Introducing enGráy: Your English-Waray Translator
Finally, there's this machine translator called enGráy (short for English-Waráy) that translates Waray sentences to English and vice-versa. I was able to try it and I was happy with what I discovered: enGráy works like Google Translate. The good thing about enGráy is that it is specific to the Waray language -- something that Google Translate cannot do at present.
This machine translator was developed by Maureen Lyndel C. Lauron, a 19-year old Waray speaker from Brgy. Pagsulhugon, Babatngon, Leyte. Maureen graduated Cum Laude at Visayas State University, Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines where she finished BS in Computer Science.
On Empty Houses and Well-Lighted Cafés
Often, it's only when people have experienced loneliness themselves that they learn to be truly sympathetic to the needs of others. Hence, the older waiter's statement: "Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the café." He works diligently to keep the place clean and inviting, so that it can provide comfort to anyone who seeks it.
Baybay City's Dry Market: A Photo Story
We were at the pubic market on June 24 from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. where we took photographs of the area assigned to us. With us and the other participants were the Camp Blog facilitators and Mr. Jimmy Domingo, a photojournalist and our resource person for that activity.
This photo story is a product of long discussions and brainstorming among the group members and Mr. Domingo, but we give the biggest credit to Miguel Albert Taveros, The Tiller's Editor-in-Chief and layout artist for bringing to life our ideas through this output because of his knowledge of Adobe movie-maker.
Unclassified: The Jerk Factor
What Next?
Ok, some titular head of a terrorist organization got whacked -- BFD!!! That's only today's big news. Just two days prior, the wedding of Prince William was the news. Not all that long before that, the Japan disasters. Trapped miners being rescued. Big earth in Haiti. Big earthquake in ... where was that? I don't even remember. It seems that the news media leads us all by the nose from one big earth-shattering event to the next, with hardly any time for a breath in between. What next?!?
Well, I'll tell you what's next for me - nada, nichts, waray, wala, N-O-T-H-I-N-G. I am so sick of being manipulated by this media circus and what they determine is of importance to us. It's time for me to get off of this mad merry-go-round ride spinning every day or two into some new crisis/event/disaster/celebration/discovery/death/etc. Remember the saying "think globally, act locally"? It's time for me to stop thinking globally, because it's too damn distracting. It's starting to blot out all the local. Now don't misunderstand me -- I'm not retreating into my cocoon and saying adios to all things external.
I look at my life then, and compare it to the here and now and see how much more people are plugged in to the world's technology. Ipods, iphones, geez -- everyone's so caught up in the latest electronic technology that I see constriction instead of new vistas being opened up. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a technophobe, but I'm not a techno-addict either. I just think... well, in a nutshell.... I guess what I'm saying is ...
What next?!?
It was Santa, Not Osama!
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This morning I saw a little girl crying, so I asked her what was wrong. She said that she heard someone on TV say: "Oh, Santa is dead." I stood there quite perplexed — why would anyone on TV say Santa is dead? Then the proverbial light bulb above my head lit up. She had heard someone say "Osama is dead", not Oh Santa is dead.
A Royal Prophecy of Doom
Note: The following story blends history, rumor, and royal legend. Its claims should be taken with a grain of salt.
In Winchester in 1087, King William had a survey created to list the ownership and worth of his kingdom. People of the time referred to it as the Domesday Survey, rumored to be the very Royal Prophecy of Doom to which I refer. King William died that same year.
Hints suggest that this shadowy bit of lore was passed down from monarch to monarch by word of mouth.
On 22 September 1327, the former King Edward II was brutally murdered in his cell in Berkeley Castle by having a red-hot soldering iron plunged into his bowels. What history does not record is that he was being tortured for information regarding this same Royal Prophecy, which he steadfastly refused to divulge. Was his successor contemplating marrying a commoner?
On Valentine’s Day 1400, the deposed King Richard II was hacked to death by eight assassins with axes in his prison at Pontefract Castle, on the orders of his usurper, King Henry IV. It’s said this was an attempt to secure information about the Royal Prophecy. Was King Henry IV also contemplating marrying a non-royal?
More intriguing still is a 1503 poem (celebrating the union between James IV and Margaret Tudor) rumored to quote part of the prophecy itself:
Original Dialect Version:
FOR GIFE THOW DOIS, HURT IS THYNE HONESTY
CONCIDDERING THAT NO FLOUR IS SO PERFYT.
Modern Version:
FOR IF YOU DO, HURT IS YOUR HONESTY
CONSIDERING THAT NO FLOWER IS SO PERFECT.
Perhaps the most compelling evidence came on 10 December 1936, when Edward VIII signed the instrument of abdication, paving the way for him to marry the non-royal Wallis Simpson. Did he abdicate to enjoy a long life (which he did -- living another 36 years, dying in 1972)? What did he fear if, as a king, he married a non-royal?
Is it only the monarch who fears the curse of the Royal Prophecy of Doom?
On Halloween 1955, Princess Margaret, third in line to the throne, declared that she would put duty before love and not marry (non-royal) Peter Townsend. Was she afraid of the consequences of marrying a non-royal if she were ever to ascend the throne?
It is my fervent wish that the happy couple’s wedding this coming Friday is a beautiful and joyful celebration.
--Disclaimer: This article is a work of speculative folklore. While it references real events and figures, the so-called “Royal Prophecy of Doom” is not supported by verified historical records. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.