Mandug, Sigbin and other Mystical Tales

Mandug? Where the hell is that place? Can I find it in the map? Of course you can. Try using Google Earth or Wikimapia. If you will have a hard time locating it, try tracing Davao River from Davao Gulf upstream, surely, you can't miss Mandug along the way.

Almost half of my entire life was spent growing up in a remote barangay in Davao City named Mandug. Life was simple then. By six in the morning, I would be awaken by the sound of the airplane roaring above our house, doing its daily rounds of fertilizer spray of the bananas in Lapanday Plantation that surrounds our village. When I was in Grade 4, my Dad used to tune in to an AM station every morning which airs a Muslim prayer every 6AM. When I hear that distinct chant, I know it's time to wake up. By 7 then, we would be on our way to school w/ my younger brother and sister and we meet our classmates who are also our neighbors. Almost everyone knew each other and even the not-so-secret lives of a wife in another block. It was a small community then.

Mandug, as small as it is, is surrounded by big mysteries of the paranormal - of earth-bound creatures roaming above the silence of the pitch black hills and meadows, of the the mysterious kidnappings of small children by some rumored dark spirits. Far away, you could hear faint but horrible cries of torture and you know a witch rite has been going on and someone has been sacrificed ... and so are the other endless tales people tell to each other.

Listening to scary paranormal stories was my favorite when I was a kid. I used to have a classmate named Catalina (we called her Cathy) and she had lots of scary stories to tell, mostly from her own experiences. The scariest story Cathy ever told us was about the old mango tree at the back of our school. I remember that mango tree. It was unusually large, with a wide trunk and rough, hardened barks. There are moss growing on them and when you'll look at them, they seem to look like eyes. Its branches spread outwards covering a large area and providing shades for small animals like goats, 'carabaos', etc. If it had lots of dangling roots, you'd think it would be a balete tree. Anyway, according to Cathy, she went to the restroom alone one day and she had to pass by near the mango tree on her way. She was alone as classes are ongoing and suddenly the roots suddenly clung to her foot and when she can't move, she uttered this weird spell and the roots let go of her. We don't know if Cathy ever told the truth of that story or any of her stories.

Bloody Black Dog

The other tales circulating around is the tale of the "Sigbin". According to the myth, passed by word-of-mouth, the "Sigbin" is a dark creature mostly resembling a very black dog. According to the stories, it eats small children and is also fond of eating squash. When I was in grade school there are numerous events that marked the disappearance of small children. And according to the grapevine, they were eaten by the "Sigbin". Our maid used to scare us if we don't go home from play when darkness falls, we will be eaten by "Sigbin". I have never seen one in my entire life let alone believe that it's true but you bet, for kids who get scared by mere thoughts of monster, it's effective.

The other fascinating tale that I also know and partly experience (or so I thought) is the story of Maria de Cacao. I'm not familiar with her story but according to the grapevine. When 12 o' clock midnight strikes, you could hear Maria de Cacao's ship passing along Davao River. What's striking about it is that you can't see the ship but you can hear the sound of the engine even if you are miles and miles away. Cool, huh. I used to remember one night, I think I was in high school at that time, that I woke up near midnight and suddenly I heard a ship's engine wailing in the silence of the night. I find it strange because our house was quite far from the river and then I remembered the story of Maria de Cacao.

There are other numerous tales which are worth telling but I guess it would take another 2 or 3 paragraphs. Maybe next time perhaps. Mandug for me remains, an old ancient place, as my mind would give it. Despite, the new internet shops sprouting in every corner as I go there once a year, the memory of it, as seen from my childhood eyes, would make that place somewhat special for me.

Recollections of my Dad

Happy Father's Day to my Dad.

Lost in Hong Kong : City of Ingenuity

I woke up with a bad case of allergic rhinitis, Sunday morning and the 2nd Day of our tour. I'm often prone to be sick if I haven't slept well. The aircon was too cold I guess and I kept on waking up having liquid dreams of walking in Disneyland and programming in the office. Anyway, we were outside the hotel by 8:30AM waiting for Erik. I managed to pop a Benadryl AH and took it in for the stuffy nose and to stop the incessant sneezing. By 8:50, Erik hasn't arrived yet and 20 minutes more, tourists started complaining. Later on, Zeny arrived. She was our tour guide for that day. She was speaking in her harried English and haphazardly pointed us to the bus. Tourists glared at her with irritated looks, and to add the fact the she didn't apologize for her lateness. How we wished Erik could have been with us instead.

I myself was carried away with all the grumbling and annoyed with my nose at the same time. I tried to concentrate on what Zeny was saying because her English is incomprehensible. We were along Aberdeen road at that time going to Ocean Park while having a meeting with my family on what time we would leave Ocean Park. About 9:30, we arrived at Ocean Park and at first, I wasn't like 'wow' it was like OK, fine. Anyway, we got inside and grabbed our brochures. Something that looked like Oishi Manju caught my attention and I bought one. It costs like 17HK$ and had 30+ pieces. FYI, Ocean Park was divided into two areas, the lowland and the headland. The main entrance was by the lowland while headland is located on the other side of the mountain behind the lowland area. You have to travel through cable car to go to headland or from headland to lowland. There is also an entrance in the headland named as Tai Shue Wan entrance and that's where we are going to meet by 5PM before going to Victoria Peak for the night tour.

Jack Black in Cage

It was pretty boring in lowland because most of the rides were kids stuff however we got to see the 4 pandas, An-An, Jia-Jia, Ying-Ying and Le-Le. It was funny because I just thought at that timke that only Visayans are fond of making repeating nicknames. However seeing the pandas for me was quite sad because I felt some kind of conviction that they're supposed to be in the wild and here they are pointed at and have their pictures taken, not to mention that they are disturbed in their sleep. Anyway we didin't lingered that long, so we pored over our maps again. My parents wanted to see the dolphin show and we wasted another hour looking for it all over the lowland.

Cable Cars

We were informed that dolphin shows will be at the headland at about 3:30PM. So we boarded by the cable car and we went up up and away . The ride was quite long and I was expecting that the headland would be just at the other side of the mountain. Instead, a valley stretched before our eyes and on the other side of the next mountain, we saw the rides located in headland. The view from the cable car would have been majestic if the smog density isn't that heavy. From the cable car you can see the vast expanse of South China sea as well as Hong Kong's surrounding minor islands.

The whole view

When we get to the headland, it was swarming with lots of people. I guess this is where the action is. Down below are the rides like "The Dragon", a huge roller coaster with three loops, "The Abyss", a 550-ft tower where riders are taken up with only steel brace and a small seat supporting your body and then the platform where you're at will be released and you will fall 9.81 m/s² for like 2-3 seconds. There are also the other rides like Crazy Galleon (similar to Anchor's Aweigh in Enchanted), the classic Ferris Wheel, the rotating swing, etc. It was 11:30 when we started walking and felt out stomachs grumbling so went to the nearest food stall we can find.

Seal!

We managed to get a huge sausage, a fish tofu and fries and they don't tasted well. Anyway, my father insisted that we should look first for the Ocean Park theater for the dolphin show, however we entered the oceanarium of the seals we get to take close up views of those amicable creatures. Unlike pandas, seals definitely love attention and they would do their hilarious antics especially if you cheer them on. After the oceanarium we went on the other side of the mountain, the one facing the lowland to look forward to ride the "Mine Mountain". The ride didn't looked safe so we dismissed the thought of riding them and went down further. We found the "Raging River", much like the same with Jungle Log Jam in EK but much shorter and there was only 1 drop. I was feeling feverish and sleepy by that (that was the work of the Benadryl) so I quickly queued with my bro and sis for the ride. I guess you know all the drill on what's gonna happen in "Raging River" but what was surprising to me was that the rain coat, which was like similar only to a transparent garbage bag costs 25HK$. Talk about huge business. Good thing the Indians who were before us gave us their coats while some riders managed to grab some inside the trash can. The staff quickly noticed what was happening, so she immediately got all the coats from the gabage bin and shredded them to pieces.

The Raging River ride took away my sleepiness as well the fever. My brother, feeling more courageous now, queued next to Space Wheel, where a wheel rotates while moving upward to 90 degree angle.

Dolphin show

When my brother was finished with the Space Wheel, he was now irking to ride the dangerous ones like the Dragon and the Abyss but it was 2:30 by then and we have to get some seats for the Dolphin show. A series of arguments followed, with us, kids, determined to skip the show and went for the rides. Eventually, mom and dad won and we waited for another hour before the show started. We were quite early and we got ourselves some very good seats, just in front of the stage. There were four musicians already playing some latino beats to entertain the crowd and was quite surprised to hear later on, when they played and sang, "Anak" by Freddie Aguilar. My goodness, these guys are Filipinos! Eventually the dolphin show started. The dolphins are smart but I like the seals more because they are playful. Anyway, fastforward, it was all an antic show by these smart sea creatures.

It was about 4 when the show ended and we only got an hour to get to the rides before we meet the whole touring group at Tai Shue Entrance. My sister and I managed to ride the Crazy Galleon (similar to Anchor's Aweigh in EK), but we made sure that we sit by the end part to get the most of the ride. My brother managed to ride both the Dragon and The Abyss - and he was non-stop telling his feeling all about it as were all climbing up and down the Tai Shue entrance.

There was a commotion at the entrance as several touring groups were now merged and splitted depending on the next destination. Some who were with us originally but did not opt to join the night tour were grouped in another bus. Some of us were now joined with other tour groups (which includes a family of noisy Indians) and our tour guide by then was Henry, who was with Erik on the first day. Henry is very good. He communicates very clearly and he ushers everyone. When we got to the Peak Tramway Station, which will take us to Victoria Peak, he was the one who lined up to get the tickets for us.

It was a slow ride going to the peak and as advised by Henry, we got seated by the right side to get a better view of the HK metropolis. Unfortunately, it was very foggy, so there wasn't that much to see. When we got to the top we gathered round by the outside of the Peak Mall near Haagen Dasz and were handed with tickets to Madamme Tussaud's Wax Museum. We were only given an hour for the tour and to buy souvenirs.

Who the she is? But she's cute though

We had a great time inside the wax museum. It was a showcase of wax statues from Asian superstars like Michelle Yeoh, Andy Lau, and those guys featured in those sappy korea/chino/novelas (I don't watch them so I don't know their names); sports figures like Yao Ming, David Beckham, Hollywood superstars like Thomas Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, etc; Famous national figures like George Bush, Saddam Hussein, Mao Zedong, Mikhail Gorbachev; famous artists and scientists like Einstein and Pablo Picasso. There was even a figure of the wax maker herself, Madamme Tussaud and of course who can miss Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.

It was fun. I had a really good time in there and I bought HK ref magnets as pasalubong for my officemates. By 7, all of us were gathered in front of Haagen Dasz and proceeded to our bus. Our next stop was on the Night Market along Yau Ma Tei back in downtown Kowloon. While it too us only around 8 minutes to go up Victoria Peak, it took us about 30 minutes to go down. We have to go round in circles downward along the side of Victoria Peak. The view was breathtaking as HK buildings start loom large and the lights were just spectacular. Good for moonshell moments.

Anyway, after about 30 minutes, we arrived at the Night Market. It was 7:30 and all of us were starving. We scouted the entire length of Yau Ma Tei and we found a Chinese restaurant. God, the food was delicious! After dinner, we found out that we only had 30 minutes to shop around until we go back to the bus.

Along the way, the group split and I was with my sister. My bro was with my Nanay and Tatay so I texted them twice (while grieving over 40 pesos worth of text) to see them in the bus. I looked over some stuff and saw this cute figurine that looked like anime spirits. Upon closer inspection, they are two separate figurines, similar in look and joined together to appear that they are hugging. Much later on, I discovered that are salt and pepper vials. Cool, huh!

Anyway, my sister wasn't finished shopping and she hasn't picked anything when 9 came. We have to go back to the bus so we ran and despite the blisters on my feet we made it on time. We are the only ones that they have been waiting for but something inside me to go back so I asked Henry where Nathan Road is so that we could just trace our back to the hotel on our own. I happily tagged my sister back out from the bus and said to mom and dad to see them at the hotel. My brother went along with us.

We went back to the night market and decided to splurge all the HK dollars left in my pocket.. I bought two shirts and long sleeves for my office and gave the rest of my money to my brother. Anyway we finished shopping at about 10:30 PM so we started looking for Nathan Road which is fortunately just on the other side of the alley.

It was a relief to see the familiar "Babila" sign which means that we're just near our hotel so we walked a bit expecting after a block we could see the familiar aquarium and the magazine stand beside the hotel entrance. But after two or three blocks, we didn't find any sign so I began scrummaging over my map but I couldn't find any symbol or name of our hotel. So we walked again and after a block, my feet hurts from the blister made by the fake crocs that I bought in Manila, so we took a rest. I felt a desperation inside and the three of us looking like abandoned kids as people don't care to notice us and the shopping bags that we have seemed to look like garbage bags that beggars use. We felt so pitiful.

My brother pored over our map once again and voila! Just when we felt so desperate, we saw our hotel and we found out that we're 8 blocks away. We found out that we were walking to the opposite direction. All the tireness dissipate away as we know now where we're going. My blisters are hurting but it's okay, I'm gonna rest them on the soft bedsheets and I'll be dozing off. We arrived at the hotel at 11:30 PM. My sister called my parents in their room. They are already asleep. I'm glad that they didn't worry too much about us.

I was taking last photo shoots of the buildings as we were on our bus to the airport. The weekend seemed so long and the place grew on me now. It's quite sad that I'll be going back to Manila and I said to myself that I'll be back here to work perhaps or just plain vacation... and maybe see Erik again.

Lost in Hong Kong : City of Smog

Day 1: The City of Smog

A quarter before 9AM, we were all gathered outside our hotel in Natham Avenue waiting for our tour guide. The weather was perfect. It was cool and partly cloudy. The sidewalk was busy with people going to work. It felt like standing along the sidewalk of Ayala early morning. There was a magazine stand near the hotel entrance and I took a quick glance of the chinese versions of FHM, Maxim, Cosmo... too bad no Men's Health. I will certainly buy it even if I don't understand, y'know just for collection.

Avenue of the Stars, Waterfront

Bitoy arrived five minutes after nine and he led us to the bus. While the bus was rolling he told us our itinerary for the day. Our first stop will be the waterfront by the south bay of Kowloon facing Hong Kong Island. When we got there, it was a breathtaking site. It looked as if you're on Roxas Blvd but unlike it, in front of you is the coastline area of Hong Kong island and the endless stretch of tall buildings from east to west. Unfortunately the view was slightly obscured by a thick, dense fog. Eric corrected us that it wasn't fog but pollution. In addition, Eric told us that in 20 years, this waterfront will be gone since the this bay area we be reclaimed to accomodate more buildings.

Our next stop was the TSL, makers of world-class jewelry. It was a waste of time going here since we don't intend to buy jewelry, not to add that they are too expensive ranging from 50HK$ to 2000HK$. It's good that they have free sodas and tea so that you can have something to sip while oogling over the gold and the diamonds. Next we went to the factory outlet to buy our souvenirs. I bought a set of champoy, 3 boxes of milk tea and a Hong Kong souvenir shirt. They were also selling Disney products at a cheaper price but they don't look that good.

Noon: Disneyland

It was about 12NN when we finished shopping and it's time to go to Disneyland. We were all starving and we asked Eric if we could have lunch first before going to Disneyland but Eric said it would be better if we take our lunch in Disneyland to save time. So we endured 30 minutes of hunger as the bus rolled towards Disneyland back in Lantau Island.

It was really hot and humid, not to mention that we're all too hungry when we arrived in Disneyland. Everyone in the fam was quite in an irky mood so we took pictures quickly by the entrance and by the fountain where the water was blowing up from a whale's blowhole and Mickey Mouse was bobbing up and down on a surfboard. It was really cool. We got quickly inside, grabbed out maps and brochure guides and looked for the nearest fastfood along the Main Street. We found an italian resto and we got quickly inside. The food was quite pricey about 60HK$ and up but since we're too hungry we didn't mind spending a lot. We were entertained by the performers of High School Musical just outside in the Main Street.

Philharmagic

After lunch everyone was quite refreshed and was in the good mood. My sister was poring over her map checking the rides that we're going to take and the shows that we're going to see. We need to budget our time so that we can have time to see the fireworks display behind Sleeping Beauty Castle by 7:30PM. So first we went to the Adventure land and rode the boat for the Jungle River Cruise. It was quite nice seeing the fake elephants spraying us with water and the piranhas, the crocs and the giraffes. I apologize for the sarcasm but the cruise was quite boring. By the end of the cruise I was taken by surprise where we reached this area where there was a huge caved shaped like a giant frog and and the water srated to boil and fire was everywhere on the rocks and the water started to steam. Woah, this is what it should be. I just wish that they will have the earthquake effect that will capsize the boat next time. LOL.

We went next to Fantasy Land and our first stop was at Philharmagic. It was like IMAX but it is 4D since you also get to feel sensation like wind or water sprays. The show was a suite of memorable scenes in Disney Classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, etc. It was nostalgic for me because I grew up watching Disney Classics, memorize the songs like Mickey Mouse Club, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Beauty and the Beast, A Whole New World, etc. It brought me memories of my "unadulterated" childhood. It was like 2:30 PM when the show was finished. Next we went to Mad Hatter's Tea Cups where we went got dizzy spinning and spinning making sure to turn the steering wheel full counterclockwise to spin us very fast. After te ride we went to buy some cotton candies, we met some of our fellow tour mates and asked to join us since they weren't really familiar with the how's and to's. Back in the Main Street, the Disney Parade was already starting, so we hurried to get into our places. It was just in time when we got there, Mickey Mouse through the years float was just looming into view and floats representing themselves came into view like Chip and Dale, The Disney Princesses: Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Little Mermaid (though she's a princess but she doesn't have feet so maybe a separate float was dedicated for her), Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie in Toy Story, and my favorite, experiment 626, aka Stitch, lastly the trail was the float of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto.

After the parade, everyone was tired standing, so it's time to give the oldies (my parents) to sit down and relax so we decided to take a slow ride. So we went to the Fantasy Land Train Station and rode the train that travels around the periphery of Disneyland. I'd expect the ride to be boring (read: not dangerous and heart-stopping) but surprises await you just around the corner: Mickey and Minnie Mouse would just appear and wave hello and those pesky little aliens in Toy Story would pop out and take pictures.

Donald Duck in Disney Parade

After about 20 minutes of train ride, it's time to do the extreme, so went to Tomorrow Land to ride the Space Mountain. When we got there, we were surprised that there was no queue by the entrance. I guess most people were chickened out to go on this ride. My father opted to stay outside because of bad experience riding this in Disneyland Anaheim, CA. He said he almost passed out after riding this one. My mom was quite adventurous so she joined us. When we entered, it was pitch black and there was a lone car waiting for us. So I and my brother jumped in as my mother and sister waited for the next car. As the car wheeled slowly into darkness, lights start to flicker from a distance and it felt as if you're traveling in space. I was mesmerized looking around and didn't quite noticed that we're slowly going up and it was by a jiffy that all go suddenly fast and felt ourselves zooming in every direction. By then, the view started to change and we encountered huge planets, stars and nebulae. The ride's highlight was the downward plunge, as a huge supernova blasted right before our very eyes which we realize later on that it was the flash from the camera to take pictures of us in our ugly expressions of fear and hysteria, for some, epilepsy perhaps... not to mention that they cost 90HK$ each. We bought them anyway.

All were very frantic as we went out from the Space Mountain. We'd like to ride one more time but my mother swore that she would never ride something like this again. For me, this is a less scary version of the roller coaster since you don't get too see if you're already looping up or going sidewards unlike in the "The Dragon", the roller coaster in Ocean Park. Next stop was at "The Golden Mickeys". We only have the slightest idea that it would be a mini production number featuring all Disney Classics through the years. We were just in time for the 5:15PM show as people were now allowed to enter the theater. The production was themed like an awards night as Bebe(one hot Chinese chick) goes onstage presenting awards for heroes like Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan in Tarzan, Mulan in Mulan, and romance scenes like Belle and the Beast in Beauty and the Beast. Goofy comes in ruining the show (as he always does) and takes Bebe out from the show and brings her into his adventure. And suites from A Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch gave their huge shots. The show ended with the complete ensemble of the cast.

Lilo and Stitch, The Golden Mickeys

It was about a quarter to six when the show ended. We decided to have dinner early so that we can get good seats early on in the Main Street for Disney in the Stars, a fireworks presentation, making a spectacular backdrop of Sleeping Beauty castle. This also is the last main event in the park. By 7:00PM we got on Main and Street and found good seats. The fireworks display will start on 7:30 so set our cam to fireworks mode but unfortunately the battery was dead by that time.

Everyone was excited as the voice over announced the start of the fireworks display. Sleeping Beauty castle was bathed in colored lights as fireworks start to shoot upwards, orchestrated and in sequence. No words to describe it and I feel like I was back in my childhood, just experiencing this awesome wonder that dates back when my father used to bring Disney VHS every weekend. They could be a Disney Classic movie or cartoon series of Mickey or Donald Duck or The Merrie Melodies, Sing-along Songs. I can't help feeling nostalgic and lost in the memories of my childhood, innocent, wonderful and exciting, devoid of the complications of being an adult. I was in that moment for a while. After 30 minutes, all was over and I wished it would never end but it's time to go home. As we made our way to the exit, my bro and sis sang those old Disney songs and I'm quite surprised myself that I still memorize them, the ones like "Merry Un-Birthday" or "Mickey Mouse Club" and "It's a Small World".

As our bus rolled towards our hotel back in Kowloon, I told myself I will go back here some time in the future.

to be continued: Lost in HongKong : City of Ingenuity

Lost in Hong Kong : City of Lights

I haven't written on this blog for like two months now. I give you guys a break because I have been writing all these spiritual stuff and my inner struggles, in which some of you accidentally know by the way, without you knowing the other aspects of my boring life.

Anyway,enough with the intro blabbering. My family just came from vacation in Hong Kong and who wouldn't want to blog our adventures and misadventures (will tell you about that part later), on how to make "tawad" with the chinese when you're shopping and understanding your travel guide in their strong mandarin accent.

Arrival: The City of Lights

Team Philippines, yo!

We departed from Manila in about 2:50PM last Friday. The flight was uneventful and it was all cloudy for 2 hours until we reached the airport in Lantau Island. The sea was covered in fog and the weather was surpisingly very cold. I have miscalculated that it would hot in there since it's summer and it's like 34 degrees in Manila so assuming that Hong Kong is several degrees latitude up north, then it would be hotter. Anyway after lining at the immigration, we waited for our fellow tour travellers and took pictures while waiting. The staff, who were with us from Manila, from the branch of the appliance store where my father is working already boarded the train and we thanked them for giving us tips on the how's and to's and where and where to's while travelling in HongKong.

By 6:30PM, our tour guide whose name is Eric gathered us together gave us our hotel assignments. Eric reminded me of Michael V because he is short and stocky and it has become his monicker for the Filipinos during the whole tour, Eric aka "Bitoy". We boarded up on the bus that will take us to Kowloon, HongKong's residential district, where we would stay in a hotel during the entire duration of our tour.

It was already dusk when we were on the bus and it was getting dark and it was a sight to see Hong Kong's skyline looming with tall condominiums and buildings scattered in between the mountainous terrain of Lantau island. The bus rolled on lazily along the traffic jam-free highway. Woohoo! What a relief especially if you're travelling along EDSA everyday on peak hours. It was about 7:30PM when we got by Kowloon and traffic was building up slowly. It was unfortunate that we would miss the symphony of lights by the waterfront at 8. It took us about thirty minutes winding up within the city area until we got into our hotel. After stuffing our luggage in our respective rooms, we were starving so we ventured outside and looked for a nearby restaurant.

Chow Time!

We hinted a McDonalds two blocks away from where we are (I think it was Bowring street) but my dad wanted to experience a truly Hongkong eating experience. So we looked for a local noodle house and we found one just around the corner. I ordered for a noodle topped with chili meat sauce which costs around 24HKD (very expensive) but it was worth it because it was really delicious. It was like Italian pasta and Chinese flavor combined. It was about 9PM after we had our dinner and we decided to buy water at the nearby 7/11 for our Disneyland tour for tomorrow. We got back in our hotel afterwards, prepared our things and went to sleep.

To be continued in Lost on HongKong : The City of Smog

The Gollum Within

I was browsing Youtube for good, old, funny videos and found this hilarious clip from MTV Awards. Gollum won the best animated character and they showed on the screen, Andy Serkis, the man who brought the voice of Gollum to life. While he was making the speech, Gollum came out from nowhere, grabbed the MTV golden popcorn trophy out of Serkis' hands and made a crude speech of his own and making fun of Serkis in the process. See video here.

Lord of the Rings is my most favorite movie of all time and Gollum along with Aragorn and Frodo is one of the most profound characters in the movie. While Aragorn stands for courage of rightfully taking his place as king of Gondor and Frodo stands for "great things come from small packages", Gollum stands for all of us - the basic human nature.

You might be aware of the opposing forces that emerges in Gollum's character. One part of him is under the influence of greed and selfishness as provoked by the power of the ring but one part of him is his proclivity to be good - to be able to trust, to be altruistic and the third one.. this is my favorite.. to be able to lay down his defenses to be vulnerable.

Like human nature, Gollum showed the extreme bad and the hope to be genuinely good and it has a profound meaning on me because I know that a part of me works like a Gollum - the negative self-talk, the pessimism, to wallow in shame that bound me but I know the Smeagol part of me longs to be good, to make things right and to be able a gift to others. In the movie, what made Smeagol reappear despite Gollum's consumation of himself is the compassion of Frodo Baggins. Frodo never called him Gollum but Smeagol, which is his pre-unadulterated self. Frodo did not killed him when he had the chance to but instead he trusted him. What I see in Frodo is a characteristic of God that always pursues us to save us of our fallenness and He is always gracious to make us stand once again when we fall.

Each of us has his own Gollum but God calls the image that He created us to be able to be gifts for others.

I Ask For My Nation

You said, "ask and you will receive whatever you need."
You said, "pray and I'll hear from heaven,
And I'll heal your land."

You said Your glory will fill the earth
Like water the sea.
You said, "lift up your eyes;
The harvest is here, the kingdom is near."

You said, "ask and I'll give the nations to you."
Oh Lord, that's the cry of my heart.
Distant shores and the islands will see

RMorgan,

Sobering Thoughts on Brokenness

The teaching of brokenness over sin is not a very popular message in the world today, and even well-meaning Christians avoid sounding forth the call to repent lest people get "turned off". Many people want a god who is only loving and forgiving, but that is not the God of the Bible. People may want to forget that God is a God of wrath and that there are consequences for sin. They want to see Jesus as a "good man" but not see Him as a bloodied and crushed sacrifice. They want their sins washed away, but they forget that their sins were laid upon the Lamb and it was His Blood that carried them away.

For those who have repented and are turning from their sins and saying "Though temptations still assail my flesh at times, I have turned from them and by God’s grace will never turn back," we rejoice! The Bible tells us that there is a time for mourning, but that there is also a time for rejoicing over the precious coin that has been found, and the angels are doing that in heaven right now because of your brokenness!

--> from Day 6, Setting Captives Free