Cells are what make a man completely human. They make up almost all our body parts inside out. They are microscopic packages of living material and we have billions of them. These billions of cells can inspire faith in life or ignite the fear of death. Cancer is definitely the most frightening.
Cancer respects no one. Everyone is subject to suffer this disease any time in his or her life. We have heard of rich and famous people suffer and die with the poor ones because of cancer. Men are most likely to develop lung and liver cancers, while women are most vulnerable to breast and cervical cancers.
It appears that cervical cancer becomes more alarming these years than before. The Internet and other reading materials offer more information about this disease simply because there are more cases of cervical cancer now.
Studies have found a number of factors that may increase the risk of cervical cancer. Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) infection is the main risk factor for cervical cancer. HPV is a group of viruses that can infect the cervix. HPV infections are very common. These viruses can be passed from person to person through sexual contact. Some types of HPV can cause changes to cells in the cervix. These changes can lead to genital warts, cancer, and other problems.
Truly, cervical cancer is a threat for those who are too lackadaisical about themselves. But because of the busy schedules everybody seems to have, many almost forget to check on their own health. While the billions of cells in our body keep us working, we ought to be careful because it might be that one of those billions is a cell of cervical cancer.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
SINOngabaSIKAT?
From the syncopated strike on the snare, the funk beat of the bass guitar to the earsplitting sound of electric guitars and captivating vocals, bands make their names. Their instruments are their weapons and their music is their power. Bands have a special commitment with their passion that makes them feel they are one and unique. Sinosikat is one of them.
Along with all other blooming bands in our local music industry, Sinosikat is on its way to stardom. Composed of guitarist Nick Azarcon, Reli de Vera on drums, and Kat Agarrado their vocalist, Sinosikat started out in September 2004. Like all others, Sinosikat began wtih jamming sessions with whoever would like to play with them. Then they decided to form a solid rhythm section to complete their own band.
But it still takes something for a band to be one. It is defintitely not just the talents of playing the instruments and producing good sounds together – it is sharing the same visions, missions and priorities. From their jamming sessions, Sinosikat finally solidified four members with the same styles of music.
Aside from their different style of music, Sinosikat tickles their audience’s minds with their name. It is interesting because it can be interpreted in many ways when translated in Filipino – aside from the fact that its name has their vocalist’s real name, Kat. It could mean “who is famous?” (sino sikat?) or “who is Kat? (who is kat?).
Diiferent genres of music distinguish a band from the other groups. Some prefer the mellow style while others are identified with loud rock type of music. However, because of the people being more supportive of westernized taste of music, some Filipino bands develop a dilemma of their identities. They could be pinoy, but their music is not.
Few are proud to profess they are local. They make their music sound like an American. There is actually nothing wrong about it, besides, it’s their prerogative. Nevertheless, being a Filipino band should be a privilege to propagate local music and develop a sense of nationalism rather than a ticket to produce foreign sounds.
Sinosikat is one of the few. They profess they are local, and they are proud of it. What makes their music so Filipino is their experiences and the flavor of the songs. “The way the message is expressed, apart from the language itself and the nuance [sa] pagsalita is tagalog, pinoy na pinoy talaga. Hindi slang, hindi pinilit, hindi yo pare!” says Nick.
Their songs are manifestations of their sentiments because they write those lyrics themselves. Some of their songs like So Blue and Turning my safety off are confessions of emotions. “Song writing is very personal, you take a lot from yourself and you put it into the song, into the lyrics especially if you want to say something, you have to be able to satisfy yourself first then you’ll think its good enough for people to understand and appreciate.” shares Nick. The free flow of music plus the relaxing beat of the drums gives the listeners the feeling of sympathy and satisfaction of something upbeat.
Sinosikat’s music is products of their passion and finances. As a band, Sinosikat earns from some of their gigs. It is actually the earning process that makes a band struggle, yet it serves as a challenge for them to strive hard and reach their goals.
Four years of jamming and performing together, Nick, Reli, and Kat find themselves as a full-pledged pinoy band. They admit that maintaining a band is quite hard and that a band should not be satisfied just by the rhythm it produces. As how Kat explains it, “kung seryoso ka talaga, kailangan constant yung evolution mo as musician. Constant yung learning kasi pag nagstop, stop ka na rin.”
Monday, March 24, 2008
Movie Review- Capote
“You must be really desperate for your story…” thus said an imprisoned murderer to an award-winning homosexual journalist.
Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) was one eager journalist who wanted to write a non-fiction novel touching an angle about murders, after reading a newstory at the back of the New York Times. Having Kansas as the location of his subjects, he traveled there for an assignment from The New Yorker magazine.
Accompanied by his friend, Nell Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), Truman Capote started his research about the murder case in Kansas and found himself befriending two of the murderers, Dick Hickock (Mark Pelligrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.). Hoffman’s interpretation of Truman Capote’s role in the movie is exceptional. He has to project a very high-pitched voice to emphasize his being gay. Fueled by his desire to accomplish his assignment as a journalist, famous Truman Capote scheduled meetings with the prisoners in order to conduct first-hand interviews even inside their prison cells. His study about the case eventually became his classic novel, In Cold Blood.
Capote, released in September 30, 2005, is a movie about a veteran homosexual journalist who tried to write something so different during his time. He wanted to write a non-fiction that can be as compelling as fiction.
Directed by Bennett Miller, this movie was released seven years after his first project, the little-seen but much acclaimed documentary The Cruise. Together with his friend, an actor and a novice writer, Danny Futterman, Miller conceived the idea of writing Capote.
The film brings us back in November in the year 1959. Vast area of grass field with a single house standing in the midst opens the picture, suggesting an isolated and a melancholic mood of the story. Most of the scenes come in cold, a little background music, or none at all. Every scene is portrayed in a low-paced rhythm. It’s as if every movement has to be captured by the camera. Running for almost two hours, Capote used silence and dialogues to balance the movie.
Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) was one eager journalist who wanted to write a non-fiction novel touching an angle about murders, after reading a newstory at the back of the New York Times. Having Kansas as the location of his subjects, he traveled there for an assignment from The New Yorker magazine.
Accompanied by his friend, Nell Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), Truman Capote started his research about the murder case in Kansas and found himself befriending two of the murderers, Dick Hickock (Mark Pelligrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.). Hoffman’s interpretation of Truman Capote’s role in the movie is exceptional. He has to project a very high-pitched voice to emphasize his being gay. Fueled by his desire to accomplish his assignment as a journalist, famous Truman Capote scheduled meetings with the prisoners in order to conduct first-hand interviews even inside their prison cells. His study about the case eventually became his classic novel, In Cold Blood.
Capote, released in September 30, 2005, is a movie about a veteran homosexual journalist who tried to write something so different during his time. He wanted to write a non-fiction that can be as compelling as fiction.
Directed by Bennett Miller, this movie was released seven years after his first project, the little-seen but much acclaimed documentary The Cruise. Together with his friend, an actor and a novice writer, Danny Futterman, Miller conceived the idea of writing Capote.
The film brings us back in November in the year 1959. Vast area of grass field with a single house standing in the midst opens the picture, suggesting an isolated and a melancholic mood of the story. Most of the scenes come in cold, a little background music, or none at all. Every scene is portrayed in a low-paced rhythm. It’s as if every movement has to be captured by the camera. Running for almost two hours, Capote used silence and dialogues to balance the movie.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Definition of Feature writing
Feature writing is a kind of story writing slightly similar with news writing. It is underpinned by factual detail and news sense, but it is longer, more expansive and more personal than the news story. There is freedom to use own voice and personal experience.
Features should have more sources, background and context, and balance of fact against self indulgence. Melvin Mencher identifies some of the key characteristics of feature writing:
- activity: showing people doing things
- talk: let the subjects speak at length
- underwriting: let action and dialogue drive the feature
- motion: keep the piece moving forward
Features writing has more comment, analysis, color, background, and a greater diversity if sources than news stories and explore a number of issues at greater depth.
Feature writing is often marked out by:
-color: small details adding life to writing
-observation: description of people/events
-opinion/slant: writer or publication’s world view
-quotes: most features draw on original material/sources
-narrative: story telling
-dialogue/debate: discussion/argument
-context: scene setting
Other considerations:
-not news story, though may be built around it
-idea of ‘going behind/underneath the news’
-importance of knowing the style, content if the newspaper/ magazine you are aiming at writing for
-visual dimension: feature writers have ‘the biggest eyes in journalism’
-time: there is usually a much longer deadline for longer features due to production schedules
Some types of feature writing:
*issue based – canvassing views on one particular aspect of a subject.
*human interest- based on people, their life stories, not necessarily famous personalities.
*eye witness reporting- embedded journalism- being part of an event – detailing it
*personality/celebrity journalism- choice of subject down to their status, public awareness.
-profiles- detailed article on well-known/ interesting characters in the field
*trends- foods/restaurants, jobs, music, fashion, etc.
Source:
http://www.slideshare.net/john1306/feature-writing/
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The School Outside the Walls (revised)
University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle University – who are still unfamiliar with these names? Prestigious and famous schools in the Philippines have raised their banner high enough. But prestige and fame do not constitute success.
The Manila Times School of Journalism is a school that is not so known to many. Some are familiar with the paper it publishes, but oftentimes they still ask, “Does it really have a school?”
The school is The Manila Times School of Journalism. Take out the “School of Journalism”, and that is the only name familiar to most of the people.
Established on October 11, 1898, the Manila Times has since been a witness to, and have been a part of the Philippine history. The Manila Times School of Journalism was instituted sometime in 2003. It is located at the fourth floor of the Manila Times building at 371 A.Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila.
Its dull and aged façade shows how long this building has been at service. It may not look very competitive against other colleges because of its population of less than a hundred, but this has gained some advantages. The administration knows every student and they have direct access with everyone. With all its facilities, such as the television studio, video cameras, radio booth, and its own national newspaper, the students have enough time to undergo their hands-on training.
“One of the reasons why I chose to study at The Manila Times School of Journalism is because it has its own paper and it operates on a trimester basis.” says Arnela Daniela Almirez, a current sophomore student of TMTSJ.
Of all the existing schools in our country, few are only offering a specialized course, and this is a plus factor for a student’s training. Schools should not imprison their students inside the four walls of a room, filling their minds with formulas and theories. They should let them have the first-hand experience of their lessons. A person’s prestige and success do not depend on what school he graduates from, but on how he is trained and on how he used his training after he gets out of school.
The Manila Times School of Journalism is a school that is not so known to many. Some are familiar with the paper it publishes, but oftentimes they still ask, “Does it really have a school?”
The school is The Manila Times School of Journalism. Take out the “School of Journalism”, and that is the only name familiar to most of the people.
Established on October 11, 1898, the Manila Times has since been a witness to, and have been a part of the Philippine history. The Manila Times School of Journalism was instituted sometime in 2003. It is located at the fourth floor of the Manila Times building at 371 A.Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila.
Its dull and aged façade shows how long this building has been at service. It may not look very competitive against other colleges because of its population of less than a hundred, but this has gained some advantages. The administration knows every student and they have direct access with everyone. With all its facilities, such as the television studio, video cameras, radio booth, and its own national newspaper, the students have enough time to undergo their hands-on training.
“One of the reasons why I chose to study at The Manila Times School of Journalism is because it has its own paper and it operates on a trimester basis.” says Arnela Daniela Almirez, a current sophomore student of TMTSJ.
Of all the existing schools in our country, few are only offering a specialized course, and this is a plus factor for a student’s training. Schools should not imprison their students inside the four walls of a room, filling their minds with formulas and theories. They should let them have the first-hand experience of their lessons. A person’s prestige and success do not depend on what school he graduates from, but on how he is trained and on how he used his training after he gets out of school.
Essay: What makes me read an article?
Reading is a game-turned-passion for me. Books, magazines, and newspapers were my favorite things when playing, twelve years ago. I used them as props, scratch papers, and sources of pictures and cute letters for my scrapbooks. I only read when my mom was around because it was her instruction.
As a child, colorful and cute font styles used to invite me to read an article because it signifies a blithe and simple topic. I am a visual person. If it appeals to my sight, then it grabs my attention.
But the choices I made affect my manner of reading now.
Colorful and cute font styles or mom’s instructions are not enough reasons. Twelve years later, I read because I want to be a writer. I want the profession that the authors of what I read do. Now, the content attracts me more than the appearance. I include analysis when choosing what to read.
I always read an article’s lead and conclusion first before reading the entire story. Straightforward and captivating words at the start make me want to read the following sentences. If the statements capture my interest, then I will take time reading it.
I am growing up and my passions are starting to manifest. Fairy tales and short stories will always be my favorite, but reading more serious topics make me more competent. I still keep books, magazines and newspapers. But they are not there as my toys to give me additional fun, but as my tools to give me additional facts.
As a child, colorful and cute font styles used to invite me to read an article because it signifies a blithe and simple topic. I am a visual person. If it appeals to my sight, then it grabs my attention.
But the choices I made affect my manner of reading now.
Colorful and cute font styles or mom’s instructions are not enough reasons. Twelve years later, I read because I want to be a writer. I want the profession that the authors of what I read do. Now, the content attracts me more than the appearance. I include analysis when choosing what to read.
I always read an article’s lead and conclusion first before reading the entire story. Straightforward and captivating words at the start make me want to read the following sentences. If the statements capture my interest, then I will take time reading it.
I am growing up and my passions are starting to manifest. Fairy tales and short stories will always be my favorite, but reading more serious topics make me more competent. I still keep books, magazines and newspapers. But they are not there as my toys to give me additional fun, but as my tools to give me additional facts.
Assignment: “Raising the dead”
1. What captivates you about the story? How does he paint a picture for the reader? Cite the passages that are most compelling to you.
►The article is a good one because it does not just tell what happened – it shows. Noah Shachtman used appropriate words clearly, that is why it is easy to understand and imagine what he is saying. For me, the most exciting passages are the ones where the author starts to describe the scene. Examples are:
“Maybe the waters of Eagle Creek weren’t sickly greenish-brown, like rust and blood and industrial waste had been collecting there for two generations.”
“A few feet into the reeds, a golden retriever’s bloated corpse lies on its side, flies picking at its liquefying eyes and genitals. To the right, among rash bags and soda ups, sits a pile of brown and white deer fur, loosely attached to leathery skin. And everywhere there are mandibles and animal hips, femurs and skulls, hair clumps and bone chips. A roadkill graveyard.”
2. Who is the target audience for this publication? How does the story relate to them? Does the story appeal to other demographic people as well, and if so, why?
► Since the article touches a serious topic, which is about a crime, the expected audience would probably be the adults. The story is realistic and it also shows the experience of someone who is already working and earning. With these, the readers can relate to the story. However, Raising the dead appeals to other set of audience such as the youth because it involves the things which they can relate to such as the internet and other modern devices.
3. What “rules” did the writer break?
► Although the story painted pictures in a reader’s mind through his words, Shachtman must have loved to use more words. Because of that, he violated William Strunk’s rule 17, “omit needless words”.
4. How does the writer end the story? Why is it effective?
► The author ended the story with a direct quotation of the subject’s dialogue. He tied everything together as he gave a picture of what Todd Mathews was already like after the mystery was solved. It is effective because the words are striking and it leaves the reader’s emotion and interest still high.
►The article is a good one because it does not just tell what happened – it shows. Noah Shachtman used appropriate words clearly, that is why it is easy to understand and imagine what he is saying. For me, the most exciting passages are the ones where the author starts to describe the scene. Examples are:
“Maybe the waters of Eagle Creek weren’t sickly greenish-brown, like rust and blood and industrial waste had been collecting there for two generations.”
“A few feet into the reeds, a golden retriever’s bloated corpse lies on its side, flies picking at its liquefying eyes and genitals. To the right, among rash bags and soda ups, sits a pile of brown and white deer fur, loosely attached to leathery skin. And everywhere there are mandibles and animal hips, femurs and skulls, hair clumps and bone chips. A roadkill graveyard.”
2. Who is the target audience for this publication? How does the story relate to them? Does the story appeal to other demographic people as well, and if so, why?
► Since the article touches a serious topic, which is about a crime, the expected audience would probably be the adults. The story is realistic and it also shows the experience of someone who is already working and earning. With these, the readers can relate to the story. However, Raising the dead appeals to other set of audience such as the youth because it involves the things which they can relate to such as the internet and other modern devices.
3. What “rules” did the writer break?
► Although the story painted pictures in a reader’s mind through his words, Shachtman must have loved to use more words. Because of that, he violated William Strunk’s rule 17, “omit needless words”.
4. How does the writer end the story? Why is it effective?
► The author ended the story with a direct quotation of the subject’s dialogue. He tied everything together as he gave a picture of what Todd Mathews was already like after the mystery was solved. It is effective because the words are striking and it leaves the reader’s emotion and interest still high.
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