Witch Bottle

Discovery of witch bottle used to drive away evil spells
A witch bottle used to drive away evil spells has been found with all its contents. More than 200 witch bottles have already been discovered, but this is thought to be the first one with its cork intact. Dr Alan Massey, a retired chem­istry lecturer from Loughborough, ana­lysed the contents of the bottle after it was found buried upside-down at a depth of about 5ft by builders at a site in Greenwich, south-east London, in 2004. Like most early witch bottles, it was a bartmann or bellamine, a salt-glazed jar made in the Netherlands or Germany, stamped with the face of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino (1542–1621).

It probably dates from the last quarter of the 17th century, and contained 12 bent iron nails (one of which pierced a small leather heart), eight brass pins, 10 adult fingernail pairings (not from a manual worker, but a person “of some social standing”), a quantity of hair and urine with traces of nicotine, indicating it had come from a smoker. There were also traces of sulphur, then known as brimstone, and what is thought to be navel fluff. The brimstone recalled the passage in Revelation where the beast and the false prophet were “cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone”.

The witch bottle will be displayed in the Discover Greenwich permanent exhibition, opening at the Old Naval College, Greenwich, in 2010.

Before this discovery, the best example, a glass bottle buried after 1720 in Reigate, Surrey, had been opened years before it could be examined. The bottles were used to cure the sick by turning spells on the witch. The practice continued into the early 20th century.

Rama's Bridge

Battle at Lanka, by Sahib Din.

FT256

Back in September 2007, the unthinkable happ­ened for devout Hindus: the government in India filed an affidavit in their Supreme Court declaring that the events in Ramayana – one of the holiest of Hindu books relating the life of the god Rama – “should not be read as historical truth” or as evidence that Rama ever existed.

As more than 80 per cent of India’s over one billion populat­ion are Hindu and elections were looming, this was not the smartest move. The hardline Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mounted angry opposit­ion, accusing the government of blasphemy in denying the existence of the widely worshipped Lord Rama and of “deliberately destroying the most ancient relic of Hindu history”. The government was forced into an undignified retraction of the affidavit the following day, but this was too late to prevent nationwide demonstrations, which included a number of deaths.

Two senior officials were sacked and Ambika Soni – the outspoken federal cultural minister of the National Congress Party that made up the government – was forced to offer her resignation (although this was never acted upon). She used the occasion to say she would “no longer take responsibility” for the affidavit, which had been filed on behalf of the Archæological Survey of India. The offending document, it turned out, was intended to be evidence in a vital appeal to build a canal.

This was no ordinary canal. Ever since the advent of large vessels, all shipping on India’s east coast was forced to make a detour around the island of Sri Lanka because the passage between the northern part of the island and the Indian mainland is blocked by a shallow chain of limestone shoals, beaches, coral reefs and rocky outcrops about 19–30 miles (30–48km) long (depending on where you measure from) and just 1m (3ft 3in) deep in places. When this was revealed in photographic glory by NASA satellite photographs in 2002, it was immediately seized upon by devout Hindus as tangible proof of one of the key stories in the Ramayana, which tells of a stone bridge – 10 leagues wide and a hundred long – across the sea. It was built by the sage Nala aided by the god Hanuman and his army of monkeys to aid Rama in the rescue of his wife Sita, who had been kidnapped by the demon Ravana and taken to his kingdom in Lanka.

Realising the chief argument of the opposition would be the sacrilege of destroying tracts of a site associated with a much-loved god, the government tried to get their retaliation in first by undermining the historical and geophysical reality of Rama and his bridge. The government was engaged in a huge and historical project to create a navigable sea route around the Indian peninsula that would save time and reduce shipping costs. The Sethusamudram Ship Canal – a project valued at £250 million – would be dredged across the Ram Sethu (Rama’s bridge, also known as Sethu Bandhana, Hanuman Sethu and Nala Sethu) to link the Palk Strait in the north with the Gulf of Mannar in the south. Given the high stakes and continuous pressure from leaders in industry and commerce as well as the Indian Navy, it was not surprising to see officials, such as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, the state on the mainland side of the Ram Bridge, openly questioning the historical existence of Rama and thereby his bridge. “Who is this Ram? From which engineering college did he graduate?” he joked. (His sarcasm backfired, however, as protesters attacked his family home and a bounty of “his weight in gold to whoever beheaded him” was offered by the head of the World Hindu Council – in jest, he later said.)

The forces behind the clash were already well established. In March 2007, months before the government gaffe, around 10 Hindu organisations worldwide had mobilised for an Internet campaign – ramsethu.org – to have the submerged land link declared a world heritage site. The ‘bridge’ was first surveyed by the British in 1804 and named by them Adam’s Bridge (after an Islamic legend). By 1922, there had been at least nine proposals to cut a canal across it. Others suggestions followed until, in 1997, the National Environ­mental Engineering Research Instit­ute (NEERI) drew up a plan for excavations near Pamban Island. With some changes, this was formally accepted by the government in 2005 as the Sethusamudram Project. It contained much on minimising the impact on biota and environment alongside details about dredging 48 million cubic metres (1,695 million cu ft) of silt, but nothing at all about the cultural consequences.

Expert views are equally divided on this matter – poss­ibly reflecting the deep hold the Rama myth has on the Indian psyche – and the whole issue remains confused. A former head of the country’s Geo­logical Survey, S Badrinarayanan, said he believed the formation was “not natural” and recent government surveys were “not thorough”. At least one court of law (the Madras High Court) in Tamil Nadu, and the intriguingly-titled National Remote Sensing Agency (part of the Indian Space Research Organisation), both refer to the “bridge” as possibly “man-made”. The latter said it was about 3,500 years old after carbon-dating corals from its beaches.

On the other hand, in 2007, Prof. N Ramanujam of the Geology and Research Centre, Chidambaram College, astrophysicist J Narlikar and a group of professors from Madurai Kamaraj University, all declared it a natural form­ation some 17 million years old. During the last period of glaciat­ion, about 18,000 years ago, the sea-level would have been more than 100m (328ft) lower, and the ‘bridge’ would have formed a natural land-bridge between India and Sri Lanka. Another study found that some 4–5,000 years ago the sea-level at Pamban rose 2m (6.5ft) higher than the present level. On both sides of the ‘bridge’ there is corresponding evidence of human habitation as early as 8–9,000 years ago, and on Sri Lanka itself human occupation extends to the late Pleistocene (about 13,000 BP). It was on this archæological evidence of antiquity that some scientists requested the Indian government to have UNESCO declare it a World Heritage site.

Unfortunately for the tradit­ionalists, some venerable Indian scholars spoke publicly about what they had long debated in academia. “The Ramayana is not that old,” the historian RS Sharma told the Times of India. “Nor did the area have human habitation 1.75 million years ago.” The oldest textural evidence of the Ramayana seems to date from around 400 BC, he said, and the stories in it are traditionally placed in the Treta Yuga (one of the four eons of Hindu chronology) some 880,000 years earlier. Stories about the principal characters are certainly older than the text. The book itself is completely vague about the actual location of the mythical bridge and, as other scholars have pointed out, according to the scripture, Rama himself destroyed the bridge after his rescue mission succeeded.

The row forced a government rethink, since when a new scheme was developed by the Sethusamudram Corporation, which will cut through the northern part of the landbridge 3km (1.8 miles) within and parallel to India’s maritime border with Sri Lanka. We have not been able to find any more recent status reports of this “Suez of the East” than April 2008. As reported on the company website, dredging to the north and south of the landbridge was going well. The landbridge itself is still intact and probably will remain so as long as the opposition has the upper hand.

Man arrested at Walmart for punching pit bull

Man arrested at Walmart for punching pit bull

Coin Washer

The magician causes a borrowed coin and a metal washer to change places under apparently impossible conditions.
A cup is shown to contain a metal washer. The washer is dropped out onto the table. The cup and the magician's hands are seen to be empty.

A spectator drops a coin into the cup. The magician picks up the washer, works it between his or her finger tips and it is seen to change into the coin.
The cup is tilted toward the spectators and the washer slides out. Again the magician's hands are seen to be empty.

Props and Set-up

Two identical large metal washers, a cup or other container with the bottom slightly recessed, magician's wax or equivalent such as soft soap, or other putty like temporary adhesive.
Prepare the cup by turning it mouth down and applying a thick layer of the wax to the center. The waxed area should be thick enough so that the side of the coin/washer toward the cup is not touching the cup bottom. The waxed area should not extend to the edges of the coin/washer. These two precautions will eliminate any fumbling during presentation.
Stick one washer to the wax area, turn the cup mouth up and drop the other washer into the cup.

Handling
Cup Bottom Steal

One of the two washers is stuck to the bottom of the cup with magician's wax or other temporary adhesive. Enough wax should be used to hold the washer or coin away from the actual cup bottom. This makes it easy for the finger tip to engage the edge of the washer or coin and free it from the wax. Once free of the wax, the washer or coin will fall against the third and fourth fingers. This finger palm position is used throughout the routine to conceal the extra object in play.

Tip Out Switch

The coin slides out of the cup and lands in classic palm position. The washer is concealed in finger palm position. The fingers are curled up and the front of the hand turned towards the spectators so they cannot see into the hand.

Drop In Cup & Cup Pickup

To the audience it appears you are dropping the coin back into the cup. Actually the washer is allowed to slide off the fingers into the cup while the coin is retained in the classic palm.

After the washer has fallen into the cup, the classic palm is relaxed so the coin can drop to finger palm position. The hand then picks up the cup, the first and second fingers and thumb taking hold of the cup at the bottom so that as the cup is raised the third and fourth fingers are below the cup bottom.

As the cup is lifted, the finger palmed coin or disc is stuck to the bottom of the cup.

Transformation

With the coin finger palmed in the right hand, the washer is picked up off the table. The left hand turns palm up, the fingers curled in and the washer apparently dropped into the left hand. In fact, the finger palmed coin is released and the washer pulled back and finger palmed. The left fingers then mask the apparent washer as it is moved towards the tips of the left fingers.

The hands turn so the backs are towards the spectators. The apparent washer is rubbed and turned between the finger tips, slowly exposing it and creating the illusion that it is visibly changing into the coin.

With the coin visible at the left finger tips, the right hand moves to the cup, lifts it, attaches the finger palmed washer to the bottom of the cup, tips the cup forward so the washer inside the cup slides out and falls onto the table surface.

The Routine
Pick up the cup. Look down into it as you shake it so the washer will rattle against the sides.
Tilt the mouth of the cup toward the audience and allow the washer to slide out onto the table surface.
Put the cup down, pick up the washer, turn it between the fingers and then place it back on the table, making it obvious that both hands are empty.
Pick up the cup with the right hand in the following manner. The right thumb and first and second fingers go around the cup near the bottom so that when the cup is lifted the third and fourth right fingers are below the bottom of the cup.
Extend the right arm forward, asking a spectator to drop a coin into the cup. As this takes place, the right third finger tip rises up against the bottom of the cup, finds the front edge of the washer and pulls it free of the wax so that it drops into the right hand.
As soon as the spectator drops the coin in the cup, take hold of the cup with the left hand, bring the cup toward your body, look down into it while shaking it so the coin rattles.
Tilt the cup to the right and let the coin slide out into the right hand. The position of the right hand is palm up, fingers curled up slightly to obscure the spectator's view into the right palm, the washer resting in finger palm position against the bottom joints of the fingers. The coin should land directly on the center of the palm so that it can be classic palmed.
Move the left hand a bit to the left, rotate the right hand over the mouth of the cup and let the finger palmed washer drop into the cup. The coin is retained in the right hand.
Immediately move the right hand to the right of cup and lower the right hand down to the bottom of the cup. At the same time let the classic palmed coin drop onto the right fingers.
Take hold of the cup near the bottom with the right thumb and first finger, the rest of the fingers moving under the bottom of the cup and attaching the coin to the wax.
Shake the cup so the coin (actually the washer) rattles. Take the cup with the left hand and move the left hand a few inches to the left. The right hand will be seen to be empty.
Give the cup another shake or two. Then extend the left arm forward to place the cup down on the table. In performing these actions, free the coin from the bottom of the cup and let it drop into left finger palm position.
Just as the left hand is putting the cup down on the table, the right hand moves forward, back of the hand toward the spectators, and picks up the washer on the table. This pickup is done with the right finger tips on top of the washer, the right thumb under it.
The following right and left hand actions should be done simultaneously: Bring the left hand back, rotating it so that it palm up, but with the left fingers curled up to hide the coin. Bring the right hand back, rotating it to the left and finger or classic palm the washer as the right fingers move down into the left palm and touch the coin lying there.
Take hold of the coin with the right finger tips and move the coin toward the left finger tips. The right and left hands rotate to the right and move to the center of the body. The coin is now half hidden by the left and right finger tips.
Appear to be working the washer (actually the coin) between the finger tips. Move the finger tips back slowly to reveal that it is no longer the washer but the coin.
Hold the coin at the tips of the left fingers so it is visible and move the left hand up and away from the right hand.
The right hand moves forward, picks up the cup and tilts it forward to show that the washer is now in the cup. In doing so the washer finger palmed in the right hand is attached to the bottom of the cup.
To clean up: drop the spectator's coin in the cup, move cup toward the spectator and turn it over to let the borrowed coin drop out. Steal the washer from the bottom of the cup.


Performance Notes
This is a neat bit of prestidigitation that is based on a Sam Berland move. A fair amount of rudimentary sleight of hand is involved and a good deal of practice is recommended. However the results are a very clean cut transposition that is impossible seeming and highly visual even in formal close up situations.
A gold coin or other object could be used in place of the metal washer, although the hole in the washer makes it easy to identify and the transposition obvious.
An advanced version of the gimmicked cup can be made up using a magnet rather than the adhesive. A steel core coin has to be used, along with two ferrous metal washers. The magnet should be just strong enough to lightly attract the coin or washer and a false bottom must be added to create enough distance between the magnet and the inside cup bottom to ensure that the coin or washer in the cup doesn't cling to the magnet. The advantage of this setup is that when the coin or washer is dropped into the cup, as it hits the bottom interior it knocks the coin or washer under the cup off the magnet into the curled fingers.

Learning Magic

Once upon a time, the teaching of performance magic had been a secretive and sensitive subject, such that professional magicians felt unwilling to share knowledge with anyone outside the profession lest the laity might discover their secrets. This made it hard for an interested apprentice to learn magic beyond the basics. Some magic organisations had and still have strict rules that demand members must not discuss magic secrets with anyone but established magicians.
Ever since the 1584 publication of Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, and up until the end of the 19th century, only a few books had helped budding magicians to learn the craft. Books remain useful today. For the modern student, a video recording transcends the power of a book, letting the apprentice mimic the master, following along as the magician dissects presentation and performance of latter-day versions of ancient artistry.
The next step up from a video is a magic club or workshop. Here magicians, both seasoned and novitiate, can work together and help one another for mutual improvement, to learn new techniques, to discuss all aspects of magic, to perform for each other — sharing advice, encouragement and criticism.
The world's largest magic organization is the International Brotherhood of Magicians (which also publishes a monthly journal entitled The Linking Ring).

Why is the Philippines Poor?

Dear Friends,

Here is a good article sent by Dr. Arsenio Martin of Fort Arthur, Texas ..
Enjoy reading.


THE DIFFERENCE


The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country:

This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old, but are poor.


On the other hand, Canada , Australia & New Zealand , that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries, and are rich.


The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.

Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw materials from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.

Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate in the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality! It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world's strongest, safest place.

Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.

Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.

What is the difference then? The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education & the culture & flawed tradition.

On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:

1.. Ethics, as a basic principle.
2. Integrity.
3. Responsibility..
4. Respect to the laws & rules.
5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.
6. Work loving.
7. Strive for savings & investment.
8. Will of super action.
9. Punctuality.
10. and of course....Discipline

In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.

The Philippines is not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us. In fact, we are supposedly rich in natural resources.

We are poor because we lack the correct attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich & developed societies.

If you do not forward this message nothing will happen to you.
Your pet will not die, you will not be fired, you will not have bad luck for seven years, and also, you will not get sick or go hungry.

But those may happen because of your lack of discipline & laziness, your love for intrigue and politics, your indifference to saving for the future, your stubborn attitude.

If you love your country, let this message circulate so that many Filipinos could reflect about this, & CHANGE, ACT!

You may poison yourself accidentally

Taiwan, a woman suddenly died unexpectedly with signs of bleeding from her ears, nose, mounth & eyes. After a preliminary autopsy it was diagnosed death due to arsenic poisoning death. Where did the arsenic come from?

The police launched an in-depth and extensive investigation. A medical school professor was invited to come to solve the case.

The professor carefully looked at the contents from the deceased's stomach, in less than half an hour, the mystery was solved. The professor said: 'The deceased did not commit suicide and neither was she murdered, she died of accidental death due to ignorance!'

Everyone was puzzled, why accidental death? The arsenic is of the U.S. military for carrying rice seedlings H Gao. The professor said: 'The arsenic is produced in the stomach of the deceased.' The deceased used to take 'Vitamin C' everyday, which in itself is not a problem. The problem was that she ate a large portion of shrimp/prawn during dinner. Eating shrimp/prawn is not the problem that's why nothing happened to her family ever though they took the same shrimp/prawn. However at the same time the deceased also took 'vitamin C', that is where the problem is!

Researchers at the University of Chicago in the United States , found through experiments, food such as soft-shell shrimp/prawn contains a much higher concentration of - five potassium arsenic compounds.

Such fresh food by itself has no toxic effects on the human body! However, in taking 'vitamin C', due to the chemical reaction, the original non-toxic - five potassium arsenic (As anhydride, also known as arsenic oxide, the chemical formula for As205) changed to a three potassium toxic arsenic (ADB arsenic anhydride), also known as arsenic trioxide, a chemical formula (As203), which is commonly known as arsenic to the public!

Arsenic poisoning have magma role and can cause paralysis to the small blood vessels, "mercapto Jimei"??, inhibits the activity of the liver and fat necrosis change Hepatic Lobules Centre, heart, liver, kidney, intestine congestion, epithelial cell necrosis, telangiectasia. Therefore, a person who dies of arsenic poisoning will shows signs of bleeding from the ears, nose, mouth & eyes.

Therefore; as a precautionary measure, DO NOT not take shrimp/prawn when taking 'vitamin C'.

After reading this; please do not be stingy. Share to your friends and family!!

13th month bonus

Why is there a 13th month bonus when its really isn't a bonus? The mystery is finally revealed! When the British were in Singapore , they were being paid weekly & they argued that Singaporeans were actually being cheated into believing that the 13th month pay is a bonus. Singaporeans are being paid monthly which is equivalent to 4 weeks pay coz there are 4 weeks in a month. As the British were paid weekly, it worked out the same.
You see, there are
7 days in a week.
4 weeks in a month.
12 months in a year.
Then 12 months should work out to 48 weeks only. But 1 year worked out to 52 weeks!!! Hence the 13th month is your own pay (not bonus??!!). ( 365 days divide by 7 day = 52..... weeks GET IT!!!!!! OK!!!! )
So, the British argued that there is in fact no
bonus at all??? It is a very simple calculation that
stunned many!!!!

BONUS ??? What bonus??? ... !!!
there should be 14th month pay :)

Breakfast at McDonald's (a must read!)

This is a good story and is true, please read it all the way through until the end! (After the story, there are some very interesting facts!):

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree.
The last class I had to take was Sociology.

The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.

Her last project of the term was called, 'Smile.'

The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.

I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning.

It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.

We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.

I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.

As I turned around I smelled a horrible 'dirty body' smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men.

As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was 'smiling'.

His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.

He said, 'Good day' as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.

The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, 'Coffee is all Miss' because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes.

That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action.

I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.

I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand.

He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, 'Thank you.'

I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, 'I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope.'

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, 'That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope.'

We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give.

We are not church goers, but we are believers.

That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.

I turned in 'my project' and the instructor read it.

Then she looked up at me and said, 'Can I share this?'

I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.

She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed.

In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn:

UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

There is an Angel sent to watch over you.

In order for her to work, you must share this on to the people you want watched over.

An Angel wrote:

Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

To handle yourself, use your head.

To handle others, use your heart.

God Gives every bird it's food, but He does not throw it into its nest.

Credit Card Scam (BEWARE!!!)

Careful mo guys sa mga Credit Card Scam @ SM Malls!!! (Be careful from credit card scams at SM Malls)
Source : http://punisher365.multiply.com/journal/item/2
DANVIL PPL SCAM / DOLLAR DAZE SCAM / PRUDENTIAL LIFE SCAM / CREDIT CARD SCAM
scam - A fraudulent business scheme
scammer - someone who swindles by means of deception
beguiler, cheater, deceiver, trickster, slicker, cheat - someone who leads you to believe something that is not true
SCAMMING PROCEDURE
Last Friday, me and friend went to see a movie at SM North. After the movie we decided to go around since it was still early to go home. While we were busily looking at a window of a computer retail shop, out of nowhere a Danvil agent (trained to deceive, make-up fully loaded either girl or gay lookin like hookers, on a business attire but talk like a TINDERAs and KARGADORs) suddenly approach us:
AGENT1: ma'am may credit card po kayo? Kahit supplementary lang?
ME: No! I don’t have! Thank you!
My friend being clueless of this schemes and before I could signal her to say NO! said:
MY FRIEND: I have a credit card
So the Davil agent lead us to their booth
AGENT1: ma'am 45 minute lang po ito, wala po kayung babayaran ni singkong duling, ang gagawin nyu lang ay mag join sa raffle at malay nyu kayu nag manalo gaya ng mga nasa add namin. And dahilan po bat namin to ginagawa ay para mapakilala naming ang aming KUMPANYA sa pamamagitan ng word of mouth. Kaya po hindi kami kumuha ng artista para ipromote kami kasi mas mabuti na kayo mismo ang magpapatunay sa aming programa. At sa pagsali po ninyo ay bibigyan po kau naming ng gift! ( and she brings out a TUMBLER!) Basta ma'am pag nanalo kau burahin nyu na make-up ko wag nyo lang kalimutan ang BALATO!
ME: Ahhhhh…
MY FRIEND: Ok
AGENT1: Taga san po kau ma'am?
ME: Caloocan ( rolling my eyes)
AGENT1: Talaga ma'am? ako din ma'am! Nagbebenta po ako ng newspaper dun sa malapit sa church! Suma sideline lang po ako dito!
On my mind: AS IF I CARE WHERE YOU FROM!
We then proceeded to their office. While on goin there I was silently scolding my friend on what he had just put us into.
At the office:
AGENT1: ma'am, wait lang po kau titignan ko lang po kung sinu magprepresent sa inyo.
AGENT1: ma'am si SAM po magpreresent sa inyo fill up nyo lang po ito (to my friend). ma'am bale one and one po yung presentation pero pwede naman po na sabay kau o kau sumunod na lang po si ma'am pag may bakante na upuan.
So my friend went in to the presentation area and left her bag with me at the reception area. After a couple minutes she cameback and ask for her credit card and atm, I ask him why she needed it and told me that the presentor inside was looking for it. I was shocked that a free raffle entry would ask for this things, I was unwilling to give her bag but she got it anyway. A couple of minutes past again and I was getting woried bout what was goin on inside, so I asked an employee if I could join my friend inside since a number of people have already went out from the presentation room, she said she’s gonna check and comeback, which she didn’t. Again I asked another employee for the same reason and again she didn’t came out but instead a guy came out:
AGENT: "ma'am dip o pwede na pumasok kayo kasi maiisturbo yung presentation"
ME: Huh! Bakit? Why don’t you just call her then?
AGENT: Di po pwede kasi may pinirmahan sya na 45 minutes na presentation!
ME: Huh! KELAN? No! just call her! NOW!
The guy Agent went inside and again he didn’t came out. I tried to go in but the door was locked. I was so irritated that I wanted to scandalized the place but I got a hold of myself. I tried calling my friends phone for several times but she wasn’t answering, another employee approach me told me that I was creating statics on the speakers inside. But I didn’t care I still dialed and tried to call my friend inside. And finally she answered. As we were talking on the phone I went outside, stand at the see through glass wall looking right at the presentation room. I saw her at the end of the room her back turned against where my direction was and her presentor looking at me and smiling. The presentor didn’t even bother to inform my friend that I was at the glass panel. I instructed her not to give any credit details and not to let them get a hold of her card and she said ok and that she cant talk much and so she hang up. After a couple minute more she then came out of the presentation room. I asked her what they wanted him to do. She told me that they wanted her to use her credit card for a promo plan originally 70thousand pesos now only 9thousand pesos. And that the presentor was even ready to call the bank to confirm the transaction but she declined! They were so pushy about it that she said no many times but they continually offered her and asked her to buy a plan. They were selling 3 different plans. She said that her accounts was a joint account of her and her husband and that he cannot use it without her husband consent especially for big transactions. The presentor trying to con her stated that it is was also her money and there was no need to consult her husband. That where she said that what they are trying to do is wrong and that it is pure trickery. She then led herself out of the SCAMMERS office.

DANVIL Related articles:
http://www.lagahit.com/2009/02/questionable-marketing-strategy-of-danvil-plans-inc/
http://www.workingpinoy.com/2009/02/daniel-villanueva-founder-and-president-danvil-holdings/
http://www.istorya.net/forums/general-discussions/174961-danvil-ppl-in-sm-any-comment.html#post4072048

Vatican Seeks Signs of Alien Life

VATICAN CITY — E.T. phone Rome.

Four hundred years after it locked up Galileo for challenging the view that the Earth was the center of the universe, the Vatican has called in experts to study the possibility of extraterrestrial alien life and its implication for the Catholic Church.

"The questions of life's origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe are very suitable and deserve serious consideration," said the Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, an astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory.

Funes, a Jesuit priest, presented the results Tuesday of a five-day conference that gathered astronomers, physicists, biologists and other experts to discuss the budding field of astrobiology — the study of the origin of life and its existence elsewhere in the cosmos.

Funes said the possibility of alien life raises "many philosophical and theological implications" but added that the gathering was mainly focused on the scientific perspective and how different disciplines can be used to explore the issue.

Chris Impey, an astronomy professor at the University of Arizona, said it was appropriate that the Vatican would host such a meeting.

"Both science and religion posit life as a special outcome of a vast and mostly inhospitable universe," he told a news conference Tuesday. "There is a rich middle ground for dialogue between the practitioners of astrobiology and those who seek to understand the meaning of our existence in a biological universe."

Thirty scientists, including non-Catholics, from the U.S., France, Britain, Switzerland, Italy and Chile attended the conference, called to explore among other issues "whether sentient life forms exist on other worlds."

Funes set the stage for the conference a year ago when he discussed the possibility of alien life in an interview given prominence in the Vatican's daily newspaper.

The Church of Rome's views have shifted radically through the centuries since Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1600 for speculating, among other ideas, that other worlds could be inhabited.

Scientists have discovered hundreds of planets outside our solar system — including 32 new ones announced recently by the European Space Agency. Impey said the discovery of alien life may be only a few years away.

"If biology is not unique to the Earth, or life elsewhere differs bio-chemically from our version, or we ever make contact with an intelligent species in the vastness of space, the implications for our self-image will be profound," he said.

This is not the first time the Vatican has explored the issue of extraterrestrials: In 2005, its observatory brought together top researchers in the field for similar discussions.

In the interview last year, Funes told Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that believing the universe may host aliens, even intelligent ones, does not contradict a faith in God.

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said in that interview.

"Just as there is a multitude of creatures on Earth, there could be other beings, even intelligent ones, created by God. This does not contradict our faith, because we cannot put limits on God's creative freedom."

Funes maintained that if intelligent beings were discovered, they would also be considered "part of creation."

The Roman Catholic Church's relationship with science has come a long way since Galileo was tried as a heretic in 1633 and forced to recant his finding that the Earth revolves around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.

Today top clergy, including Funes, openly endorse scientific ideas like the Big Bang theory as a reasonable explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.

Earlier this year, the Vatican also sponsored a conference on evolution to mark the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species."

The event snubbed proponents of alternative theories, like creationism and intelligent design, which see a higher being rather than the undirected process of natural selection behind the evolution of species.

Still, there are divisions on the issues within the Catholic Church and within other religions, with some favoring creationism or intelligent design that could make it difficult to accept the concept of alien life.

Working with scientists to explore fundamental questions that are of interest to religion is in line with the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made strengthening the relationship between faith and reason a key aspect of his papacy.

Recent popes have been working to overcome the accusation that the church was hostile to science — a reputation grounded in the Galileo affair.

In 1992, Pope John Paul II declared the ruling against the astronomer was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension."

The Vatican Museums opened an exhibit last month marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first celestial observations.

Tommaso Maccacaro, president of Italy's national institute of astrophysics, said at the exhibit's Oct. 13 opening that astronomy has had a major impact on the way we perceive ourselves.

"It was astronomical observations that let us understand that Earth (and man) don't have a privileged position or role in the universe," he said. "I ask myself what tools will we use in the next 400 years, and I ask what revolutions of understanding they'll bring about, like resolving the mystery of our apparent cosmic solitude."

The Vatican Observatory has also been at the forefront of efforts to bridge the gap between religion and science. Its scientist-clerics have generated top-notch research and its meteorite collection is considered one of the world's best.

The observatory, founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, is based in Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside town in the hills outside Rome where the pope has his summer residence. It also conducts research at an observatory at the University of Arizona, in Tucson.

Scary Film 'Paranormal Activity' Is Disappointingly Normal

Paranormal Activity,” a horror film now in limited release across the country, tells the story of a young couple who move into a typical suburban house but are soon disturbed by a supernatural entity that delights in scaring them in the middle of the night. The pair (one a skeptic and one a believer, in true “X-Files” fashion) use a video camera aimed at their bed to document the strange forces that disturb them when they are trying to sleep.

The micro-budget 2007 movie features a small cast of unknown actors. Much like “The Blair Witch Project,” to which the film is being compared, “Paranormal Activity” trades on its cinéma vérité realism, the conceit that you are seeing real documentary footage of what happened– scary scenes and all.

“Real” ghosts aside, the film is realistic in some ways.

The reality of night terrors

The film’s tag line, “What happens when you sleep?” is especially appropriate. Ghosts, abducting aliens, and other mysterious entities are often experienced at home at night and in bed — not during your lunch hour while buying cat food and ground beef at the supermarket.

There’s a psychological reason why these experiences often happen at night: We are more likely to be tired, drowsy, and sleeping. Medications, and even simple fatigue, can create mild hallucinations, what psychologists call waking dreams and hypnagogic experiences. They are harmless and common (especially as we drift to sleep), but can impair our perceptions and create experiences that never happened.

I have personally encountered this phenomenon many times.

For example, during one haunted house investigation I conducted in Buffalo, New York, a man told me that a ghost had kicked his bed as he fell asleep. He had no other explanation, and firmly believed he had been attacked by a ghost. My investigation revealed that the “kicking” he experienced was actually his leg twitching as his body entered the first stages of sleep. He was completely unaware of this, and when awoken by his leg spasm, he interpreted the jerk as a ghost kicking his bed.

Ghost hunting

The film is also realistic in its depiction of how people come to believe their house is haunted. For much of the film, the “paranormal activity” that the couple experience consists mostly of minor household disturbances: doors open on their own; pictures fall off the wall; lights turn on or off, etc.

While these things can seem mysterious, there may be perfectly rational explanations: breezes can slam doors, vibrations or soft drywall can send hung pictures crashing to the floor, electrical problems can turn lights on and off, and so on [My editor presently has a vexing problem with a newly installed, complexly wired fan/light in his home office that turns off mysteriously, but can be turned back on, in an otherwise ghost-free home].

Hoaxing is also a problem; many instances of “paranormal activity” have been traced to pranking children or troubled teenagers seeking attention.

The film is very typical of “real” hauntings, in which the ghosts never do anything obviously paranormal or unexplainable. This of course raises an interesting question: If ghosts (or demons or other undead entities) exist, why can’t they make their presence more obvious? Why do they limit themselves to mundane phenomena that can be explained by ordinary means, instead of doing something spectacular and unmistakably supernatural? Especially in a movie!

Why isn’t paranormal activity clear and obvious? Like the White House suddenly turning into marshmallow goo in front of the world. Or an amputee’s limb growing back. Or a person being able to turn invisible at will. These would be verifiably paranormal events, completely without scientific explanation.

Floors creaking, lights flickering, and doorknobs rattling? Not so much.

Ninja Assasin

Ninja Assassin
In theaters: November 25, 2009


Raizo (Rain) is one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them…and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge. In Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an underground network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. Defying the orders of her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), Mika digs into top secret agency files to learn the truth behind the murders. Her investigation makes her a target, and the Ozunu Clan sends a team of killers, led by the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune), to silence her forever. Raizo saves Mika from her attackers, but he knows that the Clan will not rest until they are both eliminated. Now, entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse through the streets of Europe, Raizo and Mika must trust one another if they hope to survive…and finally bring down the elusive Ozunu Clan.

Wrestler Eki “Umaga” Fatu dies

Eki “Eddie” Fatu died in Houston on Friday after a massive heart attack, adding a long list of professional wrestlers who died by the age of 40.

The 36-year old Fatu, who achieved his greatest fame in recent years as a star in the industry-leading World Wrestling Entertainment under the name “Umaga,” was found unconscious in his Spring, TX living room by his wife, who had him rushed to the hospital. Fatu had a second heart attack in the hospital before he died.

Fatu, who was memorable for his distinct facial tattoos, comes from a large family of Samoan wrestlers who have influenced the business for several generations, beginning with his uncles, the brother combination of Afa and Sika Anoi’a, who formed a successful act known as “The Wild Samoans” in the 1970s and ’80s. The most famous member of the clan is cousin Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who left wrestling for Hollywood fame.

Fatu’s career peak came in 2007, as he co-headlined Wrestlemania 23 in Detroit, a card that received a ton of publicity for a storyline involving WWE owner Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. But his run at the top was short-lived, and he was released from his WWE contract on June 8 when he refused to go into rehab after a second violation of the WWE’s drug policy.

Fatu had recently returned from an independent wrestling tour of Australia when he was stricken.

“On behalf of my family, the Anoa’i and Fatu family, we are devastated and shocked by the loss of our Eki,” Afa Anoa’i told the Wrestling Observer. Our son, nephew, brother, cousin, husband, father. Our hearts are broken, and words can’t express what each of us are feeling. It is so comforting to know how loved Eki is by his family, peers, friends, and most of all his fans.”

A staggering number of young pro wrestlers have died over the past 10 years, leading some to believe the industry has a curse. Among the most notorious cases were Chris Benoit, 40, who committed suicide in Georgia in 2007 after murdering his wife, Nancy, and son Daniel; Eddie Guerrero, 38, who died of a heart attack in 2005 in a Minnesota hotel room; and Owen Hart, 33, who died in Kansas City in 1999 after a stunt went awry on a live television shoot. In March, another former WWE wrestler, Andrew “Test” Martin, 34, died after an Oxycontin overdose.