Slightly Changing Topic

Yesterday, I finished my re-reading of Dante's Inferno . Its last lines ( Lines 133-139 of Canto 34) were a consoling beacon of hope amidst this hellish Covid-19 pandemic: "Upon this hidden path my guide and I Entered, to go back to the world of light, And without any care to rest at ease, He first and I behind, we climbed so high That through a small round opening I saw Some of the turning beauties of the sky. And we came out to see, once more, the stars." It reminded me of the evening I gazed at Venus at the beginning of the community quarantine.  Back when restrictions on going out were not as strict as they are now. (Don't worry; I practiced physical distancing. I was the only one out at that time.) Indeed, let us all look forward to the time when we can all go out and gaze at the stars. For the meantime, we must make the best of our situation and continue thinking of ways to enrich our lives while staying indoors. On to rereading the Purgatorio.....

"Consoling" is the word that comes to my mind to describe Pope Francis' extraordinary "Urbi et Orbi" blessing on March 27, 2020 at 6PM (Rome time). The Vicar of Christ praying in front of the Body of Christ for the whole world that is currently wracked by anxieties from the Covid-19 pandemic. That same Vicar of Christ blessing that same world with that same Body of Christ. Powerful, consoling images that need no commentary. Before the blessing, there was a reading of the Gospel passage about Jesus calming the storm. The Gospel reading was followed by a homily which deserves to be read in full, in its direct translation. An English translation may be read here.

(Image credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Asterix%26Obelix_Brussels.jpg) Two days ago, Albert Underzo, the last remaining member of the pair that created the Asterix  comics, passed away at the age of 92 due to a heart attack that reportedly did not have anything to do with COVID-19.9 I first encountered Asterix  at the age of 10. Back then, I was struggling to fit in, and I was struggling with my grades in Home Economics which were what kept me from having honor awards in school. I resorted to daydreaming as a temporary escape from my problems. I had problems fitting in even during family reunions, because I was too old to play with my younger cousins yet too young to converse with my uncles and aunts. So I spent family reunions searching the host's house for books I could read (with permission, of course) until it was time to go home. On one such reunion, I strayed into my cousin's room. My attention was caught by his copy of Asterix ...

...and I love them! (And yes, that picture is a picture of something I crocheted.) I love how they got Star Wars nostalgia right. I love the intense action. I love the compelling plots of each episode...the characterization...how the tough, battle-hardened Mandalorian bonded with the adorable "baby Yoda")...the webs of intrigue in the underworld of the double-crossing bounty-hunters. I love how there were more than one strong female characters, none of whom were annoying. I loved how the series did not take itself too seriously. I look forward to Season 2, which looks promising with Ahsoka Tano in it. The series made this time of quarantine more bearable.

When I started this blog, it was with the intention of giving little rays of sunshine to my readers and to myself during these dark days. A group of friends are organizing a gratitude letter drive to give rays of sunshine to our frontliners, who need and deserve them. They are collecting gratitude letters which they will transcribe as PUBMAT files which will be posted online and shared until they reach the right group of people. You may write letters to health professionals, uniformed personnel monitoring the borders, janitors, security guards, supermarket sales persons...You may also write to the afflicted. One group of frontliners that hardly gets mentioned but who are also important are the priests. They administer the sacraments and are swamped with requests for prayers and spiritual consolation these days. But it is not always easy to give those. We always ask them for prayers snd advice without realizing they need them too. Perhaps some of us could send them gratitude le...

While researching for my latest post on my other blog , I came across the following interesting facts: By sheer coincidence, the rhythm of the main musical phrase in Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony" is the same as that of the Morse code signal for the letter "V":  ...-   ( dit-dit-dit-dah) Because of this, many years after the "Fifth Symphony" was composed, the Allies during World War II used it as a symbol of victory. The British Broadcasting Corporation prefaced its wartime broadcasts with the beginning of the "Fifth Symphony". Ladies and gentlemen, Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony". Victory will come! ...-

I've made another blog called Keeping the Kiddos Busy . It features daily boredom busters for children for this time of quarantine. Do check it out.

We are now in the vernal equinox. But what is it? And so what if we are in the vernal equinox? We know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. . But it does not rise or set at a fixed point of the eastern or western  horizon everyday. The ancients have observed that throughout the year, the position at which the sun rises and sets shifts between two extreme locations at the horizon. (Image taken from The Universe and Weather from the TimeLife Children's Treasury of Knowledge series.) Whenever the sun rises and sets at the midpoint between the two extreme points, the nights and days have approximately the same lengths. This exact time is called "equinox". Throughout the year, there are two equinoces: one in March, and another in September. For us in the northern hemisphere, the March equinox is the spring or vernal equinox while it is the autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere. The September equinox is the opposite. The Catholic Church...

One silver lining in this cloud that is Covid-19 is that it gives me the opportunity to learn new skills. Some of these skills I learned by necessity, such as recording myself making a powerpoint presentation. On the other hand, the extra free time I have gives me the opportunity to try out things I have been wanting to do, just for fun. I have been wanting to learn urban sketching.   I have always considered myself hopeless when it comes to things requiring hand-eye coordination. But last year, I found this book that introduces urban sketching in a non-intimidating manner. Yesterday, I found the time to sketch the trees in the empty lot across our house: I don't think I produced a masterpiece, but I enjoyed myself. Indeed, one does not have to be good in something in order to enjoy it.

Last month, I joined a workshop on writing Tagalog poetry conducted by Juan Ekis, a multi-awarded poet and dramatist. The group enjoyed so much that we decided to continue with the workshops afterwards. A few days ago, we did an activity in our FB messenger chat group. The activity was called "renggahan". This is how it works: someone composes a line of poetry, then the others, by turns, add lines of their own. The end-product is a collaboratively-written poem. We had so much fun! We came up with this: "Nakahahawa ba ang pag-ibig kundi kita mahawakan? Nakamamatay ba na dapat iwasan? Sasama ba lalo ang pakiramdam kung tayo ay magkita? O mas lalong manghihina kung hindi na pupusta? Sa paghihiwalay lang ba makahahanap ng lunas? Isang lunas na nais tanggihan ngunit kinakailangan. O baka dapat lalo nating yakapin ang sakit, At ang pag-iwas di na dapat ipilit Tama lang siguro na tayo'y napalayo Dahil malala pa sa distansya kapag puso na ang nakalimot ...

Calculus made many discoveries and inventions possible. I am willing to bet that one of them is the device you are using to read this post. Did you know that Sir Isaac Newton started developing the theories on calculus during a plague? Read an interesting article here .

One of my leisure activities during this community quarantine is to re-read The Divine Comedy .  Part of what inspired me to do it was seeing the current plight of Italy, which is the worst-hit by Covid 19 in Europe. I have fond memories of Italy, especially my trip to Dante's hometown Florence. I was thinking that by re-reading Dante's fictional travelogue through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, I could bring back happy memories both of Italy and of studying Dante...and be in solidarity with the Italians as I re-read the most popular work of their most celebrated writer. Barely have I started reading when I found a message of hope for Italy. In the story, Dante found himself lost in a "shadowed forest". He tried to get out but his path was blocked sucessively by three beasts: first a leopard, then a lion, and then a she-wolf. Then Virgil appeared to him. Dante begged Virgil to save him from the she-wolf. Virgil told Dante that to get out of his predicament, jou...

Tonight, just before 7PM, I stepped out of the house for a bit of fresh air. The breeze was pleasant. The street was strewn with unswept fallen leaves. Up in the western sky was the planet Venus, also known as the Evening Star. She was very bright. I just stood there staring at her brilliant beauty, recalling this passage from The Return of the King  by JRR Tolkien: "There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond reach." I tried to take a picture of it using my camera phone but the picture does not do it justice. Which is a good thing because it will encourage readers to go out -- with proper socual distancing, of course -- and gaze at Venu...

One of my bucket list items is to see the traditional village Passion play in Oberammergau, a town in Bavaria, Germany. This play, which is held every ten years and which was first performed in 1634, depicts the life and death of Christ. It is interesing to learn that this custom had its origins in an epidemic like the one we are experiencing now. In 1633, the townsfolk made a vow to God that if He spared them from the bubonic plague, they would stage the play every 10 years. After they made the vow, the death rate decreased. Since the following year, the villagers have been keeping their vow. Today the play is performed on years ending in zero. The play lasts for around five hours and is performed for five months. The play is a community project. The whole town gets involved in producing it, either as actors, musicians, or stage technicians. The actors do not wear fake beards; rather, they grow their beards in time for the performance. Who would have thought that a plague can ...

Welcome, Readers! This blog was born out of a desire to spread positive vibes among us who are stuck at home in quarantine for the Covid-19 virus. It will feature interesting facts, amusing and inspiring stories, ideas on how to spend the extra idle time...things that have helped me keep sane during these dark days which I hope will help others.  The point is not to downplay the gravity of the cureent situation, but to help all of us (mostly myself) to show a good face in bad weather, as the Spanish saying goes. If my posts could elicit at least one smile during these dark days, it would have been time well spent.