Our Earth, Earth Hour

Earth Hour has been quite an annual family activity for me and my folks at home. It’s one of those really special nights when we bond, share pizza in the dark, as some slow classical or jazz music is playing in the background - or better yet, my pa playing some tunes with the guitar - while saving Mother Earth at the same time. And tomorrow, March 31^st, we’ll be having our fourth Earth Hour together.

About Earth Hour:

It was in 2007 when WWF-Australia encouraged the residents of Sydney to take action and raise awareness concerning climate change, and the first Earth Hour event took place. About 2.2 million people and more than 2,000 businesses in Sydney took part for the cause and turned all their lights off for an hour to take a stand against climate change.

With the success of the previous event, WWF-Australia planned to take Earth Hour to the rest of Australia. But then the City of Toronto, Canada, signed up and it wasn’t long before 35 countries and almost 400 cities and towns were part of the event.  It said something compelling to the world: that the climate challenges facing our planet are so significant that change needs to be global.

With the invitation to ‘switch off’ extended to everyone, Earth Hour quickly became an annual global event. It’s scheduled on the last Saturday of every March – closely coinciding with the equinox to ensure most cities are in darkness as it rolled out around the Earth.

In 2011, Earth Hour saw hundreds of millions of people across 135 countries switch off for an hour. But it also marked the start of something new – going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action on climate change.

EARTH HOUR 2012

8:30-9:30 PM (or beyond!)

Note: At home, we switch off and plug out all our electronic appliances as well. It works twice better. And if you could take the dark, don’t light candles. It just releases carbon dioxide as it burns, therefore, the turning off of lights won’t be as effective.

Earth Hour 2012 Video

It’s never too late to make a difference. You don’t need superpowers or a kick-awesome costume to save the world. All you need is a pure motive and a simple gesture of concern, and with that, you are a hero yourself – you know that.

Check out EarthHour.org for more information

♥Andz 

The African Dream

I was in Africa over the past few days. Kidding! Well, my pa was - in Nairobi, Kenya, to be exact - and he arrived yesterday afternoon, bringing home some of the coolest finds he got his eyes on during his stay there. And by the looks of it (and his pictures), the experience has been an amazing one for him, though the reason for the trip is business-centred.

It's a dream of mine to go to Africa, to tell you the truth. Ever since I was young, I had already been fascinated about Africa, and the countries that make up the beautiful continent. Growing up, seeing beautiful illustrations and sceneries in encyclopaedias, I've always pictured myself on an African safari, getting a glimpse of the wild in person!

I’ve never had a major ideology of the place as a region of conflict and poverty. Rather, I’ve always found Africa as a very blessed continent, the cradle of natural beauty, with the most diverse biomes, and some of the most colourful cultures known to exist in history.

When I get older, and if I were given the chance to visit Africa, I really would! But for now, I’ll just enjoy these awesome knick-knacks papa got me during his trip.

New toys! Haha! Not quite, but I'll play with them in a while.

Love this pair of beaded leather slippers! 

The ever-so-colourful Masai Tribe.

Sarabi or Nala? I dunno!

Fast fact: Ostriches are descendants of dinosaurs.

Giraffes!

This is my pa. I find this photo kinda funny.
He looked fat - his worst nightmare!

♥Andz

Check Me Out at Pinterest

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to join Pinterest, an online pinboard with social networking features. And since the day I joined the site, I've been getting really nice feedback with the pins on my boards. 

There are a lot of things I love about Pinterest. First of all, not everyone gets to sign up for an account at the site - you have to be invited, so it's kinda exclusive. Second, the pin boards look appealing without flashy backgrounds or layouts. And third, it doesn't take too long before people start following your boards or 'repinning' your pins if they really liked what you've posted. 

If you'll ask me, it's a lot better than Facebook and Twitter - combined!

Here are my boards as of today - Page Turners, which is for the books I've read and liked (mini reviews come with the book covers!), and SNAPS, which is for my oh-so photography. Check them out now, and don't hesitate to like, repin, comment, and follow.

view Page Turners

view SNAPS

♥Andz

Stoked About Stamps

My mum used to be a stamp collector, but having all the pressures of modernisation around her, she's turned into one of those e-mail freaks like any other working class woman of today, even though she still needed much help when it comes to using the computer and accessing the internet (technology literally repels her!). 

It's been almost a year since she entrusted her stamp collection to me, finding out how much I've turned out to have a penchant for vintage items, and like what I said before, stamp collecting is a hobby I'd like to continue in place of my mum. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to add more stamps to that collection...until yesterday.

I was scheduled to send my fan mail for March that afternoon to one of my Idol favourites this season, Colton Dixon - yes, I'm a Messenger, and I was lucky enough to encounter a stamp exhibit at the post office. It was just the perfect comfort sight I needed to see after a bloody lot of final examinations.

It was like a wonderland for me and it got me so high! It was just this blissful feeling I thought I would get from books alone - the only things that sent me to my pseudo-heaven. Ha! But seeing those stamps, it felt like being connected to history. I may sound a bit too dramatic here, but it's true, I find a piece of history in stamps!

I also got to meet a dedicated stamp collector, Mr. Alfonso Cruz. He told me a lot about stamp collecting, which I found very helpful - like how to separate the stamps from the envelope they're stuck on (the trick is  to soak them on water!). He called stamps miniature paintings. And he considers stamp-collecting as an art. I agree.

But here's the thing: like the principle of extension and amputation, when former necessities such as snail-mailing become a form of art due to the advancements of technology, it could be a prediction of its coming decline.

When I asked Mr. Cruz about the matter, how he feels about the decreasing amount of interest in stamp-collecting and snail-mailing, he told me that it's quite saddening, because sending handwritten and heartfelt letters is a lot better than the e-mail.

A friend of mine, Mao, told me something similar. When she received a letter I sent her in Bratislava, she said, "It was a good surprise when I found it in my rusty mail box. I thought about you, the time you spent to make the card, etc. when I saw the card! This is the beauty of the s-mail - you can see the person behind the letter/card."

True enough, it's sad, yes, but before snail mailing and stamp-collecting becomes obsolete, let us remind ourselves that they're the early beginnings of today's technology. The world changes every time. We should, at least, appreciate the roots of these advancements.

♥Andz

P.S.

For awesome Filipino stamp collectors out there,

check out Filipinas Stamp Collectors' Club's 

Facebook page!

Print Palooza: Lyric A Day

Musicality meets artistry - that's how I would define Lyric A Day's fabulous prints. With a wide range of prints showcasing favourite lines from hit songs sang by artists like Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry, to rock anthems like Panic! At The Disco's Northern Downpour, and The Runaways' Cherry Bomb, there's no reason not to love Lyric A Day's products. 

Check out Lyric A Day on Etsy now!

♥Andz

Thursday Music Morning: Kris Allen "The Vision of Love"

Though his American Idol victory over glam rocker Adam Lambert is considered as America's biggest upset, AI season 8 champ Kris Allen proves his singing chops (and boy next door charm) once again with his new single "The Vision of Love". A complete mixture of great vocals, incredible lyrics (written alongside The Messengers production team, Nasri and Adam Messinger), and his signature falsetto, "The Vision of Love" is the one to listen to!

"Winning Idol was such a whirlwind experience -- I went into the studio immediately following the show to record my very first album," Kris Allen says. "So, going into the studio this time around was such a different experience, and it really offered me time to hone my craft and create something that really represents who I am as a musician. I was lucky enough to work with such a talented team of top-notch collaborators. Idol has given me such a phenomenal opportunity to reach millions of people and I am so grateful to my fans -- can't wait to share the new music with you!"

"The Vision of Love" will be available for digital purchase on the 26th of March.

Listen to the single right here:

Visit Kris Allen's official website for more info: krisallenofficial.com


♥Andz

Good Morning!

I wasn't pleased about the mosquitoes that kept biting me last night, but I'm pretty convinced that I'll have a good day today, or at least that's what I know. 

Mommy (which means, my grandmum) and I had been picking these pesky caterpillars off our periwinkle patch, which is now leafless. LEAFLESS! In one night, they ate all the leaves! No wonder they're really fat now! 

I love caterpillars, and I find them really cute, but when they start eating what makes our garden, they can become really annoying! And worst of all, they're camouflaged! We really had a tricky time looking for them. I reckon, we found about seven of them.

They've been eating our flowers, so

I'll eat them!! *Kidding!

♥Andz

Soaking in the Sunshine

It's a beautiful March 1st morning, and what better way to spend it than to soak in the sunshine and admire new blooms in the garden! 

The sunflowers I planted over the long weekend are now in their germination stage. The sky is crystal clear. The weather is warm. The birds are cheerful. And the bougainvillea just can't get any pinker!

I simply love mornings like this, and I'd do anything (and just about everything) to enjoy the sunshine and blue sky for even just a few hours, because when I hit the city again in a few minutes, everything would be different. Buildings will block the sunlight. The honking cars will overpower the sound of birds chirping. The scent of breakfast won't fill the air any more, but the thick smoke from cars and the awful pong of sewer.

I like it better here in the south... 

Live. Love. Nature!

♥Andz