Top 10 English Words

I have always loved words more than numbers.  Yep, numbers are actually kind of cool, but words, for me, have more depth.  Numbers are objectively cold.  A 1 is a 1.  A 1 can never be a 2.  They are what they are.  Words, however, are subjectively dynamic in its articulation.  A word can have a variety of meanings or usages.  Take for example the word “pretty”.   Pretty can mean beautiful.  It can be used as an adverb, as in “pretty much” or “pretty good”.  In fact, we can use “pretty” as an adverb in a phrase that is opposite of the meaning of “pretty” per se.  The phrase is “pretty ugly”.        

Words are colorful and empathic.   And among them, here are my top ten favorite English words…

10.) INTELLIGENCE

Among English words, I found “intelligence” to have the most subtle but obvious implication of power.  We are now in the Information Age.  There’s no more important asset than intelligence.  Wars are won by intelligence (yes, espionage-related intelligence).  In politics and business, the better the intelligence is, the better the decision making – for earning future yield – will be.  Nowadays, information and knowledge are the cards in the poker game of life.  The better the quality of these means the better cards in your hand, thus better chances of winning.

9.) VERSATILE

This adjective imply that the object (usually a person) is well-rounded.  Multi-faceted.  Multi-talented.  Flexible.  Wide area of knowledge, interests and/or skills.  That means having depth.  Which ultimately means the person is fun, interesting, can fit in well, and not boring.  It’s one of the most valuable descriptions or compliments that one can ever give somebody.

8.) LOVELY

I consider the word “lovely” as the highest adjective to describe something or someone that is beautiful, pretty, or gorgeous.  So whenever I use the word, it means I have given my highest praise on the degree of beauty, appeal, or pleasantness.

 

7.) COOL

Cool has been used as slang for something that is good, or nice, or interesting, or remarkable, or amazing, etc.  And that’s a reason why I like the word.  It can have different intensity of meaning and ways to handle it.  But the main reason I like the word “cool” is because of its definition as being calm.  It portrays an appearance of tranquility and control, even in midst of excitement or pressure.

  

6.) IF

I once heard someone speak that “If” is the biggest word in the world.  Because it means a condition… a stipulation… a requirement… an assumption.  Before an effect or event to happen, the “if” should happen or be met first.    

5.) THUS

I also like its synonyms “therefore”, “then”, “hence”, and “ergo”.  I like the word (and its synonyms) because it presents a conclusion after an analysis or evaluation.      

4.) GRACE

Grace means a gift that is undeserved and unearned.  It means a love that is unconditional.  Instead of punishment, reward or blessing is received.  As a Christian, the word “grace” is a sweet sound to the ears.  For us Christians, it means Christ dying for our sins, saving us from eternal death and suffering in Hell, and giving us eternal life in Heaven instead.  Ah, to know why “grace” is one of my favorite English words, I’ll let John Newton explain (read the lyrics of the immortal song he had penned, i.e. “Amazing Grace”) in my behalf. He articulated perfectly how so, er, amazing grace is.

3.) LOGIC

When the word “logic” is mentioned, it gives a feeling of rationality, sound judgment, and order.  The word “logic” came from the Greek word “logos” which means “sentence” or “reason”.  I love the word “logic” because I love the essence of “logic”.  It is the study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning.  I sincerely believe that logic, if wielded properly and when based on true premises, will lead to the truth.  And I always desire the truth.

2.) AWESOME

People, including me of course, tend to overuse both “cool” and “awesome” to describe almost anything, but more so with “awesome”.  “Awesome” is greater than “cool”.  If I think of “lovely” as the highest description for the degree of beauty and such, I think of “awesome” as the greatest of all positive adjectives.  It is the highest form of adjectives like good, great, glorious, fascinating, amazing, remarkable, and such. 

1.) WHY

“Why” is my most favorite word because when the “why” is answered, something is made clearer.  The “why” is the most complicated to answer.  Usually, in the case of “what”, “who”, “when”, and “how”, the answers are just exact objective facts.  But the “why” requires further deliberation since the answers are all about motivations, purposes, and reasons.  When the “why” is known, there is a deeper understanding of the whole picture.      

Read More

Thank You, Dallas Mavericks

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks for winning the 2011 NBA championship.  This is their first in franchise history and coming off the team that beat them in '06 Finals makes this sweeter for them.  

After my Lakers got eliminated, I was rooting for the no. 8 Memphis Grizzlies to win the championship since that would be an epic underdog story-journey.  But I was not bitter at all when the Mavs were able to beat my team.  No, I saw that they have more heart than the Lakers in their series, and if the Lakers can’t have the championship this year, then the team that beat them should have it.  So, when the Grizzlies got beaten by the Oklahoma Thunder, I have no problem rooting for the Mavs next.  The Dallas Mavericks deserve this title.  They had already beaten the defending champs in the second round, thus, the championship was theirs for the taking already.  I believe my man Kobe also share the same sentiments with me.

Dirk Nowitzk will now go down in history as one of the greatest players that played this game.  He already has his All-Star and All-NBA selections.  He got his MVP.  All he needed was the validation that he’s a true winner.  And now, he’s an NBA champion and his Finals MVP is his certification that he led his team there.  One funny thing I want to point out was the different reactions between Dirk and Kobe’s game clinching performances.  Though both deserved their Finals MVP, and had been a great impact in the game-clinchers despite poor shooting performances (Dirk: 9-27 shooting, Kobe: 6-24 shooting), Dirk received praises while on the other hand Kobe mostly received criticisms when the Lakers won last year.  Comments on Dirk’s went like: “despite shooting poorly at the start, Dirk scored 10 points in the 4^th quarter to lead his team to the championship.”  While on Kobe, the comments went like this: “choking in the biggest game of his career, Kobe’s teammates bailed him out and carried him to the championship.”  In spite of the fact that Kobe grabbed 15 rebounds in that game despite of being a guard and scored a game high 23 points, 10 – like Nowitzki – of which came in the 4^thquarter, in the context of a gritty and epic defensive Game 7 battle where both teams shot poorly!  In Dirk’s case, it was Jason Terry who really majorly carried the offensive load in that Game 6.  Just shows how Kobe suffers from unfairness and bias of haters.

 

Jason Kidd, 38 years-old, and 17 years in the league finally got his title.  But he did not get it by “hitchhiking” with a good team, i.e. the Gary Payton-route.  Though past his prime, he was still a major piece and a starter in his championship-winning team.  Kidd was definitely the best point guard of the past decade (2000s).  Sorry, Steve Nash, but that’s true.  J-Kidd was better than you.  Despite of your two MVPs, you never had Kidd’s rebounding and defensive skills.  I also think that Kidd was a better passer than you, Stevie.  And now he got his much deserved ring.  Will you ever get yours?  (You might if you became a Laker next season. They really need a good point guard right now.  LOL)    

Jason “the Jet” Terry impressed me much this series.  Lamar Odom might be the Sixth-Man-of-the-Year this season, but Jet was the “Sixth-Man-of-the-Year” of the playoffs.  Coming off the bench, he was almost like a Kobe-esque gunslinger.  He was kind of badass this Finals.  He commented that the best defense he had encountered in the playoffs was Portland’s and that LeBron – an All-Defensive first team selection and who was brilliant in defending the MVP Derek Rose – won’t be able to shut him down.  And he backed those words.   Though there were times LeBron contained him, he was able to torch him most of the Finals.  I also like how Jet acknowledged God in the Mavs’ success in his interviews.

The rest of the Mavs roster was fun as well.  Tyson Chandler’s rebounding was a great help and he did some damage inside.  Former All-Stars Shawn Marion and Peja Stojakovic finally get their rings as well.  But I wonder why Peja never got any significant playing time in the Finals?  Could it be because his shooting expertise (he was a killer during the Laker series) couldn’t compensate for his poor defense?  But I trust Rick Carlisle had his reasons (more about him later).  Shawn Marion and Deshawn Stevenson were significant contributors in defense and also gave very important help in offense.  Along with Kidd, the three of them were Dallas’ major defensive force in slowing LeBron and D-Wade.  The starting shooting guard for the Dallas in the Finals was 5’9 J.J. Barea and the Heat couldn’t figure out how to stop the spark he gave the offense.  He was not extremely fast, but the little guy was able enough to tear up Miami’s defense.  Brian Cardinal saw some surprisingly significant playing time this playoffs.  And he was a true “garbage man”, willing to sacrifice his body in taking charges, and had the veteran smarts in how to fit in the offense.  Also take note that the Mavericks missed their starting All-Star shooting guard Caron Butler for the majority of the season and all throughout the playoffs due to injury.  This made me think how strong the Mavs could have been if Butler was healthy.  

Rick “Jim Carrey” Carlisle is sure is smart.  He was a master of rotation, match-ups, and adjustment.  He was able to assemble a perfect lineup to dictate the game or to resolve a given need, respond with strategic adjustments immediately, and was able to utilize his roster’s strengths effectively as he brought the best out of them.  The Heat’s Erik Spoelstra is a good coach, but he was definitely outcoached by Carlisle in this one.  Kudos to Carlisle.  In this Finals, the man showcased how smart he really is. 

But the fact that the Miami Heat lost is more important than the fact that the Mavs won the title.  If the Finals was between the Mavs and the Bulls, I would have still rooted for the Mavs, but I would have not cared much if the Bulls did beat the Mavs.  My desire for the Heat to lose just increased the intensity of my desire for the Mavs to win. 

This Finals, the Dallas fans were not alone in cheering for their team.  Those that rooted for the Mavs to win (or more so for the Heat to lose) was a coalition of, in addition of Mav fans, Laker fans like me (who didn’t want to see their Heat rivals to win a championship), Bulls fans, Celtic fans, Miami Heat-haters, LeBron-haters, Bosh-haters, Wade-haters (if there are such.  But this was the season we saw some of LeBron’s doucheness rubbed off on Wade, so there are probably Wade-haters now), the Federal Republic of Germany, gamblers who bet for Dallas, and – probably most important of all – the Cleveland Cavalier fans and the residents of Cleveland and Ohio.

It’s natural for good teams to be hated by others.  When a good team gets success, it would have defeated other teams to get there, breaking hearts of the fans of those teams in the process, thus, it will be hated by those teams’ fans.  Especially if that team wins over and over again throughout the years (e.g. the Los Angeles Lakers).  There will be plenty of raging, jealous hearts emerging as time passes.  Heat is a good team, it can’t be denied.  They have two of the top 5 players in the NBA, and their third option is in the top 15 or 20.  They have an awesome defense (I was really impressed by their team defense and Wade and LeBron’s individual defensive performances).  On paper, indeed, winning a championship seems easy with their talent.    But the hate for the Heat is different.  The hate for the Heat is not because of any jealous animosity for being a greatly talented team and how successful they become.  Prior the 2010-11 Season, before any success can be earned, the Miami Heat had already become the most hated team in the NBA (and probably in all of sports).  And the hate for them grew as the season progressed.  Why are they hated like this?  They are hated because it is only a natural response for an audience to hate the villains of a drama.  And that is what is happening here.  They have made it clear that they are the villains.  Consider these things: their coming together seemed to be something deviously contrived, and it didn’t help that Pat Riley, the orchestrator of this, looks and acts like Gordon Gecko;  LeBron James’ “The Decision” circus; the extravagant celebration party they threw before the season started as if they had already won the championship; the infamous and arrogant “Not 1… Not 2… Not 3… Not 4… Not 5… Not 6… Not 7…” proclamation of how many titles they will win; the sudden emergence of more Miami Heat fans (which spells B-A-N-D-W-A-G-O-N-E-R-S); the ridiculous “Fan-Up” campaign (you have 3 superstars and, still, it’s hard to fill up your arena?!  This just proves that Miami is the worst NBA team fanbase there is); crying like immature babies when they started losing during the regular season; they made ESPN their worshippers and media puppets, i.e. the Heat Index (to be fair, this is ESPN’s fault as well); their continuous display of arrogant and narcissistic behavior throughout the season and playoffs during games and interviews… plenty of reasons to hate the Heat. 

If the Heat had won, ridiculous revisionist history will be written, the arrogance and narcissism of this team will be fed instead of punished, the bandwagoners would be unjustly rewarded, and the Heat nation will have the last laugh – and an evil one that is.  Thus, the Mavs prevented all of this.  Like an epic “good vs. evil” story, the heroes won, proving that good will always triumph over evil.

And for that, along with my congratulations, I also give my heartfelt thanks to the Dallas Mavericks.  Thank you very much.  Bask in the glory and joy of this championship.  And take good care of the Larry O’Brien trophy.  The Los Angeles Lakers would be taking it back next season.   

Read More

Math is Badass

In fiction, the use of Math is heavily romanticized.  Like in the TV show “Numb3rs”, where Math is used to aid the FBI against crime.  Then again, I have read that such practices are actually being done in real life!  Also, in Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” books, there is a science called Psychohistory (which I had already discussed in a list of thought provokers), in which actual sociological and historical factors are converted to statistical-probability equations that would make it possible for the prediction of the future of humanity.  Sounds absurd?  But consider that others are actually venturing on mathematical study that are somewhat parallel to some Psychohistorical concepts!

Clearly, Math is badass.  And, believe me, not only in fiction, but in real life as well.

When I was a kid, I hated Math.  And I grew up hating it all throughout my academic life.  (Though, ironically, I was “Best in Math” in Nursery. LOL) However, I have loved mysteries and puzzles and logic (long before I learned that that’s the word for that process or exercise), but have not realized that Math was the most perfect avenue where I can work them out.  When I was about a young adult, I started to see how special Math real is.  And I felt regret, since I haven’t started loving it when I was a kid, when it’s the best time to learn its skills.

I know no real Math.  Yeah, I know basic algebra and such.  I mean the REAL Math.  The mind-blowing Math.  The Math that appears to be the key to the mysteries of the universe.  Math, as much as Science, is not a panacea, nor it can answer everything.  But, still, it is a very invaluable tool in expressing or interpreting seemingly incomprehensible facts of reality into some form of comprehension.  The Mathematical World is magical.  I find it amazing how numbers and equations can interpret reality, even across its visible boundaries; and how numbers and equations can prove a fact before an actual hands-on scientific experimentation, when experimenting about it is still impossible or it hasn’t been figured out how to carry out the experiment.  There are concepts of Quantum Physics (and also in other sciences, but mostly this) that only Math can touch.  Sci-fi concepts like time-travel and alternate universes are not laughable ideas at all because of Math.  Besides, Math can and have proven things that were thought unthinkable before, like for example, establishing that, at the essence, matter and energy are the same thing.

    

But there are also cases when something that is impossible in the world of reality is only possible in the world of math.  Examples are mindblowing paradoxes (e.g. Zeno’s paradox or the “Achilles and the Tortoise” paradox).  They are sound in paper and equations, but in reality, they are impossible.  Below is an example of a geometrical paradox.

Also consider how Math, without any logical or mathematical fallacy, proved that 1 and 0.9999… are equal.

assume that 

x = 0.999999...

multiply both sides by 10 

10x = 9.99999...

subtract both sides by x (which is 0.9999999...) 

10x - x = 9.999999... - x

or

10x - x = 9.99999... - 0.99999...

which becomes,
9x = 9

divide both sides by 9 

9x/9 = 9/9

which results to,
x=1

conclusion 

1 = 0.999999...

And as we continue to learn more about the world of Math, we see how really mindblowing it is.

Of course, there will be times when it’s impossible for numbers and equation to tell the whole story in a particular case or system (e.g. basketball statistics), since there are some other aspects or factors of the system that can’t be put into equation.  However, there might come a day when someone will build a perfect equation that would be able to successfully translate ALL the factors and aspects of a case or study, allowing it to become the perfect and final word on the subject.  As I’ve said, Math has already proven some things to be possible which had been thought impossible before. Who knows, maybe in a century or two, people would be doing real-life Psychohistorical analyses.    

Read More

Floodgates (at Bicol Celebration of Hope)

Will Graham, grandson of famous evangelist Billy Graham, went to Pili, Camarines Sur for a massive 4-day evangelistic crusade entitled "Bicol Celebration of Hope", where thousands of people - from different churches across Bicol - participated.  It was held at Pili's Freedom Stadium (inside the Sports Complex) from April 28 to May 1, 2011.  Aside from local performers from Bicol churches (which went through auditions in their hometowns), there were also Christian celebrity guests (during the day we performed, it was Barbie Almalbis and Donita Rose) that performed and gave testimonies.  Our band, Floodgates, was asked to open Day 2 (April 29).  We just recently got the official video (personal video recording was prohibited during the event) from the organizers, and here it is:    

click here for more videos

Read More