Harry Potter

This had been the greatest, most awesome book ever made in the history of mankind! I don’t think anybody doesn’t know about this. J.K. Rowling is the best author there is! Whoa! I absolutely and undoubtedly LOVE IT!!!

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of a wizard, Harry Potter and his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's quest to overcome the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, whose aims are to become immortal, to conquer the wizarding world, subjugate non-magical people, and destroy all those who stand in his way, especially Harry Potter.

Why do I love it? It’s because I LOVE MAGIC! I sometimes think that somewhere out there, is a magical world full of witches and wizards. Maybe even right behind us! Just kidding…

Anyways, the Harry Potter Series has its own movie series. Cool, right? I mean every book is converted to a movie which is portrayed by the same actors throughout the series. Get it? 

Anyway, the story goes like this…

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry Potter, a neglected boy living with his indifferent relatives after the death of his parents, discovers on his tenth birthday that he is a wizard, and a famous one at that. Harry is told that his parents died at the hand of the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, when Harry was a baby, and that he, Harry, is the only person ever to have survived a killing curse, a curse that left him with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

New to the world of wizards, Harry begins his magical education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Aided by Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper, and his schoolmates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry will cross paths with Voldemort again, battle a troll, outwit a three headed dog, and discover the true value of friendship.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry is back for his second year at Hogwarts amid mysterious doings involving a hidden chamber somewhere in the castle that is inhabited by a monster intent on killing students who aren't pureblood wizards. With the help of his friends and an old diary, Harry must find the chamber, defeat a surprising enemy, and save the life of Ron's sister. Along the way, he's helped and hindered by Dobby, the house elf, and moaning Myrtle, a morose ghost.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry returns to school for his third year amid rumors that escaped mass murderer Sirius Black is out to kill him. Surrounded by dementors, hooded guards from the wizard prison, Azkaban, Hogwarts has never seemed so bleak. While trying to avoid the chilling effects of the dementors, Harry sets out to discover the truth about the night his parents died. With the help of his defense against the dark arts teacher, Remus Lupin, and his friends, Harry unravels a twisted tale of violence and betrayal, but will he be clever and quick enough to save Sirius from the dementor's kiss? Only time will tell.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The fourth installment of the Harry Potter series finds Harry excited about the upcoming triwizard tournament being held at Hogwarts. Champions from three of the most famous wizarding schools will compete for a fortune in prize money. Harry is too young to enter, but discovers on the day the champions are selected that his name has been entered anyway, and with the aid of some powerful magic, he's selected to participate. While Harry battles dragons, merpeople and giant spiders in the tournament, he must also discover who has put him in jeopardy and why.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Reeling from the death of his fellow triwizard tournament champion, Cedric Diggory, at the hands of Voldemort, Harry must come to terms with loss and isolation in the fifth installment of the series. We see a darker, more frustrated Harry who is mistrusted by a wizarding community reluctant to accept his word that Voldemort is back.

Harry takes on the role of unofficial defense against dark arts teacher when Dolores Umbridge, a Ministry of Magic appointee to the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor, forbids the students to use defensive magic. While secretly teaching fellow students spells, Harry must learn occlumency, the ability to shut out the thoughts of others, to protect himself from Voldemort's powerful mind. What is the special weapon Voldemort seeks at the Ministry of Magic? Should Harry block Voldemort's thoughts and emotions or try to use them to discover the secret?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, must try to uncover Lord Voldemort's past. A prophecy foretells that Harry and Voldemort will confront one another and only one will survive. In this, the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series, Dumbledore takes Harry on a number of journeys to prepare him for the coming confrontation. Their goal is to discover the secret of Voldemort's power over death and find the key to making him mortal and vulnerable.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

On the death of Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts headmaster, Harry, Ron and Hermione realize that they must begin their quest to destroy the objects in which Voldemort has secreted his soul. They also discover that there are three mystical objects of power that may help them, the deathly hallows. With time running out, Harry must decide which is more important, following Dumbledore's instructions or seeking power on his own. In the last book of the series, Harry will finally come of age and take his rightful place in the wizarding world, a world he will do anything to protect.

This is the list of characters (from left to right):

-         Harry James Potter

-         Hermione Jean Granger

-         Ronald Bilius Weasley

-         Minerva McGonagall

-         Cornelius Fudge

-         Filius Flitwick

-         Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

-         Rubeus Hagrid

-         Dobby the Elf

-         Luna Lovegood

-         Cho Chang

-         Neville Longbottom

-         Cedric Diggory

-         Arthur Weasley

-         Molly Weasley

-         Ginevra Molly Weasley

-         Fred Weasely

-         George Weasley

-         Percy Weasley

-         Nymphadora Tonks

-         Sirius Black

-         Hedwig

-         Alastor “Mad–Eye” Moody

-         Sybil Trelawney

-         Kingsley Shacklebolt

-         Argus Filch

-         Peter Pettigrew

-         Lucius Malfoy

-         Tom Riddle/ Lord Voldemort

-         Draco Malfoy

-         Severus Snape

-         Dolores Umbridge

-         Vincent Crabbe

-         Gregory Goyle

-         Dean Thomas

-         Seamus Finnigan

-         Bellatrix Lestrange

This are the movie posters:

Poverty in the Philippines

Poverty, it is the state of being poor and lack of the means of providing material needs or comforts. Our country is in poverty. Why? Here are the causes:

-        poverty in the Philippines caused by laziness to work harder and more hours
-poverty in the Philippines caused by lack of quality consciousness
- poverty in the Philippines caused by lack of love for GOD and thus for all his children on earth
- poverty in the Philippines caused by abuse by rich ones
- poverty in the Philippines caused by mismanagement of government due to lack of sincere interest for the benefit of ALL
- poverty in the Philippines caused by social injustice created by mankind / industry / money world / investors / rich ones
- poverty in the Philippines caused by accidents/ disasters/ war/ political instability
- poverty in the Philippines caused by personal karma

Philippines - compared to many other countries is a VERY spoiled country - spoiled by God far more than many other countries in this world. Spoiled by having lots of natural resources readily available for minimum efforts - resources such as - agriculture potential, agriculture resources, agriculture goods - food in all variations grow in abundance with mostly easy work.

But the lack of difficulties made the Filipino people LAZY and SPOILED. European farmers had to work hard to have a reasonable harvest of fruits or crop or dairy products - hence once the harvest begins such hard working farmers honor their harvest and remember how much work was involved to get harvest starting and thus such hard working farmers in harsh climate zones keep on working hard to care for their land and keep growth ongoing.

As a result of such extreme laziness among spoiled Filipinos, we have even basic products that COULD grow in abundance HERE in the Philippines - in such abundance to produce for EXPORTS, ... but even such typical local products are still being IMPORTED from OTHER countries. such extreme products do include basic food like RICE - just very recently a shipment of rice imported from USA arrived in the Philippines - a natural rice producing land with plenty of water flooded areas during many months of tropical rainy season - a few ten thousand TONS of rice imported into a rice producing country that has by nature ALL natural condition and weather such as rain, ground water, irrigation facilities form rivers or ground water for EASY rice cultures - still most rice potential is widely UN-tapped all around the country.

It’s so sad to know all of these. I hope these will be a realization among all Filipinos who are so lazy and spoiled. If you are given what you need, there is no need to receive anything from another. What we have is enough, we just have to treasure and protect it. :'(

My Faith

I believe in God. I believe that He created the earth and us humans. I believe that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ here on earth to save us from sin. I believe in Him, very much. I am a Christian. I have been baptized and confirmed into one. I have received the Holy Communion.

Faith in Christianity is based in and on the work and teachings of Jesus Christ. In this way Christianity declares not to be distinguished by its faith, but by the object of its faith. Faith is an act of trust or reliance. Rather than being passive, faith leads to an active life aligned with the ideals and the example of the one being trusted. It sees the mystery of God and his grace and seeks to know and become obedient to God. To a Christian; faith is not static but causes one to learn more of God and grow; it has its origin in God.

I am very thankful that my parents taught us when we were still little, that there had been a Creator of heaven and earth. God created us. I’m sure of it. And I’m sure that there’s heaven and hell.

I always believe in miracles of Christ. He can do great things because He is the Son of God. He can cure any sickness as long as I am sorry for my sins. He can forgive my sins through the power of God. Although, I think I have too many sins that I don’t think God will forgive me for it. Sigh I hope that will not happen…

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture.

 

Our life is not colorful if we haven’t had any music in our lives… it makes us alive. It serves a medium to people who want to release or to express their unsaid feelings or emotions. All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.

If we haven’t had any music our lives will seem dull and lifeless. We’ve got to have something that will make us… I don’t know, express the unexpressed? It’s like in literature, we compose a poem. The only difference is that music has its beat and rhythm to make it livelier.  

Music has become an important thing in my life. Ever since I was a little girl, I always sing albeit not in tune… haha! Whenever I am sad, I listen to classic or sad music that has piano or a violin. When I’m angry I listen to rock. When I’m happy, I listen to songs that have lyrics. I listen to music whenever I feel like it.

 

The saddest song I’ve ever heard was probably "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams. I first heard it in the movie called Lilo and Stitch and I really thought that it was sung by Elvis Presley, or was it?  

The most amazing rock songs I’ve ever heard are the songs of Linkin’ Park. They are sooo awesome. I mean, really awesome. I even try their guitar and drum in a game called “Rock Band”. I still failed. I don’t think anyone can compete with them!

My all time favorite song is… (Insert drum rolling)… “Moment of Truth” by FM Static. I mean, the rhythm, the beat, it’s so relaxing. I fell at ease when it is played and sleepy too. The guy in this song fell in love with his friend's sister that he had never noticed before until they met eyes. There are complications between them. Maybe it's the reason why they ended their communication. The guy missed badly the girl. Whenever he thinks about her, he fell in love all over again and he misses her very much.

My Family

Activity No. 30 (Maria Victoria B. Reccion) 

 “Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind… or forgotten.” – Lilo and Stitch. What does this phrase mean? Well, it’s just like… “A family that prays together, stays forever.” They mean only one thing: THEY ARE ONE.

First up, what is a FAMILY? Well, according to Wikipedia, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. According to social studies, a family is the smallest unit in a society. According to me, a family consists of its members and their love for one another. They must have a strong bond and whenever one needs help, they must be the one who help him or her.

My family is nuclear, meaning we don’t share houses with other relatives. I am an only daughter of my parents. I am proud to say that we are complete and one. We’ve stayed close to one another since I was born. My parents are quite successful in their work so they have enough money to support us children. I am also very proud of them because they don’t have any serious fights which made their bond even stronger. Back in our childhood, my parents have treated us in a traditional way which means if we made something wrong, we were whipped the hell out of us. We were so confused and angry at first but as we grew up, we understood their way and were very thankful for it. Before we ask ourselves, “Why are they doing this? Do they hate me?” but now, “Thank you”.  Why? We were more disciplined compared to the people who hadn’t gone through beatings. But that’s not the point.

I love them, but… I thought it will be okay. When my elder brother steps into high school, things have gone different. He changed. He changed the way he treated me and he influenced my little brother. Never mind, I think that I was just over reacting. You don’t need to know. That’s all I can say…!

Gadgets

Activity No. 29 (Maria Victoria B. Reccion) 

Ah, gadgets. I don’t even think that any sane man doesn’t even know anything about the world of gadgets. I mean, this is the twenty first century, man! This is the year that technology is rising. A gadget is a small technological object such as a device or an appliance that has a particular function, but is often thought of as a novelty.

A very good example of a gadget is a MOBILE PHONE. A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone and a hand phone) is a device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It’s very convenient because it transmits messages from one place to another in seconds. We could also have long distance calls whenever we are apart of one another. I even think that everyone I know has his or her own mobile phone. If not, they will be like, not a human! Ha! Just kidding! My point is it’s like a need for a teenager like me to have phones because this is the stage where we bond ourselves together with our friends.

Another gadget I know is an iPad. The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, apps and web content. Its size and weight fall between those of contemporary smartphones and laptop computers. An iPad for me is a very cool and amazing gadget that I can’t have. Aww… but that’s okay because I don’t need it in my life. Although I really wanted to have one, I just told myself that it will just cost a lot expensive considering we are tight in money. So I just WISH I had one for myself… sigh…

            Anyways, if I had all the gadgets in the world, I rather have not. It will just affect my life because if I use them too much I cannot concentrate anymore to my studies. I am focused in my studies for now because if I am rich enough and old enough I can buy all of these gadgets in my own!

Favorite Cartoon Character

Activity No. 28(Maria Victoria B. Reccion) 

It’s in a nature of children to watch cartoons. I think every boy and every girl has his or her own favorite one. But first what is a CARTOON? A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. Our parents encourage us to watch cartoons on a television because we have only little minds that can only process two dimensionally. But in my life, my parents sometimes discourage me because it influenced me a lot. I tend to do crazy things I’ve seen in many cartoons. Well, what am I supposed to do? It’s the only thing that I can copy. I can’t copy those adult stuffs. Yuck! Anyways, I watch cartoons maybe for a reason either to relieve my stress from school work or just to kill time.

My all-time favorite cartoon is none other than… Tom and Jerry! Well, there’s on thing you should know why I picked this show and not any other show. It’s because… it never fails to make me laugh! Although some of my classmates disagree with me, I didn’t stop from watching it despite of the truth of what my classmates said. Sigh, I wish they would understand… anyway, Tom and Jerry is a series of theatrical animated cartoon films created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, centering on a never-ending rivalry between a cat (Tom) and a mouse (Jerry) whose chases and battles often involved comic violence. I always laugh because Tom is trying his very best to capture and eat Jerry but the latter always find ways not to get eaten. Jerry always wins!

Other than Tom and Jerry, I also have another favorite cartoon which is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar is set in an Asian-influenced world wherein some are able to manipulate the classical elements by use of psychokinetic variants of Chinese martial arts known as "bending."  It’s so cool to watch people who can control the basic elements like earth, fire, water, and air. The avatar is the only one can manipulate all elements by himself. All other benders can only control one particular element. The main character is named Aang, the succeeding Avatar next to Avatar Roku. He is an air nomad, originally an airbender, has a pet bison called Appa. His friends are Katara, a water bender and the leading lady of Aang; her brother Sokka, although not a bender himself; Toph, an earthbender and later on becoming a metalbender; and Zuko, a fierce firebender who first is an enemy of Aang.