In 2003, the United States’ Department of State released a report on the abhorrent conditions of the penitentiary facilities in the Philippines. Overcrowded, undermanned and rotting, these jails were deemed by the US State Department to be a violation in human rights. In 2005, a documentary film directed by Ditsi Carolino entitled Bunso (Youngest Child) […]
Ulysses in Exile
Leopold Bloom the mythical, religious, historical, and local exilic figure of Ulysses raises quite a lot of sympathy and compassion in his readers. He could be regarded as a modern “Odysseus”, walking through Dublin streets, questing for various things; a quest for his hybrid identity, a quest for knowledge of himself, a quest for a […]
Haiti’s Heavenly Army
L’Amee Celeste (the Heavenly Army) is a Haitian religious cult. I admit right here and now that I have not seen most of what I will describe in this essay. Outsiders are not usually able to see all the practices of the Heavenly Army because of the secretiveness of the movement. It is also necessary […]
How I Passed the CSET….Little Tips and Pointers That Made the Difference Between Pass and Failure
The CSET — Your Path To A Rewarding Career! Few careers can provide the levels of responsibility, satisfaction and fulfillment that teaching brings to California educators. Each day, thousands of teachers across California help their students to study, to learn and to reach for their dreams. Good Teachers Create Great Lives Teachers can touch lives […]
English Language – Our Window to the World
The 21st century has witnessed a revolution in the use of Mobile phones, Emails and Internet. It has ushered in a new world where English communication has become a necessity to stand out in the world of competition. In today’s society, life becomes very difficult for anyone who is not comfortable conversing in English. In […]
Cleanth Brooks’ The Language of Paradox
In The Language of Paradox, Cleanth Brooks takes on the language of poetry, stating that at its core poetry is the language of paradox. Brooks bases his position on the contradictions that are inherent in poetry and his feelings that if those contradictions didn’t exist then neither would some of the best poetry we have […]
Connective Thinking – Creativity Techniques
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein Imagination and creativity are two interrelated terms, the former leads to the latter. The etymological root of the word “creativity” in English and most other European languages comes from the Latin creatus, which means “to have grown.” How this works? […]
Sports in Angola – Interesting Facts & Figures!
Road to London 2012! Barcelona 1992 Did you know- Between July 25 and August 9, 1992, the Angolan Olympic Committee, sent 29 athletes to the Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain. The African nation competed in seven sports: basketball (11), boxing (1), roller hockey (11), judo (4), swimming (3), sailing (3), and track & field (6). […]
Queerness of Identity in the Philippines in Edith Tiempo’s The Chambers of the Sea
Each society, community or tribe is unique with its identity. Myriad of factors make up the multifaceted surface and endodermis of a community. Norms, morals, culture, history, economy, hegemony and people, men and women alike push and pull in affecting each other. Often, the people who create and perpetuate the volatile norms, morals, culture and […]
Culture and Tradition in the Pre-Colonial Africa in Elechi Amadi’s The Concubine
The story is a tale of a young woman, Ihuoma, who belongs to Nigeria’s Igbo ethnic group. Her plight involves her past life, when she was said to be the wife of the mythical Sea King deity. This gives her great status in the present, but portends doom for any mortal man who seeks to […]