Rage and Love,
Kennan
Kennan
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Summertime (Live Acoustic at 98.7FM Penthouse) - My Chemical Romance
Here is an awesome live and acoustic version of "Summertime", a song by My Chemical Romance from their fourth studio album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Enjoy!!!
Monday, October 10, 2011
The 11th Hour...
In our Business English class, we watched the (relatively old) movie/documentary The 11th Hour (watch the trailer here), hosted by Leonardo diCaprio. It talks about climate change and its effects on planet Earth. Whilst I honestly have no clue how this is related to business writing or English as a whole, this movie/documentary is a good eye opener to all the ignorant boobs out there who still don't play their part in helping our planet recuperate.
Here is my "reaction paper" to the movie/documentary.
o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Here is my "reaction paper" to the movie/documentary.
o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
The movie/documentary “The 11th Hour”, hosted by Leonardo de Caprio (of whom I’m not really fond of) is about the harsh reality of global warming and its effects on planet Earth. It showed various video clips of different settings (such as the melting of the polar ice caps and the increase in strength of storms) around the world that proves that global warming is real and that if we don’t act now to curb its effects. Interviews with knowledgeable people such as scientists, politicians and environmental activists were done as well.
Watching the movie reminded (reminded because although I am already aware of global warming and its effects through dangerously prolonged periods of watching National Geographic Channel, my daily activities tend to stray my mind from it) me that we should not rest from ensuring that we do not cause any further harm to the environment. 
Corny as it may sound, the little things we do actually matter. That piece of candy wrapper might as well be the difference between dry ground and 5-foot high flash floods. It all depends on what you do with it, whether doing the right thing by throwing it in the trash can or by throwing it anywhere convenient.
We should always remember that before we complain, we should think first if we ourselves are on the right track. I know a lot of people who love to complain how easily it floods in their area yet they mindlessly throw their garbage anywhere the street in front of their houses. There are also people who complain that the Philippines is starting to become an oven yet they failed to comprehend that their smoke-belching vehicle (also known as a four-wheel death trap) is partly at fault for that. It is people like these that need to watch documentaries like The 11th Hour so that they may learn a thing or two about climate change.
Hi There!
As tribute to Steve Jobs, I have made his image (with the year of his birth and of his death) as my blog background. It stays like that for a week from the day he passed away (last October 6, Manila time). I have also removed the background music to stay consistent with the somber atmosphere.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Rage and Love,
Kennan
Kennan
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Proud to be a kid from the 90's
I've always believed that my childhood (and that of other kids born in the late 1980's to mid 1990's) is better than that of the present generation's. The 1990's was filled with great events in politics, society and entertainment. To name a few, the world saw the Soviet Union disintegrate; Nirvana rose to fame and fell out of it when Kurt Cobain died; and Titanic premiered in theaters worldwide. Then there were the most awesome cartoon the world has ever seen. Before Spongebob Squarepants made children go "Hayayayayayaya", before Phineas tells Ferb that he "know(s) what (they're) gonna do today", the world enjoyed classics like Cow and Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory, Ed, Edd and Eddy, Johnny Bravo and Courage the Cowardly Dog. Aaah. Those were the good old days.
Here's one of my most unforgettable Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes. It's been stuck in the back of my subconscious because of its innate creepiness. Enjoy.
Courage the Cowardly Dog Season 1 Episode 7 - The Curse of Ramses (sorry I couldn't find a video with better quality that can be embedded)
Here's one of my most unforgettable Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes. It's been stuck in the back of my subconscious because of its innate creepiness. Enjoy.
Courage the Cowardly Dog Season 1 Episode 7 - The Curse of Ramses (sorry I couldn't find a video with better quality that can be embedded)
Friday, October 7, 2011
Make a Change
(Disclaimer: This is not a eulogy for Steve Jobs)Yesterday, the world lost one of the most influential men the world has ever known these past 100 years. He is Steve Jobs, co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Apple. Jobs is well know for his innovative gadgets like the Macbook, iPhone or iPod that you're probably using to read this.
Now, we all know that when someone famous dies, the world loves to pay tribute to that someone in each individual's own way. When Jobs died, everyone remembered many of his memorable lines. He was often quoted to say that his motto was "to live as if it was your last day".
I'm sure many would interpret those words differently than how I would. To them, it would mean that we should life to the fullest. Party hard! Drink beer like there's no tomorrow. Get high because you're not sure if you'd still be alive the next day to enjoy it all.
For me, however, living the present day as if it was your last day on earth means that the time to make a change is NOW. I like to think that's how Steve Jobs interpreted that line. See, he knew he had cancer. He has no idea how long he has to live. He dedicated his life, day by day, to making a change to world in a way he knew how: by giving us gadgets that can link the world and give us entertainment when boredom starts to eat us alive. And believe me, his gadgets did make a difference. Who could say he could leave home without his iPod and iPhone (both genuine and imitation ones)? Everyone is highly addicted to music nowadays and the iPod is our fix to this addiction. Before, cellphones were simply for calling and text messaging. The iPhone combined the two basic cellphone function with the ability to surf the internet as well as capturing photos and listening to music while on the go.
Now, before you start thinking I'm doing a shameless plug for Apple, I want you to know that I'm not. What I'm trying to say is that this man made a difference and you and I can, too.
I'm not a big fan of Apple or of Steve but his story is just inspirational. We should stay hungry and make a difference for this world. We could start doing this by making a change in ourselves. Stop being lazy and do whatever it is you want to do. Stop being timid or shy. Show the world what you got. Don't mind the critics, the cynics and the haters. Haters gonna hate. You may not be around this world tomorrow. You may never have the chance to write a song that makes the whole world sing. You may never be able to paint a picture so epic, hearts burst with emotions. Please. Don't waste your talent by sitting in front of your TV/computer. Don't waste your talent by not believing in yourself. Don't waste your talent by listening to haters. Make a difference. Now. You may not have the chance to do so tomorrow. When in doubt, ask yourself: WHAT DID STEVE JOBS DO?
To end this, here's a little testimonial about the little things that I could do to make a difference.
I've decided to write a story. I don't exactly know where this story will lead me to. It will or will not be as good as the classics that we read in school. It doesn't matter to me. It's how I can express myself and hopefully, through this expression of my thoughts and emotions I could inspire someone the way Steve Jobs inspired me. That's the change that I want to make. To inspire people to make a change for the better in the world themselves. What of the non-believers, you ask? I've been saying "I don't care" for a long time now and this time I mean it. I won't let non-believers get to me and you shouldn't too. Make a change. Now.
"If not now, when?"
-Brandon Boyd
Rage and Love,
Kennan
Kennan
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
WVSU AB Political Science Manila Educational Tour (Part 2 of 4)
Previous "WVSU AB Political Science Manila Educational Tour" post can be read by clicking this link.
(This is part 2 of a 4-part series...)
On my previous post, I talked about the emotional aspect of the our tour of Manila. In this post, I will tell you all about all the misfortunes that have struck us on the ship and in Manila.
We all know that trips bring about excitement in every one of us. So you can only imagine how ecstatic everyone was while waiting at the pier (we were all supposed to meet there at 6 A.M. but some arrived earlier). However, the departure of the ship was delayed. We boarded N.N. St. Michael the Archangel at around 8 A.M. but it left the port of Iloilo at 10 A.M. Of course, things like this happen all the time, especially here in the Philippines. But that little delay proved to be the start of all misfortune (I will not refer to it as "bad luck" since I do not believe in luck) throughout the trip. Let me reiterate what I said in my previous post, however. No amount of tragedy dampened the spirits of my tour-mates.
Then at around midnight, as the ship was approaching Romblon, the waves became a bit violent. No, I take that back, the waves became very violent. I became extremely seasick. So did Vince and Ma'am Verns and many marinos from John B. Lacson Maritime University who were on board. I kept telling myself that I am strong and that the sick feeling was all in my mind. But alas, the spirit may be strong but the flesh is weak. I gave in to the waves, ran to the washroom and puked until I couldn't puke anymore. No joke. By the time I joined him, Vince had already vomited four times. We got out and took in some fresh air. The waves stopped rocking the ship at around 2 A.M. Finally, after about two stomach churning hours, we were able to get some sleep.
We had a date with typhoon Pedring in Manila. He welcomed us with rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. You get sick of seeing so much rain fall down. So, on Tuesday, September 27th, we had to revise our itinerary, thanks to the fact that Metro Manila was under storm signal number 2. The Supreme Court and the House of Representatives, our major destinations for the day had to cancel office as to not risk the safety of their employees. Since the Supreme Court was near Robinson's Manila, we decided to walk going there because the bus was struck in traffic. After walking a few meters we found ourselves wading in ankle-deep flood waters. Our shoes and part of our pants got wet. Slipper vendors were very happy that day. Once we got inside Robinson's, we tried to de-stress ourselves and enjoy the mall. After eating lunch, we found out we couldn't get out because the streets were flooded making them impossible to use by people and by vehicles. Stranded in a mall in Manila. Great.
One major tragedy that happened to our tour thanks to typhoon Pedring was the cancellation of our visit to Manila Ocean Park. The Park was the biggest reason I wanted to go on the tour because this is my opportunity to conquer my fear of sharks (hello, do you want we dive into shark-infested ocean instead?).
As a sort of coup de grace from Pedring, our plane going home was delayed by an hour. We had to wait at the airport an extra hour. In case you don't know me, I have extremely low tolerance for waiting. I try to be patient, but I easily get irritated when I wait for something (please don't take this out of context; the "waiting" that I am referring to is the literal waiting as in waiting in line, etc.) Irritation is equal to discomfort. And who would want discomfort?
Again, I have said this over and over now. The misfortunes failed to dampen the fun that we had during the tour. These misfortunes turned out to be memorable, bonding moments for everyone. Like what a Mayday Parade song said, "sometimes it isn't [about] where you're going, it's who you're with". It's up to you and the people around you to make the most of everything that's going on, be it good or bad. We did just that.
(This is part 2 of a 4-part series...)
On my previous post, I talked about the emotional aspect of the our tour of Manila. In this post, I will tell you all about all the misfortunes that have struck us on the ship and in Manila.
We all know that trips bring about excitement in every one of us. So you can only imagine how ecstatic everyone was while waiting at the pier (we were all supposed to meet there at 6 A.M. but some arrived earlier). However, the departure of the ship was delayed. We boarded N.N. St. Michael the Archangel at around 8 A.M. but it left the port of Iloilo at 10 A.M. Of course, things like this happen all the time, especially here in the Philippines. But that little delay proved to be the start of all misfortune (I will not refer to it as "bad luck" since I do not believe in luck) throughout the trip. Let me reiterate what I said in my previous post, however. No amount of tragedy dampened the spirits of my tour-mates.
Then at around midnight, as the ship was approaching Romblon, the waves became a bit violent. No, I take that back, the waves became very violent. I became extremely seasick. So did Vince and Ma'am Verns and many marinos from John B. Lacson Maritime University who were on board. I kept telling myself that I am strong and that the sick feeling was all in my mind. But alas, the spirit may be strong but the flesh is weak. I gave in to the waves, ran to the washroom and puked until I couldn't puke anymore. No joke. By the time I joined him, Vince had already vomited four times. We got out and took in some fresh air. The waves stopped rocking the ship at around 2 A.M. Finally, after about two stomach churning hours, we were able to get some sleep.
We had a date with typhoon Pedring in Manila. He welcomed us with rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. You get sick of seeing so much rain fall down. So, on Tuesday, September 27th, we had to revise our itinerary, thanks to the fact that Metro Manila was under storm signal number 2. The Supreme Court and the House of Representatives, our major destinations for the day had to cancel office as to not risk the safety of their employees. Since the Supreme Court was near Robinson's Manila, we decided to walk going there because the bus was struck in traffic. After walking a few meters we found ourselves wading in ankle-deep flood waters. Our shoes and part of our pants got wet. Slipper vendors were very happy that day. Once we got inside Robinson's, we tried to de-stress ourselves and enjoy the mall. After eating lunch, we found out we couldn't get out because the streets were flooded making them impossible to use by people and by vehicles. Stranded in a mall in Manila. Great.One major tragedy that happened to our tour thanks to typhoon Pedring was the cancellation of our visit to Manila Ocean Park. The Park was the biggest reason I wanted to go on the tour because this is my opportunity to conquer my fear of sharks (hello, do you want we dive into shark-infested ocean instead?).
As a sort of coup de grace from Pedring, our plane going home was delayed by an hour. We had to wait at the airport an extra hour. In case you don't know me, I have extremely low tolerance for waiting. I try to be patient, but I easily get irritated when I wait for something (please don't take this out of context; the "waiting" that I am referring to is the literal waiting as in waiting in line, etc.) Irritation is equal to discomfort. And who would want discomfort?
Again, I have said this over and over now. The misfortunes failed to dampen the fun that we had during the tour. These misfortunes turned out to be memorable, bonding moments for everyone. Like what a Mayday Parade song said, "sometimes it isn't [about] where you're going, it's who you're with". It's up to you and the people around you to make the most of everything that's going on, be it good or bad. We did just that.
Rage and Love,
Kennan
Kennan
(Photo credit: http://www.afreemind.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/pedring01.jpg)
Previous "WVSU AB Political Science Manila Educational Tour" post can be read by clicking this link.
Previous "WVSU AB Political Science Manila Educational Tour" post can be read by clicking this link.
WVSU AB Political Science Manila Educational Tour (Part 1 of 4)
(This is part 1 of a 4-part series...)
Earlier this week, we sophomore and senior AB Political science students of West Visayas State University went on a study tour/educational trip in Metro Manila. Unlike our previous tour in Cebu last February where I was hesitant to admit my excitement, this tour got me stoked even a week before it actually happened.
I've always believed that tours/trips with other people will always change your perspective and outlook in certain aspects of life. It's amazing how breath-taking sights (they need not always be beautiful; scenes of sorrow and misery can sometimes take your breath away) move hearts enough to change one's view of life.
Dramatic as it may sound, every time I go visit other places, be it vacation trips with family or educational tours with class/schoolmates, I'm always awe-struck enough to have me contemplate on certain things that go around me.
I'm sure that got you curios as to what is it in my life that I contemplated upon or what changes have been made to my view towards life during the tour.
I was never vocal about my feelings towards others. Maybe it's because of my pride. Well I guess it's time to swallow that pride and say that I really enjoyed the entire trip and it's because of the company of classmates,
schoolmates and friends (okay I feel so icky just by being this corny out in public). That previous statement is 101% sincere. I really did enjoy the trip despite all the tragedy that befell us (read: STORM SIGNAL NUMBER 2).
No trip goes exactly as we intend them to go. Our educational trip to Manila was no exception. In fact, something bad happened every single day (but that did not dampen our spirits). Sue me for being extra optimistic (because I'm Mr. Brightside), but we managed to make the most out of all our misfortunes.
Like on Monday at midnight out at sea. Me and Vince became extremely sea sick. We had to spend about two (2) hours hanging by the bathroom vomiting/waiting to vomit. Those two stomach churning hours became sort of a bonding moment for us.
Then our field trip was met my typhoon Pedring causing us to be stranded at Robinson's Manila for six hours. Wading in floodwater, roaming around the crowded but gloomy mall, eating an all-you-can-eat lunch, everyone had fun.
Disputes are inevitable. We are only human and our primary concern is to promote and protect our personal interests before others. It is our nature. This leads to conflict and disputes (thank you International Relations). And yes, conflict and disputes were present during the tour. This was caused by each individuals' attitudes. One's jolly nature may be seen by others as irritating. Conversely, one's "gloomy" nature can be seen by others as a kill joy attitude. Nevertheless, these conflicts and disputes come and go and despite their presence, the excitement and utter joy that the tour had to offer.
To end this post, I would like to leave a message to all my tour-mates (brace yourself for another episode of drama):
To my classmates, to my friends, to the sophomores. It was nice spending four (4) days of my life with you all.
I hope you all had fun. I did. Thank you for all the memories that inspired this blog post -- both the good ones and the bad ones. I am really looking forward to another opportunity for all of us to spend time together. Maybe another field trip. Maybe another acquaintance party. It doesn't really matter what. And hopefully next time, the juniors and the freshmen (especially the freshmen) could come with, too.
And before I forget, let's hear it for Sir Shim and Ma'am Verns for being able to care of 50-plus misbehaving young people.
(Photos courtesy of Carl Dulla)
Earlier this week, we sophomore and senior AB Political science students of West Visayas State University went on a study tour/educational trip in Metro Manila. Unlike our previous tour in Cebu last February where I was hesitant to admit my excitement, this tour got me stoked even a week before it actually happened.
I've always believed that tours/trips with other people will always change your perspective and outlook in certain aspects of life. It's amazing how breath-taking sights (they need not always be beautiful; scenes of sorrow and misery can sometimes take your breath away) move hearts enough to change one's view of life.Dramatic as it may sound, every time I go visit other places, be it vacation trips with family or educational tours with class/schoolmates, I'm always awe-struck enough to have me contemplate on certain things that go around me.
I'm sure that got you curios as to what is it in my life that I contemplated upon or what changes have been made to my view towards life during the tour.
I was never vocal about my feelings towards others. Maybe it's because of my pride. Well I guess it's time to swallow that pride and say that I really enjoyed the entire trip and it's because of the company of classmates,
schoolmates and friends (okay I feel so icky just by being this corny out in public). That previous statement is 101% sincere. I really did enjoy the trip despite all the tragedy that befell us (read: STORM SIGNAL NUMBER 2).No trip goes exactly as we intend them to go. Our educational trip to Manila was no exception. In fact, something bad happened every single day (but that did not dampen our spirits). Sue me for being extra optimistic (because I'm Mr. Brightside), but we managed to make the most out of all our misfortunes.
Like on Monday at midnight out at sea. Me and Vince became extremely sea sick. We had to spend about two (2) hours hanging by the bathroom vomiting/waiting to vomit. Those two stomach churning hours became sort of a bonding moment for us.
Then our field trip was met my typhoon Pedring causing us to be stranded at Robinson's Manila for six hours. Wading in floodwater, roaming around the crowded but gloomy mall, eating an all-you-can-eat lunch, everyone had fun.
Disputes are inevitable. We are only human and our primary concern is to promote and protect our personal interests before others. It is our nature. This leads to conflict and disputes (thank you International Relations). And yes, conflict and disputes were present during the tour. This was caused by each individuals' attitudes. One's jolly nature may be seen by others as irritating. Conversely, one's "gloomy" nature can be seen by others as a kill joy attitude. Nevertheless, these conflicts and disputes come and go and despite their presence, the excitement and utter joy that the tour had to offer.
To end this post, I would like to leave a message to all my tour-mates (brace yourself for another episode of drama):
To my classmates, to my friends, to the sophomores. It was nice spending four (4) days of my life with you all.
I hope you all had fun. I did. Thank you for all the memories that inspired this blog post -- both the good ones and the bad ones. I am really looking forward to another opportunity for all of us to spend time together. Maybe another field trip. Maybe another acquaintance party. It doesn't really matter what. And hopefully next time, the juniors and the freshmen (especially the freshmen) could come with, too.And before I forget, let's hear it for Sir Shim and Ma'am Verns for being able to care of 50-plus misbehaving young people.
Rage and Love,
Kennan
Kennan
(Photos courtesy of Carl Dulla)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Fortune Candy
I recently discovered this cool (literally) new candy called Fres. It's awesome because it's like a fortune cookie in candy form! It actually gives advices. One time, we were supposed to have an exam in Intro to Law class and everybody was freaking out so I bought a handful of Fres from the canteen and the first piece that I opened said "Let It Be" as if it's telling everyone to just shut up and let things happen as they are supposed to happen. If the exam happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. In the end, the exam was postponed and as expected everybody went crazy like a bunch of... never mind.
Obviously, the candy-no exam thing was just a very big coincidence (OR WAS IT?) but it's sort of fun, you know, having a candy wrapper "predict" stuff that's gonna happen. Boo.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Meet All Our Pets!
They say having pets helps to de-stress people. With all the stress people nowadays put themselves through, it's safe to say that having a pet animal (I specifically stated pet animals because back in the 80's, pet rocks were actually the "in" thing) is a must if one wants to stay sane.
We have lots of pets here at home and I want you, my readers, to meet them all. So, without any further blah-blah-blahs, here they are.
This is Chopsuey. He's fat and lazy. And suplado.
That's Fido, the alpha male of my guinea pigs.
Fido's wife, Charla (second from left) and their children
This is Maiev. She's always hungry.
This is Dutch, Maiev's "husband".
We have lots of pets here at home and I want you, my readers, to meet them all. So, without any further blah-blah-blahs, here they are.
This is Chopsuey. He's fat and lazy. And suplado.
That's Fido, the alpha male of my guinea pigs.
Fido's wife, Charla (second from left) and their children
This is Maiev. She's always hungry.
This is Dutch, Maiev's "husband".
Maiev playing with one of her puppies.
Two of Maiev and Dutch's puppies.
Chopsticks, Chopsuey's little brother.
Chopsuey and Chopsticks' little brothers/sisters. We gave them away to other responsible pet owners.
This is Blastoise, my turtle. He knows Hyper Beam, Hydro Pump, Skull Bash and Ice Beam.
Chopsuey and Chopsticks' mother! That's Chopsticks as a kitten!!!
Chopsuey and Chopsticks' little brothers/sisters. We gave them away to other responsible pet owners.
This is Blastoise, my turtle. He knows Hyper Beam, Hydro Pump, Skull Bash and Ice Beam.
Chopsuey and Chopsticks' mother! That's Chopsticks as a kitten!!!Unfortunately, I haven't photographed my aquarium with all my fishies in it. I will update soon.
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