PILIPINAS! Join the HOMECOMING PARADE for the very first Miss Universe Asia, the Philippines’ Chelsea Manalo!
Friday, December 20, 2024
4:00 PM
SM Mall of Asia
BY AJ SIYTANGCO
The War of The Rohirrim is an excellent reason for an excursion back to Middle Earth, to a time we’ve never had a chance to explore before.
The War of the Rohirrim showcases an unlikely alliance. On one hand, you have a narrative pulled from the world created by one of the West’s most influential authors, J. R. R. Tolkien. On the other hand, you have the guiding vision of one of Japan’s leading animation veterans, Kenji Kamiyama. The result speaks for itself: a fully realized original story, firmly planted in the world of Middle Earth but given the uniquely Eastern flair.
The tale begins in the kingdom of Rohan, about two hundred years before Bilbo Baggins finds the One Ring, the Ring of Power that will have all the peoples of Middle Earth scrambling for survival. As a tangible link to the films we all have come to love, Miranda Otto reprises her role as Eowyn, daughter of Rohan’s King Theoden, as she narrates the events of her ancestors.
The story is of Hera, voiced by Gaia Wise, a Princess of Rohan, daughter of King Helm Hammerhand, himself brought to life by the formidable Brian Cox. A free spirit, Hera is more at home in the fields on an adventure than in the great halls of Edoras at court. When Lord Freca, a corrupt, malicious leader from the land of Dunlendings, proposes that his son Wulf marry Hera to strengthen their ties, both she and her father refuse.
Tolkien himself did not write much on this era, giving only a few entries in the appendices of The Lord Of The Rings. Those who have seen the films or devoured the books know of the impenetrable fortress of Helm’s Deep, named after Helm Hammerhand. But no one knows his whole story.
This is where things get a little dicey. It is inherently problematic when other authors expound on someone else’s material, and the original author is no longer around to check whether things are going well. In this case, however, the creators had much respect to ground their work as much as possible in Middle Earth.
Hera, Helm, and the other characters feel well-rounded and larger than life in the vein of things told to us now or long ago. You’ll find a sense of world-building and myth-building. Helm Hammerhand’s name is carried down even to the time of Aragorn, and here you get to see why.
Tolkien loved his lineages, stories of family trees, and legacy, and that aspect of his work permeates this movie. So, too, does his theme of rising, finding strength in oneself, and
meeting the challenges head-on.
Being an animated film works well as a medium for telling the story and is at its best during the action scenes and one-on-one combat.
This is something viewers have come to expect from anime. The animation itself is vibrant and striking, although sometimes a bit clunky, with the hand-drawn characters only sometimes fitting in well with the 3D environments or elements.
That being said, The War of The Rohirrim is an excellent reason for an excursion back to Middle Earth, to a time we’ve never had a chance to explore before.
1.Everything happens for a reason. Once you start to believe that, life will become easier.
2. Trust that when the answer is “No”, there is usually something better along the way.
3. You have never known a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.
4. A good deed each day can do a lot for someone.
5. Just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
6. You should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
7. Stop worrying about what everyone else thinks. Stop wasting time on things that are not your business. At the end of your day, just do you.
8. Trust the vibes you get, and listen to your gut. Energy does not lie.
9. Not everyone is going to like you, and that is okay.
10. You cannot control others. You can only control how you react to a situation.
11. It is okay to disagree with someone, but it is not okay to disrespect them.
12. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, “Will this matter in 5 years?”
13. You are never too old to need your parents.
14. Put your phone down for a few hours every day and interact with the people around you. You never know what you may be missing. After all, you cannot get back those hours that you are spending on your phone.
15, It is more important to have a few good friends, rather than many acquaintances.
16. Choose being kind over being right, and you’ll be right every time.
17. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
18. Remember the three R’s: Respect for yourself, Respect for others, Responsibility for all your actions.
19. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up your present.
BY FR. ROLANDO V. DE LA ROSA, OP
THROUGH UNTRUE
Many still think that when Christ was born, everything changed. It did not. What it brought was a promise of radical transformation that can only be realized when we actively cooperate with God’s initiative. The problem, however, is that we tend to understand such “cooperation” in terms of what we should do. We are like the Jews in our Gospel reading, who, after hearing St. John the Baptist’s preaching, asked, “What should we do?” (Luke 3:10-18).
Perhaps we remain resistant to the transforming power of God’s grace because we keep asking the wrong question. Instead of “What does God want me to do?” we should be asking, “What does God want me to BE?” God is far more concerned with being than with doing.
Many of us think that we must accumulate good acts as evidence that we deserve to be saved and loved by God. Unwittingly, we become like the Pharisees during the time of Jesus, who thought they could impress God with their devotion to duty. They mistakenly assumed that, in order to gain entrance to heaven, they needed to present God with a list of their good deeds, as if to say, “Here, these are the reasons I deserve to be in heaven.” They reduced religion to a mere checklist of things to do.
What we often do during Christmas reflects this distorted view of the Christian faith. Today, many of us approach Christmas as a series of self-imposed obligations: sending Christmas cards, emails, selfies, videos, and texts; shopping and bargain-hunting for decorations, gadgets, clothes, and other gifts; holding reunions; and organizing vacations to distant places.
We know that these activities rarely lift our spirits or help us focus on the true joy of Christmas. More often, they leave us physically exhausted and financially drained. Yet, we continue to engage in them year after year because this is how we answer the question: “What must I do to make Christmas meaningful and enjoyable?”
This question has become second nature to us and is gradually undermining the real meaning of Christmas. John Eldredge writes, “Once you have lived so long in a certain spot, no matter how odd or ugly, you come to think of it as home.”
When we view Christmas as an endless pursuit of more things to do, we reduce it to a business plan rather than a joyful celebration. Our talents and resources, instead of being gifts we offer to God, become mere tools for fulfilling our expectations, while God—the proper object of our desire during Christmas—is left out.
Let us look back. The first Christmas occurred because God wanted to stir our desire for Him. He became human simply because He wanted to be desired, to be needed, to be wanted, and above all, to be passionately loved. He wanted us to say, “As the deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1).
In a very real sense, Christmas opens our eyes—not to what we should do or keep doing, but to what we should be in God’s eyes. The image of the infant Jesus in a manger reminds us of a new beginning, a chance to be born again. It invites us to say: “I am not the same as I was yesterday. I am becoming someone who desires God more deeply and who believes that my real worth lies not in what I do but in what I can become through His grace.”
“Hssst”
I turned around.
“Hssst”
Everyone in Filipino class turned around.
“Hssst”
Every person under the age of 21 in every island of the Philippines turned around.
That’s how you get a Filipinos attention. You have to give them a sharp,
“Hssst”
It’s like a Psst except like this.
Hiss-tuh.
It gets everyone’s attention. No matter where you are and who you’re with they will turn around. It’s how all parents get their children’s attention. In fact, it’s how you get anyone’s attention.
They have to be Filipino though.
Everyone else will just think your being rude.
So remember,
Hsst
Oh wait sorry I thought someone called me.
I’m gonna go check.
