Saturday 30 June 2007

For Caro and Christian



 
Posted by Picasa

Our best wishes on your Wedding Day, 29. June. 2007

Wednesday 27 June 2007

Siebenschlaefertag Seven Sleepers Day on June 27

Here comes the sun...mild temperature, birds are chirping and one
small bee is buzzing around our Hortensien or Milflores blooming
wildly now in lila colors in our mini terrace...fresh, clear air,
promising a good summer? Welcome Siebenschläfertag!

Das Wettter am Siebenschläfertag sieben Wochen bleiben mag.
Wie's Wetter am Siebenschläfertag, so der Juli werden mag.
Ist der Siebenschläfer nass, regnet es ohne Unterlass.
Regnet's am Siebenschläfertag, es sieben Wochen regnen mag.

What the weather brings on Siebenschläfer day
For the next seven weeks will be the same.
Rain on Siebenschläfer
Seven weeks wet weather!

These are my rough translations and summary of the German country
sayings (Bauernregeln)about weather forecast on June 27,
Siebenschläfertag or Seven Sleepers Day. And as the saying goes,
if the weather is fine on June 27, then the weather for the next
seven weeks will also be good and if it is rainy and stormy,then
I should say you will have all the time to blog. So check before you
book for a holiday in Germany and ask if the hotel has Hotspots
for all eventualities.

The origin of the word Siebenschläfer traces back to the legend of
the Seven Youth i.e. Maximiniamus, Jamblicus, Martinian, Johannes, Dionysius,Constantinus,Malchus and Serapion who hid in a cave
somewhere in Ephesus (West Turkey) during the persecution of
Christians under the Roman Emperor Decius in 251. They were walled
up within the cave but God protected them by putting them into sleep
for 195 years. They were released on June 27, in the year 446.

Alle sieben können übrigens als Patrone gegen Schlaflogsigkeit
angerufen werden - es müssen ja nicht gleich 195 Jahre sein. Bayerischer Rundfunk 2006

For those who are suffering from insomnia, these are the holy
men to be invoked for help but not necessarily for 195 years of sleep.

My very first information about this Siebenschläfer came from
Christoph who lived with us together with his girlfriend Krystel
and her son Oliver and his three parakeets and a pair of guinea pigs
in a Wohngemeinschaft, a sort of apartment or house sharing.
Ours was in the third floor of a pre-Second World War house with high
stuccoed ceilings,and we comfortably shared the 140 sq. meter
residence, enough space for our own bookshelves,privacy,joint
cooking and dining and for the parakeets to explore all the open rooms.

But the saying which instantly comes to my mind came from
our Dutch friend who taught me this Bauernregel on Siebenschläfer.
He is now a successful lawyer.
“Wenn der Hahn kräht auf dem Mist, dann ändert sich das Wetter,
oder es bleibt wie es ist”.
When the rooster crows on the dungheap, then the weather will
change, or stay as it is.

Kapag ang tandang ay tumitilaok sa ipot,
magbabago ang panahon
o mananatili ganon.




Watch out for the weather today and let us compare notes after
seven weeks, okey? Or share some of your sayings about
the weather.

Payong, sunglasses, abaniko
Alin sa kanila dito
Payong, sunglasses, abaniko
Alin sa kanila dito?

Monday 25 June 2007

Handy turns 15

Just learned that Handy turns 15 years today while watching
TV. Handy to the Germans and mobile to the non-Germans?

My first mobile would not fit that name Handy, though. It was
actually a mini walkie-talkie and an object of much teasing
when I visited the home country once with it. "Aba, kaskasan ng yelo
pa yan model ninyo pala sa Europa!" "Hoy, you're still using that
ice-shaver model from Europe," was the favorite one-liner tease.
Or these remarks complete with introductory praises:
"Magaling to. Maraming games to." This is excellent. It has many
functions, many games. You can use your mobile for truth or
consequence game, or it is not so heavy, just throw it away!

I think I have not thrown my first Handy yet. It is somewhere in our
flat, maybe in the cellar together with those stuffs waiting to be
sorted out:trinkets, magazines, copies of reports, marmalade
glasses,gloves, baking pans, electric typewriter and bamboo poles.
Yes, we have two bamboo poles imported from China keeping watch
over other boxes of stuffs also waiting to be sorted out in the cellar.
"Puedeng panglitson,sa tutuo lang."

But back to the Handy's turning 15 today. It reminds me of our
networking which is also celebrating its 15th anniversary this 2007
with the theme Gender, Migration and Development. Maybe we could
discuss on the forms of our communication through these years
from telephone, emails, cellphones, chatting and Skyping and their
role to the present situation of the network. More inspiration and
concern with faster communication or more distraction?

The TV moderator commented that the Handy is still very much in
its "youthful" year and it shows so much promise of development.

Hallo! Hear that, dear women in our network.

Thursday 21 June 2007

Basic Women's Orientation Training in Germany

 
 
 
 
Posted by Picasa

A Weekend of Basic Women’s Orientation Training in Germany

15 Filipinas representing the different European country member
organizations of Babaylan, The Philippine Women’s Network in Europe
participated in this year’s Basic Women’s Orientation Training held in
Kohlhof near Mannheim, Germany on June 1-4, 2007. The weekend
training was organized by Babaylan Interim Committee.

The participants shared experiences and discussed issues concerning gender while enjoying some alternative group exercises in determining factors which influence gender and gender bias i.e. what attributes are associated with the word BABAE
and LALAKE,what is gender stereotyping, commodification and
marginalization of women, reproduction and production and sexual
division of labour.

As part of the year long celebration of the 15th anniversary of Babaylan Europe, the training coincided with the meeting of the country representatives of the network. They discussed the result of congress and assessment of the network held in Landquart, Switzerland on September 22-24, 2006 and planned a series of activities to be carried both by the local and Europe-wide members for the year 2007-2008.

After the seminar, the participants visited the shrine of Dr. Jose Rizal in Wilhemsfeld and the city of Heidelberg.

Babaylan Network is planning to hold its bi-annual Conference and Congress with the Theme Gender, Migration and Development this coming October either in Switzerland or Germany.

For interested Filipinas, please contact local Babaylan in your country or email:
babaylanes@gmx.de

Tuesday 19 June 2007

146th Birthday of Dr. Jose P. Rizal

 
Posted by Picasa

A Las Flores De Heidelberg

José Rizal

Id a mi patria, id, extranjeras flores,
sembradas del viajero en el camino,
y bajo su azul cielo,
que guarda mis amores,
contad del peregrino
la fe que alienta por su patrio suelo!
id y decid ... decid que cuando el alba
vuestro cáliz abrió por vez primera
cabe el Neckar helado,
le visteis silencioso a vuestro lado
pensando en su constante primavera.
Decid que cuando el alba,
que roba vuestro aroma,
cantos de amor jugando os susurraba,
él tambien murmuraba
cantos de amor en su natal idioma;
que cuando el sol la cumbre
del Koenigsthul en la mañana dora
y con su tibia lumbre
anima el valle, el bosque y la espesura,
saluda a ese sol aún en su aurora,
al que en su patria en el cenit fulgura !
y contad aquel día
cuando os cogía al borde del sendero,
entre ruinas del feudal castillo,
orilla al Neckar, o a la selva umbria.
Contad lo que os decía ,
cuando, con gran ciudado
entre las páginas de un libro usado
vuestras flexibles hojas oprimía.

Llevad, llevad, oh flores !
amor a mis amores
paz a mi país y a su fecunda tierra,
fe a sus hombres, virtud a sus mujeres,
salud a dulces seres
que el paternal, sagrado hogar encierra ...

Cuando toqueis la playa,
el beso os imprimo
depositadlo en ala de la brisa,
por que con ella vaya
y bese cuanto adora, amo y estimo.

Mas ay llegáreis flores,
conservaréis quizas vuestras colores,
pero lejos del patrio, heroico suelo
a quien debéis la vida:
que aroma es alma, y no abandona el cielo,
cuya luz viera en su nacer, ni olvida.

To the Flowers of Heidelberg

by José Rizal

(A Translation from the Spanish by Nick Joaquin)

Go to my country, go, O foreign flowers,
sown by the traveler along the road,
and under that blue heaven
that watches over my loved ones,
recount the devotion
the pilgrim nurses for his native sod!

Go and say say that when dawn
opened your chalices for the first time
beside the icy Neckar,
you saw him silent beside you,
thinking of her constant vernal clime.

Say that when dawn
which steals your aroma
was whispering playful love songs to your young
sweet petals, he, too, murmured
canticles of love in his native tongue;
that in the morning when the sun first traces
the topmost peak of Koenigssthul in gold
and with a mild warmth raises
to life again the valley, the glade, the forest,
he hails that sun, still in its dawning,
that in his country in full zenith blazes.

And tell of that day
when he collected you along the way
among the ruins of a feudal castle,
on the banks of the Neckar, or in a forest nook.

Recount the words he said
as, with great care,
between the pages of a worn-out book
he pressed the flexible petals that he took.

Carry, carry, O flowers,
my love to my loved ones,
peace to my country and its fecund loam,
faith to its men and virtue to its women,
health to the gracious beings
that dwell within the sacred paternal home.

When you reach that shore,
deposit the kiss I gave you
on the wings of the wind above
that with the wind it may rove
and I may kiss all that I worship, honor and love!

But O you will arrive there, flowers,
and you will keep perhaps your vivid hues;
but far from your native heroic earth
to which you owe your life and worth,
your fragrances you will lose!

For fragrance is a spirit that never can forsake
and never forgets the sky that saw its birth.

(Translated from the Spanish by Nick Joaquin)

Sa Mga Bulaklak ng Heidelberg

Pumaroon kayo sa mutya kong bayang pinakamamahal,
O mga bulaklak na hasik sa landas niyong manlalakbay,
At doon, sa silong ng maaliwalas na langit na bughaw,
Sa mga mahal ko'y di nagpapabaya't laging nagbabantay,
Inyong ibalita itong pananalig na sa puso'y taglay
Ng abang lagalag na di lumilimot sa nilisang bayan.

Pumaroon kayo, inyong ibalitang madilim-dilim pa,
Kung kayo, sa bati ng bukang-liwayway, ay bumubukad na,
Sa pampang ng Neckar na lubhang malamig ay naroon siya,
At sa inyong tabi'y inyong namamasid na parang estatuwa,
Ang Tagsibol doong hindi nagbabago'y binubulay niya.
(
Inyong ibalitang kung sinisingil na ng bukang-liwayway
Ang buwis na bango ng inyong talulot pag ngiti ng araw,
Habang bumubulong ang bagong umagang halik ang kasabay
Ng "Kung inyo lamang nababatid sana yaring pagmamahal!"
Siya'y may bulong ding inaawit-awit sa katahimikan,
Kundiman ng puso na sa kanyang wika'y inyong napakinggan.

At kung sa taluktok niyong Koenigsthul ay humahalik na
Ang mapulang labi ng anak ng araw sa pag-uumaga,
At ang mga lambak, gubat at kahuya'y binubusog niya
Sa daloy ng buhay na dulot ng sinag na malahininga,
Yaong manlalakbay ay bumabati ring puspos ng ligaya
Sa araw, na doon sa sariling baya'y laging nagbabaga.

At ibalita rin na nang minsang siya'y naglalakad-lakad
Sa pampang ng Neckar ay pinupol kayo sa gilid ng landas,
Doon sa ang tanod ay ang mga guhong bakas ng lumipas,
Na nalililiman ng maraming punong doo'y naggugubat.

Ibalita ninyo kung paanong kayo'y marahang pinupol,
Pinakaingatang huwag masisira ang sariwang dahon,
At sa kanyang aklat ay ipinaloob at doon kinuyom,
Aklat ay luma na, datapuwa't kayo'y naroon pa ngayon.

Hatdan, hatdan ninyo, O pinakatanging bulaklak ng Rin,
Hatdan ng pag-ibig ang lahat ng aking nga ginigiliw,
Sa bayan kong sinta ay kapayapaan ang tapat kong hiling,
Sa kababaihan ay binhi ng tapang ang inyong itanim;
Pagsadyain ninyo, O mga bulaklak, at inyong batiin
Ang mga mahal kong sa tahanang banal ay kasama namin.

At pagsapit ninyo sa dalampasigan ng bayan kong irog,
Bawa't halik sanang idinarampi ko sa inyong talulot
Ay inyong isakay sa pakpak ng hanging doo'y lumilibot,
Upang sa lahat nang iginagalang ko't sinisitang lubos
Nawa'y makasapit ang halik ng aking pag-ibig na taos.

Maaaring doo'y makarating kayong taglay pa ang kulay,
Subali't ang bango'y wala na marahil at kusang pumanaw,
Wala na ang samyong sa talulot ninyo'y iningatang yaman,
Pagka't malayo na sa lupang sa inyo'y nagbigay ng buhay;
Iwing halimuyak ang inyong kaluluwa, at di malilisan
Ni malilimot pa ang langit na saksi nang kayo'y isilang.
(Isinalin sa Pilipino di kilala)

Thursday 14 June 2007

Medienforum in NRW: TATORT 10th Year


TATORT Nachtgeflüster

Freitag, 15.06.2007, 19:30 – 21:00 Uhr
Cinedom, Black Box*

Jubiläums-Ausgabe anlässlich des 10-jährigen „Dienstjubiläums“
des Kölner Ermittler-Duos Schenk / Ballauf,WDR/ARD 2007
Buch: Stefan Cantz / Jan Hinter; Regie: Torsten C. Fischer
Darsteller: Klaus J. Behrendt, Dietmar Bär, Tessa Mittelstaedt,
Joe Bausch u. a.

Maulheld oder Mörder? In einer Nighttalk-Sendung brüstet sich ein
anonymer Anrufer damit, einen Polizisten erschossen zu haben.
Und er werde wieder morden. Diese Story sorgt für Schlagzeilen.
Doch Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär) und Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt)
verfolgen eine andere Spur im Fall ihres ermordeten Kollegen Krauss:
Er war ein gebrochener Mann. Nach der Affäre mit einer Kollegin hatte
seine Frau ihn verlassen. Seitdem griff er immer öfter zu Flasche.
Und er war hoch verschuldet. Bei den Befragungen verstricken sich
seine Freundin Rita Anspann (Brigitte Zeh) und sein
Box-Trainingspartner Harkan Simsek (Aykut Kayacik) in Widersprüche.
Derweil taucht beim Radiosender ein anonymes Schreiben mit dem
Schlüssel für ein Bahnhofsschließfach auf.Der Anrufer hatte nicht
geblufft. Im Schließfach finden Schenk und Ballauf die Tatwaffe.

In Anwesenheit der Schauspieler *Klaus J. Behrendt, Dietmar Bär*
sowie Gunher Witte (Tatort-Erfinder), Gebhard Henke
(WDR, Tatort-Koordinator der ARD), Sonja Goslocki
(Tatort Köln-Produzentin bei Colonia Media Filmproduktion)
Moderation: Bettina Böttinger

Taken from medienforum nrw

Tatort celebrates its 10th Anniversary. From my photo album,
I am sharing a digitalized version of these moments with the
two living landmarks of Cologne City, Schenk and Ballauf.
Btw, Tatort has projects in the Philippines: they support projects
for street children and kids in prisons. We could really hope
that they save those kids somehow, someday, but soon.


I walk a mile for this moment...


How's the soup, Detective Schenk?

 
Posted by Picasa

Klaus: "You have the right to remain silent but please smile at least."

NB: If you two guys chance on these postings, my invite to
a hot but cosy Thai dining is still open or we could also do
adobo con Torta.

Wednesday 13 June 2007

Fiesta ng Kabataang Pinoy 2007 sa Bonn




The Tropa ng Kabataang Pinoy sa Deutschland would like to invite your organisation to the "Fiesta ng Kabataang Pinoy 2007 (FKP 2007) to be held in the Rheinaue (Freilichttheater) in Bonn on 16 June 2007, Saturday.

In cooperation with the Philippine Embassy Bonn Extension Office, headed by Consul Edgar Auxilian, FKP 2007 also joins the worldwide celebration of the 109th Anniversary of Philippine Independence. It takes on the theme "Celebrating the Filipino Spirit".

FKP 2007 is a fund raising activity for the participation of the Tropa to the World Youth Day celebration in Sydney, Australia to be held on July 2008. In addition, it will also support CRIBS Philippines (Create Responsive Infants By Sharing) for its project on the rehabilitation of young female victims of abuse.

Here is the schedule of Events:

9 June 2007
10:00 a.m.
Preliminary round of Little Miss Philippines
Shalom Center - Bad Godesberg

10:00 a.m.
On-the-Spot Poster Making Contest
Steyler Mission, Sankt Augustin
application form

Saturday, 16th June 2007

10:30 Santacruzan
11:30 Living Rosary
12:30 Holy Mass (anticipated)
14:30 Variety show & games
15:30 Little Miss Philippines 2007

For more information, please visit the Tropa web-site,
www.bahaykubostrasse.com
Thank you and see you there!
Tropa ng Kabataang Pinoy sa Deutschland
c/o Jang Jimenez
Schenkendorfstrasse 13
53173 Bonn, Germany
Tel. (49-228) 368 2273
E-mail: tropa@bahaykubostrasse.com or tropa.kpd@gmail.com

Tuesday 12 June 2007

Love for One's Native Land, Philippine Independence Day June 12, 1898

In celebration of Philippine Independence today
June 12, I am posting this declaration of Andres Bonifacio's
love to his motherland.

*PAG-IBIG SA TINUBUANG LUPA*
ni Andres Bonifacio

(Madarama sa tulang ito ang mapusok na diwa ng Ama ng Katipunan)

Aling pag-ibig pa ang hihigit kaya
sa pagkadalisay at magkadakila
Gaya ng pag-ibig sa sariling lupa?
Aling pag-ibig pa? Wala na nga, wala.

Pagpupuring lubos ang palaging hangad
Sa bayan ng taong may dangal na ingat,
Umawit, tumula, kumata't at sumulat,
Kalakhan din niya'y isinisiwalat.

Walang mahalagang hindi inihandog
Ng may pusong mahal sa Bayang nagkupkop,
dugo, yaman, dunong, katiisa't pagod,
Buhay ma'y abuting magkalagut-lagot.

Bakit? Alin ito na sakdal ng laki,
Na hinahandugan ng busong pagkasi,
Na sa lalong mahal nakapangyayari,
At ginugulan ng buhay na iwi?

Ay! Ito'y ang iang bayang tinubuan:
Siya'y iona't tangi sa kinamulatan
Ng kawili-wiling liwanang ng araw
Na nagbigay-init sa buong katawan.

Kalakip din nito'y pag-ibig sa Bayan,
Ang lahat ng lalong sa gunita'y mahal,
Mula sa masaya'y gasong kasanggulan
Hanggang sa katawa'y mapasa-libingan.

Sa aba ng abang mawalay sa bayan!
Gunita ma'y laging sakbibi ng lumbay,
Walang alaala't inaasa-asam
Kundi ang makita'y lupang tinubuan.

Pati ng magdusa'y sampung kamatayan
Wari ay masarap kung dahil sa bayan
At lalong mahirap. Oh, himalang bagay!
Lalong pag-irog pa ang sa kanya'y alay.

Kung ang bayang ito'y masasa-panganib
At siya ay dapat na ipagtangkilik,
Ang anak, asawa, magulang, kapatid;
Isang tawag niya'y tatalidang pilit.

Hayo na nga, hayo, kayong nagabuhay
Sa pag-asang lubos ng kaginhawahan
At walang tinamo kundi kapaitan,
Hayo na't ibangon ang naabang bayan!

Kayong nalagasan ng bunga't bulaklak
Ng kaho'y ng buhay na nilanta't sukat,
Ng bala-balaki't makapal na hirap,
muling manariaw't sa baya'y lumiyag.

Ipahandug-handog ang busong pag-ibig
At hanggang may dugo'y ubusing itigis;
kung sa pagtatanggol, buhay ay mapatid,
Ito'y kapalaran at tunay na langit!

http://www.seasite.niu.edu/trans/tagalog

Love for One's Native Land

Can there be other loves that can surpass this love
In being so unblemished and of pure nobleness
Like the love that one has for his nativeland
What love can greater be?
No love, no other indeed!

Who has a heart of gold will offer everything
For his country's sake, which always nurtured him.
His blood, his wealth, his mind; his fortitude and strength
Although his very life, he may lose at the end!

That old time of grace and tranquility
Day of great rejoicing which is just at hand
When the slaves whose grieving shall at last be free
Will come to pass nowhwere, save on this fair land!

The greatest pain of all is losing one's own country
When even memories are in the grip of sadness.
There is no other longing and no other desire
Except to see the land where one first saw light of the day.

Those of you who lost your flowers and fruits
Like trees of life become like deadwood sad
From onslaughts of despair and avarice of brutes
Renew your lives and bloom for this our land so dear.

And offer thus to her the whole night of your love
So long as there's a drop of blood that you can shed
If in her defense our lives would be the price
There is no greater fortune, 'tis heaven to our eyes!

Sunday 10 June 2007

Religion, Spirituality and Social Responsibility

With the official closing of the Evangelical Kirchentag
in Cologne today, I am posting some thoughts and photos
I took during a day visit to some programme and fora:









"Coming together as friends in religious contexts requires
respect for forms of worship different than our own.
These differences keep heart and mind open.
They are soul food.
If we are to find a path of our own, it helps to
know and appreciate the paths of others.
To realize that the household of God is indeed big
enough for all gives everyone room to live and grow.
The idea that there is only one right way home, one path
for all, creates judgment and separation.
Women's spirituality is about connectedness."
Joan Borysenko

Friday 8 June 2007

G8 Summit 2007



Reports on the G8 summit in the oldest seaside resort of Germany,
Heiligendamm say that a breakthrough has been reached on climate
protection.
Heads of State and Government of the leading industrialized
nations (G8) aim to at least have global CO2 emission by
2050. They agreed to reach this goal as part of a U.N.
process with big emerging economies to be incorporated
in the process.
For complete story, please see www.g-8.de

I am saving this page exclusively for posterity. 2050!
Where will my blogs be decades from now?
But I am affirming my stand, I am against such expensive
gatherings where huge amount of money is used for the
protection of these few elites and shows of concern.
Why all the bother when all decisions are made before conferences?
They might as well stay in their home offices and country and do
video conferences.
I can imagine the participants of the Summit in Heiligendamm
saying...

Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears
TO-DAY of past Regrets and future Fears -
To-morrow? - Why, To-morrow I may be
Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years.

(from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam of Naishapur,
Edward Fitzgerald)

...my thoughts, my small voice I am giving for the hope
of stopping poverty.
Herbert Gronemeyer...'pengeng Pera!!!!!

Pinay von Alemania

Note: Photo is taken from www.g-8.de

Tuesday 5 June 2007

Kirchentag in Cologne



June 6-10, 2007
Cologne, Germany

"living, active and sharper!
(Hebrews 4:12)

Friday 1 June 2007

In the leafy month of June

"A noise like of a hidden brook.
In the leafy month of June.
That to the sleeping woods all night
Singeth a quiet tune."


S.T. Coleridge