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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I used to be a movie addict that is if seeing at least 6 movies during weekends is considered already out of the ordinary. Yes, my favorite pastime has been the movies and I do it during lulls, particularly from my college studies. Out of this passion for movies I have made a few observations on which movies would become a hit, or has a riveting story just by looking more closely on the movie banners displayed around the vicinity. Although media hype and critic's acclaim would still be the moviegoer's yardstick, my own intuition even though how crude and insignificant still wins over by a scale 7 out of the 10. And because I scrutinize every movie banner that I come in contact to, I seem to have developed a sense into what type of movie personality that will best fit the character portrayed on screen. Take the case of the Conan movie banner now being circulated, just one look at it, although no face is legibly shown would surely be associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger or the governor for that matter. I feel that only he can do justice to the personality, just like what he did to the Terminator series, and to think that this movie is still scheduled for release in 2009 is a question that the creator of the movie version has to deal with and hopefully passionately. I can feel that I would not be disappointed once casting is made, because from the street pole banners, men behind the movie intends to cast someone with Arnolds caliber, the muscle bound physique, the acting skills and lots of charisma. I just hope that my gut feeling will not fail this time.
by: The Flagman
If the opening ceremony of the Olympics highlights is the raising of the Olympic flag, then the lowering of the flag is the main agenda of the closing ceremony. Although it signifies the end of the games, it also signals the start of preparation for the next host to duplicate if not to overshadow the pomposity of the previous celebration. The closing ceremony of the 2004 Olympic games was held at the Athens Olympic Stadium, the venue for most of the games 16 days earlier had almost 70,000 spectators in attendance. Practically similar to the opening ceremony, it still showcased Greek culture and history through the repertoire staged by Greek actors, actresses and dancers, meant to show to the world its inherent culture and tradition. The most awaited part of the closing ceremony was the exchange of the Olympic flag of the Antwerp games between the Mayor of Athens and the Mayor of Beijing, the city hosting the next Olympic games. Then right after the flag exchange, Chinese cultural dancers also members of the Chinese delegation staged a cultural presentation, giving the world a glimpse into what would literally happen in the next Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. As tradition dictates, flag-bearer from each nation's contingent entered the stage, followed by the athletes en masse on the floor. The National Anthem of Greece and China were then played as both the Greece flag and China flag were raised in a handover ceremony. The Olympic flag was then passed by the Mayor of Athens to its counterpart from Beijing and symbolically the Mayor of the host country declared that the 2004 Olympic Games has finally been closed.
by: The Flagman
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
In practically all Olympic games, the opening ceremony stood as the yardstick by which the success of the spectacle is gauged. Host countries make the opening ceremony of the Olympic games as a grand celebration that showcase not only the local culture but also the different sports venues, the clinical appearance of the Olympic village and also the security preparations to insure that everybody is well protected, that no untoward incident will ever transpire. Take the case of the 2004 Olympic games in Greece, the opening ceremony alone has rendered the world in awe as it marked the first ever staging of the games covered live in high definition television, courtesy of NBC and NHK. It brought the unfolding of the opening ceremony to local TV screen worldwide in the most true to life images and in perfect color. The opening ceremony of the summer games held on August 2008 had 72,000 spectators attending together with around 15,000 delegates or athletes representing 202 countries participating in the grand spectacle. The opening ceremony started with a 28 second countdown - one for each Olympic staging held outside of Greece and with an amplified heartbeat as background. Then a blazing rocket representing a crashing comet seemingly coming out of the blue hit the stadium floor igniting a burning image of the Olympic rings. Then what followed is the grand display of the celebration of Greek culture and history with the appearance of a Greek lad obviously in a giant paper boat waving the Greece flag. Then followed by the parade of nations, with the flag of Greece leading way, and contingent of each nation together with their flags and bearer parading in alphabetical order. The last contingent to enter the stadium was that of the host country.
by: The Flagman
Now that the Olympic summer games is about to start, August of 2008 in China, everybody not only the delegation representing each country is anticipating the test of strength, speed, stamina and how their preparation could fare in the spectacle. The Olympic games happen only once in every 4 years, yet it generates a lot of enthusiasm worldwide and also economic gains to the country hosting the games, that is why host country's vying for the privilege are awarded the bid in advance to give them time to prepare. The committee tasked with the staging of the games is seeing to it that all fronts are covered; from the sports venues; to the Olympic symbols, the flame, fanfare, the theme, and also the flag; to the Olympic village where delegates will be housed; and of course the security measures put forth to insure that nothing untoward will happen during the entire duration of the spectacle. The Olympic games has a motto in Latin, "Citius, Altius, Fortius" which is "Swiftier, Higher, Stronger" in English, proposed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894, a quote that was originally coined by Henri Didon, a Dominican priest. But another informal motto, "The most important thing is not to win but to take part" is the more famous and widely accepted worldwide, particularly to followers of the summer games. Although we have lots of emblems to associate with the games, it will not be complete without the Olympic flag. The flag has five intertwined rings of different colors, blue, yellow, black, green, and red are placed over a white background and represents the five continents of the world that has joined the Olympic Charter.
by: The Flagman
Monday, August 18, 2008
I recently toured a large banana plantation and I found some orange colored vertical banners hanging. Since they were really eye catching, I inquired from my guide as to what they really were, but then before he can make a reply, a small light aircraft made a pass and immediately we left and made our way to the field office. While driving my guide informed me that it is never wise to be caught in the field when planes are making spray runs, because the pesticides are really toxic - some pesticides are even health hazards and proper warnings must be made so nobody can affected. Aerial sprays are necessary to rid the plantation of the dreaded sigatoka disease that could lay entire plantations to waste if not properly managed or the bract mosaic disease that could affect fruit yield. While in the office, personnel were busy maneuvering the orange flags to be in position for the next spray run. I was informed that this orange banner is run by battery-powered motors, operated by remote control and attached to strong messenger cables. And it is through their computer monitors that they can pinpoint the actual locations of each. Once these are on track, they serve as trajectory for planes to follow during spray runs. To put the orange flags in position is really tricky, since three sets usually work together, one at both ends of the field and one at the center. These three orange flags must be aligned before the plane can resume the spray run. Quite ingenious, don't you think? This is an assurance that no plantation personnel are out in the field once aerial sprays are made.
by: The Flagman
As part of my on-the-job training, I was assigned to monitor the construction activities of the project being undertaken. Since it was the construction of our office building, I was required to submit a detailed activity report. When I arrived at the site, the construction was still on its foundation stage but work was already in full throttle. There were actually four heavy equipment on the ground working simultaneously - the dozer, the grader, the backhoe and the payloader. The din of the equipment working together made normal conversation impossible, but equipment operators were splendidly doing the job assigned to them. After some time, I noticed that the construction supervisor, the foreman and the equipment operator, do their on-site instructions through the use of signal flags. For example, when the superintendent raised a flag, the dozer immediately backed off, the payloader advances in position and awaits the entry of large dump trucks to clear the area of debris. And as another flag was raised, the large dump trucks left the area. Or there was a time when a flag was raised and the dozer and backhoe worked hand in hand to dig deeper and when another flag was raised, the grader entered the picture and leveled off the ground. So, it came to my understanding that even if field personnel had radios on, they are still totally dependent on construction flags or markers to relay their instructions to field operators, simply because conversation was at a very limited range considering the noise generated by the equipment. I was still at the foundation stage of the work, so expect additional use of the construction marker as work progresses up.
by: The Flagman
Sunday, August 17, 2008
While still in Makati (the Philippines), I was asked by my close Filipino friend to stand not just as sponsor but also as Ninong (Godfather) to his wedding. So, since I was still young then, my presence might not really serve the purpose intended - this is actually my first brush with the intricacy of tying the knot. But, he insisted and reasoned that being a foreigner would do well with his in-laws. Off we go, we started out by asking the hand of her fiance in marriage. Although they both met and became sweethearts in the big city, it is customary that we go to the barrio and ask the parents in a formal ceremony. As part of the rite, we have to bring in food and drinks because it becomes the duty of the groom to feed the family of the bride during this special occasion. In fact my friend said, that he was happy that his in-laws has a modern perception of marriage, because nothing was asked as dowry as guarantee for the marriage. In the olden times, grooms were obliged to offer gifts like a few hectares of land, jewelries, a dozen heads of cattle, 100 goats or maybe a thousand chicken. So, donned in traditional Barong (suit used during formal occasions) we went to her hometown. I immediately noticed that the residence had a makeover, complete with buntings and a few floral design flags posted on the entrance gate. We were ushered in, and immediately the ritual began. My friend formally asked that they be married and I in turn stood as solitary witness to his noble intension. Then the wedding date was agreed upon and a few names were mentioned responsible for the wedding preparation and dinner was served to seal the agreement.
by: The Flagman
Although our company deals with computer hardware and accessories, our sister company is into farming implements, fertilizer and pesticides. So, when they purchased a demonstration farm we were invited to its inauguration. The farm lot was divided into plots with each plot separated by a paddy. Since the intended demo crop is rice, the plot is irrigated and water is almost 6 inches deep. Then a few farmers were asked to plant the rice seedlings on the designated plots and likewise fertilizer was applied. Since there are different types of fertilizers, one type was used for each plot to determine by contrast the effectiveness of the product. Then each plot was provided with a flag marker and recorded, so that only the fertilizer initially used would also be used to the succeeding application. As the plants grew, pesticides were likewise scheduled on the different plots and a new marker was assigned, so only the designated pesticide would be used. On the rear portion of the farm was a plot that is intended to be organic, meaning rice would be allowed to grow on its own, fertilizer to be used would be natural and pesticides would be totally banned. And a new different marker was used, to avoid confusion as to what plot needs to have fertilizers and pesticides. Looking at the system just used, the overall effect was festive because the flag markers came in different colors, red, yellow, blue, lavender and what have you while green is assigned to the organic plot. Well, we never run out of ideas, particularly when and how flags and markers are used to make things much easier.
by: The Flagman
Thursday, August 14, 2008
During the season of lent, mountain climbing to Mount Apo (the highest mountain peak in the Philippines) has been the favorite destination for both local and foreign tourists. But local authorities had to close the annual event, simply because contingent of tourists has caused irreparable damage to the environment. Rare plant, particularly wild orchids has been documented to be spirited to Manila, while a lot of trash has piled along the route. For five long years the Mount Apo has been allowed to rejuvenate, nobody was allowed on top. Then just last month, our company was asked to be one of the few to scale the peak once again, not as tourists but as part of the group that will restore the damaged ecology. We booked a flight to Davao City and then took a van to Kidapawan, the jump off point for our trek to the famed mountain. At the foot, we carried not just provisions, but also 12, 24inch tree mahogany seedlings and trash bags. The idea is at designated areas we are to plant each the 12 plants to help in the reforestation efforts of Mount Apo. It took us three days to reach the peak, and as customary we planted our company flag and posed for posterity. The view from the top of the Apo was really magnificent and the temperature was refreshingly cold, but pales in comparison to my winters in New York. Then we started back, but we have to pick whatever trash has been left behind, because each one of us will be made to pay a fine of a few hundred pesos if we cannot present a bagful of garbage to the local control officers.
by: The Flagman
Flag flying at half-mast is an age-old tradition of signifying our unity for the respect of a fallen hero, a dead President or high-ranking official, for the exemplary deed that one has exhibited in the service for one's country. Our fallen comrades who sacrificed their lives in Iraq to further our ideals are somewhat honored by flying the flag at half-mast. It is by decree of the State Governor that such honor and recognition is expressed, paving the way not only of the State Flag but the National Flag as well to be flown at half-mast. So, it does not come as a surprise when Governor Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey decreed that the flag be flown at half-mast to honor its local hero, Army Private Ronald Ray Harrison who died in the line of duty in Iraq. The same respect is also granted to Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton of the US Navy, as decreed by Governor Blagojevich of Illinois as tribute for her extraordinary service to the country. They are just two of the many who did the same and likewise been honored by a grateful citizenry. Though this occasion is sad, it is a time to honor, remember and pay our respect and admiration to those who made the ultimate sacrifice of "dying for one's country." Likewise our ardent prayer goes to the families and friends left behind. This is also a moment to thank all the brave men and women not only of the Armed Forces but also to all members of the various law enforcement agencies for their commitment to justice, equality and world peace. We could do no better, hurrah to our heroes.
by: The Flagman
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