| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|
Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!
Friday, February 9, 2024
The Stands - An INQUIRER SPORTS NEWSLETTER
Thursday, February 8, 2024
BREEDING ABOUT FUTURE
Some feelings of worry can be healthy, pushing us to find solutions to real and present problems. However, chronic worry, even about things out of our control, can severely impact our mental health.
The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke put it well: “Life is not even close to being as logically consistent as our worries; it has many more unexpected ideas and many more facts than we do.” Worrying is pointless not only because it rarely makes things better, but also because you’re rarely ever worried about the right thing!
We hardly count our blessings. We enjoy counting our crosses. Instead of gains, we count our losses. We don’t have to do all that counting – computers do it for us. Information is easily had.
Facebook to and fro, back and forth, there and back – how many posts and comments have been posted already with sadness, loneliness, boredom strikes, problems, worries … .
Just remember this: Opportunity doesn’t just knock – it jiggles the door-knob. and “your social media online-friend” – the warrior is with you day and night, at every corner, following your every step. Complaining and grumbling are good excuses, right?
Seniors may experience more anxiety-inducing situations than younger adults, and they may not have as many resources for support. Some people may notice that their anxious thoughts get stronger or more frequent with age, but anxiety is a treatable mental health disorder.
Is social media bad for us? Four billion people, around 50% of the world’s population, use online social media – and we’re spending an average of two hours every day sharing, liking, tweeting and updating on these platforms, according to some reports. That breaks down to around half a million tweets and Snapchat photos shared every minute. Stress, mood, anxiety, depression, sleep (or better non-sleep), self-esteem – Overall, social media’s effects on well-being are ambiguous, according to a paper written last year by researchers from the Netherlands. However, they suggested there is clearer evidence for the impact on one group of people: social media has a more negative effect on the well-being of those who are more socially isolated.
The whole world is an awful place filled with dreadful and horrible negativism. Yes, I confess, I’m also surrounded by many worriers who put their fears into me. Politicians, i.e., many times love to search for some grave alarm that will cause individuals to abandon their separate concerns and act in concert, so that politicians can wield the baton. Calls to fatal struggles and fights are forever being sounded.
The overbearing person, who tyrannizes the weak, who wants to domineer and to bluster, is simply nothing else than a worrier, who claims to be a friend. But he isn’t. Really not! The bullying of fellow citizens by means of dread and fright has been going on since Paleolithic times. The night wolf is eating the moon. Give me silver and I’ll make him spit out.
Well, when will we start counting our courage and not our fears, or enjoy instead of our woe? Worrying itself is pointless.Of course, no society has achieved perfect rules of law, never-ending education or unique responsible governments. Let’s seek out the worries but avoid the warriors, because they try to avoid liberty.
Worry, that sense of insecurity, unease, and fear over what negative events may happen – as unrealistic as these concerns may be – is one of the most unpleasant emotions that you can experience as a human being. It is also one of the most common. While everyone has worried at some point, many people suffer from chronic worrying in the form of anxiety. In Australia alone, 2 million people will suffer from anxiety in any one year.
If you worry often, you’re far from alone. In fact, it may comfort you to know that many of us tend to worry about the same issues. All of those anxieties and stressors that may plague your life also affect a huge chunk of the rest of the world as well.
Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D., is a practicing psychologist, author, speaker, and life/business coach, with more than 20 years of experience as a clinician, professor, and researcher. She says:” One of the most helpful things you can do instead of worrying is problem-solving. Problem-solving means defining the problem in a way that you can do something about it (e.g., “How do I prepare for a possible loss of income?” or “How can I learn to accept that my ex has moved on?”). Once you have a defined problem, you can generate some possible solutions and think through the likely consequences of each (e.g., “What is most likely to happen if I do X?”). Finally, you can implement your favorite solution, whether it involves taking action, discussing the situation, finding out more information, or working to accept something you cannot change”.
If you are still worrying right now about something, try to read Jeremiah 29:10-14 or Revelation 21:1-8, just to mention these two. It works.
Philippine Fairy Tales (XIX) - Philippinische Märchen (XIX): The Adventures of Juan - Juan's Abenteuer
The Adventures of Juan
Juan was always getting into trouble. He was a lazy boy, and more than that, he did not have good sense. When he tried to do things, he made such dreadful mistakes that he might better not have tried.
His family grew very impatient with him, scolding and beating him whenever he did anything wrong. One day his mother, who was almost discouraged with him, gave him a bolo and sent him to the forest, for she thought he could at least cut firewood. Juan walked leisurely along, contemplating some means of escape. At last he came to a tree that seemed easy to cut, and then he drew his long knife and prepared to work.
Now it happened that this was a magic tree and it said to Juan:
“If you do not cut me I will give you a goat that shakes silver from its whiskers.”
This pleased Juan wonderfully, both because he was curious to see the goat, and because he would not have to chop the wood. He agreed at once to spare the tree, whereupon the bark separated and a goat stepped out. Juan commanded it to shake its whiskers, and when the money began to drop he was so delighted that he took the animal and started home to show his treasure to his mother.
On the way he met a friend who was more cunning than Juan, and when he heard of the boy’s rich goat he decided to rob him. Knowing Juan’s fondness for tuba, he persuaded him to drink, and while he was drunk, the friend substituted another goat for the magic one. As soon as he was sober again, Juan hastened home with the goat and told his people of the wonderful tree, but when he commanded the animal to shake its whiskers, no money fell out. The family, believing it to be another of Juan’s tricks, beat and scolded the poor boy.
He went back to the tree and threatened to cut it down for lying to him, but the tree said:
“No, do not cut me down and I will give you a net which you may cast on dry ground, or even in the tree tops, and it will return full of fish.”
So Juan spared the tree and started home with his precious net, but on the way he met the same friend who again persuaded him to drink tuba. While he was drunk, the friend replaced the magic net with a common one, so that when Juan reached home and tried to show his power, he was again the subject of ridicule.
Once more Juan went to his tree, this time determined to cut it down. But the offer of a magic pot, always full of rice and spoons which provided whatever he wished to eat with his rice, dissuaded him, and he started home happier than ever. Before reaching home, however, he met with the same fate as before, and his folks, who were becoming tired of his pranks, beat him harder than ever.
Thoroughly angered, Juan sought the tree a fourth time and was on the point of cutting it down when once more it arrested his attention. After some discussion, he consented to accept a stick to which he had only to say, “Boombye, Boomba,” and it would beat and kill anything he wished.
When he met his friend on this trip, he was asked what he had and he replied:
“Oh, it is only a stick, but if I say ‘Boombye, Boomba’ it will beat you to death.”
At the sound of the magic words the stick leaped from his hands and began beating his friend until he cried:
“Oh, stop it and I will give back everything that I stole from you.” Juan ordered the stick to stop, and then he compelled the man to lead the goat and to carry the net and the jar and spoons to his home.
There Juan commanded the goat, and it shook its whiskers until his mother and brothers had all the silver they could carry. Then they ate from the magic jar and spoons until they were filled. And this time Juan was not scolded. After they had finished Juan said:
“You have beaten me and scolded me all my life, and now you are glad to accept my good things. I am going to show you something else: ‘Boombye, Boomba’.” Immediately the stick leaped out and beat them all until they begged for mercy and promised that Juan should ever after be head of the house.
From that time Juan was rich and powerful, but he never went anywhere without his stick. One night, when some thieves came to his house, he would have been robbed and killed had it not been for the magic words “Boombye, Boomba,” which caused the death of all the robbers.
Some time after this he married a beautiful princess, and because of the kindness of the magic tree they always lived happily.
+++
Juan geriet immer in Schwierigkeiten. Er war ein fauler Junge und darüber hinaus hatte er keinen gesunden Menschenverstand. Als er versuchte, Dinge zu tun, machte er so schreckliche Fehler, dass er es besser nicht versucht hätte.
Seine Familie wurde sehr ungeduldig mit ihm, schimpfte und schlug ihn, wann immer er etwas falsch machte. Eines Tages gab ihm seine Mutter, die von ihm fast entmutigt war, einen Bolo und schickte ihn in den Wald, weil sie dachte, er könne wenigstens Feuerholz schlagen. Juan ging gemächlich weiter und dachte über einen Fluchtweg nach. Schließlich kam er zu einem Baum, der leicht zu fällen schien, und dann zog er sein langes Messer und machte sich an die Arbeit.
Nun geschah es, dass dies ein Zauberbaum war und er sagte zu Juan:
„Wenn du mich nicht schneidest, gebe ich dir eine Ziege, die Silber aus ihren Schnurrhaaren schüttelt.“
Das gefiel Juan wunderbar, sowohl weil er neugierig war, die Ziege zu sehen, als auch weil er das Holz nicht hacken musste. Er stimmte sofort zu, den Baum zu schonen, woraufhin sich die Rinde löste und eine Ziege heraustrat. Juan befahl ihm, seine Schnurrhaare zu schütteln, und als das Geld zu fallen begann, war er so erfreut, dass er das Tier nahm und nach Hause ging, um seiner Mutter seinen Schatz zu zeigen.
Unterwegs traf er einen Freund, der schlauer war als Juan, und als er von der reichen Ziege des Jungen hörte, beschloss er, ihn auszurauben. Da er Juans Vorliebe für die Tuba kannte, überredete er ihn zum Trinken, und während er betrunken war, ersetzte der Freund die magische Ziege durch eine andere. Sobald er wieder nüchtern war, eilte Juan mit der Ziege nach Hause und erzählte seinen Leuten von dem wunderbaren Baum, doch als er dem Tier befahl, seine Schnurrhaare zu schütteln, fiel kein Geld heraus. Die Familie glaubte, dass es sich dabei um einen weiteren Trick von Juan handelte, und schlug und beschimpfte den armen Jungen.
Er ging zurück zum Baum und drohte, ihn zu fällen, weil er ihn angelogen hatte, aber der Baum sagte:
„Nein, hau mich nicht ab, und ich werde dir ein Netz geben, das du auf trockenem Boden oder sogar in den Baumwipfeln auswerfen kannst, und es wird voller Fische zurückkommen.“
Also verschonte Juan den Baum und machte sich mit seinem kostbaren Netz auf den Heimweg, doch unterwegs traf er denselben Freund, der ihn erneut überredete, Tuba zu trinken. Während er betrunken war, ersetzte der Freund das magische Netz durch ein gewöhnliches, so dass Juan, als er nach Hause kam und versuchte, seine Macht zu demonstrieren, erneut lächerlich gemacht wurde.
Noch einmal ging Juan zu seinem Baum, diesmal entschlossen, ihn zu fällen. Aber das Angebot eines magischen Topfes, immer voller Reis und Löffeln, die ihm alles lieferten, was er zu seinem Reis essen wollte, hielt ihn davon ab und er machte sich glücklicher als je zuvor auf den Heimweg. Bevor er jedoch nach Hause kam, ereilte ihn das gleiche Schicksal wie zuvor, und seine Eltern, die seine Streiche satt hatten, schlugen ihn härter als je zuvor.
Völlig verärgert suchte Juan ein viertes Mal nach dem Baum und wollte ihn gerade fällen, als er erneut seine Aufmerksamkeit erregte. Nach einiger Diskussion stimmte er zu, einen Stock anzunehmen, zu dem er nur „Boombye, Boomba“ sagen musste, und er würde alles schlagen und töten, was er wollte.
Als er auf dieser Reise seinen Freund traf, wurde er gefragt, was er habe, und er antwortete:
„Oh, es ist nur ein Stock, aber wenn ich ‚Boombye, Boomba‘ sage, wird er dich zu Tode schlagen.“
Beim Klang der Zauberworte sprang der Stock aus seinen Händen und begann, seinen Freund zu schlagen, bis er schrie:
„Oh, hör auf damit und ich werde alles zurückgeben, was ich dir gestohlen habe.“ Juan befahl dem Stock, anzuhalten, und dann zwang er den Mann, die Ziege zu führen und das Netz, das Glas und die Löffel zu sich nach Hause zu tragen.
Dort befahl Juan der Ziege, und sie schüttelte ihre Schnurrhaare, bis seine Mutter und seine Brüder alles Silber hatten, das sie tragen konnten. Dann aßen sie aus dem Zauberglas und den Löffeln, bis sie satt waren. Und dieses Mal wurde Juan nicht gescholten. Nachdem sie fertig waren, sagte Juan:
„Du hast mich mein ganzes Leben lang geschlagen und beschimpft, und jetzt bist du froh, meine guten Dinge anzunehmen. Ich zeige dir noch etwas anderes: ‚Boombye, Boomba‘.“ Sofort sprang der Stock hervor und schlug auf sie alle ein, bis sie um Gnade flehten und versprachen, dass Juan für immer das Oberhaupt des Hauses sein sollte.
Von da an war Juan reich und mächtig, aber er ging nie ohne seinen Stock irgendwohin. Eines Nachts, als einige Diebe zu seinem Haus kamen, wäre er ausgeraubt und getötet worden, wenn nicht die magischen Worte „Boombye, Boomba“ den Tod aller Räuber verursacht hätten.
Einige Zeit später heiratete er eine wunderschöne Prinzessin, und dank der Güte des Zauberbaums lebten sie immer glücklich.
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
‘Firefly’ is most awarded film of Manila International Film Festival 2024
‘Firefly’ is most awarded film of Manila International Film Festival 2024
AT A GLANCE
The MIFF is an international film festival that aims to bridge Filipino films to global audiences and showcase Filipino culture and art.
From being the silent underdog to becoming the 2023 MMFF big winner, ‘Firefly’ continued its victorious streak abroad as it won the most awards at the inaugural Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) in Hollywood, California – including the highly-coveted Best Picture honor.
The film produced by GMA Pictures and GMA Public Affairs also took home three more awards and three nominations during the MIFF Awards Night last Feb. 3: another Best Screenplay for GMA Public Affairs SAVP and Firefly creator Angeli Atienza; Best Director for award-winning film and TV director Zig Dulay; and Best Supporting Actress for highly-acclaimed actress Alessandra de Rossi.
Present during the awarding ceremony were GMA Network’s Senior Vice President for Programming, Talent Management, Worldwide, and Support Group, and President of GMA Films Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes, who accepted the Best Director award on behalf of Zig Dulay; Angeli Atienza; and Firefly actress Ysabel Ortega, who accepted the Best Supporting Actress award on behalf of Alessandra de Rossi. Joining them were Sparkle GMA Artist Center VP Joy Marcelo and Firefly actor Dingdong Dantes.
In addition to winning four major awards, the film also garnered nominations for the Best Supporting Actor (Epy Quizon) and Actress (Cherry Pie Picache) categories, as well as for Best Cinematography (Neil Daza).
Following their Best Picture win, the ‘Firefly’ team was awarded a $200,000 co-producing package by Birns and Sawyer to produce a US-based feature film.
The 49th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Best Picture winner, ‘Firefly,’ narrates a moving story about family, dreams, and bravery as the young Tonton, portrayed by MMFF Best Child Performer Euwenn Mikael, embarks on a journey to find the mystical island of fireflies based on his mother's bedtime stories.
The film won Best Screenplay and 15 nominations at the MMFF Gabi ng Parangal last December.
Early this year, ‘Firefly’ was shown in the United Arab Emirates before its screening in Los Angeles, California, as part of the MIFF.
The MIFF is an international film festival that aims to bridge Filipino films to global audiences and showcase Filipino culture and art.
Can you learn Standard German and speak it in Switzerland...
Of course. I can’t speak Swiss German but I had absolutely no trouble conversing with people in Zürich, Bern, or Luzern. Everyone was totally fluent in Hochdeutsch and more than willing to speak it for my benefit.
If you want to stay in Switzerland long term, learning the dialect is a great idea but nobody will expect non-Swiss to know any of the Swiss dialects.
Many Germans and Austrians live in Switzerland and they get by using standard German all the time, although after a while, locals will start to use dialect around German speakers who’ve been there “long enough”.
I’ve talked about this with some German acquaintances living in Zug and Winterthur and they talk about how, although they still use Hochdeutsch rather than dialect themselves, they can understand the dialect now and their Swiss friends no longer bother to code switch around them.
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Waste-to-fuel: A paradigm shift
.webp)
By Charlie V. Manalo
February 6, 2024 90
THE search for a single solution to the twin problems of runaway waste and expensive energy has given birth to the term waste-to-energy, or WTE, which is nowadays immediately imagined as burning trash to run power generators.
But as WTE emerges as a risk, not a solution, one aspect of it that could set off a paradigm shift in cheap but reliable energy is being relegated to the background instead of being given the attention it deserves — waste-to-fuel.
Nowadays, WTE also means solid fuels produced from waste. These include RDF, liquid fuels like SAF, and biodiesel like bio-CNG and H2.
Let's separate the grain from the chaff. The most common understanding of WTE is burning garbage and using the heat it generates to produce electricity. It's a most dangerous process.
Let's coin the term WtF instead — turning wastes into fuel.
A bill is already pending in the Senate that would institutionalize WTE. It, however, overlooks WtF, which evidence suggests is a much safer, cleaner way to convert garbage dumps into a repository of fuel sources.
Jump-starting the industry, however, would take more than just a law. Instead, it requires an entirely different system, one that would spur a paradigm shift in mindsets and ways of life. In short, a game changer.
The law must straighten the maze of bureaucracy that involves at least three government departments — the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Energy (DoE), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The DENR is there because the system involves waste and the WtF industry's impact on the environment in the process of turning wastes into fuel for power generation.
The DoE is involved because the system is centered on the industry's main product — electricity.
The DILG is in the loop, too, because it is supposed to oversee the waste management operations of local governments from where the raw material for fuel, garbage, will emanate.
Let's go back to WTE in its most basic form.
Most countries the size of the Philippines and smaller within the region have had various stages of WTE systems.
There are enough lessons to be learned from other countries with more advanced experience with WTE, so let's learn from them.
But WTE, or the direct use of burning trash to feed power generators, is laden with complexities other than that it could escalate the amount of poison that we are already breathing in our air.
Scientific evidence would suggest that directly feeding power generators with burning trash will not solve runaway waste and expensive energy. Instead, it will just add a bigger problem—toxicity.
Preference for WtF would help address this main concern about WTE and the process it takes to turn waste into energy.
But to plant the seeds for WtF, there should be a good rationale for those who would dig deep into their pockets to invest in the industry.
It would take more than tax breaks or holidays to entice investments into WtF, an entirely new enterprise that will take years to mature.
In many countries, using waste as fuel for energy has won government guarantees because, like a newborn child, the industry would need steady hands to keep its first steps steady.
Investors and local governments that would oversee the management of waste would benefit greatly from clear pricing formulas.
The experience of India and Thailand, among several countries with working WtF industries, can serve as lesson plans.
Legislation-wise, the Philippines has already taken the first step in a potentially game-changing WtF industry through the National Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
But implementing the law has proven to be a daunting, often impossible, task.
Local governments cannot catch up with the requirement to build waste management infrastructure because of lack or the sheer absence of funds.
Even if waste management becomes efficient, the question lingers — is it safe to burn trash for energy?
Evidence and data from WTE experience elsewhere show otherwise.
This uncertainty over the risks that WTE carries is further complicated by the bureaucratic maze that is being proposed for the industry.
The DENR will be in charge of monitoring waste management compliance, the DoE for energy regulation, and the DILG for local waste collection and disposal
Imagine yourself to be an investor planning to venture into WTE, as risky as it is. Imagine the days, weeks, months or even years you will spend just obtaining permits.
Those serious enough to take a close look at WTE are likely to sigh and exclaim: WTF!
Monday, February 5, 2024
Keep the country’s 5 GEMs healthy with biodiversity
Yes, the Philippines is beautiful! Those who have made time to see the country know that it was not a waste of time to go see the Philippines, perhaps one weekend of the year at a time.
Recently, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) called attention to five of those beautiful spots, the Five GEMs (Green Economy Models) — El Nido, Coron, Siargao, Panglao and Puerto Galera.
DENR is working with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to preserve the biodiversity of the Five GEMs. Government agencies are closely monitoring these prime tourist destinations for their water resource management, solid waste management, land use planning and enforcement of easement zones, and public-private partnerships.
Biodiversity is not only important to keep a prime tourist spot pretty but it is important to preserve the ecosystems that support life.
Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said the department has allocated ₱600 million for the agency's biodiversity management projects this year, specifically for the enhancement of the marine research station and the conservation of threatened species, such as the Philippine Eagle, Tamaraw, Dugong, Palawan Cockatoo, and marine turtles.
The importance of biodiversity to sustainability cannot be over-emphasized. It provides us with many products to sustain our survival – food, water, medicines, materials for shelter, protection from coastal erosion, and mitigation of climate change, with forests absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The World Wildlife organization puts it simply: “Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you'll find in one area—the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world. Each of these species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life.”
Since the Philippines is recognized for its rich biodiversity, the DENR chief said that most of the foreign funding it receives is related to the preservation of biodiversity.
We know that biodiversity is linked to climate, linked to food, linked to water, Sec. Loyzaga emphasized.
One of the problems that the agencies have to deal with is plastic pollution especially in the tourist areas. It seems that the more visitors a beautiful place attracts, the bigger the problem of plastic pollution mostly coming from food and product packaging. If solid waste disposal remains mismanaged, beach areas will be at risk of being temporarily closed for rehabilitation, similar to the case of Boracay Island years ago. This concern was expressed by DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos during the meeting.
The five major threats to biodiversity have been identified as climate change, pollution, habitat loss, overexploitation of species and invasive species.
To keep the Philippines beautiful, especially its Five GEMs, more concern for a healthy biodiversity from the human population is needed to help the efforts of the DENR, DOT and the DILG.
The clarion call is for all local communities to participate in protecting our biodiversity and enhance the appeal of domestic tourist attractions in every corner of the nation.