the pietà

yesterday, in humanities class, Sir Mark discussed about the Pietà. i got very much interested because i have heard about the pietà before but i thought it as nothing since most artists actually make sculptures of Mary lamenting over Jesus. it was only yesterday that i realized Michaelangelo's Pietà is very much different from the others.

the sculpture, made from marble, is one of the most astounding pieces made by Michaelangelo. it is the only work that he signed. (see story at wikipedia.org) the universality of the theme -- a mother who is sorrowful over a child's death or suffering -- is immediately conveyed to the viewer. even the littlest details -- the nails, folds of the fingers -- are masterfully sculpted leaving the viewer dumbfounded by the craft. but one thing dominates: Mary in Michaelangelo's Pietà looks very much younger than she should be. remember that Jesus died around 30, so Mary is supposed to look around 50. but no, Michaelangelo created a young Mary, no tears--only exhaustion and silent pain.

Sir Mark gave us time to write an essay as to why would Michaelangelo make a young picture of Mary...why he preferred to divert from reality and hide a deeper meaning to this detail...i had two ideas. which i was not quite sure of since i haven't really read much about the Pietà prior to yesterday's essay. anyway, one: i connected Mary's youthfulness to the story of Jesus's rising from the dead. i thought that this could mean rebirth. and Mary, as we all know gave birth to Jesus when she was very young. so maybe Michaelangelo wished the viewer to recall this story. two: it is a known fact that Mary, distinctively, is the Blessed Virgin...pure, chaste, innocent. beautiful in every sense of the word. in my opinion, Michaelangelo thought that purity is connected to youthfulness thus the young depiction of the Blessed Virgin. my second idea was the same with most of my classmates. Sir Mark was, i guess, glad. but before he dismissed the class, he told us that Michaelangelo answered this question with another question...as to what that question is, that will be our homework. (so far, this is the most enjoyable homework i've ever done! *lafs*)

artists of Michaelangelo's time noticed the young depiction of the Blessed Virgin and started questioning Michaelangelo about this. the artist answered their questions with this: "Do you not know that chaste women stay fresh much more than those who are not chaste? How much more in the case of the Virgin, who had never experienced the least lascivious desire that might change her body?"

Pietà

(by Michaelangelo)

* to see a bigger picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Michelangelo's_Pieta_5450_cropncleaned.jpg

woman, thou must read

in November, a rare kind of breast cancer was found. A lady developed a rash on her breast, similar to that of young mothers who are nursing. because her mammogram had been clear, the doctor treated her with antibiotics for infections. after 2 rounds, it continued to get worse, so her doctor sent her for another mammogram. this time it showed a mass. a biopsy found a fast growing malignancy. Chemo was started in order to shrink the growth; then a mastectomy was perfor med; then a full round of Chemo; then radiation. after about 9 months of intense treatment, she was given a clean bill of health. she had one year of living each day to its fullest. then the cancer returned to the liver area. she took 4 treatments and decided that she wanted quality of life, not the after effects of Chemo. she had 5 great months and she planned each detail of the final days. after a few days of needing morphine, she died. she left this message to be delivered to women everywhere:

women, PLEASE be alert to anything that is not normal, and be persistent in getting help as soon as possible.

Paget's Disease: This is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the outside of the breast, on the nipple and aureole It appeared as a rash, which later became a lesion with a crusty outer edge. I would not have ever suspected it to be breast cancer but it was. My nipple never seemed any different to me, but the rash bothered me, so I went to the doctor for that. Sometimes, it itched and was sore, but other than that it didn't bother me. It was just ugly and a nuisance, and could not be cleared up with all the creams prescribed by my doctor and dermatologist for the dermatitis on my eyes just prior to this outbreak. They seemed a little concerned but did not warn me i t could be cancerous.
Now, I suspect not many women out there know a lesion or rash on the nipple or aureole can be breastcancer. Mine started out as a single red pimple on the aureole. One of the biggest problems with Paget's disease of the nipple is that the symptoms appear to be harmless. It is frequently thought to be a skin inflammationor infection, leading to unfortunate de lays in detection and care.
What are the symptoms?1. A persistent redness, oozing, and crusting of your nipple causing it to itch and burn (As I stated, mine did not itch or burn much, and had no oozing I was aware of, but it did have a crust along the outer edge on one side.)2. A sore on your nipple that will not heal. (Mine was on the aureole area with a whitish thick looking area in center of nipple).3. Usually only one nipple is effected. How is it diagnosed? Your doctor will do a physical exam and should suggest having a mammogram of both breasts, done immediately. Even though the redness, oozing and crusting closely resemble dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), your doctor should suspect cancer if the sore is only on one breast. Your doctor should order a biopsy of your sore to confirm what is going on.

This message should be taken seriously and passed on to as many of your relatives and friends as possible; it could save someone's life.My breast cancer has spread and metastasized to my bones after receiving mega doses of chemotherapy, 28 treatments of radiation and taking Tamaxofin. If this had been diagnosed as breast cancer in the beginning, perhaps it would not have spread...

TO ALL READERS: This is sad as women are not aware of Paget's disease. If, by passing this around on the e-mail, we can make others aware of it and its potential danger, we are helping women everywhere. Please, if you can, take a moment to forward this message to as many people as possible, especially to your family and friends. It only takes a moment, yet the results could save a life.

important: be careful in bank ATMs

Bank ATM's Converted to Steal IDs of Bank Customers

a team of organized criminals are installing equipment on legitimate bank ATMs in at least 2 regions to steal both the ATM card number and the PIN.

the team sits nearby in a car receiving the information transmitted wirelessly over weekends and evenings from equipment they install on the front of the ATM (see photos). if you see an attachment like this, do not use the ATM and report it immediately to the bank using the phone on the front of the ATM.

the equipment used to capture your ATM card number and PIN are cleverly disguised to look like normal ATM equipment. a "skimmer" is mounted to the front of the normal ATM card slot that reads the ATM card number and transmits it to the criminals sitting in a nearby car. at the same time, a wireless camera is disguised to look like a leaflet holder and is mounted in a position to view ATM PIN entries. the thieves copy the cards and use the PIN numbers to withdraw thousands from many accounts in a very short time directly from the bank ATM.

equipment being installed on front of the existing bank card slot.

the equipment as it appears installed over the normal ATM bank slot.

the PIN reading camera being installed on the ATM is housed in an innocent-looking leaflet enclosure.

the camera shown installed and ready to capture PINs by looking down on the keypad as you enter your PIN.

TELL MORE PEOPLE.

* this was forwarded to me by my father. please be careful in bank ATMs.

here's how it went

second day of second sem. and the profs are sort of not in the mood to start classes--they might as well have been informed that so too are their students. imagine the inconvenience they cause to those who live in far places. jeep transpo is not a joke, really. not that i ride to go to school, my dorm is just walking distance. *whew* but i have friends who live several kilometers away from school and pays 15 pesos to get to school and then when she gets in the classroom...apparently, the prof will start class next week, please be back on monday. *rolls eyes* duh.

the only prof that ever showed up is our Political Science prof. Sir Panes. now, lemme share. my Pol Sci class really started funny. Sir Panes, who is unknown to most of us since this is our first time to encounter him, entered the classroom. and those who are in the higher level -- we call them the upperclassmen, they are the 3rd year & 4th year students, in my case -- gasped. actually gasped. i started worrying because i've heard stories about a certain Sir Pacamalan who is a tough prof. i don't really mind if i have Sir Pacamalan as my prof. i've been through a lot of "terror" teachers...proud to say: so far, so good. *smiles* the worry came from the fact that i just don't want another D. no. way. the disappointment i've caused my parents...it was stupid of me to make them expect. oh well, all's done is done. *sighs* ANYWAY, right after class, i started asking people questions about who Sir Pacamalan is--how he looks and everything needed just to confirm the identity of the prof who made the upperclassmen gasp. he apparently did not introduce himself. conclusion: he heard the gasp. *lafs* he even joked about it and told some of the class to not worry because it's still adding-dropping week. Alhamdulillah, my friend Sam replied and described Sir Pacamalan...the description did not match. very good! because i really don't have any other schedule to transfer to anyway. it would be major conflict. *whew*

ANYWAY...again. *grins* Sir Panes seems to be a good one. he's smart. opinionated. animated! and well, present. *bleh* he actually gave us 3 chapters to read already. and tomorrow, we're gonna start with the recitations. pls pray for me. also for Sir Panes--that he will be kind to us tomorrow. *grins* right now, i'm waiting for my dorm mate to arrive...she's selling her Phil. Consti. copy for a cheaper price. *winx*

despite...

enrollment day. my patience got tested. thankfully, i passed. with friends to chat with, i passed. nyahaha. *bleh* spent three hours in front of the pc. got nothing to do. can't sleep. help. honestly, i'm not in the mood to start the second semester. not yet, at least. *lafs*

anyway, sem break was good. went through a lot of things. overall, i felt i didn't have a real break. *whew* time flies really fast. and i don't know where my thoughts seem to be coming from right now. sometimes, things get really complicated i just wish i'd evaporate. mom has had a lot of probs too. and the pressure on me is taking its toll. almost everybody's expecting so much. nothing new. sometimes you just have to accept things the way they are. but it's not a bad thing really. the expectations, i mean. the people are kind of one of the best reasons in my life. deep inside me, i know that no matter how hard i would try to win everybody's love, i know that no one can please everybody. i am not perfect but i strive hard to become a better person. okay. i seem to be blabbing again. usual. and oh...lemme share an excerpt from my so-called journal. found it cute. the best i've written, i guess. my pathetic attempts on being a writer. *lafs* again, i didn't know where it came from. it just went out. i wrote this after a day of being reminded of my prayers -- which, Astagfirullah-- i seem to be not completing and after receiving a text message from a friend.

"Life is short, live it to the fullest. True. But we often misinterpret this stuff. So we do things even if we know that they are bad. Or at least at the back of our minds, something tells us its just wrong. But because we are driven by that passion and thirst to live a full life, we do them anyway. And it's a stupid thing. Indeed, life can be short. But it's not a reason we should be going astray anytime we like. Who would want to leave behind a life misled? Nobody. Because this would mean a life half-lived. The wonders of the world are fleeting. In time, they all fade away. They may give you a moment of joy perhaps. But they don't give you the forever-abiding kind. Only Faith can give us that. It's the ultimate life support machine. We'd say if we hold on too much, it's gonna be pretty boring stuff -- too sentimental, too difficult, too different...and at times when we fail at things, it's gonna hurt...so we waver because we blame. But we forget that we do our own mistakes. We are guided but we fail to follow. All because we listen more to ourselves than to Him. Commitment may be hard. But it involves a process. And that process starts when we open ourselves to the truth...The only way to make life fair is to keep RIGHT."

and oh..aside from journal entries. i got busy with photoshop too. *squeals* i missed doing this since our PC was in the r.i.p-state. *lafs* i got the pics posted on my friendster. i can't post them right here...for security purposes?! *lafs* i'll post them when i learn how to lock pictures in html. *winx* oh well, got to go. so late already. tc evw1. goodnite.

Disease of the Heart

You believe in Allah but you do not fulfill his commands.

You believe in the messengers of the almighty but you do not follow their way.

You enjoy all the blessings of Allah but are not thankful to him.

You read the divine scriptures but you do not put it into practice.

You acknowledge Satan as your enemy but you do not go against him.

You want to enter paradise but you do not work to attain it.

You do not want to be thrown to hell but you do not run away from it.

You believe that every living thing will face death but you do not prepare for it.

You find fault in others but you do not recognize your own faults and bad habits.

You bury the dead but you do not take lesson from it.