Books Lessons Learned From Charlie 11:19 AM Life's full of second chances. Don't waste yours. In case you haven't read the book The Death And Life Of Charlie St. Cloud or seen the movie Charlie St. Cloud, the story is more about finding your reason for living. When Charlie's younger brother Sam died, he found it extremely difficult to move on. He felt like he also died with him in the car crash that took his life. He wasn't grateful that he was given a second chance because he couldn't see the purpose of living anymore. Until this girl came along and taught him how to live again. Now he's torn between keeping his promise to Sam, and pursuing the love of his life. Lessons Learned From Charlie Death can never separate us from the people we love. They will always be alive in our hearts. Life catastrophes are inevitable, but the choice between letting it steal our hope and joy or moving on is up to us. Sometimes, it's okay to break our promise if it will eventually release us from the prison we built for ourselves and for the other person. It's normal to grieve over a loss but at some point, we need to let go. Not only for ourselves, but for the other person too. Death is indeed the beginning of another life, both for the person who died and the person he left behind. Nothing just happens. Everything has a purpose. There is a solid reason why we're given a second chance. Let's not waste it by living a directionless life. When we let go of the past, we open ourselves to new and beautiful possibilities. It's not easy to let go and move on that's why we need other people to help us. Don't shove them away. Let's be more compassionate and understanding towards others. We don't know what they've been through and what they're going through. We can let guilt eat us alive or let forgiveness give us a new life. There's no such thing as a lost cause. Follow what you believe in. It's always worth the risk. Take as many chances as you can. You'll never find the meaning and reason for living if you keep on living in the shadows of the past. It's better to put your faith on something than believe in nothing. Ultimate lesson learned from Charlie St. Cloud: Love is the ultimate force in this universe. Love conquers all, especially the fear of living, fear of giving and fear of not receiving something back. If Tess didn't come along, Charlie would have been stuck in the past, playing catch in the woods with Sam every night for the rest of his life. He would have died in vain without finding the reason why he was given the second chance; why him and not Sam. It's a powerful story about love (and Zac Efron playing the lead role is reason enough to watch it, c'mon). Not just about romantic love but also about the unconditional love we have for family and ultimately about selflessly loving ourselves. All photos from Google images. Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Music Music: I'm Better Off Without You (All Day Every Day) 1:01 AM Uploaded by alldayeverydaymusic I'm Better Off Without You All Day Every Day ...there's nothing to hold on to i don't know what i'm thinking... i'm better off without you i'm starting something new... you're running out of reasons... i'll take things my way and life will be just fine.
Quotes It Never Ends 8:53 PM True love doesn't have a happy ending, because true love never ends. Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Books Where True Magic Lies (A Harry Potter Lesson) 1:26 PM What makes the Harry Potter novel enchanting? For me, it's not about the spells or the magical creatures. It's about the rare kind of friendship formed between the characters. Where True Magic Lies The friendship of James, Sirius and Remus. All three of them died in the novel. Not together, but all three sacrificed their lives for a greater cause. That is for the boy who lived and for the next generations of witches and wizards. For both the wizarding and the Muggle world. My favorite line about friendship in the whole story is what Sirius said: "I'd rather die than betray my friends". Then of course Harry, Ron and Hermione's friendship. A friendship that started in a rather unusual place (they saved Hermione from a towering troll in a girl's rest room), but lasted for a lifetime. No abandonment, as they all went where ever Harry went even if it meant exposing themselves to grave danger (even after Ron left because the Horcrux around his neck made him, he wanted to come back immediately regretting his action). Of course there's fighting and misunderstanding between them. I don't think it's considered a genuine friendship if there was no squabble whatsoever. I believe that's why they were able to defeat the Dark Lord. They stayed together and they're all willing to sacrifice each others' lives and comfort to protect the other. They're all willing to stop their time and drop everything that matters to them in the name of friendship. Real magic happens when there is genuine friendship. Friendship is where true magic lies. Photos from Google images Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Rants Reaction On Cyber Crime Law 11:14 PM If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. -George Orwell I don't want to write about something I don't fully understand. I honestly haven't read the article yet as whenever I click the link there's an error. Sabotage? Maybe. Do I go to jail with that presumption? Well, I'm out of the "territory" so I assume I'm safe. Disclaimer: What you will read here is just according to my limited knowledge of the law and my response to it. Reaction on Cyber Crime Law So what are the grounds? With the number of Filipinos who are actively using Facebook and other social networking sites, how can the government keep track? What is prohibited? What is the penalty for such crime? Not sure. But there's one thing I know; the government is trying to distract the Philippines again from the real issue. Every time something serious comes up, expect another attention-grabbing issue that will follow. Something of less importance as compared to the main problem. It's like a pattern. We're all aware of it but instead of focusing on the main issue, we let the media and the government distract us. Nagpapauto na lang. I'm not a fan of news or T.V. so I'm not that aware. My only source is Facebook and you can't believe everything you read. All I know is that a few weeks ago, pro and anti RH Bill are posting photos and statuses one after the other on their walls and now, this. Did I miss anything? I'm a little passive so when I've read about the news, I didn't react immediately. My first thought was just, "Sigh. Who's idea is this this time?". Do we really need to waste time tracking statuses, photos, blogs, likes and comments (if the last two are really included)? So how about poverty? What say you? Will this cyber crime really solve our problem? Is everyone even aware what the main problem of the country is to begin with? Will this make us more progressive? They say, you'll know what solution to take if you know what your problem is. So my dear countrymen, have you yet figured out what is the root cause of all these chaos? Or are we turning a blind eye again and sweeping the real issue under the rug like we always do? Diyan tayo magaling. Instead of keeping ourselves busy impeding freedom of speech, why don't we just think of ways that can help eliminate the real problem? This sounds familiar. People busy scrutinizing another, searching for flaws but keeps on ignoring their own? Do we not see them everyday? These are the big time power trippers. Since hindi ma solve ang issue sa buhay, maghanap ng issue ng iba. Mas madali nga naman yun. Well, they say if you face a challenge don't react, rather respond. Let's fight for our freedom of speech. But let's not forget to attend to what really matters. If there's one thing you think we should change in our country that will get us out of our situation, what would it be? Will this cyber crime hullabaloo save the starving children in the streets? Will it shelter the countless homeless family? Will it stop the flood when another storm visit our territory? C'mon. Akala ko ba magaling ang Pinoy? That's all I have to say for now. Is that police siren I'm hearing outside? Damn. Photo credit: Digitalmoz Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Travels Got Lost Inside Harry Potter's World 6:28 PM I've always been a huge fan of the boy who lived. I would stay up late and force my eyes to stay open, fighting sleepiness just so I can read one more chapter. Or one more paragraph. Or one more page. At least that's what I kept saying to convince myself to put the book down. So you can just imagine how ecstatic I was when (some parts of) Harry Potter's world came to town. The Harry Potter Exhibit started last June at the Arts Science Museum at the Marina Bay Sands. Plans to go there had been put off for 3 months, so the excitement grew and grew until finally, my dream came true--- to step into and get lost in Harry Potter's world. Even just for an hour or so. Even just a glimpse of it means the world to me. I entered into my fantasy world literally and no words can describe the joy I felt. Got Lost Inside Harry Potter's World (Click individual image to view in full size) Our ticket to Platform 9 3/4. Well, not really. But close. :) Ready to get lost in the magical world of Harry Potter I had to control myself from squealing when we finally stepped inside. The first Harry Potter movie prop that greeted us was the famous Flying Ford that Ron drove on their way to Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Harry's letter from Hogwarts one of the knights in the Wizard's Chess Ron played in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone I wish they used a real owl. But this cute stuffed animal will do. That way to the exhibit. Yehey! All 8 movie posters of the movies were at the hallway on way to the main exhibit area The last 3 best Harry Potter films At the entrance of the main exhibit room You can just imagine the will power I used to stop myself from going through this mist (which created an illusion of the curtain into which godfather Sirius Black disappeared after Bellatrix Lestrange cursed him in the movie) while waiting for the staff to let us in. That's where the main exhibit starts. Unfortunately for us, it's "for your eyes only". No cameras allowed "or else you'll be expelled from Hogwarts" says the witch who welcomed us inside. Aw. So since no cameras were allowed, I'll try to remember everything I've seen behind those mist. First, the Sorting Hat was there but they only sorted 2 persons. Then the doors opened to the dark room where they showed a few clips from the movie. Then there's another door! And my journey began. Inside Harry Potter's World 1. A replica of the Hogwarts Express. There were trunks scattered beside it too. 2. The (moving) paintings hanging on the wall. Well, there were some which are videos of the moving paintings as seen in the movie. There was even the Fat Lady in that scene where she was trying to break a wine glass with her voice. I passed through that door behind her. Just so I can experience stepping into the Gryffindor common room (kunwari. hehe). 3. The casts' clothes. Hermione's, Ron's, Harry's, Neville's, Luna's casual clothes and Hogwart's school uniform. 4. Hermione's enchanted bag she used to keep all their things when they were "on the run". 5. Harry', Hermione's and Ron's wand---with scotch tape! 6. Copy of The Quibbler that Luna was reading and the glasses she was wearing in the movie. 7. The time-turner Harry and Hermione used in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to save Buckbeak and Sirius. 8. Harry and Ron's poster bed, their trunks, Ron's favorite Quidditch team's poster and everything else at their bedside. 9. Nimbus 2000 and Nimbus 2001. 10. Their school professors' uniforms 11. The board with school announcements. 12. A few things they used in their Potions including the Half-blood Prince's book. 13. Professor Trelawney's cups complete with the tea leaves she used to prophesy Harry's death. 14. Their other classmates' uniforms. 15. Neville's pruning kits. 16. The Marauder's map. 17. I pulled a Mandrake out of the pot! It was super heavy I had to use two hands. And it shrieked! I was like a kid playing, pulling out Mandrake after Mandrake from the pots at Professor Sprout's makeshift greenhouse. 18. Hagrid's Hut! And we were allowed to sit on his giant chair. Joan and I were able to sit comfortably in the chair that Hermione sat on in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The only thing missing there was Hagrid's enormous bed. 19. 3 hoops that were like that in Quidditch. And we shoot Quaffles into them. Heavy balls they are. (Have you played shooting balls at Timezone or the like? It's somewhat like that). 20. Quidditch uniforms.Yes, including Cedric Diggory's. Ha ha. 21. A replica of the Pesky Pixies at Professor Lockhart's lesson. Even his paintings, pictures and books were there. 22. Professor Umbridge's office. Her kittens' dish paintings on the sickeningly pink walls as Harry would describe it. Her tea cups, her pink uniform she was wearing when George and Fred made a loud "bang" before leaving Hogwarts. Her magical quill, the parchment Harry wrote "I must not tell lies" on, a copy of the Daily Prophet with news about her. 23. The Statue at the cemetery where Cedric died. 24. Death Eaters' masks and robes. 25. The giant tarantula, Aragog. 26. Voldemort's robe and wand. 27. The creature they thought didn't exist but Harry and Luna could see (the name escapes me at the moment). 28. Buckbeak was there! Her eyes looked so real. 29. The executioner's axe and robe. There were pumpkins scattered too around them. 30. The school rules that Draco and his cronies hung on the walls of Hogwarts during Umbridge's "regime". 31. The Great Wall. Of course not as huge as in the book or movie but looks like it, with floating candles. The ceiling was just dark though. ^_^ 32. Some food that was served during meal time. Goodies like Chocolate Frog and Bertie Bott's every flavor beans. 33. The Triwizard Cup. 34. The Goblet of Fire. 35. The names on paper that Dumbledore got from the Goblet of Fire. 36. Dumbledore's Army list, which got me teary eyed. Just looking at their signatures as shown in the Order of the Phoenix brought lump in my throat. Mushy me. 37. The clothes they wore during the Yule Ball. Hermione's pink dress was gorgeous up close. 38. A preserved Fawkes. 39. Head of the Hungarian Horntail. 40. The Deathly Hallows; Elder wand, Invisibility cloak and the Resurrection Stone. 41. Luna and Xenophilus' clothes during Fleur and Bill's wedding. 42. Godric Gryffindor's sword. 43. Dobby and Kreacher! Well, in wax that is. 44. Colin Creevey's petrified figure. 45. Nagini's replica in wax. 46. Professor Lupin's wardrobe where the Boggart came out during his class and the giant Jack-in-the-box that one of his students feared. 47. Rita Skeeter's quill. 48. A copy of The Life and Lies Of Albus Dumbledore. 49. Goodies from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. 50. Some of the letters that Harry didn't get from the mail in The Sorcerer's Stone. Then there were the merchandise outside the exhibit door. We're not sure if camera's not allowed there. So we just assumed it's not. He he. I felt like I stepped into a dream and never wanted to wake up. I felt so enchanted, until now. I didn't want to leave but some good things never last. My friend Joan had to ask me when we reached the end of the exhibit, "Ready?". And just like after reading the last book and watching the last film, I am not ready to leave Harry and his magical world. I may return to reality but they will always be part of me. I know not everyone will understand but I know people who do. Some may say it's only fantasy, fiction. But as Professor Dumbledore said, "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. 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Life Lessons Life's A Dance 10:31 PM Life's a dance. Move with the music. Enjoy every step. And if you stumble, make it part of the dance. Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Faith I Pray 11:05 PM Dear God, Today I pray, that You fill the huge space in my heart. Lord, it's too big for shallow things to fill. I pray that You will help me feel Your presence at times like these; when I feel alone, down and empty. I try so hard to see and feel You but my vision is blurred and my heart numbed. It's taking all my strength and faith to remember that You are here, even if I can't feel You at all. I pray that You surround me with the warmth of Your love. I pray You heal the wounds invisible to the human eye. There are wounds so deep it's been here for years but haven't healed completely. Some of them caused by Your other children, mostly I've inflicted on myself. I pray that You help me stop the pain they bring. Deep wounds, shallow wounds, bruises and scratches; I pray that You wash them with Your most precious blood and heal me. I pray that You make me new again. I pray that You remind me how beautiful I am, because I am made in your image and likeness. I pray that You remind me how precious I am because You Yourself knit me together in my mother's womb. You know when I sit and stand. You etched my name in Your palm. I am worth more than many sparrows. You think of me every minute, every day. I pray that You make me whole again no matter how broken I am right now. I pray that You use me and my brokenness to bring light to those who are also in darkness. I pray that You turn my trials into testimonies, my mess into Your message. I pray that You wont let go of me, no matter how close I am to giving up. I pray that You wash away all my tears and help me see the beauty of life again. I pray for miracles. Make me believe in miracles again. I pray for a heart longing for You, knowing You're all that I need; mouth never ashamed to give praise and hands reaching out to others readily. I pray that I'll forget about me and make everything about You. I pray that You make me like a child again. I pray with desperation and hunger in my soul. I pray, placing all my hope and faith in You. In Jesus' name. Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Lux Thinking Aloud Finding A Way Or Finding Excuses 12:21 AM If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse. -Jim Rohn How badly you really need or want something shows on how you try to achieve it. When tough times arise, do you keep going or do you stop trying? Do you stand up or do you stay down after falling? Do you get out of the situation or do you get stuck? Do you act or do you let fear paralyze you? What is there to fear anyway? Do you let the situation control you or do you control it? Do you let the inevitable "factors" decide what should and should not happen? Do you let life pass you by? How important a thing or person to you can bee seen on how you fight to have it/him/her. No matter what you tell people around you, if it does not reflect on the way you handle challenges that may test your determination to have what you want, it's useless. People are not as stupid or naive as you assume them to be. They will believe what they see more than what they hear. What you do still outweighs what you say. How desperate are you? How sincere? Everything you want or need can be yours. It depends on how hungry you are to have it. If there's an obstacle in the way (say test of time, distance, faithfulness, determination), do you find a way or make silly excuses? It's your call. Photo: Google images Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Music Music: I Believe (Chris August) 11:33 PM I believe that there is someone holding on to me Sometimes I won't feel it, but that don't change a thing 'Cause it's by faith that I believe I Believe Chris August I don't need a rainbow to know who made the rain Don't need the waters parted to know who made the way And I don't need a healing to know who is the cure Of this I'm sure I believe that there is something more than I can see I believe that there is someone holding on to me Sometimes I won't feel it, but that don't change a thing 'Cause it's by faith that I believe If you had some heartache that made you cry a thousand tears Then let me tell you now I know just how you feel And that heavy weight of sorrow that you've carried for so long Will soon be gone 'Cause I believe that there is something more than I can see I believe that there is someone holding on to me Sometimes I won't feel it, but that don't change a thing 'Cause it's by faith that I believe You might see a miracle and give praises to the Lord Don’t let a touch from heaven be the thing you're waiting for Blessed are those who don't see but still believe, do you believe? I believe that there is something more than I can see I believe that the arms of Jesus are holding on to me Sometimes I won't feel it, but that don't change a thing Cause it's by faith that I believe I believe, I believe Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
