FULL METAL ALCHEMIST

You cannot create something without sacrificing anything; this is the law of equivalent trade, the law by which alchemists abide. By rearranging the chemical composition of an object, alchemists are able to create new things. This skill is called transmutation. Our story starts off with the Elric brothers, Edward a.k.a. Ed and Alphonse a.k.a. Al. Ed and Al started learning the art and science of alchemy at a young age, honing their skills to nearly perfection, skills which they learned from their father, a great alchemist. When they were still young, their father left them for some mysterious reason. Their mother nurtured them to become good kids. When their mother died, Ed and Al become so depressed that they planned on reviving their lost mother with their expertise on alchemy. But human transmutation has been a taboo in the alchemist’s world, since failing a transmutation will cause a terrible disaster. But since Ed and Al’s love for their mother is too strong, they tried to perform human transmutation. But they failed, instead a deformed human being was formed and as the law of equivalent trade states, sacrifices will have to be made. Al lost his body and Ed his left leg. And by sacrificing Ed’s right arm, he was able to bind Al’s soul into an old armor which then brought the blood-coated Ed to their neighbour, the Rockbells who specialized at auto-mail (robotic limbs). With the help of Winry Rockbell, Ed and Al’s childhood friend, Ed got a new arm and a leg. Learning the essential lessons of equivalent trade, Ed and Al fled from their home town to find a way to get their body parts back. On their way, they met with a military man Roy Mustang, the flame alchemist and urged Ed to take the State Alchemist Examinations. Knowing that the state alchemist will have access to all the military records, Ed is up to the challenge. With his wit and expertise, Ed became the State Alchemist. Later, they discovered that a stone called the philosopher’s stone can defy the laws of equivalent trade. With this knowledge Ed and Al sought for the stone but later did they know that they’re not the only ones after for the stone but also the soulless beings called homunculus, which are results of failed human transmutation: Envy, Lust, Glutton, Greed, Sloth, Wrath and Pride.

The story was an excellent one since it teaches us one of life’s most valuable lessons, “There is no such thing as a free lunch, you have to pay the price”, which is more or less the same as the law of equivalent trade. The law of equivalent trade simply applies to all situations in life. You basically need something to create something, and you basically need to sacrifice something to gain something in return. Every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction. You may loose some things in life, but in return you gain priceless lessons. Like Ed and Al did.##

CORRUPTION IN THE GOVERNMENT

Corruption, they say, is part of the Filipino culture. Lately it has been the most discussed issue when one survey indicated the Philippines as the most corrupt government. Does this mean all Filipinos are corrupt? I guess not. What was reported in the survey were more visible corrupt practices done by few people but affected many. These few people are the ones who run the government or its agencies and this is to include the people who had the political power to influence or even induce corruption.

Overpricing is the most common form of corruption. Just recently, the preparations done for the 12th ASEAN Summit were discovered to have been marred by corruption. According to reports, this was done with the knowledge and even participation by some ranking politicians and some government agency heads. These people knew that corruption in any form is bad. So, what prompted them to do it? Were they pressured by a more corrupt mind or by a situation so hard to cope with?

But corruption can be stopped. There are more Filipinos who have a good set of values. There are more Filipinos whose consciences are not elastic. Most of all, the law must be put into action. They must be imposed on people who made violations most especially if they are holding key positions in the government. Often we heard of corrupt politicians but our laws seem to have little effect on them. Is this maybe because our justice system is also marred by corruption? We do not know for sure but it is evident that in our country it is seldom heard that one politician was imprisoned due to corruption. If men of values were placed, corruption would be eradicated but it would take a long way. A special body was formed supposedly to curb and solve corruption but was too slow to act on certain individuals and sometimes fast on others. This indicates another form corruption.

Values education is important. All persons earmarked to handle key positions should undergo a training program which enhances ones values and has to be evaluated. The law must be tougher on politicians most especially that they are the ones who have great influence on the masses. And the masses are those who vote for those who would take responsibility over and serve the people. If people get easily swayed by the sweet tongues of our candidates, the future of the Philippines is in peril.

The current state of the economy is a result of the corruption and lies the government politicians inflict. As voters, it is your responsibility to vote wisely and guard these corrupt officials and prevent them them from taking seat in the government ever again. ##

ONLINE GAMING FRENZY

Haven’t you noticed the sudden boom of internet cafes around you school campus or even a few steps away from your house? Yeah, lots of people are now going for the internet café business basically because it doesn’t require too much capital and people everywhere tend to use them either through their researches or just plain recreation. After school, you would notice that lots of students hurriedly go to internet cafes to do their stuff, and one of these is what most teens and adults alike so into, online gaming. MMORPG or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game as it is called diverts from the basics of LAN or Local Area Network gaming. MMORPG basically caters gaming where you own your own in-game character which you shall build to survive the world of MMORPG. Why do lots of people go into online gaming, specifically MMORPG? Because they are able to interact with the cyber- society, gain cyber- friends and cyber- enemies, which makes this kind of game more exciting. Lots of games nowadays cater the sense of MMORPG. Ragnarok Online for one, has attracted so many gamers because of its anime- like sprites and visual effects, bright colors and stunning gameplay. But the bad thing is that it is not free, so gamers would have to part from their precious savings lost to top- up their Ragna account, which is not a good choice if one is still a student. If one would want an aim and shooting game, he should go for Gunbound. It is a unique game because you get to choose from an array of vehicles in which you may please. Talking about power- ups, Gunbound has a few, fire- power booster and all. This game also takes into account the laws of physics, like wind resistance and firing force. It’s a turn- based game so you will have to wait for your turn. FLYFF(Fly for fun) would be the best game to suit you if you would want or love flying high into the sky. It is a free-for-life MMORPG in which you get to ride a fly- board to get to access islands and stuff. Cool character basics and a wide selection of items, lots of details and is a great game overall!

So, whenever you are itching for some online games, consider the games which suits you best and also take into consideration the money you would be spending for your satisfaction in gaming and remember that if you are still a student, one should play these games in moderation and control.##

VOTE WISELY, DO NOT VOTE ACTORS

For the past decades and years that our government have been established, we have seen different politicians come and go. But lately a strange thing is surfacing the ground. Have not you noticed something? Yes, actors and actresses are now hogging out for a seat in the government, may it be locally or nationally.

Now, I am here to preach to you about not voting for these clowns,…I mean actors like Richard Gomez, Cesar Montano and even the ever famous boxer Manny Pacquiao who are on the way for a seat in the lower and upper house. Actors are like lamp shades, they light up and shines the eyes of the people, forcing the people to vote for them but not in a direct way but rather thru an indirect way. We can not blame them for so, for the masses in the country are just easy audience for them. The actors just shout and announce their famous line in a famous movie they starred at and then the people scream in amazement and delight. Is it not stupid? Have we forgotten yet the times when x-president Erap almost brought the whole country to the brink of total destruction? Have we not learned from the past that these actors are unreliable as senators and representatives because in the first place they cannot understand English? Let us not vote them my fellow men!

Why? The answer to that is so simple. In the first place they are not that competent. Although the only requirement for being a public servant would only be, able to read and write, we should not just settle with this mediocrity. I mean, there are more competent politicians running for the same seat, and if actors still reasoned out that they could learn it once they get to be seated, well we do not have enough time to wait for them because our country is in a great distress. Another simple reason why we should not vote them is that if when they get to be seated, and if they quit their job in order to focus on being a servant, they could end up sucking and feeding up on the taxes that the people religiously pay because the salary they received does not content them anymore unlike the acting salary.

My friends, let us not let these horrible things I have mentioned earlier to actualize before our very eyes. Our country has been going through a tragedy right now, let us not make it worse by voting for these people. This coming election we can choose to go on and stay alive and by that, it means that we will not vote for them this coming May 14th elections.

Guys, let us not let the radiance of light come up and blind our eyes. The actors should blind themselves up. ##

HAPPY ENDING

wooohh.....yeah!!!! Mana jud q!!!!!!

HOME IMPROVEMENT

There’s no place like home.

Home is where we relax and enjoy living with our loved ones. Home is where we enjoy playing with our siblings, with our pets and with other children. To make our home nice to live in, we usually find ways to make it beautiful, nice looking by applying every possible idea we could imagine.

A typical home has its living room, bedroom, kitchen and of course a comfort room. To make our home wonderful to live in, we try to make improvements that fits our own personal likes and standards. Unless major improvements are to be made, we do not need to spend so much to make some improvements. Most department stores today display a variety of items needed for home improvement. Before even purchasing some items, one has to set priority points to be improved. The type of improvement has to be determined. The cost of materials needed depend on available extra budget and savings for a certain period. Little by little a home is improved in looks and comfort.

There are no specific rules in home improvement. A considerable imagination and a good common sense often creates good results. In a living room, for example, furniture can be arranged in such a manner that it fits the likes of the occupants because it provides more space and comfort. A flower pot with this kind of flower may be replaced with another flower pot of another design and flower. Home entertainment items may also be arranged.

The kitchen may need more hooks to accommodate a number of utensils newly purchased or the cabinets need repainting. Flower pots around the home may need some repainting and has to be rearranged.

Home improvement techniques vary from one individual to another but there are books that provide tips.

Houses reflect the lifestyle of the person living in it, so, always make your house a home and make the necessary improvements that you may please.##

THE SEASON OF ELECTIONS

May 14, 2007, the date all those political candidates aspire to dominate. A significant date for those who are hungry for power, yes, the date of the elections.

Once again, we hear those ads in televisions and radios and see posters sticked on any surface visible to any passer by, such sore eyes. My eyes hurt and pain seeing those posters of smiling political candidates labelled by their names with a famous line that they bring up to be remembered by our brains. I think several surveys have been conducted to know the leading candidates for senatoriables or congressmen. It is not that I do not care for the coming elections in our country, it is just that I am not in favour of the most people who candidate for seats in the government. In our country, politicians rule, now where is that line that says “The power of the government emanates from the people”? Have they forgotten that? Politicians get elected to serve the people not for them to be served. It is true that people elect them to have someone to govern over them but others are so into their power that they abuse it.

Have our government taken into account the problem of graft and corruption? Have they undertaken the necessary steps to stop this? They say they have, but do we feel it? Yes we feel it…we feel a stronger corruption case in the country. Just to remind you, the Philippines is the country who topped the survey as the no. 1 most corrupt in the whole of Asia. It is not something we should be celebrating about but rather something we should be hiding our faces for, in shame. Now, when our president heard of this, she did not feel any shame, instead she said that the survey conducted was a fraud and that it was based on records of long ago. Sigh. I remember a line said by my father, he said that those ordinary Filipinos bring honor to the Philippines while the Filipino politicians bring shame.

I say, most of the politicians are so good at lying, it becomes their life. This time of elections, 8- point Agenda and platforms for the fixing of roads, renovation of school buildings, structuring of bridges and all the promises those candidates could think of are so out of tune. They promise and after being elected as officials, it feels like they catch an unusual case of amnesia that they readily forget all the promises they have made in front of the public. A line from an advertisement of a senatorial candidate says “Pangarap kong tuparin ang pangarap mo.(I dream to fulfil your dream)”, now, it sounds kind of funny because it tells us the fact that they promise to dream the fulfilment of the dream of their countrymen but have no intention of fulfilling it.

This coming elections, the Filipino people should choose and vote wisely and at the same time guard for the threat of cheating.##