Do you or someone you know deserve to be nominated to be a recipient of the Rizal Awards?

Nobody can replicate what the Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal has done for our country but we can give recognition to people who have made great great leaps and bounds, risked their lives to fight for what is right and just, for the good of the country.

If you have someone in mind who has the distinction of being that and more, then you can nominate him/her to the Rizal Awards, a project of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in celebration of the commemoration of 150 years of Dr. Jose Rizal.

Two categories:

• Individual category where ten Filipinos and three foreigners will be given awards
• Organizational category where ten institutions, societies, or organizations that qualified in the terms stated would be awarded.

Individuals and groups to be nominated should…

• have or had projects supporting the Rizalian concept of love of country and fulfillment of the duties as Filipino citizens
• in their capacities and involvement in various professions, promote, teach and disseminate competence for the benefit of the people they serve in the light of Rizal’s teaching and way of life
• be models of responsible citizenship who have not misused wealth, rank, influence and power

Nominations can be sent to National Historical Commission of the Philippines or NHCP Office or  e-mail them at rizalawards@nhcp.gov.ph on or before March 15, 2012.

Lately the children and I have been listening to music particularly good pop songs. Well, mostly pop songs that pass our “standard” meaning no cuss words and other profanity.Yesterday was fun when we discovered karaoke versions of some songs they sing on YouTube. Yey!

Listening to good music has many benefits. Aside from this activity serving as bonding time for the family, they have these benefits:

• helps children listen to different tunes and tempo
• helps children listen to words and increases vocabulary
• encourages children to be more expressive
• stimulates the mind to be more active
• relieves stress and relaxes the mind
• encourages children
• for religious and soulful music, these not just uplift the spirit but bring inner peace
• music help people socialize
• for those who love to dance, music is the non-chemical high that can help them express themselves through movements

I’m sure there are a lot more benefits that I haven’t touched regarding the benefits of listening to good music.

It’s no wonder there are a lot of people who love music especially those who write wonderful songs that make symbol barcode scanner go beeping with their sales. Yes, it’s a ka-ching ka-ching industry for those who have real (and auto-tuned) talent.

I have a teenage daughter. Yesterday my son turned 10. If only I could hold time and make it stand still so that my children will remain as they are. But no, we parents can’t do that, can we?

We can’t bring back time when we want too, not when the children are asking permission to go to the mall with friends, or ask help to get new boyfriend gifts (EGAD!!!) or watch a musical play unchaperoned.

Thank God for digicams, we can take their photos and capture the smiles, the frowns, the actions we sometimes miss but the camera was able to catch. We capture these memories in pixels and look at these when we want to “go back” and remember.

No, I’m not being nostalgic today. I’m just yes, I am because I too turned a year older yesterday when my son did.

Happy birthday to my son We love you!

One of the new skills my “older” and former students are learning is driving. I don’t drive myself (I think the title is apt for me too, LOL) but I enjoy reading their status updates on Facebook regarding how they are learning to drive. Their concerns vary from the seemingly mundane to major ones:

• how to park in confined spaces
• how to go up the “spiral” ramps to multi-level parking
• what to do in case of water on the streets
• who to call in case they need breakdown services
• what to do if they encounter bad people who are bent on carjacking their car

Good driving skills need maturity, good judgment and quick thinking on their part but I know in time, they will be able to achieve not just good driving abilities but road safety and confidence too

CALLING ALL YOUNG PEOPLE WITH POSITIVE IDEAS aimed to promote health and wellness in their community: UNILAB Ideas Positive is inviting you to join their idea-generating contest on social marketing programs that will address, yes,  health and wellness issues.

Unilab Ideas Positive started last year because of the increase in problems affecting communities regarding hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, disease prevention and intervention, as well as environmental care and protection.

Through the Filipino trait of Bayanihan spirit,  that of working together to achieve a common goal, Unilab knows that these problems can be given solution when two or more teams or organizations work together.

Unilab aims to not just provide these youth groups with the venue for them to make themselves heard but to help them turn thier ideas into reality. The youth groups then are able to be more creative in shaping their ideals and sense of social purpose in looking for solutions with the problems they see regarding health and wellness in their communities.

Unilab Ideas Positive Award:

A seed fund worth PhP100,000 will be awarded to the winning team. This award money will be used for the implementation of the social marketing program for the communities they have chosen. The two runner-up groups will be given PhP75,000 for their programs.

Unilab Ideas Positive 2010 winner:

University of Asia and the Pacific’s (UA&P) Team Biggkas was last year’s winner. Their “farm in the city” concept, a hydroponics gardening program aimed to teach housewives in Barangay San Joaquin in Pasig City to have their own sustainable source of vegetables, was chosen. Last April, the moms were able to harvest lettuce and kangkong.

The local government of Pasig City has expressed a desire to replicate the same program in other barangays.

Unilab Ideas Positive includes these provinces for 2011: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan and Rizal.

How to join: continue reading this entry »

I thought I wouldn’t be able to make an entry for this week’s theme: NEAR. Wait, I already did make an entry here.

I have tons of photos using macro mode but since I am a little busy resting (huh?) because the kids are using the desktop computers. I needed to prepare for dinner so I had to stand up to do so and decided I might as well make a post featuring my favorite flower: the sunflower! Yey!

Good thing I was able to take photos of these sunflowers last April because the rains came really early and they were all plucked out.

Photo taken along University Ave in UP Diliman.