preMEDitated

Few books can drive me to the wee hours of morning begging me to read until the last page.
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect is one such book. I Stumbled on the electronic version of the novel last night, and finished it a few hours later. Several hours afterward, I was still turning on my bed, wide awake. Sleep would not come. My mind was too busy thinking about the novel.
The book, however, is not for everyone. Minors and people who are easily (In actuality, even those with tough stomachs might do well to avoid this.) offended should avoid it. Violence, sex, gore; and combinations thereof figure prominently in the first few chapters. Nevertheless, unlike some movies and books which claim to portray “art” by depicting such themes, this novel does not revolve on those themes. Those themes, however, support the message of the book. Censoring them would seriously weaken the message that the book wanted to portray.
SPOILERS! BEWARE!

In the race to produce a vaccine against (A) H1N1, Novartis AG has just won first place. A day after the World Health Organization (WHO)’s upgrade of the swine flu outbreak status into a pandemic, the company announced that it produced the first batch of vaccines against the virus.
Unfortunately, the vaccine would not be available for public use until about September. Clinical trials to ascertain effectiveness and side effects would have to be done before distribution to begin.
In the meantime, people are advised to follow the cliche old rule of frequent hand washing and not touching the face. They could also opt to take the ordinary flu vaccine, which btw protects against the deadlier flu viruses, otherwise known as ordinary flu.

Disclaimer: The swine flu virus as well as other “ordinary” flu viruses could still mutate to become deadlier strains. What should be noted, however, is that the swine flu is considered to be “more dangerous” despite the lower numbers of infections is that it kills otherwise normal and healthy individuals. Nevertheless, other flu viruses could also mutate to achieve this type of severity.

Sources:
1. First batch of swine flu vaccine produced
2. WHO: Full Pandemic Flu Vaccine Production To Start In 2 Weeks
3. WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years

June 11, 2009 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has just declared the AH1/N1 outbreak as a pandemic, meaning that the outbreak is now beyond epidemic proportions.
The AH1/N1 virus, more commonly known as swine flu is responsible for 141 deaths and 27,737 confirmed infections in 74 countries. Yet despite those figures, WHO and the Department of Health (DOH) are one in saying, “DO NOT PANIC.”
Most cases, especially all cases (77) found in the Philippines, show only mild manifestations of the disease indistinguishable from the common flu. Symptoms of the disease may include fever, cough, colds, and rarely vomiting.
Unfortunately, the hype has caused many people to panic. Drug companies and some doctors have been quick to ride on the wave of hysteria*. People have been flocking to them in droves. They believe that getting injected with the current flu vaccine would protect them from the swine flue. In effect, their panic is filling up the purses of some doctors and drug companies.
Hygienic practices such as frequent hand washing, and not touching the nose, mouth, and eyes are more effective in preventing swine flu infection than the current flu vaccine. It would take a few more months for vaccine manufacturers to produce vaccines against AH1/N1.
Btw, it would be better for Filipinos to be more cautious against more dangerous diseases such as dengue than the swine flu. In Cagayan de Oro alone, 200 dengue cases were noted with 4 deaths. Swine flu has 27,737 cases worldwide but only 141 deaths.

*A well known drug company in a mall in Cagayan de Oro proudly advertised they had flu vaccines for sale.

Sources:
1. World Health Organization
2. Higher alert sought for rise in dengue cases
3. DOH warns vs overreaction to swine flu
4. WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years

While still in denial mode regarding the end of the Philippine summer vacation, I opened my Textbook of Medical Physiology by Guyton & Hall.
Then it was as if the soul of Guyton* came alive through the text. I felt as if he was personally speaking to me about the human heart. The mystery endless pumping that signified life seemed to be unveiled with every minute I spent with him.
The SA node became familiar to me. The AV node almost became my friend. The Purkinje system seemed to be saying “hi”.
Then he introduced me to blood pressure control mechanisms. Baroreceptors offered their hands for shaking. Carotid sinuses gave me a peck in the cheek. I wiped the smudge quickly. I wouldn’t want the the Glossopharyngeal Nerve to get jealous.
Then it hit me. I must have been missing the book for the entire time that I didn’t open it during summer. Nevertheless, I quickly dismissed that thought. It was obvious that it was Guyton who really missed me.

*The great physiologist Guyton passed away on 2003…

PS Hall does not miss me as much..

Meet Dirk, a Level 63 Modern Vampire.
He has 470 Clan members, earns 70 million blood from thousands of minions in an hour, has Attack and Defense Skills at more than 100, and he even has an arsenal of rare and coveted items. Unfortunately, Dirk is no more. A force greater than the Vampire Elders has consigned him to oblivion. In other words, Facebook has deactivated my account!
In a way, Dirk is to blame for the sanction. In order for him to become more powerful, I had to be “Friends” with strangers from all over the world to add to his clan. So I invited a host of other Vampire Wars players. Other players also invited me to join their Clan. Thus my Clan grew.
Eventually, I invited so many for the day that I was given a pink slip. Facebookers call it the pink slip of death, which basically warns users that that they are engaging in illicit behavior. I was attentive to these reprimands, but the system had a bug.
Reading your Inbox while under the sanction of the pink slip counts as a violation of the warning. Unfortunately, I read my Inbox while checking for mail from would be Clan members. Facebook did not approve of this. They deactivated my account last week.
I appealed my case to them. I told them I was dutiful in following their rules and regulations. I also pointed out the bug. They sent me an automated reply regarding my case along with a message that I review their Terms of Use. I have yet to hear from them again.
So Dirk is now stuck in purgatory. He cannot reach the dreaded Level 70, nor can he gain more powerful Clan members. He rests, and waits for the Facebook Elders to grant him his undeath back.

PS On another note, I am also glad that Facebook deactivated my account. At the least, I now have time to pursue more productive pursuits like blogging…

Hidden beneath a thin layer of Islamic art in the dome of the Hagia Sophia, if it still exists, is an icon of the Cristo Pantocrator.


Dome of the Hagia Sophia.

The Cristo Pantocrator is a largely unknown theme of representing Christ in Western Christianity. It is, however, popular with Orthodox Christianity. Pantocrator is the Greek translation of the Hebrew El Shaddai, which in English means Almighty or Omnipotent. The word appears several times in the Book of Revelation to describe God, but not Christ specifically. As a title to Christ, it depicts him as judge of humanity.

Cristo Pantocrator

As to why such a Christian theme ended up covered under an Islamic veneer can be explained by a little history. By 1453, the Turks invaded Constantinople. As a symbol of Turkish/Islamic superiority over the Byzantines/Christians, Sultan Mehmed II converted the Hagia Sophia, grandest church of all Christendom, into a mosque.
The Islamization of the church lasted about 400 years. Mosaics were plastered over. Crosses were removed. Minarets were added. Giant discs bearing the name of Allah, Muhammad, and the four caliphs were hung on the columns.
Yet the Hagia Sophia did not remain a mosque. In 1953, about 20 years from the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and about 500 years from the time it became a mosque, the Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum. No longer Muslim or Christian, it served as a beacon of secularism symbolizing the current state of Turkey.
The carpets were removed, exposing the marble floor unseen for centuries. The plaster covering the mosaics were gradually peeled off by expert restorers.

John Crysostom, Early Church Father (Restored Mosaic in the Hagia Sophia)

Emperor Bowing Before the Pantocrator (Restored Mosaic in the Hagia Sophia)

Yet a controversy is still under way on whether to expose the image of Cristo Pantocrator in the dome of the Hagia Sophia. Exposing it would mean the destruction of Islamic themes, which would not only offend Muslims it would also be erasing part of the history of the transformation of the church, or of the history of Turkey itself.
Other voices are more radical. They want to restore the Hagia Sophia into a church once again. Some even say that restoration of the church back into Orthodox hands should be a prerequisite for Turkey to join the European Union. Yet this ignores numerous mosques converted into churches in Spain.
I leave the decision to God, and pray that the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) of Cristo Pantocrator settle the controversy of the nations…

Here is a clip that claims innocence, but is ridden with political and religious implications. And did I mention it’s from Tiny Toons, one of my favorite cartoons from childhood?

Btw, did anybody notice that there’s a Muslim pig there?
On another note, I have recently been interested in Byzantine history. Here’s my take on the Istanbul-Constantinople naming controversy.
For starters, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire, btw, never called itself by that name. It called itself the Roman Empire. The Emperor Constantine also never called Constantinople as Constantinople. He called it Nova Roma. Prior to that new name, it was called Byzantium.
The Turks took Constantinople on 1253 from the Greeks (Byzantines called themselves Romans, but they spoke Greek). Yet contrary to popular belief, Istanbul became the official name of the city only after 1930 during the formation of The Republic of Turkey. Prior to that, the city was known by a variety of names including Konstantiniyye (Arabic for Constantine’s place), etc. Istanbul was also what the Turks called Constantinople before the conquest.
According to the song, a long time ago [about 70 years actually] it was called Constantinople; now it is Istanbul.
Yet for all this concern on names, I must say that the Greeks (Byzantines) won the war on names against the Turks. Istanbul is taken from the Greek word meaning “the city” or “down town”.
Btw, I prefer the old name Byzantium to Constantinople. Istanbul to me sounds like a desert barbarian’s exclamation on finally coming to a city, and ruling it to boot. IMO, The Republic of Turkey should have settled on Konstantiniyye.

I should have finished the previous post earlier.
In fact, I did finish that post about Legend of the Seeker earlier. I finished the original with a fiery passion akin to the Muses’ influence in classical Greek literature. Yet my work became like ashes as the last five paragraphs were lost to cyberspace oblivion. I blame it on server issues, but the fact remained that my work had gone to waste.
I felt something strange the moment I realized that there was really nothing I could do, except rewrite the piece. It felt as if a part of me left, as if there was a hole where the influence that fed the passion of disappointment over the series, used to be.
I could remember the general flow of the piece, but trying to rewrite it just didn’t feel right. So I drank a glass of water as if it would fill the gap where the influence used to be. Then I had to force myself to remember what I felt when I wrote the piece. What was left made me think of Muse leavings, but it was enough.
I came up with something that resembled the original. I think it lacks an edge, but at the least the post is repaired. Yet somehow, I could not stop thinking about the piece that got away, and is now floating in cyberspace oblivion.

Although I have since renounced* my fanaticism for Terry Goodkind’s works, I still think that nobody should desecrate the book called Wizard’s First Rule. That book was awesome! Had I not been impressed with it, I wouldn’t have persevered through all 11 books of the series.
I finished Naked Empire even though it was in essence a paper weight made of paper. I would have quit there, but I remembered Wizard’s First Rule. So I allowed myself to suffer through Confessor, which IMO should be republished in 2 ply.
So I expected to see some redeeming factor for the books in the television series Legend of the Seeker (LOTS). LOTS, so the advertisers say, is loosely based on Wizard’s First Rule. The term “loosely”, however, is an exaggeration. The series was accurate only for its first few minutes. The chaos that ensued is a fan’s nightmare.
The first thing that pissed me off with LOTS is Zedd. His character is confusing. Consider his first appearance. He was roaming around the forest at night, naked, and holding a chicken. Who knows what he must have been doing when Kahlan caught him? Perhaps the show wanted to portray him as a quirky old man, but how come he suddenly evolves into a cliche Gandalf figure. Then in the very next episode he becomes a dirty old man having his way with a woman less than half his age! Bags! He was also supposed to keep saying “bags”!
Then there are those shining blue bottles that the Confessors use as compasses. The show tells us these hold night wisps. The show is yet to feature a live night wisp, but a dead night wisp looks like a miniature porcupine. This mini porcupine is so light a floating leaf could carry it over the river.
I could go on listing all the things that annoy me with the series, but I once consider them to be only minor revisions. I forgave the series its inadequacies for the first few episodes, but something drastic happened in one episode.
In that episode I saw Kahlan bow to a director-created-Mother Confessor. That just did it for me. Kahlan was supposed to be the Mother Confessor herself. Seeing her giving honor to a Pretender just made me snap.
In that moment, I stopped trying to like the show. It was impossible for me to like it. The storyline and characters were too brutalized that they no longer resembled what they were supposed to portray from the books.
I realized then that The Legend of the Seeker was a lie! Its Sword of Truth is made from falsehoods. Its characters are caricatures. In short, it just SUCKS.
And from the deepest crevices of my soul, with whatever love I have or used to have for the Sword of Truth saga, I appeal to fans of the books to steer clear of the series. It did not redeem the series from the blunder of Confessor. Instead, it just reminded me of the failure that was the last three books. Run away from it, quick!

*Blame it on Confessor

In what must be a bittersweet day for Pay Per View customers, Pacquiao knocks out Hatton during the second round of the anticipated Battle of East and West.
The quick fight caused many a subscriber to gulp as they remember the money they invested for an anticipated exciting fight. Their wails, however, were drowned out as the cheers of onlookers rumbled across the entire country, or at least in places where Pay Per View is available. Not surprisingly, these same onlookers grabbed their cell phones and excitedly spoiled the fun for everyone else who were unfortunate enough not to afford/be invited/unashamedly gate crash Pay Per View venues.
Nevertheless, the distress of Non Pay Per View viewers did not end with being spoiled of the fun of an unknown outcome. They had to endure minutes of advertisements just to watch the fight. They may have complained a little, but the thrill of seeing Manny the Champion is worth more than a few hours of redundant ads.
For in every Filipino mind whether rich, poor, or in between; the victory of Pacquiao is also the victory of the Filipino.