I just want to share to you about the story of a young couple whose business had failed, and they had little money to spend at Christmas. They were going to move out of their house after the New Year. But they didn’t want their holiday season to be spoiled because of it. So they decided to throw a party. When the guests arrived, they saw a cedar tree decorated with one string of lights and small rolled-up pieces of paper tied to the limbs with ribbon.

“Welcome to our blessing tree!” they said, beaming. “In spite of hard times, God has blessed us in so many ways that we decided to dedicate our tree to Him. Each piece of paper describes a blessing He has given us this year.”

Isn’t it nice? I have learned that whatever your difficulties, they need not spoil Christmas, for nothing can spoil Christ! We have to stay focused on Jesus and seek ways to share His blessings with others-perhaps through your own “blessing tree.”

The Pursuit of Happiness

2008-11-27T16:15:00.000+08:00

Everyone is looking for happiness, and people follow many avenues trying to find it. They look for it in money, parties, self-improvement programs, fancy cars, luxurious homes, or promoting a cause.

Jesus taught us that deep and lasting happiness comes from being right with God. He said we are blessed, or happy, when we are:

Poor in Spirit- recognizing our desperate need for God.
Mourning- realizing the awfulness of sin and being genuinely sorry for it.
Meek- demonstrating self-control, even when we are mistreated.
Hungry and thirsty for righteousness- longing to be holy and pure.
Merciful- showing mercy to others, just as God shows mercy to us.
Pure in heart- being single minded and sincere in our devotion to Christ.
Peacemakers- sharing the peace Christ offers, and promoting peace with one another.
Persecuted- being willing to suffer for Jesus' sake.I

If you're looking for happiness...follow Jesus' way...

Happiness depends on what you are,
not on what you have!

Friendship Chain

2008-11-17T15:12:00.000+08:00

I'm just new to this blogging world and I'm so glad to receive such friendship chain from my dear friends and an office mates at the same time: Laine of Laine's Abode and Phebie of LOVE's Haven. Thanks much gurls!

This is the easy way and the fastest way to :

1. Make your Authority Technorati explode.

2. Increase your Google Page Rank.

3. Get more traffic to your blog.

4. Makes more new friends.

Rules :

1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.

2. Put your own blog name and link.

3. Tag your friends as much as you can.

1.Picturing of Life 2. Juliana’s Site 3. Hazel-My Life, My Hope, My Future.4. Jeanne-The Callalily Space5.My Family is my Life 6. The Simple Life of a Baghag 7. On A Wonderful Day Like Today 8. House Everything 9. The Creativity in Me 10. Travel and Photography 11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 12. You Are My Sunshine 13.Song to Remember 14. Super Blog 15. Philiippine Tv Marathon 16.Simply Blue 17. Breaking the Boundaries 18. Top Five 19. A Simple Life 20. Simple Happy Life 21. A Great Pleasure 22. Glossa~licious 23. Time Goes By 24. Sweet Nothings 25.Thoughts & Obsessions 26. Laine's Abode 27.LOVE's Haven 28. YOU!

~~End Copy~~

Just grab it if you want to....

You Take My Breath Away

2008-10-28T04:10:00.000+08:00

I just want to share to you one of my favorite songs...

Rex Smith - You Take My Breath Away lyrics

You, I don't know what to say
You take my breath away
You're every song I sing
You're the music that I play
And you take my breath away

You, you smile and it's okay
You take my breath away
Like water from a spring on a sizzling summer day
Oh you take my breath away

There are words for the magic of a sunrise
Only none of them will do
For you, you take my breath away
And I don't know what to say
'Cause you take my breath away

You, you take my breath away
And I don't know what to say
'Cause you take my breath away
You take my breath away
You take my breath away

You take my breath away
You take my breath away
Oh yeah, you take my breath away
Oh, you take my breath away
Oh, I say you take my breath away, yeah yeah
I say, I say, I say you take my breath away

Living LIFE to the Max!

2008-10-07T23:35:00.000+08:00

Would you believe that Jesus did not call us to live our Christian life just to escape hell? It’s not to be a life of minimum joy and fulfillment, but a life that is full and overflowing. If our primary motivation would just be merely avoiding eternal punishment then we are missing the wonders and joys and victories of climbing higher and higher with Jesus.

He promised us LIFE more abundantly. We cannot experience a full and abundant life if we are living in fear. We should not live minimally. We have to live life to the maximum!