Valentines day...

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affectionbetween intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius Iin 500 AD. It was deleted from the Roman calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, but its religious observance is still permitted. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

Historical facts

Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome,and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).

The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.

No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the 14th century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost.

In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feastday of Saint Valentine on February 14 was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14."  The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world byTraditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Second Vatican Council calendar.

Romantic legends

The Early Medieval acta of either Saint Valentine were expounded briefly in Legenda Aurea.  According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer.

Since Legenda Aurea still provided no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail.

There is an additional modern embellishment to The Golden Legend, provided by American Greetings to History.com, and widely repeated despite having no historical basis whatsoever. On the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he would have written the first "valentine" card himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved, as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed, or both. It was a note that read "From your Valentine."

The All Hollows Eve...

Origin of name

The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows Day. Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English (ealra hālgena mæssedæg, mass-day of all saints),All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556.

History

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in thefestival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin (pronounced sow-an or sow-in)". The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end". A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced Kálan Gái av).The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.

Another common practice was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.

The name 'Halloween' and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era.

The Lovely Bones review..!!!

Isa to sa mga moviesnah ang tindi ng emotional sense.tungkol sa isang teen na molested at pinatay sa corn fields at nachop-chop yng katawan niya,nilagay siya sa loob ng isang vault ng kanyang killer na kapitbahay nila. Halos ang tagal din siya hinahanap ng kanyang ama...Ok din yung artistic rendition ni peter jackson..medyo deppresing din yung movie na to... Nice concept na ghost siya na minumulto niya yung kanyang killer. Hope yung mga taong gumagawa nito ay mahuli at makulong agad..!!

The Wawa Dam Advent Part 2

10-10-10 Sunday ito ang araw na napili namin ni jef na mag treking sa Wawa Dam,pngalawang punta ko na dito at hindi parin ako nagsasawa dito sa lugar na to...nice view of the mountains,the river tapos ang simplicity ng buhay along the riverbanks feels like an old movie...simple perook siyang tignan..sana madevelope pa ng husto ang lugar na to para makikilala lalo ang bayan ng montalban sa pinas..!!!

legacy of kain,Soul Reaver,Soul Reaver 2/3

Hayzzz yung unang puzzle game na nilaro ko nun ps1 days pa tapos naulit dahil bitin yung ending ng part 1 sa psx,dahil tumakas si Kain dun sa laban nila ni Raziel. Gusto ko kasi yung concept ng freeze time kapag pumasok ka na sa spectral plane,na isang spirit nalang si Raziel dahil sa part 1 tinapon siya ni Kain yung kanyang master at nag revive sa kanya bilang isang vampire,dahil sa tindi ng jealousy na tinubuan si Raziel ng pakpak,dahil once in every millenia nangyayari yun sa isang piling vampire. As a result tinapon siya sa Lake of  the Dead para mamatay di ba ang vampire number one weakness nila ay yung water's touch madali lang madissolve yung balat nila tapos deadzs na sila. Habang nag dudusa siya sa ilalaim ng Lake of the Dead bigla siyang binati ni Void isang ancient entity sa underworld,imbes nah mamatay ng tuluyan ang katawan ni Raziel naging isang wraith si Raziel nah di nah dugo ang habol niya kundi isang kaluluwa ng mga namatay na. Ang kinaganda nito sa laro nito ang concept din ng real time puzzle solving kasi nag iiba din ang paligid at structure ng isang lugar habang nag lalakbay ka sa material plane to spectral plane and vice versa.Yung kanyang simbiotic weapon niya yung sword ni Kain ang Soul Reaver isa din yun sa highlights ng laro kung pano niya nakuha yun...nah parang destiny na ni Kain na basagin ang Soul Reaver sa katawan ni Raziel at destiny rin ni Raziel na maging amo ng Soul Reaver...hayyyzzz next update ko nlng tatapusin tong blog ko..!!! ahehehhehe...

Sa Wakas........MSA din....

Sa wakas nakaloots din ng osm msa sa eod sa tagal ko na pumapasok dito sinuwerte na rin tayo...ahahahhahahaha...im one lucky bastard...ahehhehehehehe.......

On Midnight

kagabi meron isang kakaibang nangyari dito sa lugar namin noong nagpapalipas ako ng oras sa paglalaro ng Castlevania mga 1.30 am n yun may mga kakaibang ingay nah ako naririnig sa likod ng bahay namin sinubukan kong tignan yun kaso wala nmn...at nung mga 2:00am nmn may mga tao akong naririnig sa harap ng bahay kaso wala nmn taong nandun...hayyyzzzzz cguro antok lng yun...o kaya may mga naggagala na mga espiritu sa mundo ntn nah hindi naten nakikita..!!!!