Nightfall

It's hard for me to believe this science fiction short story. I mean, a planet that does not experience nightfall except once in every 2, 049 years? That's incredible! I can't imagine living on that planet. On our planet Earth, there is always a nightfall, which takes place when the sun sets at west. And that's the normal thing for us. We experience it everyday and we could not imagine if there's a sudden change on that routine.
However, in Nightfall, a story written by Isaac Asimov, there is a planet called Lagash which has six suns that keeps the whole planet continuously illuminated and total darkness is unknown. I wonder where that planet is or does it even exist? As far as we know, there is only one planet that is capable of life and that's Earth. However, there is a confusion to it because of the sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) which only means that there is still life living on another planets. Anyways, that is not yet proven. It still remains as a mystery that we are still trying to find out. For now, I would say that the story is pure fiction.
When a group of scientists from Saro University begin to make a series of related discoveries that the planet would soon experience nightfall, they are afraid that the world would be destroyed in a darkness with the appearance of stars that unleash a torrent of fire. Since the people of Lagash has never experienced universal darkness, the scientists conclude that the darkness would result to worldwide panic and people would be traumatized and would go insane from fear and claustrophobia. When the nightfall occurs, the scientists and the rest of the planet are surprised by the sight of previously-invisible stars outside the six-star system filling the sky. And that's how the story ends.
The story also touched the Book of Revelations, in which we can read of how the Earth would end or what we call Armageddon. They are thinking that the nightfall is the way in which God would end the Earth. It is possible, isn't it? Anyways, I find the story interesting. As I was researching about this story, I have learned that this story gained several awards. It was even adapted into a novel and was a major motion picture on 1988. Thus, Isaac Asimov deserves a two-thumbs up for a fantastic story.

S1M0NE (Movie Review)

People’s minds are really so advance. I have already read and watched several science fiction books and films. I could hardly believe some but I admit that they are fabulous. Like the sci-fi film shown to us in our IT 101 class entitled S1m0ne, I was really hooked by the movie. It is hard for me to believe it but I know soon, through humans’ great capacity of thinking, it could be possible. Technological advancement is continuous, so for now, let us think that everything is possible. As what Simone, the central character in the movie, said: “Never stop believing.”
Let me discuss something about the movie. Simone is Director Viktor Taransky's synthetic actress. She is a computer-generated woman, a feature of a program his friend Hank Aleno gives him. Taransky uses her in his movies and fortunately, she gives a fantastic performance. The whole world is really amazed by her. She becomes so famous and gains a lot of fans across the world. She even wins the Academy Award for Best Actress.
However, the problem comes; the world soon starts to ask if who Simone is. Taransky can’t show her in person, because she is not real. She just appears in interviews in the television but not live. Then, two people challenge him to showcase Simone live. Through a hologram, she appears on the stage, like a real, genuine person. This makes her more popular.
Nevertheless, the time comes that Taransky gets sick of maintaining his lies, gets sick of the attention Simone needs, and thus having to come up with the fake interviews and attend press conferences. So he decides to destroy her. He involves her in a zoophilia film entitled I Am Pig and makes her appear in an interview where she is so messy. But, his plans fail. People continue to love her. So he comes up with the last option: using a computer virus to erase the program.
Having accused that he killed Simone, Taransky is arrested and taken to the police station. There he admits that Simone is just a computer program, that she is not real. But they could hardly believe what he is saying. Fortunately, Taransky’s daughter discovers a virus floppy disk in the computer in his studio and revives Simone. He is then freed. The movie ends showing an interview of Simone with Taransky sitting on a sofa while Simone is holding her baby.
I think this movie would give an idea to the movie industries to make a program like Simulation One. But I think it would be unacceptable. What would happen to the movie actors and actresses? And of course it’s hard to idolize an imaginary person. Although we have favorite cartoon characters, real people are still incomparable.
Overall, this sci-fi film is awesome. I would give two thumbs up to it!

FIREWALL (Movie Review)

I really get emotional everytime I watch a film that is about family. Family, really, is very important to all of us than anybody else. Our family is our first priority, and we will do all the things for it's betterment. We don't want to see any family member suffering. As much as we can, we will help him/her although we will risk our own life. We will conquer all the obstacles. We will endure all the pain. Just for the sake of our family. However, in our family's case, it's really opposite. Why? I will discuss it later.
The film Firewall is about a man whose family is in danger because of a person's greed for money. The protagonist Jack Stanfield use to have a contented life with a good job and a mirthful family. He is living happily with his loving wife Beth, and two children namely Sarah and Andy in a beautiful house. He is the Vice President of Security at Landrock Pacific Bank in downtown Seattle. Thus, he has everything that he could ever wish for.
However, his life changes because of a man named Bill Cox. Jack's family is being held hostage at their home by Cox's men. What Cox wants is to get $10,000 each from the bank's 10,000 largest depositors or $100 million total through Jack's cooperation. Jack's mind is in turmoil that time. He could not afford to do Cox's demand but his family's life is at stake. So, he decides to do what Cox tells him. Fortunately, he is able to get the money and send it to Cox's offshore accounts. When he returns home, Jack finds the house empty except for Liam, one of Cox's men that he then kills. Jack then searches his family through the help of his fired secretary Janet. At the end, he is able to outwit the antagonists and gets his family back.
Stanfield's family is really ideal especially it's head, the father, Jack. In the film, we can see he's tender love for his family. He could not afford to lose them. He does everything to save them although it means risking his own life. He even nearly died because of fighting with the enemies to save his wife and children. But, the good usually wins over evil. At the end, Jack becomes successful in getting his family back. That challenge in their life would make their family stronger. The walls of their home would become more impregnable that no one could ever destroyed it.
The film also reminds us that we should not easily trust a person, especially if he's a stranger. Like Bill Cox, who pretends to be a potential employer, but the truth is, he has a wicked plan for Jack and his family to attain his abominable goal. I really could not imagine why people could do to such evil things to their fellow people. We can choose to live a decorous life, why live that way? If money is the reason then we can get money in lots of right ways. However, this is a bitter reality that is remain unsolved.
After watching the film, I asked myself, “What if my father could watch the film? Would he realize that he has not been a good father to us for all these years? Would he change his self and be a commendable father to us finally?” However, I know, it would never happen. Our family is meant to be broken. The damaged has already been done and although the wounds would heal, the scars would remain forever.

ANTITRUST (Movie Review)

The world’s technology is continuously improving. Every year, new state-of-the-art devices and gadgets are invented or improved. One example of these is the computer. Computers have changed our lives since they were first introduced. Computers can do lots of things that are very helpful to mankind --- instant communication all over the world, storage of vast amounts of information, processing huge amounts of data, and many more. However, some people do evil things just to attain these technological advancements.
As what I can see in the film ANTITRUST, people tend to be greedy just to achieve their personal interests. Killing innocent people for the code? That’s absurd! However, in the film, that’s what the NURV (Never Underestimate Radical Vision) company is doing. The company is developing a product named Synapse, a worldwide media distribution network. To fully accomplish it, they kill programmers around the world and steal the code they need.
The film’s main character is Milo Hoffman, who is a computer genius. He works with his friends at their software development company which is just located at a garage. They call it Skullbocks. However, when he accepted the deal of NURV’s CEO to work in the company despite his friends’ objection, his life begins to change. He lost a friend and he was trapped in the middle of a conspiracy. The film somewhat imparts that people should not be too ambitious because it could pull us down. We should be contented on the simple things we have in hand. We should not be blind by money, by an ideal working environment, or by great opportunities because we don’t know what‘s really behind those things. We should not also be perceived easily by what we think good-natured people because we don’t know that they are just hiding in a mask. Like what happened to Hoffman in the film, even his girlfriend Alice Poulson is part of the conspiracy. Her real name is Rebecca Paul, an ex-con appointed by the company to maneuver him.
The film has a happy ending. Hoffman and his companions outwitted the NURV. They were able to broadcast to the world the hidden truth of NURV’s operation and the code of the Synapse. Synapse then becomes an open source code. People all over the world could already download it. It’s a very nice thing. People could use the benefits of the Synapse without even a cent to pay. That is the message of the film. It widens the public's awareness and knowledge level of the accessibility of open-source software. Advancements in technology should be shared to the people for free.

My CWTS Experience

Reminiscing my CWTS experiences from the start of the first semester until the end of the second semester; I can say that I somehow enjoyed it although I encountered several problems. “If you can’t come on time, be early…” goes the CWTS motto. Since my elementary years, I really had a hard time waking up early in the morning. I know it's abominable but I still haven't overcome that nature of mine until now. I guess, I'm still not a mature person like what my family or my friends tell me. It's as if I'm not taking life seriously and I just take things for granted. In other words, I'm a happy-go-lucky person. Anyways, I'm just sixteen years old. I'm still young to hold the earth in my hands. However, as what my father told me, it's not an excuse. At this early age, I should start disciplining myself. Life is not just a simple game that I could easily win. It is a battle --- I need to sacrifice tears, sweat and blood in order to conquer it.
I was late in attending CWTS sessions only once. It’s better. Although I was just five minutes late, Sir Colaba did not allow me to enter the classroom anymore. I felt bad that time, but I need to accept it. Anyways, it was really my fault. I did not wake up earlier that’s why I was late. Due to this, I and the other late comers were tasked to join the rover scout. Actually, I thought it would add to my burden but I rather enjoyed it! I like being a scout. During my elementary years, I involved myself in scouting because I enjoyed the camping and the games.
As far as I could remember, our rover scout started three in the afternoon and ended six in the morning the other day. It was really energy-consuming. There were lectures conducted by some members of the Boy Scout of the Philippines (BSP). There was a campfire also in which we had a presentation every group about certain topics. Our group’s topic was LUST. Fortunately, we had presented it well although it’s a sensitive topic. The activity that I liked most was the rover scout vigil especially the part when we wrote in a paper our heartaches and bad feelings towards a person. After writing, we were told to forgive that person and forget the past. Then, we burned the paper and we were instructed to keep the ashes as a remembrance. After that activity, I really felt good. I realized that resenting someone is an awful thing because it only makes your life miserable and as long as it is still in your heart, it will little by little consume and destroy you. You need to forgive and forget in order to live your life like the way you want.
During the first semester, what I enjoyed most was the session with the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). I have learned a lot from the lectures and I also enjoyed the activities that we have done. It is indeed really important to serve our fellow people especially when they need help from us. We must not hesitate to lend helping hands during vulnerable situations to minimize the impact of the disasters. Just like the PNRC, for more or less sixty-two years of its existence, it still intends to help more people and dedicate itself to the service of humanity.
The activity that I liked most was when we were divided into groups and we were tasked to build our future Red Cross office through the materials that can be found in our surroundings. It really tested our creativity and strategy. Due to the lack of materials, our group came up to a rather funny office that our leader had a hard time in explaining. Nevertheless, the Red Cross still appreciated it because the important thing is we had tried our best to make a good office in the absence of reliable materials. We did not loose hope and give up. That’s the lesson behind that activity.
After the classroom sessions, we finally faced the true CWTS. The groups that we had formed since the first semester were assigned barangays where we will do our community service which was to recruit people that could be members of the Red Cross 143 volunteers. The volunteers will be trained by the Red Cross so that during disasters, the impact is not that worst because there are already people who could immediately respond to whoever needs help. It is really a great help to the Barangay San Isidro, the barangay where our group was assigned. When we started our task, we first approached the office of the barangay captain and asked for assistance. Then, we separated and entered houses to gather people for the Red Cross 143 volunteers. It was not easy to convince people but still at the end, we successfully finished our mission. When we came back to the barangay, Red Cross was already there with us. An orientation happened although just few of the people that we recruited are present. Anyways, the barangay captain said that he would inform those people that we recruited to attend the next orientation. After it, they thanked us for our accomplishment. At least, we have done a good thing that is not for ourselves, but for our fellow people.
My CWTS experiences really taught me several important things that could help me in improving myself. I think I lack self-discipline, commitment and determination. I admit that I don’t have self-discipline. I can’t do even just waking up early every morning. Yes, I wake up early sometimes but I can’t maintain it. I really need to improve. I should put in mind that I’m now a college student and my future relies in this stage. If I will not start disciplining myself now, when will I do it? I should start it now before it’s too late. Next, I can say that I lack commitment because in every work that I have, I seem not taking it seriously. I usually end up working on it when the deadline is almost approaching. I badly resort to cramming even if I know that it’s not good. Now, I should change it for the betterment of myself. I should be dedicated and committed in every work that I will do because it is for my own good. The last one is I don’t have determination. I guess it’s because I’m so pessimistic. I’m not determined to work on a thing because I’m thinking that I can’t do it perfectly. But, nothing is perfect, right? So, why am I afraid? Although my work has flaws and errors, what’s important is I have tried my best to do it.
I really hope that I could apply what I learned in CWTS. It is for my own sake. I really need to have changes to myself for me to be a better person. Being a better person will lead me to a better future. And better future will lead me to a better life. That’s how simple it is. Next semester, I will no longer have CWTS but it doesn’t mean that I will just bury in oblivion the things that I have learned from it. I should stamp it in my mind and never forget it for the rest of my life.

If Only..

I really get emotional when I read love poems. As I was reading How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, sadness enveloped me. It doesn't mean that I don't like her poem, in fact, I appreciate it. I like the way she loves --- unmeasurable, passionate, eternal. If all people in this world would love that way, then there will be no broken homes. We can't see a man or a woman weeping because they failed in love. And... I can't see my mother crying. I feel pain deep within me everytime I see her crying. That is because I love her, like the way she loves me. I should not forget in my entire life that this woman is the reason why I'm here in this world. She gave birth to me considering it's a painful process. She's taking care of me when I was young until now. She's doing everything just to send me to school and provide all my needs. It's a sacrifice.
That is why, I really resent someone for making her cry and that is my father. My one and only father. I don't know why in the world he betrayed our family. He became unfaithful. He formed this family and now he is the one ruining it. What kind of a man is he? He is definitely not strong because he was not able to fight the temptations! I know it is bad to hate. God said that we should not hate someone. However, a hatred for my father is now formng in my heart. It is his fault! He is the one who plant it in my heart. And now, I can't stop it. It keeps on growing and growing and growing. I don't like it because it is painful. It consumes and destroys my whole being.
It makes me cry everytime I remember my childhood days. That time, our family was living in hapiness, contentment and full of love. Both of my parents were ideal to me. I adored my mother for doing her responsibilities at home. I also adored my father for being a responsible policeman in our community. That's the kind of family that I ever wanted in my life. I didn't think that one day, our home would crack. It's disheartening, but now I eventually accept it. I guess it's God's will for the betterment of each one of us. That event made me stronger although my views in life were changed.
I now view life as unpredictable, complicated and rude. Unpredictable because no one expected that our family would be like this. When I was young, I believed that our family would end like a fairy tale, that we will live happily ever after. But, it didn't happen. I know that we will get over this soon but still, the scars are there. I view life as complicated because it is full of ups and downs, but to my case, it is more on down. Our family only lived six happy and glorious years considering that I lived in this world for sixteen years now. And rude because it pulls me down and makes me weak. Can't life just let me live happily?
If only my father loves my mother the way Elizabeth Barrett Browning loves her husband, we would not suffer this way. If only...