Journey Through The Decade

2009, the end of a decade. A lot can change in just one year, so expect a lot of change over a decade. Let us look back to the past ten years after the jump

2000
The "Millennium Scare" was over. The Y2K bug was reverted and the world faced the new Millennium. Before the year ended, the tragic "Rizal Day bombing" killed 22 and injured 100 in one of the gruesome terrorist attack in the Philippines

2001
It was year I graduated from high school. Angelicum College nurtured and guided me which resulted to what I became today. College life in AMA Computer University was not that tough as I found friends right on the first day of classes which later be known as GeForce, short for Gemma Force (Ma'am Gemma is the librarian who became our "mother" in college)

2001 also marked the "9/11 attack" where the twin towers of the World Trade Center was destroyed by a series of planes crashing into it killing almost 3,000 innocent people. This event triggered the war on terrorism which later added more bloodshed.

2002
THe war on Afghanistan has started due to the counterattack of the 9/11.

The International Criminal Court was established in accordance to the 9/11 attack last year. This court was established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

A large section of the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf begins disintegrating, consuming about 3,250 km (1,254 miles) over 35 days making global warming a serious treat in our environment.

2003
Siopao Master was born from the Nyoy Volante and Mannos forums.

The tension in the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq led the US to declare war on Iraq

SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which started in Vietnam broke out and was rapidly spread all over the world killing thousands.

2004
The Philippines was shocked as the SuperFerry 14 bombing which The Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group is blamed for the deadliest terrorist attack at sea in world history, which kills 116 in the Philippines.

Siopao Master established his first blog in tabulas with the URL http://www.tabulas.com/~siopaomaster


2005
Siopao Master migrated to Blogger with the new URL: http://siopaomaster.blogspot.com

The Roman Catholic Church was shocked when His Holiness Pope John Paul II (Karol J. Wojtyla) passed away on April 2 at his very own room."Our beloved Holy Father John Paul II has returned to his home. Let us pray for him" "Let perpetual light shine on him and let him repose in peace"

April 19, "Habemus Papam!". A new pope was elected. Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) was the 266th pope and the 1dt pope of the new millenium

Finally, After the long journey of educational atonement, I was officially a graduate with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Participated on the annual AMACU outreach program that gives free education to the less fortunate. The said program encouraged me to be an instructor of AMACU and on May 26, I was finally hired and started Great Teacher Siopao (GTS)

2006
Siopao Heaven bought the domain http://www.siopaomaster.com

Bill Gates stepped down as Chief Software Architect of Microsoft.

Siopao Master bought a PSP and a Nintendo DS.

Milenyo caused destruction in Metro Manila as billboards and other signboards were ripped off causing death and destruction. Since then, every time there's a typhoon, all billboards are mandatory pulled down.

Saddam Hussein was executed for crimes against humanity.

2007
An earthquake caused the internet connection erratic for several weeks.

Sir Siopao bid farewell to his students in AMA Computer University.

Trinoma (Triangle North Mall) was opened directly in front of SM North Edsa. The mall wars at the North has begun.

The book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released all over the world. millions were sold instantly.

Sandara Park left the Philippines for good.

Sir Siopao was hired at Informatics International College as a CS/IT instructor.

2008
The year started with a shock as my student and fellow gamer THE PWNERER died from an accident. I coudn't grasp the fact that he's dead and i will no longer see and hear his jolly personality.. This year also my very best friend left me for good. She and her husband migrated to Saudi Arabia but promised to keep in touch with me..a promise that was never kept.

Siopao Master started toy collecting and joined Otakai Figure Society.

Sir Siopao and his students had an IT tour at Tsukiden Software Philippines. The event which triggered something in 2009.

2009
Last April, Sir Siopao finally resigned as an instructor in Informatics. He later started working at Tsukiden Software Philippines, a Japanese owned company.

A(H1N1) spread all over the world, Worldwide hygiene was drastically changed due to this epidemic.

The whole world was shocked last June as the King of Pop Michael Jackson died, He was scheduled to have a world tour entitled "This is it" to ver 50 countries. He was aged 50.

Another heavy blow was suffered by the Filipino people as former president Cory Aquino died of cardiac arrest. She was considered as a modern day hero and she had a major part in the Edsa Revolution.

Siopao Master bought http://www.siopaomaster.net for his figure gallery.

Super Typhoon Ondoy struck the Filipino people where they least expected killing a lot of people and destroying properties even on the places not usually flooded. The bravery and patriotism of every Filipino was shown as thousands volunteered in relief and rescue operations.

Maguindanao became the center of the story as a private army massacred hundreds of individuals, men and women. This is the most gruesome crime that was related to politics that was related to the 2010 elections.

The decade taught us to be vigilant and remain faithful to God. The next decade will further test our body and spirit. May we all have the courage and strength to face these ordeal.

[Review]Avatar

Only the Avatar master of the four elements...wait..wrong movie! It's been confusing to the Avatar: The Last Airbender fans out there but James Cameron got hold of the title Avatar for his movie about humans linking to the bodies of aliens they call "avatar" to secretly mingle with the planet's natives. There was quite a hype when Avatar was shown through out the country. Some mistakenly assumed that it was a "Warcraft" movie, and worst "DOTA". But those idiots didn't know that this one is waayy different from those mentioned. Let's get straight to the point. I will not sugarcoat this review for all I can say is my opinion and no BS. If you are a sci-fi geek like me, you'll know that the concept, plot etc. was a combination of previous successful sci-fi stories rolled up into one story. But hey, I'm not complaining. If you ever had the chance to watch this in 3D, do so, for the money's worth it. Stunning eye candy everywhere. The texture and lighting of the objects were crisp and fully detailed. The flowing water and the raging flames all were rendered magnificently. If you have been playing PC games for quite some time now, these are a wow factor to you. The whole environment of Avatar down to the tiniest insect were given attention which resulted to a very beautiful movie. Some may not appreciate these elements, but gamers and techies like me will surely drool over this masterpiece.

BTW, the moral lesson of the movie? Never get hooked up to your "other life" a.k.a. online life for you will find it hard to continue living in your real life.

Christmas 2009

It's official, Christmas is over. I know you'll say that it'll not end until the feast of the Three Kings. But as I saw what happened today at Trinoma, I guess the spirit of Christmas is just a one day affair. Seriously, I saw people fighting over a line to the cinemas, fighting over seats as who did got it first, and fighting over taxis. Is loving your fellowmen only works on December 24 and some part of December 25 only? After that we return to hating each other, not thinking clearly and resorting to violence. You don't have to wait till Christmas to be good. You should do it all year round, not just because it's "Christmas". Now stop being a smart ass and say that we cannot afford gifts and festivities all year round. Christmas is not all that.We celebrate Christmas because Jesus was born to save us from our sins. That's what Christmas is all about. Heck it's written all over the name CHRISTmas. Don't wait till Christmas to do something good. Do a simple act of random kindess everyday and you'll see that everyday can be Christmas day.

9 Mornings 2009

Today is again the start of the age-old tradition "Misa de Gallo" a.k.a "Simbang Gabi" a.k.a. "9 Mornings". Not like any other year, this year was full of despair and agony. With the deaths of famous figures and the devistation of typhoon "Ondoy" and "Pepeng" will surely wipe the hopes of many. But we are Filipinos. We have something that not some other nations possess, and that is being happy in times of crisis. Even though some of our countrymen haven't returned to their homes because of the flood or landslides, they are still happy that Christmas is here and they will celebrate it no matter what. Some will still decorate something that signifies Christmas even though they don't eat three times a day. Some will attend the 9 mornings even though sleeping on a comfortable bed is impossible. Some will no longer have their love ones join them this Christmas but they still celebrate Christmas as one family. Filipinos were tested time and time again but their faith in God will never fade. Truly we are the only Catholic / Christian country in Asia that still believe that after all these tragedies, God will will still bless thie country. Eight mornings to go before Christmas. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone

The Channel War

We are all aware of the current war we have onour local television. It breaks down into two sides, the "kapuso" and the "kapamilya". ABS-CBN channel 2 and GMA channel 7 have been fighting the local television ratings for quite a while now. They have fought in the noon time variety show ratings, the primetime ratings and the news. We all witnessed both stations fought over the AGB Neilsen ratings scandal and the issue of "credible news". Everywhere you go, it's either 2 or 7, but there are other channels in our local television that entertains and satisfy our everyday delight. I remember the times that the remote still has some use. Wherein, you change the channel on a specific time because you like the show here then after an hour or so you change it to another channel to watch another one. Even if cable channels are now available some "die-hard" viewers stick only to these channels. Now some say this is a good thing like "Hey, we're the one benefiting from this". But if you look at the bigger picture, these two sations will do anything, yeah that's right, anything to get some audience. Haven't you realized it already? Noon time shows now has a rule that there must be half naked women dancing and some poor fellas making a fool of themselves just to be popular. Take note, this is being aired sometime around lunch or so. Think about the children who had the chance to watch ths kind of stuff. "Hey let's dance / make fool of ourselves to earn money, It's that easy!". Another thing, the only credible thing left on local television is being compromised by adding "spice" to every story. Come one, some issues aren't that bad until they "sensationalized" it. When will this end? When will we have a nice, unbiased programming? Oh well..time to change the channel...

Maguindanao under Martial Law

After the events of the Maguindanao Massacre, things heated up in Maguindanao. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared martial law there to ease the tension and place the military under control. With the imposition of martial law, the military will now temporarily take over in running the provincial government so it can pave the way for the arrest of the Ampatuan political clan who were charged before hand. Mixed reactions circulated around the net as whether this is a right thing to do or the president is just being hasty. Some say it was too late to declare this as lives were already sacrificed. Is this move a precursor of what things to come in our country? Remember, President Marcos orchestrated a series of unrest so he can declare the country under martial law. Are we seeing history repeats itself? God..please save our country

Here is the full text of President Arroyo’s declaration placing Maguindanao under martial law:

PROCLAMATION NO. 1959

PROCLAIMING A STATE OF MARTIAL LAW AND
SUSPENDING THE PRIVILEGE OF THE WRIT OF
HABEAS CORPUS IN THE PROVINCE OF
MAGUINDANAO, EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN AREAS

WHEREAS, Proclamation 1946 was issued on 24 November 2009 declaring a state of emergency in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and the City of Cotabato for the purpose of preventing and suppressing lawless violence in the aforesaid areas;

WHEREAS, Section 18 , Article VII of the Constitution provides that ” x x x In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety so requires it, (the President) may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law, x x x “

WHEREAS, R.A. No. 6986 provides that the crime of rebellion or insurrection is committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the Government for the purpose of xxx depriving the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or prerogatives.”

WHEREAS, heavily armed groups in the province of Maguindanao have established positions to resist government troops, thereby depriving the Executive of its powers and prerogatives to enforce the laws of the land and to maintain public order and safety;

WHEREAS, the condition of peace and order in the province of Maguindanao has deteriorated to the extent that the local judicial system and other government mechanisms in the province are not functioning, thus endangering public safety;

WHEREAS, the Implementing Operational Guidelines of the GRP-MILF Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities dated 14 November 1997 provides the following is considered a prohibited act: ” x x x establishment of checkpoints except those necessary for the GRP’s enforcement and maintainance of peace and order; and for the defense and security of the MILF in their identified areas, as jointly determined by the GRP and the MILF, x x x “

NOW, THEREFORE, I , GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and by law, do hereby proclaim as follows:

SECTION 1. There is hereby declared a state of martial law in the province of Maguindanao, except for the identified areas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as referred to in the Implementing Operational Guidelines of the GRP-MILF Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities.

SECTION 2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall likewise be suspended in the aforesaid area for the duration of the state of martial law.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 4th day of December in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Nine.

GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

By the President:

EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary