OUR CHILDRENS' MOTHER EARTH

Earth is our beautiful home and the third planet from the Sun. It is the only known planet with living creatures, breathable air, and liquid water.

Yes, it's again the topic we should really think about. Also here in the Philippines. Ok, here's a new string of examples, my dear readers. But, don't expect good news. 

The life we live today will set the foundation for how the next generation will live their lives. Our actions have an effect on this planet that we call home, and we need to be mindful of the consequences of living without consideration for the future. It is the need of the hour to cultivate a means of living that will enable future generations to live viably. To that end, awareness, in the form of environmental studies, can play a key role in ensuring that current and future generations can create a sustainable future.

Environmental studies can be considered as a catalyst for change. It provides us with the knowledge to think critically and the power to understand the impact of our actions. But, are we doing enough to ensure that this information and knowledge is being imparted efficiently enough to empower the next generation?

Greenland, the great island is being called the Land of Ice being on fire. Why? A recent report says the Arctic may be ice-free by 2040. The Antarctic is also melting, albeit far slower, and in a less regular pattern. 

The Arctic is melting much faster than expected, and could even be ice-free in summer by the late 2030's, a report from the Arctic Council's Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program suggests. Previous studies had forecast an ice-free North Pole in summer by mid-century. Wow. 

While the outlook is bleak for the Arctic, there is a silver lining for the Antarctic: As I said before, the ice is melting at a slower rate than previously thought. Although glacier flow has increased since the 1990's, scientists from University of Leeds have found the melting rate to be only around a third of what was previously projected. A section of a glacier in Greenland is seen from NASA's Operation IceBridge research aircraft along the Upper Baffin Bay coast.

Operation IceBridge studies the processes that link the polar regions with the Earth's climate system. Rapidly changing polar ice means researchers need to use highly sophisticated airborne technology to measure annual changes in thickness and movement.

 

But the Antarctic is still melting. And a rapidly advancing crack in its fourth-largest ice shelf could soon see one of the largest icebergs ever recorded in human history break off into the sea.Scientists agree that global warming causes both the ice in the North and the South Pole to melt. Air temperatures are climbing, and so are water temperatures. This makes the ice melt faster. The period of winter where the water is actually cold enough to freeze is getting shorter, which means ice floes are getting smaller.

Greenland, home to the world's largest permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica, is being swept by wildfires. Yes, the land of ice is on fire. A really breathtaking situation. Scientists say global warming and increased plant cover are likely factors. Since late July, wildfires have raged across an ever-larger area of the landmass.

Honestly folks, it really scares me although experts say it is too early to draw firm conclusions linking the fire to climate change because no long-term data is available to put the blaze in context. However, unusually hot and dry conditions this year could have been a factor.

Although the origin of the blaze is unclear - with lightning and a stray cigarette as possible suspects - what is clear is how it has been spreading across remote areas of grassland and low shrub. Greenland is indeed getting greener and greener. It conjures images of white, frozen expanses. But global warming means it's getting greener all the time. "There's a shorter snow-cover season, and that allows the plant life to expand," he explained.

In trying to prepare our kids for a sustainable future, we need to start taking action today. We need to be considerate of what we purchase, how we consume and the waste we generate in the process. We can change why and how we educate our children to embrace a sustainable-growth mindset.

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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me in Facebook, X - Twitter or LinkedIn or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com .

Tim Curry passes away at 80

 

By The Associated Press

Published Aug 28, 2026 06:49 am

Tim Curry, a character actor who created a gallery of delicious, very loony villains for stage and screen, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the smug concierge in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” has died. He was 80.

Curry, who suffered a stroke in 2012 that put him in a wheelchair, died Tuesday night at his home in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz. No cause was disclosed.

Known for his arch humor, a puttylike face and gift with voices, Curry earned three Tony nominations — for “Spamalot,” “My Favorite Year” and “Amadeus” — and a Primetime Emmy nod in 1994.

“I like playing the more curious corners of the human mind and human behavior, partly because they’re a tad more interesting,” Curry told The Associated Press in 1993.

Curry burst onto the scene as the Transylvanian Frank-N-Furter in the sci-fi, cross-dressing rock musical “The Rocky Horror Show,” which premiered in 1973 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went with it to Broadway and then starred in the 1975 cult-classic movie alongside Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf and Susan Sarandon.

The show was ahead of its time in terms of its representation of LGBTQ+ characters and has entered the pop culture lexicon for its many iconic and memorable scenes, including the song “The Time Warp,” which has been covered by handfuls of artists, and the often-quoted phrase, “Dammit, Janet!” The show was twice revived on Broadway, most recently in 2026 with Luke Evans playing Frank-N-Furter.

“He was a force, a bright fierce flame, an exquisite charm and that rich vocal tone,” Evans wrote on Instagram. “I hope, wherever you are, you’d approve of one more Frank having the time of his life in those heels.”

Curry’s Frank-N-Furter had a posh British accent, but that almost wasn’t the case. He said he tried German and American accents but pivoted after he heard a British woman on a bus talking with her friend.

“I met a woman on a bus who said, ‘Do you have a house in town or a house in the country’ and I thought, ‘That’s the voice!’” he told LA Magazine in 2015.

For many years after the film’s premiere, the British-born actor declined to discuss it. He didn’t participate in activities promoting the film, which morphed into an interactive event at midnight shows. But he later warmed again to the project and embraced it at public events. Asked by LA Magazine how he viewed “Rocky Horror,” he responded: “With a sort of bemused tolerance. It’s neither a blessing nor a curse. I was lucky to get it.”

Curry’s Broadway career included starring in Tom Stoppard’s “Travesties” in 1975-76, playing Mozart opposite Ian McKellen’s Antonio Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” and King Arthur in the 2005 production of “Spamalot.” The New York Times said his “stalwart, plummy-voiced Arthur wears a smile as inflexible as armor.” He also played Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol,” at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in 2001.

His screen credits included starring as the child-killing monster in the 1990 miniseries version of Stephen King’s horror novel “It,” as a medical officer in “The Hunt for Red October” in 1990 and the double-dealing Cardinal Richelieu in 1993’s “The Three Musketeers” with Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Chris O’Donnell.

“Tim Curry was someone I cared deeply about, he was someone I loved working with and I am so lucky to have these memories,” Sutherland said in a statement.

In his 2025 memoir, “Vagabond,” Curry warned readers that while there were scraps of his nature in his characters, he was none of them. “The distinctions between who I really am and who I’ve pretended to be as an actor have proven to be a source of great disappointment to some audiences. It has not caused me much personal distress beyond the periodic necessity to deter stalkers,” he wrote.  

 

'Not a sandstorm': Strong winds send dust swirling near Manila Bay area, PAGASA says

Blowing dust produced haze at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City (Contributed photo)

Videos and photos of a sudden haze and blowing dust near the Senate building and SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City drew attention online on Wednesday, Aug. 26, after some people called it a “sandstorm.” However, PAGASA weather specialist Loriedin dela Cruz-Galicia said it was not a sandstorm, explaining that the brief haze was likely caused by strong winds from an approaching thunderstorm associated with the southwest monsoon or “habagat.” Read more

Why are Filipinos so religious?

 

GM

 

Working Nomad

Because during the introduction of the Christianity, the Filipinos were not given a choice. Either embrace Christianity and every teaching that comes with it or refuse and face serious consequences. I just want to make it clear that many weren't converted at gunpoint but the methods used aren't sufficiently explained, and early Spanish friars preached that accepting Catholic doctrine and the sacraments ensured entry into heaven, while rejecting the faith led to hell.

And so they do.

The Spanish Catholics stayed for over three centuries, the Americans next introducing Protestantism. Their arrival brought the separation of church and state, religious freedom, and various American evangelical denominations. And from then on, it was blended imported Christian dogmas with pre-existing indigenous animist concepts of an active spirit world, making spirituality feel tangible and omnipresent. That is why despite being religious, we still believed in supernatural entities.

At present, there are over 3,000 Christian churches in Philippines. The church shapes Filipino religiosity, turning faith into a core pillar of personal and national identity, and resiliency.

---

It made me think, practically speaking, what is the church ACTUALLY doing for the people? Is it improving their quality of life? Taking them out of poverty? Not even remotely from what I see. Of course, the Philippines isn’t the only country like this. Many other poor countries follow the same dynamic.

Yes, I may sound cynical, but as a Christian and a Filipino, religion is also why opportunists exist, at some part - there's money in god. You can hardly walk down the street in the Philippines without tripping over a new church, 'prophet', or pastor. Others see it as a viable and rewarding career.

If, in traditional Filipino courtship, a woman is supposed to say no to a man approaching her even if she likes him, then how can you make the difference between that and a real no?

 

Ronna Lou

 

 

Filipina Writer and Matchmaking Consultant at Philippine-Women.Com

Hahaha the pakipot strikes again!

By the way, pakipot means playing hard to get in Filipino. Like how the question describes it, it’s when a Filipina acts like she’s not interested or says no to a man trying to court her even if she really likes him back. And I get it, this can be very frustrating.

I think I already talked about this before here on Quora. Remember, traditional Filipino courtship or panliligaw is focused on making sure the man courting the Filipina is sincere and determined. Playing hard to get is one way of “testing” how patient and committed the guy is.

You can read more about this practice here

[1]

 and here

[2]

.

Just to be clear, a Filipina is not “supposed” to do this. It’s just a common practice because it’s the usual way of checking if a guy is really sincere or not. It can be very frustrating sometimes because when you look at it, there’s some manipulation going on and it’s unfair to the men.

But some men also like the chase, and I think a big part of it is knowing that the woman likes you back even if she’s playing pakipot.

So how do you know that a Filipina actually likes you if she’s playing hard to get?

Well a big sign is how much attention she’s giving you. If a Filipina really doesn’t like you, she probably won’t spend a lot of time entertaining you. She’d rather spend more time with the man she actually likes. But if she’s always being maldita or enjoying all the attention you’re giving her, then it’s probably because she likes being chased by you.

Another sign is if she actively offers you opportunities to prove your feelings. A Filipina who isn’t interested will usually just stop you. But if she’s secretly interested, she will tell you what you can do to prove yourself. Maybe she’ll tell you to get this type of flower instead or challenge you to talk to her scary father. She doesn’t want you to get her sweet yes so easily, but she will tell you how to do it.

You can also just look at her body language. She will probably roll her eyes and pout, but you can see that she’s smiling and sometimes even laughing at your flirty jokes. She might even flirt back but pretend she’s just being strict.

Again, this is an old tradition that some Filipinas don’t really practice, but it can also be a fun way of getting to know each other. Just make sure you know your limits, and that she’s not actually taking advantage of you. If you do this song–and-dance properly, it can be very fulfilling when she finally admits her feelings for you.

Footnotes

[1] https://islandladies.medium.com/why-are-filipina-women-playing-hard-to-get-2a373caec37c

[2] https://www.discoverphilippines.org/p/from-torpe-to-pamamanhikan-the-unique

Is A1 German language enough to do part-time jobs in Germany while I do masters?

 

Vinay Shekhar

 

Studying in Germany for 4 years8y

I went through the other answers and I agree with most of them.

Yes, you can do a part time job with basic German speaking skills and earn enough to get by. With A1 level of German, I have worked as a street cleaner to clear snow in winter, packed frozen food for 8 hours a day and taken up night shifts at a garment warehouse doing inventory work.

But if you want to have an edge over your competitors and get a part time job of your choice, that might also help further your career in addition to providing you more salary than a basic job that requires no skills, speaking good German is necessary. Once I improved my German (and had some good luck, i.e. an awesome girlfriend) I was able to work in a company close to my vocational field and then based on that job got an internship and that in turn earned me a student job at the university which paid almost double of the basic jobs.

I would also implore master students who have newly moved to Germany, to take a semester or two to settle down, get integrated into their study programs, build a network and learn German before rushing headlong into part time job search and losing sight of why they moved to Germany in the first place. You're here to study and build a career. It is a big step, moving from your home country to Germany. Savour the experience of living and studying in a new country with new culture and learn the local language. Once all that is taken care of, you will definitely find yourself a good part time job to keep yourself financially afloat. Good luck!

YE LIVE IN JAKARTA 2026 Draws International Fans as Popular Ticket

Categories Near Sell-Out

Fans from across Asia Pacific and beyond are already securing tickets for the 24 October concert at Gelora Bung Karno main stadium, featuring YE’s signature Globe Stage.

• JAKARTA, INDONESIA, 27 August 2026 - International demand for YE LIVE IN JAKARTA 2026 is
• building ahead of the October concert, with ticket purchases recorded across Australia, Malaysia,
• the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, the United States, the United Arab Emirates,
• Bangladesh and Finland. Category 4 tickets are now nearing sell-out, as fans from across the
• region and beyond prepare to travel to Jakarta for YE’s first Indonesian show.
• Presented by Raw Vision Collective, the 24 October concert will bring YE’s Globe Stage to Gelora
• Bung Karno (GBK) Main Stadium, combining music, visual art, lighting, pyrotechnics and immersive
• stage design in a 360-degree stadium experience.
• “The interest we're seeing from international audiences shows that this can become much more
• than one night at the stadium,” said Karen Tjahja, Chief Marketing Officer of Raw Vision
• Collective. “We want fans to come for YE, but also experience Jakarta culture, the food, fashion,
• art, and everything the city has to offer.” 

THE GLOBE STAGE COMES TO JAKARTA

1. At the centre of the show is YE’s Globe Stage, one of the defining elements of his recent live
2. performances. Designed as a 360-degree experience, the stage places audiences around the
3. production, combining high-resolution visuals, lighting, pyrotechnics, music, visual art and stage
4. design into one immersive experience.
5. “The Globe Stage is designed so audiences become part of the production rather than simply
6. watching it,” said Karen Tjahja.
7. Hosting the production at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium also highlights Jakarta’s capacity to
8. deliver large-scale international entertainment. “We are proud that Gelora Bung Karno Main
9. Stadium has been entrusted as the venue for YE Live In Jakarta 2026. It demonstrates Jakarta’s
10. growing position as an international concert destination and the infrastructure available to support
11. world-class productions,” said Rakhmadi Kusumo, Chief Executive Officer of PPKGBK.

COME FOR YE, EXPERIENCE JAKARTA

1. To make the concert journey more seamless for overseas audiences, YE Live In Jakarta offers
2. ticket and hotel packages that combine two concert tickets with accommodation at selected
3. Jakarta hotels, making it easier for international fans to plan their concert getaway in one package.
4. Guests can choose from 2 Days & 1 Night or 3 Days & 2 Nights stays, with hotel options across
5. Jakarta. The packages are designed to make the concert trip more convenient while giving fans the
6. opportunity to stay longer and experience Jakarta beyond the stadium, from its food and fashion to
7. art, shopping, nightlife and culture.
8. Beyond the concert itself, YE Live In Jakarta presents an opportunity to create a wider concert
9. travel experience, where the show becomes a reason to visit and Jakarta becomes part of the
10. journey. The initiative also highlights the potential for major international live events to contribute to
11. Jakarta’s position within Asia’s live-entertainment landscape, while supporting Indonesia’s tourism,
12. hospitality and creative sectors.
13. Fans can secure their tickets and access exclusive ticket-and-accommodation bundles only through
14. yejakarta.com. Press materials can also be accessed here.

About Raw Vision Collective

1. Raw Vision is a purpose-driven collective formed to deliver world-class live experiences. The organization brings
2. together a diverse team of cultural strategists, creative innovators, experience designers, and live-music production
3. specialists with a shared commitment to elevating Jakarta's position as a regional cultural destination.

For more information, please contact:

Raw Vision Collective

Email: pr@rawvision.id

Pigeon Strategies

Email: media@pigeonstrategies.id

BEST WISHES AND GOODBYE

 

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Thursday, August 27, 2026

WHEN letters were the only form of written correspondence, signing off was obvious. Actually, I still follow that old tradition, whether it comes to letters or emails. It is simply a matter of respect and good manners.

If addressing a sir or madam, the convention was unambiguous: you concluded with “Yours faithfully.” When writing to a specific person — for example, a Mr. or Ms. (hey, ladies first!) — it was equally simple: your letter would always be signed off with “Yours sincerely.” Only missives to family members or close friends would ever end with “Love from” or “With much love, yours.”

For many people, there seems to be a weird status thing when it comes to how blunt you can be in emails. I ask myself: Why? An email is still a letter — just an online one.

Sad to say, the arrival of email has disrupted this etiquette, making the rules far less obvious. Indeed, for many of us, there are no rules anymore. A whole subculture of personalized email sign-offs has emerged, ranging from “TTFN” to “peace out.” And, of course, it is not just what we say but why we say it. This is true not only in English but in other languages as well. I encounter the same thing in German emails, letters and even text messages.

“Emails have become the medium of business, leisure, family, love and everything,” says children’s author Michael Rosen. When we sign off emails, we try to give off the “right vibe,” he adds. He says it is all about how we want to come across to the recipient: “Thoughtful, grateful or just very, very busy?” Oh sure, we are all so very, very busy….

Some of the most successful businesspeople are notoriously blunt in email communication — if they even bother with a sign-off at all.

“There’s a weird status thing when it comes to the more blunt you are in emails, the more you can be (blunt) because you’re senior in the company,” says author Emma Gannon, recalling the editor of a famous newspaper whose response to pitches was often just a curt “yep” or “nope.”

Although being succinct can convey a certain authority and status, it can also communicate a dose of self-importance or arrogance. And we have all dealt with bosses who fire off email edicts such as “Is this done?” or “Update me on that.”

Even if they are not quite so direct, many emailers like to convey a sense of being busy by using or adapting abbreviations. Thus, “kind regards” becomes “KR,” while “yours” may dispense with those pesky vowels and become “yrs.” Heaven forbid!

“When someone signed off ‘BR’ for ‘best regards’, I just thought they were cold, brrr,” says Gannon. In my opinion — sorry to say — I sometimes do not even reply anymore after receiving such correspondence. Oh sure, we are all busy, but there should at least be a minimum level of respect when communicating with someone, whether in business or in our personal lives, and whether by letter, email or text message.

Then there are those who pare things down to the absolute minimum, signing off simply with their name or even just the initial letter of their first name. Others might omit a sign-off altogether. While this may come across as peremptory or rude, at least it avoids misinterpretation.

Emails are nearly formal, but not totally formal. At the same time, they are not quite as informal as “CU in a MNT on bus OMW.”

Some people swing the other way and end their emails on an altogether friendlier note. While most would consider kisses to have no place in a business environment, they often creep into emails — sometimes from people the recipient has never even met. For some, an “x” at the end of an email is a friendly endnote; for others, it is totally inappropriate.

Even simply calling someone by their first name is not always the way it should be in business.

What is clear is that some British terms used to end emails simply do not translate well. A casual “cheers” is frequently used as a sign-off in UK emails but can be utterly perplexing to other nationalities. That is hardly surprising when a hearty “cheers” can also accompany the clinking of glasses at the pub or be used to thank a checkout person at the supermarket. Here, too, we have to deal with the differences between British and American English.

For author Michael Rosen, emails now occupy a halfway house between text messages and traditional letters.

“The key thing is that emails aren’t the same as letters. I position them in my mind as a sort of halfway place between texts and hard copy letters: nearly formal but not totally formal, but they’re not as informal as ‘CU in a MNT on bus OMW’,” says Rosen. I strongly agree with him.

And, he adds, given their place in this ambiguous no-man’s-land of communication, it follows that there will continue to be a whole raft of ways to say “goodbye.”

Perhaps that is the point. To say goodbye with deeper meaning, use words that honor the bond you share, acknowledge the sadness of parting, or simply wish someone peace and happiness on the road ahead. Sometimes, a thoughtful farewell can say far more than a simple “bye.”

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, X/Twitter or LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

Dreams are but shadows?

The Daily Guardian is a renascent Iloilo-based publishing firm and media outfit with bureaus across Western Visayas and beyond. Led by Iloilo's most respected journalists, we pledge to tell the Ilonggo story as seen through the various lenses of society so that every side may be told.

BUREAUS :Kalibo Boracay Roxas Bacolod Antique Guimaras Manila

 

By Klaus Döring

The phrase "a dream itself is but a shadow" comes from William Shakespeare’s play [Hamlet] (Act 2, Scene 2), spoken by Hamlet to express how fleeting, unreal, and insubstantial human ambitions and perceptions truly are
I dream of a better world. A world without war and only peace. Without hunger and thirst. Daydreams ... .

Dreams at night: At one time, people thought that the figures appearing in  dreams were messengers from Gods. It has been generally believed that dreams came from something outside the persons with special skill.

Today, it is believed that dreams are created by the dreamer himself. And because dreams are something a person creates, they may have a special meaning for the person who dreams them.

Just why you have a particular dream when you do may depend on many things. Your health may have an effect on your dreams. A person who is ill or uncomfortable will have different kinds of dreams than that of a person who is well and happy.

If a person is hungry, or feeling cold, or very tired, his dreams may include these feelings. Many dreams seem to be made up of disguised feelings. Also, the events of the day before may have a lot to do with what one dreams. Often the persons or situations in a dream are those that you met during the day. Or your emotion may make you have the kind of dream you have. Needing or wanting something may be also expressed in a dream, and being frightened may become part of a dream.

The feelings of happiness or disappointment which come out in dreams were probably in the dreamer before.
But, why can’t some people remember their dreams? Do you experience this too? Many of us struggle to remember the details of our dreams. The reasons lie in the complicated cycles of our sleep, as we can learn from Stephen Dowling, a British writer.

Dowling continues: for many of us, dreams are an almost intangible presence. If we’re lucky, we can only remember the most fleeting glimpse in the cold light of day; even those of us who can recollect past dreams in astonishing detail can wake some days with almost no memory of what we had dreamed about.

There is little ethereal about the reasons this might be happening, however. Why we have dreams – and whether we can remember them – are both rooted in the biology of our sleeping bodies and subconscious mind.

Sleep is more complicated than we once thought. Rather than being a plateau of unconsciousness bookended by slipping in and out of sleep, our resting brains go through a roller coaster of mental states, with some parts being full of mental activity.

Indeed, we often blindly accept what is happening in this often nonsensical narrative until the time comes to wake up.

The problem is, the more jumbled the imagery, the harder it is for us to grasp hold of. Dreams that have a clearer structure are much easier for us to remember, psychology professor and author Deidre Barrett said in a recent story on Gizmodo.

Francesca Siclari, a sleep research doctor at the Lausanne University Hospital, says there are clear definitions between our states of wake and sleep – and that is no accident. “It’s probably a good thing that the dream life and the waking life are completely different,” she says. “I think if you remembered every detail like you can do in waking life, you would start to confuse things with what’s actually happening in your real life.”

Fact is: not being able to remember everything about our dreams is important, so that we don't confuse them with reality. And if you wish to remember your dreams, try to follow Harvard Medical School sleep researcher Robert Stickgold   - that simply repeating to yourself as you drift towards sleep that you want to remember your dreams means you wake remembering them. Stickgold laughs: “It actually works. If you do that you really are going to remember more dreams, it’s like saying ‘There’s no place like home’. It really works.”

Let's try it. Good night.

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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, Linkedin or X - Twitter or visit my www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com .