National Basketball Training Center Philippines

Yesterday we played our final game for our 2016-2017 SM-MVP NBTC North-East Cavite.  We played two games within four hours, first and last game. In the first game, we played against one of the strongest team in Cavite, University of Perpetual Help-Molino. Coach Rodney of UPH-M was "sports" enough to give leniency to my players did not ask his team to play to the fullest. Even with this approach, wwe lost by more than thirty points. In the second game, we were up against a team that boasts of big, wide-bodied grade 11's. We were down the whole game but miraculously, in the last 25 seconds of the game with the ball possession on my team, we had a shot but due to the inexperience of my team, including me, we took an early 3-pointer and didn't go in.

At the end of the game we lost by only five points.

My team played and fight till the end. I asked my team to give each other a round of applause, something the crowd were not expecting. I asked them two questions which everyone answered with an affirmative. One was "Did you give your best in the game?" and the last one was "Do you now believe you can play better than you think you can?"

This is the reason why I've been a sports coach in the last sixteen years. This is the reason why I chose to stay in this country instead of teaching special education in the US of A.

I finished BS in Occupational Therapy in college, completed my academic requirements in Special Education from De La Salle University-Manila. Have taught from kinder to college too but mostly, I've been teaching in the international schools here in the Philippines.

All this time, I have seen the power of sports as a learning and teaching tool that attracts students of all abilities. For you to understand the power of sports among the students, this is one question I always get from the teachers and school administrators: "Coach, how could these boys be so focused, motivated and happy training and playing while in the classrooms they're a different person?"

And my answer is always about them and the sports: "I can never force anyone to play the game or attend a grueling 3-hour training. They are here because they want to, they are here because they can see their value in the team and among their peers."

This year, I excluded my seniors (10th graders) and fielded in eight middle school students (7th and 8th graders) and seven 9th graders. This group of fourteen to fifteen year olds fought against teams which boasts of full athletic scholarships including board and lodging and several year-round tournaments.

Following the founders' principle behind NBTC, Coach Eric Altamirano and Coach Alex Compton's vision of providing a grassroots basketball tournaments, I wish I could reach out to more students and give them opportunities in life thru sports, thru basketball. I wish I could stay healthy and live longer as I travel this journey of teaching, coaching and learning. I pray too that more school administrators and teachers realize the true value of sports in developing the youth and at the same time benefiting this country of mine.

This year, I ended my NBTC tournament with zero wins and three losses. This year I also saw how terrible the effects are on a basketball program if the school administrators sees sports more of an expense than a tool to help develop students. Having shared these to you my readers, I would also like to share that no matter what is thrown at you, as long as you hold on to the reason why your into youth basketball as a coach, as a parent coach and as a volunteer trainer, all these problems are just a stepping stone to bring you to a place where changing the lives of your students for better is a given. Thanks to Coaches Eric E and Alex C! Thanks to our Cavite Head Macky Torres and our area head Alvin Guadines. Special mention to Coach Jun of CVS. Thanks too all the coaches who pushes me hard by trying to beat my teams all the time.

And with that I say goodbye for now NBTC! See you next season.

Coach Francis

Chess: Reminders for the Tactical Warriors to Be

After a long post on the Study Plan for Chess Students, I felt like sharing a couple of diagrams to show you what I meant. But knowing how rich the Internet is for chess literature and resources, I felt it would be better to share websites that offer training on the said topic: Tactics.

Here they are:

1. Introduction to Chess Tactics
2. Chess Tempo
3. Chess Tactics Server
4. Red Hot Pawn

You can also look for paid resources and one of the best sites for chess training is ICC or the Internet Chess Club. It is the place to be for all chess-related needs, for a fee.

Here's one paid site that I feel should be promoted because I have found the resources  and content to be very useful for my chess teaching: Professor Chess.

Go happy finding those tactics!

Study Plan for Chess Students

So much has been written and said about the 'right" approach for learning chess and not one is completely wrong but most are not completely right either. Because of several factors that play in the learning process, the right approach would always be the hit-and-miss for the completely isolated, self-study chess beginner. The single most commonly forgotten factor when we talk about these so-called study plans for chess students is of course this --> Human factor.

I advise you to visit and read through the following links: Chess Study Plan from CHESSDOTCOM, Confessions of a Chess Novice and Dan Heisman's Get Better at Chess.

What are the commonalities from these programs? Can you find the 'em? Then let me know by writing your comments on the comment section of this blog.

But here are my thoughts for the title of this post:

1. Keep playing and NEVER RESIGN from any game. Just like any endeavor, sports, academics, music, arts and other sort of stuff, you need to immerse yourself in your pursuit. One caveat: know when to rest.

2. Tactics, tactics and more tactics.  Chess is a strategy game and with strategy comes tactics. The Internet has so much to give for free when it comes to practicing and improving your tactical abilities. Solve puzzles at least 30 minutes a day.

3. Work on simple and basic Endgame study. Start with your K and Q checkmate, move up to K and R checkmate and continue on to other k plus other pieces combination. Its interesting to note that the K+ B+N checkmating practice never cease to give me headaches. Try it for yourself.

4. Annotate your games. Having said that, it means you have to notate your long games, review them and replay them. Postmortem so to speak.

5. Limit your games to long games, 60/G would be a great starter for this gives you the chance to adhere to Richard James important reminders. In his book  called School Lessons Volume 1 he shared the following "what-to-look-for-when-its-your-turn-to-move:

Checkmates

Checks

Captures

If on your move you could not find any of those three ideas mentioned above, you can do the look for the following:

Threats

Development

Center Control

And always, you should be looking out for two things:

Your King Safety

Attacking your Opponent's King

I hope this helps even for a bit and I wish you keep pushing those pawns all the way to your cherished dream of  chess domination.

Chess Endgame: Hunting for the Win

Here's another post on chess, tactical exercises for finding checkmates. The diagram below asks you to find the mate in 3 with Black to move.
























This one: look for Mate in 2 with White to move first:

 

Whatya' think Mike?

Chess Tactics Guide: The Fork

The Fork is a tactic where a single piece makes two or more direct attacks at the same time. It is what I call hitting two birds (sometimes more) with 1 stone.Oftentimes, two pieces are threatened which is why it is also known as double attack. A successful fork usually gives the attacking player a gain in material by capturing one of the opponent's pieces. Because of its nature, the defender has difficulty countering such attack.

 You can look into the following examples at Chess Tactics Guide: The Fork and Chess for Novices.

 

FIBA Olympic Qualifiers 2016

Today in the Philippines, July 5, 2016, is the beginning of our National Men's Basketball Team's journey to Rio Olympics as Gilas Pilipinas tries to secure a spot in the Olympics 2016 at Rio.  There are three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments held around the globe which gives more opportunity to basketball countries like the Philippines.

There are 18 nations competing across the three respective tournaments, with six teams going head-to-head at each of them. The winners of each of the three tournaments will all take the highly coveted last remaining tickets for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

This is a new system for FIBA Qualifiers for the Olympics. Fifteen (15) teams are given another chance at the Olympics plus three (3) more teams will compete as hosts of the three OQTs to be held simultaneously from July 4-10 2016.

These are the teams:

Host/Location: Italy

Group A: Greece, Mexico, Iran
Group B: Tunisia, Croatia, Italy

Host/Location: Serbia

Group A: Serbia, Angola, Puerto Rico
Group B: Japan, CZE, Latvia

Host/Location: Philippines

Group A: Turkey, Senegal, Canada
Group B: France, New Zealand, Philippines

Visit Bleacher Report for the complete schedule of the games here. The Sixth Man will surely help Gilas so please come and watch the games at Mall of Asia Arena. Tickets available at SM Tickets.

This will be a great ride for us! Let's go Gilas!

End of Scholastic Chess Camp 2016

Today we had the final day of Scholastic Chess Camp 2016 @ Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. We celebrated our last day by playing in several chess tournaments online-- at chessDOTcom and Chesscube. It was fulfilling to see my newest camper, Mike Al win his first championship over at chessDOTcom. Mike Al's only goal was to rank up his rating to at least 1200 but at the end of the day, his rating was much higher than Drew dlr.

"I've done it coach!" -Mike Al

Drew dlr placed fourth in a tournament where we both qualified to join in and in fact we played against each other in the 4th round. I will surely miss this boy as he moves on to high school. I have high hopes for him in his academics and when he represents his school in chess in the next four years. This year he will be reunited with David F and other former teammates. I'm sure they will bring pride and honor to their school.


Sandro F was quite a bit confused the entire 2 weeks of chess camp but the good thing is that he was aware of it. Mike and Drew were very supportive of him and that they made sure they offered help when Sandro needed one. Sandro would need to put in more "chess time" this summer so he can provide the necessary points for us to win our sixth MISAA Chess tournament this coming school year. Fingers crossed.

I have posted several photos of our day-to-day activities in the last eight days on our Official Facebook Page.


I would like to thank everyone who supported our camp especially the Lola of Sandro F for allowing us to use her place as our venue, thanks Ma'm!

Thank you too to the parents of our campers, Drew dlr and Mike Al, for entrusting their kids' chess development to me in the last six years.

Thanks be to God!

And with that, I officially begin my summer break.

Hanggang sa muli!  

My 40th Birthday Alphabet AKA The Mind Inside

Anticipating antsy audiences

Becoming brave bastards

Calmly cooling and chilling

Deciding direct dissection

Energizing, exciting eulogy

Featuring friendly foes and fiscals

Gravitating gaze galore

Hiding her hurts and heartaches

Inside intimate intellectuals

Justified jokes and jazz

 Keywords: Knockout Kings

Lovely language, letters and long-lasting laughter 

Mothering may matter

Naughty and naive neighbors

Offering oddities and oxymorons

Partnering people's perspectives

Quarantining the Queendom of the Queer   

Restless, rusty, random roundabouts

Secret society's super simple solution

Translating tremendous & troublesome tiny taboos 

Uniting universal uniqueness

Voicing out voluntary visions of Valentinos &  Valentinas

Waiting for wanna-be's, warriors & watchamacaliit

Xeroxing xylophones and xenons

Your yearly yonderly yuppy

Zapped, zigged and zagged.

Chess Camp 2016 @ Wack Wack Village

Our Chess Camp 2016 begins tomorrow at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. We are on our fourth year of offering this by-invitation-only chess camp. Everything is set and everyone's rarin' to push those pawns and pieces.

Scholastic Chess Camp 2016 will run for eight sessions from June 6-9 and 13-16 with weekend breaks including Fridays.  I'm in the process of having a guest player join our camp on our last day for our tournament. Hope this one pushes through.

Summer Time 2016

It is summer time for me and last weekend one of the things in my "must-do" list was accomplished: fix the roof before the rainy days become typhoon days. Water spout cleared and installed, roof nails hammered-in and sealant was applied all over.

I have six weeks for this summer break and I intend to make it as productive as I can. Tomorrow my daughter's teammates are coming over for a two-hour basketball training. I haven't met any of the girls in the team but my daughter P cautioned me that everyone's on the beginner level. And with that, I plan to follow the fundamental drills used by Coach Aik Ho in his basketball clinic in New Zealand:


And so I review the video.

Summer 2016 Pocket Tournament

Scholastic Basketball Camp Summer 2016 Pocket Tournament from May 28 - June 5 at the Basketball Court of Southern City-Tanzang Luma IV. Details:

1. Minimum of 6 Teams. 5 Teams and lesser, NO TOURNAMENT.

2. DEADLINE of SUBMISSION of TEAM LINE UP and TEAM REGISTRATION FEE of 3,500.00 on May 25, 2016 @ the residence of Coach Francis, 7:00 PM or EARLIER.

3. Player's Age Requirement: 17 Year Old and Below or BORN 1999 or YOUNGER. Photocopy of Birth Certificate is SUBMITTED together with the TEAM LINE UP.

4. Number of Players per Team: Maximum of 12 Minimum of 10. PLAY ALL Rule.

5. Questions and protests will only be entertained on the opening day.

6. Elimination Round: SINGLE ROUND-ROBIN

7. Top 4 Teams after elimination round:

Top 3 vs Top 4: Battle for 2nd and 3rd Runner Up Finish

Top 1 vs Top 3: Battle for Championship

Schedule:

May 28, 2016 Saturday:       Day 1, 3 Games (Games 1-3)

May 30, 2016 Monday:         Day 2, 3 Games (Games 4-6)

May 31, 2016 Tuesday:        Day 3, 3 Games (Games 7-9)
June 1,  2016 Wednesday:   Day 4, 3 Games (Games 10-12)
June 2, 2016  Thursday:       Day 5, 3 Games (Games 13-15)

June 4, 2016 Saturday:         Day 6, 2 Games (Games 14-15)

Game #14:      Battle for 3rd
Game # 15:     Battle for Championship

Awards:

Mythical 5
Tournament MVP

Champion: Trophy

1st Runner Up: Trophy
2nd Runner Up: Trophy
3rd Runner Up: Trophy

Thank you.

Let's do this!

Philippine National Elections 2016

On May 9, 2016, our Nation will be going through the democratic process of choosing and electing our national and local leaders. There will be 18,083 positions and 44,471 candidates for this year's polls. While we have been amused, terrified and taken-as-bobotantes by the circus-like election campaigns of these TRAPOS, the truth of the matter still stands---we are in for another change.  Whoever is sworn in on June, the people will be hopeful and watchful of how truthful the elected politicians will be to their plataporma de gobyerno.

We are expecting more than 54.4 million registered voters to come out and there are 92,509 precincts all over the county. And for those based overseas and wanting to vote, there are 82 foreign posts to serve 1.38 million of them.

It's been said time and again, none of the Presidentiables have taken sports as their primary objective when they take the highest post in the land. With all the issues hounding and pounding our society, I have never heard any of them talk about improving the sports program of the Philippines.

Why oh why?

Education? Poverty alleviation? Health services and delivery? Tanim-bala? Airport problems? Taxation? Transportation? Crime and Drug abuses? Police and Military abuses?

No one cares about the arts and sports development program in a land where more almost everyone is an aspiring athlete or an aspiring artist.

Whatever happens, there will always be that Resiliency of the Filipinos and this spirit is empowered and boosted by our natural and held-on belief on our Universal God. Be it God the Father or Alla, we Filipinos have been a very spiritual nation. We just have to keep holding on, believing in God and working on to reach our highest potential as a country and individually.

And before I regress, I'd like to share the following links for voter's education:

• Official COMELEC Website
• Online Voter's List 
• Online Status Verification

Rappler Philippines have posted a series for voter's education:

• Guide to 2016 Phl Elections
• By the numbers: Candidates in the 2016 Elections

May the Divine assistance be always with us!

Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

On May 1, we celebrate the life and work of one of the holiest man who've ever lived on Earth, St. Joseph the Worker, protector of Jesus Christ and most chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St Joseph is the Patron of the Universal Church, unborn children, fathers, workers, travelers, immigrants and a happy death.

According to Catholic Online:

"Joseph was foster father to Jesus. There are many children separated from families and parents who need foster parents. Please consider contacting your local Catholic Charities or Division of Family Services about becoming a foster parent."

Here is a YouTube video about St. Joseph:



Let me end this post with a prayer to St. Joseph: 

"Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls - Pray for me."

Queen of Heaven, pray for us!

The Golden Arrow Prayer

One of my "quick-hitters" for prayers, The Golden Arrow. I found this prayer in the Pieta Prayer Booklet which I carry with me wherever I go. Its either in my bag, in my bike, inserted in my books, notebooks and my notes.

Aside from praying my set: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Fatima Prayer, St. Michale Prayer, Guardian Angel Prayer and Memorare, I make sure to pray the Golden Arrow often within a day. I hope you guys pray these prayers too on a daily basis.

So here is a copy of the prayer:

THE GOLDEN ARROW PRAYER
MAY THE MOST HOLY, MOST SACRED, MOST ADORABLE, MOST INCOMPREHENSIBLE AND UNUTTERABLE NAME OF GOD BE ALWAYS PRAISED, BLESSED, LOVED, ADORED AND GLORIFIED, IN HEAVEN, ON EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH, BY ALL THE CREATURES OF GOD, AND BY THE SACRED HEART OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, IN THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. AMEN. 

After receiving this prayer, Sister Mary of St. Peter was given a vision in which she saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus delightfully wounded by this "Go/den Arrow" as torrents of graces streamed from It for the conversion of sinners. 

Queen of Heaven, Pray for Us.

John Kerry Carries the Same Tune: Religion

And just like that, Secretary of State John Kerry spills the beans on a very sensitive matter: R-E-L-I-G-I-O-N. Almost a decade ago, its then Prime Minister Tony Blair who thought of studying religion and reaching out globally and say "Religion is the future of the world".

John Kerry said in a speech at Rice University:

“The more we understand religion and the better able we are as a result to engage religious actors, the more effective our diplomacy will be in advancing the interests and values of our people,” 

And adds:

“It is up to us to recognize that we can’t lead a world that we don’t understand,” ...  “and that we can’t understand the world if we fail to comprehend and honor the central role that religion plays in the lives of billions of people.”

Tony Blair's Leap of Faith  carries the same tune right?

Click here to read the entire speech, as well as the question-and-answer session that followed at the speech of John Kerry at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Safety.

Life on Hold

Got a call from my wife
Her tone, her voice can't make much of a lie
And then she said "Got back from a meeting...with the nuns"
And so I knew it wasn't good, the meeting not nice

For a year or almost a year
I worked and coached a high school basketball team without fear
I learned the ways and went through the maze
Of working for this school that's not really blessed with grace

When friends and colleagues learn about my team
They look at me with silly grin
They ask sheepishly "how are you doing in that gym?"
I answer "Everyone's adjusting and everyone's learning"

And after about ten months
During this Summer Camp month
All hell broke loose from the nun's camp
They are asking for a lump sum

My camp it seems too good for the nuns
How come it had to be me running the camp?
Why didn't they see this in the last 50 years?
It took me and not them to see the beauty of the beast

They've gotten used to their ways
Their abusive and tyrannical days
Their teachers have learned to sway
But were always dumped in favor of the Greys

To end the meeting with the Greys
A shot was fired in a sense
Telling my wife that I won't be back
As a coach for next year daw

Do I care about it?
I'll be ready to leave today
The school that's been there for 50 years
And yet only has 600 students for the past year

A school that asks for 50k a year
But gives nothing for the kids
How can you expect them to grow
When the parents are campaigning to leave

I gave my best
I worked my best
I tried my best
Its your turn PS

Give back, give back
Help and share
It's time you give what's due to the students

I'll be perfectly fine. I wonder what will happen to my players and to the parents who opted to stay because I was there?

I wonder.

The Buzz on Amoris Laetitia

We had our regular round table discussion (without a round table) after our Holy Rosary prayers today and focused on the recently released Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love). I haven't read the entire document though but watched the EWTN's World Over Episode with Raymond Arroyo:
  

I don't know what will come out of this but it doesn't look good.

Let us all pray for the enlightenment of those who appears to be in error and for those given the opportunity to help and in a position to rectify the situation, may they provide the true and correct solution to the "errors".

May the Queen of Heaven, Mother of God pray for us!

Hour of Code Discovered

Our school is going to celebrate S.T.E.A.M. Week (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) and in the first two days of the celebration, there will be Hour of Coding for our middle school students.

Just what is Hour of Code?

"The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials are available in over 40 languages. No experience needed. Ages 4 to 104."

There are 198,474 Hour of Code events around the world and its interesting to know that my students will be participating. And guess what? Participants are learning in 40 languages.



Who's behind this project?

"The Hour of Code is organized by Code.org, a public 501c3 non-profit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science by making it available in more schools, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. An unprecendented coalition of partners have come together to support the Hour of Code, too — including Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the College Board." 

There are so many things to do and learn from in the whole wide internet. Try this one out for your class or for your kids or even for the kids in the community you're helping.

Check it out!

Scholastic Interventions

Scholastic Interventions is a dream, a project and a mission by our family: Francis, Claire and our four kids Pat, Free, Migs & Fids.

Scholastic Interventions (SI) is envisioned to give and provide interventions in the areas of academics, sports and events by providing workshops, mentoring, coaching and consultancy in the academe and baranggay communities.

SI has been working with kids of all abilities in several places, community-based and school-based settings. Since 2004, we have reached out and provided privately-sponsored activities like chess camps, basketball camps, teacher training development and events organization. Work in the areas of Marian Spirituality has always been the main motivation of Francis and Claire.

As of April 2016, we have decided to change our name (and dream) from Creative Education Interventions to Scholastic Interventions to reflect a more realistic description to what we have been doing:  doing interventions in the context of scholastic endeavors: teacher training and development, reading camp, chess camp and basketball camp.

To date, Scholastic Chess Camp and Scholastic Basketball Camp are the two major projects we use to help spread and promote Marian virtues and teachings together with the basics of the two sports. We have produced several student-athletes in the last twelve years and they are now giving back by assisting us in our weekend projects in Cavite, Quezon and Manila.

Help us in our endeavor, pray with us and promote physical, spiritual, academic health and wellness among the youth of our nation. Anywhere you may be.

It is worth mentioning that in the last couple of years, Jason F of OBBO Socks has been helping us in bringing our Scholastic Basketball Camp in Imus City.

For the Glory of God, in the service Men.

Semper Ad Meloria!

The Divine Mercy Prayer

The "3 o'clock Prayer" as we know it, is the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy whose roots date back to September 13, 1935 with Sister Mary Faustina receiving the prayer from Jesus Christ though a vision. The ABC of the prayer:

A— Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach  Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and
asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.

B— Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.

C— Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our
trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.

The message of mercy is that God loves us — all of us — no matter how great our sins. He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy.

Here is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in Song:




The Original Divine Mercy image which is also known as The Vilnius Divine Mercy Image has this background story:

The original Divine Mercy Image, painted by Eugene Kazimierowski in Vilnius under the direct supervision of St. Faustina and Fr. Michael Sopocko. It was completed in 1934, and first shown for public veneration in 1935 at the Church of Our Lady, Gate of the New Dawn, where the Ostra Bramska Image, also known as Our Lady of Mercy, resides.

St. Faustina was apparently very disappointed with Kazimierowski’s work during the painting of the image, because it was not capturing the beauty of Jesus as Faustina had seen him. Jesus appeared to St. Faustina again, and told her to settle for this image with these words:

“Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace.”
                                                                                                                                      (Diary, 313)

The image fell into disrepair from storage during the second World War, and the following decades when public veneration of the Divine Mercy was forbidden. The image was restored back to it's original beauty in 2003 by an artist of Vilnius. 

Here are other online resources for Sister Faustina's visions and the Divine Mercy Prayer:

1. Faustina Message
2. Divine Mercy in my Soul
3. Divine Mercy Sunday

Let's celebrate the Divine Mercy Weekend 2016 on the 2nd and 3rd of April by praying the Divine Mercy Novena!

Our Lord's Passion by Preciosa Soliven

Hello everyone.

Today I am sharing the two articles by Ambassador Preciosa Soliven, publisher and columnist for Philippine Star, educator and owner of OB Montessori School. She shared and wrote the details of Jesus Christ's suffering based on the book The Life of Mary as seen by Mystics. This is a compilation of the private revelations and visions of the following: St Elizabeth of Schoenau, St. Bridgette of Sweden, Venerable Mother of Jesus of Agreda ( Mystical City of God) and Sister Anna Catherine Emmerich.

I was gladly surprised to have read her column and was brought back in time when all I ever wanted to read were books about Mother Mary: The End of Days, Mystical City of God, The Secret of the Rosary, The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and  Imitating Mary.

Here are the two links for the articles on the The Way of Our Lord's Passion and Cross:  Part 1 and Part II.

St. Louis de Monfort and His Books

St. Louis de Monfort was, according to Wikipedia:

"was a French Roman Catholic priest and Confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI.

As well as preaching, Montfort found time to write a number of books which went on to become classic Catholic titles and influenced several popes. Montfort is known for his particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the practice of praying the Rosary.Montfort is considered as one of the early writers in the field of Mariology. His most notable works regarding Marian devotions are contained in The Secret of Mary and theTrue Devotion to Mary.

The Roman Catholic Church, under the pontificate of Pope Pius XII canonized Montfort on July 20, 1947. A "founders statue" created by Giacomo Parisini is located in an upper niche of the south nave of Saint Peter's Basilica." 

St. Louis went on a mission and traveled on foot and was also known as a priest, preacher, Mariology writer, poet and founder of a congregation.

He wrote several books:

• Admirable Secret of the Rosary
• True Devotion to Mary
• The Love of Eternal Wisdom
• True Devotion to Mary.
• Secret of the Rosary

Right now I'm reading his book called True Devotion to Mary.  Just click on the link and you may download the book for free.

Here are five website links where you can legally download Catholic books for free:

1. Free Catholic eBooks Download
2. Free Traditional Catholic Books
3. Good Catholic Books
4. Catholic Spiritual Direction
5. Catholic Books Online 

Hope you guys find the spiritual book you need.

World Religions: Handouts for Sacred Places

I found an acrobat document which appears to be a scanned pages of Special Edition of US News and World Report issued November 26- December 3, 2007. The cover title says Sacred Places, Inside the World's Most Spiritually Important Sites and What they Mean Today.

For those who are looking for something substantial and insightful on the subject, this will hopefully serve as a good introduction.

The link is here with the ebay link.

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

As we celebrate the birthday anniversary of Robert "Bobby" Fischer, the American chess Grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion, I am sharing one of my favorite chess books: Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. A chess puzzle book written by Fischer himself and co-authored by Stuart Marguiles and Don Mosenfelder. Both Marguiles and Mosenfelder were leaders in the educational design of their time.

A great starter book for any beginner or interested student of the game. I have given copies of this book to my students and friends. I have repeatedly read and gone through the pages through the years and it helped sharpen my chess skills: tactics and more tactics.

He was an eccentric genius who was known for his controversial public remarks in his later years. He had trouble with the United States Government and this prevented him from going back to his native country in the last years of his life.

Happy birthday Bobby!

My Notes on The Future of Faiths

As I journey through the third term with my seventh graders for my World Religions class, I can't help but smile and give my students an imaginary pat on their backs after the first part of our discussion of the future of religions.

They had been with me since sixth grade and their growth in their knowledge of world religions, different faiths and beliefs were tremendous. Coming from our Face to Faith Team Blogging activity in second term, these kids are now almost-ready to take on their Ethics class next school year.

Thanks be to God for the beauty and satisfaction I find everyday in teaching and the opportunity to be part of the lives of my students. Praise be to God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit and to the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and all the angels and saints!

I'm sharing my notes on my lecture-discussion on the topic The Future of Faiths:

Looking Over the Spiritual Horizon (Religion  Today and Tomorrow) from the book Many Peoples, Many Faith, Women and Men in the World Religions by Robert S. Ellwood and Barbara A. McGraw.

Things Old and New

1. Some of the religions and belief systems we have looked at are very much rooted in the past, if not irrevocably locked in the past. Some of these religions may give religion a romantic patina or sprinkle it with the blood of grisly sacrifices that are all gone, thankfully they're gone.

2. The past is much simpler, more pristine or pure, the works of the Divine more evident and the moral teachings or values are clearer, somewhat.

3. As we move through time and space, as we practice and live our beliefs, it is expected that we bring along our traditions with us, continuously evolving yet staying in the past.

Will religion survive? Will God survive?

In the 18th century, the scholars and eminent voices from the "learned" circles all over the world have predicted the fading away of religion. If we look at history, as we always do in our class, "Death of god" is nothing new. We have seen how a society's religion and the gods it brings along dies or are placed on the sides when a new, more dominant and stronger "civilization" led by its mega-strong army claimed its rightful place in the conquered society.

Religion is always changing. That's a fact. Maybe subtle or the opposite, but it changes.

What are the factors affecting Religions Today?

1. Nuclear Proliferation
2. Technology
3. Ecological and Population Crises
4. Gender Inequity

Work on your reading assignments and we will continue our lecture-discussion next week.Have a great day! Be safe and my the blessing and protection of God be with you all!

The Garabandal Story

Mother Mary, the Mother of God, and St. Michael the Archangel visiting a small, laid-back village called San Sebastian de Garabandal in the early years of 1960's.

According to the Official Website of the Workers of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel:

"San Sebastian de Garabandal is situated at the very end of a winding road cut into the side of the mountain. A solitary cluster of nine pine trees stands starkly on a rise against the horizon to the south. The village itself consists of some eighty rustic stone buildings huddled together on a small strip of land overlooking a wooded valley.

Like Fatima and Lourdes, Garabandal is a place of unearthly serenity and beauty. The villagers were known throughout the region for their piety and their faithful observance of devotional prayer which they offered together as a community several times each day.

In 1961, it was the poorest and most isolated of all the agricultural hamlets in the region. The only access to the village was via the three and a half mile oxcart path that went up from Cosio, the next closest village."

Here are the videos I recently watched and gave me the motivation to pursue the story:

Maria Saraco's First Focus Interview:


Maria Saraco's Second Focus Interview"

Sunday Secrets Since 2004

I've been reading and following Post Secret blog since 2004 and I've seen it from being just a crazy idea from Frank Warren to become a touring event across North America and publish books in the last ten years or so.

Today is a Sunday and while I wait for this week's post to be uploaded, I checked out Frank Warren's Half A Million TED Talk and I'm sharing them to you below:

 

Secrets...

Coursera: Intro to the Science of Cancer

After accomplishing a verified course at Coursera, I enrolled myself in another course, this time its the Introduction to the Science of Cancer. Since March is the time of the year when Colorectal Cancer Awareness is celebrated, I'll be sharing the videos from this course in parts.

Here's the overview from the course:

"The OSUCCC - James is offering this course to help you better understand the many different diseases that together we call “cancer.” We believe that if more people have a better understanding of cancer, they are more likely to take steps to lower the risk of cancer for themselves, their families and their communities. Helping people achieve a deeper understanding of cancer can also lead to improved care for cancer patients.

The course is designed to be accessible to those with limited knowledge of science, but it will also be useful to healthcare professionals who may have limited background in the field of cancer. It is organized so that earlier modules provide information that will help you better understand later modules.

The course is organized so that the earlier modules provide foundational information, through lectures and readings, that will help you better understand later modules. For example, the first four lectures in Module 1 will orient you to the nature of cancer from a holistic and human body point of view, while the last three lectures take you into the cell, where cancer actually starts. These lectuers describe key components of cells, followed by the fundamental cause of cancer: changes in DNA and genes.

Moving on through the course, modules 2 and 3 explain how cancer is diagnosed and treated and build on our first module. Those first three modules together underscore the importance of cancer prevention, which is the topic of module 4. While there is always a possibility that someone will develop cancer during his or her life, there are ways to lower the risk of certain cancers, and those measures will be explained.

Our fifth and last module is about cancer research. Here you will be introduced you to the various types of research and how they advance our knowledge about cancer and lead to new ways to treat and prevent these diseases.

As you progress through the course, be sure to read the articles we’ve chosen from Frontiers, our magazine about cancer research at the OSUCCC – James. In each module, we also provide links to interesting and related videos and web sites. Last but not least, be sure to follow—and contribute to—the course discussion."

There are five (5) modules for the course with required quizzes and final project. You may or may not go through the quizzes and project if you do not intend to have the certificate just like me. I'm taking this one to arm me with the basic knowledge of Cancer --my wife was recently diagnosed with colon cancer, Stage 2.

Module Topics:

1. Module One : What is Cancer? 
2. Module Two : Diagnosis of Cancer 
3. Module Three : Treatment of Cancer 
4. Module Four : Prevention of Cancer 
5. Module Five : Cancer Research 

The course creators are a collection of knowledgeable and veteran doctors and educational program specialists from OSUCCC – James Translational Therapeutics Program and led by Michael A. Caligiuri, MD.

You can check out the team of experts behind the scenes here.

I've downloaded the lecture videos from Module 1 and the links are shared below. Please spread the word. Your act of sharing the information can help you or someone you know who is going through Cancer. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power.

1. Introduction to Module 1

2. What is Cancer?

3. Solid tumors

4. Hematologic cancers

5. Childhood cancers

6. Childhood cancers 2

7. Anatomy of a cell

8. DNA, RNA and Protein

9. Genes and the changes that lead to cancer

Share away and spread the awareness!

Term Break Working Break

Tomorrow will be the 1st and last day of our term break here in school. And like any other term breaks I've had here, it means only one thing--I'll be working on the narratives and marks for my student's report cards. The good thing is I know us, the teachers here in my school (an IB School) are not overloaded with work compared to other schools.

Since yesterday I have been working encoding grades on our ManageBac and while doing so, I've had the sweet time to listen and peek into my favorite movies on Youtube.

Some of my favorites:



I saw this movie with my wife. She found it too childish I found it too good to miss.









Three out of five movies is a Julia Roberts movie, what does that say?



I am Sam movie made me cry inside the cinema, period. And of course my go-to-video to perk me up:



And it's almost time, I have to fix my stuff and go home-sweet-home.

Ash Wednesday 2016

Today, February 10, 2016, marks the beginning of the Lenten Season and almost everyone in the Christian world observes this beginning with Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting, abstinence and repentance. The Latin Catholic Church or the Roman Catholic Church follows the regular Sunday Eucharistic celebration schedule --there is a celebration of the Holy Eucharist every hour in your parish most likely.

In the early days, Christians adopted the use of ashes as a symbol of penance. The Bible makes no specific mention of Ash Wednesday, but practices observed during the day such as mourning in sackcloth and ashes are found all throughout the Old and New Testaments. According to Wikipedia we can find the significance of ash in the bible:

"Ashes were used in ancient times to express grief. When Tamar was raped by her half-brother, "she sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying" 2 Samuel 13:1. The gesture was also used to express sorrow for sins and faults. In Job 42: 3-6, Job says to God: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." The prophet Jeremiah calls for repentance by saying: "O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes" Jeremiah 6:26. The prophet Daniel recounted pleading to God: "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes" Daniel 9:3.  Just prior to the New Testament period, the rebels fighting for Jewish independence, the Maccabees, prepared for battle using ashes: "That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes" Maccabees 3:47 and 4:39. Examples of the practice among Jews are found in several other books of the Bible, including Numbers 19:9, Jonah 3:6, Book of Esther 4:1 and Hebrews 9:14. Jesus is quoted as speaking of the practice in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13: "If the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago (sitting) in sackcloth and ashes."   

It is meaningful and important that this season, members of the church are encouraged to focus on renewal of one's spirituality and that Christ died on the cross for our sins.

Here's a video from Catholic Online's YouTube Chanel to help us understand further about the season:

Learning and Earning a Certificate at Coursera

I did it!

Finally I finished a certified course at Coursera! I enrolled and successfully completed the Sports and Society verified course. It helped a lot that I was granted the verified course under their scholarship scheme.

I think this is just the beginning, there will be more topics to explore, ideas to look into and a lot of discoveries to unearth.

I love to learn and I love teaching but earning certificates online may just be one of the many steps toward success. Certificates are not an assurance of success but this may lead one to a successful path towards one's goal. This also has motivated me to finish a set goal in a specified time frame.

In the meantime, I'd like to share to you my dear readers this video of Coach John Wooden, one of basketball coaches legends:

  

From the YouTube description:

"With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father's wisdom."

Lion's Cup Developmental League 2016

Here is the schedule for the Lion's Cup Basketball Tournament:

.
FEBRUARY 7, 2016 @ 7:00AM (SUNDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
(U12) KSBS – WC
(U12) JGSS – OLHRS
(U14) KSBS – WC
(U12) CVS – JGSS
(U14) GGCS – DLA
(U12) DLA – OLHRS
(U14) KSBS –ASJ
(U12) CVS – WC
(U12) DLA – KSBS
.
FEBRUARY 8, 2016 @ 7:00AM (MONDAY)
VENUE : JESUS GOOD SHEPHERD SCHOOL
(U14) CVS – DLA
(U14) JGSS – KSBS
(U12) OLHRS – CVS
(U12) KSBS – JGSS
(U14) ASJ – JGSS
(U14) CVS – GGCS
(U12) DLA – CVS
(U12) CSSM – KSBS
(U12) DLA – WC
.
FEBRUARY 14, 2016 @ 7:00AM (SUNDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
(U12) IUCS – KSBS
(U14) JOSIAH – JGSS
(U12) DLA – CSSM
(U12) IUCS – JGSS
(U12) KSBS – OLHRS
(U14) WC – JOSIAH
(U12) DLA – JGSS
(U12) CSSM – WC
.
FEBRUARY 20, 2016 @ 7:00AM (SATURDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
(U14) CSSM – CVS
(U14) ASJ – JOSIAH
(U12) IUCS – CVS
(U14) CSSM – DLA
(U14) JOSIAH – KSBS
(U12) CVS – KSBS
(U14) CVS – MFA
(U12) IUCS – CSSM

.
FEBRUARY 21, 2016 @ 7:00AM (SUNDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
(U12) IUCS – OLHRS
REST 1 HOUR
(U12) IUCS – WC

FEBRUARY 25, 2016 (THURSDAY)
VENUE and TIME : TBT
(U12) DLA - IUCS
SEMIFINALS AND FINALS OF U14
.
FEBRUARY 28, 2016 @ 7:00AM (THURSDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
SEMIFINALS AND FINALS OF U12

. 

Celebrating Chinese New Year 2016

It will be a long weekend, thanks to our Chinese brothers, they'll be celebrating their new year on Monday, February 8, 2016. What will you guys be doing for three days? Will you still be working at the office? Will you be travelling out of town? Will you be biking with family and friends? What will you be doing?

I will be attending to my basketball coaching and fatherhood duties this coming weekend.

University of Asia & the Pacific Men's Basketball Team will have a game on Sunday for our Summer League and will be playing against Our Lady of Fatima University at the De La Salle-Antipolo Gym. Tomorrow I'll have the whole morning to be with my HS Basketball team, training and coaching. I'll be bringing along my son M for the workouts.

Monday will be a two-game billing for my HS team....Game 2 and Game 6, it will be a killer but my boys will be up to it.

And yes, Yang Chow Restaurant called me up this week and said I won a Set Meal and I can claim it (eat it!!!) anytime. Yehey!

Going back to the topic...

For 2016, according to Chinese tradition and this website, it will be the Year of the Monkey. And better watch out, they say people born in a year of the monkey, 2016 is considered a bad year. Bad year huh? But what do they say about the monkey for the Year of the Monkey?

The Monkey is ninth of the 12 animals in the recurring 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle. Every 12 years there is a Monkey year. Monkey years are all multiples of 12 --- from 12 AD, through 1200 AS to now in 2016.

Beware: Zika Virus Infection

Everyone around me seems to be getting sick and the symptoms are almost the same: feverish to high fever usually at night, coughing and colds. These would go away for awhile and then returns when the medication expires.

I've gone through two weeks of doctor consultation and hospital visits for my children last month due to these symptoms and the doctors would tell me it's viral.

Today I received an email from our HR Manager and I'm sharing it to you here: Medical Bulletin: Zika Virus.

Be safe, be happy.

February Feast Days of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary

Today our brothers and sisters in Forli, Italy and the Catholic Church are celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Fire. Happy feast day to all of you my dear brothers and sisters!

And who is Mother Mary if you may ask?

The Blessed Virgin Mary plays a major role in the salvation history of Mankind. According to the New Advent Website page, "the Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God."

The theology and history of Mary the Mother of God follow the chronological order of their respective sources, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Early Christian and Jewish witnesses.

As part of my share in celebrating Feast day of Our Lady of Fire, I am sharing a book called The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by  Anne Catherine Emmerich.

Also, I am listing below the February Feast days of Mother Mary:

- Eve of the Purification-----February 1 
- The Purification-----February 2 
- Our Lady of Saideneida, Damascus-----3  
- Our Lady of Fire, Forli, Italy-----4 
- Dedication of the First Church of Our Lady by St. Peter, Tortosa, Italy-----5 
- Our Lady of Louvain, Belgium-----6
- Our Lady of the Bowed Head or Our Lady of Grace, Rome-----7 
- Abbey of Our Lady of the Lily, France-----8 
- Our Lady of the Bells, Cathedral of Saintes, France-----9 
- Our Lady of the Dove, Bologna, Italy-----10 
- Our Lady of Lourdes-----February 11 
- Our Lady of Argenteuil, Paris-----12 
- Our Lady of Pellevoisin, France-----13 
- Our Lady of Bournourg, Flanders-----14 
- Our Lady of Paris, France-----15 
- Our Lady of the Thorn, Chalons-sur-Marne, France-----16 
- Our Lady of Constantinople, Turkey-----17 
- Our Lady of Laon, Rheims, France-----18 
- Our Lady of Good Tidings, Lempdes, France-----19 
- Our Lady of Bolougne sur Mer, France-----20 
- Our Lady of Bon Port, France-----21 
- Our Lady of Succor, Rennes, France-----22 
- Our Lady of the Rocks, Salamanca, Spain-----23 
- Feast of the The Procession of Pope St. Gregory  
- with Painting of Our Lady by St. Luke, Rome-----24 
- Our Lady of Victory, Turkey   
- and Our Lady of Great Power, Quebec, Canada-----25 
- Our Lady of the Fields, Paris-----26 
- Our Lady of Light, Lisbon, Portugal and Palermo, Italy-----27 
- Institution of the Monastery of the Annunciation, France-----28

Our Queen of Heaven, Pray for us!