'Our Planet' Is Spectacular

Our Planet is a new documentary series from the team behind the Planet Earth franchise.  Now, I don’t know if it counts as part of the franchise since it’s made for Netflix instead of BBC.  But it has the same style of delivery as the various Planet Earth series, and it’s also narrated by David Attenborough, so it really feels like a Planet Earth series.

'Born in China' Stirs and Delights with Its Four Engaging Storylines

I’ve always been fond of Disneynature movies – and nature documentaries in general – and have been avidly looking forward to a new one since 2015’s Monkey Kingdom.  The wait was somewhat long.  But, at last, Disneynature’s latest – Born in China – has become available to be watched.

'Kedi' Will Entrance Cat Lovers

For many centuries, Istanbul has been a cat city.  Through history, these cats have witnessed how the city changed hands between empires, how it shrunk and grew.  They have roamed freely, masterless but regularly cared for by admirers.  Apparently, this has always been the case.

The Turkish documentary film Kedi shows the impact of these street cats on the daily lives of the people of Istanbul in the present.  It centers on seven particular cats – Sari, Duman, Bengü, Aslan Parçasi, Gamsiz, Psikopat, and Deniz – who have managed to bring delight and provoke reflection to those they have chosen to interact with.

Top 10 Moments in 'Planet Earth II'

Planet Earth II is a nature documentary mini-series from BBC, and serves as sequel to 2006’s Planet Earth.  It was originally released in the UK in 2016, but was widely released to international audiences this year.  And I recently had the pleasure of watching it.  As a kid, I had watched and enjoyed tons of this stuff, particularly in Discovery Channel.  Hence, I’ve always loved nature documentaries (I’m currently looking forward to Disneynature’s latest film, Born in China).  So I had a blast with Planet Earth II.

'Monkey Kingdom' Impeccably Entertains and Educates About Toque Macaque Monkeys

Virtually everyone loves animal documentaries.  And the best kinds are those that not only inform the audiences, but also make them empathize with the subject animals.  This can be accomplished when names and personalities are given to the animals, and their behavior and the chronicles of their daily routines are interpreted through an enthralling narrative.

Disneynature – an independent film label under Walt Disney Studios that produces nature documentary films – has perfected making these through the years.  Monkey Kingdom, the label’s latest offering, could be their best yet.  Narrated by Tina Fey, the film focuses on a troop of toque macaque monkeys living in a (if I remember it correctly) Sri Lankan jungle.

The central protagonist of the story is Maya, who belongs to the lowest level of her troop’s social hierarchy.  The story follows her daily struggles for survival while enduring the disadvantages of being a low-born, and how she is able to eventually overcome all these hardships and make a bright future for herself and her son, Kip.

Monkey Kingdom is brilliant, charming film that effectively blends learning and entertainment.  It doesn’t have a dull second, not only because monkeys are innately comical creatures, but because the beautiful footage are expertly manipulated to create a genuinely endearing drama that could almost rival the best of Walt Disney’s most heartfelt animated features.  It’s easily one of my favorite movies of the year.

The Existence of the Universe is a Definitive Affirmation of the Existence of God

Looking at the awesomeness of Creation – how mindblowingly complex it is, how marvelously beautiful it is, how gloriously big it is – and, by extension, all the incredible creations and accomplishments that have come out of human imagination, creativity, intellect, resolve, and talent, I am deeply perplexed that some people can dare conclude that all of these “just happened.”  To me, with my daily encounters with reality and its wonders, it is very much apparent that there is Someone Bigger beyond all of these.  Yes, it is based on faith.  But it’s not an irrational faith.  In fact, as a Christian, is it with Spirit-driven faith that I was able to think more rationally – to sincerely seek truth.           

Pompous “enlightened people” pretend to have all the answers.  They believe they are superior because they aren’t a “superstitious bunch” that believe in a Supreme Being.  But upon meticulous scrutiny, you will see that they are hypocritical, that their presuppositions are also based on faith – and a faith working on a foundation something actually shakier than a faith in God at that!

For example, the strongest “evidences” out there for the Theory of Evolution are almost solely limited to “microevolution” – wherein an animal or plant develops an additional function in response to particular stimuli.  And that doesn’t prove Evolution at all.  An illustration of microevolution is a fish developing a camouflage in order to avoid predators; in that scenario, the fish’s nature as fish remains intact.   But a fish transforming into a bird is the kind of dramatic change that Evolution is claiming as possible – that’s “macroevolution” – and there are no empirical data to support such absurdity.  More so with Abiogenesis – wherein an inanimate object is supposed to dramatically transform into a living thing.  Macroevolution and Abiogenesis are ridiculous, proof-less claims; without these two, the Theory of Evolution falls apart.  And yet people will readily accept Evolution’s infallibility!  Most atheists I encounter that believes in Evolution or the Big Bang or any other theory that denies God creating life and the universe simply accepts these theories are true without really thoroughly understanding them (or they pretend that they do).  They embrace these as truths without any struggle, without further reflection or discernment, just because a famous scientist or philosopher said so.   In fact, if they choose to exert an effort in honestly examining these for themselves, they might discover that these presented ideas don’t really have airtight, empirical proofs.  Hence, they might not have faith in God, but the manner of how they strongly believe in the ideas of Evolution or Big Bang or Sagan or Dawkins or Darwin – without genuine comprehension of them and without finding definitive proofs to support them – is some kind of faith.    

 

Science is a great, great thing.  But it is not God.  Science should lead us to God.  And if more scientists are more honest with themselves, and not give in to peer pressure, and really apply objective thought, and get rid of prejudices and double standards, they would definitely see God in the wonders of the universe that they discover through Science.

When one truly fathomed the awesomeness of life and the universe, one won’t really be comfortable of accepting that all of these were brought about by random accidents.  The existence of life and the universe – Creation – is clearly a definite affirmation of the existence of God – the Creator (for, in fact, Creation is the physical manifestation of God’s glory).  The intrinsic beauty and complexity found in every detail of Creation are something that I can never rationally accept as things that “just happened.” 

The Law of Cause-and-Effect states that, for every effect, there should be an appropriate, reasonable cause that made it so.  And the only “appropriate, reasonable” cause there is for an “effect” of such magnitude as the universe is an infinite, intelligent God.  To think that the universe has been brought about by a “cause” lesser than that is ridiculous. 

If one denies an eternal Creator has made the universe, one has to embrace the belief of either: a.) the universe created itself; or b.) the universe originated from a finite cause – either a finite catalyst or a creator, who himself has been created by something or someone.  Both options are obviously absurd.  The first option is contradictory.  How can something create itself?  For the universe to be capable of creating itself, it should first have to be.  It would have to be before it was.  And that’s an impossibility.  Even God can’t create himself, because he wouldn’t be present to create himself in the first place.  God is – by essence and definition – infinite, un-created, and exists before time came to be.         

The second conclusion – that the universe originated from a finite creator/catalyst – is very problematic because, ultimately, it relies on the belief that an actual infinity of finite things is possible.  One would have to wrestle with the problem: if the universe is created by an A, what is the B that created A in the first place?  How was B created then?  By a C?  Then what created C?   And so on.  Ad infinitum.  And that is just plain nonsense.  If one subscribes to such thought that an infinite chain of finite causes is possible, one also has to subscribe to a belief that time has been running eternally since an infinity of finite causes would require infinite time to work on.  The problem however is that infinite yesterdays is unthinkable for it’s an impossibility to cross through eternity.  You won’t be able to go through an infinite number of yesterdays to get to today just as a negative infinity can’t “count down” towards zero.  If it has been going on forever, it can’t possibly get to today.                

So for this universe to exist, it should have been created by something eternal – something that existed before time even existed – and is infinite in essence.  It’s the only possible solution.   Furthermore, this infinite something can’t be something without awareness.  It should be something – someone – with intelligent consciousness – a supreme intelligent consciousness.    

When I was still a kid who had never even ridden in a plane yet, airplanes provoked awe in me.  I was curious of its engineering (or whatever term the concept of engineering represented in my mind then); my mind was asking things like “How something heavy was made to fly?”  I knew that the answers would be complicated and I probably had to get a bit older to understand.  However, I knew that this complex airplane couldn’t possibly have “just happened”; its complex, purposed design required a conscious, intelligent effort to be.   Now, life and the universe have much more complex engineering in it than an airplane.  It definitely couldn’t “just happened”!  Believing that is more ridiculous than believing that an airplane can be made out of an exploding junkyard.    

Even if, let’s say, experiments using the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland supposedly proved the Big Bang Theory or how matter exploded out of energy, it doesn’t necessarily is a point against Creationism and a point for Anti-Creationism theories.  What was done to simulate the supposedly beginning of the universe hasn’t been something random, undirected, or unsupervised.  There were scientists who had consciously worked, assembled, and directed the factors to bring the creation of matter about.  It didn’t really happen chaotically.  There was a conscious, intelligent effort behind it.   It’s not the same thing as what atheists believe in – that the universe just “exploded” into being without conscious guidance.   

The universe exists because an infinite and intelligent and living God created it.   It’s the only logical conclusion.  The Apostle Paul revealed in the first chapter of Romans that men have no excuse in denying the existence of God because the universe clearly manifests His being and glory.  The existence of the universe should be a sufficient – no, overwhelming – objective proof for the affirmation of God’s existence. 

But why are there atheists?  Why aren’t everyone compelled to believe in God if the universe compellingly proves his existence?  Well, it’s because humans are sinners, and our sinful and depraved nature won’t allow us to be persuaded by the overwhelming proof.   We are blinded (or prefer to be blinded).  The truth never really mattered to us.  We prefer to deny the existence of the Creator since we don’t want to acknowledge our accountability to our Creator. 

But through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, the stubbornness and pride brought by our depraved nature will be shattered.  We will be able to humbly embrace truth and instruction.  And it is only by this time that our reasoning won’t be hindered when we argue or encounter arguments for truth.  When proof of the existence of God is brought forth by the universe, we can now allow ourselves to be persuaded.  From the point where we can wholeheartedly acknowledge God’s existence, then we can proceed to the next step of wholeheartedly acknowledging His lordship over us, and decide to live – to exist – solely for declaring His glory – just as what He has always intended for His Creation to be.

Top 10 Fictional Cats

Those who know me are familiar of my fondness of cats.  They are cute, cuddly, adorable, lazy, indifferent, self-absorbed, cowardly, quick-tempered, gullible, agile, tenacious, sharp, and sly – and I find the sum of all these qualities very winning. 

I lament the fact that there are more interesting and notable dog characters than cat characters.  Nonetheless, there are still a couple of stand-outs among fictional cats.  Here are my picks for the best from the lot.  

Honorable Mentions: Cheshire Cat (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Cat-Bus (My Neighbor Totoro), Bill the Cat (Bloom County), Meowth (Pokemon)

10.) HEATHCLIFF

I read Garfield and any affection I have to the strip is out of my affection for newspaper comic strips in general.  I find Heathcliff as the better fictional ginger cat over Garfield.  Heathcliff doesn’t talk (though in the animated series, he does, and wisecracks, which is great also) but he still possesses an extent of anthropomorphic characteristics (e.g. fighting with his fists; understanding human culture, concepts, and language; maintaining a girlfriend; standing on his hind legs; serving as an informant for dog catchers, etc.) that allowed more absurdity in the gags of his comic strips.  His episodic adventures are usually about outsmarting his adversaries; bullying dogs and other cats; stealing from and annoying the tuna fisherman, the fish market owner, and the milkman; making lady cats swoon; and just being a plain nuisance to almost everyone. 

9.) LYING CAT

This is the most recent one that I’ve encountered in this list since it’s only this year that I’ve come to read and be a fan of the exceptionally terrific Saga comic book series.

Lying Cat is the pet cat of The Will, a bounty hunter that was sent after the main protagonists (an eloping inter-species couple that belong to opposite sides of the war).  What is remarkable and interesting about this cat is how it shouts out “Lying!” whenever someone speaks a lie within its earshot.       

8.) FELIX THE CAT

I know that Felix the Cat is more known as an animated character; ever since his creation during the silent film era, Felix has appeared in a couple of animated shorts, animated series, and animated movies.  But my fondness for the character happened because of the funny “Felix the Cat” comics digest from Harvey Comics Entertainment; I immensely enjoyed reading “Felix the Cat” comics during my early childhood.  The simple but stylish cartoon design of the character is also worth noting.

7.) PUSS IN BOOTS (Shrek)

The Shrek franchise has succeeded in reinventing some fairy tale characters to hilarious effect.  One of those characters is Puss in Boots, wherein he was depicted as a swashbuckling cat with a Mexican accent (with Antonio Banderas’ distinctive voicing enhancing this character’s charm).  Debuting in Shrek 2, Puss was first introduced as an assassin tasked to kill Shrek, but he quickly became his ally instead.  Donkey was initially threatened from being replaced by Puss as Shrek’s sidekick, but the three of them eventually became close friends.

Puss is a capable swordsman, but he isn’t unaware of the adorable qualities that a cat possesses by default – he even uses his adorableness (e.g. winning people with his trademark cute, large “puppy eyes”) to his advantage in a fight or to get his way. 

     

6.) CHESTER

Chester is a character from the excellent Bunnicula series of children books.  He is the only cat among the four pets of the Monroe household, and was the only one convinced that Bunnicula is a vampire and a threat.  His name is taken from G.K. Chesterton (he was a birthday gift for Mr. Monroe, a literature professor), and grew to love reading books.  Because of reading many books, Chester is smarter or at least more knowledgeable than the pet dogs.  However, his intelligence is also probably the reason why he’s obnoxious, extremely imaginative, stubbornly narrow-minded, and incapable of admitting wrong (typical flaws of most smart people).  Nonetheless, his flaws and obsession on Bunnicula make him a very appealing and enjoyable character.        

5.) TOP CAT

The titular character of the immensely entertaining Top Cat animated series is a charismatic, street-smart, and ingenious alley cat.  Top Cat – or T.C. for short to his friends – usually spend his days leading his gang of alley cats in earning a quick buck through outlandish schemes or cons.  As expected, T.C. often finds himself in a bind from the outcome of his enterprises.  However, he is also often able to talk himself out of trouble with the help of his smooth-talking and quick-wittedness.  Though not as competent as the Fonz, T.C.’s personality is very much Fonzie-like, i.e. he easily wins over both co-characters and audience alike.   

4.) SWAT KATS

Let me cheat a bit.  The sixth spot belongs to both Chance "T-Bone" Furlong and Jake "Razor" Clawson – the SWAT Kats – since they equally provide to what makes the SWAT Kats awesome.  This duo is former paramilitary law enforcers that were exiled to the city’s military salvage yard.  Despite being removed from service, the two still desired to fight crime and protect the city, hence, they decided to become vigilantes – the super-hero duo, SWAT Kats.  They modified the salvage yard to serve as their base of operations, and using parts they can find in it, they created a state-of-the-art fighter jet, the “Turbokat”, as well as gadgetries, weapons, and other vehicles to use in their crusade.   

3.) DORAEMON

The delightful Doraemon anime series features the daily struggles (e.g. being bullied, getting poor grades, etc.) of fifth-grader Nobita, in which the titular character Doraemon would provide aid for.  Doraemon is a robot cat sent from the future to improve the fortune of the hapless Nobita.  He does this by providing Nobita with strange but effective gadgetries that are intended to help address his present predicaments.  However, half of the time, especially when Nobita becomes abusive, greedy, and too self-seeking of the advantage provided, the whole thing backfires on him.  Still, throughout the way, the loyal Doraemon consistently provides counsel and caution.          

2.) SALEM SABERHAGEN

Technically, Salem is – was – a human warlock.  However, he was turned into a cat as punishment for his attempts to take over the world.  As a cat, Salem is a delightful companion to Sabrina Spellman, especially in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and in Sabrina: the Animated Series wherein he was portrayed as a wisecracking, loud-mouthed black cat – extremely funny and charismatic.  

I don’t care much for early versions of Salem in the comics since he’s originally orange and doesn’t talk.  Thankfully, due to the sitcom’s popularity, the comics opted to retcon Salem so that the comic book portrayal would closely reflect the much improved, more hilarious version of the character set by the sitcom. 

 

1.) PUSS IN BOOTS

Shrek’s reinvention was great and fun, but the original fairy tale depiction is still the best.   The “Puss in Boots” story charmed me greatly from the first time I read it.  And the story’s titular cat who ensured the fortune of his master through clever manipulations and quick-thinking made an empathic impression on me that he has been my most favorite fictional cat ever since.

As ending, I’ll leave you with the narrative of the fairy tale to enjoy the awesomeness of the original Puss in Boots.  Here goes...

*  *  *        

Once upon a time there was a miller, who was so poor that at his death he had nothing to leave to his three children but his mill, his ass, and his cat. The eldest son took the mill, and the second the ass, so there was nothing left for poor Jack but to take Puss.

Jack could not help thinking that he had been treated shabbily. "My brothers will be able to earn an honest livelihood," he sighed, "but as for me, though Puss may feed himself by catching mice, I shall certainly die of hunger."  The cat, who had overheard his young master, jumped upon his shoulder, and, rubbing himself gently against his cheek, began to speak. "Dear master," said he, "do not grieve. I am not as useless as you think-me, and will undertake to make your fortune for you, if only you will buy me a pair of boots, and give me that old bag."

Now, Jack had very little money to spare, but, knowing Puss to be a faithful old friend, he made up his mind to trust him, and so spent all he possessed upon a smart pair of boots made of buff-colored leather. They fitted perfectly, so Puss put them on, took the old bag which his master gave him, and trotted off to a neighboring warren in which he knew there was a great number of rabbits.  Having put some bran and fresh parsley into the bag, he laid it upon the ground, hid himself, and waited. Presently two foolish little rabbits, sniffing the food, ran straight into the bag,' when the clever cat drew the strings and caught them.

Then, slinging the bag over his shoulder, he hastened off to the palace, where he asked to speak to the King. Having been shown into the royal presence, he bowed and said:

"Sire, my Lord the Marquis of Carabas has commanded me to present these rabbits to your Majesty, with his respects."

The monarch having desired his thanks to be given to the Marquis (who, as you will guess, was really our poor Jack), then ordered his head cook to dress the rabbits for dinner, and he and his daughter partook of them with great enjoyment.  Day by day Puss brought home stores of good food, so that he and his master lived in plenty, and besides that, he did not fail to keep the King and his courtiers well supplied with game.

Sometimes he would lay a brace of partridges at the royal feet, sometimes a fine large hare, but whatever it was, it always came with the same message: "From my Lord the Marquis of Carabas"; so that everyone at Court was talking of this strange nobleman, whom no one had ever seen, but who sent such generous presents to his Majesty.

At length Puss decided that it was time for his master to be introduced at Court.  So one day he persuaded him to go and bathe in a river near, having heard that the King would soon pass that way. Jack stood shivering up to his neck in water, wondering what was to happen next, when suddenly the King's carriage appeared in sight. At once Puss began to call out as loudly as he could:

"Help, help! My Lord the Marquis of Carabas is drowning!"

The King put his head out of the carriage window and, recognizing the cat, ordered his attendants to go to the assistance of the Marquis. While Jack was being taken out of the water, Puss ran to the King and told him that some robbers had run off with his master's clothes whilst he was bathing, the truth of the matter being that the cunning cat had hidden them under a stone.

On hearing this story the King instantly dispatched one of his grooms to fetch a handsome suit of purple and gold from the royal wardrobe, and arrayed in this, Jack, who was a fine, handsome fellow, looked so well that no one for a moment supposed but that he was some noble foreign lord.

The King and his daughter were so pleased with his appearance that they invited him into their carriage. At first Jack hesitated, for he felt a little shy about sitting next to a Princess, but she smiled at him so sweetly, and was so kind and gentle, that he soon forgot his fears and fell in love with her there and then.  As soon as Puss had seen his master seated in the royal carriage, he whispered directions to the coachman, and then ran on ahead as fast as he could trot, until he came to a field of corn, where the reapers were busy.

"Reapers," said he fiercely, "the King will shortly pass this way. If he should ask you to whom this field belongs, remember that you say, 'To the Marquis of Carabas.' If you dare to disobey me, I will have you all chopped up as fine as mincemeat." The reapers were so afraid the cat would keep his word that they promised to obey. Puss then ran on and told all the other laborers whom he met to give the same answer, threatening them with terrible punishments if they disobeyed.  Now, the King was in a very good humor, for the day was fine, and he found the Marquis a very pleasant companion, so he told the coachman to drive slowly, in order that he might admire the beautiful country. "What a fine field of wheat!" he said presently. "To whom does it belong?" Then the men answered as they had been told: "To our Lord the Marquis of Carabas." Next they met a herd of cattle, and again to the King's question, "To whom do they belong?" they were told, "To the Marquis of Carabas." And it was the same with everything they passed.

The Marquis listened with the greatest astonishment, and thought what a very wonderful cat his dear Puss was; and the King was delighted to find that his new friend was as wealthy as he was charming.

Meanwhile Puss, who was well in advance of the Royal party, had arrived at a stately castle, which belonged to a cruel Ogre, the richest ever known, for all the lands the King had admired so much belonged to him. Puss knocked at the door and asked to see the Ogre, who received him quite civilly, for he had never seen a cat in boots before, and the sight amused him.

So he and Puss were soon chatting away together.

The Ogre, who was very conceited, began to boast of what clever tricks he could play, and Puss sat and listened, with a smile on his face.  "I once heard, great Ogre," he said at last, "that you possessed the power of changing yourself into any kind of animal you chose--a lion or an elephant, for instance."

"Well, so I can," replied the Ogre.

"Dear me! How much I should like to see you do it now," said Puss sweetly.

The Ogre was only too pleased to find a chance of showing how very clever he was, so he promised to transform himself into any animal Puss might mention.

"Oh! I will leave the choice to you," said the cat politely. Immediately there appeared where the Ogre had been seated, an enormous lion, roaring, and lashing with its tail, and looking as though it meant to gobble the cat up in a trice.  Puss was really very much frightened, and, jumping out of the window, managed to scramble on to the roof, though he could scarcely hold on to the tiles on account of his high-heeled boots.

There he sat, refusing to come down, until the Ogre changed himself into his natural form, and laughingly called to him that he would not hurt him.  Then Puss ventured back into the room, and began to compliment the Ogre on his cleverness.

"Of course, it was all very wonderful," he said, "but it would be more wonderful still if you, who are so great and fierce, could transform yourself into some timid little creature, such as a mouse. That, I suppose, would be quite impossible?"

"Not at all," said the vain Ogre; "one is quite as easy to me as the other, as I will show you." And in a moment a little brown mouse was frisking about all over the floor, whilst the Ogre had vanished.

"Now or never," said Puss, and with a spring he seized the mouse and gobbled it up as fast as he could.

At the same moment all the gentlemen and ladies whom the wicked Ogre had held in his castle under a spell, became disenchanted. They were so grateful to their deliverer that they would have done anything to please him, and readily agreed to enter into the service of the Marquis of Carabas when Puss asked them to do so.

So now the cat had a splendid castle, which he knew to be full of heaped-up treasures, at his command, and ordering a magnificent feast to be prepared, he took up his station at the castle gates to welcome his master and the royal party.  As soon as the castle appeared in sight, the King enquired whose it was, "For," said he, "I have never seen a finer."

Then Puss, bowing low, threw open the castle gates, and cried:

"May it please your Majesty to alight and enter the home of the most noble the Marquis of Carabas."

Full of surprise, the King turned to the Marquis. "Is this splendid castle indeed yours?" he asked. "Not even our own palace is more beautiful, and doubtless it is as splendid within as without."

Puss then helped his Majesty to alight, and conducted him into the castle, where a group of noble gentlemen and fair ladies were waiting to receive them. Jack, or the Marquis as he was now called, gave his hand to the young Princess, and led her to the banquet.

Long and merrily they feasted, and when at length the guests rose to depart, the King embraced the Marquis, and called him his dear son; and the Princess blushed so charmingly and looked so shy and sweet, that Jack ventured to lay his heart and fortune at her feet.

And so the miller's son married the King's daughter, and there were great rejoicings throughout the land.

On the evening of the wedding-day a great ball was given, to which princes and noblemen from far and near were invited. Puss opened the ball, wearing for the occasion a pair of boots made of the finest leather, with gold tassels and scarlet heels. I only wish you could have seen him.

When the old King died, the Princess and her husband reigned in his stead, and their most honored and faithful friend at Court was Puss himself, for his master never forgot to whom he owed all his good fortune: He lived upon the daintiest meat and most delicious cream, and was petted and made much of all the days of his life, and never again ran after mice and rats, except for exercise and amusement.

Global Warming

These days, there is a certain phenomenon that is so popular called Global Warming. Let me define it first. Global warming, in a not too technical term, is the heating up of our world due to the increased levels of carbon dioxide and other gasses. And because of this heating up, there are certain changes – dramatic changes – in world weather. It causes extreme storms, melting of glaciers and ices in the world (particularly in the Artic and the Antarctic), wiping out in the map of islands (even small island nations) due in sea levels, and other such events. Ultimately, this may lead to another Ice Age, or even maybe complete word catastrophe. That is the popular belief about Global Warming.

I think the majority obtain their beliefs and facts about Global Warming from movies like “The Day After Tomorrow” and, Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary, “The Inconvenient Truth”, or from media features, rather than personal research. People treat it as a flawless truth. I think the last time I read it was still just a theory. Sure, it is true there are dramatic and extreme changes in the weather lately, but is it all attributable to Global Warming?

I am aware of the two sides of this issue: those who treat Global Warming as an absolute truth, and those who believe that Global Warming is just a clever manipulative hoax. There are a lot of strong facts and arguments from both sides. I don’t have the patience to enumerate all those data about it here. All I suggest is you look it up yourself, and decide for yourself.

The Global Warming topic is a lively and relevant contest. But there is a problem with it when supporters and skeptics of it became extremists. This could be dangerous. There could be hysteria, panic, eco-terrorism, and the most dangerous of all, tampering of facts to suit one’s argument. We are easily impressed by “facts” and statistics that we believe anything that it represents even if we don’t even understand what those graphs, tables and numbers say. I always say that facts can be manipulated. And I always say that we must be always prudent, analytic, open-minded, emotionally detached, and researchful – especially in important topics like Global Warming. Moreover, we must not swallow everything that is offered to us, right?

My stand on this issue is this: I stand in the middle. I am not sure if Global Warming is indeed true or not, though, maybe, is some degree and in some senses it is certainly true that it exist. But I am not sure about several other things attributed to Global Warming. It is not for me at all to decide about it anyway, it’s up to those bright minds who call themselves experts in this matter. But I believe that weather is too complex and unpredictable to be understood completely by scientists and meteorologists (like the mind is too complex for psychology and other sciences that deal with it). Yes, in some degree weather can be understood (like the mind). But completely and absolutely understood? I don’t think so. Probably, in the future. And whether weather changes are attributable to Global Warming or not, we can not completely do something about weather change (though I read and hear about certain governments have weather control projects – for war purposes, what else). Weather will always change.

But Global Warming or no Global Warming, an inconvenient truth or a clever hoax, we must take care of our environment. We must always respect and appreciate God’s creation. It is our responsibility.

SPIDERS

Here is a scenario:
Someone, a female very often, sees a spider. It will take about a second or two for it to register to her that it was a spider. And another second of hesitation to confirm that it was a spider. Then the scream, “Eeeeeeeeee!” It’s so high pitched that it can break glass. “A spider! A hideous spider!” She will then either kill it herself with her shoe, or call someone, a male very often, to kill it for her.

When scenarios like this happen, my sympathy is on the spider. You see, I like spiders; they’re my fave kind of insects (technicaly, they are not really insects). Arachnids. I don’t know where this fondness of mine on spiders started. It might be because Spider-Man is my favorite comicbook character since I was a toddler that I grew fond of spiders, too (and I wondered if being bitten by an irradiated spider really gives you superpowers). Or because like other Filipino boys, I find it fun watching two spiders fight hanging on a stick. Or maybe because I find their webs, and when they make their webs, cool. Or is it because of a children story called “Charlotte’s Web”? I don’t know.

I am not afraid of spiders since I was a baby. Even of the big ones with venoms. And I never kill spiders, nor ever will, just as I won’t kill a cat. They are such interesting and complex creatures… one of God’s bests.

I heard a story of someone who does not know of God in atheist China, I think, what without the help of a preacher nor a Bible began to believe in god when he saw a spider. He cannot comprehend something as complex as a spider making its web exists even if there is no God. So, he concluded that there is God. Spiders, God’s little missionaries.

Fascinating are these God’ creatures that live all over the world, on mountains, in forests, in caves, desserts, and even underwater. Spiders don’t only eat insects, but some kinds also eat small fish and tadpoles. Another interesting thing about spiders I that male spiders are much smaller than females, so the females sometimes mistake males for other insects and gobble them up!

One of the things I like about spiders is they kill mosquitoes. Just as much as I liked spiders is my hate for mosquitoes. That’s why I don’t get rid of webs often, the more webs there are, the better the chance of a mosquito getting captured by a spider and get killed (of course, I have to remove the webs when they are already too thick for the light of the fluorescent bulb to get through). Oh, another cool thing, I saw a spider biting the head off a cockroach, and then sucking its blood… radical.

There is one characteristic in spiders that people should copy. Perseverance. Break their webs and they will only repair them or make another one. They never give up. Just like the spider in the song “itsy bitsy spider”. It continued on its way up the water spout after it was washed down by the rain. We, humans, should also learn to persevere and continue in our way up our “water spouts” even if the “rain” washes us out.
I think the guy who wrote that song likes spiders, too.

So, please, don’t kill a spider when you see one. There are 10,000 different kinds of spiders in the world, and all of them are not worth killing. The little guy is only minding his own business, do likewise. Only kill a spider when it is as huge as the ones in the movie “Eight-Legged Freaks”, you’re a fool if you don’t kill it if you have the chance.

All’s left is finding out if a bite from an irradiated spider really gives you powers like Spider-Man.

Fantastic Felines

Since my childhood black cat, Blackie, and his pride of felines, cats had inhabited our front yard ever since. Years passes, and generations of cats that came from that first batch had come and gone. Must of them just disappear - either they got tired of the food we feed them or they became road kill - so the average cat population in the cat pride during each batch is about four or five (but there used to be a time when a batch has ten, more or less).

I don’t know what generation my current cats are, and there used to be four often, and I called them the ‘Fantastic Four’. ‘Mr. Fantastic’ is the smartest cat among them. I called another the ‘Thing’ because he’s the ugliest (maybe because he’s the oldest). The youngest cat is the ‘Human Torch’ for being a hotshot. And the only female in the group is ‘Invisible Woman’ (being the only female).

Mr. Fantastic, being the smartest, left the group one day, since he knew he will have an irrelevant life if he stays in our yard. He envisioned himself doing better than eating table scraps (probably to make a starship like his namesake). I don’t know if he is gone for good (dead? Or captured by Dr. Doom?). In the past, he was also absent for a very long period, but eventually he returned. But he has yet to return from this current absence of his (rumor is he’s alive in an alternate universe).

The Thing is the ugliest and oldest. He is even older than my own sister. What he does each day is sleep, run from the neighborhood cat bully, annoy my mother, and only says, “It’s clobberin’ time!” when it is time to eat.

Hotshot Human Torch is all talk (or meow). Before fights, he mews threateningly like he will tear his enemy into pieces, but sooner the fight commences, he goes “Flame on!” and flee.

Invisible Woman disappears quickly when approached. No different. Nuff’ said.

Well, these are my cats – the Fantastic Four cats. Like most household cats, mine are conceited, selfish dumb, and lazy. But I like cats anyway than the “loyal, smart, heroic, energetic, noble” dogs (sheeesh). Cats remind me - in some ways - of humans.

CATS

My pets are cats. Cats, for me, are better than dogs. Cats are more fuzzy and cuter. When I was a small boy, I had a small black kitten. I had fun with that kitten. We played and played throughout the day. Unfortunately, we have to leave that cat to our neighbor when we have to move to a new house. After a year in our new house, my mother brought home a black kitten. He was so cute and funny that we became friends very fast. My father also likes him and we let him sleep inside the house. That cat was an offspring of Martina, a Siamese cat that is owned by the Oloyas. That cat was disciplined and it does not litter inside the house and steal our food. It was also brave and strong, and is not a pushover by other cats. My father named him, Blackie. When he grew up, we found another cat that we considered his wife. We adopted her. That cat bore three kittens. I named the mother Shiela and I named the kittens Henry, Toto and Tina. When Toto was a grown up, he died. That left four cats, Blackie, Shiela, Henry and Tina. Blackie protects his family very well. He protects his territory and family from stray cats, and even dogs! That was my first batch of cats. Many followed. Many cats came from that first batch. There are also many stories as well. I use to call my cats a pride. I considered them like lions. There were a lot of them and I cannot remember the names I gave them. Some of them died when young and some died later. Others got lost or we gave away. Shiela died the most tragic, she was bitten by our neighbor's big dog and died. I tried to stop the dog by shooting it with my pellet gun. I failed, and I cried hard when she died. While the patriarch, Blackie, died when he was very old. The most interesting story about my cats was when Tina found a stray kitten left by his mother. Tina adopted the kitten and considered it as her own. She recently gave birth to three kittens and adopted another one, so she had four of them. The pride took him as one of their own. Sadly, as the kitten grew, it disappeared. The first cats are all dead now, as well as the second. All left here are the third or fourth generation. The pride has currently four members. At one time, the pride was composed of up to ten or twelve members. This generation is a contrast of their ancestor. They are a bunch of "scaredy cats" compared to the brave and proud first batch. They also litter outside our house and my mother is very irritated when she have to clean the front yard. The first batch litter far from our house. This generation also steals our food, unlike the first batch that are often behaved. However, I still like those cats. I think I inherited my love for cats from my father. He loves cats. He took care of some cats when he was young. My father is currently the one who often feeds our cats. Compared when I was a boy, I did not play much with these cats. I missed Blackie. He was my best cat ever. I promised that when I grow up, I would find a black cat and make it my pet. Who knows, maybe I will start a new "pride".