Monday, February 25, 2013

FOURTH PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL PYROMUSICAL COMPETITION 2013

Imagine, it is the fourth year for the Philippine International Pyromusical Competition at the SM Mall of Asia!
... And it is my third year to watch this fabulous event!
Taiwan's Yung Feng Fireworks

Here is the Schedule of the FOURTH Philippine International Pyromusical Competition

These are the Past Winners of the Competition:
First Philippine International Pyromusical Competition
2010 winners:
 1st Place:         United Kingdom’s Jubilee Fireworks
 2nd Place:       Australia’s Fireworx
 3rd Place:        Japan’s Tamaya Kitahara Fireworks

Second Philippine International Pyromusical Competition
2011 winners:
 1st Place:        China’s Liu Yang Jinsheng Fireworks
 2nd Place:      United Kingdom’s Smart Pyrotechnics, Ltd.
 3rd Place:       Japan’s Tamaya Kitahara Fireworks, Co.

Third Philippine International Pyromusical Competition
2012 winners:
 1st Place:       Canada’s Fireworks Spectaculars Canada
 2nd Place:     Finland’s Oy Pyroman and Australia’s Fireworx Inc.
 3rd Place:      Netherlands’ Royal Fireworks

Spain's Brunchu Fireworks Experience



If you wish to save, you can just stay anywhere near the SM Mall of Asia and view the sky!

If you wish to find a seat, there are seats costing P300.00 and P500.00 and the special seats with dinner costing P1500.00.

But, if you would have dinner anyway, I would suggest the best view would be from the second floor, along Abe's Restaurant to Watami Japanese Restaurant where you get the panoramic view of the Pyromusical event including view of the ship which would not be visible in the lower floors.


The dinner would still cost about P1300.00 to 1500.00 per person consummable.

It is a very enjoyable experience especially if you are with special people to share it with!!!



P.S. These are the links to the Third Philippine International Pyromusical Competition last 2012  which I posted last year...
***    http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2012/03/third-philippine-international_17.html
*** http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2012/03/third-philippine-international.html
*** http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2012/03/third-philippine-international_10.html

Sunday, February 24, 2013

GRAFFITI IN ROME, ITALY

As amazed as I was of the graffiti in Paris, I was still really wondering why there was such tolerance for this "vandalism".

Of course, at that time, nobody could really answer me and it was only with the Net where there were articles which share that this is considered Art in some countries.

After Paris and Zurich, we went to Rome and again, here I see the said "vandalism" in the train stations of Rome.
This time, my friend Emie said that this was acceptable in Rome because it is an Art form and people cannot be caught because of this! 
I am sure there were controversies regarding this.

So I would like to share the Graffiti Art that I saw in the subway at Appiano Train Station in Rome...

We were going to the Gemelli Hospital and used the train to bring us there...
As we enter the Appiano Station
If all the walls of the Appiano were painted this way, then, this must be an official thing....
looks like monsters!!!

I have read in some hotel reviews that some of the travelers are bothered by the graffiti in the walls of the Roman Train station!  

I am convinced this is an official thing because there is the uniform yellow background...


At the stairways...

at the escalators...

 And at the walls down the subway...
 And more interestingly, at the train walls!
Note the traditional graffiti fonts...


So Fred really had to make his mark... 


What can you say?

✎  ✏  ✐

P.S. I looked up some blogs and found one who also talked about graffiti in Rome and here it is:

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

GRAFFITI IN PARIS AND SWTIZERLAND

One of the unusual things that caught my attention as soon as I arrived in Paris was SEEING SO MANY GRAFFITI ALL AROUND!

I was not expecting to see it in all walls, whether at the highway, trains, subway boxcars, train stations, subways, tunnels, bridges and even in the rooftops of dilapidated buildings. 

I guess, in my mind I was associating Paris with the Masters in the field of Arts. Until someone told me that Graffiti is a wild expression of Art itself!

Here is what I gathered about Graffiti from Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti

Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun. Also known asGraff) is writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.[1] Stickers and other adhesives are not considered graffiti.[citation needed] Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and it has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.[2]
In modern times, paint, particularly spray paint, and marker pens have become the most commonly used graffiti materials. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's consent is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime.
Graffiti also may express underlying social and political messages and a whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint graffiti styles. Within hip hop culture, graffiti has evolved alongside hip hop music, b-boying, and other elements.[3] Unrelated to hip-hop graffiti, gangs use their own form of graffiti to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities.
Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials, law enforcement, and writers who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing art form whose value is highly contested and reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.

I'd like to share some of the graffiti that I randomly took photos of...

Just at the walls along the highway from the Airport to Paris...

At buildings, especially old buildings even at the topmost part of the place... you cannot imagine why they would climb up the highest point just to express themselves!
At bridges...
 At the train stations...
Just as soon as we went out of the train station...
In fact, even in the deepest and darkest part of the subways, which I cannot take pictures of, there are murals of them. One would wonder about their safety while painting the walls.

I would also like to share the photos of the graffiti as viewed from the train window when we left from Gare De Lyon railway station in Paris on the way to Zurich, Switzerland...






These are some of the insights I learned about graffiti...
*    Graffiti is the plural of graffito!
*   There are many street artists and some of them have gained popularity as graffiti artists.
* I always thought this was considered as Vandalism, but in other cultures, they are considered as expressions of Art.
*    The authorities also have controversies on how to deal with graffiti...
*    Some graffiti just appear as random writings but there are other graffiti which have leveled up as artworks!

Soon, I will also share other graffiti in other places in the world!!!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

PAPAL AUDIENCE: ONE WORLD, ONE FAMILY, ONE LOVE

Almost a week ago, a shocking news caught the Catholic world, that Pope Benedict XVI resigns.


Pope Benedict XVI resigns: pontiff's statement in full

The full statement from Pope Benedict XVI, who has announced he will resign on February 28.


11:19AM GMT 11 Feb 2013

Dear Brothers,
I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonisations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013
BENEDICTUS PP XVI


I just want to share my own experience listening to the Pope, which I felt was most inspiring and heartwarming!






"ONE WORLD, ONE FAMILY, ONE LOVE"


There were so many people today, Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at the Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's Basilica) since at 10 a.m. to about 2 p.m., we attended the Papal Audience. 

I thought you can only get in with ticket, but actually, anybody can enter. Of course, those who had tickets can come closer! 

This was a very moving experience for me... it was the ambience (inspite of the heat of the sun!), it was the people (of different races who came for the purpose and of course, the tourists) and it was the message of Pope Benedict XVI : ONE WORLD, ONE FAMILY, ONE LOVE!!

It is amazing how this message is so UNIVERSAL. The Pope relayed his message, that inspite of the economic situation, families must dedicate Sunday as the Day for the Lord and for the family!!!

My friend, Emie who works in Rome shared that even if she has attended the Papal Masses and Audiences several times, she always feels spiritually touched! 
Thanks to Emie, I was able to go closer than where I was standing, if I were not with her!
And after the Papal Audience, I had to have a picture with the Vatican Guard in the background! 
from Wikipedia: Swiss Guards are the Swiss soldiers who have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign Europeancourts since the late 15th century. Apart from household and guard units, regular Swiss mercenary regiments have served as line troops in various armies; notably those of FranceSpain and Naples up to the 19th century (see Swiss Mercenaries). In contemporary usage, the name Swiss Guards generally refers to the Pontifical Swiss Guard of Holy See.





















P.S.
I have also posted the message which was so touching for me. He delivered the message in English and in all other languages, that is why the Papal Audience lasts for about 4 hours! 
Since the message was quite long, I decided to just share part of the message. 
Here is an excerpt (last three paragraphs) from:
EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
Bresso Park
Sunday, 3 June 2012
In the Book of Genesis, God entrusts his creation to the human couple for them to guard it, cultivate it, and direct it according to his plan (cf. 1:27-28; 2:15). In this indication of Sacred Scripture we may recognize the task of man and woman to collaborate with God in the process of transforming the world through work, science and technology. Man and woman are also the image of God in this important work, which they are to carry out with the Creator’s own love. In modern economic theories, there is often a utilitarian concept of work, production and the market. Yet God’s plan, as well as experience, show that the one-sided logic of sheer utility and maximum profit are not conducive to harmonious development, to the good of the family or to building a just society, because it brings in its wake ferocious competition, strong inequalities, degradation of the environment, the race for consumer goods, family tensions. Indeed, the utilitarian mentality tends to take its toll on personal and family relationships, reducing them to a fragile convergence of individual interests and undermining the solidity of the social fabric.

One final point: man, as the image of God, is also called to rest and to celebrate. The account of creation concludes with these words: “And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it” (Gen 2:2-3). For us Christians, the feast day is Sunday, the Lord’s day, the weekly Easter. It is the day of the Church, the assembly convened by the Lord around the table of the word and of the eucharistic Sacrifice, just as we are doing today, in order to feed on him, to enter into his love and to live by his love. It is the day of man and his values: conviviality, friendship, solidarity, culture, closeness to nature, play, sport. It is the day of the family, on which to experience together a sense of celebration, encounter, sharing, not least through taking part in Mass. Dear families, despite the relentless rhythms of the modern world, do not lose a sense of the Lord’s Day! It is like an oasis in which to pause, so as to taste the joy of encounter and to quench our thirst for God.

Family, work, celebration: three of God’s gifts, three dimensions of our lives that must be brought into a harmonious balance. Harmonizing work schedules with family demands, professional life with fatherhood and motherhood, work with celebration, is important for building up a society with a human face. In this regard, always give priority to the logic of being over that of having: the first builds up, the second ends up destroying. We must learn to believe first of all in the family, in authentic love, the kind that comes from God and unites us to him, the kind that therefore “makes us a ‘we’ which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is ‘all in all’ (1 Cor15:28)” (Deus Caritas Est, 18). Amen.