ANIKANIK || onebighappymess

This is where I dump all the crazy and interesting things I find in the vastness of cyberspace. Follow me on Tumblr! :)

“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, Wendell Philips once said. Unfortunately, eternal vigilance is not particularly dramatic. It is not particularly colorful, it is not particularly glorious. It is grinding, it is day-to-day, it is the long, dull, and repetitive walk back and forth a watchman does when he keeps watch at the turrets. But it is what gets things done. It is what saves the fort from the marauding forces. It’s good to be larger than life in moments that call for it. But it’s better to just be the measure of life the rest of the way. Its rewards are plentiful, even if they do not always come in the form of medals, posthumous or otherwise. You are willing to pay the price of eternal vigilance, you probably wouldn’t need EDSA at all.”

Read more here.

Photo by Daisy Castaneda 

Join YAHOO!’s Purple Hunt to win a doodled Honda Jazz by Weewilldoodle!

Click here to join! http://ph.promo.yahoo.net/purplehunt/

Boyfriend Jeans by weirdcandy featuring Marni shoes

No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious and charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful.

If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC.

— Kurt Vonnegut

“This year, the world’s first global election is taking place, an election between earth and global warming. It’s not about what country you are from, but what planet you are from. Your light switch is your vote. We need one billion votes for earth, because our planet is worth saving.

Vote Earth by simply switching off your lights for one hour and join the world for Earth Hour. Saturday March 28th, 8:30-9:30pm.”

WHY SHOULD I VOTE EARTH?

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.

For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.

SPREAD THE WORD. We need your help to get as much support for Earth as possible. The more people you talk to, the more support you will rally. This is a movement of the people to protect the future of our planet, and we need you to help make it happen.

VOTE EARTH BY SIMPLY SWITCHING OFF YOUR LIGHTS FOR ONE HOUR, AND JOIN THE WORLD FOR EARTH HOUR. SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 8:30-9:30PM  — http://www.voteearth2009.org

I was at Mall of Asia this evening with my mom, and we chanced upon this gorgeous sunset at Manila Bay. Well, sunset at its very late stage. My favorite part of this photo is the mountain silhouette. Correct me if I’m wrong, but is that Mt. Samat in Bataan? :)

Pixiemarket.com

I simply love this site. I’ve been a regular lurker ever since I saw the link from one of my favorite chictopians, Lulu.

Let me share with you some of the items I find drool-worthy. If I didn’t live in Manila, I would probably be donning everything in my list, but this city can be a hard place to truly express oneself in terms of fashion.

Aside from the limited fashion finds, you have to consider the weather (it’s beginning to be unmercifully hot at this time of year), the ignoramuses who will blatantly stare at you if you’re wearing an iota of “weirdness” in your wardrobe, or the hardship of commuting—having strangers feel you up if you decided to bare a teeny flesh above your knees. I can be overly self-conscious; I hate being stared at, but maybe one day I will finally have the guts to wear whatever I want regardless of the risks. :p

I love the simplicity of this dress: it’s short, seemingly shapeless, and it’s black. You can wear it anytime of the day. Pair it with flats or platform gladiator heels and you’re all set.

 This is a love-at-first-sight dress. I have a thing for one-shoulder dresses, and this is definitely an instant love.

 I’m drawn to loose, shapeless, casual dresses. I don’t know why.

Or loose dresses that hug the bottom area.

 If only I had long legs!

 Been on the search for a blazer exactly like this one.

Perfect for summer!

And now, accessories: I WANT this ring. I probably couldn’t extend my hand if I wore it, or write, eat, or do normal everyday things, but who cares? It’s fun and quirky, and an instant self-defense weapon against muggers.

I like the idea of layering accessories. I do it with my necklaces, even multiple bracelets with my watch (which has no use really, I’m always late), and this just makes it all too easy.

From the film, Waking Life (2001). I can never get tired of this movie.

(Two women are having lunch - English professor Lisa Moore and author Carole Dawson)

Time just dissolves into quick-moving particles that are swirling away. Either I’m moving fast or time is. Never both simultaneously.

It’s such a strange paradox. I mean, while, technically, I’m closer to the end of my life than I’ve ever been, I actually feel more than ever that I have all the time in the world. When I was younger, there was a desperation, a desire for certainty, like there was an end to the path, and I had to get there.

I know what you mean, because I can remember thinking, “Oh, someday, like in my mid-thirties maybe, everything’s going to just somehow gel and settle, just end.” It was like there was this plateau, and it was waiting for me, and I was climbing up it, and when I got to the top, all growth and change would stop. Even exhilaration. But that hasn’t happened like that, thank goodness. I think that what we don’t take into account when we’re young is our endless curiosity. That’s what’s so great about being human.

Yeah, yeah. Well do you know that thing Benedict Anderson says about identity?

No.

Well, he’s talking about like, say, a baby picture. So you pick up this picture, this two-dimensional image, and you say, “That’s me.” Well, to connect this baby in this weird little image with yourself living and breathing in the present, you have to make up a story like, “This was me when I was a year old, and then later I had long hair, and then we moved to Riverdale, and now here I am.” So it takes a story that’s actually a fiction to make you and the baby in the picture identical to create your identity.

And the funny thing is, our cells are completely regenerating every seven years. We’ve already become completely different people several times over, and yet we always remain quintessentially ourselves.

Hmm.

You can be mad as a mad dog at the way things went; you can swear and curse the fates - but when it comes to the end, you have to let go. — Benjamin ButtonFor what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again. — Benjamin Button

These are my favorite quotes from the film, it’s true, there are really no rules to life. People will always tell you what to do, how to think, how to behave, but in the end, it’s your life, you have to live the way you want it to be. Don’t be restricted by the norms, don’t get tied down to conformity, don’t settle on what you have at the moment. If you’re unhappy about one aspect of your life, go and change it. Life is too short to be miserable or boring. Go and be spontaneous and don’t take life so seriously. Be passionate about living life to the fullest. We’re meant to experience great things–be content, be stable or be normal, and you might as well die. That’s why I’m so puzzled at people who want to be “content” in their lives, they might as well go and kill themselves.Oh and yes, let go. Easier said than done. One lesson I’m having a hard time learning, but hopefully my 2009 will be a year of letting go of bad memories and useless emotions that are just tying me down.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a great film to start the year right. I can always tell if I love the film if I have this sudden yearning to search for quotes, soundtrack, or its transcript just so I can still satisfy my fix. In this case, I’m going to read the book this movie is based on. I was happy to learn that this is by Scott Fitzgerald, one of my favorite writers. Download The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and other short stories here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6695I’m also, at the moment, downloading the film’s entire score by Alexandre Desplat. Thank you Soulseek. Weee. :)And yes, Brad Pitt is still easy on the eyes. Hehe. :)