As the sun sets, I face the dark night that taunts me with my goal. We grope in the gloomy facets of twilight, warm with the hope that in between the fleeting aeons we will burn in darkness; but we have yet to see ourselves — lured from a night when ugliness has no face […]
Tag: Joel Gabriel
Securing your work from home
The title is a double entendre when thinking of that aspect of security – online security that is. The global pandemic has forced on us the need to safeguard our well-being while still maximizing our productivity and throughput in our careers and/or day jobs. “Work from home” took an all-new meaning from what it was […]
Dead Fathers Society (Reflection on Father’s Day)
All these years, I never really appreciated Father’s Day for the simple reason that I thought it didn’t apply to me for the longest time until about nine months ago when I finally had a son myself. I never thought of the folly of it until I came about a quotation from Clarence Kelland that says, […]
Lessons Learned…and better practices
In my line of work, one important aspect of continuous improvement is outlining lessons learned. This serves a variety of purposes: it streamlines operations by knowing what works, what doesn’t and the probability of each of them happening; it serves as a template for other projects to avoid certain pitfalls by mining a treasure-trove of […]
You Were There
When I became aware of my existence; When I felt inexpressible joy being with friends; When I first marveled at the beauty of creation… When I took the first step in the journey of life; When I met stumbling blocks on a thorny path; When I became indecisive which way to go… When I was […]
Dear Reader
“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic –the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.” ~Charles de Lint On the revival of Epistoliorum, there is one word that comes foremost […]
Quiapo: Tracing the footsteps of the Nazarene
It has been a tradition in the Philippines, particularly around the vicinity of the Quiapo Basilica in Metro Manila, that Semana Santa (Holy Week) comes a week after the New Year revelry, or so it seems. Thousands of the faithful descend to the venue quite popular as plagued by traffic gridlock, petty crimes, supernatural cures, […]
Visita Iglesia Series (Part 1)
Visita Iglesia is a practice steeped in tradition especially in the Philippines. This is usually done during the Holy Thursday Vigil when the Holy Sacrament is transferred to the altar of repose. While not essentially part of the liturgy, this however has been widely accepted as popular piety. The custom of visiting seven churches probably […]
A Pre-war Gem: Remembering Old Santo Domingo
Intramuros at the time of the Spanish Colonial period was synonymous to the City of Manila. Other towns and suburbs beyond the city walls were referred to as “extramuros” or “outside the walls”. It was both the seat of government and center of its social institutions: religion, education and economy. In December 1941, despite the […]
Top 10 ways to secure your data while traveling
The advent of the Holy Week in the Philippines herald the start of the travel season, especially since most schools have not yet adapted to the September school opening. For countless among us, our smartphones and laptops are a must-bring to make our travel productive and memorable. Be it taking selfies or walk-about vlogs, video-conferencing […]
The Word Today
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they […]
Solitaire
This is a usual game…or should I say unusual? Hands are dealt but there’s no point in winning, since although one wins, it’s neither a victory nor triumph over something. For some, it’s a rather selfless game, since the usual player normally shields the other from a bad hand. Any other, but himself. A game […]
Running Into Easter
As little kids, we were more enamored by Christmas with its jolly air and countless gifts; we didn’t know yet then that there is still a more significant celebration and symbol that ought to take hold of us — and it isn’t the Easter Bunny, silly! Perhaps one good thing that the rather gloomy, poignant […]
What’s in a name? FSDPI.
Filii Sancti Dominici Philippinensis (International) “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” so did the Great Bard opine about this primordial question. Anyone hearing for the first time FSDPI’s formal corporate name would almost instantaneously inquire, “What in heaven’s good name do those words mean?” As with most words, the etymology of […]
Dear Reader
Welcome to the December Edition of Epistoliorum! Learn from the business success of our Fray in Focus, Eugenio Michael Plana who has used as his life guides the charisms of The Dominicans and attained spectacular success in various businesses he embarked on. Outwit hackers by learning from Fray Joel Gabriel how to make and maintain […]
A Christmas Wish
Ikaw at ako ngayong Pasko Tila ang kulay ng dusa, lungkot at pagdaralita naglalahong bigla. Init ng pusong umiibig Aking gabay sa hanging kay lamig Damdamin na hatid: tuwa na kay tamis, mundo na kay rikit. Aking buhay na may pait Pagsubok at lumbay Aking dinadalit. Diwang puno ng pag-asa, Mundong pumapayapa, ang siyang pumapalit […]
The Rockefeller Christmas Tree
This tradition is something unique to “30 Rock”, the moniker that produced a 2006-era sitcom. Where else but at 30 Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The event ushers in the start of the Yuletide season, with a little help from the dazzling sound-and-light display at the adjacent Saks Fifth Avenue department store. […]
Password Complexity: The Simple Truth
Passwords have been around since time immemorial as a way of user identification, identity authentication and as a way of gaining access to a restricted resource. The Greek historian Polybius has discussed in detail how passwords, or quite specifically, “watchwords” were used by the Roman military in the changing of the guards, thus protecting from […]
Bring On Tomorrow
Attending night prayers at the seminary almost always meant hearing that ancient but rather beautiful melody of “Day is done“. Many years later even as we close this maiden issue, I hear similar thought-provoking lyrics, albeit, this time on a more worldly tune. Most would tag Barry Manilow ancient though, considering he started way back […]
Online Security and Identity Theft
…when the good things in life aren’t really free. There is an ongoing misconception that the internet is a relatively safe place, and that our online presence is meant to mask our identity or offer a different persona than who we are. With internet fast allowing for seamless inter-connectivity among governments, businesses and individuals, there […]
The Great Dividing Range: my new definition of “old”
Newborn: Between 1 day and 4 weeks … Infant: Between 1 month and 12 months … Toddler: Between 1 and 2 years… Pre-school: Between 2 and 4 years… Baby: Between 5 and 9 years (when they’re at their cutest and loveliest)… Pre-adolescent: Between 10 and 12 years… Adolescent: Between 13 and 17 years… Youth: […]
Train of Thoughts
I remembered a couple autumns ago when I was still living in Virginia, I received rather unexpectedly, one very good and priceless advice from a person I didn’t even know. I haven’t considered it a lesson learned though, for it only enhanced my own opinion of the matter, something which I have always believed. I […]
Dear Reader,
Tremendous effort and dedication manifested in long hours of seemingly endless writing, editing and re-editing of articles have been embraced by the editorial staff. We took it with conviction and fortitude and probably honor as we stand by our words and rally for each other through hardships, trials and tribulations in driving our mandate forward. […]